Silver Streak.

I ran in my first race since high school this weekend and it felt amazing. I'm excited to do another!

It was kind of a weird run. Originally it was a 5k but they partnered up with a relay marathon race as well so they changed it to 4.2 miles. On the actual race day they changed it again and we ended up running 4.8 miles! 

Registration

Getting numbered. Felt very official! :-)

Erin and I before the race. We both started running again around the same time and she's the one who talked me into running this race even though we found out about it a week before!

Saipan-da even showed up!

And because I'm crazy Asian I made her take a picture with me and the Panda.

Right before the race began. We were both so nervous that we didn't sleep much the night before and the added distance scared me to death!

Go!

I ended up doing well for my goal. I ran the 2.4 miles to the turnaround point, drank a cup of water, caught my breath and ran the entire way back as well, even sprinting the last 500 yards or so. I felt like I was flying (minus the fact that I couldn't breathe). It was such a good feeling.

 Tim was there with the kids waiting for me at the finish line and I was DRENCHED in sweat.

*Admittedly, I'm not the most photogenic person after all that running and sweating. Tim even verified (to my horror) that he could hear me breathing as I came down the finish line.

p.s. That guy behind me is incredible! He finished a mile and a half before me but came back to run the rest with his daughter. I was right behind him for about a half mile until he said, "I can see the finish line! Go!" And I went for it. 

They awarded everyone who finished with a t-shirt. I was so proud of my XL t-shirt! 

End result: 4.8 miles in 48:32 

Average Pace: 9:30 minute mile

Fastest Pace: 3:20 minute mile

 Next goal is to do a 10k! Wahoo!

One of those days.

The kids were driving me totally crazy today. I don't know what their deal was but by the afternoon this mom needed a chill pill. We'd been looking for a decent priced hose for awhile now and I finally found one today along with with a sprinkler. I decided to try it out to keep me from drawing mustaches on my kids faces.* Turns out they liked the hose better than the sprinkler. Whatever. At this point "Whatever floats your boat," was my mantra.

Great form. He could be a professional.

Faking rain for the trees.

Moderation of the "swim move."

Of course the clothes came off almost immediately. I was lucky he let me put swim shorts on him.

June liked it so much she clapped every time Owen turned it on.

Then he started spraying her and she took a lion tamer approach.

Professional Pouter.

Rocky pose.

Wasn't our greatest day but at least there was love jammed in there. :-)

*A friend of mine once told me that her then 18 month old was driving her nuts so she took eyeliner and drew a mustache on her face. She said she just couldn't take her daughter seriously after that and it made her laugh every time she saw a scowl/frown/tantrum on her face with the 'stache. I was seriously considering it today. :-)

Run.

I got back into running a few months ago (with a big month and a half break during vacation) and I finally felt like I was ready to take it further than just for fun. (and one day a tight caboose, right?) I mentioned this to a friend of mine who also started running again recently and we decided we'd start doing races in the fall when they're back in full swing. (Saipan has LOTS of outdoor competitions but usually not in the summer). A day later she tells me she found a race and it was in a week. Yikes!  We decided to bite the bullet and do it. The race used to be a 5k but they are partnering up with a relay marathon team so it's 4.2. Thinking about it usually makes me super nervous and I either want to cry or puke so I decided I'm just going to try to run it today. I had the kids in the double jogger so I didn't finish fast but the fact that I finished while pushing 60 lbs of kid what a HUGE relief to me.

Someone carved this into a tree along the trail. LOVE it. 

Strangely enough this guy was pretty motivational. I knew I didn't want to be him so I kept going.

(p.s. he's asleep, not dead.)

The scenery on the way is so beautiful.

I ended up running 2.5 straight through, walking a mile and running the last half mile. Pushing a double stroller with two kids in it--I was pretty proud! I couldn't believe how good I felt and how much I was sweating! At one point I felt water dripping on my leg. In my altered state I thought a passing dog was taking a leak on me! Then I realized it was actually sweat dripping off my back onto my legs and ankles! When I got home and saw my t-shirt I felt more validated that even though I finished it slowly I was still working hard. Regardless of time I just really want to have fun. Wish me luck this Saturday!

Fudgesicle.

June likes homemade fudgesicles.

Our Boo-yah Weekend.

We're coming up on a year for living in Saipan and it really put the fire under me to get cracking on our "list of things to do in Saipan." Tim had a 3 day weekend and we really went at it. 

After church on Sunday we went to Kalabera Cave. We'd been there once before but it was rainy and there were lots of tourists. It's one of the oldest caves in Saipan and thoroughly gives me the creeps.

Trees growing out of rocks--crazy, right?!

Pictures don't do it justice. (Especially ipod pictures) It's huge. And did I mention creepy?

Owen pointed out a black crow to us while in the cave. Eek!

I was a little freaked.

So I distracted myself accordingly while the boys walked around.

*Monday we snorkeled to the Tank.

On Tuesday we randomly decided to hike out to Old Man by the Sea. We'd heard about it, talked about it and even seen the sign marking the trail. We weren't sure if it was a hike you could take kids on but we figured we could just turn back if it was too hard.

Before the hike. 

Black & Blue butterflies are all over the island in different patterns. They are SO beautiful. The blue is so vibrant in the right lighting. I actually took out my SLR only to have the batteries die two seconds later. Boo.

We made it! I was so proud of our little guy. He walked the entire hike except for a few tricky parts where Tim had to carry him while repelling down a bit. The lizards kept him motivated to keep moving. :-)

Can you see the face in the rock?

All nice and sweaty.

It's not too bad of a hike but when you're carrying an extra 30 lbs on you--it gets a little tiring. :-)

We were asked to stay on the side for awhile because a photographer was taking pictures. Since we were good sports about it, he offered to take a few pictures of us to send to us later. The photographer was Leslie Ware and has been taking pictures of the island for years. He actually won an award one year at the Flametree Festival.

The kids were pretty excited to be back in the car.

To top it all off we got Poon's (one of our favorite Chinese restaurants) for dinner and met up with our good friends (and neighbors) Joe and Laura for some Island Sorbet and night swimming.

And that completed our "Boo-Ya" Weekend.

Snorkeling to the WII Tank

There are a few WWII Tanks left in the ocean from a major battle on the beach all those years ago. One in particular is in plain sight from the beach. We've snorkeled out to it once before but didn't have an underwater camera. We found a cheap one (a whole $25 cheap) and went back out.

The water isn't as clear at this beach and it was low tide so it was even less clear. You go through lots of patches of sea grass (which I hate), sea slugs (which I hate more), and these weird brain-like swishy pods (bleck!) I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to squishy things on my feet so I usually squeal through my mask a few times on the way.

It's strange--there aren't many fish on the way to the tank but once there, fish are all over it.

It's hard to see what you're actually taking a picture of so we just point it in the general direction. :-)

When the sun hits these fish are just glowing.

Angel fish!

Striped baby eel! Eek!

The tank is in the left corner...yeah...perhaps underwater photography is not my specialty. :-)