Wife Mother Runner @gomer1 Archives

My Top 5 Favorite Running Podcasts

March 31, 2021

Do you like to listen to music or a podcast when running? I enjoy listening to podcasts and want to share with you my top 5 favorite running podcasts. I love to learn while running. This is usually the case when I am doing my longer runs. If I am working on speed, music is preferred. Here are the podcasts I recommend for you to check out right away!

My Top 5 Favorite Running Podcasts

1. Another Mother Runner

As a brand ambassador for Another Mother Runner, their podcast is top of my list for favorite running podcasts. I have been listening to them since the beginning of my running journey. Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bohen Shea are the hosts of the AMR podcast, and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting them in person several times!

I love their real talk and their multiple guest co hosts. My favorite episodes are when Sarah and Molly get to talking about everyday things. They can sometimes get going and have me laughing out loud while running. But on an running note, they really do have great content for women runners, as well as mother runners. They’ve expanded over the years and have a lot more episodes to share. Now you can find AMR Trains podcast and AMR Answers as part of their series.

As I mentioned, I am a #BAMRBASSADOR so I have shared, and I will be sharing more from them over the year, so be sure to look for my content from them!

2. RunOhana

My favorite runDisney podcast is The runOhana Podcast with my friends Donna, Brittany, Ryan and Kenny. It’s so good to hear their voices! I miss my runDisney friends! I love their stories of everyday life and running, along with their fun ideas for runDisney races!

My favorite episode so far is their Reimagining RunDisney’s Star Wars Race Weekend episode. Ryan, Donna, and Brittany came up with some creative ideas for runDisney race suggestions. I won’t spoil who the winner of the three options was, so you’ll have to check out their March 26th episode for that!

3. Runner’s Block

My two favorite gomers are launching a new podcast. They started The Runner’s Block podcast. Steven and Anthony are the two gomers who have started their podcast over 10 years ago when they decided they wanted to train for a half marathon.

I highly recommend starting with the Runners Block podcast and getting current with their new podcast, and then go into the archives of the Two Gomers podcast from 10 years back and listen to their story from the beginning. I promise you, you will not be disappointed! It’s lighthearted (most of the time), funny, inspirational and you do learn things about running along the way!

I don’t want to spoil too much of their history; but they do accomplish many goals they set out to do from the half marathon that started it all, to a full marathon and even a triathlon. Their adventures as two regular guys challenging themselves to live healthier is really fun to binge!

A fellow co-worker from my Honeywell days started his own podcast called Inspire Virtual Runs. When I saw that Richard started a Facebook group and had a podcast about running , I sent him a message right away. I love when friends of mine are excited about running. It re-sparks my love for running again. I get excited to share what, and who I know in the running community, and also to learn from them what they are sharing.

I’ve had the pleasure of being a guest on Richard’s podcast twice! I’ve always wanted to have a podcast; but it’s not the right time for me. So in the meantime, if I can be a guest on a show, I’d love it! You can check out my interview with Richard in episode 8. My husband and I also talked with him about heart health in episode 20. You can also join his Facebook group to share and learn more about running.

5. Will Run For…

Will Run For… is another podcast from my runDisney friends. It’s newer in my lineup of podcasts so I am glad to know that I have some episodes to binge listen to. This podcast is hosted by Tom and Diana, and Erin and Michael.

I came across their show via Facebook when they announced a virtual race they are hosting a Virtually Live Race on April 10. This race will be a “choose your own adventure” where you pick the distance, the location and gather your favorite running crew. Runners and Walkers of any ability are welcome to join. Any distance from 1 mile to 100 miles counts and what they hope will make this special is that everyone will run “virtually together” sharing their adventures with each other via social media.

If you are interested, sign up by April 3rd so you can receive your swag before the race. Also check out more helpful running tips within their Facebook group as well!

As always you can join my Facebook group and connect with other runners and others who want to live a healthier lifestyle. I’d love to know what your favorite podcast is. Leave a comment or share with me over at my Facebook page Happy Listening!

