Happy New Year

I have been reading so many blogs of late and realized it was time to commit to the fact that in less than 8 hours it will be 2013. So crazy in so many ways. Highlights of 2012: 1. Captaining not one, but two running teams to really great success. The Shock Top Shufflers dominated the TIR Grand Prix series from the beginning ... and it had very little to do with me. So proud of the team showing up more than everyone else's and for those of us who earned extra points doing marathons, wahoo!! My friend Nick is a rockstar runner. And for Reach the Beach in May, D's Divas rocked it out. Van 1 was so fast and furious, those of us in Van 2 had to get up earlier than expected! What an amazing 30+ hours with all of you.

2. The Chicago Marathon - loved every minute of it except when I wanted to die. PR and BQ of 3:51:03 ... who would have thought. Marathon #5 will be Dublin, Ireland. Wahoo. 3. Seattle and the Couv with the girls, their guys, the best travel companion in the world, miss Emma Jane, to see our friend Katie arrive after RIDING HER BIKE ACROSS THE COUNTRY. I am in awe - and will be forever.

4. Lots of fun times in NYC, St. Thomas and just hanging around Dedham with a guy who made me feel special. 5. Oh, and I had the SAME JOB all year! That's a first in a while. And what for 2013? Running races every weekend in February ... why?!?? Because I can. The MS Cape Cod Getaway. Just me and Fisher on the roads from Quincy to Provincetown in June ... oh yeah and the 100's of other bikers riding to cure MS. A cruise to Halifax with Emma and the cousins. And a trip to Dublin with the TIRs and hopefully some of the girls as well. So fun. And now to change into that cute outfit I have planned in my head to eat sushi and see some comedy and ring in 2013. I am a lucky girl.

Post Event Stress Syndrome

I don't know, but it is so weird to me that 9 days ago I accomplished something that most people will never do in their entire lives and yet, here I sit, in my cube, doing my day job and trying to figure out what's next. 3:51:03 baby ... I rocked Chicago and Chicago rocked me. It was a great race despite the death moments between miles 17 and 22 ish ... but that's the fun of marathoning. Truth be told, I had too much fun during miles 1 through 16. My pace group wasn't that well organized and we were all going faster than the 8:35 miles we needed to do to be consistent for 26.2. I ran with a 42 year old lawyer named Ro for the better part of the first 18 miles. She has 2 kids, an active boyfriend and a professional athlete for an ex husband. We hit the 1/2 way point right around her office and she said she had told people to look out for her but of course we were early!!!!! The man friend made it to the start which was AWESOME and a first for me to have someone there who is there just for me. He also was at 2 other points but foiled by traffic to be at the end, but considering how little I remember of the finish, I probably wouldn't have seen him. Thanks CB!!! It was AMAZING to see you right before mile 20 and definitely a reason to keep moving. I have felt great since the 7th. The training/recovery/sleep/eat combo I followed really worked for me and that is another great success. I still want to run and do boot camp and keep a "regular schedule" rather than a training one. That's going to the tough part ... staying motivated but not getting psycho. What's that like? Another new experience for me :D Thank you to all my blog supporters ... I will attempt to be more regular and more interesting from now on.

5 : 19 : 32 : 35

Countdown continues ... Chicago here I come. It's been quite the year so far and since I decided to do this marathon somewhere around February 1st, I have been training, mentally as well as physically for 9 months or so which is crazy. I feel ready and that's the scary part. How can you ever be ready for something like this? Because I have worked hard ... trained hard ... behaved myself and taken care of myself. Eaten pretty well, exercised a lot, despite the fact that my Activelink only says 91% effort. It's going to be great and I can't wait.

