She Likes Purple

My 2011

(2007, 2008, 2009, 2010; first inspired all those years ago by Linda)

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

I ran a half-marathon, started a book club, got a Brazilian bikini wax (ouch), went to a Cubs game, visited Utah, introduced Kyle to some of Mike's family, watched my brother graduate high school. This was a year of a lot of firsts. Happy to see that in hindsight..

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

My list got dusty this year, but I have high hopes for 2012. 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

A handful of close friends (including A'Dell) and then nearly every other friend got pregnant. 2011: the year of the belly! 

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Mike's great-aunt's husband, who we weren't close to, but it turns out he was a pretty fascinating guy. I wish we hadn't waited to hear his stories until after he was gone. 

5. What countries did you visit?

Just the U.S., but I managed to get to eight states. That's something! Washington, Illinois, New York, California (twice), Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you didn't have in 2011?

I'd like to have a grown-up, well-decorated, well-organized, mostly-clean-most-of-the-time house.

7. What dates from 2011 will be etched upon your memory, and why?

December 4th, my first half-marathon and December 25th. We had a really lovely Christmas this year and I'd like to keep that memory close.

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year?

That pesky half-marathon but, also, every early morning or long run I finished this summer and fall. They were each accomplishments in their own right.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Anytime I yelled or lost my patience at someone in my immediate family always sucks it big time, and I'm going to try much harder in 2012 to keep my cool. I also gained most of the weight back I lost during Biggest Blogging Loser. New year, new start, my friends.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

It was a much healthier year for my family except for Mike's 75 Man Colds and a handful of daycare-caused things. Those were all annoying, but nothing will compare to 2009: the year Kyle was sick every two weeks. I am shocked I still have a job.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Every year it's always travel-related things: plane tickets, hotel rooms, nice dinners in new towns. I never regret the trips I take or the memories I make on them.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Is it super cheesy to say Kyle's? I loved the shit out of age two and I'm weepy over the thought of saying goodbye to it. Not because I don't want Kyle to get older, but I just fell in love with this age. He was hilarious, sweet, fun, and so funny much of the time. 2011 wasn't my favorite year in some ways, but I sure loved loved loved being a mom this year.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

I'll just say this: You can't argue with crazy. You can sip wine while crazy argues alone.

14. Where did most your money go?

Bills. Daycare. Our (stupid) car fixes. Travel.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

An endless list of things from new Gossip Girl episodes to trips to Vegas. But, I think what I enjoyed the most was our family road trip this summer. It was everything I wanted it to be and then some. Except Roswell. What a complete let down that town was.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?

Probably any song by Adele. I think it was the music industry's goal for 2011 to overplay every one of her songs.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

Happier: yes
Thinner: unfortunately, the same 
Richer: yes 

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Gone to bed earlier

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Comfort eat, stress, shriek, overreact, worry. Will I ever learn?

20. How did you spend Christmas?

We had such a nice weekend, at home, with our family, my mom, and Mike's parents. 

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?

I loved it before, of course, but this year I fell in love with motherhood in new, cool ways. I also fell in love with some big ideas I've got. Stay tuned.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

Shockingly: Friday Night Lights. Runners-up: Parks and Rec & Awkward. 

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

This isn't a person, but I really hated summer this year. It was just impossibly brutal and soul-sucking. If we ever leave Texas, I'll probably look back on this summer as the official catalyst.

24. What was the best book you read?

Water for Elephants

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

I lamely didn't discover much new music this year that wasn't playing on a CW show. Maybe this is a good time to ask you for great music recommendations to carry me into 2012? 

26. What did you want and get?

I wanted a girl's night out dinner for my birthday. I wanted to finish the half-marathon without having to crawl across the finish line. I  wanted to see my brother graduate high school. I wanted happy family memories. Got, got, got, got.

27. What did you want and not get?

Those damn investment jeans. This year, you'll be mine, jeans!

