One month down ... Eleven to go!

On Monday (January 30), I hit a goal I didn't even really recognize I had.  After I came home from work, I was in a pretty sour mood, so I headed to Mt. Gretna to run some trails at Governor Dick Park.  I had run the perimeter of the park on Saturday (approx. 6.5 miles), but didn't have any large elevation changes.  I've been getting some trail running in during the week, and there is just something about running in the woods that is cathartic....so that is where I headed to hopefully knock myself out of the funk I found myself in while also getting in some elevation (running elevation is a WHOLE OTHER ball game compared to just running rolling hills along roads!).

As I neared Mt. Gretna, I saw the ground was covered in a fresh coat of snow...and as I started out running, I found myself in the middle of a squall.  I typically do not take my phone with me on runs, but I didn't relish the thought of getting lost, so I brought it along so I could consult the park trail map as I had a route mapped out I wanted to follow.  Since I had my phone, I was able to snap some  pictures with the fresh snow and the setting sun.  On that run, I crossed the 50 mile mark for the month.  I thought that it may have been the first time I had ever run 50 miles in one month, and that realization, coupled with the euphoria that comes with running in the woods helped my attitude a bit.  Once home, I did look back at some of my old running data (since spring 2012 I have been using Garmin Connect and Strava to track my running...but prior to that I used MapMyRun and Nike+).  I logged in to my MMR account and saw that in March 2011 (which was an interesting time in my life, for sure) I had run 59.63 miles; however, that was mostly due to four long runs on the weekends (10.75 miles, 7.18 miles, 13.46 miles, and 12.98 miles) with very little running during the week (which for sure is not the way to go about it).  Even still, 50 miles in one month seemed like a big deal to me since I have never been consistent in my running.

The above collage is from Monday - the quote was sent to me by a friend, and completely encapsulated my feeling that afternoon/evening. #makethefirsttracks #runningismyescape #50miles1month #ontothenextgoal

Since I've "discovered"  trail running (albeit only recently), I have found myself almost craving getting out and hitting the trails - I certainly never truly had that feeling about running before.  I am almost obsessively looking at maps in the area trying to find trails.  My next independent foray will most likely be on a PA State Game Lands that is contiguous with some of the Governor Dick property.

Although I feel better (emotionally and physically) when I am running on trails, I did have to hit the road on Tuesday around home, and was able to log another 4 miles.  So, I finished out January with 55.81 miles recorded ... there was a little mishap on 1/9/17 where my watch died early on in my run, so in reality a bit more than a mile wasn't recorded.  That run was quite memorable, as I decided to take BOTH ACDs (my Australian Cattle Dogs, Timber and Pippy) with me...and they decided to get in a bit of a tiff with each other, which caused some excitement, but that story is for another day...for awhile after that, I decided to leave them both at home; here are two pictures of them pining away as they watched me run off down the road without taking them with me one evening. Bryan did end up playing frisbee with them before I came back, so their hearts weren't broken for too long. (please excuse the browness of the garden in the winter and the random brush pile that needs to disappear...it isn't like I don't have a chipper or any other means of disposing of it - ha!)

I am feeling a bit unsettled, however, that currently we are 8.5% of the way through the year, and I am only 5.5% of the way towards my goal of 1000 miles in one year.  I am not *too* concerned yet, but I will have to start making my weekend runs a bit longer and most of my runs during the week no less than 3 miles, and certainly closer to a minimum of 4 miles. During the week (M-F) I typically only run 3 days a week, although there were two weeks in January I didn't get 3 full (shorter) runs in (one day, due to the weather, I attempted a treadmill run, but quickly aborted that plan after 1 mile on the dreadmill).

I am not officially signed up for any races, but I will be registering soon for a trail half-marathon in April, and potentially a shorter trail run prior to that.  My dad also wants to run a 10K this spring, so I am on the hunt for a good one.  I also may attempt a full marathon at some point later in the year, although the ones on my "bucket list" probably aren't an option for the next year or so due to other travel plans, schedules, etc.

2017 Gold Challenge

It has almost been two years since my last post!

