The New Jersey run

So, looking at the picture below, you can see that I am smiling - I only have 2 hours and 10 miles until I can be "done". Lee, who is not smiling has 26.2 miles and hopefully not too much longer than 4 hours to finish. We won't talk about the incredibly long ride home, which took 6+ hours.
The weekend turned out really fun and we had a good time with Larry and Kitty and Hannah and Lucas. The water park in the hotel was completly cheesy with lots of overweight french fry eating families.. it made me feel powerful over the bad choices going on in American today. The boys ran a 5k with Uncle Larry while Lee and Kitty and I were running and they did great! It is exciting to see their run times improving and see them enjoying the races more (I am not sure that Josh will ever love to run).
I am happy to have this goal behind me - I still can't beleive that I ran 10 miles! My legs are tired and want a rest, but the rest of me is excited at my accomplishment. Next Goal - The Run to Remember 13.1 miles, May 25.... yikes!

Lee and I at the Ocean Drive marathon and 10 mile race start

yummy breakfast!

Me and my peeps at the Marlowe

The run is on!

Notice that I did not say “race”, because I will in fact not be racing.  My goal is to finish and then feel tired and happy about how far I have progressed since starting this “hobby”.  Until I can actually achieve a 10 minute mile I will still officially be a jogger and I have to say that even that feels pretty good.  I looked at the results of the 10 mile run from last year and it looks like if all goes well I will not finish last.  Seriously, I have in fact finished last in 2 out of 5 races this winter and while the races that I completed had a very small field of competitors, someone must be last.  I do not even feel bad about that.  For example, let’s review the Super Sunday 10k that S and I ran in Boston.  It was Superbowl Sunday at 8:30 am and there were only 5 women in our age group and only about 100 runners total.  I was last and I still was able to feel great because it was my best time ever!  I won’t dwell on the details that I kept trying to stop and walk and S bullied me to the finish line, the important thing is really that we were there and not home sitting on the couch eating chicken wings and drinking beer (note that I actually never do that anyway).

A really nice thing about this run is that the 10 mile and the marathon start together and it is a very small race.  I can actually take the bus out to the starting line and wait around with Lee, I am really loking forward to that.  Then of course he will dash off and I will begin my 2 hour plod. J

 

The cancer ghost stays with you

So, this blog really is not about my cancer and related issues, however, once you have cancer and even after you think you are cured, cancer stays with you forever! Here is the story… I went to the dentist this morning to get my regular 6 month teeth cleaning. I do not love the dentist, however I really love my clean teeth. I can relate this loosely to running, I don’t love to run but I love the results. I was in the chair with the napkin on mentally preparing myself for the scraping and the hygienist informed me that I was due for my annual x-ray. Last year I had just finished up with 33 radiation zaps and declined to get the annual x-rays. This year I also declined, the conversation went something like this;

Hygienist “We need to take some x-rays this morning before we start the cleaning”

Carolyn “hmmmm… is there a reason, because I recently had cancer and got a lot of radiation to my head and would prefer to just get the regular cleaning”

Hygienist “well, it is standard procedure to get annual x-rays and you missed last year, so it has been nearly 20 months”

Carolyn “unless there is a reason, I would prefer not to have x-rays”

Hygienist “this is not standard procedure, I will have to get Laurie the office manager”

Carolyn “ok”

Laurie “Carolyn, it is standard procedure to get annual x-rays. We cannot clean your teeth without x-rays”

Carolyn “I have never had any problems with my teeth and I prefer to keep the level of radiation exposure to my head at a minimum, (I am thinking.. just in case I ever have to go through it again) so, I guess I will have to go somewhere else.”

At this point I stand up and take off the dinner napkin. This sounds stronger than I actually felt, because it was very unexpected and I really hate confrontation, but I actually walked out of the dentist office. I guess we have officially broken up because I also called my insurance company to make sure that I was not charged for the appointment.

Just as a way to make things work out, Teddy has an appointment this afternoon with a different dentist and so I will have a chat with the office manager at that dental office and see if perhaps they can be somewhat more flexible and compassionate on the annual x-ray thing… sigh… I was really looking forward to those clean teeth.

spinning spinning spinning

For anyone who has not tried spinning class, it really is something not to be missed. It ranks up there with running on a cold and windy day, you really don’t enjoy it until you are done. I go with my friend C every couple of weeks (she goes a few times a week, and I just can’t keep up). The basic class is a 10 minute warm up on a “flat road” and then 2 or 3 hills, each taking about 8 minutes to climb. Now the trick is not to “cheat” because it is very easy and tempting to cheat. No one is paying attention to you and no one can tell what resistance your wheel is at. I try and keep my eyes closed and to really imagine that I am outside riding alone in the Italian country side or a cross country race, instead of my usual which is riding the bike path with the boys on the way to school.

I am hoping that all this spinning will get my back side ready for bike riding this summer. The triathlon is in July and I think I still have a lot of practicing to do and a lot more miles in the Italian country side until I am ready for that,

That's me!

 

Hilly and challenging

When a race description says this, you should believe it! My incredible family “ran” a 5k race this morning and it was sooo hard! Lee and I played rock-paper-scissors to see who would run with Josh, and I won! Which was good actually, because it gave me an excuse to run slow bc it was a really hard run.. a lot of very steep hills. I also ran home from the store so I could feel like I actually got a little work out. The wind was horrible again yesterday, and that will continue to be my excuse for running so slowly. The 10 mile race is 6 days away and I am starting to lose sleep over it… I am nervous about running that far and nervous to race without my partner, S.

my running kids!

