Wine and Dine Training

This week has been a marvelous week of training and the weather has really cooperated! Makes a huge difference in terms of my runs (or so it feels when I am not over the top hot). I am contemplating adding some strength training into my workouts/adding them at another point in the day a couple days a week. I also would love to move to five days of running a week, but my knees argue otherwise and remind me that running 5 days a week isn't an option.

These August and September days I am relishing in the glory of being outside, I know these days are numbered for sure, fingers crossed we don't get snow until at least mid-October. (Oh the joys of living up north)

August 30: 65 minute run
                 35 minute bike ride
August 31: rest
September 1: 45 minute swim
September 2: Long run - 12 miles
September 3: 60 minute swim
September 4: 45 minute run
September 5: 75 minute run



Do you do strength training?
How many days a week do you run?
What are your favorite types of cross training?

Disney on the brain

Sarah & Merida

I find myself with Walt Disney World on my brain a lot lately. As I have begun to prepare for the Walt Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon I find myself thinking about past memories of Disney and dreaming about this upcoming trip and even trips to come.

Yesterday, I watched Princess Merida become an official Disney princess, what I wouldn't have given to be there among that crowd. My personal favorite Disney princesses are: Mulan (hands down top of my list), Merida, who is closely followed by Tiana. Another one of my favorite characters is Jesse from Toy Story. While not a princess she also has a warm place in my heart for one reason or another. I also do have an appreciation for the classics as well. I have a book on shutterfly in progress, with my friend Suz, and we are on a mission to get our pictures with as many characters as we can and we are creating one big book of only photos with characters. We also have a rule that we don't wait in any line that we think will be longer than about seven minutes to ten minutes. The only time we have broken this rule is after we ran the Tinkerbell Half Marathon in Disneyland last January and we desperately wanted our pictures with our medals with Tink.

Suz &  I at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
in Magic Kingdom

I have found myself thinking about Disney as I am running and swimming as well as spacing out at work (let's be honest we all space out from time to time at work). My mind has been floating between the delicious restaurants, the different parks, the characters, the fireworks shows, illuminations, the rides, and the experience as a whole.

I am a huge advocate for runDisney! I love the different runDisney events and on my bucket list is to get a complete set of all the half marathon medals. Also if I ever decide that I am crazy enough to earn a full marathon medal you can bet it will be a runDisney medal! I love the runDisney experience and the ways in which they offer such an outstanding experience. I recommend runDisney events to everyone I talk to end end up talking about running to (seriously most conversations seem to revolve around running to some degree or another).


Who is your favorite Disney princess?
Who is your favorite Disney character?
Do you runDisney?
What is your favorite runDisney event so far?

2013 Goals - Check In

Here are my goals for 2013 in no particular order - below in blue is the updates with how I am doing on my goals:

