14 Miles, 20 Miles, and a Wedding!

This post will cover the past two weeks since I couldn't find the time to write last week.  Well, it's not really that I didn't have ANY time, but at night when the kids went to sleep I was too sleepy to write.  My week of running wasn't too exciting anyway.  I did a 14 mile long run and again it was a perfect fall day.  I did a part of my hilly hills run and included some roads that I had never been on before.  It was a great run.  There was one hill that was HUGE.  I usually don't mind running up hills, but this was just so long and steep...kind of more like running up a mountain.  I am so glad that I've been training on all these hills though.  I missed some miles in the middle of the week again.  It is getting harder to do all the miles, not physically harder, just finding the time to do it.  When it is 3-5 miles I can squeeze it in easily, but now that it is up to 9-10  miles on a Wednesday and Dom has to go in for overtime so I can't always do it.

  

We had a really fun fall weekend though with the family.  We went apple picking at a beautiful farm north of Concord.  They had goats, horses and chickens and platform to enjoy the amazing view.  Aurelia was very happy holding and eating two little apples she picked and Constantine enjoyed some licks off my apple (he is so easily pleased).  We also went to the pumpkin festival in Milford with Pepere and Oma.  They got to see the pumpkin launch into the river, which C loved.  They got balloons and saw the fire truck and just enjoyed all the people and activities.  We also carved our pumpkin and painted pumpkins and made applesauce, which Constantine could actually eat a little bit of.

This past week I switched up my running schedule so I wouldn't have to run over the weekend.  I did 5 miles on Tuesday then did my 20 MILES on Thursday.  Constantine has his feeding and swallowing appointment and aqua-therapy in Manchester on Thursday mornings so we all went in to Manchester and Dom took the kids to his appointments while I did my run on the marathon route.  I feel a little redundant saying this, but it was again a great day for a run.  My hilly hills training definitely paid off because, while Manchester is definitely hilly, Hillsborough is more so.  The run was challenging, but I felt awesome when I was done.  It was almost weird how good I felt.  Maybe I expected to be much worse off, but even my feet felt okay.  I was a little frustrated because there was a bridge that was closed to pedestrians and I waited for a little bit to cross on the shuttle bus to finish the marathon route, but instead I stretched out while waiting then decided to do the remaining miles by backtracking the route.  When I was done Dom and the kids met me and we went to the mall to get my dress and shoes for the wedding (and of course to see the animals in the pet store).

Now the wedding stuff!  On Friday Pepere and Oma came over to hang out with Constantine for the weekend.  My mom (Memere) came over to pick up Aurelia to take her to Vermont for the weekend.  I am so thankful to them for watching them and making me feel comfortable leaving for so long.  My dad has been learning the ins and outs of caring for Constantine for months now.  Every week he comes over to go through the routine of his care so he was prepared to do it without me there.  I'm sure it was a challenge to wake up during the night to turn him over.  I know they both had a great time which allowed Dom and I to have a great 5 year anniversary/ wedding weekend away. Bryan and Alyssa, whose wedding we went to were so kind to make a donation to Constantine's medical fund in honor of their guests instead of wedding favors.  We are so thankful to them for that!!  It was a great weekend.

Us with the bride at the rehearsal dinner

The Adventures of Fizz the Fish!!!

Here is C's room.  You can see Fizz by the bed :)

I am so excited about this!!  My sister-in-law came up with this great idea to make a book together to benefit Constantine and SMA research.  I wrote the story about our Chinese Fighting Fish, Fizz.  At night while we are doing Constantine's routine before bedtime we make up stories about Fizz escaping and doing crazy things then coming back to his house.  Fizz lives in a tank on a shelf right next to where Constantine sleeps so he gets to watch him as he goes to bed.  We have made up many stories about Fizz including one Dom made up where Fizz goes down the toilet and explores the water treatment facility.  I chose to write a big adventure where he goes to see all the things that Constantine loves.  I thought it would be fun to read to him because he always gets excited when he sees things like tractors and trains in books.  It worked because he does LOVE it!

