Zero to 13.1-- My First Half Marathon!

On October 11th, 2014, I watched Luke run a marathon in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  It was amazing to see all of the people who had trained so hard for this event, especially knowing all Luke put into his own training.

The next day, I signed Luke and I up for a half marathon.  I figured if I was every going to run one, I better sign up for one quickly before all of my inspiration is gone.

For any of you that know me, you know that I have NEVER been a distance runner.  I ran my first 5k at the 2013 Rex Lee Run at BYU and thought I was going to die (it didn't help that there was an overnight snow storm and it was snowing through the whole race).  I've always considered myself active, but never enjoyed just running long distances.

But somehow I got the inspiration to do this race and I stuck to it.  My official training didn't start until January, but starting in October, Luke and I started taking long walks. From there he started running 2-3 miles with me.  It was so hard at first.  I couldn't believe I had signed my soul away to run another 10 miles!  Even on the worst of days, I somehow didn't give up and kept going.

When we moved to Southern California, I was happy that I could continue to run in even better weather.  It's been so nice to train in a beach town that is so safe, quiet and of course beautiful to run in (what gets better than getting to see the ocean as you run?). Once while running along the San Gabriel River, which flows through our town and out to the ocean, a seal swam right along side Luke and I all the way to the ocean.  How cute is that?

I could not have been happier with the day of the race.  I felt calm, yet excited.  The sun was out, but there was a nice ocean breeze.  There was no anxiety, just happiness to get the show going! I was so blessed to have Luke by my side every moment, even if he could have gone much faster. I didn't stop running once! We paced ourselves well. Most people passed us at the beginning, but that was ok.  The great feeling was passing so many people the last three miles.  And even better: My last mile was my fastest mile! I couldn't believe it!! I was so happy that such hard work paid off so well.

If you are like I was, and want to run a big race but are too scared because you are starting from zero, here are some tips I have for you. I am by no means suddenly a running expert, but these are my tips for getting motivated and prepared for that first race:

1. Pay for your race far in advance- This is the advice Luke gave to me. When he's run his marathons, his real motivation came when he had made the monetary investment.  After that, he didn't want to waste the money (and races aren't cheap) and so it forced him to make sure to train for the race.  Don't keep saying "Oh in 6 months it'd be cool to run a race". Sign up for one NOW. I signed up 6 months in advance. Had I not already paid, I know for sure I would not have actually ran a race this month.  So set your goal, pick one now and pay for your race.
2. Invest in the right shoes- Luke told me that we really needed to invest in the right shoes for me.  I had been running in Asics that I got freshman year of college. Luke said we needed to go get me fitted because everyone's foot is different.  At first I didn't want to fork out $120 on a pair of shoes, but I'm telling you, it's the smartest $120 I've ever spent.  I've heard that if you don't invest in the right shoes, the doctor bills you'll be paying later on will be a lot more than a pair of shoes would ever have been. When you go into a running store, they check how you walk and look at your arches.  They can tell what arch support you need, and if your feet roll on the inside or outside of your feet. With that information, they find the perfect shoe for you. I could tell a huge difference after even my first run.  My feet weren't soar at the end of each run, my feet felt lighter, and my feet seemed to roll on the ground better.  
3. Have someone to be accountable to- For so many reasons, I couldn't have trained as well as I did without Luke. But the biggest reason was because Luke kept me accountable.  I remember last month when I was out of town for about two weeks.  I had my first 10 mile run coming up, and I really didn't want to do it because I was tired, and I wouldn't have Luke with me (he was always there on my long runs). The night before I had told Luke that I wasn't really sure if I was going to do my 10 miler. I was making all these excuses to justify myself by saying I was too tired, I couldn't do it by myself, I didn't have time with my trip.  Had he given once ounce of approval of my decision, I wouldn't have run. But instead, he kept telling me again and again that if I skipped, I'd really pay for it the next week and I'll just make my training harder and he really did not want me to skip. Well, that next morning, mostly because I'm such a people-pleaser, I got up and did my 10 mile run.  And you know what? It went great! I was so grateful that I went, and had someone push me to go, not letting me fall behind.
4. Find a course you love- During my weekday runs, they were shorter and I was on my own. I found a loop around our town that was 3 miles, and found variations or it that made the course 4 or 5 miles.  I stuck to these and ran them 3 times a week.  I got to where I loved getting to see everything there was to see from the river, the ocean, gorgeous homes, the pier and all the people.  It made my run interesting.  If you don't live right where you can run around like this, go find a park with a great path! It's important to do a run that you can look forward to. Running can be SO boring, but if you make the most of it and search for a place you will enjoy, it will make it so much better. 
5. Don't think too far ahead- Like I mentioned earlier, when I was struggling to run 3 miles, I couldn't get the fact out of my head that in my race I'd be running another 10 miles on top of that.  So often I expressed my concern to Luke, and he kept saying that training is slow, and over the weeks I'll be amazed by my progress.  When there were really bad runs, he'd tell me again and again that everyone has bad runs, he has bad runs.  No matter how often you've run 5 miles, you'll have a day where the 5 miles will kill you. Each day has different circumstances. and you can't let one day define how the rest of your running will be.  Take the bad days, and don't think too far ahead.  Stick to a steady training schedule, and you'll do great! There are several great training courses, but I used one by Hal Higdon that I'd strongly recommend.   

