13.1 Because I'm Only Half Crazy!

After 8 hard weeks of training and if I am going to be really honest, stressing out (a lot) the day is finally hear. In 12 hours I will be standing at the start line  of my very first half marathon.  When I say it out loud it still shocks me. Me. Allie Martin. Running a half marathon. Who would have EVER predicted that?!?!?!?

I wish I could put into words the emotions that have played out over the last week.  From tears of complete fear to tears of an overwhelming pride in myself.  I know tomorrow will be a flood of emotions and keeping those emotions in line for 13.1 miles will be my biggest mental challenge.

In order to help myself stay focused and not let my emotions get the best of me, I have made myself a few promises:

1. Remember my original goal - finish upright
2. Take it 1 mile at a time
3. Not stress about my time. No matter what my time is, it will be my PR
4. Trust my training

If I can do those things it will be a great day. And quite possibly one of my biggest accomplishments ever.  Seriously, I have done some really awesome things in my life that I am very proud of. But 95% of those things I took on because the basics of whatever it was came somewhat natural to me. That is not the case with running. There is nothing natural about me being athletic! It has forced me to push myself in ways I didn't know I could. And tomorrow morning, when I cross that finish line, I will have proved to myself just how strong I really am. 

Before I attempt to sleep tonight, I want to give a HUGE shout out and thank you to my family and friends who have support me in this journey. All of your texts, emails, facebook messages, calls and hugs have meant the world to me. And our "Pre-Race Pasta Party" on Friday night was just what I needed!!!

And then there are those who have gone the extra mile. 

• Kipper for inspiring me to take this journey.
• Angela for always being there to answer whatever crazy questions Kipper and I come up with, as well as always knowing what to say to put my mind at ease when answering said crazy questions.
• Mel for putting up with my emotional roller coaster at work (I am pretty sure until this week she still thought I was joking about doing this!)
• Watts waking up to drive all of us tomorrow morning at 5:45am so we don't have mess with the nightmare that is Cowtown parking.
• Momma and Ms. G (and maybe Aunt Vickie) meeting all of us around mile 7 with bananas and PB sandwiches.
• Watts, J Crab and T coming to the finish line to cheer us into the home stretch and celebrate the peak of this journey (with mimosas to boot!!) 
• And of course I can't forget the rest of the "Fab 5" AJ, Merb, Kipper and Jenn. Taking this journey with you all is something I will never forget! 

Go figure I am freaking cry as I write this. (Hey, I told you it was a crazy flood of emotions this week!!) But they are good tears. Tears of pride. Tears of thankfulness. Tears of joy. I am blessed beyond measure and those blessing will help carry me tomorrow. 

Again, thank you for your love, prayers and support. Now let's do this thing!!!!! This girl is ready for some wine and cupcakes!!! :) 

The Best Valentine's Day Gift EVER!!

Last Sunday, I told you all about the $20 Valentine's Day Challenge that Kipper and I were doing in lieu of buying gifts this year. I am so happy we decided to do this, because I can't tell you how much I LOVED it! We have had some pretty awesome Valentine's Days, but this year takes the cake in the gifting department! 

As a refresher, here were the only rules:

• Each person will create a handmade gift and card
• We can only spend $20 total so that means only $10 each for supplies
• Supplies in the craft room or garage are fair game

For my gift I decided to create a little glimpse into my heart! I wanted to do something to tell Kipper all the reasons I love him, but I decided to narrow it down to 147 (1 for every month we have been together) reasons! I loved making it, but I really loved watching Kipper read each and everyone one! And yes, I stayed under my budget spending only $6.00!

Here is the final product:

Now for Kipper's gift to me!!!  I can't tell you how much I LOVED my gift! And I loved how excited Kipper was to give it to me...he couldn't wait till Valentine's Day so I got it a little early! :) 

Thanks to our new found love of Big Bang Theory, Kipper has rekindled his love with comic books. So it was only fitting that my gift was a comic book!! He did a page for each year we have been together, highlighting events from that year and even came in it's own comic book sleeve to protect it!  And Kipper wins in the budget category spending $.10!

