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!

Puppies and Plumbing Oh My!

We have had a crazy few days in the Meyer household! Christmas was wonderful. We spent Christmas day with my family in South Bend and then returned to Indianapolis to visit with Jarrett's family on the 27th. On our way home we picked up the newest addition to our family - Madeline ("Maddie"). She is a 9-month old shetland sheepdog we adopted from the Greater Lafayette Sheltie Rescue. Maddie is absolutely precious. She is very shy and is very much in need of some structure in her life but we could not have asked for a more well behaved puppy. She still needs to learn the basic commands like sit, stay, etc, but she does know her name and to come when called. Amelia loves her. They are inseperable.

On top of a new puppy and crazy holiday fun, Jarrett and I decided that we would remodel our guest bathroom while we had some time off work. Thankfully my dad came down for the day and got us started in the right direction. It was our first tiling job and I must say it came out really well! This bathroom looks like it is going to be the nicest room in the house. I think it has given Jarrett more confidence in tackling a few more home improvement projects. We are planning to put all new floors in our house in the next year and with the exception of a small carpeted area we plan to keep, we are doing everything ourselves. So if anyone needs some tile work done, let me know! The only thing we decided not to do on our own was move some of the plumbing. I think it'll be the best $140 I've spent to not deal with sweating pipes and cutting copper. Yes, I'm sure I COULD do it if I wanted, but this is one I think we'll hire out.