Where the heck have I been?

It seems like just yesterday I was blogging about the 1/2 and here it is a week later and no posts. Some may call me a slacker, my daughter may call me lazy (she'll never make that mistake again), but in reality, I've just been BUSY!  Busy doing what, you ask?

Working a full time job, being a mom and carting my kids around, volunteering and fundraising for the National Lung Cancer Partnership, and launching my own company. Yup, you read that right...launching my own company!  I even have an EIN number...not that I'm bragging or anything. Stay tuned...more on my entrepreneurial venture coming soon.

My poor hubby and cat...they didn't even make the list of what's been keeping me busy.  :(  

I went on my first run post 1/2 marathon this morning.  3 miles in 29 minutes....not too shabby for these tired legs!

Happy Friday!

I did it!! WOO HOO!!

Philly Rock-n-Roll 1/2 Marathon Recap:

The day started off uneventful...just how I like race mornings to go.  We got to the city early, I met my 1/2 marathon training group with no problems.  I didn't have to wait in any porta potty lines or go in a gross porta potty since I had access to the VIP Brooks "Potty Like A Rock Star" trailer.  These bathrooms are freakin' awesome!  Hard wood floors, real toilets that flush, running water to wash your hands...I loved it!  Definitely worth it to buy Brooks gear to get the sticker that gets you in!

I was in Coral 14 to start.  I ran into one of my daughter's friend's Dad.  It was nice to talk to him to take my nerves off waiting to start.  I crossed the mat with 17:14 already on the clock.  I like to keep this number in my mind to get a more accurate idea of my chip time as I start clocking off the miles.

Mile 1 was right at a 10:14 pace.  I was fine with that.   I really get paranoid about going out too fast.  Mile 2 was a 10 minute pace.  Two really nice people offered me inspiration and commented on my shirt between miles 1 and 2.  For those new to following my blog, I was running today in memory of my Dad.  He passed away after a short battle with lung cancer on 4/29/08.  Today, 9/19, would have been his 67th birthday.

Miles 3-6 were very uneventful.  I was keeping a nice 10 to 10:10 pace.  My 5K split time was 31:31.  My 10K split time was 1:04:14.  I was feeling strong and really good about my progress.  I kept going strong miles 7-10.  I stopped to refill the water bottle at the water station after mile 7.  I crossed the mat at 10 miles at 1:46:17.  This made me smile as I shaved 5+ minutes off my Broad Street finish (10 miler) back in May!

Between Miles 11-12, I had a horrendous side stitch on the left.  I had to slow down, walk, and breathe through the pain.  I started to run when I thought I had it controlled.  However, the walking didn't help my right quad which then cramped up.  It was hard as a rock and I was really in pain and mentally feeling down.  I was walking  a good bit...My Nike+ chip tells me I clocked a pathetic 16 minute miles between 11 and 12.  Lovely.

I started running again when I saw the Mile 12 sign.  That's when the nicest guy started talking to me.  He was encouraging me and getting me to talk about my Dad.  He left me for a little bit commenting that "he had to go back and check on his other girlfriend who he noticed was walking again".  He came back to me again during mile 12 and kept encouraging me telling me how proud my Dad would be, how proud he was of me, and to keep going...we had less than a 1/2 mile left.  This guy is my hero...he was so nice and offered so much encouragement.  Wish I had gotten his name...

My hubby was right after the Mile 13 marker and captured this great pic:

I finished with a finish time of 2:25:02.  Not quite the 2:20 goal I had in mind...but not bad for my first 1/2, either.  Did I just say that...my FIRST 1/2?

How's this for some bling?

I came home and sat in our hot tub for a bit.  Now, I'm gonna sit down and relax before we have to head out for our fundraiser dinner tonight.  Our family is hosting an event to raise money for our team, Team Charlie's Angels, for the Nov. 7 Free To Breathe 5K.  All proceeds benefit the National Lung Cancer Partnership!

Happy Birthday Dad...Love you...Miss you!  We're working hard to keep your memory alive and help others afflicted have a better shot at survival.

12 hours from now...

I'll be waking up and getting ready for the 1/2 marathon. I cannot wait!  The weather is supposed to be perfect! 

I'll post a race recap tomorrow afternoon!  Till then...wish me a good night's sleep, a focused & positive mindset, and strong legs to carry me 13.1 miles!

I'm done.

I finished my last training run today. Next time I will be running is when I cross the starting mat (about 8:15 or so) on Sunday morning....9/19.  The day my Dad would have turned 67.

This one is all for my Dad...He fought his cancer with such bravery and courage.  It's only fitting that I do my longest race on his birthday in memory and in honor of him!!  Two years ago, I couldn't run a mile.  Running never even crossed my mind.  After losing him, it became my alone time, my comfort, my solace, and my escape. 

Love you and miss you, Dad!  Watch for some balloons headed your way after I cross that finish line!

Back to routine...

It's Tuesday and activities are now in full swing.  That means that last night was our only night home this week.  That makes me sad.  Why?  Because, I'm a homebody.  I like to come home from work, put on my shorts and t-shirt (in winter...sweatpants and sweatshirt), strip off my makeup, put my hair up in a pony tail and relax.  To me, that means pouing a glass of wine and starting on dinner.  Last night we had a phenomenal shrimp scampi with pasta and veggies.  It means a relaxing dinner, not hurried in anyway.  It means a nice big cup of coffee after dinner and conversation with my family.

