June 2013

Fun events this month:

-Central Baptist 5k to raise money for the Ecuador mission trip. I did not prepare for this race very much, so my time wasn't impressive. What was most memorable about this race is that we ran it in the pouring rain! I have never done that before, and it was totally worth it!

-VBS at Central Baptist. I volunteered in the nursery this year. Lots of sweet babies and girl talk!

-Britt and Adam's wedding. They had one of the most beautiful receptions I've ever been to!

-5 year anniversary photo session with Abrea Garwood Photography. Photos to come!

-James's scuba trip to Mermet Springs.

-Weekend in Millington to spend Father's Day with my family and to go to Janell and Joseph's wedding. This is also the weekend that Eric moved out of our parents' house and in with James and me. He plans to go to UTM this fall.

My mom got to meet country singer Jimmy Wayne!

-Copeland/Hawkins/Tull family hiking trip to Mt. Cammerer. James, his dad, uncle, brother-in-law, and cousins went hiking in East Tennessee.

James and his dad at the top of the mountain

Copeland/Hawkins/Tull Family

April and May 2013

April and May have come and gone. This has been a big year for us so far, and it seems like we've only just begun. I heard this song at lunch today, and it brought back memories of listening to the Carpenters with my mom. It seemed appropriate for this post. 

April consisted of the following shenanigans:

-I spent the first weekend with some amazing women from our church at Women of Joy Conference in Louisville, KY where we got to hear a concert by Jeremy Camp and several awesome speakers such as Lisa Whelchel, Jill Kelly, Liz Curtis Higgs, and Angela Thomas.

Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory

Riding home from the conference on the church bus

Central Women's Ministry

-We ran with the Skyhawk Veteran Association in the UTM ROTC 5k where James and I both won second place in our age/gender categories. Whoop whoop!

SVA before the race

-My mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, a family friend, and I went on a day trip to the Southern Women's Show in Nashville where we got to see Miss Kay.

The Copeland Metals girls at the SWS

Miss Kay Robertson from Duck Dynasty

-Last but not least, James and I both made it through the end of the semester at UTM which is a very busy time for us. James made all A's!

May began with our 5 year anniversary Carnival cruise from Miami to Cozumel, Belize City, Roatan Island, and Grand Cayman. This was by far one of the best times James and I have ever spent together! We made so many memories and experienced several firsts: our first cruise, our first trip to the beach together, our first visit to the Caribbean, and James's first ocean dive. We absolutely loved it! The weather was perfect, there weren't any ship mishaps, and God kept us safe the entire time. Click here to see some photos from our trip.

We both love traveling, and we try to take advantage of any opportunity to travel abroad as often as we can. This trip added 4 new countries to our growing list. James has visited 10: Brazil, Germany, Kuwait, Iraq, Thailand, Peru, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and the Caymans. I have also visited 10: Japan, Thailand, Peru, Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and the Caymans. We plan to take a break from traveling abroad next year and go to Colorado where I worked two summers during college - Camp Redcloud. I have been patiently waiting to take James there since we started dating, so I am thrilled that we are finally making plans to go!

The rest of May included:

-Getting gutters installed on our house

-Dog-sitting for my co-worker Somsak. He and his family are from Thailand, so we are taking care of their dog, Junior, while they spend the summer back home. We are not typically dog people, but keeping Junior has been so much fun for me. He is an old dog, so he requires some special attention. I have done my best to make life great for him while he's staying with us. He hardly ever barks, he doesn't jump, and he is fairly obedient. He has the sweetest temperament. Such a good boy!

 
-During the last weekend in May, we went to Paris to spend time with James's family and to go to his 10 year high school reunion. Yes, folks, it's been 10 years. We can't believe it either.

Our nieces Evie and Ava

Our nephew Jax

Our nephew Caden

James and Ariel

Fun at the reunion!

February 2013

I started February strong by running 7 miles while visiting my family in Millington, but my half training quickly took a nosedive a week later when I developed a sinus infection. Although I started to feel sick the next weekend, my friends Tara and Felecia and I ran in the Kiss It Goodbye 5k. Here are pics from before and after the race:

 

The sinus infection has lasted well over a month. James wanted me to take a week off from running so I could recover, but I just couldn't shake it even with taking a break. Over the past few weeks, I've only ran a handful of times. Because of that, my knee has started hurting when I run. It just takes time to get back to a point where it won't hurt when I run...time that I don't have before the Murray Half Marathon. With that being said, I made the decision to drop out of the race, and my friend Britt (Felecia's sister) is going to take my spot. I'm a little disappointed, but there will always be other races. I may just stick to shorter races for now anyway.

Only 50 days until we leave for our cruise!

