Space Coast Marathon (Marathon #1 in quest for Marathon Maniac status)

Saturday we headed to the expo and met up with Brad and his daughter Tara who was running the half with him, Kathy and her daughter, Mary and her hubby Mark, and Barry.

From left to right: Barry, Me, Kathy, Mary, Sueann, Brad


We headed to dinner after and met up with Tia and her husband Johnny who were getting to Cocoa later than originally planned, Mary and Mark, Barry, Brad and Tara. We had a nice night despite mediocre food, the company more than made up for it!

From left to right: Johnny, MR BQ!! is standing, Tia, Mary, Mark, Barry, me, Sueann, Brad and Tara.

We headed home after dinner and getting to bed proved to be a chore! I laid down at 10, way later than planned with the alarm set for 3:30 so we could be gone by 4. I get to Sueann's house and thank God she was carrying her bib, I had forgot mine!!!! We went back and grabbed it and headed out. We heard from Kathy that she was at the race site. We got there, got parked, ran into some other half fanatics on the way to bag check, got some pics then Barry called, we went over to see everyone including Suezette who was running the half before heading over to take a group pic with the fanatics and maniacs, what an awesome group of people!!!!

We lined up, found Kathy and after the countdown and lift off, we were off. We were doing 3/2 intervals so we could make the jump in mileage from 18.6 to 26.2 without as much issue. We took it easy and steady for the first half, we were starting to speed up in the 2nd half, I caught us several times in the 10 minute range and I don't mean upper 10, lower 10. We saw Mary leaving and whooped and cheered for her. We were starting to pick people off left and right! We were doing awesome until the last 5K split, I was really struggling, my feet were really hurting and I was ready to be done. We ran when we could and somehow mustered a sprint at the end with Barry and Suezette cheering us in! We went to wait for Kathy to come in and then Tia and Johnny found us. Johnny BQed, we are super happy for him, he was smiling every time we saw him during the race!! Here we are after we finished.

After we were done, Barry, Suezette, Sueann and I headed to Chili's for a bite before heading home


What a great day, everyone PRed! It was a nice day for a run!!! I'm super proud of each and every one of them!!!!

Previous PR - Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon: 6:04:27

New PR - Space Coast Marathon: 5:43:31

In 1 week I have PRed a half marathon and a marathon, I think I've found my mojo again!

Peace, Love and 26.2!

St. Pete's Women's Half Marathon

Saturday Sueann and I packed up and headed to Clearwater to Mary 's house. We met Stephanie, her daughter, then headed out to the expo to pick up our packets, goody bags and meet up with our other runner friends. We got there and when we walked in we saw a girl who looked like Tia but we headed on in to take care of packets. On the way back by, I texted her and sure enough, it was her! She is soooo full of energy and such a fun, positive person!!! We picked up our shirts, then headed to the band shell to meet everyone at 3, I don't know if people knew where it was, no one was there. We left at 10 after 3, we texted Suezette, she was there at the expo so we headed back in, found Suezette, got some pics. Sueann and I bought new running skirts and got free shirts with them. We also got chains for our medallions. After the expo, we headed to this fantastic little Italian restaurant. Yummm!!! Sueann and I had fettucini with mushrooms, Mary had manicotti. After dinner we headed back to Mary's house and hung out and watched TV until we crashed out.


Sunday came early, 4:15 we get up and get dressed and ready for the race. We head to the race site, get parked and make our way to the port-a-potties and then to our corral. Mary, Sueann and I lined up together and when the gun went off said our good byes to Mary. We were off and the first couple of miles were tough, Sueann and I both had tight calves. After that cleared up we were cruising. We hit 5 miles under an hour, I knew if we kept up the pace we'd PR. Well, I didn't count on mile 10-13 being soo hot. I started feeling sick, but the rest of me felt good. The run was gorgeous and I was hoping I'd be able to hold it together. Getting to Tropicana Field we had to weave around on black asphalt and I started getting sick. However, when we got into the building, I got goosebumps. How cool is running on a MLB baseball field?!?!?!? Coming out I was doing everything I could so I didn't get sick. We got into the last mile and into some shade and I was able to run longer again. We did one more short walk before we picked up the pace for the finish, I somehow had the energy to kick it at the end, realizing I was really close to my PR time. Garmin read 13.21, chip time 2:36:16. My previous PR was dented...not smashed..by 25 seconds. 2:36:41 is no longer my time to beat! Had we not had the stretch breaks for Sueann's calves and hamstring and my extra walk breaks in the last 3 miles we could have had a serious PR! I know had the weather been cooler we could have broke 2:30. I do know I'm not built to run in the heat...I get way over heated! All in all, this is a race I would repeat! Beautiful course, really well marked, no mistakes like we saw in Miami, great goody bags, cute medals and a decent expo. I just wish the expo had better prices.

