Tourist training!

We woke up early this morning and made the 4 hour- unbelievably gorgeous drive, from Auckland to Taupo. We will be staying in Taupo for the rest of our trip since it's where the race is.

 stopped along the way at a tiny cafe, and the boys absolutely LOVED it! They all tried meat pies and were instantly hooked- I cannot tell you how many meat pies they consumed throughout our trip- WAY too many to count! ;) 

Once we reached Taupo, we checked into our hotel and the first priority was to start putting bikes together. Once we had all our bikes together, we decided to take them out for a test ride and make sure everything was ready for for the race.

We had a GREAT view of the lake and that road was a part of the course which is awesome! We will definitely get some practice in!  

Before we even started, I noticed my bike tire was rubbing, we thought it was my brakes- but after adjusting them it was still rubbing (to the point I could not force a full tire rotation from my bike tire). We then assumed it must be something off with my tire and it would just need to be trued- a simple fix. Luckily, when we were in town exchanging money, we found a cute bike shop with super helpful staff!

We decided to take it into the shop after the boys finished their ride-- and I went back inside and freaked out. :)

We took it into the bike shop, and Nigel- the mechanic, was the sweetest (most helpful) guy ever! He said he could not only true my tire, but he could also do a full tune up Friday night before the race! What?! He was seriously amazing!!
I left my bike there overnight, and he said it would be ready first thing the next morning (seriously- amazing service!).

We left, and headed down to a Splash n' Dash. We saw that we had to get all of our wet suits treated before we use them in the lake and they were hosting a open water swim- perfect! We got to get our wet suits treated and take our first swim in the GORGEOUS, crystal clear lake! (If you've read my blog for awhile, then you know I swim with my eyes closed in open water swims, but Jamie told me to open my eyes and try to swim 5 strokes. We were close enough to shore that I agreed and it was incredible! I could see the bottom of the lake and so far ahead of me! I seriously felt like I was swimming in a fish bowl it was so clear!!)

We swam a little before the Splash n' Dash and then hung out before it started. Since 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' and I were the only ones from our group to do the actual race, there was a whopping FIVE people registered for the 1000 meter swim. (So much for practicing swimming in a large group of people....;))

It was awesome though. I literally could not stop smiling for the entire swim- just thinking to myself, 'holy crap, we are in New Zealand! I'm swimming in New Zealand!' We finished and talked with some of the locals- all of whom were extremely fast!
 ((Side note: we looked up the average course time for Ironman New Zealand and compared it to Ironman Arizona; New Zealand had a faster overall average finishing time. We thought that was because the course was easier (flatter/downhill, whatever). We quickly learned that that was NOT the case. It had a harder course AND a faster finishing time, because the people here were SO much faster than Americans! I'm not joking. Almost everyone we talked to had qualified for Kona (the World Championships) or missed it by a couple seconds. Yeah...))

After the swim, we all did a short 5 mile run and then headed to 'The Pub and Grub'-- which quickly became our favorite spot to hang out at and eat for the rest of the trip. :)

*What's the smallest race you've ever done? 

*Have you ever lost or broke something while traveling? 

Best flight of my life!!

We made it to New Zealand!!!!

I still cannot believe we are here!!

Look how cute their money is!! 

Let's back up a minute- so as you know, I was absolutely terrified for the flight coming over here- it was the longest flight I've ever done and it was flying over water. We got onto the plane (which was beyond amazing!) and got settled into our seats. Each seat had it's own TV, blanket, and pillow. Since it was a night flight they turned out all the lights and there was just a soft purple glow.
I was surprisingly calm as we watched The Hobbit's version of the safety video on my TV screens and as we took off. (I think because it was a biggest plane and I had head phones in I couldn't feel or hear it so that helped.) We both had to watch it on mine because 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter's' TV screen was not working, and he was paging for help and sending messages saying 'PLEASE SEND HELP!' he was not a very happy camper. They did get it fixed a few hours into the flight though!

I finished my first movie and fell asleep. I pretty much slept the rest of the way there- they woke us up at some point with breakfast- that was delicious! I tried starting another movie- but fell asleep.

I was sitting next to a Mormon missionary, and as we were landing I could tell he was really excited. I asked if he was just starting his mission or returning home from it- he was returning and he was super excited! We chatted a bit about doing Ironman and some fun places he recommended going. When he finally was reunited- we heard lots of clapping and cheers!

