We are having some fun today!

Whew! Today has been busy! We went to breakfast this morning at the Flying Biscuit, then Norah and I went to her friend, Katie's, birthday party, got Norah new shoes and then Norah got a haircut. (I was slack on picture taking today!) I just finished a school assignment so now about to clean some while Norah and Daddy Jeff are outside with the neighborhood kids playing.

On the exercise front, Thursday I went to the Y and did the elliptical for 30 minutes and bike for 10 minutes...it didn't even feel like a workout...I barely broke a sweat...but I was trying to loosen up my hips some. Friday I ran 5 miles and my hips still felt a little tight. Today I am taking a rest day and tomorrow may be another gym visit and DVD? I have decided to shelf the marathon idea for this year. I think I am just going to do some more half marathons this year and next and maybe plan a marathon for 2013 for my 35th birthday! We'll see...

Well in the words that every mother hates to hear..."Everybody else is doing it...." So here are my ABCs that are floating around in blog land.

A. Age: 33
B. Bed size: King…love it! Especially now since Darcy and Finn sleep in it with us!
C. Chore you hate: All of them. Seriously.
D. Dogs: 3 dogs: Ranger (14 yr old lab), Finn (almost 1 yr old mini schnauzer) and Darcy (almost 1 yr old australian labradoodle)…love having dogs! And I still miss my mini schnauzer Fritz :(
E. Essential start to your day: Norah. I love seeing her every morning! (And must brush my teeth first thing after getting up!)
F. Favorite color: Pink and if I picked a color for clothes…it would be black.
G. Gold or silver: Silver
H. Height: 5’7”
I. Instruments you play: None. I am not musically inclined at all!
J. Job title: Right now: mom, wife and student (soon to be teacher)!
K. Kids: A 3 yr old daughter, Norah who is my everything!
L. Live: Charlotte, NC
M. Mom’s name: Frankie
N. Nicknames: None really. I sign e-mails and things with “C” to just because it is quicker!
O. Overnight hospital stays: Twice
P. Pet peeve: No follow through.
Q. Quote from a movie: From “Prince of Tides”
Susan Lowenstein: Just admit it. You love her more. Tom Wingo: No. Not more, Lowenstein. Only longer.
R. Righty or Lefty: Righty
S. Siblings: Sister, Step-brother and step-sister
T. Time you wake up: Right now…about 7:15ish AM everyday. When I worked it was 5:30 AM during the week and 7:15ish AM on the weekend.
U. Underwear: Yes, I own underwear!
V. Vegetables you dislike: I don’t really dislike any vegetables. Cauliflower is probably my least favorite.
W. What makes you run late: When Jeff is out of town and I have to do dog duty and get Norah ready…it usually takes me longer than planned.
X. X-rays you’ve had: Arm (broken), leg (broken), teeth and back…oh yeah and ultrasounds!
Y. Yummy food you make: I think I make a lot of yummy food!
Z. Zoo animal favorite: polar bears

Sorry...no pics today! I'm such a slacker!

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We are having some fun today!

Mid-Week Report...

Monday Norah did not have school so we met some friends at the school to play on the playground and then went to Chick-fil-a for lunch. She was acting "off" but didn't think anything off it...but later at home...she fell asleep on the couch...it was so cute! I guess she was extra tired from her big weekend with Daddy!

(Yes...those are heinous Miami Vice 1980 white leather couches and if you know me...they are the death of me! Don't worry folks their end is near!)

Actually everyone seemed to want to take a nap at some point on Monday! Darcy above and Finn below.

Finn will actually be turning 1 next week...it is so hard to believe!

I ended up not doing any exercise on Monday...I wanted to but just ran out of time. So Tuesday, my neighbor and I went for a walk at 6 am. I so need to get back into early morning workouts, it is so nice to get it done and showered before Norah wakes up. Then I had errands to run and school stuff to handle. I have my interview next week for my student teaching in the fall...of course, I am going to still try to go ahead and get a job for the fall but you have to do the interview too.

