tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84797904932685353192024-03-14T05:25:18.757-04:00Run With SamSamanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-88720616359596469282012-05-13T23:52:00.000-04:002012-05-13T23:52:49.956-04:00The Race I Forgot to Train For<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
By forgot, I mean I just didn’t. I’m not sure why the past few months
haven’t been full of intense running sessions. I had the perfect opportunity to
PR on a flat course with perfect weather at the <a href="http://www.njmarathon.org/" target="_blank">Long Branch Half Marathon</a> in New Jersey last Sunday. I suppose enjoying my last few weeks
of freedom by spending time with friends and family took precedence over
running. I’ve also been doing a lot of strength training (crossfit) to get
ready for boot camp, so that took up some time as well. I really should stop
making excuses and just admit that I blew the opportunity. Fortunately there
will be more races to come in my future. And, to be completely honest I wasn’t
disappointed with my finish time at all. I was only 5 minutes behind my average
finish time and I felt pretty darn good for not training at all. Perhaps more
crossfit, less running, and eating tons of ice cream the night before a race is
the way to go! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T8b5zg-PSEg/T7BzY1hoVPI/AAAAAAAAAsU/LUd_2scaMJc/s1600/IMG_1815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T8b5zg-PSEg/T7BzY1hoVPI/AAAAAAAAAsU/LUd_2scaMJc/s320/IMG_1815.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-race Ben & Jerry's</td></tr>
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In all seriousness I think my decent race time had a lot to do with my
psychological state. I really wasn’t stressed or worried at all about the race.
In fact, I was borderline apathetic about even making it to the start line when
I hit all this traffic: </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sSv9DjYH4Uo/T7BuODhoF3I/AAAAAAAAArw/9LgtP2Mp0Eg/s1600/DSC05998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sSv9DjYH4Uo/T7BuODhoF3I/AAAAAAAAArw/9LgtP2Mp0Eg/s320/DSC05998.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Others were panicked and started jumping out of their cars to jog a half
mile or more to the start line. I was calm and relaxed and casually strolled to
the start line 2 minutes before the gun went off. A lot of times I think
runners psych themselves out before races. Yes, I know staying calm before a
big race you’ve trained hard for is easier said than done, but if you can
suppress even just a few of the pre-race jitters I think it will work wonders.</div>
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Since I didn’t train at all my thought was that I would probably just jog/walk
a lot of the race and try to enjoy the day. I started out with the 2:45 pacer
and quickly realized I would be bored out of my mind if I stayed at this pace
or slower and would most likely quit at mile 5 from sheer lack of will power to
finish the race. I caught up with the 2:30 pacer and decided to make a goal finish time to
get me through the race. At first I decided on 2:35; by mile 8 I hadn’t walked
yet and thought I could shoot for 2:30; at mile 11 my legs and lungs felt good
so I switched to a 2:28 goal. At mile 12 I thought oh, what’s the harm,
just push it and see if you can make 2:26. If you have to walk, oh well.</div>
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I sprinted the last .2 miles and ended up finishing with a 2:25:52! That’s
only about 5 minutes behind my average finish time for races that I actually
train for. Hmmm…makes me wonder what I was doing all that training for?? Kidding.</div>
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After my race I found my aunt and cheered on all the full marathon finishers. My cousin,
her boyfriend, and my uncle all ran the full like rock stars. I’m so happy that
my family shares marathons as a pastime.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pq0UCOLCBZE/T7BqE_G4REI/AAAAAAAAArc/Cz-kUNx2nq0/s1600/nj+half3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pq0UCOLCBZE/T7BqE_G4REI/AAAAAAAAArc/Cz-kUNx2nq0/s320/nj+half3.jpg" width="201" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ha! Am I waving to the photographer? Who do I think I am, a prom queen?</td></tr>
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<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
If you’re thinking about doing this race here are some pros/cons for you.</div>
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<b>Pros about the Long Branch Half
Marathon/New Jersey Marathon: </b></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
-The medals were awesome (we’re talking RnR heavy medal status)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
-Shirts were nice</div>
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-Plenty of water/Gatorade stops and volunteers to distribute cups</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
-Course finished with a beautiful run along the beach (great view!)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
-A barcode on your race bib allowed for you to use your smart phone to scan
it and receive your finish time. I didn’t have the app on my phone so I didn’t
try it, but it seemed like a pretty innovative idea.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<b>Cons about the Long Branch Half
Marathon/New Jersey Marathon: I don’t really like to be a debbie-downer because
I’m sure coordinating large races is hard, but when a race costs more than $100
I think we deserve to have the quality of the race set-up and perks reflect the price.</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
-The half started at 6:50 am (an hour before the full). I’ve never seen this
before. Usually the races start together or the marathon starts first. This
meant I was on my own without all my family who was doing the full marathon because they wanted to sleep –
borrriiing.</div>
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-The parking situation was awful. I don’t know who was in charge of
directing traffic, but a 4<sup>th</sup> grader could have done a better job. </div>
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-Again, organization of bag drop off was terrible. It took 20 minutes to
find my bag after the race because they had taken them all out of the truck
(where they had been in numerical order) and threw them in a pile. Intelligent.
</div>
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-There was no family reunion area. Signs with the letters of the alphabet
would have been nice so that I could have found my aunt a little easier.</div>
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-Finish line food was pretty crappy. Something that could hardly pass for a plain
bagel was handed to me. There were bananas and granola bars too, but that’s
about it.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PjTFfRWInpY/T7BriM3xHrI/AAAAAAAAArk/3gbC3OMJrHY/s1600/nj+half2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PjTFfRWInpY/T7BriM3xHrI/AAAAAAAAArk/3gbC3OMJrHY/s320/nj+half2.jpg" width="202" /></a></div>
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<b>We have a new Terrible Race Photo. Winner winner chicken dinner!</b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cvOYagipQvs/T7BpANofBnI/AAAAAAAAArU/t517lQL2LRA/s1600/nj+half.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cvOYagipQvs/T7BpANofBnI/AAAAAAAAArU/t517lQL2LRA/s320/nj+half.jpg" width="194" /></a></div>
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I swear I was feeling good at the end of the race despite what the photo seems! :)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family Finish Photo</td></tr>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kyKrzz4VhsY/T7BuwluxrQI/AAAAAAAAAr4/Vb7sS-LmrPg/s1600/IMG_1824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">One good thing about road trips is the mandatory cracker barrel trip and yes, I did eat a massive amount of yummy food by myself.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JKy6YBC18z8/T7BwHDuylSI/AAAAAAAAAsA/4GICsgSJQFo/s1600/IMG_1833.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JKy6YBC18z8/T7BwHDuylSI/AAAAAAAAAsA/4GICsgSJQFo/s320/IMG_1833.PNG" width="213" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z95Abo7JWyk/T7Bwhpp52mI/AAAAAAAAAsI/PTd5ZHyNvoI/s1600/IMG_1829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z95Abo7JWyk/T7Bwhpp52mI/AAAAAAAAAsI/PTd5ZHyNvoI/s320/IMG_1829.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do we think this equals 13 miles? Sure. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span>This weekend I'm running the <a href="http://www.capitolhillclassic.com/" target="_blank">Capitol Hill Classic 10k</a>. After that I don't have any races on the calendar at all since I'm headed to boot camp. It's been a while since my race schedule was so barren...not sure how I feel about it!</div>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-52149483125335585562012-04-22T13:25:00.000-04:002012-04-22T13:25:07.901-04:00Crossfit and Paleo - One Week Completed<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In an effort to get ready for boot camp in less than 2 months I joined a crossfit gym (which is conveniently connected to my current traditional gym). For months I had walked by the bay of windows behind which were ripped people sweating puddles and pushing enormous amounts of weight over their heads. It looked intense to say the least and I was intimidated. I think I just assumed that I wasn't fit enough to participate, but you know what they say about assuming. I quickly learned that each activity can be scaled to an individual's current ability. Can't do regular hanging pull-ups? Do them on the rings. Can't do push-ups on your toes? Do them on your knees. Can't lift 100 pounds? Just use the 15 pound bar - or a pvc pipe for that matter. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Can't do one legged squats on your own? Use a box to balance. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">You're excuses are not welcome at CrossFit. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kEHvkiHQvjo/T5Q3vQFUIDI/AAAAAAAAAq0/YFT35P8nCkM/s1600/games2011_womenof2011_rotator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kEHvkiHQvjo/T5Q3vQFUIDI/AAAAAAAAAq0/YFT35P8nCkM/s400/games2011_womenof2011_rotator.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=CTg&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1024&bih=497&tbm=isch&tbnid=p7S46kdy7JO1vM:&imgrefurl=http://crossfit808.blogspot.com/2011/07/2011-crossfit-games-are-only-3-weeks.html&docid=sjAVGWoxXumS8M&imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IOe1elz-kaQ/ThaGZr0FMbI/AAAAAAAAAi0/QfT7SCUj0VM/s1600/games2011_womenof2011_rotator.jpg&w=623&h=371&ei=qjaUT7gC6_ToAdP0waME&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=369&vpy=143&dur=3671&hovh=173&hovw=291&tx=187&ty=73&sig=115840633260993113013&page=2&tbnh=117&tbnw=197&start=11&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:11,i:123" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I've been to about 6 classes so far at <a href="http://www.crossfitbalance.com/" target="_blank">Balance CrossFit Thomas Circle</a> in Washington, DC. I absolutely love it, regardless of the fact that after my first class it took me 3 days to be walk normally again. It's exactly what I needed. It's like personal training, but even better. The classes are pretty small (usually somewhere around 15 people) and everyone is very encouraging no matter what weight you're working with. Granted, it is pretty expensive-I paid $200 for the month-but I suppose taking care of your health and fitness should be considered an investment for life.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If you're looking for some inspirational CrossFit women I have done my fair share of You-tubing. Try watching the current CrossFit champion (a.k.a. the world's fittest woman), <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtk2dSphI_Y" target="_blank">Annie Thorisdottir</a> or fitness phenoms <a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=crossfit+kristan+clever&oq=crossfit+kris&aq=0&aqi=g1&aql=&gs_nf=1&gs_l=youtube-psuggest-reduced.3.0.0.40053.42956.0.44571.13.12.0.0.0.0.229.1431.5j5j2.12.0." target="_blank">Kristan Clever and Katie Hogan</a>. Miranda Oldroyd is also pretty <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y-C9eYg2pY&feature=related" target="_blank">inspirational</a>. Those wall balls are no joke. I was pretty sure my legs were going to set on fire the first time I did them. I really like learning new things so weightlifting has been exciting to me. I still have a lot more to learn. Memorizing the names of all the different lifts is hard enough, let alone how to do them properly, but I'll get there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Shortly after I joined CrossFit Balance I heard they were doing a 30 day Paleo Challenge. <a href="http://thepaleodiet.com/" target="_blank">The Paleo diet</a> has been dubbed the "Caveman Diet." As soon as I heard about it I knew I had to partake. I've had such a struggle with my sugar addiction that I thought putting $40 into a group challenge would inspire me to stick with a healthy lifestyle. You would think the need to get ready for boot camp would be enough inspiration, but even I can't begin to explain the rationalization that happens in my own brain. I'm no expert and there is certainly more to it than this, but the basics are that you can't eat any grains, dairy, starches (except sweet potatoes), refined sugar, or legumes. Thus, you end up eating a lot of veggies, fruits, eggs, and meat.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-58bAnuOv2lk/T5Q12P7B_9I/AAAAAAAAAqs/_g-Q6R0dNyI/s1600/whatisthepaleodietakacavemandietPics1gq92X1m3cUvdDM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="330" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-58bAnuOv2lk/T5Q12P7B_9I/AAAAAAAAAqs/_g-Q6R0dNyI/s400/whatisthepaleodietakacavemandietPics1gq92X1m3cUvdDM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paleo diet food pyramid. <a href="http://proactolbuying.com/diet-plans/what-is-the-paleo-diet-aka-caveman-diet/" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I've made it through one week being really strict with the food aspect. I did however cheat by drinking alcohol two nights and sun-chips at a cook out (really, I caved to sunchips??). The first few days were hell. The nutritionist running the challenge says your body goes through detox the first week and I believe it. I'm pretty sure going from eating an entire box of Samoa girl scout cookies in one sitting to eating absolutely no sugar is enough to set your body into some serious withdrawal (we're talking drooling on yourself because your cousin sitting next to you on the couch is eating ice cream). For a funny, yet educational read from someone who just completed their 30 day Paleo challenge check out this <a href="http://www.crossfitbalance.com/blog/2012/4/18/friday-april-19-2012.html" target="_blank">blog post</a>.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PQ4LMZ5zFN8/T5Q0h7PxeMI/AAAAAAAAAqk/75uOxpRccZA/s1600/scrambled+eggs+muffin+tins+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PQ4LMZ5zFN8/T5Q0h7PxeMI/AAAAAAAAAqk/75uOxpRccZA/s1600/scrambled+eggs+muffin+tins+2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've been eating a lot of these little scrambled egg and vegetable muffins.<a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=MAg&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1024&bih=497&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnse&tbnid=OWa-kv-bgzn6VM:&imgrefurl=http://www.landomoms.com/2010/08/19/breakfast-on-the-go-muffins/&docid=9Ej_sjEOjry1SM&imgurl=http://www.landomoms.