Road trip part 2

This morning (technically yesterday) I got myself up again early at 6:30!  I ate my usual pre-run oatmeal and coffee.  I ran at the same park that I did two days ago.  This time I ran my route backwards so I at least changed it up a bit.  I ended up running 7.5 miles which was a little farther than I expected but I was feeling pretty good.  When I got back I ate breakfast #2 at about 9:30.  My husband's grandma gave us this HUGE bag of fresh blueberries.  I also ate a bagel with blackberry jelly.  I love summer berries!! 

Later this afternoon we headed up to the Nashville area.  We are spending the remainder of our trip here with our good friends, Zac and Sarah.  Here is a couple pictures of our ride north.  The first is part of Natchez Trace and it is so beautiful!  You see nothing but trees and open fields for miles!

And, here we are singing...I mean for real SINGING! 

For dinner we met Jerry's cousin, Rusty in Nashville for some Mexican food.  I ate some vegetable fajitas and some guacamole dip.  It was delicious of course but we've eaten out so much during this trip!  And now, I'm pretty exhausted.  It's been a long but great day!

Sleep tight,

Leah B.

New Under Armor

Yesterday afternoon I took a trip to Dick's to look around.  I wasn't really looking to buy anything but then I stumbled across the clearance rack.  I found a lime green and a blue Under Armor shirts for $9 and $10!  I was so excited to find such a great deal.  I also bought some GU chomps and sports beans.

Now, I'm ready for my official training for Disney to begin!  I start the second week in August.  Yep, right around the corner AH!  I'm slightly nervous to start training because I really want a PR.  But, I'm more excited than nervous.  I still need a Garmin!  It'll help me with my pace and allow me to go different routes and know exactly how far I've gone without having to map them out.  I really think I'm going to get one this month. 
Anyway, today was an off day for me.  I slept in and it's been raining on and off all day.  I plan on getting a run in tomorrow morning.  We are staying at my in-laws one more night before our little adventure in Nashville.  Tonight we are having a cook out and having family over.  I will be eating my Morning Star veggie garden burgers of course!
Have a good evening and enjoy your dinner!
Leah B.

Beautiful 6.25

Yesterday was full of memories and fun times!  We are visiting my in-laws in Florence which is where Jerry and I went to college.  We went to campus and walked around a bit. 
This is the main entrance of our beautiful campus.

We are the UNA Lions and so we actually have a lion cage on campus.  They  looked a little sad to me. I don't know...maybe they were just hot!

Then, last night we all went out to eat at Ricatoni's Italian Grill.  I worked there for three years during college.  I had a pasta dish with tomato, garlic, herbs, and of course bread and olive oil!  YUM! 
 

My sweet in-laws and us in front of the restaurant.

Last but certainly not least, this morning I got up at 6:30 (yay, good for me!) and went to a park that I use to do a lot of my runs when I was in college.  It was an absolutely beautiful morning!!  I ran 6.25 and I felt great!  The temp was only about 80 degrees which was a nice change. 

Isn't the park beautiful?  I wish I had somewhere like this to run at home!

Leah B.

Road Trip!!!

When I got off work yesterday I decided I would go for a quick run before my hubby and I set off for Florence.  I went for a slow 45 min run and I'm guessing I ran about five miles.  It was HOT and hilly!  I felt pretty good about my run considering that I worked the past four nights and I was exhausted!  I took a little three hour nap before Jerry woke me up and we headed out.  Luckily I was able to nap a little on the way up.  We stopped on our trip to Florence to meet some of our wonderful friends, Will and Helen for dinner and then coffee.  We ate some great Indian food.  I'm not entirely sure exactly what I ate but it was good!
Here's a pic of the boys being goofy....hahaha I love it! 

And, me and Helen...

I love my Helen!

I miss Helen and Will so much!!  We were so glad to get to see them :)
We got to Florence late last night and now we are spending time with Jerry's family.  We have a week and weekend planned full of fun with friends and family.  This week is Handy Fest in Florence so we'll get to listen to lots of good music also! 
More pics of our little trip to come! 
See you soon,
Leah B.

Cooking with Mom; Run with Micaela

Lately my mom and I have been cooking for our family and friends on occasion.  I have really enjoyed this time with her!  It's nice to learn from a more advanced cook :)  A couple nights ago we had some friends in from out of town for a couple days to visit.  We cooked pasta with alfredo sauce and broccoli and I made the salad.  I love a good salad almost more than anything!  I started out with baby spinach and added chopped peppers, feta cheese, and croutons.  Oh, and on the side was some grilled chicken for the meat eaters.  My hubby grabbed my camera and caught me in chopping action...

Smile for the picture :)

...and the finished product.

We had a great time with everyone!

Today, I slept in until 12:30 p.m. (my goal was 1 p.m.) so I did pretty good.  In case you are wondering, I work night shift as an RN and so I try to sleep in as late as possible on my nights to work.  My sister, Micaela came over and we headed out for the gym.  Don't we look alike? 

I did another cardio day.  I just wasn't in the mood for weights.  My wimpy arms didn't want to work so I just ran...again.  It was a good five miler and elliptical sweat session though!  I really need motivation to work my upper body.  Any suggestions?
Post workout I ate some dark sweet cherries and some yogurt yum!  Now, it's time to brew coffee and go get ready.

