I finished an actual half marathon on early Sunday morning. All on my own. And then I walked around Disneyland for another 7 hours that day. Oh yeah.

The day began with a wake-up call at 3:30am … but that really translated into me waking up and [...]]]> Dear friends,

I did it!

I finished an actual half marathon on early Sunday morning. All on my own. And then I walked around Disneyland for another 7 hours that day. Oh yeah.

The day began with a wake-up call at 3:30am … but that really translated into me waking up and wildly checking the clock every 30-45 minutes from my 9pm bedtime on… so there was a significant lack of sleep that occurred from Saturday night to Sunday morning. Luckily Auds was just one floor up in the hotel, so I got dressed in my distinctly not-girly-bright outfit, threw my iPhone in my ifitness belt and went up to eat our banana breakfast with her before hopping on the tram to the race course.

We got to the staging area around 4:30am, so I guzzled three cups of water and visited the bathroom before they started urging us to jump into the corrals around 5:15ish. Auds was in the A group (of course), so I squeezed the way to the front of my C corral and made friends with some of the lovely ladies in my vicinity. Since this was techincally a “women’s race” the guys were excluded from the first two corrals, so most of the 900 guys running were in my group, including the oh so awesome Sean Astin. (remember when Miss L got to meet him last time we were at Disneyland?) But the rest of the group consisted of women in varying degrees of pixie-powered outfits with Sparkle skirts and wings and everything in between.

We were serenaded by an awesome rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, there were fireworks, and live announcers and music and characters to get us off to our start… and then we were off on the course!

The first couple of miles were on the streets surrounding the park, but pretty early into the race they wound us through backstage and then into the streets of Disneyland. It was a blast to see backstage again and all of my old work haunts (even if they wouldn’t let me take a photo outside of the animal house…) and to pop into the park at twilight.

This is where you begin to realize that this is less of a race and more of just a 13.1 mile running course. People stop to go to the bathroom. And take photos. And wait in line to take photos with characters. I actually stopped for two bathroom breaks within the park, because I trusted them more than the portapotties at the water stops. And I didn’t feel horrible or bad… because it was all about just getting to the end. I think the people that were trying for PR’s and racing were a bit peeved (or so I overheard from those after the race was over) but I guess they’ll know next time around. I was happy. We were all trying to get to the end together. I liked that goal.

After we left Disneyland, the course winds away north from the park and east into downtown Anaheim on the other side of Interstate 5. This was the “boring” part of the race, but it was still lined with lots of people cheering and high school bands playing crazy happy music. My satellite radio (I listened to Hits 1 the whole time) went silent for about a mile in this area, and I didn’t die of boredom, so that was a good thing.

Once I hit mile 8, I started taking photos at the mile markers. You know, since I hadn’t ever run more than 8 miles before thanks to the rain storm in my last week of training. (Forgive the random expressions on my face – I never promised to stay sane throughout this process!)

By the time I hit the 13 mile marker, I was truly in disbelief. That I was at the finish line… and I had did it. And I wasn’t dying. And I was still running in intervals. And I was about to get a medal and say that I did it.

I’m not quite sure I believe it even right now! Well, except that my legs have a severe aversion to stairs at the moment. That part sort of makes it all real.

[there were 12,000 entrants... 11,080 women and 920 men - 10,280 people finished!]

Unfortunately, something wasn’t aligned in the stars the morning of the race, because my GPS tracker on my iphone decided that I had run a full 14.1 miles on Sunday instead of just 13.1. So while my mile splits are obviously a little off, they’re probably decently accurate as my overall time was about 13:35/mile.  I set my runkeeper intervals to a run 2 minutes/walk 1 minute pace and kept to that for the majority of the race, outside of water stops and a few extra walking breaks. I knew that would net me a 12 minute mile time… and for the extra walking I’d near the 13/14 minute mile pace. And you know what, it was perfect. I’d been pushing myself in longer intervals while training, and then I’d die at the end of it by running really really slow. This time, I was still running at a nice pace at the very end of it all.

And for all of the hurt I feel today… it’s nothing like the hurt I felt when I started this process long ago. Those first runs hurt so badly. Every muscle in my body ached after those runs and I could barely make it upstairs at the end of the day. And that was just going 2 miles.

So now I just need to find some prominent way to hang my medal with pride (cause wearing it around my neck causes a whole new sense of pain) and revel in the fact that I did this crazy and unthinkable thing.

I have to put out a HUGE thank you to all of my supporters, whether they were family or friends cheering me on this past weekend in person, on another coast at another race…

…. or online ready with cheering words of suppport or congrats. You guys are seriously the best cheering squad this non-runner could ever ask for… you really helped me believe that I could actually do this, and made my smiles at the end just that big because I proved you all right!

