Weekend Recap..... DIVA Half-Marathon

This past weekend was the weekend I had been anticipating since January.......

MY FIRST HALF-MARATHON

My friend Megan who runs races pretty frequently, talked me into signing up. I then talked my friend Christy and Tiffany into signing up. I trained really well January through mid March but then life got really hectic and I didn't log as many miles as I should have the last several weeks. So I was really nervous about the race.

My friend Megan met me in Wilson Friday and we headed down to Myrtle Beach. 

Our first stop was to pick up our race packets.

I was thinking, what did I get myself into?!?!

Ali Vincent, the first female winner from Biggest Loser was there and we met her, chatted with her, bought her book and got her autograph. She is so friendly and inspirational. It was one of the highlights of my trip because I am a BIG Biggest Loser fan. (Ignore my outfit, I drove and chose comfy clothes. I forgot Ali was gonna be there and pictures were gonna be taken or else I would have dressed more appropriately.)



We left from there, went to the condo, showered and dressed and then headed out to dinner.

On Saturday, we were really hoping to squeeze in some beach time but all the weather forecasts called for clouds and rain so we weren't sure that we would be able to. We headed out to breakfast and to shop at the outlets. The sun came out while we were shopping, so we quickly ran into our favorite stores to shop and then head to the beach (Ann Taylor Loft, JCrew, Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy). The stores did not disappoint and everyone was having fabulous sales.

The weather was PERFECT! Sunny, breezy and cool. I read a book and napped. We stayed out there for about 3 hours and then it started getting chilly so we came in.

Next up on our to-do list was to find where Myrtle Manor is filmed. Myrtle Manor is a show on TLC. Think "redneck, trashy, trailer park." I have only watched maybe 15 minutes of the show. It has to be one of the worst shows ever. I don't foresee there being a season 2. But since the show is filmed in Myrtle Beach, we wanted to find it.

When we discovered it, we found that it was not really run down or trashy as they make it seem. It was a regular trailer park. At the back, there were 2 older campers, an above ground swimming pool and the Tangles hair salon. I believe they added all this for the show because it doesn't really fit in with the rest of the trailer park. We snapped a few pictures.



Once we left Myrtle Manor, we returned to the condo, showered and headed out for dinner to CARB LOAD for the big race.

We ate at Preston's Seafood Buffet and it was delicious! We definitely got our carbs in!

We came back home and prepared for the big race!

The next morning, we met Christy and Tiffany at the race site and snapped a few pictures.



I made us "team" tank tops. I loved how they turned out and we received some compliments on them.

(FRONT)

(BACK)

Then the long, awaited race started. We saw Ali along the course. It was so fun to run, more fun than I thought would be. Megan ran with me since this was my first. We did a run/walk method (5-6 mins running, 3-4 mins walking) and every now and then we would run a mile here and there. I felt really good up until about mile 10 then I hit a wall. The last 3 miles were the hardest but I pushed through and kept going.

This picture was around mile 6 I believe.

We finished at 2 hours 56 minutes. The chip time was 2 hours, 55 minutes, 5 seconds. I was stoked because my goal was just to finish. I had projected I would finish around 3 hrs, 15 minutes so the fact that we finished under 3 hours was awesome in my opinion.

 Right before the finish line, you receive a boa and a tiara. This picture was taken minutes before crossing the finish line and I was having difficulty with my tiara, haha.

Once we crossed the finish line, we received a medal, rose and glass of bubbly.

Here are some post race pictures.

Let me tell you... I'm not a runner, I'm not an athlete. I owe it all to Gu Gels (and no one paid me to say that). But I honestly believe I did as well as I did because of Gu Gels.

The packet says to take 1, 15 minutes before and 1 every 45 minutes during activity. I followed this to a "t." I also stopped and drank Gatorade at every station and had my own water on a hydration belt that I drank along the course. I believe if I had not done all this, physically my body would not have lasted (especially with the amount of training I had done, or lack thereof).

Also, if I can do this anyone can! Honestly! Because like I said I am not a runner or an athlete. Prior to this, the most I have ever ran was 3 miles and we ran a little over half this race (thanks to the gels haha) and walked the rest.

The high and sense of accomplishment you get from doing this is amazing. My friend Christy and I have already been discussing future races because we definitely got hit with the "running bug." Now that I know I can do it, I want to keep doing it. I want to try to improve my times and maybe eventually run the whole race. I could go on with everything I gained from completing this half-marathon but I'll stop.....

