My Life Changing Event

If you told me that May 10, 2013 would be a life changing day for the rest of my life I would have thought you were joking. You see, for the past few months on a Friday night I loved to be home. Why? Because on Friday nights I would go home, relax, eat dinner, and wait for the TV show Fashion Star, to come on and live tweet during the shows to my fellow watchers Christine, Jen, Kim, and that night Lena, & Brandi. Normally we would tweet back and forth about the runway models, the judges attire, or the outfits tweeting  "oh, that outfit is so you!", but this night was different. We all started to watch it but tonight I was not in the game. I had eaten too many weird foods the past few days and that night the show took a backseat to my stomach. At one point I tweeted the girls "I will be watching in bed. I am having an ulcer attack-I am dying in pain!"

 For the next few hrs I began to get even more sick then thinking I may have food poisoning for the amount of vomiting I was doing. It was like clockwork every 10- 15 min. with each time being worse and worse I considered pulling up a pillow and just sleeping next to the toilet. I climbed back into bed. It was getting late and my husband whispered "Jen, I think you need to go to the hospital." If you know me at all...I DO NOT go to hospitals unless I am dying, but tonight I did not argue. I mumbled "Give me 10 min to get sick again..then we can leave". Even with my sickness I was trying to be rational. We were only 15-20 min from the hospital, that should give me time.

He called the ER and told them that we were coming. I became weaker and asked for a gurney, but no they brought a hard wheelchair for me to die in. They brought me into the ER and started to ask me questions. Why do they ask lethargic sick people questions? The next thing I remembered was going for more observation and then someone taking me for a CAT scan. I could barely move onto the table.They asked me to raise my arms for the picture - that was torture from the stomach pain. From there I believe they sent me to a regular room. I was so sick and so incoherent. A doctor came in and told me that I had a twisted small intestine and that they hoped it would straighten out. I remember thinking "How can that happen?"

The next day is a blur. I don't know if it was meds or pain that kept me out of it but all I can remember is my kids and husband coming to see me later in the day. I felt so bad for my daughter, she stayed in the hallway crying. Nurses and Dave, my husband, tried to tell them that I would be OK and that all of the IV's were antibiotics and medicine to help me. Later that night they left me and that's when everything took a turn for the worst.

Every time I would get comfortable and finally sleep someone else would come in to take my blood pressure, give me meds, take my temperature, or take my blood. I was starting to feel like a vampire with all the pins and prick marks all over my body, and they didn't take vials....they took bottles of blood. No kidding! My nurse for the night was Robert. Now when I tell you that I swear that God was watching over me...I mean it, and the nurses he sent to me over the next days had to be hand picked and were my angels. 

It was weird, Robert was about 5'10", older gentleman build, and of all things smelled like my dad, who's name is also Robert, but normally goes by the name of Bob. Robert was my first angel. He was soft spoken, very kind, and kept asking if I needed anything, and meant it. He checked on my a few times that night but it wasn't until he came over to me and touched my arm and called me Darlin' that I knew I had to tell him the resemblance to my dad. he walked into the room and I said to him "I know this is going to sound odd but I swear you were meant to be with me tonight. You remind me of my dad in so many ways. Your cologne, your looks, and he even calls me Darlin'." We laughed and he said to get some rest. 

Later that night I had to call Robert into my room at about 1:00 am. My body started to shake uncontrollable and go into what he called was the "rigors". My temp. spiked to 102.5F and it took 5 blankets to keep my from what I thought was freezing. The next few hours again were a blur until 7 am. At 7 am there is a shift change. At that time the old shift and new shift nurses exchange notes and my history. The new nurse's name was June. June didn't know that the next few hours were going to be crazy for her. I wasn't going to stay with her all day even though she thought so.

Today was Mother's Day. 

"Today I was supposed to be going to Walt Disney World with my kids for the day, I wasn't supposed to be here!"

I said it over and over in my head and when the nurses asked me if I was a mother I said it again. This was not how you are supposed to spend Mother's Day! Why was I here? I eat healthy. I don't smoke. I give back in my community.I am a good person.  I was just fine a few days ago...All of this kept playing over and over in my head. Until, the worst things that could happen happened. My blood pressure started to crash and I was fainting. Nurses started to call nurses and nurses called doctors as I yelled out "I'm fainting please help me!" A nurse put the bp wrap around my arm and I struggled to open my eyes to see it. All I saw was a 45 over 54 and then went out. The next thing I remember was opening my eyes to what must have been a dozen or more white coats and blue uniforms in my room. Some were working on me trying to get more IV's in my arms but they were failing to do so. One even tried my foot. There were IV's in my left and right arms, but nothing was giving. Then the worst experience of the whole week...Potassium drips. If you have not had potssium thru IV let me tell you what it feels like, rubbing alcohol in your veins.The burning was unbearable and I was screaming, crying, and my body was jumping from pain. I begged for them to get it out and finally it stopped. OMG! the worst pain in my life! Then the unthinkable happened. a doctor came in and told me that they needed to operate on me because I had gone septic, a bacterial infection in my small intestine. they needed to take out the diseased portion or it would kill me and they needed to do it fast before it spread. They wanted me to go right then but I couldn't. I needed my husband and kids!! I asked them to call my husband and to wait until he came but I also told them to tell my husband to NOT bring the kids. I could not let them see me like this. I didn't want them to be in a hospital waiting room. At this point I was still their mom and trying to shelter them from this horrible event happening.

My husband arrived at the hospital. Once he got there he was briefed on what had gone on, but I assure you at this point he had missed the show. It was time to go so they wheeled me out of my room on my bed and through the hospital we proceeded to the ER. I was a little foggy, but honestly that was a good thing. There was no time to think, to panic, to even have a thought.The elevator doors opened, it was time to go to get prepped. As we got to the doors they stopped my bed. My husband came to my left and put his head next to mine and cried "I love you Jennie, I need you, please don't leave me." I should have been scared but I wasn't. I held his hand and told him that I would be ok and that I loved him back. He asked me "Do you want me to call anyone or do anything?" I replied "Yes, please call Kimmie!" he looked at me as if to say why. I must have repeated myself 3 times "Just call Kimmie..She will pray with you. Please call her and tell her!"

Kimmie is Kim Requa and I have known each other since our kids have been 3. However, for the last 4 yrs. she has become my running partner and "sol sister". At that moment I felt a strong sense from God who told me to tell Dave to call her. You see, Kim and I started to pray before each race. We do not run a race until a prayer has been said. We have prayed in hotel rooms before heading out, on buses waiting to get off, and yes even the last minute corral prayer.I believe that God has brought us together to strengthen our faith and be supportive of one another and I could not think of a more perfect person to support Dave at that moment. I knew she and he would come together and pray for me and I just had a feeling that I was going to be ok at that moment.
 As I said my goodbyes, I thought of the date one last time and then realized I had never talked to my kids on Mother's Day. Again, if you knew me I would have been crying and freaking out...but something calming was over me that said I would be fine and come out ok.  A part of me whispered "Crap, please don't let me die on Mother's Day God for my kids sake!"

