What has this Summer brought?

We can't officially say good-by to Summer until after Labor day but we thought we would reflect back on how the summer of 2015 treated us.

1. I think I speak for both of us when I say this summer has brought some major life changes for each of us. Some we've talked about on the blog but some we haven't.  Some of the things have been struggles and some are exciting things we have to look forward too. I for one, have realized that running is no longer my top priority and have even decided to not run some races I have already registered for. Such is life.


 I have this sign in my house that says "Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole".  I got to thinking that running  has kind of been like that for me.  As much as I love running and racing ( and I do like the races), it is not my whole life, but it definitely has enhanced my life. -M

2. I've kept up with my fitness this summer by doing several virtual races that were sponsored by Gone For a Run. The last run I'll be doing this summer is the Sole Sister Seven Miler.

I plan to do this run with my sister. I continue to be impressed with the swag from Gone For A Run. In addition to the shirt (we actually got tank tops) and cool medal, we got a cute shoe charm! -L

 

3. In addition to my Florida trip and my cruise, we both enjoyed family day trips to the zoo and safari and lots of bike rides. I got to see Maroon 5 in concerts which was fun but I've determined that I'm too old for the concert thing!  I've also got to connect with some old friends and meet some new blogger friends. -M

 

4. I've been pretty busy at the gym this summer. Not only have I been taking classes but I've ben teaching to. I 've been teaching group fitness classes and doing personal training. -L

 

5. So now the thing that I always look forward to during the summer: Rock n Roll Virginia Beach!  For the last several years this has always signified the end of summer for us. This year "Bad Ass" will be running with me. It will be his first half marathon! -L

 

 

Don't forget you can still use our code for a discount on your next Rock n Roll Race!

 

We are linking up with the gals from the Friday 5.

 



Those Free Boxes

I've mentioned before that I am a member of Influenster and often get their Vox Boxes. Who wouldn't love getting fun little surprises and better yet, it's free!

Since I enjoy the Vox Boxes, I recently signed up for the Wal-Mart Beauty box. I have read about other bloggers who have done it and I thought it might be a good time to get some new products before I start back to school in the fall.  After cleaning my bathroom and going through all the extra "stuff" I have I questioned myself on why I even signed up.

First off the box is completely FREE!  You just pay $5 for shipping. From what I've seen others get, the amount of product way exceeds the $5 anyway so why not give it a try. I asked one of my blogger friends if everyone gets the same products in their box and she mentioned that it was personalized  and  said that "us young folks would probably get different things than what she got". I remember her saying that there is a survey to fill out which determines what you get. I remembered all of this AFTER I signed up. I did not remember filling out any survey but I did put in my birthday. Hmmm, I bet they send you products based on your age?????   Okay folks this is the ONLY time I ever told a little fib about my age.  I didn't want under eye cream and serums for wrinkles so I made myself a little younger than I actually am. I wanted to get fun stuff in my box like nail polish and hair ties!

Okay so even before my box came I had a mental list of things I did not want/need and a list of stuff I was hoping for.

Things I did NOT need
Shampoos and conditioners
Body Washes
Wrinkle cream
Sunscreen

Things I hoped for
Mascara
Deodorant (who couldn't use that)
Hair ties
Nail Polish
Any cosmetics

What I got

First off, the contents in this box were packed in the most wonderful smelling tissue paper.  I couldn't really tell if it rubbed off from one of the products inside the box because nothing I received had that same smell.

1. Best Product in the box ( in my opinion): Full size Vaseline Intensive Care healing serum.   I love the Vaseline moisturizing lotions and I use them regularly, so I know this product cost $7.97 which was way worth the cost of shipping for this box!

2. Full size  Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick: The color is Galdiolus which is a bright red. I've been wanting to get a red lipstick anyway for certain "fun" occasions but this is definitely not something I would be wearing everyday. I don't normally wear Revlon lip color but for the sake of this post I looked up the cost of it and ironically it is also $7.97. I also got a $1.00 coupon off my next Revlon lipstick.

