August Phone Dump!











Run ZOOMA? Yes, Please!

Since I set my goal of running a half marathon a year ago, then realizing I actually could do it, I’ve been scouring the internet looking for races to fill my bucket list. There are so many out there that look like such an amazing time..  there was one that caught my eye though — ZOOMA Florida Half Marathon & 5K.

Here’s what the ladies at ZOOMA have to say about their race:

ZOOMA Florida will treat you to an exciting and pampering fit girls’ weekend at The Ritz-Carlton in beautiful Amelia Island on north Florida’s Atlantic Coast. Enjoy a Fitness Expo and welcome cocktail (or mocktail) on Friday and run a scenic and flat half marathon or 5K on Saturday morning. After the finish line, celebrate with your friends at a celebratory After-Party Expo featuring wine, live music, massage, recovery yoga, shopping and lots of girls’ weekend energy. On Saturday afternoon, listen to the surf during a recovery yoga session on The Ritz-Carlton’s awe-inspiring oceanfront lawn. Serious racing. Serious celebrating.

Sounds amazing, right? Throw in the fact that the race is capped at 2,500 runners and the average high for race day is 63°F and you can easily see why this one was quickly moved to the top of my bucket list.  Sadly, I wasn’t ready in time to run it last year, but I stuck with my training, finished my first half marathon, and set my sights on the 2014 race.. and now I’m so excited to say that I’m officially joining the #ZOOMANation, not only as a runner, but as a race ambassador!!

There are so many perks to running this race, it is almost unreal.  Here’s a list of what you get with your race registration:

  • Entry into an unforgettable, professionally-managed and timed half marathon or 5K race
  • Full weekend of memorable fit girls’ weekend events, including sponsored cocktail hours, a Fitness Expo, a celebratory After-Party Expo, and a Recovery Yoga session
  • ZOOMA Signature Swag Bag (over $50 value)
  • Water and Cytomax Sports Performance drink on the course
  • Water, Cytomax Sports Performance drink, Muscle Milk Light and food at the finish line
  • GU Energy Gel station along the course
  • Wine from Barefoot Wine & Bubbly at the After-Party Expo
  • Necklace designed exclusively by Satya Jewelry for ZOOMA for all half marathon finishers
  • Post-race massage, shopping and live music at the ZOOMA After-Party Expo
  • Access to special room rates at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island on race weekend

I am so excited about this race and hope that you’ll join me, along with the fabulous ladies at ZOOMA, and the other Florida Race Ambassadors as we spend the weekend running, laughing, and of course, celebrating!

ZOOMA Florida will be on January 18, 2014 — so mark your calendars now!  Head on over to register and use code FLAAMB5 to save 10% off the race fee! I can’t wait to see you there!

Braden’s First Day of Kindergarten

I’m not entirely sure how this happened. He’s still supposed to be an itty-bitty baby.  He is definitely not supposed to be big enough to be headed off to school.  All official with his Spider-Man backpack that he picked out.  A big boy back pack.  No more baby stuff.  He’s told me more times than I care to count that he is definitely NOT a baby anymore.  I suppose it’s time to accept it.

He has been in “school” since he was 6-months-old, so you would think I’d be okay with it. This is different though. No keeping him home because I want to. No taking a day off here and there to head to Disney for the day, just because we can.  It’s elementary school, the big school with the big kids.  And the cafeteria – he is stoked about the cafeteria.

I’ve been so worried about how he’d handle it.  He’s been at his small school for pretty much his entire life.  He has a great group of friends there and we’ve been so happy with the staff and his teachers.  They’ve almost become like a part of our extended family.  Change scares me, but thankfully, it doesn’t seem that Braden has inherited my irrational fears.  He wasn’t scared at all, not even a little bit nervous.  He was thrilled and so excited.  We’ve been driving by the “big boy school” every day on our way to his pre-school and for the last few months, he’s been asking me how much longer until it is his turn to go there.

Today was finally that day! We loaded his new backpack up with his brand new school supplies and packed his adorable little lunchbox full of his favorites. His school staggers the starting day for the kindergarten classes – half of the class started on Wednesday and the second half on Thursday. It gives the little ones a chance to get acclimated with a little less chaos. I was happy that he got to start on Thursday, so he went the full day Thursday with half of the class then returned the next day on Friday with the full class. The other half of the class started Wednesday, with the rest of the school, then had Thursday off and returned Friday for the full day.

One of the most exciting parts of “big boy school” for Braden, is riding his bike to school. He tolerated the picture taking before we took off, but was seriously itching to get on his bike and go. Adam and I both took the morning off so we could drop him off together. All of a sudden, watching the bigger kids zip past them on their bikes, he just looked so little.

He parked his bike in the bike rack and we headed in. Of course, being me, we were running just a bit late so most of the kids were already inside. He looks too little to be here, right? I mean, there are sixth graders here.. and they think my baby belongs here? How?! His backpack is practically as big as he is!!

