Thank you

My gratitude for all the hard work by the Federal, State of Massachusetts, Watertown, and Boston Law Enforcement Agencies.

Yesterday I ran 10 miles. I wanted to do this run as my own memorial for Boston victims. I am so sorry for your losses and brim tears when thinking about your heartache. A few months ago, we almost lost a dear friend of ours. I sincerely believe that God answered our prayers to save his life and he will do this for you too as you mourn and heal.

 In 9 days, I'll be running the La Jolla Half Marathon. Although I won't win the race for you Boston, I will give it everything I have.

All my heart,
Patty

That's a FACT JACK!

Last Wednesday, I was given permission, by my general surgeon,  to begin running again!

Mac Cheeeeeese!

After more than 3 weeks of  only walking, the excitement of running again made me pee twice before even getting out the door!
After a short discussion with my hubby, he decided I would only be allowed to run 3 miles. My pace...ah yes.  It wasn't, but then again, it never has been fast. But gosh darn it, yippee,  I am ruuuuuuuuunnning!!! That's a fact jack! In my blissfulness, I almost turned the wrong direction to do my usual 5 miles instead of the promised 3 miles. My abdomen is healed and I had no problems. I was waving at the two people waking their dog, to the man in his car who waited for me to run across the street at the stop sign, and the woman walking into her house. Look at me! I AM RUNNING!!!
Afterwards I bought new earphones called Yurbuds: http://yurbuds.com/products/performance-fit/inspire-for-women/ .  I took them out today and love them. The earpiece is capped with soft tip that fits inside my ear. The make various types of Yurbuds depending on your budget, color preferences, quality. Mine is cheap at $29.99 at Sports Authority.

Great sound and soft tips!

 

 During my marathons, I've always dedicate my last mile to God. Today, I have adopted this practice in my regular runs and wore this tech shirt to commemorate the victims of Boston. Donations can be made to the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and Boston Fire Fighter's Credit Union: https://www.bosfirecu.com. 

 

Prayers for Boston

I got up early to watch the Boston Marathon. The geek in me took pictures of the TV of the winners, listened to the interviews, then went out for my morning run.
When I got back, I showered, talked to my husband on the phone, and at 11:04 sent texts to my running pal, Ann about the winners of the Boston Marathon 2013:

*men's:Lelisa Desisa ran it in 2:10:22 from Ethiopia
*women's:  Rita Jeptoo ran 2:26:25 from Kenya
I sent her pictures and we joked about how they can run 26.2 miles in the amount of time it takes us to run a half marathon. At 12:16, I received a text from my husband stating "Check news. Two bombs went off at boston marathon".
For the rest of the day I've stayed glued to my TV. Some of my wonderful family and friends have contacted me saying how grateful they were that I was not running the Boston Marathon. They are so beautiful and don't realize what it take to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I had planned on blogging about how I have been released by my surgeon and now can exercise, but that seems so dinky in comparison of what is going on today.
My prayers for the victims of this horrible attack and I am still in disbelief that this happened. Thank you to everyone that helped the victims, spectators, and runners get away safety.

 A blogger, Katherine, Neon Blonde Runner : http://www.neonblonderunner.com/2013/04/boston-marathon-goals-and-tracking.html  was running the Boston Marathon today. Another follower said they had been tracking her said she had done well and made it across before the bombing. Please make it home safe.

Stride Box April 2013

This week I've received my first Stride Box.  This box is packed with products and an accessory for runners. The cost is $15.00 per month. The website : http://stridebox.com/ .
After opening box, I found "The Stride Guide" labeled for April 2013.  This list the goodies inside the box along with link information and retail costs.  This a miniature expo in a box and an opportunity to try new products!

The April runner accessory stumped and I have no idea what it is.  It's not on the the guide list. Who do I ask?  My kids of course!  My son shows me it can be flatten out, then hits it on his wrist to show collapses around his wrist. He said at school, he's seen them as rulers. He finds an opening pulling out a plastic piece with a what appears to be a magnet. He thinks it my be some sort of flexibility magnetic arm band. *shrug* After an hour, I looked at it again and thought it looked like a battery. I pushed it and it clicked on a light in green! Click it again, it flashes. Cool!

We try The Barnana Original Organic Chewy Banana Bites....yuck. I couldn't take a second bite. My son tried a banana bite too. He spit it out into his hand! My dogs, however, thought them yummy! We'll keep them for dog treats. Researching, I didn't find an individual site for this product.



I've used CLIF : http://www.clifbar.com/  products in the past. CLIF packaging that reads 90% organic for the Gels, 95% organic for CLIF Shot BLOKS, and the CLIF bar states it's made with organic rolled oats. Raised in Kansas, I find the percentile funny. Our farmers would say it's either organic or it isn't! I don't mind caffeine in my energy products and some of the CLIF products are free from caffeine and some aren't. This is where CLIF got it right. Either it has caffeine or it doesn't!

Nuun Hydration Tabs : http://nuun.com/ come in a lot of flavors. I prefer Gatorade at home, but Nuun tablets are great for a road or airplane trips. No matter the flavor, to me, it taste like flat seltzer water.  Nuun, too, has products with and without caffeine. Gatorade has no caffeine.

Energy bits-Chlorella and Spirulina Algae Tabs:  http://www.energybits.com/index.php/energybits.html . I've never seen this product.  The single serving is attached to a 25% discount card with information stating to use promo code STRIDEBOX when ordering the product. Checking out the website, I can see why there's a discount. These aren't cheap. The package instructs user to swallow at one time. The website states you can chew them like peanuts.












Hammer Nutrition Vegan Recovery Bar: http://www.hammernutrition.com/ .   Hammer has a lot of various products for consumption, apparel, books, and body care. I've already tried the Hammer Lips in the STRIDE Box and found it amazing and last a long time! The products are affordable.





Action Wipes- Full Body Wet Wipe: http://actionwipes.com/collections/all  are self explanatory.

It's a Dog's Life

Two weeks and my body isn't 100% recovered from surgery. I am still restricted from strenuous activities, but do get to walk my chocolate labs daily. Like Dallas and Cowboy, I, too, get excited when I hear the dog leashes rattle. Yippee it's time for a walk!  My dogs are in heaven because they love being inside the house. If allowed, these sisters would sleep all day. My kids go with me because walking the dogs without help can be arduous.
Our labs have different personalities and running styles. Cowboy, smaller statue than her sister, loves to sprint at full speed whenever possible. She gets a heavy work out chasing the ball as fast as she can go. By the end of the walk, she has slowed down her stride quiet a bit. Don't even think about going over a gutter while walking Cowboy. She will dart in any direction to avoid it!
Dallas, larger than her sister, chases after the ball, but cannot beat her sister in a sprint.  We have to throw the ball in Dallas's direction to enable her an opportunity to get the ball. Dallas has one speed, appears to reserve her energy, and paces herself during a walk. Dallas sometime runs a little sideways. Our vet told us it's common with labs and is called sidegaiting.   Without notice, if Dallas chooses to check out a shrub or tree, she will physically halt me abruptly! She is powerful.  The end of the walks, the kids will sprint the dogs into the cul-de-sac as Dallas trods in sideways.

 

As I read recaps of races done by other runners, I notice some of the runners have similarities to my labs; or visa verse. Like Cowboy, some runners prefer to go out fast and taper towards the end of their races. Other runners, like Dallas, like to maintain a certain pace throughout their race. A common trait shared by runners and by our labs, is the enjoyment of running. Runners love the beep of their Garmins like my labs love the rattle of their leashes. It's running time!