What's Next?

The plan was to wait a little while after our wedding to take a honeymoon. We really want to go to New Zealand, both because it looks amazing and so I can run a marathon there as a part of my 7 continent quest.

Once the wedding was over, I started to look at races. The most appealing race to me was the Auckland Marathon, which is November 2nd.

The wheels in my head started turning. Could I be ready for a marathon by November 2nd?

I made a tentative training plan and went out for a trial 10 miler on Sunday. Physically, I was fine. I made it through the run. But mentally, my head was just not in the game. Time just seemed to crawl and all I wanted was to be done. It made me come to an important realization.

I don't want to run a marathon this fall. In fact, I'm feeling like I don't ever want to run a full marathon again. 

I tried to motivate myself by saying that I have already done 5 continents. I only have 2 left. Just 2 more marathons and I will have achieved my goal.

Except, it isn't "just a marathon." It is months of training followed by a very difficult race.

I don't know if I can face the post race misery again

I don't feel like I have it in me. I've done 6 marathons in the last 6 years and I have trained for them all alone. The novelty of the long run has worn off and they just feel like drudgery. I am tired of running with myself. After devoting my summer to the wedding, I'm not ready to devote my fall to a marathon. I want to be able to have a life. I don't want to go to bed early on Friday and then spend the rest of the weekend exhausted. I don't want to have to skip my favorite boot camp classes in favor of running.

I also have some old injuries that have recently flared up. I am keeping them under control, but I don't want to push it by marathon training. My body simply doesn't like the marathon distance. I don't want to have that constant feeling of fatigue.

I am so close to my goal, but still so far. I just can't face the idea of 2 more training periods and races.

Why am I forcing myself to do this if it isn't fun anymore?

Maybe it would get better with time, but I don't want to wait. We want to start a family in the next couple year and I know that it will make it infinitely harder both to train and to be able to travel to races.

So what now?

Wedding Recap 4: Our Wedding Night at the Cuckolds Lighthouse

My Mom and Gerry gave us the most amazing wedding gift ever: the chance to spend our wedding night at the Inn at Cuckolds Lighthouse. 

photo credit: Rory

The original structure. Image Source

After all the chaos of the wedding, it was such a gift to get a quiet night to ourselves, especially in such a beautiful place!

First built in 1892, the Cuckolds Lighthouse sits outside Cape Newagen Harbor helping boaters safely navigate the westerly edge of the channel into Boothbay Harbor. It holds a special place in my heart because I remember seeing the light sweep through my bedroom as a child; I thought of it as my own personal night light. 

When the lighthouse was automated in the mid 1970's, the keeper's quarter and boathouse were torn down, leaving only the light tower and foghorn. In the early 2000's the government threatened to tear down those too and replace them with only a light pole. 



A group of local citizens decided they couldn't let this happen and formed the Cuckolds Fog Signal and Light Station Council. Through The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, they were able to take possession of the lighthouse and over the next decade restored the lighthouse, keeper's quarters, and boathouse. I actually had a few opportunities to help with earlier stages of the project. I remember one long summer day spent hauling lumber up from the barge to the top of the island!

But, I hadn't been out to see the finished project and boy was I surprised! It is gorgeous! After a lovely moonlit boat ride out to the island, we were met by keeper Dan and Barb. They were so friendly and welcoming despite the fact that it was nearly midnight. They welcomed us warmly and showed us to our room where they had a chilled bottle of wine and strawberries waiting. First stop for me was the enormous Italian marble shower to wash all the hairspray out of my hair and make-up off my face.

We enjoyed some quiet time in the super comfy bathrobes they provided, reveling in the fact that we were now married!

One of my favorite moments of the day was lying in the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in talking about our favorite moments from the wedding. We both fell asleep thinking how amazingly lucky we are!

 In the morning light, I realized how amazing the view from our room was!

I fetched myself some coffee, which Barb had all ready, and sat for a few minutes taking in the view.

Before breakfast, Rory and I spent some time exploring the island and the lighthouse. We really liked getting to climb all the way up to the top of light tower. I can't imagine the old days when the keeper had to lug oil up there in the middle of a winter storm!

By the time we finished exploring Barb had breakfast waiting for us. We feasted our way through fritatta, slab bacon, multi-grain bread with fresh blueberry jam, and fruit salad before I even thought to take a picture. I did manage to snap a quick pick of the homemade blueberry scones before we scarfed those down too. I will be dreaming of those scones for years to come. 

After breakfast we took an hour to digest and relax in the luxury of our room before we headed down to the dock for the boat ride back to Southport. 

