Today is my 39th birthday.

I mean, my 29th birthday.

Oh hell. Whatever. Fine. I’m staring down 40. What of it?

I am in a bit of a reflecting mood right now. It has been a big year of accomplishments for me. Let me clarify a bit… I don’t say “accomplishments” in order to elicit a ton of “woo hoo” compliments, just in reflection. Obviously with big accomplishments come big sacrifices and many a sleepless night. I’m sure you know exactly what I mean…

But I have to admit, even for me, this has been a blessed year, albeit at a ridiculous pace. A cursory list:  taking care of my fantastic family, opening up the new business, launching Momz Share, attending Blog Her, being mentioned in the New York Times (twice!) and Wall Street Journal, raising over $2,600 for charity and running the New York Marathon, meeting wonderful new friends and business associates and learning a heck of a lot in a short time… to name a few.

No wonder I am tired.

You know, I was talking to my friend Pat a couple of weeks ago and we had a conversation that has stuck with me… He asked me “what was next” on my list after conquering the NYC Marathon. I didn’t have an answer for him. I merely shrugged and said, “I think nothing. I don’t have anything on my agenda. I guess I am going to take a break.” He sat right up in his seat and said, “Oh COME ON! I don’t believe that for a second. I know you Jen and you won’t be able to sit still for long.” (I am paraphrasing, of course.)

Let me just say – I hate him for being right. Gah! But I love him for challenging inspiring me.

For right now, however, I am content to just sit quietly and reflect. (And plot my new world domination goals.. muwahahaha)

Business goals I have. We’ve mapped them all out. Personal goals are another matter. And blogging goals, well, that is really high on my list right now. I’ve am very antsy to get back to some serious writing. (Just need to survive the holidays first…) As for my family, well, I will be launching a middle schooler next year and if there is a perfect time to really concentrate on your family, this would be it!

In the interest of wrapping up the year, I put together a quick and dirty slide show for you. Thank you all for being such a huge part of my 38th year… darn! I mean 28th year. Cheers!

Me & Katie post-marathon. Smiles!!

It has been a week and a half since I ran the New York Marathon and things are surprisingly normal. I’ll be honest with you… kind of surreal! Did I actually run that? I mean, it flew by so dang fast!

Adjusting to life post-marathon is a weird process. It is almost like it was a dream. Thank goodness for the medal hanging in my office or I might forget. (Not!)

While reflecting on my experience I came up with a list of things I will and won’t miss about training for the 26.2 mile experience. Shall I share?

Five Things I Won’t Miss About Training For A Marathon:

• GU. When I am training it is God-send. But I would never, ever consume it on a normal basis.
• Body Glide. I love it and I hate it. Lubing myself up doesn’t rank high on my every day “to do” list.
• Getting up at 4am on a Saturday morning. Do I even need to explain this further?
• Pain paranoia. I’m tired of wondering if I a small twinge means that I am getting a new injury.
• Blisters. You haven’t seen blisters until you have seen my feet while training. I have a gift for blistering, apparently. No. Idea. Why.

Five Things I Will Absolutely Miss About Training For A Marathon:

• Feeling like a badass. There is something awesome about knowing you’ve run 18 miles before most people have even had their morning coffee.
• A goal. In this crazy-paced world, it is difficult to set goals and achieve them. Once you commit to a marathon there is no turning back.
• Gadget-mania. Analyzing your time and watching your pace on a satellite run wrist watch is all sorts of fun for the geekily inclined, like me.
• Friendships. It is hard to describe the level of friendship that one develops when training with a partner. When you spend 2-4 hours together on a long run you have loads of time to talk about… EVERYTHING. It is like a girl’s night out, only wearing sneakers.
• Food free-for-all. I could eat as many carbs as I liked. It is a bread and cheese lover’s dream!

So how am I doing these days? Excellent! My legs were sore for about four days after the marathon and other than that, no permanent damage.  When my IT Band flared up I used Salonpas pain patches and felt great pretty quickly. (These little ditties were my secret weapon in the weeks leading up to and after the race. They look like giant band-aids and stretch to fit the area you need them for. They smell minty and are instantly cooling. I never needed to take Advil, I just put the patches on the side of my knee and it went instantly to the area. Worked like a charm. I can’t recommend these enough. So glad I discovered them!)

