Officially Autumn

Last week marked the official beginning of autumn. Funny then, when the temperature soared to 90 degrees just the next day! Just a tease though, as it was cooler and more seasonal over the weekend.

Paul and I spent the weekend driving around looking at houses and property for sale. We didn't find anything. Well, we found lovely fall foliage, that's for sure. I have been in NY for almost 4 1/2 years now and have maybe a handful of foliage photos so I figured it was time to take the camera with me everywhere I go for the next few weeks.

We made a quick stop at Fiato's Apple Orchard to pick up some Honeycrisp apples (by far my fav), cider, and donuts. I just loved the pumpkins sitting out front too!

This really is a nice time of year here. Maybe NY isn't all that bad. Ask me how I feel about it in 4 months though! ; )

Autumn 2010

How Do You Like Them Apples?

Even after all the snacking and pie making, we still had a ton of apples left. I found a recipe for an apple cake that looked tasty so I figured I would give that a shot today. I changed the recipe just slightly (less oil, less sugar) to make it healthier for us and also because I was using different apples than the recipe called for.

The recipe indicated to grease, sugar, and flour the pan well and not to use cooking spray. I used an unnatural amount of shortening and was hopeful it would come out of the pan. I'm usually too nervous to turn it over, so I'm glad Paul doesn't mind stepping in at that point. I think I held my breath when he flipped it. It came out! There was a big crack on top that, in Paul's words, "could have been catastrophic." : )

For now it's cooling. We'll give it a try later to see how it tastes. If anyone wants the recipe, just let me know.

Mr. & Mrs. Cluck Approve

We've Got High Apple Pie in the Sky...

Paul and I went to visit his parents last Saturday. It was such a beautiful day that we had to spend part of it outside. Originally we had planned on taking the canoes out, but Paul had been suffering from a cold all week and still wasn't feeling up to speed. Keeping it low key, we decided to go apple picking!
While looking online, I found an orchard not too far away from the house that offered u-pick apples and also a farm market store complete with cider and most importantly, cider donuts!
We visited at his parents house for a while before setting off to the orchard. Once there, we got oriented with how things worked and headed out to the trees. They were picking Ginger Gold and Macintosh apples. We walked to the GG's first, as they were further out. The trees were loaded with apples and it didn't take long to fill our half-bushel bag half-way. From there, we went toward the Macs and with the 4 of us picking, we were done quickly. The apples were good size and in good condition. We headed back to the store to get some cider and donuts and then made our way back to the house for lunch and more visiting.
We decided to weigh our apples to see how many pounds we wound up with. The grand total was 23 pounds of apples! We split them between us and I was thinking to myself, "What are we going to do with about 12 pounds of apples?!" What else would you do with apples? Make a pie of course! ; )
I made a crumb topping apple pie and I have to admit it turned out quite tasty. Paul has been taking an apple in his lunch everyday and I have an apple cake recipe that I want to try next. Then, I may make applesauce with the rest. We'll see. I have to use these up though so I can go to our local orchard when Honeycrisps are ripe. They are my all time favorite eating apple. I just love fall! : )

A Few Weeks Back...

...the State Fair in Syracuse was in full swing. One night while having a beer with friends, we found out that Chef Mario Batali was going to be doing a cooking demo at the fair. I was excited! As if that wasn't enough, the band Lady Antebellum was going to play a free concert later that same night. We made tentative plans to go.
The day came and I was uncertain whether I wanted to head up to see Mario or not. It was one of the 95 degree with a million percent humidity days. Plus, I'd have to go see him by myself since Paul was at work and on one else could go. I hmmmmed and hawwwwwwed about it before finally making a last minute decision to go.
I got up there with plenty of time before his demo started but was bummed to learn that he had done a book signing earlier than morning. Boo! I would have loved to have met him. I did enjoy his demo--even in the stifling heat.
After he finished, I decided to walk around to check out typical fair "stuff." I walked through the poultry barn and looked at birds and rabbits. I took a quick stroll through the horse barn and then the dairy barn. It was nice to be inside to get away from the heat. I also went through several buildings to see what kinds of fun things were being sold. You know, the knives, and Sham-wow type items. Those buildings were super packed with people with the same idea--staying out of the sun!
I took a walk through the carnival rides and eventually found my way to watch the racing pigs. What fair experience is complete without watching racing pigs?! LOL Soon after, I headed back toward the fair entrance to wait for Paul. Our friend Mike and his girlfriend Megan also came and we walked around with them until the Lady Antebellum show began.
I knew we wouldn't be able to get seats for the show because people started sitting down to save seats not long after Mario Batali finished his show at 2:30/3:00. The concert wasn't until 8! We had been walking around and were absolutely shocked to find ourselves in a huge traffic jam of people once we decided to make our way toward the show. It was nearly impossible to move! We were so far away we could barely see the stage and it was even difficult to hear. After several songs, Paul and I decided that we'd start on our way home. We knew that after the show, just trying to get out of there to catch the bus to the parking lot would be difficult, much less getting out of the parking lot and back on the road. So, we said goodbye to M & M and had only a short wait for the bus before we hit the road for home.
I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get more of an opportunity to enjoy the show, but the older I get, the more I dislike big crowds. I'm not sure why it bothers me, but I know it bothers Paul too. We still had a good time getting out to enjoy the fair.



State Fair



Mario in Action

Racing Pigs Series:

