9.25.2011

Nashville Women's Half Marathon & 5k

I was so thrilled to do this 5k over the weekend. The weather was just simply perfect for a race - it was in the high 50's. Running through the streets of downtown Nashville was so much fun. I usually feel very awkward running but I felt more at ease during this race. I was able to do intervals of walking and running throughout the race but I kept the walking for the hills! There were several sections of hills that I didn't train for. That was the hardest part for me. The race bibs had our first name printed on them which seems brilliant to me. People cheering along the streets would actually call out your name and cheer your on! Also, hearing my name announced as I passed the finish line was just awesome. I was greeted at the finish by service men awarding me with my 5k medal. I loved it! My husband was also waiting for me to cheer me on as I crossed the finish. I hope he knows just how much that meant to me. I'm so glad I decided to do this one. My official time was :49:34 which is under my most recent 5k time. Since there were hills involved, I felt that this is a great pace for me. I'm still slow, but I'm not stopping! The next 5k is on October 29th, where I will run in Komen Race for the Cure - one of my favorite races! I hope to finish that one closer to :45.

Below are a few pictures from the race.

Race tshirt

Picking up my race packet
race packet and bib
Good morning Nashville!

Women's Half Marathon & 5k race start

We're ready to run!
Along the course

I love the people cheering for us and their signs!


Bands playing along the race course!

I love my medal!
 I love the feeling of running across the finish line. There's nothing quite like it. Am I obsessed with running? Maybe a little. Now I'm treating myself to day of relaxation to recover from my busy weekend.

9.23.2011

Celebrating 5 years of marriage

On this day, five years ago my sweetheart and I drove to Gatlinburg, TN and exchanged wedding vows in a small chapel. It was a wonderful day that I'll never forget. I remember we did have a few issues before the ceremony. We were almost late to the chapel due to rain and traffic on the way through Knoxville. There was a UT football game that day and the traffic was crazy. Also after driving for almost 2 hours, we realized we left one of our suitcases at home. Inside this bag was my husband's dress shoes, belt and clothes for the rest of the weekend. So, we got married with him wearing tennis shoes and no belt. It's a fun memory to recall but at the time it was no laughing matter.

Our wedding day, September 23, 2006
It's been a wonderful 5 years and I'm looking forward to many more years of happiness with my special guy. Here are a few more photo's of us enjoying life together.




We will be going to Nashville for the evening to celebrate. I wonder what we should do first?

9.21.2011

Almost time for another 5k

I'm gearing up for my next 5k in a few days. It's the Women's Half Marathon and 5k in Nashville. I'm very excited about this one.

Since Friday is our wedding anniversary, my hubby and I decided to go to Nashville on Friday and stay in a hotel downtown. First of all, we are doing this to celebrate our anniversary and second, to be close to the race location. That will be very convenient and I won't have to get up quite as early. We usually stay in more cost effective hotels but this time we are staying at a fancy one, The Renaissance Hotel. I found out they give a discount to runners in the race so we did get a better deal than the regular price. This should be fun. I'm taking Friday off work so we can get to Nashville, check in our hotel and pick up my race packet. I get so excited about this part of doing races. I'm hoping to get this medal after the finish....
the 5k medal!

We will spend the evening downtown and who knows what we will do! As long as I get enough rest for the race, I am open to whatever we decide. Nashville is an exciting place with so much to do. I love the atmosphere of the downtown area.

Nashville!
Wish me luck!!! I'll be posting pictures after the race.

9.14.2011

Happy Birthday to my Seventeen Year Old!

It's hard to believe that my kids are almost grown. Today my baby girl turned 17. I treated her and her best friend and sister to a dinner at O'Charleys. Then the girls headed to the mall for a few hours. We will do most of our celebrating over the weekend. My girls usually like to drag out the birthday celebrations for a week or so. I tried telling her that birthday parties stop after age 16...but she didn't fall for it.

She is having a birthday party on Saturday and we are taking her and her BFF to a concert in Nashville. Its called the Rock Allegiance Tour. Click here for the Concert details. This should be fun. As a family, we enjoy going to concerts together. Some of my favorites have been Motley Crue, KISS and Green Day.

My post today will be a photo tribute to my daughter, Whitney. Seventeen years ago was one of the happiest days of my life.

Whitney - She can be found rocking out most of the time!
She is always cool!
Having fun with Whitney'!
Almost 17 years ago.....
Beautiful and Brains too!
As a mother, it's hard to watch my kids grow up. This year has been a challenge for me since Whitney is getting to the age where her mom isn't her best friend anymore. I'm slowly cutting the apron strings. I miss the days of when she wanted to be by my side constantly, but I'm enjoying watching her find her own identity and grown into a beautiful, young woman.

Happy Birthday, sweet daughter. My wish is for you to have all the happiness in the world and all of your dreams come true.

9.08.2011

Long week - for a short one

I always think I'm going to have an easy work week especially when there's a 3 day weekend involved. This week was not the case. And its not over yet. Sometimes I feel like this....

My desk doesn't look quite this bad....

I am glad Friday is almost here. I need a few days to recharge. I'm glad I already made an appointment for my monthly massage after work tomorrow.

Massage Envy - my escape each month
Other plans for the weekend? I'm hoping to get some running in since I have totally been a slacker this week. My excuse....work. With my job, the first few weeks of every month are busy with deadlines that cause me to work longer hours. It seems literally impossible to get to the gym on those kind of days. If only I were a morning person....

I also look forward to spending time with my family over the weekend. Football time is here and we love that here in the south. Especially college football.

All decked out for football!!!
I'm trying not to plan too much this weekend, because next weekend will be a busy one! It's going to be my daughters' 17th birthday weekend and we have lots to do. So here's to relaxing, running and re-charging.

Have a wonderful weekend!

9.04.2011

Salads aren't always the healthiest choice

Had a great salad for lunch until I looked up the calories info. It was an Asian chicken and shrimp salad. I only ate about half of it so I saved a few calories. You would think that by ordering a salad you would be having something healthy. Not necessarily so. But....It was very yummy. I'm glad I'm having an active day!


Labor Day weekend

Long weekends are so much fun. I love doing things with my family and having a few days off work. I wish we had some sunnier days in the forecast but we need the rain and it will be much cooler here in a few days. I'm looking forward to fall!

I started the day with a hearty breakfast bowl, that was not very healthy. So, after indulging in cheesy scrambled eggs with sausage and hash browns, I got out my Tae bo dvd and had a great workout. There's something about kickboxing that makes me feel so powerful. I followed up my workout with a 20 minute ride on the stationary bike.



Now, that I've got my workout in I'm looking forward to spending some time with my daughter. I was hoping for a cookout for Labor Day weekend, but I'm not sure that the rain will hold off for that to happen.

What do you have planned for the long weekend?