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Going to take another shot at blogging and keeping a diary of my road to half ironman. For the most part I’ve done sprint distance tris, tons of half marathons, and a few marathons. This year I’m making the climb to Olympic distance in a few short weeks and the ultimate for me so far the half ironman in October 😬. Crazy nervous about all involved in that half ironman….the training, the summer heat for the training, the nutrition trial/error, and balancing it all with Work/kids/etc. Lots to discover on the road ahead…….

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Family camping trips.....last year we purchased a pop up camper with the hope of creating memories for our family of 5. We've been to 5 different campgrounds in the last 2 years and we have found some really great kid-friendly camp destinations. Last summer we went to jellystone in Luray,Va which had a waterpark, minigolf, lasertag, oversized moon bounce pillows and some cool daily activities for the kids. This past weekend we discovered Bethpage in Urbanna, Va which had an awesome waterpark for the kids. They also had an ice creamery (nice perk ;) ) It really was the only way to camp in 100 degree heat. We were in the water from 10a-8p. I highly recommend this park for families but..... Bring or rent a golf cart. We are learning new things as we go and this weekend we learned that after 8pm our street became the Va Beach strip. People "cruised" all night in their golf carts around the park (well it felt like around just our camper but I'm sure they covered the entire park). There are some serious golf cart owners out there with hooked up speakers and blinking lights underneath. The other thing we learned on this trip is that we seriously need to upgrade. We were surrounded by $20,000-$100,000 campers. We definitely had the Hoop-D of the resort. If it weren't for our new HVAC.....we would be shopping. Gotta hold out a couple more years I guess :( I never thought i would be a camper (being a brooklynite and all) but the kids seem to like it and with each trip it's growing on me. Although, with a $20,000 trailer with granite countertops, flat screen tv, recliners, fridge, stove,etc....it would grow on me alot faster ;-). I hope the kids have great memories of these days of roasting s'mores, playing UNO by headlight, and sleeping in the Hoop-D.

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Ahhh kings dominion. This was my favorite place to go as a kid. We had season passes every summer and I could never sleep the night before...every time. It's so much fun now to share this with the kids. I still know the layout of the park like the back of my hand. I skipped sleep today and took Adam there to try out the waterpark. I definitely think the "people of walmart" website should spinoff into a "people of amusement parks" website. There were some characters and interesting tattoos. One girl had EXPENSIVE TASTE (giant letters) across her upper back.....really? I mean, I know I made some bad tattoo choices too but.. really?? I still LOVE the rollercoasters but watersides must not be my thing. Watch whatcha wear to a waterpark with gravity defying slides....they leave you with a gravity defying wedgie at the end and everyone is staring and waiting for you to get off the slide quick so the next round can go. We also had a high tech locker that was a little much for my mush memory today. I had to remember a 4 digit locker code and the 4 digit passcode with no sleep in 100 degree weather. Nevertheless, we had a great day and rode everything from the front to the back of the park. Next time we go we are bringing all 5 of us and letting McKenna finally ride some rides. Well as of 7pm I will be up 36 hrs.....nite all! :)

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How many weeks left??

Well, it's Sunday...again. Oh how I kind of dread the long run on Sunday mornings. More so right now because my work schedule is kind of screwy this month and I have not been sleeping before work on Friday nights which makes Saturdays brutal and I have to pull myself out of a benadryl induced coma Sunday mornings to run. Today we tried to reintroduce church into our Sunday routine which was really nice. It was a rough transition for mckenna in the daycare there but she survived. I have to give myself props for getting my long run in before church. I had to wake up at 6am and be out the door by 615 to get 10 miles in, in enough time to get home, shower, do mckenna's hair, and shove food down to be at church at 9am. (thanks to the hubby who made me a egg/bacon bagel sandwich while I ran around trying to make myself look presentable) I should've checked the sunrise time before I decided to do that though because it was pitch black for the first couple of miles and a little creepy running on the road in the dark with random traffic. But.... I'm almost there. That's what gets me through it. Only 4 weeks to go and I will be running through central park and Times Square!! I am so grateful to everyone that donated to the American cancer society and I cant wait to put all of your names on my running jersey. That's what especially gets me through these long runs. Running for a great cause and all the friends and family that donated to it. :)

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Lessons learned

Well, the journey continues on the long road of training for a half marathon. Today was just not my day for a long run. Most days I'm pretty bad about doing all the right things before these long runs and today I pay the price for it. I'm not good about stretching before/after, I don't always make sure I'm hydrated enough the day before, and I seem to forget that even though I'm not running a race on these Sunday mornings, the runs are getting pretty lengthy and I have to make sure I eat right the day before. Normally, even without following the rules it just works out but I think I'm getting old and by trying to push my body to it's limit yesterday, it caught up with me. I was awake 36 hrs Friday/Saturday. This not only means I'm insane but it also means that I wandered around like a zombie yesterday not paying any attention to what I ate or if I drank. After 9 very long miles this morning my legs are all locked up and I've just felt ill all day. My run felt like it would never end today and my time was quite slow. I guess lesson learned. Gotta sleep, gotta stretch, gotta eat, gotta drink, gotta run :)

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Yay! My training shirt has arrived! Ok, so not the best picture. I tested my outfit for the NYC race this morning. I woke up at 645 and ran 9 miles in 29 degrees. Eric snapped this pic when I got home (explains the hair and the whole worn out look I've got going on). Now onto the rest if the day with the kiddies out of school. Have a great Monday everyone!

