My First 10K

I’ve had better nights of sleep...and I’ve had worse. When it comes down to it, the sleep I DID get wasn’t going to negatively impact my race so I won’t drag on about it. The temperature outside when we left the hotel was 54 degrees. I was conflicted as to what to wear but decided to go with running pants, a long-sleeved Under Armour shirt and a neon pink short-sleeved Under Armour shirt over it. I figured I wouldn’t be too cold this way and the Under Armour material would hopefully prevent me from overheating should I have made a bad decision with the layers.

In addition to my bib pinned on the front of me, I pinned a special bib on my back as well. Its purpose, if we wanted to wear it, was to honor military personnel (past, present, deceased or living) serving our country. I decided to honor Moshe “Bananaz” Thompson (yes, we really call him that). He is a dear friend of my friend LeRon and subsequently has become a good friend of mine through the years. Moshe is currently stationed in Iraq.

The race had a FedEx drop point system worked out that was pretty cool. For an extra couple of bucks, you could drop a bag of things (clothing, personal items, etc.) into a FedEx truck near the starting line and by the time you were finished, the truck had relocated to the finish line where you could claim your items and be on your way. We definitely took advantage of that – storing wallets (perhaps we were a little too trusting, although all worked out), cameras, keys and a long-sleeved shirt Lexi decided she didn’t need.

Eric, Lexi, Ellie and I were all in the same heat – mainly because we had requested to be. It was the “GB under 11:00” group which was simply runners that signed up claiming to run an 11:00 mile or faster. Troy and Tyler ran earlier because they were able to use a previous qualifying time (in an official race) to more accurately measure their pace and place them with others of their same speed. Our GB group was still somewhat comparable to each other, but the speed of runners had a much larger range in timing than I’m sure Troy and Tyler’s individual heats had.

The Colorado University Athletic Director stood at the starting line, sending us off by the sound of a gun. Strangely, as if she wasn’t expecting it, I think Ellie jumped a mile when the gun went off. It was kind of funny. She and I had decided to at least run the first part of the race together and admittedly, this was most helpful to me. I was worried I would be too slow for her, but we had discovered a month ago we may actually run a similar pace and having a partner to run next to made all the difference for me. We shot ahead of Lexi and Eric at the start and begin our 6.2 mile journey.

Along the way there were various bands, music and other things to keep the runners entertained including a “Blues Brothers” band, Elvis impersonator, National Guard band, a kids band, belly dancers (Ellie was disappointed with them, lol), kids gymnastic acts and a Reggae band. I had invested in an iPod Shuffle and placed a strategic playlist on it for this specific race. I avoided listening to it during runs leading up to the race, trying to save it (and thus be “excited” when a song came on) for race day. I even thought I might run at least half the race without it, feeding off the crowd and entertainment. However, I wasn’t really that impressed with the acts and at 5,000+ft. above sea level and “slightly” winded after Mile 1, the iPod Shuffle was rolling nice and loud almost right from the beginning.

There were a few things the locals did that cracked me up. They made Mile 2.2 the Marshmallow Toss, throwing marshmallows to willing racers as they ran by. Yes, I caught one. No, I didn’t eat it. Are you kidding me? Haven’t you seen The Hangover Part II yet? J There was a Slip and Slide in someone’s yard, free Beer and Donuts around another turn, a Doritos station where people ran up alongside you with an open bag of Doritos encouraging you to grab a handful and a guy throwing water balloons TO racers (not at them) that we could in turn bomb at someone else. Near the end, there was an old man and his wife parked in their lawn chairs, waving an American Flag holding a sign that said “Only 2.1 more miles to go”. It made me smile. So did a bend in the road marked by a bunch of people holding up funny signs such as “Keep Going, Keep Going, That’s What She Said”.

I was also impressed at the number of kids running the race with their parents. I guess the energy level and endurance of kids is quite high although all I can remember related to running at that age is faking an ankle injury in gym class so I didn’t have to run THE mile…let alone 6.2! The Bolder Boulder encourages costumes and many racers took them up on this. I saw an guy in an Indian costume, a 10 year old girl in a grass skirt, a woman wearing ski goggles, a man wearing a cow suit, another racer dressed as a puppet (including strings attached to all his limbs running to a wooden circle suspended above his head), many neon shoes/socks and a group of runners dressed as cats slamming cans of Bud Light Lime in the parking lot before heading to the starting line. Hilarious.

