Jeannie's Team In Training Blog

Hello and Goodbye

2009-08-14T16:33:00.006-04:00

I know, I know. I tell you to stay tuned and then I disappear for a month and a half! I guess I should have just said adios last time, but I really did want to share a little more. I just want to pass on a few pearls of wisdom I gained before, during, and after the marathon. Who knows; maybe this will help future TNT'ers, or anyone who's about to run her first marathon! Or maybe I can look back at this in case I ever decide to run another marathon.

Here's what I advise:

1. Bring more engergy gels with you than you think you'll need. You'll probably calculate how many you think you'll need based on how many you used during your last training run. That's a good start, but bring extras! Please.

2. Bring something SOLID to eat. I know that this one might not pertain to everyone. Maybe you're OK with just the GUs. But I wasn't. I would have killed for something- anything- solid to put in my belly to get rid of that gross, empty ache. Maybe a ceral bar or something.

3. If you get hot, don't be afraid to ask the water volunteers to throw their water at you. They will happily oblige. In fact, they'll be downright filled with glee.

4. Be prepared to feel different- physically, mentally and emotionally- than you did during your training runs. Stomach issues and mental breakdowns may occur!

5. If at all possible, maybe try to avoid taking a 9-hour journey home afterwards. The red-eye back to Boston by way of San Diego the day after the marathon was uncomfortable and my knees ached the whole way and i couldn't sleep at all. And Chris and I both had crazy ankle-swelling for a good 24 hours afterwards! Ibuprofen and lots of rest helped with that.

6. Don't miss any spots when you apply sunscreen. You'll end up with a wacky tan.

Nothing in there that a little common sense wouldn't tell you, but I'll be leaving this blog up, mostly so I can look back and re-read it if I ever feel like it.

Thanks to all who have read this and supported me! It means a lot! Maybe I'll bring it back someday, if I ever DO decide to run another full marathon... As for right now, I'm signed up for a half-marathon in early October, as a TNT mentor. I haven't been training anywhere near enough, but I plan to step it up this week and start building up my mileage again.

Well, I guess that's it! Now I can say good-bye with a clear conscience!

xoxoxoxoxo!

Love and Best Wishes,

Jeannie

WE DID IT!

2009-07-01T21:40:00.011-04:00

The marathon has come and gone, and both Chris and I are still alive! We both finished before the roads opened up to traffic, and neither of us needed medical aid during the race! I call that a success!

Let me back up and tell you a little about our trip. We met up with the MA TNT group early Thursday morning at Logan airport for our group flight to Seattle (via NY). When we finally arrived in Seattle, we were all hungry, so a bunch of us got together to go to dinner. Chris and I were the only ones from the South Shore team, but everyone else was nice enough to let us tag along! We found this place called the Crab Pot. I wish I’d remembered my camera that night; this place was so much fun and entailed bowls of seafood dumped all over the table and wooden mallots to smash crab legs and shrimp. I’m not a huge seafood fan, but just watching everyone else eat it was hysterical!

On Friday, Chris and I headed to the Expo to pick up our race packets. We also needed to buy some GUs and I needed something in which to carry them, since I'd forgotten to bring the pouch I'd bought just before we left. I ended up finding this belt, which was so much better than the pouch! It didn't move at all and it didn't even feel like I was wearing anything. I'm so glad I did forget that pouch!

Then Chris and I did some sight-seeing. We took a tour of the city, and got off the bus to go to the Space Needle. Let me just say that Seattle is a beautiful city.

After that, we had a team meeting with the MA group. Monica, our staff coordinator and Adam, a coach for the Boston team, gave us some helpful hints and told us what to expect the next morning, and then we all wrote our names on our singlets. Some people creatively decorated theirs... I very un-creatively just drew some stars on mine.

That night was the inspirational Team In Training pasta dinner. This was quite an event, and I won’t give all the surprises away for any future TNT-ers out there, but it was fun, inspirational, and moving. We had a speaker there whose 5-year-old son is currently battling leukemia and undergoing a 3-year chemotherapy treatment plan. The memory of this brave mother talking about her beloved son Luke is making me well up with tears even now, and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the entire ballroom at the time. Little Luke really did prove to be my inspiration for the marathon.

After the dinner, I was pretty tired, and didn’t think I’d have any problem falling to sleep, even though I’d been told many times that I shouldn't expect to get any sleep the night before my event, and that that was OK. I didn’t feel nervous or overly excited; plus I was still on east-coast time, so I thought falling asleep would be a breeze. However, just as I was about to drift off to sleep, my stomach started hurting, which kept me up for hours! Then, of course, we had to wake up around 3:00am to meet with our team at 4:00am down in the hotel lobby. I think I got about two hours of sleep altogether. The thing is, that really was OK. I don’t think the sleep-deprivation really affected me, and I forgot all about it. Believe me, I had plenty of other things to worry about.

Before we met up with the team, Chris and I ate some hard-boiled eggs that we’d asked a waiter at the hotel for the day before, I had a Pop-Tart, we put on sunscreen, and went! Monica had bananas and bagels downstairs for everyone, and we took a group picture. Then it was off to the starting line. Our bus driver told us all he wanted to thank us for what we were doing from the bottom of his heart, as a 14-year survivor. That got me pretty emotional right away!

We got there at about 5:30am, and it was COLD. I was wearing a sweatshirt, but still shivering. My stomach wasn’t feeling great, and I just wanted to get going! Finally, the sun came up and it was time to get into our corrals. At 7:00am, the first corral started the race. By the time our corral, number 25, got to the start, it was 7:44am. Then it was finally time to run!

The weather by then was beautiful. Sunny but cool, and no trace of humidity! The first couple of miles weren't all that scenic. We were running beside or on highways, but finally we got to a more suburban area with tons of spectators to cheer us on. The area was hilly, but nice. Somewhere around mile 4 I had to take my first bathroom break. TMI? Too bad! I'm mentioning it only because during my training runs I never had a problem with having to stop for... that! haha...

We got some beautiful views of Lake Washington, and even saw a bald eagle sitting in a tree, not 20 feet up! A woman standing near the tree was pointing to it and yelling "BALD EAGLE" to all the runners, so we wouldn't miss it. God bless her, and God bless the USA!

So, on we ran, and just after mile 9, we came to a very long bridge. I enjoyed this part of the run because there were great views of Mount Rainier. Have you ever seen this mountain? It's amazing! Definitely the hugest mountain I've ever seen, by far! I was pretty obsessed with looking at it, so I think that would have been my favorite part of the race. Would have been, except that this is when I suddenly had a horrible, shooting pain in my foot! It literally made me gasp for breath, but then I was OK. The pain didn't go away, but it was never as bad as in that one instant, so I was able to run through it. It was/is in the same spot as my foot was hurting before, so I wasn't really all that surprised that it made a comeback. Oh well!

At the end of the bridge, I had to take another port-a-potty break, but Chris didn't, so I told him to keep running and that I'd catch up. We were running at a nice, leisurely pace, so it actually wasn't too hard to catch up to him.

We ran together until mile 13, where Chris, as planned, started to walk/run. We'd agreed we'd meet at the hotel afterwards. So, I ran a little faster for about 3 miles, and the course got very narrow and I had to weave in and out of the crowd a lot. We were back on highways and on-ramps and tunnels... Not too pretty. Then we got to down-town Seattle and ran through a street or two there, and I thought maybe we'd be running there for a while, but no such luck, it was back onto a highway. (By the way, I didn't study the map of the course at ALL before the race... can you tell?)

At about mile 16, I noticed I was getting really hungry. I'd packed four GUs and only had one left, plus one Starburst. So, I had those, and they helped for a few minutes, but then I felt the fatigue starting to seep in. We came to this long stretch of highway and there were people coming back towards me on the other side of it, so I knew it was an out-and -back situation, but I couldn't see the end. That part just went on and on. I had it in my head that there was a GU station at mile 18 or 19, but that turned out not to be true. When I got to mile 19 and there were no GU's, I started to feel really sorry for myself. I was in pain and so tired , and not feeling half as good as I did for my 20-mile training run. Why? WHY? I could feel myself getting really upset, but then I reminded myself WHY I was out there, and I thought about little Luke again. That made me feel even more like crying, but it gave me the boost I needed to keep going. He has no choice but to keep going with his treatment. The least I could do was run this lousy marathon!

Soon after that, I saw a TNT coach running, who had GUs in her hand. I yelled out to her and asked if I could have one, and she gave me two! I am so, so grateful to her; I really don't think I would have made it without her and those GUs!

At mile 21 there was another GU station so I took one more. I also had to stop and use the port-a-potty AGAIN. That's three times! Granted, I did drink a lot more fluids than I usually do during a run. There were a lot of water/Cytomax stops, but I wanted them at every stop.

So then I started running again, and thinking "Just 5 miles left, I can do this!" But did you know that miles actually grow longer the further along you are in a marathon? It's true! Each mile seemed to take longer than the last, and each step was more painful! By then, my knees and feet ached. The concrete was harder than the pavement I'm used to running on, and eventually I could feel every little bump under my foot as if I were only wearing slippers.

I should mention I was also having extreme, CRAZY anxiety about not knowing where Chris was or how he was doing. I was gripped with this overwhelming fear that something bad would happen to him. This fear was CRAZY. I never worry like that, and I had no reason to. Chris had trained for this and here were tons of medics on bikes riding up and down the course all day, should anything go wrong with his knee or something. I think I was losing my mind for a while there. OK, for a long while.

Finally at mile 23 or so (I think?) I saw Adam, the city team coach. He ran with me for a while and asked how I was doing. It was nice to have someone to chat with after running 10 miles or so by myself, although I'm sure I wasn't the most pleasant person in the world at that point! I had to go down a big hill and then up again, so we parted ways and he said he'd see me on the way back. So I ran down the hill and kept running for what seemed like an eternity, until finally I reached the turn-around point.

Then I ran up and up and up... and up, and finally I was at the top! The top of the last hill! I was at mile 25! There was another coach there who gave me a high-five and told me "you did it, girl!" at which point I started to cry. I knew the worst was over and I was really almost done! But I couldn't cry for long; it made it too hard to breathe. So I got a hold of myself.

Adam found me again and at this point I was even less talkative. But he gave me a high-five and ran with me to the start of ramp I had to run down to get off that highway and to the finish line! There were a ton of TNT staff members, including Monica at the bottom of that ramp, which was also the 26-mile mark. Monica yelled "Jeannie Cappella!" I really appreciated that. ;-)

The last .2 miles, I was just thinking "It's over! Thank God!" As I crossed the finish line, I burst into tears. I was proud and relieved, and TIRED, and it all just came gushing out. Again though, crying made me feel like I was going to pass out, so I had to reign it in. It's probably a good thing, or I'd probably have sobbed openly in front of everyone for a good 20 minutes!

I checked in at the TNT tent, got on a shuttle, and went back the hotel room where I tried to take an ice bath, but the water in the tub wasn't very cold and melted all of my ice immediately. Then I checked online and found that they were posting the times as people came in! So I saw that Chris had finished too! This made me feel so much better! He made it to the hotel pretty quickly, and I was so glad to see him and his smiling face He was so psyched about what he'd just accomplished!

My chip time was 5:44:45, and Chris' was 6:44:23.

The rest of the day was spent napping. We then made a brief appearance at the TNT Victory Party, then got ourselves some dinner, and then went to the hot tub for a while. That felt good.

