Finding Balance?

Last night I had just laid down to sleep when I get a text message from one of my close friends--- since droid doesn't have the handy screen shot to computer  image like the iphone, i'll just write it out.

S- Sorry if this is late tonight... are you OK?
me- Yes I'm fine, why do you ask?
S- Well I hope you are being real with me. Just a friend who misses his friend that he used to be tight with.
Me- Aww thats sweet. I've just been busy working out after work, reading in spare time. Haven't done much in the hangout dept lately.
S- I noticed. You sure you are ok?

The rest of the conversation is more personal, but I did open up about some of the areas I'm "troubled with", and it proved to be a very valuable lesson. The reason I share this with you all is because upon further dissection of the entire dialogue I found that I've been abusing working out. I don't mean in that "I need to get swole" kind of way- more in the sense of using it as an outlet to release negative emotions vs. actually talking to someone and working out my problems.

S has always been my outlet, my 'go to' for advice. I realized that a lot of people also go to him for advice on their problems as well; knowing this, I didn't want to be adding to the stress of him helping others with their problems, so I just kind of stopped awhile back.

Now that I didn't have my 'counselor', so to speak, it got to the point where if I didn't work out I was more 'high strung' so I began trying to do something almost every day, thus monopolizing a large chunk of my available time. I work 10-7- generally save exercise till after work, so by the time I'm done its 9pm and I'm winding down for the evening. Since I've been doing this for well over a month now, its become part of my weekly routine and I get that "something is missing" feeling if I skip too many days.

My question to you all:

How do you find balance between exercise and socialization with loved ones? 

I have a hard time doing both and it seems whichever I choose, the other one gets the back seat for awhile. I need to learn how do have a healthy combination of both, and be happy about it.

Any advice on the dos or don'ts on how to find a harmony in your life that is also manageable??

Recycled Giveaway winner!

 I understand this giveaway was a bit more specific due to having to be a similar size as myself- so all you ladies who are similar to me, you have an *AWESOME* body hehe.

Thanks to Random Number Generator, the winner is...

Little Fruit Fly 

Email me  at jamesondirect@yahoo.com where you'd like me to send you your 'almost new' pink Gracies Gear running tank! 

My 7 Links

I was  tagged by fellow runner / blogger Elizabeth at Running for Bling for 'my 7 links'
Was harder than I thought, so here we go...

The Goal:

To unite bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again.

THE RULES

1) Blogger is nominated to take part

2) Blogger publishes his/her 7 links on his/her blog – 1 link for each category.

3) Blogger nominates up to 5 more bloggers to take part.

4) These bloggers publish their 7 links and nominate another 5 more bloggers

5) And so it goes on!

Most Fun:  Only because its supposed to be the most fun place in the world! My recap / photos from Disney Princess half marathon week First Day     Expo + Animal Kingdom   Princess Recap

Most Popular: I didn't count giveaway posts, but for some reason, my Little Rock 1/2 recap got the highest stats of all other posts. The one really special part of this race was that despite being in the midst of dealing with ITBS , my knee decided to cooperate for the race! 

Most Painful: Realizing there was something seriously wrong with my leg HERE and not if I would be able to run. 

Most Helpful: I need to get better about posting things that ya'll can learn from me, so for now my post on Changes was extremely beneficial for me as far as needing the words of encouragement to stay focused working on myself! 

Surprise Success: Surprisingly enough I got a large number of comments from my M.I.A. post about being away from blog land and asking for advice working out in heat + book suggestions. 

Not Enough Attention: Although my blog is supposed to be about running, I was surprised that 2 back to back posts about nutrition in produce didn't yield a lot of comments. Its important as we train to make sure we're eating the right types of foods, as well as having variety so we can amplify the range of nutrients we are ingesting.  Nutrients in food What to buy organic

Most Proud:  Its actually a combination of 2 posts I'm proud of- my first half marathon double header weekend. Day 1 in Kenosha, WI where I ran my new PR, then Day 2 inKalamazoo, MI where I was dog tired and managed to finish with a still decent time. What a great feeling to get 2 states out of the way in one weekend and be able to walk fine out of it! 


There ya have it.  Hope you enjoy the flashback.  My turn to tag a few of you:


Ashley @ Redonkulous Runner
R*nda @ Little Fruit Fly
Becka @ 50 1/2s in 50 States
Kim @ (Just) Trying is for little girls
Fancy Nancy @ Living the Dream

Semi- Wordless Wednesday

The above photo sums up my workout last night. 

