35º and Sunny... and There Was a Cat

I had a great run from the studio yesterday. I didn't have my watch. I usually have a run that feels fast on days I forget my watch, therefor leaving me not so certain that it was as speedy as it felt. Regardless, it felt great.

It was sunny and cold. I saw a few dogs, a cat, a dead animal (less of it and in a different spot from the last time I was on the trail), a man who looked like a cross between Tom Petty and Johnny Cash, and a lone icicle hanging from a tree branch over the trail. Who says the trail is boring?

Funny thing about the cat. My first thought when I see a stray cat is to be wary of it. I believe this unnatural behavior goes back to a bad experience I had as a child getting off the bus one day. It was a warm, fall afternoon and the corn was still up. I was walking down my driveway (which was long) by myself. I may have even been skipping for joy. But then, I heard something in the corn and saw a cat come out.
















It was meowing, loudly... more like a painful yell. I could tell even from it being not very close that it was hurt. I stopped and it started running toward me. But then I got freaked out and didn't want anything to do with it because I thought it was going to attack me. It looked like it had survived a "Will it Blend" Blendtec demo. I just kept walking, trying to ignore it like you do a big, unfriendly dog. It kept coming towards me, and at one point [warning: gross] I noticed I could see the bones in its tail. At this point I lost it and began half running down the driveway while sobbing. I probably thought I was going to die. My mom was standing by the garage and looked at me like I was nuts. I just thought we needed to get into the house as quick as possible before this thing ate us.

So that's my cat story. I think the cat hung out around our back door. When my Dad got home, I believe he took it somewhere and dumped it, because that is what you do in the country. So back on the trail: When I saw this cat, I'm embarrassed to admit I picked up a stick just in case the thing decided to attack.

And I can go camping with no fear of bears.

Valentine's Day

I'm attempting to increase my mileage for the Pig. The "increase" part shouldn't be hard since I was going from sporadic runs of practically nothing! Before the Pig is the Heart Mini 15K (9.3) at the end of March. I've done that race once and it was great. Will be a nice confidence builder for the Pig.

I went a slow, relaxing 5 miles on Valentine's Day... to celebrate my love of running (just kidding). It was a great run - crisp and sunny. It still hurts to breathe deep though. A couple of weeks ago I had a strange kink in my back that escalated to screaming pain and a trip to Urgent Care. So my back/ribs/indeterminable area deep inside my chest was sore again, but it's getting better.

I have no idea what my pace is right now. I'm just trying to get faster. I can't stand running by myself any more and am very determined to be a tolerable pace to run with others!!

Spring-like Weather in February

Today's forecast was 60º and sunny. Tuesday and Wednesday are also supposed to be near 60º and rainy. It is such a tease.

Unfortunately I didn't get to run in this weather today. Perhaps I'll have a soggy jaunt tomorrow morning. But while I was walking into work today, I had an unexpected flashback to running in Florida.

When we moved to Tampa–for a brief 4 months–it was February. I was looking forward to avoiding the slushy winter of Cincinnati, but was surprised by some chilly mornings when we first got down there. I never had to break out the hat and gloves, but I did wear long sleeves and tights for a couple of days. However, it became "spring" in no time.

We lived on Tampa Bay, or a part of it that was channeled for homes, hotels and apartment buildings to be built along. A quarter mile from our door and you were on the actual bay. I would run along the causeway with the bay on both sides of me. It was my only option, as the other direction was the highway and airport, but I never grew tired of it. When going out from the apartment, off to the right the water started out very shallow. You could see the sand at low tide. Occasionally there would be a small chunk of land off in the distance overgrown with greenery, with many different sea birds flocking around it. I always wanted to get closer to those "islands" and see what they looked like up close. On the left the water was deeper and you could see for miles. Depending on how hazy it was, you could see another bridge in the distance.

The sun was always shining. Early in the morning it wasn't as hazy quite yet. And even at 10:00 in the morning, my fair Ohio skin could get a sun burn after a long run. There were a couple of runs that I saw dolphins. There were a couple of runs I saw slow, calm manatee in the channel along our apartment. I always got so excited and wondered when the novelty would wear off. Small lizards scampered across the paved trail along the causeway, I saw all kinds of different birds that would fly from bush to bush just in front of me, never realizing that I wasn't going to stop interrupting them. Fishermen camped out early in the mornings with their trucks parked half in the sand. A few of my runs went the entire length of the causeway and back. Flat sunny craziness with a hot breeze.

