Caveman Crawl Trail 5K

I kind of thought things would slow down a bit with Gina in Italy for three weeks, but that has not been the case.  Abby and I have been buzzing around getting in some fabulous runs in preparation for the official start of unofficial high school practices for her team.  We ran the Buckeye Trail a lot through South Chagrin and Bedford.  We saw a huge snapping turtle laying eggs!  We got lost a couple of times without Jerry leading the way, but we always managed to eventually find our way along the blue blazes.

Practice has now started for her and I will definitely miss our time on the trails together.  I have a feeling she will eventually get tired of waking up early to run with the cool kids and will opt for an evening run with her slowpoke parents.  At least I hope so.....I find it hard to explain what a joy it is to watch her bound down the trail in front of me.  Plus I think she scares all the snakes away.

The above photo was taken last Sunday, June 12th.  Jerry had traveled to Pennsylvania sans support and successfully completed the Laurel Highlands 77-mile Ultra. You can read his report here.  We are super proud of him and promise to go next year IF he does it again!  Abby and I ran the Caveman Crawl Trail 5K at the West Woods in Geauga County.  It was a blast!  Abby ran a 25.40 and I was about a minute behind her. It was hilly and I was on high alert the whole time - I think my brain was working harder than my body:  roots, mud, people, uphill, downhill, where is Abby, how much longer!?  Somehow, Jerry managed to beat us home and it was a nice moment to grab a photo of him with his wooden trail marker replica awarded to all finishers and Abby with her second place medal around her neck. The stories flew around all day.  The only thing missing was Gina, but she is apparently full of stories for us upon her return Sunday. 

The Opposite of Peace

Andiamo!

 

 

 

 

Gina left for her 3-week adventure in Italy on Monday.  I knew that the sermon at church on Sunday would hold something special for me.  It seems that always happens - before a big event it feels like our pastor is speaking directly to me.  So when he announced a few weeks ago that the new sermon series would cover the Fruit of the Spirit, I quickly counted on my fingers to the last Sunday in May:  love, joy, peace.  Awesome - a sermon on peace right before my baby girl leaves on her first big trip across the pond.

Pastor Coffey did not disappoint me.  He never does.  It takes ALOT to hold my attention for half an hour.  So when he started off by saying that the opposite of peace is worry, I was hooked.  I am a B.I.G. worrier, especially when it comes to my family.  I won't try to paraphrase the sermon but if you are a worrier, click on the link to our church and you can listen to it at your leisure.  The basic points for me were 1).  I am not driving the car (which translates into I am not in control) and 2).  This story ends well (which translates into God cares for me and worrying serves no purpose and never changes an outcome). 

So off Gina went covered in love, joy and peace!  I made a promise to myself not to worry over her.  The first text message early Tuesday morning indicated a safe arrival.  It was punctuated with exclamation points and smiley faces.  Half a day later, the next text said the words every mother fears:  my tummy is not 100%.  No exclamation point, no smiley face.  I started to worry - but only for a minute.  There was nothing I could do to help her.  She would have to deal with this on her own.  I have mentioned previously the exorcist-like sounds she makes when she throws up.  I prayed for the family she is with and hoped for the best.  Maybe it was just nerves and her stomach would settle down.  This morning she texted this:  What a night!  I threw up 6 times but L was really helpful and I feel better now.  Kept the food simple just finished pasta biana and cherries for lunch.  Now A feels sick so shes sleeping but we talked italian during lunch very fun having a great time!  Will call tonight!

So see, I didn't need to worry.  She made it through with God "driving the car."   The story ended well and it even had lots of exclamation points!  I am sure the rest of her trip is going to be incredible.

Earth Day Marathon!

