Texas Lou

Archive for the ‘Running’ Category

Good morning and welcome to my Thankful Monday post!

Today, I’m thankful for the following:

1. I’m thankful for a wonderful day with friends yesterday.  First, we had breakfast at the Tavern on the James and then we went to the James River Brewing Company that I’ve been wanting to try for a long time.  It was great company, great food, and great fun!
2. I’m thankful that I have amazing women in my life who are all willing to put in the effort to keep in touch.  Friday night, I met up with several of the ladies I used to work with at VGT for dinner and drinks.  It was so nice to catch up with everyone and I’m always grateful to have another Girls’ Night to look forward to!
3. I’m thankful to have so many friends who are pregnant or who have recently had babies.  Not only am I thankful that their pregnancies all seem to be going well, but I’m also so happy to see so many wonderful friends bringing new life into this world.
4. I’m thankful that Spring is here!  Although we had about 3 inches of snow last night, we had a beautiful, sunny, and warm day on Saturday that Ben and I enjoyed by running 5 miles along the river.  I think this is the last of the snow we will have this season.
5. I’m thankful again for the opportunity to work from home today.  As I mentioned before, we had snow overnight and it is supposed to continue to snow until this evening so I’m very glad I have a job that allows me the flexibility to work from home so that I don’t have to risk my safety and others’ on the roads.

Have a terrific week!

Happy Thankful Monday!

Today, I am thankful for the following:

1. I am thankful I was able to finish the Charlottesville Ten Miler on Saturday despite the rain and the difficult hills.  I can honestly say that I think this was the hardest race I’ve ever run.  I’m not sure if it was the rain, the hills, my mindset, or being exhausted from the time change and traveling the previous weekend, but I doubted my will to finish it several times during the second half of the race.  I was so glad when I crossed the finish line and I am grateful that my body and mind were able to get me that far.
2. I am thankful for a nice relaxing weekend with my family.  Saturday, we made dinner, bloody marys,  and Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes with Ian, Sarah, Collin, and Ben and then Sunday we had a nice dinner with Ian, Sarah, Brandon, Peter, and Phyllis.  I’m thankful for wonderful loving people in my life.
3. I am thankful to hear some good news from a friend last week.  It’s  not my place to say what their news is, but I know they have had a couple of years of trouble and they now seem to be past the end of that tunnel.  Many people’s prayers have been answered!
4. I’m thankful that I have a close family.  My 2 aunts, 2 uncles, cousin, and great aunt visited my mom this past week at the beach for Spring Break and I’m so happy that all of my family makes the effort to spend time with one another.  I’m also thankful I got to spend some virtual time with them via Skype!
5. I’m thankful for a new week and a fresh start.  Last week was a little rough at work, but I’m hoping my anxiety will subside and I will be able to kick ass and take names again in the office this week!

Have a wonderful week!

Good morning and welcome to this week’s Thankful Monday blog post!

Today I am thankful for the following:

1. I’m thankful that Spring is almost here and we are already starting to see some pretty purple and yellow flowers blooming.  Although we haven’t had a ton of snow this winter, it has felt so dark, cold, and long so the idea that Spring and longer days are on the horizon makes me so happy!
2. I’m thankful that our longest training run for the Charlottesville Ten Miler is finished.  We did 11 miles yesterday (ok I only did 10.8). and it feels so good to know that the race will be shorter!
3. I’m thankful that we finally have a house under contract.  I know it is not ours yet, but it’s the closest we’ve gotten so far to finding our new home.  My fingers are crossed that inspection, appraisal, and closing all go as planned.
4. I’m thankful for a weekend that was filled with fun and many friends, including Nita, Sarah D., Collin, Sarah W., Scott, Kennith, Courtney, Deb, Robert, and Crystal.  I also got to see lots of family this weekend including my sister-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, and nephew.
5. I’m thankful for sunshine because it makes me feel so good and happy!

I hope you have a great week filled with lots of sunshine!

Good morning and happy February!   Can you believe we are already in the second month of 2013?!?!  It seems like January flew by!

