I'm back in the saddle so to speak. Things are slowly but surely finding their new " normal" and hubby is settling in nicely. Hubby came home for good on Tuesday afternoon. The week has been filled with lots of family time! It has been nice doing a whole lot of nothing but snuggling on the couch with my hubby and daughter watching Dora and Blues Clues for the 100x. Ok, I could do without Noggin but I do love the snuggles. Thurs and Fri I pushed myself out the door while hubby took shmagela to school and I had great runs both days.

Thurs was unmeasured but I think it turned out to be about 3.8 miles. I found a wallet while I was running and the time flew by as I imagined being Poppy Montgomery from Without a Trace trying to track down the poor guy that lost his wallet. It was fun to break into fantasy and take a break from my life which feels like a primetime drama itself lately.

Friday, I set the timer on my watch to run out and back. I had limited time because I was babysitting for my 7 week old niece. I hit the 2 mile marker and my timer still hadn't gone off so I decided to turn around and reset for 17 min. I made it back to my car and again had time to spare! It was a great run. The weather was a little brisk so maybe I was running fast to get back to the warmth of the wood stove or maybe I'm feeling so high on life this week that I had extra in the tanks to push a quick tempo run. Regardless the reason I felt light and fast.

Saturday, I met up with the Running Chicks and we went our for 10 miles. I had 13 on the schedule but seeing as I've skipped the last 2 long runs I decided to do a little flip flopping. It was a great run being with the girls. No stress finding a sitter for mags and the rain held off- WOOHOO!! The rest of the day was spent on a hayride and pumpkin picking and we wrapped up the night with a date.

Today, I will rest and smile because I am blessed to have my family together again!

Lots of excitement, lots of hugging, lots of tears and very little running. I guess not even the training gods could frown on me for missing a couple of runs this week. This is the week I've waited for for the last 51 weeks. The week, the day, my husband would return home after a year in a foreign land fighting for our country- land of the free, home of the brave. Lots of anticipation and emotions running amuck. Then the day was finally here or was it?

I arrived at the New Britain Armory a little after 11am on Monday. Helped set up the snacks and coffee, hand out flags to the arriving families and then I waited, and waited, and waited. FINALLY, at 1:15 we got the call from the bus that they were getting off the exit and would be arriving any minute. DEEP BREATH! All of a sudden my heart was in my throat and I didn't know whether I needed to poop or throw up (sorry TMI). It was very similar to the feeling you get on race morning and you know that you've trained for this and you are so ready but you have no idea what to expect.

Anyway, he gets off the bus and the tears start. I couldn't help it. There he was standing in front of me, my husband looking all handsome and I was overcome by tears and a deep feeling of pride as I took him my arms. He was my soldier and he was home and I was so proud. There were lots of pictures and goodbyes. He was even interviewed for our local news. Then we headed home.

Home, this is where the emotions really started. Without going into too much detail, this is where the awkwardness sets in and the time to heal and reintegrate begins. I have to be patient and not push and if he wants to sleep, let him sleep. If he doesn't want to talk let him be silent. Distance does a number on relationships and war changes a person's soul. It also doesn't help knowing that he has to go back to Ft Dix for more debriefings and will be gone Wed afternoon until Sat.

That is where we are at now. I picked him up again last night and things are much more "comfortable". Knowing that this will be over in 3 days must be easing on his mind. So Mon he goes to Camp Rell in CT for final debriefings and returns home on Tues. More tugging at the heart strings. Let's move on already!!!

I am really looking forward to what lies ahead for us. We will never be the same couple we were 12 months ago but I know we will SURVIVE and be stronger than ever.


This is the letter I wrote to the families and soldiers of the 141st Medical Company to wrap up our website. I am considering reading it at our Homecoming Party in January.

