Into double digits

Today was my first double digit run of this cycle of marathon training. It kind of sucked. I got lost and ran the wrong way for a mile, got stung by a horsefly, and had stomach issues that left me running for the nearest port-a-potty. But I got the miles in and that's what's important!

My last few runs haven't been great. They've been hot, humid, and slow, and I've had more stomach problems and bathroom issues than ever before. I keep telling myself that all the hard miles I put in now will only make the marathon that much better. Struggling to get through miles, running on tired legs, and running hills are all GREAT training for running a marathon. I would much rather have tough runs now during training, and hopefully a much better run on the day of the race!

Puerta Plata, DR

Last week I got back from a trip to the Dominican Republic! I went with Audrey, my roommate from PT school. We were celebrating one year of work, and belatedly celebrating graduation from PT school.

The DR is becoming a popular vacation destination, probably due to the fact that you can find a great deal for an all-inclusive hotel. Punta Cana is the most popular tourist destination, so of course we had to be different and go to Puerta Plata, on the north shore of the island. From what I've seen of pictures, the beaches at Puerta Plata are just as beautiful as the beaches at Punta Cana. Audrey has been to both places and said they were very similar.

I highly recommend the DR if you're looking for an affordable all-inclusive trip. Staying at a hotel for 6 nights with all meals included was cheaper than the airfare to get there! We didn't have to worry about money at all except for what we wanted to spend on souvenirs and excursions.

We stayed at a huge resort with several pools, beaches with cabanas, restaurants, and bars. It was the perfect relaxing vacation after a year of hard work. These are some of my favorite pictures from our trip:

Everyone thought we were sisters because we both had blue eyes. :) I'm so thankful that we got to go on such a fun trip together- it was a great start to summer 2014!

Four Food Faves

Why do my favorite things always seem to involve food? I really do love food way too much, but I'm also trying to eat healthier, so these are my favorite healthy food options right now.

1. Honeycrisp Apples. This is my favorite kind of apple. Like it's name suggests, it's crisp. and sweet. and pretty much the perfect apple. I like to cut it in slices and sprinkle with cinnamon.

2. Luna Bars. This is my go-to snack when I'm in a rush. They taste as delicious as a candy bar, but they're healthier. My favorite flavors are Nutz Over Chocolate, Caramel Nut Brownie, Chocolate Peppermint Stick, and Peanut Honey Pretzel.

3. Craisin Salad. I've started eating this for lunch on a daily basis. I used to hate salad, but I LOVE this one. I buy a bag of salad and add chicken, shredded cheese, feta cheese, craisins, and sometimes bacon. Then I add my favorite raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

4. Tiramisu cups. I love tiramisu! These are a good dessert for someone trying to eat healthy but still satisfy their sweet tooth. They're rich and satisfying, but less than 200 calories each.

On another note, even though I'm trying to eat healthier, I'm failing miserably!

Closing the Chapter

I haven't talked about my job much on the blog. Mostly because I deal with job stuff every day and this blog is a chance to focus on other things. But it's time for an update! I'm nearly finished with one year of full-time working. However, in a few weeks I'll be leaving this job and taking advantage of some other opportunities.

Like any job, my first job has had its ups and downs. The first few months were the hardest because working full-time was a big adjustment, and I was studying for the boards. The last few months have been stressful because we got a new manager and had a big turnover of staff, which resulted in the rehab department being understaffed for a few months. I was the only supervising PT, so I was working long hours every day to get everything done. It really wore me out.

I put in my two weeks notice, and my last day was supposed to be Friday, but my company asked me to stay on for two more weeks to supervise and train the new staff. I already had a moving date set, but they offered to put me up in a hotel. I agreed to stay until the end of the month to help them transition. So here I am at a hotel for the next two weeks finishing up this chapter in my life, and getting excited for the next one.

My plans after this:
1) Take some time off. I've been working very hard the last few months and putting in a lot of overtime, so I need a break.
2) Travel PT. I want to take advantage of this time in my life to travel to different places and practice PT in a wide variety of settings. I'm excited to try working on a short-term basis and to experience new cities.

I'm really excited for this summer, as I get a much-needed break and plan for the next adventure!

A whole weekend of moving

I moved a lot this weekend, and I don't mean exercise. I moved stuff. A lot of stuff. From Richmond to Lynchburg. Yeah, that's right, I'm moving again! It's about the fourth time in as many years. It never ceases to amaze me: 1) How much stuff I have and 2) How stressful it is to move it.

This time I had to do a lot of the packing/unpacking on my own. I spent most of Saturday packing up my clothes, books, and kitchen appliances. On Sunday, I picked up a U-Haul truck. Bud and his friend Isaac came to help me load everything into the truck. They also helped me pack the rest of my junk and clean the entire house. Packing everything up is the most stressful part for me. It was overwhelming and it took all day.

We drove to Lynchburg Saturday night. On Sunday I was up bright and early to get the house ready to move stuff in. I had to clear some space in the master bedroom and do a bit of cleaning. Bud and Spencer unloaded the truck and it only took them about 2 hours, even though they stopped to help me put together the bed and arrange some furniture. Unloading definitely went a lot faster!

The rest of the day I unpacked and organized, which is my favorite part of moving! I love starting out with a bare room and getting to decide where everything will go. I also like to go through all of my things and organize them better. I end up throwing a lot of stuff away that I haven't used in awhile. It's cleansing and cathartic to downsize.

