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These are a Few of My Favorite Things

Dec5

fffav

Once again I am linking up with Eat, Pray, Run DC, You Signed Up for What? and Mar on the Run for another fun Friday Five.   Yeah for Friday!!!

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

No these aren’t my favorite things although, I do like them.   I bet you started singing this song too when you heard the title of the post or is that just me?   Don’t tell me:)

Anyway, it is hard to narrow down my favorite things.  So I’m going to cheat and take my kids and hubby  out of  the obvious choice of my favorite things.  I hope for everyone’s sake it’s the obvious choice for them too.  Although, since they are people and not things, maybe they shouldn’t be in this category anyway.

So off we go…..

Christmas –   I love, love, love Christmas.   Anyone who knows me personally knows this to  be so.   I love everything about it.   From the whole Reason for the Season to the Christmas countdown.   I love Christmas cookies, watching Christmas movies, decorating the house for Christmas, and the whole craziness of this time of year.   Love it!

Case in point, I usually have 3 Christmas trees in my house.

kids tree Window Tree

The first tree is the basement tree which holds all the ornaments my kids have made over the year.   The second tree is my window tree that I get to decorate by myself.   The third tree is our real tree which we will get this weekend.   This is the tree that Santa leaves his presents under and is decorated with Hallmark and old family ornaments that can not be replaced.

Coffee –  I would be remiss if I did not include coffee on my list.   That being said, I think my feeling for coffee may even be stronger than including it on my favorite things list.

I-Phone – I don’t know how I made it through most of my life without it.   It has all my contact information, many pictures, and I may leave home without American Express, but I do not leave home without my phone

Twilight – Ok, don’t judge me.   I admit it.   I love the Twilight series.  I’m a romantic at heart.    Although I will admit that I like the books better than the movies as I think some of the storyline gets lost in the film version.

Running Mama’s – I love my local MRTT group.   I love the comradery of it.   How we build each other up.   How we help each other out.   And most of all, how we understand our compulsion to run which many of my non running friends do not get.  It’s nice to have a place where you are understood.   Everyone should have such a place.  I’ve made some really great friends through this group and it really has gotten me where I am today and inspires me to go further!

So these are a few of my favorite things and

When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad

What are your favorite things?

Excuses, Excused, Excuses……..

Dec4

Its-fine

I’ve been bad.    I’ve let things slide.   I’ve put things off.   I made excuses.   They really weren’t valid excuses but good enough that I used them.   What have I been doing that so bad?   I’ve haven’t been taking care of myself.   I figured, I’m running.   I’m healthy.  I don’t need to go for my checkups.  So when the notices came that I was due for my annual checkup, my mammogram,  and my dentist appointment.   I put them to the side telling myself, “After the Hat Trick, I will go.”   Then the Hat Trick rolled into Marathon training and I conveniently “forgot.”

Now as a mom, I make sure that my kids go to all their checkups,  I make sure they do all the things I haven’t been doing.   I guess I was following the adage, “Do as I say not as I do.”    In this case it really isn’t the right one.   I really am too old and too smart to not do these things.   So yesterday, I made myself sit down and at least make 2 appointments and hopefully today I sill make the last one.   I honestly didn’t know how long I had let things go until I went to make my mammogram appointment and the gentleman told me that I am going on 2 years.   Oops.   Obviously, I was bad BEFORE I started any of my real training, but during training it was a good excuse.

Now I have friends and family that have suffered with either the scare of breast cancer with tumors or I even have one friend who has one more chemo treatment to finish up after her double mastectomy.   She is one of the reasons that every time I run I use my Charity Miles app to raise money for Stand Up to Cancer.  So I get it.   It is important.   Now I’m not saying that I think I have any issues.   I’m just saying that I really should let a trained professional say that.   I think many times since I, obviously, am healthy enough to train and run a marathon (God, I love how that sounds); that means I don’t need to see any doctors.  I take after my Grammy that way!   A woman who is still kicking at 90 even though she smoked, drank nothing but coffee and never listened to the doctors.   Now I’m not as bad as her, but I really do need to do a better job taking care of business.

What do you let slide while your training?

Word of the Week – Salutations

Dec3

greetings

Greetings and Salutations.

We’ve all been there.   Your out for your morning/afternoon/evening run and you see a runner coming at you on the horizon.   You’re a friendly person and bring your hand up to wave.   Then bam nothing.   No wave.  No smile.   Nothing.   Why?   What’s the problem?   Too much effort to be polite?

