Marine Corps Marathon

I owe you guys a race report! ...Or two. And maybe a mountain climbing report. I will get to those posts eventually :)

Yesterday I completed my first (and maybe only) marathon. I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in DC with TNT (official time- 5:49:31, but minus the LONG WAIT for a bathroom break at mile 12, like 5:37). I am so glad I chose this one as my first marathon as the support was AMAZING. There were all kinds of bands- rock bands, a bluegrass band, a bunch of marching bands, and countless spectators who cheered the whole time. There were only a few desolate/lonely places along the 26.2 mile route and those parts were rough. I can't imagine doing a whole marathon along a lonely route. But more on that later.

 What went right:

- I ate enough breakfast to not be starving at any point during the race. Cause I HATE THAT.

- I hydrated enough, too. I only felt thirsty (and had no water) around mile 21.

- I picked the right gear and was warm enough during the race. This race was on the coldest morning we've had this fall (by far), so I was kind of clueless as to what I should wear- since they always say NOTHING NEW ON RACE DAY!!! and our long runs had always been on days where temps were in the 70's. My race day attire was more like- EVERYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY!

What went wrong:

- I maybe ate too much. I had 2 Clif bars and a banana. For the first 12 miles I felt sort of heavy and almost bloated or something. I need to figure out a better breakfast- I had done the 2 Clif bars before my 20 miler a few weeks ago and that time it worked out fine.

-Maybe I should have done a longer long-run. My longest was 20 according to our TNT training schedule and those last 6 were really a killer. I wish I had done 22 or 24.

- My Garmin. Battery died around mile 8. This wouldn't have been THAT big of a deal except that I had worked out a perfect run/walk ratio (4:1) and had certain goals that I wanted to meet to complete the race in a time I'd be happy with (10 miles by 1:50-2:00, 20 miles around 4:00, etc.). Saturday night, I was certain that the Garmin had been sitting on the charger on my computer since my last run on Thursday. Before bed on Saturday, I thought, "I better go get my Garmin and set it out with my race gear so I don't forget it." But I reassured myself that SURELY I would NEVER, EVER forget my precious Garmin!! So I went to bed with worries about the Garmin haunting me all night. Turns out those worries and bad feelings were there for a reason. I should have gone in to get it, because I would have seen that it wasn't on the charger, and I would've plugged it into a wall outlet to charge all night. I hadn't hooked it up to charge on my computer on Thursday because I thought "I don't want to leave it there, then unplug it and have it sit for days and then have to charge it again. I'll just plug it in on Saturday." And I forgot. HUGE FAIL.

Race Report-
Sunday the 30th of October was our coldest morning this fall, by far. The day before the race it WAS SNOWING which is UNHEARD OF for here in October. I really bundled up (and planned to shed various layers- the clothing that is shed along the race route is gathered up and cleaned and donated to charity). The forecast said it would be around 32º all morning and maybe hit 45º in the afternoon. For this race I got myself a new Under Armour shirt (this one!) that has a fuzzy lining on the inside, then put on my TNT shirt, then my hydration belt, and a coat that I had planned on donating anyway. On the bottom I had 2 pairs of socks, cold-weather running tights and a crappy pair of generic black exercise pants over those (which I also planned to shed (but never did)). Also a fleece hat, TNT neon green visor, and fleece gloves. I tied a fleece around my waist in case I hit some chilly parts of the course after shedding my coat.

We got to the Pentagon around 7:00am and started making our way to the corrals. I made it into my corral (5:00-5:29) about 10 minutes before the race started. It was so. so. so. cold. There were SO many people lined up that it took me a good 15-20 minutes just to cross the start line!!

Around .5 miles I shed the coat, and still felt a little cold in the wind, but was plenty warm under my new shirt. At mile 1, I stepped off to the side of the road and shed my extra pair of socks (adding another couple of minutes to my time!! D'oh!).

I knew early in the course there would be 2-3 hills, which intimidated me a little. Turns out they were really nothing. One was sort of long, so I took a scheduled walk break-my Garmin was still working at that point and I had skipped several walk breaks already.

