HAPPY THANKSGIVING.!!!.

…….and who is this calm couple... ???

.....and so it starts... Christmas Tree H-ll... for those who knows us........ knows what type of h-ll I am speaking of… it is self subjected h-ll… one we most certainly could get out of if ONLY we could just STOP…

........we have for the past… I dont know ...umpteen years… gone hog wild with decorating for Christmas…

although over the years we have scaled it down a bit… down to 15 artificial trees instead of 31… and no we don’t live in a McMansion…and yes it gets a bit claustrophobic at times.. and YES… Joe gets VERY grumpy having to move all 30+ boxes and 15 trees out of the attic each year… and NO he wants NO PART of decorating…and he seems to “VANISH” for a few days……but don’t you think he should be used to this after 18 years??? ….And.. well you thought all I did was RUN, BIKE, SWIM, AND SNOWSHOE.. !

…..here is a slide show of previous year….

The Six Million Dollar Woman?

"Wendy Mastripolito, Executive Assistant.............A woman barely alive...........Gentlemen, we can rebuild her.......... We have the technology............Better than she was before.............. Better............ stronger......... faster."

(Amazing how fast I recover...I am pleased to say my leggies are all in working order…...)

Watch out 2009…..
so should I do Badwater? Badwater website

OR Comrades?? Comrades website

Rehoboth Beach Marathon

I am such a lucky gal…..spoiled rotten I say.. I am sitting here in bed typing away on my ultra cool pink laptop that Joe gave me….he is such a sweetie…it’s also quite convenient since I am currently unable to bend, twist, turn, move or eject my legs from the bed…

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY….this past weekend was our anniversary… 18 blissful (cough cough) years of love and adoration…. with some breaks (cough, cough)… and then some… cool huh… ???!!.....well what to do to celebrate…???..... hmmm.. RUN a MARATHON of course… !!

Now I am certain... bets are placed...that you think this was my idea …and well… although I did bring it up…it really most certainly was NOT in fact my idea..REALLY… it was in fact Joe’s idea… see he got a bug up his butt that he wanted to run another marathon ASAP.. no waiting.. so of course how could I not be supportive!!!??.... I mean I am here for him!... so we booked a nice hotel on the beach, packed our bags, and drove the 2 hours to our anniversary extravaganza…

Joe should have known 18+ years ago that life with me would never be dull…. a freak “snowstorm” snarled traffic that morning…the plan was to go to work for a half day and then we could scoot out around noon… well.... it took me a new grand total of 3-1/2 hours to get to work...ARGH ..(my normal commute is around 25 minutes)… so I sit in traffic near famished for 3½ hours… so what to do??? ...take pics of myself.....and then sent them to folks...... lucky for you.... you aint one of those folks... !!!
So.....alas Joe and I got a late start for our extravaganza ....when Joe finally picked me up after work he was in good spirits....and well.... quite frankly....quite happy with himself....look he says with a smile, “I packed the hair cutting stuff”.... insinuating that ..IF...I had time I could cut his hair once we got to the hotel...… somehow ....never mind......

… by the time we got to Rehoboth, picked up our race packets and checked in to hotel.. it was dark... and we were exhausted….. the temp was mid 20’s with a stiff breeze blowing off the ocean, and oh yeah a light snow had started to fall……

Joe and I debated about what to wear the next morning when it was expected to be 28 degrees at the start.. and get no warmer than 33 degrees with winds around 17-20 mph…hmmm... so with wind chills in the teens......4 hours + in the cold... we opted for the full ninja look… including face gaiters..
.... lining up that next morning at 6:45am ... you have to question the sanity... there HAS to be something wrong with us...this is fun, because????
..... the plan was to run together... but if either of us felt good enough that person would just go ahead….. we had trained on parts of this course this past summer.. nice and flat…

.... thankfully... it didn’t take long until we were on our way.....500+ marathoners and relay runners...... I was glad to be moving... I didn’t start to feel my toes and fingers again until mile 3.... I got to say this was one great marathon.. if at any time there could have been a chance for a PR (personal record time).. it would have been on this course…oh if the body conditions were better...and oh yeah if we hadn’t raced a marathon just three weeks earlier....

(AND HE IS SMILING BECAUSE???)
.....the knees started to fail around mile 7….(no surprise)....I debated why I was doing this at mile 8…(that was a surprise)....I determined I was a sprinter NOT a distance runner at mile 9….(glad that is outta the way)......I looked at Joe pull away at mile 10….(ugh he left me).....I thought about hopping the return bus at mile 13....(whimping out)...I got energized by the 20+ mph winds at mile 16…(wow do I thrive on adversity or what)...

