The time I went swimming

I am still in major Holiday Mode.  The kids don't have school today, they had an extra snow day to use up, so we have a four day weekend. The weather is sunny, and it's supposed to be hot and steamy today, so after I write this I'm heading out to Green Lakes with the kids and my sis-in law Jeannine for the day.

Well it happened, I got in the pool, and I didn't sink. The pool in our development opened on Saturday, the second the kids got out of bed they were asking to go to the pool.  There is a lap lane that I wanted to use, to see what kind of a swimmer I am.  I'm a swim for fun/cooling off/relaxation type person, so this was going to be interesting. 

I told Mike I wanted to swim 40 laps (600 meters) because that is the distance for my sprint triathlon.  I got in the pool, did two laps, and was out of breath! wha wha whaaat?  Mike was the captain of his swim team in high school, so he immediately gave me some tips on my form, then I was off again.  I don't know why, but I felt kind of nervous.  Mike swam with the kids, and I kept plugging away.  I got to lap 28, and a woman joined me in the lane.  She asked if we wanted to circle each other, or choose a side.  The lap lane doesn't have any lines painted on the floor to use as a guide when you swim, and I felt a bit intimidated about sharing a lane, so I told her I was finished for the day.  Although I felt like I could have completed the whole 40 laps.

Sunday I rode my bike, my foot is feeling a million times better, but there are moments where I step a certain way and it hurts.  I'm going to be good about this no running thing. 

Monday it was time for the pool again.  I got in, and thought of the advice Mike had given me:

• keep my rear end high in the air, and keep it dry
• keep my palms facing out, and when I bring them down towards my torso, push the water away from my body
• make some bubbles with my feet while I kick, to give power to my upper body
• and my favorite, find a rhythm. Just as I find a beat when I run, try and find a rhythm to my kicking.

I was moving along, having a good time, and at lap number 8, the same woman from Saturday showed up in the lane.  This time I said I would circle her, and it worked out well, she was faster than me, so I was able to keep my own pace.  She was a strong swimmer, I watched her after I was finished, and she was doing one armed drills.

So I did the whole 40 laps, I forgot to look at the clock when I started, but Mike said it took me about 25 minutes. Which is slow, but I also stopped a few times to catch my breath, and I didn't do kick turns at the ends of the lap lane.  The one and only time in my life that I tried to do that, I banged my head on the side of the pool, and that was that.

I'm pretty happy, my back is a wee bit sore today, but overall I feel good. I wasn't exhausted after the swim, and I know I can pull off a bike ride and run after swimming. 

I do need to find a good bathing suit, one that doesn't accentuate back fat.

: )

Me and my feet

Yay! My internet is back up!

Not so yay, because my foot is bandaged up.

I went to the Foot Doc yesterday, because even after resting, limiting my runs, and biking, the foot I injured a few weeks ago walking Frank was still bugging me.

Thankfully, it's not a stress fracture, and after looking at my x-rays, the Doc said I actually have good looking bones (I blushed).  My issue lies with the muscle between my third and fourth metatarsal, it was twisted when my foot rolled off the edge of the path. 

The Doc also watched me walk, and looked at my running shoes, and although I know that I over-pronate, apparently I'm an extreme over-pronator, my arches pretty much touch the ground when I walk. 

I've had issues with my lower extremities since birth, I was born with Tibial Tortion, my feet turned inward, and for several months after I was born, my parents had to put my feet into shoes that were attached to a board, in order to twist my feet the opposite way. 

Fast forward many years later, I've dealt with a bone spur on my heel, a bone growth on my big toe (from whacking the ball too much with my foot when I played field hockey), plantar fasciitis, pulled hamstrings, a broken toe, and twisted ankles.  I broke my left ankle not once, but twice. 

I wore orthotics in my street shoes while I was getting over my PF, but I've never worn them in my running shoes, aside from the inserts that I've bought at various running stores.  I showed the Doc the ones I currently wear, and he said they were pretty much useless, and that I need custom orthotics to run in, if I want to keep running.

At this point I'm going to take his advice, I'm going back next week to have them made, but they might not be ready for three weeks.  Oh, and I shouldn't run until I have them.  Which bums me out for two reasons, one, I was going to run Paige's Butterfly 5k Run next weekend with a friend who started running, because she said I inspired her.  I wanted to run it with her, but that's out.  And two, I have to stay in training mode for the Boilermaker 15k, my favorite run of the year, which is in July.  I don't know if I can pull that one off. 