In those two years I haven't run as much as I would have liked, but I did run the Bird-in-Hand Half Marathon for the second time on September 12, 2015 (2:21:15).  I ran that along with some friends from one of my previous jobs, many of which received their "Road Apple Award" that race.

L to R: me, Justin, Mandy, Megan, and CeCe after the 2015 Bird-in-Hand Half-Marathon

One of the hilights of that weekend was meeting (and taking selfies with) Christopher McDougall, auther of "Born to Run" and "Naturl Born Heroes", the latter of which I received an autographed copy of.

Chris McDougall and I - I do also have a bona fide "selfie" with him as well, but this was a better picture

On April 2, 2016, I finished my first trail run, the Mile Run Challange (half-marathon) with Mandy - it was a blast and probably one of the highest "runner's highs" I have ever felt!

Mandy and I after the 2016 Mile Run Trail Challenge

I would like to pick running back up this year, and therefore I have set a goal of running 1000 miles in 2017.  I also would like to complete another trail run, and a half-marathon but I haven't decided on which ones yet.  And....another marathon within the next year or so :-).  So, here's to the #2017GoldChallenge - only 998 miles to go!

Anthem Half-Marathon...2014 (3.16.14)

Okay, so obviously my goal of trying to get up-to-date with documenting my events hasn't worked.  In honor of the upcoming annual Yuengling Shamrock Marathon and the Anthem Half-Marathon in Virginia Beach, VA, I am going to do a quick post about this event....from last year.

It's been a year now since Mandy ran her first half-marathon, and in a little less than a month, she will be running her first marathon!  She ran her first 5K in 2012, the Give Thanks for Lebanon 5K....she then ran her first 10K in October 2013 which was Levi's Run.  So....she ran her first 5K, 10K AND half-marathon all with me....and beat me in all of them!  (especially the Levi's Run...my first, and so far only, DNF)  I'm a little sad that I won't be joining her on her first marathon, but we've both moved on to different jobs and places in our lives (insert tear here)....BUT we have plans to run a half-marathon together this fall, we just need to determine which one.

Megan (who also worked with Mandy and I at the Dauphin County Conservation District, and who also has moved on to another job and lcoation) ran the 2014 Anthem Half-Marathon as well....the three of us and our "other halves" all made it to Virginia Beach at some point the day before the race.  Bryan and I had our travel plans slightly altered due to Zoda having his first episode of idiopatheic vestibuar disease that Friday night when we had originally planned to leave and drive halfway before finding a place to stay and then finishint the trek Saturday morning, but luckily by Saturday morning he came back around enough that we felt comfortable enough to be on our way to Virginia Beach.  We made it to the race expo towards the closing time, and I was a bit disappointed that although I had registered for an x-small race shirt, by the time we had gotten there all they had left was small shirts because they were allowing people to trade from the original size they registered for.  The small was pretty big on me, and so I did end up e-mailing the race organizers and they acknowledged the problem and did order extra shirts after the race and then mailed me an x-small, which definitely made me appreciate their effort to go out of their way to fix it.  At the expo I also picked up a cute car window decal of a girl and a dog running....but I vowed that I wouldn't put it on my car until I started to run consistently with Pippy or Timber....it still isn't on my car...

The obligatory "feet in the water pic" the day before - the water was freezing!
Atlantic Ocean, Virginia Beach 3.15.14

That Saturday evening the six of us found ourselves at an Italian restaurant in downtown Virginia Beach to carb load.  I don't recall specifics, but I remember the whole experience being a bit odd...

Bright and early Sunday morning Bryan stayed behind to find himself some breakfast (or something....he didn't even watch any of the race!), and the three of us girls and the other two guys loaded into Mandy's Jeep and headed to the start line.  We got as close to the start line as we could and the three of us jumped out and headed to the start line where we took shelter from the cold in an underground parking deck until the start of the race.  Somewhere around this point I panicked when I realized I didn't have my iPod (I had left it in Mandy's Jeep).

