Lost my running mojo...

Here I go again. I've lost my running mojo.  It happens from time to time, but not for this long.  I'm searching and hoping and I will not give up until it's found!

It has been almost 3 years now since I stumbled into running.  And I mean stumbled since I was never very athletic...ok, NEVER athletic. I started out slowly and then joined a few girlfriends and then we soon had a small group linking up several times a week to run.  I loved it.  Then one of us had the crazy idea of signing up for a half marathon!  I know, we temporarily lost our minds.  Especially since none of us had EVER ran more than 5 miles, and that just about killed us.  One of us suggested the Shamrock half marathon in VA Beach which is in March and I thought that would be perfect since my annual girls beach trip is in June every year and I would not be struggling to lose 10 pounds in the spring prior to the next trip.  Oh yea, sign me up!  Ok, call me stupid, but I was determined to do it, especially since my husband just kind of smiled when I told him our idea.  And nothing could fuel me on more than the thought of accomplishing something that my husband hadn't done!  Oh yeah....that fueled me on!

Yes, I had trained poorly for the 5 miler race and lost a toenail, blackened a few toenails, countless blisters and terrible hip pain, but I was determined to train properly for a half marathon.  Geez, I had no idea the training would be the hardest thing I had ever done.  Many times I thought I was WAY too old to try to be a runner in my mid 40's!  I had been battling terrible hip pain anyway and soon was told by the doctor it was arthritis and he prescribed meds that made me feel good as new.  So, whats a little arthritis??  I was determined to move on.

I researched training plans and found one that stretched out for about 3-4 months.  It started out slow and I was able to build the miles a little at a time.  The plan was easy to follow, but man I wasn't prepared for the time commitment. That was probably the hardest part for me!  I really had to plan out my weeks and squeeze in all of my runs and never miss the weekend long run.  Once the miles started to get higher those long runs on Saturday were starting to get brutal.  Especially when the temps would drop to 35 degrees.  Two hour runs at 35 degrees was hard on my old body.  All was going fine until we got up to about 9 mile runs.  I soon learned that my body is done at about mile 8.  Anymore than that and I'm going to hurt all day from my run.  Then throw in the cold temps and I started to dread the last few weeks of training and just wanted it over.  Thank God for my two running buddies because they kept me going at the end.

Add caption

Race day came and I didn't feel completely ready, but I was more than ready to get it done and take a nice long break from running for a while.  I'm not going to lie, it was a tough race.  The wind and the cold was tough and I was not totally prepared for it, but it was by far one of the most exciting races I have ever ran.  It was amazing running with thousands of runners!  The sheer excitement of the large number of runners pumped me up more than I imagined it would.  Sure my time totally sucked and I had hoped for a much better time, but I finished the race and proud of it!!  Of course my first thought at the end was check it off my bucket list and I will never do it again....but never say never.

Anyone seen my running mojo????

13.1 Miles done!!!

Early mornings

I'm finally able to load a new post.   I worked for a couple of hours on a new posting last weekend and lost my whole post before I could post it.  Augh! I have had issues with my laptop and typing a blog post on my ipad isn't the easiest way...so it has taken a while to get back to my blog. 

So, it's the weekend.  TGIF!  I know many of you feel the same way.  I'm curious, how do you spend your weekends?  Do you frantically run around catching up on household duties?  Do you spend one particular day playing catch up and cleaning and spend the other day playing?  I live for Saturday mornings.  It's my favorite part of the week.  And I mean early morning.  I love grabbing a steaming cup of coffee and my ipad and catching up on social media, the news and reading blogs.  It's the perfect quiet time for me and I need that time to myself.  Lately I have tried to enjoy my saturdays with fun things and leaving Sunday afternoons for cleaning up and laundry catch up.  I like having a whole part of the weekend without the pressure of cleaning and catching up if we don't have a household project to fill up the weekend.  While training for a half marathon earlier this year (the post I lost last weekend and will try again later) I would meet up with my running buddies for early Saturday runs.  I enjoyed getting that in early and not having to fit it in the rest of the weekend. 

