Friday, 11:01 pm

At least I think it is Friday night at 11ish. Seems like morning time to me...early morning. Laid my head down for a few hours. Not sure I actually ever went to sleep, but it was nice to lay down nonetheless. Got up and met at rv at 10:30. So it doesn't seem like night...seems like morning. But this is the part of the trip where sleep deprivation kicks in. It's hard to remember what day it is. Hopefully everyone will be a little more tolerant of each other. It's hard to be nice when you are this tired. But don't get me wrong. I still think this is a great adventure for a great cause. Sometimes I wonder who might have ever dreamed this thing up. I mean, it's really crazy. I can see that confused look in peoples face when I tell them what we do. It's really hard to explain. Hopefully this blog will give you some kind of idea how it works. So we are on our way down Hwy43. We left Thomasville and I think we pick up the baton somewhere just North of McIntosh. It's nice to be so close to home. 2 more legs to run, 1 more time to rest. So part of what makes this trip so much fun is tricking out the baton before you hand it to the next team. I have to say that my team, Team C, is the master of the prank. Here are a few pics of what we've come up with so far....

Well, this is actually a baton that was given to us....peanut butter, feathers, and a can taped to the top


Yes, Jeff is crazy!!!! Kevin brought a squirrel skin. That IS the actual baton...it just resembles a dead animal.


And of course our latest antic......costumes!!!! We had DJ Lance Rock, a bull, and a rodeo clown....

Friday, 7:35pm

In Thomasville at some hotel about to close my eyes. Soooo tired!
Gotta be back on RV at 10:30

Stay tuned. Got some hilarious pictures to be posted soon!

We so crazy!!

Friday, 5:08pm, Supper!!

The gang

Nicole running

Carey driving

Friday, 2:43pm

So, we have been running through the back woods of Pine Hill AL and am just now getting a signal to text or blog or anything.

I am SO glad that is over with!! That is the toughest run of the trip. It was very muggy and humid out. I sweated so much! I kept having to wipe it out of my eyes. And my legs are sore. My hamstring, especially my right one, is hurting. I don't think it is anything real bad, but it is more than just an ache. I am just trying to stretch it out real good.

Everyone on my team is doing really well. We all are keeping great attitudes which is really good considering the circumstances. Ummm.....well, I don't have any more thoughts right now so I'm gonna go watch someone run some.

Oh, I will upload some pics I've been taking with my phone.

So far I have ran 7.6 miles. We hand off the baton to Team C at 5:00pm at Hwy 43 just before Thomasville. Then we will go eat and get some rest at the North Park Inn in Thomasville. We get the baton again at 12:46 am at on Hwy 43 just north of McIntosh.

Friday,11:30am

So, on the RV headed out to the next transition point. I don't want to jinx ourselves, but I have to say so far this has been a great trip. Everything has been going really smooth so far. It's really hard to understand how this whole trip works unless you've done it before, be we have gotten everything down to a science. All the transfer point locations and hotel locations are in the GPS already and that makes it so much easier. All the information is organized in a binder that make it easy to understand. So far so good.

Ok, so I have to mention someone who has been so instrumental in making this trip so wonderful for me.....and that is MY WONDERFUL HUSBAND!!! He is so supportive and understanding. I miss him TREMENDOUSLY and can't wait to get home to see him and the boys!!! I think about him a lot even though we don't talk often. This schedule is so crazy and this RV is so packed with people it's hard to have much conversation on the phone. Anywho....love the family and miss them....but having a great time too! My 4 year old wanted to come 'running with mommy'. I know he wasn't really sure of what he was asking. We do take short runs around the block and him and Cambo do a great job, but I can't IMAGINE trying to bring kids on this trip/!!!

I don't want to jinx us, but so far this has been a wonderfully easy trip. NO problems whatsoever!!!

Friday, 10:15am

Just woke up. I normally try to be a positive person, so please
forgive for venting a little. Just woke up and I am pretty tired.
I'm not sleeping well because I have some sinus crud and every time I
lay down my sinuses drain and I end up coughing instead of sleeping.
Miserable actually. And my legs are aching pretty bad. Once I get
up and moving around I am hoping they feel better. I love my
teammates though and they make this trip more than bearable and
actually FUN!!

