Coach Jen B

This photograph totally cracks me up, yet brings great sadness.  Today would have been my parents' wedding anniversary.  It makes me incredibly sad knowing their time together was cut short.    

Today was the Race to Remember 5K in Gardiner.  There are a couple of things I love about this race: - it's local - it's small (approx 100 participants today) - a majority of the course is on the rail trail  (we all know I love the RT) - the race benefits the Gardiner Boys and Girls Club  - and it's super cheap to register ($15) and the t-shirts have actually been pretty good We started off the day by drying out the jogger because it was absolutely soaked thanks to the thunderstorm that passed through early this morning.  Oops! Ward, Wade and the girls pre race. Thankfully it moved through quickly but it left behind some very humid conditions.  I was just thankful for no rain.  We had a nice sized crew at the race today - Jill, Stacy, Jess, Ward, Wade, and myself. Ward and Wade (only 2 weeks post Sugarloaf) raced with the girls because "they weren't ready to race yet".  Somehow, they still kicked some major butt - W

Today was the first day without rain we've had in over a week.  No wonder I've been cranky and irritable.   I had such high hopes for today.  In my head, no rain meant sunshine and warmth.  HA!  It was freezing all day.  I actually think the warmest part of my day was during the 13 mile run with the girls this morning.  From that point, it just got colder.   I must say, I was much happier with yesterday's weather.  We did get a few thunderstorms come rumbling through, but it was at least 15 degrees warmer and I DID see the sun a few times!   As I said above, the girls and I did our 13 mile run this morning.  We started out at 8 am on the rail trail.  On our way back (2 hours later) we began noticing a lot of people walking their dogs - many more than normal.  And they weren't really just walking just any dog - a lot of people were walking greyhounds. When we came around the final corner, we saw tons of balloons and even more greyhounds and their owners.  There was a t

I was the absolute best wife ever on Sunday.  Really, I was.  And I totally expect excellent treatment from Ward after I run the marathon in October.  I'm really writing this so I can show him in October and remind him of how awesome I was!     - I didn't put any parenting demands on Ward all day     - I let Ward nap in the car while I took the kids into a diner for lunch      - I even ordered him fries and milk (his request) and he joined us when he woke up     - Once we got home, I didn't place any parenting demands on him....well, except for               the 30 minutes that I snuck out for a run - I do know he didn't leave the couch               the entire time...so he was all set!     - I unpacked both of his marathon bags - gross, stinky clothes and all and didn't               complain The only thing I really made him do was go to the New Balance Outlet with me in Skowhegan.  I really wanted to use the gift certificate that I won at the January Thaw race a

Okay, so watching the husband, my brother-in-law, and our friend, Joe, rock their marathon on Sunday was absolutely exhilarating.  But honestly, it got me thinking about what I'll be doing in about 20 weeks - running my 1st marathon .  I'm really going to try to not panic about this.  Seriously - I'm going to run 26.2 miles?  What was a I thinking?   Ward & Wade - Sugarloaf Marathon 2011 I've been a bit obsessed looking at the many marathon plans out there on the internet.  I've checked out Hal Higdon's marathon training and McMillan Running's training programs as well and I like both of them.  There are many similarities between the two.  Basically, 1 long run, a short run, a medium run, some speed training/hills, and cross training.   Of course, there are some additional pieces, but you get the idea.  Right?   I'm also positive that Jill is thankful I'll be teaching in a different school next fall.  That way I won't be botherin

Not me, Ward, Wade & Joe!  They have spent so many months training for this day and they did it! Thank goodness for this man.  Mark, a marathoner himself and an incredible friend, offered to be the guys support person.  Because the road does not get closed for the race, Mark was able to drive the course of the marathon today to provide the supports the guys needed along the way – water, Sportbeans, Shot bloks, taking articles of clothing, running with the guys and providing me with updates (via texts and phone calls) of their progress.  Isn’t he just awesome?  Today was the BIG day at the Loaf.  Too bad the weather wasn’t cooperating, it rained the entire time.  Yuck for the runners and yuck for the spectators.   Here’s the cheering squad.  We decided to spend our time at a market under the cover of their roof.   Around 10 am we decided to go to the side of the road and prepare for cheering.  When we got there, Mark showed up so that was our signal to get ready! 

