The 2nd Annual Stop Stroke Shuffle 5k - In Person & Virtual

The 2nd Annual Stop Stroke Shuffle In Person and Virtual 5k registration is OPEN!!!

For those that don't know, I am running the 2015 Boston Marathon with Tedy's Team to raise awareness and fight Stroke! This will be my third-consecutive Boston Marathon with Tedy's Team and I run in honor of my grandparents, my father-in-law and all those affected by Stroke.

If you are in the Boston area, please think about coming down to run/walk/bike the 5k with me in person on February 15 at Noon.

We will be hosting the event out of Slumbrew's American Fresh Brewhouse at Assembly Row (in Somerville). American Fresh is a heated tent with ample free parking and access to the Assembly Stop on the Orange line.

We will have bibs, medals and water on hand. There will be beer available for purchase!

^^ Strollers welcome, but unfortunately pups need to stay home this time.

**PLEASE NOTE: this will not be a chip-timed race**

Register HERE for in person OR virtual option!

If you are NOT in the Boston or unable to join us on February 15, please consider running/walking/biking the charity 5k virtually.

A virtual run-walk means you do the 5k (3.1 mile) “race” at your leisure anytime in the month of February! Map out your own route, get your own friends together or jump on the old trusty treadmill. Your call.

This “race” is one to anyone all over the world.

I will provide a race bib that you can print out and fix to your shirt (if you want)!!

Register HERE for in person OR virtual option!

***

The $26.20 registration fee is a donation to Tedy's Team!

^^ Race bib and Finisher's Medal are still be designed. Thank you for your patience on that.

Register HERE for in person OR virtual option!

Tedy's Team Group Run: 1st Riverside Run (1/10/15)

This run would be mine! That's right. Despite seeing a real feel of -4 for this morning's group run with Tedy's Team I was excited for it.

Today (January 10) is my three-year anniversary of hitting goal with Weight Watchers (60+ lbs shed through WW and 80 overall). So there was a little extra pep in my step.

My usual running mates weren't going to make it due to injury and sickness so I know this would be more a of a solo run. I opted to leave the music at home since I'm now so used to running without it (thanks triathlon training).

The wife dropped me off at 7:50am and thankfully I had enough time to get some foam rolling in before we departed.

Today would be our first Riverside run of the season. A Riverside run means we take the green line of the MBTA (train) from Kenmore Square to the end of the D Line (Riverside stop). Once at Riverside, we run the 10.6 or so miles back to Kenmore. Why do this? Because we get to run on the actual Boston Marathon course and get some much-needed practice on Heartbreak Hill.

For those that don't know Heartbreak Hill is about three miles of rolling hills that hit you at Mile 17 of the marathon. So the hills themselves aren't horrendous, but when your legs already have 17 miles on them - they seem enormous! ;)

When we departed the train at Riverside (after a 30 or so minute ride - worst part of the experience), I bee-lined it for the bathroom (shocker I know) and had to take a picture of this awesome sign. :O)

After retying my shoes and locating satellites, it was time to get this run in motion.

Thankfully I've now done this run enough times that I actually know where I'm going. Tiny win! It takes just two rights and one left until you are officially on the marathon course. Oh the memories. Every time I step on that course I am transported back to race day for both 2013 and 2014.

Mile 1: 8:27 Mile 2: 8:42

Then THE right happens... on to Comm Ave and the start of Heartbreak Hill. I was all ready to snap a pic of the iconic Newton Firehouse, which is kind of the welcome committee to Heartbreak, but my phone decided to say this.

Apparently the iPhone is too lazy to have a "too hot" and "too cold" message so it gives the same one either way. Because as I mentioned earlier Real Feel was -4, which doesn't scream warm to me. How about you?

Mile 3: 8:35

Just before hitting Mile 4, I saw the familiar faces of our Tedy's Team water stop! YAY!

I look forward to these social stops WAAAYY too much! haha

Teammate Patricia and I

And I know you were all waiting for the obligatory: Margaret and Dani pic! :)

So apparently I was out there to run not gab! Huh. Who knew? So I hit Start on the Garmin and continued on OWNING Heartbreak. ;)

I was feeling really good. I don't know why, but I felt strong and in the zone.

I didn't look at my watch at all for pace, but instead focused on how I was feeling.

Mile 4: 8:07

Just before Mile 5, my phone decided it was "cool enough" to work again. Bring on the selfies!

And now I could show the slushy snow covering the ground adding a little cross training to today's run.

Mile 5: 8:38

Now as I mentioned Heartbreak is actually 3 miles worth of rolling hills with the biggest and baddest at the end... of course!

Here is where I mentally have to prep myself. There could be some swearing going on, there could be some internal high fives and there could be some promises of beer to myself if I make it up and over.

Hey! Whatever it takes right?

While running up this final leg of Heartbreak, I saw the kids of Dreamfar out there putting in some serious work.

Dreamfar High School Marathon (DHSM) is New England’s first high school marathon training program.  We are a Greater Boston-based program that teaches high school students that anything is possible, even completing a marathon.  With hard work, perseverance and guidance from dedicated mentors, our runners realize their potential as they train for the Cox Providence Marathon.

This lit another fire under my booty and I gave the hill everything I had.

This is why when taking mid-run selfies you take mulitple. They aren't all winners. :P

The final push was tough, but felt better than I expected. Not sure what was different about today's run than runs past, but I went with it.

Mile 6: 8:46

The amazing sight when coming off of the final Heartbreak Hill push is BC.

During the marathon there is a huge blow up arch that says:

From Boston 2014

A magical sight during the race.

With the major hills being over, the run continued to familiar ground: Beacon St through Brookline and back to Kenmore Square.

Mile 7: 8:17

The great thing about all the charity runners out on the course together is the sense of community. Folks stop at each other's water stops. There are tons of smiles, high fives and of course runner nods. :)

Our final water stop of the day was 7.6 miles in.

