new vocabulary

Naomi is such a genius that she makes up her own vocabulary, don't waste time trying to look these up...feel free to just start using them in your everyday language. We were driving around looking at Christmas lights one night and there was a house we stopped at that had all sorts of figures and even a Santa in a helicopter...to which Naomi said "Malek" we were like "what?" then she said it again and again. We said "What does Malek mean?" to which she says "It means when you DON'T see a helicopter". What is even funnier is that if you ask her today what malek means she will tell you the same without hesitation.

Another word she recently made up is called Pescit . A pescit is the ball used in playing jacks. I have zero idea where this came from but she definitely seems sure of herself. I don't even have the heart to correct her because it is so freaking funny. She will ask "Mommy where is my pescit?"and unfortunately I know exactly what she is talking about...

The Race is Done!!!

Well after all of the hype we have now completed our first half marathon together. I want to take this time to congratulate my little sister. I'm really proud she made it to the finish line. She would not quit the whole way even though she could hardly breathe. Maybe I'm a big sissy but I'm kind of partial to oxygen and for some reason I think I really need it. Not Natalie, she just kept saying, "I'm gonna finish this son of a #$%@! if its the last thing I do." Wouldn't you know it two hours and forty minutes later we crossed that finish line. The only problem was when we got to the finish line I tried to slow down just enough to make sure Natalie beat me. Evidently I crossed the starting line first and I ended up beating her by a second. I just want to make it clear that I had all of the intentions in the world to make sure she won the race, that's just the kind of guy I am. For anyone out there that enjoys running I recommend running in a half marathon just to say you did it. It is challanging, just ask Natalie, but it is worth it. When your running down the street and all along the route there are local people just cheering you on. Sounds cheesy, but when you're out there trying to do your best it really means alot. That cheering is about as helpful as the water and gatoraide stations. Natalie is going to continue training and our next one together will probably be the Columbus Marathon in October. I am training for the full marathon in Garden City, Kansas on April 26, 2008. I am pretty excited about that one. Once again, Way to go Natalie! Your Eldest, smartest and best looking brother is very, very, proud of you!

5 days left!

Ok, we are down to crunch time now! Jamie and I have 5 days until our race and it is low mileage running week for us. I am so excited to run with Jamie, I think it will be a great experience. I am also ready to not be running in the snow!!

Little Rock, here we come!

To all of my fans, I'm back.

After my youngest sister gave me some crap about the fact that I have not posted since my first one, I decided to try it again. But my memory isn't as good as it was and I couldn't remember my password. I tried to use it as an excuse but to no avail. Natalie just berated me until I felt like I had to try something else. So, with the help of Blogspot I was able to get the job done. Isn't technology grand? About my running, I have been under the weather with a cold and haven't put the miles in that my little sister has. But I am not worried, I should be able to pick it back up tomorrow and kick it into high gear to get ready for Little Rock. Well, that's about all I have to say for today, I don't have any cool pictures of wildlife to show anyone. The only wildlife out in the morning when I run is the local pack of coyotes and they never get close enough to be photographed.

10 Miles

What?? Really...I ran 10 miles today! I cannot even tell you how great it feels to have accomplished 10 miles in 6 degree weather yet to boot. I have to admit that I wasn't quite looking forward to it, but I decided to change my thought process and think about how great it would feel to be DONE. I also decided to go to a park that has a huge loop (almost 4 miles around) and it was out completely in nature, I LOVED it. It was amazing to seriously be out in the wild, it was freezing, sunny...and I was lucky enough to see some deer very close to me. Here are a couple pics I snapped with my camera phone (ok, so that was the only stop I made...I had to, they were too beautiful not to capture).

New routine

I have decided to mix up my work out routine...as it stands I am following the training schedule and running about 20-25 miles a week. I also do strength straining 3x a week, on top of other cardio on my off days. Soooo I have also decided that I am going to throw swimming into the mix! I am not a great swimmer, I would love to be, so I started today (bought good one piece and goggles to motivate me). I sucked up any embarrassment I have about my swimming style and went for it. I swam laps for a total of 40 minutes, and I have to say it kicked my a$$!! I was really tired and out of breath, which I love. I felt like I was getting a serious workout in. I am going to try to do this once a week on my off days. Now if I could get my diet under control... I would finally see the results of all this hard work ;)

WTH

OK, we have all been sick with the flu, now I have a cold...I am supposed to run my 8 miles tomorrow- I was back on track and ran my 6 last saturday and 3 on Tuesday outside. Jeff got me all this cold weather gear, along with my new nano ipod- so I am loving it. I also have a watch that tracks my time, calories, speed & distance. Since I have my routes mapped out I was able to see that the watch was pretty much dead on, which was great. I am hoping to shake this cold and be able to run my 8 miles on Saturday or Sunday. I hate being sick!