Guest Post: Cousin Mandy!

I have one more guest post for you before I get back to actually writing this blog myself.

My cousin Amanda (who I call Mandy), has written a great post for you all!  She regularly writes a blog over at RisetoRun.com - go and check it out!  She started that blog to document her training for the Boston Marathon (which she ran in April!), but will now keep you updated on her new life in San Francisco.  She just moved at the beginning of the month and is happy to text me every time she has an Alaskan beer (they sell it in California, but not in Florida).  I am super jealous.  California really does have it all :)  Enjoy her post!

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How long have you been running?

I have been running on and off for about 7 years now.  I started running in college to get back and shape and lose some weight.  I had some periods where I didn’t run but I have been running very consistently since October 2007.

What do you like about it?

I love running for many different reasons.  It really depends on the day.   I love starting my day off with a run.  It gives me a chance to reflect on the day ahead, what I want and need to accomplish. I try not to focus on work when running because it’s “my time” but sometimes I can’t help it.   Often my most creative work ideas or solutions  are an outcome of my runs. 

Running has always been my go to when I’m stressed out or upset.  It clears my head and the runners high at the end always makes me feel better.  When the going gets tough you can guarenttee I’ll be putting in extra miles.

Finally, I love how I feel physically after a run.  My muscles are fatigued and sometimes sore.  It’s a reminder that I’m taking care of myself physically.  You only have one body so it’s important to treat it well so you can live a long and plentiful life.  I want to be running or at least exercising well into my 70’s and 80’s.

My niece Lily was so excited to see Mandy running in
the marathon, she jumped right into her arms - so cute!

Have you run a Disney race before?

The Disneyland Half Marathon will be my first race!  I’m very excited to finally participate in a Disney event!

What are you looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to the Disney Medal!  I’ve always admired Heather’s and now I finally get my very own Disney Medal!   I’m also looking forward to running through the parks.  It will be fun to be inside the park before it’s open and it will certainly pass the first few miles quickly! 

I’m also really looking forward to a fun weekend at Disney and celebrating with a day in the park and of course a few beers to rehydrate post-race :)  ***This is Heather - hopefully the beer will be of the Alaskan variety!

Any other running-related stories?

I moved to San Francisco at the beginning of the month and just signed up for the Big Sur Half Marathon in November!  I will keep you up to date on my training and, of course, definitely post a re-cap of the race on my blog www.risetorun.com!

2011 Boston Marathon finisher!

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Thanks Mandy!  Can't wait to hang out with you in your new home state in less than two weeks!

I'm Shipping Up to Boston!

This is my cousin Amanda

She’s running the Boston Marathon on Monday

as part of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team

and has raised over $7,700 for cancer research – awesome!

There are several members of my family meeting up in Boston for the 

weekend to cheer her on.  We are having a fun dinner in the 

North End Saturday night with lots of this

before 7 of us run the B.A.A. 5k on Sunday morning.

Along the Marathon course on Monday we will have this most awesome sign

 *Note:  This is my friend Derek.  I had the sign shipped to his place in Boston so I wouldn't have to take it on the plane - thanks Romanos!  However, he thinks that by appearing on my blog his photo will go viral and he will become the most popular guy on the web.  I've known this kid since I was 14, he is not kidding...

and of course, no cheer section would be complete without

After Mandy’s 26.2 mile adventure from Hopkinton to Boylston Street 

we will all meet up on Newbury to toast her journey with these…

GOOD LUCK to all you Boston Marathoners out there!  We'll be cheering for you!!

Carnaval 8K, Sam Adams & the beach

Sunday mornings are my favorite time of the whole week.  The laziness, coffee, laundry and the home repair shows on TLC always makes me happy that it is Sunday.  Yesterday was even better because when I woke up I knew I still had one more day off from work to be lazy, drink coffee and do laundry, love long weekends!

