Sham Rock On, and waiting impatiently has paid off

March 26, 2010 at 10:56 pm (Running, Travel)
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Two major things have happened this week. 

First, this past weekend was the Shamrock Marathon, half marathon, and 8k.  I chose to run the Dolphin Challenge, which was the 8k on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday.  I ran for Team McGraw, which is an organization that raises money for brain cancer research.  I did this in memory of my grandfather who died in June of 2008 from brain cancer. 

Weather on race weekend was nice.  Saturday was perfect, no wind at all, and I ran the entire race with Leonard.  We were careful to take it slow, since we had the half the next day.  Great race, then I rushed off to work, before collecting Jeffrey and heading out to Trent and Lynne’s to eat large quantities of pasta and spend the night. 

4:30am on Sunday arrived quickly.  It took two cars to get everyone out to the beach.  We found a parking spot within about 8 blocks of the start which was nice.  (Not so nice at the finish, when you wind up 20 blocks from the car.)  Sunday wasn’t as nice as Saturday, it was cooler and very windy.  We went to our assigned corral, which for some reason was the very last one.  Now, I’m slow, but I’m not that slow, and I know I didn’t put down more than 2:30 for my predicted finish time for the half.  Yet I started behind the 2:30 pace group, and with the walkers.  So for the first few miles, all I did was waste enormous amounts of energy weaving in and out of people who were running a much slower pace than I was.  This was very frustrating and I didn’t think I’d run a decent time at all. 

Between miles 3 and 4 it finally started to thin out a bit.  That calmed me down, but I still felt like I was behind where I should have been.  But it all worked out, I wound up taking 2 minutes and 38 seconds off my OBX time to give myself a new half marathon PR of 2:08:12.  (I can’t help but wonder what I could have run if I had been placed in a higher corral and trained properly?)  Hyojin also ran a PR, taking 5 minutes off her OBX time. 

I was happy with the time, and I felt pretty good afterwards.  I unfortunately did not quite make my Team McGraw goal of $1000.  I’ve got about $840 sent in already on my website, and I’ve gotten a few cash donations lately (which will bring my total up to $915.)  I can still send in donations, so I can still reach my goal, which I will of course work to do. 

I’m glad race weekend turned out so well, and I hope that the money I raised, while I know it isn’t much, is a help.

The other major thing to happen this week occurred on Monday.  I got home from work to find an envelope from the Goethe Institut in my mailbox.  I told myself it was just a rejection letter, but I ripped the envelope open to find an acceptance letter and all the forms I need to submit to the Institut for the trip!  So on June 25th I will head to D.C. for the night, and leave for Germany the following day.  I am of course ecstatic and am doubling my efforts to pick up the German language (or at least enough to get around) before my departure date.  I was going crazy waiting for this letter, I knew there was potentially another full week before I would hear anything, but I was crossing my fingers that it would arrive well before April 1st.

I’m also very excited because you have the option to extend your stay.  I originally wanted to visit Switzerland and see the Alps, but after talking with a friend who lives in Croatia, I’d like to go visit her for a few days before I fly home.  I’m waiting to hear from her about exact dates (she has a wedding to attend in mid-July, so I’ve got to get precise dates from her) and then I’ll send in my form for the extension and plan my trip from Munich to Zagreb. 

I think I’m even more excited about this trip than I was about Korea or Poland.  I guess because I’ve already started (well, made an effort to anyway) learn the language, and I plan to pick up a guide book and read up before I go, which is something I did not do the previous two trips.  I guess since I’ve gone on a couple of trips now, I have some idea of what I need to do to prepare myself beforehand, as well as some idea of what/how to pack.  (And if I can pack for 4 weeks in one suitcase, packing for 2 weeks in one should be no problem.)  And on this trip it looks like I’ll get to see an old friend, as well as her home country.  I know I’ll still be a bit nervous traveling by myself from Munich to Zagreb and back again.  (My return flight is paid for, but it’s out of the Munich airport, which is where we end our study tour.) 

I really have no information on the trip yet, other than we’re flying into Frankfurt and out of Munich.  I guess after the Institut receives our forms they’ll send some more info out to us. 

And of course now I only have to wait impatiently until the 25th of June.

