Worst Picture Ever

Thank you for all of the sweet comments!  I really don't think I look all that great while running, but after seeing some of the pictures the photog got of me, now I know why ya'll were being sweet.  Seriously, I have about 50 race photos of me from the official photog and MOST are ugly.  

So, for your viewing pleasure....

Worst Race Photo Ever (this truly sums up how I felt the whole time):

 Best Photo:

Happy Halloween to all!  Be safe this weekend!

Race Pictures

I meant to share these yesterday, but we had a family funeral to attend.

Here are a few of the pictures that were taken by my lovely hubs.  And yes, I hold my arms too high.  Feel free to call me T-Rex.

Half Marathon Race Recap

I'll try to make this short and sweet, since it was the worst race ever.

What Went Wrong:

• I didn't sleep worth a flip. 
• I hadn't trained well enough.
• My legs felt like cement and I had zero energy.
• It was about 60 degrees when we started (almost 80 when I finished) and I was used to training in the lower-ish 50's.

What Went Okay:

• We were ahead of the 2:30 pace group for about the first 2 miles.
• We had a lot of fun making fun of ourselves and calling one guy we kept leap frogging, "sexy legs."  It was hilarious since he was probably in his 40s and had the hairiest legs ever.  I dunno, we were delirious.  LOL
• My family and my friend's family were there to yell at us.  I swear, my dad yelled at me and told me to run so many times.  At one point, he even said "this is the last hill" in which I turned around and said "I call BS."  LOL 
• We didn't puke our guts up when we passed fresh road kill.  Although, we gagged and gagged!
• My friend and I crossed the finish line together.

What's Awesome:

• My friend Naomi stopped, turned around, and ran back to get me at the finish line so that we could cross the finish line together.  Ya'll I cried.  I did.  My finish line photo will be awful.  LOL  But it was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me in a race.  She turned around and ran in with me, so that we finished together.
• I finally got to meet a blog friend - who I can now say is a real life friend! ha!
• The race volunteers that actually clapped or yelled for you.  There were so many volunteers that just stood there and stared.  Seriously, that doesn't help!

I plan on posting pictures tomorrow!  That's the best part, right?

I realize that I did great by finishing and the more that I talk to my friends, the more I realize it wasn't just me having a bad day!  Almost all of my friends (with the exception of a few) had a horrible race day.  People that normally finish at 2:30 or faster, finished 5 minutes before I did.  So, I'm so glad it wasn't just me!  Makes this girl feel better!  We all have horrible races every now and then - it makes us appreciate the good ones that much more!

Worst Race Of My Life

Official Time:  3:01:05
Official Feeling:  Kill Me Now!  Worst pace of my life.
Overall:  Thankful that wasn't my first half marathon or else I'd vow to never do another.  LOL

I'll have a race recap up tomorrow hopefully! 

Thanks to all that donated and for all the comments! 

The Big Reveal

Without further ado.... My Half Marathon outfit:

I might look like a smurf, but I love it!  This is my absolute favorite color!  The purple ribbon in the corner will be worn in my hair in memory of my Grammy.  She loved purple.  I love the thought of having her with me every step of the way.  I miss her dearly and everytime I see a US Postal truck, I think of her. 

As far as race goals go, I honestly have no idea.  Seriously, no idea.  I'm going to shoot for last year's time of 2:45:30 or faster.  I'm really really hoping that the adrenaline will help me out and that somehow I'll pull through.  I'm being serious when I say that Grad School put a HUGE dent in my training this year.  But, I'm already thinking of doing the LR Half Marathon in March to redeem myself.  We shall see peeps!  We shall see! 

Wish me luck and think of me tomorrow!  I'll post when I get the chance and let ya'll know my unofficial (or official) time!  Have a great weekend and good luck to everyone else racing!

Half Marathon Weather

So, we've all done this, right?  It's the week of your {insert race here} and you start checking the weather forecast every single hour on the hour to see if it's changed.  I know I'm not alone here....

This Saturday's forecast has changed a little bit, but not to my delight.  This was the forecast as of Wednesday. 

