2012 in review

talking with sarah on saturday, reminiscing about the year (which she was in no doubt a huge part of), i realized just what a silly, fun, crazy, and sometimes stupid year 2012 has truly been. i think that can probably be said about every year though, right? but there were surely a bunch on highlights that i enjoy looking back on, a few i wouldnt mind never thinking of again, and many more i will never, ever forget.

..::january::..

we celebrated our first anniversary

i finally got that sub 23 minute 5k i had been chasing for a LONG time

races:

frozen 5k 22:02 (PR)

..::february::..

a new PR and sub 1:50 half marathon at hyannis

races:
mid winter classic 10 miler 1:19:12 (PR)
polar bear 5k 22:59
hyannis half marathon 1:48:45 (PR)

..::march::..

i fairly unsuccessfully tried to learn to sew (fun fact: i have yet to finish that blanket...)

..::april::..

sipped pina coladas on the beach

races:

great bay half marathon 1:49:49

..::may::..

i became a triathlete

...and a trail runner

i reached the beach for the 4th time...

and ran a sub 4 marathon. by myself. just because.

races:
polar bear sprint triathlon 1:17:57
reach the beach 200 mile relay 28:43:41
pineland farms 25k 2:35:00

..::june::..

ran my highest monthly mileage (200 miles!)

became an aunt for the first time

races:

bands on the run half marathon 2:05:58

..::july::..

had a very cool 10k experience

got really dirty with a few girls

and had an epic marathon breakdown

barf.

races:
finish at the 50 10k 1:06:50
color me rad 5k
around the lake marathon 4:30:27

..::august::..

first 50 mile bike ride (and got a flat tire at mile 3)

races:
lobsterman olympic triathlon relay 10k

..::september::..

the sterling clan became a little bit bigger

and shortly thereafter found out we would be getting even bigger (pun intended)

a 17 minute PR and sub 4 hour marathon (finally!)

races:
smuttynose marathon 3:58:14 (PR)

..::october::..

became a marathon maniac once again

races:

mdi marathon 4:34:47

..::november::..

my best friend in the entire world got married!

races:

turkey trot 5k 25:20

thanksgiving day 4 miler 33:16

..::december::..

completed 1,300 miles of running for the year

well, make that 1,306.2 with the operation jack satellite 10k

races:

operation jack 10k

and with today being the last day of the year, i have again completed my new years

resolution for the 3rd year in a row (well i still have todays pic to take... i dont know what pic to take!)

2010: gave up potato chips

2011: project 365

2012: project 366

(thats 731 pics in a row!)

side note: i will not be doing this resolution again... what will i be doing for 2013?

to be continued...

happy new year everyone!

20 weeks- halfway!

i think this shirt makes me look a little bigger than i really am...

or i am in a bit of denial haha

merry christmas!

19 weeks

hello baby bump :)

18 weeks

how far along? 18 weeks, 1 day
total weight gain: 10 pounds, although it kinda feels like 25. hundred.
babys size/development this week: baby is about the size of a  bell pepper, approx 6 inches and weighs about 7 oz. 
maternity clothes: havent gotten anything new... still wearing a few of the tops (especially to work, my scrub tops arent comfortable anymore). still wearing my regular jeans.
sleep: a little better than last week, getting more used to sleeping on my side. still not feeling like im getting enough sleep though but i havent been waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep as much as i had been
miss anything? summer
movement? again i think i am feeling something but its difficult to distinguish what it really is
food cravings? nothing new
anything making you queasy or sick? nah. im a boring pregnant person haha. although im really not interested in potato chips lately, which is very unlike me.
best moment of the week: clearly its not the pats game... i dunno, this week was kinda lame, although i did have a great time shopping with sarah and dinner with andrea. and i do love getting all the christmas cards!
name ideas: clearly sara's contribution of "christian grey sterling" is at the top of our list
nursery decor: i think we've maybe decided on the bedding for the crib that we want... penguins!
miles run this week: 12.4 haha. fail. but i felt pretty good on the 6.4 i did saturday am.
wedding rings on or off? sadly they are off, but not because my fingers got fat or anything. last week i discovered that a diamond had fallen out (despite having just had them tighten all the settings)... i think i have been without my rings more in the last 2 years than ive had them! i dropped them off the next day and i wont have them back until jan 21st. booooo. but i am having them un-soldered and will just wear my engagement ring to work since the wedding band keeps changing to yellow gold with the use of hand sanitizer (my engagement ring is palladium, the band is white gold). ugh.
mood: meh. i love that its snowing and all but i just kinda feel blah right now.
looking forward to: friday nights "end of the world" party with friends and spending saturday with my mom... got her something for xmas that im very excited about!

