Weekend Madness

So, I woke up this morning to the incredibly sad news that One Man's Dream is closing at HS in July (here). Say what?! I sure hope this isn't a permanent closure. I loved that they included a tribute to the man who made it all happen - it took a man to start it all, the mouse didn't create himself!

Now that I got that off my chest.......on to my weekend! :)

Yesterday, I shared about our 5K that was held this past weekend. Well, despite the craziness of Saturday morning, my weekend consisted of so much more!

I spent Friday night blowing up balloons for the 5K with a friend...thankfully, I was able to go to bed a little earlier than normal!

My 5K morning began at 4 a.m. We began setup around 5 a.m. and thankfully we had a ton of help!

After the race, we showered then drove to Texas with friends to meet up with my brother and his wife. We had two plans for the day: girls shopping and boys golfing!

We ended up in Katy, Texas at the outlet mall there. Our shopping trip was a success, too!

I've been eyeing  a Kate Spade bag in this color for a while now - I saw they had one, so I texted my husband and he said yes! 

I was an innocent bystander....I promise!

Melissa and Kayla also purchased shoes! It was a great day overall if I do say so myself! :)

Our mid-afternoon snack included pretzels from Wetzels. I had no idea that asking for an "Almond Pretzel with Caramel Dipping Sauce" actually meant pretzel bites in a bag. Oh well, it was delicious but definitely not what I wanted or asked for. The girl behind the counter argued with me, so I just let it go. (Great, now the song is stuck in my head....)

On a positive note, it was delicious!! I ate half and saved the rest for another day - and they rewarmed in the oven just right! :)

Oh Blue Bell. Come back to us, please....

While we shopped, the boys spent time at a Top Golf range in Katy. They had a blast and didn't stop talking about their experience the rest of the afternoon! 

We had dinner in Katy at the Cheesecake Factory and it was delicious! 

After dinner, Jason and I split a slice of Turtle Cheesecake!

Sunday was our patriotic service at church where we paid tribute to the men and women who helped pave our path for Freedom. We also celebrated our country's birthday - it was awesome!

Somewhere in all of that madness, I also spent time playing with my two favorite little girls! 

I didn't even have a chance to "run" on Saturday but managed 10,000 steps by 10 a.m.! At the end of the day, I was around 20,000 steps! Boy was I tired and definitely enjoyed a Sunday afternoon nap!

How was your weekend? Do you like to shop?

T.G.I.F. GT5K

This past Saturday, my church hosted their 3rd Annual 5K, benefiting local veterans. To date, we've built ramps at several Veterans homes and we've helped with funeral costs for a local Veteran in our community. So, when our pastor approached me about putting on another 5K (with me playing a bigger role on the committee), I agreed!

We made a few changes this year and I love how they turned out! For starters, the location of the race changed to the lake (which happens to be my favorite running spot in town). Only downfall, most all races that occur downtown have the same exact route. Second, all of our Veterans received a shirt in a completely different color from everyone else's - regular registration included a white shirt while Veterans included a red shirt. This really helped the Veterans stand out from the crowd. Another change was the inclusion of an official start and finish line. This one was probably my favorite - I love Americana and patriotism, so we used several American flags to serve as the "chute" for the finish line. We also included flags from each branch of the military in between.

I cannot say enough amazing things about these guys, our race committee! I loved working together to put on this awesome event! We had a great time (despite a few bumps in the road), but everything came together in the end and went off without a hitch!

I love having races at this location downtown because it includes a stage, complete with electricity!!

The theme for this race was "T.G.I.F" (Thank God I'm Free). We usually hold this race around the 4th of July and our Patriotic Sunday service, but I think everyone's convinced now that moving it to Veterans Day weekend would make more sense. It's way too hot in the summer and people are on vacations, etc. So, Veterans Day Weekend it is (of 2016)!

Prior to the race, we put out all of the signs - mile markers, turn here, and these motivational ones (which were my favorite)....

