It’s Been a While

December 1, 2013

I haven’t written a post in almost a month. November was busy so here are some highlights from the last few weeks.

1. I turned 30. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and I had a low-key, quiet birthday, just the way I wanted it to be. In the last couple of years, I’ve been kind of a Scrooge when it comes to celebrating my birthday. Bah humbug. I just can’t get excited about being another year older anymore.

2. I went to Boston for a week with my mom. I was at a conference for work the first few days and then she and I got to spend a few days together. We got to see some family, went to Cape Cod and just generally relaxed a bit. And I ate a lobster roll! For those who know me well, you know I generally have an aversion to seafood. But the Lobster Pound in Hingham (my mom’s hometown) is known for their lobster rolls so I gave it a try. For some reason it came on a sandwich roll rather than a bun but it was still pretty tasty. I was also super awesome about working out during that week thanks to a couple of nice hotel gyms.

Boston in the fall

More Boston

Local beer, which was pretty tasty. Mom and I believe strongly in daily happy hour when on vacation.

Lobster roll

3. I ran the Annapolis Running Classic 10K. It was a little disorganized at the start but the course was really nice, although a teeny tiny bit hilly in the second half. We ran down Main Street to the very edge of the water and past the Naval Academy. The weather was perfect for running and I really enjoyed it. I admit I smiled a little every time I heard someone who was doing the half marathon say how many more miles they had to go. The 10Kers and halfers ran together for 3/4 of the race or so. Official time: 58:38, so not a PR but pretty close and my second fastest 10K ever. The race had pretty nice swag too. We got a hat, tech shirt and medal.

Almost airborne at the finish line.

With my finisher’s medal and a shot of my watch.

4. Thanksgiving was awesome this year. Joe and I did the SOME Trot for Hunger. We decided to run separately so Joe could see how fast he could really go. It was FREEZING, which I think made us run faster. Even though Joe has a slightly sprained ankle and stopped to pee halfway through the race, he finished in 24:37 for an average pace of 7:56. He smoked me. I finished in 26:57 for an average pace of 8:41. I’m not entirely sure but I think it may be my PR for a 5K race and I’m 99% sure it’s the only time I’ve run every single mile under nine minutes. I ran the last full mile in 8:17, which is smoking for me. Later that day, Joe and I hosted my parents for Thanksgiving, the first time we’ve ever done that. I was a little nervous about timing everything right. We had a precooked turkey and ham so that made it a lot less stressful because we really just had to focus on the sides. Mom brought some cranberry sauce, appetizers and pie. I have a whole new appreciation for all the work my parents put into it every year. Thankfully everyone enjoyed it and we had a great day.

Ready to Turkey Trot

All of our sides ready to be served

Later that night there was a lot of this going on in our house. Not pictured: Joe fast asleep on the couch in the living room.

5. We got a Christmas tree!

6. Today I ran 5 miles in 44:28 for an average pace of 8:54, my fastest 5 miles ever. I did the last mile in 8:06, which is really good for me, but it felt like I was running at a pace even faster than that. Shout out to the woman who basically paced me from the Washington Monument to the Capitol. I was pushing hard to pass her. I think I did for two seconds but she really wasn’t trying to let us go by. This is something I love about the running community. I’m pretty sure she knew we were trying to keep up and she kept pushing the pace a little more. It’s only because of her I pushed myself as hard as I did. I was a little sad when we split ways near the Capitol.

 

Finally, things I’m looking forward to in December:

1. Only 10 more days of work until I’m off for three weeks!

2. Heading to Williamsburg next weekend with Mom and Dad to check out their Christmas displays and so I can run the Christmas Town Dash 8K through Busch Gardens. Sadly it’s my last race of the year.

3. Finding out if Laura, Vanessa and I will be running the Nike Women’s Half Marathon together.

4. Entering the lottery for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler.

5. Running at night and seeing all the Christmas lights in the city.

6. Actually enjoying Christmas. Last year we moved two days after the holiday so it felt like we didn’t get to enjoy the holiday at all.

7. Eating and drinking as much as possible.

Happy Holidays!

 

 

 

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