Boston Marathon

Today ended up being a very scary, sad day. Please keep those affected by this terrible act of violence in your thoughts and prayers.

For more information : http://www.baa.org/

Cherry Blossom 10 mile lessons

Hey everyone!! Im back, I know I took a solid 3 months off from blogging, but here I am again!

Last weekend I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 miler! It was one of my best races EVER! Since discovering I have Celiacs I've had a hard time with pre-race nutrition. I wish I could tell you I had a strict diet I followed pre-race, but usually it was in the form of watr and lots of teddy grahms the day before...

This race was different, I knew I wasnt going to fly to DC not to really put my all into this race. I wasnt going to make excuses for not trying and then not doing well. I was in this for the RACE!

Since Imsure everyone is wondering( oratleast wishing I would get to the point) I dd PR!!! I big shiny PR

RESTART PLACE FINISH MAP Info Email Print		NAME: ALEXANDRA BRYAR EVENT: Ten Mile Run DATE: April 7, 2013 BIB/DIV:   6794 / F 25-29 TIME: 1:30:00 (gun) / 1:21:47 (net)

Result in Entire Field - 3344th place 14148 finishers behind. 19% of finishers ahead. Result in Gender (Women) - 994th place 9290 finishers behind. 10% of finishers ahead. Result in Division (F 25-29) - 322nd place 2485 finishers behind. 11% of finishers ahead.

LEGEND The location of the figure on the line shows your position in the finish order of the race. The closer the figure is to the right, the closer you were to the winner. FACTS Who's who Of the 17492 who finished, 59% were Women and 41% were Men. Opposite Sex For the record, you were ahead of about 67% of men runners. Timing Info Your start delay: 8m 13s. This page based on NET times -   click images for GUN times.  During the Second Half  You passed 469 runners And 98 passed you

http://www.runpix.info/arace8/00/chy13/ge.php


While i was running I was thinking of all of the lessons about running I learned during this race,so here are a couple I thought I would share

1) Bring layers. Just because the weather forecast calls for54 in the am and warming up to 71 don't assume its correct. it was 42 at the race start and I was freezing. I had planned to wear capris, a tank and arm sleeves but right before the start and ended up pulling a zip-up out of my checked bag and wearing it until mile 8. At mile 8 I decided to pitch the zip up, which I had been wearing  unzipped the entire race. Thats one purple zip up Ill never seen again. So PACK EXTRA LAYERS!

2) Pack a little something you know you like in your checked bag for after the race. Since I cant eat most of the post-race offerings,  I brought a protein bar I knew I could eat after. Most races offer bagels and bananas after races. The cherry blossom offered muffins which I heard were delicious, but I was happy I thought ahead!

3) Just because you had friends running the same race, dont assume you can run with them. I had thought about running with a friend of mine who lives in DC for the10 miles. I chickened out at the last minute and didnt ask her to run with me. Thank goodness!! She kicked some major major running booty and I am pretty sure I would have slowed her down,and possibly thrown up from trying to keep up! RUN YOUR OWN RACE!



Have a great day everyone, Im off to make breakfast, head to the Boston Marathon Expo,and train a client.

Flu Madness

Hi everyone,

This week has been super busy. I have worked an extra 8.5 hours this week and also taught an extra 4 spin classes, all due to others being ill. This week one of my co-workers came down with the Flu even though she had gotten the flu shot. Poor thing was super sick, and out from Monday-Thursday. I covered a few hours for her this week which upped my extra hours worked, and ended up adding some extra spin classes to my schedule because of sick instructors calling out.

The take home message from this? Wash your hands, get your flu shot, cover your mouth when you cough and make sure if you aren't feeling well to STAY HOME!

Other than the sickness that seems to have taken over the state of MA, this week has been great. Its been busy but its made me appreciate being home and relaxing with friends and family when I can. Greg and I went out to dinner tonight at a tapas restaurant and ordered a bunch of things off of their GLUTEN FREE MENU! That's right, they had one! I didn't even know until we called to make reservations. It was pretty good food, but even better company!

