T.G.I.F!!!!

First, remember I told you about my friend Pete who has run 14 consecutive NYC Marathons? Well our local paper did a piece on him. You can read it here. And if you scroll through the photo slideshow you’ll see the last photo is the one I took of him last Sunday! =)

Tomorrow I’m running the Trenton Half Marathon in Trenton, NJ. It will be my 6th and final half marathon of the year. Crazy to think that last year I ran 11 half marathons!

I was originally going to let my friend Jane grab my race bib at the expo since it’s just over an hour’s drive from my house but the other day my dad asked if I could take him to his mechanic to pick up his mid-life crisis car which is pretty far into New Jersey. I took a look at the map and saw that the expo was about 30 miles from the mechanic and figured while I was in New Jersey i might as well just head there myself. Then I saw that I’d be traveling along a route that runs parallel to the Delaware/Raritan Canal towpath. I’ve always wanted to check it out since it’s 77 miles of (mostly) paved path that would make a great long run route and bike route as well. So I made a plan and the plan involved taking the doodle.

back seat doodle

back seat doodle

We hit the road at 9am. Duncan was a gentleman and sat in the back so my dad could sit shot gun. By 10:15am we dropped off my dad and then Duncan jumped up front.

Co-pilot

Co-pilot

About 20 minutes later we made our first stop in Stockton, NJ where I let him off the leash and stretch his legs.

Bull's Island

Yippee!

Bull's Island

Bull’s Island

Rt 29

Rt 29

Then we stopped in Lambertville where I got gas. The gas attendant gave Duncan some head scratches and a biscuit!

broken biscuit

broken biscuit

And then we took a lovely stroll along the towpath in the most magical spot.

so scenic it almost looks fake

so scenic it almost looks fake

Duncan met a new friend, Max

Duncan and Max

Duncan and Max

And I just took in the view

Pretty as a picture

Pretty as a picture

Delaware/Raritan Canal

Delaware/Raritan Canal

Next thing I knew it was 11:45am so we jumped back in the car and continued the last 20 minutes until we reached Trenton where I literally walked into the expo, grabbed my bib # and shirt and walked out in a whopping 3 minutes and 27 seconds.

In....

In….

exit

….and out!

I really like the shirt for so many reasons:

1. it’s a women’s fit, not unisex.
2. It’s long sleeve with a v-neck which is my favorite!
3. It’s heather gray and I don’t own a single tech shirt in gray.
4. The design on the back is really cool and unexpected.

Shirt, race # and hot/cold pack

Shirt, race # and nifty gel hot/cold pack

back of the shirt

back of the shirt

A total last minute plan really came together. And now I’m home resting up and planning on what winter gear to break out. It’s going to be 40 degrees at the start. Not terrible but maybe, just maybe a pair of throwaway gloves might make an appearance =)

As far as goals for tomorrow? I just want to finish with a smile on my face and no injuries. I’ll be sporting my knee brace again and probably taking lots of pictures. To be honest, I think I’m more excited for the post-race celebratory lunch with my friends. But I’m also looking forward to a relaxed run with no pressure.

On a totally different subject, today is a special date. 16 years ago on this day (way before I became a runner) I was a bride. I posted this picture (and caption) to my Instagram today.

I was a bride on this day 16 years ago. I was a widow 5 months later. My life is so wonderful and full of love again today but I will always remember the love that built me and the loss that changed me.

I was a bride on this day 16 years ago. I was a widow 5 months later. My life is so wonderful and full of love again today but I will always remember the love that built me and the loss that changed me.

Have a great weekend!

Anyone else have a special date to celebrate or acknowledge this weekend? Anyone racing?

Hi folks,

Yesterday was such a beautiful day! Since I’ve been trying to keep my running to a minimum for the next 10 days to let my little aches and pains resolve, I decided to go for a bike ride.

bikeout

#schwinning!

I must admit I’ve been using the hashtag #winning too much lately. So today, I got a little more creative #schwinning! You’re welcome =)

I biked for about an hour covering almost 8 miles of rolling hills and I have to say I REALLY enjoyed it.

Later in the day the Doodle and I met up for our walk with the Dogues…

photo 5

Athena and Zeus. Zeus is the one with the enormous tongue hanging out!

When it’s 67 degrees and sunny with gorgeous blue skies and rainbow color leaves everywhere I want to spend every waking moment outside and Duncan is totally ok with that =)

photo 3

warm and fuzzy

photo 1

the hills are alive…

photo 2

and I'm starting a new selfie trend #upsidedown

and I’m starting a new selfie trend #upsidedown

Today is probably going to be a repeat of yesterday only swap the bike ride for house cleaning (boo!). But I’m going to try for another ride tomorrow morning.