This morning as I walked through Luxottica's huge parking lot toward the building, for some reason it suddenly felt like I was in Tampa. I was startled as the running memories came flooding back so vividly. I clomped along in my uncomfortable heels wishing I was running for the next spot of shade. And then I was interrupted by the sound of Canadian geese honking. I looked up and there were 3 flocks overhead in shaky V formations. I laughed because it sure wasn't the sound of sea gulls or the bay. But I think I should try to pay more attention to what is around me here.

Winter "Storm"

We got some inches, which constitutes a WINTER STORM!!! Take cover!!!






































I hope that it gets packed down enough on the trail to do a run on the bike trail. Right now it is a little deep. They certainly don't clear it, so it will be a slippery mess for a while. But if it's just snow, that's the best.

It could be a few days before I can run outside again. I'm not the most sure-footed and don't find slipping around while running too enjoyable. The trail will probably be my best bet. I did get a 3 mile run in yesterday before the white death came. It was cold, only 23º, but I wasn't really chilled until I got back.

More pictures of the river. I took these after I left the studio today.

Broomball Game #2

Game #2 began with PiMT (Party in My Tummy) using some "key learnings" (forgive my corporate term) at the previous night's Cyclones hockey game we all went to such as: offense should stay in a triangle, center moves all over the place, and clear the ball during powerplays.

Alas, while we had some good strategies, we lost. Gremlins 1, PiMT 0. It was kinda a cheap goal though honestly.

We started out with good energy, but no one switched up the line for an entire 5 minutes– something to work on. Our opponents were a little bit better, or at least had some key players that had some better skills. And they were way more aggressive. Plus most of them had broomball shoes so they were faster. All considered, we held on pretty well.

I don't think anyone on our team got too hurt, but I did take an even better spill than last time. #23 slide tackled me from behind, taking my legs completely out from under me. So I landed on my elbow, stomach and head. There was a collective "Ooooh!" when I hit the ice that I do remember. The guy was of course sorry. It rattled me and I couldn't get up right away, but I did hobble over to our bench. Half time came a few minutes later and I was recovered by the time I went back out. I do have a nice lump on my arm that is starting to turn colors already. I suppose I will be donning my old rollerblade elbow pads for the next game :)

We have a pretty good defense, but miss chances to take the ball into our zone on offense. We get a little too carried away with clearning the ball rather than trying to score. We also need to put more pressure on the other teams when they have the ball. We're in an intro league, so in theory, the other team should be just as crappy at handling the ball as we are.

Post game we went to Gordo's for some burgers and beer. Definitely a great post game strategy. Here are some horrible blurry pictures I snapped while I was on the bench. At least you can kind of get the idea of what it looks like. Our team is in black. The net is bigger than a hockey net and what would be a puck is the orange ball which is about the size of an oversized grapefruit on steroids.

January Is Dark and Broomball Is Fun

Not much news these cold dark days, but in the spirit of posting somewhat regularly, in case anyone actually reads this thing, I'm posting about the most recent fun: broomball! For those not familiar: http://www.cincinnatibroomball.org/

Greg and I joined a league team and played our first game this past Sunday. It was ridiculously fun. Our team, Party In My Tummy really came together with all our novice-ness and managed to not score against the Universal Forest Products. (But they didn't score either!) We did manage to have somewhere around 8-10 penalty points, 6 of them taken by one proud, tripping teammate: Pete. In our broomball league, if you lose control of your body and inadvertently take someone out, it's a penalty whether you meant it or not. So for those of us flat on the ice more than on our feet, this could be a problem!

We started the game with probably only 3 or 4 of us truly understanding the floating blue line. (Once you are in your offensive zone, the blue line "floats back" to the red line and you get a bigger playing area.) So we had confused teammates screaming "offsides!" from the bench the entire game. And then there are those with soccer history that while playing defense think they can't come up past a certain line to keep the ball in the zone. And the rest of us just floated around on the ice not really knowing where to go or what to do. Did I mention the other team was a mirror of our fantastic skills? All put together this made for some GREAT broomball! :)

No one seemed to get too hurt on our team. I fell and smacked my helmeted head on the ice, which was just shocking rather than painful. I think trying to stop yourself from falling makes things worse. The other thing I learned was when you attempt to purposely slide on the ice, as in your body not feet, you go WAY faster and farther than you thought you would.

