It's a beautiful life...

Lance

2008-07-14T23:28:00.003-04:00

No running news. This is way more important.

I saw my all time favorite celebrity crush and hero Lance Armstrong in person this weekend.

I think I'm in love! :)

Camping

2008-06-22T21:31:00.006-04:00

Over the weekend I went camping with the church kids. It was my first time camping since I was a little girl and it was a lot of fun. We played games, cooked on the campfire, and took out the boats. During one of the running games at night I collided full force into one of the kids. Thankfully, the kid wasn't hurt....but it left with me a 'nice' reminder of the weekend.

Survey

2008-06-17T22:13:00.003-04:00

I was tagged by Morgan a few days ago. Feel free to tag yourself with this running survey.

1. How would I describe my running 10 years ago?
- I was on the high school cross country team.

2. What is your best and worst race experience?
Best - It would be impossible to pick just one. I love race day magic.
Worst - San Diego Marathon in 2006 (I had an awesome time running with Jeff, but unfortunately there were several 'unusual' bathroom spots along the way.) :(

3. Why do you run?
- runners high
- to fit into my jeans

4. What is the best or worst piece of advice you've been given about running?
Best
- anything written by Danny Dreyer in ChiRunning
Worst
- not wearing heals sounds like a reasonable thing to do
Despite the facts I could never give up my favorite shoes, sorry Mark. :)

5. Tell us something surprising about yourself that not many people would know.
I have never tasted coffee even though it's one of my favorite scents.

???

2008-06-08T19:56:00.002-04:00

I don't get it. I swear I felt like I was running fast---very fast.
I know it was hot and sunny, but I love the heat and I felt like 'Super Runner' listening to my music and enjoying the scenery around town. According to one of my absolute favorite websites I only ran 9 miles in 1 hour 30 minutes. There are some things in life, I'll never understand.
I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Happy Running!

Memorial Day 10K Race

2008-05-27T21:25:00.005-04:00

It was a perfect day for running.

Time 50:45

second place in my division = trophy, yippee! :)
(shhh...there were only 6 people in my division)

1st grade co-worker w/ boyfriend

2nd grade co-worker w/ son

and me

2008-05-20T19:21:00.003-04:00

I ran the 10K route in town last night as 'practice' for the Memorial Day race. It was a good run. I made it up the monster hill and had a little energy left for the final sprint to the finish line. I'm certain I won't PR this year because I haven't trained like other years, but I feel confident I can finish in under an hour. I heard it may reach 80 degrees on Monday for the first time this year. I am sooooo excited. Bring on the heat and sunshine!

2008-05-15T15:49:00.003-04:00

If you have any desire to become a teacher.....don't move to Connecticut.
I just turned in my 107 page, size 11 font, 1.5 spaced portfolio to the State Department of Education with hopes that the state will renew my certification next year.
I guess that's the price you have to pay to have the best job in the world. :)

No running news. :( No yoga news. :( I need to run. I miss it. I really do!

Thanks Bill!

2008-04-27T00:40:00.003-04:00

I'm going to steal Bill's post because I feel exactly the same.

I guess this has become a weekly blog. It’s not that i don’t think of you, the RBF, pretty much constantly. I do. It’s just that life’s kind of taken off here in meat-space. There’s scouts [yoga classes], kids’ school [teaching 23 sweet third graders], church [and Bible study & book club], oh, and that whole career thing [and more blind dates]. I miss you, really.

Happy Spring RBF!

Where are you Spring?

2008-04-06T14:20:00.004-04:00

It's April--that means it should be warm and sunny, flowers should bloom and the grass should turn green. I just need a little bit of Spring to give me some extra motivation to put on my sneakers and get out the door. So, I'm crossing my fingers. :)

The Bad News
Unfortunately things didn't work out with Mr. Nearly Perfect Blind Date Guy. The girl that snatches him up, will be one lucky girl.
The Good News
I have another blind date set-up this week.

updates

2008-03-09T12:08:00.004-04:00

I have been running a little, now and then but it's nothing worth writing about. I'm ready for spring so I can get more serious with miles/pace. This afternoon I'm heading here to go skiing with some friends. I can't wait. And...blind date guy eventually called back and we went out again last night. ;)

Winter Cross Training

2008-03-01T12:50:00.002-05:00

It snowed this morning, so I'll be heading out with my cross country skis this afternoon. I love winter cross-training. I haven't run much in the past few days, but the weather looks promising for next week. Spring is on its way, I can't wait!

In other non-related news, I had a great blind date a few days ago....but no phone call yet.
:( Maybe I really do need to read the book my Grandma gave me for Christmas. I think it's called, How to Find Mr. Right or something cheesy like that. Oh my!! :)

DS = Did Start (And Finish)

2008-02-24T20:18:00.003-05:00

Never say never, right?
I expected to sleep right through the half marathon scheduled for today. But, for some strange reason after 4 hours of sleep I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep, so I grabbed my running gear and headed off to Hyannis, MA for the race.
The route was beautiful along the ocean and little seaside villages. The weather was perfect. By no means did I set a PR but I was happy with my time considering I took off almost two weeks because I was sick and then lazy. :)

Have a wonderful week!