At any rate, I'm lucky that it wasn't worse. 

Since it's a Holiday Weekend, I thought it would be fun to do a short giveaway!  If you look at the above photo, and can tell what show I was watching when I was resting my foot, leave me a comment saying what it is.  I know Blogger is still acting up, so if you can't comment, send me an email.  I'll pick one winner from the correct responses, and you'll receive a sweet pair of Wrightsocks!

And don't forget my Mega Giveaway! Check that one out here....


Have a Happy and Safe Holiday Weekend!

Weigh In Wednesday, One Week Until Final Weigh In

I just realized I've been walking around the past few hours with a price tag stuck in my hair.  Sounds about right.

I haven't been able to post comments on a few blogs, but I've been reading!

I'm not going to bore you with the details, but I've had some things taking up space in my mind that haven't gone away.  One issue has been resolved after waiting for about three weeks, and on the plus side I know the numbers on the scale will definitely go down when I weigh in next week.  This week however, I've stayed the same, no gain, no loss.

I've also been thinking about my foot.  It's still feeling weird, but oddly enough, not when I'm running. I've been able to ride my bike and run, in fact I went back to the Nature Center on Monday, as well as  today, and was able to do 4 mile trail runs.  Since I'm facing a summer of races and a fall marathon, I sucked it up and made an appointment with the foot doctor, I'll see him tomorrow so I'm hoping I can get some answers.  

Thanks for the feedback on which bike I should use for my training and race, I think I'm going to stick with my mountain bike, and get a tune up and some road tires for it. 

I can't seem to get enough salsa, it might be time for an intervention.  I've always loved it, I gave up for Lent one year which was a big mistake.  This is my new favorite way to eat it, this was yesterday's lunch:

It's a whole wheat wrap topped with steamed broccoli, spinach, black japonica rice, black beans, salsa, and a bit of provolone.  I added more salsa on the side.  I just can't get enough.

Thanks for voting for me at Circle of Moms!  Please help me stay in the Top 25, you can click HERE to vote daily....

And have you checked out my Fundraising Giveaway to benefit The Children's Tumor Foundation? 

You can find that HERE. 

This week's weight loss factoid is courtesy of the May issue of InStyle magazine:  "To curb your appetite, inhale deeply before each bite.....when you smell food, your brain interprets it as if you've eaten already, so you feel fuller faster." 

One week to make goal weight, I have a feeling I'm going to be buying Heather that gift card to Fleet Feet, but I'm not giving up!!!



Nishiki vs. GT

I am "officially" in Triathlon Training Mode. 

I'm surprised at the number of women I know who are doing their first triathlon this summer.  We had a birthday party this weekend for Luke and his friends at a local nature center, and during the pond dipping portion of the party, one Mom friend of mine told me she has her first Sprint coming up in just a couple of weeks.  I picked her brain about some of the things I've been curious about, what gear I need, and don't need.  I think I'm going to forego a wetsuit, the race is in August, and I think the temperatures might be too warm to wear one.  I'm used to cold Adirondack lakes, and the chilly Long Island Sound, so I think I can get away with wearing bike shorts and a sleeveless top to swim in, then bike in, then run in.  I still can't believe I'm doing this.


My biggest dilemma is the bike.  I've had my mountain bike for ages, I love it, but it's rather large and heavy, and not built for speed:

Please ignore my mess of a garage, it's still not back to normal since the garage sale.

A couple of years ago, my Dad in Law found this Nishiki at a garage sale.  It's even older than my mountain bike, but it's more of a racing bike, which is what I need for IronGirl.  Is it worth fixing up for training, and ultimately, the race?

Please ignore the creepy hand prints in this basement storage room.  They were already there when we bought the house. 

Well?  Should I stick with my GT?  Or give the Nishiki a try?

This post is like a random list of tweets, but with more detail

I'm afraid of geese.  There are a bunch of them in my neighborhood, and at this time of year most of them have babies, and they are very protective of them. The other morning I was running by a lake, in my own little world, when all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye, I saw this goose started charging at me, with his beak wide open, hissing at me! I literally yelled my head off, backed up, then ran the other way.  There was a woman standing outside her house doing yard work, I yelled so loud, she thought I hurt myself.  Those geese are vicious.

How soon do you sign up for a race? 