Since I knew I wasn't going to finish in 4 hours or anything, I decided to treat this race as more of an experience than a race (especially after the Garmin crapped out!!). I would have loved to finish in a time I was proud of, but I also wanted to make sure I enjoyed myself. So I tried to keep up with my walk-breaks even when I didn't feel like I needed them. I made sure to high-5 everyone and anyone along the course who was standing with their hands out. Other people around me did the same- it was super fun and kept me smiling through most of the race :)

I think it was around mile 13 or 14 that I got to see a proposal! I heard some people scream and cheer sort of randomly, and as I approached the screaming I saw all these people standing around with cameras. I realized one of the guys I had been pacing with on Team Malaria No More was down on one knee with a very surprised looking girl standing in front of him holding his hand. I guess she said yes because I heard a bunch more screaming and cheering just a few seconds later!

I didn't start hurting much until about mile 16. I've had plantar-fasciitis issues for about a year now, so my feet had been hurting since literally my first step out of bed in the morning (just like every morning). But they reached a plateau around mile 4 where there was a solid constant pain that wasn't getting any worse, so it was easy to deal since I've gotten used to that. What I wasn't counting on was my knees hurting so early on- I haven't had issues with them in forever! Walking didn't alleviate that pain at all, so I was able to keep running as much as possible. I did keep factoring in some walk breaks because I had learned a while ago that doing so makes me feel a whole lot better after a long run. I kept hoping to see someone handing out salt packets somewhere since I forgot to bring some, but no such luck :(

I reached the infamous "Beat the Bridge" mile 20 and was feeling sluggish- but at the beginning of the bridge was a really fun band with high energy who had on cool outfits and were dancing around and cheering. They really gave me the boost I needed, plus I was excited about the whole mystique behind beating the bridge anyway- and passing mile 20 was a great feeling since thus far my longest run was 20 miles. I had so much energy!..... for the next half a mile.

Then things became empty and desolate. That bridge is a helluva long way. No scenery. No spectators. No bands. Nuthin'. Just concrete and more concrete. Cars driving by on the other side honked once in a while but that was it. By now most of the people around me were doing a lot more walking than running and I found myself falling into the same pattern around mile 21.

That must have been "the wall" for me. Not only did my feet hurt (expected) and my knees, (unexpected), but my hips were REALLY hurting. I could feel them sort of popping when I ran, yuck. They were the one part of me that felt noticeably better with walking, which is why I started doing more of it, unfortunately.

At that same point, I started to feel a little dizzy when I looked around. I had a gel I wanted to take (by then I had emptied my gel flask, which had 3 honey-stinger gels in it plus honey plus a couple teaspoons of water to make drinking it easier), but no more water, and I knew there wouldn't be water until mile 22. I got some clementines out of my belt and took a walk break to eat them. Of course afterward I had to walk some more since I kept getting stomach pains after eating. But they were just what I needed- I had a little more energy and didn't feel dizzy or thirsty and finally made my way to mile 22 where I replenished my water bottle with some Gatorade.

Miles 22-25 throughout Crystal City were very, very cold. Just before mile 23, I met up with a couple of TNT girls from New Jersey who were walking and I decided to walk with them a bit. It turns out one of the girls had injured her calf around mile 7 and had been walking since about mile 10. She really, really looked devastated. I felt so bad for her. As we talked it became evident that she had a goal in mind and wasn't going to come close to making it, and she looked close to tears. I tried to offer up that she's still going to have a better time than a lot of people who aren't injured (like me, since I'm sure she passed the start line long before I did due to her placement in the corrals with what sounded like an ambitious goal in mind). I doubt it made her feel better, but it was all I had to offer :(  I walked with them some more to make small-talk and try to take her mind off the race (and her disappointment). I doubt that worked either.

At mile 24 I was feeling pretty good (after all that walking I guess) and wished them a good race and decided to start running again. I took a couple of breaks but the running didn't feel too bad at that point. I knew I was almost done. As I was going over another bridge, a man came up and tapped me on the shoulder. He said, "I just want you to know that I was just diagnosed with Myeloma. What you're doing today could be saving MY life. So thank you." I almost cried, but he quickly ran on past and I saw him go up to another girl in TNT purple to likely tell her the same thing. That was pretty awesome.

As I came around one bend, some people on an overpass were announcing that the white tower up ahead was the 26 mile marker, which was super exciting. I was walking at that point and thought I'd run again at mile 26, but since the mile marker was within sight, I decided to start running then and finish it out.

