No. 2 for 2012

It's only February and it's almost time for another pair of running shoes.  Red Coyote finally received the new Brooks Ravenna 3 so I snatched up a pair in my size.  Let's face it, I'll need them very right after Little Rock anyway so I may as well start breaking them in a bit during the week so they'll be ready for the long runs.  I wonder how many pairs of shoes I'll go through this year?  

Marathon training is expensive!

Home Updates

We were not planning on working on our house 

this past weekend... 

it just sort of happened.  

We are very pleased with the results.  : )

 New kitchen light fixture.  The other was broken and didn't match the style of the rest of the kitchen in the least. The only downside to this is that I now have to patch the holes in the ceiling and paint.  Hopefully I'll be able to complete this soon.  

 New sitting chair for the living room

 I rearranged the bedroom furniture all by myself.  
Yes, I work out!

 I purchased a new rug for the kitchen.  It goes really well with the curtains and the rest of my decor.  This kitchen is my happy place!

I purchased this awesome mirror at i.o.Metro in Edmond.  It has a stained glass effect.  I LOVE it!

Custom Table

We had the toughest time finding a table that would suit our current needs and future needs.  I searched and looked (the Doc was always working) at hundreds of tables, but had no luck.  We decided to have a table and chairs custom built.  Here is the product of our imagination, desires, and patience.

We LOVE it!!!

Zebra Cupcakes

Remember the ZEBRA cupcake experiment?  Well, I took the leftovers to school for sharing.  I ended up with an order.  Yippee!  I made 1 dozen jumbo zebra cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.  They were ridiculously cute and tasty!  I do believe I make the BEST peanut butter frosting ever!!!

Biking News

I am now a proud member of OBS (Oklahoma Bicycle Society)!  
I recently attended Ladie's Night at Schlegel Bicycle where I signed up for OBS.  There is also something else I signed up for... a 30 mile ride!  That's right!  I signed up for Tour de Cure and will be fundraising and then doing a long ride with them this summer.  I'm so excited!
The Ladie's Night at Schlegel was amazing.  They had it catered by Big Truck Tacos, Eileen's Cookies, Dirty Water Coffee Company,  and COOP Ale.  Everything was free as long as you RSVP'd in time.  It was an amazingly wonderful evening. 

Sewing Projects

I recently stitched up a few things on my good ol' sewing machine.  I made some reusable cup sleeves and hot pads.  The orange was given to the person whose name I drew for Secret Sweetheart.  The pink was a reversible cup sleeve that was given to my friend, Melody.  They were really fun to sew and I'm starting to get the hang of binding.  This was my first experience with it.

Daily Eats

I'm ashamed to say that I've been eating a lot of crap lately and justify it with the excuse that I'm running so much.  Now, running shouldn't be an excuse, but really, after I run 16-20 miles.... I get the munchies like you wouldn't believe! My brain wants to replenish the glycogen loss.
Anyways, I can't dwell on my poor eating decisions.  I have to decide to make better decisions the next time and move on.  Here's something we've been enjoying for breakfast lately.... 

OATMEAL!  

Made with steel cut oats.  Mmm....

I added unflavored protein powder, light soy milk, fresh blueberries and walnuts.  It is delish and highly addicting!

I have been anti-carb for so long, but I find that they're good in moderation when training for marathons. LOVE me some steel cut oats! 

Week 6 - OKC MM Training

I ran the Edmond Running Club's Frigid Five at Mitch Park on Saturday morning, Feb. 11.  It was super cold and windy.  In fact, the wind chill was only 4 degrees.  I couldn't wait to get that 5 miles over with so I could get warmed up.  Brrr.....  
After running in such awful conditions on Saturday, I couldn't bring myself to do it again for Sunday's training run.  I skipped the run and spent some time on my elliptical.  It wasn't the same as running by any means, but it sure beat being out in those brutally cold and dangerous conditions.  
Here are a couple of photos taken after Frigid Five.

First 100

I was one of the first 100 that signed up for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.  As a thank you, they sent me this wonderful shirt.

It is oh so true!!!

Secret Sweethearts - Day 2-5

My Secret Sweetheart did a fantastic job picking out my gifts.  

I am seriously spoiled!

Day 2:  Chocolate Day

Dark Chocolate M&Ms along with dark chocolate truffles.

 Day 3:  Dollar Day

I was gifted these cute heart cookie cutters and sprinkles.

 Day 4:  Tarts of Wisdom

They had a notepad custom made just for me.  = )

Day 5:  Free choice

I received an iTunes gift card.  What a perfect gift for me!!!  I will put it to good use by purchasing new running music.  

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my Secret Sweetheart!  I absolutely love everything!  

Secret Sweethearts - Day 1

I'm participating in "Secret Sweethearts" 

with my fellow teachers at school.  

This was my gift for Day 1. 

It's a HUGE bag of freshly dipped 

chocolate covered strawberries.

Dave has overnight call tonight, so I'm cuddled up on the couch catching up on episodes of Desperate Housewives while eating this most divine package of chocolate covered strawberries. I haven't relaxed like this in a long time. 

Thank you to my Secret Sweetheart!  

Zebra Cupcakes

The day after the Little Rock Marathon is the birthday of not just one, but TWO friends that are running the LR full with me.  We're celebrating their birthdays the night before the marathon with dinner and dessert. 

 It was requested that I make a birthday cake, so I decided I'd like to make birthday cupcakes.  Cupcakes are easier to transport (6-hour drive) and don't require plates, plasticware, or anything else.  They're easy!  Since my female friend is an OKC Zebra, I've decided to attempt zebra cupcakes.  I had my first trial run and I think they turned out decently well.  It's chocolate and vanilla cake with peanut butter frosting.  We sort of have a thing for peanut butter.  Hahaa... 

Week 5 - OKC MM Training

20 MILES = DONE!

40 degrees with a wind chill of 30.  Brrr....  The wind was almost unbearable.  It was pretty much a steady 18mph with gusts of up to 35mph. So grateful to have my running buddy, Lisa, with me. We had a great time and even stopped by 7-11 to pick up something for a celebration toast. 

We were half way to our 20 miles!

We weren't finished until our Garmins said 20 miles.

We did it!

20 MILES = the furthest distance I've ever run!

I was pretty proud of myself and immediately messaged these photos to my husband.  A few minutes later, they were also on Facebook.  Yippee!

Actual running time wasn't bad, but we stopped a LOT (water, bathroom, 7-11, Starbucks, stretching, and being social at the water stops, etc. ; ) ) to make it more enjoyable. When we stopped at the Starbucks at May/Grand, I even ordered a coffee and ran 2.25 miles back with it to the finish. Yes, I'm serious about my coffee. I also think it's interesting that my pace picked up a bit once I had that coffee in my hand.

I ordered a tall coffee in a venti cup. The looks that I received from people passing me by in their cars were absolutely priceless.  I'm not sure whether they thought I stole the coffee or that I'm a girl who's serious about her coffee.  

A few of my running buddies.

Me and Lisa

Super excited about our 20 MILES!

After my run, I went home and rested with my pup and more coffee.