A week of fabulousness

The past week was full of complete awesomeness.

It started off with the Bruno Mars concert. He was A-MAZ-ING. (Yes, it deserves all caps, and yes, it deserves hyphenation.) I can’t remember having as much fun at a concert before. We drank, danced, sang and screamed through the entire show. He is so worth seeing in concert, and I’ll go again the next time he’s back in town (I may have looked at his remaining tour dates and thought about the feasibility of following him the rest of the way, ahem.) 

We were excited (OK, I was super-duper excited)
about Bruno (and sangria). 

My favorite fedora-wearing guy: Bruno. (Both photos are courtesy
of Caroline because I was too excited and all of my photos
are blurry.)

After this glorious event, I hopped on a plane to Kansas (with my voice returning somewhat) and attended another glorious event, a Kansas State football game. Well, it really wasn't that glorious because they lost and it was over 100 degrees that day, but it was still good to have my favorite purple school playing football again and hanging with some of my favorite purple peeps.

Spending the long, holiday weekend in Kansas allowed for time with friends and family, sand volleyball … and no running. Oops. I wish I was a morning person who could knock it out before everyone woke up, but I’m just not. I keep trying to be, and I keep failing.

But, in other running news, I did sign up for a 5K this month. It is appropriately titled the "HOT Run.” At this point, every 5K I run I have the goal to do it in under 30 minutes (fastest official time: 30:09). I really don’t have a lot of running confidence at all right now (especially with the ridiculous heat and humidity), but I’ll give it a shot.

I almost cried when I read this news: the 2014 St. Pete Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon is cancelled. This is one of my favorite events. I was registered for the third year in a row, and it makes me incredibly sad that this fun race is not coming to our area. So I have some work to do to rearrange my race schedule and find another half marathon that is just as fun.

How was your Labor Day weekend? What is your favorite concert? Ever have a race you were excited about cancelled? 

Brat Trot 5K, Topeka, Kansas, May 25, 2013: race recap

I signed up for this race on a whim (and with the hopes of a sweet T-shirt). 

I was headed to visit family in Kansas over Memorial Day weekend, and I thought I'd throw a race in there, too. 

After arriving in Kansas City on Friday evening (and eating the most delicious barbecue in the world), I didn't make it to my dad's house and in bed until around midnight. The race was Saturday morning, but it wasn't until 9:30 a.m. I thought this was a great thing for a morning hater like me. I still got a decent night's sleep. (But, I broke many of my destination race rules.)

We arrived at the race around 9 a.m. and set up camp.

My smart spectators with chairs, drinks and snacks

 

It was a small, neighborhood race with 158 people running the 5K. They also had a fun run. It started and ended at a church. 
 

Funny. I stand out in purple, while those in
neon yellow blend in.

Side note: I need to wear something different to a race. I look the
same at every race (unless in costume).

The course wound through the neighborhood surrounding the church, and I was completely lost. I never had any idea what direction I was running or where I was in relation to the start/finish line. All of the houses (and barking dogs in front yards) looked the same. 

This was a hard 5K for me ... almost the entire way. Right from the start, I felt that it was pretty difficult. Mainly because of the thing I thought was a wonderful thing at first ... the late start time. Although the temperature wasn't too terribly hot, the sun was blazing and made it feel toasty. My vampire self doesn't do the sun. 

This was the first 5K I've ever walked in. Even my very first race, I ran the entire way. Even with things got difficult in other races, I kept running. In this race, I walked through the water stop (at mile 1.5) for an extended period and then did one additional walk break after that. 

I started to get irritated and feel a little down on myself. How could I run 13.1 miles a little more than one month ago and now I can't even run 3.1 miles?

But, I pulled it together toward the end and even had a nice sprint to the finish. 

My official time: 32:54, which is my second-fastest 5K. Maybe it was difficult because I was pushing myself? Let's say that.

The post-race food? Brats, of course.

I also took advantage of a post-race massage (I never do this at big races because of the long waits, but I was able to walk right up here). 

This was a really fun, small, local race. Everyone was so friendly, and I'm looking forward to doing this race again next year. 

Oh, and the sweet shirt I was hoping for? I got it.

