High Anxiety

In two hours and 15 minutes, I'm running the 1st Annual Neighborhood Rd. Miracle Mile. I can not believe how nervous I am about this race. It's a sprint and it will be over almost as soon as it began, and my protein bar is hovering  just between my boobs. I guess I have high expectations. I want to push myself hard for this. I want to do well and prove to myself that I can do more than I thought possible. I want to run fast and finish with no regrets.

Hoping the race report is good and I can include a picture of myself glowing with pride.

I Didn't Fall Off The Face Of The Earth

I'm still here. Still plodding along. Still doing whatever the hell my thing is. 5 weeks have passed since my last post. I suck at this. There's either nothing to write about or WAY too much and I don't know where to start or what's all that necessary to share.

After the half marathon, I was supposed to start Insanity again, but I just couldn't get into it. I was still participating in my May Challenge with my team and our Beach Body coach. This time I had one team member just never show up. Not one post of a workout or a motivational quote. Zero participation. Another team mate participated half the time. We came in 2nd to last. With running, I've realized I'm pretty competitive, and not winning sucks, not that I EVER win at running. I just don't get why someone would sign up to "play" and then never join in?!?

One of my last sweaty shots for points!

I worked some in May. For two days I went to one high school and helped primp students for senior portraits, and one weekend I got to take the group shots for my daughter's dance studio, which was a lot of fun. I know a lot of the moms and the commute was PERFECT with the studio not 5 minutes from my house!

Only 4 of the 18 girls showed up for Chelsea's hip hop class photo. She's on the bottom left. I loathe most of the hip hop costumes!

This is her tap class- she's second from the right. My personal camera was acting wonky so the shot is dark. Much cuter costume, though!

Not much went on for the rest of May. I worked out, ran some- no real excuses for not blogging.

June. June is probably my least favorite month of the year. It's the epitome of the expression "when it rains it pours." I either have nothing on my social calendar or too much. So far, in less than three weeks of June, I have had two 5ks, three school concerts, two Relay For Life meetings, Relay For Life, Father's Day with my father, then with my f-i-l, a birthday, a dance recital and I worked three days this week. One night I had Chelsea's dress rehearsal for her recital, Charlie's outdoor jazz concert and a RFL meeting. Needless to say, I couldn't do all three, so Chelsea went with my sister and came home with a friend. I just can't stand June. Now school is over and I can finally exhale!


Now that I've caught up a bit, I'll save my 5k race recaps for another post. If i tell you now I'll have nothing to talk about for another five weeks!

LI Half Marathon- The good, The Bad and the Fugly

Alarm set for 4:30 am. No need for it this morning. I slept, but off and on, and finally got out of bed at 3:15 to watch some tv. Unfortunately, getting out of bed kind of woke Charlie up too, so there wasn't going to be any issue with getting out the door at 5:30 am for the hour-long drive. I got dressed and made my breakfast, which was my usual huge cup of coffee and a dark chocolate coconut Balance Bar. *de-frickin'-licious* I brought my coffee with me, but forgot to drink it. pooh.

We arrived at Eisenhower Park by 6:25 am, and the parking fields were almost completely full. We managed to get a spot, grab all of our gear out of the car, and head to the start line which was at least a half mile away. It was pretty cold and breezy out. I was prepared with mittens, but only had on my LIMA 5k tech tee and capris. Charlie had a jacket on over his shirt plus track pants. He was still cold, poor thing.

My hair looks hideous here.

See! Windy!

We used the port-o-potties and I'm happy to say I was the first one to use mine! I even had to take the wrapper off the t.p.! Apparently there was a really bad issue with parking, causing lots and lots of people to be late to the start, which meant no time to wait on the potty lines; we started seeing a lot of guys climbing a nearby hill and peeing in the grass. Never in my life have I seen what transpired just minutes after that- LADIES dropping trou and popping a squat all over the same hill. Lily white asses were everywhere. I thought of the PStyle I won from a blog, which I brought with me to FL. One or both of the Jens got to test it out. It's the ingenious invention that allows women to pee standing up, and I bet some girls would've appreciated it on Sunday, instead of chilling their cheeks in the wind!

Sorry, no hiney shots!

Thankfully, the race started on time. We didn't actually start running until we crossed the timing mat, about 4 minutes after the gun. We were averaging about an 11 minute mile and everything was looking good. Even though it was cold and we hadn't warmed up, we felt fine. My calf wasn't announcing itself to me and my heels felt great in my new shoes. The beginning of the course takes you around Nassau Coliseum, home to the NHL team, the NY Islanders, and Museum Row. It's pretty boring. I just kept an eye on our pace and watched for the mile markers.

The 1st 4 miles were great and we stopped for some chews and Gatorade. We walked and ate for about .1 miles and got moving again. I figured we'd stop again at miles 8 and 12. I was wrong. Mile 7 came and I was struggling. We walked about half of that mile while I ate my gel. Mile 8 wasn't so bad after that. Then came mile 9, where I totally bonked. I took out my ketchup packet, which a runner at Ragnar had suggested for the salt intake, and after the initial throat-closing shock of the vinegar, it was okay. I love ketchup, so it wasn't a horrific chore. While I was eating it, I saw my friend Lynda come up from my left, and the only reason why I noticed her was because she had slowed down to yell out "Keith!" to her husband. He must have been socializing, slowing their pace. When he passed us as we were walking he asked "What are we having, a BBQ?" I think it had to do with us walking and NOT the ketchup in my hand!

We picked up the pace again at around 9.75, and I said I would run from there on out. I lie like the devil. I honestly don't remember walking TOO much after that, but our roll was slow. Charlie said as I was walking mile 9 I said "I don't know if I have another 4 in me," and that made him nervous. I don't remember saying it, but I definitely know I was thinking it! I do remember looking at my Garmin at mile 10 and seeing a time that was not going to make for a PR, unless I could get a 5k in under 30 minutes after running for 2 hours already! Once that realization hit me, I kind of stopped pushing. I knew I'd finish, but I didn't give a shit about my time. It's almost like when you have a bad day eating-wise and your crazy head turns that into a bad week. Makes sense, right?

I think mile 12 was 2 miles. Bastards. When we made the turn into Eisenhower Park, I knew the finish line wasn't far, but it still took an eternity. The boost I needed was right before mile 13, when one of the LIMA 5k guys I had met at the race expo cheered me on with "Go LIMA 5k shirt girl!" (At the expo, I told the LIMA 5k reps that their race was my first 5k, first race, ever, and it was coincidentally their first time putting it on. I've done it every year since then and I can't wait to do it on June 1st!) The energy he shouted out at me was enough to get me to the finish line. I pushed it and we crossed the finish line, hand in hand, arms raised in victory. Of course my right calf cramped the moment we crossed the timing mat and the photographer captured the moment for all eternity!