We were stiff when we got up on Sunday, but still managed to do some walking. We had more sight-seeing to do! We went to Pike Place and to the first-ever Starbucks, and of course to see those famous fish-throwers! (We got to see them throw one). We walked to this cafe that was supposedly the inspiration for Cafe Nervosa from Frasier... but I have my doubts about that. We snapped some pics anyway.

The flight home was painful, but it would have been with or without the marathon. 3 hours to San Diego, then 5 hours overnight ot Boston. My knees KILLED and it was awful trying to sleep. But we finally made it home, and got some rest.

It's four days later now, and we're both feeling pretty darn good about what we did and why we did it! And we're already starting to forget all of the pain and mental anguish it took, and we're each talking about our next marathon already! Chris is eager to have his knee surgery so that it'll recover and he can get back to running. I'm giving my foot some time to heal, but then I want to get back out there!

I'm so, so glad we both did this. Team In Training is such an amazing organization and I really do feel honored that I could be a part of it. I'm so glad that my personal accomplishment could help others, and I'm so glad I'm going to continue to be a part of it through mentoring!

THANK YOU, TEAM IN TRAINING!

Click on the picture to see more!

Stay tuned... I have a little more to write about the marathon, but this entry is way too long already!

Temperature Rising

2009-06-24T09:58:00.006-04:00

Just checked the forecast again, and it looks like it'll be even warmer and sunnier in Seattle on Saturday than they thought! This might be a problem for us runners... but again, at least it's not going to rain!

We leave bright and early tomorrow morning, and I haven't even thought about packing. When I get home tonight after work, I also have to run and do some laundry. I really should have taken today off. Then again, I work best under pressure! ;-)

Oh, and just to make life a little more hectic, Chris and I just put an offer in on a house last night. Because really, what's the thrill of going across country and running 26.2 miles if you can't simultaneously try to buy your first home?

Fifteenth (& Final!) Group Run

2009-06-22T09:48:00.003-04:00

Time has really flown. Saturday was the last group for me and Chris run before our marathon. Chris and I only had to run 6 miles, which was good because the new team is just starting out, and doing short distances. Chris and I are the only participants still training from the summer TNT team, since all of the others are done with their events. But, Christine and Matt are the other mentors, and of course Kristen is still the coach, so there are still a lot of familiar faces. And, the new team is great. Everyone is very cool!

Anyway, the run was pretty uneventful. It was SUPER muggy. My foot started hurting again, but not too bad. I’m not really worried about it.

At this point, I’m just getting antsy to get out to Seattle! We leave in three days, and the marathon is in five! It may be a little early for this, but this is the weather forecast for Saturday:

As long as it stays dry, I'll be so, so happy!

Almost There!

2009-06-18T11:41:00.002-04:00

Last night we went to Atlantic Beer Garden, along with all of the other Massachusetts Team In Train-ers who will be running in Seattle. We picked up our race packets, which included our purple singlets and our itineraries for the trip!

We leave one week from today. I'm getting pretty pumped!

Fundraising Goals? MET!

2009-06-15T10:13:00.004-04:00

YESS!! Today is the fundraising deadline, and I'm happy to report that Chris and I have both reached our fundraising goals of $4,300 each! We got some very generous last-minute donations, especially one from a crazy guy named Tony! He came over to our apartment on Thursday night, asked how much more we needed to get to our goals (about $600 at the time), and pulled out $700 and gave it to us! He was prepared to go much higher, too. That is some intense generosity!

Since then we've received even more donations, and the money from Margaritas and Uno's hasn't even been applied yet. In total, I think we'll have raised over $9,350.00 together! I'm so proud of us and so grateful to everyone who contributed in any way to this great cause. THANK YOU ALL!

I'm also so relieved to be done with fundraising. Now all that's left to do is RUN. Speaking of which, I've taken the last week off, but I'm going to try a short run tonight. My foot is finally feeling better... I wish I could say the same for Chris' knee. He's still hurting, but as always, he's hanging in there.

The marathon is in less than two weeks. It's really almost here!

Foot Pain & Fundraising

2009-06-11T11:20:00.002-04:00

My left foot is still hurting me. It hurts to walk, but not every time I walk. It sort of comes and goes. Usually it doesn't hurt otherwise, but every once is a while I get a weird shooting pain along the side of it. I'm taking the week off from running, so I hope by next week it'll feel better. I have a wedding to go to this weekend, and I guess I won't be dancing much! Oh well.

Also, our fundraising deadline is MONDAY. As in, four days from now. EEK! Chris and I still need over $1,300 between us to reach our minimums... but really only about $600, because our fundraising event money (from the purse party and Margaritas nights) is going to be processed before our deadline. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the $90 we made from the Uno's night will come in in time, but it will still go to the LLS, so that's great. I was going to bake some cookies last night to have one last cookie sale at work, but we didn't have enough eggs and I was so tired after work last night, that I just let that plan die. Oops.

Well, that's about it for now! Have a good weekend! (I know it's only Thursday, but I have tomorrow off.) ;-)

Fourteenth Group Run

2009-06-08T09:35:00.005-04:00

I'm calling this entry "Fourteenth Group Run" even though it was just me and Chris running together, doing our big 20 MILE RUN!

We woke up around 5:00am on Saturday, got dressed, and both had two hard-boiled eggs and a thick piece of Asiago toast with butter (yummy). We prepared some bags with water, Gatorade, and Starbursts and put notes on them that basically said "Don't touch." Chris loaded up his fuel belt and I loaded up my new fanny pack that Christine generously gave to me, and we headed to Hull to strategically place our supplies along our route. We did so, then drove to the Derby Street shoppes. Kristen was there early and we said hi to her, then headed out to run 20 miles!

We started out slow and steady. My knees and hips hurt me as soon as we started, but nothing I couldn't run through. It was cold and drizzling at the onset, so we each wore sweatshirts, but as we approached the first water stop at mile 3, we were both both getting warm, so we ditched the sweatshirts. (Side note: There were slugs everywhere. Slimy, orange slugs, all over the sidewalks. Just thought you should know.)

Chris and I both brought 3 GUs, and wanted to try to eat about every hour. We would have needed another GU each, but I think we stuck to this while we could. We both opened the first one about an hour into our run, around mile 5.

We kept going, and just before mile 6, Kate, Christine and Monica found us and gave us some Powerade and some encouragement. So, we skipped our bag of water and kept on going.

Around mile 8, Chris was feeling tired and thought he'd have to walk. He had anther GU and decided to at least keep running until the half-way point. We stopped at our mile 9 water stop, and there we pulled out some of the Starbursts and devoured them. He felt much better after that, and started running so fast I could barely keep up! He said he really just needed to eat something. I think it helped me too. We're both thinking of pre-peeling some Starburts and carrying them with us in baggies for the marathon!

We kept going on towards mile 10. Lorri drove by and stopped to say hi. At the intersection of Nantasket and Draper Aves., it was time to turn around! We stopped again at mile 11 for more Gatorade, water and Starbursts. Around mile 12, we took a walk-break, and then Kate and Christine stopped for us again. After that, Chris' knees just wouldn't let him keep running, so I went on ahead.

I felt amazingly energized for some reason, and was able to run at what felt like a pretty good pace for the rest of the run! I really think this is because of the nice, slow pace for the first half, and also the GUs! For my 18-mile run a while ago, I felt completely drained. The Rice Krispie Treats helped for a few minutes, but I think I must have really hit that wall. GUs have saved my life! I wish I hadn't waited so long to try them out.

Just before I got to the mile 17 water stop, I noticed my belly was feeling a little empty, so I had more Starbursts when I got to it. That helped for a while, but the hungry feeling came back. Unfortunately, I was out of food, but fortunately, I only had about 2 miles left to go. I knew I just had to hang in there and get it done, and then I could go to Panera and eat whatever I wanted! It wasn't that easy, of course. The bottom outside of my left foot started to hurt then, but I just plowed through that pain and kept going. When I got back to the car at Derby St., I had a huge, goofy grin on my face, because I WAS DONE! I had run 20 miles!

I went to Panera, but the weirdest thing happened: my hunger temporarily disappeared. I got a drink and got a text from Chris; he was on his final 3 miles! I went to the running store where we typically meet, and where TNTers get 20% off, and asked the sales person about my foot. I have has the same pair of running shoes since February and I wanted to know if that could have anything to do with the weird new pain. He said it was probably just from running 20 miles! haha! but he said it was probably time for new sneakers anyway, so I bought a brand new pair of the same exact sneakers.

Then I read my book on a bench until Chris ran up, and we drove our route again so that we could collect our bags of supplies. For the rest of the day, we iced our knees and watched DVDs, then went to bed at an embarrassingly early time for a Saturday night! IT was around 8/8:30.

Now we taper down until the marathon! I'm feeling much more confident about the race now that the 20-miler is over! I was pretty nervous after the 18-er. IT was so rough! I feel more prepared now. My only concern (and it's not even a real concern) is the weird foot pain, which still hasn't gone away, but I'm going to stay off of it for a few days instead of going on my 4 and 6 mile runs this week.

A Few Things

2009-06-04T11:54:00.003-04:00

1. Like I mentioned before, I had to skip the 15-mile run last weekend. I haven't been running very much this week. On Monday I still wasn't feeling great. So I ran 4 or 5 on Tuesday (I still haven't mapped it out), then took Wednesday off. I'll run 5 or 6 tonight, but that's it. I have to rest on Friday if I want a shot at being able to run 20 on Saturday! I'm sort of feeling unprepared for that 20-miler because I haven't kept up with the mileage lately. But on the other hand, I think my hips, shins, ankles, and knees are happy with the rest they've had this week. So, we'll see what happens! 20 is the longest we run before our marathon. I can't believe it's here already!

2. Chris and I have just one fundraising event left! It hardly seems possible. haha... If you're in the area, come to Margaritas in Weymouth for dinner or drinks this Sunday, June 7. As always, 5% of your check will go to the LLS!

3. I'm going to miss out on running with the new South Shore team on Saturday. Chris and I are starting early and finishing late (20 miles is going to take a long, long time). I'm bummed, because I got to meet most of them briefly at kick-off and they all seem really cool. However, we have a whole summer to get to hang out!

That's about it for now!

Weekend Update

2009-06-01T16:41:00.002-04:00

Friday night was my purse party. I'm happy to report that it was a big success! People bought over $1,000 worth of Tamara's adorable handbags, which means that over $250 is going to the LLS. I helped, of course, by buying several myself. ;-D

Saturday morning was Kick-Off for the new participants. Chris and I held a sign in front of the building and directed people inside. We got to meet our "mentees" face-to-face, which was great! They seem really cool and we're excited to start training with them.

Yesterday, Chris and I were going to run our scheduled 15-mile run together... but I had a cold! I felt slightly dizzy every time I stood up, so I didn't exactly think running was a good idea. Chris put on his new fuel belt, though, and headed out himself. He's such a trooper!

I'm feeling better now, which is good, since our big 20-mile training run is this coming Saturday! I want to be in good shape for that. I feel well enough to attempt my 4-mile run tonight... I'll just bring extra tissues!

Heavy Fundraising Week

2009-05-29T09:46:00.003-04:00

You can tell it's really getting down to the wire, because Chris and I have been pulling out all the stops on fundraising lately! This week in particular, I've been super busy.

