Taking on a new challenges!

I am usually not one for New Year's resolutions simply because, lets face it we all know that we dont stick to them! This year I told myself that I was going to do a few things that I have been neglecting the past few years.

1. Get back into shape.

2. Get involved at church.

3. Get back into contact with old friends.

I am proud to say that at the end of January, I can now say I have accomplished ALL of goals I set for myself or at least I am working on them!

I have joined a Bible Study at church, and found a connect group (Sunday school class) which I love! AND I have talked with a few old friends which is awesome! Also, I have joined a running group which actually consists of a few girls from Bible Study. We meet every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday we go up to Fleet Feet in Brentwood and do a group run with 150 other runners. I have been running on my treadmill since October and went from running nothing to 2 miles this past month. My friend Beth asked me if I wanted to join her and run with a small group of girls from church. At first I was a little hesitant. I thought, Ok I am not a runner and if these people are hard core I am going to be running ALONE. Beth is also a beginner runner but very in shape because she has a trainer and goes to the gym 4 days a week. I also havent ran outside since this past summer and as we all know that is a very different ballgame. I skipped out on last Monday's run because I didnt sleep much and they meet at 5 am, which meant I had to get up at 4:30 just to get there. On Wednesday night, I was like "OK, I can do this." I set the alarm and got up and met up with them not knowing what was in store for me. We took off and when I told the girls that I didnt run outside, they seemed a little concerned! We meet at a subdivision and one of the girls maps out the runs and she had a plan for us to do a 3 1/2 mile route. When we got finished we all thought it seemed like we went a lot farther than that. She insisted that we were wrong but when we got online and did "map my run" we actually ran 4.6 miles! I still cant believe that I went from running 2 to 4.6 on the road in a day. When we finished they asked me if I was going to train with them to run the Music City 1/2 marathon and I was like, "sure". I figure this will give me a goal to work toward and keep me focused. We are doing the training program at Fleet Feet. You pay $50 and meet every Saturday to do large group runs and trainers talk after every run. This Saturday we ran 6 miles and it totally kicked my butt but I did it so I am happy. If you would have told me a year ago that I would be doing this, I would tell you that you were CRAZY! I will have to say that running with a group makes it so much easier. I never would have done this on my own. I cant wait for it to warm up because getting up a 4:30 and running in 24 degree weather isnt the most exciting thing ever! I also have to rush home just to jump in the shower, get ready for work, and get Connor ready go get out the door. It isnt easy, but I am determined not to let this stop me.

Also Brad has a challenge of his own... He has been looking for a way to make his golf game more competitive and has found a way. He is joining the Amateur Golf Tour! He gets to travel to different courses all over Middle Tennessee and get a chance to qualify for a national tourn. in Hilton Head! So everyone pray for us as we have a fun year in store for us!