I'm home now, the only thing that is remotely bothering me is my PF in my left foot. I will be in bed shortly, I'm exhausted but it was a great day and despite my passing nausea, I enjoyed the race.

Beach Palooza and Paul DeBruyn 30K

Sometimes I wonder why I am so all or nothing in certain things. I jump in head first without really thinking things through. I'm compulsive, spontaneous and reckless. I know this, yet, I can't do anything to change it. I don't see it until I step back to look at the big picture. My issue, my rock, Sueann is just as crazy as I am. I broke Sunday. I gave up and considered dropping out of a race. I let myself focus on the aches and pains. I was focusing on them instead of the positives of what we were doing. I don't know why Sunday got to me. It was just a training run, with an entry fee and a medal waiting for me at the end.

We tell ourselves all these races are training runs for Goofy. Sunday was no different. We'd had fun the day before, we did a 2 mile obstacle course in 21 minutes. Gotten filthy dirty and pushed ourselves to confront fears...heights, jumping flames, and most of all for me, running in my brand new Vibrams on the uneven beach when I had forgotten to tape my knee. I got through it, I enjoyed it, wished they'd thrown more at us at the end. The next day I'd hate the sand, I'd hate the monotony, I'd hate running. Maybe I'm burnt out, but how can I be? I have 3 marathons between next weekend and the end of January. I have 3 half marathons left also, but these don't concern me. It's the monster runs, the marathons. I don't want to do them anymore. What changed in me since April when I finished my first and LOVED the experience so much I was ready to sign right up for another? I was injured and running was painful during that marathon, yet I did it, loved every painful step. Was it the fact I was running my first marathon while my 5 year old son completed his first Kid's marathon? Was it the fact my children would be there with my family to witness me crossing the finish line of a race my dad said I'd never be able to finish? Was it the fact for the first time ever my brother said he was proud of me? I can't answer it anymore.

So let's talk about Sunday, I did good until about mile 15 (well minus the 4 minute bathroom break where my CWX tights and sweat covered legs didn't want to cooperate!!!) We picked off 7 runners, but later one would pick me off (he is a master walker...we are talking BIG TIME...10 moons in HalfFanatics and 10 suns in Marathon Maniacs.) Around mile 16.5 I let Sueann go. My hips were on fire, my foot was on fire and my heart was not in it. I ran on and off, but not for more than a minute at a time, it was all I could handle. I was in a mood, I just wanted it to be over. I pondered quitting then got mad at myself. I'm not a quitter. I wanted to be, but I'm not. My boys love playing with my medals and I knew I'd disappoint them if I didn't come home with one, that and a DNF when it wasn't truly warranted would haunt me forever. The race was lonely, it was SMALL, last year it was 57 people. This year's results haven't been posted yet, but I know it was 100 or less. NO crowd support, only the volunteers. Dr. Welch was volunteering and cheered me on at the 2 stops she was at and came up and talked when the race was over, she's so happy and positive, standing there with her big black boot, dreams of Boston on hold but supporting all her fellow runners without a hint of depression. I have the hint of depression and I can still run. I need to snap out of it.

Sueann and I did decide, no more marathons, we'll run the 3 we are signed up for and when we get into NYC, it will be the 5th and final marathon we run. I'm done with the long distances, the half is perfect for me. I also have more time with my kids when we aren't training for a marathon. So I will finish out marathons #2-5 and that will be all. I will then work to break the 2 hour mark on the half, I don't care if it is 1:59:59!

It was also official yesterday, I'm Half Fanatic #640! I may only have 1 moon now, but my goal is to get up to 4 or 5!

Next up - Marathon Maniac!

So yes, I'm nuts, yes I tend to bite off more than I can chew, but hey, it helps me test limits at the same time...