On Monday night, I baked cookies, decorated them Tuesday night, and brought them to work on Wednesday to sell for donations.

Last night was our Uno's Dough Raiser, and tonight is my purse party!

AND, Chris just started a Sox ticket 'promo' on his fundraising page. Check it out!
http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/rnrseatl09/ccappelbii

Things have been a little crazy, but it's all for a great cause. Together, we've raised about $6,000 so far, and we WILL reach our combined goal of $8,600 for the LLS!

Chris' Knee Update

2009-05-28T13:35:00.003-04:00

Well, his knee is still hurting him. He had the MRI and it revealed a small tear in his meniscus tendon. Apparently that tendon won't heal on it's own, because it doesn't get enough blood flow to it for it to heal itself. So, surgery may be needed to repair it.

Chris asked his doctor if he should get surgery, and the doctor said he couldn't tell him yes or no. He might not need it, and it might not make his knee feel better. He told him that if he stops running, and the pain goes away, he might not want to have the surgery done. So, Chris is going to keep running for now, complete the marathon, and then... we'll see. In the meantime, he's been wearing a sleeve on it, icing it a lot, and taking lots of ibuprofen.

I'm really proud of him for not giving up. Obviously, I don't want him to over-do it and make his knee worse, but he's so determined to keep going!

Boston's Run to Remeber

2009-05-25T18:13:00.006-04:00

This week, we didn't have a group run on Saturday. Instead, some of us got together on Saturday morning to have breakfast. We decided that since no one was running, we should still get together as a group, because this weekend is the San Diego Rock'N'Roll Marathon - Lorri's and Christine's event! GOOD LUCK, LADIES!

Chris and I were scheduled to run 13 miles this weekend, which worked out perfectly, since we singed up to run the Boston Run to Remember half-marathon on Sunday. We woke up at 5am, ate some breakfast, and headed out. As we left the apartment, it was pouring and pretty cold. We took the T to the Seaport World Trade Center, where the race started and ended, and luckily when we got there, the rain had stopped. We got there with time to spare, checked our backpack, and hung out inside for a while, because it was still chilly outside.

At race time, Chris and I headed to the very back of the crowd. We wanted to take it nice and slow, and we decided to stick together for this race. The National Anthem was sung, the airhorn sounded, then off we were! Just as we started to run, the sun came out, and it was suddenly a lot warmer.

We stayed at the back of the pack the entire time, so for a lot of the race, it didn't seem like we were part of a race at all; it was more like we were just out for a run! Only, we didn't have to worry about cars and there were water/aid stops along the way. It was kind of funny to run through the streets of Boston at 8:00am, when they were all blocked off. I work very close to the Seaport world Trade Center, and walk through these streets all the time, and it was weird to see them so empty.

We mosied along for a while, then somewhere around mile 3 or 4, we saw the police on motorcycles preceding the current leader on the opposite side of the road running toward us. We'd only been out for 45 minutes and this guy must have already been on mile 9 or 10! Insane.

I had tried my first GU Enery Gel ever on a 7-mile run a few days before, and decided I didn't HATE it (even thought they're totally weird and SO sweet), so I brought a few with me for the half-marathon. I'm glad I finally started using them... Rice Krispie treats are not exactly the easiest things to carry. A past TNT participant I've been talking to a bit advised me that I should be refueling every 45 minutes to an hour, whether I feel good or not, so I'm really taking that advice to heart. I think eating earlier and more often during my 18-miler might have helped, and having a GU instead of a R.K.T. probably would have helped even more. Anyway, I ended up using two of the GU gels during the half-marathon. I tried new flavors, which you're not really supposed to do during an event, but it worked out for me. I like the fruity ones! Strawberry-Banana and Orange Burst are A-OK in my book.

Poor Chris was doing great until about mile 9. His knee was holding up as well as he could have hoped. But then he ate a GU that just didn't agree with him. It was one that he picked up at the GU station at mile 8... and it was chocolate flavored. He said it made him feel very nauseated. UGH! The poor guy. His upbeat mood quickly went very sour. He stuck it out though! I'm so proud of him!

Towards the end of the race, it REALLY felt like there wasn't a race going on. Even though there still weren't any cars on the course, there were tons of people out walking around. When we got to Downtown Crossing, we had to look out for the police at the road blocks to tell us which way to go!

Then finally we made it over the bridge and there was a crowd of people cheering us on, so it felt like a race again. By then it was pretty hot, and we were thrilled to see the finish line. Like a couple of big nerds, we held hands to cross the finish line together, and our time was exactly the same: 2:50:35. We were happy to finish in under 3 hours!

And Chris' knee wasn't too bad afterwards. He's going to talk to his doctor today about his knee, so I'll try to update tonight about that.

All in all, the half-marathon was a good time, and I'm really glad I got to run an entire race with my husband! (We decided that for the marathon next month, we may split up eventually, or it could end in divorce. ha!)

If there are any good photos from the race, I'll post them when they're up. We also got some sweet medals, so I'll post a picture of those too!

Two Thirds There!

2009-05-21T16:36:00.004-04:00

Thanks to all of the generous donations I've received, Acoustic for a Cure, and a cookie sale, I'm over 2/3s of the way to my fundraising goal!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/rnrseatl09/jcappella

That's not good enough though. I need $4,300 by June 15... and so does Chris!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/rnrseatl09/ccappelbii

I really, REALLY want to see $3,000 in my account, like, now. I've been obnoxiously posting my link on Facebook today, because I want to get there by the end of tomorrow! I now only need $80 to do just that! I can TASTE it!

Some wonderful people answered my call and donated today, and more have posted my link on their Facebook accounts, and have spread the word about the purse sale, Uno's, and Margaritas!

PLEASE... donate, and help me spread the word! I need YOUR HELP to do this! (And again, so does Chris!)

We'll be running 7 miles tonight in 90-degree heat tonight, so I promise you, we'll earn all of those donations! We're so grateful to everyone who's already supported us and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. We couldn't do this without you!

Purse Fundraiser!

2009-05-19T11:22:00.005-04:00

Wow, it's starting to get so close to the fundraising deadline! Chris and I still have some events to help us out, but I figured I'd add one more. And you can participate in this one online!

I'm having a purse party. I'm psyched about it because it's being given by a talented local handbag designer. She sells her own designs and has purses in boutiques, and her stuff has been featured all over the place!

I am definitely buying myself one of these:

SO CUTE!

Tamara, the designer, is donating 25% of the sales to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!! How awesome is that!?!

The great thing about this sale is that you can email your orders in. Take a look at the website. If you like what you see, send an email to sales@tamarahandbags.com. Just mention that it's for the Leukemia & Lymphoma party, or the Jeannie Cappella party, so that the 25% donation will apply. Depending on the bag you purchase, you may also receive a 10-15% discount!

Here's the site:

http://www.tamarahandbags.com/

Happy Shopping! And please... send a link to this post to anyone who loves cute bags! :-D

*P.S. My party is happening on May 29, so you have until then to order!

Thirteenth Group Run

2009-05-17T21:41:00.004-04:00

Let me just say this right up front: Running 18 miles was HARD.

Chris was in NYC this weekend for a bachelor party, so instead of running with the group this weekend, he ran as much as he could stand to on a treadmill at his hotel (vomit)! That meant that I was the only one on the team running 18 miles. That was fine, but coach Kristen had to leave early, so I ended up running most of the 18 miles alone. That was also fine, but it got a little boring. I should have brought my iPod!

We ran the first 3 miles together, then had a water stop where Kristen said to run ahead, as she was going to stick with the half-marathoners for a while. So I ran, and I think I was running pretty fast. Maybe too fast. But I felt good, and when I had another water stop at mile 8, I still felt good. I had one Starburst and kept going.

Then it was on to mile 9, the turn-around point. As I was running to it, I noticed it felt like a heck of a lot more than 1 mile to me. When I got to mile 9, I stretched and headed back. It was then that I noticed I was really dragging. By about mile 11, I knew I needed a boost, so I ate one of my Rice Krispie treats. I immediately felt better, and was able to pick up my pace a little, but it didn't last too long. I wasn't feeling super thirsty, but I was on the look-put for the bag of water and Powerade that Kate & Erika had left out, because I just wanted a good to excuse to stop for a minute! Then lo and behold, I spotted the bag, had some water, and kept going.

Erika caught up with me again somewhere around 13.5. I took some more Powerade and water, and decided to walk as I ate my other RK Treat. I was feeling really fatigued by then, and the second treat didn't give me quite the same boost.

When I was done eating, I ran most of the way to mile 15, with one or two 30-second walk breaks . I found that they really helped me. After those short breaks, I felt better for a while.

Then at mile 15, Erika was there with more water and Powerade. I complained about how tired I was, and she made sure I wasn't going to pass out, and told me to take the last 3 miles easy. So, I did. I took a few more 30-second walk breaks here and there. For some of that last part, it was so tempting to just stop and walk. I was not happy to be running, and had to remind myself of why I WAS doing it: for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! As I got closer to Derby St., I told myself that I could walk in between the last two traffic lights...They're only 1 block apart, but having that small reward in mind worked... I was able to keep going until the first light, took my traffic-light walk break, then ran the rest of the way back. It ended up taking me about 3 and a half hours all together.

What was weird about this run was the fatigue. I haven't felt so drained before during a run. 16 was tough, of course, but that was mostly because of the pain in the backs of me knees. Thankfully, that didn't come back this week; I just had the usual front-of-the-knee pain, which went away as soon as I stopped running. I wouldn't have expected such a difference between 16 and 18 miles. The weather was better for a long run this time, still cool and cloudy for most of it, but without the mugginess. And this time I'd had a great night's sleep, and had a decent dinner the night before and breakfast the morning of. So, that's why I think I must have been running too fast for the first part of my run. I can't think of any other reason why I'd have been so drained by mile 9.

Oh well... As Erika the Wise told me, that's why we practice, to figure out the right pace! I'll need to keep that in mind.

I'm Gonna TRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY Yeah!!

2009-05-14T18:05:00.003-04:00

During Saturday's run, Christine asked me and Chris what we listened to while we run to get us going. I don't really have any specific artists I listen to during my runs; I just listen to whatever I'm in the mood for. But sometimes a song comes on that really gets me pumped! For instance, last night I had my iPod on shuffle because I wasn't in the mood for anything in particular, and Janis Joplin's "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" came on, just as I was approaching a big hill, and it really helped me.... try just a little bit harder! HA! How dorky is that? But whatever works, right? I think it helps listening to high-energy songs like that, because you just sort of imagine singing and dancing and you forget what you're REALLY doing. And let's face it, running is sometimes boring, or worse, painful.

Oh, then later on, at the end of the run, "Fat Bottomed Girls" played, and you know that got my motor running! I sort of joke that that song is a personal anthem anyway (I got booty), plus it's so fun that even though I had just run almost 6 miles-as fast as I could- I was pretty much singing along as I was running. I don't really recommend this... Not only do you look kind of nuts, but it makes breathing a lot harder!

Too bad I run and don't cycle! GET ON YOUR BIKES AND RIDE!

Pizza for a Cure!

2009-05-13T15:41:00.002-04:00

You may have noticed that picture of a deep-dish pizza on the sidebar to the right. Click on it. Go ahead, do it! Now, see those tickets? Print them! Use them on May 28! Uno's is giving 20% of the sales for anyone who hands in one of those tickets on that date. That's one fifth! Not bad.... in fact, that's pretty awesome!

