Twinkle Toes

I headed back to physical therapy this morning for the Achilles. Since I haven't run since my lame attempt on Saturday, I'm not really sure how it is feeling. I do know it's no where near where it was over the summer. I can walk and do stairs without pain and even the elliptical doesn't hurt. Over the summer I couldn't do any of these things without pain and even sitting at my desk was uncomfortable. Heading into PT I was hoping they would confirm that I caught this in time and we could fix me right up. Here's a quick summary:

• We started off with some measurements and surprise, my bad leg is still considerably smaller than the left leg. But I'm equally not flexible in both legs when it comes to a flexion stretch. Flexing my toes (pulling toes toward shin) without assistance I reached a whopping 10 degrees. However, pointing my toes down, I'm super flexible and according to PT Bob, I should be a ballerina not a runner. My mom always wanted me to be a dancer...
• Wondering why it flared up when it didn't bother me during training, PT Bob thought running sick and post flu might have had something to do with it. Especially since I had the body aches and muscle fatigue the days leading up to the race. I was wondering that myself since this was definitely the hardest marathon recovery I've had and I'm still feeling the effects from the race.
• PT Bob also confirmed that I caught this in time and that it's not nearly as bad as before. There's no "bulge" and I was able to do all exercises without pain. He also thought my self diagnosed plantar fasciitis might actually be a bone spur. Reason being, when he touched my heel I winced in pain. Just add it to the list!

So overall I think it was a good visit. I have to keep up with my exercises and I'm going to go for a short test run on the treadmill tomorrow to see where the pain level is at. I have decided to not race the 5k I have on Saturday. I'm a little disappointed because this is the 5k that a lot of my family members are running as their first one, but it's just not worth the risk. And since I can't race it, I'm just going to run around the course providing support to everyone as part of a very easy long run that I hope to get done. I'll play it all by ear and see how I feel after tomorrow.

Don't forget about the Run Free GIVEAWAY!!

Stupid Achilles and a GIVEAWAY!!

So it seems the Achilles pain I felt during and right after the marathon was a little more than just being sore from racing. After taking off from running until Friday last week, I only made it 7 miles before I had to stop. I had pain from the start of the run but it was coming and going and I was hoping I just needed to warm up. Well, around mile 5 I knew my long run wasn't going to happen and at mile 6 I was doing a run/walk. I tried to run again on Saturday just to see if it was a fluke and I barely made it a mile. I talked to my doc and I'm going to head back to physical therapy ASAP. I don't have time to mess around with Boston only 3 weeks away. Thankfully, my goal for Boston is to have fun so there's no pressure to be in racing shape for it. I'm not going to run all week to see if it just needs some more time off. I have a 5k on Saturday which I really wanted to race hard but unless I'm 100%, I don't think it's worth the risk. We'll see how the week goes.

Now for something more fun...a GIVEAWAY!! I recently tried out a running tee from Run Free Tees. Run Free has a really simple slogan which I think sums it up pretty well: "Move. Motivate. Live. Run Free." Their goal is to inspire and encourage people to live a healthy lifestyle and to be active in the fitness community. They have both men and woman's shirts which are tailored for the different body types. The shirts are wicking material which is also treated with a anti-microbial that helps keep your shirt smelling fresh and clean. They have some very simple but cute slogans on their shirts, like this one below:

I really like that the slogan is on the back.

This is a woman's shirt and I really liked the fit. It's a narrower cut and I like that there was some extra room down around the waist/hips. There wasn't a ton of excess fabric up in the shoulder area like there is for a unisex shirt. And most importantly, I wore this on a warm run at the gym and there was no chafing! Score!!

So, if you want to win one of these shirts, head over to Run Free to see what they are about. Then leave me a comment and I'll pick one winner at random next Sunday. Contest open to followers only.

Photo Friday

Pics from Shamrock Marathon...

In this same spot last year for this picture I was crying so I made sure I looked extra happy this time.

(I also might have been laughing a bit at something else. Can someone say leg warmers?) 

Always prepared with a "thumbs up"

I always have at least one "pissed off" pic; I do this especially for you, Andy.

Pain or shock that I did it...probably a little bit of both!



Finally got out for my first run today and unfortunately it didn't go to well. I only made it 7 miles before I had to call it quits. My Achilles was acting up and I'm a little nervous. Nothing as bad as what it was, but I don't want it to get to that point. Have a call into the doc right now and am hoping to nip this in the bud! Have a great weekend!! GIVEAWAY coming on Sunday!!

