Run.Chew.Sparkle

Can you believe that today is June 30th???? Literally half the year is over!! Where has it all gone? So many awesome and fun and even magical things have happened in 6 months and I seriously can not wait to see what the next 6 have in store for me!! Like in 104 days, I will be running a freaking marathon!! I am going to be apart of the 1%!!! It hit me today while I was going on my walk, in 104 days, I mean we are almost to double digits. I have been on this journey for 71 days now. And I LOVE IT. I love the plan and the training, I hate the heat, but I love the satisfaction. I love when I am dead tired, sweaty and just on the brink of insanity. Maybe I am crazy, but I love all this craziness. I just cant believe for 71 days, I have not given up, back down, made excuses or really complained. I know these past 71 days haven't been a walk in the park, well literally sometimes it is, but I know these next 104 are really going to test my limits and I am ready to go. I am in th

Week 10 of training began today. Cant believe that it has been 10 weeks, over 2 months of training I have been doing. I actually thought of that exact number the whole time I was running this morning. And I need new shoes too, boy these shoes have some numbers on them and their number is up. As per training, the long run of today was 5 miles. I was pretty stoked about that, since I did a long run last week of 11 in the NC hills, which killed me. I originally had an idea to get up super early this morning, beat the heat and maybe, just maybe do more than the 5. But then I listened to JG, yes Jeff Galloway and I are short name basis since I met him last week, lol, that follow the plan, the plan works, don't try to be a superhero. My alarm went off at 5 and I hit that bad boy with vengeance until 8:30. I was exhausted this morning and my bed just felt amazing. I got new pillows and wow it made all the difference, I slept great. So I went out later than planned and it was HOT and H

Holy Moly, I have posted 400 posts. Wow, its amazing I have had that much to talk about but who am I kidding, I could go on and on for days, this brain of mine, it wanders haha. So its post 400, the last day of week 9 in Marathon training, which means Day 69 and almost the end of June. Wow where does the time go. This morning since I took an extra rest day yesterday, I knew I had to get up and run, not a long or hard effort run, just some miles, so I put in 3. Yup, I am back in Florida with the humidity. It sticks to you like glue for sure. I was having some calve issues, especially my right one. It was just so tight, made it hard to get into a motion and groove. I know it had to do with the hills from earlier this week. I walked for a few extra seconds each time and it felt okay. It was a sweaty 3 miles and believe me I did not want to run them. I made every excuse but I know if I didn't I would feel guilty. I mean it isn't about how fast or hard or slow I go, it is

And now back to reality... Seriously that is how I feel right now. I woke up this morning, sore, a million things running through my head and exhausted. My flight last night from Atlanta seemed to take forever, of course it was delayed a half hour and I was just darn tired. I know leaving later was a good idea so I could spend lots of time with my family before I left, but it just made for an even longer night, and I was beat. By the time I got home, it was 1:45, then I wanted to unwind a bit, relax, try to at least and open all my mail. I seriously love coming back from vacation and having all that lovely mail waiting for me. Especially because I got lots of my subscription boxes, I'll post about them soon. I didn't fall asleep until almost 3 and planned this morning getting up and working out, either running or biking, but I felt like a truck hit me. My mind was running because I am going back to work today, I wanted to unpack a bit, or at least have some minutes to m

Greetings from Atlanta International! I am here for about 2 hours and then I am back to Florida. I can say I am ready to be back for sure. I want my own bed, bathroom and my love.  While in the airports I have been I noticed how easy it is to stay on track while traveling.  There are healthy options for dinner, lunch and breakfast and even better for snacks in between. I enjoyed my lunch with Starbucks as posted before. Now at Atlanta, I found a great place to eat and to be honest there were a lot of great places. There was Friday's, Willys, a Mexican place, Italian and then I chose, Fresh To Order. They had salads, painins, side orders and even entree plates. They advertise fresh. fast.food. And it was! I chose a sandwich because I had a salad for lunch. I got the tomato with mozzeralla with basil and balsamic. I got a side of mashed sweet potatoes.  Oh my Lanta! It was delicious. The sweet potatoes were ahmazing! And so was the sandwich. I am so glad I chose this for dinner!! I a

