hot chocolate 5k recap (aka why i may never again participate in a RAM race).

I've been considering for a few days now whether or not I even wanted to recap this race biggest cluster ever. 

I've also been seriously considering just linking to Bebe and piggybacking off of her recap. Because I'm lazy she did a pretty swell job of really capturing the complete and utter lack of awesomeness that was this race.

But then I thought, maybe, you all would like to read a long, angry, frustrated, sarcastic recount of the first nine hours of my Saturday morning (which ended at noon. How sad is that?).

It all started off well enough. I slept at my parents' the night before, because I was meeting up with my friend Stef to drive out to the National Harbor together. I was told that due to the parking location I selected, I had to carpool with another runner. Also, driving 30-40min at 5am just seemed as if it would be more fun with someone else. Meeting at my parents' house was much easier than making her drive alllllllllllll the way around the beltway to my place. Also, I'll take any excuse to play with the puppy for a few hours.
 

After getting a full face cleaning and playing a few choice games of tug-o-war, I went to bed at the totally appropriately early hour of 10:15 (I mean, that's still 6 hours...). If you can do simple math, you'll already know that this means I was up at 4:15 to get ready. I wasn't meeting Stef until 5, but the earlier I wake up, the more I look/feel like the troll that lived under a bridge in the story of the three billy goats. Exhibit A:

 

True story: my hair never actually recovered. This is what I get for using grippy headbands. The amount of wispy hair is directly proportional to how regularly I work out. I can always tell I've upped the activity lately because I have those stupid, annoying hairs flying all over my face. 

Fun side note: our race bibs have our names on them! Cool or creepy, depending on how you look at it.

So Stef arrived and we made our way over to the parking lot where we would then catch a shuttle to the race site (this is already a billion times more complicated than any other race I've participated in). We were told to be on a shuttle no later than 6:15 (for a 7:30 race, mind you). We arrived at 5:40, and were at the race area around 6. While texting Bebe what I was wearing (so she could find me! Get your mind out of the gutter), she found me. Yay! Hurrah! We did it! At last! We jumped around excitedly (as excitedly as one can at 6am when you've been awake for two hours already) for a couple minutes, and then settled down. Given the following events, we probably should have kept jumping. Maybe we wouldn't have gotten hypothermia. We managed to get one picture before the race. And by one picture, I mean one personal photo. There were probably 200 photographers running around, and I'm pretty sure each.and.every.one stopped us to take our picture. We were rock stars. Maybe they knew what was ahead in the next few hours, and wanted to try and distract us? Probable.

 

This is where the real fun begins.

Staging started at 7am, so we headed down to the staging area. The three of us all have different average paces, so we picked somewhere in the middle so as to at least begin the race together. We lost each other within the first minute, but I'll get to that in a bit. As we neared 7:30, we stretched a bit and got ready to run. As we passed 7:30, we heard an announcement telling us the race would begin 15 minutes late to allow for all the latecomers. They were stuck in the standstill traffic we could see from the starting point. Oh noes.

7:45 comes and goes, and still no race. We experience a brief glimmer of hope when people in the open corral began moving into the corralled start area, and thought that maybe we were getting started! Alas, no. After jumping and bending and stretching and doing whatever we could think of to keep us warm (I know Maryland is technically in the South, but it's still 35* on a typical December morning, y'all!), we finally got started. At 8:15. Which is a far cry from 7:30, or even 7:45. But we were running, and that was all that mattered.

Until roughly 8:15 and 30 seconds, when we came to a standstill again. Then, at 8:16, we were off! Until we were stopped again at 8:16 and 30 seconds. Why were we stopping? What the heck was going on? At this point we should be done with the race! As we slowly make our way down the two lane street, we see the problem: a tunnel, about four people wide, through which roughly 10k people were supposed to fit. Who did they think were running this race? Ants?

At this point, I had lost both Bebe and Stef to the crowds, hoping we would all find one another, alive and well, at the finish. Thank goodness we had the foresight to pick a meeting place!

Once through the tunnel, what I expected to be a wide road on the other side turned out to be a sand and gravel path roughly the same width as the tunnel. Combine this with all the people who completely ignored the corrals and common sense, and had lined up with the runners fully intending to walk the entire race, there was some massive backup on the path. Oh, and don't forget all the sub-10yr olds on the course! It was super important to turn back every 10 seconds to make sure mom and dad were still there, and possibly stop to wait for them. In the middle of all the runners, on a path along the water, with a five foot drop and no bar to hold people in. 