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Breakfast-on-the-Go-Muffins-small.jpg&w=339&h=510&ei=GjKUT5-LH6ix6QH2srWlBA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=238&vpy=90&dur=10044&hovh=275&hovw=183&tx=88&ty=142&sig=115840633260993113013&page=6&tbnh=144&tbnw=96&start=61&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:61,i:239" target="_blank"> Source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I've had to spend a lot more money on groceries and more time actually preparing food rather than eating Lean Cuisines, but it's been worth it. After one week I've lost 4 pounds and definitely notice my clothes fitting better, as well as my body just feeling better in general. The challenge winner is whoever loses the most body fat percentage and I started at 23.9% so I'm hoping that 4 pounds lost the first week is a good sign, but I really have no idea - I'm just excited to be kicking my sugar addiction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Keep challenging yourselves, </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-59334724988000932212012-03-18T22:38:00.000-04:002012-03-18T22:38:53.394-04:00Luck of the Irish<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">What was un-lucky about this year's St. Patty's Day was that I slept through my alarm and missed the start of the <a href="http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/usa" target="_blank">USA Rock N Roll Marathon</a> (don't freak out...I wasn't supposed to be running it, just spectating). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">What was lucky was that I sprinted to the metro just in time to catch a train that would lead me to the Columbia Heights metro (about mile 7.5 on the race course). </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EAauwo8ots8/T2aaphhTNHI/AAAAAAAAAqU/m6c6Z8jLkHY/s1600/DSC05863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EAauwo8ots8/T2aaphhTNHI/AAAAAAAAAqU/m6c6Z8jLkHY/s320/DSC05863.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These runners were lucky to get through the intersection just before a firetruck came across the race course!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I had only signed up to track and receive messages for my cousin, but somehow as I stood there cheering for so many runners I was lucky enough to spot several friends and bloggers. My friends James and Sarah passed by looking strong. My friend Eileen was super surprised to see me. Emily over at <a href="http://www.sweatonceaday.com/" target="_blank">Sweat Once a Day</a> probably thought I looked like a crazy woman waving to her. Not sure if <a href="http://skinnyrunner.com/" target="_blank">SR</a> heard me yell "Go SR!" but I was pretty stoked about picking her out of the crowd when I didn't even know she was running. I was so lucky to see so many friends and runners, but the absolute best part was seeing my cousins Emily and Christina run with their dad. Our family is pretty awesome and we all wore these "Team Gallo" shirts that my uncle had his friend make:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lj0NZ_WKVtU/T2aXeU0yCoI/AAAAAAAAAps/WCO3LAxxlmA/s1600/DSC05869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lj0NZ_WKVtU/T2aXeU0yCoI/AAAAAAAAAps/WCO3LAxxlmA/s320/DSC05869.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My family was lucky to have near perfect running weather</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E1x3aEZ5ik8/T2aXkgeQ4BI/AAAAAAAAAp0/JsSozh__NMI/s1600/DSC05865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E1x3aEZ5ik8/T2aXkgeQ4BI/AAAAAAAAAp0/JsSozh__NMI/s320/DSC05865.JPG" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't mess around when I say I'm getting dressed up to cheer on runners!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bhRBwIjgym4/T2aXrF2JEhI/AAAAAAAAAp8/6775QQyx0L4/s1600/DSC05867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bhRBwIjgym4/T2aXrF2JEhI/AAAAAAAAAp8/6775QQyx0L4/s320/DSC05867.JPG" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back of the shirts reads "Family Matters"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Tons of random people cheered for my cousins and uncle just because of the shirts. I even heard one lady yell "I love your wine!" Haha!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In the haste of running out the door that morning I had accidentally left behind the poster I had made. Luckily my aunt brought it with her to mile 9.5 and said it was a big hit with a lot of the runners. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Flun1WdfLfA/T2aYV_3HOhI/AAAAAAAAAqE/gGpvgV2nomk/s1600/DSC05886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Flun1WdfLfA/T2aYV_3HOhI/AAAAAAAAAqE/gGpvgV2nomk/s320/DSC05886.JPG" width="232" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> I also had a stroke of luck when I spotted a Capital Bikeshare rental right next to the race course in Columbia Heights. I grabbed a bike and was able to catch up with my family several times throughout the course and then just returned the bike at the finish line near the Stadium Armory metro. Congrats to my cousin Emily on her first half marathon! She ended up finishing with an awesome time of 2:10. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K_OF_9dBpfI/T2aaUVLpEuI/AAAAAAAAAqM/_RzdwIepuMo/s1600/DSC05885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K_OF_9dBpfI/T2aaUVLpEuI/AAAAAAAAAqM/_RzdwIepuMo/s320/DSC05885.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily, Uncle Steve, and Christina</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm lucky to have such a wonderful family. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-12731490264407842412012-03-10T12:08:00.000-05:002012-03-10T12:08:47.752-05:00Generations of Strong Women<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I haven't posted in a while, but as I gathered motivation from the strong women in my family this morning I logged on to blogger only to find that this is my 100th post, and I couldn't be more proud of the topic.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This post is in honor of my mom for running her first race ever, my great grandmother who is fiercely battling a truly devastating disease--<a href="http://www.alz.org/" target="_blank">Alzheimer's</a>, and my cousin who is traveling to DC next week to run her first half-marathon.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If you've ever met my family, you know that we have an overwhelming ratio of women to men. Many of them have red hair and are yes, stereotypically stubborn and feisty. However, they are also wildly successful, frequently independent, have resilient souls, and are nurturing caretakers. They are lawyers, teachers, firefighters, realtors, grad students, wives, mothers, and most of all friends. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This morning my mom ran her first race ever, The<a href="http://alzheimersfamily.org/special-events/pasco-challenge/" target="_blank"> Pasco Challenge 5k</a> to raise money for Alzheimer's research. She was nervous about completing it, but I knew she would be fine. When she called after the race and told me she did the entire 3.1 miles without stopping to walk I could hear the happiness in her voice and I have honestly never been so proud. She pushed herself to do something outside of her comfort zone and succeeded. In the process she helped contribute to research for a disease that hits close to home. I only wish I could have been there at the finish line cheering her on.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P_nXuaqOUVA/T1uGCd50X4I/AAAAAAAAApM/72j2o3JJ68g/s1600/Heidi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="303" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P_nXuaqOUVA/T1uGCd50X4I/AAAAAAAAApM/72j2o3JJ68g/s320/Heidi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mom at her first 5-k</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Next weekend I have the privilege of cheering on my cousin as she runs her first half marathon (the <a href="http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/usa" target="_blank">RnR National Half Marathon</a> on St. Patrick's day) with her sister and dad. You should have no doubt that I'll be decked out in Green sparkles and waving some ridiculous poster for all the runners. I hope I can come up with something as funny as the other <a href="http://runwithsam.blogspot.com/2011/04/random-recovery-day.html" target="_blank">spectator signs I've seen</a> throughout my races. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I am honored to be a part of the women in my family. They impress and inspire to me to no end. Congratulations, mom! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5vKR_Gn7i5A/T1uHpbVpR9I/AAAAAAAAApU/bG2ceY4nDrI/s1600/221744_655842369718_24707341_35395984_3328377_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5vKR_Gn7i5A/T1uHpbVpR9I/AAAAAAAAApU/bG2ceY4nDrI/s320/221744_655842369718_24707341_35395984_3328377_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking at old photos with Grandma.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-novirnNnozQ/T1uHvQCabrI/AAAAAAAAApc/kV1bC3IHunk/s1600/222240_655841686088_24707341_35395963_7834716_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-novirnNnozQ/T1uHvQCabrI/AAAAAAAAApc/kV1bC3IHunk/s320/222240_655841686088_24707341_35395963_7834716_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love you, mom!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aL4F01Bz1uI/T1uI63ahH4I/AAAAAAAAApk/2JNW9oEPFY8/s1600/photo%282%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aL4F01Bz1uI/T1uI63ahH4I/AAAAAAAAApk/2JNW9oEPFY8/s320/photo%282%29.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mom with my great-grandmother</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-87925934970934568942012-02-05T11:02:00.000-05:002012-02-05T11:02:03.270-05:00There's an App for That<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I can't do a comparison of nutrition/fitness apps because the first one I happened to download turned out to be phenomenal...and <i>free</i>! No matter how many times I've resolved to "eat healthy" I've always resorted to old eating habits after a few weeks (read: eating a pint of Ben and Jerry's in one sitting). I'm hoping this new app I have called My Net Diary will be just what I need to stay on track for the long haul. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tKr9fJAVFoE/Ty6mxoD0CzI/AAAAAAAAApE/KfdTQSfoZtU/s1600/iphone_home_small.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tKr9fJAVFoE/Ty6mxoD0CzI/AAAAAAAAApE/KfdTQSfoZtU/s320/iphone_home_small.png" width="221" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mynetdiary.com/iPhone.html" target="_blank">source</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It really is unbelievable when you start keeping track of all the calories you eat in a day. Little things add up so quickly. With this app all I have to do is put in the food I eat and the exercise I do every day as well as my weight loss goal. So far, the app has been able to find every food in the database and save the nutritional information to my iPhone. At the end of the day it gives me an anaylsis of everything I ate and what I need to improve upon (for example my calorie intake was good, but I ate too much sodium and not enough fiber). It also tells me if I keep up at today's rate of eating/exercise I'll be losing about ____ pounds per week. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">You can also upload before and after pictures, keep track of water intake, any vitamins or medicine you've taken, etc. I think it's great and because I always have my phone with me it's pretty easy to keep up with. Here is the <a href="http://www.mynetdiary.com/iPhone.html" target="_blank">website</a> if you're interested in learning more. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>What are your favorite health and fitness apps?</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Do you have a weight loss goal?</b> Mine is 139 pounds by June 1. I'm 5'8" and my starting weight on February 1 was 157 pounds. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Happy Running (and fitness tracking!), </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vsW6qkY8OW4/Ty6ldN_H6MI/AAAAAAAAAo8/XZ2yWrbBb_4/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vsW6qkY8OW4/Ty6ldN_H6MI/AAAAAAAAAo8/XZ2yWrbBb_4/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-91706211004131541582012-01-20T19:39:00.000-05:002012-01-20T19:39:24.307-05:00New Challenges<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0in;">Some anxiety has recently been relieved from my life now that I have my dream job in the Navy and I know exactly when I’ll be leaving for boot camp. On June 19, 2012 I’ll fly to Great Lakes, IL to go through 8 weeks of basic training. Following graduation I’ll head to Fort Meade, MD for 7 months of schooling to become a Mass Communication specialist. Until then I have to contain my excitement and eagerness to get that part of my life started, and instead focus my energy on studying and exercising while maintaining my 40 hour/week job. Both the studying and exercising are incredibly specific. Sure, all aerobic activity will be to my benefit, but at the end of boot camp I will ultimately be tested on three areas of fitness: running, push-ups, and curl-ups. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aFPRXLKITe4/TxoB_o7T4MI/AAAAAAAAAoM/Oq5fxKrvwt4/s1600/navy+run.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aFPRXLKITe4/TxoB_o7T4MI/AAAAAAAAAoM/Oq5fxKrvwt4/s320/navy+run.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.military.com/military-fitness/navy-fitness-requirements/navy-basic-training-pft" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0in;">For my age and gender my bare minimum requirements are as follows:</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0in;">1.5 Mile Run in 15:15</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0in;">50 curl ups in 2 minutes</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0in;">17 push ups in 2 minutes (allowed to rest in up position only)</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0in;">Obviously I don’t want to risk only passing with the bare minimum so here is the full chart: </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">FEMALES: AGE 20 to 24 YEARS</span></b></span><b><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
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</span></b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">PERFORMANCE CURL PUSH 1.5-MILE </span></b></span><b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
<span>CATEGORY UPS UPS RUN</span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <br />
<br />
<span>OUTSTANDING HIGH 105 48 9:47 </span><br />
<span>OUTSTANDING MEDIUM 103 47 11:15 </span> <br />
<span>OUTSTANDING LOW 98 44 11:30 </span><br />
<span>EXCELLENT HIGH 94 43 12:15 </span><br />
<span>EXCELLENT MEDIUM 90 40 12:45 </span><br />
<span>EXCELLENT LOW 87 39 13:15 </span><br />
<span>GOOD HIGH 78 33 13:30 </span><br />
<span>GOOD MEDIUM 66 28 13:45 </span><br />
<span>GOOD LOW 58 21 14:15 </span><br />
<span>SATISFACTORY HIGH 54 20 15:00 </span><br />
<span>SATISFACTORY MEDIUM 50 17 15:15 </span><br />
