Hakuna Matada - Jumping into a jubilant January

[Motomiker]

Hi Team!

Good news! My biopsy results came back from the endo doc and everything he found was negative for cancer!! Also, my bloodwork done at my cancer doc shows that my liver enzyme level (used to measure for cancer) dropped. All good news!! (and quite a relief)
I do have gastritis (irritated stomach lining) so I have cut out all soda. Endo doc says more veggies in my diet, for the fiber. So, I guess the docs advice goes along with a "runners diet" and are things that I should have been doing anyway!

Vicky~ I hope that your ankle gets better and that you are able to do the Princess. I think it will be last on my "to do Disney races", but I will do it someday! (I have to complete my collection of medals!)
Robert will be at his bio dad's while we are at the Bingham race in March.
One thing, the brand new AK tour has people walking on rope bridges with safety harnesess on over the hippos, crocodiles and the jungle safari trucks. How afraid of heights are you? You can read about it at Passporter.com. ( A Disney guide book company) or I can send you the email I got describing it.

Beth~Mary~ John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield have a Carribean, an Alaskan, and now an Italian (?), marathon cruises every year. Each stop is a race, also with one on deck of the ship, and they total a marathon by the end.

Dave~ I do look forward to the day when Robert runs with us! We are planning to someday dedicate a nice 4X4 or a small RV as an "official race vehicle" and travel to some more distant races and triatlons. I can't wait to cover it with race stickers! It will be along way off but it's a future goal!

Gerry~ the ESPN 5k is on my to list, maybe next year! Have fun!

AFM~ It's supposed to be 7 degrees here tomorrow. Not fun. This weekend I'm going to start my training again, this time trying to incorporate cross training, which I have not been motivated to do. I booked my room at All Star Sports and my flight for my Everest Challenge trip in May. I'm going to try and beat last years finish of 20th in the single men's catagory.

Train on! Mike

 

[wilbur]

Good Morning Team!

Mike, What fantastic news!

Vicky, Are you doing ATB?

AFM, Nothing exciting. It's almost 2 weeks since marathon weekend & I haven't run. I'm only getting in the xt. Spin class tonight, swimming Sat & yoga class on Sun.

Stay warm. Have great weekend everyone........Sue

 

[Motomiker]

Hi Everyone!

Our car says its -8 degrees outside. Enough said!

Mike

 

[verticalchaos]

Morning team!!

Mike ~ AWESOME NEWS!!!!
Are John and Jenny's cruises usually the same time frame each year, or do the dates change? Like, the Bahamas one is over President's Week this year...is that standard?
And BRR!!!!! It's arctic cold here too. And I have to course marshall the Manhattan Half tomorrow morning! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRabbit as my sister would say.

Sue ~ Enjoy your XT!

Vicky ~ Sending good healing vibes for your ankle your way!!! (Hey, my friend Emily swears by them...they got her back in her dance-heavy show 8 days after a torn calf muscle. Ok, PT had a lot to do with that too, but...) I'll check out the link you posted when I get home - school computers are funny creatures.

Lynn ~ Sounds great! Once I'm done with the NYC Half, I'm going to try adding pilates into my routine. I got a 5-class card through Groupon for a studio here...but they also recommend doing like 3 private sessions first, so I'll do those and then use the card.

AFM ~ Things were much quieter at the apartment the past couple of nights. Last night I was a little worried, but it seems that they did settle down a little after 10, which made me happy!
Tonight I'm seeing an off-Broadway play and hitting up the Times Square Disney Store for the NYC exclusive "Lady Liberty" vinylmations for some of my sister's co-workers. I gave her one for Christmas and some co-workers of hers went nuts for it. Ha!
Then it's home to CRASH for a few hours before I wake up to BUNDLE UP to go and course marshall for the Mahnattan Half. It is going to be ridiculously cold. I don't even want to think about it. But my +1 will be done so I'm good for that portion of the 9+1 to guarantee NYC Marathon 2012 entry. We're supposed to be there by 6:30. OY! MY one saving grace is that I'm on the West side of Central Park, so my side should be the first side done.
I finally got to run yesterday per my training plan. The reverse taper has been driving me batty. But I trusted the plan to get me to the starting line uninjured, which it did (my IT band major flare was before I was on the plan...and after it was my own stubbornness)...so I need to trust it still. Another week (or is it two?) of reverse taper and then I'm jumping right back into the plan at like week 9 adding a mile or two onto the long runs (per Coach Jenny in person!) to get ready for the NYC Half 3/20! Ooh...the even more exciting thing with this one is it'll be my first race with a REALLY BIG NAME ELITE ~ Kara Goucher! Of course she'll be across the finish before I'm across the 10K mat, but still...I get to cross the same start and finish lines she does! SOOOOOOO cool!!!!!