Do you like small, local races? Have you ever walked in a 5K? Are you a morning person? Have you ever ran a race with a 9:30 a.m. start?

Just another random Tuesday

I have lots of random thoughts. What's new, right? Well, the thoughts are new.

• For the first time ever, I ran 400-meter repeats (nine of them)! I didn’t even know what they were before tonight. I heard people mention them, but it was a foreign concept to me. But, I love them. Love them. This was my best running performance in a long time. Yay! 
• When I was in Kansas, a group of us (me, boyfriend, brother, sister-in-law, sister-in-law’s sister and sister-in-law’s sister’s friend) went to see “Lawless.” Lately, I’m completely clueless when it comes to new movies so I’d never even heard of it. But, I’m so glad my brother and sister-in-law had and took us to go see it. I loved this movie. And, I’ve determined that I really like Shia LaBeouf (who my brother calls “The Beef,” and now I do too). I was kind of embarrassed about it at first, but I figured this should not be embarrassing to a girl who loves Justin Bieber, boy bands and Jessica Simpson. So, I love The Beef. 

Source

• Funny thing: the movie is about bootlegging brothers in Prohibition-era Virginia. When I went to my brother and sister-in-law’s house for dinner (a few days before the movie), my brother asked me if I wanted to try some apple pie moonshine. I was worried he put in a still in the backyard or I could go blind from drinking it, but thankfully, that was not the case. He just cooked apple cider, apple juice and brown sugar, and then added vanilla vodka and Everclear (yes, really). It was awesome … and it was in a mason jar. My brother also made some pickle vodka and bacon vodka … both in mason jars (and both delicious – especially the pickle vodka). My boyfriend mentioned the movie was just like going to their house for dinner. 
• Last week I was pumped to watch the MTV Video Music Awards. After the fact, I’m not sure why. Maybe I’m getting old, but I just didn’t really like any of the performances. My favorite was probably One Direction (hello, boy band). I used to be a big rap and hip-hop fan, and I’m just not impressed anymore. I only get excited about one rap song coming on the radio these days (and it has more to do with it being Desmond Jennings’ (my favorite Rays player) walk-up music. I found it extremely irritating before. 

It's your fault that I like this.

 

• But, rap I do like: Snoop Dogg (or Snoop Lion now?). He’s coming to Tampa in October. I want to go. Problem 1: he’s coming to a music festival-type thing with many artists; I only want to see him. Problem 2: I’m not sure if I know anyone that will go with me. Problem 3: concerts are expensive. But, if I resolved the first two problems, I’d probably pay the high ticket price. I mean, I’ve liked this guy since high school (a long time), and “Doggystyle” was the first rap CD I owned (Shh! My parents didn’t know).

This week in running: week 3

I knew that week 3 of half marathon training would be a challenge because I'd be traveling (for two of the three runs). I'm not great about running while traveling. Plus I really like my training group, so missing two days with them didn't sound all that fabulous (but a vacation did).

Tuesday

This run started off great. My running buddy and I were moving along at a great pace, and things felt right ... except for the fact that we felt like something was about to go wrong. We were right.

The wind that pushed us along in the first half of our run fought against us during the second half. This wind was the remnants of Hurricane Isaac, so it was rather beastly. And rude. Stupid wind kept pushing us off the path.

The water is pretty, but it added to the wind problem.

All of the fighting against the wind caused a few walk breaks, but really, I'm still pretty happy with the run considering the conditions. We finished in 1:02.  

Distance: 5 miles

Thursday  

This run is brought to you by the great state of Texas. My boyfriend is doing contract work in Ft. Worth, so I went to visit for a few days before we both headed to Kansas to visit family. 

He was working all day Thursday, so I had the day to myself and could decide when I wanted to run. I decided to sleep most of the morning away, so morning was out (as was running outside ... it's toasty in Texas). 

I hit up the treadmill for an early afternoon run, and it was extremely miserable. I'm not sure what was up, but I felt horrible (and nauseous when I was done). All I can say is that I did it; I ran for the 45 minutes on the schedule. That's the only positive.

Distance: 3.6 miles

Sunday

This was going to be my triumphant run in the third state this week. Notice: going to be. Sadly, it didn't happen.

