Tag Archives: Texas

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Headed to Texas!!!

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So, the other day when I talked about our spring break I didn’t mention the fact that I’m taking a quick trip to Texas.  Really quick!!

I’m driving down today (Friday) and will drive home on Sunday.  On Saturday I’m running a little race –

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Yep – even though I might have said that I was moving on and done with the 50 mile races, I’m running 50 miles on Saturday!!!

One of the great things about this race is the fact that it is in

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I haven’t lived in Texas in a lot of years, but it is my home country!!!  I will always be a Texan!

I’m excited to return to my home state to race – it has been a long time.

Also, I’m meeting up with a blog friend – Chelsea from TheDancingRunner.  She has run many marathons and has decided to give ultra running a try!!

I’m going to Texas solo – trying to plan a quick trip with the family is much harder than just going alone.  However, my sister

Mandi & Griffin
Mandi & Griffin

who only lives about an hour away is going to come up and stay with me Friday night and hang out at the race Saturday!!!

I feel like I have trained hard for this race and put in the miles.  Now I just need to be smart on Saturday and remember how much I love running!!!

Screen Shot 2015-03-19 at 9.04.22 PM50 miles is my goal – I know that I have it in me to complete the entire race!!!

How many times do you try something before you give up?
Do you have any goals that you have tried and failed but you know you can achieve?

Happy Friday!!

Kim

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American Sniper

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On Friday I went with Chris to see American Sniper.  Chris really wanted to see this movie and I really didn’t think I did but…..

Chris is a pilot in the U.S. Air Force –

returning from a deployment (2011)
returning from a deployment (2011)

In order to live through the things that come with his job (numerous trips and deployments), I prefer to live in a “fantasy world.”  Mostly that means that I don’t watch the news and I steer clear of anything that has to do with war.

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Well, we saw the movie and it sucked me in.  The images of the towns and the people in Iraq were beyond anything I could have imagined.Screen Shot 2015-02-01 at 7.47.19 PM

(I have never asked Chris about what he sees on trips “in country” – once I saw a picture of the base they were staying at and the bomb shelters sort of freaked me out – I never thought about the fact that those might be necessary!!!)

The fear that the people live with every day is awful!  Even the women and children are willing to kill if it means they will be safe.

Screen Shot 2015-02-01 at 7.44.37 PMWatching Chris Kyle (played by Bradley Cooper) and the loyalty he felt for our country really reminded me of how fortunate we are to live in the country we do.  He did 4 tours!!!  That is a lot of time spent away from his family in order to fight for our country.

After the 4th tour he had a hard time adjusting to life at home.  His issue wasn’t learning to live with all the people he had killed but learning to live with the fact that he couldn’t help more people.  He met with a VA doctor who told him there were plenty of people in the hospitals he could help.

Helping the injured veterans try to learn to live again is what ultimately helped him resume his life at home.

And,  it ultimately cost him his life.  Screen Shot 2015-02-01 at 8.01.27 PM

This totally blind-sided me!!  (Remember I live in a fantasy world and didn’t pay attention to the news 2 years ago!!!!)  I completely lost it at the end of the movie.

I cried (the ugly kind because I was trying not to make any noise) through the entire funeral procession.  It was incredible to see the support for an American Hero!!!

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According to Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, February 2 is officially Chris Kyle Day in Texas!!

Have you seen American Sniper?
Did it make an impact on you?  

Happy Monday!

Kim

Fitness, Thighs

Too Early for Words!

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This morning I worked my inner thighs with the 44.  This was a nice move for a rest day!!!

(BTW – Chris took the pictures for me on Friday night since I would be in a hotel this morning.)

I laid on my back with my legs up in the air, toes pointed out  – 

ready
ready

From this position, I just brought my legs together with my feet crossed –

right foot in front
right foot in front

Returned to the start position –

here again
here again

Then crossed my legs with my left foot in front –

left leg in front
left leg in front

See why I said it was nice for a rest day?  Even though I counted a rep as a right cross and a left cross, this move was relaxing!!  The key is to squeeze your legs together on the cross part and have control on the open part!!!

