And we're off

As of 7:50 this morning, Team Peanut Butter Jelly Legs has taken off. We arrived at the hotel around 11:00 last night and left this morning at 5:30, so we are running on pure adrenaline and excitement and little sleep.

After running the prologue together, approximately one mile, Ashley started with her first five mile leg.

Woo hoo, go PBJL!

Let the fun begin!

You guys, I am SO excited about this weekend! It's Texas Independence Relay time!

I have been waiting for this day for such a long time. My BFF Ashley (no seriously, since I was 2) organized a relay team of her, me, and ten of my favorite strangers to run 201 miles across Texas. Best part: my handsome husband (who still needs a blog name btw) is my driver. One of the rules is that you must have a runner on the road at all times. Basically we will be running/traveling for 30 hours straight. And I will be blogging about all of it.

So basically, here is the skinny. We start at 7:50 tomorrow morning. I have legs 2, 14, 27, and 37, for a total of 18 miles. My longest run is a little over 6 miles and shortest is 3. Since we will not have much time to rest Saturday night, we will be staying and showering at a local high school gym. Should be interesting.

So here are the details and half of our team aka van 1.

Little Rock Half Marathon

We are traveling back to Little Rock this weekend for my dear friend Ailini's baby shower and the drive has me thinking about the race a couple weeks ago. I haven't a chance to post about it and I am sure you all are on pins and needles, so here it goes.

I won't say much about the race expo or the race course because I didn't stay at the expo long enough to have an opinion and I think the half course could do a better job showcasing the city. I will say that the organizers and volunteers were SO nice! The race really has a small town feel, which I loved.

And now .... drum roll please... the race. First, lets talk about the goals I had planned for this race: 1. Negative splits; 2. stay positive; and 3. Finish under 1:55.

I am not sure how close I came to the first goal, but I managed to maintain even splits for the entire race, except for mile 12. During mile 12, I was beginning to be delirious and got confused on the race signs. I thought I was closer to the finish than I was and believed I actually had a chance to finish under 1:50, which resulted in me running my 12th mile in 7:40 - much faster than my pace during the rest of the race. It just goes to show that the mind is a powerful powerful thing! Once I saw the actual 12th mile marker I slowed back down to my planned pace. With the 7:40, I technically did have negative splits.

Hmm, did I stay positive?? At times. Other times I had to work really really hard to keep the negative thoughts at bay. I never wanted to stop and walk but I had to resist the constant "this course sucks" mentality.

Oh yea, and that last goal? CRUSHED IT!! Final time 1:50:46. I hope you guys don't think I am gloating over here, (OK, maybe a little), it's just that this is so much better than my previous times and I am not sure quite where it is coming from.

When it comes to running, I know all about things feeling too far out of reach. When I first started running again as an adult and one of my friends talked about running 3 miles at a 10:00/mile pace I thought, man if I could do that I would be happy. Then, my dad told me how he ran 6 miles at 9:00/mile pace and I thought, no way, that will never be me. Truly, that sounded so impossible. A year or so later I ran my first half and finished in 2:07, walking in the last mile. Second half, same result. Now here I am, running 13.1 miles at 8:30/mile.

Now lets be clear, I am by no means the fastest runner, or anywhere near the front actually. I'm a middle of the packer all the way. But to look back at where I came from and see what I have accomplished with running -what I thought was impossible- it feels good.

And there you go, now you know why it's so addicting. :)

Evan, Bill and Bill's mom did come down to watch, but I never saw them. The temps were in the thirties so I think they stayed inside at the coffee shop, but they swore they stood outside looking for me. Oh we'll, at least Evan makes a cute cheerleader.

My friend Ailini and her family came to watch and saw me three times on the course! Thanks for coming Lini, I loved seeing you,

Top Six Things You Should Know

about Evan Wesley.  No. 1, we do not ever call him that.  I don't know why I just did.   Anyway. . . most people who read this blog do not get to see us on a daily or weekly basis, and I do not kid myself, I know they read only to keep up with Evan and see cute pictures.   So, I thought I would do a six things you need to know about Evan post:

1.  He has very long hair, especially on the top.  Actually, it is almost like two different hair styles.  The top is so straight and long and the back is a frizzy mess.  One day I put it in a ponytail:

I have also put gel in it, just to see what will happen.

2.  He loves outside.   Weekends usually involve one, if not two, walks around the neighborhood on Saturday and Sunday. 

This is us yesterday afternoon taking a walk with temps in the upper thirties.  He will crawl into his stroller and beg to go "outside", "bye bye". Yesterday, he did this and I said "no bye bye today Evan".  He started crying and the guilt ensued.  He won, I froze. 

