Last run before the half!

It's officially only FOUR days until the Rock and Roll New Oreleans half! I'm so excited I can't contain myself!!! Yay! Can't wait! Only thing I need now is to pack and Friday after I get off of work, we'll hit the road! My outfit is all picked out already!

This is the logo on the shirt I'm going to wear:



(Ignore the "please e-mail" part...that's not on the shirt! lol)

I'll also wear my black long sleeve dry fit under neath this shirt.

Of course, my bottom of choice is a RUNNING SKIRT! My friend Crystal let me borrow her black/purple skirt to match my outfit!!



Underneath that, I'll have either my capri tights or my full length tights depending on how the weather is that morning! (Gotta have plan B & plan C ready just incase!!)

Our coach put this up on our website and I loved it so much I just had to share...

"Good luck to our Go Run Members who are running the Mardi Gras Half and Full Marathon. Do not spend any energy or time entertaining negative thoughts. You are ready. When nervous thoughts appear just repeat over and over to yourself, “I am ready!” These folks are just a few days away from a life changing experience! With one step, their lives will never be the same! That one amazing step across the finish line represents a long journey of self-belief and dedication to a dream. No one can ever take away that step or moment away!"

That is SO TRUE! I'm so excited I can't wait!

Rock and Roll, here I come!!! :0)

Hi there...Mr...POLICE OFFICER?!?!

Well today's run was very interesting to say the least!

Before I get into all of that, I realized I forgot to mention one of the most IMPORTANT parts of my running ensemble (from my post this weekend).

My GARMIN FORERUNNER 405!! I would be lost without this thing!!!



This was my anniversary gift from my Husband last year and it's so great! I LOVE IT! I can't run a race without it! It tells me how fast I'm going (so I know if I need to speed up or slow down), it tells me my distance, my time, etc. It's so great!

I forgot it in my room for the WDW half and I was devastated! I never run without it so HOW on earth did I not notice that I had forgotten it?! I guess my nerves really got to me that morning! Ah well. I survived without it! lol

Ok so back to today's run...

Our schedule for today included a 3 mile run. We are really tapering now since NOLA Half is this weekend! So I got out and I ran 3 miles today with my cocker spaniel, Maddie. Well, she was along for 2 of those miles, but I decided to put her up because she was choking herself trying to chase after squirrels. She does SO GOOD until she sees a squirrel!! lol

So I put Madalynn up as I was going to run my last mile and I set the alarm. I ran my mile and as I was coming home, a POLICE OFFICER was pulling up into my driveway!!!! OMG! My alarm was going off and I had no idea! It was the internal alarm so it wasn't that loud blaring crazy noise....but still! MADALYNN had set off the motion detector inside my house!!!! Pixie, our Yorkie is so small, the motion detector doesn't see her, but apparently it sees my 19 pound cocker although it's not supposed to detect something her size (or so they told me). Aaah anyway, I was so embarrassed! I apologized profusely to the police officer and he reassured me that it was fine but still...I was so embarrassed!!!

So yeah...oh well...I won't do that again!

Tomorrow should be a 2 mile run and in just SIX days, we'll be ROCKIN AND ROLLIN NEW ORLEANS style!!!!

Finally FREE!!

Woohoo! I finally got to run again today! I went out and did 6 miles with my running group. It was a great run and a BEAUTIFUL day! We got out about 6 a.m. All of us New Orleans Rock and Roll people are trying to taper for our half coming up NEXT WEEKEND!! Can't wait! I also was able to get out in the gorgeous weather yesterday with my mom and walk 2 more miles! Yay!! Heather got me motivated to start cleaning out stuff so that's what I did last night! I threw away two full trash bags of junk I'll never use! It felt great! Now today, the entire house needs dusting, vacuuming, etc but I don't feel like it! lol I'll do it later! Haha! :0)

After running this morning, I met some ladies from church for a breakfast meeting and it was very productive, then I came home and I took a 3 hour nap! lol Tonight, Jason and I are going to go eat probably at McAlisters and then we're going to go to Target and get a few last minute items I'll need for the half next weekend! (Like more Luna bars...I'm out of them!)

