Things You May Not Know About Me...

I've been tagged by ms. Erika...and I think I'll actually honor it. So, I'm supposed to tell 6 facts about myself. I think I am going to go for some random ones, and things that you may not know. Knowing the things that I believe I have chosen, people are probably like "that was a no brainer" but here we go!

1. Guilty Pleasure - Sugar Cereal

Give me one or maybe even two bowls of cereal such as Cinnamon Toast Crunch and I am set to go. I love cereal and seem to crave any cereal that states it has over 10g of sugar in it. I have to limit myself to basically NO cereal at all to control my obsession with the sugar. I hear that Cinnamon Toast Crunch now has a reduced sugar option...doubt I will be craving that, but hey, I might give it a try!

2. Car Rides

I love love love car rides, but I HATE driving, which is quite ironic because I tend to always offer to drive places. I have gotten to the point where we(usually meaning Ben) will be ready to go somewhere, I will offer to drive, and then by the time we get to the car...I just hand over the keys and say "I think you should drive." He is so good to oblige knowing that its not worth any sort of dispute. Along with short car rides, I love road trips. I think piling people in a car and heading to anywhere is so much fun. I think I like the talking and the obnoxious singing the most. It seems that you learn a lot more about people that you take road trips and camping with...which brings me to my next point.

3. Camping

This is my favorite summer activity. If you knew me pre-weight loss you would know that I would have nothing to do with this sort of dirty activity that required sleeping on the ground and even considering the thought of not showering within 24 hours since the last time you did so. Now I kind of find it liberating and have been known to try and convince anyone and everyone to go camping. Last year I spent a good portion of my paycheck on camping equipment including a new tent and sleeping bag for backpacking purposes. I have a standing offer...you want to go, I'm there!

4. Secret Desires

I have always had the secret desire to become a model...(you can laugh, it's really okay.) I have spent endless amounts of hours in front of a mirror thinking of how I would look in front of the camera. Again...pre-weight, I was always stressed about how I looked, but I still had this passion to have people want to take my picture...maybe that's why I want to be a photographer so badly, I will find the undiscovered beauty :)

Also...I was pretty sure throughout my childhood and early adolescence that I had the talent to be a professional singer. Do not ask how I came upon this impression, but I was quite convinced of it. There are numerous home videos of me singing from the Disney movie soundtracks...let's hope those never see the light of day again.

5. Bed Bugs

So, I don't watch that much television, but for some reason I was watching Oprah one day and there was a lady who was basically chronically ill and she never knew why. Come to find out she had had the same pillow for the last 20 years and only washed her sheets once a month. That show terrified me and ever since then I circulate through pillows like you would not believe and feel that I must wash my sheets, alot...even when it takes me a week to put them back on my bed.

6. Toothbrush

I always have a toothbrush with me, whether I am in the car, in one of the two bathrooms, my bedroom, in high school I had one in my locker. I have toothbrushes EVERYWHERE. I used to have a small obsession with just always brushing my teeth...don't know how that really came about, but it was a struggle nonetheless. I continue to always have a toothbrush with me, but will brush at necessary times and not constantly have one in my mouth.

After reading over this I think that I just revealed a little too much about myself, but enjoy!

And I'm not very good about tagging anyone so if you want to do it, please do! And let me know so I can read about it :)

Jeremy Horn Fight Night

On Saturday night Ben and I went to Jeremy Horn's Elite Fight Night to support some of the guys that Ben "fights" with in his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes. Ben actually knew a few people fighting including the head liner. It may seem alittle odd that a girl like myself is into the ultimate fighting, but I must say that it is one of the most entertaining things to watch.

There were quite a few upsets but I think the highlight of my evening was when one of the guys got knocked out. One swift kick to the side of the jaw and the guy falls flat on his back (and hits the cage on the way down, not so good), but his eyes go cross-eyed and he is out. I was pretty much freaking out.

Next best part....submission through triangle choke hold. The fact that I knew what this was is crazy enough, but I even know how to attempt this move....not very quickly or effectively mind you, but I can do it. The guy next to me thought I was so crazy because I knew all of these fighting terms and would get excited when the fighter would get close to winning.

I thought it was a great night and hope one day we can actually go to a real UFC fight...how great would that be!?!

Races...

Alright so I have been pretty much the biggest slacker at writing on my blog since the half marathon...and when I think about it, a lot has gone on since then. So, this is my attempt to catch up.

Since the Salt Lake Half Marathon I have done two more races. I somehow talked Megan into running the Alta Club 5K with Rebekah and I because it was a pretty low key race and a great one to have as your first 5k. The Alta Club 5k has been around for 3 years and my sister has run it every year, and though she is convinced that I have run it as well, this was truly my first year.

