Tinker Bell 1/2 Marathon! (quick post)

Yesterday was the Inaugural Tinker Bell ½ Marathon at Disneyland!  I did it with my cousin, her friend, and three other ladies, and we had an absolute blast!  We talked, we laughed, we sang, we danced, and the miles just ticked by.  Before we knew it we were at mile 9 with only 4 miles to go.  So we sang, we laughed, and we danced along the course some more!  We were being silly and enjoying all the Disney characters along the course.  Twenty years from now we can say we were a part of the very first Tinker Bell race…how cool is that?!  It was so fun and the beginning of a lasting tradition :)

Full recap to come later this week! 

A-mile-a-day in February!

With February rapidly approaching, it’s time I start thinking about my running goals for this year.  I am going to start out with a simple yet potentially-challenging goal:  to run at least one mile a day in the month of February.

On the one side, this seems quite simple -- just one mile, or 10-12 Maggie-minutes, of my day…totally do-able.  One the other side, this can be a potential challenge -- February is a busy time for me at work with our 2011 full year and 4^th quarter earnings, the annual report, board meetings, etc.  Additionally, my spring semester of grad school starts, and all this can add up to very long days/nights.  Needless to say, I might be very tired and that one mile could seem like ten miles.  Despite these potential challenges, I WILL run at least one mile a day during the month of February!!

What goes around comes around :) Good Karma

Call it kindness, call it coincidence, or call it karma.  Whatever you call it, it’s pretty cool.

Last week I gave away my bib for the LA 13.1 Half Marathon that I was unable to run.  Two days after I gave it away to Miss J, I got an email from a friend offering me her friend’s bib for the Disney TinkerBell half marathon on January 29^th!  I was so stoked because I tried signing up for this race last fall and it was completely sold out.  It’s the inaugural race, which is so cool to be a part of, and it’s Disney!  I love Disney! :)  Of course I said yes!  My cousin is also doing it and I’m so pumped to be doing it with her and some other family!  And of course we’re dressing up!  Green tutus galore!  It’s going to be fun :)

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Our Wedding Video Preview!!!!

Happy Friday!!!

Our wedding video preview is here!!  I’m shaking with excitement!!

Mike McCaleb at MissionVisual was our incredible videographer for our wedding day.  He is so talented and was a blast to work with!!  My hubby and I are blown away by this preview.  Mike did such a beautiful job capturing our wedding day, and reliving it through this short preview gives me butterflies and makes me teary-eyed.  Our wedding day was hands down the best day of my life :)  Thank you Mike for capturing the love and happiness of Sean's and my wedding day.  I can’t wait to see the final full version!

Bella Collina Wedding Preview - Maggie + Sean from Mission Visual on Vimeo.

Three Things Thursday!

1.  Someone has enthusiastically taken my bib for this weekend’s Los Angeles 13.1 half marathon!  Thank you J!  Good luck on Sunday and have fun!!

2.  Last night I really pushed myself working out, and this morning I’m having flu-like symptoms.  At first I thought I was coming down with something, but I just realized that this has happened before when I’ve pushed myself beyond my limits.

3.  Tomorrow I have a SUPER fun post!!!  I just received something wonderful and I’m so excited to share it with you!!  Keep your eyes on my blog tomorrow!

What races are you running this weekend?

Have you ever had flu-like symptoms the day after or two days after a really hard workout?

No LA 13.1 half marathon for me

I am sorry to say that something has come up and I am no longer able to run the LA 13.1 Half Marathon on Sunday.  Don't worry, everything is okay, and it's actually for a good reason that I can't run this race :)


I contacted the race director and it's non-transferable, however, if someone wants to run it, I'm happy to pick up the bib and give it to you!  Just let me know so I know whether or not I have to go to the Expo Saturday.


Thanks everyone!!


**UPDATE:  I found someone who will run the race on Sunday!  Yay!!  Thanks guys!!

Healthcare Conference in San Francisco!

Yesterday I was in one of the most fun cities attending the largest healthcare conferences of the year, the 30th Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference.  Just a couple of factoids about this conference:

• It's held at the fabulous St. Francis hotel
• There are 400+ companies here
• There are 8,000+ people
• The entire hotel and all it's conference rooms, ballrooms, meeting rooms, etc are closed off to this conference and it's attendees.
• To even enter the hotel, you have to be signed into the conference and wearing your badge.