Just wow

So I am on the Acela on the way to the big Apple reading all these food and running blogs that I follow and I realize it's been almost 4 months since I posted. WHAT?!?!?! How is that possible? So much has happened but not seemed blog worthy? No, that's not possible. I actually thought last night as I was buying 4 bags of ice at Terri's Market for my inaugural ice bath - and I needed it because I had been shooting a bat mitzvah in heels all day, not because I had put on serious mileage, just want to be clear about that. Anyway, I digress. I thought to myself, "I may have taken on too much." Now, for those of you who know me, that doesn't happen very often. Actually, I can't remember if I have ever actually articulated the thought. So here it goes ... my list. This is what I have done in the last month which, though busy, probably wasn't the busiest of the year, but maybe it was. I have lost track in my old age. Today is September 9, 10 days from Emma's 13th birthday which may or may not turn out to be one of the scariest days of my life, so since August 9th, I have done the following: August 10th: rode my bike 50 miles along the Cape Cod bike path with TIRs August 12th: ran Falmouth Road Race finishing as the top woman from Dedham - WTF? August 24th - August 31: took Emma to Seattle and Vancouver with my great friends Jess and LC and their great men, Nick and Jason, to meet our great friend Katie, who HAD BIKED ACROSS the country - see, really I am a slacker :)

Oh, and while in Seattle I ran 18 miles in the glorious, not humid, 70 degree weather at 8:32 pace average. You know what that means? In Chicago, I can actually hit 3 hours and 45 minutes. A nice feeling. We flew back on the red eye for Saturday morning, September 1st. Seriously, September, already? How is that possible. Katie left Portsmouth, NH on June 23rd, the day I was in NYC watching Camille's friend Nial swim around Manhattan - all 28.5 miles of it. HOW CAN IT BE SEPTEMBER? How can Emma be in 7th grade? How is it possible that I will be done with Chicago Marathon 4 weeks from today when I signed up for it in February. This morning I got out of bed when my alarm went off at 4:44. I know weird time to se it for, but it seemed right. I did my morning ablutions and then went for a 10+ mile run in the drizzle. Oh yeah, side note: on Labor Day, I did my 20-miler running from my house in Dedham through Hyde Park and JP and to Berkeley Street behind Back Bay station and back. It WAS NOT pretty. Well, the first 10 were. Back 10, not so much. But the good news is, I am TAPERING. For those of you who have trained for a big event, this is the greatest and scariest word in any plan, but I am going to do it and do it well. Then, because I knew I would be in town to shoot Caroline's bat mitzvah, I had signed up to host the TIR fun run. I had diligently plotted 5K, 5M, and 10M runs. I was so psyched when I only had to accomplish the 5 miler. Great to run with others ... and the coffee and bagels after helped. And now, a week in NYC, seeing the "man friend", working out of the NY office, and running ... 3 days. And some yoga with friends. WOW. Just wow.

So much to do, so little time

Every few hours, I am reorganizing my schedule to fit everything in. It usually starts with me going to the bootcamp schedule on line to determine when I can get in my three classes a week. Conflicts usually arise when Emma has a game or a performance, or this week, it's a recognition ceremony because she is just generally awesome - well in math. And then of course there's work, and sleep. Oh and did I mention, food? I seriously wish I had enough money to eat sushi every day. Life is good. I try not to complain, but of course, sometimes I just can't help myself. But let me make a list of the good things today: 1. Reach the Beach 2012 is going to be over this time next week, which is actually kind of sad, though I am looking forward to having accomplished it. The training with these unbelievably fabulous people has changed my life. The extras, including a trip to Foxwoods and watching D run a phenomenal marathon, have been sooo fun that I laugh still just thinking about it. Can't wait to spend 36 hours in a van running and stinking up the joint. 2. Physically I am in better shape than I ever have been at the ripe old age of 46 (soon to be 47). I actually noticed definition in my arms this morning which I have to acknowledge is pretty freaking cool. My running is strong because my body is strong. I wonder what I will take on next. 3. Emma is a rock star and so her mother's daughter, which I can say without feeling like she will be in therapy for the rest of her life. She's a busy girl right now ... soccer, softball, track, chorus, band, and a social life that certainly beats mine. She's also an excellent student as well as one of the popular kids but not in a bad way. 4. The girls ... had a great dinner with them this week and laughed and laughed and played Heidi Klum ... so fun. 5. Mother's Day. I will try to be a better daughter though I think I have been doing pretty well given all the circumstances : )

Another month bites the dust

So many things have happened since I last posted, but most of it has been about running. Just 2 days ago, I manned the Mile 4 hydration station for the 2012 Boston Marathon. Since it was almost 80 degrees at starting time, even for the wheelchairs at 9, I was so happy to be on the volunteer side instead of the participant side. Got to see so many people I know though as I shouted Gatorade, water further down, to 25,000 people who ran by me for a couple of hours. It was a great experience for so many reasons, especially since hanging with the TIRs is always a good time.