28. What was your favorite film of 2011?

I didn't see much but I really enjoyed Midnight in Paris. All you nerdy writer types would, too. 

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 29 way back in January, and I had a gathering at my house and then went out the next night for a fancy dinner with all my girls. It was perfect.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Lottery jackpot, reliable cars, a less brutal summer, no commute.  

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2009?

Cute on special occassions, slobby at work. I have got to change that.

32. What kept you sane?

You, Mike, Kyle, Kristie on all those long runs, bad tv, sparkling wine, running, my book club, my running club, Pinterest. 

33. What political issue stirred you the most?

Same, most years: gay marriage might be against your religion but that actually works out fine since no one is forcing you into one. People just want to be able to get married far away from you and your beliefs, and why we're still having this discussion at the beginning of 2012 is beyond me. I get angrier and angrier about it each year. 

(I am sure I don't mean you as in you but the more "general you" part of the population that is against this civil right.)

34. Who did you miss?

If you don't live in driving distance, I miss you. 

35. Who was the best new person you met?

At the beginning of the year, I got an email from Jen, a friend from college. We were in a few classes together and were also in the same sorority but were never that close. Anyway, she found my blog and the Biggest Blogging Loser competition, which she then joined. We began emailing more and more.

She was in Chicago at the time, so when Mike and I went for a long weekend, we met up with her and her husband Adam for a Cubs game, a lot of beers, and a delicious dinner. It was one of the highlights of our trip.

She then moved to Dallas this fall, and has become such a good friend. While I didn't officially meet her this year, it's been so great getting to know her and hanging out with a couple we really like. 

I'm also glad to have met and become close with some new blog friends: Erica, Julie, Caitlin, Kate, Tara, and a handful more. 

Good year for my circle of people.

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.

See #13.

Also:

- I need to start believing in myself as much as I believe in those around me. I'll be the first to tell you that you can do something, that you're awesome and capable and strong, but I get all negative and tough on myself in a totally similar situation. I don't know where that comes from or why but I learned this year that the only way to get me across any finish line (figuratively, literally) is to believe I can get there. 

- Life is not a linear experience and so many interactions come back to us, at some point. So be nice to people, as much as possible. 

- If you go to bed after midnight, you wake up feeling like you went to bed after midnight.

37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Not that this lyric really sums up 2011, but it was nice to hear it this year and then I kept returning to it for comfort when I needed it:

Always remember, there is nothing worth sharing
Like the love that let us share our name
--"Murder in the City" by the Avett Brothers

***

I hope your year was happy, my friends, and I really hope that 2012 knocks it out of the park. I look forward to sharing next year with you and hearing all about yours in return.  

We Had Ourselves A Merry Little Christmas

It's not that last Christmas was bad or that any Christmas before that has been; it's just that there was something really special about this Christmas, and I think I'll hold tightly to it forever. Kyle was at the most perfect age (newsflash: two years and ten months is PRIME Christmas age), we were at home, we were with family but not so much family that the days bled into drama, and we had delicious food and a warm home, oh, and there were naps for everyone on Christmas Day. 

Guys, it was so good.

Christmas Eve we had breakfast for dinner, our tradition since Kyle was born. (As I poured myself a mimosa while making dinner, Mike looked at me sideways and said, "Huh, I get this tradition now." If that is wrong, my friends, I don't want to be right.)

After dinner we piled into my in-laws' car to look at Christmas lights. It was so lovely. Well. Except for near the end of the night, when we saw the most perfect lights behind a gated community. Why taunt the poor with your beautifully decorated house we can't get close enough to see? Whyyyyy rich people?

Christmas morning we had Starbucks and cinnamon rolls and took our time opening gifts.

The only thing Kyle really asked for was Legos, which is what he opened first. He was pretty thrilled to find them although what he got after the Legos apparently trumped them because he hasn't played with them since. Adorably, though, with every gift he'd open, he'd say, "WHAT'S IT GONNA BE?" with sheer joy. At one point he opened batteries for a toy and kept saying, "OH, IT'S BATTERIES. BATTERIES. THANKS GUYS." 

