It Was a Seventeen Mile Weekend!

This weekend was very busy as always!! I got off from work on Friday feeling very tired and ready for my weekend to start. It was so nice outside that I decided to run five miles. My plan was to run the first 3.1 miles hard like I would for a 5k. I feel like because I have been doing longer distance races that I may have lost a little of my speed. I run slower splits for the longer runs and feel like I have forgotten how to bust and move it 5k style:) Well, I think I did pretty good! I chose to run on the roads and picked a mile loop and ran it three times. Iadded the little extra needed to make it an official 5k run. How did I do? Mile number one my time was 7:40, mile number two 7:43 and mile number three 7:58. It has been some time since I have done this and I was feeling pretty crappy after mile three! I was happy with my splits and know that I need to work on getting them down. I then did a much slower two mile cool down:)
Kay had more basketball games this weekend! After we got back Saturday from her second game I went outside for another run. This run was also a five miler....an easy five miler. I was pretty consistant with 8:30 to 9:00 minute miles. I was pretty sore from Friday's faster pace run. Today I went out again for a seven miler and I was hurting everywhere. My hips, calves and ankles were a little stiff:(

This is one of my hills that in the summer and spring I ran everyday! It is my Weaver Lake Road kicks my butt hill:)

This is what the sidewalks are looking like on my runs. The snow is starting to melt but it freezes and causes these patches of thick ice.

This is the upper portion of the Weaver Lake hill.

Here is part of my run that corners around a cute little park. In the spring and summer there are always kids playing ball:)

This is the East Fish Lake Road hill that I run. There is actually a flat area before this hill and I use it for the sprinting portion of my runs:)

This picture was taken about one mile from my house...thank goodness this portion is down hill:)

Saturday I went shopping for running gear!! I am never lucky enough to find good deals and sadly I paid full price once again :( I purchased a pair of Nike Fit running pants that I absolutely love! I already have a pair of these and I figured I better buy another one before they discontinue it. I am looking forward to warmer running weather and couldn't pass up this cute little Nike Fit running skirt and light green shirt. Now if we could just get some nice days with warm sunshine and I will be set:)

Slomo tagged me some time back to write ten whatever things I want to share:)

1. My favorite brand name of jeans is Express.

2. My favorite colors are blue and black.

3. My favorite running distance for sprints is the 100 meter dash. My favorite distance for road racing is the 10 mile or half marathon.

4. My favorite fast food style place to eat is Chipotle:)

5. My favorite fine dining establishment is The Voltair in Chicago. It was the best Italian food I have ever had....hands down!!
6. My favorite summer family vacation was to Montana!

7. I have been to the Cheers bar in Boston and the Coyote Ugly bar in Nashville:) The girls working at the Coyote Ugly tried to get me on the bar dancing with them! I refused and told them I had not had enough to drink yet for that:)

8. The person that I most admired growing up was my grandmother. She was a strong German farm wife and I loved her so much. She was always there for me and encouraged me to be the best that I could:) I miss her dearly:)

9. I love it when my children have giggling attacks!! It is so contagious:)

10. Caribou Coffee is the best!

I am now going to tag a few of the male bloggers that I follow. I have included some blogs that I just recently started reading and others that I have been reading for some time:) I love getting to know more about people and would love it if you could just post a few random things about yourself that you think is interesting or unique!!
Tri Diesel

I am Boring

RockStar Tri

Never Quit Never Stop

Dangle the Carrot

Tall Guy Surfing (and now running!)

The Reserrected Runner

The Running Laminator

A Code Geek's Tail

Running to the Honky Tonk

In Clean Air- a running philosophy

DR:TRI'ing 4 Iron
SwiCycloRun

Crush Till it Hurts

Marathonman

I hope that everyone has a great week!!

Also, check out Molly's blog because she is hosting a wonderful giveaway!! She is giving away the Le Creuset Square Baking Dishes in a lovely spring like blue color:)

A Gorgeous Award and More Info About Me...

