Month: September 2015

The Washington Coast and The First Run

On By shannonmaxonIn PostsLeave a comment

Hey everybody!

I hope that you have had a good day! 🙂 Today marked the first day of my half marathon training cycle! This is the 3rd half marathon that i will be running and I am so excited. I am going to run the Historic Half up in Vancouver B.C. and cannot be more excited. I have two friends that will be running it with me! Whoohoo! The one thing better than running is running with friends 🙂

I ran 3 miles at a 9:00 minute average pace and it felt so good! My goal is to finish the half marathon in under 2 hours and I can’t wait to attain it!

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PS I am proud of my baby bicep…

Also, who has had these protein cookies?

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They are so good and whenever they are in my cupboard I want to eat all of them in one sitting. Same with the buffbake and the quest bars…It’s kind of a problem.

On another note, my fella and I went on a mini tip this weekend to the Washington Coast! It was so fun! We rediscovered our love for teatherball (I don’t know how to spell that). See in the above picture the bruise on my wrist? That’s from going hard and winning 2 games (out of 7 lol;)

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And taken it back to last weekend, I hung out with Cody’s family all day in Seattle while he was at work and it was so fun!

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That is his cute mom 🙂

And this is random, but does anybody out there grind their teeth at night? I do and I’ve recently invested in a mouth guard to help out my situation. It is AMAZING. I used to wake up with a headache and throbbing teeth and now most mornings both of those nuances are gone! So here is a flattering picture to show off my newest fashion statement.

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All in all it was a good time and tomorrow I’ve got another 3 miles callin my name! Have a great night/day!

xoxo,

Shan 🙂

A Little About Me!

On By shannonmaxonIn PostsLeave a comment

Hey everybody! I thought that I would take my friend, Amanda’s, over at www.xothelittleladybug.com, idea and write a fun little post about myself! “21 Things About The 21-Year-Old!” I generally write slightly random things about training or my days (which are probably snore-worthy), so here are 21 facts about me!

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  1. I am from a really small town on the Canadian border and lived there until I was 18. There is just something about small towns that you can never find in the city.
  2. I’ve only been on a plane two times…I guess I need to travel more.
  3. I love golfing! Besides running and other forms of exercise in and outside of the gym I would love to spend all of my time golfing if it wasn’t as expensive. I played in high school and made it to state!
  4. I love fruit. You may think this is a weird fact…but if there is a bowl of fruit in front of me I will eat all of it.

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5. I have a cat named Whiskers who resides at my parents house who I love dearly. We’ve had him for 15 years and he is the fluffiest cat in the world. Hahah!2014-01-20 10.34.5411130719_951458784885998_600091188_n

6. I have an amazing boyfriend who I have been with for almost five years. We have been together since junior year in high school! He goes to school for aerospace engineering…We’ve got a rocket scientist in the house!!!

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7. I pretty much only wear workout clothes…it’s kind of a problem.

8. I’m currently going to school and studying special education and elementary education. When I graduate I want to teach within the inner schools in Seattle.

9. For now I work as a barista to make my way through school! It’s a good thing I love coffee!

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10. I love Canada.

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11. I love playing board games!

12. When I was younger I was sick for FIVE Christmas’s in a row. Like throwing up, ear infections, and the flu…For a long time it was a curse and I feared Christmas! Thankfully I have passed that stage in my life.

13. I am a clutz. I drop things, spill things, trip over things (or nothing), walk into walls or doors ALL OF THE TIME.

14. I am 5’11”, so I can reach the glasses in the tall cabinets. 😉

15. I have 5 alarms set for the morning every day…I have anxiety that I won’t wake up on time, but I also have a really hard time getting out of bed…hahah.

16. I’ve been working since I was 15. $$$

17. I love food. I am thinking about dinner while I am eating breakfast. It’s always been like that hahahah.

18. I love running so much, but if I run when it’s hot outside I feel like my life is coming to an end. Hence the lack of running posts this summer. That’s why my next half-marathon is in November.

19. I love reading during my free time and before bed. I love a wide genre of books, but Harry Potter will always be my favourite…

20. I have one older brother who works for Americorps and he is amazing.

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21. I can twist my arm all the way around. The only cool thing I can do!

Well there ya go! Props to you if you read all of those things! Now I am off to go lift some heavy things and then spend some time on the stairmaster! Have a fit day, everybody!!

xoxo,

Shan

Quality Vs Quantity

On By shannonmaxonIn Posts5 Comments

Well this weekend was a blast! I got to see my old roomies from good ‘ole Bellingham and boy oh boy do I miss them on a daily basis. It always surprises me that, with the best of friends, you can go weeks without seeing each other but nothing changes.

Call me cheesy, but I have always looked for quality rather than quantity with my friendships. I enjoy friendships that contain laughter and silly conversations but also friendships that are built with honesty and loyalty.

Sometimes I feel that people are constantly looking for acceptance, myself included, but I have found that I am more confident with myself and don’t need validation from others when I find peace with where I am at.

I think that these things can really relate to running because in order to meet your race or running goals you need to have quality runs. Quantity isn’t always the answer. And when you have an awesome run that means that you are doing something right! It’s important to acknowledge what you are doing in your life to help you achieve these runs, such as enough sleep, nourishing your body the right way, recovery/rest days, incorporating strength training, etc. It’s important to run for yourself and not base your happiness or confidence on comparisons with other people.

As my half-marathon training approaches I am constantly thinking about my reasons for running and how to make those 10 weeks of training my best yet. If you have any great reasons for running or tips feel free to share!

dtyh

Have a great day!

Shan 🙂

PS. The above photo was taken by my cute best friend, Amanda Hoffmann xothelittleladybug.com