Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Happy Birthday, Grandmother

For the past few weeks, I've been using my free time to make sure that every single detail was perfect for my Grandmother's 85th surprise birthday party. 







Unfortunately, there are some things I cannot control- one of them being traffic. The poor woman was an hour late to her own birthday party. 

Everything was set- ready for the birthday girl to arrive. 








When she finally did arrive- she was the life of the party. As always. 


Well, except for when Anniston was trying to steal her thunder by being so stinkin cute and showing everyone how she waves. 


She had so many presents it was like Christmas in July! She seemed to really enjoy her photo book, and I think she loved the memory box we put together for her. It included lots of family photos, and letters from each one of us. 




We love her so much, and for so many reasons- we had to make sure she knew it. She's the kind of woman who is always doing things for us- this night we made everything all about her. 

I hope we made her as happy as she makes us.







Happy Birthday, Grandmother!


Saturday, July 7, 2012

Running On The Go

We are visiting my in-laws this weekend who live in The-Middle-Of-Nowhere, TN.

#proof from my Friday morning run.

I don't think we're in Memphis anymore....

I usually look forward to coming here because it's very relaxing to be in the country with no cable and no Internet.

For a day.
Then I start to go a little crazy. Thank goodness for 3G.

Thank goodness for my cool aunt, too because she took my subtle hint (in the form of a shared Giftster wish list) about what I wanted for my birthday AND sent it to me early.

ENTER: The Lululemon Good Fortune bag in Ray.

I love bags even more than I love shoes. Everyone knows a girl must have a bag for every occasion, and this one works perfectly as a small workout bag.

At home, I leave it next to my running shoes and clothes at night so that everything I need the next morning is in one place. Solves the problem of heading out the door, frantically searching and screaming, "Where is my Garmin!??"

It's been especially handy on this trip- I have it stocked full of fuel, sunscreen, sunglasses, my Garmin, my RoadID, iPod, with plenty of room left for water.



I'm sure I'll be sporting this beauty anytime I'm running errands in workout clothes. Which, let's face it- is often. Things like this - anything that is this pretty and helps me stay organized makes me happy.

You know what else makes me happy? My birthday.

Well, not really the getting older
part, but the getting presents, lots of attention, and making wishes part.

Example: I wished for some potato salad and my mother-in-law made the most ginormous batch and said I get to take home any leftovers. Anyone who goes near it gets the stink eye from me.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

My Longest Run and First Speedwork Run

Happy Independence Day!

Since some people need meds even on holidays (I know, the nerve!!), I have to work today. I'm ok with that, except for the fact that I need some potato salad stat. Homemade, not grocery store purchased. Doesn't look like I will be getting any today, but luckily we are traveling to middle TN this weekend to visit my in-laws, and my MIL makes the best potato salad. Ever.


I have been working like a mad woman lately, and it has caught up with me. I've been absolutely exhausted for the past few days. This morning I was able to sleep in, get in a nice treadmill run, and work a very short 8 hour shift.


I finally feel somewhat rested and relaxed. This shift is turning out to be a very easy 8 hour shift, since everyone came to get their groceries and meds this morning and are now enjoying their family cookouts. You better believe I'm taking full advantage of this slow workday.

The technicians that I work with were worried that I was training to become some sort of exotic dancer because of all of the stretching that I've been doing lately.

Truth is, I've been running like a cheetah. Which means I've been running fast. And a lot. I couldn't be happier or more proud of myself.

Sunday morning, I woke up at 4am to eat breakfast and start my run super early- trying to beat the heat. I ran 7 miles- without stopping!!! That is the longest I have ever run without taking a walk break. The last mile, my legs were so tired- but I pushed through it and kept going.

Monday was a rest day, which was good, because I had to work 12 hours, and I was not happy about it.

Tuesday, I had a 5 mile run on the schedule. 5 miles is something I would have considered a "long run" 1 month ago. It's amazing how much has changed in a month because this week, it wasn't the 5 miles that concerned me- it was the fact that it was my first speed workout. Ever.

I had to be at work at 7am Tuesday, which meant this run would be happening in the afternoon. Which means it was also on the treadmill.


I taped my workout to the screen, got my iPad hooked up with Law & Order via Netflix, and took off. My new Lululemon bag that my aunt sent me for my birthday was also there to cheer me up.

I was honestly doubting whether I could run my 800 meter sprints as fast as Adam wanted me to on a good day- and on this day I was exhausted and cranky with tired legs. I was so ready to be done with it that I was counting down the minutes until it was over. Once it was- I realized that I had done it.... and survived! I did more than just survive- I fought my tired legs and overcame my self-doubt to finish strong.

I can really tell I'm getting tougher not only physically, but mentally as well. A large part of that is that Adam is holding me accountable to my training schedule. If I don't finish what I set out to do, I have to explain that to him. And he's not going to let me get by with making up excuses.

I was so proud of myself and amazed at how much I have accomplished in these few short weeks that I have been training. It's so exciting to think about how much faster I will run St. Jude this year than I did last year. If I can improve this much in just a few weeks, there is no telling what I can accomplish after 5 solid months of serious training!

Stepping outside the comfort zone is the price I pay to find out how good I can be. If I planned on backing off every time running got difficult I would hang up my shoes and take up knitting.

Desiree Davila

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