To the ER for prepping.No one was there in that big room except for me. I had 2 new nurses that couldn't of been nicer, more kind, and supportive. I was there a while waiting for the surgeon to come in. I had heard Dave call into the ER and see if I was ok and yes I was still ok. Well, it was time for me to go in... it was my time. The doors opened and it reminded me a video game, The nurse joked "ok pick a door ~ 3 or 4?" I would have picked 3 but nope she took me to 4. It was time for me to go nite nite and that I did.

The next 2 days I was in ICU. I don't remember anything from those 2 days and maybe that was good because I was incubated and had so many IV's, catheters, tubes, EKG wires, and more all over me. Dave said I was funny because I would wake up and ask for a clipboard and try to write things, I don't what I was writing - I really and honestly remember nothing until Monday night when I awoke. They had taken inches out out my intestine because of the blockage and infection. The diagnoses could be Chrohn's Disease. The surgeon had given me not the coolest design on my belly. It was huge going right down the middle of my stomach kind of like a questions mark and with staples.(24 of them I later counted)

I was in so much pain. I was bruised all over my arms from all of the IVs, at one point I heard someone say 17 IVs  because my veins kept failing. I had the worst back pain and I felt like I had been hit by a Mack truck. When I awoke and they were able to take my breathing tube out I was so happy. It wasn't a thrilling experience but happy to have it out. I looked down and my belly was so swollen. my legs were 3x the size I normally was and I had clubbed feet. Omg! I almost started to cry. It hurt so much. Was I ever going to be 115 lbs again?
I wasn't able to eat food or drink water. I was as dry as the Sahara. I would try to talk but my lips would stick to my teeth in a minute. I was able to have water on a little sponge to put on my lips. Later I asked for ice water and sneaked in some cubes when no one was around. My nurse for the first 2 days was Carrie. My husband said she was the best and watched over me like a hawk. He was supposed to leave at 8pm but Carrie let him stay until about 2 am with me. The next nurse was Mike. Mike I remember. He was from NY and thinking back now I swear he reminded me of the movie Michael with the angel? But he looked and acted like my husband. We cracked a few NY/NJ jokes while I was there and he said I had a strong personality even sedated. lol!

Tues morning I really don't want to talk about. the changing of the nurses was horrible. My new nurse was going to be Kerry, but I had other plans of getting out of there. She was horrible. I had not sat up yet and she threw me in a chair and left me there for 40min ...my legs were falling asleep. I had to use the toilet for the first time and when I was done she told me to sit back down and that she'd come back for me when she could because she had to go do something. I was getting upset. She's going to kill me! But then the ultimate happened. As I got back into bed she took my pain meds trigger thing and clicked it. Yup thats right. This is how people die I swear. I called in the head nurse and cried to her and told her what was going on. She tols me she would try to get me to another room and fast. She did, but not before Kerry came in to put me in a wheel chair and yes! pushed my meds button again!

The next few days weren't too bad, except for the usual... every time I would fall asleep another nurse, doctor, lab person, or someone would come in to shoot me up with numerous antibiotics, steroids,potassium, magnesium, pain meds, blood thinners, IV food, you name it.Then there was breathing treatments, Xrays, and a whole lot of other things.

 The nurses I had were even more fabulous here. Each one of them were special in their own way. Again, gifts from God. Natale, a male nurse, was a little younger than me, about 34.He was with me for 2 nights. His wife was pregnant with their 2nd child and we talked about how all they've been seeing lately is chick flick movies ~ I laughed and we exchanged movies he should see. I told him that I was a runner and at night when it was quiet and I couldn't sleep we would talk about me going to Disneyland in August to run. I told him that I was 3x the size I normally was and wondered when I would be able to run again. he told me not to rush it and that when I was able to I would be fine, but with baby steps. He was one of my favorites.

 My other favorite nurse I had for the next 2 nights was Clarissa. She reminded me of a southern strong belle. She must have been in her 50's. She had red-brown hair and had a Sally Fields way about her. She was another night time nurse. At first I thought she was going to be a tough one, and mentally she was a smart strong minded lady. But, on the inside she had a heart of gold. One of my problems being in the hospital was that my days and nights were all messed up. I would go to sleep but then I would be awake from 2-4 am. Those were actually my most peaceful times though. 2 nights in a row I couldn't sleep so I asked one of my CNA's if I could get up and walk the halls for some PT. They said sure and off I went in my hospital gown, my tubes, and my IV stand as my crutch. I'm not quite sure how fast I was going but if I had to pick a mile per minute I'd probably of said 30min per mile, maybe even a 45mm. -lol. It wasn't fast but each day after I did PR :-)

From Kim

Tracy Burwell

One night Clarissa came into my room and noticed all of the flowers and things that flooded my room. She sat for a few minutes because she was all caught up with her rounds.She asked about who gave them to me. I told her of the most awesome friends that I had. I told her that I was a runner and that some of the flowers came from across the country from team mates that I had met online in my Facebook Group Team runDisney wishing me well. I also told her how awesome everyone was with relaying info about me and that I was shocked to know of the outpouring of concern that was for me. It made me cry just thinking about it. She was amazed and said "Honey, with friends like that you will recover and come back stronger than ever. You just need to rest and you will doing what you love to do someday again". I agreed. I told her of my local girl friends that came to see me during the days. I described them as "My Steel Magnolia Friends". I told her "If you put us all in one room and looked at us, you would never think we were all friends. Each one of us looks so different, is a different age, has different careers, and kids of all ages. But we are moms that God has put together and for some reason we all work."  I thought she was going to pull out the line from Forrest Gump about the box of chocolates, but she just smiled and touched my hand saying "Honey, that's what life is about and sometimes those friends are better than family because there is no judgement" and boy was she right.

As the days grew on I was getting antsy to get out of there, but I have to admit I was scared to go home too. What if I had a relapse? Would I know? What if I jumped the gun and said I wanted to go home and no one could help me at home like they did here? What about meds? I didn't have the answer, but I wanted to go home now. 