Anyways, the morning of the race we all head to the little table to get our numbers only to find out we aren't on the list even though we had already paid. Have no fear the girl remembered us and we were just put on the list and given a number. The next few minutes we bounce around because it is freezing! I have told Megan that I would run with her because this race isn't that big of a deal and I'm not looking to win or anything. Well...I am the worst friend ever because my competitive instinct kicked in as soon as I heard the girl scream "GO!". I put my headphones in, see a guy from work that I am determined to beat, and I am gone before Megan can even press play on her ipod. Hopefully she has forgiven my selfishness by now. I digress. The race heads up city creek canyon and then comes back down, which gives some great incentive to go faster because gravity is working in your favor, and I hit the finish line in about 23 minutes. Not too bad, a little less than an 8 minute mile, but the best part is I won my age division! Besides the medal that everyone gets for the half marathon (by the way, that medal means more to me than it probably should), I got a gold medal for winning my age division. I was so excited only this stupid thing, but it was the real 1st place medal I think I've ever received. I've had swimming ribbons, but the girl that couldn't even run a mile just won a race...I enjoyed it :)

The other race that I chose to take part in was the Race for the Cure. Originally Beck wasn't going to run it because she had planned to be out of town. So again, I drag Megan to take part in the race with me. This time Ben decided to wait at the finish line for us...what a good guy. Anyways, there were SO many people there that the thought of trying to run through the 16,000 "runners" was pretty much ridiculous, but if you know me at all, I will do my best to run anyway. After passing the stroller walkers, then the walkers, then the run walkers, and finally getting to some people that were actually running, we could breathe a little. Don't worry in this race I actually stayed with Megan and we finished together. As we cross the finish line, there is Ben, all bundled up in two sweatshirts waiting for us to finish so he could leave. After we send Ben on his way, Megan and I start to look for Beck and Noelle who started out as one of those "stroller walkers", but ditched that idea when the walkers were a little too slow for their speediness. Here are a few pictures of us from the race. Don't mind Noelle's face...she was eating fruit snacks and getting her picture taken was the last thing on her mind.

Half Marathon...who knew?

Read more about our fun race on Mrs. G's blog http://thegoldelement.blogspot.com/2008/04/april-19th-12-marathon-today.html

While having an introspective moment about my life thus far, I think about a lot things to describe me as a person...a runner was never one of them.

It wasn't until about 2 years ago that I could even run a mile without being ready to pass out by the end. Obviously my weight was a factor in my discouraging running patterns, but I was bound and determined to be able to run a race. I don't know if I have ever really publicly discussed this, but I always had a dream of running the Deseret News 10K because I remember seeing my sister Rachel's pictures and number bibs from her races. Who knew I wanted to be like my sissy. Anyways, I worked towards perfecting my endurance levels to the point of being able to run that 10k, and last summer I did it!

After that race I felt so liberated that I thought that I should progress even further. Instantly I started training for the Salt Lake Half Marathon. I printed out the map of the route and started to prepare...I spent all winter running 7-15 miles on a tredmill (ya know, I have to say that is quite the dedication because tredmills are so terribly boring!) After Christmas when Beck signed up for the race I knew that I had to really do it. I was excited that her and Vic were going to run it as well because I really don't like going alone...Thanks for doing it with me, I love you guys!

The last couple of weeks were a real struggle for me to train for some personal reasons so I was really nervous to run the race today. I wanted a good time because the last couple of races I have done, I have smashed some personal records. As for today, I did not break a personal record in this distance, but given the wind and my slacking the last couple of weeks, I am quite pleased with my performance. I ran 13.1 miles in 1 hour 55 minutes. My real goal was to finish in less than 2 hours...and I did it (even by the skin of my teeth)!!

Race Day: I had to meet Beck and Vic at the trax platform at 5:25am, though the race did not start until 7. We load the trax and head up to the Legacy Bridge aka the starting line. We spend the next hour huddling because the wind is FREEZING! Finally it is time for the 6,000 marathon and half marathoners to start the run. I found a friend from high school and tried to keep her pace and did fairly well until mile 3. I should have realized that she is like 6 feet tall and therefore her legs can cover a lot more distance than I can. I was so excited to see my family at mile 4 cheering me on, even with a sign! That gave me a high for the next mile. I was doing really well until about mile 11 when I started to get cramps and the wind was so strong in my face that I didn't feel like I was moving at all...what a joy. I just kept telling myself that I could do this and it was almost over. The finish line was the best thing I had seen all day! And even though I seemed a little dazed and confused I was thrilled to see Jordan and Megan waiting for me at the finish. They are so awesome to come for me, thanks guys!!!

