Type O Negative

There is just no way to describe what it felt like on Saturday morning at 6am… the thermometer read -2…yeah that's right... NEGATIVE 2... eeekk gads.....within a few hours it reached a whopping ZERO degrees.. Halleluiah… freaking heat wave…

So after much debate ...and waiting ...until way after lunch.. and with it now being sub tropic at 14 degrees.. I said, "NO WAY.. not going to do it.. UH NO.. NOT.. NIL.. NADA"… "Not running OUTSIDE in that…. ridiculous!!"… Joe on the other hand said he was…um...brave man... thankfully I DID convince him to run part outside and part inside.. thus 3.5 miles outside, then change, and do 3.5 on treadmill…thus he did really well… came back only slightly blue.. hope that was fun hon.

So what to do about the long run on Sunday? We had a 13-16 miler scheduled.. no way we were doing that on treadmill.. and it was a bit warmer.. 28 degrees.. hmmm...so we decided that would be a bit more manageable.. except the part where my legs got really really tired.. and I bailed at mile 8… Oh yeah I am one big WHOOSE BAG… and the machine kept going.. he ran 16+ miles, over two and a half hours in 28 degree weather… LOOKING FOR A BIT OF WARMTH I SUPPOSE… utterly amazing.. the man is going to be unstoppable come the spring!

2008 Year Highlights

2008 Year Highlights.. (looking forward to a fantastic 2009!)

Pick your Poison

Well on Saturday we had a 6-8 mile run scheduled. … it was a good ole um 29 degrees out…and sleeting.. yeah no thanks.. going to run inside on treadmill ……Joe says he would rather chew his arm off ...or something like that (about being on the treadmill that long) and ops to put on a ton of clothes and run outside.. have fun there bud....He checked on me before he went out into the frozen tundra.. Joe to Wendy, “So what mile you at there pal?”…

So who had more fun??? Well lets see...I got to run like a hamster for an hour and 20 minutes while looking at a blank white wall, dang near sending me to the psycho ward.. . (note to self: obtain a TV or something and place in front of treadmill).. Joe came in with wild eyes.. and a thin coating of frost on his hat..

Pick your poison...

Looking for spring…

Ridiculous

I HAVE to tell you.. Joe was away on business last night.. so I was on "dog duty".

..should be no problem... I get her dinner, take her out (twice) and then run water for a bath for myself.. no sooner than I get in my bath I hear her barking at the backdoor. I ignore her.. I know she can't possibly have to go out again.. she has been out twice in the last hour..

Patience.. she will stop… NO.. she gets PISSED that I am ignoring her and she marches herself all the way to the bathroom door and then proceeds to bark LOUDLY at the bathroom door.. SIGH.. THUS I CAN HEAR YOU.. so I get out of my bath.. soaking everything on the way to back door to let her out .. tap.. tap.. tap...wait patiently for her to get done her business (as I dang near freeze to death waiting)…done, great.. back to bath..

So we finally get settled for the night or so I think… At 2am she has an allergy attack and I have to get up and get her medicine and OH LET HER OUT AGAIN… I stumble out of bedroom, in a half sleeping stupor… tap ..tap.. tap.. wait for her to return.. back in.. back to bed.. ah… BARK BARK BARK.. WTF now..!!!... I look at time.. jeez it's breakfast time on the dot.. 5:15AM.. GET UP .. I stumble back out of room, dog trailing, let out, feed.. back to bed.. not time to get up yet.. yawn..

BARK.. BARK.. BARK.. drool coming from my mouth and one eye open I look at clock.. 5:45 am.. Isabella.. please.. I get back up to let her out AGAIN.. tap.. tap.. tap.. Where the HECK is she.. ??..I look out into the darkness.. I lay down on my livingroom floor.. EXHAUSED.. about 5 minutes later she returns.. finally back, in, go back to bed....

BARK BARK BARK… getting angry now… 6:15 let her out AGAIN.. I then GRAB her and lock her in with me in bedroom... STOP IT..!! She settles for 15 min then starts barking again.. I am exhausted…. I stumble around… I resounded to the fact I was NOT getting any more sleep or any kinda quality sleep and I get up and make myself breakfast and I look over and she goes the F@#&^ to sleep and was still sleeping when I left for work…. how cute.

GOD of HURT

Went to my Sports Massage Therapist last night for the first of a few sessions to help elevate some residual pains and aches from all the crap I did last year.... OH boy is he a GOD OF HURT… After my first session with him a week or so ago, I noticed that I could actually rotate my hip again while running .. it felt REALLY good to run… amazing how you don’t realize how LOCKED up your body can be and how your body will adapt to bad habits.

Everyone thinks of massages and or stretching with words such as OHHHs and AHHHS, and something like warm water running down your back.. but perhaps given that if I was NOT being twisted into the shape of a pretzel and kneaded into a ball of dough that perhaps.. just maybe… I could say something more than OW>>> and EWE>. And .. UGH>.. AND JEEZ US…. but the goal is recovery and to get me running really well again. And my God of Hurt does an AWESOME job..!