I also bought us tickets to Mickey's Magic Show that will be in Charlotte in April! Norah is so excited! I think Jeff and I enjoy taking Norah to these shows as much as she likes going too! It should be fun!

Today I went for my first run post-half. Just 3 miles and it was awkward and slow. I realized running today that my hips were still sore...so I stretched and foam rolled and hoping that they are back to normal soon.

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Mid-Week Report...

Myrtle Beach Half Marathon Race and Weekend Recap...

WARNING: This is long and some of the pics I took are crappy! Example one: see below...

So I finished my 3rd half in 2 hr and 52 minutes and 34 seconds per Garmin...the chip times got posted last night and it was the exact time! So go Garmin! So to start the weekend, I left Charlotte around 1:30 pm. I picked Norah up from school around 1 pm and took her to my neighbor's house so they watched her until Jeff got home. Thank you Sarah and Thomas for watching Norah! Ya'll are awesome!

I hit some traffic once I got close to the beach area so it took me a little longer to get there. Once I got to my room, I dropped my stuff off and then headed next door to pick up my packet. It was super easy packet pick up and I headed back to my room. I didn't even look at anything at the expo as I was tired and knew I wasn't going to by anything. I forgot to take my camera over there so no pics. Here is a room pic when I got back from the expo...

Is was already around 7pm at this point. So I unpacked my stuff that I would need in the morning and layed out my race stuff, pinned my bib on, etc. Then I literally went to bed around 9 pm. Of course I tossed and turned all night afraid I would miss my alarm so when 4:30 came...I just got up.

This is what we got at packet pick-up...a bag, technical t-shirt (women's cut!) and a beach towel.

I ate half a bagel and had some hot green tea and just relaxed until it was time to walk over. I loved that the hotel was only a half a mile to the start...it was perfect! I left around 6 am and started to walk over with a lot of other people from the hotel. It was still dark outside which was so strange! I hit the first porta potty I saw that only had 2 people waiting for one last stop. Then I got in the starting area. Once the race started, it took about 3 minutes to actually cross the start line.

The race started and the weather was perfect...in the 50s and dark! :) The first 6 miles, I found my groove and was feeling great. I knew I could keep the pace I was going the whole time and felt like I would beat my goal time of 2:49. (Side note: my first half...I just wanted to finish, 2nd half: I had been really sick prior so went in knowing I was going to walk/run it...so I never really made time goals.) For this half...I was the most prepared..never missed a run, did 12 mile run the week before with no incident and knew I was ready for it. So I carried a handheld for the race and in it was water with one Nuun tablet like I have been drinking on long runs. It was perfect. I noticed that I was sweating a lot once the sun had risen and my mile 6 I had finished my handheld. So I refilled the handheld at mile 6 with half water and half powerade (this was my mistake)...I don't know what I put any powerade in it...I never drink powerade. I guess because I have had gatorade before and it was fine...I just thought it would be the same.

By mile 8 I started to get really thirsty...it was like the powerade was making me more thirsty. I was hoping that I would make it to mile 10 to get a refill as by mile 9 my handheld was empty. By this time, the sun was in full effect and there is no shade at the beach. At mile 10, I refilled the handheld with powerade and water...shortly after mile 10 my stomach started to feel queasy. By mile 11.5 I was full on wanting to vomit (sorry....TMI) on anything and everything. I wasn't really sure what to do. I have never had stomach problems on a run before. At this point I knew it was the powerade and sun. So at mile 12 I drank nothing but water at the water stop but it was too late. I just couldn't mentally get over the nauseous feeling. I knew I wouldn't make my time and it sucked. I would have rather had leg cramps or something so I could stop and stretch then the nauseous feeling. Oh well...I finished and at first felt disappointed. I was mad that I couldn't push through the sick feeling and make the goal time. But then I realize how I should be proud as I still beat my other times.