I got the bedroom, living room, and dining area set up in a new way. I really like it. Not only is there more seating for guests, there's a cozy feel to the rooms. I still have a couple boxes of random odds and ends to unpack next weekend, as well as my kitchen appliances and dishes. My next step is to organize the pantry and kitchen cabinets. Looks like I'm going to get my moving and spring cleaning done all at once!

One thing I forgot to mention- the AC was broken at the house, so it was 86 degrees inside. I was sweating all day. I didn't cool off until that evening when I finally got in my car to drive back to Richmond and had the AC on full blast. Whew.

Songs of the weekend:
She Looks So Perfect - 5 Seconds of Summer
You're So Classic - MKTO

Diva Half Marathon

I can check South Carolina off the list! It almost didn't happen. The night before the race I wasn't sure it was going to happen. On Saturday I started to feel sick, so much so that I spent two hours sleeping in the car while everyone else played pickleball. I took some medicine and drank two chai lattes to soothe my throat and prayed that I'd feel better in the morning. It's not every weekend you get to do a destination race and I was going to be extremely disappointed if I couldn't run.

Well, Sunday morning I felt better, albeit not 100%, but felt that I could run. Like all my other spring races, this was a fun race and I didn't have a time goal. Since this was a diva race, I wanted to dress the part. This was the first time I've ever worn any sort of skirt in a race, but I highly recommend sparkle skirts. They are lightweight and made to be worn over running shorts. You can hardly tell you have on anything extra when you're running, which is important when you're running in hot weather.

The race started out well. This was the first time we'd stayed in a hotel within walking distance to the start, and it was a very nice perk. We were able to get to the starting line easily with no hassle, so we had plenty of time to get a good starting spot in the corral. My mom started with the 5Kers, then we were off! The first few miles were shady and it wasn't too hot yet. I felt pretty good until Mile 6- then I started having stomach problems. "Bathroom problems" are one of my worst fears of a race, but I wasn't about to stop for that.

Miles 7-8 were hard because there wasn't as much shade and it was getting hotter. The first stretch of Mile 9 I would say was the worst part of the course because it was along a busy highway and there was also no shade. But that only lasted for a short bit, then we began to weave through neighborhoods and scenic areas with trees and SHADE!! By the end of the race, I could tell I was not feeling my best. My stomach still hurt and I was having flu-like symptoms: feeling overheated, headache, cold sweats, etc. I didn't start to feel really bad until the last few miles. My dad jumped in to run the last mile with me, which was good encouragement to finish strong.

Overall, a very fun destination race (despite not feeling well)! The course was mostly flat and scenic and the bling at the end was being handed out by hot firefighters. Totally didn't know that was coming up, or I would've had my camera ready. They had champagne at the end and I got a boa and tiara. And the best part about the end- again the hotel was RIGHT there. We were able to watch other racers finishing from our hotel.

I finished in 2:07:29. Overall pace: 9:43 min/mile.
The first half of the race was faster than the second half.
6 mile split 55:58  (pace: 9:19 min/mile)

*The next day, driving back, I came down with the full-fledged FLU! So basically the reason I was so miserable and felt so bad during the last half of the race was because I was running while sick.

Rock N Roll Raleigh

A couple weekends ago I ran the inaugural Rock N Roll half marathon in Raleigh, NC.

It started out with a road trip with the bestie for our drive down to North Carolina. It was an easy 3 hour drive fueled by Starbucks, Taylor Swift, and sour gummy candy. We were staying with Tristan's friend Connie, so we met up with her and Katie, then got dinner, and got to bed early.

We all got dropped off at the start a few minutes before the race. Then we had to wait in really long porta-potty lines, where we met these guys who were running the marathon without training:

We passed them around mile 1 and wished them good luck. I would never want to attempt that! Tristan and I started in corral 6 and stayed together for the first 7 miles. The course was VERY hilly. It was up and down hills the entire time. None of the hills were HUGE, it was just constant up and down. Tristan took off after mile 7, and then I got passed by the 2 hour pace group, which was kind of depressing. Not that I was expecting to make it in under 2 hours, but my goal is always to get as close to 2 as possible.

Weirdly, I don't remember a whole lot about the race besides the hills. It's funny because when I ran my first half marathon, I remembered what I was thinking/feeling at EVERY mile. I wondered back then if I'd ever get to the point where the miles would just roll by without me noticing. I think I'm finally there. Each mile may still be difficult, but I'm not thinking about it as much.

Actually, I had a lot on my mind during this race regarding job/life decisions. It was nice to be able to have my mind completely free to think through some things and decide what I want next in life. I had a lot of uninterrupted time to let my mind wonder and think about some of the different opportunities that have come up in my life.

So I don't have a whole lot to say about the last 6 miles, except that after a couple of big hills at the end, I made it to the finish! Also, doing a step class the day before (which works the calves), then doing a race with lots of hills (which works the calves) makes for very sore calf muscles! I was definitely limping around at work the next day (which is not unusual for me after a race, haha).

My time: 2:07:16
Pace: 9:43 min/mile
Splits: 5k: 28:27     10k: 57:32     10 mile: 1:34:43

Tristan and I waited for Connie and Katie to finish the race, then we all went out to lunch at Bad Daddy's. They had some of the best burgers I've ever had. It was literally one of the juiciest burgers ever. If I go back to Raleigh, I want to eat there again! Good ending to a good race day.