Jenn's Triathlon Blog

Coach

2012-02-09T09:57:00.001-05:00

Last year, as some of you may know, I went and paid a small fortune for a triathlon coach. Lets just say it was less than ideal. & to be honest, I stiffed her for the last $187. Why you ask? Because she totally sucked. & it probably wasn't nice of me to admit that, but when you provide 50% of what you say you're going to provide, I think getting paid 90% is fair.

& I never do stuff like that, but what recourse did I have? I can't call the Better Business Bureau. & she lived in California, so good luck suing me. Harsh? Definitely! But when you fly 3,000 to California to participate in a race & the so-called "coach" doesn't even call you the week of/day before/day of/day after the race, well, I wish I had stiffed her for a lot more than $187. There was more to it than not calling me before the race, believe me, but I'm not going to get into how lame she was.

The biggest regret I have is that I didn't keep the workout plan. It was loaded into a fancy online training log & once the race was over....POOF! the plan disappeared. Yeah, so much for paying for that too. My fault for not printing it out though.

Overall, I was not happy with the coaching I received, but I am willing to give it another try. I did contact a trainer, to no avail, but I think I found someone good, through the Sandy Hookers, that can help me out! I'm really interested in a training plan. That worked out the best for me. But this year.....I'm going to keep a copy! Live & learn I guess.

I am 60% of the way to my goal of $2,500 for the MS fundraiser for the NYC triathlon. So if you can spare a dollar or two, please feel free to donate to my race! Here's the link! http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Run/NYNGeneralEvents?px=9118691&pg=personal&fr_id=18329

Spring Lake 5 AM

2012-02-01T08:41:00.000-05:00

It's February! So you know what that means? Time to register for the Spring Lake Five. At 5:00 am. Yep, you read that right five, no six! faithful followers - hello Gloriane! Now I think the organizers of this race are taking this whole "five" thing a bit too far. This year you have to register online, or have the race application postmarked by February 1st. Ugh, getting up at 5 am seems to be my only option. I know I would never get to the post office today.

At 2:30 am I wake up. Not by choice, of course, but because this is my witching hour. Actually 3 am is, but I guess I was a bit early last night. The funny part of all of this is that I had a dream that I didn't get the chance to register for the race & I had to register late.....as my dentist. What did I eat last night before I went to bed????

As I lay in bed watching Law & Order reruns I am wondering if I should set my alarm or just hope for the best & let my internal clock remind me at 5 am. After 2 thrilling Briscoe & Curtis episodes I must have fallen back to sleep. At 5:08 am I wake up & jump out of bed. OK, time to register. Now, I know you are thinking, who the hell wants to get up at 5 am to do anything? I agree, I think this is ridiculous, but this will be my third year (should be my 11th, but hey I was lazy for 8 years) running this race & it fills up in a matter of days. Thankfully, I have my early registration password & downstairs I go to register.

It's 5:11 now & I am sitting in front of my computer. Who is up this early? Besides my Dad & my Grandmother that is. I should have had them register, but that would have required me showing them how to use a computer. Yeah, getting up myself was clearly the better option.

I click on the link & what? What's that? Registration is not open? WHAT???? You make me get up at 5:00 am & you don't have the link open. It's 5:11! If this was ticketmaster I'd be locked out already! 11 minutes is a long time to wait, especially when you're overtired! At 5:13 the link finally worked & I am in! Yeah, thanks for getting up & out of bed lazy link setter upper.

I make sure I have the receipt & acknowledgement from the website, shut off my computer, pat Louie on the head (who, by the way is wondering what I am doing up so early) & I am back off to bed. I see my friend Lisa Sue has text me, she is also in. A quick update on facebook & a text to Dori & Fran Rizzo & we are all registered. Woo hoo! This year I am hoping to break 50 minutes, hey - I AM SLOW PEOPLE, but Lisa Sue has reminded me - why rush - get your money's worth! Sounds like a plan Lisa!

Undie Run

2012-01-30T10:49:00.000-05:00

I think I have turned the corner on this whole bronchitis thing! I spent the entire weekend in bed & drank tea. I was fearful that I did have pneumonia, but I think with the proper medicine, I am getting over this. Thank God! It's terrible to be sick for 2 weeks.

Today I have to go to the gym. Regardless of my hacking & coughing, it has been 2 weeks & I can no longer lay around. I am getting restless & this triathlon is not going to run itself. Yes, it is still 6 months away, but it's not a matter of just finishing any longer, I need to finish strong & not be content with just completing the course.

Another thing I have to do soon is put my bike back together. I am embarrassed to say that it is still sitting in the box, in my dining room waiting to be unpacked. Ugh, who does that? Me, I guess. And since it has been so nice out lately (no snow, no snow, no snow - sorry just me wishing aloud there) I should get out & get back on my bike soon. No more excuses!

& here's something silly. The week before the triathlon, there's an underwear run in central park. Now I am sure that I should not be one of those people that run in their undies, but maybe I can get buy in a jog bra & running skirt. http://www.nyctri.com/Underwear_Run_36.htm Check it out!

Sick!

2012-01-26T15:51:00.002-05:00

So much has been going on lately. I haven't really thought about anything good to write in my blog, so I haven't blogged in a few weeks. Sorry five faithful followers. I have been sick with bronchitis for the past 2 weeks. Ugh, that's a long time. I am actually starting to feel better. Today was the first day I did not have to take any cough medicine, go me! & let me tell you, I am pretty much immune to Nyquil & Robitussin. Neither even make me drowsy any longer. Not good. I am thinking about switching to Mucinex, based solely on their disgusting phlegm monster commercials.

Anyhoo......so since I have been since I haven't had any time to workout. Well, I've had lots of time, but no energy. Most nights have been spent in bed, trying to rest. So to sum up the past few weeks my 49ers sadly lost to the Giants & I now have to wear some 1986 Lawrence Taylor jersey to work (thanks Jimmy!) & paint my face some god awful blue & red (FDNY Mike). I think I am going to opt for a face tattoo instead. I am not a face painter thank you very much!

In other news I started my first day of volunteering (bronchitis & all - sorry tourists) at the WTC memorial. It was a great experience. It was very cold, but not too windy, which is good I was told, because one day last week it was so cold they had to shut off the water to one of the waterfalls because the wind was blowing the water out onto the plaza & making it very icy. Not good, or safe! Overall, despite the cold, it was a good day. I even managed to be on time for both Path trains. No waiting around. & no being late for my first shift. I thought I would be sad, but I wasn't. I was happy to be there. Another volunteer asked why I decided to become a volunteer so I told her. It was my way of giving back to Jerry. & I felt very close to him all day when I was there. I'm sure he's looking down & getting a good laugh at my expense at me in my blue hat & volunteer vest - freezing my butt off, but it worth it.

There are all types of people there. Many, were tourists & some had questions. They asked about the buildings, the survivor tree (I even met the arborist!) & for me to take their pictures. I never thought I'd ask someone to take my picture at the WTC memorial, but I get why they do it. I took pictures when I went there, but only of the site, and of names of people that I knew. I guess it was like when I visited the Vietnam Memorial in 8th grade. We all pencil rubbed names of soldiers onto wax paper, but none of us really knew what we were doing, or any of the people whose names were inscribed in the wall. One of the other things I noticed was the change in the waterfall. Now I don't mean change, as in it looked different, I mean monetary change. People have taken to throwing change into the waterfall. We were asked to discourage people from doing so, but I can see why they do it. Apparently, it is a custom to throw change into fountains in Europe & many tourists do this as a sign of respect. Honestly, it reminded me of being at the Short Hills Mall & trying to get a quarter into the big water globe, so I don't think I would ever throw change into the memorial. I guess it is too personal to me. But, the one positive side of this is that I am sure that the memorial keeps the change & it goes towards upkeep & helps to always keep the cost of viewing the memorial free. But still, it was not something I liked to see.

I'm hoping this weekend will bring less coughing & more working out. I am trying to nail down a good schedule. It must be getting closer to summer, as I just noticed the Spring Lake 5 email reminding me to sign up!

9/11 WTC Memorial

2012-01-11T13:48:00.000-05:00

Last night was my first volunteer training for the 9/11 memorial. I signed up & was accepted into their volunteer program. For many of you who may not know, my friend Gerard Dewan was killed on 9/11. Another friend, who worked in the North tower, escaped after the first plane hit the building.

During the training, we sat in the Preview Site building. There are artifacts, information & photos of what happened that day. As I sat listening to the presentation I couldn't help but watch information scroll across a tv monitor behind one of the lecturers. A view of the interior of the Memorial Museum, which was supposed to open later this year, shows a smashed Ladder 3. I was really taken aback. I wasn't expecting to see the 3 truck until I went to the museum. I knew that they had selected it to be placed in the museum & I had seen part of the Discovery documentary where they lowered the apparatus into the museum, but to see the picture was really heartbreaking. Knowing my friend was on it, makes me sad, but proud. Here is a photo of it being lowered into the museum in July of 2011.

I know I have blogged about the WTC before, but I was so honored to be picked as a volunteer for the WTC Memorial Site. I hope that if you have the chance, you will come visit the site. Maybe you'll even see me there. Never Forget. 1810.

Huge Thanks!

2012-01-09T12:58:00.000-05:00

Last night I got great news. A college friend has helped me raise over $1,000 for my 2012 NYC Triathlon. I have a charity spot & I have been asked to raise $2,500. Thanks to my friend Christie, $1,000 has been pledged. I am eternally grateful & know that I can never pay her back!!!

She's a triathlete (a real one) too & she has raised thousands for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society, so I have to say thanks (again & again & again) for her using her connections to help me raise money for MS!

Here's a pic of us at our relay marathon race back in October.

Eagles Giants Skins 2

2012-01-04T10:29:00.003-05:00

Ticketamerica.com has tickets for the phildelphia eagles and the new york giants and the washington redskins tickets.

phildelphia eagles tickets

new york giants tickets

washington redskins tickets

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T10:02:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! Can you believe it is January already? It's cold today! 28 degrees. That's pretty chilly considering it was 55 the other day. Did everyone make resolutions for the New Year? I made a few. I have to say that last year, I kept one of my resolutions all the way til October. That's pretty good, I think. It was to keep the dining room table clutter free. Yes, this isn't a huge resolution, but I believe in starting small. I did pretty well for the whole year, but I guess old habits die hard.

I will try again this year with a few resolutions. I should go home & clean off the table & try that one again! My main resolution is to get things organized, in my house & in my life! I want to say thanks to reality TV this weekend for solving all my problems! You see, on New Years Eve I went out with a bunch of friends for dinner & to ring in the New Year. I had a really great time & dinner, but.....my dish contained mussels & even though I love them.....I have come to realize that I am allergic to them. Boo! They are so tasty. But they are not the 2nd time around, let me assure you!

So after lying in bed all day New Years Day, which was a total let down, as I like to start the New Year off with a trip to the gym, I resigned myself to watching bad tv. I'm not much of a reality show person, but I do watch them from time to time because they really have zero plot to them & they're easy to follow along. After the 5th episode of the Rachel Zoe Project I had an epiphany. Now, I'm not really sure what makes this show so interesting, perhaps it is her incessant whining about being whisked back & forth to LA, NY, Paris & Milan to view the collections, but as I was watching people drag clothing racks of the most gorgeous couture around, the light bulb went off!

Clothing racks. Hanging closets! That's exactly what I need for organization! So an early evening trip to Target & a few Ikea like diagrams later, viola! Organization! I can't believe it. My whole world is coming together. Now, I know what you're thinking....clothing racks? That's a problem for you. Yes, it certainly is! & it solved a big clutter problem that was slowly consuming me. Next on my list, the container store! Watch out 2012 I may just be on to something!!!!!!!

Me & My Hero

2011-12-14T09:57:00.000-05:00

Small But Growing

2011-12-13T13:11:00.001-05:00

Check this out. Blogger tracks your traffic. Sure, I'm not a big site. I get a few readers each day thanks to my 5 followers! But this is cool! Here are my stats from the past 30 days. Who knew I had readers in such far away places. Hello to all! Here's to a Happy New Year - 2012! Can you believe it's only 18 days away? I can't!

United States

265

Russia

Slovakia

Germany

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Mexico

Malaysia

New Zealand

Bahrain

MS Society & the New York City Triathlon

2011-12-12T12:47:00.001-05:00

It's official! I have been selected to race in the 2012 NYC Triathlon. Yay! I know some of you are thinking, who in their right mind would want to swim in the Hudson River? Well, I was thinking the same thing not too long ago when we took a visit to the Statue of Liberty. There was a lot of junk floating in the river. & not just seaweed & usual stuff. Actual large pieces of wood, logs, etc. Not to mention the pic that I took when we were fishing awhile back. But, in all honesty, this was in the NY bay, closer to Staten Island - so consider the source. If some of you are wondering, it is the bumper to a turquoise Ford Taurus.

But, in all seriousness, I am raising money for the MS Society & every penny counts. I have If you have the chance to donate, please do! Any amount is greatly appreciated. I have enclosed the link in this post. Thanks!!!!!

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Run/NYNGeneralEvents?px=9118691&pg=personal&fr_id=18329

December 8, 2001

2011-12-08T08:53:00.001-05:00

The following is an excerpt from a the BravestMemorial.com. It has been 10 long years & I will never forget getting the call on December 9th that they found Jerry. RIP my friend. 1810.

The remains of Lt. Dave Fontana were found last Thursday in the wreckage of the south tower of the World Trade Center, his widow, Marian Fontana, said yesterday. Lieutenant Fontana, 38, was one of 12 men from the elite Squad 1 fire and rescue company who disappeared in the cascading inferno Sept. 11. Lieutenant Fontana, whose firehouse was in Park Slope, Brooklyn, left Mrs. Fontana and a 5-year-old son, Aidan. In an emotional bit of synchronicity, the remains of Firefighter Gerard P. Dewan were also recovered from the site last week. The remains were confirmed to be his this week through DNA tests. Firefighter Dewan was a tenant and friend of Firefighter Sean Cummins, who in turn was a friend of Lieutenant Fontana's at Squad 1. A memorial was held for Lieutenant Fontana in late October. There were bagpipes and 1,000 firefighters and a coffin with no body. Marian Fontana has since become politically active, emerging as the spokeswoman for a group representing grieving family members whose relatives and spouses have not been found since Sept. 11. "I'm not sure how I feel," Mrs. Fontana said yesterday morning. "Mixed, I guess. I was happy that they found Dave, but I'm not feeling the closure I expected to get." The lieutenant's remains were found by rescue workers Thursday morning, while Mrs. Fontana and her son were visiting Hawaii. That same day, Aidan learned to surf. It was an important moment for the family, Mrs. Fontana said, since her husband was a surfer and a lifeguard on Long Island in his younger years. Mrs. Fontana is planning a small funeral service for her husband next week at the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, noted for its natural beauty and Victorian monuments. Lieutenant Fontana will be laid to rest in the shade of a beech tree, she said. A firefighter from Squad 1 who was among the workers last Thursday said they knew they had found a fireman by his jacket. "We didn't know it was Dave right away," the firefighter said, asking that his name not be published because, like many firefighters, he was working on his own time and thus unauthorized to be at ground zero. "It was dark, late at night, and you are never sure of the time. But it was like we got something and then we got something else." The firefighter paused for a moment to compose himself and continued: "In a way it makes me happy. We accomplished something for his family." Lieutenant Fontana was not just a firefighter, the people who knew him say. He was a Renaissance man: a sculptor, a Fire Department historian, a prankster. He was Mr. Mom to the mothers at the grade school because of his devotion to his son. After the body was recovered, it was draped in an American flag and driven to the Bellevue Hospital Center morgue for official identification. After the remains of Firefighter Dewan, 35, were also found last week, his and Lieutenant Fontana's names appeared side by side on the list of the confirmed deceased. Firefighter Dewan was among the first firefighters to enter the twin towers. Along with 11 others from Ladder Company 3/Battalion 6 in Lower Manhattan, he never made it out. It was his first day working at the firehouse. A small family ceremony in Boston, where he was born, is planned today. Firefighter Dewan had family ties to the Boston Fire Department, but because of a lack of job opportunities there, he began in the New York Fire Department five years ago. He is the first member of his family to die in the line of duty. He was not married, but found a family in the Cummins household in Rockaway Park, Queens, where he rented a basement apartment. "At least there is closure and he can be buried," said Maureen Cummins, Firefighter Sean Cummins wife.

NYC Triathlon - MS Society

2011-12-02T23:43:00.000-05:00

Woo hoo! I got the email today! I was accepted for the MS Society's team for the 2012 NYC Triathlon. It’s a charity spot & I am psyched! Originally, I had entered the lottery, but I wasn’t selected & I was ok with that. I really should have signed up for the MS team in the first place & avoided the lottery altogether. As some of you may know, one of my closest friends was diagnosed with MS this year. Since then, we have been running, biking & now swimming to help find a cure. & in February I will (hopefully) be climbing to the top of Rockefeller Center to help raise money in the fight against MS.

