Run.Chew.Sparkle

Okay well today is Black Friday, typically it is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. I tend to not stress too much over this day because my business is not overly too effected by the madness of this so called day. We run a decent sale, but it is for 5 days and well no one comes running into our store for engraved gifts on Black Friday, they are looking for insane deals and well we just don't have that this day. Now come the last 10 days of Christmas, oh man does my business keep up. But anyway it is a long day and a busy day none the less. It is a great dress rehearsal type of day for our store because it picks up so much that we can finally get in the swing of things. And after today my life is never the same for the next 27 days until Christmas, seriously! After having an amazing turkey dinner in the crock pot last night, I know sounds strange but it works out amazing!!! About 9 hours on low with a cup of water. Easy peasy lemon squessy! The best ever! I ...

This post is a little out of order to my previous one, but realized I did take pictures and of course I have to post about the turkey trot this morning. My work BFF was also participating in this event and she has two small children, so I told her I would hang back with her and jog and mostly walk to help her out with the kids. This event is a huge, 1000's of people attend this race and it is so packed you cant move around and if you stop, your tampled. I don't count this race for pace or time, I just do it to have fun. We mainly walked the 3.1 miles, and ran a bit, maybe 1/2 of the first mile but we got out there this morning and did it and we finished. It was fun to run with her kids, she has the most adorable 3 year old, who was having the time of her life and cracking me up left and right. She kept telling everyone she was going to win and go runners go. She lite up my morning. It was freezing and her making me laugh warmed me from the inside out. We finished in about 53 ...

As stated before there has been lots of post, statues and pictures of what everyone is thankful for, especially on Facebook, every day posting a new thankful status. I figured I would wait and do mine on Thanksgiving. I probably wont make it to 28 items, I am thankful for a lot of things, but this is going to be random and in no particular order... 1. I am thankful for my family. Seriously, I really am. Living in Florida with no family around me, I am thankful I can call, face time and heck even write to them to let them know how much I love them. I am an only child, so my family means the world to me, on both sides! I am equally, 100% loved by both sides of my family. My Aunts, Uncles and cousins are so supportive and have been huge rocks and beacons in my life, each an every one of them I love in a there own special way. Being I lost my dad just a year ago, the importance of family to me has sky rocketed. I cant imagine losing anymore of them. My mother and my Poppy are 110% my he...

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Just got done with the Turkey Trot a little bit ago, enjoying some very warm coffee, it was FREEZING this morning!!! I am still trying to defrost, but we are getting ready to go to James grandmas for a very early dinner and I am so glad because I am starved!!! I put a turkey breast in the crock pot, looked it up on Google. Hopefully it will work out good, since we are eating now so early, it will be nice to have when our hunger strikes again later on. I have seen a lot of those thankful statues all over the place lately, the many days of Thanks and I figure I will write a blog post about it. I mean I have so much to be thankful for. But first I want to thank everyone for reading this blog. Every day when I got on here to post and see people have viewed my blog, it warms my heart and makes my day. I know it isn't perfect, my grammar is bad at times and I ramble a whole lot, so I appreciate you joining me every day and reading about my life, running an...

I have to say it is amazing how much time changes. I remember that Thanksgiving Eve would be the best night to go out, the biggest night to go. Everyone you went to school with was home, you can all drink together, it was a huge reunion. I loved it, and coming from a small town, it was great because you saw anyone and everyone. But when you move away, having those moments aren't the same anymore. My Thanksgiving Eve is being spent on the couch, curling up with a cup of tea, freezing ( Florida is getting in the 30's tonight) and resting because tomorrow morning I am getting up at the turkey crack of dawn and running a 5k race in the morning. Its amazing how you change your life, how it really does change your life. And I am fully aware that made no sense whats so ever. I just think it is funny how we grow. I would normally being taking back some drinks, maybe some shots and what not and my happiness and the perfect evening is now, quite, warm and bed at a reasonable hour. Al...

Every time I weigh in after a long run, or long race, I always seem to gain some sort of weight. Not sure why or how, I mean I ran 13.1 miles!! But I know muscle has a lot to do it and drinking tons of tons of water and just the fact that my body is adjusting to all of this, I had a slight gain. Now this gain was a small one, compared to the others I have had, I only gained .8. And the attack of the snack monster happened the night before too, so I am okay with that. Actually when I ran Iron Girl back in April, when I went to weigh in the next day, I had gained 3 pounds, so this is a HUGE win. I am finally getting down what I should be eating and how I should be eating for the activity that I have going on. I do have a problem with snacks, but I am learning to have them in moderation and maybe one or two a day, not at every meal. And snacks I mean those 100 calorie or portioned out snack items, not candy, cookies and cake. I am really trying to stick to one a day, maybe just at night...

