Yesterday, Erika and I ran a 5K through our neighborhood. It wasn’t fast by any means (I definitely slowed her down), but it felt so good to get out there and do it.
I have to start following my training plan for the fall!
Here were my stats for the run:
It was so hot that I got a migraine after we ran. Grrr. I swear, my body does not do well in heat. I get cranky and tired everytime I have to be in the sun when it’s too hot.
I just got done with a 2.5 mile jog around my neighborhood. I love that hour of twilight between 7 and 8pm when the sun is setting and all the neighbors come out to play. I felt like everyone was out tonight. Kids were riding their bikes, parents were laughing and sprinklers were watering suburban lawns. It just reminds me of home, it’s so nice. I just took my time and really enjoyed everything that the summer evening had to offer.
Then I started thinking that I should set some kind of long term goal for myself. I’ve run 11 long distance marathons over the past 6 years (8 half-marathons and 3 full-marathons).
Then this brilliant idea was born:
The 20 Before 30!
I think I would love to do 20 endurance races before I turn 30. That gives me just over 3 years to complete 9 more. I plan to do two more half marathons in the fall… so then I’ll have 7 more to do in the next 2.5 years. Do you think I can do it?
PS… I finally bought my Boston Marathon photos…. It was totally worth it (I found a coupon for 30% off, SCORE!)
Here’s a few teasers! 
Nothing too life-changing has been going on. Just a bunch of random, everyday adventures. In no particular order…
Beauty on a walk
Irving and I went on a few great walks this week, but one day, we saw these amazing flowers in someone’s yard. They look like they’re from outer-space! Does anyone know what these are called?? 
A Sad Day…
We are sad to report that we finished the jar of Nutella.
We had banana, peanut butter & nutella sandwiches for dessert one night.. MMMmm. 
We have to get another one ASAP!
Running!
Erika & I went on a great 3.9 mile run on Friday. (I’ll spare you the sweaty picture.)
But post run… I had the most glorious cold shower. YAY!
Then had some fresh strawberries. 
I ❤ when strawberries are in season. It’s such a nice treat.
Art on the Wall!
We are very excited to announce that after four years of living in our condo, we have pictures on our wall!
And not just any pictures… real nice ones!
Irving worked really hard to make a photo collage on the wall. 
It came out awesome! 
A view from down the hall: 
We plan to add two vertical frames on the upper right and lower left in the future.
(Seeing the frames on the wall, we realized it’s a lot of white, so we’re contemplating painting this wall green to make the pictures pop more. What do you think?)
We printed some pictures from our photographer, including this one (my fave): 
I still have to get a frame for that one though.
Blogger Giveaway!
I won my first “blogger” giveaway this week! I was really, really excited about it.
Peanut Butter Fingers sent me a coupon for free Monterey Pasta! I’m very excited. Thanks!!
House of Pies
Last night, Ash & JR, Erika & Timmy, and us went to the House of Pies again! 
It was fun conversation and really good coconut cream pie! 
A Taste of Home
This morning, I woke up to a great cup of Iced Coffee from Dunkin Donuts. It really did (almost) taste like the real thing. Mmmm! 
Isn’t my life exciting?
Today was just the perfect mix of friends, exercise and fun!
It started out with a 5 mile run with Erika and Timmy and the Los Angeles Racers. It was awesome. Started out cloudy and got bright and sunny by the end. What a great way to start the day! 
We completed the 5 miles in 1:07 (burning 465 calories!)
Mile 1: 12:29
Mile 2: 12:18
Mile 3: 13:42
Mile 4: 15:03
Mile 5: 13:26
After the run, I came home and caught up on the three episodes of Kendra on my TIVO. Classy.
Then headed out to TWO HOURS of Pilates at Mind2Body! They were having an open house, so Erica, Janet and I headed over for some free classes.
I ended up doing 4 back-to-back 30-minute classes: Mat, Magic Circle, Tower and Reformer.
I had never done any kind of Pilates classes before, so this was a great intro into each aspect of it. I left feeling like my muscles were exhausted, but not in pain, it was so much fun. Totally relaxing. I focused a lot on breathing and I know I zoned out a couple of times. I totally needed this!
Then I met my friend, Danielle, for some iced coffee at Aroma Cafe.
We spent an hour or so just chatting and laughing and catching up. It was a lot of fun.
Irving and I had a simple dinner together.
Just some Trader Joes stuffed foccacia, veggies and a salad. 
…and watched three episodes of Weeds… 
…while munching on Chocolate-Banana popcorn! 
The night ended with a competitive “best out of three” game of YAHTZEE! 
I WON! 
What a great weekend! Whew!