After the game, Greg and I went to dinner with our friends Shawn and Sarah and discussed strategies and ways to make it better. They played on a league last year at Fountain Square's rink, which is about a third of the size of the Gardens' rink. So the rules were a bit relaxed and the action quite a bit different. Positions weren't so important. We all agreed we need to go to a Cyclones game and pay attention to the positions. Having grown up watching hockey, I get the positions, the offsides, etc etc. The main difference is you don't change directions on a dime like you do in hockey. It was like we were all in slow motion. Hilarious to watch.

The ref was awesome, explaining all the rules and penalties and plays as they happened. By the end of the game, I think because everyone was so tired we just all kind of stood around looking at each other after a whistle. He had to yell at us to hurry up to faceoff a few times. :) Other key learnings: don't take your helmet off while at the bench (in case a tired teammate needs you to sub... NOW!), you can kick the ball but be prepared to fall, and remember a freakin' water bottle.

Good fun. Next week I'll remember to take my camera to our bench and snap some action shots. I'm definitely sore and could use a massage right now. Know some things to practice. I'm even thinking my studio building could be a nice indoor practice area :)

January Work

Running has been rough. The weather has matched my motivation - gloomy, dreary and cold. I haven't gotten out there. I know that's no excuse and I should at least be hopping on my bike......... but....... I haven't.

Business-wise, things have been going well. I am filling in at Luxottica for a girl who is on vacation and then going on a OneSight mission. I have another "fill in" opportunity coming in February for someone else going on a mission. It is great to have the hours lined up. It pays to be a tiny, affordable small business right now. On the other hand, I have been thinking more and more about where I want to take this business – what kind of work do I want to be doing, how much of it, etc etc etc. I think I have come to the conclusion that I can't do what I really want to do with the business on my own, solo. If I want to do more creative things outside of production and reformatting work, that just takes collaboration with others. So I either need to 1) scale back my scope of work, be a freelancer, and maybe try to focus on becoming an artist (for money and for enjoyment) or 2) get a business partner.

Some upcoming changes in the economy and Greg's work may effect the outcome of future decisions. We shall see. I'm really happy with any of my options, I just need the adjustments to happen sooner than later I think.

Happy New Year!

Well it is 2009...here's to a great new year. I have always loved the turning of the calendar from the old year to the new. Not because of the partying (though that can be quite enjoyable as this year proved), but because of the fresh start and new beginnings. It's a clean slate to start marking up– new dreams to create and fulfill, new places to see and experience, and new accomplishments to hopefully, uh, accomplish. It's life, I suppose.

So moving on to the progress of running- I hope to see that happening in the next few weeks. I am not a fan of cold weather. Recently I've been very poo-poo about the coldness, whining about not wanting to run in the cold, dark, rain, snow, etc. But I think I'm just going to ignore it and see how that goes. Pretend there is no weather. I know people would say, well when it's 90º outside this summer you'll wish it was cold! No. No I won't.

Rough plans for running this year are to:
1. Actually run regularly (imagine that!)
2, Do mid-distance races like half marathons and under. First race will probably be the Heart Mini-Marathon which is 9.3 miles. The Pig is in May and marathon buddies Paula and Daryl will be coming down for that one (I'll be doing the half). Then I'm not sure what else.
3. Fulfill the ongoing goal of becoming fast enough that Greg the Speedster can bear to run with me by springtime... when he comes out from his running hibernation hole, finds his shoes and starts to run again.

So here's to a great running year and interesting blog posts about it!

More art... posted

This may seem redundant to put art in this blog while I have an entire blog devoted to only art, but I guess I'm just trying to hit all possible readers!

I'll keep it short and sweet. I did a submission for Karin Jurick's blog Different Strokes From Different Folks and it is now posted on her blog... along with all the others. She posts a photograph each Wednesday and then gives people a week to paint it, and then she posts them all as they come in. Fun!

Check it out...
http://differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com/

My Art Blog - now up!

It has been a hope of mine for a while now to start an art blog where I can showcase and eventually sell my artwork. First step of course is to DO the artwork. It is hard to fit it in to my schedule, but recently I have been able to do a little.

So without further ado...
http://stephaniesmithart.blogspot.com/

Please check it out: subscribe or follow it so you can get updates when I post pieces. It will be slow going for a while, but my goal is to post at least one piece each week.

There will be changes and adjustments to it as I develop it. But for now enjoy Dexter, my first art blog post! I'm very excited!

