I QUIT!

That's right people. I quit my job! I feel so good about it!! Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed my job...working with all of my assigned sports (Volleyball, Tennis, Swimming/diving, and Crew), the coaches were great, the athletic administrators were awesome, and everything. But, the crap that I got from the head athletic trainer and his side-kick...it was time to go.

I'm not going to get into details or anything because that would be unprofessional, but I feel great! I no longer have to go into work every day scared that I'll do something wrong, no more crying from stress and the things that my supervisors said to me, and no more bullshit (pardon my french). I'm so glad I quit, I don't think I could've handled it for another 3 months. I know that I'll miss my athletes dearly, but I just couldn't take it anymore. I know that wherever else I work, that it will be so much better. I have learned a lot from all the negative things here, and I'm better for it. If I'm ever in a supervising/managing position, I will not treat people how they treated me and my coworkers.

I quit at the perfect time too. I can move home and not have to worry about asking for time off to go home for mother's day, wedding dress shopping, for a family reunion in June, or my mom's 50th birthday bash! I really feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, and I can't wait to move home!!

The best experience I had working here was getting to travel to Florida for the volleyball conference championship tournament. It was held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports (formerly known as the Disney Wide World of Sports). It was a great time! We got to go to the Disney Parks, I got to network with other Athletic Trainers, and it was just plain fun!

I've learned a lot from working here, and I'll miss all the great people I met and worked with...but it was just time to go.

Have you ever had a horrible work experience?
What was your best work experience?

the 115th Boston Marathon

ok ok. So I've been lazy about blogging about the Boston Marathon, but here it is. I left my camera with my future mother-in-law for the marathon, so I don't have any pictures from anything until after the race.

On the morning of the marathon, we got up at 5:30am to get ready and to catch a shuttle to the "Athlete's Village." First, we took a shuttle from the hotel to the train, took a train to the Boston public garden, and that's where we caught a shuttle. The shuttle was a school bus, and it took an hour to get to Hopkinton where the athlete's village was. We got there around 7:30am, and athlete's village was crazy. It was on the grounds of a local high school. I have never seen so many port-a-potties in my life!! There were hundreds of them! And what's even crazier is that I still had to stand in line for 30 minutes!!

They had buses for us to put our bags on so that we could have our stuff at the finish line. It was all done by bib number. What bus you put your bag on, and where in the bus it went was determined by your bib number. I was wearing several layers of clothes that I definitely didn't want to wear during the marathon, so I put them in my bag onto the bus.

We left athlete's village according to our wave number and corral number to head to the starting line. It was a .7 mile walk from athlete's village to the starting line (according to the map they gave us). My wave started at 10:20am, and I had to leave athlete's village at 9:40am to make my way to the starting line. So, I was leaving athlete's village before wave 1 even started (they started at 10am). Since I had to wait in line for the potty for 30 minutes, I barely made it in time to my corral at the starting line.

Once we got started, it was crazy. There were so many people running! I definitely weaved in and out of people, but I tried to stay on the same side of the road as best I could. There was water/gatorate and port-a-potties at pretty much every mile. They had water and gatorade on both sides of the road which made going through the water stops interesting. People would grab the cups and just stop running, and I almost ran into several people that way. There was one time that someone threw a water cup and it splashed all over me!

The crowd was electric!! There were so many people that came out to cheer!! I gave out hundreds of high-fives along the way, but after a while, I stopped giving them out because I didn't want people to touch me. With less than a mile to go, I saw somebody getting a sobriety test on the side of the road (spectator, not a runner). I thought it was funny.

The girls of Wellesley are definitely loud! They're pretty much the most famous cheering section of the Boston Marathon. I could hear them like a half a mile before I even got to them. I heard that they're called the "scream tunnel." An older guy told me while running, that they were coming up and he would be staying on the far side of the road because they hurt his ears. Most of the girls had signs saying "Kiss me..." There were girls holding signs that said "Kiss me I'm Vegan" and "kiss me I'm a senior" and a lot of girls had signs saying "Kiss me I'm from [a specific state]." I actually kissed a girl on the cheek who was holding a sign that said, "Kiss me I'm from NC."