If you live anywhere near Braintree, or work near there, please eat there on May 28! Or if you know someone who does live or work there, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE forward the link to them! We need tons of people to eat there that day... or to order take-out!

All you have to do is eat delicious pizza to be a big help. and ss that a sacrifice? Ummm, NO.

Twelfth Group Run

2009-05-12T10:56:00.001-04:00

Let me start by saying that I didn’t run during the week last week. At all. Every night, I was either too busy or too tired, so it just didn’t happen. I think I probably could have squeezed in at least one run, but I was so sure that I’d be just fine to run 16 miles on Saturday, week-night runs or not. Dumb mistake!

So, Saturday morning rolled around, and we got up early to run. Christine and Lorri had their 20-mile run and decided to start at 6:30 am to mimic their marathon start time. Chris and I wanted to get a head start because we had stuff to do that afternoon. So, bright and early, the four of us met in Hingham.

It was cool and overcast but muggy. Chrisine, Chris and I started out together, with Lorri following. Soon we felt just how muggy it was, and I felt sticky and gross. But eventually we got a few sprinkles of rain, and that actually helped to cool me down and it got rid of some of the mugginess. There were TONS of lilac bushes along the route, which I loved, because I adore that scent! I love running in the springtime…

Lorri had woken up early and set out bags of water, Powerade, Skittles, and Gu’s along our route to Hull. She even put notes on them asking passers-by not to remove them, because they were for marathon training! She was so organized and I’m still in awe. We really appreciated those bags, because Kristen and Kate weren’t showing up until 8:00, our usually start time. This time, I also remembered to bring my own snacks. I put some Rice Krispy treats and some Starbursts in a plastic baggie and carried it with me. The thought of eating all that sugar and candy so early in the morning is pretty gross, but at the time, it was just what I needed. By the way, I still haven’t tried a GU. They never seem appetizing to me. I want to get into them though!

As I mentioned before, Chris, Christine and I stuck together at first. We ran out to Hull, 8 miles away from the Derby Street Shoppes, and turned around. We took a couple of short walk breaks, and stopped for a bit when Kate and Kristen found us, and met Kristen’s new adorable puppy. Christine decided to stay with me and Chris instead of continuing on to the 10-mile mark, and after turning around there, she and I stuck together, with Chris following. He still has knee problems, the poor guy! Christine did another 4 miles at the end by herself. I was so glad to be done; I’m not sure how she did it! Props to her and Lorri for getting their 20-miler done! Their next longest run will be their marathon!

Anyway, backing up a bit here, it was a little before the half-way mark when I started to notice that my legs were in pretty bad shape. I was especially nervous about this because I was experiencing a new kind of pain. The backs of my knees were really hurting, and felt incredibly tight. I’d never had that happen before. I stretched them a bit at each water stop, but I think the lack of running during the previous week really took its toll. My legs were TOO well-rested!

However, I made it to the end and luckily I don’t think I did any permanent damage. I ran 4 miles last night, and while I did feel some of that same tightness, it was not half as bad as it was on Saturday, so I’m not really worried about it. I’m just not going to ignore my training schedule again!

Chris went to see a doctor about his knee yesterday, and is getting an MRI tomorrow. That should let him know whether he’s torn something or not. Let’s hope NOT! He also ran last night and did great!

Another thing I wanted to mention is that Margaritas on Saturday night was a blast! Thanks to everyone who came out for it! I have to admit… I had way too many margaritas. Uhh…. I probably should have known that running 16 miles, not drinking any water all day, not eating enough, and then drinking lots of tequila would be a BAD IDEA.

I Heart Coffee

2009-05-07T10:26:00.002-04:00

This article sorta, kinda has to do with running/exercising... but mostly I just love coffee and anything that makes me feel good about being a junkie, so I'm sharing it:

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/healthieryou/10497/9-reasons-to-drink-more-coffee/

I have a feeling today is going to be at least a 3-coffee day. Maybe it'll help me wake up, so that I can actually go for a run tonight after I attend the Team In Training info session tonight in Hingham! If you're curious, feel free to stop by:

6:30 PM
Hingham Public Library
66 Leavitt Street
Hingham, MA

Now go have some more coffee.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2009-05-05T09:10:00.005-04:00

In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, I made some special cookies for Chris to sell at work today (for donations to the LLS, of course)!

In case you're wondering, the cookies are just sugar cookie-flavored, not lemon-lime/tequila/salt flavored.

!Feliz Cinco de Mayo! (Is that right? I don't speak Spanish)

Eleventh Group Run

2009-05-03T21:41:00.002-04:00

It was back to Hingham this week for our 11th group run. Chris and I were scheduled to run 15 miles, and I was a bit nervous. Every week now, I have to run further than I've ever run before! On top of that, we didn't finish our our 14-mile run last week. On top of THAT, I hadn't slept well the night before, because I stupidly had an iced coffee late at night. Plus, there was a bird chirping outside the window ALL NIGHT LONG. Aren't non-owl birds supposed to be asleep at night?

Anyway, I woke up at 7:oo am yesterday and had a yogurt and a piece of toast with butter and headed out the door. Forgot to bring anything to eat on the run. It was cool and cloudy, so a few of us wore jackets, but ditched them at the first water stop because we were all plenty warm by then. Just about as soon as we started, I realized that although it was cool, it was a little on the humid side. Still, not bad running weather.

We took a different route this time, down Rte. 53 to Weymouth and onto Broad and then Commercial St., and back. The run was pretty uneventful for me, which I find somewhat amazing. I mean, hello? 15 miles! I'm pretty proud of myself.

The only problems I faced were aching knees by the 12th or 13th mile, and of course CRAZY HUNGER. Somewhere around the half-way mark, I noticed I was starving. I tried to ignore it at first, but at the end, my stomach was actually hurting from being empty, and I was starting to feel a teensy bit woozy! As soon as I stopped running, though, the pain in my stomach went away and I didn't feel like I had to eat immediately. I waited for Chris to catch up and we went to a Dunks drive-thru for brunch (it was 12:30 or so by then). Kristen estimated that we burned some crazy amount of calories during the run (1,700? I forget, and I'm too lazy to try to figure it out myself), so I didn't feel at all guilty about ordering myself a bagel AND a donut.

Mentoring

2009-04-29T10:09:00.002-04:00

Chris and I signed up to be mentors for the fall season's Team In Training participants. This means we'll check in with our assigned runners weekly, attend all their group runs to either run with them or set up water stops, help with their fundraising, etc. We won't give out running advice or anything; that's the coach's job, and we're not qualified to do that. We'll just be there to offer support and share our experiences and help out how we can.

I'm pretty pumped about it. I think this will be a great way to stay involved with Team In Training for a while. It's such a cool organization and I hope I'll be as good of a mentor as Kate and Erika. (Hi gals!) :-D

So, if anyone from the South Shore reading this wants to be on our team and be mentored by me, Chris, or our teammate Christine, the marathons (and half-marathons) for the fall season are listed here: http://www.teamintraining.org/ma/firsttimehere/teamintrainingevents/
I'm planning on running the Maine half-marathon on October 4.

Acoustic Recap & Tenth Group Run

2009-04-27T15:52:00.003-04:00

Acoustic for a Cure was a great time! After expenses, we raised $870 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! The performers were all fantastic, and Chris and I are so grateful to all of them for donating their time! We’re especially indebted to the one and only Nicholas Lavallee for bringing his sound equipment and really just taking control of the show. We really could not have done it without him! Did I mention he was sick AND came all the way from Manchester, NH to participate? His attitude was that his friend who died of Leukemia still came to school when he was sick, so doing what he could at Acoustic for a Cure was the least he could do. I wanted to cry when he told me that! It was such a reminder of why we’re doing all of this fundraising in the first place.

Anyway, thanks are also due to everyone who came and bought raffle tickets and made the night a success! You guys are all going to heaven.

The one thing we learned after hosting our first fundraiser was that it’s really important to get an accurate head count. We had a great turnout, but we were expecting even more, so we ordered more food so that no one would go hungry! And of course, they don’t let you take home any leftovers, so anything that wasn’t eaten was just a waste. You live, you learn!

I took a couple of pictures during the night but sadly, none that came out great. I was busy manning the raffle table, or chatting, or listening to the music, that I mostly forgot to even take many. Oh well! Rest assured, we bought purple balloons and streamers and hung Team In Training banners all over the place!

When the party was over at 11pm, we were sad to have to shut it down, but the bartenders needed to break down the room. We would have liked to party longer!

The next morning though, Chris and I were glad we didn’t. When the alarm went off, we were both miserable. So tired and so NOT ready to run! We both stayed in bed a little too late, and didn’t have breakfast. We were running in Quincy that day, from our apartment, so we got a few extra minutes in bed because we didn’t have to drive anywhere, so that was nice.

Then Kristen, Erika and Lorri showed up. And only Kristen, Erika, and Lorri! Everyone else was unable to come that morning. We hadn’t realized that. Also, Lorri only came to help Erika with the water stops, since she’d done her run on her own the day before! Now that’s what I call nice- getting up early on a Saturday just to support the team! But that meant it was just me and Chris running with Kristen.

We ran up to Hough’s Neck and it was a gorgeous, gorgeous, warm day. I love running in Quincy because you can just stick to the water, and it’s so pretty! We were tired though, and starving, so our 14 mile run turned into an 8.5 mile run. Kristen said she wasn’t worried about us since we still have two months until our race, so running the full amount every single time isn’t that crucial yet.

One quick anecdote from this run I must share: Kristen and I were waiting for Chris to catch up to us at one point. As he approached, we both noticed there was something on his white shirt. At the same time, we shrieked! It was blood. Lots of it. Coming from his nipple. HIS NIPPLE. I can’t imagine the amount of chafing necessary to make a nipple bleed so much. He ended up just running shirtless for the last leg of the run. Thank the good lord for sports bras, or we gals might get to experience that special pain.

I’ll just let you to think about that for a while.

STASERA!

2009-04-24T12:52:00.003-04:00

Acoustic for a Cure: Unplugged at the Fours is TONIGHT!

I just got my teeth cleaned, picked up some decorations at iParty, and had some yummy Boston Market (BoMar) for lunch. Now to organize the raffle prizes, get myself gussied up, and go set up at The Fours! I can't wait - tonight will be a blast!

If you want to come, but haven't bought a ticket, fear not- You can buy a ticket at the door!

(Oh, one thing: I lied before about the bacon-wrapped scallops. Instead, there will be seafood-stuffed mushrooms.)

That is all! Hope to see you tonight!

Lame Training Week

2009-04-23T22:08:00.004-04:00

Like I said, I skipped running on Monday AND Tuesday, opting instead to sit on my butt and shove food into my face.

Well, at least I went to the gym last night. Pilates was tough and I loved it. as usual. After Pilates though, I tried running on the treadmill for the first time in ages... and I HATED it. I was so bored immediately! I couldn't even do it. I ran about 2.5 miles and gave up. Music wasn't helping. Knowing I should get in a longer run wasn't helping. Making myself feel guilty wasn't helping!

I never used to have that problem. I know a lot of people do, but usually I can just zone out and listen to my tunes and power through (even if it's not that much fun and I get in fights with the treadmill in my head because I think it's lying to me). The boredom last night was so intense, it was making me ANGRY to be on that thing! I guess I've really become accustomed to running outside only.