Hope everyone's doing great!!

~beth

 

[Lynn G]

Mike - great news about the test results.

Sue - we will be at WDW a few days before the cruise, the for a couple days after.

Have fun team, see you in about 10 days.

 

[Motomiker]

HI Team!

Um, where are most of you? I'm usually the one posting the least!

Just a footnote here, Liz and I signed up for our first full marathon, the Milwaukee Lakefront half and full on October 2nd.

Got a dusting of snow last night, just enough to shovel, I'm ingnoring it!

- Mike

 

[verticalchaos]

I was freezing my tail feathers off in Central Park, thanks! It was seriously 14 degrees when I got to Central Park to get my marshalling orders for the Manhattan Half. And then I paced back and forth for 2 hours to stay warm.

Now I'm finishing lunch and am deciding if a nap or hot shower shall come first (leaning towards nap since I don't want to sleep on wet hair), and then shall get dressed up and cute-ified for the Front Runners Awards Night dinner.

Congrats on signing up for the full Mike!

~beth

 

[bunnyfoo]

Hi team! Hope everyone is having a great weekend! It's chilly here and the sidewalks are still a bit icy. Part of me is glad that I have an excuse to stay in and not train.

Mike - That's fantastic news on your test results! I'll be okay on the bridge because I know they won't fall down. I know they're missing slats but the tour participants are harnessed in. 20th place finish in EE is awesome! What do you have to do to improve your time? I don't know much about the race - just that there are puzzles, a 5K run and a few obstacles?

Sue - No ATB for me ... As much as I like the race, I don't like that the organizers made us drive out twice to Hamilton. I probably will do Midsummer Night's 30K again. It's a small race, it's in the evening and the organizers are pretty nice. Plus, they had jackets last year instead of shirts. I wear mine all the time! Are you up for ATB or Midsummer Night's?

Beth - The good vibes and PD are always helpful! They've been most helpful to me over the years! How's your ITB doing? Hope you're having a blast volunteering today and that it's not too cold or snowy. Do you get anything for volunteering today? And how awesome is that you'll be in the same race with Kara Goucher! Are there any turnarounds on the course where you'll get to see her run by?

Scott/Lynn - Awesome news on the upgrade! Did you guys have vouchers or was it a complete surprise? Bring us some sunshine and warm weather!

AFM - It's another lazy Saturday which is nice given the cold weather. I am heading downtown in a couple of hours to try out an Indian restaurant. Yum!

Did you know that this Thursday (Jan 27th) is National Chocolate Cake day? I'm going to try my hand at baking a chocolate cake. I know it's a made up day but it's hard for me to resist anything that involves chocolate. I'll let you guys know how it turns out!

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

[bunnyfoo]

Oh and I almost forgot... Can you guys go and vote for my PT? He's doing a fitness competition and is one of the finalists. I don't know if the prize is based completely on votes, but I figure it can't hurt. You do have to register for their forums in order to vote. He's #9

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/s2b-winners-2010

 

[verticalchaos]

Vicky ~ Have fun with the Indian food! And YUM Chocolate Cake!!!!!!!

The ITB seems to be ok. I've been on reverse taper and not a lot of running (will do that tomorrow as I don't feel like going back out until it's to the dinner tonight) bu what running I've done it' been good.