At this point I’m back to small runs 3x a week. I do about 3-4 miles. I’m sure I’ll get back to the long runs again shortly, but I have a couple of out of town commitments in the next two weeks so I will have to do the treadmill for awhile. My biggest fear is loosing my stamina so I’m gonna try to keep the long runs to a minimum of 10 miles on the weekend.

Next on the list of things to tackle?  Who knows?

This weekend was an overwhelming, non-stop whirlwind of action. Our stay in NYC was brief – we got there on Saturday at noon and left Sunday night at 9 (Lori & I) but it was exhilarating. (Katie & Brian stayed one day longer.)

If I were to try to write a blog post detailing the experience though, I would be here forever! So I opted to do it in a timeline this way… (My personal thoughts are in paranthesis.)

Trains. Taxis. Hotel. Expo. Pasta Dinner. Cupcakes. (Wow! Magnolia Bakery Rocks.) Early Sleep. Shuttles. Ferry Rides. Fort Wadsworth. (Aww, I Used To Live Here!)Runners Village. Heated Tent. (Coffee And Fooood!!!!) 10:40am. Orange Wave. Overzealous Pacer Group. (Why Is The Pace Girl Sprinting? Come Back Here!) Long Bridges. Photographers. Mile 4. Music. Cheering. Screaming. Water. Gatorade. (Where Is My GU?) Live Bands. Costumed Spectators. QUEENSBORO BRIDGE (AHHHH!) Another mile. (Who’s Idea Was This, Anyway?) Hills. Great Signs. Music. Another Boro. Another Bridge. (Really?! Was That Necessary?) Church Service. Rap Music.  ”Jared” Faces Everywhere. Disgusting Bathrooms. Another Bridge. (Who Designed This Course, Anyway?) More Cheering. (Needing Water ASAP.) Another Mile. AT&T Not Working. (Excuse Me But Why Does This Course Never Seem To Go Down Hill?) “The Wall.” Stretching.  Five Miles To Go. AT&T Still Not Working. Parties Everywhere. (Is That “Where’s Waldo” Running With An Armadillo?) Central Park. Lots Of People! Screaming. (Are We Done Yet?) Fans Everywhere. (I Can’t Run One More Mile. Oh Hell, One Point Five To Go.) More Photographers. Cow Bells. (Did We Just Pass The Chilean Miner? Crazy!) Lori & Brian. (Squee! There They Are!) So Close. The Finish Line! (Thank You Baby Jesus!) Big Hugs! Finishers Medals. Commemorative Picture. Fluid And Food Bag. (All I Want To Know Is…Did We Beat Jared Or Al Roker?) Long Walk Out Of The Chute. Freezing Cold. AT&T Never Works. (I Can’t Believe We Did It! I Think I Need A Steak!) Proudly Displayed Medal. Train Ride Home. 1:00am. (Somebody Remind Me To Never Do This Again.) Sleep.

Since half of the reason I was able to get across the finish line in the first place had everything to do with inspiration, I thought I would share some of the best signs I saw out on the course yesterday:

• “Toenails are overrated anyway.”
• “You can and you will.”
• “If Palin can run, so can you!”
• “Finishing is your only option.”
• “If marathons were easy we would all be doing it!”
• “You are stronger than you think.”
• “Chuck Norris never ran a marathon.”
• And my personal favorite… “You are not a wimp!” (Thanks Lori!)

I would just like to take a second to personally thank every single New Yorker (You know who you are. Heh.) who yelled a affirming statement directed at me. From the “You go Jen!” to the “Stay strong” to the “You’ve got this girl!” and the “Dig deep Jen, you are almost home!”… you made me cry, you made me laugh and you ALL got me over the finish line. You will probably never see this blog post or remember me, little runner number 53-416 from Maryland, but I was deeply moved and completely inspired. My gratitude goes out to you.

I can’t believe I just ran the New York City Marathon! Woo hoo!

By the time you read this, the crew (Lori, Katie, Brian and I) will be on our way to New York to conquer the New York Marathon.

Oh. Yeah. Baby.

