Success at Disney Half Marathon

I am having a great time at Disney. I have finished the half marathon, am feeling great and have seen lots of friends and met lots of new friends. The highlight of this was unexpectedly seeing my friend Mike Lo Presti from Umstead 100 miler. He was working the EXPO.

I will write more later when I get home.

Preview of the Disney Goofy Marathon

How I spend my time during the Disney marathon...they should have a warning about how much the marathon really costs (I spent about $15 on trinkets $10 on food and $5 on beverages at various locations, Tristan spent $20 on beer and brauts at Germany in EPCOT and my sister spent $10 on beer as well!)

Okay, I'll take this and charge it to the room. I sure hoped Tristan never checked our bill because I was slipping in expenses left and right

With my sister showing off our medals

With Chip and Dale striking a runners pose

With my sister in front of Cinderella's Castle. Cindy and I ran essentially the entire marathon together last year which was alot of fun! However, at about mile 23 I think my sister was going to kill me because we kept stopping for pictures, for random breaks and pretty much were doing everything except running! I think this is the perfect way to "run" a marathon.

Tommorrow, Tristan and I fly to Orlando for the Disney Marathon. I will be running various races this coming weekend with various family members (unlike the next weekend which so far I have not convinced my dad he could do a marathon with no training!).

On Saturday I may be running the half marathon with my sister and her friend Imelda (ie my JFK50 2007 and Umstead 100 mile 2008 crew). On Sunday I will be running the marathon with Tristan. I really enjoy this marathon particularly seeing all the characters, going through the parks and seeing my old (and most FAVORITE) workplace!

Starting Thursday, my friend Peter W. from the Reston Runners will be staying with us. On Saturday we get together for lunch/dinner with Lauri F. somewhere. My vote is for the Goofy Candy Company but Tristan, Peter and Lauri may not appreciate calling a caramel apple a meal. Their priorities are so messed up!!! I think I might be able to get Cindy on board with my definition of meals and Imelda is a wild card.

Well, I will post next week when I get back. Have a great week and Happy Running!

Packed for Florida?

Disney Goofy Marathon is less then 4 days away. I have yet to pack; however, on a positive note I am still sort of packed for Death Valley/Las Vegas. This means I have summer clothing and running gear already in my backpack and suitcase.

Tommorrow Tristan and I will be heading to Orlando and I expect I will not have much time to post to this blog. In the meantime, please feel free to enjoy pictures from Death Valley!

And for those of you getting ready to sign up for Badwater, good luck! I will not be applying this year (the rejection from last year is still a fresh wound which I have not gotten over :-) Just kidding, Badwater conflicts with Vermont 100 and I was only 6 minutes over 29 hours thus I feel sub 29 hours in 2009 if I just focus! Oh yeah I need to fire my crew: Tristan. He's a good chauffer, but as a crew he sets the bar low then starts digging!

Death Valley Vacation 2008

Death Valley Marathon 2008

Thanks to my friend Jamie I now can post more pictures (using a link to Flickr) of my marathons and exploits:-)

My most recent Birthday gift, my last run before Disney and Update on my "Core" Challenge

Today I had a long day at work. After my alarm went off at 4 a.m., it was time to head to work. I will be taking off nearly every weekend for the next 6 weeks and on several (numerous?) occasions I will be taking an extra day, or two or three off. This means I need to get ahead on all my tasks. This is made even tougher by the fact I am an acting team leader (in which I supervise several colleagues), I have to get ready for an organizational meeting in late Jan for the conference I am a co-chair and of course I have my regular tasks. And of course since it is the beginning of the year, I have to write up a year end summary.

Well, I am feeling pretty good because I did finish my year end summary, I signed off on all the reviews I needed to do and I have completed about 85% of a pre-meeting packet for my January meeting. I left work about 4:30 and arrived home about 5 p.m. In our mailbox, I had a envelop addressed to me. I was excited because I had heard a rumor a gift was in the mail. I debated if I should open it and my curiousity got the best of me.

It was "Ultramarathon" by Shapiro! This book is out of print and is pretty expensive. But a few days ago when Tristan asked me what I wanted for my birthday I said I wanted that book. I am excited to get it, delighted that it is in good condition and look forward to reading it. When I finish it I will try to write a review.