<span>PROBATIONARY 46 16 15:30 </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0in;">I’m thinking of setting a goal for myself. I’d like to be able to go to boot camp in the “Excellent High” category and graduate boot camp in the “Outstanding Low” category. It certainly won’t be an easy task considering my current push-up max is 17, and to be honest I don’t even know if they would count. It’s like my elbows get to a 90 degree angle and turn into JELLO. It’s a problem.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ljPpQ5zgtqQ/TxoGjEhkZKI/AAAAAAAAAos/qkbtt5AbFMw/s1600/timthumb.php.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="154" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ljPpQ5zgtqQ/TxoGjEhkZKI/AAAAAAAAAos/qkbtt5AbFMw/s320/timthumb.php.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If that's a push-up then I completely take back the fact that I can do 17. <a href="http://www.alive.com/articles/view/23347/boot_camps_are_here_to_stay" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0in;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0in;">As far as the run goes, you’d think I’d be fine, but it turns out running 13 miles at a 10+ minute pace doesn’t help you at all when you’re trying to run 1.5 miles quickly. Last week at the gym I forced myself to run 1.5 miles in 12:57. At the end I went from sprinting immediately to walking and gasping for air with the sweatiest, most bright red face you’ve ever seen. Because I have wonderful luck, this is the exact moment that a cute trainer at the gym walked in and looked my direction which caused me to stumble. I dropped my towel and it went flying off the back of the treadmill. He came over and handed it to my while trying to restrain his laughter at the girl who apparently isn’t coordinated enough to walk on a treadmill. Awesome. Obviously it will be much harder to complete the 1.5 miles without a treadmill forcing me to run a certain pace and replacing cute, smiling trainers with screaming boot camp instructors, but hey, I’m up for a challenge.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3dVG4iUTtXE/TxoF2ypf6RI/AAAAAAAAAok/IntEgqItdMA/s1600/800px-Drill_instructor_at_the_Officer_Candidate_School.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3dVG4iUTtXE/TxoF2ypf6RI/AAAAAAAAAok/IntEgqItdMA/s320/800px-Drill_instructor_at_the_Officer_Candidate_School.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.milpages.com/blog/155827" target="_blank">source</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0in;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0in;">On a side note, I’m headed to Florida next week on a little vacation to visit the ’rents and soak up some sunshine with my college friends. Which is good because it is currently 34 degrees and about to sleet in Washington, DC. I’m pretty sure Satan invented sleet. The weather channel cannot fool me when they call it a “wintry mix.” More like a mix of evil.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a8XSF_7j3rI/TxoDO25U8iI/AAAAAAAAAoU/TEUqbJ88BpQ/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a8XSF_7j3rI/TxoDO25U8iI/AAAAAAAAAoU/TEUqbJ88BpQ/s320/photo.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This face says I need to get out of this office and soak up some Florida sunshine quick.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0in;">So what are your favorite speed workouts? Any tips on getting faster?</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0in;">Happy Running,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Cf-JQrDBmaI/TxoDxs8S9UI/AAAAAAAAAoc/tPndcnhLztA/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Cf-JQrDBmaI/TxoDxs8S9UI/AAAAAAAAAoc/tPndcnhLztA/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br />
</div>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-53973702989437553202011-12-07T13:16:00.001-05:002011-12-07T13:16:00.402-05:00Race #12: Rock N Roll Las Vegas - December 5 - Las Vegas, NV - 2:29:<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sin City. My goodness, there is just too much to say. Get a cup of coffee, it's a long one: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I landed in Vegas and met my family at our hotel: Treasure Island. Flying in at night was awesome - Vegas really is just as cool as it seems in the movies.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iVLJYxx382k/Tt8QF6KVNFI/AAAAAAAAAn4/XT7tHvZVa1o/s1600/DSC05370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iVLJYxx382k/Tt8QF6KVNFI/AAAAAAAAAn4/XT7tHvZVa1o/s320/DSC05370.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I quickly learned that the National Finals Rodeo was in town at the same time as the race and I was in heaven. Everywhere I looked there were cowboys and you better believe I ran upstairs to put my boots on :)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jZE3u4jlDyU/Tt8PDVfahOI/AAAAAAAAAnw/Ad0z3HrlS4k/s1600/NFR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jZE3u4jlDyU/Tt8PDVfahOI/AAAAAAAAAnw/Ad0z3HrlS4k/s320/NFR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I took my parents to the expo where I got my bag, doll-size shirt (you better believe I traded that sucker in for a large), and head lamp (pretty cool freebie!). This was their first race experience and they were overwhelmed. They had absolutely no idea how big the race world is. My mom totally got in the spirit though: </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QIey13CjUOM/Tt8OvWY7msI/AAAAAAAAAno/CbDDpJHjCxg/s1600/DSC05330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QIey13CjUOM/Tt8OvWY7msI/AAAAAAAAAno/CbDDpJHjCxg/s320/DSC05330.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Then I got to meet up with some of the most beautiful, friendly, and talented runners (who also happen to have some pretty cool blogs). In true blogger fashion we all met up at an ice cream shop - totally <a href="http://www.hungryrunnergirl.com/" target="_blank">Hungry Runner Girl</a>'s idea. I blame her for making me and my mom eat this monstrosity of an ice cream :) p.s. - she is just as sweet and beautiful in person as she seems on her blog!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0gIZzbTNlXU/Tt8NwrPsCaI/AAAAAAAAAng/ekeB49Sying/s1600/photo%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0gIZzbTNlXU/Tt8NwrPsCaI/AAAAAAAAAng/ekeB49Sying/s320/photo%25282%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I met wonderful bloggers like <a href="http://www.blondeponytail.com/" target="_blank">Blonde Ponytail</a>, <a href="http://skinnyrunner.com/" target="_blank">Skinny Runner</a>, <a href="http://www.runnersrambles.com/" target="_blank">Runner's Rambles</a>, <a href="http://mealsandmiles.com/" target="_blank">Meals and Miles</a>, <a href="http://thevitaminbee.com/" target="_blank">Vitamin Bee</a>, <a href="http://runningfortrevor.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Running for Trevor</a>, and of course <a href="http://www.painprideperseverance.com/" target="_blank">Pain, Pride and Perseverance</a>. There are many more - sorry I didn't get everyone's names! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--rb78VYl-rw/Tt8MqK-ahtI/AAAAAAAAAnA/-KsbDMNR9TM/s1600/DSC05344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--rb78VYl-rw/Tt8MqK-ahtI/AAAAAAAAAnA/-KsbDMNR9TM/s320/DSC05344.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So many great runners and bloggers!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qrbptENTwLA/Tt8MuQrqA1I/AAAAAAAAAnI/70i4hfuZ4gs/s1600/DSC05341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qrbptENTwLA/Tt8MuQrqA1I/AAAAAAAAAnI/70i4hfuZ4gs/s320/DSC05341.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://skinnyrunner.com/" target="_blank">SR</a> doing something funny</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3oP4NVuAO80/Tt8MydXSVOI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/WGKAOMNmxwY/s1600/DSC05338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3oP4NVuAO80/Tt8MydXSVOI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/WGKAOMNmxwY/s320/DSC05338.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glad I found a new blog to read: <a href="http://thevitaminbee.com/" target="_blank">Vitamin Bee</a> :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pxM7RUEi6ds/Tt8M29iK57I/AAAAAAAAAnY/virkNhBqTBE/s1600/DSC05336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pxM7RUEi6ds/Tt8M29iK57I/AAAAAAAAAnY/virkNhBqTBE/s320/DSC05336.JPG" width="278" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love this pic with <a href="http://www.painprideperseverance.com/" target="_blank">Julia</a>.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My family and I spent the weekend doing a little gambling and shopping (a.k.a. throwing money out the window, but that's apparently okay in Vegas). We also got to see the Cirque du Soleil show Mystere. It.was.freakin.amazing. I'm not kidding when I say my brothers and I had our jaws hit the floor several times, and 19 and 20 year old guys are hard to impress. It is just unbelievable how talented (and strong) those people are!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cHPCIehUzmA/Tt8MRQRyuTI/AAAAAAAAAm4/Z8nsUBqbJj4/s1600/mystere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cHPCIehUzmA/Tt8MRQRyuTI/AAAAAAAAAm4/Z8nsUBqbJj4/s320/mystere.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Before I knew it, it was Sunday afternoon and time to get ready for the race. My brother Nolan was happy to cheer me on from the warmth of the hotel room :) I don't blame him.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ymC_HkTAKUg/Tt8MF_MZV5I/AAAAAAAAAmw/RUlVMsoNGS0/s1600/nolan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ymC_HkTAKUg/Tt8MF_MZV5I/AAAAAAAAAmw/RUlVMsoNGS0/s320/nolan.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It was pretty dang cold and I was a bit worried that I wore a t-shirt and capris when it seemed like everyone was wearing long sleeves. Personally though, I was perfectly happy with my outfit choice. I know I would have been hot and miserable if I wore more clothing. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-txKeivp64ak/Tt8K_w6GE5I/AAAAAAAAAmg/Btw_bgFMEtw/s1600/photo%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-txKeivp64ak/Tt8K_w6GE5I/AAAAAAAAAmg/Btw_bgFMEtw/s320/photo%25283%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The excitement surrounding the race was incredible. Not really sure how it couldn't be - I mean you are running the strip at night! This is a 180 degree change from my <a href="http://runwithsam.blogspot.com/2011/09/race-9-state-to-state-half-marathon.html" target="_blank">Ohio/Indiana race</a> where the only thing to look at was a corn field.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5trCbgnXy8U/Tt8LXdh0MYI/AAAAAAAAAmo/m0mZamr_JGg/s1600/las-vegas-strip.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5trCbgnXy8U/Tt8LXdh0MYI/AAAAAAAAAmo/m0mZamr_JGg/s320/las-vegas-strip.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The only photo I took during the race was this blurry one where two women were wearing shirts that said "Cuz Sam" and "Cuz Heidi" - my name is Sam and my mom's name is Heidi. What are the odds of that?! With all those gambling junkies in Vegas I'm sure someone smarter than me could figure out the actual odds, but you get the point. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eFGWkX4Pi90/Tt8KMygP8nI/AAAAAAAAAmY/tKEZwOiMxpU/s1600/photo%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eFGWkX4Pi90/Tt8KMygP8nI/AAAAAAAAAmY/tKEZwOiMxpU/s320/photo%25284%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm not as heated as others about how the race was executed because I thought that overall it was decent, but I will say that the design of the finish line was absolutely outrageous, actually dangerous. The medals and pictures were so close to the finish line that everyone had to immediately come to a complete stop when it got backed up. My leg muscles weren't very happy and I felt like I was going to be sick. Water > Pictures. Just sayin. I'm sure it is ridiculously hard to organize 44,000 runners, but if you're going to charge people $150 to run you should have your sh*t together. Enough said.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">You all know that I am the Queen of awful race pictures. (Remember the <a href="http://runwithsam.blogspot.com/2011/10/race-10-wilson-bridge-12-marathon.html" target="_blank">I'm so pretty picture</a>?) I didn't even realize it was possible, but I think I might have beat it with this one: </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sSix25sonAE/Tt8H9otea1I/AAAAAAAAAmQ/pFTcI4hkBHs/s1600/RnR+Las+Vegas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sSix25sonAE/Tt8H9otea1I/AAAAAAAAAmQ/pFTcI4hkBHs/s320/RnR+Las+Vegas.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WHAT?! I refuse to believe that is me. That person looks like they are about to eat someone.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The next morning my parents left and I was waiting around for my 10:30 pm flight when I learned that tickets to the American Country Awards were being sold for just $22 to a 5:00 pm show. I'm sorry, WHAT?!? I think I almost cried I was so excited - I didn't even know it was in town! I even treated myself to the lower level $60 ticket, a new dress from Forever 21, and then got my hair did all fancy-like at the mall. Yes, it was a "treat yo' self" kind of day (anybody watch Parks and Rec?).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UuxsCFKm-Pk/Tt8GNZkGK2I/AAAAAAAAAlw/GAilIiPM2Hg/s1600/DSC05381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UuxsCFKm-Pk/Tt8GNZkGK2I/AAAAAAAAAlw/GAilIiPM2Hg/s320/DSC05381.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Country Awards at the MGM.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gql7QITQIyg/Tt8GkccPPJI/AAAAAAAAAl4/xuwFnopTN0c/s1600/DSC05384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gql7QITQIyg/Tt8GkccPPJI/AAAAAAAAAl4/xuwFnopTN0c/s320/DSC05384.JPG" width="259" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OUPUc84ac3M/Tt8GrXSpN0I/AAAAAAAAAmA/gGNDUA_8yc4/s1600/DSC05430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OUPUc84ac3M/Tt8GrXSpN0I/AAAAAAAAAmA/gGNDUA_8yc4/s320/DSC05430.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gorgeous Carrie Underwood</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It was an awesome show. It was too bad that I didn't have any of my family or friends with me. I had such a good time though, even if I was by myself.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x7xwG4dWgAo/Tt8FWnb6dJI/AAAAAAAAAlo/na7ziE82o1U/s1600/DSC05414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x7xwG4dWgAo/Tt8FWnb6dJI/AAAAAAAAAlo/na7ziE82o1U/s320/DSC05414.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Then I headed to the airport.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aAHJcbnWGL8/Tt8Ep2_u3NI/AAAAAAAAAlg/XIh8_0lubNY/s1600/DSC05454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aAHJcbnWGL8/Tt8Ep2_u3NI/AAAAAAAAAlg/XIh8_0lubNY/s320/DSC05454.JPG" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love the colors/design of this race shirt!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I was about to say adios, Vegas when I discovered this in my coat pocket: </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c6pSGiHCJyE/Tt8EA0swWKI/AAAAAAAAAlY/WiNdWKZXih0/s1600/DSC05456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c6pSGiHCJyE/Tt8EA0swWKI/AAAAAAAAAlY/WiNdWKZXih0/s320/DSC05456.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Noooo!!! $30 down the drain :( Oh, but wait, excuse me Mr. baggage handler man, do you ever gamble? I have a $30 casino voucher that could be yours for only $20. Score.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I don't recommend taking a red eye and then having a morning layover in Atlanta. From 5 am - 6:30 am EST I slept just like this even with Christmas music and vacuums blaring in my ears.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lLDO74Wo7tA/Tt8HqcSaCwI/AAAAAAAAAmI/FachaUCIpfs/s1600/DSC05458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lLDO74Wo7tA/Tt8HqcSaCwI/AAAAAAAAAmI/FachaUCIpfs/s320/DSC05458.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I just realized that 2011 consisted of 7 half marathons, one full marathon, and a few 5k races. I had so much fun, but that number sounds ridiculous. Maybe 2012 is the year I cut back on the number of races and instead focus on improving my time. Regardless, I wouldn't take one minute of 2011 back - it was phenomenal. </span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-86807285818055821222011-11-30T10:26:00.000-05:002011-11-30T10:26:00.879-05:00Excitement<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There are some exciting things going on in the Webb household (can you call it a household if it's just you in a tiny apartment? I think yes).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">First of all, I have some amazing pictures from my Ireland trip to share with you all:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T52irZru2LA/TtWw2DP13SI/AAAAAAAAAjY/3HqKTP_C7YM/s1600/DSC04853.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T52irZru2LA/TtWw2DP13SI/AAAAAAAAAjY/3HqKTP_C7YM/s320/DSC04853.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Downtown Dublin</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fB1h4lBoYqU/TtWw6hIJLvI/AAAAAAAAAjg/mGipjcqCb9U/s1600/DSC04865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fB1h4lBoYqU/TtWw6hIJLvI/AAAAAAAAAjg/mGipjcqCb9U/s320/DSC04865.