WOW!!

The store in our neighborhood that Grandma and Grandpa were desperate to find!!

Well I guess my writers block was short lived! I was running yesterday and was thinking about how I really had nothing to blog about, well that lasted an hour!!! I set out to run a few miles in the neighborhood; put on my new favorite shoes (which are still awesome!) grabbed my IPOD and was out the door! After mile 4, I just could not stop! It was absolutely beautiful, cool weather and I just wanted to keep going! I think it came from being sick and locked in a house to recover, but something about yesterday’s run was just amazing. I caught myself wishing I would have brought my camera so I could capture what my eyes were seeing. There is a new highway, ok not like most of you are thinking! Relax, it is a two-way new road which happens to be called a highway, but it has extremely wide shoulders and is long, so it makes for a great place to get in my desired mileage. Side story, the one other time I have run on this highway, a car had flung a piece of loose gravel and it hit me in the leg! I literally thought I had been shot! I live in a nice town so why a shooting had even entered my mind was weird, plus the fact I have never been shot before so I would not know what it would feel like! Anyway, it hurt so bad I crouched down on the side of the road for a bit before I realized what had happened. I am just glad it did not hit me in the head and knocked me out! CRAZY! It left a huge bruise on my leg, like one from a paintball, for quite sometime! Ok, back to yesterday, run is going great, on the highway, jamming to my IPOD, admiring the beautiful landscape all around me, remembering a dear friend-triggered by a song, and just loggin’ some good mileage. At around mile 7.5 I decided traffic was getting a bit heavy and I better not push it with my recent sickness, so I turn around and head home, which was about half a mile away. I start to notice a shadow creeping pretty close to me and when I turn to see what it is, I see a huge “grandma, boat-like car” coming straight at me! “Surely, Grandma sees me!” I think to myself. NOPE! She continues until I am in the ditch!!! YIKES!! “What are you doing?” I yelled at the car! Grandma rolls down the window and precedes to ask me where the new Rouses Grocery Store is? Seriously?? Is she serious?!!? Grandpa in the passenger seat confirmed she was serious with the same inquisitive look, they really had just run a jogger off the road to ask for directions!! HAHA A neighbor of ours was in the car behind them completely frustrated with having to stop and very shocked that they almost saw me get run over!!! So I tell them where it is and off we both continue! CRAZINESS!!!
So that’s all I got for today! Blake knows I exaggerate often and it is not uncommon for him to hear me say “I almost died today!” when it could just be a blister that formed on a long training run, but really this time I ALMOST DIED!!! Haha I am now banned from running on Youngsville Highway! I would hate to see what the third strike on that street would have been! YIKES!

Sweet Samuel

This is my sweet little cousin Samuel. Today I ask that you pray for his family, especially his mom, Sara. Today is Samuel's 3 month birthday in heaven. I know each day is a struggle and I can imagine days such as these are very hard for the family. I hope that the memories soon become a celebration of the 9 months they shared with him in Sara's tummy and less of a tragic scar.

Praying for a sense of peace and hope be restored to the Hintz family! Love you!

Out With the Old, In with the New!!!!

Nike Air Pegasus did this...(uh-huh that's absolutely NO toe nail there!)

And they did this...(see that huge blister, yep it looks like a growth!!!)

The problem!!!!

Hopefully the answer to my prayers!!!!

Finally!!! I had a nice surprise awaiting me when I got back from my sister-in-laws this morning!! The NEW Under Armour running shoes, available in stores January 31, 2009!! HA HA I got to preorder them at the Houston Marathon!! I am so excited to run in them! They came on the perfect day too, I get to jump back into running today...finally!!!! I am completely messed up without working out and running!!!

I know that when it comes to running and everyone's running shoe, everyone is completely different, but I would NOT highly recommend Nike shoes! The top pictures are of what good ol' Nike Pegasus did to me January 18 :( I am very excited to throw them out and start my new adventure with the NEW Under Armour Revenant!!! I will post my thought once I run in them!!

Happy trails to my feet!! Woohoo! Even in this crappy weather...I am so excited to take out my new shoes!!!

Thought of the Day

If you don’t love what you do, you should do something else.
So often we get caught up in doing something because
we feel like we have to. You owe yourself more…

Acadian's HR employee sends these emails every morning to the whole company. Most of the quotes are great, thought you might enjoy this one! So true!

That is all I have for now, still not feeling up to par. Even had to cancel flight lessons for the day! :(

OH YIKES!!!!!!!

My friends...

My ENEMY....

Yep, that's right...2 big ol' shots right in my bum!!! Accompanied by 2 lovely antibiotics :( I am so sad! Literally the last time I was sick was a year ago, I caught the flu right after the Houston Marathon. This year I was determined to not get sick after a fight with 26.2 miles, so I increased my regular dosages of vitamins, Vitamin C, Zinc, Acidophilus and even threw in some Zicam (a homeopathic remedy that includes Vitamin C and Echinacea. Those of you who know me know that I am all about the natural way of healing!! Ha No this does not mean I refuse to have medication in the house, Blake would kill me, we do not share the same views on meds! It does mean I read up on symptoms when I get them and see if there is a way I can kick it with an herb or vitamin. This has been wonderful! Well, I've been sick for a few days. My friends just weren't helping out this time. So I went to the doctor. I had to search for a clinic...we don't even have a general doctor...I'M NEVER SICK!!!! Dr. Blappert hooked me up, until he said I needed, not 1, but yes 2 steroid shots!!! YIKES!!!! I warned him of my fear and fainting...he did not seem to care and told me to "pull 'em down!" YIKES!! Next thing I know I ask him if I may lay down a bit because my ears were ringing and my vision seemed to have left me at that moment! I did not fully pass out, I was pumped! Not sure if it was a partial pass out or what??!!!??!

