Here we go! Check out my race website and please forward to everyone you know!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Just Beat It
Okay, that's a cheesy ode to Michael Jackson, sorry. What the post title should say is "just beat ME!" I just got back from a 3.8 miler and I am beat! This is the farthest distance I've gone in a single workout and next week will be 4.2 miles so that's making me a little nervous.
It went well though...I did 3.8 in about 51 minutes which puts me right at the time limit (you have to do the first 9 miles of the half at a 13:45 pace). And let me tell you...it ain't gonna get much faster than that. There was quite a bit of power walking today but it got the job done so I was pleased. The only part I wasn't pleased with was the way I look when I power walk, but when I'm in the moment, I really couldn't give a darn. Thinking back, it must look pretty funny...My arms are like propellers and my rear has to shake to get the right momentum going. If I could see it on tape, I imagine it would look something like an ostrich flapping its wings, attempting to take flight. It's interesting how when you reach a certain amount of exhaustion, though, you really don't care what you look like in the least bit. This makes me very excited to see how the professional pictures (taken by photographers placed strategically on the course) of the half-marathon turn out.
In other news, I'm about ready to release my official fundraising website!!! Get excited, people--there's going to be t-shirts, goody bags, the chance to run a 5k and more, so I'll be posting the site soon!!!
And a special thanks to my bff Jenni for doing a workout with me this week! I like to call her skinny-jenni or mini-jenni but I can't hold it against her for being thin! She is going to rock this half-marathon's ass! Thanks for running with me Jen...I still can't believe we actually ran together. In all the years we've been friends, we've never done a run together! It was a blast girl!
It went well though...I did 3.8 in about 51 minutes which puts me right at the time limit (you have to do the first 9 miles of the half at a 13:45 pace). And let me tell you...it ain't gonna get much faster than that. There was quite a bit of power walking today but it got the job done so I was pleased. The only part I wasn't pleased with was the way I look when I power walk, but when I'm in the moment, I really couldn't give a darn. Thinking back, it must look pretty funny...My arms are like propellers and my rear has to shake to get the right momentum going. If I could see it on tape, I imagine it would look something like an ostrich flapping its wings, attempting to take flight. It's interesting how when you reach a certain amount of exhaustion, though, you really don't care what you look like in the least bit. This makes me very excited to see how the professional pictures (taken by photographers placed strategically on the course) of the half-marathon turn out.
In other news, I'm about ready to release my official fundraising website!!! Get excited, people--there's going to be t-shirts, goody bags, the chance to run a 5k and more, so I'll be posting the site soon!!!
And a special thanks to my bff Jenni for doing a workout with me this week! I like to call her skinny-jenni or mini-jenni but I can't hold it against her for being thin! She is going to rock this half-marathon's ass! Thanks for running with me Jen...I still can't believe we actually ran together. In all the years we've been friends, we've never done a run together! It was a blast girl!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Endurance.
This past Sunday, my husband and I decided to go out for lunch. As we left our house, we noticed a dog in the neighborhood that was loose, and being the dog lover that I am, can never just drive by and ignore an animal that my get hurt if I choose to ignore it.
The dog had no tags, a beautiful brown face, and he was so scared. Then I saw how skinny he was and I knew he hadn't eaten (and possibly not had anything to drink) in a very long time. He came up to me, tail between his legs and then got spooked and started to run down the street, coming to rest underneath a shaded truck in a driveway. Scott went to get a bowl of water since it was so hot outside and I called animal control because I knew food, water, and air conditioning at the animal shelter was better than what this dog was enduring.
It took them about 20 minutes to arrive and during that time I sat in the driveway watching this incredible animal. As we sat in the searing heat, he panted, lost fluid from his mouth, and seemed to look at me begging for help. I imagined what this dog had been through in the last day, the last week, the last month. I could see his ribs and his hips and yet he still had the resilience to go on.
Do not fear, the story has a happy ending. A lovely young lady from animal control came and rescued this dog from under the truck. We gave it food and water right then and there and the look of gratitude on the dog's face is something I will never forget (I think there were even some tail wags!). I hope he will make someone very happy someday soon...he is a very special dog.
And come January, when I am in the middle of this crazy half-marathon and I want to give up, I will think of that dog. I will think of the endurance and resilience that one animal had to make it through a very tough, and probably painful time--and know that he made it. Though he was hungry, thirsty, hot, scared, and exhausted, he hadn't yet given up...it was the hardest thing to witness, but his endurance level amazed me and he will inspire me to press onward every step of the way.
Thank you, sweet doggie.
