Checking In and Checking out

Oh where oh where have my friendies gone? It's Runner Girl Yee HAW (HAM?)

checking in for duty!

Hello? Hello? Anyone home?

Well. Guess I'll talk to myself then.

I had a really deep discussion last night with Miss KT Bags, but neither of us can remember it. Not a lick. I remember she was teary on the train to work. I was psyching myself up and talking myself down from panic of future workouts. Then I was asleep. I suppose you can add sleep talking to the list of odd side effects of Ironman training. On the not-so-odd IM effects...hunger. Always. Hungry.

Seriously.

I almost had to eat my dinner (pizza) in the bathroom last night. I'm surprised we haven't thought this earlier....combining the true pillars of running - crap and food. (Eww. Gross) Either way - I was so hungry last night I almost couldn't go to the bathroom without eating. Logistically challenging, because I couldn't manage to eating without "going" first. Luckily Mr. M. wasn't around for this huge dilemma. Anyyyyway.....


I'd intended to post on Sunday evening after one of my Most Incredible Runs Ever. Miss Cornbread and I had taken advantage of Saturday's warm, dry weather to get our bike TT in, which left all day Sunday for running. The thought of more CP loops had me loopy and I was really, really hungry. The Mr. and I decided to head down to Sea Girt for a nice boardwalk run and dinner at Rod's after.

Scene: 4pm, temps in the high 40's, breezy, but not unbearable. The ocean: perfectly smooth, sapphire blue reflecting the cloudless sky. I quickly settled into a nice,smooth pace, said farewell to the Mr. as he cruised ahead of me and just checked out. I ran for a while listening to the strikes of my feet and eventually added my headphones to listen to my newest run mix.

The longer I went, the better I felt and suddenly my 45 minutes was up. Time to turn around. Now the wind at my back, the beginnings of sunset streaming onto the sand and my legs getting lighter and lighter I head back to the car. Knowing Rick was headed my way, dinner at Rod's awaited, the music carried me through some old memories and helped to tie the moment to future ones.

It was over all too soon. Snapped by to reality by 2 high school girls on a walk. No longer was I flying, being chased by my love, soaking in a sunset. I was another sweaty middle aged (sort of) runner with sore knees and a growling stomach.

The "Top 3" run ended perfectly with a dinner at Rod's. It was St. Patrick's Day in Belmar, so the place was bursting at the seams. Seated at the bar, scarfing guilt-free nachos and clicking Guiness glasses with my husband listening to blaring Irish tunes - I realized the reality wasn't much different that the run....


Perfect.

New Additions

An even newer addition! (A revision to yesterday's post!)

We were blessed with a giant, mess of a snowstorm which allowed us to meet for dinner & celebrate. We were blinded by shock as our friend formerly-known-as-Eve announced...

SHE'S PREGNANT!

Congrats to the mom and dad-to-be. We are so happy for you! A recap of last night - in Jenny's words...

One more thing as I sit here smiling about last night...

I just keep remembering how I kept looking around the table last night and was so happy everyone had something to celebrate...honeymoon, new job, engagement and new baby - how often do friends have so much to celebrate and share with eachother....now that is a great memory! I cant wait for many, many more.

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I have a few minutes to spare before heading off to a quick friendie dinner. It felt appropriate to announce *officially* that the friendie family is making some new additions. We expanded by one last month and celebrated by having a friendie fiesta in Miami! (Has it really been a month already? Married life flies!)

Our good friend Katie Bags anxiously awaits the arrival of her new nephew, Nolan Riley. We can hardly believe he's almost here. It's a good thing too - his mom's boobs are enormous. (That's the subject for another run.) Let the countdown begin!

Finally, we are thrilled to add Mr. Cornbread to the family. Some of you might know him from guest appearances on our long runs. He often shys away from such lady-like topics of poo and sex, but contributes so much to the rest of our runs, that we are glad he's going to be around forever! A HEARTY congrats to the soon to be Mrs. Cornbread! Your mom is so proud - you did an Ironman, did another Ironman and are training to do yet another Ironman! Whew!

I'll sign off with the toast that never was....Mrs. Cornbread's toast. How appropos in light of the joyous occasion! We can't wait to see what the Cornbread wedding adventure has in store for us and have just the right number of miles to cover in order to do so! Strap on the fuel belts kiddies! It's gonna be a long run!

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Hello friends,

I was never able to give my toast to Heather and Rick at their wedding so I thought I would email it to you all.

When I started to think about what I wanted to say at the wedding I thought of the quote: "Life is a Journey Not a Destination". How fitting that quote became as I started to think of my own journey that led my to such a BEAUTIFUL destination wedding.

My journey started during the 2003 Team in Training marathon season. That is where I met Heather. She was this fun, super energetic girl with a smile and a laugh that was contagious. So contagious in fact, she was coined the nickname HH (Happy Heather). While I was her mentor that season, she quickly became my teammate, confidant, cheerleader, friend and sister. I started the season hoping to finish the NYC Marathon and raise money for a great cause. I came away from that season season with a network of friendships that have grown exponentially throughout the years.

It was through that network of friends, a birthday party, a dinner for 12 and a night of mojitos and dancing that brought Heather and Rick's journey to the same path. I would never have guessed that night would eventually lead me to what I consider my city family. At the heart of that family is Heather and Rick.

I feel blessed with the journey I took to Miami and I am sure many of you can relate. Heather and Rick...your wedding was a true celebration of love and friendship with family and friends. I cherish all of the laughter, tears, miles and experiences I have shared with you all and look forward to the next journey we take together.

Congratulations Heather and Rick! I am honored to have been a part of your special day.

Much love always,

Keri