baby its cold outside!

Yesterday I woke up to no snow.  We were supposed to get some but it never came.  Then while I was driving to work I found the snow...and the ice.  Talk about horrible driving conditions.  The roads we not treated and I was sliding while driving a measly 10 miles per hour.  Yeah 10 miles..at some points it was barely that.  At one point I thought I could run this faster than I am driving.  Normally it takes me thirty minutes to get to work, yesterday it took almost an hour and half.  Ugh.  Then when I got to work only 1 bus was able to make it to school.  The rest were stuck somewhere.  We should have had the day off.  The roads were horrid!  So the day didn't start off the greatest.  Needless to say I did not feel like getting back in my car and trekking up to run club after a crazy day.  So I made my own run club at home.  Now I didn't get to see any of the cool people that I normally would see running.  And it was a rather small club of one, but it worked.  I knocked out a cold 3 miles.  I'm not a huge cold weather running fan, but since there is a marathon in my future I figured I needed to get out there and get some miles in.  That and my friends Kristi and Shawn keep checking on my running totals.  For some reason Kristi wants to make sure I am training for this marathon since she will be running with me on marathon day.

Well you know that it is a cold night of running when I wear a hat. The only bad thing is that I wore these tights that will never see a running mile again. The entire three mile run I had to hold them up.  The didn't have drawstring in them so they kept falling down.  I didn't want to scare the neighbors so I held them up.  Note to self I must buy some running tights that stay up.


Apparently I also looked like I lost something.  I was running with my headlamp in my hand.  I hate headlamps on my head so I usually hold it in my hand.  As I was finishing up, there was a boy on a scooter and he wanted to know what I was looking for.  I told him I wanted to make sure I could see where I was running and I didn't want any cars to hit me.  He seemed a bit disappointed with my answer.  I guess I should have told him zombies or something.

Wednesday night I am taking the day off from running because it is cold cold cold.  Below zero with the wind chill.  Yeah I will stay in and do some ab work. :)  

At what temperature do you stay indoors and refuse to run outside? 

Running in peanut butter?? I don't even like peanut butter!

Last night I didn't go to run club.  I was in hermit mode as I like to call it.  I just wanted to stay home on a rainy day and read a book.  So that is what I did.  I am sure the fact that I go back to work on Thursday has something to do with my hermit ways.

Now I didn't just sit on the couch and do a bunch of nothing.  I did end up running 4 miles in my hood.  This weekend I have a 10 mile race, so I can't just sit around and read books all day. :)  I'm so frustrated with running.  I feel like it should be feeling easier, but it has been one big suck fest lately.  I feel like I am running through peanut butter. Ugh.  It wouldn't be bad if I liked peanut butter, but I can't stand the stuff.  I'd rather run through some nice cool ice cream. :)  Not sure I could get any slower than what I am running right now.  Well it has to get better eventually.  I am sure it didn't help taking a week off.  Today I have 7 miles on the calendar.  I was going to wake up early and run, but I looked and saw 100% humidity and thought better of it.  The humidity is supposed to leave this afternoon...so I will put the miles in later today/this evening.

Yesterday's run was a very humid one.  At the end of the run I was dripping in sweat.  I don't think there was a spot on me that wasn't covered in sweat.  Oh the joys of summer running.

Running around

Well I know this will come as a shock but I've been running...some. It hasn't been long distances but it is a start. Last week I went to run club and it was rough. The heat about killed me. I then knew that I needed to get back into running.  So I went out and ran the neighborhood the next three days. I quickly realized that it is too hot to run after 9 am and I will be working on getting up earlier to get my runs in.

At run club Brad  was talking about a live band karaoke on Thursdays. Since I have no work some of us decided why not head over on Thursday. And the band had a gong when someone was really bad. And really I feel like that is the best karaoke, bad singing. And add a live band and a gong and it sounded fun to me.

Lots of fun with running friends. Turned out they never used the gong while we were there. Boo!  The people were very good singers, which meant I did not sing. I'm sure I would have gotten the gong for sure. 

Friday I ended up running a few miles and not going to kettlebell class. Ryan, our instructor totally called me out on canceling too. I promised to show up on Monday. Sometimes you just need someone to remind you to get moving. 

