Race Recap & Review: Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon

On Saturday, October 31st- Halloween- Matthew and I ran the Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, also known as RnR Philly. We'd run this course once before in September 2012. It was actually my second half and my first non-Disney half marathon. We actually registered for the race before RnR had selected a date so we got a low price: $65. Traditionally, this half is the last weekend in September but this fall, it coincided with the Pope's visit. So they eventually moved the race to a Saturday in October which just so happened to be Halloween!

We took the day off on Friday because it takes about three hours for us to get to Philadelphia from where we live. We drove straight to the expo, held at the Philadelphia Convention Center. If you do this race, be prepared to pay $20ish bucks to park near the Convention Center. Whomp whomp.

Anyway, this expo, as with almost all RnR races, was large and full of cool vendors and products for runners. We walked around collecting our bibs, official t-shirts (they ran a smidge small), and free samples. Matthew won a cool shirt from the Brooks booth and I bought a new pair of Altra Olympus for $65!

Ready!

After the expo, we headed back to a friend's house (who graciously hosted us for the weekend!) for a home cooked meal, some wine, and a good night's sleep. On Saturday morning, we had to drive about 15 minutes to the race start so we were up, dressed, and out the door by 6:00 am (race start 7:30). It was pretty chilly, around 39 degrees so I opted to wear a pair of shorts, knee-high compression socks, tech short-sleeved shirt, tech long-sleeved shirt, ear warmers, gloves, and a Sparkle Athletic skirt. I also wore a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants that I planned to throw away once I got warmed up.

Happy Halloween!

We easily found cheap (around $8) parking in a well-lit garage semi-close to the start line. Because it was freezing and we were hungry, we found the closest Wawa (my all-time favorite!) and grabbed some breakfast and some heat. Eventually, we knew we'd have to get to the starting line. So we headed back out into the cold to find a bathroom and get closer to the start line.

As we got near the start line (near the Philadelphia Museum of Art aka the Rocky steps), I started looking for our friends. We had hoped to meet up with Kathryn from Dancing to Running, Liz, and Cecilia- all people I've met on the internet :-) We just so happened to run into our run Disney friends Ian and his wife, Shari. We actually "met" Ian in 2013 when he hosted a virtual run to raise money for Autism Speaks, the charity he was racing the Goofy Challenge for in January 2014. Since then, we always seem to run into him at Disney among thousands and thousands of people!

Me, Ian, Shari, and Matthew. Or should I say Me, the King (?) of Hearts, Alice, and Matthew.

I'd been texting with Cecilia and we agreed to meet her in the corrals right before the start. We went off in the direction of bag check (which we didn't use) to find Kathryn who was running this race seven months pregnant! After chatting with her for a few minutes and catching up, we headed back to the corral as the race was getting ready to start.

Congrats to Kathryn (and hubby Preston) on the December birth of her healthy baby boy!

Finally, we walked over to the race start to meet Cecelia. As we were catching up and slowly moving forward (we were in corral 22 of 37), we ran into another friend from the internet, Liz! She blogs over at InTheLongRun. What a day for internet/running/blogging friends!

We look pretty good for it being so cold and early!

At long last, it was our turn to start the race. This race did an awesome job of playing upbeat songs to keep our energy level high- especially with the occasional Rocky theme song thrown in here and there. Since we'd done this course before, we knew what to expect: flat, beautiful course with a long, slow uphill at the end and little to no crowd support after mile five.

We used 30:30 intervals for this race and we hoped to finish somewhere in the vicinity of 2:45. Matthew, Cecilia and I agreed that since we all felt under-trained we were going to approach this race slow and steady.  The first few miles of the course all run through downtown Philadelphia and are very, very flat. The crowd support through this area is awesome though and it really makes for such a great experience. As we rounded one corner, we were serenaded by a man singing the Eagles fight song and then treated to this awesome spectator sign: "Witch betta have my medal!"

Cecilia and Matthew making their way through mile two.

RnR also treated us to some fun signs!

I finally warmed up enough to shed my outer layers around mile five, just before we make the long out and back stretch following Kelly Drive, Boathouse Row, and the Susquehanna River for the last eight miles. Up until this part of the race, we'd been keeping a nice steady pace and not really worrying about the time. But, during a quick potty break, Matthew told me that if we kept up the pace we were going, we were going to shatter Cecilia's current PR (2:42 and some change). We whispered this so we wouldn't jinx it :-)

After passing the Art Museum again around mile 5, we headed out on Kelly Drive. This section of the course is beautiful and the race organizers did a great job in having entertainment every mile or so during this stretch. It's pretty lonely as far as crowd support but there were local cheer squads and even a group of cyclists that were standing on the sidelines and cheering.