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jail tour</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T6W_00aUVe0/TtWw84hMFSI/AAAAAAAAAjo/F1JLxgKis78/s1600/DSC04819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T6W_00aUVe0/TtWw84hMFSI/AAAAAAAAAjo/F1JLxgKis78/s320/DSC04819.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3kODaWrjxN0/TtWxD2LyGDI/AAAAAAAAAjw/dx9R9gie7cc/s1600/DSC04933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3kODaWrjxN0/TtWxD2LyGDI/AAAAAAAAAjw/dx9R9gie7cc/s320/DSC04933.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mdh-jgbyVNs/TtWxMmS4mnI/AAAAAAAAAj4/I7tISeIdbZU/s1600/DSC04904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mdh-jgbyVNs/TtWxMmS4mnI/AAAAAAAAAj4/I7tISeIdbZU/s320/DSC04904.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christ Church in Dublin</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xzPdc5DtaVo/TtWxVNag_VI/AAAAAAAAAkA/EfyYlI2Q0ew/s1600/DSC04890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xzPdc5DtaVo/TtWxVNag_VI/AAAAAAAAAkA/EfyYlI2Q0ew/s320/DSC04890.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dublin Castle Tour</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gS1PZW-Sl5g/TtWx8R1WEXI/AAAAAAAAAkI/bd-yL9kJ4UQ/s1600/DSC04960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gS1PZW-Sl5g/TtWx8R1WEXI/AAAAAAAAAkI/bd-yL9kJ4UQ/s320/DSC04960.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Countryside in County Cork</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8eqLKRnLf0g/TtWyJBMTb4I/AAAAAAAAAkQ/hXOCP1YDTvs/s1600/DSC05073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8eqLKRnLf0g/TtWyJBMTb4I/AAAAAAAAAkQ/hXOCP1YDTvs/s320/DSC05073.JPG" width="252" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cliffs of Moher</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-00foqws3-Q4/TtWyRqOPFNI/AAAAAAAAAkY/7RsPT3p0CW4/s1600/DSC05055+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-00foqws3-Q4/TtWyRqOPFNI/AAAAAAAAAkY/7RsPT3p0CW4/s320/DSC05055+-+Copy.JPG" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing on the edge of a 600 foot cliff</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uc6RW14eBn4/TtWybPiK1oI/AAAAAAAAAkg/weW_NIivBks/s1600/DSC05075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uc6RW14eBn4/TtWybPiK1oI/AAAAAAAAAkg/weW_NIivBks/s320/DSC05075.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NrAsxjylAKc/TtWykSoxx7I/AAAAAAAAAko/1i0gagHSRSs/s1600/DSC04979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NrAsxjylAKc/TtWykSoxx7I/AAAAAAAAAko/1i0gagHSRSs/s320/DSC04979.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VXF3djSHtbQ/TtWysj3O8EI/AAAAAAAAAkw/rm80wwWn8g4/s1600/DSC05189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VXF3djSHtbQ/TtWysj3O8EI/AAAAAAAAAkw/rm80wwWn8g4/s320/DSC05189.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thatched roof cafe on one of the Aran Islands</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K56VJ6deBaQ/TtWzG604V8I/AAAAAAAAAk4/PkkW60wndu8/s1600/DSC05115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K56VJ6deBaQ/TtWzG604V8I/AAAAAAAAAk4/PkkW60wndu8/s320/DSC05115.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We stumbled upon a wedding photo shoot in the Burren</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ogRlWW6ODCc/TtWzQYTu1KI/AAAAAAAAAlA/93DxUSyBasg/s1600/DSC05207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ogRlWW6ODCc/TtWzQYTu1KI/AAAAAAAAAlA/93DxUSyBasg/s320/DSC05207.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Celtic Cross</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pNj6-6WMzSY/TtWzYrV2KRI/AAAAAAAAAlI/K2ra9UcK5mI/s1600/DSC05021+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pNj6-6WMzSY/TtWzYrV2KRI/AAAAAAAAAlI/K2ra9UcK5mI/s320/DSC05021+-+Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had a lot of fun at Irish pubs</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FohE537AHew/TtWztmSupII/AAAAAAAAAlQ/RGYlmeoNuGM/s1600/DSC05220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FohE537AHew/TtWztmSupII/AAAAAAAAAlQ/RGYlmeoNuGM/s320/DSC05220.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Atlantic Ocean</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Second, I recently found out that on December 10th, I (along with 19 other recruits) will be sworn in by the <b>Chief of Naval Operations</b> during the infamous Army Navy football game being played here in Washington DC at FedEx Field. We get to go down on the field during one of the commercial breaks in the second quarter. Revenue from commercials might be more important than televising our ceremony, but I still think you should watch the game (and cheer for Navy!) just in case they show us. I am so honored to be a part of this once in a lifetime event. To give you a sense of the importance of this ceremony, here is the first part of the Navy Chain of Command: President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Navy, <b>Chief of Naval Operations</b>. So, in the words of Mr. Joe Biden: This is a big f****** deal. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I might even be more excited than the time I went to an Obama rally and got a really close picture of the President's head and some random baby being handed to him: </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ec_VeveuHx8/TtWpoTcHJJI/AAAAAAAAAjI/W6nS-7UOZvQ/s1600/obama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ec_VeveuHx8/TtWpoTcHJJI/AAAAAAAAAjI/W6nS-7UOZvQ/s320/obama.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Or the time that Matt Lauer did The Today Show from my college campus: </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5bAgiGrOz84/TtWpu53zJ2I/AAAAAAAAAjQ/1FHZwo5mFK4/s1600/matt+lauer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5bAgiGrOz84/TtWpu53zJ2I/AAAAAAAAAjQ/1FHZwo5mFK4/s320/matt+lauer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Third, on Friday I'm headed to LAS VEGAS for the Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon (at night! down the strip! sold out at 44,000 runners!) Meeting the amazing blogger/runner <a href="http://www.painprideperseverance.com/" target="_blank">Julia</a> is top of the excitement list. She even beats out the Saturday night showing of Mystere, the Cirque Du Soleil show that I am most likely overly enthused about going to see. A few of my DC running friends are headed out to Vegas as well. It should be a good time. Hopefully my wimpy ankle holds up for all 13.1 miles. Check back next week for a Vegas re-cap. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Happy Exciting Running!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-odr6hvRRWIY/TtWnissMfuI/AAAAAAAAAjA/fyMrXtx2Pzs/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-odr6hvRRWIY/TtWnissMfuI/AAAAAAAAAjA/fyMrXtx2Pzs/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-70935464861951191462011-10-26T10:32:00.001-04:002011-10-26T10:32:00.669-04:00Race #11: Run for the Buds 1/2 Marathon - October 15 - Wilmington, DE - 2:25:39<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sometimes it's just not your day. Sometimes you wear the wrong amount of clothing, get a blister on your ankle, feel like you've got lead in your legs, slept on your neck wrong, have to climb a mountain at mile 8, ate the wrong thing for breakfast, and just don't feel your best. Sometimes it's just not your day. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Run for the Buds was a small local race to raise money for a program that helps kids with intellectual disabilities, such as down syndrome. A lot of the kids were running in the 5k race and they were all so excited and giddy before the start of the race, you just couldn't help but smile at their enthusiasm for life. Shelling out so much money for races is much less painful when you know it's for a worthy cause. We didn't have timing chips, so the time is unofficial, but trust me, it's accurate. If I was going to lie about my time I'm pretty sure I'd give myself something better than 68th out of 87th place. When even the police (who were closing the roads for you to run safely) leave because they are tired of waiting so long for you to finish, you know you've had a bad race. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Aside from my personal failure of the run, both the weather and course were superb. It was a perfect autumn day and the course was a challenging, yet scenic path through a park and down a main street in Delaware. Although I'm griping about my time, deep down I'm still pretty proud just to finish the race. Sometimes I get jaded to the fact that simply completing 13 miles on any given day is an accomplishment. Like they say, "Even if you're last, you're still lapping everyone on the couch!" :)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As always, for your entertainment: </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a7hCZnZgSOM/TqeCpOrKJTI/AAAAAAAAAaY/TmQq2t0PXqY/s1600/delaware2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a7hCZnZgSOM/TqeCpOrKJTI/AAAAAAAAAaY/TmQq2t0PXqY/s320/delaware2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know, I know. Sometimes it's hard to tell if Sam is short for Samantha or Samuel. Whatevs.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f2DzXa8Ix4E/TqeCp25rhBI/AAAAAAAAAag/jpuiuW-9Mhk/s1600/delaware3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f2DzXa8Ix4E/TqeCp25rhBI/AAAAAAAAAag/jpuiuW-9Mhk/s320/delaware3.png" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black pants were a bad choice.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l81smOKymcU/TqeCrG3P7jI/AAAAAAAAAao/2yJizqIghp0/s1600/delaware4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l81smOKymcU/TqeCrG3P7jI/AAAAAAAAAao/2yJizqIghp0/s320/delaware4.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If that banner isn't the finish line I'll have to hurt someone.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a7dwjMjYpXg/TqeJbTzUQKI/AAAAAAAAAaw/2RnPSO_aHMQ/s1600/041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a7dwjMjYpXg/TqeJbTzUQKI/AAAAAAAAAaw/2RnPSO_aHMQ/s320/041.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uncrustables and grapes for the ride home! Takes you right back to 6th grade doesn't it? </td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Getting great deals at the Nike Outlet store will make me feel better:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Edi-6nurij4/TqeKMt_aUZI/AAAAAAAAAa4/AvP-hB4rq44/s1600/045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Edi-6nurij4/TqeKMt_aUZI/AAAAAAAAAa4/AvP-hB4rq44/s320/045.JPG" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">$55 Capris for only $9!!!!! Awwww, yeahhh.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7ocSk0BVJkU/TqeKNTy61EI/AAAAAAAAAbA/x9Ojh5JfWKc/s1600/046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7ocSk0BVJkU/TqeKNTy61EI/AAAAAAAAAbA/x9Ojh5JfWKc/s320/046.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Got a problem? Just WORK IT OUT.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O2OA_ruXFvU/TqeKOopaJvI/AAAAAAAAAbI/l0Wjghgb910/s1600/049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O2OA_ruXFvU/TqeKOopaJvI/AAAAAAAAAbI/l0Wjghgb910/s320/049.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">$20. I'm much more stylin' on my commute to work these days. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Happy (better than me) running, </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hZaSl1l3Zf4/TqeK2d2FRpI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/lxpACTZac-0/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hZaSl1l3Zf4/TqeK2d2FRpI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/lxpACTZac-0/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">p.s. - I'm headed to Ireland on Friday!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> See ya in two weeks when I will be posting amazing pictures, I'm sure! :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-82567086952045454162011-10-13T11:49:00.002-04:002011-10-13T11:49:00.400-04:00Race #10: Wilson Bridge 1/2 Marathon - October 2 - Mt. Vernon, VA - Finish Time: 2:12:26<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Oh, 4:30 am weekend wake-up calls, how I love you so.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HdiLqnV_FTM/TpZeD28haPI/AAAAAAAAAZA/dnpJ5Yyy-cM/s1600/DSC04669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HdiLqnV_FTM/TpZeD28haPI/AAAAAAAAAZA/dnpJ5Yyy-cM/s320/DSC04669.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaving my apartment. Yeah, that says 4:58 am</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I could summarize the Wilson Bridge Half Marathon one of two ways:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">a) In exactly one week I improved my half marathon time by 6 minutes; or</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">b) I missed my half marathon PR by 5 minutes.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For the sake of keeping a shred of self confidence I think I'll stick with the first one. Not sure what I was thinking when I signed up for back to back half marathons, but there are some hilarious pictures that are the result of that decision. I'm happy to provide a moment of laughter for you all. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As for the Wilson Bridge 1/2 Marathon, I really liked the course, but it's not anywhere near my favorite because I'll always be partial to out-and-back or loop races. Point-to-point races require more logistics such as waking up earlier than humanly possible to provide time for loading up buses and transporting people to the start line. After the race we waited in long (very cold) lines to get back to the parking lot which wasn't super close to the finish line in National Harbor, Maryland.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I will say that the medals and the tech shirts were of excellent quality and design. I really like them. On the other hand, I despised the expo because it was ridiculously hard to find and when I eventually found it I had to wait in line because they only allowed a small group of people into the cramped room at one time to get their packet. For a $90 race I was extremely disappointed that there were exactly ZERO freebies in my race bag. Really? You couldn't even throw a mini Cliff Bar in there?!?</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F4GgBOOBPWE/TpZer7orjkI/AAAAAAAAAZI/tSx90oAhcLE/s1600/photo%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F4GgBOOBPWE/TpZer7orjkI/AAAAAAAAAZI/tSx90oAhcLE/s320/photo%25282%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"<a href="http://dc.about.com/b/2008/02/20/the-awakening-sculpture-moves-to-national-harbor.htm">The Awakening</a>" is a sculpture of a man breaking free from the earth. It was just before the finish line.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Oh, and I can't forget to add to my "awesome spectator sign" list. Around mile 8 we were just about to cross the (large) bridge when I spotted "Chuck Norris never ran the Wilson Bridge!" and "Getting up early to make this sign wasn't easy either!" They both made me laugh and gave me a little boost to get over that bridge. Thanks, spectators!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And now for your entertainment:</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5UbOniFqxMg/TpZgHph27YI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/v3Cg-nTR6IE/s1600/wilsonbridge2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5UbOniFqxMg/TpZgHph27YI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/v3Cg-nTR6IE/s320/wilsonbridge2.png" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WHAT are my arms doing?!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NTLjTwpxM0A/TpZgINQBDLI/AAAAAAAAAZY/5QshkgUEkn0/s1600/wilsonbridge3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NTLjTwpxM0A/TpZgINQBDLI/AAAAAAAAAZY/5QshkgUEkn0/s320/wilsonbridge3.png" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">People are wearing jackets and I'm smiling...this must have been mile 1.