So, yesterday was a big day for me. For two reasons:

1. My sister was running 12 miles for the first time EVER and I was so proud of her! We’re running the Chicago half marathon together on September 12th and she’s doing so fantastic with the training program I created for her. Go Mandy!
2. It was my first group training run for Team Challenge (eeek!).

I woke up Sunday morning with butterflies in my stomach like it was the first day of school! C was already up and when I came downstairs he asked if I wanted to take Diddy for a walk with him. How could I turn that down?? It was just what I needed to calm my nerves! Man, I have such a great kid – it was the perfect way to start the day.

On my way to meet the Team, I texted my sis and she was already at mile 8. I was shocked (and secretly so proud!). She’s going to ROCK this half marathon in 2 weeks!

We had a great turnout for our run. Here’s the group pre-run:

Plus, there were about 20 more that couldn’t make it due to location differences or prior commitments!

Before the run I briefly discussed the following:

• The importance of eating 1 1/2 to 2 hours prior to our long runs on Sundays. I also warned them that they may want to avoid dairy products until after running!
• The run/walkers should use the 60 second walk period to regroup and catch their breath, but keep their pace up so that their overall pace doesn’t suffer.
• Good running shoes are KEY.

We split up into 3 groups (runners, run/walkers, and walkers) and headed towards the starting point:

Being as we had a special appointment at Second Sole for shoe fittings afterwards, we had to make due with running on the sidewalk down to the high school track and back. The plan was to run and/or walk 30 minutes.

Here’s Chris and Ryan (our Endurace Manager) enjoying a quick walk break:

Did you notice my BFF, Nikki, in the group photo above?? Here we are in the store after the run:

Soooooo glad to be in the A/C!

The manager of Second Sole was so great, as well as the associates he had working yesterday morning. They even opened the store early just for us (and offered a 15% discount!). I think almost EVERYONE got a new pair of shoes (well, except for me since I had just gotten a new pair).

It was such a great start to the season. Everyone did such a great job, and they are all so nice! It’s still early, but if the momentum stays up we’ll all rock this race. I love that everyone ran/walked their own pace, but pushed themselves just a little more than they would have if they were running/walking on their own.

I really hope I can motivate and inspire everyone to finish this season strong. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m going to try!

If you were on a running team what would you want to hear about from your coach??

Once the Fall soccer season begins I usually feel like summer is officially over. But today it’s 85 degrees and sunny so there goes that theory. Maybe (I hope) Cleveland still has a few weeks of summer left?

So, despite waking up later than usual on Saturday due to too many of these Friday night:

(I like to blame my behavior on this girl and my husband)

It was a pretty great morning.

The Force started their season STRONG with a W!

Lookin good, right?

The Force:

This morning was my first Team Challenge training run. I’ll post a recap later!!

What triggers the start of Fall for you?

Hey hey!! How is everyone?? It’s Saturday, the sun is shining, and I’m home with both my boys – life is ballin.

Yesterday I mentioned I was headed to a blogger dinner at Alicia’s house. I love any excuse to pull out my Dori Greenspan cookbook, Baking From My Home to Yours. I quickly checked the pantry, and decided to make her Chewy, Chunky Blondies. They turned out DELISH.

See that chocolate oozing out?? YUM. I tried to take some good pictures, but like Andrea posted on twitter yesterday, chocolate chip cookies do not photograph well, and these don’t either!! Here’s a closeup so you can see the chocolate, butterscotch chips, and pecans:

And then we were off to Alicia’s for the BYODDD (Bring Your Own Dog, Dish, Drink) party!!

Allison and I drove together. I can’t even begin to describe what it’s like to have 3 puggles in a car at one time, btw. The only word I can come up with is CHAOS. Trust me.

We arrived in once piece and quickly grabbed a glass of wine:

Check out Suzanne and her handsome boston terrier, Bacon:

THANK THE HEAVENS for Bacon. Diddy was enamored with him. They did not stop playing the entire 3 hours we were there. This is what they looked like (for 3 hours straight!):

I don’t think Diddy is going to be invited to anymore parties. The dog does NOT know how to blend in, that’s for sure.

Despite my crazy dog, everything else was great. Alicia and her mom really outdid themselves. The food was fantastic, as was the company! Alicia’s husband, Hans, even hung out a little and put up with the dogs (and all us ladies!):

We somehow managed to leave without getting a group shot, but here’s who was there (plus yours truly!):

• Alicia from Poise in Parma
• Allison from Green Dog Wine
• Katrina from Bite Buff
• Suzanne from Life on Mars
• Alycia from Fit N Fresh
• Katie from Healthy Heddleston

Many thanks to Alicia and Hans (and Alicia’s mom!) for having us over and welcoming us into their home!