I tend to do sign up once I have the cash for it.  In January I signed up for three races, Irongirl Syracuse in August, The Shamrock Run in March, and The Boilermaker 15k in July.  I usually receive money for my birthday from my Mom, and my Mom and Dad in Law, and this year it went straight to registration fees.  I am SO happy I signed up for the Boilermaker when I did, they capped the number of runners at 13,000, and last week it sold out! It will be my fifth year running it in a row, and I already can't wait.

Speaking of cash, why is it that home repairs always end up costing more, and take longer than you expect them to? We had to replace an old sliding glass door in the kitchen, a lovely colony of bees took over the space above the door, and there was rotting wood below the door.  As I wrote the check to pay for the job, I thought how I would much rather have spent that money on a trip to Disney.

At any rate, I need opinions on our doors.  The kitchen door no longer has window panes on it, like the ones in the family room do. Should we keep them as they are, or remove the panes, so all the doors look the same?  It's amazing how much more light we have with the panes gone, but then again, they do offer a bit of privacy. 

Eliza was a clown in her school play this week.  Her last day of pre-school is next Friday, which I find so hard to believe.  I hope Mommy's not going to have a Meltdown.

When I was on the treadmill the other morning, I finally caught the Beastie Boys new video for Make Some Noise....it totally made my run.

Time for some shameless self promotion....Thank You to everyone who has been voting for me on The Circle of Mom's Top Health & Fitness Mom Blogs...help me stay in the Top 25 by voting HERE, you can do it daily : )

And....don't forget my Mega Giveaway, your entries benefit The Children's Tumor Foundation, you can enter HERE.  One person will win items from Nuun, Sweaty Bands, Allied Medal Displays, Wrightsocks, SPIbelt, Tough Chik, Badger Balm, and Inspired Endurance.  I received the necklace this week, so I can show you what it looks like: 

The bead is silver, and it's a nice weight, with the icon of a runner.  It's very cool, I want it for myself : )

Have a great weekend, good luck to everyone racing!

Weigh In Wednesday, Back On Track

Two quick things......anyone still having Blogger issues???   I wrote my big giveaway post on Friday, but wasn't able to post it once Blogger went down. So I re-wrote the whole thing, pictures, links and all, and posted it Sunday.  Then yesterday the old one popped up, so I deleted it.  Just now I logged in, and the old one was there AGAIN.......huh? 

At any rate, please check out my Mega Giveaway HERE, featuring nuun, SPIbelt, Allied Medal, Tough Chik, Wrightsocks, Inpired Endurance, Badger Balm, and Sweaty Bands!

Like several of my favorite Mom Fitness Bloggers, I'm on the list for the Top 25 Health and Fitness Mom Blogs on Circle of Moms.  I keep voting for my favorites, but can you help me stay in the Top 25??  Click HERE to vote, you can do it every day until June 1!


Back to business.  To be honest, I didn't weigh in last week.  I haven't been feeling my best, I don't know if I hit a plateau, but my heart wasn't fully in it.  I didn't eat as well as I should have, and I was worried about my foot again, I even googled stress fracture symptoms.  It's so weird, some days it feels totally fine, other days I'll wake up and it's bugging me.  Jill wrote the other day how she found out that she should be running on her bad heel, in order to strengthen the muscles of her foot.  Which I find interesting.  Why is it that I feel sore after I haven't been active for a couple of days, but once I'm back at it, I feel fine?  Is it because I'm using my muscles, and not losing them?

At any rate, I'm back on the salads, no more chocolate.  I love salads, but I really dislike making them.  Usually I look at what's in the fridge, and throw it all in a bowl, like this one, which was a bagged romaine mix, tossed with "rainbow mix" from Wegmans, which is a mix of shredded red cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots, I added a little cheddar, and slices of roasted chicken.  It was really good, but I would rather have had the pizza bagel I made Eliza for her lunch.  What do you add to your salads? I'm in a bit of a salad rut.

Weighed in this morning, and I thought the scale would have read higher than it did, so I was happy.  Since we started this challenge, I'm down four pounds total, with ups and downs along the way.  I have two weeks to drop those last six....so we'll see how that goes : )

This week's factoid is courtesy of Kathie Lee and Hoda....they had a segment this week on losing belly bloat.  The guest said one way to avoid it, is by being careful about when you eat fruit, you should always eat it on an empty stomach, like at breakfast or as a snack.  Because of the natural sugars, fruit is digested quickly.  But if you eat it after a regular meal, the sugars get trapped in your belly behind the other foods, the sugar ferments, turns to gas, and your belly pops out.  Gross.

