26 Miles, 26 People, 260 Minutes

In two days, I run my first marathon. I have been training for a long time for this, both mentally and physically. Most of my time spent training has been by myself. But that doesn’t mean that I have not had a lot of help and support along the way. As I run my marathon on Sunday, I plan to have a person every mile to inspire me. Some of them have inspired me physically, some have inspired me mentally and some are just inspiring in general.

Mile 1: Mira, who was my first running buddy. She was the one who helped me get through my first long run. We used to run along the levee in New Orleans, from work back to our room, which was a 10 mile run. She was great company and a fabulous running partner. I ran my first Half Marathon with her by my side the entire time. 

Mira and I at the Newburyport Green Stride Half in October

Mile 2: Dad. My father was my first fan, and is still my greatest fan. He has sacrificed many a Sunday morning to not only cheer me on but to take photos, run the 5k races and even sometimes jump in to finish the last quarter mile with me. He even brought water and Gatorade for Mira and I when we ran our first long run. 

Dad came in 3rd in his age group in the City of Roses 5k!

Mile 3: Granddad. There have only been two people in my family who have run a marathon. One of them was my Granddad. He died when I was a teenager, but I always remember thinking he was crazy, because he would tell me how he got up at 5 am to get his runs in. Now I know what he was talking about (it is still crazy though!) 

Mile 4: Craig. My uncle was the second person to run a marathon in our family. Even better is the fact that he ran the same marathon I am running. When he ran it, he was also about my age. This is very special to me that we have this in common.

Mile 5: Lea, my friend who always tells me that I inspire her. What she doesn’t know is that she inspires ME every day, by believing in me and being there for me no matter what.

Mile 6: Jack is another CIM alumni and my friend who will be keeping tabs on me and promised “not to make fun of me” if I run really slow. He ran this marathon last year, but got hurt around mile 20. He walked the rest of the way but still ended up finishing. Not finishing fast, but finishing all the same! I can finish this too!

Mile 7: Hal Higdon. He doesn’t even know me, but I used his training schedule for both my half marathon and this marathon and I have felt great the entire time. I may be a little premature in thanking him, but even so, I do.

Mile 8: Bloggers who run are great people. Everyone is always so encouraging, whether you are running a mile or a marathon, whether you run a 20 minute mile or a 5 minute mile. People have given me advice on everything from what to wear, what to eat or where to run. When I express nervousness about a race or have questions about a run, the running bloggers are there for me. For a taste of some of the bloggers who inspire me, go to Jill's Fitness Friday page! 

Mile 9: Bloggers who don’t run are also great! They still are encouraging, even if they don’t know exactly what I am always talking about or going through. They are still there for me when I feel scared, excited or nervous and when I am having either a good day or a bad one. You can see some of my favorites over on my right sidebar under "Some Blogs I Follow".

Mile 10: Lisa, my friend from Minneapolis, who has been a wealth of running advice and support. She introduced me to the Yasso; she has suggested nutrition and hydration methods and products. I met up with her earlier this year to run a 10 mile race in MN, so mile 10 is for her.

Mile 11: Chris and Alan, my second set of parents, who have not only put up with my stupid, crazy, idiotic antics for years, but are letting me stay at their house AND driving me to the start line early (the race starts at 7!) in the morning on Sunday. They will be cheering me on from somewhere near mile 11, so this one is for them.

Mile 12: Bart Yasso. He doesn’t know it, but he helped me realize that I could be faster. His program for intervals helped me become faster, but more importantly, gave me confidence in myself. I was running at a certain pace, which was “good enough for me” but then I pushed myself a little and realized that I can be faster if I just work a little harder.

Mile 13: Grandma S, who always keeps up with what I am doing and is very supportive. Here is what she said recently via email: “Think of you a lot as you practice and then run those horrendous marathons! I admire your stamina!”  So, as I am reaching the halfway point of this “horrendous marathon” I will be thinking of HER a lot!  Also, hopefully I still HAVE stamina at this point!

Mile 14: My East Coast Family, who I got to spend Thanksgiving with this year. We had a great time, as always, and it was great to catch up with them, to eat, drink and be merry and to remember how great times with family really are. My Cousin and Aunt have also both lost weight recently and are getting out more, walking around and eating healthier and I am so proud of them!

Mile 15: All my friends in New Orleans. NOLA was the first place I really ran seriously. It was where I ran my first half marathon and where I did the majority of my “firsts” (first 8 mile run, first 10 mile run…) There were a lot of people there who I was hanging out with in those days (you know who you are). They were my family away from home. They were there when I was taking my baby steps. 

