Half Marathon PR {Giant Race 2013}

hi guys! sorry this recap is a bit late, but i just got back yesterday from visiting a friend down in LA. we had the best time eating, going to the fair (and seeing Hunter Hayes for FREE!), hiking, and... you betcha, more eating. i had so much fun hanging out with her, and can't wait to head back down to school in a little over 6 weeks!

anyway onto the race recap! on Sunday i ran my second half marathon. my first one wasn't actually a race, i just decided to train to run a half for fun on my own last summer. (here's my recap).

this summer, i actually trained a whole lot LESS for my race. i fell so much in love with CrossFit that going for a run almost seemed like a pain at times. the longest run i went on during training was a 7-miler, which is only a little more than the half marathon distance. that being said, my main goal going into race day was to finish the race without stopping to walk. my goal that was a bit more challenging was to run a sub-2:00 half, since last summer i ran it in 2:07:16 (granted, it was around 85 or 90 degrees outside at the time).

i did the race with my good buddy Ryan and he was determined to push me to break 2:00, and was secretly plotting for a 1:45 finish. the race started at 7:00am, and we barely made it out of the porta potties a few minutes after the start - one of my complaints about race day: not enough porta potties! #runnerprobs. anyway, i felt really good when we were starting and i was just enjoying the views. the race was along the embarcadero, from AT&T park all the way out to the Golden Gate Bridge and back. it was beautiful!

i had a few jelly beans before the halfway mark, half of my hammer gel around mile 7 and half around mile 9. i felt pretty good most of the time - my leg muscles never actually hurt, it was just my joints. i've always had hip problems and they always act up when i run long distances. it wasn't too painful, though, and i managed to keep a fairly steady pace the entire race <-- super proud of this, especially with the limited training i had! CrossFit is keeping me in really good shape.

Ryan was running in front of me for a good part of the second half of the race and that definitely helped me a lot! i always do so much better when i'm chasing someone down. i have to hand it to him for really pushing me to get my butt across the finish line!

which we did, in 1:49:55 to be exact. a 17 minute PR, and i broke 1:50! i was SO stoked!! average pace was 8:23/mile, which completely exceeded my goals. i also got 3rd place in my age group, which was really cool especially considering the training i had put in going into the race.

finishing in AT&T park was the coolest. i've been going there to watch my SF Giants play ball since i was a little kid and getting to be on the field was surreal. i loved every minute of it!

i will definitely be doing this race again next year if i'm up here in NorCal!

{and a big thanks to my buddy Ryan for all the photos!}

have you run a half marathon before?
favorite race?

Whitewater Rafting on the American River.

Hey guys! I just had to pop in and share some sweet photos from my adventures yesterday.. my dad and my brother and I went whitewater rafting on the American River (middle fork) and had the most amazing time! Definitely a highlight of my year, that's for sure.

I'll let the photos speak for themselves.. our photographer who kayaked the whole river was great!

It was an epic day, that's for sure! We got lucky and had two guides in our raft (one had guided this river for 5 years but was coming back to take a trip down and see how it'd changed), one from Denmark and one from New Zealand. They were a lot of fun! It was really nice because it was just them and us in our raft, so we got to be adventurous (hence the raft flip, lol)!

The weather was perfect, the scenery was absolutely beautiful, and I had an absolute blast. This was my family's 6th or 7th time whitewater rafting and we all agreed that it was our favorite trip!

have you ever been whitewater rafting before?

Spring Break {2013}

i can't believe break is almost over already! it seems like i was just talking to you guys about trying to survive finals and here i am typing this up with only a few days left of spring break. 

it has been a truly amazing and much needed break, though! i wanted to share some photos with you guys, because i took lots {pretty sure one day my iPhone is going to explode with photos. juuust sayin'}. 

brunchin' with the big bro at corner bakery:

my crazy family is reunited {and to top that off, we went to the happiest place on earth!}

and of course a little kid's souvenir cup at carsland was 100% necessary. 

i had so much fun at disneyland and california adventure- we hit up all the best rides (space mountain, indiana jones, matterhorn, buzz lightyear, california screamin', tower of terror, soarin' over california, radiator springs, and more!) and i don't think i've ever appreciated getting to spend time with my family more. 

i had lots of cappucinos (seriously, people. you don't realize how good starbucks is until you're deprived of it for weeks at a time) and i also ate lots of good food - we got pizza 3 out of the 5 nights my parents were here (in classic foster style). we also ate lots of cookies and froyo and all of that wonderfulness! 

after our two days at disneyland, my mom and i had a day together shopping, which was so much fun! i got a few new dresses, skirts, and shorts that were much needed because it's going to start getting hot here really soon. this is one of the skirts i got: 

on our last day, my family went to see olympus has fallen (i thought it was a great movie!), had dinner at the counter (also known as my favorite place ever), and watched modern family and nashville on TV. basically a perfect day. 

 all in all it has been a wonderful break and i couldn't've asked for anything better! my parents dropped my brother and i off back at campus today and i've spent the day unpacking, cleaning and organizing my room (took soooo long!), picking up some essentials, and eating at whole foods. that spicy shrimp and avocado roll hit the spot!

aand now i'm eating a ginormous bowl of panda puffs (best cereal ever..anyone with me?) and am planning on skyping some friends and watching a movie for the rest of the night. 'twas a good day! 

stay tuned for a Quest Bar review coming your way soon - if you haven't already gotten the hint from twitter, it's safe to say that i'm addicted. i can't wait to tell you guys about them! 

xoxo