swim. bike. run.

races!

2008-07-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

Being in Boulder last week and seeing everyone running and biking around town, I really wanted to sign-up for some more races. I've been researching the local races, and I have a tentative racing plan. Unfortunately, I don't get paid until Friday, so I am a little bit wary about spending $300-400 on race sign-ups. eek! As long as the races do not sell out I should be fine...

I'm thinking about doing either the Sandman Triathlon on August 3, or the Santa Cruz Sprint Triathlon on August 10. Of course, I have not been in the pool since the beginning of June, but I'm not too concerned about swimming. I am in pretty good biking and running shape, and I am sure that I would be fine for these short distances. Whether or not I sign-up is contingent on 1) if they sell out, 2) if I have enough money, and 3) if I need to buy a wet suit (see #2).

Sept 13, 2008: Pacific Grove Olympic Triathlon

Oct 12, 2008: City to the Sea Half Marathon: "turf to surf" San Luis Obispo to Shell Beach

Nov 9, 2008: Big Sur Half Marathon This race is actually in Monterey, and the start line is < 1 mile from my apt and then passes about 2 blocks away from my apt. Actually, here's the race course if you're interested.

And then for the 2009 season, I want to do the Big Sur Marathon on April 26, 2009, and the Wildflower Half Ironman, which is not announced yet but will probably be the 1st weekend in May 2009. Basically, my race plan for this summer is anticipating the 2009 season. I need to build back into the racing distances. I also need to get back into racing shape and (possibly) lose a few pounds. During the winter, I will need to focus on hills.

I just need to add some unrelated things. I might start running on the weekends with my boss. Strange, huh? He's very active, and, in fact, he biked across the country with a friend, averaging about 115 miles per day! I'm really in awe of that trip. I thought that driving across the country was a big deal! If you look back a few posts, you will see that I considered doing Bike & Build this summer, although it didn't turn out to be feasible because of the time needed to find a job.

It's still unbelievable to me that I live in CA. I walk around with this ridiculous grin, I'm sure. haha. A couple of things that amuse me: 1) I shop at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and the Monterey farmer's market, 2) I run on and/or next to the beach, 3) I live about 1/4 mile from the beach, 4) it's never too hot or too cold. It's just right. Every time that I bike onto campus, the security person makes a comment that it's a nice day for a bike ride. It's a nice day for a bike ride EVERY day. 5) I get excited when I see a gas station that sells gas for less than $4.50/gallon, and I haven't even bought gas yet. That's all for now.

I miss everyone! I haven't really made any friends that are my age. Everyone's really nice though, and I might call the agent that set-up my State Farm insurance. She was friendly and told me to call her. Aviva will arrive in Monterey on August 1 though. It will be great to see her :)

walk scores

2008-07-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

I found this neat tool online: http://walkscore.com. Here are some Walk scores of places where I have lived... I guess that I just thought that it was interesting. Between living approx 800 ft from the building that I work in and the Tuesday Monterey Farmer's market, I won't need to drive that often. I'm glad that I got the car though because I want to be able to explore out here a little :-D Plus, my car is so cute!

Where I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA: 8/100

My Senior Year at Rutgers:
77/100

PSU/State College, PA
PA: 66/100

My New Address in Monterey, CA:
71/100

i live here?

2008-07-11T20:38:00.000-07:00

There have been some requests for pictures, so here you go:

i will miss you!

best pie in OH.

we're in indianapolis

"cheap" gas in IL

the mississippi is flooded

the arch

hays, ks!

nuff said

Santa Lucia's in Rawlins, WY

the salt flats

dust devil

view of the peninsula from PG

farmers market

boats

duuunes

the beach

my new car!

We find that after years of struggle we do not take a journey, but rather a journey takes us.

2008-06-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

sooo Europe was amazing! It was wonderful to take a vacation, and I had a great time with Jon and all of his friends. I also fell in love with Lyon. Paris, Milan, and Bologna were also a lot of fun to visit, but I could see myself living in Lyon. I think that I partially enjoyed that city so much because it reminded me of Pittsburgh, both the local geography and the size of the city. It is situated at the confluence of the Saone and the Rhone rivers and surrounded by hills. Remi lives on Le Fourviere, the hill to the west of the city. There are two funiculars (2 inclines in Pgh..) that you can ride to get to the top. On one of the mornings in Lyon, Jon and I did a run down the hill and back up. whew! We only did one other run on the trip, in a park in Monza outside of Milan.

Speaking of Milan, I don't think that I've ever eaten so much red meat in such a short span of time. Giorgio's goal was for us to try every variety of prosciutto that they have in Italy. I must admit that the Parma ham and the Bresaola were very good tho. OMG, and I ate lardo. You guessed it? It's fat! Imagine extracting the white fatty part from a slice of bacon and just eating it. That's what lardo essentially is. I'm embarassed to say that I actually thought that it was a vegetable when I ate it the first night. Let me see if I can find a good picture of this stuff.

Literally, it was on the pizza that Jon got, and I thought that it was similar to onion. I'm not even kidding. After Milan, I decided to refrain from eating ham for the rest of my life ha. We ate much healthier on the rest of the trip, minus the abundance of cheese in our diet. Really, the entire trip was basically a gastronomical tour of France and Italy :-D

Yeah, in case your haven't guessed, I'm nowhere near prepared for a half ironman. I'm surprised that I didn't gain 10 lbs in Europe. Actually, we did so much walking that it probably would have been difficult to gain weight. The only portion of a half ironman that I can confidently say I am prepared for right now is the swim. classic! I need to find a race in CA to sign-up for! That's right - CA!!!! I actually can't express how excited I am to do the Big Sur marathon. I remember reading about it in Runner's World..

remember the boot?