As for the run itself – my main goal was to finish without walking…no matter how slow this meant I might be jogging in place. My secondary goal was to finish under an hour which was probably a little far-fetched but nonetheless it was sitting there in the back of my head. It was pretty crowded the entire race but Ellie and I did a good job weaving in and out of people to keep a decent pace. Without a watch on you really have no way of tracking your time. For me, all I could go by is the training I’d done leading up to the race. The official chip tied to my shoelace would have the final say when the race was over. After Mile 1 I was definitely more winded than when training in Maryland, but could still breathe much better than my jog with Troy in Keystone a few days prior. Mile 2 is kind of a blur besides the marshmallow toss and Mile 3 and 4 seemed to drag on forever. I did my best to ignore the fact that there was a lot of race left and while after Mile 3 I thought I’d be thinking “Yes! Halfway there!” I was instead thinking “Ugh, only halfway there…”

After Mile 4 I was starting to drag. I knew 2 more miles was attainable, but I began to breathe even harder and my legs were getting a little tired. It was right around this point that Ellie pointed ahead and said something. It took me a minute, but I finally figured out that she had spotted Eric and Lexi! We were both so confused because we thought we had been ahead of them from the very beginning…clearly we were mistaken. They weren’t going to be an easy catch for us – they were flying. Yet, looking back, this was the best case scenario for Ellie and I. And if you know the Blankenships, then you know what happened next.

Ellie and I picked up our pace. Not too much or we’d burn out…but we kept one eye on Eric and Lexi and the other eye on the road. They had a nice rhythm going and were not going to be easy to catch… But we made sure not to let them get any farther ahead of us and began to chip away at their 30 yard lead. Both Ellie and I will tell you that those last 2 miles were like death. We thought we were running faster than we had been running before but at the same time were so tired that we wondered if perhaps it just felt like we had sped up because we were having to work so hard.

Shortly into Mile 5 my body started telling me “More Oxygen Please.” I felt a little lightheaded and my leg muscles ached. We also both realized (we’d forgotten) that the 6 mile marker wasn’t the end – we’d have another .2 miles to go. The road widened and Ellie and I almost evened ourselves with Eric and Lexi. Finally, crossing the 6 mile mark and giving each other a high five (as we did after each completed mile) we fired up the last kick. The Bolder Boulder sure didn’t make this easy. It was uphill for a good 100 yards…and it was hell. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to lay off a bit and wait until the top and then kick it into high gear? Or if I should plow right up the hill and hope I’d have something left when I reached the top? I’m not sure how much thought I really could put into it at this point either – my brain cells were probably dying from lack of air – not trying to solve a simple problem. “All I Do is Win” by DJ Khaled had just finished playing (totally random timing) on my iPod Shuffle and I didn’t have time or patience to search for the next “perfect song”. So I just replayed the song and starting pumping my arms. I think my legs followed – although I’m pretty sure they were going up in flames at this point.

As the hill flattened off, we ran down a path leading into Folsom Field, Colorado University’s football stadium. I shoved myself into the highest gear I had remaining (which was admittedly more than I expected after I ran up the hill) and raced toward the finish line. The last 150-200 yards or so was wrapped around the football field –110 yards down one side, curved around the endzone, and straight toward the opposite 50 yard line where last timing platform, linked to the chip in your shoe, lay waiting for each runner to pass over. The Finish Line.

I had done it. I had finished the longest race of my life and I hadn’t stopped once. Best yet, I had done it next to my sister. We both hate running…and we BOTH had done it.

Yes, there are races that exist with much greater distances that many of you have probably raced in (half marathon, marathon, etc.). But I will never run that far. And today it was okay – because after 6.2 I was just as proud. And yes, Eric and Lexi had no idea we were stalking behind them, racing to keep up and eventually pass them. Had they known, perhaps they would’ve ran faster and not allowed us to come even close to passing them. But hey, I’ll take what I can get. Because of the Blankenship competitive spirit kicking in that last 2 miles, Ellie and I ran our fastest mile split times of the whole race.