Winter Runnerland 10k

The "Moms Run This Town" Winter Runnerland racers

Murray Half Marathon training group. We finished a 10k!

We kept a good pace together during the race.

Murray Half Marathon training group. Love these girls!

Winter Runnerland 10k medal

January 2013

Just wanted to take a moment to recap January 2013. I have done a fairly decent job at keeping up my New Year's Resolutions. I finished the Hunger Games trilogy yesterday, and I have a long list of books to read. I'd like to try to read one book per week. So far, so good.

I cooked more in the first two weeks of January than the past couple weeks, but keeping up with my half marathon training is taking more time than originally anticipated. For the entire month, I've ran 4 times a week. Two weeks ago, I also started going to a fitness class two nights a week to strengthen my core. The long runs on Saturdays have been fun this time around. I'm training with several of my friends from college and church. We plan to do a few smaller races in the next couple months to help us prepare for the half marathon. Having a group of friends to train with definitely motivates me more than just about anything.

I have already begun to see a difference in how I look and feel since training began. Hopefully, I can keep this up until May 4. That's when we leave for our cruise. I'd love to be more in shape then than I ever have been. I have exactly 100 days to get there!

2012 Recap & 2013 Resolutions

A recap of the resolutions I made in 2012:
1. Grow closer in my relationship with God. (Lifelong process)
2. Read and study Scripture more fervently. (Lifelong process)
3. Exercise more and eat healthier. (Lifelong process)
4. Graduate from the Master of Business Administration program in December. (Completed!)
5. Get into the Master of Science in Information Science program at UTK. (Completed! Although I'm almost certain I've decided not to continue with this program.)
6. Pass the Certified Administration Professional exam in May and get the 9% raise. (Completed! I didn't take the exam in May as originally planned, but I did take it in November and passed!)

2013 Resolutions/Goals: 
1. Grow closer in my relationship with God.
2. Read and study Scripture more fervently.
3. Exercise more and eat healthier.
4. Cook and read more. (Off to a good start: I cooked ham, green beans, purple hull peas, mashed potatoes, pumpernickel bread, and a double berry crisp dessert for dinner last night, and I am almost finished reading the first book in the Hunger Games trilogy.)
5. Train for and run in the Murray Half Marathon in April and complete it within 2 hours and 30 minutes or less.
6. Lose 10-15 pounds before our cruise in May. (I did great with my healthy eating for half of 2012. The past couple months are a different story. So goes that yo-yo effect I am bound and determined to conquer someday!)

December

December has arrived! I love this time of year. James and I bought a live tree this year, and we had it decorated the day before Thanksgiving. We've gone Christmas shopping, wrapped the gifts and nestled them beneath the tree. We attended our church's annual "Hanging of the Green" service. I've been listening to Christmas stations on Pandora 40+ hours a week. We've been to a few Christmas parties. We've exchanged Christmas cards with friends and family. This weekend we're going to visit my family, and next weekend we're going to visit his. The month is flying by!

Here are a few December highlights:

-James finished his first semester of nursing school with an A, two B's, and a C! I am so proud of him. One semester down, five to go!

-I finished the most difficult course in the MBA program with a B! Whew...so glad to have that class behind me. I have only five classes left before I graduate next December.

-I finished my second half marathon with my friend Christina. We weren't going to run together originally, but we were both so glad we did. This race was particularly difficult for both of us because we sustained minor injuries. You may already know about mine from previous posts. My knee started hurting around mile 5, and by mile 8 I was in excruciating pain. Christina injured her ankles a week before the race, so she too had a difficult time. Even though our bodies felt pretty lousy, there's just something about completing those 13.1 miles that made it all worth the pain. At one point, we ran through the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital campus, and we saw several children and families associated with the hospital. Those babies have endured far more than we will ever know. Getting the chance to run for them was amazing.

Check out this sweet Christmas video created by St. Jude. The little girl in the red and green striped shirt is Lucy Krull. She was diagnosed with cancer in February. Please continue to pray for her. Here is the link to her mom's blog where you will find all of Lucy's updates: http://erikandkatekrull.blogspot.com/

Half Marathon Training: Week 9

Tuesday: 1.5 miles
Wednesday: 2.25 miles
Friday: 3.5 miles

I'm desperately trying to get back to where I was before I had to take off from my knee hurting. Not sure if that will happen, but I have got to keep trying. The half marathon is in 18 days! Today is the last day of fundraising for St. Jude Heroes. I raised $390! Thanks to all my friends, family and co-workers who donated to this worthy cause! 

Half Marathon Training: Week 6, 7, and 8

Week 6

I skipped week 6. I was feeling quite sick that week. Nothing serious. Just sinus congestion and general fatigue.

