What I Did On My Summer Vacation.

I'm back.

This was the first time that I've taken an extended blogging break.  I guess I had to figure out which direction I wanted to take my blog, until I realized I was happy with what I've been doing for the past four years, so why change it!

I unplugged from various social media during the Olympics (I hate spoilers) and we've been truly busy this summer with travel, work, and the kids activities so my blogging took a back seat.

We've gone up to Mike's Mom and Dad's camp in the Adirondacks a few times, for Mike's birthday we went for 6 days, swimming, fishing, going to the water park:

Our yearly lakeside photo:

We made a visit to Long Island and Westchester to see my family, Mike and I are our niece Mia's Godparents, so we went down for the Baptism.

My hair is much blonder this summer, and Mike is still pretty much bald.

We've had a gorgeous summer and I've been running and swimming, I'm a huge fan of the "adult swim" time at the pool, where the kids have to sit out for 15 minutes.  I take over the lap lane, and Eliza walks along the side, acting as my "coach."

Speaking of Eliza, she caught the Olympic bug and pretends that she's a competitive swimmer, launching herself off the pool edge, going into a pretty decent backstroke. She's a little diva in many ways, she refuses to wear shorts, every day she's in a skort or dress.  I'm taking her for her first manicure on Thursday, her Sixth Birthday.

Luke has spent the summer with his Lego's, on his scooter, playing Skylanders and reading the Magic Tree House series of books, I have to limit the number of books he takes out of the library, telling him that he needs to save some for the other kids.  He bought a new football with money from his piggy bank when I took him and Eliza to SUNY Cortland (my alma matter!) to watch the JETS training camp.

Lots of autographs!

I came thisclose to meeting Tim Tebow.

And no, we didn't see him Tebow.

My last race was the Boilermaker 15k in July, but I'm 95% sure I'm doing the Empire State Half Marathon here in Syracuse in October.

Since I turned 40 in January, my general practitioner told me I had to come in for a check up, or else he was ditching me as a patient. The last time I went to see him was a check up I had in 2008!  I mentioned before about how my dentist and OB both said my blood pressure was high, and it was high when I went for my check up.  My Doc thought it was maybe because I was nervous, so the other day I went to use the blood pressure machine at Rite Aid, and then at Kinney Drug.  The first time it was 122/79, pulse rate 61 and the next it was 119/72, pulse 62.  I gave these numbers to my sister who is a nurse, and she said that is perfect. Whew!

I still have to have my blood drawn to test my cholesterol etc., but I have been taking these Krill Oil capsules, that I received a couple of months ago from Everest Nutrition.

I tried taking fish oil capsules before, their Omega 3 fatty acids are good for cardiovascular health, and joint support but gave up because I really disliked the fishy odor/taste.  This particular Krill Oil offers 54x more antioxidant power than fish oil.  I can take these capsules without issue, when I get my lab tests back I'll know for sure if they have been helping, but if you're in the market for this type of supplement, I say give it a try.

Frank is still Frank.  He's shown us that not only can he break through screen doors, he can also go through windows.  One Saturday morning, Mike saw some people park on our street, it looked like they wanted to speak with us about their religion, we weren't in the mood so he closed our front door and said to ignore the doorbell.  When they rang it, Frank barked, but stopped when I told him to be quiet.  Next thing I know, someone is knocking on the door that leads from our kitchen to the garage!  Mike opened it to tell whoever it was to take a hike, and in trotted Frank. Yup, he wanted to greet these people, so he sailed through the front window, knocked out the screen, and landed in the bushes, a good three feet drop.

Here he is in his Fourth of July Finery:

School starts in 13 days, we still have lots on our schedule until then, a joint birthday party for Mike, his Dad, Eliza and my sister Ali, the State Fair, more pool time.  I've already started some of my PTA duties, and I'm hoping to add more hours to my work schedule. So things are chugging along.

So??  How has the summer been treating you???


*note, I was sent two bottles of Krill for the purpose of sharing my thoughts on the product. 

Ironman Lake Placid Race Recap: For The Children's Tumor Foundation

No, not me!

This particular race recap is courtesy of my friend Sarah.

I got to know Sarah last fall, while I was training for the NYC Marathon and raising research funds for The Children's Tumor Foundation.  I followed her Ironman training through her facebook status updates, as she got nearer to race day, Sarah dedicated each of her training days to a different person affected by this disorder.  She was the Featured Athlete of Ironman Lake Placid, and is truly an inspiration.

I will now give the floor to her:

Ironman was a word that had no meaning to me 6 years ago. Running a marathon was out of the question. I hated running! "Can't" was a word in my vocabulary. Ironman isn't just a goal, it isn’t just an endurance event. It was life changing. I now have finished an Ironman, run 10 marathons, and now believe I CAN do anything. I had the honor of fundraising for the Children's Tumor Foundation and raised - as of today with matching gifts - nearly $12,000. 

