Comments (35)

By kilax, June 30, 2014 12:04 pm

This 10K was definitely a “I’m not sure if I’ll run today if I am not meeting people or racing!” sort of thing… just a way to get my butt out of bed and on the street (um, running).

I didn’t even know about this race until the day before race day! Steven and I like to attend car shows, and I noticed in the news that there was a local one on Sunday. When I looked it up I realized it was part of a festival and thought, “hmm, maybe there is a race that goes along with it!” Sure enough, there was a 5K/10K option for Sunday. And being $25 for either distance and only a few miles from the house, it was a go!

Originally, I was going to ride my bike to the start, but decided not to, because I wasn’t sure where to put it when I was done, or how safe the ride would be getting there. It’s a good thing I didn’t ride my bike there – I would have ridden part of the course, and seeing how hilly (for around here) it was… I am not sure I would have done the race! Ha ha!

I knew this area was hilly but it kind of kicked my butt! I figured with my lack of speed training and recent paces on runs I could come in under an hour for the 10K. I was on pace for that… until maybe the fourth mile? 

Then I crippity crapped out. I was passing people in the first four miles, then getting passed in the end. It was funny though, whether I was passing or getting passed, every runner took the time to comment on how much the hills sucked. Ha ha. Eh, it’s hilly, plus it’s humid, it’s sunny, it’s hot. It’s… SUMMER! I was just happy to get out there and get a run in!

I ended up finishing in 1:01:33, just a bit over my goal! And man, I was drenched when I finished. I could ring water out of my clothes. Gross!

I stuck around for the awards ceremony, and spent a lot of time talking with a nice mother-daughter duo I had chatted with a bit before the race. It’s so fun to talk to other runners from the area, and learn about new races, where they run, what they are training for, what laundry detergent they use to wash their clothes (man, we talked about a lot) and so on. I had a bit of my ALL THE FRIENDS!!! feelings creeping in, but I managed to suppress them. 

Funny thing – the last song I heard on the radio before I started the race was “Wiggle,” so it was stuck in my head the whole time. GAH! Have you ever had an annoying song stuck in your head during a workout or race? What was it?

I am excited for my next race – a small 5K on Friday with my dad!

Comments (22)

By kilax, June 30, 2014 6:13 am

… try doing it to one that doesn’t email me to tell me that you did.

On Friday morning, I stopped at Starbucks on my way back from teaching class/running to get a drink. I used my debit card to upload $20 on to my Starbucks card, then used that to pay. Then went on my happy way. 

I randomly decided to check my yahoo (read: spam) account later than morning and saw there was an email confirming a $100 Starbucks card reload from my credit card. Huh? I was super confused. I used my debit card that morning, and asked for $20… what the heck happened?

At first I thought the email was spam. So I googled the phone number in the email, and sure enough, it was the Starbucks phone number*.

I checked my bank account, and the $20 debit charge was on there, as well as a pending charge to my credit card. I called Starbucks and lo and behold, someone hacked in to my account, where my credit card was linked**, and then gifted themselves a $100 credit to their account. 

Derpitty duh. You hacked in to my account then it sends me an email about your e-gift to yourself? Smart move. 

Starbucks shut the order down, took my credit card info off, and is looking in to the IP address for the email*** that the e-gift was sent to. 

Starbucks handled it really well and helped me out a ton. I also called my bank and ordered a new credit card, just to be safe. 

But gah! I was happy I looked at my spam email account that day! I sometimes go a few days and forget to look at it! I would have been annoyed if that $100 charge would have gone through on my card!

Have you ever had an account/credit card hacked/compromised? 

I hope not! But luckily, the banks are really good about detecting fraud now. 

*Although the first time I called it, it went to some spammy “win a free vacation” message, which freaked me out.
**I didn’t even realize my card was linked. Awhile ago, Steven asked me why I still use a credit/debit card to add money to my Starbucks card, and don’t just link a card to my account and upload it using the app. Ha, well, my reasoning is that I pay more attention to how much money I put on the card if it requires more action than pressing a button on my phone. You know, the act of getting the card out of my wallet, and telling the cashier how much to put on really makes me think about it. Ha ha. Well, that plus the fact that the app rarely works in the building I most commonly get Starbucks from by my office. But it looks like I could have been using it all this time anyway. 
***They gave me the email too, but of course it’s all spammy. 