Fitness-wise my year is going very well. I have done 10-15 sit-ups and 10-15 push-ups each day since I started my quest to strengthen my core this year. I am thinking of challenging some co-workers to workout 5 times a week so that I am motivated and held accountable.

This afternoon, I ran about 3 miles after I got home from work (at about 4:30 p.m.). The sun is starting to set a bit later, which is nice although I still needed my headlamp. And today the temperature was pretty decent (upper 40's or low 50's).

My Birthday-a small summary

My birthday cake from Brusters...it was mint chip frozen yogurt. And since my favorite colors are green and pink, the icing/decoration is this color.

Bruster's frozen yogurt is really good. In the spring, summer and fall Tristan and I go there nearly every week on Thursday for cheapie Banana split night (if you BYOB- bring your own banana)

My slice of pie...sadly this is relatively small because I already had 2 donuts, a chocolate dream from Carraba's and this piece of pie. Clearly my training for a eating contest is not going well!

Today I accomplished some of my goals a hike, meeting up with my sister, a trip to Fractured Prune and dinner at Carraba's but some goals I did not do: ice skating because I could not find my old ice skates--from the 1980's!

Regardless I would say my day was very successful. I even had two pieces of cake. One at Carraba's and one at home. Therefore I was able to make two wishes. I hope they both come true. One I learn about within a week and one in about 2 months. But even if my two specific wishes do not come true, I know I am incredible lucky to have such a full life with great family, friends, my health, freedom and ability to do so much.

You says it's your birtday...it's my birthday too!

Well today's my birthday. I may or may not have messed up on my race entries this year trying to subtract year(s) from my age. But if they calculate my age based on birthyear all my race results should be consistent (well except for yesterday which I might have actually listed today's age because I got so familiar with it in the past several days when I sent in a bunch of race entries:-(

Oh yeah and Umstead will now have me competing as a 37 year old female two years in a row (this was caused by my sister who was instructed to sign me up online in 2007 when Tristan and I were on a vacation near Mt Rainier when we had no access to internet or phones).

After an early start (6 a.m. wake up scratch by Gilligan on his e-collar), then a 1 hour snuggle with random cats (Sagwa won with a 30 minute snuggle that got interrupted when Powder started bathing her...but then we got powder as a consolation cat. Then Tristan and I feel back to sleep until 9 a.m. We haven't done this in months.

Now it's time to start my day...I hope to get in some ice skating, hiking, fracture prune donuts, carraba's and I really have to pack for Florida (and kind of Arizona because I have only a 4 day turnaround).

Al Rider 10 miler race and a trip to Brusters for Ice Cream

Our road trip to Brusters...I know I am getting a frozen yogurt pie for my birthday, Yummy!

Enjoying our ice cream in the car (with heat blasting!)

Running along the course at the Al Rider 10 miler this morning

At the finish line with Tristan and Gilligan a few minutes after I finished.

Have I mentioned my birthday is coming up? It's tommorrow! Because of this, Bruster's, my "source" for frozen yogurt sent me a coupon a few days ago for a buy one get one free waffle cone. Tristan, Gilligan and all went there this afternoon and each got a frozen treat. (Dogs get a free scoop which Gilligan Loves!). Sadly there were few people for Gilligan to get attention from, unlike the summer, but he settled for a scoop and hanging out in the car with us.

Our ice cream trip was a great way to end today which started with a local 10 miler. Tristan and I got to sleep in a bit because we had no animals wanting to get up. At about 6:30, we started getting ready for the Al Rider 10 miler. It is a race sponsored by the DC Road Runners and goes along a recreation trail through Rock Creek Park (the same park as Lake Frank, Lake Needwood and even the National Zoo but about 10 miles closer to DC then our local lakes).

I ended up starting the race 10 minutes late because I was in the restroom. I ran the entire 10 miles alone because I just could not catch up after my bathroom break. Because it was so cold I am glad to have made use of an indoor bathroom with heat and plumbing. Tristan was running this race as well. The weather was beautiful although a bit cold at the beginning. It was sunny and there was almost no wind. The course was very pretty going along Rock Creek Park and through some neighborhoods. I would guess about 100-150 people started the race with a 3:1 ratio of men to women.