During the marathon, I was running really good for the first half. I was on pace to run under 3:19:00!!! Then at mile 15, I stopped at a port-a-potty. I was in it for a little more than 5 minutes. I knew that I would not be able to make up the time, so I relaxed and then right before heartbreak hill I hit the wall...and I hit it hard. After hitting the wall, I walked a bit and even stopped to stretch one time. My finishing time was 3:50:00! Surprisingly, not meeting my goal time really didn't bother me at all. I still ran in and finished the Boston Marathon, and it was an AWESOME experience.

After crossing the finish line, I felt like a baby cow in a herd of cattle. We had to keep walking and grab stuff along the way. There was water, gatorade, our space blankets, our medals, a bag of snacks, banana, powerbar, and gatorade recovery. Then you had to find the bus that your bag was on and pick that up, but I skipped the bus and headed straight to the family meeting area. As soon as I finished the marathon, all I wanted to do was find Josh. He had been in Wave 1, and had to leave athlete's village at 9am to head to the starting line. Once I found him after I finished, I asked him, "Why did we want to do another marathon? Why did we do this?" lol. After finding him, I went back to the buses to find my bag. Then we left to go back to our hotel, shower, and go to dinner with my family.

It was a fantastic experience, and I hope to do it again sometime. We said that if/when we do the Boston Marathon again that we will run it together instead of separate, that we'll bring a camera with us during the race, and that we won't have any goal times for it. As for my next marathon, I'm thinking of running in the Thunder Road Marathon in Charlotte, NC in November of this year.

Boston Funsies

We drove to Boston from Baltimore. It was an 8.5 hr drive. Josh and I are used to driving 7 hrs to come see each other between NC and Baltimore, so 8.5 wasn't that bad. It was cheaper than both of us flying. On Sunday, we picked up our bib numbers and went to brunch at the Top of the Hub restaurant. It was fancy.

After brunch, we walked around the expo. It was a mad house!! There were so many people and booths and stuff. We didn't really stay for too long because neither of us like crowds. We walked around to see what their was and then got out of there.

a port-a-potty fitting room at the expo

Then we went to the finish line and took some pictures. 

Then there was the pre-race dinner. They had circus people entertaining us in the line for food. They had assigned times for us to go to the pre-race dinner to keep things organized. Josh and I had different times to go. I had 4:30p and he had 5p. We ended up getting there close to 6p. The people at the dinner never checked our ticket times to see when we were supposed to be there. I'm glad we were able to eat together. 

I don't like clowns. but this dude on stilts was cool

We ate dinner with a guy from California that had done 82 marathons and the 2011 Boston Marathon was going to be his 83rd!! The Boston Marathon was only my 2nd marathon. Him and his wife were really fun to talk to, and I guess I need to run some more marathons...

Before heading home, we stopped by Harvard and Fenway Park. My little brother is a big Boston Red Sox fan, so I made sure we stopped at Fenway to get some pictures just for him. 

 

There was so much stuff to see and do in Boston that we didn't get to. I wish we had been able to stay another day or 2 so that we could've seen more stuff. I'm sure we'll go again sometime.

And hopefully next time we come, my grandparents will be able to come too. They weren't able to come as planned this time because 2 weeks before the marathon, my grandpa had open-heart surgery to replace a valve in his heart. I know that they wanted to come to Boston for the marathon so bad, so we'll be sure to do it again sometime.

More on the actual marathon to follow soon...

on the finish line

Ok. I'm so excited that I can't even post about the Boston Marathon right now! Why can't I post about it? Because I'm ENGAGED!!! That's right! My boyfriend, Joshua Pinyan, is now my fiance! I know everyone is dying to know all the details, so here it is....