Tonight I went on a nice 5.75 mile outdoor run, and felt like myself again, thank goodness. At least I got one respectable run in this week.

Slump

2009-04-22T11:07:00.005-04:00

I was supposed to go for a run on Monday night, and I didn't. My excuses were paltry, but many: It was cold and rainy and my shin hurt and I was sleepy and hungry. So I put on PJ's and watched TV instead.

I was supposed to go for a run last night. But it was pouring. So I put on PJ's and watched TV instead.

I really think the recent weather has drained my motivation this week. Even though I still have a gym membership, and could have just gone to the gym to run on the treadmill to avoid the rain, I couldn't even get myself to do that. Tonight I'm determined to go though! There's a Pilates class on Wednesday nights that I try to go to whenever I can, so I can just stay afterwards and run on the mill. I haven't been on one of those things in a while, and I haven't missed it, so we'll see how it goes.

Oh me, oh my. Just as a reminder (read: another shameless promotion), this Friday is the night of Acoustic for a Cure! I'm getting psyched and nervous. Why nervous? I don't know. Everything is just about taken care of and there's not much left to do! I think it's because I've never co-hosted a fundraiser before. Its going to be tons of fun, of course. If you're planning on coming, save room for apps! We're having cheese & crackers, meatballs marinara, chicken tenders, and bacon-wrapped scallops. (Sorry, vegetarians... there weren't many meatless options!) There are also going to be some last-minute raffle prizes added to the list of goodies.

Ninth Group Run

2009-04-19T22:41:00.002-04:00

Yesterday morning we met in Hull instead of Hingham. Our teammate Lorri lives in Hull and was nice enough to let us use her house, even thought she wasn't there yesterday! So, we got to have a great change of scenery. The route was nice because we got to run along the water almost the entire time, and it was beautiful out, for the most part. The day started out warm and sunny, then gradually got cloudy and cool, but luckily the rain held off, aside from a few drops here and there.

13 miles wasn't as bad for me as I thought it was going to be. Actually, I felt (and still feel) quite good! I did, however, work up and INSANE appetite by the end. Chris brought along some PowerBar gels, which he said tasted just like chocolate frosting. He wasn't particularly fond of them. I brought along nothing, which I now know I can't do anymore! When the run was over, I ate not one, but two bagels with cream cheese that our fantastic mentors brought for us.

Also, we stopped a few times for water and stuff during the run, and I found it harder than usual to stop and then start again. My legs and knees thought they were getting to stop, and let me know that were not happy to be moving again!

Chris is having really bad knee pain now. He's thinking of going to see a specialist. I really, really, really hope it helps!

Spa Gift Basket

2009-04-17T20:50:00.003-04:00

When ZuZu's Sisters donated the softest, prettiest bathrobe ever, I was so excited! When we went to pick it up, they'd put the gorgeous pink and white robe in green tissue paper, and it looked so good, we were going to just raffle it off that way. But then I couldn't resist buying some extra goodies to go with it, and making a luxurious spa gift basket!

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself! I really want to keep it all. Maybe I'll buy some raffle tickets and give it a go at Acoustic for a Cure next week, where this will be one of the prizes!

Here's a pic of the bathrobe that I found online... Once I got it in that gift basket, there was no taking it out. It's in there until the lucky winner takes it home!

In other news, one of my Team In Training teammates, Christine, was featured in the Pembroke Express!

http://www.pembrokeexpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=986:bryantville-teacher-going-distance-for-cause&catid=1:pembroke-news&Itemid=2

Go Christine!

In OTHER other news, I'm supposed to run 13 miles tomorrow. Because of the insane rain and wind last week, I only ran 8. The week before that, I also ran 8, because I wanted to "rest up" for my 10k the next day. SO, the most I have run is 10 miles. I really don't feel ready for 13!

Oh well. The Red Sox just tied up the game, so I have to go watch that now. Good thing, since this entry is officially all over the place.

Cross-Training

2009-04-16T16:40:00.006-04:00

So, as I may have mentioned before, I’m supposed to be cross-training. (I still don’t really know what that means except that I need to be using muscles other than the ones I use to run.)

Ever since I stopped going to ice-skating lessons, I seem to have also fallen off the Pilates wagon. I used to try to go every Wednesday night when they have the class at my gym, but for the past month or more, I’ve either had something else going on on Wednesday night, or it was nice out and I wanted to go for a run when I got home, before it got dark out. Last night, however, I made my triumphant return to Pilates! Hopefully I’ll be able to keep going for the next couple of weeks, until my gym membership runs out on May 1. After that I’ll have to find another place to go. My favorite local yoga studio has Pilates classes, but none that I can get to. I see they have a “yogalates” class now though; maybe I’ll go see what that’s all about! I like yoga too, so why not? I suppose I could also find a good Pilates video and do it at home, but I like classes much better.

I have to find another way to cross-train too, preferably something I can do outside, since I don’t want to renew that gym membership. I’d like to get a bike, but they’re so expensive. Maybe I can finally learn to roller-blade well enough so that I’m not embarrassed to/scared of doing it on an actual sidewalk… like, next to an actual street, with cars on it. But what if I roll onto the street and get hit? I am legitimately scared of this.

Anyway, I need to get motivated and stop using my cross-training days as off days.

April Full Moon

2009-04-14T21:46:00.012-04:00

The first Full Moon Margarita Madness benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society seemed to be a big success! I don't know yet how much was raised for the LLS, but the place was pretty packed and everyone seemed to have lots of fun! I know I did. I got to eat Mexican food and drink margs, so that alone would have meant a smashing good time, but on top of that I got to see lots of friends and family members, and participate in or watch silly games (the frozen T-shirt contest was the most hilarious thing I'd seen in ages). Chris and I even got to take home some fun prizes: Sam Adams glasses and a Margaritas Frisbee! One lucky winner went home with the Red Sox tickets we donated... I hope they enjoy the game.

Here are some pics from the night, pretty much in reverse chronological order because Blogger won't let me rearrange them. WHATEVER, BLOGGER!

So that's that! I'll let you know when I find out how much money was raised for the LLS. In the meantime, mark your calendar for May 9. That's the night of the next FMMM!

April #@%-ing Showers

2009-04-13T08:25:00.003-04:00

Kristen cancelled our Saturday morning run this weekend because the weather was supposed to be too nasty: cold, wet, and windy. Chris and I wanted to get our long run over with, and knew we'd be too busy to run the following day since it was Easter and we had plans to visit both families. So, we put on our raincoats and headed out. And got completely drenched. And got pelted with sleet.

We had planned on running 11 miles, but somewhere along the way we decided to just turn around and head home, and I think if we both had gone home from there, it would have been about 7 miles. But then we split up and I ran ahead and decided to go a bit further, so I ended up running 8.1. Chris had the same idea, but he ran even further than I did; probably between 9 and 10 (he hasn't mapped it out yet). When I got back to the apartment, I changed into dry clothes immediately, made myself some tea and wrapped myself in a blanket. It took me hours finally to get warm!

Having run 8.1 miles sopping wet, I will say this: I really really REALLY hope it doesn't rain on Marathon day! That was the longest I've ever run out in the rain and it wasn't exactly the best time.

But on the bright side, at least I didn't have any chafing!

Margs Tonight!

2009-04-09T09:37:00.006-04:00

Tonight is the first of the Full Moon Margarita Madness nights benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!

http://www.margs.com/promotions_and_events/full_moon_margarita_madness

WOO HOO!

I'm especially excited for it since I have tomorrow OFF. That means I can stay out late and drink many, many margs. No deciding between the many fun flavors of margs for me! Lime In the Coconut? Russelrita? Sour Apple? Original? Bring 'em on! Bing 'em ALL on!

The only thing I have to wake up for tomorrow is my appointment to get a massage, a manicure, and a pedicure. That's right! Chris got me a gift certificate for a couple's spa day for my birthday. My birthday was in November, but we didn't get around to scheduling the appointment until now. And tomorrow just happens to be Chris' birthday! So, if you come to Margaritas tonight (which you totally should), you can sing "Happy birthday" to him at midnight!

Here's the address. Hope to see you tonight!

765 Bridge St.

Weymouth, MA

Cohasset Road Race By the Sea!

2009-04-06T18:29:00.017-04:00

Yesterday was my first 10k, and Chris' first-ever road race!

We got up around 8:00, had a leisurely breakfast of coffee and hard-boiled eggs, and headed out around 10:00. We got to Cohasset around 10:30 and we were the third car in the parking lot. The race didn't start until 1:00pm. So, we had lots and lots of time to kill. We got our numbers, our chips and our T-shirts and hung out for a few hours. We ate some fruit & yogurt cereal bars, had some free coffee, and walked around. Chris' mom came out to see us, so we hung out with her for a bit.

Also, we shivered. The day started out really cold! I was absolutely freezing in my sweats and didn't know if I wanted to take them off to race (I had shorts and a T-shirt on underneath). But the sun eventually came out and by race time, it was tolerable, so I stripped down and shivered some more for a couple of minutes...

But actually, as we got behind the starting line, I started to feel hot. Then when we started running, I was REALLY hot! Then I got REALLY thirsty. I don't ever remember being so thirsty so soon during a run before. Granted, I was running a lot faster than I normally do, but I think I must have started out a bit dehydrated. I may not have had enough water after running on Saturday. Oops!

Anyway, I started out pretty fast (I think), but was too hot and too thirsty to keep up that pace. I think I stopped for water at every opportunity. Before the race, I had thought I'd only need to stop once, if at all! When I go for a 5 mile run on my won, I don't bring water, but I forget that during a race, it's different. I'm pushing myself harder. I think pulled over to grab a cup of water four or five times during the 6.2 miles.

The course was also very hilly. Mile 4 to mile 5 was a killer. It included the steepest hill and that mile just seemed to go on forever. In fact, after a while, I'd made up my mind that I had missed the "Mile 5" sign, or that there just hadn't been one, so when I finally saw it, I was a teensy bit shocked that I was only at mile 5!

That's enough griping; now on to the good stuff. For one thing, the course was amazingly, stunningly beautiful. I really wish I could have taken pictures of it along the way! The water was such a gorgeous blue-green, and you could see Boston in the distance at one point. The sun was shining and I had the urge to just jump in the ocean a couple of times. I resisted though! People were sitting outside on chairs in their driveways to cheer us on. It was so cute! For those of you not familiar with the area, just know that Cohasset is too adorable to be real.

I also achieved my goal, and came in at just under an hour! My time was 59:08. YAY!

Also lots of fun was hearing my name near the very end of the race, looking over, and seeing Jenny! I was psyched!

But then this girl and her dog jumped into the race to run alongside the girl's dad or something, and just at the mat where the chip records your time, the girl totally wiped out. I had a moment where I really thought I was going to land on top of her, and I have to admit that my first thought was not "I hope that little girl is OK." It was more like, "wow, I really hate that little girl. " I did manage not to trample her though, so that's gotta count for something, right?

I also managed not to throw up when I stopped running, even though I really felt like I was going to for a minute there. I made a bee-line for the water and downed a bottle in about 2 gulps, and was right as rain after that!

Chris came in at 1:13:28, and I got to see him finish and cheer him on! He told me a pretty scary story about seeing a woman collapse right in front of him during the race. He actually ran backwards to the closest water stop to make sure someone was getting help. Clearly, he's my better half.

