Happy Fall Ya'll !!

So, after ALL the rain over the last few weeks and me growing tired of picking up 3 scarecrows about 50 times after the rain/wind would knock them on their faces, we made a trip to the local farmer's market to purchase a hay bail :) Isn't it cute?!

The good news for the week? Matt passed his Internal Medicine boards with flying colors ;) I think I was more excited about it than him!! Now, one last step-----Hematology/Oncology boards in the future..............I bet he will be glad when he doesn't have to take any more tests!!

Not much going on this week------tapering for the marathon..........never knew my mind would become so altered on what a longer run is considered. 10 and 12 milers are a piece of cake now------kind of like my mind used to think of 5 milers. It's crazy what your body will get adjusted to when you train it with volume.

Plans for the weekend include the Lake Caroline 15K. Matt is planning on racing it. I am planning on running it as a training run with some friends----possibly a 1 mile warmup and cool down to get my last longer length run in before New York..........can't believe we will be leaving in less than a week!!!!!! Matt is in hopes that the Yankees will make it to game 6 of the World Series.....It would fall on the Wednesday that we are in NY!!! We shall see!! Matt is going to work at the VA Saturday afternoon/evening and Sunday afternoon to make a little extra dough.

Leaving you with a cute note, my little 4-year-old niece, Anne Elise, stays with my mom during the week. My sister, Elisa, has started saving baby clothes for me for the future when I will need them. Lately, my mom has been putting them up in a safe spot upstairs at her home. She says Anne Elise goes upstairs every morning, refolds the clothes, and says, " I am getting these ready for the baby, Nana". I think she is under the impression that I will be having a baby VERY soon :) Last November, she was staying at my house one night and said to me, "I want a baby for Christmas, Manda". I said, "Oh, do you now? Where are you going to get one of those?" She replied, "You" :) LOL!!!!!!!

Self-control and Cardboard box confetti :) aka---race report

So, what if your dog eats your 2nd thermometer? Guess it means you might have a hypochondriac dog (according to my Dad ;) LOL! .........and no, I am NOT joking!!!!


Saturday morning arrived---4:15 am, rise and shine---Matt actually set the alarm for that time because he is on call this weekend. Between his pages going off all night from the on-call patient line and me tossing and turning, I think I only got 2 1/2 hours sleep. Oh well!!.....I was just happy to be feeling better! Layed in bed being lazy a little while longer, eating a Clif bar and some Powerade Zero, while Matt got ready for work. Finally dragged myself out of bed and starting getting ready. It was in the 40's that morning............something we haven't seen in MS in a LONG time ;) I was happy because that means a better running day, but also scared because that could mean I would get sick again.

I headed on over to the race---called Staci, one of my old running buddies, on the way, and we met up. We did a 1 mile warm-up beforehand and I pretty much decided then that I was going to be "smart". Now, as Matt can fully tell you, one of the fun things for me about race day is the huge amount of adrenaline I get from races. I seem to get this extra energy out of nowhere and it is what I believe helps drive me on race day. I did feel it Saturday morning, but for once, I kept telling myself, "this race may matter right NOW, but what if something happens and it ruins NY marathon?" How upset would I be? No question. I was going to use this as a training run. I was going to make it a marathon-pace training run, just so I could give myself a little motivation during the race. I felt like if I could hold marathon pace after being sick all week, then you add a taper to that before NY, I have a strong chance of doing well. I also knew I hadn't hydrated well over the last few days, though, and I was scared this would catch up with me. The cool weather would be on my side though.







I will have to say I was proud of myself. If you are a competetive athlete, you understand why. I am SO well trained right now and I wanted to just go out there and see how I could perform. I know this would have been my strongest half ever. Nonetheless, I didn't. I told Staci and her friend, Adam, good luck. The race started, and I took my time. Not to say that I was poking around out there--I was still going to try for marathon pace, but I didn't have that excitement feeling of pushing my body or anticipation of how I would finish. I got passed at first by LOTS of people. Oh well, I said. Maybe they don't have a marathon in 2 weeks----stick to the PLAN, Amanda!!!!!!!!! .........and sticking to the plan I did :) The run was pretty uneventful, to be honest. I wish I could say there was more crowd support, but, Uh, I don't think I would have stood out there in the cold either :) The wind going across the spillway of the reservoir was harsh!!!! I pretty much kept pace the entire time. I sped up a little bit from miles 11-13 on the trail, but other than that, it went as planned. I passed Adam again and asked him how Staci was feeling. He told me she was having a great day and was up ahead. Staci has had issues with a couple of stress fractures over the last year and is not up to full potential again, but she is getting it back fast!




Staci and I did another mile cool down to get in a few more miles and then talked a little while with friends. Staci ended up getting 1st in her division and I got second! I kept a 7:39 pace and was excited that I felt good and think I might be fully recovered from the flu or whatever I had this week. It feels so good to not be sick!!! I am becoming a wus in my old days!! ha!

