2014 in Review

I love this time of the year! Looking through old posts and reflecting on the previous year. Looking forward the the excitement of the new year and all the possibilities that await me.

Before I share my goals for 2015, let's check in on how I did with my 2014 goals.

Individual Goals

I had 3. ONLY THREE! And, I didn't manage to do any of them very successfully.

1) Run Faster. Stuck to endurance. Again. This is a failed goal two years running now. Will I do any better in 2015? Spoiler alert: Yes, this one is making the 2015 goal list. 3rd times a charm, right?

2) Train Harder. I'm not saying that focusing on running is necessarily easy, but it's definitely not harder. Focusing primarily on just one activity doesn't really push me the way I think I should be pushing myself. Please, please don't take any offense to this!

3) Blog Smarter. Yeah, remember that blogging hiatus I went on? Pretty much made a failure out of this goal.

But it's all good. This isn't going to be a total bummer of a post! There were still some other goals, too.

Goals with Jeff

Complete a triathlon. Um. Yeah. We put the kebash on this goal back in August.

Read 3 books together. We kept putting this off and putting this off. We actually did start reading one book, but didn't even finish it. Ugh.

Do at least 1 NEW thing a month. Finally some good news! This is one goal we actually accomplished! Whoo hoo!!!

January - Visited the Stratosphere

February - Attempted to go kite flying

March - Tried a new restaurant (Stewart & Ogden)

April - Got a couples massage

May - Went SCUBA diving in the ocean

June - Tried a new restaurant (I Love Burgers)

July - Went swimming at Lake Mead

August - Ran a midnight half marathon (Jeff's 1st HM)

Sept - Did a 30-mile bike race/run ride

Oct - Attended a 1st time home buyers class

Nov - Visited the Las Vegas Natural History Museum

Dec - Tried a new restaurant (Envy Steakhouse)

Complete a checklist of enriching activities. Another job well done! Whoo hoo!!

Cultural Activities

A friend's art show

Las Vegas Natural History Museum

Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo

Volunteering

GreenFEST

Ironman

Bountiful Baskets

New Restaurants

Stewart & Ogden

Sushi Kaya

Envy Steakhouse

Outdoor Activities

Kite Flying

Hiking Bristlecone Loop

Marathon Training/Support

Man, there were a LOT of activities that I never ended up blogging about. Maybe I'll still do some write-ups about a few of these in 2015. :)

Even though I failed on most of my goals for 2014, it was still an amazing year filled with lots of fun times.

If you're interested in reading more of my adventures in 2014, here are links to my monthly recaps and a few highlights.

January - How to Drink More Water, Creamy Rosemary Potato Soup, New yoga equipment
February - 5k PR
March - Ran 100 miles, Tried some new fitness studios, Watched 3 seasons of Downton Abbey
April - Attended our neighbor's wedding at The Aria, Mustang 50th Half Marathon, Ragnar Zion
May - Race for the Cure, Catalina Island, Trails of Fury
June - Surprise visit to MN for my niece's HS graduation, Sprinkler Sprint 5k, Announced my birthday virtual celebration
July - Created a delicious fruit dip, Created a yoga sequence for runners, Became an ambassador for Cocogo and SweatPink
August - Attended a #LadiesBeLike tweet-up at the Palms, Had a pool day with some friends and my nephew (visiting from MN), Created a morning yoga sequence
December - Cocogo Holiday Drinks, Our 10th Anniversary, A Solo Christmas Run

What was your favorite moment from 2014?
If you wrote a 2014 in Review post, feel free to leave a link in the comments. I'd love to check it out!
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December in Review

Wow! December really flew by. Doesn't it always?!

I've got a Year in Review post coming tomorrow, but today let's take a look at December. :) It was a pretty fabulous month!

I continued with the #RWRunStreak. Only 2 more runs to go!! :-)

I shared 3 holiday drinks using Cocogo. You can check them out here, here, and here.

Cocogo's Mistletoe Punch was my favorite

We celebrated our 10th anniversary and tried out a new (to us) restaurant, crossing off two of our 2014 goals. More on that tomorrow.

I went for a super fun Christmas run along the Las Vegas Strip.

We went to the Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo. The flamingos weren't out because their island was being worked on, but we got to see the pelicans and other waterfowl being fed. There were so many beautiful little ducks! This also crossed off of our final 2014 goal. More on that tomorrow.