My Split Times

Mile 1: 9:24

Mile 2: 9:43

Mile 3: 9:55

Mile 4: 9:53

Mile 5: 9:07

Mile 6: 9:04

Official Final Time: 58:56

Pace: 9:30

I finished under an hour! For my full results, click here. (You can even see what place I finished out of 723 total 31 year old females! lol).

After a few group shots, a cup of Gatorade and snarfing down the free snack pack they give you after the race, we said goodbye to Eric and Lexi and the 4 of us showered in our hotel and headed to Denver. I felt like a train had hit me. My body was just exhausted. I guess that is what you get when you turn it into an actual race and push yourself versus a 60 minute jog through the park, lol.

Lunch at the Denver Chophouse & Brewery, watching Maryland Men’s Lacrosse lose a heartbreaker to Virginia in the National Championship game, and some casual walking (to get the blood moving) along the famed 16^th Street rounded out the afternoon before heading to the airport.

So…now here I sit on the plane – thankful I have a window seat, no one in the middle seat next to me and most of all that I haven’t cramped up yet. Yet, I am even more thankful that I have such an awesome bond with my brother and sister. I love them both so much and only wish we lived closer. Maybe someday…

#BolderBoulder2011

Rocky Mountain High

This morning, I woke up before the rest of the crew and had an urge to go for a walk. I wasn’t going to let myself do any running…primarily because Troy and I already notched that off the list yesterday if you recall and it wasn’t pretty. I threw on a fleece and long pants (it was a bit chilly) and took off toward Keystone Mountain. In the winter time, in the dead of cold, I am definitely not making that walk. I am “Team Free Shuttle” all the way. But it was a sunny, crisp morning – and in those conditions it really isn’t a bad walk. While I brought headphones intending to listen to music, I instead opted to listen to the sounds of the outdoors. I climbed off the beaten path down to a gurgling fresh water stream and sat on the bank for awhile. The birds sang to each other, the wind rustled through the evergreen trees and the sky seemed to just open up – so very blue and clear. Sounds like a novel right? Or maybe a painting by Bob Ross? I swear…it felt like it. I cannot express how much I love the Rocky Mountains. It is the one place I can relax and easily lose track of time. In fact my walk, which I intended to only last about 30 minutes, wound up taking over an hour. I even stopped at a playground at the base of the mountain in the “River Run” development and hopped on a swing. Now seriously, tell me when the last time is you were on a swing!? It was awesome…until of course the squeaking chain that supported the swing got the best of me.

Mid-morning the crew did some cleaning up around the house, laundered all sheets and towels and packed the cars. It was time to head from Keystone to Boulder to grab our race packets, check in our hotel and see what else we could get ourselves into. So, after taking some pictures at the dam, stopping at the Under Armour outlet store on our way out of town (because I surely needed more UA gear, lol), the Smiling Moose Deli (which I have officially fallen in love with) and grabbing a Cherry Dip Cone from DQ (heaven on earth to me)…we forged ahead to Boulder.

The sibs posing at the Dam

One-handed bandit

The Crew (l to r: Lexi, Eric, Ellie, Tyler, Me and Troy)

Troy clearly didn't think my face was important in this shot, lol

After picking up our Dick’s Sporting Goods brown paper bags, complete with race bib, t-shirt and 40,000 presenting sponsor coupons, we wandered around –checking out various exhibit tents. There was a point, however, that my legs decided it was time to stop walking. And, when they do this, I am the first to listen because I know all too well that the next thing to start hurting will be my back.

We thought the Cheesecake Factory was a good compromise. An early dinner (5:00pm) beat the rush and also became the root of a funny story. When we came in, Troy told the hostess that there were 6 of us. The hostess said “6 of you for…?” We all kind of paused at this point and then Troy slowly responded “…um…food?” We all died laughing and the waitress remained confused only for a moment until she realized we wanted to eat NOW. She thought we were trying to make a reservation for later in the evening.