Post Shamrock Thoughts

• I know it's only Wednesday but this is the longest recovery time I've ever taken after a marathon. I was feeling pretty beat up on Monday but each day has gotten significantly better. I was going to do some light cross training this morning but between the flu, racing a marathon and now a cold, my body asked for one more day off today and I listened. I'll be back at the gym tomorrow cross training and am shooting for 12-14 easy miles on Saturday.
• I'm happy with the mental race I ran on Sunday. I paid a lot of attention to how I was feeling during the race and adjusted accordingly. There were times when I saw someone walking and I thought, "that looks nice" but I was able to refocus and not let those thoughts get the best of me. By really knowing the course map and breaking it into chunks, that helped a lot and getting through each segment was a little accomplishment in itself.
• The last 3 miles of the marathon were some of the hardest 3 miles I've had. I really felt like slowing down and even told myself to just settle for a PR and not worry about the 3:35. It's times like these where I'm amazed by what the body can do and how it really is mind over matter. This course ate me up and spit me out last year and those thoughts kept creeping up into my mind on Sunday. It took a lot to shut them up and I found myself repeating "just hang on" over and over those last 3 miles.
• I mentioned the other day that I told myself during the race that if I did it I wouldn't ever have to race a marathon again. Heh, anything to get me to that finish. But even as I was running, I thought several times that it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. I was really prepared for this both mentally and physically. Which is why I'm left wondering "what if?" Yup, within minutes of finishing I was already wondering what would have happened had I been 100% healthy. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with a 3:35 finish but I'm so hard on myself and I've been struggling to be proud of my accomplishment. And to be honest, even if I was 100% healthy, I'm sure that finish time would have left me wondering "what if" too.  Does anyone else struggle with the "what if" immediately after??
• So where does this leave me...I'm not sure yet and I'm not rushing into any decisions. My goals for this year were to race Shamrock (check!) and get into triathlons. While I'm curious to see what else I can do with 26.2 miles, Boston will not be the place for that. I worked hard to get to Boston, even earned myself another spot in 2012 if I want it, and I plan on enjoying myself while I'm there and taking it all in. There will be a time and place to race again and I'll figure that out soon enough.

GIVEAWAY coming this weekend!!

Shamrock Race Report

Well, nothing really went the way I wanted it to the week leading up to the race. After coming down with the flu on Tuesday and still having zero energy come Friday, I was really nervous about what lied ahead of me. When we left town on Friday for the 6 hour trek to VA beach, I was hopeful that 2 more days of rest and sleep would do the trick. Unfortunately, the sleep part didn't really happen. On Friday night I didn't sleep at all. I think I might have gotten an hour or two at best and even that was in bits and pieces. Saturday I was more tired than I think I have ever been and at one point the exhaustion, combined with anxiety for race day, brought me to tears. Finally around 2pm I was able to lay down for a bit and just relax. Saturday night I got some sleep but woke up Sunday really tired and with a sore throat. But like every race day, I was calm and ready to run.

When we headed to the start of the race the wind was howling! Waiting for the start we ducked into alcoves to try to find some shelter. The temperature wasn't bad but the wind made it chilly; in fact, it was a really beautiful sunny day. After a 15 minute delayed start and a squat behind a building with a male elite runner (who shall remain nameless to protect him) for a quick pee, I lined myself up in between the 3:30 and 3:40 pace groups. I wasn't feeling much of anything at this point in terms of anxiety or nerves...but I was tired. I was yawning, rubbing my eyes and just felt like I hadn't woke up enough yet. But I told myself as I crossed the start, "you're going to do this."

The first few miles flew by as I struggled to dial in my 8:12 pace and my first 5 miles were all under 8:00. While the pace felt fine for my legs, I wanted to slow it down to where I needed to be so I wouldn't fall apart later in the race. I could also tell right from the get go that I wasn't my normal self. I wasn't out of breath but my breathing wasn't normal. I know what these paces feel like and I was breathing harder than I had in any training run at this pace. That concerned me and made me want to find my pace and settle in even more. Whenever I hit my pace, I tried to focus on what it felt like but then I'd slowly speed up again. Anyway, before I knew it we were at mile 8 which is around the military base. Last year this part was sort of boring but this year there were tons of service men and woman outside of their barracks cheering us on. It was so cool because you could hear them from far away and when you eventually ran through them the energy was great!! I made sure to thank them for what they do for us and went smiling on my way.