Okay so I can finally sit down and recap my run from yesterday. Lets start from the beginning... I woke up in the middle of the night around 1:00 am and had a terrible time getting back to sleep. My nerves were getting best of me and I kept thinking I was having mystery injuries and aches and pains. After finally settling myself down, I was able to fall back to sleep until 4:15, when my alarm was set to go off. I hopped out of bed, made my light English Muffin with PB2, a banana and some hot green tea. I needed all the energy and spark I could ask for, I really felt like I was dragging. I took my B12 vitamin and my multi-vitamin and started my mental prep. I got online and just started reading inspirational, motivational quotes. I know it sounds corny, but it really helps and pumps me up. I got dressed, pinned my Bib, filled my water bottles, took some selfie pictures and got James up and we headed downtown. I started to get the nerves and my stomach was turning in knots. I know...

As much as I would love to recap the race right now, I am exhausted. I mean really exhausted, I didn't take a nap today because we really wanted to go to the movies. I closed my eyes for 20 minutes and then bam we were out and about but it was so worth it, Catching Fire was fantastic and I can not wait for Mocking Jay. My friend Stacy ran the half today too and she did amazing! She finished in 1:55, how freaking awesome is that, under 2 hours! And she was sweet enough to hang around and watch me cross the finish line and had her friends take pictures for me. So a lot of these pictures are from her, which I am so thankful for. My Boyfriend took the rest and he has a video to send me. For right now I am just going to post the pictures and tomorrow I will recap, when I am refreshed and ready to go. But for right now I need more food and a nice long sleep. I am beat, Beat in a freaking awesome way! Pictures are in no particular order... ...

So I made it!!! I finished my 4th Half Marathon, but like the first post this morning, this one will be quick too. I have a lot I want to say and not a whole lot of energy right now to dive into it. I'm going to post later the whole race, after I have had a nap, watching Catching Fire and some more food. I am a wee bit hungry today! But just wanted to post that I did indeed finish and it was a great race. The weather was really nice, cool, not too windy. I didn't have too much pain and my walks were getting a little faster. Oh and I had a PR!! But I will save all of that until later with pictures of course. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!!

Really quick post because I have to wake up James so he can drive me downtown and drop me off. My nerves are a little wacky this morning, I always get this way and once I get running, its all over. Just treating it like my training runs, just me, the music and the road!! Dressed in pink, got my water/fuel belt on, pinning my bib on now! Women's Running Series Half Marathon here I come!!!!!

Tomorrow is the day!! After countless runs, very early mornings, EXTREMELY hot, humid weather, giving up sleeping in every day off, did I mention sweating to no end, running after having a crazy day at work, giving up nights of fun so I can do a long run in the morning. I have trained for all my races, but this one I put a lot of long runs in and lots of dedication and I feel ready, very ready. I am very excited and just want to run and be in the atmosphere. I am not thinking about a pace or time, I just want to finish and earn that accomplishment. Today at work we were sort of steady, so it was hard for me to concentrate on fueling and refueling. I brought my sandwich and water and almonds and snacks and got them in when I could. I really wanted a large iced green tea but I couldn't leave the store to get one.  After work James and I went to CD Roma's and I got a side salad with Italian dressing and had 3 pieces of bread. I know 3 pieces, but I did track it and hey I neede...

I can't believe that in 2 days is the race! I am so stinking   excited, not just to run the 13.1 miles but just to be a part of the race atmosphere. Seriously, it is like a high. I love the routine, my traditions and the whole experience, good or bad. I am feeling pretty great about this race and it is just one that I am going to have fun doing. Its in my area, its beautiful running weather and the race bling seems pretty epic. Today after work I went to the Health and Fitness Expo and picked up my race info and Goodie Bag. You get your race bib, the timing chip, which is attached the bib, your free tech shirt for the race and a great goodie bag, packed with coupons, a Women's Running Magazine, some glide stuff and a flashing strobe light, which I will so be using during my night runs now. The color of the tech tee is super cute and definitely Florida like colors. I wont wear the shirt the day of the race but after the race, I am so rocking that bad boy. After I picked up m...

Today was a pretty busy But very productive day off. Actually each day off I have had this week as been pretty productive, I am hoping I am getting all this stuff done now, that way in December on my days off, all I have to do is just relax because sweet Santa Christmas I am going to need it. Started the day off with my last long run before Sunday. Had this as a fuel this morning. Held me for the mileage.  I put in 8 miles this morning, was a little slower than I wanted to be, only about 2 minutes slower, but at mile 3 I tripped over a raised part in the sidewalk and...BAM down I went. Scrapped my left knee but all sorts of crazy, ripped a big old hole in my pants, scratched my water bottles and my hands. Luckily I didn't twist or break anything, but my knee hurt a bit and my legs and body felt sore from hard impact of the fall. But I kept going, I was not going to not finish the 8 miles. My knee is tender but I can walk and I'm going to ice it before bed and watch w...

As stated before I love the tastes, smells and flavors of Christmas. Gingerbread is one of those Christmas favorites for me also, I tend to not make Gingerbread people but when I find something that has Gingerbread in it, well it is hard for me to pass up. Hence I almost went into full on rage when I found out Starbucks was not going to have Gingerbread lattes this year on their seasonal menu, How dare they!! Dunkin Donuts better step up their game, I will not have any shame driving out of my way there to get some sweet, spicy, Gingerbread. Okay now that I have gone completely off the deep end and track, back to what I wanted to show. Pepperidge Farms has a line of seasonal types of bread, such as Caramel Apple, Pumpkin Spice, Strawberry Banana and now for the Christmas season, Gingerbread. I have tried all the others before but end up eating one slice and then it goes bad. I wait until Big Lots has them on their shelves, because I know it will be almost half the price. Well the othe...

