Member of the mile high club

And by mile high club I'm referring to the fact that I can now say I've run in the Mile High City.  What were you thinking??

The first weekend in June I flew out to Denver, Colorado to present my research at a conference.  Since my adviser was unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts, we decided I should present a poster rather than a talk which was fine by me.  This was my first conference that I traveled to on my own; however, I was fortunate that a girl I knew in high school happened to live in Denver.  When I mentioned my trip on Facebook, she suggested we meet up.  Serena met me at after I check into my hotel, and we decided to check out the Denver Zoo (sadly, the US mint is closed on weekends).  After having lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, we spent a wonderful afternoon at the zoo followed by her showing me around town.  Denver is quite beautiful!  The air was so incredibly dry (much better for my curly hair!), but that left me extremely thirsty.  I am Florida born and raised, so the elevation difference was pretty extreme.  The next day, I had to work the registration desk at the conference, so that morning I went for a run.  Many people warned me to make sure I did not overdo it, since I was not used to the dry climate and the altitude.  I carried a water bottle and did a nice walk/run for about 3 miles.  Working at the conference went very well.  I met a lot of great people!  The next day I presented my poster, and that went very well.  Then I had to rush to get to the airport for my flight home.  Sadly my flight did get delayed slightly, and at that point I was really starting to not feel well and just wanted to go home.  I eventually made it, and was happy to be home with Chris and my fur babies.  Sadly, the run in Denver was the only run I did that week, because the trip left me feeling very under the weather and I wanted to recover before flying out to Italy (I returned from Denver around 1 a.m. on Tuesday and flew out to Italy at 9pm that Thursday).  But no worries, I made up for the lack of running with all the activities and walking in Rome (more about that in my next post).

I do hope that I have a chance to return to Denver.  I really enjoyed it.  Here are some pictures from my trip:

I love window seats on airplanes. (o:

 

Ice crystals on the window

 

Denver airport

My awesome room

Beautiful city!

Conference sign!  Yes, I'm a dork.

Off to the Denver Zoo with Serena

I want one.

The bear that peeks into the convention center.

Me and Serena, a friend from high school

Running path

 

 

 

 

 

At the conference

The bear from the inside.

Cute, a bit scary, and a bit creepy... but mostly cute.

Bronco on the drive to the airport

I was enjoying sleeping in, until my cat threw up on me....

Since my Saturday morning Facebook status ended up so popular, I decided to make it my blog title today.  Yes, it is true.  My dear little Kirby threw up on me Saturday morning.  After it was cleaned up, he was very happy to finally get fed.  I hope this is not going to be his new way of waking me up in the morning.

Work has kept me really busy the past two weeks.  My co-worker and I spent Friday attempting another organic synthesis (with a new procedure) which we thought failed, but it turned out it did work!  Our product was hidden inside the not-so-delicious-looking black sludge pictured below.  We worked until 8 pm yesterday trying to isolate our product and conduct our experiment.  Our signal was still too low, so we are doing more work-up.  Tonight we left the lab at 11 pm.  Thank goodness for delicious Pei Wei, lots of caffeine, speakers, and Pandora!  Ah, the life of a chemist...

In running-out related news:  After my 22 mile run the Sunday before last, my butt/hip/IT band area was sore for a few days, so I did not run.  Actually, my gluteus minimus is still sore (by the way, Thank you Christine (Correction: Stephanie!  I just realized my mistake!) for the recommended stretch!  I'm so happy you read the article and thought of me and my butt. hehe.  You rock!).  In fact, I did not run again Friday.  I ran with my co-worker (3 miles in 30:54).  I also ran Saturday on my own (3 miles in 26:37) and did an arm work-out with 5 lb weights and some crunches.  As excited as I am about the marathon, I am also feeling a little bored with running at the moment.  I am hoping it passes soon. 

On Friday night, Chris and I went out with Caitlin and Ryan.  Ryan told us that he got accepted to do the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon!  The race is described on the website as:

The 2011 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon will take place June 5, 2011
The Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon includes a 1.5 mile swim from Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay. The race continues with an 18 mile bike ride out the Great Highway, through the Golden Gate Park, and concludes with an 8 mile run through the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The finish is at The Marina Green.

Entries are limited to 2,000 competitors each year. Athletes may compete in the following division: Professional/Elite, Age Group Amateur, Challenged Athletes, Open Relay, or Corporate Relay. Participants must either qualify for Escape from Alcatraz through the Escape to Alcatraz Triathlon Series or register for the Random Lottery open December 1, 2010.