Today was the first day all week that I haven't had a spin class to teach so I went for a quick 5 miles which ended up being my fastest 5 miles in a long time. 42 minutes, and I felt great the whole time. I thought my hip flexors might be tight, but I felt like going fast and my lungs and legs agreed, I love when that happens.

Greg and I are headed home to VT tomorrow and I cant wait!! More to come on snow shoeing and winter fun soon!

Crossfit

Yes, CROSSFIT. This morning I woke up and ran to meet Stacy for my very first crossfit class. We had talked about it over the week and decided to give it a try at the free Sat class offered at the Box near my apartment.

I really had no idea what to expect. In the past I have had a very black and white view of crossfit and what it does to the body. I thought that although it seemed to push people and really give a good workout, that it tended to lead to injury and that the fast pace was the wrong approach.

I had these opinions only from what I had read and heard not from my own experience so this morning I went in with an open mind and a good attitude.

We walked into the box, filled out a little paperwork and then gathered as a group. There were 11 of us. We went through a bunch of warm ups including inch worms, lunges, push ups, and squats. After about 35 min of warming up and getting to know each other we were introduced to our very first WOD. It was a partner WOD so I was paired with another guy in the class. He was really nice, and we encouraged each other through the entire thing.

We had 7 min on the clock. The first person did 7 wall-balls and then 7 burpees while the other person held a plank , then they switched ( once each person had done a plank and a wall-ball/burpee set that was considered one round). This continued for 7 minutes, if one person took a break, the other person had to stop as well. I think we got through 5 rounds each. We chose a 12 lb ball for the wall balls which was a fine weight, and we probably could have gone heavier.

I actually got into the competitiveness of it a little bit, and tried not the rest at all during the 7 minutes. It was a fun workout and I would do it again, but Im still not sure crossfit is for me. I like workouts like the one we did today but I dont really have a desire right now to get into the Olympic weight lifting, especially when I have so many races coming up. I am pretty self motivated, so I may take the next month or two and try to do some of the WODs at my own gym, and see how I feel.

Overall, I thought the class was fun, the coach was nice, and the experience was a positive one. Crossfit, I'm still on the fence about you, and I might just have to stay there.

This coming week is filled with running and spinning. I am subbing a bunch of classes and will probably spend most of the week slightly sore.

Have you every tried Crossfit? What did you think?

Races ahead

Hey everyone, I've spent the last three days trying to plan out my race calender for the next 6-8 months. I love lists and planning ahead so I have been enjoying searches races.

I have found a few already and I have done my best to make sure Greg knows what I am planning even if he responds to my questions of  "Do we have any plans the middle of May" with "Umm, I have no idea thats really far away". We will figure it out.

I am home this morning from work so I can wait for our gas company to come by and check our pipes. Apparently they do this every three years and today is the lucky day. I am supposed to get a phone call from them sometime between 8-11am so I continue to wait and hopefully will have time to get in a run before I work at 1pm.

Races:
Feb 3rd Great Stew Chase 15k
March 2nd - Black Cat 10 miler
March 17th -New Bedford Half Marathon
April 7th Cherry Blossom 10 miler (D.C)
May 5th Middlebury Maple Run half marathon (VT)

So there it is, thats wat I have in the books for the next few months, I just have to stay motivated to continue to run even when its 24 degrees outside. Blah.

Its a quick post today, I have a bunch of things to cross off my to-do list before I head into work. Hopefully one of them includes showing the gas company where the pipes are in the basement... they have 1 more hour to show up.

New Year, New Goals

Hey everyone,

So its no secret I havent been the best at keeping up with this blog. For a while I was great at it and had fun, and then this summer life started to get alittle crazy. I was busy, I was traveling, and I was trying to get to the bottom of this anemia issue. Since then I have started a new job, I am enrolled in classes for grad school, and I have created some wonderful fun and hopefully rewarding goals for myself for 2013.

So here it goes...

* Blog more - Yes, I want to get back into blogging. I have found some really wonderful people through blogs and its also a great way for me to decompress and think about my day or week and what I have done or learned.

*Keep track of my running mileage - I didn't do this much after July and I want to make it a goal again. I found that when I keep track of what and when I run I end up increasing my speed and motivation.

