New Year's Resolution

I'm not big on resolutions.  One year I made the resolution that I was going to look 5 strangers in the eye and smile at them.  I tend to not look at people when I am out and about.  I thought this might also be the key to find love (or a restraining order).  It was much harder than it sounds to do.  I also felt like I was a bit weird stalker girl.  So that didn't last that long.  It was also hard when I went to work and came home.  Not a lot of stranger interaction there.  Well this year I am going with the old stand by of millions of people.  I am going to work out 5 days a week and visit the gym more often.  I know I slacked off after the 1/2 marathon in August.  It also helps that I will be starting my 1/2 marathon training soon too. :)  I would like to increase my pace while running too.  We will see about that.  I think I am destined to be a slow runner. 

Well looks like today is going to be a beautiful day in Northern VA.  So I will be running the hood today, after I go grocery shopping.  It is always so much fun to come back from vacation to an empty refrigerator.  I will say I did a very good job watching my eating at my mom's house.  Not too much food or cookies and I didn't gain any weight (and might have actually lost a pound or two).  So hopefully I can keep that trend up this year. 

Hope everyone has a safe and happy New Years!

Steelers christmas party

Well no gym today (I know shocker!).  Headed to the Steelers  bar for the Steeler's Christmas party.  Free door prizes (hope I get something good and not another terrible towel) and free western PA buffet.  Gotta love it.  50/50 raffle is always good, I have a good feeling this year.  I won the raffle a few years back (346 dollars) but this year it has not been going so well...so I think this could be the day!  My friend Grab and her boyfriend Zack are heading to the bar.  If either of us win we split the winnings.  So wish us luck!  I also hope that the Steelers win to get into the playoffs.  Not sure if anyone is going to beat the Patriots this year, they are on a roll, but you never know. :) 

Tomorrow is fat club (ok it is really called wellness club at school but I think fat club sounds funnier than wellness club) and then secret Santa with the work friends.   Maybe I will be able to squeeze in a gym run after dinner.  No run club this week because I need to get my oil changed before heading back to PA for Christmas and Tuesday is the only day available.  All in all I think this week is going to be very busy. 

Iron Man Kona...

I love watching the Iron Man.  I like seeing the elite athletes, but enjoy the stories of the everyday tri-athletes that are running Kona more.  80 year old man running Kona...incredible!  I hope I can just run a few miles when I am 80.  Then the people who didn't make the swim cut off times are just heartbreaking...all that training and they don't get to see how they would do. 

shaping up for the 2011 running season

So here is how the 2011 running year is shaping up...

So I just found out that we got into the Cherry Blossom 10 mile run.  Not my favorite run but I do love the french toast at the restaurant after the run.  So here is the running schedule for the spring so far.

There is a 10K in Fredericksburg, Va in March.  Fits perfectly into the training schedule leading up to the Cherry Blossom run.  Then April 4th is Cherry Blossom 10 mile run with a group of 9 friends.  Then some people from the running club got in too.  So should be nice to maybe see some people that I know among the 15,000 runners.  Then the next weekend is the half marathon redemption weekend in OBX.  Hopefully my second half marathon will be better than the first and  I will be able to run it and not be ill.  Should be a fun run because it is the first run where some friends are willing to travel and actually show up to cheer us on.  Now I will say it is not the weekend of the run, so who knows if they will actually come to cheer me, Kristen and Lucy.  But at least they are telling us now that they are going to come and cheer us on.  The prerequisite is that they need to make a sign to hold for us. :)  Should be fun.  After that it is all up in the air.  Kristen and I were talking about starting a running club at school for the third, fourth and fifth graders. We were going to do girls on the run, but I think I am too late with the applications to start the running group.  No problem we can start our own. 

That is my running update for next year.  I am off to enjoy my first snow day of the school year.  



National Christmas Tree and broken cameras...

So I ventured into DC to see the National Tree and the state trees with some friends after work.  We thought it would be a great day to see it since it is the middle of the week and hopefully not a lot of people blocking the trees.  Turns out we were right.  The only damper on the night was that I dropped my camera and now I can't see anything on the screen...looks like a new camera will be in my future...grr  I hate buying new cameras.  I could spend my my on other things.  I guess when it flies off your arm you need a new one.

the PA tree!  Oh our home state tree!

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

Well the annual ugly Christmas sweater party was last night.  I made my ugly sweater and I thought I had a pretty good chance of winning.

