A very Merry Christmas ;)

We had a very busy Christmas this year for sure!!! We are so blessed to have such amazing families that love us and care for us both. To say we were on the road quite a bit over a two-day period would be an understatement ;)

Although we want to be able to spend time with every family member and not break any traditions, this Christmas traveling is getting tough!!!! We felt like we neglected all families, because as soon as we got to one home, it seemed like we were already saying good-bye!!!! We literally got there, ate, opened gifts, then left. We were so exhausted by the time we got home Christmas night, that we realized that we have to figure out a better plan next year........although I have no idea what that might be!!!

We even got to visit with my dad and stepmom. We met them at Primo's for breakfast after Christmas and exchanged gifts and talked for a while. They headed back to Houston shortly after.

We ate our fair share of goodies I shall say..........WOW did we ever ;) Ollie even had his fair share of chocolate,


a whole BAG of mini Snickers!!!!!!!!! (wrappers and all...........don't ask :) It was not to our knowledge ;)

So blessed to have my grandmother still with us this Christmas (98 years old!!)

Family Pic!!



All the nieces and me acting silly in our PJ's

Christmas eve before opening gifts-----

Happy Birthday to me!!!!!!!!

It's hard turning 25 ;) heehee ;D Seriously, though, although I'm not getting any younger, I do feel like I am learning more about myself and strengthening my values and goals in life every year that passes.

Matt took me to Walker's for dinner on my birthday-December 22nd. It was awesome!!! We got the portabella fries for an appetizer, I got redfish topped with crabmeat for dinner, some awesome wine, and we split a brownie/ice cream dessert ;) Yummy!!!!!!




Stuffing our faces at Walker's :)



I am getting a little baby-itch stronger than ever lately, but we are trying to hold off until we get a little credit card debt paid off and I can think about not returning to work. Things we are planning for the future include: A LARGER VEHICLE ;) Seriously, we realized on the trip during Christmas that my little Altima won't suffice with two 90 pounds dogs, presents, and the two of us, much less 2-3 children in the future!!!!! So, in the next year or so, that is on the agenda of to-do's...............along with another pretty large to-do............finding out where we will settle down with this new family we plan on starting ;)

Tacky Christmas party ;)

We had our first annual triathlon team party----It's so fun and rewarding to see the team coming together so well for its first year. It's been a time-consuming, but gratifying year as president for Mississippi Heat. We ordered team jerseys, put on the beginner triathlon, helped donate money for Toys for Tots and Operation shoestring this year, and multiple other things for the team.

The party was a wonderful time to get-together and just enjoy each other's company! Melanie and Charlie did a wonderful job at hosting the party!

Here are some fun pics for the night ;)



We raised money to donate 6 bikes to Toys for Tots this Christmas ;)


Andrew,Bill, and wife all decked out and tacky ;)

The Candy Bar.....yum!!

Matt is a little jealous that Trip won the tacky sweater contest ;)

The winners in all our glory......tacky enough for ya ?! :)

Intense conversation (I'm sure triathlon-related) between Matt, Mike, and Robbie

Creativity flowing from my ears............

Jingle bells, broken nails, canvas art and frames. Someone stopppp me from my madness 'fore I go insane........HEY!!!!
(sung to the tune of Jingle Bells, of course ;)

I must say I caught the creative bug this Christmas season. Canvases? Sure. Wooden custom photo frames? Of course. Painted pottery with customized stick families ? Check. Cute, little reindeer truffle pops? Yes please. If I've seen it in a store, I've attempted to copy it. Good for my pocketbook. Not so good for my time management skills ;)

The problem with these cute little crafts is, once I start one, I must create enough for every person in the family that they are going to in order to make sure no one gets left out. That would be embarrassing :( You should see my kitchen table. Seriously. Not pretty. (well, pretty if you think mass chaos piled on top of more mass chaos is beautiful ;)









I think, however, that I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am wrapping up the final canvases tonight and I have a couple more odds and ends to purchase, but I did accomplish my goal of being completely done with Christmas shopping by next week, so I can enjoy everything around me. (I haven't had much time to do that lately----too stressed trying to deal with the "mass chaos table" !!!)

Next week, I am going to have that cup of hot cocoa with mini marshmallows that I purchased 2 weeks ago and haven't had time to open. I am going to sit by the fireplace, listen to Christmas music, make Matt take me Christmas light sightseeing, and not wrap a SINGLE present. High hopes, huh??!! That's the plan.

But, for now, back to the pile of chaos on the table, the Christmas parties, and Christmas party planning, the gift wrapping, the making of Christmas baked goodies.......and don't forget about little Sadie who we are trying to potty train!!!! Lord, help me get through this week ;)

For now, I'll leave you with the 1st Annual Christmas Pub Run from earlier tonight---4 miles of fun-ness ;)

Happy Anniversary to us...................

Yesterday was our anniversary.......3 years has gone by SO fast to me!!! Time flies when you're havin' fun, right? :) I'm so thankful to be married to Matt. He is more than I could have ever asked for, and for those of you that know my whole story, it didn't take long to find that out ;) I am, and will always be, convinced that he was sent from God especially for me :) Just for fun, I am attaching our last 3 years together!

Our first Anniversary---(in New Orleans at GW Fins--the place we ate the night he proposed!)


Our 2nd Anniversary------Mint Restaurant (right after its grand opening last year)


Matt and I, with full bellies----- at Shapley's last night for our 3rd anniversary



We didn't get to leave town because our anniversary fell in the middle of the week, but we did have a very nice dinner last night at Shapleys. This is our favorite restaurant in Jackson, and the reason I found a love for steak. I was always a chicken over steak person; that is, until I tasted a steak from Shapley's ;) Mmmmm.......makes me want another one right now ;) We always leave there waddlin' out ;)

It has been a rather hectic few days since I last blogged; Sadie became more sick, to the point of doing nothing but sleeping. We were so worried about her that we decided to go ahead and take her in to let the vet take a look. They really frightened me Tuesday, to the point of tears when I left there. They told me that they needed to act very aggressively with her; she is so little, and had become very dehyrated from the vomiting/diarrhea. They still have her today, but after 3 bags of IV fluids with glucose, she "has some pep in her step", they told me ;)
I am so relieved; We didn't have a clue it would cost this much, but we are thankful that she will be coming home with us tonight!!!!!

As far as the Blackberry incident, it looks like it might survive the washing----fingers still crossed. I covered it in a dish of uncooked rice, to draw out the moisture. Last night was the first night I tried to turn the phone on; It's still a little damp, but hopefully it will be back to working shape tomorrow ;)

I am going to attempt some heavy Christmas shopping over the next few nights------hope I can get it all done soon and make it out of the shopping centers alive !!!!! Christmas shopping and me don't get along ;)

Training is pretty non-exsistent this week, and I am taking full advantage of it ;) Yesterday, I went for a light run for the first time and a light swim. Might try the bike trainer out tonight............or maybe not ;) The only problem with not training for the next two weeks is that I have to remember to not eat like I am still training.................aka--the way I have eaten every day since Memphis Marathon ;)

NO TRAINING + CHRISTMAS GOODIE INDULGENCES = BADNESS;)

Looking forward to the Christmas special at Pinelake this weekend!!!! Hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season!!!