In the end, who would have thought 2 years ago that I would be able to run a half marathon and now even considering a marathon...

Exposure...

Song of the day: Stronger Woman by Jewel...great song, check it out!

Disclaimer: This blog entry is not intended to have any sort of TMI. Please forgive me if it ends up this way.

Alright, so I am not a big advocate of the doctor. I tend to neglect taking any medicine unless in dire situations, I avoid the doctor at all costs because the pain "just isn't that bad". Anyways, my mother suggested that I go to the doctor for a physical and to express some "concerns". I reluctantly comply and decide that she is probably right since the only time I have seen a doctor in the last 3 years or so was the booty incident (which for those of you that don't know, this was from a snowboarding accident where we thought I could have broken my tailbone). Anyways, so I had planned on making someone come with me to the doctor and at least sit outside to somehow bring me some comfort. This didn't end up happening and I was bound and determined not to freak out over the ordeal. So I go to check in and don't worry the guy checking me in, the one that can see all of my information, is a friend of a friend...thus not someone that you're close enough with that you don't care, but you know him enough to make you little bit uneasy. This is my first exposure of the afternoon.

After filling out the ridiculously long set of papers of how much I don't smoke and what kind of diet I prefer, I finally was checked in to see the doctor...oh how I dread moments like that. Alas, the doctors assistant beckons me to follow her to the office. She proceeds to ask about my life as an accountant where I tell her I really want to be a photographer. She gets excited about this and asks if I would ever be willing to practice by taking pictures of her and her daughter. I was really excited that she would even think to ask me, but accepted and hope that if it pans out I don't mess up because I really have only taken pictures for family...this is my second exposure of the day, life as a photographer, one step at a time.

Unfortunately, the worst is yet to come and I know it. The doctor comes in and I try to relax as he asks me every question humanly possible about me and my health, life etc. He gave me some great advice on running shoes and how to enhance my performance which is always appreciated. Then he hands me a sheet, a gown and says, I'll be back. We all know what happens after that...the longest three minutes of my life counting the dots on the ceiling. The 3rd and biggest exposure of the afternoon...way to make a first impression.

Does anyone else thinks it is completely awkward having to talk to the doctor after that? I did...I'm sure he noticed me dodging eye contact and fidgeting...oh well every girl goes through it, yes?

After I left I felt quite accomplished and independent for forcing myself to go through that, alone. I feel that I am capable of handling a lot of things on my own, the doctor was not one of the things on that list...
The last few days I have been told that I seem extremely mature for my age. Along with exemplifying my independence, noticeable to those that don't even know me. I found these comments to be intriguing and complimentary. I think that being independent and mature is a good thing, but in a way I felt this underlining tone in each voice that thought otherwise. Over the last couple of years I have grown up more than I had ever imagined and felt that I am just taking the course of action necessary to progress to make me the perfect girl...far from it I know, but it doesn't hurt to try. I guess my independence has been a little intimidating to some, but I think that without some independence you aren't going to get exposed to some things that are necessary...and that's my story, pointless ramblings, but hopefully somewhat entertaining.

If bad luck comes in threes, I'm in trouble...

So...once again most of you are aware of the fun things I've been dealing with the last couple of days. Does anyone else seem to be getting a slight case of deju vu? I am. Anyways, besides the joyous reunion to the single world I woke up to a nice case of food poisoning today. Some may believe that my first case of bad luck caused the second, but I beg to differ. I will no longer be enjoying any food from the Cowboy Grub...even though it may not have caused it, my mind has associated it with that. Sad story, I really enjoyed their cornbread. Let's just hope that for me, the bad luck was just in a pair, three's a crowd anyway, right?


-In better news, I got my heart rate monitor in the mail yesterday! I am so excited to see how well it works. It is a Polar A5...not that I know truly what that means, but we'll see how it is.

-Also, I got out of taking a test that I didn't study for...maybe food poisoning isn't that bad...yes, yes it is!

Body Combat!

So I've had a lot of people ask what body combat is and thus thought I would just post what it is so everyone knows :)

Body combat is basically a fitness routine that is martial arts based. It is kind of like kick boxing. Its actually becoming really popular (it is most popular in Australia ironically) but it is a combination of moves from karate, Muay Thai, Tae Kwan Do, Tai Chi, etc. It is a great way to get your heart rate up and keeps you moving to burn some calories. Great way to relieve some tension and stress...lots of kicking and punching at those frustrations - all non combat though just in case you weren't sure.

I go to a class every Tuesday and Thursday night at a little studio, but they are taught at eXcel and other places, I'm sure. If anyone would like to join me sometime let me know!