PS...

Being 3 days out from the race, I am feeling better and even thinking I will still go through with the Baltimore Marathon in two weeks! (not that that was ever really in question, but...) In hindsight, I think we just didn't train well enough to maintain that 10 min pace the whole way, but I am gratified knowing that we did it for 22 miles! I think, after our run last weekend, we may be ready to break our past records, and go for the 4:22 in Baltimore! Hope springs eternal! I'll keep you posted!

'FA' A long, long way to run...

Here's a blow by blow of the marathon we ran Sat..... Driving up to Akron at 5am, the weather looking a bit ominous...... we saw rain about half way up and wondered what we were in for... thankfully, the skies cleared as we entered Akron, and we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and nice cool weather for the entire race (about 65 and overcast most of the way, with the sun peaking in during the last hour or so). There were 10,000 people running (only about 1500 of those were doing the full marathon, then there were relayers and half marathoners). The starting line was packed, and it took us a full 2 1/2 minutes to cross the starting line once the gun went off.. Both of us felt great, and we were 'cruising'. Our goal was to finish having run an average 10min/mile pace the whole way. The initial miles were clicking by with no problem. We were coming in about 2 1/2 minutes under our desired pace, and were still feeling good. The course was surprisingly pretty (not what I expected in downtown Akron), and we were amazed at how the miles seemed to be going by so quickly. There were literally thousands of volunteers, and they really did a good job providing water/powerade/GUs pretty frequently throughout the race. The course was 'rolling', and we entered into several miles of down grade (always welcome!), leading us to a path running down by the river. This seemed more 'like home' to us... running on paths through the woods, although these miles went a lot slower for me... either because we were approaching the halfway mark (13 miles is usually where my body starts breaking down and hurting) or because of the monotony of the trees of which I am so accustomed to seeing. Still we glided on, still under our intended pace... mile 11, mile 12, mile 13... halfway at mile 13.1! Things were seemingly going very well, and both Dan and I felt pretty good. I took my second dose of Vitamin I (Ibuprofen) around mile 10, in preparation for the inevitable pain that was to come... my back was still holding up pretty well, with just mild pain going down through my right hip/hamstring/knee..... Around mile 16, things started going up.... and up and up... I guess I knew it had to come sometime, since we had steadily been going down for a few miles... but, I didn't expect a 4 mile hill... Still, we carried on at our 10 min/mile pace. I was actually a bit surprised at how strong Dan seemed (as I was wishing for a slow down at this point), but he just kept on going and so I followed as best I could. Around mile 20, we slowed down a bit and lost a minute or so. Now we were coming in right on pace... our little 2 minute 'buffer' was gone....... Somewhere around mile 22 (after another shorter but steeper hill), maybe we hit the wall, I don't know, but our pace slowed considerably. Dan was experiencing some stomach upset, and told me to go on without him. At that point, my body was racked with pain from my lower back down to my toes......... I couldn't imagine running for another 45 minutes, but figured if I walked, it would take even longer to see that finish line, so I kept on.. slowly but surely. (I will never recommend this to anyone was my only thought... who is stupid enough to run this far???) ..... gratefully, they had water stops about every mile now. I had carried a water bottle, so I didn't need to stop at every one, but it was still nice to come across those encouraging smiles and cheers from the sidelines. The stop at mile 24 almost saw me quitting (which I will admit I have never thought of doing during a race... must have been that darn 'wall'), but I decided to just get a cup of water and walk through the stop. Well, that was tough because after running for so long, it is a little dizzying to just stop like that. (why am I here again??).. so I picked up my 'pace' again, which was now somewhere closer to a 12 minute/mile crawl, but I was still moving. I realized the 4:22 (that is the 10 min/mile pace) we had hoped for was out of the picture, so I aimed to beat my previous best of 4:26. At the 25 mile marker, I realized I would have to literally sprint the remaining 1.2 miles to achieve that, so I resigned myself to trying to beat my Frederick time of 4:30:08. About a half mile later, on the verge of tears and seeing no end in sight, I decided that I would declare victory just to cross the finish line. Coming around the final bend into the stadium (thinking to myself, if they make us run all the way around the track in front of all these people, I am going to kill someone), I see the finish line about 100 yds ahead! There is a girl coming up behind me to pass me and my competitive spirit (or what is left of it) kicks in... I am not letting her pass me now... So from somewhere deep within, I muster up my last ounces of energy and sprint my way across the finish line! I did it! (I beat her too:) My time? 4:30:20............. Can you believe it? 12 seconds off......... oh well... as my wise, dear father put it, 'It is next to a miracle just to finish a run that long... don't get hung up on your time'.... and, as always, Dad is right. 26.2 miles is a long, long way to run.......

