5k North Reading Turkey Trot

I ran my first Turkey Trot!
Before I get into the race, let me tell you, the condition I was in. Two weeks earlier I stubbed my toe on one of my kids toys. It didn't bother me at first, but it woke me up in the middle of the night throbbing. I may of broke it, not sure, didn't go to the doctors. The toe nail became loose, I could deal with the pain, it was minor. So I continued to run.

The day before the race, I felt really good I knew I was going to have a new PR, if nothing made my toe bother me. It was still in rough shape I even stubbed it that night, and was on the ground holding in any scream, because everyone was asleep.

Morning came and it was a bit chilly, I decided to wear shorts and a long sleeve shirt. I also wore a sweatshirt and knit hat for the wait. 7:30 we started to line up the cold was making my toe hurt. This was upsetting because I have started a run while it was hurting. Luckily after the start I never thought about it again.

My plan for my PR was to use runkeeper and set it for cues every minute with a average pace of 7:40. I also use Nike+ but forgot to hit start :(

The race started and i began to run the crowd pushed my back, away from the people I was running with. I pretty much said enough, and just made my way back up weaving side to side. I thought about how much wasted energy I was using.

After I got back up to wear I wanted to be I started focusing on reaching my goal average pace. This was still the first mile and still crowded, but much easier to move. There were kids zig zagging fooling around, making it a little aggravating. I had to stop short once, not the end of the world, but when your on a mission for a PR, it plays a factor.

Mile 2 was my fastest mile I was taken full advantage of the small declines. I started to pick a person to battle. I passed her a few yards back, and she started to pass me. I easily passed her on the declines but she would pass me, when it leveled off. We stayed relatively close.

Mile 3 came and another battle. The previous lady and I passed this older man doing his thing. He just kept his pace, but it wasn't long before he started passing me. We got to a section were people were crossing the street, wear officials were yelling not to cross until you got to the next street. The lady I was battling crossed and she lost me. As for the guy he passed me. Once I made it to the street and crossed the finish line was insight, I did everything I could to keep a pace to keep up with the guy. I have been doing very well turning it up on the last 40 feet, this is what I did and passed him and achieved my PR.

My goal was 23 minutes, my time was 22:41 my fastest mile was 7:14

Flutie 5k

This was my biggest event, in terms of racers.
Even with a rainy morning, about 1000 people ran. Really makes for a nice atmosphere.

I went to bed early, knowing I wasn't going to sleep well. I'm the type of person who gets nervous about, things like getting there on time, where to park, where to go, ect.. I got up a few times, checked the clock, and went back to bed. 7:30 came and it was time to get ready, shaved, showered, brush my teeth, and made French toast, with wheat bread.

After breakfast I noticed the rain was coming down hard. My running partner (Siri) begged me not to take her out in it. I needed her, so I made her a raincoat, with a sandwich bag and some tape! Lol

I arrived about 9:30 I had a hour and a half to spare. Walk around checking out the tents, talked with people, found out I'm not the only one who made a rain coat for there running partner. I also got another shirt, when I picked up my number they gave me a small instead of a large. Wasn't a big deal, but would be nice to actually wear it.

The time came to get in line, the staff had signs to help people get in their pace group, I was in 7-8 minute pace. I like to use 2 apps when I run Nike+ and Runkeeper. It's kind of tough getting them going, but I did rather smoothly maybe 20 seconds before the gun.

The first mile was the toughest, I had slight glitters, in my legs, I think I was nervous, I heard earlier it was a hilly course. I got to the first hill put it in high gear and went up it hard. After that I started feeling good and started picking up the pace. When it came to the down hill, I tried to take advantage of the momentum. The crowd thinned out and I was doing well, I did get passed by two little girls. I think they actually helped me by trying to keep up with there pace.

Right near the end I started to get passed by a few people flying. I know they just must of started in the back, but I did not like it one bit. They were going so fast, I couldn't even try to hold my place. I did push as hard as I could as I crossed the finish line. I grabbed a water sat down and viewed my Nike+ app, and was shocked, at my new fastest mile.










Also set a new fastest 5k!

Representing! Go Team Happy Feet!

Representing! Team Happy Feet

For those who don't know me, I'm very crafty. I like drawing, airbrushing, makeing things out of wood, metal, paper, ect.. The picture posted is my idea of what the logo of Team Happy Feet would look like. I actually like it so much, I might make myself a running shirt.

