Leaving for Disney!

We're off to bed, even though we're 'too excited to sleep!' We have an early 6:30am flight out of Boston to Orlando. We cannot wait to get down to Disney and run our second marathon together! It looks like it's going to be a chilly one, with temps in the 20s on Saturday for the Half Marathon for Miss Bethany and 30s on Sunday for the Full for both of us. Brrrr!

We will be back on Tuesday, so if you don't hear from us before then, we will have a full rundown of our race report, pictures, and all that other good stuff.

Now, it's off to Disney!

New Video Camera to Record Our Runs!!!

We got this new video camera on Black Friday but we just used it for the first time (finally). It was easy to use and easy to carry. We plan to take it with us for the Disney Marathon and since Miss Bethany prefers to hold things in her hands while running, it works out perfectly! Don't worry, there is a strap for the wrist so we won't lose it.  Here are our first videos. It will definitely take some practice getting used to running and filming at the same time. Check out how beautiful the scenery is!

So we went out on a nice little snowy 10 miler yesterday morning, to kind of just work out any last minute kinks, feel the fresh air, feel the nice cool snow, and just enjoy each other's company on one last 'long' run before Disney.

Here we are just heading out for our run:

Here we are on the bike path near our house, YakTrax working well for Ryan. Not sure why Miss Bethany sounds so out of breath, haha:

Miss Bethany's video of the pretty snow-covered trees:

Let us know what you think of the new camera! Miss Bethany needs some work behind the camera, but she'll get used to it :-)

Stay tuned for our next post about 2010 goals and resolutions!

Last 20 Miler Before Disney! LOL

This post is a little late, and a little different than usual. We ran our last "20" miler before Disney Marathon on December 27th, last Sunday. But it turned into an 18 mile run, and here's why:

Ryan's Perspective:
Well, let's just say it wasn't my day. First of all, it was a miserably pissing-rain-in-your-face type day. You know what I mean. Secondly, it was mid-morning on a Sunday. Now, I HATE running long on Sundays, because 1. it means I had to give up enjoying a Saturday night, concern myself with eating and hydrating properly (and drink less beer :-p), and 2. it means I have to work the next day. I MUCH prefer running long on Saturdays because after it's over, I can relax and enjoy the rest of my weekend and celebrate my long run accomplishments with a nice cold beer (MGD 64 :-p) or two on Saturday night. Thirdly, I was still in my post-Christmas depression. Christmas is the best time in the world for me, and when it's over I fall into a minor depression. All of these factors just led me to be miserable before we even set foot out the door.

So we hit the road, and I am utterly miserable. I'm complaining and moaning like crazy before we even hit mile 1. Rain pouring in our face, cold wind blowing rain into our face, just miserable all around. So I'm out there suffering, and there's Miss Bethany, happily prancing through the rain, wind, and puddles. Let me just throw out there that Miss Bethany has had this entire week off, so she didn't have to worry about it being a Sunday. If I had a nice week of vacation to look forward to, I don't think I would've been as crabby. But anyway, I decided early on I wasn't going to hit 20. Miss 'Smiles' Bethany somehow dragged me through 18 miles, and I'm amazed we made it that far. There wasn't much convo, and lots of tension, mainly because I was so miserable and she was so cheery, but somehow we made it through those 18 miles.

It was the worst run I've had in a loooong time, but we still managed to hold a decent pace, and I still feel confident and ready to hit my goals at Disney. Even though it's on a Sunday, I think I'll be alright. I'll be on vacation, I'll be running 26.2 with the sweet little lady that I love, I'll be in the 'Happiest Place on Earth' and I don't have to work the next day. :-p (But I do have to ride Splash Mountain, which stresses me out because I'm petrified of heights.)

Miss Bethany's Perspective:
I was really looking forward to our last 20 mile run! I enjoy running 20 miles anywhere, anyday of the week and anytime during the day. I am very laid back with everything, especially running. Even if i don't feel like running 20 miles, i'm oin to tell myself i do until i believe it.  I was lookin forward to running on some quiet back roads since we were in my hometown and not Boston. I was also looking forward to 20 miles of conversation with Ryan. The weather wasn't too bad, it was 48 (very warm for us in dec), misty with some light rain and a strong wind but thankfully, unlike Boston, it was only blowing in ONE direction.

The SECOND we started running, Ryan started complaining. It was like watching the first episode of the biggest loser...ANNOYING. He didn't like the weather, he didn't like the course, he didn't like the time of day and he didn't like the fact that it was a Sunday??? By the way, this was the FIRST time i'd ever heard of his hatred for running on Sunday. By mile 2 I was already sick of him and wished i could run alone. He must of complained about having to run 20 miles at least 20 times by the time we reached 2 miles. Because of his negativity, he got it in his head right away that he was only going to run 18 miles and NOT A STEP FURTHER. I can't believe he made it to 5 miles let alone 18!