Monday I went back to kettlebell class after a few weeks off. I did lots of squats and lifting heavy things over my head. Today my legs and abs hurt. I guess I shouldn't take a few weeks off again. 

Tuesday I headed to a very hot run club. The sweat was crazy!

I'm going to try and run this evening..but between the heat and my legs it may turn into a Thursday run followed by nighttime kettlebell. 

So looks like I'm back into running!  

Summer vacation

School is out and I am one happy librarian!  I love no school!  No schedule, no need to be anywhere at a certain time.  Unfortunately that will change in July since I'm teaching summer school, I don't really think of alarm setting for summer school since it is not a full day of work. Since this is my first no work week I thought I would get lots of stuff done at home and my running would be awesome. Yeah not so much. I've cleaned out half of my kitchen cabinets (don't be jealous) and have taken lots of naps. I've also been able to sleep in this week, which is odd, I normally never sleep past 7am.  

Well with all of that sleeping ( I must be deficient in sleep) I have not been running much.  I did go to run club last night and I thought I was going to die running in the heat.  Marathon training starts next week and those first few weeks may be a bit brutal if last night was any indication. 

In between my naps I've discovered the joys of fruit in my water. Yumm

I bought some frozen raspberries and added them to my water today. I have been putting strawberries in my water too. It really has helped me drink more water.  And really we all could use a bit more water in our day. 

I'm going to have to set my alarm for a morning run tomorrow.  No excuses!  

Celebrations do not require me to run!

So I have been one big ball of lazy since my half marathon two weeks ago.  It doesn't help that we had snow...again.  I am tired of cold.  I don't want to run out in snow or cold rain!  So I haven't!

Tuesday was run club..with rain or was it snow or sleet??  The weather has been so crazy I can't keep track of what happens on what day!  Well anyway, wee headed to run club.  I was going to dress to maybe run, but I realized that I had no intention of running so why not put some jeans on..embrace the lazy! And that is just what I did.

Tuesday was Matt's birthday. Matt is a vegetarian so to celebrate Megan made some yummy vegan cookies.

One was Matt's favorite snicker-doodles and the other was a vanilla no-bake.  Both were very yummy!!

(if you are Andy you put the two cookies together and you are very happy)

Happy birthday Matt

Got to love run club celebrations!  Even if we didn't run.

This week it should be in the 70's, even though it was raining/snowing today.  Virginia should not see snow the second to last day of March!  Needless to say I did not move off of the couch much this weekend.  This is the week that my lazy stops.  Weather should be nice for running and that is just what I plan on doing.

This week is we are celebrating Sandy's birthday along with Jen's 100th run!  I'm in charge of birthday cookies.  Hope everyone enjoys them.

The celebrating continues!

Running at run club? Say What?!

Last night I ran at run club..I haven't done that in quite some time.  Yesterday it was probably in the high 30's when we ran.  A perfect night for a run.  I was questioning my clothing choice.  Everyone looked like they were ready for a winter storm.  I had on capri's and a long sleeve shirt..oh and to look like one of the cool kids I added ear warmers that I found in my running bag.   Yeah the ear warmer headband will keep me warm.  Those ear warmers didn't last long..Turns out my outfit was perfect.  I was a bit chilly on the return run because of how the wind was hitting us but I was pretty comfortable.  When you haven't ran outside in some time it is hard to figure out how many layers make for a comfortable run.  I sweat.  I sweat in 100 degrees and I sweat in 30 degree weather.  So I am never quite sure how many layers to go with.  Last night it was the perfect amount.  I also will say that I felt pretty good during my run.  I could have ran a bit faster too, but I was staying with Jen.  You do not want to leave someone to run by themselves in the dark.  And it is always nice to chat while friends while you run.

Next up: I have two 5K's this weekend.  Both Valentine's Day runs.  

looking back and cupcakes make running better

I was looking back over posts from previous years and noticed a trend..I alway seem to have a rough time running in November and December.  Looking at my running calendar, I also noticed that I was sick last October so that month was not very consistent.  Which means that I guess I have been a better runner this year than last?  So I don't feel really bad about my not wanting to run lately.  It will come.