My first Half Marathon: Mardi Gras Marathon

Mile 16: The Race Volunteers. These people are tireless and friendly and sometimes not even runners! They do it out of the goodness of their hearts. Without the volunteers, there would be no races, or the fees would be much higher! They give us water, Gu and directions! Without them we would literally be lost.

Mile 17: My West Coast Family. Many of them will be cheering me on from the sidelines on Sunday. They are great to be around and I always have a good time with them. I can’t wait to see them and am glad that an event like this is bringing us together, even though it’s not a holiday! I just hope I don’t fall asleep at the table during lunch.

Mile 18: My San Francisco friends. I actually got to see many of them last weekend when I visited the city. I miss them and it was great to see them, although I did not get a chance to see everybody. I had a great visit with some of them though and will be thinking of all of them (and dreaming about buying a house in the city someday) as I run mile 18.

Dinner in North Beach. Bad photo, but good people!

Mile 19: Karen and Nadine, my other “mother” and her daughter, who is my oldest friend. You know those people who you don’t see for years and when you meet up, it’s like no time has passed? They are like that. They are family. And they make a darn good coffeecake! As I am eating a Gu at mile 19, I will pretend it’s Nadine’s coffeecake.

Mile 20: When I hit the wall (and feel like crying) at mile 20, I will think of my Mom. She is always encouraging me no matter what I am doing and I will remember her kind words in my head, and she will help me through my struggle. I usually don’t run races near home, so she watched me for the first time only last month and will be here on Sunday to support me once again. Thanks Ma! 

Mom and I at Almond Bowl Half in November

Mile 21: Kara, my friend who has an energy that I can never match. She recently got married, had a baby, bought a house, moved and got a new job. In between that she does about 4 million other things. Hopefully during the race I will have her energy to get me through the wall and to the end.

Mile 22: My honorary nieces and nephews. They are little bundles of energy. They are full of life. As the miles start to drag, I will keep them in mind, knowing that they believe in their Aunty and that I can do it for them. This mile is for the children!

Mile 23: My Uncle Jay, who died of Cancer last year. He fought it and fought it and was very positive about things until the very end. He didn’t let anything get him down. I will fight these last few miles like (and FOR) Uncle Jay! 

Uncle Jay, Christmas '09

Mile 24: My Brother, who is a huge pain in the butt, so, when I am getting my butt kicked by mile 24, I will think of my brother and I will kick the butt of mile 24. I will not let it beat me. I will beat it, just like I still  used to beat up my brother ;)

Mile 25: Mr. Lovely, who has put up with my running, racing, sweating, smelling bad, telling him repeatedly how many calories are in things, talking about running blogs, nagging him, making him drive me places, making him wait for me, making him be the event photographer, boring him to death with talks about running, running shoes, running pants, Gu, the newest fad and the fact that I am hungry (again) and I need my bunions feet massaged. To top it off, all my races are on Sundays (football days). Since I was a difficult pain in the butt to him for the last several months, I will think of him on this most difficult mile. 

Yes, it's a Lovely Mustache. It may look ridiculous, but it won 100 bucks in a contest!

Mile 26: Myself. This one is all for me. I will finish this race for myself. I am going to cross the finish line. I may not be fast, but I will finish. For all the work I have put into this. For setting goals and attaining them. For proving to myself that I am strong enough. The last mile (point two!!) is all mine. I am going to own it.

My goal is 260 minutes, or 4 hours and 20 minutes, which is a 10 minute mile. I don’t know if I will make it, but that is what I am shooting for. If I don't attain that, I will still be happy. I just want to finish. 

“To finish the moment, to find the journey's end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom” Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Who is your greatest supporter? Your most inspirational friend? What do you do to get through tough times, physical ones or mental ones? 

Fairhaven Turkey Trot Recap

This year was my first ever turkey trot! I have always wanted to do one but have never been near a place that had one for Thanksgiving day. This was a lot of fun for a few reasons. First of all, I have not ran a 5k in a while and I forgot how much fun they are. Secondly, it was pretty small, and I like smaller races. It feels more like a community event rather than a production. It was pretty cold, about 30 degrees, but once you get running, it warms up pretty fast. 

This was the second year that the city has put this race on and I think that they did a good job. Here are the pros and cons of the race. 

