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Hello, hello friends!!

Happy 11/12/13 day!!

Nearly every morning for 2 years now, I've posted a positive uplifting message and quote to Facebook. Initially, I started this practice for myself more than anything, but now people have come to expect it.

My quote today was "In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take, the relationships we were afraid to have and the decisions we took too long to make."

I typically choose my quotes from a variety of sources. They may be pertinent to something that is going on in my life or to the day/holiday/world events, etc or it may just be totally random. That was the case when I posted this one this morning. It was just random. But the more I thought about it and recent events in my life, it is more pertinent than I initially thought.

When I started running, I tried to adopt a "live life to the fullest" attitude. I've tried to be more open to trying new things and having no fear. Life is short and I don't want to miss out on an opportunity to try new things or be better than I was yesterday. I don't want to get to the end of my time here and have to say "I wish I would have....." I want to be able to say "Wow! What a great ride! I've had a great time! Remember when I did....."

I haven't really been as good about this as I should, but I'm going to work on correcting that in the near future (comitting to a full marathon, getting my personal trainer certification) The hardest part is overcoming fear or finding time, but the time will pass anyway. So, now to focus on the little voice in my head that says "what if you can't do it" because, what if I can?!

Life is short! It's time to grab the bull by the horns and take a chance, make a change and truly live life to the fullest!!

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

Monday, again....

Here we go again!!  Let's get the ball rolling on another week!!

Happy Veteran's Day!

 

 

I hope that you all had a fabulous weekend.

Saturday morning, I ran with my Path 2 Half group for 12 miles.

It was a distance PR for all of them. They all did a fabulous job!!  I'm so proud of this amazing group of women! I've had the privilege and honor to coach them for 4 months from newbie runners to running their first 15k and now on to their first half marathon. It has been fun and rewarding to watch them grow and become more confident!!  It reminds me of myself and my running friends when we started a few years ago!!

After the run, we went out for brunch to McNellie's South City where I had the best omelet EVER!! If you know me well, you know that is a big deal for me to say, because I don't like eggs at all! I'm trying hard to learn to like them, but the texture creeps me out. I've discovered that they're better if they have ham, onions, peppers, mushrooms, etc to disguise the slimy, runniness!!

The rest of the weekend was incredibly uneventful and involved lots of "elevating and resting" which means that I sat at watched TV and movies. I feel pretty accomplished that I finally caught up on The Voice. I also did a lot of foam rolling.

Yesterday, I did the weekly grocery shopping but no meal prepping :( I'll work on that later tonight after my shift at the free medical clinic that I volunteer at monthly.

I struggled with the 12 mile run Saturday. I felt tired and was in quite a bit of pain for the last few miles. I hurt from my left hip all the way down to my left foot. I'm not sure if the pain is the IT band causing the foot pain or vice versa, but it looks like I'll be visiting my chiropractor quite a bit in the next couple of weeks!! It's very frustrating to feel like I'm doing everything that I'm supposed to and still dealing with injuries. :(

I hope that you all have a fabulous Monday!!

Friday, Friday, Friday!

We finally made it to my favorite day of the week!! WOOHOO!!

The special socks and rolling my foot/tight calves must be working because my foot is feeling a little better already.

The service for my friend yesterday was very beautiful. It was a great tribute to him. His passing has really made me think about my own mortality. As a nurse, I know that life is short and that tomorrow is not guaranteed. But, his death really made me take a long hard look at my life. I had already decided to train for the Little Rock marathon before his passing, but now I'm even more determined. And for quite a while now, I've been saying that I would really like to get my personal trainer certification. Well, there's no time like the present!! I've decided to go ahead and pursue my fitness certification! I'm super excited to begin researching programs and to get started.

Tomorrow, my Path to Half group is scheduled to run 12 miles. This is going to be a distance pr for all of them. The weather is supposed to be perfect, so I'm excited about that!!

I think I'm going to have a date with my handsome hubs tomorrow evening. I would like to go out to dinner and then to a movie. Thor 2 comes out today, so that might be a good one to go see. And the rest of the weekend will be spent doing chores: laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, meal prepping, etc plus I'll be foam rolling these darm calf muscles!!

That's all I've got for now!

I hope that you're having a fabulous Friday!!

Any suggestions on a fitness trainer certification program??

Thursday Thoughts

Good morning folks!!  We're over the hump, it's all downhill now!!

I was bad yesterday! I ate poorly, I didn't run or workout :(  I just wasn't really feeling well. I felt overly tired. Today I'm pretty sure I know why. I think I have a kidney infection. It's going to be a busy day, but I'm going to have to find time to deal w/ that issue.

I'm working a half day, them I'm going to my friend's funeral :( After that, I'm planning a 3-4 mile "therapy" run. I guess I'll have to squeeze in a trip to urgent care in there somewhere.

I think I may have found a solution for hubs frustrations and a way for him to remain physically active until he is recovered from his torn meniscus. Yesterday, I bought him a heavy bag and some gloves!!  We've talked for a long time about getting one, so I finally just did it. It will be a great way for him to get in some cardio until he can run again.

I think that I may be getting plantar fasciitis :( and I ain't got time for that!!  I'm trying to be proactive about it so that I can hopefully nip it in the bud!!  I've got my roller and I've been taping it. I'm also wearing a special socks when I'm just sitting around. I think that I'm going to have to rethink my work shoes. I've always thought that high heels were harmful due to shortened calf muscles, but now I'm thinking that the lack of arch support in flats could be the problem. I either need to find a good insole for my work shoes or find some shoes that I can wear with business casual clothes. Any suggestions??