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wjTcUyJp6GM/TpZgIimGI5I/AAAAAAAAAZg/bg46EL5i2Ds/s1600/wilsonbridge4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wjTcUyJp6GM/TpZgIimGI5I/AAAAAAAAAZg/bg46EL5i2Ds/s320/wilsonbridge4.png" width="208" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm so pretty.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OkqB34got1k/TpZgI8_mT_I/AAAAAAAAAZo/Q19bihzKRSI/s1600/wilsonbridge5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OkqB34got1k/TpZgI8_mT_I/AAAAAAAAAZo/Q19bihzKRSI/s320/wilsonbridge5.png" width="264" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pure pain. Pushin' it for the home stretch! :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7F1U21Ywn7g/TpZgJbQbqSI/AAAAAAAAAZw/4YEWe3VYVaM/s1600/wilsonbridgefinish.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7F1U21Ywn7g/TpZgJbQbqSI/AAAAAAAAAZw/4YEWe3VYVaM/s320/wilsonbridgefinish.png" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yay! I'm done! Where's the food?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> This was the first solo run I've done in a while. Usually I have at least one friend in the race with me or someone at the finish line. For this race I decided to treat myself to a solo, very sweaty brunch date at IHOP.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OjlA8ddaU6U/TpZhr3JpCAI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/GFrRkIKO3WM/s1600/photo%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OjlA8ddaU6U/TpZhr3JpCAI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/GFrRkIKO3WM/s320/photo%25284%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a feast fit for a queen, baby!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NPM1euV-ha0/TpZh86CKiDI/AAAAAAAAAaI/uZ3B-lF41vA/s1600/photo%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NPM1euV-ha0/TpZh86CKiDI/AAAAAAAAAaI/uZ3B-lF41vA/s320/photo%25283%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't play around.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1. What's your favorite brunch place?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">2. What type of race do you prefer? Out and back? Loop? Point to Point? </span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-47305269290765997602011-09-29T12:42:00.001-04:002011-09-29T12:42:00.575-04:00Race #9: State to State Half Marathon - September 25th - Oxford, OH and Bath, IN - Finish Time: 2:18:22<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There's nothing like the smell of horse manure at 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday. A lot of people might think my idea of a weekend getaway is a little twisted. On Friday after work I flew out to visit some extended family and a close friend in Cincinnati.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm really not known for having the best pre-race nutrition regimens. In the past I've ate fried oreos, drank beer, and inhaled massive amounts of barbeque in the days leading up to races. Yet again, I've chosen to inflict pain on my stomach during 13.1 miles. This time by downing some infamous Skyline Chili:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bY3mKlry0Vc/ToKXVX1hZRI/AAAAAAAAAYU/0GitY3yMans/s1600/skyline_chili_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bY3mKlry0Vc/ToKXVX1hZRI/AAAAAAAAAYU/0GitY3yMans/s1600/skyline_chili_1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There was a good chance of thunderstorms on Sunday morning, but thankfully it held off long enough for us to have perfect running weather. Lindsey (who ran <a href="http://runwithsam.blogspot.com/2011/03/race-4-metro-pcs-dallas-white-rock-12.html">Race #4</a> with me) and I woke up at the butt crack of dawn to run:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a6nTadRxOJU/ToPO2GM_ofI/AAAAAAAAAYY/SkqAI-pFCAM/s1600/DSC04622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a6nTadRxOJU/ToPO2GM_ofI/AAAAAAAAAYY/SkqAI-pFCAM/s320/DSC04622.JPG" width="219" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With my jacket and her laces there's no way we are getting lost!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We had gone out to the area the day before to scope out the race course. It was a whole lotta this:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2FmidRoo71Q/ToPS-9hRM_I/AAAAAAAAAYc/aUppgrKsqS4/s1600/DSC04605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2FmidRoo71Q/ToPS-9hRM_I/AAAAAAAAAYc/aUppgrKsqS4/s320/DSC04605.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">You kind of just had to pretend that the massive fields of corn and soy beans were big crowds cheering for you. We crossed into Indiana at mile 5, but honestly, without the "Welcome to Indiana" banner you wouldn't have known.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sfQHsbP93zw/ToPUN0gX79I/AAAAAAAAAYg/g8xW0CcdbgA/s1600/DSC04624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sfQHsbP93zw/ToPUN0gX79I/AAAAAAAAAYg/g8xW0CcdbgA/s320/DSC04624.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had to be extra happy and excited to make up for the grumpy lady next to us. Maybe she was just super focused. She probably finished an hour before us. haha </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fazPKOmEvdk/ToPe7MxlUPI/AAAAAAAAAY0/vnEsOhl8Mzw/s1600/DSC04603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fazPKOmEvdk/ToPe7MxlUPI/AAAAAAAAAY0/vnEsOhl8Mzw/s320/DSC04603.JPG" width="248" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Since I've was a total slacker when it came to training for this race, my goal was just to walk no more than twice. I only walked once, so I'm glad I hit that goal, but not exactly happy with my time. It was nice to cross the finish line together at 2:18:22, but Lindsey and I both wanted to PR this mostly flat, perfect weather, out and back course. Fortunately for us we each have more fall races to accomplish that. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--1b-hSlfeDU/ToPVYsZSMMI/AAAAAAAAAYk/kG1f3AUu11w/s1600/DSC04630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--1b-hSlfeDU/ToPVYsZSMMI/AAAAAAAAAYk/kG1f3AUu11w/s320/DSC04630.JPG" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That face says "this is when I regret eating those 14 cream puffs"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Some cruel race course designer put a massive hill in with .2 miles left to go in the race, but we finished strong and promptly ate massive <a href="http://www.jimmyjohns.com/">Jimmy John sandwiches</a>...yumm!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Aside from the race we also got to visit a pumpkin patch, a farmer's market, and a small Oktoberfest event:</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rIJbzPpDvIY/ToPZPDMhp5I/AAAAAAAAAYo/AVVK4XoLzKA/s1600/DSC04614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rIJbzPpDvIY/ToPZPDMhp5I/AAAAAAAAAYo/AVVK4XoLzKA/s400/DSC04614.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I swear I looked between the Okra and the Peppers and I did not find any half marathon runners.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0jjYPgrZZAk/ToPbb3lHEKI/AAAAAAAAAYs/fEjenPvcOlw/s1600/DSC04615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0jjYPgrZZAk/ToPbb3lHEKI/AAAAAAAAAYs/fEjenPvcOlw/s320/DSC04615.JPG" width="275" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I seriously contemplated bringing this back on the plane with me. Pumpkin guts aren't considered liquid are they? Either way that is definitely less than 3 oz.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1AmyJNbsosc/ToPcYqJ_YMI/AAAAAAAAAYw/PJC845zdiMs/s1600/DSC04618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1AmyJNbsosc/ToPcYqJ_YMI/AAAAAAAAAYw/PJC845zdiMs/s320/DSC04618.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Too bad this was the night before the race and we couldn't actually drink those beers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And obviously races wouldn't be races without fro-yo:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-awvAKRmkaEI/ToPfoCy5x6I/AAAAAAAAAY4/qAnq9DG_dic/s1600/DSC04635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-awvAKRmkaEI/ToPfoCy5x6I/AAAAAAAAAY4/qAnq9DG_dic/s320/DSC04635.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My topping to fro-yo ratio might be a little unbalanced. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Was I smoking something when I signed up for back to back races? I'll be checking Virginia off my list this weekend!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Happy Running,</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sjeiFiWnmdw/ToPhN0aIx9I/AAAAAAAAAY8/jg-2DH-tb8c/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sjeiFiWnmdw/ToPhN0aIx9I/AAAAAAAAAY8/jg-2DH-tb8c/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-52836647075537204662011-09-16T14:38:00.001-04:002011-09-16T14:38:00.320-04:00BIG Changes<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I would first like to apologize for my blogging hiatus. I wanted to tell you all why I had been so aloof, but due to employment reasons I couldn't post anything online about it until yesterday when I made a BIG change in my life. Are you ready for this? I swear it is going to come out of nowhere like a Chuck Norris round house:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I enlisted in the <a href="http://www.navy.com/navy.html">U.S. Navy</a>. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hlJQZiDRcVw/TnLX_dCtECI/AAAAAAAAAYI/D6N42psx3AU/s1600/usns.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hlJQZiDRcVw/TnLX_dCtECI/AAAAAAAAAYI/D6N42psx3AU/s1600/usns.gif" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Told ya it was big. Instead of writing new posts and commenting on all of your wonderful blogs I have been re-learning math from 6 years ago that I never fully comprehended in the first place. Filling out mountains of paperwork and studying for the standardized test that determines which military jobs you qualify for took precedence over blogging - I know, how rude. I promise I will be back on track now. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Are you thinking what everyone else has been asking me? "But, Sam...WHY? Why are you joining the Navy? You are a college graduate. You have a well-paying job. We are involved in major conflicts overseas. What are you thinking?" Well alright, here comes my "Why I Decided to Join the Navy" story:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>I have always been a traveler at heart</b>. Last year, instead of taking a relaxing summer vacation on a beach, I explored as much of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a> as I could. I place an extremely high value on my vacation days so when I was flying back from Africa I literally went straight from the airport to my office with all my luggage in tow. That's just how I roll. My current job is based in DC and doesn't ever require me to travel. I want to explore a little more, but unfortunately flying half way around the world costs quite the pretty penny. An aircraft carrier will take me there for free :)</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gcFmyq_wnj4/TnLXzNM-zwI/AAAAAAAAAYE/dttixftgfY0/s1600/US+Navy+-+Aircraftcarrier+6+USS+G.+Washington.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gcFmyq_wnj4/TnLXzNM-zwI/AAAAAAAAAYE/dttixftgfY0/s320/US+Navy+-+Aircraftcarrier+6+USS+G.+Washington.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.militarydesktop.com/us-navy---aircraftcarrier-uss-g.-washington-10963-wallpaper.html">source</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>I have an opportunity to do something I love (and get paid for it)</b>. All of my life, photography has been a hobby. In college I had several friends who were majoring in graphic design. They often suggested political science might not be my ideal fit and that I should join them amongst the creative folks. Photography never crossed my mind as a potential career field because I am a person who depends on stability and certainty. I couldn't handle the risk of a ridiculously expensive education and such an unreliable job market. With any luck I'll soon be a <a href="http://usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjob1/a/mc.htm">Mass Communications Specialist</a> in the Navy. My days will consist of journalism, photography, and public affairs events. I will be responsible for telling the Navy's story. I'm not saying I don't like the job I have now in the civilian world (because I really do), but I honestly don't think I could be more excited about this new opportunity. I promise to keep you posted on when I officially get the job. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>My family is supportive of everything I do</b>. I am blessed with wonderful parents. In fact, my dad is the one who encouraged me to look into military service. Since I have a college degree, he had originally suggested officer school for me, but the program I wanted (Public Affairs Officer) is extremely competitive and only takes 2 or 3 civilians every year who are experts in the field. Enlisting isn't the end of the world. I figure if I get in there and decide this is what I want to make my career, then I can always try for Officer later. I have time. Also, just a side note - my dad is extremely excited that he has another college football team to root for. He spent all of yesterday online shopping for<a href="http://www.navysports.com/sports/m-footbl/navy-m-footbl-body.html"> Navy Midshipmen</a> t-shirts and hats for the family. Gotta love him.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kcxtt-648rc/TnLY9XmsZyI/AAAAAAAAAYM/wNJmJ7d8LGE/s1600/goat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kcxtt-648rc/TnLY9XmsZyI/AAAAAAAAAYM/wNJmJ7d8LGE/s320/goat.jpg" width="284" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fear the goat?? Ummm, not sure how I feel about that. ha. <a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?q=fear+the+goat+t+shirt+navy&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=0ZR&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=939&bih=426&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=7MpFbi5S7TRrwM:&imgrefurl=http://www.navyonline.com/ePOS/form%3Drobots/item.html%26item_number%3D605627%26store%3D460%26design%3D460&docid=WZDwmtW12l6n4M&w=356&h=400&ei=tdhyTsPNAYH30gHF6-imDQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=453&vpy=74&dur=1947&hovh=238&hovw=212&tx=124&ty=170&page=1&tbnh=120&tbnw=107&start=0&ndsp=5&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0">source</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>I feel the need to serve my country</b>. Of course, I had to save the best reason for last. I love the United States of America. We might be going through some tough times right now, and we might not all agree on politics, religion, or values, but there is a sense of camaraderie and patriotism in this nation that could never be diminished. America provides opportunity and freedom to people of all colors, sexes, and religions. I'm proud to be a part of something that defends those liberties.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s7bvCprGGhc/TnLZ1k2mSQI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/jm7PbMcJOW8/s1600/boys3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s7bvCprGGhc/TnLZ1k2mSQI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/jm7PbMcJOW8/s320/boys3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?q=america+patriotism&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=rcR&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=939&bih=426&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=fA60-X99M8WFTM:&imgrefurl=http://www.americathebeautiful.com/press.html&docid=Kdp7jhbohEbB-M&w=520&h=286&ei=ZtlyTq38GI7K0AHS-vjNCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=220&vpy=146&dur=2325&hovh=166&hovw=303&tx=160&ty=91&page=5&tbnh=89&tbnw=124&start=51&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:51">source</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well, there you have it. Now I'm back to focusing on running races until I ship out on May 1st, 2012 (tentative date). I have a half marathon next weekend that I am <i>so</i> not ready for.