Pros: Friendly people. Many of the volunteers were kids, so it felt like a family affair. I liked that. The registration was only 20 bucks and I did get a free t-shirt, even if it was cotton. The race money goes to feed the hungry, which seems not only like a good cause in general, but really feels good on Thanksgiving. The food at the end was great! There were coffees, bagels, water, granola bars, craisins and bananas. It was one of the better hauls I have seen! 

Cons: The race was not timed. This is okay, since I have a Garmin, but it feels weird to not have the clock or at least a slip of paper you write your time on so they can put it online (they did this in New Orleans when there were no chip timers). The course started on a track and several of us who were in the beginning of the pack at the start, myself included, went through the wrong gate. This may or may not have been the reason that my Garmin said that my run was actually only 3.02 miles, not 3.1. The race started about 15 minutes late, which is usually not too big of a deal, except that we had many other things to do (and to cook) that day, so it was a little annoying. 

My final Garmin reading was 23:40. Since this was only for 3.02 miles, I would assume it would have taken me about 40 more seconds to do a proper 5k. This would put me at 24:20, which is a 7:48/mi. A new PR!   

This was a good race. I had fun. The only thing I may do differently is run a longer race next time, since that 5k only burned about 300 calories and I ate about 3000 calories the same day! 

What is your favorite race distance? What did you do Thanksgiving day? Did you exercise or did you embrace the food coma?

Then and Now: November

Every time a new month rolls around, it seems like there is no possible way that another month could have rolled around again already. But the hits just keep on coming. So now November is over and we head once again into the holly jolly Christmas time. Since we have a holiday in November, it makes you realize how much some things change while other things stay the same. Here are a few comparisons from last year to this year, then and now, November style.

The Who:

Every year Mr. Lovely’s father has a big feast at his farm. A pig is sacrificed (sorry buddy), the wine flows freely and good times are had by all. Last year, I took some photos but this year I slacked. However, I still managed to get photos of my friends at the farm each year. 

2010: 

Maaaah

2011:

Oink

The Where:

Before or after the November pig roast, I like to take a detour to visit the surrounding area. Last year, I had a great time in NYC, while this year, I enjoyed the harbors of Rhode Island (did you know that RI has roughly 400 miles of coastline?) 

 2010: 

Brooklyn Bridge

2011: 

Old Mills in Bristol

Last year, I also took a road trip from California to Iowa, to visit a friend of mine. I went through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Kansas. It was a beautiful drive, full of snow and gorgeous landscapes. This year, the only road trip I have taken is by foot! It’s been a few less miles, but much harder work! (You can learn more about my road trip here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5)

2010: 

Driving through the Colorado Rockies

2011: 

Running through the leaves in CA

The What:

Some things stay the same and here is the proof. 

I always like to eat small bites of things. 

2010: 

Street food in Guangzhou, China

2011: 

San Francisco Turkish appetizers at A La Turca

I tend to cook a lot in the fall, and I guess apples are always on the menu 

2010: 

French apple cake

2011: 

After baking so many apple dishes, I finally discovered the joy of an apple corer

I always love fall colors!

2010: 

NYC Central Park 

2011: 

Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA

So, it seems like November, for me, is a month where many things are pretty traditional. I may try a new apple dish or travel to a new location, but basically there are certain things I just can’t do without, every year! Perhaps it’s because a lot of activities revolve around the holiday?

What were you doing last November? What was different this year? What remains the same?

Life in A Day

The other day on the plane I watched Life in A Day, a documentary about one day around the world. The videos were taken by us, by amateurs, and were put together as a whole story. It was interesting to see how every day normal life is different in the different places around the world. They also asked the people doing the videos to answer a few questions:

What is in your purse/pocket/bag? What do you love? What do you fear? 

Some people had no pockets. Others had empty pockets.  One man, who was a diabetic, had syringes.

In my pocket I have an ID, $20 and an AMEX, because today I am not carrying a purse. When I have my purse, it is full of tissues, wipes, vitamins and coupons. It has gift cards and credit cards and frequent flyer cards. It carries my phone and my money, my (big!) camera and my ipod. I lug around a notebook and pens, gum and granola bars. I think my purse weighs 31 pounds. 

There were a lot of people who said that the thing they loved most was God. One woman said she loved it when things were dirty and you cleaned up and you got that feeling of accomplishment. She loved that feeling. 

I love that feeling too. And if it stays clean, I love THAT feeling even more. I love watching the sun rise. I love the ocean. I love a clear blue sky filled with a flock of birds. I love my friends and my family and the comfortable feeling I have with them. I love boats and starfish and giraffes. I love travel and bright colors and crisp days. I love the crunch of leaves under my feet. I love climbing to the top of tall things and running as far as I can. I love a challenge. I love a good book and a warm fire and a cat on my lap. 

