Five for Friday!

1.  FRIENDS One of the great benefits of racing the states is the opportunity to catch up with friends. Unfortunately I don't really have any friends in the states that I have left (minus Minnesota) so last weekend after finishing my Maryland  race I still had some weekend left so I hopped on a plane back to Nashville then immediately drove the 2.5/ 3 hours to Louisville to catch up with 2 of my FAVORITE ladies who are near and dear to my heart.

Natalie helped me out in a very crucial time in my life and we shared a 1 bedroom apt for 4 months while I was transitioning and found my job in Nashville. 

Jenna helps keep me sane. We lived together for a total of 3 years (combined in Ohio and Louisville) and tell each other EVERYTHING. She is probably my absolute best friend and if I EVER get married, I'm confident she'll be the maid of honor. 

2. Derby Horses I LOVE to take photos with random statues / objects. If you've ever been to Louisville you may have noticed they have Derby horses all around town with different decorations and such. Jenna and I would make it a point to see how many we could find and get photo with each one. I have a whole album on facebook devoted to these gems and when my family came down for my 25th birthday they got in on the action too. As I was driving up to meet Jenna last week I saw one on the side of the photo (last photo bottom right) so I pulled over and took a self portrait. The first photo in collage is what started the obsession at Thunder Over Louisville back in 2009, and the rest are just some of my faves.

Am I the only one, or do others like to take photos like this as well?

3. Wyoming: This weekend I'm crossing off State #41, "The Cowboy / Equality State" ,also known as Wyoming. This will also be the big # 50 in terms of lifetime halves run... damn.  Although it's a girls weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing L and Kim (and of course B is tagging along but I see her everyday at work so its not the same) , what I'm not looking forward to is the elevation and altitude. I'm not going to lie- Miles 1-5 will be fun and excellent downhill training for SD's all downhill course, but 5- 13.1 are going to suck. Let's just say there are ZERO time goals involved.

4. Bootcamp It's no secret I'm not the best with an exact training plan so a lot of people have asked me how I've gotten faster. CROSS TRAINING hands down. For the last 1.5 years I've been going to bootcamp pretty consistently 1-2x week, kettle bells a few times a month (and I have my own at home), and most recently yoga 1-2x week. Everything I do is offered at work which is why its easy for me to be consistent. With bootcamp you get out of it what you put into it, but I've noticed a HUGE increase in strength and endurance from this.

That's me in the bright yellow shirt

Probably the sexiest photo of myself I've ever posted (trying to listen to instructions while sticking out my stomach)

On Wed there was a challenge out there to get 100 colleagues to attend, I believe we ended up just shy of 120!

This is reason #14343232 on why I truly absolutely LOVE the company I work for!

5. Moving Update: Finally found out I get to move in to new apt June 1. Currently my stuff is residing in the living room piled up- mattress, dressers, clothes tables EVERYTHING is in that 10.x10 space... that's talent. 

In the mean time I spent a week crashing at my friend Ts and starting today I'll be crashing at Bs and taking care of her cat since she will stay out West for a week after our Wyoming race. It's so frustrating trying to find things since most of it is in new apt, so I constantly have been feeling like a mooch having to borrow something pretty much every day from some one.  June 1 can't come soon enough!