Then instead of it being a normal polite thing to do, you start to think when you see a fellow runner –

Do I wave?

Do I smile?

Do I do the head nod?

Do I just pretend I don’t see them?

Well I admit it.   I always acknowledge them.   More times that should happen in a civilized society, these people who I am sure are pleasant in every other aspect of their life don’t conform to social standards while on the road.

hello

Actually, I would never do that!   Besides this is not a “talent’ that I have mastered yet.   Although, come this winter I just might.   But back to the topic at hand.

sal·u·ta·tion

noun \ˌsal-yə-ˈtā-shən\

 the act of greeting someone

Full Definition of SALUTATION

1 a :  an expression of greeting, goodwill, or courtesy by word, gesture, or ceremony
b plural :  regards
2:  the word or phrase of greeting (as Gentlemen or Dear Sir or Madam) that conventionally comes immediately before the body of a letter

So why do some people make this so difficult?

Rule # 1 – If someone says Hi or acknowledges you, acknowldeg them too

Rule # 2 – If you run right past a person, a head nod is acceptable too

Rule #3 – Don’t be an @ss

It’s really that simple!

I will tell you that on one of my long training runs where I was at about mile 10, I was running towards a gentleman pondering if I would do the wave.   He one upped me.   He put his hand out for a High Five as we passed each other and made some remark about keep up the good work.   I said something like same to you.   I don’t remember the exact words, but I will say that his actions reminded me of being at a race and people pumping you up.  Just the simple act of the High Five helped put the spring in my step for a bit.   It was like acknowledging that we were both in it together to get it done which is true.   We are all out there running for our various reasons.   We are all out there for ourselves, but we are not out there alone.

Now I am not saying that you need to high five every runner that you see.   Although it might be cool if you did.   I’m just that we are all out there together getting it done and it would be nice if we didn’t pretend we don’t see each other out there.

Do you say Hi to other runners?

Do you like it when others say Hi to you?

The Age of Entitlement

Dec2

Yesterday while pursuing my Facebook Groups, someone posted a news article about a race in Cincinnati.  Apparently it is the longest running road race starting 105 years ago.  It was probably a Turkey Trot before the phrase Turkey Trot even existed.   It’s grown to a large race of 15,000 now.   The race went according to plan, but then it veered off course.   Apparently, when people finished they plundered the post race snacks taking more than their fair share.   Taking so much that they had arm fulls.   Taking so much that those who finished near and at the end had nothing.   Taking so much that the there was no extra food to donate to local food banks.   It’s a sad day for runners.

Then the discussion turned to bad running post race behavior.   A few of the women told of times that they volunteered at races and people tried to loop around to get a second medal.   Really?   Really?   When one guy was called out on it, he said he wanted one to give it to his daughter as he promised her one.    Then give her yours!   My 8 year old coveted my Philly Marathon Medal.   Can’t really blame him either.   You know what?   I told him that when he is much older and I no longer want it (AKA I’m dead but I didn’t put it that way to him), he can have it or he could also run a marathon like Mama when he’s bigger.  One even mentioned a blogger (not me!) who bragged about taking more than her share of the bounty.

I will admit to taking an extra banana a time or two, but I have never taken so much that I couldn’t carry it.   It’s insane.   Let’s be honest.   If you can afford to pay for registration, your Garmin watch, and all the bells and whistles we love so much, you can also afford to buy your post race snack.   Come on people.  This is not your weekly grocery shopping trip.   Yes, many times a company will donate samples so it might not be costing the race anything.   That being said, those companies want EVERYONE to sample their product just not a select few.     It really boggles my mind.

The sad thing is that this type of behavior isn’t just post race.   You see it everywhere you go.   Everyone wants something for nothing.    The problem is that there really isn’t a free ride.  Yes, maybe it isn’t costing you anything; but that doesn’t make it free.   Someone, somewhere is paying for it.   There is no free lunch.    There is no free ride.    Everything comes with a cost and it is really time that the masses realize that.

I don’t know how to change this behavior that is so prevalent in our society/world anymore.   Except to say my favoirte slogan…….

change 4It really is true.  If every person took it upon themselves to be a better person, to be the type of person that they would like other people to be, the world really would be a better place.

Now as far as Post Race activity goes, I hope that if you see someone being a total glutton, you call them out on it.   Usually it is best to do it in a joking manner and tone.   This way you get your point across, but you do it with a smile.   Most people when called out on bad behavior usually (not always, but usually) are embarrassed and realize they should behave better.

Have you seen this Post Race Behavior?

Have you called anyone out on it?