The dog had no tags, a beautiful brown face, and he was so scared. Then I saw how skinny he was and I knew he hadn't eaten (and possibly not had anything to drink) in a very long time. He came up to me, tail between his legs and then got spooked and started to run down the street, coming to rest underneath a shaded truck in a driveway. Scott went to get a bowl of water since it was so hot outside and I called animal control because I knew food, water, and air conditioning at the animal shelter was better than what this dog was enduring.
It took them about 20 minutes to arrive and during that time I sat in the driveway watching this incredible animal. As we sat in the searing heat, he panted, lost fluid from his mouth, and seemed to look at me begging for help. I imagined what this dog had been through in the last day, the last week, the last month. I could see his ribs and his hips and yet he still had the resilience to go on.
Do not fear, the story has a happy ending. A lovely young lady from animal control came and rescued this dog from under the truck. We gave it food and water right then and there and the look of gratitude on the dog's face is something I will never forget (I think there were even some tail wags!). I hope he will make someone very happy someday soon...he is a very special dog.
And come January, when I am in the middle of this crazy half-marathon and I want to give up, I will think of that dog. I will think of the endurance and resilience that one animal had to make it through a very tough, and probably painful time--and know that he made it. Though he was hungry, thirsty, hot, scared, and exhausted, he hadn't yet given up...it was the hardest thing to witness, but his endurance level amazed me and he will inspire me to press onward every step of the way.
Thank you, sweet doggie.
Monday, July 20, 2009
20 lbs. Baby!!
Oh yeah, that's right! 20 lbs gone and I'm almost halfway to my goal of 50!!
And you know what that means...another 10 lb. loss, another massage! Woo hoo!!!
And you know what that means...another 10 lb. loss, another massage! Woo hoo!!!
Friday, July 17, 2009
It's Official!
It's official. Today, at 5:00 a.m. this morning, I signed up for the Houston Half-Marathon on January 17, 2010.
Holy cow.
I was so sleepy and bleary-eyed that while filling out my information, I mistook the section for personal donations for the section where you sign up for Run for a Reason (which is what I want to do). So, I selected the CF Foundation, typed in my goal of $3,000 and the next thing I know it's asking me to confirm that $3,065.00 will be charged to my credit card ($65 for the entry fee).
WHAT?!!! Oopsie. Guess I didn't read carefully that the Run for a Reason signup was on a separate page and what I was filling out was if I wanted to give a one-time donation.
I totally almost hit "Finish" instead of "Edit" but I caught myself just in time and can spare my husband the risk of passing out from me telling him I just charged $3,000 to our credit card. On the bright side, it would have gotten me to my goal!
Lesson to be learned here: You should never do anything important at 5:00 a.m. Ever.
Holy cow.
I was so sleepy and bleary-eyed that while filling out my information, I mistook the section for personal donations for the section where you sign up for Run for a Reason (which is what I want to do). So, I selected the CF Foundation, typed in my goal of $3,000 and the next thing I know it's asking me to confirm that $3,065.00 will be charged to my credit card ($65 for the entry fee).
WHAT?!!! Oopsie. Guess I didn't read carefully that the Run for a Reason signup was on a separate page and what I was filling out was if I wanted to give a one-time donation.
I totally almost hit "Finish" instead of "Edit" but I caught myself just in time and can spare my husband the risk of passing out from me telling him I just charged $3,000 to our credit card. On the bright side, it would have gotten me to my goal!
Lesson to be learned here: You should never do anything important at 5:00 a.m. Ever.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Garage Sales: Good. Vomit: Bad
Okay, we'll start with the good news first:
My first garage sale made $150!!! Woo hoo!! This wasn't even THE garage sale so if you have any crap, still feel free to call me (the real garage sale will be in September/Octoberish). This was the most impromptu, ill-prepared garage sale I've ever had. Nothing was organized. Nothing was priced. I just threw the stuff out on the driveway and bargained with people left and right. And, kazaaaam: $150 smackeroos for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation! It was an early morning, but well worth 3 hours of work! Hooray! I was sold out by 9:00 a.m. which is great because it started to get h-o-t outside!
Later that evening was my Class of 1999 10-year reunion! We had a blast! It was so fun seeing everyone and catching up!!
And to top of the rest of the good news, Scott and I celebrated our 5th anniversary this weekend. He took me to Christopher's which is special to us because it's where we had one of our first dates as well as the rehearsal dinner before our wedding.
We even got a special treat from the chef:
Happy 5th babe...I love you so much! And, yes, I wore the same cardigan to the reunion. What can I say, this girl likes a good cardigan!
