Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

It's January 18th and I'm so behind. This is my first post after my 2013 recap! I haven't even posted my 2014 goals. Well, I haven't posted my goals because I am not totally done writing them and I spent the last week in California visiting my family and friends. 

Big changes are coming again for the Miller family. We will soon to be on the move again. We are heading back to Florida. We will make our new home in Destin FL at the end of the month. My husband will be an Associate Priest at Immanuel Anglican Church. I'm still job hunting but hopefully something will pan out soon.

Here are some fun facts that will remain the same for this year:

• I'm still a wife. That's kind of a given though and so is the next one :)
• I'm still a mother to one beautiful little redheaded five year old girl.
• I'm still an Oiselle runner. Check me out here (but it will soon say in FL).
• I'm still an Esprit de She race ambassador but this year I will be running the 10K in Atlanta GA. Sign up to run with me here.
• I'm still a Girls Gone Sporty ambassador.
• I'm still a Sweat Pink ambassador.
• I'm still a KindRunner ambassador.
• I'm still Road Id affiliate. Click on one of the links in the side bar!
• I'm still baking a way. Check out my facebook page here.

New for this year:

• I'm a Color Run blogger. Use the code COLOR5OFF to get $5 off your registration. **Code must be typed in, not copied and pasted.**

I hope to get my goals posted soon, but they may not happen before we move. I'm dreading the move part but at least we are using a moving company this time and they will do most of the work.

God Bless.

2013 Victories and Failures

Here are my 2013 goals. I failed pretty miserably at most of them, but you know what? I'm not a failure. Life happens and that's ok.

 Running/Fitness Related Goals:

1. Run 825+ miles 400+ miles FAILED. I ran 344. An injury plagued year makes it rough on the mileage goal.
2. Run 13+ races, with at least 2 of those being half marathons. (See my little badge on the side with the 13 in 2013?!) COMPLETED! With a mixture of real races and virtual races that I ran on my own.
3. Run The Inagural Nike Women's Half in DC. COMPLETED!
4. Pace a friend for her first 5k. COMPLETED!
5. Run Monument Ave 10k. Attended a wedding that day.
6. Do trigger point therapy at least twice a week. (Don't know what trigger point is, check it out here.) FAILED! I really need to get on this one.
7. 500+ crunches a week. FAILED! After we moved I just forgot.
8. 500+ lunges a week. FAILED! See #7
9. 5+ mins total of wall sits a week. FAILED! See #7
10. 1+ day of cross training at the YMCA a week. FAILED! This got nixed after I made the switch from being a nanny to a secretary. I couldn't attend the class I really like anymore, I need to find another one.

Non Fitness Related Goals:

1. Teach my daughter at least half of the Nicene Creed. (Don't know what the Nicene Creed is? It is a statement of our Christian faith. You can read it here, we use the modern version.) FAILED! We were waiting for an update on the prayers we use so I decided not to confuse her. But she has successfully mastered The Gloria.
2. Read 52+ books. FAILED! I read 23. I have been baking more than reading. I baked 42 different orders this year, WOW that just blew my own mind. Here is my list:

      The Duck Commander Family W & K Robertson
The Passage J. Cronin
Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Adversity D. Brees
Running Tips: Ready to Run! R. Edwards
False Pretenses: A Novel (Secrets of Roux River Bayou) K. Herman
The Light Between Oceans M.L. Stedman
The Run (Running Suspense Series) D. Strong
McKenzie P. Zeller
The Notebook N. Sparks
Bloom K. Hampton
Wings A. Pike
Wild C. Strayed
Peace Like a River L. Engel
The Kitchen House K. Grissom
The Cold Dish C. Johnson
The Longest Ride N. Sparks
Dogs Aren’t Men B. Tiner
Until Forever D. Shortridge
Blue Moon Bay L. Wingate
Falling in Love S. Williams
Fireflies in December J. Valent
The Pastor’s Family B & C Croft
Bridge to Happiness J. Barnett

1. Teach my daughter our phone number. COMPLETED! This one was mostly accomplished by her preschool, but hey it's done. (Sorry for the renumbering, I had issues!)
2. Read my Bible and devotional 3+ times a week. (This one I struggle with from year to year, some years I rock it and others I don't. I struggled last year.) SOMEWHAT COMPLETE. I go back and forth but I'm better than I was.

I'm not happy that I failed at so many of my goals but that's life. I try to stay positive in all aspects of my life. I'm happy that my calf injury was fairly minor, even if did make me take seven long weeks off of running. I'm happy that my family has been healthy this year (minus my husband's bout wih food poisoning while he was away on a clergy retreat). I'm so thankful for all of my cake and cupcake clients. I have so many things to be thankful for even if I didn't accomplish my goals. 

I also had some great accomplishments this year.

• I was chosen to represent Oiselle as part of their race team. See my profile here.
• I raced Esprit de She Cary 10k as a race ambassador.
• I got muddy with Pretty Muddy as a race ambassador. 
• I raced my second half marathon.
• I baked for a wedding this year. That's a first for me!

 I'm truly blessed even if I didn't accomplish all my goals.

May God bless you as we start the new year.  

Color Run 2014

The Color Run 2014 is kicking off with a new tour. It's called the Kaleidoscope Tour.

