Items of note

1.  I have almost finished training for the Utah Valley Marathon June 8.  My taper starts this week.  This is the first time I have actually followed a training schedule, and it has done wonders for improving my running.  I am hopeful that I can finish this race without dying.  All of my long runs have incorporated some sort of speed work, and, while I am exhausted and perpetually hungry, I am very excited about this marathon  (PS - anybody who wants to come cheer me on for the race will be handsomely rewarded with lunch or ice cream. And my love and gratitude.  Whichever is more important to you....)

2.  Georgetown sent me my official transcript evaluation, in which they told me what prerequisite courses they have approved and which ones I still need to take.  To my surprise, they accepted my Book of Mormon and New Testament classes to count for both of my theology credits.  (I sent them an email letting them know just how excited this made me.)  This means that I do not have to take ANY classes this summer!!!  I can now fully dedicate myself to eating shaved ice and sitting by the pool.  I will probably do some running in there as well.  

3.  The parents' association provided a faculty appreciation lunch today of barbecue pork, brisket, ribs, cornbread, and mac and cheese.  The ribs were heavenly, the brisket had a delightfully smoky flavor, and the mac and cheese was some of the best I've ever had.  It was a great way to celebrate the fact that I only have seven teaching days left in my entire teaching career.

Nike Women's Half Marathon Race Recap

So, last week's Parkway Classic was one of my favorite races ever.  One that I will definitely be running again (probably annually).  The Nike Half Marathon, however, is a race that, while I enjoyed it, it was probably a one-time deal for me.  I got the necklace, I am happy.

Things I liked about the race:

The fact that it was a women's race, and the fact that most people were running just to get a Tiffany's finisher necklace meant that it was not a very competitive field (to say the least).  I finished 311 out of 15,000 runners.  It was definitely fun to start way up at the front of the crowd and to only have a few runners in front of me.  It made me feel very elite (which I most definitely am not).

The tshirt and necklace are awesome.  The shirt looks nice and fits great (unlike most race shirts).  

The course was beautiful, and Hanes Point (which is usually unbearably windy) was surprisingly mild yesterday.  That is always a plus.  Also, there were all kinds of motivational signs on that part of the course (it's a long 3-ish mile peninsula which has lots of wind and almost no spectators).

Shalane Flanagan was at the finish giving everyone a high five!!  I was insanely excited about this.  (And she is much shorter than I had pictured her.)  In case you didn't know, she is an Olympic marathoner.  

Besides that, the race felt like one enormous Nike advertisement (which, I suppose, is exactly what it is).  There were no race photographers (besides those taking Nike promotional photos), the Expo was a temporary Nike store, and the "Finisher's Village" was a tent selling more Nike products (instead of the normal family meetup areas, spaces for people to sit, etc.)  In fact, you had to pass by the Nike "boutique" to even get to the medical tent.  The finish line was a red carpet, which is a really nice idea, but when you are wandering around looking for a trash can so that you don't lose your lunch all over the red carpet (which I may have done), it kind of loses its appeal.  Pacer's was technically running the event (the same people who organized last week's 10-miler), but the Pacer's rep that my coworker talked to said that Nike refused to take any of their suggestions for how to run a successful race.  

Overall though, it was a really fun race, again with perfect weather (sunny and 50's) and I ran an 11-minute PR, so I am pretty happy with how the day went!!  Plus, did I mention that I got a necklace for finishing?  Definitely worth it.  

Parkway Classic 10 miler

Last week, Erica and I ran the George Washington Parkway Classic 10 miler.  The weather was perfect (sunny and 40's) and the race was beautiful.  We started in Mount Vernon and ran up the GW Parkway to Alexandria.  I am pretty sure this race will become a yearly tradition for me - it was one of my favorite races ever.  Gorgeous course, just the perfect amount of rolling hills, very well organized, and a different course from most DC races.  And as an extra perk, all of the race photos are free!!! (Courtesy of Pacer's Running store, who organize and run the event.)

miles

For your viewing pleasure, a graph of my mileage (running) for the past six months.  I think it's pretty obvious when my marathons were.

Also, this is (hopefully) the week that I start hearing back from Nursing schools.  I am really hoping for good news.  

I have a scholarship interview with Georgetown this Saturday.  The part that is stressing me out the most is figuring out what on earth I am going to wear.

birthday do-over

This is a public service announcement to let everybody know that Bexie is getting a birthday do-over.  All she ever wanted was to be able to make herself a fancy birthday cake  (seriously... this is all she wanted?)  but due to a biking injury, no cake was to be had.  Therefore, her birthday for the year of 2013 will be on April 19.  And it will most certainly involve fancy cake. (Which she made for herself...)

But until next month, I hope Bexie had the best cake-free birthday that could have possibly been had!

marathon race report

Sorry, guys.  No video of me crossing the finish line this time.  So sorry to disappoint.

My favorite part of a race is the post-race loot that is given out. I have to say that this race totally let me down.  They ran out of chocolate milk AND Jamba Juice smoothies before I even finished!  I want my money back.  But despite the lack of post-race goodies, I finished with my best time so far (3:55) and my race outfit was my favorite of all of my marathons so far.  So overall, I would call this a successful race!

And, for your viewing pleasure:

Hanging out (and being cold) before the race.  Dad had his eyes open double wide, so maybe that makes up for mom's eyes being closed?

Requisite post-race finisher photo.  I was pleasantly surprised at how not horrendous I looked after the race:

Finishing strong.  Supposedly this shirt I am wearing is supposed to be stink-proof, even if you sweat a lot.  I definitely sweat a lot, but the shirt doesn't exactly smell like roses.  It was, however, the most comfortable race shirt I have ever worn.  

what i have been up to

1.  I wore my favorite dress to work today.  I have worn it several times before, and would wear it every day if I could.  It is hands-down the most comfortable item of clothing I own.  I recently looked at the tag and realized that it is not actually a dress, but pajamas.  I am totally fine with that.  

2.  I can always tell I'm getting nervous about a race when I start analyzing every detail of the course and going over all of my training to make sure I am prepared for every hill.  I put together this comparison of the biggest hill on the race course next to the trail I use for all of my long runs.  I think I am ready.

3.  I am looking for a great restaurant for carbo-loading Friday, since I convinced my mom to take a whole entire HALF DAY off of work for this thing.  This is big, guys.  We have to celebrate.