Wife Mother Runner @gotchocomilk Archives

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!

The Hartford Half Marathon

October 22, 2015

On Saturday, October 10, 2015 I ran the Hartford half marathon for my first time. I had been nervous about running this race, especially for driving into the city and finding parking. I left my house at about 5:40 and I arrived in the city by 6:15. The plan was to meet the girls at the Hartford stage parking lot. I got off the highway and saw the start and finish line area and there wasn’t any traffic at all. I drove over to the Hartford stage parking lot but it was still closed. So I texted the girls and ended up back at the lot across from the start and finish line. I found Diana and we walked over to the gathering area use the Porta potties because there were no lines and then we went back and sat in my car for a little while. I was very surprised that there was nobody around considering this was such a big race and it started in a little over an hour from when we arrived.

At 7:00 we walked over to the Bushnell Park and try to locate Anne and Kimberlee. We used the Porta potties again just before we headed over to the starting line and on my way there I saw my new sponsor Ron as he was directing people. We took time for a quick picture and then Diana and I went to locate Kimberlee and Anne.We found them five minutes before the start listen to the national anthem and then we were off for the race.

Kimberlee decided she wanted to run her own race so she took off ahead of us. My intent was to take the advice that Dimity gave us at the Girls Night Out on Thursday night; which was to start off the first half slow so that you will have enough gas in the tank for the last half of the race. I also wanted to enjoy the now and savor the moment. I wanted to enjoy the race and have FUN with my friends. I definitely had a great time.

The course was nice and we were maintaining a good pace for the first few miles. At around mile 8 we started walking a little bit more because Anne was trying to get her sugar regulated. At that time Diana went off ahead of us. So we planned to just meet her at the end.

At mile 9 we entered Elizabeth Park. It was a beautiful park with rose gardens and they had a candy table there for the runners. We continued on through the the park and then went on back towards the city.We were taking our time so we could use this run as a training run. I was concerned about my leg acting up. We finished the race in 3:08. Not a fast race for me, but 13.1 miles under my feet.

After the race, we met back up with Diana and collected our awesome Hartford Marathon Foundation reusable water bottles and snack bags and then went to the food tent to get our post race fuel. They had corn muffins, pumpkin bread, bananas, chili and milk. They sadly did not have chocolate milk. After eating we went to collect our Triple Challenge Race medal and jacket. I was VERY happy to have them! Those were some tough races. Tough enough where I am not sure if I will do that triple challenge again next year. But you know the bling always entices us when the registration opens in the beginning of the year.

I saw Dimity and Denise again at their booth. I didn’t realize they were going to be at the race Saturday. I thought they were flying home; but I saw Dimity earlier in the morning before the race and she told me to stop by their booth after the race. I took pictures with them and got a cute Mother Runner shirt. It was great to see them one more time before they head home.
As we were walking around I bumped into my friends Bob and Mary and their daughter Elizabeth. We talked for a bit and then Anne and I went to find the beer garden. We got our Harpoon ale and drank it in the designated area, took some pictures and then went on the hunt for the Amethyst jeans.

I read in one of the emails that there was going to be a pink truck that was giving out jeans for a $10 donation. I had to check it out! We finally found them on the far side of Bushnell Park. Next year they need to get a closer spot so more people can take advantage of their special deal. You give them a $10 donate and they donate food, money and a pair of jeans to someone in need.

I said goodbye to Anne and made my way back to my car. As I did, I had to cross the area very close to the finish line and it was exciting to see the marathon finishers trickling in. I decided to stand there for a little it to watch. I had to get home for my daughter’s family birthday party. I knew my friend Michael was going to be crossing the finish line close to 1:00. I tried to wait and watch for him. I was texting his family to find out where he was. But somehow I missed him! I was bummed, I really wanted to see him cross the finish line of his very first marathon.

The Hartford Marathon Foundation put on a fantastic event. It was never in my plans to do this race; but now that I have done it I think I’ll consider it again next year as I use it for a training run toward the WDW marathon. The Hartford Marathon Foundation has great support on the race course, with sufficient water stops, a good size expo, an excellent pre and post-race area and plenty of support and communication throughout the time leading up to the race.

Will I see you at the Hartford Marathon and Half Marathon next year?

Dumbo Double Dare Travel Day 1 and Expo

September 8, 2015

I can’t believe this trip was already a week ago. Life was so hectic right up to the trip and then right afterwards. I will be providing you my details of the trip in segments. Today we will begin with the travel day out to California and the Expo.

The trip began with a little bit of frenzy. When my alarm went off at 6:00 I snoozed it. Then when my backup alarm went off at 6:15 I snoozed that. I finally got up at 6:30. I wasn’t motivated to get moving too quickly. I wanted to be around to see Kevin get on the bus and then at least I’d have a few minutes with Adrienne also. I watched the traffic on the news so I was keeping up with any issues on the highway. With the last traffic check I did at 8:05 there was an accident just outside of Hartford! That’s when a little panic set in. I grabbed the
last of my things, kissed Adrienne and my husband and got on the road. Thank God for the Waze app. The traffic was looking OK according to the app. My estimated arrival time was 9:07 and I was leaving my house at 8:20 for a flight at 10:30. I arrived at 9:00 – Perfect.

