Yuengling Shamrock Weekend in VA Beach: Part 1 of 3

I know I planned on taking this blog further and posting on more than just race reports, but that has yet to happen.  I'm terrible at commitment, I know.  But nonetheless, here's another race report.  I'll break it down into three parts to avoid one obnoxiously long post: the overall weekend report, 8K, and Half Marathon.

Shamrock was our first full marathon last year, and boy, did I crash and burn during that one.  Finished about 1/2 hour slower than I intended, in fact.  However, after Steamtown (my redemption) I came to the realization that I needed to keep it to one marathon a year.  So I'm signed up for Wineglass in October, but I didn't want to miss the fun of Shamrock weekend.  Also, I really love being part of Team LiveSTRONG, which is the premier charity of J&A Racing.  So Doug, his bro (Nick), and I decided to do the Dolphin Challenge--8K Saturday and Half Marathon Sunday.  Still felt a little crazy, but think of all the race swag: two shirts, two medals, two after-parties, and a Dolphin challenge pin to boot!

I'll post the race details in the next two posts, but I have to share a few things first:

1. If you've never done a J&A Race in Virginia Beach (they also have the Wicked 10K, Surf-N-Santa 10 Miler, Virginia is for Lovers 14K, and Crawlin Crab race), you absolutely must.  These folks really know how to put on a race, and Virginia Beach is so welcoming to racers.  Both years that I've been there, Shamrock is incredibly well organized.  I don't have a bad thing to say about the organization, except maybe that they won't hire me and relocate me to VA. :)
2. I, like many others, was incredibly disappointed when the news broke about Lance Armstrong.  I've seen him as a hero for a long time, and it broke my heart that he's been lying all these years.  However, I was still very, very proud to represent Team LiveSTRONG for the 2nd year.  Regardless of what Lance did on the bike, the organization he founded is still an amazing way to help those affected by cancer and their families. 
3. I'm really glad we've made this a family event.  In addition to Doug, Nick and I doing the Dolphin Challenge, my mom ran the half (and got a new PR to boot!), and Doug's Cousin (Terri), his other brother (Shawn), and his parents did the 8K.  I have to say, Doug's parents used to--and sometimes, still do--laugh at us with all this running.  However, I'm so happy they're taking a proactive approach to their health by joining us.  They run/walk it, and considering that Doug's dad has had surgery on BOTH knees, I think that's a great accomplishment.  Of all my running milestones, getting so many friends and family members to join the fun is my favorite one.

Now, having said all that, a few details on the weekend.

The Expo
   Most race reports don't discuss the expo, but I love me a good expo--by good, I mean lots of fun/free stuff.  This one definitely improved over last year.  Packet pickup went fast and it was super efficient, and I really liked the shirts.  They seem like they're better quality than last year's, too.  It was a decent sized expo with lots to buy (somehow, I got out of there without spending any money), and had some samples from Nuun (yuck), an avocado company (pineapple guac--YUM!), and McDonald's.  As for the latter, the irony is not lost on me.  We made our rounds and left for the hotel.

Nick being Nick at the expo :)

 

Hotel
   We stayed at the Hilton Oceanfront this year, which is right at the finish line.  While the Hilton is a bit more expensive (although it was way cheaper than their regular rates), it was totally worth it.  After the half, Doug and I were able to run up to our room and quickly shower and make it back downstairs to see my mom finish.  The hotel staff all wore Shamrock Marathon shirts and were extremely welcoming.  They gave us Red Bull at check in--it was nice that they gave you something, but I definitely think Gatorade might have been more appropriate for the race.  Nonetheless, I'm always grateful for little touches of hospitality, even if  I don't partake.

View of the finish line (and beach) from our balcony



LiveSTRONG Dinner
  The family attended the Team LiveSTRONG dinner Friday night in the VIP tent (right behind our hotel--also convenient).  It was a great dinner--kudos to the Bakers' Crust for excellent catering.  Two women who became young widows last year due to this horrible disease spoke, and I was in tears.  Their resolve to be strong for their young kids amazed me.  They were truly inspirational women. 



  After dinner, we basically made our way up to the rooms and called it a night since we had a long two days ahead of us, with the 8K starting things out Saturday morning.

Weight Watching (sigh.)

I never thought I'd be saying this again, but I'm back on Weight Watchers.