The Earth Day Marathon was April 17 in BEAUTIFUL Gambier, Ohio.  Despite torrential rain on Saturday, the forecast was pretty good for Sunday.  Temps in the high 30s, low 40s but winds predicted up to 30 mph.  They nailed the forecast and it was good to be mentally prepared for the bashing that strong in-your-face winds can provide.  I managed to figure out from the course map that there would be a headwind for miles 4-8 and then again from miles 19-26.    I had no major goals but to enjoy the day, be friendly, and stay positive.  Mission accomplished with a 4:21 finish which was almost but not quite a personal worst.  The course was absolutely beautiful!  Cows on a grassy green hillside lit up by peaks of sunshine and blue sky - I was in farm girl heaven!

This race had to have the most friendly runners on earth.  I can probably count on one hand the people who did not speak to me as we crossed paths.  The double out and back course was great.   There were 260 folks running the half and 117 running the full marathon.  Being able to see people in both directions was a very very nice distraction.  Even the lead runners had a nice little something to say to me when we passed!

When things got a little rough in the last 7 miles I starting thinking of our church and decided that I could just go ahead and have a little church of  my own.  Pastor Brandon would say,  " I was gettin' my church on!"  I sang a little Newsboys (out loud - no one was around), I said good morning to the cows, and then I gave myself a little sermon:  Just keep going, don't get negative, this will eventually end.  I closed with Amazing Grace.  This past Sunday was Easter and Amazing Grace (David Crowder style) sounded so much better with a worship band and 400 people belting it out! 

I actually passed a few people in that last stretch.  I ended up being the 8th female of 37 AND I WON MY AGE GROUP!   As I approached the finish, I saw Jerry with the dog paw sign.  I saw the girls run towards the track which I hoped meant they were going to do the final 0.2 miles around the track with me.  I was so happy to see them and have them join me for the finish. 

What a happy day!  Here are some pictures Gina and Abby took throughout the day.

Here we are at the start!  I am empowered by the fact that Gina let me borrow her sweatpants!  It already feels like a great day.

About mile 4 and already  happy that I wore shorts and not tights.

Babs and Beans on the train!













Of course, Jerry could not refuse playing on the train either!

Approaching mile 13.  I'll just carry this drink with me!

Mile 20ish.  Jerry FINALLY remembers my chapstick!  Notice the lack of a crowded course?

A curb approaching mile 26??!!  Then a small, steep downhill??!!  Ouch.......

Best.  Feeling.  Ever.

The haul:  Finishers Medal, Finishers Mug, Pine Seedling,  Socks, and a Hat.  Not to mention the tech tee and sunscreen from packet pick-up.  Not bad for a $50 registration fee and four months of running in crappy weather!  I'd do it again......

Breakin' 25

Yesterday was the 39th Cleveland Spring Classic in Strongsville.  Last year all four of us participated and came home with t-shirts and trophies.  This year Abby was the only one to represent and she did us proud!

I had put off registering since April is to be a crazy month, but early in the week Abby asked when the race was and indicated that she would really like to go again this year.   I signed her up that night.

I even made the drive to Strongsville on Friday to pick up her packet to ensure that she would get a small t-shirt.  In the past we have had notoriously bad luck with races running out of small size shirts.  She is tiny and an adult medium would never make it.  She said to me later in the day, "Where do people who don't run get their t-shirts?"  We decided the answer to that is vacations and bat miztvahs.

Saturday morning we saw Jerry off on a rather long training run and then we headed west.  It was a nice cool morning with a very fine drizzle in the air.  Gina even dragged herself out of bed to watch Abby run.  This race has free registration for kids under 14 so there were about 4 or 5 buses from Cleveland schools. There were 27 girls in Abby's 1-14 age group but she held them off and crossed the line in 24.36 and was handed a nice 1st place trophy for her shelf.  Her goal going in was to break 25 minutes for the first time so this is her new PR.
           
From there it was on to Starbucks for mocha and a well-deserved blueberry scone.  It was a great day for her - no puking, gagging or other stomach malfunctions.  We hope to do lots of racing this summer and she has definitely inspired me to try and go a little faster now!  She will have to drop a full 2 minutes to reach my 5K PR, but I am pretty confident that will eventually happen.  Sniff....

Today Gina participated in the Swim for Diabetes.  She was not feeling well but somehow managed to swim 200 laps (5000 yards)!   Another great week of family fitness!