I headed back to the hotel and tried to do an ice bath...I couldn't get the water cold enough even with a bucket of ice. So sat in the semi-cold water, took shower, and laid on the bed for a little bit. Then packed up and checked out, heading to Litchfield for the night. I still couldn't stomach any food at this point...I had nibbled on some pretzels after the race and did eat 2 orange slices but that was it. Got to my mom's house and just took it easy, around 4:30 pm I finally ate a grilled cheese and started to feel better within 30 minutes. I wasn't sore in any way, as my body felt good all day...it was just my stomach.

This is my view from my hotel room after the race! It was a beautiful day...it was in the 70s when I finished the race.

I met my friend Julie and some of her friends for dinner at Frank's Outback in Pawleys Island (Love the food...yum!)

Laura, Lynn and Julie

Mary Ellen, Allison, Catherine and me. (My face was red and shiny...it was not from alcohol I promise....but my face just stayed hot for some reason and I probably needed some powder! :)

Hung out at Julie's house a little after dinner for some talkin'...and then headed back to my mom's. Went to bed my midnight and woke up Sunday...with no voice!! I lost my voice...I have no idea why! I had a little soreness in my left hip but that is it.

My mom and Denny took me for brunch and it hit the spot! I was hungry at this point and it was a buffet so it was so good! Then my mom took her dog, Lulu, for a quick walk which so helped my hip. Then I headed back to Charlotte! I was so happy to get back to see Jeff and Norah...I had missed them so much!! Today I got up and still no voice! How weird! I feel fine except of the no voice thing...any ideas about this?! Today Norah does not have school so we are hanging out. I actually have a couple of school things to do but hope to knock that out this morning.

(sorry...another crappy pic! This is the medal...it is so cute...it is flip flops!)

Here is my times for the race from the Garmin...you can see that after I got the powerade at mile 6, it starts being a little weird....

Mile 1: 11:08

Mile 2: 12:04

Mile 3: 12:17

Mile 4: 12:36

Mile 5: 12:36

Mile 6: 12:24

Mile 7: 13:19

Mile 8: 12:56

Mile 9: 13:36

Mile 10: 14:26

Mile 11: 13:57

Mile 12: 15:05

Mile 13: 14:28

Last .14: 12.03

Took GU at 4.5 miles and around 9 miles (I remember taking this one around 9 thinking that maybe it would help with being so thirsty...)

1. Do not drink anything you have not had before during the race (I will never drink Powerade again!)

2. I missed not having anyone there...I wonder if I had someone at the end who could have cheered for me...could I had mentally gotten over the sick feeling and finished stronger?!

3. After training all winter in 30s and 40s...running in 70 degrees with the sun beating on you felt extra hot for some reason.

3. There was a marathon with this race too...and the first time in its 14 year history...a woman won the marathon!!

4. Sometimes things just don't go as planned...

I will definitely do this race next year as I really liked it (Besides wanting to throw up!) and staying at the hotel was great. It really took a lot of pressure off not having to drive to the start the morning of the race...especially since it started at 6:30 am! Well since this post is way too long...that is all for today. If I think of anything else about the race...I'll let you know! Now just 1 more month until the next one and I will break 2:49!

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Myrtle Beach Half Marathon Race and Weekend Recap...

#3 is now in the Books...

I finished the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon in 2 hrs 52 minutes....3 minutes past my goal but still a PR! More details later!

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#3 is now in the Books...

4 hour drive to the beach...

Well today I am headed to the beach...Jeff has been out of town these last few days and he comes home tonight so we will miss each other. I sure do miss him and can't believe I won't see him until Sunday! And I am really going to miss my Norah this weekend too! I just packed my bags (I so hope I don't forget anything!) and now doing a few last minute things before I hit the road. So I'll leave you with some cute pictures of Norah from the birthday party we went to yesterday! And next time I get to post...I'll have my race details! :) So say a little prayer for me at 6:30 am tomorrow morning!

Bubble Time!

Norah was sneaking a cookie!

