213 miles and 27 days left

Holy carp – only 27 days left until I attempt the longest run of my life – the half marathon! It took weeks of discussion with S until I would actually register. The commitment, not only to the run but that I would run with S is daunting. Strangely however.. as it gets closer I am more and more prepared. I know that I will certainly not be fast and that I will struggle and be miserable until the end, however, I am beginning more sure that I am actually going to be able to “go the distance”.

I added up all the miles that I have run since 1/1/08 – 213 miles year to date. Yes, I am keeping a running journal, my new substitute for years of obsessive food journaling. There is so much satisfaction in looking back on the pages and seeing the numbers going up. For example, on January 6 I wrote “5 miles to the high school –omg”… and yesterday I ran to the high school … and then I ran home! omg! What a great feeling!

Teddy at the Chase the Gorilla down Argilla Road 5k

 

 

How to stay young

I just entered an online contest to win a bike.. I am already dreaming about where I am going to store my new bike and how great my first triathalon is going to be with me on my new bike.  I will not have to ride the old sears bike that is in the shed with 2 flat tires.  And I will not have to ride the company bike that I frequently borrow but then I feel guilty because the bikes are for the employees and I should certainly be able to go get my own bike instead of stealing the bike out of the company cafeteria.

Anyway, to enter the contest you had to write a few sentences on how to stay young.  Of course, I immediately thought of food and all of my “food preaching” that I so enjoy – no plastics in the microwave, no plastic water bottles, local organic produce, no lunchables or sugar cereal (sorry Josh). Except that when I read the other entries I realized that everyone was basically preaching the same sermon – the contest is of course on a health food site.

Hmmm… what do I do to feel good (younger) that is different?  Well, honestly if there is one lesson to be learned from getting cancer it is that you really do find out who your friends are.  Without friends, you will not stay young.  Everyone needs at least one person, and preferable 5 or 6, to call at all times of the day or night and repeat the same tragic or funny or pitiful story to.  I am lucky enough to have a husband who can always be counted on, unless of course the story is about him and then I can call my sister who is always available to provide enough therapy that I am pretty much guaranteed to stay young forever. 

Except for right now I can’t call her because she is writing her paper.. and no phone calls can be accepted on paper writing days – I have to wait for her to call me, which is a bummer when I really need to talk.

I also have a circle of 4-5 other good good friends and I can almost always find at least 2 or 3 of them to tell my story of the day to.  Of course, I call them so that I can hear their story of the day also. So, unlike vegetables that you eat and feel young and then move on, friends are a renewable resource. You can replenish the friendship every day with a walk or a phone call – or if it’s my sister, you can call 10 times in one day and it would be fine.

I am going to look really young talking on the phone on my new bike J

words from the wedding

As you know I went to a huge wedding this weekend and unexpectedly heard a really good sermon. The ceremony was Christian with a reading from Mary Baker Eddy and the minister was Christian Science. He emphasized the importance of support from friends and family. He also spoke about a “vocabulary lesson” for marriage. Here is what he said were the most important words for a successful marriage,

6 words- “I am sorry, I was wrong”

5 words- “You do that very well”

4 words- “What do you think?”

3 words- “I love you”

2 words- “Thank you”

1 word- “We”

The more I think about these words and phrases the more I am struck by how true they are and how there is very little else to say if you can learn to say these honestly and with love. I continue to be amazed at how much I love my husband after 18+ years and how we really are having the best years of our marriage right now. I am so glad that we were able to get through the really nasty years when the kids were young and I hope that we can stay strong through the teenage years ahead of us.

I'm back from Florida

And below are some of the pictures. They did not come out very well, they were from my camera phone and then emailed directly to the blog – which I think is very cool! So, we had such a successful weekend all around, here are the highlights;

Lee and I had a really good time together – a great “couples” weekend

The boys had a really good time without us – both had sleepovers with good friends and then had fun with Cheri

Jules was beautiful and really really feeling good – it was great to see her!

Seeing all my cousins, many that I haven’t seen in many many years, it was nice to catch up and I really like them,

Hanging out with the sibs – Susie and John and Rae – was terrific

I will add some details later, but here it is April 14 and I still have some filings to do!

at the Breakers Hotel bar

Banyon tree at the Royal Poiciana Chapel

The coconut, before I picked it and brought it home!

Why I Tri

I will never know why I got cancer. I was the first of my friends to receive this awful diagnosis. Sadly, I will not be the last. My fortieth year was going to be my best year ever! I was slowly losing those stubborn last 10 pounds. My husband of 16 years and I celebrated my birthday in style, in the Bahamas. That summer, instead of feeling great I kept feeling tired and lousy. I was diagnosed at the end of August and immediately had surgery and 33 days of radiation. I stayed active throughout that time, doing yoga, acupuncture, walking and even a little swimming to keep myself positive. My purpose every day was to keep my body focused on fighting the cancer.
It took six months for me to relax into my new post-cancer life. Nearly one year later I ran my first mile, very slowly. I am lucky enough to have many strong friends around me and a running partner that continues to run longer and stronger with me each week. We started with walking and then running a single mile and advanced to a 10k and now have a half marathon on our calendars.

I have grown stronger in ways that I never imagined. I have become a woman that can enjoy life and take time to celebrate my family and friends and all my blessings. I have become the mom that brings running shoes in the car every day because I never know when my over scheduled life is going to give me an hour to get outside and stretch and run and breathe.

I have also become a gym rat, with my own locker for my swim suit and flip flops. My first step toward riding a bike began with a spin class in the middle of the NE winter. This year for my birthday I’ll be getting a bike.

My body is strong and muscled and that strength has carried through to happiness in all my parts of my life.
So, why do I tri? Actually, I haven’t tried yet, but I know that I will be there on that day in July. I will be ready to celebrate my life and my strength alongside all the other tri-ers. I know that I will continue to look for more races to run and laps to swim and miles to pedal.

Signs of spring

Back in the shoes

and it feels great! I was nervous about running again today and told S that I would have to take it easy. Our half marathon training plans calls for "speed work" and that always makes me laugh nervously. We practically sprinted for 2+ miles, to the corner and back from Suzanne's house. The wind was harsh - a recurring theme here - but really the hill up to the tennis courts was not as bad as it has been and that means that my running is improving, a big yippee!
I am really starting to see definite body changes and that is where the exercise addiction starts. I have a only a week until we go to Florida and I will have to be in shorts and I want to feel good!

Day of Rest is over

Actually, two days of rest this week after the fabulous 10 miles on Sunday.  Monday I really needed the rest.  My whole body was tired, partly from the running and partly from the travel and being away from home.  Yesterday was a regular busy day and had no time to think about running, which was nice that I could still rest and not feel bad about it.  S is waiting for me to get back into the schedule with her and I hope hope hope that when I run with her today I will feel stronger from having pushed myself last week.  I am wanting to see some progress in my speed and I need to remember how good the first 6 miles felt on Sunday – that is huge!