The back of the sweatshirt

The front of the shirt

Well turned out that some of the people that were going to come but unfortunately this was the week of sickness.  So it was a small group.  I still thought I had a winner in my shirt. 

The group that was in the running for the prize...

So the winner was chosen by ballots.  And I won!!!

The prize..a wwe belt (the ugly sweater winner belt which will be passed along to next year's winner) a lovely blue tacky tree, ugly teeth and bling glasses.

I know you all are jealous of the prize for the winner.  Next year I know people will be working for that belt too.  We had lots of fun and now I am waiting for a steeler win.  Tuesday is running club.  I missed this week week due to the plague.  It should be a freezing cold run.  Luckily I just bought a new running hoodie. :)

down for the count

Well the kids at school have infected me again!  I already had the flu once but now I am lucky enough to have it a second time (at least I think it is the flu)  I have a sore throat, headache, had a fever but that is gone and an upset stomach.  Thanks kids for ruining running this week!  I have an ugly Christmas sweater party on Sat, hope I am cured by then...I have been ill since Monday so I am hoping that tomorrow is the turn around day.  Fingers crossed. 

BRRR...baby its cold outside

So I got a new cold weather zip up and decided I would try it today. It is 35 degrees outside last week it was 65 degrees outside.  I figured I might as well try to get used to the cold weather running...FAIL!  I finished up 1 mile with ears that were way too cold, a bad knee that was not enjoying the running outside, arms and fingers that were near frostbite (and if you think it was too warm for the bite you should feel my arms and fingers..I am sure they must have been turning blue).  I hate this time of year, I never know what to wear.  Last week I ran with the running club and I was sweating with thin long sleeve shirt on...do I put gloves on yet?  Ear warmers??  I don't want to be an alpaca carrying all my extra layers b/c I wore too much clothing.  Today, however, I didn't wear enough.  The wind was a blowin' and I was a freezin'.  Oh well I will head to the gym later on and try the running thing again, maybe tomorrow after school. :)

On a totally unrelated note, the Steelers play the Ravens tonight.  I can't wait!  I hope Big Ben with his broken bone in his foot is able to play tonight.  Otherwise it might not be a very fun game to watch.  Is that bad that I am wishing that a guy with a broken foot sucks it up and plays football?  I mean he broke the thing in last week's game and he was able to finish the game out...

Last year's Steelers vs Ravens game.  Can you tell it was Christmas time?

This Ed Reed fan was so drunk and loved to hug all the Steeler fans.

Great sign lol

Cherry Blossoms in December...

Well I signed up for the lottery to run the Cherry Blossom 10 miler again.   We have 10 people so we are signing up as a group.  I guess it is now all for one, one for all.  We either all get in or none of us will run.  The Cherry Blossom run in DC is not my favorite run.  Last year I ran it and after I was done they ran out of bananas and water by the time I was done running.  Who runs out of water on a ten mile run?  There are over 13,000 people running the race and you can't provide enough water for the slow pokes at the end of the run?  For those of you wondering how I judge my favorite runs I like a run with some yummy food at the end or some fun door prizes. :)  This run has neither.  I keep asking myself why I keep signing up for the run...running with friends is fun.  And this works out to be a perfect race for my half marathon the next weekend.  So I guess fingers crossed that we get in. 



My first Cherry Blossom run..I had previously ran 4 miles before running my 10.  I thought I was going to die.



Hot Sweaty mess on the metro.  Had a great run and felt great.  Amazing how much better you feel the second time around.

I went to the running club again last night.  My friend Megan  won a free RUN glass from the local running store.  I love when people get to win random prizes :)  Megan is going to run her first Cherry Blossom 10 miler with us too.  She told me last year that she wouldn't run across the street let alone run a race.  Well since then she sponsored a girls on the run girl, she is training with some girls on the run girls, she has joined the running club and has turned down the school Christmas party because "Tuesdays are saved for running".  Yeah Megan is turning into a runner :)  Cracks me up!

I'll take Unfair things and things you learn when leaving the gym for $100 Alex

So I think it should be illegal for a Dunkin Donuts to operate in the parking lot of the gym.  I parked my car and the smell of freshly made donuts comes bouncing over to me...the smell is so nice..but I resist and enter the gym.  Then on the way out that damn donut smell is still hanging around. 

I figure that you learn something new everyday.  Here is my gem today.  I overhead a group of young guys talking as I was leaving the gym.

