100 Days!!

In 100 days I will be getting married to the one my heart loves!

The to-do list is slowly dwindling down (allegedly) and the wedding dreams are getting a little more relaxed. hahaha.

I just had one last night that I saw Mark as I was hurrying to finish getting ready but I was okay about it because I wasn't in my dress yet, and I also had the feeling that I didn't care about anything else at that point!

I've had others... like how I started walking down the aisle and had to wave to the organist to start playing music, got to the front and nobody else was up there so I decided to do it again, etc.

Big shoutout to my mom who I'm pretty convinced will become an official wedding planner after this is over! She helped plan my sister's wedding and then 4 months later started planning mine.  She has always been a great deal-finder and I love seeing how excited she gets when she finds a good deal with a vendor or some decorative detail!  The words "thank you" don't seem to be sufficient!!  (And there's the fact that I probably don't say them enough because this stresses me out so much.  Sorry, Ma.)

I for one am not a planner.  No thank you.  I'm trying to be... at least where organization and lists are concerned, and more importantly with budgeting, but I feel like I'm fighting the inner fiber of my being.  haha. (So dramatic.)

[Edit:  I'd like to add that on my theknot.com checklist there's "Start a Beauty Regimen"... which for me means not biting my nails. hahaha]

But, back to the heart of the matter.

I can't wait to marry the guy who is smart, funny, loves Jesus, loves my weirdness and quirks, can be just as awkward (Markward) as me, encourages me, and loves me.  Please pray for us as we work our way toward a God-centered marriage.

100 days!!

The Big Day! Part 1

...I suppose I have another big day coming up soon but for now I'm talking about the marathon. :)

The whole weekend was a little bizarre.  It came out of nowhere and felt incredibly surreal.  Wait, we're driving to Austin?  So I can run a marathon?  It's almost my birthday?  ...What??

Yeah.  Strange.

My dad and I have had a few conversations about electrolytes and how he uses Elete drops in his water for his electrolyte replacement, and how doing that the day before is what really matters because it's preparing your body for the loss.  So I used some in a water bottle (you can't taste it really) on the way down.

By the time we stopped at the Oasis on Lake Travis for lunch, my hands were swollen.  ... I guess it was working!

For lunch I had a chicken wrap, and dinner later I had butternut squash ravioli with a chicken breast. and some of my dad's fries.  okay a lot.

My dad and I went for a little warm-up run to try and see what some of the hills would be like, but we didn't really get far enough out to experience them.  It was still a nice little 2-miler though, and I always enjoy running with my dad!

As expected, I hardly slept that night.  I woke up around 5:50 and started getting ready.

All the "oh crap this is really happening" feelings hit me as I was fumbling to get my hair in a ponytail and situate my bib.  Hand's shaking.  Trying to breathe.  Trying to think if I was forgetting anything.

Things on me:
-NB shoes
-Feetures socks
-BodyGlide... all over my feet, thighs, ribs
-Target running capris
-Nike top (one of my faves)
-Amphipod arm band that holds my phone
-SPI belt that I turned into a tutu!! (using a tutorial like this one, minus the elastic band since that's what the SPI belt is)
-Birthday Girl headband... that surprisingly stayed on the entire race!
-5 packs of GU

I didn't take a water bottle because I knew that the water stops would be frequent enough to not have one.  I also wore gloves and a zip-up jacket to the start line and tossed the jacket to my dad at mile 3.


My dad walked me to the starting line and I was really glad to have his company.  Why did I decide to do this alone?  

We got to the starting line around 6:57ish, right before we were supposed to be starting.  I wasn't worried about it though, I knew that I wouldn't get to the actual starting line for another 20 minutes or so.  (Which gave my dad time to walk back to the hotel and grab my mom for where they would see me first.)

I had my jacket on at this point, but I had already given my gloves to my dad before he left.  I took my time walking to the start to save as much energy as possible, and then took off, starting my running app and "Insurgent" (thanks to Mark who got my an iTunes gift card for Valentine's Day!).

Here we go!

...quite possibly the weirdest picture of me in the history of ever.  I'll blame the "7 a.m. waiting by myself to run" factor.

Survey

Going to work on my marathon recap, but first!! a survey!!  Please take 5 seconds to take this!! Thank you!

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

My First Crack at #CRAK

So my first #CRAK came up all on its own, but wasn't all that random.

