Turkey Trot Thoughts

Monica at Run Eat Repeat is putting on a fun challenge for the month of November. All you have to do is go to her blog and click on the link to sign up for the Pile on the Miles Challenge. Basically you set a goal for how many miles you want to run/walk/bike/etc. in the month of November. If you check in on certain dates you will be entered in to win a bunch of cool prizes! Everyone should go sign up! With the holidays and all the yummy foods that come with them approaching, this is the perfect thing to keep us on track! I set my goal for 60 miles, but I'm hoping I will be able to exceed that. Go sign up before it's too late!!

I have 13.1 miles guaranteed from my half marathon, and I just learned that my mom signed us up for a 5k Turkey Trot when I go back to Ohio for Thanksgiving! Last year we ran our first ever Turkey Trot together down here in Wilmington, because my parents were nice enough to come and visit me for Thanksgiving. This year I wasn't so lucky and will be traveling back home to chilly Ohio- I'm not sure I'm ready for the cold yet! I am looking forward to keeping the Turkey Trot tradition going with her though!

I've heard a lot of people say they run the Turkey Trot so that they can eat more at Thanksgiving dinner. I for one HATE Thanksgiving food. I know, I know I'm crazy or un-American or something like that, I've heard it all. I just really don't enjoy the turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, or pies. I can go pretty hard on some mashed potatoes though, but other than that I really don't like anything else. So what I'm getting at here is that I run the Turkey Trot for pure fun. I really truly enjoy getting up early and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and running a 5k. It is a tradition that I hope will be passed on for a very long time.

The Turkey Trot I am running is called the Tree City Turkey Trot and it is taking place in Kent, OH. If anyone lives near there and wants to run it with my mom and I we would love for you to join us! You can register here! Early bird registration ends November 22nd and it is $15 for Kent residents and $20 for non-residents. Everyone who participates get a long-sleeve t-shirt also. Come on out!

Busy Girl Workout

My Tuesday and Thursdays are always my busiest days. I go from class to coaching and then straight to work until 10 at night, and by then I do not feel like working out. So today instead of paying attention in class I was browsing some of my favorite blogs and found an awesome workout app on Peanut Butter Fingers. It is an app called the 7 minute workout. Basically it's a 7 minute high intensity workout, that works most of your muscles and gets your heart rate up. (She gives a much better review of the app than me) I thought this would be perfect to do during my little break in between class and coaching.

I just finished the workout and I loved it! I even have time to do it two or three times through. By the end I had worked up a sweat and was feeling good. I will definitely be adding this to my workout routine sometimes. It's all so easy and fun!

I just got an e-mail from my mom that contained this video...

Does that get you pumped up or what?! I AM SO EXCITED!!! 11 more days, 11 more days, 11 more days!!

And I also wanted to share this link about why being short is awesome.

I had multiple people ask me why there are only 19 reasons and not 20. My answer was because they wanted to keep it short and sweet (see what I did there).

Has anyone ever used the 7 minute workout app or know of any other fun apps?
Anyone else out there running the Wine and Dine Half?
Who else is short and proud of it! Or tall and proud of it!

Halloween Sunday Social

I'm trying a Sunday Social for the first time thanks to Neely!

I am very excited about this Sunday Social because I love Halloween and all things scary! Scary movies are my favorite and I love how they play all of the classics like Halloween, and Nightmare on Elm Street on TV this time of year. I also love the not-so-scary Halloween movies like Hocus Pocus!

So here we go...

1. What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?
 The costume that is sticking out in my memory is Dorothy. I loved the Wizard of Oz growing up, so of course I wanted to be Dorothy. I had the sparkly ruby red speakers, and a stuffed toto in a basket! My mom didn't mess around when it came to costumes.

2. If you could go back to your childhood and dress up as something, what would it be?
  I would want to dress up as Boo from Monsters Inc. I would've made the perfect Boo, but unfortunately Monsters Inc. wasn't around when I was little.

3. What was your favorite Halloween costume as an adult?
Like I said I really liked the Wizard of Oz and clearly I still do...

(well this is awkward, I was going to post a picture of me from 2 years ago dressed up as Dorothy, but I can't find ANY pictures sooo just imagine me as an adult Dorothy)

My costume this year is definitely going to be my favorite, but I haven't worn it yet so I can't officially say it is my favorite!

4. What is your favorite Halloween candy?
Twizzlers are my all time favorite candy, but Reese pumpkins are a close second!

5. What is your favorite Halloween memory?
This is tough, mainly because I have an awful memory. I always used to love dressing up and playing Halloween games when I was in elementary school. At the end of the day we would have a parade and walk around the school while our parents took millions of pictures.

