My Goal for 2013

I have a post all ready to go about my goals for 2013.  I am not posting it.

It is a long post with only 3 goals but none the less, they are big ones.

As most of you know, I have been seeing a PT for my back and for hip bursitis.  She has suggested that I stop running for a bit.  She knows my plans to run the Philly Marathon, which will take place November 2013.  Just under a year away now.  She says that will not be a problem if I listen to her.  She has a plan to get me healthy and hopefully pain free.

I need to strengthen my core.  Basically, I am a weakling and have been for a long time.  This needs to change.

I ran two miles just the other day, and my hips immediately hurt.  Not the kind of hurt that stops you, just an annoying kind of hurt.  I had not run in 20 days and apparently that wasn't long enough.  I am mad an frustrated but I will listen to the doc and step up my cross training.

So here we go, 2013.  First and most importantly.  Get healthy and strong.

Do this so I can run for many more years to come.

Do this so I can run the Philadelphia Marathon.

Now, I did sign up for 13 in 2013.  I still feel this can be done, but most of the races I do will be in conjunction with my marathon training.  Did you sign up for this challenge?  Let me know so we can cheer each other on.

Ok, now on to New Year's Eve!  This is my favorite night of the year.  New Years in Philadelphia is a really big deal, especially if your father is a mummer.  There is nothing like it and I am sorry, you can read about it, but words won't give you the true feeling of what the New Year's Day Mummers Parade is all about.

When I moved from Philly, (sniff, sniff) I was so surprised that the rest of the country did not have something big for New Years Day.  I have always been so disappointed about this.

Since having kids, Mr. RWM and I have had a party on New Year's Eve.  This will be year number 7 for us.  I have food and drinks, and kids are welcome.  This way we still get to ring in the New Year without having to worry about sitters or driving.  Our kids get to party till they pass out and we get to enjoy the company of our friends.  I love it and can't wait till everyone gets here.

Last year, on New Years Day, I did a Polar Bear Plunge for the first time.  It was really cool but boy was it cold.  I may or may not do it again this year.  I am still on the fence, but this may have to be my new New Years Day tradition.  What do you all think?

2012, coming out of the ocean and yes, I am smiling!

Ok, so tell me how you ring in the New Year.  Have you ever done a Polar Bear Plunge?  What are some of your 2013 goals?  Have you run the Philly Marathon?  Any suggestions for a hotel?

Bring it on 2013!  We are ready for you!

Happy New Year everyone!

Run Strong, Think Big!

My Life in Numbers

I came across this post by Livin The Fit Life and loved it!  I thought it would be fun to do it to.  So here we go!

40 - the number of years I have been on this earth
103 - the number I hope to see on my birthday cake some day
1990 - the year I graduated high school
1994 - the year I became a flight attendant
9 - the number of years I have lived in Rhode Island
5 - the number of states I have lived in (PA, NJ, WA, MA, RI)
2 - the number of kids I have
9 - how many years I have been married
2011 - the year I started running
39 - my age when I ran for the first time
13 - the number of races I have completed
700 - number of miles I wanted to run in 2012
624 - actual miles I have run in 2012 (might get a couple more in before the 1st)
2 - the number of half marathons I have finished
35 - number of followers on my blog
339 - number of followers on my FB page (any chance you can help me get the first number as high as the second?)
1 - number of siblings I have
8 - number of hours of sleep I get each night
5 - number of hours it takes to drive to my parents house
0 - number of marathons I have finished
1 - number of marathons planned for 2013
31:49 - my fastest 5k
21 - number of times I have seen Bon Jovi live in concert
13 - number of months I have been blogging
121 - number of posts on this blog
599 - number of comments you all have left me
too many to count - how many times I smile in a day
25 - my hair in inches from the top of my head to the bottom
5'6" - how tall I am
not sure - my fastest mile
3,067.4 - how many miles I had to travel to get to my second half marathon
41 - the number of Christmas cards we received

Ok, that's about it.  It was fun and I hope you thought so to.  Feel free to let me know if you do one so I can read it.

