Haiti... my trip with the Mission of Hope

In November of last year, I traveled to Haiti on volunteer/mission trip.  This is a trip I have been thinking about for years and finally decided it was time to go.  I did a lot of research to determine which organization I felt was right for me.  My choice, Mission of Hope.  I made a good decision.  I was so impressed with their organization, efforts, and the great work they do in Haiti.  I would encourage you to visit their website!  The main campus is located in Titanyen, which is about a 45 minute ride north from the Port-au-Prince Airport.  MOH also has campuses in Bercy and Leveque.
  
Prior to my departure, I was sent a packet of items to pack, dress code, what to expect, etc.  I was also given a "wish list" of items MOH needed that are hard to find in Haiti.  I asked for donations from my family and was thrilled to be able to fill a good sized box with items of the wish list.  The night before my departure I double checked that I had everything I needed, had my box all packed up, and was ready to go.      

Time to travel.  Off I go with my suitcase, backpack, and this large box that was a little awkward to carry.  I caught the 3am bus from Portland to Logan airport (always fun).  When I arrived at Logan, I awkwardly carried all my "stuff" to the ticket counter to check in.  After the formal where are you going, can I see your ID and passport please, conversation, she gets that look on her face that instantly made me worried.  She looks at me and says, "You cannot take that box to Haiti."  HUH?  I asked why, of course.  Now, I had researched this ahead of time to be sure I could take the box and what the size and weight restrictions were so I would have no issues at the airport.  The answer came, "An embargo has been placed on any "boxes" coming into Haiti."  My response was of course when?  "Effective today."  Seriously????  I took a deep breath and explained what was in the box and politely said, what do I do now?  She said you can take it in a suitcase, just not in a box.  Luckily, she pointed me a store that sold suitcases.   End result, I purchased a new suitcase and sat in front of the ticket counter at 5:15 am in the morning ripping open my box and attempting to repack all the items into the new suitcase and fitting whatever I could into my other bag as well. It took a bit of shuffling, but I was successful!  After all that, the lady at the ticket counter was nice enough not to charge me for my bags!  Whew!  Glad that was done.  That was the only hiccup in my travel, thankfully.  I had a quick stop in NY and then landed on time in Haiti!

I found my driver quickly, gathered the others that were on flight also heading to MOH, and off we went.  I was so excited to finally be in Haiti.  I took in everything as we drove the 45 minutes to Titanyen.  When we arrived at the MOH campus, we unloaded and had a quick welcome from the staff, and settled in.  I already felt at home!

Over the next week, I fell in love with Haiti.  The people, the landscape, the culture.  Everything.  I toured the campuses in Bercy and Leveque.  I spent 4 days in the village of Simonette painting the local church, meeting the people, and playing with the children.  The people are so welcoming and the children will steal your heart!  I created special friendships with the people in my group, my interpreters, and the staff at MOH.   I was amazed at the bond that was created with the children in Simonette in the four days I spent there.  On my last day, when the children thanked us and said good bye, I cried.  It is hard to put in words the experience of this trip, so I will let my photos say the rest.

"My group" after finishing the church in Simonette.  

Kinsley, one of the interpreters, telling stories to the kids. 

Children in the orphanage at MOH.

Children at Simonette.

I watched the sunrise and sunset everyday from the roof of our building. 

  

 There is no doubt that I will be making a return trip to Haiti.    




  
 

First real snow....

Nemo struck hard and fast we finally have our first real snow in New England.  That means one thing to me.... time to go outside and play.  When I first arrived in Maine 14 years ago, I wasn't a fan of winter.  I learned real quick I better find a way to enjoy winter or I was going to be miserable.  As the years have passed, I have grown to absolutely love winter in Maine.

I didn't wait long to head out to Bradbury to make tracks in the snow....

Michelle on top of Bradbury having some fun.  

Shadows in the snow.

Deep snow.

Michelle and I on Bradbury.

A little tree hugging.

