the week:
Oh, it turned October when I wasn’t paying attention. That means it’s marathon month. But also my favorite time of year — COLD WEATHER AND LAYERS. YAAAAAS. I’m not a PSL drinker, but I do love some pumpkin roll. Which I plan to make a gluten-free version of this year!
weekend:
20-miler long run weekend! I’ll be running Sunday morning with a few ladies from my 16-mile group a couple weeks ago, and completing the Lemiuex 6.6k race as part of the “course.” I won’t lie: I am terrified.
I have a massage scheduled for Saturday, which is TOTALLY IN THE WRONG ORDER OF THINGS.
52 books in 52 weeks:
I’m 6 books behind right now so I’m going to need some quick, easy, fun reads to catch up. Any recommendations? (I’m halfway through a 400-page book and about a quarter through another 400-page book.)
seven things, seven days:
1. I had brunch last weekend at the Blue Door Cafe in Akron (Cuyahoga Falls), and they had the most amazing breakfast-sandwich-in-a-gluten-free-wrap. And individual french press coffee. I can’t wait to return when we’re back in town!
2. Went to my first graduate school open house… and my good feelings about this school and program grew stronger. I only have a month though until the application deadline, so I need to start thinking about my personal statement.
3. Being in love with The Moth podcast, I was so excited to attend the Pittsburgh live tour stop of their story slam.
4. Admittedly, I lied about never wanting to run another marathon. Because one day, I’d like to run this.
5. Why is it so hard to catch your own typos?
6. This research on weight vs diet and exercise in different generations is super fascinating. {via The Atlantic}
7. I initially published this with only 6 things. That’s a first!
After mentally and physically having a rough couple weeks of training, I needed to have some accountability for this past week’s long run. I have also been dealing with weird stomach nervousness and anxiety before I leave for my runs. Since I was traveling to Ohio for graduation, I searched for — and found — a half marathon for early Saturday morning: the Movie Madness Half Marathon in Lewis Center (about 30 minutes from downtown Columbus). My training run called for a total 16 miles, so I planned to do the race at an easy pace then add another three miles to it. But… well, there was a plot twist.
Race Day Selfie. Plot twist was not that dreary sky.
Registration and Cost: Registration was easy and online through Active.com. Since I made my decision a couple days before race day, it cost $59 (plus fees).
Expo and Packet Pick-up: No expo, as this was a super small race. There was race day packet pick, which started an hour before race time. I planned for about half hour before race time and there was no wait. I even had some extra time to relax in the car beforehand.
Bag Check: No bag check, but the state park had PLENTY of available and close parking near the start line.
Weather: When we left the hotel it was about 55 degrees and RAINING. Thankfully (smartly), I packed my rain jacket — so I ran back up to the hotel room to get it. The weather apps all said that the rain would move out of the area by race time (8 a.m.), AND THANK THE WEATHER GODS, it ended up being a beautiful, cool fall-like morning. LOVE.
Course: This “all right turns” course took the scenic route around Alum Creek State Park and its lake.
Map
I liked the course (there were water/snack/Gatorade stops at Mile 3.5-ish, 6, 9, and 11), and there was a relentless climb after Mile 10 as you can see in the elevation below; however, the roads were NOT closed off, so we basically ran in pace lines on the shoulder of all the streets. Mile 10-ish also was the area where the dam is, which I’ve never seen. It was really neat.
Fans and Experience: No fans, and the course was quiet and peaceful (save for passing traffic). I did run with my earbuds and music for the duration of the race. I honestly felt like I was having some sort of spiritual awakening on this run. It was beautiful.
Random Bullshit: Running on the side of the roads, you see the amount of litter that people disgustingly toss out of their cars. I passed at least three dirty diapers. People are just gross. There was also, um… roadkill. I legit had to jump over the carcass of a possum at one point.
Finish Line: There was music playing at the finish line approach, and I sincerely loved hearing my name and time called out when I finished. I played a serious game of mental skill for that last mile. And somehow, my mile 13 split was only 9:37.
Medals and Swag: I like my new pink short-sleeved tech shirt! It’s not race-specific, but has the US Road Running logo on the front. The finisher’s medal is pretty sweet too.
Bonus: Because this was a “Movie Madness” theme, there were several runners dressed in costume. The best of which (and the costume winner) was the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. He was hilarious (and said that he bought the costume the night before and never trained in it).