Have a great rest of your day today, friends! How is the weather where you are??

Hey there! It’s Friday!!! I swear, this was the fastest week EVER. I guess having Tuesday off work and then only working a half day today really makes a difference! This is a sad week, though, as today was my last Friday of the summer working half days. No more fun Fridays…..which totally blows if you ask me.

So, I’m sure you are all on the edge of you seat wondering how C’s first day of school went, right??

Well, here’s the annual “first day of school photo”:

OMG, isn’t he so handsome? I mean, I know I’m biased, but COME ON.

And here’s the first day of school picture from last year:

I think you can really can see how much he’s grown up in the past year! It’s so crazy.

No first day jitters for my kid. He had a great day and said everything was “good”. That’s his common answer. Everything is always “good”. Must be a boy thing. My friends who have girls say the girls talk their ears off about their days! That’s fine, I guess. I talk enough for the both of us.

Then last night was my Team Challenge Kick Off Party since this Sunday is our first training run! You’re finally going to be seeing a lot more running and training posts. I’m so excited – it’s been way too long since I’ve been training. My leg isn’t 100% yet, but I’d say it’s about 90%. Good enough to start and see how it goes…..

The great thing about this season of Team Challenge is that 3 of my friends signed up. The Vegas Half Marathon is going to be a BLAST!!! Hopefully we can control ourselves until AFTER the race…. Here’s me and Christina from last night:

Well, I’m off to pull out the blondies I baked for the blogger dinner/cook out tonight that Alicia is hosting. The weather is perfect for a backyard get together!

We have a lot going on this weekend with the dinner tonight, first Fall soccer game tomorrow, and training run on Sunday. I’m going to have lots of good posts this weekend!

What do you have going on this weekend? Anything exciting?

Today was a GREAT day! Our annual tradition the day before school is to take the day off and spend a family day doing whatever (within reason!) C wants to do.

Our family time started last night with a sleepover! No sleepover is complete without popcorn and a movie, so that’s just what we did.

We all cozied up on the couch with our pillows and blankets……

…..and ended up falling asleep on the couch before the movie was over.

The morning started with a bang organizing all the school supplies (which are completely ridiculous, btw). Then we packed lunches and rode our bikes to the park for a picnic! We got the prime spot:

Isn’t is so beautiful? Peaceful, too. But the peace only lasted so long before games were suggested.

C’s most favorite game right now is frizbee. So we had to oblige:

Check out C’s body language above. You can tell he knew it was a bad throw!

After C ran me and J ragged at the park, we packed up our stuff and rode home. By then it was almost time for dinner so, per C’s request, we headed down to Melt. I had the best intentions of taking pictures of the food to show you the amazingness, but when I pulled out the camera I realized I left the memory card in the computer! Complete fail. But try to imagine the most amazing grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries – they’re to die for. Trust me.

And to round out the day we had Meet the Teacher night, too!!

It was nice to see C’s classroom, meet the teacher, and see some parents from last year. It helped settle my mind a little before sending him off tomorrow morning. You know, because Meet the Teacher night is mostly for the parents, right?

Well, I gotta jet. I’m off to meet Allison for a short run!

Did you have any back to school traditions when you were younger? I can still remember my mom taking pictures of me and my sister in the driveway our first day of school….even senior year of high school!!

I think my favorite time to blog is Monday night. I don’t know why that is, or what made me think of that right now, but it really is. Maybe it’s knowing that we’ve already started the week, or that I’m still on a high from the weekend? Who knows. Do you have a favorite blogging day or night? Or am I the only crazy? There has to be other crazies, right??

Speaking of crazy, yesterday we spent some time at my parents house. The weather was great so we sat outside on the deck and played some games. Craziness ensued:

The competition gets pretty fierce. Check out C above – he obviously doesn’t know how to win with grace. Not sure who taught him that.

Then we have the sore loser:

And the devastated loser (check out the progression – the pictures speak for themselves):

Can you tell who won? Hehe.

Luckily my mom had planned a great dinner of grilled balsamic vegetable pasta salad, stuffed pork chops, grilled shrimp skewers, and lemon pie. This definitely helped ease the loss. Especially since I lost in the last round!

On a side note, I love that my parents eat healthy. I always know that when we eat over that we’ll be having a well-balanced, home cooked meal. I never have to worry about bringing my own food or not having anything to eat!

Anyways, the games didn’t stop there. Grandpa had to show C who’s boss (like usual):

I have a feeling he’s not going to be able to do this much longer, so it’s good he shows him now!