Today was my last day in VA....  I had to say goodbye to all my family members and especially my uncle and Abby whom I won't see for another whole year. We had a nice morning... I went for a two mile one as per plan. Staying on plan of course. Then we went to the aquarium for the day. We had a blast! It was a nice last acitivity. Then we headed to the airport. My Uncles flight was at 5:15 and mine is 6:30 then I have a layover in Atlanta until 11 then home to Florida by 12:30! Long, long day.  My uncle and cousin and I said our goodbyes.. And a send off beer of course. My Uncle is my heart. He is my Godfather, uncle and one of my very best friends. I love him to death and supports me in everything I do! I am so blessed. And I had to say goodbye to this beautiful face.. She is getting so big, it hurts my heart. With tears in my eyes and a little buzz, geez when does one beer do that, I'm such a light weight, I'm now sitting in Starbucks eating..   Chicken cesar salad, a larg

Back in action!  Well for the most part...today we are having a couple of more hours on the lake then back to Virginia for the night and tomorrow night I fly back to Florida.  Yesterday we spent the day on the boat all day long. In the sun and water was just what I needed and wanted. I got a great tan from it also. Also yesterday since I did 11 miles, my body was hurting. Not so much because of the miles but because of the hills. Those hills killed me, I felt it in my legs, arms and hips. I did a 3 mile walk on the same path to shake it out and of course stay on plan. It worked, I felt better. Today, I ran 3.38 miles and again those hills were killer. I'm sure if I lived here, I would get better and stronger with it. I stayed with 2:30/30 and it was great, sometimes on the hills I did 2:1's.  Either way I took my time and listened. I am really proud of my success with staying on plan while in different areas. I ran the Friday-Saturday and then Monday-today running and walking.

I apologize but being on vacation this week, will make it really hard for me to post until I am back! I am having an absolute blast!!!  We are at my Uncle's lake house on Lake Gaston in NC. It's absolutely beautiful peaceful and amazing here. My family is relaxed and we are just hanging out, going on the boat, getting sun, drinking and telling old stories. Since I HAD to get a long run this week and it was 11 miles in, today was the day. I set an alarm for 6 am and snoozed for an hour because I really did not want to run, I wanted to just sleep in. BUT, I got up and headed out. I forgot my watch, which I was so upset about because I had to use my Runtastic, which drains my battery on my phone so bad. The run was tough!! For many reasons, the hills here were so bad!!! I mean I am not familiar with hills at all, there were uphill and downhill, and very steep. I had to walk a bit more but it was okay.  I did get my 11 miles but my stupid phone died. So I made sure to run until I g

Last night was one of the best nights in my family's lives. My cousin, Andrew, the oldest on my dad's side of the family found the love of his life and married her yesterday. It was a beautifuk ceremony and the reception was even better. As a family we spent the whole night, eating, dancing and laughing.  They had a buffet and I only ate what I wanted, I ate a little piece of cake, probably because all my points went to wine, moscato. To be honest, I didn't track anything yesterday. I know it's bad but I was more concerned about enjoying  the time with my family and enjoying the atmosphere. I am so proud and happy for my cousin. We have a 3 year age difference and my whole life I have looked up to him. He has turned out to be an amazing man. He is well established and put together. Lauren our newest member to our family is just as fantastic. She is bubbly, energic, and well established. They are perfect for each other and I'm so glad I got to be a part of their day.

This post will be quick and sweet because today is a big day in my family. My oldest cousin, Andrew is getting married today!!!! I am so excited and blessed that I can be part of his special day and witness the love him and his bride to be shared. We have a busy and fun filled day and getting ready for the wedding later on tonight. I, of course, going to get a run in. I was going to do a walk or XT since I ran yesterday, but I figure 3 miles will be good and will do. I am taking tomorrow my rest day, rather than one on Saturday and my long run tomorrow because of the wedding today and because we are driving to the lake tomorrow. Oh and probably the fact I will be indulging in some alcohol tonight and running the next day might be the best idea. This week of training has been great and to say quite easy. Sunday : 5 miles Monday: 3 miles with Jeff Galloway!! Highlight of my year and life. Tuesday: 3 miles Wednesday: XT Bike, 30 minutes Thursday: Rest Day Friday: 5 mile