I did run this Tuesday with run club, even though it was really cold outside. Megan and I were talking about not running.  But how could we not run when it was her 100th run at runclub?! And just like always, I warmed up quickly once I started running and I didn't notice the cold.  I really hate these first few colder runs.  It takes awhile to figure out the clothing needed and what temps are going to feel horrible and which temps are pretty ok for running.  I normally stick with capris and short sleeved shirts until the temps fall below 40 degrees.  But when you have had days of 70 degree weather followed by days of 30 degree my body just doesn't want to get used to that!

When we came back in from running, Megan received her long sleeve run club shirt for running 300 miles for beer.

Nestor came too and he earned his 100th shirt too!  We also had cupcakes galore!  Jen brought some yummy homemade cupcakes and I stopped off at our yummy cupcake place near school to pick up some 100th run cupcakes!

We had lots of cupcakes to make new friends with too :)  Really who does not like a cupcake after a run?  Way to go Megan on your 100th!

Today I was planning on going for a run, but I think I am going to scrap it..I will go tomorrow for a long run.  Today I have some chicken and dumplings in the crock pot.  And this afternoon Ironman Kona is on.  I love Kona!  You would think I would have some secret desire to run an Ironman..I don't.  I just am in awe of what those athletes that do an Ironman and especially an Ironman in Kona.  Well a tri is awesome by itself, but add the heat of Kona and Wow!

Clarendon Day 10K

Last Saturday I ran the Clarendon Day 10K.  This was my first time running this race.  It was basically the Four Courts Four Mile race from March just starting a bit farther and the turn around was a bit farther down the road.  They said that this was a downhill race.  It was down hill at the beginning but then it went up a bit and the end was up a hill.  So I'm calling liar liar pants on fire with this one :)

Megan and I headed up early for the race..well early for me, Megan was running both the 5K then coming back to run the 10K an hour later.  We decided that if we couldn't find parking around Clarendon I could head down the road and park at a metro and metro in since I was not running until 9.  Turns out that we found a parking garage really close to the start.

We headed over to the portapotties. Then we got a text from Jen that she was already there and she found Gary.

run club peeps

Megan and Sanjay are crazy and running both the 5K and 10K races

So we found Jen and Gary along with some other random runclub people.  Its great that most of the local races in DC we always usually run into someone we know or recognize from run club.

Megan and Sanjay took off and we waited for some other people while everyone else ran the 5K.  Jen's friend found her.

The 10K race was starting and we still did not see Megan.  I was a bit worried that she didn't make it back.  Once you finish the 5K (its point to sort of point) then you have to walk/run up the hill back to the start of the 10K race.  I figured maybe she was up ahead in the crowd..no big deal.  Well the gun went off and we took off.  I was running sub 10 min. miles..which if you know anything about my running style that below a 10 min. mile is not really what I do.  I know it was down hill, but still I knew I couldn't hold on to that for 6 miles.  Turns out I was right..ugh..I kept plugging along a bit slower but pretty happy with my run.  Near the turnaround I was looking to see if I could see Megan and I was really starting to worry..no Megan..wait is that crazy blonde yelling my name?  Why yes she is..I found Megan..or she found me.  All is good.  I made the turn around and started to wish the race was over.  It doesn't matter the distance I always struggle with the last two miles.  Ah mentally I hate the end of races!!  Well around mile 5 or so I had a girl behind me ask if I was with Shirlington running Club..why yes I run with them.  Turns out she has been running behind me for the last few weeks.  We introduced each other and then head off.  I saw her this week at runclub.  Great to meet new people as you run. :)  That last mile sucked.  I didn't want to run back up the hill.  I knew that we were going to have to but I still didn't want to do it.  I hate hills!  Finished and as I crossed I see Gary who points me in Megan's direction.

We headed back to Clarendon and headed to a bar to meet some other friends.

Always good to hang out with friends after running.  We chatted a bit and then Megan and I headed across the street for some yummy french toast.  Nothing says running like some yummy french toast!

Next up is Heritage Half Marathon next weekend!

That's the plan!

Today was the start of a heat wave in Northern Virginia.  Ugh!  Just a reminder that I am a sweater.

Not this kind of sweater...

But this kind of sweater...

