Author: admin

Hey there! It’s time for another end of the week summary. Last week was a good week! Let me tell you about it …

Last week was technically week number three of my NOLA marathon training. I haven’t actually signed up for the race yet, and if we are being honest (which we always try to be, yes?), I’m not 100% sure that I want run it. Training is going well though, so for now I’m just going to keep on keeping on. I only had two “workouts” last week and rest of the runs were nice and easy. I’ll tell you about the workouts and then we’ll move on to other topics.

Wednesday, I had 3 X 2 mile repeats on the schedule with a goal range of 6:20 to 6:30. I did a 2 mile warm up and then actually ended up doing all 6 miles of the workout without any recovery. I thought that I was going to run out of time, so I basically just turned the workout into a fast tempo. I averaged 6:31 for the first two miles, 6:22 for the second two miles and 6:15 for the last two. Overall, I felt really strong. I knew that I had done this workout before (with recovery in between each set) so I was curious to compare my times and they were faster this go ’round. I was definitely pleased to see that. Coach says that my lactate threshold has improved, which is also good.

For those of you who may be curious (like me), your lactate threshold is basically the point where you convert from aerobic to anaerobic running. The end of your pure aerobic training zone would be your lactate threshold. The terms aerobic and anaerobic refer to the presence or absence of oxygen, respectively. During aerobic exercise (i.e., with adequate amounts of oxygen available in your bloodstream), your muscles can contract repeatedly without fatigue, but during higher-intensity anaerobic exercise (i.e., without adequate amounts of oxygen available in your bloodstream), your muscles must rely on things other than oxygen in order to contract. The anaerobic state causes cells to produce waste molecules, which impair muscle contractions and leads to fatigue.

So basically the secret to long distance running is to run at a pace that is right below your lactate threshold and only run faster than this at the very end of the race. If you exceed the threshold too early in the race you fatigue too quickly and will not end up with a good result. Seems easy enough right? That is definitely one of those things that is easier said than done!

Saturday, I had a 16 mile *moderate* pace long run on the schedule, with a goal range of 7:20 to 7:40. I ended up running 20 miles with an overall average of 7:42. I don’t know what it was about this day, but I felt so. good. The weather was amazing and I had lots of good company along the way and what can I say, “I just … felt like running.” I have officially quoted Forrest Gump on a running blog now. I think that means I have arrived, or possibly that I have run out of things to say. You can decide. So yeah, I started out with the Running Wild group and ended the run with Daniel and Kenny. They also ran 20 and averaged somewhere in the 7:20 to 7:30 range (I think). Regardless, they had a great run too!

I know it isn’t *quite* Christmas yet, but Daniel surprised me with a couple of things last week that are worth sharing. We are going on a mini-vacation soon to north AL and apparently, we are going rock climbing and rappelling. Surprise! He came home with this contraption (which is supposed to keep me safe while I fling myself backwards off of big rocks) …

I haven’t been rappelling before, but he has. I do believe that this is going to be a big exercise in trust for our relationship. Don’t worry mom, we are going to have proper instruction and guidance from professionals (I think).

A few days later he came home with a cold brew for me. Don’t worry dad, it is coffee. Fairhope has a new restaurant, Warehouse Bakery & Donuts and a new coffee company, Fairhope Roasting Company. Daniel said I had been “going on and on” about how much I was liking iced coffee right now (perhaps I talk about coffee a tad too much?) and so he knew I would love this. I do!

I also got a Stitch Fix box last week! I kept a top and a dress. The top is plain on the front with a cute pattern on the back and the dress is grey and black with long sleeves. Brooks approves. Stitch Fix never disappoints!

We tried our church’s new campus for the first time yesterday and we really liked it! Our church is growing, which is an awesome thing and has opened up several new campuses in the past year or so. We went to the Eastern Shore “North” campus yesterday, which is much smaller than the “South” campus. Daniel and I both liked the smaller setting. We started our Christmas series called JOY yesterday and the message was wonderful.

I definitely want to expound upon this message at some point, but for now I’ll give you a few good takeaways:

• Christians must learn to trust that God’s intentions for them are always good.
• Christian joy is an emotion in the human spirit, produced by the Holy Spirit, as He leads us to see the Glory of Christ.
• God wants you to have joy so much that He will break your taste for false joy, while developing in you a taste for His joy.
• God gets glory from your full joy when your full joy is found in Him.

We brought the weekend to a close yesterday by grilling out, making a fire and having some s’mores!

I am linking up with HoHo Runs and MissSippiPiddlin this week for their Weekly Wrap. You should definitely head over and check out their blogs!

Well, that’s a wrap! I hope everyone has a good week. I’ll talk to you soon!

Hey guys! Last time we talked, I told you that I was thinking about doing a few different kinds of posts this week. In typical Sam fashion, that didn’t happen. I just can’t work on the blog after work. I’m going to stop trying to convince myself that I can or that I need to.

I did, however, think about the posts that I wanted to do during the week. It’s the thought that counts, right? Ehh, maybe not. Well, I’m going to put my thoughts to paper screen now and this one will be 3 posts in 1!

