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Engagement

After graduation from physical therapy school in May 2011, I started studying non stop for my boards exams. We knew we both needed a break when it was over, so we planned a vacation for the week after my exams. After a few nights in Greenville SC, we headed to Asheville NC, where we stayed in an amazing hostel right downtown. We were having too much fun, hiking, eating, relaxing; it was easily our best vacation to date.

July 4th, 2011 was our last real day, as we were headed home the next morning. We picked a spot for the last hike of the trip- Rattlesnake Lodge just outside of Asheville, NC. The roads to get there were questionable, and missing signs, we almost gave up and headed back into town! Eventually, we found our spot, and headed out for our hike, despite the somewhat threatening clouds.  The hike was beautiful, along a ridge with gorgeous views. We found an amazing view on our way in, and decided to eat or lunch their on the way back. I rattled off historic facts I learned from their website while we looked at ruins. Finally, we headed back. Once at "our spot" (this picture doesn't do it justice), we had a climb over a log and sit on a steep rock face for our picnic of PBJs. I wasn't hungry, and Brandon asked me to hold his PBJ while he put the camera in our bag so it wouldn't fall off the cliff. I payed no attention to what he was doing in the backpack; I was too busy trying a sneak a bite of his sandwich! By the time I looked up, he was holding a ring. I was so shocked, surprised, and excited. I didn't see it coming at all! Of course I said yes.

Moments later, the sky opened up and we walked/ran back to the car full of excitement (and fear of the lightning all around us!) From the thunderstorm to the name of the hike, it was a memorable day, and we topped it off with fireworks to celebrate. Asheville will always hold a special place in our hearts, and we can't wait to go back this weekend to celebrate Brandon's 26th birthday with friends!

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Journey to Veganism

I was born and raised a vegetarian; my parents had no reason to feed us meat. Of course, until we went to school. Try as they did, it was tough to send 3 kids to school with a homemade lunch everyday, and honestly, we wanted to fit in. At age 5, I couldn't care less what was on my lunch tray, and the political, social, and environmental concerns meat nothing to me, so long as my lunch was delicious. I enjoyed hamburgers, plasticy pizza with tiny pepperonis. One of my favorite lunches was chicken nuggets- I would make a little chicken sandwich with my white roll and mashed potatoes. Not to mention, wheat bread embarrassed me, and I never understood why my homemade lunches didn't include a zebra cake. I felt like I was missing a food group- why was I so DIFFERENT!?

Fast forward to college. Lucky for me, University of Georgia has some of the best dining facilities in the nation. I was on meal plan for four delicious years. My habits changed over the years; I focused on chicken fingers, overstuffed burritos, and the hot entree for the first year or two, but gradually begin gravitating towards the vegetarian options. I had been a "chicken or fish" only meat eater since childhood (pepperoni didn't count until college), but by senior year, I general ate meat only a few times a week. 

Moving to Savannah was a welcome change- for the first time in my life I was responsible for shopping, cooking, and CLEANING up after 3 meals per day. My boyfriend (now fiance) moved in 3 months later, and we learned quickly that we LOVED to cook (and that he is better at cleaning!) I had never prepared meat, and didn't care to learn. So I occasionally bought turkey for sandwiches, but I preferred PJB, so I almost became and accidental vegetarian. 

But then- Christmas rolled around. I tend to make big life decisions after the holidays, and 2008 did not disappoint. I bought my sister in law a book from her Amazon registry, without  so much as reading the description. (It appeared to be about vegetarian cooking, and she was a vegetarian, so it seemed to fit) Turns out my mom didn't understand the use of Amazon gift lists, and bought the same book. I was confused when Skinny Bitch turned up in my stocking, but didn't think much of it. 

That evening, after all of our holiday festivities were over, I picked up my new book and decided to flip through it. OR- read it cover to cover. I was fascinated. I had never seriously considered calling myself a vegetarian (I had just eaten turkey for Christmas dinner!) and I had NEVER considered being vegan. Vegans are weird, right?  But, for some odd reason, I woke up the next morning and told my parents I wanted to be vegan. 

"Hmm, let's see if I can make vegan pancakes," said my dad, and 15 minutes later, my first vegan meal hit my plate. Tasted normal (better than normal, my parents make AMAZING pancakes, vegan or now) enough to me, and I decided it was worth a try- just to see if I could do it, for now. My mom was concerned about eating well, getting enough protein, etc, but I convinced her I could figure it out. 

And 3 years later, it looks like I have. 

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Savannah Rock and Roll Half Marathon 2011

When Savannah announced that it would host a Rock and Roll Marathon in Nov 2011, I knew I had no excuse. And I was finally ready to break 2 hours. Summer in Atlanta helped me discover allergies I never knew I had, so I got to know the treadmill well, but I stayed active. Slowly, I worked back up my millage and was able to run outside in time for training. Brandon trained with me for my long runs, and helped me stay fast. My hilly short runs helped me stay strong.