After the race, we got our well-deserved hot dogs (WITH mustard, thank you very much). However, that was not enough food for the likes of us. We were both still starving, so we went out for a late lunch. I had a weird hankerin' for a chocolate milk shake and a burger. It was all I wanted! So, we went to Chili's and I got my wish.

Overall, it was a great day and I'm really proud of myself and Chris (and Jenny and Kristen and Kate)! I'll definitely do this race again, and next time, I'll drink more water beforehand, and I'll bring my iPod (I lost Chris and Kate almost right away and had no one to talk to, not that I could have talked anyway).

Now, as promised, here are some photos!

This is Chris' chip

Me pinning my number on.

Ta-Daa!!

Chris on a bench

#1283!

Me and Kate (Kate had a bad day. Her knee popped during the race. Poor girl! She is awesome and I hope her knee gets better SOON!)

Chris lounging on the grass

Chris' mom took this one of Chris crossing the finish line.

Chris & me, after the race

Chris with a hot dog

Me DEVOURING my hot dog

Me at Chili's, looking like the undead.

Chris, looking a bit red because he didn't wear any sunscreen!

Our Next Race: Boston's Run to Remember Half-Marathon!

Eighth Group Run

2009-04-04T21:12:00.003-04:00

Today, Chris and I were scheduled to run 11 miles, but since we're running in a 10k tomorrow, we decided to run 8 miles with the people training for the half-marathon. In fact, Lorri was the only one on the team today who ran more than 8, and she got up even earlier to get a head start! Props to her. As if starting at 8:00am isn't painful enough...

So, anyhoo, the run went well. The sky was looking a little nasty, but aside from one quick sprinkle, the rain held off. Woo hoo! We've really been lucky so far. However, Kristen says she's determined to get us prepared for running in the rain and getting all chafed. Uh...sounds like a total blast!

After the run and some ab exercises, we went over to Panera, then went back on over to HQ (Greater Boston Running Co.) where we got to hear from a nice nutritionist named Melanie. She answered lots of good questions and I now know that half of my plate at meal-time should be veggies, 25% should be protein, and 25% should be carbs. Until a week before the marathon, when I should up the protein. And then a few days before, I should start upping the carbs. I think? Oh man, I already forget. But I DO remember lots of stuff she told us! Stuff about how to eat and drink during the race, and how much to eat before, and how long before, and what to eat afterwards to help prevent the post-marathon cold. She said drinking coffee before running has been shown to help, and it won't dehydrate you, but only to try it if you're used to coffee. She said to eat the yolks in eggs. She talked about eating "goo" during long runs. I've never tried those before, but it's time to start experimenting.

After that, Chris and I had some errands to run, including picking up the softest, nicest bathrobe that ZuZu's Sisters in Hingham donated! I'm making a pretty sweet spa gift basket and including the bathrobe in it; it's going to be one of the raffle prizes for Acoustic. I love making a fun gift basket!

And now it's nighty-night time, since I'm exhausted and I need my rest for the Cohasset Road Race by the Sea tomorrow. Chris, Kristen and Kate are all doing it too, and so are my pal Jenny and her dad. The forecast is looking good and I'm not feeling too achy (aside from some weird hip joint pain... that's a new one for me), so I'm really looking forward to my first 10k. I hope to finish in under an hour... but of course I won't beat myself up f I don't.

Stay tuned for an update on the race. Maybe I'll even post some pictures. This blog needs some photos to add PIZAZZ!

Commercial for Marshall's

2009-04-01T12:11:00.002-04:00

This is just a quick note to tell you never, ever to shop at speciaty running/sports stores for running clothes! Go there for your footwear, but buy the clothes at Marshalls. Over the weekend, I went there and bought a ton of great Nike, Adidas, and Reebok stuff! I got good quality shirts, shorts, and sports bras... all the same exact stuff you'd find at the more expensive places but for probabaly a third of the price!

Maybe it's last year's stuff or something, but who cares!? You're most likely not trying to look your most fashionable while you're running anyway. Or maybe you are. If so, go ahead and spend too much money! SEE IF I CARE!

Seventh Group Run

2009-03-30T22:11:00.002-04:00

Saturday marked the first double-digit run for me and Chris. The weather was nice. It seems like every time I go running lately, the temperature has been at that point where I'm really cold when I start out, but after 10 or 15 minutes of running, it feels good.

Kristen ran the 10 miles with me and Chris, even though she had just run a marathon the week before, and even though she had a cold! That girl is a machine! She sent us some info about getting a post-marathon cold. Sounds like it's pretty common. Oh joy!

Anyway, after the run on Saturday, I felt surprisingly good. No knee pain, no shin pain, and after a venti caramel macchiato, I even felt like an actual, live human being, instead of a zombie! Maybe my body is getting used to all of this nonsense. Or maybe it was just a fluke. Either way, I'll take it.

Poor Chris wasn't quite as lucky- his knee was and is still really bothering him. He bought a knee strap and wore it tonight for a 4-mile run. It's too early to tell if it's helping him yet, so send him some knee-healing vibes!

Martha Stewart Would Cringe

2009-03-27T10:05:00.004-04:00

Speaking of being busy, there are a few things that might happen when both members of your household are working full-time, training for a marathon, and using most of their spare time organizing fundraisers and begging for donations:

1. Your apartment might become even messier than it usually is. Cleaning will only happen when you know people are going to be coming over, or it’s too offensive to look at any longer. Or something starts to smell.

2. You might not have the energy or the inclination to cook after going for a run at night, so you might start to live off of frozen skillet meals and whatever places nearby that deliver. (I’d like to give a shout-out to Stouffer’s, Bertolli, and of course, Little Duck!)

3. Laundry might pile up, and you’ll only do a load mid-week so that you have enough running clothes to get by.

4. You might tell yourselves you need to buy more running clothes so you won’t have to do laundry mid-week, but then you’ll take forever and a day to get around to going to the store to actually purchase said clothes.

5. You might have a six-pack of beer in the fridge for well over a month and a few bottles of wine hanging around, completely untouched. This is unnatural, I know. But it might happen.

6. You might have to re-arrange your schedule for your whole week just to make plans to go out for a drink with a friend one lousy night after work.

7. You might be a redneck. (What?)

Busy and tired as you may be though, it will be completely, 100% worth it. You will feel so accomplished! Each week, you’ll feel more and more like a runner, and with each dollar you raise, you’ll know you did some good.

And really, who cares if your place is a pig sty most of the time? Messy is the new black.

Too Busy

2009-03-25T11:27:00.002-04:00

This is going to be the first week of training where I don’t get in my three weeknight runs! Last night I went to Abe & Louie's for a retirement dinner for my coworker, and tonight I’m going out with my family to Mistral for Restaurant Week. For the past few years, we’ve all gone out during RW to celebrate my brother Eddie’s birthday. This year we’re going out a little over two weeks past his birthday, but hey- why not keep the celebration going? You only turn 27 once!

Anyway, I feel a little guilty about not fitting in all of my scheduled runs, and instead eating copious amounts of food, but not guilty enough to go running in the morning. I need my precious, precious sleep!

Sixth Group Run

2009-03-22T22:38:00.026-04:00

Kristen wasn't able to make it to our group run this week because she was off running a marathon (Hope it went well, Coach!) So, Kate and Erika, the other team mentor, planned a route for us and off we went. The group was also a little smaller this week because Matt and Ben weren't there. This week Chris and I were to run 9 miles.

It was chilly out, so Ol' Neon (my fleece pullover) made an appearance. I thought I'd eventually get too warm in it, seeing as how it was so sunny, and the day was sure to warm up, and we'd be running for such a long time, and I am really, REALLY willing the winter weather to be gone once and for all.... but it stayed chilly out, and I never got warm enough to run in just a T-shirt. I can't wait until it's warm enough for shorts and a T-shirt at 8:00am every time! Not that I'm complaining - We've been so lucky with all of our long runs so far. It hasn't snowed or rained yet.

(OK, I know I totally just jinxed myself and my teammates.)

Erika had set up three water stops for us, and a fourth for the people who were running more. (I think Kate and Christine ran 12, is that right, girls?) Erika isn't running with us because she's preggers, so she was there at two of the stops and had left a bag full of water, Dixie cups, and so

me PowerBar Gel Blasts on the sidewalk at the other stop. I don't really like those chews, so I had brought myself a Fruitabu and I ate it at the half-way point.

The run felt long. It felt a lot longer than 8 miles did, which may have had something to do with the fact that we didn't stop a lot because we didn't get lost this time. ;-) We made it though, and I am so proud of Chris because he made it the WHOLE WAY without walking even once this time! GO CHRIS!

We didn't meet up with the rest of the group after our run for the first time. Brenda had run 6 miles and seemed to have left, so Chris and I stretched out at the store and waited for a little while to see Kate, Christine and Erika. Buuuut, we got too hungry and bored, so we left. Uhh, sorry girls! We did leave a message with the store clerks to tell them we were at Panera, in case the others wanted to find us. No one came looking for us though...WEIRD!

When Chris and I got home, we watched TV and put our feet up for hours. Our knees were not feeling what you'd call "good". Chris has introduced me to the best product ever though. The Icy Hot Sleeve! This thing rocks. It's snug, so it take care of the icing and compression in RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). The sitting and watching TV took care of the rest. Today, aside from a few sudden sharp pains I got while driving, my knees have felt fine. That assessment doesn't sound great, I know, but it's so much better than having a constant achy pain!

In other news, I need to find a new fun way to do some cross-training, since I had my last ice-skating lesson today! I even got myself a sweeeeet diploma:

I know that doesn't have my name on it, but TRUST ME, I graduated. And got one of the same little certificates that they gave out to all of the five-year-olds! I felt so cool!

Now I guess I should throw myself a graduation party. Oh, wait, I know! I'll just invite everyone to come and celebrate this amazing achievement of mine at one of the many parties coming up to benefit the LLS! That includes the three Margaritas nights on April 9, May 9, and June 7, and the one at the Fours on April 24. Tickets are now on sale for Acoustic for a Cause, and I honestly think it's going to be a blast. Click here to get your ticket:

THE END

Running Buddies

2009-03-20T10:02:00.003-04:00

I often enjoy running alone, listening to my iPod and going at my own pace, but sometimes it really helps to have a running buddy.

Last night, for example, I really didn't feel like doing anything. I was tired, my throat was sore, and I had run the previous two nights, so I thought my knees and shins could use a break. However, when I told Chris I was thinking of skipping my run he told me, "OK, I'm still going." He wasn't being judgmental or scolding me or anything; he just said it in a very matter-of-fact way, to let me know his plan. Somehow though, it gave me a little kick in the pants. I asked him if he thought I should just rest if I thought I was getting sick, and he reminded me that when he had a cold a couple of weeks ago, it didn't seem to hurt him any. Of course now I couldnt' be a wimp and skip running when I was feeling a tad under the weather, remembering that he hadn't!

So, we both went for that run, and I got to return the favor, in a way. When we were about two thirds of the way done with our route, Chris told me I should take the key to the apartment, which he had in his pocket, and run ahead, because he needed to walk for a while. I told him no way, he had to keep running. And he did!

I think having each other to rely on to give us a little push when we need it is really a huge advantage.