Wordless Wednesday

This one will definitely not be a regular thing. I just can’t post a bunch of pictures and not write anything. I took several pictures this Wednesday, but I just don’t really know if anyone wants to see only pictures on a blog. I get that people like posts to include pictures, but a post of only pictures seems silly. Since I did snap some pics this Wednesday, here is my (semi) wordless Wednesday for you …

It starts with a 5 a.m. wakeup. I love the First 5 app! It’s a great way to get the day started with a quick devotion. Check it out if you haven’t.

I’m back into the swing of things with workout Wednesday. This week I had a 2 mile warm up, 3 X 2 mile repeats and a 2 mile cool down.

After my workout, it is time to play Brooks. He loves to fetch! It’s  difficult to get a non-blurry action shot of him. I tried …

After the humans and animals have been played, I have a few minutes to shower and make myself presentable for work.

I get to work at 8 and it’s time to hydrate, caffeinate and have a protein shake. Smart gal’s a rhymer 🙂 Name that movie!

This is where the day gets a little bit boring (from a picture taking standpoint at least). I sit and play with numbers for about 8 hours.

At 5 I head home to catch the sunset!

After the sun sets, it’s usually dinner, a little bit of television (Shark Tank, The Profit or White Collar) and time for bed.

Thursday is for Thinking Out Loud

Now that we are thinking out loud … What do you think about the wordless Wednesday? I am kind of torn. Personally, I really enjoy reading bloggers that post frequently and I also like posts that are simple, just here is what I did today, type of things. From a writing perspective though, I want my posts to have more meaning than that. I want there to be a purpose.

I have been thinking a lot recently about purpose. I want to live with purpose and be intentional about how I spend my time. I know that I am here (on earth) for a reason and that God has a purpose for my life. It may seem silly, but I definitely feel like sharing my thoughts with you guys here is a part of that purpose. Blogging gives you a great platform to reach people that you would otherwise never have a chance to impact.

I told Daniel recently that I was feeling a little bit confused about what my purpose is now that the Runner’s World contest was over. I was feeling like that was my one chance to share my story and reach people and now it was over. He encouraged me by telling me that I was only just beginning. I really needed to hear that! More than anything, I want to do something meaningful with my life and I want to help people. Those are the things I know. The problem is that I don’t know exactly what that looks like at this point. That is what I am currently thinking (and praying) a lot about.

Friday Five

This week’s topic for the Friday Five post was 5 Dream Vacations. I like this topic! There are several places that I would love to go (or revisit)!

1. Tropical: Hope Town (Abaco, Bahamas)
2. Snow Skiing: Park City (Utah)
3. Surfing: Hawaii
4. Wilderness: Alaska
5. International: Cinque Terre, Italy

I’ve been to Hope Town a couple of times and let me just tell you, it is an incredible destination! It is a quaint little village on the island of Elbow Cay, located just about 200 miles from West Palm Beach, FL. The entire island is just over 4 miles long. There aren’t many cars on the island and most people get around on bikes or golf carts. The beaches and water are beautiful and you have access to lots of fun activities, like sailing, snorkeling, diving and fishing.

I have also been snow skiing a couple of times and I really love it! I want to go again, soon. I chose Park City because I have been there before and it was wonderful, but I would be very happy to go skiing again, regardless of the destination. My only request would be that it be somewhere out west (CO, UT, WY, etc.).

Surfing is a “bucket list” thing for me. I have always, always wanted to go! When I was younger, I was obsessed with the movie Gidget. The tagline is “a young girl discovers surfing and love (in that order) during one transitive summer.” I am probably dating myself with that one. Anyone else remember those movies? So cute! The obsession later transferred to the movie Blue Crush. This one was set on Hawaii’s North Shore. I don’t even think the movie itself it much to write home about, but the surfing scenes were phenomenal. One day I will go!

The adventurous side of me also wants to go to Alaska. Daniel and I occasionally watch Alaska: The Last Frontier on Discovery. We like to talk about whether or not we would be able to survive living “off the grid.” I don’t know that I want to go that far with it, but I definitely want to visit! I want to go kayaking and salmon fishing in Alaska (and then we can come home).

Daniel has been to Cinque Terre, Italy and he says that I would love it. I have seen his pictures and heard his stories and I definitely agree. He says that while he was there, he went on “the most picturesque, scenic run he has ever been on” and it’s on the coast. Um, sign me up!

What is your dream vacation?

Hello, hello!

Here we are at the beginning of a brand new week!

As part of my continuing (and thus far, failed) efforts to bring some consistency to this little corner of the interwebs that is my blog, I have decided to do a “Week End Wrap” at the end of each week (or I guess technically the beginning of the week, depending on how you want to look at it). And in case you were wondering, yes I know weekend is one word, but the point of the post is that is going to be at the end of the week and will be a recap of running, life and random happenings, etc. that take place each week that I haven’t had a chance to fill y’all in on previously.

I am also thinking about starting to do more linkups and/or weekly themed posts. I feel like I have shared most of the “big stuff” that I set out to share when I started this blog. I know there will definitely be more, but right now I think it will be fun to link up with some other bloggers or just have a set topic one (or more) days where I don’t have to rack my brain for content. I think the point is that my brain just needs a ‘lil break, especially before tax season begins. I will need it to be functioning at maximum capacity by then!

Here are a few that I am considering … Let me know in the comments if there are any that you would like to see me write about!

