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Y’all. Oh my goodness … I have so much to tell you about.

First, let’s (quickly) catch up on NYC training and then I want to give you a play-by-play of my actual trip to NYC as part of the Runner’s World cover search photo and video shoot. Before I do that though, I want to say Happy Anniversary to my best friend, running partner, soul mate and my most loyal reader, Daniel! We have been married 5 years today. If you are new to the blog, you can check out the story of how we met here. I am so thankful to have him by my side and that he was able to go to New York with me. It made the whole experience even more special.

When we left off last, I was looking forward to some cooler temperatures for my long run Sunday. The weather definitely came through for me, and I got in a solid 18 miles with the middle 9 “up-tempo.” My goal range for the tempo miles was 6:45 to 7:00 pace and I did 6:47, 6:56, 6:56, 6:46, 7:00, 6:54, 6:52, 6:54, 6:48 with an average of 7:40 for the entire run. Luckily one of Daniel’s training buddies was there (Daniel was working) to help me keep the pace. Nothing like fall weather to make you feel good about your training!

Monday was a really busy day at work, and I knew I would probably be there a little late because I still had a few September 15^th deadline tax returns to wrap up before leaving for NYC. I got an easy six mile recovery run in before work and thankfully I was able to get the returns done by Monday evening. Then it was time to pack and get prepared for the trip!

Tuesday morning I decided to go ahead and tackle one of my workouts for the week, since I didn’t think I would really be able to get a workout in while we were gone. I hit the treadmill for a 12 mile steady state run. I did a 2 mile warm-up and then kept the pace between 6:55 and 7:10 for the remainder of the run. That is the second steady state workout I have had this training cycle and these are definitely a mental challenge for me. I got it done though. Hopefully I am strengthening my mental “muscle” as well as my physical strength and I will be able to channel that on race day. Fingers crossed!

We dropped Brooks off at Dog Ranch (aka doggie spa) for a few days of play and then we headed to the airport. Our flights went very smoothly and we landed in NYC around 11 p.m. Tuesday evening. We got some good rest on the plane, so we were ready to tackle survive the city once we got there.

Yes, two can play at this game and I knew it was a risky move to post this one. You’ll have to keep reading to see the payback … This was our first time to NYC, so neither one of us really knew what in the world was going on, but we were together, and I am so thankful for that. I don’t think I could’ve managed without Daniel!

We got a taxi to Manhattan and found our hotel pretty easily. We stayed on 8^th Avenue at The New Yorker, which seemed like a great location. Everything we did was within walking distance. Once we settled into our room, we decided to venture out in search of something to eat. It was getting fairly late at this point, and we were kind of amazed at how many people were out and about. The city definitely has an exciting vibe. We got to bed around 12:30 a.m., which was the latest I have been up in a while!

After a few hours of sleep, we were up and at ‘em, excited to explore the city and run a few miles before we officially met up with the rest of the group. We hit snooze a time or two, so we didn’t have a lot of extra time, but we managed to make it over to Central Park and ran a mile or so in the Park before heading back to the hotel to meet everyone. The first “scheduled” event Wednesday morning was a group run with Bart Yasso (how cool is that?) by the Hudson River along the West Side Highway at 6:30. We all met in the lobby at 6:15 to get to know each other for a few minutes before hitting the streets for a few miles of bonding.

Those of you who know me in real life know that I am not really a social butterfly. Don’t get me wrong, I love people and I usually get along well with everyone that I meet, I just tend to be more quiet and reserved in big groups. Needless to say, I was a tad anxious about meeting everyone and anxious about the whole experience in general, really (you can read by post on anxiety here). Fortunately, I felt very calm the entire trip and I was instantly at ease as soon as I met everyone. The group was incredible!

Seriously, I could go on and on about all of these runners and how friendly, inspirational and downright amazing they were. We had an incredible amount of diversity in the group, but the group chemistry was very strong right from the start and it felt like we had known each other for years. This is partly because we all knew a little bit about each other (and by a little bit, I mean a lot of really personal things, as we had all read the other finalists’ stories) and partly because we are runners and runners just get each other. Some of the best friendships that I have were created through running and I definitely added some new friends to that list this week!

After our group run it was time to get ready for our photo shoot at Jack Studio. We arrived at the studio for our photo and video shoot around 9 that morning. This part was so much fun! I don’t know about you, but I had never been to a photo shoot before, much less been in one (until now), so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. It was everything you would hope for and more! The studio was beautiful. Everything was white and crisp and there were running clothes and photographers and videographers with cameras all over the place.

They had a nice breakfast spread for us when we arrived and I got started with the wardrobe staff pretty much as soon as we got there. We were asked to bring some of our own options and then they also had things there for us to try on and wear if we wanted to. I basically packed every black, white, gray and navy item of running clothing that I owned (those were the colors we were asked to bring). But, I got it all in one bag and didn’t even need a carry-on. Daniel has taught me the art of packing over the years. He spent several weeks in Europe after college and was only able to take one bag with him, so he’s basically an expert. I guess I should probably note that I used the same bag to pack for two days in NYC that he used on his entire trip to Europe, so maybe I still have a little bit to learn …

I tried on a few different options at the studio, but we ended up settling on one of the outfits that I brought from home (Brooks top and Oiselle shorts purchased at Running Wild, of course). After we got that settled, I headed over to get my hair and makeup done. I really enjoyed this part. I don’t typically like to get all “dolled-up,” but every now and then it is fun. The majority of the day was spent hanging out in the studio, getting pictures made. We also had some short interviews that were filmed and there was a videographer that filmed a lot of the activities over the course of the few days that we were there. There was a lot of “down time” at the studio while other people were doing their photos, etc. so we had lots of time to get to know each other better and we got to hang out and talk with several of the judges as well.

You know, just hanging out with Bart Yasso and Natalie Morales … no big deal. For those of you who are curious, Natalie is one of the nicest, most down to earth people that you’ll ever meet. She is also an awesome runner! It was really neat to get a chance to talk, run and just hang out a little bit with all of the judges over the course of the few days that we were there.

Daniel had some time to explore the city and he was able to stop by the studio for a while. I texted him at one point to see what he was up to and he responded that he was doing some shopping at Macy’s. For some reason, this just cracked me up. Probably because he is not a shopper. In typical Sam fashion, he “forgot” to pack a nice shirt to wear for dinner so he had to go to Macy’s to pick one out. He actually did forget to bring his shirt and he about croaked when realized how much he had to pay for a Polo at Macy’s. I used to pull this stunt growing up when we would travel to tennis tournaments on the weekends. I would “forget” to bring enough outfits and then I just had to buy something new. My parents quickly caught on to my little trick though. Major bummer. Anyway, I am getting off track here … Daniel stopped by the studio and I was so glad to see him. Having him there was so comforting in the midst of all of the lovely chaos.

Here are all of the girls …

We wrapped up the shoot a little early, which is apparently unheard of. Hopefully that means we did really well! Here are a few shots of all of us with the judges.

We had a little extra time on our hands at this point before we had to be ready for dinner, so obviously we all decided to go for another run. This was not planned, but everyone was all in. I love it! We ran over to Central Park and got to run through the park. I am so glad that we got to do this. Daniel and I had been there earlier that morning, but it was completely dark then and seeing it in the daylight was definitely worth a second trip. The final miles of the NYC marathon run through the park, so I was really hoping to get a feel for what this was going to be like prior to race day. A full loop through Central Park is just over 6 miles and runs along the Park Drives on the West and East sides using the various paths to cut across the park and there are some shorter variations as well. A few of us did the entire loop.

We cut it a little close getting back to the hotel, so we had to do a quick change for dinner (think less than 20 minutes … eek). I even texted to tell them that we would just have to meet them at the restaurant, but somehow we managed to get cleaned up and ready before the group left. We met everyone in the lobby of the hotel and were going to try to catch taxis to the restaurant. Don’t y’all like Daniel’s fancy new shirt? He looks good in blue.

I’m so glad we made it down in time because, long story short, we ended up catching a limo instead of a taxi. That wasn’t planned, it just kind of happened, but it was so cool and just really added to the whole rockstar feel that we had going on that day anyway.

We ate dinner at a wonderful restaurant called The Park. We sat outside on the patio and were able to soak in the fall weather and catch the sunset over the skyline. We were all starving by this point and the food was excellent.

