New Brooks & Unplugged

I got new running shoes and they are fantastic!  My very first distance running shoes were Brooks and then I switched over to Asics and had several pairs.  This last running shoe shopping adventure I found these:

Brooks Ravenna 2.  They are awesome.  My feet, ankles, and knees love them!  And I love how they look, especially the bright blue shoe strings! 

I was absolutely thrilled when I got up today and the weather was nice. It is supposed to storm all week but yesterday and today have been wonderful running days. The wind was still strong but the sun was shining. I got out there this afternoon without my iPod for the second day in a row. I don't know why I didn't want it but I just wanted to enjoy the outdoors unplugged. So, I set out today in my Brooks and ran an easy 5.5 miles.
Overall time:  49:37
Overall pace:  9:01
I'm not training for anything right now (although I'd like to soon!) It's so nice to just run and not worry about mileage or pace.  I think this is a hard thing for us runners to do because we are so competitive with ourselves! We can't help it. When is the last time you ran for the simple joy of running?


I hope you are enjoying this spring weather!
Leah B.

Me & Garmin Reunited!

A lot has gone on since I last wrote.  Let me give you a quick update on what's gone on in my life in the last 4 months...
In January I ran the Disney Marathon (YAY, so fun!) and the very next day after getting back from our vacation, my husband and I moved from Alabama to Ohio.  We were living at my grandma's old house (she built a new one and wasn't living in the old one) which was so kind of her but the neighborhood wasn't exactly runner friendly.  Every other house said "Beware of Dog" and there were those certain individuals you wouldn't wouldn't want to stumble upon while running alone.  A couple weeks ago when the weather finally started getting nice, I drove to the park thinking I was going to do some trail running.  I was wrong.  There were about two dozen men in orange jumpsuits doing landscaping with armed cops!  I wasn't in the mood to run through the woods by myself!
In the last couple days, however, we moved into a lovely new apartment in a beautiful and safe part of town.  We've been unpacking boxes and boxes and boxes!  It feels good to go through everything and get organized finally!  I'll post pictures soon :)
So, the good news is that I can finally leave my front door and run around like I used to be able to!  I'm also loving this spring weather.  I made plans with my sweet new friend/neighbor/coworker Andrea to go for a run today.  She's newly into running and I'm hoping that she'll run the Air Force Half with me and Jerry. 
Meet Andrea!

I slept in which was much needed after the big move.  I had my usual two cups of coffee and my new favorite breakfast:  plain oatmeal with fresh cut strawberries.  Yum!  It was starting to rain and the clouds looked dark but we decided to go anyway.  The winds were fierce!  It sprinkled for about half a mile and then the clouds broke and sunshine came through!  The weather ended up being beautiful and a perfect 65 degrees.  Andrea ran the first 2 miles with me and then I finished the last 3 by myself. 

Overall time:  46:31

Overall pace:  9:22

Not too bad for not being able to do much outdoor running in the last four months!  Andrea did great!  She'll have no problem increasing her mileage soon.  This run was honestly blissful for me.  It was so great for me to be back outside with my Garmin!  There are plenty of hills (I secretly love hills) in the neighborhood.  The smells of fresh cut grass and all the flowers were wonderful.  I even ran without my iPod!  I can't wait to get back out there tomorrow!

How are your spring runs going?  Are you doing any spring/summer races?

The next race I'm running in is the Air Force Half with Jerry and then a full marathon in North Carolina in November with my Uncle (I'm not sure the name of it yet).  I'd like to find another half this spring or summer and maybe a 10K.  Do you have any suggestions for the Ohio area?

Leah B.

Living in Dayton

Listen to this!  Oh, I LOVE the Black Keys!

I have now been living in Dayton, Ohio for about a month.  It's been a big change but I'm loving it!  It is so wonderful to be near my family.  I'm finally back home!  The hardest part is being away from my brother who is in school at South Alabama.  The good news is, he is spending his spring break up here and I can't wait to see him!  So, I've been MIA for a while and I apologize.   It's been quite crazy with a new job and city.  I absolutely love exploring new places.  We've been to really neat places and delicious restaurants around here.  I'll have to go into more detail in another post.