Needless to say, it was a mad house! It was back to back company presentations from all fields: pharmaceuticals, hospitals, managed care (where my company fits in), commercial health providers, etc. Any company and every company relating to healthcare is here and it's so exciting!  And analysts who cover these companies, bankers, and investors attend too!  I love conferences like these.  It's a GREAT networking opportunity and one of the best ways to learn.  Plus, my company presented yesterday and that's always extra fun for me since I build the presentations :)


After my company's presentation, I headed back to the hotel to do some more work, then I was able to get a pretty good workout in!  I hit the hotel gym and ran 3.87 miles before I met an old friend for dinner.  I hadn't seen Miss L since high school and even though we talk online it was wonderful to catch up in person!  Then, my incredible hubby came to visit me!!!!  I have the best husband! :)


This morning before flying home, we stopped at one of my favorite places for brunch, The Buena Vista Cafe.  It's the place we had brunch after running the San Francisco half marathon two years ago (wow, I can't believe that was TWO YEARS ago!)

Buena Vista Cafe Post San Fran 1/2 Marathon, July 2010

Even though it was a quick trip, it was a great trip both from a business and personal perspective.  I heart San Francisco :)

Memorial Day Weekend, 2010

Ten days until the LA 1/2 marathon

Remember when I won a race entry for the LA 1/2 Marathon a couple weeks ago?  Well that race is 10 days away!!!  TEN days!!

I'm super excited for a couple reasons:
1.  I've never won anything until now.
2.  The half marathon distance is my favorite distance*.
3.  Efo is an inspirational runner, great writer/blogger, and I'm happy to call her my friend.  Thanks Efo for having this awesome giveaway on your blog!!!
4.  It's a beautiful scenic beach course.
5.  This kicks off my 2012 race season!  (I'm still working on my race schedule for this year, and once it's done I'll post it.)


I'm super nervous for many reasons:
1.  I haven't been running much the past 5 weeks (I have been working out a lot though so at least I'm in shape)
2.  My last long run was on Halloween when I ran 9 miles.
3.  Between Halloween and my wedding on December 3, I was logged in several 3-4 milers.  Since my wedding though, my running has been hardly there (see #1 above).
4.  It's a point-to-point race.  I have to park at point A, run/walk the race, end at point B, and wait who-knows-how-long for the shuttle to take me back to point A where my car will be.


Having said that, as far as goals are concerned, I only have one:  TO HAVE FUN!!!  I want to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the oceanfront course and not start off the season with an injury due to lack of training :)


*I have yet to run a full marathon.  Once I finish my MBA program this coming winter, I'm going to tackle the 26.2!!!

First Run of 2012!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about running because, frankly, I haven’t been doing much of it.  I’ve been working out a TON, but I haven’t been logging the miles since our wedding, which was a month ago today!  Happy 1 month to us! :)

Yesterday I went out for my first run of 2012!  It’s been so foggy the last few nights and mornings to the point where I can’t see 100 feet in front of me, and yesterday morning was no different.  I set off in the fog and it felt so good to stretch my legs.  I had no plan, no set number of miles, I just wanted to cruise around my neighborhood.  I walked a bit here and there, helping my body to ease back into using muscles it hasn’t in over a month.  Four miles later, I was back at my front door!  I felt so refreshed, and I discovered a new 4-mile loop in my neighborhood, SCORE!

I’m really excited to log more miles this year, and my hubby wants to start running with me too!  Hooray!  He’s always been there for me at races to cheer me on, and he always wishes me a good run when I head out for a fun run or training run.  I’m looking forward to sharing these moments with him from a whole new perspective…in the street together running side-by-side!

Cheers to running and cheers to 2012!  It’s going to be a great year :)

Our Honeymoon in Paradise!

Words can't even begin to describe how beautiful our honeymoon in Costa Rica was!  We spent 8 beautiful days there, and had a really hard time coming home.  If Christmas hadn't been two days away, we probably would have stayed!  In addition to the country's beauty, the people were so incredibly nice!!  Everyone was so helpful and I never felt worried or unsafe.  It truly was paradise :)

We stayed at the Hilton Papagayo which is right on the water, and our bungalow overlooked the gorgeous gulf.  This is what we woke up to every morning:

When we first arrived, it was a little overcast, but the next days it cleared up and was gorgeous for the rest of our honeymoon.  We went on so many fun adventures!

