Hello 2013 - An Update and a Surprise

So, I'm a little behind. January and February went by in the blink of an eye and I will turn 30 in two weeks! Aye.

I have a confession to make. I have not run a lick since December. Not once. But I have a really good reason. I spent the better part of the last two months fighting morning sickness and fatigue thanks to our fourth little bundle that is due to arrive in late August. Yup, SURPRISE, baby number four is on the way!

So, I am going to be changing my goals for 2013 and there isn't a lot of running involved. I am hoping to get out once this alleged "second wind" kicks in, but since I don't remember that from the first three, I'm not planning on it. I will be getting more creative and I do very much want to exercise through this pregnancy unlike the other three. I'll let you know what I come up with!

So without the monthly races and weekly running, this blog is going to be taking a bit of a different course this year. I am facing a different, but equally daunting, challenge this year. As far back as I can remember, I have always loved writing. In school, I was that kid that was excited to get a creative writing assignment and my problem wasn't writing enough, it was writing too much.

Well, this year I am diving into the world of picture books. I have signed up for an online class and joined an amazing group of children's book writers participating in the 12 X 12 challenge. The challenge is to write a new picture book draft each month all year. Since I was out of it in January, I'm going to need to double up during at least one month!

I am very excited to see where this leads! I'm hoping to submit at least one story to agents/editors before the end of the year. I'll share what I learn along the way and if you would like to read some kid lit, I would love your feedback. Really good feedback may result in baked goods for you and yours!

Click the link for information on the 12X12 Challenge. Today is the last day to enter if you want to join in the fun!!

12 down 0 to go (Reindeer Run!)

Getting this last one in before the year is over! What a racing year! (Look for a highlights post coming soon!)

My 12th and final race this year was the Reindeer Run on Fort Meade on December 15. The weather was nice and chilly, but I remembering all my past races I didn't wear extra layers! Just my blue t-shirt and running tights. And I was still a bit warm by the end!

Not only was this my last race this year, but insert drummer roll here............. I broke 30 minutes in a 5K! Just by a touch at 29:52, but I am so glad I was able to reach that goal this year!

I ran this race with my BRF (best running friend) and we agreed this 5K was very well done. The packet pick up was inside the field house which was great since it was so cold outside. They had antlers (and bells, but they ran out of those) for all the racers and crayons and coloring books for the kids. It was a very family friendly race. I loved seeing the parent/child running teams all along the course. The course was pretty easy and quite flat which makes for fast times even in the cold. 16:56 was the winning time by a 27 year-old gent. That is quite speedy for 3.1 miles!

Post race food was delicious Panera bagels and cream cheese, along with cookies and candy canes. They those big orange gatorade tanks for water, but tiny little cups. I'm sure it was to avoid spills, but I felt like I stayed next to them for way to long rehydrating after the race. They seemed to be quick putting up the stats which was really great.

Speaking of stats: My time was 29:52.6 for an average pace of about 9:57 per mile. I was 22 out of 43 in my age group and 159 out of 334 overall!

Things I learned from my 12th race:

1. Layers that are easily remover while running are key. Arm warmers may be my new best friends.
2. Being right next to someone at the finish helps my push just a little harder. Thank you to the guy just in front of me in that last 100 feet. I'm not sorry I passed you though. 
3. Races in colder months should have warm drinks at the finish. Tea or hot chocolate would have been AMAZING after cooling down. Next time I should keep a thermos in the car, just in case. 
4. Always carry extra safety pins in case you need to MacGyver your timing chip to your shoe. (ones that tie on your laces are hard to use on shoes with NO LACES)
5. People running near my with their shoes untied makes me terribly nervous. I don't know how it took so long for me to realize this, but twice in this race I tapped people to alert them of their untied shoes and when they didn't seem to mind and kept on trucking I became very nervous for them!

Well that's it! All 12. Next year I am taking on a different 12 X 12 challenge. Look for more about that early next year!

Happy New Year to All!!

High Heeled Run (aka Miss Piggy goes to Annapolis)

I added in an extra fun run in November because a high heel run is something I have wanted to do. Luckily, they seem to pop up a lot in October and November with October being Breast Cancer awareness month and high heel runs generally raise funds to support organizations working to fight breast cancer.

Healing in Heels Dash for Breast Cancer was on November 11 at the Annapolis Towne Centre. The race was an up and back on one side of the boulevard. By the time I got to the turn around, I was done with running in heels! 550 doesn't seem so far until you're about 200 in and wondering why this was a good idea. Haha. It is much more difficult to run in heels then I thought it would be. Yes, I knew it would be difficult, but I didn't think about how off all the running mechanics would be. The Dad and the kids came to watch (and enjoy some post race food) and the Dad told me the two first place finishers (both guys...yup) had definitely practiced how to run in heels. They apparently had better form then the rest of us. Haha.

Bad form, great fun!

There was a costume contest associated with the run and the winner received a year supply of Saucony shoes (four pairs!) So I decided to run as Miss Piggy. She's always so classy in her heels.

Got Squeezed?

