Joy...

I've discovered the other half of my heart.

I didn't even know it was missing until I found it.

Muddy Buddy

Last year, my friends Tina and Dana did the San Jose Muddy Buddy event. The moment I saw their finishers photo, I knew Chris and I had to do this event.

We had so much fun. I felt like I was a Marine whipping over "walls" and running across balance beams.

One moment, however, caused my heart to stop. As we were waiting at the start, there was a Challenged Athlete Foundation presentation, a common occurrence at race events. A woman with a prosthetic leg, about my age, made a presentation. Typically, an athlete will share that they lost a limb in an auto accident or while in the service. Not this time. The woman speaking said that she first presented with a spider bite on her leg. The spider bite turned into a MRSA staph infection, which then spread into her bone and she lost her leg. Chris and I were speechless.

Needless to say, I am thankful for my health and happiness.

The Sighting

I have known for some time that a Food Network Chef lives in the same town in which I make my home, however I had yet to see him, until this evening.

I've had pretty good luck as of late celebrity spotting at a really good restaurant a few blocks from my house... last time I dined there with friends we spotted a famous drummer.

As I was leaving this evening, I did a quick scan of the crowd until I locked eyes with none other than Tyler Florence. A bit mortified having been caught scanning the room, I departed the restaurant as quickly and gracefully as I could.

I really wanted to tell him how much I love his local kitchen store, however I refrained.

Soon, however, I will not be so restrained when I dine with my all time FAVORITE chef. I'm already sharpening my tongue as I'm going to need to be armed with many sassy remarks...

Finally!

We have been waiting and waiting and waiting for our engagement photos, and today we finally received them today.

As Chris knows, it's not often I like photos of myself, but I love this one. It captures exactly how I feel about him.

Orange County Half Marathon

Every August, the high school girlfriends gather in some sunny locale for an annual catch up and a lazy weekend in the sun.

Last year, while lounging poolside, harassing some poor fools from Orinda drinking Chi Chi's, my then pregnant girlfriend Cheryl declared that we all had to run a half marathon in 2010. Then and there we decided to do the Orange County Half Marathon, to be held May 2, 2010. I registered while sunning poolside.

Flash forward 8 months (Cheryl now has six month old twin girls!) and I found myself arriving in Orange County to meet my friend Lindsay for our 2010 girls weekend adventure. Typically we would all stay together at our chosen hotel, however this year Cheryl opted to stay at home with the twins.

On Saturday, we all met up at race registration. It was so fun to watch Lindsay and Cheryl get excited for their first half marathon. Armed with our timing chips and race t-shirts, we headed off for some quality catch up time while partaking in one of our favorite group activities -- shopping -- at one of my favorite all time shopping locations -- Fashion Island.

I have no idea where the day went, but all of a sudden we realized we all needed to start thinking about turning in for our very early morning the following day, and Lindsay and I rushed off to locate some sort of acceptable pre-race breakfast.

Sunday morning came early, but I was excited for the run. I think Newport Beach is a beautiful area, so I was looking forward to exploring the area on foot, which is my favorite way to explore a new area. After being dropped off at the starting line by our hotel shuttle driver, Lindsay and I located Cheryl while we waited for the start. As the appointed start time neared, I headed off to for one last pre-race bathroom break, only to discover the line was a mile long and there was no way I would make it through the line prior to the race start. No bother - as a 7+ year triathlete, quick stops in local bushes are a common practice.

This quick bush stop turned into quite an event, however, as the moment I exited the local bush I ran right into one of my clients, who was just getting out of his car.

Client: "Where are you coming from?"
Me: "No where in particular... just heading to the starting line."

Nice.

I was unsure prior to the start if we were going to try to run together, or run on our own. We decided to run together, and to take it as it came.

Shortly after 6:40 am, we were off.

About a mile into the event, I realized we would NOT be running together. Cheryl took off, and I chased after her. I ran with her until the 2nd mile marker, when I realized I was running in zone 4 -- definitely NOT coach approved. At that point I wished Cheryl a great race and fell back into a zone 2 pace. I was thankful I had the foresight to bring my iPod as I fell into a grove and ran my own event.

The run was STUNNING. The course started at Fashion Island and then wound through Corona del Mar, while overlooking the Big Corona del Mar State Beach and the Pacific Ocean. The course then traversed down the coast, past Newport Harbor, and then around the Newport Back Bay, ending at the OC Fair and Event Center. It was quite scenic and just a lot of fun.

I felt strong on the run - something I haven't felt in a long time on a run over 10 miles. The sensation was quite welcomed, as it made me excited for the final four months of my Ironman Canada training.

We all crossed the finish line in various mental states. Lindsay was thrilled to have come in under her time goal, Cheryl was frustrated to have just barely missed her goal (by about 90 seconds) and I was excited to have met my goal of beating my half marathon time from the prior weekend. Regardless, it was a wonderful day, particularly when Cheryl asked me to be a godparent! I was so honored and am so excited.

I am so blessed to have such special women in my life.

Just for Samantha...

Chris and I finally were able to sneak away for a weekend and headed to the coast.

We opted for a weekend in Big Sur and were delighted to learn upon our arrival at our destination that a rumored new couple was staying there as well - Alex Rodriquez and Cameron Diaz.

It appears the rumors are true.