Here is just a taste of what I have done...so far.
The day is still young and I have tomorrow yet to go!!! I love Memorial Day/Birthday Weekend :o)
Long Weekends Rock My Socks
I hope you all are having a fabulous weekend and a splendid Memorial Day!
Here is just a taste of what I have done...so far.
The day is still young and I have tomorrow yet to go!!! I love Memorial Day/Birthday Weekend :o)
Here is just a taste of what I have done...so far.
The day is still young and I have tomorrow yet to go!!! I love Memorial Day/Birthday Weekend :o)
Live Happy, Healthy, and Well!
Hey, guys! Happy Friday!
I have a treat for some of you!!
Oops! Not that kind of treat!!!
There's actually a new section I added to my site called "Live Well!" If you are looking to lose or maintain weight, prevent injury from running and other strenuous activities, or in general, improve your inner and outer body, please click on the "Live Well" link above to the right!
Hope to hear from you!
I have a treat for some of you!!
 |
There's actually a new section I added to my site called "Live Well!" If you are looking to lose or maintain weight, prevent injury from running and other strenuous activities, or in general, improve your inner and outer body, please click on the "Live Well" link above to the right!
Hope to hear from you!
A Continuation of the Canal Flooding
As you could see from yesterday's photos, my long run route was flooded by the Potomac River. We had a pretty crazy storm on Thursday, which just so happened on my drive home from work. That was fun.
Anyway, on Friday, we went to Dam #4 to assess the aftermath of the storm.
It was pretty entertaining to say the least...
Typically, I do not take my run into Williamsport, but I have been looking for some new scenery. I also thought that based on how aggressive Dam #4 looked, I may want to avoid my regular route. I thought Williamsport would be better.
Well, I was wrong...in both directions. I ran a half mile one way and was greeted by a stream going right through the path. So I took a 3 mile detour through town.
I finally got the picture I always wanted in front of Britner Ave. You can't pass up a photo op with a street sign that shares your last name.
I headed back to the canal, only to go in the opposite direction this time. While enthralled at the water surrounding me on both sides, I was somewhat claustrophobic at the thought of being surrounded by the Potomac River. I pictured the water just sweeping me away. But I pressed on.
About 4.5 miles down the path, I reached a dead end. Well, at least for a runner who didn't want to get her feet wet.
So I turned around. But still managed to get my feet wet at another stream...
Still, even with the road blocks, I managed to complete 13.1 miles in 1:55. You can see all the pictures from yesterday here!
Today was not much different. Because I did not want to be held up by the same obstacles in Williamsport, I went to my normal path at Taylor's landing. I was surprised by what I saw.
The ditch you see in the picture here, is normally dry. Today, it was filled and by the looks of the grass, was higher the day before.
The entrance to the boat launch was also closed. The last time this happened was because of the Government Shutdown.
But this was why it was closed today...
The parking lot was completely underwater! But this was not the first time I saw this area flooded. I thought nothing of it and started my run hoping that it would be manageable. And it was...until I encountered this mess about 2 miles in.
Because the bike tire trails went for as long as I could see, I figured this particular spot was underwater sometime between Thursday and today. So I began running in the opposite direction, which did not prove to be that much better.
About 2.5 miles deep in the other direction, I hit another mud barrier.This time, I TRIED making it through, but I could not see where the end was.
Finally, I decided to turn around and just circle around the dry areas until I hit 10 miles.
Though the path was not ideal, the weather was gorgeous and I felt great! If I did not have to run in circles, I would have totally done a full 13.1 miles again today. Perhaps I will throw in a few extra miles on an evening run to make up for it. But I will more than likely stick to the roads this week.
Anyone else affected by the storm in the last few days?
Would you run through inches of mud or avoid it?
Anyway, on Friday, we went to Dam #4 to assess the aftermath of the storm.
It was pretty entertaining to say the least...
Typically, I do not take my run into Williamsport, but I have been looking for some new scenery. I also thought that based on how aggressive Dam #4 looked, I may want to avoid my regular route. I thought Williamsport would be better.