OMG he was being SUCH a baby. This is mean but it was SO hard not to laugh at him. Not because he was struggling, but bc of how ridiculous he was being. He was either completely silent, groaning, swearing or acting completely obnoxious. I kept telling him to SHUT UP and at one point i almost said "hey ryan, take your panties off!" LOL. (but i figured that wasn't a good ida). it was SO ridiculous how big a baby he was being. He chose to be miserable before we even started running. If he was struggling bc he had a cramp, didn't feel well, hit the wall etc, i would have been supportive but he didn't even give it a chance!

He blew the run before we even started bc of his negativity. Do you get to pick the weather for a marathon? NO. The course? NO. News flash Ryan, most marathons ARE on Sundays!!!! Who gets so mad about running on a sunday? We ran for just under 3 hours. Now those 3 hours are going to happen REGARDLESS of what we are doing, sleeping, reading, watching TV, working or running. If we weren't running for 3 hours then we would be doing somethinng else for 3 hours so suck it up and enjoy it, why make it miserable for BOTH of us Ryan? Actually, i still had a great time. I wish we had run 20 miles but 18 is good enough. About 30 min after our run he texted me saying "we should have done 20, maybe i'll go to the gym and run 2 on the treadmill."
Lucky for us, our next long run together will be at "the happiest place on earth!" BUT, it will also be on a Sunday.....

What We Got For Christmas!

Hope you all had the merriest of Christmases!! We sure did! We really had a great Christmas, and it was really nice to gather with friends and family for a few days to celebrate. Good friends, good food, good beer, and good running. Can't get any better than that. It was a really nice few days off for Ryan, and Miss Bethany is lucky enough to have all the way until January 4th off! Lucky girl! We also got in a couple good runs (and one that was not so good, for Ryan, anyway.) So here was our Christmas in pictures . . . .

10 miles with the KRDP on Christmas Eve, sealed with a smooch.

Ginger, the Dog Who Loves Christmas [Food].

Ryan's face when Miss Bethany opened her special present. See below.

Deborah Lippman 'Happy Birthday' designer nail lacquer. Basically confetti glitter nail polish, and Miss Bethany LOVES glitter, confetti, and crazy nails! See below.

Miss Bethany and her confetti glitter nail polish. A little blurry, but you get the idea.

Miss Bethany's nephew, not so sure about the talking Night Before Christmas Bear.

Christmas night at Miss Bethany's parents' house.

Part of Miss Bethany's Bloggy Gift Exchange from MCM Mama. 

YUM! Thanks Erika!

Miss Bethany's new pink I <3 Running bottle.

Ryan's new books. He LOVES to read, and has a complete man-crush on Lance. See below.

He loves Lance. So does Miss Bethany. How can you not?

Miss Bethany and her butterfly and flower paper cut-outs. She's so crafty. That's right ladies, Ryan picked them out all by himself.

Miss Bethany bought Ryan the sweetest clock: 'Love is cheering from the sidelines, TRUE Love is crossing the finishline together!'

Ryan bought Miss Bethany four pairs (three shown) of lovely earrings from Be Jeweled in Downtown New Bedford [very nice little place]. That's right ladies, Ryan picked them out all by himself.

Miss Bethany bought Ryan a core stability disk. Ryan MUST work on his core in 2010. It is his primary New Year's Resolution. Be sure to check out our upcoming post on New Year's Resolutions and Goals for 2010!

Ryan bought Miss Bethany an LL Bean Sleepytime Snuggler. She loooooves him! [and talking on her Blackberry of course].

So, that was our Christmas, in pictures. As you can see, we love Christmas almost as much as we love each other! We had a great holiday, and we hope all of you did too! So now Disney Marathon is LESS THAN 2 WEEKS AWAY! Time to taper, rest, hydrate, and prepare mentally! We are so excited!

SNOW and 15 Miler

This weekend our running plans got a bit messed up thanks to Mother Nature. Bethany had planned on running 10 miles on Saturday and then 15 on Sunday with Ryan. Since it was predicted that we would get 18+ inches of snow, we had to run 15 miles on Saturday and no running on Sunday. On Saturday we did the first 10 miles at A-goal marathon pace and then the last 5 nice and easy. Bethany's ankle started to really hurt towards the end and she even had to walk twice. Come to find out her running shoes had a defect! The tongue on the right shoe came up way too high and really irritated her tendon from all the rubbing (she has very tiny ankles). She was able to return the shoes for a new pair but her ankle is still a bit sore but getting better.
We had 2 Christmas parties on Saturday and then the snow began to fall at about 8:00pm Saturday night and continued until late in the afternoon on Sunday. We got  about 20 inches of  light, powdery snow. Since we went home to our parent's house for the weekend we were separated during the snow storm and didn't get to play in the snow together.
 Bethany was lucky enough to get a snow day on Monday but poor Ryan had to work (although he got a fancy Christmas lunch of lobster at work so don't feel bad for him!)

The view outside Bethany's house. We got about 5 more inches after this picture was taken.