Hope everyone has been faring well in your busy lives, have a great week : )

Help me, help The CTF, with this Fundraising Giveaway!

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity ~ Albert Einstein


Marathon #2 is officially on the calendar. This fall I'm heading back down to the region I grew up in, and running the New York City Marathon!  I'm honored to be part of Team NF Endurance, with whom I will be running to raise funds for The Children's Tumor Foundation.

This is Julia. She is the daughter of two friends from high school, and she lives with NF, a unpredictable genetic mutation that causes tumors to develop in nerve tissue. NF is a progressive disorder that affects 1 in 3,000 births and can show up in any family, at any time. NF can produce tumors, bone deformations, learning disabilities, deafness, blindness, malignancies, and chronic pain.

And there is no cure.




In an effort to reach the fundraising goal given to me by NY Road Runners, I reached out to several companies to see if they would be willing to donate products to a Fundraising Giveaway.  I had such a generous response that I am able to hold not one giveaway, but two! Today is the first round, which will be followed by a second round in a couple of weeks, with a different set of running themed goods. 

This is the lineup for Giveaway #1, think of it as a big basket of running goodies, with ONE winner taking it all home.  For all you males out there, don't be thrown off by the girl themed items, I'm sure you have a lady in your life who would appreciate them!



1.  nuun! A four pack of their original flavors, along with a nuun water bottle:

2. A SPIbelt in black/olive green:

3. An Allied Medal Display, your choice!

4. Three pairs of Wrightsocks (they're blister free!), in size M or L


5. A "Run Like You Are Being Chased" shirt from Tough Chik (size L, but the shirts run small).

6. A Sweaty Band:

7. A Running Icon Bead in silver, seen HERE, from Inspired Endurance Jewelry (I can't show the image because it's copy righted).



8. A Badger Balm All Season Face Stick in SPF 30

Whew!  Lots of good stuff!


This is how to enter:



1. Please go to my fundraising page HERE, and make a donation to the Children's Tumor Foundation (mandatory). Depending on your 100% tax deductible donation, this is how many entries you will receive:

$5 = one entry
$10 = five entries
$15 = eight entries
$20 = ten entries

Please leave me one comment saying you donated.......and Thank You in advance.


Of course, there are ways to get additional entries, please leave a separate comment for each:

+1 entry if you are a friend of my blog

+1 entry if you follow me on twitter @MollySBaker

+1 entry if you tweet, blog, facebook, or tell your friends and neighbors

If you follow any of these fabulous companies on twitter or facebook, you receive an extra entry per follow

on Twitter:

@ministryofnuun
@SPIBELT
@tough_chik
@SweatyBands
@BadgerBalmUSA

on Facebook:

Allied Medal
Sweaty Bands
Inspired Endurance
Tough Chik
SPIbelt
nuun
Badger Balm


I will pick ONE winner using random.org on Monday June 6, after I haul myself out of bed and get the kids to school.

I want to thank Allied Medal, Sweaty Bands, nuun, Inspired Endurance, Tough Chik, SPIbelt, Badger Balm, Sweaty Bands, and Wrightsocks for donating to this fundraiser. 

(Insert smiley face here)

This is where you'll find me on November 6th.

Just paid my registration fee for the NYC Marathon!

I'm so happy to be running with Team NF Endurance, raising funds for The Children's Tumor Foundation.

The Game is officially ON!!!!!!



Non Wordless Wednesday

This smoothie is so thick, I've gotta eat it with a spoon!

......and Weigh in Wednesday is postponed until next week.....

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't

This is one of those times where I'm getting close to the edge of that slippery slope where running is taking a backseat to other things in my life.

I actually don't mind, which isn't a good thing. 

I'm dreading Weigh In Wednesday tomorrow.  Anyone want to skip it this week??  Just kidding. Well, maybe not.


This is a busy time of year for me. It's always busy, but for some reason in the spring, there are extra things to take care of, with the kids, with Mike, with the house. A male friend said to me recently, "I just don't get what you DO all day." Instead of dumping my glass of wine over his head, I said, "What DON'T I do all day?"

