Race recap coming...

I have not forgotten about my race recap.  My sister and niece surprised me at the end of the race, and my sister took  pictures of me finishing and pictures with her.  I have been holding of publishing until she sends me the photos.  My grandma is coming to Florida today, and I have not seen her in about 8 years.  My mom and sister have been getting ready for her visit.  Chris and I are driving to Jax to see my grandma tomorrow (after we visit our potential new venue.... you know, that visit that I mixed up a couple weeks ago?  Oops!), and I will get the pictures from my sister then.  My recap will be up by Sunday.

I am finally walking normal, although my butt muscle is hurting again.  My left hamstring is also sore, but probably because it had to do extra work that my gluteus minimus could not do.  Yesterday I did a run/walk for 3 miles.  It was at least 40 minutes (I forgot my Garmin).  I also did some push-ups and crunches last night.  I plan to do another run/walk this evening.

I hope you all have a fun weekend.  Mine is going to be busy yet fun!  Venue and grandma on Saturday then celebrating Caitlin's 25th birthday on Sunday.  TGIF!!!

Please keep our friend in your prayers

[source]

Our good friend Diane lost her father today to colon cancer.  I just want to wrap Diane in the biggest hug.  He was diagnosed two weeks ago yesterday.  His passing was sudden and of course very painful.  Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

26.2 with Donna Chip Time

 Official chip time: 4:18:03 (avg 9:51)  SWEET!!!  I surprised even myself!  Although now I'm walking like this (living on a 3rd floor without an elevator totally sucks right now:



26.2 with Donna The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer could not have been a better first marathon race!  Race recap will be up in a day or two.  I just want to give a huge shout-out to Katy for cheering for me!  She is amazing!!!  

Katy and I in Jax on Saturday [source]

I also want to congratulate my very good friend Caitlin for her first marathon finish and Ryan for his 8th! And better yet, Caitlin ran her first marathon the day before having to defend her candidacy (GOOD LUCK TOMORROW CAITLIN!  I know you will rock it just like you rocked the marathon today!).  I will put up pictures from the race including all of our group photos tomorrow, because I don't feel like digging my camera out of my bag.  I just stole the picture above from Katy's blog.  hehe.

Thank you all for your support!  I'm going to continue icing my knees while bumming on the couch and watching a movie, if I don't pass out.

I'm going to freeze!

I was all prepared to write about how excited I am for the marathon.  I was going to take pictures of the clothes I packed.  But then I looked at the weather forecast again and saw the temperature is supposed to range from 40-55F during the time period I hope to run the marathon.  I do not know what to wear!  I prefer shorts, a t-shirt, and gloves if necessary.  I know that I will warm up.  I just worry about wearing a jacket or sweatshirt then having to take the time to move my race bib to my t-shirt when I want to discard my jacket. 

I really feel good about the race itself.  My ultimate goal is to finish.  My next tier goal is to finish in 5 hours.  I also have another "this-just-happens-to-be-a-super-awesome-race-day goal time" that I do not want to reveal, since it is not the main goal.  I know they say not to set a time limit for your first marathon, and really all I want to do is finish, but I am a numbers girl.  I can't help but set time goals.  Call it a fault.

We are heading to Jax in the morning.  Then meeting up with Caitlin, Ryan, and hopefully Katy for lunch.  Then the expo!  I'm so excited!  Oh and possibly Sports Authority for a jacket.  We will see.  I am not sure if I will have time to blog tomorrow, so I will probably be writing my race recap next.  Eeek!  Have a wonderful weekend all!

Being silly with Chris

Chris and I occasionally send messages back and forth throughout the day using instant messenger.  I copied this conversation from last May and intended to put it in a blog; however, I forgot and just found it in my drafts.

Chris: i forget
Chris: why is it called "Hot Yoga"
Jes: b/c the room is hot
Chris: do you do the yoga nude ?
Jes: lol you wish

Finding this inspired me to share a few silly  moments that Chris and I have shared.  For instance, this year we purchased a "one sketch a day" journal where each day we write a message to each other and draw a little picture.  We compliment each other and write silly things that have happened during the day.  It's a fun new tradition we are starting.  I think that one day looking back and reading them will be amusing and fun.  I want to share a couple days with you:

Great way to start a new year!

