Nike Women's Half DC

Wow. I can't believe I am actually the owner of every female runner's coveted race medal: A Tiffany's Necklace. Everything about this race and the events leading up to it were completely out of the ordinary. 

Back in November, I read in a running magazine that the Nike Women's Race Series was finally branching out of San Francisco and doing an inaugural race in DC this spring. Being the big dreamer that I am, I decided I might as well take my chances of 1 in a million and put my name in the lottery to see if I got picked. Out of nowhere, I was at work about a month later, and was notified that I actually did get picked to run!

The past few months have been craaaazy busy. I have probably ran a total of MAYBE 20 miles since December. I was not training AT ALL for this race, because I have had so much going on. To add to my poor fitness level, I have also been on a doughnut kick lately and have eaten a doughnut probably every day for the past couple weeks. The true makings of a champion. 

A week before the race, I finally saw my chiropractor about an ongoing intense pain I have had in my back for the past three months. That's when I discovered I had a rib out of place that he was unable to get back into place. At that point, I had given up any hopes of running the race and decided just to play in DC. I decided just to bring my running gear just in case I magically woke up and decided to run the race. 

Well, I decided I might as well give it a go. My roommate did her amazing massage therapy magic 3 days before the race, and I am 100% positive that's what got me through the pain along with my adrenaline and drive to finish. 

The race itself was super chill. I love being a part of really big races in really cool areas. The course went along every staple of the city: all of the monuments, the Capitol, and the White House. At the end, you finished on a red carpet with a man in a tuxedo giving you the necklace. 

By some magical super powers, I finished in 2 hours and felt like I was being overly cautious the whole time pace-wise. I am so glad I decided to do it, because it's probably only once in my lifetime I will ever actually get picked in a lottery race like this one!

At the starting line, there was a great memorial to the victims of the Boston Marathon. They also had some elite runners on the Nike Team, including Shalayne Flanagan (fastest marathoner in USA right now). It was so cool to be a part of the same race as someone I read about all of the time!

Best part: The Finish

I am not very photogenic after pounding asphalt!

I will now be wearing this necklace every day until I die. 

I was so pumped up after, I took a shower and we hit the city again! We went to three museums, saw more sights, and went to two of my favorite local restaurants! I really think I should move back. 

Barack and I had a great chat about his policies. 

Who just runs 13.1 miles just for a shirt and necklace? This kid. 

Along with many firsts this trip, we also had a bad first. It was the first time in both of our lives that we have ever missed a flight. We are now stuck in the JFK airport for the next 8 hours on standby. Wish us luck!

MY CITY!!

We made it to my city at 7:30 this morning!! I seriously am so happy to be back in this place! It's like I never left! I love the city and the area soooooo much! 

Kate and I got to the hotel and crashed this morning, but then hit the pavement hard and saw a TON of things!

Here's a run down: 

Arlington Cemetery

Georgetown (to pick up my race packet)

Good Stuff Eatery

Library of Congress

Capital

Supreme Court

White House

WWII Memorial

Vietnam Wall

Lincoln Memorial 

911 Memorial

Yeah, we are pretty much professional walkers. I am not quite sure how I am going to run 13 miles in the morning...hmmm...

Beware of suuuuuper cheesy faces in EVERY picture!

I was waaaay happy to be back in DC 

I have literally craved this shake EVERY DAY for an entire year. I was in HEAVEN!

We finally found someone to take a picture of both of us at the Lincoln Memorial. 

Arlington will always and forever be one of my favorite places. 

I was SOOOO excited to show Katie how big this escalator was....and then my sunglasses literally fell down the entire escalator. Luckily, a kind soul saved them for me. 

 My cute little DC first-timer. 

There was a name wall with everyone running the race. I felt pretty famous!

Nike Women's Half!

Library of Congress

The Capital!!!

Supreme Court= Always and forever my favorite building.

This park was very special to me, because it is where I ate lunch EVERY DAY with my sandwich club buddies when I lived here!

The White House

Washington Monument apparently is under construction

 WWII Memorial

This is the spot where MLK gave his "I Have A Dream" Speech at the Lincoln Memorial.

Suuuuuch a great day! Can't wait to hit it hard tomorrow!!!

Licensed Adult?

Hey guess what? I passed my NMLS test on Monday and can now originate mortgage loans in 30 states. Pretty neat eh? I actually was offered two positions recently. I could go straight to becoming a loan officer and work on commissions, or could have a pretty sweet raise and process loans for the next little while and keep learning until I feel more comfortable originating loans. I decided the best thing for me to do was to take the processing position. For whatever reason, you have to be licensed to process loans in Kentucky, so I am now the sole Kentucky processor in my company. Pretty sweet job security right??

Kate and I are headed out to DC tonight for another Runcation. I got into the Nike Women's Half, which I have been STOKED about. The only problem is that I have actually been so stressed out lately and so tense that my rib in my back is completely out of place. The chiropractor I go to said it's the worst he's ever seen, and thinks they will probably have to put me under and get it back into place. So I will now be running 13.1 miles with a jacked up back! I'm still really excited for a fun weekend in my favorite city with my sister. The only training I have done for this race is walking upstairs in my office building to get diet cokes every few hours. That counts right??

