Race Recap: A soggy (but still awesome!) St. Jude 1/2

Saturday I ran my 3rd half marathon.  It was special because it was the first half that Mr. C and I have run together. I think he's so sick of me harping on running that he's decided to join me.  Unfortunately, bad weather was on the horizon.  But what's a girl to do? Needless to say I had no aspirations of a PR but guess what? I  got one! My best time yet, a 1:50:52 at an 8:28 pace. Not fast to some, but fast for me. There are days when I'm tired of training and I think, why am I doing this? But then I get a fast time, and I want to make it even better.

So y'all, when I say rain, I mean, like, cold.soaking.rain. Pouring rain. I couldn't have been more soaked if I had jumped into a pool before the start and I have some (awful!) race pics to prove it. I was actually fine until the finish. Once I stopped, I was freezing and realized how soaked and disgusting I was.

The gun was at 7 and we were in the 2nd corral so we started right on time. Christian had some friends in the race and though we started together, he left me after a quarter of a mile. We didn't plan to run together so that wasn't a complete surprise, but I sort of thought we'd hang for a while. Not! But I'm pretty used to running alone so I settled into my rhythm and figured I'd see him at the finish.

I passed him at mile 6. :)

How funny is that guy behind me?

He passed me at mile 8.  :(

Then I caught him again at mile 11ish. :) We were definitely (silently) competing.

The finish line kind of snuck up on me. I sprinted the last tenth of a mile and was juuuuuust shy of catching him but he beat me by 10 seconds. I let it slip through my fingers. There will definitely be a re-match.

It was a tough race overall. But running it (and doing well) in those conditions made me feel like a rock star. Thank the Lord for those wrap thingies they gave us, I was so cold my lips were blue and I was headed for hypothermia. I am so stubborn that I still wore my cutie pie Lulu peach outfit in spite of the weather.  Overall, it was a good choice temperature wise since I hate to be hot (although white shorts in pouring rain was a questionable decision).

I'll never forget this race. We had a lot of good friends/colleagues in it and it was a great accomplishment for all (one friend finished in 1:37!).  I hate to get mushy, but running continues to enrich my life in ways I wouldn't have imagined.

The week in Instagram

Just a few snippets from the week...

Dress up days at school were fun and my little man was more than happy to be a cowboy.

My 4 year old wanted to wear his hat sideways and when I asked why he replied, "That's how they do it on car TV. Daddy lets me watch it." Daddy is grounded!

The pic of Mr. C and I is actually from dinner last week.

An OOTD from Thursday.

An upcoming project involving a giant block monogram, stay tuned!

Flowers in a mason jar will always bring out a smile.

Got my bib and ready for Saturday's half:)

What I'll be sporting.. I love the Lulu arm warmers (sadly this cute outfit will likely be covered by a throw away sweatshirt and trash bag due to RAIN!)

Bracelets the runners will be wearing to honor Boston.

As I mentioned, it's supposed to be pouring rain on Saturday and I don't really enjoy running in the rain but I'm keeping my attitude positive:) I'm excited that this is the first race Mr. C and I have done together and yay for my mama coming to visit!!

Happy weekend friends!

New faves

I have a couple new faves from Nordstrom to share. This Caslon tee is kind of a slub knit, not to tight, not too loose, very good price. I now want one in every color.

Find here

I think I have finally (after years) found a favorite scent that doesn't give me a headache. My friend has me hooked on Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom and Honey -- it smells so good and so clean.

Here

I picked up this sassy little swimsuit by Robin Piccone that is the best of both worlds for a mama at the pool chasing little boys around.  It's even cuter in person, a bright bright juicy red.

Here

And P.S., those Lulu shorts I mentioned a few days ago....on sale now (of course!) If you have a Lulu nearby go check them out. Happy Thursday!

A very Nashville weekend

We had an action packed weekend, y'all, so fun, and it ended with some serious excitement!

Friday night Mr. C's parents arrived and we headed out for our usual Friday night Italian. I think it's funny that when they come to visit (fresh off the plane from New York) the first place we always take them is to a New York pizzeria. We love our little spot though and we indulged in some yummy desserts too. No calorie counting on weekends:)

Saturday we had a day full of soccer with my favorite boys and then headed off to a great dinner followed by tickets to the Opry. Performing: Diamond Rio, Charlie Pride, Vince Gill, and Billy Ray Cyrus along with a few beginners. We love the Opry, it's always fun and I just looooove live music. This was the second time in one week we've seen Vince (*much* better seats this time).

I've been a fan of Vince for 20 years (really!) and in the spirit of laughing at oneself I have to show the first time I met him (holy sequins and big hair)...HA!

I was 17, had just won a local pageant (I entered it to make my daddy happy, first and last one I ever did), but I got to meet him. He was *so* kind to me and I never forgot it. He holds a special place in my heart! His voice is still like velvet too, he's so talented.