I did about 2 mile variety hills and intervals on treadmill, 

then decided to do another round of Burst Training.

All was well the first 2 bursts, 3rd I was feeling really weak and queasy. 

Stubborn me pushed through it and on the 4th burst I was struggling. 

I look down to see how much longer I have left to finish sprinting and started counting down.

12...11...10...9...8... VOMIT all over myself and the treadmill. 

I felt AWFUL. The saving grace was I didn't get any on the TM belt- whew. 

Cleaned myself and machine up, left gym IMMEDIATELY and raced home for a cold shower. 

That's how you know you give 100% in your workouts folks!!!

haha ok ok, really I think the massive amount of Mexican food I had earlier didn't

agree with me. 

Motivation Monday

As of late my motivation has been focused on me as a person, not as  a runner. I recently had a birthday and every year I take time to reflect on the accomplishments and hardships that ran over the course of the previous year…. But more importantly, who I’ve become as a person. Over the last few years I’ve noticed that my attitude has ‘hardened.’ Yes I’m a much more confident person than I was at 22, which I’m thankful for, but what I’m embarrassed about is the perception I may give off to others.  I have the outlook of ‘this is me, if you like it great, if you don’t, too bad because I’m not changing for you.’  

I don’t share my past with many people, its way too complicated to explain, but after college I was verbally beat down repeatedly for many years till my confidence was all but non-existent. My only outlet to gain my mental and emotional strength back was self-improvement books (silly as it may seem) Eventually I had enough foresight and courage to change my environment and those who were in it and regain control of my life again. Now what’s happened is I’ve pendulumed. I went from being this meek, quiet girl who let anyone walk all over her, to a loud, blunt, sarcastic individual who FIRMLY and AUTHORATIVELY speaks her mind.  I know it can rub certain personalities the wrong way, but its hard to change who you are right?!?!

Wrong. Today I was reading Lindsay’s Blog @ Cotter Crunch and in it she included an excerpt from a podcast she was listening to:

“Because the truth is, if you come in contact with someone, you either leave them feeling better about themselves or worse, but you never leave them unaffected.”

Reading that really struck a cord within me. In theory we all know this, but yet, do we practice it? This simple sentence is finally what I needed to hear, to try to keep my opinions to myself, to not force my views on other people, and above all, tone down the bluntness. 

So after finishing up her blog I did what I always do when I want something to be engrained in me- wrote it on a post it note and stuck it on my computer. I think often times we focus so much on our running / training, we forget how to exercise and shape our mind and thoughts. 

Do you have anything to keep your mentality in check?

How do you think others perceive you?

Burst Training on the Treadmill

Last night I told myself I was going to run, but as usual the heat was miserable and I didn't feel like having to deal with almost passing out. I headed to the YMCA and the original plan was to do an easy 4-6 miles dependent on more boredom level.

Boredom set in quick, so about 1.5 miles into the run I decided I would finish out my interval run to 2 miles, then try out some burst training I always tell my members about trying to vary their workouts, increase their caloric expenditure, and burn more fat (yet I don't always practice what I preach)

For those who aren't aware of burst training or the benefits:

The bursts itself involve exercising at 90-100 of your maximum for 30-60 seconds, followed by 30-60 seconds of low impact exercise for recovery.

Benefits:

• The obvious benefit is it cuts down your workout time drastically since you are doing intensity moves (in my case running / sprints) 
• Upon completion of your burst training session- your body has burned through your glycogen stores, and while your body is working to replace it, fat is used as energy source for next 36 hours. 
• For those of you that like more detailed explanations: burst training turns on your fat-burning 'switches'- both epinephrine and growth hormone stimulate fat breakdown by triggering hormone-sensitive lipase, which is an enzyme that helps release fat from the cells. Burst training fires up your CNS (central nervous system) which then ignites your metabolism allowing the above process to happen. 

So what did this look like for me???

I had no real plan other than I was going to do 4 bursts of 30 sec each (when doing an exercise other than weight training, its suggested between 4 and 6 bursts)

I started the TM at a comfortable 7.0 mph for a few minutes, then cranked it up to 12.0 mph and sprinted for 30-40ish seconds, decreased speed to 4.5mph to walk and catch my breath for 1 min, then cranked it back to 7.0 mph for 2-3 min. REPEAT 3x.

