On the Run Again.

So, I've decided to train for a marathon. I know I'm crazy and I will probably kick myself in a few months for making this choice, but I needed something to motivate me to exercise throughout the winter. And by exercise, I mean run, because I don't belong to a gym and I can't really do anything else to stay in shape with Eamon always in tow. Plus, I love to run--and Eamon enjoys it, too. So why not up the mileage and see how my legs do over 26.2 miles, right?

I officially started training last week. So far, so good. I'm shooting to run in the 3:30-3:40 range at the Rock 'n Roll New Orleans marathon on February 28, so most of my runs are around or below 8-minute miles. I figure if I can hold this pace while pushing some 50-pounds of baby and stroller, I should be primed to run faster on my own.

We shall see. In the meantime, I'm getting excited about exploring new places to run. So far, I've hit Central Park and Prospect Park, and I'm thinking Liberty State is next. Hoboken is just too small to do more than five miles, and anywhere else around here requires hauling up some mega hills. I'll save that for a little later on.

Playing in Prospect Park

Not only is Eamon a Super Fan, but he's also a Super Trooper when it comes to sitting in his stroller. Since he was just two weeks old, I've been hauling him around in our trusty BOB for run after run after run. And now that I'm in marathon training mode, he has been my running buddy for some extra-long jaunts, including a 1 hour, 40-minute trek around Central Park last Sunday and an hour this morning in Prospect Park. I've learned that as long as there are some interesting things to look at (people, dogs, ducks, trees) and plenty of snacks and drinks, he'll remain content. Oh, but I can't stop: As soon as I put the breaks on, he wants OUT.

So, after covering just under seven miles this morning, I let him go crazy in this cute little playground just off Ocean Ave. It had some funky fixtures and a nice, soft floor so he was as happy as can be. Good thing I had my camera on me to capture some of his smiles!

Eileen is visiting us for a few days--she has some work-related stuff to do today in Brooklyn and Mount Kisco, NY. She was off yesterday, so I took her to LOVELY Paramus to visit a good ol' Jersey mall (it's actually newish and has discount shops, so it's not that bad!) and then we visited a nearby park. This place is great--they have a zoo, a train and lots and lots of land for little ones to run around. Eamon loved the never-ending playground: He explored almost every inch of it at top speed. He's getting really fast on his feet!

Papa and Diz visited us over the weekend. They picked a great one to come up--the weather was beautiful! We played at the park and hung out at home and got a visit from THE Aunt Bec, too. Always so nice to have them here.

Lion and tiger and monkey, oh my!

 
 
 
 

This Halloween was a zoo! Eamon and his buddies, Aiden and Owen, got dressed up as animals (tiger, lion and monkey, respectively) and had fun watching the parade go down Washington Street on Saturday afternoon. We didn't plan it, but the way the boys hung on to our front gates looked like they were animals in a cage!

Since it was such a warm day, poor Eamon was really (really!) hot in his fleece costume and was not willing to crack any smiles until we took it off. Funny thing is, last year I also bundled him up in a costume made for a much colder day, and he was similarly miserable. Next year, it's shorts and a t-shirt (but watch it snow...).

 
 
 
 

 

After the costume came off, E was able to keep up the spooky spirit with these cute spidey pj's from Aunt Maureen! They glow in the dark, too.

Chuck & Kristen's wedding

Chuck and Kristen's wedding

Fun, fun

Mark and I drove west to Seven Springs, PA, over the weekend to celebrate the one-and-only Ashley's 30th birthday. To say we had a good time would be a gross understatement--there is never a dull moment when Ashley's around! It was great to catch up with a lot of her family and friends who we hadn't seen since her and Joe's wedding four years ago--a lot has changed since then (um, Ashley has three kids!), but it really felt just like old times again.

Seven Springs was beautiful--last week's no'easter brought a stunning blend of autumn and winter to the resort: Bright, brilliant leaves of red, yellow and tans blanketed with a soft layer of pure, white snow (we saw about 3-4 inches fall overnight). I'd never seen anything like it and wished I took more pictures. Clearly, I was too busy snapping shots on the dancefloor at the Matterhorn Lounge, where we spent most of Saturday night with some of Western PA's finest (lots of Steelers fans and, uh, interesting hair and fashion choices!). Check out this album for lots of pics from the night...