When we left the base and headed back towards the start for the next half we were also running into the wind. I knew I had at least 7 miles of head wind to deal with so I just tried to stay focused and push through. When we entered the boardwalk just after mile 10 the wind was pretty brutal. There weren't many runners around but the few of us that were together held tight in a pack. Without saying so, we all took turns moving to the front to take the brunt of the wind. From miles 6 to 10 my pace jumped around from 8:00 to 8:08 but the wind was kind enough to help me find that 8:12 pace I'd been looking for while we were on the boardwalk. We exited the boardwalk just before the half way point but unfortunately that didn't mean we escaped the wind. I knew I had to get to Shore Drive at mile 16 before I'd feel any relief.

I pushed along but was starting to feel really tired. I didn't have my normal energy to begin with and the wind was not helping. Thankfully there was some crowd support at this point and I joined up with 2 guys running around my pace. We stuck together supporting each other through the wind and eventually I let them go a little ahead of me. It was their first marathon and they were shooting for a 3:30-3:40 and I didn't want to get caught up in any rookie mistakes. So I backed off and went back to doing my own thing.

Last year the 3 mile stretch from miles 16-19 on Shore Drive is where the wheels started to come off and I went to shit. This year I was so mentally prepared for this section and the few days I spent visualizing this stretch and forming a game plan definitely paid off. It wasn't until mile 18 of this stretch that I felt completely confident that I was going to do this. I had some doubts up until this point but then something clicked and when I knew I only had 8 miles to go, I was ready to get the job done. But, I knew I had one more boring 4 mile stretch with wind to deal with before I was back to main road with 3 miles to the finish.

When we hit Atlantic Ave we were once again in the wind and a lot of runners started walking and slowing down. This is where my death march of shuffling, walking and crying started last year so I decided to break the 4 miles into half mile increments and count them down. Around mile 20 I passed the two guys I was with earlier and was thankful I let them go when I did; they were clearly fading fast. I was really starting to feel things during this stretch both mentally and physically so I played a game with the cones lining the road. I would run hard for 2 cones then back off for one cone. Not only did this help change up the leg kick a bit, but it made this boring stretch go a little faster. My pace started falling here and I did my best to just hang on the best I could. Miles 20-23 my pace slowed to around an 8:20. I kept telling myself, just get to mile 23 and you got this...

Finally! I rounded the corner and knew that if nothing else, I would finish! I was really tired at this point and wanted to slow down but I knew I lost what little cushion I had and couldn't lose any more time. I was passing runners and that helped me feel strong but there was nothing I could do for my pace as I struggled to hold the 8:20. I was on the look out for a landmark I picked out the day before which was the turn onto the final stretch on the boardwalk. When I saw that hotel and knew the turn was coming, I gave it all I got. Once I entered the boardwalk I knew I was cutting it really close so I pushed as hard as I freaking could. I know I looked like a mess but I didn't care. Everything was hurting at this point and I was so determined to see that 3:35 finish. Thank god for the crowd support on the boardwalk because I needed all the help I could get. I tried to smile as I crossed the finish line but the tears started coming and it was all I could do not to fall over!!

Through the pain, exhaustion and tears, I said to myself, "I did it".

3:35:02

13th in age group 30-34

73rd woman overall

426 overall

Exactly a 3 min PR!

I waddled my way to bag check with bad cramps and collected my swag (you not only get a medal but a long sleeve tee and a hat at the finish) along the way. People were coming up to me to see if I was ok so I imagine I looked pretty rough. When I finally got settled and could talk without wincing, I called Andy. Within a second of answering he said, "3:35:02!" and I just started bawling. I really wanted this and I put so much into training. I was so scared all week after being sick so reaching my goal was even more special.

I know this is ridicously long and I actually have more thoughts about this race, but I'll save them for another day. Let's just say, I know I have more in me. I'm positive of that. And while I told myself out on the course yesterday that if I pulled this off I would never have to race again, within a few hours of finishing I was already wishing I could go back and try harder.

Goodie bag and race shirt.

Long sleeve tee and hat you get at finish line.

Medal which also doubles as a bottle opener!!!

I'm sore today but not terrible and now nursing the back half of my flu which turned into a cold. My Achilles was killing yesterday during the race and after but thankfully that has subsided. I'll be taking it very easy this week to make sure I recover adequately because we all know what's 4 weeks from today!! Thanks for your support and tweets while I was racing. It made my day when I got home and saw them all! You guys are the best and I swear, I thought of you so much while I was out there yesterday.

