This Sums It Up..

"The more I run, the more I want to run, and the more I live a life conditioned and influenced and fashioned by my running. And the more I run, the more certain I am that I am heading for my real goal: to become the person I am." —George Sheehan, M.D., beloved former RW columnist

When I found this quote yesterday it really struck a chord with me. As I read it, I thought, "This is it. This is why I am doing what I am doing." For those of you that have known me a long time, you may remember me as a soccer player, but never a runner. Running to me seemed like such a chore... and, ugh, lets not forget how boring it is. I had multiple coaches see potential in my running, but I would just nod my head and wait to get my excercise at the next practice.

But, you get to a point where you're not being pushed anymore. I think a major part of my "quarter-life crisis" is the lack of challenge; School is over, soccer is no longer competitive and work isn't exactly the most invigorating thing I've ever done. I needed something.

I don't know how I found it in running. My mileage has gradually gone up in the last 3 years. Three years ago I started doing my "runs to the coaster"(a 5 mile run to the Mission Beach roller coaster). But still, I could only do it once or twice a week. When I finally decided to SIGN UP for a half marathon, THAT is when I started to see my running turn into something else. I really began to ENJOY running. It was something to look forward to. And my long runs (10+ miles) some how molded into "Nikki Time"- a time of reflection, self-motivation, and good ol' spacing out for awhile. After my first half, I knew I'd do more.

I did 4 half marathons last year. With a bad performance on my 3rd race, I kicked it into high gear. I started thinking about food as fuel and really started to pay attention to how my body was feeling. My focus showed when I finished my last half in 1hr and 54min, 5 mins faster than my best time. I felt great after and I thought what better time to do a marathon than right now.

I know there will be a time when other aspects of my life push me forward and drive me to success. For now, I'm creating my own challenges by pushing my running to newer, higher levels and finding out who I am, in doing so.

It's a Girl...

My sis just found out she is having a girl! Little Sofia is expected to arrive August 11th and I couldn't be happier. (Ultrasound pics to follow)

Wedding Fun!

Well the wedding is now over and I am left as the only Saenz sister out of the "Saenz Sisters." Everything went perfectly and a great weekend was had by all. I thought I'd share some pictures from the wedding weekend, start to finish.

We started the festivities Friday with some primping with my sisters, Lisa (bride) and Shannon, and my mom. We'll call this bride, phase 1:


From the primping we headed to Laguna Beach to get ready for the Wedding Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner. The dinner was held at a wonderful Greek restaurant. Here is a pic of my immediate fam.


It wasn't long before the belly-dancer had everyone up and dancing. Notice my dad in blue, cuttin' a rug...


Saturday we woke up and the real primping commenced. We all got our hair and make-up done. It was fun to see everyone's transformations after leaving the salon. Here is bride, Phase 2:


After our Salon trip we headed back to the hotel to get dressed and ready for the wedding and pictures. Bride, Phase 3:


This is the bride and groom, right before the garter toss. Bride, Phase 4: Happily married :)

Like I said, it was a great time had by all. The weekend went by in a flash. Thanks Lisa, Peter, Mom and Dad...

2 More Days...

.. until Lisa and Peter get married! Such exciting business. My sisters are both gonna be married and before you know it, there's gonna be a little one runnin' around. It leaves me to ponder, "When did I get so old?"

A Little Something To Make You Smile...

I Did It!

It's official.. I signed up! June 1st, 2008, be there or be square! I've never been more excited and scared at the same time!! 26.2 miles seems pretty far!

Snow, Sleds and Scattegories

Well we got back from Big Bear and although it was a quick trip, it was a great one.  Turi, Matty, Nate and I drove up on Friday after work to meet up with Aaron, Drew, Lauren and Nathan.  Thanks to Aaron we had a great place to stay with plenty of room for everyone.

  

     Saturday we had a full day to play and decided we would hike Castle Rock Trail.  It wasn't too cold which was nice, but there was still plenty of snow on the ground.  When we started out on the trail we quickly realized it would be a tough one to follow (see below)...

But don't you worry we found "the perfect sledding hill" and wore ourselves out with that.  There were only a few crashes, including Drew's beautiful mid-air tumble and my dismount into a thorn bush, nothing we didn't walk away from, luckily.

   

  Other than snow fun we basically kept ourselves busy with eating and board games.  Scattegories, Pictionary, Taboo; you name it, we played it.  Turi and Aaron introduced us to a new one called, "Wise or Otherwise" and it might have just become my favorite game.

So thanks again, Aaron, for letting us come stay, we had a great time!!!

The Results Are In...

The people have spoken, and I have listened. Assuming we had no technical difficulties with the "No" button, 14 voters have decided that I WILL be running a marathon. Thank you for your input; my training has commenced. In the words of my friend Peggy from work explaining why there were so many "yes" votes, "We all just want to see you punish yourself."

Westminster Dog Show - The Nikki Awards

I'm sure everyone has heard by now about Uno the Beagle (right), winner of the Westminster Dog Show. Being the owner of a beagle, I was obviously thrilled. However, what about those who were not the best? We can't just forget about them. They deserve acknowledgement for a job well done too. Therefore, I have decided to give a few forgotten pups some honorable mention, in what I will call the "Nikki Awards - No Dog Left Behind." Here we go....

Best Pair: The Poodles


Best Wrinkles: The Chow Chow

Best Usage of Hair-ties: This Shih Tzu

Best Hair: The Afghan Hound

Best Costume: The Jack Russell Terrier

And of course, last but certainly not least...

Miss Congeniality: This Shih Tzu

Happy V-Day Eve!

Okay, so technically it's not V-day, but because Nate and I like to beat the crowds we are celebrating tonight. And, if I do say so myself, we have a great date planned. First, (thanks to an awesome B-day present we got from Maggie and Matt) we are going to a new sushi place, Aloha Sushi in La Jolla. When we are stuffed to the gils (no pun intended) we are headed to... Corteo! Nate and I did Cirque de Soleil last year and loved it so we thought we'd go to another one.

To recap my V-day (Eve):

First this...

Then this...

All with my handsome Valentine, Nate..

To Run Or Not To Run...

I've been playing around with the idea of running the Rock N' Roll Marathon in June, but haven't totally convinced myself...  I think I need a little help deciding.  In the spirit of all the political mumbo-jumbo happening right now, I'm leaving it up to the people.  To the right you will see a poll regarding this very topic.  Please vote yes or no, polls close Sunday, 2/17 at 8:00pm. 

After Much Deliberation...

I've created a blog. One may ask themselves, why I've done it, why I've subjected myself to the tedious task of updating a blog daily/weekly/monthly. I've created a short list to answer the question (believe me, I'm still asking MYSELF why I've done it, so this is helping me as much as you, my new reader). So here it goes....

Top 5 Reasons I've created a Blog

5. Everybody's doing it - ShaSha's had hers for years, Nate's Sister-in-law, Kate, a year or so, and NOW, Nate's mom and other Sister-in-law, Britt, created them this week!

4. Boredom - Hey, it's something to do.

3. When you can't keep a journal, keep a blog - I've always wished I was someone who kept a journal to log memories... this is my new and improved "something to look back on."

2. Keeping connected - I've been feeling a little disconnected from my fam and friends who don't live in SD. Hopefully, this will create another line of communication.

1. Writer's itch - Anyone who knows me is aware of my need to read and my desire to write. I hope that in creating this blog I will open the gates to the writer within me.