Caught in the act!

As I unpacked some groceries the other day, Eamon, ever the helper, pulled out a bag of chips. Much to his delight, the bag was already open. I happened to have my camera with me and stood by as he did his thing. Look how he first marvels over his find, then slyly sneaks his hand in the bag. And the reaction to him realizing I was keen on his act is priceless. Clearly, the sneaky move was worth it--check out his face after tasting his first (and hopefully last, for a while!) BBQ chip!

The week of E

Just a few moments from the week of E: hanging at home, eating spaghetti (and peas), cuddling with mommy, and trying out a new snack, raisins (he loves them). This weekend, he's heading to the Farm for a fun weekend with Papa and Diz while Mark and I head to Seven Springs to celebrate Ashley's 30th birthday party. Let's hope he's as good of a boy for them as he is at home!

E in the City

We had great day out in the city...met Mary Kay, Mike and his Ugandan cousins (in town for Chuck and Kristen's wedding, now just two weeks away!). The cousins had never been to NYC before, so wanted to see all of the sights. We did a little tour down 5th Ave, through Central Park, then down to Canal Street for some Chinatown bargaining. The weather was gorgeous and it was just so nice to be outside and to see our great friends (and meet new ones, too!).

Eamon had a lot of fun checking out all of the people, buses, and cars. At one point, we let him out of the stroller in Central Park and he proceeded to "dance" for a jazz band playing nearby. He loves to boogie!

Making up for lost time.

I haven't had access to my camera in weeks! I lost the battery charger and ordered a replacement from ebay, which wound up taking over two weeks to get to me! (Should've known better than to order from Hong Kong...). Anyway, I'll be making up for lost time with some new pics of Eamon having a great time at the playground yesterday.

Hello there!

Isn't Jack the cutest? He's almost seven months now and has a personality as big and animated as those blue eyes!

Eamon just loves his new outfit from "Diz"! She hought him these great OshKosh overalls and brown waffleknit top to go under. He got a lot of compliments when he wore 'em today...such a great look that'll carry him through the winter! So glad to have such a stylish mom! :-)

A day on the farm

Despite chilly temps and overcast skies, we ventured out to Chester, NJ, to visit Alstede Farm today with our friends Amber & Aiden, Crystal & Owen, plus Leezie, Speed, Jack and Sam. About an hour away from Boken, this is a lush and vast area of Jerz, dotted with well-manicured horse farms and well-appointed homes. Alstede features apple picking, but we apparently missed the boat on that one as they'd been all plucked (a little disheartening, as it was the main purpose of our trip). But pumpkins were in, and they had plenty of animals for the little ones to look at. So we wound up staying for a good two hours, finding the perfect pumpkins (kind of hard to do, since many weren't quite ready yet), feeding the goats and running around.

Of all of the fun they had to offer, Eamon seemed most interested in the metal carts they had for hauling produce back to the cashier. He and Sam pushed the cart (with the help of Speed) for a good quarter-mile--or more. Tough work! He also stole a pepper picked by Amber (she hoped to use it for fajitas) and proceeded to bite into it like an apple. His face was pretty priceless every time he chomped down on it!

More pics below. Happy fall!

Phew!

Whirlwind doesn't even begin to describe what kind of weekend this past one was...I crammed a zillion things into the mere 48 hour span between Friday night and Sunday, and am sitting here with very heavy eyes as a result. Not like I'm complaining: On Fri, I saw an AMAZING performance (Expressing Motherhood), had a great night out with some friends as the BEST babysitter tended to Eamon's every need (thanks, Daddy!). Saturday: I ran a mile race, covered a few more mile races, and spent time with Ann and Michael who were visiting the Boken for the first time. Sunday: Rose at the lovely hour of 4:30 a.m. to drive to Rye, NY in the rain to watch Ulabec ROCK the Westchester Triathlon. Unfortunately, the rain did not let up for more than five minutes the entire time we were there, but we had a great time anyway. Returned home for lunch at Leezies, prepared by Speed who is probably more talented than any contestant on Top Chef! He made the most delicious salad with chicken and steamed shrimp for everyone...I want to eat that every day!