We received great feedback on these signs! They ranged from "Almost There" to "Our Veterans Thank You" to "You Can Do It"! Who doesn't love a little motivation during a race?

Once we got started with opening ceremonies, we heard a message of thanks (to the Veterans) from our Mayor...

Our Pastor led in opening prayer...

 

And one of our musician friends played the Star Spangled Banner on his trumpet.

Source

After all of that, we were ready to begin the race. The Marshall who was working the site asked if we had an opening ceremony to complete - when I told him we already did it, he was shocked and said he usually has to push 5K's along! He was surprised that we were ready to go, and on time at that! :D Organization for the win! 

Source

...and they're off! 

The wind was SO crazy we literally had people holding down our tents (most were staked into the ground but our start and finsh line signs weren't). 

If you look close at the above pictures of the start/finish line sign, we had two bags of sand and stones that were duct taped to the tripod bottom in order to keep it from blowing away. That still didn't work - thank goodness for volunteers who didn't mind holding them down until the end of the race!

We re-enacted our advertisement video from a few weeks ago! Haha! HE WON! Kidding...

As runners came rolling in, we were excited to see our friend and youth pastor in first! He said he was in it to win it, and that's just what he did!

My husband and our friend Everett completed the race together! 

My favorite part, though was having the opportunity to cheer on our Veterans as they crossed through the finish line!

A video was also created for Sunday morning, but mostly included footage from the 5K, so here it is! 

If you're interested in the entire race planning process, I put together a series last summer that includes three parts: 

• Part 1 - Early Stages of Planning
• Part 2 - Final Race-Day Checklist
• Part 3 - Race Day!

I definitely looked back over those posts many times just to make sure I remembered it all!

Well, that's a wrap! I've enjoyed planning this race over the past several months and had fun putting it all together with our fabulous committee! Looking forward to next year's race and supporting an awesome cause. It's because of our Veterans that we can enjoy SO many rights and privileges today. I can't thank them enough for their sacrifice!

How was your weekend? Have you ever helped plan a race/been on a race committee/been a race director?

Fitness Friday - 2/26

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a good week. It's crazy to me that it's almost July!  It will be Christmas before we know it! :)

Currently training for: 
Louisiana Half Marathon
Rock ‘n’ Roll NOLA Half Marathon
Glass Slipper Challenge
Castaway Challenge
Diva’s Half Marathon
Contraband Days 5 Miler
4 on the 4th

Saturday – 6 mile run with a friend/running group
Sunday – Rest Day
Monday –  3 mile run/walk with Jason; PT exercises - lunges/squats with weights
Tuesday –  3 mile run/walk with Jason; PT exercises - lunges/squats with weights
Wednesday – 2 mile run with Madalynn
Thursday – 3.1 mile run - planning out a 5K route
Friday – Rest Day

Jason and I somehow managed to miss a crazy storm that rolled through - literally minutes after we finished our run/walk. The blue skies in the distance were still visible even though a crazy dark cloud hung over our area - it was super eerie.

To cool off, Pixie and I sat on the porch and watched the storm roll in. 

On Wednesday, I got up early before work and went for a 2 mile run. I decided to take Madalynn because the temps were a little cooler after the previous evening's rain. We had a lot of fun (as always). That girl loves to run! 

Thursday afternoon was spent with a run along a 5K route, measuring the 1 mile, 2 mile, water stops, etc. I'm helping to plan a local 5K that will be held on Saturday morning. The remainder of my evening was spent with other race volunteers, creating packets and loading a trailer. Although Saturday is going to be hot, we're going to have a lot of fun!!

A few other exciting (non-fitness related) things happened this week!

Our official Baseball Hall of Fame membership package arrived! Since we're spending the induction weekend there, we decided to purchase a membership instead of individual tickets for each day...it's actually cheaper that way! 

