Running, Drinks & Elf4Health Challenge Round 2

Weekends go too fast.  From working a football game, Christmas shopping, running to household chores, somehow the two days off got away from me and I forgot to slow down and rest.  After all, that's what they're for...right?  

I was so excited to see my good friend, Lauretta.  She's the one who recently wrote a guest post about her experience with the Foodie Penpal Program a few weeks ago.  Lauretta was in town to see her family and we planned to meet bright and early on Saturday morning for a run.  We ran for an hour, so I'd say we covered about 8 miles in that time.  The hour together flew by because we had a ton of things to talk about and share.  Here we are...looking a little tired before heading out in the drizzle.  

After fighting the crowds at the mall on Saturday afternoon, I met my friend Jeannine for a drink at one of my favorite restaurants in Bethlehem, Blue.  They have a great bar complete with a cozy fireplace.  Although we couldn't snag a seat next to the fire, we had a great time catching up.   
 

Sunday morning brought us more rain and drizzle, but Jesse was nice enough to meet me for another long run on the canal tow path.  We covered 8 miles in approximately 8:00 pace, and my legs were quite tired towards the end.  However, once I was done...I was glad I went and didn't regret a single step.    
 

Today begins round two for the Elf4Health challenge and my new elf buddy is Shauna Strand.  I can't wait to meet Shauna and learn all about her health and fitness goals.  I do need to give a shout out to Mary, my elf partner from round one.  She is an incredible person with an amazing story and I enjoyed getting to know her through this program.  Keep up the great work, Mary!   

  
Tomorrow I will be having a special guest post and I can't wait to share it with you.  I'll give you a hint...it revolves around vegan recipes for the holidays...

Have a great day!

Elf4Health Challenge {Day One}

Hello and Happy Monday!  I've decided to postpone my turkey photos for one more day so I could tell you about something fun that I will be participating in over the next six weeks.  I signed up for the Elf 4 Health Challenge, where I am partnered with other fitness-minded gals from all over the country.  The goal is to motivate, inspire, and keep your elf partner eating healthy and moving through the holiday season.  Now that's a challenge in itself!  

There are three rounds that last two weeks each and after each round, new elf partners are assigned to keep things fresh and inspiring ideas flowing.  My elf for this first round is Mackenzie Hunter.  This morning I am going to send her my first email...an introduction and the Meatless Monday recipe that I recently created for Runner's World.  

I'll be sure to let you know how it's going throughout the challenge.  For more information, click the above link.  It's not too late to sign up for rounds two and three!

You can also follow us at #elf4health on Twitter!

As for running, I was able to get in a few good ones over the past few days...including yesterday's 10.3 miles with Jesse in ~1:22.  It was a tad on the chilly side and my legs and hamstrings had a hard time adjusting.

Enjoy your day!