I parked the car and got on the shuttle. Diana texted me that the line at the counter to check bags was very long. When I arrived, there was no one left! A flight to Chicago had a large amount of people there so they moved them all through. Security had a longer than usual line. It was doing the Disney zig zag rather than the usual straight lanes. But even with that we got through in less than 10 minutes. But of course, BOTH of my carry on bags needed
to be inspected. We were fine though. We had plenty of time to get a tea, use the restroom and chill for a few minutes before getting on the puddle jumper to New Jersey.

It was a quick 1 hour trip to New Jersey and when we arrived, we picked up sandwiches and snacks for lunch since it was close to lunch time and our flight to California was 6 hour flight. We wanted to make sure we had sufficient food with us to keep us fueled up for the flight. The flight ended up taking 5 hours and 30 minutes flight and was a good flight. I got some work done and rested and Diana read her book and rested. When I think back on it, it did go by quite fast.

When we landed we gathered our luggage and used the restroom. I had a moment in the restroom where I heard a woman calling out for help. I was alone in there with another woman and the woman in the stall. So we both walked over to see what was wrong. The woman who needed help had MS. She needed help moving from her motorized scooter toward the toilet so she could go to the bathroom. She did need the help of both of us women in the bathroom to help her move her legs. She had no feeling and mobility in her legs. We helped her and left her to her privacy and then helped her get dressed and move back into her chair again. She was a wonderful woman, whose daughter was going to run the Dumbo Double Dare Races. After she was all set and back into her chair we said our goodbyes and I felt grateful for my health and to appreciate the little things like how easy it is for me to quickly go in and out of a stall to get my business done and rush onto my way.

Diana and I got our rental car and went on with our journey to Disneyland. I took the advice from the man at the rental car check-out counter and we took the back roads to the Disneyland hotel. He said the highway at that time of night was a mess. That didn’t surprise me because that is how it was for me for the past two prior years. So we typed in the address to our phones and started on our way. As usual, it took 45-50 minutes to get to the hotel, when it is usually a 15-20 minute drive. Like in the past, I had to make a few U-turns and then we parked at the Downtown Disney parking lot and walked over to the Disneyland Hotel to go to the expo.

It was around 6 pm and many of the items at the Expo were picked over and there wasn’t as much of a selection left. I purchase an “I Did It” shirt; but it was only for the Disneyland Half Marathon, it wasn’t even for the Dumbo Double Dare. I also picked up a new Coast to Coast shirt. Those are the two items that I always want to grab when I run the Dumbo Double Dare races.

I did have the chance to go to the New Balance booth with no wait time and had the chance to pick up a pair of children sized Donald Sneakers. They didn’t have the exact size I wanted; but I was able to squeeze my foot into a half size smaller and was OK with that. We went downstairs to pick up our bibs, park passes, and coast to coast wrist band. Then we went upstairs to pick up our shirts. As we walked to the car it dawned on me that I had a coast to coast wrist band and Diana didn’t. Good thing I noticed it! We went back to the expo and talked to Runner Relations to get that resolved and she got her wristband.

It was getting late and we were getting hungry. So we dropped our items into the car and grabbed a sweatshirt to bring with us to Disneyland to watch the Electrical Parade and fireworks. Mandy had landed around this time and we were making arrangements to meet up near the gate so we could give them their passes. Diana and I went to Earl of Sandwich to pick up dinner and brought it with us into Disneyland to eat. But being close to the parade time; there was a large crowd on Main Street. I didn’t want to be too far from the gate because I still had to walk out to meet Mandy to give her the park passes.

We finally met up and the parade had started. Unfortunately, it was just too crowded to enjoy the parade. There wasn’t a good place where I could see the floats. But I did my best to take some pictures. We hung out for a little bit at the park and then decided it was time to head back to our hotels because it was getting close to 9:30 (12:30 back home) and I wanted to be asleep by 11:00 PST the latest.

We checked into the hotel, laid out our race materials for the next day and hit the sack around 11:00 p.m. The alarms were set for 4:00 a.m.

Stay tuned for my recap of the Disneyland 10K race recap.