John was ready for us with water and gatorade. I enjoyed my mini luna bar before heading out to finish this thang. Am I cool enough to pull off thang? I don't think so. Doing it anyway.

I bobbed and weaved my way through the downtown Brookline as folks were out for brunch, etc. I tried to stay in the bike lane to avoid as much congestion as possible.

Mile 8: 8:28 Mile 9: 8:06

The only downfalls to running downtown are the people and the stoplights. Nothing like getting in a running groove and hitting every single red light. I was on that path this morning.

As I made my way down Beacon, I could see the final incline between me and coffee.

I've mentioned before this incline is just before the Mile 25 marker for the marathon so on it's own not that bad - at the point of the race it is? Killer.

As I looked ahead all I could see of the Citgo sign was GO... and GO I did.

I was going for 10.9 miles to make my 2015 year to date total a nice round 53.

Mile 10: 8:11

So I took an extra long route to Dunkin, which left me at 10.9 miles exactly.

I felt great at the end of the run. Could I have run 15.3 more? Not at that same pace, but I could've kept going.

I know I need to slow my long runs down as they should be slower than projected marathon pace, but today I let my body guide the pace and it felt okay the entire run.

I can tell being back at my goal weight is helping my pace and my overall feeling while running. Keeping excess weight off my back keeps that and my knees feeling better.

I opted to grab a coffee and wait for my wife at Dunkin. Of course I did some stretching while I waited.

Now I will miss the team's 12-14 mile run next weekend as I will be taking on 22.4 miles (5k-10k-Half) at Disneyland. I will miss the group, but I will be happy with the weather, costumes and character stops! :)

***

Week 5 Workouts:

Sunday, January 4: 5k run Monday, January 5: 4-mile run Tuesday, January 6: Hill Repeats (2.8 miles) & 45-min Spin class (Turnstyle) Wednesday, January 7: 4-mile run & 2.5-mile walk Thursday, January 8: 5k run Friday, January 9: 5-mile run Saturday, January 10: 10.9-mile run

***

Looking to Donate?

Are you interested in helping to fight Stroke? Please feel free to click on the link HERE to share a donation.

My Stroke Heroes

Tedy’s Team Group Run – 12 Miles (1/3/15)

This run would be mentally tough. I knew that going into it. Last week's run was emotional as it marked the 2-year anniversary of my Grampa passing away. This week would be more of a mental game. I was tired when I woke up. I opted to run 5 miles and do an intense Flywheel Spin class the night before today's 12-miler. What was I thinking? I was thinking I need to push myself to get better. Plus, the class was being taught by my Tedy's Team teammate and friend Melinda. She would also be running 12 miles today. If she could teach the kick ass class then I could take it... and come in first on the Torq board! ;)

I made sure to sleep in my Zensah compression shorts and socks last night to help the legs recover for today's hilly 12-miler.

That's right folks! It was time to face Heartbreak Hill for the first time since June.

I made sure to dress up for the occasion and rock my Comic Book Sparkle Athletic skirt.

I would have the pleasure once again of running with Page. I was worried I would slow her down today due to tired legs, but she was feeling under the weather so we decided no matter the pace to stick together.

It has been great having the accountability with Page to get me through our #FridayFive runs (5 miles every Friday morning) and these last couple training runs. Usually Page works on Saturday so from here on out she will miss our group runs. Darnit!

After stretching and foam rolling inside Joint Ventures in Kenmore Square, it was time to buck up and hit the road for some miles.

While it was cold (real feel 18 degrees), the sun was out and there wasn't any snow or rain. So really nothing to complain about on that side. It is winter in Boston of course it will be cold.

Instead of the normal out and back, we would be heading out Beacon Street for just under 6 miles, taking a right on to Centre Street in Newton, taking a right onto Comm Ave (hello Heartbreak) then a final left on to Beacon Street. All told that loop is roughly 11.6 miles. So you know I would be making Page add on a little extra at the en to get the 12. :P

Mile 1: 8:33 Mile 2: 9:15 Mile 3: 8:59

Boy those inclines/baby hills during Mile 2 get me every week. I always think we are running faster in mile 2 than mile 1, but the splits never measure up with that. :P

Just after making it through Mile 3 at Coolidge Corner, we have a quick break at our first water stop of the morning.

And Margaret and I can take our weekly selfie! 4-for-4

While we headed towards Boston College, I knew another hill would be ahead of us. Yes this route is hilly all over the place. ;)

As we buckled down and pushed up the hill, I could feel the previous night's Spin class! I tried to use it as fuel rather than an excuse to slow it down. I wanted to push myself up the hill, but save some in the tank for Heartbreak.

Mile 4: 9:00 Mile 5: 9:07 Mile 6: 8:50

Can you tell where I celebrated the downhill?

We headed through Newton center, passing other runners along the way and took our right on Centre Street. We took a quick moment to grab a pic of cool street art.

I appreciate running with Page since she doesn't mind stopping for pics along the way. I know it can be annoying to run with a blogger sometimes... or rather this blogger! I know there is a difference. ;)

After a quick run down Centre Street, which offers cute shops, beautiful church and a little incline, we were ready to take the right on to Comm Ave.

Since we were meeting Comm Ave at Centre Street, we weren't getting the full tour of Heartbreak Hill today. For those that don't know, the historic Heartbreak Hill isn't just one hill - it is about three miles of rolling hills with the toughest at the end. So yes we were getting the biggest beast today.

It's so awesome seeing so many runners out on the course. Lots of head nods, smiles and high fives along the way. I mean we are all out there grinding away so folks feel your pain.

2015 will mark Page's fifth Boston with Tedy's Team and my third so it is great to swap "war stories" or memories while running on familiar terrain.

