my october table

I love my house, too!

Trick or Treating is so much fun! I love all the little kids and big kids who come to my door. Just a minute ago a family had a little boy who walked away from my house and said, "I love this house!!" Did he like our orange lights? Or the cute "trick or treat" sign? Maybe he liked my daughter's cat jack-o-lantern.....or maybe the happy face jack-o-lantern that had put out moments before. He might have liked the HUGE pot of purple and yellow mums that our neighbors gave us, or maybe he just liked the giant spider peeking out from under the mum. I don't know. Maybe he just likes bracelets and mini packs of swedish fish. Anyway, when a three year old says he loves something, you know he really means it. As he was walking away, I called out to him, "I love it, too!"

I'm here!

Yikes! I know it's been several weeks since I posted, but since I got the "nod" from my sister Heidi over at Everday Cookies
(http://www.everyday-cookies.blogspot.com/ ),
I thought I better say something new here.

This is supposed to be sort of a running-mom blog....sometimes more "running" blog, sometimes more "mom" blog. I've pretty much been running now for about 2 1/2 years. I was a runner in high school and college, but took a long hiatus after having my 3rd and 4th children. I developed asthma and thought I couldn't run any more. I am so thankful for Advair, which got me breathing again; and for Kathy Smith walking tapes/CD's -- she's great!; and then for Curves, which got me a little stronger all over; and last but certainly not least, I am thankful for my friends who I started running with.....and we just kept going and going. We call ourselves the Trail Mix----we run on a beautiful TRAIL, and we are a serious MIX of from all different walks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_mix

We run almost every day---well, someone from the group is there everyday----rain or shine----in the heat and humidity and in the frigid cold. Well, I'm not usually there on Sundays as I go to church instead, and my attendence on Saturdays is a little spotty, too. I don't like leaving my family when they're all home.

We've run in some 5K races and in a couple of Half Marathons, and some of us even trained for and ran a marathon---the Disney Marathon---that was a blast!
Here's an old blog on that--although a little jumbled in the AOL to Google transfer: http://nc-mom-on-the-run.blogspot.com/2008/01/disney-marathon.html

We've been training this fall for a Half Marathon in November and for another in January (the one at Disney!! I think 12 of us are signed up!). Today was our last long run (15 to 17 miles)---only I didn't run it.

I've had walking pneumonia for over two weeks and just can't seem to shake it. I took TEN WHOLE DAYS OFF from any running or exercise and am on my second round of antibiotics and I'm still sick. I walked the trail today (3 miles) with a friend and was huffing and puffing and coughing. I can't believe that two weeks ago I RAN nearly 15 miles!!

Life can certainly throw you some curve balls.
I think my neice got one last week, too. She was just diagnosed with mono--Get well soon, e.beck.artist.daughter.!

My Trail Mix friends all reminded me this week that we're training FOR LIFE and not just for one race. And yesterday, on my first day back to walk, 4 friends walked with me, instead of their usual run. Wow, that meant a lot. (I'm still way happy for the others who chose to run! It was great fun cheering for them as the pack ran by!).

So, sometimes we have to slow down and be spectators. Or be the receiver of the chicken soup (thanks go to a dear friend who was my supplier this week!). Or take naps instead of do whatever it was that we thought we had to do.

With four kids, my life is pretty busy to say the least, but I have a dear Godsend of a husband who takes care of me and I don't think I'm too hard on myself. So how in the world did I get so sick? You know, it doesn't really matter....maybe it was just "because", or maybe God wanted me to just slow down a bit.

It has been really hard for me to slow down. I have two high school age boys finishing up their soccer season, and a middle school daughter on the volleyball team. And then there's #4 in elementary school who needs a little help every afternoon with homework, and someone to listen to her play her songs on the piano. Dinner, laundry, yardwork, cleaning, beds, parties, friends over, bills, cooking meals for others, cooking snacks for school, volunteering, school activities,etc, etc, etc. We all have our lists don't we? And, I must say, that daughter #4 did have a fabulous birthday party last weekend for 15---we carved pumpkins, played, decorated Halloween buckets, and frosted cupcakes. I'll post a photo soon.

We've also had a lot of fun this week getting "Boo-ed" and "Boo-ing". See a sample here:
http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/halloween/l/blhalbooed.htm
Ring and run does really get your heart pumping! I think that 7 houses on our street have been "boo-ed" so far!