After dinner we headed to Louisville, Colorado (5 miles from Boulder) to check into our hotel. Big talks of a card game rematch or watching a movie slowly disappeared when my eyes lost the battle with my eyelids and I dozed off. I think most of the others got pretty tired too. This could also have been because we started discussing what time we were getting up in the morning (5:00am for some of us) and grew a little faint, lol.

Troy and Tyler shacked up in one room (they had an earlier start time, by about an hour, and would leave before us) and the rest of us claimed the second room. Lights out quickly followed – Race Day is almost here!

Pasta with Spoons

Tonight I had more fun than I’ve had in a long time. Of course, the fun couldn’t officially begin until we were able to actually enter the townhouse. Somehow in the time spent away for the day, the moisture finally got the best of the wooden door jamb at the bottom of the front door. We couldn’t open the door for the life of us and after some forceful shoving, we decided it was time to call Dad (and subsequently the Keystone Properties 24-hour line) for help before we got too aggressive and broke something. With more appropriate tools, compared to our measly screwdriver, 2 workers were able to open our door for us and let us in the house. Thankfully, we had lovely weather and plenty of fresh raspberries and blueberries to munch on while waiting (we had just left the grocery store). If that same scenario happened in the dead of winter…I might’ve died.

Troy, Ellie, Tyler, Eric, Lexi and I ate a home cooked spaghetti dinner (Carb-ing up for the big race Monday) and then decided that instead of playing one of our many board games, we’d throw it back a little and pull out a deck of cards instead. First up was a classic game of Hearts. Troy started the game off by pointing out to the crew that he wasn’t sure he’d ever actually played Hearts before with “real” people…only “Bob” and “Susie” on the internet. There was a lot more Shooting the Moon than usual…and successful too! Tyler and Lexi did so back to back near the beginning of the game, setting us all back 52 points immediately. And although we valiantly clawed our way back into the game, when Eric finally hit 100 points, Lexi took the title and Tyler grabbed the runner up trophy. Carrie narrowly passed Ellie for third and Troy rounded out the Blankenship clan in 5^th place.

After Hearts I was admittedly pretty exhausted. It was late, especially if converting the clock to the East Coast timezone. However, someone (we can’t remember who) threw out the idea of playing a game of Spoons. It had been so long for us, we had to look up the rules online….but boy am I glad that we did! It was SO FUN. Lots of laughs, spoon stealing and definitely safe to say we have now broken in that deck of cards. Lexi taught us a fun new twist called “Pig, Hog, Sow” that provided additional laughs as you were allowed to speak to some people without penalty and forbidden to speak to others. In the end, I must admit…I was the biggest loser. Lol. But I swear my seat location might have been a huge disadvantage ;)

About That Drinking Straw...

Troy and I woke up this morning and decided to take a short jog. When he told me he was planning on jogging for 20 minutes I admittedly turned my nose up a little. 20 minutes? That's only 2 miles - we have 6.2 to run Monday and while I wasn't trying to overexert myself, I at least wanted to break a sweat.

It was a bit cool this morning. I went with running shorts and a fleece to keep me warm. We decided against bringing along any music...after all, we weren't going to be gone that long. I even had a story that I was all ready to share with Troy to help pass the time.

3 minutes into the jog, and about 5 sentences into my story, I could barely breathe. I could've sworn I didn't pack that drinking straw to suck wind through...but somehow it must have snuck itself along with me for the trip. One final sentence squeaked out stating "how about I tell you the story after we are done" followed the previous 5....and then a whole lot of mental toughness.

After the run, winded, we both admitted it was good to get that out of the way. I think it will actually help me for Monday's big race - besides, you can adapt in one day, right? :) lol.

When we returned to the townhouse, I had Ellie look up the difference in altitude between where we currently are (Keystone, CO) and Boulder and I feel a lot better:

Feet Above Sea Level:

Keystone, CO: 9,000
Boulder, CO: 5,340
College Park, Md: 79
No, I didn't forget any zeroes on that last one.

However, it looks like my "training" in College Park doesn't even come close to comparing with the big boys...

