Another Mother Runner House Party

Wednesday was the AMR House Party in New Canaan, CT.  I was lucky to be able to go and it was fabulous.  I am still coming down from the high.

First, if you don't know who Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea are, then please go here.  If you have been reading RWM for a while then you know who I am talking about.  I was honored to be highlighted on their Follow this Mother in March.

Now, New Canaan, CT is not close.  It is about 2 hours away.  I didn't care.  I was going.  Once I knew Mr. RWM was going to have the night off, I began to plan.  It turns out that Michelle and Deb, fellow RIer's were going.  I shot them an email to see if they wanted to drive together.  Soon after that a plan was made.

I was out of the house by 4 and we were on our way.  We made pretty good time, so we stopped to get a bite to eat just a few miles from the party.  It was a lovely dinner at Basso's Cafe.  I don't really know Michelle and Deb that well, but our conversation was really nice.  We mostly talked about running and it was very cool to get to know them a little better.  Deb and I will both be training for our first full marathons this year.   Deb will be running MCM and me Philly.  I hope we can get a few runs in together.

As we started to get into the neighborhood, the houses became more and more elegant. Once we reached the house we were going to, there was a policeman to help with parking.  BTW, it was also raining.  We had to park a little ways down the street and then not only walk to the house but up a very long driveway.   This would not of been a big deal, except for the fact that I had on my big girl shoes.

When we walked in, there was a table to the right with AMR and co-host Iliana checking us in.  Immediately, I saw Sarah, but she was surrounded by ladies and I did not want to interrupt.  Right after that we were greeted by Rebecca.  She was our gracious host and I was thrilled to meet her.

Once in the house, I went over to the table with all the merchandise.  I knew what shirt I wanted and grabbed it, but then saw this one and had to have it.  I also grabbed both Sweaty Bands that they had there.  Headbands are new to me.  In the past they have always bothered me and have given me a headache, plus my hair is a little out of control.  The Sweaty Bands are the first to not bother me at all.  They stay in all day without causing my head to hurt.  Win!

We walked around a bit, said hello, checked out the wonderful snacks and grabbed some wine.  I was on the lookout for Kim, who let me know she would be there on my FB page.

After about 25 minutes, Sarah and Dimity did a reading from Train Like a Mother and drew the winners for the raffle.  They had some awesome giveaways.  Three gift cards for Saucony, Knuckle Lights and a Garmin, just to name a few.

After that, we mingled some more and finally I got to meet and talk to Sarah and Dimity. They did not disappoint.  They were friendly and genuinely interested in what you had going on.  When I told Dimity that I had just signed up for Philly, she truly was excited for me.  And I was really excited to hear how her Ironman training was going.  That distance just amazes me and I know she will have an incredible race!

Me, Sarah, Deb and Michelle

Me, Deb, Dimity and Michelle

I continued to look for Kim and finally we found each other.  She was so cute and full of energy.  I loved talking to her!  She is training and raising money for TNT and will be running Nike in DC this month.  She will also be doing the Newport RI, Amica Half in October.  That race is not too far from where I live and I will probably run it.  It will be cool to see her again.

Kim and I

On the way out we got one of the most awesome bags of goodies that I ever saw.  I just smiled the whole time looking through it.

Awesome, right?  The shirts were not in it, but I wanted to show you everything.

I have to say that this was just a fantastic night!  The party was beautiful, the friends were wonderful and meeting the other AMR's and Sarah and Dimity was exactly how I pictured it.  I felt like I already knew them, mostly because their voices are in my head at least once a week, but they were exactly how I imagined them to be.

I so hope I can do this again or at the very least, see them at a future race/expo.  If you have a chance to get to one of their house parties, then I say do it!  You won't be disappointed.

It was a late night for us as you can imagine with a two plus hour drive.  It was a pleasant surprise this morning when Mr. RWM got George up and ready for school.  Thanks babe, I love you!

Run Strong, Think Big! ~ Nicole