Every muscle in my legs pretty much seized as we walked through the finish line chute. We got our medals, mine fell, and I could NOT bend down to pick it up. The volunteer had a good laugh, and then we got our goody bag backpack, which was filled with a muffin, bagel, banana, donut, corn bread and a slice of pound cake. Holy carbs! I grabbed a bottle of water and decided to stretch. About 2 minutes later it hit. Light-headedness, a little nausea, the sweats, rumbling in the stomach... People were asking Charlie if I was okay, if I needed the medic tent, but I just wanted everyone to stop talking. So we sat down and I drank my water, slowly, and I felt a bit better, but my heart felt like it was racing. When I felt well enough, I got up, but it hit me all over again, so we sat back down. We sat there forever, about 45 minutes. Finally I mustered the strength to get up and we started for the car, but the guy who asked if I was okay earlier saw us leaving and asked again if I wanted to go to the medic tent. Knowing that I had an hour car ride ahead of me, I figured we should make sure I was okay. I did NOT want to puke or get the grippers in my car!

After going into the tent and coming in out of the sun, I was freezing, so they wrapped me in a space blanket. My B.P. was 120/80. They gave me some Gatorade to rehydrate. I drank two cups while laying there for about 20 minutes. They took my vitals again and they were the same, so I was able to be released. I got up slowly and began to walk away, and the action of sitting up managed to cramp one of my upper abdominal muscles so badly that it felt like a rock under my shirt. I just walked it off because I wanted to get the hell home already. I walked out with the blanket wrapped around me and volunteers were asking if I got my sweatshirt, because marathoners get sweatshirts, and they're the ones usually wrapped in the blankets! I should've snagged one, but that's not right, is it?

As we made our way to the car, I was able to eat a snack-sized protein bar and I was feeling a lot better. We watched one guy hobble down the sidewalk and we could totally commiserate with him. When we finally caught up to him, he was lying on his side on the grass. He said he didn't need help, just waiting for his ride. During our conversation he said that the sun could have helped in my dehydration. I still haven't researched that, but it does make sense, because sweat would evaporate more quickly on a sunny day, causing more dehydration. I guess 20 oz. of Gatorade, 2 PowerBar gels, some PowerBar chews and a packet of ketchup was not enough to get me through a half marathon without the dreaded side-effects I experienced post-run. I should have grabbed more fluids at the water stations they had EVERY mile! I should have drank my morning coffee! DOH!

The slow walk to the car had me back on even keel and I decided to do the drive home, but not before getting a picture of us and our bejeweled necks!

Charlie was a trooper. He walked when I needed to walk. He ran when I could run, whatever pace that might have been. He's so damn agreeable! He said his only goal was to finish, with me, no matter how long it took. Yesterday, in my Mother's Day card, he wrote "I would rather crawl across the finish line in last place holding your hand than sprint across the finish line in first alone." I'm so blessed to have him as a friend, husband and running partner.

(You can see the rest of our race proofs, if you're at all interested, here. My favorite is the first picture. Charlie's expression is priceless.You'll also like my impersonation of Michael Jackson in a couple of them!)

Getting There

Pre-race day. 4:30 pm. I'm calm. If I think about things too much, the heart starts racing. I made it to packet pick-up this morning, an hour long drive, with my 14 year old daughter as my wing man. We got there with no issues. The expo is small, but since the Diva expo is there also, I don't have anything to compare it to. I got mine and Charlie's bibs with no problems and then got on another line for the race shirt. You obviously don't run in it, since it's a cotton, long-sleeved hoodie. I LOVE it! It'll be what I change into after the race, (sans bra)!! We also got a pair of New Balance socks and a race lanyard. I saw my buddy from Sayville Running Company at his booth and I was very happy to see the people that put on the LIMA 5k there so I could tell them it was my 1st race and theirs as well. That'll be my 4th LIMA 5k on June 1st. That's a race I can really get excited about.

Here's the race sign that my friend Jen (who is running the New Jersey half simultaneously with me) made to help cheer me on to the finish line! I'll be hearing Shaun yelling at me to "DIG DEEPER!" for many miles. And at the finish? "This sh*t is buh-nanas!!!"

The ride home was a different story. I printed out reverse directions, but it's crazy around Nassau Coliseum, (where the NY Islanders play), and Museum Row, so things got sketchy. We did get to see geese and their goslings and an actual duck crossing sign, just blocks from a frickin' mall. Well, we wound up taking the scenic route, completely south to the Atlantic and then headed east, then north and east, again, home. Thankfully I know my way around since I'm driving more for work. It was a very peaceful drive and only 5 or 10 minutes out of our way. Anyone who knows LI will appreciate the amount of driving I did on the following roadways: William Floyd Parkway, Long Island Expressway, Northern State Parkway, Meadowbrook Parkway, Ocean Parkway, Robert Moses Causeway and Sunrise Highway. Believe it or not, on an island that's only 118 miles long and 23 miles wide (I Googled that), there's plenty of highways I didn't touch. Joy of joys, I get to do the ride again tomorrow.

So, I've been doing some laundry, buying some songs and rearranging my running playlist and playing plenty of Candy Crush. My legs feel tired from just laying around doing a whole lot of nothing lately. Charlie and I went for a 1.25 mile run yesterday and we got it done in 12:49, and the calf felt good. I can't see into a crystal ball and know that there won't be issues, but for now, it's put my mind at ease. I've been a sobby mess, though, the last couple of days. I've been reading and hearing about a lot of people's race stories and I can feel every bit of frustration and sadness that they experienced as they were running their race. And when they finished? I was right there with them at the finish line, knowing the pride, satisfaction and jubilation that was bursting out of them, while they held their medals and smiled for the camera. I will hold that memory of that feeling while I'm trotting along the course tomorrow. The best part? I'll be experiencing the entire thing with Charlie!

Pre-Race Jitters To The Umpteenth Power

It's Thursday. The LI Half Marathon is on Sunday. That's 3 days away. As I write I'm icing my left calf. My last long run, actually my last run, period, was FUGLY. The weather was perfect for a 10 mile run. I was feeling fine. We decided to start on the trails of the refuge again, do both trails, totaling about 7 miles, and then finish up in the neighborhood around the house.