So you might want to grab a cup of water and grab a comfy chair before you read this post. It’s sure to be pretty long.
So backing up to the very beginning…
On Friday night, we took a red eye flight (on Virgin!) to Boston. At the airport, we saw an Emerson friend that we knew! While we waited to board, I played the “who else on my flight is running Boston” game. haha
Once we landed, we went directly to Dunkin’ Donuts! I avoided caffeine a few days before, but that didn’t stop me from getting a munchkin’!
My parents picked us up at the airport and we went directly to the Boston Marathon Expo at the convention center. Our flight arrived at 6am and the expo didn’t open til 9am. But it was fun to hang out and chat and relax before the craziness began.
Then they opened the doors and all the volunteers clapped as we walked in.
And I got my very own Boston Marathon bib!
My dad bought me this Boston Visor!
As someone on twitter said earlier, “I trick or treated at the expo”. haha There were so many goodies! Some highlights: Cape Cod Chips, Organic Granola Bars and Coconut Larabars! Mmmm I think my parents had fun walking around too. There was so much to look at.
Then we headed over to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge packet pickup. They had a really cute check-in. Everything was so organized and everyone was really nice!
When I got to my house, the rest of my family was excited to see Irving and I!
Look who was first in line to greet us! I miss Mr. Gizzy!
We had a fun dinner Saturday night too!
After dinner, I tried on some of my new marathon gear and posed for my grandparents!
Thank you, Irving, for my jacket! I LOVE it!
And the shirt I have on was the free technical shirt that all entrants got. Pretty sweet, huh?
My sisters and aunt got busy making signs to hold during the race.
But the first order of business was to figure out how to draw a “runner girl”. haha
And then things got a little crazy when trying to draw giraffes…. does this look like a giraffe to you? HAHAHA
Then I started to get my stuff together for race morning. I think it’s so awesome we got to keep our timing chips this year. Usually you have to give them back at the end. It’s a nice memento to have!
I attached it to my shoe right away.
I also pinned my bib onto my shirt! It looks good, yes?
My dad made me a sign too! Thanks, Dad!
That night, I slept for a glorious 12 hours. It felt SO good to be rested.
Sunday, Irving, my sisters and I headed into Boston for a Marathon-themed day!
We headed directly to the Finish Line to take some pictures.
It was a little rainy out, but I’d much rather see it rain Sunday instead of Marathon Monday!!
Next time I see this, I’ll be a Boston Marathon Finisher!
Then we found this awesome backdrop and had a photo session. 🙂
And with my sisters!!
Oh, and a shot of my AMAZING Jacket!! It’s official!
Then my friends met us down there! They came all the way out in the rain to say hi and wish me luck. They’re amazing. Thanks guys, you have no idea how awesome it was to see you guys!!!
And then, in a panic, I realized that my fuel belt wasn’t going to work, so we headed over to City Sports to buy a new one. (I know, I know, nothing new on race day! But this was an emergency!)
After a fun afternoon, we headed over to the Copley Marriott for the DFMC Pasta Party!!!!
I got so energized by all the DFMC stuff everywhere. There was a lot of excitement in the air! Peter and I found our names on the “Living Proof” board. We’re both survivors running for Dana-Farber!
haha, Ta-da!
So excited I got to share this with my sisters and Irving!
The room was huge!! It looked so good!
The centerpieces were cute too!
We ate LOTS of pasta! It was pretty good, actually. During the meal, they had a slideshow going. We caught two of our pictures!
The speakers were great. Uta Pippig was there! She has won a lot of marathons, but is best known for being the first woman to win the Boston Marathon three consecutive times (1994–1996). She was so inspiring!
And our DFMC Coach, Jack Fultz, spoke too. He won the 1976 Boston Marathon.
He had a lot of great tips to share. I think the funniest was when he told us that during the whole race, people would be screaming “Go Dana-Fah-bah!”. 🙂
And our very own DFMC Teammate, Valerie Bertinelli was there too! She was adorable. I’m so proud that she chose to be on our team. Thanks, Valerie!
She was even nice enough to take a picture with me!!
What a great night!
See you in Hopkinton!
Hi I'm Kelley! I'm a 30-something cancer survivor and a self-proclaimed world traveler. I am originally from Boston, but now call Los Angeles my home. Traveling is my passion, but I also love running marathons, watching soccer, eating cupcakes and planning future adventures with my Husband. In June 2012, I became a mom to a beautiful baby girl named Adele. Our lives are forever changed and we couldn't be more excited!
Email: Kelocity@gmail.com
By popular demand, here are my Nike Women's Marathon recap posts!
2011
2010 - Race
2010 - Expo
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
Kelocity.com 