Well, I was wrong...in both directions. I ran a half mile one way and was greeted by a stream going right through the path. So I took a 3 mile detour through town.
I finally got the picture I always wanted in front of Britner Ave. You can't pass up a photo op with a street sign that shares your last name.
I headed back to the canal, only to go in the opposite direction this time. While enthralled at the water surrounding me on both sides, I was somewhat claustrophobic at the thought of being surrounded by the Potomac River. I pictured the water just sweeping me away. But I pressed on.
About 4.5 miles down the path, I reached a dead end. Well, at least for a runner who didn't want to get her feet wet.
So I turned around. But still managed to get my feet wet at another stream...
Still, even with the road blocks, I managed to complete 13.1 miles in 1:55. You can see all the pictures from yesterday here!
Today was not much different. Because I did not want to be held up by the same obstacles in Williamsport, I went to my normal path at Taylor's landing. I was surprised by what I saw.
The ditch you see in the picture here, is normally dry. Today, it was filled and by the looks of the grass, was higher the day before.
 |
The entrance to the boat launch was also closed. The last time this happened was because of the Government Shutdown.
 |
Because the bike tire trails went for as long as I could see, I figured this particular spot was underwater sometime between Thursday and today. So I began running in the opposite direction, which did not prove to be that much better.
 |
| This campsite was in no doubt, covered. Surprised the table made it. |
Finally, I decided to turn around and just circle around the dry areas until I hit 10 miles.
Though the path was not ideal, the weather was gorgeous and I felt great! If I did not have to run in circles, I would have totally done a full 13.1 miles again today. Perhaps I will throw in a few extra miles on an evening run to make up for it. But I will more than likely stick to the roads this week.
Anyone else affected by the storm in the last few days?
Would you run through inches of mud or avoid it?
Silent Saturday: Canal Flooding
Because Silent Saturdays seem to be "the thing" in the blogging world, I will post mine. The pictures were from my long run today. :)
It was a great run! I'll post the details later. Have a good one!!!
It was a great run! I'll post the details later. Have a good one!!!
So Much To Talk About...So Little Time!
Good evening, readers!
I promise I am alive and well! My excuse is always "I am so busy!" and I swear that is still the case. May is always a busy month for me, but I do not think I have ever been so busy.
I have not only cooked lots of dinners....
I started a new career on top of my current job, which has nearly tripled in work (job security?).
I have been running a lot...typical.
...and in places I have not been in some time!
I have taken some time to recover as well.
I also spent some time with my mom for Mother's Day...
Heh...obviously not my mom, but this is one of the friendly cows that said hello to us on our walk this past Sunday. :)
The woman in the red striped shirt is my beautiful mother!
It was also her birthday just this Tuesday. I swear, the woman is ageless. I hope I have developed her good genes. My father, who is holding the little red head (me!), his birthday is this Sunday. We are going to celebrate by going out to dinner some time this weekend.
I have a birthday this month too! Like I said, May is a BUSY month! But it will not stop there! Things are more likely to slow halfway into June, so I hope to get better at the updates! Until then, they will be sporadic. I still love you guys and hope you love me too!
Keep being happy, healthy, and active!!!
I promise I am alive and well! My excuse is always "I am so busy!" and I swear that is still the case. May is always a busy month for me, but I do not think I have ever been so busy.
I have not only cooked lots of dinners....
 |
| Cinco De Mayo's Enchilada Casserole |
I started a new career on top of my current job, which has nearly tripled in work (job security?).
I have been running a lot...typical.
...and in places I have not been in some time!
 |
| Dam #5, which I have not seen since October. |
I also spent some time with my mom for Mother's Day...
Heh...obviously not my mom, but this is one of the friendly cows that said hello to us on our walk this past Sunday. :)
The woman in the red striped shirt is my beautiful mother!
It was also her birthday just this Tuesday. I swear, the woman is ageless. I hope I have developed her good genes. My father, who is holding the little red head (me!), his birthday is this Sunday. We are going to celebrate by going out to dinner some time this weekend.