heavy heart

on friday morning i started a "fun fact friday" post. something ive done over the past two years on and off... stupid shit no one probably cares about but i make myself laugh sometimes writing it. as i was writing it, the news came on tv about the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. as i sat on my couch, horrified at what was unfolding, i knew i couldnt finish that fun lighthearted post.

i have no words to accurately convey how i am feeling at this moment, 18 weeks pregnant with our first child. over the past few years i have struggled with the idea of bringing a child into this unpredictable and seemingly angry, messed up world. i cannot come to grips with why someone would do such horrific acts as we have seen recently... movie theaters, shopping malls, innocent children, loved ones, family members...

something is wrong, very very wrong. and i dont think there is any one answer on how to fix it. i do not, however, believe this is a gun control issue. i have a lot of feelings about guns and im not going to go into it on here. i also have strong feelings about mental health issues, religion, and the like. like i said before, there is not one answer as to whats going to stop all of this, and i feel sad that people cant feel safe anymore doing everyday things.

as a soon to be mother, i am already in love with this child i havent even met yet. i cannot even begin to imagine what the families in CT are going through. i read the articles that say the same thing over and over. im glad that the media is starting to focus on the heros of that day vs. the cowardly acts of the killer. no one should ever have to bury their children. and a week before christmas... it all just makes me sick.

i pray that they can find strength.

adventures in growing a human/17 weeks

in february of 2011, i babysat for sarah's 7 month old baby. clearly i was very inexperienced but i think i faked it pretty well (note: we both survived). since then i have babysat again approximately zero more times. but i have a puppy, so that counts for something i think.

i (vaguely) remember when my twin brothers were born and being a huge help to my mom with them. i was six years old. my "help" probably included looking at them and making funny faces to try to keep them from crying while my mom did what grown ups do when they need time to themselves away from their newborns (wine, lots of wine)... can i borrow someones 6 year old next summer? i also remember my grandmothers being scared to death that i was going to drop of of them on their head as i carried them around like they were rag dolls (they were 4 pounds... i think i could successfully carry them both around, singing songs, probably on my roller skates...)

they too survived.

so im ready to try this whole thing myself, dont ya think?
(insert a lot of laughing here.... and some tears... holy crap im kinda scared)

so far this whole pregnancy thing has been a piece of cake (knock on wood).... (mmmm cake....). minus a few (20ish) emotional breakdowns over nothing  and some massive mood swings, i really feel great. sign me up for this a few more times (does anyone want a few more kids?) ive been jealous of others getting baby bumps earlier than me, and then this morning i got upset that a pair of my jeans wouldnt button. go figure. and yesterday i took my 17 week pics, thought i looked huge, changed my clothes and cried all the way to work. (pass me some more oreos...)

growing a human is truly bizarre though. have i followed every piece of advice out there that you are/are not supposed to do while pregnant? ha. right. i had a ham and cheese sandwich once. coffee? a must (but i havent overdone it by any means). ive cleaned the cat litter box when ty forgets. i ran two marathons within two weeks (some docs say thats ok, mine might as well have hid under the desk clutching her security blanket scared out of her mind she hates it so much). theres just so much to remember and i find myself googling everything (i cant eat raw fish but i can have shrimp cocktail? why confuse me?!) and i drank enough in the first 5 weeks i didnt know i was pregnant... im shocked the little one doesnt have 6 toes on one foot.

i have, however, done a few things that i know is good for the baby... i hate oranges but will eat a clementine or two at least once a day (i still refuse to drink orange juice though, gross). lots of green veggies, salad, apples, and carrots. i drink a lot of milk and water. i cant get enough cherrios/whole grains. and you already know ive continued to exercise... so overall, im not doing that bad. things could be a lot worse...

i own a few books about what to expect when youre expecting and the like, which look like they havent really been touched (which is slightly accurate...). and of course everyone has some piece of info to share (some good, some not so good... im pretty sure im not looking foward to the last few weeks of pregnancy, from what ive heard).

i think ill start a little "things i knew/things i didnt know/things i need to learn" section here every now and then. these lists are sure to grow over the next few months. and i apologize in advance for the potential graphic detail, but its my blog. ill do what i want. and to my one male reader, enjoy :) (although im confident youve heard all of this before)

things i already knew about being pregnant 

(but most of which still seems pretty weird)

-cravings- although i havent really had any of the "its 3am omg if i dont have the most weirdest combo of foods RIGHT NOW im gonna die" cravings, ive wanted jalapenos on almost everything, couldnt eat enough broccoli in the first few weeks, and couldnt leave the grocery store last week without getting oreos and coffee ice cream.