See you soon,

Leah B.

Beach day!

Yesterday morning I woke up a little late so I decided it would get my workout done in the gym.  It ended up being a great cardio sweat session.  I started with a five mile run on the treadmill and then got on the elliptical for 20 minutes and set my resistance pretty high.  I was very anxious to get the workout over with so I could meet my friend, Calee and her family for some fun in the sun!  When I got home from the gym, I got cleaned up and ate a mini wheat bagel and fat free cream cheese and some vanilla cinnamon yogurt.
I headed out to Gulf Shores and it was beautiful!  We didn't see any oil washing up or anywhere to be seen and that was very nice!

We took a nice long walk on the sand and really had a great day.  We decided we were ready for dinner so we got cleaned up and fixed dinner.  Here is a pic of us ready to go out after dinner. 

We were acting a little silly in this one...

We had a such a fun day and night.  I'm so lucky to have such good friends!  I wish Calee lived closer to me so we could do more runs together.  Only a couple weeks until we start training for the Disney Marathon!!! 

Good night friends,

Leah B.

No pain!

Last night we had an amazing and fun night with our good friends, Zac and Sarah.  They are down from the Nashville area and are spending some time at the beach.  We love these guys and miss them tons! 
We ate at Live Bait and I had a delicious salad and pasta dish.  I'm vegetarian so of course there was only one choice but it ended up being so good!  It had carrots, zucchini, red peppers, mushrooms, mozzarella and feta cheese, and tomato sauce over penne pasta.
Here are a some pics of us at the restaurant.

Earlier today (well technically yesterday), I decided it was time to lace my running shoes and get going.  It has been over two weeks since my last run and I was dying to go!  My lower leg had been feeling so much better and I decided it was well enough.  I told myself I'd try to do about four but I was feeling so good that I did six!  I ran it a little slower than usual but I had no pain in my right leg.  I was so happy! 

Disney training begins next month!  I'm so excited and ready to start.  I will do my best to take care of these legs and train them well.

See you soon,

Leah B.

Garmin

Yesterday I was able to get a five mile run in.  I was starting to feel a little sore by the end of the night.  Just two and a half weeks off from running and I was sore and it's not like I wasn't doing anything.  I was doing the elliptical and cross training.  I can't remember the last time I was sore!  I realized that there are muscles that can't be worked the same way except for running.
I went to Gulf Shores for the evening last night to meet my friend, Calee.  She's staying with her family on the beach.  We went to the Hangout and listened to some live music.  It's always nice to get together with friends!

We also met some new friends.  One lady we met actually owns a health/fitness store in Foley.  I'll definitely have to check it out soon!  I am in need of some more tanks and sports bras to get ready for Disney!  Speaking of training for Disney....I still haven't gotten a Garmin! 

I want this one so badly.  The pink and grey one, of course!  Maybe my husband will read this and take a hint...probably not.  Anyway, I really need this because I really want a PR and this would help me so much.  Do you have a GPS watch?  Do you think it helps much?
See you soon,
Leah B.

homemade pizza

Today was a great day!
To begin, I went to the gym.  No running but at least I was able to do some cardio.  Then, my mom and sister came over and we floated around the swimming pool for a while which was nice and relaxing!
For dinner, my mom and I decided to cook a homemade veggie pizza. 

Here is a picture of me and my beautiful mom.

The sauce was olive oil and Italian mix seasoning.  For toppings, we added spinach, avocado, green, yellow, and orange peppers, red onion, feta, and mozzarella cheese.  It ended up being delicious!

We all just hung around and relaxed the rest of the night and now my sweet baby sister is staying the night with me and is up with me and watching me blog.  I think it's time for bed!

Good night,

Leah B.

update

This spring/summer I have been increasing my weekly mileage and I was so happy about it.  I have been running an average of 30-32 miles a week.  However, I haven't been for a run in a week and a half and it's killing me!  I have had something wrong with my lower right leg for a while now and it just got to where I couldn't take it anymore.  I don't know if it's just inflammation or what but it has been bothering me now for a while.  I figured that if I actually let it rest and heal all the way then I would set myself up better for training for the Disney Marathon.  So, I am resting.  Actually, I am getting on the elliptical because I don't really know how to not do anything!  Let me tell you something.  I hate the elliptical.

What have I been up to?  Well, I'll tell you.  I've been hanging out with some wonderful friends and my family.  I've also been reading a lot.  Right now I'm reading...

and so far it has been amazing!

Last night Jerry and I got together with our good friends Justin and Meredith for delicious dessert and drinks.  They were in town to help move Meredith's sister and her husband in to their new house in Mobile.  I hope they like it here and I hope we can get together with them again soon!  Meredith is also a runner and I am trying to talk her into doing Disney with us.  She did the Country Music Marathon in Nashville this past spring (which was her first full) but due to the weather conditions they stopped the run when she was 21 miles in.  How crazy is that?  I know she was very disappointed.  I definitely miss Meredith but Jerry and I will be traveling on a little summer vacation to north Alabama and Tennessee at the end of this month and get to see a ton of our college friends and his family!  We can't wait!

I'm off to the gym.  Until next time,

Leah B.