We kept our pace nice and steady- Matthew would just give me a sly thumbs up every once an a while to let me know we were ahead of pace. He had a 2:45 pace bracelet on (that he got at the expo from the pace team table) and was mentally calculating where we should be at each mile to be under 2:42.

By the time we hit mile 11, we let Cecilia in on our little secret- if we kept up this pace, we'd crush her PR. We ran under the "rock star's legs" (I remembered him from years ago and knew we were getting close) and tried to pick up the pace just a little.

Side note, there were not as many costumes as I expected. Because this race fell on Halloween, I expected that almost everyone would be dressed up. But, it's not a Disney race :-( I'd say probably one out of every ten runners was dressed up. The best costume I saw was a women dressed as Elliot from E.T. Super creative and well-implemented!

Mile 9 selfies!

There is no caption for this creepiness. 

Seriously, she ran in a full hooded sweatshirt with a bicycle basket, E.T. and  a box of Reese's Pieces for 13 miles!

The last few miles of this course brings back awful memories for me. From mile 11.5 to the finish, there is a slow-grade  uphill that just beats the hell out of you. When this race was in September, it was really hot and there is ZERO shade on this part of the course. You can see the Art Museum but it feels so far away. But this time, I knew it was coming. Matthew and I had prepared Cecilia for it so we just put our heads down and got to work.

The finish line... so close and yet, so far.

Finally, we sprinted up the last little hill to finish in front of the museum. Matthew stopped his watch. 2:39:23. Cecilia had a shiny, new, unexpected PR! I can't even describe the feeling I had at the finish. It is always amazing to cross the finish line with Matthew but this time the victory of the finish was 10 times sweeter. After my DNF a month prior in Akron- then coming in with Cecilia to her fastest half marathon EVER- and crossing the finish line with my future husband- it was just the coolest thing. I'm crying right now writing about it :-) There is just something magical about running and racing that makes all my emotions feel bigger and better than they ever have.

Sweet Halloween medal.

Finisher smiles are the best smiles.

After the race, Cecilia met up with her friends (one of whom is a friend of mine from college- small world!) and Matthew and I headed back to the car. Gin Blossoms was playing as we left the finisher area- they were the headliner for the event. It would have been cool to stay and listen to them but we had a long drive home. The race offered us free beer but we declined. We did accept the bananas, gatorade, pretzels, and chocolate milk though :-)

Will we do this race again? Sure! Matthew lived in Philly for 10 years so we're pretty familiar with great areas to park and how to get in and out of the city quickly- two important factors in deciding to do a large, urban race again. The course is flat, there is a lot of crowd/race support, and the atmosphere of this race is generally laid back and fun. And the course along Kelly Drive is just beautiful, no matter what time of year.

For 2016, this race has moved back to September. Currently, the price is $35 for the 5k on Saturday, 9/17 and $75 for the half on Sunday, 9/18. If you're looking for a big race on a flat course in a historical city, this may just be the one for you!

Close up of the medal and bib- I really liked the Halloween theme.

Have you ever run a Halloween race before? Did you/would you dress up?

2016: Goals, Resolutions, and BALANCE

Hello and Happy 2016!

As you might have guessed from the title of this post, this is my annual "new year's resolution" post. Actually, now that I think about it, I've never put my resolutions out into the universe before (in writing!) so I guess you could say this is the FIRST annual resolution post!

Anyway, I want to start by making a key distinction: I have resolutions and I have goals. While they are similar and connected, they are not the same. From the dictionary:

Resolution: A firm decision to do or not to do something.

Goal: Something you are trying to do or achieve.

So while my resolution might be: Become a stronger runner; my goal might be: Lift weights at least 5 times a month. See the difference?

I've thought a long time about what I want to get out of this year. I'm not a huge goal-setter. When it comes down to it, I think I fear that if I make goals and don't achieve them then somehow I've failed and I'm worthless. This happened for years and years and was one of the biggest obstacles I faced in losing weight.

But I don't want to come into this new year with no resolutions or goals. There are things I'd like to accomplish- both personally and professionally, both with running and overall fitness. When I have set a goal in the past (i.e. Dopey Challenge 2014), I know how incredibly rewarding it can be to actually achieve it. So with that, here's what I'd like to do, find, complete, experience and HOW I'm going to do, find, complete, and experience it in 2016!