I loved having my parents here, as always, and am so grateful to my Dad for taking such wonderful care of Eamon on both Friday and Saturday. I'm trying to convince him to move here and become my fulltime manny!

Behind the Lens

I had so much fun playing sports photojournalist at the Fifth Avenue Mile on Saturday. Thanks to Ula for lending me her awesome camera--all I had to do was put myself in the right position, point and click, and the camera did the rest of the work! The folks at NYRR (my old stomping grounds) couldn't have been more accomodating and invited me to ride in the press truck for both the men and women's professional race. so I could get some good shots for Competitor.com. The fields were stacked with Olympians and World Championship medalists, making for two extremely intense and exciting races. I was in track-geek heaven!

Just a few hours earlier, I ran my own Fifth Avenue Mile--they did the age-groupers (regular ol' folks) prior to the pros. In typical me fashion, I went in with little preparation and a way too relaxed attitude. No racing flats, no pre-race striders, Which I guess works for me, because I ran 5:47, just three seconds slower than I did two years ago--when I thought I was in really good shape! Still wasn't a stellar time by any means, but I finished fifth in my heat among many much more serious women and reached my goal of breaking six minutes. Of course looking back, I wish I had done more prep and ran harder. Next year, I'm shooting for 5:30!

The Nation's Triathlon

This is a bit overdue, but I wanted to get these pictures up of last week's Nation's Triathlon (all taken by Mr. Flynn). We had a great time out there, although I probably could have used a few more hours in the pool and on the bike to have fully prepared myself. One does not win races on luck and running alone! Nonetheless, I didn't do SO bad, and I tried to stay positive even as the last 3 miles of the final 10K turned into a total sufferfest. But staying upbeat was easy to do, thanks to our big cheering squad--all of the Flynn's, my parents, the Gaffney's, the McGarr's--and it was so nice to see everyone and hear their cheers when I really needed them!

A big congrats to Mr. Gaffney, who finished 10th in his age group in his first-ever Olympic Distance triathlon! Amazing!

Farewell to Summer

Sad, but true, Summer of 2009 is officially over. We were able to indulge in a few extra weeks of 80-degree days before fall finally pushed the thermometer down into more seasonal temps. So, no more seersucker (see Eamon's one last stint in the fabric--if it looks familiar, that's because Philip III wore this shirt in Andy and Julie's wedding!), no more outdoor pool, no more beach, no more mandals. Aleast until 2010, when Eamon will probably be far too dignified to wear mandals (though you've gotta admit, they are very cute shoes!).

In an effort to stretch our summer, we've been spending most of September outside as much as possible, visiting friends, playing in the parks, and enjoying long walks before bedtime. We also had a great week in Maryland where we had two lovely days in Sandy Point and Annapolis and Rockville with my mom and dad, respectively. That was after Mark and I competed in the Nation's Tri, the pinacle to our summer of training 20 hours a week in the pool, on the bike and on the roads. Oh wait, we should've trained that much. But life got in the way and we basically winged it with little preparation and didn't do so bad after all. I am definitely determined to put more effort into whatever race I do next, because I feel like any outcome will be so much more satisfying knowing I really put the hard work in.

Anyway, 2/3 of us here are battling colds, with Eamon getting the worst of it, so we took it easy this weekend. It's so hard to see the little guy suffer, but the doctor reassured us that he's perfectly fine--aside from the fact that, and I quote, "he has the strength of an ox."

Hmmm. Is it too early to call the NFL?

He's a dancing machine...

Watch him get down!

Here's Eamon just before bedtime tonight, dancing away to the Black Eyed Peas' performance kicking off the NFL season opener. And note the tooth brush--yes, he's already multi-tasking, people!