...still here!

Guys...I'm still alive and kickin, or i mean running?? I've just been a bad blogger and either 1. don't feel like writing at the end of the day or 2. don't have time to write...butttt i still am running!

Last weekend I took a little trip up to the windy city...Chicago! I signed up for the Hot Chocolate Run 15k bcak in the spring/summer of this year. I was able to have some great quality time with my friend Melissa and before she gets married next month and get a little race in :) Melly was such a trooper for going to the race expo, getting up at 4:30 a.m. to drive me into the city, and  standing out in the freezing cold cheering me on during the race. TRUE friend and supporter right there!!

The race was SUPER fun. over 40,000 people! Most of the runners did the 5k, but i'm very happy I stuck with the 15k because it was very do-able...esp. since i have not been training very much. but it was just like getting back on a bike again. and the best part...no HILLS. I will now run only run races in the Midwest  thank you very much :)

I was expecting a bigger chocolate fondue fest at the end though...we only got 2 apple slices, 3 pretzels, and a banana and  no seconds :( i was kinda expecting a GIANT free flowing fountain of chocolate i think. ...oh well. one can only dream.

Next race...Winter Warm-up 6k on Dec. 1st!

yes, those are John Deere tractors...

sweet friend driving me 45 min into the city!

free samples of chocolate and hot chocolate at the expo...YES!

pre-race fuel. nothin' betta.

can we pretend that this is  REAL hot chocolate??

it's been a little while....but i'm STILL running!

Guys...do you hate me? I haven't blogged in a month. I feel horrible. seriously. life has just kinda been going crazy/busy and i literally haven't had time to sit down in front of the computer and fill you in on my running life!

I've been trying to get a few runs in here and there, but i've kinda been a little lax on my training. however, when i do run if feels fabulous. i'm lovin' the fall weather we are getting here in Nash and love running in the cold. something about not sweating is nice.

Last weekend i experienced The Color Run. if this run is in your city....DO IT. suppperrr fun run. emphasis on FUN. it's not timed, all ages, all levels, annddd they squirt you with a different color each Kilometer. my fav. was the green one i think. I feel like this whole race was just a total dance party. it really is the happiest 5k on the planet. anddd i'm super proud of my roomie for finishing her first 5k!!! YAY!!! I think she's got the running bug now...another one bites the dust!

Here's some pics to fill you in on the fun.

Next race is Nov. 3rd....the Hot Chocolate Run in Chicago!! SUPER pumped for it and to see my lovely friend Melly!

ohhh another great tidbit...i'm officially down 15 lbs from when I started in Jan. :)

WHM 2012 Race Recap!

FINALLY getting around to writing a new post!....I swear I felt like I haven't wrote one in forever. I haven't had the time to sit down and explain to you guys how AWESOME this weekend was.

1. half marathon
2. parents in town!
3. it was a weekend.

1. i was supppper. nervous about this half for some reason...just because it was my 2nd half marathon ever and i think i had some pre-jitters.



buttt..they quickly went away because I found my 2 fav. blogger friends!!! we FINALLY got to meet in PERSON. so cool. seriously. theses ladies are awesome and you should check out their blogs! so inspiring and entertaining.

Kelsey , Lisa, and me!!! BLOGGER meet-up!

Lisa and I! ...we forgot to look cool and put our hands on our hips to make us look " skinner"

the first 3 ish miles of the race were "ehhhh"...I had some stomach issues and had to stop at the porter potty's a couple times...sorry for the TMI, but hey, it happens!

Mile 5ish- I finally saw my first supporter!!!  My neighbor was so sweet and stood out on the corner of Fairfax st. to cheer me on! She def. helped give me the push i needed.

Mile 6ish-7- I saw Lisa on Belmont Blvd! She was lookin' strong at a GREAT pace! So great to see her smiling face.

Mile 7-ish- GU...YES, chocolate Outrage!

Mile 8--Saw Kelsey and her sister going the other way on Belmont Blvd and my Parents! they were so sweet and brought signs  to cheer me on!  I also was able to see my friend Jess and Dan from a distance at the local coffee shop cheering me on! Thanks guys!!!!! :)

mom told me to strike a pose apparently i was channeling my inner " spirit fingers" stance.

