OWS and a Family Bike Ride

Sunday was a most excellent day spent with my family. The morning started off with my first open water swim in Lake Erie of the year. What drama, too! Megan, my swimmer who doesn't allow excuses, simply wouldn't let me whine my way to defeat. While I stood there ankle-deep in the water, she asked me if I needed my hand held to go further. Hell no, I can do this (a hand might be nice...just kidding). Then when I wasn't moving out there quick enough, she threatened me with her coming in. That's exactly why I brought her with me. This was also my first time in a wetsuit and it just didn't feel natural right away. I found it weird that I floated too much and couldn't get my strokes to work out. When I came back to shore to complain to Megan, she sent me back out and told me to keep trying. Smart advice because the more I went out, the farther I managed to swim and became a little more confident with each stroke. I'm not speedy, no sir, not me. But I found a little rhythm with 10 strokes, take a 2-3 second break, find myself, 10 more strokes. That seemed to work fine for this newbie. But since I do want to get better, I signed up for an open water swim clinic for beginners with Liquid Lifestyles. I'm very excited and hope that the more I get into the lake, the more comfortable I feel.

After a quick clean off, Meg headed to work and Greg, Bridget and I headed out to Peninsula to ride the Towpath. We had lunch at Szalay's Farm - mmmmm Roasted Corn on the Cob and fresh-squeezed lemonade. Picked up some yummy fruits and vegetables, finished off our ride by going out to the Boston Store, then back to Peninsula. Great afternoon logging 12 miles with the family.


Best popsicle EVER!

Night Before the Maine Half Marathon

Saturday morning began with a wonderful breakfast spot called Popovers where we had great coffee and even better breakfast sandwiches. Afterwards, we checked out the local Farmer's Market at the City Hall in Portsmouth, NH. Bridget got her apple, Meg got fresh baked cinnamon donuts, and I picked out (what I hope to be) a good batch of granola. When we left the Farmer's Market, Bridget spied a neat little playground so we gave her some swing/slide time. Turned out Meg and I enjoyed a little teeter-totter time as well!


The expo for the Maine Harvard Pilgrim Half Marathon will go down as one of the bests. The expo was held in the gymnasium of the York High School and my husband and I both commented on how the smell of a high school gym is like no other and sure brings you back! But best of all, I got to meet Kathrine Switzer!!!! She signed my copy of Marathon Woman, chatted with both Greg and I as if we were the only people around, asked us questions about our racing, and was overall just a fantastic person. Even better, she agreed to a photo with me! Oh yeah, this will be hanging in my office!


Am I ready for this? I dunno. I know I can finish this distance, I've done it about a dozen times now, but timewise I'm not sure what to shoot for. McMillan calculator has predicted a 2:39 finish, but McMillan doesn't know about my calf strain that sidelined me from training. McMillan also doesn't know that 8 miles (last week as a matter of fact) was my LONGEST run. In a way, I hope that calculation is correct; but a part of me sure as hell hopes it is wrong! Fingers crossed...

Muddy Paws

This morning was awesome - just me and my dog running the Muddy Paws 5-mile trail run with my daughter Kid A and friend E cheering us on! I have such respect for trail distance runners after this morning - wow, what a challenging course! I knew going in that this wasn't like an all-purpose trail or a bridle trail, but I didn't expect the hills to wreck my hamstrings like they did! Did I mention I would definitely do this again?! Plus, I figured a challenging 5-miler would be a good tune-up for my 10-mile trail run in August. Puppy was a rock star navigating the terrain with excitement. Below I've posted a picture of my biggest cheerleader Kid A before the race began and a pic of Me & Puppy coming into the finishing chute. The course was technical for most of it, but had a nice grassy finish. Afterwards, we hit the farmer's market for fresh strawberries, watermelon, crisp celery, carrots, juicy tomatoes and cherries, and corn which will be tasty on the grill later! Great morning!