I also went to a very moving funeral this week for a neighbor who passed away. She was an amazing woman. I didn't know her very well, but wish I had. She was a dear friend to a close neighbor on my strret. You can read her blog here:
http://diaryofadyingmom.blogspot.com/

So, what did I learn this week?

**Each day is a gift.

**Slow down a little bit.

**Friends are wonderful.

**It's amazing and exciting watching your children grow, and learn, and mature.

**A loving husband is truly God's best gift.

**How to pray a little more specifically for my children.

**We need to take care of ourselves and also to take care of each other.

**I don't really care for the slow cooker recipe: "There's more in the kitchen."

**Eventually you might let your daughter wear dresses that have spaghetti straps.

**There's a cool new show called Robinson Crusoe - the season premier movie was on tonight.

**I miss my friends more than my running when I can't run.

A lovely morning

I had a beautiful cool, sunny and breezy morning for our hard day workout of 10 half mile repeats.  There were 5 of us ladies out on the track this morning running around in circles.  The purpose of the half mile repeats is to train your body to maintain a certain pace.  Today's pace for the shorter distance of 800 meters, is slightly faster than the pace we plan to maintain for our half-marathon.  It was a good mental exercise though.  It was actually comfortable enough that we were able to converse a good deal.  When you can't talk, you know you're running pretty hard, by the way.

I'll be heading off on a college road trip with just my older son and me.  I'm thinking a couple of book tapes might be good.  I'm not sure if a 17 year old and a 40 - something year old can talk for 10 hours straight.  We'll take turns driving, so I know they'll be some snoozing going on.  I'm bringing my running shoes.

Oh, and did you know that Tuesday was officially the first day of Autumn?  Is that supposed to be capitalized?  Are you supposed to end a paragraph with a question?

Hug your children

My middle school daughter lost one her classmates to cancer this week.

We've both been working through it.  It's funny how grief pops up at such random times.  I think when someone near you dies, your brain is just mulling over it constantly, and thoughts about the person that you're grieving just constantly bubble to the surface.

One thing I like about running is the time spent running you can use to either think things through,or talk them over with your trail mates.  Friday was our long day.  We were supposed to do 12 1/2, but ended up at 14 miles as we went out a little too far.  It was good. And it was good to spend that time with friends. Talking.  Laughing.  Sweating.

 

Great running quote

Today I was reading a local sports magazine and ran across a great quote about running.  I felt it was blog worthy:

"There's a secret, a secret that every runner knows.  I start at point 'A.' I end at point 'A.' And somewhere in between point 'A' and point 'A' is where I find ... the point."

~Amy Kidder-Hayes

Challenging running week for me this week.  After 6 miles on Monday and Tuesday, a group of us (trying to follow the Galloway plan) decided to do half mile repeats.  (That's running way harder than usual and taking a 3 minute walking break in between.) We were supposed to do 6-8, but after 5 in excessive humidity, we decided that maybe that was enough.  Two of us ended up at the track for 5 more quarter miles at faster than race pace.  Needless to say, I was pretty tired and ended up with stomach cramps that night (dehydration?).  Not sure why, but I ended up doing a long run on Thursday--9 1/2 miles.  I had cramps that night, too.  Decided on Friday morning to take it easy and only walked three miles.

I was asking myself and my friends on Thursday, what we 30,40, and 50 - something aged women were doing running as hard as we could??  I guess the quote above is apropos.

Rest Day

Today was a rest day---in preparation for my 9 miler tomorrow. Well, we didn't rest completely....we ran an easy 3 miles.

Tomorrow's run  will be my first long run in the new  training plan I've got going to prepare my next half marathon in November. It will be my third half marathon.

Do you remember Yael Naim.  Her song got popular with the new slim Apple computer.  I loved that video----remember, the one where her apartment walls fall away to reveal that she's floating in a lake in an "out-doorsy scene.

Check that one out again here: YouTube - yael naim new soul clip

Well, this evening I stumbled across this new video compilation with a new song she's done, "Far, far."  Now that's a good song to sing on the night before a long run!

Check it out here: YouTube - Yael Naim - Far Far

Splish Splash

Okay....today was officially the rainiest, wettest run of my whole life.  The remnants of Fay are going through our state and it was POURING here this morning. Yes, really raining CATS AND DOGS!! I completed 6 miles with my trusty, die-hard friends.

