Bad to the Bone

This past weekend, I raced in my first 5k in like 6 months. I registered on race day, so I didn't get a small T-shirt. I got a medium and it is ENORMOUS on me. I gave it to my mom to wear as a night shirt or whatever she wants.

The race I did is call Bare Bones because they put it together using as little money as they possibly can (It just makes me think of the song "bad to the bone"). They send all the money from the registration fees to relay for life or some other non-profit cancer organization. Anyway, the trophies were really cool because they were "recycled" trophies. They were trophies that had been used at other races and had been left over, so there were lots of different kinds of trophies given out.

my sweet trophy

I got 4th overall for women and won first in my age group (they gave out awards to the top 3 overall and then top 3 in each age group). My time was 20:44, which is better than I thought I would do! The girl who won ran it in 19:00. I think my age group trophy is way cooler than the overall trophies.

Oh and I finally bought some new running shoes! I got me some Mizuno's, but I like to call them mizunees. Next race (money permitting), will be on June 10th. Races are so expensive. I wish they were cheaper.

Move over!

I recently went to a local high school track to do a track workout. The high school is only 10-15 min from my house, so it's pretty convenient even if the school is my high school's county rival. The workout I did I like to call, "The Devil Workout" because I did 6 x 400s, 6 x 200s, and 6 x 100s (get it? 666?!).

I'm so glad the the high school track is open to the community where people can come walk or run and just get moving, but there is one simple, important courtesy that people should follow if they're going to use the track. If you're walking on the track and somebody else is running, walk in one of the outer lanes, let the runner have the 1st lane. In other words, MOVE OVER! It's really not that hard. This also applies if you're running, but somebody is running faster than you...you move to the right.

There were several people walking on the track when I showed up to do my workout, but there was one woman who walked in the first lane and would not move. In between each of the 400s, I took a 2 minute break. I did 3 of my 400s to her 1...and I was taking 2 minutes in between each...and she still didn't move out of the first lane! It was annoying.

I told my mom about it when I got home (since she likes to walk a lot), and she told me that I should have run by her really close to scare her into walking in one of the other lanes. Josh said I should've just run her over! (Note to self, don't ever get in Josh's way!)

The courtesy also applies on trails. If you're on a trail and you come up on somebody, you should pass them on the left and they should move to the right. On exercise trails (biking and running), the proper etiquette is to say out-loud, "Passing on the left." If someone is passing you and the trail is really narrow, you might even want to step off the trail, somewhere safe, in order to give them room to pass.

Also, if you're going to run on a trail with a large group of people, be courteous of the other people who want to use the trail. Do not take up the entire trail! Break into smaller groups or run in pairs or something.

When I lived in Baltimore, I used to run at the NCR trail a lot. It was this nice, wide, flat trail that people would run, walk, and ride bikes on. There was this one time I went, and there was this large group of young girls that all ran together and took up the entire trail! The ENTIRE trail! And they were going really slow. I could've walked faster than they were jogging. There was one point in my run that I had to stop running and I walked behind them until I could pass them! It was just really rude of them to take up the entire trail when there were other people using it.

So, whether you're at a local track or on a trail, if someone is going faster than you, move over to right for them to pass. If you're on a trail with a large group of people, don't take up the whole trail. And if you ever see Josh running, stay out of his way!

here's a pic of Josh running so you know what he looks like in order to stay out of his way.

hot hot HOT!!!

As the weather continues to get hotter, the risk of heat illnesses/injuries increases. I figured I could share my knowledge of heat illnesses/injuries with you because knowing is half the battle and preventing is the other half!

First, preventing heat illnesses:

• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!! With both water AND sports drinks!
• Gradual acclimatization (big word for becoming accustomed to the weather conditions)
• Avoid activity during the hottest part of the day (the hottest part of the day is between noon and 5pm)
• Wear weather-appropriate clothing (common sense)
• Taking water breaks
• Re-hydrating after activity

Another little note...humidity impairs the evaporation of sweat. Sweat does not cool you down, it's the evaporation of the sweat that cools you down. So if it's humid, the chances of suffering a heat illness increases.

