I RUN For John Anthony <3

This is John Anthony:

ja

He looks like a normal 9-year old boy.  Unfortunately he is not.

According to his mom:

… He has been on a long journey. He has been misdiagnosed several times. Currently a skin biopsy showed he has SCAD which is an inborn error of metabolism. a metabolic disorder. His current geneticist thinks he also has glycogen storage disease type O and 2 of his specialists thinks he has Mito. We are currently waiting on whole genome exome sequencing results to come back. Its where they look at thousands of genes and also the parents to see what is going on and hopefully get the complete diagnoses once and for all. He has been in the hospital more times than i can count. He can go from doing great to really sick low blood sugar / metabolic acidosis in a minute. He has a g tube and gets formula all night through it. It helps him gain wt and keeps his blood sugar up. His disease caused failure to thrive among many other things. He is a wonderful little boy and very active loving sports when he is able too. Sometimes he is even in a wheelchair due to pain/dystonia/weakness. Thank goodness for now it is sparingly. He sees neuro, genetics, gi, pediatrics, pediatric surgeon, endo, and a nutritionist. We are trying to save money so he can see a mito specialist. In ga there are only 2. one takes private insurance and the other one does not accept insurance. Dr Kendall is world known. And is a top specialist. Too bad it takes moving mountains to see her. A new pt visit costs 5 hundred. Which is cheaper than the other doctor. sorry. not to get off on a rant Anyways. JA never cries for blood draws or ivs. He watches and shows them where to stick him. He is a brave warrior. He lover life and seldom complains. He lives with chronic pain from his disease but only complains if its unbearable. He love art. And actually is a very good artist. He lover watching scary movies too. He lover music and he loves God Oh and he loves the Georgia Bulldogs which i know NewYork is in the SEC , right? so we are rivals lol

And unfortunately his disease makes him happy and playing like a normal boy one minute to very ill and weak the next. He just now started his heart racing and nauseas…

I won’t go on anymore but you can see that it brings tears to my eyes.

Just Friday night after months of waiting, John Anthony was paired with me as my “running buddy.”

Here are some of our messages from FB from just Saturday:

Me: I am running a 5k today for john.

 Mom: Hey Darlene! Awesome. JohnAnthony says COOL! Good Luck and YOU got this!
Mom: Good Morning Miss Darlene!! JohnAnthony and I want to tell you Good Luck today. Its cold out there even here in South Georgia  JA says you got this! He sends high fives *bam*bam* and a hug ((♥))
Me: Tell I won a medal for him
Mom: Yay! Thats awesome If you can take a picture and post it to my wall so i can show him. He is beyond exited! We are so blessed. And i know the Lord will bless you for being JohnAnthonys runner!
Me: I will for sure. He brought me luck. I hope to do the same for him.
Mom: Oh. pm me your address. JA might want to send you a drawing JA is going to do for you
Mom: Hey everyone! We are proud to announce that JohnAnthony got matched with a runner in the I run for Michael group! We are so exited. This is an awesome group that is there to match special kids/adults to a runner buddy. They encourage each other, pray for each other and the runner runs for the buddy. We got matched last night. Its an amazing group of amazing people who encourage each other. Lets face it we could all use some encouragement. Especially those of us on a special journey. And there are currently 1,7OO runners still waiting to get matched wit a super awesome buddy. Yall should definately do it. JohnAnthonys runner is Darlene in New York and she already ran a 5k this am and won a medal for JA! Woo Hoo!
Mom: We are blessed. You are already such an encouragement to JA too.
I plan to send him my tee shirt and medal from the race.
So if you are interested in being  a special needs child/adult’s running buddy, check out I Run For Michael at http://www.whoirun4.com/ (But be patient, it takes awhile to be matched.)
This program adds new meaning to running motivation.
Happy Running! Any of you bloggers matched or waiting to be matched?
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Stuff the Sleigh 5K Race Report

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The original plan for today was to do this race:

I did this race two years ago and remember enjoying it. It was a  small local race and and I loved the gloves (Unfortunately I lost them).  I have enough shirts and bags.

But this race was in Altamont (30-40 minutes away) and a little hilly so I noticed a new race advertised that took place at the Corning Preserve – where I like to do my long runs.  (It is closer and flatter) so I changed my mind at the last minute.

I knew nothing about this race besides that you get a tee shirt (yay!). Anyway it is a good way to run off that turkey and I could continue to tack more miles on after the race.

The race started at 10 am.  It was VERY COLD (the coldest morning yet) but at least it was less windy than on Thanksgiving day.

