Shamrock 1/2 Marathon

Okay well, I am back from the Shamrock 1/2 marathon in Virginia Beach. I have to say they put on a good race and it was perfect running weather. A little chilly (weather channel said 30) but not too bad. Better than 90 and humid.

I don't have any real pictures to show you right now, as I took a disposable camera instead of my digital one. I had this idea I'd take it with me while running, but I nixed the idea.

I did just what I wanted until mile 10 when my leg started to cramp up a bit, so then I walked until I could see the finish line. But all in all it was decent and I was only 2 minutes slower than the race I did at Disney when I was 24. Not too shabby, FOR ME, although I wish I had run more. There is always another race, and I realize that perhaps a race this close to winter is not so good for me. Maybe May or October is better suited, as some days I missed out on training due to weather. I know some people can run on the treadmill, but I always get either 1) shinsplints or 2) back pain when I run on a treadmill. Plus, let's admit it - I have been a little depressed since Harland left and put on 10 pounds. Not too cool.

Anyway my time was slooooow. I'll admit it though, just because if I know you, you'll go look it up anyway. I think only like 250 people were left behind me. Haha. Oh well. I wasn't in it to win it, that was for sure. My time was 3:18... which is close to my 3:16 in Disney. I hope to work on my running this year a bit. Maybe I'll try a more local run in the fall.

Anyway, it was a good race. They have a lot of people cheering, the waterstop people really cheer well, and they have a lot of waterstops. They also have some DJs out there playing music, one band live, and some signs with Virginia trivia and funny slogans (an example I can remember: "I used to have nothing and I still have most of it").

The race ends with Yuengling beer and Irish stew (I only partook in the beer and only one cup, I don't know how people drank all 4 of their ticket's worth of beer... it would have made me sick).

The race is Virginia's first "Green race". The race book is a calendar, the bag that the t-shirts came in is one of those mini back packs. I don't really know how to explain what that is, so here is a link to one for sale.
The bag the food came in at the end was a lunch bag cooler thing. We also got a lot of gear - a technical tee (I got a large, I should have gotten a medium, d'oh), a sports hat (that says finisher on it, it's pretty cool because it is very lightweight with mesh and it fits my head which is hard for adult hats because I have a tiny head) and a plastic cup.

Also you get a medal too. Here is all the loot. I'll post more pictures later in the week.

Race Update

I posted my race info below (if you haven't gotten there yet) and click here for the article from the Washington Running Report.

I forgot to tell you that we had a new type of time measuring device. Rather than those heavy chips that you have to return, they have a new ChronoTrack(click here for image) which is a light paper loop, kinda like a hospital bracelet. It starts off as a paper strip on your bib, you peel it off and put it in your shoe laces. It makes a "D" shape with the round loop facing up. There is a small chip in it, but you can't feel the weight of it on your shoe at all, and it doesn't flop around.

I hope more races go to this kind of system. It's worry-free! You don't have to worry about taking it off your shoe and remembering to return it to the bin, or worrying about what if yours gets lost somehow because you'll have to pay to replace it.

Navy Federal Credit Union 5K

Well we ran the 5K this AM! It was chilly! 53 degrees at 9am at the start! Yikes - Hello Fall, you're a few days early!!

We both beat our goals by a few mere seconds... but that is what matters, right?!

Harland's goal was to be 19 minutes and he did! Harland came in 2nd in his age group (actually he tied for 1st time-wise, I'm not sure what they use the tie breaker, I'm assuming it went alphabetical by last name since the other dude's last name was Bui and if you look at the official list Bui came in 7th overall and Harland came in 5th overall...) But who really wants a trophy to collect dust anyway? Harland is happy with his 18:46 chip time and a $25 gift certificate to Famous Dave's BBQ. We haven't been there, so it will be a nice evening out one night. He's also listed as one of the Men's leaders on the main page! Click here to see how wonderful he did!! Really, I'm gushing, I'm so proud of my dear hubby!!!

And in less speedy news, I beat my old running times. Here is the link if you forgot about them. I beat my time of 40 minutes - which I admit doesn't seem like much to the average person who runs a 10 minute mile. I had a side stitch at mile 2 and had to walk a few minutes, so I really think I could do better. (I usually don't eat before I run but I talked myself into eating a half a banana an hour before the race, I guess I'll have to work on that). I made it at 39:43 chip time. Which is 24 seconds faster than my older official time! I still have it in my head my fastest time was 36:35, but that could have been an unofficial course and actually shorter than a real 5K. A girl needs goals in her life so that is the time to beat in my next 5K.

