Snow Run!

First of all, thanks for all your caring comments to my last post. I'm not allowed to say much, but it looks like we're going to have a happy ending. It will take several more trips to Russia and a few more months, but it'll be worth the wait. Thanks for keeping our family in your thoughts, my sister read all the comments and really appreciated all the support.

The East coast is getting its first real snow storm of the winter!! I don't know why this never happens on a work day so I can stay home. Thankfully I finished my shopping yesterday so I can sit in front of the fireplace today and enjoy it from the couch! I did my long run on Thursday since I was off from work and I was very thankful for that when I headed out for my run this morning. The wind was brutal!! At times I had to run with my eyes closed because I literally could not open them. The snow hitting my face hurt like hell, but after my face froze I couldn't feel it anymore. :-) It was a chilly 19 degrees and when the wind wasn't blowing, it was so calm and peaceful. I swear I smiled the entire run, I loved being out there. Andy snapped some pictures of me when I got home. Check out the icicles on my eye lashes! And no, I'm not pregnant like the one picture looks...That's my spibelt under there.

Check out the eye lashes!

Spibelt baby

Trying to smile but my face is frozen!

Eeek...I can't believe I post pictures of myself like this. My face still hurts a little and my eyes have been watering for an hour. Sort of makes me want to head out there for more...but I think I'll get under the snuggie and watch some movies instead. Stay warm!

Sisters

I'm the youngest of three girls. Growing up it wasn't pretty. My middle sister, Jeanette, and I pretty much wanted to kill one another. Things were much better between me and my oldest sister, Michelle. Probably because there was a larger gap in our ages (7 years) and we had more in common. We both played sports and were more tom-boyish. Jeanette was much more girly. While Michelle and I were out playing sports, Jeanette was making "Forenza" sweaters in home economics and playing "house."

The fighting between me and Jeanette was pretty ugly and lasted, I think, up through me going to college. Things started getting better when I graduated college but we still didn't have much of a relationship. It wasn't until I decided to end my first marriage and get a divorce that things really changed between us. I was really alone in my decision to get divorced and it was a hard pill for everyone to swallow since I had been with this person for 11 years. Jeanette opened her home to me and stood by my side and supported my decision. Now, while I'm not mentioning Michelle, it's not because she wasn't supportive. Mich doesn't live as close and being older, she provides a much more protective kind of support. She's always looking out for me and making sure I'm ok. You don't want to mess with me or you'll have Michelle to answer to!!

Flash forward to today...I talk to Jeanette at least once a day, if not more. She is the glue keeping me, my mom and Michelle all in the loop as to what is going on with each other. She has also been going through the process of adopting a baby for the last 3.5 years. Her and her husband have 2 healthy boys but always felt their family was not complete. Dying for a little girl, they started the adoption process. Well, after years of waiting, hopes up, major let downs, they finally left for Russia last Saturday to meet their baby girl. However, it turns out things didn't go the way they should have. The agency they used neglected to tell them that the baby girl was born 23 weeks premature and had health issues. Due to what they saw when they met the baby, they needed to turn this child down. There is so much more to this, which I can't possibly get into, but all I can say is that it's been a heart wrenching two days.

Yesterday, Michelle and I were hanging on to any email we could get from Jeanette in Russia. We were both physically sick to our stomachs worrying about her and so angry that someone hurt our sister like this. I cried all day, I couldn't imagine the hurt and disappointment Jeanette was feeling. And I hated that she was so far away and we couldn't have our daily phone conversation. What I felt yesterday, and even right now, is hard to explain. It's like I feel her pain. I can't stop crying or thinking about her and my heart actually hurts right now. Heh, I can't even pull myself together to go work out...so you know it must be bad!! Although the past few days have sucked, it actually taught me something. I love my sisters, but until yesterday, I never realized how incredible a bond between sisters can be. I am so thankful for my sisters and I haven't got a clue what I would do with out them. I would do absolutely anything for them and wish I could take Jeanette's pain away from her right now.

