12/30/14

2/28/14

12/21/14

12/20/14 Jingle Bell 2 Miler

12/19/14

12/17/14

I realize I haven't done a lot of postings about food. But I have to tell you what I did last night. I made a vegetarian gluten-free lasagna. It was delicious! In place of the noodles, I used spaghetti squash. Made my own marinara from fresh tomatoes. I made a blended cheese mixture of tofu, feta, and spinach. I layered each of these with corn, carrots, and mozzarella.

12/14/14

Marathon shoes!

Got some NHF shoe laces for my birthday and I have added them to my running shoes for the marathon. As you can see, they are not laced on in the traditional manner... I have been using elastic laces for months now, to help my feet feel comfortable, as feet tend to swell when running.

12/5/14 Friday

Ran 3.82 miles in 45:10.

So humid today! Didn't bring water, since I was only going a shorter distance. Once I started, I changed my path to hit up a water fountain at a park. I brought Ace with me and he needed water as well! We are both at home and breathing heavy now. 

On the bright side, during my run intervals, I pretty much kept my pace under a 9 minute mile!!! Improvement!!!

2014 Space Coast Half Marathon

What an amazing morning running Space Coast Half Marathon! (Hubby ran the Full!) Beautiful weather! Great company! 

13.1 miles in 2:22! Second best time for a half for me. I wasn't trying to PR, just another training run for January. I was feeling good right after the run, but now, my knee caps are both a little sore. Have done a little icing.

This was before the race.

This is me after crossing the finish.

This is at Jeff's half way point. Brought him some fuel to keep going.

Selfie while running to the finish.

Selfie after Jeff's finish.

Almost time!

8 hours and 7 minutes to race time. Think I should get some sleep!

11/28/14

Did 3.32 miles in 34 minutes. Just an easy training run before the big race this weekend. Space Coast Half Marathon. I plan on treating this as any other training run for the REALLY big race in January.

11/21/14 Turkey Clot Trot 5K

Turkey Clot Trot 5K for Hemophilia this morning in Jacksonville. Team BioRx/Philo/Morin ran it in 30:43. I would like to mention that Alex had gained weight, so extra arm strength was required today.

11/20/14

11/17/14 Swing For The Kids Hemophilia Golf Tourney

85 and sunny in south Florida today!

Had so much fun playing with my Novo friends today!

11/16/14

Ran 9.58 in 1:55. My shin felt much better. Glad to keep training!

11/2/14

Quite a switch in the weather today! I was wearing layers to keep warm... Yes, I said it... To stay warm. I had on a short sleeve shirt, arm warmers, then a long sleeve shirt, and my legs were fully covered. I can't believe this is Florida.

I ran 6.81 miles to meet up with Jeff & Alex for breakfast. They then drove me to a new spot to run 6.63 more miles.

TOTAL: 13.44 miles in 2 hours and 37 minutes. Feeling very good today... Must be the cooler weather. I must admit, I struggled at the beginning with my mouth being dry. Thankfully, I brought along water for just that reason. I certainly didn't need it for rehydration, as I drank around 40-50 ounces to prepare for my factoring prior to the run, which unfortunately took me 3 sticks today, despite all the water.

9/14/14

This morning I actually got up at 4:00 AM... Met with 1 of my running groups for extra support. I did 9.91 miles in 2:06:20. We did a 3:1 run walk... Just what I needed. This is clearly the better choice for me. I am planning on doing the marathon that way.

Donations are still needed...

The 1st Gears for Good NH bike was a huge success... However, Helping Hands could still use donations! In September will be the DC Gears for Good ride, so there is still time to donate! Every dollar makes a difference. Please visit my donation page and help people with hemophilia get the care they need.

7/13/14

So, last Tuedsay, 7/8/14, I felt like my knee was a little "off". I decided it would be a good idea to factor, just in case. I certainly don't want to have any major knee issues right before RAGBRAI. I did a second cautionary dose on Thursday, before I went to the gym to jog a little and lift weights.

Yesterday, Saturday morning, I towed Alex behind me for an 8 mile bike ride in 45 minutes. 

Today, Alex and I went 12 miles in 1 hour, with a small break in the middle for breakfast at MiMi's with Jeff, who is doing a long ride today.

Gears for Good New Hampshire

7/6/14

30 miles in 2:07 testing out our RAGBRAI jerseys. Also did some hill training on the causeway. 13 days away... Need more hills to train on!

July 4, 2014

Family bike ride today on Rockledge Drive next to the river. Jeff pulled Alex today. 

