Rhett and Reina have been great pals during the whole experience

Right after the doctor told me I needed surgery, I immediately started Googling sinus surgery to try to figure out what was involved and what I was facing.  I was so grateful for anyone that posted information on the internet.  So I thought I’d put my experience out in the universe with the hopes that someone will feel a little better if they knew what to expect from the surgery.

Nothing in this is intended to be professional medical advice or replace anything your doctor tells you. I am just a girl who wants to help someone know what to expect.

**I will give you fair warning this is a little long winded, but I wrote it with intentions of helping someone going through the surgery. I am not writing about the bad parts of the experience to get sympathy or make you feel bad, I just want to pass along how it went down for me. I tried to keep it as realistic, but positive as possible.**

For practical purposes I had endoscopic sinus surgery to clear the sinuses in my cheeks, in between my eyes and the passage to my nose. I also had a septoplasty (completely internal procedure) to correct a deviated septum.

It’s been 8 weeks since my surgery and I am just starting to feel somewhat like my old self.  I had been extremely tired and light headed for weeks.  For the first four weeks back to work all I could do was get through the day and then rest or sleep.  It has been an extremely slow process that I don’t think I mentally prepared myself for.  Sinus surgery is no joke and I would take it very seriously.

The good news is I am now feeling much less congested overall, I can actually breathe through my nose and I am slowly starting to bounce back.  However, I don’t think we will know if the surgery actually worked or helped me until more time passes.  I had been getting chronic, back-to-back sinus infections for years that long courses of antibiotics would not help.  I basically was getting wiped out with flu like conditions and losing my voice any time I got sick.  The doctor said the frequency of getting infections should be much less and they should be far less severe when I do get them.    One good thing I’ve already noticed is I’ve used less over the counter medicine to help with my congestion.  Hopefully 6-12 months down the road I will be able to say the surgery worked because I haven’t been sick as much.

HERE, HERE & HERE are some posts I wrote during the sinus surgery process.

Some things I would recommend having on hand before the surgery…

1- Bendy straws (It hurt to move my head for days.  We had straws to help, but not bendy ones.)

2- Sore throat drops (Your throat will hurt from the breathing tube they put down your throat during surgery.  It will continue to hurt from not being able to breath out of your nose.)

3- Saline Nose Spray (helps your nose feel better.  Your doctor may ask you to use this to help keep your nose clear)

4- Soft food (My throat hurt so badly I wanted nothing to do with regular food)

5- Chapstick for hospital (I woke up from anesthesia and my lips were really dry)

6- Cloreseptic Spray (sore throat after surgery)

7- Tissues (drippy nose)

8- Face Cleaner Wipes (I could not bend my head over or touch my face without pain.  The wipes helped me clean my face for the first couple days)

My Experience

Day Of Surgery…. (Tuesday)

We had to be at the hospital before daybreak.  My dad and husband went with me I was so grateful to have them there.  You have to have at least one person with you to drive you home.

When we get to the hospital, the front desk took my name and asked us to sit and wait in the waiting room for a few minutes.  30 minutes later they called my name and officially checked me into the hospital.  They put a band on my wrist and gave my husband and dad instructions on how to get updates on my condition.

We were directed to go upstairs to the surgery prep area.  I had to leave my Dad behind because only one person was allowed to come with me at first.

When we got to the room the nurse gave me a hospital gown (UGH!).   At least a half dozen medical personnel came in and out of the room asking questions.  I ended talking at length with the anethestalogist about my past history of anesthesia making me nauseous.  They took all precautions they had to keep my stomach as settled as possible including putting the equivalent of a “seasick” patch behind my ear.  Something they did worked because while I felt very sick after the surgery, I did not actually get sick. I kept the patch behind my ear for several days.

I was incredibly nervous during this whole process and expected someone to offer me the medicine to calm my nerves.  No such luck.  They said they had to ask you all of the procedure questions with you completely aware.

At some point my Dad got the all clear to come up and join us and we all tried to get a few laughs out of the situation.

Eventually a nurse gave me an IV and this was actually the only “stick” I got during the process.  All of the other medicines, including the anesthesia came through this line.

After what seemed like forever my doctor arrived and checked on me.  He made sure I didn’t have any last questions.