"Dude you know how a dude looks like a baller but totally is not one.  And then the dudes that don't look anything like a baller come walking over and wow they are major ballers"  The other guys all agreed that this was so the way of the world.  Who would have thunk it??

Hope everyone has a happy Tuesday.  Tomorrow is my Friday :)  After work I am loading Riley in the car and heading to PA.  Oh please do not snow while I am home and please please please do not snow when I am driving to or from PA.

Thanksgiving with friends

So the turkey was a success! The stuffing was just like mom's and the bird was very juicy. So juicy and tender that when I untied the drumsticks the entire bone slid out clean from the bird. Very yummy! And nobody was feeling ill at the end of the night that I know of...

Trying to get the stuffing out of the bird.  Yes Kristen is using a grilling fork to hold the bird.

Yummo!

Paul and I taking a picture with  my tree

Left overs anyone?

Oh no!  The turkey is making us feel sick..or tired not sure...

So my first turkey was a success!  Not as hard as I thought, although I did make a few calls to mom to make sure that I wasn't messing it up.  I didn't make anyone sign a waiver (I didn't have time to write them up).  So off to bed and then tomorrow morning is breakfast courtesy of the third grade.  Gosh I hope I don't gain 10 pounds this week!

Yurbuds and Turkey

So I won some yurbuds in October from Bobbie's blog 2010 Journey in Running.  I chose the pink ones for breast cancer.

I haven't tried them out yet because my earbuds have been working fine.  Well the time has come my earbuds have been crapping out on me so tonight was the perfect night to try out the yurbuds.  I was a little sceptical about the yurbuds.  My ears are incredibly small and regular earbuds always hurt and end up falling out of my ears.  So I grab the yurbuds as I headed out the door for the gym.  Well I worked out for an hour and they stayed in my ears the entire time.  I didn't have to keep pushing them in my ears to insure that they don't fall out of my ears.  I could almost forget that they were even in my ears.  So I guess I am now a yurbud convert.

After the gym I called my mom for a last minute walk through on the turkey for tomorrow's friend Thanksgiving dinner.  Hopefully everything works out and I don't poison my friends.  It could be a very lonely day at work on Monday if everyone ends up with food poisoning (why in my mind everyone else but me ends up with food poison is beyond me but they get it and I don't) and has to go to the hospital.  I am sure that won't happen but I will make everyone sign medical waivers before eating the turkey and stuffing lol.  

Why oh Why do I not want to workout?

So I went and ran some at the track. Did some "speed" work.  Which if someone were to actually see my speed work they would laugh but it is speed to me. :) 

I am still having problems finding my workout groove.  It has never been as hard as it has been this fall.  I have not figured out when a good time to go to the gym for me is.  Normally it is around 7pm but this year it just isn't happening.  I hate going to the gym after work because it is always pack and can take up to 20 mins to find a parking spot.  So what is a girl to do?  Yeah sit on the couch and eat the leftover Halloween candy sounds good to me ;)

The running club has been saving me, forcing me to run on Tuesdays.  And I have been getting in a run or two on top of that.  I think what I am going to do is try taking my clothes to work and running around the 'hood after school.  That way I don't lose the workout mood after a 30 plus minute drive home.  So hoping that it will workout for me.  I think I might convince some friends to run around school with me too.  Kristen is also having the same problem fitting in working out since the 1/2 marathon.  So maybe we can guilt each other into at least running or walking together a few times after school. 

On a different note...I can't wait for Turkey Day!  It is my favorite holiday!  I love that there is really no big expectations but to eat until you fall asleep and visit with friends and family.  No stress with gifts or trudging out to stores and getting knocked down by some old lady who is trying to get to some random bargain.  Sunday I am hosting a friend Thanksgiving and making my first turkey.  So it will either go really well or a pizza will be ordered. 

I am taking off work on Wednesday since there are no library classes and I will be heading up to PA to mom's house on Tuesday night after work.  Riley will get to play with mom's new little bundle of fur Charlie.


What a cute little guy! He is the friendliest dog out there too.



Wildlife refuge hike

Instead of running I went with Becky hiking through the Occoquan Wildlife Refuge.  The website said we could see raptors at this time of year.  Not sure about the raptors, but we did see ducks and snails. :)  It was a beautiful day for a hike.  In all we probably walked 3 or 4 miles.  We ended the day with a yummy pulled pork sandwich from a roadside barbecue guy.  I have wanted to try his barbecue for years.  I can't believe it took me so long to discover the goodness of his pulled pork sammies..yummm.

