Bittersweet

Posted on January 4, 2013 Written by Leave a Comment

It was kind of surreal moving all of our belongings out of the condo yesterday. The townhouse was a place of firsts (so well said by my sister). It was our first place, we got married while we lived there, we brought our boys home from the hospital there…

As much as I was so ready move on to a different neighborhood and a bigger house, I can see why they say that moving is a “major life event.” It’s physically and emotionally stressful. Even though you feel ready to take the next step, it still hurts a bit to leave the old place behind.

photo (32)I am going to listen to my own advice to my four year-old on the ride to Falmouth last night: just because we say goodbye doesn’t mean it’s forever.

I know that we will be back in Providence to visit old stomping grounds and hang out with our friends. I also know that many of our friends will be more than happy to come visit us on the Cape in the summer! Winking smile

So, we are pretty much homeless for the next month and a half or so. We will be shuffling between my in-laws and my mother’s as we wait for the construction to finish on her in-law apartment. I am sure the time will pass quickly as my older son gets acclimated to his new preschool and we make plans for our new living space,

I will end by saying that it was pretty cool to be driving over the bridge and coming “home” again! Smile

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Sometimes You Just Feel Like There’s Not Enough Coffee in the World…

Posted on January 3, 2013 Written by 1 Comment

This week has been INSANE! All good things of course (except for a few minor snafus), but crazy nonetheless. I decided to take a little blogging vacation to accommodate the holidays, wedding, move, etc.

Last Friday we left for Philly to go to my best friend’s wedding. We had SO MUCH fun! The whole wedding today was perfect. She wanted a winter wedding, and right in time for the ceremony and reception, beautiful fluffy and white snow started falling! I cannot wait to see the pictures. Smile

Wit the hubs at the wedding!

The reception was a blast: great food, cocktails, a fun band, and lots of dancing, while connecting with old friends. It was hard to leave the magical weekend behind as we headed out-of-town on Sunday  morning.

We had one day to recover on Monday. and then we found out on Tuesday that we needed to close on the condo on Friday! Thank goodness I have the best MIL in the world—she hired a moving company for us. They will be here this morning to get all of our stuff moved to the Cape!

It’s very stressful moving, but I am excited that we are making the change. One thing I was not psyched about: my two and a half year-old having a sinus and ear infection and probable pneumonia this week! Poor guy. He NEVER complains, and the nurse practitioner couldn’t believe he hadn’t been crying about his inflamed ear. Sad smile

Thankfully after a few days of antibiotics, he is feeling much better. Just in time for the move! For the next month or so, we will be at my in-laws, while we wait for the construction to be done…

Filed Under: Family, Travel Tagged: ,

And the Busiest Week of My Life Continues!

Posted on December 27, 2012 Written by Leave a Comment

I think that this week is going to be the busiest week of my life! Holiday celebrations are winding down: we had three in a row for the 23rd, 24th, and 25th. Up next is my best friend’s wedding.

I can’t wait to go down to Philly to celebrate! Smile We leave Friday morning sans kids! It’s actually going to be a lot of fun to have a weekend alone with the hubs and great friends!

Christmas Tree beforeWe had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas. My sister and her husband were in town from San Diego—I really wish I got to see them more. The boys LOVED playing with them and they are sorely missed. They had to head out yesterday to continue their holiday festivities in Minnesota.

This Christmas with the boys was really magical. James was so excited that Santa came. He even put out his magical reindeer dust that he got from preschool on Christmas Eve. We got a little video when he came down on Christmas morning—priceless!

We continued our festivities on Christmas day by heading up to my in-laws for round two of Christmas. The boys haven’t stopped playing with their new gifts. It’s a good thing they got lots of new things to keep them occupied for the crummy weather we are supposed to get today! Winking smile

Over the holidays, I have managed to keep up my running schedule—mostly to offset the hectic Christmas schedule and to stave off the sluggish feeling of too many holiday treats! I convinced the hubs to join me on a few more runs. I got in a great 10-miler on Sunday via my favorite bike path in the world.

