Full Heart = Happy Runner

Today we ran the Red Shoe Run, a 10K benefitting our local Ronald McDonald House. A charity that has helped so many of my friends and I pray will continue to receive the funding needed to continue their great work! 

I woke up with a terrible cough, snuffy nose and felt yucky overall. I just prayed it would pass and continued with my pre-race preparation! I have been resting and taking it easy due to an IT Band issue that started back in February. This was my longest run / race since that all started. I knew I had the option of joining some friends for the 5K but really wanted to push for the 10K! 

Crystal picked me up right at 7:00am and we made our way to Southwood. We love to run in the Southwood Community, it's mostly flat and provides shady areas. We were joined by several of running friends. Our group is growing like crazy so pre-race is always full of laughter and silliness! I enjoy this group so much! 

The race started promptly at 8:30am, always appreciated! The route was great; however, the signs marking the race route were confusing. I stayed within sight of my running buddies, Tonya & Cory for a good portion of the race. I skipped getting water at the first water station and really wanted some at the second station; however, there weren't enough volunteers there and I missed out on getting water. I was frustrated by that as I was feeling a little parched and needed a little sip of something! I had to fight off the frustration and just focus on running. The turn off for the 10K runners was also a little confusing so again I relied on my girls to go the right way, they did. Somewhere between miles 3 and 4 we were on the out and back portion of the run. This was perfectly timed! My leg was telling me to quit to just walk, my heart was saying just run and my mind was getting lost in the middle of trying to decide what to do. All of a sudden I look up to see my best running buddy, Allison, waving and sending me a high five in the air. Then shortly after I saw our friend Cindy, who was screaming and hollering with excitement. Next was Tonya with her sweet smile. After I made the turn I saw two more of our Mom's Run This Town girls, Tammy and Becky again with more high fives and smiles! This little bit of on course encouragement was exactly what I needed! I kept running, thankfully water station three was staffed by a family friend, Amy and her girls, they took care of us with plenty of water cups ready. I managed to stay under 10 minute miles and finished with a 10K PR at 1:01:25. 

My leg is a little tight but thanks to my foam roller and some Advil I think it will be okay. (Will keep you posted, ha) My heart is very full after today's run! I am reminded on a daily basis why God has placed certain people in my life. We all encourage each other every single day. We don't need a run to show our friends we care; however, it was a blessing to me today to see them on that route. We are Sisters in Faith and Fitness! 

Love these girls! 

Congrats to Megan and Aunt Kim on a great first 5K! 

My Best Buddies! 

Badass Babes, Sweat Pink Sisters, My Mentors 

Let me close by saying that my heart is extra full today as I celebrate this race but more importantly I celebrate 3 years of being with the greatest person ever, my husband! 3 years ago today we went on our first date and have never looked back. He was a bright shining star during a very dark time in my life. As the quote says "He was willing to take my baggage and unpack it." In many ways, he made that past his own by loving my son, Riley, as if he were his own flesh and blood. As many of you know, next week we celebrate one year of marriage. We both agreed we would not ever stop celebrating April 27th as it was the best lunch date ever! We are heading to celebrate under the oaks at Dick Howser Stadium, just as we spent our first weekend together, cheering on the Florida State Seminoles baseball team! 

I love you, Mr. Woods

I hope everyone who has a run this weekend will experience great encouragement and happy miles! 

xoxoxo

Mitzi 

Esprit de She ~ Atlanta

Earlier today I received an email from Lauren with Lifetime Fitness notifying me that I have been selected as Ambassador for the Esprit de She - Atlanta Event.  As an Ambassador  I will run the 1oK on November 7th. I will be sharing more details directly related to this event through my blog. As time grows closer I will have some giveaways to share with you as well. YAY!! 

What could be better than socializing, shopping and an early evening run through one of my favorite cities?! Having friends with me, of course! This is going to be a great event and you don't want to miss out. 

For now, check out the website and consider joining me in Atlanta for an unbelievable evening on the town! 

If you can't make the Atlanta event with me then check out their website there are plenty of opportunities to join in celebrating "The Spirit of Her" in their inaugural year of racing! 

xoxoxo
Mitzi 


P.S. - For my running buddies reading this and having a panic attack...No worries, I will be in Savannah on Friday morning! I have a plan :-) 

Wednesday Fun

A few throwbacks... 