So, once my Garmin found a satellite we started running to the refuge. We started on the longer trail and finished it at around mile 4. We stopped and had some chews to help refuel. This was my first run with my new hydration belt, and I was so glad I bought it! All I have to carry now is my sweat mop and my right bicep thanks me for it! My handheld holds my iPod, phone, chews and 20 oz. of liquid. Carrying that for a long time really tired my arm, so that's one worry crossed off the list. Now Charlie carries it, which I feel bad about, but it IS a step up from him carrying a regular old water bottle. He can put his iPod in there and carry his own fuel.

After the 1st leg of the run, we then ran the shorter trail and finished at about 7 miles. Running those trails are tough. There's a lot of small hills, constantly, and a lot of sticks, pine cones and small holes from squirrels, I'm guessing, (and hoping), to avoid. I like it because you don't have to worry about cars, kids, dogs, bikes, etc. but you could wipe out at any moment from the debris. A couple of times my left foot shoved a stick into the side of my right foot and nearly gave me a heart attack. Falling would not be good.

I felt better after 7 miles this time than my last run. We stopped again and ate some more and I made the stupid decision to do the short loop again. Only a mile in my left calf cramped. It was just a quick twinge, but I knew I'd be fighting it the rest of the way, and I did. By the end I was basically shuffling through the pine needles. At 10 miles we were on our way home. A half mile walk took about 15 minutes, that's how slow I was moving. Charlie was in great shape, which makes me happy.

When we got home I stretched and foam rolled a lot. On Monday I was feeling fine. I went to the gym and did 45 minutes on the arc trainer. Tuesday is when it hit the fan. I went to the gym and did 15 minutes on the rower, 15 minutes on the elliptical and then a half hour walking 3.5 mph at a 5% incline. That's what did me in. My calf muscle felt like a rock. I could walk with no pain, but when I pointed my toes which flexed the muscle, I felt pain. It's not excruciating, but it's there, and I'm worried.

Listening to everyone who I've asked, I'm dutifully icing it and stretching. It feels better today. Yesterday I just mowed the lawn, but nothing strenuous. Other than that, if I'm not up to prepare food or do some light cleaning, I'm sitting here, babying my legs and on the computer, most likely playing Candy Crush. That game was made by the devil. If you haven't played it, don't! Your house will fall down around you and you will become a slug! At least that's my experience.

I believe that the trail running in regular running shoes effed me up. Add the fact that I AM running in the new shoes, which is changing up the rest of my alignment, and my calf could not take it. So, I'm sort of panicking about 13.1 miles. I can only hope that all of that trail running will make running on asphalt easier and I'll become The Flash out there. The calf is feeling better and I hope it's as good as new and not an issue at 8 am Sunday.

I have a lot to think about and remember while I'm running those 13.1 miles. This picture will hopefully make me think of Sheldon from 'Big Bang Theory' and how hysterical he looks in this costume. I also have the new mantra "Run if you can, walk if you must but finish for Boston" to chant in my head. There are many innocent people that were standing on the sidelines of the Boston Marathon cheering on runners coming into the finish line that no longer have a leg, or even two, to walk on, let alone run. If I have to hobble and shuffle across the finish line, I will. Charlie will make sure of that.

Burn Out

There's a reason why you shouldn't run or workout every day. I realize that now. After running every day in March and hitting my all-time monthly mileage high of 91 miles, along with doing Insanity the entire month, I indeed burned out. I couldn't wait to have a rest day. My mind and body were utterly spent. So, what did I do? I rested. A lot. Too much. My running mileage for THIS month? A grand total of 30 miles. To say that I'm feeling unprepared for my half marathon on 5/5 is an understatement.

I did actually attempt the first week of Month 2 of Insanity. Longer workouts with some crazy moves. Dare I say, it was fun? But my body just couldn't take the pounding. Well, specifically, my right heel couldn't take the plyo. I never had an issue with my feet or knees or hips before. I guess all of the March activity was the perfect storm for something to go wrong. The pain is worse in the morning, so I kind of walk around like Frankenstein, not moving my ankle at all until everything has warmed up and loosened a bit. I decided I had had enough and went to my local running store.

The Sayville Running Company is only 20 minutes from my house. duh. When I stood on the footbalance analyzer my footprint looked like Fred Flintstone's. My arch is pretty non-existent. When I drew what it looked like, Charlie said, "So you have paws?" (Hysterical.) Surprise! I overpronate. The salesman brought out 3 different pairs of stability shoes- Brooks, Asics and Saucony. I tried them all on and decided on the Saucony Stabil CS 2. Why can't they be just a BIT more attractive? There are rainbow colored, tie-dyed shoes out there. None of them for me.

I took them for a couple short runs and they feel fine. Our long run on Sunday didn't go so well, though. I have a feeling that now that I have the right shoes, other parts of my legs are feeling the effects. I struggled with the same 7.5 miles I had run the week before, but pushed myself to run/walk another 1.5 miles to hit 9. We have 1 more long run tomorrow, hopefully 10 miles, before our half next week! Again, I'm not overly confident about this race. My high-falutin goal is to come in under 2:25. Right now, just beating my old time of 2:29:51 by 1 second would be an accomplishment. We shall see. I am looking forward to crossing the finish line with Charlie and sharing his first half with him, though.

So while I'm contending with this heel issue and feeling a bit worn down, what do I do? Why, enter the 2013 NYC Marathon lottery, of course! Isn't that what you do when you're struggling with a 9 mile run? Push the finish line just 17 miles further down the road?

Unimaginable

You train for months and years. You qualify. You either run fucking fast or you are running with your heart for a charity you believe in. The checklist is long. Race bib. Race outfit. Socks. Sneakers. Fluids and fuel. You're most likely from out of town and had to travel to get to the start line. You've dreamed about this day for what seems like forever. You worried about dehydrating, cramping up, getting the grippers, shin splints, blisters, chafing, passing out... Not once on your mind was the thought of not finishing because of a bomb exploding at the finish line. Not in my darkest thoughts had I ever thought that would be a possibility. But it was a reality yesterday. Mile 26 of the Boston Marathon. Forever changed by such an evil act.

26,000 runners, tens of thousands of spectators, the entire world. Disbelief. Anger. Sadness.

I'm running today. I'm running because I can. I'm running for those who can't. I'm running to pay tribute to a city and a sport that will not be stopped by this senseless tragedy.

I am a runner. 
I may have not qualified this year. 
I may have qualified and not run. 
I may have been injured and unable to go. 
I may have never qualified.
But, I AM A RUNNER. 
And, my heart is in Boston today.


April 15, 2013 (via Shannon Neinas) 

We Have A Frickin' Winner!