Bottom Line: YOU CAN DO IT

A Packed Visit with Mom, Bob and Grandma Squire

On Friday, April 10th, I headed to LAX to meet Luke's Mom, Bob and Grandma Squire. They came all this way to see us from Virginia and North Carolina. We were so looking forward to them coming!

Our first stop was to take them by Luke's work.  We met up with him while he ate his "Employee Appreciation" lunch in front of us. But after his lunch break was done, I made sure to take them to "The Habit", the best burger place in all of California! (Yes, even somehow better than In-N-Out)

Later that evening we headed to Huntington Beach. Grandma could barely walk to the pier and back, so it was a short trip, but we got to see the sun set and enjoy the views (and the cold wind...)

Finished off the first evening with a yummy dinner

The next day was our big Hollywood day! Since Grandma Squire reads People Magazine everyday and is VERY up-to-date on celebrity news, we knew a trip to Hollywood was a must. I found a great deal on Groupon for a Hollywood bus ride, and it turned out to be a great choice (especially since we didn't have to navigate around ourselves). But the tour was a big hit! It was two hours long and very informative.  Grandma Squire just loved taking it all in, and was sad to have missed the Kardashians (not). On our way back we made a quite stop to the famous Venice Beach

Walking with Stars

All ready for our bus tour!

Hollywood!

The City of Angels

Venice Beach!

That evening we headed back to Huntington Beach to show them our favorite sushi restaurant Matsu Sushi on Beach Boulevard. Luke and I had gone there for Valentine's Day, and have been dying to go back ever since. Grandma Squire had never had sushi before. She grew to like it more as the night went on.

There's a smile with that sushi!

On Sunday afternoon, we took all of them to our favorite new SoCal spot: The Trump National Golf Course.  It's open to the public where we able to get incredible views and walk down the cliffs to the beach. It was a perfect afternoon for a perfect view. 

We saved the best for last: DISNEYLAND. They hadn't been to Disneyland in decades, so it was about time they all needed to go back! We got Grandma Squire a wheelchair which was not only a life saver, but it got us to the front of all the lines! We had a great day enjoying the place Luke and I love most!

Treasure Spots

In the past week, Luke and I have found two absolutely beautiful spots here in Southern California that I just want to share with everyone!

Trump National Golf Club of Los Angeles, Rancho Palos Verdes

On the Sunday I flew home from Portland, Luke and I decided to take a drive up the coast. We decided to go to the Palos Verdes Peninula just north of us. After we drove through the port and were up on the hills of the peninsula, it was like a whole other world.  Since most of the beaches down here are suburbs of LA, most of the homes look like anything else you'd see in the country, except you can get to the beach in 2 minutes. However, these homes truly looked like vacation homes with the cute architectural designs you would see in Santa Barbara or Santa Cruz. As we were driving along the coast line, taking in the breathtaking views (even now, every time we come over a ridge and see the vast ocean, it still takes my breath away), we saw a small sign for a beach park. We followed the signs and were unaware of just what exactly we were about to find.  We found ourselves at the Trump Golf Club of Los Angeles! We quickly realized that it was opened to the public, so we parked our car and went out to explore.  It kills me that words cannot describe (I'm not being cheesy, it seriously does) how beautiful it was.  Here was this beautiful golf course, with lots of grass for family picnics, covered with children playing and running through the lawn, with a million (well, probably billion) dollar view of the Pacific Ocean. The park within the golf course was so beautiful to stroll around.