*Do at least one kind thing for someone every day- I dont want this to be something kind that I do as part of my work, or school or relationship. I want this to be something special. I want to be able to share something kind once a day either with a stranger, a friend, or a co-worker. No strings attached.

*Get back into lifting weights - I was great at this until May, and then I fell off the lifting bandwagon. I think adding strength exercises back into my routine will not only be great for my running, but also my mental endurance.

*Take (and post) more pictures. - I have a wonderful camera, I just never remember to take it out at social gatherings or even to take out the black memory card out of the camera and put it into my computer.

* Try new foods - I have done this in the past, but especially with my new food journey ( hello Celiacs) I want to become more comfortable with trying new recipes, foods, and restaurants.

*On the same note as above, I want to make an effort not to cry, get frustrated, or pout when I cant have a certain food - Alright, this is a big one. I have been known in the past to cry in a public place once or twice when I read a menu and there was little to nothing on it I could have. This is silly and immature and I am going to try my very best to get past this and look on the bright side of the things that I CAN have. Celiacs is not the worst thing in the world, and most restaurants are very accommodating I just have to join in.

*Meal plan more - Greg and I used to do this ALL THE TIME. We got lazy with it for a while, but have started it again and its great. It saves us money and almost always tastes better than take out!

*Spend more time with family - This means even if its not exactly easy to do so. I need to make more effort and plan ahead so I am sure to see my parents and sister as often as possible. I really miss them and as I become busier that's when I  notice I miss them the most.

*Include Greg in more of my decisions - This might sound a little strange, but I have a wonderful habit of just agreeing to do something  like run a race somewhere, go home for the weekend, or sub an extra class and then telling Greg after the fact. This isn't always a big deal, but when it interferes with time we could spend together during a busy work week or a busy month I need to include him in the DECISION process, not just the "oh, hey did I tell you I am going to do this?"

Well, there you have it. I'm not going to post goals like " make sure to put lotion on my face" or "keep my side of the bedroom clutter free" because those are things that I think know eventually I will make into a habit. My goals are based on things I want and need to do to make myself a better person for the new year.


Happy 2013 everyone!!! I hope its a great one!

Thankful

Hi everyone,
 

I know I promised a post about celiac and my gluten free life as I’ve learned more these past 3 weeks, but today I wanted to touch on something much more personal and dear to my heart.

I had a lot of friends over the weekend run the Philly marathon, or half marathon. I read their facebook updates, or blog posts for months in anticipation of Sunday when they would run their hearts out and see what they were made of. I spent all morning yesterday tracking my friends running the marathon and waiting for facebook updates. I was completely absorbed in their races, and they experiences. 

Later in the day I headed out for a run. I was (and still am) sick with a cold but I knew I needed to get out and run, especially after taking Saturday off. While running my legs felt great and my breathing was easy. I finished up 6 miles in 51 minutes and felt amazing. 

During my run I just kept thinking of all of the runners I knew and the races I have done. I thought about the highs from getting a PR, especially in my case, a PR that came from nowhere, to the lows when your race is just plain hard. I thought about the mental aspect of running, and then how running really does open up doors to new friendships and experiences.

I am thankful to be a runner. I am thankful I can run, and most days I can do so easily. I know that not everyone has this opportunity, and not everyone wants to be a runner. But through running I have learned so much about myself. I am stronger than I ever imagined, and I have created long lasting friendships and relationships with people who I am proud to call running friends.

I am so proud of all of my friends who have recently ran races, or who are planning to run one in the future. No matter how the race or run goes, getting out there is something to be immensely proud of.

A little rest, and some exciting news

Hey everyone,

I believe I left off on Tuesday trying to make you all believe that I was going to go for some glorious long run Wed morning in the early hours of the am.

Well, I woke up, I got ready, I headed out the door, and I ran aprox .3 miles around our block before I came home and called it a day. I am currently battling a cold, and Wednesday morning my body was not in the least bit interested in cooperating with my desire to run. My nose was running and my eyes were watering and I figured it wasn't going to be an enjoyable run so I might as well call it a rest day. Love my logic on this one, cause ya know...all runs are amazing ( not)

Instead I walked the 3 miles to a training I had to attend for work. That was plenty of fresh air and exercise for me for the day.