If I had access to a pony, I would have wrapped that damn thing up for him on the spot.

My step-mom sent him a play work bench that Mike put together the night before and turned out to be the hit of Christmas. He didn't even know he WANTED a play work bench, but, oh holy hell, was he glad he got one. He said to me before bed, just tonight, "Mommy, did you know that I have my very own work bench and I got it for Christmas?" So cute, right? So cute I'll ignore that he's already wiped me clean from his Christmas memories. YES KID, I KNOW BECAUSE I WAS THERE.

Not to say the weekend was completely perfect -- no weekend with a toddler ever is, am I right? -- and I can prove that by showing you each and every above Christmas morning photo where Kyle is wearing a graphic tee and shorts instead of the hand-selected Hanna Andersson pjs I bought for him. Oh guys. This kid fights with us over everything he wears. It's not exactly what he wears, I should clarify, but it's what we suggest he wears. If I give him a few choices, he'll usually pick one without problem and it may even be the one I wanted him to pick. But if he even thinks you're suggesting he wear something or that you're pushing an outfit on him without his consent, OH NO, THAT IS NOT GOING TO WORK FOR HIM, HE'LL WEAR LAST YEAR'S HALLOWEEN COSTUME FIRST. (Which doesn't exist, that's how adamant he is about ignoring every damn outfit I suggest.)  

It's kind of like when I suggested to Mike three years ago that he should buy a blazer because he's a smoking guy and he'd look totally awesome in a blazer and he was all, NO NO NO QUIT TRYING TO MOLD ME WOMAN, I AM A T-SHIRT MAN, BACK UP. And then he came home right before our Vegas trip with a couple blazers in hand and was all causal-like when he said, "Hey, I randomly tried on this blazer and kind of liked it. Whatevs."

Oh look! The crazy man looks good in blazers!

That's brand new information! 

Two of these souls in one lifetime. Phew. I'm grateful while also being terrified. 

But, hey! Look! We coaxed (read: bribed) him into his Christmas pjs for all of 30 seconds and he was beyond thrilled about this as you can see:

Pure Christmas joy right there.

It really was a great holiday, though. (Show me a holiday without a single time-out and I'll show you a family I'll talk jealously about behind their back.) After my mom and in-laws left Christmas night and Kyle was asleep and Mike had collapsed into bed (he worked overtime Monday starting at 6am) I sat in my living room and looked around and exhaled.

It was kind of a tough year -- normally tough, but still -- so it was magical to end it with this kind of holiday. Especially after strep, just the week before. 

It reminded me that it just doesn't matter what you get or what you make or what you wear. What matters is that for a few days you have enough love around you that nothing else gets in. 

This would be such a sweet photo if Mike hadn't cut off our kid's face, but that's just how life is, my friends. Sometimes the best family shot you can manage is the one your kid is photo-bombed out of. YOU MAKE THE BEST OF DIFFICULT PHOTO SITUATIONS, OK? You pass the food, you raise your glass, you smile, you soak it in. 

So much of the good stuff is realizing it isn't about it all being perfect. It's about it being yours. 

All yours. 

My Very Grand 2012 To-Do List

For some reason I thought tossing the word "grand" into the title might make this the best and most crossed-off list to date. Only time will tell if my optimism is really insanity. (Here are my 2010 and 2011 lists!) 

Anyway, I brought a lot of things over that went untouched in past years but are still very much things I still want to do. If I haven't done these things in two years, you might ask how much I really want them, but to that I say: it's not that I'm in denial, it's just that I'm really, really tired most of the time. I also tried to be much more concrete in my plans this year. It's downright hard to cross something vague-to-define off any list and I really like drawing lines through things. 

So, here we go!

