@ NMB: IMTR on the horizon

yeah, well. I am having an amazing time at brock's parents' beachhouse at North Myrtle Beach. I am getting consistent running in everyday, road biking.. i'm in recovery the next 2 weeks for p90x before I start my 3rd 90 day cycle. During recovery weeks you do alot of yoga, stretching, and core work.

We have taken the kids swimming everyday. Which has been SO nice that it's been sunny (although VERY HOT in the 90's) everyday. Jack is swimming independently and learning to dive!! which I think is AWESOME for a four year old! He loves the water! it makes me so happy to watch him jump in come up on his own, then swim underwater to the ladder. He is growing so fast. Todd ( who is 21 months) wears a life jacket but tries to dive in head first like his big brother. it's too comical.

the only downside from vacationing is my nutrition is SO out of whack. I have got to go eat some AWESOME food this week. but it's just such a challenge to not over do it, and I have worked so hard to achieve the results from p90x. I eat my usual breakfast of kashi cereal and soy milk, then I take a protein shake after I work out and run... then for dinner when we eat out... it's so hard to have control or even know what the caloric intake of the food you are eating.. THEN brock is the little devil on my shoulder ( he has got be birthday cake remix twice from cold stone creamery-- it's SO YUMMY!!)However, however much guilt I SHOULD have from eating ice cream and richer foods I have sworn off for the past 6 months. I notice how much more energy I have on runs and I know it's from all the extra calories I am consuming because I normally eat 1,700 every day.. I think that does contribute to my tiredness and fatigue during runs. it's a catch 22.. Hopefully, I can find a balance with being healthy and at the right racing weight AND having enough calories to fuel my runs.

I am really excited about running the 16 mi version of the IMTR on sept 5th. I know this course will be very challenging. I'm still very ignorant I feel when it comes to trail racing, but i am just going to do my best and try to be tough and work hard the whole time. I think it's going to be a fun race:o)

still undecided about whether I should run odyssey races( trail marathon) or bays mtn 15 miler on the 19th.

CTR 10k!

My favorite picture of my brother Todd and I on my wedding day
My older brother Brian and I at the race this year
Hank Brown, Natalie Whitlock and I all kinda strided out the race course together (no racing) we had a great time just talking and cheering people on.. we finished at 51:00.
Thanks SOOO much to everyone(runners, walkers, volunteers, sponsors) who made the CTR 10k successful this year!! We had 113 participants this year! ( last year we had 50)

Special thanks to everyone who got up SOO early to volunteer and all my friends and relatives who travelled long distances to volunteer ( my cousins sharon and amy drove from winchester, va and my good friend Erin Doyle drove from evansville, In) The race wouldn't go as well as it does or as efficiently and smoothly if not for the help of all the wonderful, energetic volunteers!!

The race results, pictures and an article about the race and the scholarship is up on: http://www.runtricities.org

My dear mother in law did such a wonderful job taking pictures. There are 154 of them! I thought it would just be easier to direct you guys to the link and that way everyone can see the slide show.

I can't believe the race is over!! I will be looking forward to next year, and all the planning phases that led up to next august.

shifting gears, We are headed back to North Myrtle Beach this weekend to stay for a week. Saturday is my birthday! I will be 31!! :o) I hope to get in some great morning runs! It's still very hot and humid comparative to the climate in the appalachian mtns. even at 5 AM:o)

my next race is IMTR 16 mile trail race on sept 5th in Damascus, va and then Bays mtn trail race several weeks later.

I'm training for richmond marathon nov. 14th! I hope to BQ I have to run a 340 in order to do so.

ctr 10k TOMORROW!!

wow!! I can't believe that this time tomorrow people will be registering and preparing at the starting line for the 2nd annual CTR 10k!!

I have been so busy the past week! I am so looking forward to seeing family and friends tomorrow and make new friends!! I have EVERYTHING ready for you guys!! The only things I have to do today is to pick up the donations of produce, bagels and water from food city and Kroger. Then mark off the course at 6pm with matthew studholm. ( He is a USATF course certifier so I can definitely vouch for extreme accuracy of the course:o)

I just wanted to post some pictures of the awards and t-shirts to show everyone! They are SO nice! tomorrow we also have 18 AWESOME prizes to give away! I can't wait! I really hope everyone has a wonderful time and a great race tomorrow!!!

new changes this year ( improvements ) is that there will be a clock and I cooler full of bottled water at the finish line. Please take advantage of it!! we have PLENTY for everyone. The same with the fruit and bagels. I have 2 boxes of bananas and apples!! please take some fruit for the ride home or for a healthy snack later in the day. Last year we had so much left over. I think we are going to have more people this year.. well I KNOW we are because I have more pre=registrants than ran the race last year. But I have gotten twice the amount of food, so I think we'll be ALL GOOD.

logo now with color!

hey just wanted to post the proof I got from the screen printer's today. I was a little disappointed that they couldn't fill in the sun/celtic pattern! WHY?? I don't know.. they just said they couldn't.. oh well. I still think it looks pretty snazzy.

things are really coming together nicely for the race. It's hard to explain but it's like I FEEL that everything is just going to fall into place and go well. The stars are aligning, God is smiling down, maybe the creeper has "trail magic" of it's own. This morning I was awoken to my blackberry blinking that I had a message and it was from a friend that lives in king of prussia, PA who asked if I had reicieved a package he had overnighted to me. WHAT? I did get a package the day before, but I had thought it was the RODALE stuff from runnersworld and just never opened it. So I get out of bed, get the box and open it.. and what is inside?! over 200 bucks worth of outdoor/ running gear.. defeet socks, life is good mugs, nalgene bottles, a wool cap, timbuk2 cell phone holders.. etc.. COOL STUFF.. My friend John sent this as a donation for the door prizes for the road race!! WOW. I just couldn't believe it. I truly am appreciative for his thoughtfulness. I'm sure the runners who win his swag will be grateful as well. Isn't that AWESOME?! This whole journey of doing the scholarship and road race... bittersweet at times.. but it really has brought me into contact with some of the NICEST people. I honestly couldn't do the race if I didn't have so much help from so many different people. :o) Thanks to everyone for all their help. If you only knew how much it meant to me.