My turn in the shower. Later.......

Christina
(Sent from iPhone)

Friday, 5:15am

Checking in hotel. Hampton Inn

Friday, 4:04am

WHOOP, WHOOP!! I just finished my second run and it felt SOOOO
good!!! 3.4 in 36:04. Not fast, but not bad for 4 in the morning!

Christina

Friday, 1:25am

You all are probably dreaming right now. I, am not. Laid my head on
the pillow at 9:00, didn't sleep worth a flip, gotta a radio call at
11:00 from Team B, and then the alarm went off at 12:00. Loaded up
the RV at 12:30 and set off for the transition point. Right now our
first runner is about 1.8 miles into her run. We have 7 runners
total. I think I will be running 5th in the line up this morning.

Thursday, 8:11pm

Exhausted. Gotta be back on the RV in 4 hours. Nite!

Thursday, 7:04pm

Spaghetti bake from Pizza Hut....it's what's for dinner. (we r in
Clanton)

Thursday, 5:41pm

Yay!! Handed off the baton a little while ago and we are now headed
to Clanton. We'll eat, shower, rest and get up to do it all over
again. I think we pick up the baton next at 1:30am somewhere near
Maplesville.

Christina
(Sent from iPhone)

Thursday, 4:05pm

I DID IT!!!!! It felt so good. Ok, so maybe not that last half a mile......but it MOSTLY felt really good!!!! It was hot, but the wind was blowing and kept me cool. I miss my girls though. It got awfully lonely on that run. Just took the opportunity to pray and talk with God.

I ran 3.6 miles 36:40. I'll take it!!! Sitting in the rv, drinking water, and eating on some pretzels. Just gotta recover fast. Got 4 more legs to go.....about 15 more miles. After we all get through with our run, we head to Clanton to clean up and get some food and rest. Will check in later......

Thursday, 2:43pm

I'm up in about 2.9 miles. I'm ready!! Sporting the pigtails for my
girls and sporting the pink ribbon for a special aunt!

Thursday, 1:23pm

Just waiting on the side of road in Talledega for the next team to get
here.

Thursday, 10:43am

Getting the RV loaded up and waiting for one more person to get here.
We have a SUWEEEEET RV this year. Brand spackin' new! Gotta lot of
people to fit on there though.....

Wednesday, 7:45pm

Oh My Gosh! Do you see that? Do you see? That bed has my name
written ALL over it!!!! Finally made it to Birmingham. Gotta plug
The Marriott-Birmingham. These folks are awesome! Stay here if you
ever get a chance! Gotta go hand off some supplies to Team A.

Wednesday, 3:10pm

My rental car. Leaving Daphne to head to Birmingham.

Nervous and excited!

I am SOOO excited. A little nervous and I REALLY dread the packing part....but I am sooo excited. I can only hope this year is as much fun as past years have been. The past two years I was a driver for the event. That is fun!! But I have always wanted to be one of the runners. I committed to running back in December. I hadn't been running at ALL! So after the new year rolled around, I figured I'd better start training. All you Sole2Soul Sisters out there....ya know how I started training? With the Couch to 5k program. The same program that you are doing right now. And you know what...I couldn't even run for 60 seconds at a time. But ya know what...a couple of weeks ago I ran for a solid 8 miles. So I hope you all understand how far this can take you. You just have to be determined!!

But anywho, so I've been training and am pretty sure I am ready. I am a little worried about the hills I might encounter. I mean, we don't have many hills down here in South Alabama. Most of my running is done on flat ground. But I'm gonna try my best. I drive up to Birmingham tomorrow and hand off some supplies to Team A around 8:00pm. Team A will start running from Muscadine AL early Thursday morning (I am on Team C....or as I am calling us, The Super C's). After hopefully a good nights rest, I meet up with the rest of my team at 9:30am Thursday morning. We roll at 10:45 and we will start running somewhere around 1:30 Thursday afternoon. There are 7 runners on my team and 4 drivers. I'll be up to run about every 12 hours or so. There is still time to give to the cause if you are interested.....Run for the Reason. We will finish up our relay sometime mid-afternoon Saturday on Dauphin Island with a celebration. Be sure and check back often because I will be blogging from the road...