Matt ended up getting home from work around lunch so we had lunch together after I got changed and showered. I had to buy food for our triathlon team party tonight----I have a chocolate fountain with yummy strawberries, and different sides that I can't wait to use tonight!

Other weekend fun included sushi and a movie last night----Law Abiding Citizen---fantastic movie, minus the gore factor!!!!!!!! Talk about a man getting justice for someone killing his family??? Gerard Butler is fantastic in this movie and it keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time----It really was a well thought out 10 years that man spent planning his scheme. Ok, not going to spoil it!!! GO SEE IT!!!!! You won't be disappointed ;)


And, last but not least, I will leave you all with what we walked into last night after a lovely dinner and a movie--------






Yes, Ollie decided to have his own personal dinner and a reading----with the case of books I left by the door to take to our meeting tomorrow---the books that Dane wrote to have signed(he shipped them to my house!!!!!............Oh MY GOSH!!!!!! You have to laugh to keep from crying. Matt said we might as well just start learning to take this stuff in stride, because this will be similar to our kids! Regardless, of all this mess, thank God Ollie only truly damaged 3 books. He had a magnificent time with the cardboard box they were in though-----Mr. Cardboard box and Ollie dog seemed to bond QUITE well.........................until next time!!! (p.s. Sorry Dane :( I am going to pay you for the books tonight :(

How do you take your temperature when your dog eats the thermometer ?;)

Good question-----luckily I found another one in our bathroom drawer! That Ollie dog is something else!!!! Today has been a rather "blah" week for me........luckily Matt hasn't gotten the sickness yet. It started Tuesday around noon. I felt great and had a fast (probably too fast) 11 miler that morning. I had to do an inservice for the Gastroenterology group at Baptist and it went great---got a doctor to write a referral while I was still giving the lunch, so I was super excited about this!!!! The rest of the day, I just continued to feel weak with body aches and sore throat and congestion---made it through the day and when I got home checked my temp-
100.7 Ugh---this is no good, I thought. I had to call in sick yesterday and pretty much did nothing all day or night........I literally had to give myself a pep talk to take a shower........"come on, Amanda, you can DO it" ;) Seriously, though, I have felt like pure crap. Last night, temp got up to 102. Matt said maybe it was God's way of slowing me down a little bit..........I tend to take on a little too much sometimes, for those of you that don't know me well ;) LOL! I woke up this morning with no fever so decided I would try to make it through the work day. Still not feeling great this morning, but I am taking a week off for NY in a couple weeks, so I hated to miss any more days. You don't often realize how great it feels to feel healthy until you are sick. Wow! It reminds you to count your blessings for sure.
I went to the screenprint shop to pick up our new long-sleeved MS Heat tri team shirts ---they look awesome! We are having a meeting this Sunday with a great speaker, Dane Rauschenberg--he wrote the book, 52 weekends, 52 marathons. We should have a great crowd!!
As for the half marathon this Saturday, I really don't know what's going to happen. I am playing it by ear. But my 3 options are

1) Race it----(don't know if this will be wise--even if I am feeling wonderful tomorrow, most likely I am not fully recovered yet and might go back into relapse--the last thing I want is to not be ready for NY marathon!)
2) Run it as a training run(my plan calls for a 17 miler this wknd---I would run the course since I paid $80 for this race anyway--and do a 2 mile warm up and 2 mile cool down to get in the full distance
3) Skip the half marathon all together and try my long run for Sunday (this might
mess things up for the next week of training-on the other hand, it would give me
more rest to fully recover)

Decisions, decisions........ugh. But, I am definitely thankful it is not the week of NY marathon..........talk about a moody woman in the household!!!!!! My friend from Shubuta, Staci, is going to be in town and she will be racing as well. She is going to do great as always!! At least I can cheer her on if I don't race!

Matt is on call this weekend, so he won't be able to run the race. He is going to try to get up and possibly get a 15 miler in before work (work is at 7:30am !!!!) Bless his heart, I don't know how he does it.

That's all for now...this weekend will be a last minute decison. Weather looks to be perfect at least!!

Rain, Rain, Go Awayyyyyy

Hello again! I am considering taking up a part-time job to build an ark. I really wonder if I could get some business? ;) Is it EVER going to stop raining??!!!! I know we should be thankful for the rain, but man, it is starting to get a lil depressing.............maybe I could start marketing umbrellas as a friend suggested?;)

Not much news around the Cassell household. I have finally begun a slight decrease in my run volume starting today. I was beginning to feel the impact of the high volume weeks. Last week, I got the flu shot and didn't feel good for a couple days after, but that's much better than getting the flu I suppose!

