Social Gracious

The Breast Cancer Marathon, With Love

 

Marathon weekend was a full one, Friday I headed to the Health and Fitness Expo to pick up my race packet with my friend and running buddy, 1.0.  There were loads of great exhibitors, fun freebies and it was the perfect start to a great weekend. We decided that we would bring the kids back the next day for the pep rally and make a day of it.

Saturday we headed downtown and arrived just in time for the pep rally.  The kids scooped up some free tambourines and pom poms and Diva was jumping up and down, cheering and shaking pom poms.  Eddie asked us if we could maybe not be so loud; I think he was embarassed.  1.0 soon arrived with her husband, Wallace, and kids 2.0 and 3.0 plus the child of a friend and neighbor she was keeping an eye on for the day; we were quite a motley crew.  With the extra kids though we scored lots of freebies and they were thrilled that Winn Dixie was giving away boxes of raisins, Smoothie King had free smoothies and Diva discovered her favorite cheese, Cabot, was giving away samples.  After an hour or so the kids had had quite enough so we headed down to the Jacksonville Landing to let them run around.   Finally, it was home to relax and get ready for the big race. 

That evening I laid out all my clothes, shoes and got my water ready.  Then I moved the coffee machine and rice cooker into UberGeek and I's bathroom so their beeps in the morning wouldn't wake up the kids.  I measured out the oatmeal, the water and put in a little cinnamon and brown sugar then set the delay timer.  Then I made the coffee and double checked that timer too.  I barely drink any of my coffee before a run longer than 18 miles or so but the few sips I take are kind of a mental crutch.  Once everything was packed, checked and double checked I drank a big glass of water and headed to bed.  I know lots of people say they either don't sleep, or don't sleep well before  a big race, but I always sleep like a baby.  I figure I'm not a contender to place, so the worst thing that could happen to me is that they have to pick me up in one of those wagons and I make it to the end anyhow.

5 in the morning came quickly and I jumped out of bed to get dressed and pack up the oatmeal and coffee.  I was ready in no time and got the text that Superfuzz was on the way to pick me up.  Since she just had a baby a few weeks ago she decided to sit this marathon out.  Thankfully she did volunteer to drive 1.0 and I to the race and drop us off, so off we went.

Once we got to the race location I really started to get excited.  1.0 wanted to know if we would find all the members of our group.  I knew not to worry since we meet at the same spot each year, but I remember how worried I was the first year, 26 miles is a long way to run without the support of the dear friends you have trained with.  No worries though, all the usual suspects started to arrive. 

We made small talk at the start and marveled at how well organized everything was.  Port o potties as far as the eye can see, this is a runners dream, let me tell you.  There is nothing worse than needing to line up for a race and yet having to wait in an unending line because a race director has not ordered enough port o lets.  There have  been a few races I have had to use the woods or have almost been late too simply because there were not enough places to "go".  Not at the Breast Cancer Marathon, there are even hand washing stations with real water!  Free coffee for participants and spectators, fruit, snacks, everything you could ever want. 

 

Then it was time for the national anthem and the official race song, Believe in the Beat which trust me, is still stuck in my head!  We all started jumping up and down with excitement and then the gun went off; it was time to go.  The crowd carried us the first few miles over the intracoastal bridge, once we got down to the Jacksonville Beach neighborhoods it was hard to hold back speed due to the overwhelming emotion of the spectators; it is indescribable.  Then we headed out to run a stretch on the hard packed sand on the beach before moving toward Atlantic Beach and on to Selva Marina.  Each neighborhood was lined with spectators. 

 
 The best part was having our own personal cheering section.  UberGeek and Wallace stuffed all the collective kids into our minivan with UberGeek at the helm and went from place to place cheering us on.  Just seeing them was amazing.  Usually UberGeek is at home with the kids, or running the same races I am, so I've never had anyone at a race cheering for me; it was an amazing experience. 