My Word For 2017

December 22, 2016

Every year for the New Year I choose a word that has meaning for me. In 2016 my word was Joy. I wanted to find more Joy in my life. I did so by ensuring that everything I did with my family, friends and work had an element of fun. I was able to find joy in a new career change, in my exercise regimen, in my family life and with my friends. I even got back my joy of running again.
This year the word Strength presented itself to me when I was out on a casual run. Over the summer I began strength training with weights again, and found a new love with it. I used to do it all the time 20 years ago. But once I began running more seriously, my weight training took a back burner. This summer I found that balance again, and the weight training has been helpful with my running.
But the word strength doesn’t just mean the physical strength I want to gain. I also want to be a stronger person emotionally. I want to feel more confident and I want my kids to see that in me. My daughter has been struggling with her confidence this past fall, and quite honestly, I feel that I may have been as well. I started a new job in July which did bring me great joy; but it also brought me new challenges. I am working for a company that I really wanted to work for and I am doing things I have never done before. I am on that edge of discomfort because I am learning while doing; but don’t always feel like my knowledge is up to par with my peers. I am always comparing myself to others, and that is not always recommended because there are things that I can bring to the table that they may not be able to.

I have also been challenged with a very difficult emotional experience recently. My son’s best friend, and a friend to everyone in our small community has been fighting cancer since she was around 2 years old.

We met her when she and Kevin were in kindergarten together. They were in the same class up until 3rd grade but they were fast friends.

She went in for surgery just before Thanksgiving and just came home Monday to be with her family and pets. She came home because she is not doing well. Her father has told us the news, and now I have to find the strength to hold our family together during this very, very difficult emotional time. It will be a first time my children are going to go through an experience like this; and of course for us as well, given that she is just 9 years old.

If anyone has been an example of someone who is strong it is our friend Lyla. She has been through so much and always has a smile on her face and never lets it crush her spirit. She is someone I want to aspire to be like.

We love you Lyla!!

I Got It Back

May 24, 2015

Before my vacation I was struggling with my running. My ankle was almost healed. I had run the Middletown Half Marathon and the Cheshire Half Marathon but they were out of obligation. I wasn’t feeling the desire to race them. But I did well considering I wasn’t feeling as prepared for them as I thought I should be. I was happy with my finish times. Especially since they were close to my finish times back in 2012 for my first Cheshire Half and the Middletown Half was similar to my Hamden Hills half marathon finish time.

I was afraid I was loosing my running mojo. I also noticed that because I wasn’t running as frequently as I should or did in the past that I felt more stressed. Ironically when I was out on my run today I was listening to my favorite podcast, Two Gomers Run For Their Lives, and Stepehen was saying he heard from somewhere that running at least 3 miles a day gives you the endorphins that having a full night of sleep provides you. I believe this to be very true. When I didn’t have the time to get my run done I didn’t feel fresh, my brain was jumbled and I felt fatigued.

During vacation I wanted to run when it was going to fit into my trip. I didn’t put any pressure on myself to set my alarm and wake up early for a run. I did participate in the Fun Rin during the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration which required an early wake up call. But that was the only time. I woke up one morning during vacation before everyone else so I got dressed and hit the sidewalks around the Polynesian and the Transportation and Ticket Center and some of the road we run on during the runDisney events. It was hot but I enjoyed the run.

Now that we are home I have gotten in several runs and am feeling better. I am doing the Mystic Half Marathon next weekend with Diana and told her I was happy with our Cheshire Half finish time and don’t want to kill myself with this race which she gratefully agreed. I got in a 7 mile run today and took it easy and enjoyed it. The weather was perfect and I didn’t have any pain. The sky was blue, the sun was out and there was a nice canopy of shade on the road. I don’t expect to have a PR for the Mystic Half, but I do want to enjoy the run as I work towards the summer months and start to train again for the Dopey Challenge next January. I don’t want to have training burnout.