Race weekend: 

It started with a drive up to Lake Placid with my dear friend Kristin who was the one who first got me to sign up. The next day I was greeted by Kylie, age 6, and her superstar triathlete mother, Angela. As the featured athlete of the race I was interviewed and asked to share my fundraising journey with NF Hero Kylie. This video was shown at the athlete dinner in front of nearly a thousand athletes. After the video played Kylie and I were asked to come up on stage. By the time we got to the stage (a 15-foot walk), everyone - EVERYONE - was on the feet with tears in their eyes. That moment, like a hundred others from that weekend, will last forever.

Here is the video that was shown at the dinner:

 

Swim Start:

I was mentally prepared for this to suck (sorry mom, no better word here). But walking up to the swim start arch, I was in my zone. The panic went away and my body just knew we had a long day ahead and we worked way too hard to freeze up now. I waited a few minutes to let people start, despite being a strong swimmer; what’s a couple minutes when your day is based on hours? It is a mass swim start: 2,600 people are in the water, the clock hits 7am, and the start cannon goes off! U2’s "Beautiful Day" comes across the speakers and you are in it.

The swim is a two-loop course in which you have to get out after the first lap and dive back in. Kylie was on the dock and saw me thanks to my ultra cool Orca wetsuit and was screaming for me to give her a high five. I didn't see her due to my goggles fogging (they were as tight as possible for fear of getting them knocked off, it is a little crowded with 2,599 other people). But if you watch the next video you will see I got to see her right out of the swim. I ran down the chute into transition and saw my amazing friends Alyssa, Angie, Cory, Sam and Dan screaming their heads off. 


Here is the video after the swim: 

 

Bike:

The longest section of the race. There is no way around it. It is a long time on your bike. Everyone tells you the training is the hardest part of the Ironman experience and you know what they are right. Trying to fit into a 24-hour period a 7-hour bike ride, followed by a 1-hour run and a 30-minute swim, plus eating, sleeping, balancing a full time job and having some what of a social life for seven months is not easy. Race day is the last 140.6 of an incredible journey. So when I hit those tough hills, I smiled. When I hit mile 100, I remembered my friend Cory who a year ago helped me ride my bike for the first time.

There was a section on the course where you feel like you are in the Tour de France; the hill is lined with people as you go about 8mph uphill. Riding into town was an insane feeling as you see your family and friends. I stopped at the special needs and asked the volunteer to open the drawings from Kylie and her sister Katelyn who thanked me for racing for her sister. If that isn’t motivation to do another 56 I don’t know what is!

Run:

So... I wasn't prepared to feel this good. For those runners out there, you know that when predicting your marathon time you double your half marathon time and add 10 minutes. Well with triathlon you double your half time and add about an hour or so. I just stayed at the same speed as my half Ironman.

I hit about mile 95 on the bike and by that point, I had seen numerous guys (yes, no girls) stopping to throw up or lie down to have a minute, and I was struggling a bit. I knew I needed to continue to get down some nutrition, but it was 90 degrees, sunny and, oh yeah, the toughest part of the course. I couldn't wait to get to the run. When I came out of transition in my brand new race top with all of the NF heroes on the back of my shirt I felt like a million bucks.

I know how crazy all of this sounds and if you have read up to here I am impressed. 

Running a marathon after a 2.4-mile swim and 112-mile bike sounds like a punishment.  I totally hear you! But it wasn’t! It was my tenth marathon and my favorite. I felt good the whole entire time and I think I was smiling the whole time. The course is an out-and-back (twice) so you see people multiple times including your friends and family. This was such an incredible feeling because at this point you know you are going to finish no matter what and you also know (yes, I thought it too) your friends and family are breathing a deep sigh of relief from tracking you. The run is my thing and I knew I would finish. The camera also found me at about mile 16 of the run. ( Mile 16 which  is really mile 150.6…sure no big deal).  They asked me how I was feeling and I think they were shocked by my smile and ability to form sentences.

I hit my last special needs bag at mile 12 and was holding on to my last letter which was from Krissy Diaz who is 24 and has NF2. I read her letter to the camera, but the part you don't see on camera is that it hit me a mile later she won't be able to hear me say those words because she has lost her hearing. The reality hit of how lucky I was too be out there. How I had the honor of getting out there. Krissy wrote me and told me she could read my lips from the video.

Finish:

YUP I said it! I FINISHED.

My friends were lined along the course and I knew they would be in the Olympic Oval awaiting my last couple of steps. I knew I just had to get to Amy right before mile 25 who sent a message to the Angela and Kylie at the finish line. Kylie was waiting for me to finish with two medals (one she made herself). Then I hit the last mile. I just slowed down and took every step in. This was it... this is what got me up every single morning, this is what a year ago I thought was impossible. This is what I was scared to tell anyone I signed up for. 