Around mile 15 I had a little trouble; it was pretty hot on marathon day.  Not hot by sitting around, or tooling about town standards, for that it was perfect.  The temperature was about 70 degrees, unfortunately, that is really hot for a marathon when you are in full sunlight and running on asphalt without stopping for hours on end.  All of a sudden, I felt as if the blood had drained out of my face and I became nauseated.  I asked my group to go on ahead of me since I was costing them time and I had my cell phone.  I bent over under a tree and tossed a few cookies, then I sat down in the cool shade.  I thought about calling UberGeek and telling him to come get me; I have never quit a race, ever.  Then I thought of Janis, whose name was on my back; I was running the race in her honor, Janis was recently diagnosed with a relatively rare breast cancer.  I thought about the many survivors we have in our training group and their enthusiasm for enjoying every mile of the race.  I stood up.  I decided that I might be hot, and I might not feel the greatest, this might not be a great race in terms of time on the clock.  Still, it would be a great race, if not a particularly fast one for me.  I was going to finish.  From then on, it wasn't bad at all, I actually slowed down a bit and focused on enjoying the spectators, my run and the distance.  I came upon my own personal cheering section one more time, and that gave me an extra dose of oomph.  When I came up over the bridge on the last mile I saw one of my training group's leaders whose knee had been in pain, our other group leader had run back after finishing the race to meet up with her.  I was so happy to see them after so many miles on my own; I started yelling their names.  I managed a final tiny burst of speed to cross the finish line with my fists in the air, pumping, full of joy, happy to be alive, and finished.

My kiddos and UberGeek were there waiting for me, with 1.0 and her family.  The lady handing out the marathon medals let Eddie Haskell put my medal over my head.  You would have thought it was made of pure gold to see how happy that made him.  Then I grabbed a couple waters to share with the kids and we hobbled towards the finish line celebration area.

Only 347 days until the next 26.2 Donna, The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer!

 

 

26 Miles for the Breast Cancer Marathon

 

Friday night the coffee machine was in my bathroom with the rice cooker full of oatmeal, both set to come on at 415 AM; my running clothes were set out in the closet.  All this was in anticipation of my last long training run before the National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer, the 26.2 with Donna.  This is the third year I've been involved with this marathon so you think I'd be used to long runs.  Still, earlier in the week my running pal, 1.0,  and I began the bargaining, "what if we only ran 22 on Saturday, we'd still be prepared."  When I woke up yesterday morning I thought, "If 1.0 sleeps in, maybe I will just not make it to this run, maybe the half marathon will be enough for me this year."  I know that's crazy since I've made it to this point, but there's a lot you can say to yourself at 4AM when the alarm goes off.

1.0 made it to my house and we grumbled, groaned, ate our oatmeal out of styrofoam cups and headed out toward the run.  I sipped on my coffee, more as a crutch than anything since I don't actually drink much of it before a long run. We chatted and slowly I began to wake up.

We got out to the Baldwin Rail Trail and our group, Forward Motion, started out on the trail along with all the other Galloway Training Groups.  It was dark but the conversation picked up quickly.  We are a small group of mostly women and one brave man.  Water stops every two miles and a bathroom break at mile six made the first 13 miles go by really quickly, then we turned around to head back.  Our group leaders as well as several group members had run the Disney marathon the weekend before.  Some group members who had just ran the marathon cut the distance short a bit, understandably. Our group leaders followed us on a bike, running half the distance then switching to the single bike they shared; it meant a lot to me to have them out there with us.

Truthfully, this was one of my favorite long distance runs ever, the weather was perfect, the company was good, and I was not injured or feeling unwell.  The last five miles or so the group told embarassing or entertaining stories about our lives to pass the time and the miles rolled on by.  I won't say it was easy, because no 26 mile run is a cakewalk but it was definitely one of the better ones.  Whenever I have a tough time running I think of the breast cancer survivors who train with us, and I say to myself, if they can do it so can I.  I run because there have been times when I have not been able to, and there are so many people who aren't able to now, and there will be times in the future when I will not be able to again, but for now, I run.

As we approached the finish line for the run we noticed an arch of pink balloons and the running ribbon that is the symbol for the marathon.  It just filled my heart with joy and gave me that last push to run in together with my group members.  We took some group pictures, said goodbye to friends, pulled on clean shirts and headed out to share a celebratory cheeseburger. 

When I got home, I said hello to everyone then headed for the tub and the ice bath that hurts so  
 good.  I hate the ice bath, but it really saves my knees and muscles from feeling sore the day after a long run.  I eased into a tub full of cool water, wrapped in a polar fleece with a toboggan on my head. UberGeek slowly added ice to the water until it was frigid and I couldn't feel my limbs.  When I couldn't take it anymore, I got out and took the best hot shower ever.  As I was drying off I noticed that the bathroom was clean, really clean.  I threw on some clothes and looked around the rest of the house and the whole thing was spotless.  UberGeek and I put the kids in their rooms for quiet time and it was time for a nap.