I got up this morning and I planned on running three miles.  I,once again, did not sleep well last night so I just couldn't roll out of bed.  This is two nights in a row that I haven't been able to sleep well.  I am over not sleeping. :)  So I finally talked myself out of bed a little after 6.  I went to sleep with my sports bra on figuring it would make it quicker to get dressed in my running gear in the morning and it would force me to get up and move.  I guess it worked.  I didn't run, but I did take Riley on a 1 1/2 mile walk before work.  So score one for moving.  I am hoping to make that a habit this summer.  If I am not running in the morning I will at least take the dog on a long walk.  

I headed to summer school and then had tutoring after school.  I came home in the heat and crashed on the couch.  Looks like I missed run club because of my little nap.  That's ok. The feels like temp was 105.  I was ok with not running at 6:30.  Don't worry I didn't miss my workout.  I ran tonight.  I did my 3.19 miles.  I am happy.  As I have said before I judge my workout by my sweat.  My entire front of my shirt was sopping wet.  My face was as red as my tank top. I ran some of my 3 miles at 10 min. miles..which is really good for me.  So I will try to run my short runs a bit faster than comfortable.  And my long runs will be slow and steady.  Hopefully that should get me to Marine Corps Marathon. Because really that is what it is about right now..not dying in October.   

Speaking of Marine Corps Marathon..if anyone would like to donate a few dollars to a great organization, I am raising money for Fisher House.  It is like the Ronald McDonald House for the military.  It is a great way to say thank you to all of our wonderful military families.  If you would like to donate a few dollars please click here.  Thank You!

Good Luck Becky!

So Becky is heading off to teach in Columbia (the country, not Columbia, Maryland)..She has sort of been crashing at my place for the last month.  By sort of I mean she has been storing her stuff here since her lease ran out and then suddenly has been dog sitting for everyone under the sun.  :)  So she has been in an out for the last few weeks.

Well  its here.. Becky's last week in VA.  So sad to have a friend leave but happy for her and her new adventure.  Last week was a busy week of let's say goodbye to Becky.  It was fun, but I think I gained five pounds with all of the beer and food that it took to say goodbye.  Who knew that you had to eat and drink so much to say good bye to someone.

First we had the last runclub..(it sounds like the end end..but she will be back)

 We've had a lot of cupcakes at run club..so to say see you later and good luck we had cake!  Let there be cake!

 And she earned her 100th run shirt on her last night of run club!  Go Becky!

We all have a bit of the devil in our eyes to see Becky off.

After the last run club you have to have a run club goodbye outing :)  Lots of people showed up and Becky was so excited to see everyone.  Love the support from all the runners we have met on Tuesdays.

The margarita stare off...

Then it was the work send off...by this time I was tired from the week of saying good bye to Becky and getting stuck on 95 South for an hour...so I was a bit late to the party.

It was a great turn out to wish Becky good luck on her adventure.

Going to miss seeing her daily.  School and run club just won't be the same!  Don't worry Becky I will be down to visit and see Columbia :)  You will have lots of fun and meet so many new people!  Enjoy your new adventure!

April..glad you are gone and randomness

So looking at my running totals for April, it was not a great running month.  I ran the least amount during April.  Why?  Not really sure.  Could be because I was not feeling great for a week and my parents were here over a weekend which always throws off my running.  Who knows, but hopefully May will look a lot better.

I ran Sunday at Burke Lake with Becky.  It was a beautiful day for a run.  While we were running we past a girl and she ended up running with us most of the time.  The funny thing was that I know that Becky was hoping that she wouldn't pass us.  I knew Becky wanted to slow up a bit, but didn't want this girl to pass us so she kept up the faster pace.  Oh Becky!  Turns out that she was using us to help keep her pace.  We ended up chatting with her a bit and then dropped her off near where she started since she was a bit confused where she started out at the lake.  She was there with some friends who were walkers and she decided that she wanted to run some.  I guess it turned out that we were good for her and she was good for us too!  Great when you meet new people while running!

Tuesday was run club as usual.  I got there and figured I was the only one from our table running in the rain.  Yes I said rain, I was running in the rain.  I did tell Gary that I could easily be talked out of running since it was such a crappy night.  But I sucked it up and went for the run.  Turned out I had a pretty decent run.  Jen showed up as we were taking off, but she wasn't running since she banged up her knee at work that day.  Looks like I was on my own.  Well not really there were other runners, just nobody really running with me.