Comments (13)

By kilax, June 29, 2014 5:41 pm

Highlight of the Week: Teaching the Tuesday night Efit class. We were all pushing hard, but being goofy at the same time, and it was a blast. And, not fitness related, but taking Bobbi hang gliding!

Monday | June 23, 2014: teaching strength class
Strength: body bars/medicine balls mixed mode, Difficulty: easy, Felt: meh – not digging the workout
Tuesday | June 24, 2014: 5 m run (w/Kelly) + teaching strength class
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 68°/68°, Time: 50:13, Pace: 10:03 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: okay/icky (so humid out!)
Strength: Leberts, One Dumbbell and Boxing, Difficulty: medium, Felt: excited – fun class!
Wednesday | June 25 2014: rest (pitching practice for Steven)
Thursday | June 26, 2014: 4.5 m run (w/Kelly) + Softball Game #6
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 59°/58°, Time: 44:27, Pace: 9:54 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: much better after bathroom stop, ha ha
Friday | June 27, 2014: teaching strength class + 5 m run (w/Bobbi)
Strength: body bars/medicine balls mixed mode, Difficulty: medium, Felt: half awake but liked the workout more than Monday!
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 58°/59°, Time: 52:22, Pace: 10:29, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Saturday | June 28, 2014: rest
Sunday | June 29, 2014: Waucondafest Challenge 10K
Loc: Wauconda, Temp: 70°/73°, Time: 1:01:30, Pace: 9:52 avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: gassed by the hills

Notes:

• Yay! A week at home! It was nice to get back to a “normal” routine, even if only for one week! Who else has a summer full of travel?!
• There are different “challenges” we do at Efit, and the most recent one is this 30-day summer fitness challenge. Give it a try! You just do it once a day… or more, if you are feeling bad ass! 

• So happy I got to run with Kelly and Bobbi this week. It’s nice to have one-on-one time to chat with my girls. I love communicating via technology, but face time is always the best!
• I put together my marathon training “plan.” Ha. It consists of a rough guideline of what my long runs should be each week. Really, the key for me is losing some weight, not running specific paces/distances. When I lose weight, running is a lot easier/and I’m faster. We’ll see what happens! 
• Bobbi LOVED hang gliding! Yay! I am so happy she got to go – the sport is very weather dependent and we’ve had some storms lately. But it was all clear for her flight!

Link to Training Week 243 & 244

Comments (25)

By kilax, June 27, 2014 6:55 am

What do you think someone else would say the most daring thing you’ve done is? Answer from as many perspectives as you like!

During our run this am, Bobbi was asking me what I didn’t like about hang gliding (if all goes as planned, she’ll be trying it for the first time tomorrow – check out her comment on my hang gliding post – I held true to my response!). I told her that I felt frightened after the plane released us and we were free gliding without the assistance of a motor. Oddly, I was more frightened than when skydiving or anything else I’ve done. 

That got me thinking… I think of those activities as somewhat daring, but I bet to some people, they wouldn’t be at all. And to others, they would consider other things I do to be more daring, compared to the comfort of their lifestyle. Afterall, the definition of daring is simply: adventurous courage; boldness. It’s definitely different for everyone! Hence… the question!

I can think of different people who would probably name these things I’ve done as “most” daring (or just plan stupid):

• lived in a foreign country, alone
• traveled to foreign countries, alone
• taken a ride from a random stranger in Europe
• driven in Chicago traffic
• jumped out of an airplane
• gone on a helicopter ride
• tried trapeze
• traveled by myself to do a race
• moved away from home

You may read the list and think “what the heck, those things aren’t daring!” But that is the thing… everyone perceives it differently. And I bet you’ve thought of a friend or family member as doing something daring that was “nbd” to them!

So, tell me your list! And maybe think of your family/friends and the things they’ve done that you’ve perceived as daring… and let them know it!