So this got me thinking...what is my usual running gear that i use every time I run?

To start out, I have my Chocolate Peppermint Stick Luna Bars (so good!) This is what I use if I'm running in the morning.

For re-fuel during a run/race, I use GU gels or Chomps...My favorites are Espresso Love, Strawberry Banana, and Tri-Berry!

As far as gear goes, I always use a SpiBelt with my Iphone and headphones! Mine is black with the pink zipper!

I use a rubber band to hold my hair back as well as a head band in my hair...

If it's cold outside, I sport the winter hat and gloves!

For clothing, I have an assortment of tops and bottoms but most of my stuff comes from Old Navy! I LOVE their sports bras and shorts! They are so comfortable and great for running in!

Another bottom that I LOVE is my RUNNING SKIRTS!!! These come from www.runningskirts.com and I have about 8 or so of them!

Also, if it's cold, I usually wear tights underneath my shorts/running skirts. I don't have many pants that I like to run in because I prefer the tights/shorts/skirt combo! My tights came from Academy and they are the BCG brand. I have the Capri tights as well as the full length tights.

Socks are usually from Academy...non cotton brand of course!

I also have to have my Body Glide!

And last but not least, I have my trust Saucony Hurricanes...

LOVE those shoes! :0)

Well, there you have it! My running gear!! That's the things I just can't leave home without!!!

Tired of being Bored!!!!

I called my mom today while I was at work and asked if she wanted to go for a walk tonight. She agreed so that's what we did!

First I got home from work and took a nap for about 45 minutes, then my mom and I went on a 2.5 mile walk with Maddie. We were going to do 3 miles but her foot started hurting so we went back home. It was a GORGEOUS day and the sun was out and shining so we had to go while we had the chance! Everything I have been reading about "Running while sick" mentioned taking 3 days off and seeing how you feel. That's what I did so hopefully my time off will make a difference! I didn't do anything strenuous tonight. My HR didn't even get up so that's good!

I can slowly feel my body getting better. I still have a cough but it's not near what it was. Now it is more like a dry cough. Tomorrow, I'm going to clean the house. It will be three weeks tomorrow since it's been cleaned and it's getting rough. If I wait, I won't be able to do it next Friday cause we are leaving for New Orleans and there's no way I can let my house go THAT long so tomorrow it will be!

10 days to Rock and Roll New Orleans!!!! Woohooo!!

Day #2 of Boredom...

I guess I can't say that I'm all that bored...I mean, who doesn't like sitting on the couch watching TV all afternoon? (Well, as long as it's only every once in a while). Yesterday afternoon, I did nothing and I felt so very unproductive and LAZY!!!! Aaah.

Today, I worked all day and now am home. I'll probably take a nap, then get up and go to church. I started on a steroid pack yesterday and I think I am feeling better. At least the leaky nose drainage isn't as bad! (Yuck!)

I was asked to join a team at work today. It's a "healthy living" team and we are coming up with a program for our assosciates kind of like the biggest loser...I think it will be FUN! I'm glad I'm on the team helping to put it all together and implement it! Yay!

Well that was an interesting blog post! lol Sorry I'm so boring this week! OH well! I'm on the road to recovery!!! :0)

Day #1 of Boredom...BEGIN!

If you live in the south, you know that this week is Carnival Week...or as also commonly known...MARDI GRAS! I'm not a huge Mardi Gras supporter but I do like having 1/2 day off of work!! :0) From what I've heard, our town has the 2nd largest Mardi Gras celebration in the state. Starts on the 12th night after Christmas and goes all the way up to Fat Tuesday (today).

So after leaving around 11:30 from work, I went to Books A Million to see if they had a copy of the latest issue of Women's Running Magazine. They didn't, so I ended up buying a copy of Sports Illustrated Saints Commemorative Edition...one for me and one for my dad! Yay!