I have a birthday this month too! Like I said, May is a BUSY month! But it will not stop there! Things are more likely to slow halfway into June, so I hope to get better at the updates! Until then, they will be sporadic. I still love you guys and hope you love me too!
Keep being happy, healthy, and active!!!
Race Recap: Frederick Half Marathon
I want to begin this recap on somber note. A runner by the name of Sarah Drefren, 38, died after finishing the Frederick Half Marathon. She suffered a heart attack upon completion of the race.
Sarah leaves behind a husband and two children.
I don't mean to start on such a sad subject, but I have only ever heard about running deaths on the internet. I never thought that it would have happened at a race I participated in. Peter and I were already on our way home, but a fellow runner actually told me the story today since he witnessed it. It really is a scary thought! As runners, we push ourselves to extremes, sometimes never knowing the consequences. Although these situations are rare, they do happen! Take this as a lesson to listen to your body.
But, to move forward...
The Frederick Half! I participated in it last year, which then, it was my first OFFICIAL half marathon. So this race holds a special place in my heart and I had to come back!
We arrived late that morning (traffic sucked!) and no sooner than we arrived, I had to head to the starting line.
Last year, I chose to stand with the 2 hour pace group, but this year, I decided to take a risk with these fine people at 1:45. BUT no sooner than the gun went off, I lazily ran behind them. I made it a goal to keep in front of the 1:50 pace group, however.
Luckily, I had my watch this time and kept a close eye on my pace. I told myself before that I wasn't here for a PR since I was already satisfied (and run down) from my 5K PR the evening before.
Even with low expectations, my pace stayed consistent in the low 8s or high 7s.
In the past, I have always turned down the free snacks that strangers passed out during races. I was always told to never take anything from anyone but volunteers. Risks of being poisoned....blah blah blah. Well, I took a risk this time. Especially when I saw children with baskets filled with gummy bears. I grabbed a few, ate them, and survived. Though, chewing gummy bears while running isn't an easy task. I don't recommend it.
Anyway, after I reached the halfway point, which was about right here...
I started feeling the burn...and insanity based on this photo...but I had no desire to lose momentum. I still wanted to keep ahead of the 1:50 pace group. They were no where to be seen behind me, nor was the 1:45 group visible in front of me. I figured I was right in the middle. And at that point, I decided my finish time had to be 1:47:30 or better.
As I hit the final two miles, my pace began to suffer. I saw it rise to about 8:30 min, which made me a little nervous. Though, even if I hit a 10 minute pace, it looked like I would still hit a great PR. I did not let myself reduce speed that much, however.
Right before mile 13, I entered the Frederick Fairgrounds track, which is made just of gravel. I found it really difficult to run on when my legs were tight from burning through a half. I could not get the sprint in that I wanted.
I still managed to pose for a picture!
And I managed to get a hella good time!!!!
I actually got a time of 1:47 according to my chip! That is a 5+ minute improvement from my best which was at the Hershey Half. I was all smiles!!!
And since I was a "Nut Job" competitor, I got two lovely medals just like last year...
Here are my overall stats from the race...
And to add, I came in 13th out of all the Nut Jobbers, which was 267.
So if you want to get amazing PRs, I would totally recommend the Frederick Running Festival. They will get a high score from me...ALWAYS.
Have you ever felt like you pushed yourself too hard? What happened as a result?
What has been your most recent PR?
Have you competed in 2 races within one weekend?
Sarah leaves behind a husband and two children.
I don't mean to start on such a sad subject, but I have only ever heard about running deaths on the internet. I never thought that it would have happened at a race I participated in. Peter and I were already on our way home, but a fellow runner actually told me the story today since he witnessed it. It really is a scary thought! As runners, we push ourselves to extremes, sometimes never knowing the consequences. Although these situations are rare, they do happen! Take this as a lesson to listen to your body.
But, to move forward...
The Frederick Half! I participated in it last year, which then, it was my first OFFICIAL half marathon. So this race holds a special place in my heart and I had to come back!
We arrived late that morning (traffic sucked!) and no sooner than we arrived, I had to head to the starting line.