I dressed in layers again…this time with fleece lined tights and fleece lined gloves.

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all layered up and ready to go.

I didn’t get there early because  had a feeling that the race would not be crowded. So I parked in the parking lot and there were only a few cars..uh oh!! So I slowly ran the 1/2 mile to the start.

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looks nice but it is 10 degrees!!

Yes, there was music, food, raffles and very few people.

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this was where the race started

As I do at every race, I quickly made friends with two runners.  One, Valerie was my age and has run all 35 Freihofer for Women races,  Her PR is 26:XX but she only runs several times a year and only 5Ks.  Another was in  her 40s and just ran her 2nd half marathon & finished under 2 hours.

from the TimesUnion

We waited and waited.  And it was freezing.  Finally 2o minutes late, all of 15 of us started the race.

from the TimesUnion

My plan for the race was to not go out fast and die like Thursday.  I also wanted to finish under 30 minutes and beat Valerie (how shallow).

So I lagged behind Valerie for the first mile, The 2nd mile, I caught up to her and ran behind her for the rest of the race until I saw the finish line.  Then I smoked her.  Yay me!

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This was the finish line – how professional. They just took the bottom of our bib – no clock or chip.

The three of us stood around waiting for awards.  I won 1st place in the 50+ age group. (there were actually at least 3 of us.)

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We all won medals.  We joked that we should have formed a Team called the Old Lady Runners.

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the ladies with the medals

Valerie was the only one that brought money and won about 10  raffle prizes –  she really made out (one was a one month gym membership.)  She felt guilty and shared a few with me –  visit for 2 to a yoga studio and 2 tickets to Saratoga dance museum.

They had lots of food left so I had a egg & cheese sandwich and ran back to my car to change my shoes (I do my short runs in Mizuno Sayonaras and longer ones in Brooks Adrenalines), warm up and motivate myself to do 5 more miles.

I did it.  At first I was running into the wind and the sun went in and my face was freezing off and my hands went numb.  Then I turned around and it was bearable, even nice.

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Of course, I had to turn around once more to get to my car and it was cold again.

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done – 8 miles for the day

As for the race.  It was not my best but I enjoyed it a lot.  I finished slower than Thursday with a time of 29:41 (according to my Garmin since there was no clock.) I finished under 30 minutes and all my splits were under 10 minutes (and mile 3 was faster than mile 2).

Splits:

mile 1- 9:29
mile 2 – 9:53
mile 3 – 9:49
.1 –          7:22

So as you can see, I still need to work on my speed.

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The biggest news is that I got matched last night with a running buddy through I Run for Michael.  His name is JohnAnthony.  I am very excited (more about this in another post.)

This is what his mother posted in FB today:

Hey everyone! We are proud to announce that JohnAnthony got matched with a runner in the I run for Michael group! We are so exited. This is an awesome group that is there to match special kids/adults to a runner buddy. They encourage each other, pray for each other and the runner runs for the buddy. We got matched last night. Its an amazing group of amazing people who encourage each other. Lets face it we could all use some encouragement. Especially those of us on a special journey. And there are currently 1,7OO runners still waiting to get matched wit a super awesome buddy. Yall should definately do it. JohnAnthonys runner is Darlene in New York and she already ran a 5k this am and won a medal for JA! Woo Hoo!

Happy Running! Did you run off that turkey?

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What I’m Reading Wednesday

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From Goodreads:

In a dusty corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house in northern New Hampshire, a door has long been sealed shut with 39 six-inch-long carriage bolts. The home’s new owners are Chip and Emily Linton and their twin ten-year-old daughters. Together they hope to rebuild their lives there after Chip, an airline pilot, has to ditch his 70-seat regional jet in Lake Champlain after double engine failure. Unlike the Miracle on the Hudson, however, most of the passengers aboard Flight 1611 die on impact or drown. The body count? Thirty-nine – a coincidence not lost on Chip when he discovers the number of bolts in that basement door. Meanwhile, Emily finds herself wondering about the women in this sparsely populated White Mountain village – self-proclaimed herbalists – and their interest in her fifth-grade daughters. Are the women mad? Or is it her husband, in the wake of the tragedy, whose grip on sanity has become desperately tenuous?  

