Shamrock 1/2 Marathon 2014

Several of my Greenville friends had plans to run Shamrock, so I didn't want to miss the fun! This is a popular race among Greenville runners so I looked forward to checking it out.  After arriving and getting settled (hotel, race expo), I grabbed some lunch and hit the beach.  As a coastal girl, I miss things like this.  It was a gorgeous day and I enjoyed hitting the beach for a while.  That evening, I was able to meet up with my running friend Donna and her husband Ricky.  The next morning, we met up with Tony as well.  Donna and Tony walked me to the start, which was really sweet of them.  We ran into Deyna, another former Greenville runner.  She ran her 1st full marathon at the OBX last November.

The race went really well.  I didn't take walk breaks (yay!).  Those are totally okay, but I felt like I could manage without them that day.  I spent some time hanging with one of the pace groups, which I always appreciate having around.  Part of the race went through a military base, which was a new race experience for me.  Thanks to the sweet folks who handed out cookies, popsicles and bagel pieces (some of these folks weren't even race volunteers, just had a kind heart).  I don't have a lot to say about my time during the race.  It was good, but uneventful, which is usually a good thing.  I would run that one again.

After finishing, I decided to keep an eye out for my friends running the marathon.  The wind had gotten worse by that time.  I really appreciated the towel that I got at the end.  I used that to stay a little warmer.  It was wonderful to lay eyes on Tony, Donna, Leslie, Anthony and Sandra.  Sandra rocked her first marathon! Yay for everyone! It was great to see all of you and I can't wait for Goose Creek in July! :)

With Donna at Virginia Beach

Night before the race

Brother Sun Concert

Our little theater often hosts concerts.  I've seen two and they have been AMAZING! This one is a folk group with absolutely beautiful voices.  I am sharing the description from the event organizers, as they describe it best (credit given to The Strand at 38 Main):

National Touring Artists Greg Greenway, Pat Wictor, and Joe Jencks have made their mark as veteran touring singer-songwriters, but Brother Sun is no songwriter's round. The trio's harmonies, as much as their lyrics, tell what they are about: warm as a campfire, stirring as a gospel church, rousing as a call to arms. Fusing folk, Americana, blues, pop, jazz, rock, and a cappella singing, Brother Sun is an explosion of musical diversity and harmony, in the finest of male singing traditions.

They were great entertainers, doing a wonderful job of interacting with the crowd, very funny.  I would love to see them again and hope that they return to Waynesville.  It's hard to describe the music perfectly, but I highly recommend seeing them if you have the opportunity.  If you ever see them, as about the cabin in NY and the animal that chewed on it.  Visit www.brothersunmusic.com to join their mailing list and get information on concerts.  They also have music samples on their site.  Please support this fantastic group.  :)  

Credit given to Brother Sun Music

The Assault on Black Rock IV

Both photos are credited to the Assault on Black Rock and its organizers.  Enjoy!

The Assault on Black Rock is a strenuous trail race in Sylva, NC.  It benefits a local organization called the community table.  This year's race raised well over $2000 and had around 1000 competitors.  I walked most of the way up, as it has a lot of elevation gain and is true butt-kicker.  It's also pretty rocky in places, so it wasn't always practical to run.  I ran more on the way down, but had to do so carefully, so as not to fly forward.  I packed Reese's cups for quick energy...yum! The race has 2770 feet of gain and is approximately seven miles.  It took me 3 hours and 30 seconds (it takes me far less time to run a half-marathon).  Although insanely difficult, I like the challenge and will probably compete again.

Winter 2014

We all had a colder than usual winter.  The mountains were no exception.  Our office had an early dismissal, a day off and a delay on day three.  Here are some pictures of our winter wonderland.

First Presbyterian

Main Street looking south 

More Main Street

Our cool banjo-playing statue

The Strand, our movie theater 

Town Hall/Waynesville PD

Municipal Building

FBC

Church Street 

Old Courthouse

My favorite

Hiking Cold Mountain

You've seen the movie, right? Well, we had the chance to hike the famed Cold Mountain.  It was a strenuous, but exciting hike.  Part of the difficulty was trudging through leftover snow.  In some places, there was still quite a bit left, as Cold Mountain is very high up.  It is located in Canton, NC.  The movie was filmed in Europe, but was based on a true mountain story.

Shining Rock Wilderness Area Hike

The Night Before Christmas on Main Street

Our church does a Bethlehem Marketplace event to go along with the Night Before Christmas in Downtown Waynesville.  It is a huge ministry and we get great attendance.  We were blessed with good weather, a miracle, as it was a very rainy day.  

Christmas!

Juneywhank Falls and Tom Branch Falls

This is where I live! A 45 minute drive and I get to see amazing things.  But really, I don't even have to go that far.  I can just look out the window at our amazing mountains.  This is from when Tim and Gina Garris were in town.  We had the chance to meet up and it was great to see folks from home.  

Festival of Lights and Luminaries- Dillsboro, NC