Hot Body Friday

My new obssession.

Elisabeth Akinwale. 

Get into her. 

I'm back.

I can't believe I've been gone this long. Life has been extremely hectic, but I'm back for good now!

First things first...

Although I would have liked to be a LITTLE skinnier on my wedding day, I did drop 10 lbs. before the big day and I think I looked pretty good.

(right before the ceremony)

(for the collarbones, obvi)

Trying to plan a wedding, while starting a fairly new job in a new city was WAY more difficult than I expected.  As a result, my training suffered and 6 months into 2012, I haven't completed a single race. *sigh* Now that I'm officially someone's wife and not just a crazy person planning a wedding, I have a lot more time to work out/train, cook healthy meals and not make excuses.  This also means blogging more often and consistently.


In 106 days, I am running my first marathon - the Bank of America Chicago marathon.  My training begins immediately.   I like Hal Higdon's training plans so I'm doing his Novice 1 which will require me to run nine miles this weekend.  I haven't run nine miles in FOREVER and it is fiftyleven degrees in Memphis right now so planning + hydration will be key.  Oh, and prayer. PRAYER.




I've also signed up for the Memphis Road Race Series.  A co-worker introduced me to this and it's $75 for 10 races. That is AMAZING. Two 5ks, two 5-milers, two 10ks, two 10-milers, and two half marathons.  Did I say $75 for ALL the races combined? I'm excited.  I'm going to miss one of the 10-milers because it is the same day as the Chicago marathon but the rest should work out fine.


The first race is on July 8th.


Expect to hear a lot more from me.  I've missed y'all. 

Hot Body Friday

Because no matter how many times she falls off the wagon, she gets right back on...

And who hasn't prayed for abs like Ms. Jackson?

-Nash

26.2 miles is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of...

and yet, for some reason, I'm thinking about doing it. It was my dream for a long time to run a half-marathon and when I ran my first half marathon almost a year ago I was filled with pride and excitement. I also knew that I wanted to do it again. And again. And again. To me, 13.1 miles is the perfect distance. It's long enough to be a challenge but still manageable without aching or being bored out of your mind. The thought of running for over 4 hours straight seems absolutely ridiculous, painful and mind numbing to me but for some crazy reason, after a simple suggestion form a friend, I'm seriously considering it. On one hand, I don't think it will be fun at all. On the other, I think its a great challenge and I'm strangely intrigued by do something that I generally think is so horrible and painful.

The Chicago Marathon is on October 8th but registration opens on February 1st and fills up fast. I have a love affair with Chicago (I spent three years there while in law school and happened to meet my future husband there) and remember seeing thousands of people run down on my street with pained/excited looks on their faces. I have seven days to decide if I'm really about that life but I know I want 2012 to be filled with lots of new challenges so...why not?

If you're thinking about running a marathon for the first time or have already done so I would LOVE to hear your thoughts!

- Nash

Late Nights, Early Mornings.

It's 11:34 pm and I just finished a short 2 mile run on the treadmill. I'm at 36 miles for the month so far, i.e. no where close to reaching 100 miles for the month of January. To hit that mark, I'd have to run 5 miles every day for the next 13 days. It's possible but with my schedule it's not likely.

So I'm feeling a little discouraged. It will pass. In the meantime, I'm reminding myself of some thing I know I need to get on top of. I HAVE TO WORKOUT IN THE MORNING. As much as I hate getting up at 5am, I DREAD working out after a long day of work and having to hit the treadmill at 11 pm just to log a few miles. When I get home from work, I want to cook dinner, watch tv and hang out with my soon to be husband. It's so much easier when I get my workout done before I start my day. I'm making that a priority for the rest of month.

Night.

-Nash

2012 Races!

So I've finally decided on a few races for this year and I'm pretty excited. This is not a full list as I plan on adding races once I do more research. If you have any suggestions on races, please let me know!!

• February 11, 2012 - Valentines Day Sweetheart 10k, Bartlett, TN
• March 18, 2012 - Germantown Half Marathon, Germantown, TN
• April 28, 2012 - Rock n Roll Half Marathon, Nashville, TN
• October 28, 2012 - Rock n Roll Half Marathon, Los Angeles, CA

I also pre-registered for a Tough Mudder in Nashville. We'll see how that goes...Not sure if I'm ready for that kind of challenge yet and the date for that race isn't listed on their site yet so it may not fit in with my plans. I know that I want to do a Tough Mudder at some point in my life, but the whole thing is seriously intimidating.

The Valentine's Day Race, my first race of the year, is a team race for "sweethearts" ( corny, I know). Teams consist of two individuals. Both run the race and their times are added together to determine the winner. My fiance doesn't yet know he'll be running this race with me but I think it will be a fun thing to do so.....:)

I plan on adding another half marathon, an obstacle 5k race, and a bunch of other races of distances under 13.1 miles. It's nice to have a few races picked out so far though. I tend to do better when I have a plan and something I KNOW I'm working towards. I'm also looking forward to writing race some recaps since it's been a while.

SEND ME SOME RACE SUGGESTIONS!

- Nash

Hot Body Friday

In the prolific words of Big Sean....

ASS. ASS. ASS. ASS. ASS.

Because I love everything about Tracee Ellis Ross.

And that back.

And that ....

Whew.

Happy Friday.

-Nash