Three Things Thursday

Three Things for Thursday...

1. I love the 5 a.m. run! It makes the day so much more enjoyable and it feels wonderful to know that my run is finished for the day. I've also enjoyed the run because I've gotten to catch up with people that I don't get to see very often because life just gets in the way.

2. I did a seven miler this past weekend and plan on doing a nine miler this weekend. Hopefully I'll be as prepared as a pregnant woman can be for this half marathon at the end of March. I know I won't be busting out a sub 2 hours or anything, but I would like to finish with an overall pace that is less than a 10:00 mile. I know that doesn't sound very fast for some of you, but believe me, it's pretty good considering how much my pace has slowed due to the pregnancy. I'm very excited about this race for several reasons. One being that this is only the second year for this race, which means that so far, I've run this race every year and plan on making that a tradition. Secondly, my mom, sister, and I have decided to make a girls trip out of it. Yes, it's only about 45 minutes away, but we've decided to go up the night before, get a really nice hotel room, do some shopping, and have a very carb-filled dinner. Then, off to the races! (I say that because this race will begin at Keeneland, a famous horse track in central Kentucky, the horse capital of the world.)

3. Last but not least, I am so very grateful for my husband and how supportive he is being during this pregnancy. Jeremiah, as many of you know, is my very best friend in the whole world. And I wouldn't want to share this experience with anyone other than my best friend. He has been understanding of my fatigue, patient when I've been moody, and brought me anything I needed when I needed it. I honestly couldn't do this without him! And most of all, he's supportive of my running with baby. Thank you Jeremiah!

Specifically Random Headband Review and Giveaway!

I came across Kelly's shop, Specifically Random - Unique and Vintage Inspired Headbands That Fit! one day while I was browsing on Etsy. I absolutely love the headbands on her site. Visit her site HERE to see what she offers.

She was gracious enough to send me the one in the picture. It looks a lot better on the girl in the picture than it does on me, so I used this picture instead. She offers wide cotton headbands, wide bandana headbands, extra wide headbands, kerchief headbands, etc. Her shop is absolutely amazing!

As far as the headband I was sent, Kelly let me choose the style and fabric I wanted. What's really great??? She makes them according to what size you need them based on a measurement of your head, so it's specifically sized for you.

I love my headband. It's comfortable and feels like there is nothing there. It does it's job without being uncomfortable. It doesn't slip and it holds every single strand of my hair in place. I love wearing it while I run or just when I don't feel like fixing my hair. It's the perfect accesory for every girl to have.

Now, for the giveaway. Kelly is willing to offer the winner of the giveaway the headband of her choice. Here are the giveaway guidelines:

1. Become or already are a follower of my blog and comment.

2. Visit Kelly's Etsy page HERE and comment and let me know what you just have to have.

3. Post this giveaway to your blog and leave a comment letting me know.

4. Post this giveaway to your Facebook and leave a comment letting me know.

This giveaway will end on Friday, March 2 at 11:59 p.m.

GOOD LUCK!

Training with Baby Satterly!

Well, here is the first official picture of Baby Satterly! And, Baby Satterly and Mommy have gone on fifteen miles worth of enjoyable runs this week!

Monday was the first day that running has felt good during this pregnancy. I literally have been such a lazy person for the past two months, and when I have run, I don't even want to know what I looked like as people passed, because I know what I felt like!

It's been frustrating because I'm not used to not wanting to run. So it was very refreshing to enjoy my 5 miler Monday before school. It made me want to get back out and run again after school! To be honest, I was getting a little worried about running the Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon on March 31, but after this weeks runs, I feel fine! Could I have run 8.1 more? YES! YES! YES! And I can't wait for this half marathon! It's on like Donkey Kong!

Do I have a goal, you ask? Of course I do. I have a goal for every race that I run. I would love to set a time goal, but I know that's not something I can focus on. My goal is to finish and say that I finished! My goal is to be able to say that Baby Satterly finished his/her first half marathon while helping Mommy train! How many people can say they run like this, let alone while pregnant? We should all be grateful that we have the means to run, no matter how fast or how slow. And I'm so thankful to be sharing this experience with my little bambino. It might end up being the slowest half marathon I ever run, but it will definitely be the one that means the most to me! It's kind of hard to beat the feeling of finishing sub 2 hours, but finishing with a baby on board might just take the cake.

Totally on a different note, my husband and I have a very humorous relationship. We have so much fun together and we love spending time together. We love to poke fun at each other and are very good sports about it. Well, my funny for the day? My husband has a couple new nicknames for me now that I am developing a belly. He now calls me "Tank" or "Bucket"! :) Do I mind? Absolutely not! I will always know that he thinks I'm beautiful, no matter how big my tank gets! And it's growing rapidly. The picture below is my 3 month picture. WOW! Things do change quickly.

BIG NEWS! And need some advice...

Yes, we are pregnant with our first child! We are so thoroughly excited!