Greg and I made an awesome GLUTEN FREE dinner Wednesday night!! We made a big fratata with broccoli raube and a salad. It was delicious!! I will post the recipe soon! It was so simple and filling. No butter, or eggs added and it didn't need them!!

- My next post will include my adventures so far with Celiacs Disease and going Gluten Free.


Thursday I taught spin and sucked it up ( stupid cold)  enough to do some speed intervals on the treadmill after. I always do my speed work on Tue and Thurs after I teach spin. I know that realistically its not smart to work on speed after teaching spin for 45 min, but its so easy to do since I can just hop on the treadmill and bust it out without having to make an extra trip to the gym later in the week.

Yesterday I didn't have to work, so i ran a bunch of errands and busted out a long run including 4 miles with Stacy during her lunch. I'm still fighting a cold, but I'm drinking lots of tea and eating Clementine's like they are going out of style so I hope it helps soon!

The exciting news is that a bunch of my friends and I have come together and entered the lottery for the NWM half marathon in D.C My sister entered too!!!!! This will be her first half marathon and I so hope we get in!! There are some amazing women and great friends who have all joined to enter this race as a big group. It will be so much fun if we get in! Cross your fingers for us!!

8pm Bedtime

Happy Tuesday everyone!! It was a busy one around here, I taught spin this am at 6:30 ( class was awesome) and then worked 8:30-6:30. ugh.  Thank goodness I don't ave to do these long days very often.

I am currently planning out my winter/spring running schedule and I must say its looking pretty fun!! My running friend Stacy and I are thinking about doing the Disney Princess half marathon, and I am also looking at doing a race somewhere in Feb and Jan. As for Dec, I just have a few 5ks lined up, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in other longer options! Anyone have some suggestions?

This 8pm bedtime is (surprisingly) not mine... its Gregs. He conked out about 45 min ago, and I don't see him rallying anytime soon. I'm exhausted, but more physically and mentally than really tired and ready for bed. I'm going to try to head to bed soon though, my goal is to get up early tomorrow am for a longer run before work at 8:30. The reality of this will be determined tomorrow am when its cold and dark when I wake up.

How was your Tuesday? Any fun runs planned??

Beautiful November weekend

Hey everyone,

This weekend was a blast. Friday I headed down to see my amazing sister and her boyfriend in CT. We had very little planned, and just spent the day and night talking, making dinner, and relaxing. My sister just moved into a beautiful new apartment. Its huge compared to their last place, and I fell in love with it instantly!!

After I got home yesterday afternoon, I ran a few errands, and ended up back on our couch completely wiped out by 6:30pm. I learned it tough when you have new diet restrictions, and no food in the house. Greg had eaten a huge lunch while I was driving back from CT so he wasn't hungry when dinner time rolled around. He came up with a bunch of suggestions and offered to go out to dinner knowing that I had to find gluten-free options. Any reasonable girl would have loved that her boyfriend was going to all of this effort to feed her, I was not that reasonable girl. I was hungry, I was tired, and I was annoyed that I had to pay attention to a menu for more than 5 seconds to find something to eat. I chose to make a grilled cheese on Udis bread ( awesome for all of you gluten-free lovers out there)  and a banana cut up with peanut butter. It wasn't fancy, but it did make me feel better.

We watched Clue the movie before I headed to bed early.

This morning I woke up and embraced the warmer weather ( 49 when I left the house) and headed out on a long run with Stacy. 8 miles later I made it home. Our run felt great, and we explored a part of the bike path in Arlington I had never been on.

After our run, I got ready and headed out to brunch with Greg, Matt and some friends. I knew I couldn't have the potatoes or the bread that came with my omelet so I ordered greek yogurt with granola to go with it. Unfortunately for me, I forgot that granola is not gluten-free. Darn. I remembered about half way though and decided to call it a wash and finish it. Baby steps....baby steps.


Now we are relaxing before heading out to see Skyfall. Has anyone else seen it? Loved it? Liked it?

Lets get caught up

Hi everyone,


I know its been a few months since I blogged. I took some time to get my running back in order, and to get my health back in order as well. I'm sure not all of you wanted to read about my Doctor appointments and blood draws and my minimal running here and there, so I took some time away.