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hooyah, </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zFKxyoJrBf8/Tc2USAhRE3I/AAAAAAAAAPA/cDdpBbnAo7o/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zFKxyoJrBf8/Tc2USAhRE3I/AAAAAAAAAPA/cDdpBbnAo7o/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-2402191077510839492011-09-07T10:07:00.001-04:002011-09-07T10:07:00.935-04:00Lazy Running<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No, that's not an oxymoron. Don't roll your eyes - I know you know what I'm talking about. I haven't used my Nike tracking app in a month. I haven't even looked at my training plan in weeks. Lately I've been going on runs without a set distance or pace. I could blame my lack of running frequency and intensity on earthquakes or hurricanes, both of which happened in DC lately, but let's just be honest: I've been a lazy runner.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I've resolved to do twice-a-day workouts until I'm back to my normal training state of mind. I suppose a few general lazy days won't be devastating, but a few lazy running days can set you back pretty far. Ordering Chinese food instead of cooking dinner won't kill anyone. Watching a movie instead of doing the laundry isn't the end of the world. But, running 26.2 miles without serious training? Now that's something I'm sure you'll regret.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3n5ZuQq9dPY/TmbdehyFvwI/AAAAAAAAAX8/HRGi1Cm6NTM/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3n5ZuQq9dPY/TmbdehyFvwI/AAAAAAAAAX8/HRGi1Cm6NTM/s320/007.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating at Waffle House instead of cooking dinner might actually kill someone. I wouldn't advise testing that theory.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have way too many races coming up to be acting like this. I suppose some other life events came up and I just put serious running (and blogging) on the backburner. Shame on me. Don't I know that running is like the icing on your gingerbread house? It keeps the rest of life from sliding off the roof (I apologize for the cheeziness of that analogy - colder weather must have me in a Christmas mood).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh! I forgot to tell you guys! I bought a shirt from Kylee over at <a href="http://dailyvitaminf.blogspot.com/">Daily Vitamin F</a>. Pretty rad, huh?</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-stiqOn02-A4/TmbemTe9_BI/AAAAAAAAAYA/oyAEeBMw3Lk/s1600/DSC04410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-stiqOn02-A4/TmbemTe9_BI/AAAAAAAAAYA/oyAEeBMw3Lk/s320/DSC04410.JPG" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cancer totally sucks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>1.</b> What do you guys do when you're in a running rut?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>2.</b> I don't usually wear graphic tee's but Kylee's is awesome. What does your favorite graphic tee say on it? </span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-22105731354557728142011-08-21T18:25:00.000-04:002011-08-21T18:25:48.840-04:00Some Women<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On their birthdays, some women like to spend lots of money at spas getting facials and mud wraps. Other women prefer to run over obstacles through the woods for 3 miles and then belly flop into a mud pit. You can probably guess which one I am. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When people pass you in a race it can be kind of sucky. It's less sucky if they are yelling "Happy Birthday!" Which is why I made this:</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RsGwh-Fw7WU/TlF4bolJitI/AAAAAAAAAXg/7cFknEvqBcg/s1600/DSC04370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RsGwh-Fw7WU/TlF4bolJitI/AAAAAAAAAXg/7cFknEvqBcg/s320/DSC04370.JPG" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gettin Dirty on my Birthday!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And after the Merrill Down and Dirty Richmond 5k:</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZYAPpP7qKP8/TlF5RldU-DI/AAAAAAAAAXk/ep00V1RaiN8/s1600/DSC04373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZYAPpP7qKP8/TlF5RldU-DI/AAAAAAAAAXk/ep00V1RaiN8/s320/DSC04373.JPG" width="184" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">awww, yeah - pretty hard core start to year 23.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--hEjyJ8SXr8/TlF6L2oeabI/AAAAAAAAAXo/nob7RG-HOlE/s1600/DSC04374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--hEjyJ8SXr8/TlF6L2oeabI/AAAAAAAAAXo/nob7RG-HOlE/s320/DSC04374.JPG" width="254" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Your "medal" is a dog tag :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qw2jauF3d3I/TlF6z3RQ6uI/AAAAAAAAAXs/nnue8_RFT4o/s1600/DSC04376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qw2jauF3d3I/TlF6z3RQ6uI/AAAAAAAAAXs/nnue8_RFT4o/s320/DSC04376.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then I had to shower off and head from Richmond down to Myrtle Beach to meet my family at my aunt's beach house. I'm pretty sure the race packet said they would have showers available. By "showers" they meant "hoses":</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QRpTh-kzpVg/TlF9jKcsckI/AAAAAAAAAXw/V8hY0BcNmfA/s1600/DSC04377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QRpTh-kzpVg/TlF9jKcsckI/AAAAAAAAAXw/V8hY0BcNmfA/s320/DSC04377.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Shoot. Shoot. I was banking on a real shower. Gonna be a long car ride.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Every time you moved an inch you would find a gallon more mud. It was never ending. I even gave up hope of saving the old sneaks. Bye-Bye first marathon shoes. I hope you find a good home. (they had a donation pile). The socks and t-shirt went straight to the trash. </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i5-EggL2f1k/TlGAF2KgFaI/AAAAAAAAAX0/uPwiUwKFsDQ/s1600/DSC04378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i5-EggL2f1k/TlGAF2KgFaI/AAAAAAAAAX0/uPwiUwKFsDQ/s320/DSC04378.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adios Mizunos</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-74ioQNPaGZQ/TlGAnX8p0sI/AAAAAAAAAX4/7iZu0_17Mm4/s1600/DSC04379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-74ioQNPaGZQ/TlGAnX8p0sI/AAAAAAAAAX4/7iZu0_17Mm4/s320/DSC04379.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheeseburger and chocolate milk at 9:30 am? Don't mind if I do. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well, my uncle just made me a vodka tonic so I'm off to celebrate the rest of my birthday. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>1.</b> Have you ever done a mud race? If so, what was the hardest obstacle? Definitely the soapy wall for me - I have no upper body strength!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>2.</b> How did you celebrate your latest birthday?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-87797718539956352022011-08-18T12:48:00.001-04:002011-08-18T12:48:01.836-04:00You know you have a problem when...<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">you seriously consider spending 50 cents on a Nutrigrain bar just so you can get to the Reece's Pieces behind it in the vending machine at work. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AneMaxHZwdo/TkyZwQ_rthI/AAAAAAAAAW4/xna-GzHdxOA/s1600/IMG_0464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AneMaxHZwdo/TkyZwQ_rthI/AAAAAAAAAW4/xna-GzHdxOA/s320/IMG_0464.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't hide from me Reece's</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On the other hand, somehow (probably by the grace of God), I found these at the grocery store and managed to <i>not</i> walk out with them:</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-diCipLmqv6o/TkyaONHoO3I/AAAAAAAAAW8/wVW22YzJ2rk/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-diCipLmqv6o/TkyaONHoO3I/AAAAAAAAAW8/wVW22YzJ2rk/s400/001.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Haha! I like how they try to make these sound healthy. Ummm, you aint foolin' nobody with that gooey-cheesy goodness.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In addition to poor nutrition, I've also been a terribly lazy blogger. I'll have to just quickly re-cap the past week. It's okay, you guys really love my schmorgisborg of topics in blog posts, don't you? (Are you impressed that I just guessed how to spell schmorgisborg and <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=schmorgisborg">Urban Dictionary</a> confirmed that I have excellent phonetic skills? I am.) Oh geez, quit your cryin' - it's mostly pictures ;)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I was supposed to do a 17 miler on Sunday, but I was too tired from singing along with this hunk: (by tired I mean hungover)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IBmRWpizyqk/TkybyKRnkOI/AAAAAAAAAXA/vCmLa4pYqWc/s1600/DSC04359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IBmRWpizyqk/TkybyKRnkOI/AAAAAAAAAXA/vCmLa4pYqWc/s320/DSC04359.JPG" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You get your nasty cigarette out of my picture and away from Tim McGraw's armpit!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SR2OvxWxBiQ/TkycauKwAOI/AAAAAAAAAXE/2LViwmdjA-0/s1600/DSC04348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SR2OvxWxBiQ/TkycauKwAOI/AAAAAAAAAXE/2LViwmdjA-0/s320/DSC04348.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AaS01Ya9Zi0/TkyccK2SsDI/AAAAAAAAAXI/PZuuO6rLsL4/s1600/DSC04353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AaS01Ya9Zi0/TkyccK2SsDI/AAAAAAAAAXI/PZuuO6rLsL4/s320/DSC04353.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't worry, your armpits are safe now, Tim.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Instead of running I went to visit my great-grandma:</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cRnyIvzixjk/TkydFliDplI/AAAAAAAAAXM/yoSGirlN8Gc/s1600/IMG_0456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cRnyIvzixjk/TkydFliDplI/AAAAAAAAAXM/yoSGirlN8Gc/s320/IMG_0456.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isn't she adorable?! Love her to pieces.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> ...and help my aunt pack:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kHcC8yQRZ0Y/Tkydr-o-GcI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/3zczFx4HoaI/s1600/IMG_0455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kHcC8yQRZ0Y/Tkydr-o-GcI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/3zczFx4HoaI/s320/IMG_0455.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I tried to do my long run on Monday after work because I don't want to fall behind on marathon training at all.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J27BHXPYd3A/TkyeenpVoVI/AAAAAAAAAXU/5TDD-eDAZnU/s1600/IMG_0459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J27BHXPYd3A/TkyeenpVoVI/AAAAAAAAAXU/5TDD-eDAZnU/s400/IMG_0459.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I spent a significant amount of time mapping out this stupid run.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There were several things wrong with this plan. #1 being that I cannot mentally prepare myself for 17 miles after a full day of work. #2 being that I obviously went right after I got home from work and didn't eat dinner - my stomach doesn't know what it's like to not have food every 2 hours and revolted against me. #3 being that this put a little wrinkle in my plan: </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J7qdAxMeVJ0/Tkye-ytr9pI/AAAAAAAAAXY/ic46vsERKpw/s1600/IMG_0460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J7qdAxMeVJ0/Tkye-ytr9pI/AAAAAAAAAXY/ic46vsERKpw/s320/IMG_0460.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dayumm, Feds are gettin' stingy. Who closes a park at 5? People work til 5, ya know?! I had 4.5 miles planned behind these gates :(</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anyways the jist of the story is that it was a sucky run. Walked <i>a lot</i>, almost puked from hunger, and only completed 14 of the 17 miles. Oh well, back on track next Sunday. Wait, that's my birthday. No promises. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In other randomness, I would like to profess my love for craigslist. My best friend and I are backpacking through Ireland in Oct/Nov and I wanted one of those legit, monstrous hiking backpacks. A woman on craigslist was selling the one she had fitted to her height of 5'8", which happens to be my height too! I got a $350 backpack for $70. Now that's what I'm talkin' about. I'll take on any of those <a href="http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/extreme-couponing">crazy coupon people on TLC</a> any day. Just kidding, their savings are no joke! :)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uuldsFovJG0/TkyiMEEcUcI/AAAAAAAAAXc/z0n_mdP8FL8/s1600/IMG_0466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uuldsFovJG0/TkyiMEEcUcI/AAAAAAAAAXc/z0n_mdP8FL8/s320/IMG_0466.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>And because I love learning about y'all:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>1.</b> Have you ever tried to do a long run other than on a weekend morning? Even though I'll probably never do it again, do you have any tips?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>2.</b> Does marathon training ever get in the way of your social life?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>3.</b> What's the best deal you ever got on craigslist?</span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-85869083376886181702011-08-11T13:48:00.001-04:002011-08-11T13:48:00.647-04:00Race #8: Haulin Aspen Half Marathon - August 7th - Bend, OR - Finish Time: 2:41:42<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am finish-time poor, but race-experience rich. State #8 can be checked off the list!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Clearly the Haulin Aspen half marathon I completed on Sunday was my slowest time ever, but honestly I could care less. Let me clarify - when I say that the finish time didn't concern me at all I could give you a bunch of excuses (the challenge of my first trail course, the jet-lag from a flight from the east coast, the fried oreos I ate the day before at a county fair, the altitude difference from D.C., the fact that I slept in a tent in a stranger's backyard the night before, etc), but that's not really what I mean. What I mean is that this race was not about time - it was about getting lost in the race experience; really letting yourself just enjoy the beauty of nature and be immersed in the accomplishment of taking your body 13 miles on foot.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8J6qEqCs5qE/TkNOl8ziftI/AAAAAAAAAWM/CwdDJXqQqAQ/s1600/DSC04142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8J6qEqCs5qE/TkNOl8ziftI/AAAAAAAAAWM/CwdDJXqQqAQ/s320/DSC04142.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Are fried Oreos on the approved carbo-loading list? Please say yes.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For some reason I didn't prepare for this race nearly as much as other races. Usually I'm extremely organized and knowledgeable about a race, but not this one. Maybe it was the excitement of my first vacation to the west coast that took away from my concentration, but nonetheless this race demanded a level of respect that I really didn't give it. I read the description of the race course the night before and it informed me that there was </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">699 feet of elevation gain and 899 feet of elevation loss.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uuJ0dXJfqy8/TkM4QiavFkI/AAAAAAAAAWI/iNctHbZvwWI/s1600/HAHalf_elevation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="138" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uuJ0dXJfqy8/TkM4QiavFkI/AAAAAAAAAWI/iNctHbZvwWI/s400/HAHalf_elevation.