I've been really busy this week with a few different things as well as work, but I wanted to make sure you all knew I picked a winner!!! Congratulations to Jill!! In response to my question, "What is a goal that you are working toward?", Jill replied:

"I suppose I have 2 goals that I am working on: 1. to lose weight and 2. running a half marathon in April. I suppose goal number 2 is helping me with goal number 1!"

Keep training and stay focused on your goals and I'm sure you will accomplish both, Jill! Check your e-mail for my notification so you can send me your address! This package will soon be on its way to you!

Three Year Runniversary And A Giveaway!

I've been so busy with I <3 To Run's run a mile a day March challenge, Shaun T's Insanity birthday challenge AND working some, I completely forgot that this month marks three years since I began running. Unfortunately, I don't actually know the exact date I got out there on the high school track and attempted my first run. I know it was March and that I didn't get very far. I could make it about 1/8th of a mile before I had to stop, huffing and puffing in the cold. But I didn't give up.

And I haven't given up since I began on that cold, windy day in March of 2010. I can't believe how far I've come since that day, both literally and figuratively. I've run eight 5 ks, two 10 ks, one half marathon and just recently nearly 16 miles of the 199 miles of the Florida Keys Ragnar Relay. I always hoped that Charlie and I could incorporate travelling into our running plans, and we finally did! Now we're thinking about the places we'd love to visit AND run in. There's a race going on everywhere, so there are endless possibilities.

I've managed to increase my pace and distance. My first 5k on June 5th, 2010, I finished in 42:42. Last year, on June 9th, I PR'd a 5k in 26:35. I entered my first half marathon this past October, the Long Island Diva Half, and finished under my goal of 2:30 by the skin of my teeth, coming under with 8 seconds to spare! And just a few months ago, I ran three legs of a 12 person relay race, which totaled nearly 16 miles in less than 30 hours on no sleep. While I was running my first leg, I didn't think I wanted to finish THAT Ragnar, but after the entire experience, I realized that I would love to do another one, and continue to travel and experience more of the insanity that is Ragnar.

Three years is a long time for me to do just about anything, especially running. There's so many things I enjoy about it. I love that it's something that Charlie and I enjoy doing together. It's an activity that's good for us both physically and mentally and having a hobby in common helps strengthen our relationship. I can't wait to cross that finish line in May and see him attain some half marathon glory. Continuously striving for new running goals keeps running fresh and interesting. There's so many different race distances to strive for or improve on. I like seeing that I can push myself and rise to the challenge. I'll always want to hear my name for my age group, but sometimes that's not realistic, however, shaving seconds off my own time is something I can easily achieve. Also, I love the camaraderie among runners and the feeling of belonging to an elite group of individuals with a common goal of achieving their personal best.

Since it's my anniversary, I thought it was about time I held a giveaway to celebrate. I tried to think of things that have been instrumental in my weight loss and running journeys. Before I even thought about running, I exercised a lot at home. My DVDs have been the best investment I have ever made when it comes to fitness "equipment." Charlie can tell you that we have had a gym graveyard in the basement for the last 20 years.  Then, the Gazelle Glider, Ab Doer, Brenda Dygraf Body Glider or knock-off Total Gym would be given away or rise up to the garage graveyard, where they were eventually sold for PENNIES on the dollar at a yard sale. Equipment just got boring. When I was 75 pounds heavier, I could walk in place. I could step side to side and I could kick my legs. This is why I included Leslie Sansone's Walk Away The Pounds Ultimate Collection DVD. It has 4 separate walk workouts (1,2, 3 and 4 miles) and it includes a stretchy band for some toning exercises done during the 3 mile walk. I never had trouble getting through any of her workouts, but I could make them more challenging as I got more fit by adding her weighted gloves or hand weights and her weight belt. You could walk for as little as a "mile" or get one of her 5 mile DVDs and workout for an hour. I love that now you can get certified as a Walk leader, just like a Zumba instructor.

When I finally did get to running, my iPod was my savior. Stacking my running playlist with songs that can take me away from the sometimes agony and monotony of running miles on the treadmill or a 10 mile run along William Floyd Parkway was crucial. I can tell you that it runs the gamut of music genres. Right now my favorite chunk of songs include Pink, Finger Eleven, One Direction, Fun, The Wanted, *NSYNC and Bruno Mars. This is why I included the iTunes gift card. I know every time I listen to the radio I hear another song I want to download, so I'm sure many of you are in the same boat. $25 used to get you 25 songs. Unfortunately, that's not the case anymore!

Finally, I know that nutrition is important when trying to get the most out of your workouts and improving your health. I LOVE bars, probably because it makes me feel like I am eating a candy bar, but not. I know there are so many to choose from when shopping for protein/energy bars and I haven't really found one that I didn't like. I love Power Bars, Pure Protein bars, Luna Bars, Clif Bars... they all have delicious flavors and serve the same purpose for me. I wake up at 5:30 every morning and have a bar and a cup of coffee. I make sure the kids are ready for the day and out the door, then head to the gym. They're quick and easy and keep me going until I come home for my egg sandwich or oatmeal.  I chose the chocolate mint cookie crunch Balance Bars (6 count box) because they taste JUST like that minty, slender cookie that those uniformed girls hawk at the curb of your local grocery store. Devine.

I sure do wish I could say I got them free to review, but unfortunately, that's not the case. I picked up all of these items on my own. And of course, these opinions are my own. I have not been compensated in any way  for what I've written in this post.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Back To The Lab Again...

So not only is March I <3 To Run's "Run A Mile A Day" challenge, but Shaun T. from Insanity also issued his birthday challenge. Starting on March 4th, we could all begin Insanity with him, starting with the fit test. If you took a picture with the date written on a piece of paper while holding the Insanity DVDs and submitted it, you would be entered in the contest to be the lucky winner of a personal visit/workout with Shaun T. and his "Shaunterage" after the 60 days are up. I'd love the opportunity to workout with him, so I threw my hat in the ring.

I wouldn't mind him knocking on my door for a workout!

That means along with running at least a mile a day and training for the half marathon on May 5th, I'm also doing Insanity 6 days a week. It's been 9 months since I worked on this program. So far I have not broken myself, but I can see it being a possibility. I'm not a spring chicken. Middle aged, that's me, so I'm not pushing as hard or digging as deep as I can when doing the program, but I'm feeling my muscles work and I'm sweating buckets and I'm improving every day, even if it's only been 7 workouts. That program works fast. It's no lie when he says you can get up to a year's results in 60 days. I've only ever done the first month, so I wouldn't know, but I know that one month improved my running speed, so I'm going to see this through. March will be easy since I'm not working and there's nothing else for me to do!