2008-05-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am currently wearing the AWFUL boot that I had to wear when I had the stress fracture last winter. Walking around Chicago in flip-flops was not a smart decision. I literally have an egg on the top of my foot. I guess that I first noticed the pain on Monday, and it's been gradually getting more painful since then. Walking home from Walker today (in my flip-flops) was excruciating. After a google search, I'm fairly confident that it is tendonitis in my extensor hallucis longus tendon. I can feel the tendon rubbing against its sheath, that creaky, frictiony feeling. I decided to wear the boot for - at least tonight - as a precaution: immobilizing the tendon usually expedites recovery. This hurts at least as much as tibial tendonitis. Poopies! Hopefully it feels better tomorrow!

The cook-out last night was one of the best birthday celebrations that I can remember from recent years. It was just chill, ya know? Anyway, I've been getting a little nostalgic as the moving date approaches. I did one of my favorite State College runs yesterday, the 10K running trail around the golf course. I'm sad that I only discovered that trail last summer! Who am I kidding though? I love to explore new places, and I will find new favorite routes wherever I go.

The tri club girls were at the pool again today. I was sad that I did my bike ride this morning because they were planning a 4:00 ride this afternoon. It's so much more enjoyable to ride in a group. I need to start planning to do group rides with the tri club and with CenTri. I'll never meet my goal of completing a century ride this year if I continue to bike solo. Actually, looking for local cyclists in my new hometown should be an excellent way to meet new people!

I'm excited for the outdoor pool to open next week :-D

My poor foot!

----------------
Now playing: Blue Oyster Cult - Astronomy

happy quarter century to me.

2008-05-12T13:07:00.000-07:00

Well, the day is here. It's too bad that the weather is shitty, but a cook-out tomorrow also will be fun.

My mom is hilarious. She sent me an e-mail about the swimming goals in my recent post. Evidently I could swim a 100 in 1:08 at the age of 9, but I cannot do that now. Maybe I should have had loftier aspirations!

When I put on my HRM today, my heart rate was 52! I haven't seen it that low since training for Philly. Then it actually went down to 48. Is that even healthy? Every time that I think about low heart rates, I remember the trip with the Delmastros to Cedar Point. We stopped at Berenstain Bear Country and got out HRs done. Dana and I were around 50, which is ridic low for children. The guy asked if we were swimmers... ha!

Chicago was awesome! I've really only been there a couple of times, and it was always for gymnastics meets (translation: I only saw my hotel room and the gym). Brandy and I stayed in a studio apartment in Lincoln Park. If I ever live in Chicago, I would definitely love to live in that area. It's prob hella expensive tho. As far as training, we only went for a short jog on Friday morning. However, I estimate that we walked nearly 10 miles on both Friday and Saturday. I'm excited that I get to see Brandy again this weekend for Jen's wedding! Brandy, I love you, and I miss you already!

upcoming races...

2008-05-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

Alright, I've compiled a list of races for each location that I'm currently looking at for jobs (note that I have not looked into whether any of these are sold out):

1) Madison

Saturday, July 12, 2008
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Lake Michigan Triathlon and Duathlon Races
Swim 1500 meters, Bike 24.9 miles, Run 6.2 miles

Saturday, July 19, 2008
Racine, Wisconsin
Spirit of Racine - Sprint Triathlon
Swim 750 meters, Bike 12.4 miles, Run 3.1 miles

Sunday, July 20, 2008
Egg Harbor, Wisconsin
Door County Triathlon
Swim 1.2 miles, Bike 56 miles, Run 13.1 miles

Sunday, July 20, 2008
Racine, Wisconsin
Spirit of Racine Triathlon (half iron distance)

Sunday, July 27, 2008
Eagle, Wisconsin
Tri-ing for Childrens Triathlon (Adult Races)
Swim 1 mile, Bike 25 miles, Run 6.2 miles
Swim 1.2 miles, Bike 56 miles, Run 13.1 miles

Sunday, August 10, 2008
Winneconne , Wisconsin
Oshkosh Triathlon
Swim 1500 meters, Bike 28 miles, Run 6.2 miles

2) Virginia (There are actually a lot of triathlons in the King George area..)

Sunday, July 13, 2008
Montclair, Virginia
Montclair Triathlon
Swim 1000 meters, Bike 18.6 miles, Run 5 miles

Sunday, July 13, 2008
Colonial Beach, Virginia
Pohanka Cadillac Colonial Beach Triathlon
Swim 1500 meters, Bike 24.9 miles, Run 6.2 miles

Sunday, August 03, 2008
Culpeper, Virginia
Culpeper Sprint 2008
Swim 750 meters, Bike 15 miles, Run 3.1 miles

Sunday, September 28, 2008
Warsaw, Virginia
Naylors Beach Olympic Distance Triathlon and Aquathlon
Olympic aquathlon - Swim 1500 meters, Run 6.2 miles
Olympic triathlon - Swim 1500 meters, Bike 26 miles, Run 6.2 miles

3) Monterey (I love how many aquathlons are offered in CA!!!)