The run started out damp and only got wetter from there on out.  We were puddle jumping initially, but by the end of the run we had to just plow through 15-20 foot sections of the trail that had turned into mini ponds. It was definitly splishy-splashy.

I've stuffed newspaper in my shoes....hope they're they're aren't so squish-squishy by tomorrow.

Try running in the rain sometime -- it's very exhilarating!

I'm back!

Hello, Blogworld....I'm back!

Since this is mostly a running blog, I didn't have much to talk about today since I only ran two times per week the whole summer.  I must confess that I did miss one week.

I was trying to ward off getting injured like I did last Fall when I came back after summer full force with little summer running. 

Anyway, my 4 kids are back at school, and I've run every school morning they've been back.  That puts me at 6 six miles runs in 8 days.

My friends and I are eying a fall half marathon -- the 2nd City of Oaks Half Marathon -- which is in early November.  Several of us ran it last year; it was pretty challenging with the last mile and half or so mostly UP-hill.  That was caps for emphasis.  Anyway, this year's race has been reconfigured so that it doesn't end on a hill.

In my running group - The Trail Mix - there are 12 of us already signed up for the Disney Half Marathon in January.

So, I'm working on a training plan for our group, mostly based on the Galloway plan; I'm trying to figure out how to work in both Half Marathons.  How do we train between the two?  We had to jump in at week 3 or so on the Jeff Galloway training plan, so this week we're already on to a 8 or 9 miler this week.  I'll let you know how it goes. :)

a little bit of crafty

Okay....you know I'm related to two AMAZINGLY artsy and craftsy ladies:

Heidi @ Everyday Cookies at Sweet Woodruff Acres

and e.beck.artist @ e.beck.artist

Well, yesterday in an attempt to be just a tiny bit artsy/crafty (and frugal!) I made 4 cards for 4 friends whose birthday celebration is tonight. These 4 friends are part of the running group I'm in, "Trail Mix." We have birthday get togethers every so often....during the school year, it's usually breakfast after running.

All 4 ladies are getting the same gift: Bolga running socks (my favorite brand):

 And here are the cards I made:

Do I get any Brownie points?? Thanks!

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SCRABBLE

Okay....is this font color pretty close to the color of a Scabble box?? ......this is worth blogging about.....my son #2 scores a 439 in a Scabble game with me today.  He won.  By a bit.  It was in our THIRD Scrabble game of the day.  I think we played Scrabble for almost 7 hours today....maybe more.  One and a half games were at the pool.  The first two matches included a friend of mine who happens to be the mother of daughter #3's friend.  Anyway, my highest score ever (written in the bottom of my Scrabble box as proof) is 438. 

So, son #2 now officially holds the highest score in our family. WOW!!

Just a thought-----try a new game out called Bananagrams if you like Scrabble....it's faster and everyone is engaged all at the same time.

TENNIS ANYONE?

Okay....my goal this summer to just maintain my running for the Fall has been to run at least two times per week....I've done pretty well on that.  For cross training, I've thrown in some tennis recently.  Whew!  NC humidity makes your hand sweaty when you're trying to place tennis.

My son #2 likes to play.....he got a new racquet today...on clearence, with a running club discount, and he paid 2/3's---what a bargain! He wanted to mainly because we only have three racquets and he wanted son #1, dad and me to be able to play doubles with him.  Pretty nice son. :)

We went and saw the Journey to the Center of the Earth movie today---that was a lot of fun.  We used a few movie passes we had for that, so we had a somewhat economical day. :)

Son #1 leaves for the beach this week. He's going to Emerald Isle---last time I was there we had to leave early because a hurricane came.  My third child was a baby and my sister-in-law had just found out she was pregnant with twins.  Hurray!

Hope you are having a happy summer.

Happy Summer!!

Hope ya'll are having a Happy Summer!!

I'm taking it easy on my running--down to 6 miles twice per week.

My son just finished driver's ed, so --CLEAR THE ROADS!!

Oh, and have a glass of Iced Tea.......I think June is National Iced Tea month.

Take a quiz here:

Iced Tea Quiz - AOL Food

Go here for any tea questions:

Tetley USA - Frequently Asked Questions

And for a good recipe that's similar to the one used here in North Carolina by my "Southern" friends, check here:

GRITS - A celebration of Southern cooking and kitchen traditions - Southern Sweet Iced Tea Recipe

Results

Hooray.....I placed in the top ten in my age group for the half marathon!!! I bettered my last Fall's time by 2 minutes: One hour, 51 minutes and 50 seconds for 13.1 miles.  I think I may have pushed a little too hard though....I was WIPED OUT Saturday afternoon......a three hour nap and an upset tummy (that happens if you run a little too hard).