My life is good, really, really good.

Halloween on the Run

We had a great Halloween weekend! Friday night I realized at 7:30 PM that we could not find my usual costume (Dorothy from the Wiz of O) I wear year after year.  The giant plastic bin that contains it could not be located in the attic or the chaos of our garage.  So, at 8:25 I headed out to the costume store, over it, but determined to find something.  It was a madhouse and finally I had a choice of two costumes, Strawberry Shortcake or Cinderella.  I chose Cinderella. I figured Diva would like it, I could potentially run in it for the Princess marathon in March so it would get at least three wears.  Home I went 25 minutes later. 

4:50AM came early and I pattered into the closet to get dressed for the costume run.  I put on my Cinderella outfit and was out the door to pick up my friend on the way. We were two princesses in the night, ready to run. We got in a fun six miles and it was hysterical seeing everyone running along in costume.  We are all training for the Breast Cancer Marathon and many of us are great friends.  The worst part of the run was the stench from The Landing which emitted a dank armpit odor leftover from a night of Florida Georgia game revelers debauchery. Mouth breathing was essential on that stretch of the route. I did discover that there is no way I can wear that costume in the Princess Half Marathon, the polyester is just too hot.  It will have to be a custom costume again this year.  After a quick coffee post run it was time to shower and make cupcakes!

10:30  Jacksonville Parents of Twins and Triplets had our annual Halloween party at a local park.  Nothing like loads of twins and triplets all dressed up in costumes and ready to play, eat, cry, laugh, whine, and enjoy themselves. Everyone seemed to have a great time!  12:30 and we were so ready for a nap, or at least I was.

Everyone took a long rest, except for Diva who was too excited, then it was time for a quick 
dinner. We put on our costumes and walked over to a school friend of Diva and Eddie Haskell's to trick or treat with her family.  She was a perfectly precious Alice in Wonderland, Diva was Tinkerbell for the third year and Eddie went as Captain Hook, Arrrrrr! Disney really has the marketing going on and they got plenty of our money this year.  The kids had a great time; their bags were heavy with candy as we visited with neighbors known to our friends and later to us on streets closer to our house. After many doors were knocked on, Eddie couldn't take it any longer, he was worn out. He wanted to go home and pass out candy, we hurried home, hoping one or two trick or treaters would come to our door while he was still awake.  Luckily, he was able to pass out a couple candy bars and he was fulfilled. 

We spread the loot out on the kitchen table and allowed each kiddo to pick whatever they wanted after getting rid of any yucky stuff.  Diva chose a Kit Kat and Eddie Sweet Tarts, they devoured them happily.Up late and eating candy, what could be better? Then we had them brush teeth carefully and tucked them in before we raided their candy stash for ourselves, all the while discussing how we were going to make all the candy disappear, without the kids noticing, over the next couple of days. Any suggestions?? 

I Like to Move It Move It

So I was cruising the web, looking for a picture of an elderly woman on a motorized scooter, for a blog post I had planned on healthcare reform.  Tonight I read an article about a man's finger getting bitten off at a recent rally for health care reform when a senior citizen and another man threw down.  Anyhow, I was going to title the post, Hell on Wheels and discuss how out of hand things have gotten when we really need to be solving a serious and critical issue as a nation. 

All that went out the window when during my search for a suitable scooter image, I stumbled upon a strange and fascinating site called ScooterFatties.info.  Apparently the mission of this blog is to collect pictures of obese people riding motorized scooters.  I really tried to look away, to not click my mouse again and look beyond the first post but the lure was unexplainable. 

I find it disturbing that our solution to obesity involves giving people a motorized chair with wheels that enables them to walk the absolute minimum number of steps possible.  I do understand that obesity leads to complicating conditions making it difficult to walk.  Wouldn't it be more fitting for an obese person's health insurance to pay for a nutritionist and personal trainer for a three month conditioning and weight loss program?  In the long run it would be much less expensive for their insurance than a scooter and continued obesity.  Obesity is a chronic condition that must be managed.  The costs to society are great; because of obesity the current generation will be the first one projected to have a shorter life span than their parents.  Obesity also rivals smoking with regard to costs in health care spending.  The healthcare costs of obesity have doubled in the last decade to 147 billion in 2008. 