• Earn my Walt Disney Coast to Coast Medal
• This will require me to complete two races, one in Disneyland and one in Disney World in the same calendar year. I will be running the Tinkerbell Half Marathon in Disneyland and the Wine and Dine Half Marathon in Disney World
• I have finished the Tinkerbell Half Marathon at Disneyland in California and I have registered for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon at Walt Disney World in Florida this coming November - I dare to say this is going to happen! Super excited
• Learn how to fold fitted sheets
• Seriously, I have tried, but haven't been committed to it- my fitted sheets always just look like crap when they are folded - more like balled up sheets even if I have tried to fold them nicely - youtube here I come
• totally spaced this one out.... Time to get on it.
• Get Married 
• June 8, 2013 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church I will be getting married and couldn't be more excited about the whole thing - minus the dress wearing crap - seriously my least excited piece
• All the details seem to be coming together. Whoop Whoop.
• Make a fruit pie from scratch
• No real reason for this one other than I just want to do it
• I am waiting for yummy fresh fruit season to embark on this challenge, however I have practiced making a pie crust and made a pie crust with pie filling and that was pretty good so I am jazzed to try this with real fruit filling
• Paint one of the bedrooms upstairs
• I have the colors picked out and I know what design I want to do it - I am currently waiting until a little further into spring so I can open my windows and not get high off of paint fumes!
• Run 5 half marathons [I am tempted to say six because I think it would be sweet to say I averaged one every other month but that maybe too lofty of a goal]
• I have Tinkerbell Half Marathon, Fargo Half Marathon, Fargo Mini Marathon, and Wine and Dine Half Marathon on the docket already - I'd like to add one in Minnesota to my list
• One down four to go
• Finish going through all of my boxes 
• I haven't gone through all the boxes since I moved to Brainerd in June 2011, it's time to do some serious giving away
• This is seriously one of the best projects I have come across, I am LOVING IT - I am going through nearly everything I own - it has been super fun to be able to give away a ton of stuff I just don't need any more
• Organize my craft space in the loft
• Yeah haven't started this one! Looks like a tornado went through it right now
• Read 12 books for fun [I love reading but sometimes I get in a rut and do all my reading for work, which I don't totally mind, but I want to read for fun too] so far I am on track with reading one book per month for fun
• Emma - Jane Austen
• LOVED IT! 
• Red - Ted Dekker
• Found this to be a marvelous book and it kept me a bit on the edge of my seat
• Plain Truth - Jodi Piccoult
• I love all of her books and this one did not let me down
• 7 - Jen Hatmaker (in progress)
• Make my bed 90% of the time
• I am not horrible at this one - I am probably currently at a solid 50% but would like to increase this goal - I don't want to go to 100% because seriously some days I really don't care - however I LOVE to crawl into a made bed
• I would bet I am getting close to 90% maybe only at about 85% but getting MUCH better than I was before, I am reminded how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE to crawl into a bed that has been made - I don't really care what it looks like I just love crawling into it at night
• Learn to to tunisian crochet
• My friend Lindy has inspired me to do this - thanks Lindy
• We are actually working a blanket with this style of crocheting in 2013 which will demand I learn 9 new stitches, I am jazzed and praying I can figure it out
• so far I am totally on track with this project - although my squares are looking a ton like burritos!
• Run 500 miles this year
• bike to work 30 times
• swim 100 miles
• yes I know these are loft goals - but why set low goals
• My miles have come to a hault as the treadmill and I are so annoyed with each other that we are not even on speaking terms - I have gotten in a ton of miles swimming in turn due to the serious lack of running these past couple weeks
• I haven't yet biked to work - the roads are still an icy mess
• Finish the stacks of projects that I have begun and have never gotten to for whatever reason - and if I decide I am not going to ever finish them then I need to disassemble what can be disassembled and move on - no reason to have all these half finished projects
• slowly but surely this is happening believe it or not - although I suppose I could use a kick in the butt to get this goal done a little quicker
• Settle into married life
• or begin to... really this goal is all about making the transition to married life intentional
• obviously not started since we haven't gotten married yet
• Make a quilt
• it has been way too long since I have made one
• I have picked out a design and am beginning to pick fabrics
• Finish the three clergy stoles I have started
• one done two to go
• Shoot over 250 pictures a month on my Nikon D60
• I LOVE this camera but I get lazy and don't take it out to take the photos I should, I really do want to improve as a photographer, so I must practice
• TOTALLY have done this so far! Some months have been better than others - while I was in California I took thousands for January - February I shot probably just over 300 pictures with my D60 - March is lacking a ton so far but I did get some at the lock in last weekend
• Catch up on photobooks
• yeah, I am way behind, finish 2011, 2012, Summer 2012 Mission Trips book
• 2011 - DONE
• Summer 2012 Mission Trip book - DONE
• 2012 - DONE
• update 2013 photobook monthly
• I actually have found that I am best off to update this book every couple of weeks - so far so good
• Create and Finish Summer 2013 Ministry book (finish before the end of the year)
• overachiever moment here: I actually have picked out the style and size and have set it up with different sections so with each activity I only have to fill in the pages - Summer Stretch, Middle School Mission Trip, High School Mission Trip, and VBS
• Create and finish a wedding photobook (finish before the end of the year)
• I haven't done anything on this one yet
• Order 366 in 2012 photo book
• DONE and it is soooooooooooo much fun! I LOVE IT! Seriously. I hope to do another photo a day book sometime
• When books are finished order: 2011, 2012, Summer 2012 Mission Trip book
• 2011 - Ordered and on my shelves
• Summer 2012 Mission Trip Book - Ordered and on my shelves
• 2012 - Waiting for a good sale to order

How are your goals for 2013 coming along? 
                 It is ridiculously crazy to think we are already mid-way through March!
Have you altered your goals for the year at all?

Post Race Hangover

I seriously feel like for about a week after a good race I have a bit of a hangover. It is a sacred window of time when the world seems totally conquerable and I can do anything. I am living in it right now. Before the race I was debating on which race to run in Fargo come May, but about a half hour after the race it was set in stone, I am half crazy, I enjoy the half distance as much as I hate it. My mind continues to race with fitness goals and my muscles ache slightly still reminding me of the joyful run this past weekend. For me a good run/workout seems to be the cure to any crankiness I maybe plauged with, I saw somewhere (my guess is pintrest) a sign that said "you are only one good run away from a good mood" and seriously it is so true for me. Note to self: this is one of the reasons you run, you love the post race feel good about life feeling.

My new quest before my run in January is I need to find new shoes! I hate this process, I want my old shoes, I have now finally come to grips with it isn't going to happen. I am not going to be able to get my beloved shoes back, so it is time I get over it and start the search. I semi-started looking at shoes on Friday before the half marathon and I tried on a couple pairs, at a big store that was super busy, so the staff didn't really have time to help me try on several pairs. None of them fit quite like I would like them to. One pair was too tight, one pair my foot sloshed around from side to side (no I don't have narrow feet), one pair was super heavy, and yet another was just uncomfortable. I am committed to finding a new pair of shoes. I am planning on going to an actual running store that specializes in shoes and I am going to try on a ton of them until I find something else that will work. Note to self: next time you fall head over heals in love with shoes buy a ton of them and just keep them on your shelves so you have them forever and never have to go through this process. I seriously think I am going through a bit of a grieving process over shoes [talk about first world problems here].

I also think it is time to update my ipod again. For some reason I hate the process of updating my running music. It is a fine balance of having music that is fast enough but not too fast and not getting any lame songs in there that drive me nuts after about three or four listenings. I also have discovered that I can't have slow songs, they break my mood and I seriously want to slow down when listening to them. It is strange, my music dictates my speed to a certain degree. I think my goal is to try and change my music at least between every half marathon. That is a lot of running and sooooo I listen to much of the same stuff time and time again. Note to self: go update your ipod even if you hate the process and you know that the first few runs with a new playlist won't be great until you get the playlist fine tuned and take out the songs you thought you'd like to run to but really you can't because they are too slow.