We made our way to his classroom — thankfully it’s the first one right inside the door, so when they don’t let the parents walk them in anymore, I can at least watch to make sure he makes it to his classroom door. He found his desk and his teacher had a coloring sheet and a fresh box of crayons laid out for them to color their “First Day of School” picture. I wanted to take pictures and, well, be a ridiculous mom, but Braden wanted nothing to do with it. He had things to do and was just ready for us to get the heck out so he could have some fun.

So we did. I really thought I’d cry, I didn’t want to upset him though so I kept telling myself not to cry, to be strong for him. We gave him hugs and kisses and told him to have a great day, told his teacher goodbye and we left him for his very first day of Kindergarten! I fully expected to be a sobbing mess, but I didn’t shed a single tear! I really think I was just all cried out.. it was an emotional week for us. I know it’s good that I didn’t though. Braden is sensitive and the type that would worry about me all day if I seemed upset when I left. So yay for no tears from any of us!

Adam and I planned to take the entire day off to spend together, but my work schedule is crazy busy right now so instead we went to breakfast, then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at our favorite coffee shop. He goofed off on the computer while I worked (and anxiously watched the clock, wondering what Braden was doing approximately 4,535,295 times). After what felt like an eternity, it was time to head back to pick him up.

Apparently they let the kindergartners that walk or ride their bikes out a bit early (they do it so the little ones can get out of the way and not get trampled over by the bigger kids), because when we got there to pick him up at the time school lets out, he was already outside waiting for us by the bike rack with one of the kindergarten teachers. He was so excited to ride his bike home and tell us about his day. He said he had so much fun, the cafeteria was the coolest thing ever, he loved his lunch except next time he needs a straw, and the playground is HUGE! I asked what else they did and was told “nothing”. Nice to see some things don’t change :)

Last year on the kids first day of school, we made chocolate chip cookies after dinner to celebrate and I thought it was a a fun thing to do, so after we picked him up we baked cookies for his after school snack. Fresh baked cookies and milk are pretty much the best after school snack, according to Braden.

Braden’s teacher seems really great and he seems to like her. He has a few buddies from VPK in his class and gets to see a lot of his old friends during recess, so he’s a happy camper. When I asked him at bedtime if he liked it and wanted to go back, he told me yes, he loves big boy school.. lets hope it lasts!

Did you have little ones starting school this year? Or going back to school?

How does your family celebrate the first day of school?

Weekly Workout Recap: August 12th – August 25th

Marathon Training – Week 5:

  • Monday – Easy 3 + 8 Strides – Today was the day we said goodbye to our sweet Sammy Bear.  I was in no condition to run.
  • Tuesday – 5 Miles with mid 3 at Race Pace – Because this week doesn’t already suck enough, I’m sick.  I can barely breathe, I can’t imagine that will work out well with running, especially at Race Pace.  Instead of putting in 5 miles, I spent my night in bed.
  • Wednesday – Rest or XT – Still sick.
  • Thursday – 6 Miles with 2/2/2 Negative Splits – Beginning to wonder if this is really just allergies or if I’m really sick.
  • Friday – Easy 3 (bail) – As soon as I got off work, we had to do the mad dash to dinner, Braden’s soccer game, then I had a 3-hour drive to Bainbridge for my cousin’s bridal shower. No running today, which is fine since I still feel like poop.
  • Saturday – Long 11 – This was supposed to be a step back week, but since I didn’t do the 12 mile long run last weekend (I ran 4 races instead), I decided to run 12 this week.  Put it off ’til tomorrow because I was out of town for a bridal shower.
  • Sunday – Rest – Planned to do a 12-mile long run.  After a mile, I called my mom to bring me tissues because I could not breathe at all.  When she got to me, half a mile later, she said I looked like I’d been running in the rain.  It was ridiculously humid and I was sweating like crazy.  I kept going and around 4.5 miles stopped at Sonic to refill my water bottle and splash water on my face, then stopped at home at about 6.5 miles to get more water and grabbed Mackenzie and the jogging stroller.  At 8-miles, we both looked like drowned rats and she was upset and I was miserable so I called it a day.  I struggled to breathe through the whole run, that made it really hard to keep going.

Marathon Training – Week 6:

  • Monday – Fun Workout – B and I rode bikes!
  • Tuesday – Easy 6 – I totally forgot about running and took a shower super early, then didn’t want to get gross.. so I did Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown instead.  I’ll do the 6 miles tomorrow when I’m supposed to cross train!
  • Wednesday – Rest or XT.  I said I’d run, I didn’t.  Oh well :)
  • Thursday – Tempo (1 WU, 2 x 1.5 T with .5 Recovery, 1 CD) – I had the stroller for the first 4, so I didn’t push too hard.  Ran 6.09 at 10:26 pace.
  • Friday – Easy 3 (bail) – I was sick :(
  • Saturday – Long 13 with Strong 20 Finish – Still sick.
  • Sunday – Rest

Previous marathon training workout recaps:

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