Sea turtle Sweetheart Half Marathon - 2-14-26

 Someone said … what is Galentines day anyway….  So I googled it to be sure 😁. 

A holiday usually February 13.. day b4 Valentines dedicated to celebrating female friendships.   To honor, appreciate, and strengthen bonds with female friends.  How perfect is that for our group!    Each of you strengthen me and inspire me! 💗💗.  Thankful for our weekend together 💗. Let’s do it again soon 😁

What a beautiful weekend!  Penny’s husband even placed in the 5K ❤️💪.   Candy also placed in the half marathon 💪.   Love the half distance over a marathon any day 🤣🤪💗💗.   Thankful candy was my valentine and shared a room with me 🥰. Sorry Michelle Rice Hatton but she was mine this weekend 🤣🤣. 

#untilthenextone #memories #friendship #runningmotivation #ValentinesDay2026

Medal Monday, Finishing Half Marathon 54

Thankful for a finish. 

Giving God all the glory.

I got this book at the expo.  This guy was shot 5 times while saving coworkers … Set a goal to run 50 states, 50 marathons in 50 weeks …..   I want to read it to hear his whole story.  ❤️

Here are a few pics from the weekend:

Molten Mohawk Niner - 2026

February 2026

Molten Mohawk Niner done! ✔️. 🥵 and humid !! Penny Pruitt Smith and I decided to just have a FUN run and walk jog 🤪😁.   Love this crazy group!   Can’t believe it will be back 50 and 20 degrees next week after the sweat 😥 from today!   Local race in Hattiesburg.  We love the organization, but maybe not the hills so much. 😛   Pics from the race this morning.

Daufuskie Island Marathon - Jan, 2026

 

Marathon #40

State #22

Starting 2026 off with some amazing women on a little Island called Daufuskie, SC 

Island was beautiful.  Marathon weather was perfect.  Nice and cool.   Course was not so cool.  It was a 2 loop course.  we ran a couple of miles on sand! And had to do that 2X! Know how it feels to run in the sand or walk in the sand on the beach 🤨🧐🙃🫣… followed by some packed dirt with rocks 🙁😩.  But the last 2 miles down the beach line was a “wow” moment for me.  Absolutely stunning when we ran over that bridge and onto the beach sidewalk.   Certainly not a fast run for me… but i was honored to finish with Virginia 💗💪🎊 and forward is movement.. no matter the pace.  

Virginia had not done a marathon in 10 years and decided this was her one to come back …. So of course we all jumped on the wagon.   12 women in one house for The Weekend … talk about some laughs and bonding. 🥰

We had some new women that had not traveled with our little group and I hope we didn’t scare them off 🙃🤣🥰.  We loved having you girls join us!  

Until next time… don’t let the day go by without knowing how much I enjoyed all of you this weekend! 💗💗 see ya at the next run! 🏃🏻‍♀️   Here are a few pics from our fabulous weekend in SC

Some said I didn't get the "red" memo.  ha.   

My 2025 Recap on races

 

List of races completed in 2025:

1. Steam whistle 12K 1-1-25

2. MM9R - 9 miler 2-22-25

3. Tokyo Marathon  3-2-25

4. Kentucky Derby Half Marathon 4-26-25

5. Washington Half Marathon 6-21-25

6. Twin Cities Marathon 10-5-2025

7. Battleship 12K 11-16-25

8. Hobble Gobble 5 Miler 11-27-25

9. St. Jude Half Marathon 12-6-25

10. Jingle Jog 5K 12-13-25

If you noticed there is only TWO marathons in that list.  It's been a difficult running year for me.  I started off the year coming off a bad experience with a kidney stone that had put me in the hospital for a week with lingering issues for 3-4 months.  My body was toast with being put to sleep several times, etc.  But I knew I had Tokyo coming up in March so I tried to press on with training as best I could.  I actually felt pretty decent by the time the race rolled around... my normal pace was not quite up to par, but I was able to run and had a couple of good LONG runs leading up to the race.  Then as I've mentioned back in my Tokyo race recap, I got sick during the race.  We believe it was the hydration they had on the course.  Whatever it was, it did a number on me and I barely walked to finish within the time limit.  😟 But I got my 6 star finisher medal for completing 6 major races. 