Mile 9-13.1--felt great! I was on a roll, feelin' good, and ready to finish. It was starting to get a little warm outside, esp in the sunshine. I kept switching sides of the road to find some sort of shade. I was ready for the end and hoping that I still would keep in my " goal" range time of 2:30....wasn't sure if i was going to make it with the stops.

Mile 12.5-13.1- I ran down 2nd street and saw McFaddens...a dance club that me and my friends sometimes frequent. the memories from this place made me smile and helped me get through the last bit! also, i broke out a couple of dance moves while running by....

FINISH!

Lisa took this great action shot of me finishing! Thanks soooo much...this pic. will def. be making the blog pics! annnddd. my official time was 2:30:52!!!!!!!!! I made it by 8 seconds!! check.

My parents were able to find me at the finish line very easily! It was a very well organized race with great volunteers. thank you to everyone! I will def. be doing this race again next year!

the rest of the weekend was spent resting, hanging out with my folks, and going to my first NFL game! The Titans def. showed up against Detroit on Sun. and it was a great experience and game!  So blessed and happy to have my sweet parents in town...can't wait to see them again for Thanksgiving!

aren't they cute?!

my roomie and me. she is running her 1st 5k next month!!! Color Run Nash!

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playlist thursday: Songs that make you wanna DANCE!

Excited that the theme for this playlist thurs is songs that make you wanna dance...because i'm more than likely dancing all the time when i run anyways...or something singing if you are lucky. Here's my pics from this week!

as always...here's the rules.

Something Old: Songs that are at least 5 years old. (I know that isn’t too long to be considered old, but music turnover happens quickly.)
Something Current: Songs that have been released within the past year.
Something to Consider: This is the wild card category. Feel free to list any song: old, current, guilty pleasure, underground, whatever.

Something Old
Artist: B-52's 
Title:Love Shack!
Sidenote: how can you NOT dance to this song? I remember dancing to this song when i wasn't even old enough to talk! a fav. for sure.

Something New
Artist: 2 Door Cinema Club
Title:Sleeps Alone
Sidenote: just recently started listening to this band and I'm really diggin' the beat of this song. just feels good running to!

Something To Consider
Artist: Foster the People
Title:Call It What You Want
Sidenote: sooo everyone is familar with their hit single, " Pumped Up Kicks"...but if you dig a little deeper into their album you will find some awesome hidden gem dance songs!

Long time, no blog!

I haven't blogged since last Friday?!?!...i feel like it's been about 23498734 days! Crazy how that happens.

Sorry I've been m.i.a. lately folks! If you read my latest blog post, you would have known that I recently just got a new job! it's been grreeaatttt!! seriously. I'm so very HAPPY! I've been adjusting to learning new systems, new people, new schedules, etc. and just haven't been on social media sites lately.

Nothing has really happened in terms of my running life...because i'm weaning down since i'm racing on SATURDAY! yes, you read that right...this SATURDAY i'm running my 2nd half marathon! I'm excited/nervous/anxious. It's going to be a great way to end a crazy 1st week of a new job! My parents are coming in on Friday to watch me run for the first time! I'm sooo very excited for them to come!....and they are bringing WILLY!!

It's been in the 50's lately in Nash, so I'm reallllllyyy hoping Sat. will be PERFECT weather!

expect to get a BIG blog post on how the race turns out, etc. from me next week!

Friday Favorites!

i feel like i haven't posted in foooorreevverrrr. this week has been very busy for me! I've only ran once (tues.) because I've had to spend most of my time at the DMV trying to become an official TN resident! I'm planning on getting my other 2 runs in this weekend :)

only 1 WEEK till the half-marathon!!! YIPPPIIIEEE! i'm only a little bit nervous.

Today's friday favorites are all over the place. but it's what i've been doing in my life!

1. Free LIVE music.

since i do live in Music City, USA i think it's appropriate to say that live music is def. a favorite of mine! Last night i checked out " Live on the Green". It's a free concert series that runs in sept/oct in Nashville. It's held right in the middle of downtown and features great line-ups! Last night we saw the Delta Saints and the Wallflowers.

Tucker also came and loved the 4 kids that were sitting in front of us. he got goldfish, pizza, graham crackers, and lots of love and kisses!

