Making the commitment...

ounce wrote:Gratz, Nancy!  It's great seeing a plan executed, according to script.  Hope your mom is in the groove as a caretaker.

It wasn't quite according to script but close enough and the end result is what counts in this instance.

Dad is still making progress and Mom is coping well with her role.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Again congrats!  You earned it.  Now I hope to see you in Boston in 2015.  If there are enough of us going, we should consider renting a flat.  I had friends from British Columbia do this back in 2007, and it was fun.

I almost hate to admit that I'm not sure what I'm going to do about Boston 2015.  I don't enjoy big cities and enjoy big marathons even less.  I've always said that it was about qualifying and not actually about running but...

Actually qualifying sheds a new light on things.

I'm getting encouragement from the kids and I have lots of time to decide.  I know that doing it with '365 friends' would make it a lot more fun.

nkrichards wrote:Wow!  Wow!  That's about all I have to say.

4:04:01   BQ minus 5:59    Lowered my PR by 2:14 and got a hug from Nick at the finish.  Life is good.

Not sure I can describe how I feel this morning but I know you've all been there and done that so you know how I feel.

Thanks for the encouragement along the way and the congrats posted after the race.

Will post more details along with a race report later today...

Thanks again and congrats to everyone else...sounds like there was lots of great running this weekend!

Great work on the race on Sunday!!!  I told you that the forecast called for fast race times

It was great to finally meet you, too!!  Hopefully you'll be in Boston in 2015!!

I sat down to write up my race report and I've got so many thoughts running randomly through my head that it just isn't happening yet.

I don't think that I realized how important this was to me.  It wasn't qualifying for Boston that mattered...although that was pretty special.  It was about not giving up when everyone...including me...just assumed that because I got older I didn't have the ability to achieve the goal that I had set.  Not making it to the starting line in 2011 and 2012 was really tough.  I lost a lot of confidence. 

I kept telling myself that I would be satisfied with a BQ (4:10) but what I really wanted (needed?) was to prove to myself that I could run the 4:05:59 that I had set out to run before I moved up an age group.

I'm not sure where I'll go from here.  Boston...maybe.  Another marathon...probably not.  More of a concentration on shorter races and triathlons...probably.  Whatever I decide...when things get tough I'll remember this race and what I can accomplish when I make the commitment...

Well I was back on the tractor this morning and babysitting the youngest grandson this afternoon so life is back to normal.

My legs are recovering nicely.  I'll head to the pool in the morning as that seemed to really help on Tuesday.  Not ready to run yet but don't think it's good to just sit.

Hard to believe that this endeavor has come to an end.

nkrichards wrote:Well I was back on the tractor this morning and babysitting the youngest grandson this afternoon so life is back to normal.

My legs are recovering nicely.  I'll head to the pool in the morning as that seemed to really help on Tuesday.  Not ready to run yet but don't think it's good to just sit.

Hard to believe that this endeavor has come to an end.

"End"? There is no end. At least, not for people like us.

I'm so impressed with all you have accomplished over this past year. I hope you are, too. You have many more adventures to come. I hope you jeep sharing them with us.

Mark B wrote:

nkrichards wrote:Well I was back on the tractor this morning and babysitting the youngest grandson this afternoon so life is back to normal.

My legs are recovering nicely.  I'll head to the pool in the morning as that seemed to really help on Tuesday.  Not ready to run yet but don't think it's good to just sit.

Hard to believe that this endeavor has come to an end.

"End"? There is no end. At least, not for people like us.

I'm so impressed with all you have accomplished over this past year. I hope you are, too. You have many more adventures to come. I hope you jeep sharing them with us.

 Don't worry Mark...now that I've experienced the benefits of the support and encouragement that I've received here I'll stick around...as time allows.

That said...at the end of the week we're headed to South America for 4 weeks and I won't have access to the web much.

Had a couple nice swims this week.  Other than that it's been driving tractor, catching up on bookwork, and trying to figure out what to pack!

Have a great and fun trip!

South America?!? Where, exactly? Details! We want details!

And photos when you get back.

We're back!

One day in Lima.
5 days at a lodge on the Tambopata River in the Amazon Basin...monkeys and macaws everywhere!
Several days in the Sacred Valley including a visit to Machu Picchu.  This area was Marty's favorite.
A bus trip from Cusco to Puno for a day on Lake Titicaca.
A bus trip into the Colca Canyon area to watch the condors soar.
Spent our last night in Peru in Arequipa before flying to Quito.
8 days cruising the Galapagos Islands on a VERY small ship...Samba.  My favorite part of the trip.
Our final day was spent in the historic area of Quito.

I have done absolutely no running since my marathon in early November!  But we did a fair bit of hiking...mostly at elevation, and also lots of swimming and snorkeling around the Galapagos.  It was COLD but I loved snorkeling with the sharks, sea turtles, marine iguanas, and sea lions.  We were on the ship with 14 other people in very tight quarters but I loved it!  Marty really enjoyed the Inca ruins and developed a special bond with our guide in that area.  We traveled with another couple (friends from Australia) and occasionally joined a larger group for tours.  Fantastic trip!!

I'm still catching up on farm related chores...mostly bills and emails plus my Dad ended up back in the hospital for another surgery to deal with complications from his heart surgery.  He had a tough time after the second surgery but we helped Mom bring him home yesterday and they had a good first night back home.

Once I get a bit more caught up I'll catch up on your blogs and running news and also try and figure out how to post a couple photos.

It's good to be home and settling back into a routine.  We did manage to get a bit of core work in before breakfast this morning and I'm headed back to the pool in the morning.  I was hoping to get a run in today but it's pretty muddy this afternoon so I may wait and try to get out earlier in the morning before the mud thaws.  