As I approached mile 26, a random TNT coach came up beside me and ran with me. It turns out he was the coach of the two girls I had been walking with from NJ. He ran with me (and went just a little faster than I had been going... which was nice since I wanted to keep up with him!) and as we passed the 26 mile marker, he said "The finish line is just up that hill, and you'll go around that corner and see it. I expect you to kick it up into a higher gear once you get around the corner and finish strong." I told him I'd do my very best and thanked him for running with me.

As soon as he split off, I started sprinting. I ran as hard as I could. At this point I had fully expected to have NO energy for a strong finish, especially up a (small) hill, but I knew I was almost done and I wanted to give it everything I had. It felt kind of cool since in the last 0.1 mile of the race, most people around me were walking or shuffling along- so compared to that I felt like I was flying :)  I am obviously not used to passing people. I heard my husband and his sister cheering for me, and I turned and saw them and waved, then finished the race feeling both awesome and awful (soooo much pain!).

It was extremely humbling after the race to have a Marine place a medal around my neck. I felt weird about that, thinking, "these guys are the ones who deserve the medals and attention, and here they are putting medals on us just for being here and running...." Plus this guy looked about 7' tall, and I am maybe 5'4" with running shoes on, which made me feel even more leettle.

The enthusiasm from the crowds really REALLY made a huge difference (for me) in my morale throughout the whole thing. Just when I'd start to feel crappy, I'd see a funny or relevant sign. At mile 17 there was one that said "Pain is temporary, 26.2 is forever"- I saw that one at the exact time that I needed it! I ran over to the lady holding it up and told her the sign was perfect! There were also a few bag-pipers out there and I loved hearing that as well. There were folks with speakers and loud music playing, and lots of bands. All the different bands were so awesome. I especially enjoyed the marching bands, and the Schoolhouse Rock kids really impressed me, too. Can you imagine getting up super early and setting up all your equipment IN THE FREEZING COLD by 7:00am and standing there singing/playing just for the benefit of people running past?

I was so miserable with foot pain during this training that I was positive this would be my only marathon. But now I've ordered some custom orthotics, which I've heard will help IMMENSELY and should completely take care of the plantar-fasciitis issues. I sure hope so because I feared I would have to give up running altogether after this race, or at least for a few months, if I wanted my feet to get better at all. The orthotics are guaranteed to help within 2 weeks of getting them.

And then I thought, who knows, maybe next June or July, I will train for another one and try to earn a better time- one that I can really be proud of. On the other hand though...... who cares? I'll care about my time for probably another week, and then be like,
"Wha-eva!! I finished a damn marathon!"

Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run Race Report

"I did the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run and all I got was this teeny tiny crappy picture."

Just kidding, sort of. I had hoped to get to see a Finish Photo, it even conveniently says "PROOF" on it, like, HERE'S PROOF I ACTUALLY FINISHED THIS THING. But all I got was a few shots of me in the background of others' photos, and I really had to hunt for them.
Put my internets-stalking-skillz to good use at least.
Yeah I stalked myself...... what of it?

Oh right. There is a race to be written about. To heyll with the paparazzi.

Overall thoughts on the race: SOOOO CROWDED. So my time totally sucked. Kind of a bummer. It was still cool to be a part of this bigass race though, and get to run all around our nation's capital and all that good stuff. Even though I grew up in this area, I didn't get to the capital all the time or anything, but obviously got to see it probably more than most people. I STILL get excited to see the Monument, Capitol, White House, and all the cool buildings.

Oh right, the race, the race.

Um, as you can see, other than seeing cool sites, I guess there wasn't a lot to write about the race. I got 'er done! My time (including a 5 min bathroom break) was 1:46:33. My goal time had been 1:35 (I had done a similar course 2 weeks before the race and completed my 10 miles in 1:38).

The disappointing part was that due to the huge crowds, the lines at the potties WERE HUGE and  I missed my wave start. I started in a wave slower than mine and my time suffered greatly as a result. At the first mile I looked down at my Garmin and it said something like 11:01. Ridiculous. I threw my goal time of 1:35 straight out the window, or threw it into the outhouse toilet, which applies more accurately in this case.

I don't remember what my time was at 5 miles, but I remember thinking "I'm halfway done with this bitch and I'm not even tired." Like, not even a little out of breath. The pace was just SO slow all around me. Even when I would get a chance to surge forward, I would get stuck behind someone slow-going immediately after.

