Tuesday News

Happy Tuesday! Is it Tuesday afternoon already? Is Spring Break seriously only 3 days away?! Do I seriously only have 33 days of school left in this first year of my grown up career?! Is it seriously 55* here in the beautiful south at the end of March?! In case you were wondering, the answer to all of the above questions is YES!

 

On this super cold day I thought I would share some BIG news! (No. Not BIG as in a little Cain… I seriously know a handful of people that read that sentence and that is the first thing that pops in mind. I also know another handful of people that would KILL me if they had to read that on the blog.) 

Here is the news:

Tomorrow night we are hosting a little cookout for some folks. This is when I realized we have nothing to drink in this house but water and milk. Problem one.

We also have no bread to go with the hamburgers. Problem two.

Some have requested hotdogs. What is a hotdog? Problem three.

 Sunday I finished my longest (without stopping one time) run. 8 glorious miles. Dub finished five like a champ. Then he decided he was finished and seriously had to be PULLED to meet his dad at the end of the road. 

Real conversation:

Me: Hey. What (breathe) are you (breathe) doing?!

Coach: Nothing. Why?

Me: Meet me at the post office to pick up Dub. He is done.

Coach: Ok. Bye.

So, with that being said… I had to finish the last 3 alone. Well, me and The New Kids on the Block. 

Running has been so amazing. Not only do I feel great, and actually have MORE energy, but some other folks love it too! I got this Facebook message just this weekend:

Now for the BIGGEST part of the BIG NEWS:

There is someone in our house that has officially gone down an entire shirt size.

Hint: Not me. Not Dub.

The Easter Bunny called and asked if there was anything Coach needed. I told him that a new shirt in a new size would probably work fine. So, the shirt came and since I need to know if it was safe to plan on him wearing this shirt on Easter…(You know you plan your husbands outfits too!)  I decided to get him to try it on… Well….

TAAADAAA! 

I would like to say it has been nice blogging… This little spot may be shut down when he reads this. 

I just wanted to take a moment to say how PROUD I am of this man! Eating clean, vitamins, and juicing has totally paid off! I can’t wait to keep going!!!!! Seriously love that man… 

 …and this little baby that thinks he is a lap dog weighing in at 80lbs.

Until next time…

Love love,

C^2

Setting Some PRs in 2013

March 16, 2013 I ran my second ever 10K. Back in 2012 I ran the Cooper Rive Bridge Run. Although it was fun, and the experience was amazing... I feel that no amount of training could ever prepare you for the straight up bridge that consumed the first half mile of that race. Plus, the conditions were terrible! I was a)starving b)tired and c) sick of standing!

So, when some of my XC friends told me about the Dublin race, I was pumped! A race 30 minutes from home in a residential area, AND only $18 for race plus t-shirt?!? Sign me up! Plus, I have always dreamed of running in Dublin for St. Patrick's Day!


For the past three months I have been running pretty hardcore. I say hardcore, and to some folks I am sure I'm not really.. but for me... I have been setting my LIFE around Sunday's demanding long runs. I also have been VERY disciplined when it comes to weekday runs. That's what it takes, right?! I can definitely tell that it is paying off. I feel great, I am down to a size 8 in pants (whhhhhaaat?!) and honestly, although I am super strict about juicing 2 meals with the husband, I am still enjoying food. This chick can't turn down some good grub. I made the NY Resolution to get in some kind of cardio every single day. So far.... #EveryDayCounts is going strong!

Friday night Coach had a home baseball game. I knew I wasn't going to run because Fridays are my "rest" day, so I went for a walk with some friends. It was way too pretty of a day to say no. Plus, it was finally starting to feel like spring. After the game we were starving... (baseball games plus juicing... intense) so we went to the local steak house. What did we have?! Chicken! Once we got home I got all of my "gear" ready to go. Then the ever so famous race jitters kicked in. I seriously could not go to sleep! Even though the race was somewhat local, it had an 8am start time. We had to leave at 6:45am!

I finally fell asleep and quickly began dreaming of PRs.

I was up before the alarm, and ready to go. We drank our meal replacement shakes, downed some Spark, and hit the road. I would like to think that since I am the world's largest grump  non-morning perspn that Coach would just drive me while I dozed in the car... nope. I was talking 90 miles a minute. I am pretty sure I was talking about the books of the Bible, what and how I am praying, and how I want to become a better person... and how I was going to change the world. Yes, saving the problems of the world on a Saturday morning at 7am. This is just more proof that I married the best man on the planet. He just let me talk...

When we arrived to Dublin and parked Coach noticed lots of folks with their race bibs already. No matter how many races he takes me to, the man still worries. "How do they have their number?" "Were you suppose to get yours?" "What if you can't get yours?" "Are you ready?!" See, his nerves even started kicking in.  I was able to get my number and be at the line 30 minutes early. This is where we saw a green dog. Only in Dublin on St. Patty's Day!

Even though it turned out to be the prettiest day of 2013 so far, it was a tad chilly at 7am. Exact words, "You can finish in 45 minutes. I'm cold. Good luck!" Such a motivator!

Then the race started. It was the most beautiful race I have ever been a part of. I LOVED it! It was very residential. Very pretty, and such nice houses to look at! It was a 5K and a 10K. There were so many people! That is what makes a race fun!

I noticed at mile 2 that my pace was a little faster than normal. I just thought it was the early "race fuel" that normally occurs when racing. Nope. I kept a pretty impressive pace throughout the entire race. When I hit 6 miles and Siri told me I was right at a 10 minute mile... I was pretty impressed!(This is fast for me!) I never stopped. I just kept running.

As always... the best part was crossing the finish line. Confession: I told Coach I wanted to finish in 1:10. However, with my past runs, plus the effort I have been putting in... I really wanted to finish under an hour. Well, 1:03:48 isn't far from an hour right?! I also had a super wonderful friend that got up early on her Saturday morning and drove to see me race. Amazing right?!