Sunday we headed off to Opryland Hotel to pretend we were tourists. We wandered around, looked in shops, and had a great lunch. Mr. C had a raspberry mocktail that really made an impression on me, it was so good I can't stop thinking about it. Club soda, a fresh raspberry simple syrup, and mint. Pretty and yummy.

I also squeezed in some shopping at Lululemon with a giftcard my mother in law surprised me with...how cute are buffalo checked shorts? Thank you L!!

Monday I dropped the fam off at the airport, only to receive this text...my mother-in-law hanging out with Billy Ray at the terminal! They got bumped from their flight and ended up on his, how about that! Check out his new do, I like it. I know he gets picked on a lot but he was fantastic live and very gracious. I'm a fan!

She even got me an autograph! Ha! I'm so easily starstruck.

It was a veeerrry Nashville weekend!

How the week looked

I am so sorry for my lack of posts this week.  I must admit that after what happened in Boston on Monday, every time I sat down at the computer to write a post words failed me. I just couldn't pull words together. I had run last Saturday with a great group of ladies, one of whom was headed to Boston on Monday and was so excited. And for any runner, Boston is a dream. My prayers have certainly been with those affected. And so, this week I spent lots of time hugging my sweeties, laughing with friends, appreciating small things, and being thankful for blessings.

Source

Tuesday night we went with friends to a concert at Bridgestone called All for the Hall. Keith Urban and Vince Gill put this one on the raise money for the Country Music Hall of Fame. SO many talented people performed. It was fantastic. It sold out really fast and so our seats were what you would call nosebleeds (we're talking top tier, last row, hang on to your hats). But there's nothing like live music. They were all great -- Eric Church, Keith of course (although we were late and missed his opening songs, boo!), Hank Williams Jr., Roseanne Cash, Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock, Tim McGraw (he's so skinny y'all, he's hot but he needs to eat a hamburger), Trace Adkins, and the list just goes on. Loved it!

We've also had soccer, school, running, (laundry, cleaning, errands) and I squeezed in a little shopping time at Nordstrom with friends, not to mention a yummy lunch in the Nordi restaurant, Sixth and Pine. Best sweet potato fries I've ever had (even better with cilantro lime dressing). Good thing I purchased that swimsuit before I ate the whole basket of those!

This weekend Grandma and Grandpa are flying in from New York to hang out with us and we're headed to the Grand Ole Opry.  Hope y'all have a great weekend!

How the week looked

Training is back on track and I'm loving my Brooks Ravennas so far (hope that doesn't jinx me).  I also picked up the.cutest.skirt from Lululemon. I LOVE running in it.

How funny is it that when I showed up yesterday to get a cut and color, my stylist (and buddy) was wearing the same thing/different color?  Who loves a Gap sale? We do we do!

Some words of wisdom from Forever21..

A friend made these Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas for us recently and they were so delicious.  So I made them this week for another friend who is on pregnancy bedrest - hope she liked them:) Thanks Pinterest!

Six Sisters' Stuff

Went out with the girls for Mexican and sat a few tables away from Winona Judd.  Too chicken to say anything though, boo!

via

I saw this on Tumblr and it made me smile...

via

These boys are getting so big (too fast!). He looks like a teenager in that picture?! So tall!

I'm looking forward to a great weekend with beautiful weather and lots of time outside. Hope y'all have a great one too!

Currently reading..

Fave magazines this week...

I enjoyed the article about Carrie but I don't know that I believe she does her own hair and makeup.  I love her purple eyeshadow though and I'm totally copying it.  My favorite article in Runner's World was "Beyond the Mantra" by Michelle Hamilton. It's about training your brain for endurance, not just your body. Good read!

I also recently finished The House at Tyneford and I really enjoyed it. It rated highly on both Amazon and Good Reads (plus my sister-in-law recommended it); I had to read it!

It started a little slow but I was hooked at page 50 and had to keep reading.  Interesting story and definitely Downton Abbey-esque.  I wish it had a different ending but I also like when authors don't take the easy way out.  Here's Amazon's synopsis.

I downloaded Six Years by Harlan Coben and couldn't get into it, didn't like his writing. It got great reviews though.

Instead I moved on to this, Night Road by Kristin Hannah.  Love it! I believe it was Heidi who recommended Kristin Hannah to me, I can tell I'm going to be a fan.

Any other good recommendations?

Meal time: Cauliflower, white bean, and feta salad

My sister-in-law always has great recipes and recently when I was looking for a light, gluten free lunch option I asked her for ideas. She recommended this:

She shared that she found it on Designer Bags and Dirty Diapers fyi:) I made it and ate it for the next 3 days, it was delicious.