We took off and yikes!  One of the guys (I'm assuming it was the guys) really stunk!  Is it bad to say that?  I know we are runners and sometimes we are a bit nasty.  (Hello!  My group runs in 100 degree weather, sweats and heads into a bar to stink up the joint! ha!)  But really no reason for that kind of stank that was wafting towards me at the beginning of the run.  I can understand afterwards, but really we haven't run more than 50 feet.  So I decided to try and pass some people to get away from the odor.  The problem was that the two guys that I was convinced that one was the problem started passing people too.  Ugh!  Finally they went ahead and I had some fresh air.

I had a pretty good run.  I did realize that I run faster than a 6 month pregnant girl but also the same pace as some 80 year old men.  Yeah I have some serious speed!  Although I will say that normally the 6 month prego girl is usually super fast when she is not carrying around another life.

Got back to the bar and found out that I wasn't the only one from our table, people just decided to show up later.  Glad I wasn't sitting solo at the table. :)

This weekend I have Color Me Rad with the nieces and Kristi and Shawn.  Should be fun as long as I don't get the red eye like I did last year.  I am sure that I will have a great time!  Kristi has deemed it a new family tradition to run the Color Me Rad race.  How can you not when people are throwing color at you and you are surrounded by crazy people!

Real Whiticar returns

I met my friend Whiticar two years ago in June.  How do I remember when I met Whiticar?  Well pretty easy, we met while volunteering at the Northface Endurance Race.  Becky and Whiticar were partners in crime marking and keeping track of the marathon runners. Becky mentioned that he should come running at Run Club and voila! 

Whiticar is hanging out behind Becky

I guess he had so much fun hanging out with us that he decided to come to Run Club!

Whiticar started to become a regular runner at run club.  He is a great guy and we loved hanging out with him.  Some Tuesdays he would run a bit longer since he was training for his first Marine Corps Marathon.  

Well we couldn't let Whiticar run without cheering him on and making a sign for him at the Marine Corps Marathon!

He did great! Go Whiticar Go!!

Well turns out that Whiticar wasn't going to be such a regular at run club anymore.. he was getting deployed to Afghanistan!  We would miss our friend Whiticar!  

 So we had a farewell and good luck dinner/drinks to wish Whiticar well.  While he was gone, we made some flat Whiticars to run with.  This way that it will be like Whiticar is running with us.

Becky, Megan and myself all had our own Flat Whit to run races with.  It was a great way to keep in touch with real Whiticar.  We would post our running with Flat Whit to facebook and run some races with Flat Whit.  Flat Whit even became a flat Half Fanatic!  Yeah he had lots of races last year. :)

Well Flat Whit is now retired.  No more racing for him because look who is back!!!!

Yep, real Whit is back!  So great to see a friend come back to Run Club!  

Welcome Home Whiticar!

GW Parkway Classic Volunteers at your service!

This morning I woke up before dawn not to run a race, but to volunteer at a race.  Today was my first water stop volunteering job.  Sure I've marked bibs on endurance athletes,, handed out candy to marathon runners, but never have I handed a runner water. Runclub was volunteering at the GW Parkway Classic 10 miler.  So I decided to sign up for a job.  We showed up well before the first runner toed the start line.

Bill and Megan unloading the truck.

Becky on Garbage duty.

We set up tables and loaded up lots of cups with water and Gatorade.  Ah the sticky messy Gatorade..I was hoping not to deal with this product.  I can't stand the sticky mess.  I also hate to run through where Gatorade has been..my shoes always stick to the ground.  ugh!  Turns out this morning I dealt with the Gatorade with little problem.  

Lots of runners were out today.  It was fun handing out the Gatorade to them (yep that is what I handed out the drink I was trying to avoid).  We were so popular that our side of the road ran out of Gatorade.  

People were so jealous of my rake and my jacket.  When I stop teaching I think I may work on a road crew..the bright yellow really brings out the blonde in my hair.  

 It was wonderful seeing so many runners supporting Boston.  Lots of signs for Boston.  Runners are great! I also loved the fact that so many runners thanked us for volunteering! The water stop went by pretty quickly and before you know it I was raking up cups.

