Quote

I came across this quote and thought I would post it - it's something I need to think about more often ...
Lord God, please wash my jaded eyes with wonder more often so that I can see the everyday as You do.

Sole to Soul 5K race report

Just got back from a morning of racing with the family!  Caitlin is home on spring break, so all 4 of us headed to the 5K at about 7:30 this morning (Mark, Kyle, Caitlin and I).  It was about 21 degrees when we left the house and only 27 degrees after we finished the race - quite a cold morning.  Caitlin and I ran most of the race together, with Kyle very close to us.  Mark, of course, was way in front of us and finished at under a 6 min/mile pace.  Caitlin, Kyle and I did about 7:45/mile, which I was happy with.  This was the 1st running of the Sole to Soul 5K in Avon, benefitting Holy Trinity school.  It was very well organized and a very nice, flat course - small turnout this year, but that can be expected for such a cold, spring morning, I guess.  After the race, Mark, Caitlin and I did the course again to get another 3 miles in as a cooldown.  Kyle decided to nap in the car while we ran.  We then all headed to Bruegger's Bagels for some carbo loading after the run.
All in all - a very nice morning with the family - the sun is shining - and it's Saturday!  Too bad I now have to work on taxes :(     

St. Malachi Race Report

The weather has been beautiful all week - I think we may even have seen a 70 degree day.  And the sun has been shining for a record breaking number of days - at least for Northeast Ohio in early March.  But yesterday, for the St. Malachi 5 mile race, we woke up to rain and the temp hovering around 40 degrees.  Most people would think that sounds awful, but it's actually great weather for runners, especially since the weather decided to cooperate and it only rained before and after the race.  The weather during the race was absolutely perfect - cloudy and about 42 degrees.  I wore shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt, a cap and gloves.  I had a jacket on too, but ended up having to tie it around my waist, because I got too warm. 

Anyway - I ended up running a total time of 40:39, my worst Malachi time ever, but I'm very happy with it.  I placed 2nd in my age group out of 40 women.  All of that doesn't really matter - I felt good and I'm out there.  A year ago, I didn't even go to the race, as I had surgery in February to remove an infected expander (staph infection) and had another surgery scheduled for March 19th to get the expander put back in.  So to stand at the start line, ready to race with about 3000 other runners, felt great.  It felt good to push myself on the hills (although I still have a lot of work to do).  And for part of the run, I had a nice chat with a young woman who was running a great pace and was 6 months pregnant.  I ended up telling her "good luck" after I looked at my watch and saw that we were running about a 7 min/mile pace (a little too fast for me).  She took off and I'm sure she finished under 40 minutes. 

Mark and I ran for an hour afterwards, in the rain and cold, in the metroparks.  As it was raining and cold, there were hardly any other runners out there.  But we did pass a few.  And today was a 3.5 hour spin in the basement - my quads were sore from the run yesterday.

All in all - a very good weekend, and each day, I'm feeling stronger and gaining some confidence about TTT in May and the ironman in July.  It feels good to feel my body getting stronger - it's amazing to see what a difference a year can make.   

The next race is a 5K on March 27th - the Holy Trinity 5K.  Caitlin will be home from Boulder for spring break, so she'll run it with Mark and I.  Should be a fun race!!

Wonderful visit to Florida

Hello everyone - well, I got back yesterday from a 3+ day visit to Naples, Florida (actually, Bonita Springs).  My friend, Diane, invited me down for a couple days of warmth and relaxation.   Judy was supposed to go too, but unfortunately, work got in the way!  But we're going to plan another visit when Judy can go.

Anyway, here is what we did for those 3 relaxing days.  I left here on Sunday at about noon and drove to the airport in the cold & gloom.  Within a couple hours, I landed in sunshine at the Fort Myers airport.  Diane was there to meet me and we headed to our favorite place - Carabbas - for some pasta & sangria.  We then headed to Diane's place, where we spent some time in the new hot tub, which was so nice, as the air was cold, but the water temp was 104!  I love the hot water!!  Monday, we got up early and headed out for a run.  We ran 3 loops around her neighborhood - each loop was 2.4 miles so we got 7.2 miles in.  We then headed off on the bikes for a 20 mile roundtrip to Vanderbilt beach.  It was a little chilly out, but the sun was out so the ride was very enjoyable.  We ate lunch at La Playa - a wonderful place on the beach with great food and a really nice atmosphere.  When we got back to Diane's, we showered then ate some tostadas with a beer.  Yum - Diane is a really good cook!  We then headed to Naples to board the Naples Princess for a sunset cruise.  It was really nice to relax and look at all the beautiful, huge houses along the water.  And Lily Tomlin was on board.  I never went up to her to say anything, but it was definitely her as we walked by at one point and heard her talking about forgetting her lines.  The cruise only lasted from about 5:30 to sunset, so we were back kind of early.  We then relaxed for a bit and watched "Chelsea Lately" and then crashed for the night. 

Tuesday morning it was out again for another run.  It was sprinkly during this run, so we did 2 loops and just made it back before it really started pouring.  We decided to do some shopping and headed to Miramar outlets for the day.  We then relaxed a bit and then went to get manicures/pedicures and then to the movie theatre with our flip flops on to see Avatar.  All in all, a very fun time.  FYI - Diane said my feet look like Barney Rubbles feet, but I think they look beautiful after my pedicure!

Wednesday and it's already time to head home.  But not before another run!  We did 2 loops on Wednesday and I just love running in Diane's neighborhood.  The houses are beautiful and it's so nice running by the golf course with all the palm trees.  Diane got me to the airport by about 11 and I was on the plane by 12:30 and home by about 4.  The snow is still on the ground and it's as if I didn't leave.  But it sure was relaxing while I was there.  Thank you, Diane, for the invite down to visit.  It was so relaxing and exactly what I needed in this gloomy winter weather.  And, lo and behold, the sun shone all day today in Cleveland.  Too bad I had to work all day.  I wish I was out there running....