My 2014 Year In Review

January 1, 2015

I usually do my previous year reflection while I am out on a run, but since I went for a run Tuesday and did some speed work during that run, I didn’t go for a run Wednesday. With Dopey coming up, I am in taper mode and I wanted to be careful that I don’t hurt myself. Considering I am in taper mode, I feel like I have been out for more runs lately because I am off of work and I enjoy getting out there. This Christmas I got my family Fitbits to use and I now have one myself so I have been actively making sure I am getting in my steps so I can earn my mileage on my non-running days as well. I love it. If I am behind on my steps I head outside to the driveway and get in some steps or I make sure I am active in the house and start doing laundry or the other night I began packing my kids’ clothes for their surprise trip to see me for marathon weekend. I am doing what I just heard Jeff Galloway recommend doing on a Mickey Miles podcast episode. which is to get out of the subconscious mind and into the conscious mind and make smart decisions on my eating and activities.

So about 2014… it was a good year for me. From January to present I have accomplished many things! In January I did my second marathon (which was my second runDisney marathon) and met more runner friends. I ran the 10K with Mandy and met her friend Diana Boucher (who is from CT!) For the marathon, I ran it with Kimberly Markey who had her last chemo treatment just prior to the race weekend and was doing the Dopey challenge. I also ran it with Alison Nicklas who is a friend of Kim’s that I had met at the Cheshire half marathon in 2013 and ran with her at various times. At that race I met Gail Savidge and had the opportunity to run races with them all throughout the year in various locations like Massachusetts, Rhode Island, California and Florida! At the 2015 WDW marathon weekend Gail (aka Perfect Goofy Gail) will be earning her 10th Goofy medal so this race weekend is a big deal for her! I also met Linda Ambard at the starting line of the Marathon. She was being profiled by runDisney for their “Why I Run Disney” stories, which Kim was also profiled in. Oh I also had the chance to meet Chris and Heidi Powell in the Magic Kingdom!

Gail (left) Kimberly (center) Alison (right) me and Becca Gibson Kyler (pink shirt front)

Diana and Mandy at the 10K

The Powell Pack

In February, I ran the Princess Half Marathon in Florida which was one of the most fun half marathons! I got to meet Jindy and shared a room with her and I met Gail’s friend Rebecca Bastian one night at dinner and also gained a new friend. I had the chance to meet Eddie McCoy in person and I ran the race with Eddie, Kim, Gail and Dave Dunkowski (another new runner friend). We sprinted from picture stop to picture stop and had the best race photos! I was in training mode for May for the Providence marathon but was still recovering from issues that I seemed to have developed during marathon weekend in January with my hip/quad muscles. I was being careful and trying not to make things worse. But speed was not something I had at the time.

In March I was training for the Providence marathon in May, and March was my birthday month. Nothing too exciting happened in that month for me. I didn’t have any races on my calendar for March because I was focusing on my training. My job was getting very stressful and intense. I recall working many, many hours and having trouble with the balance of work and family. It wasn’t a good time.

In April I was happy to welcome Spring as usual. I ran an innaugural race in Middletown, The Harvard Pilgrim Middletown Half & Legends 4-Miler. Jeff Galloway, Amby Burfoot and Bill Rodgers where there! I went to a seminar Jeff was having the day before the race and on race morning I got Jeff, Amby and Roger’s autographs on my bib! The day after Easter I went up to Boston to watch friends who were running the Boston marathon. Eddie McCoy, Linda Ambard and Michelle Scribner-MacLean were the three people that I knew of who were running that race. I did get the chance to see Eddie run by me briefly at mile 20 and then I went over to mile 25/26 to watch for Linda and Michelle but I didn’t get the chance to see them before I had to catch my train back home. It was so amazing to be at that race and to be a spectator for such a large event. I do want to run Boston one day; but I don’t know if I will run it by my own qualification. It will be a major life commitment for me to qualify for that race. I did run my own Boston marathon event as a fundraiser and a long training run for Providence on Good Friday. I even earned a medal for it!

In May was my chance to get a PR for a marathon. I ran the Providence marathon with Gail Savidge who helped me get my PR. Kim and I drove up to Providence and met Gail who flew in from Arizona. We stayed at a hotel right near the start line and ran the event together. Kim was recovering from her hysterectomy surgery so she was forced to do the half by her coach and doctors and Gail and I ran the full. I was so excited that I got my PR! I think it is so awesome that you can meet friends at races and continue to run with them in other races in the future. I felt really good during that race. I think I may do it again in 2015. We took our annual family trip to Disney and while I was there I met up with Becca twice to do some runs around the hotel. That was great to meet up with her while I was on vacation and get in some casual runs with her. I love making new running friends!

In June I did another race that was new. Runner’s world was doing the Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon hat trick event. I couldn’t do the 5K and 10K on the Saturday of that event weekend because it was my son’s birthday and the kids had a baseball game Saturday night that I didn’t want to miss. But I did plan on sleeping at home and waking up early to drive up to Boston University and run the half marathon with Kim and Gail and Alison. It was a “hot and hilly” half marathon! But I actually ran the Heartbreak Hill that is so famously talked about with the Boston marathon. It will always be a joke to Kim and Gail when I asked if I can get a PR at that race, because they ran the races the day before the half and it was HOT and HILLY!. I also had the opportunity to attend a Social Media Mom’s Disneyside even on the Road Conference in Philadelphia, PA. Kim drove us down there. That was a great time!

