City of Brotherly Love treated me right

I did it!! 

I did it!! 

I did it!!

I now have a new PR!!

Thirteen weeks of training finally paid off. I was actually able to see the benefits of all the hard work and dedication for a ridiculously BIG race!!

A HUGE thank you to my handsome fiance who stayed by my side and stuck with me on my journey to achieve a new time! While I know I bored the heck out of him for the last four miles I still appreciate having him next to me and encouraging me along the way. 

Here's my recap of the weekend - 

Friday after school, I made my way down to Norfolk to pick up my rental car for the weekend. As much as I love driving up the Eastern Shore, my little Civic just can't handle the miles anymore. 

I made it to Josh's about 10:00pm. A fairly easy and uneventful trip. 

Saturday morning we got up, grabbed some yummy Pumpkin coffee and muffins at Dunkin Donuts and made our way to the Convention Center for packet pick-up and the expo. 

I treated myself to a race tshirt, a new race bead and race tag necklace. 

The necklace might have been a little overboard but I think it was a nice treat to a race that I felt was going to be so monumental for me. 

Overall, packet pick up and the expo were pretty easy. It wasn't as big as last years in VA Beach, but it was still good and Josh and I were able to pick up a few necessities such as GU, Chomps and Cliff Bars. 

After that it was back to Langhorne to finish packing up Josh's apartment and moving him to his new place in Bensalem. Not my ideal day before a race - but it is what it is and I was happy to help. 

We finished moving around 6 and finally made our way back down to the city to our hotel. 

We stayed at the Sonesta Hotel, and it was awesome. It was a really nice room and hotel with bar in the lobby. It also didn't hurt that it was .70 from the start line. Oh and we totally ran past it during the race. 

We ventured out to find something to eat and because neither one of us are overly familiar with the city - we wound up at Applebee's. Wasn't all that bad and our pasta dishes were actually pretty good. 

Race Day 

Getting up wasn't a problem because we went to bed pretty early the night before. Plus I had laid out all of the stuff I was going to need so I wouldn't have to worry about it. So we geared up and headed out the start line. So when they said it was .70 from the start line, they didn't really take into account the fact that there was still another .50 from the start line to where our corral was located. We were way back in corral 21. Hey - I'm slow - I get it. 

Sometimes race recaps are boring so I won't bore you with the mile by mile break down but here's some fun information - according to my Garmin - I ran a new fastest mile, 5k, 10k and Half Marathon.

While I realize the difference between my Garmin and the actual race - according to my Garmin I ran a 2:44:59 half - which is the time I was actually hoping for.
But since (for me) PR's don't count unless they are certified races my finish time was 2:49:26. Which is still a great PR for me. That's taking 8minutes and 44 seconds off my previous time from the Shamrock Half.

Of course in hind sight I think it was a great race and could totally go out and do it again next weekend!! HAHA - I guess that's the runners high! But honestly the end of the race for me was tough! I just couldn't keep up a decent running pace and wound up walking more then I wanted to. There are few times I thought I was going to toss my cookies. Not sure why - too much water and gatorade? GU not sitting well? Who knows. What I do know is that I finished - in the upright position and with a PR!

After the race we collected all our goodies and made our way slowly back to the hotel. Its amazing what a nice hot shower will do for you after a race.

It was then time for me to make my way back to VA.
It was a long and achy drive - but it wasn't too bad.

Hindsight is always 20/20 so I feel like I could've done a whole bunch of things differently that day. Like push myself harder at the end.
Luckily for me I signed up for the Inaugural Harbor Lights Get Lit challenge and can try again in a few weeks to get another new PR.
Now if only I could re-motivate myself to run!

Here are a few pictures from my weekend.

 Pre -race fountain picture on our way to the start line.

Waiting to get in the corral. 

Post Race Bling Selfie!

Next up - 

Portable Race Bling

Crawlin Crab Shell Yeah Challenge

Harbor Lights Get Lit Challenge

Running the Shamrock and loving it (for the most part).