I threw away my nutrition plan around mile 17….(so what!)......my leg started to lock up around mile 18… (oh that why so what!..).....I did intervals around mile 19…. (because I was bored)....I had total left leg failure by mile 20...(guess I shouldn’t have done those intervals).......I was followed by a rent a cop volunteer on a bike at mile 21...(I mean I am sorry I was staggering it's because I had to drag my left F_ leg)…....

Mile 22 came and went… mile 23 came and went...( while people in walkers passed me -sick joke sorry… )

I am presuming at this time that my honey up ahead had already crossed the line in victory and that he was all pumped up with a new found PR…….…but alas unbeknownst to me he hit mile 22 and had nothing left… not in the terms of running.. in the terms of NOTHING left inside.. he ran his body completely out of all nutrition… .he questioned later how he could have made it when he had nothing left ….the mind is an incredible thing.. it can bring you or destroy you… his victory was a true victory… not in the sense of time but in the sense of demons… he actually made those last 4.2 miles on sheer will power... now that’s a TRUE VICTORY


...you know you see those people who collapse near the finish and you always say pathetic, sad, or whatever…. but you still can’t really understand how someone could get themselves into that kinda state or condition where it’s that bad..I mean if you train right... well I can honestly say I now understand… and you can’t explain it.. you have to experience it… about a half mile from the finish, my failed left leg that I was dragging… just gave up.. what a very strange feeling to feel nothing… nothing to hold the body up… . I was one of the luckier ones.. only ONE of my legs failed.. these poor bloks who collapse, BOTH their legs go .. no wonder they freaking crawl to the finish..


But it’s the hardware that gets me to the finish... and this finisher medal BETTER be FANTASTIC... there better be bells and whistles on it... it better radiate some new fangled ultra spectra colors.... ... or there will be some a_s kicking...see...I want to say that I started doing marathons and half marathons because of the personal pride and or personal satisfaction but alas NO... I started running them because they gave out “free” finisher medals just for finishing!! MAN YOU DON’T even have to place in your age group!! .......

OK so maybe I didn’t get any awards in high school.. or maybe I just like big shiny medals but heck... whatever motivates ..can it be that wrong?! ....over time I found out it’s something more... something I can not fully describe yet... something about what the marathons does to me personally ......it’s a whole world of amazing..


I made it to the finish.. ..and ok so it may have taken me 4 minutes to go the last 200 yards .. and it wasn’t pretty....and I am sure that is why the camera man didn’t take a finish shot of me...and yes a really wonderful 80+ year old lady volunteer...had to support me after the finish… and I love her… think about it.. a 80+ year old woman supporting a 40+ lady.... is that not cool or what!.... I love life… and people..….

When speaking to Joe after the event.. …he said he has to work on his nutrition..OH and yeah I know .... I need.. REST.. K.. yeah.. I hear ya...I am fine .. really… I feel super except I can’t walk..
Joe thanked me for a wonderful anniversary weekend,… he said he had a blast… me too..… I mean where else can you go away, run 4 ½ hours in the 32 degree weather… dragging your tired crazy a-ses over the finish line, drive 2+ hours home, be unable to walk and be happy!??

I am having too much fun ... Race Results

PS: Joe has Lojack on me now.. he says REST

PSS: But what about the Dirty Bird trail race next weekend!!!??? FINE I will take a rest but it will have to be after Brian's Run weekend… I have 3 races scheduled..IT'S MY BIRTHDAY for goodness sake!!

PSSS: I am not sure Joe understands my idea of fun.

PSSSS: I am asking Santa for two new knees and a hip... thanks WK for suggestion..I will order one for you too.

PSSSSS: PROMISE....two weeks in December..complete rest...

PSSSSSS: um..does that include mountain biking??

JIMBO's ART

One of my closest friends, Jim (Jamie) Voorhees, is a phenomenal artist.. he is in the process of creating a caricature of me.. here is some of his work…is he awesome or what!!!???... Here is link to his website… Jimbo Art .

I will also post this on my side bar for future reference. (I will also post the caricature of me once complete)… reasonably priced $$. Great personal Christmas Gifts….

McGuire 10K Mud Run

There's no need to fear! ... Underdog is here!