I had hibiscus-dusted grilled salmon with corn, sugar snap peas and farro and Daniel got one of their wood oven pizzas. He was pretty excited about getting an authentic pizza in NYC and it didn’t disappoint. I had two pieces of his pizza, so I can attest to that statement. A couple of the guys in the group were wearing activity tracking devices and with our two runs and all of the walking to and from the studio and around the city, we ended up with over twenty miles for the day. That pizza was much deserved (and much enjoyed)!

We were all worn out after such an emotional, fun-filled, event-packed day and I slept like a rock. We woke up a little bit later Thursday morning and headed out for another group run. This time we went South along the Hudson River and got to see the Statue of Liberty off in the distance. We attempted a Lady Liberty pose.

Here I am with some of the Runner’s World staff and judges: David Willey, the editor; Tish Hamilton, the executive editor; and Bart Yasso, the chief running officer.

We ran a few miles and were headed back to the hotel, but made a slightly impromptu decision to stop by the Today Show to see Natalie again. I mean, she did tell us the day before that we should stop by … so of course we did! We were able to walk right up and we caught part of the show and part of the Duran Duran concert.

We cut it a little close getting back to the hotel again and had to do another quick change (this time we had closer to 25 minutes). The husbands that were with us told us decided that we couldn’t tell them we needed more time to get ready ever again because they saw first-hand how quickly we can work under pressure. Ha. I am just really thankful that “messy” hair is in these days and I can just wash it and let it do its thing without a hairdryer, straightener, etc. If it isn’t, don’t tell me. I choose to remain blissfully unaware.

We headed over to the Asics showroom for breakfast and for a few more pictures and short video interviews Wednesday morning. Asics is one of the major sponsors of the contest. Walls and walls of shoes and some really cool Asics “swag” greeted us at the showroom. I semi-recently discovered Asics running shorts and I have a good collection going already, so it was really fun to get some more Asics gear! Check out what I got (shoes, sports bra, tank top (that matches the shorts I already have), several pairs of socks, and tights)!

Thank you Asics! Once we wrapped up there, it was time to check out of the hotel and head to the airport. It was sad to have to say good-bye, but we are planning a “Runner’s World Cover Search Class of 2015 Reunion” at a race sometime in the hopefully near future. Several of the finalists are running Chicago in a few weeks and I am having major marathon envy, but I get to go back to NYC soon enough and run a little marathon there myself so I guess I can wait a few weeks longer to take on my next 26.2. It was so neat to get to see the city (and to get to see it with some big wigs of the running community) before the marathon. We ran right by the expo location, were able to see the starting point off in the distance and got to run part of the actual course in Central Park. It just got real folks!

We took an Uber (I don’t know if that is the correct way to phrase that) to the airport, so that was another first for us. We got into the car and the driver, who was from Liberia in West Africa, had on a Christian radio station and we had a really awesome conversation with him about Jesus on the way back to the airport. He told us a little bit about his story and his journey of faith and asked us to pray for him. We talked briefly about how God uses obstacles in your life to grow you and to lead you right along the path that He has set out for you. What are the chances? It was a wonderful confirmation for me that God is using this situation and guiding my path.

Our flights back home went very smoothly as well. I worked on this post some at the airport, as I was full of #runlove and inspiration and I wanted to type it up before any moment of it escaped me. Our flight didn’t get back to Mobile until almost 11 p.m., and I took advantage of having nothing to do but rest on that last late flight. This is where Daniel got me back. I woke up when we hit the ground, turned my phone on and I had a text message waiting for me with this lovely little gem. My first question, was “Oh my word, have you already posted this?” He was nice enough not to do that, but it is just so darn funny that I have to share it anyway. Who wouldn’t want to see that face on the cover of Runner’s World? Am I right?

This morning I slept a little bit later than normal and now it is back to reality (which if we’re being honest, is pretty amazing itself). I had a mile repeat workout on the schedule that needed to be addressed and I wasn’t going to have the opportunity to get done if I didn’t go ahead and bite the bullet this morning. Luckily, I was still on Clould 9 and I powered through the workout and felt great. I tested out my new Asics kicks and I loved them. They are super cushiony and I felt like they were giving my feet a big hug. Here is how the workout went down:

2 mile warmup: starting at 6.0 mph for 2 minutes and increase the speed by .2 every 2 minutes

1st & 2nd miles: averaged 6:15 (9.6 mph) with .25 mile recovery at 7.0 mph after each mile

3rd & 4th miles: averaged 6:11 (9.7 mph) with .25 mile recovery at 7.0 mph after each mile

5th & 6th miles: averaged 6:07 (9.8 mph) with .25 mile recovery at 7.0 mph after each mile

1.5 mile cool down: at 7.5 mph

After my workout, I headed to pick up our little buddy. We got in too late to pick him up last night and we missed him so much. He absolutely loves Dog Ranch and I know he was in good hands, but I was ready to have him home with me and for some Brooks loving.

11 miles on the treadmill this morning gave me plenty of time to think and I am just so thankful and feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to share my story (through running nonetheless) on such a large-scale, just a few short months after I set out on this blogging adventure. Ultimately, that was the whole point of this blog, to share my story and my passion with well … anyone that would listen really. Revelation 12:11 says, “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” I want to encourage all of you out there to share your story and your struggles, whatever they may be with someone. There is power and healing that comes from speaking the words and having someone to talk to, whether that be a pastor, a therapist, a friend or family member. Don’t struggle silently. Speak up and I think you will be amazed at what can happen.

The Lord has continued to use running in my life. From the day of the attack, to the day that I first met my husband, to the day that Daniel and I ran a 5K the morning of our wedding, to the day that I broke the tape in New Orleans, to the day that I learned that I was a finalist in this contest … each day has brought different lessons, different meaning and different perspective to my life. I wouldn’t be who I am today or who He was calling me to be had it not been for each of those days, and all of the days and miles in between.

Thanks for reading!

Hello friends!

Is it just me or did this week feel extra long to anyone else? I know we had a holiday Monday, but still … it felt long. Oh well, the good news is that we survived and since we did, now it is time for a weekly recap. I got an email this week that said there are 7 weeks until the New York City Marathon. What the what?! That seems so soon!

Monday

Monday was a pretty low-key day. Daniel had to work, so I did a little bit of work from home myself and ran a few errands. Nothing super exciting. But low-key is pretty much my favorite, so I was content. Monday evening Rebecca, Lizzie, Squishy and I did an easy five mile recovery run. We had all run long (and fast!) on Sunday, so it was nice to get in some easy miles, although we were all struggling a little bit.

After our run, Rebecca and I took a “then and now” picture with Squishy. It’s so hard to believe that she is already turning one, but at the same time it feels like she has always been here. Rebecca and I ran (and walked towards the very end) tons of miles together throughout her pregnancy and we have run tons of miles with the stroller this year. Squishy loves it. She just doesn’t like it if we stop.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning I woke up extra early to meet Rebecca at dark:thirty for a medium-long run. We got 12 miles in and I got to work by 6:30 am! Boom. I had a very productive day and left feeling tired like I was in much better shape for the September 15th deadline.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning was back to the usual #workoutwednesday. This was the first workout I have done since the whole rib situation, so I was ready to get back to it and interested to see how I felt. It has been just over two weeks since my last workout, but for whatever reason like feels like so long ago. Of course my head had me questioning whether or not I had lost all of my fitness. Dramatic much?

I had 3 X 2 mile repeats on the schedule with a goal range of 6:25 to 6:30. I headed to the treadmill and got going early. Here’s what I did …

2 mile warmup: starting at 6.0 mph for 2 minutes and increase the speed by .2 every 2 minutes

1st 2 miles: averaged 6:31 (9.2 mph)

2nd 2 miles: averaged 6:27 (9.3 mph)

3rd 2 miles: averaged 6:24 (9.4 mph)

2 mile cool down: at 6.5 to 7.5 mph (not adjusted at regular intervals)

I ended up with 10 miles in about 74 minutes, so right about a 7:25 average pace. I was pleasantly surprised with the results of this workout! I love early morning runs and workouts because they give me lots of time to think and pray and get my day off to a good start.

I was planning to do a post Wednesday, so I was thinking about what I was going to do while I was running. I have been wanting to do one of those What I (Fill in the Blank) Wednesday posts. I have seen WIAW (what I ate Wednesday), WIWW (what I wore Wednesday), etc. You guys probably could care less to know what I ate or wore. Heck, you might not want to know anything else about me, but alas you are reading my blog so we will just pretend that you do. What I came up with to share is WILTW (What I Listened to Wednesday). In case that didn’t work out, I also took a few pics of what I wore as well.

