Run, Robyn, Run - The official recap!

Ha! Much to my dismay, the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler did take a turn for the good, the bad, and the ugly. The morning started off great and I was super excited that race day finally arrived. It was a beautiful morning and the temperature was in the 50's. It felt great. The first 4 miles went swimmingly and my time by the 5 mile mark was impressive for me. At 5 miles, it all started to go downhill. I hit "a wall" and couldn't recover for the rest of the race. It took all my mental power to keep running and not start walking.

At mile 7, I had the good fortune of my best friends Wendy and Ivy joining me for the last 3 miles of the race. It was like a breath of fresh air seeing them waiting for me. Unfortunately I was even in worse shape at this point and kept having to walk some, run some until the end. The heat was getting to me and I don't do so well when I get overheated. I finished the race in 1 hr, 57 minutes and managed to shave 2 1/2 minutes from my time 3 years ago. However, if I kept on track with how well I did the first 5 miles, I would've easily been crossing the finish line at 1 hr, 45 minutes.

Once I got back in my friend's car to head home, I started feeling very nauseous. We stopped for bagels at a place in Arlington, and at this point, I was really down for the count. The others in my group looked at me and commented how pale I was. I felt like I was going to throw-up and headed straight for the bathroom. Instead, as I was kneeling by the toilet, I passed out. I must've hit my head and that helped wake me up. I went back in the restaurant and decided to get some Gatorade to drink. I hadn't had anything all morning other than 3 packs of GU and very, very little water. I figured my nauseousness was occurring because of heat and dehydration. I got to sit in the front seat of the minivan for the remainder of the trip back to my friend's house, where my car was parked. I live only 1/2 mile away from her and was feeling much better by the time we pulled into her driveway. However, once I got in my car and started driving down the road, I pulled over and threw-up 4 times. Not fun. Not fun at all. The only good thing is, I felt much better afterwards.

When I reviewed my times for each of the miles, I saw that mile 4 was done in 8:39 seconds. This is crazy fast for me. I usually average 10/10:20 minute miles and not sure why I pushed myself so hard in this one particular mile. I think this is what contributed to me hitting the wall at mile 5. Plus, throw in heat and dehydration and you don't have a happy runner on your hands.

I am very happy I was able to finish the race and find this to be a big accomplishment in my life. I was going to turn my upcoming 1/4 marathon (6.55 miles) into a 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) on the Mother's day race I am running, but I think I am better off leaving the registration where it is. I've pushed my body beyond its comfort zone and it is rebelling big time!

The shirt I wore said, "If found on ground, drag body across the finish line." Who knew this would be so ironic?
Here is a picture of my best friends, Wendy and Ivy. Got to love girlfriends who support you like they do!

Run, Robyn, Run!

This space will be used later for a recap of the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. Stay tuned for the good, the bad, and the ugly. Hopefully, there will be very little of the bad and the ugly.

I feel great going into this race and hope that my training has paid off. I am as ready as I'll ever be. Picking up my packet info yesterday morning with all the other participants got me really excited. I believe I've become addicted to this sport and crave the runner's high I get from having a good run.

I will update the blog with my results, experiences and a photo or two once I am able to physically move again upon entering my home. A big thank you to everyone who supported me. I must also thank my wonderful husband and kids who not only did great without me during my long runs on the weekends, but also were my biggest cheerleaders in helping me get to the finish line.

What are the odds?

Ian received as part of his Hanukkah presents from his Nana and Papa a remote controlled airplane. All through Winter, Ian has been begging us to let him fly it. We kept saying we will go when the snow has melted, the ground is dry and the sun is shinning. Also, we have to wait until there is nothing on the calendar that requires us to be doing something else. And, on Easter Sunday, there was literally "nothing" on the calendar. Jeff made sure of that and wrote it in weeks ago. So off to Popes Head Park we went to ride bikes, have a picnic, play on the playground and of course, take Ian's remote controlled plane for its inaugural ride.

It was a gorgeous day and the conditions were perfect to fly the plane. Unfortunately the plane was a piece of crap (sorry Dad & Rita if you are reading this, but it was) and even though it said it had a 100 foot range, in reality, it was more like 10 feet. The plane was made from this lightweight foam and any kind of gentle breeze would take the plane out of the range and make it sail on its own. Flying the plane became more like a game of fetch and Ian got a great workout running after it over and over again.