My Very Grand 2012 To-Do List

1. Create a business plan for the 5K I'd like to organize.
2. Finally buy those investment jeans.
3. Get brave with a new hair color.
4. Read all my book club selections.
5. Make Kyle's baby blanket and book of letters.
6. Take at least one yoga class a month.
7. Make a neighborhood friend.
8. Organize the upstairs work space.
9. Go to the Fort Worth Modern Art Museum and eat lunch at Cafe Modern.
10. Write and submit a piece on parenting.
11. PR in every distance (5K, 10K, half-marathon).
12. Get a third tattoo.
13. Throw a baby shower.
14. Take a trip with Mike, to celebrate our fifth anniversary.
15. See a therapist.
16. Update my SS card and passport.
17. Make a general doctor's appointment.
18. Go horseback riding.
19. Decide what to do with my race bibs.
20. Make these envelopes for thank you cards.
21. Create and fill up a magical thinking jar.
22. Paint some mason jars for our kitchen.
23. Do something with the space above our couch.
24. Create a nostalgia wall on the wall by our stairs.
25. Sneak in cans of champagne to a chick flick with friends.
26. Replace our kitchen counters.
27. Have a garage sale and donate half the money to our local food bank.
28. Create an address wreath for our front door.
29. Paint our front door.
30. Run at least 250 miles throughout the year.
31. Find a charity that speaks to me, that I can become a voice for.
32. Say something out loud every day.
33. Go back to College Station.
34. Pose for a boudoir session.
35. Wear pretty new under things on New Year's Day.
36. Enjoy Boston cream pie cupcakes.
37. Host a more organized run at this year's Blathering.
38. Take a family trip, even if it's just a weekend drive somewhere nearby.
39. Hold Natalie's baby boy in the hospital.
40. Create an Activities Advent Calendar for an early month in 2012.
41. Create my Christmas Plan by November 1st.
42. Create a media kit for my Lush sites.
43. Replace our stockings for 2012.
44. Buy a tree skirt.
45. Go to kickboxing, at least five times.
46. Sell 50 shirts through Cherry Jean.
47. Finish the 6-week boot camp class I've already paid for.
48. No phone or computer between 6 pm - Kyle's bedtime.
49. Start marathon prep.
50. Host a champagne-inspired dinner (champagne risotto, champagne cocktails, etc.)
51. Do something with our front porch. 
52. Take Kyle on a night out of town, just us two. 
53. Eat at Salsa Fuego, in Fort Worth,
54. Throw Mike a very rad 35th birthday party.
55. Re-read To Kill a Mockingbird.
56. Post on She Likes Purple at least 3x a week.
57. Play poker.
58. Volunteer at a race.
59. Karaoke, at least once!
60. Regularly work out the month of December.
61. Write a fictional story (here, on paper, submitted, somehow)
62. Hit send on a hard email.
63. Host an outdoor movie night in our yard.
64. Wear a swimsuit.  
65. Put a new pin in our wall map. 
66. Buy a great pair of impractical heels.
67. See Beauty & the Beast in a theater, again.
68. See the Nutcracker, Christmas season 2012.
69. Run 15 miles, at some point.
70. Get a new blender and food processor. 
71. Go to the ballet. 
72. Take professional family photos.
73. Write a letter to Mike once a month.
74. Do 10 real push-ups and one pull-up.
75. Run 3 miles on my 30th birthday.

***

A few more vauge-ish-type things I want to keep in mind this year:

• If I love them, I shouldn't talk badly about them
• Speak calmly and rationally, even if the other person isn't
• Get better and more knowledgable at social media marketing because I love it
• Clean the house regularly or just finally figure out how to afford a housekeeper
• Alwyas be as nice as possible to Mike because there is simply no one else I like more
• Smile more
• When I know what I'm doing, confidence comes easy
• Do the laundry more often
• Cook more often, especially when things get more stressful
• Don't apologize for crying at the One Tree Hill series finale
• Go to bed earlier, get up earlier
• Say yes as often as it feels right to. Same for saying no.

