Wow. It sure has been a while. While I do enjoy reading up on other blogs, I seem to have trouble keeping up with mine. I competed in my first Duathon in June. It was so hard. I naively went in thinking it would be a breeze. 2 mile run, 10 mile bike ride, 2 mile run. I had been doing my runs every day. I am currently up to Day 461 of my runstreak. (I have run at least one mile everyday for 461 days. Most days I do at least 2 miles. So I knew the run wouldn't be too bad. Also, the family had taken to riding bikes in the evenings so we had done some 5-6 mile bike rides on dirt roads. The race course said it was flat and paved so I was thinking that if I could do 5-6 miles in heavy dirt I could do 10 miles paved. Ha ha. The first 2 mile run went great. I felt good and keep a really good pace. My training pace is usually 10 minute miles. I did the first two miles keeping an 8:39 pace. However, the bike ride really hit me hard. My bike is a few years old and I haven't kept it up like I should have. After too many nights in the rain it was pretty rusted. The brakes would not release all the way so the back brake was "hugging" my tire. Anyway, the course was not all flat. There was one good hill and we had to do it twice. I lost a lot of time on the bike ride. I knew coming off the ride and getting ready to run again that I would not make my goal time. So it was time for a new goal. My new goal was to run the last two miles - no walking. See another thing I didn't take in account for is how tired my legs would be after a two mile run and 10 mile bike ride. It took a minute or so just to be able to stand back up on my legs after the bike ride. So I made a new goal to run the whole last two miles. I was proud that not only did I run the whole two miles I did it in a 10 minute pace. I really did enjoy this race and look forward to doing it again. However, next time I plan to actually train for it. :o)

30 things to stop doing to yourself

Read this great article titled "30 things to stop doing to yourself"

http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/12/11/30-things-to-stop-doing-to-yourself/


Wonderful article. Check it out.

Untangling Christmas

I have found a fantastic site to help with Christmas planning. www.untanglingchristmas.org. There is also an ebook, which i am in the process of reading.

About Untangling Christmas:

Armed with strategies to simplify and de-stress, as well as tons of doable ideas and delicious recipes, Karen and LeAnn have put together a wonderful resource to help you feel blessed, not stressed!
This practical go-to guide will empower you to:

• Evaluate your current seasonal strategies (or lack there-of!) and identify re-occurring holiday hassles.
• Set up a simple Christmas Planner designed to enable you to be on top of the holidays, rather than the other way around!
• Acquire fast and frugal decorating tips and creative, but simple, gift-giving ideas.
• Whip up delicious holiday foods – both the “from scratch” sort dear Grandma would have made and other simple, short-cut recipes for when time is tight. 

Sounds wonderful right? check it out.

Tennessee Ragnar Relay

I've signed up with 10 other girls and 1 guy to run the Ragnar Tennessee Relay. The Tennessee Ragnar is a 196 mile running event through the birthplace of country music.

"Starting in Chattanooga you will hug the Tennessee River and head northwest. Your team will run, day and night, across the rolling hills of southern Tennessee while enjoying the stunning November foliage. After the hills, you will move on to the ‘stills, as you pass through historic Lynchburg. The race (and your stamina) will wrap up, when you honky tonk your way to the Country Music Hall of Fame, in Nashville, Tennessee."

I am so excited. We start running at 7:00 a.m. Friday morning November 4th. We each will run 3 legs - and hopefully be done sometime Saturday afternoon. I will run a total of 16 miles.

My first run will be 5.2 miles:




My second is 4.3 miles


and my last leg is 6.5 miles:



We are going to have a blast and be totally sore and sleep deprived by the time Sunday rolls around.

Can't wait. :o)

Montgomery 1/2 Marathon

So I completed my first 1/2 Marathon on October 1st. I ran with my Sister-in-law Beth. If it weren't for her dragging me to the finish line i might not have finished. It was very hilly. Miles 1-2 were up a slight increase but mile 10 was straight up hill. It was not my best run and I thank Beth for not leaving me and for pushing me to keep going.

Beth and I coming up to the finish line.  So proud and excited to be finished!! LOL.

This was a great race. Might have been better if i'd done some some hill training. But the shirts and medals were cool.

Nutrition Information

Well, it's been a while. I was looking for sports nutrition information and ran across this picture. It is very interesting and thougth i would share it.


More Health and Fitness News & Tips at Greatist.</body>

Roll Tide Roll...

Ready for the Tide to Roll in!

Go Alabama.

I love days at home. I love to wake up and know I have no plans today - it is a clean slate. Yesterday was just that kind of day. After the girls left for school Steven and I just hung around the house all day. Steven is growing so much and is so funny these days. He says he's my best friend - I do love that little boy. Today promises to be just as great. Although I do hate that Shannon had to go to work today.

I got up and started making some homemade cinnamon rolls. Can't wait for them to be ready but it's an all day thing. The bread part of the recipe is from an Amish cookbook. You mix the dough and then let it rise for two hours. Then instead of making loaves I roll out the dough and sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon and butter, then roll them up and let rise two more hours. After that they are ready to bake. They taste great and the recipe makes a ton - like 5 pans of them. I usually freeze the extra pans. Can't wait to taste them - it's been so long since I made some.

Well, Steven is asking to got to McDonalds to get a sandwich and play on that playground inside. :o) and i was thinking we might go see my nephews (little Fly Boys) play this evening. So it looks like my clean slate is slowing filling up.

Blessings ya'll!