We were walking around at the finish line getting pictures the day before the marathon, since we figured we wouldn't be able to on race day. We had been walking around all day and we were late for the time we were supposed to arrive at the pre-race dinner (we had assigned times to go), and we didn't really know how to get to the place for the pre-race dinner. I was tired and starting to get a little cranky and was pushing Josh to ask someone where we were supposed to go.
Then he said he wanted to go back to the finish line before we went to the dinner beacuse he wanted to see something. I didn't know what he wanted to look at, but I figured it was just something about the professional runners that would be racing.
Once we got back to the finish line, he looked around and said something about how he didn't see whatever he was looking for. Then he took my hand and said (roughly, don't remember exactly because of all the excitement), "This is the finish line, but it could also be the start of something more." He got down on one knee, said something about me being his best friend, and proposed.
After some happy crying on my end, some hugs and kisses...We got someone to take our picture.

The person taking the picture for us asked if it was something official, and when we said yes, a whole crowd of people cheered their congratulations. It was definitely the perfect proposal for us!

No, we do not have a date set yet. The wedding will be held somewhere in NC sometime in 2012. Posts about the actual marathon and the rest of our visit to Boston will follow soon...

Almost there...

With only 1 full day left before I travel, there is still so much to do. I've already checked some things off of my "to do" list like getting the oil changed in my car, doing laundry, and getting my hair trimmed (got to look good, ya know!!).

Unfortunately, I've been sick this week. Whatever I have, it hit me on Monday. After going 5 months without being sick, it just had to hit me the week before the biggest race in my life. I didn't even get sick when I was doing my runs in 15 degree weather!! It's nothing bad, just a head cold, but I'm just a little frustrated at the timing. Positive thought: at least it didn't hit me on race day....that would be super miserable.

I'm putting off packing as long as possible. I know I'll bring WAY too much stuff if I pack too far in advanced. I would just keep adding things that I think I might want. I do know  that I'll be bringing a bunch of shoes. lol. I'll be bringing my trainers, my racers, flip-flops, my toms, heels, maybe some cute flats, and maybe the shoes I wear to work. What do I need heels for? Well, Josh is taking me out to Sunday Brunch at the top of the hub restaurant for our 1.5 yr anniversary (It's kind of a big deal for us). It's a kind of fancy restaurant, so I'm gonna wear a cute dress and heels. anyway...

Since this will be my last post until my return from Boston, I want to say thank you to some people. Many thank yous to my roommate Stephanie for getting the oil changed in my car, for trimming my hair, and for the hours you'll be covering me at work. And to Rachel and Jonathan for, also, covering for me at work while I'm gone!! You guys are the best!! I know that without you, this trip wouldn't be possible!! I can't thank you enough!!!

I want to give a HUGE thank you to all of my family and friends for all the love and support you've been giving me lately. I feel so blessed to have so many people who love and care about me!!

And because Sunday will also by my little brother's 21st birthday and I won't be there to celebrate with him.....

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY MIKEY!!!!



Mikey in 3nd grade



Mikey all grown up!



I love you Mikey!! We'll celebrate when I come home from Boston!!

Much love to everyone!! Here, again, is spectator information. My bib # is 14740 and Josh's is 833!! Now onto packing and prepping and then the funsies of Boston!!

Boston Spectator Information

I know that a lot of people want to watch the Boston Marathon on TV just in case they get to see me in the race. They usually show just the elite men and women during TV and online broadcasting of races. Well, here is a link to spectator information that includes text updates, race day media coverage, race day schedule and lots of other stuff. Props to the Boston Athletic Association for being unbelievably organized.

racing gear prep

There's less than 1 week until the Boston Marathon. I'm starting to worry less about the race and more about the traveling details. This past weekend, I didn't sleep well because I would go to bed thinking about all the things I was going to pack, worrying about gas prices, food for the trip, and what I would say to Ryan Hall if I met him (he's going to be at the expo, so I might get to meet him).

Ryan Hall currently the fastest American marathoner (I'm a fan)

Anyway, in preparation for the marathon, I did a 10 mile run in pretty much what I plan to wear for the marathon, including my race shoes. I just bought a new shirt for the marathon that is BRIGHT pink. My family wants me to wear something noticeable just in case they get to see me on TV (which is highly unlikely even with the bright shirt). I hadn't worn the shirt running yet, and it was important in my mind to test it out. I think more important than testing out the new shirt, was breaking out my race shoes that I haven't worn in about 5 months.

