Pink Pride

This new sign was just installed at Jackson's school.  He was very excited about it, so we had to stop to take a pic.  PINK PRIDE!

Merry Christmas!

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year!  It is so fun watching Jackson enjoy the family time, but his favorite part is probably the gifts.  Here are a few fun pics:

Cars

Wow! That is a lot of cars!  And the wild part?  This is only a very small portion of his collection!

Meb!

As part of Meb's Dallas Marathon trip, he held a meet and greet at Luke's Locker this evening.  What an amazing experience!  I took the time to talk to each person, sign an autograph and take a picture.  Then he spoke to the group for about 30 minutes on his running career.  I found his stories of winning the 2014 Boston Marathon so fascinating.  Loved every single minute of it!

Dallas Marathon 2014

I set a new PR! I set a new PR!  What a great day!  I used Hansons training program again, wonderful preparation for a marathon.  I think 10 week of 60+ miles per week is the right prep for me after two successful marathons using Hansons.  But this year I also had over 100 barre3 classes under my belt too!  All in all it turned into a 3:30 day!  Almost two minutes faster than Detroit 2005!

Weather was pretty crummy, 65-70 with very high humidity (mist and light rain throughout the race) with very gusty winds from the south (35 mph).  I had considered going out slow, taking it easy, due to the weather.  But at the start I felt great (of course) and I really had to pull myself back.  I ended up knocking out quite a few 7:45s.  Obviously as the miles wore on, my pace slowed a bit, but I held it under 8s until coming off of the lake.  That part was so tough.  The wind was in our face.  It was raining.  I was hot and getting tired.  There wasn't any crowd support.  And it was uphill.  At mile 18 I started to feel the heaviness in my legs.  My glutes started tightening up.  I was worried.  But I kept pushing on.  I knew around mile 23 that I had a really good shot at a PR, that gave me the confidence to pick up the pace again.  I definitely gave it everything I had, left everything on the course.

After the finish, Ryan Hall was there handing out medals, he put my medal around my neck and said congratulations.  Super awesome!  I also received the 2014 Dallas Marathon medal at the finish line and the Dallas Duo medal (from running both the Rock n Roll Half and the Dallas Full).  Fun stuff!

I was feeling pretty rough on the mile walk to the car, rougher than I have remembered feeling after previous marathons.  But once I got to the car and sat down I was fine.  My legs just wanted a break.  Recovery has been really easy, some soreness in my legs of course, but very mild.

I have updated my 2015 Boston Marathon qualification time so that I can improve my seeding.  :)

Happy Birthday John!

We went out with Heather and John tonight in celebration of John's 40th birthday.  Dinner was actually a surprise party for him at Javier's, so to help disguise the plan we went for drinks and appetizers with Heather and John before dinner.  Super fun night!