Ecuador in pictures

I never posted anything about my trip to Ecuador, but I should have.  It is an amazing country!  Here are the highlights in photos...


Alpaca with a young boy

La Mitad del Mundo (equator)

Riding the cable car to hike the waterfalls in Mindo

Hiking Cotopaxi Volcano

Hiking to Quilotoa Lagoon

Otavalo Market

Random cattle

Bananas

Amazing produce

Racing Again

I finally decided to step up the start line again.  My plan was to run my first race on Jan 1st but for some reason I agreed to be part of two team efforts before the end of the year. 

I know I'm in trouble when my friend Laurie calls me and says, "what are you doing next weekend?"   She was looking to field a women's team for the USATF NE Grand Prix XC Championships and they needed one more body.  Anyone in their right mind would not agree to this when they haven't raced in a year.  This isn't some local XC race, this is some serious shit.  But, I said yes...

I started googling past results because my biggest fear is that I might come in last.  Not my usual position, but given my current shape and the caliber of women I would be racing against, it was a legitimate concern.  Then I also went back and looked up the last time I ran this race, which was in 2007.  Ugh.  

I didn't come in last but I was definitely at the back of the pack.  I ran hard.  Really hard.  It hurt, a lot.  And I still posted a really slow time.  I'm okay with it though because you have to start somewhere.  I had to throw that fear of posting slow times out the window and just tell myself to run and know that I will get back in shape, one race at a time. 

Here we are, me, Abby, Laurie, and Sarah.  We had a great time!! 

We are all running at Mill Cities Relay on 12/2.   

Morning run vs the snooze button



 

How did I become this person who hits the snooze button??  

 
I have read numerous articles that all say the same thing ... it's not good to hit the snooze button ... but yet I find myself doing it.  I used to NEVER hit the snooze button but somewhere along the line I started and now it has become a hard habit to break.     

I started thinking about this when my alarm went off this morning and I knew I needed to get up and run.  I shut my alarm off and just laid there thinking...  maybe I'll just hit the snooze ... and then ... maybe I'll just reset my alarm for another 45 minutes and run after work ... and then wow you are so effing lazy, get out of bed!!  A morning run ALWAYS gives me more energy than the extra sleep.  Plus, I am always much happier when I get up and workout in the morning but somehow the snooze button has a way of being the devil on my shoulder saying just a few more minutes.

No more.  I will become that person who hops out of bed to go workout again.  I will break the habit.  There will be no more snooze buttons.  There will be no more resetting the alarm.  But until then, I may need a little reminder every time my alarm goes off... whatever it takes!! 



How did I get here and how fast can I get out?

Being out of shape and carrying more weight than I know I should is a tough spot to be for me.  I just don't feel myself.

I have a few excuses that are legit for me not working out.  1) Injury.  2) Being sick.  3) Stress.  (Is stress really a legit excuse? I say yes.)  Unfortunately, that was only part of the reason.  I take full responsibility for not keeping my diet in check during this phase and also having several days of turning off the alarm and going back to bed or packing my gym bag to go after work and then not going.  

Well, no matter how it happened, I'm here.  And I don't like it.  I want to click my heels and instantly lose weight and be back in shape.  I want instant gratification! 

I'm giving myself 30 seconds to whine.  Ready go....  I hate the way I look right now.  I hate the way I feel right now.  I can feel the 10 lbs when I run.  I am slow slow slow.  How did I ever run a marathon?  I feel like I'm starting over.  UGH!!!!  Okay, times up....


My mother always taught me to see the positive in everything, so let's look at the upside. 

• I can run today!  I'm not injured anymore. 
• My body is completely rested.  I have no aches or pains anywhere. 
• I am coming back into it during the best possible weather, no snow or ice to deal with. 
• I still have at least 8-10 weeks before anyone will have to see me in a swimsuit (outside of lap swimming that is, and that doesn't count).
• My motivation is coming back.
• I have no place to go but up. 
• I am ready to have fun doing this.

Slow and steady, the journey has begun. 