When I was pregnant I was confined to bed rest for ten weeks and only allowed out of bed for a brief shower or to use the rest room.  Six of those weeks were spent in a hospital room with only fluorescent lights and no access to the natural world.  I can tell you honestly that it was the worst challenge I have ever been through in my life.  After my children were born the first thing I wanted to do was get moving. Within four weeks I was running slowly around my neighborhood, earning an evil eye from my OB who nonetheless said he knew better than to say no.  I never wanted to be confined again and it was beautiful to be free, to run outside in the fresh air and have a body that was no longer a prison.  I try to share the joy of moving with my family, just to have a healthy body is a gift that we have a responsibility to care for and love.  I know one day my kids will want to watch more TV and play video games but I hope they always have the joy of movement. 

Get up and move while you can.

It's National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer Time

 
After the Run
Water, Sweat and Fun

Well, not really marathon time, but time to start my annual training with a couple hundred of my closest friends for the National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer.  This week I ran with a couple of my best running pals, Snow White and Caron who writes Tales from the Road. It was like a reunion, I had missed the first two runs, the first since I was out of town, and the second since I had a cold. It was really great to be back. There really no way to explain what it is like to train for a marathon with a group of people over a six month period of time, they become some of your closest friends.

After the five mile jaunt, Snow White and I were sitting around drinking a coffee when she mentioned that the group she was leading was in need of an additional group leader. She also showed me her tattoo, a tiny little 26.2 on the inside of one heel. I had already heard about the tattoo from Superfuzz, who was envious, and the tattoo truly was magnificent. I looked at Superlegs, also sitting across the table, who leads another group, and who is another running buddy. I said, "If you'll go and get a tattoo with me like Snow White's then I'll volunteer to be a group leader this year." Superlegs looked me back in the eye and said, without hesitation, "You don't have to ask me twice." Some chat followed about tattoos and the best place to get them, then I told them I would have to double check with UberGeek about both the tattoo and being a group leader before I could be certain.

Upon my arrival home, I gathered up my courage and approached UberGeek who was returning home from Eddie Haskell's soccer practice. "I know how we can save $90!" I said. "Is it by spending $1000?" he asked sensibly. It was then that I explained that if I gave up my Saturday mornings for the next six months (as I have for the last two years) that I could get free marathon training this year. UberGeek thought for a moment and said, "If you really want to be a group leader you can, but do you have to set up water at like 4 in the morning? Because that would suck."  "I don't think so," I replied, "but I could volunteer just to set up water for the runs near where we live" I suggested.

I waited a few minutes, then I brought up the tattoo. I expected more of a bru ha ha about that, but I should have known better, my always fabulous, calm, patient and unflappable husband asked why, and then gave a sort of "Oh" sound and that was that.  So it seems my love affair with the half marathon and occasional trysts with the marathon will continue.

If you live in the local Jacksonville area and are interested in joining me to train for the marathon, please visit the Local Jacksonville Training site.  If you live in another area check out this site for training programs across the United States.  Anyone can go from non runner to marathon runner in six months, really.

Runnin' on Cat Pee

Runnin' on Cat Pee

Last Saturday UberGeek and I decided to go for a morning run in a nearby neighborhood.  We packed up the kiddos, loaded the Bob Ironman Duallie in the minivan and headed out. When we arrived and began to unpack we noticed the unmistakable odor of cat urine. UberGeek unloaded the stroller and I was devastated. That duallie is my pride and joy, not to mention I was banking on selling it for a decent amount when we were done with it. I sniffed it from bottom to top but couldn't find the source, yet the odor was definitely lingering. We decided not to waste any more time with the smell and set off on our run.

After a mile or so we turned off in another direction. Ubergeek, running along at a relaxed pace for him, turned toward me and said, "I think it's me." "What's you?" I replied. That's when he told me that he thought it was his running shirt that the smell of cat pee was coming from. I had to stop running immediately, "UH-AH!" I said, bent over at the waist laughing. Then I demanded to smell him, he was right, the shirt, which I had washed just a few days prior had the obvious smell of cat pee.

Apparently our rescue cat, Carpet, who we have not had fixed yet, has the hots for UberGeek and found his shirt in the clean laundry basket. That's what the vet explained, peeing on the clothing or items of someone close to the cat is a compliment of sorts. We've finally made the appointment to have her spayed, one urine soaked running shirt of love is enough.