It's Go Time

Well, the flu definitely knocked me on my ass this week but I pulled through surprisingly fast. I spent the past 2 days on the couch with a short lived attempt at work yesterday. I headed in around lunch time only to last 2 hours. After the walk from my car to my desk took it all out of me, I was really worried about what that meant for Sunday. I decided I would wait until this morning to make the call. Thankfully, I woke up feeling pretty good. Good enough that I decided to go for a run to see how I felt and to move the legs a bit. I managed 4 miles with 3 at race pace but it wasn't easy. The body aches and fever are gone, but the energy is LOW!! There is no way I could have run a marathon today. But with that being said, I still have 2 days to do absolutely nothing but rest. Since I'm not driving, I can rest in the car today and tomorrow in VA, other than the Expo, I plan on laying low. I wouldn't be going down if I didn't feel confident that I'll be ok by Sunday. So off I go...

A few pics...

Everything I'm taking. I use the little cosmetic bags to organize things I'm going to need on race day. The one contains my garmin, pace band, bloks, tape, water bottle holder, etc. That way everything is together and I don't have the stress of worrying I forgot something or not knowing where I packed it

Since I have such a funny stomach, I can't take the chance of eating something out of the norm the night before the race. While I usually eat fresh chicken, etc I had to be creative for the trip. There's a can of mushrooms, can chicken, packets of soy sauce which I snagged from the take out section at the grocery store and a baggie (which I'll reuse, of course!) of brown rice. Also packed baggies of oatmeal, pretzels and twizzlers for carb loading.

Can't forget the knee high shamrock socks!

And of course the nails are painted green!!! That's "Don't Mess With OPI"

I hate my sausage fingers.

I will definitely be thinking of you guys while I'm out there on Sunday, determined to come back to you with good news!!!

ShamROCK on!!

Bad Timing and a WINNER!!

Before I get to the winner of the Races2Remember giveaway, I have to bitch, complain, feel sorry for myself. I woke up yesterday feeling a little off with a sore throat. I immediately ran to the store and stocked up on cold-eeze and vitamin C drops. I never take these things and don't believe they do a thing but I was desperate with Shamrock only a few days away. I spent the day sucking down the drops and praying this was all in my head. Well, unfortunately, this is not taper madness. I had a fever last night, feel like I'm still running a low one now, and have been hit with the sweat and chills. The chills were so bad last night that I couldn't control my body shaking. Thankfully I got a good night sleep but still woke up with a killer headache and body aches. I'm on the couch throwing back thera-flu and plan to sleep the day away. Definitely not the way I like to spend the week before a marathon, but if nothing else, it's just more rest. I don't really have an appetite but I'm forcing myself to eat and I'm drinking a lot of water. I hate, HATE orange juice but Andy just picked some up for me and I'm choking it down like a good girl.

I'm really frustrated because I've been sick more since April than I have over the past few years combined. It's all since I started my new job. We're tucked away in a small secured area, no windows, no air flow and no ventilation. It's absolutely gross and germs just go from person to person. Andy, if you're reading this, maybe I shouldn't work anymore. It's clearly not good for my health.

Ok, now for a winner, randomly picked by Andy as he was dropping off OJ and soup on his way into work. Comment #28...Sara from Words to Run By.  Sara, email me at dclaffey76@yahoo.com.

Weather for Sunday in VA beach: partly cloudy, with a high of 53. Sounds perfect!!! 4 days to go!

All Kinds Of Nervous

T minus 6 days!! I can't believe race day is less than a week away. Yesterday it hit me that it's so close and the nerves kicked in. I started to panic a bit that I haven't done enough and was wishing that I had more time to prepare.  But when I calmed down and thought about it, compared to my previous PR marathon training, I did so much more this time around to get ready.  Even though I'm nervous, mentally I'm still confident.  I know I have this in me and I know I can do this I'm going to do this!  The obsessive weather forecast checking started this morning and right now they are calling for a high of 56. I'm thinking my warm long runs on the treadmill might just come in handy for Sunday.

So as if race day nerves aren't enough, I learned two more things today that made me even more nervous. One, I'll be an official pacer at the NJ Half Marathon on May 1st.  Since it's less than 2 weeks after Boston, I picked the 2:15 group which is a 10:18 pace.  Even though I can handle the pace, it's still a little stressful. People will be depending on me to help them reach their goal and I plan to take this very seriously. I'll use the time after Boston while I'm recovering to really narrow in on the pace and make sure I get a good feel for it.