Thursday, July 10, 2008
Cupertino, California
UBS Splash and Dash Series Race 2
Swim 1500 meters, Trail Run 3.1 miles

Saturday, July 12, 2008
June Lake Triathlon
Swim 1500 meters, Bike 24.9 miles, Run 6.2 miles

Sunday, July 27, 2008
San Luis Obispo, California
San Luis Obispo Triathlon

Sunday, August 03, 2008
Santa Cruz, California
Sandman Triathon
Swim ½ mile, Bike 15 miles, Run 4.2 miles

Saturday, August 23, 2008
San Francisco, California
Alcatraz Challenge Aquathlon & Swim
Swim 1.5 miles, Run 7 miles

Sunday, September 14, 2008
Pacific Grove, California
Triathlon at Pacific Grove Day #2
Swim ¼ mile, Bike 12.5 miles, Run 2 miles
Location: Lovers Cove - (The swim is in Monterey Bay)

Sunday, September 28, 2008
Aptos, CA, California
Mermaid Womens Triathlon
Swim 400 yards, Bike 11 miles, Run 2.5 miles

---
In other news, I'm finally starting to feel like I am getting back into race shape. I was able to run 8:30 pace for the 5 mile that I ran this morning. One of my big training goals is to significantly improve my speed. I'd like to be able to run a half marathon at about 8:15 pace or so. This goal is entirely feasible considering that I ran last year's Presque Isle Half as a 'training run' for Philly at nearly 9:00 pace with negative splits. If I can meet this goal, then I think that qualifying for the Boston marathon is within reach...

the question is not who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.

2008-05-03T17:42:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of weeks I have been thinking a lot about the future, mostly because I will be moving and starting a new job in July (*hopefully*). I'm turning 25 soon, and, as a woman that I was sitting next to on a recent flight blatantly stated, that's a quarter of a century. In anticipation of these events, my mind has been abubble with ideas/plans for the future.

Goals that are not written down are simply dreams, so....
1) Run a 5K with 7 minute splits.
2) Swim a continuous 100 yds of butterfly. Swim a 100 free in less than 1:20.
3) Work up to a century bike ride.
4) Complete a half ironman (hopefully there is one in the area that is not sold out!)
5) Join a sailing team/club.
6) Learn to snowboard.
7) Raft a new class V river!
8) Plant a tomato/pepper/herb+ "garden" (somewhat contingent on my future place of residence). Subsist off of Greek salad - j/k. kinda.
9) Make blueberry jam.
10) Learn to play a musical instrument proficiently. Because I know the basics, piano or guitar? I have always wanted to learn the trumpet though!
11) Volunteer with a local community program (e.g. Habitat for Humanity, tutoring) regulary.
12) Drink less boxed wine.
13) Post on this blog more frequently. ha.

....

14) I want to skydive, but it scares the crap out of me.

long overdue update.

2008-04-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been a looong time.

I defended my master's thesis a little over a week ago. It's amazing to be done. I feel like I can breathe again. Aaaand now I can get back to a regular workout schedule.

Well, the Musselman Triathlon is in July. I unfortunately didn't take my work schedule into consideration when I signed up, or, rather, I thought I would be at Penn State through the end of summer. However, I (hopefully) will be starting my new job at the beginning of July. It would not be a great idea to take a day off from this new job a couple of weeks after I start. Therefore, I may not be able to do the triathlon. The plan is to continue training for the race. If I can participate in the race, great! If not, I guess that I can sign up for some races later in the season.

The job search is exciting! Maybe I should take that back. It won't be exciting if I don't get offered a job ...

Other notes:

1) My Garmin is amazing. Jon and I went for a hike yesterday. Generally, when I go for a run, I don't take advantage of the more advanced navigation features. On the hike, I played around a little with these features. It's certainly not as sophisticated as the car GPSs, but it's a large step up from a compass. I also noticed that downtown areas have more roads loaded into the mapping system. Take a look at the run that I did in Madison!

2) I bought a trainer for the cold mornings when I'd prefer to not bike outside. It is somewhat like riding a stationary bike, but it allows me to become accustomed to sitting on my bike for long periods of time. I'm not sure. I may need a new bike seat. Does everyone get this saddle sore? Anything over an hour is rough. Some other positives about the trainer are that I have become more comfortable with changing gears with and clipping out on my left side (finally!).

3) I need to get my bike tuned ASAP. For a few beers, I could probably persuade Justin to teach me how to do all the necessary maintenance ;-D

B&B

2007-12-07T21:16:00.000-08:00

Santa, or possibly some External Deliverer, will be leaving me a GPS for christmas! It's the Garmin Forerunner 305. I don't know too much about it , but it was evidently just released over the summer and is an adaptation of their Forerunner design, popular among cyclists, for runners. I opted for the 305 over the 205 because it includes a heart rate monitor. You can also buy a bike mount for it. I'm extremely excited to try it out!

I am considering (Mom, don't freak out!) doing Bike & Build this summer. Basically, Bike & Build is a program that organizes groups to bike across America, stopping over in towns once or twice a week for 'building days' when the group contributes to the construction of affordable housing. Each biker must raise $4000 for the trip to support these affordable housing projects.

My friend Tracy did it in the summer of 2005 after graduating from Rutgers; at the time, she asked me if I was interested in applying as well. I was intrigued by the idea.. however, due to an irrational fear of biking grounded in flipping over the handlebars when I was eight, I dismissed it and planned a trip to Greece with Brandy (yay!).

As I consider the future, I am at a juncture in my life where I can take a summer off for this program. Plus, how many people do you know that have biked across the US? Depending how the job search goes and when I'll be starting work, this is quite possibly my only opportunity to participate in the program. As Tracy pointed out, if I get a job that starts before the end of summer, then I made a donation toward a very worthy cause (the application fee is nonrefundable.) My top choices are the Providence to Seattle, Providence to San Francisco, and Northern US route.

Back to work!

DAMN, I wish I was your lover

2007-12-03T08:57:00.000-08:00

Something that I've become cognizant of in my writing after taking Meteo 580 (I did learn something in that class): I overuse the words very, rather, quite, etc. Dr. Shirer suggested that we replace these words with damn. As an example, let's look at one of the sentences in my Philly marathon recap.

"It was really quite motivating to see all of the runners coming back toward the start with smiles on their faces!"

becomes

"It was damn damn motivating to see all of the runners coming back toward the start with smiles on their faces!"

My writing needs fixed. (shout out to my fellow Pittsburgh readers)

Upcoming Races!