Since 1980, the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon has enticed top professional and amateur triathletes to attempt the impossible – ESCAPE from Alcatraz. The course has remained virtually unchanged in its 30+ year history.  The course and the lore surrounding it brings top competitors back each year to try and get their top finish added to the annals of Escape history. This is not your average triathlon and it never will be. This event prides itself on the sub average water conditions, rough road terrain and sandy climbs that one must endure to complete this race. Successfully finishing this event guarantees bragging rights among fellow triathletes and will leave even your most athletic friends in awe!
Touted as a "legendary” race within the triathlon community, the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon traditionally draws top international triathletes to the competition.

So exciting (and crazy)!  He wanted to do the race to celebrate his 30th birthday.  The race will be in June, and he told me he would write a race recap.  I cannot wait to hear all about it!  On Saturday, we had lunch with our friend Diane.  We were right next to a flash mob (in the mall and we were eating at a restaurant attached to the mall).  I am so sad we missed it!  Participating in a flash mob is on my bucket list!  You can see the YouTube video here:



Then Sunday I went to lunch with my friends Kyle and Erin while Chris was doing homework (which aside from lunch with Diane he also worked on all day Saturday... poor guy!).  I had a wonderful time with them!  Erin is actually going to make our wedding cake, which I am wayyyyy excited about!

Pictures from Kyle and Erin's wedding November 2006

Well I'm off to try and sleep.  I hope you all are having a great week.  Oh, and the comic below seems to fit me so well at the moment.

[source]

Frustrating week in research

I do not have any runs to report at the moment.  The last two days I have spent long days at work.  I really need a good mid-length run right now.  I plan to run either tonight (pending plans with a friend) or tomorrow. 

[image source]

 I spent three long days this week working on an organic synthesis for school/work only to discover yesterday that it did not work.  We have successfully done this synthesis twice, and then the last two times it has not worked (and these two times were spaced a month apart).  Even my adviser who helped us with the synthesis has no idea why it is not working.  Long story short, I need the the synthesis product to do an experiment and nothing is working at the moment which has left me very frustrated.  Frustration is a part of research, and while last night I was frustrated beyond belief, I deep down still absolutely love my work.  I live for a challenge.  

Some quotes from some very wise men:

"I have not failed.  I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."  ~Thomas Edison


"If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?"  ~Albert Einstein

Last night I went home and had a very nice dinner with Chris which included a much needed glass of wine.  Then I went to bed and slept for nearly 9 hours.  Now I am up, feeling refreshed, and ready to face the challenge again.  Thank you for allowing me to vent.  Off to do more research!  How do you face mental challenges?  Have a wonderful day! 

P.S.  On a positive note, my butt is feeling better (Thank you for asking, Christine!  You're so sweet!).  There is still a dull pain, but is much better compared to last week.  Yay!

 

Candidacy done and Half Marathon PR!!!

Well I am still alive and running.  Friday morning was my big presentation for my candidacy.  I felt really great about the paper and presentation, but I did stumble on some questions due to nerves.  I have to fix something then I will officially have passed and be a doctoral candidate.  Woo-hoo!  I feel like it has consumed my life for weeks now, and it feels good to be past it.

Rather than going out and celebrating with drinks, we celebrated with a pasta dinner to prepare for our half marathon the next morning.  Caitlin and I ran the OUC Half Marathon, which was her first half marathon race, and Chris ran the 5K.  Caitlin and I have been training for distance for the marathon and not for speed, so while I wanted to get a PR, I honestly was not sure it was possible.  I had done some speed work up to 6 miles, but not any farther than that.  In 2007, this same race was my very first half marathon, and I shocked myself then with a time of 2:06:56.  I ran a second half marathon two months later, and it was and still is the worst race I have ever run.  Needless to way, I did not PR on that race.  I have not run a half marathon since then, which made this my third half marathon.

The morning was cold, but I quickly warmed up when the race started.  I knew that if I could keep my pace below 9:45 that I could get a PR.  I kept naturally speeding up but forcing myself to slow down to a 9:30 pace.  I felt really great for the entire run.  Around mile 5 I started to get a little cramp, but after taking a GU at mile 6 it went away (I also started the race with a GU for a total of 2 for the race).  When I was few miles from the end, I let myself speed up a bit, but not too fast.  I was afraid of speeding up too much and getting one of those horrible side stitches that plagued me in my first half marathon (at mile 9).  I only stopped to talk to get water or gatorade at the water stops.  I am happy to say that I did PR!  My official chip time was 2:02:43 (9:22 pace).  I was so excited!  And the absolute best part is that I have never felt so great during a race!  I mean I felt wonderful for the entire race and awesome after!  A few hours later my knees were pretty sore, and wearing heals to Chris's work Christmas party didn't help I'm sure.  Today my knees are better although not perfect yet.  My calves and my hamstrings are sore though.  I did not take an ice bath after, which I think is part of the reason for the muscle soreness.  I did actually fill up the bath tub, but it turned out that the water was pretty warm rather than cold and since it was cold outside I just went with it.  This race made me feel like the marthon training is going well despite the lack of longer runs recently.  After the marathon, my goal is to train to increase my speed and set new PRs for my 5K, 10K, and half marathon.  I really, really want to aim for a sub 2 hour half marathon.