In reality, our nights for the rest of the week will look like this:

get off the bus, get snack, do homework, inhale dinner (likely something out of a bag that I made quickly), no wine (I'm driving my kids somewhere), get crap together, get in car, drive to _____ (soccer, dance, drama, etc.), wait an hour (play on blackberry), drive kids back home, shower, bed.

I think it's great that my kids want to play sports, dance, etc....but I wonder if in the end if it really is beneficial?  It's a lot of added stress in the evenings.  Are they becoming more well rounded kids with these activities?

What do you think?  What does your evening routine look like?

One week from today I will be running my first 1/2!

At this time next week, I'll be between mile 5 and 6. Week 13 training has wrapped up.  I am really not into this tapering crap.  I feel like I am so strong...I just want to get out and run.  Yesterday, the coaches limited us to 6 miles.  6 miles...please...I wanted to go 12. 

Monday-off
Tuesday-5 miles, 52 minutes
Wednesday-off
Thursday-8 miles 1:23
Friday-cross train bike 30 min, arms, abs
Saturday-6 miles, 1 hour even
Sunday-supposed to be 5K race, instead cross train bike 30 min, arms, abs


It's raining today and we desperately need the rain.  I was going to do a 5K with my friend Jeff where I was practically guaranteed to medal.  They had 35 awards and 13 people preregistered.  We drove over, saw about 6 cars, and sat it out hoping the rain would let up.  It didn't, so we went out to breakfast instead.

GO EAGLES!

A Day in the Life...

Shut Up and Run! (a hysterical running blog I read) is doing a day in the life series.   My post will be nowhere near as funny and quite a bit more boring than Beth's...but here it is nonetheless...

First...the assumptions:  It's a week day, kids are in school, and it's a run day...so let's just go with Tuesday this week!

6:45 am - roll out of bed, right after hubby leaves
7:00 - cup of coffee in hand, pound out responses to the overwhelming number of emails I received last night (my company is global, so you always wake up to emails from the colleagues overseas)
7:30 - wake the kiddos, prepare self for the onslaught of whining about to occur
7:30-8:30 - deal with kids, breakfast, bus routine, all while working on those emails from overnight. Can you say multitask?
8:30 - kids out the door, I head out for 6 miles.  This will be the most enjoyable part of my day.  Cut run short at 5 miles because I'm freaking out about not having enough time to get to the client.
9:30 - home, shower, head out to client.  Eat Protein Bar in the car for breakfast.
10:30-4:00 - client meetings, project statuses, introductory lunch, conference calls...all the fun stuff that goes with work
5 pm home - prep dinner, discuss school with kids, drive daughter to play date
6 - eat dinner; London Broil, Grilled Zucchini, brown rice, and green beans, clean up; run dishwasher
7 - Start on a Forecast for my big client that is due at 9 PM EST.  Why do I procrastinate?  Play with Excel for at least an hour, get frustrated, ask hubs to help figure it out.
8 - Hubs finally figured forecast/excel out...kids are moving in the direction of getting close to getting ready for bed
8:30 - Forecast submitted... YAY...1/2 hour early!  Pour glass of wine to celebrate (second favorite part of the day), tuck kids in, turn on TV (either Food Network or HGTV)
9 - Watch Kate Gosselin get paid $250K for one episode where she takes her kids to Bald Head.  Wish I could get paid $250K for taking a vacation.
10 - Flip to news...even more depressing than Kate getting paid for vacation.
11 - sleep

That's it...told you it wouldn't be as funny as Beth's!

Remembering my Dad!

Next Sunday, 9/19, would have been my Dad's 67th Birthday. I'm running the Philadelphia 1/2 marathon that morning in honor and memory of him.

We're hosting a fund raiser dinner that evening for the PA chapter of the National Lung Cancer Partnership that evening at one of his favorite restaurants in Allentown, PA.  If you are local, please consider joining us.  10% of your check will be donated back to the Lung Cancer Partnership.

Email me or leave a comment if you would like a copy of the invitation. 

It's all down hill now...

So, I'm officially tapering....resting the legs before the big run. As if an 8 mile run is considered resting...

Week in Review:

Monday-off
Tuesday-8.2 miles; 1:31
Wednesday-6 miles; 1:03
Thursday-off
Friday-off
Saturday-10.3 miles, 1:55
Sunday-3.4 miles, 37 min

Hope everyone is having an enjoyable Labor Day.  Rest, Relax and enjoy the last bit of summer!

getting psyched for Disney

We are in the process of booking a trip to Disney. All the conversations with the travel agent have me really excited!  There's just something about Disney that's just, well, Magical. It's one of the only vacations where I truly unplug...so work whatsoever. No CNN. No following the market or the latest celebrity gossip. I don't look at a newspaper.

Don't get me wrong...it's not about relaxing. We run, run, run and get the most out of every hour.  We are tired to the bone when we get home.  But, it's a blast and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I've never had a bad Disney experience.  How about you?

Any tips, advice, etc. will be appreciated.

August Miles

I had this whole great big post planned with a beautiful bar chart of my August runs.  I was going to do a screen shot of my Nike+ dashboard showing your just how fabulously I did in August.  The only issue is that I can't figure out for the life of me how to get a powerpoint or word doc to display on blogger.

Oh well...it's the thought that counts.  Know that I did great in August and only missed one scheduled run from my training plan. Nike+ estimates I burned 10,162 calories in my runs.  Damn that scale...why won't you go down??  You should be in free fall!

Off to the running store...there's a drawing for a Garmin watch tonight.  I have a few tickets in the raffle from my group runs, so I have a couple of chances at it!