Finally they made me lay down and rolled me out of prep area to the operating room.  At that point they finally gave me the medicine that makes you fade away.

I first woke up several hours later with a nurse nearby.  I was still fading in and out and hardly remember them actually moving me into the recovery room.  Somehow I ended up in a big leaning chair, instead of the hospital bed, which surprised me.

In the recovery area I felt sick to my stomach and extremely lethargic.  Luckily the medicine the anesthesiologist gave me to keep me from getting sick worked. Even though I felt bad, I didn’t actually get sick from the drugs. There was a piece of gauze under my nose to catch any blood. Ew- sorry!

We waited in the recovery room for over an hour for me to get my bearings enough to be put in a wheelchair and taken home.  The car ride was miserable.  I had terrible motion sickness and just wanted to get out of the car.  Any time my head was upright instead of laying down, including in the car, my nose started bleeding badly.  We were back home by mid afternoon.

Once we got home my hubs and dad helped me into bed.  My Dad had to go to the pharmacy to pick up anti-nasuea pills and pain pills.  I would recommend asking your doctor if you can get these prescriptions ahead of time.  If you only had one person with you, going to get these medicines could be a problem because then you would be alone. I needed someone with me. I was in bad shape.

I slept through most of the rest of the day and I only ate a few bites of yogurt.  I felt like I had enough pain medicine still in me that I didn’t feel that much pain…. just extreme discomfort.  I could not breathe through my nose at all and it was blocked with gauze.  I could not get out of bed even at all without assistance because I was so dizzy and unstable. When I moved my head my nose bled… (sorry again!)

I was given instructions to keep my head elevated slightly with pillows in the bed.  I found it hard to sleep like that and was just not doing well at all.

The Next Few Days (Wednesday – Saturday)

I woke up feeling miserable Wednesday morning with an extreme headache and nausea.  I had skipped a dose of pain and anti-nausea pills in the overnight hours and that caused me to really suffer.  After the first night, I set an alarm to take the pills in the middle of the night because the medication wearing off was not fun.  I did not let the pain pills lapse until the following Monday because I would get very bad headaches if I did.

The doctor called me early Wednesday to check on me and let me know the next few days would be the worst part of the recovery.

They were.  Not being able to breathe out of my nose meant I was constantly breathing out of my  mouth and my throat ended up being very sore.  I recommend keeping water with a straw by your bed, clorespectic, and ludens cough drops.

My nose was so sore you couldn’t even touch it.  The entire inside felt swollen shut and it was dry and painful.  Saline spray provided some relief.

I didn’t have any external bruising, but my whole face felt and looked a little swollen and yellow.  It was nowhere near bad as I thought it would be though, considering what they did!

I needed help getting out of bed for several days.  I stayed in bed constantly until Saturday.  I found I couldn’t do anything for too long… even watching TV or reading a book made my head hurt.  One big challenge was it hurt to wear my glasses.

I was on complete vocal rest to make sure I didn’t cause further damage to my vocal chords after the surgery.  I seriously hope you don’t have to do that.  Not fun at all.

Sunday

I started feeling a little better and had breakfast out of bed!  I was still very dizzy and needed some help going up and down stairs but I was able to watch some TV on the couch.

I stopped feeling nauseous and finally had some real food.  Before Sunday, I had only had soft comfort food and very little of it.  That probably didn’t help how I was feeling… but I was so sick to my stomach that I didn’t want to eat anything.  I only ate enough to take the meds.

Monday

I tried to stop taking the pain meds.  Bad idea- I was miserable.  My head was still very tender.  By the middle to end of the week the pain had gone down and over the counter meds were enough.  I was still very uncomfortable though and had trouble walking up and down stairs.

Wednesday

I had my follow up appointment with my doctor.  I was still very dizzy, unstable and taking a few pain pills so my husband drove me to the doctor.  I still couldn’t breathe through my nose and it was still very painful. I was incredibly tired and still felt very bad.

The doctor said I was doing as well as could be expected, and started me on 3 times a day nasal washes.  He said you have to keep your sinuses clear until they start working on their own again.  Around this point I started to notice a ton of drainage from my sinuses.  If I held my head anyway but straight, gunk would literally fall out of my nose.  Yeah, I know. TMI.