I have a good feeling about 2012. I hope you do too.

Strep Can't Hold Us Down!

Yep, it's strep. The negative test on Tuesday was laughing at us behind our backs all week, turns out, since it was shiny and positive this morning! But, we're gonna shake it off and move forward. The post office was nearly empty when I went this morning, and the workers were friendly and helpful. I'm taking that as a sign my luck is changing.

Besides the mustard stain on me and the obvious need for a haircut on him, strep ain't keeping us down, am I right?

(Well, it's still keeping us on the couch, but at least we're not on the couch pouting, so I'm considering that a victory over it.) 

I Did Not Have This On My Wish List

The string of words I may just hate more than any other string of words is, "Kyle feels a little warm." These are the words Mike said to me just last night and less than 24 hours later Kyle was on my lap in his doctor's office with a very high fever. 

(Kyle is kind of known for his very high fevers and, man, do I hope that notoriety changes to something more awesome in the years to come. Like Very High Paycheck or Very High Adoration For His Mother or, even, Very High Threshold for Reality TV Subjection.)

Anyway, we're doing ok, what with the vague diagnosis the doctor sent us home with (probably a virus, could be the flu, might be pneumonia, let's revisit on Thursday if the fever's not gone), but the best part of all this is that I woke up sick this morning, too. I've been feeling a little something coming for a couple days (Mike was sick all last week), but I can sometimes ignore those feelings long enough for them to go away. Not this time, it seems. This illness is kind of like our laundry pile in that way.

Just so you know, my very long holiday to-do list did not include "sit on the couch all day with Toy Story 3 on an endless loop" but I'm now adding it just so I can draw a line through it. When people ask where their presents are this year, I'm just going to go ahead and dive into why I think Lotso was more a sociopath than just a bear dealing with abandonment issues. One thing to have trouble trusting and maybe run a weirdly controlled ship but quite another to SEND ALL THE TOYS TO THEIR FIERY DEATH WITHOUT REMORSE. 

Anyway, let's hope that we're all back to better by Sunday, and here are a few other things I've been meaning to tell you about. 

- I totally failed on creating my Holiday Activities Advent Calendar, so I'm considering creating a January Activities Calendar instead. January kind of sucks anyway (well, after my birthday) what with all the dieting and exercising and cold-ass weather, so why not inject a little fun into it. I'll think on some activities and share them with you.

- Speaking of dieting and exercising, I'm giving up meat, alcohol, and sweets again this January (well, after my 30th birthday party OF COURSE), and while it seems sort of eye-rollingly ridiculous and/or annoying, it's something I kind of enjoy doing and definitely benefit from. So, yeah. That's the plan. Who's with me?

- Katie has kicked off a very cool charity donation series this week. Comment on each post so a little extra money goes to each awesome charity she's featuring. I love the idea and hope you'll comment.

So, there you have a few odds and ends of us right now. A lot less "Christmas menu finalizing" and more "medicine administering" than I'd really prefer, but this is what Christmas GETS for being smack-dab in the middle of cold-and-flu season.

This is also a perfectly fine reason to go ahead and add booze to each meal of the weekend. Or, at the very least, ice cream. Oh, don't act like ice cream isn't the perfect side dish for Christmas dinner steaks. 

Better Late Than Never

I don't know how it happened -- although I'm going out on a limb to say a five-day trip to Vegas to run a half-marathon had a little something to do with it* -- but the Christmas season arrived much quicker than past years and we're not entirely prepared for it**.

Case in point:

Mike, this weekend: Hey, do we have any plans next weekend?
Me: Not really. Just, you know, Christmas.
Mike: You're kidding.

We have spent a lot of time on Amazon this weekend, needless to say, and I nearly sent a handwritten thank-you note to them for their Prime membership before I remembered I pay for the service, so my money is probably thank you enough.

Anyway, while we've had our tree for a week, we finally got the lights and ornaments on it this weekend.