We finally hit pavement after the path, and all seemed well enough until the end of mile 1. At this point we turned up a hill. The hill that never ended. Literally, this thing had to be the entirety of mile 2. Cruel. I trudged along, looking everywhere for mile markers (alas, there was not a one until the last tenth of a mile. Way to be, guys). I finally made it around to the 3 mile mark, meaning there was just one measly tenth of a mile left! Easy peasy? Of course not. The thing was freaking uphill. WHAT THE EFF? They're trying to kill us, for serious. I refuse to walk over a finish line though, so I pushed through. Let me tell you, that was the toughest .1 mile ever. After a fairly anticlimactic finish, I made my way up the half mile hill (rude) to the post party area to meet up with the ladies. At least we were rewarded with chocolate, right? I mean, there's a reason it's the Hot Chocolate series. Melted Ghiradelli with apple slices, half a banana, a marshmallow, a pretzel rod and a small piece of Rice Krispies treat. They also had hot chocolate but we didn't feel like venturing to another tent. We just wanted to go home.

 

After a full 24 hours of stewing and bitching, I received a mass, clearly PR-written email from RAM Racing (the company that put on the race - did I mention that?). If you want to read it, they posted it on their FB page after receiving (literally) hundreds of angry comments (and apparently deleting some of them. Poor form.) here. If you will please note, there is no mention of an attempt to rectify other than a prayer for a second chance. In that entire "letter" (can we call it a letter if there's no signature?), there is not one attempt to incentivize the 20k-ish runners to participate in another RAM event. Not one. While this company may not rely solely on repeat business, this is possibly the biggest mistake they made all weekend. And that's just for those of us who actually participated. What about the hundreds (thousands?) who couldn't even participate because of the traffic? Those who sat on the highway for hours due to poor choice of location? An offer of a discount for another race, some of the photos taken, even donating the profits to a charity, would have done wonders. More than my frustration with the race itself, I am dumbfounded that a company who has been putting on races for 10 years (or any company, really) could be so negligent of its customers. Because that's all we really are. Customers who purchased entry to a race.

Anyway (she says as she steps off her box), I highly doubt I'll be signing up for any of their races in the future. The chocolate was good, and the company (as in my friends, not RAM, duh) was great, but I can have chocolate with friends whenever I want. We can even run 3 miles first if we so choose! Take that, RAM.

Update: It has been brought to my attention that there was a less-than-promised amount of sarcasm in my post, and for that I am completely, totally and deeply sorry.

what do you do when your weather looks like this? (see below)

You take the puppy for a 2 mile walk.

I had already decided on my way home from work that I wanted to run/walk the two mile loop in our neighborhood (I say it like it's the only two mile loop in our neighborhood. It's not, it's just the only one that we walk. We being my family. Because we mapped it out like 20 years ago and we're creatures of habit). It was one of the first days that make you realize Fall is on the way, where you can actually get into your car that's been sitting outside all day without dying immediately, turn off the A/C and open the windows, and blast Maroon 5 on your drive home. Oh wait, that's just me. 

Anyway, after my super long (read: 4.6 mile) commute home, with my arm hanging out the window like a cool kid, I was greeted by a very, very enthusiastic puppy. I'm surprised I survived with all my limbs. Aside from the occasional attempt to sit down in the middle of the road (him, not me) and the occasional need to roll around in the grass (me, not him. Just kidding.), we had a very successful and fun walk! We even managed to jog a bit, mostly when there was a mom with a baby in a stroller jogging in front of us. The other dogs and runners and bicyclists he could deal with, but for some reason he just had to chase after the baby stroller. I guess that's what babies puppies do. 

Now we're both pooped.

really boring title.

Please excuse the lack of creativity, I haven't had my coffee yet today.

