And....I'm back!

That was a bit longer of a break than I had expected. Sorry 'bout that!

I may have taken a break from the blog but not from running. This summer was crazy busy with traveling for work but I definitely managed to fit in some races as well. I have 2 more coming up this weekend but will update about those later. Enjoy the photos below from the last few months.....

This is what happens when I'm bored at the start line :) 

Pretty view from one of the MANY flights from summer

Funny how winning an award makes those 16 hour days all worth it!

Bachelorette Party weekend at a Texas Winery

What races do you have coming up? Are you crazy like me and schedule 2 in one weekend?? 

The 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge

Kale, Banana, Strawberries, Greek yogurt and Almond Milk

I just got on the green smoothie bus and think I really like them. The other day I got an email from @Runtothefinish about her new challenge and couldn't resist signing up! Right now I load 'em up with fruit but need to venture out with a few more veggies. Here's a link to a ton of different ones to try- Green Smoothie Recipes. 

There are a lot of great benefits to incorporating a green smoothie in your daily routine. Here are a few: 

 1. More Energy

2. Regular Digestion 

3. Hair & Nails grow faster and stronger

4. Glowing Skin

5. Can help reduce cravings for sweet sugary foods

So, what do you think? Are you on board or no? 

It's only Thursday?!

Longest week ever! How does that happen when it's only a 4-Day work week?!?

Started my day with a wheat Bagel Thin with peanut butter and banana and of course an iced coffee. Yum...I could eat this everyday! 

Lunch was pretty much leftovers on a salad. Rotisserie chicken from last nights dinner and I threw some green beans on there too. Not great but it will do for an easy lunch. 

Ugh...the dreaded hill for hill repeats tonight. Did a quick warm up jog then started for the hill. I just started these and am up to 8 repeats. We'll see how it's working soon with the Margarita 5K coming up in a couple of weeks. 

Dinner tonight was great! Easy fish topped with super spicy pico (I promise there is fish under there!) and whole grain couscous and of course my favorite beer- Blanche De Bruxelles. So freaking fabulous! 

Now I'm off to find something to fix my sweet tooth....I'm sure there's a Popsicle with my name on it somewhere.   

Weekend Roundup......

Ahh….that was exactly what I needed. 3 days of eating and relaxing!

Well, we at least started it off with 10 miles around Town Lake. Definitely not the easiest but the thought of getting in the Springs afterward sure did help. We finished at about 10 minutes slower than we ran Austin 10/20 but with 2 stops to fill up water bottle and a of couple walk breaks I’ll take it.

Then on to the best part.......

The rest of the weekend looked a lot like this: 

  

How did you spend your holiday weekend? 

My Inspiration......

I've mentioned before I was never a runner growing up or even in my 20's. Never had the desire to run nor did I even think about it. That was until our little world got turned upside down. Funny how you can be going along one day and then BOOM the real world hits!

So...back in 2007 my husband (fiance at the time) had been having terrible headaches so he decided to go to the Dr.for a checkup. Little did I know our life was about change. I remember him texting me...."they are sending me across the street to have a CAT scan done"...then a little while later "Headed for a MRI now". I had just left work and was getting worried that I hadn't heard from him especially since I was still confused at why he was even having these scans done in the first place. Then the scary text..."umm..can you come here and pick me up- they don't want me driving and we need to head to see a different Dr.". I did what most girls would do....call my mom! And of course like any good mom I got "Don't worry honey--I'm sure they are just being cautious" but there was no hiding the worry in her voice.  After a LONG 40 minute drive I finally show up and he is waiting outside for me. I will never forget the look on his face and him saying "Just remember everything is going to be ok". The 1st clue that this was serious was that at this point it's 6:00pm and we all know that a Dr.'s office should be well closed at this point but when we walked in they all were standing there and gave us "that look". We were quickly ushered into a tiny office and before I knew it I was looking at a MRI scan with a Dr. saying "see this huge spot" (that I felt like covered half the screen) "well...that's not supposed to be there".

A week and hundreds of tests later he had surgery to remove the large (size of a raquetball) tumor. Looking back on it now we were so clueless going into that day. They try really hard to prepare you but there isn't anything in the world that can be said or shown to you to make you understand. I feel so blessed to have had the family and friends there at the hospital with me....waiting..and waiting...8 hours of waiting. The surgeons were able to remove the tumor however, in doing that he lost movement on the left side of his body and the ever important breathing and eating ability on his own.

After months of therapy he was finally well enough to come home and our walks started. They started at just walking to the mailbox then a little further down the street. Gradually week by week we added a little more distance.

In 2010 we decided to sign up for the Turkey Trot (of course the one here in Austin is 5 miles not a 5K). I couldn't believe that he had convinced the "non-runner" to actually sign up for a race. But we did it and crossed the finish line hand in hand. I was beyond proud of him. Don't kid yourself....there was a lot of walking but we did it--together. And it was after that race it started....my love for running.

In 2011 he proved to me again what fighter he is......we completed our first Half Marathon. And again we crossed that finish line hand in hand. I hope to be crossing many more finish lines out on the road and in real life with this man by my side.

On left is the contraption that taught him to walk again--on the right is us
right after completing the Rock & Roll San Antonio Half Marathon.

Hello World.......

I've been wanting to start a blog now for a couple of years. After many nights (and lunches) of being a blog stalker....I'm in! I can't promise that this will be great...or even good but it's a place that I can come put the 1,000's of thoughts swirling around in my head.

Hope you enjoy and thanks for stopping by!