Mile 7: 8:51

It is a great sight seeing BC again because you know the hill is over and a water stop is ahead.

Long runs with Tedy's Team means that Swedish Fish are back in my life! :) I can't express how excited I get seeing these at Mile 20 of the Boston Marathon. It is the little things in life sometimes.

After a quick snack break - Gu for Page and mini Luna Bar for me - it was time to crank out the final few miles.

We made our way back to Beacon St and the final stretch.

Mile 8: 8:36

One final water stop awaited us just before Mile 9 so we stopped one last time to catch up with our amazing Tedy's Team support crew: Margaret and Lauren.

And we had a surprise visit from our teammate Lisa, who was out on her own 16-miler.

It was an awesome pick-me-up.

Apparently these Saturday morning runs aren't all about chatting and laughing with folks, you actually have to run. Page and I bid adieu to everyone and went about finishing this 12-miler.

Mile 10: 8:42 Mile 11: 9:03

After pushing up and over the final incline/hill into Kenmore Square, Page and I opted to add the final .4 to hit 12 on the dot. Since we were both looking forward to some Dunkin' Donuts coffee, we figured out the route to drop us right in front of Dunks. Winning!

Mile 12: 8:45

Yes hilly 12-miler in the books! First run-in with Heartbreak - OWNED. I won't lie and say that entire run felt awesome because it didn't. BUT it felt great to push through the hills and finish strong.

Each run I learn I am stronger than I think I am.

These training runs are so inspiring. I love getting out learning more about why my teammates are running. It's also motivating to see so many runners out on the course getting in their work early in the morning.

While enjoying our coffee and getting some stretching/foam rolling in...

... we enjoyed a talk by some of the folks at Marathon Sports. They were sharing tips on finding the perfect running shoe and winter running apparel for you.

It was a great little clinic and I walked away wanting to spend all my money on new winter running gear. Shocking right? ;)

Week 4 long run done and next week we do our first Riverside Run. What is that you ask? We take the green line to Riverside stop and run the 10 miles back to Kenmore Square - all on the marathon course.

***

Week 4 Workouts:

Sunday, December 28: 4.5-mile run Monday, December 29: 5-mile run Tuesday, December 30: 45-min Spin class (The Handle Bar), 45-min walk & 5-mile run Wednesday, December 31: 6.1-mile run (4 in AM & 2.1 in PM) Thursday, January 1: 5k run & 5k walk Friday, January 2: 5-mile run & 51-min Spin class (Flywheel) Saturday, January 3: 12-mile run

Okay the Spin classes had some strength training elements to them - so improvement - but I am looking for even more. I reached out to the Tedy's Team coach to help me write up a detailed training plan with specific strength training exercises. I'm much better at following a plan than trying to wing it!

***

Looking to Donate?

Are you interested in helping to fight Stroke? Please feel free to click on the link HERE to share a donation.

My Stroke Heroes

Wicked pumped to be $85.60 away from goal!

My quest to 1,000 Miles in 2014!!

2014 Total Mileage To Date: 1,111.1 January: 90.0

February: 73.9

March: 106.1

April: 104.2

May: 94.8

June: 53.0

July: 79.0

August: 57.2

September: 74.3

October: 100.0

November: 121.6

December: 157.0

Happy running!

Tedy’s Team Group Run – 10 Miles (12/27/14)

Emotional. This run was destined to be a roller coaster of feelings.

Why?

December 27, 2012 - we unexpectedly lost my Grampa (my #1 Stroke Hero). While I miss him on a daily basis, it is always tougher on the anniversary.

But since I run for Tedy's Team, I try to make it proud each and every time I lace up my sneakers (and everyday really). So today I added a little special reminder on my hand...

My teammate and friend Page picked me up just after 7:30am and we headed into Kenmore Square. Page had to cancel our Friday run so it was great to make up our catch up session. :)

With little traffic on Storrow Drive, we made it with plenty of time to spare. Enter an extra session with a painful foam roller. I should've snapped a pic of it with its extra painful spikes on it. :P

After a quick bathroom break, it was time to head out and enjoy the gorgeous New England morning. Now last year was one of the coldest winter training sessions I've had since I started running. This winter has been one of the warmest. <<Runs to knock on wood>>

So I happily headed out to run in the sunny scenic morning...

Page and I actually run really well together, which is awesome. Great to find a running friend that keeps a similar pace, falls easily into conversation and says "yes" when you ask them to run on a weekly basis. ;) Yay!

Page usually works on Saturdays so she hasn't done many of the group runs (despite this being her fifth year on the team) so it was fun to have a newbie along for the ride. :)

Mile 1: 8:54 Mile 2: 9:09

As we made our way through Brookline Center, I thought we were pushing a much faster pace than the Garmin was giving up credit for. Thankfully Page agreed so I didn't feel crazy.

We opted to grab water at the first water stop and say hi to Coach John.

Like how he dresses up for us. ;)

After a quick shot of water, we were off. We fell back into our rhythm as we approached Coolidge Corner. Some folks were taking this opportunity to turn around and go for a shorter 6-mile run. It is nice that folks have options to run however many miles they feel up to and still have the water stops/support.

Mile 3: 8:57

As we ran, I was getting warmer. I know I'm the only person that happens to. :P But I was wicked happy I opted for my new Lululemon 1/2 zip shirt and just a vest on top of that.

I love when we get to run by the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. A simply beautiful sight.

Mile 4: 8:57

While running up the hill next to BC, I told Page all about the Heartbreak Hill weekend I had done back in June.

I didn't want to run another hill. I just wasn't in the mood. Page pushed me through. "Just run towards the light at the top." Oh sure that's easy enough. Then I spotted teammate and friend Nancy in front of us. That was a better target for me to push through. Yes I opted for a moving target rather than the stationary target of the traffic light. :P

We caught up to Nancy and guess what? We got to enjoy the downhill. What goes up must come down, right? YAY! I dished out some high fives to fellow teammates who had already hit the turnaround.

