Tuesday This and That

-I am going to be spending Thanksgiving with my Dad, stepmom, grandma and other family. I am looking forward to being with them. Terri and I know this will probably be grandma's last Thanksgiving. I know she is excited we are coming there, the smile on her face said it all . Maybe Dad and I can get the Instagram working  on his phone...

-My ankle is doing better!!! I am off crutches and full weight bearing and up and down steps. It is still bruised. I (in my maybe unrealistic mind) hope to be up and running again before the end of the year!!
Nothing wrong with goals, even though the goals need to be flexible. 2 more weeks of this brace then I can start walking more and then work to walk/run.

-Just wanted to share this guy who was in a birthday gift for me!!! I love wind up toys. They keep me entertained  while at work.

-I received some Injinji socks to try and review. I am hoping to wear them on a run some day soon!

Getting there

I met with the orthopedist last week and the fracture is healing in my ankle. I have to wear the brace at least 3 more weeks and then call 12/5 and talk with him as to where I go from there. We discussed therapy. He feels that I will be fine with no residual effects but will start with walking then walking/jogging and then slowly up to one mile runs on treadmill(controlled enviroment). Sounds like I am learning to run all over again. I can do this....I WANT to do this.



Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies. ~Mother Teresa

The T's......

Thursday This and That!!

-Still nursing my fractured ankle. I am healing though. Saw the MD yesterday and have to wear the ankle splint another 3 weeks then I can start walking then walk/run and then running small distances. Reminds me of when I was learning to run with the couch to 5K. It is ok I would rather take it slow than to do more damage. I am hoping to be running again in some form by 12/31.


-I had a wonderful 40th Birthday celebration last Saturday. It was with my whole family minus some nephews and a few friends.  Terri organized it and did a fabulous job. She had my family telling funny and embarrassing stories about me growing up. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday celebration. Plus the cake was delicious and fun ...80's themed!

-I am trying to maintain my weight with being inactive and not running. I have a huge fear of gaining back the weight.

-Finished the second book of the Divergent Series....it is a YA cross over book in the likes of Hunger games. The third is no due out for awhile yet.....bumming.

-Looking forward to the holidays coming up!!!! Love Christmas

-My grandmother got some bad news of a huge colon tumor that is cancerous and a large hiatial hernia that 90% in her stomach. She has chosen no treatment since she has lived a good life at 94 yrs old. It is hard having to explain the process of this to her and my family( I am the nurse in the family). I just hope the suffering for her is minimal.

Grandma and I

GU review

I feel bad for this is a long overdue review on the GU products that I was sent and able to review.
I have tried numerous products but not really any of the GU products and was thoroughly excited to try new flavors and products .

Here is the website to check out more products GU Energy

I was sent some GU Energy Gels, GU brew, a GU Roctane drink and GU Recovery mix.

A little about GU Energy Gels
An optimal blend of carbohydrates, the proprietary GU amino blend, and a full serving of Vitamin C & E. Oh yeah, did we mention taste? GU Energy Gel has the time-tested consistency and delicious taste that athletes have come to expect from the original energy gel.

-I tried the flavors Vanilla, Tri Berry and Chocolate Mint. I will have to say my favorite is Vanilla. More palatable to me- personal preference. The down fall that I saw was as the weather gets colder they stiffen up and hard to get out of the packet on runs. I do like how they fold up to nothing to put back in your pack or pocket.

GU Brew Tabs
GU Electrolyte Brew Tablets are simple, light tasting and natural. They are invariably better than water alone and bring your system into balance more quickly by helping you retain more of the liquid you ingest.
Stevia, a plant-derived sweetener, is the primary sweetening agent in Electrolyte Brew Tablets instead of acesulfame potassium, a commonly used artificial sweetener. Brew Electrolyte Tablets are the natural option to achieving proper hydration

I tried the Lemon Lime and Tri Berry flavors. I used them instead of water on my runs. I and my stomach was happy with them. I prefer the Tri berry flavor. Lemon Lime is ok just not my favorite flavor. I found nothing wrong with the bre tables.

GU Brew Roctane
A carbohydrate intensive energy drink that contains the critical carbohydrates and electrolyte replenishment ultra endurance athletes need to compete at high levels. It comes in a super light tasting, easy to mix formula for fueling hour after hour after hour

I tried the grape flavor and love it! I want to get a container of it to have more. Enough said!

And last but surely not least is the GU Recovery Mix


The premium quality ingredients in GU Recovery Brew help you quickly replenish energy stores and rebuild muscles after an intense workout. GU’s Recovery Brew reinvents the category and evolves this critical training tool into a nutritional experience we’re confident you’ll actually enjoy.
What's in it?
Protein - GU Recovery Brew is full of whey protein isolate for speedy recovery of muscule fibers
Amino Acids - Arginine and Glutamine promote recovery by diminishing the negative effects of intense training and supporting a strong immune system.
Carbohydrates - Both simple and complex carbs (and lots of ‘em!) in optimal balance will re-fuel your competitive fire and get you back to training and racing on schedule.
Antioxidants - Over 100% daily allowances of vitamins C and E in every serving. Your free radicals will hate us!
How's it different?Quality ingredients is the cornerstone of any qaulity product and GU Recovery Brew relies on whey protein isolate -- not cheaper whey protein concentrate -- to create a higher quality and more effective product. Did we mention taste? Say goodbye to grainy, chalky, salty and smelly. GU’s Recovery Brew reinvents the category with a highly effective product that actually taste good.