The race itself was pretty good - they say there were over 500 runners/walkers. Running strollers are allowed and kids are also allowed so it is a great family race. There is also a lot of random drawings for fun items (I won some coffee) and they had granola bars, bagels, bananas, gatorade, donuts and bread for snacks afterward. The t-shirt is yellow and very pretty (and way too big, I got a Large and H. got a medium and they're both huge on us. I figured I might need a large as runners are kinda small, but I tell you this looks like an XL. I think I may end up snagging his medium, hee hee). There were also prizes for people whose 1st race it was, and prizes for kids. So it was pretty fun for a local race!! Come visit me next Sept. and we'll run it.

The only sad part might be that H. didn't see me finish! Oh well. I did a little sprint at the end and passed like 10 people - haha!

So that was the race. I hope to schedule another one!

Running Update

Okay - less than two weeks til my 5K!!!

But bigger news is that my friend, Waverly, from work and I have signed up for a half marathon in March!!

March 22 is the big day.

If anyone wants to join us... click on the link!
Shamrock Half-Marathon

A big plus - my favorite beer is being served afterward! (The Irish Stew is maybe less exciting to me).

Running in the Rain

Well, Maybe that is overstating it a little bit. We had a thunderstorm come through at 5 or 6am and since then it has been raining on and off. When I first went to go running, it was pouring, so I sat on the couch for a half hour reading the latest National Geographic magazine before trying again.

The 2nd time was much more successful... it only rained for about 5 minutes on me in the middle of the run.

And I ran all 20 minutes, I am impressed. I thought it would be harder to do but I really have to say the "couch to 5-k" program is solid. I think really the hardest was a while ago when I moved from 3 minutes to 5 minutes running. Since then, everything has been running smoothly (pun not intended, but funny anyway).

Well it is official, our names are up on the register for the Navy Federal Credit Union 5-k. You can see them here. It doesn't seem like that many people are signed up yet, but I am sure that will change soon - I mean it is still more than a month away. There are a lot of people in my age bracket, which is interesting. Maybe the 30-40yr old female crowd plans way ahead.

Speaking of planning ahead, a co-worker has been talking of a half marathon in late winter/early spring. It's intriguing me. I might as well do one, since I'll have plenty of down time when H is away.

After all...

"Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired." - Jules Renard

Take a walk with me

The other morning it was so beautiful out (there was a crazy storm the night before) that I decided to take a walk after my run to take some pictures. Somehow I even made it to work on time even though I had to grab some breakfast on the way (CVS has shredded wheat!).

Anyway - first of all here it the lake that I jog around. It was chilly that morning after a long heat wave, so the lake was steaming. It looked better when I was running around it, a lot steamier, but when I went to take a picture the sun had come up and was burning off the fog.

I also saw this tree with the sun behind it and thought it was very pretty.


Unfortunately, a different tree, my favorite tree in the neighborhood did not make it through the stroms the other night unscathed. :(
I love this tree, it is HUGE. And in the fall it turns red, and in the spring it has flowers. It is so pretty.Here is the branch that broke off. It was 7 car spaces long. You can see others like it in the background here.

Luckily this branch is small compared to the tree so It should be fine.

And then here are some black-eyed Susan's that looked lovely in the sun.

And this is a rainbow from the other week, it is pretty faint, hope you can see it.

Other than that - not much is new. I strained a muscle in my leg the other day but it hurts less today. Oh oh! And I got my running skirt, I haven't tried it out but it looks cute when I tried it on. I hope it solves the "creep up" factor so I don't feel like I have to adjust my running attire all the time.

Monday Monday

Sigh. My weekends are never long enough. Are yours?