This week I maintained at WI. I've been working out more, and eating more, and not trying to restrict myself so much during the week for the sake of the weekend. You see, I used to use lots of weekly points over the weekend and then none during the week. Buuuut that was when I wasn't really exercising, so I couldn't get away with eating extras so close to WI. Also, I probably could have, but that was my mentality. I was still treating WW as a diet, restricting myself for the sake of the number on the scale. The last few weeks have been different, though. I've *gasp* eaten over my daily points almost every day, including Thursdays. The horror! But then I step on the scale on Friday, and eureka! A loss! Incredible. I guess it doesn't matter when I eat, as long as I make good choices. Sure, the first week might result in a gain, but then everything evens out. I'm so much happier with this. I don't feel guilty for the midnight cookie that was well within my points the night before I step on the scale. Not even a little. Not even an ounce. I guess I'm learning.

Today also marked the start of the next cycle in my challenge. I've been thinking about what my new goal would be, and decided to stick with something activity-based. My eating is pretty good right now. I'm still planning ahead, and making the best choices possible (most of the time). Yesterday, I even went so far as to throw out chicken nuggets. Awesomely-nice-but-mildly-pushy-when-it-comes-to-food coworker brought me McNuggets when all I asked for was an iced coffee. This happens on the regular. Normally I eat the nuggets (at just 5PP for the 4pc box, I'm not too shaken up), take something out of my meal plan for the day, and move along. Yesterday, I ate two and then realized I wasn't hungry. And I had packed yummy food for lunch. Why was I eating the nuggets? The last two went into the trash. Progress!

Anyway. Back to the challenge. I thought back on the last 3 weeks and how my mileage happened. It took me 3 days each week to get the 5 miles in (more so because I was running before work and didn't feel like waking up earlier than because I couldn't do more mileage). So for this new cycle, I'm stepping it up a little. If I up the mileage to 6, which is a baby step, I can still get away with pushing everything into 2 or 3 days. I need to do more. SO this cycle's goal will be: workout 4 days every week. This will definitely be a little bit of a stretch, but should be just enough to get me exercising on the regular. Also, it helps with my foodie habit by giving me more wiggle room.

I love wiggle room.

puppy pictures of epic proportions. how's that for alliteration and awesomeness?

So, we're puppy-sitting this week (in case you haven't heard, which you probably have). I took 65 pictures on Sunday alone. I kid you not. This, combined with the fact that I've now figured out that uploading pictures to my Picasa account allows me to blog with photos from anywhere, means I'm going to now shower you with pictures of puppies of infinite cuteness and cuddleability (real word? Maybe...)

While we're here, I'd like to mention that I got my butt out of bed this morning and did the final 2 miles of my 5mi/wk goal! I decided that sleeping in tomorrow morning and allowing my legs to rest a little was far more important than spacing out the mileage, and really, 2 miles is nothing. It only feels like a lot because I have no interest in waking up earlier than I already do, leaving me with the problem of trying to cram 2 miles into a smaller amount of time than I'd normally take to walk/run 2 miles. Big life problems, I know. Anyhoo, the point is I finished my mileage, and tomorrow I get to sleep in. Until 7:45. Yeah, that's awesome.

And now, pictures!

Sasha, Chester and Swagger all exchange their hello's

Playtime has begun! Starting to get into it!

Puppies play by biting each other in the face. True story.

Chester grabbed hold of Swagger's tail and followed him around for a few minutes.

"Aahhhh let me go!!"

The closest to "laying still" I got all afternoon.

I may post more pictures later, since I just got a fancy new camera for my birthday from my parents. Yes, I know my birthday is in September. But, like my father, I have a habit of buying things that I want before others have the chance to get it for me. So this was a genius move on their part. The camera is awesome - I actually spent a good 20 minutes last night taking pictures of my ceiling fan in motion, and being super duper impressed by the camera's ability to make the shot look like the fan was off the whole time. It's amazing. I love it. 

Are you listening in, mom and dad? I'm appreciative!

monday, for lack of more creativity.

Today, for some reason, I felt compelled to post.

I don't have much to say, but I suppose I could do a weekend recap of some sort.

FOOD: relatively good choices, fully tracking each and every meal. Go me.

ACTIVITY: none, zip, zero. And you know what, I'm totally ok with that. I super-badly needed sleep Friday night (getting home at 2am from Harry Potter 7 part dos didn't help), and slept almost until noon on Saturday. Sunday I was up a little earlier, but had zero desire to workout.