Comments (24)

By kilax, June 26, 2014 4:19 pm

Quite a few people have asked to see video from my matron of honor speech at Christina and Will’s wedding. Unfortunately… that won’t be happening. The video is split in three parts, and one part is completely fuzzy, and parts of the speech are cut out, too. But I have it written out, so you can read it! Watching long videos is annoying anyway! Um… right?!

As I had mentioned, I was having a stupid-hard time deciding what to talk about. I just had so many thoughts swirling around in my head and couldn’t focus in on one. I didn’t want to make it all about my relationship with Christina (and not much about Will), but I did want to talk about it! Luckily, I happened to glance at a photo page I have of the two of us on the blog*, and all of these memories came flooding to me that supported a major theme I was thinking about touching on. 

So, here it is! Parts in italics were not spoken… and links and pics added for fun!

Good Evening! For those of you who don’t know me, I am Kim, Christina’s favorite (and only) sister. I have to say, I’ve been looking forward to Christina and Will’s wedding since she interrupted my sleep with an 11:30 pm phone call two years ago in January to tell me Will proposed (so thankful to have so much documented on my blog!). And I am sure all of the women here can agree – if your proposal included a wedding ring in with a box with delicious cupcakes, you are off to a wonderful future.

But in all the times I imagined how wonderful the day would be, I still couldn’t imagine it as perfect and gorgeous as it is. I can’t put into words how much it warms my heart to see so many friends and family out here, celebrating Christina and Will. It’s been amazing to get to know so many of you while we prepared for the wedding. Thank you for being here, and showing your love and support for this beautiful couple.

Now, since I am Christina’s older sister, I have an arsenal of amazing stories I could share with you. Amazingly cute… amazingly funny… amazingly embarrassing. It was hard to cut so many of them out of this speech, so if you want to hear more, come find me on the dance floor, later. Only one person asked me on the dance floor to share an embarrassing story. 

Almost every story I thought of sharing went back to one major theme – Christina’s sense of adventure and her desire to share that with other people. Now, I have to say, our “adventures” were a bit on the tame side until one of us had a pair of wheels, but after that, all bets were off.

I have very fond memories with Christina. The trips we took to Chicago together. The time she accompanied me to my college town to take care of some things and just hang out. The time that Dad let us skip school to go see a Star Wars movie in the middle of the day (cool points to my dad – he drove us and saw it, too). This mention apparently has made my oldest nephew tell his dad he is skipping the first day of school to see a movie. Oops. Also, he yelled out during this part of the speech and I mentioned Star Wars is better than  Grease which is an inside thing I should have kept to myself. Our adventures in Italy together. Countless trips to the Mississippi River on the Iowa border… and countless mischief there.

And… it was actually at the Mississippi River, that I met Will. Now, I don’t know if it’s normal to be introduced to your girlfriend’s family by spending a long weekend with them, but hey. It seemed to have worked! We all immediately hit it off with Will, and could see why Christina is so drawn to him. Maybe it had to do with his looks, too? Ha ha. 

Whenever I describe Will’s personality to other people, the first descriptor I always use is charismatic – but with the qualifier “not in a creepy sales person way!” Thankfully people laughed at that! Will is easy going, laid back, a fantastic story teller, and also, a fantastic listener. I don’t know if he’s just polite, or if he’s actually really interested in what I have to say, but anytime I share something with him, I feel like I’m talking to a true friend who has my best interest in mind.

So back to that first weekend when we met Will. It was fourth of July weekend and I had decided to run a local 5K, and everyone in the family jumped in to do the walking portion of the 5K. This is when I knew Will shared that same sense of adventure and desire to jump in and experience things, that Christina does. Also, he proved his sense of adventure by partaking in the man made waterslide… the one I used and sprained the tendons in my right wrist. 

insert awkward joke here of me stumbling on the second page of paper and promising that I am almost done with my speech

And since then, we’ve had countless adventures with Christina and Will. It really meant a lot to me when they came out to New York City in 2011 to spectate while I ran the marathon. I mean, if I didn’t know before, I truly knew then, that Will was a keeper. And I’ve always wanted to repay them for the spectating they did for me, but I never knew when to do it, until now! So can we all cheer them on?! Me and two the bridesmaids held up the signs below. There was lots of cheering, which made me happy. 