Boulder Goals

I am not sure what it is about training for a 10K that has caused my diet to rapidly race downhill…but it has happened. You would think it would have the reverse effect. I know I’m always the one getting made fun of for eating healthy…but what most people fail to realize is that I also am great at eating terrible too. My friend LeRon was telling my friend Katie about this the other day. She was raving about how healthy I eat and he laughed at her and said “She just eats healthy in front of you. When she’s away from the office, she knows how to eat pretty bad.” Busted.

Perhaps it is because the weather is warming up and so is my social life? I have had more beers (and I am NOT a beer person) in the past month than I probably had in a whole year prior. (Please realize it doesn't take a lot to reach this milestone in the first place, lol.) I’ve also mastered wings from Buffalo Wild Wings and Hooters…and they weren’t grilled. I have an affinity for Ledos Pizza and felt so terrible after eating their for lunch the other day with my friend Gabe that I skipped dinner, with the exception of a banana (I really wasn’t even hungry), and ran a couple miles after work…in addition to the 4 I ran at 6am that day.

Sometimes I think I’m just paranoid that I’m going to wind up irreversibly overweight… sometimes I wonder if it is society’s cruel way of making us all feel completely imperfect in all the wrong ways… and sometimes I just wonder if it is a mental complex I have as a single female. The constant worry and nagging at myself. At age 31, I think I’m pretty good at knowing what style and type of clothing looks good on me…what I can wear to hide my “flaws” and what I can wear to show off my “good parts”. Thank god for genetics and my long legs…I should be okay in that category…at least until the varicose veins begin.

Anyway, I haven’t been lifting weights much this past month. Mainly because I’ve been focusing on my running for this 10K. 6.2 miles may not seem like a lot to you, but with a herniated disk that never seemed to go away, it will be a big accomplishment for me. My goal is to finish the race without walking…and while a final race time under an hour would be great, I really don’t know if I’ll be able to keep a steady 10:00 pace in a pack of a billion people. Okay, well maybe my excuse is more so that the race is at 5,000+ feet above sea level. I joked with some friends last night that perhaps I should have been training more by breathing only through a drinking straw to condition my lungs to have limited oxygen. …the joke didn’t last long when my trial run, involving no exercise – simply standing and breathing through the straw, only lasted about a minute. Lol.

After the race is complete Monday, my goal is going to be to get back on a regular weights/cardio routine again. There are a bunch of friends of mine in the football office that work out each morning at either 6 or 6:30am. Totally sucks – but would be motivating to workout with others and I could get a run (depending on the day, they rotate between jogging, sprints and stadium steps) in and even lift weights afterwards before my day even begins. I met them one day last week to run and loved getting it out of the way for the day. However, those of you that know me well, realize that the only issue with this is my sleep, lol. I need a solid 7-8 hours of sleep each night or I turn into a Halloween costume wearing a black robe, a black pointy hat and holding a broom. LOL. I will need to be in bed by 10:00pm each night which is doable sometimes…but probably not all of the time.

I am also considering going back on the nutrition plan I did 2 summers ago before Vegas. It focuses completely on protein and fresh fruits and vegetables. Foods with preservatives are off limits. So are a lot of carbs. It can be a bit pricey and also involves eating 4-5 meals a day which gets to be a pain….but is also good mentally to be on a plan and follow through with it. The bonus is actually not being embarrassed to pull out the 2 piece swimsuit on a hot, sunny day. Now that I “publicly” put it in my blog, perhaps I now have to at least give it a try? Start date can be June 1 with a finish date of July 4…or at least my first checkpoint.

One last thing I plan on beginning again when I complete the Bolder Boulder is professional reading. My goal is to, at least 3 days a week, come to work 30 minutes earlier than I usually do. I will shut my door, keep my computer off, and spend that time reading a chapter in the current selected “professional” book. I did this previously with the book “The Speed of Trust” and really felt the routine helped me focus and start my day off on the right foot. It is worthless for me to even attempt reading these types of books before bedtime because they don’t provide enough entertainment and suspense for me…so that time will be reserved for my guilty pleasure readings…

Of course, all of this is easier said than done. I’ll have to post an honest blog again regarding this topic in a month and admit to whether or not I followed through with any of the above. Until then, I’ve got a 10K to run, breathing through a drinking straw. Wish me luck!