Milestones and Goals

Sunday:  5 miles with Jerry
Monday:  4 miles
Tuesday:  14 miles
Wednesday:  4 miles treadmill
Friday:  10 miles
Saturday:  4 miles

Total:  41 miles

Sunday:  20 miles
Tuesday:  5 miles with local momma-speedster Jackie
Wednesday:  8 miles
Friday:  4 miles
Saturday:  13 miles

Total:  My First FIFTY MILE week!

WooHoo!  I did not plan to run a 50 mile week but while doing the math in my head during the last mile of saturday's long run, I realized that I would have 49 miles for the week.  It did not matter that it would be a high mileage record for me, I needed to do one more mile and make it 50.  I know that a 50-mile week is poppycock to lots of runners out there, but for me it is a new milestone.  So the last 3 weeks of training went really well at 45, 41, and 50 miles per week.  It's taper time.  My goal for the marathon:  Enjoy and Finish.

The twenty mile run stunk though.  We had spent the morning down in the Valley cheering on many friends during the Fools Run 50K, especially my pal V who came from Maryland to run her first trail run.  It was super cold and windy although the sunshine was awesome.  Here we are after the finish.  She makes everything look so easy!  A pot of coffee at our house later, and we once again said good-bye to each other.  Then I changed and headed out for the dreaded 20-miler.  Jerry joined me for the first 10 miles.  That was nice.  The second 10 miles were torture!  I was beat down by the wind and solitude.  I hate it when that happens.

Abby will have her first track meet this week.  She did a pretty nice job keeping up with her running over spring break.  A 6:40 mile on the treadmill kept her motivation up.  She has some nice goals set for track this year.  I think her 1600 PR is 6:32 so she is fairly certain she will crack that. 

Gina has been having a good old time during her break from swimming.  She set a goal that she would walk or run at least one mile every day during the season of Lent.  She has not missed a day and has covered some nice ground.  She is also doing push-ups everyday and whatever else she can come up with - exercise ball, uphill lunges,  etc etc.  She is a pretty funny girl and listening to her find new muscles has been quite humorous.  I know that swimming is a GREAT sport, but it is not weight-bearing exercise and some of those muscles could use some strengthening.  So we are hitting the bike path as much as possible.  Our walk on Saturday evening was great - we had seen Jane Eyre at the theater which set the girls off on perfecting their British accents.  I spent the entire walk smiling and giggling to myself as they carried on their rather silly conversation:  As do I sister, Quite Right, Oh you vex me,  and so on and so forth........

We also passed our one-year anniversary of being vegetarian!  That feels really great!


The other milestone is that Gina now officially can drive!  What a strange feeling to sit in the passenger seat as your teenager takes the wheel.  I think I was sweatier after that event than when I did the 20-miler!  She actually did a great job, but we have a lot of work to do before hitting the roads for real.  For now we are sticking to parking lots and the roads that connect the schools and anywhere else with limited traffic.  But if you live locally - consider yourself warned!

Hello Spring!

Sunday:  3.2 miles treadmill
Tuesday:  8 miles
Wednesday:  5.5 miles
Thursday:  4 miles
Friday:  12 miles
Saturday:  20 minutes yoga

Total:  32.7 miles


Sunday:  4 miles treadmill
Monday:  5 miles  15 minutes yoga
Tuesday:  10 miles
Wednesday:  30 minutes yoga
Thursday:  8 miles treadmill
Friday:  10 miles treadmill
Total:  37 miles

Sunday:  5.5 miles
Monday:  4 miles with Abby!
Tuesday:  10 miles
Wednesday:  4 miles
Thursday:  18 miles
Friday:  4 miles
Total:  45.5  miles

Spring is definitely in the air.  My purple crocus flowers are blooming in the front yard and this morning I heard the spring peepers along the bike trail.  As I write this I have the office window open and the sun is shining.  Oh, if it would only last!