We all got the race t-shirts (regular material, army green, but long sleeved and nice!) and they gave us each a set of those shake-to-warm hand warmers...which I put in the toes of my boots. Hee! Kept my toesies warm!! We also got our volunteer credit so with that and running 9 races, we get guaranteed entry into the NYC Marathon in 2012!

I think there is one section of the race where the lead runners will lap us back of the packers while in Central Park, so she'll probably blow by me. That'll be cool!!! I just hope our weather is warmer than today!!!!

~beth

 

[bunnyfoo]

Beth - The Scotiabank marathon in Toronto is a partial out and back course so it's always awesome to see the elite runners come by. I'm huffing and puffing to *maybe* get a 10 m/m split but they're sprinting by like it's effortless. It's awesome to see the crowd reaction to them as well! I'd say aside from crossing the finish, it's one of my favourite parts of the race!

The chocolate cake recipe is new so I haven't tested it out yet. Fingers crossed that it will turn out well! I picked up a fancy flower bundt/tube pan for it so at the very least it will look pretty.

 

[Pudge_The_Fish]

Hello Team!

Congrats to all the WDW racers! Great race reports!

Mike - DH and I did the DL half last year. We stayed at the Homewood Suites at Harbour Blvd and Chapman Ave, it's not walking distance to the parks but we thought it was very nice. There was a shuttle bus pick up at the hotel next door. Eventually I'd like to stay at one of the DL resorts. Awesome news on your biopsy results!

Vicky - I've signed up for the Rose Bowl 5k on Feb 6th. I'm considering a couple other races so you might have a few more to add to the calendar Hope your ankle feels better soon!

AFM - DH and I started training again last week, we're slowly getting back into it. I'm working on increasing the amount of running I can do, I'd like to be able to do a 5k with no walking. We've signed up for a 5k in February and are thinking about signing up for a 5k in April and a 10k in May. My run yesterday was cut short because my ankle was bothering me.

I don't know if we'll do any half marathons this year. I kind of want to do the DL half again, but DH doesn't want to. He'd rather wait to do it again until we do a WDW race so we get a Coast to Coast medal. So, the upside is I can probably talk DH into a WDW trip next year for a race

Today has been lazy so far. Need to go grocery shopping and do laundry. Might do my Jillian Michaels DVD later.

Have a good day,
Emily

 

[verticalchaos]

Vicky ~ Yeah. It's so cool to see the elites! The NYC Marathon course doesn't have any loopage, so there's no chance of seeing the elites while you run. But the Half does have loopage in Central Park (which is why they have to keep the field to around 9500...so that it doesn't get too nutty when the lapping starts) before it heads out into Times Square and down the West Side Highway. I'm excited!!

Emily ~ Good luck with the 5Ks!

AFM ~ Last night was lots of fun. I didn't win anything awards-wise, but I didn't expect to. I'm too new, and some other newcomers have been in the club longer and have done a lot more. So I wasn't disappointed. I'm going to push to increase my times and stuff, and maybe next year I'll qualify for Most Improved. That would be cool. There was an after party at a bar, and I went to that for a while. Left around midnight and got home around 2:15 or so (gotta love late nights combined with weekend track work on the subways. /sarcasm). Was crashed out by 3. And then slept until 11:41 when my bird got loud enough that he woke me up. So fail on making it to church today. Oh well.

I signed up for the Revlon Run/Walk for Women on April 30 - this time I got to sign up for the runners division, which made me smile!! Please don't feel obligated, but if anyone wants to sponsor me, my page is here.

I hit the gym to do my 3 miles on the treadmill. I should have done them yesterday but with course marshalling and resting and getting ready for the party I moved my "long run" to today. It was slightly warmer than yesterday, but I couldn't deal with the thought of running a non-paid-for-race in less than 30-degree weather. I decided to see what I could do and managed 2.5 of my run intervals at 5.5mph. And it was only in that third one that turned into a half that my brain took over and convinced me I was tired. My average pace for the 45 minutes of warmup, run/walk, and cooldown (3.74 miles total!) was 12:01!!!!! Excited!!! I feel really confident and like I can only build from here. Whee!!

Hope all are well!!!