Making Her Grand Debut-----------Sadie Girl ;)

I promised an update on our newest little family member on our last blog post. Well, here she is in all her glory :)



She is only 6 weeks old, but she already has LOTS of personality ;) Ollie doesn't quite know what to think of her yet. He understands that she is smaller than him, but he wants to play with her SO bad and doesn't quite know how ;) He is actually a little scared of her; He DOES let her play with his toys, though, so that is a good sign.

I am a little worried about her right now. The first night we got her home, she cried all night, which is expected. We are crate-training her, so it is hard to hear her crying in the other room and not do anything about her. I think her little system is in shock right now because she has had an upset stomach for the past two days. To top it all off, this morning I was holding her in my lap while I checked my emails; I was getting ready for work and had a load of laundry in the washer. I stuck my phone in my robe while I held her. Suddenly, she started vomiting ALL over my robe; Quickly thinking, I ran to the washing machine, threw my robe in with the other clothes I had just started and went into the other room to tend to her.

Yeah, so I washed my Blackberry. Not good. Not good at all. You never truly appreciate your need for a cell phone until you don't have immediate access to it. I HAVE to have my cell phone at all times due to my job. I am constantly in my car; I don't even have a land line. Needless to say, I panicked. Luckily, Matt has an old cell phone, so I took it to Cellular South and they transferred my number for now. I researched a little bit and read to put a water-logged phone in a bowl of dry rice. The rice tends to soak up all the excess water from the phone. I am not supposed to even put the battery back in the phone for 48 hours. I'm praying that it will work when I try again. I really can't afford to buy a brand new phone during the holidays :(

I did find an interesting item at Petsmart for Sadie, until she gets over this shock of being in a new environment. Check it out!!! Puppy diapers ;) Don't laugh!!!! These things are a God-send at the moment; I don't want her to be restricted right now, because I read that newborn puppies need affection more than anything to keep them well. At least with the diapers, she can walk around us for limited amounts of time without fear of her having an accient all over the place.





Please pray that she will get over this transition quickly. I want her to enjoy her new family and not feel so horrible all the time like she seems to be lately :(

Marathon #10 is in the books!!!

Matt and I had a great weekend, despite the cold weather and short trip to Memphis. We didn't get out of town until Friday late afternoon and arrived to Memphis marathon expo in time to pick up our race packets and check into the hotel. It was so cold outside and later than we would have liked to eat dinner, so we decided to just call in a pizza delivery to the hotel. Good choice since it was so cold outside (27 degrees!!!) and we didn't want to get back out in the weather that night. Nothing too eventful happened Friday----normal night before a marathon-----got our race gear together, (this one was a little harder to dress for because of the cold weather--we decided on multiple layers!), relaxed and watched TV a little bit, and then tried to get a good night's sleep.

I WAS happy that the race didn't start until 8 am--a little later start than most marathons. We were about 1 mile from the start, so we ate breakfast, walked over to Charlie and Melanie's room, and decided to all get a taxi to the start.....ha!!!.......HEY we are already running 26.2 miles........no need to make the legs do more than they have to ;)

Matt and I started off together. You can see from my earlier posts that he has been having some foot problems lately, so I said a little prayer that everything would go ok for him throughout the race. Off went the gun and we paced each other from the start. (Well, he paced me ;) He told me I was not allowed to get in front of him at any time---I have a tendency to want to start off a little bit fast because I get so excited with all the other runners around ;)

It goes something like this:

Matt: "Babe, slow down. Stay beside me".

Amanda: (grin) "okkkkkkk"

Matt: "Babe, you're doing it again----stay beside me".

Amanda: (grin) "I knowwww"

Matt: "Babe, slow down."

******Just repeat this dialogue over and over for quite some time ;)


I really enjoyed (as much as you can enjoy a marathon) having Matt beside me. The last 3 marathons (Houston, Boston, and NYC) I have run completely alone, so it was really nice to have him there, even if we didn't exchange words at all. In a marathon, you go through doubtful, dark times and hopeful times throughout the course. To me, I try not to even think about what I am doing until I hit mile 10. At mile 10, I start asking myself if everything is feeling ok, body-wise. If so, I sort of switch off again until mile 20. Miles 10-20, in my opinion, are the no-man's land. Anything can happen. It's way too early to be happy if you are feeling good, but also I try not to read too much into it if I'm not feeling good.
We both experienced different points where one of us would say, "I'm not feeling it.......it's not going to be a good day." But, it was nice to encourage each other and try to look past the mental blocks of those times.

For me, when I get to mile 20 of a marathon, I start telling myself to "suck it up". It hurts---it's going to hurt--it's supposed to hurt. Like they say, if it was easy, everyone would do it. I will say this is the first year where I have trained my body to push through that hurt. I told Matt at mile 15 Saturday that I didn't know how much longer I could keep the running pace up. It got better, but I think a great deal of it is mental training as well. This was the most I have ever had to push through the pain of a marathon. It HURT!!!! It really hurt this time. But at the same time, I kept telling myself, "get to the next mile marker, get to the next mile marker." At mile 23, there was a big guy behind a tree--he looked like an athlete. As I passed, I think he could see the grit and determination, as well as pure hurt in my face. He said, "Come on, this is what you put all those long, hard miles in for.....this is what it's about". That pulled me through another mile. Once I hit mile 25 of a marathon, I know that I can make it the rest of the way. I honestly don't even tell myself I might reach a goal until I hit that point in the race. Too much can happen out there.

I did slow down the last 3 miles, but they were still under 8 minute miles, so I can't complain. When I had to leave Matt around mile 19 1/2, it was really hard. Part of me wanted to stop and just finish with him, but part of me wondered if I could pull out that 3:20 or better. I knew he wouldn't want me to wait on him, so I did what he told me and went ahead. It was some lonely miles out there. No crowd support and just long, hard miles. I was SO ready to cross that finish line.

Final times for the day-----I finished in 3:21:11. I placed 2nd female in my age group and 19th overall female. I had no idea I even placed, or we might have stuck around for the awards!! I beat my NY time, even if not by much, so I was satisfied by this. I am proud to have even done this, seeing as though NY was only 4 weeks ago. It puts that hunger in me, though, of wondering what I could accomplish if I gave my body a true rest and trained hard again and tried a marathon out on a truly fast, flat course. Oh well, I will have to wait until next year.........Ironman Canada is on the radar, so no more time for marathons now!!! I will always love marathons. That was the first big accomplishment I ever had with endurance events, and it is my favorite........now if I could only convince Matt ;)

Matt finished in 3:34. His foot held out for him and I am so relieved he is not injured. He beat his old marathon time by a great deal. He is satisfied with it and very well should be. It just frustrates me for him, because he has the potential to REALLY kick butt in a marathon!! I know he could have done a 3:20 or better, but due to his cramps he experiences at every marathon he has done (this makes #3 for him), he can never know what time he could have really accomplished. One day he is going to figure out those cramps and completely kick my butt!!!!!!!!!!! I know I better watch out :) I am thankful, though, to be fast enough to run with my husband. This makes training so much more fun, because I know a lot of couples can't train together b/c one is usually a different speed than the other.

