Fiesta 5k Ole! Seattle

On Saturday, May 3rd, I went to Seattle and participated in the Fiesta 5k Ole! event with my sister-in-law, Edith, and my nephew, Geronimo. It was a lot of fun! Obviously the real reason to go up north was to see family but hey, throw in a running event and it's a weekend bonus!

Not only was the running/walking event going on but there was also a Taco Truck Challenge! With taco trucks lined up on both sides of the street, there was plenty to eat and obviously a real reason for the Husbands to come see us at the finish line! (Can't get them to show up at our events without the lure of food!)

Edith, Geronimo and I showed up with plenty of time to spare before the race - we were worried about parking. There were over 1200 people there in all kinds of outfits, mustasches, and sombreos! How do people run in that stuff?! With that many people and such a short distance, you were always within the crowd. It was a lot of fun though and I actually learned that I really like the 5k event. You run/walk your 3.1 miles and BAM!, it's over!

Me being me (slow!) and Seattle being Seattle (hilly!), I finished the event in 38:01 averaging 12:16 per mile. Edith and Gero stayed with me but no doubt could have finished a lot faster had they gone on ahead! I had to walk the hills (three big ones) and was able to jog the rest. As short as it was and as much as I enjoyed it with Edith and Gero, I was happy when it was over. I'm completely out of shape, weigh too much, and haven't had my head in the game this year.

My brother-in-law, Gustavo, and Ray were at the finish line cheering us on... and waiting to eat! :) They sampled and ate from a few different trucks but the crowd was thick and getting food took quiet a while.  Me... I stuck with the "boring" and had a grilled cheese tortilla! (but it was good!) One thing I tried and LOVED was habanero lemonade!  Hot, spicy and AWESOME! Sounds weird, I know, but if you like HOT, it's really, really GOOD!

I think Edith and I will make this a yearly thing - good excuse to get together and a fun little event!

Edith, next year I promise to go a little faster...  ;)

Edith - looking good!

Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival 2014

I went to my very first Tulip Festival on April 26th. I have to admit, when asked to go, I thought... What the heck do people go see a field of tulips for?! Now I know! And I'll be going again next year!

After several months of hiding out at home and being a recluse, I finally made plans to see two special friends of mine - Kathie and Cathie. It had been months between our last visit and communication (solely my fault) and it was time to catch up. We agreed to meet for coffee at Bridgeport Village (awesome shopping center!) and ride together to the tulip festival. We sat with our coffees for awhile, chatting about our lives, jobs, kids, etc. It was so nice reconnecting!

Off we went to the festival at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm.  It was AMAZING! Never have I seen so many flowers and colors in my life! Row after row, field after field... TULIPS were everywhere! We (mostly Kathie - we left her in charge of the photos) took a kazillion pictures - burned through two cell phone batteries - and we still didn't capture it all! There are literally hundreds of types of tulips and each has it's own special color, texture and characteristics.  Wow!

After enjoying the tulips, we went back to the Bridgeport Village and enjoyed more conversation, dinner and drinks at Pastini. Yummmm. It was a wonderful day and I'm so happy I ventured out to go some place different and most of all, to see my friends!  It was a GREAT day!

If I post ALL of the pictures we took on here, you'll definitely go TuLiP-CrAzY so let me TRY to narrow it down.  P.S. It was WINDY thus the WILD HAIR on my head! ;)  

2014 Blooms to Brews

April 13th was the Blooms to Brews half marathon event in Woodland, Washington. This was the second year for the event to take place and Bullseye's and my first year to participate in it. The course was awesome and I'll definitely be doing it again next year!

Before the race, Bullseye presented me with an adorable gift... haha

"Buzz and Bullseye take a Selfie!"

The weather was beautiful! It started out cold and sunny and quickly became WARM and sunny! The course was flat and wide, not many vehicles to deal with at all. There was a three-quarter mile dirt road we had to take towards the end that was very rocky and uneven. Other than that, it was one of the nicest routes I've been on. The weather was perfect for a Sunday afternoon stroll but for those of us that wanted to move a little quicker than a stroll... the sun - without ANY shady spots to speak of - was tough to deal with. (But hey, I'm not complaining!) It is hard to believe I can sweat like that in 65 degrees! :)

This was Bullseye's recap on Facebook the following day:

Yesterday's race in Woodland (Blooms to Brews) was an awesome flat course event. Buzz and I did our first 3 miles together and paced under 12 minutes per mile -- which is REALLY good for us. Both Jacqueline and I have always had the mindset that walking/running is a competition against ourselves, not each other or the person next to us. We will have good days and bad days and if you're having a good day -- GO FOR IT -- we'll celebrate at the end with a cold beer. And we will always cheer each other on. I was having a good day yesterday and went ahead of Buzz. As I said the course was flat and well supported with volunteers. The only downer was the 3/4 mile dirt/gravel pot-holed road we had to use. I was a little afraid I would fall or trip so I didn't run much during that section. AND -- I really think it was longer than 3/4 of a mile. LOL In any event, I finally broke my 3 hour time with 2:44:28 with a 12:33 pace. WHEW! Buzz came in shortly after me. The only thing I would change is to definitely wear a tank top. Despite leaving the house at 27 degrees, it warmed up quickly and there was no shade on the route. IT WAS VERY WARM. All in all, it was a great day, with my great friend and we shared that ice cold beer at the end.

She had an awesome run!

Way to go Bullseye for finally getting under the three-hour mark! Not only did you get under it, you crushed it!!

Me, I just didn't have it in me. I enjoyed the route and spent all but those first three miles on my own, in my head, just thinking about life - what I want out of it and what it's going to take to accomplish it. I was very peaceful and really didn't care when I crossed that finishline as long as I crossed it on my own two feet. In the end, I did a lot better than I thought I would do. I finished in 3:00:29 (If only I could have finished 30/100th of a second faster... I would have been under 3 hours! haha I've been under the 3 hour mark before AND I was enjoying the peace and beauty of the day, so no big deal.) I was very happy with my time. I averaged 13:47 minute miles. I'm good with that!

We earned these....

 And these...!

Cheers!

 

Another half notched out on our belt of events! Another fun piece of bling! Great event!

 

 

P.S.  Next year, Blooms to Brews is adding a FULL marathon.  Hummmmm....