Vegetarian Christmas and COOKIES :)

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

Tonight my sweet husband made a delicious dinner.  He made a roast for himself and a separate veggie version for me.  Mine had carrots, potatoes, onions, and mushrooms.  He topped it with a Merlot wine sauce.  It was amazing!  I also needed a little green to my plate so I had a spinach salad with broccoli.

Then the good part came...

Last night we made some homemade cookie dough from scratch from a recipe I found from Glamour.  It was made with 1/2 whole wheat flour and less sugar so it was a healthier version.  We let it chill over night so it would be ready for tonight. 

Aren't the shapes cute?!

I have to admit, the cookies didn't taste quite as good as normal sugar cookies.  So, we made up for the healthy part and added frosting and sprinkles!

Now it's time to relax with my husband.  Merlot and a movie sounds great!  I hope you all are having a great Christmas Eve with your loved ones.  We'll wake up tomorrow and have cinnamon rolls and coffee and exchange gifts.  Then I'm running 15 and I'm so excited about tapering.  I'm in serious need of rest.  Next week is 12 and then the week after that is DISNEY MARATHON!! 

Merry Christmas!

Leah B.

Jerry's Graduation & BIG News

It's official.  I finally have my husband back!  Last night my husband, Jerry graduated from The University of South Alabama's nursing school.  He has worked so hard and I'm so proud of him!  He'll take his boards soon and there will be two RNs in the family! 

Walking in

Jerry (second from left) and some of his classmates. 

Me and my hubby!



With Jerry's graduation over with comes a much needed and anticipated change.  We're moving to OHIO!!  As I've mention before, my family lives in Ohio and it's been really hard being so far away.  We both love the Ohio area and are so excited!  I'll work through the beginning of January, run the Disney marathon and enjoy our Disney vacation, and then we're heading up north.  I can't wait to be near my family and explore new places.  I'm also determined to get season passes to King's Island this summer!

Tomorrow, I'm scheduled for 22 miles and I'm pretty nervous about it.  I've done 20 twice during my training but I've been sick so I just don't know how this will turn out.  I guess we'll see tomorrow!  I hope you have a nice and relaxing Saturday night.  My hubby and I are about to snuggle in and watch A Christmas Carol.

Leah B.

Ohio Trip

Hello blogger friends!  Long time, no see.  I've been so busy!  In the last few weeks my hubby and I moved in with my dad, took a trip to Ohio, worked, got sick, and then worked some more.  I promise I'll be a better blogger as soon as things settle down!

A last week, I flew up to Ohio to visit with my wonderful family for the holidays.  We had lots of fun packed into the 5 days I was there.  The first morning I woke up to a lovely downfall of snow.

We had a ladies night out to a dinner play/musical, White Christmas. It was a blast!

We went to a flower mill where they decorate with 3.5 million lights each year. It was beautiful and freezing!

The night before I left we had a birthday party for my sister, Micaela and a Christmas party. We baked and ate lots of yummy food.  I can't believe she's 17!

It's been so hard being so far away from the ones I love but it's so great when we get to see each other. 

I'm now less than a month away from the Disney Marathon so I stuck to my schedule while I was visiting.  I left temperatures in southern Alabama in the 50-60s to Ohio's 10-20s!  I ran 3 times during my 5 day visit and I'm pretty sure the last one destroyed me.  It was 12 degrees with a wind chill of 6!  Seriously?  I was sick for over a week after that.  I'm not saying the cold made me sick, but I think my body was fighting something before I went and the freezing air in my lungs made it worse.  I had to get a steroid shot and antibiotics.  I went 6 days with no running.  I thought I was going to die!  I finally feel better, thank goodness!

This week, I've played catch-up.  I did a sort of long run on Monday, but only ran 12.  I think I'm taking a day off tomorrow because I'm a little sore from my YASSO 8x800 and my fast 6 miler today.  Sunday is 22 miles and I'm so excited!