AND then on top of all that, my sciatic, hip and plantar fasciitis decided to all hit me!  My foot was so bad I ended up going to get an injection.  I knew I had KY coming up....  but I ended up backing down to the half because there was no way I could run a full marathon at that point.  Too much pain.  I started PT and hoped I would be much better by June when my next marathon was on tap.... But that didn't happen and I backed down to the half.  I was so disappointed.  

My PT guy, who is amazing, kept telling me that I needed to get back to strength training.  I used to be dedicated to that, but had let it fall off when I started training for ironman races and more marathons...because who has the time to do all the extra stuff like strength and stretch?  😏 along with getting a million miles in. 😕 Well the smart ones! that's who! they make time.  So, I started back in the gym on June 30, my son's birthday and told my kids I was getting back into it!  My sons works out regularly and I thought maybe if I told him about my gym visits, it would help keep me in the gym.  

Twin Cities marathon was coming up in October, but I knew I was not ready for a marathon because I had slowly been building miles, so I walked and did intervals a LOT.   I had not planned a full a St. Jude so I didn't have to back down there, I just went and did what I had planned.  

So ...... I ended the year with TWO marathons for the year.  It was hard to swallow with all my running friends doing the full marathons and running well, but I knew my body was in no shape to run all those marathons this year.  I cheered them on and actually enjoyed the half marathons.  My body wasn't as beat up and recovered much faster.  My pace is still not up to where I use to be... but hey... I'm moving and that's what really counts.  I really had to take a look deep inside myself and remind me what a blessing it is to MOVE.  No matter the PACE or distance!  It wasn't easy to push those negative thoughts about myself away, but I leaned on God for guidance and he's the one that has sustained me.  😍  I mean really... it's not good for your body anyway to run multiple marathons a year. 😆  I think I had beaten my body up over the last couple of years with marathon after marathon.  It was a hard pill to swallow.  

I took off from running a couple of months to try to heal during 2025, which allowed me to get a lot of sewing done.  I was able to finish all 5 quilts for the 5 Clayton grands.  I was so HAPPY to get that done and boy did they love them when I gave them to them at our Christmas gathering on December 14.  It was the SWEETEST thing ever hearing them say they loved them.  💗

I'm happy to say that I've continued with the gym workouts and I'm finally starting to see results.  You don't get results instantly.  It's just like with running and other sports, it takes time, patience and dedication for it to pay off.  I was actually given a compliment last night at the gym that made me smile.  This sweet older gentleman came over and said he wanted to tell me that he had been watching me over the last couple of months, and he said I can tell you are dedicated, and I can see you are making progress every day.  It just warmed my heart.  We all like to hear positive feedback especially on something we are working so hard to do.  So, remember to share the love and compliment someone today.  It just might make their day! 

I'm happy that I feel stronger today at the end of 2025 than I did at the start of 2025!  I do NOT have a ton of marathons planned for next year.  We have one in January that I'm excited about.  I think there are 13 of us women going and renting a house for the weekend in SC.  Depending on how this weekend's long run goes, I will decide if I'm only doing the half or full in SC.  Then I have one big one, another major and the rest I will probably stick to half marathons.  My goal is to continue working on my 50 states.  I'm not doing a FULL marathon in all 50 states, but a combination of half and full marathons in 50 states which is called the 50-state challenge.  I choose that option so I would not wear my body down doing nothing but full marathons.  So far, I've completed 19 states, so I have a good way to go, but plan to try to knock out at least 5 new states next year. 😁 Which will put me closer to halfway there.  

Goals for 2026 ... STAY IN THE GYM! ENJOY LIFE WITH FAMILY! RUN WITH MY FRIENDS! 💗 AND

My motto I'm going in the new year with.... because it's so true!  