Let's see.  It's October - almost November - and yet the high will be 80 with a low of 64?!  Hello?!  Last year when I did this race it was 40something degrees when we started!  Don't even get me started on the 40% chance of rain!  Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, I have enough going against me for this race - let's not add the weather to that list! 

Dear running & weather gods,
Please, let's drop the temperature by about 10 degrees, make the humidity go away, and move the rain off by a few hours.  Also, let me run with ease like a gazelle.  That's not too much to ask, right?
With Love {and some hate},
Me

Pretty Please?

As you all know, my 2nd half marathon is this Saturday.  What you didn't know is that I'm raising money for the organization that the HM benefits. 

I'm raising money for Soaring Wings Ranch.  The ranch is located here in Central Arkansas and to try to give you a little bit of background on the ranch and what it does, here is an excerpt from their website:

The goal of each home is to maintain an environment that will offer each child a chance to develop into a confident young adult with a high degree of self-sufficiency, exemplary work ethic, a strong ethical base with a clear understanding of right and wrong, a team player mentality, and a biblical understanding of sin and forgiveness. In addition, they will receive instruction in social skills, proper etiquette, and appropriate physical hygiene.

To learn more about the Ranch, you can visit their site here.

Now, here's where I need ya'll help.  I'm trying to raise $500 for the Ranch.  I've already raised $370 and my husband and I plan to donate $100.  So, that brings us to $470.  That means I'll be $30 short of my goal!

If ya'll could, please donate - nothing is too small!  I really want to make my goal! So, if ya'll could please go here and help me meet my goal!  It's going to a GREAT cause!

Jury Duty

Well, I was called into Jury Duty this morning.  Luckily, I wasn't picked as a juror.  I was 4 seats away when they finally had 12 jurors and an alternate.  I was close. 

I say luckily, because it was a criminal case involving a man and a 5 year old girl.  The little girl will be testifying and there would be pictures shown.  It was of the sexual nature.  Thank goodness I wasn't selected.  I don't think I could sit through that and be unbiased. 

As mad as I am that something could've happened between those two (I don't know since I wasn't there), I'm also very concerned that the parents put on a party where there was tons of alcohol consumed and felt it was safe enough for their 5 year old to attend or be in the same house.  Where were her parents when this allegedly took place? 

Yuck.  My stomach was doing flip flops the entire time.  I can't even imagine what took place.  I hope justice is served if something did take place.  And, since there are pictures, I'm guessing that something did.

The Week Before....

It's that time again!  It's the week before my half marathon! 

So, this week is all about race prep....

First up is updating my play list.  It's been a few months and I feel kind of out of the loop since I canceled by XM Radio, so I'm asking you all - what are your favorite new songs to run to?  Or are there any older songs that you just love to run to as well?

Help me update my play list folks!  I listen to just about everything - including country - so leave me a comment with your favorite songs. 

For all of you non-runners out there - leave me your favorite songs to jam out in the car to! 


Also, I bought and tested my race outfit and I can't wait to show you all!!! 

....And I have to give a big shout out to Little Rock's own Leah Thorvilson for winning the Nike Women's Marathon in SF this weekend!  Woohoo!  :)  (Not that she reads this blog, but still....)

The Test That Would Never End

You know that song we used to sing when we were little... The one that went "This is the song that never ends.  It goes on and on my friends..."  That's what I felt like last night with my test.  It was never ending.

It took me 3 hours to complete that midterm.  3 hours.  I'm not even kidding.

There were 24 pages.  24!

There was 100 multiple choice/true false questions.  Those were the worst.  I hate true/false questions.  Especially when the professor decides to change ONE word that would make the whole statement false.  Those are tricky.  Then, the multiple choice questions had the lovely "A and D only", "All of the Above", and "None of the Above." 

I went into that test prepared.  I studied my booty off.  But, I know that I missed some of those multiple choice/true false questions.  The question is, how many?

I did wonderfully awesome on the 6 major problems he gave us.  I had those down like nobody's business.  Give me a problem and I can apply Linear Programming.  Give me another problem and I can do 4 different forecasting models on it.  But multiple choice?  I second guess myself when you're trying to trick me....

