manscaping?!?!

How it's possible that I never heard this term till last night is beyond me. I was hanging out with some friends last night, snacking, wining and gabbing and my girlfriend Lisa starts talking about her husband's grooming routines. Manscaping. Love it! And it turns out that my husband definitely has some manscaping routines of his own. :)

waiting till next year.

I had all the best intentions in the world when I thought I might be able to run the 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Then the race filled up and I did some research into running for charity. And then I missed the deadline for that. So it turns out that I won't be running the Chicago Marathon this year. And that's okay! I'm going to make the most of this summer getting myself in the best shape ever. I'm going to work on my speed, endurance and distance, and also work on strength so training for the 2011 Chicago Marathon is a snap. ;)

I have a new summer look! My sister came over yesterday and chopped all my hair off. It is a cute choppy bob and I love it! She razored the ends so it's got lots of movement and texture. Now I think I need to add some color and I'll be set for the season.

My run this morning was a good one. I was supposed to run yesterday but there was some major wind going on so I postponed my run till this morning. Still super windy- what is up with that? But I did just fine- 4 miles with the kidlets in the jogger on a beautiful, mild morning.

getting faster!!

This past weekend was such a fun one. On Saturday, Matt ran the Tiger 5K at the Chicagoland Speedway. What a cool race!! It actually takes place on the race track. The track is 1.5 miles long so the race consisted of 2 laps. I stayed on the sidelines with the kids to cheer on my husband (and ran into a friend doing the same thing!) but it was a cool race and one I definitely want to run next year! The weather was supposed to be crappy...it was definitely overcast but comfortable temperature wise and no rain! Matt was super quick...he finished in 24:54, which is a record for him. I was so proud. :)

Sunday I did my long run. 6 miles! Which took me 53:51 to run- I averaged just under 9 minute miles! And I felt great. I can't believe how quick I'm starting to get! I'm telling you- running with a jogging stroller is great endurance training!

fun filled weekend!

We celebrated my husband's 35th birthday this weekend. What a milestone! 35. Wasn't it just yesterday we entered our 30's? Regardless, he's the sexiest 35 year old I know...hungover and all. :) Yesterday was a perfect day...walking around the zoo, cheeseburgers at Portillo's and just spending some quality time together as a family. I love my boys- all 3 of them!

Oh, and I'm super excited about one of his gifts! Matt's a runner too- albeit a casual one. He runs to keep in shape and will do a 5K occasionally. So as part of his birthday surprise, I registered him to run the Tiger 5K in Joliet. It's at the Chicagoland Speedway- 2 laps around the track! Since Matt's a racing fan I thought this would be fun for him. He loved the gift and is excited to run on 4/24- this coming Saturday. We're excited to cheer him on!

In running news, I'm still awaiting entry confirmation in the Chicago Marathon. I hope to have everything set in a week or two so I can get on to fundraising!! Hopefully I will have some fun news to report here soon, so stay tuned for that.

Training for my half marathon is going pretty well also! I did get some bummer news this week- my cousin Dana has an injury that will prevent her from running the half with me. I'm super sad about this but I guess that means I'll just have to run for the both of us! I really hope I can do her proud. Yesterday's run was supposed to be an easy 5 miles. I was going to take my time and run S.L.O.W. But even when I plan to run slow, it doesn't always happen- I finished in 47:13...and I felt great! It was one of those runs where I could have kept going forever. Those are my favorite kinds. :) I haven't set any finish goals for my half marathon...I wanted to set a personal record for the distance, I guess. If I keep running like this, that goal will be met for sure!

I read an article in Chicago Athlete magazine a few weeks ago about a 63 year old woman who can run like the wind. I felt some kind of connection to her because she didn't start hard-core running until after the birth of her 2nd child in her mid-thirties, much like me! She's become an inspiration to me...even though my running aspirations are not as high. I guess I should never say never though. :)