Mile 5: 8:33

And there she was - at Mile 5.21 there was Margaret, our waterstop and the turnaround spot. Woo!

We are 3-for-3 with selfies at training runs. :)

Nancy joined our party so we decided to all run back together and catch up! Page and I are training for the Boston Marathon, while Nancy is running the Vermont Marathon (5/24/15) with Tedy's Team.

Nancy lives in New Hampshire so I hadn't seen her in awhile so it was great to catch up on all things life.

Mile 6: 9:22

Chatting with friends also keep the miles moving pretty quickly. I love a good distraction.

With Coolidge Corner in our view, I knew the bigger hills were behind us... literally! ;)

Mile 7: 9:02

As we were running back towards Kenmore Square, the folks of the Liver Foundation team were running towards us. Among the crew was my friend Kim so it was great to give her a big high-five as we both grinded out an early long run.

Mile 8: 9:25

My left hamstring as always was a constant dull pain. It is more of a nagging annoyance than anything else. I am working on strengthening the leg to help it heal per suggestion of John.

When we came upon the Holiday Inn in Brookline, we picked up another friend Julia to join our little crew. :) The more the merrier, right? Absolutely!

Mile 9: 9:05

I wasn't really paying attention to our pace since I felt great during the whole run and sort of let the folks around me set the tone for the run. It is a great way to shut the brain off for awhile. Sometimes I can be too into the pace and mileage and it takes over the feel of the run.

While we headed back towards Kenmore and came up on the Mile 25 mark of Boston, the feelings about my Grampa really hit me. Some tears were shed and I let them happen. I'm usually one that masks my feelings in public, but I find that usually backfires. Running is therapy and whatever happens on the run is taking place for a reason.

So I let the memories - especially of those when I told my Grampa I would be running Boston in his honor - replay in my brain. A smile emerged as I remembered how proud he was. That was all I ever wanted to do - make him proud.

Wow the screen is starting to get a little blurry at this point... <<Runs off to get tissue>>

Okay I'm back.

Mile 10: 9:16

Since I'm a stickler for the mileage number, Page and I ran just past Joint Ventures (our hub) until we hit 10.5. Woo!

It felt great to have another training run under our belts.

Overall the run felt great. I had a mini luna bar (2PPV) at the turnaround with Margaret and felt satisfied the whole run. Man I love those little bars!

We headed upstairs to hear how everyone else's runs went and to do a little more stretching. Oh we meet again foam roller. As a reward, I treated us to Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee. #DaniRunsOnDunkin

Thankfully Page gave me a lift home so I could get ready for my first Spin class at Soul Cycle in Chestnut Hill. Ummm why did I sign up for a spin class after a long run? Because I'm crazy... and it was free! :P

***

Week 3 Workouts:

Sunday, December 21: 6-mile run Monday, December 22: 5-mile run & 5k-walk Tuesday, December 23: 5-mile run & 45-min walk Wednesday, December 24: 4-mile run Thursday, December 25: 9-mile run (broken up as 3.1, 3.1 & 2.8) Friday, December 26: 5-mile run Saturday, December 27: 10.5-mile run &56-min cycling (Soul Cycle)

Goal for next week? AGAIN – Adding in strength training and additional cross training. This week was lacking in both – AGAIN!

***

Looking to Donate?

Are you interested in helping to fight Stroke? Please feel free to click on the link HERE to share a donation.

Wicked pumped to be $417.60 away from goal! :)

Merry Christmas To Me...

I can admit I am not a huge Holiday person. I don't know why, but they usually give me a lot of anxiety. So this year I was wicked excited to learn we would be staying home. Well my parents and I would be. The wife would once again be heading home to Chicago to see her family. :/ The pups and I miss her.

I was happy to be staying home since my alarm is set for 6:15am on Friday morning so I can get to work by 7am. Woo... not! :P No I am happy to be subbing for a friend since I need the money. The problem will Thursday holidays is I miss out on 4 meetings worth of pay, which stinks.

After my Wednesday Noon meeting in Newton, I took to the highway to get home... and sat in traffic. Oh the holidays. ;) I was a little jealous of the people in the other cars heading out of town for a long weekend, but the traffic wore the jealousy off quickly. Haha.

Once I did some last-minute errands, I was ready to be home and away from the masses. I had planned to get in a second workout (had run 4 miles before work), but after surviving traffic and people - I opted for a beer. ;) Smart choice, right?

Around 6pm the pups and I headed upstairs to my parents' place to start our Christmas Eve tradition: Chinese food, wine and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Oh oh and PJs. Thank you comfort.

It was great to just kick back and relax for an evening. I am not good at putting away work (both for Weight Watchers and the blog) and just be. It is a sweet treat.

I was wicked excited about my parents' gifts that I made them open them Christmas Eve so I could set them up.

Yup I got them Fitbit Ones! I'm ready to compete against them already. Feel free to friend me on Fitbit if you want (email above on the pic).

Oh and my dad made these little devil cookies!

I am waiting for him to give me the recipe so I can actually calculate the Weight Watchers PPV.

Since I would be waking up early for a couple of run dates, I headed downstairs around 10pm. Not that I would go right to sleep, but I was ready to be laying down in bed. Thanks wine. :P

I bounded out of bed at 7am so I could get the pups ready for the day and myself clothed for my run. The game plan was a 5k run with my dad biking with me at 7:30 and another 5k with my friend Lori at 8am. Great way to get 6.2 miles in before 9am.

It was downpouring the entire time, but we felt badass for getting out there and getting it done.

Yes that is Lori and I drinking a Slumbrew (Porter Sq Porter for me and Happy Sol for her) at 9am. It was part of the main reason why she agreed to run with me. Lori and I went to high school together and are both part of the Slumbrew Happy Soles.