Fun, fun, fun!! My children's school is having a Used Book Sale this week.......my favorite thing to volunteer for.......and volunteers get first pick!!  I found a few books with vintage looking pictures and poems in them....I thought I could be like my sister Heidi and turn them into some cute cards or tags.....my daughter's laughed when I told them that!!  Here are some of the poems and illustrations:

                          

                          

                          

                          

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Long time no blog

Yikes...it's been a while since I blogged!.....I'm in the beginning stages of the college search with a son who's starting to look......also TRACK season has started for two of my kids.......my daughter joined a club soccer team (need I say more).........my youngest has a huge STATE project due soon...........plus, I was getting ready for my next race......which happens to be tomorrow!!!!  I'm running a local Half Marathon (13.1 miles) with 5 friends......I had my boys do rock-paper -scissors to see who would get my performance t-shirt (too masculine looking for my tastes.....plus, I don't love wearing logos, etc) ............we're meeting at my house at 6 am tomorrow.....my Jelly Belly Sport Beans are packed......so time for bed.....wish me luck!!!!!

 

Coffee Day

So, the decaf I had last night while driving home from a late track meet.....I don't think it was DECAF.   My eyes were wide open til at least 2 am. After a little over 4 hours of sleep last night.....today is a BONA FIDE COFFEE DAY---full strength!!    Have a lot to do and gotta get it all done.  Have a great day!

 

Recovering

Recovering from a 15 1/2 mile run that my friends and I did yesterday.  It did a number on my knees.  Ice, Alleve, contrast baths....and a lot less running today.  We're getting ready for another Half Marathon.  We have only one more long run (17 miles) on our schedule.  I was so proud of a friend that I ran with yesterday.  It was her 51st birthday....and she ran 15 miles (do you get the palindrome thing?).  I want to be able to run 15 miles on my 51st birthday, too!

Beautiful day here!

Time to put up my Easter wreath, I think....my, Easter is just around the corner.

 

Wishing you HOPE this Easter season.

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An Award

 LOL......I got an award from my sister Heidi at her blog: Everyday Cookies at Sweet Woodruff Acres......and another at my sister-in-law Elizabeth's blog  e.beck.artist.  I'm not sure why they tagged my blog because:

a. I know they are the only two people who really ever read my blog.  (I love you, too!!)

b. They are both artsy and crafty and give photos and links everyday, and I blog quite infrequently with few photos and fewer links......which you're supposed to do I hear.......and I think I've never posted an artsy blog....I do post recipes sometimes though!

c. The things I blog about may have interest to them because I'm related to them and they know my children, but probably not to the the big BLOG-WORLD out there.

and

d. I've never had a "give-away" on my blog. I could start, but I'd probably just send each of them something!

Nevertheless, I thank them very much for the honor, and hereby re-tag them back with the !!!!

Pretty much, they are the only blogs I read, except for occasionally peeking at blogs they recommend, so they are the only ones that I'm tagging.  And I do check their blogs faithfully everyday.

Company coming this weekend, so gotta go vacuum. Have a fun weekend!

 

Picky eaters

'How to Please Your Picky Eater' Video - Rachel Campos-Duffy - AOL Living

LOL....I know Rachel Campos-Duffy knows a lot and she does have some great ideas, but, I'm sorry, she doesn't seem to really know what a true picky eater is......on the other hand, I must have a child who is just a plain off the charts PICKY EATER.  My youngest daughter eats NO FRUITS.  Only ONE VEGETABLE---Broccoli.  NO MEAT, except maybe half a hot dog once every two months or so.  What's left, you might be asking.......WHITE pasta, egg WHITES, WHITE bread, white milk, French toast, pancakes, cheese, yogurt (kid's only and no strawberry or banana, chicken noodle soup (skipping the carrots and the meat), WHITE rice, WHITE cous cous, cereal, oh......she will eat raisins occasionally and once in a blue moon she'll try dried cherries.  Oh, oh, oh....and she drinks a little bit of Apple juice, and a little bit of apple cranberry juice, and grape juice.  Now THAT'S a picky eater.