Christmas Tree afterI have found that my easy paces are starting to drop a bit which is encouraging for the spring racing season. Since I am base building, I am not trying to do too many crazy workouts. I just want to build mileage with one workout a week and a moderate pace long run.

To add to the busyness, we are closing on our condo on Monday. Eek! After that it will all be wrapped up, and we will officially be Falmouth residents. It has been so nice being in Falmouth this past week. I am SO excited to be a townie again. I keep running into friends here and patronizing all of the local businesses I love so much!

Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and/or Hanukah!

Filed Under: Family, Training Tagged: ,

Cape-bound for the Holidays and Some Christmas Light Runs!

Posted on December 21, 2012 Written by 3 Comments

I am so excited to be heading to Falmouth after my oldest gets out of pre-school. My sister got in from California on Wednesday, and I can’t wait to see her (and her husband who—fingers crossed—will get here tonight)!

Last night I got a Christmas gift from my Dad—an Illuminite half-zip, so I am going to test it out on Saturday night during a Christmas light run. I did one last year, and it was so much fun. I just headed out the door and went out to find as many Christmas lights as I could. I love running at night, and this is the best time of the year to do it!

Tree lightsI will, of course, check out the Village Green. I am thinking maybe a couple of repeats of the Mill Road loop (I have run this since I was in junior high!).

We will be having a family dinner on the 23rd and then dinner out for Christmas Eve. Christmas breakfast is always at my mom’s (soon to be ours!) house.

Since I really wanted to help with food prep this year, I am making a cranberry baked brie for an appetizer on Saturday and Christmas morning I will be making an Overnight Breakfast Strata and Overnight French Toast Soufflé.

This year is going to be so much fun with the kids—now that James is 4, he really gets the whole “Santa” thing. He has been beyond excited for Christmas! I am relaxed and done with Christmas shopping, so I am looking forward to some running, eating, and relaxing!

On the weekend after Christmas, I will head to Philadelphia for my best friend’s wedding. I can’t wait!!!! When we return home, we will be closing on our condo and moving to Falmouth! Phew—I think I may need to throw a massage in there somewhere! Winking smile

What are YOUR plans for the holidays?

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(Run)nerd Alert!

Posted on December 6, 2012 Written by 5 Comments

I love getting new running shoes. It’s sort of like Christmas morning for me (seriously). I especially like when the shoes I want to get have some kickin’ colors. My new Mizuno Wave Rider 16s will arrive today, and I am super excited. My other pair has about 325 miles on them, so I would like to work the new ones into the rotation.

I chose the aqua color combo—they will definitely be the most colorful shoes I have sported in quite a long time. Smile I think this weekend may be their inaugural run!

We are headed out on the Polar Express tonight—I can’t wait to see the kids on the train! We will be down on the Cape for the weekend too. There is an annual Christmas Party on Saturday night, and I want to take the boys to see the Village Green decorated for the holidays.

Falmouth has always decorated the Village Green for Christmas, and I used to love walking down at night as a child to see the lights. I can’t wait to continue the tradition with the boys. SmileThere will also be some seaside running happening—hopefully with Clarke too!

Here’s to heading off for some holiday fun on the Cape!

Filed Under: Family, Gear Tagged:

Night Running, Daylight Savings, and a Big Announcement

Posted on November 5, 2012 Written by 7 Comments

As happy as I was to gain another hour of sleep yesterday morning, I was more unhappy to lose daylight. Sad smile Short days make me feel like I want to hibernate!

Luckily for me the hubs picked up a new headlamp for me at REI on Saturday. I can’t wait to test it out! I actually like running at night a lot (provided I am in a safe place!). It’s a cool feeling to have all of your senses heightened—it makes you feel more present in your run, kind of like when you are trail running.

I am going to have to get used to running in the dark (early morning or evening) because in the spring I will no longer have the YMCA for babysitting while I run. We are moving back to Falmouth! Although we love Providence and Rhode Island, the time is right to move to an area where we can have a yard for the boys and a great school system.