I did get a gym membership and I really like it!  They have great treadmills (not that I like running inside) and lots of cross training classes like yoga, spinning, boot camp, zumba, and butts and guts.  I haven't tried them all yet but I'm sure they are great.  I'm dying to get outside and RUN!  It's been insanely cold here.  We finally got some relief this week with some 30-40 degree temperatures.  But sadly, I haven't been outside since my marathon in January.  I'm not sure where there are good places to run around where I live.  I know there are tons of mean looking dogs around my neighborhood and that terrifies me!  Anyway, I have continued to run at the gym and log about 30 miles a week.  I would like to do a half marathon in April or May but I haven't decided on one yet.  I also would like to do another full marathon maybe by June or July.  Do you have any suggestions?  I'm for sure running the Air Force Marathon with my uncle this fall.  I'm super excited!

Well, I'm going to try to find a movie on netflix and wind down for the night.  I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow!!  I promise I'll be back sooner next time!

Good night everyone,

Leah B.

DISNEY MARATHON!

Hey friends,
It's been forever since I've posted I'm almost 2 weeks late on posting about my marathon!  It's been crazy for me!  Since I've last posted, we had our vacation to Disney, moved from south Alabama to Ohio, and I started a new job.  So, as you can see, it's been great but very busy!

My husband, Calee, and I arrived to Disney World the day before the race to pick up our packets and get settled into our hotel.  We grabbed an early pasta dinner and tried our best to get in bed early because of the early start time of 5:30 a.m.  The next morning our alarms went off at 2:45 a.m. because we had to be on the shuttle by 3:30.  My body didn't know what to think about that!  We froze our butts off waiting for them to let us line up in our corrals. 

Me and Calee and me with my #1 fan!

We finally lined up in our corrals and waited.  Every time a corral took off, huge fire works went off.  It was so pretty and you could feel the heat from it!

As we headed out, I was so excited!  I wanted to sprint but of course that's a bad idea.  I kept my pace as close to 9:05 as possible.  We ran through Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios.  It was so amazing running through all the parks, especially Magic Kingdom.  The highlight was probably running through Cinderella's castle.  The only thing I didn't like is how much highway we had to run on. 

The first 5 miles flew by and I was already halfway done in a flash!  I was right on track with my pace but at mile 16 I started loosing my pace.  The course was pretty difficult because of the highways and ramps being slanted.  I had to reevaluate my goal of a sub 4 hours and I was completely fine with that.  I just wanted to finish and a PR would be fantastic!  By mile 22, I was wiped out and so ready to finish.  I felt my feet blistering and my quads burning.  I started counting backwards, "only 4 miles, only 3.5 miles, only 3 miles!"  My garmin was slightly ahead of the miles so as it was beeping 25 miles, I was only at 24.8 and believe me, that makes a difference!  I finally got to Epcot and I could see the big ball (the finish line) ahead of me.  Oh my gosh, I'm almost there!  As I was approaching the finish I heard and saw my husband cheering for me.  That gave me a boost I needed for a little jolt in my legs and I finished strong!  I was so happy and a little emotional.  Not crying, but just overjoyed!!  My garmin read 4:05:28.  Woohoo a PR!  I didn't mind that I didn't beat 4 hours.  That will just give me a goal for my next marathon.

Here's the breakdown...

Distance:  26.2 miles

Garmin distance:  26.37

 

Net Time:  4:06:35

Garmin time:  4:05:28

 

Overall Place:  2542 / 13536

Gender Place:  631 / 6273

Division Place:  83 / 629

 

5M Split:  45:31

10M Split:  1:31:16

Half:  2:00:04

20M Split:  3:05:14

 

Soon after that, Calee finished!  Yay, congrats for finishing your 1st marathon!!  I am so proud of her.  She did an amazing job!

 

We got back to our hotel and she took an ice bath and I improvised with ice bags while eating my PB and honey.

We took a long nap and then Jerry, Calee, and I went to Planet Hollywood for a delicious dinner.

The next night we met up with a friend from work, Steve.  This is us with our metals.  We went to dinner and watched the national championship.  We had a great time celebrating!

The next 3 days we spent at the parks but I'll have to share all about that in another post.  I'm also buying my official photos so I'll have those to share too!  I hope you all are staying warm.  It is approximately 0 degrees in Ohio right now!

Leah B.

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.