11/26/12

Race Day Ready Giveaway #6- Handana!


November has been a strange month.  It feels almost non-existent.  It has flown by with impressive speed.  That is particularly odd to me because time usually goes quickly only when you are dearly trying to preserve it.  This month has been a mad rush of trying to get back to regular routines.

Here on the NJ Shore we are balancing getting back to reality, helping one another, and providing comfort and consistency to a place that was shaken by a hurricane.  Just when you trick your mind into believing things are getting back to normal, all it takes is a little walk down the street, a facebook post calling for volunteers or donations, or a news article showing unimaginable damage that is so beyond repair that it looks as though the only solution is a giant bulldozer.  It's going to be all right.  We have to believe that, and we do.

As far as running goes, for us, this should be dubbed a good month:

1.I have a new half marathon PR

Rounding the bases at the Trenton Half Marathon finish line.
Look at my hands.  Weird...

11/12/12

"Wow, and you're here?" Inaugural Trenton Half Marathon Race Review

The first sentence in the title is the response (perhaps not verbatim) that I got from 3 different people at Trenton Half Marathon after I responded to the question "Where are you from?"

And don't think that there was no hesitation on my part.  The day after Superstorm Sandy flipped our neighborhoods upside down, I wondered how in the hell I would muster up the ability to give a ____ about running a half marathon.  I had just run my best marathon one day before we were evacuated, and could not be bothered to bask in the glory of my accomplishment.  Managing to (reluctantly) squeeze in ONE training run for Trenton, I realized that if I were going to show up at all, I needed to figure out a way muster up the drive, adrenaline, and energy to give 100% to this race.  I also knew that my world would not come crashing to an end if my 100% on this race day did not yield the same results as a "normal" (before Sandy) race day.

Enough with the emotionally driven keystrokes. (For now.)  Let's talk about this inaugural half marathon.

The idea of being part of a first time event is always exciting to me.  We headed to packet pickup, which was hosted at the New Jersey State Museum, on Friday afternoon.  It went smoothly and seamlessly.  Race swag was sweet!  The drawstring bag and half zip (WOMEN'S) pullover impressed me and made me wonder how much more impressive the race itself would be.

Inside the NJ State Museum



I got a glimpse of the medal at the Trenton Half Marathon merchandise table and HAD TO snap a picture.

Nice, right?


This medal is one of the classiest, highest quality and possibly the prettiest (hey it's my blog so I can use whatever descriptive I like) medal in my half marathon collection thus far.

The Trenton medal kicks my other favorite half marathon
medals' butts.  


We carb loaded with friends afterward and headed home so I could pull my race day wear together and get some sleep.  Trenton is not even a one hour drive for us and I was so glad to sleep in my own bed the night before a race!

Even though we were pressed by a volunteer at the Expo to arrive by 6:30am, we decided we didn't need to do that.  Being absurdly early only to wait in the freezing cold at the start just did not seem necessary.  We decided that arriving 45 minutes early would be more than sufficient.  We ended up waiting in an endless line of cars waiting to turn onto the street where parking was designated.  By the time 40 minutes went by, we were almost close to the parking lot.  I was confident that even though we would not make it the 7:45 start that this was fine as it was evident that the endless line of cars behind us wouldn't make that start either.

As someone who works for a race and timing company, I have a lot of grace for race day hiccups.  And in an inaugural race, you kind of have to expect them.  And you have to keep things in perspective- a late start doesn't end the world.  That life and death do not depend on instant results.  That volunteers may be clueless.  Something that was supposed to be "here" might end up "all the way over there" instead.  It's just a race.

11/9/12

Race Day Ready #5 winner!!! (all kinds of awesome stuff!)

Sorry to make you all wait so long.

Everything is progressing forward here.  Beaches and boards and marinas and businesses and homes are getting cleaned up.  There are mountains of "remains" (wood, roofing, personal items, furniture, and who knows what else) as high as my roof in some areas.  We did not lose power during the second storm (Athena) but my sons' father did.  We hope he'll have electricity before the weekend is over.

To make this short and sweet, our winner is:

Jogging Jawa




The image is appropriate for those of us trying to find our center while dealing with the destruction that surrounds us from this damn hurricane.

And we will also award a coupla things to:

Natalie Torres
Guardian
Frickin' Fabulous at 40.

Words are and visualizations are all the more needed now that I run without the distraction of music. Thank you for fueling me with encouragement! Ladies, find my e-mail address by clicking on the "about" tab up there in the menu bar. Send me your address!

Race reports and the next giveaways are coming soon!



11/4/12

Finally Back On The Grid (New Jersey Shore post Hurricane Sandy)

So I ran the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, October 28th with a PR of 4:30:22.  I didn't sleep a wink the night before.  I wish I was exaggerating.  And yes, it was difficult and I will write a race report, but that is not what this entry is about.

I rushed home to prepare for Hurricane Sandy. This was being dubbed the most destructive storm the NJ Shore has seen since early 1900-something. Our original plan was to stay in the Washington DC area until Monday afternoon. We watched the weather closely and just shy of two hours post race, we checked out of our hotel room and headed homeward. While I was confident that the rain would hold off until I crossed the finish line, I was anxious over the mere thought of being stranded in DC while my children were in NJ during the worst storm in (our) history.

11/1/12

Instead Softcup Challenge - AMAZING giveaway for the ladies!

Update 1/1/13
If you signed up for the Instead Softcup Challenge, but have not written your review yet, you have until June 1, 2013 to write your review, submit it to us and get reimbursed for a race of your choice! Don't miss out on this opportunity!  Again the deadline to submit your review is June 1, 2013!


I have been working on this for a long time. I'll let the video (uhm, that's me, yeah, I'm not a professional...) tell you all about it.

If you can't watch the video because you are using a mobile device, I have included everything I said in the video below. See that tab that says "contact form" up there? Use it! Now! Don't forget to become a follower and add For The Love Of The Run on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @loveoftherun. (I'm a new Twit, so be patient with me.) Feel free to re-post and share this with your friends too!