He said my fatigue, dizziness and pain was still normal and I should start feeling much better at the 2 week mark after surgery.

For the rest of the week I improved a tiny bit each day but still could not breathe through my nose, was dizzy and very tired.

2 Weeks post op

The doctor was right again.  I noticed a big difference at 2 weeks out.  I finally felt well enough to drive myself and started back to speech therapy for my voice problems.  The swelling in my nose started to go down but it still felt like I constantly had a cold.  My nose was still painful to the touch though and the drainage was significant and hard to handle.

I was still extremely fatigued and felt like my asthma was making it difficult to do much of anything.

3 Weeks Post Op

I went back to work one day shy of 3 weeks post op.  I was extremely fatigued and had a lot of trouble with my asthma.  I could hardly walk from my desk to my car.  All I had strength to do was work and come home and rest.

The drainage continued to trigger asthma problems that I had to cope with.  My nose was less swollen but it was still tender to the touch and felt congested.  It felt like I had a bad cold.

4 Weeks Post Op

I started to notice the swelling in my nose a little less.  I felt a little better but I was still very fatigued.

I went back to the doctor for my second post op and he said I was doing very well again and my fatigue was normal.  The drainage from the surgery was still causing me problems and asthma problems.

The doctor said it would be another 4 weeks before I started to really notice more recovery and kept me on 3 times a day nasal washes.

The doctor also told me to avoid pollen, but I could try to start walking on my treadmill to build endurance… as long as I didn’t push myself.

5 Weeks Post Op

I was still struggling with work and fighting fatique, but noticed improvements through the week.

My nose started to clear and I actually started to notice my sense of smell…. something that I hadn’t noticed in years and years.

I walked on my treadmill a few times (1 mile) and did some yoga.  The small amount of exercise improved my spirits and didn’t make anything worse. Yay!

6 Weeks Post Op

I finally start feeling a little more like myself.  I could breathe easier through my nose.

My allergist adjusted my asthma medications which provided some relief to the breathing problems.  He said I was doing very well and he had seen many patients doing far worse following sinus surgery.

My nose was still a little tender but was remarkably clear considering it was the middle of pollen season.

The drainage was still causing me breathing problems, but I felt like I had more endurance.

I start adding some light jogging on my treadmill, but only in short increments.

7 – 8 Weeks Post Op

I started to feel like my old self.  I still had to limit my activities out of work and found I got tired very easy.  The end of 8^th week I noticed a considerable improvement. It finally felt the drainage was starting to slow down and head was less drippy.

At my third post op appointment my Doctor told me my sinuses were healing and I could do the nasal washes less frequently.  He suggested continuing to use a nasal mist spray.  He also said the healing and recovering process would continue over the next 4-6 weeks.   That means it will be over 3 months from the surgery to when I should be back to normal.  He told me to be patient, but I was on my way to finally feeling better.

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Good Luck if you have to have sinus surgery.  It is a tough process.  I hope this helped you in some way.  Again, I am not a medical expert and this is just my personal experience.  Yours may be very different.

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QUESTIONS:

Do you know anyone who has had sinus surgery?

How long has it taken you to recover from surgery?

CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO THE ORIGINAL “FIND YOUR SUNSHINE- MY MESSAGE” POST

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Optimism is not easy sometimes.  I pride myself in finding the best in situations, putting on a smile and living my life focused on what is good in the world.  I live for “finding my sunshine.”

My post last week on missing running brought some comments and responses that really made me think. It’s more than just running that’s bothering me, in so many ways, life has been very hard recently.  I wrote that optimism is failing me.  After some time and perspective, I’ve decided that is not true.

Optimism is my light.  My sunshine.

My good friend Eric (ever the philosopher on optimism, BBQ & beer) sent me a message that reminded me “optimism doesn’t create great outcomes, it tempers the bad ones with perspective.….”

Perspective is a powerful thing.

Many of you left comments on my blog about struggles you faced in the past or are currently enduring. Thank you for reaching out to me and sharing your stories.  They all made me think about the highs and lows of life and learning to live through them with grace. 