The running challenge is already a third of the way through, praise be to God! LOL. 28 miles already run for the month!! Today I ran 4.18 miles in 40 minutes, taking the first mile to warm up and then running the next two at 6.5 mph and playing around with the speed the last mile or so. Speaking of playing around, yesterday I went for a run with Charlie. We couldn't go to the wildlife refuge trails since they close at 4 pm and I was too busy farting around with that cursed game Candy Crush on Facebook to get my ass in gear any earlier! Oh! I just realized I never told you about the running trails! We have a refuge not even a mile away from the house that we've only been to for a walk once in the 20+ years we've lived in this house. Last week we decided to give it a try and it was TOUGH navigating the sticks and pine cones, etc. but it was a lot of fun and something we plan to do again.

Not exactly the safest place to run alone, though, in case of injury!

ANYWAY, so instead of going to the trail, we went to the track. I was just not that into it when we got out of the car. I forgot my iPod and running at least 3 miles at the track, 12 long laps, was going to be b-o-r-i-n-g without music. To add insult to injury, my Garmin was dead before we even left the house and I didn't have my headband or my mittens to keep warm, either. I already had it in my mind that this run was going to SUCK. As we walked onto the track for a walking warm-up lap, I came up with the brilliant idea to run sprints. Now, I run intervals on the treadmill, where I push myself for 1/4 to 1/2 of a mile at 7.0, but I never full out sprint, so this was new for both of us. The plan was to run full speed on the straightaways and jog around the curves. What started out as a run I dreaded like going to the OB/GYN (still have to make that appointment!) turned out to be a blast! I was cracking up at what the image of myself running full tilt must have looked like! Then having Charlie next to me, like we were racing, made it even more fun. We were fast! Of course I have no hard proof of this, but just take my word for it. All I had was my cell phone to judge time and we lost track of how many laps we did, so there's only my guestimation. We'll have to revisit this run WITH a working Garmin to put it in the record books!

Any of you working on specific fitness goals this month? Anybody out there joining me in my misery?

M.I.A.

It's not even that I have been terrifically busy or anything, just going through the daily routine of day in and day out hasn't really inspired me to write much. Actually, I was really involved in the February fitness challenge that I mentioned and being captain of my four woman team meant keeping track of everybody's posts for points, posting my own videos and workout activity and relaying that all back to my Beach Body coach. My poor son's computer is now chock-full of videos of me lip synching on one piece of exercise equipment or another and plenty of sweaty/muscle shots from throughout the month. I had some really awesomely dedicated team members and we managed to stay on top of the leader board for all but 2 days! Sandy had us doing all sorts of fun activities for bonus points:

She had us take an insane picture and then for extra points make it our  FB profile picture...

plank in a public place (Ultramarathon man by Dean Karnazes- FANTASTIC book!)...

and take a picture of yourself doing an activity that begins with  the 1st letter of either  your 1st or last name- "Lip-locking Linda" (because kissing was already taken).

The whole month was a lot of fun peeking into everyone's daily lives and being inspired and motivated to do just a little bit more to keep our lead. All of that hard work and dedication paid off because we won! We'll all be proudly drinking our beverage of choice from a new Beach Body tumbler! I told my girls I didn't care what the prize was, all I knew was that I WANTED it!!

photo courtesy of Coach Sandy

I managed to lose 1.4 pounds last month and I'll take every ounce I can get! March began I < 3 to Run's Rune Every Day Challenge. You just have to commit to running at least 1 mile every day. I did this with the Runner's World challenge from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day. So far I've run 10 miles. I would love to run 90+ miles this month. I managed 87 miles in that 6 week time period, so 90 will be tough . Hmmm...maybe 80 is more realistic...

Half Way There

Half way through my February Challenge over on Facebook and my team is doing fabulously. We're in 1st place out of nine teams, but the 2nd place team is hot on our trail! We've been posting videos of ourselves working out, muscle shots, after-workout-sweaty pics and motivational sayings galore. It's really fun to see what everyone else is up to in their own little corner of the country. Some people are doing a Beach Body program, but most are doing their own thing, running, walking and lifting their way towards reaching their goals.

Here's a sweaty shot of me in the gym locker room.  

After working out diligently and keeping fairly good track of my calorie consumption over at My Fitness Pal, I thought I'd see some good results when weighing in at the two week mark. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

I'm actually up .4 pounds since my beginning challenge weigh in, and yes, I'm up many pounds from my lowest weight about a year ago. Of course I didn't measure myself at the beginning of the month, so even though I feel better I don't have any tangible evidence saying that all of this work is actually doing something. Now I know .4 pounds is really nothing and the scale is an evil bitch, and all of this cardio is fantastic for my heart and lungs, my blood pressure is normal, I'm raising my good cholesterol and lowering the bad, I'm more fit than I have ever been at any other point in my life, but is it too much to ask that the MoFo scale go down??!!?? Grrrrr...

The only factors that I think may have come in to play is that I am eating back too many of my exercise calories and I have not been sleeping all that well. I could probably stand to eat less. Sleeping more eludes me. I've been getting up a lot to visit the bathroom. I drink a lot because I'm supposed to and then it haunts me at night. Last night I woke up about every 2 hours. At 2:30 I couldn't go back to sleep, so I started to read. This is what I'm in the middle of:

Grete Waitz was a Norwegian dynamo. I can't imagine winning the NYC Marathon ONCE let alone NINE times! (Anyone else hear Mr. Rooney from 'Ferris Bueller'?) What an extraordinary accomplishment. And I am so sad to say that when I Googled her name for this picture I discovered that she passed away from cancer at the age of 57 in 2011. When and if I run my first marathon I will be thinking of Grete. I'll be running for her and Fred Lebow, the founder of the NYC Marathon, my mother-in-law Gloria and my mom and my girlfriends and for everyone who has battled cancer in their lives. My favorite mantra is "Do it for those who can't." So I'll focus on what I CAN do and not what the scale tells me, because .4 pounds is not a problem in the grand scheme of things.

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Well, it started when I noticed a slight odor coming from the basement. It was the burner, and one of the valves was dripping a bit. FARGHHH!! I couldn't tell if we were out of oil because the damn gauge is broken, but thinking back on when our last delivery was and how cold it has been, it could only mean that we had indeed run out. Since I don't have a contract with a fuel company, I then had to find one to get us a delivery. Well, because of the huge storm we had, all of the oil companies were backed up AND lots of people were having emergencies.

I had to shovel this yesterday so we could GET an oil delivery!