Oh well, I'll find out in 2 weeks (fall break, which is honestly just 2 days long....) what I made.  I think I did well, but I'm not sure if it was an "A" or a "B" kind of well.  We shall see.

Happy Friday, Folks!  No more thinking about school today!

3 Things Thursday

1. Tonight I have another midterm exam.  This time it's in Operations Management.  I'm not done studying yet - so after work, I'll be swinging by a drive thru then hitting the study lounge at UCA.  Exponential Smoothing, Regression, Forecasting Models....here I come!  BLAH!  Fingers crossed that I do well tonight! 
2. Tomorrow after work, I'm going jeans shopping!  Maurices called me to let me know they have my size and preferred style in!  They're holding a pair of jeans for me till tomorrow!  My husband laughed when I told him the store called me. :) They love me!  Best thing is, I have birthday money to spend!  SCORE!
3. Next Saturday is my 2nd Half Marathon!  I know I haven't talked about running in a while, but I've been doing pretty standard.  Since I'm overwhelmed with school and only running once a week (yikes), I'll probably come in somewhere around last year's time of 2:45.  I'm cool with that, but I'd LOVE nothing more than to come in closer to 2:30.  This Saturday is my last long run - 10 miles!  Woo hoo!

Add This To The List

...of things that shouldn't be done at work.

Let me set the scene....  Imagine a 2 story office building.  In front of that office building is a large parking lot.  In front of that parking lot is a big grassy hill.  Got it?

Now, imagine a girl on that grassy hill doing yoga in her scrubs....in front of the large office building full of people wondering what the heck possessed her to do that.  Yeah, my window is directly in front of this grassy hill....with the chick on her yoga mat.  She's been at it for about 30 minutes now....

Seriously... props for wanting to fit your exercise into your busy day, but why yoga on the hill in front of my window??  It's ....disturbing.

Wow, update.... someone just went out and whistled at her... and she stopped and ran into the building - horrified.  LOL

Doing A Happy Dance!

I received my homework back in Econ last night; I made a 100%!  YAY!

I also received my midterm exam back in Econ last night, too.  I made a 91%!  YAY!

Which means..... I still have an A!!!

Now, let's hope I can say the same after my other midterm on Thursday in Operations Mgmt!

Ya'll, I seriously did a happy dance last night!  I was SO scared!  All of that studying paid off though! 

Our Weekend

This weekend was definitely a busy one!  Since it's Monday and it seems I'm already behind, I'm using bullets.

• Friday night we had our usual "date night" at Larry's Pizza and then watched our DVR'd shows.  We also did a load of laundry for my parents since their dryer is out of commission.
• Saturday morning, I did my 9 mile group training run.  I felt wonderful - for once!  Yay!!
• After a nap and some laundry, we started packing our bag for our overnight stay at The Peabody!
• We met my MIL and friend there, checked in, and then headed over to Shogun's to meet the rest of the crew for dinner.  BTW, we were out celebrating my MIL's birthday.
• After dinner, we headed over to a dueling piano bar for some entertainment and drinks!  After a few hours, we headed over to The Flying Saucer for some more drinks!
• We closed down The Flying Saucer (1 am) and then headed over to our room - it was within walking distance to the downtown bars.
• We woke up around 9am and showered.  Around 11am, we went to see the ducks (it's a Peabody thing).
• Afterwards, we checked out of our room and headed over to the Olive Garden for some lunch.  We then parted ways.
• For the rest of Sunday, we spent our time taking naps and then I did a little laundry and the week's grocery shopping.
• And now it's Monday....which means work, school, and I finally get to see what I made on my Economics midterm.  Yikes!  Fingers crossed!
• Btw, one last note... They were sold out of the Latte singles I posted about last week, so this week I'm trying something different.  It's called Hills Bros. Cappuccino Mix - I used milk instead of water and it's wonderful!  YUM!

3rd Strike

You're out McDonald's!  OUT! 

So, we all remembered what happened last week right?  If not, go find last Friday's post...I'm too lazy to link it.  :)

Well, I decided to give McDonald's another chance.  As I'm driving up to the place, I notice the outside sign is not turned on.  That's not unusual since my McD's can't get it together most mornings and remember to turn on their light.  So, I drive up to the lit-up drive thru sign and sit.  And wait.  And wait.  3 minutes go by and nobody talks to me.  So, I drive off and come back around.  Why?  I have no idea.  But that's what I did.