The three of us started together, but it wasn't long until the young'uns left me in their dust.  Running without  my iPod wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - the course was pretty flat and scenic.  After we got out of the town we ran through a nice wooded area (Shore Drive/Highway 60) for a bit until we turned onto Atlantic Avenue and soon entered Fort Story (an Army base) which was right about the half-way point and I was feeling pretty good and on track to PR.  The Cape Henry Lighthouse was a nice landmark to see, and as soon as we left the base we were running down the northern part of Atlantic Avenue; up until that point (except for the start), there were not a lot of spectators, but soon they lined the road, many offering beer to the runners, and some of them graciously partook (it was St. Patty's Day weekend, after all!).  Spectators (and the classic signs they hold) always help to boost the sprits and help with the final needed push.  Around 40th Street we turned onto the boardwalk, and there was a lot of wind to deal with coming off of the ocean.  At this point, I knew that as long as nothing completely broke me, I was set to PR.

Once I crossed the finish, all the runners were forced through a chute to collect their post-race goodies.  It was REALLY congested, and since I do have issues sometimes with my blood pressure plummeting once I stop running, I really just wanted to get out of the crowd and find somewhere where I could be closer to the ground (and without an audience) in case I passed out.  I remember getting REALLY grumpy because I was starting to feel sick, and then I saw medics run past me with a girl on the stretcher...sadly, the girl had an unknown cardiac condition and collapsed at the finish line and later passed away.  Once I found that out, I felt awful about my negative attitude about the crowding in the chute area which I'm sure was only exacerbated due to the emergency.

Mandy soon found me (she had  finished about 20 minutes earlier) and I caught up to Megan, too (who had also finished well ahead of me).  We found a place to sit dow next to a nice fire pit and tried to get warmed up.  Eventually we made our way to the tent on the beach for our finisher's beer and Irish stew.  Even though I typically don't prefer beef, I drank the majority of mine.  I was anxious to get on the road since I knew we had a long drive ahead of us and I had to teach the next day, so I soon said good-bye to everyone and started walking out to a location where Bryan picked me up.  I have no idea what he did the whole time, even he admits he can't remember much about the weekend and what he was doing during the race.

Mandy, Megan, and I right after the race.  It was so cold!
And the picture is taken from the worse angle ever, from my perspective!
But, alas, it is the only picture I have of the three of us...

Mandy and I trying to get warmed up.

Mandy and I (and some other random people) in front of the sand sculpture.

I ran the race in my running skirt, and at this point all I cared about was being warm, and not
the fashion statement of my pants under my running skirt...

My official finish time was 2:20:47.  My Garmin had some weird malfunction, and after I synced the data to my computer, it said I finished in 1:49:43 (that's an 8:20 min/mile pace) - I would love if that was how fast I really ran!  The very first half-marathon I ran, the 2011 Bucks County Half-Marathon that I did with my brother, Eric (who also finished WAY ahead of me), I finished somewhere around 2 hours and 22 or 23 minutes...somehow the results got messed up and my bib number had someone else's name attached to it, but my time on the final listing (which made me sad since it was such a big accomplishment for me at the time and I felt as if that mix up somehow negated the fact that I had just finished my first half-marathon!).  I ran the Hershey Half in 2012 in 2:23:19 and the 2013 Bird-in-Hand Marathon in 2:31:32 (with my brother-in-law, Eric, finishing WAY ahead of me!).

Finisher's Swag :-)

All the pictures I have were taken with my phone (since who knows where my official photographer was....even though he doesn't remember, I'm sure there was a breakfast in there somewhere that he was enjoying while I was out running), so they aren't the best quality.

Tri for Life

So, it has been awhile.  There has been little "free time" in my life lately, of which unfortunately is the only time I "allow" myself to blog (and even right now I have to force myself to sit down and write, as Saturdays are typically the day I "get things done around the house, etc.".  My main goal right now is to devote a new post for each event I have participated in between April 2013 and now, and then move forward with hopefully more consistent posts...

Okay, I have acknowledged my lack of keeping my blog updated, and I am moving on... :-)

With the urging of my TNT tri coaches, I signed up for the Hempfield Area Recreation Commission Tri for Life, a Sprint-distance triathlon on April 14, 2013, that consisted of a 300-meter swim (in a pool), a 16 mile bike, and a 5K run..  My main reason for participating in this prior to Black Bear was to see how transitions worked, since that was one thing I had no experience in.