It’s been 362 days since my husband first left for the mob station. It will be 3 more days until he is home in my arms for good. It has been quite a year. Sitting here last year this time I wondered how I could get through what we thought would be a 14-18 month deployment. How would I manage the household, the kid, the everyday process of being a responsible adult plus worrying about the safety of my husband and his unit? I guess there were two options:
1. Whining, crying and complaining
2. Face it head on making a positive experience out of a trying time
I chose to mark each day off the calendar as another day closer to a reunion and another day I had overcome and made the best possible for my soldier, my daughter and for myself. I didn’t do this alone I did it with the support of the Family Readiness Group. The 141 Family Support Group was filled with some of the most wonderful, caring, smart people I have encountered. I decided to throw my efforts into making this group the most functional and productive group we could have. We were a huge success. At this time, we have raised close to $6,000 for a kick- butt homecoming party planned for late January. We were able to provide our soldiers with some fun at the midway mark with a Luau Party in a box for each FOB. We have been on many outings such as the Circus, Disney on Ice, as well as some dough raising fundraisers. We had a great summer picnic thanks to the generosity of our liaison and fearless leader, AnneMarie Stonoha and most recently had a Halloween party for our FRG kids. I am very proud to have been a member of that group and I thank you all for everything you contributed to make the group as successful as it was. A more personal thanks goes to AnneMarie and Rich you guys were my rock- Thank You!! Malin, Nikki, Roman and Rosemary, you guys ROCK- Thank You!
So not to mislead you, there were plenty of the whining, crying and complaining days but that wasn’t the majority and it didn’t consume my existence. It wasn’t because I didn’t miss my husband so much at times I thought my heart would break or because I didn’t think about the sacrifices that our family was enduring day after day as our daughter learned something new or went to school for the first time. It was because I was proud of my husband and the other 53 soldiers in the 141st Medical Company for the work they were doing to help our fallen and wounded patriots, coalition forces and nationals. Whether I agreed with the war or not I was and am still proud of my soldier.
This deployment has taught me a lot about myself. I have learned how strong I actually can be. I have learned extreme patience. I have learned that the Army phrase " Hurry up and wait" is just that. I have learned that "FRAGOS gone wild" can both make your day or break your day in the same day. I have learned that the SITREP in Iraq looks very different than the situation report from home neither is harder or easier just different. I have come to grips with the fact that a year from now when my husband, daughter and I are pumpkin picking these last 2 days of waiting won’t have mattered in the grand scheme of things. I have made some life long friends that l share a special, unbreakable bond with and I will always cherish that. I have also had some dark times I hope never to have to encounter again. I will never be the same woman I was 12 months ago but I am a better woman for this experience. With that being said, LET ME BE CLEAR, I’ve done enough learning and never want to have to go through it again. Thanks for sharing the journey. The website will be up through the end of January. If there is anything you would like posted please let me know.
With caring,
Michelle Bolduc

Very brief post today. Picked up hubby yesterday off the bus!!! He has to go back to Ft Dix tomorrow for more debriefing but will be home again on Saturday. WOOHOO!!! More pictures to follow!!


Side note: I was also able to tear myself away and run 3 miles today to keep on schedule.

Well, this week was productive on the training schedule. Got some good runs done in the rain. Yes, it's still raining! Started my weight training also. Very sore chest.

Hubby should be arriving in Ft Dix, NJ tomorrow!! He will be stateside!! I can not see him while they are in NJ because of some stupid Army rule- WAH, WAH! He should be rolling into CT sometime the end of next week. So I still have a bit to go but after 11 months, 14 days I can wait one more week. Here's to keeping busy and making the time pass!

Hey everyone!! Non running report- Hubby is leaving the sandbox TODAY!!!! Well, tomorrow but over there it's TODAY!!! It won't be long now!!!!! A HUGE WOOHOO!!!

That is John and his roomie showing off the snow I sent them back in July. Pretty soon he'll be shoveling the real stuff. HEEHEE!!

For those of you that did not see the pictures from Dianna's blog, here they are. Enjoy the Hartford Marathon through my eyes.

After some time for reflection and taking in all of the supportive comments of the RBF, I am satisfied with my performance in the Hartford Half Marathon. As Dianna put it I raced the race put before me and I did my best. Sure there was the grumblings and heavy down pour but I toughed it out and put in a strong effort. This is a stepping stone to the ultimate goal in January. Train on, Run strong...