We have found a new love for sushi (or shall I say Matt has found a new love for sushi-I have always liked it!) We enjoyed very good sushi at Nagoya Friday night. Matt always gets hibachi, but I love the sushi. The Nagoya roll is sooo good, although not the healthiest of sushi :D We hung out with friends Saturday afternoon-watched the game, grilled some burgers,and played with their two kids. We realize we are very spoiled now with no kids!!!! The house is so quiet when we come home and we are free to do whatever we please.......we both remind each other from time to time that we better not take it for granted now because once our family starts growing, I doubt we will have many relaxing days :) Our friends told us that as well ;) lol! We also went to the movies to watch Couples Retreat...........so funny!!! I loved it!

Sunday, Matt took his first shift at the VA from 2pm-8pm. It's a great way for him to make some extra $$$. Although I would much rather have him at home, a few hours at the hospital is great for supporting all the lovely trips we like to take ;)

I'm still debating the half marathon this weekend that I planned on running. My friend called me today to let me know that the deadline was at midnight tonight....glad she called because I am somewhat of a procrastinator and would have waited until Thursday night and then my choice would have been answered for me!

I arrived home today to find that Ollie had closed himself into the laundry room......no idea how but leave it to Ollie to find a way ;) He had made him a little bed on the towels on the floor and was napping away until I came home. It wasn't until after I noticed that he wasn't on his usual spot on the couch that I heard a loud bump (that would be him letting me know he is in the laundry room:) Oh, fun times!!!

Surprise Getaway :)

So, my surprise that was "to be continued" from the last blog took a turn. Turns out he was planning on surprising me the same weekend ;) ha! He called me at work Friday and told me that we were planning on getting out of town Saturday after we did our long run that morning, but he wouldn't tell me where. Exciting!! He made it through his stressful presentation, and I was so happy that he was finished with that because I know how much he hates speaking in front of large crowds. Friday morning, we ran 18 miles and got packed up. I'm not the best at packing for getaway trips; I'm ESPECIALLY not the best at packing for get-away trips where I don't know where we are going ;) We headed out after lunch and ended up in Greenwood at The Alluvian Hotel. Matt knows I am the absolute worst with direction and he could take me anywhere and I probably wouldn't know where we were headed. I would blame it on the left-handedness I have, only problem is that he is left-handed as well. Dangit!! I'll blame it on my mom for inheriting it from her then ;)

For any of you who haven't visited this place, it is really amazing! It's a little chic boutique in the middle of nowhere, with a spa and a Viking cooking school across the street from the hotel. I was impressed!!! That night, we made a Southern Italian dinner, which consisted of Italian Wedding Soup, Chicken Parmesan over sauteed eggplant, herb and olive oil pasta, salad, and a dessert which they had pre-made for us. It was VERY hands-on and we started cooking around 6pm and left the school around 9pm. They pass out bottles of complimentary red and white wine, and give you snacks beforehand so you don't get too hungry. The meal was fantastic!!! I would highly recommend going here for a getaway weekend! The beds in the hotel are plush and huge!! The shower is a very large walk-in sit down type marble shower with huge glass doors. It is an amazing place!











Matt is so unbelievably good to me. I don't deserve him!! God has really blessed me and I am not ever going to take it for granted. It was the perfect getaway for both of us and we slept in on Sunday and then had a huge,full breakfast waiting when we woke up----cheese grits, biscuits/gravy, ham and bacon, waffles/bagels, eggs....everything you could ask for.....and the best part is that it was FREE ;) Yum!!

In other news, I hit 70 miles this week on my run volume for the first time ever! Ollie completed those last 3 miles with me in the rain :) It was a fun experience, to be honest ;) We were running an 8:10 mile yesterday......go Ollie!! Only 4 more weeks until New York Marathon........legs don't fail me now! I don't know if this heavy volume training is going to help make me any faster or if I will get worn down from all the training, but I have always wanted to try a heavy volume type marathon training, so we will find out. That way, I will have at least tried it out and know what the experience is like. I thought there was no way I could ever manage heavy volume running, but so far it hasn't been bad. I am through in the morning very early, but I am more exhausted at the end of the day. I have been taking LOTS of ice baths and sporting the compression socks under my scrubs at work during the day ;) ha! Definitely getting in the nutrition I need after hard workouts must be helping as well. I have grown to love lowfat chocolate milk after hard, long workouts!!

Please say a prayer for my little niece, Ann Elise. She has the swine flu :( Also, my stepmother needs many prayers lately. She is having a hard time with her memory and my dad is scared it is Alzheimer's......I sure hope not. I am praying that they both get better soon and if you would lift them up in your prayers, I would be very grateful.

Until next time................

If we could all just live by these verses............

