Update on the Giveaway!! (exciting stuff!)

So Mark Remy, author of “The Runner’s Field Manual” and one of Runner’s World Magazine editors, found my giveaway and offered to sign the book!!  So now you will be receiving a signed copy of this fun book if you win!! :)  If you haven’t entered yet, it ends on September 5th so you have plenty of time still! 

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

The Runner’s Field Manual Book Giveaway!!!

I figured since it’s finals week and I wont be blogging very much due to studying and what not,
I would have a giveaway!  :)

ETA: Mark Remy found my giveaway and offered to sign the book SO… you will now be receiving “The Runner’s Field Manual” signed by the author if you win! :)

I bought “The Runner’s Field Manual: A tactical (and Practical) Survival Guide)” a while ago, read it and loved it.  It combines humor with a few good guidelines for runners to follow… one of my favorites:

“Large picture windows and glass storefronts allow a passing runner a rare chance to glance over and check himself out while he’s running. (A row of parked cars offers the same thing, but only from the chest up.) If a fellow runner sees you doing this and taunts you, just say that you’re only ‘checking your form,’ and quickly change the subject. Just watch where you’re going – nothing ruins your form faster than running full speed into a lamppost or mailbox”

haha! I’ve totally checked myself out in a window before!  What?! haven’t you?! lol

Here is what Google Product has to say about the book written by Mark Remy and the editors of Runner’s World:

Hot on the heels of 2009’s popular The Runner’s Rule Book comes another indispensable guide from Runner’s WorldMore Boy Scout field guide than Emily Post’s Etiquette, The Runner’s Handbook covers everything from first aid (popping blisters) to navigation (sans GPS) to identifying other species that the roving runner might encounter on the road and much more information that readers will find useful and entertaining, including:-navigating the water stop-mating habits: when runner’s date, marry, and reproduce-how to cross the street (it’s harder than you think)-race waivers: why you’re better off not reading the fine printVeteran runners will nod in recognition at the Handbook’s many lessons, warnings, and instructional asides; newcomers to the sport will appreciate the insider info. Full of charts, illustrations, and more than a few laughs, The Runner’s Handbook is the perfect reference manual for anyone who loves to run—or wants to learn how.

 

Here’s how to enter (Leave a separate comment for each entry):

Mandatory
     - Be/Become a follower of my blog! It’s easy… just hit the follow button on the right hand
       sidebar!

Optional
     - Blog about this giveaway or post a link on your blog’s sidebar

     - Follow me on twitter HERE

     - Tweet the following (you can just copy and paste into twitter): 
Check out the @Runnersworld book #giveaway @superwoman4002 is having on her blog #runchat http://tinyurl.com/3habaq6

     - Tell me what the best running advice is that you could give me (funny or serious)

 

Giveaway ends on September 5th! I bought this book on my own and was not paid for my opinions or hosting this giveaway in any way.

Friday Five: Bum,School,Blogland,Marathon,Award

1.  First of all, thank you everyone for your kind words of encouragement on my post yesterday!  It really means a lot to me!  AND… In case you missed it and have no clue what on earth I’m talking about… I am now a jobless bum… You can read about it HERE

2.  Summer quarter finals are next week and then I have 2 weeks of a summer break before I head back for Fall quarter… gotta love it lol…

3.  I really have been MIA from blogland… I feel like I’ve missed out on TONS of stuff!!  Not to mention I have a lot to catch you all up on too!!  (now that i’m a bum I have more time to blog) ;) A couple reviews, giveaways, mileage reports, wedding and honeymoon pictures, cake posts and then back to our regular scheduled programming of running… MY FIRST FULL MARATHON ON OCTOBER 16TH!!!

4. Yeah, I’m freaking out a bit about that, longest long run so far has been 10 miles so lol… 50 days out and SO not ready… Should I try to change my registration to the half or should I stick it out and go for it?  Think I have enough time to train to the point where I wont hurt myself if I run 26.2 miles? eek!

5. Last but not least, Apparently my blog was named as one of the top 100 running blogs by HealthCareColleges.net … who knew?!  Here’s a link to the other blogs who also got awards.