Alrighty, there are 5 heat illnesses:

• Heat rash
• Heat syncope (sync-a-pee)
• Heat cramps
• Heat exhaustion
• Heat stroke

Heat rash is a rash accompanied by sensations of prickling or tingling during sweating. It happens in areas that are covered by clothing and that are continuously wet with sweat or in areas where the skin folds. It's most commonly seen in the legs. I once had it where my elbow bends. The key to preventing heat rash is sweat evaporation, but sometimes that doesn't happen. Other ways to prevent it is to towel off regularly and to wear sweat wicking clothes.

heat rash

Heat syncope...well first, the word syncope means fainting. Heat syncope is fainting from the heat. It is usually caused from being in the heat for long periods of time and not being accustomed to it.

Heat cramps is exactly what it sounds like. Cramps...painful muscle spasms. They occur most commonly in the calf and abdomen. They are related to excessive loss of water and electrolytes. Immediate treatment is to drink large quantities of water and/or sports drinks, stretching, and light massage. Another common remedy for heat cramps is a shot of pickle juice.

Heat exhaustion is when someone becomes dehydrated to the point that they're unable to continue exercising. It is important to recognize the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion: pale skin, profuse sweating, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, headache, muscle cramps, and dizziness. People experiencing heat exhaustion should immediately move to a shaded or air-conditioned area, excess clothing should be removed, and fluids should be replaced by drinking water/sports drinks. It is also a good idea to lay down with your feet elevated, in a cool area.

Heat stroke is a medical emergency! If not treated, it can result in death! If heat stroke occurs, call 911!! Heat stroke occurs when the core body temperature reaches 104 or higher. Signs and symptoms include collapse, confusion, seizures, altered consciousness, flushed and hot skin, decreased or absence of sweating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, and a rapid, strong pulse. The immediate lowering of the body temperature is extremely important if heat stroke occurs!! This includes moving to a cool environment, stripping off all clothing, pouring cool water over the head and neck, a fan, and anything to cool the body down!

As weather continues to get hotter, it is important to know about these different heat illnesses but more important to prevent them! I don't want anyone going to the hospital!!

Stay safe and keep cool out there!!

The Shack

I realize it's been a little while since I last posted. And I haven't bought new shoes yet, but my hot feet have kind of gone away.

I haven't really been doing much lately. Mostly just chilling at home and applying to jobs. When I'm not applying for jobs, I'm doing other little things such as knitting (yeah I know, I'm a grandma).

What I haven't been doing much lately is running. I looked in my running log, and in the past 3 weeks I've only ran 28 miles total. In contrast, the weeks leading up to Boston I was running pretty much twice that much in 1 week. It makes me laugh. Being at home right now, I have all the time in the day to go run, and I just lack the motivation. I think it's the lack of routine. I don't know. I am running though, and that's more than what most people do.

Anyway, I just finished reading a book called The Shack by William P. Young. My mom gave it to me for Christmas a couple of years ago, and I never gave it a second look. You have to understand that my mom isn't very good at picking out what I consider to be "good books" to read. One year she gave me a book that was a collection of "Guideposts" stories. I've never read "Guideposts" before, and I don't ever plan on it. If you've never heard of it, it's some kind of magazine. Oh and the collection of stories were Christmas themed.

I usually just place the books she gives me on a shelf, leave them there, and don't think twice about them. (I hope my mom isn't reading this post...Sorry Mom, but it's true). Which is what happened with this book, until I found it the other day and actually decided to read it. Not sure why, but I guess I just felt like reading a book.

As much as I hate admitting it (because my mom gave it to me), it's actually a really good book. Honestly, I've never cried so much from reading a book before....in a good, kind of cleansing way. There's a quote from the book about crying that I really, really like, "Don't ever discount the wonder of your tears. They can be healing waters and a stream of joy. Sometimes they are the best words the heart can speak." So don't judge me!

What is this book about? This book is about a man who took 3 of his kids camping. While on this camping trip, his youngest daughter gets kidnapped and brutally murdered. The only evidence they obtained from the brutal murder was her blood-stained sundress in some old, abandoned shack. 3 years after her death, he receives a note in his mailbox, that is supposedly from God, inviting him back to the shack. Then, he goes to the shack to find God. That's all I'll tell you.

It was...Wow! That's all I can say. This book will give you a new perspective on God, religion, and relationships...in a good way. Once I got into the book, I couldn't put the it down. I pretty much finished it in one day, which is something I don't do very often with books! You should definitely read this book! It's good.

What are your favorite reads?

hot feet

Ever since I moved home, I've been suffering from what I call "hot feet."