Be a stronger runner.
- Lift weights at least once a week.
- Incorporate at least one "sprinting" interval run into my training each week.
- Sign up for a yoga class and attend.

Be a faster runner. 
- Find a training plan that will help me achieve a sub-30 minute 5k.
- Target a few races in the spring and/or fall to try and PR (currently 31:28).
- Schedule training runs with people that are faster than me.

Blog more frequently and consistently.
- Carve out time each week to blog.
- Start race recaps the week or the week after the race.
- Spend time writing about things that make me excited to write about them.

Maintain my weight between 140- 145.
- Continue attending WW meetings each week as a member.
- Track each and every day each and every thing I eat.
- Reach out for help from my support system when I need it.

Find work-life balance.
- Develop "no work email" boundaries (when home, with friends, etc.)
- Invest in hobbies outside of work and working out.
- Focus on efficiency at work so there aren't loose ends to work through at home or on the weekends.

Be less connected AND more connected.
- Establish social media "no zones"- both times and places.
- Be present with people when I am with them- no mindless phone scrolling.
- Turn off push notifications on my phone from social media.

Start "forever" with the most handsome dude in the world.
- Get married in May! :-)


In addition to these resolutions and goals, I want to center my 2016 around one word: BALANCE. In all things that I am spending energy on, I want to make sure that I keep balance in mind. I tend to get a little obsessive over things I'm excited about- and that slight obsession can keep me from getting other things finished or keep me from experiencing all parts of my life equally. If I let one part of my life (running, WW, work, blogging) become my entire life, then the other parts can suffer. For example, when all I do for my running is well, running, then I tend to suffer injuries. When I am balanced and incorporate other activities into my training, the results are so much better. This is true for all of my resolutions and goals listed above- 2016 is the year I will seek balance in all areas of my life.

What are you seeking in 2016? How will your goals help you get there?

2015: A Year in Pictures

Y'all. We are only HOURS away from 2016! Can you believe it??

2015 was a hell of a year.

A comeback from injury... then having two additional injuries... then marathon redemption in Pittsburgh.

Reaching goal and lifetime with Weight Watchers... then gaining a little back that I can't quite seem to get rid of.

Getting engaged... then losing my job... then starting a new full-time and part-time job.

Finishing marathon number two... then my first DNF (did not finish) in Akron.


2015 brought lots of life changes for me- some incredibly awesome, some incredibly crappy. But- that's life, right? There's an old saying that I find myself focusing on when the crappy stuff seems to be taking over: "If it weren't for the valleys, you wouldn't appreciate the peaks."

Instead of a content-heavy review, here's are some defining pictures from my 2015: the valleys, the peaks, and everything in between.

January:
Finishing the Walt Disney World Marathon with my dad, cheering for Matthew and all the rest of our running Ohana, and spending time with our run Disney family was such a wonderful experience.

February:
After dealing with excruciating pain in my left big toe, and being misdiagnosed with Gout, we finally figured out that arthritis was the culprit. Daily vitamins, activity, and yoga have helped me deal with this annoying injury.  

March:
The Shamrock Half Marathon was special for many reasons including being able to run it with my younger brother Adam- it was his very first half marathon!

April:
In the last few weeks of Pittsburgh Marathon training, my left ankle started to bother me- so badly that eventually I put myself into the boot for a few weeks. My doctors never did figure out what it was but [knock on wood!] it hasn't really bothered me since the marathon.

May:
Team McShupp became officially official- Matthew asked me to marry him on the Disney Magic. I can't wait to marry him in 2016 :-)

June:
At the race that started my running career (the Bel Air Town Run), I got a new 5k PR- 31:28. Just 90 seconds stand between me and a sub-30 minute 5k. #2016goals

July:
Mid-summer was full of wedding planning and signing contracts... not so much running.

August:
I finished my Weight Watchers training by the end of the summer and began working regularly as a receptionist at a local meeting.

September: 
Due to unexplained foot pain, I did not finish the Akron Half Marathon aka, the Blue Line. Total bummer.

October:
Matthew and I ran the Rock and Roll Philly Half Marathon with our friend Cecilia and he paced us to her fastest half marathon ever!

November:
We conquered the #stripatnight and finished the Rock and Roll Vegas Half- despite 50 mile an hour winds and cold rain.