Oh, and while this whole exercise proved that I  can run, I’m still nowhere near being “a runner.” But who cares, cause I totally did this!

Excuse me while I repeat a mantra of, “stay calm Kim” over the next 48 hours, because I’m really freaking out about this whole race thing. Didn’t sleep more than 5 hours each night this week… haven’t been eating well…. and mentally I’m just eating myself up over this thing I’ve never [...]]]>

Excuse me while I repeat a mantra of, “stay calm Kim” over the next 48 hours, because I’m really freaking out about this whole race thing. Didn’t sleep more than 5 hours each night this week… haven’t been eating well…. and mentally I’m just eating myself up over this thing I’ve never done before.

Not like this isn’t the first time I’ve gone through this lovely cycle of stress. It’s happened before many other firsts…. first day of teaching, new jobs, performances, etc. And while I have many coping mechanisms, the inevitable period of “Kim freak out” still comes up and I still have to conquer the anxiety of that along with the task at hand. I can channel it all I want, but it’s still there and fueling the days leading up to those big events. And no matter the preparation for any of these events, I still get a giant lump in my throat before I get out there and actually do it.

But, at sometime around 4:30 in the morning on Sunday, I’ll be standing with 11,079 other women (and some random men) at the start line… and around 5:45am I’ll actually start the task of running 13.1 miles without causing myself more harm than good.  I might link up the virtual tracking to my twitter account so friends and family can peek in at my progress, and so that in my mind I can pretend I’ve got hundreds of people cheering me along and helping me get to the end.

I want the medal. I want to wear the race shirt with pride. And I want to check this random endeavor off my list. As someone related to me this week, “Doing the half marathon only takes a short period of time compared to the amount of time you spend bragging about doing it.” So yeah… I’m going to do this thing.

This is the den upstairs in our house. And yes… those are three TVs all tuned to NFL football thanks to the glorious invention that is NFL Sunday Ticket. (well… it’s glorious when [...]]]> You might still think it’s summer, but the picture below is evidence that fall is officially here…

This is the den upstairs in our house. And yes… those are three TVs all tuned to NFL football thanks to the glorious invention that is NFL Sunday Ticket. (well… it’s glorious when it actually works… as it was severely malfunctioning for the first half of the morning games this weekend)

You might think that this leads to incredibly lazy Sundays of sports absorption, but let me just tell you how difficult it is to watch 3 games (or more) at once and track your two fantasy teams at the same time, let alone carry on a conversation with one of the many guests hopping in and out of the house on a Sunday. Even if you’re not a football fan, the pure spectacle of so much action on three screens will captivate your brain… or at least that’s what seems to happen with the “non-fans” that come over and stay for hours on end.

The only thing missing from the den is a kegerator, and we’d truly have a sports bar upstairs in second living room…. but we get enough beer stock from all of the guests, so it’s not really any sort of necessity. (I kid, I kid… but I really did have severe kegerator envy every time I saw one in a beach house on the Strand…)

Now I just need to plan out some crowd-pleasing breakfasts, assign snack duty to friends, and we’ll be ready for each Sunday that comes at us from here til January!

Anyone else enjoy their comfy Sunday spot on the couch (or bar stool) yesterday?

You see… this is one sports opportunity where the littlest team can win it all! [...]]]> Dear friends… the madness of March is upon us, and if you’re not one who celebrates the ritual that is American college basketball with fervor, I’d like to suggest that you take the following steps to rectify this situation.

You see… this is one sports opportunity where the littlest team can win it all! And all they have to do… is just keeping winning game after game. For some teams, they didn’t even have to win throughout the season, but just win their final conference tournament, and they played into a spot in the big dance! Others got an at-large bid by the skin of their teeth and are fighting to prove worthy of that honor. It may seem silly that a fan of one of “those” major NCAA basketball teams is cheering for Cinderella – but that’s what makes watching every game other than UCLA’s worth it all. The highs of elation and the lows of devastation as the ball gets dribbled around the court. It might only be one shining moment for some kids, but man oh man is it a glorious three weeks of sport!

1. Download your bracket(s). Yes… men’s AND women’s brackets (which comes out today at 7pm EST). Fill them out. If someone at your office is having a pool, or your friends on facebook are starting a group, join in the fun! For $5… you’ll have an absolute blast!

Google all of the universities you’ve never heard of before and find out all about them. Pick teams to move on because your sister’s best friend’s aunt went to school there, or because their mascot (hello Wofford Boston Terriers!) would win in a head to head mascot battle.