I took a lot of pictures in the habitat, so I think I'll share those in a post of its own.

My hair and makeup were pretty perfect, though! I even got compliments from a few random strangers while we were out and about.

I tested out some awesome arm sleeves.

I received the #FrostyVoxBox with lots of fun products to test. Lots more to come on this, but you can watch my unboxing on YouTube in the meantime.

What fun things did you do in December?
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Review: Louva Arm Sleeves

A few weeks ago, Louva Gear followed me on Twitter. SO exciting!! Naturally, I followed back and let me them know I'd love to try out a pair of their sleeves.

Just a few days later, I was testing them out on a run.

The thing I love about arm sleeves is that they can prolong how long into the winter I can wear my tank tops and short sleeve shirts.

Plus they're super fun! And these arm sleeves are no exception; they're awesome!

I mean they have thumb holes. Isn't everything better with thumb holes?! So, they help keep my hands nice and warm, too.

There is also a nice thick banding at the top to help keep them in place. No slippage for me at all, and I've taken them on quite a few runs!

Plus the material is super soft. 

And the best part is they are only $12. TWELVE DOLLARS. I mean you really can't beat that price for these comfy little gems.

Currently, they are only available in white, but rumor has it they'll be coming out with other colors sometime in the future.

The white is great because, if you're feeling artistic, you can write on the sleeves. Motivational quotes. Your splits. The sky's the limit. These would have been really handy for Rock and Roll Las Vegas when I wrote my splits on my arms. :-D

Here's the back of the packaging.

I haven't washed mine yet, but the Care Instructions seem super easy. Bonus points!

The only complaint I have about these sleeves is that after only a couple of runs, they did start to pill a little on the insides of the elbow area.

Maybe it's also a sign that I need to take a closer look at my running form. :-D

Overall, I would definitely recommend these arm sleeves to anyone looking for a good quality, inexpensive way to keep a little bit warmer on those chilly days!

Pros:

• Price
• Super soft
• Thumb holes
• Stays put on your arm
• Easy to clean
• Easy to customize

Cons:

• Pilling
• Only available in white

Louva Gear is a pretty new company. Check out their story here. You can also check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Do you prefer arm sleeves or long sleeves for chilly weather running?

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Disclosure: I received these arm sleeves complimentary from Louva Gear in exchange for an honest review.

Merry Christmas Run

Last night I was so super tired, but I still could hardly get to sleep!

I was too excited!!

For a visit from Santa? Nope!
For a race? Nope!
For a fun solo run in a holiday themed running outfit along the Las Vegas Strip? You guessed it!

I almost wore this outfit earlier in the week, but decided to save it until my run on Christmas morning. I thought it would be a perfect way to spread some holiday cheer.

Mother Nature was both with me and against me.

With me because the temperature was perfect for wearing knee high compression socks with shorts and arm sleeves with a short sleeve shirt.

Against me because of the intense winds.

You know that feeling you get when you're riding a roller coaster and your cheeks are blowing in the wind? That's what it felt like during some of the gusty headwinds.

But when I caught a tailwind. Man, it felt like I was on FIRE! Well, you know what I mean.

In addition to the super windy conditions, I had a lot of skirt issues. The slippery material of my compression shorts kept making my Sparkle Athletic skirt slide up to my waist. I like when it's down on my hips, so it covers more of my bum. :-) After about a mile, I rolled my shorts down so the waistband was more on my hips. That helped a lot!

Of course, then the wind kept blowing my skirt up - which seems more revealing and risque when you're wearing skin tight white compression shorts. lol.

It was still a super fun run with lots of smiles and thumbs ups (and yes, a few weird looks) from the people out and about.

This run was powered by the Get Merry RockMyRun mix. Kind of fun running to some random Christmas music.

I was a little disappointed in the lack of Christmas decorations outside on the Strip. I guess you have to go inside the casinos??

Around mile 4, I saw an older couple taking a picture outside the waterfall at the Wynn. I stopped to see if they wanted a picture together.

Totally made me smile stopping to take a quick pic for them.

And then mile 5 (my final mile) was my fastest - 9'31". Wowza!! Thank you, tailwind. :)

It was a wonderful way to start my Christmas Day!

Please kindly disregard my headphones cord.

Hope you all are warm and cozy today and enjoying fun times with family and friends.

