The Williamson Family Marathon Team

Its a go!! After narrowly escaping shutout, we received word from the race director of the Lake Placid Marathon that they would accept our registration for the June 14 event. We had been sitting on our registration to ensure that everyone was on-board and then checked the web site and realized that the relay team entry was CLOSED! Denise sent an email this morning to the race director asking if they would allow one more team. He said YES!

We are going to run this weekend in the "Run for the Orphans" trail run in Hudson as a two-person relay. Gina and Abby are one team, Denise and I are another. Kids vs old folks... who will prevail? We all agree that it will be fun, which is why we do this...

We have tried to promote fitness as a way of life for our family. This is just one more way...

I had a great 6 mile run tonight after work and it was warm enough for shorts and short sleeves! That was very nice. Denise and Abby ran 2 miles together and Abby is getting a nice base built up for next fall's cross-country season. Gina had a good track practice that included fartleks on the bike path. I think that we will all sleep well tonight!

It is fun to see the summer start to unfold with plans being made and weekends filling up quickly. The summer Blossom concert schedule looks to be great and cannot wait to spend some evenings under the starts listening to the best music and orchestra in the world.

Vacation week recap

What a great week! I needed this break more than I thought that I did. I have not taken a week off to just "do nothing" in a very very long time. Well, those of you that know me, know that I cannot just "do nothing" for very long, so here is a summary of my week.

First, the running part:
The last 11 days I have amassed a total of 82 miles! 57.5 miles this week alone... I know, not big miles by some standards, but this week's total is just shy of my record of 60 miles. Seeing that I am finally over the flu and that I am building my base back, this week was a great confidence booster for Mohican. My legs feel tired, good and tired. It is a good feeling.

I ran 18 miles with Denise on Monday and 17 miles this morning for my 'long runs'. Lots of other 6-8 mile runs with Denise during the week. That was the best part; being able to run with my wife as she is training for Cleveland Marathon!

The basement framing is completed except for some minor access door frames. Next is the electrical work, insulation, and then drywall... I will need to hang 28 sheets of drywall for the walls which will keep me busy for a few evenings. Not to mention getting those sheets of drywall into the basement. Anyone wanting a workout is welcome to stop by... :)

Denise and I set up the trampoline Friday afternoon which made the girls very happy! They can now go out and bounce out some extra energy. Of course, the weather is looking to get cool again for a few days, but that is alright. The nice days are starting to out-number the bad days. April is just around the corner and nice weather will be here for good very soon.

A very good week. I am ready to get back to work and am already looking forward to the next break!

Another great day, another 8 miles....

Today's run felt surprisingly good. My legs felt the 18 miles from yesterday in the form of soreness only, not loss of strength, so I ran 8 more today. More sunshine, more solitude on the trails, more of those post-run endorphins... love it!

Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow, and I need a rest day, so the timing will be perfect. Time to continue the basement framing...

Oh what a beautiful Morning!

What a great way to start a week of vacation! Denise and I started from Boston Store this morning at 8am for an 18 mile run together. A bit frosty at the beginning but when the sun rose high enough to shine into the valley, things were about as perfect as they could get! It felt so good to be outside with the sun hitting us, crisp air coursing through our lungs, and all of the sounds and sights of spring all around!

The 3 hours passed very quickly and I was encouraged that I felt as good as I did. It always feels good to run with Denise and we had a very nice time together. We cooled down a bit at Boston Store and headed back home via Hudson's First and Main. A cup of coffee from Caribou and some veggie wraps from Aladdin's for our post-run feast. Denise commented that we were "Hudson Hobos" with the perfume of 18 miles of running and wearing our running garb. We did not quite fit into the normal Hudson Decor...but, who cares?!

Showers and a quick nap and I can't wait for day #2!

Spring Cleaning...

I am feeling better but now have a nagging cough that I am dealing with. I wanted to get some long runs this weekend but have elected to rest a bit more in an effort to get rid of this flu once and for all. But having said that, I did run yesterday for 8 miles on the local trails.

Tinkers Creek had flooded again a week ago and effectively swept the trails clean. Any fallen limbs, leaves, brush, basically anything that wasn't rooted down, was swept away. It looked like someone had come through with a broom and cleaned up the woods. It was nice running, a bit cool, but nice running.

I seemed to have no energy during the run but kept going anyways, taking more walk breaks than I cared to admit. I returned home and Abby and I continued to work in the basement framing the walls for our remodel project. Pretty fun and we made good progress.