3. Sample size L'Oreal  restoring shampoo, conditioner, and repair treatment. I didn't need any more of this stuff so I wasn't overly excited about it.

4. Sample size of Burt's Bee Renewal firming Serum ( apparently my memo of my "younger" age did not go through in time...lol).

5.Sample of Micellar cleansing water, which is some sort of facial hydrator. It came with a $2.00 coupon as well. I don't see myself using this. If anyone wants it, let me know!

Final Review:  I am very pleased about the Vaseline moisturizer because I would have bought it anyway, but the rest of the stuff I could take or leave.  This was considered the "Summer Box". I think now that I signed up for this subscription that I should be getting a "fall" and "Winter" box as well.

Another Summer Box I received recently was the SunshineVox Box. This is COMPLETELY free compliments of Influenster. You don't even have to pay shipping!

Seeing this bright yellow box on my doorstep earlier this summer was enough to immediately put me in a great mood. I was excited to see what was inside.

My favorites so far are the Sinful Colors nail polish ( which I am currently wearing), the color is called Thimbleberry and the Vaseline Spray. As you know I am already a fan of the Vaseline moisturizer. I just started using spray- on sunscreen this year and have become a fan, so I thought the spray moisturizer was fun!

Other products in my box: Dickinson's witch hazel cleansing cloths ( and several coupons for it), Infusium moisture replenish leave in smoothing crème, Blue Diamond Sriracha Almonds, and a coupon for a free package of Barkthins.

I have gone to a few local store and have not been able to find the Barkthins. I finally went on the website to see which stores carry them and I hope to get them sometime this week.  I'm not a fan of spicy things so I was going to share these Sriracha Almonds with Scott when he comes back from his trip.

Which items would you be excited about? Have you ever tried Barkthins? If so which kind? I think the chocolate covered pumpkin seeds might sound good.    -M

Are these runs Official?

So, I tried to start my "official" marathon training this month. I have been dabbling with a run/walk for a while but unfortunately the past couple of runs started out being run/walk but ended up being a little more of the walking which has ended up disappointing me. My knee and IT band has been holding up okay but my breathing just stunk!

The following week I decided to try 5 miles. I've seemed to have my breathing under control ( or perhaps it's just that it wasn't90 degrees and humid like it had been the previous week). But things couldn't go that great for me, right? Well, for two runs that week I started to have pain in my calf and ankle. I've never had pain in that part of my leg before. At least with IT band pain I could run through the pain in little spurts because my feet were still working. With this calf and ankle pain it seemed like my whole leg was just dead! Needless to say my planned 5 miles turned into 4. No sense in making it worse just for a training run. This happened on two runs. I had missed 2 weeks of massage appointments because my massage therapist has been injured. I thought perhaps it was just that my calf was tight. When I went to PT later in the week I told him how I was feeling and after a quick exam he said my flexibilty was good and the calf did not seem tight. So now I am wondering
what my problem is?

I did have some redeeming runs this weekend though! Friday I did 4 miles with very little pain and with consistent intervals. Last night my sister and I finally got that 5 miles in and I am surprised at the consistency in my run. I don't know if it was becaause she was keeping me motivated (because she is faaster than me), because it was. A lot cooler because we were running in the dark, or because the last mile and a half I desperately needed to find a restroom? I don't know what it was but it was the best run i've had in a long time. I stretched and foam rolled later
that night but I still woke up sore like I normally do. I guess some things never change!    -M

Didn't think you could ever....

Do you remember your first running conversation you had with a non runner? It may have been with a co-worker who was asking about your 5K race. They may have asked how far you ran and when you said 3.1 miles they may have responded like this "Gee, I can't even run 3 minutes."

As your races increased, people's comments probably got more interesting. Then the day comes that you are talking about all 26.2 miles of your marathon (just in case that co-worker wanted to know how far THIS particular marathon was this time! ) And of course the normal re-action from a non-runner is "Oh, I could never do that."