I was having a rough start to my day on Tuesday and was a little sad (unfortunately, that comes with the job). A friend of mine (who didn't know the situation), surprised me with my a Coke! I was so excited!! I've been looking for a bottle with my name on it since last summer and had yet to find one! This is now a souvenir and is being displayed proudly on a shelf! :)

We were also treated to a special summer treat at work this week! I got banana with cream...that's my norm and it was really good! :)

What's planned for your weekend? Anything fun? Any races/running plans?

Sharing The Love Of The Fitbit

A Fitbit - how many of you have one? These electronic devices have taken the fitness world by storm and I am happy to say that yes, I did jump on that bandwagon last Fall. I love my Fitbit. Recently, my running group joined the Fitbit madness, too....it's so much fun to follow and encourage each other! I love it! 

I chose the Fitbit One in burgundy. This is also available in black which is the one my dad and husband have. Fitbits are available in a WIDE variety and assortment which range from a slender bracelet to wear on your wrist to a runner tracking device (similar to a Garmin)!

Many of these also come in a variety of colors (other than the once shown here).

Since the device I own is the One, that's what I'm going to focus this post on today.

The FitBit One is small and fits in the palm of your hand. I like the clip device on the back because it allows you to wear it throughout the day and no one even knows you're wearing it! As a nurse, I need a watch with a second hand so that's one the reasons I didn't choose a wristband option. I also like the One because it matches EVERY outfit (aka, no one has to see it)!

 
The Fitbit One tracks steps, distance, stairs, and calories. The button on the end (near the footsteps) allows you to see your stats, simply by scrolling through...

The Fitbit app is another thing I love about the Fitbit! It allows you to see all of your stats on one screen! You can even connect with, follow, and encourage friends along the way!

Yesterday's stats...

Sometimes, the Fitbit even sends like messages such as "Move It", "I'm Ready", "Woot!", etc.

Another thing I love about the Fitbit is the sleep tracker. See the black band shown above? That's where the Fitbit is worn for sleep. The Fitbit slips into the little pocket shown above and the band is worn around the wrist. A "sleep mode" setting is available on the Fitbit which you hit when laying down to sleep. When you wake up in the morning, hit the same button to let the device know you're awake, then the stats appear in the Fitbit app! 

May 19th was a REALLY good night of sleep...I must have been super tired! 

Unfortunately, this is what most of my sleep stats look like! :)

For Christmas, I also received the Fitbit Aria as a gift which is the scale that connects to the Fitbit (so it automatically sends your weight and stats to the app)! 

To add to the madness, the Fitbit also connects to My Fitness Pal and many other calorie tracking apps - this makes it super easy because it adjusts your daily calories for you! I LOVE it!

Just for fun, I looked back for my highest step count to date and coincidentally, it happened to be in Walt Disney World!

Hello, Princess Half Marathon! :)

Well, now you know all you need to (or ever cared to...or didn't care to) know about the Fitbit! It's important to mention that I DID purchase this product and I did not receive compensation for this review. I simply love my Fitbit and I love to connect with others! 

If you're interested in joining me, send a friend request to: kren2700@juno.com (yes, that's juno not gmail...it's my old email account, I just haven't switched everything over yet)!


Do you own a fitness tracker (of any type)? If so, which one?

Those Disney Details

Disney Details - if you've visited Disney once or a hundred times, I know you've noticed them...they're all around, surrounding guests as they enter the parks, resorts, and restaurants.


Last year around this time, Jason and I visited Disney's Vero Beach Resort with friends and we had a blast! One thing I loved about Vero Beach was the details...the little "extras" that made this resort feel special. If you look close at any Disney resort's carpeting, bedspreads, light fixtures, outdoor areas, etc, you'll see a wide array of hidden Disney touches and Vero Beach was no exception!

Today’s Wordless Wednesday theme is:
Disney Details
Host: Deb at Focused on the Magic

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Who's your favorite Disney Detail? Are you a Hidden Mickey fan?