On Wed. I broke down and bought the Dreamer Design Rebound. It was a little pricey but I figured in the best interest of Maggie's safety it was best to splurge and get something she can actually fit in. Besides with all the sacrifices I've made over the last 10 months, I deserve it! When I arrived home from work last night there it was in a box on my front porch. WOOHOO! Just in time to try it out on a long run. I put it together with ease as it came assembled all I had to do was put on the tires. I left it set up in the living room so Maggie could be surprised when she woke up. She was so surprised and excited that she sat in it and watched Dora before we went out for our long run.
We were going to meet Terry in on the Blackstone Valley Bikeway for 10 miles. When we met up we decided that since we were pushing the extra weight we could probably get away with 8 miles. We got started and immediately I could feel the smoothness in the ride. There was no squeaking, there was no pull to the left, she actually felt light!!! It was like driving a Cadillac after driving a Nova for years. I was so excited about my new stroller the first mile seemed to zip by even the hills. The second mile seemed to heat up a bit but things were still going smoothly. We were upset to find that the bikepath ended after only 2.3 miles so we turned around and headed back. We figured we would go 2x on the route. The back route started to get wearing and Maggie was so happy in her new wheels she didn't stop talking and asking questions which made the pushing and running even more labored. After 6.9 miles I had to take a break and walk while drinking my Propel. The next mile was a combination of a walk/ run. I finished up the 7.9ish in 1 hr 23 min. 22 sec. It was a much more difficult long run than last week but it was absolutely a great work out. The flat course in New Haven will have nothing on me!!

Today, Maggie and I packed up our snacks, water bottles, cameras and the jog stroller and headed out to Worcester to meet my friend Terry and her daughter S. We ran on the Blackstone River Bikeway from Worcester to Millbury- TWO TOWNS. We have run this route a couple times before and it is quickly becoming a favorite. It is not the typical flat bike path. It has plenty of rolling hills and even a couple steep inclines. Today we did an out and back 4 miles. Neither one of us had our watches with us but according to Terry's cell phone we did it in about 42 min. The 42 min includes a couple of stops to take pictures and a couple of stops to find lost binkies. We were both pushing hard to improve our last time on the same route of 44 min and change. It's nice to change up routes every once in a while expecially when the scenery is as pretty as on this route. Maggie spotted some ducks in the river they were splashing around in the extra shallow river due to the lack of rain we have gotten. This provided a nice distraction to keep Maggie occupied in her shrinking stroller. Her long legs are too long for the seat and it has become uncomfortable to put up the sunshade because it rests on her head. I am currently looking to purchase the Dreamer Design Rebound. It has a much better shock system and it has a weight capacity of 75lbs and has a much bigger foot well. So there you have it. If you are in RI or Worcester and looking for a nice spot to run or bike The Blackstone BikePath is an excellent spot. Did I mention that there is a shopping plaza less than a mile from the trail start?!!

After posting my post about my marathon training I got some sense of reality. The training schedule I have, which is the Hal Higdon beginners schedule, is probably perfect for my reality. The mileage stays low the first few weeks and then picks up right around the time when John should be coming home. You know what this means Free babysitting!! Oh yeah, and I get my husband/life back! I'm quite certain that the couple weeks before the 141 returns our Family Readiness Group will be busy making preparations here on the homefront. I know in my home I have some things to do, take his things out of the closet for starters :)! The low mileage running at this point may be just enough for me to handle.
My husband has always been very supportive and encouraging of my running. There have been times when he has entered a race just to beat me but there has been an occasion when I was able to outrun him- MADD Dash 8k in New Haven 2000. I get him in the distance. He is strong and can use his strength in the shorter distances like a 5k, anything longer he fizzles out. He has already said that when he comes home from Iraq he will not be running with me. Maybe I can get him to hand out water on the long runs then?!!
So at this point I will stick to my original training and go from there. Unless anyone out there has some amazing idea!

