no stink.

I just looked at my mileage for October, because of my 3 weeks of running rest, it was a dismal 19.5.  Compare that to August which was 148. I have 246 miles to go before the year is out, at this point I don't know if it's going to happen, but we'll see.

I did get to run on the treadmill this morning, and ran three miles on Halloween, was hoping for four but then felt like I couldn't push it just yet.  It was a weird weather day, during the course of the run it was cloudy, it hailed, and then it got sunny. I didn't mind though, I was just happy to be outside and moving.

I had a chance to try febreeze Laundry Odor Eliminator, for laundry that gets especially stinky, like ahem, running clothes.  I saved up all my workout wear for the week, and washed them along with Mike's nasty weekend chore clothes, which he wore while clearing up the backyard with his chainsaw.  His jeans and shirts smelled like gas and sweat, nice combo. He had to drive to New Hampshire and back on Friday, and he brought back lobsters for a late dinner.  I had a lobster pot water soaked dishtowel that stunk, so I threw that in too. You add the Febreeze along with your detergent, in true me fashion I managed to spill it all over my hand when I was pouring it.  It smelled nice, a bit like shampoo.  And it worked!  When the clothes came out of the dryer, there wasn't any extra soapy odor, they just smelled....clean.

If you would like to try a 1.5 liter bottle of the Laundry Odor Eliminator courtesy of febreze, here is your chance....go to the febreze website here, then leave me a comment.  I'll pick two winners using random.org on November 10th.

*Note, I was provided with a bottle of febreze for the purpose of this review, the opinions on the product are my own.

Q&A #1.....Running

This is my first round of questions that were asked in my 300th post giveaway, these are all about running......

Miss Zippy asked: What is your dream race? then Stacie asked: What would your dream run/event/destination be?

For my dream race, the temperature would be in the low 60's, no humidity, with a mix of sun and shade, the route would cover both city and country.  The race would start at a later hour, so that I wouldn't have to wake up at 5:00 a.m. for it.  My dream destination/event would be a place I want to go back to, which means the Dublin Marathon.  The race would go exactly like my last long training run of 22 miles, where I got into my running zone, my feet were just moving on their own, and I didn't have any aches or pains or stomach issues.  Just a perfect run.

Angie asked: what are you doing over the winter. Any races? What do you do when its too cold and yucky to go outside to run?

I don't have any concrete race plans yet, but I'm working on it.  When it's too yucky outside, I hit the treadmill, or pick something to do on the exercise on demand channel.  I live within walking distance of a golf course, where I cross country ski, which is a nice change of pace, I get to be outside and I'm still moving.

Darlene asked: You've run a marathon. What's your next goal? 

I plan on running another marathon, my next goal is NYC, which I've wanted to do forever, I did the lottery last year, but didn't make it in.  I have a tiny "vision board" next to my laptop, it's the NYC Marathon logo.  Who knows how long it will take me to get in, but I'm going to run it.

Brittney asked: My question is how do you find time to run with kids?


I'm lucky that I own a treadmill, which I would use during naptime. Now that my kids are bigger, then can entertain themselves for 45 minutes while I run. Although there are times I have to hop on and off to deal with whatever comes up. My husband is very helpful on the weekends, and hangs out with them while I run. I think I'm setting a great example fitness wise, the other day my son said "run it like you mean it Mom!"

Rachel asked: What is your best tip for a person (me) training for their (my) first marathon?!


Have faith in yourself and your ability. You might have some rough moments, and that's when you have to dig deep down and believe in yourself. Be confident because you can do it.
Terri asked: How do you treat post-long-run soreness? Or do you even get that?


I would get sore after a long run, I was a fan of ice baths immediately after the run, and as the day and night wore on, I used ice packs to help with soreness. As my friend Kristin says, Enjoy your pain, you've earned it!

Andrew asked: what did you wear for that chilly february 5k?
 
I wore thick socks, an UnderArmour sweatshirt, with a NorthFace hoodie over it, along with Nike DryFit running pants.  Topped it off with a fleece headband around my ears, and gloves.
 
then One Crazy Penguin asked: What are your three must have winter running things?
1. my fleece headband.  Its made of acrylic, so you can toss it in the wash, it gets soaked with sweat.
2. knit gloves, which are thin enough that they fit in my pocket if my hands get too warm
3. a fitted, long sleeve shirt made for cold weather, which I wear under a Tech shirt.  I found mine at Target, from their C9 line, it's a great shirt, and it's reasonably priced.
 
Wells L asked: what have you learned about yourself through running?

I've learned that I'm not a wimp. Running is a release for me, and I'm constantly thinking of when I can fit it in.

Abbi asked: Since you say you have been running for years, how did you get started?