Almost at the beach!

Panorama beach view

I Googled this to show just how beautiful the location is

It was so wonderful to see that such a prestigious place allows families of all kind to have a nice picnic and stroll around the grounds, while enjoying the beautiful world that God created. From the lawns we walked down to the beach which was very secluded. It was so wonderful to be so isolated in such a busy urban area. You would never guess that just two miles south of us was the largest Port in the US, the Port of Los Angeles, and 30 minutes northeast of us was the second largest city in the US, Los Angeles.

Fun Fact:
The Mitch and Cam wedding from Modern Family was filmed at the Trump Golf Club.

Los Liones Canyon Trail

Luke had a three day weekend for Easter (and who says California isn't religious enough), and so we decided to take the day to do some hiking which we haven't had a chance to do yet.  After much research, I found a trail to try.  Our biggest thing was that we wanted ocean views, and boy did we find a trail with ocean views.

We hiked the Los Liones Canyon Trail  in the Santa Monica Mountains. It hugs the west side of the montains, meaning almost the entire time we had views of the ocean.  Once we got high enough up, there were 180 degree views of the ocean, and also peaks of the LA skyline.

So much ocean!

Once at the top, you had the entire world in front of you.  We lucked out with a clear morning of no marine layer (the morning fog off the ocean) or smog, meaning the visibility was great! To the east was the LA skyline, the LA basin to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the West!

Santa Monica and the pier

And in the mean time, there's still been lots of time for Disneyland!

Family Party Time (Northern California and Portland)

Luke was kind enough to let me go and have fun for a few weeks! While he had to work some longer hours on a current project, I headed up to Northern California to spend time with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. It's always so great to get to spend time with my grandparents.  We all really went through withdrawals when Luke and I moved down to Southern California, after getting to spend every day with them.

Four Generations!

A trip back to Stockton also included getting to visit the office I use to work in.  It was so fun to see people again and catch up! It's no secret that my favorite two people to see were my cousin Allie and Dave Dinubilo (a family friend of over 40 years).

Luke and I recently bought my parent's car. My mom very willingly drove the car down to Stockton to bring it to me. It was great to spend time with her in her home town, and we took the opportunity to take a four generation picture while we were all in town!

My mom then drove the remaining 6 hours with my back down to Orange County.  We had a great mini road trip, one of the dozens that we have such fond memories of together. We spent one night at my place and the next day Luke took us to the airport and we flew to Portland!

Spending a week with my parents was one of the best decisions.  It was so nice to have it be just the three of us, and not be there for any particular reason, making it nice and relaxed.

My first day, my dad and I hiked Beacon Rock at the Columbia River Gorge.  Hiking has always been my dad's thing. We talked about everything, and he gave me a lot of business advice on my new company. And the view, gorgeous.  It really is the most beautiful corner of the country, and that's including my beloved Southern California.

Sadly the entire week I was fighting a cold. Even though I was loving the rain, apparently my body wasn't! But it was so nice to have a relaxed enough trip that didn't matter if I was sick. Our time together included Downtown Portland, sushi, Nicolas, lots of Thai food and friends.

After I had already booked my tickets, I learned that I was lucky enough to have overlapped my trip with Bailey Rhoad's homecoming! She just got back from serving in Brazil. It was so specially so see a beautiful woman who I've known since I was six, come home and see just how much she was shining! Chelsea (her twin) was in town too, making me the luckiest girl alive to have two of my best friends from high school actually be in town when I was in town. At one point, when Chelsea's baby, Logan, was napping, it was just me, Chelsea and Bailey.  No boys. Just us.  I can't remember the last time that was, and who knows when it will happen again, but it was special.

Also timed so perfectly was the fact that my cousins Bri and Madi were in town! They are both going to school in the Bay Area, and were home for Spring Break.  We squeezed in an hour together at The Laughing Planet to catch up on EVERYTHING. Sadly, I failed to remember to snap a pic of the rare sighting of the three of us all together.

At the tail end of my trip, my other grandma came down from Canada to visit.  I haven't had a chance to see her since my wedding (and we all know that seeing someone during your own wedding doesn't count). We had a great time going downtown which included the staples of Saturday's Market and Powell's Books. My grandma had never been, so of course we had to go!

All together, it was a great trip, and I cannot wait to return in 3 months for Alex's homecoming!