FSU Baseball - May 2010

Atlanta - July 2010

First 5K together - Feb. 2011

xoxoxo

Mitzi 

It's time to celebrate!!!

Wishing you happiness 

To welcome each morning, 

Wishing you laughter 

To make your heart sing. 

Wishing you friendship 

Sharing and caring, 

And all of the joy 

The birthday can bring! 

Happy Birthday to one of the best! You inspire us daily to be a better person today than we were yesterday! Enjoy YOUR day!!!

I realize the photo is from a year ago but it's one of my favorites from that day!!! 

Happy Birthday!!

We Pray for Boston

"So do not fear, for I am with you;

    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Isaiah 41:10 

There's no escaping the tragic news out of Boston yesterday. The bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon touches everyone, runners and non-runners alike. We all stopped in our tracks at 3:00pm yesterday and watched as the story unfolded. A bombing at the finish line of a race, what?! The finish line is the best place of any race, no matter the length. It's a time of celebration and reuniting with family and friends. Yesterday brought about different emotions from that particular finish line. 

While none of my running buddies were in Boston for the race, we had several from our area that were running the marathon. Thankfully, all are accounted for and most are back in Tallahassee. I can't imagine how they must all feel this morning. For some the memory of their first Boston Marathon is forever tainted. For others that were fortunate enough to finish, they may have PR'd but are reluctant to celebrate their own accomplishment. 

The running communities that I am apart of are some of the most encouraging areas of my life. I know it's been said, let me say it again "Runners are strong, Runners UNITED are even stronger!" This person has upset the wrong group of people. We will not "run" from this with fear, instead we will unite and face it together... just like every other finish line. 

I have been asked about our upcoming trip the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. This one of the largest road races with roughly 50,000 or more running the race. The finish line party in Piedmont Park is always packed with thousands of spectators, friends and family awaiting their runners. Am I going in July to Atlanta? YOU BET I AM! This will be my third trip to Atlanta to celebrate July 4th. It's an atmosphere that's hard to explain, people are just happy at the PRR. It's an atmosphere of everyone celebrating their freedom to be up at the crack dawn to run! Our Badass Fitness and Moms RUN This Town group members will unite on the streets of Atlanta and do what we do best. We will conquer the streets of Atlanta together! 

My continued prayers for the families effected by this tragedy! In honor of those families several of my fellow running buddies (and baseball moms) will meet this afternoon to get in a few miles. I encourage everyone to run or walk at least a mile today. If you physically can't then do something to honor those families. Many of us have on race shirts to show unity today, others have on Blue and Yellow. Today we all just pray! 

xoxoxo
Mitzi

#WePray4Boston #WeRun4Boston 

1/2 way through Round 2

This round of Whole 30 has been harder than I would like to admit. I've had some emotional ups and downs which turned into days of little sleep with little appetite. When I decided to complete Round 2 in April I had very trivial reasons:
     
I want to be in best shape ever for my one year anniversary on May 5, 2013.
I want 37 to be the strongest year ever spiritually, physically and mentally.
I want to drop the last few pounds that I missed on the first round. 
I want to be leaner and focus on a stronger core. 

Well today marks day #14 of Round 2. I feel as though I have once again failed to follow the program 100%. I don't mean this to be a negative. I have kept within the "rules" of the program much better than before, much much better. I am just saying I am not perfect :-) However, I have noticed small changes. I have cheek bones, I have shoulders, biceps, triceps, traps, etc.. I even have quads! I have gotten a little faster with my 5K time, finally breaking 30:00! 

I have noticed I have even more energy than before, this is scary to most around me. On the flip side, when I lay down at night I fall asleep. Granted this is not every night but most nights I crash when I hit the pillow. 

I want my friends and family to see that if you are confident in whatever you goals may be, trivial or not, they are attainable. All you need is faith, a little encouragement to reach that goal! 

I have been asked lately "Why are you doing all this extra?" or "I get tired just trying to keep up with you, how do you do it?". I am doing it to be healthy and strong not skinny! I have struggled with blood pressure issues, skin issues and female issues. I can say that with my workout routine and keeping close watch on my diet I don't have to take medicine for those aliments anymore. As a matter of fact, I don't deal with any of that hardly at all. 

