It's a great day!

So, as I got in my car after last week's 6 mile run; this song (It's A Great Day to be Alive) was playing on the radio. Country music is not my all time favorite, but I do enjoy a few songs from time to time. The words just really caught my attention and seemed to sum things up for me. I thought about Jake, the four year old we are running for and so many others that are in his situation. I'm running to hopefully make him and others feel like "it's a great day to be alive".

Good thing I was alone because I was singing at the top of my lungs!!! :)
The song should start playing when you get to my page. If you do not want to hear it or I post future videos to watch, simply scroll down to the bottom of the page and pause the music. (small pause button in top left corner.)

Recovery Run

This morning was our "recovery run" as they called it. The only thing I can figure out that makes it a recovery is that there was no hills. When I first heard the name, I was thinking great...2-3 miles today! Nope, it was a 5 mile run. But, no hills!

I guess this first week of school has really worn me out because the run was tough today. I guess you could say I was worn out because Monday and Wednesday of this week I was in bed before 9! The first full day with ALL 24 kids was on Wednesday. I turned out my light at 8:40 and don't remember moving until the alarm went off at 5:15! Either way, I finished the run today.

6 miles!

Awoke this morning at 5:15 (well, really not until about 5:30), heard "Rocky", got ready and met the group for our last clinic at 6:45. This was about agility drills which was practicing all our drills we do at track practice. I said, " So this means we get to take off one of the miles we have to run today right?!"No such luck! :)

So afterwards, we set off for our 6 mile run (jog). We ran in the Biltmore Forest area today. Fabulous houses, great old trees, and a very peaceful place to run. However, instead of steep hills, this run had very long, steady climbs; and lots of them! Of course, this made for a great return downhill run!

Another girl and I decided when we started out that we wanted to at least jog the whole thing; no stopping to walk today. And we did it! We jogged 6 miles and it took us 1 hour and 13 minutes. So, we're still looking at about 12 minute miles. But, this is a great time for me and hills right now! I'm so glad that Kiawah Island is flat!!! :)

Around and Around

"Holy Hot Batman!" This sums up the beginning of track practice.

We did the normal warm-up; jogging 4 laps with high knees, skipping, twist, and butt kicks on one stretch of each lap. Oh yeah, in 90 degree weather!

Then, we were off! We were supposed to run as hard as we could for 3 laps then walk one lap. Repeat for a total of 2 miles running. During the first 3 laps, the sun was blazing! However, as I began my first walk lap, clouds began to cover the sun. They remained there for my next mile cooling things off to 89 degrees. No, I'm kidding. It really did cool things off some helping me through that last lap.

So, if I run a 12 minute mile on a normal day, I probably ran a 11:59 minute mile!!! :) Baby steps right?!

Sawyer's birthday!

Dad, mom, and I were supposed to leave Tuesday morning to come back to NC. However, it was decided by Dad Monday night that we shouldn't leave Sawyer on his birthday. No argument from Mom and me on this one! So, we spent the whole day with him and left Wednesday morning instead. We took him to get his and Caroline's picture taken, played outside, went to the driving range, dinner at Wendy's (his request), and to Chuck E. Cheese for about 30 minutes. I have some good pictures from his day and 2 great videos from the driving range. Mom and I found the golf bag for his b-day at T.J. Maxx. As you can see in the video, we still need to work on the straps to keep the clubs inside!

Caroline

Here is a video of Caroline...mom is talking in the background to her.
She is such a cutie!

Saturday Run

**As a side note before I forget, I have some great video of Caroline and Sawyer. However, I finally gave up after an hour of saying it was uploading?! I'll try again later...**

Alarm rings at 5:15. I hear the Rocky theme song coming from Travis' mouth! I finally drag myself out of bed by 5:25 to take a quick, wake me up shower, grab a Luna bar and head out the door around 6. I listened to a quick clinic about stretching and our coach takes over. He begins with, "So, the Fall team will be running 15 miles today and the Winter team (that's me) will run 7." Did he say 7?!!! I just started running 2 weeks ago when 3 miles kicked my butt. Did he REALLY say 7? Without thinking anymore, I blurted out in a desperate voice..."Is that for the half-marathon too? I thought it was only 5?!" Someone else spoke up at this point too and I was saved from the dreadful 7 mile run! But wait, do I really have to run 5?!

