Cleared for takeoff!

I followed up with my Ear, Nose and Throat doctor today and was cleared to return to all of my everyday activities after my tonsil surgery. I am feeling really great and eager to get back to training for a very busy spring/summer/fall running and triathlon schedule. I think it's a pretty ambitious schedule, but I am determined to do it! This is what I have planned so far:

Sunday, April 26th - Bass River State Forest, NJ

Bassman Sprint Distance Triathlon

Sunday, May 3rd - Long Branch, NJ Branch Half Marathon
Running with: Jackie, Colleen, Kacy
Dad is running the NJ Marathon

Monday, May 25th - Bolder Boulder 10K - Boulder, CO
I'm a little nervous about the altitude for this race, but it is a very large field of people and should be alot of fun!

Sunday, June 28th - Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon - Olympic Distance Triathlon
Philadelphia, PA

Sunday, July 26th - New Jersey State Triathlon - Olympic Distance Triathlon
Mercer County Park, NJ

Sunday August 2nd - SheRox Women's Triathlon - Sprint Distance Triathlon
Philadelphia, PA

Sunday September 13th - Nation's Triathlon - Olympic Distance Triathlon
Washington, D.C.

POSSIBLE: Sunday, October 25th - Marine Corps Marathon - 26.2 miles of fun!
Washington, D.C.

Wish me luck! :)

MacBook

One thing I've done really well since I have been home recovering from my tonsil surgery is spend money! I bought a MacBook Pro 15" laptop for myself on Valentine's Day. I really, really love my new toy! I'm just learning all the mac shortcuts with the keyboard. I love it for all the media stuff and because it's so great for my photo editing with Photoshop. Can't wait to get really good at it!! Being a PC user for most of my life, venturing to mac is a challenge . . . and challenges are what I love!!!

- Kel

Tonsils and Adenoids

I finally bit the bullet and decided to have my tonsils taken out after 15 years of tonsilitis and strep throat several times a year. I had the surgery on Feb 10th. I must say that overall the recovery has been much smoother than I had anticipated. I had expected to be in tears from pain for a few days after, but I went home feeling good and able to eat some ice pops, jello, and pudding all on the same day of the surgery. Days 4-9 were probably the most trying - the sore throat was a little more intense because of the scab that forms in the back of the throat, but as that fell off gradually, I started to feel a lot better. At this point, I'm experimenting with some more solid foods, and it's going okay. The throat still gets irritated, so I guess that solids might take a little longer to feel more comfortable with. Going back to work on Tuesday might be a little tough - I've gotten used to staying up late, waking up 'late' (i.e. 7:30) and watching my fill of reality TV and Judge Shows. Oh well . . . I'm ready to get back into the regular routine!

- Kel

Training

I've got the triathlon bug and can't wait for the season to begin! In the mean time, because this winter seems to have been particularly cold and windy, I have been doing alot of indoor training. I swim 2 mornings a week at the pool at work. Those mornings I have to wake up at 5:00 to get going and arrive at the pool at 6:00 when it opens. Luckily there are showers there for after the swim to just clean up, get dressed and get to work. The other 3 mornings a week, I try to make it to the 6:30 am class at my gym - Fusion. If I haven't mentioned Fusion before, it's what you might call a "boutique" gym that focuses on cross-training workouts. Along with the swimming, I have noticed some great changes in my overall stamina, endurance and strength. The interval workouts are making a huge difference in my distance running for sure. I'm looking forward to continuing on this "roll" for the rest of the winter . . . and then getting back outside for running and biking as soon as it warms up! This cold weather stinks!!

- Kel

Baby F!

Everyone is so excited for the new addition to the family coming to a hospital near you in March - so of course we had to have a Baby Shower in preparation and celebration! Jaime is due March 20th . . . and everyone has taken bets on when the new baby will arrive and whether it is a boy or girl! Can't wait! The shower was a success with lots of people, gifts and non-alcoholic punch! It was a FREEZING cold day though . . . only downside :)

Keep an eye on the blog for the announcement of the arrival of Baby F!

