Day 109: July 15, 2013- Playing catch-up for y’all…

Day 109: 37.11 miles logged (MON, JULY 1 through yesterday…yeah, I’m a little behind posting- sorry!), 290.33 miles to go… OK, now that Trucks & Heroes is done, I am back in the saddle with my running- have gotten up at 5:45am yesterday and today to put myself back in the habit of early morning runs. Looking forward to keeping it up to wrap up these last couple of hundred miles!

Here are some of the highlights since I last posted… Trucks & Heroes was super successful, I am trying to better balance my home life, work, and personal endeavors (a.k.a. had to put the blog posting and writing to the back burner for a little bit to make a gesture), I have had some of the most hellacious migraines ever over the past two weeks, and it is now time to put both my Buddy Walk and fall bridal show caps on to move forward with both of those projects… oh, and I got the green light to teach my art class at Hobby Lobby! Super excited!

     Some recent art projects in progress

 Finally dry enough for Debbie’s kitchen wall : )

   A lot of drift wood collection lately for all of my fun projects (thanks Cate and Kat!)

    Razorback fun

 Road tripping with the kids to the old house (Pi Beta Phi at DePauw University)

 Shot my first Indian American event- had so much fun, but was up till 2am : )

    Did the press rounds for Trucks & Heroes including tv interviews, radio interviews, and donut stops, and we even got the Shining Light article in the Courier. I was so excited SAT morning, I cried!

   SMILE Family Fun week antics

 Rocking out Trucks & Heroes on SAT

 Can’t wait for my classes to start!

 And just had to share the pic of this “little” guy who took out Mia’s tomato plant. Love this pic!

Day 65, June 1, 2013: Double Milestone Day

Day 65: 27.16 miles logged, 494.02 to go… Successfully ran all of today’s marathon, AND passed the 500 mile mark on my 1000 mile goal.  I finished 359/490 with an official time of 4:46:49.

When you realize at mile 25 that your goal has changed from just finishing and not being in last place like your first marathon to instead finishing strong and running the whole thing, you know it’s a good day!

So, it was definitely an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment when I realized I had ran the whole marathon. I’ll admit that I cried a little when I ran through the tunnel that the players go through at Notre Dame football field.

Next up… A six hour drive home tomorrow, exhibiting for a Chemo Buddies event in the afternoon, and rocking out the Blondes vs Brunettes football game for the Alzheimer’s Association tomorrow night at 6 p.m. at Harrison High School football field.

Lastly, I will share that today’s marathon was such a stark contrast to the first time I tried one five years ago, and I that you will likely never fully understand, and I am extremely appreciative for all of the likes and the words of encouragement on my posts throughout the run today! A special shout-out also to Bob Davis, Cate Sisco, and Tess Fleming who also texted me during the run as well. All of you guys’ pick-me-ups were just what I needed to successfully tackle 26.2 miles today! I have the most amazing friends, and I am tremendously blessed!!! Thank you all for being a part of my crazy, busy life!

Day 58: May 25, 2013- Milestone run

Day 58: 20.00 miles logged, 562.84 to go… Did my first ever 20 mile run. It wasn’t as hard as I feared, and I feel confident that I should be OK next SAT.

Followed that up with 4 hours of re-landscaping and a great evening hanging out with friends around the campfire. Lovely day during a fun holiday weekend!

Day 53: May 20, 2013- 400 miles in the books

Day 53: 10.01 miles logged, 594.88 miles to go- PASSED THE 400 MILE MARK – woo hoo!!!! Four mile 5:45 am run (proud of myself for getting up that early), 2 mile hilly run before teaching Art Smart, and then a 10pm 4 mile flat run after I worked on 6 families’ worth of Pictures In the Park shoots (St. Wendel School and It Takes a Village Canine Rescue fund raisers). Amazing temperature, great breeze, suitable moonlight, and a kick butt final mile yielded a drenched in sweat, but highly enjoyable end of the evening workout!

Day 42: May 9, 2013- Two milestones in one day!

Day 42, 15.03 miles today, Miles to go: 685.66- awesome 10 mile run tonight, although I have decided that runs near Green River and the Lloyd definitely expose me to more car exhaust. I have done longer than 10 mile runs, but tonight is the first time that I’ve had any post run breathing issues (heavy chest with large inhales, etc.). I’m fine, just think I’ll keep my runs closer to home or stick to the parks from now on. Exciting news is that today I not only passed the 300 mark, but I also hit my mini-goal early of 100 miles/two weeks : ) On a different note, I saw the most beautiful double rainbow this morning. Well worth getting up at 6am for the walk. Made me think about the phrase about keeping your head up. Had I kept staring at my tennies like I was doing, I would have totally missed the whole thing. Thankfully a wonderful neighbor called it to my attention as I rounded the cul-de-sac. So think about what you might be missing during your day if you don’t hold your head high! Happy running!!!

P.S. Logged my fastest 5K time last night, too : )