Thankful!

After a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by family and friends and a nice, relaxing weekend at my in-laws home in Cameron, NC I am reflecting on how thankful and blessed I am for all that God has provided in my life. Truly, it is the smaller, more intimate things like my relationship with God, family, friends, the beauty of nature,working a job I love.... that are so much more important than any feudal things of this world! This Thanksgiving I have been especially thankful for those particular things. :-)

I am also so thankful that I am able to train for this crazy thing called Ironman! Since signing up back at the beginning of the month, I have been so excited and training has gone pretty well up to this point. I have really just been trying to develop a good base and strengthen my core, which is incredibly weak! This Thanksgiving weekend I have been able to enjoy some great quality time with my husband as we got in two great workouts in his hometown of Cameron, NC just outside of Pinehurst, NC. Last weekend, a Turkey Trot Half Marathon was held in Pinehurst, NC and on Saturday morning Ryan and I found the course map and ran the race course on our own. I thought we were in "flat" land, however, I think we found every single hill in Pinehurst and had to run up them! haha. It was a beautiful course though and I enjoyed being able to spend that time with Ryan. The last 2 miles were a little painful, but, we pulled each other through it. :-)

Today, Sunday, we headed out for a gorgeous 34 mile bike ride in and around Cameron and eastern Moore County which led us past some beautiful open horse fields and rolling countryside. It was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday late morning with my hubby. It was literally all I could do to keep up with Ryan, he is getting so strong on the bike, especially only having been biking since last Spring for the first time! I am so thankful to have his support in training for the IM, I couldn't do it without him!!

Looking forward to getting back home to the mountains tomorrow and heading into the Christmas season. Hope each of you had a blessed Thanksgiving!

I'm In!

Well folks, I'm officialy registered for Ironman Florida 2011! All day I have had butterflies in my stomach about the prospect of embarking on the training journey to fulfill my dream of one day completing a full ironman. Now, I am committed, all signed up and registration fee is paid. I was really surprised when I checked the website just a few moments ago that the general entry is all ready sold out! That means the race sold out in less than 8 hours, wow!

I am so blessed to have the support of my amazing husband Ryan and my other family members as well. I couldn't even have dreamed of doing this without having their support. I know it's going to take a lot of sacrifice on my part as well as my family too. Having their support is invaluable!

I'm so excited yet nervous all wrapped up in one. It's a crazy feeling but I can't wait to start on this journey to Ironman Florida 2011!! 364 days and counting.... :-)