Dawg Dash

Okay, so my blog is WAY over due.  You see... some wine spilled into my computer and I no longer can use my enter or delete key...kind of important for blog writing.  So thanks to my amazing and wonderful boyfriend, I am writing on his computer.  He promises to let me use it for future blog posts too.  Sooo, without further delay here is my Dawg Dash post.

So my running bug is crazy strong right now, as is Ryan's (this is probably a good thing considering I would probably be very difficult to live with right now if you didn't understand this or were not going through half marathon training too)  So back on October 23rd Ryan and I ran in the Dawg Dash.  It's a 10k race that starts outside Husky Stadium, runs through University of Washington campus and finishes on the track inside Husky Stadium.  This year, this race was the last event to be held on the track inside Husky Stadium because it is undergoing MAJOR reconstruction and the track will be taken out and seats moved closer to the field.  We both had a great race and great times.  I was really booking it and ran my first mile at 8:39 - hello where did that come from!  And I PRed my 5k time too.  It was a great day, a great race and I can't wait to run it next year.

Dawg Dash finishers on the field

Crazy little thing called the running bug

Once upon a very long time ago...(almost six years ago to be exact) I met two girls that would in a way change my life.  On Halloween 2006, my very first shift in the ER in Chicago I met Hillary Moon (now Sanders) and Amy Haug.  They invited me to go to Starbucks with them, I knew we were going to be instant friends.  A few weeks later these seemingly uncrazy women asked me if I wanted to run a half marathon with them, I said sure even though I didn't really intend on doing it, heck I had only run 2 miles at once ever in my life.  Out of desperation of wanting friends or a little bit of craziness in my own right, I decided to do it!  I was going to train with these amazing women and I was going to run a half marathon.  I still remember pouring over Marathoning for Mortals by John Bingham like it was gospel.  I learned how to train, how to eat, how to think like a long distance athlete.  I remember the first time I ran 5 miles, 6 miles (Amy and Jon that was the whiny run when I wanted to take a cab), the time I ran 8 miles all like it was yesterday.  I remember my first race, the 2007 Shamrock Shuffle and running it with Amy and Hillary side by side ...in matching outfits no less.  And I remember lining up a the starting line of the Indy Mini, our chosen half marathon wondering, can I really do this??  I did do it, and so did Amy and Hillary!  It was fun and we were so proud of our accomplishment.  

I ran 3 other half marathons over the next few years and trained for the Chicago marathon only to get injured and somehow vowed I would never run a marathon because I knew I could do it because I had run 22 miles in training.  I have fallen in and out of love with running, this amazing and CRAZY sport over the years but right now I am absolutely crazy in love with it again.  I am running the Seattle half marathon the Sunday after Thanksgiving and recently have been getting the bug to run a marathon again.  Luckily there are plenty of crazys right here in Seattle to support me in this dream, including Ryan.  He too is running the Seattle half, his first, and I can't wait to line up at the starting line with him and to be there with him to celebrate at the end.  

Here are a few pictures from that first half marathon that started all this CRAZY love...

Here I am, ready to run 13.1

Me, Hillary, and Amy about mile 11-12, we still look pretty happy

Finishers!!!! With our medals and of course matching outfits head to toe

I am not really sure what I am doing here, but I always have loved this shot of me and Hillary

Don't Mess with a Texas Wedding

Last week I flew to Houston, Texas to witness the marriage of my sophomore roommate Elizabeth (Liz) Parke to Darren Kincaid!  I was so honored just to be there to witness the love between these two people.  I was also so excited to be part of the rehearsal dinner and their house party.  Liz and I were sorority sisters at Miami University... Zeta Tau Alphas, (Only the best get crowned) and have kept in touch over the years through phone calls and Christmas calls, but hadn't seen each other in awhile until Darren was on a business trip to Seattle and I finally got to meet him and catch up in person with Liz.  We had a great time and they even got to enjoy a meal at The Stone House.  The best news is that Darren will be doing a lot of work in Seattle and will be coming often so we are excited about hosting them in the future.  Okay... back to the wedding!  I had a great time and really enjoyed all the amenities of the St. Regis Houston! Here are a few pictures from the hotel...

I seriously felt like a queen here

The bar area...

Pretty bathroom, it also had a HUGE tub! I made sure to take a bubble bath... Oh and it had a phone in the bathroom, you have no idea how bad I wanted to make a call from that phone.

Welcome cookies from the bride and groom... delicious and they had my favorite, Snickerdoodles.

Time to relax by the pool

Liz and Darren had a beautiful outdoor ceremony at the Bell Tower on 34th, Houston's premier location for weddings!  We then moved inside for cocktails, dinner, dancing and SERIOUSLY the best wedding band ever...Time Machine.  It was so fun to catch up with old friends, sorority sisters and to meet new friends too!  My pictures seriously do not to any justice to this beautiful bride, handsome groom and bridal party and amazingly beautiful reception.  I will post a link to the photographers pictures when they are available. 

The guys... Loved watching Darren watch Liz walk down the aisle

The girls... so pretty with those purple gowns

Time for vows... almost Mr. and Mrs.

You are now Mr. and Mrs. Darren and Elizabeth Kincaid!  Kiss the Bride!

The reception room

A wine and Tuscany theme and olive oil for a party gift

The cake... delicious

Miami girls and Zeta girls

First dance time

Me with the Beautiful bride

Meet the Beast... Hercules!

I just wanted to write a quick post with some pictures to introduce all of you to Hercules!! Ryan and I have been thinking about getting another dog for a little while now.  We have been looking on petfinder, at the shelters and even got on a few waiting lists for puppies that didn't work out but we just kept looking and a few weeks ago found a 4 year old Newfoundland/Lab mix on petfinder.  He definitely fit a lot of what we were looking for (a big dog preferably a Newfie or Bernese) and he was already crate trained and housebroken!!  We traveled out to Black Diamond, Washington to Puget Sound Rescue to meet "Billy" (Herc's name before we changed it).  We immediately fell in love with him, the next test was if he and Roscoe got along.  They did really well and even played a little at their first meeting so we brought him home with us!  A few funny and entertaining things about Hercules:

1)His name...like Hercules from the Sandlot, it seemed perfect for him! And he already knows his name

2) When in a car he hangs his head out the window and attempts to "get" the other cars - HIGHLY entertaining to anyone watching!

3)Yes he is crate trained, but he can also Houdini his way out of the crate.  The crate remains intact, the dog appears untouched and he doesn't get into trouble just gets out of the crate

4)The boy can eat... FAST! We have clocked him at 16 seconds for 2 cups of food!

5) When driving with him he looks like a small bear in the car, it makes for a lot of entertaining looks from people

6) He is so loving and sweet and gentle with kids, we can't figure out why someone would not want him, but we are glad that he is ours

Getting to know one another!

I love this picture, except that their eyes make them look really creepy

Let's hold hands