10 Half Marathons, 5 Races

Happy Friday!  I had an unexpected day to catch up on life, and figured the best way to celebrate was with a blog post.  (PS--I can't believe I missed the last official Friday Five!  You can tell it's been way too long since I've last posted!) Things have been a bit crazy around here, but a few weeks ago I ran half marathon number 10!  Since it's too late to do its own recap, I thought it would be fun to do a trip down memory lane!

1. Shamrock Half Marathon: My happiest half marathon memories are at this race.  My first half, my next big PR, and finally breaking two hours all happened on this course.  Plus, the usual beach and best friend time that has become tradition doesn't hurt either!

2. Rock 'n' Roll DC: Guys, I wanted to love this race, but all I really remember from it was being super stressed out because even though I left crazy early, the metro failed me and got me there at the last minute.  Needless to say, I haven't been back for this one.  Maybe one day...

3. Crawlin' Crab Half: You guys know I love this one.  The course is probably my favorite and the craft beer fest at the end is the perfect way to celebrate a race.  This race has always been one that I have run just for the love of running and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I find it appropriate that it was number ten!

4. Nike Women's Half DC: I got really sick leading up to this race and went in entirely under trained, but ended up having a blast!  I loved getting to run through DC and the race was so well organized.  Having multiple metro stops at the start was very helpful and eliminated the stress I had at Rock 'n' Roll.  The Tiffany's necklace was a nice perk, too.

5. Norfolk Harbor Half (formerly known as Harbor Lights!): My birthday race.  The best celebration a girl could ask for, complete with pie.  It rained the whole time, but I loved every minute of it!

(Can you tell which ones are my favorite races? Maybe one day I'll branch out....but if it ain't broke, don't fix it, ya know?)

What are some of your favorite half marathons? Any that you want to check off your bucket list? My bucket list half marathon is the Runner's World Half!

Have a great weekend!

Friday 5: Why I Run J&A

Hello friends!  Yes, it's been a while, and yes, I've written similar posts before, but it is the Friday Five with Cynthia, Mar, and Courtney, and we are officially a month out from the Crawlin' Crab Half!  I'm getting really excited and wanted to share my excitement about some truly amazing races with you!

1. They're fun!  I feel like I always have a goofy smile on my face during these races.  There are always people in costumes (how they run in some of those is beyond me!), bands playing, and of course, zombies on the course at the Wicked 10k.  

Basically always smiling like this.
 (It's really hard to be serious when someone's taking your picture).

2. The food.  Both on the course and at the post-race party.  My favorites are the gingerbread cookies from Surf-n-Santa, the pie on the Norfolk Harbor course (pretty sure they know it's around my birthday), and the crab chowder after Crawling' Crab.

3. Did I mention the post-race parties?  Always lots of good food and plenty of beer.  After the half marathons you get 4 beers (full size).  It's always fun to celebrate, especially when they are on the beach (after the Shamrock Half last year I saw dolphins!).  There's also a PR bell (you know you wanna ring it!) and a board where you can write your new PR time.  

4. Amazing "swag."  <--Does anyone else think swag is a weird word.  The medals are always fun, my favorite running shirts are all J&A race shirts, and I have a pretty sweet collection of beach towels thanks to these races.  I also have a hat for every day of the week.

5. The courses.  (I had to get to the actual running part eventually!)  A lot of them are in Virginia Beach and have portions on the boardwalk.  In my book you can't beat seeing the ocean on your run!  The Surf-n-Santa course is amazing and you get to run under the Christmas lights at night.  The Big Blue 5k ends on the ODU football field.  It's really hard to pick a favorite because they are all different, yet awesome.



Obviously I love these races (and have for the past 7 years now!), so I'm thrilled to be a J&A ambassador again this year!  Hopefully I'll have some good recaps for you in the coming months!

What races do you love?  If you've run J&A, what's your favorite?!

Friday 5: Summer Lovin'

Yeah, so I didn't even look to see when the last time I updated this bad boy was, but it's Friday and I've missed linking up with Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney, so I figured I'd give you guys a little update on life lately!  Summer time has been so good to me so far!

1. Best friend time!  My best friend is amazing.  She is always down for a spontaneous visit and it's so nice just being able to hang out.  I got to spend the past couple of days with her and she is coming to visit next week!  I'm really excited to take her to some of the breweries around here and just bum by the pool.