We have eaten SO much junk throughout the weekend it is not even funny!!!!!!!!!! We are enjoying it thoroughly though ;) I will put out another post soon about our new little family member we picked up on the way home!!!!!!

It's taper time in the citttyyyyyyy.........(for Memphis, that is ;)

The week has come-------crazy how it seems to fly by since the NY marathon! I did my last "real" run today with a few strides to test out the legs. I really have no idea what to expect from this marathon, seeing that I have never tried multiple marathons within 4 weeks of one another. I seem to be feeling ok, besides a little bit of ache in my left knee since NY----I am hoping this is just the shift to cold weather. I seem to feel my joints more in the winter than summer conditions.

My Predictions for Memphis (yes, I know these are pretty much every outcome there is, but I'm throwin' them all out there ;) LOL!!


1) I might possibly PR due to Memphis being an easier course than New York. (This would be awesome, but might be asking too much--- p.s. I really hate even including this setence b/c I always feel I am jinxing myself by predicting things ;D
2) Pure exhaustion will come out during this marathon due to NY and not recovering enough and I might bomb this one-----(Oh gosh, I hope not:(
3) I might possibly have some type of injury in my knee lurking and it will only rear its ugly head during the middle miles of the marathon and I might have to sit out the rest ........Yeah, go ahead, laugh.......I worry excessively and the preacher said in church a couple weeks ago that worrying is a sin in itself.......Note to self-----QUIT worrying so freaking' much about worst-case scenarios!!!!!!!! (ok, I feel better now.........It's ALL out on the table ;) em>

Matt has not run since last Wednesday......he has converted to pool running to give the foot a break and is thinking of testing it out Friday morning. It will really be a game-day decision for him. I am hoping that he will be fine; I would love to run beside him the whole way---I know we could push each other through the hard miles toward the end. I don't, however, want him to become injured from "toughing it out" on this marathon. He doesn't enjoy marathons as much as me; he would rather do triathlons. So, it is worth him just doing the half instead of the full marathon if it is hurting him, in order to be fully healed by January for the start of Ironman Canada training. We are thinking of taking a full two weeks off from running and biking after Memphis.............Wow that will be hard for me because running is my stress-reliever ;) We will still swim to keep the fitness up. We both feel we would benefit from a nice break during Christmas in order to get back into the groove of Ironman training in January. I want to be fresh when we start back up!!

We will be getting a new addition to the family this weekend as well ;) Her name will be Sadie and she is a chocolate Doodle. Ollie is going to be SO excited----I can't wait for him to have a friend to play with and know that while we are away all day, he is not lonely and sad...........I will feel MUCH better knowing they are together enjoying each other's company :) We are picking her up in Arkansas, about a 45 minute drive from Memphis. It will be a long ride back after running the marathon, picking her up, and driving right back to Jackson. We are just trying to save some money through the holidays by not staying another night in Memphis.

We've been talking a lot lately and trying to plan things out a little more for the future----paying off some debt, where we want to live and options for us to live, children, etc. I am getting a little baby itch right now. Matt just laughs and says, "Well, we can solve that problem!!" We want to wait at least until Ironman Canada is over.....then we shall see!! The longer we can hold off for Matt to be almost finished with his fellowship, the better it will be financially for all of us, and I can convert to "stay-at-home mommy" like I have always dreamed of doing :)

Please coninue to pray for my Dad and stepmom. Her Alzheimer's is getting worse, and he will, in fact, be retiring at the end of the year to take care of her. I talked to her for the first time today and my heart goes out to them. I worry about my Dad and the stress brought on right now through all of this as well. He is trying to sell his house in Texas in order to move back to Meridian. I know all I can do is trust in the Lord and pray for them and love them at this time. As difficult as this is for them and as much as we want to help, that's all we can do right now. God does answer prayers, even though we may not understand all of this right now.

Hope everyone is having a good holiday season, and we will report back after Memphis!!

" Pour some Sugar on Me..........."

LOTS and LOTS of sugar that is ;) The finished Product!!!!! Two days of hard, but accomplished work ;)
(not too bad for my 2nd cake ever ;)

So much to give thanks for on this Thanksgiving day!!!

I have spent the weekdays this week writing out day by day, the things that I am thankful for. While I could go on forever, the things I have included this week on Facebook are----

1)I am thankful, most of all, for my God. He has blessed me beyond belief for so many things that I don't deserve. Thank you God-for without you, we would have nothing to be thankful for.

2)I am thankful that God sent me such an amazing husband. A man who loves the Lord, is selfless and encouraging to me,trustworthy and sincere, and also my best friend!

3) I am thankful for my wonderful family-You have helped teach me priorities and values in life, been there through happy,fun times, as well as dark,sad times, but you are always there when I need you. No questions asked-just unconitional, selfless love.

I am still continuing this list throughout the week, but those are the few that I have come up with the last few days. I really do have so much to be thankful for. We all do. Sometimes, I think we all tend to forget what God has blessed us with---just the basic things of living that we take for granted.

My mother gave me a few quotes a couple years ago and they hang on my refrigerator. They remind us of things that we often take for granted. Here goes!!!!

* Be thankful for the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means you have
enough to eat.
* Be thankful for the mess you clean up after a party, because it means you have
been surrounded by friends.
* Be thankful for the taxes you pay, because it means you're employed.
* Be thankful that your lawn needs mowing and your windows need fixing, b/c
it means you have a home.
* Be thankful for the heating bill, because it means you are warm.
* Be thankful for the laundry, b/c it means you have clothes to wear.
* Be thankful for the space you find at the far end of the parking lot, b/c it
means you can walk.
* Be thankful for the lady who sings off-key behind you in church, b/c it means
you can hear.
* Be thankful when people complain about the government, b/c it means we have
freedom of speech.
* Be thankful for the alarms that goes off in the early morning hours, b/c it
means you're alive.


Hope you enjoy those as much as me!!! In other news this week, I have spent the last two days baking a HUGE birthday cake for Matt's mother's 50th birthday tomorrow. Wow!!! I did not have a clue the labor this thing would take ;)
By the numbers, I went through over 1 carton of eggs 16 (yes, 16) sticks of butter (can you feel your arteries clogging as we speak??;p) 2 bags of flour, 2 bags of sugar, 1 gallon milk, and 5 boxes of confectioner's sugar..........and a few other things like fondant, decorations, etc. that I am forgetting to include.