Everyone, at some point, faces a valley.  Sometimes that valley is very shady and it’s hard to climb out.  It’s ok to be sad and angry.  It’s ok to cry.

But that doesn’t mean you should stop trying to “Find Your Sunshine.”  Be optimistic even when it’s the hardest.   You will have bad days, but optimism gives you the ability to see the sunshine even when you are covered in clouds.

My Mom was an amazing High School Guidance Counselor.  She always kept inspirational books and posters in her office.  When I was in High School, at the same school she worked, I spent a ton of time with her in that little room.  Below is one of the books she kept on her desk.  I think it may help with some perspective on this whole optimism thing.

“14,000 things to be happy about- The Happy Book by Barbara Ann Kiper”

I loved the little book so much she gave it to me and I’ve kept it ever since.  The book’s concept is so simple… the author kept a running list of simple, happy things.  Over the course of 20 years she ended up with 14,000 things to be happy about.

On her list….

*Learning to make the perfect cup of coffee

* Remembering when there were no McDonalds

*Dinner rolls

*stratocumulus, cumulus, and cumulonimbus clouds (actually on her list- I didn’t make it up)

*lazy evenings

*planting corn

The list has everything from tangible things, feelings, tv shows, movies, places and even people on it.

I liked this concept so much that for many years I kept my own version of a “happy book” by my nightstand.

When I was feeling blue, I would write down at least 5 things in the book that were good in my life or made me happy.  Before I knew it, I had my own running list of 1000’s of things to cheer me up or improve my mood.

Some of my old favorites from many years ago…

*Warm winter days

*New friends becoming old friends

*Accepting your circumstances

*Dresses

*A visit from Mom

*Songs that remind you of a moment

I fell out of the habit of filling out this book a long time ago.  But, I think it’s time to start doing this again… I will add 5 things every night to my book that make me happy, are positive or optimistic.  I will end my day with some light.

I challenge you to do the same.  Start your own happy book.

It may be hard at first, but I’m positive you can find 5 things a day to write down.  They can be large or small.  You can repeat yourself sometimes. Don’t try to follow rules.  Before you know it, you may even start looking for those “happy” things throughout the day.  It most likely will not solve your big problems, but maybe it will help with perspective.  Maybe you’ll even start thinking like an optimist.

Find Your Sunshine. #findyoursunshine

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QUESTIONS:

Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

What are 5 things that make you happy?

**If you are on twitter and want to share any of your 5 things for the day—use the hashtag #findyoursunshine  Who knows? You may inspire someone else with an idea for their list!!**

One trend I’m not sure of, but I’m trying out, is mis-matching bright colors together.  I’m a sucker for matchy-matchy things and this is a hard one for me embrace.  Today I tried this combo of pink and yellow together and decided to go with it!  Fashion is all about trying something new sometimes.

I added neutral shoes to keep the color focus on the dress and necklace.

What do you think?

High Neck Pink Work Dress- Ann Taylor (sale price and then another 40% off-yay)

Yellow Bib Necklace – Charming Charlie’s

Shoes – White House Black Market

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QUESTIONS:

WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU LIKING THIS SPRING?

WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO WORK?

My recovery from Sinus Surgery and my transition back to work has been harder than I thought it would be.  I am bouncing back much slower than I expected and I am still very tired.  I am just starting to feel up to about 75% at work and am in no position to be pushing the miles.

I keep thinking… “Next week I’ll be better and I’ll go to the park and run!”  My parents taught me to always try to stay positive and dream big!

(Source)

I think I even wrote that I thought I would be running a 5K in May.  That’s hilarious because there is no way that is happening.  At the time I knew I was being an optimist, but I actually believed I could pull it off.

To be completely honest, I think for once in my life my optimism is failing me. Every week I want to run, but then my body wins out and I continue to rest. It’s just not time yet to run.  I know better.

Sometimes it’s just best to take a step back and be realistic.  By continuing to think I’m going to run tomorrow, I keep setting myself up for disapointment.

The doctors have told me it will take a full two months from my initial surgery to completely recover.  The internal swelling in your head can take a long time to really go down.  I’m just not well yet.  I have to be patient.

I’m going to have to be ok with not running for a little bit longer.

There are so many positives to focus on…..