We had to document the pets being so close to each other!

2.  The beach.  It was amazing to be back on the beach (I actually can't remember the last time I had a beach day, which is incredibly sad.).  The Eli Young Band has a new song called Salt Water Gospel and I feel like that sums up my feelings about the beach perfectly.

3. J&A races! (Like anyone is surprised on this one.)  My best friend visit lined up perfectly with the Summer 5k Series that J&A is putting on right now.  Every Wednesday they are doing a casual fun run and I was so excited that I was able to participate!  It was great being able to run on the board walk and they gave you a medal and a beach towel at the end.  Perfect excuse to head to the beach for the day!

4. Bikes.  I bought one!  Not sure I know how to ride it (I'm currently waiting for a tool I need to tighten it--the nice man who helped us fit it in the car explained that the way it was assembled wasn't as safe as it could be and I should fix it before heading out on it.), but I'm really excited to try!  I know they say "it's like riding a bike," but whoever made that up has obviously never met me.  We shall see how it goes.  She's really pretty though and I have a feeling we're going to have many happy rides together.

5. Yoga.  I recently started getting into yoga.  Beer yoga is definitely my favorite (so many breweries in this area host classes and you get a class and a beer which makes it a winner in my book), but I just finished my free week at Core Power Yoga and really enjoyed it.  Guys, I went to 3 classes in a week.  That is a record for this girl!  I'm trying to figure out the best route to go moving forward (I'm tempted to do an unlimited month, but not sure how realistic that is with summer travel coming up...might be cheaper to just buy class packages).

I would love to hear updates from all of you!  What are things you're loving so far this summer?  Have a happy, happy 4th of July weekend!

Uh, Sunday 5?

Hello from the frozen north!  (AKA DC area) I missed posting on Friday because it was my nice friend's birthday and we have been filling our snowy days with the perfect amount of laziness.  I can't wait to read how you guys have been spending your weekend!  Be sure to check out the Friday Five link up with Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney!

1. I went for one last run before the snow hit!  Guys, this run was just what I needed.  I have been in such a weird place with running, and this run was really fun.  Nothing special or out of the ordinary, but it was one of those days when I just wanted to keep running.  I also found a new trail near my house! I ran into a fellow runner who told me of plenty of other connecting trails, too.  I see many happy exploring runs in my future!

Honker, I mean hunker down geese!  Hope they stayed warm.

2. We beat Mario.  Super adults.

3. We finished our puzzle! 

4. We did (part of) this work out by Julie over at Peanut Butter Fingers.  It was a great way to break a little sweat when we couldn't get out of the house.

Thanks, Julie!  This was a good one!

5. I started reading Bart Yasso's book.  I've been meaning to read it for a while, but it kept getting pushed back because of library holds coming available and people lending me books.  Let me tell you, it is dumb to read a book about running fun when you can't actually go outside for a run.  I'm ready to get those roads clear so I can make Bart proud! (Who knows, I might meet him again at Shamrock!  Just for the record, he is the nicest guy and really fun to chat with!  I was lucky to have the opportunity to hang with him while working the J&A booth at the race last year.)

Who else was snowed in this weekend?  How did you spend your time?  I spent plenty of time napping, Netflixing, and cookie baking, too.  Perfect snow day activities!  Stay warm, friends!

Friday 5: Harbor Lights Half

Hellllo!  It's been FOREVER since my last post (I actually refused to look because I'm pretty sure it was longer ago than I want to admit).  I figured the best way to make my way back to blog world was by joining up with Mar, Courtney, and Cynthia for my favorite link up!  A couple of weeks ago I ran J&A's Harbor Lights Half Marathon.  I wanted to share some things about it with you since I had such a good time!

1. It was on my birthday!!  This was a huge influence on my decision to sign up for this one.  I couldn't think of anything I would rather do on my birthday!

2. There was pie! Ok, real talk here.  The fact that it was on my birthday and there was pie felt like a sign.  It was like they knew it was my birthday and wanted to party.  I had a delicious mini chocolate pie and it was the perfect pick me up.  It actually was a great motivator.  I wasn't sure when the pie stop was and so at first I convinced myself to run at least the first 10k (I had hurt my foot a couple of weeks before the race which put a kink in my training and confidence).  After the 10k I decided that I should keep going until the pie stop.  The pie ended up being at mile 9 and at that point it seemed silly to take a break.

