REST

What is rest? Sometimes as a runner we don't make time to rest.  And when we do, we tend to feel bad about it.  I know that sounds crazy, but it's true.  I often tell others to make sure they take a rest day and then today as I was driving home I was wondering why I was so tired all day.  I kept telling myself that I only ran 3 miles this morning so why should I be tired.  Well, as I sit down and think about it....... Then I recall..... 6 days straight of doing some type of exercise!

Wednesday 5 miles run

Thursday 4 miles run

Friday 1 mile swim

Saturday 11 mile run

Sunday 22 mile bike

Monday 1 mile swim (normally rest day but pool is packed on Tuesdays so went today)

Tuesday 3 mile run 

So that's why I'm tired! I haven't taken a rest day.  I was beating myself up for not going to spin tonight and just coming directly home after work and now I'm glad I did.  It's hard to take a rest day especially when you are training for multiple sports (TRI distances).  I do not know how my friend Jenn is doing it! She is 9 weeks out from her ironman 140.6 race and her workouts are extreme!  Saturday they did like a 87 mile bike ride! She's swimming like 9,000 meters a week! And BTW my 2 miles I swim a week is only 3,000 meters and it wears me out.  I can't wait to see her complete this journey she's been on for months.  It takes a special kind of person to train for an ironman!  If you don't know what that is ..... try 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 miles running for a total of 140.6 miles! WOW!

So how do you make yourself rest?  It's hard! Especially for runners cause we tend to beat ourselves up if we are not running every day.  I use to be real bad at this but as I've aged, I've realized that I truly feel better when I take a break.  So how much should you rest?  Well, according to an article in Runners World:

REST DAY
How It Helps:
Prevents overuse injuries
Restores glycogen stores
Prevents mental burnout

How Often: Once a week

So remember to REST! Take a break from time to time.  It does the body good.  

Happy Training! 

D

FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS

Today when I arrived at church and was looking over the bulletin I had to look twice.  The title of the sermon was "Focus".  That was so odd to me because all weekend I had been wanting to write down some notes on "Focus" but hadn't found the time.  Saturday after my 11 mile run I was tired.  I napped off and on by the pool while reading and then fell asleep on the couch at 7:15pm.  The sinus medicine I've been taking to dry my ear up makes me very sleepy.  I almost feel asleep talking to my boss on Thursday at work!  So I didn't take any medicine Friday at work.  I did take 2 on Saturday and boy was I SLEEPY.  I just couldn't hold my eyes open whenever I got still.  So I never got around to writing notes on "Focus".

I think God was speaking to me today when I got to church telling me not to forget to write down my thoughts on "Focus".   See Saturday several of us did the 11 mile run together.  There are some new people on our team that have signed up to do their first marathon so naturally as we ran Saturday we talked about things that worked for us and didn't work of us when we had ran our first marathon.

Running is a lot like life.  You need to think about your focus.  What are your goals? What are you focused on??  My first piece of advice to a first time marathoner is DO NOT set a time goal.  Sometimes we get persuaded by people that have never ran a marathon to set a time goal.  We give in to their thoughts on time and then when we don't meet them we feel like a failure.  

Don't focus on what others tell you or try to talk you into.  Focus on your own goals.  Your first marathon should be a learning experience.  Believe me when I say that you'll learn what your body is capable of during a marathon.  The goal should be to cross that finish line healthy.  It doesn't matter the time you complete it in.  Cause guess what? You are accomplishing so much more than most people ever dream to do.  A marathon is very taxing on the body.  Most people say they hit the wall around mile 20.  It's mind over matter at that point.  You must remain positive and tell yourself over and over that you will do it.  FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS

As you are training, do not look at what others are doing and compare yourself.  When you do this, you'll only end up hurting yourself.  No two people are exactly the same.  It doesn't matter if your friend is running a 9 minute pace every time she/he runs.  You are not competing with her/him.  When you lose your FOCUS, you will get off course.  It's kind of like driving.  When you are driving down the road and you turn your head to focus on what someone else is doing.. you end up wrecking cause you were not focus on your driving.

