Hotcake Hustle

        So just about 2 weeks ago I was preparing for a 5k in Dallas called the Hotcake Hustle.  I was so excited to be running in a different state but also excited because for the first time I has a spectator in the crowd.  My mom came to watch me run, normally me and MRM run the races together which is always great and I love it but to know that someone was waiting at the finish line for me made me very emotional.  I even teared up a bit.  This only means one thing, I am definitely crying when I finish my half marathon.  While in Dallas we celebrated a late Christmas with my brother, sister-in-law and kids and my parents.  It was fun to all be together even if it was 3 weeks after the actual date.  Since being home I have gotten back to work and back to trying to get the house together.  I am loving having a few more days off of work right now due to hours being cut since it isn't holiday and I need the days off to clean and get my life organized again.  Since before Thanksgiving I have not had a normal routine for anything, let alone running.  Well I was overcoming shin splints which I am still dealing with but they only hurt when I run now which is a huge deal compared to walking around work, limping.  I am loving being able to focus on training and my eating habits again and focus on saving some money.  
        The Hotcake Hustle was a great experience for me and it was hard not having a running partner, normally I have MRM or I have my furbaby running with me.  I didn't PR but it was a nice run for a 5k, the 10k would have been hard as you looped around and did the same course again and I am glad I didn't do the 10k.  What I also loved about this race is how many kids I saw running.  I love it and it gives me such hope for when I have kids that I can keep going with my running journey and share this with them.  Running is something that has brought me and MRM together and gives us a common goal to work towards together outside of the stressors of work and all the other things that we deal with as a married couple.  I have been slacking on taking pictures but I am getting better the more I am starting to feel like myself.  
        While I love having these days off when I sit at home in the evening, eating dinner and watching tv and just enjoying the quiet and comforts of our house is when I miss MRM the most. We talk a lot but it just isn't the same as sitting here cuddling and icing our joints together.  I know we are in the home stretch in the long run of things and I know time has a tendency to fly by as long as I keep busy but I miss him.

2013 in Review!

So I have been MIA for quite a few months, but I have been running, and staying ridiculously busy at work! The joy of working retail at the holidays.  I am officially on vacation for a week and I am in Texas visiting family.  I finished the year kind of on a high.  I had a relatively good year, and if what you do on New Years Eve is what is in store for you for the year to come means I am going to be with good friends, good drinks, and lots of laughs and memories.  Although I did not compete in a half marathon for the year of 2013, I have already registered for 2 in 2014.  My final numbers for 2013 are 245 miles ran, which is huge considering I stopped running due to injuries twice this year.  My goal for 2014 is 500 miles.  I ended the year with shin splints, but I have found compression sleeves, compression socks and foam rolling.  All have been helping but so has icing and just resting.  I am getting back out on the pavement due to my goals for the year plus I have a race in 2 days and then another one in 2 weeks.  I am so excited for both as I will be doing them by myself.  One of the highlights of 2013 in regards to running was doing a virtual 10k that MRM and I got to run "together". He is deployed and I am in Georgia and the original race was in Cleveland.  It was fun and meant so much to do that distance "with" him.  I need to be going to bed, but I am excited to use this as my journal and stick to it this year.  Also I want feedback, what do you guys want from me this year.