Update on Dream Races

So, since I'm on a little bit of a big race hiatus this year I've been dreaming about more big races that I would like to run in the future whenever the opportunity arises.

HALF MARATHONS

• 3M Half Marathon - http://www.3mhalfmarathon.com/
• Austin Half Marathon -  http://youraustinmarathon.com/  (I know I ran this one already, but I'd like to give it another go!)
• Covered Bridges Half Marathon - http://cbhm.com/
• Flying Pig Half Marathon -  http://flyingpigmarathon.com/  
• GO! St. Louis Half Marathon - http://gostlouis.org/
• The Great Smoky Mountain Half Marathon - http://greatsmokymountainshalfmarathon.com/ 
• MO Cowbell Half Marathon - http://mocowbellmarathon.com/

FULL MARATHONS 

• Austin Marathon - http://youraustinmarathon.com/ 
• Flying Pig Marathon - http://flyingpigmarathon.com/  
• GO! St. Louis Marathon - http://gostlouis.org/
• Grandma's Marathon - http://grandmasmarathon.com/
• Marine Corps Marathon - http://www.marinemarathon.com/ 
• MO Cowbell Full Marathon - http://mocowbellmarathon.com/ 

I'm sure that there are gobs of other races that are waiting to be discovered, especially in Texas. I can't wait!

Do you have any half or full marathon races recommendations? 

2017 OMaD - Week 27

Hellllo, birthday week!

July 2 - 8

Day 183: 7.10 Miles -To start out my day I got a 7 miler in! Yay! I was thinking I may have to do a 6.2 run, but really wanted it to be long since I'm really trying to get back to my long distance norm. Once I got closer to the 10k mark I knew I could get 7 in, which was so nice! It was humid too. I know that I'm out of shape, gained a couple of pounds from the Cincinnati trip, and just not as driven as I once was. I even texted my mom to talk about birthday cake and ice cream!

The park crew were beginning to set up for the July 4th celebration that happens in the park, even though it was eeeaaarly in the morning. If I remember right there were two different cities using this park for their celebrations over the course of the next two days. Yikes! When I M made me a delicious omelette. I eventually ended up sprawled out on the couch - dead to the world. Thankfully we did get ourselves to the grocery store for some necessities.

Day 184: 0 Miles - I didn't do much today. M had to go into work early-early. So I pretty lounged in bed and watched Netflix. I even at breakfast in bed. That's right! It was niiiiice. I did go out to Target to shop for some new bras. I had bought fancier bras earlier this year, but I missed this one Target bra I accidentally threw out during the move. Anyway... perhaps TMI? Eh! Oh, well! I also bought a new breezy green tank to wear! Later in the day we had an early birthday dinner at M's parents house (get this... there are three birthdays within the same week!). Then it was back home as soon as we can because potential traffic around where we live since the city's July 4th festivities and fireworks were practically in our front yard! What I don't get is why celebrations sometimes are done another day other than July 4. It's weird.

Day 185:  0 Miles - Happy 4th of July! It was a lazy day, but we did work on some wedding stuff before getting lunch at Jersey Mikes (seriously good sandwiches, peeps!). We took an epic nap later, which was so nice before we drove out to see fireworks (an ate some food truck bbq). It was great!

Day 186:  3.21 Miles - So I turned 32 this week. Yikes! I had my first thought about how close to 40 I am. As in,  "Oh, only 8 more years till I'm 40." I know, I know. That's till a long time. I agree. But it just popped into my head. Anyway! My mom and I picked up a 5k race packet... Did I mention I'm running the Too Hot to Handle 5k? Well, I am! Then we tooted around an antique store. I met up with M so that we could look at our wedding venue during a preview time. Then it was dinner at Chuy's! Yum!

Day 187: 0 Miles - My first day back at work. Thankfully it was a quiet one. Even though I had four days off, and I was real rested on Monday, I was tiiiired after the passed couple of days! My allergies have been acting up and I had a sinus drain on Tuesday (boo!) so my sleep pattern suuuucks!

Day 188: 0 Miles - First day of doggie sitting for my parents! I stayed up late watching my sister play with her new Omega juicer and taught her how to cook quinoa. She's into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and has already lost quite a bit of weight. Now she's on a diet designed by a black belt. I wonder how thin she's going to get cause she's already a great size. I have to admit that I'm jealous cause I was that size two years ago. Ugh! I did 25 modified push ups too. It was so difficult! By the time I went to bed I was already sore!