Remember That One Word Resolution I Chose For This Year?

April 22, 2015

Well today I was challenged…. Actually, this entire week has been a challenge for me. But I have been very successful in overcoming these challenges. On Monday I had to take action and create my training web sites for 16 students. I was going to postpone the task until Tuesday, but I knew my day Tuesday was going to be busy working at Pratt. I’m glad I listened to my gut. I identified an issue right away that would not allow me to create the 16 sites and I needed to get in touch with Corporate IT to help find a resolution to the problem. If they couldn’t help me then I was going to have to take a process that would only take me an hour to do and then build 16 sites that could take me about 5-6 hours. After my Monday afternoon meeting (unrelated to the issue I identified), I came home and started begging for help from IT via email. I have to admit, I wasn’t too happy about the situation, but I knew I had a way out if I needed one.

Tuesday comes along and I was close to getting a fix to the issue. I still had to be at Pratt for the day; but was working on the fact that I may have to ask them if I can come on a different day while dealing with this emergency. Good news… by 9:15 the guys in IT had my solution in place! I could have kissed them! I met Eric and Fred at a SharePoint Users Group meeting in March, so I am hoping they remembered me! So that crisis was averted. I got the sites create and was able to get to Pratt by 11:00 a.m. The day wasn’t a loss. I also got to spend time with my new co-worker/friend Tammy! She gave me a hug when I arrived and cheered me up! So I had my challenges for Monday and Tuesday, but I worked through them.

I knew I had to teach these training classes on Wednesday and Thursday in Danbury and I was feeling a little pre-race jitters about the class. It happens to me every time for some reason. I never feel like I am 100% prepared; even though I usually do just fine in the class. My plan was to leave my house today between 6:30 and 6:45 to get to Danbury by 8:00. I woke up at 5:15 when my alarm went off and made some tea. Problem #1, I spilled my full cup of tea all over the living room rug when I accidentally kicked it with my foot. BUT, I didn’t get flustered. I was strangely calm. I put a towel over it and tried to absorb as much as I could. I got ready for the day and hit the road before 7:00. The sun was out and it was a pretty morning. I was listening to my friend Joe’s Dreamers Podcast and as I got through Meriden I heard a funny noise as I drove over something. Thirty second later I heard another strange noise like something hit the side of my car. Ten seconds later the tire pressure display on my car showed my tire pressure was rapidly falling on my right front tire – GREAT! I had to get off to the side of the highway because I just blew a tire. I was impressed by my car though. It handled so well and didn’t even feel like I had a flat. If I hadn’t heard that noise I wouldn’t have believed it.

Of course when I was standing outside waiting for my husband to arrive I knew I needed to get some pictures because I should share this on social media and write a blog post about it… Why not?!

Once I pulled over, I called my co-worker Jay on his way to Danbury and dropped a few “F bombs” and told him I may be late depending on how fast roadside assistance can get to me. Then I called my husband and dad and my husband came up to help me. A state trooper pulled up behind me and stayed by me while I was on the phone with roadside assistance. Good thing he was because the roadside assistance people said they can’t come out onto a turnpike to help; but he explained to them that it wasn’t considered a turnpike. Now I need to research what is considered a “turnpike” for future reference. He gave me the phone number for the barracks and said another trooper will be making a loop through this way and will probably stop and check on me. After sitting in the car for a few minutes and feeling it shake from the force of the cars zooming past me I decided to stand outside the car to wait. I didn’t want to be a sitting duck in the car if someone wasn’t paying attention and smashed into my car. I did try to get my spare tire out and loosen up the lug nuts on my tire, but they were on too tight. I moved my boxes and the cart from the back of my car and put them on the back seat so I had everything prepared for when either my husband arrived, or when roadside assistance arrived. I had to make this switch quick so I could keep going on towards Danbury. I knew there was a chance I could still get there on time; but worst case, I’d be there no later than 9:30.

