Greetings from Ireland

Ireland is lovely. Other than getting caught in a bit of a rain - okay, a downpour - it's been dry and warm.

The marathon was fabulous. I'll post photos of my swag when I get back to California.

The Guinness does taste better here.

Love to all - Photos and Stories soon!

Race Notes: Dublin

• My race nutrition wasn't exactly correct. I used 2 energy gel, plus 1 bag of Luna moons and 1 bag of Sport Beans. Also, I had some biscuits and a Mars bar from spectators on the course.
• Always take a gel at mile 24. I need that last burst of fuel to make it to the finish.
• Luna Moons are satisfying to eat, but they aren't the best course nutrition. They are slightly too large to eat and breathe. Sports Beans are fine for this.
• Gels are best, but Beans are good too. Beans are more satisfying to eat.
• Hills are slow because my form falls apart. It's not my cardio capacity, it's my form.
• In cold weather my throat gets frozen/dry. It feels like really uncomfortable. Chewing gum might help here.
• I felt good all day, except for a bit around mile 12-13. I had a negative split, but I was tired for miles 25-26.2.
• No more carrying the camera. I forget to take photos anyway. If I didn't take any in Dublin I won't take them anywhere.
  

Note to Friends and Family - I'm Safe

Friends from all over the place have reached out to me today to find out if I'm okay. My family and most of my friends are from far away from Southern California. They aren't familiar with the area and it's hard to tell if I'm in the path of the wildfires. I'm not. My house is North of the Southern fires and South of the Northern fires. I'm not near the evacuation zones and I'm not worried about fires damaging my home.

From what the local news is saying, there are plenty of supplies for people in shelters. At some of the shelters they have more volunteers than evacuees. That's good news - people want so desperately to help their neighbors. I took some pet food over to Fiesta Island where they are sheltering animals for evacuees.

Of course, I'm heartbroken for my friends and for strangers who've evacuated or lost their homes. It seems that a lot of my co-workers, friends and TNT teammates live in evacuated areas. It's hard to watch. If there's something you can do, then you should do it.

Check ✔

The race was absolutely beautiful. In fact, the all the events of the Marathon weekend were beautifully planned and executed. I'll say this for Nike (and for Team in Training) - they did a fabulous job making this event special.

Any yes, at the end of the event they do have hot men in tuxedos who give you a Tiffany jewel box that contains your finisher's medal.

Maybe I'll write about it later, but for now let me show you my swag. Oh, yeah and click to see it larger so you can appreciate that Tiffany necklace.

On Your Mark

Tomorrow is the Nike Women's Marathon. We've had a nice, albeit busy, weekend in San Francisco. Actually, it's been such an emotional, topsy-turvy, got-what-I-wanted-now-what week that the actual race will be a nice break for me.

Tomorrow will be a beautiful day here. This course is gorgeous. I can't wait.

I'm only doing a half marathon because I don't want to exhaust myself before the full marathon in Dublin next week. I'm officially turning off my worrying brain for the duration of the race.

I'm looking forward to it.

And...We're Back

I went home to Pennsylvania last week to visit my family and to drop off my cat, Toby. I didn't want to kennel Toby for the duration of my long trip to Ireland. Usually if I have to board him, I'll fly him home to stay with my family instead. They adore him and they'll spoil him. I'll pick Toby up when I fly home for Christmas.

While I was home I got to spend time with my wonderful nieces and the adorable new babies in my family. Who wants to see some photos?

Jessica, Mya and Me. I guess there's no family resemblance here. HA!


The world's cutest little boy, Jadiel. Look at those curls and those big brown eyes.

I didn't get a good photo of the newest baby. I'll have to ask my mom to send me one.

Fortune Cookie Wisdom

My fortune from dinner at the Chinese place.

Don't argue with it. Just order some pie.

Ready

Yesterday was the 20 mile training walk. It was fine. Twenty miles is a long day, but I felt pretty good for the entire session. I'm not sore or stiff today. The top of my left quadriceps is a bit tweaked, but other than that I'm absolutely fine.

From this point onward, there's really nothing I can do to increase my strength or endurance for the events. It's simply too close to the races and the body needs time to rebuild itself. This is a weird time during marathon prep; there's nothing left to do. Stretch everyday. Eat right. Get enough rest. Wash your hands frequently so you don't get sick. Basic good health stuff but that's it. There's nothing marathon specific on my to do list.

Next week is our final training session. The following week with is Nike Half Marathon. The week after is the Dublin Marathon.

I'm as ready as I'm going to be.

Victory, It Is Mine

When I left the office tonight, I had dealt with every single email in my Inbox. Read, replied, delegated, denied or ignored - every email was handled somehow. I've been hammering at the email backlog for nearly two weeks. Today I was at the office until o'dark o'clock, but when I walked to my car there wasn't a single message remaining.

It's been over 5 months since I left the office without any remaining email nagging at me. By the time I get to office tomorrow, the sweet bliss of an empty email Inbox will be gone. For now, I'm triumphant!

October? How Did That Happen?

It's October. The Nike Half Marathon is less than 3 weeks away; Dublin is less than 4.

We're coming to the end of this season of Team in Training - which I should have noticed due to the increasing mileage. Last Saturday we did 18 uneventful miles. Somehow September (and August) slipped right by me.

Actually our Saturday mileage is increasing, but our weekday mileage is already in the back-down mode. Last night we did 3 miles in the park. The entire Monday night crew was itching to go farther, but that's back-down for you. Tuesday night is normally our intervals session at the lake. Unfortunately, the sun is setting earlier and they're closing the trails earlier too. That means we can't do that walk again until the springtime. I'm really sad to lose our walk at the lake; it was probably my favorite.

Not to get all misty, but I'm really sorry to see this season end. I'm excited about the two events, but I'd love for my time with this group of teammates to continue. Of course, I probably won't miss hauling up the Laurel Street hill every Monday (nearly a mile at the 22.5% incline. Whew!)

Kat sent this photo of the Monday night group. We always meet at this statue - for the photo we tricked her out with a TNT hat, jacket, bracelet, and water pack.