Here’s what I’m thankful for this week:

1. I’m thankful for an invitation to a Super Bowl party last night that gave me the opportunity to spend time with new and old friends!
2. I’m thankful for a mother-in-law Virginia Mom who is so crafty and planned a day with family to make Valentine’s Day Houses!  It was tasty, fun, and best of all, I got to be crafty with my family!
3. I’m thankful for a husband that enjoys running with me (and motivates me to keep from quitting).  Yesterday morning we ran 9 miles in preparation for the Charlottesville Ten Miler in March!
4. I’m thankful for the opportunity to get to spend time with so many good friends and family last week (running with Becky and Ben on Sunday, restaurant week  with Kristen, Tim, and Ben on Wednesday, dinner with Ashley and Dana on Thursday, Shopping with Sarah on Saturday, making Valentine’s Day houses with Peter, Phyllis, Ben, Robin, Sarah, Abby, and Elise on Sunday, and James’ Super Bowl party last night with lots of new friends and Kelly and Marian who I miss so much).  My life is certainly rich because of the wonderful people who are in it!
5. I’m thankful that for the past couple of weeks, I’ve finally started to feel like my happy self again with less anxiety and worry and more happiness and joy.  Maybe these posts are helping!  🙂

Good morning!  Welcome to this week’s thankful Monday blog post!

Today, I am thankful for the following:

1. I’m thankful for the fit body and sufficient health that allowed me to run 8 miles and walk another yesterday morning with my husband and a new friend.  We are all training for the Charlottesville 10 Miler this spring and we had a great training run!
2. I am thankful for the various free educational opportunities out on the web.  I’ve been taking online courses, lectures, and seminars from Code Academy, Coursera, and I Will Teach You To Be Rich since the new year started and I am learning so much valuable information as well as building my experience base, and it’s all FREE!
3. I am thankful for birthdays because they give us an excuse to celebrate and a chance to come together with new and old friends.
   

   Thursday night at the Melting Pot celebrating Kristen’s birthday with friends!

4. I’m thankful for Netflix and Comcast On Demand that allow me to escape my worries and stress temporarily at the drop of a hat by having thousands of movies available.  This weekend, I watched Total Recall, The Switch, Man of the House, and Insidious.
5. I’m thankful for the fresh start to do better and live fuller that Monday brings us each week!

Have a great week!

Translation: Oh My Gosh Thank God It’s Friday YAY!

I’m so excited today and here’s why!

• It’s Friday and the beginning of the weekend…DUH!
• We are going to the Top of the Hops Beer Festival tomorrow where we will get to sample many awesome beers and spend time with lots of friends!  We went last year and it was a blast!
• I feel like I am doing so much better at work.  I’m feeling more comfortable with my job, tasks, and asking my coworkers questions plus I am meeting new people and getting involved!
• The weather has been wonderful and it is supposed to stay that way through the weekend.
• I was really good this week at keeping up with my healthy eating and exercising (ran over 11 miles!).  I’m trying to remind myself constantly that this is important to keep me positive and help me mentally and emotionally in addition to keeping my body healthy.
• Lastly, I found out that I MAY be able to spend a weekend in October with my brother, sister, and dad in New York AND go to a TEXANS game (special thanks to my awesome boss for giving me the time off)!  It’s not definite yet, but we’re working on it!

I hope everyone has a FABULOUS weekend!

We are getting dangerously close to the end of summer, and although I LOVE fall and all of the beautiful colors and changing leaves and cool and crisp air it brings with it, I dread the shorter days and decrease in sunlight.  The fall colors are something that I never really saw growing up in Houston that I’ve really come to apreciate here in Virginia.  However, the shorter days where it gets dark around 5 PM is also something  that I never saw growing up that I really can’t stand.  It brings on a serious case of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD 🙁 ).