Lets get caught up shall we?


I am back to running and enjoying every step. I've ran a few races in the past few months including a couple 5ks and a half marathon last month. The half was nothing spectacular, I hadn't really trained, and busted through 13.1 miles in Swanzy NH with my great running friend Stacy.

I have finally solved ( i think/hope) all of my anemia issues. It turns out I have Celiacs Disease. This was a surprise but it makes sense with my unexplained anemia. Going gluten free has been tough. I would be lieing if I said I have embraced the concept with open arms. I have had my fair share of tears, and tantrums as I have tried to figure out what has gluten in it and what things I can substitute my previous carb heavy diet for. I will be sure to get more in depth with this soon, but for now, I would welcome any and ALL helpful suggestions or recipes!!

On a side note, I just signed up for this awesome cause - Huricane Sandy Recovery Its a virtual race for a 10 dollar donation. I can't wait to get out there and race this month! I just also signed up for Wolf Hollow Half Marathon . It should be chilly, but a ton of fun!!


Happy running!

So Excited

These last few weeks have been busy and tiring, but also extremely fun.

I celebrated a birthday! Hellooooo 25! It was a great day followed by a wonderful dinner celebration in NYC. Justines boyfriend planned a surprise dinner for us with about 20 close friends and family there to celebrate and eat delicious food. It was a great treat!

The following weekend I went home to Boston where I celebrated my birthday with Greg. We went to Gloucester where I went on my first ever “long” bike ride. It was only 8 miles, but it was the longest run I’ve ever taken on my road bike. I loved it. I want to bike more ASAP!

Greg is really into road biking, and although I have ZERO desire to ever do anything close to a century ride, I would like to get into longer bikes rides with him. Maybe I’ll cap my rides at 20-25 miles. That seems reasonable to me.

This past weekend I was home in Boston and Greg and I visited with his family who was also in Boston for the weekend. It was fun and we had great weather the entire weekend.

I managed to get a 4 mile run inw hile I was home, but didn’t have time for much more. This week I am going to be increasing my weekday runs. The furthest weekday run Ive done since being in CT for the summer has been 5.5 miles. This week my goal is 7 miles.  I’m slowly but surely getting my milage back up, its just difficult when we have to be at work by 8:30am and we live 45 min away from where we work. ( remember I am working at the private school my sister works at for the summer).

I’m off to go grocery shopping - I know, I know, what a wild Monday night huh? I also have some fun race events/news coming up! Cant wait ti write a post all about it tomorrow!

A Wonderful Weekend

This weekend was fantastic!

Justine, her boyfriend Greg ( yes, we are both dating guys named Greg) headed to VT around 4pm on Friday.

 We arrived at home around 7 after we made a quick stop at Target to get a few essentials for the weekend. We picked up corn hole and a slip -n- slide. Yes, we are classy!

Saturday we hung around the house and did some errands. We went over to Manchester Vt to do some outlet shopping and then headed home to a delicious pulled pork dinner. It was fantastic! We usually make pulled pork in the crock pot, but this time my mom slow roasted it. It was so so good, it will be hard to eat crock pot pulled prok again.


Sunday was the fun day! We had friends from Rutland over, Gregs parents, Gregs sister and her boyfriend, and Justine and her boyfriend as well as my parents and brother. It was a blast. We played corn hole, slip-n-slide, badmitten, and other fun games. We ate tons and tons of great food. My dad roasd a turkey on his new charcoal grill ( a gift from my sister an I for Fathers Day). Everyone had fun, and laughed and ate unil our bellys hurt.

Why the big party you ask? Well, tomorrow is my 25th birthday! The fun of being a twin, its also Justines 25th birthday! Her boyfriend has planned something fun ( dinner I think?...) so I will be sure to fill you in tomorrow! Greg - my boyfriend, is planning on a fun weekend in Gloucester for this coming weekend!

Since I stunk at taking pictures this weekend, I will leave you with some pictures from the 4th of July!

