head, legs, heart

Run the first 5 miles with your head.

Run the second 5 miles with your legs.

Run the last 5k with your heart.

i read this on another blog this morning and i thought it was great! 

i looks like the weather is going to play along with our plans. 

apparently the no-storm dances have been working!

head, legs, heart. 

that's all i've got to offer and i'm going to give it all i've got. 

best of luck and well wishes to all my little runner friends 

 for strong legs and a safe run in the morning! 

this is what we've been training for.... let's do this! 

13508

I'm confirmed. My number is #13508. Let's do this. 

We're 4 days and a wake up from the Country Music 1/2 Marathon! 

This has been a very long training session; but, it has been so much fun and I feel like I'm prepared.

 

I have been doing the cloudy-but-not-raining-cool-race-day-morning 

dance for the past week. 

Apparently, it's not work and I just need to quit viewing the weather forecast on my phone/computer/television. 

Rain or shine - the day is quickly approaching. 

Fruit, veggies, protein, water, and CARBS are on my to-do list this week. 

Among loving on my husband. More on that to come. 

Happy Monday! Send strong, fast vibes my way!

happy heart.

this past Easter weekend was one of the best weekends i've had in a long, long time. jwood & i have been so caught up in everyday life, worrying about sick family (which, thank God, are all doing well), and hosting visitors that we haven't really had any "us" time. this weekend was full of "us" time. we put all of the other stuff on the back burner and just enjoyed each other and reflected on what really matters. though it was an amazingness weekend; it was BUSY!

saturday morning's run welcomed me with open arms of humongous rain drops. the group 12 miler was cancelled because the staff had seen some lightening on the course and didn't want to get sued and was worried about our safety. jess and i were totally bummed about the cancellation because we'd eaten too much the day before and needed to burn the calories we are that dedicated.jess had already pointed penny pilot in the direction of the YMCA and was going to do her 10 on the DREADmill. have fun, sister. i'd chance my life in a hail storm before giving 10 a-go at the Y. i sent her a message and said, "it's not raining that much at my house - i think i'm going to try to get some miles done in my neighborhood." she vetoed the gym and joined me on what would turn out to be the soggiest and most hilarious run we've tackled. it started out fine.... a nice little drizzle and we even said, "oh, this is totally doable. i mean, i'd prefer this over heat...." and then, the BOTTOM FELL OUT. i'm talkin' - downpour. all we could do is laugh and drag our soaking wet bodies up and down the street. we managed to successfully log 8 miles, just the two of us, in the pouring down rain. we have now conquered snow, wind, heat, and RAIN in our training. done and done.

jwood thought we were completely nuts but snapped a pic of us when we finished,
 and after he told us that we stunk. 
words of adoration :) haha

after a nice, long warm shower - i looked out the window and the frazzlin' sun was shining! impeccable timing.

i was super happy to see the sun because jwood and i had planned a fun filled day at the Jack Daniel's Distillery! the Distillery, that still makes every single bottle of Jack Daniels, is just a short hour drive away.

gorgeous rural Tennessee skies at the JDD. 

the grounds were so pretty!!

jwood is taking an online Tennessee History class and one of the bonus point assignments is to visit an historical place. the JDD was on the list and an capitalized on my opportunity. i've been wanting to go since i moved to Nashville! jwood obliged and we had a blast!

 if you're in the area, it's totally worth the trip.

 it's beautiful drive down through rural Tennessee and tour was a blast.

Mr. Jack himself

amazing to think that all of the Jack Daniels in the world started out from this cave spring.

we, of course, had to buy a commemorative bottle - though neither of us drinks Jack Daniels.

sunday morning, jwood and i attended the sunrise Easter service at Brentwood Baptist. the service was great, as always, and we both left with a song and a little cheer in our hearts. 

we hosted brunch at our house with the neighbors, P & B. 

we took total advantage of the beautiful weather and brunched outside on our patio. ahhhhh!

the Easter bunny visited our house! he knew exactly what i wanted - 

ferns, watering can, lilies, round-up, and M&Ms.

Lily loved Easter Sunday as much as we did. we came home and she was playing with this little chicken and wearing her Sunday pearls :)

jwood and i spent the afternoon not resting on the Sabbath.

 we worked. but, it was so worth it. we are so proud of our little abode!

spring has sprung at the woodhood. 

WebMD

this past saturday was a drop week - we "only" ran 6 miles. easy peasy. 

it was actually a great run. jess and i have set a small time goal for the upcoming country music 1/2. it's not an unattainable goal; just one where we need to ramp up our speed the next month in order to obtain it. this past saturday was our first test run and we killed it.... and our legs and lungs. d'oh. 

but, we felt good about it. 

i felt good. successful. accomplished. eager for the next run. 

until saturday night. after my run on saturday morning, i threw on my montrail flops - like i do most often when i'm lounging about. i have a SUPER high arch. i call these my "orthopedic" shoes. they're amazing. they're made by the same company that make the inserts i use in my running shoes. i should probably have inserts in all of my shoes.

montrail, you can send my commission check to the woodhood. thanks. 

anywho. i wore these puppies all day on saturday and then threw on the go-to ballet flats when i went out for a bit that evening. FAIL. as soon as i started walking in my flats, my foot started hurting. i didn't think much about it that night - maybe my little feet were just tired - it had been a long day and a hard run that morning. 

i didn't think much about it.... until i could barely put my foot on the ground sunday morning. ohhhhhhhhh nooooo. 