I know a few people with MS. My mom’s cousin, a coworker’s mom, a sorority sister’s mother & now my friend. Did you know that there are only 6 drugs that help treat MS symptoms? 6! Wouldn’t you think there would be 60? Well, I only found out this past May that 20 years ago, there were no drugs to help treat MS. Notice I say treat, not cure? Right now there is no cure for MS. There are so many things that researchers do not know about MS, like where it comes from or how you get it. Crazy, right?

Hopefully all this running & biking will help fund research & prevention of this disease. For now all we can hope for is that the drugs that are out on the market now help slow the progression of this awful disease.

I hope you stick with me while I start training for this great race. July 8, 2012. Only 217 days!

December 1st

2011-12-01T14:06:00.000-05:00

Hello my five followers & my newest follower from Bahrain! How cool is that? I really like that Blogger lists statistics & that I can find out where my audience lives! I looked up the weather in Bahrain today - 72 degrees. Aaahhh that's nice. It was 38 when I left for work this morning. I am sure it warmed up a bit, but today was the first day I pulled out a winter coat. Boo winter! Bring back summer.

I am anxiously waiting to hear if I got selected for the MS team for the NYC triathlon. I really hope that I do. I think that I should find out this week. Pick me! Pick me! I wonder how many people sign up for the charity slots? I think I did a pretty good job filling out the application & letting them know why I want to be picked for the team. I'm not just someone that didn't get picked for the lottery, I have a close friend with MS & I really want to raise money to find a cure. But if I don't get picked, I will find another race & still figure out a way to raise money for the MS society.

In other news, I haven't really been working out & it is beginning to show! I have to come up with a good plan & race schedule for 2012. Not that I am some huge athlete, but picking out races has become something I look forward to doing this time of year. & eating Christmas cookies, and eggnog & all the fun holiday treats!

I can't believe that it is already December 1st. 2011 has flown by. I'm excited to see what 2012 will bring! Hope you will continue to follow me!

Manasquan Turkey Trot

2011-11-20T12:43:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was the Manasquan Turkey Trot. So much fun! I've never done this race, but have always wanted to. Again, I did it with my friends Katie & Mary Kate & it was a ton of fun. They are so silly those two, showing up on race day with a full face of bronzer & pearl earrings. Well don't let the pearl earrings fool you my friend, they are serious runners. Mary Kate finished 20 minutes before me. She is one Speedy Gonzales! & Katie finished 14 minutes before me. Maybe it was the bronzer. I'm going to have to start applying some before each & every race.

This race started with a cannon. Sheesh it scared the crap out of Katie & I. People were giggling at us. Whatever, it was noisy! Mary Kate was gone before we knew it & Katie graciously ran the first 1/2 mile with me before I told her not to wait on old me. They just finished the Savannah Rock & Roll Half Marathon last week, so I'm sure this measly 5 miles was a recovery run for them.

We had a great time & took tons of pictures. Here are a few from the event! Lets just say the fun part of this race is the after party. All of Manasquan is rocking! Next year though, we are dressing up as Pocahontases. Pocahontases with brozner.

Post Trot - the pre Trot pic of me was horrendous

Two turkeys

Our finish line greeter! Slobbery finish kisses!

The bronzed beauties!

Zuccotti Park

2011-11-17T09:53:00.003-05:00

As many of you know, from reading my blog over the past year or so, I rarely, if ever talk about anything political. For the most part, I've been boring you all with my lame workout schedules & 5k itineraries. That being said, I have to take a minute out of my silly workout blog to talk about something I saw last night.

I live in a pretty nice suburb of NYC. An outer suburb, but for the most part, many people I know work, eat, dine, shop or have some affiliation with the Big Apple. It's a great place, what's the saying - the town so nice, they named it twice? New York, New York for some of my oversea readers. So without being super long winded or sounding like a wing nut, I'd like to spout off on my dislike of all things #OWS (Occupy Wall Street).

We went to NYC last night to visit the World Trade Center Memorial. If you are ever in NYC, or are planning to go to NYC, please put this destination on your to do list. I'm glad that we made a night appointment. The lights & the waterfalls of the memorial are so peaceful. It was definitely a moving experience. But don't be surprised at the ongoing construction. Even at 8 pm last night the iron workers & construction guys are all hard at work rebuilding lower Manhattan. It's a 24/7 job.

My friend that I went to the memorial with, used to work in the North Tower of the WTC. It was her first visit back to the site in 10 years. I was glad we went together, as it was definitely something you should experience with someone else. When we got to the memorial (an hour late - thanks NYC traffic) you are scanned & asked to show your pass about 4 times. The security it tight & honestly, had it not been raining last night, I'm sure they would not have let us in. If you make an appointment, be on time. This is not a tourist attraction, it's a place of mourning & reflection & remembrance.

After entering the memorial, it's hard to picture the plaza as it once was. The 16 acre site doesn't seem so large. Not that I'm an expert on how big an acre should be, but I expected the footprints of the buildings to be much larger, perhaps because they towered so high over the NY skyline. The site was amazing. The lights & waterfalls of each tower were definitely something I will never forget. Each name is illuminated from below & is placed based on (work location, tower location, flight number, etc.). All of the first responders are listed in the South tower footprint. My friend, Gerard Dewan, is listed in the South tower, along with the rest of the members from Ladder 3. Below is his illuminated name.

After the memorial, we went out for a really nice dinner & then made the walk back to the car. This is where the night took a different turn. I'm not very familiar with all things Lower Manhattan, so I didn't realize until yesterday that Zuccotti Park, home of the Occupy Wall Street Movement was directly across from the visitor's center at the Memorial. & let me say that it's not a park in the sense that Central Park is a park, with open green areas & places to sit & reflect. It's a concrete island between two building with a few statues & maybe a tree or two. It was hard to discern given the 2,000 media vans & the large NYPD contingency.

As of yesterday, the protesters had been moved out of the park. Or I should say, their tents, bedding, camping equipment & other personal items had, many were still milling about. I guess after 2 months of occupying Zuccotti Park, everyone in NYC has had enough. I saw some people, mostly wandering around looking lost & confused. Well, it was raining & nasty out, there's really not much in this world I feel so strongly about that would make me sit on a slab of concrete for two months in all types of weather, but hey, everyone has their thing.

I shot the following video on the way back to the car. All I have to say is hats off to the NYPD because if I had to stand out in the cold rain & be subject to this nonsense all day, well lets just say my weapon would definitely be several bullets short of a full magazine. I hope you can hear the volume.

I hope everyone who has read this far actually knows that I'm not some right wing nutcase that doesn't believe in free speech & the right to go out in the world & let it all hang out. I totally am. Live & let live. But to sit in a park & disrupt people's lives for nothing more than some hairbrained idea, well, I don't think I will ever understand that. After I shot that video & the drunk "protester" aka, dirty 20 year old figured out fighting with the NYPD isn't the smartest thing to do, we started to walk back to our car. At this point we were stopped by a British reporter, asking us if we'd like to be interviewed. Honestly, the last thing I'd ever want to do is have my 2 second soundbite edited within an inch of its life, so I declined. My friend, however, did not.

After speaking with the reporter, it dawned on me that unless you go there & see what this is all about, you may never understand why people do & think some of the things they do. The reporter expressed shock that we did not agree with the OWS crowd. Really? I'm kinda shocked. I'd say about 90% of the people I know think that this movement is just a bunch of lazy kids with student loan debt that don't want to work. OK, that might be a bit narrow minded on my part, but it's how I feel.

One girl walked by & called us ignorant & screeched about how stupid we were & knew nothing about America. OK, I'm visiting the place where 3,000 Americans were killed, paying my respect with a friend that narrowly escaped the North Tower & celebrating her life with a lovely dinner afterward & you're sleeping in a park in the cold rain. OK, who's the ignorant one there? Maybe you don't agree with my politics, but that doesn't make me ignorant. I'm spurring on the economy of NYC by dining, shopping, parking & tipping local workers, you're draining it by camping out & forcing the city to pay 1,000s of hours of meaningless overtime. Yeah sister, I'm the stupid one.

Lets just say that after speaking to this reporter, whose first question to us after our interview was: Are you Jewish? I had had enough. Jewish, Catholic, Muslim, Atheist? Don't we all just want to live our lives? It's not about religion people. It's not about who has more or less than I do, it's about letting people go about their lives, to & from work, peacefully, without having an armed presence in lower Manhattan for the past two months. Peacefully assemble, don't disrupt & cost the city millions in overtime.

I for one hope that I haven't offended too many. I'm glad I saw what I did last night. I like being informed & in the know. I just wish that people had turned their cameras around from Zuccotti Park & focused on the Memorial, as that's where I believe the real suffering has occurred in NYC. So go to NYC, enjoy everything it has to offer, visit tourist attractions & the memorial site. Feel free to stand on a soap box & spout off about what you feel is important, but don't disrupt & cause mayhem. No one wants that.

Thanks for listening to my rant. Don't worry, next week I will be back to boring you with my lackluster workout schedule.

NYC Triathlon

2011-11-10T08:44:00.000-05:00

First let me thank the Newport Bridge Run for giving me such a nice shout out on Twitter last night! That was nice & a bit exciting to notice that tweet this morning. I am really digging Twitter lately, sorry Facebook, but I'm finding it more interesting!

I found out yesterday that I did not get selected for the 2012 NYC Triathlon. I had a feeling that would happen, especially since I had been super lucky & got into Alcatraz. I didn't think I was going to be lucky twice in one month! But there are charity spots available & one is for the MS society.

As some of you may know, a dear friend was recently diagnosed with MS & I am hoping to get one of these charity spots so that I can raise money to help find a cure for this disease. Even if I don't get selected as one of the slots, I am still devoted to raising money for MS & will find another race. There's always another race. I will be posting the link for the MS society soon, whether I get in or not. So be on the lookout for it!

Lets all keep our fingers posted that I get in!

New York City

2011-11-02T15:23:00.000-04:00

It's all or nothing for NYC! I did not pay the $400 for the Alcatraz Triathlon this year. It was a tough decision, but I think I'm really up for NYC instead. It will be a easier race location & I think it will be a lot of fun. I entered the lottery yesterday & I am keeping my fingers crossed. I will know next week if I am in or not.

If I don't make it in to the lottery, I think I can sign up for one of the charity partner slots. I see that the MS Society has a spot & I will find out if I am eligible.

Otherwise, not much new has been happening with me. Pretty boring & I like to keep it that way! Looking forward to the Manasquan Turkey Trot in the next few weeks. I've never tried that race & I hear that there's a great after race party!

Sveiki & Guten Tag!

2011-10-26T09:55:00.000-04:00

Over the past two years that I have been blogging I have noticed that Google keeps tweaking Blogger. A few weeks ago I realized that you can now see where your follows live! How cool is that? I have followers in Latvia & Germany! Hello from the US & thanks for following me!

I am guessing many people have come across my blog through Postcrossing and/or my Ravelry site. I always wonder what people think about my blog, so if you have the chance, leave a comment or send me an email. I did receive an email the other day from a reader & that was pretty cool.

I don't have much planned today & I will not bore you with the details of my uneventful run last night. Tonight I am going to a Chan Luu jewelry trunk show at Soapmarket www.soapmarketonline.com in Red Bank & then tomorrow to Jon Bon Jovi's Soul Kitchen in Red Bank http://www.jbjsoulkitchen.org/ . If you get the chance, I suggest you check them both out! Might be a little hard for my European followers, but you can always checkout their websites!

Have a great day!

Citizens Bridge Run - Newport, RI

2011-10-25T14:20:00.000-04:00

A new run! I think I am digging these shorter runs, they don't take that much out of me.

In two weeks I'm going to Rhode Island for the Citizen's Bridge Inaugural Run. How fun does that sound? OK, maybe the visiting Newport, RI part, not the running part. Rhode Island is so nice & I can't wait to go back. I haven't been there in years! Not sure where we will be staying yet, but I have gotten a ton of great suggestions from everyone. Who knew all my friends have a favorite Newport spot? I sure didn't until yesterday!

There are so many things I have to cram into this weekend. Not sure I will get it all done, but one thing is for sure, I will be making the run across this bridge. Looks kinda high, doesn't it?

I promise my blogs will be more entertaining as we move closer to Christmas. I know I haven't been blogging as much as I used to & I hope to remedy that! If anyone is actually out there reading this! :)

NYC v. SF

2011-10-14T15:57:00.000-04:00

What to do? New York or San Francisco?

I'm taking a gamble here. The New York City triathlon lottery does not open until November 1st. I have to register for Alcatraz by October 28th. There is no guarantee that I will get in to the NYC race, but I already hold a spot in the lottery for Alcatraz.

Should I do the "hometown" city race? Or go back to Cali? So many decisions. Have any comments, let me know! Stay tuned!

Hudson River?

San Francisco Bay?

Escape - Round Two

2011-10-05T15:09:00.000-04:00

As an early birthday present I opened my email yesterday & found the "Congratulations" email from the race director for the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon. What to do? What to do? I was shocked last year that I got in. This year, I'm not sure what to do.

Last year it was totally overwhelming to me to think that I would fly out to California to swim with the sharks in the San Francisco Bay. Now I'm wondering, should I do it again?

I am 75/25. That's a weird percentage, right? Most people are usually 50/50 about doing things. My only apprehension is the cost. $400 for the race & about $2,000 for the week trip to California. & to be honest, the weather in San Francisco is awful! Nothing like getting on the plane in Newark where the weather is 97 with 90% humidity to 60 degrees & well, clammy! How do people do it? It's a great place to visit, if you don't mind being damp all the time.

The main reason I want to go back is to beat my lame ass time from last year. No mishaps, no lost sneakers & no broken bike chain. That should take at least 45 minutes off my 2011 time.

If you have any thoughts or comments on whether or not I should go back to SF, please share them! I need help making up my mind this year!

CHAN LUU JEWELRY TRUNK SHOW @ soapmarket

2011-10-05T14:28:00.000-04:00

CHAN LUU JEWELRY TRUNK SHOW @ soapmarket

New Look!

2011-09-28T15:34:00.001-04:00

OK, every few months I play around with the layout of my blog. I don't know why, but I think it's important to change up the look now and again. I hope you like this look, courtesy of blogger. I picked the first option they had, so much for originality! If you click on the title, I believe that this post will expand to a new window - try it!)

Lately I've been trying to run outdoors as much as possible. I've even abandoned the iPod. Shocking, I know. I was getting so tired of the ill fitting earbuds falling out all of the time. Either I have the smallest ears known to man, or by God those things are made for robots. They do not fit! & many times, like at the gym, if I move my arm in the wrong direction I yank them out. Ouch! A few weeks ago I decided to go without them & viola! a new running experience ensued!

Granted, I have nothing to keep me occupied now, except my thoughts, but for now.......it's ok! I seem to be getting by just fine without them. & honestly, my selection of music is so bad....it's hard to even listen to it any longer!

Last night I decided I could get in a run before it started to rain. Not sure if it even did rain, but it was misty the entire time. I prefer to run in weather like that - not too hot, not too cold & the mist keeps you cool, maybe even hydrated! (doubtful). It was funny though, as I was walking I saw a friend that asked if I was running. Guess he was trying to tell me something! I ran into Little Silver & realized that my old hometown is severely lacking in street lights! Woah I forgot how dark, quiet & sleepy Little Silver was at night! By them time I got to my mom's I decided that the 3 mile run back to my house (mostly without sidewalks) would not be happening. My poor mom, I'm sure she wasn't expecting a knock on her door asking for a ride home! But who knew it would get dark so quickly? Or maybe I am just slow. Or maybe....summer is finally over. Boo!

Hope you enjoy this new layout!

2011 Tunnel to Towers Run

2011-09-23T10:12:00.000-04:00

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the WTC attacks & the Stephen Siller Run. This is the third year I will be running this 5k & it is for a great cause. They have raised millions of dollars, if you can donate, any amount will be appreciated.

September 1st

2011-09-01T09:41:00.000-04:00

Ah the end of summer. How awful! As much as I look forward to fun fall activities, I am always a bit sad when summer comes to an end. & this summer certainly is going out with a bang! An East Coast earthquake & a hurricane.

Now we get large storms here in NJ every year, some worse than others, but we don't usually get a direct hit from a hurricane. I do feel for the people in Vermont, as it seems they were completely blindsided, but overall we here in my section of New Jersey came out of it ok. A few family members were without power & were evacuated, but honestly could have made it through the storm without leaving home, but we are all ok & that's what matters.

So now starts September & a new season, Fall! I slacked off A LOT since I came home from San Francisco & my so-so finish at Alcatraz. Today is the first day of the lottery for next year & although I have no idea if I may be selected again next year, I filled out the form & hit send this morning when the lottery opened. We shall see what happens.

I started running again this week & actually have a plan in place for the next few weeks. Although my bike is still in pieces in the box! I should really get that put back together again. I really don't know why I am waiting to do that. The sad part of all of this is that even though I sat down & thought out a running plan, my favorite place to run, the Spring Lake Boardwalk, was almost entirely destroyed by Hurricane Irene.

It's going to be a bit hard to run on this mess. Lets home FEMA comes through for Monmouth County & we have a new boardwalk in place soon! Fingers crossed! Here's to a great Fall.