When you start a big race like a marathon,  you'll be easily led to forget your goal and fall into the "hype" of the crowd, the runners beside you, the feeling of doing something you've never done, and that jitter of starting a race where you want to go out like a race horse running for the triple crown! But what you need to do is FOCUS.  Remember your pace, your race, and don't let outside things influence you on race day.  It's extremely hard to not get caught up in the moment but you've got to dig deep and remember your training and what your body is capable of.  I've been guilty myself of starting out like that race horse to only regret it a couple of miles later when I'm struggling.  I can honestly say that when I ran Memphis last year, it was the best paced marathon I've ran!  I ran with one of my team mates and we stayed at a steady pace the whole 26.2 miles.  We didn't go out fast.  We remained calm and on task.  It was awesome to cross that finish line and still feel alive.  :>)

So what is your focus? What is your goal?  Take some time and think about it.  Then remind yourself over the next several weeks what your focus is for the race.

As I said before, running is a lot like life.  What is your focus in life?  Are you focused on GOD?

Hebrews 12:1-3New International Version (NIV)

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Dream Big

I've wanted to post about my run team's race yesterday all day, but I'm having a hard time putting it all into words!  Took me all day to think of a title for this post.  

First let me say that I never dreamed 2 years ago that I would be on a run team consisting of 40 members who's goal is to raise money for St. Jude Children's Hospital.  I had hoped 5-10 people would join me but never did I dream it would reach 40 people!  These 40 people come from different places and different backgrounds.  I can honestly say that the more I get to know each one of them there is a common thread between us.  We all love to help others.  

I always hoped that God would lead me to do something special.  I would love to work full-time doing nothing but volunteer work for people / causes that need it.  There is a special kind of joy deep inside when you help others.  I can't put it into words.  Often we are told that God creates us with unique gifts and we must tap into them.  

"With God's power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine." Ephesians 3:20

Planning a 5K race is not an easy task and planning a 5K/10K race is even more of a task.  I tend to worry over every detail.  Our team was to host our 2nd annual race to raise money for St. Jude.  This team is incredible!  I can't say enough about them!  Packing race packets is a task within itself and we had a great group show up to help!  

We packed packets at my office building in a big meeting room which was perfect.  We had plenty of space and everyone was ready to do their share.  Did I mention this team is awesome?!!

Friday night (pre-race night), I did not sleep well at all. I woke up every hour looking at the clock wondering if it was time to get up.  I needed to be up and at the race location to set up no later than 5:30am, but my goal was to grab breakfast for everyone and be there by 5am.  Being the team captain is a huge job.  People that see my name on Facebook on the event page had been sending me messages all week asking about the race.  It's my name people remember so the pressure of making sure everything works really falls on me in my mind.  I know deep down that it's a team effort.. but still the pressure is on and I feel the stress during race week.

It was HOT & HUMID on race morning.  Nothing like a summer day in July in South Mississippi!  However, before we were all the way setup people started arriving.  I looked up one time and the registration table had a mile long line.  These were people that weren't pre-registered! We had 219 pre-registered before race day and as I was looking at the line waiting to register I was thinking to myself that we were going to reach 300 very, very soon.  I started to get all giddy inside.  It was hot but people were coming to the race.  YIPPIE  All I ever wanted was for the race to be a success.  

Boy what a success it was too!!!!!  We've had so many compliments about how well the race was organized and even though people were extremely hot they loved the race and said they will be back. That speaks volumes about this team!  I could never pull something like this off on my own.  You know they say every great leader has a huge support group (well that's what I say :>)).    I haven't finalized all the profit/cost, but I think we raised closed to $12,000!  We had several people that just gave donations at our race.  It amazes me how people will step up and give to our cause.  People that don't even know me personally walked up to me at the race and gave me a $100 donation.  It also disappointments me that some people that I've known all my life never made a donation.  