I have HUGE news to share with you next time we chat.  ;)

Leah B.

Packing and Thanksgiving

I'm so exhausted!  I worked the past two nights and I picked up an extra shift this week.  I'm still wondering why I thought that would be a good idea.  This afternoon I got up and decided I'd go to the gym for my run because I was running out of daylight.  The plan was 9 miles with 6x800s at 3:57 min/mile.  I warmed up for a mile before my intervals and then completed the last couple miles with a fast finish.  It was a really good run although I don't really enjoy being on a treadmill for 9 miles!  I watched Oprah for a while and then switched to my boring ipod playlist.

We are in the process of moving out of our townhouse so my husband and I have been hard at work bubble wrapping, packing, and cleaning.  Moving is hard work!  One good thing is getting rid of things that we don't need any more.  We are giving away our couches, coffee table, side table, old tv, tv stand, and about six big bags of clothes to Goodwill.  We got a lot done tonight! 

Sadly, there we are having no real Thanksgiving dinner.  Jerry's family is all in north Alabama and my brother, sister, mom, and the rest of my family are in Ohio.  Because of school and work, we couldn't get together with family.  That's a tough part of being a nurse.  Hospitals don't shut down on holidays!  I couldn't even bake because all our cookware is boxed up.  So, we bought a pumpkin pie in an attempt to be festive.  We waited until after midnight and then shared pie on paper plates on a packing break.  It was yummy!  What would a vegetarian eat on Thanksgiving anyway?  I'll have to figure that one out before next year! 

This wasn't exactly a traditional Thanksgiving but there's always next year!  I am so thankful for all the blessings in my life.  I have a loving husband who is my best friend and a wonderful family who I miss so much!  I'm going to Ohio in December for the holidays to visit and I absolutely can't wait!  I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving with the ones you love.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Leah B.

This Week and 18 Miler Report

This has been quite a crazy week and the next couple weeks are going to get even crazier!  Besides trying to get ready for the holidays, increasing my mileage, and work, my husband and I have to be moved out of our townhouse by the end of this month.  We have lots to do in preparation but we'll get it done. 

On a bright note, training this week has been a success!  I ran a total of 41.3 miles this week and I think this is one of the first time's I've broken the 40 mile mark.  They were all good runs for me too.  I had a tempo and a race pace run and a couple short ones. 

Can you believe I went to bed at 8:00 p.m. last night?  Yep, I was tired!  This morning I got up bright and early for my 18 miler in Fairhope.  I met up a running group at the Fairhope Pier along the bay.  I have to say that this was one of the most beautiful runs I've ever done.  I ran along the beautiful bay as the sun rose, along the golf course and through pretty country.  This is a photo of the pier (I did not take this pic). 

Gloria and I started off the first 3 miles with the guys and they were going way too fast.  After that we slowed down a bit and she finished off 11.5 miles with me.  She showed me a beautiful course that I'll definitely do again.  Then I was on my own to finish 6.5 miles.  I kicked it up a little and when I only had 6 left I started getting excited.  I was feeling great!  Then when was at mile 16 I was ready to be finished.  I was getting achy and my back was hurting.  Why was my back sore?  Maybe I wasn't running with good posture.  I felt like Dory from Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming...".  At this point, I was counting down the quarter miles left.  I finally finished and I finished strong!  Overall my pace was 9:15 min/mile which is so close to my marathon pace.  It was a really great run!



When I got home I took a 10 minute ice bath.  Is it worth it?  Do you take ice baths?  It is torturous and I despise them!  I ate a big bowl of cereal and am on my way to take a nap.  I'm ready for a lazy Sunday now!  I hope you have a relaxing Sunday with the ones you love.  45 Days until the Disney Marathon!

Leah B.

Tempo!

Over the past few days I've been a stuffy, sneezing, and coughing machine.  I tried to let myself rest.  I didn't run Saturday and Sunday but had to work all night.  Monday I had a REAL rest day.  And by that I mean nothing.  I didn't even leave my house in hopes that I'd be fully recovered. 