Vermont

Another Labor Day 3-day weekend was upon us and we had several options of what to do. We finally decided on heading to Vermont with the intention of hiking the five 4,000+ foot peaks. Or at least hiking as many as we felt up to! Neither of us had been out hiking since Hurricane Mountain back in March so we weren't sure how our feet and everything else would hold up.
We left Friday after Paul got home from work. It took us a little over 5 hours to get to the parking lot for Camel's Hump. We decided we'd try to hike Camel's Hump and Mansfield on Saturday. The alarm went off Saturday morning and we both hadn't sleep very well so we were tired and I was cranky! Typical! : ) But it was a good, laughing, I'm so tired cranky...not a mean cranky. Anyway, we stayed put for a while because it had started to rain. Oh boy. We decided to take a 30 minute snooze in hopes the rain would pass. It turned out to be a good decision because it did.
We hit the trail and had a quiet hike to the top of Camel's Hump. The views from the top should be magnificent, but it was cool, misty, foggy, and white. No views for us. Boo! Oh well. We hoped we'd get views from Mansfield later.
Back down we went where we arrived to a much fuller parking lot than we'd left. Some people getting ready to head up asked how the views were. We said that we had none and they playfully invited us to go back up with them. Lucky for them the sun was out and blue sky could be seen through holes in the clouds. We kindly declined--we had another peak yet to go!
From there we headed to Waterbury where we stopped at our favorite place--Cabot. We grabbed some cheese, a yogurt for me, some pita chips, and an apple cider then headed outside to a picnic table where we feasted on lunch in the lovely sunshine. It was the perfect middle to our hiking sandwich. After lunch it was back in the car where we made a quick stop at a wood carving shop where we looked for a wood carved bear. We've been looking for a bear for several years now, but they're either too expensive or don't have the "look" that we want. The creations at this place were really nice, but cost more than we were willing to spend. We did find a bear we both liked at the Lumberjack Festival last year and we SHOULD HAVE bought it. Oh well. I guess that's how you learn!
Onward until we got through Stowe and then to Smuggler's Notch where we parked to prep for Mansfield. I had hiked Mansfield before back in 2006 with Kate. I couldn't remember where we started from though and there weren't very good signs that indicated where the trail led. We headed toward the trailhead and all the sign said was "Long Trail-South" and I remembered (from looking before we left home) that was where we needed to be.
Mansfield is the highpoint of Vermont and is a popular hike. The mountain resembles the profile of a man's face. Trails go to many parts: the forehead, nose, chin, Adam's apple...we were heading to the chin--the actual highpoint.
I remembered several things about the 2006 trip. 1. It was relentless in terms of the trail climbs nearly the whole way. 2. There was at least one exposed section/scramble toward the top that really made me nervous.
The trail didn't disappoint, as it was just how I remembered it. We made good time on the rocky ascent and soon found ourselves approaching the summit. There were quite a few people on the trail and the steep narrow parts became crowded and we usually stepped aside to let others up or down. As it turned out, there were several parts that made me nervous this time, but as always, Paul was there to lend a hand and to help me where I needed it. The older I get, the more heights tend to bother me. Maybe it's not even heights as much as it is the feeling that you can't make a mistake. "If you slip here..." kinds of thoughts aren't good to think about yet they're hard not to. Up the steep stuff and on to the windy, chilly, and very crowded summit. We each took a summit photo of the other, a nice gentleman took our photo but our camera batteries were dying so he snapped one photo as it was conking out and it turned out blurry, boo! To the west we saw our beloved Adirondacks and to our east, the lovely Whites of New Hampshire. Paul was able to squeeze a few more photos out of the dying camera and then we started back down. We both were quite chilly and needed to get moving to warm back up.
Usually descending steep scary parts makes me more nervous than going up them. The opposite was true on this trip. We took our time and very carefully descended, but I wasn't as nervous as I had been going up. We made very good time getting back to the car and we were proud of ourselves for successfully hiking both peaks.
We headed back into Stowe where we grabbed a burger at Blue Donkey burgers and got gas and stopped for beer before heading to Kate & Jeremiah's house up in Waterville.
She was having a little get together with some friends and we stopped in to visit. She gave us the grand tour of the house, barn, and property. They have 20 lovely acres. We met Forrest the dog and her two pigs--Bacon and Porkchop. We enjoyed conversation, laughs, and watched Jeremiah build a quite impressive bonfire. It was getting late though and we had a fairly lengthy hike the next day, so instead of staying there for the night, we opted to hit the road to drive to the trail head to sleep. I did feel bad leaving because I don't get to see Kate often and we did have a nice visit. Still, I was thankful for the few hours we had.
It was a dark drive down to Lincoln Gap and we were happy to arrive when we did because we were fighting the sleepies. After another night of so-so sleep, we had a slow start to the morning. The weather was much different. It was much cooler, drier, and very windy. We were again trying to two peaks. The mileage was longer (~12.4) but the elevation gain was less. The trail up to Abraham was fairly straightforward early on but did get a little tricky in some spots toward the top. It was windy, misty, chilly, and overall ugly when we reached the summit. Made a brief stop for photos and pressed on our way. The trail crossed over smaller peaks Little Abe, Lincoln, Nancy Hanks, and Cutts before leading to the summit of Ellen Mountain. The traverse over was quite level with minor ascents and descents along the way. It made for very quick travel. It also included several ski areas (part of Sugarbush) which made for great open views. It was quite windy and we were chilly as a result. I even wore Paul's gloves for a while! What a change from the warm/humid weather the day before.
We caught up to a solo woman hiker before getting to Ellen. She had heard us coming and was relieved that we weren't bears! I guess you never know! : ) We stopped briefly at the rock cairn marking a summit and Paul and I weren't sure we were even on Ellen because we'd made such good time. It didn't help that there wasn't a sign. Just after the summit, is another open ski area. We talked to the woman hiker who confirmed the cairn was indeed Ellen Mountain's summit. After a brief conversation, we headed back to the cairn for photos and back toward Abraham we went.
I'd been surprised at how good I felt considering I hadn't hiked in a such a long time. I was sore, of course, but felt decent. On the traverse over though, I started feeling a little discomfort in my right knee. I've been struggling with "some" injury in my right knee ever since my ultra-marathon. I thought it was IT band syndrome and/or tendonitis and even had Brian's girlfriend Jen (who is a physical therapist) look at me and she agreed. I bought a foam roller and have been doing exercises to try to help, but it just hasn't gone away. Anyway, my knee didn't bother me at all on Saturday, but as we made our way back up Abraham and started the descent, the pain became much worse. Most of the descent was steep and very rocky--especially just off the summit. Each step strained my knee and it was increasingly painful. I just wanted to be back at the car!
The hike out was long compared to our other trips. I was much slower while being gingerly with the right leg. It was very crowded too. Many, many hikers were making their way up with kids and dogs alike.
Finally back to the car and we cleaned up and headed toward Middlebury where we couldn't wait to have a meal at The Farmer's Diner. It is said that they have some of the best pancakes in America. I couldn't wait to find out. Directions from the GPS were slightly confusing, but we made it there only to be completely disappointed to see that they randomly closed early that day. : ( I nearly cried I was so sad! As it turned out, several other options were also closed and we weren't in the mood for pizza or another burger. While driving around we saw a Dunkin' Donuts, so we figured a bagel/bagel sandwich and coffee would tide us over. Boy, I was sour though!
And, after we finished our food, we talked about what to do next. Do we head toward Killington to hike it the next day? We called my mom for a trail description since the book we had didn't give one and while we had read up on it before we left, we honestly couldn't remember some details. With that info, we discussed my knee and what we should do. I wasn't sure how I would feel the next day. I was a little nervous so we decided we'd bag it. I felt bad. We really wanted to get all five peaks, but I wasn't sure my knee would hold up. We headed home and I tried to be satisfied with the four we got, but it was a struggle.
We slept in on Monday (which felt great) and we made buttermilk biscuits for a late breakfast. We caught up on some DVR'd TV and went and looked at houses/property with an ice cream stop in the middle. It was a relaxing day and we did enjoy the slower pace.
We're already talking about our return to Vermont to hike Killington and it may come as early as the end of the month. We'll see. : )
Photos are here, but while uploading them, Webshots flipped out and wiped out all my captions AND they are not in order. : ( Boo! To be honest, I'm too lazy to fix them right now, so please excuse that! I'll try to get to it soon.