I am still running, but haven't been as much due to being so tired. I'm hoping that can pick back up when I'm through my first trimester. Everything I've read tells me that my energy will pick back up, so we'll see! Hopefully it will because I'm scheduled to run a half marathon at the end of March.

Any advice on running pregnant?

Three Things Thursday - a little early!

1. The picture above is from the Jingle Bell Jog back in December. A friend of mine runs this race in memory of a loved one who passed away due to Alzheimer's. It's a wonderful race! My time this year was 26:45. I barely made it to start due to a school function, but I was there and even made it across the finish line with a gift. There are gift stations along the course. If you can make it across the finish line with your gift, you get to keep it. The catch? They are wrapped, so you have no idea what you are getting when you grab a gift. I got a Rubix cube, but traded it with my friend Sarah:) for a set of Disney Princesses dominos for my niece Karrah. Overall, a good race. And the prizes for age groups were adorable! I got first in my age group and the prize was a hand carved ornament with Al, the Jingle Bell Jog signature reindeer. And I just realized that in this picture, I'm carrying my Garmin in my hand. My watchband broke and I hadn't had time to fix it. I had a perfectly new watchband at home, just hadn't taken the time to do anything about it.

2. I am a guidance counselor at a middle school in the city in which I live. I taught music for eight years and this is my first year as a guidance counselor and I love it! More than anything, I love seeing students that I once had at the elementary level growing into wonderful young men and young ladies. It makes my heart happy to see them grow into well-rounded individuals. I received an email from a former parent today. Her daughter is now a sophomore in high school. The high school is having an intersession week in February and the students were given several options. One of the options given to them was to shadow a teacher for that week. She chose me! I love knowing and hearing that I'm doing a good job from my superiors, but it means so much more to me that one of my former students wants to shadow ME because she thinks I'm a wonderful teacher! What a compliment!

3. My dog, Jack, cracks me up! As I sit here writing this post, my husband is in the recliner. His feet are hanging off the foot rest and my dog is strategically placing his butt up against my husband's feet. It's a nightly habit for Jack (named after the most prominent golfer of all time). It's like he automatically thinks that if he pushes his butt up against your feet that you will naturally start rubbing him with your feet. He honestly will stand there for an hour waiting for you to rub him on the butt.

In an online class...why not blog?

I'm sitting in an online class for my second Masters, so why not blog while I sit here and listen, right?

Well, ran 8 miles on Sunday, not as fast as it should be, but I'm not worried about that right now. I haven't run since then, but both of my knees have been severely swollen since then and I don't know what's wrong with them. I think it's highly bizarre that both of them are swollen in the same spot. Usually when you injure something, you only injure one of them, not both of them. Completely confused!

So, I put on my clothes to run today...didn't get to leave school until 6:15, still had to cook dinner, eat dinner, spend 5 minutes with my husband, and be in class by 8:00. I decided since I'm still swollen, I would put running off one more day. I WILL RUN TOMORROW! No doubt about that.

On a completely different note, a few years ago, my best friend moved to Columbus, about 5 hours away. I had a really hard time with this due to the fact that we've always been together, ALWAYS. Life just hasn't been the same since she left. I was used to being able to see her whenever I wanted to, and now I can't. Anyhoo...I woke up this morning to an email from her saying that she is still having a hard time with it also, and we need to do something about it. Well, we've decided that probably once a month, we will meet halfway for lunch, a movie, a pedicure, whatever...I'm so excited!!!

Not to mention...I get to have lunch with my college roommate and her husband this Sunday! I haven't seen them since my wedding, two years ago! It's a good day for old friends!

Life is so blessed! Have a blessed day bloggers!

Five for Friday

I've never done a Five for Friday, so there is a first time for everything...

1. I never did a race recap on the Santas Hustle the Smokies 1/2 marathon in Sevierville, Tennessee. But, I will today because I actually have time to do it. But, as a little sneak preview...here's a picture for you.

2. Hopefully I can catch up on my blogging today because it's a SNOW DAY! That's right...the Danville Schools are out of school today. WOO HOO! I normally don't like snow days because I would rather get out of school on May 10th, but hey, what's May 11th, right?

3. My favorite feeling? I love life! There are so many great things in life right now, that I feel like I can't stop smiling! :) I am so grateful for all the wonderful friends and family that I have, for my wonderful, fabulous husband, and for just being able to run. I know we want to get down when we don't have a good run, but I always tell myself, at least I can run.

4. It's high school basketball season! That means my fabulous nephew, Micah, is starting his final season of high school basketball. We enjoy watching him play so much! Yes, it makes for a busy week, but it's totally worth it! Lincoln County at home tonight! One of my favorite games of the season!

5. I know that this year is going to hold lots of blessings and great times! I'm so excited for this year to be here. I know life isn't candy and roses all the time, but I'm excited for all of it. I feel that good times and not so good times are, together, what makes us resilient people!

Thank you all for being such loyal readers!