I promise the pink shirt is brighter in person.

My race shoes are pretty different than my training shoes. I can't tell you the exact specs on them, but I can definitely feel a difference when I wear them.

trainers on the left, racers on the right.

As you can see, my trainers are Asics and my racers are Adidas. My racers are significantly lighter than my trainers, and since I don't wear them very often, they have far less miles on them. I started wearing this particular pair of training shoes in January, and they now have over 400 miles on them. I can definitely feel that they're worn out when I run in them because my feet and ankles will start to ache pretty badly. I'm not sure how many miles my racers have on them, but I think it might be under 100. Since my racers are not worn out, my feet and ankles should feel good on race day and light as a feather. Also, my racers have sentimental value because my boyfriend got them for me for Christmas in 2009, 1 month before our first marathon (he did a good job).

Anyway, I busted out my racers for my 10 mile dust-off run this weekend. I hadn't really run much during the week, and I wasn't sure how I was going to feel. Once I started running, I felt amazing. My legs felt strong, my fast pace felt pretty easy, I was in a groove, and I was just cruising. I didn't mean to run fast, it just happened. (It must be the fresh legs from the tapering). After this weekend's run, I'm confident that I'll be able to run a strong performance.

Whatever you wear for a marathon, you should wear at some point before you race in it (testing it on long runs is best) just so you know that it won't irritate you and that you feel good in it (unless you plan to dress in a monkey suit or something).

A note for my family: If it's cold on race day, I will be layering clothes. Therefore, even if you happen to see me on TV (still highly unlikely),  my pink shirt will probably be covered up.

Freaking out!

I'm travelling to Boston for the marathon in exactly 7 days. As it has been getting closer, more people have been asking me, "Are you ready?" Based on all the training and miles that I put in, I'm definitely ready, but the more I think about the race the more nervous I am.

I've done plenty of races so you would think that I wouldn't be all that nervous, but I'm more nervous for this race than any other race I have ever done....EVER. This is THE Boston Marathon! The one that so many people strive to make it to, the most prestigious marathon in the world....and I'm going to be running in it in 10 days at the nice young age of 22!

The things I'm most nervous about are:

• Not reaching my goal that I've set for myself
• Getting eaten up by the crowd of runners
• Getting run over
• Forgetting something

My first and second fears kind of go together. I'll be starting the race with people who have similar qualifying times, but I want to go much faster than the time I qualified with. For my age group (18 - 34), to qualify for the Boston Marathon, I had to run a 3:40:00. (The qualifying times will be changing for the 2012 Boston Marathon, just FYI). For my first marathon, I didn't train properly and my only goal was to qualify. I ran my marathon in 3:37:32 to qualify.

I've been training hard for Boston, and I'm pretty confident I could run a 3:18:00. That's almost 20 minutes faster! Since I'll be starting the race with people who had qualifying times similar to 3:37:00, I'm afraid I'm going to get eaten up by the crowd of runners at the start and that I won't be able to run a 3:18:00.

Another thing is that Boston is by far the largest race I will have ever taken part in. There are over 25 THOUSAND people participating in Boston this year!! The biggest race I've ever run in was maybe 1 thousand participants.

I don't like big crowds, I usually tend to stay away from them, but I'm going to be smack in the middle. There's going to be a 3 wave start for Boston this year. Wave 1 starts at 10am, Wave 2 starts at 10:20am, and Wave 3 starts at 10:40am. I am in wave 2. I will literally be in the middle of the giant crowd of runners.

The reason I stay away from crowds is because I'm small. I'm only 5 ft tall and I weigh about 100lbs. Every time I get stuck in a crowd of people, I get stepped on, pushed, bumped into, etc. I don't like it. I just hope that I won't get run over by the mob of runners at Boston.

