Welcome to another addition of Friday Favorites, where I will talk about several awesome things in the world of Allen.

Garmin Fenix3

I’ve been wanting this watch for months. It has everything I’ve been looking for in a watch.

• Multisport (running, biking, swimming, hiking)
• Amazing battery life (16 hours in GPS mode, 3 months in watch mode)
• 3-axis compass, altimeter and barometer, steps, sleep tracking, cadence (and other running dynamics), tracks personal records, creates advanced workouts with goals, pace alerts, intervals, calorie burn, move bar for inactivity
• Bluetooth Smart Notifications: emails, texts and social media alerts
• Connect IQ compatibility for customized apps, widgets, watch faces (including the #werunsocial watch face) and data field

I’ve been wearing it the past 2 days and I love it. It works great and also looks amazing. Can’t wait to wear it during the Publix Half Marathon on Sunday!

On Running Shoes

I saw these shoes about a year ago at the Fit2Run store in Disney Springs. I loved the colors of the shoes, but wasn’t sure what I thought about the “clouds” on the bottoms. A few weeks ago when we were at Disney, I decided to try on a pair. And friends, I loved the way they felt. I decided to pick up a pair and ended up wearing them 2 different days at the parks. They are so comfortable! I haven’t taken them out for a run yet, as I wanted to get past my half marathon on Sunday just to be safe. But I’ve read some great reviews from some social media running friends who rave over them as running shoes!

Pier 1 Table

Rachel and I have been looking for a console table to go along the wall between our living room and kitchen for quite a while. This past weekend, we ended up at Pier 1 and found a great table. It was a shade more than what we were aiming for, and it was missing a knob for the drawer. So Pier 1 hooked us up with a 25% discount! We ended up buying the table and picked up 4 new drawers knobs as well. We love it! It looks great in our house.

I know this is true for all of us, but some weeks just bring about more than others. This week is no exception. Between personal stuff and work stuff, I’ve got a lot on my plate this week. Here is a sample of what I have going on this week.

• We are hosting a Children’s Consignment Sale in our gym Thursday-Saturday. This is a huge moneymaker for our preschool/children’s ministry at the church. Hundreds of people from all across the area come. It requires a lot of manpower to pull off this event. While I’m not overseeing the sale, I help with the scheduling of the building for that week among anything else that is asked of me. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet so many people in the community, but it makes for a very busy work week on top of all of my other responsibilities.
• I have several work meetings this week, one specifically that I’m hoping will help shape my future role on the staff.
• I am running the Publix Half Marathon on Sunday morning. But before then, I need to get in a few more runs, get down to the expo in downtown Atlanta to pick up my race number and figure out my plan of action for getting there early Sunday a.m. There is a #werunsocial meet up on Saturday, so I’m hoping Rachel and I can go to the expo that day.
• Some of our closest friends are having a birthday party for their 1 year old. We love this family and their daughter. They live about 45 minutes to an hour north of us and the party is on Saturday afternoon. Thus, the race expo, #werunsocial meet up and birthday party will make for a busy Saturday.
• We have dinner plans with friends tonight (Tuesday) and Thursday night. Plus, Rachel and I try to go to Wednesday Night dinner each week at the church I work at.
• Rachel’s brother Travis and his wife Erin are having everyone over on Sunday evening for dinner to celebrate Travis’ birthday (which is March 17). Looking forward to seeing Rachel’s family.
• My iPhone has been giving me some major issues recently so today (hopefully) I will be upgrading to a new phone. Need to get to AT&T this afternoon and see if I can get this figured out.
• Finally, today I’m putting my name in the lottery for the Chicago Marathon. The drawing is in mid-April. This is one of the Marathon Majors that I talked about on my bucket list blog post a few weeks ago. I didn’t get into NYC this year so I’m hoping I have better luck with Chicago. Wish me luck!

How does your week look?

I’m still here! Just been very busy the past few weeks. We just got back from a quick trip to Disney/Universal in Florida yesterday. Looking forward to sharing more about our trip over the next few days. Until then…here are a few pictures of our time in Florida!

“Every man dies – Not every man really lives.” ~ William Ross

I saw this blog post idea the other day and decided I wanted to create my own bucket list of things to do before I die. So without further ado, here are some things on my bucket list! (please note this is not an exhaustive list)

• Travel
  • Italy
  • Australia
  • Paris
  • Grand Canyon
  • Pacific Northwest
  • Machu Picchu
  • Ireland
  • Greece
  • Austria
  • Hawaii
  • Disney (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo)
  • Patagonia (Chile)
  • Great Wall of China
  • Holy Land
  • Northern Lights

• Run the World’s Marathon Majors
  • Boston
  • Tokyo
  • Berlin
  • Chicago
  • New York City
  • London

• Sporting Events/Arenas
  • Duke/UNC game at Cameron Indoor Stadium
  • The Masters
  • Final Four
  • Super Bowl
  • Rose Bowl
  • Lambeau Field
  • Indianapolis 500
  • Wimbledon
  • Kentucky Derby
  • St. Andrews

• Learn a new language
• Complete a Half Ironman (70.3 miles)
• Learn to play bridge
• Write a book
• Take a road trip across the USA
• Meet a US President
• Learn to Sail
• Watch the 100 top movies on IMDB
• Read the classic novels

What are some things on your list?

Hello, March.

After a very busy first two months of 2016, I am very happy March is here. I have several things on the schedule, but nothing compared to January/February. Here are a few things I’m looking forward to this month.

