Irene and all things windy

So.... for those living under a rock, Irene the mighty Hurricane made landfall this morning on the NC coast. (Poor people!) With that being said, we were not expected to get almost any rain but to have a lot of wind. This past week I have been preparing my mind for a windy, raining run. You see... today I completed another half marathon.
Last night, I had a horrible sleep. This tends to happen before a race. Im not sure if its the nerves or what, but my mind races with wacky dreams. (had a dream about getting a dog in doors... like as a pet!, another of how I had another best friend besides Alex, and I was going to this girls baby shower but before I went, I waked around this neighborhood in the dark and came across this 2 story house that was having a show with Elvis in it.. just weird stuff) Lets just say, I got up early. Forget the alarm, sleep wasnt helping. So I got up, reheated my oatmeal and added yogurt to it. I just couldn't stomach it. It wasnt happening. I have been doing this for a week now but just couldnt this morning. I checked the weather and then went and made my egg mcmuffin sandwich for later. (Its so yummy and easy to make!!)
I got out the door on time and made it to the Y to get organized and meet Alex there. She helped with the registration of people and then stayed to cheer me on. (Did I mention the bestest friend ever!!) I got all organized and made sure my dad still had Alex's number because he came to watch me race. (Bestest Dad ever!!) Dad didnt make it to the race start before the gun went off. The first 4 miles were pretty hilly. Lots of rolling hills but no stray dos in the neighborhoods that we went into. (yeah) I came out of the neighborhood and met Daniel at mile 4.5 (I think). I handed him my gatorade bottle and he handed me my trusty running water bottle. I went off again and was running for a good mile before I noticed that he had written a note on my water bottle that said.... I heart u... u rock! (so sweet!) He clearly thought about that and went into the house after he went to his car to write it on the tape to then tape it to the water bottle. Unfortunately I lost the sticky sometime between mile 7 and 9. At mile 8.56 I met Alex and my Dad. I gave her some shoes, socks, and a gatorade for a trade off. I thought it might rain so that would have been a good time to switch off on shoes. (thankfully I didnt need them) Anyways... while I was running before I saw them, I decided instead of a trade off, I just wanted a refill. Alex was talking to my dad before I got there and said that people stick their hands in the cups, etc... you dont know where they have been blah blah blah. When I was running the water bottle was closed so Alex did what was natural and opened it with her mouth... Ahahahaha!! My Dad joked with her dirty hands (or something like that)! Its ok though... I was appreciative and its not like I dont know her.
So off I was again.. I made it to mile 9 and thought... YES 4 more miles to go! WELL.... lets just say that the race people were not prepared because miles 5.5-11.5 there was NO water and NO gatorade. I was prepared with my camelback and water bottle BUT I was running so low on water it wasnt even funny. The first stop that didn't have any, I was not that concerned over but then there was another and I got mad.. I mean REALLY mad! How was I to spend 50 bucks on a race and have no water or gatorade! I tried to make the best of the situation. I told myself, there has to be another station soon and kept thinking it. I learned that if I just drank gatorade and no water afterwards, I would get cramps in my side. So it was sip the gatorade then the water. Thankfully mile 11.5 came up and I actually stopped and poured out my gatorade and filled most of my water bottle with water. I was so thirsty by then because I was empty on water. Like not a drop left. I told the gals at the station that they were my hero and went on my way. I made it to the finish line and was so thankful to have the race complete. I must say that my watch said 13.32 miles and not 13.1 but whatever. I got a COLD washcloth that was much appreciated. I then heard all the stories of what happened between Alex and my Dad while I was gone. They were all funny but my dad thinks we are dramatic in some respects. (hehehe) We got sodas and sandwiches and sat in chairs inside with ac for a while. Alex told me that there was this girl that we both sort of know and she chatted with her for a bit and the girl told her to tell me to come by her table later. (her table was about moms who stroller jog... Um HELLO!!! I am childless! Anyways... I never went by. What am I supposed to say... nice to see you after almost a year...crickets chirping.. you dont give Alex or me the time of day. Um no.
So my Dad ended up leaving after a while and went to visit Valerie and Alex went on her way too. Overall race report... windy, cloudy, and definitely some stories for later.
O yes... and I now know where the Snyders of Hanover plant is. :) I ran past it.