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!! Good luck to everyone racing, especially all you hood to coast’ers out there! :)

 

 

Are you racing this weekend? What races?
- I’m not, I’m a bum, but I do have a 5k next weekend

If you could make up a blog award what would it be called?
 - Random Rainbows Award: given to blogs that make me laugh even though I have no clue what they are talking about! ;)

I Quit! (A Tough Decision)

This is kind of a tough post for me to write…

Thursday pushed me over the edge… I couldn’t take it anymore…

I turned in my 2 week notice to my boss last Friday…

There were many factors that played into my decision to turn it in…

of which included not being respected as an employee or a person.  I don’t care to go into all the details, especially on the wide world of the internet because I don’t feel like it is respectful to the company to do that and I am a person that likes to keep the peace and “do unto others as I would have done unto me” instead of a “dishing out what i was served” kind of girl.

15 minutes to go until my shift was over Friday, I was called back to the managers office and told that it would just be my last day because she didn’t want to have to redo the schedule in 2 weeks… Seriously?!

That made it even more tough and made me kind of mad/sad because although I have had a few problems with one of the managers there (the one that told me it was my last day), I got along with everyone else and I thought I would have 2 weeks to say my goodbyes and such.  Not the case.

Well 15 minutes went by and I said goodbye to the 2 managers that had been there since I had started working there 7 years and 3 months ago…. Such a long time to work there, since it had been my first job ever… It was the job I got to pay for my gas and insurance when I got my drivers license! lol

So, although this was a tough decision, and not my ideal way of things ending, or my ideal way of being treated by a company… I do have some fond memories of that place and will miss it!  I was pretty much sad all weekend until “Super Hubs” told me that he thought it was the right decision and that I didn’t deserve being treated like that and that he was glad that I was done working there. It helped knowing that he fully supported my decision.  He did tell me that he would still allow me to buy a new pair of running shoes before my full in October even though I was now a jobless bum lol… thanks hubby lol l  ;)

I do believe that it was the best decision I could have made, I feel less stressed now and feel like it is time to move on with my life… bigger and better things are ahead waiting for me!  I only have 7 more quarters to go until I graduate with my second degree, this one being in the field that I want to actually work in (about 2 years to go!)  I’m excited about what God has in store for my future and confident, that with the man He provided me as a husband and best friend, we can get through anything… funny how God opens and shuts doors in your life at exactly the perfect timing!

Wedding Rehearsal .. a Look Back

Our wedding was June 25, 2011 and I’m just now getting around to posting some pictures of the night before our wedding! lol…  A bunch of my family members, Josh’s family, and a couple friends came to help us decorate our reception hall and then we had rehearsal.  It was a night full of laughs, a few tears, and memories that will last forever… take a look (you can click the photos to make them bigger):

 

   

1 Year Blogiversary!

Yesterday, Aug 7, 2011, was my 1 year blogiversary! :)  I started blogging for support and insight into the running world when I was trying to train for my first half marathon! 

HERE’S A LINK TO MY FIRST EVER BLOG POST…

And if you don't feel like clicking to read it, I’ll just repost it below lol ;)  (lazy bums!)

Since then I’ve ran TONS of 5ks, 2 half marathons, and am trying to train for my first full this October!  (trying being the key word) ;) Also along this journey, I've met 190 running friends, won a few giveaways/ hosted a few giveaways, graduated with my bachelors degree/started going back to school, got engaged AND THEN married!  ALL in 1 year! lol, how crazy is that?!  I love my life, the people in it (including you all), and can’t wait to see what the next year brings! Thanks for sharing in my journey!

___________________________________________________

Hello and welcome to my new blog! :D I created this blog for a few reasons 1) to keep track of my running 2) for some support from other runners since i dont really have any running friends and 3) motivation as I am training for my first half marathon in September (as you can see in the right sidebar) First things first, I would like to introduce myself:

INTRODUCTION

My name is Zaneta. It's pronounced like Zuh-net (like a basketball net)-uh... a lot of people say it like Zuh-neet-uh or other random, totally wrong, not even close ways to say my name. I am a 23 year old Christian gal who is working on finishing up my internship to complete my Bachelors degree in Organizational Communications. I plan to go back in the spring to a different college to complete my Sign Language Interpreting degree. I am still living at home while going to school because my parents are awesome and let me live there (here) for free so they are saving me a TON of money! Living in my house currently are my mom and dad, me and my twin (fraternal girl who is younger than me), my brother, and a sister. I have a wonderful boyfriend of 3 1/2 years and am so blessed that God allowed us to meet! I fall more and more in love everyday and yes, marriage is in the future, but no engagement ring yet! I enjoy reading, knitting and crocheting, obviously running ;), working out, and food lol...Well, now that you kind of know me (without knowing too much) I will proceed to tell you about my running background... since that is the main reason for this blog. ;)