So after being stretched, pulled, prodded, and had pointy fingers stuck into my hip sockets.. I crawl off the table to go watch the suggested plyometrics in order to enhance my training. So hobble …hobble… hobble … go watch the man jump around… as he diligently shows me something such as bunny hops.. and fast feet... I am thinking, “OH YEAH.. I most certainly will be in traction”… see the man jump UP.. and see the man come down soft like a snowflake (his words I swear.. liked that analogy)… see the man jump up.. see the man come down… see the man’s feet move like he’s stomping out a fire.. see the man jump up..down… I read about some of these in my journals for Personal Training… I am SOO freaking exhausted just watching him…I hope he seriously does not think I will need to do these… (yes Wendy you will need to do them)

Session over… he says, “See you Saturday”… huh.. oh yeah.. I almost forgot.. another session on Saturday am….. now to figure out how to walk out to the car.

PS: HAPPY 1st YEAR ANNIVERSARY JOE!!.. (if you remember.. it was a year ago this month that he stopped smoking and started running and biking... )

I can't believe in ONE year you have completed 2 marathons and numerous other runs and races..and you never ran before in your life !!! YOUR AWESOME!!
PSS: I hope everyone’s goals for this year are set.. I am SOO excited.. this is going to be a great year!!!.. starting off with a nice WARM Florida Marathon in a month!!!... so far here is the spring race schedule (obviously subject to change).. if anyone wants to train for a 5K or anything let me know… I can set you up with a plan… Heather is entertaining the idea of doing a half marathon..

1/11/09: Icicle 10 Miler (training)
2/01/09: Ocala Marathon (training)
3/07/09: Pittsfield Snowshoe Marathon/Half (training) – (only Wendy doing)
3/21/09: Virginia Beach Shamrock 8K **THIS IS THE BIG RACE
3/22/09: Virginia Beach half marathon (training)
4/04/09: Kutztown 5K
4/26/09: Women’s by the Bay 5K (only Wendy doing)
5/17/09: Delaware Marathon or Half

Wendy's Website

Check Out my website:
www.wmastripolito.com
Here are pics from it.. I will keep the link on the side bar of the blog. I thought it was a great idea to keep all my projects in one area...

Happy New Year

We opted for the Mastripolito Mile instead of the 5K!!

Weather: 17 degrees with 12-15 mph winds..so wind
chill of around 4.. humidity 40%...(so winds not as bad as previously stated..BUT STILL FREAKING COLD)

Well I tell you.. it was sooo cold last night that I convinced Joe that doing a Mastripolito Mile was SOO much better than the Mastripolito 5K (3 miles)!!!! And he calls me a WHOOSE... !!!....I said whatever .. I don’t care.. but if you want to do the 3 miles instead.. FINE...I will do it... (I am no whoose)... so almost right before the time to leave he goes outside to check this out.. .. and he is like WTF... !!!....it's freaking cold out there.. NO SH-T there buddy...um duh.

So we did the mile instead.. THANKFULLY SO.. .. but it was horrible.. I am wearing TONS of clothes.. like long johns, under armour leggings, sweats, then on top I had five layers... and then hat, gloves, flashlight, face gaiter… I must of weighed 5-10 pounds more than I usually do..

So we go tearing up the road at 11:55pm (according to the kitchen clock.. failed to look at the GARMIN clock.. this will have significance later)... figuring a 10 min mile at worse.. crossing over into the new year.. it was just REALLY COLD..I mean with it being REALLY DARK..and it being just 17 degrees out.. It was JUST REALLY REALLY COLD.

Joe had his headlight on and I carried a small flashlight.. my hands started to get cold almost right away... I should have done mittens... we clock in doing a 5.36 pace at the first QUARTER mile marker..and then we died… DIED...the hills in our neighborhood seemed REALLY REALLY steep... and the air was really really dry and it was hard to actually draw in a breath…

So we stay together until the first hill.. then I was dropped..DROPPED.. GONE.. BYE BYE.. I was fooling with my face gaiter... while holding my flashlight.. and of course almost blinded myself..and then seeing spots for the next few feet .. the next time I look up .. he is up the road!!!... ARGH... .it's an out and back.. Joe ends up finishing first.. THE WINNER... and I second..

But our kitchen clock is wrong.. our Garmin's say we started at 11.51 (which we both did in the 8's for our mile.)... SO since Joe was ahead of me... he did not cross over midnight RUNNING.. so SHOULDN'T HE BE DISQUALIFIED!????.. tee.. hee.. .. here are MY time specs (according to MY Garmin)
Start Time: Dec 31, 2008 11:51:46 PM
Finish Time: Jan 1, 2009 12:00:13 AM
Time Zone: Eastern (US & Canada)

We didnt get to bed to almost 1:30.. and I am EXHAUSTED.. but what a great way to bring in the year!

2009 HERE WE COME!!!!!