A great weekend!

We just got back from a very fun weekend in Ohio! We arrived late Thursday eve, and 'quietly' snuck in to sleep at my brother's house. On Friday, we did a short 2 mile jog to loosen up for the big race on Saturday. I met a good friend from high school for lunch (in a town small enough to not even have a working ATM... not to mention, they wouldn't even accept my debit card)... needless to say, I ate 'light' that meal since my cash flow was lacking at the time.. didn't matter, cuz my real objective was to spend some time with an old friend and that is what I did. We 'partied' at Mom and Dad's Friday eve, and then left early to get a good night's sleep. The kids stayed with my parents, so we could get an early start on Sat. Up at the crack of 4am on Sat., we prepared for the race. Tom and JC were running 2 legs of the relay. Needless to say, we earned our pair of free Brooks shoes by finishing the marathon! (details to come...) We ate a well-deserved, yummy lunch at the Spaghetti Warehouse afterward, then headed for home. I must admit to not feeling too well the rest of the day. Nothing like taxing your body to the MAX... So we were early to bed, and by Sunday morning, I felt great... a bit sore, but good. After Mass, we packed up and went out on the boats for the afternoon/evening. Mary even got me to go out on the tube with her. I must be getting old, because it was a bit frightening... not to mention COLD (but really FUN!!)! We had a great day, and ended it with a yummy dinner at Mom's (who was kind enough to stay home with Chelsea for the afternoon and make us dinner). Yesterday's ride home is a story in itself, which no one cares to hear about............. We are glad to be back to reality here, but already miss everyone back in OH!

Over the river and through the woods..

to Nena's house we go! We are gearing up for our Ohio trip! As soon as the kids get home (and we run them around the yard for 30 minutes), we will be off! I am really excited as we haven't been 'home' since last Thanksgiving. Also, our marathon on Saturday is in Akron, the city in which we lived before moving to VA. It will be nice to be back there again. I am hoping to visit with a couple old high school friends and just enjoy being back with my parents and my brother's family. If it works out that my sister-in-law can steal a picture of us 'sprinting' hand-in-hand across the finish line (haha), I will try to post it Saturday eve!

Baby doll

I am having such fun with my little Chelsea... I received a superfluous amount of clothing from my cousin (who has 2 girls)... and I feel like a little girl with a baby doll.. Every couple of hours I find an excuse to 'need' to change Chelsea's clothes... Silly? Yes.... but so much more fun than dressing boys......... so I can't help it!

LOL!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness... I just had the greatest night! Kristen had a rehearsal for her play, so I needed to 'kill' 2 hours while waiting for her to finish... I decided to bring my book to Starbucks and read while I waited... (for all of you who don't know me as well... I read about 1 page per day before falling asleep, but rarely find time to do any 'real' reading) Anyway, a friend had given me a book (that has been sitting on my night stand for weeks now...) called A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. All I can say is that I sat there alone in Starbucks laughing myself silly with this book..... I don't know if it was because it has been so long since I have read any book for more than 3 pages at a time, or if it was the caffeine........... but I have been laughing all night long, and feel just wonderful because of it. Thank you Kristen J! Ok, I am off to read some more before bed!

Camping - part 2

We have successfully made 2 camping trips now! (yipee, right?) I really love having that as a family activity. It really encourages the kids to just play, play, play... no computer, no phone, no TV... I LOVE IT!! I was recovering (and still am) from a cold last week, and almost cancelled the trip, but we decided we were looking so forward to it, that we just had to go. It ended up going well (and I didn't get sicker!), but boy was it chilly! Since fall is my favorite time of year, I loved it. The only bummer was that our friends couldn't come with us this time. They had sickness in the family that couldn't be ignored......... bummer! They did come out to spend some time with us on Saturday for a couple hours though, which was really nice!! I did realize on Friday eve that it was tougher to do it alone, without another family... maybe it's because my kids fight more when they are alone together... maybe there just isn't the same level of excitement... maybe it was because our friends are the actual 'experienced ones' when it comes to camping, and we were just 'winging' it :).... who knows. At any rate, hopefully we can all go together again soon!!! There's just nothing like the great outdoors... especially being away from home and all of our regular responsibilities.. I actually get to just sit around playing my guitar.. hmm, maybe I will go sneak a practice in now before Chelsea wakes up..).. Bye!