Destroyed firetruck from Ladder Co. 3 sent to 9/11 Memorial Museum - NYPOST.com

2011-07-17T13:42:00.000-04:00

Destroyed firetruck from Ladder Co. 3 sent to 9/11 Memorial Museum - NYPOST.com

Fishing

2011-07-16T22:56:00.000-04:00

What do you do on a beautiful summer day in July? Go fishing (after the gym of course)! We went out fishing in Atlantic Highlands today in the Sandy Hook & Lower NY Bay. What a great day for fishing. Check out what we caught!

This was just 1" short of being a keeper! Damn! I caught 5 fish & a sea robin. I don't care about keepers though, as I don't like to eat fish. All fish tastes like fish sticks to me anyway. I just like to feel the nibble on my hook. My fish sandwich bait always works too. But wait, what's this?

Oh just the bumper to a turquoise Ford Taurus. Hey, we were fishing in NJ, & dangerously close to Staten Island. But, here's some hope for the environment.......lots of cranes, hanging out on this channel marker.

Pretty cool to see that we have wildlife in New Jersey! & wait, look over towards NYC!

A fun cruise ship!

Oh & here's my other big catch, a mussel.

And speaking of mussels (muscles), it's time to get back to the grind. Everyone on the boat saw my jelly belly today & although I didn't look like a huge whale, it's time to get crackin! Tomorrow I'm back to try for my 5-6 mile run in Spring Lake. Hope you loved my fishing trip picks. Only in NJ can you see the sights we saw today!

THE END.

NYC Swim

2011-06-24T22:52:00.000-04:00

Check this out. http://www.nycswim.org/ Swimming around the Statue of Liberty? Swim around Manhattan. OK, so I'm not Kramer, but I think this is a pretty cool group & they have some awesome races. I volunteered last night helping out for the Liberty Island Swim today. I hope they got the swim in, we had some bad thunderstorms tonight.

I'm hoping to register for the Governor's Island Swim. I think it's about 2 miles & then the Liberty Island Swim next year. Gonna have to put a lot of time in in the pool. Enjoy!

Taking a Break

2011-06-23T16:45:00.002-04:00

Home from San Francisco for two weeks now & I have been taking a bit of a break. I did want to start swimming more this week, especially since the outdoor pool at the gym is open now.

Monday night I was psyched to hear that the pool was open later in the evenings, so I headed over there for a swim. Bad move. I left my stupid earplug at home & now, 3 days later & a trip to the ENT, I have a terrible clogged ear. So annoying!

I've decided to take the rest the month off (just one measly week) & rest a bit & start training for the Jersey Shore Half Marathon at Sandy Hook this October. Wait, that's a pretty lousy birthday gift to myself, training for a Half Marathon! Duh!

Here's the link to the run course http://jerseyshorehalfmarathon.com/images/JSHM%20Course.pdf

I've got my running plan all ready to go & I think three months will be (hopefully) enough training time for me. We shall see. After my super shitty run at the George Sheehan 5 Miler this weekend (still under an hour, but dammit I want to break 50 minutes!) I hope that I will make it.

In other news I don't have too many races planned this summer. A few of my friends did sign up for the Belmar 5 in three weeks. Please don't let it be as hot as it was in Red Bank last weekend. Sheesh, cut a girl a break already!

Tonight I am off to volunteer for the Liberty Island Swim Race. A race that I am totally signing up for next year. You get to swim around the Statue of Liberty, yeah I know insert your own "Kramer swimming in the East River joke" here. But come on? How many people can say they've swum around Lady Liberty? Not too many! http://www.nycswim.org/Event/Event.aspx?Event_ID=2104#

Hero 9/11 firefighter’s spirit keeps giving

2011-06-22T09:16:00.000-04:00

Hero 9/11 firefighter’s spirit keeps giving

The Run

2011-06-20T20:51:00.000-04:00

Let me start by saying that the "run" was really an 8 mile obstacle course disguised as a run. To be fair, the first two & last two miles were flat & on gravel/pavement. The 4 miles in between were anything but.

I ran through what seemed to be an old Army or Navy fort/barracks, through a small tunnel up some stairs, up a hill & then along a dirt path along the cliffside road. The cliff was probably about 100-200 feet to the bottom with some great views of the Pacific Ocean.

I guess I didn't realize that part of the run would be along the beach. Beach running is not my favorite & honestly, I suck at it. & that is unfortunate because I am lucky enough to live close enough to the beach to practice running along the beach. Oh well, live & learn. After my mile run on the beach....this is what I had to look forward to....the sand ladder.

Not the easiest thing I have ever done, but I made it. I think it's 453 steps from the beach back up to the dirt path along the roadway. This was right after the turn around spot at mile 4. After this, I knew that I would make it. It wasn't my best day, but I knew I could finish it. & here's the proof!

Course map. A little blurry, but you get the idea.

The Bike

2011-06-12T18:52:00.001-04:00

Ah the bike. Where to start? Perhaps I will start with the fact that I didn't have sneakers to run to the bike transition area after I finished the swim. This was annoying & made me lose so much time. It was my own fault, I was given some bad info & I should have paid better attention, but I didn't. Learning curve.

By the time I had gotten out of the water & on to the bike probably a few hundred people had passed me. I couldn't run, my feet would have been torn to shreds from the pavement & gravel, so I just sucked it up & walked. As I was heading out for the bike portion I see Andy Potts, probably one of the best, if not the best triathlete in the world heading back in to go out for his run. Can you say humbling? I mean this guy just finished an 18 mile bike ride in the time it took me to change out of my wetsuit & get to the bike transition area. Not really a big deal though.

As I headed out wondering what the hills of San Francisco would be like, I felt ok. I was wet & slimy, but feeling good. That didn't last too long. I have to say, I probably could have used some more bike training, but Good Lord there are some humongous hills in California. It was a tough ride & I was doing ok, it made me feel a bit better to see others struggling along with me, but not so good to see another biker crash on part of the windier part of the course. Parts of the bike & an ambulance were right in the middle of the street. Gulp. Please please please let me stay on the bike. I have a fear of broken collar bones & missing teeth. As I made my way out to the Great Highway along the Pacific Ocean I came down this ridiculously huge hill. I was grabbing the brakes as hard as I could. It was scary & then I had another awful thought, I am going to have to come back up this hill. GREAT.

I was doing ok at this point, keeping up with a few people & getting to the turn around point. Then, as I was headed up a decent sized hill, & trying to change gears, my bike chain falls off. I was about ready to call it quits at this point. I have no idea why either because it had just fallen off, it hadn't broken. Now I'm off the bike, staring intently at my chain. I am reluctant to touch it, why you ask? Well, it's dirty & I don't like being dirty. But then I had to laugh because here I am, almost 2 hours into the race, sweaty, wet & covered in algae from the bay & I am afraid to touch a greasy bike chain. Duh. After 5 minutes & trying to find something besides my clothing to wipe my hands on, I opt for my hair & I was back in action. What? A little bike chain grease is good for the hair, right? Better than my new running pants.

At this point, I am starting to think about the run, wondering what it will be like, how long 8 miles will take me, when I reach the dreaded hill. About 10 people were also on this hill at this point & not a single one was on the bike. When in Rome.....& I am sad to say I walked my bike up that hill. It was impossible to stay on the bike for me, so I made the best of it. After this hill, I knew I only had about 5 miles left to go, I was starting to see people on the running course & I knew I was almost back to the transition area.

There weren't many major mishaps after this as far as the bike was concerned, but I was a bit disappointed in myself at this point because I definitely had not trained for such huge hills. As I pulled back in & racked up my bike, I grabbed a quick drink & was off & running! Kinda. :)

The Alcatraz Swim

2011-06-11T00:33:00.005-04:00

Whoosh! I was in the bay. Holy shit I thought, I'm underwater. Normally when you start a swim, you do a few dolphin dives & you're off, but when you drop 10 feet into the bay from a moving boat, gravity tends to pull you down. Who knew? Duh.

One of the things I did notice, was the armada of kayaks & wait, what's that, a Coast Guard Cutter? Uh oh, why would we need that?

Coast Guard

View of the swim finish & Golden Gate Bridge

So now I'm underwater & praying that someone doesn't jump in on top of me. As soon as I hit the water, the cold hit me, but it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. I thought it would be like ice cubes, like when you stick your toe in the ocean on the first 90 degree day in June when the water is still 50 degrees. The wetsuit definitely helped, but I wear a sleeveless wetsuit, so my arms were more exposed than others. I was ok though, the main thing now was to swim!

The bay, which looks clean from far away, is a strange phosphorescent green color. Earlier in the week, someone told me to make sure to wipe my face when I exited the water otherwise I'd have bay beard. Bay beard? What the hell is that? Ick. As I started across the bay, I remembered the one piece of advice that I heard from others on the boat - aim for the radio tower.

The radio tower, high on the hill in San Francisco, was probably the easiest thing to site from the water, which is very helpful as my land sighting skills, well, they suck. I knew where the swim finish was located, I could see certain large buildings & landmarks, but the big challenge was to keep swimming straight when you really think you want to swim to the right. The good thing is that as long as you keep swimming, the current keeps you moving.

One of the main things I remember reading in the Escape newsletters was to watch for the kayaks. If you could see them to your left, you were too far left, see them to your right, too far right. I did prefer to be to the left, but seemed to find myself in the middle the entire time. Being to the left meant I wouldn't be dangerously close to the bridge. Middle, however = good. Middle = not being swept under the Golden Gate.

Usually, in a triathlon, there are so many swimmers in the water, you're usually getting kicked & slapped while swimming. In the bay though, there seemed to be plenty of room. I didn't think about the sharks, or the sea lions, but I did get some seaweed in the face, bleck! & it was easy to stop & float & site certain landmarks & check my watch. At one point I had followed behind a guy for a few minutes, then he seemed to veer off a bit to the front of me. This is when I saw my blogger friend Perry floating around with his video camera (in all honesty, it wasn't until after I saw the video that I knew it was him) I originally thought - who is this nut just floating around out here? Watch the video from my earlier post, it's an amazing view!

A few strokes later & I feel someone on my feet. I stop & look over my shoulder, hoping to give way to a fellow swimmer, when I realize that I am alone & no one is behind me. No one is on either side of me either. EEEEEEKKK! What the hell was that I think to myself?!?! I don't even want to know - I put my head down & swim as fast as I can towards the swimmer in front of me. There's safety in numbers & clearly something had brushed over my feet.

The last 1/2 mile of the swim was tough. I could see the yellow buoys ahead of me, but no matter how hard I swam, they weren't getting closer. Shit, this is the finish, I thought, I just want to get this over. I look up & notice, wow, the Golden Gate is a lot closer than I thought & that is when I see the beach, to the right of the swim exit & about 100 swimmers opting for this exit. That's my plan! As I swam over to the beach I kept trying to stand up, nope too deep, still too deep, then finally - I could stand - swim over!!!! I've never been so relieved. As I got out & ran along the beach, I found the exit ramp & made my way up the stairs. Here's a pic of me at the finish - gross huh? Luckily the camera didn't get the pic of me with my Bay Beard, as I was covered in a nice brown algae from head to toe. Gross!!!!

Little did I know that this part of the race would be the easiest of them all. Stay tuned for the crazy bike portion!

Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon or BUST!: My Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon Swim Video

2011-06-09T21:07:00.000-04:00

My blogger friend Perry videotaped the swim. He's hysterical! If you watch, you can see me at 2:15 holding on to the window. I'm in the green bathing cap wearing the sleeveless wetsuit.

Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon or BUST!: My Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon Swim Video: "I decided to video the swim this year. Definitely created a bit more of resistance having the camera strapped to me, but so fun to have it ..."

I Escaped!

2011-06-09T20:57:00.001-04:00

It's over & I can finally say I escaped from the rock! Wow, what a journey it has been & I can tell you it was the hardest race I have ever done. I don't know where to begin & I hope I don't bore everyone with too many details, so lets start off with some pictures. Here's the view of Alcatraz from Fisherman's Warf.

Here's a picture of me the day before the race. We decided to take the tour & get a bird's eye view of the swim course from the ferry.

Guess this is what you would see every day if you were incarcerated. But if I had to look at this every day, I would have definitely made a break for it! It wasn't that far!

Another view. Come on, you could definitely swim across!

But wait, this does seem to be a major shipping channel & that is a pretty big freighter.

But I knew that even though there were sea lions, sharks & jellyfish in the water, people have been swimming this race for 31 years. That's a long time. & last week I read about a 10 year old boy that made the swim. 10! I'm wasn't going to be outdone by a 10 year old.

The first full day we were in San Francisco, I got up at 5:00 (8:00 NY time) & went out for a run. It was a good 4.5 mile run & I was really glad that I did it because during my run I discovered the transition area for the race. It wasn't very far from our hotel & it made me a bit more at ease to actually see the San Francisco Bay & realize that I knew I could swim across it without any problems. I went down to the water & stuck my hand in & thought, it's not that cold! Swimming in the Navesink must have paid off because I was no longer afraid of being swept out to sea.

The morning of the race I gathered up most of my stuff & made the ride over to the start. It was a bit confusing, as I had missed the pre-race meeting the day before due to the terrible downpours. I was just going to have to make the best of it. Apparently, this was a mistake.

My goal was to finish the race, but in the back of my head I really wanted to finish in less than 4 hours. I think I should have stuck with my one & only goal of finishing, but we'll get to that later. As I get ready to get on the boat, Mike snapped a quick picture of me in the transition area.

For some reason I brought 2 pairs of sneakers with me. Normally I don't do this, but it was the best thing I have ever done. If I hadn't, I would have never finished the race. As I got ready to get on the bus to get to the boat, I was standing with my wetsuit, goggles & my race cap in one hand. In the other, was my transition bag, that was supposed to be ready for me at the end of the swim. Due to bad info from someone collecting bags, I was told it would be ok to take it with me on the bus. This was a huge mistake, which I wouldn't figure out until I got out of the water.

Boarding the bus, I started to really get nervous. It was about a 10 minute ride to the pier & then 2,200 people were loaded on to the boat. Everything after that seemed like a big blur. I was sent downstairs (in the under 40 group) to start the race. People wearing wetsuits & funny colored bathing caps were everywhere, all getting ready to start. As we approached Alcatraz, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Not only did I look miserable, I looked really scared. & no matter how much I tried to smile, I just couldn't. But then I met a girl from Iowa that told me it would be a snap & something inside just clicked. Suddenly there was an announcement, 1 minute to the start. Uh oh. Here we go.

My big fear is that I wouldn't be able to jump off the boat. It wasn't a little jump either. Most of the pros dove in, show offs, but as the rest of the swimmers went in, they just basically jumped in. As I got closer to the door, I knew it was time to get in the water. Believe it or not.....jumping in was so easy. It's just like what my mother always used to say - if all your friends jumped off a bridge would you? Yes, absolutely mom! & that was it, I had plunged into the San Francisco bay along with over 2,000 escapees.

Read all about the swim, with more pics tomorrow!!!!!

Spring Lake Five 2011

2011-05-31T22:47:00.000-04:00

Untitled by jmw1072 at Garmin Connect - Details

Two Down One To Go

2011-05-30T18:40:00.000-04:00

Saturday was the kickoff to Summer with the Spring Lake Five. It was a fun race, made better by the fact that I will be collecting a dollar tomorrow at work for beating one of my coworkers. Now I only beat him by 40 seconds, but every second counts & if this was the Olympics & we were skiing or luging, 40 seconds is a lifetime!

Yesterday I swam in the Navesink, but this time it was for a race, not just swimming with the seaweed! It was ok, I was still a bit tired from Spring Lake, but I managed to pull it off & do it in a decent time. I was aiming for 35-40 minutes & finished at 37:55, which was almost 2 minutes faster than the last time I swam this race. The best part was the turnaround point. I started to notice that there were a lot of people in kayaks right at the turnaround point, but it seemed weird, as they all had bathing caps on. Then I stopped, poked my head up & saw that people were actually standing up by the buoy. It was a sandbar! Sweet. Nothing better than a tiny break from swimming, right? So I walked up to the buoy, touched it & walked back a bit & then was off swimming again. Honestly, I am not the biggest fan of river swimming, but taking the swim clinic for the past few weeks in the Navesink really made me more at ease. I am not that worried about San Francisco now. All I have to do it keep on swimming towards shore, I know I can do it.

This week I have lots of packing & some quick workouts planned. I already shipped my bike out to California, via UPS, & first thing tomorrow I am going to track where exactly in the US my bike is. Last I checked it was in Horsham, PA. It's supposed to arrive the day before I do, lets hope it does!

Thanks everyone for following me this far on this crazy escapade. I will definitely update everyone on how I do! Happy Memorial Day!

Emerson - Mommy's Nose is Scary! (Original)

2011-05-19T21:55:00.000-04:00

I know this video is a few weeks old, but I can't get enough of this baby! So cute!

16 days til California

2011-05-17T18:46:00.000-04:00

In 16 days I'll be on my way to California. I think I'm a lot less nervous than I was last year when we loaded up & went to New Hampshire for Timberman 70.3. Alcatraz is a shorter distance triathlon, but way bigger in the intimidation factor!