2007-12-03T08:34:00.000-08:00

I signed up for the Musselman Triathlon in Geneva, NY. A few of the PSU triathlon club members are doing this triathlon, and Brandy is planning to do it as well.

I need to get back on my bike: I have not done a single bike ride since the Steelman Tri in August. How bad is that?! The Blue Streak has become solely a commuter bike... I dislike riding my bike in the winter because the wind is brutal, far more brutal on a bike because a 15 mph wind translates to 30+ mph if you're biking into it. As with running, you are always biking INTO the wind. Maybe I will look into a trainer, or I could (finally) go to some spinning classes.

I'm also going to do USAT Collegiate Nationals with the tri club, although I'm not officially signed up yet. It's an olympic distance triathlon that's hosted in Tuscaloosa, AL, in March. Should be interesting.

I got an email about Reach the Beach 2008 sign-ups. I hope to do this race again in 2008!

The Nittany Valley half marathon was yesterday. I am somewhat sad that I have not run this race in the three years that I have lived in State College. I feel like I need to commit to doing it next year even if I am not living in State College (which is highly likely). This might not be possible if I end up with a job out West... we'll see.

Yo Philly! The Philadelphia Marathon

2007-12-02T05:50:00.000-08:00

Activity: The Marathon
Distance: 26.2 miles
Time: 4:24:05
Average: 10:04.5
Splits: 2:13:59 half marathon split
Weather: Overcast with some light drizzle, low 40s, winds 10-15mph

SUNDAY (RACE DAY!!!):

First off, because I'm a weather weenie, the NWS forecast for the day of the marathon was quite hilarious! Seriously though, Jon and I were a little bit nervous about the weather because we couldn't plan what to wear if we didn't know if it was going to rain. We both dressed for colder weather in case it did rain. Although I could have worn shorts and a lighter top, I was very happy in my UnderArmour.

I LOVED the Philly marathon course. It began and ended at the Art Museum (da da da, da da da!) and then headed east through Old Town Philly. We followed the Delaware River on Columbus for a little way before looping back toward downtown. Around this time, Jon and I took a pee break. I was very excited to run on South Street. As expected, it was a party :) My parents were positioned near the beginning of the marathon where they could walk over to about mile 6 to see us run by again. I was very thankful that they were there to cheer us on; it's a little adrenaline rush every time that you see someone you know! Plus they were able to drop us off very close to the start.

The next portion of the race continued to head west, crossing over the Schuylkill River, through the Drexel campus. We ran by a few frat houses, and there were a bunch of college students out to cheer us on. It was exciting. Some guy wearing a Giants jersey got booed by the frat boys. Jon and I bet over-under five on how many times we would hear the E-A-G-L-E-S cheer. We agreed that it would be over five if we ran near anyone with an Eagles jersey on, else it would be under.

At this point Jon was a little antsy to start running faster. I had to tell him to slow down. Basically, I was trying to think of this run as a 20 mile warm-up with a 10K run at the end, and there were still so many miles to run!

I hadn't memorized the route this time around, so I was constantly trying to figure out where we were. This was the one area of the race course that I wasn't familiar with, and there were a couple of hills. They didn't compare to the hill on Park Hills Ave though! We ended up taking our GU break a little later, between miles 9 and 10, than we'd planned because of water station locations. I was definitely ready for a sugar burst!

We passed mile 10 and got to run along the Schuylkill for a few miles. My parents were right around halfway, and my mom was able to get a picture after we flagged her down. I guess that my mom was easier to see in her orange poncho than we were amdist the pack of runners! That and we had an idea of where they'd be standing.

The last part of the race was an out-and-back along the east side of the Schuylkill. Often out-and-backs can be a little boring, but I enjoyed this part of the race very much because we were able to see the leading runners coming in! It was really quite motivating to see all of the runners coming back toward the start with smiles on their faces!

At the 20 mile turnaround in Manayunk, we were feeling pretty good. I was feeling better than I had during my 20 mile runs; this was how I was anticipating to feel in my first marathon, and it was awesome! Actually, I got a little bit too excited and almost wanted to sprint back to the finish. Jon thankfully kept me on pace: 6.2 miles is no short distance to sprint!

We maintained aa steady sub-10 minute pace for the last half of the race and actually had negative splits (minus the mile where we took another pee break)! Running the marathon with a partner was amazing and a much better experience than running alone with a sore tummy! I don't know if, when, or where I'll be running another marathon; however, I'd definitely recommend Philly to anyone that's looking for a well-organized race and would even consider running it again myself!

Thanks to my parents for coming out and supporting me and Jon! I love you!

Jon, you're the best.

mood: i almost took 30 minutes off of my previous time!
health: you know, of course my muscles and knees were sore, but i could walk the next day... no stress fractures!

Prelude to the Marathon

2007-11-21T09:06:00.000-08:00

It's been so very long since I've posted! Before I get into my 'prelude to the marathon,' I want to mention one thing: Jon and I decided to run the marathon together. For shorter distances, Jon is definitely faster than me. For very long runs, however, I run about the same pace as he does. Neither of us had a time goal, and running with a partner is more enjoyable :) We did our last two long runs (including the 2nd 20 miler) together so that we'd be prepared to run together at the marathon.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FRIDAY:

Jon and I drove down to Philly on Friday after work. Due to a bad accident on 322, we decided to take I-80 to I-476 which took a little bit longer. Finding the parking lot at the 69th street station was a bit of a fiasco, but we made it into the city a little before 10pm. We stayed with Milo (yay!) Friday night. BTW, his apt is awesome. I was soooo envious of him. It's on 10th St. between Market and South streets. We met a couple of Milo's friends, learned that the the stone roads in Old Town Philly were brought over from Europe on ships, and hit up a Mexican bar. good times. I've always LOVED Old Town Philly. I hope that Jon and I get a chance to visit again when we don't have a race and can enjoy the nightlife! Milo had to leave early in the morning for a wedding in NYC, so we called it an early night; Jon and I were more than happy to get a good night's rest.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SATURDAY:

Of course, we were up pretty early in the morning and hungry for some food. We got breakfast @ an ABP and walked around downtown for a little while. I wanted to see if Brandy's favorite X-Mas light display was up in Macy's. It was, but it wasn't lit :( Oh well. We also walked down South Street. I was sad that we were eating healthy for the marathon the next day and couldn't indulge in a slice of Lorenzo's pizza. Big poopies! Next time...