-weight gain- obviously this is inevitable with pregnancy, but its weird and after spending many years running and exercising and eating whatever i wanted and staying right at/around 125, its weird to see the scale over 130 again... and continuing to go up.

-stretch mark potential- im doing my best to counteract this potential... my skin is so dry all the time anyway, but im paying a lot more attention to my stomach and all other areas where sneaky stretch marks may decide to rear their ugly head as i grow.

-new bras- yes, im finally getting what ive wanted since i was 13 and everyone around me was getting (and i wasnt). and i love it. and soon ill get to go on a shopping spree! (still not going to buy nursing bras... how unattractive).

-people like to touch bellies- but im really not even showing... how about you wait a few more weeks, thanks.

-you should do kegal exercises a few times a day- i usually remember approximately 3 minutes before falling asleep, do it like once and say screw it.

things i didnt know about being pregnant 
(did you?!)

-the "transvaginal/internal" ultrasound- this had to be the #1 thing i definitely did NOT know about. (of course after it happened i ran right to my "what to expect" book and there it was... maybe i should really read this book). anyway, when ty and i went for our first ultrasound (think "excited first time parents!!") and im thinking "this will be great, i hope that gel they put on your stomach isnt too cold! cant wait to see our little wonder projected on the big screen..." yeah that didnt happen. the tech had me strip from waist down, cover myself with a white paper sheet, handed me the biggest stick/wand thing ive ever seen (over the weeks of me telling this story its become about the size of a giraffes leg) and says "here, ill let you insert this yourself". what? say that again? yup. pretty awesome. (^#$@%$^!@(%$)

-my boobs itch. wth? this is so strange.

-emotional sitting on the floor sobbing uncontrollably drooling breakdowns- oh yes. worse than any pms youve ever had.

-eventually youre body gets so messed up in all sorts of ways that when i sneeze i might pee myself- huh?! im sorry, this has to be the most f'ed up thing ive heard. and more than one person has told me this. totally looking forward to that.

things i still need to learn

-how to take care of a newborn- um...yup.


so pretty much im just hoping sarah will send me an email every day about what to do with my newborn like she did when i babysat... or im screwed.


how far along? 17 weeks, 1 day
total weight gain: 9 pounds
babys size/development this week: baby is the size of a turnip this week (bigger than an avacado, which was last week. im not sure what a turnip looks like actually). babys skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone. baby weighs about 6 oz and is 5 inches long. 
maternity clothes: one of my pairs of jeans was put into the back of the closet until next year, i bought a new top i love, and im still lounging in my yoga pants as much as i can. unlike meredith, ill go out in public wearing sweatpants or yoga pants... no shame. and live in westbrook. if you lived here, you would understand.
stretch marks? no but ive become obsessive about lotion.
sleep: ugh... not great. ive started sleeping with a body pillow... apparently its not good to sleep on my back? and stomach is fully uncomfortable, and left side is supposedly better for your blood pressure and circulation than right side... who makes this shit up?! needless to say, sleep is not awesome right now, and its sure to get less awesome in the weeks to come.
miss anything? good sleep and ibuprofen still. everythings sore.
movement? not really but maybe? im not sure but i should start feeling something soon
food cravings? last week was coffee ice cream and oreos. that has seemed to pass now.
anything making you queasy or sick? negative.
best moment of the week: last night when i got home from work ty had cleaned the house, remembered to turn on all the xmas lights, and we watched a few christmas shows on tv. it was nice to have this kinda night with him 
name ideas: we have ours picked out... what do you want us to name him/her? (ill be sure to take all ideas into consideration)
nursery decor: havent done anything new since last week, but i think i found a rocker that i like and im starting to look at some of the bedding. right now im big on monkeys and owls.
symptoms: nah. although im getting much more short of breath with just walking up one flight of stairs... i can run 10 miles but cant walk up a flight of stairs? go figure.
miles run this week: 13 (one of which was an awesome 10 miler)
wedding rings on or off? on
mood: pretty good overall, minus the breakdown yesterday am before work 
looking forward to: xmas shopping/run with sarah this weekend!