Practice Runs

2009-03-19T10:01:00.002-04:00

Our TNT mentor, the marvelous Kate, advised us that it would be a good idea to do run in some big races before we head to Seattle in June,to see what it’s like. I’ve run in a couple of 5k’s, but nothing big. So, Chris and I signed up for Boston’s Run to Remember on May 24. This is a half-marathon through the city of Boston. We chose this one because it happened to coincide with a weekend where we are supposed to run 13 miles anyway, according to our training schedule, and also because it's ultra-convenient!

Then, Kate said she’d signed up for a 10k in Cohasset on April 5, so I signed up for that too. This one’s also close to home and should be gorgeous. Eek, it’s so soon though. The distance should be just fine, but I need to start running faster! Not that I want to win or anything, I just don’t want to come in LAST. I’ve been trying to run fast (well, as fast as I can) during some of my 3-mile weeknight runs, but I have to find a pace I can maintain for 10k.

So, now I have a 10k in April, a half-marathon in May, and a marathon in June!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T08:46:00.006-04:00

Hello my little leprechauns! I hope you all wore your green today!

In honor of St. Patrick's day, this week's cookie for sale at Chris' office (to raise money for the LLS) is the Shamrock Sugar Cookie!

This is is the first week we've bagged the cookies. I hope the people in Chris' office appreciate the extra effort.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a fun St. Paddy's Day. In the grandest Irish tradition, I plan to go for a run after work and then order Thai food.

Fifth Group Run

2009-03-15T19:40:00.003-04:00

I was a little bit nervous before our run yesterday because last week we ran 6 miles, and this week we were skipping 7 and going straight to 8. I don't know what poor number 7 ever did to anyone. I mean, it's lucky, right? Why did we have to give it the cold shoulder?

The thing is, running 8 miles wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. True, we did have to stop a few times. Our team got a little lost trying out a new route, but we eventually just turned around and kept going. Kristen wears one of those nifty GPS watches, so she knew exactly how far we'd gone and how far we'd still have to go. Overall, I felt good on this run, and my knees were much better than the week before. Yippee! And we're not skipping a mile again until we jump from 16 to 18, so next Saturday will be a 9-miler.

After our run yesterday, Chris and I had a meeting with the General Manager at Margaritas in Weymouth. Now, Margaritas had already established a special place in my heart because it was one of my favorite places to go up in Manchester when I was in college. But now, I have even more reason to love it! They're using the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as their designated charity for their next THREE Full Moon Margarita Madness nights! Basically, every month on the night of the full moon, they donate 5% of the lounge's proceeds to a charity. Not only that, but they have games give away prizes. In case you're interested (and you should be, if you like margaritas and/or Mexican food and/or fun), the dates are April 9, May 9, and June 7. Don't worry, I'll remind you when they're coming up. ;-)

I could really go for a marg right about now...

Which is better?

2009-03-12T14:37:00.005-04:00

Acoustic for a Cure

OR

Unplugged at the Fours

OR something completely different? Help us choose! We need a name for our April 24th fundraiser before we can start selling tickets! The event should be pretty awesome in every conceivable way (no exaggeration). We have some really talented people who will be performing and some great raffle prizes lined up, not to mention that the food there is YUMMY.

Speaking of fundraising, Chris and I each hit our 25% mark for our minimum last night, thanks to the fabulous people who have donated (and who have bought cookies at Chris' office)! We're feeling pretty good about reaching our goal of $4,300 each. In addition to the fundraiser at The Fours, we're going to continue selling home-made cookies, and we have a few other tricks up our sleeves, maybe even another event or two. Of course, we want to raise as much as we can, not just the bare minimum!

Fourth Group Run

2009-03-09T10:33:00.002-04:00

Saturday was “bring a friend to training” day, so my sister Kathleen came with us to run 6 miles! It was so warm and sunny out that morning! MAN, that was nice! I’d guess it was already in the low 50s at 8:00am….Perfect running weather, if you ask me.

Chris and Leenster both kicked butt, running the first 3 miles straight - at a really fast pace, mind you - and then mostly running the last 3, taking a couple of walking breaks. I ran the whole way, but my knees really didn’t like it. They were begging me to stop, but I told them to shut right up and I kept on running, albeit a LOT slower at the end!

Then during our 9-minute ab workout, my abs were SCREAMING at me. I better have washboard abs when this is over, I tell you what. Kathleen had just had an ab workout the day before with her personal trainer, so she took that time to have her gait analyzed and she bought some new running sneaks.

Yesterday we had perfect running weather again, but I had ice skating lessons, so I didn’t get out there. It felt a little weird to go ice-skating when it was sunny and 63 degrees outside.

That weather was such a tease….Today it’s freaking SNOWING, so it’ll be back to the treadmill once again tonight!

Save the Date!

2009-03-05T14:25:00.003-05:00

Chris and I are putting together a fundraiser at The Fours in Quincy for the night of Friday, April 24! It's going to be eff-yoo-enn FUN.

We hope to have a website up shortly where you can buy tickets, and I will, of course, post a link here as soon as it's up and running!

Run for the Hills

2009-03-05T13:26:00.004-05:00

Kristen sent the course description of our marathon to me and Chris the other day. Not knowing Seattle at all, and not knowing much about marathons, it’s a little bit Greek to me. But the elevation chart makes it look pretty hilly!

(Click to make larger.)

Is it just me, or are we running uphill for entire miles? Mile 5 to mile 6, and mile 15 to mile 16? Am I reading this right?

Kristen said she sees hill workouts in our future, which means I see sore knees!

“I've felt the coldness of my winter… I never thought it would ever go.”

2009-03-03T11:52:00.000-05:00

March really wanted to live up to its reputation of coming in like a lion this year, so it dumped about a foot of snow on us yesterday. Just when you thought spring was on its way! Oh well. Our Team In Training mentor, Kate, recently advised us, “between a plow and a human, the plow will always win!” So, I took that to heart and last night I headed to the gym and the safety of the treadmill.

Now, I am weird in that I don’t really mind the treadmill. Sure, I’d rather be outside. And yes, I think some treadmills totally LIE about how fast I’m going (I swear I was running WAY faster than 5.1 mph last night!). But overall, it’s not such a terrible experience. As long as I have my iPod, I’m golden. I even look forward to running on the treadmill lately, because in an effort to be safer, I’ve stopped listening to music whenever I run outside in the dark by myself. And when we go on group runs, we talk, plus I don’t think they’re really “allowed” by TNT. So, since the group runs are my only daytime runs these days, I never use my iPod for outdoor runs!

Last night it was Led Zeppelin, “Houses of the Holy,” to be exact. LOVE IT! The 3 miles flew by, even though I SWEAR TO GOD IT FELT LIKE I RAN ABOUT 8 BECAUSE I WAS GOING SO FAST ON THAT @*^&#*! TREADMILL!

Did I say I don’t mind the treadmill? Hmmm….

Anyway, we set the clocks ahead this coming Saturday night! Can you believe it? That means it’ll still be light out when I get home! So, I’ll probably start listening to tunes again while I run outside. Woo hoo!! I mean, I can only take this whole “safety first” thing so far.

Third Group Run

2009-03-01T21:51:00.004-05:00

Yesterday morning was one of those times when I really had trouble figuring out how to dress for my run. It was chilly and overcast, but definitely not as cold as it had been for our first two group runs. When I left my apartment in Quincy, I felt like I'd be fine in a windbreaker, but I brought my trusty neon-green fleece pull-over, just in case. When we got to Hingham, it was FREEZING! So the radioactive fleece went on and then it was time for 5 miles.

During the run, the fleece came off and went back on a couple of times. I kept getting too hot but I never really heated up enough to run in just my short-sleeved shirt. UGH. So, that was annoying, and it wasn't the best run ever. But another Saturday run got checked off the list. I know 5 miles is just a drop in the bucket when you eventually have to do 26.2, but when you haven't run 5 miles at once in over a year, it's something feel good about!

After the run, we did eight minutes of ab exercises, then the team headed over to Panera to discuss some fundraising ideas.

Which leads me to to today! I spent the day baking chocolate chip cookies for Chris to bring into work and sell for donations. He made a cool flyer that says "Cookies for a Cause" and encourages people to donate at least $1 per cookie.

I also spent a lot of time making calls to restaurants to see about hosting an event. It looks like we're well on our way to scheduling a fun night of yummy food, entertainment and prizes for late April! I hope to get the date and time finalized in the next couple of days, so stay tuned for details!

Resisting the McNugget

2009-02-27T13:19:00.002-05:00

I had a hair appointment last night right after work. It was badly needed; lately I’d been looking a bit like a homeless lady with rats nesting in my hair. (No offense to all of you homeless ladies with internet access.) Anyway, after my appointment, I was STARVING. It was past 8pm, after all. I was scheduled to run 3 miles but I thought, What harm could skipping one run do? No one could blame me for taking the night off. And no one could blame me for going to the drive-thru at McDonald’s for some delicious NUGS and fries. In fact, it would be madness NOT to do that!

So I got in my car and assumed drive-thru position (debit card already out of my wallet). But then the guilt started. Sure, you can probably run the 5 miles on Saturday without running tonight, but what if you can’t? What if running tonight makes a big difference? And really, you can’t go for a run because you’re too hungry? Maybe you’ve forgotten the whole reason you’re doing this crazy Marathon training thing, but it’s for cancer patients. CANCER PATIENTS! You’re going to turn your back on them for some Chicken McNuggets!?!?

AAAHH! OK, fine! I’ll run, I’ll run!

So I drove right past those golden arches and headed out for a run as soon as I got home, and I’m glad I did. It was much warmer out than it had been in a while, which made a lot of difference. Besides not feeling like I’m being constantly stabbed in the face by the biting wind, it was just easier to breathe and move. It was a nice run.

And after running, I was surprisingly not all that hungry, for once in my life! I ended up just having some hummus and corn chips for dinner. It may not have been the most balanced meal, but I think it was probably better for me than McDonald’s. Probably.

So the moral of the story is: Training for a cause (other than just getting in shape or whatever) really DOES get you motivated when you really, really, REALLY just want to pig out and watch TV!

Let's Catch up! (Not Ketchup)

2009-02-24T10:28:00.002-05:00

Oops, I took a couple of days off from writing. I know you’ll give me a break though, because between work and training and writing TNT letters (OK, fine, and still watching my shows), I haven’t had a whole lot of free time.

I have been meaning to update to give a re-cap of Dinkstock! It was a smashing success. Danielle said she had so much fun, and I know I did. I won a bottle o’ nice wine in a raffle and some Sox tickets in the silent auction! I saw a lot of friends and met some cool new people, and got to see Danielle’s band, Soccermom, perform (they rock). There was a great turn-out, lots of great music, and, most importantly, tons of money was raised for our beloved Miss D. YEE-HAW!!!

On Sunday I went to ice-skating lessons and two new students started, so the instructor started over from the beginning! This is the second time I’ve had to start over because of new students and I had to spend the whole class reviewing what I already knew. I’ll spare you the details of how irritated I was and how I called the skating school; suffice it to say that heads are gonna roll if I don’t get my money’s worth!

Yesterday (Monday) I tried to wake up with Chris at 5:00am to go for a run…. OK, I’ll give you a minute to stop laughing….