Race packet pick-up was at the Liacouras Center on the Temple U. campus. After buying a one day SEPTA pass and waiting nearly an hour for a train to the Temple campus, I realized that the SEPTA pass didn't cover regional rails. oops! We hurried to jump off the train. I managed to get off before the doors closed, leaving Jon behind as the train started to pull away. Luckily, the conductor dude or whatev stopped the train and let him off!

Soooo we took the SEPTA train/bus back to the 69th street station and drove into the city to pick-up our race packets. The line was hella long, and I was afraid that I would starve to death while waiting in line, but it moved quickly. The Philly marathon was very well organized. We walked around the expo (yay free stuff!) and purchased a few items. I got a belt to hold my GUs/cell phone/race number. Jon bought shorts and socks (boring, huh?? jp).

At this point, we were both tired and hungry. We drove to the hotel and decided to eat at the Houlihan's across the street. I ordered the mahi tuna tacos; Jon ordered the fish tacos. I know that these sound the same, but mine were better!! HA The options for sides at Houlihan's are excellent. I wanted to try them all! I decided on the Mediterranean orzo and convinced Jon to get the *fluffy* citrus couscous so that we could share. Both were mmmmm mmmm yummy good!

It was great to see my parents! I felt like it had been ages since I was home. We got settled in our respective rooms and planned out everything for the next day (when to leave, where to park, where they'd be standing, etc.). My mom was so cute - she had about 3 different maps of the course printed out, each a different size and color. She had cut and pasted them together to make a montage. classic.

My dad was hell-bent on finding a radio station that was broadcasting the RU-Pitt game. It was, of course, 75% static, but my dad will listen to a game if he can make out at least every 10th word (not kidding). We were able to get better reception near the end of the game by playing with the antenna, and I tried not to gloat when RU won :)

We loaded up on carbs at dinner in the hotel restaurant. The chef was very accommodative with our meals. Jon and I basically got the same meal, penne with vegetables and chicken. Jon skipped the chicken. I also had a glass of wine. I've found that I do better at races when I have a glass of wine or a beer with dinner the night before. The sample size is actually too small to confirm this, but I like the idea!

Early night: in bed around 9pm or so. We watched the beginning of the WVU football game. I really like Pat White. He's probably too small to be an NFL QB, but I could see him as a WR.

I was much calmer before this marathon. I actually was able to sleep. Because I'd finished one before, I knew that I would be able to finish. My only goal was to have a more enjoyable experience during the race (i.e. not feel sick to my stomach the whole time).

Next up: RACE DAY!!!

you ever been walking next to some stranger and for no reason at all you decide that if you beat them to the corner, you'll be a millionaire?

2007-10-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

Activity: Long Run
Distance: 14 miles + 6 miles
Time: 3:09:11
Average: 9:27
Splits: 10:03, 18:34w/2, 9:03, 9:27w, 9:12, 18:35wg/2, 9:20w, 9:05, 9:18w, 9:21, 9:06w, 9:17, break, 9:43, 9:43, 10:08wg, 19:04/2, 9:59 (tired and hungry!)
Weather: 54/51-70/39 sunny. even tho it was 70 at the end, i def felt nippy!

It's been a long time since my last update! I guess that I haven't been in the mood to update my blog. It used to make me so happy to read about my workouts - I've been kinda blah lately tho. The last few weeks have definitely been stressful at work, but now i have computing resources and can actually do some work!

I started out this run hella fast. Seriously, I've been doing these runs at about 10 minute pace, but I felt great this morning and was not exerting myself. Sometimes, you just have to go with it. Because I didn't slow down too much on the second 6 mile loop, I'm glad that I kept my pace. I wish that I knew why my legs felt so great. My knees didn't start to ache until mile 17 or so. During my 13.1 mile run a week ago, my knees were hurting at mile 10! Noooo good! I think the run went so well today for one of the following reasons:
1) I did a 3 mile jog yesterday rather than no workout.
2) I did a 'short' long run last Sunday.
3) I drank lots of blueberry Smirnoff during the PSU game. haha jp. I had like 2 stiff drinks and did feel a buzz tho.
4) I'm less stressed!

A couple of other things
- I used body oil instead of body glide today; it totally worked as well and maybe better. Plus, I probably smelled like pears, well maybe for the first mile anyway...
- I've been doing most of my runs with no iPod. I'm only running with music during my easy runs at the beginning of the week.
- There was a race around campus this morning. the moxiethon or something. I was going the wrong way.
- Passing a bike on an uphill is heartening. Okay, they did have mtn bike tires. whatev, i'm still awesome!
- At the beginning of my run when I crossed Atherton on Allen, two guys in a car asked how to get to 220, like yelled it after I passed. Because I couldn't hear what they said, I was convinced that they were doing catcalls or something. I continued running. Then they yelled, "Please!" I took pity and ran back to help them out. Good Deed #1 of the day.
- I helped a woman through each step of withdrawing $ from the ATM on the ITS bridge. Good Deed #2. I'm over my one good deed a day quota. Does that mean that I get to do something scandalous?!