 It will include some new fun perks. Here are some of the perks each registered participant receives:

• T-Shirt
• Headband
• Wrist Band
• Sling bag

You will also enjoy fun fresh music and crazy color attractions. It's bound to be a blast.

Check out the new updated website. Register using the code COLOR5OFF (type it in, don't copy and paste!) and you will get $5 off your registration. Also, check back soon for a Color Run related giveaway.

God Bless! (And Merry Christmas!!)

C is for CUPCAKES!

I have been making cupcakes like a madwoman. Maybe that is why my blog has gotten so neglected. Here are some of my latest creations.

My daughter's 5th! Red Velvet Cupcakes with Pink Old Fashioned Boiled Icing and Rainbow Sprinkles.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream and sparkling sugar.

Candy Corn inspired cupcakes.

Vanilla Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream and Spider Mix Sprinkles.

So proud of this little beauty!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese.

More Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese.

Can you guess my most popular seller?

There you have it! Cupcakes are running my house :) And I have five dozen to create this evening. 

God Bless.

HCA Va Richmond 8k

My races have been limited since I got hurt near the end of the Nike Women's Half in DC, but I have still be racing. I just took a large portion of the summer off. 

My husband and I raced the Picasso Trail Race 10k last month. We both did pretty well. I earned a 10k (even on a trail!), fourth overall female and first in my age group. My husband hit first in his age group and completed his first 10k race. 

This past weekend I raced the HCA Va Richmond 8k that is in conjunction with the Richmond Marathon and Half Marathon that I ran last year. My running partner from the half marathon last year was registered for the full marathon and since I didn't want to push myself to hard after coming back from an injury I signed up for the 8k. One week before the race my friend injured his calf and backed out of the full marathon.

Race shirt.

I woke up at 3:30am race morning to be dressed and ready for a 4:30am pickup time. Race time wasn't until 7:00am but we knew that we would have to fight for a parking space. We arrived in Richmond about 5:25am and immediately found an awesome parking space. We left the car and headed into the lobby of the Omni hotel to stay warm and dry (it was misting). We found a table and just hung out. I ate my Honey Stinger Vanilla Waffle, one of the few things that I can eat before I run and then just waited. About 6:15am I peeled of my cheapy (like $3) warm up pants, headed to the bathroom and started to get race ready. 

We left the hotel and walked out to realize that it was raining. The rain was predicted to quit at 6:00am so we weren't expecting it. As we walked up the hill towards the Capitol Building the rain got harder. I found my wave (wave 1, never had that happen before) and began to warm up. My friend told me that I didn't have to bag check that he would hold my stuff. Later he told me he did this so I could stay in my sweatshirt as long as I possibly could so my singlet would be dry as possible before I started running. The announced told us "three minute warning" so I peeled off my wet Oiselle trials sweatshirt and handed it over to my friend to stuff inside my Oiselle spike bag. I said goodbye and focused on the start line. I was a ways back from the start line even though I was in wave 1 but I knew that I would be ok since it was chip timed. 

Race outfit, though I decided against the armwarmers just before the race.

The gun went off, I made my way to the start line and took off. It was raining pretty steadily and I immediately started having a side ache but told myself I was pressing on. I began praying in my head "Lord, help me make it safely through the race." I had my calf and SI joint taped with KT tape for extra support. I wasn't in pain but the support was a precaution. About a mile in I was thinking about how great my calf felt, and how blessed I am. The rain had dramatically stopped at this point, but then I realized my shoelaces where banging me in the shins. I can't even tell you that last time I had to stop mid race to tie my shoes! I hurried over to the edge of the road and retied both my shoes then got back to racing. 

See my spiffy Oiselle temp tat? I'm a sucker for temps even though I have two real ones.

At about mile three I realized why I had a side ache. I hadn't used my inhaler pre-race which helps regulate my breathing pattern and generally prevents my side aches. I threw up a quick prayer thanking God that the side ache was my only issue from not using my inhaler and that my breathing itself was fine. I really felt like I was in my race groove at this point. I started picking out people in my mind that I wanted to pass, and I did.

The last portion of the race is a good downhill. It can be really hard on your quads and shins but it is so great for your time ;) I knew it was coming and couldn't wait to fly down it to hit the finish. As I rounded the corner for the downhill I threw it into high gear. I crossed the line at 45:05. I had set my goal time for this race to  be anything under 48. Not my 8k PR but a great race for an injury comeback. My last mile was also my fastest mile I have ever clocked for a race 8:12. It was a great day and I feel truly blessed to be making a comeback.

Love the medal.

God Bless.

My apologies.

My blog has been severely lacking and for that I apologize. I can't even fully explain why I have been behind, I just have. But check back early next week for a full cupcake update (maybe all the cupcakes are why I am so behind!) and an HCA Va 8k race update.

God Bless and Happy Friday!

Playing catch up

I have been planning this post for about five days now but my husband came home from a trip sick and so now it seems like everything has gotten out of whack. I feel like I am playing catch up in every aspect of my life right now, so let me just post my two big things that I had in mind.

One, I am now officially on the Oiselle athletes page. You can check me out here. I hope to have a race picture in my Oiselle singlet in the next couple of weeks.

Two, I was asked to be an Esprit de She ambassador again. Look forward to some more race information for next year and some race swag giveaways.

Have a great Tuesday.

God Bless.