Running

Since July I have been training for the Evansville Half-Marathon, which will take place on 10/10/10! I am participating in the Team 13 training through the YMCA. We meet on Tuesday/Thursday nights and Saturday mornings to run. I have progressed to running for 7 minutes and walking for 3 minutes. I can keep this pace pretty good. A couple of weeks ago I ran in the 10K (6.2 miles) race and finished in 1 hour 13 min! My sister-in-law Amber is also training and it is nice to have someone to run with although she is faster than me :-)

This Saturday we will be doing 11 miles, which is our longest run before the Half-Marathon which is 13.1 miles! I feel confident that I can complete the half in less than 3 hours, which is my goal. I am glad that I have avoided inury and have actually found running to be enjoyable. I hope to continue running even after the half is complete.

Costa Rica - Part 5

The final city we went to was Quepos, which meant we were back on the beach! This time it was the Pacific Ocean and the waters were much rougher, but the views were just as beautiful. Besides lounging on the beach we went to the Manuel Antonio National Park. This is Costa Rica's smallest National Park, which makes it very easy to see wildlife. We spotted some sloths, lizzards, and lots of monkeys. This time it was the white faced monkeys which we hadn't seen yet. The monkeys have become accustomed to people and were very close to the beach hoping to snatch some food from the visitors. I was able to get some really close up shots of them. We took a hike up to Cathedral Point which had some great views of the ocean. While on our hike we came across more monkeys in the wild, which felt much more natural. The beaches inside Manuel Antonio were gorgeous as well. Our hotel had a swimming pool so we enjoyed many dips in the pool after retuning from the beach. It was a very relaxing way to end the trip.

Once we were back in San Jose we had a final group dinner and had to say goodbye. Magnus and Jenni headed off the next morning for Honduras. They are continuing their travel for a total of 7 weeks! Right now I believe they are in Canada. Monique was headed home to the Netherlands and is now cheering on the Dutch team in the World Cup. They will face Spain in the finals this Sunday!

Ted, Daniel and I had all arranged to stay in San Jose for an extra day so we decided to go white water rafting again! This time it was on the Pacuare River, which is one of the top 5 rivers in the world to raft on. They picked us up at our hotel and we had about a 2 hour van ride to get to the actual river. The drive was very pretty and took us through the mountains. Rafting on the Pacuare was much different and very cool. The water was faster and higher, which made for some big rapids including four Class 4 sections. Somehow I managed to stay in the boat the whole time! The river took us through some very dense and lush jungle. We spotted many beautiful waterfalls and at one point the water was calm enough to jump in and just float. We all agreed it was the perfect way to end our trip. The next morning I left very early for the airport and arrived in Nashville that afternoon with no complications. I feel very lucky to have gone to Costa Rica and had such a great time while meeting some new friends.
The pictures for Quepos are included in the Monteverde slideshow.

Costa Rica Part 4

Next we went to Monteverde, which means green mountain. It was a beautiful, slow and curvy drive to get there. We stayed in another very nice hotel not far from the center of town. One of our first activities was to go horseback riding, which I always enjoy. The next morning we had a guided hike through the Santa Elena Cloud Forest. This was another rainforest, but since the elevation was much higher they call it cloud forest. Luckily we had good weather so we were able to see a lot. We spotted lots of hummingbirds, beautiful flowers, birds, and insects. We also took a night hike that evening where we saw 2 tarantulas!

The next day we all went zip lining!! Monteverde is known for this activity due to the elevation and gorgeous scenery! I went zip lining in South Africa, but that was nothing compared to this. We went on 15 cables many of which were over 1500 feet long. We were approximately 225-540 feet high in the air!! On one cable I looked down and saw cows grazing in the pasture below!! If all of that wasn't enough they also have a Tarzan Swing, which I forced myself to do. It was the only part of the tour that I found scary, but I was glad I did it. Here is a video of the Tarzan Swing so you can get an idea. The girl is not me because I am taking the video.

The final cable is 1 kilometer long and they give you the option of going superman style! I had planned on doing it, but I changed my mind after I went on the Tarzan Swing. It was still awesome to do it the normal way. In my slide show you will see some pics of Magnus doing the superman style though.

Our final activity in Monteverde was a Sugar and Coffee Plantation Tour. We got to see how they grow and process both sugarcane and coffee. I do not drink coffee, but I still found it interesting. The best part was the candy we got to make using the pure molassess they made using the sugarcane. It was yummy! We also got to ride in an ox drawn cart, which was pretty funny. Other highlights in Monteverde were the cheap and delicious tacos from the Taco Taco stand we found as well as the famous Monteverde cheeses. We also had some seriously fun Uno games in the evening!

I attached another slideshow as well.