For the love of all things green and running!!

I finished!!!

We finished!!

Shamrock Weekend was a success!!

Plus I got a new PR!!!

I had been really excited for this weekend for awhile. Even though I was super undertrained and sort of dreading the Half. It was a really great weekend. Just the atmosphere there is pretty awesome. I've run the 8k before and love all the support! Plus the courses are flat and along the beach. Other then the winds off of the ocean, I can't complain!

Friday

After school on Friday I made my way down to the Oceanfront to check into our hotel and head over the expo to pick up our race packets for the weekend. The boyfriend wasn't going to be in till later so I wanted to make sure we'd be ready for Saturday morning. We were going to go to the expo after the 8k so he could check it out and possibly get some new sneakers.

The expo was great. But don't ever leave a girl unattended for a few hours in a place that's designed for runners to shop! I got a little spend happy!! What can I say, I enjoy buying running stuff both for myself and for Josh.

It was a good thing Josh showed up because I was spending way too much money.

After I made it back to the hotel to meet up with Josh, we went to meet up with some friends for dinner. I kinda liked how I wasn't prepared for the weekend so I wasn't too worried about what I was eating or how it would affect my running. I was just there to have fun.

I loved how they had all the course maps projected outside the expo. 

Again - I didn't even notice that they changed the start line. 

Saturday

We made our way from the hotel to the start line for the 8k. We even met up with my friend Michelle who was walking with her friends to the start line. Even though I had scoured the Shamrock Marathon page, I never really paid attention to the fact that they moved the corrals. No worries though, we found the new spot without a problem. The 8k is growing in popularity so I can see why they had to move it to a wider street for the start.

Check out all the green at the start line of the 8k!

I was thankful that I bought myself a new windbreaker the day before at the expo because it was a little chilly and windy at the start. I warmed up at the end and had my jacket tied around my waist, but it's a light one so it wasn't as bulky as some of the other stuff I've worn in the past. Secretly I think my bf was happy he didn't have to hold it for me. Overall the race was great. Josh again stayed with the me the whole time, and we trotted along. I even saw and gave a shout out to a spectator with Kutztown sweatshirt on! You don't find too many of those in VA!! I know I'm no where near my PR shape so I wasn't trying to push myself. I just wanted to finish decently and not hurt myself as we prepared for the half the next day. Of course the only time we take a short walk break around mile 4 for me to stretch out my shoulder, was where the photographer was!!

I finished one minute slower then my time last year and about 7 minutes off my PR. Like I've said - I don't always fancy myself to be a runner, but I am pretty proud of some of my accomplishments. So the fact that I pick up and go run 5 miles isn't too shabby for me.

Adding to my bling collection!!

Enjoying the warm weather and the beer tent! 

I realized after my friend took the first picture that I still had my sunglasses on! 

Don't you love my skirt!! It's my green sparkle skirt and my new shamrock skirt that my sister made for me. 

Saturday afternoon Josh and I took showers, went out and had the longest (unintentional lunch) at Buffalo Wild Wings, wandered around the expo, took naps, and had dinner at a little Italian place by our hotel. (Only after attempting to go to Waterman's - but they had a 1hr 30min wait at 7:30pm! I wanted more sleep for Sunday then I did an orange crush.)

We were happily in bed by 10 and getting ready for our early wake up at 5:30 the next morning.

I always like to lay out my outfit the night before. I really need to start taking pictures of it like I see so many other runners doing! Next race!

The view from our hotel room for the weekend. 

I just wish it was closer to the start line!!

Sunday

HALF MARATHON DAY!!

Finally! The day I was dreading!

Mentally I said I could do it.

Physically - it was a whole different story.

Selfie before the race starts.

I had to convince both my mind and my body to come together to get as much of the half done as possible. I was hoping that what I lacked in physicality I could make up in mental strength. After all, Josh was going to be with me and I do pretty good when he's running beside me. 

