We’re packing up to make our way back to Charlotte but I wanted to post a quick update first. This break has pretty much been exactly what I needed. In case you haven’t noticed, I tend to cram my days full of as many activities as possible. Before leaving for this trip, I was averaging [...]
Running
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Christmas in Georgia
December 25, 2010 { 9 comments }It’s been a wonderful Christmas day with my family! Stockings lining the stairs this morning when we woke up. There was even one for Sullie. My grandmother and I have been exchanging this gift bag for 10 YEARS! We take turns taking it home every year (although I have not been here for the last [...]
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Post-Race Happenings
December 13, 2010 { 2 comments }Thank you so much for all of the congrats on my half marathon PR. I am still on a running high from this fall’s wonderful race experiences – Marine Corps Marathon, Charlotte 8K Turkey Trot and Thunder Road Half Marathon. I’ve been asked what’s next with my running and the honest answer is nothing. Although [...]
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Thunder Road Half Marathon Race Recap
December 11, 2010 { 35 comments }The Thunder Road Half Marathon completely surprised me today. Despite my lack of training and preparation, I still managed a 5 minute PR. I am so excited and in disbelief that I had such a great race. All the signs leading up to the race were pointing to a lackluster performance but once I got [...]
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Am I really running a half tomorrow?
December 10, 2010 { 6 comments }Preparations are underway for the Thunder Road half marathon. I am seriously in disbelief that I’m running a half tomorrow. I know I mentioned this in yesterday’s post but after Marine Corps, Thunder Road seemed so far away. I thought it would be easy to PR but now that’s not seeming so likely. My current [...]
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A Cold 10 Miles
December 4, 2010 { 6 comments }I think it was a pretty even split between the white v. colored Christmas lights debate. We’ve compromised here and have colored on the tree in the house and are doing white outside. I’ve been busy, busy the last couple days. Friday morning started with an early hot vinyasa yoga class before work. I had [...]
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Fake Fires and Superfoods
December 1, 2010 { 13 comments }I am happy to hear that others are on board with holiday healthy living choices. Just remember that I totally advocate splurges during the holidays but make sure it’s not a free for all and balance it out. ;) I want to catch you guys up on Tuesday and Wednesday’s food and fitness. I started [...]
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Back to Reality
November 29, 2010 { 12 comments }I hope everyone had a good Monday and that it was relatively painless to get back in the swing of things. My Mondays are always a rather harsh re-entry into the week with a 5 a.m. wake up call and teaching BodyPump before I even make it into work. This morning was especially tough given [...]
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Turkey Trot with Friends
November 25, 2010 { 9 comments }Happy Thanksgiving everyone! A quick update on this morning’s turkey trot and then I’m off to spend time with family and feast. I awoke to cold, gray, drizzle – not the most fun race weather. I ate my standard pre-run breakfast of almond butter and banana on toast with black coffee and then headed out [...]
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Gobble, Gobble
November 22, 2010 { 24 comments }I adhere to the Thanksgiving mantra of “workout before you pig out.” When we were living in Birmingham our Y always had special classes on Thanksgiving morning and used that sales pitch. I’ve pretty much been hooked ever since. This year’s “Workout Before You Pig Out” is a new adventure for me. I’m running an [...]
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Yoga, The Cowfish and a Long Run
November 21, 2010 { 14 comments }It’s Sunday evening but I’m not having the typical, “How can the weekend be over so soon?” feelings. I’m looking forward to the short work week and a four-day weekend including Thanksgiving! I hope that you all have Friday off of work too! Lots of happenings since I posted yesterday. I spent Saturday afternoon at [...]
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Mile High Peanut Butter Pie
November 20, 2010 { 16 comments }Happy weekend! Last night Brandon and I decided to finally use a Groupon we’ve been holding onto for a while and try Savor. I was looking forward to finally experiencing Savor after reading good reviews and constantly hearing the Twitter-verse talking about how good their food is. I knew it was going to be good [...]
