Jamestown Half Marathon

Last Saturday I ran the Jamestown half marathon in Rhode Island! I had looked up the race a couple weeks ago, but it was a last minute decision to run it. I was flying home (into Boston) on Thursday and I had a 13 mile long run scheduled for the weekend. I didn't want to run it alone and I don't know the area where my parents live all that well (and it seems like there aren't many good places to run). On Tuesday I was looking up race info and realized that it was the last day to sign up for the race. So I called my mom and asked if we could stay in Rhode Island for a few days, then I signed up for the race and booked a hotel!

Luckily it was a small race, otherwise it would've been hard to find a hotel close by. Packet pick-up was easy, although it was outside in tents and hot. On Friday we had a whole day to do whatever, so we decided to bike some of the trails in Rhode Island (more on that in another post!) and we wandered around Newport for a little bit. Rhode Island is very pretty!

On the day of the race, we woke up early (of course!), and drove to the Newport Grand parking lot, where there were shuttles waiting to take all the runners to the start. Jamestown is an island, and there isn't a lot of parking there, so buses took us there and back. There was a long line for the shuttles when we got there, so we had to wait for awhile (again, good thing this wasn't a huge race). By the time we got over to the island, the race was about to start. It was supposed to start at 6:30, but actually started about 10 minutes late, so I had plenty of time.

I started out in the middle of the pack, feeling good! In the first few miles, we ran along the southern coast, and it was beautiful. Then came the hills. I didn't look up elevation charts, but I expected an island to be pretty flat; however before the race started I was informed by other runners that there would be lots of hills. They were right, but I didn't think the hills were that bad, maybe because I've been running lots of hills in Lynchburg recently. There were short stretches of flat, but lots of ups and downs throughout the entire course. I kind of liked it because it made the course more interesting.

I also thought that we'd be running along the coast and seeing great views of the bay, but after the first few miles, the course was along a road with trees on both sides, with no coastline in sight. Again, this was unexpected, but I didn't mind because it was so nice to have the shade! I fell into pace beside another girl for awhile and we started chatting. She had music playing through her phone, which was great motivation to pick up the pace for awhile. I had been running around 9:45- 10 minute miles, but we picked up the pace to about 9:30. Then we got separated, but awhile later in the race, we caught up to each other again. At that point, she was running close to 9 minute miles, which was great motivation for me to pick up the pace for awhile. Eventually she left me in the dust, but I was glad for the extra motivation and pace boost to help me run a strong race!

The last few miles are always the hardest. It was getting hotter, and the hills didn't stop! At mile 11.5, I was ready to be done (which is good, because in my past few races I've hit that point at mile 8 or 9). I kept pushing and thought I had a strong finish. My mom managed to get this shot of me rounding the final corner towards the finish line!

All in all, this was a fun race. Small, but not too small. Fun course. It was a great training run for my marathon, and I'm really glad I decided to do it at the last minute.

Official time: 2:05:05
Pace: 9:33
Place 285/984 females

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.