After I joined the Runner's World forum, I found they had a miles game. The game is easy to play, all,you have to do is post your milage, you run each week. It's broken up into teams. The team with the most mileage wins. It's just for fun, but knowing your on a team, really puts that little bit of pressure on you, to get you out the door. It's also very nice to have that extra support to cheer you on.

Team Happy Feet: Thank you!

My first Half Marathon!

My first Half Marathon!

That's me in the picture above, waiting in line for the big walk to the starting line. Stomach growling with hunger, and already thinking I need to pee. I was sure when I started running I the hunger would stop, the feeling I needed to pee, was most likely just being nervous. I didn't get much sleep during the night, I was worried about not finishing. I never actually ran a full thirteen miles, my longest run has been only been eight and half miles.

The morning weather was really nice, and was very breezy, so I had some chills going. Actually liked it, Knowing it would help on the start. My plan was to pace myself with the Runkeeper app at nine minutes twenty-five seconds. Didn't work out like that, I started at the front, stayed to the right to let faster people pass. I soon became in the crowd running eight-thirty pace. I tried slowing down but really had a hard time. 

I passed the first couple water stops, I normally run eight miles without water, and don't really like the splash and go. It's hard to drink and run, so I wanted to actually stop/walk and actually drink the water, instead of having it jump right out of the cup.

The first six miles, I stayed pretty with the eight-thirty pace crowd, slowly falling back. I should of stuck with my plan, but felt so fresh, from having my rest day the day before. After mile six I got a side stitch, this was when I started having some doubts of finishing. Mile seven came up I stopped/walked for water. Was able to gather my thoughts and come up with some positive thoughts. The up-coming miles are the same route I run almost daily, so I told myself the miles would be easier.

At mile eight, the battle for passing was something you had to just pick up the pace, and just get out in front. Mile nine, I think I some endorphins kicked in, I was able to pass and get some distance on the person I was battling. Luckily I think that was their breaking point, unfortunately mine was coming up.

Mile ten stopped/walked noticed my legs felt very different like pudding, they didn't want to go on. Right before mile eleven I walked for maybe ten twenty feet, again legs didn't want to keep going. Same thing right before mile twelve. The distance I walked was real short, I may have been able to not stop, but my thoughts in my head was if i just get a little rest in my legs I'll finish running through the finish line and not walking.

and that's what happen!

Here's my pace time for each mile....

1. 8'33"
2. 8'24"
3. 8'37"
4. 8'47"
5. 8'35"
6. 8'42"
7. 9'15"
8. 9'11"
9. 8'29"
10. 9'01"
11. 8'46"
12. 9'39"
13. 9'55"

A trip to Six Flags!

We will be headed to Six Flags in September and I can't wait. work has been stressful and it doesn't seem like we have done much over the summer. Somit will really be nice to get away and have some fun. For those of you who didn't know, Six Flags is a amusement park in Jackson, Central New Jersey. A bit of a hike but worth it, you pick a hotel and make a weekend out of it.

My favorite ride is Bizarro! It's funny to even think about going on rides, because I never would when I was younger. Of course when you have kids you do things you don't always want too. Like going in the pool when it's freezing, Just because they want to. I won't have to do that much longer because it's that justbabout time for the season to changes. Another reason to make the trip before the water park closes.

There is one thing I like then going on the Bizarro ride, and that's watching my six year old son, mustering up the courage to go on the rides. Have to say he has courage, I'm not a big fan of the Pirate ship, it doesn't hold you tight, so you have to physically hold on for dear life. My son went on with his causin, which I was surprised they let him go on, being two inches shorter then the height chart of forty two inches. He love the beginning, but as it got higher, you could see him turning white. 

If you are planning a trip to Central New Jersey, try to save a day for Six Flags!

Our New House

This guest post from Lewis Beck Preparing our new house for move in is such a big job. I knew the house needed some work, but I didn’t think it would take this much energy to get things done. We only wanted to do a few updates in the kitchen, but once we got the ball rolling we ended up putting in new cabinets and appliances. This took more time and money than we expected to spend. Then we needed to do some plumbing work to make sure that it was in working order. I am relieved that that stuff is done, and now all we have to do is activate our alarm system and move our stuff in. I know unpacking and organizing will be a pain, but I am glad that this process is almost over. I can’t wait for everything to get done and to be settled in. I hope the house will be as wonderful for us as we hoped it would be. The kids have been waiting a long time to have their own space, and I think we will all be happier.

Map my run!

