Bye 2014 ... Bring On 2015!

I have to say 2014 has been one crazy busy year!  I feel like no matter how hard I tried I never felt caught up...We are a busy family with lots of "things" going on but this year just felt extra rushed.   SOOOOO my goal for 2015 is to time manage, organize and BALANCE more!  

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas/Holiday filled with family, traditions and friends!  I want to wish everyone a very happy New Year and be safe on New Year's Eve!  I will be welcoming life into the world at work tonight starting at 11 pm!

Here are just a FEW highlights of 2014 and in random order!! LOL!

Running the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon with amazing friends!  OHHHH by the way register today and save $15 off your registration fee!!!!! Discount starts at 12 pm today and goes until midnight ... you will LOVE this event!!!!

Ragnar Relay Ultra race!!  This was such a memorable experience and I absolutely loved every second of it!  I was blessed to have the best teammates/cheer squad/ friends out there!

Another true passion of mine ... Coaching this fantastic group of young ladies! Lacrosse has always been a big part of my life and I love the sport ... but I truly love coaching and helping these girls!

My parents and brother!  I would be lost without them!!!

Ok so this was one of the hardest mental races I have ever ran!  I just wanted to give up at the half way point and felt like crap ... but I dug deep let go of expectations and used the race as a training run for Boston!  I ended up having a ton of fun, met a few runners doing the same as I was and got a new nickname thanks to my Oiselle Flyte shirt ... "Fly Girl"!

Ahhhhh  Boston 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!  Lauren Fleshman and Kara Goucher ... Fellow Oiselle Superstars!

My husband!!!  He is my #1 fan, support system and friend!  Love ya!

My boys!!!  Literally my heart and soul!!  They are my pride and joy ... but man can they test me!!

Oiselle Bird Camp .... LIFE CHANGING!!  This was a huge highlight for sure!  AMAZING friends for life!

Family ... Family ... Family!

Watching my boys excel in their sports and school!!!!  Steelers Champions!!

Ravens Champions!!!!

Well I hope you all have the best end to 2014 and I look forward to seeing what 2015 brings!!!!

Happy Running!!!!!

Phone Photo Dump

So the past few weeks have been a whirlwind of family and fun!  Here are a few pics off my phone from the past few weeks:

Treats from my amazing friend Lori Jo!!

 CHEERS to you and yours!

The BEST mom on earth!!

My happy boys!

Don't mind my pale / ill self... GI bug decided to visit and be my gift!

This has been my favorite gift and I seriously have been living in it!  Oiselle Hoodie is a MUST HAVE!

And 2 yes 2 huge cases of Troegs Mad Elf!

Beats by Dr. Dre were a hit!  Great job Santa ....

My girl Jen had on her Christmas gift this week!!!!!  Yup I want this too ... Boston Marathon 2014 fleece jacket!  Love the colors this year.

My mom gave me this as a stocking stuffer and I am hooked!  Coconut Butter = YUM!

Another delicious find ... Chocolate + Peanut Butter + Porter = AMAZING ... Seriously like an adult Reese PB beer!

Nana and David hit a homerun with these gifts!  Hat and beard combo plus headlamps.

LOVING my mug from my running wife!!!!!!!  I use it everyday!

Love that Oiselle puts stickers and pins in their packages!

Told ya ... I am living in this hoodie!

Today I traded in my Mizuno Wave Riders for some ice skates!

My first time ever and NO FALLS!!!!!!!  Success!  I am ready to learn to twirl now!  No kidding ... this is a great way to cross train.

Enjoying the Zamboni. 

We had a pretty amazing 2013 ... Lots of great times, many family memories, amazing races, awesome vacations, our health but we also had lots of challenges thrown our way .. I learned a lot about who I am and how strong I can be.  It is easy to be happy, cheerful and confident when things are EASY and going your way ... But when times are hard and life is challenging is when you can give up and say "I quit " or grow and become stronger!  I have chosen to be positive and focus on how blessed we are!

So here is to a great 2013 but looking forward to an even better 2014!! 

I also need to add in my workout today:  Started off in spin class but really wasn't feeling like I was getting the workout I was craving ( 13 miles in 35 minutes in spin class ) so I went to my happy place and got it all out there!  6.25 miles in 41 minutes ... that was with a 2 minute warm up pace of 8:19 also!  I NEEDED to end 2013 with that kind of run!

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE EVERYBODY!!!!

Long runs and Beach!

Friday after working and getting my butt kicked at work I headed to PT and had another butt kicking!  It is amazing to me much harder it is to do certain exercises with proper form.  I say this because for years I have been working out and just lifting/squatting/jumping but never really knowing how off some of my form was.  Through PT and getting my body to move in proper alignment I have felt muscles "turn on" that haven't worked in a while.  I definitely feel stronger and more efficient now!  We are doing a lot of kettle-bell work and I love it.  Have you ever tried doing prowlers? Holy moly these are humbling ... I thought I was totally sprinting in quicksand!  This is a great way to work on speed.

So after PT I drove to the beach to meet my family and hang out!

I used Saturday as my rest day ... So we went shopping at the outlets for a few hours and walked the boardwalk= active recovery.  We had dinner at one of my favorite places at the beach, Fins Fish House and Raw Bar. They were having Christmas in July and had my #1 favorite beer ever on tap Troegs Mad Elf!!

Sunday morning was a blast!  I met up with Dawn and we had a glorious 13.25 mile run.  It got quite hot and humid but we had great conversation the whole run and the miles flew by!!  I am so blessed to have my runner girls!

We headed to the beach after a quick round of putt-putt.  The ocean was a beast today!  I had to pull my oldest out of the waves .. He is an amazing swimmer and has no fear but my goodness it was rough.  Then the hubby and both boys were getting thrashed out there so we decided to play a little lacrosse on the beach instead!

HAPPY RUNNING!

This was typed on my iPad so sorry if there are any mistakes!

 

Epic Fail

I had a pretty busy night at work and was working off of little sleep.  I got home around 8 a.m. and was in bed by 9:30 a.m.   Last night I felt like I could not drink enough water!  I just felt the more I drank the thirstier I got.  I planned on running 10 miles today but I only made it to 6 miles.  My mouth felt like cotton and my legs started cramping around 4 miles.  I absolutely despise when my "runner" brain tells me one thing and my body says the complete opposite!!!  I debated pushing it to 10 miles but I had "phoned a friend" and she said STOP RUNNING and go drink a Gatorade! 

Logically I know my body was telling me to stop but it is so hard to get over the training schedule that tells me 10 not 6 miles.  Also, my mom had my little guy and my hubby, dad, and my oldest son went to the beach for the day so I didn't feel so guilty about fitting in a 10 mile run.  So part of me felt like I wasted my resources and failed on my run today! 

I usually like to stick to my training schedule but I also know flexibility is needed sometimes to.  This weekend is hard to adjust my routine due to my work schedule and trying to balance my family time as well as getting a few hours of sleep.  I am very blessed with such a supportive husband, parents who go above and beyond, and my children who think I WIN every time I go out for a run. 





My Crew!

Since I have to work again tonight I really am glad I listened and went home and hydrated!

How do you overcome your "runner" brain?

Happy Running!