Gate River Run

This morning I woke up at 6 to get dressed and head over to Superfuzz's to ride with her to the Gate River Run. To be honest I was wondering why I couldn't be a normal person and sleep in on Saturday instead of always running at o'dark thirty; I got up anyhow. Traffic was awful which was not the case last year, not sure what was different this year. We had to change our route several different times and backtrack but we finally made it with a little time to spare. We met up with a bunch of other women from our running group, which was lucky, since it's fun to run in a group on a longer race.

When the gun went off we all got started together, then not long into the race, Superfuzz and Yellowjacket had to make a potty pit stop. That's one of the more inconvenient aspects of running, usually the events are in the morning and you can't really control when nature calls. Although when you're running at a good clip it's more like nature striking than calling. Superfuzz and Yellowjacket sped off to the Best Western to take care of business as we approached the hotel. I hoped they would catch up with us. The race was a lot of fun, bands playing every so often and lots of spectators. The only thing missing was my personal cheering section, UberGeek and the kiddos who were still at home, I wished that they were on the sidelines somewhere. I had forgotten my water bottle so I had to stop at the water stops which I don't like to do; I prefer to bring my own. Other than that, it was great.

I didn't see Superfuzz and Yellowjacket again until around mile 6; I was really glad they caught up and they were worn out from the effort. Still, they kept up a good pace which motivated me to keep on moving. Before I knew it, we were at the green monster, the Hart Bridge, the last hill before we would be home free. We powered up it and for the first year they had music playing on the bridge itself, lucky for us it was Eye of the Tiger. Once we made it to the top we were home free and we coasted to the finish line, meeting up with rest of the ladies. We gathered around chatting about our times and the race. I told Superfuzz I was glad UberGeek hadn't brought the kids down, it was a madhouse there, people everywhere. Then Caron's boyfriend said, "Kristie, your husband is right over there with the kids." I couldn't believe it, but I walked just a few yards away and there was UberGeek with kiddos in tow. He said he had no problem parking and had paid $5 to park right next to the finish line. I was so happy to see them and we all walked over to enjoy the afterparty in the Florida Striders tent as guests of a friend who is a member of the Striders. The kids pigged out on fruit and a brownie, UberGeek and I each had a few snacks as well.

We said goodbye to our running friends and headed over to the giant inflatable slide so Diva and Eddie Haskell could get some energy out. They stood in line over and over to go down. Then it was time to hit Panera for a soup lunch and home for a long nap.

Just What the Doctor Ordered

I'm still struggling with the cold I came down with this past weekend. During the day today I was coughing so deeply and continuously that my patient and concerned office mate asked if I was going to be OK and if he needed to get me something. Except for a clear pair of lungs, I didn't think anything he could get me would help, but I was sure I was annoying him, so I went and got some water. I thought about calling my doctor for an appointment, but all the primary care physician would do is give me more of those Tessalon Perles and possibly an antibiotic. The Perles work OK but nowhere near as well as the cough syrup they used to give you with codeine in it. Apparently they don't give that out anymore since everyone is so frightened that we will all end up addicted to opiates. Maybe there was a large number of people somewhere holed up with a bottle of cough syrup chug a lugging for a meager buzz. Whoever they are I am mad at them! Now I sit around hacking my lungs out and popping the top off the bottle of Tessalon Perles in vain. I'll go to the doctor tomorrow if I'm still hacking.

On my way home the iPhone rang; it was UberGeek, the weather was beautiful and he wanted to go for a run up to the park. I figured that would be good for my lungs, maybe blow all the gunk out of them. Not to mention, I needed to get one more run in before the Gate River Run this weekend. I went straight home and threw on my shorts and my new technical shirt from the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon. UberGeek was ready and had the Bob Ironman Duallie stroller at the front door. The kids clambered into the stroller and off we went. When I run with UberGeek it's quite an experience. A comfortable pace for me is about a 10 minute mile when tooling around the neighborhood. UberGeek generally runs around 8:30 for a comfortable talk while he runs pace. If I am running 8:30 I am heaving, sweating and cannot talk. When we run together I speed up and he slows down, plus I give him the 90lbs of stroller love to push so we average about a 9:30 pace. 60+ pounds of kid and just under 30lbs of stroller at least slows UberGeek down a little. 