If you want to be stronger.... you've got to change something.. like staying in the GYM...  because nothing changes if you change NOTHING! 💖

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  May you remember the real reason for Christmas and not let the hustle and bustle take that away. 🙏

Recap of miles for the year.. Probably my lowest miles in a few years.. hee hee

Run = 809.4

Bike = 271.3 (super low to previous years)

Swim = 4.7 (wow so low..but I only swam like 2 or 3 months)

Total 1082.4

St. Jude Memphis marathon weekend 2025

This was my 13th year to run as a St. Jude Hero!  Well, actually I didn't get to run last year (dang kidney stone issues), but I was still a hero raising money.  I only ran the half this year and I actually loved the shorter distance. 😁

10 years ago when we had 40 team members run on Team Run4TheKids in Memphis!  What a great year that was!  Team Run4TheKids is nowhere near 40 people currently, but we still have a few that continue to run for those precious kids in Memphis every year.   Thank you, Nestor Raul Anzola, Joe Raymond, Richard Walley, Shanan for running this year!   

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT HAS DONATED THIS YEAR! 🥰  This is my 💓 race!  No child should die at their dawn of life, as Danny Thomas once said.

Shanan and I traveled together to Memphis.  Our room was at the Hampton on Beale right at the start & finish line and right down the corner from the Peabody.  Shanan had never seen the ducks at the Peabody so we went there on Friday when we arrived.  I'm so glad we did because Shanan fell during the race on Saturday and we had to come home after the race so we would not have gotten to see the ducks on Saturday afternoon or Sunday.  More on her fall later.  The Peabody was beautiful as always and the gingerbread display was of the Peabody.  I just love Christmas at the Peabody! 

The weather was cold as usual, but we had sunshine! YIPPIE.  We made it to the expo on Friday afternoon and then had time to stop at Aldo's for Pizza.  It was a great afternoon!

Virginia drove down Friday night to surprise Susan, a friend of hers from TN that was doing the half.  She wanted to come cheer Susan on.  Well..... One of Susan's friends that was supposed to also do the half backed out so Virginia got to do the half with Susan and cheer her on while doing it along with her!  How great is that?!?!?! 

Race morning was a beautiful cold and sunny morning.  Just the way I like it for running.  😛😍  Since our hotel was right at the start we sat and watched runners on the street walking around, trying to stay warm 😁 while we were nice and cozy.   Joe was pacing the 5 hour marathon group so I decided I would run with them until the half and full split.   Shanan was the only one in our group doing the full this year.  

Around mile 5 I came up on Shanan and she was walking.  I was like what's wrong....   I quickly noticed her knee was bleeding, her elbow was bleeding and she was holding her arm like a child does when they have nurse maid elbow!  She told me she had fallen between mile 2-3!  She said she felt like her shoulder was broke!  I tried to talk her into stopping or at least walking and going in with me for the half.  But she would not have it.  She said she would walk and finish the marathon!  Talk about determination!  I could tell she was in pain, but she refused to stop.  

When going through the St. Jude Campus, a man stopped me and told me he wanted to give me a hug and introduce me to a 13 month old baby girl with brain cancer and her family!  I was so shocked that I was speechless.  As tears filled my eyes all I could do was tell them how much we love them and would continue to help them fight by raising money.  He asked to take my picture under the banner before I ran off.   These KIDS are why I do this race every year! 

I finished the half and stopped by the hero hospitality room for some food.   I met a lady there that works for ALSAC (St Jude fundraising group, etc.).  She asked me what I liked and didn't like about the race and why I ran as a hero for 13 years.  I briefly told her my story as I was worrying about Shannan the whole time.   I would of loved to have stayed longer and enjoyed the music and food, but I opted to go take a shower and get dressed.  I felt like I would be taking Shanan to the hospital or even picking her up if she didn't finish the 26.2 miles.  I tracked her and waited.....  

When Shanan finally crossed that finish line the medics took her to the medical tent.  Praise Jesus!  😇  They quickly asked for the actual medical doctor to check her over.  She agreed with Shanan... broke shoulder.   Shanan is a nurse practioner so she had already diagnosed herself!  They put her in a sling and told her to go see her doctor when she got home.  