Day 189: 0 Miles - I was getting the race jitters right around dinnertime. I hadn't done a race since March, and just the idea of getting up early and going out to the White Rock Lake area was tedious! For dinner, we made a rice bowl that had pre-cooked fajita meat (I ate beef cause I was running for Team Beef), green bell pepper, onions, cilantro and fried eggs (cooked in oil). It was tasty and perfect. I spent the rest of the night I downloaded new punk music (thanks to M!) to keep my pace fast and fun. I'm hoping that all goes well!

Total Miles this week: 10.31 Miles

Miles to Date: 211.31  Miles

2017 OMaD - Week 26

Seriously, where has the time gone! Once we got back from Cincinnati we were on the go for just life!

June 25 - July 1

Day 176: 0 Miles - I guess walking around the parks would have counted as mileage, but I don't care! We woke up later than planned on this day. But we checked out of the hotel within 30-45 minutes (cause we're awesome!). M took me to Busken Bakery, which is a Cincinnati staple and the place that M's grandma would give him cookies and cakes for his birthday. We bought some donuts, coffee and their famous sugar cookies. We ate breakfast in Ault Park in the Hyde Park neighborhood. M grew up in the park. It was so nice being able to eat out doors (the temperature was in the 70s)! Then we explored the park. I saw so many runners. I was jealous that I couldn't run. There were some serious hills in this park, and I knew that I'd want to come back in the future to run through the park.

We had lunch at Arthur's Cafe then had ice cream (one of the best ice creams in the world!) at Graeter's in Hyde Park Square. Then... Well, be basically went back to Ault Park and sat for a couple of hours talking about moving up here. One of M's relative is looking to invest/open some restaurants in a couple of years and offered M to basically help him. M dreams about moving up here every day, really. We left the park with not a lot of answers. We did know that we'd wanted to live near or in Hyde Park, which unfortunately is the place to be so it's pricier. We left for the airport earlier than we initially planned. Our flight was delayed for a while, but we got home to Dallas safe and sound.

Oh, and for sitting the park for a long time we ended up with some lopsided sunburns!

Day 177: 0 Mile - It was a slow day after a couple of appointments in the morning. We dinner at Chuy's (nothing like good Tex-Mex after spending the weekend in the midwest!) and we had a wonderful short visit from M's best bud Bri who was off from work. M and I still talked about moving to Cincinnati, and made some decisions that it'd be a life change that we may not be ready for, especially financially. But it was definitely not a "no."

Day 178: 0 Miles - Back to work!

Day 179:  0 Miles - I could've run, but I was still so tired from the weekend!

Day 180:  4.01 Miles - I ran for the first time in a week. It was crappy. The first 2 miles were butt heads. I was just telling myself that all I needed was a 5k. Then all of a sudden I got my second wind and I decided to run for 4. Then it was off to a really crazy day at work! I think of my 9 hour day at work, I sat down for about 01:45 of it!

Day 181: 0 Miles -I woke up this morning feeling like I was hit by a truck! What kept me going was the fact that I had only today and tomorrow to get to my extended weekend off!

Day 182: 0 Miles - Another very busy day at work, but it was my last work day before a four-day weekend! Yay!

Total Miles this week:  4.01 Miles   

Miles to Date: 190.69  Miles

2017 OMaD - Week 25

Busy week getting ready for a short trip to Cincinnati over the weekend!

June 18 - 24 

Day 169: 3.10 Miles -Remember that handful of Skittles on top of a Whataburger burger and fries? Big mistake! I had tummy troubles, which I thought went away after my morning pre-run routine... but nope! I had to cut my 10k/7 miler  into a 5k so I could get back home. Boo! Of course the moment I got home, everything calmed down for a while. Of course! Just after lunch, I headed down to my parents house for Father's Day. Wouldn't you believe my luck that half way to their house I realized that I left his card at the apartment! So I had to swing by a CVS to pick out a new card and get a Snickers bar for him Oh, and a big bottle of water for me. M came down after he got off of work an after a big nap, and we had a chili dinner with the family. Oh! And my mom had brought home some Czech Kolaches after a weekend trip to Austin. Yum! Then it was home again, jiggy jog!
 
Day 170: 0 Mile - There was a light thunderstorm in the early morning, which was nice to wake up to. My mom and I went to my wedding dress fitting. This time we were finalizing the hem length and the bustle! So exciting! Thankfully too the dress fitted practically perfect! I definitely can't lose any weight or the dress will be too big! Looks like I'm free to have the occasional donut now! Yay! Afterwards, M and I bought him some new shoes and visited his parents before going to the grocery store. This day went by so quickly! What happened?