Paint the Town 5K

This is Sueann and I's annual 5K, our first 5K we ever did. This time Stacy was joining us from Kansas.  We all met up at the race site and Brad (one of our training buddies) found us and we got to meet his lovely wife Kathy. We headed over to the start and the 4 of us started out together. I was feeling some pressure in my side (I had been in the ER several days earlier with a large ruptured ovarian cyst) so I held back some and let Stacy slip ahead while Sueann and I hung a little back. Brad joined us and for the first mile we were cruising, hitting the 1 mile mark at around 10:18. By this time, I was really feeling my right side, stabbing pains intermittent with dull pain. I told them go and I started to walk. As soon as the pain eased I was running again. I'd continue this routine until the end. I almost caught Brad and Sueann a couple of times but the pain would kick back in and I'd have to walk again. It was a nice cool morning and I'd have loved to seen what I could do had I not had the issue. I finished in 33:53 with walking quite a bit. Stacy was 30:30 a PR for her and a major PR for Sueann at 32:13. Kevin had actually shown up, so the boys were there and Bren got to run his first race and Cody got to run his 3rd. They had a blast!! We went to breakfast at this little diner that serves only local ingredients and local eggs from local farmers. It was yum, I had the veggie omelet with whole wheat toast. We headed home, changed, headed out to Wekiva Springs to go kayaking. We ended up getting a tandem, since I didn't know how good the twisting from kayaking would do with my side. I'd have been happier in a single, but well, health first! After kayaking we headed back dropped them off, went by and saw Cody at Riley's bday party. Then we headed back to pick them up for dinner. We went to That's Amore then Mango Tango for dessert. I was happy to call it an early night and went to bed early to sleep!


It's been a crazy week, catching up and what not. I am hoping to be 100% this weekend as I have a 9 mile run scheduled Saturday, Cody has his final game of the season at 8:30 so it will be an early run, then the end of season party. I'm hoping to get some rest as we have Beach Palooza and need to be there at 1. After, I'm going to have a beer and a lot of water and relax! Sunday, we have a 6 am 30K race that was a last minute decision. We were scheduled for an 18 miler and then I remembered, this 30K runs most of our route, so we couldnt run there. Decision was made that we'd just pay the $50 entry fee and get the shirt and medal for completion of our training run...we are bad, I know. It couldn't have fallen more perfectly though. Those 18 milers are tough with little motivation LOL. 

Next weekend we have our fall back week. However, we will be enjoying our Saturday run free, no soccer games (ok not enjoying this part) before heading over to St Pete to hang out with one of our favorite west coast (of FL) girls...Mary!!! We'll be running the St Pete Women's half with her and several other of our runner friends!!

The following weekend MARATHON #2!!!! It's a training run, but I hope we PR...shouldn't be hard unless something goes horribly wrong or I have another bout with my lady parts...it's around the time this one happened in my cycle. I have the ultrasound the week after and well, I'm nervous!

Miami Beach Halloween Half Marathon

What a crazy weekend. Race weekends should never go the way ours went. There were some great moments, but there were some bad moments. Those bad moments paved the way for some hard lessons learned and a PWR (personal worst) for me. However, the company I was with still made this a great weekend and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.


Let’s start with Friday. I got off work early, went home and changed, picked up Cody from school. He was shocked and happy to see me. I took him to the library to read some books and then we went to get his brother. I got them into their costumes and then we headed to Chick-Fila for the fundraiser for Cody’s school. We met up with Sueann and her boys there and then headed out to a fall festival. The boys played games, had cotton candy and caramel apples, went on a hay ride and did trunk or treat. We then headed to the enchanted forest. What a joke! The kids got to do the petting zoo, but the hay ride through the forest was taking almost an hour, so we left. Everyone was exhausted. We stopped at That’s Amore on the way home and got some pasta to go. It was 9:30 when we headed home. I got to bed around 11 and had to get up at 5:30 (mistake #1 not sleeping enough) the next morning for a training run with Sueann. I had set everything out for the boys and some of my stuff for Miami.