Amazingly, she's quite a healthy girl....I give her kid's vitamins everyday.

Thank goodness, I'm still somewhat of a picky eater.....I CANNOT eat mayo, salad dressing, mustard, or really fancy dishes from really fancy restaurants.  I've finally learned to choke down the weeds that they serve at really fancy restaurants.

In addition, my sweet daughter has an uncle who was perhaps worse than she was when he was little......I'm not sure he's improved much, either, except I know he eats meat.

I think beyond the taste of foods, it's the texture and the smell.  There must be some research on ultra picky eaters.

She and I sure enjoyed the chocolate chip cookies we made today...ha!

Yes, another batch of chocolate chip cookies.....it's okay....I ran thirteen miles today, so it's okay if I had a chocolate chip cookie!

Blueberry muffin

I got to start the day today with my husband over a Blueberry Muffin....that was nice.

Tomorrow is a 13 miler.....will be chilly........but I've got gloves!

My boys put their money together (along with my  twelve dollar contribution) and went and bought a cool XBox 360 game called ROCK BAND. Check it out on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m26JJVEW5OSZEM:mZG7LBIOY34MH

They're really excited about it.  Maybe I'll buy some real drums one day.  One of my older brothers used to play an electric guitar....one song he used to play is clearly stuck in my head:

I got the football blues, I got the rocks in my shoes!

I think he wrote that song for my little brother.

Got a call last night about 9 p.m. -- a request for cookies needed at school.....so I baked another batch of my famous Chocolate Chip Cookies!  I think that's about the 5th batch in a week.  My daughter told my husband this evening that the cookies were awesome.....just what I want to hear!

Helped my youngest daughter a lot today----she's writing a book of poetry that she'll read to her class next week.  She's written some really cute poems. Here's one of them:

Hugs

Hugs

Hearts

Red

Pink

White

Chocolate

Fun

Candy

Friends

Family

Kisses

Love

Parties

Smiles

Cards

Gifts

Cookies

Candy hearts

Cupid

Flowers

Roses

Valentine's Day

Wouldn't it be nice to have Valentine's Day everyday?  Especially the flowers and chocolate and hugs part! 

Gotta go----my husband just announced he's going to join the boys in their next Rock Band performance as a guest singer!!

This week

Got in some several good 6 milers this week, and we even did a track workout----8 half miles (that's two laps around the track).  My, I was a little tired after that!  Got in 6 miles this morning with a friend I hadn't talked with in a while.....running is a great way to spend time catching up with a friend!

My daughter was sick all last weekend, but she did get her valentine's done.  There was paper, stickers, stamps and markers all over the counter for days! She made a cute valentine using a printout of a Mary Engelbreit heart....then there was a Valentine pencil going through it like Cupid's arrow! She also had a diorama project due this week (that's a scene in a box). Plus I helped in her class for the Valentine's Day party---I brought three crafts and I made a cute Valentine matching game.  One of the pictures to match was a class picture.  The kids loved it! So, it was a busy week.

Oh, and there's more.....I spent the 13th making baked goods for a bake sale for my oldest daughter. The preface is that on the night of the 12th,  David and I were watching the Food Network channel and we saw a show about making massive chocolate chip cookies....I decided to make that my goal when I started cooking on the baking day.  I altered my tried and true recipe slightly, chilled the dough and viola!....I think I did pretty well:

                   

And here are the cupcakes I made; I went all out with pink frosting, sprinkles and candy hearts!!  My daughter said they sold really quickly! 

                

My son played his last basketball game of the season this week.....I'm a little sad for that to be over, but now it's on to track& field!  Added bonus this year is that both of my sons will be on the SAME track team----only one meet a week!

We went out for Mexican food last night--YUM!  Then my eldest went to a play, and my other son had a friend over to watch Monk and Psych.  I made cookies for my youngest daughter's basketball game today.  They needed a little sweetness after they got ROMPED this morning---poor things!

My bread maker is purring away.  I'm making pizza dough for homemade pizza that we'll have for dinner tonight.  I made bread another night this week. It's wonderful  to walk into the house with the aroma of fresh bread lingering.

One more basketball game today.....church, a birthday party, and a basketball banquet, and then we're into another week.  Next week's running plan includes a thirteen miler, so I'll need to gear up for that!