all i want for my dream christmas...

i graciously stole this idea from michelles "christmas in a dream world" post... without even asking! * gasp* im sure shes so pissed...

i usually dont ask for much for christmas, and yet i end up getting a lot. our parents spoil us rotten. but now that im old i get things like underwear and books (things i need, lame). the days of barbie mansion and gameboy games are a thing of the past. (i remember putting together things and playing games for hours on end... oh the joy christmas used to bring). but i do still enjoy christmas... the getting together with family, eating my weight in prime rib and shrimp cocktail, the egg nog! (well not this year, bah humbug!) and watching dad open another year of golf shirts. exciting stuff!

i did manage to find this for my dad (who LOVES lady gaga)... wouldnt you want one too? but alas i am not paying $7.95 for shipping on something thats $14. nope, sorry. tube socks it is.

(incase you won the lottery... buy it here)

so i really asked for a new pair of scrubs, the new JKRowling book (which i know i got cuz i was at the store when my mom bought it), and i mentioned how much fun it would be to have another kitten but i think that fell on deaf ears. or more like his response was "ha, right". fingers crossed. im also fairly sure we will be getting a LOT of baby things. excited first time grandparents-to-be for sure...

but, if i could really have all the things ... here are a few that would go on my unrealistic dream christmas list... in no particular order:

reasonably priced at $175

(may also be found on ebay for $150. clearly its the same thing...)

cuz really, who doesnt like these little blue boxes under the tree at christmas time

of course if that isnt quite extravagant enough, i wouldnt mind this either

$358 seems fair

speaking of blue...

i really want these, but theyre no longer available, boooo

so i would settle for these instead... which also arent available... yet...

(saucony kinvara 4!)

maybe they will be around for mothers day... 

(hoping something else is here for mothers day...) 

the bike i almost bought in august... and thankfully didnt

(but ill take it knowing ill start riding again in... june)

brooks nightlife infinity half zip

it wont fit for long but its soooo pretty

(this actually could be on my real xmas list)

another item of clothing that wouldnt fit much longer

who doesnt want a $248 cashmere hoodie?!

please. please. want. the "ironman" has to be the best, right?

pottery barn bedding... whole set for a seemingly low price
(compared to all the other expensive stuff) of only $200

starting at $21,600... man shes beautiful. and would look so nice in a driveway

full of snow with a big red bow on her, dont ya think??

and ya know, peace on earth, good will toward men... health and happiness to all friends and family. not too much to ask for i dont think.

november in review/16 weeks

november:
the miles felt like they came more easily this month than last month, but i was still 7 miles shorter which i feel is weird. i had a few 8 milers where i felt really strong, and some faster miles as well (my races felt great!). as the weather is getting colder and the roads are icy, im sticking more to the treadmill so im not surprised that my miles are lower. looking forward to the warmer weather coming this week and a long run, so we will see how that goes. im trying to workout 5-6 times a week if i can, which seems to be working out well now that im not exhausted all the time (although the 12 hours of sleep i got last night also helps haha).

running: 60.7 miles
walking: 10 miles
eliptical: 90 min

hrumph. what a year.

races: turkey trot 5k & thanksgiving day 4 miler
current song obsession: kelly clarkson "catch my breath"
favorite pin: first of all, i made this soup and it was amazing. seriously, try it. and then this:

yup.

how far along? 16 weeks... 24 to go! (i look so awesome in this pic, right? i have plans to run but havent yet... so you get my just woke up/mismatched outfit. lucky you)


total weight gain: 8 lbs. the two ice creams i had yesterday probably didnt help...
babys size/development this week: baby measures 5 in and weighs 6oz this week... and apparently will grow 6x its size in the next 4 weeks. crazy!
maternity clothes: can i just wear my yoga pants from here on out?
stretch marks? no
sleep: overall im sleeping better, my legs seem to have calmed down with the restless leg thing. not very comfortable to sleep on my stomach anymore but im getting used to sleeping on my side.
miss anything? im kinda sad/jealous of all the races everyones planning for next spring/summer. but ill be there to cheer everyone on!
movement? should start feeling something this week or next
food cravings? mmmmm ice cream
anything making you queasy or sick? not yet

best moment of the week: going away for the night to a really nice bed and breakfast in massachusetts with ty