FUN: 100%. Saturday consisted of hanging out with a few friends, and dinner with my parents that night. Sunday was chock full of family time, and the receiving of puppy Chester's brother! After watching the two of them play for hours non-stop last night, I'm exhausted. It was complete hilarity, and I have no idea how they have so much energy! They slept super well last night, which is good, because well, sleeping through the entire night is always a good thing.

I have pictures. I'll post them when they actually make it onto my computer.

This morning, I woke up bright and early and did 1.35 miles on the treadmill. Nothing major, just working on my habit of regularly running. I'm learning that 7am really doesn't deserve all the flack I give it for being so freaking early. The thing is, when I'm not working until midnight it's actually possible for me to get a decent night's sleep and wake up at 7am. Would I like to do this every day? No. But a few days a week is really no biggie. And even after only 15-20min of intervals, I feel way more awake than I ever do by snoozing the alarm an extra 15-20 minutes. Don't tell anyone this, but I don't even need my morning coffee when I work out in the morning. Revolutionary, I know.

Tonight I'm revisiting Graffiato, this time with dear friend B. Awesome-amazing-totally cool brother got us seats at the counter in his section, so we'll be dining while watching the chefs at work! Extreme awesomeness. Tonight I'm hoping to try the super trufflicious pizza on the menu (Countryman). It just sounds to.die.for.

Maybe I'll update once I'm out of my expected food coma.

Maybe.

updates and such.

Today marked the first day of the second week of the second challenge round of OP2OVERCOME. Mouthful? Maybe. I started my second challenge last Friday (well I started it earlier and then reset because I was failing hard), and made it through an entire week. The challenge? Run or walk 5 miles each week. 5 measly miles. Being the fantastic procrastinator I am, I waited until Wednesday to even start the mileage. That gave me a whopping 2 days to fit workouts somewhere into my schedule. Did I mention I hadn't been running in days weeks months? Awesome.

Wednesday I got my butt out of bed early and did 1.75 miles of running and walking intervals. I wanted to die. Yesterday, I did 2.25 miles before work and wanted to die less. Actually, I would venture to say it even felt good. On my lunch break, instead of being a lump and sitting in front of my computer on the internetz, I went for a walk. 1 mile. BAM! 5 miles done. This week, I have no intention of procrastinating. But then again, who ever does?

Last week I had a slight massive gain, which I attributed to copious amounts of sodium (bacon cheese fries. nommmm) the night before. Whatever, it'll come off by next WI. Right?

Kind of. This morning I was down .6lbs, which is like, 20% of what I gained last week (See? I told you it was massive). In the correct general downward direction? Yes. Leaving me slightly disappointed? Only slightly. Here's the thing - I did really well this week. Like, really well. I pre-tracked every day, I got in more activity than I have in a long time, and I've been drinking water like I'm a fish. I'll take the new weight and go from here. I know, I know. I say that almost every week. But really guys, I think I'm in a good place right now. 

And now, since we all know posts without pictures are lame, I'll leave you with some puppy Chester love. It's amazing how much he's grown the past few weeks! It's also amazing that he listens. Does he still chew on my hand like it's a bone? Sure. But he stays when I tell him to, he goes in his crate when I tell him to, and he comes when I call. That, my friends, is progress. Also, it's really stinkin' cute when I sit on the floor and he walks up to me with a toy, sits in my lap and goes to town on said toy. I love having puppy blanket.

Puppy Chester says "Why are you staring at me? I'm just trying to enjoy myself behind this here chair. I love wedging into small corners!"

i love being outside but then i get silly tan lines and never have time to fix them.

I really haven't felt like exercising lately. 

Like, really really.

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, and all I've done so far is sit outside for 20 minutes or so soaking in the rays and chillin' with the dog.

blog, meet dog. Isn't she just the cutest thing ever?

Once y'all are done getting over the cuteness, I'll continue.

...

...

...

Ok seriously, that's enough!

Today, I went for a 40 minute walk. The positive? I've got a tan. Also, I exercised. The negative? I've got awkward tan lines. I tried to pick a shirt that would at least not give me sleeve lines (aka a tank top), but I don't have any strapless shirts, and I thought that would be inappropriate for a power walk anyway. C'est la vie. At least I'm out there, right?

Stay tuned for tomorrow's WI!

i'm going to pretend like i haven't been gone for weeks or months or something, and just post like normal.

Happy Easter, peoples! 

