Miles and One Big Meal

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope you all had a great day! I was super pumped for the Turkey Trot 5K this morning, mostly because Brad agreed to do it with me!! This is the first race he's done and I'm hoping he'll catch the bug! I was thisclose to a PR but I'll get into that later when I review the race.

This is my 'hokie'. Pardon my bug eyes!!

I found a new place to take crappy pictures. Just to switch it up from the bathroom self portraits! And you can see my nativity at the bottom (my favorite Christmas decoration!!).

I'm using the Turkey Trot to link up with Alissa over at Journey to Thin for her Thankful Healthy Blogger 5k.

Thanks Alissa for hosting this!!

While Brad was working on our turkey (side note:  I usually just cook a turkey breast since it's just the two of us but we got a $15 Butterball gift certificate and Brad was dead set on making a turkey) I took Rileybear for a 5k walk. We stirred up all the dogs in our neighborhood and the two next to us. Whoops.

I wanted to walk to hopefully combat the calories that I'd be getting later. I also wanted to enter Kiley's 5k as well! She's doing a whole holiday series, you should definitely check it out! I did the Halloween 5k too! Thanks for hosting Kiley!!

Sorry Kiley, but my printer is out of ink! I pulled up the bib on my iPad, but you can see how well that worked out! And my partner in crime was being SUPER cooperative!!

So that was the workout part of my day. B-rad dominated the turkey and I took care of the sides.

And we've been lazy on the couch for the rest of the day!! Oh, and not to be outdone,  Riley got a big bone for Thanksgiving:

It lasted him about 10 minutes. For reals.

Get Your Sh*t Together Sunday

So this is something new I'm trying out. Like I've mentioned before, I do well with goals and plans once I make them. It's just the making them that I've been struggling with. So why not have a day once a week that I make plans for the rest? Thanks to my new job I won't be working anymore Sundays!!! Giving me time to attend church AND start a series with a curse word in the title. Something's wrong here.

Monday: 2 mile run, NTC workout
Tueday: 2 mile run, NTC workout
Wednesday: work 12 hours
Thursday: work 12 hours
Friday: 2 mile run
Saturday: ziplining with fam, elliptical
Sunday: rest day

I'm doing a sort of bridge/maintenance running routine for awhile. I'm doing Kiley's Halloween 5k and then I'm going to do a Turkey Trot 5k here in Asheville.

check it out!!!



What are planning to get done this week?
Have you started picking out races for 2012 yet?

Runway 5K at the Asheville Airport and a Great Weekend

Saturday I got up early and drove down to the WNC Ag Center to take a bus over to the AVL airport for the first annual Runway 5k. I went really early because we had to take the bus over, and you never know how that'll play out. The buses were super efficient (unlike the Run on the Wildside) so I had about and hour and a half to kill before the race. They had some planes out for us to look at:

It was FREEZING. This was my first run in the cold and it was challenging, especially with the crazy wind. It was pretty cool to run on the runway though. This was the first time for this race and I really hope they continue to have it. We even got technical shirts:

Unfortunately, I didn't finish under 30 minutes. My time was 32:47. But that's okay, just gives me something to work on. I was sooo on track to finish under 30 but I crapped out around 2.2 and had to walk for a minute.

I came home and made waffles for me and my little brother (my family came to visit!!!!). Then we got to work (Brad was at real work). Let me just tell you... My family is AWESOME. My mom pressure washed my front porch, dad and Matthew cleared off this forest in our backyard, and I mowed the yard. I wish I had a before picture, but here's the after:

This is a crap iPhone pic (what else would you expect from me?) but basically before they did this, the forest started right behind my garden. They chopped down trees and cleared all the brush. AMAZING.

Then we cleared the flower beds in front of the house. No, I don't require all my guests to do manual labor. I promise.


After we cleaned up and Brad got home, we went to Pack's Tavern in downtown Asheville.