As I was raking look who I saw coming down the road....

 Yep the juggler is back!  Ugh...  I guess I don't have to worry about him now.

We loaded up the trucks and we were finished.  Poor Becky had a run in with a dolly and unfortunately the dolly won.  Came up and smacked her on her forehead.  So Megan and Becky were stopping off at Patient First to make sure she would survive.  Don't worry she has a hard noggin' :)  

So glad I spent this Sunday morning hanging with some of my running friends!  

On another note, I have my first runners tan going on.  I have a lovely red  V on my neck along with some red arms.  Next time I need to remember to wear some sunscreen.  

Good People

Tragedy can happen anywhere and at anytime.  Monday was supposed to be one of those days where you have to pinch yourself to remind yourself that it was real.  Marathon Monday!  Many people have this race on their bucket list.  Runners trained months to qualify for Boston and many were running for their first time.  Then the unthinkable happened.  I sat watching the coverage along with everyone else not quite able to wrap my head around what had happened.  How can you ruin people's perfect day?  How can you cause so much trauma to runner's support systems (family and friends) and in many cases to peoples legs.  The very thing that just carried them 26.2 miles!  It just baffles me!

As I was talking to different people on Tuesday, I realized that you can't focus on the bad things in life..but the good that comes out of life.  I know easier said than done since I wasn't there.  One co-worker asked me how the running community was feeling after Monday.  My answer, the same as most people, shocked, sad, angry.  Another co-worker told me how mad she was, to which I told her you can't focus on the bad.  Bad things happen and there is not much we can do.  What you need to focus on was the fact that it was amazing how quickly people responded.  How after running 26.2 miles a doctor turned around after he finished and dug deep to help where needed.  People came together Monday afternoon and helped each other out.  Shop keepers were giving runners orange juice as they were huddled on the sidewalk in shock. It was a great reminder of how awesome runners and people in general can be.  It is easy to focus on a bad decision we have made, or something bad that happened, but sometimes we just have to focus on the good. Sometimes we learn the most about ourselves and others when we are faced with the unexpected.  We have the opportunity to choose how we deal with both good and bad things that happen in life.  It is always easy to accept the praise and awards whether it is from a race well ran, a new PR or a job well done.  What may be a bit more difficult is to look for the good in a dark time.  Well, looks like many runners are looking for the good.  Tonight I went to run at run club.  We had a moment of silence before we took off.  I wore one of my many race t'shirt in honor of Boston.

There is something just great about hanging out with runners!  My friend Rob talked about how I shouldn't be nervous for my first full and that I will do great!  We also talked about how I'm not a hugger but I do hug at run club.  Something about friendly runners makes me more comfortable with hugs!

My friend David got his shirt from running 10 runs at run club!  He was very excited!

All of this reminds me that I am proud to call myself a runner!

A PR with a Lesson...

Sunday morning came really early.  Hard to believe that I can get up at 4:45 for a race but not to run around my place on weekends.  I headed up to pick up Glen while Becky and Megan were driving to the metro to meet us there.  No problems this morning.  We headed over to the Washington Monument to try and find Gary for a run club picture.  Well looks like his tracking device still works because 30,000 people and we found him.

After that Megan headed for bag check and we secured the line for the bathroom.  Lots more portapotties this year.  The line didn't take that much time and we were all headed for a corral.  Glen was running the 5K since his foot was bothering him and he didn't want to temp the running gods by running 10 miles.  

We made it to the start and I didn't think it was nearly as crowded as it normally was.  I had my lovely homemade arm warmers on.  Which didn't last past mile one.  It was a bit windy and cool this morning.  The cherry blossoms were not yet bloomed.  I feel bad for the people who were in town hoping to see the blossoms during their run.  

I ran with Becky until just after the 5k mark.  She was running really strong.  I was keeping up with her instead of running my own race.  I know I do so much better if I run my own run, but sometimes I just forget.  It was Becky's first 10 miles and she did great!  Because I started out too fast I think I had problems keeping the pace up for the rest of the run.  My legs felt like lead at some points.  Could it be from the lack of sleep the night before?  Could it be that I have just be exhausted all week long?  Who knows.  I do know that I didn't feel this run like I felt the Rock n Roll USA Half run a few weeks ago.  Oh well..never know what you are going to run on race day.  

