Wicked 10K 2010

Last year I ran the Wicked 10K in Virginia Beach. It is my favorite of all the races I have done. Since it is right around Halloween, they have a costume contest and some of the costumes were unreal! People did such a great job and had such great ideas. It was fun to see them.


(This was the shirt I got for the race. It says "From Zero To Witch in 6.2 Miles". I thought it was hilarious!)

The race was flat which was a nice change from the hills of Richmond. I ran a consistant pace of 10:30 a mile and finised in 1hr 5 mins, which was a PR for me at the time. My Garmin was dead and I had left the charger at home so I had to just go for it and I think I did pretty good.



We got really great swag as well. I was surprised. I got a long sleeve technical shirt, a metal water bottle (at the end of the race with water in it!), a race hat, and the medal which was also a bottle opener!



And then there was the after party! It was so cool to end right on the boardwalk and have the party right there on the beach! Baker's Crust provided food which was chili in a bread bowl and a cookie. It was delicious!! And of course the main sponser, Blue Moon, gave away free beer. Can't beat that!

In 2 days I will be running this race again and I am starting to get really pumped up! Last year the day was so gorgeous and I had a really great time. This year I am looking forward to trying to set a PR and having another beautiful day. I highly recommend this race to any runner of any level. Its just a great time.

This is what 10 miles will get you

 

Awesome! Or not...

Now, let me just say that I have some tough feet. The last time I got a pedicure was last May and that was only because my awesome friend Christel took me out as a gift. I used to get pedicures ALL THE TIME. Who doesn't love getting their feet rubbed and scrubbed and having shiny, pretty toes? Then I started running and that put an end to my pedi fetish. My feet are pretty kick ass now and they can take a beating. The one thing they cannot take, is high heels.

For some odd reason I thought it would be a good idea to WALK all through BOSTON in 3 inch HEELS. Where I got that idea from...yea you can blame society and the fashion industry. I'm a girl that feels great wearing pretty shoes until they start to hurt. Props to Beave for piggy backing me when I couldn't walk anymore. I ended up with a nasty blister right where this one currently is.

The old blister healed up and went away and then I did my 10 miles this past Saturday. My feet ached when I got home and I asked the hubs to rub them for me. Being the wonderful, caring, loving spouse that he is, he rubbed my feet and informed me I had a blister. Since it didn't really hurt I didn't pay any attention to it. I sat down yesterday to lace up my Sauconys and saw it, WOW. That's a doozie. I guess the new skin from the Boston blister isn't as tough as the rest of my foot.

So....taking it easy and hoping this bad boy mostly goes away before my race this Saturday. I'll pack those giant Band-Aids just in case.

Training Weeks 5 & 6

Oops, looks like I missed a week. Not a whole lot happened really, it was 2 odd work weeks and being out of town threw my running schedule off. Oh well, it happens. Only 2 big things to report anyways.

1. Last week I decided to run a mile as fast as I could and I finished in 9:36. That's pretty fast for me and it's nice to know I still got it.

2. This past Saturday I did my longest run of 10 miles and it was rough. I think part of it was my shoes. The first 5 miles weren't too bad, but the last 5 were horrid. My knees and hips were not happy with me and my feet ached. The next day wasn't bad at all though. I was shocked that I was not sore.  I'm definitely only wearing my blue Sauconys for races and long runs from now on because my white ones are getting close to done.


So, in short, the big long run is done. I have the Wicked 10K this Saturday and I am getting really excited! It is my favorite race :-) Look for an update about last year's race sometime this week and a post about this year's race sometime this weekend.

Quote

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'

Quote

“The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg-not by
smashing it.” – Ellen Glasgow

Capitol 10 Miler

Capitol 10 Miler medal

I did this race last year thinking it would be a great way to get in a long run for training for the half. Little did I know how much I would enjoy it. The day was gorgeous and the weather was perfect. The course was a bit hilly which caused some trouble for my knees, but I did get to run through some interesting parts of the city. The course had some great views of the river and the memorials. It also was not a totally packed race so people were able to spread out and have room. This one lady and I fell into pace together and even though we didn't talk, we spent over half of the race running side by side and in a weird way it was nice to have some company.

The medal for this race is pretty awesome looking too. Part of me wanted to run it again this year but I was out of town for it. Right now I am trying to concentrate on the half and other things, so I am OK with not running every race I hear about. 

Conquering another hill!

Crossing the finish line!

Beautiful fall day in the river city and at the state capitol.

Quote

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."-Jim Ryan

Training Week 4-finding a groove

This week went pretty good. I have started to make spin class a part of my routine. So I run Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and I am going to spin Tuesdays, Thursdays and possibly Sundays.
Monday I ran and it went well, although my knee is starting to give me some trouble. It started with a sharp pain that quickly subsided when I walked, but then it felt like someone was gently tapping on my knee in the same spot over and over when I ran. Never had that happen before and it worried me.

I went to spin on Tuesday and whoa did that kick my butt.

Wednesday I was bad and skipped my run because I was up late the night before and was just exhausted after work. Plus it was C's birthday so I had things to do for that. Happy birthday hubby!!!