The race is super organized, and I'm really afraid that I'm going to forget something. Whether I forget socks or something like that I doubt it, but there are a million other things to remember. There are shuttles that take the runners to the start. The shuttles have specific times, and depending on what wave your in depends on what time you can get a shuttle to the start. At the start, there are buses for baggage check so that you can have your stuff at the finish line. There are certain buses for baggage check, in different locations in the "athlete's village" depending on your wave. (The "athlete's village" is just a place for the runners to hang out until they make their way to the starting line, and only the runners are allowed in). Also, within each wave there are corrals that you're assigned to. The corrals are based on your Bib #. I'm in wave 2, corral 6. Depending on the corral your in within your wave depends on when you go to the starting line......OK. You get the point. There's a ton of stuff to remember.

I'm so nervous. I feel like I should wear a sticker saying "Be nice to me this is my 1st Boston." Similar to the ones they give out at blood drives...

In planning and training for this race, it felt so far away, but now it's actually here. It's only 10 days away, and I'm kind of freaking out a little. Has anybody done a big race before? Anybody have any advice for me or something that will help calm my nerves??

Secrets of slim people...whatever

When I'm bored at work, I read the different "news" stories that Yahoo posts on their main page. Ever so often, there is an article about the "secrets of skinny people" or something along those lines. I always read it just to see what they say. Here's  the one they had posted today.

I am a slim person. I have been the same size and pretty much the same weight since my sophomore year of high school.

freshman yr of college

this year

As you can see, not much difference in my size (sorry, didn't have any pictures from high school). The tips and secrets they give in the articles pretty much never change. I don't do or follow most of the "secrets" listed in the articles, and it always makes me wonder who the heck they talked to.

The "secrets" listed in today's article are:

1. Drinking tea high in antioxidants
2. Working out before breakfast
3. Eating breakfast
4. Taking your time to eat your food (savoring it)
5. Eating at the same time every day
6. Drinking a few cups of water before eating a meal
7. Weighing yourself weekly

Out of the 7 "secrets," I only do like 3 of them.

• I do eat breakfast every day. If I don't, I'm a huge grump and it's not pretty.
• I do eat at about the same time every day, mainly because I get hungry around the same time every day, not because I plan it that way.
• I do weigh myself weekly, but that's because it gives me a reason to leave the office (the scale is in the weight room the floor below me) and I don't want to be losing weight especially with the big miles I've been running lately.

Here are some things that I do that I think have helped me maintain my slender figure.

• I try to eat a balanced diet. I LOVE fruits, veggies, carbs, and protein! I always try to eat a variety of different produce and just food in general. Variety is important!

• Sleep is important. I LOVE sleep. I get between 7 - 10 hrs every night. Sleep helps your body recover from the day, so not getting enough sleep can hurt you and weaken your immune system.
• I don't eat BIG meals, I snack throughout the day, and I don't eat out very often. My snacks are usually fruit, granola bars, yogurt, or something like that. If I do eat out or eat a BIG meal, I tend to not snack as much.
• And of course, I run. Physcial activity is important, but it doesn't have to be running. My mom walks every day.

If you really want to hear tips about staying slender, you should talk to my mom. She can still wear clothes she wore in high school, and she's going to be 50 in June! How do you do it Mom?

me & my mom

I think it's important to find what works for you because everyone is different. This is another reason I think the articles they post about the "secrets of staying skinny" are poop. Find what works for you, and don't pay too much attention to what the health articles say. What are some things that work for you?

2 weeks!!

That's it! 2 more weeks until Boston!! My training is officially done!! All that's left is taper time.

What's tapering? Tapering is when you cut back on your training leading up to a race, depending on the distance of the race depends on the length of the taper. For marathon training, the usual taper time is 2 weeks. It's important to taper leading up to a marathon in order for your body to recover from the hard training and to have fresh legs.

I'm definitely ready to taper. I've been training hard for the marathon for 12 weeks and I'm ready for a break. Even though tapering isn't a real break, I'll be cutting my weekly mileage by a lot. I plan to do about half of the mileage I did in my longest week, and that is break enough for my body.

I got to do my longest run with Josh this weekend! Whenever we do long runs in Baltimore, he always tells me that my routes are the toughest. Well, I'll be more prepared for Boston then!

Watch out Boston, here we come!

It's taper time! I can't wait to go to Boston!