Gulf Coast Half Marathon Training...Week 8!

Currently training for:
Gulf Coast Half Marathon (Use the code ROADRUNNERGIRL for 20% off registration)
Senior Bowl Charity Run 10K
Battleship 12K
Double Bridge Run 15K
Disney Princess 5K
Disney Enchanted 10K
Disney Princess Half Marathon
Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Half Marathon (Use the code ROADRUNNERGIRL15 to save $15 off all 2015 Rock 'n' Roll races...excludes Vegas but you can use the ROADRUNNERGIRL15LV to save $15 off that one!)

This week 10 miles was on the schedule! This would be my first two digit run since April! I was looking forward to it! And after the run all my Sole2Soul Sisters were meeting at Donna's house for breakfast and a wedding gift card shower for my friend Paige who is getting married this weekend!

Some of the Sole2Soul Sisters met at different times to run. Jenny and I decided to run a little later but still make it to breakfast. We parked at Donna's house since that's where we would need to end up at the end of the run. 

The temperature was in the mid 70's when we got started running. But the humidity was around 94% so that made it seem hotter.

When we started it was also pitch black dark outside. Jenny and I both said we don't like running in the dark but it's necessary when we are training. And now that the days are starting to get shorter it's hard to avoid the dark.

Thankfully the sun started rising around mile 2. It was so pretty seeing the sunrise across the field!

Around mile 3 we saw a dead raccoon on the road. It made us laugh because our friend Leigh had just sent us a story about a dead raccoon in Toronto that lead to a memorial and hashtag (#DeadRaccoonTO) in honor of the dead raccoon! It's hilarious! Check out the story HERE!

So of course we had to send a picture of the dead raccoon to Leigh with our hashtag #DeadRaccoonAL!!!!

And being the awesome friend that she is...Leigh sent us this picture the next morning! Lol!!!!

We continued our run laughing about the raccoon! We got to mile 5 and all of a sudden we saw a black lab come running towards us! Jenny assured me that this dog was sweet and ran with her all the time. He was super sweet! And so happy! He ran with us and stopped at almost every tree to pee lol! He was just so happy running along with us! He ran the next 1.5 miles with us until his owner came looking for him.

By this time we were headed back. I thought I would be thinking about breakfast the entire run but surprisingly I did not. And we didn't even talk about food which is so unlike me and Jenny on a run! We usually talk about food and how hungry we are lol!

The sunrise was super pretty when we passed by the field again!

Before we knew it we had made it back to Donna's neighborhood! We had to conquer a hill before we were finished though. We did it and finished strong!!!

Jenny and I talked about slowing down for this double digit run. We said running in the 9's would be our goal. But apparently we can't slow down! Our average pace for 10 miles was 8:53!!!

We were soooo hot and sweaty after the run!!!!

We stretched and tried to dry a little before heading inside Donna's house for breakfast. It was so awesome having so many Sole2Soul Sisters together to eat and celebrate Paige and her upcoming wedding!!!

And breakfast was so yummy! I was hungry after those 10 miles!!!

Paige, me, Donna, and Jenny! I really enjoyed talking to these ladies long after everyone else had left!

It was a super fun morning of running, eating, and fellowshipping! And Donna had tons left over so she sent me home with a gallon of low fat chocolate milk! Yum!!! And of course I drank some after my run for recovery! It's my favorite way to recover!

QOTD: What is your favorite food after a long run?

The Weekly Chase #139!

Happy Tuesday friends! It's going to be a short week due to the long weekend! I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day holiday!

My weekend was full of lots of fun! Friday afternoon after school I headed to Starbucks for my Friday Frapp!

After taking Sawyer to gymnastics, going to Target for a birthday present, and picking Sawyer back up from gymnastics it was time for pizza! I look forward to Friday night pizza every week! As most of you know the night before my long run I always carb up with pizza. It works great for me! It was early to bed for me that night since I had a 5AM wake up call.

I met Jenny the next morning for 10 miles! We had a great run and then afterwards we ate breakfast and celebrated my friend Paige's upcoming wedding with my Sole2Soul Sisters! It was great having so many of us together!!!

Later that day we took a family drive to some of my hubby's work projects (he's an engineer). I love seeing the product of some of the jobs I hear him talk about. This one below is the first bridge he has ever designed! I can't wait to see it when it's finished! I'm so proud of my man!

