INKnBURN Ambassador

I meant to post this last week but got busy with work.

Back in July, I applied to be an ambassador for INKnBURN. Well, after about a month, I finally got an email telling me I had been selected. I am excited about this opportunity.

If you are friends with me on Facebook or Instagram, you know I run/work out in their clothing. Some of my friends think I am crazy, and others have jumped on board. I am glad I have found a clothing company that I love. If you have never heard of them, go check them out here. You won't be disappointed in their clothes. I promise! :)

Vacation

Sorry for the hiatus, AGAIN. I went out of town a few weeks ago to see my best friend up in upstate New York. We had a great time. Got to visit Niagara Falls. I have to say it was a blast. It's a must see. We did the Cave of the Winds and Maid of the Mist. Two must do attractions. Next time I hope to go over on the Canadian side to see the falls from their point of view.

Also, while I was visiting her, we went up to Boldt Castle, which located on an island that is one of the Thousand Islands on the St Lawrence River. Lovely castle with a sweet story behind it. Boldt bought Heart Island and decided to build a castle on it for his wife. Before he could finish the castle, his wife passed away in January 1904. He left the island and never returned to finish it. For 73 years, the castle was left unfinished. Weather and vandals started to ruin the castle until the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired it in 1977. Several millions of dollars have gone into restoring the castle on Heart Island.

To read more about the story go here.

I loved New York. The weather was perfect. I hated having to come back home to Georgia. The humidity needs to go now.

Here are a few pictures from Niagara Falls:

Here are some photos of Boldt Castle:

Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? 

Birthday/New Age Group

Happy Birthday to me. Goodbye 20's and hello 30's. Even though I hate that I am getting older, I am excited to enter a new age group. :)

2015 AJC Peachtree Road Race Recap

It's hard to believe this race came and went. It was only a few months ago that I was registering for this race.

A few days leading up to the race they were predicting rain. Running in the rain isn't my favorite, but after doing a half marathon in the rain I knew that this wasn't going to be a problem.

Race morning arrives. I parked about a mile from the start. I used that little walk as a warm up. Last year I ran a slow mile but since the sidewalk was missing in some areas I didn't want to risk rolling my ankle before the race,

The rain was holding for the most part. It was sprinkling here and there but nothing too crazy. I was set to start at 7:41 AM.

We started right on time. Since the roads were very wet, I decided just to take it easy. I have PR'd before on this course but knew that this wasn't going to happen. I didn't want to risk getting hurt.

Mile 1-3 had gone by quickly and before I knew it was climbing the crazy hill by Shepherd's Center. Even with the rain the patients were still out there cheering us on.

Around mile 4 is when I saw a streak of lightning in front of me followed by some thunder. Not what I wanted.

After that, the flags went from yellow to red.

Sometime after the first streak is when I saw lightning again. I am pretty sure this is the one that probably delayed the start of the waves behind me. I knew I was almost finished and that Mother Nature wasn't going to stop me from finishing.

I decided to speed up. Mile 5 came and went, and now I was turning on to 10th street. Past the marathon foto guys at the fake finish line.

Just a bit more to go.

And finished. Peachtree Road Race #11 in the books.

I grabbed my water and shirt. Got a cold rag and a dry one (to dry off my hands so I could use my phone). I had a few friends from the Suwanee Big Peach Running group running, so I went over to the meeting place to see them.

Some of the Suwanee BP Runners

My weekend running family.

Paula and I showing off our INKnBURN

Kimmie, myself, Paula, and Michael

After getting photos, we decided to head over to the ATC tent at Park Tavern to see what was going on. Ended up with some awesome coffee mugs.

As much as I wanted to hang out and see my Mom finish her 10th Peachtree, I couldn't. I was cold. I had no dry clothes with me. I sent her a text telling her to head to Marta and that I would pick her up at the station.

Paula, Kimmie, and Michael all went back to their hotel to freshen up before heading to lunch at Uncle Julio's for some much-needed food.

This  Peachtree was a fun one. One I won't forget. I will be back next year to run my 12th. I am determined to make it to 20 without missing a year.

2015 GA Publix Half Recap

Second half marathon of 2015. I've been excited about this since registration in 2014.

Flat Ramona ready for the Publix Half.

They started predicting rain a few days before the race. I was hoping it wouldn't do anything until after, but, unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans.

I got to the race 45 minutes before the start. Spent that time getting my headphones, phone, and gels ready to put in my FlipBelt.

A friend found me about 15 minutes before the started and handed me a trash bag to use while waiting in my corral. Thank goodness for that. Kept me dry until it was time to start.

Even though I am not a fan of running in the rain, it felt fantastic out there. The first half of the race went by pretty quick. It wasn't  raining so that helped. I did have to keep my eye on the puddles in Atlanta since I didn't want to get my feet drenched before I was even half-way through.

The crowd support was incredible despite the weather. So thankful for that.

Before I knew it, I was more than half way. The rain started to pick up a little bit around Piedmont Park but wasn't enough to slow me down. I kept gone going.

Between GT and Centennial Park, I was getting tired. I knew I wasn't going to PR. So I told my myself to push for a course PR. I did just that. I finished with a time of 2:05. Course PR. Last year's time was 2:09.

June

Where did this month go? It just seems like yesterday it was June 1st. Holy cow.

In 4 days, I will be running down Peachtree with 59,999 over runners. I can't wait. But am I ready? I sure hope so. I haven't trained like I normally do for this race. I have been doing little to no miles during the week and long runs on the weekend. I don't even need to do the long runs, but I want to keep my fitness up there so I can sign up and run a half marathon at any time. Makes sense, right?

Whether I am ready or not, I know I will have a blast running the Peachtree Road Race. I am also excited to see my Mom finish her 10th one. Crazy to think she started this a year after I did. She loves it though, and I am happy to see her doing it. Walking or running, she is out there getting exercise and having fun.

Tomorrow, my GA Publix recap goes live. I will be working on finishing up the Princess recap as soon as I can. I know, I know, a few months late. I promise I will get it up. It may be a bunch of pictures, but it's better than nothing, right?

Change

So last week after months and months of thinking it over, I decided I would finally sign up for my certified personal training course. I am excited to learn more about the one thing I am passionate about - fitness. I am ready to help others reach their goals. :)

My current goal is be done and certified by September. I have already signed up for my CPR/AED training, which takes place in August. I would aim for an earlier time, but have to have that class first before I can take the final.

Here's to my future! :)

P.S. Haven't forgotten about my other recaps. Life has gotten in the way. I will try and get them up soon though.