Around mile 8.5 I got pretty darn tired, I think because I'm used to running at a relatively steady pace, but during the first 7 miles of the race I kept having to surge forward, pass, slow down, pass, weave, etc. I'm not really used to all of that. It might be good to practice more of that before my half in June.

That's about it!

Oh... I signed up with TNT again! My husband and I are doing the Marine Corps Marathon together in October. Very excited! I figured since I am doing a half in June, might as well finish what I started and do a full too, right?
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/corps11/sgallagm0a

First 8 Mile Run...

I suppose at this point I'm well into my training for Cherry Blossom (10 mile run, April 3.). I've been trying to run 3x a week; one of those being a long run. Each week I try to add 1/2 mile to my long run, will get up to 10.5 miles, then do some sort of taper before the race. I've got a couple of extra weeks to play around with in case some of the long runs don't go as planned.

For example- last week I attempted to do an 8 mile run but construction and re-routing along my path all kinds of messed up my route and it only ended up being 7.3 miles... which was fine because my knee was back to hurting again. I had to limp a lot the last mile home.

I took 3 or 4 days off running before attempting my 8 mile run a 2nd time.

I also made a whole bunch of changes to my plan.
- I planned a different route. This seems to help me immensely when I've got a new distance goal, it keeps things a lot more interesting. I hate running the same route over and over and over. This new route would also avoid the construction.
- I decided I'd stop and stretch my hamstrings/calves after every mile to hopefully help with the knee pain.

- A friend and I had been discussing nutrition recently- she's doing the half marathon with me in June. Up until now I wasn't sure if I'd really NEED nutrition for the 10 mile race- I'm hoping to be finished in about 1:40, give or take 10 minutes. That's not long to go without food. But if I don't eat, I'm probably going to at least want to DRINK something. Not just water, some kind of sports drink. I thought about my previous attempt at an 8 mile run and how awful I felt toward the end, not just the knee pain, but during my long runs I always seem to fall apart at the end. I figured some fuel couldn't hurt and may even help with my end-of-run suckage, so I grabbed a big handful of gummy bears and threw them into a baggie to bring with me.
- I added in a half-mile cool down at the end. Instead of my "finish line" being at my street, my finish line would be at 8 miles, which I planned to finish half a mile from home. Depending on how I felt, I could either walk or jog that last half mile... but it's the part of my route that I ALWAYS dread the most, and I'm not sure why because it's the most beautiful part of the run. I just always feel crappy and I think most of it is slightly uphill, plus there are a couple little tiny hills that I hate, too.

My changes brought me great success! High five!
I think stretching every mile was overkill, so that part I'll leave out.
I did have an epiphany while I was running. After the first mile my knee was already hurting and I was pissed. I stopped to stretch it, ran my 2nd mile, did the same, ran a 3rd mile and nothing was helping. I had been intentionally taking it slower than normal, trying to pace myself- the Free E-Training plan says to go at something like 60 seconds slower (per mile) than your 10k pace during your long runs. That puts me around 10:55 or more, but I was shooting for around 10:40 miles. I guess if I start off slow I'll stay consistent and not slow down at the end?... well, whatever.

After 3 miles of knee-hell I realized that stopping to stretch was a period of rest, so I could push myself faster each mile and even if I was tired, stopping to stretch would give me enough rest to do another mile a little faster than my normal long-run pace. Screw the training plan.

I ran my 4th mile at 9:40 and felt significantly less pain in my knee.
The 5th mile was 9:37 and no pain at all.
From there I did slow down some, not intentionally, guess I just got tired. But I never slowed back down to my original 10:40 pace and also had no more knee pain during the rest of my run.
Go figure!

I took time to eat a few gummy bears while I stretched at miles 3-6. I worried that they would give me side-cramps since I'm not used to eating and running, but that didn't happen at all. In fact, I had a slight side-cramp for the first few miles and eating some gummy bears seemed to HELP it!

Apparently they gave me a boost, because I felt strong and confident right up to the 8 mile mark. It was a beautiful day, just perfect outside, and my legs were pretty sore so I decided to take that whole 1/2 mile cool down and just walk home. Enjoy the weather, stop and stretch, etc. Instead of dreading that last 1/2 mile, I found myself looking forward to it... like a reward.

I think before my next long run I'll try to find some Clif shot-bloks and bring those with me- preferably the margarita flavor since it's not only amazing but has salt, too. I'll also have learn to drink during the run, so better start practicing that, too.

2011 is here!!

