2009 May 30

The time difference certainly wanted to play tricks on me this morning. After going to bed around midnight last night, I awoke wide awake at 3:30 this morning! I had a major headache and as much as I tried I could not go back to sleep. I finally gave up and have been wide awake ever since. I am still going strong on less then 4 hours of sleep. Oh boy.

I have to say it was great to have those few extra hours in the morning to myself. Once everyone else was awake, it has been nothing but, go-go-go.

My TnT Coaches had been raving about Richard Walker’s Pancake House since we have been training with them. Never one to turn down great pancakes, I met up with them and some others from our team at 7:00am and made the walk to the pancake house.

Richard Walker’s is a really popular pancake house famous for their Baked Apple Pancakes. Instead of having putting your name on a list, they have you form a line that typically will go around the block. Since we were there so early, we just happened to be the first ones to form the line.

Inside the restaurant was really tiny and all the table were squeezed in close to maximize the amount of space. I particularly loved the colorful menu that read like a story.

It even had a ‘The End’ on the bottom.

I was tempted by the Apple Baked Pancake, but was told it was basically apple pie for breakfast. I wasn’t sure about all the sugar in the morning, so instead I ordered the buckwheat pancakes.

I topped them with some syrup and strawberry preserves.

They were very hearty and so delish! I ate all but two of them. I also had some melon on the side.

I have to say I was impressed when my fellow teammate received her order of the Baked Apple Pancakes.

I had a couple of bites and I admit this is as good as it looks. I can’t even described how warm and gooey the pancake was under the apples. A-MA-ZING!

We were lucky to have arrived as early as we did, when we went to leave a big line was already building.

We needed to walk off the giant amount of pancakes we had just consumed, so Derek and I decided a nice walk by the water was in order. We headed down to Seaport Village, ignored the shops and walked right along the park for a great view of the water.

There was a great path that ran along the water, perfect for a nice long walk. Plenty of runners ran passed us on the run and I could not think of a better path for a nice Saturday morning run. I was actually a little jealous of the runners. But my time will come tomorrow. I need to rest my legs today!

While we were walking Derek made a new friend.

It was truly love at first sight.

Derek also learned birds don’t give kisses, they bite. She took a nice chunk of Derek’s lips. After witnessing his pain, you can see the scarred look on my eyes, when the bird was then placed on shoulders.

I kept thinking please don’t bite my ear, please don’t bite my ear!

The weather here has been kind of Meh. It has been cold, dreary and today even a little rainy. It put a damper on our nice walk and had to be cut short because I was just plain cold. Why does the sunshine disapear every time I visit southern CA?

I actually did not mind being forced inside, my idea of going inside involved finally attending the Expo!!!

The Rock n Roll San Diego Expo was HUGE and very crowded! There were a ton of booths worth visiting, free food worth sampling and the aisles were full to capacity of fellow runner wanting to see all the same things.

First things first… I picked up my Bib!!!!

We asked the officials and apparently tomorrow morning you will be able to rack my progress on the course. Once the race starts at 6:30am Pacific Time go to http://www.rnrmarathon.com and enter bib #13188 in to the ‘Track My Runner’ link that should be on the front page. Let me know if you track me!!

Next it was all about the goodie bag.

I had to sort through all the useless papers to get to the good stuff.

After picking up as many samples as possible from the expo and purchasing some goodies along the way I think I made out pretty good.

I really, really LOVE how pretty our shirts are. This blue is soo pretty!

These technical tees run big.

Back at the expo, I had a great time snacking my way through the booths.

(Froze Bar)

(Gu Chomp)

(Clif Bar)

These drinks were YUCK. I do not reccomend them!

After much exploration of finding every possible free goodie as possible I ran into Bobbi and we posed for some photo ops.

I saw someone with fresh Apple and I hunted her down to find out where the fresh fruit samples were.

We also ran into some other runners at the expo including Aron from Running Rambles.

And Amanda from Run to the Finish.

Amanda had flown in from Kansas City this morning. Amanda and her husband joined Bobbi, Derek and I for a light late lunch.

We walked out of the convention center and found the first deli that caught our eyes.

I ordered the Veggimanary that had Sprouts, Swiss Cheese, Tomato, Cucumber, Avocado, and Roasted Red Peppers inside as well as a small salad on the side.

The sandwich was very yummy and I gobbled it right up.

It was great talking to both Amanda and Bobbi and their marathon experiences. It was also helpful that Amanda’s husband is a spectator as well, so we all were able to study the course and find out where him and Derek would be able to see us along the race.

It felt nice after lunch to finally have a time to crash and relax in the hotel room. Sometimes a couple of hours of relaxation is all you need.

Dinner was suppose to be in form of the Team in Training Pre-Race Pasta Party.