After Tristan finished the race in 1:20 and I finished in 1:50 (as per Garmin) and 2:02 as per clock. To celebrate our respective victories we went to PF. Changs for some lunch. As we recieved the bill, I gave my 15% off card to our waiter. A few minutes later the manager, Kerry came back and handed me my card and asked which one of us was running the marathon next month. I acknowledged it was me and asked if she was running it (yes) and if she had run it before (yes, 2 times). I said I had run other marathon, but never Arizona but was looking forward to it, but I just have to make it through the Disney Goofy next week. During our chat, it sounded like she and I may be in the same corral (8) because our predicted time is about 5:30. We also chatted about how much nicer and easier any event is to run with others. Her first Arizona was with a team in training and the next year she returned to the race and ran into someone very early in the race whom she had run with her first year. They ended up running the marathon together. Perhaps I will see her and we will run together for a bit because she was very nice and friendly.

After returning home, Tristan and I cleaned the house a bit, did some laundry and completed some chores. I also continued my goal of getting my "core" strengthened and did 15 sit ups and 15 push ups (thus increased my counts for both 50%). I also took a few pictures of my medals outside. It was nice to see how many I have accumulated over the past 5 years (really it is the last 3 years that I have really become a proficient marathoner). At this point all my medals mean alot to me and have lots of memories. But someday I want to donate some of my medals to someone who it will be more meaningful (I think I have read there are hospitals that give out medals to cancer patients who are facing the battle of their lives--I think it would be cool to know that someone else might get so much more from a medal). This is my first step in trying to get mentally ready to do this.

Late afternoon Gilligan and I took our normal afternoon walk. After finishing this, I suggested to Tristan we use my Brusters coupon. I was excited about a huge waffle cone of frozen yogurt (which Brusters serves HUGE portions). We each got a large cone and Gilligan got his doggie scoop. It was a bit chilly so we ended up sitting in the car after Gilligan had his scoop. I also observed Tristan getting my frozen yogurt pie. After a few years in which my desires were mis-interpreted, I helped Tristan pick out my pie...But for all of you it will be a suprise!

Life Lessons from Billy and Gilligan

Tonight is our first time without Billy in over 9 days.

It was sad to see him go because he is such a loving dog. He was really cute and so sweet to all in our household. I think Puffle misses him most because he was one of her numerous boyfriends. I think Boo is ambivalent and Sagwa might miss him a little because he would chase her now and again and I think she likes to play chase especially when she's "it". I am not sure how Gilligan feels but this is because he is hopped up on steriods and Benadryl. I know Tristan and I miss Billy because he was always ready for a hike or activity. And had such enthusiasm for these activities and life in general.

So here is some advice I think Billy would give everyone if he could talk.

Billy's Life Rules

1) Get a collar that has a cool phrase on it like: "Party Animal" then live out this philosophy with reckless abandon.
2) Run and gallop with passion, joy and enthusiasm. Others may laugh at your goofy antics but at least everyone is happy.
3) A crazy and wild fur-do ensures no one else takes you seriously, and most importantly ensures you do not take yourself too seriously!
4) When drinking ensure copius amounts of water get all over 90% of the surface area of the room you are in. If you can get water in other rooms you can earn extra points and "street cred" by other animals as sloppy as you.
5) Eat with Gusto. But, if after eating with too much gusto, I recommend a quick "reversal of fortune" (puking) can easily takes care of the problem and creates room for more food. The same is true for water. And your next trip to the food trough there might be new food or treats! And of course sometimes there are cat treats to be had (see Gilligan's rule #5)


These rules are pretty much direct opposites of what I percieve Gilligans philosophy to be. Below you can see Gilligan's advice for life:

Gilligan's Life Rules

1) If you have the opportunity to sleep or nap, take it. There is no such thing as too many naps or too much napping. In the course of history no one has ever died from excessive napping (seriously google it!)
2) Attention is the best. The only thing better then attention is lying down while getting attention. This can be accomplished by lying on peoples feet. This may hold people captive against their will, but while waiting for you to get up most will offer a token pet or two. And a pet is a pet!
3) If people will not give you attention freely force them to give it to you. Walk right up to them, head butt them and get your head under their hand. Trust me, they'll pet you!
4) When on a walk feel free to try to take a nap. This means stopping abruptly, lying down and rolling over. Do not under any circumstances get up immediately. When you do get up do so grudgingly to try to end your walk sooner so you can get back to napping.
5) Cats are good pets. Frequently cats walk around with little treats hanging off their butts. These treats are edible and the cats appreciate the assistance with their hanging dingle-berries! Dingle-berry...yum!