Our usual oil company could only come as early as today. That was the best I could do. And then it got cold. Now, because of the cost of fuel oil and the fact that this 2 story house is usually empty most of the day, I keep it cold. We keep the living room warm because that's where we spend most of our time. But the rest of the house? My bedroom upstairs is always cool, and the kitchen, dining room and the kids rooms? 55*. Yep. That's cold.

Charlie started really worrying about the pipes freezing and once he worries about something that sets me off. He's usually pretty calm and cool. So I started calling other companies to see if they could get me just SOME oil to get us through the night. One finally said they had a truck in the neighborhood and would call back in 10 minutes. I then went to take Charlie to jazz band, with my husband's van since we've been parking single file due to the snow. Would you believe I passed the truck on the way to the high school and since Charlie didn't have my car keys, he couldn't get cash for the driver and they wouldn't wait?!? Just our luck!

So, we had to stick it out and freeze. I was overwhelmed with the urge to run to the kitchen and raid the cabinets. Even though the stress and worry was causing a huge pit in my stomach I wanted to shovel food in my mouth to comfort me and calm me down. Now, the house is pretty bare. I need to do a huge grocery shop, but there are still some treats here. I had a bag of Kisses from Christmas that I never used. I had opened it the other day to give everyone a snack and there was still about half the bag left. Last night I could really envision sitting with the bag in my lap and just peeling off that shiny silver wrapper and shoving one lovely chocolate drop into my mouth after another.

I ran to my computer and posted on my February challenge Facebook page that I was extremely close to throwing it all out the window and plowing through whatever I could get my hands on. Everyone there was sympathetic to what I was going through and helped encourage me and talk me down from that ledge. I still had some push ups to do from our bonus points 100 push up challenge, so I did them. I called my dad to  make sure we were doing everything we could in regards to the situation. We watched Big Bang Theory. The time passed and so did the urge to binge.

Charlie and I hunkered down with blankets and comforters and slept in the living room. It was a rough night, sleeping on the couch. It got down to 53* in the house. I bet the kids were thrilled to go to school this morning! I called the oil company and found out that we would be in the first round of deliveries. When the truck pulled up at 8 am, I could have kissed the driver! After about 45 minutes, I put the burner back on. It went on but didn't fire, so I hit the reset button. It went on AND fired, and then it went off. It did that a few times and then stayed on! So it wasn't clogged from all of the gunk at the bottom of the tank! When the burner fired, I prematurely called Charlie to say that the burner DID go on, and then he asked if the heat came up. Crap. NO! Well, it took about 7 minutes, but the heat finally came up and the house is no longer a 1,600 square foot walk-in fridge!

Now I'm waiting to hear from the plumber about servicing the burner and getting a new gauge for the oil tank. I called twice and he has yet to call me back, so I'm stuck in the house. I would LOVE to get to the gym and work off some of this stress. I also need to hit the grocery store BADLY. It's Ash Wednesday, which means a meatless day as well as all Fridays during lent. I have 2 boxes of macaroni and cheese and 3 eggs. I don't think my husband wants peanut butter and jelly quesadillas for dinner tonight, although that would make a nice lunch! I never thought of that! Necessity IS the mother of invention!

Cabin Fever

Unless you've been away on a tropical island without any sort of link to the outside world, (in which case, I HATE you!), you know that the northeast was hit with "Winter Storm Nemo." It seems we've been getting storms like this more often. Last winter was mild, but the winter before Long Island was slammed. Looking back, I think we've had a super snow storm about every three years since I've been married and living in this house ('95).

It all began on Friday when I had the pleasure of driving to Freeport for work, which is an hour drive on a good day. It was freezing rain by around 6 am, and since I had to be at work by 9 am, I left a little after 7. The traffic was okay. I just took it nice and slow. Thankfully I brought my car in on Wednesday because it was doing some shaking at high speeds. The tires were fine until I asked him to do a wheel alignment. Before I knew it, I needed two new tires, a tie rod and some sort of steering knuckle, along with the wheel alignment, which ran us about $800. ugh. At least I knew the car was good to go, until I had to cross over the bay to Fire Island on the Robert Moses bridge. My car felt like it was all over the place. It was fine for the 30 minute ride before that, so I came to the conclusion that it was the wind gusts that they warned us about making my car shimmy like that. I white-knuckled it the rest of the way to work and vowed NOT to take that route home!

Thankfully it was only going to be a half day, taking cap and gown pictures of the 4th graders moving up, so I would be getting out before the worst of it. I left at noon and took Sunrise Hwy. home, the entire way. It's not the optimum route, because there's a lot of traffic lights for at least 20 minutes, but I feel safer on roads like that, especially since there's a lot of businesses and gas stations on it, just in case! Ocean Parkway, my usual route, is pretty much no man's land, especially in the winter, when summer homes are left vacant. In fact, if you heard about all of the bodies being found on Long Island, near Gilgo Beach, that's exactly what I drive through! Oh, but the view of the Atlantic on a good day makes up for it! *snicker*

The kids had a regular day of school since the snow didn't hit our area until around 4 pm. Charlie's store closed at 4 pm, so he didn't have to work until 9 pm and then fight his way home. Thank God!!! By 6 pm, major highways were shutting down to only emergency vehicles and 100's of cars were getting stuck, leaving people stranded. He would have probably been one of them. My poor niece works 2 jobs, wasn't out of her 1st job until 6 pm, drove 2 1/2 hours to her 2nd job, and wound up getting snowed in there. Thankfully she works at Walgreen's, and probably the only place better to get stuck at would be Walmart or Target. She was able to eat (they have fresh and frozen food and a microwave in the break room), be entertained with cards and board games, and attempt sleep since they have blankets and pillows for sale! She actually laid down in the candy aisle! Talk about sweet dreams! They were allowed to eat what they wanted. I probably would have had to been ROLLED out of there in the morning!

This is Middle Country Rd., a 4 lane major roadway! My niece's store is on this road. (Photo courtesy of Tri Hamlet News and Rob Nolan)  

So, the snow hit and it just kept coming. I shoveled early in the afternoon when it was just slush. That made shoveling the 3 or 4" at 7 pm a bit easier. Charlie went back out again at 1 am and shoveled a good 5 or 6" and cleared the end of the driveway where we were plowed in. I wasn't happy about him being out there and I could tell he was in agony from the wet, cold wind, but it made my job that much easier at 9 am. There was probably another 5" on the ground. I never did see what the official snowfall amount was for MY town, but a town 4 miles north of us got almost 31". It really didn't matter what any of us got because the job that was done clearing Suffolk County of this storm was a disaster. We all knew it was coming, but for some reason they got so far behind that even the plows were getting stuck. I can not WAIT to see the news briefing on the response to this storm by the D.O.T.