I only had 3 cake pans, but each layer required 3 cake pans each----that meant baking them all separately, cleaning the pans, and baking again.........did I mention I made this cake from scratch........as well as the buttercream icing???!! Oh yeah............last night the baking process alone took 7 hours, with 2 hours of carving and icing. Matt carved out the layers to make them appear "topsy-turvy". ---Don't think I could have done that part without him!! Tonight consisted of decorating the remainder of the cake with fondant, etc. Total cakes = 8 cakes, although in the photos I post later it appears to only be 3 layers. It's called a topsy-turvy cake........I hope she loves it ;)


I think Matt has converted to only aqua-jogging until the marathon. He is be extra-cautious with his foot, because he definitely doesn't want an injury right now leading into Ironman Canada training for next season. I am feeling much better than the previous weeks after NY marathon--not feeling that sluggish feeling anymore. I even pushed myself on mile repeats this morning (which I have a hard time doing alone, especially on a cold morning when I'm tired already from the weekly mileage.) Taper for Memphis has begun, and I plan on enjoying next week thoroughly ;) We plan on taking a couple weeks almost completely off after Memphis marathon in order to rest up and recover and really prepare ourselves for the big triathlon season ahead........I know Matt is excited!! (especially to be done with marathon training ;)

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and gobble up plenty of good food ;)

How to take out a mailbox in 2 seconds flat, using only a Goldendoodle ---by Amanda Cassell

The Innocent Party
The Guilty Party (aka Mailbox Murderer) ---Wanted Dead or Alive



Oh the adventures Ollie dog, Matt, and I have shared.............and to think--we are actually getting yet ANOTHER doodle, you ask yourself??!!! We have truly lost our mind ;) Well, crazy loves company,or so they say........we will have one house full of CRAZY come mid-December in the Cassell household----with an added bonus of a chocolate doodle puppy ;) I just feel so sad for Ollie dog when I come home at lunch and he is looking all lonely and pitiful:( He needs a friend!!! Especially since he is a spoiled little booger already. If we get him a friend to stay entertained with, once we have children, he shouldn't feel so neglected and both of the dogs will have a chance to mellow out a little more by the time the kids arrive. Ollie has actually become quite mellow in the last couple months. We have a hard time getting him up in the morning, and when I come home, he is sprawled out on the couch sleeping...he fell asleep with his body across the couch and his head on my shoulder at 6 pm the other night....out snoring in 5 seconds once his head hit my shoulder! ha ;)

Ok, on to the adventure from yesterday evening---Matt had to go to journal club at the hospital, so I decided I would take Ollie for a little run. I was only going to take him for a couple miles---you should see how excited he gets when I grab the leash~ He was doing great, running with me--he holds about an 8:30 mile--We were on our last mile home and before I know it, he has wrapped the retractable leash around a mailbox, pulled it out of the ground, and is dragging the mailbox in his leash, all in a matter of seconds!!!!!! OMG---I looked around to see if we were causing a scene, unwrapped the leash, and Ollie is just sitting there, looking at me like, "What did I dooooo??" I yelled at him to stay, observed the mailbox for a second, and realized the wood holding it into the ground was rotted and it appeared that someone had placed it back in the hole in the ground temporarily (Whew, maybe Ollie DIDN'T do the damage!) No one was home, so all I could do was pick the leash back up and run the rest of the way home with him and my red-faced self. Ollie never even batted an eyelash at the poor mailbox. How do I always get myself into these situations??!! I have to go back and let someone know what happened today though----hopefully they will tell me it was already broken, like I assume.

This week has been very tiresome for me, training wise. I think I am hitting the burn-out phase of multiple marathoning. A great deal of my marathon training is that I have a great mental toughness when I set a goal for something. NY Marathon was a big goal for me, and when I was pleased with my time, Memphis was sort of on the back burner. I still want to do very well with Memphis marathon, but my mental attitude since NY is not there right now. It's a struggle to be able to get up in the early mornings, now that it's cold, and even though I do make myself get up, the run's are tiresome and I am just trying to push throught them. This morning, for instance, the alarm went off at 4:15 am. Matt always gets out of bed first. Ollie dog always jumps in the bed when Matt gets out (he is taking advantage of "alpha dog" haha!)

I lay around for ohhhhh.........20 more minutes ;)

THE SCENARIO

Matt(4:15am) -- "Morning Babe, get up"

Amanda--"nnooooooooooo.........I'm so tiiiiiiirrreedddd Mattt"

Matt-(4:25am) (after eating a snack) Amanda, you gotta get out of the bed"

Amanda-- "Matt, I'm sooooooo tired......I just wanna sleepppppppp.....I'm so tired I feel nauseousssssss:( Just a few more minutesssssssssss.........(in my pleading voice)

Matt-(4:30am) (Ollie is now laying on one side of the bed,on his back-with legs sprawled in the air,snoring--I'm on the other side, on my back, pretending to be asleep, hoping Matt will leave the room for another 5 minutes ;)
"You two are something else---what am I going to do with you?? Lazy, lazy, lazy"

Amanda- I promise I am getting up RIGHT now...........(did that sound persuasive, I wonder to myself? Maybe he will leave the room for just 5 more minutes ;)

Matt- (4:35am) (after checking his email) "All right babe, come on".......(picking me up, placing each foot on the ground one at a time, and this morning carrying me into the bathroom ---(while Ollie is trying to jump up in his arms at the same time b/c he is jealous)........All right, now you're up........get READY babe!!!! ;)

It's actually pretty entertaining to watch, I would imagine ;) Can we say SLEEP DEPRIVED???!!!!! hahaha!! Once I'm up and the run is over, I am a new woman..........(the steps to get me to that point, however, are a little much!)


Do not fret, however; This is not an everyday occurance (Well, it's only an occurance when Matt has to be done with running 12 miles before it's even LIGHT outside!!!!!! I'm not a complete lazy bum, I promise ;) I am just a big fan of sleep and comfort, none of which you can accomplish when running 12 milers before the sun comes up ;p)

I hope I am just suffering from a little post-marathon fatigue and not overtraining syndrome. My pace hasn't slowed very much---everything just seems to take more effort and with my mental toughness of having a goal to attain, it's harder than ever. Hope I get it back before Memphis or it ain't gonna be pretty ;(
Hopefully the taper after next week will do me some good. I need to start getting better sleep at night and tryihng not to be so stressed over things like the big month of patients at work (can't complain about more business), Christmas gifts, friends and family I am praying for in which I have no control over, etc.