 

*tear*

i refuse to get "injured." nope - not at this point in the game. 

it's been sore and hurting and the only thing that relieves the

 ache is my beloved "orthopedic" flops. 

today is my 3rd day of pain and 3rd day of rockin' these stylin' flops. 

i love them, but they don't quite go with my work britches. 

my boss kind of turned his head sideways giving me the "what are you wearing on your feet" look and i said - nope. don't look at me like that. i'm injured and i don't want to talk about it.

i opted out of running and went to spin yesterday to a) give my foot a rest from the banging that we give the pavement and b) i knew today's weather would be amazing. ha!

i'm heading to the brilliant god's at fleet feet on my lunch break to get their opinion. you know, because i've already been on google and webMD and have diagnosed myself with the worst case of plantar fasciitis and will probably be sidelined from running for the rest of my life. THE SKY IS FALLING! THE SKY IS FALLING! just call me henny penny. 

my rockin' runner friend, jenn, is recovering from a pesky foot injury too.

 she is back in action - i'm channeling her healed energy!

so - send good foot vibes my way! hopefully i just need some new Montrail inserts 

(and more sexy flops) 

and i'll be back and better than ever!

 (i better be.....)

stay tuned.............. 

cabin fever

yes, i've been on the go a lot lately. 

from new orleans to arkansas in just a few short weeks. 

but, i STILL have cabin fever. 

i can just smell the plastic from my Chacos. they're calling my name. 

the aroma from the dirt and the trees is intoxicating.

my Leki poles have grabbed my arm every day, 

as they hang in my garage waiting to be used. 

the pack that carries my goods on a lovely hike is feeling lonely and has the desire to be filled.

with Spring literally just days around the corner -

 my cabin fever is tugging at me now, more than ever. 

i can't wait for camping & hiking season! 

the hills are my home and i'm feeling homesick. 

the LeConte Lodge air lift is today.

 each spring - they chopper in all of the goods they need for the season.

 they posted on their blog that they need help - pick me! pick me! too bad i'm so far away - i'd so be there. speaking of too bad - why can't i just be independently wealthy without a bill or care in the world? 

or, have the guts to Just Do It (thanks, nike) 

oh, how jwood and i would love to spend a summer atop that glorious mountain on the crew at the Lodge. how fun would that be!? 

when we hit the lottery, you can forward all mail up there. 

i can't wait to peel off these layers (and winter pounds) and hit the trails. 

i also plan to get in a few trail runs this spring too. i missed the "right of passage" run this past weekend with my running crew from fleet feet. while i was in arkansas, the crew and jdoss tackled the Percy Warner Park 11.2. i'm so proud of her and a tinge bit jealous that she got to shred her legs and mark that run off the list.  

dear spring, 

i welcome your company. 

hurry the heck up. i'm going to burn my cabin down, otherwise.

kthanks. 

new orleans - whirlwind 1/2 marathon style

what. a. weekend.

this past weekend is one that i will never forget - whirlwind trip with my most favoritest sister with the most bizarre stories.

we sailed southbound and down on friday afternoon - into the sunset with high hopes of getting to the hotel, checking in, and hitting up bourbon street for some cultural flair.

not. so. much.

we supposedly had reservations at the best western on magazine street. like - 1 block from bourbon. perfect. walking distance from everything - very inexpensive. awesome set up. right? nope.

if it sounds too good to be true, it generally is.

as meg and i rolled our tired butts into NOLA, we were bedazzeled by the lights and sounds and could not WAIT to get out and take it all in. best western had other plans. like - plans to basically leave us homeless in new orleans. thanks, jerks.

it went something like this....

me: yes, i'm here to check in. mwood.

BW clerk: mwood?

me: yes. last name - wood.... like what trees are made of.

BW clerk: ma'am - we don't have any one by the last name of wood staying here.

me: (frustrated and pissed) umm, what? you have to.

BW clerk: do you have a confirmation number?

me: (not-so-nice-mwood-voice): no - the broad on the phone told me i didn't need it. (desperate) do you have any rooms for the weekend?

BW clerk: no ma'am - we're all booked up and so is everywhere else in downtown new orleans.