So … here is WIWW.

• Workout clothes: One awesome benefit of having a treadmill is that it doesn’t matter at all what I wear for my workout. I’m usually in something that I would probably not otherwise wear in public or admit to wearing on the internet.
• Real work outfit: I do dress in something other than running clothes every now and then.
• After work clothes: Usually after work I promptly change back into my running clothes (even if I am not running again). One of the main reasons I was thinking about doing a WIWW post this week is because I had a fun little activity scheduled after work. I had a hometown photo shoot as part of the Runner’s World cover search. All of the finalists are having a hometown shoot and we are all going to NYC next week (woo hoo!) to participate in a photo shoot there. I am so excited about that! Runner’s World is treating us so well. Daniel and Rebecca came to the shoot here to watch and they got some pretty cool pictures. I only did two outfit changes, so it wasn’t as good of a WIWW opportunity as I was thinking it would be, but it was a lot of fun and now I am even more excited about NYC.

And … here is WILTW.

• Workout playlist: I plug my iPod into the treadmill and I love having music to run to. Another perk of having a treadmill is that I can listen to whatever I want out loud and not disturb anyone else or worry with headphones. I have an old iPod that I only use for running. It is over five years old, but it is still going strong (especially considering all the sweat and jostling that it gets when I run with it). My playlist Wednesday was a pretty random shuffle of songs …
• In the car: On my way to and from work, I rarely change the station from K-LOVE. I just love this station. It truly is nothing but positive, encouraging music, news, stories, etc. I enjoy some worship time in the morning on the way to work and it puts me in a good mind-set to be ready to tackle whatever the day brings. My favorite song right now is “My Story” by Big Daddy Weave. Fun fact: this band got their start at University of Mobile, which is where Daniel went to school. Here are a few of the lyrics …

If I told you my story

You would hear Hope that wouldn’t let go

And if I told you my story

You would hear Love that never gave up

And if I told you my story

You would hear Life, but it wasn’t mine

If I should speak then let it be

Of the grace that is greater than all my sin

Of when justice was served and where mercy wins

Of the kindness of Jesus that draws me in

Oh to tell you my story is to tell of Him

If I told you my story

You would hear victory over the enemy

And if I told you my story

You would hear freedom that was won for me

And if I told you my story

You would hear Life overcome the grave

 This is my story, this is my song

Praising my savior all the day long

• At work: Occasionally I will stream Pandora during the day, but this isn’t an all the time thing. I try to reserve it for “special” times, so basically on Fridays or if I feel like I just need a little extra something to get me through the day. I usually rely on coffee in times that like, but sometimes even caffeine is not enough. The struggle is real. Anyway, I currently have my work Pandora station set to “90s country,” because let’s face it country music these days just isn’t the same as it was when we were growing up.

I feel like an official blogger now. My first WIWW and WILTW post. Well … It is technically not on Wednesday, but I reckon that gives me something to work towards. Can’t knock it completely out of the park the first time right?

Thursday

Thursday morning Lizzie and I did an easy eight miles before work. I saw Dr. Justin again Thursday evening and the ribs are definitely on the mend. One more visit and I should be good to go.

Friday

Friday I was supposed to do a hill repeat workout. The workout is usually 12 miles, so I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do my typical route before work, as it would be too early and too dark. My coach had mentioned that I could do this workout on the treadmill if I needed to, by adjusting the pace and the inclines to simulate what the “pickups” would be like on actual hills. I texted him Thursday evening to ask questions like what incline do I need to go to, how long should I stay at the incline and what pace should I do for the pickups. He suggested a 4% incline, but basically said that exact incline/pace/time wasn’t critical.

Um … I don’t understand. Exact numbers aren’t necessary? I can’t comprehend this. My brain is exploding a little. Maybe I’m just weird, but I like exact amounts and goals. I told him that I could deal with it, but then I didn’t. Ha. I ended up doing the workout outside, just shortened the distance so that I could run on some actual hills and could start when it was lighter out. Daniel and I did a couple easy miles after work, so that I could still get the total distance for the day. #runnerdproblems.

Saturday

This week has been an easier, cutback week for my marathon training group and they were happy to only have 13 miles on the schedule today. They have done 15 twice now and we jump back up to 16 next week, so this week was a nice breath of fresh air. Speaking of fresh air, the weather is getting amazing. It felt pretty good out this morning, but it has been getting even better all day and tomorrow morning we are supposed to have temperatures in the low 60s!

I stayed on foot with the group this week (and successfully stayed upright). I was a little wary of getting back on the bike, mainly just because of the photo shoot coming up this week. All of my wounds are pretty much healed up, so if I can make it through this next week without falling that would be really nice. I’m setting some pretty lofty goals for myself these days.

After the run, I headed to Squishy’s birthday party! She is absolutely adorable and she was really loving her some birthday cake.

I came home after the party and took a nice, long nap. It was glorious. Sleeping has to be one of my very favorite activities. Now we are (and by we are, I mean Daniel is) watching some football and relaxing at home. I plan to take full advantage of those low 60 degree temperatures tomorrow morning for my long-run. I have to do some up-tempo miles in the middle of the run, so hopefully the temperature will help make that doable. I will definitely take any help that I can get!

I think we are officially caught up now. This has been a good week of training and I have some really fun stuff coming up next week! Hopefully I will be able to fill y’all in on some of that when I get home. I hope everyone is having a great weekend and enjoying some wonderful, fall weather.

Hey guys!

I’m taking a break from my typical weekly training recap because I want to tell you the story of how Daniel and I met. The US Open is on, which always reminds me of meeting Daniel (we both like watching tennis and we were both big fans of Melanie Oudin at the 2009 US Open), and our anniversary is coming up in a couple of weeks, so this seemed like an appropriate time to do a little reminiscing.

First, let’s get the training part out of the way. I got good news at the doctor Monday. Thankfully, my ribs are not broken (or cracked), but I have a sprained muscle somewhere in there. With Dr. Justin’s blessing, I was able to run this week, but I had to take it slow and steady. I wasn’t really able to do any workouts, because deep breathing was causing me a decent amount of pain.

I saw him again later in the week. He taped me up and he said that it was probably okay to try some workouts.

I discussed the situation with my coach and he agreed that I would continue my regular mileage this week (including my regularly scheduled long-run) and we will pick back up with the workouts next week. The crazy thing is that I actually fell again yesterday! This time I was biking with my training group and I was so lucky that I didn’t fall on my ribs. I got a few new and improved scrapes, but otherwise I came away fine. I had a really good long run today, so I am ready to get back to it this week!

Now that we are caught up there, let me tell you our little running fairy tale. First let me set the stage …

Daniel and I both grew up in the same hometown. We were in different grades and went to different schools, so we didn’t really know each other. I took piano lessons with his sisters, but that was about as close as we got to actually meeting each other (apparently he wasn’t paying all that much attention at those recitals). We ended up as Facebook friends somewhere along the way, but we didn’t really know each other.

Daniel ran cross county at the University of Mobile and I moved to Mobile after school to start my first “big-girl” job as a CPA. At this point, I wasn’t running very much (comparatively speaking). I ran a few days a week, never more than 15 to 20 miles per week and I always ran inside on the treadmill. This is going to sound crazy, and it is totally a God-thing, but I felt like I was supposed to contact Daniel about running. I didn’t really even know this guy, but I knew that this was something I was supposed to do. After deliberating about that for a little bit, I finally got the nerve up to send him a message.

So that’s where this whole thing started. He basically responded to me with a ton of information about local running groups, local races, etc. and after going back and forth a few times, we decided that we would meet after work one day to run together in Mobile. Keep in mind, we really didn’t even really know each other at this point. He knew who I was, mainly because of what had happened to me (he didn’t remember the piano thing at all, haha) and he knew that I was a big tennis player. I knew that he was a preacher’s kid and that he ran XC at UM and that was about it.

We met for a run one Friday afternoon (September 11th, 2009 to be specific) and we ended up running 4 loops of the route that we planned to run, which was 8 miles total and I don’t even know how I even survived. That was the longest I had run in a while! We talked the whole time (about running, tennis, skiing, people that we knew in common, etc.) and the rest is kind of history.