What a great long run this weekend!! I was wavering with a plan to meet up with Dianna and the rest of the running crew on Saturday. I had plans to stay at a friends house so it was really dependent on how early I got up in the morning. After a restless night sleep due to terrible allergies I decided I would get up and go. I am so glad I did!
I met Dianna, Charlie, April- Anne and Warren at the beginning of the Veteran's Greenway for 8 miles of their 18. The pace felt great my legs felt light and it was as if I could have kept running all morning. I loved the high that I felt when I finished up and still had energy and when I looked at my time I was floating even higher. I had such a great run that I had enough energy to participate in potato sack races at the picnic I attended later that afternoon :) I feel like over the last month or so I've really come back into my own in terms of my running. This is where the advice is needed. I am trying to find the right training program for me without overwhelming myself but keeping it challenging. I looked at the Hal Higdon beginners schedule. I like the way it looks but I'm already doing 8 mile long runs and I have New Haven 20 k coming up in 2 weeks. I don't see how I can go back and start doing 7 mile, 5 mile and 9 mile long runs. Any suggestions? My 18 weeks to marathon starts on Sept 5 so I have 2 weeks to figure it all out.
Splits according to Dianna:
Mile 1: 8:58
Mile 2: 9:07 -
Mile 3: 9:03 -
Mile 4: 8:58 -
Mile 5: 9:12 -
Mile 6: 9:05 -
Mile 7: 9:01 -
Mile 8: 9:04 -

Running partners- mine is trying to kill me!! I IMed Dianna to see if I could tag along with her for a 5 mile run last night. The only catch was that my babysitting window was close because of a prior commitment for my babysitters. Di asked if I was up for 9 minute miles, rolling hills- FINE. I just want to run and it's going to have to be 9 min miles if I want to go and be back to pick up Maggie in time. I arrive a little early to Di's house and her always cheerful hubby and dogs were there to greet me. I felt like I was pushing Di out the door, which I guess it was seeing as she hadn't even had something to eat and was eating her fruit snacks walking out the door. We started our run and immediately began chit chatting and catching up on life. (At this point I was still feeling bad about rushing her out until she started offending me with her jibber jabber JUST KIDDING!!!!) The pace felt fast but whatever, I haven't run 9 min miles in a while so I'll go with it. Mile 1 Dianna says your shoes are pushing our pace very fast. Mile 2 Dianna says "Dude, I'm trying to slow us down". Mile 3 I think I was complaining about family issues so didn't notice we were still flying! Mile 4 and 5 I was just thinking how much I enjoy company on my runs especially the company of Dianna as she always offers some insight on situations that I haven't thought of before. We arrive back at Dianna's house and she announces our time 41:53!!! Whoa!!! That's almost 5 minutes faster than my race last weekend!!!!!
Thanks Dianna for the fun, fast 5 miles!
5.05 miles
>41:53 total time>
>8:17 average pace>
>8:09 - mile 1
>8:34 - mile 2
>8:20 - mile 3
>8:07 - mile 4
>8:18 - mile 5
>0:24 - and a bit.

I was pleasantly surprised last Fri when my Mom came to visit and had stopped to pick up an early birthday present for me- new sneakers!! I decided to go back to the original New Balance sneakers I had run my first marathon way back when.
I ran 2.5 miles the night before the Deary Race just to make sure I wouldn't add blisters to my foot problems and they felt great. They felt great during the race and they felt good in the 2 runs I've gotten in this week. My feet don't actually look better but they feel better, which is a start. So I'm going to order a second pair for my training which officially start in 2.5 weeks.
I am getting very excited for training this year. It will hopefully make the time fly by until my husband is scheduled to come home from Iraq. That date has just been moved up by 2 months!!! I have learned though that nothing is a guarantee with the military but I'll relish in the thought that my husband will be home in my arms in 74 days. Here's to passing time...

As I was preparing to leave the house for the Deary Memorial Road Race in Putnam the temp was 77F with 83% humidity. I knew it was going to be a hot, slow race and I was ok with just running not racing the 5 miles. After all, the proceeds of the race went to Day Kimball Hospital and their community work for cancer treatment and screening.
When we arrived at the race my fans found a nice shady spot under a tree and I went and found the registration tent. After registering, I slathered on the Body Glide, it was going to be one of those runs, put on sunscreen, adjusted my visor and headed over to the start line! Once I got to the start line I looked for familiar faces. I realized at this point that the crowd was not as big as it has been in the last 3 yrs that I've raced it. For one, Dianna was missing with a nasty chest cold, Mr. Stapelfeld was running the Brew Run in Brewster, MA and Terry was on vacation in RI. Secondly, I think the nasty heat kept some runners away. I was able to find April- Anne who informed me of her pace goal. I wished her well and told her I would see her in the end. The course is a bit hilly and very sunny. It was tough going but there was water stops at each mile marker and a few spectators with their hoses out which felt very refreshing to be sprayed. After the second mile I decided to walk through the water stops. I was feeling a bit queasy and didn't want to end up in the ER with an IV at the end so it just made sense to take it slow and smart. My watch is having some technical difficulties and they didn't have timers at the splits so I have no idea how my pacing was but I finished with an overall pace of 9:17.
It was a long 5 miles but I finished in 46.24. I placed 9th in my division and 162 overall. Not bad for a slow pace. Goes to show you how the overall race went.