Going through customs was nothing spectacular, they basically asked why we were coming and told us to have fun. We did have to x-ray all of our luggage again (it was always a pain with the heavy bike boxes) BUT they did have the cutest little puppy sniffing all of us and our bags! He was super excited and you could tell he absolutely LOVED his job! ;)

We spent at few hours at the airport waiting for our rental van- which we thought would be more than big enough  for the 4 of us but we quickly found out we suck at car tetris  we barely fit!!

While we were waiting at the airport, I found us a hostel to stay at. We were all borderline scared to stay at a hostel in a foreign country because of the movies- but it turned out to be AMAZING once we got there. We had a private room, aka apartment, so it was just us and it was pretty decent size. Plus, we were right in the middle of the town, so there was a ton of stuff to check out around us, and we had a GORGEOUS run right along the beach.

After our run, we wandered around town and just took everything in. It was Chinese New Year- so EVERYONE was out celebrating and it was an awesome experience!
Our hostel was at the top of a hill, and I literally think we walked up and down that dang hill about 10 times! Definitely a work out!

Once we finally made it back to our room for good, there were fireworks right outside of our window! (I'm assuming for Chinese New Year.) They were incredible and we had a GREAT view!!

We are leaving Aukland tomorrow and driving 4 hours to Taupo- which is where the race it and where we're going to stay the rest of our trip.

*What's been your best (or worst) plane trip?

*Have you ever stayed in a Hostel? If not, would you?

New Zealand here we come!!

We definitely stayed up WAYYY too late packing - like 2:30am late. (Secretly, that was kinda my plan- so I would be super tired and sleep for a majority of our 13 hour flight.)

But I had to wake up and be at work at 7am- that sucked. I worked for a little bit and left at 11. 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' and I then drove to meet our friends, load our super sweet mini-van rental, and drive out to LAX.

It was jammed packed!! (4 bike boxes, 4 suit cases, and 4 back packs!) We made it to California just in time for some perfect weather.... not.

Wonderful phone pic.... I need a new phone. :/

If you know me- you know I absolutely HATE flying. (Even the 1 and a half hour flight to my dads house in Colorado is still absolutely terrifying and I've done that a million times.) So just the thought of 13 long hours on a plane-- scared the crap out of me. (We planned pretty well and made it to where our flight left LAX at 9pm and then arrived in New Zealand at 7am- a day ahead. Hoping we would sleep a majority of the flight since it was overnight.)

Our last selfie in America for 2 weeks! We just finished stretching and are literally about to board the plane- I am terrified!!

What's the longest flight you've ever been on? 

Have you ever left the country? If so, where did you go? 

20 loooong miles

I did it! I ran 20 miles tonight!! It was anything but pretty- but I did it.

'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' joined me for the first 2 miles and we kept a 9 minute pace per mile. It went by so fast and felt great! Then I dropped him off at the house and kept his watch and kept going for another 18 miles.... 18 loooong miles. Alone.

I ran my 4.25 miles loop around my block and by that point, it was starting to get pretty dark. Since I don't like to run by myself in the dark, I decided to stay in my neighborhood.

I had music, but I still got bored, and I could see my dogs from the window get so excited every time I passed by, so I decided to grab one of them, run a mile, switch dogs, run a mile. I repeated that 4 times.

At this point, I was getting extremely bored in the neighborhood and ventured out down the road a bit. I still had my music on and a pretty intense song came on about a women walking to her car and someone following her... yeah, I definitely started running faster! haha!

I went back home to refill my water bottle at 17.75. At this point, I was planning on finishing my last 2 miles inside on our treadmill, but when I walked in, 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' was cooking dinner and told me just to finish it.

So... I went back outside and ran out 1.15 miles and then headed back. (longest 2.25 miles ever!) I was SO ready to be done and SO glad when it beeped 20 miles.

This was literally me getting into bed tonight. Haha! My legs are dead!

From my Instagram: TeamSprinklesAndGlitter

This was my last long workout before Ironman New Zealand and I am officially tapering. It's crazy that we are already so close! we leave in 11 days!

What's the longest run you've ever done? 

Do you run outside or on a treadmill?

B.A.D. Bingo Birthday!