I saved all my laziness for today as I participated in the Carnaval 8k & 5k run out on Virginia Key yesterday.  I ran the 8K, which is a totally random distance, but I think it is because this race use to take place on a Friday night on Calle Ocho in Little Havana.  Now they have changed it to Sunday morning on Virginia Key… weird, but I’ll go with it since the race started and ended at the beach!

My plan for this race was to run as hard as I could for as long as I could.  I am usually the “take it easy” girl when it comes to race strategy, but lately I have been amazed at the progress my running has made, so I am loving being able to push myself.  Half-way through the race I was two and a half minutes ahead of my usual pace… “whoa!”… yea I know, I thought the same thing too.  I was really happy with this and ended up finishing the race 39 seconds ahead of my goal time.  A good day on the road for sure!

The last mile was tough, but overall I had minimal soreness in my legs and I felt really strong.  This race has put me in a great frame of mind for THIS Sunday’s Princess half marathon – so excited!  I need to make sure these little details are in my blog, so next week after the Princess half when my running motivation totally plummets I can re-read this, and hopefully it will keep me going and build on what I have already accomplished :)

During the run there was a moment that made me think “running is awesome”.  It was when I was heading over a bridge running hard, pumping the arms, but then there is that moment when you reach the top of the bridge, the road evens out, your arms relax and fall to your side and then you cruise down the other side – awesome!

There was no finisher’s medal for this race but they did have free beer and arroz con pollo… Bienvenido a Miami folks.  Who cares if it was only 9am and I was enjoying a Sam Adams!  I was at the beach after a great run, my toes in the sand, enjoying the beautiful day.  Sunday mornings are the best…

How all this running got started

Drinking = Goofy

On April 25^th 2009, Annette and I were drinking around the world at Epcot to celebrate our birthdays (mine on the 24^th and hers on the 26^th).  Running starting with drinking, this should be good…

She told me about a 5K/obstacle course event called Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom her husband, Brian, had signed up for.  Honestly with the words “obstacle course” I totally tuned her out.  Army crawl and rope climb… no thanks.  Then she started telling me about another race – the Tower of Terror 5K at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  Now this sounded a bit more interesting.  “Let’s sign up”, I said, “we have 6 months to get ready for this we can do it”.  Registration for the race opened up the next day and I was introduced to a fun new website called Active.com.

Who knew we would really start training
to be Princesses

For the next 6 months Annette diligently prepared for the race and I ran maybe once a week.  I am definitely a procrastinator and this new sporting adventure proved to be no different.

October 23^rd was the day of the race and I was only moderately prepared.  I had also just spent the previous two weeks in Europe for work and I was sick. 

The race was at night, a 10pm start, and that morning I decided not to go.  I spent the day feeling bad for myself and thinking about the finisher’s medal I was giving up.  I am obsessed with medals, ask anyone.  I think it is because my high school cheer squad never was good enough to win one, and it was always something I wanted. 

Anyways, the lure of the medal got me off my butt and at 4pm I was in my car driving the 4 hours from Miami to Orlando.  Annette obviously thought I was crazy, which I was, but nonetheless I made it to my very first race.  My gear check bag was full of tissues, cough medicine and Nyquil, but I had made it to the start line!  My first 5k was a run/walk odyssey through Hollywood Studios which took me 42 minutes to complete.  Oh well, at least I got my medal :)

My very first running medal!

Over the next few months I actually started running… consistently.  I got help from the Couch to 5k app on my iTouch (which worked GREAT for me) and by February of last year I was able to complete a 5k running the whole time.  The race was the Publix Gasparilla 5k in Tampa.  It was rainy and really cold that morning but it was a great race.  The course was along beautiful Bayshore Blvd, there was a fun finisher’s medal and free beer at the post race party.  If there is anything I love more than a cool medal it is free beer after a race.  They say beer helps you replace your electrolytes… ok sure, it was only 3.1 miles, but I’ll live by that rule.

Cheers!

Beer = electrolytes