Costa Rica Part 3

Our group on the Night Hike

Our next stop was in La Fortuna a town known for the Arenal Volcano, which attracts many tourists to the town. Despite some heavy clouds we had some pretty good views of the volcano which errupts daily. We took a night hike to a lookout point where we were lucky enough to see red lava when the volcano errupted! Our very first night in La Fortuna we went to the Hot Springs, which are numerous since the volcano is so close. This was very nice for our sore muscles. La Fortuna is also known for its adventure activities. Our whole group went white water rafting together which was a blast! I had never been before so it was quite an experience. Our guide, David, made sure we had a great time. I did fall out of the boat, but only once. They had a "paparazzi" come with us down the river to take pictures of us. He did a great job because the pictures are awesome.

The next day Ted, Daniel, and I decided to try another adventure activity, Canyoning! This is where you walk through a river canyon and do a combination of down-climbing and repelling. It was really cool and again the "paparazzi" took pictures for us. Our guides Viktor and Carlos were really cute and fun! I did fall a couple of times and had some scrapes/bruises as a result, but I would absolutely go canyoning again. I uploaded another slide show for this part of the trip as well.

Costa Rica Part 2

The next part of our trip was to Rara Avis(rare bird), which is a rainforest lodge in the middle of an untouched rainforest. It was one of the best parts of the trip for me. Everything about this place is awesome including the journey to get there. We started out getting fitted for our rubber boots, which are highly recommended during your stay due to all the mud! Then we got on an all terrain truck for our an hour or so beginning our climb up to the lodge. About half way the truck can no longer continue so we got on to a tractor drawn wagon and things got really bumpy! A couple of times we had to get off and walk ahead so that the tractor could maneuver its way over some large rocks. Once we had enough of the tractor we hiked the last hour of the way there. The accomodations were very simple and rustic. The only electricity is in the dining area for about 5 hours or so in the evening. My years as a camp counselor prepared me well for this.

The next day we took a 3 hour nature hike with our guide Josh. We learned more about the rainforest and its plants and animals. We had a very interesting encounter with some spider monkeys as well. Hiking in the rubber boots through the mud, water, and rocks took some concentration, but was very fun. At the end of our hike we went to the lookout point for the beautiful waterfall they have at Rara Avis. By this point we were hot, muddy and wet so the water was calling our names. We got to swim in the waterfall!!

After lunch a big thunderstorm came through with lots and lots of rain. While we were sitting in the dining room we all of the sudden heard a loud noise. Our guide quickly realized that the river was flash flooding due to the rain. We quickly walked to the bridge to see the river rising and picking up speed. We then grabbed our boots and hiked back to the waterfall lookout point to see the comletely flooded waterfall. It was amazing to see the river moving with such force. I included some videos below so you can get an idea of how massive it really was.

The next morning we got up very early to leave because the tractor was broke down! This meant we had to hike about 6 kilometers down the hill to where the all terrain truck was waiting for us. Needless to say I had several blisters from the rubber boots, but it was worth it! Check out the videos and I also attached a slide show of Rara Avis pictures.

Sorry this is sideways and I don't know how to rotate it

Costa Rica Part 1

I am back from my adventure vacation in Costa Rica and I had a great time!! I saw and did so much during my 2 1/2 week stay so I am going to share a little bit at a time. I arrived in San Jose with no complications and luckily my luggage!! I got settled into the hotel and met my group leader, Annika. She is originally from California, but married a Costa Rican man and has lived in the country for several years. She was a fantastic group leader and knew a lot about the country. My fellow group members were Monique (Netherlands), Magnus & Jannie (Denmark), and Ted & Daniel (New York City). We all got along great and had a lot of fun together.

Early on Day 2 we boarded a city bus to Puerto Viejo a small town along the Caribbean Ocean. The town is very laid back and has a Jamaican influence. The beaches were beautiful with black and white sand. Our hotel was so nice and we stayed in a little bungalow with a hammock on our porch. The main thing to do in Puerto Viejo is to rent a bike and ride around. Monique and I rode to Manzanillo about an hour away. We stopped along the way at some of the beaches which were practically empty! Once in Manzanillo there is another beach!! It was a very relaxing way to start off our trip.

Puerto Viejo

We left Puerto Viejo and drove to Moin where we boarded a boat for our trip to Tortuguero, which can only be reached by boat. The ride was awesome and we spotted some animals like the Jesus Christ lizzard, howler monkeys, birds, and sloths. Torguguero is another very small town which is known for the sea tutles that come along shore at night. Unfortunately we were ther a little too early in the season to see them. We had another nice hotel on the opposite side of the river from the town center. We only stayed here one night and then we were back on the river for another hour or so. Once we were back on land we drove through some farming communities and saw lots of cows and banana plantations. We even caught a gimpse of how they harvest bananas.

I attached a slideshow of pictures from this part of the trip.

Boat Ride to Tortuguero

Birthday and Camping

Yummy Lemon Squares!!

Lucas eating Birthday Cake

Adam eating Birthday Cake

The end of May is always a busy time and this year was no exception. My cousin Sara graduated from High School and my cousin Emily graduated from the 8th grade - Congrats to them both! Last weekend was there joint party and it was lots of fun to celebrate and eat!!

Then school ended on May 26th and now I only have one more day of work before my summer break officially starts.