But that’s not as much fun, so I am going to tell you more …

We ran together a few times after that. I met his training group for track on Tuesday evening and we did a long run together. We were supposed to do another long run the next Sunday, so I got up really early and drove across the bay to meet him. And he didn’t show up! I was majorly disappointed. He texted me later in the day saying that he was so sorry and that he had set him alarm for PM instead of AM (he was working nights shift at this point, so that was semi-understandable) and that he wanted to make it up to me.

I invited him to come over to watch the sunset, play croquet (so random I know) and go to dinner. Later he told me that he was a little bit scared when I invited him to play croquet. I think he was picturing some fancy polo-type game, but really it was just an old croquet set that my grandparents had for years and we always played for fun. Nothing fancy. At all. Anyway, he came over that night, met Pop (my grandfather) and my mom and we played croquet, got eaten alive my mosquitoes (but neither one of us mentioned it to the other one, we just kept talking and getting chewed up) and ate dinner at Cousin Vinny’s.

If he wasn’t scared off at this point, I figured we were doing pretty good, but I still couldn’t figure out if he actually liked me like *that* or not. I figured that first dinner out was more of a “pity date.” If he hadn’t stood me up that morning, it wouldn’t have happened. It was always just very friendly and casual, but we got along really well and we always had a great time together. We hung out a few times over the next few weeks. We went kayaking, ran a 5K, went to dinner a few times, but it was all still just as friends.

Until it wasn’t. One Friday evening (October 16th, 2009 to be specific and yes, I have all of this documented in my planner from 2009) we went to dinner and had “the talk.” I had always called it a DTR (define the relationship), but Daniel called it the WUWU (what’s up with us). What do kids these days call this I wonder? Anyway, this was like the ultimate DTR. That night we decided that we were officially “dating” and that we were going to get married. I kid you not. It was just like one of those things that we both knew. It was just right and it was a total God-thing. Daniel called his parents that night to tell them and his parents said, “Yeah. We knew she was going to be the one.” How cool?!

I mean, he didn’t propose to me that night or anything crazy like that. He waited a month or two to buy the ring, talk to my parents and then finally to ask me on January 9th, 2010. We got married here on the bay on September 18th, 2010.

Oh and of course, we ran a 5K the day of our wedding!

That pretty much concludes this installment of how we met. Something that really stands out to me now, that I hadn’t really even realized until somewhat recently is that had it not been for what happened to me, I would have never sent Daniel that first message asking about “safe” places to run and looking for people to run with. It’s really amazing to see how God takes a bad situation and uses it for our good and for His glory. Genesis 50:20 says, “Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good.” I love that verse.

We have now been married (almost) five years and while there have definitely been highs and lows (we have both had some great accomplishments and both have made some really bad decisions), the most important thing is that we are in this thing together. As Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, “two are better than one” and I am very thankful to have found my lifetime “plus-one.”

How did you meet your significant other? I’d love to hear about it!

Well hello there! This has been a whirlwind of a week. Let me tell you about it …

Monday

Monday got off to a fairly ordinary start. Daniel and I did an easy 5 miles before heading to work. On Monday afternoon, Runner’s World released the finalists of their cover search contest and I made the top ten! Wait, what?! In case you were wondering, that was a direct quote from the video linked below. Very profound, Sam.

In all seriousness, I can’t really even put into words how excited I am and how honored I am to have been chosen as a finalist. Please take some time to read all of the stories here. We have such a wonderful group of finalists! When I started the blog this summer, I wrote, “It has been a long journey with lots of highs and lows, but my prayer every day is that God will use my story and my running for His glory!” Well, never in my wildest dreams did I think that my story would be shared on such a large-scale in such a short period of time. It is truly amazing. God is truly amazing. He has been so faithful and my continued prayer is that He will be glorified!

Monday evening I headed to yoga. I must admit, I had a hard time relaxing with so much excitement going on, but the class was wonderful. I drove home with a heart of gratitude, and some very sore, tired muscles. Each week we work towards a key pose, and this week’s pose was the “Wild Thing.” I had to show Daniel what I learned when I got home and as per usual, Brooks was all about it. He definitely has the wild thing mastered!

Tuesday

Tuesday morning we were up even earlier than normal, as Daniel had an outpatient procedure at the hospital and we had to arrive at 6 a.m. I managed to get a few miles on the treadmill in before we went, but I’m fairly certain I slept through most of that run. Thankfully, everything is a-okay and as my grandmother would say, “He is healthy as a horse.”

Tuesday evening I went to Running Wild for the usual group run. The weather was amazing! We had temperatures in the mid-60s and humidity less than 50% for a few days this week. It was quite glorious. Rebecca, Squishy and I got in an easy 6 miles and enjoyed the “cold front.” I even saw a few people out running in long sleeves on my way home, which cracked me up. Let’s not get carried away guys.

Wednesday

Mid-week it was time for workout Wednesday! I had a 12 mile steady state run on the schedule with a two mile warmup and 10 miles at 7:00 to 7:15 pace. Steady state runs facilitate the development of aerobic strength by challenging your aerobic system, but not making you too tired to run hard the next day. Building aerobic strength is one of the most important pieces of the training puzzle to make you run faster. The hard part is that developing aerobic strength takes time. I haven’t done a lot of steady state workouts in the past, and I was definitely a little bit intimidated going into the workout. To me, it was more mentally challenging than physically challenging and I ended up averaging 7:06 for the 10 mile portion.

Wednesday evening Daniel had the guys from small group over here, so he kicked me out. Not really (but kind of), so I headed over to Rebecca’s after work, and we did an easy run with Squishy. After that I worked on my nutrition presentation for a while. Actually, I stayed up way too late working on that. I think it was a combination of me wanting to make sure that I adequately conveyed the information (since it is such an important topic) and me just being really interested in what I was reading, but I got a little carried away in my research and was awake until almost midnight.

I also found out Wednesday that the Runner’s World finalists will be participating in a two-day photo shoot in NYC in a couple of weeks. Again … wait, what?! How exciting is that? I haven’t been to New York before and now I will get to go and get a lay of the land before the marathon. It will be so neat to meet the other finalists as well. It looks like a really fun group and they have lots of cool stuff planned for us. I can’t wait!

Thursday 

Thursday morning Lizzie, Daniel and I headed out for an easy 8 miles. I was so tired, and probably not fully awake. Around mile 3, I took a major spill after tripping on an uneven piece of sidewalk. I tried to do the whole “tuck and roll” thing (which I have successfully done in past falls), but that definitely didn’t work out for me this time. It was more like “tuck and splat.” I came away with some really awesome battle wounds and some extremely sore ribs. I’m still debating on whether or not I need to go get an X-ray. I think it is probably just a pulled muscle in my back or something, but whatever it is, is still very sore.

At least the photo shoot is a couple of weeks away … If I am not healed by then, I will definitely need some photo-shopping action!

Thursday evening was the nutrition presentation at the store. We didn’t have a very good turnout, which was kind of a bummer since I spent so much time preparing for it. Although I wasn’t extremely keen on speaking in front of a large group of people anyway, so it probably worked out for the best. At least I got a good blog post out of it and I will send the link to that out to my group so that they can reference back to it.

My dad recently told me that I write better than I talk. Thanks dad … I think. I know that he meant it as a compliment, but it just sounds funny when I write it out 🙂 He was saying that I express myself well through writing. I don’t know about that, but I do know that I really enjoy writing and I hope that one day writing can be a bigger part of my life. Currently I get to write here for you guys and I get to write letters to the IRS when clients receive tax notices or are getting audited and believe me, that is really not all that exciting. Not nearly as exciting as writing about running, that’s for sure!

Friday

I was supposed to have a track workout Friday, but with the whole ribs/back situation I decided that it might be best to just take it easy and not push too much. I was able to run a few miles pain-free, so that was encouraging. The weird thing is that laying down hurts like heck, but running feels fine. I think I would rather have it that way than vice versa, so I’ll just roll with it.

I was worn out Friday evening. This seems to be a typical Friday evening thing for me now that I am back at work. I was in my pajamas by 5:30 and in bed not too long after the sun. Living life on the edge I tell ‘ya!

Saturday

Saturday morning my training group ran 15 miles! This was their longest run so far by 2 miles and the longest some of them have ever run. They did great! Daniel and some of his training buddies ran 20 miles and they were out there while my group was running as well. Daniel ran right past me at the end of his run and he was booking it! He averaged 7:35 for the 20 miles, so that was a really solid long run and a good confidence booster.

Daniel and I met at Coffee Loft after the run for our usual post-run coffee and smoothies and I headed to work for a few hours after that. I missed some time this week, so I wanted to make that up and get a better handle on my September 15th projects. I am so glad I went in, because I got so much done and now I feel a lot better going into next week. How is September already here?!

