Shamrock Marathon Weekend-March 19 & 20, 2011

Back in March 2011 I participated in the Shamrock Marathon Weekend in Virginia Beach. I signed up to do the Dolphin Challenge, which is when you run the 8K on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday. I had been really excited about this for awhile and had been training hard, but of course all my efforts were once again thwarted when I came down with food poisoning.
Thursday night C (my husband) and I went to The Melting Pot for my birthday. It is one of my favorite restaurants and I have been there several times before, but I guess something really got to me this time. I woke up Friday morning and it felt like someone was ripping my stomach open. I got up and went to work for my half day and got out of there ASAP. C and I had planned on taking a half day anyways so we could get to the beach early since there was no packet pick up on Saturday morning. I'm glad we did becausetraffic was pretty bad. Not to mention I felt like total hell.

Sorority sisters and their men met us for dinner Friday night. It was a good time to catch up.

I laid in bed and cried most of the night because I was in so much pain and couldn't sleep and kept thinking that I was going to be in the hospital the next day, unable to participate in my races that I had so been looking forward to.

I am one of those stubborn people that will run a race regardless once I have paid the race fee. So Saturday morning since I was feeling a little better I insisted on running my 8K. I was feeling kinda bad but thought it was because I had run on an empty stomach so we got lunch, hoping that would make me feel better. I had fun, but got sick later. Seriously, this is the worst pain I have ever felt.

By the sand sculpture that was not quite finished yet.

We spent the rest of the day taking it easy. C nursed me along and I was able to get up on Sunday and run. I think the magical bread at the Italian place we went helped a lot. It was a long walk from the hotel to the start and we didn't make it in time for me to start with my corral, which was 4. It was also terribly windy and cold. I ended up in the last corral, which was 6. I was with people who were walking at the start. Who walks a freaking half marathon??? I mean I know you can do it, but aren't you supposed to at least TRY and shuffle along quickly? After about mile 2 or 3 I finally got out of the slow mass of bodies and up with the real runners. I was feeling pretty good for awhile. Then I got about half way done and my body had about had it with me. My hamstrings pretty much suck as it is so they were tight and hurting and they made my lower back hurt worse than it has in my whole life. I walked a lot and held on to my lower back, leaning over in pain. I've never been so happy to see a finish line. But I was able to run and look happy for the finish...

I collected all my finisher's items and food and walked around the gate to meet C where I promptly buried my face in his chest and burst into tears. It was the hardest race I think I have done, mostly because I felt so sick. It is a shame that I felt so bad because I was really looking forward to that weekend and it kinda put a black cloud over it...not to mention it was my birthday as well...

After I got that out of my system and sat for a few minutes to give my back a break, we went over to the party tent and I got some Irish stew and some free beer in me. I felt a little better after that and cheered up some. The stew was sooo great and really helped me out.

 

I gave the beer the thumbs up since it didn't make me feel worse.

I won't say I didn't have fun, because I did. It was nice to get away for the weekend, it just stinks that I had to be sick AGAIN for a long race. I had a sinus infection at the Richmond half marathon just a few months before. I do recommend this race though because it had everything a runner could want, right down to corny jokes along the course...

So what did I get for my race fees?

-2 medals

-a technical shirt

-a finisher's shirt

-a finisher's hat

-a long sleeved shirt

-2 free drawstring backpacks

-free stew and beer

And since I also completed the Dolphin challenge, I got a pin that looks like the medals but has a dolphin on it. I also completed the Live, Love, Run VB Challenge, which is where you run all four of the J&A races in one year, starting with the Wicked 10K in October and ending with the Shamrock in March. For this I got a pint glass and a cooler!

My awesome medals, which are also bottle openers!!

Sham Rock On friends...

my medals

I saw an add in the back of Runner's World a few months ago for this thing you could hang your medals on. I showed it to my husband, and he being the handy guy that he is, made me one! I designed it, he cut it out of the wood and I painted it. I love being able to see my medals instead of having them sitting in a box in the closet :-)

WhOa!!!!