The thing that really put everything into perspective at our race was when a dad asked me to speak.  He son, Luca, is 6 years old and has been a patient at St. Jude for 4 years.  He's had 2 different types of cancer.  It gave me chills to listen to him talk but what amazed me most is their smile.  All the heartache of watching their son going through treatments, be sick as a dog, etc. and they were smiling.  They were not angry or mad at the world.  I wonder if it was me in that situation would I be the same.  They are truly special people.  These kids have a heart of gold and love life even when they are sick.  What a blessing it is to think we are helping them.

 Luca and his dad. 

True heroes right there! Luca and his dad at our photo booth.

I was beyond excited when one of our team members asked me to lead the kids in the fun run.  I had asked him to do it but he suggested that I be the one.  I love doing things with kids and encouraging them.  However, I wasn't expecting some of them to zoom past me as we started running. LOL  I was in it for fun but they were all about winning.  #futurerunners

My good friend captured this picture of me and my cousin.  She's done 3 half ironman competitions.  She always encourages me that I can also.  I told her she's good cause she's so much taller. Hee Hee

Now to the real meaning of DREAM BIG....I was super excited that after the race we got to take a team picture with Luca.  This picture to me is so very special because in this picture is HEROES.

What is a hero? a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.  Well, let me just say that each person on this team is a hero!  They all stepped up and worked their butts off at the race.  Our race was a success because of this group of people.  Each one has very unique talents that make us a complete team.  I look forward to running with them in Memphis at the St. Jude Memphis Marathon! I want to list each one of them:

Cindy & Jake Jenkins, Philip & Kim Buckley, Amie Buckley, Stephani Mitchell, Nesotor Azaul, Wallace Beasley, Brittany Smith, Bubba & Jennifer Kizzar, Tracey Doggett, Marlinda Skaggs, Sunshine Smith, Serina Williamsom, Kelvin Smith, Frank Barrett, Casey & Mary Ann Smith, Kevin Ray, Daniel & Krista Hyatt, Kathy & Bryon Byrd, Ronnie & Be Freeman, Katherine Murray, JoAnn Trest, & me (not pictured was Celeste & Kristen Tisdale that had to leave b4 picture).  I think we had 32 of the 40 that worked the race. :>)  I'm blessed to know each of you! 

When God wants to accomplish something, he calls dedicated men and women to challenge his people and lead the way.  God has called this team Run4TheKids to challenge his people and he will lead us.  

Thanks to every one of you! Let us now continue to pray for God's direction on our team.  

Capt'n D 

  

Sunfish Sprint TRI - Bonita Lakes Meridian, Ms

OH where do I start???  July 11 was finally here! The one reason I had been swimming 2X a week! The very popular sprint TRI know as SUNFISH.  Friday consisted of making sure I had everything!

If you don't know what a sprint distance is... well it's a 1/3 mile swim, 17 mile bike, and 5K (3.1) mile run.  I did it once back in 2011 and I can say now that I honestly had forgotten just how hard of a course the race actually is!  I guess it's like a marathon.  Immediately afterwards some people will say that they will never do another one and then as time passes they forget the pain and do it again.  Well, I had obviously forgotten the just how hard the hills were on the bike route.  My main concern was the swim.  I'm terrified in open water.  Yep, believe it or not I get extremely nervous and haven't been able to get it under control yet.  I will say that swimming laps in a pool is much DIFFERENT than open water!

The day started off well with several of us carpooling the the race.  We were all on the road by 4:30am driving but that didn't seem to bother us because we love the fellowship of being together and we were all pumped up about doing the race.  Frank, who is always so nice to help me, checked my tires before the race.  I don't know what I'd do without him!

After we aired my tired, we went and placed our bikes on the racks and checked in. The transition area was getting packed with bikes cause more and more racers were arriving.  I soon found several other team members and we took a couple pictures before the race.  Here is me and Serina bout to enter the water.  My stomach was doing flips and my heart was beating ninety miles an hour!

