50th Anniversary Party

My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on January 14th, 2010. To celebrate, my siblings and I threw them a surprise party this past summer. My sister wrote a wonderful post about the party.
To give the story a different twist, I thought I'd share photos from the exclusive "after party" with all of you. Brace yourself for the glamour and thrill of this top secret event!
The happy couple in their element!

Various grandchildren relaxing and playing together

Performing surgery in the living room


There you have it. A glimpse into the glamor and glory of the private after party.

Washington DC

I got a new computer this week. The old one was terrible at posting pictures, so there are a few things I've avoided writing about, until now.
The first is my trip to Washington DC in October 2010. I love museums, but rarely get to go to any. Then, in October, I had an opportunity to fly down and spend the weekend in DC: The mecca of Museums...all of which are free!

The icing on the cake was that my cousin (and good friend) was also going to be in DC that same weekend! She's from Phoenix, and we don't see each other as much as we want. Okay, admittedly, I'd like to hang out with her every weekend, so once a year will never be enough for me!

Here are some photos from the first day in DC:






I met Kath for dinner that night, and we took a cab over to the Korean War monument. A friend had told me one of the "must see attractions" in DC is the Korean war Monument at night. The pictures don't do it justice. It was haunting, and eerie, and really captured how it might have felt out in those fields at night.

I'm just going to say that Kath is a pro at getting a cab! It was my first cab ride, and if hailing it had my responsibility...well, we'd still be standing on the corner.
By the time I got back to my hotel that night, I was exhausted from all the walking I had done.
On Saturday, I spent the morning going to a farmers market that was phenomenal. that I could just wander in and out at my Kath and I managed to meet for lunch, in China Town.

Then, I got so wrapped up in everything I was seeing, and just living in the moment, that I sort of forgot to take pictures. But, I did go to a bunch of museums, and just strolled around.
Sunday, I returned to Albany and my awesome family. It was great that Kevin and my Mom were so willing to take care of the kids so that I could have a fantastic weekend exploring a city by myself! DC is definitely on my list of places to return to. I'd like to go with my parents and Kevin, then take the kids in the future.

A Political Comment

If you follow me, you know I rarely make political statements. But today, I'm going to make one:
Occasionally I hear some one say, "Guns don't kill people. People kill people."
Here is my response: Really? I've never known anyone who could shoot someone without a gun in their hand.

I'm just saying.

Keeping it Simple

I've decided to make a New Years Resolution. I'm keeping it simple, and making only one. That is not to imply that it will be a simple one for me to keep.

Here it is:

I resolve to run three times a week.

That's it.
Peace.
-Heidi

The Blur that is December

Hmmm. Where to start.
Our awesome, free spirit, intense Mack is now 8! We celebrated her birthday with a party at the local rock climbing wall. It was a huge hit with all of the kids. I loved that we had 2 hours to climb the walls, and the two employees were fantastic with the kids. Sorry, no pictures because our camera is MIA.

We've spent the month decorating, singing Christmas carols, baking cookies and visiting with family and friends. Shayna is home for winter break, and it's always wonderful to have her here. She got her first car this month too! Thanks to a friend, she now has a 97 Nissan Sentra, and seems very happy with it.

And, now Christmas is a mere 2 days away. The shopping is done. The stockings are hung by the stairs. Requests have been made to Santa. Although, neither Mack or Jack will go anywhere near the mall Santa's, so we rely on letters to him. Jack has been carrying the "Back to Basics" toy catalog around for a month, and is adamant that he wants the ride on excavator- he shows anyone who will look at the picture.
He has also asked for, "More friends. new friends. and better friends. Oh yeah, that and more toys!"
Mack's list consists of batteries and pistachio nuts.
My Christmas wish is for health and happiness for those I love.
Oh yeah- that and a bunch of Tri gear!
-Peace.

Bethlehem 1st Annual Turkey Trot

Yesterday was Thanksgiving,and I planned to start my day off by running the 1st Annual Bethlehem Turkey Trot. The goal was to take at least 4 minutes off the time of may last race, since I was really sucking wind that day.

Well, I didn't meet my goal. In fact, I added 4 minutes to my last race time. But, I don't care. No, really, I'm happy to have been slower than I was a month ago. Now, I know all you runners are scratching your heads, trying to figure out what the heck has gotten into me.
I can answer that in one word...Mackenzie! That's right. Mack ran the race with me! My seven year old finished her first ever 5k! With no official training. When I woke up yesterday morning, she said she wanted to go with me to the race. I explained to her how far the run would be, and she decided to give it a try!
So, off we went, to register and get our numbers!

She worked really hard to do her best. Here she is in the 3rd mile!

She finished strong, and was happy to see Kevin, Shayna and Jack there to cheer her on! Here we are in our post race excitement.


It was a great morning, an I'm so proud of her for running the race with me.She says she wants to do another one!I'm trying to keep my glee in check, but it's exciting to think she might be my future running partner!

