NWM DC 2013

The inaugural Nike Women Half Marathon in DC is tomorrow (April 28, 2013).

I am so excited to be part of it and plan to earn my Tiffany necklace.  Yay!

My training has not gone as expected and I fell far behind but on Easter I got out and knocked out 10 miles. Unfortunately, my running time since then has not been great either. The next Sunday I got out to ran and at mile 3 something felt like it snapped in my calf. I had to call Hophead to come get me and that is a first and hopefully a last. I took it easy and even did a light run but became more terrified when it happened again a week later.

Since then, thanks to resting, compression socks and KT Tape, things have gotten better. This KT Tape is freaking amazing and I am now a believer. Their website is fantastic and gives great instruction how to use it and on any part of your body.

Races make me nervous and over the years it has been for different reasons. Just getting there is probably number one. Once that is out of the way it’s just getting through it and for this race… Well, there is a lot to be nervous about. My plan is to just try and relax and the goal is to finish.

I have been asked by some if I’m nervous after what happened in Boston. I have been given some advice such as; “run in the middle” or “stay away from trash cans”. Others have pointed out that this is probably the next biggest profile race since Boston. All I seem to think of when Boston is mentioned is an interview I saw with Al Sharpton who said (in not so many words) ;

We can’t hide away and let these terrorists keep us from our lives.

I couldn’t agree more but I still asked Hophead to be careful as he waits for me around the finish line.

Today I am taking it easy and pulling together what I need for tomorrow. I have never been one to wear cutesie matchy matchy outfits but I now have one:

But… I won’t be wearing this tomorrow for several reasons:

1. Too cold!
2. You don’t wear a race jersey for the race you are running
3. You don’t wear city T-Shirt while in the city you are in, e.g. “I Love New York” while in NY.
4. Too cold!!!

I tend to run in the early morning hours so no one can see me because this is not pretty while running. I will probably be wearing my winter tights and I have gotten a purple shirt, which is for Jen.

Hophead and I have taken to some new nicknames lately. So at the expo I had the chance to make a sign for him to hold up:

So whatever it is you do be it pray, wish or send good juju please send it my way because I really want to earn that Tiffany finisher necklace. #werundc

Please visit The Friends Fund

My Friend

This is my friend, Jen:

All she wanted was for her daughter to have every opportunity in life.

Cancer took Jen away from us too soon.

This is Jen and her daughter:

Let’s all help make Jen’s wish come true.

Please visit The Friends Fund

Thank you!

Irish Guys

I got picked up by a couple of Irish guys at Shamrockfest.

… And my husband encouraged it.

When they were holding me they said they were going to grab my ass.

Ok

They groped me toucas good.

Case Scenario if the Zombies come

The Zombie Apocalypse has become more and more of a conversation topic. This was the topic of conversation at work recently.

Once in a while a few from our team has to stay late for various reasons such as a deployment or to support someone else’s deployment. What if, for some wild reason, one night most of our team was working late and right then is when the Zombie Apocalypse happened?

Dun Dun DUN!

Two on the team are somewhat proficient with weapons since they live in Fredericksburg, VA, which is known for their redneckness and hunting. Our Program Manager is good at organization even though she is tiny. At one point. We even discussed how long the vending machines would be able to keep us stocked in food. Oh and if electricity was lost? Are there generators?

In the end I decided that Hophead and Ginja would come to get me with an arsenal of weapons. Plus they are the two I know that are the most proficient with guns, even more than the Fredericksburg people. Lastly, I couldn’t think of anyone I would rather be with as we try to survive the Zombie Apocalypse.

These are things we all need to think about. Don’t ya think?

Belize if you Please

One week ago I was in Caye Caulker, Belize. This place is unlike any other place I have ever been.

Mr & Mrs. M have been there at least half a dozen times and so we had to follow and we are hooked.

The motto is to go slow and although it took a day or two we got that down. The Split and Lizard juice helped.

There is no way to really describe this place. The people that visit tend to be more of the backpacker types. The younger ones stay at the hostel and the older ones were once those younger ones and keep coming back for years.

Hophead and I are hooked!

On the island you bump into the same people over and over and the locals can tell if it is your first trip or if you have been there before. Mr. M was recognized as being there before but was asked if he had a different wife last time he was there. Every time this one dude would pass Hophead he would yell…

Hey Ghandi!