Are you part of the problem or solution? 

Why Not?

Nov30

The night before the Philadelphia Marathon one of my MRTT Mama’s asked me,

“How did you decide that Philly would be your first marathon?”

To be honest, I really never put any thought into it.   I, actually, thought that maybe one day since I’m so close to NY that my big moment would be the NYC Marathon.   If you remember my musings in my post You Can’t Always Get What You Want, I really thought and planned to run my first full in 2015.    Then a funny thing happened.    I finished my Hat Trick and Philly which was in the far recess of my mind moved front and center.   Then I thought about it.   Took a long training run and jumped right in.   As much as a planner I am, this seems to be how I end up at the starting line more times than not.    I hear about something.   I think to myself that sounds like a fun challenge.

  I think, “Why not” and dive right in.

Why_Not

Before I even went to Philly though, I had already decided that I would try to do the 9 + 1 in 2015 which would guarantee me entry in 2016.  For those who were like me and didn’t know, the NYC Marathon is not a race you can just sign up for and it is not an easy road to get into it.

For normal people like me, you have 3 options.

  1. Be very lucky enough to win entrance through the lottery
  2. Do the 9 + 1 Plan (run 9 NYRR qualifying race and volunteer at 1 or raise $1K)
  3. Run for charity and raise a specific amount which is usually a decent amount

That’s it.   Unless you are an elite athlete which I am obviously not.   There is no gauarnteed entry to a Soccer Mom which is kind of sad as we are the ones who really have to juggle it all to get to the starting line.   Now my running cohort did complete the 9 + 1 in 2014, so she is guaranteed entry to 2015 marathon.   Yeah, Dawn!   I came to the party late.   Very late.   So I set my goals on running 2016 and just being a supportive friend in 2015.

Then a funny thing happened on Thanksgiving.   Over dinner, I was talking with my parents and hubby about Philly.    Someone made mention of me running the NYC marathon one day.   I had to explain the process of getting into the marathon and how you couldn’t just sign up.   When I said the only way to get in for next year was to raise money for charity.  NO one seemed to think that would be a problem   They all thought and said, “You could do that!”   So now the seed has been planted.   This one may not go further than the seed, but I have been looking online for charity options which will be posted in January.  This one I don’t think I can just dive right in as normal.

So only time will tell.

I will run NY one day.

I just don’t know when that day will be.

Either way, it will be a fun ride till I get there.

Either way, I still think it would be fun to run the 9 + 1 races next year too.

Holding It Together

Nov20

So there is a heavyness that it starting to press on my chest.   It started this morning as this is the day I am planning to get all my sh*t together.   Ok, I will never have it all together, but this is the day that I plan to get all my gear together for this weekend.   I need to start getting it together today as tomorrow and Saturday morning is just going to be crazy as normal in my house.

Tomorrow night we are going out with my Middle Guy’s soccer team to celebrate them winning their league championship.

Yeah Middle Guy~

  Then Saturday morning I have to wake up early and take Big Guy and Little Guy to pick up their Scouting for Food Bags.   Shortly after that I’m off to Philly.

I admit it.   I’m nervous.   I’m nervous more than I thought I would be.   I can’t really put my finger on it either.   I’m not nervous about finishing as I think I will.   I’m not worried about my time as that will be irrelevant to me as long as I finish.   What I’m really most nervous about is how I am going to feel afterwards.   One of my running friends told me that she doesn’t think that she will ever do a Marathon because someone she knows did one injuring herself and now can’t run.   That thought actually never occurred to me (until now).

Yes, I’m expecting blisters.

I’m expecting pain.

I’m expecting sore muscles like never before.

Why am I doing this again?  lol

What never occurred to me though is that I could injure myself and not be able to run again.

You know I worry about my foot.

Now, I know that I am being silly because I know  A LOT of 1 percenters.

Not the rich 1%, but the 1% of the population that has run marathons.

None of them has ever been permanently sidelined.

So I need to stop freaking myself out.

I need to start focusing on the important things, like

What to wear?

Yes, that is always important.   Seems like the weather is going to cooperate!

But since I won’t be home, I do need to make sure that I take extra just in case the weather forecast is wrong

because we all know that never happens:)

10686949_1498527800396690_6555815312635136764_n

Looking Forward Not Back

Nov18

It’s funny the things that a person can find inspiration in.    I was reading to my son before bed.   We were reading Geronimo Stilton A Very Merry Christmas because you know it’s Christmas time already.  (Yes, we have jumped the shark a little, but don’t worry I don’t have my decorations up yet).   Anyway as I’m reading, this jumped out at me.