Catching up on the changes and everything else

My life has been turned on it's head over the past few months.  I finally feel like things are somewhat back to normal and I can finally breathe!  Just a quick recap of events to let you know what happened to me.... 1) I quit my job after 11 years and traded it in for something less stressful.  2) I finally got released from PT and could run, but... 3) I caught the cold from hell and coughed my lungs up for four weeks straight.  4)  I saw the end of a relationship. 5) I gained 10 lbs due to not exercising during the coughing fest.  I'm not sure that anyone should have that much shit going on at once, BUT I feel like I have made it through to the other side.  Although there were a few times I thought maybe I may not make it....
 

I love my new job.  I feel as if I have settled in and it feels like a really good fit.  There definitely is something to be said about less stress and quality of life.
 
I am finally working out again.  My running is slow but I know it will get better.  Practicing patience.  I never feel normal if I can't work out so being back out there again feels great!   I made it into the Mount Washington Road Race again.  I'm pretty psyched about it even though I know it will hurt like hell on the way up.  Other than that, I have not signed up for anything else.  It feels a little weird but I really want to just take it slow and get back in shape before I pressure myself into racing again.  And of course I need to take off that 10 lbs too!!

Traveling is one of things I promised myself I would start doing this year.  So ... I took a trip to Quebec City between jobs.  It is an awesome city and I am planning another trip back up once it warms up. 

I am also planning my vacation to Ecuador at the end of the summer.  Luckily my Spanish is coming along and will come in handy! 

And, I am hoping to spend many more weekends in the White Mountains this year.  In fact, I may never unpack my camping gear!

I have one of the signs in my kitchen that says, "If you're handed it, you can handle it."  I hope I'm not handed anything else for awhile and I can just kick back and enjoy life. 

Pain

Pain.  Why do I keep subjecting myself to pain?  I’m not a masochist, I swear!  I went to see the orthopaedic doctor today about my calf issues and I think one of my worst fears is about to be realized. I have strained both my calves where the muscle attaches to the tendons.  I have always had tight calves so obviously my first question was why now?  Well, apparently it is actually because I’m getting old.  Awesome.  The doctor explained that somewhere in the 35-39 year range our bodies change over from building muscle to losing muscle.  Our bodies have to work harder to maintain what we have.  Great.  So now I’m digesting the fact that I’m old and my body is falling apart when I hear the real kicker… I can be running again in as little as 3 weeks.  Good news.  I need to go through 3 weeks of myofascial release and manual deep tissue work on my calves to break up the scar tissue and loosen the muscles.  Not just bad news, it was ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME news?!?!  I just about had an anxiety attack.  I’m the person who won’t even let the massage therapist touch her calves because they are so sensitive.  The thought of having deep tissue work done on them just about brought me to tears. As I’m driving back to work I started to think about all the things I have endured that could maybe make this a little more bearable.  Child birth?  Marathons?  Half Ironmans?  Heartbreak?  Ugh.  Then I thought, maybe I’ll just quit running.  If I quit running I won’t need to get them fixed. I sat down at my desk, took a deep breath, and called to schedule my first appointment.  At 7am tomorrow morning I am going to find out just how much pain I can handle…

The pool, swimming, running, and everything else

I was out of the pool last year for almost 6 months last year due to an injury. Having a hiatus like that usually does one of two things ... you either lose your motivation or it gives you a whole new energy. In my case, all I wanted to do was get back in the pool!

Ironically, I am now spending way more time in the pool than I would like. I have injured my calf and can't seem to get it healed up. I am now running and swimming in the pool. And as the are the only two activities I'm able to do, I am spending all my time in the pool. My skin is dry and I smell like chlorine all the time. What did I say? All I wanted to do was get back in the pool? Be careful what you wish for.

I'm not sure what is worse, running in the pool or on the treadmill. BORING!! I can do it when I have to. I have cranked out 20 miles on the treadmill, twice. I'm sure I could do a 3 hour pool run if I absolutely HAD to. But I really don't WANT to. Luckily tonight, I had three kids in my lane that kept swimming beside me and asking me tons of questions. They kept me very entertained.

