Ringing in the new year-2010 edition

New Year’s Eve 2009 was such a blast!  I started the night getting ready with some gorgeous ladies of  improv. 

Cara, Alaina, KL, Tara, and Greer

Wait, that’s not all the gorgeous ladies…where is Annabelle Blanche? Y’all know that she was primping and preparing for the new year right with us!  

Cara, Alaina, Annabelle Blanche, KL, Tara, and Greer

 That’s better!

From there I headed over to Arlington to a rocking fun party thrown by my good friend Kitty and her awesome fiancée.  This was a theme party…everyone needed to bring an accessory to share.  I brought a feather boa and a sword….As the pictures show, there were other much cooler accessories to wear once I got there!  My favorite accessory of the night was a Marilyn Monroe wig.  I was seriously tempted to take it with me when I left the next morning…but I didn’t want to start 2010 off with bad karma! 

Hmm...let's try this shot again...

Okay, we're getting there.....

Yes! Third time is the charm...I'm thinking of going short and curly...what do y'all think?

There was much dancing and singing of random songs throughout the night…here is my favorite photo series of Kitty and I…no telling what we are singing, but I can guarantee you that our version of the song was OFF. THE. CHARTS! 

  

 

 

I opted to be a good citizen and I spent the night on their couch.  That was one of my best decisions EVER because my gracious hosts served me warmed banana bread and fresh coffee the next morning.  Nothing like starting off a new year being served breakfast on the couch! 

And here’s a parting shot.  Please note that I’m teaching Kitty my trademarked “over the shoulder” pose…slowly but surely I’m spreading the word to all my friends: 

Proof I shared the Marilyn wig...but only because this cowboy hat looked even better on me!

Money in the “Bank of Tri”

Saturday I went for an easy breezy 6.5 mile run with some of the Team Z girls. About 3 miles into the run it started to snow. About 5 miles into the run, we decided to take a picture! 

Kerry, Alaina, Meghan, Cleo (the dog), Tracy, and Emily

We kept a pace of 14 minute miles…which is pretty awesome.  I’m probably more impressed by the pace than I am by the fact that we were out running in the snow!

The 2009 Tally

I am 30 years old and live with one girl roommate and my dog in the Nation’s capital. I’m wearing my blonde hair long, no bangs, but I do have layers around the face. I lost and gained weight this year, leaving me 40 pounds below where I started. I had the same job all year. I am single and have been for the year. I completed one marathon relay, one half marathon, two 5Ks, one swim meet, two sprint distance tris, and one international distance tri. I had my first “Did Not Finish” during an Olympic distance tri.

My greatest wants for 2009 were to be lighter in weight (I’m down 17%), debt (I’m down 8%), and fears (how does one measure this?)

My best moments this year: Being with Nikki at President Obama’s Inauguration, winning the first FIST match with “Fetch Rufus”, coming off the stage after an amazing DMG show at the DCAC where everything clicked and we were all in sync with each other.
My worst moment this year: Being so overwhelmed and stressed at work that I cried very ugly tears in front of my boss and her deputy. It wins the worst moment because I felt so powerless.
My proudest moment this year: Finishing Bassman Sprint under two hours and with a smile on my face. In fact, the whole blasted day was great! I bonded with my Z-mates, had enough energy after my race to offer course support, and I repaid the favor of countless others that have helped me finish a race when I thought I couldn’t take one more step forward by spending quality time with my friend Jacquie.
My happiest moment this year: Blowing out the candles on mine and Archie’s 30th Birthday cake. It was so wonderful to be surrounded by so many people that I love, including my friend Amber that came up from Louisiana.
My hardest moment this year: Learning that Charles had a stroke and then figuring out that I was the first person in my church family to understand how serious the situation had become. This is the closest I have been to death and it was beyond emotionally draining to help coordinate his care, put his household in order, and contact family members that he had not spoke to in over 15 years. It was also a life altering moment in time that has affected me in ways that are still to tender and vulnerable for me to blog about. I pray that the decisions I make today do not leave me alone at my death.
My worst decision this year: Falling back into bad habits due to the stress of my job.
My best decision this year: Moving in with Tara. She is an awesome and incredible friend and roommate.
My best purchase this year: My shiny red Dell computer
My biggest project this year: Losing weight

My greatest want for 2010: To let my light shine instead of letting my fear keep me in my current place. 

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” — Marianne Williamson

Typical

Overall Race Results from 2009

ROAD RACES
02/15/09 – GW Marathon Relay (7 miles) – 1:55:00 (Pace – 16:25)
03/08/09 – Disney Princess Half Marathon – 3:36:45 (Pace – 16:32)
03/29/09 – Scope it Out 5k – 48:11 (Pace – 15:32)
05/02/09 – Arlington Science Focus 5K – 46:00 (Pace – 14:50)

SWIM MEET
04/24/09 – Colony Zones Swim Meet – 1000 yards freestyle – 23:13

TRIATHLONS
05/10/09 – Kinetic Sprint – Overall: 2:45:01 – Swim Pace: 2:24 per 100 yards; Bike Pace: 12 miles per hour; Run Pace: 15:39 per mile

06/06/09 – Mooseman International Distance Tri – Overall: 5:09:11 – Swim Pace: 2:38 per 100 yards(.93 mile); Bike Pace: 11 miles per hour(27.25 miles); Run Pace: 17:14 per mile (6.2 miles)

08/15//09 – Luray Tri-Oly – DNF – Swim Pace: 02:48 per 100 yards(1500 Meters);

10/04/09 – Bassman Sprint– Overall: 1:57:22 – Swim Pace: 2:24 per 100 yards; Bike Pace: 15 miles per hour; Run Pace: 14:44 per mile

DMG at Source for Seasonal Disorder!