I really need to get back into the pool this week. Swimming balances out my workouts and keeps me sane. I never knew how emotional I could be until I increased the number of hours in Walker and cut swimming out of life. I need my weekly dose

Go Stillers!

mood: doing so much better than last week!
health: i rocked the long run!

----------------
Now playing: R.E.M. - What's The Frequency, Kenneth-
http://foxytunes.com/artist/r.e.m./track/what's+the+frequency%2c+kenneth- of chlorine!

heat kills 1 at chicago marathon

2007-10-08T06:37:00.000-07:00

Imagine running 15 miles in sun-scorching 85 degree weather, then arriving at a water station that is OUT of water. And guess what? The good part is that you only have 11.2 miles left! From the Chicago Sun Times article: "Runners toward the back of the pack complained of water tables being flipped over and stacked at mile 2 -- a complaint organizers disputed. In Lincoln Park, runners drank water from a decorative fountain, a participant reported. Other runners said they phoned friends and asked them to bring them water on the route. Some stopped at gas stations to buy their own."

wow.

I've not been very good about updating my blog due to thesising. (Blogger thinks that thesising is not a word - obviously, Walker vocab isn't included in its spellcheck package.) It's overtaking my life. Yesterday, I took the day completely to myself: no thesising! Sunday is one of my favorite days. It's a day which I usually devote to my recreational joys: running, grocery shopping, scrapbooking, etc. I 'took back Sunday' yesterday. I know. The previous sentence was somewhat lame.

Back to running, I want to say a couple of things about my last two long runs.

1) I ran 16.5 miles last Sunday. Jon and I visited Shannon last weekend (yay!) in Rochester. It was so great to see her and finally meet her friends! Anyway, we drove home Sunday morning, so the long run was in the afternoon. I am not used to doing long runs at this time, and I did not eat enough for breakfast and lunch. I planned to do 17 miles. However, I stopped near the end of the run for a car and felt like I was going to pass out from low blood sugar. In retrospect, I ate my normal size of breakfast and lunch which was definitely NOT enough considering that I was doing a long run in the afternoon. I learned my lesson!

2) I ran 18 miles yesterday. The run was hauntingly reminiscent of last year's marathon: I stopped at miles 4 and 9 to use the bathroom. ugh. My one goal for the Philly marathon is to improve on last year's time. I figure that it is an achievable goal because I spent about 20 minutes in or waiting for a porta-potty at the MCM. Yesterday's run does not bode well for cutting out bathroom time.

3) I ran the 18 miles as a 12- and 6- mile loop. The first 12 miles were pretty good. The last 6 sucked! I probably walked for about a minute per mile and averaged about 10:20/mile. Beyond that, I desperately wanted to stop running. Mentally, I just was not there. I'd like to attribute this to the heat, and I hope that this will prove to be the cause of my lack of motivation. I'm proud of myself for sticking with it and finishing despite everything though!

4) I'm praying that the weather quickly transitions to a period of below average temperatures. Jon told me that he read something recently about how the season transitions have been delayed in the past couple of years. As with most climate-related observations, time will tell if the atmosphere is actually taking longer to respond to the earth's tilt. For now, I think that I would prefer snow in Philly next month to hot and humid. knock on wood.

no more pain. no more game. no more research.

2007-09-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

Activity: Volume Swim
Distance: 3200 yds
Time: ~1:05
The Workout:
200 w/u
400 drills (4 x 25 kick drill, 25 stroke, 25 stroke dril, 25 strokes)
100 IM
Ladder (15 s rests):
200 @ 3:15
400 @ 6:45
800 @ 13:30
400 @ 6:45
200 @ 3:00
100 kick
Sprints: 4 x 50 @ 40s (10 s rest)
200 c/d

I'm not sure what happened to me today, but I was hella fast in the pool. Did I seriously swim those 400s in less than 7 minutes? and the 800 in 13:30? And the sprints on 40s were almost easy! I must be in exercise deprivation since this is a recovery week.

After the swim, I hit up the Meteo 'tailgate' and actually consumed a hot dog (+ other more Steph-like foods like carrots and cheeeeese). I was that hungry. Granted, it was loaded with onion and relish, but it tasted gooooood. Now I'm full.

Jon and I are helping out with the Tussey Mountainback tomorrow. Rothrock State Forest in central PA, of all places, is hosting the 2007 USA 50 mile championships. Eighty ultrarunners will be competing for the title, and we'll be workin' the aid station at transition 4. I'm actually really excited for this! Randomly, there's also an all-day festival Kirkstock II somewhere near transition 10. Featuring 12 bands, 5 of which from State College, Otto's brews, and Clem's BBQ, there's a pretty good chance that I'll be there.

mood: really stressed out about work.
health: legs were still sore during yesterday's run, but i felt awesome in the pool today!

Reach the Beach 2007

2007-09-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

I'll just start off this post with our awesome team picture, taken at Cannon Mtn, start of leg 1.

Our other idea for the team picture was to spell out POOP. This was quickly deemed as crossing the line. Somehow I feel that the line was crossed as soon as we decided to name the team 'Dropping a Deuce.' Further reference to poop seemed entirely appropriate.

We drove up to NH on Thursday night, picking up Lauren on the way (she made God cake!). The next mission was to find food. Brandy and Lauren were really excited about the place that they ate last year, Uno's Chicago Grille. Meaghan just wanted food. Dave probably just wanted us to stop squealing haha. After stopping at a restaurant that had an hour wait, we found an ad for a diner a few exits up on I-93. En route we passed Uno's. It was right off of exit 14 on the right side of the interstate. (This information could be important for next year.)

Anyway, we finally made it to the Tilt 'n Diner (exit 20), where I was very excited about the fact that they were still serving breakfast. Veggie omelet - no cheese.