name ideas? i think we know. and youre not going to ;) my mom called to tell me the today show had the top 10 names for 2012 the other day... she read them to me, none of them were on our list. and my mom was bummed we wouldnt budge in telling her. and before anyone asks, we will NOT be naming him/her "hashtag". wtf is wrong with people?!
favorite/least favorite thing about pregnancy thus far: other than gaining a little bit of weight (and my growing chest hehe), i really dont even feel pregnant, which i know im pretty lucky and thankful for. its actually been a very pleasant experience so far (get back to me in may when im sure to be anxious, nervous, uncomfortable, and bitchy haha).
labor signs? ok this one is coming out until it happens. i sure as hell dont want to have any labor signs for another 4 months or so
nursery decor: we painted what we knew would be the future nursery this summer (and by we i mean i...) i have known all along that i didnt really want to know the sex of the baby but i needed to convince ty (which i now have i think). so we painted the room a brown tint of grey... i know that kinda sounds funny but when i originally bought a paint sample and put a small strip on the wall, the color looked purple. so i took it back and talked to the guy at lowes and he said grey paint is usually mixed with blue/purples or browns... i definitely wanted the room to be grey and not purple, so i went with the brown tint. and i absolutely love it. right now we have green accents but i might change that to yellow later on. our furniture will all be white and we havent decided on bedding yet.

chair will be replaced with rocker

im not sure if were going to get a new changing table or make this into one

(crib yet to be assembled on the right)

love our pink tree

we have so much clothes already...

any nicknames for the baby? from day one ty has called the baby "hank". its sticking and i love it.
symptoms: not really
belly button in or out? still in. and this question is also coming out... this freaks me out. switching this question from now on to...
miles run this week: 16
wedding rings on or off? on. they're a little bit big to begin with, especially in the winter when my hands are always cold
mood: happy :)
looking forward to: hearing the heartbeat again this week at our 16 week appointment on tuesday

thanksgiving day 4, er 6, miler

i was lucky enough to get the morning off on this beautiful thanksgiving day and decided to once again head out to the portland thanksgiving day 4 miler. it was cold when i woke up and there was frost on the ground and car so i bundled up (huge mistake). when i left the house i was in capris, sweatpants, long sleeve flannel lined running shirt, running jacket, north face fleece, fleece headband... you'd think i was going to alaska to run this race haha. but of course i shed a few layers before getting out of the car, and warmed up for a mile before heading inside to register.

i saw a few friends and made a quick trip to the bathroom. i was supposed to find melissa but we hadnt specified a place, which made it difficult in the crowd of people. i ended up finding my cousin kim and we walked up to the start, and 5 minutes before the race began melissa (and jamie) found us! it was a thanksgiving miracle :) i also saw jaymee, and we high fived before she darted off ahead towards the start line. i suddenly became jealous of her short shorts, knowing my capris were going to be a bit too hot.

i didnt have high expectations for this race, mostly just running for fun with great people on a day when i truly give thanks for the people in my life and my ability to run. the starting cannon scared the hell out of us and we took off. i learned my lesson from last year not starting too far back (it was SO crowded last year!)... it was still quite crowded but thinned out within a half mile or so. my first mile was about 7:50 which i was fine with, actually thought it was too fast for what i had figured i would be going.

then comes the hills. boooo. i felt good the first time around, but the course is two loops so we see the hills twice. barf. (for some reason i keep coming back to this race regardless of how much i complain...) mile 2 was a bit slower i think, closer to 8:10... i dont really remember mile 3 except that i was overheating big time... and i walked for about 30 seconds on the last hill before cruising down to the finish (a DOWNHILL finish whoooo hooooo.... my watch said 6:40 pace, oops).

finish: 33:18

overall 646/1748

i ran a mile to warm up before the race and ran a mile after because it was so nice out (and my car was about a half mile away). then i enjoyed hot chocolate and a coffee roll from dunkin donuts and washed my kitchen floor before heading to work. turkey dinner and the annual viewing of love actually to come tonight at my parents house!