6. What is your favorite scary movie?
My favorite scary movie is definitely Halloween because it is such a classic. Only the old version though, the new version just isn't the same. I know this isn't in the question but my least favorite scary movie is the grudge. I watched this with a bunch of friends for the first time when I was in 7th grade and I still have nightmares to this day. I am TERRIFIED of the grudge and that terrible noise it makes.

Stay tuned for my awesome Halloween costume later this week! 
 

A Very Random Friday Post

It's finally Friday!!!!

This morning I worked selling merchandise at the Beach to Battleship expo. I can't ever imagine doing a triathlon, but I would love to be able to say I did it. Maybe just a half one... Definitely on my bucket list! I forgot to take pictures at the expo, but it was really fun, and it was cool to get to talk to the people racing tomorrow. Good luck to everyone! Being at the expo made me even more excited for the Wine and Dine Half!! EEEEP!! This time in two weeks I will be at the happiest place on earth :)

Another exciting thing that happened this week was drum roll please.....



MY NEW TATTOO!

I have been wanting this tattoo for so long and I finally got it! It is the Swahili symbol for "Hakuna Matata" If you don't know what Hakuna Matata means then we can't be friends. And no it didn't hurt at all, and no I'm not lying.



What I'm loving right now...

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Smoothies

Y'all this stuff is soooo good! As you can probably tell from my name I love sweets and all things sugary so when I get my nightly ice cream craving I whip one of these puppies up. I add a couple scoops of vanilla protein powder to it to help my muscles after a long training run. Sooo yummy! Yoplait also makes these in other flavors like strawberry banana and blueberry pomegranate. Om nom nom!


White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clif Bars

I've also been a fan of Clif bars and right now this is my go-to flavor. I love love love the white chocolate drizzle on top!


My New OtterBox Phone Case

Last weekend I ran with my phone in sports bra during the Color Me Rad 5k like the genius that I am. Turns out a white OtterBox turns rainbow colored very easily. I had been wanting a new case anyways so I ordered a new OtterBox in my favorite color! I got it last night and promptly cracked it when I tried to put it on my phone for the first time (typical Courtney move). Fortunately it isn't badly cracked so it still protects my phone,  and OtterBox is sending me a new one as we speak! Love their lifetime warranty- especially useful for a clumsy girl like me.


Victoria Secret Tease Perfume

This perfume is perfect for a busy girl like me. My days consist of going to class in the morning, then coaching GOTR or STRIDE in the afternoon, and then I go to work until closing time. As you can imagine I get pretty smelly. Tease is a very light, clean smelling perfume which is perfect! I don't like really strong perfumes, they sometimes make me feel sick if I continuously smell them. This keeps me smelling good no matter what (at least I hope). My co-workers haven't said anything about me being smelly yet!

Any other tatted bloggers out there? I would love to hear about your tattoos, I'm so intrigued by them!

Has anyone ever completed a half or full triathlon, or training for one right now?

Food Makes Me Happy

One thing you should know about me is that food makes me really really happy. I really love eating...

I had the yummiest salad from Whole Foods and I just had to share it! It was Romaine and Spinach with broccoli, carrots, edamame, cheese, grapes, and grilled turkey. It was sooo yummy! I was literally in heaven while eating it and I see many more Whole Food trips in my future.

 

I just had to share this picture also. I work at Atlanta Bread Company and this is our Carrot Ginger Bisque. I'm a picky eater so I don't actually like this soup, but it is a very popular one! I just like it because I get to draw smiley faces on it and watch people's faces light up when their food is delivered to them. I mean come on, how could you not smile back at that?

 

Any other food lovers out there?

What is your favorite thing to eat before and after a run?

Color Me Rad Photo Dump

I had SO much fun at the Color Me Rad 5k! It was honestly the most fun I have ever had while running.

The before pictures...

 

And the after pictures...

 

 And some cool pictures I took during a color bomb release...

 

I know I've already said this but Color Me Rad was SO much fun! I forgot I was running, and I couldn't believe  it had already been 3 miles when I finished. I already can't wait to run this again next year! You can't be sad when you're being blasted with colors and running :)

Color Me Rad!

Guess what today is...

IT'S FINALLY COLOR ME RAD TIME!!

I'm sooo excited if you couldn't tell. I've been wanting to do some sort of color run for as long as I can remember.

I'm meeting up with so many different friends at this race and I can't wait to see all of them!

Race Recap and pictures will be up shortly!

GOTR and STRIDE Swag

The new t-shirts and water bottles are here!!!!