It was kind a creepy especially reading it before bed, but it kept your interest.

sisterland From Goodreads:

From an early age, Kate and her identical twin sister, Violet, knew that they were unlike everyone else. Kate and Vi were born with peculiar “senses”—innate psychic abilities concerning future events and other people’s secrets. Though Vi embraced her visions, Kate did her best to hide them.Now, years later, their different paths have led them both back to their hometown of St. Louis. Vi has pursued an eccentric career as a psychic medium, while Kate, a devoted wife and mother, has settled down in the suburbs to raise her two young children. But when a minor earthquake hits in the middle of the night, the normal life Kate has always wished for begins to shift. After Vi goes on television to share a premonition that another, more devastating earthquake will soon hit the St. Louis area, Kate is mortified. Equally troubling, however, is her fear that Vi may be right. As the date of the predicted earthquake quickly approaches, Kate is forced to reconcile her fraught relationship with her sister and to face truths about herself she’s long tried to deny.

Why am I reading books about disasters?  Anyone, I enjoyed this book especially the relationship between the sisters.

penny

From Goodreads:

“Hearts are broken,” Lillian Dyson carefully underlined in a book. “Sweet relationships are dead.” But now Lillian herself is dead. Found among the bleeding hearts and lilacs of Clara Morrow’s garden in Three Pines, shattering the celebrations of Clara’s solo show at the famed Musée in Montreal. Chief Inspector Gamache, the head of homicide at the Sûreté du Québec, is called to the tiny Quebec village and there he finds the art world gathered, and with it a world of shading and nuance, a world of shadow and light. Where nothing is as it seems. Behind every smile there lurks a sneer. Inside every sweet relationship there hides a broken heart. And even when facts are slowly exposed, it is no longer clear to Gamache and his team if what they’ve found is the truth, or simply a trick of the light.

I chose this book based on a recommendation from AJH.  Though I haven’t been in years, I love Quebec and I am liking the story so far.

wife

From Goodreads:

For much of her life, Anne Morrow, the shy daughter of the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, has stood in the shadows of those around her, including her millionaire father and vibrant older sister, who often steals the spotlight. Then Anne, a college senior with hidden literary aspirations, travels to Mexico City to spend Christmas with her family. There she meets Colonel Charles Lindbergh, fresh off his celebrated 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic. Enthralled by Charles’s assurance and fame, Anne is certain the celebrated aviator has scarcely noticed her. But she is wrong. Charles sees in Anne a kindred spirit, a fellow adventurer, and her world will be changed forever. The two marry in a headline-making wedding. Hounded by adoring crowds and hunted by an insatiable press, Charles shields himself and his new bride from prying eyes, leaving Anne to feel her life falling back into the shadows. In the years that follow, despite her own major achievements—she becomes the first licensed female glider pilot in the United States—Anne is viewed merely as the aviator’s wife. The fairy-tale life she once longed for will bring heartbreak and hardships, ultimately pushing her to reconcile her need for love and her desire for independence, and to embrace, at last, life’s infinite possibilities for change and happiness.

I can’t wait to read this one.  My hubby used to have a plane and is obsessed with anything regarding aviation including Charles Lindbergh.

moriarty

From Goodreads:

Alice is twenty-nine. She is whimsical, optimistic and adores sleep, chocolate, her ramshackle new house and her wonderful husband Nick. What’s more, she’s looking forward to the birth of the ‘Sultana’ – her first baby.  But now Alice has slipped and hit her head in her step-aerobics class and everyone’s telling her she’s misplaced the last ten years of her life. In fact, it would seem that Alice is actually thirty-nine and now she loves schedules, expensive lingerie, caffeine and manicures. She has three children and the honeymoon is well and truly over for her and Nick. In fact, he looks at her like she’s his worst enemy. What’s more, her beloved sister Elisabeth isn’t speaking to her either. And who is this ‘Gina’ everyone is so carefully trying not to mention?

This is another recommendation from AJH.  I am looking forward to reading it.

I have 5 days off now…to read…and to run!!!

Happy Running! Have you read any of these and do you have any must-reads to add?

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Running Update

Last Week:

  • Monday – tennis
  • Tuesday – 3 miles before work, mall walk with BFF
  • Wednesday –  rest, 3 miles on the treadmill, yoga after work
wiaww

Revenge on the iPad

  • Thursday –  3 4 miles before after work
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still warm enough for capris

  • Friday – 3 miles before work, REST, HOLIDAY PARTY at work, mah jongg after
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my favorite part of the meal

  • Saturday – rest, 8 miles, dinner out
windy 8 miles on the Nisky bike path

windy 8 miles on the Nisky bike path

  • Sunday –  7-8 miles REST, dinner out
saltys

birthday & farewell dinner

This Week:

  • Monday – 3 miles before work
  • Tuesday – 3 miles before work, tennis
  • Wednesday – DAY OFF, yoga
  • Thursday – Thanksgiving 5K race (and the Streak begins), dinner out
  • Friday – DAY OFF, rest, 1 mile, mah jongg
  • Saturday – 5K race + 5 more
  • Sunday – rest, 1 mile

Happy Running! How is your running going? Any upcoming races? 