It's a cool place with a lot of history (they made moonshine here during prohibition). We had some drinks and apps while waiting for a table. At some point during this, Brad tells me that mom and matthew had just taken a shot of everclear... WHAT?!? I misheard, they had actually had a sample of Pack's signature drink, the Orange Crush. Then all hell broke loose. I kid. But we all (minus dad who was our DD) ordered them. They were delicious! Tasted like an orange cream slushee. They were made with 10 cane rum, everclear, and Tang.

Here's my little brother (and his beard) and his drink. If you look past him you'll see mom's drink too and the magical slushee machine that spits these things out. Needless to say we all slept great last night.

Matthew is a powerlifter by the way. I don't have any weights but he used Riley to get some reps in:

They went home today and I'm sad :(

Biltmore Baptist VBS 5K Hero Run

This weekend started out with a 5K race at my church. I wasn't expecting a whole lot, mostly because the point was to raise money for one of our missionary families that works with an orphanage in Haiti. 100% of the proceeds went to the orphanage. I thought it was a wondeful idea and I was really happy to be a part of it.

It was also great that I set a new PR! 31:37, shaved a whole minute off! I started strong and the first mile was actually right around a 9 minute mile. That's unheard of for me! Then I got hot and I got bored. The race was three laps around the church, and I'm not complaining, but midway through the second lap I got passed by the kid who won the race... A little depressing!

I walked some, but tried to keep it at a minimum. I also reaffirmed what I supsected:  It is not a good idea for me to drink the night before a race. I was super dehydrated. After the race we got free strawberry smoothies, delicious! I also grabbed a coupon for free chick-fil-a chicken minis for b-rad.

I'm hoping at some point to break 30 minutes this summer. I'm also hoping to run a full 5K at some time this year :)

Five Things Friday

1.  I lost 2.4 lbs this week! I weighed in today and it was such a great feeling! I was afraid that I would gain or have a crappy week because I lost so much last week, but another good week!

2. I'm running a 5K tomorrow at my church, Biltmore Baptist. It's called the VBS Hero Run and all the proceeds (if you want a shirt it's extra) are going to a children's orphanage in Haiti. I'm not sure how great the race will be, but it really feels great to know the money is actually going to something worthwhile.

3. I got these in the mail today:

These are so freaking comfortable! Are they the cutest shoes ever? No. But I love what they stand for and and they are so comfortable.

4. B-rad and I saw the new XMen movie the other day. I haven't seen any of the previous ones, but I really wanted to see this one for some reason. Some reason being:

I love some James McAvoy. And Jennifer Lawrence was great in Winter's Bone and she's set to play Katniss in the Hunger Games. Plus, by no means is she not skinny, but I'm loving that she isn't a stick figure. I thought it was a great movie.

Ah, James McAvoy.

5. I signed up for another 5K yesterday. The 32nd annual Bele Chere 5K at the end of July. Bele Chere is a street festival held in downtown Asheville. I've been both years since we moved here, and B-rad has had to work both times. This year we're both off and I'm looking forward to him getting to experience it. There is great artwork, jewelry, shopping, and that amazing atmosphere that Asheville is known for. There are all kinds of live bands, food, and you can even have open containers. I figure if I'm going to eat my weight in funnel cakes, sno-cones, and liquid calories, I can at least run a little 5K.

Who are your favorite actors?
Running any races this weekend?

Biltmore Classic 5K/15K Race Review

This was the 13th annual running of the Biltmore Classic. The race proceeds benefit Kiwanis International Children's Charities. In previous years the race has been run at the Biltmore House (kinda sad I missed that), but this was the first year at a new location, the North Carolina Arboretum. I have been interested in the Arboretum as a potential place to run, but have put off going because they charge $8 a car to park. I'm not $8 interested.

