Half Marathon 2010

Hi Ladies -- Loved our get together the other night!  Jen we missed you, but hope all is well. 

So we did discuss Philadelphia...which I love the thought of, but I am struggling a bit with the particular date.  I also looked back in my calendar and now remember, it was a busy time with the kiddos for Football. Plus, I looked at the calendar and it is a weekend Jayson works, so I am concerned  I am being doing my "thing" of putting too much in one space, which I have tried to cut down on.

One of my clients is an accomplished marathoner running the Boston Marathon, prompted me to look at that site (don't get any ideas I still have no aspirations girls of running a FULL, but admire those that do -- Go Jen & Lynne!!!)
Any how.... I saw a half marathon on October 10th in Boston that may have some appeal.  A few potential "?" , but I will let you check it out ...and see what you think...

https://registration.baa.org/HalfMarathon/Default.asp

ipod music

ok ladies i need your help... i need some new running tunes...what are you listening on your ipods? tonight i was running to whitesnake (here we go again), led zeppelin (whole lotta love) and Lady GaGa (Poker Face)... 812 songs on my ipod i hit shuttle and that is what i got, or rather that is what i stopped at...i skipped over Peter, Paul and Mary, Johnny Cash, Paul Simon, Van Morrison....help!

jennifer

week 10

Happy Easter everyone...to Lynne our dental friend, don't worry we are not eating any jelly beans or chocolate from our kids baskets...well...at least not while they are looking...and since i just confessed to sneaking a couple pieces i will spend a few extra minutes brushing & flossing.

i have so much to share about this weeks run...but i must keep this entry short....my dinner dishes still await....i would ask my 9 year old to wash them...but lets face it....i will only have to re-wash or mop the kitchen floor.

this weeks run was 15 miles! a record for me. the most i have run till now has been 14. so how did we do... great despite a couple glitches...i got hungry a mile 11...oh and every time we stopped to cross a road lynne would have to push me ...cause once my body stopped moving...it was so happy to be standing still...i swear those red lights on the way back were much faster. with about 2 miles to go...we ran out of water... saturday was hot and dry and we were not prepared. you know your running partner is thirsty when she threatens to rip the top off of a fire hydrate...but we made it back...oh and as for all the hydrates....they remained unharmed...your tax dollars were saved...our next run...we will hide extra water along the route.

with 15 miles under our belt week 10 is now complete....but what happened after our run was the best part of the whole day. we got back to lynnie's had some water and off to the lacross field to get the boys...and for the best part... we took lynne's jeep....let me tell you that car is awesome! with part of the roof off, the ipod blasting, and our achy bodies sitting comfortable in the seats it was the best two miles of the day. do you think vermont city would be opposed to us completing our 26.2 miles in the wrangler?

jennifer

a .2 running stickers

hi ladies - ran into a friend whom i used to work closely with but she has since moved on. she is a hoot, high energy, super dooper smart, funny, i just love her and miss her terribly....she said something that made me laugh thought i would share. her and i use to play tennis together, so she was asking about my play which of course is non-existent so i mentioned i was training for the marathon... she is more of a biker than a runner....ok that is putting it mildly she hates to run...but she thought it would be funny to get one of the 26.2 stickers and well just cover up the 26 and mount the .2 on her car....i just about fell out of my chair with laughter....so if you happened to be parked at a red light with a car in front of you that is proudly displaying a .2 sticker, beep and wave that's my friend Annie.

jennifer

week 9 - half way

this weeks run went by quick....depending on which way you were running that is....wow what wind we had. life is so much nicer when the wind is at your back, i guess we can say that is true whether we have our running shoes on or off.

steph and maureen joined lynnie and i for a sunday more "chat and chug." it made the 10 miles go by so quick. i know ladies i was a little gabby gab...forgive me but remember i have dinner with a 9 year old every night...yeah...not much for interesting conversation, but often good for comical relief. now you know why lynne is begging for others to join us each week...this week she only had to listen to me chit chat and sniff for half the trip. oh by the way josh came in second for the Washington DC run, his friend Luc came in first and their friend Claudia came in fourth...first for girls...they had a great time. i missed the race, but was there to witness the joy in all of their faces.

hope everyone is doing well....anybody look at the 10 day forecast.... if we can believe the reports looks like our next long run will be with a few less layers...which personally i know i am looking forward too as the last run required a hot shower and a cup of tea in front of our space heater to recover from.

