Crawlin Crab 5k and Whirlwind Race Weekend Part 2

Friday night we arrive in Hampton, Va. We know we have a 5k in the morning so we end up just planning on settling in at the hotel. We are given these "golden" tickets for the manager's special and breakfast for every day of our stay. Manger's special...what? Free drinks and snacks, Yes, please! One great thing about our hotel...it was literally steps to the convention center where the Expo and post race party were and also steps from the start/finish line. Awesome!!! So we headed over to the expo and picked up our packets, along with the other BB girls who would be arriving later Saturday to run the half with us!

The Expo was nice and small. Lots of cool Crabby stuff! :) After the expo, we went to the Manger's Speical! Wow...that Rum Punch was awesome...too amazing!

We then decided to call it a night after 3 rum punches because we still had to get up sorta early to, you know...run a 5k! So I got all my gear ready to go!

Since our hotel was steps from the start/finish, we stepped out of the hotel about 7:40 and strolled to the start line! The race was fun. Jane ran with me and, because it was so stinkin' humid from the rain we had over night, no one was going all out...we were seriously soaking wet by the time we finished, it was so humid! So even though the course was flat and I was recovering from a foot injury (more on that later) I clocked in at 34 minutes, not best and not my worst.

We then headed to the post race party...beer and soup! The soup was so good and because it was cool in the convention center and we were still wet from the humidity, it was actually a nice thing!

I am so happy these girls came to VA to run this race with me! It was a really fun day!

Crawlin Crab and a Whirlwind Girls Weekend! Part 1

Wow, what an amazing weekend it was here in Virginia! Two of the ladies from Kansas Bouncing Buns flew in this weekend for a girls weekend to run the Crawlin Crab Shell Yeah Challenge in Hampton, VA with me!

Van and Jane arrived early Thursday morning so we decided to head into DC to do a little sight seeing. We hopped on the metro and headed to the The National Mall. We were able to score tickets to go up into the Washington Monument at 1:30, so we had a few hours to burn before our tour. We went over to the US Treasury department but missed the tour and hit the gift shop and then headed to the Holocaust Museum. It was a great exhibit, but very sad. Unfortunately, we had to cut our tour short (I plan to go again) so we wouldn't miss our Washington Monument tour. The Washington Monument Tour was great...except one madly in love couple who we ran into at every turn...let's just say they must have thought they were kissing cats..they were constantly meowing at each other! Really!!??!! I can't make this stuff up!! After that we were very hungry, so we headed to the Food Truck stop but before we got there we came upon this amazing garden right next to the Hirshhorn Museum! The plants were so beautiful!

We then got a Food Truck Lunch...sadly most of the trucks were already packing it up for the day. I, however, really enjoyed my Greek Chicken Pita sandwich...I don't know if it was really good or I was really hungry! :)

Friday morning we got up and headed into Old Town Alexandria. Van was able to meet up with a friend, so we all sat on the pier drinking a coffee and enjoying each other's company. We then headed to Hampton, Va to get ready for our Shell Yeah! Challenge!! 

Stay Tuned in for Part 2 tomorrow!!

An Obsession and a Giveaway!

Ok, some people know me well enough to know that once I LOVE something I can never have too many of that particular thing. Examples are scrapbooking paper. Yes, I have tons of it and, funny thing... I don't scrapbook! In my defense, I do make cards. Same goes for my Walmart Danskin workout shirts..I have an endless supply of tank tops, short-sleeves, jackets, and long-sleeve Danskin workout wear. So it should come as no surprise that I have found a new obsession!

So, at first I was hooked on Sweaty Bands...and I do love them but the price is high and, come on, you know I need one for EVERY workout outfit and everyday outfit!

 To say I am obsessed is an understatement! :)

But then I complimented my neighbor on her super cute band and she told me it was made by Fleurty Bands! I contacted Fleurty Bands through Facebook and asked if she could make me a custom band for my upcoming Crawlin' Crab Race and YES, she could! The crab band is so cute, you can see it there on right end.

My Fleury Band collection is growing! 

