March cub scout meeting -almost time to cross over to boy scouts:(

practicing for the May 1 color guard

ice cream after our 4 mile (total) pizza walk

flowers from the boys...
this afternoon my 5th grade cub scouts had a meeting where we 'hiked' for pizza,
hiked back to scout house for ice cream and for our meeting --I lead the group along with 2 other mothers. We have had these scouts now since first grade and it is a mixed blessing that our cub scout volunteer duties will be over on May 1 when the boys cross over to boy scouts...one of the parents gave the leaders flowers on behalf of the boys.
I won't miss these boys, hopefully, as they will all go on to boy scouts:)

Wurtsboro 30K..--March 28, 2009

Jill and Kate (and don, me , and frank, below, courtesy of sullivan striders!!!)




Frank, Barbara, Jill, Kate, emmy

Don, Frank, me and Kate

Kate finishing the 30K, with Jill right behind her

Christine and Joe (Christine is race Director of Finger lakes 50s)

here are some photos from the Wurtsboro mtn 30K ---first 3.7 miles are uphill, and then rolling, downhill or flat --it is one of my favorite courses...this year, didn't race it---didn't even run it practically:) but it was a great run nevertheless. Thanks to Myriam, the race director..good race Kate, Don, jill, frank (2:26!)Will finish this later --check out Frank's photos

NYRRC 'Club' night --March 24, 2009

The stage



Runners of the Year

Sharon, unidentified man, and Kathy M.

The Running Divas racing team...

Marie, Susan and I ---all nominees in the 50-54 category!

Me and Sharon


Cathy, Joe and Ted

Kaitlyn and her father Greg ---she won for the females 15-18!!!!

The Hardrock welcomes runners
What a great job the NYRRC did last night with 'club night' at NYC's Hardrock Cafe.
The night is to celebrate/honor the 2008 NYRRC team competition, humanitarians and age group nominees of the NYRRC...sinc I was a 2008 age group 'runner of the year' nominee in the female 50-54 category, I got to go to the party free:)...due to downsizing, the party package consisted of 2 free drinks along with our admission. No food was to be seen...so I ended up having 2 glasses of red wine and nothing else...in any case, the taconic team did really well --out of 9 nominees,Kaitlyn D. ,Greg D. and Tom M. won their age groups. And the mens' 50s team won!!! They even had a Ted Corbitt award also ---too bad they did away with the ultramarathoner of the year award because they could have named the award after Ted..the ted Corbitt award went to the police and EMS!
Sharon won her age group in the female 50-54 --well deserved! It was fun to see my running girlfriends all dressed up, and I barely recognized some of the men and women who walked on stage without their running attire...NYRRC did a great job but next year eat before you go, if it's at the same venue.

Taconic ladies Team Party -3/22

Barbara and lee

Karen and I with headbands (which you need today --so darn windy and cold)

Lee and Nancy model headbands

Cathy shows off the singlets
On Sunday night, I attended a fun 'meet and greet' drinks/dinner party at Lee's house, just north of Bedford, NY... she is my co-race director for the Mahopac 8 miler, and is married to the TRRC president, Ed). The gathering was to bring together the taconic ladies' team and to discuss the team races for 2009. Since I had put in a few miles that day, one glass of red wine and some of Ed's homemade lasagna, oh, and some shrimp and fruit tart, was perfect. It was so much fun to see Barbara B.,Karen D., and ladies who I haven't seen in awhile (both are recovering from injuries). Lee handed out special 'taconic' headbands that she had printed, and I was also given a smallish sports bra to take home and try --lots of luck fitting into it --I haven't even tried it on yet it looks so small....in any case, we are looking for a good year --I hope to run for taconic the healthy kidney 10K, the club team championship and all the fall races...
so also, tonight is NYRRC club night at the Hardrock cafe in Times Square --should be fun -will try and take some pix...

Mid-March update..and race photos

Jim poses behind the runners after the 8K

Roy is way too cool for us!

