#RnRNola Training Week 3 and 4!

Currently training for:
Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Half Marathon (use code ROADRUNNERGIRL for $10 off the full and half or ROADRUNNERGIRL10k for $5 off the 10K!)
Disney Glass Slipper Challenge
Seaside Half Marathon

Due to Christmas and my break from blogging, I didn't get to tell you about week 3 of my training for Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans. So I thought I would include it in this week's recap!

Week 3
For week 3 the plan was to run 6 miles. From the start I knew I wouldn't stop at 6. I'm too close to a 10K so I always go for the 10K! :-)

Again I was blessed to run with Andria! I was a little concerned about this run starting out though. The day before I had run 2 miles and felt some calf pain during the run. I was hoping I wouldn't feel it during the 6 miles. But no such luck. I still felt it. But I didn't let it stop me. I just tried to take it easy.

We ran our favorite downtown route. I felt great the entire run...except for the little bit of calf pain. But I definitely took it easy. I ran about 5 minutes slower than my 10K PR time.

Week 4
At the beginning of the week I wasn't sure I would even be able to run the scheduled 7 miles. My calf had been sore for a few days and I was worried the calf strain injury was coming back. On Wednesday I decided to tape it to see if that helped. And it helped tremendously! I had barely any pain on Wednesday's run and it got better and better each day. So I decided to go ahead and run the 7 miler.

I knew going into it that my calf would most likely be sore after the run. But I also was paranoid about other injuries springing up. I kept worrying about my knee. Would my old knee injury arise? It made me really worried about this run. I felt like I was falling apart! Does anyone else do this to themselves?

Andria was aware of the calf and I told her how I was being paranoid about past injuries. She assured me we would take it easy.

Again we decided to run our favorite downtown route. The run started out great! I couldn't feel the calf at all except every so often I would feel a little something. But it wasn't a continuous ache so I was happy.

This run had some issues though. The weather was awful! The temps were in the high 60's so it was hot. The humidity was 100% and it was super foggy. So we struggled from the start it seemed. But we never gave up! Finally we reached our turn around point.

See how foggy it was? The fog combined with the heat and humidity made it so hard to breathe and run!

We had made it 3.5 miles....we only had another 3.5 miles to go. The rest of the run was good. I felt pretty good despite the weather conditions. But when we reached mile 5 my legs got really tight. My quads got super tight. My left IT Band started screaming. And both my knees felt tight. It made the last 2 miles tough...but I did it! 7 miles was complete! And the calf felt good!

I'm gonna be sad when the new watch doesn't give me these records anymore! ;-)

I'm not really sure why my legs got so tight on me at the end. Was it the increased mileage? Was it the heat and humidity? Maybe I wasn't hydrated enough? I'll probably never know. But my legs were still a little tight on Monday too. The good thing...the calf never hurt! Yay!

So even though there were a few issues, week 3 and 4 of training went pretty well. Here's to a pain free and injury free rest of training...for all the races I have planned! :-)

QOTD: Have your legs ever gotten that tight feeling during a run?

Christmas Snapshots 2014!

We had such a wonderful Christmas! I hate that it's over. It went by way too fast!

We started our Christmas celebration on Monday night. We went to my sister's house for dinner and to exchange presents. This is the first Christmas my sister has lived in our town so it was a wonderful new tradition to start!

I also can't not show you our visit to see Santa Claus! Sawyer just lost both of his top front teeth. Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas and then starting singing the song, "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth" to him! It was so funny! The boys loved it!

Christmas Eve morning we started a new tradition where we let the boys open one present. They LOVED this new tradition! ;-)

The rest of the day we spent doing some of our other traditions like making and decorating sugar cookies for Santa! And Grandma and Papa came over to spend the next few nights with us!

Once it got dark we put on our pajamas and got in the car and rode around to see Christmas lights. We also made sure to see the huge inflatables that are up each year!

When we got home it was time to spread out the food for the reindeer.