1.Well, the truth is, I really feel any able body person can indeed run a marathon (or half marathon). Notice I said "able" body. If you are injured or have injuries do as I say not as I do!  I think people are just SO overwhelmed with the thought of running such a long distance that they don't think it could ever be something they could do.

2.Yes, there is the training and that can be hard. It can be hard to give up things you are use to doing in exchange for an early morning run, so it takes dedication. Dedication to the plan and your goal. You can let very few things side track you when training for a marathon (or half)

3.The miles are long, and you might not be able to go as far as you want (right away) or as fast as you want but you have to know that you WILL make it happen and in this instance you will need determination.

 4. Sometimes it can be boring. I can remember running 22 miles in the snow by myself eating frozen  GU and Honey Stinger Waffles that were so cold they nearly broke my teeth but I stuck with it because I had patience.

 

5. So I truly believe that if someone is willing to give Dedication, Determination, and Patience, to the cause of training, then they too can run a marathon or half! 

I write this post for my friend who thinks he can not run a half marathon. I know he can do it. He just needs to remember that the goal is to just finish. You don't have to be a rock star of a runner to run a half marathon.  You are a rock star just for signing up and making it to the start line! Oh, and when you cross finish, that's pretty darn awesome too!    -M

We are linking up with the gals from the Friday 5

Beach Body Help Needed!

We want to tell you about one of our friends. She has been doing that 21 day fix and has really been dedicated to it. We are so proud of her.

 In addition to the color coded containers, she's been doing the workout dvds.  She use to play the videos on her laptop but that stopped working so she went to the store and bought herself a little dvd player.  Unfortunately the dvd player she bought did not work so she returned it to the store. She did not realize that she had left her 21 day fix dvd inside of it until the next day. When she called the store to tell them she left her disc inside the machine, it was too late. They said they had already sent the dvd player back to the company! Womp Womp! Now she lost her disc!

She called Beach Body and asked if she could get a replacement disc but they wouldn't give her just the one disc without her purchasing the entire package over again!  This is ridiculous! 

The reason we are sharing this story is because I have read about people having success with this program.  You wouldn't think that if someone is dedicated enough to do something like this that other people should support them. In this instance I think that Beach Body should support our friend. I know that it wasn't Beach Body's fault that my friend lost her disc but you would think they would try to help her out rather than just say "Sorry you need to purchase the whole package over again".  Can't they sell piece of the program a la cart to existing customers?

So we are putting this out there to see if any Beach Body coaches can help our friend out. Do any of you know how she can get  disc 1?  Anyone have extras or discs they no longer use?

Running Role Models

This week's Tuesday's on the Run topic is Running Role models.  When we think about running role models we don't think of the fastest runners, the Olympians, the winners of races, or the professional athletes.  So you can run fast, so what!  What really impresses us is the everyday ordinary runner. The runner who gets up before work while its still dark just to get a run in, the runner that has to juggle training with a full time job and a family, and the runner who is faced with obstacles or injuries but keeps pressing on!

Through our blogging journey, we have met (or read about) many of these people. It is YOU, our virtual friends that we are proud of.

We are proud of ALL of you that are getting out there and running even when you don't feel like it but we thought it might be fun to highlight two great role models. Here are each of our picks!

I have always been super impressed with Karen from Just me and my running shoes. Karen not only has a full time job as an oncology nurse (which is super impressive all on it's own), but is a wife, keeps a beautiful home, is involved in her church, volunteers for charity, has a successful blog and keeps to a pretty strict training/running schedule! She does it all! -M


Our friend, blog reader, and fellow runner Heather is the epitome of perseverance and dedication. Heather has had some pain and injury this year but kept pressing own.  When she sets her mind to something she doesn't let anything hold her back. She ran her first marathon this year at Disney World after spending the night in the ER! Yea, she is tough. She not only runs but has done a few tri-athalons as well. She is always open to pushing her limits and trying new things. -L

" People that workout don't have anymore hours in the day then people who don't, they just make the time because it's important to them"

Who would your running role model be?