My patience was wearing thin with my room mate. She was an old lady that looked like something out of a horror movie. She laid there all day and asked for drugs allllllll day long. I was getting upset because I think she was jipping the system to stay there for meds. I kid you not when I tell you about her... son? or whoever some black guy that came to see her. everyday (Ps she was white) My friends and family witnessed this! Every day like clock work as soon as breakfast would come...he would come in. He talked like JJ Walker so we all nicknamed him JJ. He walked in like Bill Cosby and was a big dude. EVERY DAY he would say "hey women, you better eat all your meal 'cuz you gotta get yo strength up to get your ass home and start cookin. mmm, mmm, that looks good. Watcha got today? well, you better eat it, but if you don't -don't worry it won't go to waste and I'll eat it." I am not joking! The stupidity that came out of that man's mouth was of a 3rd grade education. He stayed for lunch and until dinner came and at every meal he would say the same thing. Then, after dinner was served at 4:30, he would leave for the night until 8 am the next morning and do the same thing. But that wasn't even the worst part about the days. They would keep the TV on all day as loud as they could and both take naps. Then when he left he kept the TV on and would leave as she slept...until she asked for more meds...and then sleep some more....and on and on. I was going mad! I couldn't take it anymore. On Friday morning when the breakfast came I sat up in my bed and sobbed. The nurse came in and asked why I was crying. I told her of what went on for the last few days and I think I lost it! I told her "I want to go home and  I don't need meds I just needed the crazy people to leave.- stupidity I tell ya- stupidity! and If she asks for one more round of pain meds I might scream. She's milking the system!" YUP! I lost it!

The poor nurse looked at me and gave me a hug. She felt bad for me and then proceeded to get me the best gift anyone has ever got me...earphones. Earphones to plug in my ipod or to watch tv. Why couldn't I have had these a few days ago?

That day was the hardest for me. I was done. I wanted to go home. My family came like they always did every night and we talked. I didn't want them to go that night but they had to. As soon as they left it was time for me to get ready to get some sleep. I shut my lights off, I plugged in my earphones, and I logged on to Twitter and Facebook for a while. My cell battery got eaten up fast so I could get on for maybe an hr or two. I read all the well wishes and responded to as many as I could but it took me a long time to text for my brain and fingers didn't cooperate together yet. 

That night the BEST thing made me cry happy tears. First was I noticed that our Team runDisney page pic had been changed and my eye went smack dead to the middle where my pic with Kim stared at me from The Tower of Terror race in September. I loved this pic and I got all teary eyed looking at it. Then, as I texted Kim to ask her if she had seen it she replied "Have you seen the video yet?" I texted back "No" and she sent it over to me.
Marc Acosta from our TeamrunDisney group had made a video
Click here to watch video  from all of our pictures that we had all posted over the years on our group page. The pictures were filled of triumphs, friendships, first time runs, meet ups, and memories that were life changing. As I watched under my covers, with my headphones plugged in I started to cry. The moment was overwhelming. As I laid there all swollen up and barely being able to walk 10 ft to the bathroom, I wondered if and when I would be able to run again. Would I have to cancel my dream trip to California to run Dumbo in August? I wanted to meet these wonderful new friends of mine & share in these memories that were going to e made. As I watched the video a few pictures of Kim & I came up and then a picture of some of the Team runDisney girls and I with our medals from the Sarasota First Watch Half Marathon/Relay. Those pictures were from my favorite races. The song was "Go the distance"... I decided at that moment that would be my theme song until I could run again. It would be a long recovery ahead but as strong willed as I am ~ I know I could do it! I may not PR, I may even get sweeped, but my goal and eye was California. Kim and I had started 2013 with big dreams of getting our Coast 2 Coast medal and living the dream of "going to Disneyland" for a once in a lifetime trip... And I that I had to do. 

I watched the video every night before I went to sleep from the hospital. It became a nighttime ritual- it kept me sane & calmed my nerves.  As I went to sleep I prayed that each night would be my last there. Would Friday be my last day? I would have to see in the morning. 

Friday. "Is today my day to go home?" I asked my new nurse at 7am. "No, I don't think today. You still can't go home. You have one more bag of potassium. It's still too low to go home" UG!That wasn't what I wanted to hear!I called my husband and told him of the news. As everyone texted me asking if today was the day..I texted back "Nope not today". I wanted to bust out of hear bad. I sat in my bed that day and did not get up. I called my daughter and asked her to come and see me after high school because I needed some moral support and she came :-) I was so bummed out. Later that day, my husband and son came. They stayed late and they knew I didn't want them to go, but they had too. Visting hours were well over and Dave had to go to work in the morning. Dave was great in this whole ordeal. He had been taking care of the house, replying  phone calls to family & friends, taking care of the kids at home, and working for the two of us doing my clients and his at work. The man was so tired between work, coming to the hospital, and doing the things at home he barely was getting sleep. the last thing I needed him to do was get sick now. Again that night I watched the video thinking it was going to make me rest but that night was the hell breaker!
I don't know if it was a full moon or what happened that night but all hell broke loose that night. It was not be any means a quiet, normal night. There was a lady across the hall starring at me from her bed. She looked like she was from Zimbabwe (I'm sorry-she did) and she yelled "Nurse...Nurse!" all night long. They even yelled at her to stop. It freaked me out! Then into the same room they wheeled a man in. I'm thinking heart attack. They turned all the lights on in the hall (usually they were turned off like a daycare to basically say goodnight..go to sleep people) and they shined in my room. I was the bed nearest to the hall and bathroom, my weird room mate had the window (which she never opened the blinds). Not only did he have all the lights on but the TV blared from his room all night long. OMG! Mad havoc going on all night. Nurses ran up and down the halls, bells and beepers were going off from the IV drips needing to be replaced. People were yelling all kinds of things. At one point I wasn't sure if I should pick closing the door and dealing with the lady's stench or listening to the craziness in the hall. I chose to ask them to close my door half way. Later that night I awoke to see nurses in my room and talking. I kind of laughed in my sleep and shook my head... They were in my room with the door closed to escape the madness too. I kept my eyes closed but uttered out loud to the nurses "What the hell is going on out there? Is it a full moon? This shit is crazy!" Yes, that's right, I said it!
As Saturday morning rolled around I wondered  if I should even ask if this was my day to go home. My nurse that day walked in and it was a familiar face. She was one of my kids moms I had volunteered with. We exchanged stories and a bit about my stay. She was shocked to see what i had gone through in my chart but said to me "Good news, I think today's the day. I will see if you can go home." I got dressed as I usually do and the new nurse fixed my bed and fluffed my pillows. Today was also the first day for lunch that I could eat something other than liquids. The thought of a cooked carrot and some rice made me thrilled.
Remember Natale, one of my favorite nurses?He was walking the hall and as he walked by he caught a glimpse of me and stopped in my room to say hi. He said "You're still here? Are you going home - is today your day?" I told him I was wishing, hoping, and praying. He asked what I had been doing all day and I told him that I was having a movie marathon and if he wanted to come watch with me. He laughed and said he would keep checking on me and see if he could find things out for me. I told you he was awesome!
I had 5 Doctors that all had to sign off before I could go home. The GI Dr, the surgeon, the Infectious diseases Dr, the Pulmonary Dr, and the Admitting Dr. I thought it would be fast...It took the whole day! One by one they came in and signed off except the GI guy.Where was he? It was now 4pm. Natale popped in to see what was going on and gave me bad news. He noticed that I still had a stent IV line in my neck and said to me "Um, so they haven't taken that out yet?" I said "No, obvoiusly..why?" He replied "Well, you are still going to be here a while because that line directly to your heart. Once they take that out, you have to lie flat and not move for about 45-60 min so you don't bleed out." "Natale! Why did you have to tell me that? Now you have me all freaked out-UG!" He told me to calm down and that I would be fine but now every min that passed I thought...Great, another hour from now!It was close to 6pm I finally had the last Dr signed off and now to take this IV out. Yup, you had to stay there an hour like he said. So I watched the last of my movie and called Dave to bust me out of there.
The minute had finally come for me to go home it was 7pm now. I grabbed my flowers and balloons. Dave brought me clothes and I went to change. Ya know when you get a race shirt that is a little too big? Well, let me be the first to tell you to keep it because you never know when you might need something bigger than you usually wear. That's right... I went home as a runner that day wearing my Tower of Terror 10 miler finisher shirt.
As I hopped into the wheel chair I didn't look back. I stopped and said goodbye to the wonderful nurses that took care of me as night shift was starting and the day shift was going home. Even Clarissa was there that night. I waved as I went by her and she smiled and gave a wave back. They all wished me well, but wait! There was one person not there. Natale.I asked them to page him for I could not go home without saying goodbye. He had been my buddy at night and he was there all day checking in on me. I couldn't go home without a proper good bye. My husband stood there and said he was racing down the hall. I gave him a big hug and told him thank you for everything and off I left. Dave told me that when he hugged me he looked a little flushed and maybe teary eyed. I just said awww.
The doors opened up to the outside world and into the car I went. It was very bright out considering I hadn't sen the out side world for over a week. The air smelled fabulous yet my eyes could not adjust to everything I was seeing. I held my husband's hand in the car and cried "I am so happy to be going home. I am so happy to be alive. I just can't believe this happened." He assured me that I would be Ok and that it would take time to recover. I knew in my heart that that was true, I just had to believe and stay strong.