In July, I didn’t have any races on my calendar and I was trying to train for a triathlon with some swimming. But I was only swimming in my pool, no open water swimming. I had done some biking in the spring, but in July I was not on my bike. I was maintaining my mileage because I would be ramping up for the Dumbo Double Dare races so I didn’t back down much during the summer months. I mainly did my evening runs and then on weekends I would set my alarm and get up very early and do my long runs while everyone was still sleeping. Then I would have the rest of the day with my family and it wasn’t taking up too much of my weekend time.

During the summer we volunteered at the North Haven Animal Shelter to help out walking the dogs and playing with the cats. I wanted my kids to experience a summer filled with memories so that when they grow older, they can look back and remember their summers as a kid and all of the fun things that they had a chance to do. We went out for ice cream, had fires and s’mores in the back yard with the neighbors, went for walks, saw fireworks, swam, and went to camp. It was a great summer! I didn’t want it to end.

In July some major shifts happened in my work life. I received an email in late June that the President of my company was retiring. It wasn’t his choice to retire and everyone knew that. The moment I received that email I knew it was time for me to leave the company. I made a few changes to the resumes I had posted online to include the SharePoint experience I had and within days I was contacted by someone about a job in Bloomfield. She wanted to talk to me on the phone. On July 3 I talked to her on my cell phone out in the parking lot of my work for an hour. It was a very hot, summer day but I stood out there in the shade and talked to her very casually about why I am looking for a job and to see what she had to offer. Little did I know that it was going to end up being something I truly wanted. We planned to meet in person and I went to their facility several times in July to meet her and the other team members I would be working with.

In July, I also applied to be a member of Team Chocolate milk. I made a video and submitted it for review and it was selected to receive votes. I asked everyone I knew to vote for me every day for 2 weeks and they did! My son especially enjoyed voting for me each night from his kindle. They knew that it was important for me to get onto this team.

In August I was pretty confident that I would be leaving my job at Honeywell and I knew for sure that I wanted the job that I interviewed for in Bloomfield. I had several other calls with other companies, but the Bloomfield job was looking solid. I was getting anxious. The job had fallen into my lap and I was pretty sure I wanted it. I just couldn’t believe that after 24 years with the company I would really be leaving it. It was a 2 mile commute, I had flexibility to get my kids off to school and I had 4 weeks vacation. But I was very unhappy with the atmosphere there. I enjoyed the work I did and I really enjoyed working for and with Jack; but I wasn’t happy. We went to New Hampshire for our summer vacation and stayed up there for 10 days. It was a challenging trip. I was anxious about the job and Kevin was at a point in his career and life where he just wasn’t himself. It was a challenging time for me, but I was trying hard to make sure the kids were still having their #EpicSummer2014. While we were in New Hampshire I received an email that I had made it onto Team Chocolate Milk! I was so excited and my family and I celebrated.

I had one final interview scheduled for after I returned from New Hampshire and I was mentally checking out of my current job. I knew I didn’t want to stay. Waiting isn’t easy for me. I am not a patient person.

Labor Day weekend came around and I was heading to California for the Dumbo Double Dare. I was hoping to have news of the job by then, but I didn’t. I got out to California late Friday afternoon and met up with Kim, Gail and Becca. I also discovered on this trip that flying was giving me migraines. This one I got from the trip out west was so severe that I almost threw up the morning of the 10K race. It was real tough, but once I got running I started to feel better. I love California and the Dumbo Double Dare races. I helped Becca earn her Coast to Coast medal during the half marathon. It was her first coast to coast and she had tears at the end. It was great. I love helping people reach their goals. She had been through a tough summer with her back and wasn’t sure how she was going to do with the race. She did great!

I became a Jamberry consultant in September. I came across it from Facebook while looking for nail wraps for a race and decided that this would be something that I would be interested in doing because all of the parties can be hosted via Facebook and it is a product that I am very interested in. I am still selling the Jamberry wraps and have used it in many ways as fundraisers for a student in my son’s class who has cancer and also for Give Kids The World. I love that something I enjoy can be used in a way that can also benefit others! It is a great company to work for and the amount of time you put into it determines how successful you can be. They have great training tools and their products practically sell themselves!

September came around and I waited for news if I was getting the new job. The kids started their new year in school. Adrienne was a kindergartner now and Kevin was in second grade. I can’t believe it. They are both in school five days a week and it’s great because I am able to work outside the house five days a week. I finally got offered the job I wanted on September 8th and gave my notice on September 9th because my boss was not at work on September 8th. My last day of work was going to be September 19th. I was ready to move on. I planned on finishing work and then starting my new job on October 1. During my time off from work I had to find a new car and then my husband ended up having knee surgery for a torn meniscus. So I didn’t really take much time off for myself to “hang around”. But it was still good to have the break between jobs.