Mason Mini Marathon Report

It was a brisk morning Saturday the 8th when I ran the Mason Mini Marathon. It's a 15K, which is 9.3 miles. It was so close to home– down at Mason's middle school. That made a 9:00 race even sweeter! We left at 8:15, stopped to get Gatorade, and still had plenty of time to stand around freezing before the start. I'm happy it didn't rain, but it was only about 46º from start to finish. I had only ran in chilly weather once prior to this day since we've had such a nice October.

The Course
um....well....I didn't like it. My dislike stemmed from a conglomeration of memories: running during Hurricane Ike, running at lunch while I worked at Luxottica (hot and boring), running during the summer (Vegas desert-like). And, frankly, it was a boring boring course that never even got on the actual roadway. Starting from Mason Middle School, we ran down towards Luxottica, then turned onto the access road that is used during the ATP Tennis Tournaments. We turned around at the Tennis Center (around some cones) and then headed back to the middle school. Running past the middle school, we got to turn onto a new sidewalk (yay!) and headed down Mason-Montgomery to where there is a new bike path that connects to a park. After connecting to the park path, it was through the park and back out onto Mason-Montgomery, back to the school, and finishing with a 3/4 lap around the track.

The Run
For the first 5 miles, I carried a gatorade-water mix. Even though it was cold, I sweat like crazy and I didn't want a repeat of the Akron Half (they ran out of water). I figured I would drink the first 5 miles and then pass off my bottle to Greg. I couldn't have been happier to get that damn bottle out of my hands. I don't know why it bothered me so much, but if the thing hadn't cost me $12, it would have been chucked off into the landscaping along Tylersville Blvd at mile 2. I could have just been grumpy because my stomach was throwing all kinds of fits. For breakfast I had peanut butter on toast, which statistically isn't turning out to be a good pre-race meal for me.


















After I got rid of the dern water-bottle and saw Greg, I was better. I felt like I could concentrate on getting through the race. I caught up to a guy (who's name was Mike) and his trainer (who kept saying 'Come on Mike!'). I felt good passing him, though it was the slowest pass on record. He passed me back right after that on a hill, but then I passed him back for good. During miles 6 - 8 we were in this park that is wooded, ROLLING and curvy. I felt like I was a marble, at the complete mercy of the elevation– either rolling downhill or struggling to get uphill using the momentum from the previous downhill.


















After emerging from the park, I caught up and passed another girl who kept walking. I was worried she'd have some sort of kick at the end and pass me back and crush my spirits, but she didn't. Greg ran with me for a little bit in front of the school before I got onto the track and finished, uh... strong? Not really. Longest 3/4 lap of track ever. I was happy to be done.

After the race I got a banana and started shivering. It was cold. My legs felt like someone suddenly poured cement into them, and though I should have walked a lot more, we hopped into the car and went home. I took a nice long hot shower and then we got Chipotle. Doing errands the rest of the afternoon helped me to not stiffen up too much. I was never very sore, but today when I ran my legs were sooo tight.

Summary
Overall, it was fine. Just a hard race to get excited about when there are only 280 people and you're slow. I did it and I'm glad I did it. The money went to the Epilepsy Foundation and I got a cool shirt. And I might add that I have the best race-watching husband ever! Greg stood out in the cold during my slooooow coverage of the distance and cheered me on! I definitely wouldn't have wanted to do it without him there! It makes all the difference!

I don't know what's next. I need to devise some sort of plan to get through this winter. It might just be a numbers game. My goal, which I've mentioned before, is to get fast enough that Greg can run with me without feeling like he's shuffling by Spring. Also, I want to see how far I can run. That's fun to do when there isn't pressure of a race and timing. And don't say I'm crazy because I think that running far is fun!

Election Day

Well, I didn't get to run to the polls this morning like I had considered. Time and sealing driveway cracks didn't allow. But I did drive, stood in line with a neighbor, ate a bagel with coffee, and voted for Obama. And now the fun begins: watching all of the news stations bust their buns to be the first network to (most likely inaccurately) predict the next president. CNN started today's coverage an hour early for the sake of keeping us voters informed. 5:00 a.m.– well before any polls are even open or most are out of bed! Sometimes I just wonder how I'd get by in life without CNN there to keep me updated with the latest breaking news. And all of it is breaking news by the way. That's what news does- it breaks. It does not meander in, bubble up, nor shyly present itself. It breaks.