And if Jeanette gives me the ok, I'm going to unleash on the rep from this Agency they used. I'm crushed and sad and hurt, but I'm also beyond mad. I have no clue how someone can do this to a family. Send them across the world, thinking they are meeting their baby girl, only to find out they were deceived. This is some shady shit.

More weekend, please!

Is the weekend really over already? We had a busy one, but the housewarming party was a success. We had 22 people over and I pulled everything off! We had a ton of food and beer/wine but unfortunately, with all the cooking and running around I didn't have the chance to eat a thing! Needless to say, the vino hit me a little hard and I think I was more than a little goofy. Oh well, I had fun!!

I ran 8 miles on Saturday, my longest run since the marathon, and it didn't go that great. I ran with the running club and got caught up with another runner and found myself running faster than I had wanted to. I tired out really fast and struggled through the remainder of the run. Afterwards, I was totally spent. I'm sure the cold weather didn't help, but I could also tell that I'm not completely recovered from the marathon yet. My legs just didn't have a lot in them. This week is another week of no set paces and just easy runs, which sounds good right about now. I'm doing a "prediction run" on Tuesday night at our local running store. You leave your Garmin/watch behind and tell the owner what time you expect to finish 5 miles. The person who is the closest to their predicted time wins a pair of Brooks shoes!!

Not sure if anyone noticed, but I put a link at the top of this page for "Reviews." I get lots of stuff to try out and I thought I'd designate a spot for all the reviews. I just posted 2 new ones: SPIbelt and Whooha gear. I am so happy with both of these products so check out the review in case you need some gift ideas for the runner in your life!!

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 2 mi
Tues - 5 mi
Wed - off
Thurs - 4 mi (practice negative splits)
Fri - 2 mi
Sat - 9 mi
Sun - off

Philly Pics

Once again, the pictures taken by the course photographer sucked butt. I was really hoping for a good finish line photo as I grabbed that BQ, but no such luck. I looked like such a tool in every picture they got of me. Thankfully, Laurel was on the course and grabbed some great shots. I'm nominating her to be the new course photographer!

Right around mile 13...feeling great!

Heading towards the finish...

I can see it!

Dear God, just let this be over...

Running has been going really well this week. Still easing back into it and just running at paces which feel good and I'm having so much fun with it. I ran 4 on the treadmill this morning since it was so dark and cold out and it was mind numbingly boring. I have no idea how I ran 20 miles on that thing. I'm hoping it starts to get a little lighter out earlier so I can head outside. I'd rather run in the freezing cold then put in long miles on the treadmill.

We're having a housewarming party this weekend now that all the renovations done. The kitchen back splash was done this week and it looks amazing. I'll post pictures soon! I'm really looking forward to having friends and family over for the party...it's been so long since we've entertained with all the moving, etc. So nice to finally be settled.

Goals!

I had a meeting with Coach Jack yesterday to talk about goals and plans for 2010. I'm not one for goal setting...I don't even like to do it at work when we need to write objectives at the start of each year. You just never know what life is going to throw at you and honestly, I'm not a fan of the added pressure of trying to meet a goal. My goal of qualifying for Boston was stressful and now that I did it, I want to relax and have some fun over the Winter and Spring. So that's exactly what I'm going to do. At the end of the meeting we had lined up 3 marathons (Shamrock, NJ, Pocono) in 3 months so I can earn my way into Marathon Maniacs and we have a plan to work on some serious pacing. I want to learn to know my pace by effort, rather than relying on the Garmin. I hope to pace a bunch more marathons after NJ marathon, so this is something I'm taking very serious. As for the Fall, it all depends on how many miles I do in July for the Ultra and if I get selected for NYC marathon.

