The New Blog

Hi, family and friends!

I'm happy to announce that I've started a new blog! Brook Runs Happy is a blog dedicated solely to my running adventures with Brooklyn. I'll share our running stats, favorite gear, pointers for training a four-legged runner, and tips for Dallas runners.

Click here!

I'll continue this blog for sharing our family's journey, so don't forget to check back here, too!

National Run with Your Dog Day!

Happy National Run with Your Dog Day!

Brooklyn and I participated in the Virtual 5K hosted by Running With Ollie. There are some pretty awesome giveaways up for grabs, so we didn't want to miss out! And besides, we're happy to have any excuse to run.

Today is also my first day of finals, so we kept our run to the neighborhood. Yes, I wore a race bib while running down my street. Why not? I'm all about running. And my dog. And leaving adequate time to prepare for finals.

No PRs today -- just a good 7:50 pace. I've been dealing with some IT band issues these last two weeks, due to my sudden increase in mileage. Feeling great so far this week and so very thankful! Lots of stretching, icing, and strengthening exercises going down over here.

Now back to that take-home final...

(Don't forget to vote for us!)

The Trouble with Spring Break

The trouble with spring break is that I don't know how to rest.

Am I the only person out there who feels stressed out about a week off?

I want to rest, but I also want to work an eight-hour day and save the world on my lunch break.

It's been a week of ups and downs, but it has been wonderful in so many ways. My recital is three weeks away, so I can't afford to take a break completely; I have, however, cut back and focused mainly on my recital music.

Tyler is wonderful about helping me practice the art of resting. The other night, he told me I needed to schedule a massage as a way of intentionally resting. I had one booked within minutes! (It was glorious!)

Some other restful things this week:

1. Sleeping in until 6AM (don't laugh)
2. Baking/cooking (and NOT cooking and enjoying Ty's delicious taco dinners!)

Breakfast for the week: apples, coconut milk, raisins, cinnamon, spoonful of almond flour. SO tasty with greek yogurt!

Paleo lemon blueberry muffins! I've been using my YoungLiving Essential Oils non-stop. Yes, even in the baked goods! My apple dish is incomplete without Thieves, and my Lemon oil was the perfect complement to these muffins!

3. Making a kombucha starter

The ingredients!

Now we wait for the SCOBY to grow!

4. Folding laundry - can't remember the last time I had time for this (and all the perfect housewives cringe)

5. Exercising Brook and training with Ty! (No surprise there! This is always my release!)

My handsome triathlete in training!

Negative split stats!

From last night's ride. Note to self: don't ever cycle again after a massage. That was some serious muscle fatigue!

6. Lunch with my piano teacher and a lesson afterward - another reminder of how blessed I am to be at my school!

Learning about pedagogy literature

7. More lattes than I'd like to admit: a cow's milk, a soy milk, a coconut milk -- but I digress....

Races!

Hiya there, beautiful city!

Rocking the 9K last weekend at the Trinity Run

After telling everyone on Instagram that I placed 5th in my age group, I discovered I was actually 6th. My apologies! There must have been an error on the computers at the race site. I would have tied for third in my age group if I hadn't just turned 25. Drat! Aging is taking its toll on me already! As it stands, I was 6th out of 73 women, ages 25-29. I'll take it! This was a Thursday morning impulse registration, but I'm so glad I signed up. The course was a hilly one, but the view was 100% worth it! The free chocolate milk, iced coffee, and coconut water afterward made it 101% worth it!

Tomorrow we run the Dash Down Greenville 5K. The more learn, this less excited I am. On the flip-side, maybe I'll have a better chance of placing if everyone else is hungover...

Monthly Musings: February (Birthday Edition, Part I)

My favorite day of the year came and went. It was absolutely perfect. (We're talking about my birthday, in case you didn't know. February = Jessie's birthday.) Texas even got with the program and made my birthday last nearly a week. Monday and Tuesday were both ice days, so the celebrating continued into the week.

Let me back up.

A February birthday for a Floridian means perfect weather: light jackets, sun, and a nice breeze. Dallas made planning a bit tougher. During the week leading up to the big day (Saturday), the forecast changed four times. It vacillated back and forth between torrential downpour and clouds and 70s and 30s. Finally, on Friday it looked as if Saturday would be cool and cloudy, perfectly acceptable for my birthday plans.

Birthday Wishes:
1. Run a half marathon
2. Go hiking with my family

Likely because of the unstable weather forecast, White Rock Lake was wide open. On an average Saturday morning, the lake is highly populated with runners, walkers, cyclists, dogs, strollers, etc. We saw a few running groups training, but I'm guessing many anticipated the clouds would turn to rain and the forecast would change yet again. Mary Anna ran with me, and we headed counter-clockwise around the lake this time. We parked in the neighborhoods surrounding the lake, ran the 9 miles around the lake, and then ran back to the car. Unfortunately, I slightly miscalculated the distance, so we had to add another mile at the end of our run. But in the end, we completed 13.1 miles in 1:48:56. It occurred to me afterward that neither of us have run a half marathon distance since our race in October. Not bad at all.

On top of the dam - I love this stretch!

Hydratin'!

I had a post-run recovery breakfast cooking in the crockpot for when we finished. I called my family on FaceTime and opened their gifts. I think the kids were a bit disappointed in the "grown up" gifts under the bright wrapping, but I've been enjoying my essential oils starter kit daily!

