Jack and Mulligan

Christmas Weekend: Puppies Galore!

There was a full house of dogs last weekend. It was good to have all the boys in one house :)

Jack and Ty in their Christmas outfits

Mulligan in his new sweater. Thanks Rickie and Michelle

Such a handsome boy

Mulligan and Jack

Christmas Weekend: Sightseeing in SF

So we did not go to Napa on Friday because the wineries were closed on Christmas Eve. Instead, we tasted some CA wines in San Francisco. These are random photos from our day sightseeing in the city.

Clockwise from bottom: flights of Chards, Pinot Noir, and Merlot. Yummy!

Better than Sprinkles?

Another view of Coit Tower

Lombard Street

Christmas Weekend: Alcatraz

Rickie, Michelle, Jack, and Ty came up to California for Christmas weekend. Rickie insisted on taking the ferry to Alcatraz island. I'm glad he did, because it was pretty awesome.

Michelle and Rickie on the Ferry

Coit Tower

The last remaining canon on Alcatraz

Recreation Area

Golden Gate Bridge

View of San Francisco from Alcatraz

That's Quite A Collection of Bling

I have this little cubby (spelling?) hole at the bottom of my staircase. I'm not sure what the architect had in mind when he/she designed this condo. This little built in shelf even has a power supply. There's no GFI or else I would have put a small fish tank here.

Instead, I decided to put my race medals on this shelf. Kind of neat. I'm starting to get quite the collection of race bling. It's too bad I lost my Nike Women Half Marathon "medal" from 2007 (it was a Tiffany & Co necklace). Hopefully I can get into that race next year and earn a replacement.

Mulligan's Little Brother

No, I didn't get another dog. My neighbor, however, adopted Mulligan's baby brother (his name is Charlie).



They are so cute together!

Peer Pressure: North Face Endurance Challenge Marathon

You know as a kid, I was never susceptible to peer pressure. However, I am a sucker for being peer pressured into races. I ran the North Face Endurance Challenge San Francisco Half Marathon in 2008 and 2009. It's a hellish course with nearly impossible elevation change. This year, I was peer pressured into running the marathon course (Thanks Sara). Mind you, this is 6 weeks after my first marathon in Long Beach where I threw up twice on the course.

The good news was that the race was a trail run--easier on my joints and on my mind. Trail runs are more fun. The bad news was that this course was VERY challenging. If you don't believe me check out the course map and elevation chart:

Course Map

Elevation Chart. Yup, those "hills" sucked ass

It rained on Saturday during the race. I don't mind running in the rain. In fact, I usually enjoy it. However, running a race in the rain certainly did not make this course any easier. At one point in the race, the race crew put straw down on the trail (I'm assuming to help with the traction or water absorption). The straw really only served to weigh down my shoes even further. It was like running as if I was tared and feathered. Nevertheless, the race was great and I finished really well.

More Bling for the collection

Better Late than Never: Long Beach Marathon Weekend Part 2

In random order again, here are some more pictures from my marathon weekend.


Bubba Gump Shrimp was a sponsor of the runners expo. Forrest was at the expo giving out chocolate. I snapped a quick photo of Sara with Forrest while she was trying out those snazzy orange Brooks running shoes.

Forrest, Sara

This photo was taken the day after the marathon. Sara and I both ran the marathon. It was my first and her 39th (yikes!). We put our cameras on top of a trash can with a 10 sec. timer to snag this shot. (We didn't trust the homeless guys with our cameras.) Do you know how difficult it is to walk a few feet in front of the camera to take this shot with a timer after running a marathon? Very difficult! It was a good shot of us. So, the pain was worth it.

Me, Sara

Before heading back home, Sara and I visited the Long Beach aquarium. Pretty cool pictures of a baby shark. What they do is carefully cut open the shark egg and replace the cut egg shell with a clear plastic sheet so that the baby shark is protected. This way, we can see the shark develop while keeping the baby shark safe. So cool!

I really like this quote

Shark Egg

Another shark egg

Better Late than Never: Long Beach Marathon Weekend Part 1

So, I am WAY overdue in posting pictures from the Long Beach Marathon weekend. In no particular order here are some photos from my first night in Long Beach.

Mulligan wanted some of the Mac N Cheese

(R-L) Me, Mulligan, Elena, Sara

I think Mulligan wanted some beer. Look at his little tongue :)

Light house

Marina

View from the hotel

We all ordered the Beer tasting. Some were great. Others were like a bad version of Bud Light

Another view from the hotel. You can see Port of Long Beach. Busiest seaport in the U.S.