Where's the Beach?

I know that my posts have been far and few in between lately. I also know that they've not been all that chipper in tone either. I've definitely been in a funk with this injury situation. I always try to remember that there is someone out there suffering much worse and that I do indeed have many things to be thankful for. Like this big ball of fluff we call Heath Man. He's our special needs child being that he's blind and also suffers from gallbladder disease. He has always been a trooper though, a total goof and love bug. I am very thankful for Jason's complete patience with me right now. A caged runner isn't always a pleasant person I'll admit. I am thankful for waking up to an email from my dad simply letting me and my sister know how much he loves us. Not everyone is so lucky to have their dad in their lives. I'm thankful for friends who care enough to send me something special. I'm thankful for running friends who keep che...

If you're like many people, you set out some New Year resolutions or goals, even if they were only in your mind. The new year seems to bring about feeling of renewal or a sense of a fresh start. It feels like the perfect time to achieve some of those goals, project, bucket list items you've been putting off. At first, it feels pretty easy to jump right in, especially with fitness goals. You're coming off the holiday eating festivities. Even if you mostly behaved, bets are you were still out of your routine. Now that the parties are over, it's a great time to get serious right? But what do you do when that energy, enthusiasm starts to fade? And it does. You have a crummy day at work, the weather stinks, you're flat out tired. You want to stomp your foot like a child and say, "no, no, no." It's ok to do that once, maybe twice, but how can you prevent that feeling from derailing your well-meant, whole-hearted best intentions to get healthy? I say, f...

I feel like I've been neglecting my blog lately. It wasn't intentional. It just happened. I didn't feel like I had anything important to say or share other than my marathon journey. I've wanted to write more about my feelings after my first marathon , more than just the race day recap. Honestly, it still seems completely surreal. I have that, "did that just happen" feeling. It's been hard for me to even respond to all of your incredibly kind comments (I will though; I promise). Everyone seems to want to know how my recovery went, when I'm signing up for another, IF I'm signing up for another, what's up next, and so on. I want to talk about all of that, but I also want to talk about the amazing 11 days off I had from work that started Christmas Day. What I learned most about the time off was how much I tend to miss when I let myself get into a rut. I tend to crave normalcy, schedules, timelines, but then when I don't have that, I reali...

So, tomorrow is my birthday. I know some people get really excited about celebrating their birthdays, celebrate for an entire week or even a month. Me? I tend to end up getting a bit depressed quite honestly. I think it's a culmination of several things. By this time in November, the showy display of fall colors is mostly over. The trees begin to simply look bare and dormant. The grass is no longer plush and flowers have faded. My birthday also typically gets rolled into Thanksgiving because it always falls close to the holiday (though never actually on Thanksgiving). And quite frankly, I don't want to get older. (stomp foot) In my mind I feel like high school was just yesterday. While I do feel stronger, healthier, smarter now than I did in my 20s, I'm also not ready to let go of my 30s. I feel like life is whizzing by me quite frankly. Even just typing that makes my wistful, reflective, and, yes, sad. With the passing of time has come the passing of friends, famil...

I had wanted to title this post "The Miles Fly By With a Little Help From My Friends" (a la the Beatles), but it was a bit wordy. But, it's a preface as to how my long run went on Saturday. Somehow we ended up skipping fall temperatures and dove straight into winter. Other than frozen frozen fingers, the downside is trying to figure out how to dress for the cold weather all over again. In other words, how to listen to your rational brain and NOT over-dress. Your body it screaming at you, shivering from the cold. It's saying, "wear more clothes." But then you know deep down you're going to warm up, eventually. And if you're like me, you have some long-sleeved tops that are heavier than others, some that block wind, some that don't, so then you have to figure out how to arrange all that. Saturday morning I debated my attire over and over and finally just went with short sleeves under one of my heavier tops (wind blocking). Was I over-dressed....

It's amazing how quickly a vacation flies by isn't it? Last Friday we hit the road and drove halfway to our destination, Perdido Key, FL. Perdido Key is to the east of Gulf Shores. We love the area because it's far quieter than the hustle and touristy bustle of Gulf Shores or Orange Beach. We finished our drive Saturday morning arriving with plenty of time to enjoy the beach and ocean views and our first dinner of the week on the balcony watching the sun set. Sunday morning I woke up around 6:45 ready to run. The only complaint about the area is in regards to running. The sun starts to rise around 5:30, so by 7 it's already fairly high in the sky. It's humid, I mean, it's near the beach after all. The temperatures were hovering around 68, which wouldn't be too bad if there was any shade to be found. There is none. It's just over a mile on the main, very busy road to get to a neighborhood. The most dreaded parts of my run are on that main thoroug...