This is what I did.

Ironman is life changing, being able to be the featured athlete of the race was a dream come true. I have devoted most of my life the past 5 years to fundraising and endurance events. So for me, it wasn't Mike Riley saying "you are an Ironman." It was the journey it took to get there and making that turn down the finish chute and taking a deep breath and soaking it in. The video captures me finishing and Kylie giving me my medal with a double high five.

So there you have it folks, 140.6 in the books. 

The question I get now is: what's next? 

My question for you is...........What will you do next? 

Whether you sign up for a 5k, a bike ride, a walk, or to volunteer, it doesn't matter the distance as long as you are dedicating a part of your life to help others. 


It will change your life. 

My experience with the Ironman Foundation as the featured athlete reminded me how incredible fundraising can be. Fundraising allows us to give others hope. It allowed me to share 99 stories of those living with Neurofibromatosis. It connected families, and got me through the hardest physical journey of my life.  


I challenge you to do something for yourself, push yourself out of your box and find a cause that is meaningful to you.

If you would like to contribute to Sarah's fundraising for The Children's Tumor Foundation, here is the link:

http://ctf.kintera.org/nfefundraiser2012/coulslp  

(Sarah raised her goal to match her time )

: ) 

Boilermaker 15k, Year Five

I was extra excited to run this year, because I missed last years race. I felt ready, although for some reason I always get a little nervous the night before, I guess because I know it's going to be a hot and hilly race.

Friday I headed to the Expo with the kids in tow, in was in a new location at the community college, which made parking a breeze.  In previous years it was held outside, where you could spread out and avoid any congestion around the booths or packet pickup.  This time we just had to go into two buildings, which was convenient, but there wasn't much room around the booths, so I wonder if it got crowded on Saturday.

When I approached the packet pickup, the volunteer helping me was about 11 years old, and lo and behold, he couldn't find my bib, or Jeannine's bib.   Another volunteer started looking as well, and he apologized and said he just didn't see it anywhere.  At this point I was starting to panic a bit, and I whipped out my cell phone, about to show them the email that confirmed my registration, when a third volunteer came along, and pointed out that they were looking in the wrong bins.  Whew.

I met up with my friends Alissa and Julie, and after getting the kids some ice cream, I went back into the Expo.  I wanted to check out the KT Tape booth, they've revamped their product, the tape is now is made of synthetic material instead of cotton.  Since my heel was still bugging me, they taped it up for me:

Instead of my usual hot pink, I went for the conservative beige.

I could tell the difference between the old vs. new tape, and although they said it would stay on in water, it didn't.   It came off the next day at the pool, but then again, I was in the water with the kids for a while.

Back to the Expo.  

My college friend Laurie started a running gear company called My Happy Pace Gear.

They sell earth friendly running and cycling gear, including Honey Stinger (yum!), shirts made out of bamboo (wicked soft) and tech shirts made out of recycled plastic bottles.  It was great to see Laurie, who was also running, check out their website here!

Okay, on to the race. 

Ugh. 

Saturday night I did my usual pre-race antics, like running to Target at the last minute to get a new shirt.  I was in bed by ten, and awake at 3:00 a.m. when Mike came to bed after falling asleep on the couch.  

And.......you know what happened next.....

Mike fell asleep, and I tossed and turned worrying about the alarm going off, until it finally did at 4:40.

I was up and out of the house in 20 minutes, I even walked Frank and had a fresh cup of coffee thanks to my lovely Keurig.  I picked up Jeannine, and we met up with everyone else at our friend Julie's house, got on the road, and made it to the start by seven. 

I didn't get the tank top memo, but I did get the bright color memo.

I checked my bag, and a few minutes later I realized I forgot to grab my GU.  I figured I could make due with Gatorade on the course, but I wasn't happy.  We had enough time to use the port-a-potties twice (for some reason they made rows of them, and everyone was going to the first row, and not checking out the ones behind them.  Both times it took us about 5 minutes to wait in line.)  We lined up, and I was in my happy place, excited and thankful to run. 

And we were off.

As usual the crowds were thick at the start, which happens with 14,000 runners on small city streets. At one point I was running next to a guy, and we had a row of 6 people in front of us.  He was pretty much running in place, darting back and forth, saying "I can't get around, I can't get around!" 

I felt his pain.

This is the hard part about this race, with all the dodging around that you do, the speeding up, the slowing down, it's difficult to find your pace. At least for me.  But I was enjoying the run, although after about a mile I was starting to feel the heat and humidity.  I tried to distract myself by paying attention to the spectators and fellow runners, I ran by one guy who had a photo of himself on his shirt, and it said "I used to be 400 pounds."  So that was inspiring.  