Vermont Sept 2010

Busy With Beer

Tonight was a busy one in terms of what we had to do with two of our beers. First was bottling the Irish Stout. It was a beautiful dark brown color and we set a record with how many bottles we were able to get out of the batch--48. We probably could have gotten close to one more, but we couldn't tell how much was left in the bottling bucket, so we poured it into a glass. It would have been close. We decided to give it a taste. It was warm and flat, but the flavor is there. Paul chilled it for a while to try it again and while it was better cold, it's still lacking the necessary carbonation to really taste "right." And, as we suspected, I don't like it. It's good if you like that type of beer, but I just don't. It's too bitter for me. Fortunately Paul thinks he'll really enjoy it once it ages a bit. Score!

After we bottled, we cleaned everything and then racked the Pumpkin Ale from the primary to the carboy. It is also a beautiful orange/gold/amber color and while the spice aroma didn't overwhelm us, it was there--just subtle. I hope the flavors come through once it's aged.

It will sit in the carboy for about two weeks before it's ready to be bottled. Just another typical Thursday night in the brew house. : )

Carboy and Bottles

Paul Racking Stout

Pumpkin Ale Racking

A Food Photo Obsession

I know others do this, but recently Paul and I (me more than him) seem to be slightly obsessed with taking photos of our food. It's gotten to the point where the camera seems to have a semi-permanent home on the kitchen table. I just love taking photos of food. Maybe not quite as much as I love eating the food, but still. We have a whole folder on our computer dedicated to food. We must really have issues. Anyway, I felt it needed addressing and would love to hear if anyone else is as obsessed in this department. Also, I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos...Enjoy!

Bowties with Pesto

Biscuits with Homemade Raspberry Jam

Raspberry Crumb Bars

Crepes

Soft Ginger Cookies

Oh, The Home Brewing You'll Do--Part Two!

I wanted to get something for Paul to thank him for being so supportive of my running. He's driven me all over the place, watched me run while standing in the rain, listened to me groan about my aches and pains, and he's done this all without complaint. He really is a gem. : ) What better way to say thank you than to buy him a beer kit? Paul's favorite beer is Guinness and I wanted to see if I could find a kit that would be as close to Guinness as possible. I ran onto an Irish Stout kit and surprised him with it. He was anxious to try it and I was excited to brew it. It's become a favorite hobby for us both.
The kit was like the Summer Ale kit in terms of steps. Heat the water, steep the grains, bring to boil, add the malt, return to boil, add the hops, etc...I'm probably boring you guys with my details. ; ) The roasted barley, black patent, and dark malts really worked their magic in transforming plain old water into a deep, rich, dark chocolate color that smelled delicious. We put it into the fermenter and decided to start our next project: a white wine.
Why not get two things going the same day? Paul's dad had expressed interest in a batch of wine or beer. Since we know he tends to drink more wine than beer, we suggested making him a batch of white wine. We selected a Pinot Grigio kit since we were without juice. The process was exactly the same as for the Malbec. That didn't take long and we kept an eye on both over the next few days.
For whatever reason, the stout didn't start to ferment when it should have. We were concerned that maybe the yeast was dead or that something was wrong. Patience indeed is a virtue and while it was slow to start, it finally did. At the appropriate times we racked both the beer and wine to their appropriate carboys and are planning on bottling the stout this Thursday--19 August. It will be at least 2-3 weeks from then before we'll try it. The truth is that I don't even like Guinness. I wish I did, but it's just a little too much for me. I will still try this one, but honestly, it's more for Paul. And anyone he chooses to share it with....IF he chooses to share! ; )
The Pinot needs to be racked and clarified next weekend and should be ready to bottle by the beginning of September. For now, it continues to ferment. A few weeks ago I discovered a wonderful brew supply store in Austin, Texas. Their website is phenomenal. They carry so many products and Paul and I nearly drooled over their offerings. One large order later and 44 pounds of supplies arrived at our doorstep. It was like Christmas! We only waited a few days before we brewed our first Pumpkin Ale. We did this just last Saturday. This method is called partial mash brewing. It's a step up from extract brewing so it takes a little longer as there are several more steps involved. From start to finish took us just over 5 1/2 hours. That includes pumpkin baking time, sanitizing, etc. The best part of the brew was the last 5 minutes of the boil when we added nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and some dried orange. The home smelled absolutely amazing. Into the primary it went and it's been bubbling away since then.
Next up will be our Holiday Ale. We want to give it plenty of time to age and improve before the holiday season! : )

Irish Stout Boiling

Pitching the Yeast into the Pinot Grigio

Pumpkin Ale Grains

Pumpkin Ale Boiling

Oh, The Home Brewing You'll Do!

All it took was a taste of our first home brew for us to become hooked. Since we had picked up equipment for wine making in Ohio, we figured that would be our next endeavor. We decided to start with a wine kit, since it would be difficult to get fresh juice in May. Fresh juice comes here from California in September. We decided on a Chilean Malbec. Both Paul and I really enjoyed the Malbec he brought home from Argentina and we hoped this wine would have similar qualities.

Making wine is quite a bit easier than making beer. There is no cooking involved. The short of it is that you add juice, add some bentonite clay (to help settle proteins), add some water, give it a stir, take an original gravity reading with a hydrometer (to help determine fermentation status and alcohol content later), add some oak chips, and throw in the yeast. That's it! Simple, right? Hard to mess up when everything you need comes pre-measured in the kit! Of course everything has to be cleaned and properly sanitized, etc. And then--you wait! After about 7-10 days we racked the wine to a carboy and let it rest there. About a month or so later we followed the kit instructions for stabilization--adding potassium metabisulfite and stirring/aerating the wine. K+ meta not only acts to protect the flavor and color of the wine, it also inhibits the growth of organisms like wild yeast and bacteria. The next step is clarification, but because I'm a vegetarian, I didn't want to use the clarifying agent that came with the kit. It's a product that is made from shells of, well, shellfish. Supposedly the product does not remain in the finished wine, but I just didn't want to use it. We contacted the kit company to ask about an alternative and they said to just let it rest and it would (hopefully) clear on its own. And it did! We even got to taste a little when we stabilized. It was good, but it definitely needed time to mellow!

