So I ran a half marathon

by Heather | 2 Comments

A little over 4 months ago I got this crazy idea to run the Corning Wineglass Half Marathon. For a number of reasons, it was a bucket list thing and a personal challenge to myself. Ben was going to start school and Cassidy was going to turn a year old, a lot of changes were going on.

So I ran. A lot. My training schedule was 12 weeks long with two short runs (3-4 miles) on Tuesday and Thursday. Then a longer run on the weekend that gradually increased up to 12 miles. Some runs I was lucky enough to do with friends, others were by myself. Thankfully we had a beautiful summer so most runs were outside in the sunshine and I only had to do the dreadmill a few times.

Saturday afternoon we headed down to pick up my race packet at the Corning Museum of Glass.

We spent the night at Andy’s Aunt and Uncle’s log cabin in the woods. I love this place and these people! My friend Tracy had actually signed up for the race so her and her husband spent the night as well. Becky came to cheer us on too!

Andy fixing Uncle Dan’s computer.

Aunt Bonnie made us an amazing spaghetti pie dinner with salad, homemade bread and chocolate cake. We enjoyed spending time together the night before the race.

The morning of the race Tracy and I had to get dropped off in town so we could take a shuttle to the start line. It was FREEZING (yes, actually low 30s) while we waited for the buses.

The most beautiful sunrise over a corn field at the start of the race.

Almost ready to go!

And we’re off!

The course was absolutely beautiful. Hills and streams, horses and old houses with barns. The leaves were also just starting to change to fall colors. Cell phone pics while running really don’t do it justice!

There was an injury though. Around mile 8 I forgot to pick up my feet and didn’t clear a pothole ;-) I wiped out and scraped up my hands and shin. There was a bit of blood but I got up and kept going.

Mile 11. Are we there yet?

The finish line at 13.1 miles! Timer on the left was for the full marathon that had started after us. Timer you can’t see is on the right. My goal time was under 2 hours 30 minutes and I came in at 2:24 :) I’d also wanted to run the entire race, which I did except for walking through a few water stops.

I made it!

Medals were beautiful.

Tracy and I. She finished 8 minutes before me!

Some of the other finishers coming in.

The signs Becky had made for me :)

We went out to lunch afterwards with Tracy’s family.

Home, showered and wearing the super cute race shirt! People have asked if I’d do another one…maaaaaaybe. Probably ;-) I was worried about my knees because they’d been pretty achy after long runs (even with new sneakers) but was pleasantly surprised they were ok after the actual race. I was sore, but now a few days later am feeling fine. So yes, there may be another some day. It was such a hard, awesome, personal growth, find something inside of you experience. Still not quite calling it “fun” yet though :)

What’s Ben been up to?

by Heather | 0 comments

School’s been going great for Ben, he has a bunch of little friends that he talks about. It’s kind of hard to get any info out of him so I have to dig and ask “what song did you sing today?” or “what was your favorite project you worked on?” He’s learning everything from days of the week, weather predictions, how to be a friend and the letters in his name with LOTS of play, singing and books. He has been pretty emotional and moody at home, I know school every day it a lot for him. Overall he’s soaking it up and doing great though. He’s been extra snuggly too which is always nice :) So fun to see him learning new things!

What’s Cassidy been up to?

by Heather | 0 comments

It’s been a few months since her monthly updates, I wanted to share a little bit of what Miss Cassidy has been into. Besides, everything. Cupboards, the fridge, the toilet, all her brother’s toys…the girl doesn’t sit still. She walks really well now and only plops on her butt when she picks up speed and her legs can’t keep up with her.

Says a bunch of words including daddy, mommy, Ben, ball, kitty, up, yes, ducky, bear, bye, hi, cup, this, that, bus and baby. She knows a lot of animal sounds when you prompt her. What does a kitty say (meow), doggy (woof woof), cow (moo), sheep (baaa). Although giraffes, horses and zebras all say “baaa” too :)

She gives open mouthed slobbery kisses if you ask for “kiss kiss.” Signs “more” and “all done” and knows where her tummy and head are. She loves opening books and flipping through pages, babbling a story as she goes along.

