Home

Sometimes you just need a little home.

Charleston, SC

She's had one of those weeks where the world it seems is against her. Right on cue a picture pops up on her laptop.

She can't pick her cell phone up fast enough.

Sometimes you just need a little home.

I'm just checking in. No, there ain't nothing wrong. Sometimes you just need a little home.

Well he's tired. Sits down in the sand, shoebox in his hand half a world away. And he smiles when he sees who its from. He lays down his gun. No, he can't wait.

Cards and letters and something sweet. He takes a bite and reads how everybody sends their love. He tears up.

Sometimes you just need a little home.

A little let you know you're not alone. To carry in your heart and keep your spirit strong.

Sometimes you just need a little home.

A little hey you've been gone way too long. Way too long ...

No matter how grown up you get. No matter how far you roam, sometimes you just need a little home.

Rascal Flatts - Home

-Run

Before I sleep

This was my sleep last night.

Two. Hours. Forty five. Minutes. What is my life right now and why can't I sleep? Jesus be a nap. 

I tossed and turned all night, until I finally just gave up. Whoever you are, you win. But I think I might know what may be causing this recent bout of insomnia. I woke up thinking about different situations with a common theme. I don't want to speak on it right now, but I learned last night that a significant change needs to happen ... and soon. 

Praying for peace and relentless hours of deep sleep. 

-Run

Now that's more like it

Today's run was much better. I got a decent night's rest (not great with only 90 minutes of deep sleep, but I'm trying to stay positive) and got up early for a morning run. I hit the treadmill at my local LA Fitness and I felt much better. I am still not at 100%, I had to stop and walk a few times in order to finish my seven mile run, but I got through it. I finished without pain and without feeling like death warmed over.

"she saw me cooking eggs, thought I was back at it ..."

Completely opposite of yesterday. Things are looking up. Looks like my slump might be  over. Here's to an even better run tomorrow for all of us who dare to run 26.2 or dare to run at all.

Cheers!

-Run

A terrible run

Today's run felt horrible!  I felt like this guy:

I have been extremely tired the past few days and improper sleep is finally catching up with me. I went to bed last night at 7, thinking I could sleep until 4:30 am then get up for a 7 miler. My alarm went off and I felt just as bad as when I got in the bed. So I decided it was best to go back to sleep and run this afternoon. One guess how that strategy turned out ...

I am still not getting very much deep sleep and I wake up often.

So yeah, It was a crazy day at work and by the time 5 o'clock rolled around it felt like 10. There was no way I was going to finish 7 miles. Before I left the office, I made a compromise with myself to go home and run something. One mile, two miles or three if it felt good. Not running at all would have just added my stress so I set out for a run. Easy enough right?

Wrong. Ever so wrong. From the first tenth of a mile I felt horrible. My legs were heavy and I just couldn't seem to propel myself forward easily. Every step was labored. Every. Single. Step. (cues Bobby Brown). I struggled to finish two miles.

I felt so strong just a few days ago (cues Jay). I'm not sure what to do about this. I don't know how to handle these types of set backs. I can't ice it or wear compression sleeves. What do I do?

I'm going to make another attempt to go to bed early and get up early to run in the morning. I know tomorrow will be just as busy so running after work doesn't seem very probable. I hope this works out.

Do y'all have any tips? How do you get over a the hump? Let's help each other.

PS - I thought of this song when naming this post. It sums up a lot. Love her.