(once again no pics from this race. something is clearly wrong with me lately... i have two more races left this year, ill be sure to improve on the pics...as in actually take some.)



as always, this is how i spent my night before thanksgiving

and were doing another family football pool again this year, unlike last year where i had my cat pick my teams i just went with random pics and numbers this year.

game 1: 12:30 houston @ detroit

 my projected winner: houston

 total points: 57
  **as its looking right now as i write this that houston might not win. shocking.**

game 2: 4:15 washington @ dallas

 my projected winner: dallas
 total points: 34

game 3: 8:20 new england @ new york jets

 my projected winner: new england

 total points: 42

the winner is whoever gets the most games right. but incase of a tie:

 closest to total points of game 3

 closest to total points of game 1

 closest to total points of game 2

definitely not holding my breath for the $20 to come my way.

as always, im so very very thankful for all of the things and the people in my life. the experiences i have had, the ones that are yet to come, and everyone/everything that makes this journey what it is... i truly appreciate it all.

happy thanksgiving to all!!

14 weeks

How far along? 14 weeks, 1 day
Total weight gain: i havent gotten on the scale this week... and i just ran 8 miles so ill wait and weigh in next week if i remember
Maternity clothes? nothing new but i love lounging around in my sweatpants (some things never change... and my bday is next week incase anyone would like to add to my collection)
Stretch marks? no
Sleep: i feel like i have restless leg syndrome this week... and i definitely havent gotten enough sleep (worked overnight friday night, and half of an overnight last night...oof)
Best moment this week: had a fun weekend, fun 5k turkey trot yesterday, and so far this week is off to a great start with a solid 8 mile run this am
Miss Anything? i could use a bud light... or 5
Movement: no, but i saw the little one having the hiccups on the ultrasound... soon ill be able to feel it!
Food cravings: nothing new, but i ate pizza three times this weekend. wow.
Anything making you queasy or sick: i just felt sick friday night while i was working but that was due to being tired and not wanting to be awake at 3am im sure
Labor Signs: no
Symptoms: i dont even feel pregnant right now... anxiously waiting at least a little bit of a bump so it will all seem real haha
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Mood: great!
Looking forward to: thanksgiving! pie! friends thanksgiving episodes marathon! christmas shopping! ALL OF THE THINGS! 

(please disregard the messy couch in the background, and my lovely "just woke up from a sunday afternoon nap" look)

turkey trot 5k

this race recap is gonna be short and sweet, with little to no pics because andy and i royally suck at remembering to take any. sarah bailed on us so it was just the two of us, we hit up dunkin donuts on the way, ran a mile to warm up, and got to the start line shortly before the national anthem was played. my friend jamie found us and we talked for a few, and before we knew it, we were off.

andys grand plan was to run stupid fast just so he could say he beat a pregnant lady running (nice guy, right?) little did he know my original plan was to switch his bib for mine (i ultimately didnt follow through with that plan... see, IM NICE!) but anyway, he took off and left me in the dust and i just put on my tunes and did my thing. i decided not to wear garmin and just run how on feel... i wasnt planning on breaking any records (i hate this course... who designed the last mile uphill?!) and i have a cold and havent been running a lot and and and... (i enjoy complaining...)

my other plan was to run slow anyway... no need to go fast anymore, been there done that :)

i swear this is what the sign said ;)

my mom and dad were at their normal parking spot at about the half mile mark... i pretty much have to jump on the car and do a dance for my mom to see me, but when she did she got out of the car cheering :) thanks mom! then its a nice downhill for a bit and onto a flat stretch into a neighborhood.

mile 1: 7:44

that surprised me since ive been running mostly 8:20s recently. but i knew what i had coming for me in the upcoming miles and just continued on. heading back onto the main road, up a small hill, then into another neighborhood shortly before mile 2... and i see a water stop! my throat had been killing me and the cold air wasnt helping, so i stopped and got water. who gets water in a 5k?! yup, me. delish.

mile 2: 15:50

another uphill... and another... and another (see what i mean about hating this course?!). i had told myself i would NOT walk up the last hill, and i didnt (although it definitely wasnt speedy). once i turned into the straight away towards the end, i turned it up a little and felt strong into the finish line.

mile 3: 24:40

finish: 25:20

andy met me at the finish, we got some water and went into the school where they had bananas, cheese, and cookies. i definitely took advantage of this "running for two" thing and had a cookie. ok i had two. organic means healthy, right?

andy spent the majority of the morning making as much fun of me as he could and then i stopped talking to him for an hour. worst hour of his life, im sure. then i went xmas shopping (see wacko pic below) and had lunch with my parents before taking a nap and watching football. love lazy sundays :)

can someone please tell me WTF this is?

a mermaid doctor holding a lollypop? some lucky friend will be getting this for xmas for sure.