Yes I'm all smiles here, but that didn't last long.  I started out fairly well in the water and then looked up realizing I was not even close to the first turn and started freaking out!  I was so out of breath.  This is the first year that I've been teaching myself to swim the "proper" way in free style.  To me it's much tougher on breathing than the turtle way (head out of water).  My arms, neck and shoulders like swimming the correct way, but not my lungs.  I haven't figured all that out yet.  I think I'm breathing too swallow and it causes me to get out of breath and tire very easily.  Anyway, when I looked up and saw how far I still had to go my heart started feeling like it was going to jump out of my chest.  I started praying hard but I wasn't trusting God. I got more and more scared and at one point I thought I was going to have to flag the canoe person over to get me out of the water (I'm not too vain to admit these things).  I was so tired. I could barely breath.  I flipped over on my back and tried to catch my breath.  When I flipped over I got kicked several times by other swimmers and I even almost swam over one swimmer cause I was on my back and couldn't see where I was going.  It was TERRIFYING!  I think God was throwing this obstacle at me and saying.... "if you really want to do a half ironman next year... you've got to conquer this fear of open water swimming!".  When I finally came out of the water I was literally dazed! I kind of remember walking to my bike and trying to put on my socks and shoes to ride but everything was in slow motion.  I kept telling myself to pull it together.  Finally a calmness came over me and I just sat down and slowing put on my shoes, gloves, etc.  I was ready to ride.  I put on my helmet before I unracked my bike to not get any penalty points and off I went.

The bike ride is brutal!  The first hill after you get out of the park is a KILLER! I looked down at my bike dial and was going like 8mph up the hill and literally didn't know if I was going to make it up the hill.  That's when my spin teacher started talking to me in my head.  She was yelling.. push down, pull up...get up in 3rd position and you've got this hill.  I slowly stood up on my bike and pushed and pushed until I was at the top.  I was breathing like a person who had just ran a sub 5 min mile. LOL  I told myself... OK.. you know the first hill is the toughest... you got this!  Well, as soon as I got my breath back, there was hill #2! They just never stopped coming.  It was rolling hills the whole 17 miles!  I know that God sent me Mel's voice to carry me through cause I heard her yelling in my ear the whole way. Thanks Mel for kicking our butts in spin class and preparing us for this challenge!

Finally after 17 brutal miles, I rolled in and parked my bike.  Now the 3.1 miles running to finish.  SO I'm thinking to myself..... you got this! running is nothing to you! especial 3.1 miles!  But if you've ever ran directly after biking 17 brutal miles let me just tell you that your legs feel like noodles! I was so very hot and tired!  Oh did I mention that I forgot my GU before the swim and before the bike! So I had done all that with no energy kick!  I was suffering at this point but I headed out the gate on the run as I grabbed a GU knowing it as probably to late to help now.  I opened it and was so hot I couldn't even eat it. I quickly just trashed it and went on out the gate.  I really tried to run the whole time, but couldn't.  I felt hot and cold at the same time.  I had chills! All I could think about was dehydration! So I ended up jogging and walking the 3.1 miles and when I say walking.. I walked ALOT! But somehow still managed to run a 10 min mile! I have no idea how cause I felt like it was a 50 minute mile.

I have to say how proud I am of SERINA!  She was ahead of my on the run the whole time and she NEVER stopped running!  I kept watching her thinking I might catch up with her but she never let up!  She really has pushed herself in the last couple of races! Here she is coming in at the finish looking strong!  She also won 2nd place.  She says it pays to be in the "big" girl group.  She kills me! LOL Always making me laugh! I LOVE HER to pieces!

Here's me finally coming in.. (thank you Frank for capturing these pictures)

The girl behind me was breathing so very hard that I was worried more about her than myself at this point.  But I was so happy to FINISH!  This next picture really shows how we all felt when we finished!  I'm so proud of Kathy! This was her first TRI.

Can't you just feel her joy!  I can!  It's done! You did it girl!!! Awesome JOB! Of course after it's all over we had to get some crazy pictures. You can tell by the smiles that we are all very happy at this point!

Serina and I sharing a chicken boy for #runselfiechallenge snack

Nestor and I being silly with my selfie pole trying to capture some selfies.  Hey.....  if you can't have fun.... then you're missing out!

Love these team members!!! Several did their first TRI! I had a great day just in fellowship with each of them!  I could go on and on about this group! They are amazing!

