Sign from a bowling alley

My friend took a picture of this sign.  I LOVE IT!

New running shoes!

Yesterday, we went to Fit2Run for new running shoes.  First they had me stand on some pressure sensing pads, which just like before recommended the insoles I already have and love.  This was my first time getting a gait analysis done where I actually got to watch a video of myself running on the treadmill.  It turns out that I am a perfectly neutral runner.  I had been told this in the past, but it was cool to actually see what they were talking about.  I'll be honest, I didn't really know.  So once they determined that, I tried on a few different pairs of shoes.  I tried some Asics with asymmetric lacing, which I thought was pretty cool.  The fit of the shoe was great except for the area around my pinky toe.  Then I tried some really amazing Nike shoes.  These were very soft, and I felt like I was running on fluffy clouds; unfortunately, he said the lifetime of the shoe was only a fraction of regular shoes.  I cannot afford to replace my shoes more often than I already do, so I had to pass on those.  I ended up getting a super light pair of Brooks shoes.  They are Ghost 3 shoes.  I really like them!  I also bought some new GUs. 

 Last night Chris and I went for a 3 mile run around the neighborhood (30:11).  At 0.75 miles he suddenly stopped and starting coughing and spitting.  It turns out that he swallowed a bug.  Then later that evening, one of his parent's older dogs walked over and peed right on Chris's bare foot.  Needless to say, my abs are sore from laughing so hard yesterday!  Poor Chris.

Then today we went for a 3 mile run on the beach (26:29).  Part of my marathon is along the beach, so I wanted to get in some beach running.  Plus this beach is my absolute favorite.  I'll admit that I had to fight myself not to stop and pick up shells along the way though.  I actually surprised myself with a really amazing pace; although, it was not easy.  The first mile and a half I ran with Chris (mile 1 in 9:18, next half a mile at a 8:46 pace), then we both stopped (I stopped the Garmin) and stretched and caught our breath, then I headed back ahead of him (He was wearing his Vibrams and needed to stretch more).  (Next mile: 8:34, last half a mile at a 8:23 pace)  I should also mention that near the end, when I am fighting with all I have to maintain my pace and not pass out, I was easily passed by an old guy who just made running look easy.  I wanted to high five him.

Finally, I leave you with two pictures.  One is of the pond in the backyard at Chris's parents house.  I love it.  His dad built it.  It actually has three levels. 

The second is of a funny sign on the fridge which I thought paired nicely with my Body Glide as amusing advertising.  The sign reads, "I had to give up exercise... my thighs rubbed together so much that my underwear caught on fire."

I hope you all are having a fabulous weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving! (A day late)

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I have a terrific time with my future in-laws. (o:  We had a delicious meal as always.  I love spending time with his family.  I spoke with my family on the phone, and they had a nice holiday as well.  We are especially grateful that my Uncle Terry is alive.  On Wednesday night he fell 25 feet from a tree stand and broke his tailbone, pelvis, two discs in his back, and some ribs.  He also had a broken wrist.  He is in the hospital, but thankfully he has feeling in both legs.  Please keep him in your prayers.

Yesterday, Chris and I decided to take Ashe and Zack outside on leashes.  Needless to say, they did not love it.  I think there were too many new smells and sounds.  We will try it again.  

Ashe did not like it

Ashe is meowing

Zack and Ashe

Below are pics of our delicious dinner and dessert.  Chris's sister, Jessica, makes the most amazing Caesar salad in the world!  I do not care for Caesar salads in restaurants, but I could easily eat Jessica's salad for every meal of the day.  It is loaded with garlic, which I LOVE!  Her salad with homemade croutons is always a hit.  There are very rarely any left-overs.  Chris's dad fried two turkeys.  Fried turkeys are the best, because they are so moist and juicy!  Chris's mom made her famous stuffing along with sweet potato casserole.  We also had delicious green beans.  Chris's dad also make the most amazing eggplant Parmesan.  And Chris's grandmother brought over cold-boiled shrimp with cocktail sauce.  That is my favorite way to eat shrimp.  Sadly, it meant I could not make out with Chris for a while.  Boo.  But I do love shrimp.... LOL.  Oh and I made one of the pies that we had as dessert.  I made The Pioneer Woman's Pecan Pie That Will Make You Cry.  It was very easy to make, and I was told it tasted great.  It isn't my favorite flavor of pie, but I wanted to try something new and it also happened to be very simple. 

Cider I drank while making the pecan pie on Tuesday evening.

And the second cider I had... delicious nutmeg flavor

My pie, right out of the oven

Mmmm pie

Pie on Thanksgiving after people sampled it

Chris's dad tied up the turkey with gauze.  I love doctors. LOL

Two turkeys

Chris and his dad frying the turkey

The first turkey done

Jess making her famous salad!