Mile splits according to Garmy:

Mile 1:  9:23
Mile 2:  9:27
Mile 3:  9:25
Mile 4:  9:25
Mile 5:  9:30
Mile 6:  9:24
Mile 7:  9:29
Mile 8:  9:24
Mile 9:  9:18
Mile 10:  9:15
Mile 11:  9:15
Mile 12:  9:11
Mile 13:  9:00
Last 0.17 (according to the Garmin): 7:48 pace

Here we are after the race.  Chris said his 5K went well, and I was really excited when I saw him at the end of my race cheering me on.  He's the best!

As I mentioned, we went to Chris's work Christmas party last night.  It was held at Texas de Brazil.  Basically, just imagine all-you-can-eat meat.  It was delicious!

 

Then today we started our morning off with Star Wars pancakes, compliments of Chris's mom (she bought the molds, syrup, and pancake mix for Chris while we were visiting over the Thanksgiving holiday).  They were quite tasty.

Yoda, Darth Vader, and a Stormtrooper

Well I'm heading to bed.  I hope you all are doing well!  Happy December!

First my freak-out section: I AM FLIPPING OUT ABOUT MY THERMODYNAMICS CLASS IN THE FALL!!!! I just found out that the one teacher who scares the crap out of me will be teaching. I managed to get through my undergraduate degree without having him as a professor, but now I have to face him. I am trying to tell myself that losing my 4.0 GPA won't be the end of the world... That doesn't mean I won't be working my butt off day and night to get an A, but I'm extremely concerned. I plan to brush up on my calculus and physical chemistry over the summer... along with studying to get a license for work, working on my seminar, moving, and most importantly doing research.
:::Deep Breath:::
:::Deep Breath:::
:::Deep Breath:::
Okay. It's going to be alright. It wouldn't be a PhD without a ton of work, and I know in the end it will be worth it. I've made it this far. I had my inorganic final this morning, and tonight is my kinetics and catalysis final. I feel good about that one. I have one more final on Monday for my organic synthesis class. One another good note, I found an awesome new setting on the software for my instrument at work. Yay! Now away from school talk...

On to the fitness related section: The challenges are going great. I am seeing wonderful results! My butt looks tighter (I'm sure that will pick up some Google hits), and my arms are starting to actually have some definition to them! My abs are much tighter than before, although I think that is the result of the three one-minute planks we do each work-out. On Saturday we are going bathing suit shopping for the cruise! I am actually pretty excited! Just 10 days until my cruise!!!!

I'm off to grab some food and relax before my final. I hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

Challenge Tests

We did the challenge tests today. I cannot successfully do one real push-up. I can't make myself go all the way down. I can do at least 10 on my knees, but since I can't do one full push-up, I'm going to say that I'm starting at the lowest level for the push-up challenge. The squat and sit-up tests were much easier. I'm in the top rank for both of those.

After the tests, Caitlin and I did our usual Friday work-out. This afternoon is a Women In Science Luncheon that I'm really looking forward to. After is the Annual Chemistry Picnic at school. That is usually fun. Good food and a lot of nerds. It's my kind of place. (o;

Oh, I got an A in seminar! I am so relieved to be done with seminar this semester! In the fall I will give the official seminar to faculty and students, but until then I will just be doing more research on background materials. By the way, my seminar is on stand-off detection of explosives using photothermal imaging and a variation of photoacoustic spectroscopy. I've linked some articles about them. The actual journal articles are pretty interesting. I'm excited about it (I'm such a dork!).

Time to be lazy before the luncheon. Have a great weekend all!

I PASSED!!!

Yesterday I defended my thesis in front of my committee, and I passed! I will officially be graduating in May with my M.S. in Forensic Science degree! Oh yeah, it turns out that portions of my thesis were in 1.5 spaces instead of double (which is required), so my thesis ended up being 158 pages!