Every day is a new journey and a day God has given us...

*LOVE ONE ANOTHER 

*TELL YOUR FRIENDS WHAT THEY MEAN TO YOU 

*DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT

*APPRECIATE WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU

*LIVE YOUR DAY LIKE IT MAY BE YOUR LAST.

and runners... run for someone who can't and wishes they could.

NOTE OF THANKS:  

Thank you to each and every Team runDisney member that has sent me get well wishes,flowers, cards, checked up on me, and has given me so much moral support through direct messages, email, or written on my Fb wall or Twitter.. I can't thank you enough and I hope to celebrate with medals around my neck at Dumbo in August.

To my Fit2Run Ambassador Coconut Point Family: You guys have been a life line to me with your support. I thought you people killed me with all the champagne we drank the night before and no food until after the opening. That was the best night and you all have been awesome towards me. I can't wait for the day that I can come down and walk/run with you and see you're smiling faces, but no more "beer hound" for me :-).  Still waiting on my shirt -lol.

Thank you to my local "Steel Magnolia's" girls that came and saw me and have been keeping me in your prayers..you know who you are.

Fabulous Find #2 Stridebox

So a few weeks ago I saw a bunch of re-tweets floating around on Twitter about a  product called "Stridebox". Immediately, I looked at their website and learned about this fabulous find! Stridebox is a monthly subscription to a box full of running products that is delivered by mail to your front door.  

 For a small fee (I chose the $15 a month plan)  the Stridebox is filled with different goodies each month from various energy gel, food companies, clothiers, and even some new on the market products. Every month will be a new surprise

The products come in a recycled cardboard box and it is carefully wrapped on the inside ... just like a Christmas present. Inside you will find a card that has the products' information and names listed of all of the contributors that month.

In the past there have been products from companies such as NUUN, Clif, KT tape, Energybits, Honey Stinger, Klitch, Jelly Belly, and more. 

It's is well worth the money, considering that you get to share the products with your friends and try new products for a fraction of the cost... It's almost free! 

Check out their website: www.stridebox.com 

Twitter: www.twitter.com/stridebox 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stridebox 

Fabulous Find #1 KIND Almond & Coconut snack bars

This week I want to share with you some fabulous new finds!

I've been on the look out for some fabulous new food & energy finds to help me survive the day, make it to my workouts after work, and keep my stomach sane before early morning runs.
Scrolling my Twitter feeds I read up on some products that my running friends were using and decided to try them.
Every day this week I will review one of these fabulous new finds and let you know about it.

TODAY'S FABULOUS FIND ..

  KIND BARS...

MY FAVORITE:

ALMOND & COCONUT BAR KIND BAR

TWEET THEM AT  @KINDsnacks

FIND THEM ON THE WEB: http://www.kindsnacks.com/

• Gluten-free
• No GMO's
• High in Protein & Fiber
• Low Sugar

I literally fell upon this awesome bar.
You see if anyone is going to have GI issues...it's me !
 I needed a snack before heading to the gym and saw this. It  looked soooooo yummy. Chocolate and me are not friends. Nether is gluten, dairy,caffeine,and other products in some of theses protein and power bras. I grabbed one the almond and coconut bars and fell into complete heaven!
 I was on my way to the gym and this would be either heaven or hell for my stomach and it was great. I saved half of the bar for after my workout and as soon as I jumped back into the car on my way home I devoured the rest of it!

 I was so upset that I only bought one... I am now on a mission to buy cases and cases and make this my healthy obsession. If you love the crunchiness of almonds, the sweet taste of coconut, and honey. You will LOVE this bar.

The Today Show #SameMorning

Having a fabulous morning! EARLY... but fabulous!

I was up until 1am last night updating the new look to my blog. It is always a work in progress and I'm not sure it will ever be the same. I like change and every day is something new. Kinda of like today!

I was just sitting here having a quiet morning updating the blog some more, drinking my Dunkin Donuts coffee like I do every morning, and watching the Today Show. I wasn't planning on having this as my post today but Hey! This was something fun and spur of the moment. 

Watching the Today Show they announced that at 8:07am to upload what you were doing at that time with the hashtag #SameMorning and this was it... So HI!

WISHING EVERYONE A FABULOUS DAY!!! ... Love, me

Your BEST vacation on a Disney Cruise is waiting for you!