Our night on the Cuckolds was an amazing end to an amazing wedding weekend. It was so wonderful to have the quiet time together to let the memories of the weekend soak in and devote time solely to each other. 

How many people can say they spent their wedding night in their own private lighthouse?

Wedding Recap 3: The Reception

As soon as the ceremony was over, it was party time! We had done our pictures before the ceremony because we wanted to be able to enjoy the cocktail hour with our guests. 

The Back River Fiddlers led the guests up the hill to the reception site with a tune, Pied Piper style.

Most people headed straight to get a drink!  We had a dingy (that's a little boat for all you non Mainers) filled to the brim with beer, white wine, and prosecco. Next to the dingy was a table with red wine, water, soda and signature cocktails. Rory's drink was a Cape Newagener (vodka cranberry) and mine was a Maine Summer (blueberry vodka, club soda, and pineapple juice). Guests could put their drink of choice into a lovely turquoise blue mason jar.

There were lawn games scattered around the yard (including this lovely homemade corn hole set) so people had something fun to do as they wandered the yard and socialized. My Mom put so much hard work into getting the yard ready and it showed. Her flowers looked beautiful!

We provided the drinks and cold appetizers ourselves, and had a caterer handle the buffet and hot appetizers. The caterer was Craig Andrews, who owns my favorite restaurant in Boothbay Harbor, Andrew's Harbor Side. He makes the absolute best crab cakes in the world. I ate about a million during cocktail hour! We also had chicken satay, veggie satay, and bacon stuffed mushrooms for hot appetizers. 

I had such a good time catching up with all my friends and family. I even gathered all my college friends for a Wheaton photo!

After cocktail hour, we announced the wedding party and then it was time for our first dance. We took dance lessons this summer to prepare, but I don't think anyone could tell! We did a waltz to Norah Jones "Come Away with Me." Everyone said it was so cute how could see Rory counting out the beats as we danced. 

Then it was dinner time. We had a buffet with clam chowder, salad, butternut squash ravioli with sage butter, haddock lester, Jack Daniels steak tips, Pigs Fly spinach and garlic ciabatta, and confetti rice. I had a little bit of everything and it was all incredible!

But, I tried not to overly stuff myself because I knew that I had to sing next. Family music sessions are a big tradition in my family, so I had to find a way to work one into the wedding. My Mom, Aunt, Cousin Lindsay and I sang the Bob Dylan song "Make You Feel My Love" while Rory and his Mom danced. It turns out it is not that easy to play the guitar in a wedding dress!

Next, I danced with my Dad and then the real dancing started. I danced my dinner down a little bit so I would have room for cake! Rory and I both kept our promises not to smash cake in the other person's face. 

We had chocolate, vanilla, and white layers and I tried a bit of each!

Then it was back out on the dance floor. I danced and danced and danced. The DJ was great and totally played to the crowd. My friends and I were into musicals in high school so he played a Grease medley and some Footloose. We got everyone out on the dance floor. It was just such an amazing feeling to look around the dance floor and see all my friends and family from so many different parts of my life. 

We finished the evening with a bonfire and fireworks. We had planned just to do a few fireworks, but then one of Rory's friends surprised us with a giant supply of them so it was quite a show! I just love watching fireworks out over the ocean. The bonfire was such a nice way to wind down the evening. 

Last wedding post coming soon: our wedding night in the Cuckholds Lighthouse. 

Wedding Recap 2: Preparations and the Ceremony

I woke up on Saturday with this surreal feeling: after all the expectation and preparation, it was finally my wedding day! I started my day in the best way possible, I got to go for a run with my college friend Jen. It was a great way to calm down and catch up with an old friend. After my run, I gathered everyone and taught a yoga class.

Even though I felt like I had a million and half things to do, I knew it was important to take that time for myself at the beginning of the day. After running and yoga, I felt relaxed, full of joy, and ready to tackle preparations. 

It was a busy morning! We had to get the reception site, ceremony site, and food/drink ready to go. Luckily, I have amazing friends and family! People volunteered to do everything from ironing all the tablecloths, to fetching ice, chopping veggies. 

I waited until noon to have my hair done because I didn't want to ruin it before the ceremony even started. Until that point I had running around like a maniac, trying to check in with everyone on every detail. But, once I sat down and started my hair I let it all go. I just trusted that everything would turn out well!

After my hair and make-up, it was time to get in my dress. I was so excited for that moment because then I'd be a real bride!

Once I was in my dress, I felt like time started to absolutely fly. We decided to do our pictures before the wedding, so first up was our first look. Rory stood down by the water and I walked up behind him. Once I was there, he turned around. It was an amazing moment when we remembered exactly how much we love each other. 