I am going to take it all in stride and do what I so often tell others........"One day at a time, One day at a time"...........or at least until Ollie murders another neighborhood mailbox ;)

New York Marathon race report ----- and wonderful 8 day vacation ;)

Long time, no blog ;) I have been SO busy at work since I got back and getting things back to normal since we left for NYC that I haven't had time to post. So, on to the race report! After eating a great meal with friends of pizza at John's pizzeria off Times Square the night before the marathon, we were off to bed. (But not before I had a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery---yum :) I didn't sleep very well, but then again I never do before race day. I always make sure to get a good night's sleep 2 nights out instead and I am alway great on race day. 4 am came bright and early---got all my racing things together (much more easy than a triathlon :) and met Rick, a friend from Meridian, in the lobby of our hotel. We had to walk about 9 blocks to the buses for the marathon, which would drop us off at Staten Island to wait for the race to begin. And wait we did...........from 6am until 10 am !! Luckily, we got a spot in a big tent (never mind being packed like sardines---Hey, I was warm and not complaining ;) I tried to chill out and rest, but that's hard to do when you have to sit indian-style for almost 4 hours ;) There was a light drizzle outside and it was chilly, but it did end up clearing before the start of the race. I waited about 2 hours before the race to eat my peanut butter and bagel. Ok, so I had made multiple visits to the Port-a-pot during those 4 hours, due to hydrating so much that morning. I had one hour before my wave began, so I decided to make one final trip. Big mistake!!! Because I was in the first wave, we were to begin with the pro men, at 9:40 am. I stood in line for 45 minutes!!!!! Yes, 45 minutes, waiting for the #$%^! Port-a-pot!!!!!! Once I started looking for my wave start, I realized that we had camped out in the furtherest spot from the start.......awesome! So, I was running around like a mad woman, asking everyone where my wave was........It sounds like a simple thing, but when you are around 45,000 other runners, 50% who are foreign and don't speak English, it's not so simple. I was in the blue wave--easy enough......except for the fact that there were 3 different bibs that were blue. Blue bibs for wave start 1, blue bibs for wave start 2, and I don't even know what the other bibs were. A guy directed me to the wrong blue wave........ughh.....I will spare you the rest of the details, but I ended up running an extra mile to find the area I needed to be. I finally found my wave start--it was 9:30am.......whew! 10 minutes before the wave takes off.....except for the fact that they had blocked off my wave already and wouldn't allow me to jump in. Fantastic!!! This is getting off to a bad start, I told myself! I proceeded to jump in with the 2nd wave, whose numbers begin with 23,000. I was in the 9,000 wave........yeah, that's how many people were in front of where I was to begin :( Oh well.......what can you do? The positive side to this is that I did get to jump in at the beginning of the wave, which meant I didn't have a large crowd in front of me, and since my original wave was 20 minutes ahead of me, I had lots of room before I caught them! I said a prayer for God to watch over me and everyone during the race and we were off!!

The first mile was over Veranzo-Narrows bridge (sp?). It was almost 1 mile long I believe. Coming down the other side of the bridge, my watch said I hit a 7:06 pace.....can we say "not good?" Ughh.......I kept telling myself to slow down....there were many hills to come and I couldn't explode in this race from going out too fast. Lots of crowd support (amazing crowd support-much more than Boston!!!), adequate water stops, etc. I kept around a 7:33 pace until probably around mile 19? I need to go back and look at my watch. There were lots of bridges, which correlated to lots of hills!! I couldn't believe I was holding this pace, especially since my original goal was to go out slow on the 1st mile, then hit 7:45 splits evenly every mile. I just decided to go with it, and if I slowed, I slowed. I felt pretty good until Central Park. The last 3 miles are where I struggled. This is where hills are where you don't want to see hills:( Your legs are tired and beat up, and the last 3 miles of a marathon are a mental and physical struggle anyway. I made myself go from mile to mile. This always seems to work for me.....if I look at the big picture and start calculating how many miles I have left or how much time I have left out there, my mental toughness goes. Well, it worked. I hit pretty even splits at the end, except for mile 24, where there was a pretty significant hill thorugh the park. I heard my name around mile 25, and saw Matt in the crowd! That was a good pick-me-up that I needed so bad at that time. During the race, one of the large bridges was covered. My garmin watch got a little off-track from losing signal, so I was excited coming into the finish line. My watch said I was going to break 3:22. I was pushing to do this, because I was pretty close. I was a little disappointed to see that I didn't have a 3:21:53. (I know that's being very picky, but if you're a competitive runner, you understand trying to get under a certain minute mark if you're really close :) Looking back, I now wonder if I had started out slower around that 7:45 pace, if I could have picked it up and had a stronger race at the end. I am proud to have PR'd, nonetheless, and thank God for keeping me safe throughout the race and injury-free through some pretty high-volume training.



Great race!!!!! Tough, hilly course, but the spectators were out of this WORLD!!!! Even if you wanted to stop, they weren't going to let you!! One of the funny (or Matt might disagree :) situations we ran into during our vacation was the fact that I packed lots of boots----actually just one pair of black boots with heels-----problem was most of my outfits required the black boots to match :) Now, if you have ever tried to wear high heel boots after a marathon, let me tell you it's no fun.............to top off the "no fun", try to do it in NYC, where the majority of every day requires walking. Top that off with the fact that we had to catch multiple subways, which require steps to get down to the subway.........Matt was not a happy camper trying to walk "Grandma Cassell" around on Monday after the Sunday marathon ;) We quickly (or not so quickly with my slow self) made a trip to a store to buy some FLAT boots ;) I won't make this blog too much longer----I've probably lost your attention by now ;) We did LOTS in NYC though------saw the play "Wicked"---absolutely wonderful!!! Central Park had to be my favorite place---we did a couple runs before and after the marathon, and it has to be the most beautiful during the Fall. Amazing colors and just gorgeous scenery everywhere!!!

We visited the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Top of the Rock, Natural History Museum, wax museum, Dylan's candy store, 5th avenue (Tiffany's, Saks, Versace), 9/11 memorial, Chinatown and Little Italy,

lots of badddd eating (John's pizza, Ray's pizza, Junior's cheesecake, Pommes Frites belgian fries, Carmine's italian, Tao, Mesa Grill,Magnolia Bakery, Planet Hollywood, ........oh my gosh did I eat all of that junk????!!!!!!!!!!)



I am going on a diet today!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!! At least we had a healthy breakfast and lunch the majority of the time ;) Does that even it out?:)


We had a great vacation---




I am blessed to have a husband whom I enjoy being around so much and that totally "gets" me.......high-heel boots and all Now it's "Back to Life-Back to Reality"(as the song goes:) Things are going great for us right now---busy, busy, busy!! (Well,not Matt, he has a very laid-back month---jealous!!!!) We had an awesome triathlon party on Monday evening with pro triathlete Justin Daerr. He spoke to the group and it was a fun night for sure. It was fun getting to visit with triathlon friends we haven't seen much of since tri season as well. Training picked up for me again this week--Memphis marathon is only 3 more weeks away---hope my body is recovered and ready to go again. I'm finally feeling almost back to normal--my speed is there, just not the tiredness that proceeds a marathon. Matt is going to smoke this one as long as he can fight off the cramps he sometimes get in endurance events. Lastly, I introduced a close friend to Pinelake, our church, this past Sunday. She loves it and I'm so glad she might start attending regularly soon :)

All for now---------have a great rest of the week!!