And sit out cookies and milk for Santa!

Then it was time to say goodbye to our elves, Daniel and Mason. Thank goodness there were no tears this year although Sawyer had to really hold them back!

And then we took a spur of the moment family picture in our pj's which I LOVE!

And then it was bedtime for the little guys! The rest of us enjoyed watching "The Holiday" while waiting on Santa!

Christmas morning I woke up early to get in my quick run for my streak. When I got back the boys had awoken and were ready for presents!

Papa made Sawyer a medal hanger for his gymnastics medals!

And Andy made Sawyer a pommel mushroom to practice for gymnastics!

And Cullen enjoyed his favorite part...the wrapping paper!

Later that morning Andy's sister, her husband and his mom, and my Dad and Stepmom joined us for lunch. We had a feast for sure! But I forgot to take a picture! ;-)

But we did get a few pics with my Dad and Stepmom!

And a couple of more family pictures too!

If you made it this far...thanks! I enjoyed sharing all our Christmas fun through pictures! We really had a very blessed Christmas! I hope you did too!

QOTD: What's your favorite Christmas dish to eat?

The Weekly Chase #103!

Hey everyone! Thanks for being patient with my lack of blog posts! I've been enjoying time away from the computer and instead spending it with family. My hubby has been off of work since Wednesday and doesn't return until this Friday. So we are enjoying all the family time!

We had an amazing Christmas! I hope you did as well! I'll give you a sneak peak at our Christmas in pictures in tomorrow's post! ;-) For now...here's one of my favorite family pics that we took on Christmas Eve!

Now it's time for the Weekly Chase! It's a new week and I have new goals to achieve! I hope you will link up your own goals with me too! And feel free to use the badge below in your post too! You can grab the badge HERE! :-)

These goals are from two weeks ago since I didn't do a Weekly Chase post last week. Here's how I did with them!

• Goal #1: Run every day! Yes! My streak is still going strong...even during Christmas Holidays!
• Goal #2: Roll, stretch, and ice daily. Yes!
• Goal #3: Maintain my weight by logging my calories. Yes! I will say that I definitely indulged (a lot) during the holidays but luckily the scale has not budged. 
• Goal #4: Get Christmas presents for my class parents done. Yes! This seems like so long ago but the parents loved their gift!
• Goal #5: Finish Christmas shopping. Yep! Andy and I finished shopping the weekend before Christmas when the boys were at his parents house for the weekend. 
• Goal #6: Pack the boys for Grandma's house. Yes! They had a great time at their grandparents house for the weekend!

Here are my goals for this week!

Goal #1: Run every day! I still plan on keeping the streak alive. I haven't increased my weekly mileage yet. I'm still running lots of 1 milers during the week. Hopefully I will be able to add in a couple of 5k's during the week soon. Still trying to go easy on the calf.

Goal #2: Roll, stretch, and ice daily. Gotta keep this up. Last weekend my calf started hurting some again after my 2 mile run on Saturday. It wasn't bad but it was enough to make me worried. I went ahead and ran my long run the next day but it was pretty sore afterwards. Monday and Tuesday I could still feel it and really debated on calling Dr. Justin. Before Wednesday's run I decided to tape it and it helped tremendously! Luckily it seems to be getting better and not worse. So icing is a MUST right now.

Goal #3: Maintain my weight by logging my calories. I didn't eat as well as I normally do last week due to Christmas. This week I want to be sure to eat healthier. 

Goal #4: Complete my monthly calendar for work. I hate to think about work this week but my calendar will be due when I go back next week. I need to get it done. 

That's it for this week. I will still be focusing mostly on spending time with the family. I hope you all do great with your goals this week! And Happy New Year!!!

QOTD: What are your goals for this week?

Merry Merry Christmas Survey!

Can you believe Christmas is in TWO days??? It came so very fast this year! I'm not ready for it to be here because it's going to fly by!