I haven't worn the Crab one yet (I am saving it for the race) but I  received a band from a little party I hosted and I have been wearing it ever since! These bands don't move and I am OBSESSED! So now I have a MIZZOU colored one, which I ordered an extra for my sister, too, a crab one, a beautiful blue and green one, and I ordered this super cute red and blue one for my niece! I see many more in my future! 

The Fleurty Bands are so cute, I wear 

them while in street clothes and sometimes

on date night! 

Now you can see one in your future, too! Go to the  Bouncing Buns Facebook :  Like it and Share it with your friends on Facebook! Comment on the An Obsession and a Giveaway post with your favorite color. Once the page hits 100 Likes, I'll pick a person at random to win her very own Fleurty Band!

While you wait to see who wins, you can order you own Fleurty Band here on the Etsy shop or email for custom bands! Also, Jasmine, the owner of the company, is a pleasure to do business! 

Great Playlists & Low Expectations

I do not love to run.  There is no "runner's high" for me, but it is an efficient way to burn calories, I have made some great running friends (who do love to run), and I enjoy the lowered resting heart rate & cholesterol levels.  I have a couple of tricks to get me out on the pavement:  I sign up for races and I listen to music.  The faster the music tempo, the faster I go.  Are you like that, too?  Maybe you're the type who just loves getting out and enjoying the world around you. If so, I want to be you when I grow up (my race age group tells me I already am a grown up).  In the meantime, I listen to music when I run.

This morning, I ran the Plaza 10K in Kansas City.  I haven't run many 10Ks, but I think it is becoming my favorite distance.  That could be the runner's high talking, except I don't get those runner's highs. A 10K doesn't require a lot of time to train, but it does require some training.  The time it takes to run the race will likely be longer than the time it took to drive to the race.  The distance is substantial.  So, back to the Plaza 10K.  The course is pretty darned flat, with just enough little rolling inclines (and declines) to keep it interesting.  The weather was perfect:  temps in the mid 50's, no wind, and not too much sunshine.  I very carefully threw together a perfect playlist the night before that should keep me on track for 10 minute miles.  Okay, those are the positives.  There were negatives, too.  I was dehydrated.  I was achy.  I was tired.  Is my right knee bothering me?  My sock and/or shoe (neither is new) is rubbing my left Achilles tendon.  In other words, Jackie-the-Sandbagger created all these scenarios that would prevent a good finish under perfect conditions. I was not anticipating a great race. Are you like that, too?  Maybe it's just me.

Me & Kevin (my speedy husband) after the race.

As the race started, I queued up my playlist & started my running app.  I've tried keeping track of time in my head by looking at my watch, but I always lose track, so I use "Map My Run" and let the voice tell me time, distance, and pace as I listen to music.  I am happy to report that the perfect conditions won out over the voice in my head.  I finished right at my goal pace. And that's my primary goal pace, not the secondary, slower pace I usually hit instead.  I was happy!  Along the way, I saw a woman with Tri Tats on & spent a couple minutes chatting with her.  She had completed the Olathe Women's Triathlon the day before.  I told her I'd done that one the previous 2 years & congratulated her on 2 races in 2 days.  I also told her not to listen to her daughter about washing those tats off!  Let those suckers wear off over time.  I ran on ahead of her and then, a couple miles later, she gave me a little pat on the back as she zipped past me.  I gave her a big thumbs up and then finished right behind her.

Jackie's Awesome 10 Minute Mile Spotify Playlist

All day long, I was filled with happy feelings about the race (Hmmm... could this possibly be a runner's high?  Nah....) and I got to thinking about my playlist.  Music really does make it easier for me.  I will run at whatever pace the music is, and it feels harder to run slower than the music tempo, too, so the right playlist forces me to push myself a little bit.  My biggest mental block at Ironman Kansas was having to run without music.  I spent a lot of time training without it & my times got slower.  It was a relief to see that adding the music back to my runs brought my speed back up, too.  I decided to write this post & add my playlist to it, because I'm curious to know what makes a great race or run for other people.  I used to prefer running on the treadmill and I now prefer the great outdoors, but I'm not quite ready to give up my tunes.  The triathlete I met on the course did not have earbuds in when I approached her, but I noticed she was listening to music when she passed me.  What about you?