Mile four is a long hill, up and around the golf course, which wasn't a problem.  It was after the hill that the problem came.  My heel started to hurt, and my arch cramped up, so that I started running on the edge of my foot, because of the cramp it curled inwards.  So that was fun.

The rest of the run was hot, and slow, there wasn't any Gatorade on the course, and I was missing my GU.  I slowed down for ice and water when I felt like I needed it, and really felt the heat at mile 6, which is a long hill, on the highway, with no shade.  I was very happy to get to the top of that, and for the last two miles of the race, I focused on finishing.  Although at the last mile, I got a mental boost, when I ran near a guy who was tan, tall, built, with NO SHIRT on, probably 10 years younger than me......and I passed him.

Ha, Ha!!

Then I crossed the finish, met up with everyone, quickly changed into my Birkenstocks, and had a beer.  My foot was puffy and throbbing, I got a snow cone, and while I waited for Jeannine to use the bathroom, I sat on the grass and stuck my heel into it, which helped a lot.  

My time was a personal worst, I don't even want to type what it was.  Let's just say it took me seven minutes longer than the last time I ran it, my time then was 1:33.  

Ouch. 

But you know what? I'm already looking forward to next year. 

: )

Wordless Wednesday: My temporary ride & Frank looks like an alien.

Mizuno Winner!

I'm back from the pool, the kids need to be fed and the dog walked......but I wanted to thank everyone who entered the giveaway to win a pair of Mizuno's via the Mezamashii Project.  I used random.org to pick the winner....Congrats to Amanda at Adventures of Mommyhood who said this:

My last brilliant run was in July of 2008. I had just come back from a 3 week wildfire assignment in Oregon, and since I'm a flat-lander, it was AWESOME training to run @ altitude. I bested my fire crew buddies on all of our training runs for about a week! And, I had my personal best times for short runs. It was brilliant.

Send me an email ASAP so you can get your shoes!!

The Mezamashii Run Project & A Chance to Win a Pair of Mizunos!

When it comes to running shoes, I'm a serial monogomist.

I started out wearing Saucony's for running, and stuck with them for several years, until my first visit to Fleet Feet, where I got the full treatment and realized that I was an over-pronator and wearing the wrong shoe. So I switched to Nike....for 500 miles worth of runs, then quickly switched to Brooks. I've been happy with them for the past few years, but I've still been curious about other shoes.

So it was very timely that I received an invitation from Mizuno, to become a founding member of their Mezamashii Run Project! Mizuno believes their shoes create a more euphoric running experience and they're willing to put free shoes on feet to prove it.  In essence, they want runners to have more "brilliant" runs (hence the name, Mezamashii, which means brilliant in Japanese).

Before I contacted Mizuno about which shoes would be right for me, I went to their website, and used Precision Fit which asked a series of questions about my feet, my body, etc.  It suggested the Wave Inspire for my size 11 feet:

Which was confirmed when I spoke to a Mizuno rep when I called to order the shoes.  He seemed to know his stuff.  

This might sound silly, but my shoe laces have always been white, and it took some time to get used at all that blue every time I looked down!  I noticed right away that the Wave Inspire were lighter than my usual shoe, and they felt like they were hugging my feet from every angle.  My feet felt great while I was out with my running buddy, Frank the Tank, in his Fourth of July Finery:

As a chosen member of the Mezamashii Run Project, I have one invitation to share with one of you.  If you would like to go on a brilliant run while wearing a pair of Mizuno's, please leave me a comment, telling me what made your last run truly brilliant!  

For additional entries you may:

1. share with me @MollySBaker and  @MizunoUSA in a tweet, about why you would like to try a pair of Mizuno's.

2. follow me on twitter, or be a friend of my blog.

This giveaway will be quick, I will choose a winner using random.org on Tuesday July 10th, at 5:00 EST.

*Contest is open to residents of the USA. 

*Please note, I was sent a pair of shoes for the purpose of this review, my opinions on the product are my own. 

GOOD LUCK!  

Mellow as a Mushroom

Every day I sit down to catch up on blogs, and write my own, and something always gets in my way.  School has been out for over a week now, and I'm juggling several balls in the air.  But I must say, I'm not stressing, just going with the flow, and truly enjoying my summer.

I'm running the Boilermaker 15k next weekend.  Sure it's a hilly race, and there's a 98% chance that it will be hot and humid, but I know the course and how to prepare.  Last week we had a major heat wave, and I ran 6 miles one day, and five the other, trying to acclimate to the temps.  Luke had his last soccer game on Saturday, after it was over I ran home, it took exactly 9 miles, and I made sure to hit some long hills, and some steep hills.  My heel has been bugging me a bit, I've dealt with plantar fasciitis on and off throughout the years, but I've been stretching and icing, and swimming seems to help.  

I gave in and downloaded Instagram, which is highly entertaining.

This is one of the photos I took with it:

A roma tomato, sitting in a doll's chair.

Silly kids.