Merry Christmas from Enjoying the Course!
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Anniversary Weekend Recap

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you might know that Sunday was my 10-year wedding anniversary! Wow! It's crazy that it's already been 10 years.

Since we are trying to save money to buy a house, we didn't want to get too extravagant for this milestone anniversary.

Jeff did surprise me with a couple small gifts. Apparently the gift for 10 years is either tin or aluminum (depending on who you ask), so he got me this fun pencil set.

I've been missing NYC lately and kind of wishing we were still living there, so this pencil set was super thoughtful!

He also got me this little Space Case.

And wrote this sweet note on a little scroll.

I'm not sure what I'll use the case for yet, but I love it!

We got all dolled up and went to Envy Steakhouse. We live about 1 1/2 blocks from this restaurant, and it always smells so good when I run past it, so we thought we'd give it a try!

Jeff made the reservation for 8pm, and even though I started getting ready around 1:30pm, we were a little late. All my primping took a little longer than anticipated. Or maybe it was all the YouTube tutorials I watched for tips on my nails and makeup. lol.

My apologies for the creepy photo-bombing dog.

Since we were running late, we didn't really have a chance to take many pictures, but I was in love with my outfit and makeup and nails. It took awhile, but everything really came together and I felt like a million bucks.

When Jeff made the reservation, he mentioned we were celebrating our anniversary, and WOW! Everyone at Envy really made it extra special. I think that everyone stopped by to wish us a Happy Anniversary and thanked us for celebrating with them.

And told us to save room for dessert. :)

We started off with a glass of Chianti (for me) and some whisky (for Jeff). We were feeling adventurous and thought it would be fun to try something new. The Chianti was good, but nothing spectacular. Of course, I'm only starting to enjoy red wine. Jeff still isn't a huge fan of whisky. I couldn't even bring myself to try it. The smell was too strong for me.

Then came out the bread. It was delicious! I think there was 4 different varieties of dinner rolls. I ate two and Jeff at two.

We ordered the Heirloom Tomato Caprese starter. Such a great choice!

For our entree, we split the Tomahawk. It's a 40-oz ribeye steak served with grilled asparagus. We also ordered a side of garlic mashed potatoes.

We spent the entire meal recounting all the fun adventures we've had in the past 10 years.

Vacations to Chicago, NYC, San Francisco, USVI St Thomas, Costa Rica.
Living in Minneapolis, Brooklyn, Oregon, back to Minneapolis/St Paul.
How we ended up in Las Vegas more than two years ago.
Lots of random stories; many that I'd totally forgotten about.

The food and the conversation were perfect way to celebrate our anniversary.

And then they brought out dessert and a card from the manager - including a card for a complimentary glass of wine on our next visit.

It was an incredible night! Definitely a great way to celebrate and honor 10 wonderful years of happiness.

If you're ever in Vegas and celebrating a special occasion, I would definitely recommend Envy Steakhouse!
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My Year of Running 2014

I'm super excited to link up with Miss Zippy again this year for My Year of Running 2014. It's been quite a good running year for me! :-)

What was my:

Best Race Experience? How can I possibly choose a best race experience?! I think I ran more races this year than I have in many years. OK, if I have to pick one, I'll go with the Ventura Half Marathon. After running it, I went on a blogging hiatus, so I never did a proper recap, but you can check out this Google Plus story about the race. I had a lot of fun running this one in a swimsuit cover-up (with running clothes underneath) and a floppy beach hat AND even managed a PR. Whoo hoo!

Best run? So many great runs this year! I loved hitting the trails with George training for Ragnar Zion and then Trails of Fury. Some of the best runs, of course, were the ones with my non-runner husband who trained for, and ran, his first half marathon this year. But one of my favorite runs was the one I did on Catalina Island in May.

Best new piece of gear? The Flip Belt. I broke down and bought one of these at the Rock 'n Roll Las Vegas expo. I love it so much - better than any belt or pocket I've ever tried.

Best piece of advice I received? Run more races. lol. And like I mentioned, I did run a lot (for me) races this year. :)

Most inspirational runner? I like to be inspired by regular people and well, people from Twitter. I'm going to go with my friend, George, this year. He inspired me to try out trail running again and pushed me to run some of the trails here in Vegas with him. He runs lots of crazy races and just has a lot of fun with running. He's always willing to run at someone else's pace to help them through a race, as well. If you're not following him on Twitter, you should be. :)

If I could sum up my year in a couple of words, what would they be? Amazing and fun!

