Where to buy running shoes?

I have recently taken a look at my current running shoes and they are on their last leg. I have run almost 400 miles on them and they are wearing out. Where do you shop for your running shoes? I have gotten a few pairs at local running stores and Adam got me a pair online for Christmas one year. I was looking online, but haven't found any websites that had really good deals. I was fitted about 3 years ago by my brother-in-law (former NCAA runner, so he knows what he is talking about). My shoe of choice is the Mizuno Wave Creation. I love them! So I am not looking to change up my shoe, but I would like to get a deal on them, since they retail for over $135. If you know of any good websites or local Atlanta running stores that have good deals on my Mizuno's, let me a comment.

In other news, it looks like by the end of the week, we will be in our new house. The floor guy has finished the floors and the painter is coming tomorrow (Tuesday) to finish the bathroom. I am so excited to move into our new house. The only negative thing so far is that the gas range I want doesn't go on sale until June 13th, so we might have 2 full weeks in the house without an oven or stove. That might be some tricky cooking, but we will have our grill, so maybe we can make it work.

National Employee Health and Fitness Day

Yes, did you know that today is National Employee Health and Fitness Day. Well I didn't until I saw that Jeff Galloway was coming to my office today for a seminar on Running Injury Free. I was very excited about seeing him and hearing about what he had to say. Some of the things he mentioned:

1. No need to stretch - he does not recommend it.

2. He also is really into this whole run, walk, run when training for marathons (or whatever is a really long distance for you). He said people were actually cutting times and finishing stronger with this method. Interesting, I might have to try it.

3. Relax and let your imagination go when you are running.

4. Your body does not absorb a lot of water when you are running (around 2 oz. per mile), so there isn't a real need to drink too much while running.

He spoke a lot on these walk breaks for the run, walk, run method. I think there are several people who can use it, even if you are not training for a marathon. Just some good information I thought I could pass along.

After the seminar, we all went on a 1 mile walk and then it was back for lunch. Made me motivated to get my run in today, at least for now. :)

The end is near . . . I think

Well I am currently up to my ears in contractors right now. Pretty much everything we are doing is cosmetic, but it's still a lot. The house is looking better and better each day, and I am very excited about our move. But I will say, it has been very stressful. The 3 of us are staying with my dad and his girlfriend in what used to be my old house. Well there have been a lot of changes to the house since my mom has passed, and I don't feel as comfortable. Also, my dad and his girlfriend are not used to having a toddler around and she can be very fussy (maybe entering the terrible 2's early), which stresses me out even more. And then of course, all the contractors. I am having to deal with them all by myself since Adam works such long hours. I have become very handy, but I still don't know everything related to homes, so it's difficult for me to talk to contractors and then guess at what is right. Hubby and I have gotten into some heated "discussions" about several aspects of our new house from paint colors to painting to the order of priority on specific jobs. We have had bad experiences with contractors before so I am always hesitant to deal with them when I think we can do it ourselves. But now we have a little one in the mix which makes everything harder. And then even more difficult when she is having trouble sleeping. We went 3 straight nights where we were up late working on the house, only to have Hope wake us up in the middle of the night and then end up sleeping with us since I didn't want her to carry on for long and wake up the rest of the house. I will have to say though, my family has been wonderful through this whole process. My sisters have watched our little one on the weekends so we could get some work done and have even brought snacks and dinner for us too.

But I think by the end of next week, we will be moving into our new house. I can't believe it! It's exciting, but so different from our other house, I am not sure how long it will tkae before I will believe it's our house. I will keep you posted.

Not much to report

Well, I am here in limbo. We are moved out of our house but not into our new one. We wanted to do some updates on it and it's easier to do that when there is nothing in the house. We are staying with my dad (and his girlfriend) for a few weeks, so we can work on the house. Well, when I say work on, that is another story. We thought we would have all this time to work on it but with a little one, it makes everything a lot more difficult. We are having to find babysitters so we can go work on the house, and then Adam feels guilty because he doesn't get to see Hope much at all during the week, so we have decided to hire more contractors to help. We are now getting the house painted instead of trying to do it ourselves. We are tackling the kitchen on our own which is fun and something we will be very proud of I am sure. It's a lot of work, but I am learning a lot and feeling much more handy than I was before. I have not had much time workout or run since we have moved. Most of my time is spent dealing with people working on the house and researching new things for the house, and of course, dealing with the little one. :)

I did run the Komen Race for the Cure. They had almost 18,000 runners for the 5k race. I ran with my brother-in-law (former NCAA runner) and Adam pushed Hope. I did not have a PR, but I had a long tennis match the day before and my legs were feeling a little tired that morning. I did finish in 24:28, which wasn't even a PR for that course, but I felt good about it.

I don't have any races in my near future, but who knows, one might just find me. I am also getting excited about moving into our new house.

My meals have been pretty random since the move. My dad is good about eating just about anything I make (which is AWESOME), but with everyone's hectic schedules, we have been eating out more than I would like to admit.

Also, big props to my baby sister, who graduated with her Master's in Public Health (just like her big sis) yesterday. We are so proud of her.

Pics from our quick vaca!

Thanks to all the moms who helped me with advice on traveling in the airport with a toddler. So that Tuesday morning Adam went off to work extra early and my dad came over to take Hope and me to the airport. I was so nervous about getting Hope's car seat into my dad's car that I actually forgot the stroller. I didn't remember it until we were half way to the airport. Too late to turn around, so I was going to have maneuver Hope through the airport without a stroller. Yikes! But one of the best pieces of advice was the click the car seat to my carry on rolly bag. Awesome idea! Never had to worrry about it again. Once we got to the terminal I was very friendly to the woman at the desk and she looked up my seat and told me no one was sitting by me so I could take the car seat on the plane and put Hope in it. Yeah!!! Here she is all ready for the flight.


She had had such a busy morning that she actually fell alseep before we even took off and slept for over an hour. It was awesome! She did so well. As soon as we got to Fort Myers, FL, we got our rental car and went to find our hotel. There was a Super Target not even 2 miles from the hotel, so I grabbed one of those cheap $20 strollers for the rest of the trip. Then Hope and I hit the pool. :) Here she is all ready to go.


Adam met up with us Tuesday evening, and then he had training all day on Wed. but got out a little early and we all went back to the pool so Adam and Hope could play in the pool. She loved the water! Not afraid at all.

We went to a fun little restaurant outside of the hotel on Wed. night and it was really good. Here is a picture of Hope ready to eat. :)

We actually had to take a boat to get to the beach. Hope was so excited and had a fun time on the ferry ride.

Here is Hope playing in the sand. She enjoyed the sand much more this time around than last year. She hated the texture I think.

Watching Daddy intently as he makes a hole in the sand.

She loved playing with her beach ball. It was nice because the water was so calm that she was able to go in a little and she didn't get dragged out to sea from the waves.

Playing in the pool in her ladybug. We had this toy last year and it's funny to look at the difference in her from one year to the next.

Lastly, playing with daddy in the pool. I know he loved to have that extra day to play with his daughter.

It was a short trip but a fun one none the less. We can't wait to hit the beach again. It was difficult sharing a room with Hope and since Adam was tied up a lot with his training it was a lot to handle, so I didn't get to run like I had hoped, but maybe next time.