Last year, I chose to stand with the 2 hour pace group, but this year, I decided to take a risk with these fine people at 1:45. BUT no sooner than the gun went off, I lazily ran behind them. I made it a goal to keep in front of the 1:50 pace group, however.
Luckily, I had my watch this time and kept a close eye on my pace. I told myself before that I wasn't here for a PR since I was already satisfied (and run down) from my 5K PR the evening before.
 |
| Closing in on the 5K finish line |
Even with low expectations, my pace stayed consistent in the low 8s or high 7s.
In the past, I have always turned down the free snacks that strangers passed out during races. I was always told to never take anything from anyone but volunteers. Risks of being poisoned....blah blah blah. Well, I took a risk this time. Especially when I saw children with baskets filled with gummy bears. I grabbed a few, ate them, and survived. Though, chewing gummy bears while running isn't an easy task. I don't recommend it.
Anyway, after I reached the halfway point, which was about right here...
I started feeling the burn...and insanity based on this photo...but I had no desire to lose momentum. I still wanted to keep ahead of the 1:50 pace group. They were no where to be seen behind me, nor was the 1:45 group visible in front of me. I figured I was right in the middle. And at that point, I decided my finish time had to be 1:47:30 or better.
As I hit the final two miles, my pace began to suffer. I saw it rise to about 8:30 min, which made me a little nervous. Though, even if I hit a 10 minute pace, it looked like I would still hit a great PR. I did not let myself reduce speed that much, however.
Right before mile 13, I entered the Frederick Fairgrounds track, which is made just of gravel. I found it really difficult to run on when my legs were tight from burning through a half. I could not get the sprint in that I wanted.
I still managed to pose for a picture!
And I managed to get a hella good time!!!!
I actually got a time of 1:47 according to my chip! That is a 5+ minute improvement from my best which was at the Hershey Half. I was all smiles!!!
And since I was a "Nut Job" competitor, I got two lovely medals just like last year...
Here are my overall stats from the race...
And to add, I came in 13th out of all the Nut Jobbers, which was 267.
So if you want to get amazing PRs, I would totally recommend the Frederick Running Festival. They will get a high score from me...ALWAYS.
Have you ever felt like you pushed yourself too hard? What happened as a result?
What has been your most recent PR?
Have you competed in 2 races within one weekend?
New Career in the Works
The race recap for the Frederick Half is coming soon! I have devoted a great deal of my time starting up a business that is more in line with my lifestyle. So unfortunately for my blog, I have not been available to make consistent updates. My free time after job #1, has now turned into new job #2 (which is not really a job since I am loving it) and running. I know this career move will benefit me in the long run (no pun intended?) but it will take some time and devotion.
I cannot wait to share my success with you all! Until then, I will update when I can. I should have the race recap up this week! Stay tuned! It really was an amazing race.
Race Recap: 2014 Frederick Twilight 5K
Good afternoon, my friends!!!
I had a fabulous weekend at the Frederick Running Festival. But I will only do one race recap at a time because both were equally as awesome and deserve their own post!
We will start with the Twilight 5k.
First, I am completely in love with evening races, which makes this particular race different from many! I have only ever competed in 2 races that took place in the evening: The Frederick Twilight 5K and the Krumpes Donut Alley Rally. I would assume this is due to road closures and it causing traffic issues, but regardless, evening races = an awesome change from the norm.
Second, everything is so organized and goes seamlessly. I don't feel lost when I get there. They make it known what to bring and where to go so their runners are happy.
Anyway, we arrived at the race about an hour prior to do packet pick-up, where I received 2 shirts. One for the 5k and one for the half.
Here's the 5K....
And their half marathon shirt is GREAT! But I will get to that one in the half recap...
I gathered at the start line about 15 before the start, while Peter took pictures....
A lot of runners showed up. Nearly 1,300.
I stuck with the 8 minute pace runners, but I was completely clueless as to if I would be able to maintain that. You see, I forgot my Garmin at home. Talk about feeling naked! I have run without a watch before, but now that I have had it for nearly a year, I had no idea if I was going to be able to keep pace!