We are linking up with TOTR

Going off the deep end

Last week I went to visit a friend that I used to work with. She lives abut 45 minutes north of where I live. Friday evening she was scheduled to teach Aquatic Aerobics. I've never taken that kind of class so I thought I would give it a try. I told her the only swim suit I had was a bikini but she assured me that would be fine. I just didn't want to look awkward with the ladies there looking at me funny in their one pieces. When we arrived she brought a big bag of weighted belts to wear while we were in the water. I thought we would be standing in the low end of the pool and do a few stretches and kicks. Well we went right to the deep end where no one could touch. We started to do different kicks with our feet for awhile. I asked her if the class was a half hour. She replied, "no an hour." Wow! I thought "I am going to spend an hour in the deep end just trying to stay afloat". There was a point where I just wanted to go over to the wall and take a break but I didn't want to be the young one that had to take a break while all the other ladies older than me kept going. We finally went over to the wall and I thought oh good a break...Not!  We started doing kicks off the wall and push ups with our hands. Finally we went to the low end and finished with our stretches. It was a long class. I think half an hour would have been plenty.

The next day we planned to go on a long bike ride on a trail close to her house, Pine Creek. We biked about 10 miles then we stopped for lunch. I got a salad and it was not the healthiest but it was delicious. I thought all this biking, why not? We then biked the remaining 5 miles back to her house. After getting back to the house we thought it would be nice to float down the river and relax. Well it wasn't too relaxing. The river had no current and it seemed to take us forever to float down. We even had paddles to help us move along but that didn't help much. Not only was there no fast current there were places in the river that were so low that our butts were hitting the rocks at the bottom. After awhile I was getting anxious about getting to the end, so I flipped over on my raft and began kicking my feet to make some headway. We finally finished. It took us about an hour more than what was expected and we only went about two miles. My friend said, "It's a good think we didn't start down any further," and I agreed.

What's your level of aquatic fitness?  -L

A Peek Inside

What did we do this week?

 

You all know my week last week was full of heart ache. I did go to the gym two times, did a 3 mile run and a 5 mile walk and spent the rest of the week consoling Baylee. The weekend picked up a little as I saw an old friend, went to a Maroon 5 concert, and then met Blogger Meg ( from Meg Go Run).  We got together at a park and did a very long walk and talked a lot! She is SO sweet! We could have stayed there all day but it was like 100 degrees and we were both dripping with sweat after a couple of hours. Yes we talked and walked for hours!  -M

 

  Saturday morning I woke up and had to teach Body Pump. Usually after Body Pump I teach RPM(cycling) but there was a Zumba party going on so I thought I would take that. After taking it, I've mad the conclusion that I am not coordinated nor have any rhythm. There were many people there that didn't have the coordination as well so I didn't feel too out of place. It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you get out there and do it. Zumba may not be my thing but I think it is a great workout for people that want to just have fun and dance. After class I felt that I didn't get the most out of a cardio workout so I ended up running four miles around town. -L

The rest of the day I had a quiet afternoon and watched a couple movies. The next morning I planned on doing a semi long run, but I slept in too long and only managed to complete three miles. It was way to hot and humid! I came home and made buffalo chicken dip for the Eagles game that afternoon. We just relaxed and watched the game. I was sent a pair of compression socks in the Rock n Blog box that were way to big for me, but they fit Bad Ass perfect!

 

This was the first time he ever tried them on and he wouldn't stop talking about them the rest of the day about how good they felt after all the running he has been doing. He always sees me wearing them and I think he felt like he was missing out by not having a pair. Well now he does. My sister and I were both sent a Rock n Blog running box filled with goodies. I was happy to be able to share some of them with him. Let's take a look inside and see what else Competitor was generous enough to send us!