1/3 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon minced rosemary (I used fresh)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

2 1/2 teaspoons lemon peel

1/1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

chopped cauliflower (I used a whole head and recommend a very small chop)

1 can white beans drained

2 heads endive, chopped

1 Tbsp chives

2 teaspoons fresh chopped parsley

1/2 cup feta (or more:)

Combine oil and rosemary in pan and let simmer.  Whisk vinegar, lemon juice, lemon peel, salt, pepper in a bowl. Combine cauliflower, beans, endive, parsley, chives, and rosemary oil in large bowl. Mix in feta. Add lemon juice mixture and toss to coat. Enjoy!

Also, I'm not much into meal planning but after spending 6 million dollars at 2 grocery stores yesterday (thank you Whole Foods) I decided it might be a good idea. I'm going to try to post them weekly, we'll see how long it lasts!

{plan for the week}

M: Turkey bacon BLT's, salad and chips (soccer night, has to be easy)

Tu: Chicken stir fry with red/green peppers, onions and quinoa or brown rice

W: going out

Th: Pad Thai or crock pot chicken enchiladas

F: grill out

P.S. On a complete side note, please vote for my friend Shanna, she's in the running to be a Wallis fashion ambassador (hope I said that right:) and she has been so sweet and supportive of my blog that I wanted to pass this along for her! Here's the link, you just have to like their FB page. Thanks y'all!
http://bit.ly/10d5Bjx

Our weekend

Guess what?

I ran the Willpower 5K in Franklin on Saturday and how shocked was I that I placed!?!  Sadly I was there all by myself because my little men had soccer games to get ready for (but really daddy wanted to sleep, ha) so I left right after the race to get back to them and didn't hang around to see results. Boo! Little C's soccer coach (who also ran the race and passed me pushing a double stroller) handed me my award at the field and said "Look! You got second place!" She also got 2nd in her slightly younger age division:)  And that's how it went down; my time was 23:58 (7:44 pace) and I'm so proud!

I posed shamelessly with my precious trophy. I may never get another one so I lived it up.

I actually got to meet Will (and his sweet mom) and he's a darling kid, very brave and so inspiring. His family was SO kind and just really amazing with such a strong faith. This touched my heart obviously because I'm a boy mom. It was a memorable day!

And it wasn't all about me, someone scored his very first soccer goal later that day! Love.these.boys. So proud!

More scenes with my sweeties

Happy Monday friends:)

Friday Hodge Podge

Do you see a trend? I couldn't get enough yellow this week because it has been raining non stop! And gray! And cold!! And it's April!! I had to wear my winter coat this week for Pete's sake. So I'm making my own sunshine.

I also picked up a pair of Brooks Ravenna 4's this week. My Mizuno Wave Inspire's wore down quickly and I'm having a lot of pain in the ball of my foot and my toes.  I headed back to FleetFeet and we're going to try Brooks. So far, Nike Frees didn't cut it, New Balance nearly killed me, and I loved my Mizunos but shouldn't be having toe/foot pain? My guy says my gait is fine (maybe the slightest bit forward) so we're hoping a tweak in the shoe will help. Wow, getting old is for the birds. I have a good feeling about these Brooks though, I hope these are the ones for me. I'm trying to get all the kinks worked out before official marathon training starts!

This weekend I'm running the Willpower 5K.

It's for a really amazing kid (and a close friend of one of my boys' teachers) who has been through a lot -- his story is here and I'm so happy to run his race.  Reason #759 that I love running; being a part of something that matters.

My sister-in-law has introduced me to a few new (to me) blogs to love on, one of which is Kumquat. How good do these coconut donuts look? Lots of great gluten free recipes.

Kumquat blog

Thank y'all for your sweet comments about my living room -- wish I could have you all over for coffee!

Next up is my bedroom with this inspiration:

Nine and Sixteen blog

Did I mention I signed someone up for Kindergarten this week?

Always my baby.

Okay, done crying!

Via Pinterest

Random Thursday

My sister in law has a special birthday today -- the BIG 3-0 -- Happy Birthday Aunt Sarah! This is your year!

I saw this recipe for Chocolate Lasagna on Hungry Runner Girl and I can't stop thinking about it..

Photo & recipe via CenterCutCook.com

I wandered into JCrew Factory last week and they were having 50% off of the entire store. I picked up this faded chambray shirt that I love.. I'm obsessed with the popover shirts. I wanted a boat load of other items but I was a good girl and didn't buy it all.

find here

Finally got in a good long run yesterday. My training is out of whack because of all our sickness.

We've been eating more salmon lately and this recipe with miso paste is easy and foolproof..2 TBSP of each; red miso paste, brown sugar, mirin, and soy sauce. Whisk together, spread it onto the salmon and bake, so quick and yummy! Original recipe here (I replaced sake with mirin). P.S. A bottle of wine jumped into the picture, it's a red blend called Drops of Jupiter (I believe the company is partly owned by the band Train) and it's really good;)

Happy almost Friday:)