I wish that I had a picture of our hotel. It was, for lack of a better term, quaint. From the van, we were convinced that there was no way there could be room for two double beds, unless they were bunked. We didn't account for the possibility of a creative layout. Wait, I found the website! There are some quality pics online... I think that I managed to get 4-5 hours of sleep, fitting for the theme of the weekend.

We got to the race start a couple of hours before our 11am wave start to ensure that there was time to eat breakfast (the french toast was really yummy), get our team photo.. use the facilities .. and, of course, decorate the van. I love Lauren. 51 Jones love -->

And we're off!

In case you're interested, here's a detailed spreadsheet of each leg and our times. There are 36 legs in total, so most teams run with 12 people. There are 2 vans, the "on van" and the "off van." Since we ran with 10 (double entendre?!), we shuffled vans so that 6 runners were in the on van and 4 were in the off van (and trying to sleep). Every 6th transition was a vehicle transition area (VTA). Each of us had a buddy who was always in the same van. Mine was Ben Hackel "I only run once a year for RTB, and I still pass everyone." seriously amazing!

Quick summary of my runs:
1. My first run dropped > 1000 ft over 4.8 miles (3pm). I don't think that my quads ever recovered. Ben got to ascend the mtn - there was even a switchback!
1.5 VTA 12 was at a school. There was yummy pasta and chili. We managed to get 2 boys in trouble by convincing them to let us into the bathroom to use the sinks.
2. Hilly 7.8 mile (9pm). This was definitely my most challenging run. There were a couple of big hills at the end. The shoulder wasn't the best either, and I was disappointed by the amount of illumination provided by my head lamp. Thankfully, there were many vans passing to light my way. I got a little bit confused at the end of the run (the sign with dots was puzzling) and thought that I may have missed a turn. At one point, in complete disregard of quiet hours, I turned around and asked the runner behind me if we were going the right way. Clearly, I was not in the right state of mind: why would he be following me if he thought I was going the wrong way?? Hey, it was almost my bedtime.
2.5 I tried to sleep, unsuccessfully. Ben and I ended up being in the on van twice in a row over night. After the VTA, I was kinda hyper from lack of sleep.
3. Rolling 6.9 mi (6am). 24-hr Dunkin' at this transition. Run was pretty easy. There was a steep climb around mile 6.
3.5 Drove to VTA 30 and got a few hours of sleep. Hooray for sleep!
4. Flat 4 miler to finish. By the end, my quads were really burning. I could barely walk, but I managed to run! I was semi-annoyed I just missed the light at Rte 1 and had to wait a minute or two to cross.

Someone posted the entire route on mapmyrun.com.

I guess that I'll just finish this off with a photo journal...

Lauren is sporting our awesome get-up for running at night. The best part was choosing the blinking pattern for the flashing light. well, I was entertained.

Nerd van.

Not only did P. Thatcher get 3 insane legs, 2/3 of his runs were in the rain.

I don't even remember these pictures at the end. I think that I was sleep walking/running.

Amanda lookin' good on the final leg

We reached the beach!!

Post-race food was goooood. My hotel room's king-sized bed was even better.

Wow, RTB was a lot of fun and entirely different from any race that I've ever done. I loved the team relay experience (esp. the slap bracelet hand off) - reminded me a bit of the difference between club gymnastics and college. I wanted to run as fast as I could for the team, which probably helped me to run faster. Since I started to run again after my stress fracture, I have been focusing on increasing my weekly mileage and not on improving my pace. I guess that I've been a little bit afraid to push myself with speed work because I don't want to lose form and get injured again. Now that my mileage is up though, I can shift gears and work on my pace.

Lookin' forward to next year :-D

brain fart.

2007-09-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

A few updates:

1) I've decided to modify my blog format: rather than posting about every single workout, I will simply post important workouts (like long runs and bikes) and other tidbits that I think are important about my training. Since I log my workouts on both coolrunning.com and buckeyeoutdoors.com, I don't need to further litter cyberspace.

2) Last week I did a swim at the Nat on Friday... it was awesome. I love the wide-open lanes. Now that I have a bike lock, I can get over to the Nat on my bike in 5 minutes. sweet. I thought that I did a 2000m swim, but now I'm not sure... the website makes it seem like one of the pools is 25m while the other is 25 yds. I think that I swam in the yard pool. I like that I have the option to choose!

3) RTB is just around the bend! I'm semi-tapering since I will be running 23+ miles over 24 hours on Friday-Saturday. I did an 8 mile run this past Sunday where I planned a killer hill at the end of the run (I also sprinted miles 4-7... about 8 min pace which is fast for me). wasn't too bad. whatev. I like Lauren's mentality; if I have to stop and walk, then I'll walk. I'm hella excited. and you guys need boyfriends.

4) Speaking of RTB, I totally brainfarted last Friday and didn't go to 580. Great, now I'm missing 2 classes in a row of a class that's only once a week. I set an alarm on my phone so that I don't forget in the future. which means that I have to remember to bring my phone... and have the volume on... and make sure that it's charged. I'm such a mess.

5) Oh, and the PSU triathlon coach Paul Fritzsche came in 2nd at IM Wisconsin yesterday. While I was waiting for the live updates, I stalked some of the pro women. Hillary Biscay, who finished 2nd for the women, did her first IM in 12:29, just about 15 minutes faster than Brandy. This puts Brandy's IM finish in an entirely new perspective. wow.

joe pa.

2007-09-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

Activity: Easy Run @ 10:03 pace
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 47:23
Average: 9:28
Splits: 9:42, 9:42, 9:18, 18:39/2
Weather: 59/59 sunny

I've decided to disregard the suggested paces for these recovery runs. My goal is to just run at an easy pace. 10:03 is too slow...