Yesterday I was finally able to get back in the swing of things after being sick.  My throat felt fine and my head was less stuffy.  I ran 3 miles at 8:37 average pace.  Today my training calendar had me scheduled for my first tempo run.  Over the next couple months before the marathon, I will be doing tempo and speed work each week and I'm so excited!  Anyway, I warmed up for 2 miles and then kicked it into gear for 3 miles at approximately 8:08 min/mile.  I grabbed some water and then took it easy for the last 3 miles to cool down.  My overall pace was 8:46.  I probably should have ran a little easier on my warm up/cool down miles but I was feeling good!  Running 8 miles like this was a fun change!

How is your running going?  Do you do much speed/tempo during training?

Leah B.

Long Run + The Sniffles

Because I haven't been feeling great with this cold and sinus crud (or whatever it is), last night I got myself to bed early in preparation for my long run.  It's kind of funny and a little annoying to wake myself up in a sneezing fit in the middle of the night!  I got up pretty early and was feeling much better.  I premedicated myself with nasal spray and brought along my cough drops.

I headed over to Fairhope to meet Jeanene to get some miles in before the Phat Girlz met.  We ran 8 and then I continued to run another 6 with Kat and the rest of the phatties for a total of 14 miles.  It was a really great long run!  I was pretty happy with my 9:31 overall pace.  It was so nice to chat with these lovely ladies and leave my ipod behind. 

When I got home, I ate a big bowl of Kashi cinnamon cereal with soy milk, showered, and got in bed.  I slept for about 2 hours but would've slept longer if I could!  Now, if I could stop sneezing and sniffling, that would be great!  I really hope I get over this soon.  I'll gladly embrace tomorrow's rest day!

I really need a new playlist by the way.  Any song suggestions?  I like all kinds!

Happy Friday,
Leah B.

Relax and Take it Easy

When I woke up I realized it was hard to swallow.  Oh please, tell me I'm not catching my husband's crud!  Hopefully it's just sinus related and I'm not actually getting sick.  I felt slightly better after my coffee so I decided I'd go ahead with today's run. 

My calendar told me that I had 8 miles of hills.  I took it nice and easy and I didn't push it.  The weather was beautiful and it was a perfect 68 degrees with a chill in the wind.  I'm supposed to be running my hills workouts at a 9:58 min/mile but that just didn't feel right to me.  I went with what felt good and I ended up with an average 9:14 min/mile.  Overall, the run felt great.  My throat, however, did not. 

I stretched and showered and was back in my pajamas by 6 p.m.  For dinner I wanted something easy and warm so I made this.

Yum, so good!  I LOVE Amy's products.  They have delicious organic soups and frozen dinners.  I also had some Greek yogurt and almonds.  I'm now sitting on the couch sipping some hot tea with lemon and honey.  I have an apple cinnamon candle lit and I'm about to read a magazine.  I don't plan on leaving my couch for the rest of the night! 

Do we take enough time to relax?  It's hard for us runners to take it easy.  We have an agenda!  We need to take those rest days and recover.  Is it as hard for you to rest as it is for me?

I hope you have a relaxing night,
Leah B.

NOLA Trip and 16 Miles

I had a FUN filled weekend!  Let me tell you all about it...

On Friday afternoon my husband and I met up with some friends and headed over to New Orleans for a couple of nights of fun.  Our #1 agenda was to see Mumford and Sons.  If you don't know them, you need to.  They are amazing to say the least.  Before the concert we ate at an Italian/pizza place and it was so good but we all smelled like garlic butter afterwards!  After dinner, we went to the venue to wait in line and froze out butts off. 

When the doors finally opened we rushed in and eventually were almost front row! We saw a couple of good opener bands and then it was time for Mumford and Sons! I have to say this was the best show I've been to besides the few annoying drunk people. 