The second trooper drove up and I told him I was going to wait outside because I didn’t want to get hit and that help was on the way and the first trooper had already stopped to check on me. They were so helpful and I admire the dangerous job they have out on the highway with all of those trucks and cars going so fast and the risk of the distracted drivers these days.

My husband arrived and changed my tire quickly and I was off and on the road again by 8:30. I arrived to Danbury by 9:05 and was in the classroom giving my introduction by 9:25! I just went with it and rolled with the punches. When I got into the classroom I wasn’t shaking or flustered, I just made light of the situation and got on with the show. It could have been so much worse. It could have been pouring rain or I could have been in an accident. I don’t know where the sense of calm came from but I was glad I kept my cool.

I mentioned to my students today that I have a blog and that my one word resolution for the year is “Challenge” and one of my students said Challenges Are An Opportunity in Disguise. I’m not sure what today’s opportunity was but it did help me connect with my students right away because they were aware of what I had happen and were sympathetic when I arrived; but I am hoping my calm demeanor helped them feel at ease that I was in control of today’s lecture and they were going to learn new things despite what a nutty start my day had!

My family took me out for dinner tonight since my week had a bumpy start and then my husband put new newly repaired tire back on my car.

Thank you Honey! Love you!

One Word Resolution For 2015

March 23, 2015

It’s already April and I should have had this posted by now, but I have still been considering what my word is. Then it was confirmed to me yesterday as I wrote my blog post about the races I did with my family.

My one word resolution word of the year is Challenge. I am going to participate in several races which are challenged races. I just completed the dopey challenge in January. That’s probably the biggest challenge of them all that I am participating in. The other challenge I am registered for is the Hartford Marathon Foundation Triple Half Challenge. I have to run the Middletown Half Marathon on April 12, the Mystic Half Marathon on May 31 and the Hartford Half Marathon on October 10. I will earn the HMF Trip Half Challenge jacket and finisher’s medal.

Having a registration booked and on the calendar will enforce me to work on my training. I have been taking it easy since I got back from the Princess Glass Slipper Challenge because I have a strain in my ankle that is slowly recovering. But now that April 12 is just 3 weeks away it’s time to sit down with my calendar and come up with a game plan. The Middletown Half is a hilly race so I have to put some effort into getting a decent time. I haven’t had a great half marathon time since the Cheshire Half in 2013! All of my other half marathons have been the Disney races which I began to run for “fun” and not for time.

The other Challenges in my life come in the form of learning new things. I am working harder at learning as much as I can with my job. I have always enjoyed learning and I have been learning something new just about every day. I crave learning new things and also learn when I teach. I have to teach more classes in the upcoming weeks so I know that I will also pick up new skills while teaching.

I was listening to the “Another Mother Runner” pod cast today and their subject was spot on in regards to what has been on my mind the past few days. They were interviewing Margaret Webb who wrote the book Older Faster Stronger. I have to check out the book. As I was listening to it on my way to work, Margaret said was “Whatever limit you encounter, keep pushing yourself.”

I experienced that last week when I had to give a presentation that someone else wrote. I thought I knew the content but I was feeling unsure of my delivery. I had to suck it up and just dig into it and I did as I always do. I faced the challenge and applied my best to it and the end result was great. I also had to teach a Level 2 class which I have never taught before and that was another morning when I felt like I was walking across a tight wire with no harness or net to catch me! I had to listen to my own advice that I give my kids. When you think you can’t do something, just believe in yourself and you can do it if you try.

What I also took out of that episode was stepping up my running game. I have been focusing on longer races in the past years. Yesterday when I ran the 5K with my husband I liked the feel and the energy of pushing hard during a short race. I want to focus on getting some decent times again in a 5K race. I ran a 35 minute 5K when I used to run a 27 minute 5K. I am injured now, but I still need to get my speed back up in those races. Margaret Webb also said “Women are distance athletes, we run long and slow. We don’t test ourselves running shorter distances.” That’s where I have been in the past 2 years.