Then it was back home in time for the Auburn game! I'm so glad the college football season is here!!! I just LOVE this time of year!

We were all decked out in our Auburn gear of course! Yes...even our cat Cullen was excited about his Auburn Tigers!

While the hubby and I relaxed and watched the game, the boys entertained us as well lol! That's Hayden standing on top of Sawyer's mushroom for gymnastics! Silly boy!

The next day we went to church in the morning. Since Auburn won the game, Sawyer and I wore our Auburn colors to church!

After church we headed to meet Andy's sister Katie and her family and Andy's parents for lunch to celebrate Katie's birthday! We had a yummy BBQ lunch and cake afterwards! Then we rushed back home because the boys had their first Cub Scouts meeting of the season! Busy!

Now it's time for the Weekly Chase! It's a new week and I have new goals to achieve! I hope you will link up your own goals with me too! And feel free to use the badge below in your post too! You can grab the badge HERE! :-)

Here are my goals from last week!

• Goal #1: Run every day! Yes! I reached day 460 of my run streak this week!
• Goal #2: Roll, stretch, and ice daily. Yes! I've been great fitting this in!
• Goal #3: Maintain my weight by logging my calories. Yes!!!
• Goal #4: Finish my September calendar for work. Yes! I got this done and turned in on time!
• Goal #5: Get in at least one strength training workout this week. Not sure if this counts...but I did do a few 1 minute workouts with Laura from GirlsGoneSporty on periscope. 
• Goal #6: Write a note about Sawyer. Yes! And Sawyer's teacher read it to the class and Sawyer loved it! Whew!

Here are the goals I'm chasing this week!

Goal #1: Run every day! I plan on continuing the streak! I'm counting down the days until it gets cooler. My first half is on October 18th and I'm praying it's going to be cooler then!

Goal #2: Roll, stretch, and ice daily. Gotta keep this up to help my body stay injury free!

Goal #3: Maintain my weight by logging my calories. I love how I feel right now and don't want to gain any of the weight back that I worked so hard to lose. Gotta stay accountable and on top of it by logging everything I eat!

Goal #4: Move 11,000 steps or more each day this week. I always move a lot when I first wake up (because of my run) and at work. But when I get home I like to relax, catch up on blogs, blog, read, etc. I'm aiming to reach at least 11,000 steps each day this week. I don't need to sit as much. I want to move more!

So that's the plan for this week! I hope you have a great week conquering your goals!

QOTD: What are your goals this week?

Fitness Friday...September 4th Edition!

Happy Friday y'all! And happy 3 day weekend!!!! I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend! Because it's Labor Day I won't be blogging on Monday. I'll be spending quality time with the family! But never fear....the Weekly Chase will be back on Tuesday! ;-)

We've had a super busy week! I feel like I say that every week but this is my life lol! On Monday I had a dentist appointment after school to fix a filling that was cracked. So not fun. My appointment was at 4:00 that afternoon and I was already STARVING! Well...my mouth was numb until around 7:30 that night! I couldn't eat until then! I thought I was going to die! And yes....a numb mouth is creepy! I don't like not being able to smile! Sorry for scaring you with the picture below!

Tuesday was another busy day. I had work and then I headed to the grocery store for some much needed groceries. I got home...to find that my husband went to the grocery store on his lunch break!!! So...double the groceries lol! But he did buy me a little happy at the store....lowfat chocolate milk!!! Does he know the way to my heart or what??!!!

That night we had a Parent Meeting at school with Sawyer's teacher. When we first got there all the parents were trying to find their child's biography. I found Sawyer's pretty quickly! And if you are wondering (like we were) "crapten" is supposed to be "trampoline!" Lol! That kid cracks me up!!!

Later that evening was cuddle time with Cullen! Love my sweet kitty!!!

Wednesday after school I needed some Starbucks! And yay for the Lucky Dozen...because my frapp was free!!!

I came home that afternoon to some AMAZING mail!!! First....I received new BAMR Bands as a perk of being an ambassador! I LOVE every single one of them!!!

I also received another package from Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series and Women's Running Magazine! I'm so stoked to be a Rock 'n' Blogger and be teaming up with one of my favorite magazines...the Women's Running Magazine! They sent me this awesome white tank and gray pullover (with THUMB HOLES...I LOVE thumb holes!!!) as well as gave me a free 2 year subscription to the magazine!!!