Happy Friday friends. I feel very lucky that my company gives us Good Friday off. My day will be spent getting my hair done then lunch with my dad, shopping with my mom then topped off with happy hour with my husband and close friends. I've had one of those weeks where I've  been up and down with my mood. I'm focusing on the ups though and making it a point to end on an up note. So, I thought the most appropriate thing for Fun For Friday would be to share my happies for the week: Sunshine: Even though our temps have been way below normal (um 32 degrees for a morning run?) at least it's been sunny. Interacting with Clients: I love chatting with my clients, especially when they are excited about workouts and accomplishments. Running with Amy Wednesday: We enjoyed some interesting sites like one man tugging on a chain fence as if he was wake boarding and one interesting fellow twerking down the sidewalk. You never know what you might see on a run. Food Should T...

Once again, Monday rolled around way too quickly for my liking. The time change certainly didn't help with that. While I love the extra daylight in the evenings, I'm really not thrilled that it's still dark at 7 am again. Saturday morning started out with a great 10-mile run with Amy. The weather was just about perfect. Not too hot, not too windy, with gorgeous blue skies. We meandered over to the North Little Rock side of the river trail enjoying the water views of the river. We laughed and joked our way through the 10 miles so the run went by quickly. After spending a little time on my Triggerpoint Therapy kit and stretching, I decided I wanted to do a bit of yard work. I started off weeding in the back yard and pulling out all the dead plants from the garden. Then I got a little over zealous and decided I needed to rake the front yard. It's not a large front yard by any means. We only have one very large, very old tree. However, it's a Pin Oak. The leave...

This post might be a bit heavy for a Monday. If you don't want to stick around, I understand. I've debated on writing it. I don't have pictures. I don't have motivational quote. I have sincerity. I know that this time of the year tends to be happy. It's a time for family, friends, for re-connecting and then for new resolutions. There's hope in the air. And for me, it was very much a time with family and friends. Time with loved ones. Enjoying the innocence of my niece and nephew. Their wonder and excitement. Also, it was a time of loss and reflection. Last Monday I learned of the loss of someone I knew. We weren't best friends by any means. But she was someone I had known from the gym then later learned we had mutual good friends and even worked at the same company. She was one of those people who always had a smile on her face, always upbeat. I have been to her home, worked out with her, hung out with her at tailgates, enjoyed time together. She and h...

I guess first things first - I need to announce the winner of the Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones. Congrats Sarena! And thank you to everyone who took the time to enter. I will have another giveaway this week. Saturday morning I was up early. That worked out fine though, because it meant I could meet up wiht Amy at 6:45 and get the run out of the way for the day. I had thought it was going to be sunny. I put on my shorts, top, hat and pulled out my sunglasses. I kept thinking that it seemed awfully dark for that time of the morning though. Hadn't we just taken a picture of the sunrise around 6:30 the day before? Then, I stepped outside and realize it was raining. Huh? When did that happen. Talk about a complete change in the forecast. It was hovering around 48 degrees so then I worried I would end up cold because of the rain. It was a tiny bit chilly for all of 5 minutes, then I was almost glad for the rain since I had worn a long-sleeved top, foolishly. Despite the gloomy ski...

TGIF - don't know about you all, but I'm pretty excited that it's Friday. How is it that short weeks can feel longer some how? It's been a really weird week for me, especially after Tuesday's run. So, I was having a really hard time coming up with something fun and maybe silly for Fun for Friday. I needed something not so serious. I even thought about skipping today. But then I read a post over at It Linz - Happy Happy . She asks what makes you happy. I thought it was a perfect topic for a Fun for Friday post and hope she doesn't mind me borrowing it. I've done other posts like this before, so I will try to mention a few different things this time. What makes me happy: Beautiful sunrises that go along with running My husband and family An awesome running buddy My crazy furbabies Florida sunsets Roses What's something that makes you happy?

The other day, Melissa at Melissa Dishes did a post simply called Happiness . She named 10 things that made her happy. What better way to end the week but with a post about what makes me happy? Here are my top 10 in pictures (and in no particular order mind you). 1. The beach 2. This Guy 3. My Sis 4. My Family 5. Running 6. Friends 7. These crazy pups 8. Beautiful sunrises 9. Wine 10. My niece and nephew What makes you happy?