Goodbye Honeywell friends!

October 1 I started my new job and loved it from the start. I worked 2 days and then had to get on a plane on October 3 to head to Florida for the Tower of Terror 10 miler. On the way to the race I sat with a very nice couple on the plane and noticed that the man there had on the runDisney Mickey sneakers. So we got talking and they were also going to Florida for the race. They told me they owned a store in Middlefield and we kept in touch and I saw them the night of the 10 milers. When I returned home I went to their store several times for ice cream with the kids and to go Christmas shopping for my family. Isn’t it awesome how races can bring many different people together?! I also had a stomach-upsetting headache when I landed so I knew I had to get this problem resolved. I joined the girls as their escort for the 5K because I wasn’t running that race and took pictures and watched all of the runners while I was there. That night I ran the 10 miler with Kim, Gail and Becca and had a great time again with all of the picture stops. After the race we went to the after party and then went back to the house where I showered and turned around and drove to the airport (without sleep) to head home for a party back home. My daughter turned 6 in October and I can’t believe how much she is changing! She is so confident now and is doing very well in school. We had a party for her and at the karate studio with her classmates and it was a big success! For my training I was increasing my mileage but was also working my new job and the days were getting shorter so I was starting to feel the challenge of needing to get my runs in but I knew I may have to start using the treadmill. I dreaded it, but came to terms with it and had some successes. I did my long runs on the weekends again like in the summer and it all worked out nicely.

Bob and Mary Perrotti (They are from MIddletown and have a shop in Middlefield 10 minutes away from my house!)

November came around quickly and I had the Wine and Dine race in Disney World. I knew Bob and Mary were also going to the Wine and Dine race but I didn’t run into them there. I didn’t get to hook up with Kim Gail and Becca either, but I did see Joe Pardo and his wife Melissa and my friends Mandy and Kenn Remo at Epcot that night! I was on Joe’s podcast in the summer for one of his episodes. He is so awesome. Very friendly and welcoming and his wife is so supportive of his podcast and all the people he meets! I ran the Wine and Dine half marathon with Mandy and Diana and it was horrible pouring rain for most of the race. This was my first Wine and Dine half marathon and I was disappointed that I didn’t get to experience all of the picture stops and the after party. I planned on staying for the after party, but the weather was so terrible and cold, that I didn’t want to stand in line for the food and drinks in the cold rain. I went back to my room, slept for 3 hours and headed to the airport to get back home to my family for another party! My job was picking up during the months of November and December and I am really enjoying it. I learn something new every day and I think I am becoming a great help to my co-worker. I keep thinking about my one word resolution for 2014 which was “Grow” and feel that it is so appropriate for the year and everything that I have been going through.

Diana Boucher, me, Mandy Remo, Christina Palombo

On a Saturday in November my parents and I took the kids to NYC on the train to see the city. They loved it. We went to the Central Park Zoo, ate at a burger bar in Rockefeller Center, saw the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry and rode the subway. They were such excellent travelers and never complained about all the walking. I knew that we had to return before year end to show them the Christmas lights in the city.

The weekend before Thanksgiving I took a train to Philadelphia to run the Philadelphia Marathon. I met Jennifer Tara there and we roomed together. She was going to run the half marathon. We met Joe Pardo and his wife for dinner and had a great time in the city. Again, I can’t say how much I love making new friends through running and being able to hook up with someone and making a new friend at each race. I had planned to run the full with Danielle DeCarolis. She is a fellow Mickey Miler so we met up the morning of the race in the corrals. You can read my race recap for the full event’s details. I am looking forward to seeing Joe and Jen and Danielle at marathon weekend. For Thanksgiving I didn’t do a turkey trot this year. I did my own Turkey Trot at home in my neighborhood and then we went to my nephew’s house for dinner. It was a quiet but relaxing Thanksgiving.

December came along and I wanted my kids to have an Epic Christmas so we made sure to make plans to do fun holiday things. We went to Gillette Castle to see the lights, we saw lights around town, had breakfast with Santa, my son sang in concerts with his chorus, we put up our tree Thanksgiving weekend and we took them out of school one day to go to NYC. This time my husband was able to join us. It was so much fun to see the city lit up for the holiday. We also watched some of the older Christmas movies like the National Lampoon’s Christmas vacation and they absolutely loved it. They are at a great age to do things that we had done when we were their ages.

2014 was a good year. The kids and I tried new things like Rock Climbing, bike riding at the beach, they went on trips to cities they haven’t been to before, and Adrienne broke her foot. I ran many races in many places and I got outside of my comfort zone and I feel so happy. I am looking forward to another good year in 2015. I believe it is what you make of it. I know that this year I want to focus on achieving the goals that I set and to learn more. What are your goals?

Always smiling! This was 3 days AFTER the accident happened. We went rock climbing and she earned a stripe in karate before we found out it was broken.