The day before, Camille, Gwyn and I had run a 14-miler together. I love the conversations that happen during a long run ... you never know where it's going to go. We started with kids, both human and canine. Moved on to bikini waxes which we all had various opinions about. During the last 3 miles, when it was really hot, we were quieter, but still managed to get through it and finished up in Dedham Square together.

Yesteraday, I ran 8.6 with only my Ipod. I do enjoy the music as well, though it does go faster when other people are with me. Then last night, I deadlifted at 75# barbell 125 times in 15 minutes. Kind of crazy.

This morning, Emma and I ran a mile and a half together. We chatted ... or at least I talked while she pounded along. I think Reebok Zig Techs are very heavy though she always says they aren't. They aren't Nike Free's are they?

Life is good ... racing the next 2 Sundays and the goal is to beat pace: 7:58 miles. I think I can since I hit a 7:03 mile in traffic the other night during boot camp (probably could have broken 7 if I had been on the track). Who would have thought?

A really great run

It's amazing how good a run can feel when sometimes they feel so bad.

Yesterday I did hill sprints with another Diva and it was tough and when I reached the top of the hill, I could barely breathe and I felt like I would barf at one point, but I suppose that's the goal. My trainer, and yes, I realized this morning that I can actually say that because I do pay someone to tell me what to do regarding activity, has set up this scary but amazing plan to get us ready for Reach the Beach in May. Though I feel confident about the running part, despite the fact that I have the toughest leg, I appreciate that I will feel even more so having completed a plan.

But even more importantly, I feel the confidence in one way or another every single day. This morning it was that I worked the up hills because I knew no matter what they weren't as long as the Sprague Street hill we sprinted up 6 times yesterday. Last week, it was being told I looked "thin" by someone who hadn't seen me in 6 months. I am actually heavier than I had been by a couple of pounds, but I look and feel different because of boot camp.

And lately, when I lie down to read and relax before going to sleep, I nod off in mere minutes because both my body and my mind are tired. Though there are still the work stressors, as there always will be, it's nothing like I felt just 6 months ago at the last place.

As I was running along this morning, I was thinking about my last few bosses. In my last 4 jobs (in the last 6 years), my bosses have been women. They have all had their strengths and weaknesses (and yes, in some cases, I am being very kind) but I have learned something about myself from each one. Since I have moved around so much, I haven't had a formal review in 3 years, but the good news is, I am very self-reflective as we know. Unfortunately, my essential flaw is still present, though tempered for sure since 2009. I have a strong personality and some times it just pisses people off. I try to stop myself, and I am much more successful now (thank God for DRAFT folders) than I was in the past, but I am not at work to be liked. I am here to do my job. I think I have said that before though ; )

Time sure flies

War wound. For the March challenge, the task is to front squat with 1/2 your own body weight, then jump on an 18" box amrap, as many times as you can starting at 1 and counting up for 10 minutes. God it was hard but it was something I never even contemplated doing so I am proud to have actually done it. The only thing I really have to show for it though is the giant bruise on my collar bone from where I rested the 65# of barbell for the total of 28 squats (7 rounds). And the burning in my quads : )

Tomorrow is the 9-mile run with the Divas. Looking forward to running with the girls again. It's been 3 weeks since I have been with the group between TIR events and the weekend in Florida. March is the month of running. 9, 10, then An Ras 5K with Divas and Seagull Six with TIR.

Here I come Chicago

It's amazing how a short conversation can turn into a Marathon ... literally. Was talking to someone at boot camp about her first marathon last week. Then, D said Chicago was more fun than Boston. Then Camille talked about it at the banquet on Saturday night and by Sunday, I was in.

This will be fun. No time goals (though I am sure I will go in with something in mind). No fundraising. And it's in Chicago where I know people and can get excited.

So this year includes so far and it's only February: Daytona 500, Reach the Beach, Vancouver, Chicago ... I am getting around :)

2011 Rookie of the Year

The Thirsty Irish Runners last night awarded me the 2011 Rookie of the Year with my name engraved on the plate and everything.

What a great weekend it's been ... lots of runs with lots of people. A great party. Some good sleep.

And should I or shouldn't I? That is the question.