Thursday, March 21, 2013

Another Half in the Books

So this past weekend I ran yet another half marathon!!  That makes 2 in the past 3 weeks.  Hard to believe since I could barely think about running 7 miles just last October.  The one from this past weekend was the Rock n' Roll USA Half Marathon.  My actual run was SOOOO much better than Disney but the race itself was a bit unorganized (at least in comparison).

I knew RunDisney probably set the bar too high for my first half marathon but I didn't realize quite how high.  I left work on Friday at 12 to catch the commuter train down to DC.  I hustled over to my hotel, the Lowes Madison, and checked in.  I have to say this was easily one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in.  Check out their website: http://www.loewshotels.com/Madison-Hotel

Stunning!!  And the location was amazing...the White House was only a few blocks away.  Anyway, I then ran to the Expo to grab my packet and check out the vendors.  The Expo in Disney was WAY too crowded to even bother looking around, so I was excited that this one had less people.  In the end though, I ended up being disappointed since the vendors I was hoping to see weren't there :(  Back to the hotel to pick up my mom (who came down to cheer me on, so sweet!) and off for a pre-race dinner of Chipotle.

This race started at 7:30AM which was sleeping-in compared to Disney.  The morning was overcast and cool but perfect running weather if you ask me.  There were 36,000 people running this one, some for the full marathon but most for the half.  For some reason they had us all running together...mistake number one.  There were 36 corrals total and I was in 22.  Being the rule follower that I was raised to be, I headed over to mine.  I soon realized that no one enforces the start and people can really go wherever they please.  Disney was VERY strict about this and had each corral blocked off with only one way in or out.

The race itself was fairly uneventful for me.  I ran a really great pace until mile 10 like usual.  But I ended up finishing in 2:18 minutes...that's 8 whole minutes faster and a PR!!!  I was ecstatic!!  And the icing on the cake is my mom actually saw me cross the finish line!  Which is amazing given the large crowd.  It took a really long time to get through the medal and food area out to see my mom...again something that Disney just has down to a science.  Plus the amount of food was not all that much...just some fruit and chips.  Overall, it was a great race and I would definitely think about doing it again. 

Anyone else out there run this one or a race this past St. Paddy's Weekend?

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Quoteable Thursday

In my effort to post more often, I bring you this quote from one of my heroes, Lilly Pultizer.  I don't know about where you live but it's down right frigid here in MD today!!  It's days like this that make me crave my sundresses, Jack Rogers and that wonderful feeling when you get in to a cool bed after being on the beach all day even more than I normally do.


Island Insight!

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Wedding Updates and Photographer News

So I have been slightly MIA since I got back from Disney but that's because I have been so busy and have TONS to update everyone on.  I ordered our guest welcome bags, my "Will you be my bridesmaid gifts" and my actual gifts for them on the big day.  These will all be separate posts so stay tuned.

The big wedding update that I realized I neglected to share is that we hired our photographer!  And I could not be more excited!!!!

Her name is Krista Jones and she is from the Easton Shore of MD.  She and her husband actually live in the same place where we are getting married (easy peasy for her!).  First of all she is ridiculously talented.  Check out her website to sample her work:

http://kristaajones.com/

Also, she is one of the editors and creators of Bayside Bride, which is essential to and most likely on the daily blog reading list of any Maryland bride.  You can check that out at www.baysidebride.com.  I seriously read it every day.

And for bonus points (not that she needed any because I am clearly a bit obsessed), she sent me a present when I signed the contract: one of those hangers with my new last name twisted into it.  Too cute!!!

We scheduled our engagement pictures for June 2nd so stay tuned for those...I know they are going to turn out fabulous!

 Here are some swoon worthy favorites:
Photo by Krista Jones

Photo by Krista Jones


Photo by Krista Jones


Photo by Krista Jones