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I made it! I must say I'm mighty proud of myself for braving 17 degree weather to knock out my long run for the week. I know, crazy right? Unfortunately, splitting my time each week between full-time nightshifts, kids, activities, and oh yeah-sleep, leaves only so much time to train for a half marathon. 8 miles under my belt and now i have the whole day to spend with eric and mckenna. I came home to my hubby making me a breakfast from scratch. Home fries, eggs, and sausage. Yum! Only 8 weeks left until race day! Have a great Sunday everyone :)

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Why I have chosen to run for charity with the American Cancer Society

In march I will take on the streets of NYC in a 13.1 mile journey to the finish line. This run is especially different for me because this time I've joined up with the American Cancer Society charity team and I will be raising money for them to run. This year has been especially tough and I certainly have been inspired to raise money for this cause. My heart and my drive to do this comes from 5 very special people whom I dedicate this race to. My Aunt Kathy is a survivor of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. She has been in remission since 2004. Her husband, my Uncle, Norberto Lopez is fighting a brave and difficult battle with Renal Cell Carcinoma. He has been through numerous major surgeries over the last 2 years and continues to undergo treatment. My friend, Steven Bazemore, was diagnosed this year at the age of 30 with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and has 3 of 8 treatments completed. The bravest little guy I've ever met, Tucker Armstrong, lost his battle this year to Wilms' Tumor at the age of 3. He greeted every day with a smile and taught us all how to live each day to its fullest. Just a short month ago we also lost a member of the family on my husband's side. Sara "Memaw" Weeks lost a very long, courageous battle with cancer. These 5 people have more strength and courage than I can ever imagine and I will be wearing a ribbon for each of them on my 13.1 mile journey to the finish. I will also be adding ribbons by request for people that donate in memory or in honor of their loved ones who have battled cancer. My personal fundraising page is linked below. http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/DetermiNation/DNFY11National?px=18451793&pg=personal&fr_id=34791

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Movie Theatre or DVD rental? So I learned today that it's been quite awhile since I've been to a movie. I took Adam to see Megamind in 3D today. We went to a matinee showing hoping to save a dollar or two. For all of you that know me, know I cut some corners when I can to save $. So naturally I stopped at the store to get drinks and candy however our outing still cost a pretty penny. One adult+one child=$22.50 for tickets. Add a bucket of popcorn for $8 and I could actually now own the movie on DVD. I think the movie theaters should just hand you a copy of the movie you saw on the way out as a thank you gift. Just sayin...

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A little bit of mind over matter The big day has come and gone and I have a bottle of motrin and a glass of wine to celebrate. Despite shin splints and hip bursitis, I struggled through the last 12 weeks to train to run 13.1 miles. I cannot brag about my finish time because I wanted to do better. It is the best I could do today with gaps in training and a current injury flared up. People ask me all the time WHY? Well...it's a challenge. One that takes alot of discipline and training. The best perk is running races which are all for a great cause. Today's race benefited organ donation and my next scheduled 10k on thanksgiving morning benefits cancer. I am definitely excited about participating in a run for cancer and helping raise money as i have had several dear friends/family lose their battle to cancer this year and friends/family also currently undergoing treatment. It is now time to rest up for the next challenge in a short couple weeks! Congrats to all my friends who ran today. Way to go!

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The Walking Dead So Monday night was exciting because I was finally able to see Sex and the City 2 on demand. The hubby so kindly battled through the 2.5hr chick flick with me. About halfway through when I was completly hooked into the movie, I saw this slow creeping nasty bug in the dark. Eric had to snap a picture with his iPhone of this GIANT spider cricket while he made me chase it all over the living room with his hiking shoe. I finally snagged it against the xbox, and I mean snagged it like legs off and visible nastiness. I left it for Eric to clean up so I could get back to my movie. When we were fixing to head up to bed I looked next to the xbox and saw a couple cricket legs but no cricket. I asked him if he cleaned up the bug and he said not yet. Ummm are you telling me that the cricket wasn't dead and managed to get away sans legs? GROSS!!!!

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blogging.....a new experience

After some of the crazy and comical experiences we have experienced over the summer, I figured it was time to start blogging and share our fun stories of life with everyone. I hope none of the posts to come include bats though.  That was definitely an experience we never want to have a replay of.  Waking up to a bat swooping over your head is no fun. I hope anyone who chooses to follow the blog enjoys reading about our very full and sometimes chaotic life. Happy Halloween everyone!!

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