Today was a pretty good day:) I got to sleep in until 7 AM and it felt great!! I did the usual cleaning, shopping and was able to get a 6 mile treadmill run in. It was okay, I did my usual ten minute mile pace and watched part of the movie Sixteen Candles. I watched my laps and at the fourth lap or final lap to complete each mile, I kicked it into gear and pushed the speed up to an eight minute mile pace. It felt pretty good:) I am still doing my thirty push-ups and keeping on task with my ab and core work. I really need to start adding miles to my weekly runs. It has been so crazy for us and it will eventually get better once Kay's basketball season ends in about three weeks.

I was given the Gorgeous Blogger Award from my blogger friend Anne!! I was instructed to share six things about myself that my readers maybe wouldn't know. So here you go...six more things about me:)

1. When I was in elemetary school I was the fastest girl in my class. There were also only two boys who were faster than me! Each year I was awarded the Presidential Physical Fitness Award and I still have my patches:) My sixth grade year our class took a bus to another school to participate in the district track meet. I went home with three first place blue ribbons for winning every race that I competed in:)

2. As a Jr. high student I participated in the speech club. I went to State both years for the creative style. The funny thing is....I now get nervous when I have to speak in front of large groups of people. I also got in trouble for talking to much in my classes. I visited with my neighbors way to much:) Most of my teachers were pretty cool and liked me but they just had to gently remind me to shut the heck up every now and then:)

3. My grades as a high school student were pretty average because I was to much of a social butterfly. My first two years of college I held a 4.0 GPA. The class that destroyed my perfect GPA was physics. My first "B". My two favorite classes from college were history and a Native American culture class. My history professor used my papers as examples for his future classes. I also ended up with every point possible in that class plus fifty extra credit points....I was a type A dork:)

4. My husband and I are going to Italy for our 20 year anniversary!!

5. As a teenager I worked as a model in the St. Cloud, Cross Roads Mall and I did runway shows for several stores. When I was twenty-eight I took my oldest son to the Mall of America for his birthday party. I was approached by a New York and Chicago model scout and I was asked to audition for his agency.

6. I am terrified of snakes!! When I was a little girl my grandpa was cutting grass and he ran over a snake with the mower. My dorky cousin picked the gross dead snake up with a stick and tossed it at me...it landed around my neck!!!! Total nervous breakdown!!!

7. I am a terrible swimmer, golfer, math student and computers hate me:)

I am now supposed to pass on this Gorgeous Blogger Award to a few more bloggers....

Sarah at brunette on the run

Jocelyn at Running With High Heels On

Mary at Fit this, girl!

Katie at Experimental Running
Katie at Fit to Wed
Running and Living

Tina at Gotta Run Now

Anne Marie at Goals for the Week

I hope that you all enjoy the rest of your week!!

Also go check out Molly's blog!! She is hosting a wonderful giveaway of Le Creuset Square Baking Dishes in a lovely spring like blue color!! If you or someone you know likes to cook...check it out:)

Registration Madness!!

This is my daughter...the one who plays basketball. She has a hundred sweatshirts like the one she is wearing. Most of them are black with a basketball on front...because she plays basketball:) This sweatshirt does not have a basketball on it. This sweatshirt is sporting hockey sticks!! What the heck!?! Well, this sweatshirt does not belong to her, it belongs to her new hockey player boy friend! Okay, I just found out that this hockey player boy is in ninth grade and is almost sixteen years old!!! Help me!! My kids are growing up and I am getting stressed! I told her that I want to meet this guy and that she needs to invite him over for dinner some weekend. She said that she would ask him and I am looking forward to meeting the young man who likes my daughter:) I think I liked it better when she thought that boys were gross:)

We have had a crazy weekend!! Kay had another basketball tournament and it was running non-stop. We drove to Rochester again for the second weekend in a row! We took our little guy with and hoped for the best. My four year old can handle one game but a full weekend packed with games is a little much for him. I was a super cool mom and played with him to keep him stimulated. We played animal wars with his animal toys and my favorite was playing with all of his Spiderman action figures:) We got home earlier this afternoon and we are all exhausted!!

