Tacos for All

Day 1

2010-08-03T22:04:00.000-05:00

Marathon training officially starts today. Here's to lucky number three!

the half

2010-03-14T18:28:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I inadvertently ran a half marathon. After White Rock, I thought I wanted to really challenge myself and run the Cowtown Marathon 10 weeks later. My thought process behind that was that I really thought I could have potentially done better (even though I was happy with my time) if I wouldn't have gotten sick so I thought Cowtown could be sort of a redemption run. I took a couple of weeks off to rest up mentally and physically and then basically went back to week 1 of my White Rock training plan. A little ways in I realized I just wasn't mentally there yet. Though I wanted to do better, the mental motivation necessary to complete another full training cycle just wasn't there yet. I've always likened marathoning to child birth (theoretically, as I don't have any kids yet) and there just wasn't enough distance from the grueling dedication and pain to make it seem like a good idea again.
So I compromised and told myself I would run the half instead. I continued to slack off on my running but also started the Body for Life training program which is rigorous and doesn't jive well with long distance running. I decided I was happy with the recent running goals I had achieved and would sit out the half and focus on BFL and gaining some strength instead and re-evaluate in May when I finished the program.
I was happily trucking along in this new mind frame when my dad called me, five days before the Cowtown half, to tell me that he and his wife had planned a surprise trip to come up here and see me run. Oops! I felt like I couldn't disappoint my dad (even though he wouldn't have cared if I didn't do it) but I felt like a quitter so I went ahead and signed up for the half. Those five days went by crazy fast (with no running. The last time I had run my foot hurt a bit so my crazy reasoning was well, better not chance it until the big day! I'm an idiot).
The morning of the half I decided to just go with it and have fun. My pie in the sky was to finish in under 2 hours (my half PR from Austin 2009 was 2:08) but considering my absolute lack of training I didn't realistically think it would happen. I had taken a certification exam for work the day before and passed it after studying for several weeks so I was riding high off that success and hoping to carry it through the race.
I knew I would see my family and John and my best friend also came out to cheer me on (she rocks and has been to two of my races) so I hung out with the two hour pace group and kept my eyes out for them. The beginning of the race was really cold and my feet were numb for about the first mile or so. After that I got pretty comfortable and saw Em around mile 4. I was still hanging with the 2 hour pacer and was feeling pretty optimistic. What I didn't realize before entering this race is that Fort Worth is crazy hilly. I mean, it hangs with Austin as far as making me want to curse for all the ups and downs. Around mile 8 I slowed down from the pacer and just focused on finishing. I saw my family around this time and apparently all I said to John was holy s^&*, it's hilly here! I spent four years in Fort Worth for college and loved every minute of it but I fondly remember it being much flatter. I saw Em again around mile 11 and then just kept pushing myself to the finish.
I didn't break my 2 hour goal but I did finish in 2:03 which is a 5 minute PR for me. Considering it was a last minute decision and there was no training involved, I consider it a huge success over all. Next time, though, I will definitely rely on training beforehand. It makes a huge difference in how much I enjoy the race which really is he best part.
As for now, I just finished week 4/12 of BFL and want to continue to focus on that. It's been immensely challenging yet rewarding to focus on weight training since I have never done that before. I also hope that the interval focused cardio will help make me a faster runner. I am still a long distance girl at heart, though, so instead of three HIIT cardio session like the program recommends, I do 2 and a long run on the weekends. It is absolutely beautiful here today so I just got back from 7 miles at the lake. It was gorgeous and keeps me happy.
So that's where I am in the running front. I'm entertaining the idea of DC or Chicago for a marathon this year but with John graduating and us not knowing exactly where we will be yet it is a little difficult to plan now. I'm also just enjoying doing something a little different for the time being. Not to worry, though, I think of the marathon as my Mr. Big and you know how that story will always end :o)

poor planning

2010-02-26T21:15:00.001-06:00

Cowtown half tomorrow after seriously poor planning. Here's hoping I survive!!