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Team McGraw Update

January 24, 2010 at 9:13 pm (Running)
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Today is the final day of week 6 of training.  I’m scheduled to run 8 miles, which I will gladly do since it’s warmer today than it has been in awhile. 

I haven’t done well with my training the past two weeks.  I’ve had to stay late after school several times, or had to work at Running Etc., and plan for the charity poker tournament I had for Team McGraw last weekend.  I’ve missed quite a few workouts.  (The weather hasn’t helped.  Trent and I actually cancelled a run because it was cold and pouring rain, and that’s unlike us.) 

The poker tournament was a success however.  I only had 9 people show, but I raised about $250 for the charity, which puts me at $605 raised so far.  I’m still hoping to raise the full $1000, and I’ve got about eight more weeks to do so.  I had a good time at the tournament, I hope everyone else did as well. 

This week I hope to get back on schedule with my training.  I’m not very worried about missing those workouts, I know I’m in decent shape and I’ve still got 8 weeks of training to go.  But I hate to miss workouts and deviate from my schedule.  I plan on joining the gym this week as well, which will help with the days when we have nasty weather.  I’m also looking forward to being able to take classes.  I tried hip hop cardio with Sarah a couple of weeks ago and loved it.  Great workout.  I think the classes will motivate me when it comes to cross training.

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A PR during a near perfect weekend, and on to the next goal

November 18, 2009 at 2:34 am (Running, Travel)
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The OBX Half Marathon has come and gone.  It was a great weekend, I set a PR, although I did not quite make my goal of 2:10:00.  Actually, 3 people in our house set a PR, one of them by 20 minutes!

We headed down on Friday afternoon and hit the race expo which was pretty difficult to find and very tiny.  I did get a cool OBX race shirt and a couple more of those Bondi bands I like so much.  One even has skulls and crossbones on it, in honor of the pirate theme for the race.

After the expo we checked into the house, which was awesome!  3 floors, a doorway onto the deck in almost every room, and a nice view across the sound and coincidentally the huge bridge into Manteo at the end of the run. 

Saturday we did a couple of touristy things, like visiting the aquarium on Roanoke Island and Jockey’s Ridge.  I’m not sure Jockey’s Ridge was the greatest idea, I don’t know if we should have been climing enormous sand dunes the day before the race.  Aside from jumping up and down on the sand dune, and trying to be in sync with three other people for a picture, I took it easy and watched where I was going. 

The aquarium was nice, there were few people there so we could take our time.  In one of the shark/large fish tanks they had divers cleaning with little vacuums.  That was interesting to watch, the fish paid them no attention and it was funny to see someone vacuuming underwater. 

Saturday evening (with about 12 people in the house) we fixed a huge pasta dinner and carbo loaded like crazy.  After a round of Scattergories everyone headed to bed early since we had to be up at 4am and out of the house by 5:30.  The 6 of us running took the shuttle to the start, where we had to wait about 45 minutes until the gun.  It was chilly, but warmed up fast once we got going.

I wasn’t happy for the first half of the race, I felt like my pace fluctuated too much and I kept getting stuck behind people and did a lot of swerving.  I actually thought for a long time, until about mile 7 or 8, that I wouldn’t be anywhere near my goal.  I was hoping to run 9:45 minute miles, but it just wasn’t happening.  Somewhere between mile 6 and 7 I fell in pace with an older guy and I stuck with him for most of the second half of the race.  He got me over the bridge, which is what I was dreading.  It looks very intimidating when you’re running towards it, and feels like it’s never going to end when you’re running over it.  We did of course slow down quite a bit over the bridge, but we ran every step of the way. 

The bridge took a lot out of me so I took my last gel a mile earlier than I had originally planned, but that was ok.  After the bridge we turned towards Manteo and were in the home stretch.  I picked it up as much as I could, because at this point I knew if I missed my goal it wouldn’t be by much.  And it wasn’t, my chip time was a 2:10:50.  Not quite what I was hoping for, but a PR nonetheless. 