Due to allergies (and asthma) and family activities, I did not run on Sunday. We had a jam-packed family day, and I wouldn't have traded any of it for running (as much as I love running).

I flew back to Florida on Monday, and I thought I'd run on Monday night. No dice. I was exhausted (and still wheezing from allergies). 

Distance: 0 miles (should be 5 miles)

I need help. Do I make up the run at this point? Or do I just skip it? If I have time on Friday, should I squeeze in some extra miles? Do you make up missed runs? I'm usually good about it, but I feel like I let this one go too long.

Car dancing at its finest

A holiday weekend on the horizon, and I can't stay focused this week. I'll use that as my excuse for being random, but we all know I'm like this all the time.

• Perhaps I love this video because it contains two of my favorite things: sugary pop goodness and a baseball team. Perhaps it's because car dancing is a specialty of mine. Perhaps it’s because they keep straight faces. I cannot. Whatever the reasons, I find this hilarious.

• Our firm gives us four-day weekends for Memorial Day and Labor Day, and I love it. I'm making a trip to Kansas and not taking one vacation day. I hoard vacation days, so this fits right into my plans.
• My dad is great about making sure I get my running in while I am visiting. He is planning to ride his bike behind me as I run, but he promised to fix the kickstand.

After a hilly Kansas run. Yes, it's hilly.

• I've finally welcomed 2007 by getting a Kindle. Then I regressed and welcomed 2005 by reading the Twilight books. Look out '90s, you're next!

Running (and other randomness)

Since Florida feels like the surface of the sun (but more humid) from now until at least September, my race schedule drops off dramatically. As in basically nothing except one (maybe two) 5Ks until November. 

Surface of the sun (but more humid): craptastic
gym and outdoors (May-September)

 So, I decided to start dreaming about next race season ... just about six months in advance. 

And, I think I want to do a local halfathon challenge that involves four half marathons: October (Halloween race, and I think I require a costume), December, January and March, in addition to the Women's Half Marathon in November and Rock 'n' Roll in February. Six in six months. That's doable, right?

I keep hesitating because one race involves big, scary bridges. There's no way I'd sign up for the race on its own, but as part of a package deal, I'd have to do it. And challenge myself. I need that. 

Now for other randomness: 

• Jessica Simpson had her baby today! I shrieked a little when I heard it. I'm that excited. What I'm not excited about is that little Miss Maxwell Drew Johnson missed my birth month by a day. One day! I kind of love her name (and her mom), so I'll forgive her.

Maxwell's mom at the best concert ever

• I didn't try almond butter for the longest time because of it's pricey status. Um, $11 per jar? Is this normal? Do others actually pay this price? I found it on sale for $4.99 and could handle that. Problem is I now love it, but I refuse to pay double-digits for some nut butter. 
• I'm looking forward to a May trip to spend time with these crazy peeps.

Hmm. Maybe I'm the crazy one.

Wacky Wednesday

• Due to unexpected (but not unwelcome) guests, this past weekend and week are craziness. Add to that some madness at work, and we've got ourselves a party.
• Chloe loves having guests. As long as she's not left alone, she's a happy dog.

Please just don't leave me here by myself.

• Every day that Jessica Simpson doesn't have her baby is a day closer to my birthday! As mentioned previously: yes, I'm pathetic.
• College basketball ended on an awesome note. No, I'm not a Kentucky fan. I'm an anti-Kansas fan. I rooted against my school's rival the entire tournament. Finally, in the championship game, they lost. Good. I hope it's more painful that way.
  
• Baseball season is here, thank goodness! 

I heart summer and baseball (and my pine tar T-shirt).

Day 41 (Nov. 10)

On the training plan for today: 5K time trial. Being a super-slow runner, I wasn't terribly excited about this. But, since I'm in Kansas visiting family, friends and a Kansas State football game, I could run it on my own and suffer any humiliation internally and non-publicly.

My dad took me to a trail that I tried out the last time I was here and found to be fairly non-hilly for a Kansas trail. Yeah, everyone seems to think Kansas is flat. They are wrong.