Hello everyone, As you know I have been working out. Today I purchased some trainers, so I could start running, I also downloaded the mapmyrun app for the iPhone. Off I went!!! I asked my neighbor who I seen running her route. She said it was three miles and she could do it without stopping. Wow I thought, I didn't think I would be able to do that. Today I was determined, I think all my exercising really paid of I ran the route which came to 2.5 miles in 27:55. I'm happy with it!!!

Moving to RI

Thanks for the article from Isaiah Gaines Mom and I were thinking that pawtucket clear 4g would be a good option for her since she was constantly shuffling between her main house and the beach house. I hated to see her paying for two internet connections when she was only at one or the other and I knew there had to be a better way. She’s always online shopping or looking at my sister’s mommy blog and whatnot so she needed a reliable way to stay in touch. She’s not the most technologically advanced person on the planet but she does know how to surf the internet with the best of them and it makes her happy so you know, why would I take that away from her? I love my mom to death and I’m so thankful she knows how to email so I don’t have to call all the time – my boss would freak out if he constantly saw me on all types of personal phone calls, you know? This is the best of both worlds if you ask me!

Diet challenge

Going on my third week, of working out.

Happy with my progress even, with skipping a few days. My toughest part is actually trying to follow a diet, not to loose weight, just to getter quicker results, and to be healthier.

Week one consisted of just, making the effort to go out to the garage and workout. The workouts can be done right in your living room. I choose to go in the garage because, the wife and kids are in bed, and I don't want to wake them thumping around.

Week two I started my diet challenge, which consisted of eating breakfast, I normally just drink a coffee in the morning. I also wanted to start drinking water, I decided to cut back on soda. I usually drink to cans throught out the day, so now I'm limiting my self to one. I even gave up one of my junk food snacks.

Week Three giving up all my junk food, replacing with cellery with peanut butter and raisins. Going to start drinking a protein shake after my workouts. I'm also going to research some more healthy snack ideas. I'm thinking the cellery might get boring fast.

Guido/Guida

Thanks for the post from Sylvester Campbell When I logged onto http://www.direct.tv and upgraded my television package, I didn’t realize that I would be getting lessons in a new dialect. The new dialect I’m talking about is the self-proclaimed Guido/Guida dialect of MTV’s “Jersey Shore”. I had heard about “Jersey Shore” and even heard New Jersey’s governor accuse the cast of “Jersey Shore” of being a bunch of “New Yorkers” as he vehemently denied that the residents of New Jersey behaved in such a manner. The lexicon is so different you almost need a “Jersey Shore” dictionary to translate. For example, in Guido/Guida lingo, “backpack” does not me the tote you use for your books, but a clingy love interest. “Braciole”, which we usually only see on the menu at Italian restaurants is the cast’s sobriquet for the male genetalia! With all of these outlandish translations of seemingly ordinary words, no wonder Chris Christie is embarrassed! As ridiculous as the show is, it is entertaining. I have to be cautious several times I have caught myself using the Guido/Guida dialect in the wrong situations.

Fitness challenge

I recently been trying to get back to working out. While searching for fitness social sites, I came across a site called bodyrock.tv not really a social site, but is worth looking at.

I like the style of the workouts. They challenge you to do the workout and record your time, or using a interval timer record how many reps in the giving time.

One thing I like is them pushing proper eating, that's my biggest down fall. I don't eat breakfast, don't drink water, or milk. It's basically coffee and coke for me. I really want to change that.

The Hardest part about that is, I don't do the shopping or the meal planning. I can't really expect my wife to just make me my own special meals. This will have to be done gradually. I can make my own meals, just need the recipes, which you can find on the site.

Check it out.....
Become a Body Rocker!!!!
Bodyrock.tv


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THE CAR WONT START

My husband had to go into work this morning at five o’clock. I usually get up when he gets up and start making coffee and get my day started. He has an automatic car starter because it is cold in the mornings. This morning, he couldn’t get his car started from the house. He turned off our connecticut home SecuritY alarm and went outside to see if he could get his car cranked so that he could warm it up before he left for work. He was surprised to find out that he couldn’t even open the car door with the clicker. He manually opened the door and tried to start the car. No lights came on. There was absolutely no response from the car. The battery was completely dead. He was frantic and ran in the house announcing that he needed to take my car. I started stressing out because I had to be at work at eight in the morning. Finally, I decided that I would just drop him off at work. I won’t be doing that again. The hospital is thirty minutes from our house. I hit traffic on the way back and it took me almost fifty minutes to get home!