Bottling day came just about two months after we started. We wound up with 27 bottles of lovely Chilean Malbec! The bottles are aging as we speak down in the basement. We're doing our best to wait until around October before we try it. The longer we wait, the better it will be! I'm sure our patience will be rewarded, but it's difficult to wait!

Since we knew it would be a while before we could enjoy the Malbec, we figured we'd brew up our Cherry Wheat beer kit that we picked up in Ohio. We did this 11 June. It was a relatively easy process, as it was all extract brewing--no grain steeping required. It sat in the primary fermenter for 5-7 days before we racked it to a carboy and then added canned cherries (from the kit) for a secondary fermentation. Another 7-10 days and it was ready to bottle. Granted, it needs to sit in the bottle for a minimum of 2 weeks before it's ready to drink and even it gets better sitting around for a while. Fast forward to July and we first tried the Cherry Wheat with Henry in Long Island. It was good, but it did have quite a bit of sediment in it. It wasn't necessarily as clear as I'd hoped and I hoped for a little more carbonation. Still, it was a nice, refreshing beer. Fast forward to now (August) and since it has settled more, it has improved quite a bit. The beer is very clear now. It has good flavor and decent carbonation though still not as much as the Summer Ale. We do like it, but Paul likes the Summer Ale the best. Oh, there's more to come....but I'll split it up into another post!

Cherry Wheat & Summer Ale--Cheers!

In Goes the Juice

Bottles Lined Up!

In the Bottling Bucket

A Taste

Corked and Boxed

Miscellaneous

I've been doing my best to catch up here by writing individual entries for some of our "bigger" trips. That certainly doesn't mean that's all we've done since February! We spent a weekend in the Adirondacks. There were other races, like the Chenango Forks XV and Smithville Day 5k. We celebrated two lovely weddings (Paul's cousin Emily's marriage to Chris and her sister Jen's marriage to Jim). We paddled the canoe on Cayuga Lake for the 4th of July. We've been home brewing a ton (more about that in a new post!). So see? We've been busy. It's just me that's been slacking off in the blog department! : )

The Trail Begins

I Love Me Some Trees!

Summit of Hurricane Mountain, Adirondacks-20 March 2010

Chenango Forks 15k-28 March 2010

Cayuga Lake-4 July 2010

Emily & Chris' Wedding-22 May 2010

Jen & Jim's Wedding-7 August 2010

Cali Recovery

You'll have to please forgive the fact that these posts are out of order. I've been trying to update the blog and I tend to bounce around with what stories I write about.
In my Niagara Ultra blog post, I mentioned I strategically planned a trip to California after my race. I thought it would be a great time to go home. I headed out the Tuesday after the race, sans Paul. After Argentina, the vacation balance was low and we wanted to conserve days for a possible Cali Christmas. So, a solo trip it was.
I had lengthy layovers in both DC and Denver, but I was super excited to get to Denver because one of my best friends was planning on meeting me at the airport for lunch. I couldn't get out of the airplane fast enough once I got to Denver. Liz met me downstairs and we decided on a brew pub for a burger and beer. Funny (or not) story about lunch: I ordered a barley burger. Food comes and I look at it. It looks like beef, but hey, some veggie burgers really LOOK like the real deal. I took a bite. Took another bite. I wasn't sure! I know that sounds ridiculous, but heck, I haven't eaten beef in over 8 years people! Anyway, I had Liz take a bite. Even she wasn't sure. The waiter came over and sure enough, it was beef! : ( He felt bad and brought me a barley burger which in fact looked nothing like beef. I tried not to let it bother me and ruin my time with Liz. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit with her. We even went outside to sit and talk and I appreciated breathing fresh air for the first time since I left Binghamton that morning. My 3+ hour layover went by so quickly and reluctantly I said goodbye to Liz and headed back through security to wait for my flight home.
It was a long day of travel and I was thankful once I landed in San Jose. My dad picked me up from the airport and we headed home. I was excited to see my mom and to meet the newest addition to our family--our Australian Shepherd puppy Sophie.
My (our) beloved Aussie--Mae--was diagnosed with liver cancer in April and we had to put her down. She had been my dog when I lived in Alabama, but I'd had to send her to my folks in California when I moved from a house to an apartment. So really she was just as much my parents dog as she was mine. Still, I always joked with my dad about whose dog she was. : )
After a while, we started a search for a new puppy and I ran onto a breeder in Southern California who had a blue merle female available. Long story short, we welcomed Sophie into the family!
We pulled into the driveway and I was so glad to be back home. Big hugs from my mom but uncertainty from the little blue girl until soon we became best friends.
The week went by so quickly. I helped take care of the puppy (it's a full time job right now!) and helped my mom around the house. We made lots of good food, we worked out in the yard (I miss that!) and I soaked up some much needed California sunshine. I gave Kelli her annual haircut--she looked so cute--just like a puppy again. I also tried to rest as much as I could. I was still exhausted from the ultra and this was my "recovery" trip. But, before I knew it, I had to return to NY. I often have a difficult time leaving home. Usually Paul is with me and that helps, but since I was flying solo (literally) I had no one to help take my mind off things. It was really hard to leave this time.
Dad dropped me off at the airport and I caught my first flight to Denver where I had a long layover that became longer because of a mechanical problem with our airplane. Unfortunately, Liz had a class for work that she couldn't miss, so I was stuck waiting it out by myself. I grabbed a coffee and stretched my legs. I wondered if Denver International had free wireless, so I pulled out my laptop and found that they did! High five DIA! I got online and checked email and then I texted my mom. She got online and we played some games together and chatted. It really helped pass the time and it was nice to have her company.
We ended up getting another airplane and changed gates before we finally left Denver bound for Washington DC. Another lengthy layover there before I eventually arrived back to NY to my favorite engineer in the world. It had been a very long day of travel for me and it was late, so we didn't visit too much, but instead went home and to sleep! It takes me a few days before I'm back on the right (or left) time so I was thrown off for a bit, but the homesickness part stuck around longer than usual. It's always there to some extent, but it definitely ebbs and flows. I'm not very chipper the first few days back in NY, that's for sure.
Back into a routine and back to "normal" life. Normal NY life, anyway. : )