It all comes down to this: With this race I set 5 PRs. This was my best 10K time. In fact, I beat my CRBR time by 23:45.

Plus, when I was at the finish line... I got to see this lil babe, and eat Chick-fil-a.

I seriously have the best friends in the world! My husband isn't that bad either!

Love love,
C^2

Late Night Friday Letters

Well, here it is again! Friday! My favorite part of Friday is a little letter writing. I thought I would take a moment to let you into the mind of Carley Cain. (Readers beware!)

Dear spring like weather, I know it is still really winter, and you are possibly just teasing me with your predicted high of 81* on Monday. However, please do not take this as an insult. I love you. Please stay!

Dear back porch, I cannot wait to spend my summer sitting back there with my book looking out to my garden. 

Dear Tory Burch, I follow you on instagram. I pin every single pair of your too cute sandals and simply irresistible flats. I even resisted all temptation to buy your boots this winter for lack of places to wear them…. I KNOW I can find some places to wear these… 

Husband… I NNNNNEEEEEDDDD  them. They are guaranteed to make my runner’s toes more acceptable. 

Dear MIL & FIL(E) “father in law extraordinaire”, thank you sooooo much for this amazing birthday gift. I love them. Oh soo much! 

Dear husband, in case you needed another reason of why I love you…. I just asked him how to spell “extraordinary.” His response, “It’s ordinary with a little extra.” Too much I tell you. He is too much. 

Dear little baseball tournament against the world, what are you? Who are you? Why are you on the TV alllll the time?! MLB I can handle. I love my Braves (when they are properly wearing their pants) but this little world competition… just not a fan. Sorry. 

Dear race jitters, it’s a little 10K. Why am I nervous? Why am I concerned about what to wear?

Dear half marathons and fulls, why are you so expensive? Running is free. Why is it so expensive to register?! I’m a teacher! 

Dear sweet friend that makes me wreaths, I love you. Seriously LOVE YOU! I love your daughter too. With all her bows, makes me want one. A daughter that is. With lots of bows. Big bows. Lots of big bows. 

Dear Verizon, thank you for getting 4G in this little town I love. You would have thought Christmas came in March for Coach. He can’t get over this! 

So, since I got that little blog off my chest, now I must sleep. 6am will come so early! Wish me luck! My goal is to shave 20 minutes off my first 10K time.

Love love,

C^2

Turning 25

Can I just start off by saying I LOVE Springing Forward?!? I know so many people complain and hate the “loss of an hour of sleep.” My solution: Go to bed an hour earlier, Jack! (Please excuse DD lingo)

I love it because I can:

Come home from work.

Blog.

Read blogs.

Check pinterest.

Answer emails.

Change clothes.

Go run.

Come home.

Cook dinner.

Clean kitchen.

Prep meals.

Shower.

Sleep.

I would insert spend some time with Coach, but let’s be real. It’s baseball season.

All of this may or may not be done before the sun goes down. Ha! Just kidding. (Possibly.)

Last week I turned 25. I love being an adult. Seriously. Adulthood has been oh so good to me.

I kicked off turning 25 with a weekend in God’s Country. (My husband always refers to Jefferson as this when we pass into the city limits.) This included a trip to the Mall of Georgia. Note to all my friends: Don’t ever lose sight of how awesome it is to live a short 25 minute ride from such a heavenly resource. If you ever move away, you will miss it! I was treated to 4 new pair of pants, (Went down an entire size, and could have gone 2, but I like my pants a little baggy.) a new Pandora charm, (Coach was amazed at how nice the store was when it wasn’t slammed with shoppers) and a new pair of Nikes.  Next, we enjoyed lunch at our ONCE fave restaurant, Taco Mac. We pumped ourselves up for this lunch. When we left, we said, “That wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be!” I guess it is true when they say that once you stop eating processed foods, when you eat them they will not be good to you anymore. Somehow I convinced Coach to sit and wait on me at the nail salon that I always visit when in town. It wasn’t too hard to convince him since it was my “birthday week.” Then I went to Athens with my Mama to pick out new lamps. She treated me to Red Lobster. She also treated me to some new clothes. While I was walking into the dressing room, she said, “I want to see those on Carley Ryan.” 25 years old and some things never change! 

The next morning we got up early and went to visit Blake and Julie at their new Ahhhhhhmazing lake house. It was beautiful! 

We were greeted by this little beauty. 

Treated sooo perfectly with a yum-o dinner. 

Made smores by the fire. 

And enjoyed time with family. (My favorite picture of the weekend!) 

 Even put a little puzzle together! 

The next morning we got up and headed home. Why did I not know Commerce had a DD? I hate the donuts. Love love love the coffee. 

They we all headed south. The tiny little Cain family. My absolute favorite way to spend my birthday! 

On my actual birthday I was blessed to spend it with my little babies. I was given this card by one of my kids. I cried. 

Then the kids brought cupcakes. They were sooo good. 

My sweet friend Amanda gave me the most perfect bowls to add to my collection. Are they not beautiful!?

And what would a birthday be without some flowers from your mom?!

I would say that I had a pretty amazing birthday week! Like I said, 25 has been oh! So good to me! 

This weekend I finished my personal longest without stopping run. 7 miles.

I love this app. This was my run. 

Pretty much beast mode. Well, that's what I said in the text I sent Coach when I was finished. 

This Saturday I am running my second ever 10K. In Dublin, for St. Patty’s Day. (May or may not may Dublin, Ga.) 

My running partner said that I need to find a new running partner.

Because, let's be honest. Watching TV is SOOOO much more fun!

 

So, that’s where I’ve been.

Love love,

C^2