-Run

Marathon Training Week 6

Six weeks into my Marine Corps Marathon training and I feel great. Last week was a lighter week to recover from a 35-mile week. My training is going well and I have managed to keep injuries at bay (knocks on wood). I have learned a lot through this training program. Its so much different from my first marathon because I understand the impact of my daily/weekly training and nutrition decisions.
Here are a few things I've learned training for marathon number 3:

• I can't eat whatever I want after a long run. It is not helpful to replace a 1,500 calorie deficit with 5,000.
• I learned that I don't have to carb-load as much as I thought I needed to. Just adding a little more into my diet in the two days leading up to a long run will suffice.
• I still need to learn what's best to eat the morning before a long run. I find myself getting very hungry a little over half way into the run. When I get hungry during a run, I can't think of anything but food. A virtual reality smorgasbord exists until the end of the run.
• I'm learning to listen to my body. I know what the training plan says, but if my body says different, I listen to the latter. Today, for example, I should be running 3 or 4 miles but I am sooo tired from traveling this weekend and an exciting day at work. I plan to be in bed by 7 pm.
• The ice bath is my friend.
• The foam roller is an evil b*tch my friend.
• I need to get more sleep. My sleep has been abysmal lately and I know that it will affect my training. I have done a decent job of adjusting when I don't get enough sleep, but as the miles build up there won't be as much room for adjustments.

Other than a few minor tweaks, my training is going very well and I am excited about it.

I feel strong.

I feel powerful.

I feel fast.

I feel a major PR coming.



How is your fall race training going? What have you learned this time around?

-Run

31 Write Now Birthday Surprise

I signed up to participate in the #31WriteNow blogging challenge. The challenge has one rule: blog every day from August 1st to August 31st. Since this is my first post of the month, clearly I am failing at this challenge. However, I learned that I can start now and continue from here. The main reason for not starting on August 1 is because that is my mother's birthday. This year was her 60th birthday and my siblings (twin brother, older sister) and I planned a surprise birthday party weekend for her.

We began the surprise by traveling from three different states (Texas, North Carolina and Indiana) to our hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. Our plan was to be at the house when she got home. You know, just casually sitting around the kitchen talking, like old times. She happened to be off on Thursday, so our original plan was in jeopardy (damn sequester). To stay on track, my sister booked a her spa appointment get her out of the house for a few hours to allow us all time to travel. It worked and it was epic!

Check the video:

She was happy enough with just us all being home, but we weren't finished yet. We also planned a surprise birthday party at a great restaurant downtown - Southend Brewery. We invited 75 friends and family to honor her.  She thought we were just going to dinner, nothing special. When she walked up the stairs and saw everyone, she froze in disbelief. She had no idea. We had done it. We pulled off a huge surprise. I just knew someone would give it away, but everyone played their part and kept her on her toes. It was a great weekend. I feel so blessed.

More pics and posts to come.


-Run

15 Reasons Why Annie Is Not Okay

My favorite comedic blogger Awesomely Luvvie posted about the #BlackBuzzFeed trending topic that took Twitter by storm yesterday. The posts were incredibly smart and hilarious. Hours after the trending topic circled the globe, Luvvie also challenged us to capitalize on our own genius and create content rather than always being a consumer. In her twitter rant, she implored us to actually write posts about these topics we cleverly imagined. So I read through her storify of the funniest #BlackBuzzFeed tweets and immediately decided on this one from @KBLXkimmie:

Kimmie Taylor@KBLXkimmie

#BlackBuzzFeed 15 Reasons Why Annie Is Not Okay

I am a huge MJ fan and thought this was oh so funny and perfect for me. Clearly, Annie was not okay. At. All. Here's why ...

 

1.  A man broke into her apartment. (Annie, you in danger, girl)

 

2.  As he came into the window, there was a sound of a crescendo.

 

3.  He left blood stains on the carpet.

 

4.  She went underneath a table?

 

5.  We could see she was unable.

 

6.  She ran into the bedroom (the past is prologue).

 

7.  She was struck down.

 

8.  It was her doom.

 

9.  It was Sunday, what a black day.

 

10.  Someone tried to resuscitate her.

 

11.  I don’t think they found a heartbeat ... and they might have been intimidated (by whom,   we'll never know).

 

12.  The police want everyone to clear the area right now.

 

13.  She never told us that she was okay.

 

14.  She’d been hit by; she’d been struck by a smooth criminal.

 

15.  Annie is not okay.

 

What's your favorite #BlackBuzzFeed or BuzzFeed list? Write about it. We'd love to read it.

 

-Run