Races through the States

Weight gain. We have all experienced it, and unless you happen to be one of the 5% of the population who is actually underweight, it was completely unwanted. Well, I have found the one thing weight gain is good for: motivation. As a college athlete, I ran and ran and ran some more, and never actually enjoyed it, because someone was making me do it. Now, it's all I know to do to stay in shape, and I have finally grown to love it.

My second motivation for this goal comes from some good friend's of Dan and I. These two friends embarked on a 400 mile trek this summer across the state of Wisconsin on bikes. When I heard about them, I thought, "how could I do something like that?" Of course, I am not a bike rider, really, but love running. It would take MONTHS for me to run across the state of South Carolina, much less the country. Soooo, I decided to set a goal to run a race in every state. I am two states down, 48 to go. And who knows, I may include Puerto Rico if I'm feeling frisky. Check out Nick and Amanda's blog: 2 Wheels Through WI.

My list of runs:
Flowertown 5k, March 20010, 32:00, Summerville, SC
5k to Relay, May 2010, 31:00, Spartanburg, SC
Turkey Day 5k, November 2010, 30:00, Charleston, SC
Charlotte Racefest Half Marathon, April 2011, 2:40, Charlotte, NC
5k to Relay, May 2011, 28:30, Spartanburg, SC Personal Record

Up next:
Charleston Half Marathon, January 2012, Charleston, SC

I'm open to any other suggestions :)

May is so close I can smell it

Anyone who knows me has to know that May is one of my favorite months of the year. Why? For quite a few reasons- the first and foremost being my birthday. The rest of the reasons, in no particular order are Cinco de Mayo, also known as mine and Dan's anniversary (not for much longer), May means one more month of school, Memorial Day, and I could go on and on forever.

On a different note, I am currently watching the NFL draft. I love watching the draft and it is something that I look forward to every year, but it can be so time consuming. I can definitely tell a difference and it's much better now that it's down to 10 minutes, but let's be real- I only get two minutes in fantasy! For the past few years, I have had a particular player who I was pretty excited to see go. Last year was Carlos Dunlap, the year before was Jared Cook, and that's where my memory starts to leave me. I'm always going to be a huge supporter of my alma mater, Fort Dorchester High School, so this year I am excited to see where the Fort's own Robert Quinn goes. Of course, it was also exciting to see where AJ Green went as well, as he is Summerville's own.

I hope everyone else enjoys the draft and enjoys your coming weekend :)

The name game

How did you parents decide on your name?
Apparently my dad just came up with it on his own.

Do your initials (first/middle/last name) spell anything funny?
MRW- as in Mr. Woods. Yes, I get hell for it all the time.

Did you take your middle name from childhood or did you drop your middle name and take you maiden name as your middle name? (Of if unmarried, what do you plan to do?)
I am still kinda up in the air about this. I think I am going to take my maiden name as my middle name.

Are you or will you name your children systematically (ie. same first letter, same origin, etc?)
I don't think so. I've got some names written down that I like, but there's not really anything systematic about them.

Did you decide on names as a little girl? Did you stick to them or change your mind?
I did, but I definitely am not sticking to them. They were weird.

Does your family have any names that have been passed down through generations?
Jennings and John

Do you look at the meaning of the name or just the name itself?
Just the name itself.

Do you name pet names with human names or dog names?
Usually human names. The only two dogs I've named were Logan and Cooper.

Are there any names that you have an affinity or dislike for based on a childhood experience or someone you once knew?
Definitely. And this is one of the negatives about being a teacher- I never want to name a child after a former student. That really limits me.

What are some of your favorite names and why?
I am not going to share any because that's how they get stolen, but as a southern girl, I love old southern names.