We also went out this weekend, in fancy clothes, for my company's holiday dinner. (Do you live in or around Dallas? Victor Tango's is an awesome rec for a nice night-out place.)

This week is final present buying, final holiday-card sending, and final weekend menu planning, and, well, working too. (Please let everyone be off for the next two weeks so my commute is at least bearable.)

I am excited, though, about this week and weekend and a few days off work and lights and gifts and family and oh-so-much food (come January I'll be giving up a bunch of delicious stuff again so don't mind me if I enjoy the heck out of the food portion of this holiday season) and also a steady stream of Netflix shows and movies. The holidays are here! Ready or not.

(Mostly not.)

(But excitedly not!)

---

*Randomly, I wrote a post about the Rock N Roll half-marathon fiasco and how social media didn't help the aftermath. Check it out, if you have a couple minutes!

**My Christmas plan is currently in a Panicked OMG State, but I've crossed out what I've done with notes, in case you care, which is hilariously probably just future me.

My Somewhat Neglected Year To-Do List

I love my year to-do list, but sheesh it's a little dusty, is it not?

There are still some things I hope to cross off before the ball drops -- create Kyle's book of letters, write and submit a piece on parenting -- and I have roughly two weeks to do it, so I better get cracking. But, there are many things I plan to carry over into my 2012 to-do list because I know I am happier and better when I go after my goals (even if I don't happen to check them off in a timely fashion).

2012 is a big year. I turn 30 in January, Kyle turns three (!!!!!) in February, Mike and I celebrate five years of marriage in May. Big stuff, grand stuff, happy stuff.

I know a new year isn't a quick fix or really any more of a fresh start than your average Tuesday, but it sure feels different. Especially this year. So, I'm putting together a new list, thinking about some big-time changes, and, yeah, happy for what's ahead.

(I have a good feeling about 30, my friends.)

In 2012, I definitely want to write more here, specifically. Working and half-marathon training and other-site managing and freelancing and toddler wrangling and just being plain addicted to my DVR turns out to be distractingly time-consuming stuff. I also second guess my posts way more than I used to and I want to quit that (tell me to quit that) because I like writing here. It makes me happy, no matter what I'm really writing about. So, 2012 is the year I get back to clogging your feed readers. You're welcome! 

Part of writing more means flat-out planning my posts in advance and that means writing more for my Real Marraiges series (I need to get an in-laws post up, but I just can't be the one to write it) and maybe starting a Working Moms series. (Totally and admittedly inspired by Ginger.) It also means just posting way more pictures of shoes I'm coveting. Good times, yes, I know.

Before I talk any more about my 2012 list (it's coming soon) and my plans, what do you have planned for 2012? Maybe your goals will inspire new ones for me, and, even if not, I'd love to hear what you're excited about. Houses, babies, trips, businesses, big ideas that are going to change the world, or, hey, cute shoes you want to buy? One thing you should know about this blog: there's always time for cute shoes.

Sponsored Post: Girl's Night (In) In Vegas

Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There's no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com.

***

So, Clever Girls Collective -- the group I write a lot of these sponsored posts for -- sent out this particular topic and I wondered who wouldn't want to write about dessert, drinks, and friends. That describes every best weekend I've ever had (and a few (dozen) weeknights, too), and it was actually fairly good timing since I just got back from Vegas where each thing was well-represented.

Have you ever gone to Vegas and enjoyed dessert, drinks, and friends? I'd guess so, but have you ever had dessert, drinks, and time with friends in Vegas ... in your hotel room at 8pm? Well, maybe not, but I did, and I'm here to say you should try it next time you're able to.