One New Years Resolution Down: Many to go

With our random wounds from the past two weeks (Gilligan with his e-collar, me with my cool pink compression bandage and puffi with her belly)

Boo holding puffi (or is he strangling her??)

Boo and puffi hanging out

Today I started my day with about an hour or so at work. At about 7 a.m. I headed off to the blood donation site where I had an appointment. After an uneventful screening (well except for a very painful needle stick to assess iron levels), I jettisoned 1 lb of fluid (I think that is what 1 pint weighs). I got a cute compression bandage (hot pink, what else is there?) and a consolation orange juice or 4! Of course I gobbled up two packages of pretzels and chatted with the workers (who were bummed about working on what most companies had given as a Holiday). I felt their pain as I was stuck working as well. After applying my sticker "Be nice to me I donated Blood", I said, "Thanks and Happy New Year".

During my ~1 hour in the donation center, I saw only 2 other people and about 10 staff members. Everyone was really nice and attentive. It seems it was a slow day when I was there. Perhaps it was the early hour, but perhaps it is because not many others had "donate blood" on their list of resolutions.

Sadly I lost my Blood Donation sticker pretty quickly. Initially it got stuck in my hair. It must have lost adhesive so when I stuck it to my shirt subsequently I lost it for good pretty quickly. After that no one had to be nice to me. It was kind of a bummer. Apparently I had alot of issues not dropping things and in fact lost the tiny bandaid on my finger. It had fallen somewhere in my office suite. I looked extensively for it and considered sending an apologetic e-mail stating a bandaid had been dropped but it was not a biohazard (hey my blood is good enough for the Red Cross, so it should be too alarming to see). Since there were only 3 people in my office I decided to hope it was stuck in my hair unbeknownst to me (that's my defense and I'm sticking with it!)

As I headed back from my blood donation I got my oil changed (I was a busy little beaver today). As I dropped the Jeep off I had a pretty amusing conversation with the salesperson below you can see some highlights.

Tammy: Can I get an oil change
Salesperson: Sure...what kind of oil do you want, cheapie, middle or super expensive (okay, the person did not use this phrasing exactly but this is the gist of it and I hate this question because I never know how to respond--if I say "cheapie" it means I am an irresponsible car driver but if I say expensive, it seems it is a frivolous expense and looks like I am flaunting my non-existant wealth... but this is Tristan's Jeep so I respond with)
Tammy: The cheap stuff. It's my husbands car (good tactic to explain the cheapness, right?)
Salesperson: Do you want to have your alignment tested? It's free today with an oil change.
Tammy: Well, if it's free sure you can do this but for sure I will not do anything because I hate this car. (seriously I think I was lightheaded because of my blood donation so I was not prescreening my comments in my mind).
Salesperson: (after chuckling then asking me several more questions I don't recall as vividly he asked) What year is your car? Is it a V6 engine?
Tammy: (aackk...I have no idea the response, this may be the car I drive but it was purchased by Tristan). Well, it was born in 2005. But I am not sure if it is V4 or V6. It gets really poor gas mileage of about 15-20 mpg. I think it is V6, but it's my husband car, stupid piece of junk. (seriously I was spewing out my dislike of the truck freely...if it was just a little warmer and lighter late in the day I would be jogging or biking to work)

I picked up the Jeep without incident in the afternoon. But I do wonder what might be written in the chart (I imagine is says: Lady despises Jeep--don't bother trying to sell extra cost options unless you want to hear about how the car is her arch nemisis!).

But alas my day was not done. When I returned home to an empty house I figured Tristan had taken the dogs for a walk. He had. But apparently mid-walk Gilligan dropped to the ground and started rolling around (he is ready for a fire on him because he has Stop, Drop, Roll down!). Well, his e-collar had started having issues yesterday but today it split in half. Gilligan was free to scratch his hotspot. And he did with wild abandon. I did not realize this was all transpiring but being a decent (good?) wife I started walking our typical loop backwards. Pretty quickly I ran into Tristan, Billy, Gillligan, some poop in a bag and the collar. It was fortunate I had gone out to meet Tristan because he did not have the situation under control. In fact even I don't think I would have had this situation under control. Well we all walked home with Tristan and I trying to discourage Gilligan from mis-using his new found freedom. We got home and called the Vet. They said they could see him and get us a new collar and a steriod shot (since he was clearly still itchy).

