11 Days left in the countdown...

The journey is almost over, the Pittsburgh Marathon is fast approaching. I have survived another year of traning without injury - now, that is worth celebrating!!
Race day, Sunday, May 3 time...way too early in the morning!!

This year's motivation...losing 6lbs. It took me 3 months, but maybe that is b/c I wasn't ready to give up chocolate or diet coke in the meantime. LOL :-)

Spring has sprung.

The latest photos of us this spring.

Marathon Update

Just a quick update on the Pittsburgh marathon, that I am running this May.

I have been training since November, it has been quite a journey for me. I have not only had to train my body, but my mind as well. With all these short twitch muscle fibers of mine, I have had to re-train my muscles to generate and endure distances vs. speed, and quickness. As for my mind, it has been a constant struggle to believe that I can actually run over 3 miles in one haul...I just want to give up but I use self-talk and good music as motivators, which seem to get me thru.

I am pleased with my progress, however I am still wondering how I am going to endure the 6.2 miles of the marathon relay I am running from time to time. I keep telling myself the adrenaline will carry me forward, however reality sets in and I wonder if I will have the endurance to finish. I keep pushing myself on each run and I am currently running 3.5 miles with only 3 more to go to reach my goal. On April 3rd, I will have exactly one month left. I can hear the little clock as I run, going tick-tick-tick. One definite change I made this year with my program was to run outside much earlier than last spring. The hills and the elements have been a definite challenge, however I hope they prove beneficial come race day.

I hope to see Keith and Allyson at my mark on May 3rd and with confidence I hope to make my relay team proud! The other particpants in my relay are not fighting the age factor, like myself. Three of my students (20 somethings) are making up the other 3 legs of my relay, luckily they are 4 other teams competing and all the old folks (like myself) are running the same leg as me!

I truly hope that I don't look like the cartoon figure in my post when I am finished :-)

Pollen, Mold and the whole sha-bang!

In with spring and out with old man winter, but it doesn't come without a price.

It started off Monday with me, sore throat, runny, itchy watery eyes and nose. A bit of a fever developed over night as well. I took some over the counter allergy meds, which helped keep things at bay so I could at least function daily.

Now Ally has the same type of symptoms...poor baby. It is pitiful when the little ones are sick and you feel so helpless, but I wanted to share with you something Keith and I learned yesterday that hopefully can help those little toddlers when allergy season hits and help you feel a little less helpless.

We found a medication for 2 years and up that helps with allergy symptoms that just recently is being sold over the counter (6 months new) and it is a called Children's Zyrtec...not as concentrated at some of the leading children's medications, so you only have to administer it once a day. We found it as Rite Aid, but I am sure any pharamacy will be carrying it.

Just a thought, to share.

Happy Spring!

Capturing Moments

Keith and Logan have a special kind of man-canine bond.

Valentine's Day 2009 LITTLE MISS PINK

Daddy's photography skills in effect.

I found here one evening reading a book, it was very cute.

Hiatus of sorts

I have been neglecting my blog as some of you have noticed. I would like to apologize for that, now with that being said it does come with good reasoning. Our laptop has been on the fritz for the past 3 weeks. DEAD, as I like to call it. I have been going through a BLOG withdrawl. Instead of DETOX, I like to refer to it as DEBLOGTOX. Sounds like some type of plastic surgery, right? Not only do I enjoy my own blogging, I truly miss catching up on all my favorite blogs as well.

I may be very spasmodic with my blog over the next few weeks due to the "dead laptop" *RIP*, and the purchase of a new one, so please bare with me :-) Please do check in, you never know when I can sneak in a little entry here and there.

This past month we have been busy little bees around the hive. Let's see...Ally is now in big girl pants permanently (YAY!), Keith had sinus surgery (OUCH!) and I just got over a slight kidney infection (FUN!). We all lived to tell about it, so it wasn't so bad after all.

Other than that, we are like every other family in western PA wondering 3 things...

1. When will the econonmy will speed up?
2. How can we survive another day of shoveling snow?
3. How many sports programs can I get my child into this summer to keep them busy?

Since I had barely posted last month, I would like to take time to congratulate a dear friend of mine on her first born. I haven't heard details about the labor and delivery yet...but I know Miss Liza Claire is a healthy, beautiful baby girl from all the pictures. CONGRATS CLAIRE and LEE! Also a special Happy Birthday wish to my dear friend Richelle for yesterday.


I am sharing this picture with you today because I miss the beach and that is where this picture was taken. Also, it is rare to capture the moments like this one, when it is transparent enough to know that Daddy thinks the world of his little girl.

Victory, sweet victory!

Thank you Pittsburgh for a DREAM season!