To keep with the year theme of raising support and awareness from the Colon Cancer Alliance, I added a decal to the back of my shirt also. During the month of October, the CCA promotes "Screen THIS too!"

Piggy and Barbie

Sadly, I didn't even come in second in the costume contest! I knew there would be at least one guy in drag in the top two, but I didn't count on Barbie showing up in her box to run. Nice Job! Barbie won. As it turned out, Barbie in a Box is the director of Breast Cancer Center at Anne Arundel Medical Center which was the beneficiary of the race.

As we finished the race, Save the Coconuts had a few fun items for racers: a shot glass and a treat.

Yup.

This race had the best post-race food of any race yet! A few of the restaurants in the Towne Centre were out with food samples for the racers and spectators. While listening to the live band, Gordon Biersch provided beer to those with a race number (the Dad drank mine,) Cadillac Ranch had some delicious sliders, Philly & Flash offered up some amazing loaded fries, and Paladar served creamy coconut flan and thick hot chocolate. And of course there was water for everyone. So filling we almost didn't need to go to dinner! It also looked like there were a few boxes of "usual" post race food that they didn't need since the restaurants really provided a great spread!

Things I learned/relearned from a High Heel Race:

1. Don't run in heels without practice unless being chased by something/ someone or one of the kids is about to fall off something way to high.
2. Feather boas are a very popular accessory at this race. Boas and tall socks.
3. I really enjoy dressing up for a race! This was so much fun. But it is hard to see over that nose and impossible to eat or drink with it on! I'm taking suggestions for next year. Any ideas???
4. Having spectators you know (husband and kids) makes the race even more fun. I love to hear them cheering on the side. And then the "Mom, you weren't very fast" at the finish is always nice too. Haha.
5. Post-race food will make me sign up to run in heels again!

We had told the kids we would eat out at a restaurant after the race, so we moseyed up to Cadillac Ranch for dinner. I still had most of my costume on and was recognized but some other spectators who cheered a bit. Now that was nice!

I also ran this race as part of the Virtual Run for Sandy Relief. A couple of bloggers put together a Virtual Run for the month of November to help raise funds for the Red Cross to aid with Sandy Relief in New Jersey and New York. According to an email at the beginning of December, the effort raised $1,426! Awesome!!

11 down 1 to go (aka Turkey Trot)

Wow, I am really behind. Sorry about that! Onward!

The GS Turkey Trot 5K in Odenton, MD on November 17th was a nice, simple course on routes I've taken as fun runs! It was really great to run a race closer to home that didn't require travel.

A mom friend and I walked/jogged over to the starting line hoping for some pre-race warm ups, but either we missed them or there weren't any like we had hoped. It was quite chilly, but we both stashed our coats with the ladies at check-in since we knew we would heat up during the race. It was probably between 30 and 40 degrees which made for great running weather.

The course was well laid out and well marked by volunteers. At each of the water stations (2 for a 5K NICE,) I didn't see a trash can or tarp for cups so I ended up carrying my cup until there was a volunteer I could hand it too or found a trash can. Part of the race course ran through the Piney Orchard Nature Preserve on the paved trail. There are also a few wooded trails throughout the preserve as well which make for some nice trail running in the spring and fall. (I have yet to try them in the winter with its ice and snow...)

This race was a smaller community race, but they still had over 100 participants. Due to the smaller size, and this being the inaugural race, they did not have race timing available. I'm not sure how they calculated the "official" race times they posted because according to the times I finished at the same time as my mom friend who finished right behind me by about 20-30 seconds.

I crossed the start line 9 seconds after the clock started and crossed the finish at 30:53 giving me a 30:42 5K time! I'm getting really close to breaking the 30 minute mark! According to the "official time" I clocked in at 29:49, but sadly I know that's wrong. I did come in 43 out of 122 though I have no idea how I did with in my age group.

Things I learned from this close to home race:

1. It is nice to see people you know from "just around" at a race. Definitely get that feeling at a smaller community race.
2. I don't like not having a timing device apart from the app on my phone in a race. It makes the race feel to much like a normal run to me. Though I do like running in a group, it really gives me motivation to keep up and not slow down. 
3. It is really nice not to have to get in a car to go to a race. Makes for a nice warm-up and cool down too. 
4. Unless it is below 20, I should run in a short sleeved shirt. I was way too hot by mile 2 and could have done without the long sleeves.
5. I love running races with people I know, but that last half mile we are in it to finish and I don't mind breaking out at slightly different speeds. Kick it in to the end!

Some how we missed the awards for the top finishers and the best costume (there was a guy as a turkey, I bet he won.) Post-race food was pretty standard and happily included Girl Scout cookies. I was hoping for a little cookie love in the registration bags, but no such luck. 

Will Run For Flesh! (Zombie Transformations and Turning Humans)

In February of last year, the Dad and I signed up to be Zombies on October 27th at the Saturday RUN FOR YOUR LIVES race in Darlington, MD just north of Baltimore. The Dad was SUPER excited, which is why we signed up so early. I'm glad we did too because the zombie shifts are what sell out first from the race. They had so many people signing up and on the "wait list" they opened a second race day on Sunday. Which unfortunately was canceled by Howard County due to Hurricane Sandy.

