My Graduation in Mostly Pictures

The commencement ceremony happened to fall on Father's Day which I thought was kind of odd but it turned out to be a great day. I spent the day with family which included my Dad and my Grandma. Even though it was warm out there, I am glad that I decided to participate in  the ceremony and I know that my Dad was proud of me. He always is.

If you are thinking about going back to school to get your degree, I strongly encourage you to do it.  At first I was intimidated to go back and get my Master's degree but if you have the drive and are willing to dedicate the time then it's a piece of cake. It is kind of like running when you think about it. We are capable of so much more than we ever thought!

Father's Day Dinner with Spongebob and a Weekly Recap!

This weekend was really busy and exciting all at the same time.  Other than getting new road bikes, we enjoyed a great Father's Day dinner at Benihana. I think my son enjoyed it the most and our chef was great. The restaurant was super busy and it took longer than expected to be seated, but I guess that is to be expected on a busy holiday like Father's Day.  We were starving by the time the chef showed up but he was pretty entertaining and we had a great time.  I won't bore you with all of the food that I ate but I have to share some of the highlights of our dinner with you. Yes, I forced my son to put this hat on and pose for a picture!

Have you ever seen this corny creation at Benihana? I had not and neither did anyone else at our table so this one was the favorite of night! The onion volcano ain't got nothing on Spongebob!  My son loved it and he enjoyed the dinner show! Notice that Patrick is in the picture too!

We talked a lot and laughed a lot and we had a great evening. The chef kept the jokes coming throughout the meal and we were stuffed.  I don't think anyone at the table finished their food. We all wore some shade of blue for some unplanned reason or another but I think the colors made for a nice photo.

 I love the green tea ice cream and even though I was stuffed, I saved some room for just a few bites!

As far as my running last week..I did not meet my goal of 25 miles but did happen to get 20.52 miles on the books. I was planning to run on Father's Day but it just did not happen so I have to get back on track this week. I am also excited to say that I did reach 400 miles for the year. I am still way behind on hitting my goal of 1200 for the year but I will take what I can get right now!

Are you a fan of green tea ice cream?  What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

I think my all time favorite would have to be mint chocolate chip or just plain chocolate chip.

Happy Father's Day to My Three Main Men!

I want to wish three of the most important men in my life a Happy Father's Day!

My Dad, who is one of the most bravest and positive people that I know. I won't be spending the day with him today because he is out fishing with my uncle. Fishing is one of his most favorite things to do and I want him to be happy and enjoy his life while he can.  He is pretty exhausted when he gets home from his fishing trips and needs his rest so I will let him enjoy his day. It was chemo week for him but he still gets up and lives his life to the fullest. I am not sure how he does it but I am glad that he does. I really respect and honor him for his braveness and his will to fight. Happy Father's Day Daddy! I love you and thank you for everything you have done for me.

My Husband, who is one of the most patient and kindest people on the earth.  He is a great father and is so patient with our son and treats my daughter as if she were his own. He never gets upset and takes life as it comes. I worry about everything and he always tells me to just relax and take it easy. He tolerates my endless hours of running, spending all of our money on races and running stuff, and encourages me to do my best. He always wants to make me happy and makes sure that my parents and my grandparents are taken care of. He honors our marriage to the fullest and I am lucky to have found such a wonderful man who loves me and our family so much. He is a quiet person and doesn't talk much in crowds but his actions speak wonders. Thank you Honey for being such a wonderful husband and father. I love you and thank you for tolerating me and my running.

My Grandpa, who suffers from Parkinson's, is one of the greatest grandpa's in the world. He would lay his life down for me. He does not like to take pictures because of his illness so I don't have any recent pictures of us together. He has always been there for me and has helped me out so much my entire life. He loves his grandchildren to death and sometimes he gets into trouble for spoiling them too much! I love you Grandpa and thank you for your unconditional love and support that you have shown me and my family.

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful Dad's out there! How are you spending Father's Day?

We are celebrating Father's Day tonight by taking my husband out to eat at one of his favorite restaurants. We also bought him a really nice Father's Day gift that he has been wanting for a long time, which I will share with you later.

Long Training Run Number One: 10.16 Miles

Weather Report: Heavy Drizzle and 57-61 degrees.

The cars give you a good idea of how heavy the drizzle was!

Today was the first long training run for Shawna and I as we set off in our quest to run a marathon in under four hours.  We chose Bonelli Park as our first meeting location since I had never ran there before and wanted to try it. We decided that we would take it easy on the first run, evaluate our progress, and then make some decisions about future runs. We met up at the Park and Ride at 7:00am and started on our quest to Break Four Hours or Bust!

This was the first time that Shawna and I had ever ran together. We got a feel for each others running styles and had some great conversation. We talked about everything from work to losing toe nails! The scenery in Bonelli Park is great and I was taking it all in as a first timer.  I was probably getting on Shawna's nerves because I kept stopping and taking pictures of everything!

Check out the view of Raging Waters!

Our route took us through San Dimas, La Verne and Pomona.   We saw some interesting things along the way..lots of rabbits, and even a coyote!  The coyote scared me a little bit because he was looking right at us!! I didn't want to be his breakfast! By the time we hit Mile 3 the drizzle had pretty much come to a stop but the weather was still great...no sun and still cool.

Downtown LaVerne

I have to carry my own water with me at all times but Shawna doesn't like anything attached to her while she runs so we made some water stops. She knew all of the places to stop and get water and some of her stops were a little tempting! Those glazed donuts sure looked and smelled good!!




Miss Donuts and Bagel?? Come on Shawna!



This place sure smelled good but we were just there for water!

The first six miles went by really quickly!  I was amazed at how the time passes when you have a running buddy. We talked the entire time, except when we hit the hills (or "inclines" as Shawna likes to call them) that Shawna forgot to tell me about! I am used to running solo so there are days where I constantly stare at my Garmin praying that the run will end soon! Shawna's Garmin decided to malfunction on this run so we used mine to track our progress. We made another water stop at Norm's Hangar which had a drinking fountain and bathrooms too.  

We left Norm's Hangar at Mile 6.5, and we hit some hills with gradual inclines on the way back. We were still feeling pretty good and the last four miles were our best in spite of the hills, I mean inclines, that Shawna failed to mention!  We ran through an RV Park/Resort and then headed on back through some winding roads.

Another great view from Bonelli Park on the way back.

We decided to call it quits at Mile 10.16 and headed back to the Park and Ride.  It was kind of nice to see the Exit sign after a ten mile run.  I hadn't ran ten miles in a while due to the issues that I have been having with my left leg (shin splint and ITBS).  I wasn' t feeling any pain so that was a really positive thing for me!!

10.16 Miles Done!!

I headed home and stopped at Starbucks to get some of my favorite oatmeal. I made sure that I iced my leg as soon as I got home to avoid any setbacks.

I love this stuff!!

Thank God for ice! It works miracles!!

We averaged about a 10:30 pace for the first six miles and picked it up during the last four miles. Our pace for the entire run was 10:09.  We decided that on our next long run we would shoot for under 10:00. I like the challenge and I know that Shawna is down for it too!

GARMIN STATS...WOW 960 Calories burned!

10.16 miles at a 10:09 Pace

Since it was Father's Day, we ended our day with dinner at Buca di Beppo! 

This morning I realized that I must have had a great workout because my hips and thighs are sore!  I love being sore....it's a true sign of progress and hard work paying off. I even toughed it out and went to my Spin Class in spite of the pain :)