The other thing that got me a little worked up today...sounds like I might have my first official client to train at the Y. She's training for a marathon so the director thought I'd be a good fit for her.  We still have some details to iron out but it's looking good.  I really can't describe how nervous and excited I am.  Part of me sort of thought this day would never come. That I would just say I'm a Personal Trainer and give out advice to my friends and that'd be about it.  So I'm happy that my attempts to make this happen are going somewhere and that each day my dream is getting closer and closer.

Don't forget to enter my Races2Remember GIVEAWAY which ends Wednesday. Stay tuned, 2 more giveaways coming up after that!

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 2 mi, lift upper body
Tues - 4 mi
Wed - swim drills or rest
Thurs - 4 mi (2 mi at race pace), lift upper body
Fri - 2 mi
Sat - off
Sun - SHAMROCK MARATHON!

Resting Up and a GIVEAWAY!

I finally forced myself to take a rest day yesterday and in turn my whole morning felt "off" because I didn't start the day with a workout. In fact, I felt exhausted all day and struggled to keep my eyes open. I'm definitely more alert and awake when I work out in the morning. So while I didn't feel like I needed a rest day, I took one because I know I will be pissed at myself if I'm beat up and tired for Shamrock. There will definitely be another rest day or two over the next week to make sure that's not the case. And yes…we're down to just a little over a week till race day!! I'm a little nervous but overall really excited and looking forward to the entire weekend!!

As I think of things for the trip I've been setting them aside and crossing them off my list. My pace band is made and laminated and I'm ready for that 8:10 pace! I ran my ladders this week a little faster than normal, took it to a 6:53, and my 3 miles today at race pace (8:06) were a breeze. During the run I told myself that I can definitely hold that pace and that I just need to stay focused and not go out too fast. Tomorrow I have an easy 2 miles and then I'm going to spend some time in the pool working on my drills. My goal for my last long run on Saturday is to run at least the last 5 miles at race pace and then after that, it's all about taking it easy!

So…GIVEAWAY time….To go along with my pace band I also have a "grace band" that I'll carry with me on race day. If you haven't heard of a grace band, it's a customized wrist band through Races2Remember. You can customize it with people you want to dedicate each mile to or list motivational sayings to keep you going. Here's a picture of the one I made; I combined people and sayings. Mostly family but I had to throw Puddlz in there since she's been by my side for every single long run but one this training cycle. Including those long runs on the treadmill!!

In addition to grace bands, Races2Remember also offers customized back bibs, name bibs, tattoos and cheering signs. If you're interested in customizing something for your upcoming race, just leave a comment and become a follower if you aren't already. It's that simple, no rules!! I'll pick a winner at random on Wednesday March 16th.

Guest Blogging Reggae Style

After I registered for the Reggae marathon I was contaced by their marketing team and site blogger. We went back and forth through email discussing ways to promote the marathon and even had a few telecons.  With my love of Jamaica, and running, I'm up to do whatever I can to help promote this event and more importantly, encourage people to visit the island.  So needless to say, when I was asked to do a guest post for the reggae marathon blog, I jumped at the chance. I would really appreciate it if you could take a second and check out my post here, "Whole Heaven Pie." (I suck at titling blog posts, this was as creative as I could get!!). Feel free to leave a comment over there, I'd love to know what you think!

Here are some of my favorite Jamaica pics from throughout the years...

Stay tuned for a few GIVEAWAYS coming up!!

First Swim Eval

During my 15 miler on Saturday, I came to the conclusion that I have to take a few complete rest days between now and Shamrock. I'm running less miles now that it's taper but instead of calling it quits after my run I always end up putting in more time cross training, etc. On Saturday I expected to feel completely refreshed but that wasn't really the case. In fact, when I woke up that morning I told Andy I actually wasn't in the mood to go. Since I never feel like that, I know it's a sign that I need a little break. We averaged just under a 9 min pace, got in some good hills, and while I felt strong, I could tell I need a little rest. So that's what I'm going to do.

In other news, I met my Stalker on Saturday and she's completely harmless! Andy and I met up with Stalker and her fiancé for some drinks and Tri talk and it turns out we had a lot more than running to talk about. We had a lot in common and I'm really looking forward to training together. It makes going into these Tris a little less scary when you know someone else there with you. Definitely see us hanging out with them again!