easy like Sunday morning

2010-01-31T19:21:00.002-06:00

This has been an awesome weekend. We started off with a run at the gym on Friday after work. It was my first time to run last week and I really needed it. After all the happy hours and nights with friends I actually felt like my body was begging me to please do something active. The run was pretty rough- my foot hurt through the first half hour and my legs felt heavy and slow. I kept plugging on and after the half hour mark I felt better. I ended up running a little over 5 miles and though the majority of it wasn't fun, it felt good to sweat again. We headed over to our good friend's house on Friday and had a ton of fun with Rock Band and far too much vodka. I woke up late on Saturday and spent the day shopping with Meg. I got some awesome cheap accessories at Sam Moon and a dog bed for Shine. We're working on trying to get him out of our bed so he needs some new accommodations. We took it easy last night and did some reading.

We woke up earlier than usual today and went to the early service at church. (And by early, I mean 9:45.) We did some grocery shopping afterwards and then came home to a mountain of chores. John has done countless loads of laundry and vacuumed and I cleaned the kitchen (including the inside of the fridge!) and did dishes. I also so threw this amazing piece of goodness in the crockpot and made some cookies for the week.

While the roast was cooking we headed to the gym for some more running. The treadmills were full when we got there so I did a 2 mile warm up on the bike until one freed up. This run was a complete 180 from the run on Friday. I felt great the whole time and was really enjoying the exercise (I think this is doubly impressive considering I was on a treadmill). I did a good 7 miles and felt strong and happy at the end. I wish all runs could feel this rewarding and effortless but I guess you have to have the crappy ones to fully appreciate the awesome runs.

I'm still not 100% decided about what I will do about the Cowtown. A lot of it will depend on if John wants to do the half and wants me to run with him. Hopefully I will make a firm decision in the next few days. As for now, I'm going to finish folding up some laundry and read 2 chapters from CPHON for my study group on Tuesday. Hope you all had an awesome weekend!

a change of plans...but not of heart

2010-01-20T21:41:00.002-06:00

Holy cats I have been sucked in to the beautiful world of decorating blogs. I have spent numerous hours the past couple of days oogling the gorgeous things and creative genius of the ladies found here and here. Talk about inspiring! These ladies have beautiful homes to boot not to mention the creativity and talent I am totally lusting over. They have inspired me to do a little dabbling of my own this weekend. I am by no stretch of the imagination a creative person but I do have a few ideas and a excited to see if I can make them happen. On a related note, does anyone have any good candle recommendations? My favorite is the Macintosh scented Yankee Candle but I am just about to burn through my big jar and am in the market for some new scents. Let me know what your favorites are!

There are a few potential changes on the running front. Like I mentioned earlier, I have been training for the Cowtown Marathon with a Hal Higdon program designed for an eight week break between marathons. I actually had a ten week break between my runs so I was able to take two weeks super easy before officially training again.

This past weekend was my first long run which was supposed to be a 12 miler. I headed back out to White Rock for the first time since the marathon. It was beautiful outside, sunny and warm in the low 60s. My legs felt pretty tired the first few miles but I chalked that up to the fact that it was my fourth day in a row of running. I passed the 6 mile mark and was still feeling off. I was running at my quicker pace (8:45/mile) which usually feels comfortable but it was hard and I was tired. I just couldn't get my head in the run. I walked for a bit to rest my legs and the thought crossed my mind that I really wasn't having much fun.

Enter serious doubts.

The whole purpose of running Cowtown so close to White Rock is to run faster and be happy with my time. I'm a little afraid that my body is still tired and not ready for another 26.2. More importantly, I'm afraid my head isn't ready either. When I was out there on Sunday, in beautiful weather at my favorite spot, I just couldn't stop thinking that I wanted the run to be over and that I can't imagine doing 2 and 3 hour runs every weekend for the next 6 weeks. Running is supposed to be fun for me and last weekend was most definitely not.

Part of me thinks this was just a bad run but a slightly bigger part thinks I should listen to my body and my brain telling me I'm not ready. I was slightly disappointed after White Rock but I feel like that would be nothing compared to suffering through another training program and putting in the physical and emotional effort of another marathon and not showing any improvement.