Happy 2nd Birthday Afton!

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4 hour drive to the beach...

Technically...less than 3 days!!!

Can't believe I have less than 3 days until my 3rd half-marathon! This week has flown by! I had my last run today...3 miles and it went fine. However, I did 4 miles on Monday and it was AWFUL! I was so sore from those dang DVDs from Sunday...it was weird...my hips hurt...so Monday was tough. I hate these days leading up to a race because you constantly doubt yourself...even though I ran 12 miles straight last week. But I am excited! Tomorrow I hope to do some kind of workout but not sure what yet. I am trying to figure out my food situation for race morning since I won't have access to heat anything and since the race starts at 6:30...can't get anything anywhere. Might just do old standby of Peanut Butter/Bread/half banana?? And the weather...it is looking amazing for Saturday...high in the 60s and lows in the 40s with lots of sunshine...perfect!! I also had my water stop strategy with Meredyth today so feeling ready! :) (Meredyth is going to Ireland next week....how fun is that!) And yes...I am still contemplating the marathon situation for the Spring...decided to see how this race goes and then figure it out....

Yes, that is a super cute pic of Simon Baker as I had this vivid dream last night where he and I were working on a FBI case together...I think I watch too much TV...especially crime dramas! But isn't he cute? Definitely one of my celebrity boyfriends!

So one of my classes, the one last night, one of our assignments is to read a book that relates to our subject (mine is math) and would be a book appropriate for our age group that we would be teaching (I'm middle school.) So I am going to read the above book...has anyone read it before? Or should I read something else? I have two weeks to read the book so I need to get one this week. (And yes the teacher just told us last night....)I put some random books I had on ebay. It is the first time I have tried to sell anything on ebay before (I have bought stuff before.) If you want to check any of them out...my ebay name is "charlottelillypad"

Tomorrow I will pick Norah up from school early so we can go to a neighbor's 2nd birthday party! It is birthday party time around here...Norah has 4 parties in February and we got an invitation today for a party in March...Whew...that is a lot of presents and cake!

Well I gave the dogs a bath tonight and I hoped to get a picture but they will not stay still! But trust me they are super cute as always! Well I am about to knock out some school work as I want to have everything done for the week before I leave. I also start to tutor a student tomorrow so I have to make sure that I have everything ready for that.

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Technically...less than 3 days!!!

Weekend Recap...

Hubby Jeff was out of town this weekend so I never sat to blog so it is going to be a long post!

Friday: Got my 3 mile run in, first two miles sucked, third mile was awesome. It always takes me awhile to warm up. Picked up Norah from school and I had promised her "ice cream" all week so we went to Yoforia and she was in heaven! She loves to actually eat there too and is already such a people watcher! We came home and there was a package of Valentine goodies for Norah from Nini and Pops. She loved that!

Saturday: We headed to Noah's Art for a princess birthday party for our friend McIver. McIver turned 4...Happy Birthday McIver! You were supposed to wear a princess clothes but somehow I must have just overlooked that because I forgot! Oops...but don't worry Norah wore her Princess Bella dress all morning today so she made up for it!

Here is the birthday girl and one of her brothers...yes he wanted to wear the dress too! They are so cute!

Norah was into her artwork...she is so good about coloring in the lines!

She made this princess crown at the party and wore it the entire day and even to bed Saturday night!

We left the party and hit up Harris Teeter where they were selling Girl Scout Cookies and we were lured into buying two boxes. They were $4 a box...what?! Weren't they like $1.75 a box at one time. We then headed home and Norah rode her bike some and then came up with a game...she would throw a rock and then run after it and repeat. Of course she kept her bike helmet on for the game...

Norah also picked me a flower...it is probably the only pansie flower that bloomed for me this year... :)

We then made pizza together and played about a zillion games of Zingo. If you have a little one...you need to get Zingo...it is a lot of fun! After Norah was asleep, I finished "The Help."