I know that I have not posted in some time but we have been distracted with a few things. There is always some sort of drama with three kids and two of them being teenagers. My college boy is starting to worry me. He came home for Christmas break and was home for a month. When he was home he worked at his job almost every day and he spent alot of time with his friends. Something very sad happened his last weekend with us. It was his last Friday night with us and my hubby and I were already in bed, it was about 10:45 when the phone rang. As a mother I got nervous as soon as I heard the phone ring. I just had that, holy crap something is wrong feeling. It was my college boy and I could tell by the tone in his voice that something was wrong. He asked me if I was still up and I lied telling him yes. I asked him if something was wrong and he said that he would tell me when he got home and that he really needed to talk to me. Total panic set in!!! What could he possibly need to talk to me about? He came home about ten minutes later and walked through the back door. It looked like he had been crying and that is not like him. My college boy walked toward me and held out his arms saying, "Mom, J is dead! J killed himself last night!" Oh my God!! J was one of my son's best friends in high school. I just held my college boy as he cryed and shed large tears for one of his dear friends. I felt helpless and all that I could do was hold him and tell him that I was sorry!! I really had a hard time seeing my child in so much pain! My son told me that J was having problems with a girl and just felt down on his luck. It was a terrible thing to happen and the next few days were sad and challenging. My son is starting to have issues up at college. He is not focusing and his grades are dropping. I called him on Saturday night to talk to him and he sounded so depressed. I attempted to ask him what was wrong and he said, "Mom, just leave me alone...I really don't want to talk about it!" I backed off and told him that if he needed to talk that he could call me anytime. My husband and I think that he misses his friend and it is taking a toll on his normal day to day life. It is only natural for him to miss his friend but I worry about him:( The challenges of parenthood are taking a toll on me and I hope that I can pull it together soon!!

Now on to some lighter running news. I have been busy shopping! I have been shopping for spring races and have registered for several:)

1. Get Lucky! 7k on March 20

2. Run the Valley 10k on April 10

3. Earth Day Half Marathon on April 17

4. Get in Gear 10k on April 24

I have also registered for Grandma's Half Marathon lottery and will not find out if I get to run until March!! This is pretty exciting to have a few runs to get ready for!! Now all that I need is some nice weather and snow free running trails:) Also, my husband has talked me into taking golf lessons so that we can golf together. I am a terrible golfer!! I really suck at it but I have a great sense of humor and can laugh at myself!! My husband laughs at me too:) This is kind of exciting because we will be able to spend more time together. It is also very scary for me because I am afraid of not getting better and looking really stupid:) Oh well, it will be fun!! I hope that you all have an excellent week!!

Recovery and a Sunshine Award!

Hi everyone! I had the day off yesterday due to my little guy not having daycare and it was actually a blessing. I was super tired and needed a hang out and do nothing day:) I wore sweatpants and a t-shirt and basically slummed it the entire day. I took a two hour nap and loved every second of it:) I was not nearly as sore as I was after my first half marathon. My feet and toes do not hurt as bad either. I think that even though my toes were screaming during the race, I did make the right decision by wearing them:) I am doing pretty good today and will attempt a four to five mile run tomorrow.

Now, I would like to take a moment to thank everyone for the wonderful comments that I have been receiving for the past few posts:) Wow, I am in total awe!! I really do appreciate them and I love hearing from you all!! I am so grateful for every single one of you and I truly mean it!! All of your comments make me smile:)

I was tagged by Anne, AJH, Sarah, Tara and Heather to receive the Wonderful Sunshine Award!! Thank you so much ladies:) I am now supposed to tag a few more people who I would like to give this very special award to:) I am going to give the award to some of the bloggers who always make me smile and send me warm fuzzies every time that I post:) There are several of you who have already received the award so don't feel bad if you don't see your name. All of my blogger friends are deserving of this award.

I would like to tag Jamoosh, Adam and Wes for always making me laugh!!

I would like to tag Slomo, Happy Trails, Glenn, Jon, Johann, and Thomas for your kind words and encouragement!