I am now 13 weeks from Boston. If I can't get healed up in the next two weeks I'm going to have to defer my entry until 2013. I refuse to run Boston on half ass training.

A few other things of note...
Two weeks into the year and I have been to yoga both weeks. I really like it. And not only do I like it but I can see how it will be very beneficial for me. Definitely keeping at it!

My Spanish is coming along. I have been able to master colors, numbers, foods, and some common phrases. I am still working on time and other household items. I'm pretty sure at this point any 5 year old that watches Dora the Explorer on a regular basis speaks better than I do.

And tomorrow my oldest turns 24. Where did time go?

Life Lessons from a 90 year old

This was was read to me as the opening thought of my board meeting yesterday at the YMCA. After listening to it, I knew I had to come home, find it, and read it again. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.


Written by Regina Brett (90 years old) of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio.

“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more.”

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come…
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

Looking back and looking ahead

2012 … it’s here. I really hate the entire resolution buzz, but I find myself doing the same thing… sitting around reflecting on the last year of my life. Thinking about what went wrong, what went right, what I could do better, what I didn’t do that I should have done, what I didn’t do that I said I was going to do… and on and on and on….

Looking back…
2011 was quite a year. For starters, I turned (gulp) 40! Ugh! I’m not sure why the number was such a big deal to me but it was. I thought, I didn’t look any different (although I’m fully aware I keep looking older and older, but I didn’t look any different than I did when I was 39!). I didn’t feel any different. I didn’t act any different. All that happened was that I was officially in my 40s. I also moved into the “masters” division, which I find hilarious! One would think with the title of “master” you should instantly get faster, right?? My dad tried to convince me that my 40s would be the best time in my life. I thought he was just trying to make me feel better at the time but I’ve realized that he just may be right. I’m okay with being 40.

I had no triathlon season because of a shoulder injury. I was unable to swim or ride my bike. That left me with just running. I started my year on track and ran the Sugarloaf Marathon and successfully qualified for Boston again. After that, I went into a slump, a post-marathon whatever you want to call it and didn’t feel like running long, ever. At times I didn't feel like running at all! I did manage to run the Mt Washington Road Race in June, but that was about it. Late this summer my friend Laurie somehow convinced me to run the Philadelphia Marathon on 8 weeks of training. I thought she was crazy but it was exactly what I needed. I banged out those 8 weeks like nothing was ever wrong, lost 10 lbs, and felt amazing. Unfortunately, the race didn’t come out as planned but I was okay with it. I had my motivation back AND had a really fun road trip to Philly!

One of the highlights of my summer was hiking Mt Washington. I have wanted to complete this hike for two summers and finally in mid-September I did it. I had perfect weather … 70 at the bottom, 50 at the top, very little wind, and clear views most the way up. Hiking is just so exhilarating to me.

Things in my personal life were a little rocky at times. I won’t delve into the details but I will say that I learned this year that I absolutely do not have to put up with any bullshit and drama that complicates my life. Period.

Looking ahead …

2012 should be an interesting year all the way around. I have a few races that I’ve already signed up for, including Boston, but after that I am just going to let the year unfold and see how I feel. I did toss my name in the NYC Marathon entry. I have always wanted to run that race for fun and just take in the sights. I’ll find out later this spring if I got in.

I don’t make full on resolutions, but as I said earlier, I do like to reflect on things I think I could change. It is never anything major or life changing. I just try to incorporate things that I think would make my life – physically, mentally, and spiritually – better.

The things I would like to do more of … reading, yoga, hiking, and camping.

The things I would like to do less of … watching TV and drinking coffee. (yes, I said less coffee)

Something I keep saying I’m going to do but keep putting off … learn Spanish. This is the one thing I am committing to accomplish so stay tuned! I may be blogging in Spanish by year end.

And on the personal side … I will be keeping my life free of bullshit and drama. Life is too short and as my dad said, these are going to be the best times of my life…

Happy 2012!