On Saturday, November 8th, Heather and I completed the McGuire 10K Mud Run. This was a “fun” run.. and it was to keep my mind occupied ....as I took it “easy” recovering from the marathon….yeah... but more amazingly is the fact Heather elected to do this with me!!....Heather who does not like to garden because she will get dirty……Heather who has not run more than 5-6 miles at one time in her life…..Heather whose idea of entertainment is watching back to back movies curled up in bed……Heather who must have been in a really good mood when she said YES!…

Here are some details about the course: The 10K (6.2 mile) course encompassed different types of terrain, including asphalt, dirt, hills, water hazards, and LOTS OF MUD! Here is a list of the obstacles we had to encounter:
Mud trench/hill -15' wide x 20' long x 4' high. Runners run up 4' hill and then down into the muddy goodness.


Tire steps -the tires will not be packed close together, but will be distributed across the width of the course. There will be 40-50 tires.

Hurdles - 4' high plastic horses. There will be a lot of them!

Low crawl -crawling into natural creek bed, about 4' deep, 4' long. 60’ pipes will form the roof of the crawl. Also using the natural creek bed, but covered with trees. About 4' deep, 6' long.

Climb into wet creek bed - down creek bank using ropes to get down, 8-10 feet embankment. Cross creek that is 15-20' wide, 60’ deep and sandy. Scramble up creek bed on other side.

Wall climb - 15' wide, 5' high, a mud pit may be placed on the other side.

Hay bales -bales placed in a pyramid to climb over.

Tunnel mud trench -15' diameter pipe half buried. Have to crawl/run through the mud.

Rope cross -using parallel ropes (one for the hands, one for the feet) cross over creek without falling into the 5' deep water.

Run cross - fjord the creek


Now the REAL fun part of this race is that once again I got to play dress up!!.... YES … costumes were encouraged and they were awarding prizes for the best costumes. ....There were a few people from my work doing this race… and most of them were going in costume.. So of course I couldnt resist... and of course Heather wanted no part of that!…... so I went as UNDERDOG…

YES.... I was determined that this time.. I was going to win the costume award….so I spent a quick few hours the night before the race whipping up a jiffy underdog costume…me and my “superior” sewing skills.. I just prayed that it would hold up enough to get judged… well I sewed up a complete costume with dog ears and cape… !!! ...boy when I tried it on.. it sure was KINDA TIGHT.. Joe said I looked like a giant red condom.. it was made out of that 70’s kinda PVC plastic material… and hopefully it was NOT going to bust right off at the first obstacle!

I am NOT going to go into details of how it looked when Heather and I drove up to the gates at McGuire Air Force base to get checked in by the military dudes… while dressed as underdog.. some how I think I should be humiliated..

But alas I was not... it was well worth it.. I had a blast... BUT ONCE AGAIN.. I was robbed of my victory… !! …I am two for two.. TWO LOSSES… this time I lost to the Dirty Dishes.. ..UGH... where is the justice??!!! .......ALAS!!!

My friend Denise, Heather, and I started off the race together... until the mud crawl.. where you had to crawl on your hands and knees under ropes… boy was that mud cold and wet! .. I remember looking over and seeing Denise to my right and thinking..WTF did I get myself into!!!??..... thankfully the mud and grime slid right off my super duper underdog costume ... so off we go running down the path… Heather taking the lead…


I told Heather I would run with her.. she was a bit nervous about not doing good and finishing last… I am glad that worked out for her… me running with her that is… .. she ran ahead of Denise and I and never really looked back.. is the motivation to know I am behind her really that great???....

… next were the hurdles.. and no not typical hurdles.. rather large slabs of something.. Heather seemed to bound right over… Denise too.. zing.. zip... zoo... up and over.. me….. G_D …I am just glad I could lift my stinking tired old lady legs up that far…. let alone, over.. ….. and how many of these are there..!!??.

……it was kinda funny to have people sing to me as I ran… they would sing me the underdog theme song.. some of the runners behind me and some of the military volunteers on the course......next came the rope climb down a muddy embankment into a river bed.. then running down the creek... in which the water was up to the knees in spots….. oh and yeah.. I am sorry to the guy who I had to slightly push outta my way….. I mean I AM UNDERDOG...... and get outta the way there bud… !!!...oops sorry.. this is suppose to be a fun run……

Now it’s hard to remember exactly all the obstacles and in what order and how much we ran in between each one.. but…we encountered a wall, hay pile, and I think a mulch pile…… we also had to go across a creek that was 5 feet deep.. YES THAT IS NO TYPO.. it was 5 feet deep in one section.. so it was easier to do a couple swim strokes… how cool is that or WHAT!!!