I picked up an extra pair of goggles tonight on my way home from work. I think I'm going to try them out on Friday night in the open water. I really hope they are comfortable! I also got the box for my bike today. It's pretty big & I am hoping that I can ship it UPS. I should be able, as I see that it has a UPS sticker on it already from a previous shipment. That, to me, is proof that I can do it! I'll be sure to tell the UPS guy that when he says no way to my 35 lb. shipment.

I know I have to start packing & planning all the stuff I will need. I know that I have to get a pedal wrench for my bike & some wetsuit repair glue. I noticed the other night that I created a nice fingernail hole in my suit as I was putting it on. I'm sure there's a big list of things that I will need, but I guess I can always get stuff when I get to California.

Most importantly I have to get ready for my next 3 events which are coming up this week. The MS bike ride, which is Saturday, is a quick 25 mile ride. After that, over Memorial Day weekend I'm running the Spring Lake 5 & then doing the 1.2 mile Navesink swim.

I can't believe that it's almost June either! This spring has flown!!!! I just hope that I have trained enough & have gotten in enough planning. Keep ya guys posted!

Swim Partner

2011-05-09T20:49:00.000-04:00

Today was day 2 of my swimming in the Navesink. It was much easier today & didn't seem as cold. Here was my swim partner.

Navesink Swim

2011-05-06T21:56:00.000-04:00

Tonight was the first open water swim night. All day long I kept reminding myself, you have to get in the water today, no excuses. & I am happy that I did. I now know I have 30 days to get my ass into gear. Putting on the wetsuit & having to pose for a picture made me realize that I need to stop eating junk food!

It was a quick swim, we were only in the water for a half hour. All day long I kept wondering what the water temperature would be by 6 pm. It's been nice out & getting warmer, but only for about the past 2 weeks. It has been a loooooong winter. The temperature was about 57 degrees & honestly, it sounds a lot colder than it was. The worst part was walking in to the water, as I do not wear the wetsuit booties & with the seaweed & the cold, well I was not thrilled to be standing in the Navesink. Not to mention the last time I went for a swim there I got an ear infection.

There were some buoys set up & I made it out to the first one without any problem. I was nervous at first, as I always am when I get in the open water, but when I turned for the second buoy & realized how fast I got out to it, I started to relax. It was easy too because it wasn't a race & you could actually stop & float & speak to the other swimmers around you. Not really used to that happening. For a few minutes I swam with a woman & we chatted. I was happy to hear that her goggles were foggy too. Phew, it's not just me. We looked at the third buoy & we decided we'd do it. Another 10 strokes & we were there. It was weird. The tide must have been going out because after floating around the third buoy for a few, turning back was a bit harder.

The swim clinic is two nights a week & I know that I am definitely going to need it. The entire time I was in the water my friend Doug was in his kayak saying, it's just as cold as Alcatraz. But to tell you the truth, by the time I got out to the third buoy, the water felt refreshing & no longer cold. I know one thing thought, I'm going to have to get in the open water more often, no matter how slimy the bottom is, or how gross I feel after. I know it's only a 5 minute drive to a hot shower.

Daily Mile

2011-05-01T18:31:00.001-04:00

Join Daily Mile & take the May challenge. 31 miles in 31 days. That's one mile a day. Your heart will thank you!

http://www.dailymile.com/challenges/3125-a-mile-a-day-for-the-month-of-may?cr_id=OkNoYWxsZW5nZTozMTI1&ur_id=MjM2OTg4

Broken!

2011-05-01T18:20:00.000-04:00

This morning as I was rushing around to get ready for my run I went into the bathroom & grabbed my Garmin watch, which was charging on the counter. As I turned I saw it slip out of my hand & land on the floor. I new before I picked it up that the face of the watch had cracked. Damn! I had no choice but to leave it behind. It was like leaving the house without my cell phone.

Now I'm not some big technology person, nor am I some great runner, but this watch has helped me immensely on my runs & I felt helpless. I grabbed my old pink Timex & headed out. The run was ok, but all I kept thinking about was would I be able to get the watch fixed. Probably, as I am sure stuff like this happens all the time, but the big question is...will it be fixed in time for Alcatraz. Only time will tell.

I ran 6.2 miles today. I mapped my route out on this new website http://www.dailymile.com/ . I found it, like I find all cool new web thingies, on my blogger friend Erika Jean's blog. Sometimes I wonder what I would have done if Google hadn't listed her on blogs of note way back when. She really posts some cool things. Here's her blog, in case you want to check it out, & you should! http://www.erikajean.com/

Tomorrow it is back to work & a bit over one month til Alcatraz. I am hoping I am ready, as well as my watch!

Runapalooza - Jersey Shore Relay Marathon

2011-04-24T21:16:00.000-04:00

Team Pink Cadillac - Team Picture

2011 Jersey Shore Relay Marathon - Runapalooza

2011-04-18T23:09:00.001-04:00

Wow! What a fun day. We got up VERY early for the drive down to Seaside. Our start time was 8:40 am & it was about 44 degrees with the wind whipping off the ocean. Good Lord it was cold! We must have gone back to the car 4 times before the race started to get warm. At 8:40 & after a quick run to tinkle John was off. Phew, I did not want to run the first part of the race. I don't know why, but I wasn't mentally ready to take off & run 6.1 miles. After much debate & a lot of whining, we made John run the first leg. Actually, I think he volunteered, but it was more fun to whine to him about how cold we were & lets face it, he was no match against us 3 girls. We did have to take the route guide away from Katie for a few minutes, as she started to panic about getting lost. After much reassurance, we let her have the directions back, but only if she promised to stop worrying.

After the start Katie, Mary Kate & I ran back to the car, piled in, turned on the heated seats & headed north to the nearest gas station. We seriously needed to fill up & warm up! Unfortunately, I also decided that I needed a big ole cup of hot tea (big mistake - but keep reading to find out why). Then we had to find the nearest Wawa because I had to deliver 1 Wawa pretzel to John upon his finishing of his leg of the race - or else. Hey, he agreed to lead off, it's the least we could do to get him a stale pretzel, right? Right.

When we got back in the car & headed up to Brick Beach III (who knew they even had a I or II?) it started to sink in that I would have to run the next leg. I was secretly hoping for the Manasquan to Belmar run, as it would be like running my regular runs, but Katie was nervous about getting lost (& we never let her live that down all day) I knew that leg 2 would be all me. As we waited in the parking lot, still freezing our butts off, people started to come in. No sign of John in the first few, but after about 50 minutes, we saw him. It's kinda hard to miss someone that is 6'4", so I knew it was time to go. I think I had about 5 layers on & my iPod, which I have to thank Katie & Mary Kate for reminding me because I almost forgot.

Running up route 35 along the ocean is not my idea of a great time. To add to this, the Township of Brick is replacing all the sewers along the run route. The pipes are now above ground & if you've ever been around sewers while they are under construction, well lets just say it smells like poop! Not exactly the nice salt air I was expecting. This is where things took a turn for the worse. The first mile seemed like 5 miles & I couldn't believe that my garmin watch hadn't beeped yet. It has a setting to beep at every mile. When I looked at my watch & saw that I had run barely a 1/2 a mile I knew I was in for it. But I didn't panic & just kept going. At a mile & a half, however, I got a cramp, a really bad one. Damn tea! I was so afraid it would totally sideline me, so I had to walk. It felt like I walked a really long time, but it really only turned out to be about 3 minutes. After much side rubbing & cursing, I was back off & running. As I made my way north towards Mantolooking into Bay Head & to the 3.5 mile mark I started to feel the twinge in my knee, but I knew if I thought of something else, it would go away & I would be ok. At this point, I knew where I was & how much further I had to go & as each mile ticked off my watch I knew I could make it.

When I got into Point Pleasant I was so excited I think I even started running faster. I knew I had to make it to the inlet & then I could go to the car & cheer on Katie & Mary Kate. When I got to the transition point I couldn't believe all the people standing around. I kept looking for Mary Kate, but then thought to myself, look for John, he's 6'4" easy to spot & there they were. A quick handoff of the baton & then we were back to the car.

This was the best part of the race. As Mary Kate made her way over the Brielle bridge, we could race over to Katie's sister's house (which was conveniently next to the 3rd transition spot) fill up on Entemann's & use a real bathroom! We were greeted by a great sign & lots of snacks! A quick change into very cute running clothes & Katie was up for the 4th leg.

Back in the car & headed toward Belmar, we were more than 1/2 way through the race. For a bunch of runners that had never run together & John being a last minute sub, our team rocked! When we got to D'Jais Mary Kate took off again. We really couldn't have done it without her. She ran the longest out of all of us 7.6 miles!!!! She totally rocked it! We made it back to the convention center just in time to see her race our pink baton across the finish line! Woo hoo - go Team Pink Cadillac!!!

It was a great day & although this is a very long recap of the race, we had a great time. Our team was awesome & many thanks to my friends Dori & Joel for including me this year in the relay. Our relay time was 3:51:55 & we are totally going to smash that next year!

Here's a pic of Mary Kate crossing the finish line! Yay Mary Kate!

Jersey Shore Relay Marathon

2011-04-16T16:25:00.000-04:00

Untitled by jmw1072 at Garmin Connect - Details

National MS Society - MS Bike - May 21, 2011

2011-04-05T10:47:00.000-04:00

I'll be doing this ride May 21, 2011 to support a friend who was recently diagnosed with MS. Please visit my donation page to make a donation. Every dollar is greatly appreciated & no amount is too small. Thank you!

Why You Should Sponsor Me

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society will use funds collected from the MS Bike Tour to not only support research for a cure tomorrow, but also to provide programs which address the needs of people living with MS today. Because we can fight this disease by simply riding a bike, because we have chosen to help thousands of people through a contribution to the MS Bike Tour, we are now getting closer to the hour when no one will have to hear the words, "You have MS."

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/NJMBikeEvents?px=9118691&pg=personal&fr_id=15051

Fisherman 5k

2011-03-26T14:55:00.000-04:00

Untitled by jmw1072 at Garmin Connect - Details

Fisherman's 5k - St. Peter's Church - Point Pleasant Beach

2011-03-26T14:19:00.000-04:00

Today was my first 5k of the year. It was a chilly 27 degrees when I got up this morning, but I went & had a fun time with my friends Adele & Andrew. I think this may be the start of a monthly 5k race with them, we had a great time & some laughs & Adele even got 1st place in her age group. I won't tell you her age, but she's only been running for a year so congratulations!

Afterwards I rewarded myself with a tasty orange mango smoothie from Starbucks. Yep, you read that right Starbucks makes smoothies now. More reason to go twice a day! & they only have 250 calories in them, so I felt that it was ok to have one after the race.

In other food related news Trader Joe's opened around the corner & I went there to stock up on some tasty treats. I always marvel at how low their prices are & I was happy to get fruit & veggies at really low prices. Even though they were serving chicken mango sausage on a Friday during Lent (sorry God I forgot) I will definitely be back for samples soon!

Maybe I made up for it today by going to the 5k at St. Peter's. Hey....maybe it also counts as going to church too, as the priest gave us all a blessing before we started! Sweet!

Technology Fail

2011-03-22T13:27:00.000-04:00

I'm not the most technologically advanced person, but I am beginning to love gadgets. I did try to install the blogger application, or something compatible to blogger on my iPhone. It looked like it really worked, alas, it did not.

I thought it would be cool to post from my phone, as I see a fellow blogger has started to do recently, but he must be more savvy than I am, or perhaps he ponied up the $2.99 for the paid version of my free app. I will figure this out eventually!

Since I do not have much to report I will send another pic out there to the blogosphere. My bulldog, Louie, has to have eye surgery, his eyelashes seem to be growing inward & scraping his cornea. Poor bully! Hope you will send him tons of well wishes!

Happy St. Patrick'sDay

2011-03-17T14:23:00.001-04:00

Before I celebrate with som corned beef & cabbage tonight, I will be hitting the pool & trying to swim as much as I can. I think my training plan says 2,400 yards, but not sure if I will even get close to 2,000. That will definitely require the Luck of the Irish to pull that one off! Enjoy some of my pictures from Ireland!

Super Windy Day in Spring Lake

2011-03-05T20:24:00.000-05:00

Untitled by jmw1072 at Garmin Connect - Details

Crunch

2011-02-17T13:01:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when you're traveling 40 mph on a State Highway & someone backs out of their driveway right in to you.

Thankfully, I wasn't hurt. & surprisingly enough, the airbags did not deploy. The worst part? I had just filled up the tank. $60 down the drain.

1,000 Miles

2011-02-13T21:41:00.000-05:00

Oh crap! I completely forgot that one of my resolutions for 2011 was to try to log in 1,000 running miles. Still an attainable goal, but I didn't keep track at all in January! So that means I have to log in 1,000 in the next 10 1/2 months. I guess I can do that. It's 100 miles a month. Great. So far for February I'm up to about 21. I'm screwed.

In other news. I realized that I have received a few comments on my blog in the past few days. One, I hope, is from my new cupcake friends. Or I should say cupcake friend Chris, as I do not know his partner Jesse - or Wilson, as I like to call him. Remember Wilson? They guy from Home Improvements? You only saw 1/2 of his face? Well every time I go in for my cupcake (vanilla, vanilla, vanilla) I only see Chris & hear Jesse - he's behind the curtain. & you know what? I think that's kinda cool. No need to meet Wilson - it makes my whole cupcake experience that much more mysterious!

But there are some comments, that are hard to discern. The ones that I get that are clearly spam (Viagra, ones written in Chinese - yes seriously, & other junk email type ones) then the ones that you don't wish to get. You see, I opened a can of worms when I started this blog a few years ago. I guess I always knew that anyone could come along & read all about what a crappy athlete I am, I mean hey - that's why I started it in the first place, but there are people in my life or I should say WERE people in my past - that should stay there. It's not that simple though, when you put yourself out there. So for now, if you're going to leave a comment, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to log in. & I can't stop people from reading all about me, but I can remind them that choices you made are choices you have to live with, as I have moved on - far far on & no longer wish to revisit the past. Only looking forward.

Valentine's Day

2011-02-13T18:00:00.004-05:00

Did I mention my pet peeve is when people refer to Valentine's Day as Valetime's Day? Seriously, how stupid are people? I suppose they are the same people that say lie-berry as opposed to library. OK, so I know that I am not a Rhodes Scholar, but I'd like to think of myself as fairly educated! Thankfully, I have not heard it referred to this year as such. My Valentine's Day will consist of exercise, exercise, exercise & some drilling of my teeth. What a better reminder that I should cut out the sweets, right? A root canal on Valentine's Day.

Tomorrow I will send Louie off to doggy day care where the doggies will indulge in Valentine's Day dog funnery, whatever that means. His posting on facebook - under Purr N Pooch's webpage is in second place. We are hoping that he wins a free bath! If you're reading this prior to 12 noon on February 15th, please vote for his picture. Even though he hates baths, or baffs as we like to call them, he could always use a free one. I think they are also getting free red bandannas tomorrow too. Lucky dogs. What a life Louie has as Mayor of Doggytown.

In more Alcatraz related news, I went back to spin class today. They opened a new studio - Hammer House - in Red Bank. They have another location, in Colts Neck, but this one is much closer to home. But, like hot yoga, it will get thrown into the mix here & there, as I already go to a gym that I spend too much money on anyway. Ha ha.

Tomorrow I believe I am back in the pool. Great. Did I mention my horrible ear infection? No? Well the other night, on my first day back in the pool, I forgot my earplug. Yes, I said earplug, not nose plug, which would make me more of a dork than I already am! I get in the pool & swoosh, water goes right in my right ear. I have no idea why this has been happening, but for the past two years, once water gets into my right ear, there's no getting it out & poof, instant ear infection. I went home & tried all my remedies & prescription drops & still I have an ear infection. The doctor prescribed Cipro the other day & I am very glad because it definitely worked. I am also available now to open any & all anthrax laced letters for the State Department, well at least for the next 5 or 6 days. Note to self, pack ear plugs in purse. Hey, I already carry a plethora of crazy shit in my purse, what's the big deal with some ear plugs?

So people, if you're still reading this I hope everyone has a lovely TIME on VALENTINE'S DAY tomorrow & I hope to be able to get over & get a tasty cupcake to reward myself for a great workout. Oh wait, that's probably not tooth friendly. Who cares? Have to celebrate!

Back in the Pool

2011-02-10T20:37:00.000-05:00

1250 meters. That's 0.77 miles. What happened to the other 0.23 miles? Ugh. I am the worst at math & I work with numbers all day. I think that 0.23 miles is about 15 more laps. I'll have to make that up next time in the pool, which I think is Monday.

My training plan starts on Valentine's Day. Hmmmm. That's kinda sucky, but I suppose since I have nothing else planned on Valentine's Day, seems like a good a day as any. Honestly though, it is the official day that the Alcatraz training plan starts. I wonder if that was a coincidence or not? Probably.

So instead of indulging in sweets & flowers I'll be at the gym, then the dentist, getting a root canal. Fun fun. If you have any extra Valentine's Day gifts lying around...feel free to send them my way.