Tuesday Tunes – A music related post.
Wordless Wednesday – A post of pictures and no not many words.
Thursday is for Thinking Out Loud – A weekly blogging linkup that is a “celebration of quirks and randomness! An opportunity to take the pressure and stress out of writing by sharing whatever it is that happens to pop into your mind when you begin to type — all worries about sense and structure pushed aside. A collection of random and disjointed thoughts, just because.”
The Friday Five – The topics are selected by the hosts each week and you come up with five things that go along with the weekly theme.
Friday Favorites – Share your favorite … anything, really from the week.

Now that we’ve thought about what I might be writing about in the future, let’s get on with things and catch up over an end of the week summary. The Thanksgiving holiday made the week fly by extra quickly and a few extra days off work made for lots of fun and relaxation!

I don’t have too much to report for the first few days of the week. Everything was pretty status quo around here with a little bit of running and a little bit of working. My parents got into town Tuesday evening, and an amazing sunset greeted them when they arrived!

Thursday morning, I ran in the local the turkey trot (you can read about that here) and then we headed to my grandmother’s for Thanksgiving lunch. My grandmother is quite amazing and is definitely one of a kind. She is ninety and she still works pretty much full-time, selling more real estate than most other realtors in the area (and she occasionally reads the blog, so hi Nana!).

Last weekend she took a pretty nasty tumble (she went out with a friend for dinner and dancing, no joke), but thankfully she is okay. No broken bones or anything! She is tough as nails. She is black and blue, but other than that, she is doing really well and she still insisted that everyone was coming over for Thanksgiving. My cousin Jessica did most of the cooking this year and she did a wonderful job! It was nice to spend some time with family and we were extra thankful this year that Nana was okay and is healing well.

Friday morning Daniel had a group run planned with some of his training buddies and I decided to tag along. In hindsight, I probably should’ve sat this one out, but I figured this was going to be the best chance for me to get my long run for the week done and have someone to run with (Daniel had to do rounds at the hospital Saturday and Sunday). The route that Daniel picked out was really tough, with over 1,200 feet of elevation gain. I was definitely struggling to keep up with the guys and ultimately, I didn’t keep up with them. Daniel was nice enough to hang back with me though. We ended up with 16 miles at about 7:55 pace.

I actually got a good yoga session in Friday evening. Totally random, but I felt like my body needed some good stretching and recovery, especially after a race and a long run on back to back days. That isn’t *technically* recommended, by the way. It is best to put at least one easy day in between a race or workout and your long run. I am really enjoying the Runner’s World DVD set that I got. It gives you the flexibility to work yoga into your schedule whenever you can. I also like that there are some shorter sessions on there. The yoga for recovery and yoga for core strength are just over 30 minutes, which is a good length, in my opinion.

Saturday morning I woke up and hung out with my mom and dad for a little bit while Daniel was at work. We had coffee by the fire. It was time to break out the Christmas coffee cups! If we’re being honest though, we pretty much use those year round. It was still fun to use them and know that it actually ’tis the season!

Then we bundled up and headed out for a boat ride. The bay was beautiful all weekend. There was an east breeze, which means that the bay is nice and calm. It would’ve been perfect skiing water. If I had a wetsuit, I’d be up for it, but I don’t. Hmm … maybe I should add that to my Christmas list? Dad dropped mom and I off at the pier in Fairhope and we walked 6 miles back to the house.

By the time we got back, Daniel was just getting home from work and it was time to do a little pre-Iron Bowl preparation. We headed to the store for some game snacks and to get some meat to grill out after the game. I am not a huge football fan, but I don’t mind watching every now and then. It turned out to be a really good game! It was pretty suspenseful. We grilled out some chicken, hamburgers and Conecuh sausage after the game, so basically now we have enough food to last us for several days.

Sunday morning was pretty much an exact repeat of Saturday morning. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we figured, might as well duplicate it. The only difference was that mom and I walked 4 miles home via the road and the last 2 via the beach, which was so much fun! The bay was really shallow so we had plenty of beach to walk on. We had to hop a few bulkheads and creeks, duck under some piers and do a little bit of rock climbing, but that just kept things interesting. I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with my family this weekend. I am so thankful for them!

Sunday afternoon I headed back out on the courts for some more tennis. I am really liking this new Sunday afternoon routine. It’s been good for me to play on a somewhat consistent basis and I’m actually enjoying playing doubles. My partner and I are getting into a good rhythm and hopefully we will be able to play in a league together soon. She’s awesome at the net and I like to stay back on the baseline, so we play well together.

Sunday evening was super lazy. We sat on the couch and watched White Collar for several hours. That show has definitely gotten us hooked!

Alright, guys … that pretty much gets us caught up on last week. Hopefully I will be talking to you soon! Please let me know if there is something that you like reading about or would like to see a post on. Any and all suggestions are welcome!

Hello friends!

I can’t believe another week (and weekend) has flown by. Let’s catch up over an end of the week summary.

First things first … I know I kind of left y’all hanging the last two posts about “what’s next,” so I am gonna go ahead and put it out there. I have decided to train for the Rock ‘N’ Roll New Orleans marathon on February 28th, 2016.

I have talked with my coach about it and he feels like it is plenty of time to recover and get another training cycle in and after all, I do have a title to defend. No pressure, right? I’m also really excited about this training cycle because Daniel and two of his buddies are planning to run it as well, so we should all be able to train together. Plus it seems like just about everyone that I know from our area that runs is going to NOLA for either the half or the full. It should be lots of fun!

