we did it!

As you may remember, one of my New Year's Resolutions for 2012 was to complete a half-marathon. Well....I did it!!! Bobby, my dad and I ran the Inaugural San Luis Obispo Half-Marathon today! 13.1 miles! Now we can say we were part of the first ever SLO Half-Marathon! It was such a great experience! It started at 6:30 this morning and provided a great tour of the city as it started at SLO Highschool, wound around downtown, through some historical neighborhoods, out to the countryside/vineyards, and ended up at the famous Madonna Inn. It attracted many people from out of town and some even from other countries (a full marathon was offered as well). A total of 5,000 runners between both races participated. My dad was nice enough to run with me the whole way (Bobby smoked us runs at a faster pace) and it was so awesome having an encouraging running partner for the race! My dad is a stud.

this is at about mile 1.5. mom & Tracy braved the early morning to stand on the corner and cheer for us because this segment of the race was very close to our house.

I was so happy with all the training I did for this race because it made it way more enjoyable to not have to struggle through it. There was quite a few challenging hills on the course but we chugged through and made it.

dad and I after just crossing the finish line!!

 

 finished!

sweaty much? note to self: wear a dri-fit shirt next race.

Bobby came in at 1:52:38, and my dad beat me by 1 second! He got 2:10:57 and I got 2:10:58. We all did better than our goals (mine was to beat 2:15) so I'm 100% happy!

and considering we burned off more than 1,300 calories in the race, we treated ourselves to gigantic sandwiches at Gus' Deli and then we got some dessert....

I love that Foster's Freeze is 2 blocks from our house. Dangerous?

Overall, it was a great day and I feel very proud of myself. We are already looking at doing another one in a couple months! Overambitious? Nahh. Gotta run 'em while we are in shape! 

And the best part is we are flying out tomorrow morning (my 25th birthday!) to go to Kauai for 9 days! Can't think of a better place to rest my legs than on a white sand beach in the sun! 

ALOHA!

backpacking & bobcats

Over Easter weekend, Bobby and I decided to go backpacking in Henry W. Coe State Park, up north by Gilroy. We chose the perfect weekend! We had great weather, only saw a handful of people the whole weekend, and had a campsite with no one around. What better way to celebrate the risen Lord than to enjoy his creation!

We woke up at 5:00 AM on Saturday morning (it's amazing how much easier it is to get up at 5 AM to go backpacking than it is to get up at 7 AM and go to work!) and drove about 3 hours up to the state park. It was very cold in the morning, but the sun came out and it warmed up pretty quick!

starting out on the trail.

we followed a winding path for about 8 miles of towering oak trees, fields of green grass, stream crossings, and wildflowers.

we also saw an array of wildlife on our trip including wild turkeys, deer, newts, ticks, frogs, bats, horses, cows, and a bobcat! 

we found an amazing campsite down off the trail with no one around.

we enjoyed a delicious meal for dinner. who says you can't eat gourmet food when camping??

corn tortilla, dehydrated black beans, boil-in-the-bag brown rice, canned chicken, fresh cilantro and onion.

We enjoyed some hot chocolate by a fire and watched a bunch of bats fly around above us. We had a cool time of reflecting on what God has done in our lives and spent some time praying for each other under the stars.

Easter morning, we woke up and had a hearty breakfast of oatmeal and banana and read the Gospels' accounts of the crucifixion and resurrection. He is risen!

We left our campsite feeling rejuvenated and just plain ole happy!

we took our time on the way back, enjoying the scenery, stopping for lunch and exploring an abandoned barn.

and at our last stream crossing, Bobby caught this little guy!

We are so thankful for the freedom we have to get away and enjoy nature and spend time with each other. Above all, I'm thankful to have a Creator who gave his life so that we may live and enjoy His creation!

Luke 24:46-47 "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations."

see canyon

Bobby and I needed a day off running today (11.8 mile run yesterday!) so we decided to go on a bike ride in See Canyon which is out in Avila Beach, just south of SLO. It was a perfectly sunny, crisp day and the scenery was unbeatable. We decided to caravan both of our cars down there and parked one at the end of the road and one at the top where we would start riding from so we could just enjoy the downhill and not have to go back up (lazy?). See Canyon is lined with apple orchards and vineyards and everything is starting to bloom so it was very peaceful and beautiful.

 helmet head me at the top!

 perfect spot for a picnic or nap in the sun in the future.

love the towering trees.

this guy has mad skills taking pictures while flying down the hill

it was a great way to spend our Sunday together in the sunshine!

few exciting things coming up:

SLO Half-Marathon is coming up in 3 weeks on April 22. Our training has been going great. I have been learning so much about my body and what it means to be mentally strong as well as physically strong. I have been amazed at the way it constantly adapts and gets stronger and enables me to run great distances I never thought I could.

