A Year of Giving Thanks

Welcome to my blog! I'm getting started a couple of weeks late, but life's been so busy and I haven't had the luxury of sitting down to type yet.

Initially I started this blog because I heard there was a fourth discipline to training for an IronMan - swim, bike, run...blog. I wanted to keep a journal of my journey from start to finish. But after seeing everyone's "Month of Thanks" posts on Facebook, I decided to add a little something something to this blog. In addition to tracking my IronMan progress, I want to use this blog for "A Year of Giving Thanks." From now until Thanksgiving 2013, I will give thanks for something every day.

But first - an introduction to me, the author. I'm not sure who will even be reading this blog since I'm a bit shy about sharing things like this but in case you don't know me, hi, my name is Karla. I am training for IronMan Lake Tahoe on September 22, 2013 with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training.

It doesn't feel weird to say that but I don't think it's set in yet. Right now my main focus is the California International Marathon next weekend. It's my sixth full marathon but I've got big dreams for this one. My last personal record was 5:28 at CIM in 2010. Over the last couple of years I've really focused on training harder and adding speed so this year I've got my heart set on a sub-5 race. I'll be happy with 4:59:59 but as I'm not shy to share, I'm trying to beat my best friend, Joel's marathon PR. So 4:50, I'm coming for you!

In other news...
My life is so funny when I think about it. Many days my schedule includes studying for my Real Estate Exam, training for CIM/IM and practicing ukulele. So random. But tonight I finished the final online exam - Real Estate Law. Thank goodness these things are open book. It's hard to get back into "school mode." I'm looking forward to getting this test out of the way so I can focus on IM training.

And before I sign off to practice Jingle Bells on my uke (can't wait for Dad to get back from the Philippines so we can play a duet for mom), today's catch up and on A Year of Giving Thanks (AYOGT)...

Thursday, November 22 - I am thankful for my husband who above all makes me laugh at least 100 times a day. It's a really big deal to have his support for all of this Ironman craziness and I appreciate him being my "IronSherpa."

Friday, November 23 - I am thankful for my parents. As my friend, Sarah, says, I am thankful that at the age of 33 I still have a mom who says, "Call me when you get there." I am also thankful for my dad who has the best attitude about life. If I'm so lucky to have children if I'm even a fraction of the parents that my parents were, my kids will be darn lucky.

Emerald Bay, South Lake Tahoe, CA

Saturday, November 24 - I am thankful for having a husband from South Lake Tahoe. You thought it would be a year of schmoopiness, right? Let's be honest. We have to give thanks for some things that make make us sound spoiled, right? I'm super thankful my husband is from a place as beautiful as South Lake Tahoe and not Stockton or something. (Okay, nothing wrong with Stockton. It's just that SLT is BEAUTIFUL.) Because when I'm home I'm in San Francisco and when we're visiting the in-laws, we're in Lake Tahoe. Yeah, you can't beat it.



Sunday, November 25 - I am thankful for my new job with CAC Real Estate Management Co., Inc. I basically "grew up" at Seagate but it was time for a change. I'm thankful for CAC and the fact that they are enabling me to grow even further in the real estate industry. I'm thankful that my building is paying for my classes and license up front.