Sure, I have a healthy BMI--around 21.8--but that doesn't mean I'm happy with it.  Around August-November, and even into December before the holiday eating really commenced, I was right where I wanted to be and only felt like I needed to do some toning to see exactly what I wanted.  Then the holidays started and I made it a point to gain some weight because I thought I needed to, as I hadn't had "my friend" in months.  Well, that situation resolved itself a few weeks ago, and according to my doctor, might not have been related to my weight or even activity level whatsoever.

So now here I am, still carrying the holiday weight, plus 3 pounds or so extra.  I hate it.  And it's not even about focusing on the number on the scale.  I'd be OK with this number if it were a muscular version of the same, but it's not and I know it isn't. 

I did WW successfully back in 2010-early 2011.  I lost about 18-20 lbs. and really liked how the plan fit my lifestyle.  Of course, I was running 5K's back then, not half marathons (I'd never be crazy enough to do WW while training for a full).  So I know that, at the very least, I'll have to break the plan the night before long runs, or make sure to preemptively use my activity points. 

I never thought I'd be saying I'm doing this again because I never thought I'd be there again--in a situation where I needed to lose weight but was having trouble working up the willpower to do it on my own.  I thought I was self-sufficient and could do it all by myself.  Truth betold, maybe I could do it all by myself.  But after two weeks of my old antics of "maybe tomorrow" or tracking a day or two with a free plan, I decided to just bite the bullet and do it.  And I'm disappointed in myself... not for signing up, but for having to sign up again.  I'm supposed to be a picture of health and it seems, this time, like I failed myself. It's stupid, I'm sure, because it's not like I'm taking pills or supplements or even eating all the processed WW-label food.  I'm just using the tracking system and maybe some of the recipes.  There's nothing wrong with it, but I feel like I've failed myself.

Hopefully in a few weeks time, I'll be glad I made this decision because I'll be on the better end of it.  Hopefully I stop feeling disappointed with myself for taking a proactive step toward getting back to where I want to be.  Hopefully.  For now, I track my points and keep my head up.

A Change-Up

I started this blog a few months ago with the idea of posting race reports, which I love to read to get an idea of whether I'd like to run that race, too.  I hope it's been helpful to some people, as the reports of others have been helpful to me. 

However, I only run about a race every month or two, so that limits my writing.  I think I need to branch out.  I love putting my ideas out there and holding myself accountable.  For this reason, I've changed the blog name:

thoughts of a middle-of-the-pack runner

 

is now

 

just along for the run

I changed the name for a few reasons.  First, Doug likes to remind me from time to time that I almost always finish in the top 25% of my field at races, so I should give myself more credit.  But there's more to it than that.  Given my resolutions to eat (more) clean and get (more) fit, I wanted something that doesn't seem race-centric.  I chose just along for the run because it matches my attitude in a lot of aspects: I try to never take myself too seriously; I will never, ever push myself to such a limit when I race that I don't enjoy what I'm doing (same goes for my professional and personal lives, really); and I try to remind myself, in the middle of things being crazy, to stop and take in my surroundings every now and then.

So I'll still be sharing race reports, as well as other things running-related.  But I'll also share good recipe finds and other thoughts I deem appropriate to share here.  I'm looking forward to sharing this new content!

Running Resolutions, Part 2

Wow! So I really dropped the ball on this one!  Of course, I'm still not sure how I plan to incentivize all my resolutions, but I have thought of a few big ones.

First, with respect to my running and fitness goals, I've come up with this so far:

• If I PR my half marathon in March (shooting for 1:42), I'm finally getting myself a pair of Lululemon running shorts.  I normally spend about $25 on running shorts, but I've heard SUCH good things about Lulu shorts that I really want to try them, and this would be a good reason.
• If I BQ, my initial thought is that getting to go to Boston will be the payoff in and of itself.  I think that's sufficient.
• As far as getting more overall "fit," I still haven't decided.  Part of the reason I can't figure out how to incentivize this is because it's pretty subjective.  Compared with my running goals which have distinct numbers, this is something I can't really quantify.  Maybe a nice bikini for the summer if I feel that I've earned it?  Maybe the payoff will be in how I feel, anyway.

As far as my non-running related goals:

• If I succeed at organizing my house and KEEPING it organized, I'm buying myself a Roomba.  I figure that will likely do for cleaning what my KitchenAid has done for baking--save me tons of time--so it'll be a really nice payoff.
• If we manage to kick processed food, we've agreed that we're going to buy a food dehydrator.  Doug could use it to make deer jerky and such, and I LOVE dried fruit, but the oven just doesn't do the same job. 

So hopefully these incentives will help me stick with my resolutions!  Additionally, hopefully having them out there for anyone to see will keep me accountable! :)