This morning I got up at 5am to join a friend of mine from my photography club to catch a few sunrise pictures.  Man, we were not disappointed!  If you can drag your butt out of bed before the sun comes up, God will reward you with an incredible sunrise show.  Totally worth the effort this morning.  I've posted a few pictures from this morning. 

So, I'm curious....tell me how you spend your weekends?  I would love to read your comments :)  Enjoy your weekend and don't forget to stop and snap a few pictures. 


This was actually a sunset picture that I took a few weeks back and just love! 

 



What are your hobbies?

What comes to mind when I say hobbies?  Knitting?  I think people are more into hobbies these days than in years past.  And I don't mean just knitting.  There are scrapbooking clubs, dinner clubs, mommy/baby clubs...the list goes on and on.  I love different types of clubs.  I love learning new things and meeting new people.  I joined a book club years ago, but quickly got tired of paying big money for just released best seller books.   Most of those books didn't interest me enough to get past the first chapter.  SO, I started my own book club.  Social media really helped put the word out to my friends and soon Chapter Chat was created.  That was 3 years ago now.  It's still a fairly small group, but we have a lot of fun.  We meet up monthly for books, food and wine. 



Book club goodies!

I told you we ate a lot at book club.



We do read books too....really we do!



In January I joined a photography club.  My husband gave me a Nikon for Christmas and said I would probably never learn to use it.  That was motivation enough!  My friend sent a message out on facebook that she wasn't into reading books, but wanted to start a photography club instead.  I jumped at the chance.  It has been a blast!  Most of us in the group haven't a clue how to work our cameras, but we are having a blast learning a little each month. 



Yes, more food at our photography club.

Laptops, ipads, cameras and cell phones usually cover the table at our meetings.

What are your hobbies?  I would love to hear about them.  I'm thinking about a new club...recipe club!!  I'm still working out the details, but will share soon.  

Girls Beach Trip

Having a long stretch of time off from work is exactly what I needed...and a girls beach trip!  Ah...I love Myrtle Beach get aways!  BUT, a tropical storm....really?....during MY vacation?  Thankfully it passed quickly and we were back to tanning on the beach.  Our beach trips are pretty low key but packed full of morning walks on the beach, tanning all day, great dinners out and LOTS OF SHOPPING!  Did I mention the frig full of wine?  That too.  Here's a few pictures from our week.  I miss the beach already.  How do you spend your summer vacations?


Mornings of coffee, reading and Megan's homework time



Storm has passed and the sun is shining

Tropical Storm brewing



Junk food and redbox movies after $$ spent at the outlets

Last night - dinner at The Melting Pot



Time out for fun

I haven't posted anything since the weekend.  This has distracted me!  Details to come.

Uninvited guest....

Summer has arrived and brought an uninvited guest....humidity!  Augh!  For the first time in a long while I actually enjoyed spring this year.  We had a few hot days, but quite a few cooler days to enjoy.  Now that June has arrived the temps are creeping up and humidity is here to stay.  I used to long for beautiful summer days, but humidity has ruined it for me.  I love the pool and the beach, but if you're not in or close to water the heat and humidity here can be rough.  I have made the mistake of going on vacation to the beach in July and August and that can be tough.  So, now I take my beach trips the first half of June and enjoy it so much more.  I think a lot of people change up their outside activities a little when summer arrives.  I change my running routine to late weeknights and early weekend mornings to escape the heat. 

Another uninvited guest arrived this year....cicadas!!!  Lord help me!  These things not only gross me out, but they are SO LOUD!  I can hear them from inside the house.  They are everywhere and the streets are covered in crushed cicadas.  See my picture below.  These are the shells they leave behind in the trees.  I feel like I'm in a horror movie every time I walk under the tree limbs to get to my car.  So, how many days until fall weather???

Thank you!

Thank you all for your kind supportive words regarding my first blog posting.  I have had so many text messages and emails from supportive friends.  I have thought about starting a blog for a good while now, but it's a little scary putting yourself out there :).  Anyway, just wanted to say thank you and I'm working on a new post that will be up soon.  Meanwhile....here's a few pictures of life this past week enjoying the holiday with my husband fishing and hiking.

Have a great Saturday!