It's My Party

Well, I'm officially one year closer to the big 3-0. It stinks that my birthday's on a Monday and I have class tonight, but I had a great weekend of celebrating with my hubby, my parents, and our TWO kitties. Saturday night was fun night out in NoLibs with Michael. Then we went back there for brunch with my parents on Sunday. The phermone-blocker we got for the cats seriously made a difference, and we spent most of yesterday with both of them coexisting on the couch with us! They still nip at each other every now and then, but it's a vast improvement.

My parents got me so many presents, and they got us nice anniversary gifts as well! I got a new MP3 player, which made a huge difference on my 4-mile run this morning. I had a great run at a 9:17/mile average. I'm a tiny bit sore from Saturday's run, but not too bad. It was a cool morning and so nice to have that "me" time to start my birthday.

Thanks to everyone for all of their birthday wishes and donations! I'm at 62% of my goal!! YES!!!

Just another Saturday run

We did 9 miles this morning at 7am with the team. I've found a core of 3 other runners who are about my pace. Most of them are doing Disney, which is cool. They're all pretty experienced, so I'm impressed I can keep up!

We had a great pace of about 9:30 - 9:45/mile with our normal minute-long stops every 9 minutes. I felt great throughout and at the end. My left ankle, the one I hurt in last year's PDR, is a little bit sore. I blame this on the boots I wore two days in a row this week. I walked way too much in them. I know it looks dorky, but I have to wear sneakers even with nice clothes. I usually have to do a lot of walking during the day, and I don't want to get hurt for fashion's sake.

The rest of the weekend should be awesome! Michael and I have some grocery and kitty shopping to do. Peter and Boots are almost civil, but every now and then we have to separate them. We're going to try this phermone-blocker plug-in thing so that poor Boots can have more free reign of the house.

Then tonight, we're going out for my birthday dinner, probably in NoLibs. My parents are coming down tomorrow, and we'll visit the Museum and have lunch. It should be a nice weekend. Farewell, 28!

I guess treadmills aren't that bad...

I did 3 miles this morning at the gym on the...dun dun dun...treadmill. I am such a jerk about the treadmill. I just get so bored. However, this morning, I started to embrace it again. That used to be the only way I ran, and I have to get used to it, because it's going to start getting really dark and really cold in the mornings. The nice part is that my awesome gym hasn't become too overrun since school started. Students apparently don't like to work out at 6:30am. Go figure.

I also had the added advantage of being distracted by watching the morning news shows about the downfall of WaMu and all of the financial drama in DC. I did a 6.5 mph pace (9:13/mile), and I felt fine.

Tomorrow I'm doing 9 miles with the team. I hope it doesn't rain on us. Other than that, I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend and pretending I'm not getting older in a few days...

It's Not Always Sunny in Philadelphia

It seemed like everyone was in a foul mood yesterday. We went out for a run at 6AM, and we were both pretty wiped. My legs still felt a little heavy from the half-marathon. I averaged about a 9:30, which given my week last week, is good.

Along my route, I came across lots of rude Philadelphians. One construction worker in NoLibs was too busy taking 10 minutes to put on a sweatshirt to stop blocking the sidewalk with his truck door, so I had to wait for 3 minutes for traffic to stop whizzing by to get around him. He didn't even notice me. Then some mom in an SUV almost hit me, because she ran a red light to get on the Ben Franklin Bridge a second faster. Yes, she had NJ plates. No offense, NJ friends, but I'm not surprised. Then some dude under the Girard El starts SCREAMING at me, "You're going to give yourself a heart attack!!" He was obviously "touched," as they say.

I then had a really long day of conferences followed by a test in my class. Ugh, I am still exhausted even after a good night's sleep. The nice thing is, I met a lot of colleagues yesterday who are also into running and did the Distance Run on Sunday. Running is sometimes a good way to make friends.

Now I'm off to bring Boots to the vet. Ew, we think he has worms. UGH! Consequence of life on the streets. Now he gets to live in the lap of luxury that is our home. Lucky dude.

Here's a pic of me crossing the finish line on Sunday!