Run Strong, Think Big!

From Our Home To Yours

Sorry, I haven't written much lately.  I had a sick kid for a couple days and now I am playing catch up and getting all the last minute Christmas stuff done.

I just wanted to wish you and your family a joyous and peaceful Christmas.  May you be blessed with lots of love from the ones that matter most.

I will have my parents and uncle here visiting for the holiday and I can't wait to see them.  My kids are crazy excited and I look forward to seeing their smiles on Christmas morning.

I am pretty sure Santa will be good to Mr. RWM and I also.

I wish you all much love, laughter and many blessings.

Run Strong, Think Big!  Peace to all.

National Blogging Day of Remembrance and Silence in Honor of Sandy Hook Elementary

Run Strong, Thing Big!  Peace to all.

Thankful Mommy

This morning my daughter had her Christmas play/service at her preschool.  My son went there for two years and now my daughter is in her second and last year.  Kindergarten for our littlest next year.  How did that happen?

I was very excited about today.  She had been practicing the songs that they were planning on singing, and today when I saw the program, I found out that she was playing the part of Mary.  This thrilled me!

Unfortunately, Mr. RWM had to miss it.  This is not the first thing he has missed and it won't be the last.  Usually, I am good with it, but for some reason, I was having a hard time dealing with it today.

It was a lovely morning and my little girl did an excellent job.  I snapped lots of pictures, but screwed up with the video and, well, there isn't one.  Can't even tell you how bummed I am.

From there, we headed over to Kidzone for our Moms Club Christmas Party.  Again, this will be the last one we attend.  I joined this group when my son was 4 months old.  It has played a huge part in my life and I will miss these little playgroups.

Another great time at Kidzone!

We were having a great time, when we heard about the shooting in CT.  No real details at that time, only that it was a school.

When I got home and turned on the news, I was devastated.  I felt sick.  I lost it.  I don't need to tell you what happened or link you to a web site.  You, I am sure, are feeling just as sick as I am.

When I thought about my son at school, my first reaction was to go and get him.  After a moment though, I knew that was not the right thing to do.  I did, however, pick him up instead of having him take the bus home.

He was excited to see us and I just said, "Happy Friday!"  He loved it!  Once in the car, I asked them to pick where they would like to have dinner and then we were going to go home, put our pajamas on and watch a movie.

We headed to the Mews which has great burgers and 69 beers on tap.  Nice choice kids!

Dinner was great!  My kids and I just sat and talked about their day, what was good, what was bad.  They dug the music that was playing and even danced in their seats a bit.  We laughed and enjoyed every minute. It was exactly what I needed and I will never forget it.

At home we chose the movie Brave.  Then we read books and I put them to bed.  I hugged and kissed them good night, I tucked them in and told them how much I loved them.  I got hugs and kisses back and was told how much they love me.  This is how every parents night should end.

I cannot even imagine what is happening in the homes of those families tonight.  And honestly, I don't think I really want to know.  Tears, anger, questions, just to name a few.

And those poor babies who lost their lives today.  Scared, wanting their mommies and daddies.  It is killing me to think about it.

I am not writing this to upset anyone.  I am writing because it helps me, just a little.  Those of you who  blog, know what I mean.

I will never understand why things like this happen and I am sure you won't either.  The only thing I can do is pray for the victims and their families.  I can hold my children and do everything in my power to keep them safe.  But here is the thing, school is supposed to be safe and I think ours is, but I bet every one of those parents thought their kids were safe too.

Sorry, it's just hard for me to wrap my head around this and I should stop before I make myself and you crazy.

So, I will end with this.  My son has this book called the Dude Diary.  He has not been able to put it down.  There is a section for him to write his own story and at our super cool dinner tonight he started to write it and I had to share it with you. These are his exact words, title and all.  Hope it helps you smile.

