(All photos by Maria)
Matt and I headed home to Long Island for the weekend for my parents' Annual Bocce Ball Tournament! My sister Maria and her husband John actually came home for the weekend from North Carolina to surprise everyone! I was actually the only one who knew about the secret but I kept my lips sealed!
Anyway, I had to log 12 miles on Saturday morning before the party and my whole family agreed to train with me! Am I lucky or what? We decided to divide it up into 3 legs of 4 miles each! I was up at 6:00am and my sister Maria took the first leg with me! From 6:20-7:00 we jogged 4 miles. The first 4 felt pretty good and we jogged through the local neighborhoods and then circled back to the house.
My younger sister, Dana, and my brother-in-law, John (Maria's hubby), took the 2nd leg and did the next 4 miles with me. I still felt pretty good and we jogged on an open road with a nice breeze. Did I mention that it rained the night before and was extremely humid - it felt like pea soup but did start to cool off a bit! We then circled back to the house and Dana stopped inside to use the restroom and promised to meet me back on the course while my dad took off with me on his bike. Now you may ask how did he bike slow enough to stay at my 10 mile/hour pace? He did so by cranking up the hardest and slowest gear - ha ha! Dana finally met up with us after a mile and we let my Dad take off on a few straight-aways but he always came back to us. So the 3 of us did the last 4 miles together, chatting all the way!
On the way back we saw my friend Angela's father who chuckled and said "You are the only family I know who runs together!" Yes we are dorks but I love us! I am so thankful to have the love and support that my family constantly offers. Whether it is running or help with a crisis, they are always there to help. I have such a close bond with everyone and can only thank my parents for raising us to be WHO WE ARE and to LOVE HOW WE LOVE.
Although my husband cannot run with me (due to a knee injury) I am so lucky to have him as well. He always pushes me and makes sure I get all my miles in every week. He will also get up and clean while I am out running. He will make me breakfast or a protein shake as soon as I get back. He will massage my sore legs when they hurt later at night. Ok no he doesn't do that but I do beg and plead! He is amazing though and I am so glad he is there to hold down the fort while I am out jogging 25 miles a week. I told him it only gets harder from here but he doesn't seem worried at all!
So after the run I stretched and then Dana and I jumped in the pool to cool off. Max does not like when people go swimming and gets really crazy. He runs circles around the pool and barks and growls the whole time. I wonder if he is worried we are going to drown? Either way, he HATES the water and will not come in but somehow he managed to fall in this time. Poor guy was scared out of his mind but Dana was there to rescue him and take him safely to shore. Thank god for her awesome lifeguarding skills that she learned at Splish Splash several years ago! I think she would have even performed CPR if she needed to because she just loves Max THAT MUCH. We all do - and I will admit I do have a doggy crush on him. (Is that even possible?)
The party got under way around 2:00pm and there was plenty to eat and drink, courtesy of my mom who does not believe in catering but instead slaved in the kitchen for 3 days prepping! She did hire someone to help cook and clean up and that was a huge help! The bocce ball tournament was a blast and I cannot believe that Maria and my Dad (the reigning champions) got their names picked out of a hat and were partners again! Not only that but they won AGAIN! My parents' friends are starting to have their suspicious and are calling it a "set-up". Maria and my dad did decide to forfeit their prizes to the runners-up which was very nice of them.
I almost forgot to mention that the whole point of the bocce tournament was to fundraise for a walk my dad is doing. He does a walk every year for ALS in honor of his brother, Ron. My dad collected donations an entree fees for the tournament and fundraised over $400! What a great day and all for a great cause. Go Dad!
Other than that, running has been good and I got my hunger under control. I added more protein to my diet which helped but think I just went through a phase last week and it's finally over!
This weekend I am off to Nashville and looking forward to another family run in a cool city! Goal is 13-14 miles! Woohoo!
Fundraising is going well - I am up to $2421.20! My goal is $5,000 and I am almost halfway there! Please show your support by donating to Fred's Team and Memorial-Sloan Kettering for cancer research at:
https://fredsteam.mskcc.org/fundraising/Controller?action=userHome&user_id=39924&event_id=128
Running Partners - 2nd leg: Dana and John
Dad and John
Matt and I
Max - still a little wet from his fall in the pool