With these last few days of summer and late evenings still filled with dwindling sunlight, I’m trying to soak up as much of it as I can get before the time change.  The Meade Park Farmers Market that takes place every Wednesday afternoon from 3 PM until 7 in Charlottesville is about to come to a close for the season next week so I suggested to Ben that we go for a run to the market after work.  After a beautiful 2.75 mile run to the market in perfect temperatures, we arrived at the market where we bumped into some friends, got to sample some delicious and nutritious bread from the Great Harvest Bread Company, and ended up buying some fresh and local green beans and swiss chard.  We than ran the 2.75 miles back home along the Rivanna River where I cooked barbecue chicken (with authentic Texas Rudy’s barbecue sauce – thanks to Cheryl and Dan), asparagus, and garlic parmesan sauteed zuccini.  After dinner, Ben and I watched 21 Jump Street, the movie and laughed our butts off!  I highly recommend it especially if you’re looking for a good laugh.

It was a great day, made even better by the fact that rather than going and sitting in front of a computer all day, I got to spend the work day volunteering with my company for the Thomas Jefferson Area United Way Day of Caring.  We organized closets, separated donated childrens’ clothing, and made goody bags for young families in the area at the Child, Youth, & Family Services in Charlottesville.  It was wonderful to learn about the organization, help out my community, meet lots of new people, and give my time and effort to such a great cause.  And you should have seen the amazing lunch they provided us!!!

I’d have to say it was definitely a summer day to remember!

On Saturday morning, I ran the Charlottesville Women’s Four Miler for the 5th year in a row.  The race takes place every year on Labor Day weekend, and the money raised goes to support the University of Virginia Cancer Center Breast Care Program which helps  to fund breast cancer research and support local women fighting the disease.

I was really excited about my performance this year.  Despite it raining during the entire race, I beat my record for the course and crossed the finish line in just under 45 minutes.  In addition, I ran the first mile at 9 minutes and 19 seconds which is a HUGE record for me (I usually run between an 11 and 12 minute mile)!  Below are my results from the past 5 years and they definitely show what an improvement I’ve made!

2012 Results

2011 Results

2010 Results

2009 Results

2008 Results

To get ready for the race, the past couple of years, my friends Sarah and Wendy and I have made shirts to wear on race day.  This year, mine said:

T-shirt…$4

Race Registration…$45

E Racing Cancer…Priceless

Sarah and Wendy’s shirts quoted lyrics from the Young MC song “Bust A Move” (get it…bust as in boobies…haha!).

Me, Sarah, and Wendy before the race sporting our creative T’s!

Ben even came out to support us and I want to say a special thank you to him for holding all of our bags and waiting for us in the rain.

Ben and I before the race

Sarah and I waiting for Wendy to arrive with our race bibs.

Ben and I…check out all the pink in the background!

One of the best things about this race is all of the support it gets from the local community.  People come out rain or shine to volunteer and cheer on the runners and everyone gets all decked out in pink.  We even saw a man with three kids who all had their hair dyed pink (including the father’s beard) and were wearing pink shirts in support of their wife/mom running the race!  It’s the number 1 most popular race in Charlottesville and race registration has closed out in under 12 hours the past couple of years.  I was really lucky to get a spot this year since race registration was on my wedding day.  Lucky for me, my pal Wendy signed me up!  I love this race and I plan on running it every year as long as I’m able.  And one day, if I have daughters, I hope to have them run it with me!

YAY for the weekend…it’s the first one in a month that I won’t be traveling!

Don’t get me wrong, I love traveling, and I had a ton of fun in Washington D.C. at the zoo, in Warrenton for the wine festival, in Texas for Megan’s wedding, and in OBX for the girls’ weekend, but man was I EXHAUSTED from all of that flying, driving, and getting up early so as not to miss a single thing (my motto when on vacation is I’ll sleep when I’m dead)!

Tonight we are having dinner with good friends at Outback and getting to meet little miss Erin (technically I met her at the hospital when she was born, but only through the glass).  Tomorrow is my company’s picnic which I helped plan as a member of the Events Committee.  I love company events like the picnic and holiday party because its so nice to get to talk to people outside of work in a very relaxed setting and meet their families.  On Sunday, we are heading to Ben’s parents’ place to celebrate his mom’s birthday!  I found her the most beautiful, unique gift in OBX last weekend and can’t wait to give it to her!

Besides all that fun stuff, I plan to do some more unpacking and clean up around our tiny little apartment, spend some time with my kitties, get some quality outdoor time, including a 6 mile run, which is part of my half marathon training, and maybe even lay by the pool.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing weekend!