I thought the book was so interesting and well written. You really felt for the characters and the unfairness that existed. I definitely recommend it! Next up is "Water for Elephants."

Saturday also became an unexpected rest day...I just never got the chance to do anything workout wise.

Sunday: Daddy Jeff returned! Yeah! He played with Norah outside today...this weather has been awesome here! I did do the Boot Camp DVD and a Yoga DVD and then just did the treadmill for 1 mile today. Got a nap in...it is hard being a single parent for the weekend! :) Wrote a 5 page paper for school. Got Norah's Valentine's ready for school tomorrow for her party. We also got her the "Silverlicious" book to give her for her Valentine's present...she loves this "Pinkalicious" series. It is so cute!

Now I am catching up on some blogs. Also just checked the weather for Myrtle Beach for next Saturday and it will be in the 50s for the actually race...that is like the most perfect weather! I hope it holds true...still have a few more days before I will believe the weather report.

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Weekend Recap...

Three Things Thursday...

1. Running: I am so excited about the Myrtle Beach Half in 9 days! I ran 12 miles yesterday and it went well...except my Garmin was off at the end....I have never noticed that it has been off before. I checked it at 10 miles and knew I had 1 mile to run then I would turn around for the last mile. Well I hit the mile marker on the greenway and looked at my Garmin and it said 10.44 miles instead of 11 miles...what!? Jeff thinks it lost the satellite signal...who knows...so I kept running until it hit 11 miles on the Garmin turned around and of course it then hit 12 miles way before I got back. So once it hit 12...I just walked the rest of the way back to the car for a cool down. So maybe I actually ran like 12.5 miles? Came home and sat in ice cold water in the tub...it so works as today I am not sore at all!

2. Norah: She is so cute!
So tonight in the bathtub:
Me: Norah, how are you so cute?! :)
Norah: 'Cause of you Mommy.
Love her! She also keeps asking me if she is 4 yet. She has a lot of friends turning 4 lately so she always asks when she will be 4. I tell her on June 28th you will be 4 and she is like...is that next week? She also asks everyday lately if it is Valentine's Day yet. She is so precious! Love her!

3. Motivation: Since I am not currently working...I am supposed to be cleaning/organizing/decluttering the house and doing school work. I am finding that the less I HAVE to do, the less I do. Therefore, I have got to start scheduling things like it is my job. I should be accomplishing so much more than I am...I am starting to feel guilty about it! I like to be busy...the busier the better!

3.1 TV: Love that two of my favorite shows are new tonight...CSI and Mentalist!

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Three Things Thursday...

Is it Monday already?...

Wow! These last couple of days have flown by! So let's break this down by day..

Thursday night: Jeff wins "Best Hubby Award" as we discussed my next half marathon which is less than 2 weeks away in Myrtle Beach. Again after having this planned forever there is a tweak in our plans and causes logistics, etc. to be a little crazy. So Jeff said I could just get a room in Myrtle Beach that Friday night!! Wahoo! I got one of the last 2 available rooms at the host hotel that is only .4 miles from the start! With a 6:30 am start time...this is fabulous! Since he didn't get me a birthday present...this will count for it! (Otherwise I was staying in Pawleys Island and making the drive over, etc.) I will have to still go by myself as Jeff will be coming back from in town that day...so he will stay at home with Norah while I am gone.

Friday: School work was done and a speed work run on the treadmill. Friday night we then got together with our neighbors for chili night and let all the kids play. It was so great! Between us and our two neighbors we have 5 kids ranging in age from 2 to 5 so they completely entertained themselves while we got to hang out. I hate that I didn't take any pics...sometimes I forget all about the camera!

Saturday: Took Norah to her friend's house for a birthday party. I dropped her off and ran a quick 3 miles, showered and went back to pick her up. (BTW...this was the fastest 3 miles in a long time!)

This is the birthday girl, Harper, who turned 4 years old! So cute!

Norah showing me her nails (Christy painted all the little girl's nails at the party!)...Of course...Norah is concentrating on her cupcake!

