Fourth Of July Snacks

Movie Review Monday - BRAVE

Both my sons work with animation so whenever a film comes out that's been animated we go see it. And Brave was one of those shows. I loved the strong female character of Merida, and I loved her curly red hair. Plus the Celtic ties were fun but. . . overall the show was very predictable. Unfortunately there were no real surprises.

But. . . if you have young children, this is a fun show to enjoy with your kids.

RATED: 4 of 10

GOT MILK?

Milk is full of calcium. It helps build strong bones. But more than that chocolate milk is almost a miracle drug when it comes to athletes. Chocolate milk is one of the best restorative drinks a runner can get. If you don't believe me, just read more about it here.

I could hardly believe it myself. I always thought chocolate milk was a treat or something you shouldn't indulge in too often but this treat is good for you. So before my marathon I started drinking chocolate milk. What an easy way to be healthy - drinking something that tastes good and is good for you.

So GOT MILK? If you do, you should drink it.

No WOman is an Island

I may have run the marathon but I had a lot of help from my friends and family. My hubby supported me in my training. He would ride his bike while I ran my training routes. But that wasn't the only thing.



Beth came and met me at mile 19. She ran the last seven miles with me.


 And, if that wasn't enough to keep me going, my kids came out and joined me, along with my sister and my son's gfriend for the last 1/4 mile before the finish line.


And that wasn't all. Even my cyber friend, Jen, sent me presents to congratulate me.

So, finishing the marathon was cool but having friends and family who support me is the most important thing. Sometimes we forget what's really important. I don't want to ever forget.

Spelunking

Some people don't like crawling into large holes in the ground. I do. And, my family usually goes with me.

So, while we were in Bend, Oregon we went caving. The Lava River Cave is a great beginners cave to wet your feet on. It is large so an easy walk, well if you don't mind climbing 150 steps to get back out of the cave. So, if stairs are a problem for you, this isn't the best choice for a cave. But, if you don't mind walking a few...okay...a lot of stairs, this is a great cave to start spelunking in. It is fairly level ground. So, you don't have to crawl over stones and rocks to take your tour. Believe me, I've been in those kinds of caves. There are large sections where everyone can stand side-by-side. There's no need to get down on your knees and squeeze into tiny crevices. And, I've been in those kinds of caves too. Plus, you can rent lanterns at the front desk and you sign in, so someone will come looking for you if you aren't out when the cave closes.

All-in-all, this is a great family cave to go spelunking in. So, if you're in Central Oregon anytime soon, stop by Lava River Cave for a quick self-guided tour. It's free. Well, aside from the $5.00 parking pass you buy at the entrance to the cave. And, if you forget to bring flashlights, you only need to pay $5.00 to rent a lantern.

Memories of My First Marathon

Waiting for the Run

It was cold, wet and windy but they warmed us up with some great guys leading some warrior chants to get us going.

The race is a beautiful course and that was the really wonderful part of the run. The Pacific Northwest is one of the most scenic areas in the world. I was all by myself on long sections of the run and it made me a little nervous because I didn't want to take a wrong turn but everything was really well marked.

 Then I finally crossed the finish line.

After I crossed the finish line and sat down to eat some watermelon I suddenly got freezing cold. That never happened to me before. I was wrapped up in a thermal blanket and my hubby got me a hot cup of coffee, within minutes I felt much better.

As I crossed the finish line they handed me the finisher medal and I actually got another medal for being first in my division, kind of cool.

I DID IT!!!

After training for a year, I was excited to achieve the goal! It was harder than I expected for  a few reasons:

1) I tried to follow the advice of everyone. Carb load, carb load, carb load--bad idea for me. It bothered my stomach and I didn't feel so well throughout the run. The carb loading is for the skinny people (at least that's what I think). I didn't need the extra carbs.

2) There weren't very many runners--only about 100. I know that might sound like a lot of runners but it was a very small run compared to all the others I've done. In fact there were over 1100 half-marathon runners. And, I like to follow the pack - but this wasn't much of a pack. I missed the energy, excitement and enthusiasm of the pack.

But there's always the next goal, the next run, the next thing...