Anyway, Susan finally got her birthday package, so I can tell you what I made. I forgot to take more pictures of it once it was done, but here it is in the middle of the process:


I made her a little pencil case. I think she likes it like a mom likes a macaroni necklace. 99% the thought and 1% the item? Anyway that is me just assuming that is why she said she likes it. It's rather uneven and the red lining I put in is made with very uneven hand stitches. But that is okay. It'll hold some pens and pencils. :)

Other than that I have been keeping up with my running - although the difference between this weekend's run and last weekends was HUGE. Last weekend it was in the low to mid 80's with a nice breeze and low humidity. This weekend it was in the high 80's with high humidity and it was incredibly still. I could tell I felt a lot less peppy this past weekend.

Anyway I'm in the midst of week #4 out of 9 for training.

Then I think I have 2 or 3 weeks before i runt he 5-k, so that is good. A little room to maybe get a little faster and get used to the length.

Well that is all I have for right now - pretty boring this summer, mostly work! Oh and we saw Batman and we both loved it, It lives up to the hype!

Ye Olde Running Tymes

Ahhh,
So I decided to use the power of the web (very very few things are erased) to look up my old running times. It was so nice to see my old name. Miss you!

Anyway, I wanted to get my old times to have something to shoot for.
31 year old Jessica would like to kick 22 thru 24 year old Jessica's butt.
Maybe I'm getting more competitive in my old(er) age.

Here they are, at least the ones I can find. I am *almost 100% sure* that my fastest one was 36:35. Of course that is one of the races I can't seem to find online. But I guess this makes it that much easier to beat my old times, right?!

June 25, 2000
Run thru Hell 5-K
40:19

November 22. 2001
Manchester Road Race (4.748 miles)
72:16

January 6, 2002
Disney World Half Marathon (13.1 miles)
Official Time: 3:25:35
Chip Time: 3:16:21

February 10, 2002
Bank of America Gasparilla Distance Classic 5-k
Clock Time: 42:55
Chip Time: 40:07

I don't think it will actually be that hard to keep up with my old self. I guess we'll see how it goes. So far I am doing well keeping up with the training. I found a few fun websites for running.

One is the program I'm doing called the Couch to 5-k. They have some articles, the program and even some podcasts set to music to tell you when to run and when to walk. I'm currently on week 3.

Another website is Google Map's Pedometer which you can map out your run and it tells you how long your route its. Fun!

2 posts in One!

Well I have two posts to talk about today, one is about my "2nd birthday" and the second is about running. Sorry, I don't have any major knitting news this week!

1. 2nd birthday...
My birthday was really 2 weeks ago, but we didn't do much since it was on a Monday, and we both had to work. (I'm trying to save up my vaca time for before H. leaves).

I had a nice Monday birthday, H. cooked dinner and bought me flowers (the Wii is my actual birthday gifty even though we got in in May). I got a few cards and gifts in the mail including a cool new fountain pen from my inlaws. (you can see it here). I love fountain pens, but one of mine the cap doesn't stay on and all the others are just cheaper plastic ones. This one feels nice in the hand, has a screw on cap and writes beautifully. Now I need a couple of new pen pals to write to. :)

So that was the actual birthday - then yesterday we celebrated by going out to eat. We went to a really nice Italian Restaurant - Primi Piatti. Way more expensive than our normal going out to eat budget. Then afterward we realized we hadn't gone to a really nice place in a long time! Since we're always trying to save money we don't splurge very often. Like in years! Ha! One even funner thing is I received two birthday cards yesterday too - from Susan and from my Aunt Patty - so it really was like a 2nd birthday!! Who could ask for anything more than being celebrated for two days.

2. Running...
I have been keeping up the schedule - jog/walking every other day. In fact I even went this morning. it was a really nice morning to go to Burke Lake Park. It was in the mid 80's in the sun but cooler in the shade. I ran a total of 18 minutes today! (run 2 min walk 2.5 min). It was nice running on the dirt/gravel path instead of sidewalk and asphalt around here. I had a blister on my foot (actually a HUGE one) from my heels I wore yesterday. I don't understand how I used to wear those things all the time, I guess I had tougher feet back then. But MoleSkin saved my run. I highly reccomend it to any hikers or runners out there. I haven't developed any bad blisters while hiking before so I never used the piece that we carry with us. Of course, one evening in high heels and look at me.

As Harland says, "What price for beauty!!".

I am worked OUT!