It started in an effort to lose weight. I gained weight in college, and my weight went up and down in the year after I graduated and was out in the real world.  I finally made a New Years Resolution to hit the gym every day, which I did, and started running on the treadmill.  I lost the weight, and at one point I was running six miles a day. I got the courage up to run my first race, and the rest is now history!  I was on RunnerDude's blog about how I started running, here is the link if you want to check it out.

Whew!  I'll answer the next round of questions in another post.....in the meantime, thanks to everyone who entered my 300th post giveaway......I used random.org, and the winner is Darlene! Congrats!!!

I try, but it's never just three things on a Thursday

1. Yesterday I ran for a second time, and again it went great.  I'm kind of taking this whole cross training thing day by day, whatever exercise I do, ride my bike, something from the Exercise On Demand channel, a rest day, depends on how I feel.  It was unseasonably warm here yesterday, and gorgeous out, although the trees are really looking bare, so many of the leaves have fallen.  I decided to head outside, and truly escaped into my run, I didn't look at G-Unit until I passed a woman walking her dog, I had gone 2.3 miles and was running a 8:45 pace!! I didn't want Hammy to explode, so I slowed way down. I was good, and stuck to my planned 3 miles, but when I got home I didn't want it to end.  So I grabbed my bike, and set off again, for 20 minutes, I only went home at that point because I was starving.   Success!!

2. I think I'm over the Biggest Loser this season, as it is I watch it after it starts, so I can fast forward through all of the extra crap they pad into the episode.  None of the contestants are doing it for me either, although I do love it when Curtis Stone shows up.  On the other hand, I think the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills might be the best season ever.  I love that the woman who played Tia from Escape to Witch Mountain is on it, and it's going to get good when the whole Kelsey Grammer divorce plays out. 

3. When buying Halloween candy, I made sure to buy Baby Ruths, in case the kids don't get any when they're out trick or treating. I LOVE those babies, and eat them once a year, which will be this Sunday.....

4. If you didn't see it, I have a small giveaway tied into my 300th post, which you can find here.

300 (it's long, but there's a giveaway at the end. Natch.)

I'm psyched.

I ran three miles Sunday, with NO hamstring pain or tightening, AT ALL!!!  I was nervous beforehand, and kept myself in check to run a 10:15 minute mile pace, even when Lil' Wayne's Knockout came on my ipod and I wanted to just let loose.  It felt like a walk in the park, so I'm confident that I didn't lose any fitness with my time off, but I'm going to force myself to take it slow, so I don't undo any of my progress.

Yahoo!!!!

It's my 300th post, and to help write it, I used all the suggestions given to me.....

I've been running for years, but as Kristin suggested, here are some of the highs of the races I've done since I started my blog:.

1. The Marathon, obviously.  I knew I would do it someday, and I did.  I know I'll do it again. And maybe again.
2. St. Patricks Day Four Miler. This race covers a course with some steep hills, and aside from the fun of the race itself, were the training runs I did every Saturday morning with my running group, Lake Effect.  After the race, it was fun to be social with the group over beers in an Irish bar.
3. The Chilly Chili 5k this past February.  This was the first winter that I ventured outside, away from the comfort of my treadmill, to keep up my winter runs.  Race day it was 15 degrees, and it snowed during the run.  And I had a ball.

Tortuga Runner suggested I write about who I am, and Iron Mike thought I should go back to my first post, and see how far I've come. This is a snippet from my first blog post:  "For 32 years I knew who I was. And I still do, but it comes and goes. I feel like I'm still searching for something, and what that is I honestly don't know. I'm hoping that by putting my thoughts into this blog, I can get myself to where I need to be."

I've struggled since I became a stay at home mom, but I've learned that I don't necessarily have to define myself in terms of what I do for a living.  When you think about it, we all do lots of things, and each one of those things help to define us.  I've learned that as long as I keep challenging myself, I'll continue to evolve, and there is no end to what I can do.

So here is a bit of who I am:

I'm a Mom.  Here we are, all cleaned up on Easter Sunday:

I'm a wife. I met Mike when I was 18, and we've been married for 11 years. The Black Knight thought I should take a look at my 100th and 200th posts, and I just so happened to write about Mike in post number 100.

Here is us in the summer:

and in the winter:

I have a great family.  I love my brother and sisters dearly, I know I bug them sometimes, and sometimes they bug me.  I don't see my parents often, but talk to them all the time.  I hate the phrase "in-laws" because I'm lucky to have all of mine as my family.  I have fabulous girlfriends, some of which I'm hoping aren't too pissed off at me for bailing on our 20th reunion this past weekend. 

I was thinking of changing my header to my dancing in the kitchen photo.  Angie thought so too, so I did.