 

Compression socks, lots of fuel and goodies, a gift card, a battery charger for all our devices, and a really cool running hat by Brooks.

 

This is why I thought this hat was so cool, it has a zipper in it. I've never seen a hat with a zipper in it before. I believe it would be difficult to store fuel or something I would need for a run inside it but it might be convenient to store a key in it.

 

                                            And of course we received Rock n Blog tech shirts!

 

How was your weekend?

Just Breathe!

1. After Lacey ran the Boston Marathon in 2013 we talked about the course, the tough parts, the easy parts, the Newton hills and the infamous Heartbreak hill which she said wasn't all that bad. At the end of the conversation I asked Lacey if she stopped at all along the way to walk any of it. She said "No". Just to make sure she heard me correctly I asked the question again another way. "So you ran 26.2 miles without stopping?" I said. "Yes" she replied. I was floored! I couldn't imagine running that far without stopping (at least to walk).

2.I tell you this anticdote not brag about my sister, but because I realize everyone runs differently and as I get back into it post injury, I've been struggling. I don't ever strive to run 26.2 miles straight or even 13.1 for that matter. I will share that in the past I have ran 10 miles without stopping and to tell you the truth it wasn't even a struggle and it was at a good pace too! But I digress. Let's get back to NOW!

3. During the time I was not running I thought I was keeping my cardio up by riding the exercise bike. Little did I know that was not enough! I am catching myself taking more walk breaks during my running and even during a bike ride the other day out on the road I was struggling.



Budd Coates doing a demonstration at the Runner's World event.

4. When running I was trying to remember the breathing pattern that I learned from Budd Coates when I attended his seminar at the Runner's World blogger event. It was something about breathing in and breathing out during different foot strikes. How can something so simple as learning how to breath end up being so complicated for me? ..lol. I spend my time concentrating on when to breath and when to step that I don't enjoy the run.   I tell ya people, this injury has really messed me up and I feel like I am learning to run all over again! It is quite the process.

5. So tell me, what is your best breathing tip? What do you do to help with cardio?  -M

We're linking up with the gals from the Friday 5 where the topic is Running Tips.

Why is this dog at the gym?

I want to start of by saying that I LOVE my PT and the gym that they have there. I am sure that I could go to another gym cheaper than what I pay a month to go here but to me it is worth it. I love the PT's and staff and the personal attention when I have an issue, questions about training, or just want to talk about life.

One day when I was in an exam room working with a PT, a little dog came scurrying in my room. It startled me but of course I did not mind because I like dogs and this one was tiny and he looked harmless. I asked the PT if people were allowed to bring dogs here and he said yes. He told me I could bring my dog in if I wanted. I have a much larger dog ( a labrador) so I never brought her in. I just didn't feel the need. Over the months I saw other dogs come in ( they were lap dogs of course) and generally just sat on the lap of the spouse who was waiting for the other one to finish PT.

But yesterday things were a little different. I took Baylee to the gym with me. She did great. She just sat beside me when I rode the bike, lifted weights, and
did other stretches. Since. I went in the morning I was
 there with the senior population and of course they all loved her.

So you are probably wondering why I was bold enough to take Baylee to the gym? Well folks it's kind of a sad story. Even though we've be blogging like usual, we've had a very sad week. We had to say good bye to a very important family member. Our Weimaraner passed. Yes, he is the dog that I would talk about keeping me up at night. He is finally at peace but Baylee misses her big brother. I've missed the gym for the past several days because I did not want to leave the house. I didn't want to leave miss Baylee alone so she came with.

She did so well too. I am so proud of her. My heart will continue to break as our little family became even smaller this week but I will continue to remember all the joy we have in our lives and be happy that we still have Baylee.

Have a good one folks.   -M

Going Up and Out of my Comfort Zone

I know I already shared some vacation highlights but I thought it would be fun to share one of the activities I did while on the boat. I debated on doing this.  I watched others do it first. Some completed the task and some did not. With a little encouragement from my friend Heather, I decided I would give it a try.