And actually, this isn’t the first chance I’ve had to cheer Will on. He didn’t think twice before answering yes when I asked if he wanted to do a half ironman relay with me and my husband’s brother. And don’t worry, we do non-exercise things too, like dress up in ridiculous costumes for Halloween! I pulled out some pirate hats to put on their heads. It was Rachel‘s idea to add the signs and bring the hats. Thank you, Rachel! That was really fun!

And it’s been so fun for me to see Christina and Will take off on adventures of their own – like the time they went to Cancun and I was oh so helpful by dropping them off at the completely wrong terminal at the airport. Oops. But really, I have LOVED hearing about what they are up to in Kansas City. It seems they are always exploring some new place, or kayaking or playing volleyball, or building something together.

I love that they share their passion for adventure with their friends and family – so, hey, if we bump in to each other on the dance floor, I may ask YOU to share a story. And I love that they share that passion, and really, their passion for life, with one another. They are the perfect partner for each other, and I don’t know about you, but I am super excited to see what their next adventure is!

So here is to Christina and Will, as they move on to the next big thing, and promise to love each other every moment of forever (I had to include something Twilight related since that’s her fave!)! Cheers!

I can’t wait to see Christina and Will next weekend and see what sort of crazy adventures we’ll have!

*That really needs to be updated!

Comments (45)

By kilax, June 25, 2014 11:29 am

Awhile ago I had a post drafted about how I really didn’t like the way my face looked in the candid photos Steven would take of me. I looked… grumpy. Unhappy. Like something was wrong. And the pictures were from fun events, where I was having a good time! What up with dat?!

But I didn’t publish the post, because I didn’t want to it seem like I was criticizing the way I look. I wasn’t. I was just confused why I looked that way when I knew I was having a good time. 

Then Gina enlightened me during our KC visit by telling me about resting bitch face (which I am abbreviating as RBF). Holy crap, guys! I have it and I didn’t even know! The description from urban dictionary is:

a person, usually a girl, who naturally looks mean when her face is expressionless, without meaning to.

Woo hoo! I’ve got it all figured out now! Er… kinda…

Gina told me about RBF because I was sharing a story with her about asking someone if something was wrong, and how that person had told me no, that they were fine. Then how I rudely said, “Oh, I thought you looked upset.” To which they responded, “That is just how my face looks. I hate it when people tell me I look upset, when it’s my natural expression.”

Oops. I thought I was being considerate, but I was really being an arse.  

It’s definitely annoying to get asked over and over “is something wrong?” when something isn’t. Sometimes I feel quiet and people aren’t used to that (ha ha) so they ask a lot if something is wrong. Nope! Just being quiet. Thank you for noticing… but please quit telling me I am not acting normal. Just let me be!

On the other hand… sometimes you want to be asked if something is wrong, right? You want to be noticed. 

Sigh. It’s complicated. But I now know to be more sensitive about people’s facial expressions! And to smile a bit more when the camera is out, cause I am not loving my RBD candids!

Do you have RBF? Do you get annoyed when someone asks you over and over if something is wrong… when you’re fine?

Too funny, I went on Facebook to try to find a picture for this post, and this was in the top of my feed!

Comments (27)

By kilax, June 24, 2014 12:04 pm

What a fabulous way to spend the longest day of the year – by running/walking laps on a track in Appleton, Wisconsin, from 5:00 am – 9:00 pm, in honor of those facing Alzheimer’s.

4:58 am group pic before we start!

When Rachel first told me about The Longest Day, I immediately thought, “what a cool idea!” The concept is that you create a team of people, and spend the sixteen hours of daylight on the summer solstice doing an activity you love, or an favorite activity of someone you know who is facing the disease. Leading up to the event (and during/after) you raise funds to further the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer’s Association. Then you spend the day doing the chosen activity, and celebrate when it’s over.