My mother is looking to down-size and is building an in-law onto the house I grew up in. We will take over the house. It’s really a win-win situation for everyone. I am very excited to move back to the Cape. It’s such a great place for families, and my 4-year old will get to go to the same elementary school I went to!

I enjoyed a nice fall long run there yesterday, from North Falmouth to my soon-to-be house! It was a little chilly, but gorgeous. I did 9.5 miles at 8:46 pace. Glad that some of the trees still had their beautiful leaves after Sandy!

Filed Under: Training Tagged: ,

Waiting for Sandy…

Posted on October 29, 2012 Written by 1 Comment

I am sitting here wondering how long I will be able to entertain the boys if we are stuck inside for a few days. I HATE being stuck inside, so this should be interesting! Winking smile

This weekend we went down to the Cape to celebrate the hubs’ birthday. Another extremely beautiful Saturday on the Cape. We took the boys trick-or-treating on Main Street Falmouth, and it was in the 60s!

Both boys had a wonderful time, even though C (my two-year old) refused to wear his costume! After trick-or-treating, I convinced Clarke to go on a run with me, in my not so subtle mission to turn him into a regular runner. Winking smile

Because Holly hasn’t made an appearance on the blog lately…

We decided to run through town up to Beebe Woods to run through the woods. After that I took us on a detour on the bike path and back along the beach. Before he knew it, Clarke had run 6 miles! Now to convince him to start training for a race with me! It was such a beautiful run on a beautiful day.

We hit the Landfall for Clarke’s birthday dinner. Clarke and I met at the Landfall many years ago, so it’s always nostalgic going back. Sunday was spent bringing in outdoor furniture at my mother’s house and at my in-laws. I managed to squeeze in an 8-mile run down to Old Silver beach and back. It was fun running in the calm before the storm. Fall running is gorgeous on the Cape, and I had a great long run!

I am not sure what we are going to get from Sandy here over the next few days. I think there is going to be substantial coastal flooding and power outages. If you don’t hear from me for a couple of days, you know what happened!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! If you are in Sandy’s path, be safe and take care!

Filed Under: Training, Travel Tagged: ,

Spending Quality Time with Nature

Posted on September 4, 2012 Written by Leave a Comment

What a beautiful Labor Day weekend! We squeezed A LOT into this four day holiday weekend. On Friday, we headed down to Falmouth to visit with my Grandma one last time before she heads home—I can’t believe that it’s been two months already!

We stopped off along the way, so that I could run (and Clarke and the boys could hike) in Beebe Woods. It was a gorgeous day. We got there right before it started to get too warm. I got in a few hill repeats while running laps on the main loop. Smile

As a reward, we treated ourselves to cupcakes from CupCapes. This time I tried the Chocolate Covered Blueberry cupcake (chocolate cupcake with fresh blueberries mixed in and topped with blueberry buttercream frosting). I also snuck a bite of Clarke’s Bahama Mama— divine!

On Saturday night, Clarke and I headed out to dinner and Waterfire with family that was visiting from Germany. We went to Local 121 for an AMAZING dinner and then walked downtown. I couldn’t resist a chocolate éclair from the Italian pastry cart there. Yum!

Sunday brought a surprise 70th birthday for my husband’s uncle. It was a mini Morrison family reunion. We all had a great time catching up and ended the night with a bonfire and s’mores.

We had to end the weekend with a bang, so we decided to head up to Pulaski Memorial State Park in Chepachet, RI (right on the RI/CT border). What a beautiful spot! Clarke and I swapped exercise time and child watching responsibilities.

The trails at Pulaski are marked very well, so it was easy to navigate my way. I opted for the 4.25 mile trail which was pretty challenging. It was true trail running: lots of nice climbs and single track trails. I loved every minute of it! I started the run in Rhode Island and finished in Connecticut!

My legs were worked in a good way afterwards, and I can’t wait to do it again. I would like to work up to doing the loop twice before my first trail 10K, which I think should be doable. Winking smile I still can’t believe how beautiful it was to be running through the forest. It was nice and cool in the woods, and I only saw another person once on the trail.

I am sad to see the weekend end, but at least it will be a short week! My oldest has preschool orientation on Thursday, and then it’s back to school next week!