We ran the 2.5 miles to the park, let the kiddos play, then headed up to Tropical Smoothie Cafe for dinner. The kids were thrilled to be able to pick their own bag of chips. We had a nice dinner together and then ran back home for a total of just over 3.5 miles. Then it was time to wash faces, brush teeth, read books and get the kiddos ready for bed. We were not allowed to snuggle Diva since she deemed us "smelly" from our run. Eddie Haskell is less sensitive to smell thankfully. Once we put the kiddos to bed there was time to tidy the house and watch The Office together. Not exciting by any means but it was a great evening.

Disney Princess Half Marathon

I've been missing for a few days now. I had every intention of keeping up with the blog while I was out of town. Then I discovered that the resort did not have high speed wireless inclusive in our bill. So, I went tech free for a few days. We left Saturday morning and drove down to Orlando, four women with no husbands, no kids and no worries. We made a quick stop for Chic fil A when we were almost to Orlando and I discovered that within my wallet there was no driver's license and no debit card. I had left them in my evening handbag that I had taken with me to the Jay Fund Wine Tasting Gala the night before. This resulted in a frantic call to UberGeek. I was thinking he could fax a copy of my driver's license to the hotel and wire me some money. Instead he offered to drive the two hours down to bring them to me; this is why I married him.

When he arrived with kiddos in tow we had already checked into our hotel, the Caribbean Beach Resort, and had unpacked our tutus, tiaras and other luggage. I found Disney coloring books to surprise the kiddos with for their ride back. UberGeek acted as if it was no sweat to drive two hours there and two back. I was so angry at myself and I know I probably deserved to have him angry with me too, he just isn't that way. It's times like these that all the little annoyances of married life fade away, I really see him for who he is and I know I still deeply love him.  At our wedding, one of the Bible verses was 1 Corinthians 13. Although my husband is not necessarily the most church going person, or the person who reads the most Bible verses in his spare time, I often think that he certainly lives Jesus' message in his heart and with his actions pretty well.

After UberGeek and the kiddos headed home we put on our bathing suits and headed out to the pool to soak up the sun. We had a few hours to enjoy the resort before heading back to our room. When we got there and opened the door I saw a big vase full of flowers on the table with a princess balloon. They were for me from UberGeek and the kiddos, the card read "For our favorite princess." I couldn't have been more touched. UberGeek used to always send me flowers when we were dating and early in our marriage but it's not very often these days, as is probably the case in most marriages approaching the decade mark. They were beautiful and I figured I would not be able to fuss at him, once I got home, for at least a week. That night, we four princesses had dinner at the resort's restaurant and went to bed early to get ready for the race. The clocks changed that night and we had to be on the last race shuttle at 5AM, which meant getting up at 4 in the morning.

On race morning we donned our tutus and tiaras and were looking fabulous. There were four of us, Cinderella, Snow White and Superfuzz who was dressed as Belle, as was I. Cinderella hadn't trained for the race, although she is an experienced runner. Like many princesses she prefers a warm climate and so her training sometimes drops off in the winter. In addition to this she was not feeling well. The rest of us felt OK, except for the ungodly early hour that we were awakened. We arrived at the race site and mulled around for a while in the cold until the start. Cinderella began to feel worse and worse. We had decided that we were running this half marathon just for fun as a group and not for speed. We told Cinderella we would stick with her and all finish together. Gate River Run is next weekend so none of us wanted to run fast and be injured anyhow.

The race began and it was so dark and crowded that we did not even hear the gun go off. Superfuzz  had forgotten to enter her most recent race time when she registered so we were in the last corral with all the walkers and slowest runners. We spent the first part of the race weaving in and out of walkers and very slow joggers. This is exhausting and can add a lot of distance onto your race. By the time we made it to the Magic Kingdom Cinderella was in need of a quick pit stop so we had our first photo opportunity. After that, we realized that this would be a very slow race. There were so many characters we wanted pictures with, or attractions we wanted to stop and see. We decided right then we would not stress about our time at all. It definitely wasn't a race to attempt a PR in unless you get in Corral A and wear blinders with no interest in getting great pictures to share with your family.

When we hit mile 9 or so Cinderella really felt ill and we kept trying to keep her spirits up. It was amazing she did as well as she did. She confessed to us that she had not run more than three miles since soon after Christmas. Cinderella and UberGeek must have the same running coach since he ran his last half marathon with a similar training plan, one week before his race he did one long run and then ran a half marathon. He had an injury that plagued him but was determined to run the race so he just rested it until right before the race. I personally would die if I attempted such a thing. Maybe it is their height?

