This is SUPER FUNNY!

Two runs in one week...

I actually got Doug to run with me twice this week! SO COOL! I have taken him up to High Cliff both times and of course he thinks I am a rock star because I know where I am going. I have run there so many times I know the place like the back of my hand. I did have to trick him a bit yesterday because he was so stuck on only running for 30 min and that was making me crazy! I like to run until I feel like stopping...and he wanted a concrete number of when it was going to end!!! So since I had a watch and he did not I had to fib a bit! We were about 28 min in and he said ok this is getting kind of long and I said oh we still have about ten min left to get to the car! OMG! He just rolled his eyes. So I got him to run 43 min instead. He did great and could have so ran longer! I told him he had to work on letting go of the numbers and just enjoy the experience...of course he thinks I am nuts!

I could run in the woods with no watch, and no plan and just enjoy myself so much! Meet up with a friend and talk talk talk...it is one of my favorite things in the world to do. Right now High Cliff is AMAZING! The leaves are covering the trails, and it is just spectacular. I can't get enough of it.

I am trying to convince Doug he could run for an hour now that he ran for 43 min. Wish me luck with THAT!

Mary~

This sums up the phrase, "no excuses."

Honestly, this photo says it all to me. You can do anything you want in this life. It does not have to be an IRONMAN but it could be anything you want! You pick it...and go for it! I love what Burgandy from the Biggest Loser said on our show yesterday..."pick your hard, being fat is hard, sitting around doing nothing is hard, working out is hard, living life is hard...just pick your new hard!"

Rajesh Durbal is a triple amputee and just finished IM Hawaii in about 14 hours.

Mary~

This woman has MS but is sure is NOT stopping her!

I read this on active.com and I thought you would love it! The last line is my favorite!!

Karen Stewart knows what endurance is all about.

Fourteen years after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Stewart continues to fight a daily battle against the incurable disease while pushing her physical limits at endurance events across the nation.

Stewart, who is 65, has walked five full marathons, more than 30 half marathons, seven MS Challenge Walks (a three-day, 50-mile event aimed to find a cure for the disease) and counting.

"I just decided that if MS wasn't going to kill me I was going to walk, and I did," Stewart said.

Before her diagnosis, Stewart was a nurse and avid exerciser. She would hop on the treadmill at her local YMCA before work. With determination and the help of her MS medication, Copaxone, Stewart got healthy enough to exercise again.

"After my MS diagnosis, everything really went downhill for the first three to four years," Stewart said. "I couldn't work anymore, one side of my body wouldn't work and my brain wasn't functioning the way it should. In 2000, things started to turn around. I started walking with my walker and my cane, and pretty soon I was back to the Y on a treadmill."

One day on the treadmill, Stewart read a magazine story about a 250-pound woman who planned to walk the Portland Marathon.

"I thought, 'Well I don't weigh 250 pounds, but I have other issues,'" Stewart said. "I read that whole article and I got so inspired. I got off the treadmill, and I called my husband and said, 'I'm going to walk a marathon.'"

Other articles Stewart read at the time told her too much exercise was bad for individuals with MS and could lead to overheating and fatigue. Many people doubted she would be able to complete such a hefty endurance event.

"I think I just defied all the odds," Stewart said. "I told my doctor I was going to do this, and he told me I was nuts. Everyone told me I was crazy, but I just decided what's the worst thing that's going to happen? I'm not going to be able to do it."

Stewart didn't have the first clue about walking a marathon but did the research and started to train. She trained from May 2000 to October 2001, when she walked the Portland Marathon in 8 hours and 39 minutes.

After crossing the line, Stewart immediately thought, "What's next?" Nine years later, she has a stacked race calendar and hopes to continue pushing the envelope in her athletic endeavors.

"It was a huge accomplishment, but I knew it wouldn't stop there," Stewart said of completing her first marathon.

This year, Stewart will walk 10 Rock 'n' Roll races to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Team Copaxone. The team, named after and supported by the medication of the same name, is comprised of individuals who have had success stabilizing the disease with the medication's help and have gone on to do the unthinkable.

Stewart is a firm believer in the advantage of aerobic exercise for MS patients. She credits the exercise with decreasing her symptoms and has been told by her neurologist that staying active helped parts of her body to start working properly again.

"I like the Rock 'n' Rolls because they are walker friendly," Stewart said. "Even though the walkers are at the back of the pack, at least you're not run over. Once the runners are out of the way then you're in your own zone, and it's just 30 to 40,000 of your new best friends."

Stewart's training includes gym work five to six days a week. She spends three of those days doing weights and aerobic and the other half on the treadmill and elliptical. She and a walking partner also do long walks two to three times a week.

"When I meet with other patients and share my story, some of them will say, 'So what, I can never do what you do,'" Stewart said. "My message is really one of hope. Maybe you can't do what I do, but you can do more. We're all capable of doing more than what we do. Wherever you're at, just get out of that comfort zone."

The World is Celebrating with the Rescued Miners!

11 men as of 7:30am have been lifted out of the mine!! It feels like the best news ever! The stories of the men, the photos, the videos are so amazing! I am enjoying the break from talking about people from Jersey Shore, Kim K and her naked body in W, or who is divorcing who....

This story is the best news!

Mary~

Everyone is sick or injured at our house...

My entire family is sick or injured and it is getting a bit old! I know I sound super mean but GEESH! At least one person at least has been super sick or injured at our house since before Ironman back in September! We all got that horrible head/chest cold that lasted for ever, Emma and Doug had the stomach flu, Emma broke a bone in her foot falling off the monkey bars, and now Cole has injured his knee at football! Not to mention I have had bronchitis for a few weeks...Pretty sure we need to get it together at our house! We live such healthy great lives we have no time for all of this!

Cole and I have our fingers crossed we don't get that horrible stomach flu...that was AWFUL!

I am looking forward to all the healing taking place and everyone running and jumping around being crazy!

Nothing better than a healthy family!

Mary~

Preble High School ROCKS...you need to vote for them!

Vote Here This is so cool! They could really win this! Who knew they were this good! I am so impressed. If they win they hang with cast members of GLEE!

This is for the guy who yelled at me yesterday....

This really impatient guy screamed at me to get on the sidewalk while I was ridding my bike yesterday. I just thought it would be good for people to know that bikes are by law the same as cars. Honestly, I was just out on my bike to enjoy the day. I have a hard time understanding how I can make people so mad by just riding my bike. Maybe this will help!

He is so back...

My Phone DIED...

I did the upgrade for my phone and it never turned back on!! I was out of my mind for a few hours!!! SAD but super true. Funny how attached we are to these crazy phones! It is almost an extension of my hand. 24 hours later I had accepted the fact that it was going to be dead until at least TUESDAY....and after I had contacted all the people I had plans with for the weekend...I really felt GREAT! I spent all day Saturday just hanging with the kids with NO interruptions!! We had so much fun walking to the Farmer's Market, going to Lawrence University for brunch, and even went apple picking. I begged the kids to walk across this crazy old rail road track across the river. We baked cookies and they even had friends over...it was nice to call other mom's instead of texting them. It really felt like the best day ever! I think the kids would agree. I should maybe do this more often...

Mary

This is Racheal from GLEE

WOW! Topless for Marie Claire magazine. She says being on GLEE has made her feel beautiful...