Speaking of races (to the whitehouse), I will be racing this Saturday at the Mason Mini - a 9.3 mile run through what the website describes as "flat" Mason. So I'm looking forward to finding these flat areas of Mason. It can't be any hillier than Akron, that's for sure. So even though the virus I got last week has set me back, I think I'll be fine and it should be fun!

I am going to check out cnn.com to see if Wolf Blitzer has the country color coded yet.

Chilly Weather

I ran this morning in long sleeves for the first time of the season.

boo-hoo!

It was a crisp morning. I couldn't see my breath, but it definitely took a while to warm up. My legs were bright red when I got back (had shorts on).

I've always enjoyed running in the morning more than in the evening. I usually find too many excuses/obligations/fatigue to divert my plans of a nice, unwind-from-the-day run after work. However, I've noticed in the past few years it's been more difficult to get up and get moving. It is hard for me to believe I used to get up and out the door around 6 a.m. so I could be to work by 8 or 8:30. Over the summer I tried the evening approach, but it really just isn't my best time.

I think my new fall/winter schedule will be getting up and running after Greg leaves for work, which is sometime around 8. Thanks to self-employment, I can start a grumbling, zombie-walk from the bedroom while he is getting ready and be ready to go out the door when it's light outside. That puts me to work around 10 a.m. This plan works as long as I don't have a pressing a.m. deadline.

Though it will be cold to start out running before the earth warms up a little, it's a great start to the day.

Rubber Stamp Man

Tuesday I was visited at my studio by Barry, a rubber stamp salesman. Yes you heard correct, folks. Rubber Stamp Salesman.

He was probably in his 50s-60s, dressed in a nice suit, and had a hard briefcase full of stamps to demo, each in their own custom shaped foam cut-out block. He asked me if he could have 5 minutes of my time to demo his stamps.

Uh, sure. WTF? A stamp demo? Don't you just slam it on the ink pad and then slam it on the paper?

Turns out, professional stamps of the 21st century have evolved...if only a bit. (How much evolution can they really accomplish?) You no longer need an inking pad. Somehow through the amazing technology of Self-Inking™®, now the stamp has ink already built in. So you don't have to hit the ink before you hit the paper. And you can adjust the ink flow simply by turning the handle.

Amazing.

I didn't need a stamp. Or a brass nameplate, which he also sold. (Though I considered for a moment ordering one that says No Solicitors.) But he did offer me a quote on business cards, before I realized they were just the black raised puffy ink kind with 4 not-so-designed styles to choose from. Oh well.

He wasn't pushy. The only suggestion he made was for me to get a signature stamp, in complete olde-timey sales language all but missing "step right up!":

[stamp man]: Signature Stamp! George Washington's the example. [boom! stamp is stamped revealing G.W.'s signature] Who doesn't sign their name? A stamp of your signature saves you time and money! And it prevents carpal tunnel syndrome.

[steph]: giggles and turns to look at her computer

[stamp man]: It does! It's been proven.

awkward pause...

[steph]: do you have opaque inks?

Paul (studio two doors down) also got the demo. We discussed later. Death of a Salesman, how many stamps do you have to sell to pay for a nice suit, and who still uses stamps were some of our comments/perplexed questions.

I'm glad random people walk in to my studio to keep my days here interesting.

Akron Half Marathon Race Report

Saturday Sept. 27th I ran the Akron Half Marathon. I was sick, but it was OK. It was the tail end of the cold and I had been sleeping well thanks to cold medicine. I knew I was going to be slow anyway, so now I had an excuse ;)

Friday around lunch time we dropped the puppies off at the vet and drove up to Akron. It was a long boring drive. I have lost my tolerance of car rides over 2 hours. Maybe I need to reinstate Mad Libs and coloring books for travels above the 120 minute mark.

We stayed with Daryl and Paula in Massilon, which is only about a half hour from the marathon site. Daryl was also doing the half and Paula, sick with bronchitis was doing the full marathon! Paula and I drove down to the Expo while Greg helped Daryl with a photography gig. Then Daryl made us some yummy chicken alfredo and after some digestion and talking we went to bed.

I woke up at 2:30, not being able to sleep. Kind of laid there until 4:15 when the offical alarm went off. Greg was going to go to the race later with David, whose wife was running the marathon as a 3:50 pacer. I was glad he was able to have a spectating buddy and didn't have to get up quite as early.