The temps were much cooler then Saturday morning and the wind was pretty strong. Once again I was glad I had purchased my windbreaker on Friday. Josh even opted to wear pants it was so chilly. He usually only runs in shorts.

Making our way to the starting line. 

We made our way to the start in front of the Cavalier Hotel. Lots of people were huddled in the parking garage for the nearby hotel, or anywhere they could get some shelter from the wind. The sun was almost up, but it was still pretty chilly. I'm glad I had Janet buy us some knit gloves we could toss if our hands got too warm. We definitely needed them!!

Off we go.....
There were two guys playing bagpipes right at the start. I've always loved that sound (even if I do refer to it as a cow dying slowly) because my Dad has played bagpipes on and off my entire life. You don't find too many pipers around so I'm pretty proud of him because of it.
Makes me love my heritage that much more. I jokingly told Josh that maybe I need my Dad to play next to me while I run so I can keep my pep up to the pipes!!

This was my first time running the Shamrock half, and I have to say I really enjoyed all of the crowd support. There were a lot of houses that had come out to cheer us on, and provide beer! It was a Shamrock race after all!

I think it was about mile 3-4 we saw the leaders on their turn around. It's a little discouraging when you see someone close to being finished and you still have a double digit mile count in front of you. But like I said a million times - I use the term runner loosely. So kudos for them and their speed! Slow still gets a medal.

Around mile 5 I had to stop to pee. The porta-potties at the start were really crowded and Josh doesn't particularly like crowds so I wasn't gong to chance it then. I picked a stop that I didn't think was too long. WRONG!! I stood there for what felt like forever! Come on ladies! Pee and get out!! It took so long Josh sat down! Needless to say when my Garmin ticked off the next mile it had slowed us down by 5 minutes. At this point thoughts of a PR were not in my head - but rather just keep running.

I don't know if I mentioned this but I didn't train for this race at all! I was so proud and jealous of my cousin (who also ran the race and rocked it!! Way to go Maddy!!) who posted all her awesome training runs on Facebook. I had good intentions of training - but life and the weather got in the way. I like to run - just not in the snow of 20 degree weather. I'm committed but not THAT committed. Any way, we made it to mile 7 and I was just gassed out. At that point the mental fatigue was setting in. While I know that Josh would've preferred to to just keep running - because it would be over faster, I did not. I needed to switch to the run5/walk2 combo I had promised myself after I had put in a good effort. And for no training and having had run the day before. 7 miles was a good enough effort for me.

So for the remaining 6 mile of the race we ran/walked. I was having some toe problems so the walking part was giving me enough time to recover and run again. In all honesty if Josh wasn't with me I would've caved and walked a mile or two - but because he was with me I kept up to my combo.

Around mile 9 or 10 we started to see the Marathoners making their way to the second half of their course! I guess one of the perks of being slow is that you get to see the front runners from every race! HAHA!

It was at mile 10 I started talking to Josh about a PR. He said we'd be cutting it close. I debated about it - but in the end said I could do it.  I wish I had some miraculous story of how I turned it up a notch and hauled ass to the finish line with my hands raised in the air like I had just won the race - but I don't. I stuck to my same run5/walk2 combo. I had to conserve what little energy I had left. Not to mention the winds when we turned back to make our way to the boardwalk. The wind alone was enough to make me want to give up! But we made the last turn to the ocean front and the finish line was in sight. We had one more final walk break on the boardwalk and that was it - run it in. And we did.

I crossed the finish line at 2:58:10!!!
15 minutes better then my Crawlin Crab time from 2013!
I finally have a sub 3hr Half!

FINISHED!! A cold and windy shot in front of the sand sculpture!

Granted I know that an almost 3hr Half Marathon is slow. I'm happy with it. I'm not sure I'll ever get fast enough to get to a 2hr Half time, but for now I'm content and have set the bar for the next long distance race. Train and run the whole thing.