Summertime will be here before you know it and you'll be either scrambling for a last minute deal or trying to find something new to do. But summer isn't the only time you need a getaway. Throughout the year we all need vacations and I know of the perfect one for you!
 Think back and try to remember your BEST vacation ever! Was it a vacation to a beach? A sightseeing trip? Maybe a family reunion back home?
Did you have to still have to plan the meals even on vacation? Cleaning? What about trying to figure out what to do every day to make everyone happy? How much did you spend?

Well, for me my favorite vacation of all time so far has to be a cruise I took with husband and my kids on the Disney Cruise Line.

From the minute you walk into the port terminal to the minute to leave the ship Disney makes you feel like you are at home.
As you board the ship for the first time they announce your name over a speaker, treating you like royalty, one by one as you enter the grand lobby. Ship personnel greets you and the amazement of the ship's decor wows you as you walk in!
From the carpet to the ceiling the detail is remarkable. When you look around you are sure to find those "hidden Mickey's" we all love to look for. 

 The Sail Away Party is fun for everyone from the kids to the adults with music, dancing, characters, & in Disney style confetti. As the ship sails away the horn plays "When you wish upon a star" and sometimes you may here another song or 2 along your cruise as you sail away at the end of your port day.
The itineraries and ports you visit along our cruise journey are very well planned out with Disney. They have cruises to the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and limited cruises to Europe and Alaska. Whether you decide to take a sightseeing land trip in port, go to a beach to snorkel & swim with the dolphins, or maybe do some shopping in town on your own - safety is always number one.

.

Castaway Cay.   How many cool things can I say about this private island?

There are separate beaches for each type of cruiser. Families with little ones can go to the beach that has water slides, shallow water, and a tot spot water works playground. There's a middle beach for all types of cruisers, and then there's the adult only quiet beach at the end of the islandThere are a variety of food and snack options for everyone during the day. Adults ... don't forget to stop by one of the few bars on the island for some yummy drinks and adult mingling. The bartenders have some fabulous stories
about living on the island when the ship sails off and they stay there. There is also an all you can eat BBQ lunch at "Cookies" on the island to all guests of the ship for $0... Yes free and it delish!
One part of nostalgia that you will see on the island are the old Walt Disney World Trams that transport you around the island. Hop on and off all day as many times as you like... Remember you're on vacation ~ relax & let them do the driving!

The Castaway Cay 5k

Runners.. Don't forget to look in your daily brochure or ask someone at the info desk onboard about the Castaway Cay 5k on the morning it arrives into port. You won't want to miss this fun run with medallions for everyone :)

GOT KIDS?

Ya well, even the most pickiest teen will have fun! The teens will love a special hang out just for them on the island that has hammocks, music, pool tables, & themed activities all day long. They won't want to leave, but the party can continue later at night in the teen areas onboard called the Loft. In the Loft they have soda & ice cream parties, a big screen TV to watch movies and sports on, and yes video game contests amongst their peers. You're little ones will also have a blast in their own age specific clubs and nursery. Character greetings, games, PJ parties, and more await them. They'll be begging you to take them there first thing the next morning.

FABULOUS FOOD!

Each night you will rotate to a different dining room where the food and ambiance will be extraordinary like the service you will receive. From Casual to Formal dining options also onboard you won't want to miss. For breakfast and lunch there is a buffet on the top floor overlooking the water. Food selections are the usual Mickey waffles, fruit, oatmeals, cereals, an omelette station, and more in the morning. For lunch you may find sliced carving stations, salads, mashed potatoes, and even some amazing surprises like stone crab claws to peel and eat shrimp. Outside by the pool you will find burgers, sandwiches, salads, ice cream, and pizzas. There's not enough time to eat it all.

Did someone say POOL?

There are different pools for all age groups in your family. The kiddie pool, the middle pool which had a huge jumbo screen that plays movies and trivia all day/night, and the rear pool for adults only which has soothing music and a fantastic bar serving your favorite tropical drinks of the day to a special coffee bar just upstairs.

Activities onboard

Activities onboard aren't just for the kids! While there is a theater showing musicals every night live on stage, don't forget the other amenities. The five star spa, a state of the art gym, a sports bar, a dance club, and yes even a movie theater!

Rooms

The rooms are immaculate just like the rest of the ship! With split bathrooms (a room with a toilet and sink- another room with a shower and sink) you're family will be out the door in no time and ready to run. The rooms are spacious and the balconies are beautiful. For the kids there are bunk beds and for the parents there is a king sized bed with a privacy curtain to separate the room. Room service and awesome stateroom attendants are kind and always helpful incase you need anything.

Now can you see why I said this was my favorite cruise? No cleaning, no cooking, and there was certainly enough to do.
With so much to do onboard alone, you will have to come back and book another cruise!

* There are always cruise specials going on ~ Contact me for a FREE quote and let me bring the magic to your family's vacation this season! Just for reading this  I am going to add My own Hidden Mickey surprise... Book a summer vacation in the month of May and you will receive an additional $25 bonus Disney Gift Card per stateroom in addition to any promotions.Use the gift card anyway you'd like on your cruise. Plus Travel Girl on the Run will also throw in some extra special Disney surprise gifts too :-)


*For more information, pictures, etc CLICK on my "Disney Parks" tab to link to my special Disney info page. You can get a free video and brochures or you can ask me and I can mail one to you

GIVE AWAY TIME FOR 1 LUCKY FOLLOWER !!!  

One lucky follower will win this Inaugural  Disney Fantasy lanyard, a Disney Cruise Line Video, and a 2013 DCL brochure so you can start planning your wonderful cruise on DCL.

This is all you have to do to be eligible:

1~ Make sure you are following this blog by signing up right here on our page

2~ Answer these Trivia Questions by sending your answers to trvlgrl25@yahoo.com by Friday May 3rd at 12pm midnight with the following answers:

• "What was the name of the first Disney ship that first set sailed and what was the date?"
• "That same first ship is how much longer than the Titanic?" 
• "What is the name of the newest Disney Cruise Line ship?" 

My new role as a fellow 2013 Fit2Run Ambassador

Every day I have a thing called the "News of the Day". Think about it... there's always some kind of news of the day. A few weeks ago while shopping at the new Fit2Run store in Coconut Point, Estero things just happened to magically moved around for me that day and an opportunity to be an ambassador for the store presented itself. I went home and filled out the application immediately and sent it in. A few days later I was invited to come down to the store for the "fun run" and afterwards there would be a Q&A night for anyone interested in being an ambassador...of course, I went.
The running group thing  pretty new to me. I usually run by myself at the gym or with my friend Kim. I'm not a fast runner by any means but I'm not slow either. Everybody has their good and bad days and after working all day I tend to be sluggish at night.We met in the front of the store for a pic and off we went running on our "fun run" for 3 miles. 