Sugarloaf Marathon Race Report

Sugarloaf Marathon 2011...




When I decided to run Sugarloaf I had a couple things in mind. 1) Force myself to create an endurance base and 2) Get another qualifying time for Boston. I did not include any speed work during this training cycle, just made sure I put in the miles. Going into the race I was feeling pretty good about my fitness.

When I woke up on race morning my stomach didn't feel that great. I'm sure it was nerves, but I had a hard time eating breakfast. I tried to put down some oatmeal but barely put a dent in it. Once I got to the start, I was feeling much better. It was drizzling out, but nothing major. I started with my rain jacket on with a plan to ditch it at mile 4, just trying to stay dry for awhile since the forecast was for rain the entire morning. I definitely didn't need the jacket because I got warm fast. And it really didn't matter because by the end of the race I was soaked from head to toe.

During the first part of the race, the mile markers were really off. I think the mile markers painted on the road were right, but then the signs weren't put in the same place. Sometimes they would put the mile marker at the water stop, which might be almost 40 secs before the actual mile marker. It was kind of frustrating since I was trying to monitor my pace in the beginning, but I just kept looking at the overall time to see where I was. After mile 10, the markers seem to be fine.

My goal for this race was 3:36, which is 8:15 pace.

Here we go ...

Mile 1 - 8:12
Mile 2 - 8:19
Mile 3 - 8:33 (not sure what happened here)
Mile 4&5 - 8:14 avg (this is one of the places the mile markers were off)
Mile 6 - 8:22
Miles 7-10 ... This is the start of the big uphill and again the mile markers were off so all I have is the total time over the four miles which averaged 8:28. I was really glad to be up over that hill, knowing that was it. It was mostly flat and downhill from that point on.
Mile 11 - 8:09
Mile 12 - 7:57
Mile 13 - 8:09
Mile 14 - 8:15
Mile 15 - 8:06
Mile 16 - 7:44
Mile 17 - 7:36
Mile 18 - 8:12
Mile 19 - 8:14
Mile 20 - 8:48 And this is where it happened. I knew it was going to be tough going from here to the finish. My splits just dropped a minute per mile.
Mile 21 - 9:09
Mile 22 - 9:12
Mile 23 - 9:13
Mile 24 - 9:23
Mile 25 to the finish I averaged 9:15

Finish time 3:42. I lost the 6 minutes in the last 6 miles, but I still got my BQ. Average pace 8:29.

Overall I was happy with my race. I am looking forward to a little recovery and then to start building on this endurance base.

I would like to say a HUGE thank you to Roger who ran course support for me the whole race. I think he appeared at least 6+ times during the race and I know I would not have made it through the last 4 miles as fast as I did if it wasn't for him constantly telling me to keep after it. I've never had anyone run support for me like that and it is amazing what a difference it makes!!

Next up Mt Washington.

Good news, bad news

Good news, bad news. Bad news is always better to take if you have some good to go with it.

The first good news is that I successfully registered for the Beach to Beacon 10K. I was up early Tuesday morning, got all ready for work, set up my laptop and poured a full cup of coffee. I sat down at 6:55 and was prepared to be sitting there for at least 30 minutes like last year. Surprisingly, at 7am sharp I hit the register now button and by 7:03 I was in. Whew!

The second good news is that they drew my name in the lottery for the Mt Washington Road Race. This will be my second trek up the mountain and I am hoping to run much better than the first time. I have been incorporating many hills in my long runs already getting ready for the Sugarloaf marathon, so I just need to add some weekly hill repeats into the schedule from here on out.

The bad news is I went to OA this week to have my shoulder checked out. As I feared, I have a rotator cuff impingement. There will be no swimming for me for at least 6 weeks. There will be no Polar Bear Tri and no Peaks to Portland. I will just have to see how things go before I even think about signing up for any late season triathlons.