Double Bonus: Well… I couldn’t run my extra three miles because I GOT A TROPHY AND PLACED 3RD IN MY AGE GROUP!
OVERALL The Great: The realization that I really, REALLY like the half marathon distance. Also, small races are awesome! The Good: I had a pace friend for most of the race, which was awesome. I chatted with her a bit after the race and it seemed like we both needed/used one another. Kinda cool experience. The Bad: I started going into disaster scenario solution mode when Mile 3 didn’t have a water stop (it was about .6 miles after that). But OMG could you imagine?! I was planning in my head the logistics of my boyfriend tossing bottles of water out of the car at random course points for me. LOL The Ugly: Car drivers. I mean, COME ON. If you obviously see a pace line of runners on the side of the road and there is traffic in both directions, SLOW DOWN — don’t speed up just to pass more quickly. I kept my left ear bud out for portions of the race because I was nervous about getting run off the road at a few points.
the week:
Holy crap, THE SORENESS. Good sore, but still. I’m working out with the regular athletes and doing real WODs now, and O.M.G. But my post-workout exclamations go something like this: I JUST PRESSED A BAR! I JUST SQUATTED WITH WEIGHT ON THE BAR! I JUST DEADLIFTED 50 POUNDS! I JUST CLEARED A 30″ BOX JUMP!
Drinking the kool-aid, and loving every drop.
Also, how about them Pirates?!
Living near the stadiums, we could hear the roars of the fans stream through the windows during the wild card game. IT’S SO AWESOME! Though I’m an Indians fan at heart (sad trombone), it’s hard not to rally behind the Bucs and their success.
weekend:
Road trip to Columbus for friends and fun! (and the President’s Cup) I have plans for dinners, plans for brunches… and I’m looking forward to some room service (and possibly an in-room massage) too. FOR REAL.
52 Books in 52 Weeks:
Definitely not meeting the goal this year, as I started around Thanksgiving last year… and have only finished, like, 20 books. DO BETTER. But no time like the present to start again!
#1. Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
seven things, seven days:
1. I signed up for two upcoming 5Ks. *gulp* The one next weekend ends in HOT APPLE CRISP, which… I’m so easy.
2. Scored a couple items from Poshmark this week. I am obsessed with window shopping the app (and have been finding some amazing deals).
3. See also, it was time to do a closet and makeup drawer purge — soooo, I finally purchased the Naked 2 palette.
4. A carafe-less coffee pot is the answer to all my coffee-making prayers!
5. My left pinky finger still hurts from two weeks ago (derby injury, natch). It hasn’t really impacted my workouts, but when I set my hand down or smash it into something… YEOWCH. Putting a timeline on it for healing before seeking our urgent care.
6. Our neighbor invited us to a Sundays meatballs dinner (they’re rumored to be award winning). One of the guests was the contractor who remodeled their BEAUTIFUL home… and built their amazing rooftop deck. WANT.
7. Gender as non-fiction in The Atlantic {shared via Dan Savage (*swoon*)}
the week:
We started the week in Columbus (with HOCKEY! and BRUNCH!). It’s always nice to take a mini-vacation to Ohio and see old pals. Too bad I couldn’t get up to Cleveland for the Indians home opener.
This chocolate place in Columbus is SO GOOD!
weekend:
Bout day! These back-to-back bout weekends are certainly a challenge in getting my body to move in the mornings. Heh.
Spring (finally) in Ohio
seven things, seven days:
1. We (the boyfriend and I) just found out our mutual friend — the one responsible for finally getting us together — is moving to Pittsburgh. SO EXCITED!
2. We also picked up our first CSA (Penn’s Corner CSA for those in the Pittsburgh area).
3. Enjoyed a nice, solitary morning in the park… and then a goose came over and nipped my shoe. Dick.
4. Was so great to catch up with one of my old college friends.
5. Starting a day off with hot yoga: one of my favorite ways to wake up.
6. Did I mention Baseball Season? BASEBALL!
7. Once again, I missed skipping my justfab selections, so I have to pay for yet another month of crap. For whatever reason, I still don’t get their emails announcing the new month picks (even though my settings say otherwise), and there’s NO WAY to cancel online. You have to do it by telephone. And well, NOBODY’S GOT TIME FOR THAT. {/rant}