Thursday I have a doctor's appointment and didn't get home till 6ish but I made myself go for a quick run anyways. I'm glad I did although my knee was bugging me again.

Yesterday I had my long run of 8 miles. That is the farthest I have gone since like last March. I forgot how much it can hurt but how good it feels when you are done. I think even when I am not training I am going to try and work these long runs into my running routine more often. I feel great today. I ran a 4 mile loop that started and ended at my house, so when I hit four miles I took a quick break, stripped some layers and took a gel (which was nasty, I will never eat the citrus orange again, it tasted like soap) and headed back for the same 4 mile loop. It made the run seem a lot shorter than it was. I think I will stick with making a loops from now on instead of getting lost in all the neighborhoods.

I also started using Daily Mile and added the widget to my page. I'm excited to see those miles rack up!

Totals this week: 3+3+8=14 miles.

Just for fun, here's another picture from the Freedom Trail Run in Boston. We were waiting for the ferry.

Virginia Is For Lovers 14K

Last February I ran the Virginia Is For Lovers 14K in Virginia Beach. C and I headed down on Friday night. We went to the Red Star Tavern for dinner and I had mac and cheese with fried chicken. It was REALLY good. My other friend that was running the race and her husband and another friend met up with us there and we hung out for a bit before heading back to the hotel to get some sleep.

I was a little worried about the race because two weeks before it I had the flu and bronchitis. I finished my z pac on Monday but had a funky cough all week that veeeeery slowly went away. A 14K is 8.7 miles and that's not something you want to run when you have bronchitis. Luckily I was pretty much over it so it didn't go so bad. I also had a huge boost of confidence when I got my bib and saw that I was in corral 1. CORRAL ONE!!!!

I have never been that far forward in a race! I was determined to start with my corral so I pushed through the crowd and hopped fences to get in. C thought I was crazy. You have to be a little crazy to want to run miles upon miles for fun.

Anyways the race wasn't too bad. We ran around the Virginia Beach Amphitheatre which was pretty cool. It had snowed at the beach a few days before so there was still ice on the ground and as it got warmer out it got muddy. So we had to run through some mud and slide on some ice but for the most part it was good. The first few miles were pretty good but then I started to get winded. I had to walk a bit but I found that as I was walking I started coughing so I kept running to keep from coughing.

I finished in 1:39 which isn't too bad for not having run that far since early December. I had to skip out on my free food and beer though because we had to rush back to the hotel to check out. The after party was inside anyways which means it was loud and cramped. The shirt was a long sleeved technical which I really like and the medal was pretty cool too. Each lady that finished the race also received a carnation. :-) Hey, it's the little things.

My pretty medal that is also a bottle opener :-)

This was my 20th race. I have been running for almost 4 years now. Wow. That is hard to believe. I've done it though. I've set goals and I've stuck to them. I've worked hard and pushed myself to do things I never thought I would do. I've proven to others and to myself that I can set goals and achieve them. I'm pretty proud of myself.

Domestic Violence Awareness

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month!

This is a cause near and dear to my heart. Show a purple ribbon, help educate people on this great cause. Find a walk or a run that supports it.  Put a purple ribbon on your facebook page. Get out there and spread the word! Because love shouldn't hurt. 

5 Facts You Should Know

1. One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime
2. 85% of domestic violence victims are women
3. Females who are 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence
4. Most cases of domestic violence are never reported to the police
5. Witnessing violence between one’s parents or caretakers is the strongest risk factor of transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next

Break the Cycle

Avon's SpeakOut Campaign

Domestic Violence Awareness Project

 

Protein

Yesterday I had something happen to me while running that I have never had happen before.

I swallowed a bug.


Yup. It was pretty gross. I think it was a decent sized gnat. I saw it at the last second, felt it hit my lip, and since my mouth was open and I was breathing, it went right in and hit the back of my throat. I immediately started gagging and spitting but the bug never came up so I guess it went down.

I suppose that's one way to get your protein.

Running around Beantown

This past weekend we flew up to Boston to see my hubby's best buddy, Mike. Or as we call him, Beave...short for Beaver. Don't ask. We were also joined by another couple, Heather and Tim. Tim, Beave and Cory all played lacrosse together in college. It was a really great weekend and we had a lot of fun. I really liked Boston and was slightly surprised at how nice and clean the city is. I am excited to go back at some point. 

Hubby makes an appearance on the blog! We got free coozies and that was exciting.

I've been traveling with my parents since I was 12 years old. We've been all over Europe, England, Scotland and lots of Caribbean islands to go scuba diving. I couldn't go to a place like Boston, with so much history and not see the historical sites, so I got on Trip Advisor to see what was recommended. I found a guided tour that follows the Freedom Trail, and the best part was that you RUN IT! I mean, why not?? This is Boston we are talking about, home of the king of marathons. Beave had to play football and no one else was interested in running around the city so I signed up to do the tour by myself. I didn't care, I had a blast. If you're ever in Boston, you've got to do this.

First stop was the Massachusetts State House.

Our tour guide, Eddie-O was great. He told us so many cool little things about the places we went that we probably would have missed had we been just walking around without a guide.

