January 2013 Lessons Learned

Hello 2013! I hope this is a great year! I have some super big goals to reach along with foot surgery!

We started the new year with putting our rental property on the market Jan 4 and hoping for the best since interest rates are low as are home inventory levels and over the weekend we received 4 offers! They bid against each other and the final winner was 6k over list and paid cash!  Our escrow closed in 13 days and we are finally no longer slumlords!  Lesson learned...buy rental property in a neighborhood that you would also live in or you will have neighborhood problems that you cannot control.  By the way, the eviction process finally closed on Jan 9 so it took over two months so we were fortunate the tenant signed a transfer of possession Dec 5 or we would not have been able to repair the home all through December.  I'm so glad that nightmare is over. It was a huge distraction!


So on to a happier note... RUBY!!!! oh my how the little boston terrier has stolen our hearts! She is a firecracker with lightning speed and precious eyes that melt our souls.  She is our little bat girl with perfect ears! It took Caramello 2 weeks to stop pouting while Ruby relentlessly demanded her attention. They are playing better together and Ruby doubled in size by 11 weeks. Recently Birdie, the skinny cat, has also accepted her.  They are a sweet trio usually, however, Ruby has some very sharp teeth and gets slapped and pinned regularly!

We started our race season with the inaugural New Year's Race in Los Angeles.  This was our first night race which began at 9pm.  I wondered how LA allowed road closure in downtown LA without a major traffic problem but it was soon apparent. We ran 4 miles mostly in the closed dark fashion district to Dodgers Stadium and then ran 5 miles in circles and switchbacks in the stadium parking lot and then returned the same 4 miles back to the start!  It was horrible and monotonous ... AND HILLY in the parking lot!  I had to continually remind myself about the gorgeous bling and hoody sweatshirt to keep my spirits up. Definitely not a race to repeat.

Next race is Disneyland's Tinkerbell Half in costume on Jan 20!  We decided to use our theme park tickets another time in 2013 because the 49er game was on Saturday.  We were actually grateful the run started at 5am!  This horribly early start time allowed us to drive home before kickoff!

There were many Tinkerbells but only a few Peter Pans so Marcus was a superstar during the run!  As usual for Disney races, we took loads of pictures and just enjoyed the scenery without pushing for time. I have such respect for all the BQ runners where speed is #1 but I love that we have different goals for each run. It makes it fun with wonderful memories. I don't like that we ran for 2 hours in the dark but I understand the park still opens on time and the start and finish are in the park. It's just the pictures are not always that great in the dark.

We saw many 49er Fans along the way making the hype for the afternoon game even better!

The finishline was fun and the medals and long-sleeved shirts were beautiful as expected!  Love that Tinkerbell spins in the middle of the wings! If life allows us, we plan to attend Walt Disney World in November for the Wine and Dine Half at night with a super adult finishline party.  We would also earn our Coast to Coast Challenge medal as well! I hope to earn my favorite shirt that said: Castle to Castle 2462 miles!

So after a quick breakfast after the finish, we drove to San Diego to pray for the 49er win. It was so stressful to watch the first half of annihilation but as we all know, the 49ers are a 2nd half team!  Marcus was invited to attend the superbowl in New Orleans before ever thinking his team would be there too!  When the 49ers pulled ahead...the boys screamed like they were on fire! Guess I will be running Surf City on Feb 3 without Marcus!  That's ok... it's a dream come true for him! I look forward to running at Huntington Beach with about 15,000 other 49er fans and Ryan and Aliyah! I will be earning my Beach Cities Challenge medal for completing the 3 consectutive Beach Half marathons. The medal is gorgeous and weighs 1/2 pound!!! So unfortunate that Marcus misses out. :(

The USAT National Club Challenge continues through February and has helped keep me motiviated to work hard for my Oceanside Half Ironman. I think my goal to improve by 45 minutes is possible now.  I continue to stay in the top 10 of 175 in my age group! Since I am not a full Ironman, I'm happy to stay in the top 10 since I'm generally slower than others. The weather is finally improving now so February, I will return to outdoor swimming although still very cold at 55 to 58 degrees!

January mileage:
Total Swim Miles 29,325 YDs = 16.7 miles ; AVG Wk 6305 yds = 3.9 miles
Total Bike Miles 481.5 ; AVG wk 98.30 mi
Total Run Miles 105 ; AVG wk 21 mi

Avg Weekly Hours 13.19 hours
Total Duration 64:36 hours
Total Distance 601.41 miles