The first one felt great to be able to legitimately all out sprint on a TM- It is a RARE occurrence when I can really open up and use my full stride--- almost feels like I'm stretching haha. After the second one I was winded, so on and so forth for the last two. My entire tank top was drenched at the end of the workout, and it took a long time to stop sweating.... that doesn't normally happen for a 1.7 mile run!

I was worried I might be sore the next day, so I showered off and stretched in the hot tub- proud to say that today I feel GREAT!

I will definitely be aiming to do this at least once a week to help with my speed and naturally to burn more fat :)

Have you ever tried any type of burst training??

this was actually my first time applying it to running

What do you to beat boredom during workouts??

normally I just stop the workout haha, I'm working on my discipline. Generally if I'm at the gym I'll switch machines or do weight lifting. If i'm out on the run I just will head back to car or home rather than push through it

Recycled Giveaway

I've been in the process of condensing down my wardrobe for quite some time. Alas I've finally reached my running gear! I came across one of my tanks  by Gracie's Gear I bought at the expo  for Nashville's women's 1/2 this past fall, and sadly it doesn't fit. I wore it for the actual race, but once I washed it, it shrank a bit. I've been hoping that when I lost weight around the middle I could wear it again, but to no avail, too snug for my liking.

Since the tank has only been worn once and is super convenient in the fact that it has a built in pocket to store your gu, music, phone etc, I figured rather than donate it to goodwill, I'll pass it along to one of my readers who could get some good use out of it.

Despite the size being an 'xl', it runs small- I would say this would be ideal for someone who wears a medium or a smaller sized large. 

close up of pocket

Running Tank in action 

Women's Half 9/25/10

My phone that at the time I used for music- perfectly positioned in pocket

How to win: 

1 comment per entry

1. Be a follower of my blog 

2. Share this giveaway via your blog, FB, twitter etc

3. If you have something that works for YOU in regards to keeping your mentality strong during training / races, please share! I've been struggling with this a lot lately and I need all the help I can get!

I'll use random generator to select a winner 7/28

Three Things Thursday

1. After my EXTREMELY disappointing performance in the Presque Isle race HERE this past Sunday, I realized I needed more training in the heat. Monday went on 5 mile run and it was 93 with heat index at 102, Tuesday 5.2 miles at 96 degrees with heat index of 105- both of these were even at 7pm sans my water belt. Both runs were miserable to say the least and I had to stop countless times. After yesterdays run I was so beat down I had to stop at the nearest gas station and chug a whole bottle of chocolate milk just to have any source of energy. As much as I want to get better, I decided that being safe is a little more of a priority and I'm going to have to resort to the TM after work. I actually don't hate the TM, however its hard for me to go longer than 4 miles on it due to boredom- guess I need to suck it up. 


2. For the last 9 weeks I've had the opportunity to take part in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace online course for free with work. Although I've learned quite a bit, there is still so much more for me to put into practice and change my mentality. I asked my facilitator if I would be able to join a new group that started at work- Dave Ramsey's Core Financial Wellness (website only available if you have a network key, so no link to provide you with) Yesterday was the first meet up and although it still follows everything I'm learning in Financial Peace, its more in depth and actually taught by one of Dave's co-workers. Because I'm 9 weeks into the FP program, yesterday's lesson was a review for me and I looked like the smart kid in the class- one guy called me a ringer haha. 
        2 great things came from that class:

• I got a free book- The Total Money Makeover

• After the class, I got an email from one of the guys, Chris, who was in there. He works for corporate so no reason for us to really communicate- introduced himself and said the purpose of him reaching out to me is he heard through the grapevine I'm a runner and I've ran in Disney. He had some questions about what to expect with costs / timing/ etc. After a few emails back and forth he asked if I wanted to join their TN Ragnar Relay team for this upcoming November. The company I work for is the main sponsor for TN Ragnar (if you ran it last year, it was the site of the last van swap) so earlier in the Spring they gave a free entry to the first all Healthways team that registered- that team just so happens to be Chris', so if I decide to join, less money to spend!!! A slight part of me holding back since I did that Ragnar last year, and I'd rather do a different location for that time commitment. On the plus side, it would be cheap since I don't have to pay for air fare to get there and the race entry is waivered- ahhhh a good dilemma to be in! :) 

3. One of my FAVORITE co-workers, Ronnie, came into work today and said he had something for me....

I couldn't decide which photo I liked the best, so you get all 3.