.. then came the rope crossing.. . you had to shimmy across the creek with just a rope on top and one on bottom .. well of course the rope I pick to go across has a rather large BUFFOON... oops man on it and well he is kinda heavy and he tilts the rope so that now we are both leaning horizontal...you know how freaking hard it is to hold your entire body horizontal with gravity forcing you down...?!!.... and then trying to move hand over hand down the rope...!! ??... these pidgon arms did A-O-K... once I was across I looked back and noticed Denise was struggling on her rope.. it appears she had a rope that was too loose and thus she ended up falling in the creek… so knowing how strong a runner Denise is I knew she would catch up to me.. .so I went ahead... it didn’t take long.. and once again we were side by side…

I told Denise to go ahead.. I felt she looked rather strong and I was really not in any kinda condition to make any sorta power moves.. ..but she said no… and so we ran together… we talked and commented on how strong Heather looked and before we knew it .. it was the end of the race…

....as we were coming down to the end.... two girls passed us… UM.. Denise.. "LETS GO".. I say… so we sprint.. it’s one thing to be passed when you are in the middle of the race and you are only using this as a fun run.. but it’s a WHOLE different thing being passed with 100 meters to go.. fun run or not!!!… so Denise and I sprinted to finish… oh yeah and we passed those gals!!.....
then thats when the pushing started…

...the finish … "No you go”…… “oh no - you go…”….. "OH NO>>> Y-O-U GO…!! [PUSH]…..… “NO YOU">> ....…[harder PUSH]…… this is Denise and I at the end of the race ….. we had all about STOPPED running right before the finish shoot and each of us were graciously offering up the way first to the other.. ...we both were trying to force the other ahead..…I guess we should be thankful that those two gals we passed didnt repass us while we were being a-ses!... now that would NOT HAVE BEEN FUNNY…


.... but alas my dear beloved friend Denise who is in my age group and ran the entire race with me...... PUSHED me over the finish line first… OK… now I know what you all are thinking. …!!!... HONEST… I DID REALLY TRY and force her over first.. . YES .. I did..!! REALLY!!!

By her kind gesture… I placed third in our age group… who would have thunk it…!? …. (of course after the race Denise said, “OH .. I didn’t know we were that close to placing”…I am sure she aint going to be that nice ever again… tee hee..

So what to do with the medal?... should I have Joe saw it in two and share with Denise??....or should we go with the every other day option..??... like I get it T, TH, F… and she gets it M, W, S… leaving Sunday as a free day??..I mean is it a win or not?....

I am really glad I took it easy this weekend… Joe will be soo proud of me!

PS: I will post pictures once they are published.

PSS: Race Results

PSSS: Heather..who hasnt run but maybe twice in the last three months.. and this being her first 10K race ever...and it being a tough trail mud run... beat both Denise and I.. coming in 6th in her age group.. 136th out of 330 runners... CONGRATULATIONS HEATHER!!!....
{Heather, can you imagine what you could do ..... um.. if you actually trained a bit???}

PSSSS: Wait till you see what I am making for the Jingle Bell 5K costume contest on December 6th.

DAY OF DEATH

Today is a DAY OF DEATH
….....my wonderful place of work.. the place I grew up in.. the one that I thought of as a family... has betrayed me…......it has become another crises to the economy... they have decided to start laying people off.... hundreds of my coworkers, running club members, and closest friends were canned..... some have been there for as many years as I... 20 years…...I can’t even express the utter pain, hurt, betrayal, and emptiness I feel...it’s as though someone has peeled off my skin…the times of innocence are gone... ……….FOR NOW…..I am one of the survivors.. one of the lucky ones who gets to keep their job …. but there are no guarantees... tough times ahead... GOD BLESS YOU ALL.........

-Wendy

The Statistics on Sanity

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends.

If they're okay, then it's you.

-Rita Mae Brown

So if I think of my three best friends…. and two of them are insane what does that mean??? … I knew this was coming… just because the two of them dressed like they were heading to forge some new frontier in Alaska does not mean they should take a crap shot at poor underdressed Wendy at Sunday’s Marathon… My friends Denise and Gary who ran the marathon with me …well after Gary’s comment that I looked like Laura Croft of Tomb Raider, Denise who is a wiz at photo shop opted to create these beautiful pics….. well they will just have to deal with their own conscious.. poor Wendy…is there no peace!!??