Running With Mommy by Jr. RWM

Many people like running. I went running with my mom.  It was fun.

I ran two miles.  It was fun.

Love that kid!  He wants to run tomorrow and I am looking forward to it.

You have all seen my shirt, Peace, Love, Run and I really feel that in my heart.  I wish for peace everywhere, I hope you all have love in your life and I hope you find happiness in your runs.

So my friends, Run Strong, Think Big!

Guest Blog

Today, I am the guest blogger for Cupcake Kelly.  It is a post you have all read, but I encourage you to head on over to "meet" Kelly and some of the other guest bloggers that are helping her out this week.

Thanks for reading and following!  Here are the links:

http://cupcakekellys.com/blog/2012/12/8/guest-post-taking-a-look-back.html

https://www.facebook.com/cupcakekellys?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/cupcakekellys

Hope you enjoy!

Run Strong, Think Big!

A Run With My Best Little Guy

After I finished the Jingle Bell 5k last weekend, my son, who is 7, asked if he could join me on my next run.  I, of course said yes, but didn't think he was too serious.

Today, after going to church and lunch, he said to me, "Can we run now?"

I was a little taken back and asked him if he was serious.  He said he was.  Ok, let's do it!

Mr. RWM wasn't home yet, so I dug out the jogging stroller.  This has been buried in the garage for quite some time.  It was dusty, and I can't even tell you how many spiders have made it their home.  Yuck!

I cleaned it up, got us water and we set out.  For 10 seconds.  It was here that I realized the tires were flat.  Seriously, I thought.  It is taking us longer to get moving than I was sure we would run.

Back to the house, got the pumps and, of course, the tires would not inflate.  I am not sure why, this was not the first time I inflated a tire.

Not wanting to disappoint my son, I called Elaine to see if my little one could hang out with her for what I though would be a short time.

Elaine was heading out but said I could use her jogger.  Great, we headed to her house.  What seemed like forever later, we finally started to run.

My son took off, which I expected.  I explained to him that going that fast was just gonna burn him out.  Plus, mommy is pushing a stroller with a 4 year old in it!  It has been a really long time since I had to do that.

He slowed down to a nice pace.  We were running a circle that was a half mile starting and ending at Elaine's.

It didn't take long for him to ask me how far we had gone.  Yup, son, just .03 miles.  He had thought we had gone much further.  Too funny.  This is when I thought he was almost done.

Boy was I wrong.  We made it back to our starting point and he wanted to keep going.  Sure, why not.

The second time around, he sped up just a bit and ran mostly in front of me.  I didn't mind.  I really liked watching him.  He looked back and smiled at me, a lot.  I couldn't get enough of it.

Back at Elaine's he grabbed some water and kept going.  I asked him how he felt and he was fine.  He found his groove and he was smiling.  What more does one want?

Every time we ran the loop, we had to interrupt a small basketball game.  A dad and his three sons.  The third time we passed by them, the dad told me how impressed he was that my guy was still running.  I am pretty sure my smile was so bright it blinded him.

When we rounded the corner we saw his best bud and he wanted to run with us.  This thrilled my son and he helped us finish up the last of our run.

I am happy to report that my son ran for two miles!  2.14 to be exact and it was the best run ever!

High five little man.  Great job!

I was so proud of him and he was so excited too!  He was smiling and jumping up and down and he couldn't wait to tell everyone.  He wants to run again and he even said he would like to do the next 5k with me.  Most likely the next 5k will be February 3.  It is called the Super 5k and it is the same course that I just PR'ed on.  It is a perfect first time race as it is flat and fast.

Today, my son totally put the mommy into Running While Mommy.  He inspired me and warmed my heart.  He had fun and to me, that is what running is all about.  It was nice to have that little reminder.