And OMC is the shit!

Today I ran a 5k to kick off the new year. I beat my previous 5k (29:59) time by 46 seconds (29:13) which made me happy! (Edit: Extra happy, official time was 29:11, hehe.)
I don't know what I was expecting. I sort of wasn't expecting anything. I used my new Garmin and figured out how to make it give me my mile splits which was cool.

I kept glancing at it and seeing paces around 9:12 or 8:54 and a couple of times 8:30, so I actually thought it might be possible for me to PR today. BUT, that last tenth of a mile (for me) adds a whole minute to the time that I never even consider. I know that's dumb. I'm running, thinking "If I can keep up a 9 minute mile or so, I'll have this in 27:XX." Uhhhh, no ya won't. Because even at a 9:00 mile, you're still doing 1/10th of a mile in over 50 seconds- which MIGHT AS WELL BE a minute!


It was a fun little race, very informal. It only cost $5 to participate (all we got was our timing chip and a number which was irrelevant) and it started at noon. It was also on the way to my friend's house whose cat I'm taking care of while she's away for the holidays, so it seemed logical to take the Metro and combine the two activities. Plus, the weather was PERFECT. 50, cloudy, no wind.

I met a super nice girl right off the metro who came over to the map I was looking at and trying to find the start of the race. We walked there together and talked until we got there, then the stretching commenced and I took off to do a little warming up. I was SO glad that I did because as I ran just the very beginning of the course, I knew (mainly mentally) what I'd be in for at the end. The first 10th of a mile or so is allllll down a somewhat steep ramp of a pedestrian overpass. Which means... you guessed it, the LAST 10th of a mile- the very very end of the race when you're all tired- is right back up that steep twisty turny ramp! It was a good place to warm up and mentally pep-talk myself into NOT walking or being 'too tired' when I got to it at the end, but knowing how it would feel to run up it and finish strong. And when I finished the race, I re-played my warm-up run in my head and was able to keep pushing all the way up to the top, just like I had hoped.

I did laugh when I got back on the metro and checked my Garmin to see my mile splits. I was a little faster than I thought I would be, averaging about a 9:15 pace (DON'T LAUGH THAT'S FAST FOR ME DAMNIT) but the last split, just that last little 10th of a mile, up the ramp, pace went up to 10:33. HahahHahahA!

Anyway since the race was called "Predictions and Resolutions 5k" I thought a lot about that while I was running. I don't believe in so-called "New Year's" resolutions but I always believe in becoming a better person. Of course during race time I was focused on becoming a better athlete.
So,

I Predict that I'll keep up with my running and be in good shape (meaning I won't die) for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler and the half in June. Even if I have to walk a little, I don't think I'll have to walk any significant distance.
I Resolve to make more of an effort to get to my gym- for class, weight training, swimming, whatever. Half the reason I don't go is because I'm not familiar with the place and get lost cause it's huge and feel like a dork and yes I would like some cheese with my whine. Well dumbass, you're not going to get familiar with the place IF YOU DON'T GO! Right!! I figure even though it will be hella crowded this time of year with the New Years Resolutions people who will drop out after February 17 because they'll get a shitload of Valentine's Day candy and eat it all while they watch The Biggest Loser and decide it's a lost cause, I can blend right in with those n00bs and not feel like AS much of a nerd at least. Dorkery loves company!
I Predict that I'll get bored of my usual running routes since I have total ADD and could never stay on a treadmill, much less run the same route over and over, and get hopelessly lost at least once or twice and get pissy and call my husband for a ride home. Or a cab = less embarrassing. And therefore,
I Resolve to make cue sheets for myself when plotting a new complicated route. I did that a week ago and it actually worked out well, only took one wrong turn and that was because the road made a sharp right and changed names or something ridiculous like that.
I Predict that since I cleaned out the basement yesterday (YAAY!), I'll set the trainer up soon and try to do some sessions on there.
I Also Predict that I will get bored of that after 10 minutes. Thus,
I Resolve to put a TV or at least the teeny portable DVD player somewhere downstairs to alleviate some of said boredom.
I Predict that my cute new athletic swimmin' bikinis will arrive in the mail next week and I'll be all OMGWTFICAN'TWAITTOGOSWIMMIIIINNNNNNG! and will go to the gym to try out their pool for the very first time, and get in and go OMGIT'SCOLDIT'SCOLDIT'SCOLD and still try to swim anyway and have 0 endurance and gasp and flail and say "Bleh this suuuhhh-HUCKS" and be done in 20 minutes. 30 minutes tops.
I Resolve to not completely blow off swimming this year. I haven't been in a pool since August. I also haven't signed up for any tri's this year due to travel plans this summer and no idea when stuff will be happening, but I KNOW it's very VERY valuable cross training and will help me with my running. And I have a lot of running I'd like to do!! And if I do stick with the swimming, who knows, maybe I will be confident enough to end up doing another tri this year.