Here are all six of us.  Patrick, Leah O. Travis (just the top of his head!) Me, Paul, and Jerry.

After the concert we went out and eventually met up with Calee.  She and some of her classmates from Alabama were down for the Bama and LSU game.  It's always great seeing my wonderful friend!

Saturday afternoon we went to Cafe Du Monde for a beignet and delicious coffee.  We walked and shopped around a bit and then went for dinner.  Everyone else stayed out quite a bit later than me and my hubby because we had lots to do today.  Maybe we're just an old married couple now :)  Actually, I knew I had to run 16 miles and he had to work.  So, we were smart and got ourselves a good night sleep!

Today's 16 miler wasn't exactly fun, however.  There were a few things working against me.
1.  It was 1:30 p.m. when I started so I already was tired from getting up early and the drive.
2.  I was all alone!  I had  no one to chat with and pass the time.
3.  My ipod playlist is boring me to death and I desperately need new running music.
4.  I ran the same old route that I always do except today was just over and over and over.
Basically, I was sensory deprived and I was ready to get it over with!  I was actually looking forward to my ice bath just because that meant I was done.  (I later regretted looking forward to that misery.)  I really shouldn't complain.  The weather was in the 60s and sunny.  My body felt great which is awesome!  I was just glad to be finished and have a rest day tomorrow.  Don't worry, I learned my lesson last week and I will take a real rest day!

I hope you all have a great week!
Leah B.

Happy Halloween

Last night after my long run and long nap my husband and I got ready and went to a halloween party at one of our friend's house.  Sitcoms and Serial Killers was the theme.  Can you guess who we are?

Fred and Daphne from Scooby Doo!  It was so much fun! 

As you know I ran 15 miles yesterday so today was supposed to be a rest day.  I'm obviously not very good at it because I went to the gym and spent an hour on the elliptical.  I really don't know why I do that to myself but I felt like I needed it!  I feel good when I work up a sweat!  Oh well, at least it was no impact, right?

Tonight my brother and I went to our dad's house and handed out candy to the kids.  They were so cute!  And now, I'm sipping on some hot tea and ready to watch Clash of the Titans with my brother.  I hope you all are enjoying your night and had a great weekend!

Happy Halloween!
Leah B.

15 Miles Report

This morning I woke up bright eyed at 4 a.m. because my sleep is all messed up from working night shift.  Luckily I felt rested and ready to go.  Anyway, I got myself up and prepared for my long run.  I haven't run much farther than 13.1 miles since last year's Marine Corp Marathon so I was pretty excited about 15 miles!  Irene is a friend from work and we decided to run together today.  She has done 10 full marathons and is an awesome runner.  She is training for a full marathon the same weekend that mine is so we are basically on the same schedule for our long runs.

I knew it was going to be cold this morning but I wasn't exactly expecting 48 degrees!  I wore my capri leggings under my shorts and a jacket for the first time this year.  I was out the door by about 5:45 and met up with Irene at a park in Mobile.  It just so happened that some of my teammates from TNT were there and it was so great seeing them!  Irene and I headed out at a nice and easy pace.  We chatted the whole time which is a great change from my ipod.  After about 9 miles we stopped at the store and I got some water and ate my sports beans and Irene got a gatoraide.  It started warming up outside to about 60 at the end of our run.  It really felt amazing outside!  The chill in the air was a very welcomed change from the heat and humidity of last week.  We really had a fantastic run!

When I got home I took my 10 minute ice bath, drank my chocolate soymilk, ate some rice and veggies, and took a 4 hour nap!  Impressive, huh?  I had no idea I'd be able to sleep that long.  I feel great and ready for a fun night!  I am off to put the finishing touches on my costume and get ready.

Next week is 16 miles!  Happy Halloween Eve everyone!
Leah B.

