Anyone who has talked to me in the past 9 months knows my life has been consumed with running and training for a half marathon. The original plan was to run the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon. You can read about that here, here, here, and here. (It was a big deal!)

Up to that weekend, I had decided it was going to be my first and last half-marathon, but its cancellation totally motivated me to keep going. I ran the Georgia half-marathon in March, and completed my Team in Training half-marathon in Nashville in April.

It was so much fun. I got to complete the race with Misty, a good friend I have made through the team. You can see us giving each other five as we cross the finish line (look for the purple shirts to the middle left.)The race started 15 minutes early due to the threat of thunderstorms and tornadoes (I think our team causes extreme weather.) We ran all over Nashville including by Vanderbilt, music row, Broadway, by the Country Music Hall of fame, Belmont University.....) All along the way, there were bands and huge crowds cheering us on. In one area, people were handing out fruit, another couple had a breakfast party and allowed runners to use their bathrooms, and people were even handing out beer along the way. Being part of team in training was awesome because coaches were stationed throughout the course to cheer us on. At one point, someone even yelled my full name, and I'm still trying to figure out how they knew it, but it meant the world to me in that moment. We did see a lot of runners down needing medical attention, making me very thankful for my training. When we crossed the finished line, we were told to get our medals, get something to eat, and get out of there due to the weather. It took quite some time to get out of the finishing area and check in at the Team in Training tent where I met Kevin and Carter. Luckily, we were able to walk back to our hotel before the storms came.


Running has been a HUGE accomplishment for me. If you would have told me 15 years ago, I would be doing this, I would have never believed you, but running has started to define a part of who I am. I don't always look forward to long Saturday morning runs, but knowing I can accomplish something so many people can't keeps me going. (Ok really, the thought of a chicken biscuit really encourages me along with not feeling guilty about what I eat that day.)

Seriously, thanks to everyone who has supported me and encouraged me through all of this. I promise to keep running!

Carter got pretty sick in mid-April. I got a call on a Tuesday afternoon while on a field trip to the zoo that he had a high fever. I brought him to the doctor the following day, and a strep test came back positive. I was somewhat relieved knowing he should be better the following day after starting antibiotics. His fever continued for a week. We even rushed him to after hours care when it hit over 104 on a Saturday evening. Carter was tested for the flu and had a blood test. The best conclusion anyone could make was that he caught a virus on top of the strep. We did take him to touch a truck that same Saturday. He had a blast. At home, his giant Elmo sits in a chair wearing a hard hat. When Carter met Elmo, he really wanted him to wear a hard hat we had bought. Carter just cracks us up!

I just signed up for 500 miles in 2010, but if you know me, that's not good enough. I'm going for 800 instead. I'm currently at 274.63 miles for the year.

Oh my goodness, I just realized I never posted anything about Carter's 2nd birthday. Time really is just slipping away from me. I really want to start a petition to add 5 or 6 non working hours to the day. We had Carter's party at a bouncy place with inflatables. It really appealed to me when I was told we would have the place to ourselves, don't show up early, and just bring cake. Carter had all of his grandparents there, 2 cousins, a great aunt, and lots of friends. We worried many of Carter classmates would be out of town because we had his party during spring break. Many of them did make it, especially his best bud Aaron. Carter received some nice gifts, but not too many (thankfully!) We celebrated at school on his actual birthday. I brought petit fours for his classmates, and Carter and I went to the park after to play.

I just ordered this:


and can't wait for it to come in! Do I have to finish my current book first?

I've been horrible about posting. It's on my to-do list. I promise. I'm just a little overwhelmed right now by life. So overwhelmed I almost cried last week when the dental hygienist told me I needed to floss more than 2-3 times per week. I did get her to quickly change the conversation to the weather.