RUNNING BACKGROUND

I have always been active growing up... it started with soccer and gymnastics and 1 year of tee ball in elementary school. I then decided that gymnastics was fun and all, but a little too girly for me so i started playing basketball. I played basketball 4th-10th grade and then played for 4 years in college and also played softball for 4 years in college. My 4 years of track in high school consisted of high jump, 200, 400, 4x400, and sometimes the occasional long jump. Well, enter my 5th year of college after the sports eligibility ran out... I was taking the max amount of credit hours you were allowed to take and driving 40 minutes away for half of my classes, working 2 part-time jobs, and working an internship... life was so stressful and busy that I stopped exercising completely (and no, to me, walking the stairs to get to class does not count as exercise) I really missed it and knew I would probably feel better if I got back into shape so I decided to start running again in April. I've always heard about these 5k races and wanted to run one so I just started making myself run 3 miles... it wasn't very fun at the beginning. I remember wanting to stop and walk or just stop completely, but i kept at it and ran my first 5k on April 24, 2010! Since then I have kept running and have ran a total of 5 or 6 5k races! :D

THE DREAM

Well, I wanted to push myself because I have grown very fond (in love with maybe?) of running. The feeling of accomplishment, the sun and heat (or rain and snow) beating down on your body, the energy and refreshness (a word?) it gives you, the blisters that pop up on your toes, the peaceful alone time you get to yourself to think, pray, or listen to music, the insatiable feeling of hunger that training leaves you with... ok, yeah, its a love/hate relationship lol... BUT it's GREAT!! So... earlier this month I decided I wanted to run a half marathon and actually have a training plan. I signed up for the Women's Magazine Half Marathon in Nashville, Tennessee on September 25th! lol... 2 months to train... am I CRAZY or DETERMINED? haha... you can decide ;) So, myself and my parents are going to make this trip (about a 6 1/2 hour road trip) a mini vacation. Orignially my boyfriend was going to go too... but he has class on saturday this quarter and wont be able to join us. It shall be fun. The training has been fun so far and I am really noticing some progress.
So this blog is going to help keep me motivated and focused on my training for my first ever half marathon! I am so excited! I hope to meet more runners and gain insight from you all into this wonderful world of running (and blogging)! :D

Ramblings and More Wedding Prep Memories

Somehow I managed to get today off… amazing! lol… especially since where I work kinda relies on nice, sunny, hot weather to be busy and its all of the above today lol… So my plans include running, blogging, possibly a little bit of xbox 360 kinnect, and laying out… ok fine, a little bit of laundry too lol ;)

Let’s talk running before I talk more about some of the wedding prep adventures…  So If you’re new to my blog, welcome!  (so close to 200!!)  Also, you might not know that I am registered for my first full marathon on October 16th… well, now you know! ;)

The problem is, as I said in my last post, my life is super incredibly busy right now so I feel like I am not going to be prepared for such a feat in 2 months… eek!!  My long run tomorrow will only be 8 miles lol… I may have to change my registration to the half… but I don’t want to until I know for sure or not if I will be ready for the full… but there’s a deadline to change your registration and you can only change it if the race is not sold out… what do you all think i should do??

Sidenote:  I figured out how to schedule posts!  Pretty cool!!  Now I’m gonna be a blogging machine! ;) haha… maybe lol

Anyways… on to some more Wedding prep memories! :)

I NEVER wear makeup NEVER unless it is a special occasion, which my wedding kind of was… so my cousin offered to do my makeup for me.  (Same cousin who threw me my bridal shower)  Naturally we had a makeup trial!! lol… here are some pics… we did one eye in browns and one eye in pinks and decided to go with the pinks for the big day :) (you can click the image to make it bigger)

 

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday: Look back at Wedding Stuff

 

I’M BAAAACCCKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember me? lol… Yeah Yeah, I know it’s been a while. 
Life is completely AWESOME but so so busy, and I LOVE it! :) 

SIDENOTE:  Does anyone know how to get a post to post at a
                     certain date/time while you aren’t on the computer?

I want to start in on the line up of posts of stuff leading up to
the wedding and then eventually wedding day…
spoiler alert:  BEST. DAY. OF. MY. LIFE! :)
So, we’ll start with pictures from my shower on June 4, 2011…
(you can click on the pictures to make them bigger)

Top right picture: Friends from my college basketball days :)
The last picture L to R: Little sister, Twin, Me, My Mom, My Aunt, My Cousin

It was so much fun! :)