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Running and Eating

Not this bad…I don’t do both at the same time!

This seems to be a familiar topic.

I am not delusional to think that a run can burn off the huge quantities of fattening food that I have been eating. But things would be a lot worse if I were a couch potato.

  • Thursday – Thanksgiving Lunch
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turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, run, bread pudding

  • 1 walk before and 1 walk and a 4 mile run after – I don’t think I even burned off the homemade bread pudding (not pictured.)
running in the dark with my new "white" shoes

running 4 miles in the dark with my new “white” shoes

  • Friday – Holiday Party
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lasagna, chicken, roast beef, veggies, baked potato (not pictured)

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I had the pecan pie & chocolate cake

  • No exercise at all 😦 (I’ll blame the rain.)
  • Saturday – Dinner out with Lake George friends
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I added a sweet potato instead of pasta

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pumpkin cheesecake – yum!

  • 8 mile run beforehand on the Nisky Bike Path 🙂

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started out cloudy but then the sun came out

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now that the leaves have fallen, there are better views of the Mohawk River

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happy to be done …NO FOOT PAIN – YAY! more fun last weekend running with others but they were running today when it was COLDER, cloudier & WINDIER!!!!

  • Just another “normal” Saturday…
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I have the oatmeal first and only run 8 miles LOL

  • Sunday – Dinner out with a few tennis friends & former coach
saltys

Maybe I’ll order a salad…

Happy Running!  Are you able to avoid holiday over-eating?

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Cold Weather Running

It’s starting to get cold.  I know it’s going to get worse. So there are decisions to be made:

that’s a fake smile. I hate cold weather!

  • When and where?
  • It’s is colder in the morning before work but it is at least light outside. That means I usually run in my neighborhood when I run in the morning.
running in the dark with my new "white" shoes

running in the dark with my new “white” shoes

  • That being said, it is warmer after work but it is dark. So I always run where there are lights.  That’s means that my neighborhood, the bike trails and the rail trail are OUT 😦  I don’t have a head lamp and even if I did, I prefer to run where there are street lights.  So I choose to run near work or in the town where I live when I run after work.

iPad & water are my 2 necessities on the mill.

  • When it is raining, snowing or too icy, I run on the treadmill (even though I hate it.)

  • What to wear?
    • Layers – coolmax shirt, fleece vest, windbreaker (I try to wear light, bright colors in the evening)
    • Tights (I usually wear a skirt or shorts over them – I am self-conscious about my fat thighs)
    • Gloves
    • Smartwool socks
    • Hat or headband

  • YakTrax  (if there is snow on the ground)

they really work on the snow.

No matter what the weather, you still have to go out there and RUN!

Happy Running! Any tips for running in the colder weather?

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Streaking

RWRunStreak

From Runner’s World:

We know how easy it is to fall off the running wagon around this time of year. If you’re a training-plan devotee, you might be in the dead zone—your fall goal race is over, but it’s too early to start a plan for your spring goal. If you’re more of a free spirit—you run how far you feel like running, when you feel like it—you might skip a run (or two, or several) after a late night at a holiday party, a day spent braving crowds at the mall, or a long trip to see far-away family.

One way to make your December training log entries look less like a string of binary code is to join our second annual Holiday Running Streak. Pledge to run at least one mile every day, from Thanksgiving (that’s Thursday, November 28) through New Year’s Day.

Often, you’ll find that once you get going, you want to go farther than a mile. Sometimes, you don’t, and those are your “rest days.” (In fact, it’s smart to take as many easy one-mile days each week as you’d ordinarily take rest days, to avoid overdoing it.)

I’m thinking about this….I love a challenge.  Wish I had a treadmill though…So much easier to do the rest/1 mile thing (it will take me longer to change into layered winter clothes than to run 1 mile)

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hope I don’t have to deal with this…

Happy Running!  Anyone going to streak?

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Tuesday Running Update

Last Week:

  • Monday – REST, mall walk
  • Tuesday – tennis
  • Wednesday – rest 3 miles before work, yoga after work
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brrr…first run in tights

  • Thursday –  4 miles after work, REST, mall walk
  • Friday – rest, 3 miles before work (in tights again), mah jongg after
  • Saturday – REST
  • Sunday –  6 8 miles (6 with friends & 2 solo), dinner out

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the whole group minus 2

mah jongg anniversary dinner

This Week:

  • Monday – tennis
  • Tuesday – 3 miles before work, mall walk with BFF
  • Wednesday –  rest, yoga after work
  • Thursday –  3 miles before work
  • Friday – 3 miles before work, HOLIDAY PARTY at work, mah jongg after
  • Saturday – rest
  • Sunday –  7-8 miles

Happy Running! How is your running going? Any upcoming races? 

