A Day in the Life

I wanted to do something a little different today. I know lots of bloggers do the "Day in the Life" posts a few times a year and although Lacey has done a few about being a Flight Attendant, I've never done one.  Yesterday was my sweet girl's birthday. She is 10! Yes this makes me so sad but I am also so grateful that we have had her for 10 years.  I admit this post is probably more just for me as a way to commemorate this time.  Although some days are full of playing in the park, swimming, long walks,  vet visits, shopping with mama, and play dates with Belle, this post just shows an ordinary day with Baylee.

This is exactly how our days starts. Some days she actually lays her whole body on my pillow and wraps her neck around my head, She sure is a cuddly dog, which makes it hard to want to get out of bed some days.

There are days when I still have to feed her by hand.  This has been a thing since her brother passed back in August. I don't know if it's just a way for her to make sure I am spending time with her or what.

 

Now here comes the sad part. This is the look I get when I leave for the gym or for work.

 

                       And then she rushes to the window so she can see me leave the driveway.

 

                 On days that I work, Lacey takes Baylee to play with Belle. They have great fun.

                                                  And Pappy spoils her with Busy Bones!

 

When I am done with what I need to do, I pick her up and drive her back to our home. She likes when we spend some time outside on the porch together. She loves just sitting beside my rocking chair. Notice how she sits with her paws crossed? She does this all the time when she lays down.

Here she is again laying pretty with her little paws crossed.

 

 

After some play time and round two of eating, it's time for relaxing and belly rubs! 
She recently got a new dog bed but eventually she always ends up on the furniture with us. And that's okay!

When you have a Labrador you quickly learn that you have very little time to yourself.  She knows when it's shower time and she will sit in front of the tub until I am finished. if for some strange reason I am able to sneak in the shower with out her knowing, she quickly comes running up the steps and pushes open the door as soon as she hears the water start running.

 

While I'm getting ready for bed, Baylee is already making herself comfortable in my spot. She even carries her little puppy bear ( I can't decide which it is yet) to bed with her. I of course slide in beside her and let myself be uncomfortable for an hour or so until she decides to roll over or lay at the end of the bed like a normal dog.

Having Baylee in our lives is such a joy and I could only hope to have her for another 10 years! -M

 

What is your pet like?

How to use your Holiday Playlist

Last week we talked about some memorable every day ordinary training runs. I mentioned that one of my favorites was doing a training run while we were finishing up the #RunChatHunt. What made that run special was that while we were out running and searching for Christmas items, we were listening to Christmas music on our ipods.

Each year our local radio station starts playing non-stop Christmas music from Black Friday till Christmas. Last year, it started earlier than Black Friday, and this year, it started on November 16th! I like Christmas music but just out of respect for the Thanksgiving holiday, I think the music needs to wait till after Thanksgiving.

Lacey stopping during our run (last year) to take a picture for the #RunChatHunt.

In any case, we will be participating in the #RunChatHunt again this season and we will no doubt be listening to Christmas music while we do it.  That's not the only time I want to listen to Christmas music though. I thought it might be fun to create an "up beat" Christmas music playlist for some of my runs on the trail.

Here are some upbeat Christmas favorites!

1. All I want for Christmas is you - Mariah Carey

2. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays - N'sync

3. Santa Clause is Coming to Town - Bruce Springsteen

4. Rockin Around the Christmas Tree  -Brenda Lee ( This song always reminds me of the movie Home Alone, as does the song Run Run Rudolph. Both are sure to be on the running playlist).

5. Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas Eve


Honorable Mentions

Although not really meant to be a Christmas song, I'll be adding Seasons of Love (525,600 minutes) from the Musical Rent.  It just seems so fitting this time of year. 
Random Trivia Fact:  Seeing Rent on Broadway was one of the first dates Scott took me on.

And although not all that up beat, I'll be adding Happy Christmas (War is Over) by John Lennon. That is my absolute favorite Christmas song.

If you want to participate in the #RunChatHunt sponsored by RunChat, it started on Nov 26 and ends Jan 1. For more information go to TheRunChat.com

Happy Holidays Folks! 

P.S  If you signed up for the Holiday Card swap you should have received your secret blogger. If you did not, please let us know. 