Ugh! waffle making mess

I have a problem with

Waffle makers. I really want to like to do the cooking at home. And I keep trying by way of reading lots of healthy cooking magazines and buying the correct ingredients, but the actually execution seems to be missing. Today I volunteered to make the breakfast waffles using the fresh strawberrys L had purchased earlier in the week. They had to be used quickly. So using the Trader Joes mix and adding my own yummy stuff – wheat germ, rolled oats, yogurt – I made a fantastic waffle batter batch. But, as you can see from the pictures I do not have a very good sense of how a waffle maker works. The waffles tasted good but I made a mess of the waffle maker and the counter and the clean up was not worth it.

It is another cold day today and we are home getting stuff done. Lee is fighting with the leaking toilet and the J is studying hard for a test next week. I am heading out to the mall to buy a dress for the wedding we are attending in April. 400 guests and my sisters and cousins and no kids! Lee and I on an airplane together – alone (and I know that you know what I mean). I love having a vacation to look forward to,

How am I ever gonna' get faster??

The wind today is so crazy that there is just no way I could really run. The temp is not horrible, upper 30’s and the sun in shining in a pleasant Vitamin D kinda’ way. I heard the wind howling all night and dreaded having to run. I am especially anxious about the 10 mile race next weekend (I am going to have to save the definition of race for another blog bc I do not yet race). I was up thinking about how far I need to run this week and what the weather was going to be like in NJ next weekend. I was almost ready to cancel my run with S and of course she will do whatever. I think we both have a little bit of competition between us, we can’t be a wimp and let the other run alone. Anyway, we headed out from her house and I wanted to do at least 7 or 8 and it turns out we actually ran just under 6. A little bit of a bummer and I need to remember to map out where we are going ahead of time so that I can add in some extra loops to keep the mileage up. It felt good and the real trick for me is not to talk to much so that I can keep my breathing steady. My throat is hurting and I am sure that is the cold weather and the terrible wind.

We have a funny adventure with the boys tonight, we are going to the Globetrotters. I will let you know how it is tomorrow,

This is spring?

Rejoice! Today is the first day of spring… huh? No way. Right, spring in NE. It is cold and gray and really nasty outside. The dogs are going crazy because it is so hard for me to take them for a walk on a day like today. They have to stay in the backyard and make do. I am glad that I made plans to spin tonight with C, it takes the pressure off having to run outside or even worse, contemplate the treadmill. A long weekend is coming up. We don’t have many plans, just some things to do here and there.

Sister Sue has been home this week on spring break and it has been great seeing her. She has been all over the place visiting friends from every part of her life. I definitely need to sneak in another trip to Denver,

No snow No!

Was that me that was just yesterday rejoicing at the glorious weather? The sunny day that will soon give way to the lush green spring? UGH I woke up this morning to snow!! I do not like snow and I especially do not like snow in March when I have put away the boots and the boys are already asking if they can wear shorts to school. I am very very glad that I can have a DOR today. Although S is going to try and do some speed work, the training plan calls for 5x400, I am taking the day off to rest after my very aggressive Sunday run and then my two runs yesterday.

I mixed up my food yesterday because I was trying not to eat a salad for lunch and then go for a run a few hours later. So instead I had a ½ pb sandwich and then I was so starving on my ride over to S’s that I ate a yogurt in the car. I can’t tell if my run was any better. I was definitely hungry and tried not to go home and completely pig out. I really missed my usuall salad full of chick peas and sunflower seeds. I am so enjoying my salad today.

I love this warm weather

Haha! I cannot believe that I am happy about 40 degrees! It is cold out, but what great running weather. Today I left work early – this is getting to be a regular Tuesday event, and met S at her house. I was changed into my sneakers and ready to go. The head band seems to be really helping my ear pain problem. So, the training schedule says we need to go 3.5 miles today and actually I think that we ended up closer to 4. It was one of the few runs that I was actually stronger than S. She was struggling with her breathing and as long as I do not have to talk, I can keep moving in a good groove. I also think that we were pretty fast – in a relative kind of way.

When Teddy got home from school he had it in his mind that he needed to start practicing his running. The family is signed up to do a 5k on Sunday (hilly and challenging) and I think that he wants to be able “run by himself”. Somehow he has delusions that he is going to win…

I am still thinking that I will be able to do the 10 mile race next in 2 hours. I would love to set a time goal for the half marathon, but I think that it is too early to tell.

My knee is hurting, more than I am letting on. I only just starting icing and resting it on the off days.

The dreaded winter cold

I am definitely getting the winter cold. I did get up and do a little workout video and some weights in front of the tv. I am still worried about J and I am trying so hard not to say anything critical. He can get put down by everyone else. So from me is going to be only encouragement, which doesn’t mean that I still can’t get mad at him.

S and I have officially started our marathon count down. She has the training schedule and seems pretty adamant about following it, I am not sure how this will fit in to both of our busy schedules. I think we both really look forward to running together and I am sure I would not have come this far without her.

Today we were supposed to run 3 miles and we ended up doing the entire Cedar Street loop which is closer to 4 miles. As always, really slow but it feels soo good when I am done!