Filed Under: Family, Training, Travel Tagged: ,

There’s a First Time for Everything…Part 2

Posted on August 15, 2012 Written by 10 Comments

My face does get really flushed when I run, but this time I just felt like I was overheating and I didn’t think it was going to get any better. After mile four, I stopped and walked twice and then started again, but realized it wasn’t to be. Thankfully my mother’s house is along the route at about 4.5 miles—I walked there.

I was pretty upset about pulling out, but when I checked the weather and saw that it was 75 with 92% humidity, I didn’t feel so bad. I had actually seen a Kenyan masters runner who was “jogging” and had seen an elite woman bail at the first mile. A friend later told me that she had seen another Kenyan jogging and one walking! Apparently there were a number of runners who collapsed on the course.

An article on Boston.com had an interesting quote from Frank Shorter (1972 Olympic marathon gold medalist and frequent Falmouth runner): “I couldn’t tell you how many Falmouths I’ve run,’’ Shorter said, “but I can tell you this one was the hardest.’’

I know I did what was best for my body, and I don’t regret my decision. I don’t think I am going to a race again until the fall weather sets in. Smile I have felt great in the weeks leading up to the race, so I don’t think it was a fitness issue. Maybe I am just not cut out for summer racing!

Now for the good part—I had a wonderful time on the Cape. On Saturday, my friend and I went to get our numbers and check out the expo. I got to hang out with the ZOOMA ladies (Brae and Brooke) at their expo booth. I also got to chat with Bart Yasso at the Runner’s World Half Marathon booth.

After the expo we embarked on a mini culinary tour of Falmouth, hitting Cape Cod Bagel for lunch before driving the Falmouth Road Race course. We then did some shopping—I found some great birthday gifts in the clearance section at Caline for Kids. After working up an appetite shopping, we stopped at CupCapes for some delicious cupcakes! CupCapes makes organic cupcakes that are pure awesomeness. They had Thin Mint, Red Velvet, Rocky Road, Hot Fudge Sundae and more!

For dinner we went to my favorite pizza joint in Falmouth Stone L’Oven. It’s a great place to get a craft beer on tap and some excellent pizza. I got one of their featured pizzas (breaking away from my almost 100% veggie diet!).

The pizza had roasted sweet potatoes, caramelized onions, baby spinach and gorgonzola cheese over a creamy pine nut and garlic spread. The toppings also included apple-wood smoked bacon, olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar. It was such a different combination and SO GOOD!

So the weekend may not have been the best on the racing front, but it was definitely a culinary success!

Who else raced Falmouth? What was your experience?

Filed Under: Racing, Travel Tagged: ,

There’s a Fair in the Air!

Posted on July 23, 2012 Written by 3 Comments

This past weekend was capped off with a visit to the good old fashioned county fair in my hometown of Falmouth. For my townie friends, yes the boys had their first taste of the Barnstable County Fair.

We tried to take them earlier in the day on Sunday, but it was a total bust when we arrived at 10:30 a.m., only to find out that they didn’t open until 12:00 p.m.! Crisis averted, we stopped by my stepfather’s tennis club to enjoy the nice weather and hit some balls before heading back to the fairgrounds.

Well, due to all of the fresh air, exercise, and sun, take two didn’t happen until early evening. We got there around 6:45, which ended up being perfect timing.

We checked out some cute baby goats, alpacas, and other animals. Then we hit the kiddie rides. There is something so sweet about seeing your children’s eyes light up at the sight of all the lights, treats, and games! Winking smile I got kind of nostalgic remembering how excited I used to get to go to the fair.

As an adult, I’ll simply say that there is some great people watching to be had at the county fair! We had lots of rides, some prizes, and some treats—all in all, a very successful first trip to the Barnstable County fair.

On the running front, I ran 6 miles at 8:55 average on Friday and then took Saturday and Sunday off. I am going to decrease my mileage a bit and take 3 days off each week while my iron gets back up to where it should be and my joint soreness lessens. I think it’s a good plan!

Filed Under: Family Tagged: ,
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