I wasn't going to add photos to this post; however, I think sometimes we are motivated by the "success" pictures. Yes, Whole 30 has worked for us; even if you don't want to go to that extreme just commit to making small changes in your diet. Commit to getting in the gym or going for a run, commit to making your life more healthy! 

           

              January 19, 2013

                                                      

               Saturday, April 13th

Through faith and commitment nothing is impossible! Just get a plan and stick with it, don't give up! I leave you with a simple prayer...

"Run by my side; live in my heartbeat; give strength to my steps. As the cold surrounds, as the wind pushes me, I know you surround me. As the sun warms me, as the rain cleanses me, I know you are touching me, challenging me, loving me. And so I give you this run. Thank you for matching my stride" - Amen ( The Runner's Prayer) 

xoxoxo,

Mitzi 

Happy 5K

Today was supposed to be a fun run with a few ladies from my local Moms Run This Town group. We were running for bling from the Happy 5K Virtual Race. A few people had to cancel due to schedule conflicts and the rest of us decided to skip it because it looked as though bad weather would be hitting about the time we planned to run. 

After telling my husband that I was disappointed about not being able to run, he encouraged me to put on my running clothes and run with him. Yes, the radar had one little red spot on it but it was a good hour away at best. I figured what the heck! I sent one of my friends a text that we were heading out for a run in hopes that if something happened she would come get us, ha! As they say "Safety First".

We took off on his normal training run route, it was humid with a slight breeze. We ran across a busy street into another neighborhood. We were about 1 mile into our run when it started to drizzle, then it started to pour! Scott asked what I wanted to do and I said "I want to run!". The rain kept coming so we decided to come back to our neighborhood just incase it got any worse. We laughed and encouraged each other along the way. We even ran a portion of our neighborhood which is straight uphill, urgh! It was a tough run but we did it! We were soaked and smiling! 

I love that my husband encourages me to step out of the box every now and then. Who knew that running a 5K in the rain could be such fun! If it had not been for him I would not have completed the Happy 5K. 

While I missed running with my usual partners in crime, it was nice to spend a little extra time with my husband! 

Just a little soaked!! 

Happy Running, 

Mitzi

P.S. - If I were to count all the 5K races from the past few weekends plus the Happy 5K, I would be at 10 toward my "13 in 2013" goal! #OHSNAP 

The Finish Line

“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” 
~ Phil 3:14 

The finish line of every race is the best part! 
The sense on accomplishment that hopefully you feel at 
each finish line no matter the length of the race! 

The journey to the finish isn't always perfect or pretty but the prize is always worth it. 

Today's post is in honor of the finish line, not necessarily the earthly finish line. 

If you're struggling to get there, stick with it and keep your faith. 

The finish line is closer than you think! 

XOXOXO

Mitzi 

Springtime Tallahassee

The Springtime Tallahassee event has always been one of my favorite events. It was the first parade I took Riley to when he was only 4 days old! Springtime Tallahassee represents all that is good about living here. It's typically beautiful weather, people are out enjoying downtown and people are happy! We live in a happy little town, even though it's the state capital. This year's Springtime Tallahassee might go down as the best ever (besides 2003, hehe).

We planned the "graduation" of our 12 week Run for God bible study around the Springtime Tallahassee 5K/10K annual race. We prepared our group as much we could for the big race day. We met at 7:30am for a group photo. What a great turn out we had from our group. I believe there was about 35 people there, not all pictured below.  We had some that ran the 5K and others took on the 10K challenge.

Pre Race Photo Op :-)

The race started promptly at 8:00am and off we went into downtown Tallahassee. The sun was shining and even caused a bit of a glare on my glasses. We had a good downhill portion for the first 1/2 mile or so then a nice flat surface until we turned onto Lafeyette Street. We ran past the finish line and straight uphill. I never really thought about how steep that hill is until Saturday, wow! We spent time running through a quaint little neighborhood before turning back onto Lafeyette Street with a great downhill run to the finish line! It was a much better than I expected. I didn't have a "goal" this week other than to support my friends running their first 5K's, 10K's or my friends that had set goals for this race. I was just there to have fun! I guess I was having more fun than I knew because I finished with 28:42 on the clock, 9th out of 123 and 143 out of 799 for the 5K. Others experienced the same amount of fun! We had tons of PR's for our group of experienced runners, it's always more fun when almost the whole group has great runs!

