Jennifer Lancaster

One of my favorite authors is Jennifer Lancaster and she is currently on a book tour--one of the stops was San Diego! And she came to the Barnes and Nobles that I pass to and from work and where I actually go to sit and read her books! What are the odds of that?? I got to meet her and she signed two of my books. I was number 101 in line...over 150 people showed up. Do yourself a favor and read one of her books--I recommend Bitter is the New Black to start. She is snarky and witty and my favorite type of literary voice--like a Sarah Vowell for the bubblegum audience, not so political or intellectual, but just as funny. I want to be friends with her. I think our negativity would mesh well together.

Knoxville, Tenn.




I got to go to Knoxville for a triathlon this past weekend. Matt Reed, my favorite triathlete, was the first-place finisher. Knoxville is more colonial than I had imagined and Saturday was pretty dead...and I was right downtown. Due to many travel fiascos, I got in at 3:30am Saturday morning and left at 6am Monday morning (which is 3am CA time). Bags under my eyes and all, I still loved being there to see a triathlon because there is nothing better. I also found a creperie and a candy store with barrels of old-fashioned sweet treats. Knoxville food = heaven.

Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

I once again attended the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books where I saw Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes fame, Danica McKellar of Wonder Years, Jennifer Weiner who is one of my fav authors, Rainn Wilson from The Office, plus many more. I enjoyed it and got to have a second birthday celebration just a few days after my real birthday.



Rainn Wilson



Duff Goldman who is opening a store in LA and he will serve the San Diego area. Time to save money for cake!



Another b-day cake for me

My birthday

I spent half the day in the office and the other half in Los Angeles. I got to visit a triathlon store and then got to visit the USC Triathlon Team and pass out some magazines. Super fun! Then I met some friends for dinner and they made me the birthday queen. Super cheesy photo of my crown! I don't look that cheesy outside of a camera shot.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday. I made it through a glorious year. Here are the top-20 big events since my last b-day:

1. Ran a marathon in Peru, China and South Africa.
2 Accomplished my goal of running a marathon on all seven continents.
3. Got press for it. Here's one example.
4. Cut off my waist-length hair and went brunette. The jury is still out on that one.
5. Got a new job
6. Moved to California
7. Signed up for my 2nd Ironman. This time it is New Zealand.
8. Got a new car
9. Rented out my house
10. Had my trichotillomania spiral out of control
11. Haven't been able to get it under control
12. Interviewed a few celebrities
13. Pretended I'm BFFs with such celebrities
14. Ran 6 half marathons from Santa Barbara to Arizona to Utah
15. Completed another few triathlons
16. Finished my book. Now in revision stage.
17. Done some public speaking events about my running a marathon on all 7 continents
18. Got pulled over by a cop for the first time ever. Got let go. (Thank you officer!)
19. Got published in some national magazines
20. Traveled to Costa Rica to write about triathlons

Whew! What will next year bring? I hope happiness, an ability to change my relationship status on Facebook (pretty sure that's a long shot), wealth (another long shot), Daniel Craig at my door step declaring his undying love for me (not likely), Curtis Stone fighting with Daniel Craig because he also has declared his undying love for me (it could happen), the cancellation of The Real Housewives of Miami (listen up Bravo--it sucked), Modern Family and Cougar Town having new episodes every week (pay the writers more money, they deserve it), successfully crossing the finish line of Ironman New Zealand, getting over something personal (probably will take therapy), and getting a PR in a race. All that would make me a happy thirty-something.

Easter Weekend

I ran a lonnnnngggg 20 miles and also visited the famous San Diego Zoo. Being fairly new to San Diego and without family around, I had no plans for Easter weekend. No ham dinners, no Easter dresses, no Easter bunny visits. So I went to the zoo. I've always had mixed feelings about the zoo. As I've seen wild animals in their natural environment, whether it be in the Amazon, on an African Safari or sitting on glaciers at the bottom of the world, I feel badly for the animals in confined spaces with strangers watching their every move. Granted, they are treated properly and fed well and do not have to survive in the beastly wild. Maybe I just feel like it's not the same as traveling to a foreign country and seeing them in nature.

But I did get to see a polar bear doing a horny dance looking for a receptive mate. So, there's that.

My New BFF

I have a new BFF. His name is Dr. Sanjay Gupta. I got to interview him at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. You may know him from CNN or his books or his traveling the world and all his television appearances. We're now BFFs. No, not really. I did, however, get to speak to him about triathlons and there is no better topic of conversation. But I did feel significantly out of place at this hotel. I parked my Kia down the street (I'd hate for it to get confused among the line of BMWs out front) and walked in thinking about how many race entries equals the price of one night in this hotel. I figured I would need two hands to count. Then I saw men in power suits eating power breakfasts looking snazzy in Gucci. I was wearing heels for the occasion, not something I typically do (as 6'0 is just too tall). Turns out my BFF Dr. Gupta is not tall at all, so I was even more ridiculously tall. But we spoke about racing and I asked him questions and he was super nice.






This weekend I traveled to Salt Lake City and finished my 31st half marathon. I love this course, but it was cold that day. It started raining as I was driving to the start and then magically for once the God of Marathon listened to my prayers and the clouds held onto the water. I ran okay and finished in my normal time, which I was fairly happy with--no PR, but finally feel like my fitness is returning (sing Hallelujah!). Then five minutes after I crossed the finish line, it started raining again. Thank heavens I was off the course and heading back to my car when little drops started hitting my head. I got to also see beautiful flowers, including my favs--daffodils.