- Kel

Birthday 2009

My birthday this year (Jan 8) was a good one . . . it's always so tough having my birthday 2 weeks after Christmas. I always wished I had a birthday in the summer, this way you had something to look forward to later in the year and you'd get gifts away from the holidays. Oh well, we're stuck with what we have there! This year my birthday was on a Thursday - translation: work night. We stayed at home and relaxed and just opened a bottle of champagne which has been our "kick" lately. I must say that just relaxing and enjoying a bottle of champagne is right up my alley, so my birthday was perfect! Forget all that getting older stuff . . . you're definitely only as old as you feel!! :) - Kel

Holidays 2008

The 2008 Holidays were amazing, but they came and went way too fast. Seems to happen alot nowadays. Everything was pretty low-key this year - Bryant had to work Christmas Day and New Year's Day, so we took it easy, stayed at home and just enjoyed being together. I got some really great things in preparation for this year's running and triathlon season with some new gear for my bike, a transition bag, laces that I don't have to tie in my running shoes and winter gear for running. It was great to see everyone on Christmas Day at my parents and later that weekend with the annual family party where extended family and friends come by to celebrate. It's an exhausting but rewarding time of year!

- Kel

Jingle All the Way 10K Race Report

  

 I ran this 10K on Sunday, December 14 2008. Bryant and I headed down to DC the day before and checked into the Westin hotel close to Georgetown. We hadn't stayed in this area before but picked the hotel because it was within walking distance of the start of the race. The hotel was amazing! The rooms were like "home" very comfy, modern and with very nice furniture, making you feel like you were at an upscale hotel. We decided to walk the mall after I picked up my race gear which included jingle bells to attach to your shoelaces. We went to the newly opened Museum of American History (I think that was what it was called). Pretty cool museum, but we were feeling hungry and tired which is never a good combination! We decided to do lunch at a place we've been to a few times in DC - Capitol Brewery. I had one of their pizzas as my attempt at carbo-loading pre-race. It was very good. We took the Metro back to the hotel and decided to just take a break and nap. After that, we decided to check out the National Christmas Tree - we both thought that it was a little too well lit with white lights, but they did have a tree for each state decorated with ornaments put together in local schools. 

It was pretty cold and we got tired of all the walking, but it was pretty late and we weren't really very hungry for dinner. So, I was still craving carbs and we ended up getting some popcorn from the local RiteAid - perfect!!

Race Day: we woke up very early, and I emphasize the "we" because even though Bryant wasn't running the race, he woke up with me anyway to be a spectator and take some pictures while I was running. It was pretty chilly for the race start, my guess is that it was mid-20s. I think I bundled up enough - I did warm up as the race went on, but there was a pretty brisk wind so that made it tough. The race itself was an out-and-back 10K course along the Potomac River, right by where you would go to see the Cherry Blossoms in the spring. I felt really great during the race. I would say I ran pretty consistently at an 80% effort, which translated into a 9:19 pace and a finish time of 57:50. I was pretty happy with this since it was one of the faster 10K's I have run in a really long time. I felt good after the race and we walked back to the hotel with cookies and refreshments in hand. While I ran the race, Bry took some pictures around the Lincoln and Vietnam Memorials. Here's one example of his work:


After getting showered and eating breakfast at a cafe across the street from the hotel, we decided that since Bryant did his part in being a supporter while I raced, we'd go to the National Air and Space Museum in Virginia - a much larger facility than the one on the National Mall. I must say that it was amazing, even for someone who isn't an aircraft mechanic, like Bry.

We headed home after that - overall a great weekend and great race. I think I'll plan on doing that one again next year!

- Kel

Absentee

So I've been away from blogging for a couple months . . . not sure what happened, I think things just got busy and I forgot about it! I'm going to attempt to add some posts on things that have been happening in the past couple months, and then try to stay on top of it! Wish me luck!