3. It rained the whole time.  Luckily I checked the weather and knew to bring my wind breaker and a hat (not completely waterproof, but much better than if I had just been wearing a normal tech shirt!).  It was one of those times when you kind of had to just laugh because if you couldn't laugh then it would probably have been miserable.  At one point I was running around two girls and we decided just to go for it and jump in the puddle instead of avoiding it because there was no way our shoes could have gotten any wetter.

Free race photos! 

4. The Grand Illumination Parade was the night before!  This was a bit of a surprise for my nice friend and me and we got to our hotel right in time before the roads closed.  It was fun to be able to watch the parade from our window.  Just a side note about our hotel: it was within walking distance from the race start/finish (wooo!) and from the Norfolk Tap Room that had a lovely selection of beer.  Gotta have my lucky pre race beer!

5. I loved the finish.  It was right on the water and they gave us one of those space blankets after we got our medals and snacks.  It's the little touches like this that make me love J&A so much.  (One time after a particularly hot race they gave us cool towels which was the best ever!).  We didn't end up staying for the after party.  I was cold and ready to be out of the rain, so I grabbed my stew and we headed back to the hotel.  Huge shout out to my nice friend for venturing out in the rain to get me to my starting corral and for cheering me on at the finish line.

Apparently can't have my time be over by even a second!

Thanks again J&A!  I would definitely run Harbor Lights again!

Oh, and just a side note--I have a new phone which means that I can finally take pictures that aren't "selfies!"  I know you guys will be disappointed not to see those masterpieces (been perfecting them for over a year now!)  My instagram game is about to be crazy good.

Happy Friday!!

5 Things about the ODU Big Blue 5k

Happy Friday!  This has been one of those weeks where I feel like I've been going and going.  It's been filled with a lot of fun, but I hadn't had a chance to recap the ODU Big Blue 5k yet, so I figured that the perfect time would be at the Friday Five Link Up with Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney!  I ran it with my best friend as part of her birthday weekend celebration and we had a fantastic time!

1. Packet Pick Up: The race didn't start until 10:30, so it was a much more relaxed race morning than usual.  There was plenty of parking on the ODU campus just a short walk away from the race start and we were excited to get to tour the campus a little bit since neither of us had ever really spent much time there.  We walked right up to the packet pick up and got our bibs and race shirts that were in a reusable bag (my favorite grocery bags!).  They also had packet pick up the night before, but since neither us of could conveniently get there, it was nice that we could get our stuff the morning of the race.  We had plenty of time before the race, so we walked around to see what the post race party would offer and put our bags back in the car so we wouldn't have to worry about bag check.

2. The Course: I have been in a weird running place since Shamrock.  I just haven't been quite as motivated and running has been down right HARD.  For some unknown reason, I figured that running at a race would be better than my normal runs and decided to set the virtual pacer on my Garmin so that I could finally PR.  Part of me is glad I did this, but part of me wishes I would have just run to run so I could enjoy the course a little more.  It was the warmest day we have had since winter, and I immediately wished I wore a tank top instead of my short sleeve shirt.  The course was really neat and wound through neighborhood roads and the ODU campus.  There were a ton of cheer squads (I think they were different sports teams and student groups).  I really liked running on one of the practice fields!  There wasn't a whole lot of shade and I was a big ol' baby and was really wanting to just walk.  When we got to the mile 2 marker I was convinced that we weren't getting a water stop (I don't know why because J&A always takes care of their runners.  Probably should have looked at the course map haha!).  We rounded a bend and I saw a table and got really excited and then got really sad.  They were donut holes in the cup!  Normally this would be awesome, but I wanted water so bad that I completely skipped the donuts and went right to the next table that thankfully had water.  Soon after we passed the mile 3 marker and were headed to the finish line that was on the football field.  It was really cool running down the field.  As I crossed the finish line I heard my Garmin make the noise saying I got a new record and did a mini happy dance.  I finally got a sub 27 5k time!    

Suns out guns out, right?