Remember a few weeks back when the Mr. Fox came and took (ate) away 6 of my "girls"?  I was completely devastated.  I really was.  I raised those girls from chicks and they followed me around outside. Of course they weren't really following me around because they love me.  They were only following me because they knew I fed them, but it was still cute.  Plus, I was getting some awesome eggs from them.  Well, sadly, Mr. Fox chose the "good" egg layers and left me 4 of the not-so-good egg layers.  I couldn't get rid of the remaining girls, because they were still my girls ! I went back and forth with what I was going to do.  Was I going to get more chicks and start all over?  This would mean raising them in the basement until it got warm enough and then have to wait until the fall until they start laying?  OR scour craigslist for some egg layers.  I chose craigslist.  I'm impatient.  We found a farm not too far from here who had tons of hens and sold us

Check out HUNGRY RUNNER GIRL to win a pair of New Balance shoes. I tried these on yesterday as well!

Win a pair of Merrell Barefoot Running Shoes @momvsmarathon courtesy of onlineshoes.com here . How awesome would that be?  I tried these on at EMS yesterday and loved them.   What an incredible blog!  

Today began with the P ortland Seadogs Mother's Day 5K .  I apologize for not having any pictures, my photographer was a big ol' slacker in that department today.   I had an odd feeling going into this morning's race because Ward didn't run it this year.  Normally he runs it with one of the kids in the jogging stroller. But this year he felt that it was best to not run a race one week before the Sugarloaf Marathon .  Since he chose to not run the race, we didn't have to worry about dropping Tucker off anywhere and I got have my own cheering squad.  I loved seeing my family on the side of the road at the start of the race and we very excited to see them sitting in the stands as I came in to the finish line. Thank goodness for mainerunningphotos.com ! I'm the one in the deep pink shirt, black shorts (near the center) with my number on my shorts...look at all those runners!   Since Stacy couldn't run the race today, she transferred her bib #s to Joe and

When it comes to running, I have many goals. - I want to be faster and continue to improve my 5K times, 10K times and 1/2 marathon times - I want to complete my 1st marathon in October - I also want to keep running as long as I possibly can...I'd love to be that 80 year old woman in the Boston!  :)  (I am crazy, I know!) With 2 5K's this month, my short-term goal is to work in improving my 5K times.  On Sunday, I will be running my 4th Seadogs Mother's Day 5K.  My times are below: 2008 - 27:24 (8:50 ave pace) 2009 - 25:45 (8:18 ave pace) 2010 - 25:17 (8:09 ave pace) My goal - I'd REALLY love to beat my 5K pr from the Bath 5K.  That race was hillier than the Seadogs 5K route and my time was 22:59:28 (7:25 pace).  HOWEVER, the Bath 5K had approximately 2900 LESS runners!    This 5K brings in about 3000 runners and it is super congested in the beginning and can be congested in the end - since the race ends in the Seadogs Stadium. What kind of training have I don

It’s official!   I am have been accepted into the marathon training program offered by Terry & Jen at yogatorun.com .    The program is 16 weeks long and begins mid-June and ends with the Maine Marathon on October 2 nd !   What’s in store for me: -        weekly emails regarding running, yoga, cross-training plan with tips, motivation and recipes -        monthly yoga workshop -        monthly group run (which will be done on a portion of the Maine Marathon route) -        monthly private session -        & finishing a marathon!   What’s even more exciting is that I’ll be doing this program with at least one of my running girls.   Jill has already committed to the program and Stacy is thinking about it.   I cannot wait to share our experiences with all of you!