Chris's rendering of me cooking with the grill which set off our three very sensitive smoke detectors.  The best part is that there wasn't anything on the grill, and it's electric so there is not a flame (obviously, since it is an indoor grill)

 Ever since I saw that epic T-mobile commercial, I love to tell him that I think he's super delicious.  Check out the commercial... I love it!


 And on a side note, while I am sharing YouTube videos... has anyone seen the CBS Cares video??  I seriously laugh every time I see it!

Last weekend Chris and I used a Daily Dealz coupon for a dinner date.  We went to Press101 and both enjoyed it. The pictures are dark, because the lighting was terrible, but the food was great!  (Except I learned I really dislike goat cheese.)

Blurry photo of me getting ready to go out.  Chris was not feeling photogenic.

 

And a glass of Moscato wine.

Build your own bruschetta.  Tomato with onion and basil, sauteed mushrooms medley (we excluded the blue cheese that usually comes with it), artichoke tapenade, and sliced baguette brushed with evoo.

 

 

I had the grilled vegetable panini which contained eggplant, squash, zucchini, portabello, red onions, red pepper with pesto and goat cheese on ciabatta.

The side salad was delicious.

Peanut butter explosion!  Moist chocolate genoise, rich peanut butter mousse garnished with peanut butter cups.

In other news, this week has been pretty good.  The lovely Katy gave me a wonderful shout-out this week which made my day!  I love bloggers!  I look forward to future blogger meet-ups!  I also finished my three runs for the week.  Tuesday was 3 miles in 29:25 and Wednesday was a 3 miles walk and run in 33:12.  Now I am taking three days off before the marathon.  I am really excited for the marathon and a bit nervous.  I will write more about my marathon thoughts tomorrow.  For now I'm going to watch some Big Bang Theory with Chris and get ready for bed.  Have a great night all!

Love the Volkswagen commercial!

Another reason (see a previous reason here) I know Chris and I are perfect for each other?  We rented a movie during the Super Bowl.  I love him.  But I do also love this Volkswagen commercial, which I saw the day after the Super Bowl. 



I imagine this was Chris when he was younger.  I was told he was Darth Vader for Halloween one year when he was younger.  In fact, my favorite story that his mom tells is about his first day of kindergarten. 

The parents were there with their kids, and the teacher was calling each kid by name.  The child was supposed to raise their hand when called.  The teacher called out, "Christopher _(insert last name)_?". 

No response.

"Christopher _(insert last name)_?" 

No response.

"Christopher _(insert last name)_?" 

At this point, young Chris raised his hand and said, "my name is Hans Solo."  To which his mother replied, "we'll be back next year." 

Young Chris.  He was born to be a super hero.

Less than a week!

Less than a week until my first marathon!  I am so excited!  

I am trying to make sure I get enough sleep this week, so I am going to make this a quick post.  First, I want to thank you all for being so supportive about my mistake post on Sunday.  Luckily the venue was very kind and allowed us to reschedule.  We are going to visit our potential wedding venue on Saturday the 19th.  I cannot wait to tell you about it!  Second, I am super excited to say I won an amazing scoop neck tank top from a give-away over at the lovely Katy Loves blog.

In running-related news, I have not run beyond 3 miles since my 22 mile run, but I am still feeling confident about my race.  I have noticed that running short distances for a while makes me crave a long run.  I am spending the week hydrating, increasing my carb intake, getting extra sleep, stretching, and foam roller-ing.  Last week I ran with Caitlin Wednesday (33:29), Friday (31:31), and Saturday (32:11).  The first day was a bit slower because I had an upset stomach.  Before the half marathon in December, I did a three mile run on the beach with Chris where I really pushed myself.  I think it really helped my half marathon, because maintaining my race pace did not seem so bad compared to the faster run a week prior.  For this reason, I decided to push myself today for my 3 mile run.  I ran it in 25:06 (8:22 average pace).  I actually slowed down a bit at the end, because I felt myself getting a cramp.  I did not want to push through it and end up with a sore spot for the marathon.  I plan to run tomorrow and Thursday but at much easier paces.  Then Sunday is the marathon!  Eek!  

Well I'm off to relax with Chris and watch Gossip Girl before heading to bed.  Have a wonderful week everyone!  I will leave you with a cute picture.