Bundled up and ready to tackle Nemo Saturday morning. Between shoveling the driveway and keeping the outside basement doors clear, I had at least 4 hours of shoveling workouts.

Thankfully, my husband's store was closed on Saturday, and he's off on Sundays. The Long Island Expressway and Sunrise Hwy. were closed for a very long time. In fact, the LIE just opened up this morning, TWO days after the storm!

All that snow will be there until it melts. The driveway and mailbox are done. The walkway can rot!

We always park single file with a bad storm- it makes for less shoveling! 

So, Charlie and the kids were home since Friday at 4:30 pm. (Charlie went into work at 11 this morning.) There's been a lot of video games played and tv watched. I cooked and baked a lot. I made a chocolate chip quick bread and whoopie pies, the perfect treat on a cold night paired with a mocha cappuccino.

DELICIOUS!

I finally made it out a little while ago. I had no choice. My Kohl's bill needed to get paid TODAY. SO, that meant a trip to the bank before Kohl's. The drive through was closed so I had to brave that parking lot, but it was a good thing, since it forced me to go into the adjoining grocery store and pick up more bread and snacks, since we were dangerously low. That's what happens when 4 people are stuck in the house for 3+ days. A 16 year old son can literally eat you out of house and home. After that, I made it to Kohl's in one piece and paid my bill. Do you know how hard it is to go in there and NOT buy something? Especially when you know the clearance racks are chock full of new stock? I really deserve a medal. It would look nice next to my Diva Half marathon bling.

February challenge Update

So, it's the 5th. The For The Love Of Fitness Challenge is going strong over on Facebook. My team is doing phenomenal. It doesn't hurt that when I told my FB friends about it, 4 of them jumped on board, starting us off with 24 bonus points. I love seeing everyone being active and trying to do well for themselves and their team. There's been lots of sweaty muscle shots posted along with some video footage of people walking, running and exercise DVD-ing . I plan on finally popping in some Insanity and getting a video done this morning. It's Insane Tuesday, where we were asked to post a silly picture or video, so it's only fitting that I share my love of Shawn T.. It's been a long while since I've seen him. Hope he recognizes me!

My husband and I have decided to run the Long Island Half Marathon on May 5th! This will be my 2nd half and Charlie's first! I can't wait to cross the finish line with him, but we have to get to training. Since Charlie works 6 days a week, there's not much time left for running. He did manage to run my 8 and 11 mile training runs before the Diva half, so he'll be giving up his Sunday mornings off for a run. We kicked off training with a trip to the gym over the weekend. He hasn't run since September, so he took it nice and slow, and he did great for not having run for four months, but got a frickin' blister. We'll have to look into his sock/shoe situation. Yesterday I got back on the treadmill and ran 4.11 in 40:00 with a 2 minute warm-up, averaging 6.2 mph. I did intervals at 6.5 mph, all the while keeping the incline at .5. I could definitely feel the difference in my legs. It made the run tough, but still do-able.

Here's he calf shot I shared with the group yesterday.

Life has been pretty much status quo. I worked one day last week and I'll be working one day this week. Just one day a week at least takes care of my grocery shopping, so two days a week would make me feel rich! Again, this is supposed to be the slow season for the photography studio, but because Hurricane Sandy muffed up their fall shoots, we're working. By the spring I should be working more regularly and maybe even SAVING money for the future slower season.

Did I just say "saving money"? HA! Saving money will probably be a long shot since my son will be heading into his senior year in September. It was a pretty big shock when he came home yesterday with his course selection for next year. How the hell did that happen? Where did all that time GO?!? My baby boy is almost out the door. Not sure how I feel about letting him go.

Fabulous February Challenge

When I purchased Insanity many moons ago, I created a Beach Body account to log in my measurements and workouts to eventually get the coveted "I Earned It" Insanity t-shirt. I never finished the program, getting through the first month with great results, but not picking it up again, hence never getting the shirt. However, when you create an account, you are assigned a Beach Body coach, someone who can answer any questions you have about the program. Sandy found me and has been a friend on Facebook ever since.

From the Insanity website

I joined Sandy's Fitness Family group on Facebook, where members post workouts and successes, supporting each other through ups and downs. I participated in a September challenge that Sandy created. It was based on a points system, where different actions earned different amounts of points. Posting a workout was worth one point, where a muscle photo was five points. It was fun seeing my points add up. We had a partner and we would try our best to keep each other motivated and accountable. Sometimes there would be opportunities to earn bonus points, like completing 100 push-ups by the end of the day. You could do them all at once (yeah, right!) or ten sets of ten. It didn't matter, just as long as you got them done. That was a great accomplishment, doing those 100 push-ups. I felt like Shawn T. (almost).

So Sandy created another monthly challenge, this time for February, for teams of four. I managed to refer four friends, just by mentioning the challenge on Facebook, earning my team an extra 24 points! We're not all on the same team, which will make the competition that much more fun! I'm a team captain with my friend Gigi and two women I've never spoke to or friended before. My sister-in-law is a captain of another team, Dawn, a high school friend whom I ran the Diva with, is on another team, and a MFP friend is on another. I'm hoping it motivates us all  to stick to our health and fitness goals and helps jump start MY mission to lose the last 20 pounds I want to take off.

I plan on getting reacquainted with my boyfriend Shawn T. and start power jumping and burpeeing myself back into the shape I was in after that month, back in June. After completing the first month, not only was I stronger, but it REALLY helped with my speed. I PRd the Moriches Community Center 5k a week after that cycle. It must have been all of those butt kicks and suicides. Whatever it was, it worked and I'd really like to see what finishing the two month cycle will do for my body!

Not only will the February Challenge help kick-start my weight loss, but it's going to help get me half-marathon ready! Charlie and I have decided to run the Long Island Half-Marathon on May 5th!! I really needed a long race to train for besides my usual 5ks. The Diva half is not until October, and I'd like to remain half ready throughout the year, especially if I'm thinking of throwing my hat in the ring for the NYC Marathon lottery. That means we have 13 weeks to get race-ready, and this will be Charlie's first half!! He's run a few long runs with me- the 8 and 11-miler being the last runs he did with me before Diva in October. We're going to have to squeeze in more than one run a week for him to be truly prepared, which will be very difficult since he works 55 hours in a 6 day work week. I know him though. Throw him a challenge and he'll do what it takes to make things happen. I can not wait to cross the finish line with him!

The Long Island Marathon, Half-Marathon and 10k all have the same start line and time!

Where Was I?

