Yesterday, Chris, Ryan, Caitlin and I ran the Greater Oviedo 5K which we have run several years in a row. The race was wonderful as always, although starting at 7:30 was bit late for this Florida heat, in my opinion. One of my goals for this year was a sub 27 minute 5K, and according to my Garmy I ran 3.12 miles in 26:59! I met my goal just barely, but I am still so excited! Unfortunately, they seemed to have an issue with the timing chips, because according to mine I ran the 5K in 23:51, and I know that is not accurate.
Other than the race, I have been keeping up with my goal of running three days a week (see my DailyMile widget) and doing arm and ab work-outs. I have also been working a lot to get ahead before my trip. I am flying to Denver on Saturday to present at a conference on Monday. I fly back Monday night only to fly out to Italy Thursday night (EEK!!!). And now, at the end of the month of June, it looks like I will be flying out to L.A. to run samples in a laboratory out there. I am soooo excited for all three trips! I cannot wait to share my exciting trips with you!
I hope that you all are doing wonderful! Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
I seriously love this blog...
I just wanted to share with you one blog that I look forward to reading every morning. It is full of happiness and inspiration. This blog is the reason I want to learn photography, in hopes of one day capturing the lives of my children in photographs like these.
Enjoying the Small Things by Kelle Hampton
Happy Friday to you all!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Updates!
Well after 70 consecutive weeks of running at least three days a week, I had to break the streak due to an injury. The week before last I only made one run. I most likely tore my plantaris tendon in my left calve. It resulted in a very sore calve and a limp for a few days. Luckily, after a week off, my leg was back to normal! I even ran the 1st Operation Give-Back 5K yesterday with Chris! I did not PR; instead, Chris and I just ran the race together for run. The night before we were out late visiting with my oldest best friend, Clare, who I had not seen in over three years! We did not get to bed until late and knew we would have a busy day at my friend's wedding, so we decided to just enjoy this run. I am back to running with three runs this past week. (o: I have also been keeping up with my arm and ab work-outs. Push-ups are getting easier, which is proof that my weekly work-outs are making progress. Yay!
I know I haven't been blogging much, but I have been busy with research, wedding planning, and just hanging out with Chris. I haven't been in the mood to blog as much, but I am sure that will change soon. In very exciting news, Chris graduated with his Master's Degree in Computer Engineering! I am sooooooo proud of him!!!
Now here are some pictures from the past few weeks:
I hope that you all are doing well! Have a spectacular week!
I know I haven't been blogging much, but I have been busy with research, wedding planning, and just hanging out with Chris. I haven't been in the mood to blog as much, but I am sure that will change soon. In very exciting news, Chris graduated with his Master's Degree in Computer Engineering! I am sooooooo proud of him!!!
Now here are some pictures from the past few weeks:
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| Ashe's new mat |
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| Zack getting his chin scratched |
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| Kirby in his new bed |
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| My super hot and brilliant fiance, Chris. |
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| Family pictures! |
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| Very poor picture of my computer monitor where I watched the royal wedding live. (o: |
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| My pineapple growing. |
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| Orlando Magic game! |
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| Easter egg hunt the adult way. (o; |
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| Breakfast night at Caitlin and Ryan's |
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| Crazy cute kitties at the pet store |
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| Yummy Infusion Tea! |
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| He prefers meat. LOL |
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| Pineapple getting bigger! |
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| Graduation Day! |
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| With my Clarey!!! |
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| Chris and I with Clare and her bf Louis! |
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| at our friend's wedding |
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| Love the photo booth! |
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| with my love. (o: |
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| Funny research error in MATLab. "Transpose help" |
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| 4 generations! |
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| Beautiful bride and handsome groom! |
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
I found THE DRESS!
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| [source] |
Eeeek!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Croom Fool's 16 Mile Run Race Recap
Hello all! I hope that you are doing well. I have not forgotten my blog, I have just been busy. I will catch up on what I have been up to another time. For now, I want to finally post my Croom Fool's Run recap from my race on April 9th!
This was my very first race that I ran on my own. Friday evening Chris and I met for dinner, then I drove an hour and a half to my motel. I have to admit, staying in a motel by myself was a bit creepy. However, I did enjoy having a king size bed to myself. I did miss Chris and my snuggley kitties though. When I checked in, I asked the woman at the front desk what time she though I should leave for the race. She informed me that every nearby hotel was booked at that the roads would be packed in the morning. I hate being late, and it is known that I have the worst sense of direction ever! For these reasons, I decided I wanted to leave extra early. For my 7am race, I decided to leave by 5 (my mapquest directions said it would take 30 minutes to get there... and I was anticipating packed roads). I woke up at 4:45 am, threw on my clothes, and brought my bagel and banana to eat on the road. I arrived by 5:30 am since there was no one on the road. The 50 mile race started at 6 am, so there were some people there. I ended up taking a nap in my car. This was easy to do given that we were in the middle of nowhere and it was very dark. In fact, I do not remember the last time I saw so many stars! It was pretty amazing!
At 6:30 I stood in line for the restroom which was where I met Kris and Denise. They came from New York to run the 16 mile race had not run in temperatures above 40 degrees F! When they heard I was running alone, they invited me to join them. I was so glad I did, because it was nice having someone to talk to for those 16 miles. We followed their training plan which was to run a mile then walk for a minute and to walk up any hill that water could easily run down. Every time we walked, I made sure to drink from my hydration pack which had a combination of water and gatorade. I also took a gel or a shot block every 5 miles.