I saw this survey on Jill's blog and knew I wanted to do it too! It's the Christmas season so talking about Christmas is only natural! So here's how I do Christmas! :-)

Egg Nog or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate! I love hot chocolate with mini marshmallows!

Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Santa wraps the presents! That's one of the best parts of presents...trying to guess what is inside and then ripping the paper off!

Colored lights on tree/house or white?
I love white lights the most! Although there have been a few times that we've had colored lights.

Do you hang mistletoe?
No. We've never hung mistletoe. Maybe we should.

When do you hang your decorations up?
My rule has always been to not do anything Christmas until after Thanksgiving. So we always put our tree and decorations up the weekend following Thanksgiving. Although this year....I broke that rule and we put our tree up the weekend before Thanksgiving.

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Sweet potato casserole (without pecans), corn souffle, and tater tot casserole. I only have these dishes during the holidays. So yummy!

Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Waking up to presents from Santa on Christmas morning! Then traveling to my grandma's house and spending time with my cousins and the rest of the family.

What is on your Christmas wish-list?
Samsung Galaxy Tab, running skirts, clothes, and a running charm bracelet

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
No. But I'm debating starting that tradition this year with my boys.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
It's very traditional. I don't do themes. We hang a variety of ornaments, some of them store bought and some of them handmade by the boys.

Snow? Love it or dread it?
Because I've lived on the Gulf Coast my whole life I've never really experienced snow. So I don't know if I'd love it or dread it. Although last year we DID get an ice storm here! That was the closest thing to snow we've had!

Real tree or fake tree?
Fake tree! I've had a few real trees in my lifetime and just remember them being more trouble than anything. Plus I have always had cats and real trees and cats do not mix! ;-) Cullen is allowed to play in boxes and wrapping paper though! ;-)

Do you remember your favorite gift?
I hate to say this but I don't. I remember the time spent with family more than the gifts I've gotten. 

What’s the most important thing about Christmas for you?
Knowing that God sent his son Jesus to be born on this earth so that I could be saved. Jesus is the reason for the season. And spending time with my family is super important to me too.

What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Homemade cookies and banana pudding! Cookies are my weakness for sure! Especially when they are warm, soft, and right out of the oven!

What is your favorite tradition?
Andy's parents and sister and her husband always come to our house on Christmas Eve and spend the night. We always bake sugar cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. It's so much fun having everyone there in the morning to see the boys open up their presents from Santa!

Christmas 2013

What tops your tree?
A gold star that we bought the first Christmas we were married. Each year we take turns putting it on the tree. This year it was my turn! :-)

Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
Well I'm not going to lie...I love receiving gifts. But there's something about giving. I just love watching the faces of the ones I'm giving to when they open up their gifts! Especially when it comes to my children.

What is your favorite Christmas song?
Oh my goodness this is hard! I LOVE all Christmas music! I really love Trans Siberian Orchestra. Pandora has been playing Christmas music since Thanksgiving!

Candy canes, yuck or yum?
Yum! But my absolute favorite is the Candy Cane Hershey's Kisses! I haven't bought any this season because I don't trust myself around them!

source

Favorite Christmas Movie?
Elf! I watch it several times each Christmas season! "Smiling is my favorite!"

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What do you leave for Santa?
Milk and sugar cookies that the boys have decorated. And we sprinkle reindeer food in the front yard for the reindeer!

Do you have a Christmas morning tradition?
We bake sausage balls for breakfast. Everyone grabs a few with coffee while we open up gifts.

Do you prefer to shop online or at the mall?
Both! I love the convenience of online shopping but I also like the hustle and bustle of shopping at the mall and other places. My hubby and I try to get most of our shopping done on Black Friday! 

Christmas letter or Christmas card?
Christmas cards! Although I think many people aren't sending them out as much anymore. Here's ours from this year!

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! I won't be blogging the rest of the week. I'm going to be spending time with my family! Don't worry though...I WILL still be running and keeping up my run streak! ;-)

QOTD: What does Christmas morning at your house look like?