Well, I’d say that pretty much catches us up. I majorly slept in this morning and missed my long-run, but I’m planning to get that in later this evening. We’ll see how that works out. I’ll let you know 😉

Have a great week!

Hey guys!

I am preparing the nutrition presentation for the half and full marathon training groups at Running Wild this evening. I want to share the information with y’all as well, since it is such an important topic. Your nutrition and fueling can definitely make or break your training or your race. There is not one magic formula to determine what, when and how much you need to eat. There are lots of guidelines, sure, but different approaches work for different people. I will share what has worked for me. Something different may work for you, and that’s okay!

I am going to start off with some general information (about carbohydrates, fats, protein and hydration) and then break the post down into what to eat before, during and after your run. I will wrap it up by sharing my race-day fueling plan.

General Information

Your body needs more carbohydrates than any other nutrient, but not all sources are equally nutritious. Eating a diet composed 45 to 65 percent carbohydrates helps to ensure positive energy levels and increased exercise performance, mood and overall function. Carbohydrates pass through the digestive system and are broken down into glucose, which is your body’s primary source of fuel. There are two main categories of carbohydrates, simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates such as enriched flour, found in refined breads, pastas, and sugary foods, provide calories but few nutrients. Complex carbohydrate sources, such as whole-grain breads, starchy vegetables and beans, deliver fiber, as well as valuable amounts of vitamins and minerals.

At least half of the grains you consume each day should consist of whole grains. You can consume whole grains on their own, in dishes such as oatmeal, brown rice and quinoa, or as an ingredient within a food, such as whole-grain breads and pastas. Starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, beans, peas and lentils, also supply complex carbohydrates.

When the label on a specific food claims that it has been “made with whole grains,” it is important to know what to look for. A better label to look for states “100 percent whole grain.” Exploring the ingredient list unveils sources of fiber and other nutrients in a packaged food. Look for foods that list whole grains within the top few ingredients. Additional examples of fiber-containing grains include brown rice, whole-grain sorghum, buckwheat, bulgur, millet, whole-grain barley, oatmeal, quinoa, whole wheat and rolled oats.

Here are some good examples of healthy, complex carbohydrates:

• Raw and lightly steamed vegetables,
• Legumes, beans, nuts and seeds,
• High fiber 100% whole grains,
• Raw, whole, fresh fruits,
• Most low-fat dairy

Your body also needs fat because it is an important energy source and help maintain our immune system. Fats are our secondary source of energy (behind carbohydrates). They also help us manufacture hormones, like estrogen and thyroid, and help us regulate our metabolism. Be sure to include plenty of healthy fats in your overall diet. Runners NEED fat to lubricate and protect their joints and organs, to aid in recovery, to help their body with temperature control and the absorption of nutrients, and to keep their body fueled and appetites satisfied. Low-fat diets for runners can be very damaging. Make sure to include nuts, seeds, avocado and real butter in your daily intake.

Your body needs protein because it helps us build and repair muscles and it is the building block of many of our major organs. Protein is also an important source of iron.

Water is the main component of every cell and tissue in your body and if you don’t get enough, you’ll feel rundown and tired. It is estimated that under normal condition the average person loses 8 cups (2 liters or 64 ounces) of water per day. We sweat off several more cups during every hour of moderate exercise. The rate we lose sweat depends on a variety of factors including individual sweat rate, and the temperature, humidity, and length and intensity of your run. Determine your sweat rate by weighing yourself before and after your run. For every pound you lose, you need approximately 16 ounces of water. On a hot humid day an average sized person (110-165 lbs) can lose 1.6 to 2 liters of fluid, or 2.5% to 3.5% of body weight. So assuming we lose 2 pounds of water in sweat, we would need to replace at least 96 ounces or 12 cups per day.

Before 

As your mileage and training intensity increases, you will need to consider adding pre-training nutrients to your regular routine. How much you should eat before a run depends on your distance, your personal tolerance/preference and the timing of your run. Some runners can eat right up until the second they hit the pavement, but others need to let their food digest and stomachs settle first.

It is recommended that you take in easily digested complex carbohydrates one to two hours before exercise. Complex carbohydrates are higher in fiber and lower in simple sugars, which means that they provide a good source of long-lasting energy. An ideal pre-run snack combines complex carbohydrates with low-fat and moderate to high protein foods.

Select pre-event meals and snacks that are 1) familiar, 2) high in carbohydrates, moderate in protein and low in fat and 3) quickly digested. Steer clear of artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols (these can cause extreme irritation to the gut, even hours after consuming them because the body does a poor job processing them).

During

It is important to have a fueling plan going into your race. Fueling refers to the intake of fluids, electrolytes and calories during the course of a race. Practice in training what you plan to do in the race and don’t try anything new on race day.

In general, runners need to add in 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate for each hour that they are running longer than 75 minutes. You need to start fueling earlier than 75 minutes into a run. It is estimated that your body can hold about two hours of fuel while running at marathon effort. However, you can’t just wait until that point to start taking in fuel. By that time, your energy stores will be depleted and once you are empty, it is hard to recover. As you run farther and harder, your body becomes increasingly distressed and as your effort continues, your body diverts energy away from non-essential functions (such as digestion) to your muscles and brain to keep you going at the pace that you are running.

There are a multitude of nutritional products designed to help you fuel during endurance events (gels, sports beans, shot blocks, sports drinks, etc.). It is important for you to find out which type of product works best for you. Some people don’t like the taste or consistency of gels, but some people love them and don’t like the idea of taking in anything more solid. Once you find the right type of fuel, you also need to find the right flavor, as sometimes different flavors don’t sit the same in your stomach. Do some research on the official race website and find out what will be offered along the course, so that you can practice the exact flavors and brands that will be available on race day.

It is recommended that you start taking in fuel within 30 to 45 minutes. If you wait until you are thirsty, dehydration or glycogen depletion might already be setting in and it will be more difficult for your body to process the fluids and energy you are taking in.  When you take a gel, sports beans, shot blocks, etc. (basically anything with calories and sugar), take it with water, not with Gatorade. Most fueling products and Gatorade contain high amounts of simple sugars and so combining the two means you are getting too much sugar for your digestive system to process at once. I learned this the hard way, so just trust me on this one.

It is recommended that you drink at regular intervals during your run at a rate that replaces fluid loss, which would be approximately 5-7 ounces of fluid every 15-20 minutes. Try to select running routes that have water fountains along the way and carry a water bottle or drop a bottle along the route if possible. On race day, try to get a sip of water at each aid station, especially early on in the race, even if you don’t feel thirsty. I would recommend alternating water and something with electrolytes (Nuun or Gatorade) at the aid stations. Take water and the first one, something with electrolytes at the second, etc. and then just be sure to plan your gels, beans, blocks, etc. around an aid station where you take water.

As you try out fuel during your training runs, keep track of how much you took in and how your body responded. Keep track of answers to questions like: Did you feel totally energized? Were you able to keep your pace constant but then hit the wall towards the end of a run? Did your stomach not agree with the fuel?

After 

It is important to refuel post-run with both protein and complex carbohydrates and replenish your electrolytes. It is recommended that you eat carbohydrates as soon as possible (within 30 minutes) of the event. You can begin with sports drink after you finish your run. I like to use Nuun or G2 for my post-run electrolytes. It is also recommended that you eat a high-carbohydrate meal that also combines a lean protein source and a healthy fat source within 2 hours after runs to maximize muscle glycogen recovery (i.e., rebuild your energy stores) and to support protein synthesis in the muscles.

Taking in protein after running helps you to recover more quickly. When you run, microtears occur in your tendons, muscles and other tissues throughout your body, but specifically in your legs. After your run, these microtears elevate your body’s demand for the amino acids found in protein; these acids help with tissue repair and rebuilding. Protein shakes provide a rich dose of these amino acids your body can absorb faster than through whole foods. This can help enhance the speed at which your body repairs those tears, reducing the recovery time needed after your run.

What Works for Me

Now that we know the general guidelines and have some recommendations on what to eat before, during and after our runs, I am going to share my “magic formula.” After my PR marathon in New Orleans, I made sure to make note of my fueling before and during the race because it worked well for me and I felt great (for the first time) after the race! Here is what I did … Pre-race (1 hour before): 1 packet UCAN Vanilla Cream Protein w/ 12 oz. water (160 calories, 27g carbs, 12g protein) and 8 oz. coffee; Mid-race (Mile 15): 1/2 packet UCAN Lemon w/ 6 oz. water (55 calories, 14g carbs); Mid-race (Mile 20): 1/2 packet UCAN Lemon w/ 6 oz. water (55 calories, 14g carbs). I also took water at various aid stations along the course.