Ok you know you want my Muppet glass but not the dirty stove...don't be jealous! :)

I tied the Chocolate Smoothie . Mixed it with milk in a Tupperware mixer. It tasted good and was a nice alternative with more nutrients then just plain chocolate Milk. Plus I put it in a nice Muppet glass.

Overall I would continue using GU products and look forward to trying more!

Disclaimer- I was sent these products free to review on my blog -courtesy of GU Energy products. I did not pay for the items, receive payment for the review or agree to give a positive review.

Well this just bites

Several updates since I have been behind on blogging. I will try to put in order of timing.

-We went on the cruise 10/7 to 10/14. Terri, Lori, Moni and I had a good time. We left out of Baltimore and went to Grand Turk, Freeport and Half Moon Cay Bahamas. We laughed a lot, read and ate way too much. The seas were quite rocky which I really did not care for.

-Got ambushed with bad news last week. My step dad's cancer is back on his lip, my 94 yr old grandma is having difficulty with her bowels and there is a major concern of something that they are doing testing 10/31 and my dad is having hernia surgery on the same day.

-Ran the Bowman Cup 5k in Kent Ohio on 10/20/2012 at Kent State University. It was a very chilly morning . One of the first races I went to on my own. Ran a PR in 26:37. I grew lighting legs overnight.

-Spent last Sunday with a 7.6 mile morning run and then a 4 mile bike ride with a stop at Szalay's farm for lunch and some produce. Great fall day spent with Terri.

-Tues morning out for a run. I have started to love my dark mornings and wearing headlamps. Not sure how the events unfolded exactly but slowed to look behind me for traffic to cross the road and either slipped on wet leaves or hit a crevice in the road. I rolled my ankle and went down. It hurt like a @#$%^&. I got up started to walk it off, telling my self not to be a wimp, I just sprained it. It started feeling better and I went back to my run for a total of 3.2ish miles. Made it home and showered. Worked from home so went to work. An hour or so later got up to go bathroom and could hardly walk on it. It also looked like a half of baseball. Later after work at urgent care.....fractured on the bottom tip of fibula. Saw my Orthopedist yesterday and small avulsion fracture and lots of ligament damange. Bad news healing of 5-6 weeks. Placed in air cast . Will see  MD again in 2-3 weeks . If not healing then a boot cast. Woke this am with more pain than the last 2 days. This is going to be a long 5-6 weeks. Good news is I can catch up on blogging , reading, and I am not currently training for a race.

Presque Isle Erie Pa Half Marathon

I did it!!!! I did it!!!

Terri , Moni and I headed to Erie Pa in the rain Friday afternoon for my Half Marathon Weekend.
We arrived at the Glass House Inn, a quaint little family run motel. It is a bit dated but we knew that. It was clean and that is what mattered. We headed to dinner at a local restaurant called the Colony. It was very good and I had a delicious Chicken Marsala. We headed back to the motel and played cards and boggle and laughed and relaxed.
Saturday morning after breakfast we headed to the Presque Isle state park for race packet pick up. It is soo beautiful out there and I got a good look at the race route. I was starting to get excited.

We saw places to rent bikes and hike and also boat tours. We decided to try the boat tours on Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay. Beautiful sun, scenery and relaxing. Ended the evening with a yummy pasta dinner at Serafini's.

Woke up bright and early on Sunday morning. There is only one way on the island and one way off. So traffic was expected to be high. So we needed to be at the race area by 6am. I was ok with that as it  gave me time to work out nerves and stretch really well.

It was time get line for the start. Nerves setting in more but excited. From advice that a fellow running friend told me.....don't rush jack rabbit. I didn't. They had water stops at every mile, plenty of bathrooms and
beautiful scenes. I did well and was still smiling for my pic at mile 5.7ish.
I finished strong and took it home in 2:09:16!!!!!!! Woot~~~
I did my first half!

Pros to this race-
They give a lot to charities and support groups.
Lots of water stops
Very Scenic
Very friendly

Cons
None that I can think of!

I hope to do this race again next year!!!

Only 3 more days

Till my first Half Marathon.To say I am nervous would be an understatement. I actually go back and forth with the feelings of "OMG what am I doing " to "Wow I am know one of those people".
I know the half I am doing at Erie PA is not a big event or venue but I am ok with that. I think I first need to experience the Half before going big. Too big of an event makes me anxious. I may never go to bigger events and that is ok right now. I just want to get my run on.

I find myself over packing.  This is an weekend affair as we are leaving to go up tomorrow afternoon. But in my mind I would rather have too much and not enough. Besides it is me who has to carry the bag. Taking plenty of my own snacks and such.

My biggest concerns are
-We have to check out of the hotel earlier morning, no late check outs(it is a small family run hotel). No showers at the park were we are running and I sweat when I run...ALOT. So it would be a long stinky ride home for Terri and Moni. I am planning on dipping into Lake Erie and then change into clean clothes. Problem is it will be only high 70 on Sunday. Time to pull up the big girl panties.

-Hoping for no tummy issues , just saying

-Unfamiliar running area and people. I will get over that fast. Will do drive over route on Saturday.

-Not sure where to eat dinner on Sat night. I know I need chicken and pasta. It works for me.

And because I am feeling like a Superstar!