Proud Mama

Hey, my daughter Kristen has a poetry blog, and a woman from Maryland discovered one of her poems (about an unborn child) and wants to publish it in a pamphlet she is making for the Crisis pregnancy center in her area. Isn't that cool??
View from the Unborn

Cold unfeeling darkness
Surrounds those like me who are alone
A disturbing thing to those with life
Chilling them to the bone.
A lifeless form of care is still a person too
Why don't they understand
That everyone can't be like you?
Why do I not count?
I long to live, love and share
But it really doesn't matter to some people
They destroy without a care.
I feel I could do something great
If I was totally sure I was to be
If only the other ones could remember
What it meant to be like me.

Computer blues... again.

I was noticing that I only post about once a week... one reason is this computer can't seem to stay online for more than 5 minutes without collapsing from heat exhaustion........ argh. Very frustrating... so, probably when I am about to click 'publish post' it will mockingly declare, 'Can't do this function offline'.................. aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh.. OK, just had to get that off my chest...

Alas...

Our big day is right around the corner! We will be running our next marathon on Sat., September 27th! We are traveling back to Ohio on Thursday night, and will be running in Akron on Saturday with my brother and sister-in-law! Can't wait! Gee, I hope we trained well enough for this one............ Keep us in your prayers!

FINALLY... Better late than never...

IRISH STEW

2lb. lamb (or beef stew meat), cut in chunks and seasoned with salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
2 cups onion, diced
2 T. garlic, minced
2 T. tomato paste
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup dark beer (Guinness works well)
2 cups beef broth
2 cups chicken broth
2 fresh thyme sprigs (I couldn't find it, so used dry and it worked)
2 lb. potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup savoy cabbage, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Brown lamb in 2 T oil (8 minutes or so). Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Add 2 T oil and onion to the pot and sweat, covered, until soft (5 min). Stir in garlic and tomato paste, and cook until paste darkens, 2 min. Add flour, stir to coat, and cook 1 min. Deglaze with beer, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pot, then add both broths, lamb meat and its juices, and thyme. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 1 hour. (I did all these steps a couple days ahead and then finished it the evening we were to eat it) Stir in potatoes and carrots. Cook until potatoes are tender, then add peas, cabbage, salt, and pepper; simmer 5 minutes. Enjoy!

MINI CHEDDAR SCONES

2 3/4 cup flour
2 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. table salt
1/4 t. baking soda
10 T. unsalted butter, cold, cubed
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/3 cup minced fresh chives
1 cup buttermilk
2 T. water
1 egg blended with 1 T. water

Preheat oven to 375. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or fork until pea-sized. Stir in cheddar and chives, then add buttermilk and 2 T. water; knead gently just until blended. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into an 8 " square. Cut into 2" squares, then cut squares into triangles. Arrange scones on baking sheet, spacing 1" apart. Brush tops with egg-water mixture, and bake till golden, about 25 minutes. YUM!

Both of these recipes come from Cuisine at Home magazine. A wonderful magazine to subscribe to!! They have great cooking tips, always good recipes, yummy 'gourmet like' meals which are easy to prepare at home.

A perfect day!

Well, my birthday ended up just perfectly... It started out with my being able to sleep in till 10am!! While Dan took the older kids to Mass and CCD, Kristen watched the little ones AND cooked my breakfast in bed!! (Not to mention that she played one of my CDs that I like and she hates... ) What a fabulous gift that morning was! Then Mary and all of her girlfriends called me midmorning (after 10:) to sing to me from a bday party she was attending. At around noon, we went out to the pool and swam, talked, played, and sipped white wine. A truly lovely afternoon. At around 4, we came in to get cleaned up so we could go spend the evening with friends. There we had a yummy dinner, good conversation, and more wine... :) All in all, it was just a really good day. I am blessed by my family and friends.

