Houston Pride

If there's one thing you've learned from my blog, well, I hope you learn many things from my blog, but you have probably gathered that I have a lot of pride for my birthplace - Houston. I love a lot about Houston, and when asked, I am proud to say that I am from "Houston Houston." In fact, one of my (former) Young Life teammates told me one of the things he most appreciated about me is how much pride I have for Houston. I am quick to tell people about all of my favorite restaurants, how much I love the Houston rodeo, how the Texans are going to go to the Super Bowl this year, and how, no matter what time of the day it is, I get stopped in bumper-to-bumper traffic two exits away from home.

When I saw this BuzzFeed article titled, "30 Telltale Signs You're From Houston," I couldn't help but identify with almost every single item on this list. I have spent a majority of my life in traffic. And it continually frustrates me.

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Who can forget this catchy Astroworld commercial?

I don't know what will be done with the eighth wonder of the world, but I sincerely hope it is there to stay.

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I spent the night at NASA one time, and yes, it was for a Girl Scout field trip.

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My little brother tweeted that he was "Screwston" bound yesterday morning, and when the Rockets landed Dwight Howard, there was plenty of mention of "Clutch City."

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The humidity in Houston truly does top the charts.

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And I do believe that Houston is the place to be. It's the number one city for economic growth and young adults, and the restaurants and shopping are both top notch. Plus, it really is better than Dallas.

Workout

I have to brag on myself a little bit because today I finally managed to make some strides with my Nike Women's Half Marathon training plan. Not that I'm really following a plan, but in my head, I told myself that I needed to run at least seven miles this weekend. This whole week I've been telling myself that said run was going to happen on Saturday morning, but just last night I thought about pushing it back to Sunday. Tomorrow is always the best day to run, right? Well, I knew I would feel better if I got it done today, so I drove on down to Town Lake to scope out the seven-mile loop that I still didn't find. I simply ran out 3.86 miles to I-35, and then I turned around and went back the way I came for a total of 7.72 miles in approximately 1:08.

If you're going to do a long run, this isn't a bad view to have while doing it

It felt pretty good outside in terms of temperature and humidity, but by the end of my run, I was soaked from head to toe. I'm still a little worried about the hills of San Francisco, but I now feel much more confident in the fact that I will actually be able to run the entire distance without walking. This run just made my excitement level skyrocket, and we are now only 33 days away from departure. I can't wait!

Breakfast

Before my run, I ate three cuties, because I didn't think running that far on an empty stomach would be my brightest idea, and it turned out to be great pre-run fuel. I normally stick to a banana and peanut butter breakfast before a long run or race, but the only banana I had left was looking a little too soft for my liking.

After I returned home from my run, I took a very refreshing shower, and then I got to work preparing a good breakfast of scrambled egg whites and spinach. It's definitely not anything out of the ordinary, but it tasted so good after a tiring run. I also finished off the remains of my banana-oatmeal-peanut butter muffin concoction, that is, the ingredients thrown together before they are put in the oven. A little hot and cold on this Saturday morning.

And now I'm off to the SAC on campus to do some serious reading. I believe I mentioned that I am in a history of advertising class, and though I am only taking it pass/fail, I don't want to be in jeopardy of failing it simply because I chose not to do the reading. I have quite the to-do list for this weekend, so hopefully I'll report back with everything being checked off!