I also want to step up my game with my blog. I have been immersed in my new job since last fall and my blogging has fallen to the bottom of the list. I want to keep up with it because I always thought that in my every day life, there was something that circled back to something else that was a thought that was bouncing around in my brain. The perfect example is above where I was facing new challenges and was feeling scared of them…. then three to four days later I listened to a running podcast not even related to what I was thinking about and the topic was exactly what I was feeling!

So to Gomer1 and Gomer2 of the Two Gomers Run For Their Lives pod cast and the Another Mother Runner podcast, this blog post is because of you. Dimity and Sarah, the topic was an ah-ha moment for me! Anthony and Steven, here’s my one word of the year finally!

Hartford Marathon Foundation Trinity Series

March 22, 2015

Sharing our entire Pot of Gold medals from the past 3 races

As I write this blog post with a big smile on my face, my kids are outside playing. It’s 7:00 p.m. and it’s still light out. I’m happy that they are still outside playing and not wiped out on the couch from their tremendous accomplishments over the past week. Today was the last 5K race of the Hartford Marathon Foundation Trinity Race Series. This means we all participated in a 5K last Sunday in Putnam, a 5K yesterday in Niantic (IN THE SNOW!) and a 5K today in Hartford! I will post about each race separately but wanted to summarize what took place in the past week. I am so proud of my children and my husband and dad and especially my mom!

We signed up for these races because she wants to do a Disney 5K. She had her knee replace last March and it was a grueling recovery time. I kept telling her that her recovery efforts were her marathon to get better. She wanted to do a 5K with me one day. Well that day finally came last weekend. My kids, husband, mom and dad had never done a 5K race before and they all just completed a three race Challenge!

I hadn’t written about this yet, but my word of the year for my one word resolution is Challenge. I am going to challenge myself this year in all aspects of my life. I recently received a challenge when my co-worker, who is also becoming a good friend, resigned from her job last week. Thankfully she is going to be around for three more weeks; but now I have the challenge of learning as much as I can from her in that short time. She has been a mentor to me since I started working there in October. I thought I knew stuff, but man does she know so so much more!!!! But we will remain friends after she leave and will remain in touch with each other so I am not worried. I am just going to face the challenge like I do with everything else and do my best.

My kids faced their challenges with these races the past two weekends because they both had suffered colds. First my son had one last weekend and my daughter, of course, caught his cold and had it for this weekend’s races. But we all showed up for the races, despite the cold, the drizzle, snow and fierce wind! Each race had its own unique issues; but they were all great (the jury is still out on the O’Niantic race). I laugh because the entire mile 1.5 to the end my daughter whimpered “I can’t do it, I can’t do it.” But then as we crossed the line and she got her medal she had the biggest smile! My husband had meniscus surgery on his knee last September and a stress fracture of that leg so he wasn’t so sure how he would hold up running a race, but he told me he wanted to run the 5K with me. It was fun pulling him along and showing him the Jeff Galloway method. He always commented on how he thought it was different not “running” the entire race. I think if we didn’t use it he’d be in a lot of pain tonight. I may have convinced him that the method works!

What a great way to kick of the Spring racing season! Stay tuned for recaps of the past three races, the O’Putnam 5K, the O’Niantic 5K and the O’Hartford 5K.

Crazy Adrienne and the O’Frosts and O’Potters sharing our bling at the end of the Trinity Series Races in Hartford, CT

One Word Resolution

December 26, 2014

I have spoken of this often, I listen to The Two Gomers Run For Their Lives pod cast and each year they come up with a word for their New Year’s resolution. I don’t make resolutions, but I liked the concept of applying one word to my year. Last year the word Grow came to me when I was out on a run. It was a very appropriate word for me for 2014. I have changed in many ways. I left a company I was with for 24 years and started a new job. This job requires that I travel more than the 2 mile commute that I used to have, I am out of the house 5 days per week and I am teach people and interfacing with several people. I love the job. It wasn’t that difficult of a decision for me to take the job. I needed to grow. I was feeling stuck where I was working. My old job wasn’t making me happy. The moral at the company was in the toilet, people were miserable and I was feeling miserable with them. I took a risk, changed a few words in my resume and the job came to me!