[printable men’s bracket courtesy of the NCAA]

[printable women’s bracket – available at 7pm EST – courtesy of USA Today]

2. Schedule in time to watch some games on Thursday/Friday (MUCH easier if you’re on the east coast)… or watch some on your lunch break as well. Download the March Madness app on your iphone, or watch online as well. And if you’re crazy like we are watch all the games simultaneously on 3 TVs and your laptop! Or… at least catch SportsCenter each morning/night just to see all the insanity that you missed. And you have no excuse to miss any games on Saturday/Sunday!

p.s. this year’s tournament has expanded from 65 to 68… so now there are the “First Four” games played on Tuesday & Wednesday night!

3. Pick out some favorite teams from the start. Choose them for silly reasons, like their school colors or location or that your favorite NBA personality was an alum. Hate other teams for silly reasons as well, like their coach’s hair or the fact that the evil bully from middle school always wore their jerseys. But whatever you do… try and pick sides… and do it for as many teams as possible. This is why wagering on the bracket makes things more fun – you’re monetarily invested at least.

I’ve been told by former NCAA basketball players that my picks for March Madness make absolutely no sense year after year. I’m not logical, but I’m all about heart and grudges. And some poor teams get punished because they hire coaches that I’m forever eternally against and now I just can’t cheer for them (ahem, UNC). But my other reasons are just crazy.

4. Make new friends talking about the tournament with others! Just like the Superbowl, this is one of those opportunities that you have to make new friends at the coffee shop or at work or anywhere really! With 68 teams in the field, there’s a slight chance that everyone has a team they like in there! Or, maybe they’re really bitter (hello Harvard!) that they didn’t make it into the field?

5. Watch a college basketball inspired movie this week. Catch “The Fab Five” on ESPN this week and learn why I have always been neurotic about time-outs as a player and a fan. If you belong to Netflix instant, check out last year’s champs and 100 Years of Duke Basketball. There are lots of DVDs you can request from Netflix for normal viewing as well, like College Basketball’s 10 Greatest Teams or simply March Madness: The Greatest Moments of the NCAA Tournament.

6. And… if you don’t care at all and are just being dragged to the bar to watch the games… turn it into a drinking game. Take a sip for every time the following words/phrases are uttered: Cinderella, Wooden, Jimmy V, Coach K (during non-Duke games), President Obama’s bracket. Take a shot if they show the Christian Laettner, Bryce Drew, or Tyus Edney game winning plays. And, if you’re looking to really forget that you’re even watching basketball, during the Sweet 16/Elilte 8/Final Four, take a sip every time you see a commercial for “The Masters” … because CBS will never ever understand that manic college basketball fans are the exact opposite of golf fans.

7. Most of all… laugh, cry, cheer and scream! March Madness may spill over into April now.. but it’s amazing while it’s here!

Anyone else have any March Madness tips they’d like to add to the list???

p.s. Also feel free to dress like a crazy fan if your team is in the dance! You know, just cause I certainly do, whether I’m at the game or not!

[Sweet 16 Game – 2007]

[Elite 8 Game – 2007]

. The 2010 NFL football season may have officially started last Sunday with that abysmal pre-season game, but things didn’t really feel “real” until Hard Knocks premiered last night. I gave Mr. M an early b-day present and subscribed to HBO for a few months just so we could watch it. We [...]]]>

My cousin Brad is Rickey Henderson’s biggest fan. No seriously, he is. Need proof… just check out his blog that is devoted to the “Man of Steal.”

I used to think it was just a fluke when we were kids and his collection of cards grew larger and larger, but the fact that [...]]]>

My cousin Brad is Rickey Henderson’s biggest fan. No seriously, he is. Need proof… just check out his blog that is devoted to the “Man of Steal.”

I used to think it was just a fluke when we were kids and his collection of cards grew larger and larger, but the fact that he kept it up long after Rickey stopped playing baseball shows you just how deep the love actually is. In fact, he had a savings account set aside just for his trip to Cooperstown for the inevitable day that Rickey would make it into the Hall of Fame, and got to use it this summer when that day actually came around.

While he was on this trip, he had the chance to snap some once in a lifetime photos… and despite being the amateur among legions of press, he ended up capturing quite “the shot” seen above. And now he’s trying to win ESPN’s The SHOT People’s Choice award…

If you’d like to help my cousin out, simply click on this link and vote for his image. You’ll need to verify your email address (just once) and I promise no spam will come your way. Just warm fuzzies and good karma for helping an ultimate fan out…