I have a slight addiction to nutella- I don't keep it around for that reason. Ronnie's mom apparently gave him 4 bottles and he needed to get rid of some so his kiddos wouldn't go into a sugar coma (apparently its alright if I do though) This isn't the small bottle either- this is the big  26.5oz bottle. I'm taking a betting pool on how long this bottle will last... my mouth is salivating right now thinking about it, so I'm wrapping up the post so I can dig in....

Happy Thursday! 

Presque Isle 1/2 (race report)

State #18- Erie, Pa
7/17/11
Temp-80s at the start, mid to high 90s by end

For those newbies who have just started following my blog- Welcome!  I have a fellow friend and co-worker, Becca (otherwise referred to as B) who is completing the 50 1/2s in 50 States with me. 

Our 1st 1/2 together- Women's 1/2 in Nashville

She has 2 states she completed that I have yet to race- Pennsylvania and Nevada; I have one, Indiana, she hasn't done. We're trying to catch up to one another so we can finally be on the same page- thus the Presque Isle 1/2 fit nicely into my schedule for a Pennsylvania race. 

Presque Isle is a Pennsylvania state park in Lake Erie. The website didn't really give much information, but considering it was a $37 registration fee and my parents were paying for my flight back into Ohio and mom was driving up to Erie, it was financially a smart decision. I was excited because in my mind I was thinking "It's on a lake so it will be cooler temps better for running in + I get to run alongside the lake the whole time"---- silly girl, little did I know. 

The only thing I know for sure about this race, is that it starts at Beach 1.As luck would have it, B did this race 2 years ago, so as we're driving into Presque Isle Park, I was able to call her for directions on what to look for. Unfortunately I missed the part about how you can't see Beach 1 from the road so we ended up traveling all the way to Beach 6 before stopping for directions- thank goodness we did a dry run. 

After turning around and looking cautiously for the signs, we do find it, pull in, and sure enough there was the small white tent that I was told race day registration would be- We made it! Naturally we had to at least check out the beach while we were there, gorgeous!

Mom was excited because she grew up in Wisconsin and a large part of her childhood was spent going to Lake Michigan which has river rock on the beach vs. shells- Lake Erie was the same- river rock EVERYWHERE (sorry no photos)

After the beach we do a little birthday shopping and finally decide on a late dinner- 8:30- eek! They always say hindsight is 20/20- man I wish I would have had enough intuition to realize that pizza + garlic breadsticks right before bed was probably not a good idea. 

A little confession about my eating routine- others may disagree with what I'm about to say, but its backed by science-  the most important day to carb load is actually 2 days prior to your race, not the day before. Granted you do want to make sure you don't eat crap a day before your race, but the whole eat as many carbs as you can is no longer at its prime beneficial energy source that close to your race. Anyway I haven't really eaten many carbs, aside from fruits and veggies, over the last month- so the whole week leading up to the race I was slowly starting to add carbs back in so I wouldn't get sick or bloated. 

I felt that I did a good job, so I didn't pay much attention to my dinner meal- rookie mistake.  (more to come on that later) 

I realize I don't have anything for pre-race fuel, so I go to local grocery store and start checking out their granola bars. I can't do anything too heavy, and I refuse to consume artificial sweetners if not necessary (exception- gummy bears & candy bars) so my race day food is always Lara Bars. They were having a sale on Cliff bars, so I decided on one of those.

Get back to hotel- watch some awful acting Lifetime movie and attempt to go to bed. I stress the word attempt because I kept tossing and turning all night. Granted I was tired, but my body was rebelling and fighting me- grand total I maybe got about 1 hour of sleep- awesome.

Race Morning-
Woke at 5am- stretched, changed, ate, hydrated- normal race routine. Mom and I drive to beach 1, get through race day registration- and head to the beach to kill time.

Mother daughter photo

practicing my life guarding skills 

Mom thought it was cool to capture the moon 

Ugh this skirt makes me look chunky :(

Seagull 

After our photo shoot we decide it might be a good idea to stretch / warm up and use the bathroom.
The race is put on by the Erie Running Club- although its a smaller scale race with a 'mom and pop' type feel,  there were probably several hundred runners there- more than I was expecting.

ready to rock 

Race start had times of the pace you were anticipating running, so I kept telling myself I was going to go slow to start with and lined up at the 9:00 min pace start.

congested and disorganized start line. 

First time I've been to a race in a LONG time that didn't do the national anthem. Countdown followed by a large blow horn initiated the start.