Welcome back. When's the slide show?

Welcome back, Nancy!

Welcome back! Did you get home in time to enjoy our amazing arctic blast!

It was pretty darn cold on the west side, but it got mind-bogglingly cold on your side of the mountains.

Eagerly awaiting photos.

Thanks all...we enjoyed the trip but it is good to be home!  We missed the cold weather and it's a good thing as we're still acclimating to the current temperatures after being at/near the equator.  

My husband and I started our core work on Monday with the goal of doing it 3 times a week and working our way back up to the full reps over the next few weeks.  It's amazing how difficult it was and how sore I was after our break for traveling.

I'm also back to swimming on Tues and Thurs.  I have to work pretty hard to keep up with the others but it's been a good incentive to work hard so that's good!

First run yesterday...3 miles...I can't believe how tough it seemed!  Took it pretty easy but I have some work to do!

Thinking about goals for 2014...another marathon is not an option that I'm considering but I do want to challenge myself.

Speaking of challenges...I intended to put in a photo and I can't remember how to do it.  It can't be that hard.  What am I forgetting?  Mark... simple step by step instructions for the tech challenged?

I guess the old saying applies to running, in that, if you don't use it, you lose it.

Mark can fix your picture posting worries.

Sorry for the delay on the instructions. It was a busy day.

Here's how to post photos.

1. Make sure the photos are saved someplace easy to find, like your desktop.

2. In the text editor, click the icon that looks like this:


3. Clicking the icon should bring up this box.


4. Click Choose File

5. Navigate your way to your saved photo and select it.

6. You will see a little icon appear next to the "Choose File" button instead of "No file selected"

7. Click the "Resize image" bar and select 640px for a horizontal photo, or 320px for a vertical. (If you want the image to stay the same - say, if you're posting a small item off a webpage, like the images I've posted here, select No for resizing.)

8. Click the button labeled "Host it"

9. The system will give you three choices. Pick the one named Image


10. Copy and paste that URL code into the text window.

And that's it! If you have more photos to share, click "Upload" at the bottom of that window and start the process again. You can use the Preview button at the bottom of the text editor to admire your work before you Send it and make it live.

Hope that helps!

I know what you mean about how hard it is to get it all back.  After I went to Europe for 2 wks in June, it seemed likes months before I felt right running again.  Can't wait to see the pictures, Nancy.  As for no marathons next year, no problem, but I do hope you consider applying for Boston in 2015.

Here goes...
https://i.servimg.com/u/f57/18/57/45/70/south_15.jpg



Well...it worked...kind of.  The link works but why did it come up with the link and not just the photo?



There...that's better.  Machu Picchu of course.

There...it works better if you choose the correct button.    Thanks Mark!

Our ship is in the background and this was our mode of transportation to/from areas to hike or snorkel.

I'll post a couple more photos later if anything looks interesting.  Most of them are of wildlife or ruins and there are much better photos available elsewhere.  The couple we traveled with may have some that have us in them...I'll take a look once they send them to me.

3 miles again today.  Still pretty slow but much better than Wednesday.   

Goal for now is to stay active and try and build at least a small base so that I'm ready for more lofty goals once the holidays are over.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:I know what you mean about how hard it is to get it all back.  After I went to Europe for 2 wks in June, it seemed likes months before I felt right running again.  Can't wait to see the pictures, Nancy.  As for no marathons next year, no problem, but I do hope you consider applying for Boston in 2015.

 Thanks Michele...Run felt better today and I'm not nearly as sore after doing our core/strength work yesterday. 

I'm definitely going to choose goals other than a marathon for 2014 but I haven't ruled out Boston in 2015.  My kids are encouraging me and I plan to run enough that I'll have the base for marathon training if that's what I choose.

I've been away so long that I feel like I need to reintroduce myself on the welcome blog...

Dad's really been struggling so I've been driving over the mountain most days to spend time with him and help my Mom out.  5 hours roundtrip...not fun but at least the roads have been good.  Looks like that may be changing as we have ice this morning.  I'm taking a day off as I'm responsible for Emma (9 year old granddaughter) for a couple days while her folks are out of town.  I have my list of school activities and swim team practice.   It will actually be a nice break and family is pulling together very well so I know Mom and Dad are in good hands.

Mom has decided she wants to bring Dad home...whether he improves or not...so we're frantically trying to turn the office into a bedroom and remodel the bathroom and hallway to make them wheelchair accessible.  It's a pretty major project as their 3 story home was old when they moved in 55 years ago!  Fortunately my husband and brothers all have some construction experience and fairly flexible work schedules.

On the running front...I managed to squeeze in time for 3 miles on Sunday and 3 miles again yesterday.  They were slow miles but mentally and physically I needed to take the time to do that.  Fortunately I have been able to squeeze in some early morning time at the pool and a bit of core work a few times a week but the time sitting in the car has definitely taken it's toll.

Plan at this point is to stay as active as I can while things are hectic and reassess my fitness and goals once things settle down a bit.

Happy running...stay safe this winter!

Not much news on the running front.  I've managed to squeeze in some core/strength work, a bit of time at the pool and a couple runs but they've been pretty slow and painful.

We brought Dad home yesterday under hospice care.  It's been a tough couple months but we're coping pretty well.  The family is united and supportive so that's a blessing.

I'll keep squeezing in as much physical activity as I can and once things are a bit more normal around here I'll see where I'm at and set some goals for 2014.

I am sorry for your dad's health problems. I hope he can stay comfortable but I know it's gotta be a really tough situation for all of your family.

Good for you for getting in what runs you can. I hope it feels good.

Sorry to hear about your Dad, Nancy and I dread those days which are probably not too far in the distant future as both my parents and my husbands parents are in their 80s and none of them have siblings left.