I would like to tag Aimee, Psyche, Angie, teacherwoman and little Jill for being my new gal blogger friends:)

And since I was tagged three times I think I can give out a few more so...Holly, Beth, Meg and Jenn:)

I also would like to tag my three very special blogger friends from across the pond who always make me smile with their posts...Ultra Running Collie, Runningbear and Runningfox! These three bloggers live in Northern England and I love reading their blogs:) If there is anyone else who reads my blog and wants to also have the Sunshine Award feel free to copy the picture and consider your self tagged!! I really do love you all;) Cheers!!

Also, go check out Christy's blog at It Just Looks Like Slow Motion! She is hosting a great blogger give away:) Feel free to check out the Yurbuds web sight!

And, Adam is haveing an awesome give away too!! Check out his I am Boring blog:)

The Lace Up for Breast Cancer Half Marathon Race Report..

Okay, well I will spill the beans about my shoe dilemma. Yes, I was a stupid woman and wore new shoes for my second half marathon. I don't know if it was totally the wrong idea because my other shoes were no prize either. I went out and purchased a new pair of Asics and I went up a half of a size just to see if that would help with my toe issue. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and opinions and just so you know, I did read all of your comments about ten times before deciding what to do:) They did match my outfit nicely..so I guess there is that:)

I went on line and purchased a very special "save the ta tas" shirt and socks!! Thanks Heather for pointing me in the right direction for my socks!! They are very cute! I got up at 4 AM due to my two hour drive to Rochester. When I pulled out of driveway the temperature guage in my van read twenty-three degrees. I thought, excellent, it is not thirty degrees but I will take it!

I stopped off at the side of the highway this morning to take a few pictures of the first beautiful views of sun light peeking over the horizon. It was 6:35 Am!! This means the days are definitely getting longer!! Woo hoo, there is hope that spring is on its way!!

The closer I got to Rochester the colder it got! At one point I looked down and the temperature read seventeen, and then a few more miles eleven. Yikes, it is getting cold! I figured I ran the Polar Dash and it was two degrees that day so eleven would be okay. About a half hour later it was zero!! Alright, you can stop going down temperature gauge! When I pulled into the parking lot it was seven below zero!! I do think it did warm up a few degrees by race time but don't know by how much:)

I was pretty excited to run the Lace Up because I knew I was going to meet my blogger friend Renee! Maybe some of you remember how I mentioned her in my blog in my first "Tribute to my favorite blogs." She is a stellar runner who consistently produces speedy finish times in every distance possible!! I spotted Renee as I was walking into the building and we were able to meet. Later we were able to talk more and she is so nice:) She was kind enough to put together a gift package of homemade cookies for me. Renee actually made over six hundred cookies for the Lace Up For Breast Cancer event!!

Here I am right after I picked up my racing bib and Lace Up hat.

This is a picture of Renee and me! She made me feel so short and I am five foot seven and a half inches:)

This is Mike, he is another Rochester runner who also has a blog. Mike was also very nice and I will explain more on how he helped me to get my butt across the finish line!!

This handsome man is Arvid, he is a St. Cloud River Runner who just turned over his presidency after being president for the running association for the past three years. I see tons of pictures of him in Renee's blog so I went and introduced myself! I love Arvid, he is so sweet. He told me that I had a runners body and that I was skinny!! Bless his heart...Arvid you had me at you have a runners body:) Arvid, maybe I could adopt you and you can be my big brother. I already adopted Jon for my little brother but I could use an older brother. Arvid also left me a comment wanting to know if I would be interested in the Lake Wobegon Marathon in May. I found this very funny and kind of sweet that he would think that I could finish a full! Arvid, I will think about it:)