A Best Friend

The Little Sweetie

Sophie vs. Broom



Sophie & Jack--A Meeting



Sophie's First Pool

Meet Us: The Long-Island Stalkers

Paul and I have been talking about going out to Long Island to visit his brother and his family for a couple of years. We finally were able to pick a weekend that worked for everyone so we headed down Fri, July 23. The drive down wasn't too bad. We were concerned that traffic leaving NYC for the Hamptons might be a problem, but it was a non-issue.
We arrived at about 9pm and the kids were already in bed, so we spent some time catching up, eating snacks, and sharing some of our home brew. We decided we'd head out to Montauk the next morning since I'd never been there before.
The next morning I heard footsteps coming toward the living room and turned over to see Kyle peeking his head around the corner to see if we were awake. He came down for a quick hug and to show us his Buzz Lightyear toy with a broken leg. Poor Buzz! We got up and soon after the house was full of the activity. Henry went for bagels and came back and made smoothies for a yummy breakfast. Keara gathered up stuff for the kids and I made sandwiches for lunch. And, while we had wanted to leave at 8:30, we didn't hit the road until 9:30. Right on time, as usual! ; )
The drive out was nice. We stopped for an iced coffee at Dunkin'---thanks guys!--and drove through the famous Hamptons where rich New Yorkers have summer homes and spend their summer weekends. It was definitely slow going in some spots.
H & K pointed out where The Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) shops for flowers, bread, and fish. (She lives in East Hampton) I recognized the storefronts from her show on Food Network. That was exciting. K called her sister who told us how to find Ina's house. We decided we'd save that for the trip back home.
Onward we drove until we reached the easternmost point of NY--Montauk Point! The lighthouse was beautiful, the sun was shining, and it was hot! And humid! We went for a quick walk, then decided to head back to the van for lunch. After lunch it was back out to walk on the rocks around the lighthouse. The breeze close to the water felt wonderful.
Once on the back side of the lighthouse, we found a sandy beach. I didn't have my suit on, but I was going to get in as far as I could regardless! It was hot, people! As we walked down, I asked K how the kids liked the ocean. She said they hadn't ever really been in it before. I was hopeful that they'd enjoy it.
Down to the water I went and my feet were in the Atlantic in no time. It felt cold at first, but it didn't take long before I was used to it. I didn't even feel hypothermia setting in like I do when I'm in my beloved Pacific! : )
Everyone else joined in and the kids absolutely loved it! We took photos and videos to document the occasion and we thought it was adorable at how cute they were giggling and screaming about the waves and water.
It was hot for all of us, so we hopped back in the van and started on our way home. It was a sleepy ride for the kids and for Paul too! : ) Ok, ok, me too even! My eyes didn't want to stay open for some reason. Once back in East Hampton we drove down Ina's street where we could see her big barn and part of her house. There were cars in the driveway. I don't know why we didn't stop to say hello! Such stalkers we are! Fun!
Back home we cleaned up and made dinner. Later we went out for Italian Ice, yum! You only had to look at Kyle's face to know which flavor he had--priceless! After H &K bathed the kids and put them to bed we talked and snacked the rest of the evening.
Sunday morning K had to play at church, so we held down the fort while she was gone. H made some fantastic blueberry pancakes and we all enjoyed breakfast. Kyle and I built a make-believe lighthouse, set a trap for Big Baby, and then he played with his Hot Wheels cars with Paul, Henry, & Meredith. Once K returned, we decided we'd head out to visit Ikea and go have lunch before we went home.
We managed to buy just a few things at Ikea (love them!) and had a tasty lunch at Chipotle before piling into the car for the ride home. Fortunately we didn't hit much traffic on the way through Queens and made good time on the ride home.
We had a really great time in LI and enjoyed catching up with H, K & the kids. Can't wait to do it again soon!


Long Island-July 2010

Utica Boilermaker 15k

The Boilermaker 15k (9.3 miles) in Utica, NY is a pretty famous race. I'm not really sure why that is. Utica isn't a big town. It's not really close to any big towns either. For whatever reason the race draws people from everywhere. Maybe it's because of the free beer at the after party?!
I ran my first Boiler in 2008 with Paul. We opted not to do it in 2009 because it was too close to my marathon. Since I'd pretty much gone crazy registering for races this year, I signed Paul and I up for the race once again.
To be honest, by the time the race arrived I was pretty burned out. I wasn't sure I wanted to run it at all. Paul felt the same and when our alarm went off at 3-ish am on Sun, July 11th, we looked at each other like "why?" : )
I have to say the only reason I got up was because Paul got up first! If he would have stayed in bed, I think I might have too. Big props to him for that. We got ready to go and hopped in the car and had a sleepy drive to Utica. We decided to park near the finish and found a great spot close to where the buses pick up runners to transport to the start area. We only had to wait a few minutes before we were loaded up and taken to the main start area. We picked up our packets, attached our bib numbers and chips and had a while to wait. It was a warm, humid morning, but thankfully it wasn't as extreme as the high temperatures experienced earlier in the week.
We waited in our corral and noticed that more and more and more people were filling up the empty space around us. We quickly became like sardines packed in a can--arm to arm with our neighbors. The governor of NY made a quick speech. He ran the race in 2008 and while unable to run it this year, wanted to wish us all luck. Paul and I tried to get ourselves amped up and off we went. We really didn't want to push ourselves too hard. After all, it had only been a couple weeks since my ultra. My leg still hurt and I wasn't sure I had much to give.
It was crowded with all of us running down the streets but we were able to get a little room and broke out in stride after mile 1. We wondered how we'd do with the "big hill" near the golf course as it was a struggle the last time we ran the race. We both were surprised when we found it to be easier than the first time and we used the long downhill afterward to our advantage.
We definitely picked up the pace and I'm not sure why I was so concerned with time. I guess it must have been that I wanted to better our 2008 time to make me feel as though I (we) have improved. It was a fairly comfortable pace for most of the run and we finished strong, hand in hand. : ) And, to our surprise, we did run a faster race. We finished in 1:21:02 for Paul 1:21:03 for me. We crossed together, but WHATEVER! I mean, I'm not bitter about one second or anything! ; )
We headed over to the finish area where we got some water, our goodie bags, etc and promptly made our way to the car. We just didn't feel like hanging out for the after party and we didn't even get any free Saranac beer this time! Party poopers!
Once we got home we stuffed our faces, showered, and laid down for a lovely nap. "So much for taking it easy on the race," Paul said! Ha! He should know me by now! ; )

