Spring tricked me

I shouldn't be surprised. That's half the fun of spring, right? Sunshine and then rain? Well, I don't mind the rain, but the 40 degree temperatures are not flying with me anymore. I've put away my winter clothes, and I refuse to get them out again!


For the past several days I've been curled up in bed or on my sofa trying to fight away a sore throat and cough. Riley looks at me every time I start hacking. I wouldn't say it's a look of concern. It's a look that says, Stop making that awful noise. You're disrupting my nap and hurting my ears!


I was so antsy to get outside that I did my Monday night nOg run last night. I was supposed to celebrate marathon success with a running club friend, and I didn't want to wait another week to get to see her. Those 3 miles were so fun and energizing, but they definitely didn't make my throat feel better. In fact, I've been sneezing like crazy today, so I think the heavy breathing outside got a bunch of pollen up in my head.


Excuse me while I go shake my fist at spring.

26.2 miles: Check!

I ran my first marathon Sunday morning. It was the Tobacco Road Marathon, and 20 of those miles were on the American Tobacco Trail, which meant it was very flat! I think I chose a good first marathon to attempt because any major inclines would have just added to my frustration.


I wrote up a full race report on my running blog in case any readers are interested in checking that out. I should let you know that it's pretty honest about everything that happened during time it took me to complete the course (5:06:42). Everyone on that site (Runner's World) can relate to all things running, so we're all pretty frank. So anyways. There's your warning.


I'm so thankful for my family and friends who came out to support me at the finish as well as my friends who sent me texts and messages with their well wishes. I really appreciated those good thoughts!!


Here are some photos from the race:

Trying not to show my pre-race jitters!

Finally the finish.

Last couple steps.

26.2

Wanting everything and nothing.

J, me, J.

BROTHER! :D Did I mention he ran a half marathon PR??

J & me

I'd say another marathon is definitely in my future... at some point... 

nOg Run Club

Monday night might be my new favorite thing!


Months ago I heard about a running club that met every week at the Irish pub Tir na nOg (where the race I ran two weekends ago was). I've seen runners wearing run club shirts at local races and read about the club on my local running store's e-newsletter, but I never actually got my stuff together to go.

Anyways, two Mondays ago I finally buckled down and went with my friend Jen. I feel like taking that first step to doing something can be so difficult sometimes (even when the thing you're wanting to do is so easy) but once you do it once, you open the floodgates.


Last night I went back without Jen (sadly she had to work) but metup with three other people. We went on a nice 3 mile run (even nicer with the daylight savings time in our favor for an evening run) and then played trivia while enjoying the $1 pasta & salad and beer specials.


While our team didn't win, we were actually right in the middle of the pack, so there's much room for improvement while also not thinking too badly about ourselves, haha. There were  a lot of St. Patrick's Day questions that nobody knew, so maybe a week when it's more general we'd have a better chance.


Regardless of how we do in trivia, I'm so excited to be a member of an actual running club now! Eight more runs and I get that free club shirt, too.

St. Patty's Run Green 8K

Saturday afternoon I ran this super fun 8K in downtown Raleigh. It started at Tir na nOg Irish Pub, which also hosts a running club every Monday night. The race was great because it was at 3 p.m., and I could walk to the starting line from my apartment!

I was really excited because I had recruited some friends to run with me and had everyone meet at my place to walk. I think because I was with other people I was distracted while leaving and didn't realize I didn't have my Garmin or my iShuffle until we got to the race. I was treating this as a fun run at the end of marathon training, but I still wanted that Garmin to pace myself (and good thing. I didn't see one mile marker the entire race, but I know they were there). I ended up running back to my place 10 minutes before the start and realized I was going to be way too hot in the top I was wearing, so I also changed clothes really quickly.

I made it back to the start soon enough and crossed 2 minutes after the gun so I was back with families with strollers. It was fine, but it was a lot of weaving at the beginning. The race flew by for me I think because I was looking for my friends the whole time. I never found them, but somewhere along the line I must have passed one of them. Obviously by the name of the race this was a St. Patrick's Day run, but I was still shocked at the number of people wearing green!! I was decked out in full Carolina blue in preparation for that night's game versus Duke, which was amazing, by the way. GO HEELS!!

Anyways, I felt really strong the entire race. There were a lot of uphills, but they were pretty tame compared the ones I run on my normal routes. The best part was my knee didn't hurt!!! I don't know if that's because it knew it was "go time" or what... but I'll take it!!!

I crossed the finish in 44:25 which isn't a PR, but I wasn't going for one. My goal was to do the race in less than 45 minutes so yay. It blows my mind to think that in just three weeks I will have run 5 times what I ran Saturday (plus an extra 1.2 miles)!

The after party was so much fun! Race participants got a free pint glass and a beer from the local brewery Natty Green's (I think I drank Wildflower... they had several to choose from), which was quite refreshing. I missed the memo that we were all meeting at a certain spot after the race, so I went straight for the beer line when I finished before meeting up with my friends (below):

While we were hanging around, Ryan saw a booth for Shoes for Soles. You donate shoes and they go to someone in need. He wanted the T-shirt they give you for donating thinking it said something like "I love shots" (for St. Patty's Day celebrations was his train of thought there) when it really says "I love shoes." What an unpleasant surprise for him because he had to walk home barefoot!

Anyways, I hadn't run a race since Thanksgiving (it was directed by the same people, actually, for MS) and I always forget how much fun they are! I'm really looking forward to my marathon now.

March marathon and an April dog walk?

I have a marathon coming up this month. My first one ever! I'm so excited to push myself to cover this distance (26.2 miles) and had hoped to raise money as part of this process. In the past, I've raised money for Honor Flight Network, which sends World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to see (their) war memorials.

At the WWII memorial in Washington, D.C., in 2009,
when I raised money to send one veteran on the trip.

For this race, I tried contacting the North Carolina Honor Flight chapter because I wanted to donate closer to home. Unfortunately, I did not receive an answer, but I'm pretty sure it's because it was actually talked about in the news and most likely got bombarded with calls/e-mails. Between work, my new puppy, training for the marathon and everyday life, I didn't really have time to continue trying to contacting them, so I kind of let fundraising go.


However, I now have a friend who is participating in the SPCA K9-3K Dog Walk that's happening in Raleigh in April. The money raised goes to support new no-kill animal shelters in Wake County. I'd like to join and walk it with my pup and maybe also throw it together with my marathon? I'm still thinking about it.


I also just saw this article about a puppy in Oklahoma who was euthanized and then found days later still alive. It wrenched my stomach to read that he was thrown away in a trash can. I'm so happy I could save my puppy from the shelter, and it was great seeing her and her litter all get adopted, but the reality is there are so many animals out there who aren't so lucky. Fortunately for Wall-E (that's what they named the puppy that was found), he now has hundreds of families looking to adopt him.

My sleeping girl with the teddy bear she has since destroyed.

Oscar Wilde Thursday

"I never travel without my diary. One must always have something sensational to read on the train."  

-Oscar Wilde (The Importance of Being Earnest)

This quote felt appropriate for today because am in New York for a long weekend! 


I actually brought my latest issue of Runner's World for the plane ride (rather than my journal) because I need some training inspiration. My marathon is just several weeks away! Eek. Good thing my magazine totally pumped me up for some Central Park runs while I'm here.