Christmas Day

We enjoyed an evening at the Grand Del Mar's on Christmas Day. We dined on scallops, butternut squash soup, lamb, and chilean sea bass.





Tree huggers - We couldn't resist another photo by a Christmas tree.

    

Merry Christmas from Eddie and Melissa!

The Hotel at the Mandalay

We did it!

 

Pre-Race 4:30p

After 6 months of training, 7a Saturday runs, and enduring aches and pains, we finished our first half marathon! Eddie's time 2:27 min and Melissa's 2:45 min. We waited at the start line for 1hr before we finally began at 6:00p. It was 30 degrees - fortunately we stayed warm for a short time thanks to a free demo of PlayStation Dance Revolution, we boogied to Rihanna's "Rude Boy". It took 1 mile for me to get warm, but the worst was weaving through the walkers. Thanks to some gel cubes I kept in my jacket - I was able to run the whole way. The course was mostly dark with bands greeting us intermittently, curving towards some sketchy neighborhoods, but a sigh of relief when we finally saw we were headed back to the strip. The Mandalay looked so close, but with each step I wondered why it was still so far.

At the finish, we were handed our medals (heavier than I thought) water, and food. A snicker's performance bar never tested so good (I did try this again later, but really didn't care for it). With my hands full with of bottles and food, wrapped in a foil cover to keep warm, I trudged slowly towards our agreed upon meeting spot. Eddie greeted me with a big smile, full of energy, as if he had just got up from the couch watching TV (a common recurrence) rather than having ran 13.1 miles.

After party? Out of the question. We milled through the hotel like ants with 40,000 people colliding with attendees for the upcoming Michael Jackson Cirque De Soleil show. Making it back to the room, we ordered room service, who advised that it would be 2 hrs for chicken wings, a sandwich, and fettucine to arrive. Oh well! We weren't going anywhere. We couldn't go anywhere. Barely able to walk, one painful shower later, we watched The Hangover until we finally dined at midnight. What a day!


Post-Race 10:00p

 



A New Milestone

After a 48 hour cold bug, Eddie pushed through and ran 11 miles! A cheering section including yours truly was at the finish line for him. I ran 10 miles and next week it will be 11 for me! It was a rainy morning, but by the time we started running, it was dry and windy. The high tide and big waves provided some nice scenary while we got in the zone. Vegas here we come!

New Milestone-10 miles!

With one month to go before the race, we hit the 10 mile mark on Saturday. This is a new milestone for both of us and we are excited! Going to stay on track and keep putting in the miles and we will be ready when race time comes! Stay tuned!

Eddie as Elvis @ the Del Mar Mud Run

A new route - a fresh outlook

We ran 8 miles with a new route today-field trip! The weather was damp and foggy along the coast. Running across the 5 freeway ramp was bizarre but worth it since saw pelicans perched atop wooden rafts on the way back. I felt thankful to be running outside. We got lost towards the end. Who knows? We could have ran 9 miles today. Eddie had the mondo burito (again) for breakfast, and I had the most delicious wheat pancakes. What a great day! Looking forward to 9 next week!

Beaten Up By the 7

We did 7 miles along the coast today. It was more challenging than we anticipated with a few surprising hills. This was the toughest run to date. Eddie suffered a scrape on his heel from a rock in his shoe. I had muscle spasms. We won't be moving anywhere quickly today, but we can rest knowing that we gave it our all. I realize we really need to step up our training during the week to tackle these long runs. Right now, I am on top of the world from a good breakfast, a shower, and a heat pad.

Week 9-Six Miles

This was a big week for Eddie. His previous high for running was five miles. He did six this week and with all of the pre work it was really not bad at all! Melissa has run six miles and beyond before this so it was covering old ground for her. We are both on pace and things look great!

Breaking 5 miles!

We ran 5 miles and it was a personal best for Eddie. In his words, "I could have ran more!" We'll get a our chance since our next run is 5 again then 6! In our seminar following the run, our takeaways from Coach Katie were - it's ok to walk, we don't have to run on Sat mornings, we GET to run on Sat mornings, and have fun!

Hot Tamale!

We ran 4 mi again on the first sunny day since we began! The heat and humidity made the hill coming back a lot more challenging. Next week, we'll start carrying our water packs for the 5 mi. Skipped out on the strength training seminar and opted for b-fast at Ki's - a great ending to a great run!

Training Continues

Melissa and I continued our training this week with a three mile run on Friday. We had to do it a day earlier then normal because we had a trip to Palm Springs planned for her brithday this weekend. The trip was great and it gave us the chance to relax and rejuvinate! Now its back to business-next week-four miles. We are ready!

Looking good on Week 3!

This 3 mile was harder than I anticipated, but it felt great! We bought shoes, water packs, and for me, a little timer to help me identify how fast and how long I'm running.

Vegas-Here We Come!

It's been a busy week at work - ugh! We're visiting our future half-marathon destination this week - Vegas! I'm so tired from waking up at 2:30a and conducting training. Both Eddie and I have put in hours after work this week. Tonight, I need to get sleep and then a half day of work and we're off.

It's Official!

We're registered for the Dec 4, 2011 half marathon in Vegas! We have an amazing suite at The Hotel where the race begins and ends.