Saturday: We ran, stopped to talk to a Team in Training group about how it all worked as this is our backup to guarantee entry into NYC. We ran back to the car as I was worried about time. Cody had a soccer game in another town 45 minutes away. We ended up 10 minutes late because we couldn’t find the fields. They weren’t marked. Well, it turns out the game hadn’t started yet; no one could find the field. One of the girls on the team showed up 30 minutes into the game and it had taken them 40 minutes to find the field!!! The team they played was horrible. They were shoving our kids around and this is supposed to be a team of 5 and 6 year olds and one of these kids, the meanest of them was my height!!! I call BS on him being 5 or 6! The game should have been a tie, but they scored illegally and their ref called it good. All of our team’s parents are complaining to our Y about the sportsmanship of the other Y. One coach was telling the big kids to be mean and aggressive. Not things to teach kids. So we leave the game. I’m upset because the game was very unfair. Cody’s team has lost before, and I have had no issue, but this was playing that in my day would have had the coach in trouble. We get home, I get Cody changed, get the boys packed and ready for a weekend at Nana’s and send them off with Kevin while I finally get the shower I have wanted since finishing the run. I pack and wait on Sueann so we can head out to Miami. We got out an hour later than planned. We had to stop for gas on the way and a potty break. We called Suezette at 3 when we realized we'd be pulling into Miami right when packet pick up ended. We texted her photos of our licenses and she picked up the packets for us. We met her at the hotel at 5:15. This is where things start to get crazy. We go in, Suezette asks if the reservation can be changed from a king to a double, no go. We find out there is NO parking, we have pay for parking. $40!!! We then have to tote all our bags back the 2 blocks to the hotel and we get up to our room…can we saw ACK! We get somewhat settled when Sueann realized she had forgotten her sports bra. I had wanted a new racer back tank since the one I brought had been riding up on me. We found everything then stopped for dinner. Mistake #2, I had pizza. This didn’t seem to be an issue for the other 2, it was for me. I have NO gall bladder and I’m lactose intolerant, but pizza normally doesn’t affect me, but I normally don’t eat it the night before a 1/2 . I did drink a lot of water Saturday, we are talking 100+ ounces. Mistake #3, in Miami drink 200+!!!!! We got back later than I had wanted to the hotel, but we were having such a good time people watching, and let me tell you there were some freaks out that night!!! Tried to sleep, really, we did, none of us slept well. I think I got maybe an hour at most of sleep. I fell asleep right off, but woke up within 5 minutes. I also fell asleep somewhere between 2:10 and 4:30 when all of our alarms went off. Despite the fact there were 3 of us in 1 king size bed, no one disrupted the others, we all thought the others were asleep, and all of us wished we were them, but none of us were actually asleep! This was mistake #4, not enough sleep!!!

Sunday: Mistake #5 was not having breakfast. Suezette provided power bars since we realized there was no breakfast at the hotel unless we wanted to pay $12! Sharon picked us up at 5:20. We made our way to the finish area and then took the shuttles to the start area. We checked out the other costumes, Sueann and I dressed up, Sharon wore orange and black and Suezette in pink and black. We saw some interesting things…men running in underwear only, we’re talking underoo type, Batman, Superman, etc. One was even in an American flag thong, he had his number strapped on to him. I still wonder if his butt cheeks chafed! We had a quick rain shower and it ended before we started. We said good luck and see you later to Sharon who was lining up in the front, then we lined up and started. The first half of the race was the easy part. One causeway over to Miami Beach, nothing on the grade compared to the NSB causeway we run. We were tired but our legs were moving easily after the first 5K, it rained in the first 3 miles and with the cloud cover it felt good. However, we’d be praying for rain in a little bit. Mile 8 is where things started really falling apart for me. I was feeling really sick. We had new sports drink on the course and had been drinking a lot of water, but I felt BAD!!! We were set to PR, but looking back I think we went too hard too fast for the weather. It was hot and humid. At mile 9, before I told Sueann to go on her own and finish it, it rained again. This time it was brief. This time about killed me. The humidity from the wet, was oppressive. I was doing everything to keep from throwing up. I finally set Sueann off on her own and I walked most of the rest of it. I came in 10 minutes slower than my slowest ½ time. The bling is awesome, being there to see Sharon PR her ½ time with a 13.6 mile run (she got screwed by Miami PD and had to do a ½ mile loop) and getting 3rd overall female was amazing!!! She was so happy!!! We all headed back to the hotel, Sharon dropped us, then the 3 of us got showered, changed and headed out for home. Sueann and I were sick!!! We stopped in Hollywood on the way home and got a sandwich and a large unsweet tea and started feeling a little better. It took a lot of fluids to finally normalize and for the massive swelling in my hands to go down. It was a good weekend despite feeling so sick and I know I could have PRed had it not been the mistakes leading up, and well, I’ve learned and add that to my knowledge and look forward to St. Pete where I get to try again!!