Paula, Daryl and I headed out the door around 5:00 I think. We got there in plenty of time to find parking, pee, poo, be nervous, and wish each other good luck...all in the dark. Poo-ing in a port-o-john in the dark is not fun. Especially when 5 minutes later you realize the stadium you finish in was open the entire time. Oh well, I suppose the experience counts.

The race started at 7:00. Daryl and I lined up mid-back. Paula was trying for the 4:15/4:30 pace so she went off to find a pacer. The gun went off and we shuffled to the start line. I was actually running by the time we reached the start line, which surprised me for such a large race.

I lost Daryl pretty quickly but was happy to just settle in to my own pace. My first couple of miles were a bit too fast. I took a Hammer Gel at mile 2 and downed some water. I was drinking a lot of water since I was sick. I saw Greg, David and Paula's sister at mile 3. Yay! I was so happy to see them. Then after I passed them I was really disappointed because it would be so long before I saw them again!


















Yay they saw me! Awww... it's gonna be a few more hours...

Mile 4...no water. They had ran out. Hmmm... Mile 6 no water... Panic! Mile 8...barely any water. The race volunteers were running into a building filling jugs and then coming out and pouring while runners who waited with cups passed them under the flowing water. I had another Hammer Gel to take, so I grabbed 2 cups. I downed the one and part of the other. Then I rolled the cup top down a little, folding it, so I could carry it and run without spilling it. I was very nervous they wouldn't have any water for the rest of the race! There was no way I could finish without water.


















Where's the water?!

We were running through a nice neighborhood at this point and some of the residents were standing at the ends of their driveways with hoses. I thanked each one and took some water from one since my belly was revolting from the Hammer Gel. At mile 9, there was water again, and Powerade. I decided I would just take Powerade the rest of the race (if they had it) instead of my last gel because my belly wasn't happy and I didn't know what the aide station liquid status would be anyway.



















Around mile 9.5 - 10 we ran though the University of Akron's campus which was kinda neat. I was starting to fall apart here though. After the freakout of possibly no water and mile 8's extra long water stop, I lost the people I was running with. There were some run-walkers who would pass me, then stop to walk and I'd pass them, then they'd pass me, stop to walk, etc etc. I was enjoying this!! After I lost my "group", I kinda tried to make up time (MISTAKE) and ran fast for a while. Never quite got my heart rate back to normal and started suffering.




















On campus (I think).

Around mile 10, my left knee started throwing a fit. A big twinge and it slightly gave out, so I had to baby it for a while. I was really starting to hurt at this point. I saw Greg and the crew again around mile 10. That really helped! I tried to make a funny face, but it really turned out bad in the photos. I said something like "I"m in pain" and kept trudging on. Next time I'd see them would be in the stadium.




















Hi guys! Ow!!

At mile 11, the half and full marathons split. The full marathon went on to tour Akron, while the half marathon went on a closed down highway. A mile and half of concrete, no spectators (just construction barrels) and a crystal clear view of where you had to run to before you turned around to go back into downtown for the finish. Oh, and did I mention it was all uphill? AWFUL. The only really bad part of the entire race (aside from the water shortage).

There were some volunteers around 12.5 - one lady told me I was looking good.
I told her she was a liar and she laughed but insisted I was doing well. It was funny and I appreciated a little interaction to take my mind off the pain.

Running into the stadium was a lot better than I thought. This was just Akron's AA baseball team's stadium, so it was tiny and not nearly as intimidating as the old Riverfront statdium. I found a wee bit of energy and tried to run a little faster and like I wasn't in pain. It was a very nice finish. And soooo easy to find everyone again!


































Daryl and his cool headband. And he felt good enough to be drinking the free beer they give you.

I grabbed some food and Greg found me at the end of the ramp into the stands. My feet were very swollen so I loosened my shoes and we sat and watched some more of the race. I had Greg bring a soda, as this is my new race recovery drink. I think it helps my sugar/energy levels get back to normal. I've been drinking sunkist or dr. pepper after long runs and feel GREAT right after it!















Mmmmm RC Cola...

Daryl finished his first half in 2:17 which was great. Paula finished around 4:37! Amazing. She had only ran 13.5 miles in training. Crazy girl! My time was somewhere around 2:43, a 12:30 pace which considering all the circumstances, I'm fine with.

Amazingly, all my runs since the race have been sub-11 pace with minimal effort. Finally. I am doing the Mason Mini Marathon in November, which is only 9.3 miles (so funny to say that). I'm hoping to run it around 11:15 pace.