Vacation Recovery

Aloha!

I'm back from my vacation to Hawaii and just now starting to get back to the normal swing of things. After a lovely week in my favorite state...

 

 

And an epic trip home that rivalled Frodo's quest to Mordor...filled with deplaning, changing gates, missed connections, switched airports and rental cars with flat tires at midnight....




Teddy bear as body pillow...the new airplane pillow

I caught a major bug. My first run back from vacation is always filled with nerves as I wonder how much stamina and speed I've lost. Labor Day morning, the run went as expected: it wasn't my best, it wasn't my worst. And then the hammer fell. I woke up Tuesday last week completely wiped out. I was just exhausted in that flu-like way,  my throat was sore and I just knew what was coming. As the day wore on, I got more and more beat. There was no getting around it. I was sick.

Wednesday, I was completely useless. I laid around on the couch and I think I scared the Turtle when I was nodding off during E! News at 7pm. I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd already napped for 2 hours, besides sleeping in since I'd called off from work. He said he'd never seen me so tired.

And all I could think of was, I have a race in 3 weeks! I need to run!

By the end of the week I started feeling better, and I got back to the gym on Friday and had an awesome elliptical run. I've run 2 more times since then, but my average pace for my run Monday morning was 7:31, a good 16 seconds from where I'd like it to be. At first, I was incredibly disappointed with the number, especially since I really felt like I was pushing it through the pretty miserable run. But, as my mom and I talked it out, we decided that despite the 50 degree temps it was humid out, and that my cold, which is now steadily dripping out of my nose, is still wearing me out.

And, I'm really really trying to think healthfully and put it in perspective. I ran a 7:31 average pace for 9 miles. So what if it was 16 seconds off my PR for a training run? Who cares? Only me. It really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. It doesn't make me a better or worse person. It's just a running pace. There are way more important things in this world.

Now, I just have to keep repeating this mantra til I truly believe it and give myself a break! I really do put too much pressure on myself. And bit by teeny, tiny bit, I'm trying to relax my mind's strangle-hold on ridiculous, unrealistic, only-achievable-if-I-don't-have-a-life goals. PR's are dangerous things. Once I hit them, I thin I have to hit them each time once I know their achievable. Its a slippery slope I'm trying to get off of!

Phew! Ok, enough confessing. I told you I was OCD! I've got a ton of paintings in the works. I am soooo busy my head is spinning! I'll post the latest one later this week!

Does anyone else beat themselves up over bad runs?

The Hawaiian Runner

I have to say, this was one of the most fun paintings I've ever done. When I was asked to make a painting of a girl running in Hawaii...for a girl who loved running and Hawaii, I thought I was dreaming. Could there really be another girl out there just as obsessed with both of those things as me!?! Not only that, but her brother owns a running shoe store on the Big Island of Hawaii! So she might have a leg up on me there (hehe, leg up).

As you can tell, they really had to twist my arm to agree. I couldn't wait to get started! The painting is meant to be a surprise birthday gift, and after throwing a few ideas around, her husband and I decided on a girl running along a Hawaiian beach at sunset.

Step 1: Sketch out the landscape to then cut out and trace onto canvas

Step 2: Paint the sky and ocean

Mountains and beach

Though I cut out my sketches of palm trees, I ended up just painting my trees free hand while staring at my cutouts, rather than trace them with my brush. I've gotten comfortable enough with palm trees to be confident that I can free-hand paint them, despite knowing that I've got that one shot- screw up once and the whole thing is toast! I think I've gotten pretty good at them!

The cut out palm trees I never used

See? Not too shabby!

All I need is a girl running...Now, who do I know that's a girl that runs? Hmm....... Ok, ok. I couldn't resist putting myself in the painting, so I made the Turtle take a picture of me running in our parking lot.

Me

Sketched me...I took a little artistic license and added more hair so you'd know it's a girl

Now, you think I'm done right? No, sir! Now comes the tricky part. He wanted me to add a scripture verse to the painting. Now, for those that know me, I have absolute chicken scratch for handwriting. Its horrid. It's some kindergarden print/cursive mutant hybrid. So, I typed out the verse in a fancy cursive font and printed it out to stare at while I attempted to write pretty. It can't be that hard, right? Just pretend they're palm trees, Tink! It's just lines and shapes, how hard can it be?

Ha.

After 2 attempts and a trip to the local craft store, I finally got it right. Third times the charm! It helped that I was writing the verse in white on black, so each time I messed up I just painted over it in black to wipe the slate clean.

So finally, I give you The Hawaiian Runner:

Hawaiian Runner - 24" x 28" Acrylic

 I can't wait to find out if she likes it! And the added bonus? When her husband sent my payment, he sent me a little surprise.....

It totally made my day! I can't wait to wear it. This too could be yours from the Big Island Running Co.