Not a running related post, but we had an earthquake today here in RVA!
I was in the car when it happened so I didn't feel it at all, but when I got to Wal Mart it was chaos in there! They were telling everyone to leave the store and people were just standing around stunned. It was a little crazy. I wasn't freaked out since I didn't feel it. My husband works downtown and he said it sounded like something really heavy fell and then the building shook. I went home after Wal Mart and found my dog acting normal, the guinea pig oblivious and all the pictures still hanging on the walls. No harm here, but that does explain why the house has been creaking non-stop the last few days...I'll take note of it next time.
I did feel the one we had back in 2003. That one I won't forget. I was up in my dorm room on the 9th floor and the whole building swayed. It got eerily quiet and then the place exploded with people yelling.

OK, maybe I will make this running related. I ran 4 miles this morning! That's the farthest I have gone since May. It was a gorgeous day out today, earthquake and all. Maybe the earth was just shivering with joy because the weather was so beautiful!

Two Holiday Races

This post is about two races that I did back to back in 2 days. I have never done 2 in a row before and it was extra fun because it was a girl's weekend. My sorority sister Bonnie told me about the Surfn' Santa 10 Miler, so we decided to do it together. I think it would have been much more fun if the weather had been warmer and I had remembered to stretch my hip flexor...after having so much trouble with my hip I have no idea how I could forget to stretch it. I guess I was concentrating on other things. All in all though it was a good race. It's always nice to run in Virginia Beach because its flat and its always nice to have girl time.
We got a wind breaker jacket for this race which turned out to be a really nice pull over type of thing that will be good for the windy beach nights and chilly mountain evenings.

Santa with his surf board.

When we ran this race last December it was the first year for it. J&A Racing had to change the race course the week before the race, so we ended up running mostly on the boardwalk, and then we had to loop back down towards the finish, turn around near the finish and run back out another 3 miles and back to actually finish. They should have had us either zig-zag between the buildings or go up another mile and a half and then come back down. Having to go in and back towards the finish was a little sad. But I was SO GLAD to get through those doors, back into the heat and get a hold of a banana! We were so ready for a shower that we completely skipped out on our free beer from Samuel Adams. I felt rather sick too. I took my coat off and sat on the floor and hugged my knees while I ate my banana. Sitting never felt so good.


I think what made this race hard on me was that I had slacked off since the half. I know that rest time is invaluable, but I guess I took too much. The weather conditions had a lot to do with it too I believe. I'm miserable in the cold anyways, but running into a cold head wind that's going 29mph is no fun at all. And there is nothing more windy than the beach in December.

No one was there to take pictures for us so we had to do it ourselves. It was somewhat successful as you can see.

King Neptune was cool to run past and it was a beautiful day even though it was so cold.

After our wonderfully hot showers, we went up to Newport News and stopped at Cracker Barrel (quickley becoming an after race tradition for us) and then headed to hang out with another sister for a bit before heading on to Williamsburg for our next race.
Williamsburg was our next stop after that. I love that place. Its a great place to go when you just want to get out of town for the day or even a night. I just really like hanging out there. We went to packet pick up for the Christmas Town Dash 8K that was Sunday morning, and then hit the outlets. Dinner at Carrabba's was fabulous and then we went to bed. We were up late on Friday night because we kept talking and we couldn't sleep, but sleeping wasn't an issue Saturday night. It also snowed a little which was magical in its own way since we were running Christmas themed races. Christmas just isn't the same without snow.

Sunday morning we got up early and left for Busch Gardens (where the race was held) at 7:15AM. We left so early (even though our hotel was about 3 minutes away from the entrance) because the people at packet pick up scared us into it. They said that if anyone wasn't in the gates by 8AM they were closing them and locking people out. So we made sure we were in there. Once we got parked we started to head down to where the race started and people were walking back to their cars. Turns out that the race had been delayed 30 minutes because of traffic. There was an accident on 64 westbound (you think Richmond drivers are bad, you should see folks south of Williamsburg...) and it was blocking 2 lanes of traffic and delaying people from getting there. So the race finally started at 9AM and we were glad to go!! In the parking lots there are no trees around so the wind was hitting us harder than the day before. It was cold at the beach, but it was just plain BITTER in Williamsburg. ICK!! We ran the entire thing but our times weren't the best because the race was so packed and since they didn't start people in corrals, it was really bottle necked in some places. You could pick the first time runners out of the crowd because they just walked down the middle of the course instead of moving to the side. Anyways, it was better once we got into the park. Lots of trees to keep the wind from blasting, and Busch just makes me happy anyways. I love that place. I really enjoyed running through it. I can't wait till the rides open again in the spring.

