Thinks By Me

1)  I took my Chickadee and a friend to the Carousel mall today to spend some of her hard-earned babysitting money.  One good thing about her wanting to shop alone with her buddy was that she didn't ask me to buy her one.single.thing!  Well, except lunch--that was only because I told her she was paying for her own if we didn't eat together ;) 2)  I skipped running for the 2nd day in row - partly because of time constraints (the mall was out of town) and partly because I am still nursing a stiff neck/back since my 5-miler.  Tomorrow I'm running regardless, so hopefully it will work itself out before then. 3)  "You have been entrusted with an incredible pain"...MaryBeth Chapman in Choosing to See .   I sat in Borders book store for about an hour and read several chapters of this book while Chickadee was shopping with her pal. I was embarrassed when I started laughing out loud and then had to hunker down when I started to bawl...definitely one of the ...

Although it's been a while since I've posted, believe me, life has continued to move in a forward direction! 1) My girlie and I volunteered on Saturday to work at the first annual ALS Walk to Defeat Lou Gehrig's disease.  It was awesome to have my daughter work alongside me and along with some other good friends. 2) I ran my first 5-miler since my half marathon back in April.  I have really slacked off this summer and confirmed to myself that need goals and a plan in order to stay consistent.  I did 3 5Ks this summer, but I didn't run much more than a 3-mile training run once a week until this week when I resumed a more regular schedule.  I was happy to cross a 5-miler off my list--it was a mental hurdle I had been avoiding.  I have a 10K scheduled for Oct 2.  This will be the first 10K race I've run--it's going to be a challenge because it's a very hilly course.

Well, the half marathon is over, and I am still alive and kicking! I owe so much gratitude to each of you who offered moral support and financially helped me reach my fundraising goal to support World Vision. I found out a few weeks before the race that I was in the "Orange Laces Club" and I received a pair of bright, neon orange shoe laces to wear in my shoes on race day - for raising over $800. In fact, m y goal was to raise $1000 and I am happy to report that I exceeded that goal, raising over $1,060 for clean water wells to be dug in Africa. John and I drove with our kids to New York City on Friday, April 2 and headed straight in to the heart of Manhattan to a running store located in the World Financial Plaza to pick up my race packet. In the envelope was my race number to wear on my shirt on race day and my racing "chip" which is a tag that you loop through your shoe laces to clock your individual race time. I also received my orange lac...

It's almost here! One week from today, my half marathon will already be over. I began running in earnest in September, worked up to 3 miles, then 5 and then started a training schedule in January to get me ready for the half marathon. So far, I have done long runs every weekend, my longest being 12 miles. I thought it was gonna kill me, but I survived, and I'm sure I will be fine on race day. The jitters have definitely set in and I am worrying about everything from whether I'll get a good night's sleep the night before to whether I'll have to stop and use the bathroom halfway through ;/ Most people probably don't need to fret the way I do, but I can conjure up a myriad of things to worry about. When I chose this race, I decided to join the official fundraising effort for World Vision. There is no minimum requirement for an amount to raise, but I decided to try for $1000. I truly didn't think I would come close to raising $1000 but I am thrilled to re...

What a busy two weeks! I started a new job as an administrative assistant, but have been working at my former job (in the Principal's office at a school) for the last two weeks as well! It has been a real challenge to fit my training runs in, and I've had to do quite a bit of creative scheduling to make it happen. I will be spending my last week at my school job and that will be ending on Feb. 19. After that, I will be back to a more manageable schedule with my new job offering quite a bit of flexibility and the opportunity to work at home some if I really need to. Week 4 of my training brought a hill workout and a couple of short, speedy runs (short being 3 and 4 milers). I had to do the hill workout and one of the short runs on a treadmill because of frigid temperatures (blustery and in the teens). Week 4's long run was 8 miles, which was my longest run to date. I was pretty happy with how I felt at the end--tired, but not completely exhausted. At least I was able to func...

This week brought very cold temperatures that caused a challenge for some of my runs. It is almost impossible for me to stay comfortably warm when it gets below 20 degrees. I did my first hill workout, which is meant to strengthen a different set of muscles and increase your speed. I did that on the treadmill on Monday because the weather was dangerously wet and we were in a flood state--I decided not to risk getting drenched by passing cars. The rest of the week had runs ranging between 3 and 5 miles. My week culminated with a 6 mile "long run". I had to put that off on Saturday because the temperature hovered around 14 degrees, and the weatherman promised a balmy 20 degrees on Sunday! I really don't like running on Sunday--it is a full day of church and family dinner and activities and I am usually too pooped out to take a long run. But I planned carefully, took some extra snacks to church to keep fueled up, and headed out the door while my sweet hubby fixed lunch for t...

I won! THESE! From HER! I can't believe my luck, because I had never even heard of them and had no idea they were my dream come true! Sweet Riots are itty bitty little nibs of chocolate covered cacao, one of those natural wonders full of antioxidants. Each teeny tiny nib has only 1-2 calories, but I tell ya, it was all I could do to keep myself from flipping the top and dumping the whole container in my mouth. I tasted one several of each (just to thoroughly test each one) and so far, my favorite is the 50% chocolate. I will be routinely re-testing though, and I will be sure to post if I change my mind ;) For now, all three packets are safely hidden in my glove compartment (or my large purse, as my husband likes to call it) for emergency purposes -- I do routinely have chocolate-related emergencies while driving hither and yon. And for safekeeping (from 13-year-old son who would NOT refrain from dumping an entire carton in his mouth--and who routinely sniffs out my top-secre...

Last September, after doing two half marathons (one in Nashville for my 40th birthday and one in Syracuse, NY) and walking half of one and all of the other, I decided to begin training to run an entire half marathon. I started in the middle of September using the Couch to 5K program since I've always been more of a kickboxer and strength-trainer rather than a runner. I finished the Couch to 5K program and ran my very first 5K, the Interlaken Steeple Chase in October. I also began searching for half marathons and was thrilled to find that a favorite charity of mine, World Vision, was sponsoring the 13.1 New York race in April 2010. After some convincing of the hubby, who was determined to come watch wherever I chose but detests large cities (especially ones named "NYC") I registered for the inaugural event of 13.1 New York. Joining this race gives me an opportunity to raise support for World Vision and also is a chance to participate in the very first race that th...

Suzy, over at Running on My Time (who, incidentally, I found through the Freihofer's Run for Women, which, I plan to participate in this June) tagged me to list 10 things that make me happy. I haven't blogged in a while, so I thought it was due time to share a bit. 1) My relationship with Jesus Christ. 2) The fact that I'm a mom (which I didn't think I wanted to be until I was). 3) Muh Main Man (who reaffirms that he's The One for me with every new day). 4) Coffee (Starbucks grande, non-fat, no-whip Cinnamon Dolce Latte, to be specific). 5) Running gear (like my new World Vision running shirt, in neon orange for the half marathon in NYC on April 3). 6) My 2-hour-a-day job at an elementary school office (it's like parenting on a mammoth scale sometimes!) 7) Having a goal and achieving it (like in November when I ran 5 miles for the first time) 8) The smell of clean sheets. 9) Volunteering at my kids school. 10) Summer (the hotter, the better). I'm...