I am Woman...

Hear Me Roar!!


It is now T-minus 25 days until the ING Half-Marathon. When I tell you I am excited, I mean that I am EXCITED. First, I am excited that it is almost here. Second, I am excited that I am EXCITED! I never thought I would be excited about a race. I never thought I would begin to enjoy running. Now, I am not sure I am at the point of enjoying running, per se, however I am enjoying the accomplished feeling I get after running.

Sunday, I ran 10 miles. Did you hear me?? TEN MILES! If you aren't sure, let me spell it out for you what an accomplishment this is for me. . .

Up until this point, I have never run further than six miles, without stopping to walk, stopping to make excuses, stopping just to stop.

Up until this point, I have never even stayed on a treadmill for 2 hours -- and I was on it for 2 hours + 20 minutes.

Up until this point, I wouldn't have even attempted this run. Not even in my dreams.

Up until this point, I would have been huffing and puffing and hurting by mile 4.

But instead, at mile 4 I felt great.
At mile 5, all I could think was -- I'm really okay right now!
At mile 6, I thought -- Every step I take after this is a step further than I have ever run.
At mile 7, I thought -- I am really going to be able to do this.
At mile 8, I was really wishing it was mile 10..
At mile 9, all I could think was only fourteen more minutes!!

And at mile 10, I couldn't even tell you what all I was thinking. I thought - I have never been prouder of myself in my life. I thought - I have never done something this athletic in my life. I thought - Zach really needs to get me some water now!

Most importantly, the thought that kept running (pun intended) through my head was -- I am really going to be able to do this Half Marathon. If I can run 10 miles, certainly I can run another 3.1 afterwards. I have 3.5 more weeks of training, and then I plan on tackling one of my biggest mountains. Zach says that ever since my run on Sunday I have caught the fever. It may be true. I have been looking at other races to sign up for.

I wish I could really put in words how I am feeling about myself right now -- all I know is it's an amazing feeling.

**in other news, crazy things are happening at my school... but I'm not in the mood to talk about that right now. That will be my next post...**

Happy Love Day!

It has been quite a while since I have posted. I have resolved to do better over the coming months. I am fortunate enough that so many amazing things are going on in my life, and I want to keep track of everything. This Valentine's Day, I am focusing on not just the romantic love in my life, but all of the love. I am blessed with amazing family and amazing friends, who keep me going through the tough times. From old Auburn friends to new Atlanta friends, Zach and I have a great group of friends. I feel blessed that we have had such a difficult time choosing our wedding party, because it shows just how many important people we have in our lives.

As far as romantic love, Zachary and I celebrated Valentine's Day at home this year, choosing to make our own Surf and Turf feast! We have so much fun cooking together, and we make quite the duo in the kitchen. Zach was responsible for the "turf" and I took charge of the "surf." All in all, it was a delicious meal and we wouldn't have been able to get anything better at a fancy restaurant. Here are some pictures of our dinner :

Zachary working his magic in the kitchen (and thrilled that I was taking his picture!!)

The shrimp that I steamed in a mixture of Corona, butter and Cajun seasoning ((MMM!!))

The amazing filets he cooked!

(yes, I know I was cheesy with the table setting -- you wouldn't expect anything less!)

the GIANT chocolate-covered strawberries we bought from Kroger!

We ate like royalty and then couldn't move afterwards! Hope everyone enjoy's Valentine's Day and all the loooooooooooove in their life!!