Nothing really significant, funny, or memory-making happened during this tri (unlike Black Bear, which will be my next post), but it WAS my first triathlon, and for the sake of posterity, I feel like I should at least put it down on paper....er, screen....or whatever...

The tri was held on a Sunday morning, so the afternoon prior I drove to Landisville to pick up my packet, and then made the same trek the next morning.  Bryan didn't come with me, and aside from a few other TNT people, I didn't really know anyone, so it was a bit lonely.  It was also CHILLY!  The transition area was set up in a grassy area off of a parking lot, and beside the building where the pool was located.  I got there pretty early (it was still dark), and there were no assignments for transition spaces, so I randomly picked a spot to rack my bike somewhere towards the back.  I had read all of these tips on how to set up your equipment, how to mark your transition spot so you could quickly find it (some people use a balloon, which I considered but then dismissed in case I was the only crazy person who did it), etc., but I'm pretty sure I didn't follow anything on the "what you are supposed to do" list.  I mostly looked around at everyone else's set-up and kept re-arranging mine.

Once it became time to shed all of my clothing except for my tri shorts and tri top (I had gone round and round about what to wear for the swim - at first I thought about my swimsuit, but then I wasn't too keen on throwing clothes over that and wearing it for the bike and run as I was afraid of it being quite uncomfortable in a certain area, and for awhile I considered tri shorts and a sports bra, but I finally settled on getting a tri top as well as tri shorts), including shoes, I was freezing.  Right before the tri officially started, we all gathered in the parking lot around the person announcing how things would go throughout the event, and my feet were in pain from being so cold.  However, once we moved into the building with the pool, I quickly warmed up.

Since the swim was six laps in a pool (up one lane, down the next, and so on the width of the pool), part of the registration form was to indicate your estimated time to complete the swim so they could seed you from fastest to slowest to minimize congestion, people passing slower swimmers, etc.  If I remember correctly, I estimated 7 minutes and 30 seconds based on the time it took me to swim laps during our weekly swims at Cedar Crest High School.  Needless to say, I was close to the back of the line, but was happy to see that right around my same spot in line was Beth, another TNT participant that I had met at the Kickoff a few months prior.  Beth (who is also a teacher and around my age) was part of the Harrisburg team and participating in the Mt. Gretna Tri, so we didn't train together other than a combined swim practice at Messiah College, but it was nice to have a familiar face to talk to in line.

For me, the swim was the worst part...I enjoyed swimming in the pool at Cedar Crest for the most part because I could go my own consistent, slow pace.  Here, I felt rushed because the person behind me was only starting something like 10 seconds behind me...so I started out fast, and quickly got tired...and people soon started to pass me in the lane, or asked to pass me once I got to the wall and had to slip under the rope to go up the next lane.  At one of the walls Beth came up behind me, and I indicated to her that it was more than okay to pass me, and she must have seen the panic/fear/embarrassment in my face, because she simply said "It's okay", and that made me feel a little bit better.  Once I finally reached the other end of the pool and started to exit the water, I wanted to cry with relief.

I quickly made my way out of the pool, exited the building, and ran down a narrow macadam path to the transition area.  Surprisingly, I found my bike without too much trouble, and began to get dressed for the bike.  Of course, there were "hard-core" athletes who were rushing to get through the transition as quick as possible, but that just isn't me as I am a very non-competitive person for the most part.  I also don't like wet feet, so I took some extra time to thoroughly dry them before putting on my socks and shoes....I didn't have fancy bike shoes with clips, there was just a "cage" on my bike's pedals, so I wore my running sneakers.  I threw on  a long-sleeved running shirt, and since it was still chilly out and I knew that the wind was going to be no fun, I also put on my running gloves and a jacket...but silly me didn't zip it up.  And, of course, my helmet, which they make you have buckled before you can mount your bike.  I exited the transition area, and jogged beside my bike to the point where we were allowed to mount our bike and begin pedaling.  Once I began to pedal, I quickly realized my mistake in not zipping up my jacket, because it was if I was wearing a cape, flapping in the breeze.  The first little bit of the bike course was through a development/residential area, so I pulled off to the side of the road (maybe in someone's driveway?) and zipped my jacket and tightened my shoe laces.