Well, another painting done...Time to start on my next one, and this one is going to be HUGE.

Aloha!

I've been back home for almost a week now, and I'm just starting to emerge from my vacation grief. I've wiped away my tears (and all my sunburned skin, which is now decorating most of Dayton), done vacation laundry and am already pouring over the condo rental site to plan when I'll go back!

Here are some of the highlights of our adventures in Hawaii:

1. Our flight got cancelled. That's right. 10 minutes before we headed to the airport I checked my email to kill time and saw the flight cancellation notice. "HOOOOOONEY!!!!! We have a PROBLEM!!!!!"

After a quick call to United, I patched things up and we now had a 9 1/2 hour flight (Chicago to Honolulu) to look forward to. Glad I downloaded all those movies to my iPad!

Up, up and away!

2. I fell in love with a flotation device.

Best $3 I ever spent

3. The Turtle lost his wedding ring. Nice try, Turtle! I foiled his little plan to return to bachelorhood by finding it on the ocean floor not 5 minutes after he lost it in the Pacific. Mwahahaha!

Waimea Bay: The scene of the crime

Back on where it belongs!

3. Honolulu traffic is rated worst in America. Well, it's not like they can just widen the roads or anything, it IS an island. Thanks to the congestion and our GPS smoking too much turtle weed, we missed getting to check out the Disney Aulani Resort. I guess I'll just have to go back to check it out!


View of traffic headed into Waikiki from our lanai

4. 80 degrees is cold! I'll kick myself for this comment in January, but after cooking in 100 degrees this summer, it was nice to cool down to a frigid 80!

Though....pants might have helped too

5. Udon noodles are the best meal EVER. Well worth the winding line pouring out onto the sidewalk.

6. I could live on the beach. Seriously.

Waikiki

My shade-loving Turtle

I smile so much more here!

7. Our flight was cancelled. Again. Ok, technically not cancelled, but delayed by 12 hours. And while I would have loved to stay an extra day in Hawaii, it really would have only bought us 8 hours, from 11pm until 8:40am when our flight was rescheduled to. So, after 45 minutes of finagling, our magical helper at the United Desk squeezed us onto a flight that, oh, by the way, has already started boarding. And, oh yeah, it's also the 2nd last gate.

If we can't find a flight, does that mean we get to stay forever?

It was a great trip and I miss it already. Now, it's time to look forward to the Air Force Half Marathon and our fall trip to Disney World!

Hawaiian Love Affair

Hawaii will always be my first love. I may cheat on it with Disney World, but at the end of the day, I always come back to Hawaii. And what's not to love? Hawaii is a land where coconut syrup flows like honey, your biggest decision of the day is whether to have the macadamia nut or pineapple pancakes, and rainbows sprout up like weeds!

I am crawling out of my skin I am so excited to go! Why can't the clock move faster?! As I sit and obsess about my trip, here is a list of things I'm looking forward to:

1. Listening to a constant soundtrack of ukelele music. Oh who am I kidding, the Hawaiian music marathon has been going strong the last few weeks at my house!

2. Eating coconut syrup on everything

I swear they put crack in this

3. Reading trashy romance novels on the beach (why oh why didn't I save 50 Shades for vacation!?)

The beach and smut go hand in hand

4. Visiting the Disney Aulani Resort. Disney IN Hawaii? This really is paradise!

5. Buying hoodies I don't need...Hoodies are my shoes, I just can't have enough!

There's no such thing as too many hoodies

6. Attempting the Dole Plantation Maze again...and probably giving up after 15 minutes, just like last time.

Why hunt thru a maze when there's pineapple ice cream to be had?!

7. Taking a ridiculous amount of pictures of the sunset

Even the Turtle gets in on the action

8. Body-slamming the Turtle each morning until he gets up (sleep in?! What do you think this is, vacation!? You can sleep on the beach!)

Poor guy, he suffers such abuse

9. Running to Diamond Head for sunrise

10. Wearing a flower in my hair every single day!

And most of all.....

11. Spending time with the world's most wonderful Turtle.

Get ready Hawaii, this wahine is coming home!!!!!!!

Happily Ever After

Once upon a time, a fairy met a turtle...

They don't call me Tink for nothin!

I fell for the hair

It was love at first sight and they spent the next  years watching Ghost Adventures, frolicking on Hawaiian and Ohio beaches, driving through the Metroparks and falling more madly in love with eachother. Until finally the Turtle got up his courage (or was still out of it from running his first ever race, the 2010 Disney World Half Marathon), and asked the fairy to be his forever...

01/11/10 Polynesian Resort, Walt Disney World

And one year ago today, October 23, 2010, the Fairy and the Turtle started their Happily Ever After

lucky race shoes

Happy Anniversary Turtle, I love you.