3. The Post Race Party: After I crossed the finish line I was given a bag of pretzels, a bottle of water, (I skipped the banana!) my medal and a cup.  The finish area was pretty large so I was able to stand off to the side to wait for my best friend to finish the race.  I wasn't feeling super great at the end of the race, so I drank my bottle of water and ate some pretzels.  When my best friend crossed the line we went over to ring the PR bell.  It was in a weird spot that was kind of crowded, but I think they just were trying to find a place where it was easily found at the end of the race and they had the professional photographer taking pictures by it.  I think a lot of people were unsure of what it was though because a lot of people were just hanging out by it and we had to strategically aim the camera so we didn't have strangers in our pictures!  I skipped the beer at the race (not a fan of Corona or Modelo) but was excited to get my fro yo.  They had mini cones of chocolate and cake batter and it hit the spot!  I got my pizza soon after and we just enjoyed the tailgate atmosphere for the afternoon.  There was a band playing, corn hole, and other games.  We ended up staying long enough to get a little bit of a sunburn.  Oops!  The post race party area was HUGE so we never felt too crowded and it was great just being able to hang out and enjoy the party without dodging lots of runners.

4. The Swag: I thought both the shirt and medal were really cool!  And can you ever have too many cups?

Sorry for this picture.
 My phone only takes selfies so this is actually a
really good picture if you think about it.

5. Other Thoughts: I wasn't really sure what to expect from this race, but I really liked it!  Out of the J&A races I've done, I think this one would be the best family friendly one.  There was a 1k for the kids before our race and lots of room for the kiddos to hang out.  I think there were a lot of people who hadn't ever run in races before because I felt like race etiquette was lacking from a lot of runners.  I tried to just roll with it because it was a different kind of event than usual.  (There was a charity football game and an ODU football game after the race, so they really made a whole day of it!) It can be frustrating though when you're trying to go and people stop without warning right in front of you.  I really did have a great time though and would definitely run in this race again!

Did you guys run in the ODU Big Blue 5k?  What did you think?  Have a great weekend!

**Disclaimer: I'm a J&A Ambassador and was given a race entry to this race.  All opinions are my own.  (I wouldn't have driven over 3 hours to run this race if I didn't truly love J&A).  

Good Things

Happy Friday!  I'm linking up with Mar, Courtney, and Cynthia for the Friday Five and am excited to read about good things going on in others' lives.  It's been a pretty stressful week, and I need to refocus on the good!

1. Family time.  I had so much fun with my mom, aunts, and cousin last weekend and can't wait until we're all together again.  It was fun getting to show them around some of my favorite places.

2. Highlights.  One of my aunts is an amazing hair stylist and she covered up some of those gray highlights that were out in full force.

Cheers to being blonde again.

3. Best friend time!  One week from today I will be back with my best friend for the ODU Big Blue 5k!  I can't wait!

4. Jimmy Fallon.  Specifically, this video.

5. SUB 2 HALF MARATHONS!  Sorry guys, I'm still giddy whenever I think about it!  You can read my recap here.  Don't forget to link up any Shamrock recaps that you have!

The new picture you will be tired of looking at!

Have a great weekend!

Shamrock Half Marathon Recap

Shamrock Weekend seems like it happened ages ago, but I just haven't had the time to sit down and write about it like I wanted.  As you guys know, I LOVE that race and it just didn't seem right to rush through a recap.

You know those races where you do everything right?  Training goes well, you eat pretty well, and get enough sleep?  This was not one of those races.  My training had gone ok, but with the snow and ice I didn't log very many miles outside.  I threw my speed work to the wind after my first set of half mile repeats and just didn't feel very speedy.  Fast forward to race weekend: I ran the Shamrock 8k faster than I should have, was on my feet most of that day, drank more beer than someone wanting to do well in their race should, and ate a monster plate of nachos as my pre-race meal.  (Yes, they were good, too.)

We really love the post race parties!

I spent a lot of time debating joining up with a pace group.  Part of me felt that it was doable to stick with the 2 hour group and the other part thought that I was being a little too optimistic.  I knew it would be hard and I couldn't decide if I wanted to just relax and have a fun race or go for the gold and break two hours.  After talking to Bart Yasso some at the race expo I was feeling really inspired to kick butt.  My best friend (seriously guys, I wish she could be your best friend, too, because she is THAT amazing) calmly listened to me go on and on and on and eventually we determined that I should start out with the pace group and if I needed to back off as the race went on then I could. 