As I reflect on my 2014 over the next week, I am thinking of a word that I can apply to my life next year. Grow is still pretty important to me because with my new job I am growing with all of the new things I am learning; but I need a new word. Something to represent what I want to do for myself next year in my career, family, running and personal life. I also want to find more success in my Jamberry business. When I started it last year I had no specific goals, except to keep afloat and not to fail. It is a fun business with cute nail wraps, but I have met so many awesome people who are also runDisney friends and also Mikey Milers! What another great way to network and meet new people! I want to find a specific goal and set it this year.

Do you make resolutions? Do you do a one word resolution? Share with me!

Hmmmm some words that I picked up on while writing this post were “network” “success” “interface” “risk”. I’ll have to chew on those for a bit!

What I Don’t Know About Triathlons

April 24, 2014

This year with my one word resolution, my word was to GROW. Well I think I am going to take the plunge this year and do a Women’s Triathlon. I was considering doing the one in Norwalk in August, but it may conflict with my schedule. So today Kim posted about the Hartford Marathon Foundation’s Women’s Triathlon that is good for beginners. I am way more than a beginner!! I know NOTHING about triathlons. The good thing is, it is a sprint triathlon and a women’s only triathlon.

Like I just said, I know nothing, what I do know is, I can run and I can ride my bike pretty well. Last night when we went to Sports Authority to get a pink batting helmet for my daughter I ventured over to the swimming section to see what they had for goggles, swim caps and bathing suits. I just stood there at the wall and saw ALL the different goggles and shook my head.

What do I wear for the swimming part? A one piece bathing suit? Is there something special I should buy?

Do I wear a swimming cap?

What goggles do I wear?

How the hell do I swim??

Then there were the bathing suits. I figure I can’t wear the cute mix and match bathing suit pieces from Target for the actual swim part. So I’ll have to invest in a one piece bathing suit. That’s going to be a scary site squeezing my body into a non-flattering one piece bathing suit that doesn’t have a skirt to cover up my booty! These suits are around $75.00. I am going to check out Kohls.com and see if they have one piece suits that I can use my coupons for. My husband already complained that this sport is getting to be expensive!

I listen to a podcast called Two Gomers and they have shared their experiences learning how to train for a half marathon, then a marathon and now they are actually participating in their first triathlon on April 28th. I have listened to their training and how much they have grown and learned about doing a triathlon. They have good swimming tips and also recommended a book called “Triathlon Swimming Made Easy” by Terry Laughlin (total immersion swimming)

What do I bring to the race?

How do I set up for transitions?

Do I need a license for USAT?

What is USAT?

This is going to be an interesting summer as I prepare for this race. I haven’t registered for it yet, but I am planning on doing it. I already ride my bike at least twice a week. I have to begin doing a ride, then running to prepare for that transition from bike to run. Oh yea, transitions…. that’s another thing I am clueless about!

How do I transition from the water to my bike?

Do I get naked and change into riding clothes?

What do I do about my hair?

Will I have goggle marks on my eyes? LOL

In all honesty it does sound like a lot of fun as long as I don’t drown in the water first! I’m sure I’ll be last in the race, but as long as I have fun doing it, that’s all that matters. I will research into the results from last year to see how the other women did. That will help me have a goal to shoot towards. I also need to invest in a bike computer so I can keep track of my mileage and pace besides using my iPhone. I think I need a waterproof watch or garmin type watch to also help me with my splits.

Stay tuned as I invest in this new challenge this summer! It should be VERY interesting!

Boston Marathon World Run – A Success!