Annual birthday picture! (Looking a little rough, but I had just finished a half marathon, thank you very much. :)

Birthday flashbacks: 2013 & 2014

After a tasty breakfast, some quality foam rolling, and a shower, Ty and I headed to an outdoors store down the street. My Welsh fam sent me some birthday money, and it was burning a hole in my pocket already. Afterward, we packed a lunch, loaded up the dog, and took the highway south to Cedar Hill State Park. What did I buy with my birthday money?

A backpack for Brook!

I have been wishing for one of these for quite some time. I plan to use it for my long runs, so Brooklyn can carry all our gear. Hands-free running is a dream! We're also hoping to do some more hiking/trail running, so I have great plans for this pack. On Saturday, she hauled our lunch. (It's about time she pulled her weight!)

If you thought Brooklyn would be tired after running a half marathon, you guessed wrong. She was wild as ever! We took a 3-mile trail that is shared between hikers and mountain bikers. For safety purposes, we walked counter-clockwise, while the bikers took the route clockwise. Ty's favorite part was dreaming of biking the trail and simultaneously reliving his Nashville biking memories.

Cedar Hill is known for its hilly areas, and the trail had some good inclines. It also veers around Joe Pool Lake, so we could sometimes see that in the distance.

After our hike, I was certainly tired, so I put my feet up, iced my knee, and watched some Netflix. After that respite, the dinner party preparations began. Mary Anna and I had sliced most of the veggies the previous night, so there was very little to do except the actual cooking. After a long run and a hilly hike, I was stoked about this dinner.

Green Curry

Pad Thai

I didn't manage to snap a photo of our dinner guests, but it's because I was entirely present in the evening. After dinner, we enjoyed brownies, hot tea, and the 90's Edition of Trivial Pursuit. I could not have asked for a better evening. Finally, our sleepy guests departed with full bellies and wide smiles, and I was struck by how very blessed I am.

Stay tuned for Part II: Icemageddon!

Celebratin'

You might remember that February is my favorite month. Valentine's Day kicks off the birthday countdown. Since Ty goes out of his way to make my birthday wonderful, I decided I'd go out of my way to make him feel special this Valentine's.

After two and half years of marriage, I finally found the courage to make Mamacita's spaghetti. Miracle of miracles, it turned out okay. Not as good as hers, but certainly tasty! She has a few years of experience on me. ;)

My celebrations began Thursday, when one of my students brought me an orchid and handwritten note. Her gesture blessed me and reminded me that I am where I need to be right now. My job is more than just a job; it's a ministry of Grace to students.

February 14th began with a Valentine's run at White Rock. Mary Anna, Brooklyn, and I broke some new records. I'd say that's a great way to start the day!

10K: 48:33

9 miles: 1:11:34.

We celebrated our accomplishments with some foam rolling and M&Ms. Running and chocolate pair perfectly, by the way.

Valentine's Kisses!

After homework and practice, I set out to make that romantic spaghetti dinner. It was so nice to enjoy a nice meal at home with no deadlines or pressing duties. The spaghetti definitely added a classic touch.

I gave Ty his usual silly card and pack of Reece's. He surprised me with this atypical bouquet - brought all the way from the Arts District in his motorcycle jacket. I was quite impressed.

Rose, eucalyptus, a feather, and some pretty blue flowers (name??!) 

We ended our romantic date with a trip to the video store and the pet store. Yes, the pet store. After all, V-Day is Brooklyn's Gotcha Day, too. A few goodies for her meant an uninterrupted movie night for us.

Who needs fancy dinners and expensive gifts when you already have the gifts that keep on giving? 

And a little throwback to V-Day 2013...

Weimaraner Wednesday: Sweater Weather

We interrupt the Baroque readings to bring you this important message:

We're back on the run!

After nearly three weeks of forced rest (thank you, acute Bronchitis!), it feels good to move again! My schedule is significantly more packed than last semester, so I am grateful for even thirty minutes to get outside and move. I have to treat Saturdays as a school day, but I do allow myself time for a longer run on Saturday mornings. It's a great recharge!

Mary Anna and I ran at the lake last Saturday. It is my very favorite running spot ever. Looking forward to running all the way around again soon.

Some motivation on my wall...love this Brooks advertisement found in Runner's World. I'll bet their model's name isn't Brook, though! Missed opportunity. Brook really would have been the perfect poster child.

Isn't my running calendar cute, too? It's hand-crafted, and each month contains a different drawing and quote. My sister purchased it for me. It's just perfect!

Monday's run was exceptionally cold. With the wind chill, it was sixteen degrees when we hit the road. Brooklyn was shivering inside the house, so I figured the extreme weather called for extreme measures.

I ordered a dog sweater on Amazon.

Then I raided my closet and dressed her in my wool sweater for the time being.

We enjoyed an icy run and even pulled a 7:50 pace on our 5K. I could see my breath the entire time. Not too shabby for two Florida gals.

Brook passed out afterward, and I got back to work. (Lucky her!)

Today her sweater arrived.

Apparently she needed an XL (or XXL!)

"You calling me fat?!"

This crop top won't keep her too warm, but it does show off her girlish figure!

"How about these leggings, Mom?"

And you know what else all this running means?

It's time to eat.

"Like, now."