And today...I had my first swim evaluation with the Tri Coach. It went better than I expected!! It started off with me doing a few laps so he could watch my form. Needless to say I was really happy when I stopped, thinking he would tell me I have to relearn everything I know about swimming, and he said I was a pretty good swimmer. In fact, on a scale of 1 to 10, he rated me a 7! My kick is great but I need to work on rotating my body more with each stroke and not bringing my arms so far out of the water. We did some drills, one of which I nailed pretty quickly. But when he got to the second drill, I struggled a bit. Now for the next few weeks all I do is to practice the drills, for about an hour at a time, and when I feel I have them down and they are too easy, we'll meet again for some new drills. During this time I won't swim laps because we don't want to make progress with the drills and then have me go back to my old swimming form. I left the session feeling great! I already feel so much more confident going into these Tris now that I have some guidance. And it doesn't hurt either knowing I don't completely suck in the water. Coach Bill was great and I have a feeling I'm going to learn a ton from him and his wife. For the first time since registering, I'm actually SO excited for these triathlons. I have a feeling I'm going to love this sport!

Two weeks till Shamrock. Still focused and ready to kick some ass. Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 5 mi
Tues - 5 mi w/ 2 ladders
Wed - lift (possible off day)
Thurs - 4 mi w/ 3 mi at race pace
Fri - 3 mi
Sat - 10 mi
Sun - swim drills (this will count as an off day as it's not a hard workout)

Three Things Thursday

1) I don't have a personal computer at home. Since Andy and I both have laptops for work and bring them home every night, we didn't really see the need to buy a personal one. But, for some reason, this huge company I work for doesn't have the updated version of Explorer and I'm limited to a lot of stuff I can do on line. Two of the most annoying things I can't do: play Bejeweled Blitz and use The Daily Mile. Seriously, it's the year 2011 and we don't have the software to support basic internet? Is it justified to get a personal computer just for logging my workouts and chatting with other runners?

2) I found a Tri coach. Once again, I freaked a little after signing up for the Half Ironman and experienced the same panic I felt after registering for the Ultra. Basically, "Crap! What did I do? I could die during the swim..." So I'm meeting with him on Sunday for my first swim evaluation. While I'm not going into these Tris trying to win them, I do want to do my best and that all starts with the swim. I need to leave the water feeling great so I can kick butt on the bike and run. If I'm not efficient in the water, that's not possible. So it's about time the pool and I worked on our relationship.

3) I realized just how small of a world it is this week. After connecting with someone local through my blog, who is also starting to train for her first Tris this summer, we found each other on facebook. Well, of course the first thing I did was check out her album of pics called "running." Imagine my shock and surprise when the FIRST picture I looked at was this...

This pic is from the Philadelphia Distance Run 2009 and yes, that's me. No, not in the background, but right there smack dab in front, that's me!! What are the chances? Of course, I immediately emailed her asking if she's stalking me. Which I would totally understand and be ok with if she was. But no such luck, just a crazy coincidence. You never know who you will end up meeting in this world and when your paths crossed (literally) before meeting.

The ABC's of D

Age: 34

Bed Size: Queen (but I wish I had a king)

Chore I hate: Cleaning the toilets (and I'm proud to say I haven't done it since I've lived with Andy!)

Dogs: Grew up with dogs but now I'm partial to cats

Essential start of my day: Brushing my teeth

Favorite color: Purple

Gold or Silver: If it's not platinum I'll settle for white gold

Height: 5'8" and a little more

Instruments I play: None, unless musical toots count (Oh, come on!! We all do it!)

Job title: QA Analyst

Kids: Just of the furry kind…Newman and Lainey

Live: Just outside Philadelphia, PA

Mom's name: Monica

this picture was taken right after one of  many tattoo unveilings. But she's still smiling through the tears.  Sorry for torturing you, mom!!

Nicknames: D (work), Dennis (friends), Sunny D (running buddies), Little Coconut or Biscuit (Andy), Nez (sister and Dad)

Overnight hospital stays: None

Pet peeve: Loud chewers, coffee slurpers, lip smackers

Quote from a movie: "Can't see the line, can you Russ?"

Right or left handed: Right

Siblings: 2 sisters (I'm the baby)

Time you wake up: 5am (weekends aren't much different)

Underwear: People, it's ok to talk about the skivvies! I'll admit it, I definitely go commando from time to time. But I am wearing them right now.

Vegetable I dislike: Broccoli rabe (that's actually the only one I don't like)

What makes me run late: Nothing. I'm always on time and can't stand to be late. And I can't stand when other people are late. That should probably be listed above under pet peeves.

X-rays I've had done: Knee, foot, dental, elbow

Yummy food I make: Everything I make is yummy; at least that's what Andy tells me.

Zoo favorite animal: Penguins!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I could have one as a pet.