Jeff and Ian made sure to fly the plane in only big open spaces, but 3 times the plane flew into trees. It was quite humorous trying to get the plane out of the tree limbs. I came up with the idea of throwing sticks and rocks trying to shake the plane loose. Most of the sticks we threw at the tree ended up getting stuck in the limbs too. The first 2 times it finally came free and the plane fell to the ground. It was the third time when the plane flew into dense bushes/trees that neither Jeff or I could find it. It just disappeared. Completely. We must've looked for it for about 10 minutes and it was nowhere to be found. The plane was red in color and you would think it would stick out, even a little bit against the green (with leaves) or brown (without leaves) background. How strange.

Fortunately Jeff and I had already decided we would be buying Ian another remote controlled plane for his upcoming birthday. He was having so much fun with it and we can only imagine how much better the experience would be if the plane was better quality.

Losing the plane happened towards the end of visit to Popes Head. It always amazes me how fantastic this park is and how little it seems to be used by other Fairfax County residents. The park is a little off the beaten path and not readily visible from the street. My mommy friends and I love going to this park, because you don't have to worry about cars and there are wide open spaces for the kids to play, a fabulous playground and a great trail to ride bikes. Even on the weekends the park is hardly ever crowded and at the most maybe one or two other families will be using it.

We were there for approx. an hour before anyone else showed up. This family had the same idea as us and brought a picnic to enjoy this gorgeous Sunday. Turns out the husband's name was Jeff and the wife's name was Robin. I kid you not. And, they had a little boy and a younger girl. Pretty wild. What are the odds that the only other family at the park with us would have the same exact names as Jeff and I? Oh, and they had as much luck as getting their kite off the ground as we did with the plane staying in the air.

I definitely believe the spooky same name coincidence means other forces are at play and this is a sign of some sort. Just not sure what.

Working up a sweat

A few weeks ago I heard Ian tell one of his friends that his mother works out every day so that she can be strong. I love that Ian thinks this. If I am not able to make it to the gym, I'll wake up (fingers crossed it is before the kids do) and do one of the wii exercise discs that I own. I have two "My Fitness Coach" and "EA Active" and I like them both for different reasons. Depending on what kind of work-out I am looking to get, will pick one of the discs over the other.

If Ian wakes up while I am in mid work-out, he'll jump right in and join me in doing the exercises. He has his own personal preference on which exercises he likes to do and will decide he needs a break if one comes on that he doesn't like. Ian has started to learn the names of the various exercises and was excited to show his friend how he can do 'jumping lunges' and 'plank'. It is very cute and Ian will even talk to me trying to get my mind off of the more difficult, challenging ones like a holding squat position for 60 seconds. Although when I told Ian he needed to entertain me for a minute, his idea was to countdown for me the entire minute. Which, as you can imagine, was not helpful and more so, made it all the more painful hearing I still had 40 seconds left, then 30, etc. Oy!

The other morning, I got lucky (said sarcastically) and both kids were wide awake when I put on EA Active. Not only did I have Ian joining me, but Sam got in the act too. She decided this looked like fun and the next thing you know three of us were making our way through a 30 minute work-out. I am sure it was a pretty funny site. I'd like to think that I was doing the exercise in perfect form. Then you have Ian who was probably 75% of the way there in accomplishing it correctly. And last, but not least, Sam was attempting it with approx. 20% accuracy.

When it came time to do jumping squats (yikes, this gets a sweat going quickly!), Ian looked very frog like and had the biggest smile on his face at the height he was getting. Sam, on the hand, still hasn't mastered the art of being able to jump, and would squat very low and on the way up would take a leg with her in the air. The rest of her stayed put on the ground. Then she would squat low again and this time on the way up, bring the other leg up in the air. It was so incredibly cute.

I am glad that I can be a positive role model showing the kids that exercise is an important part of our lives, but I felt like Jane Fonda leading a toddler class. Leg warmers, anyone?

Pucker up!

I love being in love. I love the idea of love. I love it when I hear others are in love. I am a romantic and love happy endings. I love love. I recently went to a bridal shower for a friend who looked for love for a very long time and kissed a lot of frogs in the meantime waiting for her prince to arrive. The guy she is marrying is perfect for her and it was worth the wait. Going to bridal showers (and baby showers for that matter too) are much easier for me to endure and enjoy knowing that I've found my prince too and my life has gotten on a great track moving forward in the right direction. This particular bridal shower I went to was nothing like anyone has ever seen before. The theme was Mad Hatter and the bride's sister's house, where the party was held, was transformed into a flawless, over-the-top Wonderland from "Alice in Wonderland". The amount of work, creativity and time planning and executing this bridal shower was nothing short of amazing. I can't even begin to do it justice describing all the little and big touches seen throughout the party.