My husband is running the Cowtown half which will be his first and so my option is to downsize and do that with him. There is also a Rock-N-Roll half in Dallas in March which I had thought about registering for and attempting to run in under 2 hours (my current half PR is 2:08). I love the distance of the half so those could be fun without being as mentally taxing as doing another full. But at the same time, I sort of feel like a quitter for copping out on the full. Ugh, isn't this supposed to be fun?

Do you have any similar experiences about setting out to do one distance and then changing your mind? What made the decision for you? Were you happy with the change? Let me know what you think...I'll take all the advice I can get!

cleaning up my act

2010-01-18T22:20:00.002-06:00

I was talking to my best friend on the way home from work today and she was telling me all about a new blog she had found that she knew I would love. Low and behold, it turned out to be my favorite decorating blog which already lives happily in my Google Reader. Yet another reason why Em and I are so meant to be ;)

I've spent a few glorious hours today not studying for CPHON and instead looking at all the cleaning/organizing/decoration links posted for the So Fresh and So Clean party. So far, I have been inspired to fold laundry, get rid of 31 T-shirts and numerous pairs of funky socks, and deep clean my stove (which, incidentally led me to yell at my dog to "not eat the Lysol"...multiple times). All in all I'd say it was a pretty successful afternoon especially considering how crazy work was today. I'm even considering waking up 5 minutes early tomorrow to make my bed! We'll see how well that goes considering the success of that plan is directly related to my ability to heave the hubs out of bed.

apparently marathons are my crack

2010-01-10T18:20:00.005-06:00

I remember when I crossed the finish line of the Houston marathon in 2008, my first, thinking that I was so incredibly happy and grateful to have completed the run and almost instantly following that thought with a resounding I am NEVER doing this again! Fast forward to summer 2009 and I start to get the itch to do it again. I signed up for the Dallas White Rock Marathon with ambitious goals and after a training plan sidelined by injuries I completed the race in 4:24 which was roughly 25 minutes faster than Houston the previous year.

White Rock was a great race. I ran it with my friend, Kate. I am usually a solo, ipod wearing, blocking out the rest of the world kind of runner but after having a stellar 20 miler together, Kate and I decided to run the Rock together. It was a cold and foggy morning but we settled in and the first 13ish miles were great. Around that time I just wasn't feeling well. I couldn't put my finger on what exactly was wrong but I felt off. Kate was working to break a 4 hour marathon and I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep that pace so we split up right around the halfway point. (Kate went on to finish in 3:56. She is a flippin' rockstar!) I walked for a bit at that point because I was feeling pretty light headed and gross. I got sick a couple of times, which had never happened to me before, but knew I was going to see John at mile 15 so I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. I must have looked terrible when I did see John and Megan because my always encouraging and no-excuses husband told me I looked God-awful and asked if I needed to stop. As much as I wanted to, I had been running my mouth about this race so much at work (and took 2 vacation days) that I knew I just had to suck it up. I started feeling better around mile 18 and was glad I ended up finishing the race. My final time was 4:24 including stopping twice to throw up and once to pee (that port-o-potty line was at least 4 minutes long!).

All things considered I was really happy with my time. It was under 4:30 which was quite an improvement from my first marathon of 4:49. But within the first few days after the race the little niggling doubt started creeping in that really, if I wouldn't have gotten sick or had to pee, that I could have done better. And that's not a feeling anyone wants to be left with.

So in order to try and dispel those doubts and hopefully have a better, faster race, I went ahead and signed up for the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth in February. Apparently, marathons are my crack.

Part of me thinks I am crazy for running two marathons within 10 weeks of one another but another part of me thinks well dang, I'm already in shape for it so shouldn't it be easier? I've done some internet research and there are lots of bloggers who have successfully run multiple marathons in a short amount of time, like this girl, and Hal Higdon even has training plans especially designed for multiple marathons in even as little as two weeks apart.