One man, whose wife was sick with cancer, said that he was “fearless, because what he feared was that his wife would get cancer, and now she had, so he had nothing to fear anymore” (that kind of made me want to cry for some reason).

I am afraid of the people I love dying. I am afraid of failure. I am afraid of the creepy squishy things in the deep open sea. 

What’s in your pocket/purse? What do you love? What do you fear? 

**My friend Sarah posted about this as well. See her take on it HERE.**

An Apple a Day Monday: IV

I arrived home the other day to find out that my mother had bought even more apples! This is the fun of living in the state that grows much of America's produce; when you are driving home, you never know what you may find. Peaches, plutots, kiwis, artichokes, mandarins, walnuts, and of course...apples. 

1. I think she got a peck of apples. If she got a peck of apples, how many apples did she get? 

2. Do you use a peeler or a knife? I used the knife. 

3. One apple = approximately 1 cup

Everyone keeps saying that Apple Crisp is their favorite Apple dish, so I thought I would take a stab at it. I used Martha Stewart's recipe. (Check out Apple a Day I and Apple A Day II and Apple a Day III.)

Martha Stewart = Butter

3/4 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)

1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

3 pounds apples, such as Empire, Gala, or Braeburn, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, salt, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Cut butter into flour, using a pastry blender or two knives, until mixture is the texture of coarse meal. Add oats, and use your hands to toss and squeeze mixture until large, moist clumps form. (I used my hands, after washing them in COLD water, so as to not melt the butter)

Transfer to freezer to chill while you prepare apples.

The porch aka "the freezer"

In another large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice, cinnamon, and remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar. (I also added a few tsp of my new friend, flaxseed meal)

Transfer to a shallow 2-quart baking dish, and sprinkle with topping mixture. 

I like to use several. It makes it easier to give them away!

Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until golden and bubbling, 55 to 65 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

It turned out pretty good! The only thing I would do differently is that I would double the amount of apples, since they bake down a lot!  Or maybe if I had only used one pan, it would have been thicker? I say more apples! You can never have too many apples.

What is your favorite apple crisp recipe? Do you think Martha uses too much butter? Have you ever bought a bushel or a peck of anything?

Good Times!

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of visiting family and friends and eating, with a little running thrown in. This week is my Taper Week, which means that my miles are lowered because the Marathon is only a week away. It is a recovery period before the big day. This means I am running less, but eating more! However, it is all worth it. Here is (inspired by Kim) what I've been up to for the last week or so! **disclaimer: if you are a vegetarian, you may want to look away, as there are pork pieces below**

I found these at Target! I did not think I could get them anywhere but MN! I must have eaten 30 of them this week!

 I went shopping for rugs. I found the perfect one for in front of the fireplace.

I hung out with some pigs at the Annual Pig Roast. Sorry guys, you are going to be dinner soon. 

There's dinner. Pay no attention to the man with the huge beard. He is participating in MoVember. Or MO-BE-mber. Whatever. 

We drove miles in search of this. When we found it, it was good. 

I ran here. Cape Cod Canal. 

And here. Bristol Rail Trail.

Finally got the big camera out. 

I ate ice cream (among other things) with these girls.

I have not downloaded my Turkey Day photos yet, but good times were had by all!

How was your week? Did you have to work on Friday? What did you do for Thanksgiving?

Busted!

Did you know the average person gains 5 lbs between now and January 1st? If you are anything like me, you probably ate a lot of turkey yesterday. And mashed potatoes, pies, cookies and stuffing. From now until after the new year, it will be hard to stop. Yesterday marked the first day of a long downhill stretch and a rolling snowball of food, eating, making merry, drinking and hanging out with friends (in order to eat, drink and be merry!)

Those 5 lbs which took only a mere month to put on will take at least 3x that long to take off. So, instead of falling into that trap, I chose to join up with Amanda to take charge of that extra weight. I am saying, "back, vile extra pounds, back, I say!" Enter the Holiday Booty Buster Challenge.

What exactly is this HBBC, you ask? Well, you get points for any activities you do as well as extra points if you eat at least 7 servings of fruits and veggies a day. Here are the point breakdowns.