Kim did such an amazing job illustrating and getting it together on blurb.com.  I am so thankful to her for thinking of this.  I am not very creative in general so it feels pretty cool to have my name on something so wonderful.  I hope everyone else likes it too and hopefully it will raise some money for Constantine and SMA research.  There is a link to the book to the right where you can preview the whole book. Let me know what you think and tell your friends and family about it!

18 Miles Then The Farm...Phew!

This week was my 18 mile long run week, which I have been nervous about since I first started training for this marathon.  I was a little worried about doing it since last week I had such a hard time with the 12 miles.  I got lucky again with the weather being a perfect, beautiful fall day with temperatures in the 60's.  We went to Dick's on Friday and bought some gel inserts for my heel since it has been a little bit sore since after the 16 mile run I did a couple of weeks ago.  While we were there I got some gel energy/electrolyte packets that I figured would be easier to carry and eat on my run.  I was all prepared and ready to run.  This time I knew from the get go that I could do it.  I did have my coffee so maybe that helped, even if only mentally!

I decided to do the Hilly Hills run again just because I don't have to drive anywhere to do it.  Weird how I am too lazy to drive somewhere to run, but will do the stupid Hilly Hills run for 18 miles.  This run really is beautiful though, I'll give it that... and I think I'll be glad that I trained here come marathon time.  I had a great run just enjoying the day and time outside.  Dom and the kids met me toward the end of my run to refill my Gatorade and bring some Ibuprofen, but Dom forgot the Ibuprofen part (this came back to haunt me in the last two miles, but at the time I just said "Oh, that's okay").  I think the gel energy/electrolyte thing helped me a lot, but was really GROSS.

I ended up meeting them at the Agway in town where they stayed to paint pumpkins.  I was bummed that I missed doing that, but glad that they got some fun time with just Daddy.  That was at about mile 13.  I ran the 3ish miles back to the house then added on the lake run to make an even 18 miles.  I will tell you that I was in pain.  It's always my feet that go first, although that gel thing really helped my heel because it didn't hurt at all. This is the first run that I thought I might not be able to finish.  It was hard, and even though I really don't want to hurt myself, I wanted to do this and aside from my feet, I felt okay.  I haven't had to walk at all yet, so I figure I still have that up my sleeve come marathon time.  I did it and it felt great to be able to cross it off on my training schedule.

Afterward I stretched like crazy, took some Ibuprofen, and showered.  It's amazing how much better I feel after a shower.  I relaxed a bit then Pepere and Oma (my dad and step-mom) along with my brother, Miles, came over to visit.  We were talking about what to do and I mentioned going to the farm to see the animals, and of course Constantine heard and went crazy wanting to go..so we did.  We had a great time at this farm outside Hillsborough that allows you to walk around and check out their cows, goats, emus, llamas, and different birds.  It's a great place and the kids love it.  We even got to take home some peacock feathers.


Now I am trying to plan out my training schedule around our weekend away, which is fast approaching.  We are going to Mass for a wedding on the same weekend as our five year anniversary.  We figured we'd just go as a couple and have grandparents watch the kids (Ahh...I know everything will be FINE, but we never leave them!).  That is the same weekend as my 20 mile training run, so I think I'm going to do it earlier in the week so I won't be sore and tired for our nice weekend.  Two things I am especially excited for:  Getting some really good sleep, and getting dressed up and actually feeling pretty.  Fun, fun!

Fall (way) Back Week

This week was supposed to be a fall back week after the 15 and 16 mile long runs.  My long run was supposed to be 12 miles.  I only did 9 (sort of).  I also missed about 5 miles during the week.  I feel really bad that I missed so much this week, but I guess that's just life and I should get over it.  Here's what happened.  First, Dom got called in for overtime on Wednesday so I wasn't able to run at all and missed my 8 mile run.  I did that run on Thursday instead of the 5 miles I should have done.  In retrospect maybe that wasn't such a great idea because it probably made it harder to do my long run on Saturday.  Earlier Thursday we went to A-Tech to figure out computer stuff for Constantine (which I will tell all about later because it was awesome!) and we were pretty busy.  As for an excuse for not doing the full 12 miles...I've got nothing...I just couldn't do it!