How was your year of running?
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Holiday Drink #3: Cocogo's Mistletoe Punch

OK. This is by far my favorite Holiday Drink using Cocogo!

If you missed the other two recipes, you can find them here and here.

Cocogo's Mistletoe Punch

picture courtesy of Cocogo

Yield: 4 servings

Calories per serving: 110 per serving (non-alcoholic)

Ingredients

• 1 stick pack Lemon Lime Cocogo
• 1 cup Pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup Water or vodka
• 1 Lime, freshly squeezed
• 12 oz Ginger ale
• Lime slices

Directions

1. In a large pitcher, combine first 3 ingredients. Stir until powder is dissolved.
2. Just before serving, add the juice of 1 squeezed lime and add the ginger ale. Give a quick stir and pour over ice in highball glasses.
3. Garnish with a thin slice of lime.

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This drink was very simple to mix up and was delicious. Okay, so I didn't have a lime and used 3 tsp of lemon juice instead. I also went with the vodka option. ;-) This drink wasn't overly sweet or overly sour. It was perfect.

I've never really had pomegranate juice before, and it was delicious. But man, is it ever expensive! I think it might be the most expensive juice I've ever purchased.

Are you a fan of pomegranate juice?

As a Cocogo Ambassador, I have the pleasure of giving you a promo code to enjoy 10% off your order at the Cocogo store. Just enter code ENJOYINGTHECOURSE (code must be in all caps) during checkout. Enjoy!

What's Cooking? Week of 12/14

Way back when, I used to link up with Laura over at Mommy Run Fast for a weekly meal planning link-up. I don't really have a meal plan put together, so instead, I thought I'd share with you all the ideas of things I'm going to try this week.

I need to update my graphic

Yesterday, Jeff and I picked up a basket from Bountiful Baskets, so we have lots of yummy produce to play around with this week.

We even went early to volunteer.

Volunteering is hard work!

And check off our final volunteering activity for our 2014 goal.

Now, we're down to one cultural activity and one new restaurant. I'm confident we'll accomplish them both before the end of 2014! :)

Okay. Back to the baskets. This week we received a couple eggplants, two heads of lettuce, some potatoes and turnips, cucumbers, and broccoli. Lots of apples and pears, grapefruit, clementines, and bananas. I'm excited for everything, but I also want to make sure that I have a plan to consume it all. Otherwise, it has a tendency to go bad before we can get it.

So, here are a few of the things I'm hoping to cook up this week.

Baba Ganoush - I actually made this yesterday. 1 eggplant down.

Eggplant Parmesan - Still need to decide on a recipe for this one. And 2nd eggplant done.

Potato, turnip, broccoli cheese soup - I froze a soup concoction a few weeks ago and plan to doctor it a bit to create something new, so I'm going recipe-free on this one. Hope it turns out delicious! Uses some of the potatoes and turnips and, of course, the broccoli.

Caramelized Pear Upside Down Cake - I pinned this recipe a month or so ago and have yet to try it. Uses some pears.

Baked apple chips - Not sure if I'll dress these up at all or if I'll just thinly slice them and bake 'em up. Uses up some of the apples.

Apple/pear crisp - Crock pot or oven? Not sure yet. A few more apples and pears used.

Salads - I bought some carrots, celery, and tomatoes to add to the lettuce in our basket. I'll also cut up the cucumber we received. And... checking off cucumbers and lettuce.

That's about it as far as recipes go.

Oh wait. Yesterday, I had an Apple and Gouda Grilled Cheese sandwich. So yummy!

The baba ganoush will be good with pita chips as well as some of the carrots, celery, and cucumbers. And a lot of the fruit I'll just eat as snacks.

So... wish me luck in not wasting any food!

In addition to all of the above, I'm also making Slow Cooker Cinnamon Almonds and White Chocolate Lemon Truffles - even though they will not help me consume any of the produce. If the almonds turn out as good as they smell (yes, they're in the slow cooker right now!), I'm planning on giving them away in gift bags to some friends at work. As for the truffles, well, I bought the heavy cream for them a few weeks ago, and now that is very close to its expiration date, so I really had no choice but to make them. :-)

What are you cooking up this week?
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Holiday Drink #2: Cocogo's Hot Wassail topped with Salted Caramel

Who's already counting down to Christmas? Jeff and I don't really do much to celebrate, but I am enjoying trying out these holiday drinks from Cocogo!