Here is a heron (at least that is what we think it is).

Becky examining snails.

Happy Veteran's Day!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Veteran's Day.  Thank you to all the families that have served (past and present). 

Since I didn't have work today I decided to skip Thanksgiving and head straight for Christmas...that's right I put up the decorations!  Now before you think I am nuts let me explain why I like to decorate on Veteran's Day.  First it is a day off so I can spend it cleaning and decorating.  I also really love all the holiday lights and decorations.  Now if I waited until December to decorate, sometimes that  just doesn't happen.  Everyone knows how busy it is during December.  So sometimes I just don't have the time to put up everything in December.  That combined with I go back to PA for Christmas and come back for New Years, I feel like putting up all the decorations for 2 weeks would not be worth it.  So I like to decorate on Veteran's Day so I have a few weeks to enjoy the lights. 

Running in the dark

I went to the running club again this Tuesday.  We changed happy hour venues and it might take a little while to get used to..very swanky.  Which I feel kinda bad that people are eating and in walks a bunch of smelly sweaty runners. 

This week it was very dark at 6:30 when the run started and lucky for me, my running buddy Megan brought her headlamp.  Also lucky that she purchased a headlamp to be one of the Chilean miners for Halloween :)  So after the run I now am going to have to breakdown and buy a lamp...or get taken in the middle of the run by a tall handsome stranger and nobody will no about it b/c it is so dark...wait that doesn't sound too bad.  Ok with my luck it would be some really ugly crazy guy so I guess I need to buy a headlamp this weekend.  Anyone own one that they love??

I also can not stop thinking about that Nike warm running half zip...ugh...Well I am off to game night since we don't have work tomorrow.  I am making some hot pizza dip and hope it turns out because I have never made it or tasted it.  What better people to try something new on than your friends right? 

Who says running is cheap?

So I read somewhere that running is a cheap sport.  All you need is a pair of shoes and off you go.  I guess that is true but you also need a good pair of shoes that are made for you and how you run (not so cheap).  Yeah I am sure that a pair of 20 dollar Walmart shoes will do for a short run every once in awhile, but more than that and you are probably going to have to shell out some extra money for a podiatrists appointment too.  Then there is the special clothing that wicks the moisture away.  I went to Dicks Sporting goods looking for some winter running shirts and fell in love with a Nike shirt for 70 dollars.  I mean it is a nice shirt and comfy and the girls don't stick out but I can't justify 70 dollars for a running shirt in the winter.  It is a nice shirt but I just can't do that.  Then don't forget to look for the socks that don't contain 75% cotton because we don't want blisters while we run.  And then if you want to run in the dark you may want to go out and buy a headlamp and some reflective gear.  Then there is always the race fees too. 

I guess running starts out not costing too much but then as you start to buy all the extras that make running that much nicer..it adds up.  So does anyone want to donate to the Nike $70 shirt fund??? 

Happy World Run Day

Happy World Run Day...and in honor of the day I am heading to the gym and jumping on the treadmill..

Hope everyone gets out there and enjoys  a run today.

Boys and Girls Club Turkey Trot recap

Well I feel like I haven't blogged in awhile..so here goes. :) 

Kristen, Megan and I signed up for a Turkey Trot this morning.  Well actually Megan signed up and Kristen and I did late registration (no t-shirts for us..).  It was a very cold cold Saturday morning.  I was debating on what to wear and decided it could be the temps for running tights..then added a long sleeved t-shirt and a light fleece hoodie. 

Kristen was driving and of course I looked up the directions (super easy..take a left and then a right...not far from the main road we were going to be driving on).  Yeah  so I guess it wasn't take a left and then right but a right and then a right..took us a bit to get to there because I messed the directions up.  Oops..Megan was trying to direct us over the phone but she didn't really know exactly where we were either.  What a way to start off the morning. lol  So finally 15 mins. later we make it to the Boys and Girls Club to a rather small crowd.  Guess this is not going to be a huge running group. That really works well for me, I love the smaller local runs (and the race benefits the Boys and Girls Club of Manassas so I was happy to donate)

Late registration stand here please...

Well we take off at 8am and the first thing you notice is you have to go up a hill..great I hate hills.  Turns out that wasn't the only hill on the course...I hate hills!  I had to make sure I kept someone in my eyesight so I would know where to run.  This was a small race and it was marked with signs on a post and every once in awhile you would see a volunteer or a sheriff's car (2 sheriff's car to be precise).  I was pretty happy with my pace.  My lungs were killing me b/c I have been sick all week and the cold air was not feeling the greatest, but I didn't think I was going to dye so I figured I must be doing pretty good.  the last mile was through the woods (ok a park but I like to call it the woods) and the last hill before the finish was more like a straight up mountain!  Have I said I hate hills??  I hate hills! 