In the holiday spirit as a good jew as pure coincidence would have it, I bought a pastel aqua-colored dress last week, and will be wearing it today in celebration of Easter. Because Easter is all about pastel colors, right? Regardless, I'm in love.

Please excuse the mess. I've been working super extra hours lately and the last thing I want to do when I come home is fold laundry. So, it lives in a pile on my bed until either a) I decide to wear the items or b) I feel so inclined, whichever comes first (frequently choice a). I find myself in a sort of predicament where I love doing laundry and having clean laundry, but I'm not the biggest fan of folding it. I wish clothing would just fold itself. For serious.

Also, in like 30 seconds flat we've gone from perfect running weather to slightly too warm to run at the times I want to (aka after 6am). Yesterday was beautiful. Today is too hot. Seriously, Mother Nature? You couldn't give me one day? We're totally in a fight right now. I am excited about the warm weather, however, because it typically means I'm more excited to eat healthy foods. Fruit, salads, all that jazz. It's just easier when the weather is nice. I'm trading in my pizzas (well, maybe not) and pastas for a nice caprese salad as my lunch of choice at the restaurant! I thought this day would never come. And it's a good thing it's here, because I was definitely riding the struggle bus.

I have no clever way to end this post.

well hello there, my long lost love!

After being sick for oh, the whole month of February, I finally had a day where my breathing pattern wasn't threatening to kill me (and some gorgeous weather, to boot!). I laced up, told my mom I'd be back in probably about 20 minutes, and ran out the door. I knew I wanted to mix in a little running with my walk to get back into the swing of things, but (as usual) I got carried away. If it was 70*, clear blue sky and slightly breezy in your neighborhood, wouldn't you? 

Here's what I ended up with (I ran about half):

for some reason the file has lots of white space, and I'm too lazy to fix it. Deal. (Said in my nicest voice, ever. Promise).

Now all I have to do is train for this pesky race I've got coming up in April. Except I can't even call it pesky, because I'm pretty excited. A 5k around the Tidal Basin during Cherry Blossom season? Yes, Please!

*takes a deep breath*

You'll understand that deep breath in just a second, I promise.

I haven't written in a couple weeks. Partially because I'm lazy, but 99% because this is what has happened in my life these past few weeks (ready, go!):

• I developed super severe laryngitis and had to work through it. I was almost as useless as a mime for a few days.
• I went to the doctor for said laryngitis because it stuck around for 4-5 days, so I wanted to make sure it wasn't something more.
• I got antibiotics for the sinus infection the doctor found while I was there for the laryngitis.
• I worked some more.
• I ate a lot of soup with my mom, who couldn't chew anything. Like, nothing. Literally.
• I came home from work with a 100* fever last week.
• I had an absolutely useless interview.
• I cried about it, I slept it off, and then went to the hospital with my parents so my mom could get her mouth fixed (she's fine, folks!)
• I started running a fever again at the hospital.
• I finally went back to the doctor on Sunday because I had a 104 fever, only to find out I'm pretty allergic to the antibiotics I was taking. Awesome!
• I'm now on day off number 5, after getting my last two shifts covered. It's actually been kind of nice.
• I ate some more soup with my mom. Lots of orange soup. We seem to have an affinity for orange soups.

Basically, the last couple weeks have been all sorts of awesome. As far as WW goes, I didn't track at all from the time we left for the hospital on Friday until last night (and I actually put in everything from the weekend yesterday). I came up super short Saturday and Sunday, which is probably a huge reason (that and the boat loads of water I drank) for my 5.6lb loss yesterday morning. Now if only I could keep it off...

Countdown to my next 5k = roughly 6 weeks. Am I prepared? Not in the slightest. As soon as I don't look like I have a bad bout of sun poisoning, I think I'll go for a run.

 

Hopefully I won't have to wear all this next time. As hot as I may look...

when i cleaned my room, i found my motivation.

I haven't worked out in over a week. If my shoes had emotions, they would have been silently crying in the corner for days. (Could you imagine if they did? They would probably yell at me on my runs and freak me out a bit). Or maybe they wouldn't have been silently crying, but their sounds would have been muffled by the plethora of clothing on my floor. Once I had cleaned up a bit, it was as if my motivation and energy were restored. I think the state of my room is a good tell for my mood and stress level...although my dad may tell you that it's just a mess regardless.

