Mmmm, carb loading!

So this week has been a little slacking on the running.  Crazy allergies and crazy work week = losing my voice at work and sounding like Joan Rivers (so one male said, ehmmm).

I had an awesome speed run with the Brian O' Neils Racing Group this past Tuesday.  I love meeting more people that love running, and local pubs, as much as I do.

If you are in town this Sunday and decide you want to see my running in action, I will be racing at the Houston Half Marathon and Relay at 7 AM in downtown Houston.  Here is the link to the map of the race, looks like an easy, flat run.  Houston Half Marathon and Relay. 
That being said, tonight was an carb load dinner with quinoa pasta dish, red wine, and Halloween pastries of course.  Thanks Veronica and Eddie for grubbing down with me!

On a side note, I am in pursuit currently of Texas A&M running tops, so send me a message if you have seen them somewhere for sale.  I hope everyone is doing well and maybe I'll see you on Sunday!:)


Gute Nacht,

Lauren

Feel the burn!

Logged already 22 miles since Monday! 

Monday was a long run -- 15 miler!  Filled with a Steven Segal look a-like sighting, a random "gig 'em" from a runner, a shout out by an employee from bakery off Westheimer, and swarms of gnats.  Gnats, in River Oaks of all places!  Overall it was a good run and I'm getting close to the half way point!

Today was a speed run with the Brian O'Neils (BON) Racing Team working on pace, basically trying to get my mile faster.  It was awesome to get competitive with running again and acting feeling the burn (in a good way).

I wanted to say thank you for the recent donations I received!!  I am very close to my initial fundraising goal.
Thank you again to everyone for your support, only 95 days to go!


-Lauren

19 days to go until Houston 1/2 Marathon & Relay

Another good long run today, starting with temperatures in the upper 60's!!  The highlight of my run was stopping on the bridge over Shepard Drive to let a group of grandma cyclists past.  All had helmets donned and all had fashionable baskets, of course.  Instead of my normal trip to get iced coffee to celebrate this afternoon, I was fortunate to join in supporting CanCare at their annual golf tourney at Lakeside Country Club.  It was a great afternoon with amazing weather and it was nice to meet more people involved with CanCare.  I am definitely proud to represent this organization in January!

I have started doing my speed runs on Tuesday at Brian O'Neils in Rice Village around 6:30 - 6:45 PM, so let me know if you want to join!  Thank you everyone for your support and cheers, it really makes a difference and makes me so excited to accomplish this goal.  19 days to go until the Houston 1/2 Marathon & Relay!!

Buenas Noches -Lauren

Half way there and WHOOP for Aggies joining the SEC!

So today I ran around 13 miles and I feel pretty great!  This weekend I will be participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure with the Castillo family.
I am so excited and can't wait to be in a sea of pink and to honor Laura's fight against breast cancer.  :)

I have less than 1 month until the Houston 1/2 Marathon and Relay on Sunday, October 23rd.  Let's hope it is a nice and cooler weather run!

What I love most after long runs right now, is being able to indulge...a little.  Today it's in an iced coffee and mozzarella sandwich at Antidote Coffee. If you haven't had either, you should definitely check it out.  Hopefully tonight a few good beers with the girls to celebrate Aggies joining SEC starting in 2012 and watching the Cowboys kill the Redskins! :) 

Adios amigos!
-Lauren

Being present

Running in 70 degree weather today made my 12 miler so much more enjoyable.  It was definitely nice to run and see puddles of water and mud....not dust!  I have about 4 months or so till the big day, so I feel good on my mileage right now.
So to treat myself for my hard work, I am enjoying an nice iced coffee at Catalina right now.  Hmmmm good stuff.

If anyone is interested in joining in Team CanCare for the Run for a Reason program, please let me know.  They have spots available for 5K, half marathon, and full marathon.  It is such an exceptional organization and I would love to get more people involved in support those diagnosed with cancer.

I recently came across this quote and I feel that it speaks volumes.  My runs, especially the long ones, give me time to think about my life.  Mostly what's about to happen or what recently occurred, but I am challenging myself to just be in the present.

"What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment.  And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new.  Right now."

So here's to being present and making everything new.  Thank you everyone for your support!

Indoor stadium race?

So the other night I was trying to find more running races around Texas and I discovered that there is an indoor half-marthon race at Reliant Stadium.  It sounds a little crazy, but I think it's right up my alley.  
I am trying to see if I get a position in the Sunday, November 20th race at 12 PM,  and hopefully celebrating another Fightin' Texas Aggie football game victory .:)

 Indoor Half-Marathon -- Reliant Stadium


Any takers?

Happy Labor Day

Today has been an interesting Labor Day, much more productive than I expected.  Started off with an amazing trail run around Memorial Park area with temps in the 80's!!!  Finally!!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that cooler runs are in the near future.  I definitely think all the yoga classes I have been attending are helping my running, especially my endurance.  If anyone is looking for a yoga studio or wants to join me, CuraYoga is an awesome place. Right now I am enjoying a nice iced coffee and people watching at Agora.  Ahhh iced cofee....

So back to running updates and my progress on funds for CanCare.  Thanks to some very special people in my life, I have raised over 50% of my initial goal.  This definitely has helped to increase my motivation to crush the marathon in January 2012. :) 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend!!

-Lauren