Week 7

Monday: 5 miles
Saturday: 3 miles

I was excited to get back to training during week 7 until I ran 5 miles on Monday and injured my knee. Again, nothing too serious, but James said I needed to let my knee rest for a few days. I ran 3 miles on Saturday and my knee was still in pain. James said I should take another week off from running.

Week 8

This is the week I took off from running to hopefully let my knee heal. I will try to run tonight and see what happens. The half marathon is in 25 days. I'm nervous that I've lost everything I've worked for up until 2 weeks ago and that I won't have time to gain it back in time for the race.

Half Marathon Training: Week 5

Monday:1.5 miles
Tuesday: See previous post
Wednesday: 4 miles
Saturday: 8 miles

I'm in Knoxville with my grandparents, Tammy Hall (who works down the hall from me in the Dean's office), and her daughter Samantha. Tammy and Samantha have never been to a Tennessee game. It's always so exciting to bring Vol fans to a game when they've never been. I'm not even a sports fan, but being in Knoxville during a game weekend and going to Neyland Stadium is an unforgettable experience that I look forward to every fall. Go Big Orange!

Half Marathon Training: Week 4

Monday: Sick
Tuesday: Sick
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 2nd accounting exam
Friday: Our brother-in-law Jon came home from Afghanistan! Thank you, God, for his safe return!
Sunday: 7 miles at an average pace of 9'45"

This week has been the worst so far just because I was only able to run twice. One of those times, I only ran 2 miles and walked the last mile. Even still, my long run was amazing today. The weather was beautiful, I felt great, and I averaged a fast(er) pace. At this rate, I'll be able to beat my first half marathon time with no problem. I feel motivated to push even harder and to run even faster. I won't let this one week slow me down. As of tomorrow, I'm getting back on the schedule. Four weeks down, eight to go!    

Half Marathon Training: Week 3

Monday: 3.5 miles
Tuesday: 1.5 miles at a 8'52" min/mile pace
Wednesday: 3 miles
Saturday: 5k race...I won first place overall female! I ran faster than I ever have at 26'46"!

Weakley County Runners

Half Marathon Training: Week 2

Monday: 3 miles

Tuesday: 2.65 miles + an extra 30 minutes or so of walking on the treadmill while watching Cupcake Wars on the Food Network...

Friday: 3 miles

Saturday: 6 miles

Half Marathon Training: Week 1

The St. Jude Half Marathon is only 75 days away!

This past Saturday, I finished week one of my 12 week half marathon training.

Here's a recap of last week:

Monday - 3 miles
Tuesday - 1.25 miles
Wednesday - 3 miles
Thursday - 1st accounting exam of the semester (Oh wait, does that even count?)
Friday - 3 miles
Saturday - 5 miles

Although I was extremely unmotivated to run over the summer, I managed to keep it up somewhat especially thanks to my new running partner Kim (aka Coach). Kim has been an excellent accountability partner. There have been several times that I only ran because she asked me to run with her (aka didn't give me a choice-haha). Otherwise, I would have just put it off. That's all going to change. Last week, I followed my training schedule to the letter.

As you may remember, I ran in my first half marathon in April with my best friend Becca. Due to unexpected technical difficulty, our time was 2 hours and 55 minutes. I am bound and determined to not only beat this time but exceed my expectations. I won't be able to achieve that without working harder and training better than I did in the spring.

Let's do this...

(cue "Eye of the Tiger")

85 days...

Another Countdown Begins: 115 days...

St. Jude Half Marathon Hero

I have taken on the challenge of participating in my next endurance event to support the patients of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital! I'll be running with the Weakley County Runners team.

As a St. Jude Hero, I have committed to crossing the finish line of my race while raising vital funds to support the work of St. Jude and the doctors and researchers working tirelessly to find cures and save the lives of children fighting cancer and other deadly childhood diseases. Help me raise money for the kids of St. Jude!

Please visit my Web site to learn more about my goals.

Thank you for your support!

Please visit my web page (copy and paste it into your web browser) and donate to St. Jude and to help me reach my fundraising goal.

https://waystohelp.stjude.org/sjVPortal/public/displayUserPage.do?programName=heroes&eventId=166948&userId=657368

© Copyright 2011 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Our First Half Marathon

We did it! We actually ran 13.1 miles last Saturday. My best friend Becca, her Aunt Kim, Kim's friend Sky, and I had one of the best weekends ever.

I had posted a blog where I had thanked everyone who helped me achieve this amazing experience, but then Blogger went down for a few days and the post was deleted. Instead of trying to remember everything I wrote, I'll just re-post the pics instead.