Sugarush

2011-02-07T19:36:00.001-05:00

Training for Alcatraz starts in 1 week. Scary! Considering I haven't been swimming lately, I should probably be a bit afraid! But I am confident in my new training plan & as long as I stick to it, I should be fine come June. Fingers crossed!

The funny part of the plan is that it begins on Valentine's Day, which normally would be a conflict, but not this year! Ha ha. I think. So I will be at the gym dutifully next Monday night, training plan in hand, or at least memorized for the big kickoff. I think I will have to reward myself with a cupcake from my new favorite store in town Sugarush. They make cupcakes! I know, I know, this isn't part of the training plan or diet, but they are so tasty. I think I have already bought 50 since they opened a few weeks ago, but hey! People have been having birthdays & parties, so what's a better gift than a cupcake? Yes, I knew you would agree.

I'm a little anxious to get my hands on this training plan, as I am unsure of how hard it will be. I have also been toying with the idea of renting a bike for Alcatraz, as opposed to hauling my bike 3,000 miles across country. It's cheaper & sadly, the bike is a lot nicer than my bike. Oh well, what can you do? I'll keep everyone up to date on my training, as well as what my favorite cupcake flavors are, as of now, I have to say I am a huge fan of the vanilla, vanilla, vanilla combo - yes, that's right - 3 vanillas! Which means - they are stuffed with icing! Yummy!!! Can you see a few extra 100 miles on the treadmill.....

Check out their link - they really have great cupcakes & if you go...make sure you tell them I sent you!

The Web Groweth!

2011-01-30T22:03:00.002-05:00

OK so this pain in the neck web has gotten bigger over the past week. It has been fixed a few times & there is a small mistake in the pattern. Now tell me....can you find it?

The Not So Crafty Web

2011-01-26T13:25:00.001-05:00

I started knitting this new project. You know, because my other 30 projects just weren't doing it for me any longer. It's called Charlotte's Web. What a pretty name, right? All my knitting friends who have also knit it lovingly refer to it as their "Charlotte" & how lovely "Charlotte" is & how many compliments they get when they wear "Charlotte." F*ck them. & excuse my French, but this scarf/wrap/whatever you call it is so goddamn hard it just makes me want to curse. The other day I sat for 3 hours & I think I knit 2 rows. Then it had to be ripped out, again, for about the 15th time. & I think 15 is a conservative number.

It's not that I can't knit this, because I have knit quite a few rows & have switched from one yarn to the next (there are 5 yarns that this project uses) & I am actually on yarn #3 right now, but I am stuck, yet again because instead of reading & working on row 15, I stupidly was reading row 13 & in my haste to rip out row 13, I dropped a stitch. But since it is a lace pattern, I can't figure out what to pick back up. I can see where the drop is, but that's where my expertise comes to a screeching halt.

I've enclosed a picture of the web when it was in its early stages. I've progressed a bit further than this & will post updates. Ugh.

The best part is that pretty much everyone I know has knit this & they all look at me like oh you're going to love it. Um. Yeah. Whatever knitting show offs!

Hypercat Racing

2011-01-25T18:33:00.001-05:00

I did it. I hired a coach. OK, some of you may be thinking...why would I do that? Because I'm lazy, that's why. I haven't been motivated at all to get out & do what I have previously done in the past. Of course I'm not some big athlete, but I am getting to the point where I'd like to compete in different types of events (70.3 Ironman races, Alcatraz, 13.1 marathons, etc.) & I know that I am not as motivated as I used to be.

I found them through some basic research on Facebook & Twitter. I spoke with one of their coaches, Rachel, & she seemed really cool & very qualified. I looked over what she had to say & their website & I did it. I filled out all of the paperwork & sent it off to California yesterday.

Actually, the main reason I decided to get a coach is that I am really nervous about the Alcatraz swim. I've heard from a few that have done it that there's no need to worry, but I'm a worrier, so I worry! After speaking with Rachel, I still have some worries, but I know that I've been a lifelong swimmer & the distance will be a piece of cake.

I'm waiting patiently to get my hands on my Alcatraz training plan & get to work. I will keep everyone posted on my progress, or lack of progress (lets hope not) in the coming months. I think I only have about 130 days left til the big day! Wow, that's just crazy.

Broken Tooth

2011-01-23T19:00:00.001-05:00

My worst fears have come true! As I was eating salad, yes salad, tonight I felt a crunch. & it wasn't a crouton! At first, I was a bit confused, but after I swallowed...I knew. Part of my tooth - the front part of one of my molars had cracked off. I wanted to die. & I am sure that everyone in my family wanted to die as well because for the rest of our dinner, my father's birthday dinner, all I could do was talk about my broken tooth. That's fine, because if you know my dad, he asks you the same question over & over so at least we had something to keep the topic of discussion moving along.

It wouldn't be so bad, but I come from a long line of terrible teeth. If that even makes sense. Everyone in my family has the worst set of choppers one could ever wish to see. I mean, we don't have English teeth, but they are a close second. For my thirteenth birthday I asked for braces. What 13 year old asks for braces? So for the past 25 years I've had perfectly straight teeth. They might not be the pearliest of pearly white, but they are straight as a pin. A recurring dream, or nightmare I should say, is having my teeth knocked out. I've woken up many nights in a panic that I lost a tooth in a fight, car crash, or a crazy industrial accident. Hey, some people have dreams that they are falling, mine are about losing my teeth!

I immediately turned to my dad after this debacle & asked him (since his is an attorney) if I could sue. Imagine my shock when he said no! OMG people sue McDonald's for a tiny burn from hot coffee. This is a tooth! I may need to go out & find a more schiestier lawyer! I believe my father's real reason for not suing is that we were at his favorite Prime Rib place & if we did sue them for at least a cool million, his fear of never being allowed back in far outweighs his daughter's smile. Typical.

So instead of the big day of working out I had planned for tomorrow I have a feeling that I am going to be sitting in the dentist's chair praying to God he doesn't have to yank the rest of my tooth out. That would be tragic.

Thanks all (5 of you) that are still reading this terrible tooth sage. It is kinda gross. So gross that my semi-step brother (I say that because my dad is not married to his girlfriend of 17 years & that's her son) - was so grossed out about my ongoing tooth problem at dinner, I didn't think he was going to eat. But he did manage to choke down some chicken parm.

Maybe after the dentist I will sit down & figure out a better plan for this week, as it has not started out on a good note! At least we'll know in a few short hours if I am going to look like a Jack-o-Lantern or not.

Jersey Shore Relay

2011-01-13T21:17:00.002-05:00

This morning I received an email from a friend's brother. It was a link asking me (telling - actually) to sign up for the Jersey Shore Relay Marathon http://www.jerseyshorerelay.org/index.php?p=registration. What could I do? I dropped a check in the mail to him & I am in! I also have recruited 2 of my other friends to (hopefully) do this race. The 2 Katies! I am hoping that they both sign up to be on my relay team. I think we will have a great team - all girls so far, which will be fun. I am also hoping that said brother's sister (does that make sense?) will end up being on my team too. We will be a crazy (pronounced cwazy) bunch!

I've never done this race, but it's supposed to be a great time. Starting in Seaside & finishing in Asbury Park, now that's a hike. I think I want to be in for the Spring Lake - Belmar portion, as that is my usual outdoor run route. Perhaps I can "suggest" that's the portion I'd like to run.

It takes place on April 16th, which is Jerry's birthday, which is quite fitting because he is the main reason that I took up running almost 10 years ago. Even though it took me a really long time (probably a good 6-7 years) to get into a good running groove, I've stuck to it for over 3 years & it's become part of my daily life. Now, I'm still not a great runner & I'm still slow, but it's something I enjoy doing. I almost can't believe it myself!

So if you're interested, or if you want to donate to a great cause, or just come on down & cheer us on, we'd love it!

Coaching

2011-01-12T19:41:00.000-05:00

After I got accepted into the Escape from Alcatraz lottery I tried to research training plans. I could probably stick to the 70.3 training plan, but I know that swimming in the San Francisco Bay is going to be harder than any normal open water swim I've ever completed.

As I was reading my tweets the other day, I came across a link from Hypercat Racing. They had Alcatraz training plans. Interesting. I did make an appointment with one of the coaches, but I am unsure if I am going to purchase the plan. What if it is something I already know? What if it's too much money? It's a tough one. If it's super expensive, well then there's my answer, but what if it's not that much? What if it's less than the new cost of a pair of running sneakers? I mean....I am really curious as to what their training plan is all about.

One thing that I did get was an email from one of the coaches. Funny thing is that she mistakenly sent me the training guide, which is a guide on what to expect during the entire race. That was pretty cool, but it didn't have the training plan attached to it. Darn!!!!

I don't think I can afford a coach at this point, nor am I even the type of calibre of person that would require one. Am I? Nah! But the idea of having someone that will call me once a week & see if I'm sticking to my training plan is tempting. But I think the whole point of this triathlon experience is doing it yourself, right? Digging deep? Seeing how far you can push yourself? I don't know. I'm still a newbie! Maybe I'll see what this coach has to say & see if it's really worth it.

All I know is that there isn't going to be much outdoor training any time soon. Too much snow! Although, I have seen a bunch of runners out on River Road the past few days, but it's too treacherous out there & half of the sidewalks are still not plowed. That doesn't seem very smart to be running in the street in such a snowy mess. Plus, my outdoor running gear is seriously lacking! Another reason to get out & start shopping for new gear!

Keep everyone posted on Friday after my chat with the coach.

2011

2011-01-01T22:13:00.000-05:00

The snow is melting & I spent the day at a party celebrating the New Year! No workout today, which may be the first time in many years I did not start the New Year off with a workout! I did run 4 miles yesterday & did a little stair work. I am going to seriously have to learn to run stairs if I am going to master the sand ladder in San Francisco in June.

I did get a new workout outfit (including shoes - would you expect less?) the other day & I am ready to start the year fresh! I am even considering some trail running shoes (they are really cool black & pink Adidas) & stepping up my outdoor running. Anything extra can help, right? & this way I can justify these really cool trail sneakers!

While I was stuck in the house all week due to the blizzard (I worked 3 1/2 days in the past 2 weeks - yay for me!) I started & finished a hat for Mike. This is one of my favorite patterns because it really takes less than a day to make. I think I may have to make one for my brother as well because it only takes on ball of Noro Kureyon & I have about 15 balls of the stuff. Who else needs a hat????

It's hard to see, but it matched his outfit today perfectly too! Well that's it for me today. It's been a quiet week. Not much going on when you're stuck in the house snowed in. Here's to a great 2011!

Snowed In

2010-12-26T23:12:00.001-05:00

Blizzard! Yes, it's true were are experiencing blizzard-like conditions here in NJ. & on the one & only day that I actually had a plan to go to the gym. Figures! I had to substitute a P90X workout in place of the gym today. It was ok. I am not doing them in order. I took out the cardio one first. I think it was tape # 9. Yawn. Not exciting. Maybe I am missing something. Everyone I know that does it says it is so hard. I am sure I am doing them in the wrong order/sequence, maybe that's my problem. But if I am, I would think tape 9 would be harder than tapes 1-8. There is another DVD out there called Insanity - perhaps that is harder. Now, I am not claiming to be some great athlete, but it wasn't that difficult. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. I think I will try two of the tapes, as it doesn't look like I will be leaving the house any time soon & I see that the gym has now closed for the entire day tomorrow. Back to the snow. Here's a picture I just took of the front walk. I'd take a picture of the back deck, but I can no longer open the back door. It would be a good picture too, as my neighbor called me a few minutes ago to tell me that he got his Jeep wedged in the driveway & can't get it out.

The snow hasn't drifted too high on this side of the front porch.

Louie is not so crazy about the snow either. I opened the door to let him out & he ran out, saw snow & ran back in before I could even get out behind him. Good thing we are prepared in situations such as this (big package of wee wee pads). Here is his disapproving snow face.

Since we are snowed in, we made the most out of our together time & made some fresh oatmeal raisin cookies. Louie has his own treats, but I suppose he can have one too, if he ever wakes up & gets off the couch.

Doesn't he look comfy? It's hard work putting those cookies on the cookie sheet you know! So that was our day. Snowed in in New Jersey. Hopefully, it will stop snowing sometime soon so we can get out for a good walk & some outdoor exercise, but it's not looking so good. The Weather Channel says it is going to stop snowing around 2 pm tomorrow. 2 pm?!?! Yikes! That's a lot of snow.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Back At It

2010-12-20T21:12:00.002-05:00

Today started my training plan. For the next two weeks, until January 1st, I'm going to get back to the gym & get as much cardio in as I can. One of my friends, who is running the Disney 1/2 marathon in a few weeks has been brave enough to run outside, but not me! I am not brave - well, I am but not when it comes to cold weather.

Tonight the gym was exceptionally crowded, which stunk because it means one thing. The "January Gym People" are back. Again, I've blogged about this before.....& how much I dislike the January newbies that clog up all the machines then quit in February. I have to keep telling myself it's only 4 or 5 more weeks & then like clockwork - poof - they disappear. I know I am in a bit of a foul mood today, which isn't very nice, but it has been a long, hard year & I am ready to put 2010 behind me. I guess this is the time to look back & decide if I met any of my resolutions.

I believe one of my resolutions was to save money & pay down my debt. I can say I haven't really saved anything, but I have considerably reduced debt. Which is a step in the right direction. Getting rid of the BMW & keeping just the SUV have helped me do this, even though driving around in the "dog car" as I like to call it is not one of my favorite things.

Flat stomach. No comment. Working out more, yes, I have really stuck to that. & with the exception of my non-flat stomach, I was pleased with the weight that I have lost & managed to keep off. I can happily say that I went to the beach all summer & didn't feel too awful about wearing a bikini. Lets try to keep that going into 2011! I'll keep trying for a flat stomach, but something tells me that they only way this will happen will be a trip to the plastic surgeon. Hey, maybe for my 40th!

If I stick to my guns & keep a list of resolutions for 2011 - here they are:

1. Work my butt off & train for Alcatraz.
2. Swim at least 3x a week.
3. Be debt free (ok maybe keep my Neiman Marcus & JCrew credit cards) a girl needs shoes & clothes you know!
4. Buy a new bike.
5. Finish some of my knitting projects.

OK, this probably is a really lame & shallow list of resolutions, but I'm at a loss people! Today is the first day in a week that I haven't come right home from work & gone to bed - I have been so sick!!!! But now I am feeling better & getting ready for the New Year!

Hope you have enjoyed my antics this year. I hope to come up with some new material to keep you entertained in 2011. I know that my Match.com monthly trial was a fun addition to my boring run, bike & swim posts.....so maybe adding - be more funny or have something more entertaining to write about - should be # 6 on my list of resolutions. # 7 should be - learn how to write/stop having such poor grammar in your blog. :) Ah whatever! Oh & # 8 - run 1,000 miles. I believe I came up with that one (dope!) last week. What in the world was I thinking????

Happy New Year to my 5 readers!!!!!!!

I WON THE CRAZY LOTTERY!!! I AM IN!

2010-12-17T12:42:00.000-05:00

I received the following email this morning.....

Dear Jennifer Woods ,
CONGRATULATIONS! You have been selected to participate in the 2011 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon on June 5, 2011 in San Francisco, California! We are very excited to have you join us for this amazing triathlon experience.

It went on further to explain how I could register, etc. & let me tell you I am very psyched!!!!! This will put off my Galway 70.3, but I don't want to pass up this chance to swim across the San Francisco Bay.

Swim training starts Monday!!!!!!!

The Waiting Game

2010-12-15T19:17:00.000-05:00

Today is/was the day of the 1st lottery for the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. Now I seriously don't know what I was thinking when I signed up for this, but I did & now I am waiting to see if I got in or not. There was more information regarding the lottery process online today & I was a bit surprised to see that my odds of being chosen are 30%-50%. What kind of odds are those? To me, well those odds seem just plain odd!

But when I look at 50% I think wow - that's like flipping a coin. & if that is the case, I do have a chance! Another odd thing was the email I received on Sunday regarding my registration. I had registered 2 weeks ago (the first day!) & printed out my confirmation. Unfortunately, due to some internet snafu or my inability to his the submit button, I wasn't registered. But I'm thinking it may have been an error on their end because where in the world would they have gotten my email? Either way, I went back online & registered.

Now I sit & wait. I have no idea if I will get in, or if I have any business entering in the first place. If I do find out (tonight, tomorrow or Friday) I will be sure to share the info, but if not, I will wait until January to see if I made it to the B list. Somewhere, if I am picked, it will be listed on their webpage http://www.escapefromalcatraztriathlon.com/ESCAPE_From_Alcatraz_Triathlon.htm so check it out!

In other news I have been so sick & haven't been to the gym all week. Isn't that great for someone that seriously needs to get a plan in order? What can I do though? Can't wind up even more sick. Perhaps I will make some oatmeal raisin cookies tonight....you know, for Christmas. Yeah, like they'll last that long!

Check back soon to see if I won the lottery!!!!!!