There wasn't anything really significant about the bike course that I recall...once we got out of the residential area and through a bit of an industrial area, we were in the gently rolling hills of Lancaster County farm country.  It did get quite windy at times, to the point where I thought the wind might tip me over.  The course went out, and into what I refer to as a "lollipop", and then back the same way we started, so once I got back to the residential area, I knew that I was soon finished the bike.  Here is a picture the professional photographers took of me as I was almost back to the start:


And here is the bike data from my Garmin.

Once I dismounted my bike, entered the transition area, and re-racked my bike, I was definitely glad to have the swim and bike behind me, because, after all, I started out this whole crazy thing of completing endurance events as a "runner".  On a run, I know what to expect...I feel like so much more could go wrong during the swim and bike that I may not always be able to "fix" by myself.  So, I got rid of my helmet, gloves, jacket, and threw on running shorts over top of my tri shorts...hey, I realize it may look funny, but I just can't bear the thought of running for all of the world to see my bum in just tight tri shorts...and headed out for a nice run.  The run was an out and back course (which really isn't my favorite), and I wasn't displeased with my time considering I had just finished a 16-mile bike ride.  Here is the run data from my Garmin, and below are some pictures from my run...the first you can see me heading out, and in the second I am on my way back (and yes, the "view" wasn't all that bad, I suppose...).  In the second picture, you may not be able to see them all that well (I had quite the time trying to hack these pictures off of the photographer's web-site and get them inserted into this blog...), but my thigh muscles sort of creep me out...





I do enjoy looking at my data/results, so here are my "official" results for the 2013 Tri For Life:

Overall Place - 115/145
Overall Time - 1:53:31
Overall Female Place - 36/54
Overall Female Ages 20-29 (Division) Place - 7/12

Swim Time - 7:37
Swim Pace - 2:32
Swim Overall Place - 123/145
Swim Female Place - 42/54
Swim Division Place - 10/12

Transition 1 Time - 3:13
T1 Overall Place - 116/145
T1 Female Place - 38/54
T1 Division Place - 10/12

Bike Time - 1:10:00
Bike Pace - 13.7
Bike Overall Place - 122/145
Bike Female Place - 38/54
Bike Division Place - 7/12

Transition 2 Time - 2:09
T2 Overall Place - 123/145
T2 Female Place - 49/54
T2 Division Place - 11/12

Run Time - 30:32
Run Pace - 10:11
Run Overall Place - 112/145
Run Female Place - 34/54
Run Division Place 9/12

So...my first triathlon - DONE!  Next up, the Triathlon that I began training for because, for some reason, I decided to "Dare the Bear"...

Runners are different...but we aren't immune.

The euphoria of completing my first Triathlon on Sunday (albeit a Sprint distance, and even shorter than a normal Sprint on the Swim portion - 300m vs. the usual 750m - but good practice for how transitions go, etc.) has been darkened by the tragic events at the Boston Marathon yesterday.  As I posted on Facebook yesterday, it just makes me so upset, sad, confused, scared...the list of emotions goes on.  My heart is heavy, my mind is whirling, and my prayers are lifted.

Also posted on Facebook by Proverbs 31 Ministries was the following verse that brings some comfort:

From the end of the earth I will cry unto you, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Psalm 61:2

A popular running blogger also has some good words to share about yesterday's heartbreaking finish line chaos.  The point that hit me the most was that we cannot allow what happens to us (good or bad) define or describe us.  Imagine what it would be like if our lowest experiences is what defined our lives...or, even if our mountaintop experiences were all that described us.

What defines you?

Biking Mt. Gretna

On Saturday, Matt, Brian, Mary, Brandy and I biked 10 miles around Mt. Gretna.  Last week was the All-Team Training at Colebrook, and so many members of the team had already done some biking in Mt. Gretna. I was unable to go to the All-Team Training because Bryan and I went away for the weekend to The Nature Inn at Bald Eagle State Park to celebrate the one year anniversary of this:

 Don't I have a handsome groom?  