Here is a summary of our visit and a snippet of the conversation with the vet. We all pile into the car (which is fine because Gilligan thinks we are going for a ride, short hike or maybe Brusters for some ice cream) We get to the vet. Because of my blood donation I cannot help Tristan much (no heavy lifting is a clearly stated rule...although so is no vigorous activity for 24 hours, I think and the Al Rider 10 miler tommorrow is 24 hours and 10 minutes after my donation started!) Gilligan remains in the car and refuses to get out. Who can blame him. But this is not going to help his wound or the itching. Tristan opens both car doors, pushes, pulls, pushes then pulls again and even tries to lift Gilligan up and out. But he is not very sucessful at budging Gilligan. I give the play by play in the reception area. It totally cracks me. The staff is pretty amused. Gilligan puts up a valiant struggle. Afer about 10 minutes Tristan finally can be declared the victor and they come in the reception. In retrospect we all should have clapped and given him a big cheer. For a bit my money was on Gilligan!

Now comes the time when we explain how/why the e-collar failed. A summary of our story was: Gilligan is strong, he was really interested in itching his hot spot and actively tried to get his e-collar off. Of course left unsaid was...and we took him on a 8 hour hike in the wilds of the Shenandoah Mountains. Then we had to explain why his wound was so dirty/muddy (in fact this was more a function of todays rolling then scratching during the last part of his walk without the e-collar. I think at the Vets office we now have a note in the chart suggesting we clearly have no control over our dog based on the 1) Refusal to get out of the Car "incident" and 2) how dirty and a bit cut up he got in a brief period between the destruction of the e-collar and the vet visit. they have no idea Gilligan is one of the two critters in our household we have the most control over (which really speaks to the level of our incompetence, doesn't it?)

On a positive note at least I don't think I got a comment in my chart at the Blood Donation site (well at least this time!)

Our final day with Billy (I think)

Tristan Gilligan and Billy above one of the falls. Notice Gilligan is wearing an Elizabethian collar (e-collar). He has scratched a raw spot on his neck and after $150 for a vet visit on New Years Eve Day he got a shot, some antibiotics and an e-collar!


Tristan, Gilligan and Billy appreciating the falls and icy pool at the bottom.

With Gilligan at a nice overlook

With Gilligan in front of some of the icicles along the White Oak Canyon wall. At this location every so often a big crash would occur and a big piece would fall down because the temperature was just over freezing.

The family (including our honorary family member Billy) in front of one of the Falls

Today is our houseguest: Billy's final day with us. His family is traveling back from Quebec City and assuming there are no major delays they should have arrived home late last night. Billy had a long day yesterday so he was probably fast asleep by the time they got home.

This morning during our morning walk (we have to walk Gilligan because he does not necessarily go potty unless he has a walk and an audience/cheering section:-) Billy laid down after about 100 meters (yes he uses metric!). After a bit of encouragment he got up and grudgingly followed me. This meant in my dog walking pack it was: Me, Gilligan then Billy. This is ALOT different then every other day when it is Billy well ahead, me, then Gilligan way behind. Typically in this scenario I am yelling things like: "one of the two of you is going to dislocate my shoulder" or "I wish I was elastic girl because then I would not be getting ripped into two". But today I was trying to convince both dogs to move. 240+ lbs of dog versus 120+ lbs of girl ensures the dogs win. We made it less then 1/2 of our normal walk and I gave up, my spirit crushed. But at least it was a different spirit (the one that wants the dogs to have a decent walk, not the spirit that wants to have some downtime!).

Yesterday I think Tristan and I can proudly say we won in the battle of Billy vs. the Massie's. We took Billy and Gilligan to Shenadoah National Park to hike around Old Rag and White Oak Canyon to ensure our victory (had Billy read my blog he would have known this was coming). Billy and I ran about 7 miles up and down the fire road while waiting for Tristan to climb Old Rag. Then Tristan, Gilligan, Billy and I all hiked White Oak Canyon. What a difference 5 days makes. This time we were bundled up in our winter clothhing (I had about 10 layers on top, 3 on bottom, 2 pairs of winter weight socks and more hats, scarves, neck gaiters, gloves and mittens on then your average sports store!) Other than when we sat down for lunch and I started eating my sandwich with bare hands, I was toasty the entire time. And once I put on gloves my hands were a bit warmer.