When we arrived they did a great job of making us all feel like Rock Stars. All the Coaches and Staff members from around the country were cheering all the runners on.

It was a mad house getting through the door.

Once inside I even lost my team in the tables that were as far as the eye could see!

As well all know I am a very picky eater and the food before my first marathon is an important topic to me. With that being said, you could imagine my little panic attack I had when all they were offering was Noodles & Red Pasta Sauce.

And Ceasar Salad.

I think I’ve stated on here before how I am not the biggest fan of pasta.. especially just red sauce and noodles. I went to my mentor and staff leader on the verge of tears telling them there was nothing here I could eat. I felt like the biggest freak, making such a big deal about the food when they’re more important things in life, but my emotions are so out of wack with this race that I was literally in tears over this.

Everyone was really understanding and after I apologized profusely I sadly left the pasta party and met up with Derek at Sloppy Joeys for a before marathon dinner that I would enjoy.

Sloppy Joeys was right down the street from the Convention Center and had a friendly bar like atmosphere with a pizza menu filled with creativity.

I started out with 1/2 of a breadstick that was brought to the table.

After some thought I decided on the Spicy Vegetarian.

They weren’t kidding, this pizza was spicy!

I ate 1/2 of the pie and was fully satisfied. All of the odd anxiety and pressure I had felt melted away. I realize now I was freaking out over nothing and still feel terrible leaving the TnT dinner. I know its a regret that will stay on my shoulders.

To help cheer me up Derek and I walked to Ghiraradelli for a pre-race Sundae.

When we entered we were each handed a square of their Peppermint Bark.

Ghiraradelli is the first Ice Cream place I have ever been where they give you a number and bring the ice Cream out to your table.

We ordered the Very Berry Sundae to share.

When it arrived we were commenting on how big it was and how we should have had 4 people to share it. Of course as we were saying that the sundae miraculously disappeared.

We seriously finished it in 5 minutes flat. That baby was good!

Now I am back in my room with a happy belly. All of my running gear is laid out and ready to be thrust on after my 3:50am wake up call.

I can’t believe in mere hours I will be cueing up in the start area. Am I really running a marathon tomorrow?!?!? It seems unreal, I really don’t think it has set in yet.

Wish me luck!! And don’t forget you can track my bib # 13188 at http://www.rnrmarathon.com tomorrow!

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I’m in San Diego!!!!!

I have to tell you I have been spoiled lately with all of the direct flight I have been enjoying. The lay over in Denver was too quick and the almost 3 hour flight on top of the almost 4 hour flight was a bit too much for me. I definitely was very antsy and ready to get off on the flight!

It was lunchtime back home when we boarded our 10:00am Denver time flight. My stomach had actually managed to feel quite satisfied after my large breakfast, but was more then ready for a snack upon take off. To hold off the pains for the duration of the flight, I pulled out an Odawalla Super Protein Bar.

It was very green, but green food never scares me.

It was actually avery dense, chewy bar. I enjoyed it and would happily purchase it again!

My plane buddy shared a piece of her Dover Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar at some point during the forever long flight as well.

Peanut Butter + Chocolate = Perfect Way to Cure 2nd Flight Blues.

Once we landed and were settled in San Diego, I felt like I a little kid ready to burst. I had to get out and explore. First things first though, I had to have lunch!!

We literally headed out the hotel and were seated at the second restaurant on the street!

Mary Janes is a cute diner-esque restaurant that had a really fun menu with some great choices.

After some perusing I chose the Veggie Tacos.

The veggie tacos were a little unconventional as they were filled with the veggie chili! They were very good, but very messy to eat. I think it would have been better to be served in burrito format.

I ate all of the tacos, 1/2 the chips, 1/2 a pickle and a few fries. I was very, very hungry when we sat down and felt like a bottomless pit. Finally, I just told myself I had ate plenty and to let my stomach tell my head it was full. It worked! and after some conversation I knew I was perfectly satisfied.

And who was my lunch time buddy?

I can’t remember if I mentioned it or not, but Derek flew from Tampa this morning the same time I left from Orlando. He made the long trip to watch me run my first marathon! How great of a guy is he? It felt so good to see him when I got to my hotel!!

Derek is seriously starting to understand all my eating habits. He understood that when I’m hungry I am ready to eat then. He understands sometimes it takes me longer to order from menus then most. And he understands I love frozen yogurt!!!

We walked by a Pinkberry on the way to lunch and at lunch I was debating on getting Pinkberry then or waiting to see if we would go to a Fro-Yo place later. His response was awesome, he stated “Why can’t we get Pinkberry now and later?” I agreed, why not?

After lunch we walked next door and each for some PinkBerry love.