After pictures, we hid back inside the boathouse as guests started arriving. I had a little something to take the edge off (thank you to my MOH for the adorable flask). 

Our flowers also arrived. The Boothbay Region Greenhouses did our flowers and they did an amazing job. I know nothing about flowers, so I just said I wanted something "oceany." They were beautiful!

The ceremony site turned out amazing as well. My family did such a good job making my vision a reality. We left some of our normal nautical decor up, such as our lobster buoy tree. Our neighbor even hung a lifeguard buoy to reassure Rory just in case our float did sink!

It was just what I wanted- simple, elegant, and ocean inspired.

When the music started, I got butterflies in my stomach. The music was particularly special, because it was provided by my Mom's band, The Back River Fiddlers. We processed to Cannon in D and they played it so beautifully.

I heard a round of laughter as the dogs walked down the aisle in their flower girl tutus (Dixie was afraid of the crowd and had to be carried)

Finally it was time for me to make my appearance! My Dad escorted me to the top of the ramp, where I met Rory.

I am proud to say that the floating ceremony went off without a hitch! It was a little windier and wavier than during the rehearsal, but we didn't sink, no one fell in, and we didn't drop the rings in the water! We wrote the ceremony ourselves (for the full text click here) and I thought it was lovely. We chose to write our own pre vow thoughts to share with each other and I was proud of myself for getting through both his and mine without sobbing! Before I knew it, we were kissing and it was all over. We were married!

I recessed off the float first, and I remembered, this time, to wait for Rory. During the rehearsal I forgot both times!

Presenting Kiersten and Rory!

Wedding Recap: Set-up and Rehearsal

Hi Friends! I'm MARRIED. It still feels so strange to say that! It was a whirlwind few days, full of a lot of work and some stress, but also an incredible amount of fun and love. 

I had at my wedding at my favorite place in the world, at my family's house in Cape Newagen on Southport Island, Maine. Having it at our own house was incredibly meaningful, but also a real challenge because we had to bring in everything.

Friday, the day before the wedding, was full of preparation. The tent had been delivered the day before, but we had to assemble and arrange all the chairs and tables. My Mom had done a lot of work to level out her field, but the yard is just solid ledge, so getting the tables level and not tippy was not an easy task.


We also had a lot of food to prepare, most of which needed to needed to be refrigerated. There was no way all the wedding food, plus the food to feed our friends and family all weekend, was going to fit in my Mom's fridge. Luckily, our neighbors opened up their fridges and their houses to us. The wedding was a wonderful example of our island community. One neighbor let us use their garage and driveway for the caterer to prep all his food, another both performed the ceremony and hosted some of our friends, another let us use her kitchen for all our food prep, and another just gave us her whole house for the weekend so we would have enough beds for all the groomsmen!

The ceremony site was another challenge. I have always dreamed of having a floating ceremony at high tide in our cove. My Groom was highly skeptical- he was pretty sure the entire wedding party was going to end up in the water. Luckily, he agreed to at least give it a try. Our family friend Gerry can make anything happen -he rigged up a ramp from our shore out to a float, which he anchored in the cove.

I was so busy that the day flew by and I couldn't believe it when the bridesmaids and groomsmen started showing up for the rehearsal!

My MOH and I fill out some paperwork

First we took care of logistics. Our neighbor, Sue, who was performing the ceremony had us fill out all the paperwork so all we'd have to do after the wedding the next day was sign. This was the point where it finally hit me; I wasn't just throwing a big party, I was officially getting married!


Then it was time to rehearse! Our rehearsal was especially critical because we needed to make sure we could all stand on the float without it sinking! We eventually discovered that we could, but we needed to process in really slowly so that only 1 person was on the ramp at once. Also, we couldn't have the traditional set-up with all the bridesmaids on one side and the groomsmen on the other because it led to a very lopsided float. Once we got all the details figured out, I got the official go ahead on the floating ceremony from my Groom. Victory #1 of the marriage!

We didn't sink!

Post rehearsal, the tide was fully hide and it was time for the least glamorous job. A storm earlier in the week had brought in a lot of seaweed, which was clogging up the beach and the cove. So we got to pitchfork it off the beach and rocks and then try to push it out of the cove so it would go out with the tide. Not your average wedding task!

Since we were all in the water, we managed to talk quite a few people into swimming. Given how cold the Maine water is, this was quite a victory!

We held our rehearsal dinner at the Tugboat Inn in Boothbay Harbor. After handing so much of the wedding myself it was so nice to know I just had to show up and they would take care of everything! It was a beautiful night and they make the patio look so nice.

The view from the patio while we ate

It was so fun to get to visit with our closest friends and family while enjoying a delicious meal. 