So we missed our Saturday night dinner reservation and drove home.  It seemed like a long ride home!  Probably cause we were both tired, hungry, and it was DARK.  I think we were both finally home around midnight.  Ronnie had met us in Collins to get her and her vehicle because she was not able to drive.  I worried about her the whole way home.  I felt so bad for her.  I know the feeling of something happening in a race that makes you feel like you can't do anything without something happening... and the feeling of when or if you'll come back from the injury....  It is very heartbreaking... 

She did see a doctor on Monday and they confirmed a compact fracture to the humeral head aka shoulder!  Sling for 4-6 weeks and checks to see if bone is healing properly.  I'm praying for a speedy healing for her.  🙏

So that's a wrap of my St. Jude weekend.  Next year is the 25th anniversary of the race and I plan to be back!  

One more St. Jude medal to add to my board that is nothing but medals from St. Jude races. 💕

Twin Cities Marathon 10-5-2025

 

We all want healing to be quick and fast.   I get angry when it takes so long.  I want God to hurry it up.  I’m sure you’ve felt the same way at some point in your life.  

I’ve had several say to me this week… you did a marathon… I didn’t think you were running much …. 

Well, truth is I had not run much at all in over 3-4 months.   My body was basically worn out from marathon after marathon, kidney stones, hospital stay, Disney miles toting grandbabies, etc.    So, I took off from running and focused on PT.  My PT had told me to get my butt back in the gym.   See, since I was running all the time, I was not doing any strength training.   So back in June I started back in the gym.  It was hard at first.  I felt people were staring at me when I could barely lift those 8 lb dumbbells 😂. But after a few days I realized no one was looking at me.  Everyone was doing their own thing.  Everyone was focused on what they could do.  🥰.  One day Brett Wood .. I'll be back tone, and you and your old mom can compare muscles 😂😁🤪❤️

Fast forward to around mid-August … I started back doing some light running … I joined my friends again on Saturdays after missing them for several weeks.   I still took it really easy with short miles during the week, and I only did jog/walk intervals.   I managed to do 2- 18 milers right before twin cities doing intervals.  But was still a tad concerned about 26.2 miles …. 

I told my friends I would be doing intervals.  I would not be running.  Which you know our group … we only have like 2-3 that really run… Felicia Allen-Basse, and Michelle Rice Hatton both said they would do intervals with me.  I didn’t expect them to and told the group they could all do their own thing, but I would be doing intervals, and I didn’t mind doing them alone.  

Well race day came and Felicia asked me several times what my intervals were going to be.  She had missed a couple of long runs herself and had no plans of running hard herself .. so I told her I’d do intervals with her.  Towards the last part of the race, she had some issues and told me to go on and run … I told her NO… when I said we’d stay together I meant it ❤️

We all 3 finished together.  It was by far not our fastest race, and I don’t care about those results online being there forever 🤪. Someone once told me they would not run a race unless they were 100% and could run their best because results were online forever for people to look at.  🤨.   That used to brother me … but not now.  I’m thrilled to just be out there and cross that finish line.  … remember only like .10% of the population actually does a marathon. 😁

These race pictures for me shows the true spirit of friends running together.  It was a hard race with all the elements we had on the course. but we finished standing up and smiling.  The feeling I had crossing that finish line after 5 race disasters … (kidney stone, hospital, being put to sleep several times for those procedures, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, etc) was AMAZING! 

I know the strength training helped and I’m forever thankful for Grant who always helps me and is honest with me! He’s the best! 💪 

What a great girl's weekend! 💗💗  SPARKLE SISTERS 🩷🩷 And yes I wore skirt for Michelle  🩷

Marathon #39

State # 19s

Weekend pictures.  BTW the race started at the MN Viking football stadium and ran back to the capitol in Minneapolis.    It was a hilly course but the crowd support was AMAZING!

YES we had glitter! 

Finishing together was the BEST!! Love these girls!!

Time to fly home... Ronnie and Be were on an earlier flight.