  

If your bestie AND Bart think you can PR, then you can PR.

Race morning arrived and I ate my Power Bar and drank my hotel coffee and we headed off to the starting line.  There wasn't too much time to spare, so I found the 2 hour pace group and chatted with them for a while about some of our goals for the race.  A couple of the girls and I realized that we all had the same goal and were pretty darn close to reaching it so we decided to stick together for the race. (Hi Kara and Ruth!)  

Joining the pace group was probably the best decision I made all race weekend.  It was so nice having the girls to chat with and the pacers were really fun.  I felt like the number of neighborhood alcohol stops grew a lot from last year, and they made sure to hydrate at each of them.  There was a lot of "When I say drink, you say beer!" going on and it was just fun to be loud and obnoxious.  We went out a little fast for the first mile, which was nice because we could kind of just cruise for the rest of the race. For the majority of the time I felt really great and that we were at a solid pace.  

No doubt in my mind that they would be fun!

There were a lot of water stops and I made sure to take advantage of almost all of them.  At one of the stations we got a little ahead of the pace group and it was really nice to know that as long as I stayed in front of them I would meet my goal.  I didn't check my watch at all until mile 10 and just trusted that the pacers had us going at the right speed.  When I finally did look at my watch I had one of those "oh my gosh, this is really going to happen" moments.  And then mile 11 happened and my legs really started to feel it.  I was hurting SO bad, but my running buddies were still trucking along and I didn't want to be the only one who didn't break two hours.  I kept trying to convince myself that breaking two hours would feel better than quitting.  I felt like I was slowing down so much and kept waiting for the pace group to run by me.  When we got to the final stretch onto the boardwalk there was a water stop and I looked at my girls and told them that if I stopped I wasn't going to be able to start again.  From that point on I tried to get in my zone.  I focused on the ocean instead of the finish line (it just seemed too far away!) and forced myself not to look at my watch.  I finally crossed the finish line and was a super happy girl.  I broke two hours with a little time to spare!  New PR: 1:58:58!  Guys, it feels SO good to have a 1 in front of my half time.  

After the race I got all my post race snacks, met up with my best friend, and then rang the PR bell with my girls!  I was so proud of them for breaking two hours and so thankful that I had them to keep me going!  I met up with Edith, an amazing J&A ambassador and to make a great race even better, she pointed out dolphins in the ocean!  Seriously guys, it was my perfect race day.  After a quick hello to Mar, my best friend and I drank a celebratory beer and then went off to eat my PR pancakes (pecan pancakes at Pocahontas Pancakes!  Kind of a tradition now!).  

Since the race I've been taking a break from running (and am now getting excited to start up again!  Took me a while to stop being sore ha!), but have gotten a lot of quality walks in with my pup.  My mom and aunts came to visit and they kept me busy, too!  Next up is the ODU Big Blue 5k!  Can't wait for more best friend time!

Don't forget that I'm linking up with fellow J&A ambassadors Jenny, Nan, and Sarah for our recaps!  I promise I will get to all of them now that life is settling down a little!  You have until April 22 to post your Shamrock Recap.  

**Disclaimer: I'm a J&A Ambassador and was given a free entry to this race.  All opinions are my own.  I think by now you guys know my love for these races is real.  

An InLinkz Link-up

Shamrock 8k Recap

I'm still riding a happy runner's high from this weekend and am so excited to write my recap for the Shamrock 8k.  (The half recap will come soon, I promise!)  I signed up for the Dolphin Challenge months ago and was so excited to be running in the Shamrock weekend races again.  Last year I had a great time at the half marathon and was a little bummed that I didn't go for the challenge!

My best friend and I woke up early on Saturday ready to tackle the 8k.  I ate a Quest Bar along with a crappy cup of hotel coffee, got dressed, and we made our way to the start.  We stayed on Pacific Avenue and it only took us a couple of minutes to get to the start.  We met up with Jennifer and tried not to look super cold in our pre race pics!

Yikes, coffee hadn't kicked in quite yet!

