Thirteen for Thursday

Sorry, I've been a horrible blogger this week.  To bring you up to speed, the typical "Three for Thursday" just won't do... so here's to Lucky 13, short and sweet!

1.  My first born, aka Big Girl, turned 5 years old this week!  Oh, dear, where are the days, weeks, years going?!  I get really emotional around my children's birthdays.  There is so much I want to do with them in these early years, and never enough time (or energy!)

2.  We went camping this past weekend to celebrate Big Girl's birthday.  Friends and family joined us to make it a pretty special weekend... and of course Yogi Bear too!

3.  While camping, I rolled out of the camper at 5:30am and got my long run done.  The plan was 16; however, I went 17.5 miles.  I had some stomach issues on the back half of the run (bad fueling the night before, I know better!), but the legs felt great.  It was a much-need confidence boost on the ole psych.

4.  The days are getting shorter... which means DARK mornings.  I don't mind a little darkness, but when the entire hour is run in the dark... well, it's just not a whole lot of fun.  The flip side is that I'm getting really comfortable running without music.  (I can't forgo ALL my senses on the run... so I ditch the ipod on the dark runs.)

5.  Big Girl started Kindergarten! I thought I'd be a total mess on the first day, but instead I was pretty excited.  She was beaming from ear to ear, so eager to jump on that bus!  Unfortunately, Little Girl has not dealt with her big sister's sudden absence so well.  She cries every morning as the bus pulls away...

6.  I'm only 30 days out from my first marathon!!  Holy smokes!  Again, where has the summer gone?  In week 12 of training, I'm finding it hard to stay focused (especially with so many other things going on in life!)

7.  Yesterday, I set a new record for my longest STROLLER run ever.  Pushing that thing is no joke, and yesterday, Little Girl and I went 7.5 miles.  By time we were done, it had already hit 90 degrees.  I don't have to tell you I was sweating hard!

8.  Maybe I missed my calling as an interior designer?!?  This week, I went crazy and remodeled Big Girl's bedroom.  I've been promising a "rock star" room for months now.  So we locked her bedroom door this weekend and on her birthday was the big reveal.  She was beyond thrilled with the outcome...

9.  A new section of a run/bike trail opened up here in Peoria.  As a runner, you know how exciting this is!!  Can you say sweet smooth pavement with no traffic interruption?!?!  Yesterday morning I checked out one portion, and another part in the evening.  And this weekend for my final 20 miler, I'll be putting them all together!  I'm kinda excited for my last 20 miler... Taper, here I come!

10.  I just registered to run a Half Marathon Relay on Sept. 10.  I would have done the whole Half myself, but it's 2 weeks before my marathon... I was afraid the hilly course would burn up my legs.  Did you hear that... me doing a HILLY race!  My friend Toby and I are both Libras on the zodiac, so we're calling ourselves the "Lightning Libras!"  The race is put on by the local running club... which means small in number, lower entry fee, nicer perks like a hooded sweatshirt and a potluck picnic afterwards.  Sounded like too much fun to pass up.

11.  Good Luck to all the Hood-to-Coast runners!!  Especially the nuun blogger teams.  I'm excited to follow their progress this weekend and of course, all the race recaps to follow.

12.  I'm getting close to finalizing my race outfit for the marathon.  You should know that this is almost just as important as the actual run training!  This should give you a little bit of a hint...

13.  How are you doing on the August Spin® Challenge?  If you're a Spin® Virgin, you still have time to sneak in your first class and grab a prize!  More details here.