3.  He loves loves his daddy.  He copies everything that Bill does. 

Melt my heart!

4.  His favorite food is bananas.  Kid would eat bananas all day long if I let him.  

5.  His favorite song is the itsy bitsy spider.  He attempts to do the motions and everything, so cute.  When you are finished, he will cheer and say, again.  And the singing continues on repeat. 

6.  He is an excellent shopper.  Seriously.  As long as you avoid the produce/banana isle (see no. 5), he can sit in the cart for a really long time without complaint. 

Goals

We all need them.  Some make more than others.  I tend to be one of those people that make lots of goals.

And with that, lets talk about the Little Rock Half Marathon.

I am writing these goals down so that (a) I can bore you guys to death, (b) I have a blog post and do not get in trouble by Mr. C (I really think he needs a blog name, any suggestions), and (c) so that I can feel accountable come Sunday.  Sometimes it is too safe to keep goals in your head for these goals are easily modified.  Slap a goal on a blog for the world to see, and instantly the pressure is on.

Goals:

1.  2 -3 mile warm up before the race.  May seem silly, but in preparation for the OKC marathon in April, I really need to get 16 miles in on Sunday.  I have never ran before a race before, but this is a goal I hope to meet.
2.  Run negative splits.  This is a big one.  Negative splits simply means you run the last half faster than the first.  It also means you ran a smart race.  And I like to be smart.  I have had my fair share of starting out way too fast, and I am trying to get better about that.

3. Keep a positive attitude.  So much of racing is mental.  It is easy to get negative in the last few miles of a race when your body is tired. I cannot tell you the number of times I have let negative thoughts creep in.  For this race, I am making a deliberate effort to remain positive.  You is kind. You is smart. You is important.  And, You is fast.

4.  Finish in 1:55.  This is certainly doable based on my current training.  It will take mental focus, especially since I am running alone, but if I can do this, I will feel pretty confident in my OKC marathon training to date.  It should also give me a good picture of what I am capable of come marathon time.

Now for the big decisions, what to wear?  Why is it that I always feel like I need a new outfit before a race?

Any races coming up for you guys?

Anyone want to run a race with me?  We could have a reunion of sorts.

Classic Movies Anyone?

My mom is a doer.  Tell her you have a task and she will make sure that it gets done.  When she ready my most recent post about the 30 under 30 challenge, her instant response was "We are doing some of these!"

We opted not to go to the food festival because it was FREEZING on Saturday and after my 12 mile run in 25 degree weather, I just couldn't bring myself to be outside all day.   Instead, we embarked on the AFI 100 best movies list.   We managed to watch three movies this weekend and I am hear to tell you all about them.

The African Queen - This movie starred Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn and has become the source of my new favorite thing to say to Bill -- "Oh Charlie [or Bill], we are having our first quarrell".  I can't wait for the day when Bill is really mad or frustrated with me and I can say that.  Marriage and aggravation go hand in hand.  I will not describe the movie to you because someone else can do it better, but you should definitely watch it.

Double Indemnity -   Good story line, but probably my least favorite of the three.  Boring at times.

The General -  This was a silent comedy that no one wanted to watch with me.  Mom fell asleep within the first five minutes and Bill couldn't imagine how I was not bored to tears. That is until he came in during the last five minutes of the show and declared this a hilarious movie.  It was really good.

We currently have blizzard conditions moving into Oklahoma, so tomorrow will likely be a snow day.  That means homework for everyone -- look at this list and tell me which movies I should watch while stuck at home.

Oh, and about part two of our Christmas adventures.  Well, I lost my SD card and cannot find the pictures.  Don't worry I will find them soon enough.  Hopefully by July.  Yea, Christmas in July.

Thirty under Thirty

I've learned a lot about myself in my twenties.  I like to make list.  And not complete them.

Things are actually going OK in the Thirty under Thirty department.  I thought we could have a status update, a check-in if you will.

So here are the things I have completed:

1. Half marathon in under 2hours - nailed it. (and hoping to do so again next weekend).
2.  Buy a car - forget the remainder of this goal.  We scratched that off remember?
3. Go vegetarian for one month.  That was actually fun.
4.  Make Sushi.  This was really fun, particularly because it involved my favorite su chef.
5.  Run on the beach before sunrise or with the sunrise. I did this.  Sort of.  I mean if you count walking as running.
6. Volunteer for a race.  Completed.  Can't say it was fun.  Does that make me selfish.  Don't answer that.
7.  Read a book to Evan every day for a month.  This is well established.  Insert visual of Evan doing sign language for book here.