Ok, I think that's enough personification and passive voice.

With a high of around 25* today, I decided it was as good a time as any to get back out there. I've been making excuses about the weather for weeks, when I know full well I have the appropriate gear for the cold. Today, I sucked it up and geared up:

Pretty Badass, right?

In case anyone is wondering, here's what I've got on: 2 pairs of running tights (one pair of all-weather and one pair of cold gear), a cold gear hoodie under a running jacket, an awesome help-you-breathe mesh face mask, and a knit wide headband to keep my ears warm. That thing is perfect because it shields my ears from the cold air, but it doesn't make my head too hot! The knit is pretty loose so it's super breathable.

Anyhoo, I went out for just sub-2mi today. I know I won't have time tomorrow because of work, but I'll be back out there on Wednesday!

Oh also, I lost .4 this morning. How the hell that happened I have no idea. Apparently I made better choices this week. I'll have to go back through my journal. This week I'm attempting to save my weeklies for the few dine-out meals I already have planned (and the few I'm sure I'll have that aren't planned, as I seem to have a sort of affinity for many restaurant meals each week...). 

santa shuffle 5k

Look at me, I'm so awesome!

So. Santa Shuffle 5k. Very cold, lots of hills, slightly odd. First, we met at one place and were walked to the starting line a few minutes from the meeting place, 15 minutes before the race. In 30ish degree weather. With no bathrooms. We start running and it's a pretty peaceful course. We ran straight down one street for most of the race. This street ran through a nice, quiet residential neighborhood. For the most part it was fine, but towards the end, once people started waking up, we had some issues. People wanted to go out and do errands! The audacity of them! So we had a couple cars who participated in the race. Fun times.

My final chip time was 40.59, 15sec faster than the Rockville 5k a month ago. I'm not sure that my pace really picked up, so much as there was this one monster hill which I took advantage of and picked up some speed and time on the way down. I walked most of the way back up, because it just seemed silly to run a steep hill and lose all energy for the last mile. I'm going to continue running the hills in my neighborhood so one day I can do the hill AND the last mile! Fancy that.

Maybe, if you're lucky, I'll tell you about what I did after the race! I've got pictures but my camera is all the way across the house. Not happenin'.

oh hai, i'm running a 5k tomorrow.

My race is in 10hrs. I'm currently sitting in my kitchen, already dressed. When I told my dad I was 'practicing my outfit', he gave me a look like for serious? Yes. For serious. The race is called the Santa Shuffle, and costumes are welcome. I don't do costumes, so I've settled for a pair of red shorts (over my running leggings, of course. I'm not that crazy), and the shirt for the race under my (black) running jacket. Not superly, overly festive, but I've got the color scheme down. Kind of.

Also, I had a super fabulous meetup with some of the ladies on the 20's board yesterday! It was fantastic, and you should be jealous that you weren't there.

proof! (Photo courtesy of Bebe)

Ok, I'm tired. I need my beauty rest. Be on the lookout for a race recap in the next day or two! Provided I like you. Which I do. I promise. pinky swear.

you know how you see yourself differently than the camera sees you?

I had no idea that's what I look like running.

This is why I hate candid photos.

"Oh, but they're so fun! They capture the moment as it was meant to be seen" blah blah blah.

Seriously guys, I look like I'm in pain.

So, of the two photos I found on the race website, this is the better of the two. I'm sharing it because ya know, this is my blog and I'm supposed to share things and whatever.

Last Sunday was the Rockville 10k/5k and I ran the 5k. It was an 8:30 start, which meant I had to be up at the butt crack of dawn (seriously. 6:45 is right about when the sun's coming up.). I got ready, grabbed a banana and some water, and the boyfriend and I headed up to the race. I was pretty nervous, but I always have that feeling when I'm woken up so friggin' early and expected to function pretty much right away. That, and I was freezing. Running outside when it's about 37* is not my idea of a good time. But I wanted that free t-shirt! Actually, I already had the free t-shirt. But I would have been a sap if I had picked up my race packet for the shirt and not run the race. Although who am I kidding, I actually wanted to run it. I did. I swear. It was just cold.