The first mile we all ran in silence in memory and honor of all those people we are running for. I will have to say that first mile up the long slow incline was a bit easier than 2 weeks ago. I was breathing heavy, but not panting like a dog like I was 2 weeks ago! After the run around the rose garden (also a slow incline/hill), we turned right. This is where the new part kicks in for me. (I was running 4 miles in Ohio with my brother during last week's team practice. Thanks again Phillip!)

I'm just going to say this...picture beginning your 3 1/2- 4th mile of a run and seeing a steep hill. We made it up, but did take a quick break to walk because we HAD to catch our breath some. We continue on the path and are slowly approaching the turn around when we cress the top of a HUGE hill. When we get to the bottom is where we turn around and begin our trek back to the cars. It's at this point I realize the magnitude of this hill. I'm talking those other hard hills where ant hills compared to this. I felt like I had been transported to San Francisco to run! We amazingly made it up all the remaining hills and glided down the last part to our awaiting cars.
It felt good to have jogged (with a little walk) 5 miles, even if it did take us almost an hour!
(I'll work on time later, I'm just worried about finishing the distance!)
It's now 4:27 and I haven't crashed for a nap yet. I'm thinking it's going to be an early night! :)

Caroline and Sawyer

Last Thursday, I rode up to Ohio to visit with family. Sawyer was having his 3rd birthday party on Saturday, so we wanted to be there for it. Plus, it was an added bonus to be able to see Caroline as a month old! Mom and I spent the days "fighting" over who was going to hold Caroline and playing with Sawyer in his playroom and outside. We took him to the park on Friday and had the best time. He has such a great imagination! Enjoy the pictures!

Track Practice

So, picture a hot track on one of the hottest days of the summer so far. It's 6:00 in the evening and things should be cooling off. However, it's the dog days of summer and you have joined your team for your first track practice..what was I thinking?!

We began with a 4 lap jog around the track. On one of the straightaways on each lap we do a drill. The first lap we high knee it, the second was butt kicks, the third was skip, and the last was touching our elbow to the opposite knee. This was enough for me...but wait, there's more!

They start telling the team to take off on 1200 of 800 to 400???!!!! (Not really what they said, but I do remember those numbers) I was thinking..what?! Then it was explained. You run as hard as you can for 3 laps, and cool yourself down for 1 lap. You repeat this 3 times. So, that's 3 miles total. Remember, it's hot!

So, a coach pulls another girl and myself over since we are beginner runners. She says she wants us to come back and enjoy it as much as we can while we're here. So, we do hard run one lap, walk half lap, repeat 4 times. So, basically we only ran 1 mile and walked half a mile. Good enough for me right now!!! I was glad to get through this little bit. Not bad for a girl who probably hasn't run 3 miles total since high school soccer!

I can't wait to go back in a month and see how much more I can do!!!

My Cousin's Wedding

On Thursday, July 24th, I jumped in the car with Uncle Kyle, Uncle Dave, and Christa. We headed up to D.C for the night; having dinner with Uncle Reed upon arrival. (After checking out the DNC where Reed works and sitting in the interview chair where Hilary Clinton and Obama have sat!)

Friday morning, we drove the rest of the way to Long Island. JT and Sarah were getting married in Garden City on Saturday. There was a cute downtown filled with good places to eat and lots of great places to sit outside for a beer or two. Which is what some of us did Friday afternoon. That night we went to the rehearsal dinner at an Indian restaurant.

Saturday was spent having brunch in downtown Garden City then getting ready for the wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and a great reception. Sunday we made the long trek back to Winston-Salem and I then came back here on Monday. (thanks to Kathryn for all the great pictures!)

First Run

Yesterday (Saturday) was my first official training day. By 8:30 a.m., I had showered, eaten breakfast, attended a clinic, run(jogged) 3 miles, and stretched!
We began with a nutrition clinic more or less about the actual race day. I have never run far enough at one time that I needed to think about drinking water and eating! Afterwards, we took off on our first 3 mile run. I amazingly did it while holding conversations with people!!! I never looked at my watch until we returned, so I have no idea how long it took us. I'm just proud that I did it!

By 11:30 that morning, I had accomplished all the above mentioned, run by Target for school stuff since it was tax free, went with Travis and Trooper to the river for a walk, and had lunch! Of course, by 12:30 I was out on the couch!!! :)