So he explains that my immune was down after race and I did well by pumpin' the body full of my remedies, but most likely, they used all of this for rebuilding my muscles from the race. Also, this year I started right back into training for Austin, so he thinks I just pushed myself over the edge. I did get the OK to start back running tomorrow!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

I officially have 20 days until Austin! Ready or not body, here we go!! ...going back to bed for now, that is!!! :(

And the winner of Miss America 2009 is...

Miss Indiana Katie Stam!!!!!
Her look alike, Rachel McAdams

I just watched the pageant from last night! I love watching these pageants! Poor Blake! He was on the computer while I was watching it, but would comment when he felt the need...mostly during the swimsuit portion! I found that Katie looks just like Rachel McAdams, the actress from Red Eye and The Notebook. I love her so of course I was going for Miss Indiana! Well that is...after Miss Texas and Miss Louisiana lost out the first round :( Since I was a little girl I have loved watching pageants. I can remember one pageant while we lived in San Antonio, my dad and brother were gone and Sarah, mom and I piled in her bed to watch it together! I still get nervous for the contestants and of course today when I finished watching, I too, paraded around the living room and was crowned!! Haha Blake just watched as I reenacted the initial shock when they "called my name," and shook his head when I began to sing, "Here She Comes Miss America" and waved and blew kisses to my not-so-intrigued audience! I felt 5 all over again!

4:58:55

Sunday, January 18, 2009 - two words, Houston Marathon!! Wow! This was my second marathon to date. Last year was an experience of a lifetime, ranking up there with College Graduation and Wedding Day! I ran for a reason last year, I raised money for the Organization of Autism Research - OAR. That race as a whole was absolutely breathtaking. A mixture of my first marathon, running for a charity, seeing the support of my friends and family made this one of the best days of my life. Most of you know that I am not an emotional person, or maybe I am I just don't openly show it, I don't think I have ever cried that much in one day! The stories along the way, seeing a blind man being lead by a person throughout the entire marathon, and seeing the finish line with my dad anxiously awaiting my arrival, still to this day warm my heart and bring tears to my eyes when I begin to talk about it. Wow, what an experience! This year was a bit different. I knew what to expect, I knew the pain I would face both during and at the end. I think I liked not knowing! I was hoping to focus on my time this year, but this began to worry me because I was unsure if I had what it would take to finish without the pressures of people donating their money to an organization on my behalf!! I also knew that my struggle point last year was the dreaded mile 17! Yikes! My hips last year at this point were insanely crippled! So this year I expected to feel the same, and with 9 miles left, it is somewhat discouraging at this point! I started off great! I held my desired pace until mile 15 and only slowed slightly after. As I approached the dreaded 17, I saw Blake waving his arms on the side to get my attention! I was not in the insane pain like last year, don't get me wrong...knees and hips were killing but I felt pretty good! I started to cry because Blake knew I was so nervous about this point in the race and also knew I would need encouragement. I ran to him and gave him a quick kiss and could only manage to whisper, "Pray for my hips!" It was just what I needed to boost me back on pace with my pace setters!! No one really talked this year, so I didn't have that portion of the emotional experience. I did have a reason this year that I decided a few weeks before the race. I was going to attempt (I say that because my knees and hips screaming would distract me periodically throughout the event) to pray for my dear friend and cousin who is in desperate need of hope right now. My sweet little cousin, Samuel, died one day after his due date. I have never known anyone who has suffered a stillbirth, but having experienced what little I have through my cousin's experience, no one should have to have to go through it. I made sure I planned out on my IPOD songs that would keep me focused on fervently praying for a miracle of hope for my brokenhearted friend, for 4 hours and 30 min. That was my goal time, as you can see in the title, I was able to pray for an extra 28 min!!! Having spent a week with them a few weeks before the marathon, gave me more inspiration than you could imagine! Thank you Sara, for sharing memories of Samuel with me!

At the finish line waiting and cheering for me was my Dad, Jay, Blake, Adam, Courtney, Stephanie, Joe and Jenny. Seeing these people, family, childhood friend and friends that I have met only a few times, completely warmed my heart. Thank God for the support of these special people. They will never know what that means to a person during such a struggle to see their supporting faces. Adam, you will see in February. Side note, my friend, Adam and I are running the Austin Marathon February 15!! This is his first marathon! I am so excited to be able to support him the way he has done for me at both of my Houston Marathons. I crossed the finish line and clocked an official 5:00:00. My watch was stopped at the line on 4:58:55, I don't get why there is a minute difference because I started when I crossed the start line and stopped when I crossed the finish. I am so going with the 4:58:55!!!! With my watch time, I beat my last year time by exactly 30 min. I was extremely excited and hope that next year I can shave another 30 min, and reach my ultimate goal of 4:30:00.
Only 3 weeks from tomorrow, Austin is calling my name!!!