We went 14 miles in 1:12.

Happy 4th everyone!!!

July 2, 2014

Today I ran to Publix and back to pick up a couple things. I did a total of 5.85 miles pushing Alex, but not sure how long it took me because I can't remember to shut off the tracking app when I am done. It sprinkled on me for about 5 minutes on the way out, but on the way back Tropical Storm Arthur decided to dump on me the last mile and a half. Lucky for Alex, he has a rain cover and stayed dry. I feel like a drowned rat right now. On a positive note, my legs seemed to have recovered from this past weekend's Gears for Good Bike Ride for HFA.

Active Hemophiliac awareness shirt

I am working on designing an Active Hemophiliac shirt for awareness. Would anyone be interested? It will be made if wicking material, so, great for activities. There would be several shirt styles to choose from (i.e. running, cycling, tank, etc.) Please let me know if you are interested. You can visit my Facebook page and leave a comment.

June 1, 2014 San Diego Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon

I have now completed 7 half marathons! This time we traveled a long distance to run. Friends of ours from Boston, Doug & Carrie, also came out to compete. We had an amazing time together! The post race party was at PetCo Stadium... Very cool!

I had not trained as much as planned this time, so I really took it easy on my knee. I also didn't realize how many hills there would be and my calves really struggled on the downhill slopes. I now know what I need to work on. 😉 I couldn't even sprint through the finish line like I always do, because a knot was traveling down both of my calves, causing me to nearly crumble with pain. 

My time: 2:46:48

I placed 928 out of 1370 in my age group.

I placed 12,829 out of 16,850 total runners. 

Doug, Jeff, Carrie, & I before the race started.

Carrie and I were in the same corral to start. However, my bladder caused me to fall behind very early on. This is the down side of drinking so much water before factoring up for a race. 😉

This was nearly half way.

This was about 5K left.

At the post race party in PetCo Stadium.

Don't worry... I may be down, but I CAN get up! LOL

My amazing supportive husband!

Megan's Books for Babies Golf Tournament 5/17/14

Today, I played in a scramble golf tournament with Jeff and some friends of ours. My knee felt perfect. Was a beautiful day for golf! We ended up tied for 1st place and lost the tie breaker. 

Mother's Day 2014

I started the day off with a 5.1 mile run in 1:11, with 3 other moms. We had a wonderful start to our day, as the weather was very nice. My knee felt great today! I am hoping things continue like this, as I have a half marathon coming up on June 1st.

May 4, 2014 Eat My Crust 5K

29:09 ... PR !!!

Placed 15 out of 46 in my age group.

I think a PR today was exactly what I needed to get back on track. I have been pretty unmotivated lately. Alex is having a great deal of bleeding from his loose teeth lately. He has lost 2 teeth in a week and the amount of bleeding has been greater than ever before. I haven't had much time to get out and run or cycle. 

April 7, 2014

I lost a toenail today... I feel like I am now officially a "runner". I really thought it would happen more traumatically, but it merely came off. Weird!

April 12, 2014

Rode 29 miles in 2 hours with my hubby, Jeff, and friends, Misty and Meghan. Beautiful day for a ride! My knee is feeling very good! 

BTW, Misty doesn't let her osteoarthritis in her knee stop her from biking. In fact, the more she has been exercising, the better she has felt, as well! 

It works in so many situations... The better we take care of our bodies, the better we will feel and less problems we will have!

April 24, 2014

My son has been having difficulties (oozing, tummy aches, lack of appetite) while loosing a tooth. It finally fell out yesterday just as I found another loose one, which bled much heavier! He had been doing prophy with Feiba for the previous tooth, but this new loose one started while he had Feiba in his system, so I had to wait until it was gone before attempting Amicar. The Amicar did not slow the bleeding at all, so we added NovoSeven... Which, all you bleeders with inhibitors out there know, is a frequent infusion schedule... Every 3 hours! Well, the 1st dose stopped the bleeding, so we continued through the night with the NovoSeven. 

What does this have to do with marathon training, you may ask? Well, as I was giving Alex his treatments, I was kneeling next to him. Do you see where this is going? I "over bent" my knee, causing a bleed. I hope 1 dose will be enough, but it does prevent me from meeting up with my new running friends tonight. :( I have a scheduled charity bike ride this weekend that I don't want to miss, so I will be taking it easy the rest of this week. This is one of those examples of knowing your body and realizing the bigger picture. Catching it early, treating it early, and resting will hopefully get me back out there sooner than it used to.