Wine and Dine half marathon

Wine and Dine weekend was a whirlwind of events. Friday I got off work at 4, opting out of the extra 30 minutes of overtime to make sure I could get home and get the boys ready to go to Sueann’s. I rush home, grab kids, head to Sueann’s and waited. Mike was held up at the bank. We finally hit the road 30 minutes later. We talked to Barry on the way out and made plans to meet up with him at the Expo. We sat through the usual I-4 madness and finally pulled into Disney about 7. We hurried through and got our packets, checked our DTags, and picked up our shirts. We got tshirts for the race and we each got a new running skirt, Sueann got pink flowers with shorts under and I got blue with capris under. We found shirts we wanted, but well, the skirts ate the budget up! I’m hoping they will be at St Pete, I have it on my wish list!! We finished as they were closing out the expo, poor Barry hung out with us! We all headed to Wolfgang Puck for some carbs before heading home.

Saturday I got up too early, wanting to sleep in, my internal alarm clock woke me up at 7. I got up and went in and watched TV for a few before the boys got up. I got them ready and got Cody in uniform for his 9:30 game. We headed out and when we got to the field, the grass was wet and the field they were on had no bleachers. I went back to my car upset I’d miss the beginning of the game. I was relieved that Cody didn’t start the game so I didn’t miss him playing. I set my chair up right before the end of the 1st quarter. Game was 0-0 at this point. Cody played his heart out the 2nd and 3rd quarters. I was so proud of him!!!!! They won their game 1-0. After the coach was handing me his picture forms for next weekend and told me how impressed he was with Cody’s playing, that he was really starting to get a foot on him. Cody loves the game so I am happy to see the change to a more aggressive playing. I’d love for him to stay in soccer, but I’m biased considering it was soccer that I loved the most before my knee was destroyed. After the game we headed to meet up with Sueann and her boys at Home Depot for the kid’s workshop. They were building fire boats and we knew that and that they’d have a fire truck there, but when we got there…WOW!!!! They had face painting, balloon animals, the build kit, plant your own palm tree, fire truck, police motorcycle, coast guard boat, wildlife department bulldozers, and free drinks and hot dogs! When we were done and I couldn’t carry anymore we headed out. The boys and Kevin wanted Mickey Ds and I didn’t. I got their food, dropped the boys and the food off with Kevin at home and I went to Publix and got a sub. Kevin and the boys left after I finished lunch so I could rest, they were all 3 staying over at his parents’ house in the tent. I laid down but couldn’t get to sleep. I ended up getting up and making some mashed potatoes, realizing all I had eaten was a sub, not enough calories to hold me through a race. I got everything ready and laid out and when Sueann texted me to let me know she was ready, I got ready and made more mashed potatoes and ate them on the way to Sueann’s. I also had a whole wheat bagel and a banana for right before the race. I picked up Sueann and we headed out. On the way we saw a car accident and a vehicle fire…got to love I-4!!

We arrived at Epcot and got parked. I asked an attendant where the closest bathrooms were, she said at the race site…great, I’m about to wet myself! We head toward the buses trying to reach Barry who we had told we’d call when we got there. He didn’t answer and when I looked up, there he was. We headed to the buses together and boarded, poor Barry had to hear me whine and complain with every bump in the road. We got to the race site and I was on a mission for a port a potty…man I felt 1000 times better after I got to it!! We went back and took pictures at the entrance and found a place to plop down, we had 3 hours until the start of the race. The DJ was great and we watched people dancing and making general fools of themselves. I wish I could be more like that! We got around, checked our bags, hit the port a potties and found the corral entrances. Barry and I were in Corral B, Sueann was Corral C, we decided we were going to try and sneak her in, if we got caught I’d go back to C with her. We maneuvered it just right and she got in. We waited 30 minutes more before the start of the race. We were set off with fireworks and after 2 minutes of walking we hit the start mat and started running. There were no waves in this race despite the fact over 11000 runners were signed up. Not the brightest idea on Disney’s part. We were running 4:1 intervals which I think ended up being perfect for us. We did our best to make our way to the sides during our walk intervals. There was sooo much congestion through 95% of the race we even had to stop and walk until we could get around people. It was crazy! This course is completely different than the January ½ and the Princess. This race runs from ESPN Wide World of Sports down Osceola Parkway to Animal Kingdom, back out of Animal Kingdom and onto Osceola Parkway where we actually had to do a hairpin turn, into Hollywood Studios, through the backlot and out and into a rear entrance to Epcot where the race ended. Another thing Disney could do better, a more organized bag claim!! The ½ was done sooo much better on this (minus Sueann’s experience.) The only thing that concerned me about this race was how much of this course would be included in the full marathon. Sueann and I are going to be working on some serious hill training!