Maybe I'm crazy. Or overly competitive with myself. Or a masochist. I'm not sure. But I am excited for the Cowtown and looking forward to further improving my marathon experience. But after this one I am definitely taking a break. Maybe :o)

Resolved, 2010 style

2010-01-01T15:21:00.031-06:00

1. Run 600 miles this year.

YTD: 139.70

2. Do 50 consecutive pushups. (C'mon, tiny, ineffectual arms!)

YTD: 4

3. Cook one new meal a week.

Hoppin' John- It was pretty good and I got John to eat black eyed peas!
Almond-Sage Crusted Cranberry Stuffed Turkey Breast- It looked gorgeous and John and Megan loved it! I liked everything about it but the texture of the stuffing was a little mushy for me and the turkey was a bit thick and moist. I think most people would love it, I just am weird and like really, really dry meat. It definitely tasted like Thanksgiving in January!
Vanessa's Peach Cobbler- The way John was going on about this I thought the secret ingredient was going to be crack. Turns out it was just one pound of butter. I made half a pan for him and half a pan to take to work for Amy's birthday and everyone agreed it was amazing! V's tip was to use Smart Balance and Splenda in place of the butter and sugar and it was still delicious and totally sinful. Will definitely be making this again and will try it with different fruits as well.
Meatball Soup- this was awesome! It had a great flavor. I added some shredded cheddar o top and it tasted just like a cheeseburger in a soup form. Delish!
Cherry Cheesecake Tartlets-I love Ashlee's cooking blog and these definitely don't disappoint. Cheesecake is John's favorite dessert but it is so heavy and time-consuming to make on a regular basis. These little gems are the perfect solution. So easy and so delicious!
Quick Italian Soup- from the Tom Thumb coupon book. Yum!
Chicken Cheddar Rice- from the Tom Thumb coupon book. Again, really good but not very filling.
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies- These are so good! Mine came out kind of blobby and fluffy but they were delicious! They also tasted surprisingly light for having as much butter and peanut butter as they do.
Pulled Pork Sandwiches- used a seasoning packet and the crock pot...yum! We also had tons of leftovers which was awesome.
Weight Watchers Turkey Chili- I used ground beef b/c we didn't have any ground turkey and it was surprisingly not as good!

2009 was a great year and I have nothing but great expectations for 2010. We've been looking forward to this year forever (in 5 months I will call the hubs nothing but Dr. John) and I can't believe it is finally here. We rang it in with good fun and great friends and I am looking forward to another 365 days of happiness!

All kinds of productive

2009-10-18T19:44:00.002-05:00

Today was my first post shin splint long run and I am tentatively declaring it a victory. I did ten miles at the lake today and it was fantastic. The weather was a gorgeous 60ish degrees, sunny, and clear at noon today when I started. I absolutely love fall in Texas because it is usually perfectly sunny and cool without having to wake up at the crack of dawn. I downloaded some new music in anticipation last night and all of those things combined for one fabulous run. I felt great throughout all ten miles and didn't feel a twinge through my compression sleeve. I also managed to stay strong without any Gus which was nice; not a huge fan of them. I averaged somewhere between a nine and ten minute mile and felt like I could have kept going if I needed to. This part made me especially happy because I was worried that I would lose a lot of endurance with the injury time off. And a huge shout-out to the John who also ran nine miles today...the longest distance of his life. The best part is he did it unintentionally and still managed to rock it. Way to go Boogs!

After the run we hit the grocery store, cleaned the heck out of the apartment, made crock pot soup for dinner tonight and lunches this week, and am on load #4 of laundry. Not bad for waking up at 10:30.

My shin still feels pretty good, no noticable soreness or tenderness. I have an easy four mile recovery run scheduled for tomorrow so I am hoping that my leg still feels strong then. I feel like that will be the big test as the infamous crying in the Tom Thumb parking lot episode was a "recovery" run. Keep your fingers crossed for tomorrow!

Just what I needed

2009-09-23T19:38:00.003-05:00

Yesterday's run (or as John called it "nice, leisurely jog") went really, really well. We're in the middle of a cold front so I decided to forgo the treadmill and take my chances on the 3 mile loop around the apartment. John went with me for moral support and when we headed out after dinner it was a blissful 68 degrees. I wore my compression sleeve and set off with the mindset that I was just going to take it easy, enjoy the night, and not have any expectations. I took it as a good sign that the first song to play on my ipod was Led Zepplin's "Fool in the Rain" which is my un-official theme song for White Rock.