I am not a UCAN ambassador (I would love to be), but I 100% believe in this product. It is absolutely amazing! UCAN’s main ingredient, “SuperStarch,” provides sustained natural energy levels without spikes and crashes. SuperStarch is a complex carbohydrate that breaks down slowly over time, keeping you above baseline significantly longer. It enables you to perform better by allowing your body to use fat for fuel. UCAN stabilizes blood sugar and minimizes insulin response, delivering several scientifically validated benefits:

• Optimized performance with steady energy when you need it, without the spike and crash of sugar and maltodextrin based products.
• Sustained energy with time-released delivery of glucose, keeping you above baseline longer.
• Enhanced fat burn allowing you to improve body composition as you burn fat for fuel during your workout and keep burning fat while you recover due to suppressed insulin response.
• Speedier recovery as your body is able to use protein to repair and restore your muscles rather than for energy, since blood sugar is stable.
• No gastric distress, because SuperStarch is a large molecule that passes through the stomach quickly and is digested slowly in the intestines.

Lots of information here. Hopefully you all learned something. Anyone have any other helpful tips or good marathon fueling strategies to share?

Hey guys! I’ve been missing you. Well, technically I guess I’ve been missing writing, but I’m writing to you so it’s basically the same. My “part-time” job is more like a full-time job at the moment, because September 15th and October 15th are big deadlines for us CPA types (those are the extended due dates for business and personal tax returns). I am definitely not complaining. I am very thankful to have a job and even though I am working 40 hours a week, it has typically been much more, so 40 hours is still part-time. It’s just that when you add in coaching, training and you know, regular life into the mix, the free time available for blogging is basically non-existent.

I have been thinking a lot about a few things that I want to write about and I have also been thinking about how to make time for blogging in my schedule … I am hoping to get in at least two posts a week (on Wednesday and Sunday). Ideally, I would like to do more, but for now I am gonna aim for two. Hopefully it will be one of those under promise and over deliver scenarios and hopefully by me putting it out here, I will stay more accountable to my plan. I really enjoy writing. I think it is because it is one of the few times during the week that I just sit still and think. Otherwise, I am a pretty on-the-go person, even when I don’t really have anything to go and do (if that makes any sense). I like to keep myself busy, but now I am starting to see the value of just being still and writing/thinking. I digress … It is Sunday afternoon, which is the time that I have alloted for blogging, so let’s get on with it!

First let’s catch up on training. 10 (ish) weeks to go until NYC! This week was a pretty good week. I’m having to make a more conscious effort to get up a little earlier and to plan ahead at the beginning of the week so that I get all of my runs and workouts in, but it’s been a pretty easy adjustment. I had a strong tempo run, ran lots of hills and had a really good long run. Whew!

I’m trying to think what else has been going on that we need to catch up on. This post is going to get wordy (consider this your fair warning), so let’s just make a list of the “updates”:

• Wednesday evening I met with a couple of ladies to discuss the nutrition presentation that we will be doing for our training groups this coming up week. You can go ahead and expect a post on that. I have been given the topic of “what to eat and drink before, during and after your run.” Simple enough right?
• I got my August Stitch Fix box! As per usual, I love all of it. Thank goodness for the buy-all discount 🙂
• I also got a really cool product in the mail to test out and review. It’s called Tiger Lady. More to come on that soon.
• I picked up this really cool recipe book at the store. It is 50 quinoa recipes. They have breakfast, lunch, dinner and even dessert recipes and they all look so. good. And I haven’t made any of them yet. Bummer. It’s the thought that counts right? Maybe not in this case.
• Thursday I went to a continuing education class. I won’t bore you with the details. You’re welcome.
• My training group is doing so well! They ran 13 this week and have 15 next week, which means it will be the longest some of them have ever run! Yay for first-time marathoners. You only get one first marathon and I am so excited to be part of theirs.
• The bay is ridiculously pretty right now. Fall is the best time on the bay. We have been seeing shrimp boats and lots of porpoise right out in front of the house.
• Daniel is having the small group guys over here this week, so we just spent a decent amount of time doing a quality cleaning. It is so nice to have that done! Any one else out there only clean the house if company is coming?
• I finally made it back to yoga this week. I have really been missing that too! That’s another good time during the week for me to think and relax. Although I must say, this week’s class was tough. I think my legs were actually on fire at one point.
• I think that pretty much covers it for now. On to the rest of things!

Our yoga instructor shared a poem with us at the end of the class that I really liked. A lot. It is called “Walk Slowly” by Danna Faulds.

It only takes a reminder to breathe,

a moment to be still, and just like that,

something in me settles, softens, makes

space for imperfection. The harsh voice

 of judgment drops to a whisper and I

remember again that life isn’t a relay

 race; that we will all cross the finish

line; that waking up to life is what we

were born for. As many times as I

 forget, catch myself charging forward

 without even knowing where I’m going,

that many times I can make the choice

 to stop, to breathe, and be, and walk

 slowly into the mystery.

First of all, Walk Slowly? I mean if I were writing a poem, I think I would want to title it Run Fast. Am I right? Such a contrast, and yet, I think that is the whole point. Here is where I make this another #keepitreal post and talk about how I struggle with perfectionism and people-pleasing.

I am a perfectionist. There, I said it. I want to excel at everything that I do. And since we are being honest here, this has kept me from trying yoga in the past. I knew that I would be horrible at it. I’m not flexible. I don’t stretch. Even though I knew it would be good for me, I didn’t want to do it because I didn’t think I would be good at it. How silly?!

Tin man doesn’t do yoga. Or maybe he does … Well, he at least tries! As you probably all know, I tried yoga this summer. And I’m not good at it, but I still like it and that is very refreshing.

I know that I have mentioned it before, but I am reading a book called ‘Gaining, The Truth about Life after Eating Disorders.’ There is an entire chapter devoted to perfectionism and I found it to be really interesting and very helpful. I’m going to share some of it here with y’all in case anyone else is in the same boat.

In the book, the author basically identifies several early childhood traits that foreshadow eating disorders. They are 1) perfectionism, 2) inflexibility, 3) discipline, 4) doubt and cautiousness and 5) drive for order and symmetry. She even states that each childhood characteristic multiplies the risk of developing an eating disorder by a factor of nearly seven. She writes, “That meant that if you possessed all five of the traits they measured, you would be thirty-five times more likely to have an eating disorder than someone who happily wore mis-matched socks.” This seems like a really bold statement to make, but as a cautiously inflexible disciplined perfectionist with an intense drive for order and symmetry, I am thinking maybe she’s on point with this. Luckily, this is just a post about perfectionism, although we might have just identified some more potential topics for future posts …

The problem with perfection is that, by definition, it is unattainable, so perfectionists live in a perpetual state of frustration and disappointment. This dissatisfaction is internal. Perfectionism, like shyness, stubbornness, curiosity and impulsiveness is a function of the temperament that you are born with. If you are a perfectionist, your instinct is to perform flawlessly or else, in your mind, you are a failure. This is why criticism feels so threatening. It is also why perfectionists tend to excel when standards are clear and crisp, as in school or sports or jobs like accounting (um, hello?), engineering or science. The emotional promise of perfection is security: no one will criticize you, try to change you, or touch you if you have your universe in order. But because perfection is impossible, frustration is inevitable and at times unbearable.

No one is perfect. Everyone has limits. What kills us will not make us stronger or prettier or more lovable. A sense of purpose, connection and perspective, however, can and will.

The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and in Psalm 53:3 that “there is no one who does good, not even one.” We don’t have to be perfect, because we have a perfect Savior. Hallelujah!

People pleasing is something that I think likely goes hand-in-hand with perfectionism. You “aim to please” and want everyone to like you, but unfortunately, this means that you are putting your emotional well-being into the hands of others. Just like it is impossible to be “perfect,” it is also impossible to please everyone. This is something that God has been really trying to remind me of recently. Some people are not going to like us, no matter who we are or what we do. And that is okay. We have to be courageous enough to be who we are and stand up for what we know is right.