I’m being very positive about all this though. I’ve wanted to improve my running so this might just be my chance. With the extra time I have, I can really focus on just running. I should also have time to incorporate some strength work and maybe even some yoga to help with my flexibility. I would love to get back into the shape I was at the end of ’07 when I was setting PRs right and left…. And now I have the opportunity.

The ABCs...

I decided to join in and give up the ABCs on me ...

Age: 39 ... for just a few weeks longer and no I don't want to talk about turning ... uh ...

Bed size: Queen

Chore you dislike: Dusting. I'd rather scrub a toilet than dust.

Dogs: I have had many in my life, but none currently.

Essential start to your day: Coffee. Period.

Favorite color: Blue

Gold or silver: Silver

Height: 5'8"

Instruments you play: Piano, Clarinet, Alto Clarinet, Alto Saxophone. I haven't played the last 3 since high school.

Job title: Business Insurance Agent

Kids: 2... girl, boy

Live: South Portland, ME. I love it.

Mom's name: Marilyn Kay

Nickname: I have several depending on who it is ... Bob (sister only!), Carlson (the guys at work), Donkey (my best friend).

Overnight hospital stay: Twice, to give birth.

Pet peeves: Laziness!! Example: When people wait for a parking spot when there is one available 4 spaces down. Or, hitting the handicap door opener when you're not handicapped.

Quote from a movie: I have so many I don't know where to start ...

Righty or lefty: Righty

Siblings: One. Dawn, sister that is 2 1/2 years older.

Time you wake up: Depends. Weekdays: if I'm working out 5:15, if I'm not 6:45. Weekends: Whenever I want, but if I have a big workout I'm up early.

Underwear: Victoria Secrets bikini, at least 90% of the time...

Vegetables you don't like: Peas, brussel sprouts, raw carrots.

What makes you run late: Not much.

X-rays you had: Collar bone (broken), Arm (broken), Finger (broken), Ankle (not broken), Kidneys, Lungs, Teeth.

Yummy food you make: I am a great cook and baker. Enchiladas, Homemade Mac & Cheese, Pie, Bread, Carmel-cinnamon rolls.

Zoo animal favorites: Zebras, because I'm fascinated that no zebra has the same stripes.

Well, there it is.

The long run

Every time I take off for a long run I take a deep breath and think here we go. It's that the thought of once I take that first stride I know I'm not going to stop running for a long time. I never know how I am going to feel. A lot can happen during all those miles.

I think of longs runs as not only building endurance but also building mental toughness. Some longs feel great the whole way but more often than not I have a few moments where I don't feel good. I kind of drift in and out of "the zone." It's those moments when I'm out of the zone that I really have to think about what I'm doing. I had to do that today. I took off for a hilly 16 miler and the first two miles were just blah. Then at mile 3 I finally settled in and was going along great, felt like I was on cruise control. That is a great feeling. Just zoned out, listening to my music and clipping off the miles. Then all of a sudden around mile 11 or 12 I felt horrible. I struggled though that until about mile 14. Finally it passed and I felt great the rest of the way. Weird how that works. The run ended up being 16.7 and overall I felt good about it.

The other thing about long runs is how much stuff can go through your head and how much you can see while running. I took note today of how friendly all the runners were I met on the road. Everyone said good morning. I started to notice that a bunch of houses still had Christmas wreaths up. Once I saw the first one I started looking at all the houses and couldn't believe how many wreaths I saw. The SMR whizzed by me. Always cool to see the group ride come hauling ass down 77. Spring is around the corner if the group rides are back. I started thinking about what homework I had to do, the laundry I needed to get done. Then my mind started thinking food. Man I'm hungry! Started to think about what I was going to hog down post run. Unfortunately, I realized I was out of eggs which limited what I could fix and meant no pancakes. Ugh. Told myself to remember to go grocery shopping this weekend, which I still haven't done. Too bad you couldn't mentally record all the thoughts that went through your head.