Fellow Blogger & Alcatrazer - Farmer in Tractor Harvest's Corn to Lady GaGa Alejandro

2010-12-10T15:42:00.001-05:00

Check out my online blogger friend Perry!I hope he doesn't mind me posting his, but since it is on You Tube, I doubt he will. He told me the name of this corn husker thingy, but I can't remember.

1,000 miles

2010-12-09T20:33:00.000-05:00

Ran tonight. Sucked. How's that for getting right to the point? I eeked out a lame 35 minutes. I just wanted off the treadmill. Bad enough that I forced myself to go to the gym, but then I didn't even stay. At least the other night I chained myself to the treadmill for an hour & fifteen minutes. That seems a bit more respectable.

On the way to the gym tonight I started to think....what if I get into Alcatraz? What if? & it's a big what if. Like 1,000 people would have to drop out for me to be considered, but hey it could be a Christmas Miracle, right? Um...maybe. But if (on the outside chance I do get in & if I do I suggest everyone go out & buy a lottery ticket that night) I do get in...I have to start swimming. & as a lifelong swimmer nothing irritates me more than being cold & wet in the winter. Crazy huh? The good thing about the gym is that they have switched from chlorine to saline. Yes, saline in the pool. So I no longer look like a red eyed monster when I walk out of the gym. Plus, my hair is not strawlike & my skin no longer smells like I took a Clorox shower. That is the upside. But tonight it was 20 degrees as I got out of the car & I couldn't even imagine getting in the pool no matter how warm it was inside. Even with the nice showers & the entire setup I carry with me everywhere I go...I was in no mood to stay & get wet. & lets not get me started on the water aerobics instructor, as she annoys me to no end. Perhaps I should check the pool schedule & see when they have open swim on the weekends.

I should probably get over my crazy - I will only swim in the warm water, in the summer, when it's 92 degrees with a slight breeze off the water. Come on. What kind of athlete am I? Clearly, a lazy one. Now is the time of year that I have to look back & size up or sum up how I did. I'd say C- ok, that's being pretty harsh. How about a C+? That seems more reasonable. & this last month has been an F for sure.

Tonight as I logged on & thought about writing another post I saw a friends status on Facebook. He has logged in 1,000 running miles this year. Now that is impressive! At least I think so! I think I could do that as well. It's approximately 20 miles per week. Way easier to do in the summer, as I so love to run outdoors, but I think I can really get my butt in gear & aim towards that goal. So for now I have at least a few goals for 2011. Get 1,000 miles of running under my belt & get back in the pool. Time to find a calendar, as I will need it to keep track of all of this. Keep me honest people!

December 1st - Alcatraz Lottery

2010-12-01T09:29:00.000-05:00

It's December 1st! Today is the day to sign up for the Alcatraz lottery. I signed up first thing this morning & printed out my lottery ticket. For some reason though, I do not feel like Charlie in Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory - you know the boy with the Golden Ticket? As usual, I feel as if I have gotten in way over my head. I really am afraid that swimming in the San Francisco Bay might be quite a challenge to overcome. Well, I still will find out on December 15th if I got in. & I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't. I didn't have a lot of race experience to put into the lottery form. So who knows?

I suppose that means that if I do get in....I will have to save up oodles of money to pay for my trip to San Francisco & to Ireland. But have I spread myself too thin? Are 2 big races really a smart idea? Who knows?!?!?! At Thanksgiving we talked about some crazy person who ran 50 marathons in 50 days. Now that would be my definition of crazy! So I think (at least in the race department) I am semi normal. :)

If I don't hear back in 2 weeks, I believe there is a 2nd drawing for the lottery, which happens in January. Kinda like the cheesy "B list" of weddings. Like, we know you didn't make the first cut, but since Aunt Sally rsvp'd that she couldn't make it....we'd love to have you. OK! Being on the "B List" for something like this doesn't really make me feel unloved!

So if all goes as planned, or unplanned 2011 looks to be quite a year. I hope I can pull it off. I want nothing more than to cross that finish line in Galway in September & maybe Escape from the rock in May! Wish me luck!

The Pink Tutu

2010-11-28T18:36:00.000-05:00

As many of you may know, and some of you may not, in addition to my full time job, I have taken up working at the Soapmarket www.soapmarketonline.com in Red Bank on the weekends. It's really not like work at all, more fun helping people pick out fun gifts. soaps & lotion. Well, while working there I met a woman who teaches at the local dance studio. I have wanted for some time to take up dance, as I am so NOT graceful & always have been so jealous of all the teeny tiny dancer bodies I see on some of these Dancing with the Stars people. Plus, I enjoy any kind of exercise that is disguised to not look like exercise. That's the reason that I took up tennis so many years ago....it's exercise hidden behind cute outfits & cool oversized racquets.

Well, after checking out the website......www.theacademyredbank.com I have to sign up for their classes! Sadly, I didn't see anyone wearing tutus, but I do see that they have a dress code. I am all for that & my hair is soooo long (aka no time for a haircut) it will totally fit into one of those fancy ballerina buns! I really hope that the leotards have a tummy tucker girdle or something, as this 38 year old body is sooo not ballerina friendly.

But seriously, I think taking up dance in the off season (winter) will help me stay motivated & keep me geared up to start training in the Spring. I have to figure out something otherwise, it's going to be like starting from zero all over again & that would be bad. I hope they make a tutu in my size!

11:00 PM

2010-11-27T20:13:00.001-05:00

Nothing like a long weekend filled with food & not too much exercise. I had to force myself to go to the gym today. 2 measly miles on the treadmill then off to work. I can't believe that it's Saturday night already! Where does the time go? Remember when you were in 5th grade & summer seemed to last all year? You'd almost be excited by the time September rolled around & it was time to go back to school? Well, me either, but I'm sure there were some kids that were. Now I've blinked my eyes & 2010 is over! An entire decade in the new millennium. Crazy!

I should have some plan for 2011 worked out by now, as it is almost 11:59 pm as far as the year is concerned. OK maybe more like 11:00 pm, but you get what I am saying. I've been working & trying to save up some money, pay down my bills, get a cool tri bike & some decent gear. Save for a house, blah blah boring. I should probably start with outdoor running gear, as I know I would have gotten farther by running outside today as opposed to running on the treadmill. But I don't really have any good cold weather pants, shirts, etc. Buying regular clothes is so much better, but I really do look like Raggedy Ann when I go to the gym.

I am trying, with no results so far, to score some Pittsburgh Steeler/Jets tickets for December 19th in Pittsburgh. So far, no luck & it's getting very close to the date, not sure I'd even be able to take off from work at this point. But years ago (1996) I went & got stuck in what was the blizzard of the century, or whatever. It snowed about 4' of snow in about 24 hours. It took me 11 hours to drive back from Pittsburgh, when I think it only took us about 5 to get there. What a trip. I have no idea why I'd be so gung ho to plan another trip out there, as I fear that if we did go, it would bring a similar situation.

So for now, I am lazily getting through the end of the year, without any kind of plan for 2011. The Alcatraz lottery does open up on Wednesday morning. I am still on the fence about signing up, but I really think I'd have to come up with a much stronger swim plan if I was going to brave the icy waters of the San Francisco Bay. But maybe I will check out the lottery. Hey, you never know! OK, maybe you do....but still. A girl's gotta have a plan! Right now I think that plan includes a nap.

1004!

2010-11-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

It's official I have reached 1,000 hits. I know that some websites get a million hits, but 1,000 makes me smile. Wait, sorry 1004! Even if it is the same 3 people opening the page over & over - thanks to all that have been keeping up with my silliness!

& as promised I will deliver a gift card to one lucky winner!

This week is a short week, thank God, & I want to take this time to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the holiday & eat lots of tasty food!

Last year I ran a 5 mile race thee day after Thanksgiving, so I was happy knowing I could eat a little more than I normally would, but this year I have to work, work, work all weekend, so I will have to cut back on the mincemeat pie (yes, I love it!) & mashed potatoes - boo! I do hope to make it out to the Manasquan Reservoir this weekend & try out the running trail there. It's supposed to be a good running place.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving & if you're looking for some fun & festive ideas, check out this cool martini blog I just stumbled upon! http://themartinidiva.blogspot.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-martinis-cranberry-whiskey.html An entire blog dedicated to martinis! Genius!

Gobble gobble!

Today is My Friday

2010-11-10T22:15:00.001-05:00

Yep, I finagled a 4 day weekend. Woo hoo! But I am working tomorrow at Soapmarket, but that's more fun than working at my real job. & let me tell you, I had a stack of work on my desk today, but it can wait until Monday!

I bagged on the gym tonight, surprise surprise, & honestly I really hope no one has been looking at me for any kind of gym inspiration lately because I have been sucking in the motivation department. I can't imagine why either. I have been reading blog after blog about running & planning & working on following a schedule, but the dark (soon to be winter) nights are starting to get the best of me! That's bad. It's so easy to go out for a run in the summer when it's dark until 8 or 9 pm. But now it's dark at 4:45. I don't know why that means I can't run, but mentally I have checked out. Bad, bad, bad!

In other news, my shoulder, which I must have injured in yoga the other night, how, I have no idea, is much better. It really felt as if someone had ripped it out of its socket flipped it over & then shoved it back in the socket. I can't even describe the pain I was feeling. & I know I may seem like a prissy girl, but I have a high tolerance for pain. The shoulder pain, was really indescribable & I was fearful that I'd have to go to the doctor because I tore the rest of whatever is left in there. Years ago I tore my rotator's cuff & lets just say - not being able to raise your arm over your head really sucks.

Oh & I hope that there aren't any Rhodes scholars out there reading my blog (doubtful) because I have probably the worst run on sentence problem, as well as spelling & just plain shitty grammar. In addition, I use the following words way too much: so, just, now & etc. Perhaps I should invest in a thesaurus. So now I'd just like to thank all of those that have been reading, as I have noticed I am going to surpass the 1,000 hits mark very shortly! Stay tuned....& most of all thanks for reading this crazy drivel.

NYC Marathon

2010-11-07T18:28:00.000-05:00

I watched the NYC marathon this morning before work. It was so exciting to watch the women race & holy crap they were sprinting. I know the commentators kept saying that the runners had gotten off to a slow start, but at one point I heard them say that they women had run about a 4:50 mile at about mile 22. Yeah, I couldn't run a 4:50 mile if I was shot out of a cannon. I was really pulling for Shalane Flanagan to win, I mean who doesn't want to see a first time marathoner win? I did & I was psyched she was an American, it's always good to win on the home turf! But she came in 2nd & it was still a good race.

I would have really loved to see the marathon in person, but I had to work today. Back in 2005 we saw Paul Tergat win in a sprint to the finish. It was very cool & we really lucked out, we weren't even expecting to get into the city in time to see the first place finishers.

After watching the marathon today, and not going out for a run myself (slacker), I do wonder if it's something I could ever do? I always said that there was no way I could do it, but is that true? I mean that would go against all of my - you can do anything you set your mind to mantra. But it's not that I mentally think I can't finish it, it's the bones. The bones are old & some don't like to cooperate. I have an ankle that might have 60% of the movement of a normal ankle. OK, maybe 70%, on a good day. I did run the Broad Street 10 last May......I wonder how 16.2 more miles would feel on my body. Probably awful.

But training is going to have to start for the 70.3 Galway Ironman. I am committed to doing that before I get some half baked marathon scheme going in my head. Perhaps I will sign up for the Long Branch 1/2 this spring & see where it goes. It is always nice to have a dream, even if it is a crazy one. :)

Calendar

2010-11-04T14:32:00.001-04:00

Years ago I had a day planner. You know the type, a nice book with a leather cover that had gold leaf edged paper? Now everything is electronic & I feel as if I can't get a grasp of all my To Do List items. I do love my iPod, but it's not the same to see the "reminder" pop up on the screen. There's just something about my crappy handwriting staring back at me from that ecru paper. I like it! I still have my 2007 Neiman Marcus desk planner in my desk organizer at work. Those were the good old days where you'd spend $5,000 at Neiman Marcus & they'd reward you with a day planner. Oh how I miss those days! I don't even think you can buy them at Neiman Marcus any longer, but I am going to check. I have no idea why I am keeping the old one, or why it is still taking up valuable real estate on my horrifically messy desk, but I don't want to get rid of it. Hmmm....more hoarding tendencies, but it's just one small book!

I know I can go to the pharmacy & get another for 2011. I even saw a similar one, but I think it said "mother's helper." Odd, I thought valium was mother's helper. Maybe someone is confused. But I digress.

For 2011 I have made a few plans & I know it's good to keep a list & write everything down, but I don't like to put it on my computer. I like to page back & forth in the book & see certain dates. It's crazy, I know! But writing things down have always helped me remember. & every time I hear that "reminder" beep on my iPhone I think to myself how annoying it is & run to hit the ignore button. Now that's not helpful at all. We do get a bunch of the small freebie datebooks at work engraved with our company name on them, but they're cheesy. I'm not a big fan of them. & usually they are not leather or pink or a cool plaid. What's wrong with these marketing people?!?!?

I think if I get a book, it will help me get my training back on track. I ran 4 miles last night & I'm going to meet up with Suzanne tonight to stretch out my old bones. I am very sore thanks to Yoga the other night!

& if you haven't been checking, I have, I've had another 50 hits on my blog in the past few days. Thanks everyone! Or at least thanks to the 3 people that keep revisiting my site. :)

Check out my Starbucks Idea

2010-11-03T13:49:00.001-04:00

Sell the small sample cups for a quick caffeine fix!

View Idea

All Saints Day

2010-11-01T10:20:00.002-04:00

When I was in college we always had All Saints Day off. That was the one good thing about attending a Catholic University, you got off for every Holy day imaginable Good Friday, All Saints Day, the Pope's birthday, you get the idea. Sometimes I wish some of those old traditions carried over into the working world, but sadly they do not!

Halloween was uneventful. I guess since it fell on a Sunday it was hard to get into the Halloween spirit. It was a pretty nice day, not as chilly as Saturday, but you can tell that Fall is definitely here. Bye bye summer! I spent the day working at the Soapmarket http://www.soapmarketonline.com/ & then went for a quick run. I noticed some rumbling in the woods right off the path from me a few times, but figured that it was just a squirrel or a chipmunk, but when I looked back I noticed an entire deer family. I ran to my car after & took a few quick picks. The big deer in the last picture had some antlers, but he was quite skittish. The other two were happily wandering around amongst the joggers.

I have also noticed that my blog hits have increased significantly! Thanks to everyone who stops by to read about my escapades. I had 150 hits in the past week. That's huge for me! & don't forget - once I reach 1,000 hits I will be giving away a caffeine infused prize. So make sure you leave a comment. :)

In closing I'd like to remind everyone that tomorrow is election day & regardless of your political affiliation (damn liberals) you should definitely get out & vote!!!! Remember, you can't complain about how crappy our government is, if you neglect to vote! Have a great All Saints Day!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-29T16:15:00.001-04:00

Last night my sister & I went to Boomer Esiason's Refi Rock Benefit for Cystic Fibrosis. Not only were there some Jets there, that I couldn't really name, but the DJ was DJ Pauly D from MTV. Awesome! But of course, my sister was a chicken & when I squirmed my way through the press line, was too afraid to come over & take my picture. This was the best we could do.

But more importantly & to keep this workout related....this may have been my favorite costume of the night.

Shake Weight Guy!

Normally, I do not like when adults get all gussied up for Halloween, but this was definitely worth it. Happy Halloween!!!!

Bobbing for Bones

2010-10-27T14:19:00.000-04:00

Louie, my bulldog, loves doggy daycare. & if I had half a brain in my head I would start my own doggy daycare, as they seem to rake in the cash. Alas, my hatred of dog slobber & dog goobers keeps me from fulfilling this dream! But Louie does love to go visit his doggy friends so I try to take him there once a week to get his fill of all things doggy.

This morning when I dropped him off they were all ready for Halloween. The place was decked out in every Halloween decoration imaginable, which is hysterical when you think about it because the place is filled with dogs! I mean, dogs can't read, so why have a huge Happy Halloween banner behind the counter? Ah, either way, they're so nice & fun there, it's refreshing to see that they have a sense of humor! Today's doggy festivities included Bobbing for Bones. Now, what kind of doggy mom would I be if I didn't bring Louie? Or, as he's referred to at daycare by his more formal name, Louis.

They also had a best costume contest, but since Louie is not a fan of clothing, we dug through the toy box last night to find his Halloween bandanna. Good enough for a costume in my book!

The funny thing about doggy daycare is that they are on facebook & have a ton of friends. Yesterday, while looking at their pictures, I found the one below. Now tell me, would you send your dog here? I bet you would! Hope Louie gets lots of bones today!

313

2010-10-25T12:52:00.000-04:00

That's how many days until Ireland Ironman 70.3. Yes, you read that correctly, Ireland. OMG I know you're thinking, how many times are you going to go to Ireland? I don't know! A few more? I like it there. I know where everything is now, so it's easy to get around. I had planned on doing the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon if I could get in on the lottery, but to be honest, even though it is a shorter distance (1.5 mile swim, 18 hilly bike miles & an 8 mile run) it is the swim that concerns me.