I posted a couple verses from Matthew 22:36-40 under our blog title today. These are a few of Matt's favorite verses and they really do give you the key to living a Godly life. If we could all just live by these verses alone, the world would be a better place. I ran alone on Thursday morning around the reservoir. Matt and I both agree that there is something about running in the cool weather, when it is still dark and most of the world is still asleep. It is so peaceful when you can hear your feet hitting the pavement, seeing your breath in the air from the coldness of the morning. I listened to a mix of Jeremy Camp while I was running and it was my time with God. I seem to think most clearly when running. My mind wanders from nothing to anything on my runs alone. I stopped and took a picture of the sunrise because it was so beautiful that morning.



I went to Meridian, my old home, for work this week. I ran into a lot of good friends there on my visit. Matt and I are going to have to make a decision by next year on where we will continue our future. We are still undecided but are hoping that God will let us know somehow where we should start a new family together. That run helped me to realize not to worry about little things. God has a plan for us all and He knows our future----there is no sense in worrying---there is a peace in knowing that it is all in His hands.

On another note, Matt has finished his very stressful month. Today is a big day for him---he has to give a presentation and he is very uneasy in front of large crowds. I know he will end up doing great, but I know he is super-stressed and ready for this day to be over ;) I have a little surprise for him tonight :)......to be continued!

P.S. We are OFFICIALLY Ironman Canada 2010 trainees as of January 1st, 2010 :) Yay!!!! We got signed up last night!

Thank you God for a cool morning!!!!

This morning was a God-send for certain! It is absolutely amazing the difference temperature/humidity makes when it comes to training. Matt's schedule at the hospital this month has left him no choice but to train EARLY in the morning since he has to be at work so early. I woke up with him one morning last week at 4:00 am........not my choice for a wake-up call ;) He amazes me at being able to wake up and put in the miles that early, get to work on time at the hospital, see all of his patients, still help with the chores around the house, and usually come home in a good mood everyday. I'm not so sure I could handle the accumulation of early mornings quite like he does...........the grumpiness in me usually comes out when my sleep starts lacking ;)

I had a particulary interesting run last week I would like to share. Let's just say it didn't go as planned, to say the least. I started very early to run 14 miles. I didn't check the weather, but Matt said he had checked Accuweather the night before and no chance of rain until later in the morning. He got up super early again and I just wanted an extra hour. All went well to start the run, besides the fact that I feel like I have exercise-induced asthma the first few miles due to the humidity we had last week! I started running with my Blackberry a few months ago---I just plug in my headphones, start up Pandora, and go. This gives me a wide variety of songs so I don't have to listen to the repetitious ones on my Ipod. I saw a few friends along the Reservoir, all was well, good run, life is good.......................until the bottom dropped out. I don't just mean a little rain, people. It was FLOODING!!!!!!! I don't usually get embarrased when I am running in the rain, but that day I was. I was praying that cars could even see me, as the rain was pouring so hard I could barely see. My shoes felt like they weighed 10 pounds and did I mention I still had 8 mile before I finished the run??! At first, I said, "what the heck? A little rain might cool things off a bit." I kinda grinned about it and just took it in stride. After the 2nd mile of pouring rain, I really wasn't lovin' life ;) I was trying to hide my Blackberry so it wouldn't get wet---tried the sports bra........uh.....no. Tried to put it in the mini-pocket in my running shorts-negative-too small. Hmmm........Oh well. Nothing was going to work. I was just praying it might still work when I got back to my car. I finally got back to my car and was relieved to have the run over. I reached in my pocket to get my key out and whatta ya know? Yep, NO key. Fabulous!!!! I have a Blackberry that is no longer working and now I can't get into my car. This day is not looking so good ;)

I went into the gas station and asked the clerk if I could please use her phone. She said, "Baby, u a lil wet, ain't ya?" ha!! Understatement. I called Matt and he had to get through his rounds and come unlock me with the spare key. I ended up having to buy a new Blackberrry and still haven't found my key. Oh well, what doesn't kill ya right?!!!!

In other news, we are still watching the live feed for Ironman Canada so we can pull the trigger. Once it hits 100 spots available, we are signing up ! I am feeling stronger every week on my long runs and tempo runs. I ran 15 miles this morning at an average 7:45 pace. The last 5 miles were all at a 7:20-7:30 pace, so I can feel my running legs improving. I did speedwork on Monday- 1/2 mile repeats, so my legs were still tired from this and from the 21 miler on Saturday. I was very happy to hold that pace today considering yesterday's speed work and my heavy mileage lately......I think the cool weather motivated me and I was so happy to be able to breathe!!!!!! Matt is clearly ready to be back on his new bike more and I am getting the itch to bike and swim more too. We are still aiming for 2-3 times per week of swimming, although the volume is way down from triathlon training. I am ready for a vacation in New York!!!!!!!! We are trying to book things a little more before we are too late.

Below are some photos of the house we will be staying at next August with some of the IM Canada crew from our tri team. It looks SWEET! Check out the view from the deck!!!!!