Turkey Trotting

Early last Thursday morning--after a five-hour drive from Jersey to Virginia the night before--we rose and drove to Centreville for what's becoming an annual kickoff for Thanksgiving: The Virginia Run Turkey Trot 5K. This is the third year in the row we've participated in the run, which maintains its neighborhoody, low-key feel despite a huge turnout (more than 3,000 runners finished the rolling course).

Aside from a thick fog, the conditions were ideal for a fast run. I had hoped to crack the 20:00 barrier, but after battling the crowds at the start and mistakenly assuming there'd be clocks at each mile to guage my pace (there weren't, and I don't wear a watch), I lost some time out there. I still felt GREAT, ran 20:11 and placed sixth among all women. I think I should've won my age group, too, though they announced I was second. Anyway, I haven't run below 20:30 since high school (my time at this race in 2007 was 20:31), so it seems like my marathon training is working!

But the best part was being out there with all of the Flynns minus Maureen (she graciously stayed home to watch E), plus the Gaffneys (Michael and Patrick ran, Kathleen walked), Elaine and the McGarrs (Kristen ran, Chuck served as our support crew). Everyone ran SO well and had fun. That's the most important part, right?!

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.