I always forget some of the weird music I have on my play list. I've decided that I love running to the Black Eyed Peas. When one of their songs comes on it just gives me a pick up. All of a sudden today I had the Toby Keith song, Weed with Willie start playing. Wow, did I put that on my playlist? Anyway, it gave me a good laugh.

When I'm marathon training I always start thinking about what long runs I have left while I'm doing my long run. At this point I still have all my 20s to go. I'm pretty sure I should never think about that when I'm having an out of the zone moment!!

The best thing I thought this morning was how much I love running. My last marathon was Boston 09 and it feels really good to be marathon training again.

Roll with it ...

If it's one thing I've learned from racing and training, it's you just have to roll with it. Whatever "it" is. Take it as it comes and make changes on the fly!

I've had to amend my race schedule for a few reasons. First race off the list was the MidWinter Classic. I waited too long to register and it had reached it's cap. Of course, that doesn't really matter anymore since the race never actually took place. The second race off my list was the Black Fly Tri weekend. My folks announced they are coming to visit so I can't really take off to race the whole weekend, can I? I have the Beach to Beacon on my list, but it is still TBD if I actually get in. I'll be disappointed if I don't.

My Peaks to Portland entry is now in question as well. About 6 weeks ago I started feeling something in my left shoulder. Pain at the bottom of my deltoid when I try to extend my arm. Every time I swim it aches. I have an appointment at OA to get it checked and am afraid to sign up for P2P until I know what's wrong.

I added the Polar Bear Triathlon to the schedule. And, last week I put my name in the lottery for the Mt Washington Road Race. I'll find out in a few weeks if I get in.

I should have the answer to all three races in question by months end, so stay tuned.

Here are a few things that I have been reminded of lately ...

1. Don't wear worn out shoes. I almost pushed it too long this time!
2. Stretching and rolling are essential. Period.
3. Eat. If you don't fuel you feel like shit during your workout.
4. Recovery. Recovery days and recovery nutrition.
5. You really don't get fat overnight. I swear I feel like it some days though!!

Why do I have to remind myself of these things over and over?


Next up, New Bedford Half Marathon.

2011 ...

It's here ... 2011 ... another year underway! However, it's not starting exactly how I had imagined it. My training was going very well as I approached the end of 2010. I had a lot of consistency. My running was feeling great and my swimming was improving by leaps and bounds. I was even logging trainer time. Plus my weight was spot on. I had hit my goal weight.

Then, I made a trip to Texas to see my family the week after Thanksgiving. I completed my planned runs and found the local Y so I could swim too. I was so happy that i fit in my workouts while traveling and didn't gain any weight! Unfortunately it's all downhill from there ...

I came home sick. I felt it coming on Saturday and by the time my plane landed Sunday night I was sick! Sore throat, stuffed up, and coughing. By Tuesday I was at the Doctor, who told me all I had was a cold. Great. No Rx. Back to over the counter cold meds and cough drops. That cough lingered for weeks. In fact, I'm still coughing some. I was able to start working out again after two weeks. I got in some good workouts the week of Christmas. Things were coming around. I thought great, I can get back into it without too much fitness lost. THEN, Monday morning I did some shoveling. Nothing major but ended up straining my right exterior oblique muscle. As this week has progressed it got worse and by Thursday it hurt to just walk. I have now lost another week of training.

I started walking (yes you read that correct), walking on Friday. I can't do anything else. Walking is the only thing I can do to burn some calories. I am hoping to ride the trainer this week without too much pain. I think running is still another week away and I fear swimming is going to be on hold longer. I was also hoping to start Nordic skiing this weekend but obviously that is weeks out now too.

I am trying to remember that a few weeks off doesn't mean that I have lost ALL my fitness. And the 5 lbs I have now gained back will come off quite easily once I start working out again.

This injury caused me to miss my first planned race of 2011, the Hangover Classic. As I was out for my "walk" yesterday morning I was thinking was a great day it would have been to race and plunge in the ocean. Oh well. All I can do is I look forward. Here is my planned race schedule for 2011:

Mid Winter Classic 10-miler
New Bedford Half Marathon
Sugarloaf Marathon
Black Fly Tri Weekend
Peaks to Portland Swim
Beach to Beacon 10K
Wildman Duathlon
Lobsterman Triathlon
Colby Triathlon
Maine Half Marathon

My positive thought today ... 2011 can only get better from here. I'm off for my morning walk ...