1 Point per mile (run/walk)
1 Point per 3 miles biked
1 Point per 20 minutes of weight lifting, Pilates, yoga, stretching or abs
1 Point per 15 minutes of low impact cardio (i.e. low impact aerobics, easy biking, skiing, skating, water aerobics, snow shoeing)
1 Point per 10 minutes of high impact cardio (i.e.spinning, kickboxing, lap swimming)
1 Per day where you reach a minimum of 7 servings of fruits and veggies (here are details on what is a serving)

It started November 20, but you can join up at any time. It ends January 7th. You can go to Amanda's page for more info, but there are prizes and everything! Or you can just do it to help keep those vile pounds where they belong! I think that keeping track of what you eat and what activities you do really helps to keep you accountable.

I keep track of my miles using Dailymile and RunningAHEAD, because each one gives me a little something different. Both are not only great for keeping track, but they also give you routes to try, race info and information about where your friends are running! And my favorite thing about dailymile is that it tells you how many donuts you have burned (earned) so far!

In order to keep track of my food, I use LoseIt. I know a lot of people have also had success with MyFitnessPal. You can use this app on your phone or the computer, so it's easy to do it every day. It really makes you realize how much better a correct portion size is as well as what you would rather put in your body, for instance a) a glass of wine b) a handful of cheeze-its or c) a cup of baby carrots, 2 tbsp hummus and an apple. I realized that the cream I was putting into my coffee was adding up to 200 calories a day (yes I drink a lot of coffee! Or maybe I should say a lot of cream with a little coffee!)

So, this week (Nov 19 - Nov 25) I ate 7 servings of veggies every day and I ran 25 miles, so I have 32 points so far. My goal for next week, since I am in the taper and will not have high running mileage, is to incorporate something else, whether it's yoga, or some crunches or a few push ups.

Don't forget to go to Jill's blog to check out the other Fitness Friday blogs! Also, it's only 9 DAYS until the marathon! Yikes! Eeek! Egad!

What are you doing to combat the vile pounds this holiday season? Do you have a plan? Are you going to do the HBBC?

Ten Days of Thanksgiving: Days 9 and 10

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope that you are actually reading this on Friday, after you have successfully stuffed yourself with food on Thursday and so you couldn’t get off the couch, even to read blogs (gasp)! Or maybe it’s Thursday and you are tired of watching your uncle Leo yell at the football game, so you have popped online for a brief respite!

Today marks the last two days of Ten Days of Thanksgiving (inspired by Lisa). It has been fun to do this, both to remember the little things and because it makes me realize how many there are! It was HARD to narrow it down to only 10! I hope that you joined along, whether publicly or privately, and that we all keep remembering to be glad of the little things all year round. Happy Holidays!

And now, numbers 9 and 10!

United Airlines: I have to admit, I sometimes use Delta, but generally United carries me across the nation to see the ones that I love. Be it West or East, United gets me to where I need to go. Luckily I travel a lot for work, so when I want to travel for pleasure, I have a few points saved up for fun! Also, earlier this year when my flight from San Francisco to Sacramento (a 30 minute flight) was delayed for a couple of hours, they gave me a $200 voucher for my troubles. Thanks to United, today I am Back East, celebrating the overeating of turkey and the playing of Pictionary with my friends and family. 

In addition to the United plane seen here, I saw Air Force One in San Francisco!!!

Travel: I am thankful for travel for many different reasons. First, I find that travel broadens the mind and opens up the horizons. No matter if you are going to Missouri or France, you learn something about people, history and landscapes, just from going to a new place. And from there, you may learn something about yourself. Other than that, I am thankful that I get to travel. This year I was lucky enough to go on several trips, including a Round The World trip which ended in May! I also got to spend a lot of time with friends and family, which has been great since I am normally so far away from them!

Going boonie bashing with my parents -- Northern CA

Me and Mark Twain -- Hartford, CT

River Float Trip -- Current River, MO

Drinks at Limon with H -- San Francisco, CA

Grandma S's house -- MA

Fishing with Bro -- Marin County, CA

 

Racing with M -- Newburyport, MA

Me and Dad -- Markleeville, CA

Dancing with Penguins -- KC, MO

A's first birthday -- Sacramento, CA

Road Trip to Reno, NV

Cardinals Game -- St. Louis, MO

NYC, NY with the B's

Meetup with Lisa -- Minneapolis, MN

Raise your glass! A, K and K -- East Bay, CA

 I hope that you are having a great day with YOUR friends and family! Gobble, gobble!

Where have you traveled this year? Do you travel for work or for fun? Do you get to see your friends and family a lot?