Recipe #2 is perfect for those cold, winter nights. Even if cold is only in the 40s here in Vegas, it's cold enough for me to want to wrap up in a blanket with a hot beverage and watch a movie.

Cocogo's Hot Wassail topped with Salted Caramel

picture courtesy of Cocogo

Yield: 4 servings

Calories per serving: 89 (non-alcoholic)

Ingredients

• 3 stick packs Lemon Lime Cocogo
• 3 stick packs Raspberry Passion Fruit Cocogo
• 1/8 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp Ground Cloves
• 1/8 tsp Ground Allspice
• 2 1/2 cups Water
• 1/2 cup Water or Rum
• 4 sticks Cinnamon Sticks (for garnish)
• 8 Tbsp Whipped Cream
• 4 tsp Salted Caramel Topping

Directions

1. Combine dry ingredients in a medium saucepan and add water. Stir. 
2. On medium heat, bring to a simmer. Add additional water or rum and stir.
3. Serve in mugs. Garnish each mug with a cinnamon stick. Top with whipped cream and drizzle salted caramel topping over the whipped cream.

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37 years old, and I don't think I've ever actually had a true wassail before, so I was excited to try this recipe out. It says it's traditional with a twist, so I'm not sure how it compares to a traditional wassail. I will tell you it is a little on the sour side. Jeff likes his drinks sweet, so he wasn't a big fan of this.

We tried it without the rum, because all of our rums are flavored, and I wanted to test this as close to the original recipe as possible. Not sure if rum would have cut any of the sour. Hmmm.

The whipped cream and caramel topping were a nice contrast (for me) with the sourness of the actual drink, but I had to finish Jeff's for him. Maybe it was a good thing I left out the rum. LOL.

Have you ever tried wassail?

As a Cocogo Ambassador, I have the pleasure of giving you a promo code to enjoy 10% off your order at the Cocogo store. Just enter code ENJOYINGTHECOURSE (code must be in all caps) during checkout. Enjoy!

Ultimate Coffee Date - December 2014

The last post I wrote before going on blogging hiatus was an Ultimate Coffee Date in Sept, so I was super excited to find out this link-up is still alive!

Coffee with friends can be so much fun, so I'm excited to grab a cup and catch up with all of you!!

If we were having coffee today... I'd have to keep this short and sweet because I'm meeting some friends for a trail run this morning! I haven't hit up a trail in months, so I can't wait. If you're a long time reader, this might shock you because I used to really dislike trail running, but it kinda grew on me this past year after training with George for a half marathon/5K back in May. I'd ask if you prefer trail running or road running.

If we were having coffee today... I'd tell you all about how 2015 is going to focus on speed! I've had breaking a 25-min 5k as a goal for the past 2 years, and right now I'm not sure I could even break a 30-min 5k. I've got a lot of work to do in 2015, which means I'm committing to no marathons in 2015 and lots of speed work and strength training. :-) I'm toying with an idea of hosting some kind of a virtual 5k race series that would last all year long. I'd ask if you were focusing on speed in 2015 and/or if you'd be interested in joining a virtual race series.

If we were having coffee today... I'd tell you how I'm *this* close to 1400 followers on Instagram! How fun would it be to get to 1500 before the New Year?! You can follow me here and I'd ask if you were on IG as well.

If we were having coffee today... I'd tell you how excited/frustrated I am that we are planning on buying a house in 2015. (yes, 2015 is going to be one hell of a year!) I'm excited at the possibility of moving into a place all our own. Our current apartment is getting more and more ghetto. The people who are moving in and the people who are walking around aren't making us feel the safest, so we're definitely excited to get out of our current complex and area of the city. I'm frustrated that it's not happening right now! When you make a huge decision like this, you just want it to happen right away. We're trying to save a little more money and find the perfect (for us!) house. We're probably several months away from actually moving, and I'm sure there will be a lot more frustrations to come, but it's still very exciting. I'd ask about your first time home buying experience.

If we were having coffee today... I'd probably apologize that I haven't mentioned anything about the holidays - shopping, decorating, baking, etc. Truth is over the years I've gotten less and less into the holidays. Jeff really doesn't get into them, and when it's just me, it just doesn't seem as important. Maybe I'll start getting into all the holiday decorating and baking again next year when we're in our own place. I'd probably ask you about any holiday parties you have coming up.

