2.62 For My Hometown

My mini-marathon was run last night in total silence to pay respect to those that we lost from the Boston Marathon bombings. My vow is to never stop running for them or anyone else that can't run.

4-15-13 Never Forget

I Run Cause I Can

I haven’t posted in months and I’m not quite sure if I’ll post again after this one. But for now, this is my outlet. This is where I can let it all out and not give two shits what people think.
Runners are a special breed of people. If you are a runner or know a runner, you know that they are determined beyond belief. As much as running is a physical activity, it is more mental then anything. You have to push past the pain, the urge to quit, just to get the satisfaction of completing that run. Whether it’s 2 miles or 20 miles, it takes a special person to be a runner.
I learned this during my 1st 5K, my 1st 10K and my 1st ½ marathon. We are fighters.

And being a Bostonian is nothing short of being a fighter. From the day that Paul Revere spread the word that the “British are coming”, we held our ground and never gave up.

This is a winning combination if you are a Boston runner.

My heart tore apart yesterday when I heard about the Marathon bombings. As a runner who follows the biggest races to being a Bostonian that has cheered on my fellow runners in MY home town, there was a small piece of me that died when I heard of the bombings.

Like most parents, I cried when I heard that an 8 year old lost his life from this tragedy. I hugged my kids, I cried in my husband should and I thanked God that my family was still a strong unit.

But then I questioned what I could do. I’ve donated money, I’ve donated blood, but what could I do to feel good in my heart.

Tonight I am running 2.62 silent miles to honor and remember those that lost their lives, that lost limbs or that lost hope in running.

I will do this for them and for me. To be strong for my kids. To show them that no matter what, no one can take away your freedom.

I am free to run….and I will do just that.

At Least There's Hockey!

Let’s catch up a bit, shall we?

(If you follow me on Instagram, you may see some repeat photos....just read the words that go along)

:)

I’ve decided to eliminate all junk food from the house. This has been somewhat easy as munchkin #2 decided he wants to eat drink smoothies for his snacks.

Saturday was a full day. We headed out to the RV and Camper show at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Note to self: do NOT bring 2 toddlers to an RV show EVER again. I spent a better part of the day chasing them through campers and answering “why we can’t afford the $240,000 Class A bus” to camp in. That's a mortgage! We'd have to live in it.

Apologies to the random guy in my shot!

Afterwards, my in-laws surprised us by taking all 3 munchkins overnight so Hubs and I could go out to dinner. We had our favorite, Sushi and Scorpion bowls!

Sunday we prepped for the big game. The kids made homemade English muffin pizzas! Success!

After whipping together a low fat Buffalo Chicken Dip (recipe to come later) and grilled chicken fajitas for us older folk, we watched the Patriots get STOMPED by Baltimore. At least there is hockey, right?

By the clock's time, 7:35pm and I was already yelling at the TV and Tom Brady!

 

Monday I was craving Haddock like it was going out of style.

 

Luckily it’s not.

 

 I found out that soaking your fish in milk for 30 minutes beforehand can get rid of that fishy smell while cooking, and leave it moist and flaky. I bought a packet of lemon/dill seasoning and baked it at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

 

This fish was H-E-A-V-E-N!!!! It was accompanied by brussel sprouts, edamame, crab cakes and a Pinot Grigio, with the wine being the most important side.

This is my last week at my gym. I cancelled my membership to work out at home but I have to admit, I’ll miss my gym racing with the other treadmill runners.

 

Today was an easy 3 miles (9:56pace) with a .30 mile cool down! BOOM! DONE!

 

HOW WAS YOUR WEEKEND?

WHO DID YOU ROOT FOR IN THE AFC/NFC CHAMPIONSHIPS?

YOUR FAVORITE FISH RECIPE?

Movin' On Up!

Training season has officially started! I only have one race on the calendar, but it’s something!

 

I’ve decided that since the government wants all my hard earned money, I am quitting the qym to save money. In reality, the only time I went was for Zumba class. Since my gym offers class cards, I decided to just buy one of those, cancel my membership and use my mill at home.

 

However, the mill is in the basement and I really hate the basement. We use to have a TV down there but had to move it to the living room when a certain 3 year old smashed the screen of the 70” LCD.

 

Whole other story.

 

Prior to the holidays, I cleaned the corner of my living room that held a majority of the rugrats toys. They now reside in their bedroom and I have an entire corner EMPTY in my living room.

 

So, with the blessing of my hubby, the treadmill is moving on up!!! Along with some free weights and my yoga mat, I’ll have a mini gym right at home!

 

The dreadmill's new home....

 

 

Now I have to work on switching my lunchtime running routine to mornings (or dear lord!).

 

 

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I am going to use my blog for a “non running” family shout out today.

 

If you ever met my father in law, you would know that he is just about the biggest sports fan there is.

 

Ever.

 

He coached little league, spent hours upon hours at my nieces and nephews games and runs concession stands at our local ball parks. Sports FANatic!

 

So when he was approached about owning a football team, I’m sure his eyes twinkled a bit (I wasn’t there, but I assume it was magical. Kinda how I look at a bottle of wine).

 

Well in 2 months, his team, The Boston Freedom Fighters will be playing the first game of their season!! I am so excited for him, but just as excited for my free season tickets, being family and all (right dad?).

 

Go check out their fan page on Facebook (Boston Freedom Fighters) and on Twitter (@BostonFreedom) and there nifty website, http://www.bostonfreedomfighters.com/.

 

 

DO YOU HAVE A HOME GYM?

 

 

FOOTBALL, LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT?

 

The 1st Run

2013 1^st run is in the books.

It wasn’t a planned run. I planned on hitting up a Muscle Fit class on my lunch break. That didn’t happen due to work getting in my way. I opted to jump on the treadmill and see how far my legs would carry me.

3.17 miles was it. But a good start to the year.

I’ve also pledged to use Daily Mile much more this year to track my mileage. You can find me there @ Mrsspady

And while I’m at it, I am very much into social networking lately.

Facebook: A Runner's Road

Twitter: @arunnersroad

Pinterest: Mrsspady

Be prepared that my life doesn’t revolve around running (SAY WHAT!) so if you decide to follow me on Pinterest, you’ll see kids party ideas, places I’d like to go, fashion ideas and other stuff not exercise related. You’ve been warned.

So now that I have gotten in that elusive 1^st run after taking time off, I feel it necessary to stalk Cool Running for races. I need to keep the motivation up!

What I am not sure about is should I incorporate shorter distance races into my marathon training? I mean, it couldn’t hurt right? But I feel like, while a run should be for training purposes, I may take a race a bit too seriously and become disappointed with my results, especially longer races.

Have you/do you incorporate races into your training?

Social networking…..use it or lose it?