Day 171: 3.11 Miles - I tried to get out to the park earlier so that it wasn't so hot. I got up 30 minutes earlier than my normal time. Regardless of when I got to the park, it was still muggy since nature was still moist from the rain on Monday! It was so hot, but my timing was better than on Sunday! I'm definitely going to make sure that I don't eat a lot of sugar the day/night before a run... This was something I did during marathon training, but after the races I have been bending the rules a little. Ok, ok, ok... maybe more than a little! :-P 

Day 172:  0 Miles -Rest day! M had to get up uber early for work. I dozed for a little bit after he left, but I had decided to empty the dishwasher, load it up with dinner's plates, AND scrub all the pots! All before I finished my first cup of coffee!!! What?! Who am I? I hate dishes! Lol. A work I focused on trying to get things prepped for my replacement for Saturday, which also includes getting some work done ahead of time for Tuesday, when I show up again. M made a delicious dinner when I got home.

Day 173:  0 Miles - So, I have a confession to make. I had ice cream the night before. I felt a little off tummy-wise this morning. Oops. It was already hot outside at 7am, and just knew that the mixture was not going to be fun... just like last Sunday. I took this opportunity to stay home to try to figure out what to pack for our quick trip to Cincinnati for the funeral. I'm meeting M's cousins and aunt for the first time (he hasn't seen them in 17 years too!), and I want to make a good impression.

I started to get insecure about how I looked, especially how my new bras make my boobs look bigger (ugh! something I hate) and my shirts a little tighter in the chest. I know that I'm not the leanest or the skinniest of runners, but I want to look like I'm not an overweight runner wanna-be (I can't believe I still feel like that sometimes!). Anyway, that's how I feel. Plus, I've been anxious about getting to the airport already on top of other daily pressures an "what-ifs".


Day 174:  0 Miles -A very busy day at work. However, I got to leave early so that M and I could get to the airport on time. When I got home I packed up my toiletries and changed clothes. Then we grabbed the cat and drove to my parents house. After talking and planning for about 20 minutes, M and I decided that we would drive to the airport ourselves. Parking was a bit of hassle, but that's what you get flying out of an international airport! Our flight was on time, and we landed early. However, once we hit the open road with our rental, we were stuck in traffic for nearly two because of an accident that shut down the highway. We made it to the hotel, then bolted to the White Castle that was next door for a midnight snack. Oh, so good!

Day 175: 0 Miles - M's uncle's funeral was in the morning. Meeting his extended family was really nice. The funeral was really nice too. Afterwards, we were treated to lunch at Skyline Chili, which is the best of the three chili bars in Cincinnati (in our opinion!). M showed me around the city and took me to Eden Park. The city is pretty hilly. The Flying Pig Marathon will need some serious training! We rested at the hotel for a little before we were picked up to have dinner at The Montgomery Inn at the Boathouse that's downtown and looks out on the Ohio River. That was so tasty too! Even the coffee and carrot cake! We walked along the river walk, enjoying the city's sights but also the Pride sights, which was fun. We got back to the hotel as the sun was going down. We new that we still had time to explore, but we were both so tired! We stayed in and feel asleep pretty quickly!

Total Miles this week:  6.21 Miles   

Miles to Date: 186.68  Miles

2017 OMaD - Week 24

Life never seems to give you a break sometimes, right? If didn't you would be bored. On brighter side of things, I found two new recipes that the chef and I like a lot!

June 11 - 17

Day 162: 6.22 Miles -This was such a great day! M left for work and I headed out for a run a couple hours later. It was a great 10k run. It wasn't too hot, and a strong breeze helped. I felt like this was a solid run. I'm thinking I should be able to pull off another 10k the following Sunday or even 7 to 8 miles! Fingers crossed! After that I spent a portion of the day eating a delicious breakfast and coffee from the comfort of our couch while watching British mystery shows on Newflix (Has anyone watch Father Brown?). M got home. Instead of taking a nap he had energy and we ended walking down a Farmer's Market near our home. We got some delicious baklava from one vendor and some roasted coffee from another. Then we shopped at the mall. It was a great day!
 