Well since Kristina swears that reading workout blogging isn't terrible, I thought I'd update you guys! Still going strong - yesterday I just did an easy bike while reading exercise, and today I re went after my running, running it up a notch to running my minutes as a 10 minute mile pace. So I think I'll hang out doing the same regimen for a total of two weeks before adding more running time as this is a pretty hard workout for me. My legs are a little sore. Not too badly though.

By the way, if you are like me and like to keep a log of your exercise... but you lose notebooks, or forget to write in them at home and then remember at work and then forget when you get home again - and wish there was a more portable way... I found that the new runner's world training log is pretty cool. You can put your time, your mileage, the weather conditions, where you ran, etc. all in one area. It also has other activities besides running so if you crosstrain like me (probably not lazily reading like me while doing it tho) then you can enter in that too. It's free. Here is the link. And they have a free demo so you can try it all out before you decide if you want to sign up. In general their website is pretty fun and has lots of fun stuff to look at.

If you are in the DC area (or if you are coming to see me) and want to find a race or find a group to run with or something like that, check out this website, the Washington Running Report.
If you look under calendars, they list all the races in PA, VA, and MD.

If you are running somewhere else you can check out the Running Network webpage and see what is near you! I know there is a New England one too.

Coincidently, I also picked up my knitting again. I had a 2 month hiatus. I don't know why, since I love love love knitting... but maybe i just needed a break. So that is cool too. I have about an inch of a sweater done. This is a regular worsted weight sweater, and I have to say the thicker/quicker yarn is much more satisfying when you look to see what your daily progress is!

I'll post pictures tomorrow. Maybe I'll be up to 2 inches by then. hahaha.

Rev it up a notch!

I sure hope that isn't a trademarked slogan or anything.

Anyway, as you all know - I'm trying to get back into running condition this year. It is the year of the Rat, and er, um, Runner! So since January I have been getting back into the habit of getting up at six, putting on what seems like 5 gazillion layers, walking to the gym in our complex and exercising. (which if you know me and waking up, this part is probably more than half my challenge)

Not very challenging exercising, though, I admit. Sure there were some days where I threw myself on the elliptical and was at its "cross country" mercy... but most days I was lazier and did the "hill" setting on the exercise bike (while reading a magazine, people leave the best magazines there). Hahaha. Whoops.

Anyway, I declared today the day to start getting serious so that by the time it is nice enough to wear 2 or less layers outside, I'll be ready to do some running. I've decided to buck the system a little. All the training programs have you exercising a half hour, which is good (I assume they do this since most people are training for a 5-k and if you run a 10 minute mile then you're there in a half hour) but when I am trying to start out it seems too long and I usually end up straining a muscle too much and then I quit. At least that seems to be the way it has been the last few times.

But suppose, just for a second, I cut it down to 20 minutes. Maybe this will be better, plus on running days I can lift weights. So that is my new system. We'll see how it goes. I'll keep you posted. But not too posted. then you would get bored and my few loyal readers would wander away and I'd be writing to myself.

Burke Lake Park

We went to Burke Lake this morning. Click here for their website.

It is a nice little park with a huge man made lake. It looks a lot prettier in person than the picture on their website. It has a dirt/gravel path all the way around the lake which is about 5 miles or so. You can bike, run, canoe, kayak, etc. there. There is a playground for kids, and volleyball courts too. Also there is a little fitness trail and a nature trail. It's free for Fairfax County residents.

Almost the whole 5 mile path is in shade. Burke Lake Park is one of the 10 best fitness trails in the nation, According the Hiking Assoc. of America. It was really a nice morning, not too hot outside. There were a lot of a runner there along the path. Harland and I just walked.

I highly recommend it and I bet we'll go again soon.

new program

Well it was warm for about a day... and now it is quite chilly outside again. I am trying to start running again. I'm working on this schedule over here (if you are interested). It's a 10-wk program to get back into running. Of course I'm not even running, it's more of a slow shuffle. :)

Anyway - I am trying to get into better shape and lose some weight. I've weighed more in the last year than ever before, and while I have made a little progress it isn't much. Losing weight is hard work. So I thought if I told all of you (all three of you who read this) that I was trying to do that, maybe I would feel more guilty if I didn't stick to the schedule.
:)

So this week is Run 2 minutes, walk 4, repeat 5Xs on Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat.
And Monday is done. 3 more to go!!

I'll give you updates as it goes. More for me than for you, dear reader, I am sure.