Living Life to the Ultra -- Niagara 50k

Way back in January I found a website that listed ultra-distance races. I decided a 50k (31.06 miles) would be an appropriate step up from a marathon. When I ran onto the the Niagara Ultra website, I knew I'd found my race. I printed off my registration form and filled it out, but I held on to it for a while. I finally put it in the mailbox one day, but when it was still there when I got home later, I took it out! I kept it in the house for a while longer before I just went for it. I guess I was a little unsure!
I put in lots of miles in preparation for the race and both Flying Pig and Key Bank Vermont City helped me prepare. Still, I was pretty nervous heading up to Niagara Falls Friday June 18th.
There is something very special about Niagara Falls. I just love it. I first went there by myself in 2006 shortly after moving to NY. Paul and I went back last summer as well. It never gets old seeing the falls. It's a stunning and beautiful sight every time.
This ultra race was unique because the turn-around point was actually AT the falls. I mean, how inspirational is it to run by the falls?!! I was excited about that part!
The whole race was to take place in Ontario, so we decided to stay in Canada to make things easier. We didn't want to have to deal with a border crossing the morning of the race. We checked into our hotel Friday night and tried to get to sleep early since the race was Saturday morning.
The race was put on by the St. Catharine's Roadrunners and Walkers club. In addition to the 50k ultra, they also held a full marathon, half marathon, and 10k.
We arrived and checked in, picked up my packet, chip, and nifty hoodie. It was a nice morning. Slightly warm and humid. There were more people than I'd imagined. I didn't realize ultra running was as popular as it is.
I gave Paul a big hug before the start and lined up toward the back of the pack. I had a LONG day ahead of me and I hoped I was ready!
Off we went. Was I really doing this? Through training so many people told me how nuts I was for attempting to run a 50k. Maybe I was?
I tried to settle into a nice rhythm. I knew this race was going to be different from all my other races. I had to conserve. I had to take it slow. I had to be patient.
The race course was beautiful. It followed a traffic free asphalt path through neighborhoods and parks. We saw vineyards, flowers, gorgeous houses, green grasses. At one point I passed by a home with a rose bush out front near our path. I made a promise to myself to "stop and smell the roses" when I came back by.
The miles ticked by, but I felt tired. My miles were slow and I felt a little sluggish. I stopped at each aid station (I typically never do this) to refill my fuel belt with water. I was using a new fuel source for this race--Hammer Sustained Energy. You can only mix so much at a time because it will actually sour. I did carry my usual E-Gels as backup, but I wanted to rely on the Sustained Energy for calories and protein. It was critically important that I consume enough calories and water.
Some people opt to tackle ultras with a run-walk strategy. They may run for 5 minutes/walk for 1 minute. Or do 25/5 or any combination that works for them. My goal was to run the whole thing. Paul was able to follow the course and found parking spots where he could see me frequently. The motivation and high fives from him were great.
I found myself "running with" several others. We'd play a little cat and mouse here and there, as I would leave them when they walked, but they'd pass me back when they ran. This continued on as we headed toward the falls.
Closer and closer we got and I was really excited to get to the falls. I was feeling hot and tired, but I knew inspiration would come and it did. As soon as I saw the falls I smiled. It made me happy. I couldn't wait to get closer.
The run followed the walk-way along the falls, but it was crowded with tourists. I had almost dreaded this part because I knew it might be difficult. The tourists had no idea why people were running toward them! Some didn't realize runners were coming and some didn't get out of the way and runners had to swerve in and out of people. I know some thought we were crazy but some nice people clapped and cheered for us.
I enjoyed the cool mist from the falls spray as I ran by and I made it to the turn-around where I stopped and refilled water, drank some water, and mixed up some more fuel. The guys I had played catch-up with were still at the turn-around when I left. I didn't stay there long at all. Got a big high-five and a "Go get 'em, girl" from the race volunteer on my way out and I headed back. I was reluctant to leave the falls, but it had renewed my spirit and I felt more energetic. The miles I ran near the falls were faster so I knew the scenery helped in more ways than one.
Once I left the turn-around, I was by myself for a very long time. I saw a lot of people heading to the turn-around and gave them "good job" and "way to go" and "keep it up" words of wisdom and most did the same for me. It was a very supportive group of runners. Nearly everyone gave encouragement which was nice. In the bigger marathons that almost never happens. That's been my experience anyway.
The race went from being a race to being a long run at that point I think. I didn't have screaming crowds cheering, I didn't have other runners around me, I didn't have Paul for a while. It was just me, my moving feet, and asphalt. A quiet breeze, occasional car driving by, sun behind clouds, and my steps.
I really started to get tired. I tried not to get overwhelmed with the remaining distance. I broke it up into chunks. I did that on the way out too, but it became more important on the way back. For me the mental aspect of running is just as important as the physical part. Staying focused mentally in a long race can be difficult because it's easy for your mind to wander, especially if you're feeling pain.
I saw Paul a few more times on the way back and then it was just me again. I continued stopping at each aid station for water and to mix more fuel. At one point I started to feel a little sick to my stomach and out of sorts. I was wondering if I wasn't getting enough calories. I decided to have an E-gel too for both calories and electrolytes. It helped me feel a little better, but I knew I would feel much better (and worse!) when I finished.
I kept putting one foot in front of the other albeit more slowly than before. I passed back by the house with the roses and I did stop to smell them! You know what? They had no fragrance whatsoever! Boo! And eventually, 5:15:38 after I started, I crossed the finish line completing my first ultra marathon. I must not have looked very good when I crossed the line. I immediately found the first supportive item I could (a post) and sort of sat on it with my head down. A nice volunteer brought me water and gatorade. I was so appreciative! Paul arrived just a second later with my recovery drink and big hugs. I was smiles and tears and exhausted! We found a spot on the grass where we sat under a tree for a little while before we headed back to the car and our hotel.
A hot shower felt wonderful and we left to go out for lunch. After races my stomach is always a mess. Some things sound good while others do not. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it either. For whatever reason, a veggie sandwich from Quizno's sounded appetizing, so that's where we went. We went back to the hotel and I wanted to explore a little bit. Next door to our hotel was a Buddhist temple. I was excited! I'd never seen a Buddhist temple before. I have a big interest in and respect for Buddhism and its teachings. Compassion, kindness, etc. The Dalai Lama is one of my heroes! We walked over and took photos of some of the prayer flags and statues in the yard. The doors were open and we poked our heads in. It was a strange feeling when I looked inside. I was overcome by emotion at the beauty. I actually had misty eyes from the experience. From the long colored tapestries hanging from the ceiling to the many Buddhas lining shelves from floor to ceiling were amazing in their beauty. It made me happy. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos. We explored another building there and then walked down to the Rossi Glassblowing Factory around the corner. The artist there put on a demonstration and created a glass blown apple. They specialize in creating pieces made of cranberry glass. The cranberry color is made by adding gold chloride to the molten glass. It was truly beautiful. From there it was back to the hotel for a much needed nap!
I couldn't sleep, but just laying there and resting was nice. We got ready for dinner and drove over to an Italian restaurant I had found online. It took us two trips up the street to find it, but we finally got in, sat down, ordered, and enjoyed focaccia bread with a spicy dipping oil while we waited for our brick oven pizza. The pizza was delicious and filling and I felt a little more energetic.
We walked the few blocks to the falls because I had never seen it at night. It was a slow walk, as I was pretty stiff, but it actually felt good to move. The falls were beautiful as twilight turned into darkness. The falls are lit up at night by giant spotlights that rotate colored screens in front of the bulbs. The colors change randomly and it makes for an interesting viewing experience.
There weren't a ton of people out and it was a beautiful night. When we left, again it was reluctantly.
Up the next morning for a quick breakfast at the hotel and then we made a quick stop at the whirlpool (the waters of the Niagara River swirl in a large whirlpool downstream). We opted not to take the scary looking tram across. Paul took photos instead. : ) We tossed around the idea to go to the butterfly conservatory and while I wanted to, I was just so tired. I'm sure we'll be back in the area at some point.
Once across the border, the drive was uneventful. It seemed as though it took us a long time to get home. I was uncomfortable in the car no matter how I sat. My legs were unhappy with me. Finally pulling into the driveway was a good feeling but my race recovery had only just begun! I wanted to take some time off so I was glad I had planned a trip to California to recover in my favorite place in the world: HOME!