Things have been a bit chaotic this month.  I like to keep it positive around here so I am just going to list the big things swirling around our house:

Our cute, adorable cat Gilbert has decided to pee in the basement - not in either of the two litter boxes but in random spots of the carpet in the newly finished basement.  Argh!   Please stop little buddy - we love you and think you're are the best cat ever!  Is something bothering you?

I have started a class through the University of Minnesota on Prenatal Development and it's Influence on Childhood.  I need CECs for my postpartum doula certification and this information is perfect, however, it seems as though it will be a bit more time consuming than I thought.  It's been a long time since I had homework deadlines and doing the reading and writing online is new stuff for an old school girl.

This morning I sent an email to register Gina for Drivers' Education classes in April.  I just can't believe we are in that phase.  Good Lord, please help us!  I let her get behind the wheel in our big old church parking lot before the Saturday night service.  We went round and round, forward and back, stopped and started, and had a good laugh at two geese who decided to go after each other as Gina approached them at 5 mph.  They apparently are as dumb as they look.

Speaking of dumb animals (and I do love all God's creatures but some of them are lacking in common sense, yes?)  I killed a mole in the backyard on Wednesday.  I am so sorry little mole, but you wrecked havoc in our backyard all winter.  When the snow melted it looked like a minefield back there with big tunnels and clumps of dirt everywhere.  When I saw you out in broad daylight I knew I had to take action.  I'm Italian, I have a shovel, and I'm not afraid to use it.

Track has started for Abby and for the first time ever she had sore muscles.  She will again run the 1600 and the 800.  She was also inducted into the 8th grade Honor Corps Wednesday night.  What a LONG ceremony that was. Finally they read the excerpt from Abby's essay and she walked across the stage.  She looked so beautiful, gimping along in her dress with sore calf muscles!  I was super proud!  Yea to the Babs!

Gina also had an awards ceremony that night so we had to split up.  Jerry attended with her and was there to see her capture her second Varsity swimming letter.  Yea to the Bean!  She can now focus on getting herself ready for the big trip to Italy this summer with her friend.  Andiamo!

My marathon is one month away.  I am feeling a bit ill-prepared but mentally okay for the challenge.  If I could maintain the pace I kept yesterday for 18 miles I would be looking at a 4:10 or so finish.  That would be okay.  It's still a marathon no matter how you slice it.

Lastly,  about a year ago we contemplated a minor update of the bathroom that the girls use.  At that time we decided to hold off, but now it is officially time to get that project rolling.  Pretty much everything you would need to re-do a bathroom is now stacked in the office:  sink, faucet, floor tiles, paint, towel bar, vanity top, and shower curtain..  All we need is time.  A word to the wise though:  think long and hard before you buy a granite vanity top online!  I know it was not a smart thing to do, but after 6 long weeks of emails and phone calls our counter top finally arrived and I must say that it is absolutely beautiful!  But next time I will just go to Home Depot.

And I will leave you with this little article on Bananas because I am still seeing those rotten old banana peels everywhere I go! 

High Water & Bananas

Tuesday:  4 miles, 20 minutes yoga
Wedensday:  16 miles
Thursday:  4 miles, 20 minutes yoga
Saturday:  8 miles

Total:  32 miles

Just as the ice was almost  gone, the rains came down and now my standard running route is completely submerged under water!  We have all had to be a bit creative the past few weeks - yesterday I was finally able to venture to one of my favorite places which has been impossible to get to because of the thick and crunchy snow.  It was great to see that trail again, but everywhere I looked there seemed to be a rotten old banana peel!  It kept my mind busy - ice, snow, mud, bananas, and yellow crime scene tape blocking off the trail because of flooding.  I was naughty and went underneath just to take a peek and yes, it was definitely not passable unless you happened to have a kayak with you.

I know that spring is right around the corner - the signs are everywhere!  Technically less than three weeks till the vernal equinox.  Soon we will change the clocks forward and we will be engulfed in daylight.  The flowers will bloom, the Gurneys Seed catalog will arrive, and Jerry will fire up the lawn mower.

Spring is coming - Hallelujah!