Hey, did I mention that I've signed up to do the Disney Half Marathon next January?  There's already eleven in my running group who are all booked and ready to run it! 

TTFN!

 

Puzzles

I've worked on a lot of puzzles in my life.....but I don't think I've ever completed a thousand piece puzzle all by myself.  Well, now I have:

                             

Over the Christmas holidays when we have lots of guests, I always try to keep some puzzles going for people to work on.  We did several, and when I originally put this one out, we did still have company.....but my brother-in-law (a puzzle whiz) said he was "all puzzled out"; so, I knew I was on my own. (Wow- what a run-on).  Now, I admit, it took me almost a month....but I only worked on it in the evenings....right when I was supposed to be going to bed! Ha!  

I've always loved Mary Engelbreit, and I really enjoyed working on a puzzle of one of her drawings.  I thought it would be a little difficult...but there was so much detail that I was able to work through the various sections of it pretty methodically.

Now that that puzzle is cleaned up, and I've got another one ready to go:

                 

Let's think SPRING......pansies....here's a pansy puzzle for you to try:

http://thinks.com/jigsaw/flowers/pansies.htm

Good luck!

 

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Okay...I've got a theory going......I think there's a reason there are now Starbucks in those Super Targets......wow!  Target, I think, gets a lot more product sold to those who have a nice cup of Starbucks either before someone shops or while they shop....I'm a prime example.....if I have coffee before going  to or while in Target, I am guaranteed to buy twice as many items as  I originally intended when  I walked in the store.  Somehow that charge of caffeine makes you think you can conquer all these projects that you get inspired to do while walking around Target.  They do have a lot of fun stuff in that store, by the way.....I know, I went this morning.  And, yes, I did have a coffee before.  Oops!

Ran 6 miles this morning, before going to Target.  Hopefully I can get a nine miler in this week.  I'm gearing up to run with some of my running friends at a local half marathon in early April, so I need to start upping my mileage again after feeling pretty recovered from the marathon.  I was so glad when this morning it was closer to 40 degrees out than to the 20 degrees that I endured yesterday morning.  How DO you get that "degrees" sign anyway, Heidi?

I read a Psalm last night that I really like--Psalm 84.  Here's part of it:

"Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

For the LORD God is a sun and a shield;

the LORD bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold from those whose walkis blameless.

O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you."

Psalm 84:10-12

THE DISNEY MARATHON

HOORAY!!  I did it!!  A week ago Sunday I ran the Disney Marathon.....all TWENTY SIX POINT TWO MILES!!!

 

Here's me with me medal:

 

                       

 

The whole experience was AWESOME!!  I would highly recommend it!!

To catch you up, I went to Orlando with 4 other running friends and my husband.....well, I guess he's a running friend, too.  Anyway, Scarlett and Fida ran the HALF MARATHON on Saturday and then Juliette, Meredith and I ran the FULL MARATHON on Sunday.  David was there to be our support team!! Also, David and I were celebrating our 20th Anniversary! 

 

                  

We all stayed at the Grand Floridian and it was beautiful and wonderful and right on the monorail!

 

You may be wondering why I didn't post sooner.....I was a little slow all last week (tired) and also was thrust back into our somewhat frenzied lifestyle....all the while trying to get our family back on track after a trip and all four of my children staying various places while we were gone.  Quite a backlog of laundry!

 

Also, I wanted to post the Disney pictures....which I just got last night....the one above was taken as I exitted the long line of things you go through after you cross the finish line: walk, get your medal, walk, get your silver blanket (to ward off chills), walk, get your chip taken off your shoe - I skipped this as I bought a Disney chip to keep, walk, get your water or gatorade in the drink tent, walk, get your carbohydrate snack in the snack tent, walk, get a can of soda at the Coca Cola table, walk, get your icepacks and EXTRA STRENGTH TYLENOL at the medical tent, walk, get your picture taken, walk, get your bag at the bag check, walk to your meeting place and AHHHHH---LIE DOWN!!!!!

 

So that was the end of the race....here's the "blow by blow" account of the BEFORE AND DURING:

 

Arrived at Disney Friday afternoon with David.  Checked in at the Grand Floridian, went to the Race Expo to pick up my race packet and t-shirt, then David and I went to the Rain Forest Cafe in Downtown Disney for dinner.  Met up with our friends for dessert that night back at the hotel. Had trouble sleeping both nights before....nerves and excitement.  Went on Saturday morning to watch Fida and Scarlett run the half.....good practice in knowing where to go and how long it took to get there on the monorail......they did GREAT!!!  They ran the whole way.....only walking through to get water at the water stops.