The miles were going by..I normally run a pretty steady pace, today I felt like the last half I was just dragging..I didn't have the same group of people around me..or I wasn't paying attention to who was running near me..but I just felt like I was running ok then slow and then back to ok pace wise.  I did see the beer and oreo people at mile 8.  They were out of beer and oreos.  lol  I also saw 3 people just bite the dust on the course.  One girl tripped over a garbage bag.  You could hear her hit the pavement.  One of my favorite signs was "Blisters are braille for Awesome!" I did not see the juggler.  I know he irritates me..but I sort of missed him.  

I crossed the finish with a sprint.  I heard someone yell out " way to spint to the end!"  I didn't get my sub 2..but I did knock of 3 mins from my old PR last year.  So hello 2:02  Just wasn't my day for a sub 2 I guess.  

Megan..a.k.a Kristi ran with my friend Kristi's bib since she couldn't make it to the race.  'Kristi" had lots of cheers on the course.

Becky did a great job on her first 10 miler!  She rocked it!  So proud of her!  

We met up with Jeff and Marie afterwards and of course we had to have some french toast.  Nothing says race day more than french toast!  

Who PR'd?  These two girls!!

Cherry Blossom is my least favorite race...this year I think I am ok with the Cherry Blossom.  They had water after I finished.  The bananas were looking good and I didn't have an old lady try to give me a black eye because were were running so close and her elbows were all over the place.  So I think that makes for a good Cherry Blossom.  I will never call it my favorite race, but I will say that I might have just changed my mind a bit about Cherry Blossom 10 miler.  

I"m now questioning if the fast start was the sole reason for my dragging legs for the other 7 miles.  I came home and my stomach has been horrible all afternoon.  Maybe I am just fighting something and today wasn't my day for a sub 2.  But I still got a PR so I will take it :)  

Next up..The Color Run with the nieces...should be fun.

What to do on a snow day...

So what do you do on a snow day?  That little christmas gift of a day that you get to sleep in and not feel guilty...  why I do not run..that would just be crazy!!  It is early afternoon..I may head to the gym later we will see..but if not that is ok.

Last night I decided since I was pretty sure that we were getting the day off, to head to run club.  I know it is a Tuesday of course I was going to go to run club.  But I had my mind made up that I wasn't going.  I had to stop off at a viewing for one of our kids at school whose parent had passed away, and I thought well no way can I do that and run at run club.  So afterwards, since no rain was in sight (and it was supposed to start off as rain first)  I figured I was pretty safe to make the trek up to run club to socialize, not run.  Glad I did..always fun seeing friends.  On the drive home it was crazy how quickly the weather changed..I went from absolutely nothing, to rain..a few mile later it was sleet (but nothing was sticking b/c it was still 35 degrees out) and then ten miles from home it was a whiteout (but still nothing was sticking to the roads.)  I made it home, with no real problems, to snow on cars and grass and feeling really good about a snow day.

Finally they call the day and I feel so excited..I just can't hide it..I'm about to lose control and I think I like it...

Anywhoo...today I thought I could sleep in but mom called at 7 am. to ask if I had a snow day.  And after that I made some yummy snow day cinnamon rolls (they were homemade from the pop-can)  I had a hunch and thought I would enjoy some yummy cinnamon rolls on my day off so I picked up a can at the store a few days ago.  I haven't had them in years.

I know you are thinking after that I probably went for a run..umm  no not really.

I did take Riley for a walk.  I love walking in the snow.  This snow was not really that much fun to walk in. There was so much water with this snow.  As soon as it hit the roads it would turn slushy...causing me to have wet boots and wet socks.

Where's Riley?  He starts to blend in with the snow.

The view of the backyard this morning.

I did see the local Marine Runner running in da 'hood.  I asked him if his feet were soaked he said not yet as he ran by...hmm  my feet need wrung out after a short walk..how could his feet be dry?

After the walk I caught up on some tv and a nap.  There is something about snow day naps!  Afterwards I headed to Panera to enjoy some soup, since I had a dollar off of soup.  I may head to the gym later to hit the mill..but if not that is ok...it is a snow day after all!

Hope everyone enjoys the day!