We are linking up with the gals from the Friday 5

Race week outfits

This time of year many Disney runners are working on (or finished with) their race day outfits.  Afterall, that is one of the things that makes Disney races so unique.  In the past we have never gone with a full out costume but we do add some Disney touches to our race outfit.

I have to admit that even though I have been thinking about our race attire for several months now, I haven't actually started putting them together. I have the ideas in my head though. I have one skirt bought and that's all. My sister and I will be both running so that's double the outfits. 

Unlike myself, my friend Heather knew exactly what she wanted as her race outfits for the Dopey Challenge.  She knew I enjoyed designing outfits so she consulted with me and I created a little something for her.

I made the design and she printed it on four different shirts ( one for each day of the Dopey Challenge).   Each Race she completes will have a check mark in that box. So essential each day's shirt will look the same but will have more checked boxes off.  She even printed up skirts to match the theme of each race. The 5K is of course "Pluto" themed so a Pluto skirt seemed perfect!

I absolutely love what she did. Isn't she clever?

Okay, I suppose I need to go work on our outfits now.

Do you have you outfit planned for your next "themed" race?

Holiday Giveaway

Thank you for checking us out today and seeing what we have to giveaway for the annual Giveaway hop hosted by Runaway Bridal Planner. We are also linking up with the Tuesdays on the Run gals for their holiday gift guide!

We thought long and hard about what we wanted to give away to our readers.  We wanted to let you pamper yourself yet still have it be fitness related.

What we came up with was a Gift Package from Aurorae!

Aurorae is a lifestyle brand focused around yoga and wellness. It was founded by a yoga student who is also a cancer survivor. Aurora is currently doing a site wide giveaway called Aurorae's Gratitude Giveaway where they are giving away a plethora of yoga and wellness products.  We are helping spread the word by giving away just a few of those products here on our blog!

So, what will be in your gift package from Aurorae?

First off, you can't comfortably practice yoga with out a great mat!

I have found these mats to be thicker and of better quality than most other yoga mats. (Winner of the giveaway will get one yoga mat)

Of course you will need a Yoga tote bag for your mat and other fitness accessories. This bag is quite large and would make a great "carry on" for your next Race-cation!

One of my favorite items in this giveaway is the Aurorae microfiber towel!  Whether you are going to use it for yoga, swimming, bathing, or a day at the beach, this will probably be the softest towel you own. Since it's microfiber it would be great to put over your car seat to absorb the sweat from a long run or hot workout!  This is an extra large towel (32"x68")  and can be used as a pool or beach blanket. Don't ever under estimate the power of a great big soft towel!

The last item you will receive in your giveaway package is a  Pledge Candle from Aurorae Spa. These are 100% soy candles and come in a variety of scents.  You probably can't read all the labels on these candles so I will give you an example of some of the scents: Candy Cane, Sugar Cookie, Chocolate, Pine, Ocean, Tropical, and Cinnamon are just a few.   I was sent the Pumpkin Pie candle and festively burned it on Halloween!   (Winner will get one candle in their gift package)

So there you have it, the Aurorae gift package. Please use the rafflecopter below to enter this giveaway. Be sure to check out the Aurorae page to enter their Gratitude Giveaway that is going on till the end of the month.   Winner will be announced on our Facebook page on Wednesday December 8th so please do connect with us on Facebook! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to check out all the other Giveaways going on from these great bloggers below:

Holiday Card Swap 2015

If you are reading this post, then that means you are a blogging friend of ours. We'd love for you to increase your circle of blogging friends this Holiday season and that is why we are hosting another Holiday Card Swap. We hosted this for the first time last year and were overjoyed  at how many people wanted to join us! Bloggers really are great!

Whether you are a long time blogging buddy or someone we just connected with this year, we'd love for you to join us again.   Here's how it will work.

When ordinary runs turn into memories

We have several (non-race) runs that have become memorable for us such as running along side Niagara Falls, running on the beach, or even running the jogging path at Disney. But what about those every day nothing special training runs that you do in your own town, have any of them ever been memorable for you?

 

I was thinking about this the other day because I was comparing this marathon training cycle to last year's cycle and it actually put a smile to my face.  There was one training run that I will never forget. In fact, it makes me smile when I think about it.  It was December and the trail was covered in snow.

