July 3, 2011 I am at Whiskey Kitchen having dinner with a girlfriend. 10:30 comes around and I decided that I wanted to run my first 5k..the next day. I thought I may need to wrap things up if I was going to be running at 7:00 a.m so I ended my night and headed home. On my way home I called my life long friend,Jen. She is the friend, who lets just say, has let me talk her into pretty much everything and anything over the last 30 years. She answered the phone so that was all I needed. "Hey Jen, let's do the July 4th 5k in the morning."..and Jen replies, "O.K." Easy enough.

  When we arrived we were both a little nervous. We had not trained (obviously) and were rethinking our decision. Who cares, I thought. This is usually my motto. So off we go. We ran for the most part and finished the race in 35 minutes. We stayed to see who won. Some skinny girl won our age division but she wasn't much faster than we were. Now the competitiveness sets in..We both know that if we trained we could come back and win this local race next July. So at that moment the "RUN ONE A MONTH FOR A YEAR" goal was born. July 4th was our first and today's race will be our seventh. We have kept to our word but some things have evolved in this process. We now try to run on a Holiday ,like the one we did for Halloween. We decided to dress up as the Harlem Globetrotters. In my opinion one should dress up for any event; it makes it so much more fun. The next one was on Thanksgiving morning and then New Years Eve. Today we are running the Zoo run run at the Nashville Zoo.

 This is how this noramlly plays out..Jen is faster than me (her legs are longer:). She says she will stay with me but I always end up behind her. I don't mind this because it's a race and everyone should do their personal best. I have been training like a crazy person over the last few weeks, the race started later in day and I was feeling it(things are looking good). Jen stayed with me...or should I say..I stayed with Jen! And then we picked up the bff,Kel last month. She just wanted to walk last month and planned on doing the same today. She was a little under the weather but you would have never known..she was running like the wind. We ran our booties off. Jen finished at 33,I finished at 34 and Kel 35.

 It was a great day spent with great friends..It doesn't get any better than that!

~Jen



Until next time~
Jen

My top 5

  I have been very fortunate with my job and had the opportunity to see many things I otherwise would not have. If we went on vacation we were not staying at the Ritz..but let me tell you..once you do, it's hard to go back to the Marriott. I have traveled to over 8 countries in the last 7 years and  I have seen some amazing places. People often ask me, "Where was your favorite?" so I thought I would put together a list. These are my top 5 but in no particular order.

1. The Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia (I am not sure if it's the men in knickers,that park my car,that I love, or the fact that they make smores every night by the camp fire.)
2. The Four Seasons Nevis, West Indies (there is no airport so you have to take a boat in from the neighboring island, St.Kitts. The customer service here is out of this world!)
3. Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina ( there are no street lamps, well..no lights period. When the darkness falls that is all she wrote. They want to keep it as natural as possible for the wildlife. People ride their bikes everywhere and it's probably one of the quietest places on earth).
4. The Ritz -Carlton ,Kapalua in Maui (It's Maui..enough said!)
5. One&Only Ocean Club,Bahamas (this place is$1,000- 10,000 a night for a suite. You get your own butler, who will run your bath and iron your clothes. I felt a little bad but let him do it any way.. Heck, why not!

Needless to say...these are some awesome perks to a very cool job.

 p.s. Before you hate me please read my next post..."All the airports I have slept in, there is no 8 hour work day, and being alone at a singles resort makes you look like you were left standing at the alter!"

The preacher or in prison

The preacher or in prison...that about sums it up.

 

 I am the girl who has trained for a marathon without missing a day and finished all 26.2 miles. I am also the girl who, on day three of her diet, will rummage through the cabinets at 3a.m. to find the one chocolate chip that I know got lose. I look for it like I need a 12 step program (true story).

 

I wish I loved eating my 1/2 cup of oatmeal with three egg whites but I am not..I want to go to Starbucks every morning and get a cream cheese danish with a large white mocha. I want to be naturally fit and never see cellulite. I would also like to have a tan..all year long. I am tired of shaving,waxing, hair, nails and makeup..it's a full time job just trying to look half way presentable. But here is the deal..I am 35. I want to be and feel my personal best so there has to be effort made. I want to be the most positive person anyone meets and if I have "muffin top" I am not as positive as I am when I don't..just saying. In life there are those who provoke change in others, make others reach for things they may not have thought they could. I hope that I am that person,even if it's just to my close friends and family. So..in the spirit of extreme..I have committed to the following challenges:

 

 

1. 5k in Jan

2. 5k in Feb

3. 5k in March

4. 1/2 Marathon in April

5. 5k in May

6. 90 day Beach body Challenge

7. Do 100 Push ups by the end of March ( girl style..this will be videoed and put on youtube).

 

I am doing a 5k every month for a year with my childhood friend, Jen.

Kellye,my bff, has got on board (Anna Kate is now 6 months so I get her back:)

Several of my other friends are setting new goals and checking stuff off their bucket list as well. Heather and Sandi will be doing their first 1/2 marathon with the rest of us. We are all getting cute shirts made for this event( photo ops and t-shirts are huge for me).

 

I am probably always going to be extreme..maybe one day I will find balance. But for today..I am going to do it all, be every where and do everything I can!