In summary … It is okay to not be perfect. It is okay if everyone doesn’t like you. I just wanted to encourage y’all to do your best and stay true to yourself in whatever you are doing. That is all we can do. And you know what? It is more than enough!

That’s all I’ve got for now. I hope that everyone has an perfectly wonderful week! I’ll talk to y’all Wednesday!

Hey guys!

A quick update on life & NYC training … 11 weeks to go!

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were super easy runs and relatively low mileage. Overall, I am feeling good after the 30 miles, as far as no injuries or niggles, but oh my word, my legs were heavy for a few days this week! I did a few runs without my Garmin, because I just wanted to run by feel and not push it too much.

I was definitely in procrastination-mode with my workouts this week. By Thursday, I knew that I had to bite the bullet and get one of them done. I opted for a treadmill workout, since we are all too quickly losing our daylight in the mornings and I had to get my workout done before work. I had 6 X 1 mile repeats on the schedule with a goal range of 6:05 to 6:15. Um, yeah, I wasn’t feeling too confident going into this workout that those paces were actually going to happen, but here’s what I did …

2 mile warmup: starting at 6.0 mph for 2 minutes and increase the speed by .2 every 2 minutes

1st & 2nd miles: averaged 6:15 (9.6 mph) with .25 mile recovery at 6.5 mph after each mile

3rd & 4th miles: averaged 6:11 (9.7 mph) with .25 mile recovery at 6.5 mph after each mile

5th & 6th miles: averaged 6:07 (9.8 mph) with .25 mile recovery at 6.5 mph after each mile

0.5 mile cool down: at 6.5 mph

I felt a lot better than I was expecting, so that was a pleasant surprise! I was supposed to do a 2 mile cool down, but I had to cut it short to have enough time to get ready for work. I was completely soaked by the end of the workout and when I walked outside, I realized that it was way cooler outside than it was in my little sweat box inside. I didn’t get the memo that we had a “cold front” coming!

Friday was a much-needed rest day. Physically and mentally, I was worn out by the end of this week. We turned the early alarm off Friday morning and Daniel and I decided we could just as easily run after work. That definitely didn’t happen! I was in my pajamas by 5:30 and Daniel didn’t end up getting home until fairly late anyway. My training schedule doesn’t specifically have “planned” rest days, but I try to just listen to my body and take a day off if I think I need one. I “napped” from 5:30 to 8:30, woke up to eat dinner and was back in bed by 9:30. Yep. I think I needed some rest.

Saturday is always an early morning and my training group had 11 miles again this week. The weather was still a little cooler than it has been and everyone ran really well! We got to go out on the boat Saturday afternoon and the bay was really pretty. It seems like it has been choppier than usual this summer, but yesterday we finally had some nice calm water. I went skiing for the first time all year. I can’t believe that I haven’t been before now! Brooks likes to keep a close watch over me while I’m out there 🙂

The bay is really active right now, with lots of seagulls, pelicans and porpoise. We saw a few shrimp along the shore and a bunch of really tiny catfish. It’s getting to be prime Jubilee season, so hopefully we will catch one of those really soon.

This morning I was supposed to do 16 miles with the middle 8 up-tempo at 6:45 to 7:00 pace. When we woke up, it was raining and I was extremely tempted to sleep in, but Daniel convinced me that if we didn’t go ahead and run we wouldn’t go later. Ugh. I knew he was right. Thankfully the rain wasn’t too bad, it was more like a little drizzle once we got going, but the humidity was back in full force and I wasn’t feeling great. I scrapped the tempo miles and was just in survival mode. I actually started feeling better with about three miles to go, so I decided to pick it up a little bit at the end.

My coach has told me before after a “failed” workout, that is better to adjust the goals mid-run than to give up. By doing this, you can save a good workout from going bad. This is also good practice for race day, in case things aren’t going exactly as planned. So today, instead of just giving up completely, I was able to get a decent long run in with a “fast finish.” A fast finish long run can be beneficial for marathon training, as it teaches your body how to run faster on tired legs, depleted fuel, and late into the race.

Even though the workout didn’t go exactly as planned, it ended well and of course, a nice run in the rain is good for the soul. This pretty much parallels the rest of my week as well. It didn’t go exactly how I thought it was going to (but it’s a good thing I’m not the one in control), but it ended really well and my soul is content. Like I said before, God’s got this. He is always guiding me and continues to amaze me with His timing and His blessings.

I’ve got a really busy week ahead (I do realize that my frame of reference for the term “busy” has gotten a little bit skewed after having so much time off recently, but still). Time to rest and recharge before that takes off.

What are looking forward to this week?

Hey friends! Is it just me or is this week flying by?! I haven’t even gotten up a post about my fun birthday weekend. We must fix that, stat.

I was up bright and early Saturday morning to head to RW to run with my training group. We had 11 miles on the schedule and this week everyone was in survival mode, as the humidity was much worse than the previous week. The good news is that everyone completed the run! Tough conditions, but hopefully now everyone is a little bit stronger because of it.

Check out what the crazy humidity did to my braid. Yikes.

Daniel took me birthday shopping Saturday afternoon. He decided that it would be fun to spend the day together and let me pick out a few things that I wanted. I ended up with two new pairs of running shoes, a running tank, a cardigan for work and scored a cute Patagonia dress and skirt on major sale. Sweet!

I decided a while back (probably last year on my birthday, actually) that I wanted to run 30 miles on my 30th birthday. Birthdays can be fairly anti-climactic at this point, so I wanted to do something “epic” (for lack of less cliché terminology). I ran the idea (get it?) by my coach, and he was supportive of the plan as long as I broke it up into two runs so that I could rest, rehydrate and refuel in between runs. Sunday was the big day.

Sunday morning Daniel dropped us off across the bay and we made the 16 mile trek back across. This is the “special occasion” route. We have run it for Rebecca’s birthday and wedding weekend and now also for my birthday. The route is rather hilly, but has some very good bathroom and water stops along the way.

We survived! I headed out for two additional miles once we made it back, just to cut down on the miles later in the day. We celebrated with coffee and lots of other hydrating beverages.

I got some good rest Sunday afternoon and then later that evening, Daniel and I headed out to finish the remainder of the birthday miles. I was really expecting those last twelve to drag out, but they seemed to fly by and we enjoyed some quality time together. When we got back along the bay, the sunset was absolutely amazing! I had a little extra motivation at that point, because I really wanted to get back in time to get a picture of the sunset before it disappeared into the clouds.

Success!

I ended up with 30 miles for the day at 8:21 average pace. My dad said that I needed to do one more mile “to grow on” so that I didn’t have to repeat this nonsense again next year, but I decided against that. Not gonna lie though, I think I might have ultra marathon fever now. Perhaps a 50K sometime in the near future? We shall see.

When we got back to car, the first mandatory stop was at Sonic for a route 44 cherry limeade and the second mandatory stop was at Cold Snap for a rather large serving of frozen yogurt. I went to bed tired and happy. Bring it 30!

Monday was my actual birthday. Despite having to work (shouldn’t you get the day off on your birthday …), I had a really good day! Daniel and I plodded through 5 miles that evening, just to test out the legs. They weren’t moving very swiftly, but felt surprisingly good otherwise.

Tuesday evening, we met up with some of Daniel’s college friends who were in town for the week. They invited us over for a shrimp boil and we had a really good time hanging out and visiting with them. I was really enjoying hearing stories about my husband’s crazy college experiences. He is a mess.

And the food was incredible!

Well, that pretty much catches us up on the exciting stuff. My brain is toast, so not a whole lotta deep thoughts today, but lots of fun has been going on around here. I hope everyone is having a great week. Gotta run!

Hey guys! Happy Friday!

Today I am going to continue my ‘Meb for Mortals’ summary with the next installment, which is “Eat like Meb” and also continue my weekly NYC training update. Let’s face it, I’ll probably throw some random thoughts at you as well, because that seems to be what I do.

Meb for Mortals (Part 4): Fueling

To be quite honest, I have been avoiding posting on this chapter of ‘Meb for Mortals’ for a little while because I feel like it can be a very sensitive topic, but after re-reading it, I feel like there are some good points that are worth sharing. The moral of the story here is that being a healthy person is much more important than being a faster runner and that is a wonderful takeaway (and something that I needed to be reminded of).