Now, there are two vehicles in front of me.  Waiting.  And Waiting.  I check my clock again.  Yep, they should be open.  I get frustrated.  I get out of the drive thru line and I park.  I walk up to the doors.  They're locked.  Locked!  There are workers standing at the counter looking at me.  Pulling on the locked doors.  Locked.

So, I'm really ticked off by this point.  I hop in my Tahoe and drive over to Burger King (I know..but it's the only place near by...).  Their lights are OFF.  OFF.  They're suppose to be open by this point as well.  But, unlike McD's, there are NO people inside staring at the customer's driving off.  So, I decided that there must be something strange going on that I was unaware of and I decide to go to the McDonald's in the next town on my way into work.

I get off the interstate at the next town and their McDonald's is hoppin.  Great, atleast they're open and serving people!  So, I wait in their drive thru line FOREVER and finally order.  I make it to the 2nd window and I hear the guy scream back to his co-workers, "How do I make a Latte?!"  Great.  Wonderful.  Awesome.  I've driven all over hades for my Friday Latte and Breakfast Burritos (Yes, I'm doing what I want with capitalization.) and dude doesn't know how to make a latte.  Awesome.

So, as I sit and watch him (horrified) trying to make a Latte, I know at this point I'm gonna be late to work.  I'm NEVER late to work - EVER.  Awesome.  I get my Latte wannabe and ask the guy for some mild sauce.  He hands me ONE packet.  Um, can I have one more please.  Sure.  Awesome, I'm on the road. 

I take a drink of my "Latte" and want to spit it out.  It's disgusting.  I have no idea what he gave me or what he made, but it wasn't a Latte.  Awesome.  I then go searching for my hashbrown - to get the yucky taste out of my mouth that the Latte left.  The hashbrown is BURNT beyond repair.  Awesome.

I get to work 10 minutes late, throw my "Latte" away and peel the stickers off for the Monopoly game.  I won an Angus wrap.  Awesome.  Except.  I think those are the most disgusting looking wraps on earth.  I've never tried one.  I never will.  So internet peeps, I have a sticker for a free Angus Wrap from McDonald's if you want one.  We all know that I'm done for McDonald's for a very long time.

3 Things Thursday

It's been a while since I've done 3 Things Thursday!

1. Hubs has had dinner with the bosses the last two nights.  This means that I haven't seen my husband since Sunday and of course I wont see him tonight due to school.  I've been using my time wisely though - my homework is complete, the house a little cleaner, I started reading again for fun (like 5 pages, but still!), and I went to bed at 7:45 last night!  I slept like a baby!  I feel almost human this morning!  Hooray!
2. I can not wait for tomorrow night!  Friday nights are our "date nights."  We don't really call them that, but that's how I think of them.  It's the one night that I don't think about school and we go out to eat at Larry's Pizza then come home and catch up on all of our shows together!  I love it and look forward to it each week!
3. I haven't cooked dinner all week since hubs has been hanging with the bosses and coworkers.  By the way, I was invited to go, but I knew that they wouldn't be done eating until way past my bedtime - and I was right!!  Anyways, this week I've had a kid's cheeseburger meal, Ramen noodles, and hub's leftovers from the first co-worker dinner.  Tonight though, I'm making Sloppy Joes and some steamed squash before heading off to school - I'm craving them!  Yum!

A First

My midterm on Monday night went pretty well with the exception of one problem that was worth 30 points.  I got 2 out of 3 sub-points on that problem correct, so I'm thinking I'll get some of those 30 points at least.  We shall see.  I knew going into the exam that I didn't know how to do one thing and of course, that one thing was on the exam.  I'll let ya know next week how that turns out.  ha.

Yesterday, my nerves and brain were telling me that they'd had enough school.  Honestly, I don't blame them, I'd studied for that midterm no less than 30+ hours.  So, even though I have homework that I haven't started yet (that's due on Thursday), I decided to join the group for a 5 mile training run.  I hadn't ran during the week in weeks, so I thought it would probably do me some good.