The Eye of the Tiger

Clock Time: 2:17:24; Chip Time: 2:08:54; Pace: 9:50; 10 Km: 1:02:31; 10 Mi: 1:40:07

What a great day! I rocked the Philadelphia Distance Run. The morning started a little shaky after a restless night's sleep. We adopted a new kitty, an adorable orange tabby, on Saturday afternoon. But having a new animal in our room all night made it a little hard to sleep. Plus, I was a tiny bit anxious about the race. But I got up at 5:30, was out my 6, and had an awesome parking spot by my old apartment in Fairmount by 6:15. I saw lots of friends at the TNT tent, which was so nice. Renee from TNT was sweet and said, "I remember when this was your first event a year ago!" She started to cry! How sweet.

We began at around 8. It took a while to get to the start. I was cheered on at the start by the Mayor...again :) After the first 2 miles throughout the city, I did the 9:00 run, 1:00 walk for most of the rest of the run. The city part (first 4 miles) was a bit cramped with the 15,000 runners. I wish they would send us down bigger streets than Walnut. The Eagles Pep Band was playing along the route, which got me excited about our afternoon plans!

Around Mile 6, I ran into Brandi and Jeff. Jeff is doing Disney with me, and Brandi was one of my mentees from the spring. She did the full marathon in Long Branch. Brandi and I stuck together for most of the rest of the race, which was nice. We had our identical Garmins, and our pace was awesome, about 9:00/mile consistently. Towards the end, my knee and one calf were sore, but that was mostly because of pounding on asphalt and not being on perfectly flat ground. Overall though, I felt great, and I finished TEN minutes faster than last year!! The consistent training clearly paid off.

I didn't see Michael at the finish, but he saw me and said I looked like I was doing fine. We met at the car and were home with D&D flatbread sandwiches by 11. It was so easy! Then we showered and headed to Linda and Mike's for some football viewing and beers before the big game. They live about 1.5 miles from the stadiums, so we parked there and walked. It was so fun seeing them. And what a beautiful day! The walk was a little hard after all the running, but a few Bud Light Limes numbed my pain--haha!

We visited some tailgating friends in the parking lot. My one friend was with a group that had an RV with a keg tap on the outside of the van! It was so souped up. And everyone there had something like this. It was about 3pm, and most people had been there since 10am, so just imagine the scene.

Our seats were AWESOME!!! The Linc is amazing, and we spent a lot of time walking around, eating lots of good food, and enjoying being there. Sadly, my boy, Westbrook, who's jersey I wore proudly along with my official race medal, was hurt. I hope he's not done for the season. The Eagles won, and we had such a fun time. Thanks again for the tickets, Tara and Jeff!

When we got home, we crashed. Running 13.1 miles and walking 3 miles wore me out! We were asleep by 9, no lie. Jack (name might change), our new furry friend, snuggled with us all night. It was one of the best days ever.

Thanks to everyone who texted me and congratulated me on the race!! I cannot imagine doing twice that distance, but I think I can do it!

14158

Follow my progress in the Philly Distance Run tomorrow! Go to this website http://www.ingphiladelphiadistancerun.com/home.html, click on "Live Results," and enter my bib # 14158. I know I'll feel your support, so thanks in advance!

I had a great morning--spent 45 min in CVS (why do women love CVS so much?), went to the Expo and was harrassed by a Saucony salesman (but I saw my future sneaks, the sweet black Hurricanes!), and then I got a haircut. I love my hairdresser, Bleu, at Salon Blush. It's such an awesome place in Fishtown!! Everyone, go there.

Michael's making me a pasta lunch. What a guy. Then we're off to see if we can find a friend for Peter Jackson Marmion at the kitty shelter!

Also, my friend Derrick is training for his first half-marathon. He rocks, and it's for a great cause, to benefit the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation. Read his story here: http://www.active.com/donate/MI09philadelphia/derrickwise and his training blog (which is far superior to mine) http://www.reidwise.net/journal/.

Ok, next time I blog, I'll have run HALF of what I have to do in Disney!

Treadmills are boring...

There, I said it. I'd rather run in 100-degree heat or below zero weather than run on a treadmill. I have an awesome gym, but it's just so boring, no matter how you package it. I had to do 3 miles this morning, which I did no problem at a 9:13/mile pace (based on the machine). This new treadmill scares me. It has so many bells and whistles. Apparently you can even plug your iPod into it, and something will happen. I don't have an iPod, so that's irrelevant. I just used my radio to listen to the TV news that's on display on a few big TVs in the room. Ugh, boooooring!

Speaking of boring, my most boring birthday ever, my 29th, is 10 days from now. Oh hooray. We're going camping to celebrate, which is awesome. I just wanted to remind my vast readership that I don't need any presents this year. If you are inclined to get me anything, make a donation to my race. That's all I need, and that's the most important thing to me right now.