Philadelphia Marathon – City of Motherly Love

November 23, 2014

My race reports lately are happening in order of most recent to older. I apologize for that; however, it is easier for me to write about today’s race since I am taking multiple trains home with some time to spare. To begin I took a train from the Wallingford station on Saturday morning. The kids slept over my parents’ house so Kevin and I actually got to bed early. The train was scheduled for 9:09 departure but ran over 20 minutes late. When it arrived I settled in and got comfortable with my tea. The trip took about 4 hours and when I arrived I met Jen at a pub across the street from the train station. I had a nice cold blue moon and a turkey sandwich and then we walked to our hotel to check in.

After dropping off our bags we walked to the expo to pick up our bibs and do a little shopping and I really wanted to go to the Another Mother Runner booth. Dimity spotted their 26.2 sweatshirt I was wearing when I approached their booth! She’s awesome. She gave me a big hug and signed my bib for me. I knew she couldn’t run because of her broken foot but she was going to ride a bike to cheer on her cadets. She told me she’d look for me. I bought their city of motherly love hoody and she posed for a picture with me and told me she would look for me out on the race course.

After the expo, Jen and I made plans with Joe and Melissa Pardo to hook up for dinner. We dumped our goodies off at the hotel and Joe and Melissa picked us up in the front. We went to Chickie and Pete’s. Good food, cold beer and a fun time! Jen wanted a Fliers hat so we made plans to see if we could get into the stadium area to go to the gift shop. Well after a little wheeling and dealing through the side door she was able to purchase a hat even though she didn’t have tickets into the game! We all got a good laugh out of that and then went to the Xfinity Center to check the place out. Joe drove us down South Street to show us the sites and then he dropped us back off at the hotel. It was a very fun time! Thanks Joe and Melissa!!

Jen and I were getting tired so we got ready for bed and despite a few coughing fits, the both of us settled down pretty quickly for the night. I never mentioned how sick I was during the week. I started to get a tickle on Monday with some annoying coughing. By Wednesday it was in my chest so I started steroids and used the nebulizer machine. My Tuesday morning run was a challenge but by Thursday I was breathing easier. I made sure all week that I was getting to bed early so that I could get ahead of this cold or whatever it is.

We hit the sack, I read my kindle until my eyes closed and quickly the alarm went off at 4:30 a.m. I got ready, ate my oatmeal and had some tea and we walked to the starting area.

We got there very early. I wasn’t sure how to plan for this race since I never ran it before. The paperwork said to be at the corrals no later than 5:30 but the race didn’t start until 7:00. We were there by 5:38. Thankfully I was able to find Danielle, who I was planning on running the full with and we hung out with Jen for a while before we went back to our corral. I was able to switch corrals at the expo and Danielle was able to stick with me so that worked out nice. It was very cold standing at the corrals. I had a space blanket which helped a lot. But I took it off too soon and out it back on again a few minutes later and shared it with Danielle. The corrals had some time between releases so we needed to keep warm.

We finally got to go and I helped Danielle with her knee and hip issue by doing 30/30 intervals with her. We had a great pace for the first few miles. Then I got to a point where I needed to use a potty. That usually doesn’t happen to me during races or training. But if I wanted to enjoy the rest of the 20+ miles I needed to do it. That was a big relief on my mind when I got that out of the way.

We continued on through South Street and through downtown and then ended up in the college area and the zoo. Danielle started doing a funky skip hobble which wasn’t good. Her knee was getting worse over time and we were talking about what she should do. We maintained our intervals but walked up the hills. Again we kept a good pace but I wanted her to be careful. As we were climbing a hill around mile 8 someone had donuts. Now I never eat donuts, but I looked at what there was and the glazed donut called out to me! My tummy was rumbly. I had about half of it and it was wonderful! But I didn’t want it to give me trouble so I tossed the rest.

Danielle decided around mile 10 that she was throwing in the towel. It is a very hard decision to make, especially since she paid to do the full and it was her first but her knee was really behaving badly and I was concerned that she would have major issues just finishing the full or even if she did finish, what kind of damage could be going on with it. We took some pictures before we split off and around mile 11 I said goodbye to her. It was sad losing a pal along the way. But I put on my headphones and hunkered down to complete the other half marathon I had ahead of me.

The course has many areas where you can see the other runners returning back towards the finish as I was just heading towards mile 14. That plays games with my head. I struggle with that. But then I remembered Dimity was going to be near the river so I had someone to look out for. I found her just as Sarah was coming up to her as well!! I gave a yell out to Sarah and posed for a selfie with Dimity and then kept on my journey to the finish.

I wasn’t familiar with the course so I didn’t have a sense for when I would see things. I just knew that eventually I’d have to take the route back along the river into the city. Well the course sighed and zagged a few hills here and there and over a few bridges. I saw Dimity again and gave her a shoutout. I saw Linda Bachand around mile 20 and took a picture with her. I wanted to see Danielle again and she said she would be at the bridge. It helps to know there are people you know ahead to give you a boost.