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Sayonara to Foot Pain?

My foot was no better but no worse…just annoying and often painful. I tried to reduce my running and do everything the Internet recommends for bunions but…

RUNNING WITH PAIN IS NO FUN!

So I went to Dick’s last Thursday and tried on almost every running shoe in order to find the one with the widest toe box.

 Yes, I just bought new running shoes and I loved them …

cold windy run on the Corning Bike Path

7 miles 🙂

until the foot problem.

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ouch..ouch!

I have quite a few pairs of running shoes…all were comfortable at some point and most are pretty worn (but not worn out).

11 - SHOE

1- Mizuno, 4 -Brooks, 1- Saucony

Meet my new friend:

Mizuno Sayonara

Mizuno Sayonara

I was a little nervous about buying a lighter shoe and a neutral shoe. (I liked my Newtons but they wore out quickly & I did break my foot while wearing them.)

So I looked up some info on them.  (You have 90 days to return from Dick’s).  Here’s what I found out:

It’s a “neutral runner that also provides exceptional support for slight over and underpronators.”

The Sayonara was created to be awesome for longer distance training and racing with responsive cushioning but also super light due to the new U4ic midsole foam that’s 30% lighter than the previously used material.

It has a wider toe box than the usually narrow Mizuno fit and the upper part of the shoe is nearly stitchless and made of breathable mesh to make it light and flexible.

I loosened the top laces and they weren’t too bad on my first 3 mile run. I would have worn them on my 6 mile run yesterday but it was rainy and I wanted to run some more with them before a long one.

I still plan to also wear my Brooks…especially for longer runs… and when my foot pain goes away completely.

But for now, I hope to say “Sayonara” to foot pain.

Happy Running!  How do you choose your shoes?  Are you as crazy as me?

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Running & Eating with Friends

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am running a half marathon on March 30 with someone I met during a race. Thanks to Facebook, we remained in touch and I promised that I would run some of the long runs with her since this is her first half marathon.

I am a solo runner.  I run alone.  I run slow…walk often and feel more comfortable running by myself (except in races which I love.)

my last group run – May 2010

Heidi asks every weekend and I have yet to say yes.  This weekend, I caved and I suggested Nisky Bike Path at 10:30 am. (I had planned to go there anyway & I planned to run 6.)

FB

I got up and looked outside and it was raining… I grumbled to my husband “that is why I run alone.  Yesterday it was sunny and 60 degrees and today it is rainy, cloudy, windy….blah blah blah.”

But I got dressed and since it was warm (50 degrees) decided on a tee shirt and running skirt.  I also brought a windbreaker and cap.

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like my new compression socks?

When I got to the bike path, it was only drizzling.  Adrienne & Heidi were there already.  Adrienne had said that she would only run 4 miles but she wound up doing the whole 6 and even faster than us.

We ran 3 miles out and then turned around and ran 3 miles back.  We chatted the whole time which made it go by quickly.

Neither Heidi and Adrienne had run more than 6 miles and March 30 will be their first half…so exciting.

Heidi and I ran at the same pace…though I am sure that she would have run faster if I weren’t there.  Adrienne sped up for the last 1 mile since it was obvious that we were running too slow for her.

Adrienne and Heidi

Adrienne and Heidi

For me, it was a boost.  I never have run 6 miles without walking.  They never walk when they run.  It will be interesting to see if I can keep up.  I should mention that Heidi is in her 40s and Adrienne in her 20s or 30s.

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experimenting with a new app called fitsnap

I was nervous about my lack of speed (and my sore foot which didn’t hurt much at all) but I had fun.

We hope to do it again (probably every Sunday) at a different place and add more runners to the group.

After I left, I had to stop at work for something.  Since I was already dressed for running, I decided to run some more.  I ran 2 more slower miles. I guess I need a partner…

In the evening, I went to my Mah Jongg group’s 5th anniversary dinner.  We tried a new restaurant this year called Ala Shanghai.  We ordered lots of appetizers and shared, then we ordered many main dishes and shared and then ordered several desserts. Everything was so good. So glad I ran those extra miles!

the whole group minus 2

the whole group minus 2

Happy Running! Do you run solo or with a partner?

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