DNS = Did Not Start

2008-02-24T01:12:00.004-05:00

Between the 2 hour drive to get to the race, the fact that my running partner is sick and that it's past 1:00 am, makes me think I'll be a no show for the half marathon tomorrow morning. Oh well, time spent with family is more important than time spent on the roads alone. Maybe I'll register again next year.
Thanks for the surprise visit to CT Dawn and Mike! :)

20 Used Tissues

2008-02-19T20:07:00.006-05:00

I broke out in a fever the day after my last post. So, apparently it is still possible to get the flu even though you had the vaccine. sigh
I went 8 days without running. Today was my first day back and it wasn't as bad as I predicted. Surprisingly, the last mile felt the best.
4.2 miles = 42 minutes

Tomorrow I'm heading to Boston for the day for some sight seeing and shopping---but first, I'm going to school to lysol my classroom and disinfect everything. Germs love to cultivate in a room filled with little kids that often forget to cover their sneezes and wash their hands. I can't get sick again this winter! The last time I did major classroom cleaning, I found about 20 used tissues in a student desk. The student said he was 'saving them for later, in case we ran out of tissues'. I only wish I was kidding. :)

Sick

2008-02-13T19:36:00.003-05:00

I haven't run in 4 days and I have no intention of heading out any time soon. I have most of the typcial flu like symptoms (besides the fever). Thankfully, I received the flu vaccine so hopefully this is just a 'quick moving bug'.

Take care and stay healthy.

Updates

2008-02-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

1. I registered for a half marathon at the end of February. I am not going to worry about my time for this race. I just needed some motivation to keep running during the cold winter season.

2. Another reason why I love my job is because I get to celebrate the 'less common holidays'. I had a parent of a student bring in a Ground Hog shaped cake on Friday to celebrate. How cute....

3. I took a cooking class at a unique log cabin in the middle of Rhode Island last week. I went with a few friends and we had a great time. The food was amazing! And although I'll never be able to make any of the items again because I can't pronounce or even know where to shop for half of the 'strange' ingredients to me...it was well worth the experience.

The cooking class was titled Killer Appetizers. This is what we made: Bocconcini with Red Pepper Pesto, Vegetarian Cuban Canapes, Thai Chicken Balls, Asparagus Wonton Wraps, Goi Cuon/Nime Chow (Vietnamese Salad Rolls), and Nuoc Cham.

Here is the instructor's Blog.

Jeans

2008-01-21T21:27:00.001-05:00

I couldn't fit into my favorite jeans today. The jeans that always fit so perfectly.
So, I ran.....

I ran 7 miles in the freezing cold with 4 layers of shirts and a dorky, warm hat.
Here we go jeans, Game On!

# 234

2008-01-14T13:10:00.000-05:00

Reason Number 234 Why I Love My Job...

*Snow Days*

This is the view from my kitchen window.

What a great day for using my favorite winter shoes.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T19:24:00.000-05:00

Total Running Miles
2005 = 1,028
2006 = 824
2007 = 1,052

Here we go '08!

As the saying goes, Greet the new year with the belief that wonderful things are about to happen and have FAITH.

2007-12-12T20:58:00.000-05:00

I may not be as famous as the running chick on tv. However, my picture made it into the local newspaper.

That's me--in the middle--during yoga class.

I'll consider this my 15 seconds of fame. :)

Tagged

2007-11-23T23:27:00.000-05:00

Rules:
Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
Let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog.
My tagger - Bill

5 Facts:
1. I have never been summed for jury duty--but I can't wait.
2. I went a year straight eating 1 large Rice Krispie Treat with chocolate milk every day for lunch.
3. I have been in 6 weddings (twice as the maid of honor, 3 times as a bridesmaid, and once as a flower girl)
4. During college I totaled my parents car when they were away on vacation.
5. I guarantee I'm going to win a huge prize someday. Every time I open a box of cereal with a possible prize winning inside, I always feel like I'm going to win the car or the trip to Disney. It's only a matter of time--just wait and see.

Tagees: you, you, you, you and you

2007-11-14T21:52:00.000-05:00

Running of late has been sparse, but I'm okay with that. The winter/holiday season is my time to decrease miles and focus on other things like yoga and cross country skiing.

I registered for a fun race on Thanksgiving morning. Last year I jogged/walked it with a college friend and we plan to do the same thing this year with a few more college friends. I can't wait.

Lastly, please excuse this complaining session but I'm very frustrated right now. Please don't get me wrong---I love my job! There simply is no greater joy than watching my students progress socially/academically. However, I HATE teaching to a test. The standardized Connecticut Mastery Test is about to kill me and suck all the joy out of teaching my little 8 year olds.

This e-mail from administration said it all. sigh.....

Please be sure that you have generated a review calendar for CMT skills. Between now and the start of CMTs (not until spring) there should be time spent everyday devoted to reviewing the strands and ensuring that all students have exposure to the format and the language of the test. I know that we don’t like to “teach to the test” however, this is the reality of Connecticut schools and we must make every effort to ensure that all children have the greatest chance of experiencing success.

2007-10-31T21:23:00.000-04:00

I didn't have my camera with me on race day, so here are 3 post race pics.

Washington, DC

Washington, DC

The poster the kids made at school.

What's that smell?

2007-10-29T22:02:00.000-04:00

Well, my time just stunk.

Marathon Number One - 4:11:20
Marathon Number Two - 4:12:12
Marathon Number Three - 4:13:24

However, I had an awesome weekend. The route around DC was spectacular and the crowd was great.

I'll be back for more....because I certainly won't be able to die in peace until I reach my perfect 4 hour goal. Here we go marathon number four!

Counting Down

2007-10-25T22:19:00.000-04:00

Only two more days until the Marine Corps Marathon! Taper madness is over. I feel great and I am soo excited. My students are fully expecting to see a gold medal after the race (for some reason they think I'm running in the Olympics). :)

I bought a new pair of my exact same, perfect sneakers this past week, printed my race confirmation and packed my bag. I am ready. And....top it all, I just read there will be a 6:00 am church service for runners before the start of the race. This *could* be fate---I might meet a marine, runner, who attends church. I couldn't ask for anything more than that. My fingers are crossed. :)

Have a great weekend and happy running!