Lori is training to run her first marathon - Boston Marathon 2015 for charity. Amazing and so great to chat with someone training for their first marathon.

After Lori headed home to spend the holiday with her family, I was on my way to find an open Dunkin' Donuts. Yes priorities folks.

#DaniRunsOnDunkin

It took two stops, but I found an open Dunkins and was ready for the day to continue.

We did a small gift exchange. Well the parents had already opened the gift from me the night before and they just went to Universal Studios for a few days as their gift to each other. Sooo it was really me opening gifts.

Oh it was a great haul.

I received:

* Dunkin gift card AND two pack of French Vanilla K-Cups

* $75 in gift cards to Disney, which paired with the ones Tori and I received means we have $275 for our trip to Disneyland in January (YYYAAAYYY!!!!)

* Some minions - plush and plastic - from their trip to Universal

* Two sweet new Alex and Ani bracelets. I have a runner one so now I just need them to create a swimmer

* A sweet picture frames from the pups

* A Visa Gift Card (also will use at Disney)

* Replacement pair of sparkly black TOMS since I wore mine so much they have a hole in both soles

* Some great office supplies for my new standing desk

All in all a great and practical haul. I am big on practical gifts. ;)

Once I was finished with gifts it was the pups turn.

Yes they had identical stockings.

Inside they sniffed out: a stuffie, 3 tennis balls and two snacks. Molly immediately devoured her two snacks. She is not one for portion control.

After hugs, thanks and puppy kisses, we turned on Madagascar 2. I somehow had seen 1 and 3, but missed 2. So it was great to finally see it. Super cute.

As the morning went on, the weather improved. At 1pm the weather was sunny and warm so I had to get back out there and take advantage of it. Yes I went out and did a third run.

I squeaked out 2.8 miles to round my daily total to 9 and hit 1,075 miles for the year.

It was a great way to spend some time while my parents and the pups were all napping.

After I got back, it was really time to relax: Zensah compression shorts and socks, Harpoon beer and Puss In Boots on TV.

I could really get used to this "relaxing" thing. I should make it more of a routine.

My dad was experiencing some grill issues so dinner was delayed from 2:30 to 4:30. Fine by me since I was perfectly content on the couch.

We were able to have a low-key dinner: steak tips (delicious Hawaiian Cowboys from Dom's), green beans, carrots (with honey, brown sugar and orange juice) and mashed potatoes.

This is the first time I've had real mashed potatoes since probably last Christmas so it was an awesome treat.

Mmm mmmm mmmm! It hit the spot and was the perfect way to cap off a relaxing day with the family.

So now I will tuck myself in on the couch, finish tracking all of my Weight Watchers PPVs and watch How To Train A Dragon before calling it an early night.

***

I want to remind everyone how thankful I am for your support on this journey. I love every like, comment, email, tweet, Facebook message and hello at a race. It truly means the world to me.

***

What was your top gift from Santa this year?

Weekend Wrap-Up: Wine, Early Christmas & Hockey

I live for the weekends. I know I am the only person out there that does that so you should all catch up on this train. Mmmmkay? ;)

Friday kicked off with a very happy weigh-in! Finally back in free Lifetime range. Yay! :)

I was wicked stoked to see a number 22 lbs lighter than that on June 11. Back to a good weight.

With a big smile on my face, I met Page for our Friday Five - our weekly 5-mile run.

It is a great way to start the weekend and it is always fun catching up. Page and I are on Tedy's Team together.

After my final Weight Watchers meeting of the week, it appeared to be present time for this girl. The WW meeting I lead on Fridays surprised me with a Dunkin' Donuts gift card. It's like they know me! ;)

And Kohl's surprised me with a sweet little relaxation present.

I am in LOVE with the running headband. What an awesome color!

Final delivery came in from Special K. Time to taste test the new snack bars that will hit the shelves in January 2015. Each bar is 3PPV.

My triplet cousins - 12-year-old girls - were staying over with my parents so we all went out to dinner before tucking in with some wine to watch Muppet Family Christmas. My absolutely favorite Christmas movie.

The girls picked out the snacks so I had the opportunity to try 3 of these chips for 4PPV. In my opinion, too chocolately (like thick chocolate and thin chip) and not worth the Weight Watchers Points. I like sweet and salty combined, but would rather chocolate with pretzel combo.

I had to call it an early night since I had a long run the next morning. But before I hit the sheets, I found out I was selected as a #RockNBlog RnR blogger for the second-straight year. Woo!!

I cannot wait to meet up with my fellow bloggers at some races in 2015.

On a runner's high, I bound of bed on Saturday morning to meet up with the Tedy's Team crew for 8-sunny miles through Boston.

With the wife heading out on Monday for home, I wanted to soak up as much time with her as possible. So while she ran errands including a haircut, I hopped on the old bike trainer to get some extra activity points.

Gotta love multi-tasking.

With two pups and two people in bed, we all snuggled in to enjoy some Twin Peaks on Netflix. Boy that show is odd, but we are sucked in to watch the entire series (just 30 episodes total). Have you watched this show? It was a night-time soap opera in the early 90s. So the cheese factor is high. ;)

I put the Kohl's mug to use right away with my hot cocoa (2PPV).

Sunday morning started out with an awesome 6-mile run with my friend and fellow WW leader Heather.

She is also training for the Run Disney Princess weekend so it is great to run together. Plus I love running with folks - whatever the pace.

After the run, I needed a good post-race beverage (following my water, coffee and chocolate milk of course) so the wife and I headed over to Slumbrew's American Fresh at Assembly for a beer and some christmas carols.

Oh and we even ran into our friend Kim! :) Slumbrew Porter Square Porter for me and Attic & Eaves for Kim.

It was the last afternoon with the wife for six days, so we got in a little extra snuggling.