And now I’m already looking towards my next goal, which is the Shamrock Dolphin Challenge.  The Dolphin Challenge is an 8k race on Saturday followed by a half marathon on Sunday.  While yes, I would like to hit that 2:10 at Shamrock, my main goal is to raise $1000 for Team McGraw, an organization that raises money for brain cancer research.  My grandfather died last year from brain cancer, and I’m running in his memory.  While I’m sure the time goal will float around in the back of my head, what I really want is to raise the $1000 (or more!) in honor of my grandfather.  If I can do that, my race will be a success, no matter what my time.

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That feeling

October 1, 2009 at 1:45 am (Running, Travel)
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I made it through Rock n Roll, and very well I think.  I ran a 2:30:49, I said I wanted to run a 2:30.  I took it slow, had fun, and felt great afterwards.  (This was the first Rock n Roll where I didn’t throw up before or after the race.)  We had great weather, not too humid, and it was overall a very pleasant race. 

Leonard and me after Rock n Roll

OBX is rapidly approaching, I think training wise I’m in week 9 of 14.  I’m looking forward to it and hope the weather is nice.  I’ve set a time goal for myself, I’d like to run a 2:10, which would take 2 minutes and 47 seconds off my best half time.  We’ll see, there’s the big bridge at the end heading into Manteo to contend with.  I’ve got to do some more speedwork. 

Working at Running Etc. is going ok.  I’m allowed to answer the phones now.  Eventually I’ll be trained in shoes.

I’ve been working on my unit plan for Poland.  It’s nearing completion, I’ve gotten 3 of 5 lesson plans (and supplemental materials for each of those plans) completed.  The other two I have outlined and almost complete, then I’ll just have to do the materials to go along with them.

So thinking about Poland and traveling (and listening to “The World at Large”) has given me that “I’m ready to go somewhere” feeling.  I’ve already looked into study abroad seminars for next year and have decided to apply for a two week seminar to Germany.  Based on some blogs I’ve read from past participants, it looks as though you can extend your stay to travel after the trip is over.  If I can work that out, I’d like to stay a few extra days and visit Switzerland.  I think I’d like to see the Alps.  I’ve got to work on my application, which is not due until February 15th, so I’ve got some time.  But that’s the plan (right now) to get me out of the country next summer for a couple of weeks and see a new place!

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Rock n Roll

September 4, 2009 at 1:54 am (Running)
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A couple of weeks ago I signed up to run the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in VA Beach.  I’m even partially sponsored, a friend of mine paid half my registration fee if I’d run it.  He said I didn’t even have to run with him, he just wanted some more people he knew out there.  (I’ll stick with him, unless he decides to speed up.)

I haven’t properly trained for this race, not like I normally would, which is a little nerve wracking.  I did do two 8 mile and one 10 mile long run and made it through those with no problem, so hopefully I’ll be ok.  (Well, I did fall down during the 10 miler, but that’s because I turned around to ask Leonard if he was doing ok.  Big mistake.)  The biggest concern is that I have never tried the sports drink they’ll be offering along the course.  They’re using Cytomax, not Gatorade or Powerade which I’m used to.  So I decided to try out the energy gels.  (I also needed to start trying them because I started working part time at Running Etc. and I need to be able to offer advice to customers.)  I tried the Strawberry Kiwi and it went ok, so I’m going to go with water and the gels and hope I make it through. 

I’m also a little concerned since I participated in the Wellness Walk at work today.  The winner (whoever walked the most laps) will receive a $100 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods.  I decided I’d like to go for it.  So I got to Wilson and started walking as soon as they let us, which was around 8:20am, and didn’t stop until it was over at 12:05 or so.  I walked 141 laps around the Humanities wing.  I wasn’t allowed to run, no one was, although some people did.  But I think I may have finished ahead of them, I haven’t received official word yet.  I hope I won, I spent a long time walking, and I could definitely use some new running clothes. 

My legs are really tired now, and the lower part of my left leg, right above my foot, is very tight.  I’m trying to massage and stretch it out.  Hopefully my legs will loosen up and be ok by Sunday.  I’m taking tomorrow and Sunday to rest (although I’ll be on my feet quite a bit at work.)  We’ll see how it goes, I’m planning to do RnR just for fun, and I’ll shoot for a time goal at OBX.