My shin was a little bit sore when we started running but I don't know if it really was more painful than normal or if I was just hyper-aware of looking out for any little twinge. I tried to relax an just listen to the music and before I knew it we were rounding the halfway curve (which incidentally is the same spot two weeks ago where I started bawling my eyes out). I took a moment to appreciate the fact that I wasn't crying and continued grooving on through the rest of the run. Although we were running at what sometimes felt like a ridiculously slow pace we ended up finishing the loop in 28 minutes. I was pretty dang happy with that. We came back home and I did some stretching, albeit probably not as much as I should have, and iced my shin. I had forgotten to put my gel packs back in the freezer before we left so I ended up using a bag of carrots (that we ate for dinner tonight) and a bag of strawberries. I think I got the same effect and the dog was desperately sniffing around my legs the whole time!

I'm still feeling pretty good today, a little soreness but again I think it may just be because I am obsessing about it. The weather is gorgeous and I really want to run again tonight so but I am trying hard to stick to the only running every other day schedule so I am doing some reading instead. I'm still trying to remain cautiously optimistic about the whole thing but it felt so. dang. good. to be out there running again last night! Here's hoping I can continue to heal and have many more good runs in the future!

1 day!

2009-09-21T20:19:00.002-05:00

I get to try running again tomorrow! I'm really excited to get back out there but also nervous about re-injuring my shins. The plan for tomorrow is an easy (tentative) 30 minute run to see how it goes. I'm trying not to set any goals for tomorrow other than just listening to my body and obeying what it is trying to tell me. If it starts to hurt I will stop and (try to ) not be disappointed. I'm switching to a less intense training program and starting at the beginning instead of just picking up where I left off when I got hurt. I also plan on not running on consecutive days, using my compression sleeves, and continuing to ice my legs like a crazy person. Tonight I am relaxing, reading, and being cautiously optimistic about tomorrow. I really hope it goes well and am open to any and all suggestions from any runners out there!

As an aside, we went to happy hour for dinner tonight and I definitely ate something called "the big, fat frank". I didn't even come close to eating it all but felt like if I had, I should have earned a t-shirt and a picture on the wall. It was that good...and that disgusting : )

2 days

2009-09-20T17:03:00.000-05:00

I can run again in 2 days. I'm super nervous/ excited. But mostly excited :o)

sad news confession

2009-09-13T17:55:00.002-05:00

Shin Splints.

Super Suck.

So I've avoided posting about running for a while because it's been pretty depressing :o(. Last Saturday I did a 10 mile long run around White Rock lake and it went really well (side note: I visited my first ever port-o-potty that day and I must say, it was surprisingly roomy on the inside. Who knew?). My left shin was twinging a bit at the beginning but a few miles in I stopped noticing it and finished strong. I purposely tried to keep my pace slower and ended up still finishing faster than I needed to (abot 9:20 miles when my long run pace should be around 10:00). I felt great when I finished, came home and took some Advil, iced my legs, and enjoyed a delish brunch at Barbec's with John and Meg. I then proceeded to have a fantastic Labor Day weekend and did not run again until Tuesday night. My shins were a little sore but I decided to head out and do the 3 mile loop around the apartment with John. My shins were screaming when we started but I thought they would stop hurting after a warm up. I was waaaaay wrong. About a mile and a half in it literally felt like my legs were going to break at my shins. And it was both of them, not just my left one. We stopped running and I literally cried in the Tom Thumb parking lot. I haven't run since then, just been doing some Bikram and today I hit up the elliptical in the gym.

So, I'm kind of at a loss. I was really into training for this marathon and doing well at aiming for my time goal. It's only three weeks into training so at this point, I'm not sure how this injury will effect everything. I emailed a friend of mine in Houston who is a physical therapist to see if she can help. I had knee problems back before the half and she fixed me right up so hopefully we can take care of my shins as well. As of right now, I'm just planning on taking about 2 weeks off to let my shins heal and then ease back into the training program, likely starting at the beginning again. I'm hoping I can still run the marathon (I've already paid for it, taken vacation days off from work and told everyone I know they have to coe to Dallas on 12/13 to watch) but I will likely stop focusing on the time so much. I think at this point my goal really should just be that when the time comes I am healthy enough to run it. And like my ever-so-supportive husband keeps reminding me, it's not like this is the last marathon I will ever want to run.