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yikes</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When I got to the start line and saw almost every runner wearing a Nathan belt or Camelback, I got nervous. I was the genius who packed my bag the night before my flight while drunk and forgot my Nathan belt. I also noticed people wearing <a href="http://www.rei.com/product/782777/rei-trail-running-gaiters">gaiters</a> around their running shoes. For the first time in a long while I really felt out of my element at a race. It reminded me how as runners we should always congratulate and support a friend who signs up for his/her first race no matter how long the distance - races can be scary and overwhelming for newbies, and for good reason. At the start line my cousin stood among a few other spectators and said to me "this is like a whole other culture, a different world" and it's true. I love this running world I'm in.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GT8wDmFH-dA/TkNQL4IRSAI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/Jz1WROtbyFM/s1600/DSC04172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GT8wDmFH-dA/TkNQL4IRSAI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/Jz1WROtbyFM/s320/DSC04172.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love races so much that I don't even mind if guys next to me blow snot rockets at the start line. psych.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When the race started I almost immediately turned off my music. That was no road race, folks. I quickly realized that along with the mental toughness you need to cross any finish line, trail races also demand a concentration that is crucial to the safety of yourself and other runners. "Keep your eyes and ears wide open," as my mom would say. Within 2 miles I saw 3 people face plant into dirt. No lie. They tripped over roots, rocks, stumps, and just ate it. I was instantly terrified for myself and my unstable little ankles. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nEppD6v_KDw/TkNQmMHp0QI/AAAAAAAAAWU/V1jptf8aRnE/s1600/Haulin+Aspen2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nEppD6v_KDw/TkNQmMHp0QI/AAAAAAAAAWU/V1jptf8aRnE/s400/Haulin+Aspen2.png" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what trail concentration looks like...I never said it was a pretty sport!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm not sure if all trail races are like this, but on the Haulin Aspen course much of it was single-track (essentially no room to pass anyone). It's a little chaotic to start off like that without corrals because people are just trying to fall into their own paces. The entire first half of the race was uphill. Not uphill like "gentle incline of 1% on a treadmill," but more like, "here's a mountain. good luck."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once the crowd thins out and you are amongst people of a similar pace it's quite motivational. A lot of maintaining your pace is simply for logistical reasons. It's amazing how long you can go without walking when walking means you either jump off the path into some prickly bush or you get trampled by the people behind you. Once we got out of the woods I walked quite a bit, (hence the 2:40 finish) as my knees, hips, and lungs were starting to yell at me. The elevation change during the race and the fact that I'm not used to altitudes like that was no joke. I remember thinking "my god if you could see my lungs right now I bet they would look like shriveled little boiled peanuts. I'M SO WINDED." We headed back into the woods and then came the glorious downhill when the ridiculously fit full marathoners merged on to our trail (and flew past us). The next few miles were eerily tranquil - I mean there was that one point where I had to jump over a giant rock and almost slid down a mountain, but other than that it was quite peaceful.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As far as the eye could see it was forest. I had no idea what my pace was, how long I'd been running, what mile I was on, or where in the forest I was. I think that might be what running is supposed to be like. If you've never done it before, I recommend leaving your Garmin at home one day and finding a trail. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised :)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B4oKcYMP7R4/TkNR4aHOnCI/AAAAAAAAAWY/uX3o0q33Ol8/s1600/Haulin+Aspen1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B4oKcYMP7R4/TkNR4aHOnCI/AAAAAAAAAWY/uX3o0q33Ol8/s400/Haulin+Aspen1.png" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm either about to cross the finish line after 13.1 grueling miles or a skunk just sprayed in my face. Who knows.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sGaPyxFyVZ4/TkNTT4HcuII/AAAAAAAAAWc/zcX2w5_8U_4/s1600/DSC04186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sGaPyxFyVZ4/TkNTT4HcuII/AAAAAAAAAWc/zcX2w5_8U_4/s320/DSC04186.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, hell yes. I feel legit now. That's some serious dirt.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IxphHREvHdE/TkNTWgD5nnI/AAAAAAAAAWg/sIGVLPDqRUM/s1600/DSC04187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IxphHREvHdE/TkNTWgD5nnI/AAAAAAAAAWg/sIGVLPDqRUM/s320/DSC04187.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That was the most refreshing watermelon of all time. Also, any race with Nutella and Peanut Butter at the finish festival is top of the line in my opinion.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u0rA8BpsvsU/TkNTbp5ZhjI/AAAAAAAAAWk/vo-sxKv4Z8g/s1600/DSC04188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u0rA8BpsvsU/TkNTbp5ZhjI/AAAAAAAAAWk/vo-sxKv4Z8g/s320/DSC04188.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was so happy my cousin Molly was there. She is quite the dedicated spectator - had to hitch hike to the finish line because the shuttles weren't on time!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dlGVyrc0IDs/TkNTh3CBcYI/AAAAAAAAAWo/x0zQKhKnCp4/s1600/DSC04189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dlGVyrc0IDs/TkNTh3CBcYI/AAAAAAAAAWo/x0zQKhKnCp4/s320/DSC04189.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I promise I did not intend to flick you off in this picture. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8fd2r_FtpCI/TkNTlkbXD2I/AAAAAAAAAWs/kX5p4Uqh184/s1600/DSC04190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8fd2r_FtpCI/TkNTlkbXD2I/AAAAAAAAAWs/kX5p4Uqh184/s320/DSC04190.JPG" width="222" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post-race beans and rice with corn, sour cream, and cheese. Get in my belllyyyy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A--QsOyGerg/TkNTq0K2GMI/AAAAAAAAAWw/Oi9J7KJvsKk/s1600/DSC04198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A--QsOyGerg/TkNTq0K2GMI/AAAAAAAAAWw/Oi9J7KJvsKk/s320/DSC04198.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Multi-tasking: 1/2 marathon recovery in your compression socks while sight seeing? Sounds good to me. Oregon is ridiculously beautiful.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-43133588630878510562011-08-05T22:33:00.000-04:002011-08-05T22:33:45.961-04:00How to Overcome Boredom on a Treadmill<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Can I first say that I am blogging from 36,000 feet in the air? How exciting is that?! It would be much more exciting if it didn't cost me $12. Anyways, I'm on my flight to Portland and thought I'd recap my indoor half marathon.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ABWycEkjCJk/Tjym9qUwJRI/AAAAAAAAAWE/hWUKPTr3dwo/s1600/018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ABWycEkjCJk/Tjym9qUwJRI/AAAAAAAAAWE/hWUKPTr3dwo/s320/018.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the clouds! I think we are somewhere over Utah or Idaho at the moment.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm not really sure how we survived before iPhones. I might have died on Saturday morning had I not had my iPhone and its Netflix app. My dilemma was that I had 13 miles on my training plan, <i>but</i>: I'm struggling with the heat wave in DC, I despise getting up at 5 am on Saturdays to try and beat the heat, and I hate treadmills. Basically, it's a no-win situation and/or I'm a ginormous baby. I texted <a href="http://thealmostrunner.blogspot.com/">The Almost Runner</a> to cordially invite her to my funeral just in case I died of boredom. She politely accepted.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9_0w4ptE_mo/Tjybye5t2tI/AAAAAAAAAV4/_aFMXYEcTzU/s1600/016.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9_0w4ptE_mo/Tjybye5t2tI/AAAAAAAAAV4/_aFMXYEcTzU/s320/016.PNG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I took the lesser of the evils, which was the gym. I jerry-rigged a little home entertainment system on the treadmill. If there had been anyone else in the gym at 11:30 am on a Saturday they might have questioned whether I actually had a home or if I was planning on spending the night in the gym. I got one of those plastic magazine holders and a towel to make my eye-level platform for resting my phone. I set up my water bottle, towel, gu chomps, and cliff shot blocks. I had my training plan paper in front of me to. There was nothing else to pretend I had to do in order to procrastinate any longer. I pressed the start button on what would be a long run. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">RLRF calls for a slower pace on this run so I ended up doing it at about a 11:10 pace. I stopped twice to stretch and refill my water bottle. I think I drank a lot more water than in a usual half marathon - probably just because it was in front of my face.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here are some tips for your netflix choice when running on the treadmill. Unless you want to end up like this...</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0lMHwSjkY1w/TjygPn3kopI/AAAAAAAAAV8/hy2H1Sp-CzI/s1600/treadmill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0lMHwSjkY1w/TjygPn3kopI/AAAAAAAAAV8/hy2H1Sp-CzI/s320/treadmill.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://liz-and-harvey.blogspot.com/2007/09/i-have-secret-phobia.html">source</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>...I suggest that you NOT pick a sad or funny movie. I don't care if this eliminates a lot of your choices. Nothing is worth flying off a treadmill. However, if you are more coordinated than I and you desire a more challenging work-out, then maybe crying or laughing while running is something you would like to try. I shall stick to random, grade B movies that I've never heard of such as 2 Days in Paris. It was actually kind of funny. I almost face planted a couple times. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My other suggestion is to have your phone fully charged. Watching movies will drain your battery quicker than the cast of Jersey Shore disgraces America overseas.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tvDYf64dKj0/TjylmPIbZJI/AAAAAAAAAWA/-UenR2Flxa8/s1600/SHOWS-jersey-shore-in-italy-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tvDYf64dKj0/TjylmPIbZJI/AAAAAAAAAWA/-UenR2Flxa8/s320/SHOWS-jersey-shore-in-italy-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sorry Snooki, those are not welcome at the Coliseum. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What's the longest distance you've done on a treadmill?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>How did you stay entertained?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-20801184791168224542011-08-02T20:46:00.000-04:002011-08-02T20:46:30.887-04:00Look What I found!!<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At Marshalls. For only $60. Suhhhh-weeeeeeet.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-njasqNVGn3M/TjiYG4O6BfI/AAAAAAAAAVw/FfmyIWyGq8c/s1600/DSC04048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-njasqNVGn3M/TjiYG4O6BfI/AAAAAAAAAVw/FfmyIWyGq8c/s400/DSC04048.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All white with neon yellow laces and pink soles? So fresh and so clean, clean. </td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WKSP2HmxJ5c/TjiYJXw1_5I/AAAAAAAAAV0/WayiKPtVQSc/s1600/DSC04051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WKSP2HmxJ5c/TjiYJXw1_5I/AAAAAAAAAV0/WayiKPtVQSc/s400/DSC04051.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They are the Women's Nike Free XT Everyday Fit and they are super cute. I'm scared to actually do anything in them b/c they are so pretty.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Have you tried the Nike Free shoes??</b> Opinions?</span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-23957221548512296122011-08-01T21:00:00.000-04:002011-08-01T21:00:38.654-04:00Off the Beaten Path<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A couple weekends ago I had the pleasure of watchin' these guys:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zgFx9v00RkA/TjTbFblSBwI/AAAAAAAAAVg/IRIuteB1NpE/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zgFx9v00RkA/TjTbFblSBwI/AAAAAAAAAVg/IRIuteB1NpE/s320/006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thankfully they were too slow to run away like that other dog I watched a few weeks ago.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It was nice to stay in another area of the city (just about to the Maryland state line). I went for a run one evening and saw a runner in front of me dart off the sidewalk and into the woods. I was a little concerned until I got closer and spotted the trail she had taken off on. It wasn't marked or anything, but I went in for a look. I discovered the awesomeness of Sligo Creek Park. Shaded trails along creeks make me a happy runner. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T0NUbIhrdiw/TjTbNaUNySI/AAAAAAAAAVk/TFMkU_LzTYI/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T0NUbIhrdiw/TjTbNaUNySI/AAAAAAAAAVk/TFMkU_LzTYI/s320/004.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Recovery meal: </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hhlJeqG0fT0/TjTbTBZxt3I/AAAAAAAAAVo/xL-VQLoFVEI/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hhlJeqG0fT0/TjTbTBZxt3I/AAAAAAAAAVo/xL-VQLoFVEI/s320/005.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No I am not feeding a 300 pound man, that is my normal portion size and then I go back for seconds. So? </td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The next morning I took a walk to the local farmer's market. More awesomeness (I have quite the extensive vocabulary today, eh?). Anyways they had the best peaches and corn you could ever sink your teeth into. Just check out all the goods I got:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-upeONZ5ZwFo/TjTbiLcTG9I/AAAAAAAAAVs/hAk38RLXclE/s1600/013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-upeONZ5ZwFo/TjTbiLcTG9I/AAAAAAAAAVs/hAk38RLXclE/s320/013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I love summer time. So many tasty & fresh foods to eat. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><b><br />