OK I've got to get ready for my trail run! It's been fun sharing with you!! I hope you'll go check out everyone else who stopped by the Ultimate Coffee Date over at Confessions of a Mother Runner today!
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Holiday Drink #1: Cocogo's Cranberry Cocktail

I hope you stocked up on some Cocogo on CyberMonday, because here comes recipe #1 for a delicious holiday drink. :)

Cocogo's Cranberry Cocktail

picture courtesy of Cocogo

Yield: 6 servings

Calories per serving: 66 (non-alcoholic)

Ingredients

• 1 stick pack Lemon Lime Cocogo
• 1 stick pack Grape Cocogo
• 2 cups Cranberry juice cocktail
• 1 cup Grapefruit juice
• 1 cup Water or Vodka

Directions

1. In a large pitcher, combine all ingredients. Stir until powder is dissolved. Pour over ice in cocktail or champagne glasses. As an option, top with champagne and garnish with a thin slice of lime.

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As a Cocogo ambassador, I was asked to try out and share this holiday drink recipe with all of you! It's definitely a winner! Of course I tried it with the vodka option. ;)

If you're not a huge fan of grapefruit juice, then this might not be the drink for you. It's kind of powerful, and makes the drink taste stronger than it really is. :)

Do you have a favorite holiday drink?

If you missed out on CyberMonday, you can always enjoy 10% off your Cocogo order anytime with code ENJOYINGTHECOURSE (code must be in all caps)

December - You're going to be a great month!

Happy December, everyone!

Here are a few reasons why I'm excited for December.

#1. Today I'm starting a 21-Day ‘Re’-Bootcamp program with Tamara over at Fitknitchick.

After spending the past few months focusing on running and marathon training, I definitely need a reset. I want to get back on track with better eating and exercising more than just those running muscles.

Today's task is to Find Your Exercise Why to focus on during the 3 week program. She gave us a list of benefits of exercise to help us choose our why. I'm choosing to focus on how exercise will (hopefully) reduce my desire for sweet and fatty foods. Let's just say we've gotten off track with our eating a while ago, and I need some motivation to get back on track.

It's too late to join in this challenge with Tamara, but if any of you are already registered, let me know! I'd love to follow your journey on this!

#2 Running is not completely going on pause. It's just not going to be the main focus. :) Today is also the start of the holiday #RunChatHunt - 12 Days of finding fun things on your run and posting them on Twitter! Click the link to see the list of things to find!

I'm also attempting the holiday #RWRunStreak - 36 Days of Awesome! This started on Thanksgiving and goes until New Years. At least 1 mile a day.

Anyone else doing either of these challenges?

#3. And probably the best one. Dec 21st is my 10th anniversary!

12.21.2004

It's crazy to think that I've been married for almost 10 years! We don't have anything too crazy planned to celebrate, because we are also trying to save for a house. Probably just a nice dinner and a show. We live in Vegas after all. :) It doesn't really matter what we do, as long we we're together. Cheesy, I know!

What fun plans do you have for December?

Before I go... Don't miss out on these Cyber Monday specials!

• 20% off at Cocogo. Plus an additional 10% with code: ENJOYINGTHECOURSE (Yes, I do believe the code needs to be in all caps)
• 30% off any plan at Diet-to-Go
• Runtastic Running Set for only $84.99

Plus the girls at Sweat Pink Partnered with some amazing companies to offer you the best CyberMonday deals like:

• 15% off at prAna. Code: pranastillsweatspink
• 40% off Pro Compression. Code: pink2
• 10% off Flip Belt. Code: sweat10
• 3-month Bulu Box subscription for $10. Code: SWEATPINK

I'm off to squeeze in a short run before work! Make it a great Monday!!

2014 Goal Check-in

With a nearly 3 month blogging hiatus, I'm sure you've been wondering how I've been doing with my 2014 goals. :)

There's only 1 more month left, so let's see if I'm still on track!

Individual Goals

Fitness goals - Run Faster and Train Harder
Sept, Oct, and Nov were spent hard at marathon training. Unfortunately, that didn't really include much speed work, cross training, or strength training. Even though I know it should have! It's so hard to find the time to do all of that along with all. the. running. I had a great marathon, though, so NO REGRETS! :)

Blogging goals
Um. You all know how this went. #fail

Goals with Jeff

Read 3 books together. Good news: We actually did start reading together! Yay!! Bad news: We haven't even finished 1 book, let alone 3. Not sure we'll be able to finish 3 before the end of December, but we should make it a priority and still try, right?!