I had never had pre-race anxiety like I did in Savannah. I wanted to break 2 hours, and everybody knew it. I felt like I could, and if i didn't I would let everyone down. Brandon broke away from me at about a mile- he wanted to see what he could do. 1st mile, 9:00 and feeling strong. I kept going. 2nd mile, 17:30, not bad I thought. I stayed at a consistent 8:45-9:00 pace until 5 miles, and felt like I wasn't even running.

At 5 miles, I ran into Brandon. He had made a port-a-potty pit stop, and caught back up. We stayed together for the easiest mile of the race, but then he unfortunately had to stop again. I was excited to see how to course of the race played out, and literally before I knew it I hit the 6th mile. Time to eat my orange (my choice of fuel for long runs), and I didn't even feel tired. Fans lined the streets for the next few miles, and it seemed like the next mile marker said 9. That was where I remember what I was doing, and felt really tired. My parents (who couldn't make it, but were tracking me online) said they knew I had made it when I hit 10 miles at 1:25. I'm glad they were confident, because I was struggling. But I told myself I only had to run for 30 more minutes, as fast as I could, and it would be worth it.

I crossed the finish line in 1:57:30. I BEEMED crossing the finish line, staring at my watch. I had ARRIVED. I've never been more proud of myself than at this moment. Brandon finished about a minute behind me, and we celebrated our victory with friends.

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Publix Half Marathon 2011

2010 was a busy year, and I felt like I had just finished ING 2010 when my sister was asking me to train with her for 2011 (Now called Publix). I knew wanted to break 2 hours, but wasn't sure how to do it. So instead, I trained with my sister, and we had a blast. I was busy, and there were several weeks when I only ran long runs. We ran our long runs at the Silver Comet trail, and we ran them consistently. I built up our millage better than my previous year, and actually ran on hills. My short loops near my house were the hillest runs I've ever done.

I felt prepared for Atlanta. We stayed in a better hotel, and my parents and Brandon were there to cheer us on again. I stayed with my sister until mile 8, and broke away to finish in 2:07- a PR. My sister finished in 2:15, and I was more proud of her than myself. Sharing races makes it even better.

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ING Atlanta Half Marathon 2010

When I decided to run the ING Half (mostly due to positive peer pressure), it had been almost 2 years since my last big race. I had been full of excuses, but I was ready. I ran 6 miles one day instead of my usual 3-4, and thought it was time to tell Brandon. But instead of telling him, I got him to take a long run (7) with me for my birthday (Feb 14th). During that run, I told him that I was ready to train for our next race- only 5 weeks away. For some reason, he agreed.

Brandon trained with me again, but got pneumonia and couldn't race. It was my spring break, and we had planned the race to be a part of a mini vacation, so we went camping. Sleeping on the ground for 2 nights before racing was probably not the best idea, but hey, it was fun. On Saturday morning I hit the streets of Atlanta before dawn, with Brandon and my parents at my side as my cheering crew. Unfortunately, my rushed, flat training in Savannah had nothing on Atlanta's hills. I finished at 2:15, but ran the whole race, and still felt amazing at the finish. This is a great course, and is a true tour of Atlanta.

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Nashville Country Music Marathon

I tend to make big decisions over the Christmas holiday. Free time? Who knows. For some reason, I decided I wanted to run the Nashville County Music Half Marathon in April of 2008 after seeing the race advertised in runners world. By some stroke of luck, my boyfriend agreed to train with me. We weren't in great shape, and I had never run over 3.5 miles, so it was time to get to work. I googled "half marathon training", discovered Hal Higdon, and was in business.

I’ll always remember the first time I ran 5 miles. It was probably 30 degrees, and we ran from his apartment in Athens 2.5 miles down Millege to 5 points, and back. His apartment had no heat, and we froze after. But it felt SO GOOD.

We trained hard, and well. (One of the benefits of running in college; you’re often free for a 10 mile run at 2 PM) As each week went on, we added another mile to our long runs. We ran at the intramural fields, around campus, at the State botanical gardens- we were spoiled and loving it. We had beautiful trails to train on, and we were quickly both in the best shape of our lives.

Nashville was not an easy race. It was pouring when we got to the starting line 2 hours before the race began. We were amateurs, and were unprepared for the weather. We trained on trails, and running on asphalt gave me an aching back (and feet!) for days. Brandon really had to push me through- he really hung back to keep me going. I finished in 2:08, and boy did it feel good.

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ROBOTS OR DINOSAURS?

Although dinosaurs are most certainly our past, robots embody our future. So robots, obviously!