7 Days without Soda

I am a Diet Coke Fiend. I have been since I was 18. Over the years, it has become almost exclusively, the only thing I drink. I accept no substitutes. If there is no soda in the house when I wake up in the morning, I run to the local Mobile to get some before Kevin leaves for the day.

Sure, I have water after a workout. And, occasionally I have a glass of wine. Rarely do I touch milk. And, I never drink juice. So, probably 98% of all fluid intake is Diet Coke. Over the years, I've tried to cut back every once in a while, but it never works for longer than a few weeks. At most.

Well, last Saturday, I decided that I'm done with Diet Coke. I bought a 20 ounce bottle around lunch time, and by the end of the day, still had about 8 ounces left. I haven't had any soda since.

Has it been hard? Not too bad. Only in the middle of the night when I wake up thirsty. Only during the work day when I hear the vending machine calling my name from the other end of the building. If the office is quiet, I am sure that I can hear those cans spinning around in their slots, waiting for me to come and liberate them from their prison. And it's only a little hard when I'm standing in line at the store, and the person behind me puts a 2 liter on the counter. I thought briefly of offering her $5 for her bottle.

But honestly, by today, it was okay. I only thought of DC 3 or 4 times. But, once I'm home from work, I'm safe. There's no soda here, and I don't want to go out to get any. So, I've made it a whole week!
Will I make it longer? I think so. I don't like to fail at things. And, I did find a delicious tea that has been saving my butt every afternoon.
When I think about getting a soda, I remember what a friend in recovery said to me, "You don't have to commit to the rest of your life. You just have to decide for today that you won't drink."

It's very much like a strategy I use for biking: I don't have to promise to ride up every hill, I only have to commit to the one directly in front of me at the moment.

How bout you? Have you tackled any personal hills lately?

The Dragonfly Adventure

Once again, the stars align and things in my life fall into place.
In early October, a high school friend and fellow triathlete, asked me if I have any interest in training for a marathon with her. My immediate response was, "well, YEAH!" I looked at the website of the race she is planning to run, an realized that it seems to be a for profit race. Now, that's fine for some, but if I'm going to enter a race, I want my money to go toward making the world a better place.

At the same time, these conversations were occurring, I have been following this blog. Ed Peck is a former teacher of mine, who had a significant impact on my life. Since hearing of his battle with Multiple Myeloma Cancer, I have been feeling the need to do something related to this disease in Ed's honor.

And, the stars align.

My friend and I talked about running the marathon in Ed's honor, and using it as a fund raiser. But, guess what? That's sort of frowned upon, if the race isn't alreay identified as a fund raiser for the cause.

That left me with one option: Create a half marathon in Ed's honor. I put the idea out on facebook, and within an hour, had several Tamarac Alumni voicing support and enthusiasm for the idea! I then contacted the Pecks for their approval of the idea, and they gave me their blessings to pursue the idea!
The next step was to develop an avenue to organize the event through. So, The Dragonfly Adventure was established.

So much work has gone into organizing this event, it's incredible.
The half marathon has evolved into a half marathon, a 10k and a community walk! Ed has identified the Capital District Cancer Resource Foundation as the organization that will receive all proceeds from the day. We met with the Brunswick Town Board last night, and were given preliminary approval to have the race on town roads.The Peck's are choosing a name for the race, and Tamarac teachers and staff have been told of the events.
Stay tuned for more information as this process unfolds.

Troy YMCA 5k report

On Saturday Oct 30th, I ran the 5th annual Troy YMCA's Monster Madness 5k. Kevin and our friend Ryder joined us.Actually, Ryder roped me into this one. She hadn't run a 5k in 20 years, and wanted some one to plan to run with.

Hmmm. Great idea. Except that she kicked my butt and left me in the dust! She really did fantastic. The first half of this race is mostly uphill, with a few areas of flat grade. Ryder was smart and trained on the course, which paid off for her.

Kevin also did fantastic! He ran sub 9 minute miles, finishing in just over 27 minutes.

As for me, let's just say that I am motivated to run another 5k before the end of 2010. Because I really can't let my time in this race be my best time of the year. The uphills wreaked havoc on my ankle. On several of the hills, I had to walk, because it was locking up on me. When I heard my time at the 2 mile marker, I had to do some serious adjustments to my goals for the day.

The good news is, that I found a first annual Turkey Trot to take part in on Thanksgiving morning. The course is flat, and the flyer welcomes walkers, so I think it won't be super competitive.
Last night I drove over to Bethlehem after work and ran the course. I had the map in my pocket and had to stop twice to be sure I was going in the right direction. I truly have minimal sense of direction and was starting to convince my self I was going the wrong way, when another runner came by, saw the map, and assured me I was heading the right way.

Even after all of that, I took 1:20 minutes off of my time from Saturdays 5k! I'm feeling better already. It's amazing what a flat course can do for me.

In other news, I've been working diligently to organize a half marathon in my home town. I've been asked to present my ideas at the Town meeting next week, and once I have approval to go ahead with the plans, I'll give more details! For now, wish me luck.