Santa visted me....

Sammy must've been a good girl this year (I guess from raising all those moneys for charities and whatnot). At least it seems like Santa thought so because he brought me lots of new goodies to encourage me to do even more races next year.

So far I've only signed up for two and both are running events: The Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in April (it was a lottery and yours truly made it in!) and the Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon in June- thanks to my friend Lisa. I'm hoping the Cherry Blossom run will get me well on my way to being prepared for the half.

Ohhh! Anyway. So I've got these new goodies and I'll have to post reviews about them in the coming weeks/months as I use them. Here they are, in no particular order:

YAKTRAX-PRO!!

In case I haven't made it apparent... I will take outdoor running pretty much any day, in any given weather (I live in DC; it's generally pretty mild) over running on a treadmill. The temptation to hit that big red STOP! button is simply too high and there are so many fun other things to do (and see) at the gym. But if I'm outside doing an out-and-back or loop run, I've got to make my own way back home somehow. Doing that when there were a few inches of snow on the ground in Harrisburg proved that I'm an even bigger klutz than I could've ever imagined and need all the help I can get in the coordination department. That's where these come in! Hopefully now when I'm running on half-ass-plowed-snowy roads I won't feel the need to pussyfoot around at breakneck (literally??) 14 min/mile pace.

Runner's World RUN LESS RUN FASTER:

While there is an entire section of this book dedicated to qualifying for the Boston Marathon . (and to it, I say, BWAhAhAhAhAHAHAHAHAhAhAhaAAAA!!!!) I already finished reading this last night before heading off to sleep. The gist of this training program is 3 QUALITY runs per week plus 2 cross-training days (so... we meet again, tri-training). And here I was thinking I wouldn't be able to convince myself to get back into the pool.... now this book is telling me that if I do at least two non-weight-bearing activities a week I'll gain the speed I'm looking for. Their top picks for these activities include rowing, biking, and swimming.
I was a little sad when looking at the charts for my 3 quality runs (for the most part they are based on your 5k time) and finding 30:00 at the. very. bottom. of the chart.... But you've gotta start somewhere.

I'm thinking about running a 5k on Jan 1 to get an accurate recent time.
(Ok really I'm hoping that the base I've been trying to build has gotten me down to a sub 30 5k. We'll see.)

GARMIN 305 FORERUNNER WITH HEART RATE MONITOR:

My husband surprised me on this one by recommending it to his family as a Christmas gift for me. I had added it to my Amazon.com wishlist, but I kind of doubt he ever saw that. Anyway after reading a bunch of reviews, it seemed like most people consistently really liked this one and it was affordable, which is why I added it to my favorites and must have been why he picked it, too. I'm hoping to put an end to my constant clicking around on Google Pedometer to plan out routes or re-trace where I've been upon returning home from a run. And since this has a heart-rate-monitor, I guess I'll be learning how to train using that information, too. Fun!! I plan to take it out for a test-run later this afternoon.

BIKE BOOTIES (OR BEWTIES):

I have been wanting a pair of these since the Central PA TNT cycling coach showed them to us in a bike workshop last spring. What a great idea! Bike shoes have so little padding and my feet were always freezing in them when riding in temps of less than 60 degrees. I'll be using the trainer for the next month or two but hope to get outdoors once we find a good place to ride, and I look forward to having warm feet when we do!

AXIOM USB Rechargeable LED BIKE LIGHTS:

My awesome sister-in-law picked these out for me since my husband's family does a sibling secret-santa-gift-exchange since there are 6 kids in his family. I've been wanting a set of these (I have both the white front light and the red-rear light) ever since thinking I was going to die after LIVESTRONG when I crashed in the pouring rain. My husband has bike safety lights and I thought they were nice but unnecessary for me since I don't ever plan on riding at night cause I'm a huge scaredy and this teeny-tiny-personnel.