All set? So anyway, that, of course, didn’t pan out, so I got home from work last nigiht and bundled up, put on my reflective thingy (see picture below), and headed out. I think the actual temperature was in the 20’s, but with the wind chill, it felt like -4,000. The worst part of the run was the short time I was running on Quincy Shore Drive. If you aren’t familiar with Quincy, this is the street that runs alongside Wollaston Beach. I love, love, love living so close to Wolly Beach and being able to run there in nice weather. But the wind off of it in the winter can just be brutal. It was a short run though (2 miles) and I made it without quite turning into a giant popsicle. This run was special because it was the first time in almost four years of living in my apartment that I strayed from one of my usual routes. My shortest “usual route” prior to this was 2.8, and when Chris figured out this shorter route, I gave myself a break and decided to run just the 2 I was scheduled to run.

If it’s as windy tonight for my 3-mile rune, I’ll be doing it on the treadmill. Believe you me!

Reflective Thingy

Second Group Run

2009-02-21T16:55:00.003-05:00

This morning when Chris tried to wake me up, I sleepily asked "Are you taking a shower?" He laughed at me, knowing I had no idea what day it was or what was going on. I finally figured it out, and got my rear end out of bed for group run #2!

It was sunny and brisk at 8:00am this morning, not quite as cold at last week. Chris and I were to run 4 miles. The people running the San Diego Marathon ran 5 miles, but Chris and I were not feeling as energetic as we were last week, so we stuck to our scheduled mileage today. I also don't want to increase my weekly mileage too quickly, because I really want to avoid injury! So, we did the same out-and-back route that we did last week, which was to start at the Derby Street Shoppes in Hingham, run down Cushing St. to Pioneer St., and turn around. I think I ran a bit faster than I did last week, which was good. I have no idea what my pace was though. I'll have to start tracking that, eventually.

After the run, Kristen led us in a 7-minute ab workout. It was pretty brutal, and I know we'll all be feeling it tomorrow! I know that strengthening the core muscles is important for running, and I previously thought I was doing a pretty good job of it by going to Pilates once a week, but I was really not prepared for her exercises! It'll get easier as we do them more... Uhh, right?

After the run, Chris and I went to Panera Bread for some asiago cheese bagels and chai tea lattes. I think this is going to be our weekly ritual (we did the same thing last week). The people there don't even seem to mind two tired, gross-looking poeple in running clothes coming in for breakfast. Woo hoo!

When we got home, I napped for a couple of hours, completely forgetting that TODAY WAS THE DAY I WAS SUPPOSED TO GO ONTO THE RED SOX SITE AT NOON TO BUY MONSTER SEAT TICKETS! I remembered around 4:00pm, swore at myself reeeeeaaaal good, and logged on to the Red Sox site. It was a huge pain trying to figure out what, if anything, was left, because of course, they do not make it easy. I finally found two seats left for a game in September, which I quickly purchased. Each customer supposedly got a limit of four tickets, but apparently you have to buy them all at once or you're out of luck, because when I tried to search for two more, I was told that I'd reached the limit for my log-in. So, I'm still kicking myself for not logging in on time and possibly finding four seats together. Oh well!

Now it's time for me to go get ready for Dinkstock! It's happening right now until 1:00am. I'm hoping to stay all night. That nap may have cost me a couple of extra Sox tickets, but it'll be helpful later on!

Sleepy Jeanne

2009-02-20T19:40:00.004-05:00

Well, the first week of official training is coming to an end, and I feel really good, but TIRED. I could go for three or four days of straight sleep right about now. I may have led you guys to believe that I'm "in shape", but I am really just not used to exercising this much.

Between the weekly group runs, we have a training schedule to stick to on our own. The weeknight runs were short this week: 2 miles, 3, then 2. Fine. I'm used to those distances. But running fours days a week with cross-training on two days with only one day off? No, Monsieur, I am not used to that!

Allow me to take you through my week:

Sunday: This is supposed to be my off day, since the long runs take place on Saturdays. However, I'm currently taking ice-skating lessons on Sundays, so I use that as a cross-training day for now. This week I learned hockey stops! Jealous?

Monday: Chris and I had friends over for brunch. Chris got up early to run. I did not. So, I stuffed myself silly and then had to wait and wait until the early evening to go running, so I wouldn't--you know--puke.* I ran my usual short loop near my apartment, which I just found out is actually 2.8 miles.

Tuesday: Wimped out because I was sleepy after doing something active three days in a row. I figured I'd run AND go to Pilates the next night, and Pilates could count as cross-training. I'm not sure if that's allowed, but I did it. So there.

Wednesday: I went to Pilates at my gym, and I'll tell you, my abs still hurt. I love that class! Then I ran 3 miles on the treadmill. A friend recently told me he'd heard you have to set the incline to 2.0 to simulate outdoor running, so I gave that a shot. I almost listened to Journey on my Ipod, but then decided it was a Michael Buble night. This detail is very important for you to know.

Thursday: Ran my 2.8 loop again. My ankle hurt a little at first, but I stopped and stretched and it helped a little, then after a while the pain just went away. It started to rain as I was running, which made me feel like I was sort of tough. I'm not, but it was fun to pretend. ;-)

Friday: aka, right now. My plan all day was going to go to the gym and try the bike or something, but I wimped out again because I am just so exhausted! So, I'm going to watch What Not To Wear and go to bed so I can get up early and run 4 miles with the team tomorrow!

A few more things to mention before I bid you bonne nuit:

1. I want to thank everyone who's already donated to my run. I'm so touched by people's generosity!

2. Dinkstock is tomorrow! If you live anywhere near Quincy, come join the party. It's going to be a blast!

3. I am 100% obsessed with this commercial, and the song has been in my head ALL DAY!

OK, bonne buit!

* Please see Jeannie's Running Tip of the Day, Feb 16, 2009

Addendum

2009-02-19T10:20:00.002-05:00

In my previous post, please note that I didn't even begin to touch on all of Danielle's medical woes! I only mentioned the things that I thought had to do specifically with the doctors trying to figure out what the hell is happening to her, and not just treating her.... and I'm sure I left out a TON, because, as it happens, I'm not a doctor and don't know much about, oh... anything!

In addition to the node removals, she's also had her SPLEEN removed. Yup, a whole organ! And she's still had low platelet counts even after that thing was taken out. She's had multiple platelet transfusions, crippling arthritis, hives, fevers, bloody noses, coughing up blood... umm.. what am I forgetting, Danielle? Many sleepless nights, many nights spent in the hospital (including Halloween night)! Different drugs and their side-effects, orders to stay away from caffiene and alcohol.... the list goes on!

This poor girl has dealt with so much and she just keeps on going with the best attitude you could ever imagine. This is a girl who shows up to work a half hour after spending the night in the hospital. She claims that anyone would act the same way in her situation, but I beg to differ. She's amazing, and I'm in awe of her!

There' a benefit called Dinkstock this Saturday to help her out financially a bit, because in addition to everything else, she's had to deal with hospital bills, not to mention co-pays, parking, meds... so many expenses that add up! So if you're in the area, be at the Beachcomber on Saturday! It's going to be a great time, and it's for a great cause: DANIELLE!

Big News!

2009-02-18T22:07:00.002-05:00

My friend Danielle found out today that she definitely does NOT have cancer!!! She has been waiting to find out for sure for a long, long, LONG time. In trying to diagnose her, the doctors have removed lymph nodes from that poor girl left and right, had her on and off steroids, and she has been to the hospital so many times, it's just wonderful to hear that they finally know SOMETHING. (To read a summary of her story, click here.)

So for now it looks like lupus, but Danielle doesn't have a whole lot of information right now. Here's hoping she can finally get the answers she needs and can GET BETTER!

Love you, girlie!!!

Jeannie's Running Tip of the Day

2009-02-16T17:06:00.002-05:00

Do yourself a favor and always go for a run before you spend your day guzzling coffee and mimosas, and devouring quiche and home fries. Your run will be a lot more enjoyable.

Why I'm Running

2009-02-15T12:38:00.006-05:00

A few people have asked me how I first got involved with Team In Training, or how I even decided I wanted to run a Marathon. So, here goes!

I've been running on my own, for exercise, ever since college. At first, I hated it. And I mean HATED it. But I did it anyway, and after a while I was able to stand it, and then I even started to enjoy myself. Then I suddenly started to run more and more, until I was running 9 or 10 miles at a time, every time. This was very, very stupid of me, because of course, I hurt myself! My knees ached all the time. So for about a year I didn't run at all, then slowly I was able to run again, but I never ran more than about 3 or 4 miles. Aside from a couple of embarrassingly slow 5Ks, I never really did much except run on my own, and usually only when it was nice out and I had some time to kill.

So about a year ago, I decided that while I was still (sort of ) young and (mostly) healthy, I should take my running more seriously, and maybe even try to complete a Marathon! I printed out a training schedule from coolrunning.com, and started to follow it. I think I only told 2, maybe 3 people about my plan, because, knowing myself, I didn't want to tell the whole world I was going to do something and then look like a doofus when I never followed through. And sure enough, I stuck with the schedule for about a month, got up to about 6 miles, and then just lost interest.

Then this past December I got a mailing from Team In Training, saying that they were holding an informational meeting near me in January. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I signed up just to see what it was all about. When I went to the meeting, I got to hear from people who have participated, including one of the Honored Heroes who has survived cancer AND completed a half-Marathon after suffering a broken hip, and they all made it clear that this program really could help me accomplish my goal... and that I could help others at the same time by raising funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. In short, it was really inspirational and got me pumped to get started!

I must have been very enthusiastic, because I came home and raved about it so much that Chris signed up too!

I know that this time around, I'm going to have a group of people to keep me motivated, a structured schedule to keep me from over-(or under-) doing it, and, probably most importantly, a husband to pull me out of bed every Saturday between now and June!

I also have the knowledge that no matter how hard it might get, it'll never be as hard as living with a blood cancer, and I think that'll make me do it for those people who are, when I'm feeling tired or just plain lazy.

Of course the other motivation is that now I've told everyone about my goal, so I'm going to have to do everything in my power to reach it... or I'll look like a HUGE doofus! ;-)

First Group Run

2009-02-14T15:48:00.005-05:00

Hello All!

Today is Valentine's Day, and to me and Chris, that meant getting up early and going for a run with our new training team. Now, I don't mind admitting to the world that I am NOT a morning person, and that I am especially not a frigid-Saturday-morning person, so I was a little nervous about this first run. I look forward to sleeping in on Saturdays all week long! However, once I finally got out of my nice, warm bed (after a full hour of hitting snooze), had a cereal bar, and we met up with the team in Hingham, I felt surprisingly ready to go!

Our coach Kristen led us all in some stretches and then told us how her former coach had recently lost her husband to cancer, so we ran in his honor today. And we ran well! There are people training for three different events at different times, and there are some people training for half-marathons, so the plan was for some people to run 2 miles, some to run 3, and some to run 4, but everyone must have felt as good as I did, because every single person ran 4 miles! (I'd like to give special props to Chris, who is really just starting out as a runner)!

We then had a shoe clinic at the Greater Boston Running Company, which was great. The store was only open to our team, and we all got 20% off all purchases. Not only that, but the staff was extremely helpful in determining what kind of shoe was right for anyone who was curious. I've always loved New Balance shoes and I ended up getting a new pair that will help with my over-pronating. Chris happened to get New Balance sneakers too. The Cappellas love NB!

That's about it for today... Be sure to add this site to your favorites and check back often! Also check out the ElefhantWorks blog (Chris and his partner Gary have some pretty cool things to say, and I know Chris will be talking about the training from his point of view), and please, DONATE! You'll be doing a great thing.

Oh, and one more thing!