I had plenty of time in the morning to do the 12 mile run.  I had a good breakfast (with no coffee because we ran out of cream!) then got all stretched out and prepared with my fuel belt and comfy running clothes.  I felt fine and ready to run.  I stepped out the door and started running down the road and was surprised by how hard it was.  I kept going thinking that I just had to warm up, but it just didn't get any easier.  I swear it's because I didn't have any coffee, could that be?!  I didn't feel sick and can't think of any other reason why it was so hard (aside from the 8 miles on Thursday).  I tried to push myself to do the whole 12 miles, but it was like torture just to do 5.  I felt bad so I made up 4 the next day (which was easier, but I didn't want to mess up the next week by doing too much).  I only have one (sometimes two) cups of coffee a day so I can't believe it would effect me so much, but I just could not do it!  We went to my mom's house later that day for my little brother's 15th birthday party.  I wish we had the camera there because it was a beautiful day and we had a great time!  Oh, and yes, I did get my coffee on the way :)

I said earlier that we went to A-Tech to check out computers for Constantine.  We had a whole group of people there for him including our family, his OT, the school OT and PT, and the specialists there.  We tried out different mice (mouses?) for him since the normal ones are too hard for him and he is limited in what he can do on the computer.  We ended up finding one with a ball on the top that he picked up on right away.  It was amazing!  It was like all he needed was this one tool and he just took off learning and playing on the computer.  It was such an awesome moment in our lives to see this click and a whole new world open up to him.  Being able to access the computer is a very big deal for him since it will be a huge part of how he functions at school (and in life).

We bought the mouse and he has been using it a ton.  He is teaching himself to read on a site called starfall.com, and he LOVES it.  He's not even three years old yet and starting to read, pretty awesome!  I've always been a big reader and so has he.  Ever since he was a little baby he has enjoyed reading books.  This is compared to Aurelia, who up until recently would rather throw them or eat them, but now she loves them too.  Constantine constantly is talking and if he isn't saying something to us he is narrating stories that he makes up.  It's really cool, maybe he'll be a writer.  Anyway, books are a big part of our life so I think it will be wonderful for him to be able to read! 

I don't have any pictures of C with his new mouse, but I do have this one of Aurelia abusing our computer.  I love this picture because it is catching her in the act of like five different bad things.

16 Miles of Hilly Hills

Well, I did it.  I ran 16 miles through the hilly hills of Hillsborough and Henniker.  The last time I ran this route was for my 13 mile training run... and it was a killer!  I felt pretty good after doing the 15 mile run in Keene (where it's flat) last week so I wanted to see how it would be doing the distance through all the hills since the marathon will be hilly.  I have yet to actually see the marathon route, but there is no way it could be more hilly than this route (I have been wrong on more than one occasion so I really shouldn't assume this!).  I took my 13 mile run and added on the roads taking me back home instead of into town.  Wow, was it a good run.  It was definitely hard, but this training program must be working well because I felt great. 

It was a cool,crisp air beginning of fall kind of day, which was just what I needed.  The air was great for running, but toward the end it was very enticing to be running toward our bright warm cozy house.  I have a fuel belt for Gatorade and my phone and stuff that I wear on the long runs, but running such long distances I need to refill along the way.  Since a lot of this run is in the country Dom and the kids met me half way through and brought me some more Gatorade and a granola bar (which at first I tried to eat while running....SO not smart!  Just what my family needs is to loose me to a choking accident while running!).  The bar totally saved me and gave me some much needed umph toward the end of the run.  It's also nice to see my family cheering me on, well Aurelia was asleep, but C was excited to see me! 