In case you want to follow along with our adventures, you can check me out on Twitter (@mammamania) or on Hip As I Wanna Be’s Facebook page.  My bib number is 53416 for those feeling all stalkerish… heh.

And a big shout out to all of the people who supported my charity- Run For Something Better. What a blessing you have been to all of the children who need you!

Thank you! Thank you…

• Flatout Bread, Inc.
• Joe & Linda Winter
• Jack Mory
• Tom Lynch & Karlys Kline
• Katie Barkdoll
• Holly Haught
• Barbara Winter
• Beth Schillaci
• Cheryl Fanning
• Collin & Sharon Kelly
• Jeff Grouser
• Jerry & Yvonne Schaefer
• Lori Rypka
• Roger Smith
• Larry Herman
• Karen Maduschke
• Kimberly Hanner
• Amanda Changuris
• Anastasia Resnik
• Bart Yasso
• Chris Eurice
• Deborah Molesworth
• Donna Nagy
• Elizabeth Parziale
• Jessica McFadden
• Joshua Bokee
• Katie Atkinson
• Kimberly Breen
• Mary Heston
• Mary Kate Battles
• Melissa Curtis Cherry
• Sue Paul
• Teresa Strahlman
• Tom & Annette Nicolay
• Tracey Capone
• Guy Fletcher
• Janet Winter
• Jill Smokler
• Kevin Bruce
• Mary McCarthy
• Cathy & Greg Claycamp
• Michele Anderson
• Nancy Luse
• Sunday Stilwell
• Wilton Stitely
• Elena Sonnino
• Jennifer Alcorn
• Sheri Sorrell
• Andre Pellet
• Brian Dyl
• Erin Domareki
• Stacey Ferguson
• Erica Moore
• Dotty Koster
• Tracy O’Dowd
• Aunt Franny

And I would be remiss without thanking my family as well as all of my blogging, social media and IRL pals who are constantly cheering me on and helping me believe in myself! You guys are unfreaking-believable.

Now, let’s rock this marathon-thing!

“Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.” – Christopher Robin to Pooh

 Get rid of your of worries. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. -1Peter 5:7

This Mom Blogger is running in the NEW YORK MARATHON in 2 days.

OH. DEAR. LORD.

Expect this blog to be filled with random marathon stuff from here on out. If you are looking for pictures from NYC then best to stalk my Facebook page or Twitter feed come Saturday morning. Not sure if I will be able to post much.

RANDOM RAMBLE #1: One of the things that I have been most freaked out about is the lettering on my shirt.  By “lettering” I mean my name. I have to have people yelling for me so that I can get across that FINISH LINE. The problem here is that I am just not that gifted when it comes to “iron on” crafts. I must have skipped that badge in Brownies because I HAVE BEEN STRESSING. Thankfully my dear, sweet, lovely NYC race support bestie Lori Rypka took matters into her own hands and ironed them on for me.  How hard is it to iron on three little letters? Hard enough for me to call in a lifeline, people.

RANDOM RAMBLE #2: Please don’t let me forget the Body Glide. Someone remind me. Err, Katie?

Andy Baldwin of The Bachelor fame.

RANDOM RAMBLE #3: The hot “bachelor” tweeted me today. Yeah, that one. See, all marathons are not bad. Need proof? Check it out, yo! (Okay, obviously he is a cute and very fit  “bachelor” and I am a middle aged mother of two who will barely finish this race but let me have my moment in the sun where I pretend like he and I really connected in a deep meaningful Twitter/marathon kind of way.)

RANDOM RAMBLE #4: There is a really good chance that I will be an emotional basket case prior to the marathon beginning at 10:40am. (My wave.) The race begins in Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island. I grew up in Fort Wadsworth. Although they tore down the houses I personally lived in, our tents in the start village are located directly in the field where I played as a child.  My entire “being” as an adult crazy woman that I am was shaped by those years living there. I have always wanted to go back. I will be a mess. Trust me.

I guess that is all for now. More rambling tomorrow….

Oh yeah, if you are interested, I wrote a column this week on my Twitter/marathon issues at Want2Dish.com. I’m also featured the DNA Info / Manhattan article “NYC Marathon Runners Plan to Use Twitter During Race.” Obviously I have Twitter issues as well as “iron on” issues.

I’m a complex woman.