My dad decided to ride his bike from the 1970s with me as I ran. He let me get a head start, and I started off fast (for me). Things were quiet and cool, and I felt really good (I think my mega stretching after the painful Tuesday run did wonders). After awhile, I heard a rattling behind me that I knew had to be my dad's rickety 1970s bike. It was kind of nice having him behind me – not because of the noise, but because it was a push to keep going.

I turned around when my Garmin got to 1.5 miles. I got to a good turnaround point, and I figured I'd make up the extra 0.1 mile at the other end of the trail. I was still surprised at my speed (I just feel silly using this word), but I kept it up because I felt pretty good.

I never really mention my time (because its ridiculously slow), but I'm really happy about this. My 5K time trial result: 32:04. This beats my most recent best 5K time by almost 2:30! I realize an average 10:20 pace is not really something to brag about, but it's a huge improvement for me. And for this extremely slow girl, it's actually pretty fast.

Oh, and I found out why my dad's bike was so noisy: he couldn't get the kickstand to stay up, so he rode 3.1 miles with his kickstand dragging the ground.

Day 12 (Sept. 4)

I’m still in Kansas, and I need to run 5 miles — my long run for the week. I hit the Shunga Trail, which really rocked (aside from those portions where they were replacing sections of the trail and had blockades and no trail).

It was a cool day (a breezy 70 degrees). Yes, 70 is cool for me. If you’re used to dealing with 90 degrees with 100% humidity, you’d find this almost chilly. And, this made running a breeze. I guess all those people that kept telling me that once it cooled off running would seem easy were right!

I went 2.5 miles in one direction and turned back for the remaining 2.5 miles. I walked a few portions (those mentioned portions with no trail and blockades). I also walked a few sections that had an extreme uphill portion to come up from under a road — extreme uphill could be an exaggeration, but when you’re used to flat land, any hill is extreme (or so says Jina). I tried running them, but I swore I was just making the running motion and staying in the same spot.

This trail took me through neighborhoods, soccer and baseball fields and wooded areas. It really was an enjoyable way to see the city.

Progressive run (Sept. 3)

As part of my plan, I’m supposed to do a 30-minute progressive run (get faster throughout) on either Friday or Saturday. I’ve not been great (OK, pretty crappy actually) at accomplishing this. But, this Saturday (Sept. 3), I did it. Well, not exactly. I attempted it.

I was in Kansas for Labor Day weekend, so I didn’t have my usual running routes at my disposal. My dad and I went searching for places to run. I found two that I thought I’d give a try (one Saturday and one Sunday). The site of my progressive run: Cedar Crest trail, a 2.7-mile trail in front of the governor’s mansion. I thought I’d get one loop in about 30 minutes. Well, somewhere along the way, I went on a different trail and ended up back where I started in about 10 minutes. Also, I went up a gigantic hill (OK, gigantic is most likely an exaggeration, but it sure felt gigantic). People say Kansas is flat. They are wrong. Florida is flat. Kansas is hilly. I’m used to no hills or inclines of any type. This was killer. After the first 10 minutes, I gave up on getting any faster since I had to deal with the hills. After my first loop that was a little less than one mile, I stuck to one stretch that I kept running back and forth for the remainder of the time. It was somewhat flat, but gravel, so that was a little different than I’m used to, too.

I ran 30 minutes, but not progressively. Not exactly what I was supposed to do, but I’m happy I at least ran.





 

Slacker: update-wise not running-wise

I’m a bit (well, maybe more than a bit) behind in my running updates. I went to Kansas over Labor Day weekend for football and family time, and I promised myself I’d update while I was there. I broke my promise to myself. You suck, self! But, the important thing is I ran. And, I ran really well (so at least I don’t suck in that regard). I have notes, memories and photos to document these runs, which I will eventually do. Until then, here’s a beautiful photo of my time in Kansas.

I graduated from Kansas State, and there is almost nothing better than going to football games there ... except when they play as crappy as they did last Saturday (OK, it was still fun and exciting, and the crowd chanting “K-S-U Wildcats” at the beginning of the game in such thunderous unison still gives me goose bumps, and I’d still rather be there than almost anywhere else). But, the Wildcats looked U-G-L-Y (not their uniforms because purple is always beautiful)! A 10-7 win over Eastern Kentucky is … a win. But, they’re going to need to step it up when they play Miami in a few weeks.