I need more quality time with these kids in my life. Dang work!

Words cannot express how relieved I was to see the "Pass" at the end. I thought I failed for sure. I even got so stressed I ate every single morsel of chocolate in sight on test day! That's when you know you're too stressed. I am so grateful for my ability to take tests under pressure. 

  

I feel like I grown up now. Woof. 

I Love You, Weekends

Whoever invented weekends should win a HUGE prize in heaven. They are pretty much the most amazing thing EVER. 

Unfortunately, most this weekend I have been studying to take my national licensing test this week. I remembered why I never want to go to school again. Studying and weekends don't mix. I just really think everyone should just have as much fun as possible on the weekends. 

I did sneak in some fun though! On Friday night Cath came up and we went to dinner and shopping. It was super rad! Then, Saturday after I watched Netflix studied all day long, I headed down to Utah County! First to check in with my little homies in their new house and plan my SUPER awesome weekend trip to DC next weekend with my sister. Then, I went to a Bon Fire with CJ. 

I finally found the most accurate illustration for life. 

Studying on weekends = fun sucker. 

This kid has me wrapped around her finger. 

She's also stubborn like me and immediately put her thumb in her mouth when I took away her binky. 

We probably tried to get a normal picture of us 1,000,000 times. CJ has a little problem keeping his eyes opened when the flash goes off. 

He at least got the "open your eyes" part down...

FINALLY a good one!

When I am President, we will have a 5 day weekend and a 2 day work week. It only makes sense. 

My Friends are Cooler Than Yours

Sooo I was SUPPOSED to go play in Moab with a bunch of SLC peeps this weekend. Unfortunately, some stuff came up and I decided I should probably study for a licensing test that I scheduled to take next week. Since I decided to be responsible, I decided it was only fair that I played all day Saturday! Lately, I have been going into work on Saturdays, but not this weekend! This Saturday was reserved for chillin with my best pals. They are moving this weekend, so I hung out with the kids while the adults worked. It was so much fun just to live in the moment, dance, blast Justin Bieber in my car, laugh uncontrollably, and of course- eat loooots of chocolate! Here's some pics:

Kali's school had a mile run and a 5K. Naturally, I was the designated running partner since we are running partners. We ran the entire mile holding hands. That was quite the experience!

My running partner is the coolest. 

These last two pictures are my all time favorites. The girls always are doing my hair, so naturally I thought it would be funny for them to do their grandpa's hair. He was a good sport!

I could hang out with these kids all day every day minus the temper tantrums and diaper changes. Yeah, I think I am just gonna stick with being the favorite aunt for at least the next ten years!

Kelli's Pet Peeves

Lately, I have been in situations where my blood just BOILS. I realized I have waaay more pet peeves than I thought I did. Let's do a little run down: 

• WhEn PeOpLe TyPe On SoCiAl MeDiA lIkE ThIs.
• Slow walkers. 
• Everything about the Toyota Prius. 
• When kids talk with binkies in their mouths. 
• Close-minded, ignorant arguers. 
• The word "Epic" used incorrectly.
• People who do peace signs in every picture. 
• The duck face in pictures.
• "Bro" pictures. 
• People who tell you waaaaay too much information upon meeting them. 
• People who talk on their phones in waiting rooms. 
• Waiting rooms in general. 
• Passive-aggressive personalities. 
• The post-date text. 
• Loud chewers. 
• Girls who CLEARLY rat their hair and don't try to blend it in with the rest of the hair. 
• BYU students who think they are smarter than the rest of the world, solely because they go to BYU. 
• Loud singers at church. 
• People who post pictures of themselves EVERY DAY on instagram. 
• People who post what they ate for dinner (or something pointless like that) on facebook. 
• When people call flip flops "thongs". 

I'm really not an angry person. But if you're around me and one of the above twenty things happens, I might have to karate chop you in the jugular. 

Going With the Gut Feeling....Again

I made a pretty bold/unexpected career move today. One that I am ECSTATIC about. I feel soooo at peace with my decision. I feel like I did when I chose to go to Utah State, picked my major, applied for DC, moved to SLC. It just feels right. While some might look at it and judge, I feel soooo good about it. Gut instinct. Always go with that sucker. I will tell you more about it when it becomes more official. I couldn't be happier about my decision!

Sweeeeeet Weekend

Normally, I am a really hyper person. I am busy alllll the time and mostly love it, but sometimes hate it. This weekend, the goal was to totally re-charge and have some "Kelli Time". It was EXACTLY what I needed this weekend. I watched Netflix, went running, hung out with an awesome friend, went into work for a little bit, and spent time with the fam! Loved it!

My goal this weekend was to run twice. I did it! I have been so caught up in so many things the past few months, that running was off the table. It felt awesome to get some endorphins twice this weekend!

Girls dinner with my favorite girls!

We have way cool party tricks. 

I got a BED!!! WAHOOOOO!!!

Ry was being blinded by the sunset, so she decided to borrow my sunglasses. She thought she was pretty funny!

Successful Weekend!