Oh, yeah. Before I was gone for a week and staying with my niece's babies, I was telling you our team had just crossed the finish line. We had an awesome moment when Rik staged an impromptu medal ceremony and we just enjoyed the moment. Then reality set in and we had to clean up the vans and get our shit out. Somehow in the chaos of 38 hours, after using my iPod armpocket for the 1st leg and setting it aside to dry, it got misplaced. I hear it has been found in the box of Spark People t-shirts and is on its way to me. I hope so, since I only got to use the dang thing once!

Since the finish line was right at our hotel, I decided I wanted to drop my bags off at our room, and actually SEE the hotel. I really wanted a cold non-alcoholic beverage and figured we could hit the vending machine. That didn't happen. I also thought that I would just drop my crap off and meet up with my team mates to celebrate our finish. That didn't happen either. Charlie and I got to the room, I laid my bags on the floor and we laid across the bed, heads resting on our hands, while I tried to convey anecdotes from the last day and a half. I felt like I was just rambling on and on, my eyelids getting heavier and heavier. I started talking with my eyes closed. All of a sudden I open my eyes and Charlie is staring at me. "Did I just fall asleep mid-sentence?!?" While laughing at me, Charlie confirmed I was that exhausted that I indeed fell asleep while speaking. So, I decided I just needed to call it a night. I peeled my clothes off, slid into the luxurious bedding and, I believe, fell into a coma.

The bed was beckoning me...

I have NEVER slept that soundly. On a good night, I wake up at least ONCE to go to the bathroom. I also toss and turn, propping up the four pillows around me, creating a nest like a gorilla, to get comfortable. The next time I looked at the clock it was 5:40 am. I slept from 10 pm until nearly 6 am without waking up or so much as turning a pillow. I guess I couldn't possibly pee seeing as we were all dehydrated from the relay.

Since we were up early and not meeting our teammates until 10 am for brunch, we had some time to ourselves to explore a little and get some coffee. Right across the street from the hotel was Ana's Cuban Cafe and we got some great Cuban coffee, sat out on the porch and people watched. I got a surprising view of an older man riding past on his bicycle with white MESH shorts on. Of course he didn't have any undies on! Thankfully I only saw him going, not coming! We did some souvenir shopping and I picked up a beautiful mug for myself so that every morning, while I'm drinking my coffee, I'll think of my new friends and the great times we had on this trip.

I eat my oatmeal with the spoon!

We lazed around on a hammock, enjoying the warm sun, just like we did 17+ years ago on the beaches of Maui. It's nice to know, all these years later, we still really enjoy each other's company and can have fun doing just about anything.

I couldn't get the right angle no matter how many shots I took.

While walking around the area, we saw tons of vans from the relay. Some people had already started washing off their decorations, while others were still sleeping off the celebrating they did the night before. There were some interesting decorations and some seriously funny team names.

I think it should say "We run hard so you don't have to," like the Scrubbing Bubbles motto.

It was finally time to meet everyone for brunch and we wound up at the Six Toed Cat and enjoyed every one's company. Unfortunately, Jen, Carly, Jen and Ada had to leave right after breakfast, so the sad goodbyes began.

That's Meredith's husband, David,  in the Angry Bird shirt, and Rik's wife Cynthia is taking the photo, so not everyone is represented!

After a long, leisurely meal, Charlie and I had to figure out how the hell we were getting from Key West to Miami the next day, so we went back to our hotel to iron it all out. This is the first time I can remember staying at a hotel with a concierge. Suzie at The Southernmost Hotel was extremely helpful. She kept reminding me that it was her job to help, but it still was really appreciated! Anyway, she gave us the phone numbers for the Key West shuttle and some car rental companies. The shuttle was booked for the following SIX days!! That left having to rent a car and make the 4 hour drive ourselves. I called 3 companies and they had not one vehicle. Finally, Avis had vehicles, but would you believe all they had left was 12 passenger vans?!? We had no choice but to rent one. Charlie didn't really want to drive, but it was our only option. So, we had to get a cab to the Key West airport (if you can call it that!) to pick up the van. The funny thing was that I was able to decorate it with my before/after magnet for the drive to Miami!

By the time we got back, it was time to head to Rick's Bar for the Ragnar award ceremony. No awards for our team. If there was a "Most Inspirational" team, we would've had that one in the bag, I think. We hung out and met other amazing teams there, as well. "The Tightans" was an ultra team from D.C. that won their category, and that was after having 3 of their 6 team members drop out 3 weeks before the race. They scrambled and managed to fill the empty slots in time. How do you find someone (let alone 3 people) willing to run 1/6th of a 200 mile relay on the fly? I'd say www.nutjob.com!

Charlie and I split off again and went over to Mallory Square since it was just a few blocks away. Unfortunately by the time we got there, after enjoying some conch fritters and a delicious Key Lime martini, it was too late to watch the sunset at the top of the Shipwreck Museum. We did have a chocolate dipped piece of Key Lime pie from Kermit's and on the walk back came across Mattheessen's and got the best, biggest chocolate chip cookie EVER!!

They are literally the size of your head!

We also stopped into the famous Captain Tony's Saloon. People leave their business cards stapled to the walls and ceilings, so we left one of Charlie's.

Wait until you see the inside...

They don't just leave business cards!!! 

I wasn't willing to part with MY bra. We were still meeting everyone for one last drink at Bourbon St., so I didn't want to show up with my ta-tas hanging low. At the bar, we talked some more, took plenty of pictures and said our goodbyes. John and Meredith were leaving the next day as well. Rik, Katie, Lealah, Allison and Andrea were staying another day or two, the lucky ducks. From the pictures I've seen they had some really great times and I'm a bit jealous I wasn't able to stay and bond some more. I surely learned that coming in the day before and leaving the day after is NOT enough time to spend with all of these great people AND see the city. I will plan accordingly next time.

Charlie and I went back to the hotel and had one last beer by the pool and talked for a good long time. Had we known we weren't going to be tired, we would've stayed at the bar a little longer.

The Pineapple Bar at the hotel and the pretty color-changing lights in the pool

We finally got our asses up and back to the room to finish packing and get to bed. We had to start the day out at 4:30 am to get on the road for Miami. An 11:55 am flight to D.C. was waiting for us to bring us down on LI at 4:40 pm. It was an extremely long travel day and oh so depressing. The warmth and sunshine of Key West was quickly replaced by the gloomy steel gray sky and 30* temperatures. Snap! Back to reality...

Oh, yeah, even after feeling like death after my first leg, vowing I would never do a RR again, thinking I possibly wouldn't recover to finish the other 2 legs, we're all on board for another crazy ride, this time through Tennessee! November 2014 can't some soon enough.