 On the first day of the cruise I watched a brother and sister climb the rock wall. The brother didn't even make it half way up before he threw in the towel and said he was done. The sister had a little more determination and made it all the way to the top.  Of course the brother could not be upstaged by his sister, so he tried again and made it to the top.  I debated for the next few days on doing this before I made the commitment on the third day.

After putting on the special climbing shoes, the helmet, and getting harnessed in, I put a little chalk on my hands and was ready to go. I said that I did not intend to make it all the way to the top because lets face it, I have short arms!


Assessing my goal and deciding if I really wanted to do this.

 There were two bells on the rock wall. One was half way up and the other was at the very top. My only goal was to ring the bell half way up. I had no intentions of going all the way to the top.

I had met my goal to ring the first bell.  I was going to stop there but my friend and the climbing instructor kept telling me how good I was doing and encouraged me to keep going. I climbed a little further.

I noticed that the higher I climbed, the further away the pegs became. Some were very hard to hold on to and stand on. At one point I was only hanging on with one hand while I searched the wall for other pegs to place my feet and other hand. That really proved to me that I had more upper body strength than I thought.   I was almost to the top and then I told the instructor that I was done and wanted to come down.  Again I was encouraged to go just a little further because I was almost there.

I surprised the bejeezus out of myself and I made it to the very top and rang the top bell!

I was then released to come down. I watched other do this before me and it actually looked more fun than it actually was.  I guess I didn't lean back far enough to really repel down fast and fun. Instead, I was being lowered like a bucket gets lowered into a well.

But I did it! I know it may not be a big deal for some people but it was kind of a big deal for me.  I was fearful but I did it anyway! The rock wall was located on the very back of the ship overlooking the water. I made sure to climb it when the ship was in port and not moving. I kept looking back to see how high I was over the water!

Have you ever done anything out of your comfort zone while on vacation? -M

Peek in our Week

So how did the week go?

I very much enjoyed my vacation but was excited to be home and get back into the swing of things.
I worked out only two times while on vacation. Actually three times if you count the run on the Disney trail I did on Sunday.  I went to the resort gym one time and then when we were on the ship I took a sunrise stretch class, an ab class and worked out on the equipment.  Once we got back to Virginia my friend invited me to her running group. We had a nice run around Richmond. I wanted to keep some sense of normalcy while on vacation but I couldn't wait to get back to my own gym on Monday.

Monday - Gym at PT

Tuesday- My weekly massage. I missed my massage last week due to vacation and believe me, I was REALLY missing it. I could have got a massage while on the cruise but they are very expensive and I'd rather keep going to my own lady that knows my trouble!

I also went to the gym at PT later that day. Later that evening I took a bike ride with my parents. I don't exactly know how far we went but I know I was struggling. I don't know what's wrong with my cardio lately.

Wednesday- I didn't go to the gym that day because I had a little procedure that resulted in a few stitches in my ankle. I didn't think I should be lifting weights with my legs.  Later that evening I walked a little over a mile with my sister.

Thursday-  I went to the trail by myself and walked four miles. I am suppose to refrain from running for the next 7 days but I couldn't help it. After walking the first 2 miles, I was feeling good and really wanted to start running. I did a run/walk on the two miles back and it felt SO good.  Later that evening I noticed I had bled through the bandage and some on my sock. I was afraid to check and see what had happened. When I finally took the bandage off I was happy to see the stitches were still in tact!

Friday- I had all intentions to go to the gym this day but I had lunch with some girl friends and the afternoon just got away from us and I didn't end up going.

Saturday- Lacey was teaching a class at the gym called "Pump and Pedal" and invited me to go. I agreed to take her class but she didn't tell me it was TWO HOURS long! It was a mix of body pump (weight lifting) and cycling.  It was a good workout and I felt fine all day afterwards but boy the next day my arms were hurting.