Take Friday for example:

I'm up when Mike gets ready for work.  I wake up Luke, while Mike puts on one of the clean work shirts that I always have hanging in the closet for him.

I take the dog outside, before even having coffee.

Eliza comes downstairs. I help the kids get ready for school, make breakfast, Luke's lunch (actually, Friday was pizza day, so he bought).  Luke gets on the bus, I take Eliza to school.  I feed the dog and the fish.

Normally I would get online for a while, and either do some laundry, clean the kitchen, vacuum, go for a run, or take the dog for a long walk, or shower. Or pay bills, or make a grocery list, or a To Do list, then do it. If Eliza is home we play, or go to the library, or the park, or bouncy house.  But Friday was our neighborhood garage sale, so I hauled everything onto the driveway, and tried to get rid of as much stuff as possible.

Time to pick up Eliza, started bringing things inside that I didn't want stolen, when my neighbor drove by and offered to pick E up. Yes, thank you!

Mike said he would be home around 12:30 to help with the sale.  He got home at 1:45.

I walked the dog.

Sold some more, then I went inside, took a shower. Went to the grocery store to buy food for Luke's birthday party and for our dinner (salmon burgers with avocado, salsa, and lettuce, with a side of roasted cauliflower).

Came home to see some of the neighborhood kids playing with L&E in the yard.  Sent them home, made the kids dinner, while making my famous red potato salad, and a birthday cake.  While cleaning the kitchen.

Walked the dog.  Fed the dog.

Got the kids into the shower, ready for bed. Settled them down with a TV show and snack. 

Opened a bottle of wine.  Looked for cake decoration ideas online.

Put the kids to bed after their whole bedtime routine.

Finished decorating cake. Had dinner with Mike. He made the burgers, I made the cauliflower.

Remembered that we had to wrap birthday presents.  Mike wrapped.

Went to bed at 11:30, got up the next day and started all over again.

You can see I didn't get any physical activity in, but I was pretty tired by the end of the day.  Luckily I got to go for a bike ride AND a run on Mother's Day, but today I don't feel like doing anything. 

I haven't had a motivation slump in a while, but I've got to snap to it.

Someone give me a kick in the pants.

Please.

3.5 Things for Thursday

Weigh in Wednesday is a day late...this week has been a bit nuttier than usual.  I broke the scale by accident, when I stepped on it to reach up to dust over the bathroom mirror, but only the plastic window covering the numbers cracked.  It's still telling the truth.  Which this week, was a gain of 2 pounds......but it's water weight, and even though I know it will be gone next week, it's still annoying. grrrrr. 

On the plus side, I'm still doing my strength work, as well as working out with Frank.  He's so strong he can pull me across the kitchen floor.

This particular weekend in May is always busy, and this year is no exception. Luke's birthday is Saturday, he's going to be seven, which is insane to me.  I've been looking at him and wondering where this tall kid came from.  

We're going to have some family over, then watch the Kentucky Derby.  I wished I liked mint juleps.  Or owned a crazy hat. Then there's our annual neighborhood garage sale, I'm hoping to unload a bunch of stuff, my closets and basement are about to explode they're so full.  The day after that is Mother's Day, which is extra special because when Luke was born, we brought him home from the hospital on our first Mother's Day together. 

I won't be able to see my Mom, but her card is in the mail, and I'll be calling her to chat.  This photo is from when I was a baby, I've posted it before, but it's my favorite.  Isn't she pretty?

I'm going to squeeze in a run today, it's finally gorgeous out, but since E is home today, it's going to have to be on the treadmill.  Speaking of running, I got my first DNF for Barefoot Neil's I Can't Afford The Actual Race Virtual Marathon.

I took a week off after I hurt my foot, it was the smart thing to do because it feels a million times better.  In a five day stretch, I ran six miles on Wednesday, three miles on Friday, and then 10 miles in my race Sunday. 

I didn't finish the full 26.2, but obviously, it was still fun : )

I gave that Goat a Smackdown!

Okay, I'm back to my happy post-race self, and I have a great reason to be, I got a smoking PR in my race!

This race is a perfect example of having a plan, and executing it to success.  I ran the Mountain Goat 10 miler last year, on a day that was very hot and humid, weather that Syracuse was not ready for.  I had a tough race mentally, and I really debated on running it again, but by the time April came around, I was ready to redeem myself. 

