Happy Thanksgiving

This year I am thankful for:

My healthy and happy family

Completing my 2nd marathon

(and all the people that supported me)

Recovering from my IT band injury

My Gold's Gym Membership

Starbucks

I decided not to participate in the Chesterfield Turkey Trot 5K this year.  I am still not completely well, and I don't want to risk getting sicker than I already have been this year!

It is supposed to be cold and rainy, and I heard there was a chance for that fluffy white "S" word.  

Shh! Don't say it out loud!

I hope everyone has a healthy and happy Thanksgiving day!

~Tara~

Ewww...

Anyone ever see that life-size replica of 5 pounds of fat?  It is pretty gross.  During some procrastination today, I stumbled across a website called mypetfat.com (I couldn't get the link to open) but you basically carry around a blob of fat and it is supposed to make you more conscious of the things that you are eating.  I am pretty sure that I am officially grossed out.  I am truly disturbed/intrigued/amazed by this.  I certainly have a much better appreciation for that 10 pounds I have lost this year.

Frostbite Series

Yesterday, we signed up for the St. Louis Track Club's Frostbite Series.  The series consists of 5 winter runs, building up some distance again for early spring.  They are held at Forest Park.  

Saturday, December 12th- 12 K (7.5 miles)

Saturday, December 26th- 10 miles

Saturday, January 9th- 20 K (12.4 miles)

Saturday, January 23rd- Half Marathon (13.1 miles)

Saturday, February 6th- 15 K (9.3 miles)

I have been a bit under the weather this week, but really have been itching to get outside and run again. I only got in a Zumba class and Power Yoga so far this week.  Maybe another day of yoga and a swim are in my future! I had better do something if I think I am running 7.5 miles on December 12.  

Kansas City Weekend

Our weekend started off on Friday morning with a 250 meter swim and a 50 minute spinning class with my favorite instructor, Shiela. I am really loving her classes. After quick showers at the gym, we headed out to Kansas City for Jen and Justin’s wedding festivities. 

Once we checked into our hotel, we started getting ready for the rehearsal. A quick run through at the Temple, then off to Houlihan’s with Jenny, Lauren and Matt for drinks. Dinner was at Garozza’s Italian Restaurant, and consisted of Pesto Ravioli (Yummy!), Salad, Chicken Speidini, Tomato Penne and Cannoli. We had a lovely evening, listened to some silly stories about the bride and groom and then zipped back to the hotel for an early bedtime. 

Saturday, we woke up to a cold, gloomy day. What a better way to spend it than in search of a farmers market. Some friends told us about the City Market. It wasn’t very busy (since it was cold and rainy) but we scored a few good finds. Jalapeño Cheddar bread, Sun dried tomato basil dip, and Jalapeño Jam. We finished our afternoon off with lunch at Gates BBQ, a Kansas City Tradition, and a nice nap before the wedding.

 

The wedding ceremony was really nice and we had a great time dancing, eating wedding cake and doing tequila shots with the bride! After the reception, what could be better than IHOP at 1am! 

 

We finished up our weekend away with a Sunday morning brunch dedicated to the newlyweds. 

 Thanks so much to Justin and Jenifer for a wonderful weekend &

 for allowing us to be a part of their special day!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I wish I could figure out how to stay at home, and somehow still collect a paycheck every 2 weeks!

Here is a quick recap of this week:

Sunday- swimming for 1 hour (with rest breaks), laundry, dishes, yardwork... all the stuff that never gets finished.

Monday- 12 hour workday

Tuesday- in for a 1 hour meeting (and sat in traffic for almost an hour), Zumba class with Christina, some research for my paper, then power yoga!

Wednesday- swam 500 meters, 1 hour spinning class, more paper writing, a decaf pumpkin spice latte, then yoga again.

Thursday-8 hour overtime shift (making some spending $$ for my vacay) and some more research. I really want this paper to type itself!

Friday, Saturday, Sunday- working again... anyone know the winning lottery numbers for me?

By Monday, I am going to be ready for a nap!

Up next?

There may be an indoor triathlon in my near future...

After the Chicago Marathon in 2008, I said I was never running another marathon. Look where that got me! Now, that I have 2 marathon's under my belt, Cody (and Brant) have been trying to convince me to move outside my comfort zone to an indoor triathlon. The JCC is hosting it's 6th Annual Indoor Triathlon on February 13th and 14th.

There are two distances for the indoor tri... the sprint distance is a 400 yard swim (8 laps), 8 mile bike and 2.5 mile run... the long distance is a 750 yard swim, 18 mile bike and 5 mile run. I am not deciding on anything quite yet, as I am still having some trouble with my knee/IT band. I joined Gold's Gym two weeks ago and have spent the majority of the last few weeks tackling spinning, swimming, yoga and Zumba. I am enjoying the challenge that these bring, they use a whole different set of muscles than running! The swimming has been the biggest challenge so far, but I am hoping that will get easier.