The Almost Race and Weekly News

This has been one of those crazy busy weeks. But I am totally okay with that, because after being so sick for so many months it just feels great to be able to get out and do stuff that I want again!

THE ALMOST RACE

So lets get straight to the Almost Race.... I mentioned a while back I wanted to get into being a race director.  I had picked a 2016 Half Marathon course, but I knew there were a lot of unknowns and I wasn't sure even last week if this was going to be able to happen.
Why?  Well I had to wait until June 1st to be able to get up into the canyon. (Because that is when they open it for the summer.) Sure I have been there before, but it had been years since I was up at the top, so I couldn't remember what the road was like up there.
I knew what the last 8 miles of the course would be like, but no idea if the other 7 would actually work.

Above is a look at the elevation chart, to give you an idea of what I was looking at.  Obviously a fabulous PR course, and some pretty crazy downhill the first three miles.
Truthfully, it would have been great and gorgeous.  But it's not going to happen.
When I finally got up to the top, you can see how gorgeous the view at the starting line would have been, below.

View from the start, and would of ended in the valley you see below.

See although I could drive a bus up on the higher narrow one lane road the last few miles at the top. There is no way I could expect or assume a random bus drivers have the skill to do it.  All it would take is one not paying attention, and although I wouldn't worry about anyone falling down the mountain, I do worry about buses coming out unscratched.

If you visited my blog last Tuesday, I showed you a beautiful canyon.  Well that would have been the actual race course.  You can see the pictures HERE if you'd like to see my race that may never be:)

I did contemplate having runners go up first and then back down and getting rid of the bus ride all together.  But unfortunately, way to many runners these days are attracted to downhill and flat, and there are far fewer like myself who love some good uphill challenges.  I could still do it, but getting the amount of people to enter that would be needed would be hard.

So yes in short, this particular exact race will not be happening.  Which is why I am actually sharing the location.  However, I am not giving up.  I have a few other idea's and places I am considering, they are just going to take a bit more time to look into.

Yes, I do ride the kids rides too:)  This Carousel was actually
built in 1893 and has been at Lagoon since 1906.  Cool huh!

AMUSEMENT PARK FUN

So I let my sister talk me into getting a season passport to our local amusement park Lagoon. They like me to get season passports each year so I can help them take care of their kids when they go:)  Its for adults and kids, but to be honest I have had season passports for 3 years in a row, and I have yet to go on the adult rides. LOL

But the good news is, one of my nieces grew over the winter and she is tall enough to ride all of the roller coasters and fun rides now.  She's only 5, so it's going to take some time to convince her they are fun and not scary, LOL.
My other niece grew enough to get to ride the medium like teen rides, so ya that little 4 year old and myself have been having a lot of fun.
Although I did make my sisters promise that we will have sisters days, where we just go and ride all the thrillers and leave the kids at home once in a while, LOL.

We don't spend the entire day, mostly just a few hours in the evenings.  Its nicer that way, then making it a full exhausting day.  A few hours here and there, keep it fun, and it' a blast to watch the cute kiddo's.

They have a new ride this year opening Cannibal and it's a roller coaster that looks super wicked, I am beyond excited to give it a try.  It's not open yet, the dummy runs keep ejecting the would be people in the seats when they are upside down on a vertical decent (per what I hear) LOL...  I am sure they will get the issues worked out soon, and when they do, I will so be one of the first in line:)

Oh, and when my niece and I ride this carousel, we always try to get on the horses, and we pretend we are on Mary Poppins, and we are in a carousel horse race.  I am sure I make lots of adults around smile as I indulge and pretend to buck my horse to speeding up.  My sweet little niece is good at making sure she is singing SuperCalaFragalisticExpyAlaDocious as we ride:)  Reason number 2001 of why I am the favorite aunt:)

RUNNING

So after having been out for so long, it's like starting over again.  Ya, I get tired after a mile:) So I am just enjoying it and taking it slow, I'll build the mileage up slowly, but I think it will happen much faster than over the winter.
So I may only run a mile here or there, and then I walk a few more miles.  Gotta keep those Fitbit numbers up:)  Especially with the competitions:)
Although, I saw this very busy mamma duck and her what looks like 14 small little baby ducklings on my run this past week. She is the winner, I haven't seen any other ducks with this many babies this year so far.


ADVENTURE

I am an after the fact blogger, and have decided that I probably always will be.  I will keep the "what" on the hush, but I will be heading out for some thrill seeking soon.  It's something I have wanted to do for years.  A co-worker of mine happened to mention she's never done anything adventurous in her entire life, and never really been anywhere.  I decided to take that as an invitation to invite her for a thrill of a lifetime!  The only problem is, I hate to plan things out in advance, I hate having to wait a while to do things.  It's much more fun to just up and decide on something and leave to do it immediately!  Ya I am all about spontaneous.   But oh well I will just have to wait.
I look forward to sharing about it all in the near future.

FUN STUFF & WEIGHTLOSS

I made my first attempt at tie dye nails, I saw the how too on one of those Facebook video's and figured it looked easy enough.  Of course they made it look easier than it really was, and it took a little trial and error.  But for my first time ever, I think they turned out kinda cute!

I also have lost 5 pounds.  Not a huge amount, but it's a great start.  I have made some daily diet changes the past few weeks.  I am eating more whole foods, far less calories and more fruits and veggies.

One mistake I find I have been making is eating too much fruit, its too easy to just keep eating fresh fruit, when I should stop at just 2-3 strawberries or a handful of grapes:)

One of the biggest things I am noticing, although working out daily (and sometimes 2-3 times a day) is helpful, and eating under 1,200 calories a day (which is my goal.)  One of the biggest things is getting my daily water.  I find the more I pound down the water, that is what is actually making the pounds drop.  I am getting better and better at it!  Not perfect, but progress is all that matters!

I could go on and share a bit more about the past week, but this post is probably long enough, and I'd hate to bore you all to death!

Here is to a great upcoming week, and I hope you all have a great week as well!

So tell me, what was your favorite part of last week?  Or do you have something fun coming up, you're looking forward to as well?



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