Well..... Until the next TRI..... :>)  Well Maybe.... right now.. I'd rather run 10 marathons than do another TRI. LOL 

Never Ever QUIT! Team Run4TheKids! Always keep moving forward! 

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.  He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:2

Love my goody bag stuff! :>)

Happy Training D!

Day 4 & Day 5 combined.... LONG.. Sorry.... Not so sorry!

As I sit here tonight and listen to the waves and the wind, I'm reminded how blessed I truly am!  I've had a great couple of days with my daughter.  We've spent all our time together because Brett has two of his friends with him so they've done their thing and us girls have done our thing.  We've even shared the master bedroom together giving the boys the rest of the rooms to sleep.  I guess even when she's 25, she'll still sleep with her momma. :>)  It's been really nice!  I'll cherish this time always because we aren't promised tomorrow!

Now to Day 4... #runselfiechallenge Day 4 was red, white and blue selfie due to the 4th of July.  It took me awhile to get my group to take a selfie! You know some older kids think that selfies are stupid.  It was a HOT 4th of July!  Erin and I got up before the boys (as usual) and went on out to the beach.  I had rented chairs and an umbrella from the beach guy, but he put them so far back from the water that you couldn't feel any breeze so as Erin says.... we wasted that $100 cause we ended up just putting our chairs we brought from home directly up at the water to try to get a small breeze.  It was miserably hot!  The boys finally came out after lunch and they used the chairs w/umbrella for a little while then took off walking on the beach.  We didn't see them for a long time.  I thought they had gotten lost but they ended up stopping at the Sandpiper tiki hut and getting some frozen drinks.  As soon as they got back, I begged them to hurry and do a selfie in red, white, and blue. :>)  Erin and I had also taken some selfie's while they were gone.  Check them out.

The whole gang Selfie!

Even with Erin's hurt toe we had fun! 

The 4th was a good relaxing day.  I took the day off from running.  Actually I've only ran one day while I've been here. Very unusually but I needed the break from training cause New York training starts hot and heavy next week.  We did however, get a tad too much sun.  When we finally left the beach we were all starving and I had no food cooked.  So we rushed to get dressed and decided to go to Jim & Nix BBQ for a quick supper hoping they would not be as busy as local seafood hot spots.  We had hoped to get back in time to take pictures on the beach while we were all dressed before the sun went completely down, but that didn't happen.  It was dark when we got back to condo so we skipped pictures and watched the fireworks from the beach!  They were awesome!  The one thing about where we stayed this year is that we could sit on our 6th floor balcony or on beach and watch the fireworks with a perfect view of the harbor! It was so nice to not drive and fight the crowd! I could sit and watch them in my PJs and no makeup! AWESOME VACATION!

Watching fireworks from our little beach area outside our condo! 

The flag towel I bought made a good prop! 

Erin and I actually went to bed early on the 4th.  I had googled to see if there was anywhere that I could swim while I was here.  See Sunfish TRI is next weekend and my swim is the one event that I'm worried bout.  I'm not worried bout the bike even though it will have some tough hills cause I know I will grit my teeth and push hard on them! and the run doesn't bother me at all... but the swim is different!  I haven't swam in open water since I did Sunfish back in 2011!  I needed the practice so I was happy when a link came up showing an open water swim practice with the coastal TRI group here in town that allowed out of town visitors!  The practice was set for 8am so I asked Erin to go with me if she wanted to.  I was happy when she told me yes, cause she didn't want me to go alone. :>)  I raised her right. :>)