We finally finished the race in a time none of us will ever brag about or share with anyone but we had a really good time. I have never been in a race where I stopped, then waited in line to take my picture with a character. "Oh wait," we would say, "my daughter loves Tinkerbell, we have to take a photo with her, let's stop here."Or, "look there's the castle, let's get one right here!" After the race we headed back to the resort for some much needed R&R at the pool and lots of water. Then we all took naps, showers and had a frozen drink at the cabana bar before heading to dinner and the after party at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

We arrived and got to walk across the red carpet at Hollywood Studios like real princesses. Then we went to ride the Rock n Roller Coaster once before our reservations at the Brown Derby Restaurant. What a fast ride; we loved it! After a wonderful dinner we finished out the night by riding the Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror five times each. Finally we started winding down and finished our evening by watching the Fantasmic show. I typically am not a show person but Snow White recommended it and she knows Disney, so I took her recommendation. I'm glad because it was great! We took the shuttle back to the resort after the the show and all fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows. The next morning we had a fantastic and entertaining breakfast at the Wilderness Lodge on our way out, again, Snow White's recommendation, and then it was back to reality. 

When I got home, two little people ran out to the driveway to welcome me. It was good to get away and it was good to be home.

Knock on Wood

I am still well, knock on wood. So far my sanitizing of every possible surface, forcing masks on UberGeek and washing all the laundry on hot seems to h

ave worked. Superfuzz brought my tutu and tiara for the Princess Half Marathon to our run tonight. So we are all set to run in four coordinating candy colored princess tutus with matching tiaras! Life is good. I couldn't wait to try mine on so I pulled it on over my running clothes in the Panera parking lot where we meet to run the downtown bridges each week. It fits perfectly. Superfuzz added some extra sparkle with sequinned trim from Joann Fabric. I must do that tomorrow! 

Tonight we ran the downtown bridges with a group of about six people. After a long day at work it clears my head to hang out with my running pals and work up a sweat. Breathing heavy and powering up the bridges makes everything I'm struggling with during the day seem better. Probably has something to do with the endorphins produced by strenuous physical activity, whatever it is, I'll take it. With UberGeek and Eddie Haskell under the weather, I haven't been out for a run in a while and I've been in withdrawal. I start to feel out of balance, grouchy and just generally whiny if I don't run for a few days. I get migraines and because of that I see a neurologist, he explained to me that people who get migraines have bodies and minds that typically like routine. When things get off for us, sleep patterns, eating patterns etc. we are not happy campers internally. He's right, which is probably why he's a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic, no slouch in the brains department himself. 

I generally need to eat at the same time each day for meals, within about a half hour difference, get enough sleep, exercising regularly is also important. When these things get upset for me I am out of sorts and worse, sometimes I end up with a migraine. I also become extremely grouchy if I don't eat lunch on time, meaning that around 11:30 I start receiving prompts from UberGeek, "Have you eaten yet?" Or more subtle "Where are you headed for lunch?" It is because he is concerned but it is also because he is VERY afraid. If I do not eat I become scary and I might bite the freakin' head off anyone who comes near me, including him. I am also not rational at that time, and I will tell the person who asks me, typically UberGeek, that I am just fine. Meanwhile, I have turned into a frightening, alternate version of myself. This is why I might find UberGeek crouched under a table with his hand stuck out, an apple in his outstretched palm, gesturing the food toward me in a non threatening manner. I try to adjust for these things by keeping trail mix in my purse, bringing a snack to a meeting if I know it runs into a lunch period, blocking some lunch time on my calendar and just generally being kind to my body. Since life is not always predictable, things don't always go as planned, and I do my best to keep a supply of migraine medication around just in case. 

Tonight was an awesome run! Six miles over the bridges downtown. One of the bridges has a blue neon light that is gorgeous at night. So even though you are huffing and puffing up the incline there is still an appreciation for how attractive the scenery is. Not to mention it's fun to chat and catch up with everyone, see how their weeks have gone. Someone is always training for an upcoming race or studying for a class, reuniting with a loved one or sharing a story about their children. I love hearing how things are going for everyone. Plus there was the added bonus of knowing that my tutu and tiara were safely stored in my trunk ready for the Princess Marathon this weekend. Me and my girls will be on the road to Orlando Saturday morning, knock on wood!