</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>What's your favorite farmer's market item?</b> In Florida we have some pretty legit road-side stands with yummy strawberries. Up here in DC I love getting corn from local farmers.</span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-61736325802675633192011-07-28T18:12:00.000-04:002011-07-28T18:12:42.824-04:00What should I do in Oregon??<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Calling all Oregon bloggers! (or anyone who has been to Oregon)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Other than the Haulin Aspen 1/2 Marathon what should I do/see in Oregon while I'm there for 6 days? I leave exactly one week from tomorrow :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My cousin is going to pick me up from the airport in Portland and then we are free to explore the state! I can't wait b/c I've never been to the West coast at all. Everyone keeps telling me it is gorgeous. I believe them: </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Myj1e_OIS6Y/TjHeieXJOaI/AAAAAAAAAVc/l1HekT-2k4k/s1600/central_oregon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Myj1e_OIS6Y/TjHeieXJOaI/AAAAAAAAAVc/l1HekT-2k4k/s400/central_oregon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-16123730911727433412011-07-26T22:00:00.000-04:002011-07-26T22:00:27.603-04:00Richard Simmons<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have no doubt that my body pump/abs class instructor could win any Richard Simmons look-a-like contest out there.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x-9v2aVAetE/Ti9n3O5TuJI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/33aKiyFunio/s1600/Richard%252BSimmons%252B2010%252BWorld%252BFitness%252BDay%252BHn4gJETxBUpl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x-9v2aVAetE/Ti9n3O5TuJI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/33aKiyFunio/s400/Richard%252BSimmons%252B2010%252BWorld%252BFitness%252BDay%252BHn4gJETxBUpl.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Work those sparkles, Richard!! <a href="http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Richard+Simmons/2010+World+Fitness+Day/Hn4gJETxBUp">source</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Even though he looks remarkably similar to Richard, he is awesome and he kicks us into shape. I'm still trying to get used to the fact that he only has one volume: screaming. He really doesn't need the microphone, but I don't think anyone would dare take it away from him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anyways, I really shouldn't be making fun of him b/c I love him. He called me out in ab class. Literally screamed "This is perfect form, people!" and pointed right at me. It might have just been a pity compliment because my face showed that I was nearing death at the end of abs class, but I don't care. I'll take my moment in the spotlight :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>1. Who is your favorite athlete or DVD workout superstar and why?</b> When I was younger I idolized a lot of female basketball players. I think I had Lisa Leslie and Rebecca Lobo jerseys (very much a tom-boy for a good long portion of my life...I think I wore basketball shorts to high school every day for like 3 months straight during junior year). I also really looked up to Diana Taurasi and Chamique Holdsclaw. They are all such skilled and disciplined women! I'm thankful that my dad took me to Mystics games and kept me interested in such positive role models...p.s. it was his Birthday on Sunday. Blog shout out to my pops! Woop woop! :)</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NsP9D73p1ic/Ti9u_kV8UbI/AAAAAAAAAVU/f5wRs7Leqbw/s1600/228438_1041288476930_1367116512_111169_3066_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NsP9D73p1ic/Ti9u_kV8UbI/AAAAAAAAAVU/f5wRs7Leqbw/s400/228438_1041288476930_1367116512_111169_3066_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Throwback pic of me and my dad :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As promised, I'm sticking to the RLRF plan for my marathon and this is week 1. Here's my plan of attack on the world wide web for everyone to see. Hopefully this prevents me from skipping any of the workouts...I've done well so far this week so cross your fingers (toes too if you're really talented, please). </span><br />
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</style> <![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><u><span lang="EN">week 1 - monday july 25 to sunday july 31</span></u></b><b><span lang="EN"></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN">mon: Abs and spin class</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN">tues: 3 x 1600m at 9:04 pace a.ka. 6.6 speed on treadmill (1 min RI)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN">wed: Abs and personal training weightlifting / Push ups: 6,6,4,4,max (60 second RI)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN">thurs: 6 mile run (2 miles easy, 2 miles at 9:37 pace and 2 miles easy)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN">fri: Rest / Push ups: 6,8,6,6,max (60 second RI)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN">sat: 13 miles at 11:16 pace</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN">sun: Rest / Push ups: 8,10,7,7,max (60 second RI)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I thought if I made the font really small maybe you wouldn't notice that I'm supposed to run 13 miles on Saturday. No? Dang it.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Happy Running,</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zFKxyoJrBf8/Tc2USAhRE3I/AAAAAAAAAPA/cDdpBbnAo7o/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zFKxyoJrBf8/Tc2USAhRE3I/AAAAAAAAAPA/cDdpBbnAo7o/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span> </span></span></div>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-38386240840219805362011-07-24T15:27:00.000-04:002011-07-24T15:27:36.216-04:00How to Make yourself Ill.<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'll let you in on a little secret if you want to make yourself ill (to the point where you go home and curl up in bed watching Notting Hill for the 8th time). Just do the following:</span><br />
<br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Run a 5k in 98 degree weather (heat index of 104)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Promptly inhale 2 bananas, 2 bags of Goldfish, and 2 beers.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Head to Chick-Fil-A and order a chicken sandwich, waffle fries, and a vanilla milkshake. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Get on a very hot subway to make your way home.</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In all seriousness, it was a really well-organized race and I enjoyed spending time with people from my running group, even if I felt like several times throughout the 3 miles my feet were melting and flames were coming off my face. This was my first night race and it's definitely a different feeling. I mean usually it's brunch and nap time after races...last night it was dinner and bed time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YAVma0Vk1_w/TixuW8RCSYI/AAAAAAAAAVA/wKSk8xfuOzc/s1600/Hot+Race.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="374" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YAVma0Vk1_w/TixuW8RCSYI/AAAAAAAAAVA/wKSk8xfuOzc/s640/Hot+Race.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E0ZTvoyNmyQ/Tixud7liR2I/AAAAAAAAAVE/NbvFvUK61i0/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E0ZTvoyNmyQ/Tixud7liR2I/AAAAAAAAAVE/NbvFvUK61i0/s320/009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Crystal City Twilighter had computers set up so you could immediately find your race results. Pretty cool!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YK4-ZOPmY7U/TixueafLpyI/AAAAAAAAAVI/ka768sKuqa0/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YK4-ZOPmY7U/TixueafLpyI/AAAAAAAAAVI/ka768sKuqa0/s320/011.JPG" width="222" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YFRo_kb6q40/TixufbXnsNI/AAAAAAAAAVM/wHuzWUyGpq4/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="287" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YFRo_kb6q40/TixufbXnsNI/AAAAAAAAAVM/wHuzWUyGpq4/s320/012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I doubt I deserved all that post race food for running a 5k at a 9:46 pace, but there is literally a magnet between me and Chick-Fil-A. For real, I once ran 5 miles just to get one of their sandwiches. <a href="http://runwithsam.blogspot.com/2011/02/recruiting.html">Read about it here</a>.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <b>1. Have you ever done a night race?</b> Do you like them better than traditional butt-crack-of-dawn races? I liked the night race atmosphere, but I think I'm still a traditional race girl.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>2. Do you still watch what you eat or is it no-holds-barred after races?</b> Clearly, I think we all know my answer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Happy Running, </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zFKxyoJrBf8/Tc2USAhRE3I/AAAAAAAAAPA/cDdpBbnAo7o/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zFKxyoJrBf8/Tc2USAhRE3I/AAAAAAAAAPA/cDdpBbnAo7o/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-71656376477666775092011-07-20T13:12:00.002-04:002011-07-20T13:12:00.551-04:00Wordless Wednesday<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Who am I kidding? I always have words. Prob should start doing Wordy Wednesdays. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anyways, it has been ridiculously hot/humid in DC. I know, I know, everyone in the south is probably cursing me right now and thinking I'm a baby because they deal with heat all year long. I don't care. It's supposed to feel like 110 degrees on Friday. I'll cry if I want to. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This little entrepreneur is capitalizing off the heat wave: </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7SBxXBsvLmM/TiZX2KM5gKI/AAAAAAAAAU4/rXPYKDvlfw8/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7SBxXBsvLmM/TiZX2KM5gKI/AAAAAAAAAU4/rXPYKDvlfw8/s320/016.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That is the most legit lemonade stand I've ever seen. I'd bet any amount of money that that little girl has a part time job assembling all her neighbors crap from Ikea. (I love Ikea, but seriously, sometimes you need a masters degree in engineering/chinese to put their stuff together.) Oh, and the lemonade was darn good - that was no Crystal Light. Totally worth the $1. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am protesting running in this heat so I'm either going to the gym to run on the god forsaken treadmill or going swimming. Yesterday I went swimming. I found out I suck at swimming. I did 3 laps, got winded and thought sitting out in the sun and taking pictures of myself would be a better choice. ha. Don't worry, I got back in and did a few more laps...maybe.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gMjN0wHT1is/TiZYLw1rXOI/AAAAAAAAAU8/HYPQUUlgjSA/s1600/023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gMjN0wHT1is/TiZYLw1rXOI/AAAAAAAAAU8/HYPQUUlgjSA/s320/023.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Straw hair, bug eyes, and zits. That's a good look for you, Sam. NOT.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Happy <strike>Running</strike> Swimming, </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zFKxyoJrBf8/Tc2USAhRE3I/AAAAAAAAAPA/cDdpBbnAo7o/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zFKxyoJrBf8/Tc2USAhRE3I/AAAAAAAAAPA/cDdpBbnAo7o/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-26219009523986915032011-07-18T21:23:00.000-04:002011-07-18T21:23:20.414-04:00Good Intentions<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I try really hard...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2yeTJGtrKa4/Th5cS5tPciI/AAAAAAAAAUU/WlICrFYFTus/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2yeTJGtrKa4/Th5cS5tPciI/AAAAAAAAAUU/WlICrFYFTus/s320/008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and then this happens...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RNoXnaYyuXU/Th5cbXKNpMI/AAAAAAAAAUY/Fjrs9tuPNco/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RNoXnaYyuXU/Th5cbXKNpMI/AAAAAAAAAUY/Fjrs9tuPNco/s320/002.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I need to run 5 miles just to un-do this. Holy crap.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Damn you, Godiva. Umm, it had strawberries in it. Healthy, right??</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Maybe signing up for another marathon will help keep me on track? Yup, that's right...never thought I'd say this again but I'll be running 26.2 miles this fall! I'm really excited about the <a href="http://www.obxmarathon.org/Top_Nav/Outer_Banks_Marathon.htm">Outer Banks Marathon</a>. My best friend Erin is doing this one with me just like Nashville so I'm pumped about that...everyone say a little prayer to the Boston gods that she qualifies :) </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm not embarrassed about <a href="http://runwithsam.blogspot.com/2011/05/i-met-kara-goucher-oh-and-i-ran.html">my first marathon time</a> or anything, but I just have this need to redeem myself. I just know that I can do better. Many bloggers recommend setting three goals so here goes:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">a) finish the race</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">b) finish with a PR (under 5:14)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">c) finish under 4:45</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I know I said I was following the RLRF plan for a half marathon this September, but I haven't been sticking to it :( I'm switching over to the RLRF plan for a full marathon and I'm definitely sticking to it. I think posting the plan for my weekly work-outs will help keep me accountable. My <a href="http://runwithsam.blogspot.com/p/my-upcoming-races.html">race schedule</a> is getting ridiculously full. I'm psyched for this fall! :)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. What keeps you motivated with your training schedule? Do you have to sign up for a ridiculous number of races like me? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. Are you good at controlling your cravings? I seem to have no self control. I can't just have a bite, I have to eat the whole chocolate bar! :( Help me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Happy Running (and healthy eating),</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zFKxyoJrBf8/Tc2USAhRE3I/AAAAAAAAAPA/cDdpBbnAo7o/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zFKxyoJrBf8/Tc2USAhRE3I/AAAAAAAAAPA/cDdpBbnAo7o/s1600/312A0B777AFC6D26CF01B524B6C27276.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479790493268535319.post-6069647555116987002011-07-14T18:32:00.000-04:002011-07-14T18:32:12.166-04:00When you grow up...<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ladies...when you grow up, leave college, and enter the real world, a lot of things will change. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You need to know what a 401k is, how an HMO differs from a PPO, why April 15th matters so much, and many other mundane life necessities. However, the most important thing to hit you in the real world is that there will not be a room full of 4 guys down the hall who you can run and get when you need to kill one of these:</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NaUqsHlbYCg/Th5gxVRySiI/AAAAAAAAAUc/RcxhNI-BbkY/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NaUqsHlbYCg/Th5gxVRySiI/AAAAAAAAAUc/RcxhNI-BbkY/s320/001.JPG" width="275" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome to the real world, Biotch. So gross.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You're gonna need about half a can of Raid and a heavy shoe for that sucker.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> In other news, I went for a hot sweaty run last night. Hill repeats = drenched in sweat.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K5B5qTyNbSk/Th5h4_HUyXI/AAAAAAAAAUg/LYHAH8J3eSM/s1600/DSC04008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K5B5qTyNbSk/Th5h4_HUyXI/AAAAAAAAAUg/LYHAH8J3eSM/s320/DSC04008.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For real, what age does acne stop? </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mHqFqzNns9Y/Th5iAvrqLBI/AAAAAAAAAUk/SB1KFkW3hZM/s1600/DSC04018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mHqFqzNns9Y/Th5iAvrqLBI/AAAAAAAAAUk/SB1KFkW3hZM/s320/DSC04018.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When your shirt is two different colors you had a good work out. Sorry I'm ADD and forgot to look up.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NmrjedKgJUA/Th5iEa6ylSI/AAAAAAAAAUo/PJ0tv8-1KTA/s1600/DSC04031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NmrjedKgJUA/Th5iEa6ylSI/AAAAAAAAAUo/PJ0tv8-1KTA/s320/DSC04031.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know many of you have been dreaming of the day you would see a picture of me struggling to do one push-up. You're welcome. And yes, those are 6 pairs of cowboy boots lined up behind me. Be jealous.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>What is one thing you miss about college?</b> I miss getting ready to go out with my girlfriends. Doing our hair and make-up together while taking shots of Burnetts and dancing to Pitbull songs was fun. </span>Samanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06271129102802150139noreply@blogger.com18