Mighty M suggested I do a giveaway of some of my favorite things.  Well, I figured I could do a small one of items that I always have on me:

*I have chocolate once a day, so I'll start off with a bar of chocolate from Newman's Own Organic.
*Coffee is a necessity, a $5 gift card to Starbucks should be good for a cup.
*Tic Tacs are needed after coffee, for fresh breath.
*GU.  During marathon training, I always had GU on me.  I like a bunch of them, but these two tend to cleanse my running palate the best, one Lemon Sublime, and one Strawberry Banana.
*Blistex Lip balm. I figured I should go unisex on this one, since Mark is always bitching that my giveaways are more for the gals than the guys.

Since Mighty M and Erika both suggested a Q and A, to enter this little giveaway, in your comment, ask me whatever question that's been keeping you up at night.   The giveaway will end at midnight, one week from today, Monday November 1.  I'll choose the winner with random.org, then answer the questions in another post.

I made you wait long enough....congrats to Liz, at Quiltz n Hoez, the winner of the CSN Stores giftcard (I used random.org to pick the winner)  send me an email, and I'll get you hooked up!

the same, but different

first off, don't forget my CSN Stores giveaway, which ends Sunday, a $75 gift card is up for grabs here.

I'm going to try and go for a run this weekend, I figured a three week rest should do it.  I'm actually nervous about it, and have my fingers crossed that hammy holds it together for a incident free run!

I find it so interesting that two people with the same parents can be so different physically.  I was talking to one of my sisters the other day, and she mentioned how she's down to 116 pounds, and had to go out and buy some new pants.  This is the result of her running around after her one year old, and three year old, and not having many chances to eat.  She's tiny to begin with, and delicate, while I'm on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, over six inches taller, I inherited the sturdier Irish build (lets say I would probably have made it through the famine).  It's not only genetics, but behavior.  When Luke and Eliza were small, I never lost weight just because I was busy with them, I always managed to cram something in my mouth, because for me, a hungry Mommy is a crabby Mommy.  And we don't want that.

I love this photo of said sister and I, dated October 1979.  It sits on my dresser, and is one of my favorites, not just because of the Bee Gees lunchbox.

My next post is my 300th, and I keep debating on what to write about.

Any ideas?

I'm never Wordless on a Wednesday

This is what it looks like when your sister visits the weekend after you run your first marathon, you have some vino, and start listening to Vampire Weekend.

ooof.

I haven't run in two weeks. 

And I'm starting to feel the effects. 

Biking and fitness videos be damned, I want to run. 

Eliza is acting up, the other day she "brushed" her hair with Daddy's shaver that he accidentally left in the downstairs bathroom, and picture day is Wednesday.  It's thinned out, but doesn't look too bad, but there was so much hair in the garbage it looked like a small animal.

She got out of bed two nights in a row, the first night I caught her with her hands plunged into a tub of my Mom's moisturizer, her arms and legs looked like an oil slick. The next night she snuck back into the bathroom and emptied an entire bottle of Crabtree and Evelyn powder, the bathroom was covered in it, and like someone dumped a bag of flour on her head.

Then she threw popcorn kernels in the fish tank, and they started to sprout.

As usual, Luke is being an angel...aside from tracking two soccer cleats worth of dog poop into the Jeep after practice.

I made Butternut Squash soup, and it was more babyfood like than soup like.  It was still good though.

I got my lip waxed, and for the first time ever, I had some weird reaction and it erupted into huge, itchy welts. I felt like I had a duck bill and had to buy Benadryl cream for it.

By Friday afternoon I was pacing around the living room feeling like a Lion in a cage.  I've read my InStyle and Glamour, but haven't cracked open my Runners World.  Even my Halloween socks were making me think Boo Hoo.

I get like that sometimes, a really bummed out feeling, that nothing but a good crying jag can cure.  Then I feel guilty because I have absolutely nothing to complain about.  But I cry anyway.

Mike suggested some retail therapy, and I did need new jeans.  Although next to bathing suit shopping, there is nothing worse than jean shopping.   After trying on a gazillion pairs at Macy's with no success, we went to the Gap, where they have my favorite cut, Long and Lean....and they were 40% off to boot.  Although they didn't have my size, but after the sales guy let me plow through the pile of discards in the dressing room, I found them! Yee-ha!

Then on Sunday morning, I walked into church, and this little girl looked up at me and said "WOW! You're TALL!!!" 

Which made me laugh.

Then an afternoon of football, and chatting with my girls at the kitchen table along with vino and guacamole helped my spirits even more.

So this is the last week of no running.

And no complaining.

Bring on the Jackie Warner Power Circuit.  (the ab section is a killer).