Yesterday I helped sort out the t-shirts and water bottles for all of the different GOTR and STRIDE teams that the Wilmington area YMCA serves. It was a very long tedious task, but these girls help make it fun! I love interning at the Y! Everyone should go like Girls on the Run on Facebook, and if you live in the Coastal North Carolina area you should definitely like GOTR of Coastal Carolina!

 

Here's a look at the STRIDE shirt

 The GOTR Shirt

And the new water bottles!

 

What do you think about the colors/new designs? I know I'm excited to hear what my boys and girls say about them. Can't wait to hand them out at our next practice!

 

STRIDE

I am loving coaching! I look forward to it every day. I coach Girls on the Run Mondays/Wednesdays and I coach STRIDE Tuesdays/Thursdays. These kids brighten my day no matter what, they are so full of light and energy.

Here are some pictures of my boys from today's STRIDE practice.

I love how I get to make running fun for them so that they will hopefully be just as passionate about running as me. I can't wait to run the 5k with them at the end of the season!

Is anyone else out there a coach for STRIDE or GOTR?

Surprise Visit and Big Decisions

Earlier in the week my dad called and said that he would be in North Carolina for work and that he might come see me while he's here. He never gave me a straight answer so I just figured he was too busy with work and didn't have time to see me, because the city that he was in was about 2 hours away from where I live. Well much to my surprise I get a TEXT from dad Thursday morning saying he would be at my apartment in a half hour. (I capitalized text because my dad never texts, ever!) I immediately jumped out of bed and scrambled to pick up the apartment. Luckily my roommate and I are pretty clean so there wasn't much to do. Before I knew it my dad was here! It was the first time I had seen him since July 4th. I love living where I do, but it's always good to be close to family. He of course took me grocery shopping which is every college kids favorite thing about their parents visiting! We went out for lunch at the yummiest Mexican restaurant called Tower 7 which is right on the beach.

I'm supposed to be graduating this May, with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Biology. Everyone has been asking me what I want to do after school and I honestly do not know. It actually really freaks me out a lot. My dad and I got to talking while he was here and he asked me if I would ever want to teach. The truth is ever since the end of my Sophomore year I've been kicking myself for not going into education because I am so passionate about working with kids. I just didn't want to waste my time and money and completely change my major half way through college so I figured I would just stick it out and everything would fall into place. Well nothing fell into place and I was starting to panic. My dad said he thinks getting my teaching license would be the smartest thing to do. Having his support is the most important thing to me so I am very excited to say that I will be getting my teaching license, and will be teaching elementary school! Unfortunately I will have to go to school for an extra year, but it will all be worth it! My mom is also very happy with this decision because she always wanted me to be a teacher. She texted me after talking to my dad and said "I told you so". I guess I should've listened to her from the start- moms always know best!

Working with the Girls on the Run and STRIDE organizations has made me even more passionate about working with kids and has made my decision to become a teacher even easier. I am positive this is what I want to do.

-Court

Five Facts Friday

I don't really have anything running related to write about so I thought I would share 5 funny/random facts about myself.

1. I am from Ohio but am currently living in North Carolina. I NEVER want to go back to Ohio after living here.

2. I am TERRIFIED of snakes. Let me share a funny story with you. 2 years ago I was in Florida with 7 of my friends on spring break. I was outside and heard a noise in a bush and next thing I know there was a snake slithering right in front of my feet. I screamed bloody murder and ran away as fast as I could. I made it about 15 feet away until I became paralyzed with fear and dropped to the ground balling my eyes out. Jen my friend who I've talked about a lot came and picked me up and carried me inside the house where I continued to shake and cry hysterically for the next hour. It wasn't funny at the time, but now it is a pretty funny story to tell!

3. My iPod has the most random selection of music. I literally like every single kind of music and have such a diverse collection. I'm not exaggerating at all!

4. I have two tattoos and I'm getting a third one within a month. I got my first one about a month after I turned 18, and no it wasn't one of those turning 18 and rebelling tats. I planned it out for a very long time and seriously thought about it before I got it. It is a sparrow with the words "Alis Volat Propriis" which means she flies by her own wings in Latin. This tattoo has so much meaning to me, but I will not go into detail about it now. I got my second tattoo a year ago. It is on the inside of my foot and says "She believed she could so she did". This is my favorite quote and it also has a lot of meaning to me. My third tattoo is going to be the Swahilian symbol for Hakuna Matata behind my ear. I'm getting this because I love what those words stand for... no worries for the rest of your days and Disney also means a lot to me, but I like this idea more than tattooing Mickey ears on me. I will post pictures of all my tattoos after I get my third one!

5. I hiccup every time I eat. Every time I eat or drink I get the hiccups, but only one or two. My friends think it is sooo weird and they tell me I must breathe wrong or something. I'm not too worried about!

That's it for now!

Happy Friday
-Court