So while my running goals are fun and exciting, I still have this ever looming goal of losing weight. Yes people, it comes back to this again. In fact, it never really leaves. I've spent the past few months writing down what I'm eating and during the week it's really helpful. But then I completely fall apart on the weekend. I seriously sometimes wish I didn't have a weekend just so I could stay on track with the food. I want nothing more than to be able to relax and eat what I want, when I want it, in moderation of course, and be happy. The "in moderation" part is what I struggle so much with. I need to slow down and really listen to my body and shut up the voices telling me to shove my face when I do allow myself a treat. I have this awful all or none mentality which I desperately need to change. So, I'm taking a deep breath and I'll get through the next couple weeks the best I can. But then it's time to buckle down because we're heading to...

JAMAICA!!

This will be our 4th time visiting Jamaica and let me tell you, April 9th can not get here soon enough!

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 2mi
Tues - 4 mi
Wed - off
Thurs - 4 mi
Fri - 2 mi
Sat - 8 mi
Sun - off

I've been adding cardio on to all my workouts since I'm still building my runs back up and I also got in 3 days of lifting last week. It felt so good to lift again!! Was extremely sore, but it was worth it!

Ultra Marathon -- Take Two!!

Registration for 20in24 (the 24 hour Ultra event I did last year) opened a few days early for past participants because they are expecting it to sell out again this year. Before I got the email for registering, I was all set to do it. But when it came time to commit, I got really nervous. Maybe it was the $200 entry fee (ugh!!) but I really doubt it. I've never been one to have a hard time spending money when it comes to running. But something inside of me was hesitant about doing it again. I kept asking Andy if I had fun, enjoyed the training, etc., but he wasn't much help. So I went back and read a few of my blog posts from last summer. I totally enjoyed it!! I loved the long 31 mile runs and even mentioned several times that I was sad training was nearing an end. So I did it! I took the plunge and registered!! I'll be a Lone Ranger again in 2010!!

Last summer there were 4 of us who trained and ran together on race day. This year, it's just me and Puddlz. I have to say, I'm not sure I would have registered if I didn't have a training buddy for the super long runs lined up. I'm good at entertaining myself but when it comes to 5 hours of running, yea, I'd probably drive myself crazy. We already know that Coach and Colleen (both ran it last year) will be there on race day to pace and crew for us.

Now, the big question...how many miles do I shoot for??? Part of me says, "just go for 50, you know you can do that and it won't be too bad" but then another part of me says, "go further!! See what you can do!" I have a meeting with Coach on Sunday to talk about goals for 2010 but I think I'm going to go into this with the goal of 75 miles. Maybe I'll shoot for 100 in 2011...who knows!! Puddlz is going for 100 miles so if I change my mind, I'd have company...just a thought.

Funny, I just read my race report from the Ultra last year and of course at the end of it I said I'd never do another 50 miler again. I'll never learn.

Ugly Digits

When I was in my late teens/early twenties I used to want to be a foot model. I thought I had the cutest feet and took really good care of them, always making sure my toenails were painted to look their best! Then about 10 years ago, I broke a pinky toe. I somehow stubbed my toe on a keg at a Jimmy Buffett concert and my pinky toe swelled up, never really to return to it's original state. Then a year later, I broke the other pinky toe at another concert. You think I would have learned my lesson from wearing flip flops to the first concert, but I had such cute feet, I wanted to show them off. Then one day in Michigan, I happened to glance down and noticed a bulge on the inside of my right foot. I pulled my sock off to see that it was the beginning of a bunion. At the time it didn't hurt but over the years this little deformity has gotten worse and not only is my big toe growing under my other toes, I now wear a bunion splint when I sleep to try to stretch it back. Sexy, I know. While these issues are ugly, there's one thing that I don't mind seeing when I look down at my feet. Hard earned, twin black and blue toe nails. When these puppies fall off I might just save them in remembrance of my BQ.




Creepy big toe


So JoyRuN, here's my entry!! I love my black and blue toe nails!