Later in the day Saturday Scott had bought a new bike. He had a really nice Cannondale that he bought a few years ago but hardly ever rode it because it was not the most comfortable. Luckily we were able to trade in his bike on a Specialized Expedition Sport. It's really nice. We rode a little over 3.5 miles Saturday evening.

Sunday- Lacey is putting together a circuit training routine for some clients and so she tried it out on me. It was a good little routine and I think her clients will be pleased!


When was the last time you took a class at the gym?  What was it?  -M

Vacation Highlights

This week's Friday 5 theme is a day in the life. Instead of picking just one day I thought it might be fun to share a few days of my recent vacation.

I traveled to Florida with my friend Heather who I actually met through running and blogging. We spent the first couple of days in Florida doing Disney Stuff, Outlet Shopping, and taking our first run on the Disney New Balance Trail.  After that, the real adventure began.........

1.On Monday we arrive at Port Canaveral and set sail on our cruise.

                                    We loved the sunsets at sea. So beautiful!


2. On Tuesday we had all day at sea.

 I think our favorite activity was the trivia. Each afternoon/evening in one of the lounges there would be some sort of trivia. Think of this as a huge family game night!  We played Harry Potter Trivia (which I stunk at but Heather was pretty good), a few different Music Trivias ( like name that tune) and TV Theme Song Trivia which we rocked at ( 90210, Melrose Place, Dallas, ER, Different Strokes,  We knew them all, except MASH).

3. Wednesday we visited Nassau in the Bahamas. I've been to Nassau several times before and it's not exactly the most beautiful place on earth. They try, but it's really rather a sad place because of all the poverty that may not be that apparent to visitors.

 

Anyway, I generally take a $4 ferry boat ride over to Paradise Island. This is where the Atlantis resort is and that indeed IS beautiful.  Paradise island is a much nicer place and I don't think many tourist know about it because they are all too busy shopping on Bay Street and trying to find deals in the straw market.   I have been to Atlantis several times and have watched the dolphins swim, caught a bit of the aquarium, and watched the kids play at the huge pyramid water slide.  However, all that has changed now.  There were guards everywhere and we weren't allowed to view any of that unless we were staying at Atlantis as a guest or bought a day pass for $60. We hadn't planned on staying there that long so we passed on the day pass and took a walk down to the public beach before making our way back to the ship to make our own fun!

4. Thursday was my favorite day of all. This was the day that we spend at Royal Caribbean's Private Island Coco Cay.

 

The weather wasn't looking too favorable but it held out enough for us to have a little fun.  I had been on this island before but have never explored all the way around it like we did this day.  It is absolutely a beautiful island. We discovered a nature trail with chickens on it and wondered if it was a coincidence that lunch that day was barbecued chicken?...lol.

                           

                             We also discovered a fitness trail that had little activities to do.

 I loved that they had this "look out" that you could see out over the ocean and a lot of the island.
By the time we finished our loop around the island it started to rain and we knew it was time to go back to the ship.

5. Friday was our departing day. One of our favorite activities all week was looking at the dinner menu for that evening! Cruise dinner are absolutely scrumptious.


One of the many dessert buffets.

 Unfortunately I did not take any pictures of my food (we were sitting with other people and I didn't want them to think I was weird...lol) but I was trying to remember some of the meals I had.  Monday-Seafood Spaghetti, Tuesday -Seafood Ravioli ( this was my favorite meal all week), Wednesday-Turkey and cranberry sauce, Thursday-Chicken Marsala.  Friday- We were only there for breakfast before departing the ship.      Where did you vacation this summer?  -M

We are linking up with the gals from the Friday Five!

A response to the "commitment" bloggers

We haven't done a Thursday Thoughts post for a while now but after reading a few blog posts yesterday it got me thinking. We do not link up with the Word of the day posts hosted by Deb Runs, but we do read them. Yesterday's word was "Commitment". Many of the bloggers wrote about what commitment means to them, many focused on running and racing but some focused on commitment in all facets of life in general. 