Because it is Screen Shot 2014-02-23 at 4.34.59 AMand I spent more of the night awake than sleeping, my brain is in a fog this morning!

I’m leaving at 5:30 to take Stacy and her running partner to the start of the marathon (that way their families with small kids don’t have to leave quite as early).  Can’t wait to cheer for them as they run!!

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Thankfully that picture was from a previous year and I don’t think it will be as cold!!  It is already over 50 here on the way to a high of 72.

Yesterday when I got to the hotel it was 77 degrees!!  I knew there was a reason that I am still a Texas girl at heart!!  Walking around with no coat in February is a large chunk of why Texas is my favorite!!!

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OK – enough babbling – I have a marathon to get to!

Go, Stacy!!!

Happy Sunday from the great state of Texas!!

Kim

Core, Fitness, Running, Treadmill

Texas Fun

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Today I did 44 alternate leg extensions while in a V-sit.  (Actually it was 88 because I counted a right extension and a left extension as 1 rep.)

start (sweat optional!)
start (sweat optional!)
extend right leg
extend right leg
Back to start
Back to start
extend left leg
extend left leg

By the time I finished these, my abs were burning and I got a pretty good workout for my hip flexors!!!

And I did my final run  before Saturday night!!!

After the overly personal post from yesterday (thanks for all of your incredibly kind words!!!), I thought today it would be nice just to have a fun post about my favorite state!!!

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I’m pretty sure I’ve made no secret of the fact that even though we live in Kansas, I’m from TEXAS!!!

Here are some Texas facts that you may or may not have heard before:

1.  Texas is home to 3 of the 10 largest cities in the United States.  (6 of the top 20)
      4  Houston
      7  San Antonio
     9   Dallas
    11   Austin
    16  Ft. Worth
   19   El Paso

2.  The Republic of Texas was an independent nation from 1836-1845.  Screen shot 2013-10-05 at 2.30.05 PM

3.  Texas has more than 600 miles of coastline.

4.  Dr Pepper was invented in Waco, TX in 1885.  And, for the record, there is no period Dr.Screen shot 2013-10-05 at 2.32.30 PM

5.  You can eat at a different barbecue place every day of the year without visiting the same place twice!!  

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6.  When Texas was annexed in 1845, it retained the right to fly its flag at the same height as the national flag. 

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7.  Each year Amarillo hosts the World’s Largest Calf Fry Cook-Off.  “Calf fries” are bull testicles.  (I’ve never eaten these and have no plans to anytime soon!)

8.  The Dallas State Fair Park is home to the largest Ferris wheel (the Texas Star) in the Western Hemisphere.  Screen shot 2013-10-05 at 4.02.40 PM

9.  The highest temperature ever recorded in Texas was 120° F in Seymour on August 12, 1936. The lowest temperature ever recorded was -23° F at Tulia in 1899 and at Seminole on February 8, 1933.

10.  The world’s largest (and oldest) rattlesnake roundup is held every March in Sweetwater, Texas.  

Screen shot 2013-10-05 at 4.07.04 PMI spent many summers in Sweetwater with my grandparents at the Girl Scout Camp where they were the Rangers.  And, I have come across rattlesnakes on plenty of occasions!!!

11.  The King Ranch in Texas is bigger than the state of Rhode Island.

12.  The armadillo is the official state mammal.  

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13.  More land is farmed in Texas than in any other state.

14.  Beaumont to El Paso: 742 miles, Beaumont to Chicago: 770 miles.  El Paso is closer to California than to Dallas.

15.  High school football is a way of life.  

Screen shot 2013-10-05 at 4.20.15 PMThe movie is pretty close to the real deal.  Fun fact – that movie was in my old stomping ground – the schools in the movie were all part of my high school district!!

What’s a fun fact about your state?

Happy Monday!!!

Kim