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Good Eats, Cool Runs
November 17, 2010 { 14 comments }It seems that I’m not alone in my love for hoodies. Many of you also commented that they’re a staple in your winter wardrobe. So cozy! Today’s post is all about the food. Lots of good eats in the last couple days. Last night’s dinner was easy and delicious. Parsnip and sweet potato puree with [...]
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Birthdays and Bluegrass
November 14, 2010 { 11 comments }I am sorry that things have been quiet around here the past couple of days but I worked late on Friday night and yesterday was jam-packed – not a second to sit down with the computer! We’ll just skip over Friday because other than working 11 hours, there’s not much to report. I had to [...]
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Cold Weather Running
November 8, 2010 { 25 comments }The arrival of November has brought cooler temperatures and shorter days. It was 31 degrees here in Charlotte this morning and dark by 5:30 p.m. This presents some challenges for running. Gone are the days of throwing on shorts and a tank and hitting the road. The time has arrived to break out cold weather [...]
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Fighting It Off
November 7, 2010 { 15 comments }I woke up in the middle of the night with a raging sore throat. Ugh. Unfortunately, I’m not surprised. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read that it’s very common to get sick after endurance events. MarathonGuide.com says, “After the marathon, your immune status will be depressed. Because of the physiological hit to [...]
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Up and Down
November 6, 2010 { 8 comments }I really enjoyed reading your comments on yesterday’s post, “Who Are You?” Thank you so much for taking the time to weigh in on how you identify yourself. And I completely agree that we are all a unique mix of things. I’m not just a runner but also a wife, daughter, yogi, teacher, friend, cook, [...]
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Who are you?
November 5, 2010 { 21 comments }I’m a… Runner? Yogi? Teacher? Lover of all things fitness related? In my last post I mentioned that over the past year my relationship with running has been a little tumultuous. This time last year, I was 12 weeks into training for the Thunder Road Marathon and found myself injured…again. I was sick of running [...]
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Not Quite Ready Yet
November 3, 2010 { 14 comments }I have been extremely pleased with my recovery from Sunday’s marathon. It’s been night and day difference from my first marathon. I attribute it to better overall fitness and my body being more accustomed to recovering from tough workouts. All of my soreness faded by Tuesday and now I’m just dealing with general fatigue and [...]
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Marine Corps Marathon Recovery
November 1, 2010 { 9 comments }Yesterday I ran a marathon and I can’t even believe it. I’m definitely experiencing the feeling that you get when there’s a huge build up to something and then it’s just over. After posting my marathon recap we went out for dinner. Unfortunately, there were only chain restaurants around our hotel and we headed out [...]
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Marine Corps Marathon Race Recap
October 31, 2010 { 84 comments }I finished the Marine Corps Marathon today! Overall, I had a very positive race experience. Get ready, because this is going to be a lengthy race recap! I woke up naturally this morning at 5 a.m. I can’t tell you how much my early morning BodyPump and yoga classes have helped me adjust to early [...]
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Marathon Eve and How to Receive Updates
October 30, 2010 { 2 comments }This is going to be a quick overview of my day. I’m blogging from bed and need to start winding down. It’s after 10 p.m. and my 5 a.m. wake up call will come early tomorrow! First up…for those of you who want to track my progress during the race (HI MOM! Love you!), you [...]
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Richmond and The Shirt
October 29, 2010 { 6 comments }Well, we’re officially en route to the Marine Corps Marathon! I worked a half day today and then we hit the road for Richmond, Virginia. We’re spending the night here and then driving into DC tomorrow morning. I started the day with my VERY last training run of marathon training. Sullie accompanied me on an [...]
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MCM Playlist
October 28, 2010 { 23 comments }It was a resounding “YES” that you all wanted to see my marathon playlist. I am happy to share although I’m not sure that my taste in running music will appeal to everyone. It’s quite a mix of sounds! I have 107 songs – eight hours of music. Brandon told me if I need all [...]
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Preparation
October 27, 2010 { 14 comments }I’m in full Marine Corps Marathon prep mode. There’s a detailed list (that’s a little dirty – it’s been living in the kitchen!) and I’ve started laying everything out in our extra room. Also, I’m prepping my body with food and beverages. Lunch was a delicious panini creation. White cheddar, provolone, spinach and blueberry preserves [...]