Okay, okay, I guess I'll post some pictures that show my face...

A few days before our wedding, Bryan took a log to the face, right on the bridge of his nose (which you can clearly see in some of our wedding photos)!  Comes with the territory, I suppose...it could be worse, two months ago a branch took out one of his front teeth, so I guess I should be thankful THAT didn't happen right before our wedding.  In any case, I thank God every day that He protects my husband because in all reality, his job is very dangerous on a daily basis, which I try not to dwell on.

Although it was very nice the days leading up to our March 24, 2012 wedding (an early spring, unlike this year is turning out to be - although this past Saturday's weather was beautiful!), our wedding dawned cold, damp, and rainy...which supposedly is a marriage blessing.

  

 Without getting too sappy, I am so glad that Bryan and I get to walk down the path of life together.

(These pictures were taken in Cornwall along the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail, and I have run this area many times throughout the last year since moving to Lebanon.)

Bryan's cousin, Anita, along with her mom, Linda, did an awesome job on our wedding photography!

Anyway, like I said, I had a good reason not to have biked the week before in Mt. Gretna.  We met some pretty nice hills along the ride, although when I asked if there would be "worse" ones during Black Bear, Brian said "I'm not gonna lie..." and proceeded to tell me that yes, I would see more challenging hills than what we had just ridden during the Black Bear Triathlon.  You can check out our ride here, including the pretty cool elevation chart!  My biking is just about like my running - slow and steady.  I was able to ride up all the hills and I didn't have to get off the bike and walk, which is a good thing...however for some reason I cannot get out of the saddle when pedaling up hill - it feels as if my knees just can't hold up my body and will collapse from underneath me.  When I told Brian this, he pointed out that I "am a marathoner" (I have one marathon and two halfs to my name, and at a tortoise pace...I must have him fooled) and therefore my knees have proven to hold up my body.  I do have to work on "getting my gears" back while approaching a hill so that I can change gears while going uphill, so perhaps if I concentrate on that and try to get out of the saddle while not pushing such hard gears, my knees will be able to handle things a little better.  In any case, I need to get out on the bike more.

So...I am 81% towards reaching my minimum fundraising goal!  In celebration of that, and in an effort to reach my minimum by the end of the week, I have a "special" going on.  For anyone that donates $31.13 (the number of total miles I will be swimming, biking and running on May 19) on-line via my fundraising page between now and midnight Friday, April 5, I will send you a half-dozen cake pops from The Red Star Bakery!  Who is going to help me not only reach my minimum, but also help me beat blood cancers?

The Red Star Bakery

Don't those cake pops look scrumptious?  I can tell you from personal experience that they are every bit as good as they look - moist, rich and delicious are just a few adjectives to describe them!  The Red Star Bakery is generously supporting my efforts for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and is offering the goodness that is their cake pops (and soft drop cookies) as a fundraising opportunity.  From now until April 17 I will be taking orders, with delivery around April 23.  If you are not within delivery distance, I will gladly ship them to you for an additional $2.00 S/H.

Available for order:
     Soft Drop Cookies at $6.50/dozen
               Chocolate Chip
               Peanut Butter
               Soft Sugar Cookies

     Cake Pops at 3/$5.00
              Chocolate Peanut Butter
              Red Velvet
              Vanilla
              Death By Chocolate
              Chocolate Banana Nut

Payment (cash or a check made out to me) is due prior to 4/17/13.

The cake pops and cookies can be frozen, so plan ahead if you have a bridal shower, summer picnic, party, or any get together coming up.  Or you can always order a bunch to keep for yourself :-)

You can contact me via phone, e-mail, Facebook, etc. to order.  Don't miss out!

Make sure to check out The Red Star Bakery's Facebook page and web-site for custom cakes, cupcakes (including cupcakes in a jar!), cookies, etc. for all of your special events.  And, even if you don't have anything planned in the near future, it's always fun to drool over the pictures, and to wonder in the creativity of the creations!