Let's do this

Hey everyone. I took a little time away to rest, relax, and do what I needed to get healthy and full of iron. I am proud to say I am back stronger and happier than I was even a month ago! I have spent the last month going to doc apts and trying to figure out the source of my anemia. So far, there is no one reason for it but I am doing my best to take care of my body and give it al of the iron I can. I'm living down in ct for the summer working until aug 11th. I go home to Boston most weekends and so far have had a wonderful time, I am living with my sister and her boyfriend which is really fun. The big news is that I ran my first race since march yesterday. It was called four on the forth in new Canaan ct. I didn't go into the race with much in the way of expectations. I have definetly been running faster since I have iron in my system now. I am happily running in the 8:40 range so I figured a time goal of 35-36 min would be manageable. It was a smal race so there was no start line of finishers shoot, there were no timing strips on my race bib, or thing to attach to my shoe. I waiting in the road with the other 200-300 people running the race and when the horn blared we were off! There were no mile markers and it was an out and back course. I made the decision not to look at my watch and try to run by feel. It was a nice course, but rolling hills. I actually like rolling hills. I feel I do best on courses that have some hills. I ran by feel and really felt good. I knew I was pushing my pace, but I also had no concept of how far I had gone until I hit the turn around point at 2 miles. I was pushing it and holding my pace until 3.4 miles. At 3.4 miles something happened that I have never had happen before. I threw up. It was quick and pretty painless and I knew it was coming. I threw up on the side of the road and continued on my way. Sorry if this is an over share, but it was such a crazy thing to have happen I thought I would share. I don't think I threw up due to exeersion, I think it was due to my pre-race fuel of a cut up banana mixed with peanut butter. Not my normal pre-race meal, and I don't think it ever will be. The great news is, that even though the race started at 9am, and it was already 73 degrees out, and I threw up, I got a pr! I ran my 4 miles in 31:48. I was thrilled! I am back and feeling great! I can't wait to see what else I can do! I'm headed to vt tomorrow after work, so I'll be back to blogging this weekend. Happy 5th of July everyone. I love the month of July!

Lessons of not running

What I learned about running from NOT running.

You might wonder how I could learn about running while not actually doing any running, but I learned more than I could have ever expected.

*I learned I don’t NEED to run to be happy. 

In the past, I have looked at running as my solitude, my only real way to relieve stress and think things through. I still think that running is a wonderful way to do all of these things, but I also realize that I can get stress relief elsewhere. I can go for a bike ride, a walk, I can read a book. All of these things I used to do when I could run, but I don’t think I ever appreciated that I can sub one of these for a run instead and get basically the same calming results.

*I learned I love running. Yes, I thought I loved running before but just go ahead and take 2 full months off of running and see how you feel. At first I honestly was completely fine that I couldn’t run. I knew my body needed the break and running was feeling pretty horrible at the time so I accepted my non running lifestyle and enjoyed walking, biking, strength training all at a lower level than before. I was fine with this for about 3 weeks while my heart rate still felt crummy and my energy levels were less than impressive. Then I really started to miss running. I was feeling better, my energy was returning and all I wanted to do was run.

My first run back was last week. I ran/walked with Stacy 3 miles.  I was so so happy! I’m sure I looked ridiculous with a goofy smile on my face the whole time, but I truly felt light and happy and so grateful to be able to run again. I love that feeling.

*I learned I needed a break. I think I was pushing myself and putting pressure on myself that eventually lead me to dread running a little bit. I’m not sure if it was my attempted marathon training, my lack of iron, or some combination but I was really hitting the wall hard and should have taken some time off much earlier than I did. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!

*I learned I don’t need to be obsessive about my time, distance, or pace. I got the OK to run last Wednesday and proceeded to go for my first run that day. I didn’t wear my watch, and didn’t care even the slightest bit! I have since gone on a few more runs, nothing more than a few miles but I didn’t wear my watch so I’ll never know. I will start wearing it again as I get back into training, but my watch used to feel like my lifeline when I went for a run and I can now say with confidence that I don’t think my Garmin will hold that much power in the next few months.

*I learned that I don’t run to stay fit or active, I have plenty of other ways to do that, but I run because of how I feel after. Nothing else I have tried in the last 2 months has given me that feeling. The happy, excited feeling that I get when I run, and even when I am done running. I love that feeling and I didn’t realize I missed it until I felt it again.