The Pier 1 Imports home office was having a blood drive on Ash Wednesday, and I had beefed up on my B12 just for the occasion.  :)  (I have a deficiency and it affects my iron or "hemoglobin" levels which they test for.)

If you know me well enough you've heard me talk about giving blood every chance I get because of knowing what it can do for someone.  Commercials for the American Red Cross or Carter talk about how one blood donation can save up to 3 lives, but it can prolong one too.

My dad's mom, my Mammaw, had Leukemia, which is a blood cancer.  Any sort of treatment like radiation or chemotherapy would have just taken her from us faster than the disease, so she relied on blood transfusions.  Instantly they would perk her up and give us back our grandma.

She lost her battle with Leukemia early in the morning of February 15, 2008.

Wasn't she a babe??

When I started considering long distance running, I didn't want to run just to run.  I wanted it to have a purpose.  And then, by chance, I was at the Southwest health fair and Team in Training had a booth set up.  It was just what I was looking for!

I called them up immediately and the girl on the phone kept trying to let me know that I could have time to decide if I wanted to commit to training/fundraising but I was 100% sure I wanted to.

I got to spend a summer training with my sister and then running in San Francisco in my first half marathon in memory of my Mammaw.  I also raised $2,810 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with the help of many many friends, family members, and acquaintances.

So obviously, I love the woman.  And I miss her so much.  Long story short, cancer SUCKS and it sucks more when it takes someone you love away from you.

When you donate blood you might be helping someone else's grandma or grandpa or family member or child have a little more time with their family... for free.  That is the ultimate kindness.

5 days!

The countdown is on!! 5 days until I lace up and hit the streets of Austin for my second full marathon.

Collection of thoughts...

-What am I going to wear?
-Is the weather going to be crappy like it has for all my long runs?
-I need to make my tutu
-...or something else that shows it's my birthday
-What am I going to eat the night before?
-What am I going to eat on race day?
-Is it sad that I'm already looking forward to my GU Chomps??
-No, not sad at all, those things are delicious.
-I can't wait to start Insurgent!!
-I'm ready to be done running on the treadmill during the week
-I'm ready to be done training
-I'm ready to start doing some other fitness plan
-I'm hungry
-Need carbs

-What mistakes will I make?
-What unnecessary things will I have? (Last time I had a trashbag... that I tried to put on a little too late and just got frustrated with.)
-How are those hills going to feel?

-Will my ankles look like this again?  (Sidenote, I'm sorry if this picture grosses you out the millions of times I reference it, it just makes me feel hardcore.)

-How will I feel at this point?  (Mile 20, where the "wall" typically hits.)

-What other crazy stories will I have?
-...Will I want to run another one?

*Somebody please slap me if I say I want to run another full marathon within the next year. Please.

....No wait, don't.  I might want to.


Looking forward to the adventure!!

#CRAK

image from here

Sorry, had to throw a little Mean Girls reference in there.

Amy... What does CRAK stand for?!

I'm so glad you asked.

It's an acronym for Christian Random Acts of Kindness! 

The girls’ Bible study I’m a part of came up with this list of Random Acts of Kindness (RAKs) to complete during Lent.  We had been inspired by sites/ideas such as #26acts and me personally by Dana of Make Them Wonder.  We would love if you joined us in this challenge! 

If there is anything you can take a picture of, or if you want to tweet about your RAK, tag it on Instagram/Twitter with #CRAK.  Spread the kindness!


Starting sometime on/after Ash Wednesday (February 13th) I will be blogging about my personal journey with this as well as whatever I get from the other girls.  :) 

Download file here!

And, a little kindness verse for you:

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. -Colossians 3:12

Have fun!!

2013 Resolutions!

So I've been putting some thought into my 2013 resolutions and I thought I'd give myself a month to really think about it and focus on what I'd like to do/have done/be doing by the end of this year and really it all came down to one idea...

Just relax. 


Seriously.  My marathon is in 13 days, my sister's 30th birthday is in 68 days, my wedding is in 124, and there are so many to-do lists between and following these dates.  So honestly I just need to calm down and let life happen.

Relaxing things to do in 2013:

-Schedule time with no social activities 
-Take more bubble baths
-Read read read
-Read the Bible (already in Deuteronomy!)
-Take more "just because" pictures

But also maaaaybe convince my dad to run a half marathon with me.  :)

[I'm addicted.]

2013, let's be friends.