Have a fantabulous Saturday!

What are you doing today? Have you ever laid flat on the ground in the middle of the park to get an upside down aerial selfie? If you haven’t then follow my trend! It’s superfun!

Hi there

9 more days until my birthday! Woot Woot! That’s single digits. You know, kinda like how excited you are to reach mile 16.3 in a marathon and know that technically you have single digit miles left to run (9.9 to be exact).

OK that was like math, math makes my brain hurt so let’s move on, shall we?

Speaking of not counting. Here’s some of the evidence of the 15 pieces of (i’m not counting) Halloween candy I consumed at work yesterday.

 

candy carnage

candy carnage

 

This morning it was pouring rain so I took the doodle to the pet store. We only got the necessities, poop bags, food and cookies.

petco

petco

Duncan always smiles when we go to the pet store

photo 1

Then the rain stopped and I opted to go for a short run. The first run since the Staten Island Half on Sunday.

channeling my inner bubblegum

channeling my inner bubblegum

I didn’t wear the knee brace and my knee felt pretty good but sure as sh-t as soon as i stopped for a light and then went to start back up again I got a sharp pain. It didn’t last and afterward it was fine. Tomorrow I’m going for a bike ride. No sense aggravating it.

I did something monumental today. I got a haircut.

photo 4I hadn’t had one in 18 months! Yes kids, i’m crazy. Luckily the curls just get tighter and nobody really has a clue that I procrastinate with the haircuts. Anyway, since the rain stopped I chanced a blowout because I just love a good blowout and I can’t for the life of me blow my own hair straight.

I’m hoping this will last a couple of days.

Well, I’m off to run some errands. Catch ya later.

Haircuts. Tell me. Do you love them or hate them? Do you have good hair? I love my curls but it’s not so easy to manage. 

First I have to share this funny link about 10 things nobody tells a woman before running a marathon

OK, now let me fill you in on my weekend. Yesterday morning it was POURING RAIN! I took the doodle out quick and then we curled up on the sofa watching old episodes of Mad About You while I sipped my coffee.

Duncan was waiting patiently for the rain to subside so he could take his tennis ball outside.

tennisball

I took advantage of the weather and forced myself to do the mundane task of shredding old bills and filing new ones.

photo 1I’m terrible at keeping up with this. I want to go paperless but I need the bill to arrive in the mailbox to signal that I need to pay it. I’m a visual person.

I filled an entire bag of paper.

photo 5

All of a sudden around 3:30 the rain just stopped and the sun came out. I didn’t hesitate and grabbed my running gear and drove back to the beach where I ran on Thursday to try and get my long run in.

photo 3I wanted to hit 10 miles but at mile 7 I felt that same ache in my right knee (that i felt on Thursday) and after another mile and change it was getting more uncomfortable. I thought I’d just try and stretch a bit and then finish the last mile and change but when I squatted down I felt a sharp pain in the knee. So I did the smart thing and ended the run right there.

1004runLuckily there was no pain at all when walking so I hurried home, showered really quick and then took the doodle to the park to walk briskly for the 1.3 miles I didn’t get to run. Bingo! 10 miles even!

1004walk

Duncan has the cutest little waddle walk…

This morning I hit the road at 7am to head down to the Jersey Shore to be a spectator and supporter for my boyfriend who was running the Jersey Shore Half Marathon. It was super windy and the temps at the start were in the upper 40s. But the wind didn’t seem to impact him at all. As a matter of fact he busted out a huge PR of 1:48:49, almost 5 minutes faster than his previous best. So proud of him! And I really enjoyed the spectator friendly and scenic course. Here are some shots I took along the course (i took lots of great shots of the boy, but he is camera shy so you’ll just have to enjoy the scenery mmkay?)

IMG_0017

gorgeous views at mile 6

IMG_0019

course views!

 

IMG_0050

I stood right at the finish to see him sprint in

When I got home I I felt like I had run too. I think it was a combination of me being sore from the run yesterday and a little windburn/sunburn action too. So I took a little ibuprofen and laid down for an hour and then I was good as new. Next thing you know I was ready to take the Doodle for one final adventure before the weekend came to a close. I’ve been in a rut lately with where I take him so today I chose a new spot. We went to the trails that start out by the golf course. It’s so beautiful there.

magical

magical

photo 2

pretty!

pretty!

I love natural tree trunk/root sculpture.

I love natural tree trunk/root sculpture.

Next weekend I’ll be running the Staten Island Half Marathon. I’m going to do a short run on Wednesday and maybe another short run on Friday and that’s it. I want to make sure my knee can go 13 miles next weekend =)

So how was your weekend?