Camp Ketcha 5K

Do you ever just randomly go to some 5K that no one knows about? Some small dinky race that you've never heard about? They are a dime a dozen these days. Last Sunday morning I was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, and not sleeping! Urgh. Sleeping in might have nice, but no. I finally decided that I might as well get up and go do something. A normal person would just get up and make coffee. Not me, I find some little 5K and go race.

Total field ... 65 runners.

I want to take a moment to talk about the 8 year old -(Jack)- that almost beat me. At the start of the race, this little guy took off like a bat out of hell. We've all seen it. Kids that take off in a sprint only to be seen walking on the side of the road before the first mile marker. I thought to myself there is no way he'll keep up the pace. The race started at Camp Ketcha, went down Route 77, down to Higgins Beach, and then back. I chased Jack all the way down to Higgins Beach. Gaining ground but still not catching him. The guy in front of me finally caught Jack right before the turn back on to 77. I saw him slow just long enough to say something to him. I kept running and finally caught him about a 1/2 mile from the finish. The first time I passed him he sped up. Really? I stayed right beside him, said a few encouraging words, then surged ahead of him. I ran in hard and finished 7 sec ahead of him.

I want to give a big shout out to Jack ... 8 years old ... running a 21 flat 5K. That is 6:46 pace. Amazing.


A few shots from the race, courtesy of Don Penta.

The start (that's Jack to my right, facing the wrong way and wearing a wig)


The finish





I ended up winning the race (well, overall female). Of course that's not hard to do when no one shows up! Finish time 20:53. I was happy because that was my fastest 5K this year. It is so much fun to be racing again!

What do you do with all this stuff?

I was digging through the drawer with my swim stuff in it today and starting pulling out swim caps ... and kept pulling ... and kept pulling ...


Wow, I had 21 swim caps stuffed in that drawer. A few had seen their better days, which I promptly tossed in the trash. But what do I do with the rest?

That reminded me that I also have almost every bib from every race I have finished. Running, Triathlon, Duathlon, and I think just a couple Nordic Ski races.


I keep thinking that one of these days when I buy a house again I will use them to wallpaper my workout room. I know, go ahead and call me a geek but I have always thought it would be pretty cool.

I also have a box in the closet that is filled with medals, trophies, plaques, etc. that really don't mean anything to me. I do cherish some of my medals ... like both my Boston Marathon medals, the Mount Washington Road Race, my Half Ironmans, but the rest are just cheesy trophies from 5K and 10K road races. I actually tried to give these away! I called many local charities and none of them wanted them. I looked up some recycle places on-line but it would cost me a fortune just to ship the box. So, they just keep sitting in my closet.

To all my fellow running and tri friends, what do you do with all your stuff????

Tumbledown

I went hiking again. So much fun! This time it was a little more challenging though. I headed to Tumbledown and hiked up Loop Trail and down Brook Trail. I had some issues heading up Loop as it is very steep and I am afraid of heights. I realized very quickly there was NO way I could go back down that trail. I made it to the top only to almost get blown off the mountain by some really strong winds. I didn't get to spend as much time at the top as I wanted. The hike down Brook was really easy. Then I had about a 1.25 mile walk back to my car. All in all it took 3 hours.

I really want to hike this again, when it's not windy, and not by myself next time. I would love to hike up there and pitch a tent by the pond during the summer!

I didn't take as many pics as last weekend, but here they are ...

I took this because I couldn't believe how big this rock was!


It was really wet. I tried to be careful, but ... oops! Good thing my hikers are waterproof.


That's where I'm headed.


The trail was mostly rocks. Lots and lots of rocks.


Again, the views were great.


I'm so glad I didn't have to run a half marathon today!