Now that I’ve put that out there, hopefully I will hold myself accountable to stick with my training. My motivation has been slightly lacking the past few weeks, which is fine. I needed some down time. Now I think it is time to set new goals and get back to work. Last week was officially the 1st week of my NOLA training cycle. It didn’t go exactly as planned (i.e., I completely skipped a race that I was supposed to do), but that’s okay.

Monday and Tuesday were easy runs with Daniel before work. We’ve gotten into a pretty good routine with our early morning runs. It is so nice now that we are actually working somewhat similar schedules. He used to work 12 hour shifts that weren’t always set days of the week, so it was harder for us to run together in the mornings. Now we both pretty much work 8 to 5, which makes it so much easier to coordinate our training.

Workout Wednesday found its way back into my life this week. I had a progressive tempo run (where you gradually increase the intensity and pace of the run) on the schedule. I was supposed to start the tempo portion of the run at a comfortably quick rhythm (think marathon pace) and gradually increase the intensity as I went, finishing at strong quick rhythm (think 10k pace). Coach told me it would start off feeling good but get fairly intense in last third of the run and boy was he right!

I did a 2 mile warm up, a 4 mile progressive tempo (6:58, 6:44, 6:31, 6:15), and a 2 mile cool down. The last mile of the workout was super tough! That was the first real workout I had done since the marathon though, so I guess that makes sense. I felt awesome (once the workout was done)!

Thursday was another easy run with Daniel before work. After work we headed down to the “Tree Lighting Celebration” in downtown Fairhope. I love this little tradition. They close the streets off and everyone gathers to watch the Christmas lights come on for the first time of the holiday season. It is absolutely beautiful! The lights stay on the trees from mid-November through the “Arts & Crafts Festival” in mid-March. I love that they are on for about half of the year! The picture doesn’t exactly do it justice, but you get the idea.

Apparently some of the “locals” (or at least this lady) were upset that the crowds were large at this event this year. I must say, I am completely baffled by this. The city promotes the event and they have Santa and all the frozen characters (well … at least Elsa, Anna & Olaf) there. There is fake snow and everything. I guess I really just don’t understand why this lady would be upset that people came to support the city?!

We stayed around for a while after the lighting and ate at one of the restaurants downtown. I’m pretty sure most of the people that came did the same, so I feel like this was a good thing for the city and local businesses, but perhaps I am missing something. Sorry to get off on a tangent, but for some reason I felt like I needed to get that out there.

Friday morning Daniel and I did yet another easy run before work. Are you noticing the pattern here? I love it.

Saturday morning I was supposed to race the Turkey 10 miler in Creola, AL. I usually love this race! It’s flat as a pancake. For whatever reason, I was just not feeling it this year. It’s a little bit of a haul to get to and I didn’t want to spend the entire day Saturday at a race. Plus, 10 miles just seemed like so far to race (says the marathoner, I know). What can I say, sometimes you just aren’t feeling it and I most definitely wasn’t, so we slept in a little and ran 10 miles at home (at about an 8:30 pace, as opposed to the 6:30 pace that I would’ve been *trying* to run at the race). Much more pleasant.

Saturday evening we had the graduation party for the Running Wild half and full marathon training groups. Missy and Mike were so gracious to open their home to everyone. It was fun to see everyone after the race and hear “what’s next” for all of them as well!

Sunday morning we planned to do our usual group run and we woke up to a major cold front. I know the wind shows that it was 12 mph, but I am fairly certain that it was at least 20 mph (if not more). The breeze blowing right off the bay made for an exceptionally chilly run. We had a fun group and got in 15 miles at a 7:37 average, which I was very pleased with!

I played tennis again this Sunday afternoon and the wind definitely kept things interesting for us on the courts. My partner and I won, but it was a really close, fun match. We split sets and the third set went all the way to a tiebreaker, which we managed to win. Our match last week was the exact same. I guess our teams are really evenly matched, which makes for some good tennis!

Sunday evening we had “Friendsgiving” with our small group. We had so much food (and so much fun)! Everyone contributed to the meal. I was asked to bring a salad and a veggie tray. My friends know me well (i.e., they know that I don’t cook).

This was a very “social” weekend for us. I am so thankful for the friendships that we have made through running and through our small group.

Hello and happy weekend!

I have heard of the “post-marathon blues” before, but I don’t think that I had ever actually experienced it until after this last race. Training takes a lot of mental, physical and emotional energy and after all of the dust settles you are left with an overwhelming feeling of, “Well … now what?” Like any major life event that includes lots of brain (and body) power leading up to it, the result, no matter where it falls on the spectrum, can leave you feeling funky once it’s over and done.

I think the funkiness was especially magnified after NYC because the timing of this past training cycle also coincided with the Runner’s World cover search, the training cycle for the marathon training group that I was coaching and a busy season at work. I also think that the time change also has me feeling off. The sun sets before I get home from work most days and I definitely don’t like it. It is difficult to find any sort of motivation to do, well anything, when it is so dark out.