My feet just feel uncomfortably hot, but normal temperature to the touch. I have a hard time falling asleep when my feet feel hot, and when I finally fall asleep, it's a light sleep and I wake up a lot too. If you know me well, you know I'm a hard sleeper. I can sleep through alarms, huge storms, and even people climbing over me like it's nothing. Not being able to sleep well is really frustrating.

 I've tried keeping my feet out from under the covers, having a fan pointed at my feet, cooling foot lotions,  and even running cold water over my feet. But nothing seems to work.

This isn't just a recent thing. I've been getting "hot feet" for years now, but usually I'll have it one night and it will go away. This is the first time I have had it consistently for about a week or so.

I know it's not athlete's foot because my feet aren't red, itchy, scaly, or cracking. I think that I might just need to buy new running shoes. I'm still wearing my asics that I trained for the Boston marathon in, and they have about 500 miles on them. Maybe once I get new shoes, the "hot feet" will stop.

my asics training shoes on the left

 Have you suffered from "hot feet" before? What helped you?

What are some things you think I could do until I get new shoes?
Any other ideas?

I just want to sleep well again!!!

We're just goofballs

Josh and I just recently had our engagement photo shoot. It was a lot of fun. Photography by Zandi said that we were the CUTEST engagement session she has ever done so far. Well, since we're both runners, we did a running section. Pfeiffer and Catawba have a huge rivalry in pretty much every sport, so we felt it was appropriate to wear our T-shirts from our alma maters.

We're just goofballs, so there's a bunch of silly pictures...

our serious faces

Ok, that's only just a few of the silly ones. There are a lot more of those. Now, here are a few of the non-running really good ones!

The plan is to get married in April 2012.

More time means more races!

I've been taking time off from training since the Boston Marathon, and it's time to start getting back into it. Now that I've moved home, I have the freedom to do races whenever I want...I'm going to do just that. Working in Maryland, I rarely had weekends off, so I rarely did races.

Here's a list of the races I plan to do:

• Bare Bones 5k, May 28th in Salisbury, NC
• China Grove Main Street Challenge 5k, June 10th in China Grove, NC
• Salisbury Parks and Recreation Greenway 5k, July 23rd in Salisbury, NC
• Run to Victory Half marathon, September 24th in Randleman, NC
• NC Marathon marathon, Nov 19th in High Point, NC

I might decide to do more than that, but this is my list for now. I hope to get a PR (personal record) in the half marathon and the full marathon. My PR in the half right now stands at 1:59:36 and my PR for a full is 3:37:32.

I will definitely PR in the half marathon. That PR is from the most miserable race I've ever done, and my very first one. I hadn't ran in over a week because of sickness, the temperature was literally freezing, and it was raining. I was miserable.

I have done 1 other half marathon, but I can't count that time as a PR because the course was 2 miles short!! My time was 1:17:27. If I had really ran that time, that's a 5:54/mile pace...and I know I can't do that. If the course had been the proper distance, I probably would have ran a 1:33:00 or faster. So, I know I can definitely break my PR in the half marathon in September.

As for the full marathon, I think it's kind of funny that I'm already registered for another one. It's only been 3 weeks since Boston and after finishing the Boston Marathon, I said to Josh, "Why did we do this? Why did we run another marathon?" And here I am registered for one in November. lol. Marathons take a lot out of you, but the fulfillment you have after finishing one is unreal. They're addicting.

I'm happy to be home, and I'm happy that I'll be able to run more races now!! Plus, I'll have my trusty side-kick, training partner, coach, and fiance all rolled into one person, Joshua, to run with more often!! Yay!!

unpacking means play time

I'm currently in the process of moving back home to NC. I packed up all of my stuff, and I've moved half of it home. I will be going back to Baltimore later this week to get the rest of my stuff.

my car all packed up.

I'm trying to get all of the stuff I've brought home unpacked. I'm not very good at it. I feel like I just go through my stuff and then just play with everything. When I unpacked my clothes, I played dress-up. When I unpacked my flat iron, I did my hair. When I unpacked my nail polish, I painted my toe nails. You get the point...

did this with my flat iron

I've also noticed, that there's not as much room to put all my stuff as I had in Baltimore. I think it's because my mom has been using the spare rooms for her storage. It's hard trying to find places for my stuff, and I'm only working with half of it right now!

Well, living at mom's is only temporary for now. I hope to find another job and place to live before I start grad school in the fall.