You can learn so much from your kids.  They are excited by life and all that is new.  Things that we may think don't matter are huge to them.  We need to stop and look and see what it is that amazes them.   We just might be amazed too.  We need to slow down, take a deep breath and just take it all in.  My son ran today and he didn't need music or even much conversation.  He just ran, smiled, looked around and smiled some more.

Trust me when I say, that I am not giving up music or running with friends.  But, how my son felt today does not just apply to running.  We can use that everyday in all that we do, especially, this time of year. There is so much hustle and bustle going on, and I have always hated it.  You will think I am crazy, but I look at Christmas shopping the same way I look at grocery shopping.  I make a list, go to the store and that is it.  Seriously, that is it.

After we were home, I asked my little guy what he thought about his run.  He said he loved it and it was fun but he didn't like the first few minutes.  Yup, that about sums it up every time we run, doesn't it?

I told him I was proud of him and that I hoped we would do it again.  "Of course we will mommy!", is what he said.  Big smile on this mama's face!

I hope you are all enjoying this season with family and friends.  I hope your running is making you happy.

If you run with your kids, I would love to hear all about it.  Let me know how you keep them from burn out and getting bored.  The excitement my son showed today was awesome and I don't want to over do it and make him not like running.

Run Strong, Think Big!

Lucky Number 13

Sunday, I ran my last race of the year, the Jingle Bell 5k.  This race is part of the Festival of Lights that my town has to kick off the Christmas season.  It is usually run on the beach, but Hurricane Sandy was not kind to us here in Narragansett, so it was moved to the road.

This was not a bad thing for me.  I am not a fan of beach running, plus I was familiar with the course they changed it to.  A flat and fast course.

This is a festive race and people dress up.  I decided that an elf would suit me.  I had the hat and the socks.  I found a red tech shirt and met a women who makes tutus.  I asked her to make me a red and green one and voila, I was an elf.  As an added bonus, I had my nails painted red and green.

The race started at 1pm and I like the late start.  I got there with plenty of time to spare and met up with my friends.

Mr. RWM and the kids were there too and that just thrilled me to pieces!  One, because I had a cheering section and two, because I had a photographer.  Thanks Babe!

I actually had a goal for this race and it wasn't just to finish.  I wanted very much to finish in 33 minutes.  My best 5k time up to this point was 34:50.

We lined up and the gun went off.  This race was small, exactly 100 people.  I do like small races, especially in my small town.

I started out a little faster than my usually speed and at first, thought I should slow down.  I didn't.  The temperature was perfect, I had friends just ahead of me and some rocking tunes.  I felt good.

At the half way point though, my stomach started to hurt.  This is the third run in a row that this has happened.  I don't know why.  I haven't changed anything as far as eating and drinking is concerned.  What are your thoughts?

I pushed through and stayed strong.  Right before I hit the 3 mile marker, I saw Mr. RWM and the kids.  There is nothing better than to have your very own cheering section.  I was fueled when I saw them and took off.

When I rounded the corner and saw the clock, I was shocked!  It read, 31 and change.  I was not going to let the clock tick away to 32 without me crossing first.

I ran as strong and as fast as I could and my official time was 31:49, which is a 10:15 pace!  This is a 3:01 PR!

Woohoo!!!

My babies!

My family was there and so were my friends, who by the way, both PR'ed too!  Congrats, Jenn and Bridget!

We headed over for water and snacks and they had an awards ceremony.  Then they had those of us who dressed up, come up and to be judged.  I had a little competition.  There was a tree that was just awesome!  However, there weren't that many of us competing, so we all got a prize.  I got a gift card to Pier Liquors, yeah me!

So why lucky number 13?  Well, this was my 13th race since I started running.  My first race, was 13 months ago.  It was a 5k and I finished in 35:35.  Nice, right!

All in all, this was a really fun day.  It was the first time I dressed up to run too and I liked it!

Have you ever dressed up to race?

Run Strong, Think Big!