I had several months with a lot going on and it was wonderful, but exhausting. I was so ready for a break … or so I thought. If you know me or have been reading along for a little bit now, you probably know that “breaks” aren’t really my forte. Several months ago we took the Gallup strength finder test at work. Note: this is different from the “kingdomality” quiz that I wrote about here. The Gallup thing was an actual, legit test. It is several hundred questions and the results give your top five strengths. I really love this test because it shows you positive results (i.e., it is a strength finder, not a weakness finder) and also gives you suggestions of how to best apply your strengths in your life and work. Anyway, my number one strength is called “achiever.” The results read: “People who are especially talented in the achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.” Basically not being busy was leaving me feeling very unsatisfied.

I also realized that I was falling into the trap of basing my self-worth on my performance. I am overly self-critical, like way harder on myself than anyone else ever would think about being. It goes hand in hand with the whole people pleasing, perfectionistic tendencies. I figured some of you might could identify with this as well. It is easy to feel good about yourself when things are going well. It is also easy to get achievement confused with worth. This confusion leaves you with an unstable sense of worth that fluctuates with each “performance” that you give. Now that my “performances” were done (the race, the cover search, coaching, etc.), I was left feeling like I didn’t have a direction or purpose.

Now I know that this isn’t true, but it is definitely how I was feeling. Sometimes our feelings don’t make sense, but they are what they are, so it is best to address them and figure out where they are coming from. I think the Lord was using this time to remind me that my feeling of self-worth should come from the fact that I am His child, created in His image.

I was instantly reminded of the Casting Crowns song “Who Am I.”

Not because of who I am

But because of what You’ve done.

Not because of what I’ve done

But because of who You are.

I am a flower quickly fading,

Here today and gone tomorrow.

A wave tossed in the ocean.

A vapor in the wind.

Still You hear me when I’m calling.

Lord, You catch me when I’m falling.

And You’ve told me who I am.

I am Yours, I am Yours.

I was also reminded of this passage from Isaiah .. Isaiah 43:1-3: “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be there with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord you God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

I guess all that was really just a reminder that you don’t have to “earn” your self-worth and our worth is not really of the “self” at all; rather, it is worth given to us by God. We are of inestimable value to Him because of the price He paid to make us worthy—the death of His Son on the cross. Our self-worth is too often based on what other people tell us about ourselves or if you are like me, what your own silly brain conjures up. The one, true authority on our self-worth is Jesus, and since He gave His own life up for us by dying on a cross, that should tell us just how valuable we really are.

So, that was the main thing that I wanted to share today, but I also want to catch up on a few fun things that have been going on, amidst the aforementioned “funkiness.” In the spirit of November and with Thanksgiving quickly approaching (how did that happen so fast, by the way), I want to share with you a few things that happened this week that I am thankful for. Take this list with a grain of salt … it’s just a silly list for fun, but it’ll be a good way to get you caught up on some things that have been going on.

Yoga. Daniel and I got to do a yoga session Monday evening. We tried another disc of our Runner’s World yoga DVD and it was really good! Basically, I was really thankful to spend some time with quality time with him and yoga has a special way of putting you into the right frame of mind to be present and grateful for what you have.

Friends. I able to get in three quality runs with Rebecca this week and one with Lizzie. We have all been busy with work and our own training, so it was great to be able to catch up over some easy miles this week.

Mail. We don’t typically get a ton of mail (and usually when we do, it is just bills, etc.), but this week I got two fun packages!

First up was a big box from Runner’s World with several copies of the December issue. It was so much fun to actually get my hands on the magazine!

The second delivery was my Stitch Fix box, which was awesome this month! I haven’t posted a review in a few months. My September and October boxes both had more fall/winter pieces than I was ready for, so I didn’t end up keeping much of anything from those. The temperatures have finally dropped a good bit (i.e., high 40s) and this month I was happy to see jeans and a big sweater!

Cooking. Y’all. Something is probably wrong with me, but I had a major desire to cook something this weekend. I found a couple of recipes that I wanted to try. I made turkey, quinoa and apple pilaf Friday evening. It had red and green bell peppers, onion, celery and apricots (along with the ingredients in the title). Daniel even liked it. He ranked it an 8 out of 10 (in case you haven’t been following along, a rating of 1 is the equivalent of olives and 10 is the equivalent of pizza). It looks like a big mess, but it was really good … kind of tasted like a good Thanksgiving turkey and dressing.

Fire. Since it is finally cold out, Daniel and I decided to put the fire pit to use. He made a little fire and we sat outside for a while yesterday evening after the game. Something about a fire is quite mesmerizing and we really enjoyed getting some fresh air after an afternoon indoors watching football (I watched the entire AL game yesterday, by the way … I’m pretty sure I get special points for that). Anyway, the fire was nice and the weather was perfect! I forgot to get marshmallows this week at the grocery store, but I think I see some s’more action in our future.

Coffee. I mean, really, who isn’t thankful for coffee? Daniel and I have an ongoing “discussion” of what qualifies as real coffee. He tends to go for the sweeter drinks and I prefer the regular stuff. He texted me a picture of his “coffee” that a pharmaceutical rep brought by their office this week. I told him that they must have gotten confused and brought him ice cream instead.

If you like iced coffee (which I definitely do), you absolutely must go check out this recipe. It is a really funny read (yes, it’s about coffee, but this lady knows how to keep it interesting) and the iced coffee that it makes it incredible. We have a steady supply of this on hand at work and everyone in the office is obsessed. It keeps us productive.