Since I eat lunch at 11am and we run at 6pm, I knew I needed something to give me some energy.  Well, my first choice is always Gu, but I was out.  I had to make a run to Wal-Mart after work and they don't sell Gu.  So, instead of driving across town after I went to Wal-Mart, I decided to give a Clif Bar a chance (since they sell those at WMT). 

Big Mistake.

I get out to the training run and we have a speaker talking about nutrition.  That's all fine and dandy, but I was tired and ready to get this thing going.  Twenty minutes later, we start off on our run.  Let me start off by saying that the ladies that I usually run the same pace as weren't there.  Awesome.  Now, I was tired, grumpy, and my friends weren't there.  I start off and about a quarter mile in, my stomach throws in the towel.  I tell it to shut up, but it doesn't listen.  I wanted to puke.

I kept going till .6 miles and just decided I didn't want to do this.  I didn't want to run.  My stomach was all jacked up, my friends weren't there, and I was tired.  So, I turned around.  I didn't tell anyone, I just turned around. 

That was definitely a first.  Never have I ever bailed on a group run like that.  But, sometimes you just gotta listen to your body.  Here's to hoping Saturday's 9 miler goes much smoother.  I'll be a little more rested, I'll have my Gu (and breakfast), and my friends will be there beside me!

Test Results & Lattes

As you all may remember, I had my first round of blood work done on the 24th of last month to determine if I'm ovulating on my own or not.  Well, I am!  This is huge news and I'm so very happy to know that my body is at least doing that!  Now, I was suppose to get my 2nd round of blood work done this past Saturday, but due to an already full plate, I've postponed that test till next month.

Another important test of a different kind is tonight.... I have a midterm in Economics tonight.  I have studied my bottom off all weekend for this test.  I studied the majority of the day Saturday and then again on Sunday.  I'm also working a half day today and studying the rest of the day up until the test.  To say that I'm nervous is an understatement, but I'm trying my best not to worry.  I know God doesn't want us to worry, He wants us to hand over everything to Him and pray.  So, I've been studying and praying and trying my best not to worry.  So, please pray with me that I make an A on this test!  :)

And last but not least... I've been trying to find an alternative to buying lattes at McDonald's.  I only buy 1 per week, but I still feel bad spending $3 on a latte.  Well, I've looked at complicated machines and still haven't found one that I feel comfortable buying.  But, while at the grocery store Sunday morning, I found something that seems to be doing the trick so far this morning...

These little gems!  You can make yours iced or hot and they come in different flavors!  My store only had French Vanilla, but I'm really liking that flavor this morning!  The best part is that they were $1.98 for 5 packets!  So, I'm enjoying my homemade latte this morning!  It's not just like McD's or Starbucks, but for the price and taste - it's close enough for me!

This Morning Sucks

Catchy title, no?

Let me explain...

• Hubs work kept calling and calling last night/this morning. because servers kept going down.  Thus keeping him up and waking me up every time the phone rang (and I had class last night).
• I couldn't get the package of deli turkey opened.  The stupid package was not cooperating and I was running late.  So for lunch today, I'm having tomato soup and a melted cheese sandwich via the microwave. 
• Friday mornings are always McDonald's breakfast mornings.  I always get a Hazelnut Latte and 2 Sausage Burritos.  I look forward to Friday mornings because of this.  I get in the drive thru this morning to find that the credit card reader is down.  I have no cash.
• I drive to Burger King (ew for breakfast) and have to order crazy fast because there's a car behind me.  I go to pay with an American Express Gift Card that hubs gave me (he gets a ton of these as gifts from work, bc they work him like a dog.....) and it's declined.  Hubs gave me one he had already used.  No big deal - I pay with my bank card.
• I'm driving to work and take a drink of what's suppose to be my Diet Coke and it's Dr Pepper!!!  I HATE Dr Pepper!  It tastes disgusting to me!
• I get to work... 4 minutes late and with cold food that I really didn't want to begin with and no Latte - that I've been craving all week long!

Let's hope today gets better!  I know those are all little things, but it's totally throwing my Friday morning off!