Swimming across the chilly San Francisco Bay is not something I have (obviously) ever done. & while I have no problem completing the 1.5 mile swim in the pool, or the Navesink or even the Atlantic Ocean, I am going to be honest....I am a little nervous about the San Francisco Bay. The temperature in May is about 55-60 degrees. That. Is. Cold. I think the last swim I did, the water was 68-74 degrees. That's nice. 55 is not nice. It's chilly. & I have a sleeveless wetsuit. Now I know that there are people that swim in the bay without a wetsuit at all, but they have done that for some time. I don't know if I am ready for that yet. So for now, I am going to set my sites on Ireland.

There's going to be a lot of planning that has to go into this race. I have to find out how I can ship a bike on Aer Lingus & make sure that it gets there in once piece. Not only that, but I have to start saving for this trip. I can only imagine how much airfare will cost, as I keep trying to look for great deals, but there doesn't seem to be any. I did finally do something smart & reserved an apartment for the week. I don't know if some of you have been to Ireland, but some of the hotel accommodations are teeny tiny! I think it will be important to be well rested & have a comfortable space to live in for the week.

I have been feeling better about getting back into working out. I haven't figured out a training plan yet. I think I may really pick a few brains about this. I am going to start out with some short runs & build a better base. I think if I can do that until January, then I can really start with a new plan towards completing this 70.3.

Sorry to bore everyone with my lameo workout blog posts again. I did go to the city last night & try out 5 Napkin Burger www.5napkinburger.com & let me tell you.......it was worth every bite. Get the onion rings & get the frozen strawberry mojito. Everything was delicious. It was in one of the most touristy sections of NYC (Times Square) but it was fun & didn't feel like a tourist hot spot, even though it probably was. But if you ever find yourself craving a juicy burger in NYC, I suggest you go there. Make a reservation too - as we got seated right away! & they aren't kidding about juicy! But I only needed 2 napkins!!!!

Belmar Spring Lake by jmw1072 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-10-24T10:11:00.000-04:00

Belmar Spring Lake by jmw1072 at Garmin Connect - Details

Burgers

2010-10-22T13:50:00.000-04:00

I love burgers. Love them! I think I've always loved a good burger because I seriously cannot remember a time when I didn't want to eat one at least once a week. Now that I have a few 1000 miles of training under my belt I don't feel as guilty for eating crap, but if you leave the bun off, burgers are mainly protein & I think I have convinced myself that they're ok even when they are probably not. Not including that half a bottle of ketchup has disappeared before my very eyes. I can't help myself. I love some good ole Heinz 57 on my burger!

So today while I was reading another blog that I have come to love The Bitchy Waiter http://thebitchywaiter.blogspot.com/ he went on about this great burger place in the city 5 Napkin Burger. Now I am guessing that the name of this joint has something to do with how juicy the burgers must be, which means I have to run out & try them ASAP.

The best thing so far about this place is that they take reservations. Cool! I'd hate to get there & have to wait 3 hours for a burger. So after working this weekend (come visit me at the Soap Market) I'm going to go into the city & grab a juicy burger. But not until after I log some serious miles in. No more slacking!

I Will

2010-10-20T10:03:00.001-04:00

Last night I blew off the gym & went into NYC. I always forget how much I love the hustle bustle of the city. OMG I sound like my grandmother saying hustle bustle, but it's true! I have been waiting for the release of Matt Long's new book "Long Run" and he was having a book signing. For those who don't know who Matt Long is, he is a NYC firefighter who was injured while biking to work in 2005 during a transit strike. His story is truly inspirational & I wanted to get his new book. & lets face it, he's super hot. I couldn't think of a better reason to skip the gym, could you? I didn't think so.

The reading was at Barnes & Noble in Tribeca. I haven't been to Tribeca in some time & I was mad when I realized how close this B&N was to where I went to graduate school. If I had ventured around the corner, I would have had a great place to study. & they have a Starbucks! Duh!

I got there pretty early & started reading the book. Wow, he has left nothing out. I mean, it is a bit gory in the beginning when he explains how badly injured he was after he got run down by a bus. Actually, injured is an understatement & it was shocking to see this man actually walk into the room & engage a crowd of people after what I had read in just the first 3 chapters.

I really had a lot of questions that I wanted to ask him. First & of course the most shallow, are you single? But come on, there were other people in the room! I also wanted to know how he did it, how did he decide to get up & go back to his old way of life - as an elite athlete & his job at the FDNY - rather than claim disability for the rest of his life & sit around watching TV like I know I would be doing if the same had happened to me. I guess I was a bit amazed at his will to live & move on that I really only sat there & listened to him speak. But, as my usual dumb ass self, I asked zero questions. I mean, what the hell is wrong with me? Do I have zero game? Ah yeah, I don't.

It wasn't until after I got home that I realized that I really had a million questions. Like, how do you get up every morning & do it? How does your body feel now 5 years later? How did you decide to get back into triathlons & decide to run the NYC marathon? Did that jerk from the transit company ever personally apologize to you? How after 9/11 & this horrible accident, are you sitting here smiling, looking like every happy go lucky NYC firefighter I have ever met? I guess that is a testament to who this guy really is. I mean, I can't even get out of bed on cold rainy days & this guy gets hit by a bus & makes a huge comeback to even walk, let alone run the NYC marathon. His foundation, I Will, tells you a lot about what he has gone through & what he hopes to give back.

It really makes me want to step up my game. It's easy when you can go out & do things & you don't because you're lazy. It's another thing to really want to get up & do things, but you can't because your body won't let you. I made a promise a long time ago to my friend that was killed on 9/11 that I would go out & run for him & even though I've accomplished a lot, I have been a huge slacker lately.

I got through half of his book last night. It is really good. Not just some fluff book that someone whipped out either. It's a page turner. & it's been a long time since I have sat down & read a really good book. Usually after the first paragraph I'm falling asleep, but last night I was mad I had to go to bed. I am sure I will finish the rest tonight.

Now normally my five readers know that I don't usually gush over anything, except of course, a new pair of cute shoes or anything Louis Vuitton.....so if you're looking for a really good book I suggest you get this one. I would loan you mine, but it's signed & he was really cute & he touched it! Ha ha.

Post, Comments, Followers & a Surprise!

2010-10-18T21:32:00.000-04:00

I have been blogging for over a year now. It has been interesting, but I could be reaching so many more people. I mean, doesn't everyone want to know how bad a runner I am? I am sure they do!

So here's the deal. From now until the end of November I would really like to get my page views over 1,000. When I reach the 1,000 mark I will give away a $20 Starbucks gift card, because I really think that everyone should love Starbucks as much as I do.

I have no idea why I want to run this contest, but I always see cool giveaways & fun things on other blogs so why not do it on mine? To date I have signed up to win a free mitten knitting book & an 8 day trip to France on some other blogs that I follow. So.....if anyone is still reading & you'd like to help me out & maybe win a fun prize - I'd appreciate it if you help me spread the word! If you want to be entered, just leave a quick comment on the site under one of my posts. Every comment I receive will be entered & when the page views reach 1,000 - I will pick a winner.

& to be fair, if the winner is a Dunkin Donuts fan, I'll substitute the prize! Thanks everyone & good luck!

Do Girls Spit?

2010-10-11T19:56:00.004-04:00

Do girls spit? Good Lord! Of course not. Wait...that's not entirely true. I spit today while running. Is that gross? Yes, it is. Very. But I had to, swallowing was not an option. OK dirty minded people I am talking about exercise here! & believe it or not it's not the first time this week that I spit. I had to have another, yes you read correctly, another crown put in at the dentist. How many is that now, 4? 4 fake teeth. I hope they never fall out or break because I'm going to start looking like a Jack-O-Lantern! Which is not cool, even though I was born in October.

I don't even know how many teeth I have that aren't filled with some sort of dental device. Root canals, crowns, fillings, built in retainer, the list is endless. At least I guilted him in to 3 free tubes of whitener. Hey, if I'm going to have a mouth full of fake teeth, by God they better be pearly white! But while I was having my tooth gutted the other day my dentist left the room & it was all down hill from there - but it's ok to spit at the dentist, right? Right. Not so much while jogging. It is soooo uncouth, to say the least. But I have seen marathoners poop all down their leg, so what's a little spit. Yeah, I agree it is still gross.

Today's run was a quick one. Only 2 short miles, but I ran about 4 yesterday at the beach & it was chilly!!!! 41 degrees when I got there. That's only a few degrees away from the white stuff people! & let me tell you, I am not ready to see snow until at least 2011, think December 2011! It gives me hives to even think of snow! Ugh!

But enough about the weather. Today at lunch as I was looking through the paper, someone hands me a picture of a local woman (questionable) that won a race over the weekend. Seriously, this woman looked as if she had 1. Never missed 1 second of sun her entire life. 2. Didn't have any teeth & 3. Needed to eat a sandwich (like the 6' party sub kind). I started to panic. If I kept working out...would this happen to me? I mean I already have a mouthful of crowns, could I too be on my way to toothless skeletor/alligator lady? Jesus, I hope not. Not that we were diminishing her big win, but come on lady, eat something already!!!! After a few more minutes of picking this woman apart I realized that I'd have to run 20 miles a day & maintain a diet of lettuce & twigs for the next 10 years if I was ever to look like that. Back to my eggplant rollitini!

Yaaaaaaaaawwwn

2010-10-04T15:33:00.000-04:00

I. Am. Tired. Not just tired but exhausted. I even tried to go to bed at my new self imposed bedtime of 10 pm last night. I have been fighting off a cold all weekend & I am really hoping it does not turn into bronchitis, as it has the past 3 or 4 winters. If you've never had bronchitis, try to avoid getting it at all costs. Nothing is worse than a 24 hour cough. The only time you're not coughing is when you're sleeping & that's only because you have overdosed on Tussinex. There's a reason that the label says DO NOT TAKE MORE THAN ONE TEASPOONFUL. Me being the doubting Thomas that I am said, 1 teaspoon? What's that going to do for me? & took a TABLESPOONFUL. Yeah, mistake #1.

I've never really believed that medications could make you hallucinate, that is, until I took this stuff. Never again. The next morning the rest of this pink gloppy cherry tasting crap went right down the kitchen sink. Stick to the instructions people, or if possible, don't get sick.

Now having bronchitis doesn't deter me from working out, why should it? I mean think of all the free gym space you have when you walk in with your tuberculosis-like cough. Not only do you get your choice of treadmill, but you can pretty much assure that people will get out of your way. Listen, I'm not going to infect you. I have bronchitis, my cold is looooong gone by now. My lungs are just on fire. I'm sure there's something that you can catch from me, but I think there's some debate on whether or not bronchitis can be spread. OH it probably can, but who cares. I obviously got this cold from someone, I'm only returning the favor.

Tonight I have to go to the dentist for what seems like the 50th cavity. I think I have more cavities than teeth at this point. How is that possible? & then off to get some kind of run in before I rush home to bed. Tomorrow is the big birthday & I have been eating non-stop all week with no end in sight! Birthday cake here I come!

October

2010-10-02T10:26:00.000-04:00

October is birthday time! My birthday is this week & it's not some big milestone. It's a lot older than I think I'd like to be, so I think I'm going to start lying. Who cares? I'm only fooling myself, right? Wrong! Anyway. It is starting to feel like October, boo! The 80s & 90s are gone, but I'm hoping for Indian Summer soon. I do like this time of year, but it does not compare to summer at all.

Last night I got back to my plan & did go to the gym. We were suffering for the past 2 days with the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole, which was a huge pain in the butt. It did rain, but never when it was supposed to, making any type of outdoor workout nonexistent. But I did stick to my guns & jumped right back in to my workout plan. I have to admit, it was pretty nice not going to the gym & planning how to squeeze everything in with my after work workouts, but that time has passed & if I'm going to start getting back into the groove & training for Ireland, it has to start now.

In the meantime, I have been working on a knitting project that I started over 2 years ago. Hey, yarn isn't milk, it doesn't go bad! Below is a picture of my sweater/shrug & it is looking pretty good, if I do say so myself!

My only problem is that I was really getting a lot done on this with the help of a row counter, but for some reason.....I lost track of what row I was working on. Which isn't too big of a deal, but I was supposed to mark my progress so the piece would come out even, so now I have to get some expert advice (Dori, Monica & Leslie) so I can finish this before Springtime.

Well, I hope everyone is enjoying their first nice fall weekend in October. If you're out of birthday gift ideas, cold hard cash & gift certificates are always welcome! Snicker snicker. :)

Cops

2010-09-29T22:17:00.004-04:00

Cops. The TV show. Why is it I can never get enough of this show? I think it's been on since I've been in high school. Easily 20 years. & no matter how many times I watch it, I never tire of watching these "alleged" criminals get busted. I mean, every episode has a shirtless person wondering why he's getting pulled over for driving on the wrong side of the road, or sleeping in a tree. Plain craziness & I love it.

& isn't "alleged" one of the best words in the English language? You can call anyone anything, as long as the word "alleged" falls before or after your incriminating comment. But I am always on the side of the criminal. I think, oh they're definitely innocent, I mean the cop really pulled them over for no reason. Then I have to remind myself that it's a tv show & it wouldn't be entertaining if the person was actually on their way to get a gallon of milk & happened to take the wrong turn into the sketchiest drug neighborhood in America. No one is that unlucky. Or are they? The jury is still out on that one.

Tonight, as I sit here watching the alleged criminals I know that I should have been at the gym or out for a run. It's tough though. I did my 5k this weekend & I knew that I would have to come up with a new plan of action if I was going to attempt a 70.3 half way around the world. The time difference alone is overwhelming. Tons of planning will have to go into my new hair brained scheme. First & foremost, I need to save money. I think I have $30 in my brand new savings account. I even signed up for "Keep the Change." I'm turning over a new leaf & I am going to be a huge saver going forward! What? I totally am!!!! OK, please stop laughing. I know I have at least $4,970 more to go. & that's US $$$, not Euros. I don't even want to start thinking about the exchange rate & how much more I will have to save.

Secondly, I need a new bike. I can't get buy on my old bike for too much longer & it's definitely not going to last through another long race. It will be fine as a training bike for now, but I am going to have to figure out something fast. Additionally, whatever bike I get will have to be shipped to Ireland. Not only shipped, but disassembled, reassembled, disassembled & then shipped back to the US. Interestingly enough Aer Lingus can ship wedding cakes! So if they can ship a cake I'm sure they can ship a bike, right? Ah yeah, right. I think this means I'd better learn how to do it myself or find someone in Galway to do it. Quick research has given me a good bike dealer in Galway, but they haven't returned my email. & if I was smart, I would learn how to do it myself, because you never know what will go wrong. & something always goes wrong.

For now my plan is to sit down & work out a 20 week training plan which should get me through the fall & into early winter, where I can really assess where I am & how much further I need to go. It's not going to be easy, but I am definitely going to cross that finish line in Galway. But tonight & at least for the rest of this week, I'll be sitting planning my goals for 2011. Allegedly. Now where's that pint of Ben & Jerry's???

Matchless

2010-09-29T11:33:00.002-04:00

OK, so $39.99 would have been better spent on some shoes, or a few magazines, or that new hot yoga mat at Lululemon, but I did try Match & I guess I can cross that off my "Things to Try Before I Die" list. Out of the 900 views that I got (that's not too bad, 30 a day!) I really didn't have a lot of success. I did go out on one date & I do actually have 2 or 3 others lined up, but for the most part, people on Match are weird.

I finally did figure out the block feature on Match & got rid of the Texter - that kept sending me emails & texts, but never wanted to meet in public, unless I wanted to join him at the Borgata. Ah...no thanks. Another 23 year old (male nurse - not that there's anything wrong with that - just being descriptive) kept emailing me to tell me that he was still interested. 23. Hmmmmm........no. Block.

My favorite part of Match are the liars. OK liars is a harsh word, so let me use the term fibbers. One guy I emailed (strictly to ask him if he worked at my gym because he looked familiar) wrote me back & said that he did in fact work there, but that he was no longer on Match because he has had a girlfriend for the past 7 months. Every time from that day forward when I logged in I could see that he had been active within the past day or so. I find that interesting, as if I was in a relationship, I think I would have cancelled my account.

Another person, who shall remain nameless, said that he never went on Match & only signed up because people at work made him. Yet, he's active every single day. That puzzles me.

Which brings me to original conclusion, that people are really not serious about online dating, that many of the people I encountered (as my friend Erich stated) are serial daters or only on there to hook up. Well, that's not my thing. But at least I got a good vasectomy story out of it & I hope it kept you entertained!

Soooooo I am sorry to report my Matching has come to an end. At this point I'd rather get a flu shot than have to go through the whole wink, wink email nonsense any longer. & I can't see spending any more money on something that really didn't work out. I'd think buying a shirt that I will wear once & throw out sounds way more worth it to me.

On to the next adventure!

Tunnel to Towers Run

2010-09-26T20:33:00.000-04:00

Today was a great day to run in NYC! This was the second year that I did the run & it went so quickly! Last year it was raining & I was nervous. This year, the weather cooperated & I wasn't nervous at all. I wish I could have gotten some more pictures, but I didn't bring my phone into the tunnel. Here are 2 that I did get.

Here's my race number!

Here's the view after I came out & was on the way back to the car.