“I didn’t know if I could go on. I was exhausted.  But I couldn’t give up now. I had to prove to myself.”

No I am not a mouse on an adventure in New York City, but these words jumped off the page at me.   I thought immediately that this is probably how I am going to feel on Sunday.   Hopefully I won’t feel this way till well after mile 20, but one never knows.  I need to remember these words.  When I think of the actually number of miles that I will be running on Sunday, it boggles my mind.  So I try not to think of it.   It’s just another long run with lots of people in a big city.  I wonder why not only am I doing it, but why I’m paying good money to do it.    It really is a strange concept but to know that I will be willingly pushing myself to the limit as never before  is both exciting and scary.

I have been inspired by many Mama runners some that I know personally and some that I only know from what they share on their blogs.   They push themselves inspiring me to push myself like never before.   Because of them, I believe that I can do things that were unimaginable to me before.   It’s a beautiful thing when instead of constantly telling yourself that you can’t do something that you start to asking yourself,

“Why Not?”

Honestly,

Why Not?

All my life, I was typecast.   I allowed it to happen.   I’m breaking the mold now.   I’ve been doing it for a long time, but there has always been a part of me still stuck in the mold.  This is my time to prove to myself not to anyone else but myself that I can do anything I want.  Totally shattering the mold.   I am no longer the “fat kid” who when I look at pictures really wasn’t that fat.   I haven’t been that  person in a long time even before I started on this journey, but I always carried a small part of her with me.  A tinge of her doubts.  She has made me the person that I am today and I owe this to her.   I owe it to the strong determined woman that I am today.   I will push myself like I’ve never pushed before all the while knowing that there is no reason I can’t do it.

I’ve also been told by a few people recently that my journey is inspiring them to start on their own personal journey as each journey is unique and personal.   If you had ever told me that there would be a day that I would be inspiring other people, I would have flat out told you that you didn’t know what you were talking about.   There was a time that I couldn’t even inspire myself but those days are gone.  Long Gone.   It’s not that I am some super athlete because I’m not.   Not even close. It’s not because I am super knowledgeable about running because I’m still learning.  But I think I make up for not being a “traditional athlete” with sheer determination.   I’ve said it before, I can be one determined SOB.

Eye on the Prize.

157-keep-your-eyes-on-the-prize-not-the-obstacles

You Asked me What???

Nov15

As I’ve mentioned before, the word is out about next weeks Marathon.

Yes, Next week?

Whose freaking out???

Me

But I digress….

Anyway, it really is interesting some of the questions being asked me about my Marathon attempt.

The first one always makes me scratch my head.

Do you think you will finish???

Really, did you just ask me that????

Do I think I can finish?

Maybe.   I hope so.   I’ve been running my @ss all over town, so I have a pretty decent shot of being able to finish.   I didn’t just decide on the fly (ok that part is true) to run this race.  It’s not like I was sitting on my couch eating a bucket of chicken and thought,  let me run a marathon.   I’m running it because I do think that I can finish it.   It might not be pretty.   It sure as Hell is going to be hard, but I do think I can do it.  Thanks for asking though and planting another seed of doubt.

Question 2

Are you going to run the whole thing?

Really.    If I answer that I may walk a few steps does that somehow diminish the fact that I will be moving 26.2 miles in around 5 hours or so?    I don’t think so.   Besides, there are people whose whole running strategy is based on walking every couple of minutes (think Jeff Galloway).    When I ran my last Half Marathon, there was a guy in my pace group who was following the Jeff Galloway plan.   You know what, he finished with his pace group.   He finished well too.   So the fact that someone walks (and I might even though I’m not following this plan yet), does not take away from anything.   26.2 miles is 26.2 miles.

Will you place for your age group?

No.   Not even close.   Yes, for elite athletes and some this is important and what they train for.   But most of the people I know, it is more about competing with themselves than worrying about placement.  The competition is with your own PR, bragging rights and not everyone else.   We are all just running the best we can at this point in our life.

One of my many motto’s is

“There will always be someone faster than you and with any luck there will always be someone slower.”

Middle of the pack is a nice place to be.

But even if I were to come in dead last, I still finished:)

My personal favorite

Why?

That’s a loaded question.   I don’t really know what inside me is driving me to do this.  I think that might require more time and maybe a therapist couch to dig that deep:)   It’s just what I want to do.   Everyone has something that they make time for in their life that they enjoy.   This is my time.   This is what I want to do.   The better question is…..