Here are a few pictures of years past....
2008
Me being silly. In '08 and '09 we STARTED on Dauphin Island and ran to the north part of the state. We always try to get rooms for free and the Sea Lab were gracious enough to let us overnight in their dorms. Well, it's been a long time since I have slept in a dorm and to be honest...I didn't do much sleeping. So I was a little delirous the whole trip...

The baton exchange for Team A to Team B. The fun every year is to prank out the baton before you hand it off to the next team. For this prank we had taped plastic bottles filled with rocks to each end of the baton.

2009
Sometimes we dress up in costumes for the baton hand off. Here, we decided on a Hawaiin theme....

Picture taking looking out of the lead vehicle. Somebody sits in the back to help watch out for the runner. Give them water if needed or help run off any dogs that approach. And then the RV stays in the back. The two vehicles help form a barrier around the runner for protection.

5 miles +

So it rained and stormed all night long, but was clearing just enough that it looked like we could get in the Couch to 5k run this morning. We had about 8 or so ladies show up. The scedule this week is to run for 90 seconds and then walk for 2 minutes and then repeat for 20 minutes. So we met at the track at 6:00am and went through that. The ladies did a fantastic job and I think probably could have ran more. We covered a total of 1.5miles.

Then Jennifer and I wanted to do a long run so we parked at the rink and ran main street Daphne. We had a great run!!! We both struggled at times because there were some pretty good hills, but we kept going. We finished 5 miles!!!! My big relay is this Thursdy and so we didn't want to do any more miles than that. I definatly don't want to push myself too hard right before my relay. I've been training for this relay for months and so excited (and a little nervous) that it is so close. So then, Jen and I sat there and talked FOREVER. I walked in the door at home with Chris saying 'Don't you have a hair appointment at 10:00?'. It was 9:45!!!! And I was still all sweaty and gross!!!! So I hurried to put some dry clothes on and walked back out the door. So as I sit here and type I am also sitting here under the hair dryer. Over all a busy, but productive morning. I can't wait to get home and hang with the family!!!

Christina

3.37

Ran 3.37 miles with my girls. This time next week I should be in B'ham getting ready for the big relay!!!!! You can keep up with me here. I'll be blogging while on the road.

8 miles

Got up and ran 8 miles this morning. It felt GREAT!!!!

4 miles.

Met a couple of friends Thursday night and went for a 4 mile run. So excited that we finished with an average pace of under 10 min/mile. We are working on speeding up some.

Also, having a great time with the new Couch to 5k program!!! Our second week group run was this morning at 6:00. We had around 12-15 ladies show up!!! So exciting!!! So exciting to hear about several of the ladies had been really praying about getting started into a new exercise program and then the next thing they know they come across our flyer for a new running program. I like to think I (along with my running friends) might have played a small part in God's plan for these women!!!!

Check out our blog.....
Sole2Soul Sisters

AMAZING!!!

You would not BELIEVE what has happened!!!! So.... while jogging one night, or maybe over the course of several runs, my friends and I had the idea of creating a beginners running class for ladies in the community. As we started working on the details of the running program we began calling our little running group the Sole2Soul Sisters. We started setting dates and coming up with a plan and making flyers and publicizing the new Ladies Couch to 5k running program. We put flyers up at church, at the YMCA, sent them with friends. This could be a VERY long story, and a lot of work was put into this...but to save you some time I'll get to the point.....Yesterday was our first meeting and we had 49 LADIES SHOW UP!!!!! It was incredible!!! We are just so excited to be able to share our love of running with these ladies and hopefully get them on the track of a healthier, more active lifestyle. I just can't tell you how exciting it all was. Here are a few pictures......

A few of the ladies waiting for the meeting to get started....

Us all stretching before we run....






I'm just so excited for all these ladies!!!