Long Run: 13 miles

When my alarm went off this morning I knew I was not ready to get out of my cozy bed.  I didn't sleep well at all.  So, I groaned a little and made some coffee.  I ate my usual oats and had coffee and water.  I soon woke up and got myself mentally prepared for today's 13 miles.  I headed out to get some mileage in before the Phatties all met up.  I ran 5.5 miles by myself and then the rest of the 7.5 with Lisa, a really nice lady that I met today.  My average pace was 9:23 min/mile and total time of 2:01:56.

Here's the breakdown...
1:  9:20
2:  8:59
3:  8:59
4:  8:58
5:  9:27
6:  9:37
7:  9:17
8:  9:41
9:  9:16
10:  9:26
11:  9:34
12:  9:26
13:  9:40

As you can see, I slowed down a little after the first 4 miles.  It may be because I went out a little too fast, ditched the ipod to be social, there were more hills after 5 miles, or that I was talking the entire time.  Regardless, it was a great run and I really enjoyed running with Lisa!

When I got home I was a good girl and I stretched and took a 10 minute ice bath.  Gah, I hate them!  Actually sitting down is by far the worse part.  I brought my Runner's World magazine in and read during the torture.  After I warmed up, I fixed a peanut butter and banana sandwich with a glass of soy milk.  I then climbed back in bed for a nice 3 hour nap!

I was at Barns and Noble yesterday and looked through this cookbook...

and I want it so badly!  It looks so great for everyday cooking.  I definitely need some new recipe ideas!  So, feel free to buy it for me.  :)

Happy Friday friends,
Leah B.

3 Things Thursday

1.  Yesterday I got to spend the whole day with my little brother, Jared.  He is such a kind and good hearted person and I'm so proud of him!  He's in nursing school right now (to be like his big sister) and he needed a little coffee break so I treated him to Starbucks.

Then my brother, husband, and I went to eat Thai food.  My brother spent the whole summer in Thailand so he was super excited about trying the food to see if it tasted authentic.  He said it did.  I ended up having veggie sushi rolls (surprise!) and they were delicious as always. 

Look!  A dragonfly carrot!

2.  Today's run was an easy 4 miler.  I mentally prepared myself to take it slow and easy and to really enjoy it.  I was chugging along and having a great time until my Garmin died at around 2.5 miles!  This was slightly frustrating but I kept on going and tried to keep a steady pace.  I would guess I ran around 4.5 miles based on my usual time and distance.  Oh well, I don't have to be dependent on that watch! 

Tomorrow I'm running 13 miles and the last 5 will be with the Phatties.  Yay, it's so fun to run with these peppy ladies!

3.  Today is a very special day because it is Calee's 23rd birthday!  This lovely lady means so much to me and I'm blessed to have her as such a close friend.  She's my long distance Disney training buddy.  I can't wait for this marathon!!  This is her 1st full and I know she'll do awesome!

I hope you all are having a wonderful Thursday!

Leah B.

7 miles of HILLS!

Today my training calendar had me scheduled for 7 miles of hills.  By the time I got up and ready to go, it was already 11:30 am.  Hmm, how's this going to feel?  So, I headed out my front door and ran toward the hilliest part of my neighborhood.  Luckily, I was in the shade for most of the run!  It wasn't an easy run but my legs felt fresh and I felt great!  I ran 7.2 miles with an average 8:46 min/mile.  I was pretty happy with my pace.

Post run I had an apple and a cup of plain Greek yogurt with cinnamon and lots of water!  Then I got cleaned up and ran some errands.  By the time I got back I was ready for an early dinner.  I made these...

Banana pancakes!  I topped my wheat pancakes with a small banana and a little maple syrup.  These are delicious and healthy!  It is one of my favorite meals.  I love breakfast for dinner! 

This weekend's long run is a 13 miler.  I've actually been excited about my long runs these last few weeks!  I would have to say my Disney training is going quite well and I'm right on track.  I can't wait for this marathon!

How is your training going? 

Leah B.