Do you think she is tired of my selfies yet? I was trying to capture her new haircut, but it didn't work. You can take my word that it is cute.

Since the wife would be away over Christmas, my parents wanted to do an early Christmas with her. She got some sweet gift and one of the awesome joint gifts we got were $100 gift card for Disney for each of us. Yes! These will come in handy in Disneyland next month.

Do they know us or what?

With holly and jolly in our hearts, it was time to make the trek to the wife's hockey game. Look at me attending two games in a row. Go me. :P

I tested out my first Special K bar for a snack and it was nice and chocolately. It also wasn't as tough as some other snack bars can be. Does that make sense?

It was a tough 3-1 loss for the Sharks, but the wife did great in goal.

I successfully used the time during the game to pace around the rink to 1) keep warm and 2) get in extra activity. ;)

I also got to experience a role reversal and play Sherpa for her.

Like my stick? :P

The smelly lady and I hit up a late dinner before heading home to snuggle with some pups.

Overall it was one sweet weekend. It was weird not to race, but I think I still did enough activity. What do you think?

***

Did you enter my $100 Visa Gift Card Giveaway? It ends December 24 at 5pm EST! Enter here.

***

How do you get active on the weekends?

Tedy’s Team Group Run – 8 Miles (12/20/14)

So remember that time (last week) where I promised to start doing strength training? Yeeahhhh I dropped the ball on that! Big time! I need to make it more of a priority this week and stop finding excuses not to just because it makes me nervous.

But I am looking to a new week and feeling confident I can make it happen... as long as I make it a priority.

This morning called for an 8-mile run with the Tedy's Team crew. Meg (my teammate and weekly ride) wouldn't be in attendance so I needed to be my own accountability to get to the run. My lovely wife offered to drive me - Thanks Babe!

And of course I was running late, but I made sure to remember my Garmin. Success! We got to Kenmore Square with just enough time to get in a quick foam rolling session before the run began. Phew.

I layered up, threw in some extra dynamic stretches and headed out. Most of the crew had already left so I would be flying mainly solo for the run. Now there are always folks along the sidewalk as we do an out and back route for the 8-mile run so I wasn't really alone alone.

It would just be me and my thoughts... scary!

I clicked Start on my Garmin and was off. As I mentioned before, I love the familiarity of running the same streets and routes for the third year. I can truly zone out and not worry about taking a wrong turn. Well let's revisit that again when the distances start getting higher than 14. ;)

Overall my body felt good under the shining sun, but my stomach was angry. I ate too much last night - not following my normal Friday night routine - and I was paying the price. It was a little reminder to not let others sway me from the plan I had set. Now I could say they were being food pushers, but really I wanted the Pizzeria Regina food. I hadn't been there in months. So I have no one to blame, but myself. Lesson learned - moving on.

Mile 1: 8:34

Oh first mile was a little faster than I wanted. I was hoping to keep the run at an even pace in the high 8s/low 9s. I have learned that when left alone I am not good at pacing myself. I need a buddy to keep me in check.

My legs were feeling a little heavy as I made my way through Brookline. It was only that one mile though. It was odd.

Just before Mile 2, I hit the water stop. It is always a great sight to see familiar faces waiting for you.

Oh hey Margaret!

Mile 2: 8:50

After a quick pick-me-up from some great folks, I continued on. For some reason the mind wasn't in it today. I knew I needed the run, but the mind wanted to just skip it. I also knew that I would be happy I did it once it was over, but in the moment I was having a tough time motivating myself.

So I refocused on WHY I was out there and pushed through putting one foot in front of the other.

Mile 3: 8:33

Once through Coolidge Corner, we continued by the Reservoir towards BC. The turnaround point for our 8-mile is an entrance to BC. As I headed around the Reservoir, I was brought back to June when I was there last for the Heartbreak Hill Half weekend with some amazing bloggers. Those memories made me smile and pick up the pace.

Mile 4: 8:25

Just before I turned around, I was running in the bike lane and got angrily honked at my a passing car. Ummm hi lady I was right in the middle of the bike lane and nowhere near you so simmer down. <>

As I ran back towards the Reservoir, I had a mini celebration in my mind over being 22 lbs lighter than when I was here in June. Yay! I wish I never gained that much back, but such is life. I am happy I was able to retake the reigns and move forward. Being in this area in June was awesome, but I was uncomfortable in my own skin. Today I ran those same roads with confidence and pride.

Mile 5: 8:23

I passed back through Coolidge Corner and was almost taken out by a woman and her dog. She didn't look where she was going before stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to put her dog down. I had to do a sweet little turn to get around them without tripping on the dog leash.

Unfortunately the crowds are a tricky thing to navigate on the back part of the route since more folks are out heading to brunch or to the store than when we start the run. It becomes a lot of bobbing and weaving unless you want to run in the bike lane. I selectively choose the bike lane since I don't like to be in the way of the bikers either.

I stopped back at the water stop. I stopped to chat with Lauren, Sr Director of Tedy's Team, and ended up being there for a good 5-10 minutes. I finally turned to Lauren and said: "I should probably finish this run. Only at 5.69 miles." Ha. Oops!

So off I went...

Mile 6: 8:25

With two miles to go, I was feeling great besides the pain in my left hamstring, which I have grown accustomed to since May. The Tedy's Team coach and I are going to work on strengthening the hamstring to help lessen the pain.

I'm not sure what happened during Mile 7, but I was feeling magic. I was also picturing myself crushing my goal for 2015 Boston Marathon and that might've affected my pace.

Mile 7: 8:04

The final mile of this run is along Mile 24-25 of the marathon. Now this incline on it's own wouldn't be so daunting, but at that point in the race it looks like a mountain!

Flashback moment to Mile 25 of this year's marathon when Christine, Tom and I powered up this sucker together to make this awesome shot happen.

