A picture of us!

First OFFICIAL Half Marathon Training Run

Today I began training for the half-marathon I will be running in November. The training schedule I am going to follow is a 13wk training schedule and began with a two mile run on day one. Here are my stats...

Date: 08/01/2011 7:25 PM
Type: Run (Training run)
Distance: 2 miles
Time: 0 hr 19 min 04 secs
Average pace: 9:32 min/miles
Route: 2 Mile Run
Calories: 209.6

I am honestly exhausted right now and have no idea why I decided that I would be able to run a marathon!!! My time was not bad for the first day of training however my breathing needs some SERIOUS help! By the time I made it to the house I was hyperventilating and that was after the cool down!

New Jersey Pictures

Tattoo

I have been considering getting a new tattoo for about a year now. However, every time I decided to do it someone talked me out of it. This weekend I went to New Jersey to spend some much needed catch up time with my childhood friends and cousins. Christine especially has a way of talking me into things so the moment I mentioned I wanted a tattoo she called her tattoo guy and scheduled for me to come in on Monday before my flight. We drove to Toms River, NJ at two o'clock in the afternoon and by 3:30 I had my beautiful new tattoo.



The Tattoo:

I got a crab on the outside of my hip (the area where you would tie on your bathing suit bottoms). Why a crab? This question has been asked by everyone who has seen it so, I am here to share the why. I chose the crab because its symbolic of my relationship with Tanner. When Tanner and I started dating I went to the aquarium and wanted to buy him something. The only thing that I could find that wasn't a stuffed animal or had the aquarium name on it was a squeaky blue crab. I gave Tanner the crab and he's had it in his truck for the last seven years. That winter when Tanner went a way for work he found a crab magnet and it made him think of me so he bought it. Now anytime one of us goes away on vacation we pick up a crab for the other or pick one out together. We also buy a crab ornament every Christmas for our tree. So, you can say Tanner and I give each other crabs in a non-disgusting way!! lol

It looks big but it's about the size of a half dollar!



Journey Home

As I previously stated I just got back from a trip to my home state of New Jersey. I like to go up once or twice a year to visit my friends. The trip itself was great. I got to spend time with all of my favorite friends and even got a new tattoo (pictures soon to come). The journey back home however was not so great. I bought two plane tickets and was told to arrive at the airport two hours before my flight was to take off. My flight departing from JFK airport in New York was scheduled to leave at 9:50 last night however, as my luck would have it, the flight was delayed. Not one, not two, but three hours. Now, I had already arrived two hours early therefore my total time spent in the airport was five long dreadful hours. The children screaming and the crowds of people it was horrible!!! My flight finally departed at 12:45 and arrived in Charlotte, NC at 2:30 a.m. At this point I was so ready to be with Tanner and see his face that as you can imagine I wasn't in the greatest of moods. After seeing my husband’s beautiful face and giving him a long dramatic kiss as though I hadn't seen him all year as oppose to four days we headed towards our car. This puts us traveling home at 3 a.m. At 4:30 a.m. we were just thirty minutes from home when what should happen??? A flat tire that is what! Tanner, being a very handy man, got out and changed the tire. You would think the story ends here and we headed home, right? Wrong! The spare tire was flat and no one would pick up a phone. Finally, we were able to get a hold of my uncle and my parents. Both my Uncle Albert and my Manny arrived to help us at around 7 in the morning. This put Tanner and I arriving at our house at 8 a.m. exactly 12 hours from the time I arrived at the airport. Coincidently, exactly the amount of time it takes to drive to my house from New Jersey!!!!

Half Marathon

This summer’s schedule has been a little chaotic! I have had to make two trips to Florida, started grad school, and just got back from a very quick visit to New Jersey.  All this has not really encouraged my healthy eating and exercise life style. Therefore, I have decided that I am going to run a half marathon. What better way to get in shape then to train to run 13.1 miles right. I am absolutely a genius, for developing this plan, or absolutely insane. I haven't decided which. The Governor's Cup Road Race Half Marathon will be held on Saturday November 5, 2011.  The marathon begins at the State House on Main Street and finishes at  USC's Horseshoe. A portion of race proceeds benefit Eat Smart Move More South Carolina, an organization dedicated to obesity prevention through physical activity and nutritional education initiatives.

I will begin training tomorrow morning and log every few days to let everyone know my progress. Wish me luck!

Cakes

I posted a while ago that I was going to begin decorating cakes and have yet to post pictures of any of them... SLACKER, I know...

This is the cake that I decorated for Sofia's 10th birthday. The theme was Twilight!

 This isn't a cake but its a delicious lower calorie Chocolate Pavlova.

 

 

 Matt's fifth birthday cake. It was a total pain in my butt to make and took me three whole days but I was so proud of the finished product.

 This cake is one that I made for a friends daughters birthday. It was my first attempt at piping. It is a little bit sloppy however with some practice I hope to get better.