So that is my weekend recap. It was awesome because we managed to squeeze it all in (tanning, shopping, half-marathon, etc).

Have a great week!

-jen

Thoughts on Friday

What an emotional week it has been, but I plan to keep it light and fun.

First of all, I heard that Kate Hudson has partnered with Ann Taylor. Now that is exciting. I think she will bring some fun to the table, or to the clothes rather. 

Also, I was on spring break a few weeks ago (technically, I wasn't because I worked "prn" at nursing homes all week) but I managed to squeeze in a few household chores and some crafts. I've been meaning to blog about it but of course haven't had the time.

My dad helped me complete LOTS of yard work. We pressured-washed my entire house (what a JOB), cut the grass (he did that while I did some pressure-washing), trimmed bushes, dug-up weeds, put out new pine straw, planted bushes, plants and flowers and last but not least, put out new pillows that my parents gave me for Easter.

My yard is almost complete, almost. This weekend, my grandma and I are painting my porch. The paint was chipping so we are gonna tackle that and change the color while we're at it. Then the only thing left to do will be to kill all the weeds in my yard and actually grow some grass. Whew!

I also completed projects for Jill over spring break. She needed a few items as gifts and some for the wedding reception.

After all the yard work and painting (crafts) were done, I went and got pampered!!

A pedicure, manicure (gel nails) and an eyebrow wax!

The last Saturday during spring break, I attended a bridal luncheon for Jill that morning and another shower for her that night. It was an alphabet shower and my letter was "L." I went with a lounge/leisure theme. The bag included a Liquid beverage container (camel bak that was monogrammed), Lucky magazine, Linens (monogrammed beach towel), Lip balm, suntan Lotion, and sunscreen Lotion.

I also gave her another present which was lingerie of course.

That pretty much sums up my spring break!

I think that's all for today.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Jill and Brad's Wedding

Today, I am recovering from the wedding weekend. I love, love, love weddings but they can be a little exhausting. So since I am lying around, I decided to be proactive and post pictures from the wedding (the few that I took).

 

On Saturday, we started the day with hair and make-up of course. So here are a few pictures from that.

 

The Bride

The Bride and Molly (matron-of-honor)

The Bride and her hair stylist (Jessica)

Me and the Bride

Picture of my hair, I absolutely loved it

 

After hair and make-up, we headed to the church. I have basically no pictures from getting ready. Since we were running a little behind schedule, the minute we arrived at church, we had to immediately get dressed for pictures. There wasn't much downtime. 

Her shoes, which were Manolos, were the same ones Carrie from Sex and the City wore.

 

Quick picture while waiting for ceremony to start

 

Her dress

 

And of course, I have no pictures from the ceremony but the flowers in the church were gorgeous.

 

So fast forward to the reception. I loved the venue and how spacious it was.

Bride and Groom's first dance

Father and Daughter dance

Ben and his new BFF, TW (Jill's cousin-in-law), dancing

Ben and I

Leanne (from Nashville trip), the Bride and I

The Bride and I

The Bride, Jill

Mackensie (Jill's niece) and Tuck, TW's son enjoying a post-wedding reception snack 

A picture of my bouquet (right) and the bouquet I caught (left)

 

I caught the bouquet (that makes like 10 or 11 I have caught). The groom, Brad, threw the garter once but a groomsman came up behind him and got in the way so it didn't go far. No one wanted to pick it up so the crowd demanded a redo since the groomsman got in the way. Brad threw it again and it landed in practically the same spot and again no one wanted to pick it up, that is, until after about 30 seconds of awkwardness, Ben decided he would pick it up.......

The wedding and the reception were so fun! I was honored to be in Jill's wedding and her family and friends was so welcoming. We are ready to plan another trip to Henderson soon to hang out with all the Holtzman's.

 

 

Have a great week!

-jen

Everybody loves Jill......

(My title comes from an old "Cowboy Mouth" song)

Here are some "throwback Thursday" pictures to celebrate Jill and her upcoming wedding this weekend!

We spent a lot of time studying but took breaks to write crazy things like "Twas the Night Before the Last Day of Class"

Jill was my number 1 study buddy in college. She and I have spent A LOT, I mean A LOT of hours together. In fact, the first picture posted was taken outside of our "favorite" library study room. She is also one of my travel buddies. We have traveled to New York (her first time) and Nashville together. I really cherish our friendship and I'm pretty sure I would not have made it through grad school without her. I'm honored to be in her wedding and can't wait to celebrate with her, Brad and their families.

Have a great weekend!

-jen