Another tribute to this being a good training program is that I am never sore after these long runs.  I think sometimes I make it sound easy when I say that I had a good run, but they are VERY challenging.  I guess I always expect to be in way more pain and be crawling on the ground at the end, but it's not like that.  I think that I will need to lay on the couch all day after a run, but really I still play with the kids and do all the normal everyday things (maybe a little slower).  One thing that I am a little worried about is that my heel just started hurting.  It's now a couple of days after my long run and it just started to hurt.  It doesn't hurt a ton, but I just don't want it to get worse...not after all this hard work I've put in!

Things are moving along for Constantine getting ready for school (AAH).  This is definitely not something I am ready for, but he is so excited.  We went to the school to check it out and see the pre-school room and the PT/OT room and meet all the people who will be in contact with him while he is there.  He was in heaven meeting all the people and checking out all the cool toys they have there.  That is a huge difference between PT and OT in our home vs. the school is that they have all the cool tools like swings etc. to use with him.  I just hope it all goes perfectly and he stays healthy (yes, I am knocking on my wooden kitchen table!).

15 Miles & Pitcher Mt.

This week started out a little rough for running.  On Tuesday I took Constantine down to Boston Children's for a tube change.  He has to go down every 2-3 months to have his G-J tube replaced so it doesn't get clogged up.  He is such a good sport about being in the car for so long and while we are there he is so brave.  It's pretty uncomfortable to have the tube changed, but we bring Thomas' Hero of the Rails with us and that helps a lot.  On our long car ride we told stories and listened to his FAVORITE song over and over and over.  He loves "Down Down Down" by Jay Sean.  Dom made me a CD for Valentines Day last year and ever since then whenever we are in the car that song is all C wants to hear.  Surprisingly I'm not sick of hearing it, I love to see how much he likes it and watch him sing along.  Now (since we've heard it so much) Aurelia really likes it too and dances when it comes on.

Anyway, when we got back from Boston there was a lot to do (which is actually just my excuse because I was really tired).  I missed my first run of training so far (oh, except for when I was sick), which was only three miles, but I needed the break.  The rest of the week was pretty good and I didn't feel quite so tired.  The mileage is increasing during the week, but it isn't too bad yet.  My body is doing really well though all this running, I just get a general feeling of fatigue with all this lack of sleep (some day I will get sleep and it will be AWESOME).  The weather has been getting cooler too which is great.  I'm glad to be training harder in the fall rather than the summer. 

My long run this week was 15 miles, which I finally did in Keene.  I feel a little like I cheated by doing my long run in Keene.  It was definitely easier than running around Hillsborough.  The marathon is pretty hilly so I am glad that I do most of my training in the hills, but I wanted to take it easy on this run.  Not only is Keene flat, but it is all paved roads, and I know every road very well since I used to run there all the time in high school.  Keene was also a good choice because Dom could take the kids to hang out with family while I ran, which they always love.  It was another great day ( I have been really lucky that every Saturday has been so nice) and my run was awesome.  I felt so good the out there.  It really helps when you know the route. I need to familiarize myself with the marathon route or I am going to be in trouble (although I do know Manchester pretty well).  I was doing great until about mile 13 then it started to get hard, mostly because my feet started to hurt.  I am beginning to think that it was not such a smart idea to take something that I love (running) and take it to the extreme.  I'm hoping that I still like running when this is all over and that it doesn't ruin it for me forever!

He wanted to go up the tower. 
It totally freaked me out but we did it!

At least I'm not usually sore after these runs so we went on a great hike the next day.  I took the kids to meet up with Pepere, Oma, Memere, and Uncle TJ ( my mom, dad, step-mom, and brother) at Pitcher Mt. in Stoddard.  Dom stayed home to watch his favorite team win on opening day. 