If you were going to participate in an event like this, what activity would you choose to do all day?

We all walked the first lap together.

Rachel and her bestie Kim formed the team in 2012 to honor loved ones they had lost to the disease, and spent the day doing what they love – running! Each of them switched from running one hour on, and one hour off, for the entire day, and the two of them got in 76 miles combined! They used the same one hour on, one off, technique in 2013, and got in 90 miles between the two of them, and a total of 300+ team miles! You are NOT going to believe how many miles we got in this year!

So foggy when we started! Really… it was overcast until 5:30 (that was a good thing – humidity is better for me than sun, when running!). We kept our drinks, a few snacks, and jelly bracelets (see below) on this table. 

That’s right – I got to be on the team this year! I had been in awe of their efforts for this event – with fundraising, coordination and outreach – ever since I heard about it, and was so stoked I was able to join the team, raise funds, and participate at the event.

Kim and Kim!

This is the second time I have raised funds for a cause, and I have to say, I am blown away by people’s generosity and kindness. I started with a $300 fundraising goal, and had to keep raising it! Eventually, I set my goal as $1,100 and am only $25 away from meeting it! Thank you so much to everyone who donated! My donation page will be open for a bit in to July if you still want to donate!

Getting some laps in with Alicia and Kathy!

And beyond people’s generosity, a huge reason people donate is probably because they know someone affected by Alzheimer’s or dementia. That is one of the reasons this event really spoke to me – my paternal grandfather had Lewy Body Dementia, and, without a better way of putting this, it’s frustrating to see something take over a loved one like that. It’s selfish, but it made me feel better to participate in this event, and feel like I was helping out, somehow. 

Walk break! We typically ran 3 laps and walked the fourth.

It was so incredible, when thanking people for donating, to ask them if they wanted us to put up a sign in honor of a loved one, then hear their stories about those people! A friend of Rachel and Kim’s made these signs (below, and then there were many more) and it was so encouraging to run/walk by them each lap and think about why we were there.

Grandpa Tiger is what we called my dad’s dad

So, logistically, how did this whole thing work? Did we really move for sixteen hours straight?

Bake Sale at the event! Special thanks to Maria’s Oven who donated some The Longest Day cookies!

Ha ha! It kind of felt like it, but no! We always made sure there was someone on the track from the team, either running, or walking. We all started the first lap as a team, and ended the last lap as a team, but other than that, people put in the laps they wanted – either running or walking!

Raffle!!!!

I ended up with a run/walk total of 35 miles. Steven, who came to be our photographer, walked 10 miles! I also walked 3 miles with our friend, Jessica! 

Rachel, Jessica and me

Funny story! Jessica sent me and Rachel a Facebook chat the day before, saying she would be in Appleton with her husband, who was teaching a marching band camp. We said it would be great to see her, and she said she would come walk a few laps and wondered where we were… turns out we were at the SAME school her husband was going to be at! What are the odds? So we all REALLY enjoyed it when the marching band came and marched a lap!!!

My strategy for the day was to try to get 20 miles in before the half way mark (1:00 pm) and 20 after. I think I got the 20 in by 1:00, then took a glorious short nap, then went back out for more. 

The team takes a jumping photo when you get to 26.2! Fun!

I kept pushing at it, doing a lot more walking than earlier in the day, and decided to just try to get 15 in for my second half. None of my muscles hurt, but the bottom of my feet were killing me! I had already changed shoes at 15 miles, and nothing helped after that. A few other people said their feet were killing them too. I tried to turn my focus to why we were there at all, and the struggles of those with Alzheimer’s and dementia. But… I definitely slowed down. Ha ha. 

After it being foggy, and humid in the 60s for most of the day, the sun came out at 5:30. And then I was very grateful it hadn’t been like that all day. The first year they participated, it was really hot, and the second year it poured rain most of the day… I felt lucky we didn’t have it that bad!

You would think that sixteen hours would seem to crawl by, but it really didn’t. Other than the two short naps I took, I was always doing something. It wasn’t long until we had less than 10 minutes on the clock!

