FINALLY JUMPIN' ON THE BANDWAGON...

Since I have enjoyed reading the blogs of my sweet friends so much....I decided to make one of my own!

I am still trying to figure out the nuts and bolts as to how the site works....so bear with me!

Recent Happenings:

The hubby and I arrived home on Monday evening from a cruise to the Bahamas to celebrate Rob's 27th birthday! (It was a complete surprise to him!)

We had such an amazing time and were fortunate to avoid Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricane Gustav. We departed from Miami at 5PM on Friday evening and enjoyed a delicious dinner and comedy show. On Saturday, we spent the day docked in Nassau and had an awesome time hanging out at the Atlantis Resort! We were like kids playing in the water park...It's like nothing you have ever seen before! On Sunday, we were docked at Great Stirrup Cay and relaxed at the beach all day! Fun times!

Happy 27th birthday sweet husband! I love you!

We are looking forward to a fun 3-day weekend coming up! I can't believe Labor Day is upon us already...time to put up those white shoes! (Do those rules still really apply?)

On Saturday, I will be enjoying a "ladies-only" lunch with my adorable friends, Kristina and Carol. Carol just recently married at the end of June and we are looking forward to hearing her thoughts on married life. Kristina has been married 3 years and has a sweet little one-year old boy. She tells us all about motherhood and all the excitement that goes along with being a Mom! We have known one another since our days at HHS and it is so much fun to see all of lives changing and our families growing! Also looking forward to game night at Lauren's...I just hope everyone is prepared for me to dominate at Taboo as I always do! ;)

On Sunday we will be attending church and then heading to the US10K Classic Family Festival with James, Charissa and their beautiful little girl. (James is Rob's brother.) Charissa and I will be picking up our race numbers in anticipation of Monday's race!

I am getting very nervous about running 6.2 miles in this humidity and enduring the 7 or so hills that this race entails. The race begins at Cumberland Mall and ends at White Water! My goal is to beat my last 10K race time of 56:44. That is a 9:09 pace. I have been training some but I know I have not been as dedicated as I should have been! Let's hope the hills are kind to me!

My iPod is absolutely essential for running! It provides me such motivation and keeps me moving! I have been trying to create playlists for this particular run but I am having a hard time coming up with songs. Please comment...I would like to know your favorite song that gets you moving!

Michael Phelps has admitted to listening to Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy before his races! He won 8 gold medals....so I figure he might be onto something! John McCain has admitted to enjoying a little ABBA before his speeches! He seems to be doing alright...

The question of the day is: What music gets you pumped up?

Some amazing women runners that motivate me...and keep me running:

Jenny Masche ran the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon (That is 26.2 miles!!!) after delivering sextuplets just a year before! I am amazed at her dedication to put on her running shoes every night after putting 6 babies to bed and training for a marathon! Training for a marathon is an extremely timely and grueling process! Kudos to her!!

(I figure if she can do it with 6 babies at home....I don't really have an excuse!)

Paula Radcliffe is the world record holder for the women's marathon and women's 10K. At the 2005 London Marathon she won with a time of 2:17:42, a world's best time for a women's only race by over a minute. The race however is remembered more for a notorious moment towards the end when Radcliffe, feeling hindered by bowel discomfort and in need for a toilet break, stopped and defecated on the side of the road in view of the crowd and TV cameras which broadcast the incident live. After the race she apologized to viewers and explained what happened, "I was losing time because I was having stomach cramps and I thought 'I just need to go and I'll be fine'. I didn’t really want to resort to that in front of hundreds of thousands of people. Basically I needed to go. I started feeling it between 15 and 16 miles and probably carried on too long before stopping. I must have eaten too much beforehand". In November 2006, the incident was voted top running moment in history.

Gee...YA THINK! This woman pooped (for lack of a better term) on the side of the road!!

She might be as hard-core as they come!!

On a lighter note she also ran and won the '07 NYC Marathon ten months after giving birth to her daughter and recovering from a stress fracture!

I would like to tell myself that these women are a genetic "freaks of nature" but the bottom line is they put their heart and souls into training and racing.

Whether or not you have ran a mile in your life or not...you have to admire that!

Don't forget your song suggestions! :)