Friday, July 27, 2012

Galloway Running Camp

A few weeks ago, I had the most incredible opportunity!
I went to Lake Tahoe, CA for Jeff Galloway's running camp!
We stayed at Squaw Valley Lodge.  Squaw Valley is where the 1960 Winter Olympics were held and the torch is still burning!

I went with Vicky and I am so grateful she invited me!!

Each day started with a 6am run that was about 5-6 miles.  It was about 40 degrees every morning for our run.  It was a welcome change from Texas weather!

Almost every afternoon, we went for a hike.  The views were incredible!




The hike to High Camp was about 4 miles and took us about 3 1/2 hours.  We had a fun group to scale the mountain!




Once we got to the top (8200 feet elevation), there was an awesome pool, hot tub and cabana bar!



All of our meals were provided for us, except for a few dinners.  We got to eat at the local restaurants in the ski village!


Over the weekend, there was a wine festival in the village.  The wine tasting and the shopping was wonderful!


This was one of my favorite runs!  We started on one side of the mountain, went up and over and finished at our lodge!

A lot of the run was on the ridge line and was a bit scary!

Chas and Westin were my buddies at camp.  They had been before (since its their dad and uncle's program) and knew the trails, hikes and paths.  So fun!

Jeff is a running genius!  He was able to answer any and all of our questions, give me a training plan for my upcoming MARATHONS and was a great leader!

The hike to Emerald Bay was amazing!  I never thought I would see so many beautiful views as I did this week in Lake Tahoe!


A few of my girls this week!  We are anxious to go back next year!!


If you can't tell by this picture, the waterfall drops off right below our feet!



Another morning, we went to the lake to start our run.  We ran about 5 miles, then slowly got into the 40 degree water to cool off!



It was almost painful to be in the water!

A few afternoons, Jeff held special running clinics and speed trainings!

We frequented Uncorked-a fabulous winery in the village!

Thursday morning was our 'long run.'  I was told it was a 14 mile trail run.  Going in, I was a bit nervous to go that far, but I didn't want to miss out either.

We ran Donnor Pass.  (You know...the Donnor Party??  This is where it all happened.)

This was about 4 miles into the run.

At times, it was freezing on the mountain!  There was even snow up there!

Slowly making my way over the snow...

Tinker's Knob was 8949 ft elevation!  It was so cold, but so gorgeous!!!
The whole run/hike was 15.5 miles!!!

Of course, we had to visit Uncorked again before the week was over!

Oh my goodness!  It was an INCREDIBLE week!  I will be going back next year!  I learned so much, met so many fabulous people and had the time of my life!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Weekend in Nac!

This weekend, we went to Nac to visit Kasey!


We also went to run Freedom 5K!  It is the second of at least 4 runs we have to do to complete the Nacogdoches 5K Challenge!

The race didn't start until 8:00 and it was HOT and HUMID!


I ended up with a PR at this race!




We found the race results and decided to hang around for the awards this time, since we placed!!


Dad got 2nd in his age group!

Kasey's friend, Clayton, got 2nd in his age group!

And I got third in mine!

I think we owned the race this time!!

It was a fun, but quick trip to Nac!  
We have a fall full of races and new PRs to set!!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

4th of July Fun!

We had a GREAT 4th of July!
Jimmy had Addison on Tuesday morning, so I missed getting to take her to the parade.  I think she would have LOVED it this year!  We will go next year, for sure!

I picked her up about 11 that morning and we headed to mom and dad's house.  We had lots of plans for a pool afternoon, but we had to attempt a photo shoot first!

 Addison looked so cute in her 4th of July outfit and bow!!

 All she could talk about was the pool and swimming.  She was not interested in taking pictures.  We quickly changed and headed to the neighborhood pool.

 They have a kiddie pool which is perfect, but not good enough for her.  She didn't last long in this pool and wanted to go to the big pool and big slide instead.
I wish we got a picture, but Addison slid down the big kid slide!  She had to climb the ladder and the slide went into the 10ft deep end!  She has no fear!!!

That night, we went to our annual 4th of July party!  I only got one picture because I was too busy swimming with Addison again!
The fireworks started and at first she loved them, but then got really scared.  Once we got in the car, she was fine and kept asking for more!  We have another big weekend planned in Nacogdoches with Kasey, then the Geislers are coming next week!

I thought I would add a few pictures of Addison from her past 4th of Julys!