After my boring run, I walked through Penn's campus on a longer, but prettier route to my office. Penn is gorgeous! It was so brisk this morning, and campus was so quiet. The trees, the old buildings, everything was astonishing. I love working here and being part of this community.

Sunday is the Philly Distance Run! I'm excited, not as much as last year, but still excited. I'll post my bib # when I get it tomorrow and how to watch my progress on the race. It starts at 7:45AM!

TGIF, right? It's been a looooong week, and with the weird schedule, I missed my running partner this week. We'll catch up next week, right, hubby?

I Am Iron Man

I have been trying to only blog when I have completed a run, and as fascinating as I'm sure that's been, I'm adding in a post about my day yesterday that involved no training at all. I got up early to donate blood for the first time. I was rejected last time for being iron deficient, so I didn't have high hopes, but thankfully, I was in perfect range to donate. My blood pressure was 98/50-something though. Weird. I think I was just reallllly tired. It was 7:15am.

I had no problem with the donation. I felt fine, just tired all day. And then I had class, so it was a long day, but a good one. I felt like although raising money for LLS is great, I can help even more by giving blood regularly. I was inspired by Uncle Rick who has given like 3 gallons of blood or something ridiculous! He goes every 2 months. I'm going to try to follow his lead. What a guy!

However, next time, I will not try to take off my bandage in the evening. My vein all of a sudden swelled and hurt SO bad! Then I got faint and nauseous. Thankfully, my lovely hubby was there with an icepack and some water right away. It finally passed, but I learned NOT to try to clean off a wound in my vein until the next day. Still worth it.

Then my mom calls me and tells me that she's organized her students to have a bake sale to raise money for my race! The thought of kids I don't know in NY baking cupcakes and sitting at a table to help our cause brought tears to my eyes. Thanks, Mom and the 8th graders of CCS!

THEN Tara called, and she and Jeff offered us EAGLES TICKETS for Sunday!! That'll help me speed through the half-marathon. What great friends :) It was a good day.

And if you haven't read it, go out and get Three Cups of Tea. It's a book about the real-life hero, Greg Mortenson, who was a mountain climber who was saved by a small, Pakistani village. He then dedicated his life to building them schools and improving the lives of thousands of Afghani and Pakistani people. If you're pondering what a small donation to something like my little race can do, this book is evidence of the difference ONE person can make.

Two-a-Days

That's what they call it when you work out twice in one day, like a real athlete, right? Yeah, I don't want to be a real athlete ever again. I did my normal weight routine at 6:30AM this morning, but because I'm attempting to give blood again tomorrow morning early (iron don't fail me now!), and I have class tomorrow night, I had to do my scheduled 5-mile training run after work. Oy. I powered through doing an 8:53/mile. I am beat right now though.

A couple of good things kept me going--I have reached my "recommitment" fundraising goal, or halfway! Also, Michael is making us dinner tonight, a homemade pizza. And 90210 is on in less than an hour. Life is good.

6:16 a.m., 79 degrees!

Wow, it was hot and humid this morning! When I passed the bank on Girard Avenue, the display said 6:16 a.m., 79 degrees! I thought I was going slowly, because it felt like a struggle with the humidity, but I actually had my best short run yet, 8:51/mile. I was shocked when I saw my time. I was alone this morning, because Michael had a bad night's sleep, but that was ok. I was pretty bleary this morning and would not have been an interesting running buddy.

It stayed dark for almost my entire run. Ah, the fall is coming. And I discovered one thing I'm not crazy about with regards to running in the city--the smell of garbage. I love to run in Northern Liberties past all of the fun restaurants and shops, but the problem is that I am running at the same time that the garbage trucks are picking up a weekend of fermenting beer bottles and rotten food along my route. Every block would hit me with another pungent odor. The heat over the past few days didn't help, I'm sure. Ick!

We had a really relaxing weekend, which I'm sure helped me run well this morning. Last night's dinner at an italian BYOB with Dave and Mike was pretty great. I am sure my stomach full of yummy marinated lamb and lemon sorbetto helped my speed this morning! On to another Monday...

Lose Yourself

We had a long team run yesterday morning. It was a big group of really nice people that came out, and we did 8 miles. I felt great. The extra training runs during the week have kept me in good shape. I used to be down for the count all afternoon after doing anything around 8 miles in the morning, but I felt good all day following this one. I was in the "lead pack," as my coach, Gary, calls it. I cannot believe that my pace would be considered fast, but I guess it is compared to the rest of the group. I felt proud that I had a good pace, but I'm more concerned with just finishing. I also like being with the big group better than leading anyway, so hopefully we'll all gel together soon.