My work started over the winter, I was stuck at a 10 minute mile pace, but between the speed work I did on my treadmill, and at Saturday morning training runs around hilly parts of the city, I managed to knock it down to between a 9:15 - 9:30 pace.  I ran the Shamrock Run 4 miler, where I got a one minute PR.  That's all I needed to feel great mentally, so I was ready to take on the Goat again.

The night before the race I ate smart, a bit of salad, along with one of my favorite pastas, made with artichokes, feta, kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, and a bit of chicken.  Race day, I had my standard pre-run breakfast of coffee, toast with peanut butter, and a banana.  I guzzled some nuun, and water, and was ready to go!

My plan was to follow what I did on my last long 9:33 mile run.  Not not take in too much water the first five miles, have a gel at mile six, stay strong on all the hills, and go all out the last two miles.  I debated about what to wear, I wanted to wear not only my compression socks, but my shorts as well, my hamstring has healed, but I've been giving it a workout, so to be safe I wanted to wear the shorts.

Sunday was beautiful, cloudy, but it warmed up quickly to the low sixties.  I rode to the race with Norine, Heather, and Manal, and then we met up with our friends Natalie and Debbie.  My sis in law Jeannine was sorely missed, she had done all the training with us, but had a prior commitment race day, so it was a bummer that she couldn't run.

I kept running into friends, and chatted the time away on porta potty lines, and I got a final pep talk from my friend Kelly.  I was a little worried that my clothing choices were going to be too warm, I topped my black shorts with my Run EMZ shirt, a look that I knew the Black Knight would approve of.

I was so ready to get moving.  My plan was to stay around a 9:30 pace, and try and go as quickly as I could on the hills.  I had a water bottle with me, since they ran out of water last year and I wanted to be sure to have some on hand.  No ipod, but I had a chocolate mint GU.  Which I have to say, I love GU, I started using it last summer while marathon training, and it has never given me issues.  The folks at GU were kind enough to send me a bunch of flavors last fall, when I told them I couldn't find chocolate mint in my local stores, and it's now my favorite flavor.

Anyway.  The race started, and I immediately lost everyone, but I wasn't surprised.  We hit the first group of hills about a mile and a half in, I sailed right up, up, up, and over.  Another nice stretch, it was perfect weather for a run, and warm enough that I started sipping from my water long before I planned to.  At mile five, hammy surprisingly got a little tight, and I knew killer hilly Colvin Street was coming up, so I stopped at the side for maybe 15 seconds to stretch it, then got moving again.  Sucked down my GU, put my head down, and tackled the monster....it was one of those "am I running or walking?" situations. After I got through that, I came to mile seven, the point last year where I had my mental meltdown.  I was determined to get through it, but it was hard for me again, it was so quiet, I tried chatting with some runners, but everyone was too focused to talk. 

One last hill around mile 8, and it was a doozy, a short climb, but very steep.  I looked at G-unit, it read 1:19, I knew at this point I was going to get a PR, even if I slowed down, so I did, and walked to the top.  The rest of the course was smooth sailing, I knew the worst was behind me, but I was tired.  Then I realized I was running behind the basketball runner, this guy runs the race while dribbling a basketball, and has been doing it for the past 21 years!

I turned the corner and saw the finish line, I've said it before, but I hate knowing the finish line is in sight, it's that whole it's so close yet so far kind of thing. I looked for Mike and the kids, but didn't see them, but I did hear someone call my name, and it was Kelly, jumping up and down.  She later told me I looked really strong, which compared to last year, is Huge.

When I saw the time clock, and looked back down at G-Unit, I knew I had pulled off over an EIGHT minute PR, my official time was 1:40:25.  WHOO HOO!

Redemption is sweet.

Caught up with everyone, had some beers.....then, Heather (my Biggest Loser competitor), who pulled off a 5 minute PR, found out she got a silver medal, for completing the course in under 1:20!!!

You Go Girl!

I'm in a great place mentally.  My plan now is to take it easy this week, then I need to start my triathlon training, for my Sprint on August 8.  Then I'll take another short break, before I start training.....for the NYC Marathon!

Can you see my happy dance?

: )

Finally.

I was all set to write my race recap, until I turned on the television. 

And now I'm sitting here, very emotional over the news that Osama Bin Laden is finally gone from the earth.

Living in NY during the days and years after 9/11, and seeing so much pain, I hope that the families of those who were lost that day, and those of the more than 6,000 US and Allied service members killed since 9/11, can find some peace.