I “borrowed” all the text below from Sean’s blog!  I really would love for y’all to come out and see the shows!  DMG has a new director and a new format…plus we’ve been having lots of fun playing with each other.  It’s a good time for all!

XOXO!

This month I’m performing in two shows with DMG – my long-form improv troupe. Both shows are at Source (1835 14th Street, between T and S).

The price is “PAY WHAT YOU CAN,” which means you can be give us a dollar for the entire show. “Pay what you can” means exactly that! It’s up to you! Make a decision already!

More details:

• Thursday, Dec 10th
• Thursday, Dec 17th
• We’ll be doing around a 20 to 25 minute show, total show time is no more than an hour because,
• We’ll be joined by the super fun troupe The Entitlement League,
  Source serves beer and wine now,
• We hope to see you there!

It’s improv, so both shows will be different! Come to both and get a free high-five from Sean…okay okay…I’ll give you a high five as well!

Bassman Race Report

Bassman Sprint
10/04/09
Race Age: 30
Distance:
   0.4 Mile Swim
    12 Mile Bike
    5K Run
Overall: 1:57:22
0.4 Mile Swim: 17:02 (Pace: 2:24 per 100 yards)
TI: 3:45
12 Mile Bike: 47:53 (Pace: 15 miles per hour)
T2: 3:05
5K Run: 45:38 (Pace: 14:44 per mile)

Finished!

 

When it was all said and done, this was a really rough season. I had problems on the bike at Kinetic, a fever at Mooseman, and a DNF at Luray because I broke a spoke. My only goal for my last race of the season was to finish with a smile on my face….and if lucky…a sub 2 hour sprint!

 

Mission Accomplished!

 

Next up: Training for the Shamrock Half Marathon in VA Beach, VA!

 

Courage when faced with fear

 I’ve been thinking this morning about my most favorite quote by Eleanor Roosevelt. 

The encouraging thing is that every time you meet a situation, though you may think at the time it is an impossibility and you go through the tortures of the damned, once you have met it and lived through it you find that forever after you are freer than you ever were before. If you can live through that you can live through anything. You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face.

You are able to say to yourself, `I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’

The danger lies in refusing to face the fear, in not daring to come to grips with it. If you fail anywhere along the line, it will take away your confidence. You must make yourself succeed every time. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

–Eleanor Roosevelt “You Learn By Living” (1960), 29-30

Happy 7th Birthday: Annabelle Blanche

Seven years ago,  Annabelle Blanche was born in Piedmont, Alabama.  It seems like just yesterday that I brought her home.  She was about 6 weeks old and could fit in the palm of a grown man’s hand.   I was so overwhelmed that first week I actually tried to give her back to the family from which I bought her.  Luckily for me, they offered only to tell people that called them from the posted ad in the newspaper to call me instead.  I never heard from any of those people!

Annabelle has been a constant in my life over these tumultuous seven years.  She’s made every move with me.  She’s adapted herself to being a city dog even though she spent her puppy years in a house with a yard.  She’s met all my friends and boyfriends.  She’s licked my tears and been a reason for me to get out of the house during tough times.  She’s been my lazy day companion.  She’s been my running buddy. 

I’m blessed to have such a fun companion in all my adventures!

Typical…Part of my 15 minutes of fame are because of my diet!

I was interviewed for a health segment that was aired on CNN this past April 2, 2009. I was hoping that they would post it to their website, but alas, they did not. I know that many of my friends didn’t get a chance to see the piece. Because I love y’all (and because I adore the spotlight) I made a recording with my camera of the DVRed version. This was the night before I moved out of the Bethesda house…priorities y’all…I’ve got them!

I’m sorry this isn’t the best quality. In fact, I could only save about 1.5 minutes worth of footage on my camera….so what you see below is just the portions with me in them…again…my feelings about the spotlight! The audio can be a bit hard to hear, so I included the transcription below each video.

Enjoy!

JUDY FORTIN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If laughter is the best medicine, then Alaina Harris is pretty healthy. A member of an improv troop and a public health analyst, Harris knows what’s good for her.

ALAINA HARRIS, DIETER: As I’m getting older, it’s become more about long term, my health, what my long-term goals are.

FORTIN: So when her weight began to creep up, she decided to take action and began training for a triathlon. She’s lost 30 pounds and hopes to lose more.

HARRIS: So my goal is to drop some pounds, to make that triathlon an easier experience.

FORTIN: And share your plans. Alaina has a buddy system, where friends keep her on the right track.

HARRIS: It helps for me just having other people to help me validate what I’ve done.

FORTIN: Follow these tips and you could be carrying fewer pounds by the summer. Something that Alaina Harris hopes to do.