Lofaro Ties the Knot

When I came to interview in-person at Maryland almost 5 years ago, Nick led the position's search committee and picked me up at the airport. I remember getting into the car after putting my suitcase in the trunk and him frantically turning the music down. I was a little confused, but found out later that apparently he had a rap music station playing and was worried I didn't listen to that kind of music. For those of you that know me - that's pretty funny.

Nick and I became friends when I moved out here, serving as 2 of the fabulous foursome (Brett and Kirsten) in the Maryland Sports Marketing Office at the time. Now, although Brett and Kirsten have moved on, Nick and I remain and he is now my boss. He is one of the reasons I love being at Maryland - he is very good at what he does and I think we work well together.

Probably about 3 years ago, he met Jacquelyn - and about 3 years ago, we stopped seeing Nick outside the office, lol. Last summer they moved in together, got engaged and also got a dog.

This past Saturday was finally the big day! I feel fortunate to have received an invitation as the wedding was VERY small and intimate (only about 30 people!). I brought Brett as my date (per Nick's request, although I think I would've brought him anyway) and knew it would be a great time. The ceremony took place on the water in Annapolis at Quiet Waters Park. There was literally no weather backup plan, which is funny considering Nick is an expert at event planning, but the couple couldn't have asked for a better day. It was 80 degrees, sunny and beautiful. Nick looked very handsome and hid his nerves well - and Jacquelyn of course looked stunning - she's so cute anyway.

After the wedding, the reception was held at Pussers on the water. I'd been there to eat before, but didn't realize they have a nice banquet room that can be all dressed up for dinner and dancing. There were a few speeches from those close to the Bride and Groom and a recorded message from the Grandparents of the Bride that couldn't make the trip - a really nice touch. Then...it was time for the dancing domination. Brett started by asking one of Nick's Grandmothers to dance...who informed him she "hadn't danced in years". He grabbed her hand and said "Well you're dancing tonight!" We had a great time - and have since discussed potentially going into the business of wedding dancers - kind of like Seat Fillers at awards shows. lol.

The reception concluded around 10pm and a few of us headed to Federal Hill in Annapolis for more dancing. Nick and Jacquelyn tried to meet us as well - but when they got to the door realized she forgot her ID. The cop outside wasn't willing to make an exception, even with her wearing her wedding dress, which was ridiculous if you ask me. So, they went back to get her ID at the hotel which was just up the street, but when they got there, exhaustion set in and they decided instead to just call it a night. I can't really blame them! After a random, unexpected long night for me Friday night, I was admittedly pretty exhausted too - but I still think I held my own - especially when the DJ put on Maryland's finest song: Zombie Nation. Our friends, Reza and Brady, met us out to add to the fun and Brett capitalized on being buddy/buddy with the bartender. This just meant that when it was time to go, it was about 5 drinks for the cost of one. Not a bad deal. Overall it was a great day: good times with friends, beautiful weather and a lovely celebration for someone special to me and 2 people very much in love :)

One-Year Blogging Absence Anniversary

Wow...today marks the day. (Well, technically yesterday - but it took me a day longer to get this thing in order.) One year since I've decided I either had no time to blog, or nothing to say. So, *WARNING* this will probably wind up sounding like a holiday letter that families send to their "friends" once a year to catch them up on all that has been happening.

THE PAST YEAR:

MY JOB:

I am still at the University of Maryland - but was promoted last summer to be the Director of Sports Marketing. Exciting times for me and meant I would be a Terp for at least another year. The annual athletics conference (NACMA) that I attended in Anaheim lived up to the expectations it always does as I reconnected with old friends and colleagues and of course picked up some new ones as well. This past year in Terpland was a crazy one - how many times can you say that your school hired a new President, Athletic Director, Head Football Coach and Head Basketball Coach...all within the same year! The retiring of our hoops Coach Gary Williams was probably the biggest surprise of the year - it just won't be the same around here without him and will sure make my job this coming year a bit more interesting!

