Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Busy Bee

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth! In the matter of 3 days, I got 3 orders for different paintings, so I've been a busy little bee.

Add in a painting for a fall art show, extra hours at work and family stuff, and I've got a lot on my plate! But the good news is, the paintings are coming along quite nicely, the running is cruising and, ahhhhhhhhh, a vacation is just around the corner. Well, around the block, but I'll take it!

I will update you with paintings as soon as I finish up!


Let the vacation countdown begin!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Run for Pierogies 5k

Run for pierogies! Is there a better reason to run? Yes, running for pierogi medals!

Last Saturday was the R for P 5k and I was soooo excited for it because not only was my mom and brother racing, but it was my sister in-law's first. race. ever! It was a family affair and I couldn't wait!

You know you want one

The morning started with my mom discovering shot bloks......My mom can't even handle pepsi. She had four, FOUR, FOUR shot bloks (does she not have taste buds?!). Needless to say, the normal slap happiness that follow us to every race, started before we even got a mile from the house.

She was in rare form
We got to the race, which was on the community college campus, grabbed our gear and waited for the race to start. Moondog, the Cleveland Cavs' mascot, gave us a pre-race pep talk before the start.

Moondog says, "Do it for the pierogies!"

This wasn't a chip-timed race (grrr), so I was sure to set myself up at the very front of the pack. And then I was reminded why I hate 5ks (other than its a 3 mile sprint)...high school kids. The track and x-country stars were all lined up next to me, comparing notes of which races they've already won this year. Well, yeah. I could win 5ks every other weekend too if I had a coach and didn't have anything to do but go to school and train. Bah.

I'm the glowing-blond head to the right of the orange tanktop guy
The first mile went by in 6:30, and I passed my family as I headed off to the rest of the course. There was a lot of looping around and criss-crossing to the course, and of course, running thru the finish line (this is becoming a nasty little trend).

  

I passed by my family one more time and then headed toward the finish, I was flying and felt great!

3/4 of a mile to go!

After crossing the finish at 20:58, I turned around and headed back to find my mom. She'd been really worrying about how her Achille's would hold up for the race, so I wanted to help her cross the line. Plus the ham in me couldn't help but think what an awesome picture my mom and I crossing the line together would be....

I was right!
I was so proud of all of my family for how well they did! My brother hadn't run a race since 2005, my mom's Achille's was killing her, and my sister in-law came in 2 minutes under her goal!



And best yet, Mom AND daughter got the coolest medals ever......

1st & 2nd in our divisions!
Now you know where I get my speed :-)

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Birthday Running

Nothing rings in a birthday like 23 miles! I went up to Cleveland to celebrate my birthday, my neice's birthday and a bridal shower....whoow, that's a lot! It was a jam-packed weekend that included running every day, and it was awesome!

First up, running (swimming?) 10 miles on the Buckeye Trail, including the infamous Puke Hill. RRB and I could barely breathe, and I was sure to remind him how much I hated him every step of the way...until he bought me a coconut popsicle... then all was forgiven!

Best popsicle of my entire life

Then, after celebrating the birthdays, I ran with my sister in-law from the party back to her house, and my 8 year old nephew came along too! I mentioned back in the winter that my sister in-law was just entering the crazy world of running, and now she's signed up for her very first 5k this Saturday, the Run for Pierogies (absolutely appropriate for us Polaks!). We're all going to do it as a family, I'm so excited! Hopefully, my mom's achille's issues will let her join us as well, she can always recover after ;-)




Then, for my actual birthday I dragged my mom out of bed for an early morning 9 miler. It was swampy again, but I managed a 7:19 pace, which is my best non-racing pace of the season, so I was thrilled...no wonder I felt like crap!

Make way for the crazy girls!!!!!!!!
The weekend was so much fun, and I can't wait to go back up for an extended weekend for the 4th of July. Hope everyone has a great 4th!

Who needs birthday cake when you can have pie!?
29 and still asking for stuffed animals!