The 8k had corrals and I felt like I had a good amount of space the entire race.  I actually feel like I went out a little too fast, but I felt so good and since I wasn't crowded I figured I would just go to it.  I really wanted to ring the new PR bell, and I wasn't quite sure how the half was going to go.

The race was basically an out and back around the board walk and Atlantic Avenue and I loved every minute of it.  We got to see a ton of the beach and ocean and I can't think of many other places I would rather run!  The course was flat and after I warmed up a little I thought it was a perfect running temperature.  There were two water stops with plenty of volunteers.  Thanks, guys!

I finished the race in just under 43 minutes and was handed a water bottle, banana, pretzel, granola bar, and shamrock cookie.  I really love post race snacks.  We also got a fun shamrock coozie!  I hung out around the finish area (and never felt like I was in the way!) and waited for my best friend to finish and then we headed to the beach to ring the PR bell!

I really loved this bell.

After ringing the bell we went into the tent and got our celebratory beer and stew.  We hung out for a little bit and then headed back to the hotel to rest up until it was time to volunteer at the expo.  Thanks again to J&A for another great race!  I had a fantastic time!

Check out Bart Yasso--I mean our awesome 8k shirts!

To keep our Shamrockin' celebrations going, I'm linking up with Jennifer, Nan, and Sarah!  Feel free to join in the fun!  We all LOVE reading about our beloved J&A races!

• If you wrote a 2015 Shamrock Race Recap  (spectator and volunteer recaps are also welcome) feel free to add your blog post to the linkup.
• Link back to the blog host(s) in your recap so your readers can find the list.
• Love reading recaps? Here is a one stop shop for some Shamrock goodness!
• Not a Shamrock related post? Linkup hosts have the discretion to remove your link.

Note: This linkup will be open until April 22, 2015.

Disclaimer: I was given a free entry to this race because of my affiliation with J&A as an ambassador.  All opinions are my own.  (Honestly, I have such high expectations of the race that I feel like it makes it harder for them!  They haven't failed me yet though!)

An InLinkz Link-up

A Shamrockin' Weekend

Happy Monday!  I'm linking up with Tara over at Running 'n' Reading today for the Weekend Update.  I hope you all had as amazing of a weekend as I did!  I was in Virginia Beach for Shamrock Weekend and had a shamrockin' good time!  I'm going to recap the actual races later, but I'll fill you guys in on the in between for now.

I took Friday off work so that I could drive down to Virginia Beach.  I was beyond excited to run in the Dolphin Challenge (8k on Saturday and half marathon on Sunday).  I met my best friend in Newport News and we ran some random errands until my college roommate got home.  The Mariner's Museum was nice enough to save the poster from when Maddux was the Dog of the Month, so I got to pick up a lovely frame worthy keepsake.  (Nope, not kidding.  Totally framing it.)

By the time my roommate got home, we dropped Maddux off for the weekend, chatted a bit and then headed off to the expo.  The expo was still pretty hopping by the time we got there around 8, but there were no lines and we got our bibs quickly.  We were very hungry girls by the time we left, so we went straight to dinner.  Like last year, we hit up Abbey Road (every race requires a good pre race beer!) and then we went to bed early.

On Saturday my best friend and I ran the Shamrock 8k and had a ton of fun.  I finally got to meet fellow J&A ambassador Jennifer before the race!  After the race we hung out at the post race party and enjoyed a couple of our beers and some stew.  I got to meet Edith, another ambassador, who used to live around the corner!  She was so sweet and it was fun to finally meet some other J&A lovers!  We spent most of the time afterwards resting up because we were volunteering at the expo for the afternoon.  Our stew didn't hold us over very long, and I was a happy girl when my best friend suggested we eat Beach Bully BBQ before heading over to volunteer!

When we got to the expo I was stoked to see that Bart Yasso, the Chief Running Officer of Runner's World, was hanging out at the J&A booth!  He is super friendly and kept us laughing the whole time.  I really enjoyed having the opportunity to meet him.  The other J&A ambassadors at the booth were amazing and it was fun getting to hang out with them.  We had a bit of a battle to see who could arrange the cups the best way.  Pretty sure my table won.  Just sayin'.