Niagara Ultra June 2010

Key Bank Vermont City Marathon/ADK 46er Dinner

Crazy person that I am, I thought it would be a good idea to run another marathon in the month of May. What could it hurt? I was training for an ultra, after all! After looking at race schedules and hearing recommendations, I decided on the Key Bank Vermont City Marathon in Burlington, Vermont on 31 May.
Paul and I just love the natural beauty of Vermont. We took our time driving up and had loads of places we wanted to visit. We first stopped at Cold Hollow Cider Mill where we saw old apple cider presses, tasted some fresh apple cider, and got some apple cider doughnuts. We enjoyed those outside in the sun before heading next door to a gift shop and winery. We opted not to taste wine, but browsed through all sort of t-shirts and gifts. From there we stopped at a glass blowing studio where they had an open weekend. One of the artists held a demonstration and we oooooed and awwwwwed as he shaped a hot ball of liquid glass into a beautiful large bowl. I've always wanted to take glassblowing lessons. Maybe someday. : ) We lingered there for a while, smiling at the several sleeping dogs throughout the studio and admiring the many beautiful pieces of glass lining shelves and hanging in windows. I was tempted to purchase something, but we decided not to. I'd been too afraid I would break it in our travels.
We made further stops at Green Mountain Coffee, the Cabot Creamery, where we sampled cheese and bought a few goodies, and at Lake Champlain Chocolates where we only bought four small pieces of chocolate! I was proud of our self control! Unbelievably we didn't even stop at Ben & Jerry's! Nah, instead we went to Magic Hat Brewery where we took a quick self-tour and sampled some beer. : )
We headed out to our hotel and rested there for a while before we headed downtown to meet my friend Kate and her husband Jeremiah for dinner at the Vermont Pub. It began to rain as we waited for them to arrive so we took shelter inside. The rain went as quickly as it came, so we ate dinner outside on the patio. I hadn't seen Kate since just after we graduated, so it had been a while. It was nice to see her and to meet her new husband! We really enjoyed dinner with them and we agreed to try to meet up more frequently. They wished me luck and we said goodbye and headed back to the hotel.
Up the next morning for my breakfast of oatmeal and a Nature's Path pop-tart. Weird pre-race breakfast, but it seemed to be working for me. Got all our stuff together and headed out to find a good parking spot and to get ready to run. We hung out in the car for a while before we left to go to the start. It wasn't a long walk to get to the main starting area and once we got down there, I wished we could have went back! It was swarming with people! I couldn't believe how crowded it was. Runners, families, dogs, bikes, a flurry of activity. And I couldn't put my finger on it, but I was very emotional about the whole race. Nervous and anxious I think. I was trying to remind myself this was JUST A TRAINING RUN, but I knew I did have a goal to break. Since I started running marathons all I wanted to do was to break 4 hours. I thought I could do it, but I wasn't SURE I could. Paul had reminded me over and over that I had my ultra in just 3 short weeks and that I should take it easy. I heard him each time he told me that and I really tried to let it sink in, but a PR is always in the back of my mind. Still, that was not my ultimate goal when I got ready to go.
Again, there were so many people that I was a little unclear as to the location of the start. Paul seems to always be able to know where to go, so together we walked to the start. We pushed through people until it was finally time for me to get down into the street and align myself with the other runners. I was reluctant to leave him that morning. I squeezed myself in amongst the others and almost panicked when I couldn't see him. It took me several times of jumping up before I saw him and he saw me. That made me feel better. : ) For some reason I teared up at the very start of the race, but once I was off and running that went away. I still don't know what all that was about.
A lot of the race I don't remember though the scenery was beautiful. The course runs along Lake Champlain so it's very scenic. The day was slightly overcast and coolish, so it made for nice running weather. I wore my GPS watch for my timing and as I crossed the half-marathon mark at 1:59 I realized I was on track for a sub 4 hour finish. I also knew that I tend to slow down in the second half of a marathon. I knew I had potential, but I knew I had a lot of work to do.
I felt pretty good, but I was starting to get tired in the back half. My mile times slowed down a bit, but I dug deep to push myself. I kept a close eye on my mile times and tried to do some math in my head. I'm not great at math especially while running a marathon! I put the hammer down for the last several miles and crossed the finish line at 3:57:55 for a 9:05 pace. I saw Paul quickly after the finish line and showed him my watch time and gave him a big hug. I'd done it! But I was hurting! I wasn't feeling well, so he walked and I hobbled around a bit until we found a place to sit. I took a recovery drink and wallowed in misery for a little while until we were asked to move (apparently we were supposed to keep that particular area clear). I had to get up?! Ugh!
We walked around for a bit until we decided to head back to the car. We didn't have a ton of time to play with because we needed to be in Lake Placid later that night for the Adirondack 46er Finisher Recognition dinner. We began our drive up and around Lake Champlain and back into New York where we stopped to clean up before arriving at the Crowne Plaza Lake Placid for the dinner.
It was crowded and we didn't know anyone at our table, but everyone was very nice and we enjoyed our meals and the conversations. The end of the night was marked with Paul and I (and a bunch of other people) receiving our finisher certificate for completing the Adirondack 46ers. While we actually are Winter 46ers, this dinner recognized anyone (winter or regular) who finished in 2009. There was a winter specific dinner, but we missed it because we were in California. Receiving our certificates and our climbing numbers made it feel official. We were truly Winter 46ers!
We decided we were too tired to drive all the way home, so we stayed at our favorite rest stop. Have I mentioned how much I love my Honda Element? : ) I was sore and tired and welcomed sleep. We headed home Sunday morning and I reflected on an exciting weekend. But, could I top this? And would I want to? It would have to wait. I had an ultra looming in the distance and that would be my main focus! At least for the next few weeks. : )