Tennis. I got a text last night from a lady who I have played tennis with a few times asking if I wanted to play tennis this afternoon. What a perfect way to get out and enjoy the day?! It’s been way too long since I have played. I just hope I don’t embarrass myself! It’s actually probably very good timing, seeing as how now I have a good reminder that my “worth” is not based on my “performance” on the courts today!

I hope everyone has a blessed Sunday and a wonderful week ahead. Thanks for reading!

Hey guys!

It’s been a little while since we’ve last talked. I have been busy recovering from my marathon and watching my training group dominate their race!

We got home from New York late Monday evening and thankfully, I was able to take the day off from work on Tuesday. Tuesday evening I was worn out, but Daniel convinced me that we should go to the group run at Running Wild that evening. I should’ve known something was up at this point, because usually I am the one trying to convince him that we need to go to the group run and not the other way around. I reluctantly got out of bed (it was 5:30 p.m. #noshame) and we headed to the store.

My legs felt surprisingly good and we were able to get in 6 miles with the group. Daniel and I were planning to go grocery shopping after the run, but that didn’t happen. We got in the car and he started driving, but he passed the turn for the store. I was really confused at this point, but as it turns out, a few of my friends had planned a little “surprise party” for me after the run that evening and Daniel was in on it. I was so surprised and very appreciative of such a kind gesture! We stayed around for a while talking and hanging out with everyone. I hate that I didn’t get any pictures that evening, but I do have a picture of the banner that they made for me. Isn’t it awesome?!

The rest of the week was pretty standard stuff, which was actually pretty nice after a couple of weeks that felt like a whirlwind. I was ready to get back into somewhat of a routine. Work, a few short, easy runs and a few rest days happened. We did finally make it to the store at some point, as well. Oh, and Brookser got a bath. He loves his baths! It is so funny to see him prance all around in his scarf after he is cleaned up. It’s like he just knows he is a big ‘ole heart throb. He was actually the only thing that got documented on my camera the rest of the week, so here ‘ya go.

Saturday morning, Daniel and I headed back to Running Wild for my training group’s last run of the training cycle. They only had three miles on the schedule (their race was the next day), so we decided to meet a little bit later and we all went to breakfast afterwards to talk about the game plan for the race. We went to Sweet Olive at the Windmill Market in Fairhope. I have been hearing a lot of really good things about this place, so I was really excited to try it out. It definitely didn’t disappoint. They had lots of healthy “carb” options, which is exactly what marathoners need the day before a race. I think everyone either got the homemade fruit and nut granola, the organic rolled oatmeal or the breakfast quiche and everyone was happy!

Sunday morning was a very early wake up call (i.e., 3:15 a.m.). A few of us met to carpool over to the race, which started at 6:30 that morning in Pensacola. When I woke up and looked at the weather forecast, the radar was a solid green blob. 100% chance of rain all the way through the morning. I really hated that for my girls. They have trained so hard and race-day weather plays a huge part in your marathon success and/or failure. The only silver lining was that the temperatures had cooled off a little bit from the previous two days.

I was absolutely amazed and how well the group handled the weather. They stayed positive and went out there and ran their hearts out. I absolutely loved being there to watch each one of them cross the finish line. It was so exciting to catch a glimpse of them in the distance. Every time, I would exclaim, “Oh my gosh, here comes (insert runner name here)! Ahh! Yay!” I am having a hard time putting my feelings into words here, but you get the idea … I was just so darn proud of and happy for them.

It would have been really easy for them to get discouraged or give up on the race because the conditions were bad, but for the most part they stayed relentlessly positive. They really inspired me! Not everyone got the goal that they wanted (for the most part, they actually did though), but they all showed up and gave it their all. As a coach, you can’t ask for more than that.

Watching them run was so much fun and of course, made me want to run! I had already decided that Sunday was going to be a rest day for me, so I didn’t do any actual running. BUT, I did do some actual thinking about running. I’ve officially (well, as official as you can be without actually registering for the race yet) made up my mind about the next marathon I am going to run …

More to come on that on the next installment. Stay tuned!

Anyone have any guesses?

Hello, hello!

I think we have officially survived the remnants of Hurricane Patricia that blew through our area here in lower Alabama. It’s been a very soggy couple of days, but otherwise not too bad.

I had a couple of interviews Monday in Mobile (related to the Runner’s World cover search), so I had to brave the Bay Way in the middle of the storm. Thankfully I made it in one piece and on time, nonetheless. I had a few hours to kill in between interviews so I headed to Carpe Diem (a local coffee shop in Mobile) for some Monday morning coffee.

I don’t know what it is about local coffee shops, but I just love them. I really enjoy the people watching. I find myself wondering about all of the people sitting around me (what do they do, what their stories are, why they are sitting at a coffee shop at 10:00 am on a Monday, etc.). People are so fascinating. Maybe one of these days I will get up the nerve to strike up a conversation with one of these fascinating creatures.

The first interview was inside at the WKRG (News 5 CBS) studio. Originally, we were planning to meet outside at a park but since the weather was horrible that didn’t work out. The rain had started to let up a little bit around the time that the second interview was scheduled, so we were able to met the crew at Cottage Hill Park, which was their suggestion. This interview was with WPMI (Local 15 NBC) and they wanted to interview Daniel and I together. The meeting location was perfect because that is the park where we first met. The crew had no idea about that though. It definitely made for a good topic of conversation.