It's so cool to run with people who are new to running. There are two awesome women who hit new milestones on every group run. Can you imagine going from running 1-2 miles ever to doing 8 miles in a matter of weeks?? I am astounded by them.

We had a nice rest of the day visiting Victory Brewery with our friends, Alison and Derrick. Derrick is starting to train for his first half marathon for Team Challenge, another great organization that benefits the Crohn's and Colitis Society. We talked gear, GPS systems, and other running stuff over some hand-crafted, yummy beers. I hope he has a fundraiser at the brewery!

One week from right now, I'll be finishing up a half-marathon. I can't believe it's been a year since I did this race for my first Team in Training event. It was such an amazing day. Seeing Michael cheer me on, meeting my coaches near the finish line (and bawling my eyes out), and then the best part was when my mother-in-law and sister-in-law drove over to Philly to meet me right after the race. It was such an emotional moment for me. My mind had been so focused on my physicality, and that moment reminded me why I did this. As I shared the largest omelette in the universe with my new family, my teammate Michelle and her husband, and my best friend in the world, Michael, I felt such a sense of accomplishment that had nothing to do with athleticism. WE made a difference in the fight against blood cancers. That day, that moment would hopefully change the future of these diseases. That was a day I will never forget, and I look forward to repeating.

Oh TGIF!

This morning, I wanted to do a quick run before our long run tomorrow. I'm feeling the effects of this week, however. Last night, we were out until after 9 looking at houses in South Jersey! I don't think we found our next home, but we got a much better idea of what's to offer, what we want, and we found a really nice agent, so we'll continue with the process. But between this, a meeting on Tuesday, and class on Monday and Wednesday, every day this week has been looooong!

This morning we were both tired. Michael did a little less than 2 miles, and I did 2. My average speed was 8:54/mile! I was quite happy with that, as I'm trying to up my speed on my shorter runs so that I am more prepared for the longer ones on Saturdays (and the BIG one on January 11!)

It's hard to believe that the marathon is actually not that far away--4 months from yesterday! Thanks so much to the many friends and family members who continue to support me and ask me how the training's going. You help me keep on truckin'!

Tonight is my first event at work, which I'm very excited about, but it will be another 12 hour day here. TGIF!!!!!

Speed Demons

I don't know what happened, but this morning's run was super fast! It was nice and cool out, but I was definitely a bit tired. Michael and I started out in the almost complete darkness feeling ok. He had some shin splints, and I was just a little sore from weight training. About 0.7 miles in, Michael asked how fast we were going. I looked down and see that we're racing at a 9:18/mile pace! Holy moley! I was really impressed with both of us.

I went ahead and did a 4-mile run down to the river and then back up through Northern Liberties. It was a new route for me kind of combining two of my usual routes, and it helped keep me interested. It's easy to get bored seeing the same things. I felt great and had an average pace of 9:12/mile, which was pretty awesome!

When I got back, Michael reported that he ran most of the way home, and he seemed totally energized. I am so happy he's running with me. He's the best motivation in the world, and I'm so impressed with him for getting out there.

Hopefully my run got me focused enough for my first Italian quiz tonight!

Monday Morning With the Hubby

I have to dedicate this post to my husband of 11 months and 3 days, Michael. I know he's not a morning person, and I am to the nth degree. Nevertheless, he wakes up early to run with me twice a week, and when I say early, I mean 5:45AM! And he doesn't complain and actually motivates me more. He always encourages me to go faster and leave him in the dust, which I have to admit is not physically possible anymore.

Yesterday I did 4 miles. It was a perfect morning. I was sore from all of the dancing I did Saturday night, but I felt great overall. I slept like a log on Sunday night. We were both exhausted, but Michael went the first mile with me and did so well.

Then he waited at home all day (was only supposed to be until noon) for the fridge repairman to come and tell us there was nothing wrong with our fridge. It's apparently supposed to collect water on the shelves, because it's hot out. And did he complain once? Nope. He had to use a personal day for this, and I made him get up early on a day he could have slept in. And all of this was after he was such a good brother and best man this weekend. Look for his stellar speech on Youtube shortly.