We were glad we did the 2 races because they were both inaugural races. It also made for a fun weekend, even though it was so cold.

Quote

"In running, it doesn't matter if you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that." ~ Fred LeBow

Run Like A Girl 8K

Here in Virginia we have the Run Like a Girl 8K. There are 2 races around Richmond and one in Virginia Beach. The race supports the HERA Foundation, which works to fight against ovarian cancer. Only women can run in this race which makes it fun and special.

I have run both of the races that are in Richmond. The first one I ran back in May of 2010, which turns out to be a trail run. I have never run on a real trail before and this race just about did me in. I ran on gravel, dirt, grass, weeds, hopped a small creek...even ran right past a rabid racoon that was sitting on the side of the trail. It was hilly and it seemed very long. I am glad I did it becuase I can now say I have done a trail run...and that I will avoid them in the future. I am definitely a road racer...but I would say try it out at least once so you get a feel for it and can find out for yourself whether you like it or not.



Running in the woods!

 The other race is in the fall and it is a road race. A very hilly road race.  I had a good time in this one because my big sis (sorority) Bonnie came down and ran it with me. I had a great time running with her because she actually stayed with me. I can't really talk and run at the same time but it's nice to have someone there with you. Despite getting a cramp in my side and having to walk a few times, we still made great time and I finished 10 minutes faster than I did back in the spring! It was a chilly morning but we had a lot of fun. The race swag was really cute too! I got this sling backpack that I wear to the gym and anywhere else I don't feel like taking a purse.

Bonnie and I waiting for the start!

I am pretending to run, Bonnie is getting ready to fight someone...

Coming up a hill, get this over with!

Crossing the finish line!!

I did enjoy this race and it is fun to say that I ran it. I had to laugh when a friend of mine said she was running the trail run this last spring. I told her to have fun. When I saw her at work on Monday she told me it was "brutal".
I definitely would only recommend this 8K to people who are a little more comfortable with running. An 8K isn't all that far, but it seems a lot farther when you are running on surfaces that you are not used to running on or are not used to hills.
Overall they were enjoyable and I do have an itch to run one of them again...I'll skip the trail run though!

Quote

“The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” ~ John Bingham

Race for the Cure

The Central Virginia Race for the Cure is a fun little race. It's great because it is a 5K, nice and quick and everything is PINK! And who doesn't love pink? Not to mention it is all to support a great cause. Save the ta-ta's!

I've run this race three times now and this past year was the most fun. They have great vendors at the finish, which they moved to Brown's Island in the middle of the James River. You get things like lip gloss, shoe laces, head bands, coupons, flower pots, pens and Panera bagels. Yum! And everyone gets a medal too.

2008-First time I ran this race it was with my friend Mara who also got me into running. We had a lot of fun!

2009-Cory and I ran this race and had a good time. It was VERY  hot though and were glad to be finished.

2011-I ran it alone this past year, and I did great. To my astonishment I ran the first mile in 8 mins 44 secs! I still have no idea how I ran that fast since I was the kid in high school that ran the mile in 15 minutes or more. I have always hoped of getting that time down to at least 9:30, but 8:44?! That's just crazy! Overall I finished the race in 30 minutes flat. Another PR!

Richmond Half Marathon

Aaaah the Richmond Marathon...this is the race that inspired me to start running. Although I have not run the marathon yet, I have run the half marathon that is associated with this one. I've run it 3 times and every time I do it I think to myself, why am I doing this? Why am I putting myself through this? But it is so worth it every time to feel that sense of accomplishment.