That's all that I've got time to chat about right now. I hope that you all have a terrific Thursday!!

Workout Wednesday #21

Good morning friends!! 

It's Wednesday which means 2 things:

1--we're halfway through the work week

2--it's Workout Wednesday. We'll get to that in just a little bit.

Things are a little tense at my house right now. My husband has a torn meniscus in his right knee. We went to see the ortho the other night and it will require surgery to repair just as I had suspected. They called him yesterday to schedule the surgery and they can't do it until the end of December. I'm not especially happy about that, but neither is hubs. He's having trouble dealing with being side lined. He is jealous that I'm still able to run and work out and he is taking it out on me! WTH?! I completely understand the frustration of a debilitating injury like this. I tried very hard to express to him that this is a small thing in the grand scheme. That it is not life threatening and that it too shall pass. I'm not sure that I got through to him. He is depressed and feeling "worthless" I guess I will keep trying to reassure him. And, I'm calling the surgeon's office today to see if we can get in any sooner! Fingers crossed!!

When I decided to do the Little Rock marathon, I knew that it was an early one. It is the first weekend in March. That gives me about 4 months to prepare. I think that should be enough time to prepare for a marathon. I'll include my training for the Route 66 half marathon then will begin to build on that in December. My dilemma is that my usual run training program will be off for the month of December. They won't resume training until January. I was planning to do one of Hal Higdon's plans but I think that I need someone to help keep me accountable, so I have decided to hire a running coach! And I'm super excited about it!! I love my Fleet Feet Sports Tulsa training programs, but it will be nice to get another perspective!

And, now I've got a little ab circuit for you. I'm planning to add this on to the end of my Insanity workout tonight

Weekend recap

Good morning folks!!

I hope that you all had a fabulous weekend!

Mine was not long enough, but then again, they never are.

Saturday morning, I started out with a 10.5 mile run with my Pathways group. They have completed their goal run, the Tulsa Run 15k. But the Route 66 marathon and half marathon is only 3 weeks away. Many of them want to continue to the half marathon so we extended our training for them. It was the first double digit run for all of them and they did a such a good job!! The weather was perfect! It was one of those days when it just felt good to run, which is exactly what I needed!! 

Hubs took me out to dinner and a little dancing Saturday night.

Sunday, I watched to NYC marathon....very inspirational!!  And did chores: laundry, groceries, dishes, meal prep etc.  Not really a very exciting weekend, but much needed relaxation!!

This is going to be a busy week and I'm not real sure when I'm going to get my runs in. Tonight, I'm volunteering at the free medical clinic. Thursday is my usual run day, but I plan to attend the funeral of my good friend, so running might not happen that evening. But then again, it might be just what I need after the funeral.....we'll see. I'm sad that I have to miss the graduation party for my Pathwayers tonight. I truly enjoyed working with this group!!

Have a wonderful week folks!!

Goodbye Old Friend

Good morning folks!!  TGIF

I hope that you all had a great Halloween!

Yesterday was a strange day for me to say the least. It started out like any other Thursday. Things were going well, it was a good hair day, I was ready for work early......then I got the call. My phone rang, it was my cousin. He never calls me, he always texts. I should have known that wasn't a good sign. He was calling to tell me that one of our oldest, dearest friends was killed in an accident early yesterday morning. I could not believe it! It was a very rough day, to say the least, after that.

He was my first boy friend, my junior prom date. My cousin set us up. We were 16 years old and we were in love!!  LOL  We were going to get married and live happily ever after, etc etc.......  We went off to separate colleges and eventually, our separate ways but we stayed in touch all these years. We joked about being each other's bail out, we argued viciously over college football. He was a dear friend.

He messaged me on Tuesday. I was busy at work and didn't really want to chit chat at the time. I was short and abrupt with my responses. I was rude! The next day, I got a message from him telling me how important I was to him and that he was happy that we were such good friends. I thanked him and told him that I felt the same way about him. It was so random and I just thought that he was being nice. I never imagined that would be the last time I ever heard from him.

I've experienced so many emotions in the past 24 hours. I've cried so much! I'm so angry at him!!  I want to shake him and punch him for leaving his family and friends behind!!  Who is going to tease me about my age on my birthday? Who is going to give me a hard time about being a grandma??  Who is going to argue with me about college football, especially his beloved OSU Cowboys??  My heart is so heavy!!

I've lost grandparents and patients before, but those were all expected. I've never lost a friend. As a former hospice nurse, I know that what I'm feeling is considered "normal grief" I know that time is the only thing that will heal this kind of hurt. The one that that I'm having the most difficulty dealing with is the fact that I didn't take time to talk to him when he messaged me on Tuesday. I'm sure that wouldn't have changed anything but I would at least have the peace of mind that I was there for a friend when they needed me. As it is right now, my last memory is that I was rude and didn't have time...something that I will always regret! I never got to say goodbye!! 

People, never ever take someone for granted!!  Always answer the damn phone!!  You never know when it might be the last chance!!

 

And.....remember that life is short!! Do the things that you've always wanted to do, take chances, live life to the fullest!!  Do not wait because it may be too late. I would rather look back at life and say remember when rather than I wish I would have.........