My favorite color is October

01. October 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: cross training, Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , ,

Hello.

Saw this posted on Facebook today. #absolutely

photo 3

I was planning on running yesterday morning but still have some soreness on the bottom of my foot. It’s almost gone but with a half marathon 12 days from now I decided to err on the side of caution and go to the gym at lunch for a short cross training session of the rowing machine and bike.

So I packed up my gym stuff in this handy dandy 2011 NYC marathon recovery bag. 🙂 swag in action.

photo 1

13 minutes on the rower followed by a killer 20 min on the stair master. I was drenched with sweat. And actually felt good about the decision to cross train.

photo 5

This morning I got up super early to take the doodle to our local park. With me being away for a week and then having a busy long weekend I hadn’t taken him in over 2 weeks. He was so happy to reclaim his territory. And I was happy to see the beginning signs of autumn.

photo 2

pretty soon the green will turn orange and red and yellow

On our way to my favorite place. Gonna lift my leg on everything!

On our way to my favorite place. Gonna lift my leg on everything!

Tomorrow if my foot is ok I am going to try for an 8-10 mile run. If it isn’t ok I’ll wait until the weekend. Last chance long run opportunity before the Staten Island half marathon. I’m not really worried about finishing. I just want to work on keeping a consistent effort for 2 hours or more. Lately I have been peetering out to quickly. Mostly because I am not accepting that my average pace has slowed since being injured and I start out too fast.

I told you that my favorite month is October because it’s my birthday month AND i love Autumn. But I forgot to share with you another reason it’s an important month to me. It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. First I wanted to give a shout out to my dear friend Nicole!

1456011_10202518000572958_1440111951_n

She’s a survivor! Hard to believe that with a newborn she went through a double mastectomy, chemo and reconstruction all while continuing to work and care for her family. (She owns a pet-sitting company and I met her when Duncan was just a puppy and I was looking for a dog walker.) Her diagnosis really shook me. After my husband died so young from cancer I sort of went through this irrational notion that I paid my dues and nobody close to me would ever be sick again. So when my 36 year old friend was faced with cancer I was knocked back into reality and reminded that I’m not excused from from it. I also wanted to share this link. Meggan is a runner I met last year while on that photo shoot in Charleston, SC for the Dicks Sporting Goods Every Runner Has a Reason campaign. She has been battling breast cancer for 6 years. I didn’t even know it at first. She’s so amazingly strong and brave. I’m wearing my Power in Pink shirt today to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Power in Pink!

Power in Pink!

I’m almost done with my recap of day 2 of Ragnar Napa. It’ll probably be up tonight. Thanks for being patient. =)

 

I’m assuming most of my readership is female (well except for this guy). Are you up to date with your mammos? Do you do self-exams? 

Do you acknowledge any awareness months?

I make a big deal in May for Melanoma Awareness Month as well as this month’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

No related posts.

Saturday Stuff

06. October 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: fundraising, labradoodle, recreational fun, Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

It’s hard to believe that it was 80 degrees on Tuesday September 17th when i ran my half marathon in South Dakota and just yesterday they were slammed with over 3 feet of snow! Talk about a complete 180 in just 2 weeks!

I didn’t run today. I started my day volunteering at an Autism Speaks fundraising walk. I took photos.

photo 1

Then I relaxed and did a whole lot of nothing for a couple of hours. My schedule gets crazy for the next 5 weeks and I just wanted to shut off and do nothing for a bit. But then I got the doodle’s “you’re putty in my paws” look and I took him for a walk through the woods and around our local park. I was hoping the Autumn colors would be emerging but it’s hit or miss here and the area we went today was still pretty green. So I wore a colorful shirt to compensate:

photo 4

photo 2

I thought the leaves are supposed to be changing ma?

photo 3

dramatic

After dinner I took a quick trip to Target for some grocery items. I ended up grabbing a halloween costume for Duncan too! (I bought both but am leaning toward the tuxedo).

photo 5

Tomorrow the plan is to be out the door about 6:30am to get to my running spot at sunrise. I’m planning on running 14 miles along the boardwalk and underneath the Verrazano Bridge. It’s time to get excited and start visualizing the start of the NYC Marathon.

Hope you are all having a nice weekend. I’m off to bed.

Question: Which costume should I make Duncan wear? Tuxedo? Pirate?

 

Related posts:

  1. numbers game (or completely useless post)
  2. Smooth runner feet—Emjoi Micro Pedi
  3. On this day Sweat Out The Small Stuff turns four

Hello October! It’s going to be a great month!

01. October 2013 · 3 comments · Categories: labradoodle, running · Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Happy October folks!

This is my favorite month. I’ll tell you about some of the great things planned.

Local races: I’m running 2 very special events this month that I’ve been doing for many years now.

rnrNY

Rock ‘N’ Roll New York 10k (in Brooklyn, NY)

I’ve been running the Rock ‘n’ Roll New York 10K since the inaugural event in 2011 where I PR’ed with a 59:55. It was a bit unorganized the first year but last year they figured their sh#t out and it was much more organized—I on the other hand was not as organized. I forgot one key pre-race checklist item–to check my shoelaces. I stopped twice to tie my shoes and finished with a 1:01:55, exactly 2 minutes slower. I don’t think I would have beat my PR but I def could have shaved a minute had those laces been tied. I’m super excited to run it again this year on Saturday 10/12! I know the course really well and I might just try to set a new PR. But there’s only one caveat…

sihalf

Staten Island Half Marathon (Staten Island, NY)

…The second special event is actually the day after the RnR 10k this year on Sunday 10/13. It’s the Staten Island Half Marathon in my home town. And it has also become my last (and longest) training run for my fall marathons (NYC in 2011, Philly in 2012 and this year NYC again!). I log 7 miles before the start to end up with a good solid 20 miler for the day. So if I choose to push hard the day before to try for a PR, I might not have enough energy to get through 20 miles. HMMMM. I’m going to continue to mull over my plan for this. While the S.I. half has never been my fastest, it’s one of my favorites. It was my first ever half marathon back in 2007 where I finished in 2:36 and since then my times have ranged between 2:24 and 2:54. I get to drive to the start without hassle because I live so close to the start. I pick my bib and shirt up the morning of, and I’ve even been able to “christen” the porta johns because I’m there so early. AHHHH! Nothing like being the FIRST person to use a porta john.

And a big bonus is that I get to run these events with some of my Center of the Nation running peeps!

Autumn: This time of year here in the North East is so awesome. After suffering through 80 and 90 degree sticky, humid days, it’s a pleasure to finally have cooler and crisper temps in the 60s and 70s. The leaves on the trees turn all sorts of amazing colors and I love to crunch them as I run. Plus, Autumn is apple picking season! I LOVE to go apple picking and then I bake 2 apple crisps and eat them both myself in a weekend. (true story!). And I enjoy decorating my front porch with a cute li’l orange pumpkin (and a doodle).

autumn-collage

My birthday: And this year on October 25th I’ll be turning 40! Woah! Crazy right? I don’t look act a day older than 12. =) Last year I got to celebrate twice and had 2 cakes. The one on the right was homemade by my amazing friend Butter

2cakes

Halloween: While I don’t really dress up in costume anymore, I get a kick out of making Duncan suffer through some rather embarrasing looks.

costumedoodle

Sherrif on the left and referee on the right

So there you have it. October is going to be a great month!

Question: What’s your favorite month? What’s your favorite season? 

No related posts.

Newer articles »