Knowing there is a sweet view of the city and Fenway Park at the top of the incline doesn't hurt either.

Man I love this city. I am lucky to be able to run here. :)

After a quick run through Kenmore Square, the run was done.

Mile 8: 8:07

I finished right in front of the Joint Ventures door. Perfect!

I made my way upstairs to get another foam rolling session in before heading to Dunkin Donuts to wait for my wife to pick me up. :)

Now I definitely didn't run as consistently as I wanted to so that will be my focus for next week's 10-miler. I should have some folks to run with which will help keep me in check!

***

Week 2 Workouts:

Sunday, December 14: 3.1-mile run & 1.5-mile walk Monday, December 15: 2.9-mile run & 60-min cycling Tuesday, December 16: 3-mile run & 45-min walk Wednesday, December 17: 5-mile run Thursday, December 18: 4-mile run Friday, December 19: 5-mile run Saturday, December 20: 8-mile run, 60-min cycling & 2-mile walk

Goal for next week? AGAIN - Adding in strength training and additional cross training. This week was lacking in both - AGAIN!

***

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Weekend Wrap Up: Running And Spinning And Christmas Tree Oh My!

Go Go Go! It's how I have felt the past two weeks. I keep attacking my To Do list, yet it keeps growing. Has anyone else had that? Every time I think I am all caught up - seven more things get added to the list.

Now don't get me wrong they aren't all horrible adult-like tasks, it's just continuous!

I am looking forward to finally getting a chance to veg out this upcoming weekend.

But for now it is time to share all the fun stuff I did last weekend. ;)

Are ya ready? Get your cup of coffee and dig in...

I woke up Friday night on the high from Thursday. No not that kind of high. It was a running high. On Thursday night I hit 1,000 miles run in 2014! Woo!! :)

So Friday brought a happy heart and tired legs. Luckily my friend and Tedy's Team running mate Page was up for some slower miles. We had a great time catching up on our weekly Friday Five. We had missed it the week prior as she was in Cayman for a half with some of the other Tedy's Team crew. Yes I was super jealous!!

I was saddened to her her husband's uncle had passed away earlier in the week from a Stroke. It just reminded us again why we do what we do!!

After a quick clean-up, it was off to lead my final Weight Watchers meeting of the week. This is such an amazing and motivating group. The group works with adults with down syndrome so five of the participants have Down Syndrome. I learn something new from this group every week and always walk away with a smile on my face. :)

Now one would think hey it is weekend time... nope! Paperwork paperwork paperwork was ahead of me. I caught up on all the unglamorous ;) part of work before moving on to the next thing.

Friday afternoon turned into an afternoon of errands before heading to the Cambridge Side Galleria Mall to pick up our bibs for Sunday's Cambridge 5k Yulefest 5k.

With Boston Marathon training officially kicking off Saturday, it was time to restart the Friday night tradition of movie and Zensah compression everything. We opted to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. One of my all-time favorites.

Saturday would be the first of many Tedy's Team runs this winter. It was great being reconnected with teammates and meeting new ones. I was pretty happy to see the schedule call for 6 miles since my legs were still kind of tired.

Following a quick breakfast and blog session, it was time to head back in town for my friend Beth's Flywheel Fundraiser. Beth is running the Boston Marathon for Dana Farber.

I was excited to have my friend and fellow WW Leader Susan join me for her first ever Flywheel class.

I didn;t know what to expect having run six miles earlier in the day, but I still ended up 3rd overall on the Torq board. Woo!

We opted to celebrate with some well-deserved beers. :)

On the way back to the train, we caught part of a protest happening near the Boston Public Library. It looked as if the group was making their way down Boylston Street. The cops were redirecting traffic block by block as the protestors made their way towards somewhere. Cuhlearly I was paying attention to what was going on. :P

After making our way around the protestors, it was smooth sailing back home.

While the wife was at her nerd game night, I should've been uber productive. But instead I walked 2.5 miles on the treadmill then snuggled with the pups. Oops! :P I just needed a little zen time to recharge the body.

Plus I had to lay out my final race outfit of the year. Sunday would mark Race #52 of 52 for 2014.

As always it was a great time with my Slumbrew Happy Soles at the Yulefest 5k. You can read all about it here.

This shot even made it on to the Cambridge Chronicle's website. Yay high-fives! ;)

We wanted to stay and party with the Happy Soles all morning, but the wife had a hockey game. So we bid farewell, grabbed lunch and headed home to get her stuff.

My wife is my #1 supporter and at almost all of my races so it was time to pay it back and head to one of her games. It was cold in the arena so I made sure to keep myself moving the whole time. It was a rough loss, but she did great on tired legs. She had also run the 5k earlier that morning (40:12).

Since we hadn't done enough on Sunday, we made the decision to go straight from the game to buy a Christmas tree. The wife leaves on Monday to spend Christmas with her family in Chicago so we needed a tree sooner rather than later.

We headed to the Arlington Boys & Girls Club to pick a tree. We buy our tree there for special reasons. I grew up swimming at that Boys & Girls Club so I love being able to pay it forward to the kids there now by having our tree $$ go to fund their programming.

So while spending $50 for a tree hurt, I knew it was going to a good cause.

Plus isn't it a beaut? ;)

By the time we were home and the tree was put up, I was ready to crash. More blog work needed to be done, but it would have to wait until Monday. My eyes were refusing to stay open any longer!

I dragged my butt to the treadmill to squeeze in a 1.5 mile walk just so I could hit my activity goal on my Activelink. Molly came along for moral support.

It was a wicked fun weekend with lots of activity, laughs and love.

And hey I even managed to escape the weekend with Weight Watchers Points still left over! Yay for not being in the negative for the second-straight weekend. :)

***

Do you also feel like your To Do list is never-ending?