See, I was in Vegas -- as so many of you know, especially anyone who read the previous post -- to run a half-marathon and after that feat, my friends and I were pretty exhausted the next day. We wanted to paint the town whatever color one paints the town these days, but we also wanted to relaaaaaaaax, so we compromised. Here's how:

{I wonder if Clever Girls Collective is tired of me filling these sponsored posts with words on and photos of champagne?}

We went to the drugstore and bought a cheap bottle of champagne. Then we went downstairs and got a couple cupcakes and ice cream cones from our hotel's food court (reason #1494 why I love Vegas: their hotels have food courts). Then we ordered Friends with Benefits from our in-room movie options. And, finally, we talked all about the things we could talk about among best friends: life, marriage, sex, carbs, cute shoes, and how annoyingly perfect Justin Timberlake is. (Seriously, even when we he stars in kind of a cheesy, crappy movie, you still fall a little in love with him; what is THAT about?)

I know it wasn't my wildest time in Sin City, but it might have been my happiest. That's just what friends, chocolate, and champagne do for me: they make me happy, at home, away, in my house, in a hotel room.

When you need those three things -- dessert, drinks, and friends -- grab hold of them. No matter where you may be.

***

Remember to check out Duncan Hines' website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

Rock N Roll Half-Marathon Recap

So, yeah, this is overdue (and it's just a small part of my Vegas recap, too), and we may all be past the half-marathon chit-chat 'round these parts anyway, but it would be a very anti-climactic half-marathon training recap without the half-marathon race recap, I think. So, sit down, make yourselves comfortable, this may take a while.

First, Vegas is and will probably always be a favorite place of mine. I simply love a place that is all "hey, I am ugly and crowded and blinding and very, very drunk, and, FUCK IT, TAKE ME OR LEAVE ME. Also, here is an escort card while you drink your champagne from the bottle on the street." It's just so unapologetically itself, and I love it.

So, when I saw the chance to combine a favorite city and a huge life goal -- run a half-marathon -- and I wanted to go to Vegas to celebrate my 30th birthday anyway, it all seemed very perfect, and in many ways, it was. It was perfect that I got to run this race, after all this time, with so many people I love.

But, okay, let me back up a bit. The day after we got to Vegas, we headed to the race expo, to get our bibs and race bags. It was an incredible expo (best I've been to, honestly), and if we didn't have a show to see that night, I would have stayed until it closed.

Then came Sunday, and, OH BOY, was I nervous. I was nervous that it would be tough, that it wouldn't be fun, that it would be really cold or that I'd hurt myself mid-race or something else sucky-yet-predictable, but I wasn't expecting what happened.

First, we had to gather at our assigned corrals (of which there were 40-or-so, total) and we probably stood around for over an hour waiting for the race to start, maybe longer. I turned on "The Cave," right before we started inching toward the starting line, and I felt good. I teared up in anticipation of doing it and I felt, right then, that I was ready.

We finally got to the starting line and took off. Kristie and I had talked about walking every two miles starting at mile three, but we both felt great at mile three and kept going. The first 4-5 miles were on the strip, and it was incredible to see all the lights around us and hear the spectators cheering. I felt great, other than a slightly annoying foot cramp (maybe because of the cold?), but it wasn't anything impossible to deal with.

Once we got off the strip, the race started to feel less organized. The bathrooms seemed to disappear, the lights were sporadic, the water stations became more insane, and we decided to stop around mile 8 (still feeling good) to use the bathroom at a Burger King. Unfortunately, the lines weren't budging, at all, and we probably waited a good ten minutes and, shit, I just got stiff. When we started running after that, it was pretty painful. Miles 8-9 were just hard, but not impossible, and then we hit mile 10.

I've run 10 miles, I've even felt good running 10 miles, but miles 10-13 of this race were excruciating. What was so frustrating was that, mentally, I was there. I was repeating every mantra I've ever used, I was looking at this beautifully lit-up strip and trying to channel all the energy of it, I was reading every handmade sign I passed, and I was thinking of every single person I loved, but I felt my body begin to shut down. I've honestly never felt like that during any run. It wasn't exhaustion or being mentally beat down, I just felt sick and it was very strange for me because, well, I so rarely get sick.