 

Was careful about what I ate and drank all day Saturday.  Especially tried to drink water every hour.....we were going to be running in warmer temps than we were used to.

 

Sunday my alarm went off at 3:15am (after quite a few clock checks through the night).  Had everything all ready so just slipped it on.  Grabbed my cold oatmeal I bought on Saturday and was out the door.  Met Meredith and Juliette in front of their building for pictures taken by Fida and Scarlett (how DID they get up so early?)  Took monorail to the start.....DARK out....but lots of Disney lights. Tired, but kept getting constant shocks of adrenalin in my arms!

 

Ate my cold oatmeal (rather choked it down...it was awful and I had no appetite....but forced t down...ate a half of a granola bar, too.  Used the port-o-potty, sat about 15 minutes then we were off to the start....quite a walk to the start.....huge staging area(i.e starting line--there were actually 2 starting lines).  Did I mention that there were over 12,000 runners?!?! We all got into corral C.....I was a B, so I went back, which was okaywith Juliette and Meredith.  Sat about 30 minutes, then suddenly we were surprised by fireworks, the national anthem and we  started moving forward. We crossed the starting line after about 4 minutes.  VERY CROWDED.  (It was pretty crowded the whole way) A bit too slow....we wanted to do 10's the first 5 miles.....but we weaved and worked our way up the sides to stay on pace..... Ran on the freeway a while, then through Epcot.....great lights....got crowded and we slowed when the two starts merged at mile 3.......back by the start again and off toward the Magic Kingdom.....started getting a little light.  We had one potty stop around mile 7. 

 

We skipped the first water stop, but got sips of water at almost every other water stop (there were 22 water stops).  We generally jogged up to get the water, walk as we drank and then resumed running.  We passed the motor speedway and the Contemporary hotel .......it started get warm just before the Magic Kingdom.  Lots of people there....that was great.....ran up MAIN STREET, through Tomorrowland, through the castle.......waved to the Cinderella.  We were constantly struggling to stay together....Juliette got a cramp. 

 

Are you still with me??  Then over to the Grand Floridian where we saw David, Scarlett and Fida...that was great...they gave us some sport beans and water.  Tried to eat a pack of Sport Beans......That was mile 12...by Mile 13 we decided to each go at our own pace.......next 5 miles were fairly boring.... and the sun came out.....getting warmer......although they had a few signs to read, an occasional character grouping and speakers along the way with the music.....you never went too long without music.

 

Finally we got to Animal Kingdom....mile 17.....at this point I started getting two cups of water-one to drink and one to pour on my head and neck to cool off.......I was feeling pretty good and was passing tons of people......pretty much hit almost every mile marker on a 10 minute mile pace except the last 2 miles.....kept drinking water and eating a few Sport Beans before each water stop....  Long stretch that got very hot before and after Animal Kingdom.....Ate a granola bar around Mile 19.........thankfully, we got some cloud and it cooled slightly for the last 6 miles (at least my last 6 miles).

 

Suddenly there were only three miles to go going through MGM, along the Boardwalk and back around Epcot.....lots of people cheering along this whole stretch.

 

                          

I got emotional in MGM thinking that I was nearly finished and that I knew my brothers and sisters would be proud of me.....a couple tears ran down my cheeks....got though that pretty quickly.......with about 2 miles to go my right hip suddenly started hurting a LOT and I could feel my left calf about to cramp up with every step.  I'd run about a 1/3 of a mile, then stop and stretch my hip....it was rough....probably lost about 5 minutes here.....my breathing was fine......and then at Mile 26 there was this huge Gospel Choir which was highly inspiring and then cheering all the way to the finish!  I finished strong and it was grand!!!!!!!!!!

 

                        

 

                        

Could barely walk, however, to get my blanket, food, medal, photo, etc.....it's this big assembly line to get out.....I made a pit stop at the medical tent and got 2 Extra Strength Tylenol and 2 bags of ice....then limped over to our meeting area. 

 

                 

Emotional reunion with Juliette, Meredith, Fida, Scarlett and and David.......running Marathons is much more fun with friends.......

 

 

             

It was really an awesome experience, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to take part, especially with friends and with David there.  Took lots of photos when we all got back together......and there you have it.  Thanks for hanging in there.