Burlington, VT May 2010

Flying Pig Marathon and How I Lost My Shoes

After running my first marathon in San Francisco in July 2009, I almost thought I was done with the longer distances. My foot was bothering me and I felt a little beat up. It was just after the marathon when our friend Derrick came to visit. He is very active and fitness oriented just as Paul and I are. He asked about the marathon and how it went, but the question that threw me was "When is your first ultra?" Ultra? Nahhhhhhh. I thought he was joking! In my beat up state, that was the furthest thing from my mind. I wasn't even sure I was physically capable of running further than 26.2 miles. The problem was that he planted the seed in my mind. Apparently it started to grow and around about January, I started "looking" at ultra distance races. I was interested in what distance races were out there and what training plans existed for such distances. I got excited about the idea and soon after, decided I wanted to run my first ultra-marathon sometime this year.
I found a training plan online and started increasing my mileage. I realized that I could use marathon races as training runs and decided to find my second marathon. I decided on Flying Pig in Cincinnati. I registered and before I knew it, we were on the road to Ohio.
We left Friday night, April 30 and drove to Erie, PA where we stayed at a KOA Kampground (slept in the car). We got settled in but as usual I couldn't fall asleep. It was sometime later that a truck and camper pulled in right next to us. At 1 or 2 in the morning they decided to set up their pop-up trailer and let their kids run all around making all kinds of noise. I know people arrive to places late sometimes, but not being considerate of people trying to sleep really irritates me. After a while of listening to them, I just couldn't take it anymore, so we started the car and drove to the back of the campground where we found more quiet, secluded spots. Finally we were able to get some sleep!
Up early the next morning and we hit the road. We stopped in Akron, OH to visit The Grape and Granary. It's a super nice home brewing supply store that I found on the internet. We spent quite a bit of time there just browsing their selection of equipment and ingredients. The people there were incredibly helpful and we wound up purchasing equipment for wine and an ingredient kit for a cherry wheat beer. It was a worthwhile stop for sure!
We made it to Cincinnati where we headed downtown to the expo so I could pick up my packet. They gave us a really nice duffel bag, a poster, synthetic shirt, and lots of goodies. We didn't spend too much time there because it was crowded, but it was nice to walk around and be out of the car.
From there we went to Fleet Feet Sports where I got a new pair of shoes (no, not for the marathon) : ) and then to a grocery store where I found some recovery shake drinks that I'd wanted to try.
We went and checked into our hotel and lounged around a while before we went to have dinner. I decided I felt like pancakes for my pre-race meal, so we went to Big Boy! I used to love Bob's Big Boy in San Jose when I was a kid. This one was called Frisch's Big Boy. Anyway, the pancakes were some of the best I've had in a restaurant! They were fantastic. Full, we headed back to the hotel and knew we needed to get in bed early because the race start was at 6:30, but parking areas started to close at 5 something. Early, early!
I'd been watching the weather forecast all week because it was really looking lousy. It didn't disappoint, that's for sure. On our way there, it was windy and raining. Lightning lit up the deep black/blue sky and I was thinking to myself how I was going to run a marathon in these conditions! I just sort of laughed.
We got a great parking spot across from Paul Brown stadium and waited in the car for a while because it was raining so heavily. We eventually walked to the stadium where we could get out of the rain, but it was so crowded, I felt almost claustrophobic. The line for the women's restroom was ridiculous, but I waited anyway! I don't know how long it took to get through, but once I did, I only had a few minutes before the start of the race. At least it was a chip timed event though, so your own time doesn't start until you cross the start line. For those not familiar with chip timing--the race officials give you a chip that you secure to your shoe. When you cross the start line, finish line, and various other check points during the race, the chip is recognized and a computer indicates you've crossed that mark and records your time. (They use some sort of special mats for each check point and you hear a beep when you run across).
It was still dark and with all the people, the rain, umbrellas, etc, it was confusing as to where the actual start was. I knew the general area to be in, but that was it. I stepped off the curb right into a puddle. I guess I wasn't going to stay dry anyway! Paul was kind enough to keep me dry with the umbrella as long as he could and then it was time to go. It was a long time between the actual start of the race and when I crossed the start line to go. At least it seemed it to me. I couldn't believe the number of people!
Finally the start line came and went and off we ran. The streets were lined with so many screaming people I couldn't believe it! They all came out to support us in the rain? Wow! My first mile was pretty slow. I could never get out on my own. But really, this was just a training run, right? Sure! ; ) The miles went by and it kept raining. We crossed a bridge and ran into Kentucky, then came back. It seemed like the race was going by fairly quickly. I got to see Paul just a couple of times and it was hard to find him with all the people around. He said my shirt helped him see me. Before the race I made a Miss Piggy shirt to wear. Since this marathon is called Flying Pig, I thought wearing a fun shirt would be good motivation to me and maybe others. See photos in the slide show of the final product. : )
It was really a soggy race. It rained nearly the entire way. It wasn't very warm either, but because I was moving I didn't get too cold. I'd get a chill now and then when the wind picked up, but that was it. And, after 26.2 miles, I crossed the finish line for my second marathon. I finished in 4:12:12 which improved on my San Francisco time by quite a bit. Of course, this race wasn't nearly as hilly as SF either! ; ) Still, I was proud of my improvement.
I received my finisher medal, took my photo, grabbed a heat blanket and looked for Paul. We decided to meet at the letter "G" family gathering station. Unknown to me, he wasn't able to GET inside to make it to the letter "G". I was cold and hungry and couldn't find him anywhere. I nearly asked someone to use their phone to call him when I decided I'd leave the finish area completely and there he was! I was so glad to see him! He gave me my recovery shake and we took a slow, SLOW walk to the car. He took a couple photos on the way and soon I was in the car getting dry clothes on.
From there we hit the road, stopping for lunch at Panera (it's become a ritual) and then got back on the highway for a very long 9+ hour drive home.
It wasn't until a few days later that I asked Paul where my running shoes were. I didn't remember unpacking them, but I didn't unload everything from the car either. Maybe he did? No, he didn't remember seeing them. Uh oh! The last thing I remembered was taking my shoes off and standing on them before opening the car door to get in to change my clothes. BUT, I never remembered to open the door to grab my shoes. So, my poor Asics Gel Cumulus shoes were abandoned in a parking lot in Cincinnati across from Paul Brown Stadium. I felt horrible for my shoes, just left like that! I do wonder what happened to them. It does make for a funny story though. Well, sort of. I guess it was lucky I bought new shoes while I was there!
And again, I really must say that I was impressed with the people of Cincinnati--the volunteers and the spectators--who came out and cheered/supported us runners in absolutely miserable conditions. Thank you!!!


Flying Pig Marathon-May 2010