I will never know how I made it across that finish line. It wasn't sheer determination or strength or willpower, it was just autopilot, and I think that's why I feel so crappy about it. I didn't feel anything but pain when I finished.

Once we finished, everything got blurry. I couldn't think of eating or drinking anything, but I knew I needed something. I tried a bite of (green, under-ripe) banana, and wanted to throw that up. I tried an energy drink and wanted to throw that up. I couldn't really speak, which felt weird, but I finally saw Mike and kind of lost it for a bit. I finally felt a little relief after seeing him, and I knew that no matter what, thank goodness, I'd at least have him. From there, we went inside Mandalay Bay, the hotel where the race ended and tried to work our way back to our own hotel.

{I did not want to take this photo, but I'm so glad I did. Thank you Kristie for making me!}

Oh, guys, inside the hotel is when things really got awful. I don't know if the race organizers didn't communicate well with the hotel staff, but they somehow let thousands of runners (there were 44,000 total runners) walk through a somewhat small corridor of the hotel when a show was also letting out (and foot traffic was allowed the opposite way). I don't know why so many runners felt like I felt -- very, very sick -- even though there's speculation on the race's Facebook page and in articles around the web that there was contaminated water at one of the water stations, although who knows if that's true -- but it just got nightmarish in Mandalay Bay. Runners were fainting and vomiting but medics couldn't get to them through the wall-to-wall crowd. I was getting panicky because I'm short and in claustrophobic situations, I feel, well, claustrophobic, but I also felt really sick, and it was bad. Just bad bad bad.

It took about an hour to get through the crowd and when we finally did (oh, thank goodness), I finally got sick in a Luxor trashcan (and felt much better) and then had to walk another half mile or so to our hotel. I kept saying to Mike, "I honestly don't think I can do this. I don't think I can keep walking." And he kept saying, "I know you can, I know you can, I know you can." And that's all that got me through it. Oh, shit, it sounds so dramatic, I know, but it was hard and I've never been so happy to see a hotel room in all of my life. I collapsed into bed and slept until the next morning and it might have been the best night's sleep of my life.

I kind of hate that it all ended with a tough last four miles and a really tough trip back to the hotel, but I like to think any race I run from here on will be better. This is a race that took in nearly SIX MILLION DOLLARS and while a big chunk of that, presumably, went to charity, it just seemed that for the sheer SIZE of the race, it would be meticulously organized. It actually fueled my desire to organize a race one day because so many of the issues seemed preventable. (So many aren't worth getting into, either, but OH THERE WERE A FEW.)

Putting all that aside, can I just say, I am so glad to have had Kristie running with me and Mike waiting for me at the end. Shit, for a solitary sport, I sure do require a helluva support system to do it, don't I? (And I have one HELL of a good support system, too.)

All that really matters is that I finished the half-marathon. I somehow dug deep enough to do it, even though every part of me screamed to stop. I kept beating myself up because it wasn't fast enough or I didn't feel strong enough but screw that, right? I did it. I crossed the finish line (in 2:47:44) and I know that every half-marathon from here on will be better because of this first one. And, yeah, I can actually think of running more now, even though if you had asked me right afterward, I would have said NO NO NO NO NO NO, NOOOOOO, HAAAAA, NO.

Good thing, too. I run another in six weeks.

The Blathering 2012: Big Easy Edition

That's right, the Blathering is headed to New Orleans in 2012 and you can register today, if you want. You should, too! That'll make it easier for me to know who to send my excited and probably a little annoying emails to, gushing about what fun we're going to have in ... well, too many months from now, stupid rules of time.

We plan to roll out more information as we have it (on the official website, which is a lovely splash page now but will have more information on it soon and on Twitter and Facebook), so follow, like, bookmark, insert appropriate social media lingo here.

(If you're wondering what on earth the Blathering is, check out my recap from this past year in Austin and two years ago in Sacramento.)

See you there? I hope so!