The 10K last Saturday went a lot better than I thought. I guess training at the faster rate on the treadmill has been working. My chip time was 55:47, and according to the e-mail sent to the race officials, my pace was 8:58.5. I was psyched! Granted afterwards I was feeling very exhausted. I am glad I have six months to train for the half marathon! The next race is the 7 Mile Bridge on April 19th.

I don't have much time to write, because I am at work and need to start making the few changes to my thesis, but I wanted to respond to some of the comments that have been left.

I am soooo excited about the trip to Ireland! I will be taking a TON of pictures, and will definitely post some here. I read that there are 4 water stops for the race. I am thinking that I should start testing out gels or something, so I have electrolytes since I don't believe there will be Gatorade (or something similar). I have tried the Sports Beans before the race, and I liked those. Do you guys have any suggestions? Oh, after the 10K there was Accelerade, but one sip made me feel sick.

The C.S.I. Hash name cracks me up! And Jes, I have heard of HashSpace, but I can't really look it up because you have to be invited in, sadly. Have you hashed recently? **EDIT** Okay, I just received an invite to HashSpace! So if you are on there Jes, try to look me up!

Well time to make some corrections. Hopefully I'll have time to read some blogs next week. This weekend I'm going home for my sister's baby shower, and hopefully fitting in a run.

Future Dr. Jes!

Thanks for the concern Doug! I am alive and well. My knee is doing great! I didn't get to any spinning classes last week due to my experiments in the lab taking longest than possible, but the roommate and I did go to Pilates and relaxation. Last Thursday we ran 10 miles (her longest distance so far)!!!! We did the two mile lap around our apartment five times, running in the grass for half of it. The last 0.2 miles of each lap we walked, got a drink, and stretched. I really think that it helped my knee.  Our average pace was 13 min/mile, but again that did include stopping to drink, stretch, and walking. I have continued to ice and use icy hot at night, and now it feels great! We are going to run an easy two miles tomorrow before Pilates, and then go to the relaxation class on Thursday. Friday will be a yummy spaghetti dinner, then Saturday is the half marathon! I also found out that there is a hash later that day, and it is going to be a friend's first hash... so I'm not sure how I'm going to run both, but I will try!

It's hard to believe that exactly one year ago our goal was to run one mile without stopping... and here I am about to run my second half marathon! Running has definitely changed my life for the better. I feel better about myself (physically and mentally), it's an excellent way to relieve stress, and I have met so many amazing people (in real life and in "Blogging Land"). Thank you all for your continuous support, advice, and tales! I really do miss reading all of your blogs!!!Here is my RunStoppable chart of my mileage. I only started using RunStoppable around the middle of May. As you can see, I have drastically decreased on the amount of miles I ran. I hope to slowly build up more, but I'm sure I won't hit September's peak again for a while. As I have continuously mentioned, the thesis is taking up much of my time at the moment.

Two weekends ago, my running partner Joe moved to Texas. The roommate, Joe, Chris, and I went out to dinner then to a pub for drinks. Here's a picture of the roommate, Joe, and myself.
This past weekend Chris and I went to visit some of my family, and took some time away from our studies to visit the Beer Fest. I consider it early carb-loading.

Chris and I signed up for Muddy Buddy in May! And the roommate is partnered with her sister for it. I cannot wait!!! A group of us are also trying to get in for the 7 Mile Bridge Run, in Key West *fingers crossed*.

It has been crazy here! I have less than two months to finish writing, create a presentation, and defend my thesis! Eek!!!! Which means I am hundreds of blogs behind in reading (yes, hundreds!). Then to add to that, this past week I decided that Doctor Jes has a very nice ring to it. That's right, I am going to go for my PhD in chemistry, with an emphasis on forensics. That means I am also trying to put together my application for admission, and this summer I will be cramming like crazy for the proficiency exams (Has anyone taken inorganic chem???). That also meant I had to tell Special Agent C today that he didn't need to proceed with my background check for that job I interviewed for in Georgia. I felt bad, especially since I did't want to burn any bridges, but seriously... Dr. Jes! Education paid for by the school! I can't pass that up!! (I am a professional student now!)

One last note... my mom wrote me a cute, cheesy poem! She sent me a card with family pictures and had the following poem written inside:

Queen of Running Land

She runs on Her Land from morning till night,
And only walks when the time is right.
A smart, pretty girl who's happy and sweet,
Yet is a fast runner who's quick on her feet.
Her smile is so bright with each passing day.
She speaks a kind word to others on her way!
So look for the Queen that runs in the town.
Her name is Jessica - a good friend all-around!!

Then she drew a stick figure with curly hair and a crown. She sure does know how to make me smile.

I hope you all are doing great!!!!