MY FAMILY:

TROY is now living in Houston working for Hewlett Packard. He has a bit of flexibility working in the office vs. at home which he has enjoyed quite a bit. I headed down to check out his place at the beginning of April - and planned my trip around the timing of the Final Four which was also hosted there. Got to catch up with many friends in town, ate at the famous soulfood spot called "The Breakfast Klub" and got a pair of Lower Level seats to the championship game (thanks in part to my friend Sarah, formerly of ASU who now works for UCONN) for only about $30. So awesome! I definitely think attending the Final Four will now become a tradition.

ELLIE is just tying up a few loose ends on her degree at Northern Iowa. Michelle Obama spoke at her graduation a few weekends ago which was really neat. She had a phenomenal senior season, breaking all sorts of records at her school, winning the inaugural Lowe's Senior Class Award, was named a third team All-American AND became just the 8th player in NCAA Division I history to record over 2,500 digs in a career. Yes...you can say that I'm a proud sister. Currently, she is hoping to sign with a team to play with overseas this upcoming year which will make planning her JULY 2012 WEDDING a bit more difficult. You read that correctly - and the two older, very-much-single siblings, are in full support....we decided she can give this whole marriage thing a trial run for us.

DAD, while very busy at the office, continues to plug away at his bucket list. Recently he has travelled from places like New Mexico all the way to Africa, bringing back a Mountain Lion, Wildebeest and a Oryx. Ellie, Troy and my dad will all be traveling to Peru this July for another youth Venture Crew outing, as my dad stays very active in leading the organization.

MOM still coaches, substitute teaches part-time and remains very active with a lot of bike riding. She loves to find trails near places she's traveling, heading out from the house solo, or meeting up with her friends. I think she also is giving Roger Ebert a run for his money - she's seen about every movie out there in the theaters.

MY LIFE:

My love for travel, to read, to dance, to cook and keep in touch with old friends has not changed; my relationship status has and my living space will be. I'm a single girl - 31 years young and okay with it :) I have had the same roommates for 3 years now, but one (Jessica) just moved to Dallas and the other (Danielle) just got an Assistant Coaching job at American U in DC. We are still going to try to live together, but will need to relocate so her commute isn't quite so long. While I realize the following statement applies to just about anyone: I hate moving. If anyone would like to volunteer to help I'll pay you in pizza and beer....or a fruit salad if you are a healthy eater lol.

I experienced many fun things over the course of the past year in terms of travel. I'll start with the fall since my last blog post talked about what I planned on (and did do) during the summer of 2010.

After a few trips to Columbus at the end of the summer to visit my Buckeye friends...

A visit from Ellie in which we played together for the first time in a grass doubles volleyball tournament here in Maryland...

And a trip to NYC to meet up with Sarah and hang out with her other best friend Lauren (who lives there), I was locked down in Maryland for most of the Fall season.

However, as usual, I managed to get away during an off-football weekend to check out another stadium with some friends. Only this year, I got to see 2! First stop was a trip to the ATL where LSU took on UNC in the Georgia Dome. Sarah met me down there along with a few of her friends from college. A stay at the W Hotel (one of my favs)

topped it off!

Then, mid-September it was off to Madison for the Wisconsin/Arizona State football game. A huge group of us met up there for a disappointing Sun Devil loss, but a great time overall.

I traveled to watch Ellie play volleyball a few times including an preseason tournament at Purdue, senior night weekend and of course the 1st round that Northern Iowa hosted in the NCAA Tournament.

I snuck away to Boston to visit Kirsten a few times - once just for the fun of it and another...well, for the "fun of it too", but it was the 6th Annual Carrie and Sarah birthday celebration and boy did we do it big. LOL. Lauren (NYC), Troy (Houston), Brett (Maryland) and obviously Sarah (now at UCONN) made the trip which made it even more special. We stayed at Kirsten's house in Boston the first night and then crammed into a hotel room the second night.

As just mentioned, Sarah has now made the move from Arizona State (where everyone thought she was going to be a life-r) to UCONN to be the Associate Director of Sports Marketing. Such an awesome opportunity for her and an exciting school to be a part of this year! I have been able to go visit once already and can tell why she loves it so much up there. Great environment (minus the fact it is in the middle of Storrs/nowhere) and wonderful people. They went to a BCS bowl (Fiesta) game and then of course won the national championship in Men's Hoops.