I think that I ran by joe pa. It really looked like him with a woman who I guess would be his wife. He lives up off of Park Ave tho, so getting over to blue course would be a decent walk. whatev. i saw joe pa.

Oh, and we got our legs for RTB! I will be the 4th legs, which consists of an easy 4.8, hard 7.7, moderate 6.9, and easy 4. Total = 23.4 miles. Lauren has leg 5, so I'll be handing off to her. woohoo :-D I'm excited!

mood: not as stressed now.
health: easier to run at a perceived easy pace. joints are feelin' good!

turbulence is kickin' my ass.

2007-09-03T08:45:00.000-07:00

Activity: Long Run
Distance: 14 miles
Time: 2:19:35
Average: 9:56
Splits: 19:49/2, 9:50, 9:58, 20:02/2, 1:19:53/8
Weather: 61/61-71/63 sunny

What a beautiful day for a run!

So.. I'm having some issues with my brain feeling tired after these longer runs. I guess that I didn't try to do work after long runs last year... Mentally, I know that I can run 14 miles now, so I don't get as nervous about getting other stuff done. However, this becomes a problem when I have turbulence homework due the next day and one problem left to do. I will have to be more organized about getting homework done in the future!

mood: stressed out about work.
health: knees were a little sore at the end.

group ride!

2007-09-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

Activity: Long-ish Bike
Distance: 21.6 miles
Time: ~1:45:00

I don't know why I get so nervous to meet new people. Every time that I get into a new situation, I'm afraid that I will revert back to my shy high-school self. I certainly can feel awkward in some situations, but I think that most people do. I remember trying to tell Mario and Kerrie that I was shy and how they thought I was crazy! Anyway, this group ride was a lot of fun! I met a few CPR members and got in a nice, easy bike ride.

The ride actually also game me some confidence. I am much better at clipping in/out than I was even a month ago, and I was able to keep up with Paul on all of the steep hills... well, he might not have been pushing very hard, but I kept up with him!

I really liked everyone that I met: Paul and Sue lead the Sunday morning NRLB ride every week. There were only 4 of us altogether. Matthew, who's a chiropractor and also a beginner on the bike, rounded out the group. While I had a great time, everyone was quite a bit older than me... I guess that I'm inbetween the PSU tri club and CPR. I think that there are some younger people in CPR that do the longer and/or faster weekly rides tho. We'll see. I don't know if I'm confident enought (yet) to do the Wed fast(ish) ride. I may email the group to see if they plan to have a meeting this month tho. mmm facia luna

mood: met some very cool people.
health: i'm glad that the ride was easy because I have a 14 mile run tomorrow.

RU and ray rice romp on buffalo

2007-08-31T17:15:00.000-07:00

Activity: Easy Bike
Distance: 11 miles
Time: ~1 hour

I planned to do a swim this afternoon, but the weather was just too beautiful to be spent swimming laps in the White Building. Since I still wanted a light workout, I convinced Jon to go biking with me. It's definitely more challenging to bike now that everyone is back in town, but it's great practice with my clip-in. I almost took out a ran into a minivan at the intersection of Allen and College...

mood: this summer has had so may cool, clear days!
health: gearing up for the weekend workouts!

PR 7:36 mile :-D

2007-08-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

Activity: 5 miles (1.5 mi wu, two 1600m @ 7:57 w/ 800m rest, 1 mi cd)
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 48:51
Average: 9:18
Splits: 9:56 + 4:57, 1600 @ 7:36, 800 @ 5:12, 1600 @ 8:09, 10:36

I guess that I didn't enter this into coolrunning after my run - my mind was oriented on dinner! Anyway, 1600m is just about 1 mile.. I ran the first 1600 too fast and the 2nd a little too slow. I cannot recall ever running a mile in 7:36, tho I also don't think that I have ever tried to. I'm learning that I don't push myself enough as far as speed training: unless the workout calls for speed work, I'm usually content to run at comfortable jog, even for short runs. Speed work is good for me!

I think that I have figured out the deal with my shin pain. I tend to get muscle cramps there on my afternoon runs, and I think that it's related to hydration. I'm usually pretty hydrated in the morning, but I sometimes get lax about drinking water after lunch. probably because I pee alll day.

mood: honestly, i don't remember. I'm sure that i was in a good mood if I can't remember.
health: shin started to hurt a little bit on the 2nd 1600. I really think that I can fix this if I'm more careful about hydration and continue to do shin exercises.

FOOOOOTBALL!!

2007-08-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

Activity: Easy Run @ 10:01
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 48:51
Average: 9:46
Splits: 10:00, 9:35, 9:43, 19:31/2
Weather: 64/64 foggy

It's definitely a little bit hard to make myself run a 10 minute pace. These easy runs are supposed to give my body time to recover from the long run, but a 12 mile isn't really that long. I'm sure that when I do my 18 and 20 mile runs it will be much easier to run slowly.

There's a lot more activity on Central Penn Racing's listserv since everyone moved back into town. I am thinking about doing the No Rider Left Behind group bike ride on Sunday... then I'll do my long run (14 mi) on Monday. Since Monday is technically a holiday, I won't feel too badly about getting into work a little late. The weather this weekend is going to be beautiful, perfect for the first PSU game of the season! And for a long bike and a long run, of course :)

Also, I'm going to attend the first PSU tri club meeting of the semester next week. The tri club seems to be pretty active, and they have a pro triathlete coach. It seems like I should take advantage of this opportunity! As long as I don't feel too ancient, I'll join the club.

mood: who's excited for football?!
health: like i said, i don't feel like i need a recovery run right now, but i'll be loving it in a few weeks. it's good to get a workout routine going: reminds me of how frank had us do basics for our first gym workout every week.