Beach trip and expenses

So for a few weeks now Valerie and I have been trying to plan a day beach trip. YES all in ONE day!! Life on Valerie's side has been less than terrific recently. Her Mother in Law passed in July and then just a few weeks later, her Father in law was diagnosed with cancer and its not looking good at all. (I mean really not good) So with things being so uncertain as to when her or Josh would be going to visit, it has been difficult to settle on a day to get to the beach. So on Thursday we decided we were going to go Friday. I know... last minute for sure! Less than 24 hours to go and we were planning and packing. I took care of most... I mean All the packing. Valerie has too much on her mind. I told her to bring her suit and a chair if she wanted one. I packed snacks including honeydew (didn't know she didn't like that), nectarines (apparently she doesnt like those either!) apples (she does like those) chocolate skinny cow stuff, granola bars, drinks, and apparently the best trail mix ever. I also had a slew of magazines. What beach trip isnt complete without some good gossip magazine? I picked her up at 630 and we got on the road. We ended up stopping twice on the way down. Once to get breakfast and then another time because I desperately needed coffee. We got down at the beach and suited up at 11. (we made a pitstop in ht for deli meat and a prescription)
We spent the next 4 hours at the beach and they were fantastic. We both took naps, I read, and she people watched. This was the first time in over 2 years since she had been to the beach. (I feel spoiled) Last year when I went with Alex, she showed me that there was a public restroom close to the beach so I parked where I parked with her last year so we could access it. Come 3pm, we went up and sort of rinsed off a bit and changed to go and get to costco for a prescription. Then we went to see Amy (Evan's gfriend) She got a job as a vet in Wilmington and loves it!! After that, it was almost 5 and we had to get on the road. The whole way down to the beach I talked about Smithfields bbq. Valerie had never had it and also never had brunswick stew! SO I introduced her to that on our way back and she loved it. :) We ended up getting home at 845ish and were a little toasted and tired.
Ok... so now onto the expenses... I was prescribed some meds. I had the doc call it in to ht because Alex had told me that they were doing a 20 gift card if you filled a new scrip there. I was super stoked. UNTIL I went to get it and the price was close to 150 bucks!! I was so upset, they didn't have it in stock so they would have to order it so I wasted 30 minutes of my time and it was costly. I walked out of ht practically in tears. How was I not warned that it was going to be so much! I called Daniel and he didn't pick up, then I texted him and he called me within 5 minutes. He tried his best to calm me down and said it was going to be alright, there were worse things in the world, etc. He did help but it was nice to have a good flat out cry over the cost. I just couldn't see taking these drugs for more than just this month for that cost.
Since the pharmacy didnt have the drug, I had them check to see if the ht in wilmington had it. The one that i wanted to go to didnt have a pharmacy but they transferred it to another one. So Valerie and I went there to get the meds and the pharmacist said to me... I hate to tell you but the cost is very expensive... do you still want it. UGGGG AGAIN!? I knew it was pricy! He then said, you might want to try costco or sams club. They can be cheaper there. Just my luck, Valerie knew where Costco was! I called and the price difference was 133 bucks.... CHEAPER!!! I asked them to transfer everything to Costco and I would gladly pick it up! Forget the 20 gift card! I was so relieved. I felt like I caught a break. I felt like I won the lottery! Thank goodness for nice people!

Good times and sad times

First off, I had an amazing time at Alex and Ron's baby shower. It was fun planning it with her mom, it was fun shopping for it and it was fun just being there. Everyone that I talked to had a great time! Alex and Ron I think are now set for Rosalie to enter the world. It seems they have all the essentials. Everyone arrived around 2 for the shower and we had a large spread of food. With two cakes, sandwiches, fruit and veggie platters, etc there was plenty of food to go around. Alex kept the party going with a bunch of stories about the pregnancy. People were laughing with her the whole time while she was opening gifts. I couldn't believe that I was there for 5 hours! WOW!!! It did not seem like that. Time just flew by and before I knew it, everyone was leaving!

On a sad note, Hank Myers (beagle) went to dog heaven today. Hank was an amazing beagle who will be remembered by tilting his head when asked about cheese, wanting to sit in your lap, being best dog friends with Grady and Girly Girl and overall a great dog. Its not going to be the same visiting the house anymore.

no holding back

Gosh its been a while.... so to sum up what has been going on, I had a revelation about 3 weeks ago and am not holding back on things. I found myself holding myself back in certain areas of life and have vowed to change that mindset. For one, I decided to up my running again. It has been hot, very very hot so I have taken it mostly indoors. A few weeks ago, I did a 5k and got second place in my age group. There were not that many people competing but it was hotter than blazes at 8am. I was not happy with my time but I did the best I could with what I had. Since then, I decided that I was going to train for a half marathon. This is set for the end of August. I have not signed up for the race yet because if its going to be 100 that day, I wont do it. I have been training for it though. The course is very flat so a treadmill is what is my pain of choice for long runs. (Last week I did 10)
I am really excited about this race and hope its not going to be a hot day. I have already been dreaming of my race gear, camelback with ice cubes, crasins, water bottle, etc!!

Last week I also started a bootcamp class. I have been stuck in this rut of consistency and could use a little change. It has been a lot of fun doing this class 5 days a week at 530am! I also have started tracking what Im eating again. This is something that I used to do but just got lazy. Tracking what you eat really opens your eyes to what you are putting in your body. (at least it does for me) I have gotten my focus back in this area again. I couldnt believe how much sugar I was taking in! It was ridiculous. Before you start thinking im going type A, relax... Im not. I am just being knowledgeable about my food/health choices. So... there is zero ice cream in the house, limited candy, brownies, cookies, cakes, etc.