Me, Don, Rob, Kate and Roy after the 30th running of the Spring Equinox 8K

Frank, Fran and Maria after 15K

Ilana, Pam and me after the NYRRC 15K

Frank, Ilana and Pam after the NYRRC Colon cancer 15K

Frank and Eric after the 8000

Ilana, me and Eliot after the NYRRC 8000

Frank, Tom, Bob and me after the NYRRC 8000
Finally, after a 'March break', am getting around to updating my blog. It seems scary that Umstead is almost here --just 2 weeks away. It will make me happy indeed if we have sunny, dry weather the weekend of April 4-5 as opposed to last year when it poured rain. But am off on a tangent Last weekend was a blur --I ran the NYRRC 8000 w/Frank and we both had good races (33:6 and 33:47, respectively)...I was happy to come in a distant second behind Sharon in the 8K:) I wasn't going to race this 4.9 mile race but it was on a Saturday morning which meant I could do a longish run after --so I did do 21 more miles to make to 26 for the day. The next day, I volunteered at the taconic St Pat's 10K and ran 13 miles easy..that was the last long weekend, I guess, for Umstead. I would have felt better if I got in a 6 hour run (35-37 miles) but it's too late for that now. I am glad that we raced, and that counts for something in terms of body fatigue and training --then, I took it easy last week, starting with 11 miles on Monday, 5 miles easy on tues,wed and thurs and off on Friday.
This weekend, the weekend of March 21-22, ran 6.5 easy on Sat (Ike had a play rehersal sat morning) and ran the Colon cancer 15K on Sunday --I woke up not mentally ready to race, but knew that I had run little this week and this was a window where i could have a good race --plus, Frank offered to volunteer and so would be on the sidelines cheering, and Pam and Ilana were running... because the 15K didn't start til 10:15, i was able to get in a 2 mile warm up in Central Park! So I did end up feeling good at 6:50 pace at 5 miles. After i saw Frank at mile 5.5 (he was at 72nd street), I kind of died going up cat hill:( I said t myself 'if I just keep up a 7 min pace I'll break 7 min average'...so that became my goal, which was not easy with the 2 hilly miles -cat hill and the west side hill --miles 6 and 8 of the course. I did hit mile 9 in 1:02, and finished in 1:04:09, a 6:53 pace ---which I should be able to do.
Even so, it was my fastest 15K in 3 years!! (mainly because of the ultra training? haha). We got some bagels and socialized with Pam, maria, Fran,and Ilana and then the minute I got in the door, I rushed Ike down to the St. Patrick's parade, where he marched with cub scouts. I drove up to New canaan and jogged the 8K, plus 3 more..
It was cold and wind up in new canaan --I never even saw Kate, Don, Rob or Roy as they all had speedy races!! I ran with John and Alicia and was perfectly happy with the workout, being stiff from the morning and from the driving:(
Then, to top off the day, I went to Lee's to a Taconic RR club ladies' party. So it turned out to be a fun day. Tommorrow night is the NYRRC 'club night', where the teams and individual age group runners are given awards. Since I was lucky enough to be included in the 50-54 female nominees (for 2008), I get a 'free' entry...Susan B. will be my date, and we have a huge group of Taconics going.
More on that in next entry --plus , it's down to the wire for Umstead and so time to think about the right trainign for next weekend (with the goal of going down to NC healthy and not injured):)...

Don's 60th birthday race at the Boston Build up 25K

Boston Build up tech shirt winners (i got mine at the 10K..)

At left-the birthday guy, and Don and Luann


In front of school after the race

Don and poster

Don with the group after the 25K


Don is 60
This morning we celebrated Don's 60th birthday at the 25K...ironically, I had to be up at 5:30 (really 6:30) to get my son organized for a hike, on no sleep (took by mistake a caffeinated sports drink that left me staring at the ceiling til 2:20 and finally had to take an advil P.M.)...so I could have gotton to the race early --the guest of honor, however, slept late!! He forgot to change his clock one hour forward in typical Don fashion (or maybe he wanted to sleep in for his birthday). We all lined up and looked around for Don --no Don. Jim was going to lead us in singing 'happy birthday'.
We even stalled by taking a group photo of the tech shirt winners. Did Don drive to Celebrate Life 1/2, we wondered? As it turns out, he started the race 10 minutes late.
So we waited for him at the end and took some photos of the poster that I made him.

Colchester 1/2 marathon, Caumsett 50K, and cold!!

Ritchie, me and Frank deleo

Susan (National 50K 50-54 female champ!) and Glen

Phil and I after Caumsett 50K --Phil finished 6th overall and set a PR!

Bekkie and I (Bekkie and Joe are runners extraordinaire -the were volunteering)

Frank enjoying a Rootbeer after Colchester 1/2
Just a brief report --will finish this tommorrow. After the boston build up was postponed, Frank and I decided to run the Feb. 28 (Sat) hilly Colchester half marathon. It was a longish drive but we rationalized that Sunday may be nasty, with blinding snow and sleet and rain so we might as well take advantage of the sun...plus, neither one of us had run this course before and it was the perfect training run for Umstead with undulating dirt roads --actually those roads turned out to be mountainous.. I am so glad that we went --I loved the course, loved the ups and downs (hamstring started to twinge though) and more importantly, felt so much better than at Albany. I ran 7:30 pace for 11 miles and then as hard as I would work, could not break 1:40 as the last 2 miles were uphill into the wind...Frank ran the first 11 at a 7:15 pace and then his calves cramped --but he finished in 1:37! We saw bekkie and joe, andrea and Luann -and it was good to see some familiar faces in this Hartford track Club race....
Fast forward to Sunday --Frank and I had planned to drive to Sunday's Caumsett Park 50K (no Rob)but at 6 a.m. it was snowing and sleeting and he wisely elected to cancel (because we both would have gotton sick if it had been sleeting and raining for 5 hours). I ended up going as had gotton up, gotton myself mentally up for the race, and had 2 cups of Starbucks:) When I got to the parking lot at 8, the sun was peeking out. But the day still seemed like january. It was great to go into registration (the other side of the park, so we were bussed there) and see so many familiar faces--Barbara, Nick, Ritchie, Phil, Byron, Al, Andy Cable, and all the BUS people. and Susan W.! with photographer Glen. At 8:30, they made us walk almost a mile to the start! I started slowly, running with Anthony and Kristen --(Wayne had had nose surgery and couldn't run in the cold, but he came and cheered everyone on)--our first couple loops were a 10 minute pace. I felt pretty good and slowly picked up the pace to 9s. This was a 2.3 mile loop --one side had no wind, and one side had a stiff headwind -ugh. The leaders blew by, even kami Semick, the womens' leader...I felt slow but reminded myself that this was a back-to-back training weekend for Umstead, only 5 weeks away...and that time didn't matter. (and as it turns out I would've had to run @4:10 to get prize money!!!)..I made it through the marathon in 4:05? and cranked out the last 5 miles in 45 minutes --pacing off Jody, who was finishing in 4:34...I was determined to break 5 hours after such a slow start, and came in in 4:54...it tuns out that I was 3rd in the 50-54 division (susan finished in 4:47, and another woman in 4:48) but hey, I 2 beautiful usatf medals! It felt so cold at the finish --like a raw january day --and to add insult to injury, the leaders had finished and gone home. But still on the course and to finish right near me were Barbara, Tony,Noonie and Frank Deleo and Al...we were lucky with the weather --had it been raining I would have stopped at 25K or sooner:)