2. Fantasy Football...whatt??

 

yes...you read that correctly. I was invited to join an all-girls league at work and i said " Sure...what the heck?!?" I've learned a lot just in the 2 weeks i've been playing! it's actually quite fun! I like to think i have a pretty good team too...if you are a football fanatic check it out...i have:

 

Drew Brees (QB)

Mike Wallace (WR)

Miles Austin ( WR)

Adrian Peterson ( RB)

Antonio Gates (TE)

Chris Johnson (W/R/T)

Jeremy maclin (WR)

Ahmad Bradshaw (RB)

Pierre Garson ( WR)

Robert Griffin (QB)

Dustin Keller (TE)

Sebastian Janikowski (K)

Neil Rackers (K)

 

Defense:

San Fransisco

Buffalo

 

3. new ventures

 

Part of the reason I've been a little m.i.a. this week is because i'm happy to announce that I got a new job!! I've been trying to get all my loose ends tied before starting on MONDAY. It's kind of crazy I'm going to be starting a new job, running my 2nd marathon, and having my parents come visit all on the same week! But i've VERY excited.

 

However, today is my last day at my current company. I'm going to miss all my co-workers verry much. One was so sweet and brought me these tasty treats this morning.

 

 

i shared of course....

LAST long run...and a pleasant surprise!

It was such a great weekend here in Nash. beeauuuttiiifull weather, great friends, and a great run. I did an easy 3 miler on sat to just get my body movin'. it was great seeing so many people out and enjoying the wonderful weather we had. i ran by a few coffee shops and was so tempted to just stop in and get a cup instead of running...

on Sunday a miracle happened...I WOKE up early to run my 11 miler! i missed the running group by like 20 min, but i was ok with running by myself because it was cool ( like 60's) and gorgeous.

the run started off OK, i was pretty tight and had to stop to stretch a couple of times. I met another runner about mile 2.5 ish and was able to talk to him for a little bit until he passed me. we ended up running past each other again on mile 6 and gave each other the runners head nod ( you know what i'm talking about...)

I stopped at mile 5ish-6 with some funky stomach pains. mostly likely the Mexican food and margarita that I consumed on sat. evening was catching up with me. stopped for a quick potty break and went back at it. consumed a chocolate outrage GU at mile 7. YUM.

 

then at mile 8 i was pleasantly surprised because i literally ran into my friend Heather who is training for the Chicago Marathon! We have been trying to run together for awhile now, but have never been to get together because of our busy schedules. She said she had about 4 ish miles left, so i told her " Let's Go!". We ran the rest of the miles together and it was soooo great. She is the same height as me, and has short legs, so it was nice to run with her! (I hope i didn't slow you down Heather!) plus we got to catch up on each others lives, running plans, and her own wedding plans! such a sweet surprise.

 

 

after the run, I had some post-recovery chocolate milk and enjoyed the sunshine and beautiful weather....was def. a great Sunday Funday.

 

 

 





yes...i might have given Tucker a little taste of chocolate milk too. i knowww...i'm a bad dog owner.

Friday Favorites! (FINALLY!)

I've been slackin' on the friday favorites lately...i guess i haven't really tried/done anything exciting  enough to be considered a favorite :)

this weekend I've got planned a couple runs...an easy 3 miler and an 11 miler with a running group ( hopefully!) I'm starting to taper down in preparation for the BIG race!
here's a few things that i've been diggin' lately. hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

1. COOLER TEMPS and rain!

 

Do you see what i see?!? temps are going to be in the 70's this weekend...i might actually be able to breathe on my runs now!...seriously though, this is a bigggg deal. hopefully it will be cooler on Sept 22nd.....

 

2. new reads

 

 

this book. hilarious. like i died laughing on page 5. I loveee Tina Fey's humor in it. It's a quick easy read about her life and i assure you it will keep you entertained.

 

3. willy!

 

 

 

This dog....let me tell you. he is just something else. he is my momma's dog and i've just never seen anything like him. i personally think he is a mix of yoda and a gremlin.  please don't make fun of his cute underbite, because he obviously needs some braces :)

 

she rescued him when he was 8 weeks old, and has been in love with him every since. he is a character. annndd i get to have him at my house in 2 weeks!!!!

 

**sorry this post has been a little bit of random...i blame it on my awful day at the DMV office. who actually likes that place??