I crossed right behind Megan (who passed me in the woods) at just under 35 mins.  Not too bad considering it was cold and a hilly course.  Kristen finished ahead of us at 30 mins.  (Imagine what a good time she would have had if it was flat). 

We went to the awards ceremony and found out Kristen won in her age group!  (ok she was the only one in her age group but she still won!)

A good day for a run!

Running Club Night

So last night I headed out to run with the Shirlington Running Club.  Love running with them..ok, not sure if it is the run or the socializing and beer afterwards that I really like.  Yeah I like the beer and socializing afterwards more than the run.  This Tuesday was our last time at Cap City Brewery, next week we move down to a new restaurant for happy hour.  I guess we were getting too big for Cap City.  The new place has organic beer, hope it is good.  Next week we also start the new run route.  Hope I like it.  Right now the run through the forest (ok it is a park, but I like to refer to it as the forest..makes it sound larger than it is) is getting pretty dark and scary.  I might even have to go out and invest in a headlamp to run in.  But not sure about that yet.  The new route is along a pretty well lit bike/run path so I am hoping I won't really need one.  We will see.

Hung around until 10 talking and having a few beers.  We didn't realize the time so we quickly said bye and we were off to home.  Wouldn't you know it that was the time when an accident was slowing traffic on 95.  So an hour later I pull into my house.  The only thing I don't like about the running club is that it is on a Tuesday, which sometimes makes for a really tiring Wednesday.  But it is worth it for the run and the socializing with other people who are not teachers. :)  I mean don't get me wrong, I love hanging out with all my teacher friends and talking about school stuff, but it is really nice to be among other people and hear about their jobs and life. :) 

The scale is still broken.  Although I really haven't followed through on my plan.  I am heading out to the gym tonight though :)  Happy Running all.

broken scale

So I am convinced I have a broken scale.  The numbers on my scale keep going up and very rarely go down..yep sounds like a broken scale to me!  Just in case it is not a broken scale I started back at the gym today.  I figured if I am paying the money I might as well make an appearance every once in awhile.  So I ran and biked today.  Felt so good I will be back for more tomorrow.  Hopefully this will help cure the broken scale. :) 

 I am thinking I might start writing down what I eat and keeping track of the calories again.  I am so not good with that. But I am really not liking the number on the scale so I guess this is what I need to do. :(  Write everything down..grrr.  So I guess I have just come up with my plan to fix the scale

1.  Write down what I put in my mouth and the calories attached

2.  Hit the gym more regularly and/or run outside more frequently than the past month

3.  Take Riley on more walks.

Ok, I wrote it down so I guess that means I must follow it.

Winner, winner 2 chicken dinners!

So I think I should buy a Lottery ticket quick!  In the last twenty four hours I have won, not one, but two blog giveaways!  I am never that lucky!  I came home from a great run and happy hour with the running club.  My friend Megan joined us (she is not a runner but said she would come), well looks like we might have hooked her into the running club.  She had lots of fun and said she is coming back for more. :)  Then I come home all tired and turn the computer on and I see that Bobbie's blog 2010 Journey in Running had a winner for her Yurbuds giveaway.  Well I guess I will check it out..wait is that my comment?  Yep I won!  So exciting!  And turns out it is the second time I have won something from Bobbie :)  If you haven't checked out Bobbie's blog yet you really should.

So I am feeling all happy today about my great win and I come home all tired from work and once again I see a winner announced on Mindy's blog 13.1 Miles to Go for the Bondiband giveaway.  And bingo, I won the bondiband too!  If you haven't checked out Mindy's you need to go there now!  I can't beleive it 2 giveaway wins in the last 24 hours.  Both great giveaways that I have always wanted to try. 