*I am back to work and each week is a little easier.

*My voice is overall getting stronger instead of worse.

*I am able to do some walking and yoga.  Both of these are doctor approved activities and seem to be helping me with my energy levels.

*My head seems less congested- which means hopefully the surgery worked!

*My family is being so patient with my recovery.

Sometimes when things are out of your control, like your health, it’s best to find a balance of optimism and realism.

And if that means I’m not running at the park for awhile, I just have to be ok with that.  It will happen eventually.. and when it does… it will be awesome.

QUESTIONS:

Have you ever been forced to take a break from running or your hobby for health reasons?

Do you think it’s best to be an optimist and realist sometimes?

The weekend before last we went to the Herb Festival at the WNC Farmers Market to get our veggie and herb plants for the year.  I’m waiting on doing our summer flowers until I feel a bit better, but the garden needed to get started!  Those veggies can’t wait.

Since it rained like crazy the weekend we got the plants, we nursed them in their little containers for a week and made some time to plant this weekend.

UGH! That’s me trying to avoid the pollen.  I know how stupid it looks.

AND this is Reina not caring about pollen at all…

Oh, such a happy dog

Rhett was off somewhere eating dirt. Classy dogs.

My husband built me this fancy raised bed last year.  It had always been a dream of mine to have one.  I adore it.

He added a drip hose around the base of the plants for me Sunday.

Last year we had a sprinkler go over the top of the plants and we think that helped spread disease near the end of the growing season… so we thought the drip hose would work better.

Has anyone had any luck doing this?

Reina loved the idea.  She is an awesome gardener.

In the raised bed—Tomatoes, Cucumber, Squash, Zucchini & Peppers!  I can’t wait.

I put an extra couple tomatoes and peppers in pots just for good measure.  I’ve had really good luck in the past with sweet 100 tomatoes and banana peppers in pots.

And the herbs also went in pots to go on top of our deck closer to the kitchen.

Watch out for my upcoming post on how to make that herb tower.  I think you’ll love it!  It looks super cute by your kitchen door and is a wise use of space.

I can’t wait until it all starts growing… Don’t you love homegrown food?

Later Friends!

QUESTIONS:

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A GARDEN?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO GROW?

DO YOU HAVE ANY GARDENING TIPS?

Cheesy alliteration huh? Just call me cheesy. I’m ok with that.  I love cheese.

Now we’ve had a fair amount of FITNESS talk (hello! I ran a Marathon), FOOD talk (remember the Crock Pot Challenge?),  and lots of FUN (Charleston Trip!) but the blog has been lacking the FASHION content I intended to post.

We’ll call it a growth process.

So without further delay here is my first FASHION post!  I will now have a FASHION tab at the top of my blog that will feature outfits.   I plan on posting when I have something new or put together in a new way.   Or whenever I don’t feel too ridiculous taking a picture of myself.  I love clothes

I felt super silly taking this picture!

Dress- Skater Dress in Navy & White Stripe (Charming Charlie’s)

Shirt- Lightweight Denim Shirt  (Target)

Necklace – Long Pink Seed Bead Braided Strand (Charming Charlie’s)

Boots – Twisted X (My Nashville Find)

Is it wrong to want to wear my boots with everything?

QUESTIONS:

Do you any new Spring clothes that you are loving?

What’s your go-to shoe?

But instead of your standard Velveeta shells and cheese (which I totally love sometimes) this recipe is a total class act.  Yup. We are talking smoky gouda cheese, fresh herbs, portabella mushrooms and fancy pasta.  The ingredients can add up for this one so you may want to save it for a special occasion.  But it’s so yummy.

Go all out folks.  This is worth it.

This is also a vegetarian main dish that is perfect for non vegetarians.  You will never even miss the meat.

The recipe is adapted from THIS one in Family Circle magazine.

Smoked Gouda & Portabella Pasta Bake

Serves 6-8

16 oz high quality pasta – I used Lensi “gigli”

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

16 oz or 2 packages sliced portabella mushrooms

1/2 cup diced shallots

1 teaspoon minced garlic

8 oz smoked Gouda – shredded

4 oz shredded Italian Cheese Mix

3 cups milk

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup water or white wine

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons flour

Directions:

1. Turn the oven to 350 degrees.  Then shred the Gouda Cheese.  Watch the fingers!

2. Boil the water and cook pasta 1 less minute than on directions.  You want it to be al dente because it will continue to cook when you put the dish in the oven. Drain the pasta and set it aside.  Keep the pot handy.

3. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and the olive oil to a large sauté pan.  Saute the shallot for 2 minutes.  Stir in mushrooms and thyme.  Salt and Pepper to taste.  Cook for 1 minute then add the water to allow mushrooms to steam.  Cook 5-7 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.  Add the garlic and cook another minute.

4. Make the cheese sauce!!  In the same pot you made the pasta in, melt the second tablespoon of butter.  Whisk the flour to combine with butter.  Allow it to cook for about 2 minutes.  While you continue to whisk, pour the milk over the butter and flour and allow it come to a boil.  Continue to whisk the mixture until it starts to thicken or for about 3 minutes.  Remove the hot thickened milk from the burner and add the shredded cheese slowly until combined in the a cheesy sauce!  Salt and pepper to taste.

5. Combine the pasta and mushrooms in the cheese sauce.  Coat well.

6. Pour the pasta into a 9×13 baking dish.

7. Bake for about 20 minutes until slightly brown.

Enjoy!

      oh yeah!  You had me at smoked Gouda…..

QUESTIONS:

What’s your favorite comfort food?

What kind of Mac and Cheese do you like?

Do you ever crave food that seems out of season?

Hi Sarah! Isn’t she the prettiest, nicest best friend ever!

Here we are in Hawaii for the wedding! I am so lucky to have her!

Sarah and I literally grew up together and have remained best friends since 3rd grade.

She ran cross country and track & field in high school and college and has tons of running experience.  The funny part is that when she started running in high school I didn’t understand it at all and wanted nothing to do with it.

My how times change!  Now I’m the one texting her with weekly running plans. She was right all along– running is awesome.  I can’t wait for my comeback.

I asked her to share with us what it’s like to run a marathon as part of a team.  It sounds like such a cool way to “experience” a marathon without having to run the whole 26.2 miles!  Sarah even raised money for the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh as part of the team event. I would LOVE to do this sometime with her.

Congrats to Sarah and her team!!

AND she got a medal… totally awesome.

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The Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon was held this past weekend on a great course that winded across the city’s unique neighborhoods and beautiful bridges and rivers. Although I am not from here originally, over the years I have found that a surprising number of people across the U.S. have some connection to Pittsburgh—and they take a lot of pride in their community and its sports teams!

So it was no surprise that they had a big turnout of runners and spectators for the Pittsburgh Marathon, which featured a weekend full of running events and festivities. In addition to the 2-day health and fitness expo, there was a 5K, a race where people could walk with their pets, and a mini marathon for kids. The marathon itself was on Sunday, May 5th, so the theme was Cinco de Mayo! Before the race began, there was a festive atmosphere, and apparently they were trying to set a record for the most people dancing the Macarena!

The marathon, half marathon, and marathon relay all started at the same time. Fortunately, the weather was perfect—the sun was starting to appear and it was just a little chilly. The race corrals were weaved into the streets of the very center of downtown, and as each corral started, the next group moved up closer to the starting line.

There was a great crowd of people gathered along the starting area, and as this was my first time on a relay team as a part of a marathon, I was excited to get to run this first leg!

A few notes on running the Pittsburgh Marathon as a part of a marathon relay team:

Team size affects distance run. We were permitted teams of 2 to 5 people. I was a part of a 5 person team, organized by the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh—an awesome non-profit organization that I helped raise money for with over 50 other runners supporting them. More details later on the benefits of running to support such a charity. Given that there were 5 of us on our relay team, we ran a leg of roughly 3 to 6 miles each given where the transition points were set up on the race course.

Race numbers are still really important even if you are on a relay team. The first part of our race number matched those of our relay teammates which made it possible to find each other at the transition points. They set up signs with number ranges as meeting points for your team and an announcer called out numbers as you entered the transition area. There are options for someone from your relay team to pick up race packets for others in your group (this may vary depending on the particular event). In any case, make sure to get to the race expo early. We had a problem with the race numbers for one of our relay participants and by the time we figured out what might have happened the race expo was over.