Our team walked the last lap together, 

and after some touching words from Rachel,

we released our balloons and the day was over. 

After a long day, it seemed like “whoa, this is over?!” I had so many emotions. I felt so proud to be a part of team Running to Remember. There was so much family there, and friends that are family, supporting one another, and I felt lucky that I got to be a part of that. I felt sad that it was over. I felt relieved I could go get some rest (ha ha). 

And! Guess how many miles our team put in this year?!

700!

How cool is that?! I am honored I got to participate!  I can’t wait to hear what our final team amount is for fund raised!

And… a few randoms! Nap time!

You picked up a jelly bracelet for every 4 laps to remind you of how many you completed!

Watch out for tiny frogs on the track!

Sweet relief at the hotel!

And a few other things:

• It was so nice of this school to let us use their track… and bathrooms! YAY! Real bathrooms!
• People on the team were so generous in sharing everything they brought (food, water, foam rollers). And I really appreciated the donations from local businesses!
• I had a hard time wrapping my head around the meaning of what we were doing. I felt unusually quiet for parts of the day. 
• It was cool to see SO MANY people come out to support Team Running to Remember! I wonder how many people ran/walked the entire day! A lot, I bet, since we got to 700 miles! And I don’t think there were ever fewer than 3-5 people on the track… and sometimes there were many more!
• We switched direction every two hours on the track. 
• It didn’t make me crazy running laps all day. Maybe cause there was always someone “new” to talk to? The cool thing about this is that with all the different people stopping by, you are seeing lots of different faces! And lots of new faces, for me!
• Rachel, Kim and the team put SO much work in organizing the details of this event. They rock. I just… raised funds, brought cookies, and came and moved. And helped with a few things there. 
• I was so happy to have Steven there with me! He was excited about the event and happy to participate, and that meant a lot to me. 

Comments (22)

By kilax, June 23, 2014 12:41 pm

Something I was selfishly excited about for Christina and Will’s wedding was that it was a chance for my family to meet Gina, Steve and Luca! I consider Gina and fam to be, well, family… so it was important to me for them to meet my blood family. Ha ha. Said so eloquently.

Who are your friends that you consider to be family, and want your kin to love as much as you do? 

Gina and fam had obviously met Christina and Will (since they were at the wedding to start with!), and had met my mom by chance in the Dallas airport, and Steven’s brother Andrew when we all came to NYC for a race… but that was it! I tried to do as many introductions as I could while wedding festivities were happening, and I did a decent job, but I know I failed at making a few connections. Luckily, there are talks of a Labor Day get-together with our families so maybe I can make up for it then!

And! Also luckily, quite a few of us stayed for a few days after the wedding, so it was a perfect chance to hang out together! My dad stayed until late Monday, my mom stayed until Friday, and the rest of us stayed until Wednesday (and Steven’s dad and brother stayed there forever since they live there, ha ha). 

I have to say… this is one of the best times I’ve ever had in Kansas City. Everyone got along so well, and we all had a blast together – whether we were playing tourist or chilling! It really made me feel good to see everyone having such a fun time, and excited for future get-togethers! 

And I do think it’s important to give an update on Luca’s best friend list:

Comments (7)

By kilax, June 22, 2014 8:06 pm

Highlight of the Week: Week 243: running on new-to-me trails in KCK with friends and family! Week 244: Participating in The Longest Day with Team Running to Remember!

Monday | June 9, 2014: teaching strength class + 3 m run (w/Bobbi)
Strength: 2/1 dumbbell switch, Difficulty: medium, Felt: jacked up
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 66°/62°, Time: 32:10, Pace: 10:43 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: cotton mouthy
Tuesday | June 10, 2014: rest
Wednesday | June 11, 2014: 5 m run (w/Bobbi)
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 62°/62°, Time: 52:04, Pace: 10:24 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: decent
Thursday | June 12, 2014: rest
Friday | June 13, 2014: 5 m run (w/Laura) + weights
Loc: Olathe, Indian Creek Trail, Temp: 57°/58°, Time: 48:27, Pace: 9:40, Difficulty: medium, Felt: okay! out of breath!
Saturday | June 14, 2014: 6 m run (w/Dad and Gina)
Loc: Olathe, Indian Creek Trail, Temp: 59°/63°, Time: 1:06:31, Pace: 11:05 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: okay
Sunday | June 15, 2014: rest