Next was Granary Cemetery. It is filled with quite a few famous people. The graveyards were probably my favorite part of the tour. I'm ready for Halloween and these graveyards are just what I think of when I think of a creepy haunted Halloween.

Granary Cemetery

Paul Revere's grave on the left. The tiny one on the right is thought to be his original grave. They gave him a bigger stone when he became famous, which wasn't until after his death.

Skulls were all over the head stones. Graveyard filled with Tri Sigmas maybe?? (That's a shout out to my sorority sisters)

John Hancock, who is buried here without his head. Someone stole it before they could get his body moved back to Boston. Poor John.

Sam Adams. I don't remember what he was famous for but his beer is good!

Here we are at Kings Chapel. I want to go back and see the inside of this place. Eddie-O told us some really cool and creepy things about it.

Eddie-O!

This is the grave of Elizabeth Pain. She inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne, to write the Scarlet Letter. He was enthralled by her headstone. Notice how her symbol looks like an A? Every other month, a dozen red roses are left on this grave.

BONUS! The upcoming movie R.I.P.D. starring Kevin Bacon was being filmed at one of the places we stopped! We didn't see Kevin, but I got a few pictures before someone yelled at me for my flash going off. Oops.

Then we ended up at the Old State House. This is where the Boston Massacre took place in 1770. The balcony there is where Queen Elizabeth and President Ford stood when she came for a visit. He gave her a check for $33,000, the amount of the cost of all the tea that was dumped into the harbor by the Boston Tea Party. Ha! This is also where the Declaration of Independence was read to the people of Boston after it was written.

Old State House

We ran over the site of the Big Dig after this. It is where there used to be a highway and they dug a tunnel and put the highway underground. It cleaned up the area and made it more inviting. There are now gardens and fountains where there used to be highway.

From there we went over to the Italian area and ended up at Paul Revere's house. It is the oldest house in the US that is about 95% original. 

Paul Revere's house

From his house we went over to his statue. You can sort of see Old North Church behind the statue, which was our next stop. I didn't take a picture of this, but the story is pretty cool. The British knew that something was up so they were watching everyone pretty closely, men weren't even allowed out at night. The night that they hung the lanterns in the church (one if by land, two if by sea) the British came running into the church to find who was hanging the lanterns when they spotted them in the window. The man that hung them jumped out the back window because he knew the British would be blocking the doors. Today the window is bricked over.

Good Old Paul.

Old North Church while we were running to the next thing. That's part of our group. The red brick line on the ground is the actual Freedom Trail. You can follow it around the city yourself and find all the big historical sites.

This grave was in the last graveyard we stopped in. I can't remember the guy's name but the British hated him because he was a bootlegger. Since they couldn't catch him in life, they used his headstone for target practice. You can still see the spots where the bullets hit.

The Boston Skinny House! It is only 10 and half feet wide.

Once we left our final graveyard and the skinny house, we went to the Bunker Hill Monument...which isn't actually on the real Bunker Hill. That part was kind of confusing. Apparently the patriots back in the day went to the wrong hill...

This is the first monument in America. Look familiar? That's because the George Washington monument was modeled after this one.

It was getting really overcast at this point so I was glad that the tour was almost over. I was surprised by the weather. All week the forecast had called for rain but I got really lucky and it was only overcast and sprinkled on us. The weather was actually great for running. Just a bit humid, but I will take the humidity over a thunderstorm any day.

The U.S.S. Constitution, or Old Iron Sides. It is the only surviving ship out of the 6 that were built as America's first fleet. She launched in 1797. Her canons are fired twice a day, and they are so loud they set off every car alarm in the surrounding area.

Of course the tour wouldn't be complete without a picture of me running. And since I was alone, and wasn't going to ask someone to take my picture, I just took one myself. So there you go. I stayed in the back of the pack for this so no one would see me, lol!

I love running! And my friends think I'm crazy.

Boston Harbor. It was so cloudy, but I had to take a picture. I thought the pilings were pretty.

After the run and the football game we re-grouped and went to the Sam Adams Brewery and took a tour. The brewery is really tiny, so we looked at 2 rooms and then got to drink a fair amount of free beer. Most of Sam Adams is produced in their other 2 breweries which are not even in Massachusetts. The Boston Brewery only produces 1% of their beer. P.S.-If you find any White Ale, please send it my way.

The boys in the tasting room. They are too cute.

Once the tour was over our tour guide told us about an old bar down the road that bought the first keg of Sam Adams and served it, we could also get a special deal there where we could keep the swanky Sam Adams glasses, so we had to go do that of course. But we took a car, we did not run to the bar.

 

Our group!

The weekend was awesome. Boston is awesome. Running through Boston like a crazy woman was awesome. I fully intend to go back one day and do the run again. It was a total of 3 miles, but you stopped so frequently that you didn't even notice nor did you run out of breath or need water. The tour guide was super friendly and it is a fantastic way to make sure you get to most of the major historical sites if you are on a time crunch. Maybe next time someone will run with me!

Or maybe next time I will be running the marathon ;-)