Wife Mother Runner Blog - Wife Mother Runner

Need A Holiday Tradition Idea?

November 25, 2016

For the past two years we have taken the kids out of school the day before Thanksgiving to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons being inflated.

We took the 9:50 train from West Haven to Grand Central Station, had our lunch on the train, then tool the subway from Grand Central for the Museum of Natural History. That takes you right to the location where the balloons are. It’s perfect. We had great front row seats to the balloons this year. Somehow, when we arrived we were let into the area before it was open to the public. I think it was the media access that was allowed in for the beginning of the afternoon before it opens to the public at 3:00. We arrived around 1:15 so we had the entire area to ourselves!

November 23rd was the release of the new Disney movie Moana so I told the kids I wanted to see the movie on the opening day. Little did they know that it meant we were going to see the movie in New York City! We saw all of the balloons and then went to Uno’s for dinner and then had to hop on the 1 train to 42nd street then the 7 train to get to the 6 train (these are also notes to help us remember for next time). We got to the movie theater just in time for the 7:00 movie. Then we had to make the trip from Lexington back to Grand Central Station to get back on our train to head home.

It was a great day, perfect weather, and the movie was a great ending to the day. The train got us back to West Haven just before midnight. The kids like the fact that we do things that take us into the next day. By the time all was said and done I think we were in bed by 1:00 a.m.

If you are ever looking for something to do with your family this is a great time. Last year we went to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular so we chose something different to do for our evening entertainment. I’d love to stay overnight one year and see the parade up close.

Dopey Challenge 15 Mile Training Run

November 20, 2016

It’s time to get back on track. I am increasing my mileage towards the runDisney 2017 Dopey Challenge. I used to follow the Jeff Galloway plan very exactly in the past years. But in recent years I have decided to not do a full 26 mile run prior to the race.

I did a 15 mile run this weekend. I was sure to keep my mileage around 13 miles per minute because I wanted to get the miles under my feet more than I was concerned with pace.

For fuel I packed pretzel gold fish and left over skittles from Halloween. They are the perfect size packages to stuff in my fuel belt. I also had a bottle of water since I knew I needed hydration for that long of a run.

It was a beautiful day and a little warmer than usual for this time of year. It was 60 degrees with not a cloud in the sky and a slight breeze. I was out on the road by 11:30 and got home around 3:00.

The first five miles were similar to my past long runs. They are the hard miles to get started. I took in some pretzels and skittles around mile 5.5 and was feeling good. Between miles 6-10. I was doing well but started to feel thirstier around mile 12. I stopped at the library and filled up my water bottle for the last 3 miles. I also had more skittles at this point as well.

I finished up around 15.2 miles with the last .3 miles up my hill. I felt strong after the run but my feet were hurting a little. I knew that this was the last run with these sneakers so I have to retire them and start wearing my next pair which will take me through Dopey.

I was happy with this training run and was able to enjoy time with the family and didn’t feel spent. I also didn’t have a lot of pain the following morning either. So I think the leg work I have been focusing on is helping me with recovery. I also found 40 cents on the run! Winning!

And nothing is better than a cold chocolate milk after a run!

My Baby Girl Is Now 8

November 3, 2016

I still can’t believe my youngest child is now 8 years old! How is it possible? Where did those years go where I had two children under the age of two, both in diapers, with many rough sleepless nights? Those days were hard. But they were bitter sweet. We saw the growth of the children so much more exaggerated than I seem to notice now as they are older. But then one day when I was in my kitchen, my son walked by and I felt like there was a high school student living in my house! As I watched the celebrations of my children having their birthdays this year I was proud of them. They are learning so much, becoming their own individual selves and developing their own likes and styles. I Love being their mom!

Where is the time going??? I want to pause time and keep them little!

Disney Wedding Updates

October 22, 2016

There have been some recent news in the Disney Wedding area lately. In August the Ever After Blog announced some renovations coming to Disney’s Wedding Pavilion. The Wedding Pavilion is getting a refresh with an unveiling date of its new look the weekend of January 14, 2017. The artist rendering of the renovation looks beautiful with the crystal chandeliers and new color palette.

