run, run, run as fast as you can

This is my mom, Kaiti and I post half-marathon. We took a few pre-race pictures, but those were at 5:40 in the morning, so I decided to spare you ;)

I think we look pretty good for finishing 13.1 miles just moments before! This was Kaiti's first half-marathon ever, and she ran it with almost no training. My mom and I did train, and apparently our hard work paid off, because we cut our time from last year by 8 minutes! We were thrilled, and after showers, Aleve and church we treated ourselves to a big Mama's Boy breakfast.

I love my mama so much, and I'd been looking forward to this weekend for months. She came prepared with warm clothes and caffeinated goo, and her encouragement made the race enjoyable from start to finish. Well... the HUGE hill in mile 13 took away a little bit of finish line joy, but we were smiling again once our legs recovered.

**I know caffeinated goo sounds gross, but the Clif Bar mocha flavored one is so good! I had another one for breakfast post race, and I kind of want to stock up on them for late night studying.

running for cream cheese

In case this picture doesn't say enough, our weekend in Chattanooga was beautiful! And we took full advantage of it. We ate outside at Nino's on Friday, Lisa and I ran along the brow on Saturday, Jonathan and I took the dogs for a walk that afternoon and on Sunday we went for a post-church walk/workout... (Bob and Lisa surprised us with push-ups and planks every time we passed a bench).

I know that sounds very active, but we also spent a lot of time watching movies on the porch. I cut Jonathan's hair during Bridesmaids, and I don't recommend watching that movie while holding scissors near someone's head. He survived, but it wasn't the best haircut I've ever given ;)

On Saturday night we went to an engagement party for our friends Mark and Sarah, and got drinks with Addie, Doug and Kelsey at Urban Stack afterwards. It's a gourmet burger place, but their drinks are just as creative as their toppings - mine had ginger root sticking out of it.

Inspired by she and Bob's recent trip to Italy, Lisa made us an Italian feast for dinner on Sunday.

We ate outside, and the only thing better than homemade pasta and bruschetta was Catie and Martha's surprise visit! Martha is Jonathan's cousin, and her daughter Catie is the most adorable, imaginative girl in the world. She showed off her gymnastics moves and told us lots of stories about her friend Leo the Lion... he even stuck his toe in our bonfire.

I know this picture doesn't exactly fit in my post, but I can't write about Chattanooga without mentioning cream cheese muffins and cinnamon rolls. In addition to being tucked in the woods amidst creeks and waterfalls, Jonathan's neighborhood has a local bakery, apple orchard and farmer's market.

The Bread Basket has the softest, creamiest, melt-in-your-mouth cream cheese muffins. Jonathan and I usually split one, but after running 11.5!! miles in preparation for the Athens Half - I felt like I earned a whole one.

rise and shine

Lately I've been running in the wee hours of the morning. I'm training for the Athens Half-Marathon , and I've learned that it's best for me to run as soon as I wake up. There's no time for excuses, and I'm well into mile one before I think about what I'm doing. I always enjoy running once I start - it's just the starting part that's hard!

What about you? Are you an early morning or evening exerciser?

For me, the best part of a run is getting up when everything else is still and quiet... and only needing one cup of coffee to keep me awake during the day ;)