December:
Being surprised with a Christmas Disney Cruise? Probably my best December memory. All thanks to the greatest, sweetest, most thoughtful future husband in the world.

With 2015 almost completely in the rear-view mirror, I am looking forward to all the peaks and valleys 2016 will bring.


What was your most favorite "peak" from 2015?

Race Recap & Review: The Great Race

On a Sunday in late September, the great city of Pittsburgh holds an annual event: The Great Race. It is a race that's sponsored by the city, extremely large (10,000+ runners and walkers), and is a point-to-point, meaning the race starts in one area and finishes in a completely different area.

Last year, I was signed up for this event but wasn't able to participate due to my stress fracture. This year, I was determined to get my revenge on this course and finally complete it.

And then my foot started acting up in early September. And I had my first DNF the day before the Great Race at Akron. Yeah- these races are back-to-back. Our wonderful friends put us up at their house in Pittsburgh the night of the Akron races- luckily Pittsburgh is only a two hour drive from Akron.

So the night before the Great Race I was debating a lot on what to do. Should I start the race with a bum foot? What if I had to stop- how would I get to the finish area? What if I walked the whole thing? Could I walk six miles? Would this hurt my foot even more? Was this a stupid decision to attempt this race?

I decided to make a game-time decision: I would make the call at race time. The next morning, race morning, I got up and dressed and joined Matthew and our friends for the short drive to Pittsburgh. We parked downtown and joined the ever-expanding line to get on the shuttles to take us to the start line. As we were walking, I heard someone yelling for "sparkly runner." It was a sweet blog reader, Elana! We chatted for a few minutes and grabbed a selfie. Then I went back to the end of the line with our friends and waited for our turn to get on the shuttle.

The never-ending shuttle line.

"Official" bus stop. 

Once at the start, we had some time to kill. There were a TON of people there and it was near impossible to get to the bathrooms- all of which had extremely long lines. So, I went behind this little brick wall :-) I credit my love of running with my ability to pee anywhere!

The starting line of this race is really odd; it is literally in a neighborhood. People were coming out of their homes, drinking coffee, and just staring at the thousands of people standing on their street.

Starting line before it got super busy...

...starting line with thousands of runners.

At the starting line, I decided that I was going to walk the entire race. I wasn't 100% about my foot but knew I wanted to try. Our friends spread out in the starting corral to what pace they wanted to run. Matthew and I said our goodbyes as he moved up towards the eight minute mile pacer. Gloria, Kelsey and I made our way to the back of the pack so we could start towards the last people as we didn't want to get trampled. My ipod had died that morning so I borrowed Steff's instead- I cued up her awesome running playlist and started my walk over the starting line.

Probably my favorite picture of the entire race.

Because I was worried about keeping up with the required pace, 14 minutes/mile, I was hustling that first mile- I think it was just under 13 minutes! Which was about my pace when I first started running five years ago! It was really, really difficult to NOT run. I was so excited to be racing and my foot was feeling great and it was so tough not to just break into a run.

But I didn't run. Instead, I was power-walking the crap out of the Great Race. I was lost in the new music and the surroundings when around mile two, this man came up and started talking to me. I took my headphones out and he said, "You walk as fast as I run! Can I stay with you a while?" Obviously, you know my answer- "Of course!" I said to him.

Jim became my new running buddy for the last four miles of the course. I learned all about his life (he's a professor for Pitt's medical school- moved here from the mid-west a long time ago), his wife (married for 30+ years), his son (studied art in college), and why he was running the Great Race. As it turns out, Jim was a runner for many years but eventually, his joints gave out on him and he could no longer run. He switched to cycling but in his mind, that doesn't compare to running- he runs the Great Race every year as his one running "indulgence." How cool is that?

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this race- Jim running beside me, me walking fast to keep us on pace, chatting and laughing as the miles flew by. Parts of this course were very familiar to me as I've run in Pittsburgh a few times now. I  knew some of the hills we'd face on the later part of the course towards the finish line. Even with the heat (it was crazy sunny and hot) and the hills, the course is beautiful and offers spectacular views of the city.

And there were greyhounds on the course! Just like during the Pittsburgh Marathon!

One of Pittsburgh's many bridges and river views.

As we neared the finish, I spotted Kelsey making her way up the last hill. I introduced her to Jim and the three of us headed towards the last downhill of the race.