It was kind of humid and the Florida summer was here. As everyone was passing me they gave high fives and yes were heading back to the store. I wasn't the caboose just yet. A girl named Jill stopped and we started to talk as if we knew each other already. I had my Princess shirt on so we automatically started talking about the Princess race which we both had just finished weeks ago.We both made it back to the store to meet up with the others and to here about this program we had come for.
There were all types of runners that I met that night... full of personality and spunk. Especially, after the food and beer came out :-) Kimmie, the store manager of Fit2Run  Coconut Point, Estero explained the program to us with a more than a smile and with such enthusiasm that whatever she was on I wanted some of it! Talking to some of the runners that night we heard of their past races and the ones that they were training for. It was awesome to hear that almost everyone there had run in some sort of race with runDisney so we exchanged stories and advice for the ones who hadn't done the ones we had already finished. We said goodbye to each other and hoped that we all got in because this looked like it would be fun. 
A week later, I came home to find mail for me on the kitchen counter from Fit2Run. I hurried to open it and WOW! Did this brighten my day! It was definitely the news of the day!

I had made it into the 2013 Fit2Run Ambassadors Program for the Coconut Point store in Estero, Florida. 

The next week we all headed back down to the store for the acceptance party/run. The store had just opened a few months ago and I was thrilled to be a part of it. There were only 20 people accepted into this program for each store. Like Kimmie had mentioned that night at the Q&A meeting, it ranged from marathon runners to walkers, but looking at this group ... these were definitely a group of fun people that were dedicated runners! Every one of them had a great personality and yes there are always a few party people in a group and we sure did have them in this group. Talking to a few of them at the Ambassadors acceptance party I found out that a few of them would be traveling to California in August to complete the Dumbo Double Dare along with me. The Dumbo Double Dare is a 10k on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday, how fun is that going to be! 

So to be in this what does the program require?
*There are a minimum number of races that you have to run in a year from your acceptance (races are chosen by the runner)
*It asked if you are part of any other organization or groups supporting healthy lifestyles
*A part of any social media markets (Facebook, Twitter, blogger, etc)
*If you had run any other races in the past year
*If you coached, were a trainer, or were any other leader of physical activities and again a healthy role model.
We had all of these requirements :-) 

What did we receive that night? well....to start off with::

~ I found and note in my bag (below)

~ a singlet ( mine was on back order so thank you Pablo for letting me share this picture of his)  :-)

~ a pair of Feetures running socks a sponsor...Thank you!

~ a one year Fit Club membership to the store for free.(I took advantage of that right away)

~ some NEW Friends :-)

A SPECIAL NOTE TO THIS NIGHT...

Unfortunately, this acceptance party also had another special meaning to us runners that night.
 It had only been a few days since the Boston Marathon bombing. So as runners, we united together for a special run to remember the victims, pray for the injured, and run together to support our running community. We donned our special bibs, our blue and gold ribbons, and we turned our normal "fun run" into a #BOSTONUNITED run...and run together we did.There were 50 in attendance. The local TV station was there and some of us expressed our views to them as we were interviewed

Here is the video link from WINK news covering our United run for Boston :

http://www.winknews.com/mobile/index.php/mobile/article/Lacing-up-for-the-Boston-Marathon-victims

#BostonUnited a week of events

Monday is my day off to catch up on things around the house, go to the stores if I need to, or sometimes just a day at the gym. This Monday my intentions were to stay home to catch up on my blog posts that I've been putting off and watch the Boston marathon online. It started off with my daily run to Dunkin Donuts and immediately I came home and turned on the computer.

I sent one last tweet out to my friend to ask if he knew of a TV station airing it. I knew he would be glued to this event watching very mile. As I expected he tweeted back and said no but have me the same website link everyone else would be watching on. I logged on and started watching as I did my work.

As each wave went off I got the chills and continued to tweet my friends watching. It was kind of fun to see some of them taking pictures at work with the computer screens showing the race. As I did my work my stupid computer kept claiming up. I would wait, hit play again, & the live stream would start again. I did this a few times but by 12pm it was getting old and finally I just didn't log on again. I still followed my friends on twitter and saw some of those finish line pictures coming through & congratulated them. A few others I had been following were being sent to my phone by alerts.

By now it was around 2:30pm and my kids were walking in the door from high school. We had to go out to do some errands with them & my daughter had to go to work so with crunch time we'd probably eat out before she went in at 5pm.

As we were talking about where we were going my sister texted me this message...

"Did you see the explosions at Boston marathon. People hurt "

I wrote back something I can not repeat because I was so shocked as I turned on the TV. NBC and CBS were very good at showing the news reports and videos. I sat there infront of the TV in awe & immediately called my running partner/ friend Kim. She had been one of my friends watching from work on her computer but left to pick up her young boys from school a few minutes before this. I told her to run in the house and put the news on. We sat there in our own homes and kept commenting on what we were seeking. I kept naming all of the people we knew running in this race from our Facebook group Team #runDisney & on Twitter and just kept saying "Oh my God! Oh my God!"over and over. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. I felt was like I was seeing something like 911 all over again. This wasn't just a fluke bomb I knew this was terrorism.

I had to leave to go do my errands I wished that I could stay home and watch but I couldn't. So with every moment that I had I checked my Facebook and Twitter on my phone for updates.Dinner was very hard to get through it without looking at my phone. As soon as I came home I turned on the TV and I watched all night but there was nothing more than I already knew.

The next day when I woke up, Tuesday, I felt a weight over me. I wished it was a dream but it wasn't. I couldn't imagine that all of those runners and marathon watchers that were there yesterday to celebrate and to have a day off from work to celebrate Patriots Day, a happy day in Boston, were now at home in shock or in hospitals. Today was suppose to be a day victories. This was not that day.

Instead, it was a day that runners, like myself, and supporters came together through social media and wore our running shirts to show the world that we were united as a community and that NO ONE could ruin our dreams, our hopes, and our love for the sport. Together we would stand together and be UNITED! 

Hashtags on Twitter read:

#PrayForBoston    #BostonUnited    #TshirtTuesday   #Bostonmarathon    #BostonStrong

You can read my 2 posts from this day 

 I wore my running shirt proudly today

and

Wear your running shirt proud today runners!

Luckily I have a TV at work and I watched every day for updates but there was nothing new until Friday morning when I woke up to find that there was a shoot off in the streets of Watertown, Ma. with the 2 suspects in the middle of the night. My day was spent again glues to the TV. As I watched, I prayed for the safety of this neighborhood and that nothing else would happen to this town.