I had a small Original with Blackberries and Almond Slivers. Absolute Heaven!

This place is literally across the street from my hotel. I smell trouble.

With all the fun things to see and do in San Diego, the zoo was definitely high on the list. I had been planning for weeks now on visiting the zoo as soon as we arrived. A mere two hours after landing we were ready for some Zoo fun.

The San Diego Zoo is HUGE! We only were able to see about 75% of it, but what we saw was great.

The zoo was very crowded with fellow marathon runners, families, school field trips and so on and so on. We had so much fun just playing tourist and taking in all the fun cheesy aspects the zoo had to offer.

I think the best part was the baby gorilla.

My Sister has a thing for gorillas and I knew she she would have loved these gorillas. The little one was very active and would come up and bang on the glass. At the end Mama Gorilla scooped up the baby and walked away.

There were too many cute animals to see and photograph.

But, you know we were the cutest ones of all!

You would definitely need a whole say here to see all of the zoo, but we made the most of it and had a blast. Definitely worth all the effort.

Hallie from Healthy Twists just happens to work right next door to the San Diego Zoo and was very sweet to volunteer to drive Derek and I to the nearest Trader Joes so I could restock my stash.

Hallie and I have been e-mailing back and forth four a couple of weeks now on my trip. She is a wealth of knowledge on the area and will be volunteering at the marathon on Sunday.

This was Derek’s first Trader Joe’s experience and as much as I tried to explain the store to him, I am not sure he fully understood until we arrived. He spent just has much time oggling over the products as us and stated that he wish he could sample everything in the store.

Back in the car I had to sample my Dark Chocolate Covered Edamame right away.

I had three pieces and made sure to share with the car.

Yum! It really was just like a chocolate covered almond or other nut. These will be great for a quick chocolate fix. Who needs M&Ms when you have dark chocolate edamame?

I was uber excited for the dinner that was planned tonight. A few girls from the San Diego area had all agreed to meet up for some pre-race carb loading in the Little Italy area of San Diego.

Little Italy is the cutest neighborhood, filled with a collection of great restaurants and a decent crowd for a Friday night.

The wonderful Bobbi was sweet and made us a reservation at Trattoria Fantastica. I wish I had got more pictures of the restaurant, but honestly I was having such a great time with these ladies I totally forgot.

From left to right: Katie, Ashley, Bobbi, Hallie, Me & Sarah

Please forgive my disheveled look. All these ladies are positively gorgeous and unfortunately I did not have time to shower before the dinner. (Sorry if I smelled too bad!)

Bobbi, Ashley, Sarah and I are all running that marathon on Sunday, while Hallie and Katie are volunteering at the race. We all had LOTS & LOTS to talk about! I think the conversation all night centered around running. These girls were great and so easy to get along with.

It was really strange, with considering the time difference and how long ago my last meal had been, I was honestly not starving when I arrived. We got there around 7:30, did not end up ordering anything until after 8:00, and once the food arrived I was ok with only eating half of my meal. It was a really good meal though!

I was hesitant with ordering anything to drink with my meal, but once I saw other diving in to the wine menu I knew I wanted something to celebrate with too.

I had a small glass of the House Chianti and gingerly sipped on it through the meal.

When the bread basket arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see Pita Squares inside.

When I was in San Antonio the other week the Italian restaurant we went to there had also served pita bread before the meal. That was my first experience with the warm garlic flat bread and I just found it amusing that if my next Italian experience I would be greeted with the same bread. It was good thought and I thoroughly enjoyed my one slice.

For my main entree, I was very indecisive on what to order. I’m not a big pasta fan, so Ashley and I questioned the waiter on what he recommended. After much debated I decided on the Imbotti.

It was essentially Eggplant wrapped around pasta and ricotta cheese, covered in tomato sauce with a side of veggies.

It was the perfect meal for me. It had some pasta for carb loadings, but was not too heavy at all. I was very happy with my order. I ate all the veggie and half of the eggplants. I was actually a little sad I didn’t have a little fridge in my hotel room so I could take the rest home with me.

Right next to the restaurant was the cutest little bakery that we had been discussing all meal to go explore.

It was filled with wonderful Italian pastries, cakes and so on. I wanted to try everything, but the portions were so large I knew I would not be able to eat anything.

Derek and I split a Strawberry filled Cream Cake, that I brought back to my room to enjoy.

I had really been a long, fun filled day in San Diego. I can not believe it is already 3:00am Florida time! Yikes!! Oddly I am not too tired, I think I am still too excited to sleep or worry about being tired. I hope this stays up through the race.

Tomorrow I have the expo (!!) and another fun blogging meet up.

Only 1 more day until I run 26.2 miles!! AHHHH!!!

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