First of all, WAY TO GO DIANNA AND APRIL ANNE!!! You two surely rocked Hartford with your marathon greatness! Susan, you rock for going the distance!! Sarah, where'd ya go? And what happened to the cookies?!

Ok, now my race report before I go to bed...

Fabulous carb-loading feast with the CT RBF. Lots of pasta, water, laughs and an embarrassed Susan. After dinner we all got to enjoy one of Sarah's famous Montana Monster Cookies and bid goodnight to one another.


5:30 am wake to sound of pouring rain. Grumble a bit about having to run in the pouring rain. Follow long run morning ritual. Can't find visor, can't find pouch to hold my gummy bears. Grumble, Grumble.
6:30 arrive at the Orange Hat Homestead. More grumbling about the pouring rain. Running Chick hooks me up with visor.
6:45 Depart for Hartford, more grumbling.
7:25 ish arrive in Hartford lost AA, find AA and off to locate portopotties and baggage check in.
7:45 I arrive in line for the portopotties.
7:50 realize I'm never going to make it to the start if I wait in line. Decide that I will hold it and go on the course. Very risky move for me as anyone who knows me well will tell you about my incontinence problem. But I'm feeling up for adventure today, so I leave the line and head back to find Dianna and AA at the starting line when I drop my gummy bears in the mud!! More grumblings! Find Dianna and AA with their pace group.
8:00 some announcements and a garbled singing of the Nat'l Anthem and we are off and running. AA and I stayed together the first 3 miles. I felt great despite my soaking wet body and 20 lb shoes. I was right on pace until...
Mile 4 I decide it's do or die for the potty and it turned out to be the down fall to my PR. I waited way to long in line and lost a full 2 min. I tried to make up for the deficit over the next few miles feeling strong. I was unable to make up the difference and somewhere around mile 10 I started to get pretty down about the race. I had told myself on the way to Hartford that this day was really about being there for my running partners on their big day and that I wasn't concerned with my time. It's just a training run in my own marathon journey. Yeah, Right. I have been training hard, following my schedule and doing speed workouts!!! I should be running with ease and absolutely having a PR performance. So, I'll blame it on the rain! The official results are not out yet but according to my watch my splits were as follows:

• mile 1: 9.00
• mile 2: 8.46
• mile3: 8.50
• mile 4: 10.46 (damn potty break!)
• mile 5: 8.39
• mile 6: 8.36
• mile 7: 8.59
• mile 8: 8.40
• mile 9: 8.57
• mile 10: 8.58
• mile 11: 8.50
• mile 12: 9.00
• mile 13: 8.55
• .1 : .52

Overall, the day was great fun. Seeing AA finish her first marathon was amazing. I couldn't be happier for her and proud to have been a part of her training. Watching Dianna break 4hrs was also pretty fantastic. All pictures will be posted soon but for now...

Running was just not in the cards this weekend. I was hemming and hawing about the Coventry 4 mile Race on Saturday but after hearing about the 2 hills on the course I decided I wasn't up for pushing the jog stroller. So, I opted to go to Foster's Farm and enjoy a corn maze and hay ride with some army friends. It was a beautiful day for it and Maggie picked out the perfect little pumpkin for herself. On Sunday, I went to visit my neice and brought my running stuff with me so that after the visit I could push Maggie on the airline trails that are groomed well out by SIL's house. Hmmm, too bad I forgot the stroller!! Oh well, I'll go when I get home. At this point Little Miss has no interest in the jog stroller and tells me to "find a babysitter". So, I phone the usual suspects and to my disappointment no one was around. So, I hit a bump in my training plan and will have to pick up with my schedule again tomorrow. I don't think it will have an impact on my marathon training as I'm still about 15 weeks out and I think I'm ready for the Hartford 1/2 this weekend even missing this long run. Next time I will follow the 5 P's and be better prepared- PRIOR PLANNING PREVENTS POOR PREFORMANCE. Hope everyone else enjoyed running this weekend!