Our family spent the holidays in Cedar Rapids this year and then took our annual ski trip to Keystone, Colorado. Ellie's fiance, Tyler, paid a surprise visit for the last part of the trip and apparently asked my dad for her hand in marriage at some point. She stayed in Colorado with him a week longer (after the family left), which is when he popped the big question.

My mom, dad and Troy paid a visit to me for a weekend in late January to check out a Maryland Men's Basketball game. It was a lot of fun and Troy's first basketball game here so it was neat to be able to show him what I do, job-wise, on gameday. Ellie was supposed to also make the trip, but as usual (this always happens), something came up and she couldn't make it. Of course, working a US National Team coaches camp is not your average everyday excuse. Who can blame her?

I joined a USAV Women's team this year with a coworker/friend of mine, Jodi, who I played against in college (she played at Marshall). The team we were able to hook up with was a bit below our level of play and a bit frustrating at times, but overall was just really fun to get out on the court again. At the end of March, after basketball season had concluded, I played on an alumni volleyball team that competed in Northern Illinois' spring volleyball tournament. I think it is really neat that in that tournament (which has college teams from the area participating) the Huskies choose to host this alumni team. I was definitely the oldest on the team, but knew 3 other girls on the team that were younger than me (I played with one: Brooke). My fellow teammates, Jen Urban (Scarpino) and Sara Thomas (Lein), came to watch and have dinner afterwards which was pretty special. Coley Pawlikowski (Johnsen), a former teammate of mine, is now the Assistant Coach for NIU with her husband Dan, so I stayed with her the evening before the tournament and got to catch up :) My mom even drove from Iowa to watch for the day. With so many friends in the Chicago area, I was able to travel there a few days prior to the tournament and stay/visit with my dear friends Kevin (already mentioned another time in this blog - he recently just moved back to Chicago), Kelly (and her new baby), Tammy (my best friend from college), James (a friend from after school) and OJ (A friend from NIU who I hadn't seen in 7 years!). I always leave refreshed, with my heart full....and wanting to come back immediately. Hopefully I'll have the chance to get back to visit at some point this summer - and maybe someday the perfect job will open up and I can move back to the Windy City I love so much.

I caught a few local basketball games...I went to the Georgetown vs. Syracuse game with my dear friend Greg (who now works at Georgetown, but used to work at Maryland) which was cool. He then hooked me up with basically front row seats to the Pitt/Butler NCAA Tournament game which, if you recall, was an instant classic. Brett and I hit up a Pitt Alumni party at a bar prior to the game, posing as Pitt fans. At gametime he moved to another bar - I went to the game.

WHICH...BRINGS ME TO NOW:)

Looking forward in the near future, I am meeting Troy, Ellie, Tyler (her fiance) and a few others in Boulder, Colorado Memorial Day weekend to compete in the Boulder Boulder - a 10k race that last year featured over 54,000 runners, walkers and wheelchair racers, making it the largest race in the US in which all participants are timed and the 5th largest road race in the world (thank you Wikipedia). The race actually ends on the football field! I love Boulder (Wanted to go to college there and would love to work there someday) and am so excited to spend a weekend in my favorite state with my siblings...I'm just not sure how the altitude (6,000+ ft. above sea level) is going to affect my running. If you know me, you know I'm definitely not a professional runner. My goal is to finish the race without walking...hope that isn't setting my sights too low. LOL.

Other places I am already planning on visiting this summer include Orlando (for my annual conference) in June and Lake Okoboji (Iowa) with the family in July. I would also like to work in a trip back to Chicago, Phoenix and also Los Angeles/Vegas. Probably will need to pick and choose - but will depend on just how high the airfare continues to rise and the amount of time I can get off at work.

If you made it this far, please pat yourself on the back. This was a long one (even longer than those annual Christmas letters!) but I had slacked off way too long. I'll try to do a better job of poking my head in from time to time, even if I don't feel like I have much to say.

:)