Being a Disney bride, every time I go to Disney and pass Disney’s Wedding Pavilion when I am on the monorail, I always wish we could do it again! Maybe one day we can renew our vows. I would love that opportunity to share the experience with our children. When we are on our vacations and are in the area of the Wedding Pavilion we always bring our children in there to take a tour and relive our memories. This year marks the 15 year anniversary or our Disney wedding.

The 2017 Disney Fairy Tale Collection by Alfred Angelo has recently been released and I wish I could get married again! The wedding gowns in the new collection are inspired by all the Disney Princesses and they are breathtaking. The prices for the gowns are affordable as well.

Tiana

Ariel

Belle

Cinderella

Elsa

Jasmine

Mulan

Pocahontas

Rapunzel

Sleeping Beauty

Snow White

The Other Belle

If I could get another dress to renew my vows I would choose the Snow White or the Belle with the detachable shrug. I love the fact that the prices are reasonable and compared to my wedding dress, they are right in the same price range. The new Alfred Angelo dresses shown here will be released in January and June of 2017. Not only do they carry wedding gowns, but they also have bridesmaids, flower girl and special occasion dresses.

Vineyards Aren’t Just About Wine

October 17, 2016

This past Sunday after my daughter’s softball game I had to run an errand. I had my son with me and we made it quick. On the way home, the sun was shining in a way that was making the fall colors pop on the trees. I suggested to Kevin that we take a little detour and go down Cooke Road to take some pictures. He was game so we did it.

We live within two miles of three vineyards in our area and we never go to them. So I decided to head up to Gouveia Vineyards. We ran around that vineyard with our iPhones taking pictures of the leaves, the grapes, the sunset and the beautiful day like two little kids frolicking in a field. Then we jumped in the car and found another great spot for photos. We were on our little detour from home for about an hour and a half and it was one of my favorite parts of my entire weekend!

Here are some of the great shots we captured!

2016 Hartford Half Marathon

October 11, 2016

This year for the Hartford Marathon weekend I ran the half marathon. I had been training for the Marine Corps marathon but deferred that race; but was confident that I had enough miles under my feet to have a decent half marathon finish time for this race. Diana and I were planning on running it together with a race goal in mind so we would have a decent finish time to use for runDisney corral placement for future races.

This was my friend, Portia’s first half marathon so I told her I would drive her up to the race so she wouldn’t have to worry about parking, finding where to go, and the best part is, my office is located just a block away from Bushnell Park so we could go there prior to the race to stay warm and use real bathrooms!

The morning of the race I got ready exceptionally fast and was actually on time to meet Portia in my driveway. I had oatmeal and two pieces of cinnamon bread with my tea for my pre-race meal and brought a banana to eat just prior to the start. Portia and I drove up around 6:20 and got to the parking lot a little before 7:00. I found Diana and then we went over to the carousel to meet up with some Mickey Milers to get a photo before the race and then I invited everyone up to my office to get warm and to get ready for the race.

At 7:30 we left the building to head back over to Bushnell Park where we could drop off Portia’s bag at gear check and head to the starting line. It was the perfect morning for the race with temps in the 50’s and overcast skies. We were at the start line with a few minutes of time to shake out the jitters and take some photos to commemorate Portia’s first half marathon.

When it was time to run Portia stuck with us for the first half mile and then we sent her off on her way. The crowd opened up at that point and Diana and I started our 30/15 intervals. I was feeling strong and we continued these intervals throughout the entire race except two small sections where the hills were steeper and we needed to keep a brisk walk instead.

Overall, we kept a great average pace of 11:49 minutes per mile with a finish time of 2:34:46. I am very pleased with that. I had been working on shorter, faster runs during my weekly short runs to try to increase my pace a little bit. That in conjunction with doing leg exercises have contributed to my success this race.

After the race I met up with my friend Anne at the park where we enjoyed our Harpoon UFO beer at the beer garden to celebrate a good race finish. The Hartford Marathon Foundation also had a special offer for race finishers to visit area restaurants and present your medal and get a free beer. So Anne and I went to the finish line to watch for some friends from the Be Our Guest Podcast relay team finish under the arch, and then we visited the restaurants offering these specials.

I was very happy with this race and my results and plan to continue to use this race for a PR course or training run towards a marathon in the future. I am also so excited for Portia. It all started with mojitos on Memorial Day on our back deck. From there she started her first journey towards a half marathon and accomplished her mission!