Your turn

Bucket list- half marathon- check

Yesterday I ran my first EVER half marathon! In high school, I never would have thought that I would be a runner. Of course, I did the required running for volleyball, but I always hated it- probably because someone was making me. Now, I have fallen in love with the sport, and it has become a way for me to challenge myself and push myself to levels that I have never been to before.
Towards the end of college, I started to realize that with my body type, I'd be 500 pounds if I didn't stay active. As a college athlete, I turned to what I knew best: running. Back then, I would run about 2 miles a day, or 3 if I was feeling pretty crazy. After college, I realized this weight control thing was not going to get easier unless I really stepped up my game. So, I started running 4, maybe 5 miles a day. Now that I am getting married, I have decided I have got to step my game up even more.
About a year ago, I ran my first 5k, and that's when I became addicted. Not long after my first 5k, a friend started putting a bug in my ear about a half marathon. I kept saying there was no way I'd ever run 13.1 miles. I toyed with idea a little, but never thought too seriously about it. Then, I noticed a lot of my other friends were doing it, and I started to look at training plans and I realized that this might be something that is do-able. I convinced a few friends to take on the challenge with me, and their involvement and companionship in the training process has been instrumental in my completing this goal. We originally started training in late November, but got off track over Christmas break, so we started all over again in January.
Overall, I'd have to say that this was one of the most rewarding yet painful experiences I have ever been through in my life. Crossing the finish line, while extremely exhilarating, was also very nauseating. I made a bee-line to the porta-jons. It also rained pretty hard during some points and was very windy. The course was extremely hilly and I have made up my mind that I will not do that race again, unless they change the course. I will run another half marathon though. I was not extremely satisfied with my performance on Saturday, so I will be striving to improve my time and endurance. For any of you out there who are considering running one- DO IT! Even if you have only run about 3 miles, that was the starting point of my training. It really is rewarding and you can do it.

March Madness

Ahhh, March Madness... not exactly my favorite sporting event of the year, but I do enjoy it. One of the most important reasons why I love March Madness is because I have all of my classes fill out brackets. If a student fills out a bracket and it's correct, they get an extra credit grade. Some of the students REALLY get into it and it leads to some pretty heated discussions, while some ask questions like, "Can I choose two teams? I think it's going to end in a tie."
Another reason why I enjoy March Madness is because it's the only time of year I really watch college basketball. I used to really love college basketball when I was in middle school, but I have kind of neglected that passion the past few years. A lot of my friends get involved in some kind of bracket pool, so I always love being able to participate in that. This year, a group of my local friends made a deal that the winners would get dinner cooked for them by the losers.
Lastly, March Madness means we are getting closer to the end of the school year, and this year, I'd say I have a few things to look forward to this summer. It also means it's closer to opening day to baseball. I don't wanna brag or anything, but with the pitching staff the Red Sox have brought in, I am foreseeing a bright future.

On the discussion topic- who do you think will win the tournament? I chose Duke, just based on tradition. Also, how do you feel about the bowl vs. playoff situation in college football? I think the success that March Madness has argues the point that college football could be switched to a playoff situation. Each game could still be sponsored, but the teams would move on after their respective games. And let's be serious, people are going to watch college football. No one is going to say, "They changed college football to a playoff system? I'm not watching that."

Ohhhhh Mexicoooo

Our flights are officially booked for our seven-day honeymoon right outside of Playa del Carmen which is just south of Cancun. We are staying at Secrets Maroma Beach (at left), which has received some really wonderful reviews. We are both so excited. Ever since our trip to Jamaica, we have been itching to get back to the Caribbean on an all-inclusive resort.

Some of the more exciting aspects of our trip will be:

Ziplining


Seeing Tulum:


And Chichen Itza:


*I am imagining Dan trying to say these names, and just for fun, I think I will make him communicate with the concierge that this is where we want to go.

Eating some real, authentic Mexican food:


Attending the tequila tasting class on our resort:

(I'll be sure to get good pics of Dan's after faces)

Hopefully making this bikini look almost as good as the Victoria's Secret model who is wearing it:


And lastly, just relaxing on a beautiful beach

My version of Twitter

With all of the new social networking sites these days, I must admit, I get a little overwhelmed. I am in no way denying that I don't regularly stalk facebook, but other than that, I don't really understand many of the others. I've visited Twitter once or twice just to see some of my friends' actual pages, but it all seems rather foreign to me. Some have told me that I should follow them on Twitter, but to do that, I would have to tweet, and that's just not happening. In college, I actually had a blog, so this is the most familiar, most similar version of tweeting you'll get out of me.

This blog will mostly take on the purpose of keeping friends and family up-to-date on what is going on in our lives- Dan, Cooper, and I. With no further ado- here is a list of some of the most exciting things going on in our lives right now (and, keep in mind, we live the lives of 70 year olds):

• Dan's team is currently 5-1.
• Cooper successfully stole my pudding cup and took it into "his room" to eat it.
• I have lost 7 pounds in my first month of my diet. I'd like to lose 13 more.
• My volleyball team only has one more tournament- Regionals in Charlotte.
• Spring Break is coming up for both of us (2 more weeks!)
• Wedding Invitations will be out by the end of the month.
• I will be running my first half marathon April 16th in Charlotte!
  

Disclaimer: This blog will most likely not be kept up with everyday. I know I live the life of a 70 year old, but definitely not a retired 70 year old. I also cannot promise this blog will be interesting at all.

Thanks for visiting! Goodnight!