This was taken at 5:30am after I had slept on the street all night to secure our spot for best viewing and best to viewed. Check us out on Today Show concert Series Jimmy Buffett sings Floridays and they do a close up of Little Miss at the end of the song right at the 2:40 minute mark.

Dtourist - the local tourist blog: Prize winning Parrotheads

We're famous!! Someone stopped mom and I and asked to take pics of our Volcano's. Who knew we were prize winning?

Four years ago when I went on maternity leave, I did what every good mother does and took up the Today Show and soap operas. I have since left the soap opera world but I still watch Katie, Matt, Al and Ann every chance I get. Katie is getting ready to leave and go primetime which means I will miss her terribly and need to journey to NY to say farewell. What better time to do that but when Jimmy Buffett is playing on the Plaza. Make sure you have your Tivo set Friday morning when I head out in search of my 15 sec of fame. I am going with my mom and little miss and we will be wearing matching tshirts that say "3 GENERATIONS OF PARROHEADS HEART KATIE COURIC" and we will all be sporting our "Volcano Heads".
Here is a pic from 2 yrs ago...

As I left my house on Fri afternoon to head on down to Groton, the sun was shining, I had Jimmy Buffett on the Sirius and a big smile plastered on my face. I was really looking forward to this race. It was the longest run I've done in quite a while and I love running the trails, and as an added topper I was meeting up with the very cool CT RBF.
As I pulled into the parking lot my cell phone rang, it was the Hubby and Little Miss calling to wish me luck. Little Miss told me not to run in any puddles, as if she had an inside tip to the HUMUNGOUS muddy lakes (puddles) on the trail. I was touched and had a good laugh as I made my way to the registration table. I got through the line with little trouble and realized that my race number was 141- the same as the unit my husband deployed with. I figured it to be a sign of good luck and toughness and smiled to myself.
Found Susie and just as I hugged Dianna the sky became black and the hail began to fall :). We retreated quickly to Dianna's car for shelter and waited out the storm. Right before the race we gathered with AA, Jank and Mrs. Jank, it was such a RBF lovefest that I almost forgot how cold I was!
At the starting line I decided to use the MP3 and let the music guide me through the trails considering we were all running our own race and pace. I made sure to leave one ear free for the sounds of nature.
The first mile or so I found myself running an easy pace reminding myself that I hadn't gone the distance in awhile and I didn't want to fizzle out too soon. I also found myself skirting around the puddles trying to keep my feet dry. I soon found this to be tedious and made the call to splash right through them, smiling as the mud hit the back of my calves. At the split for the 3.6 and 7.4 I found myself to be alone in the woods. Trying to navigate through small streams and over slippery rocks I slowed down in fear of breaking something and wondering how I would ever get up if I fell down. I missed a lot of scenery on the course because I was alone. I was constantly making sure I saw the pink ribbons to follow and when I wasn't watching for ribbons I was watching my feet to make sure I wasn't going to trip or slip.
I really enjoyed the race. I was pleased with my finishing time with 1hr 7 in 58 sec. a pace of 9:11. A little slower than usual but I'll take it. I think I represented the 141 proud. It was my first trail race ever and first trail run since Oct/ Nov. I had a great time and felt fantastic after.
The saddest part was saying goodbye to Susie. I still say "What, no cookout?"

Muddy shoes!!!









Why is Dianna nudging me out of the way with her knee?!! And who is that adorable little boy behind us that thinks he can fly? :)

The official results are posted...
Overall 79/406
Div 21/125
25:53 8:21 pace

I'll take that. It was slower than last year which is interesting since I've been working out more this year. The rain has put a bit of a damper on my running outdoors and I've been spending more time on the elliptical and treadmill than I'd like but I'm working out. I've got some speed training mixed in my "summer training schedule" so maybe I'll build some speed for the fall season.

So speaking of rain... Friday it poured. Torrential downpours all day. My mood was glum that I was going to have to run on Sat in the rain. I was having flashbacks to the Hartford experience when the Running Chicks were more like the Drowned Rat Chicks. Well, to my suprise when I woke up bright and early there was no rain! Hubby and I made it to the parking area and got shuttled over to the park. As we got off the bus we were greeted by visions of pink everywhere. Despite the muddy park and the looming dark clouds, spirits were high all around. We collected my race goody bag and headed over to watch the men take off and 16 minutes later watch the 1st man cross the line.

I found a couple of girlfriends of mine that were also running the race and we found our way to the start. 5 minutes of jazzercise and some motivational speeches to remind us of why we were running and the brave fight our sisters, mothers, grandmothers, and wives were battling, battled or will battle. With that we were off. I wasn't feeling that great my head cold/chest congestion was creating a lot of disgusting gunk in my nose and chest and breathing was a difficult task, so I had to breathe out of my mouth for most of the race. By mile 3 my throat was killing me I was spitting big, green, mucus and I was loosing gas. I charged the last .1 and was happy to be done. I am overall pleased with my performance and hope next year we have bright skies and 60F weather.

After finishing I made my way to the free pink sundaes supplied by Guida and had a delicious Panera bagel before retreating back to the shuttle and car to change my wet socks. Great day, great cause! Thank you so much to all of you that pledged on my donation page. It means a so much to me.

Friday night I race with the CT RBF! WooHOo!

I'm getting ready for my Race in the Park tomorrow. The forecast is calling for almost 2 inches of rain between today and tomorrow. A great day to be running- NOT!! But I will. I'll get up and get out and run to support the CT Breast Health Initiative, Inc.’s and honor my mom, a breast cancer survivor by participating in a Mother’s Day weekend tradition.
It's funny because if you read my blog from last year's race it is a very similar report. Same weather forecast and same motivation- the determination of these brave women. Can't think of a better way to spend Mother's Day weekend. There are still a few more hours to donate for anyone interested you can do it here.
Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

It's funny, for as long as I can remember I've wanted to be a mom and a teacher. I taught special ed for 5 years before becoming a mom and I am still teaching everyday that I wake up to my daughters beckoning call. That has been enough for me for the last four years.
For financial reasons I have picked up a new job working at the local country club doing waitressing for banquets and bartending once a week.
I am having such a difficult time spending even the tiniest bit of time away from my family.
I guess since the deployment I am so afraid of what might happen next and how precious every moment is. I worked part time before the deployment, I went for runs alone, I went out with the girls. Now I don't want to be away from my family for a second. I missed a run with the Running Chick on Saturday because I had to work. I miss the running chicks. I miss not being afraid.
thank goodness for therapy!!