7.0 Miles.....

A personal best for me. 7.0 miles!!!! And yes...all on the same run. Woke up at 4:30AM, girls picked me up at 5:00, we were running shortly after. Parked at the Fairhope Pier and ran all the way down to the golf course club house at The Grand in Point Clear. Had a GREAT TIME!!!!!! Got back home just in time for everyone to be waking up. So far I feel GREAT!!!! Looking forward to a beautiful day!!!!

3.0 miles

Ok, so it's not so much about the mileage...it's the fact that I managed to do it under a 10 min/mile pace. My average pace worked out to be 9:50. AND...this was my first run on my new shoes. They are the same exact model as my old shoes...but I guess my old shoes were more worn out than I knew b/c I could tell a big difference. Not in a bad way....just that the shoes were controlling my foot a little more than normal. Anyway, I think I'm gonna like them. I ran by myself tonight. Didn't like it at all. I'm getting VERY spoiled to having company along on my runs. It is soooo much more fun to run with a buddy. BUT sometimes a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!!! So I ran alone!!!! Just about 21 more days till the big relay!!!!

New shoes!!!!

Finally got a new pair of shoes!!! Gonna try to do a better job of
keeping up with my miles on these. The Asics GT-2150 stability shoes
(because I overpronate)

7.87 miles....

Ok, Ok...ya caught me. I didn't run that whole 7.87 miles at one time. I've had 2 runs since my last update.....

Goodness. Life is just getting so busy lately. Between work, home, running, and trying to keep a running blog I just barely have any time to sleep. I will try and do a better job of keeping my blog up to date. Only about 22 days left until the big relay. I hope I am gonna be able to handle the trip!!!

Ok, so this past weekend Coop and I went up to Corner for the big annual Batson family reunion. Friday morning my brother and I went for a run. We ran 3.37 miles. This wasn't just ANY 3.37 miles. I promise you it was uphill the WHOLE way!!! Ok, so maybe there were a few downhill moments....but I haven't been running any hills so this was a whole new experience for me...and ya know what....I LOVED IT!!! I felt so accomplished after I got finished. Very proud of myself.

Ok, the next run came last Monday night. Met some of the girls and we ran exactly 4.5 miles and we increased our pace a little bit too. It was an EXTREMELY good run!!!

Chris has started a new project at work and it has him working a lot of nights which means no running for me. I even set my alarm clock for 4:00 this morning so I could get up and run before work, and he wasn't even home yet. So, I went back to bed. He finally got home around 6:30 (he WAS working....I promise!!!). Just in time to take the boys to school. He is going to be working on this project all month so I am worried about getting my training in before the relay. BUT...he is the one working really hard and not getting much sleep so I really shouldn't be complaining.....


The annual Batson reunion....don't try to find me...I'm the one taking the picture!!!!


I'm just adding this picture because I liked it. Coop and his two cousins...Madison and Megan

BUSY!!!!

Wow!!! Ya know I've been busy when I don't even take the time to update my blog. Well, let's see....last time you heard from me I was talking about the Spring Fever Chase 10k. Well, I ran the next Monday night with my girls....and that is ALL the running I did that week leading up to the Azalea Trail Run. I have always wanted to run the ATR and finally got a chance to this year. Ummm....for some reason I bombed on it though. I felt really bad the whole race and never really found my groove. I ran the whole time..but it was NOT fun!!!! I finished in 1:05:33. Sure, that beat my time from the previous Spring Fever Chase...and sure the course was much more flat, but for some reason it just wasn't a good day for me to run.

Anywho....since that run we (being my running girls and myself) have decided to get a little more seriuos about our training. We are running harder, faster, and gonna set some goals for ourself.

On another note.....we (again, my running girls and myself) are about to kick off our Couch25K program in Daphne. We are so excited to be introducing the world of running to other ladies in the community. Come out and join us if you can. Sunday, April 11th, 2:00 pm at the Daphne High School Track!!!!

Well, as I mentioned....I am BUUUUSY!!! Gotta get back to work!!! Later!!!! Oh, one more thing, we (again, the running girls) have dubbed ourselves

SOLE2SOUL SISTERS

Me, Laura, and Katrina. We sported the usual pigtails and in honor of it being The Azalea Trail Run we added the flowers.


The girls (plus Terry) before the run.


The girls (plus a few others) after the run.