Getting ready for @500Festival #MiniMarathon in the morning w @OliviaAgee.

With @OliviaAgee & @PaxtonB at the @500Festival #MiniMarathon Expo

To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.

Great sign…very motivational!

My training for the Indy 500 Festival Mini-Marathon this year has been focused on breaking 1:30:00 for the first time.  However, just found out today that the first 500 finishers (out of 30,000+) receive a special medal (pictured above).  Last year, the time to make the top 500 was 1:28:40.  Not sure that I have this in me, or even a 1:30:00 for that matter, but it is very tempting to give it a shot (keeping in mind that the time could be completely different this year).  Is this crazy?

My feeling is that any day that I am too busy to run is a day that I am too busy.

So proud of Kate for finishing all 26.2 miles of the @RunRocknRoll #CMM Kid’s Marathon, including the last mile tonight.  This was her 5th kid’s marathon completed!! Way to go Katerbug!!!

Kate getting ready for the @RunRocknRoll #CMM Kid’s Marathon #fb

Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it’s all about.

@Kate_Agee in a really, really big chair.

Kate with her playoff beard getting ready for game 6 of #Preds vs #Ducks #fb #NHL

Most mistakes in a race are made in the first two minutes, perhaps in the very first minute.

http://nhl.cdn.neulion.net/u/videocenter/embed.swf

Nashville Predators – Highlights from the unbelievable overtime finish to the Preds vs. Ducks game last night.  Weber ties it, Smithson wins it!!!

To say that I’ve never been a big fan of Ray Lewis would be a MAJOR understatement.  However, I was blown away by this speech he made to the Elon Phoenix football team.  Wow! (Note: in the video there is a swear word yelled by one of the players after the speech is over)

Getting ready for the Purity Moosic City Dairy Dash 5k & 10k tomorrow.

It’s very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit.

My grandmother, Viola Smith (“Nanny”), passed away last Saturday night at 99-years-old.

Playing with my daughter Sara

Her funeral was Tuesday, and during the service, the preacher read two poems that were written by my cousins Kathy and Cody Haskins (Grand-daughter & Great-Grandson). I thought both of these poems were very special and wanted to share them. This first one is from Kathy, and I will post the one from Cody in a couple of days.

Granny, A Best Friend

What A Life You Have Lived.

What A Life You Have Shared.

A Great Example For All,

In The Way That You Cared.

With Only A Fifth Grade Education,

The Teacher You Have Been,

Not With Books And Paper,

But With Your Helping Hands.

We Can’t Thank You Enough,

For The Values You Instilled.

A True Christian Lady,

With Drive, Determination, And Will.

You Answered When Called Upon,

To Help In Times Of Need.

It Might Have Been To Babysit,

Or Show Us How To Plant Some Seeds.

We Will Hold On To The Memories,

Each And Every Day,

That Began In 1911,

On The Tenth Day Of May.

I Can See Your Blue Volkswagen,

Out In Front Of School Each Day,

I’d Climb In With Excitement,

For I Was Going To Your House To Play.

Biscuits Were Your Specialty,

Coconut Pie Such A Treat,

Cake With Chocolate Icing So Good,

Your Cooking Was Hard To Beat.

You Taught Me How To Sew.

You Taught Me How To Cook.

You Taught Me How To Iron,

No Matter How Long It Took.

Thanks For Being The Grandmother,

Everyone Would Love,

I Promise To Pay It Forward,

While You’re Watching From Above.

Your Journey Here Has Ended,

Tired You’ll Be No More,

You Go Home To Glory,

On That Bright And Peaceful Shore.

Kathy Haskins

April 3, 2011

My thoughts on the 2nd annual Oak Barrel Half Marathon in Lynchburg, TN

Oak Barrel Half Marathon
April 2, 2011
www.oakbarrelhalf.com

My Run:  Overall, the Oak Barrel Half Marathon in Lynchburg was my seventh half marathon. This race was capped at 1000 entries, and there were just under 900 that made it to the finish line.

I went into this race with a lot of uncertainty about how hard I could push myself.  During the fall and winter, I ran four marathons and one half marathon in a five month span. At the Murfreesboro “Middle Half” marathon in October, I set a new PR of 1:31 (6:57 pace).  After completing the Mercedes Marathon in February, my body was pretty trashed and I decided to re-evaluate my training plan and race schedule.  This included a re-commitment to P90X/Insanity, and not scheduling another marathon until October.