The race itself was good, we both were tired and neither of us had run this late before (10 PM.) Neither of us got a nap in either. We were shocked how fast the miles went by. Mile 1 was all about getting warmed up and finding a comfortable pace. We hit the 1 mile sign before we knew it! The next several miles would be boring, minus the overpasses where we could look down on the cars and I asked Sueann at one point what we must look like to the passerbys, a herd of runners trotting along in a huge tight mass. Going into Animal Kingdom there were dancing fish that gave us a giggle. I really wish we got to run through more areas of Animal Kingdom. I do remember them cooking along the course, that was evil and mean! It smelled sooo good! That and the Green Army man from Toy Story yelling about the hill and we could do it…did you have to do it sooo loud we knew about the hill a mile away? LOL Mile 11 or 12 I was wearing out. I had this happen at Space Coast but managed to push through this time without bumming out. There was a hill in the last ¼ mile that I cursed through, Sueann was being the motivator not me. I wasn’t feeling good, I was tired. We got through though, sprinted the end. I remember the announcer yelling that’s how you do it!! We hit the mat at the exact same time. We got our snack bag, our medals, found Barry got our pics done and then headed in for the dreaded wait of bag claim. After that we waded through the throngs of people to the Food and Wine festival. Disney should only allow so many spectators per racer.

We walked around the World Showcase, had a beer and a margarita and missed the creme brulee, I was not happy...all the lines were 30-40 people deep. We left after 3:30 and headed home. I got home around 5 and finally go to sleep about 5:30, 3 hours later Kevin woke me up. I went back into the living room to try and sleep, I couldn't. I had to pick up the boys and find shirts for them to take pictures in. We headed to the mall, hit Gymboree, found shirts in the new firefighter collection and headed home. I gave the boys baths and got them ready. Pictures were quick and we were walking out of the fire department when we saw the fire. Some kids set the woods on fire, we drove up to take pics, pulled over and I let the kids out to watch the firefighters put the fire out. We stayed back a safe distance, up wind from the fire. A police woman was blocking the road by us and gave the boys Jr Police Officer badges and they thought that was cool. Once the fire was out we headed to the store to get stuff for tacos. We got home at 6 and I put up the groceries and laid down. Kevin luckily made dinner, I got 2 tacos down and then did dishes and went to bed at 8:30. I was shot. Let me tell you today was rough!!!!

Racing season is approaching...

The only problem to my title, I haven't been training.  1 week after the OKC Marathon I found myself with a nasty case of ITBS, so I made an appointment with a orthopedic surgeon to rule everything else out.  The Saturday before my appointment, I rolled my ankle and ended up with a grade 2 sprain of the peroneal tendon.  I'm still fighting the effects, but my ITBS is gone and I know I have chondromalacia patella.  Disney will be my last full for awhile.  I'm also no longer running races straight through, I've moved to the Galloway method.  I am trying to get back out and on the road but we have had some pretty high heat indexes and well, safety wins out. 

I hope to have some good race reports, but we will see!!  So I will try to keep up the blog and I will do my best to get back into training!

Daytona 5K and a morning out with the girls!