As I was getting coffee, I saw that they also have soups at lunch time! YAY I was so hungry and Books a Million is on our main street that is shut off for the Mardi Gras parade so it would have been hard to find food elsewhere! Today's special was corn chowder which was oh so good!! :0)

On my way out through the MADNESS on the streets, I headed home but first stopped at Walgreens for a steroid dose pack prescription. It wasn't quite ready yet so I looked around and bought this Neutrogena face mask stuff to try! lol

I came home, ate my soup, put stuff in the crock pot for dinner, and now I'm watching Make it or Break it from last night (and using my new Neutrogena face mask! It's amazing). I've also researched backyard decks to put up this spring! I'm really excited about finishing up our yard!! :0)

Now, it's only 2 p.m.

I
AM
SO
BORED!

I totally would have taken this opportunity to run. UGH. Oh well....better lying around and resting to get better than getting sicker and ending up in the hospital!

On a good note, my LLS shirt came in today! It's a coolmax shirt and I'm excited about it! It's from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and it says, "I'm Helping Make Cures Happen!"

Valentines Weekend

Valentines weekend was VERY eventful! We started off Friday night by watching the new movie, Valentines Day with a few friends. WE LOVED THE MOVIE! It's so cute!!! After, we ate at Logans and I tried to make good food choices since I was running a 5K the next morning!

Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early. It was supposed to be an 8 mile run but since I was sick, I decided to stick with the 5K and that was it! A few friends were getting out and running 5 miles before the race and I would have done that too but with being sick, I decided against it. So here, we go...race morning...I didn't know if I would run it or not. But I decided to be a trooper and get up and run it anyway!



FREEZING and SICK but ready to RUN!!!



First Go Run group picture! Yay!!! I'm on the bottom row all the way to the right!



Mad that I didn't get my time...oh well.



Not sure why I was smiling cause I was kinda mad...lol!



Running it in...



Done and cold again...lol! Found out if I had run 15 seconds faster, I'd have PRd', placed in my age category AND won money!



My dad and I after the race!



My race supporter!!! lol

And for the rest of my weekend...we had a TOTALLY 80's Surprise Birthday party for a friend from church! This was my outfit...



I was an 80's Bridesmaid!! lol



And of course, me and my husband on Valentines Day! Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!! :0)

So close...yet so far...

Today was the annual Make Your Heart Race 5K. This race is sentimental to me because it was my very first 5K last year. I also work for the hospital that puts it on so it's really an important race for me to participate in.

Well, as you know, I got sick on Thursday. I felt better Friday but not much. Today was the same. I woke up this morning not sure if I was ready to run today. I knew it would be a bad idea to run because for one, I'm sick and for two, it's FREEZING outside. I decided to be a trooper and get up and run anyway. I knew I probably wouldn't get my PR time which was ok with me, but I was CLOSE...VERY CLOSE (8 seconds off)! Afterwards, I took a look at the leaderboard and you know what? I came in FOURTH in my age group! I was excited but bummed at the same time because if I had only run 15 seconds faster, I'd have PR'd AND I would have PLACED in my age division! UGH. Oh well...that's why there is always next time!

That's what I love so much about running...I'm not competeting against anyone else but MYSELF which means I can push myself harder in training to do better next time, and I can push myself harder during the race! (After I recover of course!) In the meantime, I'm going to REST so I can be 100% better Mardi Gras half time!

I'll post pictures of the race tomorrow! :0)

Here's a neat running skirts giveaway...Endurance is Only Physical

Sick...again...ugh

This morning, I woke up running fever! I'm sick AGAIN! UGH Why me?!? It's all in my sinuses. I'm going to start a new round of antibiotics and take them for 10 days this time and hopfeully that will help me!

I haven't run since Monday and I feel so blah. So I guess this means I probably won't PR in my 5K on Saturday! Oh well...I'm setting a new goal..I want to PR in at least 1 5K this season. There are plenty to run so hopefully I'll make my goal! I'm still debating on doing the 5K on Saturday but knowing me, if the fever is gone tomrorow, I'll probably just rest up and get out there on Saturday and run it. I'm so bad, I know.