C&D Marathon 2008

Joe completed his first ever marathon on Sunday, November 2nd….the C&D Marathon in St. George’s Delaware……....so you say what’s with the grumble face picture??.... well the day didn’t go as exactly as planned..

…see Joe had a goal of running a strong 4 hour marathon……and I to break 4 hours and/or try and qualify for Boston ( which would mean a 3.50 marathon)… so to get right to the point… we did not obtain these goals….and I dang near ran my worse marathon time ever….ha…ugh… sigh…

Some days you think you got it….. then some days you don’t.... ..Sunday was definitely one of those don’t days….

Joe and I were up early and on our way to his first ever marathon and my 7th…Heather, our daughter, was also competing at the event but in the 5K….Joe was handling the nervous energy well.. unlike the night before where he accused me of taking his beloved socks and hiding them, destroying them, or wearing them..or something like that …I couldn’t really make out what he was ranting about… hmm.. you think you are nervous there bud or what…??!!.... like I would ever… so I thought he was handling the morning stresses quite well…..


We were to meet up with some friends from work at the race… Denise, Mark, and Gary… Heather was there with her friend Amber.... the energies were high….we high fived each other and kissed Heather good luck with the 5K… and off we went… the morning was a bit nippy and my poor Heather was dressed like everyone else.. like a bundled up Eskimo..... I couldn’t see why everyone had so much clothing on… geez it was going to get into the 50’s.. and holy heck they would internally combust with all those clothes on!!... I convinced Joe to take off that freaking long sleeve shirt….. ..ok so YES I WAS FREAKING COLD at the start with just shorts, sports bra and gloves... but once I started running I fired up like a ball of flame and I would have most certainly burned my clothes right off my body if I was dressed like those folks.…..

The race started with a furry……life definitely was good….. running with my friends on a beautiful fall morning….. along the C&D Canal…it most certainly does not get any better than this.. AHHH… . my legs were light … every stride was a glide across the pavement…. no problem with my goal of holding a Boston qualifying time pace of 8.46 per mile… CAKE… this pace suited me well for the first 7 miles.. then things started to feel a bit “OFF”……the feeling of euphoria changed….. to something darker…much much darker…....I was perceiving that I was running the same pace… but the legs were saying otherwise.. I tried to pump my arms faster…but my legs wanted no part of that action.. so not only was I left in the dust by my legs, my friend and this other girl…. I was starting to get passed by hordes of other runners… the faster I tried to move the feet the slower I went… I was soo unused to this happening soo soon in a marathon.. perhaps around mile 16 or mile 20 but NOT AT MILE 7!!!!!

I smiled at those passing me.. keeping the spirits up .. wishing them well..good job… looking good.. nice going.. good morning.. F- you… oops.. I mean have a great day.. and so on… I was in a whole lotta hurt… discouraged yes… thoughts of jumping in the canal and swimming .... most definitely.. but to give up .. never……unbeknownst to me in my own little drama world.. Joe who was ahead of me was having similar problems… but his didn’t start until mile 13..

Marathons are funny that way..although I most certainly am no expert… I do have a little experience with the unpredictability that can happen at them… and the most important thing is to keep up a strong mental frame of mind… because when the body fails the only way you are getting to the finish line is by sheer will power.. I am SO PROUD of Joe.. this was a HUGE feat for him to accomplish… he sometimes forgets how big this truly is.. to complete a marathon.. that is 26.2 miles… !!!...the many many months of long training runs… utterly amazing… some day it will come to him .. when he sits back and realizes what that truly means.

For those who don’t remember.. Joe just started running in January after quitting smoking.... He was never a runner in high school some 20+ years ago (except of course mandatory drills for gym class or football) but never in his life was he a runner…

... so Joe, when you do your reflecting on this.. think about how many people finish a marathon after only running for 10 months…or think of how many people finish a marathon at all.. your family is soo unbelievably proud of you …and I am soo unbelievably proud of you.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

PS: Joe placed third in his age group and I placed second.. (sure there were not many people in our age groups.. but it’s who shows up! )

PSS: Heather won second overall female in the 5K!!

PSSS: Joe wants to do another marathon.

PSSSS: I need to rest.

Marathon Race Results

5K Race Results