So as I mentioned in my last post I have been on vacation between RI, MA and ME. I had some difficulty running consistently while in ME. We were on the go doing alot of sightseeing it was hard to fit it in- before cocktail hour that is! I ran Tuesday- 3.1 miles. I ran Fri- 2.6 miles and tomorrow is the Deary Memorial Road Race- a 5 miler.
I have been having some FOOT issues. I still have a recovering toe from the marathon last January (big toe on left foot). I have a black toe from Lord only knows (ring toe on right foot)and a new one from the 10 miler in Narragansett a couple of weeks ago (ring toe on left foot). Toward the end of the vacation and as anyone with children can tell you after 7 days you best hit the road and get home before the meltdown begins. I was a little late in heeding the warning. I lost a toenail as a result we'll leave it at that (toe next to big toe on left foot)! To top off my foot problems I was involved in a skim board incident at the beach in RI last week. A reckless teenager let her skim board go and as perfect timing would have it Maggie was heading toward the water and ran right over the skim board, as she hit the ground and I dove to save her the skim board ran over my foot giving me a nice slice! Lovely!
So I am now trying a new sneaker to see if it will help with the black toe and as for the lost toenail looks like I'll need a falsey.

Although the weather was hot and humid I managed to get my "cactus butt" out there running 5x!!!! After watching the Lion King 500 times over the last week I decided it was time for Maggie and I to get out there and log some miles.
Mon. I managed to get 3 miles done alone.
Wed. I met up with Dianna at Mansfield Hollow for 4.1. Very slow, very hot.
Thurs. I went to Narragansett for the beginning of my vacation and logged 3.5 miles with Terry pushing Maggie. We did an out an back along the Scarborough beach and the ocean view distracted us from how hot it really was.
Fri. Suprisingly we were able to get up after a night of indulging on margaritas and out pushing the strollers for 4.1 miles. It was so hot the tequila from the night before was dripping down my face! YUCK!
Sat. Terry and I managed to convince Jeff that he could handle watching the girls and we went out with out the added weight of the joggers. We logged 6 miles for our long run.
Tomorrow I am off to Maine for the second half of my vacation and hope to keep up the training.

Best Buddies! Michelle, Jeff and Terry. 

Jeff looking slim. 

Terry stretching out. 

Friday afternoon I headed to Naragansett, RI for the Naragansett Lions Blessing of the Fleet 10 mile Road Race. I arrived at the high school around3:00 to register and pick up my number. I also found Jeff and Terry and headed back to Terry's parents house to change and drop off our stuff. We headed down to the race about 5:15 to ensure parking and on the way got caught in a bit of traffic from the walkers that started early. We got a preview of some of the course which appeared to be flat. We found a parking spot with little trouble and began the pre-race routine. Stretch, look around, pin on number, find portopotty. About 15 minutes before the race we headed to the startline and settled into the middle of the pack. Nervous chatter and talk of our pace and finishing time, we decided Terry and I would run together and Jeff would follow. It was a crowded race and I never even heard the "gun" go off but suddenly the crowd was shuffling along and we were off.
The first mile was slow while we were shuffling with the pack heading down toward the beach. We passed the 1 mile timer about 11 minutes. We gained time in the second mile and were able to find more room to spread out and take in the sights including Tommy Brady's summer "cottage" on the water. At mile 3 we say our fans. The next 3 miles were slow and steady running along the water and then up to and along the major road. At mile 6 we were running in shady roads in residential neighborhoods and the spectators were thinning out. Terry decided at mile 8 that I should go ahead if I felt that I had some more umph. I took off and pushed for the last 2 miles and finished 10 miles in 1hr 36min 44sec official time, a 9:40 pace. Terry came in right behind me and Jeff not too much further behind.
After finding the water and after race snacks, we found Terry's brother with our dry clothes, changed and enjoyed a nice cold beer.
Fun race, pretty flat course and a very fun after race party. Good times!