All along White Oak Canyon where there were waterfalls last Saturday, this time there were icicles and a bit of running water. It was very beautiful. Near the top of the Old Rag Fire Road (and as per Tristan the top of Old Rag) there was even a dusting of snow. It was a great day with clear blue skies and a nice temperature for hiking. Hopefully the winter will be relatively mild and we will be back there soon because it really is a very beautiful area (and in winter we do not have to fear rattlesnakes!).

We enjoyed having Billy, but we need some rest. I think I would equate Billy sitting to running a 70 miler. It is tough but no one has a meltdown --well at least that is my 70 miler experience.

Goals in 2009

I have many goals this year.

Running: In the right bar of this blog you can see my race calendar. From this it is obvious my goal is to run numerous marathons, and ultra marathons. I hope to break 28 hours in one of my three hundred milers (Umstead 100, VT100 and a yet unnamed/undecided 100 miler in the fall). It would also be nice to break 11 hours in a 50 miler (either Rocky Raccoon or JFK 50). Maybe I will try to break 4:10 for a marathon as well (I think this is doable if I just focus on running, not taking pictures), or perhaps I will even try to break 4 hours (this would be ALOT harder). And of course I want to finish every event healthy and happy excited to start my next event.

Family: I love my pets and my family. I will spend lots of quality time with all of them throughout the year. In particular I know all my pets may not live forever. I will make sure every day counts. The same is true for my family.

Travel: Already this year I will be going to Orlando (for the Disney Goofy Marathon- Jan), Phoenix (for the Rock n Roll Marathon-Jan), New Orleans (for the Mardi Gras Marathon- Feb), North Carolina (Umstead 100-Apr), Denver (ACRP Conference-Apr), Vermont (for both the Vermont City Marathon-May and VT100 miler-July), Niagara Falls (for the Niagara Ultra-June), San Diego (DIA Annual Meeting-June), and in the Fall, I hope to return to the New Hampshire Marathon, Death Valley Marathon and Las Vegas Marathon.

Fitness: I have signed up for two triathlons including the IronGirl in August and a Half Ironman Triathlon in Delaware in Sept. I will need to improve my swimming, biking and core strength for these events. And of course Tristan and I will do lots of hiking!

Volunteerism: I plan to donate blood more regularly (I'm tough, right?)--in fact Friday Jan 2nd I am so committed to this goal I have already set up an appointment (and am drinking lots of water today in preparation:-). I want to volunteer at more events. I really enjoy volunteering because of all the great people I meet and help and because it makes me feel good! (I think a 1: 3 ratio has been suggested for volunteering in some running magazines...I so far have volunteered for Disney Marathon weekend-at a water station for the 5 km race, Rocky Raccoon-for the 100 mile runners, Umstead 100-at registration, and Bull Run Run 50 miler-at the Marina Aid Station). Throughout the rest of the year I will try to keep this trend going.

Professionally: I will be running a large (750+ statisticians) FDA/Industry Statistics Meeting this fall. I want it to be the best conference yet. This will entail lots of work between now and September, but I think I am up for it. Also to help prepare I hope attending and presenting at two conferences (Association for Clinical Research Professionals ACRP in Denver in April and Drug Information Association DIA in San Diego in June) will help provide me insight into how best to do this. I hope I will be able to take a distance learning class about coaching (professionals) this will enable me to pursue one of my life goals of becoming a coach. Finally, I hope I invited back to the DIA Clinical Forum which will be held in Nice France in 2008. I had such a great time at Slovenia and really enjoyed both the experience of seeing a new country as well as meeting so many interesting professionals.

Friends: I am so incredible fortunate to have such great friends. I will make sure to set aside time to call, write or hang out with my friends. Friends are the most precious resource and I am so lucky to have so many friends. Thank you!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Tristan and I will be hiking Old Rag and White Oak Canyon to welcome in the New Year.

Wishing you and your family all the best in 2009!

Tammy