A lot on my mind...........

I have had one busy week!! Work is very busy this week, but I can't complain about that--that's a good thing :) I have been extra stressed trying to help a friend in need right now. I am so worried about them but know that God is leading them every step of the way right now. Due to privacy, that's all I can say. Matt and I are both praying for this person right now and wish for much happiness for them in their future. They deserve this so much and I know it will come for them.

My father also heard the news from the doctor this week that none of us were wanting to hear. My step-mother has Alzheimer's disease. All we can do is pray right now and know that it is all in God's hands....taking one day at a time together. I am so worried about him and want him to also take care of himself. It is unknown how soon he will need to retire, but the doctor did say that she couldn't be left alone. Please pray that it will all work out and there will be peace with this situation. It is so hard for them both right now. I just can't imagine how hard it must be.

We are in the process of packing right now (I actually started last week......yeah, I know, but I like to get a head start ;) for New York. Our flight leaves EARLY around 6:00 am Friday. I am supposed to run that morning according to the plan.......I really don't think that's going to happen ! LOL!
Matt is still debating over the NY Yankees world series tickets. They are going to be expensive, but I told him I would stand behind whatever decision he makes. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but we just don't know if the expense it worth it. Must decide soon though! Right now, we're just dealing with last-minute things, like booking the vet for Ollie to be boarded while we're away (he LOVES that place!!!), buying maps, reserving restaurants, etc.

That's all for now.............hope everyone is having a good week.

Happy Fall Ya'll !!

So, after ALL the rain over the last few weeks and me growing tired of picking up 3 scarecrows about 50 times after the rain/wind would knock them on their faces, we made a trip to the local farmer's market to purchase a hay bail :) Isn't it cute?!

The good news for the week? Matt passed his Internal Medicine boards with flying colors ;) I think I was more excited about it than him!! Now, one last step-----Hematology/Oncology boards in the future..............I bet he will be glad when he doesn't have to take any more tests!!

Not much going on this week------tapering for the marathon..........never knew my mind would become so altered on what a longer run is considered. 10 and 12 milers are a piece of cake now------kind of like my mind used to think of 5 milers. It's crazy what your body will get adjusted to when you train it with volume.

Plans for the weekend include the Lake Caroline 15K. Matt is planning on racing it. I am planning on running it as a training run with some friends----possibly a 1 mile warmup and cool down to get my last longer length run in before New York..........can't believe we will be leaving in less than a week!!!!!! Matt is in hopes that the Yankees will make it to game 6 of the World Series.....It would fall on the Wednesday that we are in NY!!! We shall see!! Matt is going to work at the VA Saturday afternoon/evening and Sunday afternoon to make a little extra dough.

Leaving you with a cute note, my little 4-year-old niece, Anne Elise, stays with my mom during the week. My sister, Elisa, has started saving baby clothes for me for the future when I will need them. Lately, my mom has been putting them up in a safe spot upstairs at her home. She says Anne Elise goes upstairs every morning, refolds the clothes, and says, " I am getting these ready for the baby, Nana". I think she is under the impression that I will be having a baby VERY soon :) Last November, she was staying at my house one night and said to me, "I want a baby for Christmas, Manda". I said, "Oh, do you now? Where are you going to get one of those?" She replied, "You" :) LOL!!!!!!!

Self-control and Cardboard box confetti :) aka---race report

So, what if your dog eats your 2nd thermometer? Guess it means you might have a hypochondriac dog (according to my Dad ;) LOL! .........and no, I am NOT joking!!!!


Saturday morning arrived---4:15 am, rise and shine---Matt actually set the alarm for that time because he is on call this weekend. Between his pages going off all night from the on-call patient line and me tossing and turning, I think I only got 2 1/2 hours sleep. Oh well!!.....I was just happy to be feeling better! Layed in bed being lazy a little while longer, eating a Clif bar and some Powerade Zero, while Matt got ready for work. Finally dragged myself out of bed and starting getting ready. It was in the 40's that morning............something we haven't seen in MS in a LONG time ;) I was happy because that means a better running day, but also scared because that could mean I would get sick again.

I headed on over to the race---called Staci, one of my old running buddies, on the way, and we met up. We did a 1 mile warm-up beforehand and I pretty much decided then that I was going to be "smart". Now, as Matt can fully tell you, one of the fun things for me about race day is the huge amount of adrenaline I get from races. I seem to get this extra energy out of nowhere and it is what I believe helps drive me on race day. I did feel it Saturday morning, but for once, I kept telling myself, "this race may matter right NOW, but what if something happens and it ruins NY marathon?" How upset would I be? No question. I was going to use this as a training run. I was going to make it a marathon-pace training run, just so I could give myself a little motivation during the race. I felt like if I could hold marathon pace after being sick all week, then you add a taper to that before NY, I have a strong chance of doing well. I also knew I hadn't hydrated well over the last few days, though, and I was scared this would catch up with me. The cool weather would be on my side though.







I will have to say I was proud of myself. If you are a competetive athlete, you understand why. I am SO well trained right now and I wanted to just go out there and see how I could perform. I know this would have been my strongest half ever. Nonetheless, I didn't. I told Staci and her friend, Adam, good luck. The race started, and I took my time. Not to say that I was poking around out there--I was still going to try for marathon pace, but I didn't have that excitement feeling of pushing my body or anticipation of how I would finish. I got passed at first by LOTS of people. Oh well, I said. Maybe they don't have a marathon in 2 weeks----stick to the PLAN, Amanda!!!!!!!!! .........and sticking to the plan I did :) The run was pretty uneventful, to be honest. I wish I could say there was more crowd support, but, Uh, I don't think I would have stood out there in the cold either :) The wind going across the spillway of the reservoir was harsh!!!! I pretty much kept pace the entire time. I sped up a little bit from miles 11-13 on the trail, but other than that, it went as planned. I passed Adam again and asked him how Staci was feeling. He told me she was having a great day and was up ahead. Staci has had issues with a couple of stress fractures over the last year and is not up to full potential again, but she is getting it back fast!




Staci and I did another mile cool down to get in a few more miles and then talked a little while with friends. Staci ended up getting 1st in her division and I got second! I kept a 7:39 pace and was excited that I felt good and think I might be fully recovered from the flu or whatever I had this week. It feels so good to not be sick!!! I am becoming a wus in my old days!! ha!

Matt ended up getting home from work around lunch so we had lunch together after I got changed and showered. I had to buy food for our triathlon team party tonight----I have a chocolate fountain with yummy strawberries, and different sides that I can't wait to use tonight!