 

Chip Time:  4:27:53

Clock time 4:32

Placed 2866 out of 12,964 total runners

Placed 873 out of 6,204 female runners

Division Place 148  of 1018 (Women 40-44)

Half Split 2:13 (2 hours 13 minutes at 13.1 miles)

 

Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.

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I'm off

I'm off to see the wizard.....uh, I mean I'm off to see Mickey Mouse a the Disney Marathon!!!

Well, I still need to put everything in my suitcase, but otherwise I'm ready!

Wish me luck....and I'll let you know how it goes when I return.

 

Idea

I had an idea that I would share in BLOGLAND the various books on the bookshelf in my room.....funny as that's sort of what my sister Heidi was doing today on her blog:

Everyday Cookies at Sweet Woodruff Acres

Anyway, I didn't want to have any big resolutions this year.  I thought I did pretty well with last year's PLAY A GAME EVERYDAY.....which I did do....although quite a few nights the games were handheld Yahtzee in bed....once I got FOUR Yahtzees!.....but my sister-in-law Elizabeth told me that was okay.  She had a game thing going on to and I think she reached her goal as well:

e.beck.artist

So I'll be choosing my first book to share, although you'll have to wait (all 2 of you who read my blog), because tonight I have to go to bed early in preparation for my marathon date with Mickey Mouse this Sunday!

Christmas is almost over here as I took the last of my Christmas company to the airport tonight.  My niece came down with the chicken pox and she couldn't fly until they were cleared up.  Now....do I count thank you notes as when Christmas is officially over?  Actually I'll be mailing Valentine's Day cards this year in lieu of the Christmas cards that I did not send this year....I did a lot.....but I had about 100 old friends whose cards are still sitting on top of my microwave.  I have an easy out though---"I was training for a marathon!"

 

In the home stretch

Walt Disney World® Marathon Weekend

Click here to see the countdown calendar for the Disney Marathon.....EIGHT DAYS to go!!  My two friends and I are taking it easy this week.  We just have a few more short runs to stay loose before we leave!

I've had a vegetarian guest in my house this past week, so I've tried a few new vegetarian dishes.  Here's one that was pretty good....I would make it again.

BLACK BEAN SALAD WITH CORN

1/4 - 1/3 cup Smucker's Simply Fruit - Apricot

the juice of one lime

1 tablespoon light olive oil

1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder

1 1/2 cups steam in a bag corn.....cooked just enough to get them to room temp (not frozen)

2 to 4 cups torn leafy green lettuce (bite size pieces)

1 medium red bell pepper

1 can - about 2 cups black beans - drained and rinsed

2 cups lima beans (I used a frozen bag that I war to just room temp from frozen)

1 jalapeno chile pepper --take the seeds out and chop finely

2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

Garnish with Tostito round tortilla chips

In a large bowl, whisk together apricot preserves, lime juice, pepper, olive oil, salt, and chile powder.  Add lima beans, black beans, corn, lettuce, red bell pepper, chile pepper and cilantro.  Toss lightly to blend ingredients.  Garnish with Tortilla Chips and serve immediately otherwise the lettuce gets soggy. Serves 4 to 6.

I know it looks spicy, but it's pretty mild and the lime and apricot give it a slightly fruity taste.  It's pretty, too!  Give it a try!

 

Official countdown

Okay.....depending on how one counts....there are only ELEVEN days until our BIG day....the Disney Marathon!!  I'm starting to re-read the chapters in the Galloway books and others on tapering and race day prep!  I think I'm pretty set concerning food the day of.....I've been practicing that......a bowl of oatmeal and some water before hand and the Jelly Belly Sport Beans throughout hav ebeen working for me on our practice long runs.....on the 27 miler I think I ate 4 or 5 packs!!

I didn't run on January 1....but I DID run on the last day of the year.....6 miles.....and I also ran this morning in spite of the frigid temperatures.  I even splurged this morning on a pack of hand warmers I had in my car...."Heat Treats". 

Our Christmas stuff is all cleaned up...company all come and gone....although David's brother's family is coming back for 3 more days before they go home......it was a wonderful holiday....although I never did finish my Christmas cards.....I may have to figure out a New Year's card....

It was so much fun yesterday to tear off the cover pages of my new Mary Engelbreit page a day calender! 

......if you need one got to MaryEngelbreit.com.