YUMMMMMMMMM

Stuffing

Sweet potato casserole, green beans, stuffing, turkey, a Swedish meatball, cranberry sauce, the infamous eggplant Parmesan, and half of an artichoke.

Keylime and pumpkin pie

  Well now we are off to do some shopping.  I desperately need new running shoes, so I am hoping to get a gait analysis and some new shoes today.  I hope I find something great.  

Most comfortable swing ever.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone!  I am thankful for you all!

Seriously, much love for Eric Stanley today!

Knees feeling great

Sunday evening following my 17 mile run, my knees and my right ankle were hurting pretty bad.  I kept icing them on and off throughout the evening, and I am happy to say that yesterday and today I am pain-free.  My muscles are a little tired, but they are not sore, which is great.  I think the combination of ice bath and compression socks is key! 

Tonight I am making my pecan pie.  Tomorrow night Chris and I are going to visit his family down south, and we will be there until Sunday.  I will try to post a few blogs in that time, but they will be short since I am focusing on my candidacy.  I am feeling really confident about it, and I am just ready for it to be done. 

In short, I just wanted to share the happy news that my knees are feeling great.  I also just discovered this awesome kid who plays the violin and does covers of popular songs that I listen to usually for running.  He has several songs on his Facebook (Eric Stanley).  I honestly love his version of the Justin Bieber song "Somebody to Love".

17 miles baby!

I apologize for the lack of posts, but my candidacy is approaching (I defend December 3rd) and I have been focusing all of my attention on that.  Although, my free time has been spent running 3 days a week and hanging out with friends and family.  I have continued my three runs a week streak, which I am very proud to say.  Rather than write about each run (I did log them in Daily Mile though), I will tell you about the three most significant runs.  The first was the fastest 3 miles I have ever run which was an average of an 8:30 pace.  That is better than my 5K PR pace!  The next is our second 15 mile run which took 3 hours (average of 12:02 pace), 7 minutes faster than our last 15 mile run.  Finally, today I ran my farthest distance yet, 17 miles.  Unfortunately, Caitlin was not feeling well and had to stop at 9 miles, but we all have bad running days.  She was really awesome though and told me and Ryan we could continue running.  We ran back to the car (mile 14), then Ryan went to pick up Caitlin while I pushed through another 3 miles.  Unfortunately, the last 3 miles had two large hills.  My overall time, including walk breaks, was 3 hours and 21 minutes (average 11:49 pace).  I am happy to say that my knees and hips did not hurt during the run, but they are pretty sore right now.  I am icing them as I type this.

In other running news, I am signed up for a half marathon on Dec. 4th with Caitlin.  I also just found out that my old roommate/original running partner is going to run the half-marathon when we run our marathon.  I am so excited!  I actually get to see her tomorrow while she is in town for Thanksgiving.

In cooking news, I made my first veggie and meat lasagna.  It was okay.  I think it could have been much better if I cut the zucchini thinner and if I used real noodles instead of those nasty no-boil noodles.  I will never buy those noodles again.  I also made butternut squash, which was very delicious.  I am making a pecan pie for Thanksgiving, which I will share with you later.

Other than the studying, running, and brief amounts of cooking, Chris and I have had our date nights and hung out with friends.  We also went to Disney for the weekend with his family.  Every year we stay at a Disney resort, and this year we stayed at Bay Lake Tower next to the Contemporary.  We all went to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which was very busy but so much fun!  Then we went to Downtown Disney the next day during a huge art festival.  His sister, Amy, and her boyfriend also announced their engagement, which was exciting.  We had a wonderful weekend with his family!  Oh and on our way home, we saw a plane writing "Love You Jesus" in the sky.  I took a picture of that as well as earlier when it said, "Love You Jes". LOL  Oh, and I supposedly saw a True Blood actor leaving our hotel.  I don't watch the show though.  After our great weekend, my little Kirby got sick and had to go to the vet, but he is feeling much better now.

Chris, Jess, (My Chris and Jess's dad in the background), Jes, and Chris.  The matching was not on purpose.

I had fun with the "fireworks" setting on my camera.

Our view from our room

I told Chris he should have driven away faster and said he did it. LOL

The wind and trees made it hard to capture the entire image

Samples of sidewalk chalk art.  AMAZING!

Finally, I am waaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy behind on reading your blogs, and I do apologize!  I promise that as soon as December 3rd passes, I will catch up!  I hope you all are doing wonderful!  And I hope that everyone celebrating Thanksgiving has a wonderful and delicious holiday!  I leave you with a couple pics of my babies.

Ashe and Zack

Kirby