Bethany all bundled up to go play in the snow. It was kind of sad, she was the only person out, she even walked around the block looking for the neighborhood kids, lol. It was only 9:00am on a Sunday...

 

Bethany's nephew, Robby, 18 months. Not too thrilled with the snow.

 

 

Getting used to it...

 

Bethany found this poor little mouse shivering in the snow. She scooped it up with a shovel and built a little snow cave for it. I'm sure it died anyway. 

 

 See how much snow is behind him?!

 Robby waist deep in the snow!

Okay, this is cruel. This is us in the Dominican Republic in 2008 after a nice run on the beach. Ugh how nice it would be to be running there rather than in cold, snowy Boston, Massachusetts!!

We have a 20 miler planned for this weekend, Hopefully Mother Nature doesn't mess things up for us again. Merry Christmas everyone!!

Stay tuned for our upcoming post on our goals and resolutions for 2010. What are yours??

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas Festivities and 20 Miler!

Well, as usual, it was another busy week for us, filled with lots of Christmas festivities, starting off the Brown University Club of Boston's Holiday Party at the Park Plaza Hotel on Thursday night. We had a great time, with a nice little open bar, lots of delicious food (but no dessert! booo!), and good friends. Friday night we threw our own little Christmas Gathering at our apartment. Lots of delicious Christmas beers and clean Christmas snacks! Saturday morning, Miss Bethany ran 11 miles, while Ryan slept in :-). Brrrrr, it was 20 degrees and windy! Then Saturday night, the KRDP had a November/December birthday party, which was a BLAST! Sunday morning we ran 20 miles on the trails with the KRDP, most of whom recovered nicely from a very 'festive' night before! The ground was frozen, which beat up our feet a little bit, and made footing uneasy at points, but we survived, and felt like we got a GREAT workout in. Miss Bethany had a nice little fall, it was sad to see her go down, but she got right back up and kept chugging along!

Here we are just before leaving for the Brown Christmas Party.

 

Lobby at the Park Plaza. Wow!

Our festive Christmas apartment :-)

Miss Bethany preparing the clean treats by the "fire."

More festive treats!

 

Stealing a smooch under the mistletoe. 

 

Celebrating birthdays with the KRDP!

Miss Bethany with her nephew in his brand new house. (Bethany is excited because her nephew can finally say "Ah-B" like "Aunt B").

 After finishing 20 miles on the trails with the KRDP. Wow, we were out there for 3 hours and 45 minutes! Longer than it takes to run a marathon!!! (We run at a slower pace on the trails because it's all woods, ups and downs, logs, rocks, steep hills, etc., etc. Lots of FUN!)

As usual, we have another busy week this week, with more Christmas parties, Christmas shopping, and of course, running! Have a great week everyone!

Winter Weather has ARRIVED!

We had quite the busy weekend (as usual)! On Saturday, Miss Bethany ran 10 miles with Team in Training, and then worked on her annual Christmas ornaments all day. Saturday night was Ryan's office Christmas party at the Langham Hotel in Boston. It was nice to get dressed up, and have a fun night of dinner and dancing with all of Ryan's colleagues. We even got a bit of December snow.

Sunday morning we hit the road at 8am sharp! We had planned to run about 13 miles or so on the Boston Marathon course, and then run the Holiday 5k at the Boston Hatch Shell along the Charles River. Our friend was the race director, and all the proceeds went to Faulkner Hospital Breast Health Center, so we wanted to show our support. Well our run didn't go as planned, but it worked out well in the end. We started out on the Boston course, but it was SO icy, and Ryan almost fell and cracked his skull numerous times! So we decided to turn back after 6 miles, and let the sun come out and melt some of the ice, and head back out to finish later. We ended up getting up to 9 miles in before the 5k, and then Miss Bethany pushed the pace, and we finished the 5k at a decent 7:41 pace. We topped it all off with 3 more miles to bring our total to 15 miles on the day, and we both felt like we got a good workout in. 

Sunday afternoon and night, Miss Bethany continued on with her many ornaments (170 to be exact!!), while Ryan relaxed and watched some Christmas specials on TV :-).

 

The lovely couple at the PB Christmas Party!

Here's the link to a great pic of us finishing the Holiday 5k:

 http://www.runnermikedmd.com/Sports/Holiday-5K-Against-Cancer/IMG9632/733575645_4cezg-L-1.jpg

Finishing strong, Ryan struggling to keep up! Race director J. Alain Ferry in the background pointing to us, and explaining to a friend how we're the couple who got engaged at the Boston Marathon :-) Thanks for putting together yet another great race, Alain. (Photo by Mike Brown Dowling)

 Here's Miss Bethany with some of her many ornaments. Finished product to be unveiled in a later blogpost.

Another busy week ahead: Biggest Loser finale tomorrow, Brown U. Club of Boston Christmas Party on Thursday, our own little Christmas party on Friday, then a nice loooong 20 miles of trails (hopefully snowy) on Sunday with the KRDP!

Have a good week everyone!