This is the only picture that I took throughout the race. This was in the first mile and honestly, after mile one I was in no mood to take any more pictures. We lined up at the starting line and my plan was to follow Mike. He was helping a friend try to run a 2:00 half. I figured I could use him as my pacer. It just took me a few minutes to figure out that there was no way in hell he was running a nine minute mile. Mike just took off like a flash and I was thinking, "Oh crap!" I looked down at my garmin and it wasn't recording pace or miles! The only thing that it was displaying was time! Crap and double crap!! Now what the hell am I going to do? Living on a wing and a prayer! This race was so different compared to my first half marathon because of the number of runners. I think there were maybe 185 runners today and my first half marathon had over 1000 racers. Mile one was okay the course was snow covered and icy for part of the way and running trails were clear of snow but there were always icy patches to watch for. Mile two and three were doable. Mile four was when I noticed the first sign of annoyed toes. Mile five and six I honestly don't remember.....I was probably telling myself that I should of wore my old shoes. At one of the water stops about five guys yelled, "Woo, save the ta tas! Go save the ta ta's girl!!" That made me smile and I waved and said, "Thanks guys!!" Miles seven and eight my toes were burning and I was almost in tears. "Julie you are an idiot, yep you are! What and the hell were you thinking?" I am really having a hard time remembering many details because I was concentrating on dealing with my pain. The good news is that my hip was fine...no issues with that at least! Mile ten came and I remember wishing I had a Ryan to run with like I did in my first half marathon. Ryan was a nice guy who ran with me the last three or four miles and he helped me by just being there. People were passing me left and right and I was getting very frustrated. I knew that there was no way that I was going to PR...nope not today. I found the snow roads very challenging and they really frustrated me. I thought about Meg again and her saying that it would seem short....just so you know Meg, I did smile for a short time:) I was thinking about how there will be a day in the future that I will feel the same way!! Mile eleven sucked, mile twelve sucked more and I was done!! I made myself continue to run and never stopped the entire race, though I really would of loved to. Mile thirteen Mike came back and met me. He asked me how I was and I told him that I wasn't doing so good because my toes were hurting so bad and they felt numb. He told me that I was almost done and that I had about three laps of a track left. He talked to me as I ran and I listened. He was just what I needed because I was at my lowest point. I felt defeated, exhausted, my toes and feet were super angry at me! I just wanted to be done! I wanted to stop and walk....I kept running and listening to Mike. Another runner friend of Mike's was running with us too and they pulled just a few feet ahead of me. I kept going because I was going to finish this race and I was going to do it running! I finished crossing the finish line with a time that was four minutes longer than my last. I felt very disappointed to say the least. After I hit the finish line my legs started to buckle and Mike came to my rescue. He was kind enough to walk with me and help me back to the building. Thank you Mike, you were a life saver:) After the race there was hot soup, rolls, bananas, cheese and cookies! There was also water, coffee and hot chocalate to drink:) This half marathon had the best after race food to date:) The soup hit the spot and I was grateful to have something in my stomach:) News Flash: I just checked out the results...I took fourth place for my age group and if I would of been just thirty seconds faster I would of taken home a medal:)

Here I am after the race and after eating the hot soup....I felt so much better!!

This is the gift bag with homemade cookies from Renee:) Thank you again Renee!!

College boy came home this weekend and I didn't have time to speak to him about his room. This is what it looks like when he comes home....he just throws stuff where ever:) Oh well, I still love him:) That is all I have for now. Next I need to catch up on everyone's blogs:)

Also, go check out Adam at I am Boring!! He is hosting a great blogger give away:)

And, Christy at It Just Looks Like Slow Motion is also hosting a give away...go check her blog out:) Check out the Yurbuds web sight!

How Stupid Would it be to....

Hi everyone! I have decided that I am going to attempt to run my scheduled half marathon tomorrow morning! My hip feels okay but my toes are still a little sore. I have a dilemma and need help deciding what to do. How stupid would it be for me to go and purchase new shoes today and run thirteen miles in them tomorrow for the first time? Would that be a bad idea? It sounds like a terrible idea to me! I just do not want a repeat of burning toes for the last six miles of this next half marathon. Let me say that the pain was almost as bad as giving birth!!! I do not want to go through that agin:) Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Also, Jill at Finishing is Winning is hosting a great give away! Make sure to check out her blog:) out:)

A Very Uneventful Day and a Bucket List!