Around mile 22 I was struggling. I called my husband and talked to the kids and it helped. I decided that for the last 3 miles I would run for my husband and kids. I called him again at mile 25 and he told me to finish strong. That was helpful to me. As I came up to mile 26 I kept repeating to myself, “Finish strong”. It helped. I ran the entire .2 distance to the finish line and was practically alone in the shute. That was weird. Everyone was looking at me but I was so focused at finishing strong. I crossed the line and was very happy to have my 4th marathon completed.

I got my medal, space blanket, water and snack bag and headed back to the room to meet Jen and have my chocolate milk! This was my first non-Disney race in many months so I ran for Team Chocolate milk. I was glad to run wearing the gear that my sponsor gave me. I felt special, like maybe what I am doing actually means something. I took a shower and packed up and we left to go to the train station. Since wet didn’t have much time, we grabbed lunch at the station. We relaxed and had sandwiches and then said goodbye until next time! Jen had a great time and told me that she really felt like her old self this weekend. I’m glad she had fun and also finished the race despite her fear of not being trained enough for it.

My next marathon is Dopey. Jeff Galloway has my cluster of runs near Christmas where I do 3, 6, 13.1 and 26, but I think I am going to do a 20 or 23. I am feeling marathon burnout a little bit and don’t want to do 26 miles through my neck of the woods and then do it again at Dopey. It’s just too much. Mentally I struggle so I want to enjoy dopey and not feel the training burnout. I know my performance won’t be spectacular but my goal is to finish Dopey. Hell after my first marathon on 2013 I had no idea all this would have taken place for me!!!

This was a good race and now that I have had time to think about it, I think I would do it again as a training run. I struggled with it a little during the race. I didn’t know the course, but the point was to run on new streets and get a new view for a long training run. I have to remember that I was sick and I did great considering that. I think I am benefiting from doing multiple training runs (3, 5, 10, 26) that Jeff has on my plan and it seems to be keeping me loose and also strong at the same time. It was a beautiful day and I did enjoy it. I had a great time finally meeting Jennifer in person. I also got to hang out with Joe and Melissa and met a new Mickey Miler, Danielle! So it was a great weekend! I also recovered very quickly. I didn’t have much pain at all post race and during the following day I was able to go up and down stairs like it was nothing different. That makes me suspect that I didn’t push myself hard enough. Then when I think that, I keep reminding myself that I did what I was supposed to do and use it for a training run to remain injury free and able to do multiple miles in 4 days. Mission accomplished!

Team Chocolate Milk

November 18, 2014

Thank you again to everyone who voted for me in August to get me into Team Chocolate milk. I recently received my Team Chocolate milk runner’s pack and will be proudly wearing my gear while I run the Philadelphia Marathon November 23.

As I have mentioned in several other of my blog posts, this year has been about growth for me and becoming a member of Team Chocolate milk was a big deal for me. I’m no one special, I’m just a 42 year old mom of two children and a wife of 12 years to my husband and I enjoy running. I’m not an Iron Man, I haven’t competed in a triathlon, and I hardly consider myself an athlete, but I try hard at anything I do and I never give up. I always strive to do my best and challenge myself. I push myself through difficult times and see the results of my hard work and dedication when I reach my goals.

Follow me on my journey as a member of Team Chocolate milk!

What is your goal?

First Dopey Consecutive Training Runs

September 25, 2014

This week Jeff Galloway had a 4 day consecutive training run on my schedule. I had to do a 3 mile, 4 mile, 6 mile and 20 mile run. Thankfully for me, I am off of work (between jobs) this week, so I had the time to get in these runs. I am also fortunate that my husband is home so I could do these runs early in the morning. I chose to do them early in the morning because I always feel better when I begin my day with a run. It makes me feel more energetic and I also don’t have to worry about trying to fit it in later in the day. I went out each day at around 6:40 a.m. The sun rises late now so I wait till after 6:30 to head out. The weather this week was so comfortable for running early in the day. The scenery was so beautiful as well! Here are a few pictures from my second run day (the 4 mile day).

My doggie friend who sometimes joins me for a little bit of the run. He wasn’t in the mood to run with me. He ran away instead.

The fog was slowly melting away as the sun was rising and warming the air.