MY gameplan- PACE myself- don't go out too fast and die. The entire course was flat- a 20 feet elevation change, so I was expecting it to be easy. First mile I started out at a 10:30 pace, and once I got my breathing down I naturally picked it up a bit--- actually a lot bit. I was cursing myself when I hit the first mile at 8:05- WHY must I do this to myself.

Because the course was a full loop, logistically the only place my mom could really 'cheer' me on was shortly after the first mile- naturally i'm more prone to look 'strong', happy, fresh, etc.

So this is where it gets ugly.... the course itself was literally just on this road where you were surrounded by trees- not much change of scenery, so some may view it as beautiful nature, but after awhile it gets old and runs together. Here are the high lights:

• Within the first 1000 feet of the race my bladder decides it has to be empty, ASAP- me being stubborn tried to ignore it. 
• Ever heard the expression 'cotton is rotton'  when it comes to what to wear when working out?!?! Although I NEVER wear cotton, the skirt I wore happen to be on clearance at Kohls and it was cotton. Honestly I didn't think it was a big deal, but I literally started roasting about 2 miles in. As I started to sweat the skirt got heavier and heavier. 
• Finally at mile 6 I went into the woods, took off my skirt, peed, and decided to use my skirt as a sweat rag. Texted mom my skirt was off so when shes looking for me at finish line to just focus on blue
• Immediately I noticed how much LIGHTER I felt without having the skirt weigh me down- lesson learned.
• Getting hotter, humidity picks up, skirt helping to wipe sweat, however I am miserable. I literally can't run for more than 2 minutes without having to walk- I'm starting to realize that it doesn't matter how 'in shape' you are with other activities- the only thing that prepares you for running long distances is RUNNING- not p90x or any other type of cross training- ugh!
• I'm getting frustrated because all my mile splits are above 10 minutes now and I know my hopes of breaking 2 hours is lost.
• The gatorade is some type of vanilla or really really watered down gatorade (it was clear) and it wasn't helping my energy levels. My sleep deprivation was kicking in thus making the effects of dehydration heightened. Since we're running through a state park there are the ground water fountains every so often and I just have to stop at each one to drink as much water. 
• Unfortunately, this wasn't enough. I had some 'digestive issues' during mile 10- and I couldn't bear it any longer and went to use a park restroom. I haven't been this uncomfortable / quesy, hot etc during a race since St. Louis. Both these races had 2 things in common-1. I chose something other than a Lara Bar before the race. 2. Extreme temps.... I can't control the temps, but I sure can control what I eat- noted for future.  
• Upon using restroom I started noticing people on the side of the road passed out- 6 total and one getting carried away on a stretcher- so much for being in the farther north expecting cooler temps. 
• Finally get to mile 12, turn on my pump up song and begin to speed up- it worked for 2 minutes and I had to walk again- NEVER happens during my song. 
• Since there is no definitive land mark indicating the finish line (aside from a crowd) I guess I'm getting closer by seeing some finishers walking toward me- IMMEDIATELY I notice that NONE of them have medals---- PLEASE tell me there are finisher medals????
• I manage to pass 2 girls right before finish line and actually beat my goal of 2:15 (once I used the bathroom I was WAY behind schedule and had to re-adjust my expectations) 

• Happy to be done I go over to get some water and some food and ALL they have is bananas and watermelon- I do not care for watermelon so its just a banana :( 

Every race has to have some pros right!?!? Well this race had 2

1. It.was.flat

2. Afterward you could go in the lake and cool off- that is exactly what I did

This was my response in how I felt about the race

close up of my reaction- look at that belly!! I was sooo bloated afterward

Whats this you may ask- this is my 'medal' aka a key chain flash light. Mom tried to make me feel better and said we could tie a string around it so it could mimic a medal- its just not the same. 

our 'after' photo

walking back to the car. 

Its been a LONG time since a race completely wiped me out, but this one did me in. Once we got back to hotel I had to take a nap before doing anything. After a solid 1.5 hour I was ready to go, got cleaned up and went our touring the 'island with my mom'

Would I recommend this race to anyone?!?! If you live in the area, sure, but I wouldn't travel for it. ZERO race support, hot, no gu offered (brought my own), no medals, no post race food- no thanks. 

