Kickoff Party!

This week was the kickoff party/optional 3 mile run to the running group I signed up for.  Due to low sign ups at the local store near me, the kickoff party was at another location that was a little over 30 minutes away from me.  Due to the pouring rain when I left, I dressed in jeans and a tank, thinking the run was called off.  Well, it wasn't raining when I got there, so the run was still on.  I wore my friendliest smile, which I hope was the "I'm approachable, come talk to me" smile...as opposed to the awkward "I don't know anyone here, and look kinda creepy" smile.

The kickoff party seemed pretty cool.  I was running about 10-15 minutes late, and it seemed like everyone was already there.  There was wine and assorted beverages available, and some food.  There was also Muscle Milk, as they are one of the race sponsors.  Everyone got a cute messenger bag made out of the recycled material they make the reusable grocery bags out of.  The bags had some 2Toms samples, a pack of Cliffshots, and a list of essential items you would need for the half marathon/training program.  The list doubled as a 15% coupon, which is good at their stores for the entire program...pretty cool!

It seemed like most of the people I talked to had never run a half marathon, and hadn't gone farther than a 5k.  Not really what I was looking for in a group when I signed up, but I'll take it.  Still gives me incentive to stick to the program for the weeks before the half.  Plus, maybe it was only who I spoke with?

This first group run on Sunday is for only 4 miles.  Usually, I do my long run on Sunday's with Lucy, so she is tired for the rest of the day, and is not a menace if we are not home.  I don't want to take her on a group run with people who don't know her.  I am thinking that I might get up earlier, run 4 with Lucy, bring her home, then run 4 with the group. 

Today's run was a little bit sticky and gross, as you could literally see the moisture in the air while we were running.  I spent most of the run battling with my new headphones.  I always cut one ear bud off, so that I can hear the cars.  My last pair was kinda torn up, so I used a gift card I had for Marshall's to get a new pair.  I hate to spend big money on something when I am going to throw half in the trash right away!  First off, the ear buds came with 3 sized buds.  I left the middle one on, threw out the large, and saved the small on the counter to see if I liked it better.  Yesterday, when cleaning the yard, I found the ear bud in one of Lucy's piles of fun!  How the heck did she get it?  Why would she eat it?  Anyway, I am just glad it came back out at this point in the game!  So I go for today's run with the new ear buds, with the right bud cut off.  It felt like I was fighting with the cord for most of the run, but I couldn't tell why...until I finally looked down!   The cord, which ran thru the inside of my shirt, was way longer than usual...longer than my running skirt!  Crazy!  I tried knotting it up, but it had some tangle free aspect to it, and the knot kept coming undone.  Good time!  At least I didn't throw away the old ones, as I can use these new ones on the boat, or something!

Zooma Cape Cod

A local running store is having Zooma training groups for both the half marathon and the 10k.  The Zooma Cape Cod is on Sept. 28, 2013. So far, out of the 7 half marathons that I have run, there have only been 3 different races.  I have said that I wanted to run a different race, and when I heard about the training group, I figured "What better way to prepare?".  

The group I signed up for meets twice a week on Thursday and Sunday, with the long runs on Sundays.  I usually run with my dogs, so it will be nice to have actual people to talk to!  I just ran 7 miles Sunday, so I am almost at the 10 miles that this group maxes out at.  There are only 4-5 people in the group, and it is run close to where I live.  I figured that if I signed up for this group, I would feel obligated to meet these people, and complete the long runs....no talking myself out of these runs!

The group kicks off 7/1 with a little party with one of the race sponsors.  Exciting!

Falmouth Road Race

I got my notification today that I was selected in the 2013 lottery to run the Falmouth Road Race!  Yay!  I knew it was coming because I was not selected last year, which guarantees entry for the following year, but it's still exciting to receive the notice!  The race is scheduled for 8/11/2013, and is run by one of the Boston Marathon's race directors. I live in a pretty small place, so there aren't usually too many spectators at a road race.  At Falmouth, there are people along the sides of the road for the entire 7 miles!

I have run this race for 4 or 5 years, and it is always a blast.  I have never gotten a great time, but have had so much fun, I sign up every year.  Last year, I did not get selected and was crushed!  When my customers at my Saturday restaurant job found out, someone called around and found a number for me for a woman that wasn't able to run.  I felt bad running under someone else's name, but at least it was the right sex!  The strange thing was, I had become settled with the idea of not running, but then felt obligated to run with the number provided.  The family that provided me with the number had me meet them at their house, provided me with a ride to and from the race, and even offered me breakfast.  They were so nice!  Their son ran also, and he was super fast!

In other news, due to recent thunderstorms in our area, the other dog has woken me up 2 nights in a row to get his Thunder Shirt.  He is so silly.  After we bought it, my boyfriend laughed at me for weeks about the waste of money.  Then, the morning after a storm, I told him that I thought the dog had woken me up to get his shirt....he laughed some more!  Well, it has now been a few years, and he will wake me every time to get his shirt.  He sleeps on our bed, and putting the shirt on him is the only way to get him back in bed.  Without the shirt, he paces, drools, and tries to hide in the basement and the bathroom.  With the shirt, he will get back in bed, with tremors still, but at least we can sleep!  Here is a recent picture...please notice Lucy snoozing away next to him!  Nothing scares Lucy but the turkeys!