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PBR is Back!
October 26, 2010 { 8 comments }Not the beer, the blog! Some of you probably noticed that my blog was down Monday. I was in the process of moving it over to self-hosting. I apologize that I didn’t give you all more warning but I wasn’t sure when the switch was going to happen. I have been wanting to transition to [...]
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One Week from Today…
October 24, 2010 { 6 comments }I will (hopefully, fingers crossed) be a second time marathoner! And hopefully not feel like this at the end… I can hope, right? I’m sure I will be an emotional wreck. I mean, I teared up a couple of times today during my last long run while thinking about “this time next week…” Final long [...]
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Weekend Highlights
October 24, 2010 { 3 comments }FRIDAY Post-work run with Sarah. We covered an easy four miles and my legs felt the best they have in weeks. Taper is working! Dinner at George’s with Brandon. Carafe of wine. Cheap endless happy hour appetizers…we created a tapas spread for dinner (heavy on the seafood). Tuna bites. Calamari. French country pizza. White wine [...]
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Pancakes for Dinner
October 19, 2010 { 9 comments }My day started and ended with breakfast. Yum! Breakfast for dinner is the best and I don’t know why we don’t have it more often! Is anyone else a fan of breakfast for dinner? Before we get to the pancakes, let’s start at the beginning. Breakfast: overnight oats at my desk this morning. I was [...]
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Embracing the Taper
October 18, 2010 { 10 comments }Well, it’s been a long road but I’ve finally reached the point in marathon training that I’ve been working for the last 14 weeks – TAPER TIME. And as to be expected, I’m only two days into the taper and already losing my mind. Can’t I just squeeze one more long run in? Why can’t [...]
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Last Long Run, Next Stop Marathon!
October 16, 2010 { 9 comments }This morning I ran my LAST double-digit long run of Marine Corps Marathon training. Next week I will run eight and then the next weekend is the race! The 16 weeks of training have been a journey but I can honestly say that it has been an enjoyable one (despite the two-week hamstring hiatus). New [...]
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Stomaching the Run
October 14, 2010 { 11 comments }I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say that running makes them sick to their stomach. I’ve received questions on how to avoid this. I think most runners have been there and here are a few tips to help you finish your runs feeling like this… And not like this… First and [...]
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Avocado Love
October 13, 2010 { 14 comments }I didn’t blog last night. I sat down to start a post and found myself without inspiration. Rather than give you guys a lackluster post, I took the night off. Instead of blogging, I headed to bed to unwind with a book. I am enjoying Prep. What can I say? Sometimes I it’s nice to [...]
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Three Yoga Poses for Every Runner
October 11, 2010 { 21 comments }Several months ago I created a list of topics that I wanted to blog about. One of these topics was the most beneficial yoga poses for runners. If you’ve read the “About Jen” section of this blog, you know that I started practicing yoga over a year ago hoping that it would help with running [...]
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Mind Over Matter
October 10, 2010 { 0 comments }Nine and a half hours of sleep last night! Success. I know that they say you can’t make up sleep by sleeping in but it sure does make me feel a million times better. I woke up around 8:30 a.m. but enjoyed the comfort of bed and catnapped until about 9:30. I was famished when [...]
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An Evening with the Avett's
October 6, 2010 { 9 comments }Apologies that I didn’t update last night but I was busy being happy. Brandon (a.k.a. the best husband ever) got us in to The Avett Brothers CD release party. The Avett Brothers are my very favorite band and happen to be from Concord, North Carolina. To celebrate the release of their live album (that was [...]
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Slowly Recovering (with the help of good food!)
October 4, 2010 { 4 comments }I’m slowly recovering from yesterday’s 20-miler. The first step was ice bath, hot shower and food. The second step involved me sitting on the couch from 2:30-7:30 p.m. without moving. I blogged, watched Grey’s Anatomy and ate peanut butter chocolate chip bars. It was glorious. Around 6:30 my legs said, “beer me.” I had a [...]
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Tackling 20!