Birthday trip to KAUAI: Bobby surprised me and is taking us to Kauai on April 23rd for my 25th birthday!! We are going to be there for 8 days and are staying with some of our good friends who live there. We are looking forward to endless sunshine, warm water, surfing, hiking, and maybe even some beach camping and lots of relaxation. Needless to say, Bobby is amazing and we are counting down the days until we arrive on the island!

I also wanted to share something that God has been teaching me lately. He has taught me (many times) that my worrying is useless and doesn't accomplish anything. When things come up in life that are unexpected or challenging, I need to rest in the fact that God has placed that challenge in my life for a purpose and for me to learn from...not to worry and stress out about. I want to encourage anyone who feels burdened, stressed or is worrying about something that has come up recently in your life to know that God is in control and "that in all things God works for the good of those who love him". (Romans 8:28). God will always come through! 

Have a great week everyone!

a rainy day adventure

Who says you have to stay inside when it rains? I see it as a chance for an adventure!! Well, we had friends in town last weekend so we thought it would be a fun adventure to go on a hike despite the rainy and cold weather. So we geared up with rain jackets and grubby clothes and set out for hike up Bishop's Peak. At the start of the hike it was lightly raining and it was actually enjoyable as we walked through the trees.

Towards the middle of the hike, it was like the heavens opened up and the sun came out illuminating some awesome clouds. We knew it wouldn't last too long because we could see more rain coming in the distance...

We enjoyed the sunshine (while it lasted) and made it up to the top and climbed up to some boulders and stood atop the peak. It was super windy and freeeezing but worth the view.

Bobby politely told me that I looked like a raisin head.

Group shot at the top!

With a storm lurking in the distance, we decided to start hiking back so we could make it down before the clouds reached us again.....didn't work out so well... 

 As we started the decent, the clouds came in faster than we anticipated....

and we started getting pelted by rain and hail. Yes hail. and at that point we decided to put the camera away and run down the mountain. By this point we were soaking wet but we were all smiles embracing the adventure that we were on. Getting caught in a rain/hailstorm is definitely fun once in a while and made for good memories!

With the hike behind us, we didn't feel so bad about spending the rest of the day relaxing and sitting in a warm coffee shop playing cards :)

I think there is more rain coming this weekend so who knows what kind of adventure will present itself! Especially when I have an awesome husband to explore with!

lately

yes, yes, I know I have not blogged for a month but before you yell at me I have had lots going on. First off, Bobby and I moved into an AWESOME new place in the middle of January in downtown SLO. We now live in a 2 bedroom with an extra office/loft, 1 1/2 bath townhouse 2 blocks from the restaurants and shops of downtown. There have been many nights where we just walk downtown and grab dinner or coffee just because we can and it's so fun! We feel so blessed to have found this place and have a nice, bigger place to call home. A super awesome extra perk is that is comes with a detached 1 car garage which Bobby promptly claimed as his art studio. It is totally a man cave and is decked out in Bobby's past and current art projects, an easel, many canvases and supplies and most recently, 2 retro armchairs that used to be Bobby's grandparents from 1958. It's such a great space for him to be creative and produce amazing art that only Bobby can do. One of my favorite parts of the house is that is has an extra office/loft third room that I've turned into my music room. For Christmas, I bought myself a weighted, full length electric piano keyboard and put that in there along with my guitar and sheet music. It is my happy place in the house for sure :). So over this past month we have been working hard to get it all organized and set up and are finishing up buying some new furniture for the place. When it is all finished, I will post some pictures!

So moving/decorating has been a blast but takes up a lot of time and of course we have kept up with our weekend adventures most recently to Malibu, Orange County, and Big Bear Mountain. We have also been keeping up with our half-marathon training schedule which takes up a lot of our time. I am up to 8.5 miles and Bobby is at 10.5. We are well on our way!

Well our recent adventure came this weekend when Bobby's grandparents came up to SLO to visit us and deliver the armchairs for Bobby's art studio. They are amazing people and we had such a blast showing them around SLO, walking by the beach, and antique shop browsing. One of the places we took them to see was the Monarch Butterfly Grove in Pismo State Beach. From about November to February, thousands of monarch butterflies migrate to the coast and one of their hot spots is in Pismo Beach in a large grove of eucalyptus trees right by the beach. It is so amazing to see clusters of beautiful butterflies in the trees and flying all around you. Here are some of the shots we took:

All I know is that God must have had fun making butterflies because their coloring and patterns are just amazing and so intricate. It's so fun to experience different parts of nature. We had a great weekend with Bobby's grandparents and look forward to sharing more of our lives with them in SLO.

I promise I will try and be more diligent about blogging! guess that means we'll just have to go on some more adventures...oh, darn.

Have a great week!