 That's right, it was covered in snow but I came to run and that's what I did.  I did 22 miles that day.
 I started when it was day light and ended in the dark. During that run I took in the beauty of the winter wonderland I was running through, lost one of my running gloves, almost chipped a tooth on a Honey Stinger Waffle that was frozen, made an emergency pit stop at Sheetz, and almost got bit in the ankle by a Jack Russell dog that decided to run along side of me between my feet for about half a mile. I was so glad to be done with that run but now looking back I can say I thoroughly enjoyed that 4 hours on the trail all by myself. In that time I only saw one other person. It was like 30 degrees so yea, why would anybody else want to be out there?   If you're interested, you can read more about that run HERE.

Another ordinary training run that turned into a fun memory was when my sister and I combined a virtual race with a scavenger hunt.  This was another December run (2013). We had both signed up for the Reindeer Racer virtual 5k through U.S Road Runners. We got dressed up in festive running gear and did a 5k around town. What made it special is that while we were finishing up the Holiday Scavenger hunt sponsored by #RunChat, it started to snow.  There was something special about running through town while it snowed, taking pictures of Christmas ornaments and admiring Christmas lights all while listening to Christmas music!  It was a totally festive run. You can read more about that run HERE.

One last ordinary training run that I will never forget happened in June, 2013.  I was getting miles in for the Boston Remembrance run. I was running with my dad and we did a portion of our run through a wooded path on the Island park where we would usually go to run or ride bike. When we finished the run we walked back to the parking lot and each went our separate ways to go home. Before I got in my car to go home I re-calculated my miles and noticed I was a little off and needed to get a little more in to complete the virtual race.  Because I was by myself now I didn't want to run on the wooded path, so I just stayed on the inner trail around the soccer fields. I only got half way around the path and right in the middle of it was a large deer. I was shocked! I thought the deer would be frightened of me and run away. Instead, it went back up on its hind legs and snorted at me. Yes, I was terrified!  I talked about this run for months. This is one I won't ever forget either. You can read more about that particularly scary run HERE.

What memories have you made on an ordinary training run? -M

Why I'm holding myself back from the group

I have only ran with a running group one time. It was several years ago and I was invited by a new running friend (who has since moved out of state). I was training for my first half marathon so I thought going to the group was a great idea. Now this was several years ago and I don't remember all the details but I think we only ran 4 miles that day. It was a challenging course (lots of hills and we came to a road block when there was a stream in the middle of the road and the bridge was down), but I was proud of myself that I could keep up with the group. Everyone was so friendly and they even had refreshments when we all met back at the park afterwards.

I always meant to go back to this running group except for the fact that it wasn't located in my town and later that summer my running friend who invited me moved. Okay, maybe those aren't good excuses but they worked at the time!

Over the years I would read (on blogs) about people running with their running group and all the fun they would have. I would comment that I needed to find a group to run with, that was my mission.

It just so happened that over the past year I had found a local group that I was invited to be a part of. I had gone to one or two of their events but never ran with them because of the pesky injury. Then a few weeks ago I was invited to the group to participate in a Mizuno shoe demonstration with the Mizuno rep. You all know how much I love my Mizunos, so I definitely wanted to show up for that. I had planned on meeting up with the group early that Saturday morning, but it ended up that I was very tired on Friday night and the thought of getting up to be at the running group earlier than I would even have to get up for work did not appeal to me at the time.  

Recently I was invited to a second local running group. I had wanted to try this one out too but just hadn't made it there yet. Then it occurred to me. I knew why I wasn't pushing myself to go to these groups.

You may agree that marathon training is a very personal thing. Everyone does it differently.  This training cycle, I am even doing things differently than I did last time. I am not running nearly as much as I did last year, but I am making each run count.  I enjoy running by myself. I like running at my own pace. I don't want to feel like I am holding other people back, nor do I want to feel obligated to run at a slower pace.  My long runs are on Saturdays so that prevents me from running with the Saturday morning group. After the long run on Saturday, I don't feel like running with the Sunday group either. Perhaps if I were training for the Goofy Challenge again this would be more appealing! I do my short run during the week and then  go to physical therapy on the other days, so perhaps I really wouldn't have time to do a group run anyway.

I know so many people love being a part of a running group because of the motivation and inspiration. As I sit here and type this post I think that I may give it a try AFTER the marathon. That way I don't have to get all caught up with worrying about pace and mileage. I can just go for  fun and stay fit for my next smaller race. -M


Are you a part of a group?