And you also probably saw on my facebook about her tub escapades. If you didn’t, here is what I posted: Welp, Cassidy pooped in the tub, tried to eat it, screamed bloody murder when i pulled it out of her mouth (yes she got that far that fast)…while Ben flipped out the entire time in the hallway that he needed a bath too because he was sweaty and stinks.

Ben also tried to “Tom Sawyer” her and convince her that one toy was SO much more fun than the one she was playing with. He wanted the toy she had so badly, but she’s a clever little one and wasn’t convinced at all. He even tried throwing her a ball to distract her so he could swoop in and steal the toy, but she picked that toy right up and strutted into the other room with it. Ben sat quizzically staring at her, realizing he had to up his game so he proceeded to take the toy anyway and inform her that she “needed to share.” So Cassidy bit him. He screamed, I comforted him. Scolded her and told her “No bite, ouch!” She screamed. 5 minutes later they were back to playing nice. This is my day with them, every day ;-)

Summertime

by Heather | 0 comments

Summer has come and gone, but I wanted to share pictures from our August trip to my mom and Paul’s cottage.

We invited some friends and their kiddos so there were babies everywhere!

Campfires with friends are the best!

Ben had his first ride on the jetski too! He actually surprised me and did a lot better than I thought he would. They slowly buzzed around shore and then headed out on a little adventure to a secret cove where Ben picked up a neat rock. (And then lost it a few hours later).

There was also a bit of nice down time.

My mom and Paul’s neighbors had “Clamorama” the night before. A yearly end of summer celebration with, you guessed it, lots of clams. The tent was still up so they let us use if for our meals, perfect.

I told Justin and Kate to “smile nicely” and got this lovely memory.

Such a good time. Until next year, here’s to you summer!

A camping we will go

by Heather | 0 comments

Wow, posts have been pretty infrequent around here. It seems like once Ben started school life has gotten CRAZY and I’ve been super exhausted with the shuffle of it all. And Cassidy’s back to waking up at 5am again, but that’s neither here nor there.

Andy and I needed a weekend away! So we headed up to Indian Lake in the Adirondacks and rented a campsite for the weekend. This wasn’t your typical camping though, we rented a site on an island and packed all our gear in the canoe and headed out. Andy had actually bought a 2HP outboard motor on craigslist and hooked it up to the canoe so we didn’t even have to paddle the 4.5 miles upstream to our site.

It was freezing! But it was so much fun. Just being away and existing in the quiet was great! We went with friends and pretty much had the entire island to ourselves. We camped in tents but there were a few amenities like campfire rings, picnic tables and outhouses so it wasn’t just a complete drop in the wilderness. The DEC guys also came to check up on campers each morning to make sure things were going well.

I just brought my cell phone since I didn’t want to deal with my big camera and the canoe and water (that just sounded like a disaster). Pics don’t really do it justice, it was beautiful up there! I’d definitely go again!

Thanks to the grandparents and neighbors who made the trip possible by taking care of the little ones!

PreK

by Heather | 0 comments

Ben started PreK this week, he was so excited and ready! He goes Monday through Friday in the morning for a few hours. The first day I actually went in class with him to meet his teacher and get acquainted with the room. When I told him it was the day he started school he looked at me with a big grin and asked “I’m bigger now?” He was Mr. Silly, so giggly and wiggly the first day…he should calm down a bit as he gets used to the routine of things though. He’s already made a few friends and talks about what they played with and the little activities they do. It’s cute, getting the bits and pieces of his day out of him.

There has been one instance of “I don’t want to go to school tomorrow.” He was particularly tired one night before bed and had a boo boo on his tongue (from biting it). Just kind of emotional, but he seemed better in the morning and was ready to go again.

Cassidy and I have kept busy, going to the Y and running errands. If she’s woken up exceptionally early, she gets a nap while Ben’s at school and I’ve *gasp* actually gotten a few things done! The one morning after dropping him off she looked over at his empty car seat and said “Uh oh, Bah Bah” so she did notice her big brother was gone.