Well here we are again Wednesday, my day off! I wish I had a great story to tell about all of the wonderful things that I did today....no such luck. Today was pretty uneventful. We had our furnace and air conditioning system replaced in August and the inspector finally made it to check things out. Here's the problem...our furnace and mechanical room is downstairs and the only way to enter it is by going into our college boy's room. Can I just say, it was a total mess!!! I was so embarrassed because of the state that his room was in that I ended up cleaning it last night. Holy crap, did I find a few things that I wish I wouldn't of! I don't want anyone to think that I was snooping because I was not. I just came across a few things when picking up. Must speak with college boy when he comes home next!
I did thirty push-ups again this morning, thirty this afternoon and I will do thirty more before I go to bed if my arms can handle it:) I stretched real good but I feel a little sore in a few areas. I also ran for the first time today since my little mishap with the frozen slush on Sunday. I just jogged for forty-five minutes on the treadmill...about a 10 minute mile pace. It went okay, but I didn't feel great. My hip is still a little sore and my toes are really bugging me. My toes hurt so bad when I ran my half marathon and they still bug me off and on. I hate it!!! They drive me crazy and I don't understand why or what is wrong!! I still do not know what I am going to do about Sunday's half marathon. I honestly probably will not decide until Saturday evening. I will just see how things feel and make a final decision then.
Adam tagged me to list three things that I want to do or accomplish before I die. Here is my bucket list.
* Run in at least one marathon.....if I live maybe I will do a few more!
* Tavel to Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, England and Greece:)
* I want to see all of my children graduate from college, get married and become parents.
* I want to do 100 push-ups in a row like my daughter:)
* I would love to take a cooking class in Paris like Julia Child...perhaps when I have retired:)
* I would love to go to New York for a fashion show!
* Getting to dance with John Travolta would be awesome..okay thats more like a fantasy:)
* I want to go to another Jon Bon Jovi concert and have him sing to me and only me!! Another fantasy:)
* I would love to co-star in a movie with Ryan Renolds. We would be madly in love and he would totally adore me!!
I think that will do it for my bucket list:) If you have not answered this question in your blog yet..consider your self tagged!! My next post will not be until Sunday, please keep your fingers crossed for me that my body will let me run my shceduled half marathon:) Oh, and you can say a little prayer that I will move a few minutes faster than my first half!!

Also, check out Jill's blog at onelittlegirl because she is hosting a great give away!!

Push-up Heaven and a Big Ouch!

This weekend has been crazy to say the least. I had Friday off from work because the women's imaging department in the clinic where I work had construction crews working on a few projects. One of them was to make our doors wider for the larger wheel-chairs that many of our patients must have. I was happy to get a day off and used it to my advantage. I got a ton of things done including a five mile outside run and much needed core & ab work. .
I was going through some of our summer vacation pictures and wanted to add a few to my post. These are a few of my favorites:) This was one of the times where my kids actually just sat quietly. All three of them were completely mesmirized by nature and the lulling sound of the waves lapping onto the dock:) For me this is priceless!!

These next pictures are of me and my husband. If you were to ask him about these pictures he would tell you that I was being a total pain in the ass:) I was making my daughter take a few pictures of us and he was getting annoyed because I wanted to check every one. I was making sure that we were both smiling and not looking like total Homers! Clearly, after the tenth one I gave up...no such thing as perfection:)

My daughter Kay had a basketball tournament this weekend and they played in the championship game. Kay is a point guard and is the fastest girl on the team. She busts her butt every time she plays. She is very strong and is not a afraid of anything....I mean not afraid of guarding girls that are about forty pounds heavier and six inches taller than her!

I love this picture of her! Notice that she is yelling something and I am pretty sure they could hear her a couple courts down:)

Kay's knees are a mess from all of the times she has hit the floor going after the ball, going up for a layup and ect. We always make fun of her saying that she better not choose a career where she needs to wear dresses:)

Kay was the high scorer for her last game and made six out of six free throws in addition to her other baskets:) I am very proud of her and love watching her play ball!

Okay, so Saturday I did more of my push-ups and core work. My push-ups were looking a little scary. I started off and was able to do eight that were okay looking. Kay was watching me and started laughing at me:) She told me that my form sucked and that I didn't know how to do a push up. I said, "Alright smarty pants lets see you do it!" She then got down and proceeded to do fifty of them!! My mouth was hanging open because I figured she could do at least twenty but didn't expect her to bust out fifty. She then looked at me and said, "Mom, I can do one hundred...do you want to see?" Wow!!! I asked her to look at my form and tell me what I was doing wrong.