I also celebrated my 30th birthday last week. Dad, Eileen, and Granny took me out to dinner at Logans. Then on Friday I had a girls night out that didn't go quite as planned, but turned out to be lots of fun! I then decided to join the family at New Harmony State Park for some camping. I got to spend some good quality time with the cousins and nephews, which I always enjoy. I also took the chance to break in my new hiking boots so I will be ready for Costa Rica.

While camping I celebrated again when my sister made me a birthday cake and Lucas helped me blow out all 30 candles!! My cousin Amanda made me her famous Lemon Squares as a present!!! I hope to add a slide show later with all the pictures, but here are a few. All in all it was a great birthday! Now one more week until I leave for Costa Rica!!!

Flower Power!

Spiderwart Azaleas

I have been at my house for 2 years now and I decided it was finally time to plant some flowers. My friend Ann (a.k.a. Walnut) and her mom were nice enough to help me. They have given me lots of flowers and plants from their home. They have even helped me decide where to put everything and had to basically teach me how to plant them. It has been a lot of hard work, but very fun. So far I have azaleas, butterfly bushes, iris, and spiderwart. I also have a LOT of bulbs (paperwhites, sundrops, snowballs, surprise lilies, and daffodils). I am working on getting all of them planted and Ann's mom still has more she wants to give me. I can't wait until everything begins to really grow and bloom.

RACE DAY!!

Today was the Southern Indiana Classic Half-Marathon. The event was held at the Vanderburgh County Fair Grounds and despite my attempt to arrive early I got caught in a long line of cars trying to get in. I finally was able to park at 6:50am leaving me 10 minutes until the start of the race! Not exactly how I had planned it, but I managed to stretch some and be ready to start the race. The course was really pretty and wound us through northern Vand. County. There were some hills, especially at the beginning, but overall it wasn't too bad. I was able to keep up with the pace I had set for myself (15min. miles) for the first half or so. I started to slow down around mile 9 and the last 2 miles were the worst. My legs were hurting pretty bad by then. Nathan and Amber were waiting for me at mile 10 which gave me a good boost. As I crossed the finish line Dad and Eileen were there also. All in all it was a successful day and I am glad I was able to attain the goal I set for myself back in January. I actually enjoyed it and I hope to be able to complete another half-marathon and improve my performance. I included a picture of me with my medal for finishing.

Summer Plans!!!

I looked at many options for the summer and struggled to make up my mind, but I am very excited to be going to Costa Rica this summer!!!!!!! I signed up for a 16 day adventure vacation through GAP Adventures. They offer many different kinds of vacations, but the one I signed up for is called Costa Rica Adventure. We will be travelling throughout the country and our destinations include San Jose(the capital), Puerto Viejo de Talamanca(caribbean coast), Tortuguero National Park, Rara Avis(rainforest lodge), Arenal Volcano, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio National Park (pacific coast).

While in each of our destinations I will be able to choose what activities I want to do. Some of my options will include snorkeling, white water rafting, zip lining, swimming at the base of waterfalls, caving, and lots of guided hikes to see the wildlife. I will meet the rest of my group when I arrive in Costa Rica. The information I read said there is a maximum of 15 people.

I have been reading a lot about Costa Rica and I am overwhelmed by the amazing things to see there. One of the most exciting parts of the trip for me will be staying at the Rara Avis Rainforest Lodge. It is a 4 hour trip just to get there which involves a tractor drawn cart up a muddy hill! We will get guided hikes into the rainforest to learn about the plants and wildlife. There is no electricity as we are far removed from civilization. During our stay there meals are provided, but on the rest of the trip I will get to choose where I eat, which will be nice.

My next step is to book my flights and purchase some travel insurance. I will post more about the trip soon!

Training Update

My training for the half-marathon in April continues. It has been much more difficult than I had hoped due to all of the snow we have been getting. I have struggled to keep my running consistent, but with the burst of sunshine this weekend I am hopeful that spring is not far away! I have had some knee pain as a result of the running, but with a few days of rest it goes away. Hopefully, it will not turn into anything serious. I am up to run/walking 6 miles. I have a lot of work to do to get ready for the 13.1 miles of the half-marathon, but I am feeling good about it.

I have also started looking into possible travel options for myself this summer! I have some exciting options in mind, but I am not ready to make up my mind. So I am keeping quiet for now.

What's In Store for 2010

2009 was a really great year for me so it is going to be tough to top it, but I plan to try. As far as travelling goes I am still keeping my options open for 2010. I have definitely been thinking of possible destinations and even doing a little online research, but I have decided that I need to focus on other goals right now.

I have signed up for a Half-Marathon(13.1 miles) in April! I plan to run/walk and I bought my very first pair of running shoes over the holiday. I also signed up to participate in the training that is offered since I am a beginner. There will be group runs on Saturdays and the rest is up to me. Due to the cold temperatures and short days I will be taking advantage of my Dad's treadmill, but I hope to run outside when I can. My goal at this point is simply to complete the half-marathon. I am sure once I have been training for a while I will be able to set a time goal for myself as well. I will keep you posted on my progress.
Happy New Year!