Thank you!

Eric Wynn Photography



Thank you all for the birthday wishes. Facebook/Twitter is great and it was so nice to hear from friends from all over the world, that took the time to say a quick hi and wish me. It really made me feel special!
It too was great being home to celebrate with my family!

My daughter wrote me a card that touched my heart and made me cry.
For those of you that did not see it on FB...It went like this

Love is possible...it is!
Mom,
My angel!
"Buttiful,nice,great,talented,Ironman,helping,winning champ,comfy,sleepy(lol) and my perfect angel!
You are the best person in the entire world!"
Love Sydney!


I'll be honest I don't like getting older...I'm not happy about it at all....but I did have a fun rewarding birthday.

Winning a race always feels good...and making a decision to dedicate my race to Sally, to the people of Japan and to my good friend Basil who passed away from cancer last year was a good reminder to make it all count!!! Too push beyond...to hurt because we get to live another day, run another day and they don't!

Remember why you train....Why you race...Do what you love...Have passion!!! Celebrate with friends and family!
Make each day count..each workout count and each hug meaningful....because life is too short!

Racing... makes me feel alive...pushing myself,my boundries,pushing out of my comfort,challenging my mental and physical self...competing..I have always loved it! Training, being outdoors,with nature,feeling my heart beat and sharing it with like minded athletes and friends is my passion.

Watching my children compete is now equally as wonderful!
Sydney came home after my race and wanted to go running. Tanner rode his bike next to her while she ran a mile sprinting like her mom to the finish....she definitely has the running bug!

So life is good and I cherish every moment!

St Paddy's 10 mile race report

Yesterday I raced the Freehold St Paddy's Day 10 miler. Every year I want to do this race but every year I have been in New Mexico training. So finally I got to add it to my schedule as I knew I was going to be around.
This was my first 10 mile race that I have run in probably 5 years so I was really excited to test out my fitness.
I have not done any speed work since last year so this was going to be a real test for me and I was quite nervous.




It was a brisk 38 degrees at race start with a cool breeze but I warmed up pretty quickly. I treated this race as I would a triathlon race and went in nice and rested, so I felt amazing at the start. I ran very comfortably and held back the first mile.
From then on I pushed hard and pretty much ran alone through mile 5. Mile 5 and 6 was a long climb but winter hill work paid off and I did not feel to bad. At mile seven I saw a girl about 400 yards behind me. I said to the guy next to me. It's my Birthday and I am going to win this race so I am going to have to push really hard now.
That is exactly what I did and managed to descend the last mile for a 6.09 mile...with a stop to hug my kids :-)


It was so much fun and it was great to see all my running friends. The atmosphere was great and it felt so good to actually race a running race. Big congrads to all those who raced...Tom One Shot for a nice PR and John P for impressing me with his running speed!

The Overall Result
First Women 6th Overall with a time of 1.02.39 Pace 6.17
Summary Pace per mile
1 00:06:17
2 00:06:08
3 00:06:26 Pulled back as I was worried I went to hard.
4 00:06:19
5 00:06:17 Climb
6 00:06:30 Long climb
7 00:06:15
8 00:06:20 Rolling hills
9 00:06:23 rolling hills
10 00:06:09

It was a great way for me to celebrate my birthday but what was even more special was that I was raced for others too.
I chose to support the fundraising for Japan. www.runforjapan.com
The other was to honor Sally Meyerhoff who was a very talented marathoner and budding triathlon star who was recently hit and killed while riding her bike.
This was such a tragic event and I wanted to do something in her honor. Sally liked to wear pink socks so I wore some pink socks for her.
So while I raced I said a prayer for Sally and told her I was racing for her because I could.
It always feels good to race for something other than yourself


Thank you to BoB Both from the Jersey Shore Running Club for the awesome photos!

Next up Texas 70.3!!!

People always ask what I eat and how I get my calories in!

Here is this weeks shopping list for me and my family

Big on Fruit in my house as my kids don't love all the veggies!
Blueberries
Apples
Mangoes
Papaya
Kiwi
Tangerines
Raspberries
Strawberries
Melon
Banana's
Mixed frozen fruit for smoothies(big in my house) I like to add whey protein.

Veggies
onion
portobello mushrooms
avocado's
sweet potato's
potato's
celery
peppers
baby fresh spinach
corn
carrots
broccoli
baby tomato's
fresh basil
cilantro
lemons

Chicken breasts
Whole chicken
Chicken broth

Vegetable broth
Sea bass
Shrimp
Maple Ham
Canned tuna

Raisins
walnuts
pine seeds
Olive oil
natural peanut butter
agave syrup
honey
balsamic vinegar

Feta cheese
Gruyere cheese
Fresh Mozzarella

Spagetti
Quinoa
Whole wheat penne
Whole wheat bagels
Wheat Tortilla's

Skim milk
almond milk
coconut milk
fag'e yogurt
green tea
OJ
coconut water

SNACKS
chocolate ginger
peanut butter pretzels
vegetable chips
stacy's chips
guacamole popcorn chips
Nilla wafers

More Costa Rica photos to come...