Tedy's Team Group Run - 6 Miles (12/13/14)

The 2015 Boston Marathon training has officially kicked off today! Woo!

Let me tell you how much warmer it was THIS year compared to last year's first team run! I was jumping up and down when I saw the weather for today was calling for a temp in the low 30s. If that let's you know how raw the first run was in 2013! :P

Here's hoping this is going to set the tone for a warmer training season. <<Runs off to knock on wood>>

Tedy’s Team has an amazing coach, John Furey, who helps with the long group runs on Saturday morning and also offers any running advice we need. Let me tell you this guy was a HUGE help to me when I saw him at Mile 20 of the Boston Marathon in 2013 and experiencing immense right heel pain. If I didn’t see him at Mile 20, get a pep talk and some swedish fish, I’m not sure how the last 10k of the race would have gone. And in 2014 he tried to calm me down during my Mile 20 breakdown over the med tent visits, etc.

For the second-straight year our group runs will start at Joint Ventures Physical Therapy and Fitness in Kenmore Square. It is a great deal since they have an area for us to store gear, a place to stretch, foam rollers to borrow and a place to call base camp after the run.

Big thanks to my teammate Meg and her husband Joshua for giving me a ride to the run this morning. It was in the car about 2 minutes from the run that I realized I left my Garmin at home. Ugh!! I even had everything laid out the night before, but forgot to leave a post-it note to remember to take the Garmin off the charger. Thankfully the run was 6 miles so I figured my phone/Runkeeper app would hold up for that distance.

It was great seeing familiar faces as we stretched before the run. I was looking forward to meeting the new Tedy's Team mates, as well as the folks from the other nine charities that also run out of Joint Ventures on Saturday mornings.

Since this is my third-year with Tedy's Team I am finally familiar with our run courses. I am slow on the uptake. ;)

I took advantage of the foam rollers, stretched everything out, stashed my vest in the locker room and headed back out into the cold.

I started running with Meg and another teammate Carly, but wanted to take my pace back today since I had some heavy legs still. So I let those ladies take off and I found some different folks to chat with. It is so cool seeing so many folks out on a Saturday morning putting in the miles to help others in need - whatever the cause is.

Mile 1: 8:37

I was chatting with a gentleman Adam about how this would be his first marathon and swapping fundraising ideas. Which I always appreciate.

It was comfortable being back on Beacon St, seeing the familiar stores and sights.

Mile 2: 9:00

Since I was chatting with whoever was near me, the pace was not even close to consistent. Haha. Oops.

Plus using the Runkeeper app over my Garmin meant the pace wasn't as easily accessible as usual. Which was A-ok in my book.

John and Margaret were just past Mile 2.3 with a water stop.

It was awesome to stop and chat with them and sip some water before heading out to Finish the run. Okay to go to the turnaround point at Mile 3 then come back and chat with them again. ;)

Mile 3: 8:18

I won't lie I was pretty psyched the run was set at 6 miles today. I had contemplated upping it to 8, which was also an option, but wanted to play it safe. The left hamstring is still sore so no reason to tack on two miles for no real reason. Know what I mean?

It was today's run, where I felt my weight loss finally kicking in. Not everyone might understand, but I am feeling back in a place where I don't feel so jiggly.

Mile 4: 8:50

Margaret and I 

I stopped at the water stop again to chat with John. He is going to give me some strength training stretches to help the hamstring. But I really wanted to chat with him about my weight.

I know the less weight on my back is helpful for the surgically-repaired spine, but it can also help my speed. My lowest weight with Weight Watchers was 153.4. I am currently at 158.2. He suggested trying to shed 10 pounds if possible. I am not sure if I can do that due to my love of french fries and beer. ;) But I am willing to try. A number in the 140s is still in my healthy weight range and a possible goal with WW. So for now I am going to continue to focus on losing weight, fueling properly and see how the body reacts. It is really up to the body what weight it likes. :)

But I have a goal for Boston 2015 and I want to do whatever I can to get there. All I can do is try! Right?

After a good convo with John, I was ready to finish the run. I spotted my teammate Christine just ahead of me so I sped up to catch up with her. She is a huge inspiration to me. She is a 3:2x marathoner and an amazing triathlete. Plus she is a sweet person.

Christine and I

She is working on heart rate training, which is causing her to run slower than usual so I opted to finish the run with her.

Mile 5: 9:21

I love picking the brains of the outstanding athletes I have the honor of calling teammates and friends. Christine is at the top of that list. So it was a great chat about weight, triathlons, cross training and healthy snacking in general. She is a nurse so she is always on the go so it was nice being able to share some of my tips with her.

As we hit the final incline back into Kenmore, you see one of my favorite sights. You see Fenway Park and the Prudential building in the distance, while the CITGO sign is right in front of you. Hello motivation.

We made a quick detour to check Christine's meter before finishing up the run.

Mile 6: 9:41

Yes first team run officially in the books.

I headed upstairs to get a final stretch in before catching a ride home.

I need to give a special thanks to my legs for taking me through Day 50 of my running streak (#WOMSStreak). With today's 6-mile run, I hit 1,011 for the year! Woo! It may be behind last year's mileage pace, but I am proud of the progress I have made in the last 50 days. :)

Next week: 8 miles of fun!

***

Week 1 Workouts:

Sunday, December 7: 5-mile run Monday, December 8: 3.9-mile run and 45-min cycling Tuesday, December 9: 5-mile run & 45-min walk Wednesday, December 10: 4-mile run Thursday, December 11: 2.9-mile run Friday, December 12: 5-mile run Saturday, December 13: 6-mile run, 60-minute Spin class & 2.5-mile walk

Goal for next week? Adding in strength training and additional cross training. This week was lacking in both!

***

Looking to Donate?

Are you interested in helping to fight Stroke? Please feel free to click on the link HERE to share a donation.