So that's the whole dirty and depressing story. Injuries are so disappointing. As a silver lining, I'm hoping that when I am healthy again and am feeling like I just don't want to run, I will remember back to this feeling of really wishing I could get out there and not being able to. Here's hoping I won't have to spend too much time on the sidelines.

epic fail

2009-09-07T10:24:00.003-05:00

so the four margaritas followed by the two I-don't-even-know-what's last night do not bode well for marathon training. especially when there are 8 miles and a Bikram class slated for today. definite fail. i think it's time for better choices.

and then a crummy one

2009-08-31T19:30:00.003-05:00

So after feeling pretty good about my first long run yesterday I had a big bumer of a tempo run today. I thought this week's would be better than last week, which was awesome, but that definitely was not the case. I went right after work and my legs just felt kind of heavy and my goal pace, which is usually comfortable, felt like sprinting. I got in the two tempo mile runs and then just hit the wall. I was tired, my breathing was heavy, and my left shin was really starting to hurt. I started the two mile cool down and decided to just listen to my body and cut it short. So instead of doing 6 miles with 2 at tempo pace I did 4.5 with 2 at tempo pace. I'm a little bummed about it but am trying not to dwell on it or let it stress me out. Like all the other bloggers say, some runs are great and some are not. I think in the future I should not run my tempo and long runs on consecutive days as these are the two hardest runs of the week. Live and learn, I suppose.

As a side note, my eating has been okay, but not great. Right now, I am stuffed from making dinner and nibbling while doing so but I would still love to go stuff my face with ziti and garlic bread. Recognizing a problem is the first step to solving it, right? I'll take that.

1 down, 15 to go

2009-08-30T20:40:00.003-05:00

I successfully completed my first week of marathon training. This past week I ran four times including an 8 mile long run, my first ever tempo run, a before work morning run, and an hour run with hills. Add to that 3 days of Bikram and I would say we're starting off with a bang! I did my long run on Sunday night at White Rock and it started off miserably. The weather was nice but a little warm and the scenery was beautiful but my earbuds kept popping out of my ear and I just wasn't feeling it. The mile markers there are a little spotty so I planned on slowing down a bit and just running between 72 and 80 minutes. I'm pretty sure I started off too fast which is probably why I wasn't feeling it but around 32 minutes in I slowed myself down and it just clicked. My pace was better, it wasn't as crowded, I got to a beautiful part of the lake that was mostly bridges over the water and my ipod was alternating between John Mayer and Third Day songs. From then on I loved it. I timed myself at a clearly marked two mile distance and was holding 9 minute miles which is about 40 seconds slower than my goal pace. I'm pretty sure this is how fast you are supposed to do long runs but I will reconsult the four hour marathon book to make sure.
So far I am pretty happy with my progress but hope I can continue fitting in all my runs and not get hurt. I'm also nervous that I am not going to make the pace I am shooting for. I'm trying not to focus on that too much so I don't get overly anxious and freak myself out. Plus I still have 15 weeks and a pretty solid training plan so I just need to relax and get it done. Go team!

tempo tuesday

2009-08-25T18:33:00.002-05:00

First ever tempo run today. Rocked it. Two of six miles were sub-8 minute miles. Hell yeah.

wake up call

2009-07-21T20:47:00.000-05:00

I ran outside today for the first time in about 2 months...holy smokes! I forgot how much harder it is to run outside instead of on the treadmill. If am going to keep my training program on track I am going to have to move to runs outside and put in some hard work and possibly some early mornings. Marathon running most definitely requires dedication and I am not afraid of putting in the time. Let's do this.

call me a cucumber because today...produce!

2009-07-02T21:52:00.000-05:00

So I just want to look back and remember today for the days I think I am too busy to accomplish the things I want to do. I worked 8 hours today, ran 8 miles, made dinner, showered, and cleaned up our nasty apartment for my family that is coming tomorrow. All of this and it is 9:54. So really, on days that I am feeling like I am too stressed or too busy to do the things I want to do and be the person I want to be, I want to remember days like today to remind myself that I do, in fact, rock :o)

all aboard!