Now for the bad news. For the first time ever, in my entire life, I totally vomited today during my workout. I won't go into details but it was bad. The Bergernator was actually kind of happy and proud as if I'd reached some rite of passage. When I told him about the incident, he smiled and said, "Oh, yeah, people throw up all the time. I've thrown up 5 or 6 times and my clients do too." To which I replied, "Seriously???!!!"
Hooray for vomit.
My first garage sale made $150!!! Woo hoo!! This wasn't even THE garage sale so if you have any crap, still feel free to call me (the real garage sale will be in September/Octoberish). This was the most impromptu, ill-prepared garage sale I've ever had. Nothing was organized. Nothing was priced. I just threw the stuff out on the driveway and bargained with people left and right. And, kazaaaam: $150 smackeroos for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation! It was an early morning, but well worth 3 hours of work! Hooray! I was sold out by 9:00 a.m. which is great because it started to get h-o-t outside!
Later that evening was my Class of 1999 10-year reunion! We had a blast! It was so fun seeing everyone and catching up!!
And to top of the rest of the good news, Scott and I celebrated our 5th anniversary this weekend. He took me to Christopher's which is special to us because it's where we had one of our first dates as well as the rehearsal dinner before our wedding.
We even got a special treat from the chef:
Happy 5th babe...I love you so much! And, yes, I wore the same cardigan to the reunion. What can I say, this girl likes a good cardigan!
Now for the bad news. For the first time ever, in my entire life, I totally vomited today during my workout. I won't go into details but it was bad. The Bergernator was actually kind of happy and proud as if I'd reached some rite of passage. When I told him about the incident, he smiled and said, "Oh, yeah, people throw up all the time. I've thrown up 5 or 6 times and my clients do too." To which I replied, "Seriously???!!!"Hooray for vomit.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Let Them Eat Cake!
Happy July 4th! You know what that means...a 3-day weekend, family, fireworks, and you guessed it...an excuse to eat a piece of oh-so-wonderful cake! It's got fruit so that makes it healthier, right?
You can see just how excited I was about this rare treat:
We spent the fourth hanging out with family, watching Landon run and talk (wow, he is getting so big!) and just relaxing. But before I did all that, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and did 3.25 miles. It was still so hot and muggy, even when the sun wasn't up! I still had to walk the last mile or so but I had an amazing revelation while doing this particular morning workout. Here it is:
Some people are natural runners. Some people are born to run. My husband is one of these people. I am not. And, with this whole new outlook I'm trying to have on things, instead of getting down in the dumps because I'm not a natural runner, I look at the bright side: I may not have inherited any running genes, but power-walking genes, I did! My mom is the world's fastest, most awesomely superhuman power-walker ever! She was born to power-walk, and I think these genes she has passed on to me are totally going to come in handy in January. Heck, I jog so slow, that I could probably power-walk the whole thing faster. But I'm remaining optimistic and hopefully I'll reach a new plateau here soon with the running.
And, just for grins, here's the picture of the week. I was riding in the backseat with my main man Landon the other day and just like it was the most natural thing ever, he crossed his legs and sat back in his seat to relax. Too funny! And I love his little feet and toes!
You can see just how excited I was about this rare treat:
We spent the fourth hanging out with family, watching Landon run and talk (wow, he is getting so big!) and just relaxing. But before I did all that, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and did 3.25 miles. It was still so hot and muggy, even when the sun wasn't up! I still had to walk the last mile or so but I had an amazing revelation while doing this particular morning workout. Here it is:Some people are natural runners. Some people are born to run. My husband is one of these people. I am not. And, with this whole new outlook I'm trying to have on things, instead of getting down in the dumps because I'm not a natural runner, I look at the bright side: I may not have inherited any running genes, but power-walking genes, I did! My mom is the world's fastest, most awesomely superhuman power-walker ever! She was born to power-walk, and I think these genes she has passed on to me are totally going to come in handy in January. Heck, I jog so slow, that I could probably power-walk the whole thing faster. But I'm remaining optimistic and hopefully I'll reach a new plateau here soon with the running.
And, just for grins, here's the picture of the week. I was riding in the backseat with my main man Landon the other day and just like it was the most natural thing ever, he crossed his legs and sat back in his seat to relax. Too funny! And I love his little feet and toes!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
It's All About Perspective
Obstacle of the day: Serious craving for Blue Bell vanilla ice cream with a dollop (or three) of Jif peanut butter on top
Now onto the post...
Sometimes I think God sends us little reminders (or blaring flashing lights) that we need to stop and slow down a little bit. As someone who is a bit of a control freak, uh, I mean....organizer...yes, that's better...I can rack my brains planning, thinking, wondering, and worrying. But here lately I just haven't felt the need to be that way. When I came back from vacation a couple of weeks ago, I felt like someone was giving me tranquilizer darts. I used my time on our trip to stop and take in and enjoy everything around me, I was able to enjoy every moment of every day. All the sights and sounds and smells and experiences...Things that I should do at home in every day life but most of the time don't.