Give your relay team a heads up if you have any preferences for a particular relay leg. You might want to run alongside a friend from a different relay team, or care about how far you will need to run or how hilly a particular leg of the course will be, or you want to make sure you run through your favorite Pittsburgh neighborhood where you know lots of people will be cheering for you! Some advanced coordination can help with this. I was delighted to run the first 5.5 miles as I got to experience the race start, run a relatively flat part of the course, and go across 3 of Pittsburgh’s bridges. I completed my relay leg in time to walk back to the finish line and see the top men and women finish the marathon.

The experience offers similar but different features to running the full race distance. We had our own mini “finish lines” at the end of the other relay legs leading up to the main finish line. We had drinks, snacks, restrooms, and a first aid station at the end of the relay leg I finished. We even received medals and shirts customized with “Marathon Relay”!

Here are some additional benefits to running to support a charity:

Most importantly, you can support an organization that means something to you! The Pittsburgh Marathon referred to this as the “Run for a Reason” program, and several charities participated. Through the Pittsburgh Marathon, charities could set up individual webpages on the crowd-funding site Crowdrise—here is the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh’s Crowdrise page as an example. The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh focuses on international affairs education and community discussions of global issues and U.S. foreign policy. Their mission is near and dear to my heart and they are a great organization that has been in Pittsburgh for over 80 years. I also worked for them for 4 years and met many close friends through my time there.

The amount you fundraise often covers registration fees and special events, which the charity will typically take care of. For example, once I reached a certain percentage of my fundraising goal by our group’s fundraising deadline, the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh finalized my registration for the race. They also organized a pasta party the night before the marathon in a local restaurant, and had a tent after the race with drinks and snacks especially for the runners in our group. The whole group of fundraisers was called the “World Runners”—the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh even provided us with cool shirts to wear at the race and aluminum water bottles. They were very appreciative of everyone’s support! As a relay participant with the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, I only needed to raise a minimum of $150 which I felt was very reasonable and achievable. I’m very grateful for the people who donated to the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh to help me reach my fundraising goal!

If you are interested in joining a relay team through a charity group, they will typically match you with other runners who are fundraising as well. The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh matched me with 4 other teammates and helped us determine our running order and the exact hand-off locations. This was very helpful since I had not done a marathon relay before and could not convince 4 other friends to join me on this one.

Perhaps you have wanted to enjoy the spirit of a marathon without running the full distance, support a charity doing incredible work, or you are just looking for a good reason to return to the city of Pittsburgh. If so, I hope you will find this information useful and perhaps I will see you there next year!

Although it was overall a wonderful event, this year’s Pittsburgh Marathon is probably one of the largest city marathons to follow the recent tragic bombings in Boston, so it did seem more somber than most races. There was a moment of silence before the race. There was definitely also a higher security presence and new security procedures were communicated to runners in the weeks leading up to this race. I later learned that the race sponsors had brought over 30 runners who could not complete the Boston marathon to come to Pittsburgh and run it here to reach their goal. There were also a lot of medical staff and volunteers throughout the course.

The only negative news that I heard was very sad–during the race, a 23-year old man collapsed and later died due to an unexpected health issue. My heart goes out to his family. The media have reported that he was quite athletic and had run similar distances before.

Related articles:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/more-sports/pittsburgh-marathon-live-scenes-from-the-course-686397/

http://www.pennlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/05/pittsburgh_marathon_gives_bost.html

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/2013-pittsburgh-marathon-success-declared-over-unique-challenges-686456/

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/23-year-old-man-dies-running-pittsburghs-half-marathon-686404/

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Thanks for sharing your story Sarah!  I am so proud of you.

QUESTIONS:

Have you ever run a race as part of a relay?

Would you ever consider sharing your marathon experience with a team?

The Herb Festival is one of my favorites and I am usually giddy with excitement to go every year.  I like to think I have a green thumb and I love growing my little garden.  We use the fresh herbs and veggies all summer.  I am very excited to use my plants in recipes I share with you this year. Ah- sweet basil, fragrant romemary, and savory thyme! I can’t wait!