Thanks again and I am off to buy that Lottery ticket!

chasing Paul

After school Paul and I decided to go running at the local middle school track.  I had never ran with Paul but I was pretty sure he was faster than I am.  I mean really a turtle is faster than I am..but that is a different post.  So I figured that the track would be a pretty safe place to run. If we run different paces we could run our own and still feel like we are running together.  Well we got to the middle school and the girl's soccer team was using the track.  So we decided to take our run into the neighborhood.  We started the run together but all too quickly it turned into me chasing after Paul.  Yeah I couldn't keep up.  I am going to blame my short legs and Paul's long legs really not fair!   Paul did stop at some of the stop signs to wait for me, not ever sign but some of them.  Turned out to be a pretty ok run.  We are meeting up on Wed. for another run or a chase, whichever you want to think of it.  Tomorrow is the running club followed by some beer.

a few miles and I am done...

Today was the perfect day for a run..high 60's...sun was out..I could smell fall in the air.  So, even though I didn't want to lace up the shoes I did.  I went out for a super quick 2 miles.  On mile 2 I realized that the cold I had last weekend must still be lingering in my chest b/c it was really getting hard to breathe..oh well I guess this will be a 2 mile run.  Better than nothing. :) 

Today has been dog sitting central.  I have had to run over to my friend Paul's house to let out his dog Holly while they drove clear to NY to go the Headless Horseman haunted something or other, then they are turning around and driving the six hours back.  Yep he is crazy.  Then I am letting out my friend Stacy's American Bull Dog, Porter.  When I go over there I can take my Riley with me and they run around in the backyard.  Riley loves it..so much room.  He doesn't like an 80lb dog running over top of him, but hey everything comes with a price :)  So in between the driving back and forth between everyone's house I went for a short run.  Go me!  Tomorrow I am debating on putting on my running clothes heading to Stacy's to let Porter out and then heading over to the gym (I will have to look up directions to the gym b/c it has been so long since I have been there).  But if it is as nice a day as today I might just come back and run the hood again.  I guess we will see what tomorrow will bring. 

great blog giveaway!

Check out Mindy's blog for a great bondiband giveaway!   If you haven't followed Mindy on 13.1 miles to go you should check it out!

Run forest!

Two days of running in a row!  That's right I ran again today.  I know you thought that I couldn't run the day after yesterday's long run (1 mile).  But I did.  Met K and Becky at the track and did some laps and some sprints...legs are a bit sore right now. Did over an hour.   Gotta love it.  I don't want to jinx it but I might be out of my funk!!  Yeah!!!

Tomorrow is the running club.  So that is definitely a running day. I  might have convinced my friend Megan to join us for a run tomorrow too.  We will see.  It is a bit of a drive on a school night.  But I told her she might make new friends and there is beer after the run.  Who can turn down a Tuesday night run followed by happy hour anyway?? 

Flying Pirate...ARRR

Ok, so I think we have found a new half marathon to run.  It is the Flying Pirate Half Marathon in OBX.  Sounds fun.  I mean really with the name Flying Pirate..who wouldn't want to run it?  It sounds like it is relatively flat..so that is a bonus.  It looks like this is the second year of the race.  And you are running in the Outer Banks, how bad can that be?  In April the weather should be good..and if I get in to the Cherry Blossom 10 miler again it is the weekend before the half and that happens to be the weekend that I need to run 10  miles so that is a bonus!  Everything is pointing to signing up for the run.  Now it is recruitment time. :) 

On a plus side I ran a mile tonight (I know crazy how far I ran).  But I am happy with that considering that yesterday I couldn't breathe..so I am happy with the mile run and the mile walk.  Tomorrow I am going to run with K. and then Tuesday it is back to the running club.  Hopefully this ends the running funk. :)

Tomorrow is a great day at school, field day.  So I get to hang out with the kids and run around the field with them.  Maybe do some events with them.  I love to see how my jump roping skills hold up to some of those girls too. :)

I've lost that running feeling..oh that running feeling

Ever since the 1/2 marathon I have not felt like running (or working out at all).  I did run with the Tuesday running club, but that has been about it.  I am sure it doesn't help that I have been a bit congested (I have just discovered the joys of Musinex).  So I am hoping that will clear up soon.  But really there has been no reason why I just don't want to do anything.  I brought my running gear for the last two days to work, thinking maybe if I lace up after school and don't come home until I run that will work.  Well it didn't.  My running stuff is still sitting behind my desk and to make matters worse I just realized that I didn't even bring it home lol.  I think I will make myself head either for a run or the gym on Sat. morning.  Then I will be looking for some new runs to run.  That seems to be the big motivator for me, running races.  How does everyone keep motivated?  I am hoping that I will just wake up and think I need to run now!!!  But as of yet it hasn't happened..