The most I could do was put my faith into another runner that was nearby...
If you can see me in the sunglasses, you will see a gentleman in a bandana and a Ragnar shirt on the left. He was unaware that I chose him to pace me the entire race, but I think I chose well. Once the race started, I kept a fair distance from him...just to prevent being confused as a stalker, but made sure he remained in site.
The weather became somewhat of a challenge just about a quarter of a mile in. It began to rain and the wind started to pick up like crazy! I thought it was going to pour, but it kept to a light sprinkle. The wind was not as kind though. It pushed and pulled at my body and it was a struggle to keep the same forward momentum.
Despite it all, I managed to finish the first mile within 7:30. WhoOoooOah!!! Ragnar bandana guy was keeping me in line! So I stuck with the plan. Mile 2 & 3 came in at a similar pace and thank goodness they did because I was starting to feel the burn!
I finished in 23:23, a minute faster than my best 5K!!!!
...and I think that my stats were pretty sweet!!!
I am definitely proud of myself for this great accomplishment....or more so bandana guy's accomplishment. I have never competed in a 5K of this size and had great standings. Like 3rd in my age group!? WOW! I know I have gotten first in other races, but this one was a big deal considering it's size. I am definitely a happy girl!!!
Anyway, I'll get to the half recap later...great news there as well!!! Stay tuned!!!
What races did you compete in this weekend? Any PRs?
How do you pace yourself if you do not have a watch?
I had a fabulous weekend at the Frederick Running Festival. But I will only do one race recap at a time because both were equally as awesome and deserve their own post!
We will start with the Twilight 5k.
First, I am completely in love with evening races, which makes this particular race different from many! I have only ever competed in 2 races that took place in the evening: The Frederick Twilight 5K and the Krumpes Donut Alley Rally. I would assume this is due to road closures and it causing traffic issues, but regardless, evening races = an awesome change from the norm.
Second, everything is so organized and goes seamlessly. I don't feel lost when I get there. They make it known what to bring and where to go so their runners are happy.
Anyway, we arrived at the race about an hour prior to do packet pick-up, where I received 2 shirts. One for the 5k and one for the half.
Here's the 5K....
And their half marathon shirt is GREAT! But I will get to that one in the half recap...
I gathered at the start line about 15 before the start, while Peter took pictures....
A lot of runners showed up. Nearly 1,300.
I stuck with the 8 minute pace runners, but I was completely clueless as to if I would be able to maintain that. You see, I forgot my Garmin at home. Talk about feeling naked! I have run without a watch before, but now that I have had it for nearly a year, I had no idea if I was going to be able to keep pace!
The most I could do was put my faith into another runner that was nearby...
If you can see me in the sunglasses, you will see a gentleman in a bandana and a Ragnar shirt on the left. He was unaware that I chose him to pace me the entire race, but I think I chose well. Once the race started, I kept a fair distance from him...just to prevent being confused as a stalker, but made sure he remained in site.
The weather became somewhat of a challenge just about a quarter of a mile in. It began to rain and the wind started to pick up like crazy! I thought it was going to pour, but it kept to a light sprinkle. The wind was not as kind though. It pushed and pulled at my body and it was a struggle to keep the same forward momentum.
Despite it all, I managed to finish the first mile within 7:30. WhoOoooOah!!! Ragnar bandana guy was keeping me in line! So I stuck with the plan. Mile 2 & 3 came in at a similar pace and thank goodness they did because I was starting to feel the burn!
I finished in 23:23, a minute faster than my best 5K!!!!
...and I think that my stats were pretty sweet!!!
I am definitely proud of myself for this great accomplishment....or more so bandana guy's accomplishment. I have never competed in a 5K of this size and had great standings. Like 3rd in my age group!? WOW! I know I have gotten first in other races, but this one was a big deal considering it's size. I am definitely a happy girl!!!
Anyway, I'll get to the half recap later...great news there as well!!! Stay tuned!!!
What races did you compete in this weekend? Any PRs?
How do you pace yourself if you do not have a watch?
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