The island is a favorite of divers and snorkelers alike.

I’ve only dabbled in snorkeling once before and fell in love with it in Belize. Snorkeling the reef is truly amazing.

I attempted to run one morning but I guess 7am wasn’t early enough. EVERYONE seemed to have something to say to me:

Running?

Got a race?

Want me to join you?

Looking good!

It’s hard to say what was our favorite part of this trip but how often does anyone get to hop in a boat for an hour to spend the day snorkeling and fishing on a tiny island that sits on a reef. That tiny Island is Goff’s Caye and this is how we finished up our week.

We will definitely be back!

Fookin’ Koontz

Does anyone seriously think every one in Ireland greets each other with “Top O the morning to you“?  If you do then you will believe everyone in Ireland is related to a leprechaun and has red hair.

I have a post from 6 years ago that has gotten quite a bit of attention today on Reddit.

I’m amazed at how offended some are. I’m sorry if you are offended but no one actually thinks the Irish greet each other that way.

I’ve even gotten some rude emails.

“Just so you are aware and you run into an actual Irish person, none of us say this greeting let alone the answer .”

Ummm. Duh! They call each other Fookin’ Koontz and dress in Adidas sweats!

I am a typical American mutt. My Mother is half Irish and half Polish. Her parents are first generation American. My Father is a mixture of so much I wouldn’t be able to even begin to list them all. We are connected to family still in Ireland and get together but not often enough. The Irish ancestry seems to be the strongest but I would never call myself Irish-American.

The biggest misconception of the Irish, at least to me, is the red hair. I do have the red hair!

I can’t tell you how many times a complete stranger will ask me if I’m Irish. I say, “No. I’m Polish“

In America once a year, on St. Patrick’s Day, EVERYONE wants to be Irish. The Irish, in all their misconceptions, are celebrated. Great!

I’m proud to have Irish ancestry. I’m also proud to have Polish ancestry but I’m even more proud to be an American however criticized we are.

The other string of comments have been about my boobs! Really? How juvenile.

What I’ve learned from Reddit is there are far too many people who have no life other than the internet.

Weirded out… In a good way

We headed out to New Market to a dive bar for a 50th birthday party with some biker people. Great people and every time we show up more and more people remember us. Anyhow it is Val’s 50th Birthday.

Happy Birthday VAL! We love you

We didn’t stay too long. We knew if we did we would very possibly drink too much and not be able to drive home.

So we headed home but knew we wanted to drink but we had limited supplies. We found a liquor store on Patrick Street that is open til 10pm and we made friends.

We were about to head home but I said I wanted some bad food so we headed over to the Sheetz. I ran inside and Hophead proceeded to fill up the SUV. When I came out it was dead. The battery was dead and the car, obviously, would not start. Hophead went to grab the thingy-ma-jig out of the back and realized it was in our other two cars.

Crap!

Hophead says: “I have jumper cables”

I’m offering to walk home and get one of the other vehicles with the thingy-ma-jig and I’m denied. Hophead doesn’t seem worried and he walks off.

I’m thinking I have ice cream melting and i need to get home. We are doomed.

Then I see Hophead walking back and this HUGE SUV back out and pulls right up to us. This tiny blonde chick hops out and pops her hood and within seconds Hophead has us hooked up and running again.

Why am I so amazed?

Amazed at the kindness of others at the drop of a hat?

Amazed it was this tiny blonde chick?

I opened my door and hollered at her:

THANK YOU!

Why am I so amazed?

Small things like this renew my faith in humanity

Plus I’m glad I have Hophead to take care of things like this.

Lastly, it reminds us to be careful when out drinking. If we stayed out… If we drank more… It could have ended up bad.

Maybe Aunt Dot is looking out for us???

But wait… There is more!

We are settling in but I see something on our porch and go out to get it. I hear…

Excuse me. What street is this?

A woman is pulled over on our street and she has a flat tire.

Hophead jumps into action and next thing you know he is changing her tire. I am amazed at how fast he does this but in the meantime I find out that Cathy is on her way home from cooking for a family. Seems she does this all the time.

He puts her spare on, she hugs us both and is on her way back into DC.

What a great, amazing evening.

Damn I love this man!