Overall the race wasn't so bad. I didn't look at the course map before heading over so I didn't know what to expect. I figured it would be a nice flat run, so I had run on flat roads leading up to the race. Race day? 3 hills. Awesomesauce. So I ended up walking about half of each hill, but other than that I ran the whole thing. Not too shabby, though I would have loved to run the entire thing. All in all, I was pretty happy with my time (41:14), given I walked part of the course.

Now I have a time to beat for the Santa Shuffle 5k, coming up on December 4, which I signed up for the day after the Rockville race. Because I'm hardcore like that.

serenity

One day, I sent my dad a picture from my phone of me waving. This kind of picture sending was a common occurrence when I was living in London, since I couldn't actually wave to people from home in person. His response: "are your headphones surgically attached to your head?"

I listen to music whenever I can. Even if I'm just walking around the corner, I typically have my headphones in. I may even dance a little. I definitely dance a little. Without my music, I feel lost.

Today, I ran without music.

pause for effect

The Rockville 5k, which I'm running in just over 2 weeks, has a no-headphone policy (apparently this is an increasingly common rule). I decided that if I want to get a good feel for how running will be at the race, I should probably go for runs without my music. So today, I laced up and headed out the door while my iPod shuffle silently cried in my room because it missed me. The verdict? It actually wasn't so bad. I found that just watching the cars pass me and looking around at my surroundings kept me pretty occupied. That and the music playing in my head did a pretty good job of keeping me going. I think I'm going to continue running without music until race day to see how I do. Today I didn't do much actual running (just over 15 of the 52 minutes I was out) since it was my first run in 2 weeks, so we'll see what happens when I increase the actual running time.

Also, be on the lookout for a picture of my Nike+ watch on the sides of your milk cartons. Not only did I not have music, but I actually had to manually keep track of my distance. WTF, mate? Here's hoping the thing turns up in my stuff. Somewhere, some way, somehow.

roar.

That's how I feel today. Let me explain.

I've made some really good friends on the Weight Watchers message boards over the last year (has it been a year already?). We chat almost every day, and motivate and encourage each other in a way that other people can't - because we're all in this together. We've branched out from the message boards and are now challenging each other on dailymile, which is a kind of athlete's social networking site where you can track your activity and that of anyone you're friends with. You can also join challenges, or create one! A few of us were talking the other night about how we're kind of in an exercising funk, and we decided to setup a walk/run challenge for the next month. Whoever gets the most mileage in, wins! Sounds simple enough, right? We figured if we were competing against each other, we would be more motivated to get out there and pound the pavement, so to speak.

Well, for the first week I was a total lazy bones. I logged like, 2.5 miles. Lame. I had been making excuses to not go out for runs, and I was falling behind in the challenge.

This morning, something clicked. I was looking at the challenge board (I often check in the mornings because I'm 5hrs ahead of these ladies so when I go to bed they're just getting out for their exercise. Oh also, I'm obsessed with looking at the challenge board. I'm a nerd.) and noticed that Bebe was at 16 miles already. 16! I was at 2. I wasn't really in the mood to run, but I had to do something, because this gap was only going to get wider and it would be impossible for me to catch up. So I decided to walk. I started out around my neighborhood, turning when I felt like it and ogling at the nice houses that I don't live in. Eventually I found a park and I knew I was at least a mile from my flat, since I've looked on a map for parks before and there really aren't any close by. I decided I wanted to run. I like running in the park, and I was in a park. So I ran through the park. On the other side of the park? A footpath on the River Thames! Sweet. Not only was I running in the park, but I was running in the park with a view. Before I knew it, I had run 15 minutes and still didn't feel tired. I felt like a rockstar. Then I turned back to go home and got slightly lost, so by the end my mileage looked like this:

Yes, that reads 9.54km. This would be an appropriate time for one of these: (((LTE)))

Oh yeah, and some of these fabulous ladies have blogs! I read them, and you should, too. Thanks to JB, Di, Kate, Bebe and Kelly (and the others who don't have blogs) for always giving me a swift kick in the behind when I need it most!

lesson learned.

Yesterday was less than perfect. It started out well enough, but kind of went downhill. No, nothing's seriously wrong, but I just didn't plan the way I should have. In my efforts to be super OP, I may have starved myself a little unintentionally.