So we got up at 6m and off we went to Crystal Beach.  It was only like 6 minutes from where we were staying.  I was so very nervous! I even told Erin how nervous I was and I think she was shocked.  I've done so many things that she probably thought swimming was no big deal.  However, swimming in the ocean in that big body of water was terrifying to me! Plus the yellow flag was waving!  The water has not been real calm while we have been here! On the 4th when I walked out to get cool, a wave literally took me down! I got up real quick grabbing my swimming suit top and looking back to see who saw me go under.  LOL  I didn't realize how strong the water was until it was too late.  I had walked out pretty far to try to get chest deep in the water and boy that wave took me out.  So I was EXTREMELY nervous about swimming with a group of TRI athletes!  We arrived early and I introduced myself and they were all very nice.  It was a small group due to the holiday weekend.  The lady that seemed to be the leader asked me a bunch of questions about where I had been swimming, how long I had been swimming, etc.  I know she was checking me out and wondering who is this "out of town" person.  However, she was super nice!! She told me we would swim in a buddy system and paired me with a slower swimmer in the group....which I was very thankful for!  She told me they wanted to swim .25 out and back to make 1/2 mile.  So off we went and as soon as the water got deep my fear was taking over my body! I started wondering what the heck I was doing out here in the big waves! Then I remember something my friend says.... You are scared if you don't and scared if you do.... so just do it! So I started praying and telling myself to just breath and keep going.  I will admit it was one of the hardest things I've ever done! I'd rather run 10 marathons and it would not be this hard!  Maybe it's just my fear of open water, but whatever it is... I was SCARED!

We finally got 1/4 mile out and the leaders were floating and waiting on us at the end.  We regrouped and started back.  I will say that you float much better in salt water! There was one guy in the group that had a real big belly (no offense)...  But Erin asked me afterwards how he did and I laughed and told her he was the leader of the pack! He was a very good swimmer!  Looks can be very deceiving! Don't judge a person by their looks!  I did survive and it was exhilarating!  They had planned on doing repeats out to the buoy and back after the half mile swim, but it started lightening so they got out of the water and so did I!  The lady in charge told me I had a pretty stroke and that I did good.  I'm sure she was fibbing, but she made me feel good. Be an encourager! You never know how you are helping that person achieve their goals!

Erin caught us getting ready.  Don't be deceived by the water in this pic! Trust me..the waves came! As the storm rolled in, it got a lot worse in a hurry as we were swimming.

Erin and I walked back to the street and had a nice egg & bacon sandwich as the rain blew in at a quaint little cafe.  We decided it would be a shopping day for us due to the rain.  We rushed back to the condo, showered and off shopping we went for the day!  Got me a new purse. YIPPIE.  I swore I wasn't going to look for anything but work clothes but I couldn't resist the Kate Spade sale so I ended up with a new purse.

While shopping I remember it was Day 5 of the #runselfiechallenge.. Secret Selfie.. you were supposed to take a selfie with someone in the background that didn't realize you were taking the selfie and you were to get bonus points if they were running. Well, since no one was running due to the lightening, I had to take a selfie while Erin was shopping for sun shades.  Oh we spent most of our day in that shop! We ended up leaving to only come back for her to buy the shades she fell in love with.  I told her sometimes it's ok to splurge as long as you aren't doing it every day cause you'd go broken then. LOL  So she bought them!

Finished shopping then back to the beach to enjoy our last night.  Oh the breeze is so nice! I could really do this every day!  The water is so calm tonight! I wish it had been this way this morning and maybe I would not have been so scared swimming.  Sometimes you just have to do things that you fear most to let yourself know that you can!  Don't ever let your fears hold you back! If I did I would have never ran my first marathon!  You got to conquer those fears.  So go for it!  Sunfish sprint TRI is July 11th and I plan to kick it in the butt!

Well it's almost my bedtime and the sun has officially gone down so I think I'll enjoy my last few minutes before bed with Erin.  We have her portable speaker on with some good tunes and it's absolutely perfect outside tonight! We called the boys and they were ok on their way home.  I won't be able to sleep until I know they are home safely.  Brett has to work tomorrow so they left a day early.

Enjoy your family! Live each day to the fullest! Hug more and fuss less! God Bless each and every one of you! and remember... I love Facebook. LOL

We made it to Lulu's to check out the new location in Destin today.  It was a very nice big building! 

Good night sweet friends.  

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

P.S.  My funniest thing on vacation.... was getting up this am and realizing that Brett's 2 friends were not here.  I first thought they were all in the room sleeping with Brett until I opened the door and only Brett was in there! Then I heard talking outside the condo door so I peeped out and there they were standing.  I opened the door and the look on their faces was priceless!  They had been locked out. LOL  They sure were glad at that moment that I get up early (6am). 