One blogger mentioned that some people take a commitment very lightly and  are quick to dismiss it just like that.  I agree and would like to add that just because I made a commitment to MYSELF doesn't make it any less of a commitment than if I made it to someone else.  Hear me out....  I am often asked to do things with other people.  Sometimes I do but sometimes I don't because of the things that I have committed to.  Perhaps it was a commitment to getting an article done ahead of deadline so I don't have to worry about it over the weekend or perhaps it is going to physical therapy and the gym 4 days a week even when my schedule conflicts with something my friends or family want to do, or maybe it's getting X amount of miles in when you are following a training scheduled. It's very easy for the other person to say skip the gym today or only do half the number of scheduled miles and come home early.  Now if I said I had to do certain tasks for my job because I am committed to doing so, I think that would come across more acceptable. I think it's often easy for others to not understand our personal commitments because it's not like anyone is making us do it. We are only accountable to ourselves. But then again we are our biggest critics. If we don't follow through we feel bad. I know I do.

Another blogger asked if we always ended up running the races we sign up for or do we make excuses not to do it (bad weather, had a rough night, the cat is sick...etc). Essentially she asked if we ever had a DNS ( Did not start).   Since most of the races we run are destination races, we ALWAYS run them because if we didn't, well then that would be a waste of trip, right?  But then I remembered that YES there was a race that I DNS. It was Big Sur. Remember that?  I was severely injured at the time but I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity.

Lacey at the beginning of Big Sur missing her sister.

 Lacey ran it once already and this time she was going to run it with me. I knew it was hilly and thought perhaps I could walk it just to get through but once I found out what the time limit was, I knew there would be no way. I erred on the side of caution and yes, I DNS. I thought having a DNS would be better than a DNF.  It's funny how I feel a DNF would be a permanent scar on my fictitious running report card...lol.  In that case I didn't feel bad not having run. I thought it was best for my overall health and recovery.  Lacey went on to run Big Sur for the second time and a year later we ran a marathon together at Disney so it all ended up working out.

Has there ever been a time when you could justify not following through with a commitment you had made? M

Thank you to all the Bloggers who linked up with Deb Runs. You have helped inspire this post.

run Disney Merchandise

Hi guys! Have we got a bit of a treat for you today!  As you may have remembered from a previous post, I was spending some time at Disney during the last few weeks. During any trip at Disney, shopping at Downtown Disney is a must. One of my favorite shops has always been Team Mickey, especially during a visit when there is not a race going on. At Team Mickey I could always find some run Disney merchandise even in the "off" season.  As you may know, since the remodeling of DTD Team Mickey is no longer there.  However, the Clubhouse up at ESPN also carries run Disney merchandise all year long so a visit there was in order.

If you are running Disney in 2016, you may be interested in this merchandise!

  Women's half zip "In Training" fleece jacket. I thought this was super cute except I'm not really a fan of the half zips. I bought the teal half zip during marathon weekend and I think having one of them is enough. This is cute though, right?

Men's "full zip" in training fleece jacket (front and back).

Men's "In Training" Tech tee.  At this time, there was only a men's version of this shirt.

In Training hat. This was made out of that nice light weight material and would make a great running hat.

 

 

"In Training" headbands. I really thought these were adorable but I already have several blue Disney Sweatybands. I'm trying to cut back on having so much of the same "stuff"!

Your basic run Disney magnet. Perfect for any race distance. I have the older version on this one when the mouse ears were white. Perhaps I should have upgraded to this style!

 

Well there you have it, some race merchandise you can expect to see this year at Disney. I know some of this stuff was at previous race expos this year. I do believe I saw some of this merchandise online too at one point but they don't seem to have any of it the last time I checked.

I think the merchandise is really cute, but since most of it is date specific, I'd feel like I wouldn't wear it after the marathon in 2016.  What do you think of the merchandise?