You might have guessed from my earlier post, but my biggest complaint about the race is the generic website. Very little information. I'm new at this and I'm a nerd, so I want all the info I can get. But everything else was pretty great. It was a cool morning, I arrived and got checked in very easily. We were given T-shirts and Earth Fare coupons. They had the one of the buildings open so we had good bathrooms and could hang out in there until it warmed up. I walked around the grounds a little bit (had to see if it is worth the parking pass!!), and it was beautiful!

I loved the water features and all the beautiful flowers. Plus, I found out that they have LOTS of trails for running/walking/biking. The website says 10 miles worth. The race started right on time and the first half mile was downhill (which I loved, except I knew that the start line was also the finish so i knew we were coming back up them at some point). About a mile in the terrain switched to gravel, which was different. I just tried to concentrate on not tripping.

The distance wasn't marked well, but I had my Nike+ to give me an idea of the mileage. I didn't pay attention to my pace, so I was very happy when I got close to the clock and saw 32 minutes. After the race they had bagels, bananas, orange slices, water, Coke Zero, some chocolate/peanut butter bars and some animal crackers. Pretty good for such a small race. I also really enjoyed being able to go back and wait for the 15K runners.  I decided right then and there that I would not be running the 5K next time... 15K here I come.

I also think I'm gonna purchase the annual parking pass and do some training on all the hilly trails in the arboretum. It'll be good prep for the ACT Half.

Lance Armstrong Showed Me How to Use Moleskin This AM

I laid out my gear last night (is it layed or laid? I never mastered that one). I got up around 545a, our foster doggy was barking like crazy. I got her and Riley out and fed then got myself put together. I had about five Sharkies for breakfast. Before my last 5K I had apples and PB before the race and felt horrible. This worked a lot better for me and my stomach felt great.

Then I had to deal with a blister. The other night I threw on some socks and shoes so that I could walk the dogs up and down our mountain. I don't usually workout in the pair of socks that I grabbed, and I earned myself a blister with that decision (more thoughtlessness, less decision... you actually have to think about it to make a decision). So after work last night I picked up some of this:

Then this morning I realized I had no idea what to do with it. I was leaning towards just cutting it and slapping a piece over the blister. But since I had a little extra time (thanks Chandler for waking me up at the crack of dawn) and my last bout of carelessness put me in this situation in the first place... I decided to do what I always do when I am unsure of how to do something... I googled it. I found this gem. Thank you Lance Armstrong.  

Pardon the dog hair, but other than that I was pretty proud of myself. And it worked like a charm!

I got to the Arboretum around 7a, got registered and warmed up. And I was wrong, I did get a shirt.

They started the race right on time which I was really happy about. I hate waiting around. I'll review the race later, but I was very happy with it and my time. Possibly a new PR?!? You'll have to wait and see, I'll post when the official results go up. I'm off to take a nap and eat my weight in protein.

Biltmore Classic 5K/15K

Tomorrow I'm running the 14th annual Biltmore Classic that is put on by the Kiwanis Club. I'm doing the 5K... If it actually goes down. I'm feeling a little skeptical and a lot confused. When I signed up for the race the website was mostly under construction. I figured I was just early (which should have been the first clue, because I am rarely that) and they were slow.

I signed up and based on the fact that they did not ask for my shirt size, I'm assuming no shirt for me (my deduction skills are amazing, no?). After a little googling, I found out that for the last 13 years, this race has been run on the Biltmore Estate.

Awesome. I have amazing timing. Yes I have been to the Biltmore more times that I care to count, but it would be really cool to run a race there. But for whatever reason, the race is no longer happening there. It's supposedly happening at the NC Arboretum, which is about a half a mile from our house but we've never been (mostly because they charge like 10 bucks a car to park there). I found out that they offer a pass that is reasonable if you go a lot and I have been looking for a place closer to home to run. I've been putting it off until tomorrow to see what it's like.

Anyways, the website is still crap. No new info. All I know is that there had better be a race tomorrow. Because if I get up at 6am for nothing, I'm gonna be MAD!