Wally did it!

Wally did it! My step dad did another marathon!

This one, as I explained before, was a bit different as he has been through a lot in the past year and half. Between a head injury, recovering from that and then being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, recovering again and then having seizures. But Wally is a determined guy. He puts his mind to something, he will get it done.

While this year's Marine Corps Marathon is probably his slowest ever at close to 6 hours (did same marathon in 2006 in 4:39), it probably is one that will mean the most to him. Despite all these challenges he did not let that stop him from being the runner he is. He loves running. He loves training. He loves setting goals and achieving them.

Here is Wally in action at a race before his accident and later diagnosis.


Walter & my mom are huge inspirations for me. Walter is 63 and my mom is 64. They both are very dedicated runners, training for marathons and racing often. It is because of all that they do that I sometimes don't think what I do is all that big of a deal..... after all, they are twice my age!

I still need to remember that not every 30 year old does what I do. ;-)

But then again not every 30 year old has Wally & my mom to inspire them and motivate them.


Do you have someone amazing that motivates you?

Hope you had a fabulous weekend!!

Britt

Tracking Wally....

I'm not used to this following from home stuff. Either I'm running the marathon as well or there to cheer someone.

I signed up for texted messages, but that doesn't seem to be working, so I'm using the Marine Corps Marathon to track Walter's progress. If you're swinging by for the first time, my step dad is running the Marine Corps Marathon today! Here is the back story on some set backs he has had, which make his run even more amazing!

All of this marathon tracking works up an appetite, so the hubby and I whipped up some breakfast.

BREAKFAST
-scramble of eggs, spinach & garlic chicken sausage, provolone
-sauteed potatoes, onions & herbs

Also enjoying some coffee with milk & agave nectar.

Wally is almost to the half way point. I'm happy to see that he is taking his time. Around a 12:30 pace. It will take him about 5 and half hours, which to be out there that long is very taxing. I know from experience from running with my mom when she had a bad marathon day.... we originally had hoped to get her qualified for Boston at that race, but it just wasn't her day.

I'm also following a friend of ours who is running his first marathon. He was rocking it up till about the half and then slowed down a bit, still he is going to finish WELL under 4 hours. Maybe under 3:40.

All of this marathon excitement has me looking forward to NYC next weekend! :-)

Since I'll be out of town next weekend we caught up with some friends last night. Our wonderful friends Glenn & Aviva. They are great people and great cooks!

We were in charge of salad, so I whipped up this lovely salad......

The salad included....
-herbed spring mix of greens
-grape tomatoes
-roasted brussel sprouts & eggplant
-gorganzola cheese
-I brought some TJ's balsamic vinaigrette to go with it

I must say it was quite tasty.

Here was a fabulous dinner.

DINNER
-pan roasted halibut
-green beans
-a fabulous fennel with cream sauce & bacon.... so good.
-some un-photographed risotto that went incredibly well with the fennel sauce
SO SO SO good. What a great dinner.
We also had some yummy wine. Happy tummy.

Alright now back to tracking Wally. :-)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!!!

Britt

Turkish get ups & Cheering for Wally!

This morning..... I slept in. Ahh..... Till 6:30.

I ust could not get up at 5:30 for Kettlebell, I was up to late dealing with some technical glitches with the dang blog. So annoying.

Any how.

I wanted to make it to 4:30 Kettlebell so I went to work early.

Prepped my breakfast, while doing so I ate half a banana and then added the rest to my oats.

BREAKFAST

-banana

-oats, almond milk & water, rest of banana, almond butter, ground flax, few walnuts & some maple granola.

LUNCH

headed home to check on the dog and my dad, both were doing well. :-)

-sandwich thin, turkey, provolone, hummus and tomato

-later at work had some plain greek yogurt with almond butter

yep running a bit low on the veggies today......

After work I scooted to kettlebell. It was a doozie.

Warmup

following done twice

-run 1/4 mile

-3 pushups

-6 situps

-9 air squats

Workout

as many rounds as you could in 20 minutes

2 Turkish Get Ups per side

4 Split squats per side

12 American Swings

8 Thrusters per side

I did just over 5 rounds. OMG the Turkish Get Ups were killing me. We usually just do them during warm ups.... not as part of the actual workout. I was using 12kg bells, so about 26 lbs. I finally had to drop down to a 20lb bell for my last few get ups. I was a sweaty drippy mess by the end..... sign of a good workout. I also wasn't much of a talker during class, except to say get ups suck. :-) Aren't I a cheerful ray of sunshine. LOL

The hubby arrived home shortly after me, so we threw together a quick dinner. AND.... I forgot to take a picture. Oops. Nothing crazy.... turkey burgers on sandwich thins w/ broccoli & baby turnips on the side. YES finally I ate some veggies!

I'm working on the veggie situation as I type, I got these lovies baking in the oven.

-Spaghetti Squash & Butternut Squash

So while that cooks I'm enjoying some green tea and um... a snack size Snickers. My dad got a bag. Evil dad. ;-)

I cannot believe the marathon is only a week and a half away. Eeks!

However THIS weekend my step dad, Wally, is doing the Marine Corps Marathon!!

It will be his first marathon since a couple of major health issues set him back. He is one dedicated and determined guy though, he has a goal and he is going to achieve it! His training has been very methodical and well thought out, he has also listened to his body and accepted its limitations that it gave him at times.

Here we are in the FL Keys last winter.

He is an amazing guy.

Almost 2 years ago he fell on some ice while on a business trip, hit his head very hard and almost required brain surgery due to the swelling. It took over a month to finally get him home to NH, as he was in IL when the accident occurred and then went to MA before coming home. It was such a nightmare. He had to work with speech therapists and occupational therapists to re-learn a few things, but he made an amazing come back.

Just as he was on the upswing from that he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the white blood cells. He started to do well with his treatment for that when he wound up in the hospital again when he collapsed during a run, they were not sure if it was due to blood pressure medicine or what. He was released but a couple months later he collapsed again, this time they realized he was having seizures due to scar tissue in his brain.

Now he is on anti-seizure medicine and hasn't had an issue since. He will be having a stem cell transplant in February of 2010 and he wanted to get another marathon in before that. Plus he loves the Marine Corps Marathon. So he is running it. It is a goal he wants to accomplish.

My mom is flying down with him and will cheer him on with a friend of her's that lives there. My mom, Wally and I did Marine Corps in 2006. It is a great race, lots of wonderful support, amazing location, and just a lot of fun. I'll be cheering him on from home though, as well as another friend who will be running his first marathon for the Burn Foundation.

So for those of you who are overwhelmed by a marathon and don't know if you can do it.... think of my step dad. He is 63, has cancer (but under control), overcome a brain injury and is out there running. How can you not be inspired.

So join me in giving Wally a cheer on Sunday!

Have a great night!

Britt