OK, so I recognize that it is February, and I recognize that my birthday is in May.  Let's just all think positive, mmm K?

Here are the things I really think I have a shot at.  

8. Buy a stranger's lunch.  Certainly I can do this. The problem is, I kind of feel like a stalker, creepy person.  I mean who do you choose?  Instantly, this person is going to be like who are you and why are you watching me eat?  This would be much easier in a drive thru, that is if I went through drive thrus.  Does Starbucks count as lunch?  I will do this, eventually.

9.  Ride "the" bike.  You know the one.  It ripped me apart, broke my heart and shattered all my dreams of ever completing a sprint triathlon on our very first day together.  I actually almost completed this task last weekend. Then I started working in the flower beds.  Procrastination at its finest.

10.  Take a cooking class.  I actually forgot about this one.  Still want to do this.

11 and 12.  Attend a food festival/three day trips in Oklahoma -  oh yes, we are multitasking.  This should get completed. The dates are already on the calendar.  In fact, the first trip is scheduled for this Saturday during my mom's visit.  Fried oysters here we come.

13.   Take yoga once a week for at least two months.  I went to my first yoga class on Monday.  I promise to post more about it soon because basically I received a free private lesson -- SCORE.  I am hopeful that I can keep this up as my Monday lunch routine.

14. Watch the sunset on Lake Hefner.  This task is likely going to go something like this.

J:  Bill, come on, it is May 4th, my birthday is tomorrow and it is only one stupid sunset.
B:  Evan said he will go with you.
J:  no romance, I tell ya, no romance.  ;)

15.  Run a Relay.  This is happening on March 23 and 24th.  I CANNOT wait to blog about.   Bill is our driver for over 24 hours and Ashley and I will be operating on little to no sleep.  Expect video footage of this baby.

16.  Give someone flowers for no special reason.  I have someone in mind.  Three someones in fact.  You will find out soon enough.  This one has actually been pretty difficult.  I feel like I am choosing people here.  So, if I promise to put a virtual flower on the blog, will you guys not get mad at me if I don't send you flowers.  I promise if I could afford it, I would send flowers to all of you who read this.  All 8 of you.

17.  Mentor a lawschool student.  This is in the works.  I have had lunch with a couple and have spoken with the school administration about becoming more involved.  I look forward to more of this.

18.  Watch at least 10 movies on AFI's 100 years .. 100 Movies list.  This will most likely be an up all night adventure on May 4th.  After Evan and I's sunset date, of course.

19.  Hot air balloon ride.  Birthday present, maybe.  Here's looking at you, Mr. C.

20.  30 days of thankfulness.  OK, so this one is laughable.  Does anyone remember the three post I did here, here and here?   Well, that was about all the thankfulness I had in me in August.  Once the ear infection turned rash kicked in, there didn't seem like much to be thankful for. Maybe I will just do some thankful in one word post on the blog.  That should be fun.

21.  Volunteer at a food bank.  Not much to say here. Will happen.

22.  Host a dinner party.  Sharon, Beth, are you listening? Wanna come over?

23.  Read at least 5 books on the AP high school book list that I missed out on in high school.  I can do this. If I can find the list.  

And now for the Jodi that was a little ambitious of you, things that will likely not get done post.

24.  10K in under 50 minutes.  Tried this once in the past year.  It didn't go so well.  I may try again in the next few months.  Who knows.

25. Go to New Orleans with Bill.  I envisioned turning 30 in NOLA with Bill by my side, gumbo in my belly and jazz music in the background -- Jazz Fest is the weekend of my birthday after all.  Very fun and also very expensive.  It just isn't in the cards this year.  Oh well, maybe Bill will take his shirt off and let me throw beads at him from the backyard.

26.  Establish date night.  Truthfully, I haven't felt much pressure or desire to do this.  Bill and I hang out together a lot.  We have a great time and love to be around Evan too.  Evan goes to bed at a decent time (usually 8), and we spend time together after that.  If I did this, I think I would be forcing it.

27.  Walk/jog/crawl a half marathon with my mom.  Anyone who knows my mom knows she is entirely too busy for my running shenanigans.    There is always life after retirement, right?  Surfside beach, 2014?

28.  Pick peaches with Sharon.  Peach season too short.  Not my fault.  ;)

29.  Run this City Challenge.  This will still happen. Just maybe not before I'm thirty.  Right Carlie?

30.  That's just it, I have NO thirty.  Help me people.

Seven years later....

And he is still the one I choose.

Bill and I shared our seven year anniversary on December 30th, while visiting with my parents.  There isn't much to say about it, but I wanted to share this collage.

Life just keeps getting better.