I think it's a pretty simple and realistic goal.

After we finished we grabbed our goodies, snacks and Dolphin Medal and made our way to the gear check and back to the party tent. I had my eye on a finisher shirt, but because I took so long running - they sold out. :-(
Oh well - next year I'll have to run faster of find a non runner friend to get it for me when they open.

The tent was crowded, Josh and I were cold and didn't really feel like standing around and waiting for a beer, so we headed back to the hotel.  Along the way we got to see some of the Marathoners still making their way along the course. Good for them - I have no desire to run a full. 3 hours is my maximum.

After we checked out of the hotel we met up with my sister, her hubby and my adorable nephew for lunch before Josh got back on the road to PA.

Overall it was a great weekend and one I'd like to do again.
But next time actually train.....

Not sure what my next race is going to be....but I've got to start doing some serious speed work to get my time down for the Disney Wine & Dine.

Josh and I were thinking our next half might be the Hershey Park Half in  October.

Till then I have my sights set on doing some long runs in preparation for the Broad Street 10 Miler in Philly coming up May 4th. 

I'll show off my bling and how I store it next time!
Sorry for such a long post but it was a great weekend!!

Shaking the Shamrocks.....getting ready for Shamrock Marathon weekend.

Its hard for me to believe that just a few years ago St. Patricks Day meant a day long adventure of green beer and bands at D.C's Shamrockfest and now I'm training (sometimes) and mentally preparing to take on distance running.....my how times have changed!! Don't worry there's still beer involved - it just comes after running anywhere from 5 to 13 miles. 

This year will be my fourth year participating in the Shamrock 8k, and my first year participating in the Shamrock Half Marathon. I've been going to the Shamrock weekend on and off for a couple of years now ever since my friend ran in her first Half Marathon and I met her at the finish line to support her. It's a pretty amazing event! There are sooo many people there! 

My first year participating in the Shamrock 8k was 2011. A friend of mine from college and her husband were walking the race so I decided to join them. At that point in life I was not a runner. It was still pretty fun to cross the finish line and get a medal. Its actually the first race medal in my collection. 

The second year participating in the Shamrock 8k was the following year. This race in 2012 meant a lot to me. It was when I officially called myself a runner. To me it was the best race conditions. A little chilly in the morning but bright warm and sunny by the time the race was over. It was a race I didn't let my fears get the best of me and just did what I knew I had trained for and just ran. It is still my 8k PR and I'm hoping that I'll get back to that pace!! Here's to wishful thinking!

Hardest earned medal thus far! 

Last years race was the first Shamrock 8k I got to run with my trusty running buddy. (She couldn't make the year prior due to a family obligation.) We were just coming back from running the Princess Half at Disney so neither one of us had done a lot of training or wanted to run another half, but we were prepared and ran the whole thing. 

We even had matching sparkly skirts thanks to Janet's sewing skills!!

I even had coordinating KT tape on a calf muscle that had been bothering me for a few weeks. 

Still spending part of my Shamrock weekends drinking.

I loved my shirt too!! It came from Raw Threads! The same company that made my fun Snow White running shirt!

This year I've taken on the Dolphin Challenge of both the 8k and the Half.  I even sweet talked that handsome Boyfriend of mine into running it too. And its a good thing I did! My running buddy can't make it so it's good ol' Josh to the slow running girlfriend rescue!! While I know I won't PR the 8k - there's a good chance that if I run like I've been doing on my sporadic "training" runs, then I will most likely PR on the half. Hard to believe that for as little training I've done I might actually get a PR  - but I haven't had the best race conditions in past half's so I'm hoping this one will be better! 

I'm just hoping that the weather cooperates and that the predicted rain holds off till after the race and that the temps warm up just a little bit more. 

Either way it'll be a great weekend full of friends, sand, sun, shamrocks and running!!

Crawlin Crab - October 2013

Here's my attempt at not being so MIA - two posts in two days!!