Later that evening the Boston Red Sox game was cancelled, people in Watertown, Ma were still in their houses, and the suspect was not caught yet. I was getting mad. How could these families gon to sleep and rest tonight? I was praying that God would intervene...and he did!  As I was watching the NBC Nightly News they first lifted the house lock down for the neighborhood and then a few minutes later... They reported shots were fired again in the neighborhood. What was going on had me on the edge of my seat on my couch. Tweeting back and forth to some friends that asked me to keep them updated because they weren't home watching TV was heightening the anticipation of this story. Every time there was something new there was conversation. The sun had fallen and now it was dark out "Come on! Catch this sucker before he runs in the dark", I yelled out loud in the living room...as if the Boston Police could here me. The stand off was a few hours and with every hour I grew more anxious. I didn't want to miss anything and I didn't want to go to bed until they caught him. I felt so bad for these people who lived in the Massachusetts neighborhood. What they must be going through..UGH! At this point my husband, my son, and the dog had fallen asleep on the couch next to me while my daughter was at work. I was solo watching this now. I still followed along with my friends, the Boston PD, and the NBC news on Twitter. There were rumors all over the place and so far fetched. But wait. Hold on! What did Brain Williams just say? They just confirmed that "The Boston Police have found the suspect by thermal images under a boat tarp"? OMG this is it. Yeah they are going to get him. Then the wait. Finally, after a long week the Boston Police, the Bomb Squad, & the FBI had him in custody and were taking him to a nearby Boston hospital.
At that point my heart was enlightened and I felt like a weight had been lifted off of me. These victims will have answers, this neighborhood can breathe, and hopefully justice will be served!

Note to picture below: As I was watching the capture of this monster I saw this posted on Twitter and retweeted it. I posted it on my Facebook wall. It made me laugh out loud and it summed up the situation.

 

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THE HEALING OF THE TOWN OF BOSTON

THE RUNNERS OF THE 2103 MARATHON

AND THE FAMILIES OF THE VICTIMS.

I wore my running shirt proudly today

This morning after I got dressed and put one of my running shirts on I posted this on my Twitter ~ @TRVLGRL25 it pretty much sums up how I feel. I'd love to see what you wore and hear how you feel right now in the comments below.

" I am a runner and proud of it.
Here are my colors that I have worked for. No ONE can take them away from me!"

Wear your running shirt proud today runners!

Today is a day to be proud that you are a runner! You may be a beginner or you may be a ultra buy you ARE a runner.
Everyone that participated in the Boston Marathon put in hours, days, & years of running to get that PR that would lead them to that race. That day was about triumph - perseverance - and a dream come true.

Pray for the city of Boston but most of all pray for the runners & spectators that lost their lives and limbs that day to follow their dreams.

The running community is a strong one physically and mentally ~ we will prevail ~ we will come together ~ we will overcome!

Wear a running shirt today if you are a Runner. Whether you have just finished your first 5k or ran your last marathon. Show it off today!

Surprise ~ and the nomination goes to...ME!

 

Every night as a bedtime ritual I climb under the covers and do one last Twitter & Facebook scroll. What usually happens next is one of 2 things: 

A)  I am so tires that my eyes usually shut with my iphone in my hand and I wake to an alert

OR 

B) I start chatting with someone and get my second wind...not noticing the time...that leads to a God-aweful tired next morning
 :-) 

Lately B has been winning like last night. Not only did I have a LOOOONG conversation with someone until after 1am  (eh hem) I also saw that Ms. Ashley " The Pavement Princess " nominated me for The Versatile Blogger award via Twitter. Wahoo~ Thanks Pretty lady!

I met Ashley for the first time at my last race the Sarasota Half Marathon  along with some other girls from our Facebook group Team #runDisney. (You can go and read about that in another post). I think we might be creating a nice friendship because we have a lot in common.

(Ok. I'm wandering with this post)

 ANYWAYS, She nominated me for this award with the rules below and then in return I have to pay it forward to some of my favorite bloggers so...

Drum Roll Please...

On to the Versatile Blogger thingy....

The rules for The Versatile Blogger award are:

1. Add The Versatile Blogger award photo on a blog post

2. Thank the person (or animal) who presented you with the award and link back to him or her in your post

3. Share seven things about yourself

4. Pass the award along to 15 favorite bloggers. Contact the chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

~~~~~~~~~~

7  THINGS ABOUT ME  hmm...

(please don't use this as amo against me.. oh boy!) 

1~ I am originally from New Jersey and I love all aspects and things that have to do with Jersey. (Yes, it's Jersey not NEW Jersey) 

2~ I'm Italian and Yes, it shows. I can be sweet... but mess with my family and "the dragon" will be unleashed. Don't worry ..it takes a lot to unleash it.

3~ Hi my name is Jen and I'm a Disney Addict...that's right it is an illness that I have always had. I don't think there is a cure unfortunately 

4~ I am Sarcastic ... I guess it has to do with #1 & #2??

5~ I love to goof around in public or in crowds. I hate serious people... For God's sake smile and dance. You only live once. You will probably never see those people in the crowd again and if you do they will remember you  :-D 

6~ MY AGE.. um yeah. I hate it when people say "OMG you look like a teenager" H-A-T-E  IT!!! I know this sounds crazy but I've earned every gray hair on my head. I have a 17 1/2 year old daughter and a 15 yr old son. NO, I DIDN'T HAVE THEM AT 13... I WAS 20 and yes I planned it that way.

7~ I've had more life experiences, good & bad, that the average person has gone thru. I don't have a fancy degree in anything but my life experiences have proved I don't need one. At the age of 19 I opened a business with my husband that was destroyed after hurricane Charley, was rebuilt with our own hands, and we still have strong. I have worked 2 jobs all my life since 13 (even though I am still waiting for my dream job to happen) , I have been a VP of my kids PTO for 11 yrs and have been awarded the "Volunteer of the Year" once from the school board. I have put on numerous events for over 500 people at one time, and I love to GIVE BACK as much as I can.

THAT'S  ME!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

So here are MY nominees for The Versatile Blogger award 

1~ Team #runDisney ( home to my runner friends)

2~ The Pavement Princess  

3~ Travel, Eat, Run 

4~ For the love of Disney running 

5~ Dad runsDisney

6~ We Run Disney 

7~ Kim Runs Disney and Beyond 

8~ See Sharp Run 

9~ The Beginners Runner

9~ Fiddle Dee Me
 

  DREAM BIG ~ PRAY BOLD  

Looking for a few good local CHARLOTTE COUNTY MOMS!

That's right...if you live in Charlotte County Florida or maybe the next county over, or well maybe 2 counties over and you want to meet some FUN girls that also happen to be MOMS ~ then this is the MRTT Chapter (Moms Run This Town) for you!
A few months ago my friend Kim Requa & I talked about starting our own local running group of women that wanted to get out and have some fun together. We wanted to meet some new faces and we wanted the group to have variety. She women come in all different heights, strengths, personalities, and yes running abilities. No, our group is not all about Pr'ing, but it is awesome when we do, and No,it's not all about how much we ran this week and how far we went. It's about having someone there to say hi to when the day wasn't so great. It's about having a buddy to run with when you just didn't want to run the streets alone, and its about trying to things and making new friends that on a normal day you might have not known because they were older or younger than you.
As moms, we have a lot of different hats to wear and I think...well I know, that only moms understand what it's like to just want to talk to someone who knows you for you. Not as Jimmy's mom, or the team mom, or the PTO mom.This is why we started this group. To support each other and to understand that we too have a name, we too have goals, and we too want to be healthy & fit.
So if you are that woman or mom that wants to venture out and meet some new faces in our area.... we invite you to join our group that includes a few crazed Disney runners & some fun :-)

Our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/charlottecountymrtt/
Our Local Chapter's Page: "Charlotte County MRTT"  http://momsrunthistown.com/charlottecountyfl/

We'd love to hear your comments:

Getting ready for Disney's Princess Half Marathon weekend

So who's ready for Disney's Half Marathon weekend 2013? 

I know I can't wait!

It's Wednesday and I am dying to leave...Is it Friday yet?
Me and My Running buddy are ready to hit the road and get going to Disney!
Look for this in the window of our room...where royalty will be staying

 If you want to know more about Disney's Princess Half marathon, The Royal Family 5k, or the Kids Races here is the events home page: http://www.rundisney.com/princess-half-marathon/

The 2013 Princess Weekend program of events  (click here)

The half marathon course that my fellow princesses ( yes some princes too) and I will be running (click here)
If you want to track a runner by text or email you can even do that to (click here)
If you are a spectator of the race and want to see the best spot to see your runner you can! (click here)

This weekend will be so packed with fun stuff to do, people to see, and places to go here's a few items on my to-do-list!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check into the Disney's Fit for a Princess Expo ~ where I am wishing to buy a pair of these new Minnie sneakers made for Run Disney by New Balance (hopefully they won't sell out)
*Packet pick up and finally get my bib I've been waiting for
*Do some expo shopping
*Try some new products
*Finally meet my runner friends
*Maybe meet some celebrities :-)

*See the New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom (video) ~ ooooh!

*Take a picture of me and Cinderella

*On Friday afternoon I am meeting up with some fabulous princesses and having afternoon tea... with a maybe a very special person. Hmm.??? Details will be posted later after my trip with I'm sure some fun pictures.

* One of my Favorite things to see in Magic Kingdom is the fireworks show "Wishes"

*My favorite drinks will be enjoyed at EPCOT on Saturday with my sole sister Kim.
I just found the recipe while searching today and yes of course I will share it with you all. mmm!

Grand Marnier Orange Slush Ingredients

1 part Grand Marnier
1 part Grey Goose Vodka
2 parts sweet and sour mix
1 part simple syrup 

 * and certainly not forgotten ~ riding the NEW Test Track at EPCOT

SEE YA REAL SOON!

 * PRINCESS JEN  *

My FAVORITE things page

Just like Oprah has her "Favorite Things" so do I!

If you look above there is a tab labeled "My Favorite Things". These are just a few of the things that I love, use, or have worked with.
 I was blessed to be a Girls on the Run coach this year to a fabulous group of middle school girls. It is a fabulous organization for mentoring girls. To find out more just go to my link and see what it is all about...maybe it will inspire you to start your own chapter or volunteer to be a coach like me.

The products I have listed are just a few for now to name a few. If you know me...I love to rave about things I find so check these products out and look for more update coming in the future :-)

Don't walk, but RUN on over to The Foot Landing

A few months ago, in August, I went to a training meeting to be a GOTR coach (Girls on the Run).  Before we started the training we all went around the room and introduced ourselves. I of course, introduced myself as a mom of 2 teens, active school volunteer, PTO board member for 12 yrs, and a crazy Run Disney fanatic runner.

Next, was the the girl next to me, Sherri Lennon. I knew she was a fellow Zoomers runner from our local running club but nothing more. What Sherri announced next is what made fireworks go off in our head!! She told us that she was opening a running store here in town soon called The Foot Landing. This was going to be great for all of us runners and our community. You see, the nearest store to buy true running shoes is about 45- 60 min away and even at that you are really on your own to figure out what kind of shoe is good for you.

The time to opening day grew closer and after months of anticipation... it was finally ribbon cutting day ~ YAY! 

The store was welcomed in by fellow friends, runners, and business-well wishers. There was food,drinks, & music to celebrate the opening. Where is it located you ask?  It's located at 117 Herald Court Suite 1112 in the downtown historic district in Punta Gorda. Florida.(click here for directions) If you drive down 41 North look to your left for the brick 2 story building and you will see it before you get to Marion Ave. The store is bright and cheery, just like the attitudes of Sherri, her husband Ralph, and fellow employees Sherry LaBree and Tina Ice. The store carries Brooks, New Balance, Mizuno, Saucony, Asics, and more. They have GU products, clothing, sandals, orthotics, and much more to come in the future. 

A field trip to the store...

So with weeks until my friend and I, Kim Requa, are to run in Disney's Princess Half Marathon on February 24,2013 we headed to The Foot Landing to get sized for some new running shoes and boy did we need them! The girls at the store mentioned to us that at about 300 miles you should think of retiring your shoes. We won't even mention how many miles we had on ours...lets just say that we trained for a half marathon a year ago, ran a 10 miler in September, and a few 5k's in between. No, we didn't need new running shoes did we?! 

Kim went first. Sherri, the store owner helped her first. Sherri knew just the right shoe to put Kim in with her flat feet. After a run on the treadmill, trying some other shoes on just for beauty....She bought a new Pair of Brooks Adrenaline, the one's Sherri recommended.

I went next but Sherry La Bree helped me.You see, I am a pain in the___. Yes,You can fill in the word-lol. I have small ankles with a wider toe span. I stand on my feet all day and I was looking for the impossible comfy shoe everyone dreams about running in. I tried on about 5 different shoes, ran on the treadmill, and after all that Sherry recommended keeping my newly bought Sauconys that I actually liked,but putting some orthotics in them. Well, what do you know~ It worked! 

Goodbye~

As we left the store I felt so bad. I must have driven them crazy! They certainly did give us service along with alot of running knowledge...with a smile! Check out the store on Facebook

On a SPECIAL side note~ 

 I would like to wish Sherry LaBree a special Disney send off as she runs the Goofy Challenge in Walt Disney World this weekend. On Saturday she will running the Donald, which is a half marathon and then on Sunday The 20th anniversary year of the Mickey Marathon, which is a full marathon. By doing both races this becomes the Goofy Challenge. By the end of all of the races she will have earned herself 3 shiny new medals to call her own! ( a picture of the medals are below)

Good Luck Sherry..You sure are Goofy to be doing it ;-)