The weather was perfect that day! I'll admit that I was warm by the end, but it definitely was not horrible. The scenery was beautiful! We ran though an old sink hole that was grown over. However, I did pay more attention to the ground than anything else, because I was worried about tripping. I love trail running!!! The only downfall of the actual race was that a whole group of us got lost. Rather than running 16 miles, we ran 16.69 miles. Even though I was not well trained for this distance, my knees did not hurt at all! In fact, the next day the part of me that was the most sore were my arms... go figure!
I definitely want to do some more trail running! All in all, the race was fantastic! Getting home on the other hand was not so fantastic... My car Garmin told me to turn down a dirt road that was very narrow. The road was two miles long and a mile down the road I got caught in a loose patch of sand. My car stalled. I spent several minutes putting my car in reverse then forward. I kept stalling, but I did eventually make it. I was praying pretty hard that I would be able to get out, because it was pretty scary being stranded in the middle of the woods. I did see wild turkeys and a huge black snake on my drive out of the woods though. I was very happy to arrive home to Chris, the kitties, and my own bed.
My goal was to go out and just have fun, and that is exactly what I did for this race. We finished in just under 4 hours. While the pace was not record-breaking, I had a wonderful time! I would run the Croom Fool's Run again in a heartbeat. And who knows, maybe one day I'll run the 30K. Next time, I will remember to run with my camera. The photos of the race from below were taken by the husband of one of the amazing women I ran with. I absolutely loved running with Kris and Denise! Racing is a wonderful way to make new friends! And if I had not run this race on my own, I may never have met them.
I hope that you all have a fantastic week! I will leave you with photos from the race.
This was my very first race that I ran on my own. Friday evening Chris and I met for dinner, then I drove an hour and a half to my motel. I have to admit, staying in a motel by myself was a bit creepy. However, I did enjoy having a king size bed to myself. I did miss Chris and my snuggley kitties though. When I checked in, I asked the woman at the front desk what time she though I should leave for the race. She informed me that every nearby hotel was booked at that the roads would be packed in the morning. I hate being late, and it is known that I have the worst sense of direction ever! For these reasons, I decided I wanted to leave extra early. For my 7am race, I decided to leave by 5 (my mapquest directions said it would take 30 minutes to get there... and I was anticipating packed roads). I woke up at 4:45 am, threw on my clothes, and brought my bagel and banana to eat on the road. I arrived by 5:30 am since there was no one on the road. The 50 mile race started at 6 am, so there were some people there. I ended up taking a nap in my car. This was easy to do given that we were in the middle of nowhere and it was very dark. In fact, I do not remember the last time I saw so many stars! It was pretty amazing!
At 6:30 I stood in line for the restroom which was where I met Kris and Denise. They came from New York to run the 16 mile race had not run in temperatures above 40 degrees F! When they heard I was running alone, they invited me to join them. I was so glad I did, because it was nice having someone to talk to for those 16 miles. We followed their training plan which was to run a mile then walk for a minute and to walk up any hill that water could easily run down. Every time we walked, I made sure to drink from my hydration pack which had a combination of water and gatorade. I also took a gel or a shot block every 5 miles.
The weather was perfect that day! I'll admit that I was warm by the end, but it definitely was not horrible. The scenery was beautiful! We ran though an old sink hole that was grown over. However, I did pay more attention to the ground than anything else, because I was worried about tripping. I love trail running!!! The only downfall of the actual race was that a whole group of us got lost. Rather than running 16 miles, we ran 16.69 miles. Even though I was not well trained for this distance, my knees did not hurt at all! In fact, the next day the part of me that was the most sore were my arms... go figure!
I definitely want to do some more trail running! All in all, the race was fantastic! Getting home on the other hand was not so fantastic... My car Garmin told me to turn down a dirt road that was very narrow. The road was two miles long and a mile down the road I got caught in a loose patch of sand. My car stalled. I spent several minutes putting my car in reverse then forward. I kept stalling, but I did eventually make it. I was praying pretty hard that I would be able to get out, because it was pretty scary being stranded in the middle of the woods. I did see wild turkeys and a huge black snake on my drive out of the woods though. I was very happy to arrive home to Chris, the kitties, and my own bed.
My goal was to go out and just have fun, and that is exactly what I did for this race. We finished in just under 4 hours. While the pace was not record-breaking, I had a wonderful time! I would run the Croom Fool's Run again in a heartbeat. And who knows, maybe one day I'll run the 30K. Next time, I will remember to run with my camera. The photos of the race from below were taken by the husband of one of the amazing women I ran with. I absolutely loved running with Kris and Denise! Racing is a wonderful way to make new friends! And if I had not run this race on my own, I may never have met them.
I hope that you all have a fantastic week! I will leave you with photos from the race.
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| My motel room |
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| Ready for race morning |
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| Heading out |
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| I had to leave an OperationBeautiful note. (o: |
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| Finishing |
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| An orange has never tasted so good! |
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| I think this was at mile 8 |
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| Starting back up after a short break |
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| Right before the race started |
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| bbq at the end |
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| My shirt! |
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