Here are the highlights of my very own comic book: 

Some of you my laugh at hearing how this was one of my favorite gifts that Kipper has ever given me, but it is the truth. All the thought and heart he put into this gift challenge filled me with more joy than anything he could have bought at a store. Now don't get me wrong...designer shoes and handbags go a long way in my book, but you get what I mean!

While we originally came up with this idea because money was a little tight and we didn't really "need" anything. But after doing this, even if money wasn't a factor in the equation, I would suggest this doing something like this to any of my friends!  Aside from just the gift giving aspect, it was an awesome way to connect with each other in a new way.

I would like to challenge each of you to come up with some similar "challenge" with your spouse or significant other.  You can wait till a major holiday or heck, set a timeline and do it just because!  If you both truly commit to it, you won't be sorry in the outcome! :) 

$20 Valentine's Day Challenge

Only 4 days away from Kipper's FAVORITE holiday - Valentine's Day!!  Ha! In all honestly he strongly dislikes Valentine's Day and I get it.  It stresses him out and it doesn't make it any better that I LOVE Valentine's Day!! (I can't help it..I love love!)

But to his credit he always surprises me with something special. When he told me last year we weren't going to even do cards I really thought he was serious! You can imagine my surprise when I came home from work to find a wine and cheese tasting set up in our our dining room.


As always, he has been stressing over Valentine's Day so I came up with a fun idea! We have a lot going on so money is tight, and to be honest neither of us need anything!

The $20 Valentine's Day Challenge was born! 

Here are the rules:

• Each person will create a handmade gift and card
• We can only spend $20 total so that means only $10 each for supplies
• Supplies in the craft room or garage are fair game

Sounds simple enough, right??? I am not going to lie, I am stressing a little now!  Kipper has his figured out and I am still working on it. But I can't wait until Thursday when we get to share our creations!!

Adventures In Germville

I started feeling crappy on Friday evening and then spent almost the entire day in bed on Saturday. I thought I was better so we went to dinner Saturday night and I prepared to achieve my biggest achievement in my running training on Sunday - 10 miles! (which I totally did and I couldn't be more proud of myself!!)

Then came Monday morning. I woke up feeling terrible. By lunch I felt a fever coming on but we had a  board meeting, the first with the new board members, so I had to stick it out. By the time I got home I was weak and had a high fever. It was official - I was sick. 

During the 2 days I spent in bed, I learned lots of fun things:

• Apparently I haven't seen every episode of Criminal Minds as previously thought. 
• Realizing the Hallmark Channels top advertisers are: Colonial Penn, AARP, Build-A-Bear, Hoover Vacuums and Viking River Tours. Needless to say, I am pretty sure I am NOT their target market. 
• Given the amount of commercial time, complications with pelvic mesh seem to rampant in our country. 
• Dutchess and Fenway could seriously sleep all day. Gulliver not so much. 
• Even though Gulliver wanted to get up and be active he won't bring you anything to drink (guess it is the whole, no opposable thumbs thing. Why else wouldn't he want to do that for his mommy?)
• Thanks to several infomercials I have learned, there is a good chance I suffer from PBA or Pseudobulbar affect. A medical condition characterized by sudden and uncontrollable episodes of crying or laughing. An episode of PBA can occur at any time, even in inappropriate social situations. 

Yet the best moment came when watching Toddlers and Tiaras with Kipper, making fun of all the crazy names people give their kids. We started talking about names we liked and didn't like for our future kids. After about 15 minutes or so the conversation turned...

     Me: If we have a little boy, let's name him "Batman"

 
     Kipper:  (stares at me and starts laughing) 

     Me:  Seriously, just think about him walking into kindergarten on his first day. "Hello. I am Batman!!" 

     Kipper:  (still laughing)  Yes that is awesome! 

     Me:  What would his middle name be? 

     Kipper:  Robin of course. 

     Me:  Really?? I think "Batman Robin Martin" is a little too much. 

     Kipper:  You think so?  I guess...

You know cause naming your child "Batman" isn't a little much on its own! lol! I love my husband and the fact that we can be silly together.  But for the record......