I have been battling a problem with my shin due to my orthotics being 4 years old. When I first started running I thought I had severe shin splints. I stopped running for several weeks, tried calf sleeves and finally gave in and used my custom orthotics. Come to find out that was the answer to my problem. But recently that pain was coming back, so I went to my chiropractor and we decided it was time for a new pair to be made. I put a lot of miles on mine and I am hoping this will solve my problem. I also ordered new sneakers, so I am hoping I can make it all correct again. So during the week I have been careful to ice my leg often during the day. Tylenol made a big difference after my run and I wore KT tape and calf sleeves during my run. After taking Tylenol the pain was gone for several hours. I was told by my coach, Jeff Galloway, to walk all of my runs for this training assignment. I started my runs by walking to warm my body up and I would see how I felt and make my determination on whether or not I could handle the runs. Thankfully after I warmed up I was ok to run. I actually felt better the longer into my run and also when I ran longer intervals. Each day I started the run the same way, a long warm up walk and then gently ease into running. I used 30/30 intervals. After the first 3 miles the pain was pretty much gone. Seems like once the muscles warmed up the pain would go away. As the week went on I was looking forward to my morning shorter runs, but the 20 mile run was on my mind. I was beginning to dread it. I saw on the Mickey Milers page that people were talking about the latest episode from MIke and Michelle about running feeling like a job. I was looking forward to listening to that episode. I loaded it to my podcast and it was the first thing I listened to as I started my run today. I was feeling the exact same way as Michelle. I enjoy running, but preparing for Dopey was difficult for me. I could handle the short runs. I was nervous about the long run. I was mostly nervous because of my shin/arch problem. I gained confidence that I could do 4 consecutive runs with the last run being the marathon, but I am feeling scared about the Goofy portion of the Dopey Challenge. I did the 6 mile with the 20 mile run the following day and ran all 4 days. My body held up for it. So I know I can do it. During January the races will be with friends in Disney with photo ops and I won’t be running the races for time. I’ll be running them to finish and to enjoy myself. So this gives me confidence. I just need to get my leg back to normal and keep healthy for the rest of my training. For the 20 mile run I walked the first 2 miles to warm up. Then I began to add some running with 15/30 intervals. I did well for the next 8 miles. By mile 10 I didn’t feel anything with my left leg. I was also relieved that I only had 10 miles left. It was supposed to be a very rainy day (Nor’easter storm forecasted), but the rain held off for the first 7 miles into my run. When it did begin to rain it wasn’t bad. It was a gentle rain that was very peaceful. I continued with my 15/30 intervals through mile 13, then I started to walk some more. I decided to change part of my route so that my husband could meet up with me with water and pretzels. I met him at mile 15 and took a 10 minute break to have some water. I didn’t need a lot of water and fuel on this run. It wasn’t hot so I didn’t go through my fluid quickly. I also didn’t use Nuun on this run. I just used water, gummy bears and pretzels. By mile 17 I was walking a lot. Then at mile 18 I was able to put in some more running until I got to my street. I had to burn the last mile by running in my driveway and up my street a little bit so I could earn that last mile. I didn’t want to cut my run short. I am happy that I got it done. I had no expectations on the finish time that I wanted, and am feeling good. Just a little tired from being so busy all week and running 4 days in a row with a long run. In my mind I am accepting that I can do the Dopey challenge. It may not be pretty but I know that I can get it done. The key will be RESTING each day after the race and taking naps. Here are some pictures from my 6 mile run. It was another beautiful fall morning. I stopped to savor the peaceful morning and to embrace the alone time I had. How can you beat views like this to begin your day?!

I Am A Member Of Team Chocolate Milk!

August 28, 2014

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you everyone who voted for me for two weeks to help me get onto Team Chocolate Milk! I am so excited to be a part of the team. My family, friends and I have been voting for the two weeks after I found out I was a finalist to be on the team. I had to religiously make sure I put my vote in each day and had to remind all of my friends (hopefully not enemies now) on Facebook to please vote. My son, especially enjoyed placing his vote each night. I love when they get excited about things that I get excited about.

The hard work of asking (begging) has paid off! After the voting period closed the waiting period began. It closed on Tuesday night and I was on vacation. While having lunch together on Friday my phone chimed that I had an email. I checked it and it was my announcement that I had made it to the team! My kids and husband were cheering and smiling from ear to ear. They knew this was important to me and they were so excited I made it. I had to print out 30 pages of paperwork to fill out and then send in to them to make it official. As soon as I got home from our trip I submitted the paperwork and received this email yesterday:

It’s official! I am so glad I have the opportunity to be a part of this team and I look forward to what is yet to come for me this year. I’ll keep you posted as to what there is coming up for me with this new team I am on.

Help Me To Get OntoTeam Chocolate Milk

August 2, 2014

Last night I was at the Annual Potato and Corn Festival in our town (it’s a very big event in this little cow town), and I saw an email come through on my phone. I looked at it and it was the announcement that I was selected for the voting round to be on Team Chocolate Milk! I worked hard on my video to submit and was so pleased to learn that I was chosen.

So from today until August 15th I need to ask for your help. Please vote for me daily (from any/all devices) and help me make it as 1 of 8 finalists to be on Team Chocolate Milk!

Thanks so much for helping me achieve this dream.

You can view my video and vote at http://www.gotchocolatemilk.com/vote

Tag: @gotchocomilk