Overall, the bridal shower was very nontraditional and not one toilet-paper-wedding-gown or gift bingo game could be found. However, upon entering the house, the host did have us write down two things on separate cards -- advice for the bride and jot down one of our favorite memories of Karen (the bride). All the cards were collected and Joanne made opening the presents a much more livelier event by reading aloud the advice and memories while Karen opened gifts.

There was one piece of advice offered by one of the guests that I am putting into action at home. It was to give your partner A 10 SECOND KISS EVERY DAY. There is something that I find so appealing about this idea. Amidst all the craziness and chaos, taking a few seconds (10 to be exact) and stopping what you are doing to have more than a quick peck on the lips is fabulous. Downright scrumptious. I love this reconnecting. It doesn't cost anything and it is a special moment with the one you love. Apparently this idea originally stemmed from an Oprah show. I can't believe that one slipped by. I highly recommend every one reading this to put this idea into action too. And, please give it the full 10 seconds the kiss deserves. It doesn't need to be scheduled in advance and the kiss probably 99.9% of the time won't lead anywhere. For me, it makes me fall head-over-heels in love with Jeff all over again.

Even if you hate going to bridal showers or didn't even have a reason to be there because you didn't know the bride, seeing the Mad Hatter theme executed made it worth it alone. What an experience it was and Joanne could have a wildly successful career in event planning if she ever wanted it. But I do enjoy bridal showers because it is showering the bride-to-be in good wishes and presents for the upcoming wedding, which is celebrating two people getting together who are in love. And I love love.

Senior Citizen

Is there an AARP for dogs? 63 years old. That is how old Bailey will be in human years when he celebrates his 9th birthday at the end of the month. He has always had the energy of a puppy and eager to go for a long walk or run whenever the opportunity presents itself. In fact, Jeff and I have to spell it out if we are discussing the idea of taking him. Before we can even finish the sentence, he is whimpering and whining, pleading his case to go.

About two weeks ago I was able to do a training run outdoors and since it was relatively low mileage, I decided to throw Bailey a bone and bring him along. Due to the Winter weather, he hadn't been outside for a run for a few months and therefore, hadn't started out with the 1 mile, 2 mile runs before building to 3 mile stretches. However, it had never been a problem before and with his high energy level (do I have kids any other way?!?!), I figured he would be fine. Boy, was I wrong. Not only was Bailey an entire leash length behind, but my arm was extended back the whole way too trying to get him to keep up with me. At first I thought that maybe he needed to warm up and eventually would pick up the speed. Unfortunately that was not the case. Needless to say, for the rest of the day, he was a lump on the floor and barely moved.

The next day we dropped Bailey off at a friend's house. Mike was in need of a playdate and it had been awhile since Bailey had been over for a visit. The timing was perfect as we were headed out of town that weekend for NJ. We supposed to pick Bailey up on Monday, but Mike texted me and asked if he could stay until Thursday evening. He was really enjoying the visit. I love it when Bailey stays at Mike's. He gets all this one-on-one attention and doesn't have to share Mike's love and affection with anyone else. Mike commented to me that Bailey is starting to slow down and is not as flexible as he used to be. He said that he noticed he had trouble getting in his car.

It didn't occur to me that Bailey was getting old. Jeff and I joke all the time how many years we think we have left with him, but it is another matter entirely when the reality sets in. I am now starting to notice the little things too. I guess that gray hair under his mouth was the first sign I quickly overlooked. And his days of running with me are probably behind us. Bailey is a great dog and I hope he gets to rest and enjoy his golden days. He has earned it.

Heard and Observed VIII

Ian and his cousin Max, who is only 6 weeks younger:

Ian: Max, we're going to race. When we are done, don't say "Hooray", it will hurt my feelings.
Max (one second later): Hooray
Ian: I said, don't say Hooray.
Max (one second later): Hooray

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Ian at preschool one day last week:

Ian: Wow Eli, that watch looks really good on you.

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Samantha, my little caretaker:

At my Aunt and Uncle's house in Cherry Hill, NJ, Jeff and I are hanging out in this cozy little tv room located off the kitchen. Sam comes over to me and takes each of my legs and puts them up on the coffee table. Then she goes over to Jeff and starts feeding him grapes.

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