Official Time: 2:13:14 (ouch)

Overall place 526/ 849 (I've NEVER finished in the bottom 1/2 before... sigh) 

Decided to sign up as Athena so I could place better- 10/42

Mile 1- 8:06

Mile 2- 8:24

Mile 3- 8:30

Mile 4- 9:37

Mile 5- 10:00

Mile 6- 11:14 (potty & changing break)

Mile 7- 10:31

Mile 8- 10:39

Mile 9- 10:06

Mile 10- 13:26 (long bathroom break)

Mile 11- 10:01

Mile 12- 10:52

Mile 13- 10:13

don't know .1 bc garmin kept going

Tangent Tuesday (Birthday Edition)

This year I decided to do a low key birthday with family and running- got a little of both.

• I took an extended weekend (Friday through Monday) to do 2 of my favorite things- visit family, and do a race.
• Sister-in-law Courtney came and picked me up from airport and I got to hang out with her and my nephew Codyn all day while waiting on the rest of the family to drive up to Columbus for my birthday dinner celebration!

He likes to suck on things- my finger for example! 

playing in his pool 

this is his serious face- I got this the majority of the day as he was observing me since I'm "new" to him in his life. 

ahhh baby blues. 

• Rest of fam arrives and we meet my dad at one of my fave restaurants that unfortunately we don't have in Nashville- Bjs Brewhouse. Their menu is intense in terms of selection- I worked there a few years back in the evenings, so I already knew what I was craving....

Parmesan Crusted Chicken--- mmmm.

• After stuffing my face it was time for cake- or in this case, my mom's cookie cake

Traditional mother daughter w/ cake pose

They were both mesmerized by the flame from the candles. 

• Afterward we head to Andy & Courtney's house that is being built to check it out- quite huge and impressive.

Holding "my baby" - Andy, Court w/ Codyn, Tracie w Joseph, Eric

• Say goodbyes, head back to Dayton for the evening. 
• Mom and I head out to Erie, PA for state #18 (race report to come later- race did NOT go well)
• I have a slight tendency to LOVE to take my photo with inanimate objects- so I made my mom take some photos...

Got lost on our way to find the towns Goodwill- a pre race tradition- found this gem

So far north that apparently this is acceptable- on way in to TJ Maxx

Post race food at Sallys Diner

Got lost AGAIN trying to find the Goodwill (it was closed day prior so we tried again) 

• Take nap after race (MUCH needed)- decided to tour Presque Isle- although gorgeous, unless we wanted to go to the amusement park, wasn't too much to do. Tried to get some good views of light houses, but that was a no go. sand was SUPER hot to walk on.
• Left the beach and finally found the thrift store- got a few good finds and then headed to the new Harry Potter movie- excellent as anticipated. 
• Completely exhausted + getting sick earlier in day = going to bed early so I can get a good nights sleep. 
• Drove back to Columbus, got dropped off at brothers and hung out with Court and Codyn before having to go to airport again. 
• Yup and that was my weekend- doesn't sound like a lot, but it was just what I needed to get away and spend some time with my fam since I don't get to see often... would have more photos, but most were taken with mom's camera, and still waiting to get an email with those in them (hint hint mama J)

Three Things Thursday!

1. This has been an interesting week for me as far as working out due to a cut that got massively infected HERE, and not being able to have anything touch the top of my toe. I would like to take a moment and thank antibiotics + bacitracin for my quick ALMOST recovery in time for the weekend.

I went from looking like this yesterday

To this morning...

I celebrating my healing by doing a round of p90x legs and back + ab ripper x (barefoot of course so nothing would touch my toe)  Modified some of the leg moves bc its still tender to bend the toe since the cut is RIGHT on the crease where toe connects to foot, +   I have a race this weekend so I also want fresh legs. 

2. I have my first half marathon race since May 28!! That may not seem like a long time to some of you folks, but considering I was doing anywhere from 1 -5  a month, I feel out of shape. The Presque Isle 1/2 race in Erie PA is actually where Becca did her first half marathon, and she assured me it was a pleasant course both elevation wise and scenic---- she better be right. 

3. Lastly and most IMPORTANTLY- I fly out tomorrow morning back to Ohio where I get to celebrate my birthday with my family!!! 1 year closer to the big 3-0! (I'll be 27)  Last time I spent my birthday with my fam was when I turned 25 and they came to Louisville to visit me. 

Dinner at Captains Quarters

By the end of the evening, everyone had a good amount of alcohol in them and things got silly...

Dad doing his 'myspace' kissy face

Andy pretending to be trampled by a horse?

Here's hoping to another great year- running, financially, rich with friends and loved ones!