Lucy's 2nd road race

On Sunday, Lucy and I ran a 5k with a friend of her's, Otis.  Otis is Lucy's uncle in some weird, twisted way.  We got our other dog from the people who bred Otis.  The people who got our other dog's sister bred the dog, which was Lucy's litter.  They look so much alike that we frequently get them confused! Lucy is on the right in the picture below.

Anyway, this was Otis' owner's first 5k since giving birth a few months ago.  She did great!  I stayed with her till a little after the halfway point, but Lucy was going faster than all of us, so we ran a bit ahead.  We saw some friends and their kids walking and stopped to say hi, and wait for Otis.  We didn't see him, so we started running again.  This race was along the roads that Lucy and I run on a regular basis, so she was a little confused as to why we were in the road and not the sidewalk.  We finished, in an unstupendous 29:38, and waited for Otis and his owner, who finished pretty quickly after us.

This race was at 11 AM, and it was HOT out!  We were giving the dogs water, and talking to friends, when a guy walked over with Otis and said "I think you may have dropped this!"  My friend thought she was giving Otis water, not Lucy, and had let go of his leash!  Thank goodness he didn't go too far, and is super friendly!  Lucy was tired the rest of the day, and I think it might be the last time we run this race together.  It is just too late in the day, and too warm for her, even though we both had fun!

Do you know how hard it is to get 2 dogs in a crowd of people to pose for a cute picture?? Much harder than I thought!

The makings of a quiet afternoon

Today, when picking up dog food, I grabbed 2 Nylabones.  This pet food store sells antlers, which my dogs absolutely love.  Unfortunately, they are super expensive and sometimes end up being over $30.  For  $19.99 apiece, I managed to pick up something that lasts much longer than an antler!  Both dogs are now quietly enjoying their new toys!

On another note, about a month ago, Birchbox asked me if I was interested in receiving the Nuance Salma Hayek Birchbox.  Sure, why not?  I had previously grabbed some trial size shampoos from the brand when I went on vacation.  I liked the way it smelled, but hadn't tried anything else.  I didn't hear anything else about it from Birchbox, so I wasn't sure if it was a raffle, or I was just going to get a box.  Today, the box arrived in the mail, containing an AM/PM super cream sample, a full size Super Moisturizing Body Cream (14.99), a trial sized Mamey Fruit shampoo and conditioner sample, and the Lights, Camera, Action eye trio (8.79).  This box cost me nothing and was full of fun stuff to try.  I have seen the Nuance Salma Hayek shampoo at CVS, but I didn't know there was a makeup line!  I am excited to try all of this stuff!  There was also a $2 coupon for a full sized item, so I will have to see which I like enough to buy!

Running Fail

The past few months, I have gotten into a pretty regular routine: Gym @ 4:45, run with dogs at 5:45 AM.  Unfortunately, a week and a half ago, I tweaked my neck again.  I then compounded this by falling!  This has pretty much put my running out of commission.

On Saturdays, I work in a restaurant.  I try to bring a baked good of some type with me every couple of Saturdays. On Friday, May 3rd, I was going to make a brown sugar pound cake, but ended up out at dinner with friends and got home too late.  This meant that I was making my cake on Saturday morning before work in a hurry.  I initially tweaked my neck while reading the paper Saturday morning.  Then, I was looking for my cake plate in the basement, and remembered the icing needed to be stirred on the stove.  I went flying up the stairs, put my foot in a puddle of water by the dog bowl (Lucy's doing!), went completely sideways in the air, and then crashed to the ground.  By Sunday morning, I couldn't move my head anymore.

I didn't want to make my neck worse, and I knew I had a chiropractor appt. on Thursday, so I thought I would just hold off on the exercising and down some Advil.  It didn't get any better until Thursday, after my appt. at the Chiropractor, but still wasn't 100%.  I thought I would hold off a few more days.  Today was the first day I woke up with no pain, so today was the day!

Both dogs went outside and went to the bathroom (this is key, as no one likes to run w/ a bag of poop!).  I put my new playlist on my phone, and headed out the door.  A quarter mile away, the other dog stops to poop again! WTH?! Fine, this was okay because we were close to a park and a trash can.  We discard the bag, and continue running.  I notice my calf is unusually tight about a half mile in, so I stop to stretch it out.  We then keep going until the other dog thought he heard thunder, and it started to sprinkle rain.  Thunder and the other dog don't mix...at all.  It usually involves some drooling, a lot of crying, and a Thundershirt.  Back home we go...total failed run: 2 miles.

Hopefully, my neck is better again, and I can jump back on the exercise train this week!  Lucy had fun at least!

Friday surprise

On Friday,  I fought with Lucy for around an hour trying to get her back in the house.  I think she knows she shouldn't be in the mulch,  so she sat right next to it,  but she wouldn't come in the house.  At least she looked cute while being bad!

When my boyfriend came home from work,  he surprised me with a framed print.  He got it at a gallery he was working near,  the POLi gallery in Provincetown. It was a nice surprise,  and made me forget how mad I was at Lucy during the day!