New in 2014. Still going strong doing one new thing every month. Here's what you may have missed:

Sept - Jeff came out with me on a training run. He supported me while biking as I ran.
Oct - We attended a 1st time homebuyers class. :)
Nov - We visited the Las Vegas Natural History Museum

Enriching Activities. Since August, we've checked off a couple more activities. We volunteered at the Ironman in early Oct, and visiting the Las Vegas Natural History Museum yesterday counts as a cultural activity as well. Now, we have just 3 more activities to check off, and I'm pretty confident that we'll get this all done! Whoo hoo!!!

Overall I'm very happy with how my 2014 goals are going, and I hope to finish the year strong! :)


Anyone else still focused on their 2014 goals?
Anyone start working on their 2015 goals already? I've already got some goals bopping around in my head for 2015 that I'm pretty excited about, so stay tuned!

Where did I go?

Good morning! I hope that you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving yesterday - celebrating food, life, and family. *gobble, gobble*

Once I read that when a blogger has a lapse in posting, that she shouldn't mention it when she returns. Instead, she should just pick up like she'd never left. To avoid alienating (?) any new readers that might have stumbled upon her blog for the very first time.

Well, I simply cannot do that. I feel like I need to write an explanation to those few people who actually read my blog. :)

Especially, since my intent had been to write a good-bye post.
An I'm back and here's why I left post will have to do.

So, here's the story. I GOT BUSY.

And the worst excuse ever not to blog goes to... ME!

All bloggers are busy. I get that. It's just that with marathon training and lots craziness at work, I wasn't really able to give it my full focus. I really felt like I had no time for generating good halfway decent content for posts.

Plus I *gasp* wasn't really enjoying it as much. It was starting to become a chore.

But that's only part of the story. The bigger part was that I looked at my blog stats in the beginning on Sept, and my readership had plummeted. Again. It probably shouldn't have, but it crushed me. I see so many bloggers out there with such great followings who have been doing it for far less time than I have. I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere, and no one would miss me if I were to go away. I felt like I was doing it all wrong because I numbers were declining, and that's really what led me to consider why am I putting in this much effort?!

So, I decided I needed a break. From blogging. Of course, I tried to become a little more active on Twitter and Instagram in my blogging absence.

The first month or so I didn't really miss it at all. I was focused on marathon training and not going insane at work.

But in the past few weeks, I got a few new Twitter followers who said they liked my blog. Of course, I thought that was strange, since I hadn't posted anything new in months. It got me thinking, though. Yeah, I did have some good post ideas! Maybe I should start up again.

And now, my marathon is over and work has improved incredibly, so maybe I'll give this blogging thing another shot.

Kind of a Debbie Downer post, so here are a few race caps in pictures that you may have missed in my absence.

Just click on the picture to view the full story in G+.

Ventura Half Marathon | Sept 2014

Long Beach Half Marathon | Oct 2014

Rock 'n Roll Las Vegas Marathon | Nov 2014

Thanks for reading and letting me get all that out there! If you're doing any Black Friday shopping today, be safe and GOOD LUCK!!

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CyberMonday Cocogo Sale ALERT

Happy almost Thanksgiving!

Yes, I am going to gloss over the fact that this is my first post in nearly 3 months. That story will be saved for another post. :)

And with Thanksgiving, of course, comes Black Friday. Remember when Black Friday actually started on FRIDAY?!

I think I've only ever gone shopping on Black Friday a couple times in my life. Crazy, I know! Usually, I've had to work or some other nonsense.

CyberMonday is much more my thing, anyway. Shopping from the comfort of my own computer. Now, that's the way to do it!

And speaking of CyberMonday, Cocogo is having a great sale on Monday ONLY.

20% off sitewide

And you can combine that discount with any bundles AND use promo code ENJOYINGTHECOURSE for an additional 10% off. You can't beat that!!