There you have it, maybe not ALL of the things I learned while not running but definitely some of the most important in my opinion.

Have a great day everyone! I’m headed out for a run soon!

I'll post about this wonderful weekend we just had tomorrow!

Alright Iron, I'm ready when you are.

Hey everyone!
Happy Thursday!! Its beautiful here. The sun is shining, and everything is nice and green since we have had nothing but rain for the past 3 days. I love this time of year.

I was supposed to get my blood taken on Tuesday during my infusion but they decided to give it one more week before they check out my iron situation. I was a little bummed since I had previously decided that once I knew my iron levels I would give myself permission to start running again.  I'm not sure if this is a smart choice, but I thought it sounded like a good plan. I'm hoping my doctors will agree,

Since i have no idea if I can really run yet, I have filled my running void by registering and researching races from June through November.

Lets just say there are some really fun sounding races just waiting for me to sign up for them. They are calling me name and waiting patiently until I hit the "register" button.

Some of these races include:

Stratton Faxton half marathon - June 24th - possibly?

Falmouth road race -Aug 12th ( I registered for the lottery)

Smuttynose Rockfest half marathon -Sept 30th

CHaD  half marathon  - Oct 20th - registered.

Philly Half Marathon - Nov 18th.

I have high hopes for my return to running and I am really excited to see what my body full or iron can accomplish!

Aside from running ( or non-running) news, yesterday was Matts birthday! We celebrated with cake and lots of brownies. It was a success.

I'm heading home tomorrow to celebrate a belated Mothers Day for the weekend. My sister is heading home too and it should be a fun weekend. Its been a while since we were both home at the same time. Its also supposed to be a beautiful weekend up in VT so I'm pretty excited.

Tonight is family dinner and I'll be sure to chat more about that tomorrow.

Also, if anyone has any computer suggestions I am hoping to look this weekend!
Have a wonderful day everyone!

Doggiesitting and much more

Happy Monday everyone!!

A lot has happened since i last posted so I think the best way to go about todays post is in bullet point form to get everyone all caught up. ( yes I like to pretend my life is that fascinating!)

* I got a new Camera! Finally!! Its a Cannon Powershot  ELPH 300 HS. All that stuff after the word powershot doesn't really mean anything to me yet, but Greg assured me this was a good camera and for a great price so I own it now! He should sell cars...
 I haven't played around with the camera too much yet, but i am pretty excited to be able to document fun things in my life again!

* My hard drive crashed on my computer. Sad. This is why there are no pictures yet taken with above mentioned camera. I knew my computer was getting older and its hard its fair share of problems over the past year, but this was the big one!

If anyone has any computer recommendations I will HAPPILY take them!

* We babysat a dog overnight!

Greg and I are going to be dog-sitting for 3 weeks in Aug so the owners wanted us to take the big guy for a night before then just to make sure everyone meshed well together. Well guess what? We did, and I am IN LOVE! The dog is still a puppy, ( he will be 2 in Aug) and is such a happy, entertaining dog. His name is Casper and he is a white lab, roughly the same size as me. I think that having a dog for 3 weeks will be a challenge at times, but I also think it will be so so fun! I can't wait!!

* I discovered that Costco has soft serve ice cream the size of my head for only a dollar and a half! I realize this is not really that important, but I was so excited yesterday after our spending spree at Costco to end the trip with a huge ice cream! Perfect. I love Costco!

* No running....YET! I am going to the doctor tomorrow for my 3rd infusion and for a blood test. Hopefully this will mean my iron levels are UP and i can RUN LIKE THE WIND!! I am only a little bit excited about this concept! :)

* We had wonderful weather this weekend. This lead to lots of time with friends, grilling, and also going to Home Depot to purchase plants, pots, and soil to make our own little garden on the back porch! Hopefully I will soon be talking of basil, mint, green beans, and many other fun and happy herbs and veggies!

I'm off to finish some laundry and get back to work!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Dr Seuss words of wisdom

I wish I could say I came up with these all on my own, but I didnt. I saw this online and loved it. I thought I would share it for a happy Monday post! Enjoy :)

Lesson 1: Don’t put off a run until tomorrow that you can do today.
How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?