Day 163: 1 Mile - M and I got our chores and errands done early (Gold Stars for us! Yay!). After lunch M went down for a nap while I watched some of my mysteries on Netflix.... aaaaand. I feel asleep too. Nearly 3 hours later we both woke up. We got ourselves going and had yummy tacos at a taqueria and did a wedding discussion. After dinner I went for a walk. We were up late talking, which resulted in a groggy morning.

Day 164: 0 Miles - I was exhausted this morning, and my stomach ached. I slept in till it was time to go to work. Then 30 minutes before I had to leave we got word on the date of a M's family funeral, and it was "Go Time." We both worked on asking for time off then searched for flights, hotel and rental car. I have to admit it was very stressful, but we got the flights taken care.

Day 165:  0 Miles - Another crazy day with booking a hotel during my breaks at work. I made Honey Sriracha Glazed Meatballs for dinner, and they were delish! M did made edamame with a sesame soy sauce to go with the meatball and brown rice. I found the recipe for Eat Yourself Skinny's blog on Pinterest.

Day 166:  0 Miles - I spent the morning looking into car rents and reserved a car. Now we're all set for the trip to Cincinnati! Whew!

Day 167:  0 Miles - I woke up with a "Go, Go, Go!" mode already switched on. I put away the dishes then loaded the dishwasher again. I had enough time for coffee and a little breakfast before I had to had out to work.  It was a good day. I had half the mind to go to the gym or do a workout in the apartment after work, but I never made it. We had a late dinner of Baked Firecracker Chicken and Honey Lime Quinoa. I found the chicken recipe on Closet Cooking's website via Pinterst. The quinoa was M's own creation, and included equal parts lime juice and honey to two parts olive oil. 

Day 168: 0 Miles - It was a long day but thankfully it also went by quickly! M had to stay until closing so we had a later dinner than before. Since we also had to get Father's Day cards, we ended up just going to Whataburger for dinner. Afterwards I was so full and yet still ate a handful of Skittles while we watched a movie. Ugh!

Total Miles this week:  7.22 Miles   

Miles to Date: 180.47  Miles

OMaD - Week 23

A rough week.... but all is good!

June 4 - 10

Day 155: 6.20 Miles - I woke up this morning with the thought, "Aw man, I don't want to go to work." Then I remembered that it was Sunday Runday! Yay! I was set on running a 10k, and that's what I did. It was very not as hot and humid as I was expecting, but it definetely had my lifting my tank up to expose my stomach so that I could cool down. M and I had a great lunch before running some errands.

Then it was our date night out; however, it turned into a disappointment. We went to the Kirin Court in Richardson. M had raved about it ever since we started dating, and we finally made it. We got there two hours before the restaurant closed. There were probably four tables filled in the entire place. We ordered a couple dim sum, and asked the waiter to give us a minute to look over the entrees. We never saw him again at our table. Someone else probably 30 minutes later if we to order an entree. We said yes, thinking the original waiter would come over. He never did and the second waiter then served other tables around us. Basically, that waiter eventually came back to us (20 minutes later) and ask if we wanted something else and told we wanted an entree and she took our order but also said that the kitchen had closed. Oh. Then we waited another 45 minutes for our entrees to be made. One buss boy finally asked if we were doing alright and we said we were unsure if we had food coming or not. We finally got our entree, nearly 2 hours after we walked in to the restaurant. We ate only a little bit, paid and left. It was so disappointing and horrible. Everyone else, even those who sat down after us, were served quicker than we were. I know sometimes there is a cultural thing, but for an establishment that is supposed to be dedicated to customer service... this was horrendous! I was so disappointed for the both of us, I almost cried.
 
Day 156: 0 Miles - Monday fun! M and I took a little adventure down to Ham Orchards in Terrell to get our Peach Pork BBQ Sandwich and homemade strawberry and peach ice cream. Then we shopped their store and bought gobs and gobs of pickled food! It was so much fun!

Day 157:  0 Miles - I was so tired from work that I was so happy to see bed time. Granted, I also didn't want it to be bed time because I didn't want to go back to work after the crazy day I had! I didn't run in the morning because I was so tired. I didn't want to move from bed.

Day 158:  0 Miles - Sooo tired again. Part of my exhaustion is being dehydrated, and I worked on drinking more water. However, I just couldn't do it. M and I had a really basic dinner of spicy rice and fried eggs since we were so tired from work.

Day 159:  0 Miles - No run this morning either. I forced myself to drink enough water that I was peeing every 20 minutes if not shorter than that! I'm disappointed that didn't go run, but I if the inside of my mouth felt like sandpaper then I know better than not run but to recoup my water.