Other weekend fun included sushi and a movie last night----Law Abiding Citizen---fantastic movie, minus the gore factor!!!!!!!! Talk about a man getting justice for someone killing his family??? Gerard Butler is fantastic in this movie and it keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time----It really was a well thought out 10 years that man spent planning his scheme. Ok, not going to spoil it!!! GO SEE IT!!!!! You won't be disappointed ;)


And, last but not least, I will leave you all with what we walked into last night after a lovely dinner and a movie--------






Yes, Ollie decided to have his own personal dinner and a reading----with the case of books I left by the door to take to our meeting tomorrow---the books that Dane wrote to have signed(he shipped them to my house!!!!!............Oh MY GOSH!!!!!! You have to laugh to keep from crying. Matt said we might as well just start learning to take this stuff in stride, because this will be similar to our kids! Regardless, of all this mess, thank God Ollie only truly damaged 3 books. He had a magnificent time with the cardboard box they were in though-----Mr. Cardboard box and Ollie dog seemed to bond QUITE well.........................until next time!!! (p.s. Sorry Dane :( I am going to pay you for the books tonight :(

How do you take your temperature when your dog eats the thermometer ?;)

Good question-----luckily I found another one in our bathroom drawer! That Ollie dog is something else!!!! Today has been a rather "blah" week for me........luckily Matt hasn't gotten the sickness yet. It started Tuesday around noon. I felt great and had a fast (probably too fast) 11 miler that morning. I had to do an inservice for the Gastroenterology group at Baptist and it went great---got a doctor to write a referral while I was still giving the lunch, so I was super excited about this!!!! The rest of the day, I just continued to feel weak with body aches and sore throat and congestion---made it through the day and when I got home checked my temp-
100.7 Ugh---this is no good, I thought. I had to call in sick yesterday and pretty much did nothing all day or night........I literally had to give myself a pep talk to take a shower........"come on, Amanda, you can DO it" ;) Seriously, though, I have felt like pure crap. Last night, temp got up to 102. Matt said maybe it was God's way of slowing me down a little bit..........I tend to take on a little too much sometimes, for those of you that don't know me well ;) LOL! I woke up this morning with no fever so decided I would try to make it through the work day. Still not feeling great this morning, but I am taking a week off for NY in a couple weeks, so I hated to miss any more days. You don't often realize how great it feels to feel healthy until you are sick. Wow! It reminds you to count your blessings for sure.
I went to the screenprint shop to pick up our new long-sleeved MS Heat tri team shirts ---they look awesome! We are having a meeting this Sunday with a great speaker, Dane Rauschenberg--he wrote the book, 52 weekends, 52 marathons. We should have a great crowd!!
As for the half marathon this Saturday, I really don't know what's going to happen. I am playing it by ear. But my 3 options are

1) Race it----(don't know if this will be wise--even if I am feeling wonderful tomorrow, most likely I am not fully recovered yet and might go back into relapse--the last thing I want is to not be ready for NY marathon!)
2) Run it as a training run(my plan calls for a 17 miler this wknd---I would run the course since I paid $80 for this race anyway--and do a 2 mile warm up and 2 mile cool down to get in the full distance
3) Skip the half marathon all together and try my long run for Sunday (this might
mess things up for the next week of training-on the other hand, it would give me
more rest to fully recover)

Decisions, decisions........ugh. But, I am definitely thankful it is not the week of NY marathon..........talk about a moody woman in the household!!!!!! My friend from Shubuta, Staci, is going to be in town and she will be racing as well. She is going to do great as always!! At least I can cheer her on if I don't race!

Matt is on call this weekend, so he won't be able to run the race. He is going to try to get up and possibly get a 15 miler in before work (work is at 7:30am !!!!) Bless his heart, I don't know how he does it.

That's all for now...this weekend will be a last minute decison. Weather looks to be perfect at least!!

Rain, Rain, Go Awayyyyyy

Hello again! I am considering taking up a part-time job to build an ark. I really wonder if I could get some business? ;) Is it EVER going to stop raining??!!!! I know we should be thankful for the rain, but man, it is starting to get a lil depressing.............maybe I could start marketing umbrellas as a friend suggested?;)

Not much news around the Cassell household. I have finally begun a slight decrease in my run volume starting today. I was beginning to feel the impact of the high volume weeks. Last week, I got the flu shot and didn't feel good for a couple days after, but that's much better than getting the flu I suppose!

We have found a new love for sushi (or shall I say Matt has found a new love for sushi-I have always liked it!) We enjoyed very good sushi at Nagoya Friday night. Matt always gets hibachi, but I love the sushi. The Nagoya roll is sooo good, although not the healthiest of sushi :D We hung out with friends Saturday afternoon-watched the game, grilled some burgers,and played with their two kids. We realize we are very spoiled now with no kids!!!! The house is so quiet when we come home and we are free to do whatever we please.......we both remind each other from time to time that we better not take it for granted now because once our family starts growing, I doubt we will have many relaxing days :) Our friends told us that as well ;) lol! We also went to the movies to watch Couples Retreat...........so funny!!! I loved it!

Sunday, Matt took his first shift at the VA from 2pm-8pm. It's a great way for him to make some extra $$$. Although I would much rather have him at home, a few hours at the hospital is great for supporting all the lovely trips we like to take ;)

I'm still debating the half marathon this weekend that I planned on running. My friend called me today to let me know that the deadline was at midnight tonight....glad she called because I am somewhat of a procrastinator and would have waited until Thursday night and then my choice would have been answered for me!

I arrived home today to find that Ollie had closed himself into the laundry room......no idea how but leave it to Ollie to find a way ;) He had made him a little bed on the towels on the floor and was napping away until I came home. It wasn't until after I noticed that he wasn't on his usual spot on the couch that I heard a loud bump (that would be him letting me know he is in the laundry room:) Oh, fun times!!!

Surprise Getaway :)

So, my surprise that was "to be continued" from the last blog took a turn. Turns out he was planning on surprising me the same weekend ;) ha! He called me at work Friday and told me that we were planning on getting out of town Saturday after we did our long run that morning, but he wouldn't tell me where. Exciting!! He made it through his stressful presentation, and I was so happy that he was finished with that because I know how much he hates speaking in front of large crowds. Friday morning, we ran 18 miles and got packed up. I'm not the best at packing for getaway trips; I'm ESPECIALLY not the best at packing for get-away trips where I don't know where we are going ;) We headed out after lunch and ended up in Greenwood at The Alluvian Hotel. Matt knows I am the absolute worst with direction and he could take me anywhere and I probably wouldn't know where we were headed. I would blame it on the left-handedness I have, only problem is that he is left-handed as well. Dangit!! I'll blame it on my mom for inheriting it from her then ;)

For any of you who haven't visited this place, it is really amazing! It's a little chic boutique in the middle of nowhere, with a spa and a Viking cooking school across the street from the hotel. I was impressed!!! That night, we made a Southern Italian dinner, which consisted of Italian Wedding Soup, Chicken Parmesan over sauteed eggplant, herb and olive oil pasta, salad, and a dessert which they had pre-made for us. It was VERY hands-on and we started cooking around 6pm and left the school around 9pm. They pass out bottles of complimentary red and white wine, and give you snacks beforehand so you don't get too hungry. The meal was fantastic!!! I would highly recommend going here for a getaway weekend! The beds in the hotel are plush and huge!! The shower is a very large walk-in sit down type marble shower with huge glass doors. It is an amazing place!