So even though I am vacation, my training does not stop, I am very strict about that for sure. I wasn't feeling so great this morning, since yesterday I was up all day long and didn't go to sleep  until 10:45 last night, even though I had been up since 2:00 am. I slept great and got up at 6:45. Everyone was starting to get up, so I sat and got caught up on my social stuff and enjoyed a big cup of coffee. Probably not the best idea considering I never, ever drink coffee before I run, especially when I planned to run 5 miles. I got dressed and set myself up to go. I am not familiar with the area at all, so I just thought I would run until I hit 2.5 miles and then turn around and head back to my Uncles. The weather is great, very low humidity but a bit hot. Not having humidity was great!! My stomach was hurting me a bit due to sleep, the coffee and probably because my Uncle loves to drink and I have become his partner in crime. Yeah I will be indulging in some drinks t

Happy Thursday and happy day of vacation!!! I have been up so early today, my flight was at 545, so I was up at 230 and only got like 2 hours of sleep. I am exhausted right now but it is a good exhausted because I am sitting here with my family which makes my heart full and content!  It was a good flight and first day on the beach on the board work and just being with my family, I only get to see once a year!! Enjoying her strawberry daiquiri, virgin of course. To be young again!!! Today was my rest day and it was glorious!!

Oh I like that title!!! I would like to keep that until I switch it back after Marathon training. Okay so I am officially on vacation, my flight is actually in 8 hours, which means I will probably only get like 4 hours of sleep. Thank god for coffee. I went to WW after work today and weighed in. Because it has been so nerve racking for me every week, I was nervous to see what was going to happen. I LOST!!!! WOOHOO!! And I lost 2.8!! Thank you Jesus. Hopefully this means my body is playing catch up with all the activity I have been doing. It stinks since I am going on vacation, which always isn't the best time for tracking, but I am going to try my freaking hardest for sure, with making all the very best choices. And I have my work out and running plan all set up, so I am set up for success. I even packed my Questbars and protein powder, etc, that way when I am snacking or hungry, or don't want to eat what they have, I can still make really good decisions. Th

Good Wednesday Morning!!! I have so much to be happy and excited about today. First up, a 7 hour shift stands between me and a week off of work!! I have been going strong for 11 days now and finally at 4 today, I can relax and breathe a bit. Secondly, I am flying out tomorrow morning to Virginia to see my oldest cousin get married on Saturday. I am also seeing my whole Dad's side of the family, whom I am all every close with to begin with. My Uncle from Indonesia is here in the states and his daughter he adopted, my sweet girl Abby. Thirdly, tomorrow is going to be my rest day from exercise. One because I have to be at the airport at 3:30 in the morning. I will arrive in VA at 9 and then my Uncle just let me know, the 3 of us are going to the beach and boardwalk all day. I am super excited. Even though I know I will be dead tired. I already planned that Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, or whatever coffee place will be fueling my whole day. I will try to sneak in a sleep on the p

Working 10 days straight, 7-9 hours each day and I don't sit, running like a crazy person AND training for a marathon evey day is exhausting! I am so ready to be on vacation, so at least I can relax a bit, even if I am still doing my training too.  My body has been feeling it these past couple of days. My energy is low, my muscles are a bit tired and I'm just beat. It's a satisfying beat, but beat! Today, I got in 3 miles and it felt great! I did my 4:1's and used my old Brooks shoes I had gotten last year. They made a difference, much lighter, not heavy and I moved a bit faster I think.  After dripping in wonderful humidity sweat, I had egg whites, coffee, peppers, boca crumbles and some water. Love to refuel that way. Then I had a vitatop! I have a blog about them soon! I planned in packing before my closing shift but I needed to lie back down a bit. Like I said I'm tired! After vaca I'm going to my Dr. To look into my thyroid again, I think it has a lot to do

Okay this is later than normal but I have a very good excuse...  Yup that is me, meeting Jeff Galloway!!!!  Total fan girl moment right there. I saw in Facebook he was going to be doing a meet and run at a local running store called FitNiche in Tampa, tonight at 6:00! I was all in! I knew I was working only until 3 today, so I had plenty of time to go home and change, eat and drink something and even lay down for a bit. It started raining when I got there so I was nervous we wouldn't be running but there was no lightening. And I walked in the store and there he was, chatting it up with other runners.  He truly is a very nice man. He didn't turn down a photo, he patted my back and congratulated me when I told him I was using his marathon plan. I wish it brought my book to sign. I of course had to get a picture, which will now be my Facebook photo haha. I am such a fan and if it wasn't for his run-walk-run method, I would never think I could accomplish all this.  I asked him