~beth

 

[es45]

Hello, everyone!

Once again I must apologize for not posting lately. It seems daily details have gotten in the way of my web time. I can't wait to catch up on all of your posts.

This evening I'm running on the treadmill (yawn) and this morning I'll do some pilates for core strengthening.

Happy Monday!

 

[bunnyfoo]

Hi team! Happy Monday I can't believe how incredibly cold it is (again). It's about -20C (-4F). I've got extra socks on my feet this morning and there are long lineups at the Starbucks downstairs! Brr!!

I think I'm sitting out another week of running and boxing. At this point, I'm probably going to throw in the towel for the Princess It's kind of crummy because I had a really good rate and I still have my AP. So if anyone wants to buy a bib... just saying!

Emily - I hope to get the C2C medal too one day! I really liked the colored medal they had last year!

Beth - Sounds like it was a good weekend! And I'm glad to hear you got in your miles as well! I would have run on the TM too - it's much too chilly to be outside in this kind of weather! What kind of bird do you have?

Have a great day everyone!

 

[windwalker]

Good morning guys.

Good mall walk this morning 4 miles in my heavy cushion shoes. I'm walking slower in the heavy padded shoes as part of my recovery from the Goofy. Wednesday will be another 10K distance at a faster pace with my group. The weather is in the 30s so much better for getting outside.

Dave

 

[Motomiker]

Hi Everyone!

Vicky, I've got two more races for my list!

March 27th~ The Chi Town half marathon in Chicago

Sept 11th~ Fort2Base (10 nautical miles) along Lake Michigan from Fort Sheridan to the Great Lakes Naval training base. My dad was trained there for service during WWII.

Glad everyone is doing okay! -Mike

 

[wilbur]

Good Afternoon Team!

Hope everyone is staying warm. That was 1 cold walk to work this morning.
(Vicky, I know I could walk underground but I just can't do it).

Vicky, Bummer about the Princess but you don't want to do any permanent damage. Yes I'm in for ATB. Have thought about Mids Summer many a time but cottage time is more important.

Mike, Congrats to you & Liz for signing up for your 1st full.

Dave, I would be very happy with 30 degree weather. Yesterday & today were brutally cold.

Nothing exciting happening. 2 weeks of no running. Doing another spin class tonight. Have a great evening............Sue

 

[verticalchaos]

I'd be happy with double digits!!! It's frigid here!! On the news they showed a car that was totally coated in ice from where there'd been a water main break or something and cars kept splashing water up onto it. That's not going to be fun to deal with.

I was so proud of myself for packing up my stuff last night to go to the gym after school today and get my run in. And then I double checked it AT SCHOOL (real smart, I know) and discovered that my sports bra wasn't in there. So I'll be popping into the general sports store on my way to the gym now. What fun.

Dinner at our club coach's place tonight - women's team meeting! Woo!!

I've just learned that apparently they do two finishing chutes for the 4-miler I'm running on the 6th and you have to pick which team you're for in the Stupid Bowl. (no, not a typo) Yuck, yuck, yucky waste of time. I wish they had an "I don't care, I just want to run!" option as well because regardless of who is in it, I don't give a rat's patootie. Grr. But I guess I'll take suggestions from this team as to which chute I should pick.

Hope all are well!

~beth

 

[Saylan]

Hi Everyone, sorry for poofing! Real life came up and ate me.

It's been way too cold to run outside so been stuck doing treadmill work. I got up to (almost) 9 miles last night but my calves are super stiff today. The cold weather is being brutal on my knees too. I also need to look itno something for arm chaffing. I don't know why it's happening now and wasn't before, but wow it hurts!

I also tried out some gels... the texture is creepy but they definitely stay down better than the chomps (or w/e they're called). We finally got a planning DVD (I had to use my parent's address since Disney hasn't sent us one the last three times I've requested it) and our Magical Express tags! We're now luggage shopping, along with Timex, water/fuelbelt, and costume shopping.

Is it unrealistic for me to expect to be able to do MK after the race? It's the only EMH there are for the park during our stay so I really want to go if it's not going to kill me or anything else catastrophic.