So thank you, Michael, for being a great confidante, a wonderful support to my training, and my best friend. It's been a joy being your wife for the past 11 months and 3 days.

And They Lived Happily Ever After...

What a magical weekend! I'm still coming down off it, hard. It's such a letdown when a fun time comes to an end. Andrew and Joanne got married yesterday!! I had an amazing time, but I feel like my adorable cousin Abby felt this morning when we were all leaving the hotel...I want to cry that it's all over. Being around my wonderful family all weekend long made me so happy. The bride and groom looked gorgeous, and the whole thing was non-stop fun.

Peppered in the middle of the rehearsal dinner and the wedding (and a little too much wine), I had to do a 7-mile training run. I went out on Saturday morning, a little groggy. We had a fantastic dinner the night before at one of the 12 Filomena restaurants in the Deptford area, and we were up a little late enjoying being together in the Fairfield Inn. But I went out at 6:30am on Saturday morning and did two laps around Cooper River Park. The team run was cancelled due to the impending Hurricane Hanna, so I ran alone, but that was fine, because I was in no mood to chat. By the end I felt great and enjoyed a nice breakfast with Michael and his grandparents. They had 4 kinds of cereal at the complimentary hotel breakfast bar! And I felt a kindred with the bridal party girls, who were getting their hair and makeup done before I even started running!

I did the run at an average of 9:30/mile, which I was happy with given the distance and the humidity. Plus, I felt very motivated by the joy of the weekend. Despite a little wound on my back from my abrasive fuel belt, I made out ok and was able to dance the night away.

Times like these put it all in perspective. Love and family are the most important things, and that's why I'm doing this. Sure, I might love running and all of the gadgets that accompany this habit, but I love Michael and our family so much more. Not even a hurricane can kill my motivation for them.

I'm hoping my 4-mile run tomorrow morning is ok, given that I'm still sore from all the dancing we did last night! And I also hope it lifts my spirits a bit, because now I just want to be with everyone celebrating again.

Have a great time in Disney World, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Marmion! Thanks for bringing magic into our lives with your beautiful love story and this wonderful weekend.

Back to School

Wow, it seems that the school year has started. Michael and I went out at our normal time, 6am, this morning, and there were so many cars and people out! Michael was awesome this morning. I was working to keep up with him! I did 5 miles into Old City. It was like a video game--I was constantly dodging traffic, dog walkers, etc. It's nice to see so many people out and about, but I guess I have to have my wits about me a little more now.

As I was running a route I've run about 100 times down 2nd Street from Northern Liberties into Old City, I glanced to the right, which I rarely do (see paragraph above--must keep my eyes on the road), and I saw Independence Hall in the daybreak light. It was gorgeous, and it kind of made me a little awestruck for a moment. I didn't even know I could see it from there. Say what you will, Philadelphia is a really great city, and it's a beautiful place to run.

Speaking of back to school, my class starts tonight! I'm really excited. However, my day just started, and I'm already tired, so making it until 8:30 tonight might be a challenge. That's what they made coffee for, right, Mom?

Getting Up Early on Labor Day

This is probably the day that most people in the country are sleeping in, but I was out there on the road at 7am this morning. I hear it's going to be 90 degrees today, so I thought I should get a 4-miler out of the way before the sun got too high in the sky. I have the rest of the day to relax.

It was a rough run this morning. I had a couple of things working against me--I have a cold, I clocked myself in the eye with the laundry basket yesterday, so I have a nice shiner (just in time for the wedding, great), and I was feeling a bit down on myself this morning. Running made me feel a little bit better, but the inspirational people in my life got me out of my rut.

First of all, this Saturday's run was awesome. I met a woman on the team who is in the Air Force and has been on seven, SEVEN tours in Iraq. I also met some other great men and women, and we had a good run. One participant has a 10-month-old baby and another little one! She told me she's doing this, because their friend is battling leukemia, and he can't afford his medical treatment. It's atrocious.

Then I logged on today and saw that I'm at almost $1,900 in donations from my amazing family and friends! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!! Then I saw my mother-in-law and talked to my mom this weekend, and they both said how they read this blog and share it with friends, and that just made me a) a little embarrassed, because I thought no one read it and was writing it as such--haha! and b) so impressed with the support I'm getting and so motivated to keep on going. I have the best moms ever. It's going to get harder as the weekend runs get longer and longer, but as TNT says, "Remember the reason." I've got it today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MICHELLE, MY TEAMMATE ALWAYS!!!