Gus

Here's a pix of my cute little Gussy, enjoying his soda while on his birthday night out with Mom and Dad at Spelunkers... (We've been really enjoying all the birthday 'nights out' this month! Score for Mom and Dad... :)

Yummy fall dinner!

Ooh, did I make a yummy stew last night! As soon as I get a minute, I will post that dinner on the blog! Irish stew and cheddar and chive scones........ YUM.

Birthday Marathon month.....

Here we are at our second to last bday in the marathon month... Gus turns 5 today!! I can't believe how time has flown, and now he has already started school! What a big boy. I still remember 5 years ago, looking out my labor room window at the American flag flying at half mast... My mom didn't think I should schedule my induction for this infamous date... but, being at the end of 9 months of pregnancy, I didn't want to wait another minute.. let alone another day. So, now, we have something very happy to celebrate on September 11! The birth of our fabulous Gussy! He is such a sweetie pie and has a smile to make your heart melt...

'The Ring'

Last weekend, Dan and I and several of our kids went out and ran an aid station for the 71 mile 'Ring' race that was going on. The runners start at Signal Knob, and they run a 71 mile loop across the mountains till they come all the way back.. There were threats of hurricane weather (we did get the rain, but not too much wind.. it was actually quite pleasant running weather). We were out there from 4:30p - 1a (that was the plan.. they thought that would be our window of time to see all the runners. We were stationed at mile 48. It might have run a little longer than that) It is always amazing to be there and to see people doing something so extraordinary. Very inspirational! So, we brought some homemade soup, homemade scones, homemade cookies, chips, sugar drinks, candy, etc, etc... (and our own provisions, of course...:) It was a fun time, and (I can't believe I am saying this) we are inspired now to do it ourselves next year. So, that is our current plan. Once we survive our fall marathons, we will begin our training for this 71 mile 'ring'... if you want to join us, I will keep you informed about training schedules.... :) The more the merrier!!

Double Digit Dave!!

Well, over Labor Day my computer was out of town and my parents were in town.... soooo, I didn't get to post about my oldest son, Dave. Dave's birthday was September 1 and he is now 10!! Yikes how time flies! Dave is one of the coolest kids I know. What a treasure he is! I know that every time he comes in a room and sees me, I get a hug... now that is what a mom needs.. :) Happy Birthday Dave! Love you!

Ps... yes, we are on a birthday marathon right now.... 5 in a row, within a month. I think we will have had our fill of cake pretty soon!

Also, I hope to be getting a digital camera for MY birthday this month... so you won't have to keep seeing the same photos over and over.... yeah!

ANDREA!!

Well, 3 or so years ago, my friend Andrea moved away from good ol' Front Royal........ We all miss her dearly, and wish they would come home!! Anyway, we talked for ... gosh, atleast 3 hours on Saturday eve............ we need to talk more. It was like she was right here. We will maybe try to arrange some sort of 'ladies weekend out in the midwest'.................... hee hee. That sounds funny, but we will attempt it anyway!! Love you A!!

Mom of the year!

Well, I have lost it again for the ninety-seventh time this year! Ah well, there is always 2009, right................ sigh............

Go Johnny!!!!!

Well, My Johnny turned 3 last week, and he is such a big boy! He just potty trained himself last weekend (for the most part...:). We are psyched to be down to just one in diapers!!!! Yeah!!

Runner's blues...

Well, Dan and I went out for a 22 miler last weekend..... It was supposed to be (in ideal training circumstances) an 'off' weekend where we took it easy, but due to the little time we have left till 'said marathon'......... we needed to do a really long run (ie, more than 20)........ anyway, we weren't ready for it, or were over tired, and could only do 18. So, we walked the last 4 miles of that and came home and played 'sick' the rest of the day. It was horrible! I thought we would be done by noon, and then would spend the day by the pool with all the kids.......... I ended up in bed for most of the afternoon...... Oh, a sad sight it was...... It may sound silly and trivial to you all that I am upset with an 18 mile run with a 4 mile cool down......... BUT, when you can't do what you started out to do, it is a bit defeating.........

Anyhew, we will be off and running next weekend for another 22, but we will finish this one!! :)