Since the rain had let up a little bit at this point, they wanted to get some footage of us running. I threw on a hat and a rain jacket and we ran some circles around the parking lot. I was pretty much drenched by the time I got home, so I probably should’ve just gone on out for a run in the rain, but I decided to stick to the treadmill. I did a very easy 6 mile run.

The grocery situation is pretty bad at our house at the moment, but since we are headed out of town it doesn’t really make too much sense to stock up on groceries. Lenny’s drive through for the win. We recently discovered the series White Collar on Netflix. I know we are a little late to the party on this one (since the series concluded last year), but we are enjoying it so far. We are also really enjoying watching The Voice. Oh, and a brand new episode of The Profit is on tonight after the debate. That is what taper will do to you. You have too much free time on your hands and you start getting hooked on television shows.

Tuesday morning I had a nice little 7 mile run with the middle three “up-tempo.” I ended up with an average of 7:52 for the run and did the middle three at 6:31 pace. My legs felt really good! I am getting so excited about the marathon. I hope they feel good on race day! I have nothing but easy runs in between now and then, so I should be rested and ready to go by the time the race gets here.

Speaking of the race … my office gave me the most thoughtful gift basket ever today. It has a journal, KIND bars, CLIF bars, candy corn (they know me well), a Starbucks gift card (they know me really well) and a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils! If you’ve been following along, you’ve probably heard me rambling about how much I love the movie You’ve Got Mail. I quoted part of it in a previous post that talks about NYC in the fall and buying school supplies. Joe Fox says that he would send Kathleen Kelly “a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils” if he knew her name and address … so they got me a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils! I love it!

I am so very thankful for my work family. The work situation was a bit of a saga over the past year, but it seems to have all worked out exactly like it was supposed to and things are going really well.

Since this lovely taper (typed with no sarcasm) has given me a little bit of extra time to think, I figured I could post some taper thoughts and some final thoughts before heading to New York. For whatever reason, it is really easy to let self-doubt creep into your brain during the taper weeks. For instance, when I finished up my 14 miles Sunday, I felt like there was no way I could possibly run one step further, which is silly because I had run 20 miles the two Sundays prior to that. In order to combat the taper crazies, I am trying to follow the advice listed in this article.

First up is rest. I’m pretty much knocking this one out of the park. I don’t typically need an excuse to go to bed at 8 pm, but now I can be all like “taper made me do it.”

Second on the list is positive thinking. I’ve got a couple of things (songs, mantras, and strategies) that I am using to help me in this area.

The first song is “Soar” by Meredith Andrews. I love this song so much. It is so powerful. If you have time, you have to check out this video. Otherwise, here is an excerpt from the lyrics:

I’m gonna run and not grow weary
I’m gonna walk and not grow faint
Rise up on wings like eagles
To soar

I know with everything you’re with me
I know you’re working as I wait
Lift me up on wings like eagles
To soar

Creator, Keeper
Life breather
Your name is greater than anything I’ve faced

Sustainer, Savior,
Stronghold breaker
Your name is greater than anything I’ve faced

The second song is “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten. This one’s pretty popular, so you’ve probably have heard it, but just in case you haven’t, here in an excerpt from the lyrics:

This is my fight song
Take back my life song
Prove I’m alright song
My power’s turned on
Starting right now I’ll be strong
I’ll play my fight song
And I don’t really care if nobody else believes
‘Cause I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me

I’ve got a few mantras that I will be repeating to myself as I run as well. The first one isn’t really a mantra I don’t guess, but it is simply “persevere.” The second one might not really be considered to be a mantra either. For me, it used to simply be “overcome,” but now I am using “run to overcome.” This is the hashtag that I chose for the Runner’s World cover search. That whole process has been such a blessing and I feel like so much healing (for myself) has come from sharing my story that now I am making this one my personal mantra.

The last one is really random and doesn’t have all that much to do with running, but more about having confidence in myself. It is the famous quote from the movie The Help. “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” I have no clue why that one is sticking in my brain, I have only seen that movie once (years ago), but for some reason that quote is really fresh right now.

Speaking of confidence, the other strategy that I am using is an exercise in confidence as well. I printed out my training log for the last 4 months and highlighted some of my key workouts. The blue highlights are my workouts and the pink highlights are my long runs (OCD much?). I haven’t ever done this before, but it has been very reassuring to look back over all of the (many, many) miles and remember all of the hard work and successful workouts that have gone into this training cycle.

Third is to plan a realistic race-day strategy. This article was extremely helpful regarding the actual NYC Marathon course. My coach also sent me a detailed race strategy yesterday, so that I can go ahead and get a jump on preparing myself “mentally” for the challenge at hand. Remember how I told you that Meb said, “Once the gun goes off, racing is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical.” Just let that sink in for a minute! Once you start the race, how close you get to racing your best (based on your current fitness) is largely based on making good decisions and staying strong mentally. That is pretty eye-opening.

Basically the general game plan is going to be to use the first 2 miles over the Verrazano Narrows Bridge to ease into the pace and then try to settle into a solid, sustainable rhythm. Basically the goal is to stay relaxed and smooth and to use as little energy as possible. There are several bridges along the course and I won’t be trying to keep a set pace over the bridges. I will just let the pace naturally slow a little bit so that I don’t expend unnecessary energy.