My hubby is such a good sport when we go and I know he loves eating the herbs and veggies each year. He patiently goes around to all the booths while I pick out plants for the season and he carries them.  Every year he says he is going to buy a pull wagon of sorts exclusively for this event but we always seem to forget.

This year the odds were against us for a lengthy herb festival stay.  I still am not feeling 100% and I needed to keep the visit as short as possible to avoid the pollen. boooo!  But on top of that, it was pretty easy to want to get in and out of there because it was cold and rainy. ugh.  Normally we walk around enjoying sunshine and some of the first warm days of spring.  Mother nature missed that memo.  But at least it made it easier not to overdue it.

The highlights of the festival are visiting dozens of booths with homegrown and cared for plants that you just don’t find in many places.  Many of them are organic or chemical free and they are all grown by people who live around here.

Forget just getting “cherry tomatoes” because you will have hundreds of choices that will literally make your mouth water.

Thai Pink? Yellow Pear? Black Cherry? Cherokee Purple? Mr Stripey?

Confused on what to grow? Just ask the farmer who is sitting right there what you should do.  You can tell they put their hearts into these little plants and they want you to succeed and love them as much as they do.

I truly believe this is WNC and Asheville at it’s best.  Have I told you lately how much I love where I live?

The festival also has products made from herbs like soaps.

And a huge selections of medicinal herbs.

Of course it wouldn’t be Asheville without a hops plant.  Love this place.

I don’t know anywhere else where you can get a basil plant this large?  There is a booth selling these every year.  They are a crowd pleaser!

And even if you don’t have a green thumb—You can always try these flowers

Here is this year’s stash!!   We decided to wait to plant until next weekend because I was exhausted and the forecast is for it to rain INCHES over the next few days.

Rain on new plants- AWESOME!

Flooding rain on new plants – BAD!

Herbs:

Basil- Genovese, Purple and Lime (We never seem to have enough basil in the summer so we stocked up!)

Oregano – Greek and Lemon

Dill

Rosemary

Mint – Spearmint, Chocolate & Pineapple (we went a little crazy on mint this year—we had mojitos on the mind)

Thyme

Chives

Veggies:

Tomatoes- 2 Sweet 100, Black Cherry (like tiny Cherokee Purple tomatoes,) Yellow Pear & Better Boy (wanted one big one that was easy to grow)

Peppers – Banana Peppers, Jalapenos, Orange Bell, Yellow Bell, Purple Bell & Red Bell

Squash

Zucchini

Slicing Cucumber

OH! I can’t wait!!! We are going to be eating well this summer!

I’ll update you when the plants are in the pots and ground!  I can’t wait to share my gardening with you.

                Yes, I crave salads sometimes.

                        Please don’t hate me.

Combine the veggies with a homemade dressing and you can almost feel the warm weather arriving.  Think heavy on the balsamic with a touch of thyme, lemon and honey. Delish!

The spring vegetables like asparagus and a super elegant fancy white cheddar cheese really elevate the taste and make this one special salad recipe!

And don’t you LOVE the way chopped salads allow you to get the perfect taste in bite?

Asparagus and White Cheddar Chopped Salad

    with Balsamic-Thyme Vinaigrette

Makes: 2 dinner size salads or 4 side salads

Salad Ingredients:

2 romaine Hearts – chopped (do not use rough end)

1 small yellow bell pepper – chopped

4 radishes – chopped

20 skinny asparagus spears – chopped

4 celery stalks – chopped

1/2 cup sliced almonds – toasted

5-8 ounces aged white cheddar cheese – cubed (CHEESE! The star of the show!)

Dressing Ingredients:

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

2 teaspoons honey

1/4 lemon squeezed for juice

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon salt

black ground pepper

Directions:

1. Chop the lettuce, veggies and cheese.

2. Lightly toast the almonds.

3. Wisk all ingredients in bowl for dressing. Combine well.  The honey may be a bit sticky at first.

4. Arrange salad in fancy wedges for show!

The combination of pungent cheese and sweet spring veggies is pretty awesome!

My biggest salad secret though—if you aren’t trying to impress anyone, just make it in a giant bowl so you can stir the dressing around well and always get the perfect bite

                  Not as fancy.

           But this is how I roll.