I am a big Christmas fan! I love everything and practically anything about it. Last night I cleared the area of our living room where our little Charlie Brown Christmas Tree will go, it really isn't that small but its just about. But no matter what it is our tradition, actually it is just my tradition and my boyfriend just humors me and goes along with it. The Point is I am so stinking excited about getting it all together and putting the lights and ornaments on it. The beginning of the month I had a hard time realizing Christmas will be so soon, I work retail, so this time of the year is the busiest and the hardest. But I broke down my walls and made sure I wasn't going to let retail ruin my favorite holiday. This morning I actually had a closing shift because we originally were going to go to my boyfriends holiday party, but we ended up not going because we just weren't feeling it. But I kept my schedule and glad I did, because I got to sleep in and for once I fel...

I am a big snack person. I love all kinds of snacks, salty, sweet and well chocolate is my weakness. I used to be a huge fan of white chocolate, then went to milk chocolate and then when I found out all the benefits of dark chocolate, I tried and it is now my new favorite thing. I have found that I love anything with dark chocolate, especially now. These are amazing, I got them at CVS. Dark Chocolate Almonds and Dark Chocolate Blueberry Bites. Watch out they are addicting and absolutely delicious. After my CVS trip, I stopped by Big Lots. That store is amazing for snack items that are sometimes low in Weight Watcher points. Bring your calculator with you or use your App that way you can figure out the points before you commit to the item. I always do that and have found tons of great items there. A lot of time, the items at Big Lots are those that were sold during seasonal time, or never made it to the grocery store shelves, or were sent too many and now sent to Big Lots t...

So the other day I was in CVS walking around just itching to by something. I had a craving for salty and sweet, crunch, all of the thee above, but couldn't quite figure out what I was really wanting. I made my way to the nuts, chips and trail mix aisle. DANGER ZONE!!! I picked up a huge bag of trail mix, looked over the stats, put it back, picked it up again...And put it back. I really, REALLY wanted that trail mix, BUT I know if I have a whole bag in the house, I will not just eat the serving size. I will be sitting in the dark, curled up with a literal trail of mix and a half eaten bag. Scary, scary sight. So I put it back and went on my way, never really accomplishing my craving. The next day, I was preparing my lunch and I realized I had a ton of different almonds just hanging out. FYI I used to NEVER eat almonds, now I have probably about 6 different flavors on hand at all times. I love them! And I admit that they can be a weakness for me, but I really try to justify that ...

I thought of this the other day and thought it would be something to share. When I began Weight Watchers, I knew I had to change how I was going to eat and how I was going to choose and think about eating. Not because the point system worked that way, BUT because I knew it was going to be the only way I was going to stay on track. I had to change my snack habits, food choices and food items, I wouldn't normally eat ever, I had to at least try. Now 2 years in, I am amazed by the items and products I eat now, I would have never ate before. Here are some items I eat now, I never would have ate before... Peeled hard boiled eggs Zucchini Spaghetti Squash Raspberries Fat Free Cottage Cheese ( I only ate whole) Almond milk Coconut Milk Coconut Water Turkey Sausage Turkey Bacon Lean Pork Canadian Bacon Jello Light String Cheese Looking at that list, I cant imagine my life without these items. These items have changed my pallet and I sometimes even crave them. The other d...

Last week was a bit of a bummer with the gain of 3.6. I don't know what it was or what made it happen, BUT the key was I didn't let it get me down. If there is one thing I have learned this year alone with my lifestyle is the scale doesn't always reflect the progress that is at hand. And I used to not believe that, but really it is very true, it is only a number. That number does not define who I am, it might reflect what I have done, BUT not who I am and how far I have come. Nothing really does except for how I feel about myself. And despite the gain last week, I was feeling pretty darn fantastic! I shrugged it off, had my tacos that night AND frozen yogurt and enjoyed a pre-birthday dinner with my Love. The next morning I got up and ran my 9 miles and put the weight behind me. I did this for the whole week. I ate my activity points, I worked out, ran, walked and drank water like it was my business. I ate lots of veggies and really took into account what I was putting in...

Oh my goodness what a fun date today is.. 11..12..13! I work in an occasion driven business, so fun days like this I really enjoy haha. I mean I we wont see a date like this again, kind of cool. Since I didn't do my long run on Sunday, I had to get it in today because it is my other day off. Believe me when I say, I did not want to get up this morning. I could have slept all morning and 5:00 am came really too quick. My stomach was feeling really bloated, so I ate sort of light this morning before the run, I had a KIND Peanut Butter and Chocolate + Protein Bar. I really enjoyed that bar, I usually stick to an English muffin or waffle with PB, so this was a nice change of pace. The goodness of the bar was definitely a nice filling breakfast, but after the 10 miles my stomach was surely growling. I think protein, nut bars are better for me when I do a smaller run, I need the waffle and delicious peanut butter for the long run. I also realized I need to have a GU or Chomps or Sp...