How do you feel when you eat at your parent’s house? Are your eating styles similar?

Happy Monday, everyone!

Hey!! I’ve missed you guys! I have been so busy lately – it’s crazy around here……

I’m glad you all enjoyed the “family grooming” pic!! Hehe. However, the grooming didn’t stop there. With school starting this coming week (3rd grade already — ahhhh!), it was time for C to get a hair cut. This is not a pleasant experience, people. Neither one of us enjoy this process.

Can you see how his face is all scrunched up? Plus, he refuses to sit still. It’s great (please note the sarcasm). Though, this time I tried to make it a little more fun:

Hahaha!! Luckily this lightened the mood and we were able to move on with minimal complaining.

Final product:

Buzz cut, yo!

Isn’t he handsome?

And he’s not the only one who got a haircut!

It’s darker, too!

Now if I could only get my hair to be as soft as the salon does (without spending $100 on shampoo!). Any suggestions???

After all the grooming excitement, J and I headed down to the park with Diddy. We’re still trying to figure out this stinkin new camera.

We can’t take a picture of the sunset to save our lives. This was the best I got. I seriously need a tutor.

SO frustrating!

It was a beautiful night, though. It was nice to just hang out, while in the background kids played with their friends, dogs ran around in the lake, and parents enjoyed good conversation. Perfect summer atmosphere. I’m trying to soak up the outdoors as much as possible right now!

What are you doing to enjoy these last few weeks of summer?

You may have been able to tell from my last post, but yesterday was a stressful/important day for me. It was my first meeting for Team Challenge!

The reason it was stressful is because I had to get up in front of the potential participants and give a speech. Public speaking is a HUGE fear of mine and, to be honest, it totally sux. I used to hate giving oral reports in high school and college, and client meetings are my least favorite responsibility I have at my job.

So anytime I have to talk in front of a crowd I get the worst anxiety! I know it sounds weird since I’m a group fitness instructor, but that’s completely different. I know what I’m doing when I’m teaching class, and don’t have to “wing it”.

But, I got up there, told my story, and tried to be as motivational and encouraging as I could (and probably sounded like a big tool in the process). But I survived. And a great thing happened: my very best friend signed up!!! I’m SO EXCITED to help her run her first half marathon, and go to VEGAS together!! I like to believe it was my speech that convinced her to commit.

Tonight was a lot less stressful. I taught Group Power at the gym, which always helps reduce my stress, and then came home for family grooming night.

What’s family grooming night, you ask??? Well…..

Hahaha!! I can’t believe I just posted this picture (let along take it!). But, we’re being real here, and this is what we do. We’re so totally cool, right? Don’t even tell me you don’t want to be our friends! Lol.

Has your week been stressful?? What do you do to reduce stress?

Tonight I took a much needed “night off” from the gym. Call it a mental health night, if you will. Things have been pretty chaotic in our household the past few weeks and I am starting to feel completely overwhelmed.

Luckily I have a fantastic husband who knew right away when I got a sub for my class (which I NEVER do) that something was up, and suggested just what I needed:

A run! And not just a run, but:

A run TOGETHER!!!!

I can’t tell you how excited I was when J suggested this. He does NOT like to run and, to be honest, usually complains the entire time when I make him run with me. I mean, can you see the enthusiasm?

But he knew I needed this and was happy to oblige (with minimal complaints I may add!).

The weather was perfect, and it was so nice to just forget about the outside world for awhile. Even if it was only for a half hour.

We took Diddy for a mile walk when we got back, so we tackled 4 miles together tonight. It felt GREAT.

Do you ever take a “mental health” day or night? Or do you feel too guilty?

Wow, is it the end of the weekend already?? So sad…….

However, in an effort to end our weekend with a bang, we spent the day at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. It was my mom’s work “summer event” so we all got to go!

We hit up the awesome Dinosaurs exhibit:

The dinosaurs are so life like, and they MOVE!

It’s actually pretty cool. And there was no way I was going to pass up this photo opp:

They could be actors, no?

As we passed the giraffes, the zoo employees were announcing that a feeding was about to take place so we stopped and bought C a ticket so he could participate!

It’s really amazing how close we were!

It was really hot again today, so we were grateful for the water misters that were set up around the park. C took full advantage:

Until Grandma told him to get out of the water with his brand new shoes on.

I can’t blame her, though. Those are his new school shoes!

I think we hit all the exhibits in the 4 hours we were there – it was was a really great family day. Well, except for when my dad started misbehaving and C and my mom tried to throw him into the water:

What can I say? He knows better.

Did you have a nice start to your week? What did you do today?