April 20, 2014

I ran my Boston Marathon World Run on Friday. It was a perfect day for a marathon run. My dad watched my kids for me, which I am very grateful for! I couldn’t do these races and training runs if not for the support of my husband and my family! I can’t thank you enough for helping me make my dreams come true! It means so much to me.

The day was a perfect temp, not too much sun and the roads weren’t very busy either! I mapped out my route ahead of time; but while I was out there, I made minor modifications to try to get in a few more mileage in the beginning closer to my house in a less hilly area so that I wouldn’t have to end the route on as many hills that I originally mapped out. In the end that worked out nicely for me. I had to end on a gradual hill on Route 17 but it was totally manageable and it was also the same road my husband drives home on so he was able to wait for me. When he saw me I told him I had 1 mile to go and to pick me up there so I wouldn’t have to walk the last mile home and treck up our hill. I just didn’t want to do it. I was already out there over 6 hours and I wanted to be home with my family.

I felt great. I did what Jeff Galloway recommended and set my intervals to 15/30 and walked the entire first mile. When I was trying to go slow in the beginning my pace was coming up around 12 mins/mile. Jeff recommended going no faster than 15 mins/mile. I couldn’t slow down at first. Eventually, I evened out around at 14 mins/mile pace. And when in a grove it would speed up to 13 mins/mile.

While out on the run, I enjoyed my favorite podcasts, Mickey Miles Podcast plays first, then Laugh or Go Crazy, followed by Two Gomers. I had several saved up so I couldn’t listen to the rest of my favorite podcasts. I will save them for my weekly shorter runs now and to listen to while at work! I enjoyed laughing while running. The Laugh or Go Crazy podcast really had me chuckling at one point and so did the Two Gomers. I shared this with them via Twitter. I think it is important to let them know that their podcast does impact our lives. It’s great entertainment for me while out for 6 hours training!

The Mickey Miles podcast taught me so much about nutrition. I also learned so much listening to Tara Gidus on the mickey Miles podcast that I am going to write a summary of what I took away from it and may consider hiring her as a nutrition consultant for my training. She is VERY knowledgeable on the subject of nutrition and training, supplements, vitamins and much more. Of course she should be, she’s the official nutritionist of runDisney!

The Laugh or Go Crazy podcast topic was about Living the Dream. Are you living your life as if it were a dream and you are doing all that you dreamed of doing. Are you handling the good and the bad as best as you can? Life won’t always be perfect, there will be hard time and then there are the good times. Are you making the best of your life?

The Two Gomers are on a quest to do the St. Anthony’s triathlon in St. Petersburgh,FL on April 28. I am so proud of them. They are way ahead of me in terms of stepping out of their comfort zone. They have talked for years about stretching out there and wondering if they would ever do a triathlon. Their podcast has giving me the nudge to get on my bike more and I’m also working towards trying a new race this year. I hope I fulfill my New Year’s one word resolution and GROW towards that. If anything, I am cross training with my bike which I hope helps with my running.

I’m very glad my training run was so successful. I am not sore at all. I did as Jeff recommended and didn’t have to rush home to pick up Adrienne from school so I was able to slow down my pace like Jeff said and it really makes a difference. I haven’t run this weekend because I was busy with the kids, sports and the Easter holiday, but I could have easily gotten in a 4 mile run with hardly any leg issues if necessary. I am heading up to Boston Monday for the marathon and hope to run in the evening or I’ll have save it for Tuesday. I’m looking forward to watching the race and soaking in the excitement and using that as the fuel towards my quest to qualify for Boston one day! If I can’t get there on my own within 5 years I will try to go on a charity bib. But I want to earn it ON MY OWN! It’s going to be the hardest thing I ever try to do.

Providence is two weeks away and I’m looking forward to getting a PR for my marathon time and growing towards my next goals for this summer!

Tag: @gomer1

My Top 5 Favorite Running Podcasts

1. Another Mother Runner

2. RunOhana

3. Runner’s Block

5. Will Run For…