Matt is so unbelievably good to me. I don't deserve him!! God has really blessed me and I am not ever going to take it for granted. It was the perfect getaway for both of us and we slept in on Sunday and then had a huge,full breakfast waiting when we woke up----cheese grits, biscuits/gravy, ham and bacon, waffles/bagels, eggs....everything you could ask for.....and the best part is that it was FREE ;) Yum!!

In other news, I hit 70 miles this week on my run volume for the first time ever! Ollie completed those last 3 miles with me in the rain :) It was a fun experience, to be honest ;) We were running an 8:10 mile yesterday......go Ollie!! Only 4 more weeks until New York Marathon........legs don't fail me now! I don't know if this heavy volume training is going to help make me any faster or if I will get worn down from all the training, but I have always wanted to try a heavy volume type marathon training, so we will find out. That way, I will have at least tried it out and know what the experience is like. I thought there was no way I could ever manage heavy volume running, but so far it hasn't been bad. I am through in the morning very early, but I am more exhausted at the end of the day. I have been taking LOTS of ice baths and sporting the compression socks under my scrubs at work during the day ;) ha! Definitely getting in the nutrition I need after hard workouts must be helping as well. I have grown to love lowfat chocolate milk after hard, long workouts!!

Please say a prayer for my little niece, Ann Elise. She has the swine flu :( Also, my stepmother needs many prayers lately. She is having a hard time with her memory and my dad is scared it is Alzheimer's......I sure hope not. I am praying that they both get better soon and if you would lift them up in your prayers, I would be very grateful.

Until next time................

If we could all just live by these verses............

I posted a couple verses from Matthew 22:36-40 under our blog title today. These are a few of Matt's favorite verses and they really do give you the key to living a Godly life. If we could all just live by these verses alone, the world would be a better place. I ran alone on Thursday morning around the reservoir. Matt and I both agree that there is something about running in the cool weather, when it is still dark and most of the world is still asleep. It is so peaceful when you can hear your feet hitting the pavement, seeing your breath in the air from the coldness of the morning. I listened to a mix of Jeremy Camp while I was running and it was my time with God. I seem to think most clearly when running. My mind wanders from nothing to anything on my runs alone. I stopped and took a picture of the sunrise because it was so beautiful that morning.



I went to Meridian, my old home, for work this week. I ran into a lot of good friends there on my visit. Matt and I are going to have to make a decision by next year on where we will continue our future. We are still undecided but are hoping that God will let us know somehow where we should start a new family together. That run helped me to realize not to worry about little things. God has a plan for us all and He knows our future----there is no sense in worrying---there is a peace in knowing that it is all in His hands.

On another note, Matt has finished his very stressful month. Today is a big day for him---he has to give a presentation and he is very uneasy in front of large crowds. I know he will end up doing great, but I know he is super-stressed and ready for this day to be over ;) I have a little surprise for him tonight :)......to be continued!

P.S. We are OFFICIALLY Ironman Canada 2010 trainees as of January 1st, 2010 :) Yay!!!! We got signed up last night!

Thank you God for a cool morning!!!!

This morning was a God-send for certain! It is absolutely amazing the difference temperature/humidity makes when it comes to training. Matt's schedule at the hospital this month has left him no choice but to train EARLY in the morning since he has to be at work so early. I woke up with him one morning last week at 4:00 am........not my choice for a wake-up call ;) He amazes me at being able to wake up and put in the miles that early, get to work on time at the hospital, see all of his patients, still help with the chores around the house, and usually come home in a good mood everyday. I'm not so sure I could handle the accumulation of early mornings quite like he does...........the grumpiness in me usually comes out when my sleep starts lacking ;)

I had a particulary interesting run last week I would like to share. Let's just say it didn't go as planned, to say the least. I started very early to run 14 miles. I didn't check the weather, but Matt said he had checked Accuweather the night before and no chance of rain until later in the morning. He got up super early again and I just wanted an extra hour. All went well to start the run, besides the fact that I feel like I have exercise-induced asthma the first few miles due to the humidity we had last week! I started running with my Blackberry a few months ago---I just plug in my headphones, start up Pandora, and go. This gives me a wide variety of songs so I don't have to listen to the repetitious ones on my Ipod. I saw a few friends along the Reservoir, all was well, good run, life is good.......................until the bottom dropped out. I don't just mean a little rain, people. It was FLOODING!!!!!!! I don't usually get embarrased when I am running in the rain, but that day I was. I was praying that cars could even see me, as the rain was pouring so hard I could barely see. My shoes felt like they weighed 10 pounds and did I mention I still had 8 mile before I finished the run??! At first, I said, "what the heck? A little rain might cool things off a bit." I kinda grinned about it and just took it in stride. After the 2nd mile of pouring rain, I really wasn't lovin' life ;) I was trying to hide my Blackberry so it wouldn't get wet---tried the sports bra........uh.....no. Tried to put it in the mini-pocket in my running shorts-negative-too small. Hmmm........Oh well. Nothing was going to work. I was just praying it might still work when I got back to my car. I finally got back to my car and was relieved to have the run over. I reached in my pocket to get my key out and whatta ya know? Yep, NO key. Fabulous!!!! I have a Blackberry that is no longer working and now I can't get into my car. This day is not looking so good ;)

I went into the gas station and asked the clerk if I could please use her phone. She said, "Baby, u a lil wet, ain't ya?" ha!! Understatement. I called Matt and he had to get through his rounds and come unlock me with the spare key. I ended up having to buy a new Blackberrry and still haven't found my key. Oh well, what doesn't kill ya right?!!!!

In other news, we are still watching the live feed for Ironman Canada so we can pull the trigger. Once it hits 100 spots available, we are signing up ! I am feeling stronger every week on my long runs and tempo runs. I ran 15 miles this morning at an average 7:45 pace. The last 5 miles were all at a 7:20-7:30 pace, so I can feel my running legs improving. I did speedwork on Monday- 1/2 mile repeats, so my legs were still tired from this and from the 21 miler on Saturday. I was very happy to hold that pace today considering yesterday's speed work and my heavy mileage lately......I think the cool weather motivated me and I was so happy to be able to breathe!!!!!! Matt is clearly ready to be back on his new bike more and I am getting the itch to bike and swim more too. We are still aiming for 2-3 times per week of swimming, although the volume is way down from triathlon training. I am ready for a vacation in New York!!!!!!!! We are trying to book things a little more before we are too late.

Below are some photos of the house we will be staying at next August with some of the IM Canada crew from our tri team. It looks SWEET! Check out the view from the deck!!!!!