Time for the annual blog post

Another year closes and I still don't have my act together on this blog thing.

So this year I aimed to run a half marathon a month, ended up successful. made up one in June when i couldn't afford race fees. last one being the Laughlin Bullhead City half marathon. It was a dam good race.

 So, here is the race in picture  form. wind not pictured. wind sucked. big time. 

 lap around the high school track

 

 Damn fine dam we got to run over

 Heading back along the Colorado river

And then my phone died so I couldn't take more pics. it was a great run. the wind made it awful, but that just makes it more of an accomplishment to finish. 

Overall, a good running year. next year is my first full! eep! 

Making decisions

So, new year, resolutions, blah blah blah. Aka the things we think we should do to improve ourselves, but never actually do. Kinda like this blog so far, bwahahah.

But today I made a decision. A big one, for me. I decided to run a marathon. It's not like I'm still super fat and unhealthy. Finishing half marathons has become part of my identity. #irunforbling #vacationraces and now that I run half marathons, I don't take them seriously anymore. They don't scare me.

Marathons, however, are still crazy for me. I've never finished a half and thought, "oh yeah, I can do this again, no problem!" Mostly I'm just happy to be alive. I've run half marathons where people died before me on the course. (It was my first half. I'm sad he died but thankful I didn't know about it until after I finished, as I was struggling and that might've discouraged me just enough to quit.) Last year I had to pause before the finish to allow a medic to motorcycle in to help a full marathoner that collapsed (he lived, fortunately). My internal identity is still very much a sedentary fat chick, so I honestly worry about dying. But I've been toying with the idea for awhile now, and today I pulled the trigger.

I am going to run the Pittsburgh Marathon in 2017. Not this year, next year. I was trying to decide if I wanted to fly back to pgh for the half again in 2016. My new running group is doing the SLO half which is the same weekend, so it was a question of which half to do. The price increase for pgh forced my hand, and so this is my compromise. I will run the pgh full in 2017. Running a full scares me; it's still crazy in my head. So I'm posting it here for accountability. 

The real reason I'm going to try and run a full is because of my coach, Gene. He offered to coach me for the full in 2017. So with his help, and the help of my running friends, I'm going to do this.

If you came upon this page and want to help support me, that'd be awesome! If not, you can hate read and hope I fail. I thrive on proving people wrong so that works for me too. Anything to get page views, right? 

Oh yeah, next steps. How to monetize this. Jekka needs running gear and pet-friendly hotels to sponsor her travels, hehehehe! 

First winter in Reedley

so, little over a year later. Just wanted to post and say I did it! Moved to freshole in July, now living in the country in a mobile home. #jekkagoesmobile

Posting as it's warmer right now in Pgh. Hahahaha funny.  I'm still happy I moved even with everything and we need the rain here so I welcome the "cold"

Here are some pics. Lots of snow. Never drove in this much snow in pgh. But took a friend up to China Peak. Totally scary but I did it. Happy I can choose when to experience the snow. Cause it can be really pretty.

Very happy no more living in this type stuff. I would die.

More to come.

Beautiful! Thanks be to 4WD

Last winter in Pittsburgh

So in honor of Dahv, I'm going to blog. And the first thing I blog about is leaving Pittsburgh.

It's way too fucking cold here, and I vow this to be my last winter in Pittsburgh. Next time this year, I will be back in Fresno. Yeah, I know it's not glamorous or anything, but Fresno is my home.

So it was just Thanksgiving. I am thankful for everything that being in Pittsburgh has given me. My house, my aminals, and all of the experiences. I am thankful to have a good job and a healthy happy family. I am thankful for my ability to afford heating, because did I mention that it is cold?

I don't like being cold. Even back in Fresno, Randy would come in to the casita in the summer and it'd be like 80 in the room but I'd still have a blanket or sheet over me. After 9 years here, I've given up on the idea of being truly warm in the wintertime. Another reason why I'm thankful for my kitties - they help keep me warm. No matter how many layers or coverings I have on, I never feel warm. Maybe my soul has frozen, I'm not exactly sure. I just know that I hate being cold.

So Fresno is the goal. That means there is a lot to accomplish in the meantime. Looking at a six month horizon for readying our house to sell. It has solid bones but needs some upgrades before we can sell. Plus figuring out how to transport 6 cats and 1 dog from PA to CA without going insane. That's gonna be fun.

So yeah, the blog, or something. Not sure what I want this to be about, but I like to boast about the things I do, especially the yummy things I cook. Expect some of that, some running stuff, and a lot of ranting about how much I hate the winter here.

But first, to temper that, a picture of the view that I will miss.

Nothing beats coming out of the ft Pitt tunnel to downtown. So pretty.

Okay that's all. Bye.

No wait, I need a disclaimer. Unlike the blog last summer in fresno, this is actually going to be my last winter here. Promise.