Denise wanted to get a 4 mile run in, Abby wanted to get 2 miles, so the three of us headed back to the bike path. Abby and I ran together and Denise caught up with us as she finished her 4 miles. As we were passing by a clearing, I noticed something in the brush and motioned for the others to stop. A red fox then jumped out of the brush and bounded across the clearing. It was pretty cool to see and we all were happy that we could experience this.

Denise and I ran another 6 miles together today and are planning a 18 miler tomorrow! I am taking a week of vacation to catch up on some home projects. I cannot think of a better way to start than a long run with my wife!

Now, off to bed to rest up for tomorrow!

Vegetarian Update

I wanted to provide an update to our family's vegetarian experiment. I posted earlier about us giving up meat for Lent and living without meat has actually gone pretty well. We still eat eggs, cheese, and other dairy so we are not going true vegan.

We are all feeling good and actually like not having that bloated feeling you get after a meal of meat and potatoes and everything with it. It is like eating Chinese food, you eat a big meal and 1 hour later, you feel hungry again. I have lost a few pounds already, and am sure it is a combination of healthier eating and ramping up my running mileage again. I find myself snacking every couple of hours with an apple or piece of fruit. Again, these are things that we should be doing anyways but never seem to be able to do.

Denise has it the hardest with planning the meals and shopping. Since we are eating fresh as much as possible, it means more frequent trips to the store as well. We have a list of meal ideas posted on the fridge which helps somewhat. We found a really good lentil-loaf recipe that was a huge hit, although next time a double batch will be made to help offset the time of the prep work. Throw the extra into the freezer for a meal next week!

I read somewhere that good nutrition is really the simplest thing to know, but the hardest to implement. It takes planning and time; which is an investment. We are treating this as an investment into our family's health and just another way to encourage healthy choices.

Bad Timing....

Absolutely beautiful weather this weekend I had to come down with the flu or cold! Argh! Gina had swim champs this weekend and I went down yesterday to watch. We left at noon and pulled in the driveway at 8pm.... A long day at the pool! Today, just Denise and Gina went down and I stayed home with Abby. She pretty much read and I pretty much slept... We did get out twice to walk the dogs which felt really good.

This week was a planned recovery week so it worked out well getting sick now.... but, I really would have liked to run today in the sunshine! There will be more sunny days I am sure, and some snowy ones too, but that first warm day of spring is always so so nice.

Signs of Spring

A great weekend comes to a close. Warmer temperatures and spring-like weather provided great conditions for running and just brightened our moods. Last minute changes allowed JP and I to run 20 miles yesterday at Bedford Reservation in a light rain. The temperatures were warm enough that we ran in shorts which felt really good.

Denise and I ran together this morning in slightly cooler temperatures and a heavy rain. Once we got started, it was actually fun. The rain was wet, but we were warm and moving; it was all good.

Denise and I celebrated the 20th anniversary of our first date this weekend with a trip to see the orchids at the Botanical gardens followed by lunch at Tommy's in Coventry. It was a very nice day and the flowers were stunning! It seems that every trip we make to the gardens has been in either a rain or snow storm. We are looking forward to a trip with good weather to enjoy the outdoor gardens!

Daylight savings time has thrown us off a bit with our night-time routine, but the extra light in the evening will be very nice!

A recovery week is in store for the Mochican 50k training, and I plan to enjoy it! Big miles are coming and I need to let my body absorb and rebuild from the past couple of weeks. As always, the goal is to stay healthy!!

School days...

Each day this week has felt like the first day of school: New teacher (new manager), new classmates (new co-workers), new classess (new job responsibilities). It has been interesting to say the least. Oh yeah, the best part, I am tasked to complete a project that someone else started. There is absolutely no documentation to go with this. So I am in a new class with no syllabus or text book. Fun!

Fortunately, these are the types of challenges I enjoy. I have been blessed (cursed) with the ability to learn new things quickly, and I have wanted to work with this technology for a while anyways. It is all good...just different.

My running has been going great! Nothing like a having a little stress added to my life to 'encourage' me to get out and run. I am thankful that I can run and have an outlet, otherwise I think that you would be reading about me in the paper. Headline reads: "Man's head explodes after company makes crazy decision!"

Weather is warming up, daylight-savings time is this weekend, and SPRING is coming! It is all good...