Gulf Coast Half Marathon

This weekend Calee and I went to Mandeville, LA for the Gulf Coast Half Marathon and we had a blast!  Mandeville was a beautiful little town on the coast about 30 minutes away from New Orleans.  The scenery was absolutely amazing.  The water was beautiful with tons of sail boats and there were huge trees with Spanish moss like this everywhere.

Our day began at 5 am.  We had our coffee, oatmeal, and a banana and headed out to Fontainebleau State Park.  We arrived at 6:15 and start time was 7:00.  Calee and I decided to run together with a goal to get her a half PR.  When we started the temperature was only about 60 degrees and warmed up to about 75 by the time we finished.  We kept a good pace and everything was going great until about mile 8.  Calee had a little stumble and scraped her knee and hands. 

After that she just needed a little encouragement to keep motivation.  I knew she had it in her physically but needed to fight those bad thoughts and get back in the groove!  We ended up meeting our goal and she beat her PR by 9 minutes!  We finished in about 2:18.  This is our first photo post race and  I think it says a lot!  We were happy :)

 

These are our bottle opener medals.

And here are a few post race photos of me and Calee.

 Isn't the water beautiful?

We had so much fun and I'm so glad we ran together.  I've never ran a half or marathon with anyone before and it was really fun to have someone with me the whole time!  10/10/10 turned out to be a fantastic day.  Yay for training, races, and beautiful places!

I haven't been to the gym in weeks because the weather has been a lot cooler and I've been doing my runs outside.  Today I ran an easy 5.5 on the treadmill and took advantage of the gym and did some weights.  I feel great!  Tomorrow will be a much needed rest day.  This week's long run is another 12 miler.  I hope to get to run with the Phat Girlz again this weekend for part of the long run.

How is your training going?
Leah B.

9 Miles and PHAT GIRLZ

This morning I drove to beautiful Fairhope, which is the next little town over from where I live, to do this weekend's long run.  This is a ladies only group that has recently formed in this area and I'm excited to be a part of it!  Last week they had 3 women who met and this week there were 13!  They do a 3 mile loop or a 5 mile loop and there are runners, and run/walkers.  I ran 4 miles before meeting up with everyone and then ran the 5 mile loop with the group.  I kept an average 9:24 min/mile.  It was great meeting everyone and I really needed a change of scenery!  After the run they made us do push ups and abs workouts.  I was exhausted but it felt great!

This picture of the group was emailed to me and I couldn't make it any bigger.

When I got home I was pretty hungry so I made a southwestern egg sandwich with red and green peppers, tomato, and cheese.  Oh, it was exactly what I needed!

Now, I feel nice and perky after a 2.5 hour nap!  I hope you all enjoy your weekend.  Yay for fall, cooler weather, and October!!! 

Leah B.



Three Things Thursday

1.  This morning I woke up at 9!  Wow, go me!  I ate my usual oatmeal, drank coffee, and had some water.  I got ready and ran an easy 4 miles with an average 9:18 min/mile pace.  I knew I needed to take it easy because I have 9 miles scheduled for tomorrow.  The weather wasn't too harsh.  It was probably almost 80 degrees but there was a nice breeze.

2.  This afternoon, I went shopping around and wandered into a running shop.  I ended up not buying anything but I did learn about a really cool running group for women.  They meet each week for a 3-5 mile run.  I told the lady who works there that I'd love to try it out so I'm going to meet them tomorrow.  I'm planning on getting about 4 or 5 miles done before they meet and then finish my long run with the group.  She told me that she is training for a marathon in January also and keeps about my same pace so we talked about getting together for some long runs! 

3.  I made what I call "Supreme Spaghetti" tonight.  I chopped broccoli, squash, carrots, red pepper, green pepper, and tomatoes.  Then I steamed the veggies while my whole grain noodles were boiling.  I also heated up a little tomato sauce.  Then I mixed it all together and added garlic powder, salt, and pepper and topped with a little mozzarella cheese.  My husband says it's his second favorite food I've ever made (right behind the pizza)!  I'm glad it turned out good because I really wasn't sure what I was doing!