This blissful feeling has lasted a good week and a half. I returned to work hoping no one would think I had been sipping on wine before coming in. Things seemed to roll off my back and nothing could get to me--not a dirty house, dirty dishes--all the usual stuff that would normally drive me nuts!
And then today it happened...the life I knew before vacation started to creep back and take control. I woke up this morning the sorest I have been in a long time. I started to whine. I ran out of milk while pouring it over my cereal. I had nothing to wear. My hair wouldn't do right. My car was almost out of gas. Boo hoo boo hoo boo hoo, etc. etc.
I'm at a stoplight on the way to work thinking about how tired I am and how good that cup of coffee was going to be when I got there. An old, ratty truck pulls up beside me and out of the corner of my eye I see the passenger in the vehicle trying desperately to get my attention. My first thought, Come on, dude, can't you just leave me alone?
Movement continues and I refuse to look because I'm scared some weirdo is going to be mooning me or yelling an obscenity to me or something along those lines. Seriously, it's only 7:30 a.m. and I can't even enjoy my quiet commute to work?! I could only see out of my periphery and now we were at the light so long that I was going to have to look. Not because I wanted to but because I was annoyed beyond belief that this person obviously wanted my attention and was not going to give up.
So I snapped my head to the left as if to say "What the heck do you want?!" and God himself could not have slapped me any harder at that moment. It was the biggest wake up call I've had in a long time and just slammed me with the fact that attitude is everything. As my eyes met the eyes of the Golden Retriever grinning at me in the passenger seat, I wanted to cry. I was letting the everyday chaos seep back in and right then I apologized to God for being such an a-hole and vowed to look for the amazing things in life every single day.
Then, because it's me and I carry a camera with me at all times like a dork, I whipped it out and took a picture and laughed and smiled all day long. I think I will put it on my bathroom mirror to remind me of God's wake up call to me, how wonderful life is, and how my perspective on things makes a huge difference.
Now onto the post...
Sometimes I think God sends us little reminders (or blaring flashing lights) that we need to stop and slow down a little bit. As someone who is a bit of a control freak, uh, I mean....organizer...yes, that's better...I can rack my brains planning, thinking, wondering, and worrying. But here lately I just haven't felt the need to be that way. When I came back from vacation a couple of weeks ago, I felt like someone was giving me tranquilizer darts. I used my time on our trip to stop and take in and enjoy everything around me, I was able to enjoy every moment of every day. All the sights and sounds and smells and experiences...Things that I should do at home in every day life but most of the time don't.
This blissful feeling has lasted a good week and a half. I returned to work hoping no one would think I had been sipping on wine before coming in. Things seemed to roll off my back and nothing could get to me--not a dirty house, dirty dishes--all the usual stuff that would normally drive me nuts!
And then today it happened...the life I knew before vacation started to creep back and take control. I woke up this morning the sorest I have been in a long time. I started to whine. I ran out of milk while pouring it over my cereal. I had nothing to wear. My hair wouldn't do right. My car was almost out of gas. Boo hoo boo hoo boo hoo, etc. etc.
I'm at a stoplight on the way to work thinking about how tired I am and how good that cup of coffee was going to be when I got there. An old, ratty truck pulls up beside me and out of the corner of my eye I see the passenger in the vehicle trying desperately to get my attention. My first thought, Come on, dude, can't you just leave me alone?
Movement continues and I refuse to look because I'm scared some weirdo is going to be mooning me or yelling an obscenity to me or something along those lines. Seriously, it's only 7:30 a.m. and I can't even enjoy my quiet commute to work?! I could only see out of my periphery and now we were at the light so long that I was going to have to look. Not because I wanted to but because I was annoyed beyond belief that this person obviously wanted my attention and was not going to give up.
So I snapped my head to the left as if to say "What the heck do you want?!" and God himself could not have slapped me any harder at that moment. It was the biggest wake up call I've had in a long time and just slammed me with the fact that attitude is everything. As my eyes met the eyes of the Golden Retriever grinning at me in the passenger seat, I wanted to cry. I was letting the everyday chaos seep back in and right then I apologized to God for being such an a-hole and vowed to look for the amazing things in life every single day.
Then, because it's me and I carry a camera with me at all times like a dork, I whipped it out and took a picture and laughed and smiled all day long. I think I will put it on my bathroom mirror to remind me of God's wake up call to me, how wonderful life is, and how my perspective on things makes a huge difference.
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