And....they gave me a discount code for YOU as well!!! Instead of the normal $19.95 it costs to subscribe...your price is $9.95 with the code ROADRUNNERGIRL15!!! Now why wouldn't you subscribe for that awesome price? It's an awesome magazine! I enjoy every issue! You can subscribe HERE!!!

And since we are on the subject of Rock 'n' Roll races....you know you can use my code ROADRUNNERGIRL15 to save $15 off registration for 2015 races. But that code doesn't include Rock 'n' Roll Vegas. UNTIL NOW!!! They just gave us a new code specifically for Rock 'n' Roll Vegas! Use the code ROADRUNNERGIRL15LV for $15 off registration!!! Who wouldn't want to run the strip at night??? Here are the reasons why you should!!! (Umm hello??? KID ROCK!!!)

Thursday I left work early. Sawyer is the Student of the Week in his class this week and Thursday was the day for a parent to come eat lunch with him. I'm so thankful for a job that allows me to take off for important moments like these!

That night it was back to the school for the Parent Meeting with Hayden's teacher! I spotted his artwork from last year hanging in that hallway! Now why doesn't he tell me about these things???

Now it's time for Fitness Friday! I had great runs this week but I can tell it's time for new shoes. I'm way over the miles on my shoes. Hopefully I can get some soon! Asics...don't you want to help a girl out???

• Friday- #plankaday 2:05, 2.16 mile run in 17:32 average pace 8:08

• Saturday- 7.06 mile run in 1:01:34 average pace 8:43

• Sunday- 2.52 mile run in 20:50 average pace 8:16

• Monday- #plankaday 2:05, 2.15 mile run in 17:59 average pace 8:22

• Tuesday- #plankaday 2:06, 2.16 mile run in 17:44 average pace 8:12

• Wednesday- #plankaday 2:15, 2.17 mile run in 17:44 average pace 8:11

• Thursday- #plankaday 2:05, 2.31 mile run in 18:26 average pace 8:00

It was a great week of runs. But like I said I can tell that it's time for new shoes.

I have a 10 mile run on the schedule for tomorrow. I'm running with all my Sole2Soul Sisters and then we are eating breakfast together at Donna's house! I'm looking forward to it!

Gulf Coast Half Marathon in Mandeville training is going great! I'm super excited about this race! And in case you want to join me you can use the code ROADRUNNERGIRL to save 20% off your registration!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!!!!

QOTD: What was your best run or workout this week?

Gulf Coast Half Marathon Training...Week 7!

Currently training for:
Gulf Coast Half Marathon (Use the code ROADRUNNERGIRL for 20% off registration)
Senior Bowl Charity Run 10K
Battleship 12K
Double Bridge Run 15K
Disney Princess 5K
Disney Enchanted 10K
Disney Princess Half Marathon

This week was a taper back week for me. I had 6 miles on the schedule. But Jenny and I made a plan to run 7 miles. We were meeting at her house early Saturday morning so we could run a different route. I had my pizza the night before and I was ready to run!

I woke up Saturday morning to a sad text from Jenny. She had hurt her foot somehow on her walk the night before. The pain had kept her up all night and she knew she didn't need to run on it. I felt so bad for her! Especially because the next day was supposed to be her 100th day of her run streak! But I know she made the right choice to not run.

Well....for this girl...the long run must go on! So I set out for 7 solo miles from my house.

The temperature was pretty nice. It was 69° with 94% humidity. I knew I would be sweating before the first mile was done.

There wasn't anything exciting about this run. There were clouds in the sky that were covering the sunrise. So I was bummed I couldn't see that.

It was pretty quiet out there. I did see two other groups running. One group was some of my Sole2Soul Sisters. They were wondering why I was by myself so I told them about Jenny as we passed each other.

Even though I was solo I still enjoyed the run. Sometimes it is good to just listen to the sound of your feet hitting the pavement. And it gave me lots of time to pray.

Before I knew it I had made it my 7 miles! I missed running with Jenny but it's nice to know I can accomplish a long run on my own if I have to.

My favorite part about this run....running in daylight!!! I miss the daylight during the weekdays! It's tough getting up so early to run during the week but it's even tougher when it's dark out. But a runner's got to do what a runner's got to do!

Next week I have 10 miles on the schedule. I'm hoping Jenny will be able to run with me!

QOTD: What is your favorite song to run to?