Click to Tweet: CyberMonday Sale Alert: 20% off COCOGO. http://ctt.ec/dg03y+ #cybermonday #drinkcocogo #cocogo #holidaycheer #tistheseason #holidays

I've got some mouthwatering holiday drink recipes using Cocogo coming your way as well, so GO NOW (on Monday)! Stock on up on Cocogo and STAY TUNED! :)

And, of course, have a deliciously HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Ultimate Coffee Date - September 2014

Good morning! It's time for another edition of The Ultimate Coffee Date, so grab a cup of joe, and let's chat!

If we were having coffee this morning... I'd be very distracted! We're heading out for a 30-mile bike ride in a few minutes for Day 1 of the Ventura Marathon Beach Party weekend! Day 2 I'm running a half marathon. We arrived yesterday afternoon to some CRAZY wind. I'm hoping it dies down a little for the ride and the run.

If we were having coffee this morning... I'd tell you all about my awesome August, and ask you how your August was. And maybe ask what fun plans you have for September.

If we were having coffee this morning... I'd definitely ask you for your advice about running a free full or half marathon on Oct 12th in Long Beach. I've mentioned it before, but I still haven't decided which distance to run. You see, I'm running a full in mid-November, and I've got to PR it, so I'm not sure if I should risk running a nice, easy full just a month prior or trying to run a fast half. Help me! :)

Kind of a short coffee date this month, but I've gotta jet! Have a great one!!

While I'm out biking, feel free to relax for awhile, and catch up with some other bloggers at the Ultimate Coffee Date?
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August in Review

Happy Labor Day!! Hope everyone is enjoying the extra long weekend. I know I enjoyed sleeping in late and lounging around this morning!

Let's talk about August. IT WAS AMAZING!!! Seriously, so many fun things happened in August. It was my birthday month, after all.

Biggest highlight: Jeff and I ran a half marathon together. It was my birthday, and his first half marathon.

I got to meet-up with Katie from Twitter and ChaseThisSkirt for a #LadiesBeLike tweet-up at the Palms. She dropped off the fun alien green skirt and headband that I wore for the ET Half Marathon. So fun to meet up with her.

Jeff and I also got all dressed up to go to a friend's art show.

We had a pool day with some friends and my nephew and his girlfriend (and one of their friends), who were visiting from MN for the weekend.

I ramped up my running to officially start marathon training for Rock 'n Roll Vegas in November.

I've been slacking on my yoga, but I did create an easy yoga sequence to do in the morning - even before crawling out of bed.

I shared 5 lessons from Running that I haven't learned.

Jeff and I finally went for a couple bike rides to prepare for Ventura Marathon weekend, where we'll be biking 30-miles on Saturday, and I'll be running a half marathon on Sunday. Can't wait!!

Overall, it was a pretty winning month. In addition to all of the above, I also won two $25 GC to Starbucks in a couple of random drawings at work, a super cute Uberfit tank from This Mama Runs for Cupcakes, AND entry to Long Beach Marathon (or half... I still haven't decided) from Fitness Fatale.

Perfect for my birthday month, right?

Let's check in on my 2014 goals.

Individual Goals

Fitness goals - Run Faster and Train Harder
After my July fitness challenges ended in early Aug, my train harder kind of stopped - unless you include the ramp-up of running mileage. I have been good about getting in some speed work, so there's that. The heat is still kind of killing me, but fall is right around the corner. Even though it's still been triple digits here. I mean Starbucks released the Pumpkin Spice Latte, which means fall, right?!

Blogging goals
I like blogging, but it's a little difficult to see my numbers drop every month. :-( At least my social following has been growing, so there's that... Now, how to get them to pop over and read my blog, too. lol.

• Monday Listicles? Rumor has it this will start up again in September, so maybe next week...?
• Fitness Friday posts? I think I posted once on a Friday, but linked up a couple more times.
• What's for Dinner/Week-in-Review posts? With all the craziness of the month, my weekends have been busy, and I *may* have missed a week.

Goals with Jeff

Run a Triathlon. We've decided to push this back to 2015. It's just not the right time for us with me training for a marathon and other things going on.

Read 3 books together. Maybe in September. :)

New in 2014. Have I mentioned we ran a half marathon together? :-) It wasn't my first, but it was his. Plus it was definitely our first together.

Enriching Activities. We knocked off a cultural activity (our friend's art show) plus we found a great (new to us) biking/running trail. We'll be doing a lot more bike rides and running on this trail for sure!

What was your biggest highlight from August?
How are you doing with your 2014 goals?
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