The Bride and Groom

We ended the night with a hilarious game of wedding charades. I am proud to say the bridesmaids trounced the groomsmen 22 to 6. Go girls!

Stay tuned for Wedding Recap #2!

I am Getting Married in 4 Days!

Hi Friends!

Just popping in quickly to say that I am still alive, but that I am being totally consumed by wedding preparations. I am still running and biking, and thank god for those, because it is the only time all day people aren't asking me questions and asking me to help with things!

I'll leave you with a little teaser.....

Be back sometime next week as a married woman!

Heart Rate Monitor

When I was deciding what watch I wanted to get to replace my ancient Garmin 405, an important consideration was that I really wanted a heart rate monitor. I ended up getting the Garmin 220 and buying the heart rate monitor separately.

I absolutely love the 220. It is light, comfortable, and finds a signal immediately. The side navigation buttons work so much better than the stupid touch screen on the 405 and it is super easy to sync with my computer. Basically I am in love with this watch.

What I am not in love with is the heart rate monitor.

It chafes. During my hot, sweaty, summer runs I end up with a painful chafing from the strap. I have the new supposedly more comfortable strap, but I am still chafing. Ouch!

Very unfocused picture of my chafe line. I am sure you all wanted to see this.

2. It is demoralizing seeing my true calorie burn. This morning I biked 25.21 miles in 1:36. When I put the time and pace into My Fitness Pal it said I burned 957 calories. My Training Peaks said 919. My Garmin said 647. In the long run I know it is better to have the accurate calorie burn, but it is a bummer to find out I am burning 300 calories less than I thought!

3. I haven't educated myself enough on how to workout by heart rate. Basically, I just glance down and say "Oh, my heart rate is 150. Ok." Really, heart rate doesn't mean enough to me to be meaningful. I need to learn more about my different zones and how to use the information to help me. 

Do you use a heart rate monitor? How often do you use it? What is the most meaningful information it gives you?

A Run with Meb

Oh you know, I had a totally normal Sunday. I just went for a run with this guy. 

Yes, that is Meb. We are basically BFF's now. Just kidding. Even with him injured and running a super easy pace, I couldn't keep up. But he did high five me at the end of his run. 

Meb was in Maine for the weekend for the Beach to Beacon 10k, so this morning Maine Running Company organized a fun run and picture session. I almost didn't go because I had a super busy weekend and I wanted to go to my favorite boot-camp class before they close the gym for a week for renovations. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to run with Meb though. So, already and sweaty and tired from bootcamp, I headed over to meet Meb. 

He was just amazing. I am sure he has been told the story of this year's Boston Marathon a million times by now, but he managed to make it sound so inspirational and meaningful that I felt he was telling it for the first time.I got goose-bumps. After racing hard yesterday, he was nursing slight hamstring and calf injuries and so he was going to pass on the run. But then as he saw us all getting ready to go run, he said he just couldn't help himself, and jumped into the pack. How cool is that? That's a guy who truly loves to run. 

We did 3 miles along the water, and as much as I wanted to run right with Meb, my tired legs just couldn't keep up. Still, it is probably the closest I'll ever come to running with an Olympian. Someone please tell me they got a picture of Meb high-fiving me at the end!

This was just one bright spot in a fabulous weekend. I also got spend a lot of time with friends (even though I had to say good-bye to one friend who is embarking on a great adventure), eat a lot of yuummy food, and hear some great music. It is summer and life is good!

How was your weekend?

Bye Bye for Now

I am getting married in just 2 weeks! While I refuse to starve myself and don't feel like I need to be super skinny, I do want to feel healthy and happy on my wedding day.

So I have decided to swear off two of my best friends until the wedding: cake and ice cream.


I generally eat pretty healthily, but believe that life is also about moderation and pleasure. Unfortunately when it comes to cake (frosting really) and ice cream I can't seem to be moderate.

I probably have ice cream at least 5 days a week. With my activity level that would be totally fine if I stuck to a single serving. But I don't. I have one bowl, and then go back for another, and sometimes another one after that. Moderation fail.

I've been working out really, really hard. In fact, I am so sore from my personal training session yesterday that I had to slide down the stairs on my butt this morning. This is something that I usually have to do the day after a marathon. It's silly to sabotage all that hard work by sitting on the couch and eating 3 bowls of ice cream every night.

This is not to say that there is anything wrong with cake or ice cream as part of your regular diet. It is just that I can't seem to find balance when it comes to eating them. So, I am issuing myself a challenge to go without them for just 2 little weeks. Then they will be all the sweeter on my wedding day!

What is your biggest weakness when it comes to food? Have you ever tried to give it up?