The morning started 15 minutes earlier than planned. Kevin woke me up worried I forgot to set my alarm. I got around, got dressed, called Sueann and woke her up. Suezette called and I headed out to get Sueann. We met up at a gas station before we got to the race track. We head over to the track and sit in traffic for about 5 minutes until I realized these were people going into the infield for the Rolex 24. I pull out of the line and Suezette followed and went up and pulled through a parking lot to get into the unused lane that would take us to the lot we needed to go to for parking. We get situated then head into the track to catch the tram to the starting area. We pick up our chips and meet up with my friend Rich who was volunteering at the race. We are going to the line up when we found fellow runner Zik and said hello and caught up some. The Daytona 5 in 2009 is when we first met Zik and we have run a couple of races since with him! The gun is about to go off so Zik heads off closer to the front and we sit and chat until they sing the national anthem and then give the GO! The worst part of this race is the start, all these runners are trying to squeeze through this little start gate. There is NO mat at the start so it's a race you know your Garmin will be the official time for you. We head out and Suezette and I pull a little ahead of Sueann, then Suezette pulls way ahead of me. I'm still sick and not pushing a thing so I stay right where I am. I went into this race as a NO PR race and I was only there for a good run and good times with friends considering I was just getting over the flu and an upper repiratory infection! We turn the first corner before heading on to the track and over the big press box on the speedway is a bright, full rainbow. I considered running up to Suezette or stopping to wait for Sueann to point it out and figure with all the people who stopped to take pictures, they'd notice. It was beautiful! I ran on. When we met up with the walkers that were just walking the 2 mile loop of the track, it was bad, I lost time, had to slow down as they were bunched up and the runners on the left were running about 3 abreast, some would stop for walk breaks. I was glad when I finally jumped through them all and got ahead of the walkers and settled back into my pace. I hit mile 2 and I'm finally starting to feel comfortable (minus my lungs) and talked briefly to a couple whose 6 year old was running and running fast for her little legs! I passed them and then a few minutes later, that little girl went flying by with daddy who had finished much earlier and run back for her and her mom. She ran strong all the way to the finish!!! I got beat by a 6 year old!!!! I picked it up and saw Suezette, waved for a pic and picked up some more into a dead sprint for finish. I finished Garmin time in 33:41. No CR or PR but a nice almost easy run. I coughed a bit, got some water and inhaled 2 glasses! Sueann was coming in as I was getting my water, I knew she'd PRed but not by how much. Suezette came back and joined us and she had just barely missed a PR, she had an incident at a water stop with unexpected gatorade. I was 2 and 1/2 minutes slower than my CR for Daytona. We found my friend Rich and got my camera and said our goodbyes to him as we head toward the finish line on the race track for some post race pictures.

We head out to the cars and take Suezette's to Sueann's office before heading to Target to change LOL (no where else to change.) We went to breakfast at Monterey Grill and had omelets and potatoes. We then shopped for a bit then went to lunch at the Ocean Deck. We never thought to get pictures through the morning. When we left lunch it was raining, it had held out until the end of our day out. We dropped Suezette back at her car and headed out. My day was far from over. I dropped Sueann off and headed home to get some clamps for my husband and dropped them off to him at his parent's house and picked up Cody who had been running a 102.8 fever and took him to urgent care, Kevin wasn't feeling good so no Couch 2 5K for him. I decided since I was still really congested to see the doc too. Cody had an ear infection and I have the start of a sinus infection, antibiotics all around! Cody and I leave Urgent Care and head back into town when Kevin called needing brackets from Home Depot. We run to Home Depot, take the brackets to him, then head to the store for groceries and free antibiotics. I've been visiting the store regularly to get more chocolate vitatops, but yet again, sold out!!!! I called Sueann to see if she was going by the other Publix, she was so I asked her to get me some if they had them. She did! She dropped by after the store, all I had managed to do was put up groceries and get a 15 minute hot bath and she called that she was just up the road. I grabbed a banana nut vitatop for her to try and met her outside. We planned to get together this morning for a 12 mile run. I headed in and Kevin and I caught up on 24 and had a bite to eat and then I was shot and headed to bed where I slept fitfully.

Sueann and I have delayed our 12 miler until 8ish. The high today only supposed to reach 61 makes that possible. Hopefully Kevin is OK with it. As he is headed back to his parents to work on the train table for Cody. Well, I think I have made this long enough and I'd like to rest some more before heading out to run 12 miles, so off I go for now!

Next race up is Healthy Heart 10K!  Our first anniversary of our first 10K! 