After the expo, surprise, we were hungry again!  My best friend had noticed a restaurant called Lagerheads along the 8k course and I was more than game to try out another place promising good beer.  Lagerheads did not disappoint and we had a good time "fueling" for the half.

By the time we got home I was really tired and we took it easy and called it a night early.  Sunday came very early, but I was ready to tackle the half.  I had an absolutely amazing time and can't wait to tell you guys all about it soon!  After enjoying a celebratory beer, my best friend and I went for some celebratory pancakes and then hit the road back to get my pup. (We did a lot of celebrating!!)

Tomorrow fellow J&A ambassadors Jennifer, Sarah, Nan, and I will be hosting a link up for all of your Shamrock weekend recaps!  I'm looking forward to reading about all of your experiences and hope they were as great as mine!

Tell me about your weekend!  Who ran Shamrock?!

Have a fabulous week!

Friday 5: My First Half

Good morning!  Friday is finally here!  I can't believe that Shamrock weekend is THIS weekend!  I'm linking up with Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney today!  Make sure to check out some of the amazing blogs in the link up (or add your own!).  Since this weekend is my 5 year anniversary of running half marathons, I figured I would tell you guys 5 things about my very first one!  (Sorry guys, there are no dorky pictures from the race. I literally ran with nothing.  My brother had the hotel key and my license just in case, but I wasn't concerned with much at this one haha!)

We take running VERY seriously.

1. It was the Shamrock Half Marathon.  I can't really remember why I chose this one.  Maybe because it was close, maybe I had heard great things, maybe friends had suggested it?  My brother and I had previously ran in the Wicked 10k and Virginia is for Lovers 14k, so maybe we figured to just keep going.  Either way, it was an excellent choice.  (Yes, J&A only had three races back then!  They've grown SO much!)

My mom made me this amazing shadow box to hold my first medals!

2. I made up my own training plan.  So, I was in college and I ran a lot.  It was a great stress reliever, I had friends who ran, and I had the most gorgeous place ever to run.  The only real plan was to keep running whenever I felt like it and then add a mile to my long run each weekend.  How nice would that be to do that now?  I remember coming home and telling my roommate that I ran 7 miles and I had never done that before and I was super excited.  She was very patient listening to all my running talk.  (She still is.)  For some reason, I did my 9 miler and 10 miler on the treadmill.  I guess I was scared then, too, of getting stuck far away?  Someone had told me that 10 miles was the longest I needed to run before my race, because "if you can do 10 you can do 13."  Well, ok.

3. I was faster than I anticipated. I remember being blown away by the fact that I had to put a predicted race time.  "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW!?"  I ended up running about 30 minutes faster than I had anticipated.  Not a bad feeling.

4. I didn't use any fuel.  Probably had something to do with the fact that in college you're invincible and a beast.  I just didn't feel the need for it like I do now.  Also, at that point I had never even really heard of it. When I was handed a Gu on the race course I held on to it until mile 9 and then took it.  I will never forget the disgusting, warm (from holding it for 3 miles) strawberry mess.  (So, I also ran in the race shirt.  I figured that if they gave it to me then it must be a good shirt to run in haha!  So glad I'm too cool for that now.)  Basically, I had no idea of everything that running could entail.

Does pizza count?

5. I swore it was my last.  Don't get me wrong, I was SO proud of myself for finishing.  I tell people all the time that there's no feeling like crossing the finish line of your first half.  I remember the second I stopped running my quads cramped up in a major way.  It was horrible! My brother and I didn't even stay for the post race party and just hobbled back to the hotel.  It took me a whole year until I was ready to tackle another one.

What was your first half (or other race!) like?  Have a great weekend! Good luck to everyone running Shamrock this weekend!  Come say hi at the expo!

Friday 5: Things I'm Loving

So I realize I did a similar post last week, but I have too many exciting things happening to do anything else.  I'm linking up with Mar, Courtney, and Cynthia!  Make sure to check out the link up!

1. SHAMROCK!!  Guys, ONE WEEK.  In one short week I will be in Virginia Beach with my best friend getting all pumped to race.

2. Fostering.  I'm getting my next Lucky Dog tomorrow and cannot wait to meet her!  I will update you guys with lots of pictures.  Best part?  Her name is Sue.  I hope she's like Sue Heck from The Middle!

Source.