It's always a great run & thanks to everyone that helped me raise $$. & of course a big thank you to Mike who drives me to the race in Red Hook & waits for me at the finish line! Had a great time & definitely can't wait til next year.

Ironman 70.3 Ireland - Tada Gan Iarrach

2010-09-23T20:22:00.004-04:00

Nothing without effort.

Hold the phone...did someone say Ireland? As in...U2, sheep, the Aran Islands, wool sweaters & the home of Spar! (Ireland's version of 7-11)? Yes, it's true! I just read a press release on the Ironman site (hey, I'm not a loser that sits around reading press releases, they sent me an email!). & I am sooooo in!

About 2 minutes before I saw the Ireland 70.3 post, I got an email about the Pocono 70.3. Now that would have been great, as the Poconos are about 1 1/2 hours from home. Not 1/2 a day away like New Hampshire. But as I sat reading my email I almost couldn't believe my eyes. Ireland, Galway, September 2011.

I've been to Ireland 5 times. I really do feel as if it is my home away from home & if I ever hit the lottery or have the chance to retire in Ireland. I. AM. IN. Galway is on the western coast of Ireland & we went there the last time we went to Ireland in 2008. We really had a great time & my sister got engaged on our trip in Dublin. Yep, engaged. & kudos to me for keeping it a huge secret. So there naysayers, I am a good secret keeper...sometimes. So Ireland holds a special place for my family. I don't think it's going to take a lot to convince my mom to make the trip over there to see me race. Hell, I think she'd go over there to get some Shephard's Pie at this point, but now she will get the chance to see me race & enjoy vacation!

I have been waivering with my workouts, not really doing much, being lazy & not following through with my plans, but after seeing this email I now have a new goal & it's important to have goals, right? Right. Well....now I have to start planning. 1st & foremost, get a good plan going. 2nd...have to start saving money. I can't even imagine how much it is going to cost to ship my bike there, or where I should even ship it. I guess I will have the next year to figure that out.

Dream BIG! Live LARGE!

Tada gan Iarrach!

25 Things You Don't Know About Me - Thank You Us Weekly!

2010-09-16T10:09:00.001-04:00

I love US Weekly & I am secretly hoping that it somehow finds its way into my birthday stash or my stocking this year, as it is tough to go without it in my mailbox every Thursday! But if everyone recalls, I have been trying (& failing miserably) to cut back spending this year so when my subscription ran out, I did not renew. So sad! I have to get all my Heidi Montag gossip third hand at this point. Thank God for the TMZ app on my iPhone.

One of the things I miss the most is the Top 25 things You Don't Know About Me. It's the most ridiculous article in the magazine, like I believe that Snooki is actually shy! Um......right. But each week when I saw it in my mailbox, I would rip into it like it was the Wall Street Journal or some other reputable rag, I mean paper.

Since I no longer have my subscription, I figured I'd make up my own 25 Things You Probably Don't Know About Me (in no particular order).

1. Sometimes I keep things way past their expiration date: milk, orange juice, shoes, friends, etc.
2. I love watching crime scene drama news shows like Dateline or 48 Hours.
3. I hate dog slobber, yet I have owned 2 of the most slobbery dogs ever.
4. I am obssessed with shoes. OK, everyone knows that but I had to put it in there!
5. I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas is my favorite Christmas song.
6. I can't stand hypocrites.
7. The only thing I hate more than a hypocrite is a liar.
8. I think I have a great singing voice (no one else does).
9. I don't floss enough.
10. I like to speed while driving, everywhere. 40 mph should be the minimum speed limit.
11. I have become so accustomed to moving money from one checking account to another, that I could probably be considered a check kiter at this point.
12. I wish I could play the violin.
13. I try to go to Starbucks once a day.
14. I am afraid that I may become a hoarder some day.
15. I make to do lists, then lose them.
16. I make lists of all the things I will buy when I win the Mega Millions lottery.
17. I hate being alone.
18. I would love to go on vacation by myself, somewhere relaxing by the beach. Ironic if you just read #17.
19. If I had it to do all over again I would have applied to Notre Dame.
20. I am always starving.
21. I'm not a big fan of kids.
22. I hope to finish knitting all my knitting projects someday.
23. No purse is too expensive!
24. I am extremely impatient.
25. I wish I had a maid.

OK, some of these are really silly & stupid. But I hope you enjoy them. I've been on a blogging kick lately for some reason. Not sure why, so enjoy it while you can! Have to get back to a better workout schedule. One of my "to do" list items this week is to come up with a swimming plan for the winter. Now if I can only find that list with the rest of my to dos on it!

Cluck U Chicken Red Bank

2010-09-15T11:11:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I snap a good picture.

I guess even chickens need a way to get to work. Brings new meaning to the term "fast food." Perhaps if I wear a chicken suit while riding, I will be faster on race day - sans chicken suit, of course!

More Matching!

2010-09-14T14:08:00.000-04:00

This week has been pretty lame as far as my Matches go. I did go out on a semi-date on Saturday night, but I can't really decide if it is a date/date or a friend date thing. I am thinking friends at this point, although hooking up is probably not out of the question. But that's boring, as part of me isn't really a hooker upper & am only going out on dates to keep from stabbing myself with a fork as I am sitting home watching Cops on a Saturday night.

This past Saturday night I went out & stayed out til 1 am. Holy crap! I couldn't even believe it myself. It was fun & was with my friend/date so I can't even report that anything wacky went on, as this was not a Match date. As for my Match prospects. I've emailed a few people & have one guy on the hook, but I don't think he's my type. He's very nice & wants to go out, but I don't really know if I want to. But that would really ruin my Match experiment, so I will most likely go, but only so I can blog to all my readers later, as I know they would be soooo disappointed that I didn't have some funny story to report.

As for PD #2, he actually stopped texting me on Thursday. That's only 4 or 5 days after I had last text him, but just when you think he's gone away, I receive an email this morning from him chastising me for not texting him back. BLOCK. OK weirdo, you couldn't even pick up the phone & actually CALL me, why would I continue texting you. & by the way, I'm not interested in your nasty email. WHAT-EVER. Besides, he broke rule #1 & was geographically undesirable.

Earlier last week Date #1 text me an annoying & not very PC message. What is with these crazy texters? Isn't there a man out there that can actually call you & say hi? How's it going? Maybe they are out there, but I am thinking that they are all in jail. I guess I could set my sights on an inmate, as I see there's that new Prison Wives show where they devote an entire hour to watching you sit around you house, which consists of a card table, 2 chairs, a pile of unpaid/unopened bills & some hamburger helper while you wait for inmate #26937 to call you collect - running up your phone bill & rendering you penniless. I bet they must pay those women something, as they always seem to have enough gas money to drive 4 hours to the prison & sleep outside until visiting hours. I probably could write a book about that experience. But I don't think NJ allows for conjugal visits, so that idea will just be meaningless if that is the case!

Well, for now I don't really know if I have a date or not. My very good friends are coming home for the long weekend so if I don't have any Match news to report, at least Amy will provide you with some interesting escapades.

Oh & for those who are keeping track, I ran 3 miles last night. I really wanted to go outside, but a flash thunderstorm prevented me from doing that. That would have been disasterous!

September 11th

2010-09-11T06:00:00.003-04:00

Wow, 9 years & still such a sad day. Many of you know that I dated a NYC Firefighter, Jerry Dewan. He was killed in the WTC on September 11th. I still remember his memorial service & seeing firefighters, friends & family as far as the eye can see. When I think about that whole weekend in Boston with his family & friends I feel as if it moved in super slow motion. I remember seeing the largest American flag draped between two tower ladders. I don't think I have ever seen a flag that big ever in my life. & even though it was 9 years ago, I still remember almost every minute of that weekend.

I also remember the day that they found Jerry's body in the WTC & my college friend Deanna (who introduced me to Jerry) calling me at work to let me know. It was an eerie feeling, as I had a strange feeling with me that day in December & remember the news that a bunch of firefighters had been found the night before. It was the only consolation of that horrible day, that they had found him & could provide a tiny bit of closure to his grieving family.

When Jerry died I remember someone telling me that they had found his running schedule on the refrigerator. He had been running 12 miles a day in the weeks before his death. Back then, I couldn't even run 12 feet & it was amazing to me that he had been running so much. I promised myself that someday I would be able to do the same & I even joined a training program at the gym that September to try to train for the 2002 Spring Lake 5.

It took me a really long time to remember that promise that I made, that I would someday get my fat ass out there & run & I look back & wished I had done it a lot sooner than 2008, but I did it & that is all that counts.

As the 9th anniversary of that horrible day approaches I want to remind everyone the promise that I made back in 2001, that I would honor Jerry someday & continue his love of running. This year is the 2nd year I will be running in the Tunnel to Towers Run in NYC to benefit the Stephen Siller Foundation. If you are in the NYC area you can watch in on CBS. Still thinking of you babe.

Future Matchers

2010-09-09T20:29:00.001-04:00

This week has flown by, thank you Labor Day! Wait, no I take that back, as Labor Day means summer is over & the new Tommy Bahama bikini I bought on sale (marked down from $170 to $40 - 2 words BAR GAIN) has gone unworn. I'm a sure there are many beach goers out there breathing a collective sigh, but still. I will have to return for a pair of cute new shoe booties that I have my eyes on. Bikini season is sadly over 250 days away! Say it ain't so!

Besides this week & summer being over I am sadly saying goodbye to the BMW. Yes, my trusty sidekick for the past 3 years is going back. Boo hoo! Now what? Hard to be shallow & narcissistic driving around in a 6 year old SUV with a bike rack, but on to the next adventure. My picks on Match this week have been much better than the first 2 dates. I should say 1 & 1/2 dates, as the second date (the texter) never really turned into a real life date. He is, however, still texting me daily. I wonder how long this will go on? I haven't responded since Monday & I am still getting them. Could you imagine if we actually went out & he liked me? Good God I am shaking just thinking about it!

I am getting better at this whole winking thing. At first I was a bit nervous about winking, but since this is an experiment I have thrown all caution to the wind & wink at every Tom, Dick & Justin out there. Who cares, right? Maybe some of them will turn into real dates! Yeah, doubtful. But I'm still winking, especially at the hot guys. Hey, I found one hot guy before, no two! So maybe I can sucker another one. Third times a charm, right? :)

One guy emailed me, with phone number, & seemed very normal. Lived in NYC (yes not in Monmouth County - broke rule #1 already) but he seemed nice. This is the semi-professional football player. I still have to email him back. I'm not so great at responding so far. Another guy is an engineer. Uh oh. I work with 20 engineers & engineer type guys all day. Not sure if I should go out with any after work, but he seems very normal & very nice. His only flaw so far is that he looks like my cousin's husband. But again, it is just a date, I don't have to marry him!

The funny thing about Match is that anyone from anywhere can search for you, wink at you and/or email you. Yep, the 60 year old guy from Cicero, NY just winked at me about an hour ago. Hey, sure that's only 6 hours from my house & you're almost the same age as my dad, lets go out! Soon! For drinks! What-ever.

I did muster up the energy to run tonight, for those who read my blog solely for the workout aspect (LOL) & I have been thinking a lot about trying another 70.3 IM. I have two choices picked out. One is in Rhode Island next July. Or my other, totally unrealistic & half baked idea is Ironman 70.3 UK. Yes, UK as in England. My sister is dying to go to London next summer & I figure this would be a great addition to our family vacation. Hahahahaha. Yes, I hear you all laughing too.

Non Date #2 - The Texter

2010-09-07T13:54:00.000-04:00

OK so I've taken a detour from blogging about running, biking & swimming to perhaps entertain my 4 readers with my dating escapades. As we all know from my last entry, date #1 was a bit of a bust. I figure you have to kiss a few frogs before you find Prince Charming, right? Ick.

Potential Date #2 emailed me. OK, he really wasn't my type, waaaaaaay too short & lived further than I was really interested in traveling (I know what you're thinking - too picky) but hey this is MY experiment & I get to pick the rules. There aren't many rules, but the few that I have I will not deviate from under any circumstance, maybe.

Here are the rules in no particular order:

1. Please live in Monmouth County. I live practically in the middle of Monmouth County, so I'm not really up for traveling more than a 1/2 hour in any direction. I would like someone that can come over & kill spiders or help me put up a shelf without having to travel 2 hours.

2. Please do not think it's appropriate to text/email prior to 7 am or after 10 pm at night. I don't know you well enough that I care to have my sleep interrupted & I don't really appreciate being woken up by your "booty call" texts. 10 pm or later calls are reserved for real emergencies (a friend getting dumped, or arrested or a death in the family).

3. Please don't continually text me. If you don't want to speak to me on the phone, I'm not really interested in a text saga with you.

4. Please don't wear sneakers on a date unless we are playing tennis or going out for a run.

5. Please, if you ask me out for drinks, don't expect me to pay. Hey, you asked.

6. Be respectful. I don't normally want to make out with someone I've never met & I don't think it's appropriate to try to have your hands all over me.

7. There will be no sex on the first date. & by the way, no sex on date 2-5 or later. Too bad. Again, please see rule # 6 about being respectful. I'm sure if you had a sister, you wouldn't want some creepy guy all over her on a first date.

8. I'm only going to meet you in a public place for date # 1. I'm not going to go anywhere with you alone & I'm going to make sure all my friends know I am on a date so that they can text/call me to see if I am ok.

Maybe this sounds harsh or prudish, but you know it's not! I'm not looking to hookup or for booty calls. I'm sure I could find a few people for that. I did this to see if there were any decent, nice men still out there. So far I am quite disillusioned.

Here is the story behind Potential Date #2:

Potential Date # 2 is a texter. He emailed me & then asked me for my number. OK, I gave it to him. BIG MISTAKE. HUGE. He likes to text. Not a lot, but at odd hours of the day or night. After our first original hi, how are you text he sent me a text at 12:30 am. Thanks to my crazy iPhone said text came through at 2:30 am. Not good. I work, full time. No, I am not some executive or have some high stress job, but I am a professional person who works in a professional office. I am not up all night texting, chatting on the phone or wasting time on Match. I don't expect a lot, but please respect the fact that 11 pm is a NORMAL person's bedtime. I get up at 6:30 for work & I am expected to be on my game at work, don't think it's ok to wake me up when we haven't even met in person.

PD #2 obviously doesn't get this as he has texted me 3 or 4 nights at around 1 am. OK, one was on Friday night, but still....I haven't responded to any of your previous late night texts, when will you get the hint? Clearly never.

Another fatal flaw with potential date # 2 (& I should have saw this coming) his Match screen name is a country. Yes, my sister guessed it immediately after telling her this. & I don't mind making fun of said country as 1/2 of my mother's family is from there. What does bother me is that he fits the sterotype for that country & it's annoying. I do not appreciate being called hon, sweetheart or cutie. You are not a 90 year old man or my grandmother, so again, be respectful. In addition, I do not know you so it isn't appropriate to ask me to come over & give you or have you give me, a back massage. Again, see rule #6 about keeping your hands to yourself!

Seriously though, I had had just about enough with PD #2 that I sent him the following text thinking he may get the hint after his "massage" text:

Me: Don't take this the wrong way but I didn't join match to get laid. I can go out to a bar if I wanted to do that. Just looking to go out on dates & maybe find a bf. If that's cool with you then ok, if not, I understand.

PD#2: I'm not looking to get just laid I want a romantic gf.

Me: Texting isn't romantic. If you want to go out feel free to get back to me.

OK, so I am thinking that at this point this stupid jerk has finally gotten the hint. Nope, more texts follow the next day. Now he wants me to go to Atlantic City with him. Atlantic City?!?!?!? I have lived in New Jersey all my life. I can count on 1 hand how many times I have been to AC & I'm not driving an hour & a half down there with someone I have never met before. Besides the obvious you could be a serial killer (& you may all be laughing but look up Craigslist Killer - as I went to school my whole life with his fiance's family), but what if I don't like you? I can't get home from AC by myself & it's just weird. Meet me out for a drink, or hell even Starbucks at this point, then lets talk a little before you wisk me off to the Borgata.

At this point I am really thinking that PD #2 is catching on, but no he is still texting & still inquiring about my travels to AC. Finally on Sunday morning he asks me if we are going on a date. I told him I made plans, but that I am free all week. Now he wants to know if I will come over & hang out. Um.....no I don't know you. I'm not coming to your house. I tell him that if he'd like to call me & make plans, that would be great. Shocker then phone never rings, but bing bong next text on Monday morning. Wow, I guess the pics I posted must have been really good because that's all he knows of me at this point. The last text from him said - we should meet later.

Ugh, really? It's been like 4-5 days of stupid texts with you. I have plans to eat porkroll & then go out later. Yes, I didn't do much on Monday, but I am not interested at this point. You missed every opportunity to be normal & call me, so I'm sorry to say that Potential Date # 2 - the texter is quickly affirming my belief that Match is full of guys looking only to hookup.

I am happy to report that I have been emailing with Potential Date # 3 & Potential Date # 4 & we shall see what happens. The only piece of info I can give you about PD# 3 is that he plays some form of semi-professional football. Ah yeah, whatever that may be!