I HAVE to feel better before this half marathon at the end of the month! I'm so tired of being sick!!! UGH.

WHO DAT NATION, BABY!!!

That's right my friends, the New Orleans Saints won the Superbowl! Wow I never thought I'd see this day come!!!! My dad who has been a die hard Saints fan from day #1 was so excited last night. No, excited is not the right word...I think he was more like INSANE...he called me SCREAMING "THE SAINTS WON THE SUPERBOWL THE SAINTS WON THE SUPERBOWL DID YOU HEAR ME? THE SAINTS WON THE SUPERBOWL!" We had people over and our dogs were scared because we were all screaming and jumping up and down and hollering...it was crazy! I am still in awe! A friend of mine's mom was at Academy last night after the game and she said there were about 500 people there waiting to get inside for tshirts. There was a band and people honking horns and playing music....there was just a ton of excitement in the air! After the game, I couldn't text on my cell phone, I couldn't call out, I couldn't get on Facebook for at least 5 minutes cause the lines were so jammed!!! lol I just heard that the Super Bowl XLIV beats 'M-A-S-H' finale for U.S. viewership record! Crazy!

Anyway, I had a GREAT weekend! It started on Saturday with a good 10 mile run which was awesome. At the end of my run, I went into a pretty fast pace for me and it felt awesome. I kept it up for about .75 miles and wow...I hadn't done that in so long and it felt REALLY good!

I have a 5K this weekend so I'm hoping I can PR again...we'll see. We did a track workout tonight to improve our speed too. It was a lot like my interval runs. Total running distance tonight was 3.61 miles. Felt REALLY good!!!

Raindrops keep falling on my head...

Well, not my head really, just outside...if I were brave enough to run in the rain, they would be falling on my head! After being sick the past 3 weeks and having recently gotten over being sick, I'm not chancing a run in the cold rain! Which means that since Monday, I've been stuck inside relying on my Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Boot Camp Fitness videos to keep me on track. Talk about a workout...phew my legs and bottom were burning after I finshed and I was definitely sore after the first day of it! I brought my clothes with me today so I guess it's to the gym I go after work. I have a gym membership but I don't use it...does that make sense? No! Haha! I think the last time I went to the gym was like August. I just hate running on that dang treadmill. Ugh. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stops raining by the time I get home! We'll see!



Anyone know who Ryan Hall is? Well, he's an Olympic runner and can always be found somewhere in the latest editions of Runners World magazine. I found out the other day that he will be at the New Orleans Rock and Roll Half Marathon! He's running it for "practice". I saw that he finished the Houston half in just under an hour. He'll be at the finish line by the time I'm halfway done!! lol So that means I won't see him but it's still cool that he'll be there! :0)

No other news...I just wish this rain would STOP!

It's just a runners world!

I've had my Garmin for almost a year now. Jason bought it for me for our Anniversary last year. It wasn't until yesterday that I actually realized the Garmin's potential! I knew you could download all your activity to the computer but I didn't know how...well, I figured it out yesterday! It's funny to see my numbers over the past year and how I've improved. I could also see my "bad" days which made me laugh! Oh well...we all have them! :0)

I walked 3.25 miles with my mom today. It was cold outside but it was nice walking with her. I like spending time with my mom! :0) She's a neat person to talk to!

When I got home from the Disney World Marathon weekend, I realized I grabbed the wrong bag at packet pickup at the expo. I grabbed a bag from the "Marathon" side instead of the "Half Marathon" side, therefore, the shirt inside the bag was a full marathon shirt with Mickey mouse on it. Last week, I e-mailed Disney sports and told them what happened and today, I came home to a package on my front porch! I not only had 1 Half Marathon shirt, but I had TWO half marathon shirts in the package! YAY!!!! Thank you Disney sports!!! :0)

No other news to report except the latest edition of Runners World magazine came in today! I love that magazine! Yay!