Day 3 - #runselfiechallenge running shoes - Destin Vaca

Day 3 of the run selfie challenge - running shoes

Rest day..... so I left my running shoes and headed to the beach for relaxation. 

Yesterday, I told the boys since we are down at Holiday Isle that I would get up early and go down to Pompano Joes to the public beach area and get us a spot so they could be by all the younger folks.  See down where we are at so far we have mostly seen older folks / families with young kids.  Well, you know guys around 21 and older want to be around college age or older folks. LOL   So Erin and I got up before the boys and headed down to save us a spot.  It was HOT.  No breeze at all! 

We had to bandage her toe real good before we left.  Boy what a vacation! Starting off with an injury!  We waited and waited on the boys!  My mom sent me this pic while we were waiting on boys.  Today is their 50th wedding anniversary! What an achievement! 

They are at their fishing camp in Alabama.  They took my sister and her two girls and my brother's son with them.   I know they are having a blast! 

The boys finally told us they were not coming to where me and Erin were so we loaded up and headed back to Holiday Isle to sit with them on the beach.  However, we had to stop at several surf shops on the way back so Erin could look for her a 4th of July bathing suit!  We finally found one at the last stop! YIPPIE! (PICS TO COME TOMORROW)

We arrived back at our condo and went to chill and watch the sunset.  I love this time of day!!! It's my favorite time of the day on the beach!

Erin and I sat until like 8pm and then decided it was time to go in and get a bath.  Oh it feels so good to be clean.  No sand or sweat.   Boys are on the deck singing and listening to tunes.  There is no place I'd rather be then with my kids.  I call them kids even though they are 25 and 22! But to me they will always be my babies. :>) 

I saw this sail boat as we were getting ready to leave.  Absolutely beautiful.

It's past my bedtime again and I'm still up.  It's going to take me a few days to get back on schedule when I get home! I didn't run today which is very unusual for me but I did my 1 minute planks! Haven't missed a day in over 2 months!  

God Bless and Good Night all! D

Either you ran today or you didn't! 

Day 2 - #runselfiechallenge & Destin Vaca

Day 2 ---- PJs - Christmas in July? :>) 

Let's just say I didn't get far in these hot PJs... Not in the SOUTH!  But day 2 is done.  One of my teammates that is also doing the challenge was one of the honorable mentioned yesterday! He's always doing something silly! I look forward to seeing his pictures the rest of the month of July cause there is no telling what he'll do!

Check Nestor out in Day 1 - Favorite drink ---  Hee Hee

I did get in 7 miles this morning.  I think since I have 20 miles already for the week and my turf toe is giving me fits that I'll take the rest of the week off and rest.  Erin's poor toe bled all night.  I called my friend that is a nurse practitioner today to see what I should do and she said that Erin needs to stay off it a day or two and wrap it up in a bandage with some pressure so no shopping for us girls. :<(  We laid on the beach in the clouds all day.  It started raining on my last mile this morning and then the sun never came out.  It was breezy and cloudy all day.  I tried to nap on the beach, but you can only nap so long. LOL  

Tonight we went to Louisiana Lagniappe to eat supper.  Here's a picture I finally captured of the boys. 

Brett's been bringing the boys to the beach for as long as I can remember.  My son, Brett is the one in the middle. Love him! 

Food was great as usual.  Here's a pic of Erin's stuffed shrimp...YUM YUM

Then back to the condo to wait on fireworks. We think we'll have a great view of the Harbor fireworks and want to check it out on the regular Thursday night fireworks before Saturday gets here so we'll know where we need to be for the 4th fireworks.  I took several pictures of the sun going down.  It was cool but we didn't have a colorful sunset.  I guess because it's been so cloudy today.  We did get to watch some planes perform and they were cool. 

The FIREWORKS were awesome!  We sat comfortably right on our deck in our chairs and could see them perfectly.  Erin and I have decided this is exactly where we will be Saturday night!

So for now... Good Night Sweet Friends... D