• He writes that a good running diet should: 1) fuel your training without interfering with it, 2) keep you healthy, 3) help you maintain a good running weight and 4) have variety and quality. He stresses that you need balance and variety in your diet, in the same way that your training should include long and shorter runs, as well as fast and slower runs.
• He recommends having some sort of protein with every meal, as recovery after hard training is aided by adding high-quality protein to the carbs that you are eating. He recommends having red meat with dinner the evening of a long run or hard workout, because the extra iron will help to speed recovery. That was something I have never specifically thought about, but is a great tip!
• He includes a small amount of healthy fat with most meals and eats vegetables with two meals a day and aims for five servings of fruit a day.
• He only drinks coffee on the morning of hard workouts. One cup 45 minutes to an hour before long runs, tempo runs and speed work. He says that he doesn’t want to “become someone who thinks I need coffee to get through the day or to feel normal running.” While I can definitely appreciate his discipline there, we are just going have to agree to disagree on that one Meb 🙂
• He used an analogy that I thought was pretty interesting. He compared fueling your body with tending a fireplace. You never want the fire to die, and so you are constantly deciding whether or not it needs another log. Similarly, you don’t want to eat so little or infrequently that you crash, but you need to constantly fuel yourself throughout the day to keep the fire lit at all times.
• He talks a decent amount about weight control and his “race weight”, but I found that part of the chapter to be somewhat triggering (and quite frankly, disordered) and not helpful for us “mortals.” That is just my opinion though. I can respect that he has to be super disciplined in order to perform at the elite level and he also likely has a team of experts that he works with to make sure he is healthy at all times. He did briefly touch on the issue of how lean is too lean, saying that at one point in his career he succumbed to the thinking that “the leaner I am, the better I’ll run.” He noted that he felt great for a short time and had some great buildup races at shorter distances, but ended up with a bad stress fracture. The bottom line is don’t try to sustain a weight that your body tells you isn’t natural.

Training Update

We are just over 12 weeks away from NYC! Training seems to be going really well so far, and I am getting super excited about the race. Here’s what the week has looked like so far:

• Monday: I’m still keeping it short and easy on Mondays, so I got in an easy 5 miles before work, but I missed yoga. Major bummer.
• Tuesday: I ran the Crime Prevention 5K Tuesday evening. You can read my recap (here). I ended up with about 6 miles total for the day.
• Wednesday: Daniel and I did 8 miles before work, and I headed over to Rebecca’s for an evening run (since I missed my double on Tuesday this week).
• Thursday: Lizzie and I did 8 miles before work, and Daniel and I did 5 miles late that evening.
• Friday: I tricked convinced Rebecca to join me on my weekly #runallthehills route. We started earlier than I have been going out on this route, and boy was it humid. It’s amazing how much the humidity decreases once the sun starts to come up. We had to dodge a ton of trash cans (all but one were dodged successfully) and kept a respectable 8:09 average pace for the run.

Random Thoughts

To say that this week has been trying would be quite an understatement (I shall not go into detail at this point over the interwebs in an effort to avoid saying something that I might regret). However, I know that God is using a difficult situation to teach me something, so I will take joy in that.

My friend Molly sent me a wonderful snippet from her devotional this morning that was exactly what I needed to hear, so I am going to share it with you guys as well in case someone else is needing it too. It said, “Understanding will never bring you peace. That’s why I have instructed you to trust in Me, not in your understanding. Human beings have a voracious appetite for trying to figure things out in order to gain a sense of mastery over their lives. But the world presents you with an endless set of problems. As soon as you master one set, another pops up to challenge you. The relief you have anticipated is short-lived. Soon your mind is gearing up again: searching for understanding (mastery) instead of seeking Me (your Master).”

The verse that accompanies this excerpt is Proverbs 3:5-6, which says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

I don’t know about you, but that was an incredible reminder for me! Wow. I am a very analytical (and sometimes often impatient) person, and I find myself constantly trying to understand the reason things happen or asking God to show me the reason (and to make it really clear in case I am having an obtuse moment). As I was typing this, I was reminded of something that we learned during Week 4 of our study on Ephesians this summer. Pastor Chris taught us that when you go through trials (which we all will), we need to ask, “where is this coming from” and “what does God want to do with it,” instead of asking “why is this happening.” So, instead of over-analyzing things, my goal and prayer for this weekend is that I can be patient and persevere, trusting in The Lord’s plan and path for my life.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I’m sure I will be talking to you soon 🙂

Hey friends!

Today I am coming at you with a training summary, a recipe, and as always, some random thoughts. This week’s training has been pretty similar to last week, which is nice. I think consistency is an essential element for any training schedule (meaning that you settle into a routine as far as what days you do what types of runs, not meaning that you run the same workouts every week). I will have to adjust my schedule in the next few weeks as I settle into a new routine at work, but hopefully that won’t be too much of an adjustment for me.

Monday

I have been trying to take it easy on Mondays, so this week started off with 6 miles at 8:34 pace. Monday evening I went to yoga, and got in some good core work and stretching.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning I did my hill repeat workout again. I did the same route as last week and by doing that, I am able to pretty easily track my progress. I was a little bit stronger this week, so I am encouraged that I am moving in the right direction.

Tuesday evening was the standard group run at Running Wild, followed by a fun little birthday celebration for Lizzie!

Wednesday

Wednesday morning I headed over to run with Rebecca. We ended up with 11 miles at 8:08 pace and may or may not have planned our route around the best (and by best, I mean coldest) water fountain in the area. Yeah, we definitely did and we definitely stopped at it more than once. No shame.

Thursday

Thursday morning was another easy run and Thursday evening was the final night for the Robertsdale High School Summer Track Series that Rebecca put on to raise money for her XC team. The events this week were the 400, the distance medley relay (the teams are made up of four runners and the distances are 1200, 400, 800 and 1600), and the grand finale was the milk mile. The track meet was my speed workout for the week. I ran the 400 and did the 1200 leg for my relay team. It was fun to “race” on the track, as that is not really something that we typically do.

I did not, however, race the milk mile. For those of you who haven’t heard of this, you drink 8 oz. of milk, run one lap around the track, drink 8 oz. of milk, run one lap, etc. etc. until you get to a mile. There is a penalty lap for “spewing.” Someone had to film it, right? So for your viewing pleasure …

[wpvideo MywnGOKp]

Friday

Today was an easy 8 miles at 8:23 pace with Daniel.

That catches us up on the training front. Tomorrow morning is my training group’s first double-digit run of their training cycle. We will be hitting the streets early tomorrow for 10 miles! Sunday morning I have a 20 miler planned. I’ve done 18 and 19, so I know I am ready for 20, but something about that one extra mile seems a bit daunting. I will let you know how it goes!

And now for my latest recipe creation … Balanced Bites. I’ve seen these called both energy bites and protein balls, but I like the term balanced bites better. This is one of those things that you can definitely experiment with and just combine whatever ingredients sound good to you. I am very pleased with how mine turned out. The real test though, of course, is what Daniel thought of them. On his food critiquing scale (1 being olives and 10 being pizza), he says they are a solid 7. He said they were better than he thought, but if he had the chance to choose something unhealthier he definitely would. Ha.

Here is the recipe I came up with.

As I wrap up my last official day “off work” this summer, I have been reflecting back on my time off and what I have learned, etc.

The Good

• I think that one of the best things that came from my break is definitely the blog and me being more open to sharing my story. I am still really enjoying writing and I feel like I have posts constantly swarming around in my head (for instance, I want to write about perfectionism, control, balance, safety for runners, etc.), although it does take a decent amount of time to actually put the thoughts down to “paper.” Even if they don’t ever make it to the blog, I am still thinking more deeply and introspectively than I was before. I definitely want to continue working on the blog part-time and we’ll see where that goes.
• Another good thing was just the fact that I stood up for myself and took the time off that I needed. I am not one for a lot of down-time, but I definitely felt like it was something that I needed this summer and I stuck up for myself and put my family and my health in front of my career for the first time in too long and it felt amazing!
• I have enjoyed having more time to read and learn new things, which is something that I want to continue.
• Having more free time allowed me the chance to take on new opportunities, such as “coaching” the marathon training group at RW.

The Not-as-Good

• I thrive on structure and routine. I know this about myself, but I wasn’t really prepared going in that I would feel “off” without having set things to do each day.
• I still struggle to find balance in many areas. While I know I made a lot of healthy changes this summer (cooking more), I feel in some cases that I sacrificed other healthy habits for the new ones.

And just because. Well, just because. This picture of Brooks and his new toy with teeth. I die. We love our little buddy so much!

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. We have a fun canoeing trip planned with my new firm tomorrow, so I am looking forward to that. Gotta run!