49.1 Miles on the W&OD Trail

Awhile back ago, July to be exact I decided I was going to ride 50 miles on my bike.

Chris and I got up on an early Sunday morning in July and headed out to the W&OD Trail in Herndon, VA with a goal to ride 25 miles to Percerville, VA then back 25 miles to Herndon. The W&OD Trail is absolutely beautiful. So here are my thoughts on my 49.1 (I had to add the .1 you know) my longest ride to date:

Mile

0-10: This is awesome...I can ride forever!

12: Look that guy has his helmet on backwards..ha see I am not the only one who has done that!

15: Ugh..Chris is whistling like he is out for a stroll..so annoying!

20: Doododo...wonder if Chris is enjoying riding behind me..drafting me...still whistling...

22: Cops ticketing bikers! Eekkkk...Stop at the stop sign bikers! 

25: Yeah! Turn around point!! Got to pee! Eat a bar...

27: Oh he talks..."you are slowing down" I actually talk at this point and say, "I am riding for distance, I am not in a race" Then I think...I don't want to be THAT couple in a race that argue about support...yada...yada...so anytime he makes a comment from here on out I keep my mouth shut and just keep pedaling! 

30: Still doing great Amazed by how many people are on the trail for an early Sunday morning. Some without helmets riding super fast! Idiots! 

35: Unclipping for stop si.....ahhhhhhh...falling...damn it! Ouch! Well, that really sucked!

36: Ouch...booohoooo

37: Chris tells me it hurts to ride so slow so he jumps and ahead and ride ahead then comes back and gets me...

45: This really is hard to do while hurt...I have no choice...I have to go on...pedal...Ugh...still whistling

48: I want to cry! 

49: Thank you Baby Jesus there is the car...wait what...49 miles...I wanted 50...I am done...I am hungry!

When we got in the car Chris mentioned there was a Mellow Mushroom in Herndon and I love MM we had not eaten at one since we were stationed in Georgia! So we loaded up and headed over there and had Thai pizza and a beer!

I will attempt 50 miles again someday. I think I need to be in better bike shape next time. I had only been on my bike about 3 short times before I went out for this ride.

Destination Ride: A Secret Sunflower Field in Kansas (which isn't a secret anymore)

This time last year, I started seeing pictures all over my FB newsfeed of friends with their families in fields of sunflowers. We live in Kansas, the Sunflower State; how cool is that!?! Asking around led me to the jackpot - or sunflower heaven - Grinter Farms in Tonganoxie, Kansas. After doing a bit of research I found the farm. It's located just off a highway that I traveled twice a week the year prior to take my daughter to swim practice.

Last year, I couldn't convince my family that it would be FUN to drive out

to the farm to take pictures, so I asked if any Bouncing Buns ladies would be interested in cycling out to the fields in west Tonganoxie and back.  It would be approximately 20 miles to and 20 miles back. Okay, I was a little over ambitious of the ride distance since 40 miles was a little too much for our group of mostly runners, not cyclists. After talking with Jackie, we made a more doable plan. We would drive to east Tonganoxie, park and hop on our bikes and ride to west Tonganoxie. This would cut our total cycling distance to just over 16 miles. 

Here are some pictures from last year's ride:

For a donation, the farmer and his wife allow
visitors to take home a sunflower. I rode home with
this gigantic sunflower in my backpack.

At the time, I was just hoping that my sunflower would survive the Kansas winds of cycling back to our cars. It never occurred to me that the wind was also spreading the pollen from the sunflower directly to Jane, who was cycling behind me the entire way back to our cars. That night, Jane ended up at the ER with an allergic reaction--oops, so SORRY Jane!

Fast forward to this year, Grinter Farms started posting daily reports of the growth of the sunflowers to their FB site. I gave a heads up to the BB ladies that we would plan another ride to the fields again (Jane was having no part of this year's ride since I almost killed her last year).

Jolene, another BB member, offered to map a different route for us this year that would eliminate having to cycle on the busy 5 lane highway from last year's route. The new route was perfect and much safer (Thanks, Jolene)!

