Wonderful [Crazy] Christmas Time

Well, as it tends to go this time of year, things have been absolutely crazy!

Momma came into town for a week over Thanksgiving to help me with my first Loops & Belles show at Deluxe Winter Market. (More on that tomorrow!) But before she came to visit, I wanted to be sure that my house was decorated for Christmas!!

I watch "The Holiday" every year while I put up my trees. This year was especially fun because I had my new white tree to decorate as well. (Please ignore the fact that there is still no tree skirt on the white tree... this girl is struggling to find one that I love!)

Momma and I continued our tradition of running a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving - and this was our first one in OKC!

It's always so cool to see the firefighters in full gear during a race. It was amazing to see them during the OKC Memorial Half Marathon in April; it was also pretty fun to get to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving during the Turkey Trot!

Speaking of half marathons... I finished my third (and final) half marathon of 2014 this past weekend. And of course, I'm already starting to plan which half marathons I want to run in 2015.

I think I've decided to amend my 26 while 26 list (yet again) and remove the "run a full marathon" goal. While I think it's possible, I'm not sure I'm ready for that training commitment just yet!

But I digress, back to my last half of 2014...

I love a good expo - and this one definitely didn't disappoint. Once I grabbed my bib and runner bag, it was time to start browsing all the booths! In addition to finding a half marathon that I want to run during the Plano Balloon Festival in September, I picked up a 13.1 Christmas ornament, and signed the giant wall of runners.

The calm before the runner swarm. I seriously couldn't believe the size of the crowd of runners! I was in the third corral to start and it took us 10 minutes to get to the start line once the gun was fired.

I think this was the "smartest" that I've run any of my races this year. I listened to my body and walked when I needed to walk. Then, when it was time to start running again, it felt good! I didn't suffer from "lead legs" like my last half marathon in October! 

As far as time goes, I was a bit slower than the last half, but still faster than my first! Not too shabby... if I do say so myself. And you guys, I'm super in love with the finisher medal!! 

Now, the best part... no more running for the rest of the year! I am giving my feet, and quads, and brain a bit of a break. Looking forward to getting back into Barre3 in January - and checking that goal of 3 classes a week for 2 months off my 26 while 26 list!

Oh! I finished another 26 while 26 goal last week - but we'll talk about that on Thursday...

I'm SUPER excited to share all about my first Loops & Belles show with you guys tomorrow!! Brace yourself for a lot of pictures.

xoxo, E