What are you having for dinner?  Do you have any vegetarian recipes to share?

Enjoy your evening!

Leah B.

Catching Up

I've not been a good blogger lately.  I have hardly blogged and I haven't been able to read any of my friend's blogs.  I've been super busy with work and training.  So, here is the recap of the last two days to catch you up.

Yesterday before work I ran an easy 4.7 miles with an average 9:07 min/mile.  The weather had cooled off a bit so when I started it was about 2:30 p.m and it was about 80 degrees.  It felt pretty good for the first couple miles but then I really started feeling the heat and my legs started feeling tired from my 9 miler the previous day.

This evening's run was a nice 5.5 miles around my neighborhood.  I kept a 9:00 min/mile.  It was a very relaxing and fun run for me.  My body felt good and I had lots of energy!  When I got home and cooled off, my husband and I made veggie Boca burgers and salads.  I put dijon mustard and pickles on a whole wheat sandwitch round.  The bread was suprisingly soft and very good!  My salad was baby spinach topped with red peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, and balsamic vinaigrette.  Mmm, it was delicious!

Another thing I got to catch up on was chatting with a couple of my good friends over the phone.  I talked to Calee (check out her nutrition blog!) and heard her horrifing dog story during her long run.   Why do people let their vicious dogs run loose?  I get to see her in a little over a week for our half marathon in Louisiana!!!  I'm lucky to have such a great friend who runs!  It's too bad she lives in Tuscaloosa or we could do more of our Disney training together.  I also got to talk to my friend Stephanie who lives in the Birmingham area.  The last time I saw her was in March and I hope we can find a chance to get together this fall! 

I love catching up with good friends!  It's so important to maintain relationships with those you love. 
Leah B.

1st Long Run Done!

Today finished off my first week of official Disney Marathon training.  I must say that it was quite eventful.

#1.  It was pouring.  My shoes, socks, and clothes were completely soaked through and my toes were wrinkled.  It was actually very nice because of how cool it was and I really enjoyed myself! 
#2.  There was a nice guy that pulled over to ask me if I needed a ride.  Yes, it was raining but I'm sure it was obvious that I was on a running mission!  I tried to explain to him that I needed to keep running but he didn't seem to understand.  It was pretty funny!
#3.  I was running around my neighborhood and I heard a dog start barking.  It made my heart jump but then I realized that the dog's owner was holding him.  She obviously saw that it scared me so she smiled and waved.  I waved back and kept on my way.  Well, a couple seconds later I realized that the stupid dog was chasing me!  She let him down!  I started sprinting as fast as I could.  I was having chest pain and I was so mad!  UHH, why would she do that?  It took me at least a couple miles to get over it.

I ran 9 miles with a pace of 9:15 min/mile and it was overall a great run.  I feel great and I'm so excited about training again!  Also, in two weeks I'm running in the GULF COAST HALF in Louisiana and I get to see Calee!! 

I hope you are all having fun with your training!
Leah B.

Ohio Trails

While I was in Ohio, I had the chance to run in some of the most amazing and beautiful parks.  I ran at the Dayton Arboretum a couple days.  My sister went with me the first day.  I'm so proud of her for running 5K through trails and for a PR!  Then the next day my mom went with me and walked while I ran.

These are photos from the arboretum.

Yesterday we went to a nature reserve in Germantown. Those trails kicked my butt! It was absolutely gorgeous. It was so steep at times that I had to walk up and down some hills.  My time was definitely slower than usual.  I tripped a couple times and came very close to falling on my face. I also almost stepped on a snake, yikes!!  I really wish there were more trials around where I live.  I am falling in love with running trails!

I had a wonderful time in Ohio these past few days but I'm glad to be home.  I have the most wonderful family and I'm so blessed!!
 
Leah B.