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My books, Mud, OBX, and the Holocaust

August 12, 2009 at 9:05 pm (Running, Work)
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After the ASYMCA Mud Run at Little CreekThis past Saturday I did the ASYMCA Mud Run at Little Creek Amphib base with Jeff and 3 friends from HRR.  (HRR is the Hampton Roads Runners, a running group to which I belong and am an assistant organizer for.)  We were “Team Clean Freaks.”  It was an awesome race and I’m glad we had a team together.  (Last time I did this individually, it was so much nicer knowing I had teammates who were suffering as much as I was.)  The weather was perfect, not too hot, and some cloud cover which really helped.  First mile was entirely on soft sand with some berms.  To me a berm is a method of torture, to other people I guess it’s just a hill.  A lot of the race was on soft sand, there were a few spots here and there on trail or pavement which was nice and where I felt like I knew how to run.  I do not feel like I know how to run when on sand. 

There are mud pits and obstacles.  The obstacle that worries me most was the 5 foot wall, since I don’t work my arms at all and must have the weakest arms in the world.  (Don’t worry, I’ve decided to work on them during cross training for the OBX Half.)  I figured one of the guys on the team would have to boost me over.  The two I was with however, leapt over it before me and I was left on my own.  I managed just fine, and got myself over.  Big accomplishment. 

An hour and 22 minutes later we collected everyone on our team and crossed the finish line.  Several pieces of pizza and a wade in the bay, and we headed home.  Good start to Saturday!

My package containing all my books and papers from Poland arrived yesterday.  I was pleased to see everything intact.  I took everything on the Holocaust to work with me, since I know for sure that I’ll do a lesson plan on the Holocaust.  It’s hard to decide what to focus on though, so I emailed Shelby for help and she called me!  It was nice to hear from her, and a big surprise.  She had a few good ideas, we brainstormed a little, and once I get my lesson finished I’ll share it with her.  There’s just a lot of information to get across to the students, and I don’t want to just focus on the horrors of the Holocaust and the camps because I don’t want to finish the lesson and have a room full of kids who have decided they don’t like the Germans.  Hopefully what I come up with will give them a good understanding  of what went on. 

And lastly, I guess since I’m an assistang organizer for HRR, that makes me the automatic organizer whenever the people I usually run with decide to do anything as a group.  Several of us are running the OBX Half Marathon in November and thought it would be nice to rent a place in Manteo together.  I’ve been working on this for about a week now and have finally received the lease and am hopefully close to getting the thing booked.  But then I may have another immediate project (besides remembering to get the balance of what we owe in on time) and that is another Mud Run in Roanoke in September.  This is a better Mud Run than the one we just did, because when you finish you are actually covered from head to toe in mud.  It’s a long drive for a short race, but we’ll see.  There are people interested and I would really like to do it, but first I’ve got to finish booking the house in Manteo.

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Computers and Costumes

August 3, 2009 at 12:50 am (Running)
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My computer is finally fixed!  I took it to work for the tech people to look at it (since it is a school laptop) and I had some spyware.  They reimaged it, which meant that I had to take all my pictures off the computer or else I’d lose them.  So I backed them up, and I need to get them put back on the laptop so I can post more pictures from Poland. 

It took a few days adjusting to being back home.  I was tired for about a week.  I do miss the 17 or so hours of daylight in Poland, that was nice. 

I haven’t done very well getting back into a regular running routine, but that will change tomorrow, since I begin training for the OBX Half Marathon.  I’m looking forward to it, both the race and the training.  I do so much better when I have a training schedule to follow.  There are also quite a few people from my running group doing this race, which makes it more fun.

I’ve also signed up for the Blue Moon Wicked 10k, which will be held on Halloween.  This will actually be my last long run before the half marathon.  It’s a little longer than my scheduled long run (which is 5 miles) but I’ll take it easy, it sounded too fun to pass up.  This however, poses the question of costume.  What costume will I wear for the race?  I’ve started looking around online, and found a couple I like.  (One is Marily Monroe in her white dress, though I think the wig might fall off, and the other is a pregnant nun, which I just think is funny.)  A couple friends also plan to run this race, so we may get together and figure out something that goes together.  But whatever it is will have to be somewhat comfortable because I don’t want to regret my costume for the entire 6.2 miles.  Suggestions?

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