One of the perks of being a zombie this year was a free race which we ran with a friend of the Dad in the 11 am wave. (All about my race recap here.) So we all started our zombie transformation with a freezing cold PVC pipe shower to rid ourselves off the thickest layer of mud and gross from the race. Refreshing.

Undead Only

Then it was back over to the Zombie Transformation Center, the ZTC, to change into our zombie costumes and get in line for make up. The Dad and I just pulled old clothes from our closets but our friends came prepared with scrubs. There were zombies dressed as doctors and nurses, prom queens and brides, a farmer, a few nuns, some in fatigues, and even Princess Leia.

We heard about one of the zones before us all dressed as a wedding: bride, groom, bridal party, officiant, and even a baker with a brain cake. So creative! Not only the zombies dress up, we saw some very creative racers as well. A banana, a panda, super heros, guys in tutus, but the best by far was the group of guys dressed as King Arthur and his sidekicks from Monty Python, complete with coconuts and galloping. I'm told they didn't break character through the whole race! I wish I had a camera while zombing.

Stumbler

Standing in line for make up, you can have parts of your zombie outfit shredded and even pick from their zombie wardrobe if you don't have your own zombie attire. After adding holes and shredding shirts and the bottoms of pants, we waited to move on to make-up. They brought in a team of professional make-up artists to help apply all the zombie faces. Some people had plastic wounds attached to their faces and neck, but none of our little group did. There were two separate make-up tracks, the stumblers and the chasers. Chasers, like the Dad, had a base coat and red accents and then blood splatter. Stumblers (this was me) received an airbrush base coat to dull and flatten out the face and then airbrushed contours around the eyes, cheeks, and mouth. Then it was on to spot splatter where they used a thick bristled brush and flicked the bristles towards my face so the make-up would splatter. And like the chasers, the stumblers had blood flecks and wounds added.

Chaser

After our faces were all made up, they hoisted a blue tarp between two trees and zombies lined up to be sprayed with light and dark mud and have handfuls of blood tossed on us. The guy tossing the blood seemed to be having a pretty good time pelting all of us with handfuls of goopy, red syrup. The blood looked really great against those zombies in white, especially the zombie brides.

Bloody and Gross!

I like how it looks like my hand is going to reach out and get you.

Even Zombies need love, right?

Since we were they last group of zombies for the day, and they had a bit of blood left over, before we headed out to our zones they had us stand in a big huddle and flung the remaining blood on the group as you would toss a bucket of water after washing your car. A poor lady in front of us got an eye full and finding a clean sleeve to wipe some away was harder then you might think.

Each zombie received two bottles of water and a bag of snacks for during our 3-3.5 hour shift. We were scheduled from 2:40 to 6, but being the last group we were out there until the last person finished through our section and I have no idea what time that was!

While in our zone, zone 12, our goal was to take as many final flags as we could. There were a few people who had more then one flag (I saw one guy with all 3 still,) but most people had one or none by the time the reached us. Those people in groups would try and protect their friends who still had flags and it was always great when you could grab one of those. Some people didn't want to play by the rules and would roll their flag around the flag belt, a few tied the flag to the belt and there were many who had shirts long enough that they hid all but the tiniest tip of the flag. Add on all the water and mud and those flags were hard to get! There was a lot of karate chopping while people tried to smack zombie hands away from their flags. One guy I tried to take a flag from swung his arms so violently he hit me in the face. I think he made my nose bleed, but with all the fake blood it was hard to tell. (He did apologize though, he didn't mean to hit me.)

By the end of the shift, I had pulled about 20 flags and felt quite accomplished as a zombie.

Cleaning the make-up off without running water wasn't happening. We were able to get the top layer or blood off, but all the flecks and most of the black around my eyes needed more scrubbing then I could do in the fading light and with a wet paper towel and baby wipes. (We looked great heading in to WaWa to grab a drink on our way out of town, haha. The cashier told us he had been busier then usual that evening and he didn't look at us that strangely so I'm sure he had seen a few other zombies before us.)

After stopping to get our free beer (well the guys got beers, not my thing so much,) our plan was to head out to a restaurant for dinner, looking all zombie-fab, but the bus line back to the parking lot was LONG. So the guys got a spot in line and we ladies went to the food vendors to get some hot food. They had a lot of choices and the prices were pretty reasonable. I was so hungry (lunch was a bag of goldfish crackers, I could have planned that better) and the cheeseburger and fries were delicious. I'm sure they weren't as wonderful as I remember, but it was just what I needed!

The bus line moved relatively quickly, they had a great system in place and plenty of buses to keep the line moving. It wasn't long after we finished eating that we got on the bus. Let me tell you sitting down on that bus was amazing. I didn't realize my legs were so tired!

In the days and week after we were all a bit sore, but we had such a great time and we are already thinking up some costumes for next year!