Pizza Please

Tonight I am not running, I am enjoying some pizza.  I love pizza!  I could eat it everyday and not get sick of it...yummy.  My friends and I have decided to go and try a mom and pop pizza place in our town.  I guess if you and a friend order two 28" pizzas you can win a shirt and your pizzas are free.  So we decided to go and scope the place out.  Nobody is taking on the challenge tonight, but we wanted to see what the pizza had to offer.  Our friend Nick is debating on taking on the challenge with a friend.  I am simply going b/c I love pizza!  What a great support system I am! lol  I was going to go and run tonight, but I forgot that we made pizza plans..and really if I promised to go grab a pizza I don't want to back out and let people down ;)  Running might have to happen tomorrow. :)

Pizza update: we got to the Family Pizzeria and it was not open.  Looks like it is still operational so we might try again another day.  It also looked a bit sketchy..but sometimes that is the place with the best food.  We ended up going to Sam's pizza, first time there and not bad.

2 miles and feeling good

So I decided to bite the bullet and attempt to run.  It was a nice cool evening and I thought "it is now or never"..so the running shoes went on and I was out the door.  I decided to try and run a quick 2 miles.  Turned out I am sure I could have ran more but 2 miles for the first run after last weeks horrible 13.1 is not bad.  Tuesday night I will be back with the Shirlington Running Club running a 5k (as long as it doesn't rain) following by some socializing with some brews. :)  Gotta love those kind of runs.  I still haven't shaken off last week's horrible run but looks like I am on my way to putting it behind me. :)

1/2 marathon = fail, sort of...

Well it has almost been a week since my first 1/2 marathon and I think I am ready to finally write about it.  I guess I will start with the day before the race...

On Sat. morning K and I met at the commuter lot in Northern Va.  We were on our way to Philly for packet pick up day!  K is from the Philly area so we were going to stop at her house first and then meet up with her friend Shannon and Lisa to head over to the expo center.  We have an enjoyable ride to Philly and a short 3 plus hours later we have arrived at her house and I get to meet some of her family.  Shannon comes over and we head to pick up Lisa and we are off to packet pickup. 

Yeah we are rock stars at the expo! 

I love expos.  Normally I don't buy much but it is my first half marathon.  So I pick up a shot glass souvenir and start to look at some nice t-shirts to remember the run and the shirt we got for running the race is a god awful orange and I hate orange.  Well looks like no shirt in my size so I don't have to spend any extra money at Brooks.

Well we are off to experience all the booths and try all the samples.  We are also on the hunt for a 13.1 car magnet.  It is the one thing that I knew I was going to look to buy at the expo.

Oh that is going to look so nice on my car!

 Had to stop and get our beer bracelet.  Turns out that I would not use the beer bracelet but I didn't realize that on Sat.  I also end up buying a new visor and we leave the expo and end up walking down to the Art Museum because I want to run the Rocky Steps.  "Yo! Adrian!

It felt like such a long walk after walking the expo...not sure if I want to really run the steps. 

You have to get a picture with Rocky.

 K has a much better pose than me.  Not quite sure what I am doing with my arms..maybe I am bracing for a blow from Rocky...

Rocky here I come!!

So we finish the Rocky steps and K tells me that I need to experience a Philly pretzel.  And the only person to buy a pretzel from is The chief. 

The Chief has been set up outside the boathouse for 66 years (it says so on the side of his minivan).  Everyone loves buying water and pretzels from him.

After the pretzels we head to Shannons for some pasta.  I am not usually a pasta before the race person but I didn't want to get lost trying to go back to the hotel and eat by myself so pasta it is.  The pasta was good.  We eat and then head off to the hotel to meet Lucy and Dennis to give them their race packets.  Packet exchange was a success.  We then settle in for the night excited for our first 1/2 marathon.  Out of our group, Lucy is the only one who has a half marathon under her belt.  The rest of us would be half marathon virgins. 

Well we plan to meet up at 7:30 with everyone.  We are up and ready for race day.  K is not feeling the best but she has a great game face on for the day.

We meet up with everyone and then walk to the start line..I am in corral 22, a.k.a. the slow peoples corral.  I head back and wait for the race to begin.  We slowly move up and as we approach the start line we see the elite runners go by...that right I haven't even started and the elite runners are already at mile 5 of the race! 