See what had happened was, I went for a run in the morning. Yay me! It felt so stinkin' good to get back out there. This was only the third time I've gone running since being back (please, put away your stones! Pretty please?), and the first time I went out for 5k (my happy distance) since the Beach House. I tried all afternoon to get that snapshot thing of my run like all the other cool Nike+ users out there, but I was having a bit of trouble...finally, I think I got it! Let's see...

HA! Genius. I always thought it was so cool that people could do this, and now I can do this. I think I may start posting these run recaps on here to hold me accountable. I also have no idea why the distance is all wonky (wonky = possibly my new favorite word). See how it's all upside-down? odd. Oh well. You can deal, since it displays all the stats at the bottom.

Right. I was in the middle of something. Why my day wasn't super fabulous like it should have been.

So as I generally do when I go to uni to work, I packed some food. I was all excited for my couscous with veggies and my orange! But I got really hungry before dinner because I never really ate my lunch because I ate my pre-workout snack and then when I got back from my run it was noon which is lunch time but I hadn't eaten breakfast so I ate my breakfast and then brought my lunch - the couscous - with me for dinner but my breakfast wasn't a good lunch so I got hungry. Then I had a piece of cake. Totally not worth it. By the time I got home last night it was 9pm and I was lazy and really didn't feel like cooking. So I had a big mug of this delicious smoothie drink I buy over here, which I thought was enough. I was full. For the time being...

I.couldn't.sleep.

At about 3am, after trying to sleep for a good 4hrs but not succeeding because I was too hungry, I realized that smoothie =/= acceptable dinner. So what did I do? I had more smoothie. But this time it wasn't because I was lazy, it was because it was 3am and who needs to be eating real food at 3am? I finally fell asleep at 4. And woke up at 8. Which I think accounts for the general lack of punctuation in this post. I make no apologies (because I'm stubborn like that).

So why is today better? I learned my lesson. I ate a nice filling breakfast this morning, and I packed lunch and two snacks! I've got the same veggies I made yesterday but this time I'm having quinoa instead of couscous, which is way more filling. I have some hummus and bread, and an orange.

I'm prepared, yo.

silver lining

So you know how you see things in movies all the time or maybe even hear about them in real life (but usually it's in the movies) and think to yourself "oh man, that sucks! But that would never happen to me" and you laugh at the TV screen (slash person telling the story) because hey, it's happening to someone else.

Today, I was the person on the TV screen.

The story:

I went for a run this morning to the post office for stamps. I've decided that if I need to run an errand that doesn't involve carrying lots of stuff back with me (aka grocery shopping), I'm literally going to run the errand! So today I ran to the post office. Anyway. After the post office I needed to go grocery shopping, so I came back after the post office and then set out with my reusable bags. I contemplated showering in between, but decided not to since I was going for a walk and it was actually kind of warm outside (ok like upper 60's). While I was at the store, it rained. It looked like it was going to rain when I left, but I went anyway because I want my brisket! And I needed tin foil to make this dream come to fruition. But that's another story. You're probably pretty confused by now, what with me telling you about my hygiene and talking about brisket with no prior information. Or, more likely, you're just ready for me to finish this story. I'm almost done, I promise.

So it had stopped raining by the time I left Tesco, which is good for someone who just bought like, 500lbs of groceries. Or like 25. Same difference. Anyway. I was walking back, feeling happy because the rain was nice enough to stop before my walk home, when SPLASH! A car driving in the left lane went through a massive puddle and completely showered me and my groceries. I think I would have preferred walking in the rain. That way at least I knew what I was in for, ya know? It was totally like you see on TV - the water came out of nowhere and when it hit me I stopped, threw my arms out and gasped in shock. Cold, dirty water-induced shock. Ew.

So why are you telling us this, and what the heck does it have to do with silver linings?

I've been making the effort lately to see the silver lining in every situation. It kind of helps, looking for the positive in a generally negative situation. Makes it more bearable. Anyway. The silver lining in this situation? I was still in my running clothes (except for my sneakers, thank goodness. I changed into flip flops. I would have cried if my sneakers got soaked because I'm the kind of person who just loves wearing new-looking sneakers) and hadn't showered yet. So I was already hurtin' for a shower, and I wasn't wearing clothing that could have been ruined.

So yeah. Silver linings are cool. People think I'm weird sometimes for bringing them up, like how can you possibly be seeing a positive side to this story? You're just trying to make me feel better. But you know what? It usually works. So take that. I win!