He also warned me to try to avoid the classic NYC mistake of picking the pace up unnecessarily after coming off of the Queensboro Bridge. This is where the course is flat and the crowds are loud. I don’t want to get too excited and pick the pace up too much between miles 16 to 20 and then run out of gas around 21 or 22 (that makes for a really long 4 or 5 miles to the finish). I pretty much don’t want to run out of gas period. That seems to be the all-elusive marathon goal though. I will definitely let y’all know how that works out for me.

Good luck to everyone running and racing this weekend!

Hey friends!

Can you believe that at this time next week I will have run the NYC marathon?! Holy moly. It’s almost here. I think I have been training for this marathon for about a year. Not really, just since the summer, but you know what I mean …

Also, can you believe that at this time next week we will officially know who the winners of the #RWCoverSearch will be? Holy moly X 2. The suspense is killing me. I can’t wait to find out.

This week flew by and I’m sure next week will follow suit. Let’s catch up!

I was off work Monday, so I took the opportunity to rest and catch up on some miscellaneous errands (like getting the headlight that has been out in my car for over 6 months (oops) fixed). The weather was beautiful. Mom and I took full advantage of the crisp, fall day and we decided to walk the 10K route that we did for the virtual race last weekend again. Daniel and I tried out the Runner’s World yoga for core DVD Monday evening and we both really liked it. It was challenging, but doable.

I slept in Tuesday morning and headed to Running Wild for the group run after work. It was really nice to get a little bit of extra sleep. I did 10 miles with Jessica on Tuesday evening again this week. Joy, Rebecca and Lizzie joined us for parts of the run as well. It was a good girls night group!

Daniel also came to the store to run, but he was wanting to do a workout, so he kind of did his own thing. He had a good tempo run! He had stopped at home before coming to run and he decided to make monkey bread in the crock pot. I don’t know how he comes up with these things, but they always turn out so good. This one was only a few ingredients (1 container of biscuits, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 0.25 cup of melted butter and 1 cup of brown sugar) and it was ready in just over 2 hours. Not the healthiest of recipes I reckon, but we’ll just go with it because I’m pretty sure those carbs are going to make me run super fast 🙂

Wednesday morning was my last workout of the training cycle! It was a 10 mile tempo run and it was a bit of a doozy. I did a two mile warm up and then started the tempo portion of the workout. My goal range was 6:35 to 6:40 pace. I ended up with a 6:36 average for the tempo miles, so I was really happy with that. After a one mile cool down, I was done with the workout. It was a wonderful way to wrap up an intense training cycle.

Thursday and Friday were some easy, shorter runs and some relaxing evenings at home. Brooks decided that he wanted to go for a swim Thursday evening before Daniel got home. He hadn’t been a little while and once he gets those bay eyes, it is pretty hard to stop him. Daniel does a better job of disciplining him than I do (which is probably why he knew he could get away with it). I’m pretty sure this is going to be an issue for us if kids are ever in the mix. Anyways … Brooksy enjoyed some nice play time. When he can’t find his ball, he stands up to look for it. For some reason that cracks me up. He looks like a little loch ness monster.

Saturday morning was filled with some fun running activities (shocking I know)! My group ran 16 miles with 10 miles at marathon pace. That was a tough workout for them, but everyone ran really strong. I was so proud. Since I am in taper-mode, I only ran 4.5 miles with them and then Daniel came and met me on the route in the car and we drove back and forth the rest of the way and cheered them along.

After the group got done, we walked over to watch the “Run Forrest Run” 5K prediction run downtown. I was thinking about running this race “for fun,” but I had some doubts about my ability to actually run in a race and not “race” it so I decided against that. It was much more fun spectating anyway! Rebecca and Keith ran it, so we wanted to go watch them. Rebecca pushed Savannah in the stroller and had the timing chip on Savannah’s shoe. I love it.

There were lot of fun costumes. David (top left) won the race (in khaki pants and a button down, no less). He is one of the Running Wild “elite” team members, so he usually sports the cheetah singlet, but apparently he can run in just about anything! Fun fact: Fairhope is actually the home of Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump.

After the race we headed home to split some wood (it’s kind of addicting, y’all) and then mom and I headed out for a walk. I love having her in town. It’s made the taper week much more doable, since we can still be outside and enjoy some fresh air without actually running. The rest of the afternoon was filled with football (for Daniel) and napping (for me). We are pretty predictable. I need to come up with some new blog content soon, don’t I?

Today my schedule called for 14 miles, so we got that knocked out this morning and spent some quality time at coffee loft. Again, so predictable … sorry guys.

Next week will be anything but ordinary, so please stay tuned for some NYC fun! Speaking of NYC, check out my new kicks that I will be racing in. They are the Brooks PureCadence 4. I have run in the Cadence before and I have logged a few miles on these guys now as well. They are lightweight shoes that still provide an optimal level of support. I love them!

We are caught up on the training activities now. I’m off to pack for my trip and do some reading. I am so excited about this week. It’s gonna be a good one! Be sure to follow me on instagram or facebook to stay up to date on the latest happenings of NYC Marathon weekend. I’ll leave you with a random picture (that’ll make you smile). Cat in a box. It’s a wonderful way to put those old Stitch Fix boxes to good use. She loves them!

Anyone have any good NYC tips for me (things to do, places to eat, etc.)? I need some good ideas!