Disney World Half Marathon AKA the Hypothermic Half!

Let's start with Friday night! Sueann and I got to the expo and got our race packets and I had been having some foot pain, I bought the stick for feet. It helped a lot! We missed CC at the expo and were very disappointed but had already told everyone we'd be at Earl of Sandwich at 5:30. After the expo we headed to Earl of Sandwich and met up with runners Danielle, Courtney, Barry, Mary, and Kathy. We all chatted for awhile in the cold air and then went our own ways. Barry, Sueann, Kathy and her daughter and I went to Wolfgang Puck's for dinner where Jeanine met up with us. We had a nice dinner and then headed back to our hotels to get some rest. We checked into the hotel and settled in to get at least 4 hours of sleep before the 3 am wake up call.


3 am: We get up and get dressed, text back and forth with Courtney and head down to the cafe to get a banana and some smart water to fill our fuel belts. We go out and the line for the buses is 1/4 mile long! They are moving quickly and we get on our way. We get to Epcot to the start area and one of the Disney workers welcomes us to Walt Disney World Alaska. We all laughed and wandered on into the staging area. We are cold, but up until now no precipitation. About the time we get in line for the portapotties the flurries started! I knew in these conditions and with 23000 runners in the field I would not be getting a PR at this race and I was OK with it!

We lined up, in the wrong corral!!!  I was assigned to E, Sueann to F, so I said I'd stay back with her, so we got into what we thought was F, wrong..it was G.  We jumped the gate and headed up to the correct corral.  We were watching the jumbotron and they announced it was official this was the first marathon weekend event  ever to get snow.  After we got started following fireworks and great energy from the characters on the stage, the sleet came! I looked down and saw a pink fleece scarf, so I grabbed it. Whoever left it behind, thank you!!! It kept my bare neck warm for the whole race!! The first mile flew by. I was maintaining an easy pace and when I realized I lost Sueann I slowed way down to find her. I wanted to make sure she was OK. I stayed close to her and we ran together for over half the race. I wanted to be with her when she crossed into the park and Cinderella's castle for the first time in her life. I was cold but maintaning Sueann's pace as close as I could, I really wanted to go faster, but with the tight quarters and people stopping to walk it was tough!  We got into a tight group of runners around mile 7 and as I bounded up, she wasn't able to. I noticed my pace was falling into comfortable, steady 11:45 pace, where I would have liked to have been all along. When I hit the 15K split I was down to 11:15 and feeling strong. I had several people cheering me on in my head. I needed it at times. I felt good physically through 99.9% of the run! I saw lots of characters, but didn't stop. I remember running into Epcot and thinking I did it! I ran the whole thing! We kept running and no finish line! Where is it?? I look at my Garmin, 12.95, ok just around the corner, but it wasn't, we kept turning and turning! I was trying to come across strong, but no finish line, finally at 13.24 I crossed the finish line at 2:41:07. I waited on Sueann who came in 6 minutes later at 2:47:06. We got our mylar blankets, our medals, then headed to the picture area. We got our picture taken together and then got to the food tent, then headed to baggage claim. Sueann's bag was MIA, I got mine quickly so I waited with her. I was so cold I couldn't stop shaking. A race official asked if I needed to be taken somewhere to warm up, I said I'd be fine. I wish I would have taken him up on it. We got our stuff, we were freezing, wet and miserable. We had failed to read the marathon packet all the way through (and we were not the only ones) so we had no idea the buses were in the Family Reunion area. We walked to the front of Epcot and there were NO buses to take us back to the hotels. The race was still going and the roads were shut down. We took the monorail to Magic Kingdom and got a bus from there. We went to the hotel, stripped off the wet clothes, got dry clothes on and headed to the gift shop for hot fluids and items for our kids. We headed back to the expo and bought shirts and then headed home. My husband had a hot bath with peppermint epsom in it filling for me when I got home. I took a hot bath, he brought in a hot towel from the dryer and I got out and headed to the couch. I took a short nap.  Cody has been begging to keep my medal, he loves Donald Duck! 

I know Sueann isn't as confident on it, but I'm seriously considering doing Goofy in 2011.  I will be watching registration which opens today at noon.  I'm hoping it won't fill up right away, I'd like to get a 20 miler in to make sure I like the long distances before I sign up for 39.3!