2009-06-30T18:14:00.001-05:00

theme song- Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne

Marathoning- the triumph of desire over reason.

I imagine that running a marathon is a lot (on a much much smaller scale) like childbirth. I'm distanced enough from my first one to have slightly forgotten the moments that I wanted to kill myself and am instead left with the really awesome, tingly I just did that feeling shining much brighter. So with that skewed remembrance I am doing it. Again. My second marathon will be the White Rock Marathon in December.

I started a mileage build up to a formal 16 week training program that will start in August. I am going to wait to do the official sign up until then so I can make sure my joints are game for another six months of punishment. It does feel good to be running for a purpose again instead of just for vague goals like "lose weight" and "skinny jeans". I also like the structure of a training program and my new work schedule is, so far, much more conducive to running. I hope this continues to be the case once the mileage during the week builds up and once John moves up to Dallas.

I would be lying if I said I didn't have a goal time in mind. My goal for Houston was just to finish and I did do that but this time I hope to improve. I don't want to write my goal out yet because I am afraid it might be too ambitious but there is definitely a number floating around in my head. I am also excited about running in Dallas because it will be in my home city again and close enough for my good friends to come out and watch. So here's to jumping on this crazy train again!

hello, wagon

2009-02-17T16:47:00.000-06:00

The half was awesome. I met my goal of finishing in under 2:10 and feel really good about myself. I also had a lot of fun during the race and am relishing the sense of accomplishment. Hello, wagon? I am hopping back on :o)

Resolved

2009-01-10T22:44:00.027-06:00

Books:
1. Twilight- Stephenie Meyer
2. Eclipse- Stephenie Meyer
3. Breaking Dawn- Stephenie Meyer

absolutely adored these books. I am a 14 year old girl at heart.

4. A Version of the Truth- Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack
5. This Charming Man- Marian Keyes
6. Remember Me?- Sophie Kinsella
7. The Gatecrasher- Madeleine Wickham
8. Chasing the Devil's Tail- David Fulmer
9. Attachment- Isabel Fonseca
10. Intern- Sandeep Jahaur
11. A Much Married Man- Nicholas Coleridge
12. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe- C.S. Lewis
13. My Horizontal Life- Chelsea Handler
14. The Other Boleyn Girl- Phillipa Gregory
15. In Search of Eden- Linda Nichols
16. My Sister's Keeper- Jodi Picoult
17. Prey- Michael Crichton
18. Vanish- Tess Gerritsen
19. I Was Told There'd Be Cake- Sloane Crosley
20. Four Months to a Four Hour Marathon- Dave Kuehls
21. Driving Sideways- Jess Riley
22. Certain Girls- Jennifer Weiner
23. Last Chance Saloon- Marian Keyes
24. First to Die- James Patterson
25. You've Been Warned- James Patterson
26. Quickie- James Patterson
27. In Her Shoes- Jennifer Weiner
28. Something Borrowed- Emily Giffin
29. Love the One You're With- Emily Giffin
30. Queen of Babble in the Big City- Meg Cabot
31. Boy Meets Girl- Meg Cabot
32. Cross- James Patterson
33. Cross Country- James Patterson
34. The Reader- Bernhard Schlink
35. Act of Treason- Vince Flynn
36. Seperation of Power- Vince Flynn
37. The Third Option- Vince Flynn
38. Extreme Measures- Vince Flynn
39. The Fifth Horseman- James Patterson
40. Bergdorf Blondes- Plum Sykes
41. The Debutante Divorcee- Plum Sykes
42. Goodnight Nobody- Jennifer Weiner
43. P.S. I Love You- Cecelia Ahern
44. Something Blue- Emily Giffin
45. Baby Proof- Emily Giffin
46. Chasing Harry Winston- Lauren Weisenberger
47. The Art of Social War- Jodi Wing
48. Wife in the Fast Lane- Karen Quinn
49. Pretty in Plaid- Jen Lancaster
50. Beautiful Boy- David Sheff