3. Family Time.  It's officially less than two weeks until my mom and aunts come to visit!  I cannot wait to show them around!

Can't wait to show these Denver ladies the beauty of Maryland beer.

4. ODU Big Blue 5k.  My best friend and I have basically decided that every J&A race should be a reason to hang out.  It's nice to know that after Shamrock we already have another date lined up!  Another plus?  I just found out they are having FRO YO at the finish line.  J&A, have I told you how much I love you?  Oh yeah, only a million times.

5. Weddings!  2014 was when weddings finally started slowing down for me (for a while there I felt like I was constantly attending weddings!), but in 2015 two of my favorite couples are getting married! My wonderful friend Itzel recently asked me to be in her wedding this summer and I can't wait to start planning all the celebrations leading up to the big day!  Of course I have to mention that my little brother will be marrying his amazing fiance in the fall.

What are some things you're loving lately?  Have a fabulous weekend!

Weekend Update!

Happy Monday!  I'm linking up with Tara over at Running 'n' Reading for her weekend update!  Just a little something to make Mondays more enjoyable!

I was lucky enough to enjoy a 4 day weekend!  We had two snow days, and honestly they came at the best time.  Maddux and I got in lots of quality time together and I'm onto the next book in my book challenge.  I'm reading Girl on the Train for my "book currently on the best seller list" and so far so good!  I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty proud that I've already knocked out almost 4 books on the list!

Last week I got an email from Get Pumped for Pets 15k saying that the race might get cancelled because of the snow.  I decided to be on the safe side and knocked out 10 more treadmill miles on Thursday.  Luckily, the warmer temperatures allowed for the race to still go on, so I ended up having an almost 30 mile week!  I think I'm just about ready for Shamrock!

On Saturday I enjoyed an amazing group run (it was SO nice to finally have some warmer temperatures!  We actually joked that they must have just added sidewalks, because we hadn't seen them for so long haha!).  After running and finally hitting the grocery store, my nice friend and I headed to Annapolis to pick up my packet.  Originally they thought they might spike our shoes, but the trail ended up clearing enough that it wasn't needed.  After chatting with the race director for a minute, my nice friend and I headed to dinner.  I had some amazing crab soup and made sure to get a few liquid carbs in.  We remembered from our day date to Annapolis last year that just around the corner from the restaurant was a beer store with a fun local selection, so we made sure to make a couple of six packs before we headed home.  Always fun to try new beers!  We ended the night playing Phase 10 (I got my butt handed to me) and then I headed to bed to get some rest for my race!

Sunday morning came nice and early and I quickly got ready and headed out the door to Chester, Maryland.  It was a gorgeous morning and I was excited to run on the Cross Island Trail!  The race was pretty small (someone told me that there were only 50 runners doing the 15k--there was also a 5k and a 10k), but I got a fun t shirt and a reusable bag of goodies including a pen, a water bottle, and a chip clip.  Let's be honest, you can never have too many!  I found a girl from my running group (hi Nancy!) and we stayed together for the majority of the race.  It was nice to have a familiar face and someone to talk to before we started!  They had to change the course because of the snow, so a lot of the race ended up being on the road, but it's good practice for Shamrock, right?!  I would love to run there again some day to get a good feel of the trail.  It looked like it would be a really pretty place to run or walk Maddux.  They arranged the course so we ended up having several water stops, which was awesome.  There weren't many volunteers, but then again not many were needed.  They were all super friendly!  Thanks, guys!  While I definitely love smaller races, I was a little bummed at the end when no one was really in sight.  I was starting to feel it by the last mile and I do some of my best work at the end when I have people to pick off.  I had to give myself a few pep talks to keep my pace up there at the end!  When I got to the finish I found that I had won a door prize!  I am the lucky winner of a gift card to Charm City Run!  Perfect timing since I'm in desperate need of new running shoes.  I think it will be a great post Shamrock reward!

Sleepy post race pic to show off my awesome new dog shirt ;-)

When I got home my nice friend and I took Maddux to the park to enjoy the beautiful day and I spent the rest of the afternoon eating all the food and reading on my balcony.  It was a terrific weekend!

How was your weekend?!  Any fun races?  Shamrock is getting so close!  I hope to see a lot of you there!