Day 160:  0 Miles - The first of two long days. M worked double shifts, which meant he had to go to work before I did and come after I do. All during work I was thinking about heading to the gym for a little bit after I got home, but the moment that I did.... I saw on the couch for a minute and I was gone. No hope for me!

Day 161: 0 Miles - Second long day. I get up to see M off to work, so I pretty much am uber tired in the morning. I made sure that I drank a lot of water help the body out. It was so busy that I didn't leave for lunch until 2:30! I headed over to Starbucks to get a sandwhich and a tea. It was so good and rewarding! Haha! M an I spent the evening with a pizza and a movie.

Total Miles this week:  6.20 Miles   

Miles to Date: 173.25  Miles

OMaD - Week 22

This week has been HOT! Summer is definitely here in North Texas!

May 28 - June 3

Day 148:  5.05 Miles - M had to get up super early for work. I got out to the park around 8 or so. The weather outside was misty/soft drizzle/rainy. Perfect! I had things on my mind after last night. I was talking to my running buddy HC. Turns out she plans on running the Texas Metal Saw Marathon on January 1, 2018. Dang it! It was one that I was thinking of running but in the 2019 New Year. I had decided that I wasn't going to run a full marathon right after my wedding because I didn't want to worry about training during the planning stage and worry about runs during my honeymoon. HC wanted a break for marathon running too. That has changed. I'm super jealous, to be honest. But during my run this morning I thought things out....

1. Training. I want to train for my next full marathon with new cross-training and nutrition, as a result becoming fitter than ever. My concern is in doing so may change my body enough that my wedding dress won't fit (it fits perfectly right now)... and I can't afford to have it altered even more.

2. Money. I've got a wedding and a honeymoon to help pay for! Marathon training is pricey to some extent too! I'm not sure I can swing both right now.

3. Time. Wedding planning. I need to focus on that. Then after that, time together as husband has wife (I like to thing that people still want to spend time with their new spouse after the honeymoon!). Also, the idea of potentially not being able to spend New Year's Eve/Day with my new husband (he may have to work the restaurant that day) sounds really sucky!

Anyway, I thought all of that during my run. I felt better, but still a little jealous. I told M about it later in the day. He would totally support me if I wanted to go for it, but was hearing more cons than pros. He suggested I wait until the 2018 season. Let's focus on our wedding first.This makes me a feel better. 

When M got home, we rested for a little before joining my friend HL and hubby at their Fajita Party. It was fun! Then, we watched a movie. It was a good day.
 
Day 149: 0 Miles - Rest day! I completely vegged out. I finished binge watching the Netflix documentary The Keepers. I had watched a few episodes here and there, but watched like four of them on Sunday after my run. Of course it ends with no real answers, but man... All that happened is crazy, sad, and horrible and you are left wanting to find justice for all the victims! I did make myself go to the grocery store like a good grown-up. M got home early from work. We spent the afternoon, eating some good burgers and fries before completely passing out on the couch for three hours. We had set an alarm to only take a 20 minute nap... but it failed. Miserably! When we woke up we finally got word about a friend, who is in the hospital, was ready for visitors. So we got him a present and card, and headed on over.

Day 150:  3.07 Miles - My Garmin decided it needs an update when I started my run this morning. The entire run it thought my pace was 00:01:35. Even when I stopped to stretch. Dang it! But it kept the distance and the timing down, which helped when it came slightly figuring out my pace. I had a late start, and it already felt like it was 80+ degrees out. Blah! But I did it! It bothers me that I miss read my watched when I got back to my starting point. It wasn't a complete 5k. Grrr! Oh, well.

Day 151:  0 Miles - This day started out well. Granted, I would've preferred to stay in bed, but I was a good girl went to work! In the afternoon I was excited about things coming in the future! I also learned that never take anything for granted!

Day 152:  0 Miles - I didn't go for my run since M has been out of sorts since last night. We did spend the morning looking at our engagement photos. They are awesome! I do wish I was in more flattering - more form fitting - less loose/swing style clothes, but I do love the overall style. I'm very happy with the photos we got! I can't wait to see what our wedding photos will be like!

Day 153:  0 Miles - Busy day at work, means I practically just lazed around afterwards. I had the opportunity to go to the gym for a little bit before dinner.... but I decided to sit down on the couch instead.

Day 154:  0 Miles - It was an even crazier day at work. I'm so glad it's the weekend!

Total Miles this week:  8.12 Miles   

Miles to Date: 167.05  Miles