Found My Marathon Mantra
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Thanks to Sole Sister Christie for hooking me up. ;)

Thanks to Sole Sister Christie for hooking me up. ;)
For today's blog, I thought I'd replay a 17-year-old ongoing "discussion" that Blair and I have going and that popped up again this weekend. It revolves around Spaghettios.
Blair enjoys the occasional can or two of Spaghettios. I have no problem with this. While I've outgrown the taste myself, I remember how much I loved Spaghettios with hotdogs (NOT meatballs - ick, blech!!) as a kid. What I question is the way he prepares them.
Spaghettios are pre-cooked so all you have to do is heat them up. Which Blair does. Then he leaves them to cool on a plate on the kitchen counter until they return to room temperature.
"If you like them cold, why not just eat them out of the can?" I ask.
Blueberry, the dog who sat at the Eden Humane Society for over 2 years, wrote the Animal Protection Society a letter about her new home:
Dear APSRC members,
Thank you so much for helping me find a permanent home. I love my new home and family.
My new mom made some pictures of me and Spazz. One is of Spazz and me playing like we do. I am getting the better of him. One is of me after we play. I am hot and panting. One is of me being cute. And then one is of the two of us.
Spazz and I have a big lot we stay in when Mom is at work. We have lots of toys and things to play with and chew on. When Mom gets home we go for a long walk and have time to play and run and chase each other. We have our supper and we have treats before we go to bed. We have treats before Mom leaves for work too. I love treats. We have so many treats we don't know which to eat first.
I am learning to sit. I don't do it as well as Spazz yet. But I try. I get so excited about treats I can't be still. I like to jump.
On the weekends, we get to be out of our lot. We do things on the farm. Last weekend we worked on the cow pasture fence. I loved that. We were in the woods. There is so much to see and smell. We we come in, we all lay down and take a nap under the carport. I lay at the back door. I want to know if Mom is going somewhere.
Our other canine family members have been good to us. They are sort of old and don't want to run and play like we do. But that is ok. I am good to them.
Thank you again for caring about me and my well being.
Love and licks, Blueberry
Thanks to Blair Harris for giving his permission for today's post.
Blair and I left Virginia Beach last Monday in the pre-dawn hours. Blair had to be back at work that afternoon so we needed an early start. We'd come into VA Beach on 664 off of 58, so we did the opposite going back. Got on 664 and then took the exit for 58.
Even though it was early and no one was out, I was nervous as we drove through narrow streets in what looked like a bad neighborhood.
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I want a cat.
There, I’ve said it. Proclaimed my intent to the Universe. Although I’m only willing to accept moderate blame when events transpire to actually bring a cat into my life.
I have no business getting a cat. A few strong reasons off the top of my head include:
And yet.
When I began sharing the news that I had taken a new job near Atlanta and was moving . . . spreading my wings. . . opening myself to new horizons. . . without fail the first comment from almost everyone was, “OMG. You know about the traffic there, right?”
Yes, I am aware of the traffic. Thank you for your loving concern and support.
So how bad is it really? Having lived here now for three months, I can tell you that the 12-mile drive to my office from home can take anywhere between. . .
One of the hardest decisions in moving to Atlanta was knowing I would be leaving behind my 25-year network of friends. These are friends that saw me through job changes (insurance adjuster, librarian, author, marketing maven), life changes (divorce, moves, dating), as well as were there for everything from my first published book to my first marathon to holding my hand when my cat died. A lot of years, a lot tears, much more laughter, and oodles and oodles of love.
In other words—not something easily replaced.
Of course, I’m not “leaving behind” friends but since the five-hour drive between Atlanta and Greensboro isn’t convenient for a quick movie or fro-yo meet-up, the burden is on me to make new friends.
The obvious place to make friends, for me, is the gym. I joined a big-ass Lifetime Fitness...
As most of you know, after 20+ years in NC, I’ve recently relocated to Georgia, about an hour outside of Atlanta. More updates on that later. Right now, I want to share with you the saga of the license plate. It’s a story that more or less sums up my life. What takes other people twenty minutes, takes me 9 weeks, 8 phone calls, 4 DMV visits and a two-week plan to evade the law.
It all started the week I moved to Georgia. I was checking things off my list right and left (pictures hung in new home - check. Food in fridge – check. Wall art for half-bath – check, check, check) and in an effort to be pro-active, toddled off to the DMV to get my GA driver’s license. I showed up prepared for anything – NC driver’s license, passport, pay stub, and invoices from gas, electric and trash removal verifying my new address. I approached the teller window.
Teller: “Social security card.”
Me: “I don’t have that, but here’s my passport.”
Teller: “I can’t issue you a license without a social security card.”
I get a lot of questions about the best ways to train. Which, considering I spent the earlier part of this year on crutches, unable to run for four months due to an overuse injury that could have been avoided, I find somewhat amusing. Then there’s the immediate back-pedalling that takes place, usually in the form of, “But I don’t want to run, or get up at 4 am, or do anything that’s hard.”
Gotcha. I can work with that.
Below are five training tips I try to follow. I say try because let’s be honest—we’re all human and some days will be better than others. But these are the big picture items that have kept me pushing for the last ten years, and they are things anyone can adopt into their lifestyle.
1. Pick Something You Love
I can’t count the number of times people say to me, “Ugh, I know I need to run but I hate it.” Um… why exactly do you need to run? I hate Pure Barre and even though my butt never looked better during the month I took classes, I’m not going back.
When I first signed up for this half Ironman, I knew my swim would be slow and my ride would be average, so the plan was to make-up some time on the run. The Universe had other plans though, and handed me the stress fracture in my hip. It was literally only days before the race when my chiropractor agreed that I could try a walk/run of the course, but only if I swore a blood oath that if it hurt, I would stop. And, in a cruel twist of fate, advised that my best strategy would be to run the uphills and walk the down. That goes against everything I hold dear in life, but okay. I figured I would run a mile/walk a mile throughout the race for as long as I could.
My strategy worked perfectly… for the first quarter mile.
(ICYMI: Part I: THE SWIM)
Let’s call it like it is. I crushed the ride on this race. 18.71 average speed. My normal pace with a group where I’m drafting is closer to 17.5, so I had aspirations of maybe holding a 17 mph average. Crushed. It.
What helped me is my Garmin died before the ride even started, so I had no idea for the entire 56 miles what my pace was. I just rode according to how I felt. The first 3-5 miles were shaky (I kept repeating, “You’re out of the water. You’re alive.”), but then we turned right onto the highway, I settled into my arrow bars and literally said out loud, “Let’s make some time.”
Fun fact: They mark your age in sharpie on your left calf in an Ironman race. Not sure why, but...
On Sunday, June 4, I completed my first (because there will be more) Half Ironman. 1.2 mile swim. 56 mile bike ride. 13.1 mile run.
Being my first IM, there’s a lot to process, especially as I didn’t think I’d be able to complete the race due to my hip injury. I am thrilled beyond all words that I finished and probably most proud of the fact that I have (as of yet) to get the IM tattoo splattered across, you know, my face.
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