WTF.

in complete disbelief - i got back in the car with meg and we proceed to call EVERY. HOTEL. IN. DOWNTOWN. NEW. ORLEANS. literally. every hotel establishment from the ritz carlton to the la quinta were booked solid. nothing.nada.zip.

we were hotel-less.

homeless in freggin' new orleans.

we couldn't just stay any old place in new orleans. we didn't know the ghetto from the suburbs. i didn't wan to end up in district 9 and meg and i be-bop into a hotel and get stolen. i didn't want my body or my bags to get stolen because the flippin' best western screwed up.

what now? ughhhhh. 

at one point - i was in tears, meg was smoking cigs looking for a gas station to fill up and come back to nashville.

we rousted our mother from her slumber to give us advise, as she's familiar with NOLA and the goods and bads places to visit. she recommended metairie, which is near the airport. airports seem like safe areas so we nail us a spot in the holiday inn. done and done. kudos to holiday inn for not leaving us homeless in new orleans.

adapt and overcome. pass the heck out. but only after meg gets hit on in the hotel lobby by some dude that wants her to bring any extra bud lite to his room.

 dude - there won't be extra bud lite after the night we've had. try again.

we had no where to go but up from that point -

saturday was AWESOME.

new orleans has such an amazing culture and history. 

from the buildings to the music to the food to the booze.

i dragged poor megs all over that place! 

we had 1 day and we had to get it all - or at least we try!

our first stop was the expo - the only thing that could have been worse was to show up at the expo and them to say - mwood .......... we don't have a bib number for you. thankfully, they did and i was ready to go! the expo was nice - i signed up for free lettuce wraps from p.f. chang's at the finish. yes! i got my loot and we headed to the french quarter.

even the expo was decked in mardi gras garb.

we had shrimp yumminess for lunch at cafe beignet.

Shrimp PoBoy with hot sauce. don't mind if i do.

we toured bourbon street. 

HELLO, BOURBON!!

i couldn't get over how amazing the architecture was - or how cool mimes really are. ha!

the masks were awesome. 

cafe du monde - we didn't get begnets because the line was too long. 

(i was going to cheat on lent. oops.)

we hung our jaws in amazement at the art on jackson square -

 i bought a painting! 

this is the beautiful church at jackson square.

we shopped around the french market and just breathed in 

and soaked in all that is new orleans.

 meg got her palms read and we lounged in the park. the weather could not have been any better. it was upper 50s and sunny. what a tease....

my friend, john micheal, and a new friend bryce were running the full. 

we met up with them in the late afternoon for happy hour! yay for "big ass beers!"

 we had an amazing dinner and called it a day.

 hello, crawfish, shrimp, and sausage pasta with creole sauce. please and thank you.

meg figured up that we probably walked 10 miles that day. lawd.

 congrats to meg for completing a 15k on saturday! haha

it was a good thing that we left bourbon street for dinner when we did - it would have been reeeeeeally easy to just forget about the race and have a hand grenade good time!

but, we were early to bed because we were freggin' worn out and could not take another step  to get ready for the MARDI GRAS 1/2 MARATHON! yay!

we woke sunday morning to beautiful blue skies and projected highs in the 60s with sunshine.

YES!

meg dropped me off at the starting line and she took off to find parking at the finish. the only complaint i had about the race was that the starting line and finish line were forever away from each other. logistics were difficult. thankfully, megs is a smart girl and had no trouble. did i mention i have the best sister in the entire world?

i was in corral 10 and was surrounded by super people at the start. everyone was chit chatting and excited about the day and race ahead. i was trying to get myself all pumped and ready to go and get Baby G geared up. Baby G got lost. Baby G searched and searched and searched for satellites forever. garmie apparently had too many "big ass beers" and couldn't figure out where he was. i was so irritated. it didn't really start working until like 3/4 of the way into the first mile. so, i was clueless as to what kind of time i was making - i only was able to monitor my average pace. 

note to self: if you're running in a different town, 

turn Baby G on the day before to gain GPS location to avoid drunk garmie.

the race was perfect. the course was flat and the route was through the most amazing scenery. to borrow from our friend bryce, "this race is a guilt-free way to get an awesome tour of the city." we ran through the garden district, downtown, through some neighborhoods with houses that made me salivate and green with envy, by the mausoleums, 

and into the city park.

i was literally so angry with myself at about mile 10. the first 10 miles were perfect. i made good time and was just taking it all in stride. since i have half arse prepared, my leggies started to scream at me around 10.5. they were like - 

ummmm, this is all you're prepared for, jerk. 

what areeeee youuuu doooiinnnngggg?

shut. up. legs. we're doing this. you can yell later.

i rounded the bend into the park and was able to somehow find my sister in the crowd and she snapped this pic at mile 13 - only .1 to go....

i was so excited to be vertical and finishing my 2nd 1/2!

i did it!!! :)

stretching it out. yes - the legs were yelling.

i have the best sister in the entire universe.

we had time to play around the after race festivities - and get free lettuce wraps - 

while waiting on JM and Bryce to finish. 

we caught bryce at 26.1 - only .1 to go! he killed it - 3:45! 

this is what a post -marathon looks like, folks. 

JM's goal was under 4 hours.

his time: 3:59. whoop!

all smiles! 

i finished in 2:07:30. not bad for not really being up to par.

 i'll take it.... and the medal.... and the awesome tech tee..... and the lettuce wrap.... 

and the amazing memories! 

dear big easy,

thanks for treating us so well. (except for best western)

we love you.

we had a great time and we will see you again!

love,

very sore and tired and PROUD runner