About Alice

I began this blog as a way to chronicle my adventures and experiences training for my first marathon with my friends, most of whom were not long distance runners (although some of us are definitely athletes), but it has grown to include other stories and random passages about other stuff as well.

I have a wonderful husband (Walter) and two great kids who I'll call Drama Girl (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, OMG! 17!!!! ) and Turbo (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, almost 15).

When I'm not running, being with my family, or blogging, I teach English at a community college.

Here's the mandatory "things about me" post
  1. Alice is not my real name.
  2. It was given to me by my husband when we drove around the country before we were married (It’s from The Honeymooners). I call him Walter, which is NOT from the Honeymooners, but it could be.
  3. My husband is the kindest most patient man in the world...he puts up with me for example.
  4. I grew up in Reno, Nevada
  5. I don’t like to gamble.
  6. I graduated from the University of Nevada - Reno with a degree in journalism
  7. I got tired of being cold all the time, so some 20 years ago, I moved to San Diego for the summer.
  8. There were no jobs in journalism for me in San Diego, but I stayed anyway.
  9. I worked in the hotel industry for awhile as a catering director.
  10. I hated working weekends and holidays.
  11. I decided that if I became a teacher, I’d have weekends and holidays off.
  12. I earned my teaching credential at SDSU.
  13. That’s where I met Walter.
  14. He made me laugh, and I fell in love with him.
  15. It turned out that I really love teaching...actually more than I love having summers off.
  16. I used to teach high school English.
  17. It’s not nearly as scary as it sounds.
  18. I wanted to be a better teacher, so I earned my doctorate in education four years ago.
  19. I left teaching once to work at the district office (the dark side).
  20. I didn't enjoy that so much, so I decided to go back to teaching high school
  21. I DO make students call me Dr.
  22. In 2009, I was offered a tenure track position teaching English at a community college, and I took it.
  23. Scary to leave the herd and my school, but I was ready for a new challenge.
  24. I'm still deciding if I like it or not.
  25. I also do some consulting work and taught part time at SDSU
  26. I’m trying to cut back on things like that now.
  27. Until four five years ago, I hadn’t run more than a mile since college
  28. In November 2004, I walked in my first “Turkey Trot"
  29. I told Betty about it, and then we started doing races...mostly as an excuse to go have breakfast afterward. The herd's first race (with me, Betty, and Elsie) was the Carlsbad 5000 in March 2005.
  30. It took me almost two years of pretending to run, to finally run a whole 5K without walking (Super Run, January 2007). About a month later I ran 5 miles (the UT Race for Literacy, an 8K event)
  31. Betty then convinced me to run the AFC 1/2 marathon with her.
  32. After the first 1/2 marathon, Betty suggested we run a marathon.
  33. I told Betty she was crazy, but joined the San Diego Track Club's Rockin' and Runnin' training program anyway.
  34. In June 2008, I’m ran my first marathon.
  35. I’m a runner now.
  36. The year after I ran the marathon, I got hurt...a lot. I battled an IT band injury, and Plantar Fasciitis (the most painful thing EVAH!), so I started cycling. I keep thinking a tri is in my future, but that swimming thing? I'm not into that yet.
  37. This year I finally convinced Walter to start running with me.
  38. I'm not sure he loves it at much as I do, but he does love me.
  39. Walter ran his first 1/2 Marathon in October 2010 (Long Beach 1/2)
  40. Wait a sec, this isn't Walter's meme
  41. I love blogging.
  42. I hate housekeeping.
  43. I love to cook (but not do the dishes).
  44. I have the greatest friends in the world, some of whom run and blog with me.