We are off..I am running pretty good..feeling a bit tired but nothing too bad.  I am trying to pass some people and weave around some of the walkers (I guess that is what you get when you start in corral 22) lol.  I feel like I am running slow..and turns out that I am 4 or 5 mins off of my goal time..at the 5k mark I was feeling a little light headed and I was already starting to walk!  What?  Walk??  I can't walk at mile 3!  But that is what I did..I walk a bit and then started to run again (although the pace I was keeping I am not sure I would really call it much of a run) 

We are headed back towards the fountains and I see a man with a sign for me.  I didn't think anyone was coming down to hold a sign for me, but turns out I was wrong.  The guy had a sign that read "Hey complete stranger, I'm proud of you!"  How nice, that gave me a little extra giddy up in my step :)  I am now at the spot where I saw the elite athletes run and think I could just jump off the course and end my misery...but no, that man was proud of me.  He wouldn't be proud if I quit..so off I continue..The nice thing about the race is they supplied a nice amount of water and Cytomax.  It seemed it was about every 1.5 miles or so.  So I couldn't complain about being thirsty.  Although at one point I thought maybe I was drinking too much.  Ugh..what  a horrible race I am having! 

So at this point I am run/walking and I am guessing I am barely at mile 5.  I am now trying not to count down the miles because there are just too many left.  We are now running along the river and it is shaded (which is nice..no hot sun beating down on me).  I can see the people on the other side of the river running...but I see no bridge across..grrr.  I keep running.  I see a runner down and the medics are putting her on a backboard.  I am feeling lucky that is not me.  I am still feeling blah..thinking maybe it was that pasta (I know I should have went back to the hotel and had a burger...) but looking back it was not the pasta..but I wouldn't realize that till hours later. 

So I am feeling like the bridge is never going to appear...I realize there is no quitting b/c either way I still have to make my way to the finish line to meet up with everyone and go back to the hotel.  So I am trudging along.  at around mile 8 I pass a double amputee man.  Yes it took me till mile 8 to catch up with him.  Well I guess if he can do it, I can too!  Finally the bridge!  Oh I have never been so happy to cross a bridge in all of my life!  I am now making my way back to the finish, yeah!!!  Every mile I feel a bit happier.  We pass some cheerleaders dressed up as KISS with a sign that says if you walk we will kiss you. lol  That made me giggle...free high fives from them. 

Someone had a sign set up that read 13.1 miles = 5.5 doughnuts.  That made me a bit depressed...all of this for 5.5 doughnuts?  Ugh!  At the ten mile mark I was so sad...I had a goal of 2hr 30 mins to finish..I know the first 1/2 you should just aim for finishing but I wanted that time!  Well at 10 miles I was at 2 hrs and 20 mins.  An entire 15 mins slower than my 10 mile usually is!  I wanted to cry.  At one point a lady asked if this was my first and if I had a goal..I told her to finish it.  I already missed my time goal :( 

Well finished the race at 3 hours and 4 mins.  What a miserable time!  Then went to find everyone at out meeting place.  We were supposed to check out of the hotel at noon and it was going to pushing that by the time we walked the mile back.  Found everyone and I ate a small bagel (think lenders type of bagel) and carried my banana.  I could quite eat that banana yet (which is odd b/c usually I can't wait for food after a race).  We head back to the hotel and K doesn't feel well...we stop for her once along the trek back.  We get back to the hotel and neither one of us wants to move.  I am going to head back with Lucy and Dennis while K sticks around to celebrate her dad's birthday.  Seems K is not looking forward to that she just wants to crawl back into bed and sleep (not normal for K) 

I head out with Lucy and and Dennis to experience a Philly Cheesesteak.  And if you really want a Philly cheesesteak you need to go to either Pat's or Gino's.  Since they are across the street from one another we head down...

Lucy can't wait to try some cheesesteak.  I order and end up giving half mine to Dennis and throwing my 4 dollar fries away.  Really not normal for me at all.  I should be starving right about now.  Instead I can't wait to go to sleep in the back of the car.  We eat and head out.  Turns out I am not a Geno's cheesesteak fan...I ended making Lucy pull over in Deleware 3 times on the ride back.  Yep I picked up a stomach virus!  I guess that now explains why I felt sluggish during the run and light headed at mile 3...And it turns out K was sick too..we both ended up calling off the next day.  I am guessing that we caught something at the hotel.  Can you pick up something that quick and get sick??  Well that is what I am thinking happened.  Odd that we were both sick on the same day...

So I feel horrible about a horrible run, but a little better that the reason for the horrible run was a virus. 

I now need a new 1/2 marathon to help redeem my horrible first experience. :)