And the countdown begins...

We are a 9 working days away from our cruise to the Caribbean! I'm SO ready to go. After this weekend, I just need to take a deep breath and keep myself from screaming.

I had an incredibly interesting riding lesson on Sunday. Daniel Stewart, current bio mechanics coach of the US Equestrian Team came to the farm and did a Symmetry and Balance clinic. First, he video taped us riding for about 15 minutes. Walk, trot, canter, and jumping a small cross rail. Then he analyzes the footage and you watch it with him frame by frame. He looks for issues with your body position. I was pleasantly surprised at the footage. My position was MUCH better then the last time I watched a video of myself riding. I need to work on keeping my leg slightly back and my knees a little more bent but overall I was happy. My jumping position needs a lot of work. I ride extremely defensively because Frosty has been a bit of a jerk jumping this year.

The puppies are good. Maddie had a bit of an incident tonight involving a DVD. She decided to eat part of it. I think she will be fine, but we will be watching her closely for the next couple of days. She hasn't chewed anything inappropriate in months, so I'm not sure what possessed her tonight.

Jarrett and I went to Cincinnati this weekend to visit our newest nephew, Ryan Matthew. Mom and baby are great and the kid is super cute. :) I'll post pictures later.

Further reflection on the Mini after a night of restless sleep....

I'm still pretty happy with my race yesterday but I did wake up this morning feeling much better then I anticipated. This means: A - I ran a race that was at my current fitness level and therefore I should be happy or B - I did't push nearly hard enough and there should be a few more aches and pains this morning had I really fought for a great race. I'm leaning towards A. This morning makes me want to run more and race more. I feel good. I feel human again. I ran 13.1 miles without worrying about my job. This is about me. Not about anyone else. My focus for the next month is eating right, getting more workouts in, and spending time with my family.

I'll leave you with my quote of the day: "Run with a pace and walk with a purpose." There was a drill seargent working one of the water stations during the Mini who happened to be shouting this mantra while we ran by. I thought it was an interesting quote. I am getting much better at running with a pace. My half marathon pace is a 10:30 mile. I don't have an issue with walking with a purpose. My goal is to only walk through water stations with a maximum of a one minute break. I didn't quite make it for the Mini but I did for the last half I ran in October. It's a goal and I'll get back there again by the end of the summer.

Time to go see the horse and spend some time at the barn!

Mini Mania

This is my second time running the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini Marathon and I had a pretty good race. No personal best, but I haven't been running much this year. My time was 2:40:37 with a 12:16 pace. This is a BIG race. It is the biggest half marathon in the US with 35, 000 participants. That means there are a lot of people to dodge. I did finish 15 minutes faster then last year. To celebrate the race, we've decided to sign-up for the Sunburst Half Marathon in South Bend that is being held on June 6. Jarrett and I ran the 10K last year and had a blast so in order to keep the focus on the October marathon and working on our distance, we're moving up to the half. Tri season starts in about 8 weeks. I don't think I'm going to do the first two of the season due to water temperature. I don't have a wet suit and I need a little more time to get ready for the swim anyway.

Where have the last 4 months gone?

Hello world. It's been a long time. I cannot believe that four months have passed since my last post. This year has not started out as I had planned. I am NOT on track to meet any of my training goals for this year. I did join a new gym and love it, however, the complete lack of time resulting from my job are preventing me from doing anything constructive for myself.

Let's start with the good. I have competed in two horse shows and the last show which was last Saturday went very well. Frosty is a big sweet heart and tries so hard to compete with the big fancy boys and girls. We managed to be in the ribbons and improve our dressage scores over last year. Maddie is doing very well. She graduated from 1st grade and has started to bond with Jarrett. She even gives him kisses now! Mimi is her normal cute, sweet, fuzzy self. Chloe the cat continues to amuse me on a daily basis. Watching her play with the dogs cracks me up. I did manage to book a cruise for the end of May to the Southern Caribbean. It's a step outside our comfort zone of Disney....although if I can convince Jarrett...we may go to Disney this year too :)

Now for the not so great. I have not been exercising enough and my eating habits stink. I am two pounds over my goal weight and I am NOT happy. I feel like a cow. My job is seriously stressing me out. Something has to change. I can control my food. I just have to do it. The job is another story. I signed up for a marathon in October. I HAVE to get my butt in gear or I'll never finish.

I got an iPhone and when I figure out how to blog using it, I'll write more often!