• Jungle Cruise through Palo Verde National Park - this was like the Disneyland Jungle Cruise but WAY cooler!  We saw huge 15 foot crocs (and even got as close as 3 feet away!), scarlet macaws, Howler Monkeys, White Headed Capuchin monkeys, herons, egrets, iguanas as big as 4 feet, and more!
• Ziplining through the rainforest at Buena Vista - this was an unbelievable experience!  There were 11 cables and we soared above the rainforest canopy.  It was my favorite adventure!
• Horseback riding to volcanic hot springs - this was no ride in the park.  It was about an hour ride through rough terrains, up steep hills and down rocky hills.  It was so much fun!  This was my husband's favorite adventure, and his first time riding!
• Swimming in volcanic hot springs - there were 8 pools ranging from 106 degrees (this was HOT) to 75 degrees, all naturally heated.  You'll see in pictures below that we're in the middle of the rainforest.  It was majestic.
• Coco Beach cruising and shopping - we spent an afternoon at the neighboring town, Coco Beach.  Very cultural little town with awesome local shops, beatiful beaches, and the nicest people.  There were stray dogs every where too!  Super friendly just looking for attention.  One sat with us at our feet during lunch!
• Hiking - we hiked through rain forests and local trails near the ocean.  It was picturesque.
• 400-meter concrete water slide - yes, 400 METERS!  That's 4 football fields!  It was an open concrete water slide through the rainforest.  Requirements include wearing a helmet and a tube, and for the ladies a leather diaper-like underwear thing.
• Lots of lounging by the pool and enjoying local drinks made with their local alcohol, Cacique AKA Guaro - soooo tasty!  It's made from sugar cane so it's like a rum, but used in drinks like both rum and vodka, and taken as a shot like tequila with lime and salt.  It's a versatile (and smooth) drink.
• Couples massages overlooking the ocean - perfect after all our ziplining, hiking, and horseback riding adventures :)

So those are our adventures and relaxation in a nutshell.  My words don't do it justice, so onto pictures!!!

We're here!!!

It was overcast the first day, but still beautiful.  This is by the pool.

Tasting our first Guaro drink...it was delish!

Going to dinner one night

Live music and entertainment every night.

Giant lizard hanging with us at the pool

Getting ready for dinner one night

Dessert!

We found a cool statue when we were hiking one day

Lounging by the pool

On our balcony before dinner one night

That's our bungalow!

On the way to Buena Vista, we stopped at an original self-sustainable sugar plantation that was built in the 1800s.

Gorgeous day!

Giant iguanas on our Jungle Cruise.  It was mating season and they turn orange during this time.

White headed capuchin monkey

We saw so many of these guys!!!  From a 1 foot baby croc to a  15-foot King of the Jungle croc!

Jungle Cruise!

By the pool

The colors of Costa Rica were so vibrant (when it wasn't cloudy)!

All geared up for ziplining!

One one of the canopy bridges from one zipline platform to the other 

One of the zipline platforms

Soaring 1,000 feet above the ground!

Horseback riding!!

Tucan!

400 meter water slide!  This is the pool it dumps you into

My hubby feeding a White Nose Coati

Volcanic hot springs with my husband!

It was so beautiful, hot springs in the middle of the rainforest

Our bartender loved us!  He kept bringing us pineapple and guaro drinks along with guaro shots!

I love my husband!!!

Our new friends!  We met them the first day and hung with them almost every day!  Turns out we live one town away from each other!

Lounging and wearing my fabulous new bridal bikini from my dear friend BritB who designs high-end swimwear adorned with swarovski crystals.  Thanks for the wedding present B!!  <3

One of the pools :) 

My handsome hubby <3

View from our massage room overlooking one of the pools and the ocean

Dinner and guaro!

Grabbing lunch and beer at a little restaurant in Coco Beach

Enjoying local beer

Coco Beach!

Me and my man in Coco Beach :)

Doing a little shopping in Coco Beach

Costa Rica was breathtakingly beautiful, adventurously fun, and beautifully romantic.  It was the perfect honeymoon spot for us newlyweds :)  Thank you mom and dad for giving us this incredible honeymoon.  It was a trip of a lifetime and we will never forget it!

We're married!!!!  Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!