Why Not?

marathon

What is your favorite question you’ve been asked about your fitness journey?

One Hot Mama!

Nov14

I must admit that I am one Hot Running Mama!

Unfortunately for me, I am Hot as in I heat up as I run

and

not Hot as in “Wow look at that Mama run:)”

This makes running in the cold difficult for me as I want to dress appropriately, but I also don’t want to give myself heat stroke.

What to do?

What do do?

Well first I’m going to link up for Cold Weather Running Tip Friday Five

through You signed up for what, Eat Pray Run DC

and Mar on the Run!

Then I’m going to plan my cold running strategy.

Last year I will admit, I was a bit of a baby when it came running in the snow and cold.

Not like one of my awesome running on a streak, more motivated than anyone I know, Running Mama’s!

Case in point

1501370_10152175688448293_930430258_o 1557393_10152175688498293_252443625_o

This is a woman who knows how to dress and run in anything.

Proven by the fact that she is almost at a year of her running streak without missing a day.

She’s more reliable than the Mailman!

Me, not so much.

But seeing as I’ve already signed up to do a half in Central Park in January, I better get it together.

What I do know is that I’m going to need to go shopping!

Boo Hoo

Just kidding!

1.  Proper Running Jacket!!  – I  need one that will be breathable, will keep me dry, and isn’t heavy.   I think I may get it and wrap it up for myself for Christmas (but of course using it right up till Christmas Eve)!

2.   Hat –  Normally,  I run with a bolder band and they do have some new winter ones that I will try; but it really is important to keep the head covered and the ears!   Don’t forget the ears. Love my running hat with a slot for my pony tail too.  It’s the little things that make me happy.

3.  Chapstick – Yes, chapstick.   Do you want to spend all winter with chapped lips?   I don’t think so.   Don’t forget to apply it before and during your runs.

4.  Yatracks – Although, I bought them last year, I haven’t tried them yet;  I know they will get a workout this year.   It’s hard enough running with the roads clear, I don’t want to worry about falling in the snow/ice!

5.  Layers, Layers, Layers – As I said, I’m a hot Mama, so I need to be able to cool off even when it’s cool outside.  In the fall, I’ve discovered the joy of running in arm warmers.   This way once I warm up, I can take them off while running and loop them into my belt.   So not only layers, but layers you can easily take off and still run with unless you have a place to stash your running clothes on the fly.   (although, I have mentioned to my friends that might just happen at their house:)

So now I’m off to see what everyone else is doing and get some more ideas how not to freeze my behind off this winter!

Word of the Week – Taper

Nov12

As with any specialized activity, there are lots of words that get thrown around.   Sometimes those on the outside (by choice because anyone is welcome) don’t either appreciate our vocabulary or those of us new don’t understand it.   I’m the later and once was the previous:)   I’m learning so much and still realize that I don’t know anything.   So please take everything that I say with a grain of salt.  Preferable with a Margarita!   Please also remember that I am no expert and am just a novice trying to figure it all out.

Today’s word of the week

and something that I’m still figuring out is

Tapering

Let’s go see what Webster thinks it means

ta·per

noun \ˈtā-pər\

Definition of TAPER

1   a :  a slender candle (not it)
b :  a long waxed wick used especially for lighting candles, lamps, pipes, or fires (not it)

 c :  a feeble light (not it)
2  a :  a tapering form or figure (not it)
b :  gradual diminution of thickness, diameter, or width in an elongated object (not it)
c :  a gradual decrease   (Bingo – we have a winner!)
Now Google Runner’s taper and you will get a whole slew of responses and ways to do it.    There are long tapers, short taper, no tapers, and everything in between.   I, myself, am doing a short taper for my marathon.   The reason being is my training has been very condensed.
Now you wouldn’t think tapering would be a hard thing, but it is.   Every person is different.   Every event is different and every situation is different.   I’m still trying to balance what my body needs.
What I do know though is this week, my running is less than it has been.
Only 4, 6, 3 and 8.
Next week it is only 3, 4, 2.
Of course that week ends with
26.2.
I’m not sure when I crossed the border where going for a 6 mile run is a short run, but somewhere that change happened.   I now need to reign it in.   The thing about running a lot of miles is that your body only begins to get into the pattern around mile 3 and then your stopping.   I will work on that.   Who knew that one day I would actually need to work on NOT running as opposed to getting out the door to run.
Life is funny that way!
One thing that I do know that I have to be mindful of with the diminished miles is that means that I need to step back on what I am eating because less miles also means less calories burned.
Taper