Monday | June 16, 2014: 3 m run (w/Steve)
Loc: Line Creek Trail, Temp: 73°/77°, Time: 30:22, Pace: 10:08 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: schweaty! 
Tuesday | June 17, 2014: 5 m run (w/Gina)
Loc: Line Creek Trail, Temp: 78°/81°, Time: 51:44, Pace: 10:21 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: stanca
Wednesday | June 18, 2014: rest
Thursday | June 19, 2014: Softball Game #5
Friday | June 20, 2014: teaching strength class
Strength: Medicine Balls/Body Bars Mixed Mode, Difficulty: easy, Felt: okay
Saturday | June 21, 2014: 35 m run/walked @ The Longest Day
Sunday | June 22, 2014: rest

Notes:

• I was out of town on Friday the 13th (when I normally teaching strength class) so I decided to do the workout on my own, in the hotel gym. Geesh! That was a lot harder without my friends there, music, and the distraction of teaching. Three cheers for group strength class! Ha ha!
• I was happy I was able to get four runs in while I was on vacation in Kansas City! Two in Kansas City, Kansas (KCK) – one with Laura, then one with Gina and my dad! And two in Kansas City, Missouri – one with Steve, and one with Gina. I had actually heard about the trails in KCK around where my snister lives but had never been able to run them until then! I love running a new-to-me trail! And running with friends/family. 
• We missed our team’s fourth softball game while we were out of town, and I could tell that my “skills” really declined in the two weeks since I had last played. Ha! But we had a fun game when we got back, and even got top play the last inning in the rain!!!
• Saturday the 21st was a very special day – Alzheimer’s Association’s The Longest Day – which I had been fundraising for! Thank you so much to everyone who supported me and to those who donated! Steven and I were there (a track in Appleton, WI) from 5:00 am to 9:00 pm that day, either running, walking, taking pictures, eating, helping out… or napping! I hope to recap it soon when I have processed it all!

Link to Training Week 241 & 242

Comments (45)

By kilax, June 20, 2014 8:28 am

I am not sure there are enough exclamation points in that title!

As expected, Christina and Will’s wedding was completely amazing, and I was sad when it was all over. WHY DO FUN THINGS EVER HAVE TO END?!?!

Thankfully, we had three amazing days of fun in Kansas City with friends and family following the wedding (I’ll recap that later!), so I was distracted from feeling sad about the wedding being over until I got home late Wednesday night. And luckily, I get to see my family in a few weeks, so the fun will continue! Phew.

I can’t really put in to words how amazing the wedding was. When people would ask me about wedding details before we went, I would always say how crafty Christina is, how she’s such a great planner, and that I couldn’t wait to see how everything turned out. I knew the wedding would be completely put together and stunning, but I was still in AWE the entire day, for how well thought out and detailed everything was.

This isn’t even the finished photo – Dad is still setting up the dance floor! But you can see the gorgeous runners and decorations on the table. And it’s just such a neat space!

And since I can’t put everything in to words, I will try to use photos! Hardly any of these photos are mine. I didn’t use my phone most of the day, except to respond to texts and phone calls, and I loved not having that silly thing with me. So, thank you, Mom, for all the pics!

We all meet in Christina’s hotel suite Saturday morning to do our hair and makeup. I walked in and saw that she had these plastic jars set up for us to use to drink Mimosas!

As if we weren’t already spoiled enough! At the rehearsal dinner, she gave each of the bridesmaids a HUGE bag of goodies, including (among many other things) custom hangers (so cool) and robes to use as we got ready!

I had such a great time having my hair done (by Will’s boss’s wife Amy aka Steven’s best friend from childhood’s wife… ha ha, got it?) and chatting with everyone. We had about four hours to get ready before we had to go to the ceremony site for photos, and I just felt so chill and calm. It was really a treat to have that time to be with Christina, the bridesmaids, my mom, the flower girls and Amy. You don’t always get a chance to have much more than a passing conversation at a wedding, and it was nice to converse without many other distractions!