Yay, we are almost there!

Oh NO--where are the sunflowers?! They were in the field to our right last year.

Whew! The sunflowers were in another field.

A few folks taking pictures (one person was using a drone camera) when we arrived asked me where we were cycling to. I happily responded that this was our destination.  And we were not disappointed one bit! The sunflowers were amazing and we enjoyed taking in the beauty!

A nice lady, who was also enjoying the sunflowers, saw our bikes and we started chatting about biking and trail running. When I asked her if she wouldn't mind snapping a group photo of us with my camera phone (at the time, I didn't know that she was a professional photographer),  she gladly said yes and then started taking pictures of us with her own camera. Thank you, Nadine Redd, of Nadine Redd Photography, for capturing some fun memories for us! And THANK YOU Farmer Ted and his wife for allowing visitors to your fields--the Bouncing Buns will be back next year!

Groupie picture with my camera phone

I LOVE this photo of Nadine's view of our Groupie picture

BTW, what a difference a year makes. I was finally able to convince my family this year to drive out to the fields and we were not disappointed :D

Flash Back and a Do-Over!

One year ago, in October of 2013 my friend, Ginger, and I were preparing to run the Army Ten Miler, which, for both of us, was going to be the longest run/race we had ever done. So after running 9 miles one day I said to Ginger, "Hey if we can run 9, why not 13.1?" She said, "You're crazy, but okay, let's do it".  Later that night I got home and found a race happening the next weekend, making the 9 miles we ran the longest run we would do before the Crawlin' Crab Half Marathon, but Hey...we can do it!!!

So that next Saturday we headed down to Hampton, VA for the race on Sunday. We spent the night in a hotel in Hampton since it's about a 3 hour drive from here and it would suck driving on Sunday morning. Saturday was relaxing and we went into Virginia Beach and walked along the boardwalk and found an Italian restaurant to get in our carbs before the half.  Ginger and I were not nervous about the race. We basically were going into this with the mindset of just finishing the race. So we both slept really well Saturday night.

On Sunday, I made probably one of the biggest mistakes I could have made on race day...I had been training the entire time with my handheld water bottle and that morning I decided to leave it in the hotel room and drink water on the course. Big..huge...mistake!!! 

We get to the race (early...really early... for those who know Ginger and me, this is not a surprise) and we were both in great spirits.  We each commented about the heat and humidity, but were still feeling great and excited.

We start off and the first 6 miles..easy and on track to finish at a decent time. Six miles is also the point where I start to get thirsty and I always use my hand held water bottle to sip water or swish and spit out. So the next water station I think I will take a cup and drink it and I chose Gatorade.  You know, because it's hot and I need to replace what I am losing. I continue to stop and drink Gatorade at miles 8 and 10.

Then it hits me...or I hit it...you know...THE WALL...HARD! I feel sick, like I want to puke and curl up in a ball and cry! Why, me...why? I had not trained in heat and humidity, and then I did things differently on race day than I did in training. It took Anne Marie and Ginger to convince me I could do it. They were determined to get me over the Finish Line! Seriously, Ginger was behind me pushing me and then beside me pulling my arm! If it had not been for her, I would have stopped and quit!

Well, I made it over the finish line that day with more knowledge and a time of 2 hours and 54 minutes! But what really pissed me off, I was too sick to get my free beer at the end! Boooo!

Since then, I have redeemed myself and learned to NEVER, and I mean NEVER, try something new on race day! I have since ran Army Ten Miler with a time of 1 hour 59 minutes and Cherry Blossom Ten Miler with a time of 1 hour 54 minutes. I also ran another half marathon with a time of 2 hours 33 minutes. Can you believe that...that half was over 20 minutes faster and guess what...I was able to drink a beer after!

This year during the first weekend in October, Ginger and I along with Jane and Van from KS and Melissa, Jen, and Lisa from DC are taking a girls weekend to Hampton, VA to tackle the Crawlin' Crab again. My Do-Over. This time we will take on the Shell Yeah Challenge:  5k on Saturday and 13.1 on Sunday. With both races, I will race with more knowledge than the last time.