We had an awesome time.  My kids are so lucky to have family in their lives and get so excited to spend time with them.  Pitcher Mt. was the perfect place to go for us.  It was a very short hike with such a huge reward.  The views are amazing at the top!  We haven't really gone on any hikes since C's diagnosis that we couldn't bring his chair or the stroller on.  We carried him in the Ergo Baby and he did great.  He had to face toward us which was the only down fall, but it kept his legs in enough so they didn't dangle like in the Baby Bjorn and our hands were free to hold his head from bobbing around (what I was really worried about hiking with him).  This opened up so many opportunities for us in the future. 

He was so excited the whole time, it was great!  Aurelia stayed true to her busy, wild self and was most happy stumbling over the rocks and eating twigs.  She is an explorer with no fear who doesn't like to be told that she can't do something, she definitely makes things interesting! 

And climb all over the rocks

Of course she wanted to go higher!

But she's so cute!

Eating for Three

Hahaha, no I am not pregnant with twins!  I have just been really really hungry lately.  I feel like I am eating for three; my legs, Aurelia (since I am still breastfeeding), and myself.  I feel like I could just keep an endless supply of food coming into my body to keep it energized for all this running.  When I look at it, I don't actually eat that much during the day since I am always running around doing kid stuff, but at night, when the kids are tucked in bed, I seriously eat what must be five pounds of food.  Whatever we have for dinner I pile up on my plate and think there is no way I could eat ALL that food, but I do...and then I have ice cream or cookies for dessert.  I should just eat more throughout the day, but for some reason I don't.  I'm going to try to work on it though so I don't feel so ravenous at the end of the day.  It's not that I don't eat by any means, just apparently not enough.

I had a good week of running this past week.  It was really hot the first part of the week, but not too bad if I ran in the evening.  Actually, my seven mile run I did in the middle of the day while the kids were napping because Dom went in to work overtime that evening.  I think I posted on my facebook; 7 miles. 95 degrees.  Not cool.  Literally.  That sums it up pretty well, definitely not easy.  For some reason I thought that seven miles is easy shmeasy now since I've been running more.  Another not so smart thought on my part, because (especially in 95 degree heat) it was hard.  Duh.  Luckily for me the weather changed and it became cooler for my ten mile long run ( the mileage decreases every couple weeks then increases again).  That run was much better than the seven miler earlier in the week, just a beautiful day and a feel-good sort of run.

On another note; this past week we did add to our family.  Dom dropped me off at Super Cuts for a trim and took the kids to PetSmart.  We do this a lot just to look at the fish and birds and other fun animals, but we always just LOOK.  When they picked me up Constantine had a little critter box on his lap.  Dom had gotten him a pet rat!  I thought they were fooling with me and I would open the box and find some dog treats or something, but no...it was a rat.  You probably think that I was upset because it was a rat, but I actually love rats.  I actually told Dom all the time that if we were to get something I would want to get a rat.  When I was little I had a million pets (maybe more like a hundred...a lot).  I would definitely say that rats are the nicest of the little fury friends.  I was just mad because I am annoyed with our crazy dogs and I didn't want another animal to take care of right now.

Constantine named him Four and he is actually awesome!  If there is anyone out there with a child like Constantine I would one hundred percent recommend getting them a rat.  He sits right on Constantine's tray and just hangs out with him.  He is so nice.  C likes to put toys on his tray like our toy barn and Four goes inside with some toy animals.  He makes Constantine so happy so I have no problem taking care of him....As for the dogs, as sad as it makes me, I think one of them has to go.  I feel like all I do is yell at the dogs for barking and eating things etc. etc. etc. etc. and I don't want to be that person.  I love animals and I want my kids to love them as well, not always see mommy mad at them.

See Four behind C's neck :)

Those were the highlights of this past week.  Now I am just gearing up for a harder week of running and a busy week of planning for C's school.  It is a long process to get him into preschool with the right programs and people.  I want to make sure everything is just right for him before I decide to let him go to school.  This week we have the first meeting with the school to get (and give) a lot of information.  It's kind of overwhelming (mostly because I don't want him to get sick, but also because I am a little bit of a control freak about his care). I think he would love it though so we are checking it out.