But on those long summer rides you just can't plan for everything, and these lights are every bit as useful in the rain as they are in the dark. I look forward to actually being seen by drivers next time I'm stupidly riding on a road with no shoulder and too many cars flying by at high speed in the pouring rain.

Oh wait, didn't I say I was never, ever doing something that stupid again?
Nevertheless, being seen is always good, these lights will definitely help with that! :)

Hmmm, if there is anything I'm forgetting, I'll have to post a review after I use it.

Since I also got some cash moneys for Christmas, I treated myself to a couple of athletic bikinis from athleta.com. They have free shipping when you spend over $50 and right now they're doing 20% off everything with promo-code WINTER20. So I got two bikinis for $68, pretty good deal! And even though the items I bought were on clearance, if they don't fit I can still return or exchange them for free! Not many companies will let you do that with sale items!! :)

Mental Notes on Layering...

A list to remind myself, since every single winter I go through this....
I look outside and see the temperature and take a guess at what I should be wearing and almost ALWAYS over-dress!!
So these are just notes to me from me.

*If it's over 70 and not some weird day with a random cold wind, just go in shorts and a sports bra. You get hot like a mofo in anything more, although when you first step outside you will second guess this choice.

*Under 70, tank or tee shirt and shorts. Easy peasy.

* If it's around 50, thin long sleeves or even a t-shirt on a sunny day is fine. Light pants or shorts will work.

* If it's just below 50, long sleeves or a very light fleece and probably pants.

* If it's closer to 40 and sunny, pants are preferable- depending on sun/wind/etc. Light fleece is enough. No heavy fleece! It gets much too hot. You will sweat your ass off! (Actually your ass will be cold but that might be the only part that stays cold.) Fleece gloves optional.

* If it's 40 and rainy as hell but not too windy (that's how it was today and what sparked me to write this), water-proof athletic pants, waterproof jacket, light shirt underneath that... NOT a heavy fleece! And just one pair of socks, not two, since once they get wet you might as well not be wearing any. An ear warmer is nice paired with a running hat, but your head will probably get too warm. Fleece gloves may help but eventually your hands will be all wet and get hot, the gloves will end up coming off.

* If it's 35-40 and sunny but very windy, a t-shirt under a heavier fleece, or under armour cold gear and warm pants is good: Running tights or the athletic pants. DO NOT layer running tights with your athletic pants, silly, or your cold gear with a fleece-- much too much and overkill. You. Will. Be. Damn. Hot. And. Pissed. About. It. Use your ear warmer and some fleece gloves and probably a scarf.... to blow your nose in.

* If it's below 35 it will feel chilly but NOT THAT chilly. Don't you remember anything from all that winter running in Harrisburg? Two winters?? You can't tell the difference between 20 and 30. So be bundled but don't go crazy with it. Depending on wind and other factors you can layer your pants, use your under armour cold gear and a fleece on top. Hat and/or ear warmer and gloves, of course. If you need a nose blowing garment.... you know the drill.

I haven't run in temps below 20 so once I figure that out I'll update this little note to myself to let me know how much I need to put on!

Uh oh.

WHAT,
just...
WHAT
have I gotten myself up into?
Last week I signed up for the inaugural Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon.

I *also* signed up for the lottery to run the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run here in DC. Yeah, that's right- if you 'win' the lottery, you 'get' to run 10 miles. Uh huh. I can't really remember how I got talked into that, but I've run 6 miles before, so what's another 4? I've got a few months to prepare (Cherry Blossom is April 3rd). I signed up for the half so if I don't get picked for Cherry Blossom, I have at least one long race to train for.

I haven't signed up for any tri's because I haven't been in a pool since August. And can't muster up any motivation to get back into the water. And can't stop feeling like a loser every time my husband does something in half the time it takes me to do it. Talk about frustrating.

I'm trying a new running schedule where I'm doing 4 miles every other day (I've been sticking up to it up until today) and once a week going a little more, like 5 or 6 miles. Instead of continuing with speedwork, since my shins were not all that happy about doing that AND ONLY THAT 3 times a week, I decided to just take it easy and build up a nice base. At this point I'll just be happy to finish the 10 mile run and/or the half (13.1 miles).

I was supposed to go running today but unfortunately I think I'll stay home and continue nursing this hangover. Which sucks because tomorrow it's supposed to rain all day, ew.