I figure if I keep writing about my running (and life) I'll actually keep running!

In May of 2012, my running buddy and I (along with her hubby  - he's part of our running trio!) ran the Run for the Achievable Dream 8k in Williamsburg. It was after that race that my running buddy got a crazy idea that we should train (at the Y) and run the Rock and Roll Half Marathon. I thought she had LOST HER MIND! I was ok with running 5k's and 8k's since I was pretty new to the whole running thing - maybe I'd even challenge myself to a 10k. But a HALF MARATHON??! No way!! Never in my wildest dreams thought it would happen!! That I could actually consider myself to be that good of a runner.  But I agreed to sign up, and off went another running adventure.

Fast forward. Rock and Roll was a disaster (TOO HOT! TOO HUMID!) but we all finished. We then figured we needed to give ourselves another opportunity for success and signed up for the Inaugural Crawlin Crab Half in Hampton VA. Another disaster of cold, and wet. The rain was so bad that by mile 10 I could literally hear the water sloshing in my sneakers after every step! I had just about given up on Half Marathons altogether till the Princess. With a renewed sense of "I can do this" we signed up for the Crawlin Crab Half in Hampton again.

This time around for the most part I had put in the work and felt really confident about my ability to complete the race. I managed to sweet talk that handsome boyfriend of mine into running it with us too. After all, he had been the one doing most of the training runs with me - he might as well get a medal and t-shirt for all his trouble. So he was about to take on his first half marathon.

Race weekend came and OH BOY!! It was the complete opposite of what it was the previous year. Instead of cold and rain, we had hot and humid. Not the best race conditions. I felt like I just couldn't catch a break!! Regardless, I was confident in my ability to get through this race (or at least a good chunk of it before switching to run/walk method), as well as motivate my friend who's faith in her running was wavering.

It was a hot one, but I was determined. That wasn't so much the case for my friend. Somewhere around mile 5-6, she lost her mo-jo. We switched to a run/walk combo, but it was still a struggle for her. There was a lot more walking, and me bouncing along ahead of her. Every time I'd stop to wait for her to catch up, she'd tell me to go ahead.....nope...not my style. Yes, I was hoping for a PR, but making sure she got across the finish line was way more important to me.

By mile 11, my boyfriend (who had been done for almost an hour) was texting me wanting to know when we were arriving. This race had an entourage of people waiting for us. Mom, Dad, Janet, Drew and Donnie.

We slowly made our way to the finish line.

As we came to the last 100ft of the race we see John, Gineff's hubby waiting there for us. We were thinking that he had already finished and was just going to run in with us for moral support. Nope - he waited over 30mins at the finish line so that he could cross the finish line with his wife (and me too!) Now if that's not love I don't know what is!!!

Needless to say by the time we finished we were exhausted!! It was hot, we were tired, and everything hurt!!

I would have liked to have gotten a family picture but by then even my entourage wanted to head indoors to some AC! I didn't blame them at all.

So we finished, but it wasn't pretty. I'm not sure if I'll run it again next year as I am trying to broaden my race horizons and venture to new places to run - but its a great course and I'm sure it will continue to grow in popularity as most J&A races do.

I know this is totally illegal...but I screen shotted my pics. I just can't see spending $60 on 15 pics of me looking like a hot mess!!

Josh, me, Gineff and John - pre race and ready to go!

Gineff and I in our matching outfits. My motto is - I may not run fast or look pretty but I'm going to look good while I'm doing it!!

Plus I've put my sister's sewing skills to work and she makes me my fun skirts!

Just about at the finish. That's my Dad and Donnie behind me, running me in the last few feet! The race volunteers even gave Donnie one of the kids medals since he was such a trooper out there waiting for Aunt Liz.

And we're done!! A hard earned big fancy medal! 

Most of J&A's medals double as bottle openers....I think they're trying to tell us something....

Next Up.......Wicked 10k!