Norah sneaking a marshmallow....

Norah had the best time at the party...it was a Pinkalicious party and was so cute!!

My mom came up around 4ish on Saturday afternoon and so Jeff and I headed out for a little date time. We went to Cowfish and got sushi...it was really good! Then we ran a couple of errands and picked up Starbucks. We were home by 7:30! We then all watched "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"...which is the last in the series. It was really good! I cannot wait for the American versions of this movie to come out...especially since my hottie Daniel Craig is in it!

Sunday: Super Bowl! Jeff's parents and our neighbors came over to eat some dinner and watch some pregame show and the start of the game. The game was great! It definitely could have gone either way at the end. The kids had a blast playing and the playroom showed it! Norah crashed out the moment they left!

Monday: School work was done. I set off for a 5 mile run but only did 4.6 miles. It was one of those runs where you just aren't in it. I think running is very much mental and sometimes you have those runs that are blah. This was one of them. At first my calves were super tight but then I just didn't feel like running. But it got done and there is 12 days until the half!

Random Fueling Comment Regarding Running:

So I have been trying to figure out the running/fueling thing. I did find that only eating carbs before running seem to sit better with me. I ate pancakes Saturday morning and ran great! I think the whole protein (Peanut Butter or egg) before running doesn't do well for me... Well I am still tweaking all of this so we'll see....

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Is it Monday already?...

10 miles and a Super Bowl party....

Yesterday I ran 10 miles and it was 50-something degrees out! It was fabulous! I felt great and no soreness or anything today. I think I am going to try to get a 12 miler in next week before my half on the 19th. Yesterday I was tired after the run and felt extra thirsty....I think I still have to figure out how much fuel I need before and during. I still havn't found the perfect breakfast before a long run yet. After my nice cold water soak...I went to the movies with Carrie.

We saw The King's Speech and I thought it was fantastic! I mean who would have thought a movie about a man's stammer would be so great...but it is! I so recommend everyone to see it. The acting was phenomenal too! And who doesn't love a feel good movie!

Well to get ready for this weekend...Norah had a Superbowl Party at school today. You had to wear your favorite team attire...and since we aren't really Green Bay or Steeler fans...Norah sported her Panthers dress.

Before we left this morning with Daddy ...Norah was not real into taking pics today....

Some of the cute kids in her class....

They were actually playing "football" on the green table...it was marked like a field and they were rolling a ball down it and they would see if they could block it...cute!

First activity was an art project revolving around the football...and then it was time for me to leave. They are having a "tailgate" lunch today too!

Actually Norah said she did not feel well yesterday but today she said she felt good. Keep your fingers crossed that she isn't getting sick! We go to the ENT doctor tomorrow for her check up since her surgery so hopefully all is well.

And if I have to pull for a team on Sunday...I go with Green Bay! I think Aaron Rogers seems like a great guy and a freakin' great quarterback! (Aaron...ya want to come play for the Panthers?) :)

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10 miles and a Super Bowl party....

New Month...

The month of love is here! Norah asked me today if it was Valentine's Day yet? She is so cute! I love how she gets excited about all the holidays!

Well since January is over...here are my January workout stats. I have never kept track of it before and I would like to be able to look back to see what they are each month this year. Here is what I use to track everything. I got the idea from my friend, Meredyth. I put my plan down for the whole month and then write what actually happens. Then I get a sticker for each day that I workout...

Ran 59.66 miles

3 days did a Yoga DVD

3 days did 30 Day Shred DVD

9 rest days

I think February will have a big jump in miles and I am aiming for only 5 rest days. I know that half of the country is getting hit with snow right now...all we are going to get is rain later in the week so I think I will do my long run tomorrow instead of Friday.

Well not much happening here...my classes are starting to get very time consuming and I am about to start to have to actually go to the schools soon too. I am also having to tutor a student for 8 weeks and have about a zillion papers to write...so on that note...I think I will do some school work!

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New Month...