This race is called "America's Friendliest Marathon" and it's true! There are people cheering along the way, handing out water...and beer and liquor. The expo is fabulous as well. Lots of vendors and great stuff to check out. The best part of this race? The downhill finish!

2008-This was the first year I ran this race. It was tough because I had never run that far before and my hip was all messed up. I am glad I did it though.

2009-Second time running this race. Ran a lot better, trained a lot smarter and harder, and had a lot more fun. I also tried gel for the first time. I didn't think I would like it but I love gel. If you've never tried it, you should. It gives you a great boost of energy for those long runs. The chocolate tastes like eating icing and if you love chocolate icing like I do, you will be in seventh heaven. I also discovered the plastic space blanket thingy. Its amazing how great that thing works. I cut my time down by 20 minutes as well!

2010-Third time running this half. Unfortunately I had to run it with a sinus infection. I was frustrated for most of the race had a hard time breathing. But somehow through all my struggles, I finished faster than the year before and set a PR.

Will I run it again this fall? I haven't decided just yet. It's definitely a race worth traveling for though if you are from out of town!

quote

“Run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.” – Dean Karnazes, Runner

Monument Avenue 10K

The first race I ever ran was the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K.  I have now run it four times. A 10K is 6.2 miles and it is a good place to start if you are very determined, otherwise I would say start with a 5K. You can work your way up from 3.1 to 6.2 pretty easily.

This race will forever hold a special place in my heart because it was my first race. I believe it is also turning into the largest race on the east coast. This past spring there were over 41,000 runners and walkers signed up for it! There were SO many people out there! I had been running a lot over the fall and winter and was more ready for this race than I realized I was. I set a PR this past spring in this race, even with all those people! I did a LOT of ducking and weaving and ran my heart out to set that PR.

There are several things that make this race so great.
1-The YMCA training team. Training starts several weeks before the event and the coaches help you along the way. The day of the race they are out there as well, cheering you on. There is this one coach, I can't remember his name, but he has a very distinct "holler" that he belts out all through training and you can hear it coming down the road on race day. Not only do they run with you, but they also teach you about hydration, shoes, stretching, all those little things that beginners don't necessarily think about.
2-It's a fast, flat course. Basically this race goes up one side of Monument Avenue and down the other. It is a very old street in Richmond with beautiful houses, big old trees, and large grassy medians. On the medians there are different groups who cheer you on, perform dances, and play music. It is one big party the whole way.
3. Costumes! This race has a costume contest you can enter and people get VERY creative. I've seen pirate ships, curling teams, Pac Man, the squirrel from Ice Age...people come up with some crazy and creative stuff.
4. The expo. For a 10K, this expo is HUGE and there is a lot of stuff to check out.

If you are in the Richmond area, or even on the east coast, I suggest you check out this great race!

Back in 2008. I was such a newbie. We were soaking wet because it rained on us, but I was so happy :-)

2009-Cory ran with me!



 I also ran for one of my students who had leukemia at the time. She completed her treatment this past summer!

2010-Cory ran with me again! It was REALLY cold that year.

 But he hurt his knee and was in a lot of pain so I had to force a smile out of him. Literally.

2011-This past year when I set my PR!

 I ran for Chris this past year, a man I admired and will deeply miss.

Have any of you ever run this race? What did you think of it?

A New Beginning

Hello and welcome! I am Tori and I love running! I've been blogging for about 11 years off and on, and I have been running for nearly 4 years. After a lot of consideration, I have decided that it is time to combine the two. Here you will find all my ramblings about running; everything from races I have run to rants about gear and training. I hope you enjoy these ramblings as much as I enjoy putting them out there for you!

Over the next few weeks I will be blogging about past races. In 8 months I ran 13 races, so I have a lot to say! Probably should have started this blog awhile ago, but in life, you can't go back, so you have to go forward, and that's how I roll.

To learn a little more about me and my running journey, check out my page, About this Chick.

To see races I have run and times, check out my Race page!

Why chicks in the background? Because I am a runner chick! Get it?!