She noticed that my arms were to close together...I moved them a little farther apart.

So here is the good news....I did thirty in a row!! Let me repeat...I did thirty flipping push-ups in a row and without stopping!!

I was so thrilled that I danced a happy dance! The emotion that I felt was profound joy!!

So, I decided to take a little break and see if I could do it again. Guess what? I did!! I did twenty-five without pain but the last five left my arms shaking. I was still able to do the last five! Woo hoo! Thank you Kayla:) Who would of thought that my fourteen year old daughter could teach me the correct form and help me to achieve such improvement instantly!!

I think I am going to like doing push-ups from now on and if there is anyone who is having issues seperate your arms a little. Actually, in this picture my arms could of been seperated even a little farther apart. Saturday I also got outside and ran a five miler. This morning I went out again and was planning on a ten miler. My run did not go as planned. Usually what I will do is look at my garmin and when I hit five miles I will turn around and come back home. Well, at five miles I started making my way back home. When I hit mile eight I sort of tripped on some frozen slush and pulled something. Ouch! Ouch! I think I might of said a few swear words too. It was my hip...my bad right hip that I have been having issues with. I attempted to jog slowly but after a few feet it was obvious that running was not an option. I walked the two remaining miles home. I iced it for about an hour and am hoping for the best. I will continue to ice it today and try to stretch real good. Hopefully everything will be fine and I will still be able to run my scheduled half marathon for next Sunday.

This is our cat Lilly, she is so sweet and we love her dearly:) Adam tagged me and I am suppose to come up with a bucket list. I will save that for my next post. I hope that everyone had a great weekend:) I can't wait to read the race reports from this weekend's half marathons. Oh, and one more thing....Friday evening I went to Blockbuster Video to rent something to watch. I remember Lam had mentioned the TV show Glee in one of his posts. I saw that they had the entire first season. We watched the whole first season and I am addicted! If there is anyone who has not watched Glee, I urge you to rent it. It will not disappoint you:) It is such an awesome show with so many valuable lessons! I cried like a baby and also laughed my ass off. I am in love with the story line and characters. My favorite part of the show is the musical productions and singing!! It is filled with eightie's music and one of the productions featured one of my old boyfriends, Jon Bon Jovi's songs!! My husband even liked it and he is not easily impressed! Go rent it:)

Back on the Track and Ab Work Too!

Today was pretty productive and I am very pleased with all that I was able to accomplish! I did the usual cleaning, laundry, shopping and even got a great workout!

I went to my health club and worked my abs on one of those big red balls behind me. God I love those balls, I have to get one. I have been feeling a little guilty because sadly, I have been fluffing it way to long. My abs and core need a real good workout. This week I have one Velocity Sports session. My daughter has two nights of basketball practice and two evenings of training sessions. Unfortunately, babysitters are hard to get on weekday evenings. This afternoon I worked my abs and then attempted to do another pathetic attempt to do push-ups. I can now do eight and not look like a complete dork! After my ab work and push-ups I ran around the track. It was my plan to run for one hour and not program my garmin for distance or pacing. I just turned on my stop watch and ran. I didn't want to keep looking at the distance or worry about keeping a certain pace. I just wanted to run comfortably and work on my form and breathing. I ran for fifty minutes and did a ten minute cool down walk. After that I went into one of the empty Yoga rooms and stretched out really good. I honestly felt awesome today, it was a great workout.

I just want to take a moment to thank everyone for their thoughts, words of wisdom and opinions regarding our potential move in the future! I really appreciate it and I mean that truly from the bottom of my heart. My husband and I have talked about it and have come to a short term conclusion. We knew that we would not be able to move until after our daughter finished this year's school spring term. Our college son really wants to stay in the state, so if we move he will not come with us. My husband will interview for the opportunity in Madison and we will just see what there is to offer. The opportunities on the east coast will always be there. There are many jobs for that type of work. In order for us to move out east the offer would have to be fantastic. My husband's father is much older and it would be hard to tell him that we were going to take his only grandchildren and move across the country. I know that what is meant to be will be. I can't be afraid of change because change has triggered some of the best things to ever happen in my life:)