jennifer

Official Handbook

So today in the mail, as i am sure all of you did I received the Vermont City Marathon & Relay Official Handbook. As I started to flip through i stopped to surveyed the running course, i began to imagine myself running the whole darn thing...what the heck was i thinking?! especially after this week of running or lack of running. don't worry lynne i am not getting cold feet on you...maybe just luke warm feet. i am getting back on track but the rain...its not helping.

so as i am flipping through the book i look at my son and say...i don't know josh 26.2 is a long way, i am not sure i can run that far...in return he says this...its ok mom if you can't run anymore than walk, even if it takes you 8 hours and then he places his hand on my shoulder. in my head i shout 8 HOURS! holy cow! 8 HOURS, they clean up the cones at 6 HOURS!....but to him i say thanks josh i needed that, so i will run then walk (then have lynne carry me)...i can do this, thanks josh...our conversation ends with him saying...mom if you finish i will take you to Friendly's for a banana split...oh but mom you will have to pay...I say WHAT i have to run and then PAY how fair is that...he says that is right mom the runner always has to pay and he gives me the big josh grin.

do you ever have one of those moments with your kid(s) when your roles are reversed and they act more grown up then you... they are the ones offering support and encouragement....well that was the case above. oh and for the record a few years joshua had done well on his report card and he had never had eaten a banana split and he is kind of a foodie (gets it from his father) and i treated him to a banana split....guess he never got...but i have to tell you i did until that moment. so lynne we have to finish under 8 hours or i don't my banana split with joshua...oh that i have to pay for....so here's to finishing under 8!

jennifer

week 8

well let me tell you what happened this week by first saying what didn't happen. lynne and i opted to run on saturday morning verses sunday as the weather was to be so much nicer. the only problem was i woke up saturday morning and my emotional and physical bank account was on empty...yup that's right...it was on "E" but the truth be told it has been on "E" for a while...the past couple weeks in a word, if it is even a word, has been WHA!

I still can't believe it myself...the first time since lynne and i started training for the marathon we could actually run in shorts and i roll over and say not today...and maybe not even tomorrow...i love to run and look forward to every time i get to lace up my sneakers...but what i needed this weekend was some downtime, an extra hour of sleep, a gentle walk in the warm sunshine some QT with my son...and since you all know i have the best training partner in world she did not make me feel one bit guilty about it, she respected my decision, checked in with me over the weekend (as i chilled out on the couch with my running world magazine) and carried on without me...oh get this...leo and the boys followed her on their bikes as she ran her 13 miles...she didn't even have to carry her fuel belt...leo did...how cool is that? very cool! she had her own training crew...now i heard a rumor about someone being sore...and it wasn't lynne.

as for me...i woke up sunday morning feeling like...i could run today...maybe not push it to 13 but maybe i could do 6 or 7. so i laced up the sneakers and bundled up (not a shorts day) and headed out. i got to 3.5 and was not ready to turn around...i felt like i was just warming up...i got to 5 miles and chatted with a couple other mothers out for their morning run and turned around and headed home...running through a snow shower by the way. the return trip was faster than the way out, the music was good the wind was at my back and as i turned the corner to my house i was relieved...my legs were back, maybe not my fastest time or the correct number of miles but at least i had something to log on my calendar...at least i was on the scoreboard...10 miles.

i missed lynne today. i missed our chat and chug. for the past two months i have gotten to connect with her every sunday...i look forward to it. today is one of those prime examples of...it is more about the journey than the race....i got my run in....well...almost all of it, i completed another week of training but it just didn't feel the same. there was no starting photo, no tales about the boys, no venting about the weather, no recipes being swapped, no activity updates, no free advice....i missed it. i missed my training partner. having someone to talk to is what makes your long runs seem less long. plus i have to say i looked pretty silly outside my house doing the victory "another week finished" dance all by myself.

so lynne thank you for being not only a great training partner but also a great friend. i needed a weekend with a bunch of ahhhh moments to counter balance all the whaaas. i needed to step off the treadmill, and get some rest....thanks for understanding...of course if you didn't....not only would you had to carry my fuel belt but also me in it...now that would not have been a pretty sight...see you next week.

ps....go UVM Women's basketball.