On Friday my big sister turned 28! Twenty-eight?! Seriously?! I still remember her seventh birthday when our parents let her have our first sleep over with 13 girls!! (After being up all night, my mom always said there was a reason invitation packs only came with 8. haha!!)

So on Friday, my mom flew into town and we all met up for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. So good! One of my sister's friends joined us, who was kids about my niece and nephews ages- and it was hilarious to watch them interact with each other. Kids really do say the darnest things! ;)

Then on Saturday, I went shopping with my mom and my sister and we headed out to B.A.D. Bingo (Bingo After Dark) at 9:30pm.... wayyy past my normal bed time! It was at a local casino and I always forget people are allowed to smoke in casinos- so gross. Luckily, the Bingo room was non-smoking. 

We met up with several of my sisters friends and bought out bingo sheets and 'doppers'- the thing you use to make the numbers. We also got a bunch of free glow sticks. (Everyone was being super cute and wearing them like headbands- yeeeeeahhhh... my head is WAY too big for that. I did hold it on for a couple pictures to pretend I had a normal size head.... :))

They turned out the lights and had a D.J., who hosted a karaoke contest before we started. Once we started it was seriously intense!! No joke! They had loud music playing, lights streaming, and they were calling out the numbers SO fast! I think there was less than 5 seconds before numbers- which is not long when you are checking 6 different sheets on your paper in the dark! 

I was really anticipating one of us winning- but unfortunately none of us won. I did however, win a free shirt! :)

Happy, happy Birthday to my favorite sister in the entire world! I literally don't know life without you and can't imagine it any other way. 28 looks good on you! :)

Have you ever tried B.A.D. Bingo? I loved it and definitely think I'll be back! 

When's your Birthday? May 31st. 

P.F. Chang's 1/2 Marathon Race Recap!

This weekend was the P.F. Chang's Rock n' Roll 1/2 Marathon. This was my 5th year running and I swear it get's bigger and bigger every year!

'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' did a really hard 80 mile ride (with lots of climbing) the day before, he decided he would 'take it easy' and run the race with me and a friend-- and push us to a PR, then run another 7 miles after to get in his 'long run'.

I was SO excited and nervous for this race! The fact that 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' was running with me made me pretty confident I would hit my goal of sub 2 hours but also made me a little nervous of the pace I'd have to keep (9:03 pace per mile).

We went to the expo the day before, and then headed up to Scottsdale for a friends birthday Happy Hour. We stayed for awhile and 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' got some crazy appetizers- he is a very adventurous eater. :) 

We left pretty early and hit up Oregano's on the way home so I could get my traditional pre-race meal of pasta with chicken and broccoli- no sauce. We watched a movie and went to bed pretty early.

We woke up the next morning and had several problems when we were getting ready- couldn't find things we needed, 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter's' pants were still wet, I left my banana on the counter, etc..
When we finally made it out the door and headed down to the start- it was a madhouse and there was literally NO parking. We drove around for a good 20 minutes and couldn't find a single spot. At this point, the first corral had started and 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' was about to drive home.

We finally found a spot and quickly jumped up and made our way to the start. We were stopped several times by camera people asking to take our picture- I think I had more pictures taken of us before the race than actually during it! I loved it!!

We found the birthday girl, Vero, hit up the port-o-potties, and jumped into one of the corrals. It was a little scary to see some FBI police officers walking along the gate/corral and having the dogs sniff the throw away clothes...

A couple minutes of waiting in the corral and we were off. 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' set the pace and we followed along. The first couple of miles went by in the blink of an eye and we were pretty settled into a nice pace.

We passed a couple friends along the way and it was so good to see them and hear them cheering us on. We ticked off a few more miles and everything was still going smoothly and we were still right on track.

Around mile 6 all hell broke lose. Remember that banana I left on the counter? I think it was catching up to me that I hadn't eaten anything, so I tried to take some SportsBeans and almost immediately my stomach starting hurting. I have never had anything like that happen to me running or not. It was so weird- my stomach kept contracting and getting super tight and then I felt like I was going to throw up. Once it would stop contracting- I would be fine... for a couple minutes until it happened again...

It absolutely sucked!! I told Vero and 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' to keep going I would catch up- thinking it would quickly go away... (SPOILER ALERT: it didn't...)