October 3, 2010 { 14 comments }*Become a fan of Peanut Butter Runner on Facebook! I just set up a fan page and would love to connect with all of my readers on Facebook! I RAN 20 MILES TODAY!!! I was planning on 18 but was feeling really strong at mile 14 and decided to go for 20. I called Brandon [...]
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Third Time's a Charm
September 30, 2010 { 19 comments }First, I really appreciate all of the comments/support about my decision to run the Marine Corps Marathon. Tomorrow is the first day of October so the countdown is officially on! Race day is October 31. Eek! :shock: After Tuesday’s 10-miler I forced myself to take Wednesday as a rest day. I was very tempted to [...]
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The Race is On
September 28, 2010 { 17 comments }I apologize for leaving you hanging last night with the running news. Honestly, I didn’t even know whether it would be good or bad news until today. I’m sure some of you have been wondering about my plans for Marine Corps Marathon given my recent hamstring injury. I have been trying not to stress about [...]
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Jumping for Joy
September 24, 2010 { 9 comments }This post could also be titled “The Power of Rest and Medical Care” because a week of rest and therapy has paid off. I just ran a 5k with minimal (seriously, hardly any) pain. When I got home I was jumping for joy (and let’s take a second to appreciate the former cheerleader coming out [...]
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Back on the Mat
September 22, 2010 { 5 comments }I set my alarm for 5:30 this morning with plans to go to a yoga class before work. When the alarm went off I decided to sleep until 6:15 and test out my hamstring with an easy run instead. I set out with Sullie for an easy, slow three-miler…and I’m sad to report that I [...]
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Fun with Shaksuka
September 21, 2010 { 9 comments }I am lucky that my husband is totally willing to try crazy ethnic vegetarian recipes that I put on our weekly menu plan. We may struggle about my desire to go 100% vegetarian but at least we’ve come to a good compromise and only cook meat/seafood at home a few nights a week. This week’s [...]
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Obsessions and a Tempo Run
September 15, 2010 { 12 comments }Some news (nothing life changing, don’t get excited)… I am officially obsessed with The Rachel Zoe Project. How have I never watched this show before last night? It has been constantly playing on On Demand since I found it. I love Rachel, I love her husband and I love her “gaggle of gays.” (I’m just [...]
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Deficient
September 14, 2010 { 3 comments }I mentioned last week that I had blood work done just as a check. It had been years since I’d been thoroughly tested and given my recent activity level and diet I thought it was a good idea. I received a call from the nurse today that everything looked great but I am vitamin D [...]
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Long Run Regret
September 13, 2010 { 10 comments }Yesterday I posted about my 18-mile turned 13-mile long run. I knew that I would regret it when I threw in the towel at mile 13 and sure enough the regret is hitting heavy today. I’ve been dwelling on my failed long run all day. It didn’t help to look at my training schedule and [...]
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Go Greek, Go Long
September 12, 2010 { 5 comments }I generally prefer to do my long runs on Saturday mornings. I find that if I wait until Sunday, I dread it all weekend. I was so back and forth with my long run this weekend and decided to do it on Sunday because we were out late and on our feet all night Friday [...]
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A Weird Week
September 9, 2010 { 5 comments }The short week has really thrown me for a loop. On top of having one less day to get everything accomplished, we’ve also just had a lot going on and work has been really busy. As a result, I’ve felt a little off my game. One of the things I’m stressing most about this week [...]
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A Beautiful 16 Miles
September 5, 2010 { 8 comments }Happy, happy Sunday everyone! I am in way too good of a mood and have way too much energy considering that I just ran 16 miles. It is a BEAUTIFUL day and I can seriously say that enjoyed every single second of my long run this morning. :D I felt great when I woke up [...]
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Farewell Front Burner
September 1, 2010 { 8 comments }And I just ate a giant bowl of frozen yogurt from TCBY for dinner tonight. Oh and a piece of toast when I got home because it just seemed like the right thing to do. Don’t worry, there was an occasion (albeit a bittersweet one) for this. A big group of Charlotte-area bloggers met up [...]