Lesson 2: Your effort, even one mile, never goes unrewarded.
You’re in pretty good shape for the shape you are in.


Lesson 3: When life gets complicated take a deep breath, get out there, and run!
Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.

Lesson 4: Don’t let obstacles get you down, face them head on.
I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!

Lesson 5: If you think today’s run was amazing, wait until you put on your shoes tomorrow. The next adventure is right around the corner.
Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.

Lesson 6: When your brain tells your body to stop, don’t let your feet listen.
And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed!

Lesson 7: Don’t be intimated by the starting line or your anticipated training mileage.
Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So… get on your way.
Lesson 8: Don’t be afraid of trying something new (a routine, route, race distance, or a new form of cross-training)
If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good!

Lesson 9: Running is a solitary sport, and only you can push yourself to the next level.
All alone! Whether you like it or not, alone is something you’ll be quite a lot

Lesson 10: When you hit a roadblock physically or mentally, remember that it happens to every runner.
I’m sorry to say so but, sadly it’s true that bang-ups and hang-ups can happen to you

Lesson 11: When non-runners tell you that your running is crazy, just smile.
I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells.

Lesson 12: Most importantly… never, ever give up on your goals.
If things start happening, don’t worry, don’t stew, just go right along and you’ll start happening too.

Tough Cereal

Hey everyone,

Yesterday upon arriving home from the grocery store I made a huge discovery. I usually eat yogurt, fruit, toast, cottage cheese, things like this for breakfast. Greg almost always has cereal. His cereal of choice for almost as long as we have been dating has been Shredded Mini Wheats. He did go through a phase in college where he ate Smart Start, but reverted back to the little wheat squares soon after.

Why am I telling you this? Well, on my quest to get more iron into my diet I have been trying to eat some cereal in the morning. I have fallen for every gimmick there is on cereal boxes promising fortified anything. 

I ate a box of Kixx ( 40% of my daily iron) last week and then when I was at the store last night I grabbed another different box of cereal also promising 40% of my daily iron! I also grabbed Greg a box of his cereal as I almost always do whenever I’m at the store. 

I came home and while I was putting the boxes away I noticed something… Gregs cereal has 90% of your recommended daily iron!! I was shocked! How could I have not known this? All these years he has been iron man and I have been fruit girl. 

I told Greg and he laughed saying he probably got 180% of his daily iron because no one eats just ONE serving of cereal.

 I might be hopping on his shredded wheat bandwagon more often now.

Next year.

Hi everyone!

Its been a busy and slightly stressful week around here, but nothing I cant handle. I’m still battling with my recent anemia issues, but taking it in stride, and basically following any and all orders the doctors give me. Sounds like a recipe for bigger red blood cells and more energy huh? I sure hope so!

It has been wonderful to have such amazing family and friends around this week. I really appreciate all of the nice emails, cards, FLOWERS, and messages I’ve received this week. I am truly a very lucky person! It is so nice to feel so thought about and loved when life gets a little stressful and you feel like you are losing a little control.

 As it turns out May is shaping up to be a very busy month. There are wedding showers to go to, a mothers day to celebrate, and a few fun iron infusions to round out the month. Unfortunately the one thing that is missing is running, the BIG run to be exact. I haven’t been talking much about running since I haven’t been doing any of it lately, but Wednesday I finally stopped pretending and faced the fact that the Vermont City Marathon is not going to happen this year. Not in any way… no walking 26.2 miles, no running 26.2 miles, and no combination of the two. I will run it next year, and hopefully get through the training cycle without any iron problems

I was pretty bummed out, and yes I cried when I had to hit the “defer” button but I also know better than to even pretend my body is in any shape to handle the race. I am looking for a potential race in Nov, but again I am waiting until the end of this month or beginning of June to sign up for anything. Usually not running makes me really moody and crabby, but I tend to believe I am taking this round of no-running in stride. Greg miiiight say otherwise, but maybe we just shouldn’t ask him.

I do miss running, I miss it a lot actually. I am anxiously waiting until I feel better and have the energy, and stamina to bust out a happy sweaty run with anyone who wants to join. Until then I will keep you updated on all of the fun things I am doing with my non running filled time!

Happy Friday!