We did however, pass the dragon! :)

'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' was an absolute CHAMP and he kept sprinting back and fourth between me and Vero- keeping Vero on track to PR (and telling her not to worry about me :)) and then trying his best to push me- if not to break 2 hours, at least to a PR. (SPOILER ALERT: it didn't happen...) Seriously- I don't know how I got so lucky with him!!

It was hilarious to watch people around us when he would be running with me. He knows exactly what to say to motivate me. Things like "come on! you can do it!" and "you're doing great! keep it up!" do NOT work for me and so he would say things like "PR or ER" and "why are we going this slow?!?! you are not going to PR if we go this pace!" I knew I wasn't going fast enough and I knew I needed to go faster if I wanted to PR- which I so badly did. But I physically could not push my body to go any faster with the stomach issues I was having.
Two ladies even catch up to me when 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' took off to find Vero again and asked if I wanted to run with them instead. They were super sweet and I explained the situation as I ran with them until he came back.

The last few miles were the slowest and longest of my life (dramatic much?!) but we eventually made our way over the Mill bridge towards the finish. Finish time: 2:11. Not a PR and definitely not sub 2. I'm disappointed that it didn't happen, but looking at the results- we hit the 5k in 28:24 and the 10k in 57:05. So I like we were on track and I had not had any problems, we would have done it. Next time...

We finished and found Vero- who ended up with a PR of 2:03!! WOOHOOO!! Then we sat down for a couple minutes and 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' gave me his medal to hold onto and took off for his remaining 7 miles. Vero and I went to find her friend who was running the full and cheered him on. I felt pretty bad for everyone running the full because it was pretty hot out already and they all looked hot and miserable.

Not the race I wanted, but there will always be another run. I think Vero and I are looking at signing up for the full marathon for next year... that sounds crazy to me.

Congrats to everyone who raced this weekend!! 

How long after a race do you wait until you sign up for another? 

2014 By the Numbers!

2014 was a year full of peaks and valley's. I got a few things checked off my bucket list and had some really incredible experiences. I also had my entire world stop when my dad got diagnosed with cancer and then completely shattered when he passed away 4 months later. Here's the year by the numbers:
8- Days spent in New York visiting 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter's' sister. We definitely fell in love with the city and are planning to go back next year.

While there I checked 2 things off bucket list:
3rd row seats to see Lion King on Broadway and running 6.5 miles through Central Park!

We also waited 20 minutes for Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity- where I was shocked to find out it wasn't actually hot.....

I consumed 1.3 pounds of frozen yogurt when I accidentally celebrated 'National Fro-Yo Day' twice.

30 days of Bikram Yoga completed.

Celebrated my nephew's 3rd birthday by watching Frozen for the 83rd time.

65 day hiatus from swimming after Ironman Arizona.

We added 4 hairy feet to our family on my birthday when 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' adopted Kona.

1 missed flight to Boise

739 miles traveled to Colorado to see my dad 4 times. You may remember this flight from hell from one of our first trips out there.

4 days spent in Fort Collins, Colorado for my brother's wedding- where I literally did the hardest 8 mile hike of my entire life!

Celebrated 3,287 days together 

5 of us signed up for Ironman New Zealand in March 2015 and started planning a once-in-a-lifetime 2 week vacation out there. I am beyond excited for trip!!

8 days spent in my hometown Las Animas, Colorado  Nik's wedding

3 times 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' came and not only found me on the run course after he finished his ironman- but he also ran with me!! 

Signed up for another 140.6 miles at Ironman Arizona for the 3rd time. 

13 races this year including 75 miles rode in Tour de Tucson for my first cycling race.

208 miles traveled (round trip) for our date night to see Beauty and Beast in Tucson.

6 cupcakes bought at the new Cupcake ATM

850.08 miles ran, 2,605.06 miles rode on the bike,and 113,025 meters swam.

The greatest man I ever knew passed away on his 17th wedding anniversary to my bonus-mom.

I definitely learned a lot and grew from 2014 and have some incredible memories from it. There are obviously somethings I wish I could change but I'm looking forward to 2015.
We have a several adventures planned throughout the year- including a few more checks on my bucket list! I'm excited.
Happy New Year Everyone!! 

What are your 2015 resolutions? Mine are to get outside of my comfort zone more (especially when training) retake my LSAT to apply for law school again.