The best part of the race for me was cheering on my friends along the way. One portion of the 5K was out and back so we saw each other. I think some of the runners around  me got annoyed with all my hollering but I do not care. I have taken on my role as an encourager pretty seriously so I yelled a ton during the last 1.5 mile of that race! It made people smile, that's what matters!!

It was so great to see many smiling and happy people after the race. God truly blessed our group with an amazing day! I am so thankful for all the success that has come from the Run for God bible study. I hope that everyone will stick with it. I hope that everyone will stick with their daily routines of getting in the word and showing the world that our God is an awesome God!!

After the race we took Riley to the parade along with Aunt Kim, Megan, Crystal and Carson. We had not seen the parade in a few years due to Opening Day at the park where Riley plays baseball. We were very thankful that his game was later in the day so we could stay enjoy the beautiful day. Now that the kids are older and Megan's in college we don't get to hang out on the weekends as much so this was a special to me and Riley. We had a blast! We have more beads than one group should ever have and it was nice to just be together for a couple of hours. Best part, Riley and Carson go along, ALL DAY! They are more like brother and sister and it shows sometimes but not yesterday. I think they enjoyed being together, finally!

All in all it was a fabulous day! I am so thankful for all the blessings that came along with it! 

Here's an album full of pictures to enjoy from the race: https://plus.google.com/photos/101229110441733465648/albums/5864066695969951953?authkey=CInJheakpoPNgAE

xoxoxo
Mitzi

Wordless Wednesday : 10yrs

Fooled ya! I am sure many of you thought this would be related to Riley, again! Nope, today's Wordless Wednesday is in honor of two ladies who've been around for lots of laughs, heartaches and growth! Here's to 10 years of friendship! Love you girls! 

The Line Dancing Days 

July 4th in the Cape 

New Years Eve! 

Fast Forward a few years ... simply because 

I couldn't find the good ones from the years in between! 

May 2012

May 2012

December 2012

Memorial Day

Carson's 10th Bday

January 2013

March 2013

To Stand or Not To Stand

I have been working out off and on with Shannon Colavecchio from Badass Fitness since August of 2012. On several occasions I heard her talk about a "standing desk" at her office. I was positive this was something I would never need to consider. It seemed strange to me!

Fast forward to February 2013 when I suffered an IT band issue from overuse, trying to accomplish too much too fast. After a visit to a few message therapists in town it was suggested I try a "standing desk".. wait a minute! Yes, they suggested the very item that my own trainer / friend uses that I swore wasn't for me. 

After a quick conversation with my Dean and one of our Associate Dean's they both agreed I should try it. If it meant my leg would feel better and it would help me during the day then it was worth letting me try it. Here's a photo of my trial desk: 

Mailboxes with a new purpose :-) 

I knew after a week this was a must. I immediately felt better. I noticed I didn't get that 3pm tired feeling. I noticed that after work I had a little more energy for my afternoon workout sessions. The two gentlemen agreed to order me an official Standing Desk. I am so blessed to have a supportive boss! 

I ordered my current desk from LampsUSA. I love it! Here's a picture of my new standing desk: 

It's become a conversation piece around the office. Everyone wants to know about it! I will share the top three most common questions/comments: 

1: Why are you standing? : It was a suggestion to help me avoid muscle soreness and help my legs get a little stronger. 

2: How do you feel at the end of the day? : I feel great! At first, my legs were a little tired  but after a month I can tell a difference. 

3: I've heard about the standing desk but I am too scared to try it. : TRY IT! Get some boxes and lift that computer, after you have permission from your boss of course. It takes more than a day or two to be convinced so give it two weeks and see how you feel. My bet is you will feel great and wonder why you didn't try this sooner! 

Disclaimer: I am not a fitness expert just an enthusiast so please check with your trusted fitness expert or doctor before trying this.