Matthew had called me to let me know he'd finished and that he and some of our other friends were on the course waiting to cheer for us. As we neared the downtown area, I spotted Matthew, Coach Jeff, and a very pregnant Natalie on the sidewalk. You may recall, Natalie had run the Akron Half Marathon the day before and I had stayed with her (and Coach Jeff and her husband Jimmy) for the first part of the course and my relay leg.

Before I knew what was happening, Jeff and Natalie jumped in and said they were going to see us to the finish! My heart swelled with love for these people- especially soon-to-be momma Natalie as I can't imagine it's easy to run when you're seven months pregnant! Matthew snapped a few pictures and we rounded the corner to the finish line. Now, even though I said I was going to walk the whole thing, I may have ran in the last .1 mile :-)

Coach Jeff, Natalie, Me, and new friend Jim.

We crossed the finish line, exchanged emails, grabbed a picture, and then headed to get some post-race snacks and water. I also ran into Elana again and we were able to get a picture on my phone.

Smiling 10k finishers.

I always look creepy-happy when I meet readers in real life!

We finished in 1:21:34 with a 13:07 average pace. And I WALKED! I can't tell you the last time I'd walked that much- probably during Dopey training two years ago. Walking is a totally different mechanical function- it's definitely not the same as running six miles and it definitely feels different in your legs, back, hips, etc.

We found our running ohana, snapped a quick picture and then headed back to Steff's to shower and get on the road to home.

While it wasn't quite the comeback race I'd been planning, it was still awesome. I met a new friend, learned that I can walk a pretty quick 10k, and got to see my running ohana all weekend long- sounds like the definition of a great race to me. :-)

The crew. 

Have you ever participated in the Great Race or any other city-sponsored race?



AND- Merry Christmas Eve to all who celebrate! :-)

Accountability Monday: 12/21/15

Welcome to the second-to-last Monday of 2015!

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram then you know that Matthew surprised me with a four night cruise on the Disney Dream last week! Isn't he just the most wonderful man?! I think so :-) Seriously, I think I might have the BEST future husband in the world- he's just so good to me. It was really awesome to be able to take a week off with him during the busyness of the holiday season and just enjoy being with each other and relaxing.

The beautiful Disney Dream, all decked out for Christmas.

So this accountability post takes place while we were cruising on the high seas! I'll probably write a more detailed post about our entire cruise experience sometime in the future. Sidenote, I was in Instagram "jail" all of last week- I could post pictures but I couldn't add captions or comments to my or anyone else's photos. I have no idea how I ended up in jail but it finally ended late Saturday night. If you see any posts without captions, that was why. So weird.

Training:
Tuesday- Castaway Cay 5k, 35 ish minutes, Yoga on the Beach class
Wednesday- Group Cycle Class
Thursday- 30 minute run on Deck 4, no clue as to distance or pace :-)
Sunday- 4.29 mile run with Jen, 10:34 pace

One of the coolest things about cruising with Disney is the free classes offered by the Senses Spa and Gym. Everyday, there were cycling classes, yoga classes, ab workouts, etc. at no additional cost. There were some other classes (boot camp, etc.) that you could participate in for a fee. I liked the free ones just fine :-)

On Sunday, Jen and I kept what felt like a really easy pace- I figured we were running about 11:30- 12 minute miles. We were both shocked to see 10:34 as the overall pace as we both felt like this was an easy effort 4-miler. Hopefully this just means we are getting to be better and faster runners!

I call this "Bahamian Leaning Tree Pose." :-) 

Finishers of the Castaway Cay 5k and our frosty friend Olaf.

Food Find of the Week:
I made a similar dish to the one found here (Skinnytaste Cheeseburger Casserole) this weekend and it came out ok. Instead of pasta, the recipe I used called for sliced potatoes. It was definitely different from what I usually make and I'm looking forward to trying it again only using pasta this time. And adding pickles.

Weight:
Who knows??

I did weigh myself on the cruise and I was up about 2 pounds from the previous week. I'm cool with that. There's a lot of eating and drinking on-board a cruise :-)

Non-Scale Victory:
Matthew and I took the stairs EVERY SINGLE DAY on the cruise, regularly walking from Deck 3 to Deck 14 and everywhere in between. We only took the elevator once and that was to move our luggage and to look at the inside of the elevator- there were Disney characters painted on the inside of the elevator shaft that we wanted to see.

Hello from Disney's private island, Castaway Cay!

Have a great week, friends!

Accountability Friday: December 11, 2015

Nothing like a little accountability to start off the weekend!