April 20, 2014

I got up early to join some new friends on a 3.59 mile run in 35:44. After that my friend, Robin, and I decided to continue our exercise by riding 17.2 miles in 1:29. Whew! It was incredibly windy today! Really gave my knee a great work out!

April 19, 2014

Today, I started off riding 32.6 miles in 2:14, by myself. Then I added Alex in the trailer, and Jeff rode with me for an additional 5 miles in 38 minutes. It was crazy windy today, so pulling Alex and the trailer really gave me a good workout. We also took a bridge twice, so even more work.

April 16, 2014 World Hemophilia Day!

I met with Suzanne, my personal trainer, today, on World Hemophilia Day! She gave me some new exercises to work on with the TRX straps. I am so glad I now have them at home to work on these things all the time next to the pool. 

I will BE STRONG!!! 

I am an ACTIVE HEMOPHILIAC!!!

April 16, 2014

It's OFFICIAL! I have just registered for the Walt Disney World Marathon! OMG all the emotions that are going through my head right now!

Excitement!

Nervous!

Panic!

Thrills!

April 15, 2014

Rode 20 miles today in 1:45. Back to the wetlands for some photo ops.

April 7, 2014

I lost a toenail today... I feel like I am now officially a "runner". I really thought it would happen more traumatically, but it merely came off. Weird!

April 6, 2014

Despite a weekend dealing with my son having a lot of bleeding from a loose tooth, we found a few blood free moments today to take a bike ride. 

We rode 18.1 miles in 1:56. 

This picture was our turn around point. Took a break at a Florida Wetland "Park" for some liquids. Even saw a gator!

April 5, 2014 Pirate Plunder 2 Miler

Made a last minute decision to do this race with my friend, Robin.

Ran it in 18:08. Placed 8th out of 22 in my age group!

Pretty hot and humid run, but my legs felt great! 

March 31, 2014

Yesterday, I rode my bike 6.4 miles in 40 minutes... I know, quite the slow pace, but I was pulling Alex behind me and riding on the sidewalk. It was also my 1st time pulling him while going over a bridge... Not the easiest thing going up, but much better on the downslope!

HFA Symposium

Here we are... My BioRx family at the HFA Symposium, having a great time meeting new people! 

HFA symposium

Here I am with 2 more important people in my marathon quest. Angie Forsyth, my hemophilia PT, and Rich Pezzillo, my blood brother and 1st hemophiliac, that I am aware of, to run a marathon... Does that make me the 1st FEMALE hemophiliac to run 26.2 miles? As far as I know... it does! 

Rich spoke at an inhibitor conference a couple years ago about his experience running a marathon as a hemophiliac. I did not know him personally at the time, and while he was speaking I was thinking he was completely insane... Little did I know that eventually my mind would be changed.  After getting to know him on the Gears for Good bike ride last fall, I realized he is more like me than I thought, just exercising to be a healthier hemophiliac. I began to wonder... Is it possible for a person with a target knee joint, such as myself, to run 26.2 miles??? Well, the more I exercise and gain muscle strength around my knees, the more comfortable I feel with the idea that I am able to complete such a task. 

With all the bleeds I have had in my right knee, I had once felt a great deal of "crackling" when I would move it certain ways, such as squatting, or bending down to pick up something from the floor... All you hemos with target joints know what I am talking about. After these past couple years of exercising, that "crackling" feeling has almost completely disappeared!!  I believe that in doing the right kinds of strength training and total body work outs that my team of professionals have helped me with, my knee has actually IMPROVED instead of DEGENERATING!!!

HFA Symposium

What a treat to see my blood brother & cycling buddy/cycling mentor, Barry Haarde, and his mom, Emily! ... And in front of a poster of ourselves mid ride near my home. That is the Eau Gallie Causeway in the background for all my local followers. We rode on one of the most popular running/cycling areas in Brevard county. Barry always has great tips for me to improve my cycling skills. Thanks, Barry!

March 28, 2014

This morning I had the opportunity to run with my hemophilia PT, Angie! As you can see, I have my compression calf sleeves on and my knee braces. Since I am working the HFA conference for several days, on my feet, wearing dress shoes (not the norm for me), I want to be extra careful not to strain my knees.  Another beautiful day on Bayshore Drive, but getting pretty humid. Angie gave me some great tips on working with my local PT and trainer to look at my back muscles to be sure I maintain good running (and cycling)  posture. 

We did 4 miles in 45 minutes.