• Disney Trip. Rachel and I are heading down to Orlando with one of our great friends (Janell) on Saturday. We will be staying in one of the Disney properties and hitting up the Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Universal (Harry Potter World). We are looking forward to seeing several of our friends who live down there as well.
• Work Retreat. After I get back from Orlando, I will be off for a quick 24-hour work retreat with several of our staff. We are headed up to a cabin in the mountains. I think this will be a great opportunity for us to grow as a staff and vision for the future.
• Publix Half Marathon. I am running the Publix Half Marathon on March 20. This will be my 3rd half marathon in the last 70 days, and I have another half scheduled in April. You could say I enjoy running a little bit.
• Easter. Finally, I’m looking forward to Easter Sunday. We will go to church and then have lunch with Rachel’s family. Easter is a big deal for me and my family as we celebrate of the resurrection of Jesus.

How does your March look?

Welcome to another edition of Friday Favorites with Allen, where I will take a look at some of the things that I think are awesome!

Yeti Rambler Tumbler

I finally picked up a Yeti last weekend, and I have to say I’m super impressed so far. I took it to work one day this week and my ice did not melt the entire day. It looks great, too. I can definitely see what all the buzz was about.

Brooks Heritage Shoes

I saw these shoes on Carlee’s Instagram a few weeks ago and I knew I had to have a pair. I like the classic look and multiple color options. I have worn them probably 5-10 times already and I love how they look and feel. I will be ordering another pair soon.

Fuller House

I grew up watching Full House. It was a good, clean TV show that my parents were ok with us watching. I was stoked to hear several months ago they were releasing a sequel series on Netflix, with several characters returning. Rachel and I are looking forward to watching this over the weekend.

Pro Compression Socks (#thegibblers)

As I’ve mentioned several times on this blog, I love Pro Compression socks! They look and feel great during running and are awesome for recovery purposes post-run. My favorite pair are the multicolor striped socks, aka #thegibbers, named after Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber) from Full House. I had the opportunity to meet Andrea in September at one of the #WeRunSocial meetups, and she is awesome. I love that “Kimmy Gibbler” is a runner!

Since today is the launch of the Fuller House show, a lot of runners are showing their support of the show (and Andrea) by rocking their socks on social media with the hashtag #NationalWearTheGibblersDay. I wore mine this morning during my 7 mile run.

My life has been quite busy recently. So much so that the blog has taken a backseat. Between finishing up the youth basketball league that I run and planning for the summer (we host over 23 different camps in our gym/building), I have had a lot of my mind.

Sometimes when life gets so busy, I tend to forget to slow down and enjoy life. But slowing down and enjoying life is what’s most important! Every day is a new opportunity to make a difference in the world. I want to be more present where I am. Does work need to get done? Of course! But it doesn’t mean that I can’t be the best Allen I can be.

Sometimes I need this reminder. Otherwise I get so caught up and distracted that I miss the little (and big) opportunities to truly impact the world around me. May we not get so busy that we forget this truth.

I have to give props to Carlee for this blog post idea! Here are a few things that are awesome in the world of Allen right now.

Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul started back last Monday night with a solid first episode of their sophomore season. I was a huge fan of Breaking Bad and loved the first season of this spinoff prequel. Very much looking forward to this new season!

MuteMath – Light Up

MuteMath is one of those bands that has been around for the past 10 years and consistently puts out solid music, but I honestly don’t think about near enough. I recently added like 4 of their songs to my running playlist and have been really enjoying it. Light Up is one of the songs off their new album that I heard a few weeks ago on SiriusXM ALT Nation and I’m really digging it.

Nike Zoom Pegasus 32

I just broke in a new pair of Nike Pegasus 32’s during my run this morning and they are sweet. There is nothing better than the first run in a new pair of running shoes.

Any favorite things you’ve been enjoying lately?!

I’ve been a Duke Basketball fan since 1987. Growing up in Alabama where football is king, I was looking for a college basketball team to cheer for. My older brother started watching Duke in 1985, and I had a good friend in middle school who moved from Durham, NC and was a huge fan of Duke. So I started watching them play and was hooked! Over the almost 30 years I have been a fan of Duke, they have had amazing success, with 12 final fours, 5 national titles and 13 ACC championships.

Part of the Duke Basketball Museum

2015 National Title

1991, 1992, 2001, 2010 National Title Banners (2015 was hung this season)

Of course, this can all be attributed to their legendary coach, Mike Krzyzewski (or Coach K). I have been to multiple games at Cameron Indoor Stadium, in additional to multiple away games in Atlanta and Tallahassee. I love the Duke Blue Devils!

Outside Cameron Indoor Stadium

Coach K Court

Which means, of course…I am not a fan of their biggest rival, the University of North Carolina. The Tar Heels are the enemy. For the past 30 years, I’ve watched UNC have major success as well, with several final fours and national titles. Every year Duke has a “home and home” against UNC. Tonight is the first of at least 2 meetings in 2016 (they could meet in the ACC tourney and/or the NCAA tourney).

Duke has had amazing success against UNC the past few years. They are 10-3 over the last 13 meetings, including a season sweep last year. However, I fear this year might go the other way. UNC is a top team with depth, experience and talent. Duke, while very talented, is young and very thin. Plus, tonight’s game is in Chapel Hill. But it’s Duke/UNC. You never know what can happen in this game.

However, no matter the outcome, I am looking forward to this great basketball rivalry. It is, in my opinion, the best in college basketball and one of the best in sports. Let’s go Duke!