In short, my last week was pretty dang awesome. Weight Watchers revealed a new program (Beyond the Scale), I completed training in Dallas, TX to become a Weight Watchers Leader, and I lost 2.8 pounds- even while I was traveling, which is usually challenging for me.

So... about that new program....

I've actually been living with Smart Points and Beyond the Scale for about two months now (as Service Providers we got a sneak peek at the program) and I can honestly say that I think it's the best change Weight Watchers has made in a long time. I plan on writing about this a bit more in detail in the coming weeks but overall, even though I struggled at the beginning, I am super excited about this program and how it will benefit so many people.

Also, look for an upcoming post with all the fun stuff that happened at leader training this past weekend- in short, it was a transformative and developmental experience with some of the most inspirational women I've had the privilege to meet.

Future Weight Watcher Leaders: Rachel, Jennifer, Wendy, and me.

Training:
Saturday- 8 treadmill miles in Dallas, 12:08 pace
Sunday- Upper body weight circuit, planks, one mile run: 9:34 pace

Galloway's Princess Half Marathon training plan called for eight miles on Saturday and even though I had to get them done on the treadmill, I felt confident in getting another long run under my belt. And the next day, my legs felt so good that I decided to crank out a 9:34 mile!

But you'll notice that I've been a big-time slacker the rest of the week. On Sunday night, I ran up the opposite way on an escalator (long story) and I whacked the top of my right foot on one of the steps as it was coming down. Ouch. It's bruised and sore so I've been babying it all week. Luckily, there's only one mile on the training plan this weekend!

Proof of my fastest mile to date.

Food Find:
While in Dallas, a lot of our food was catered as part of the training. However, when we had dinner out on Sunday night, a bunch of us split a sweet potato cheesecake. And by split, I mean I'm pretty sure I ate half. It was completely worth the Smart Points though :-)

Weight:
145.8 as of 12/9/15
-2.8 from last week.

Non-Scale Victory:
Yesterday, at one of the many work holiday parties, I successfully walked away from a tray full of cookies and didn't look back. Progress.



Happy Friday and Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate!  Have a splendid weekend!

Five Things Friday: 12/4/2015

Hi friends!

I feel like such a bad blogger- so much is going on in my life and I want to share it with you but finding the time to write is impossible!

BUT- I did make a promise that I would post once a week until Christmas and I'm sticking to it. There are still tons of recaps I need to write (The Great Race, Philly RnR, Vegas RnR) and I'm looking forward to some time off over the holidays to write about all of them.

Today I thought I'd do something different: Five Things Friday! Lots of my favorite bloggers do a weekly post like this (Steff, We Run Disney, Kathryn, Chelsea, Lauren) and I always love catching up with their lives in short form!

While I can't say this will be a regular thing here at Sparkly Runner, it might make an appearance from time to time :-)


1. I fly to Dallas tonight! I may or may not have shared this but I recently was invited to become a Leader with Weight Watchers. Currently, I am a Receptionist and I really love it. WW is sending me to Dallas for Leader Training for a few days and I am so excited to learn more about my new role with the company.

Random Dallas skyline picture from Google Images.

2. There's only 11 weeks until Princess Half Marathon. Holy crap. Jen and I only have 11 weeks to get our poop in a group for this half marathon! Luckily, I've been able to get in MOST of the weekly conditioning runs and ALL the long runs so far. I'm following Jeff Galloway's training plan for this half because I trust his methods and I know it's doable even with my hectic schedule.

Jen and me at her first half, Divas DC in 2014.

3. I'm THISCLOSE to rounding out 400 miles run this year. Despite all my injuries, false starts, and general life craziness, I've run 391 miles in 2015- including three half marathons, one full marathon, three 10ks, 10 5ks, one 2 miler, one 12 miler, one 8k, and one marathon relay. 

I get by with a little help from my friends! Finishing the Great Race in style (Jeff, pregnant Natalie, me, and new friend Jim)

4. This is my last Christmas as a single lady. WHAT?!?!? Matthew and I get married in 169 days. Wedding planning is in full force at our house but we recently scratched off the last "big" thing- the cake! Cake tasting was probably my favorite part of visiting all the vendors :-)

Fingers crossed for more dipping in our collective future.

5. I bought this dress for $3.80. That has nothing to do with my fitness or weight loss; it's just a great deal (clearance at Kohl's). :-) And I really like the dress and needed an excuse to share a picture of it. I love shopping end-of-season clearance racks. 

Maxis are my absolute favorite. 

Have an awesome weekend, friends!