It was also exciting for me to get to feel useful, in doing things such as helping tie up the back of Christina’s dress, and running special errands for her.

The ceremony was at 4:00, and we got to the venue, TimberRidge Adventure Center,  just before 2:00, so Christina and Will could do their first look photos, and we could take group shots. The ceremony was in an outdoor shelter, with a beautiful nature overlook. It was sunny and windy. Not too hot, and no RAIN!

Steven was in the wedding, too!

My dad drove Christina to the ceremony site (right to the aisle, basically!) in my mom’s 40s Chevy, opened the door for her, then walked her down the aisle. I thought that was the coolest thing ever!

(not a picture from that moment, but you get the idea)

Christina and Will had a guitarist for their ceremony, which I thought was so romantic. And their officiant was fantastic! I wish he could have come to the reception – I wanted to talk to him more! Both my mom and Will’s mom did readings, then Christina and Will exchanged vows.

My baby snister is married!

We hung around a bit after the ceremony for more photos (um, some with the professional photographers, and some goofy ones…),

then drove over to the reception venue, Thompson Barn, which I was dying to see! It’s an old barn* that was converted to a meeting space, which is so cool!

Now, I have to tell you a little story. When I got in to town on Thursday, I asked my snister if I could have a special song when I was introduced at the reception with the best man. She said no, but asked which song it would be. “Fancy,” of course! I asked her again on Friday just to be annoying, and she said no. So imagine my surprise when the best man and I are about to be announced, and the DJ says he has a special song to play and changes it from “SexyBack” to “Fancy”! I was laughing so hard! I love that my snister did that for me.

After Christina and Will entered, we soon got dinner (I was too nervous to eat), then it seemed like it was time for, gasp!, speeches!

Mine went okay! Special thanks to Rachel for proof-reading and the ideas for props!

Notice how our wine glasses are black on the bottom? Christina put chalkboard paint on them, so everyone could write on them and keep them as a favor! They also had an activity paper you could grab at the entrance that had a maze and a Christina and Will themed crossword!

The best man was being so funny, saying how nervous he was for his speech, but he nailed it. His/Will’s dad gave a great speech, too.

And the rest of the night was an awesome blur of dancing,

(Amy, the friend of mine who did my hair, was also at my wedding, and she was like “I know how you dance!” in reference to making sure my up do was secure. Ha ha.)

dessert bar (you better believe I was the first one in line),

photo booth (click to see larger),

s’mores bar,

and goofing around!

What a day! Christina and Will hosted an amazing event, and it made me so happy to see all of their loved ones there, celebrating them. I really enjoyed getting to know their friends and Will’s family (they are a hoot!) better.

And I am just so happy for them! We all love Will like a brother, and he and Christina are such a great fit! The two of them are always off of adventures together (they’re in Vail right now) and I really enjoying hearing about how their share their passion for life with one another. 

I cannot wait to see the professional photographer’s photos! Christina just looked so dang glamorous – like a 30s movie star! Everyone just looked fantastic in their suits and dresses. I loved the color scheme Christina and Will came up with! Here is another sneak peek their photographer posted:

So, fair warning – even though this is hella long, there will probably be more posts/mentions. There were just so many other details I wanted to share, like Christina’s “Something old/new/borrowed/blue,” all the desserts and who made them, how her friends helped out, and so on. Oh, and let’s not forget Dexter, who I am sure provided much moral support during planning:

And one last thing. Before the wedding, many people told me they thought I couldn’t walk in high heels. And many people told me after the wedding they were surprised I was able to walk around in them. You guys! I know how to walk around in high heels! I just don’t want to do it cause it hurts! Ha ha!

*This space was really so neat – the barn was on the top level, which is where the tables and dance floor were set up, then the lower level was where they put the bar, photo booth, and food. I can’t wait to see if the professional photographer got some good photos of it all set up!