Wednesday, January 16, 2008

My Disney World 1/2 Marathon Results!

Well I'm pleased to report that with help from my fellow running partner, Krista Lavender, we finished 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 15 mins! Unfortunately I didn't feel as great as I would've liked throughout the run and there were times when Krista's positive attitude had to carry me along, but we did it. Normally I get a second wind at about mile 5 or 6 but not this time... it was a bit tough towards the end. But I think it still puts me in a great place to work toward the Country Music 1/2 Marathon in Nashville the end of April. Hopefully some of you reading this will join me on that run=}!! The more the merrier!

Jeremy did a great job as a spectator trying to capture pictures along the way. He had made a nice sign that said "Go Erin, I love you", and held it up as I ran passed=}! He had the sign in one hand and the camera in the other while shouting my name. It made me laugh and gave me a boost. I guess he had to wait in the same spot for an hour to capture a picture of me after running through Cinderella's caste. But boy was it worth it! I love this picture... this is at about mile 6 I think, so I was still feeling alright=}.

As we entered the tunnel in the castle there were characters above us playing the trumpets as if royalty were entering the castle. That was pretty cool. There were also lots of characters along the way to cheer you on including some pirates in their ship, chip and dale, Alice in Wonderland characters, Ariel and much more. It was a great experience and I'd encourage you to train for one! Even if you just walk it. There are plenty of people who walk it and have a blast!

Ok I'll post more from our fun times at the Disney parks soon! Thanks for praying everyone! I'm so thankful for the healthy body I've been given and working legs to even be able to be a part of such a cool experience.
With Minnie, and holding my Donald Duck medal=}!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Disney Marathon, here we come!!

So if you've read Jeremy's blog you'll notice we'll be running the Disney marathon this weekend! I will run the 1/2 (13.1 miles) on Saturday and he will run the full (26.2 miles) on Sunday. I like that it's split up like this so we can cheer each other on from the sidelines, and hopefully get some great blog worthy pictures=}. I'm running the 1/2 marathon with Glenn's sister Krista who stuck by my side to help me finish the country music marathon in Nashville! So her presence will help push me again for sure... thanks Krista! Below is the course map for us. It might be too small but it shows that we start running at Epcot Center and then up to Cinderella's castle and then back to Epcot. I guess there are characters out to cheer you on along the way, so that and the unique scenery combined should help distract me. Also the course is mostly flat!!!... which is wonderful since I've been training in hilly Tennessee. So if you think about it this weekend say a prayer for all of us running Sat. and Sun. Thanks guys!

Saturday, January 5, 2008

A Montana Christmas!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope the new year has brought you a refreshing look on life and a time to reflect on all the good gifts God has given. Jeremy and I enjoyed our time off from the road life and retreated with my family in Montana this Christmas. So far we have successfully been able to pull off an "every other year" plan for Christmas with our families and this year happened to be a time with my family. However, we were able to incorporate some of Jeremy's family traditions such as having "Christmas crackers" at dinner and working on a crossword puzzle made by my Dad. We took advantage of the beautiful area that my parents live in and went snowmobiling, sledding and even went on a horse drawn sleigh ride!! My two sisters where there as well with their husbands and of course my little niece, Ella! I just couldn't take enough pictures of that girl. She says my name now and it's SO precious... it sounds like "owen". Here are a few pictures of the lovely time we had with family!

This is Ella before the sleigh ride! The sleigh was pulled by 4 percheron horses that were all decorated for Christmas. And Ella on Christmas morning!

Jeremy and I on my parents deck after snowmobiling. The mountains behind us are covered in clouds but when it's clear the view is spectacular.

I was smiling for the camera in this picture=}!

My beautiful fam on Christmas Eve after the candlelight service.