2 Days 'Til 30... Dueling Rub Downs

**Now that my countdown to 30 has officially begun, I've decided to do something extra special every day until I turn 30.**

First order of business today was the post-wedding brunch. So yummy! Me with the big (married) cousin:

Following brunch, we took our usual positions - poolside, facing the water, under a couple of umbrellas, book in hand.

In case you forgot where we are... and I included my toes as proof!

Today's special treats were full-body massages (plus steam room and jacuzzi) at the resort spa. This is me feeling loose and serene after my rub-down.

We ended the night at a family dinner at the resort's seafood restaurant. I ordered Mahi Mahi (which I must order from any restaurant that actually offers it) and it was terrible! The fish was so dead and dried out that when I cut it with the knife, it shed into crumbles. Such a letdown. The saving graces, however, were the mixed vegetables and the yucca & vanilla creme brulee.

Our last adventure of the day was finding a lizard in our room.

We called maintenance to free us of the infestation and he laughed at us, showing us the lizard in a towel saying, "Godzilla" in a Mexican accent. Nice, dude. Make fun of our terror.

A Run Like Nun Other: Race & Trip Report (day 1)

So I did it! I had my first 5K. Zia, Rashonda and I landed in Phoenix Friday night. That's me waiting for Zia's flight to land...

We dined at the hotel and got up early early this morning to run in the 1st Annual Nun Run in Glendale, AZ.

I ran the 5K in 30:56, placing 15 out of 63 in the 20-29 female age group and 103 out of 490 overall.

It was so crazy... my adrenaline was pumping, and I just kept focusing on not going too fast so I didn't burn myself out.

Mile 1 felt good. We started in the middle of the pack, and I slowly passed a few people, but in general, I stayed steady. When I saw the folks in orange with the water cups, they were shouting, "You're at mile 1. Great job!" I looked at my watch and was shocked. It said 9:49. Are you kidding me? I've never run more than 10:42 on the treadmill and that wasn't on trail, nor the uneven rocks we were running on. Not to mention, 10 weeks ago, I could barely do my 1 minute run, 1 minute walk intervals without getting out of breath.

Mile 2 was okay. The first half, I was still buzzing off the fact that I ran under 10 minutes for the first mile. About halfway through, I started to feel a little winded, so I slowed down a bit and just focused on maintaining that speed. I got to the mile 2 water cup holders feeling just slightly winded. My watch read 20:13.

Mile 3 was rough. My left thigh started to ache, and I started to feel more winded. I made a deal with myself that I could run slow until 26 minutes, then I had to pick it up. I actually ended up picking up the speed once I could see the finish line, just before 3 miles. The next thing I knew, I was running through the finish line, and people were telling me where the food was and asking me for my chip.

My watch said 30:45, but my chip time was 30:56. Still not bad for my first race. It means I ran 9:59/mile.

We finished up the day with a nice brunch complete with unlimited mimosas and 4 hours of spa services.