running

What I did this weekend!

| cheriarmour

I am a naughty naughty blogger.

Instead of being the good blogger I know I can be, I did not preschedule out posts like I should have for this weekend, so that’s why things were a little quiet around here over the weekend.  I’m sorry!  But I’ll refresh you on all the cool stuff I did this weekend.

Saturday:  I taught my Zumba class like normal, and then, I went down to a friend’s to pick up a new toy!  I don’t have photos just yet, but my new (to me!) toy is a little commuter bike that I am going to start using – I think I’m gonna try to ride to work once or twice a week for a little extra exercise and to save a little bit on gas.  Any of you guys commute this way to work?

Then, I headed down to Elon (I know, you guys are getting sick of me talking about how great Elon is,) and I headed to the 15-year anniversary party for my a cappella group, Twisted Measure.  The concert was so so great, and they released another CD, available now on iTunes.

My frands!

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These kids throw a killer, killer party, and the evening consisted of yard games, barbecue, Jack Daniels jello shots, and Fireball (which I had to kindly decline).

Somehow, but the grace of god (and a package of this electrolyte stuff), I managed to get up, get a run in with a friends from the group (I LOVE DOING THAT!) and even managed to take the little bike out for a test ride!

Okay, that was mine,

How was your weekend? 

Epic Damned Post. #Werundc

| cheriarmour

So this past weekend (don’t you dare ask me what took so long to post this), I ran the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in Washington, DC.  This post is going to be split up into two posts, one for the race itself and the prep leading up to it, because I don’t want your brain to explode from how awesome all of the deets are.  But they are awesome.

Okay, so I drove up to DC last Friday night, and arrived to my place in Georgetown, which, luckily was right down the street from Niketown Georgetown.  As SOON as I got settled into my spot, I changed into some running clothes, and made the quick run down to Niketown to see the set up for the expo.   photo-1

Thanks to insomnia that night, I really didn’t sleep that well (think like 3 hours), and I headed down to the expo super early so I wouldn’t be caught in the shitshow that was the expo last year.  The lines were really too nuts for me last year, and I really don’t do that well around all those people in the sun.

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I meet up with these beauties for the #runnerslove meetup at Sprinkles in Georgetown after, and unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling great, so I skipped the cupcakes and went for a coke instead to try to settle whatever was going on with my stomach.  I will forever be known as “bike girl” in that group because I rode my bike down to the cupcake shop, and had to tote that thang around while we tromped around Georgetown.

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I could not eat any of these.  How cruel is this world!

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We determined this might have been this easiest way to eat the cupcake without making a mess.

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DSC_0450Here were all of the beautiful bloggers getting to work.  They were a BLAST.  A blast, I tell you.

The girls lead me to this amazing spot where I snagged some new bracelets to jingle and jangle my rest of the way through the night…

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And finally, we arrived to race day.  (Don’t worry, I will fill you in on the rest of the amazing things we did in DC, including this insane hotel I stayed in next post, to come tomorrow 🙂 )

Race morning, I woke up around 4:45, and jumped in the shower, since I wasn’t really feeling well enough to do it the night before.  I ate half of a nasty-ass bagel that I found at CVS, and made my way down to the Foggy Bottom metro station and road down to the start line.  Once I was there, I tucked my skinny behind in a corner, and called Austin, and observed people, because pre-race chatter makes me really nuts and nervous.  And about 15 minutes from the start, I made my way into my corral.

**I must have been smoking crack when I estimated my finish time because even though I finished in just a smidgen over 2 hours, I was in the 10:30 pace group, which proved to be so wrong, because I spent far too long in the race bobbing and weaving and trying to work my way up.  DO NOT underestimate yourself.**

And with that, off we went.

I cruised.  I cruised, I cruised, and I cruised some more.  I ran, I talked to people.  I read the signs.  At one point, when I was running back through the tunnel, a drummer hit on me by grabbing my arm, and I have to say, it was an awesome race.

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photo 2-1This handsome mane delivered me my Tiffany’s.

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My blannnnng!

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My new boyfriends.

The race in review?

The bad?

Seriously, none.  I have nothing bad to say about this race.

The good?

Too much.

  • The Whole Foods chocolate table at mile like 11, staffed by women giving out chocolate.
  • The course.  Tons of entertainment, and tons of people came out.
  • The swag.  A Tiffany’s necklace, water bottles, Luna Bars, Nuun along the course
  • The friends and family station done by alphabet, where we could easily meet up with our friends and family?

The race was sick.

Anyone else out there do this race?  What did you love?  

Race Etiquette

| cheriarmour

I ran the Nike Women’s Half Marathon on Sunday morning, which you totally know if you follow me on Twitter, IG, or Facebook. And yes, that is a shameless plug, but ya girl’s gotta eat!

I promise, I promise, I promise, you are going to get a full recap of that race, but I literally took 10 million pictures that I need to get together, and I might actually have to split it up into two posts.  And I literally just thought of that, and I think that’s a good idea.  I might do that!  Less overwhelming that way, right?

Okay, moving right along.  So I had a wonderful time at the race this weekend with the exception of one really really nagging issue.

So, race day, we were organized into corrals according to our estimated finish time, which we estimated way way back in December, when we were registering for the race lottery.   This is where I made my first mistake – I think I was still reeling from the death of my grandmother, and from having puked all over the Greensboro Marathon, because I must have put something much slower than my normal pace in.  When I got my bracelet which organized me into my pace group, I was pretty surprised to see that I was in like the 10:00-10:30 group.  “Alright, no big,” I said to myself.

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I should have known better, because I ran into this issue last year, when I started at that back of my pace group, and spent like the first three miles of the race duck, diving and dodging folks to try and rally for a good nice spot that I could cruise in for the rest of the race.  So that part was my fault, and I should have not been so hard on myself about my pace (I averaged a 9:05 for the race, which is still a little slow for me, but nowhere near that 10:30 I was tripping on).

The rest was just folks with bad manners.

Race etiquette. 

These are a few actual things I observed during the race that created a sometimes annoying, sometimes dangerous situation for me and other runners.

  • Know your pace, and stick to that pace group.  Hey, I was guilty here of starting in a pace group that was a little slow for me.  And I had to work my way up.  But when you start in the 7:30 corral, and you’re walking within the first 3/4ths of a mile, you’re creating a really dangerous situation for the runners around you that have to dodge, have to slam on their “brakes” when you decide to stop, or who have to slow down and idle behind you until they find an out.  Now, I understand that sometimes you start there, and you realize it’s just not gonna happen that day.  And that’s fine.  But that brings me to my next point.
  • If you decide that you’re not gonna stick to your pace, get over, kind of like you’re driving a car, and kind of hang out there while you stretch, catch your breath, tie your shoe, or walk it out.  Again, don’t slam on those brakes because it creates confusion and congestion for the runners behind you.
  • If someone sticks their hand out for a high five, don’t be an a-hole.  High five them back!  Chances are, because you’re with me in the 9:05 minute club, you’re not breaking any records, and you can spare a high five.  Plus, it literally makes the minutes and hours go by a little faster.
  • If you’re stopping to take a photo, get over.  I mean, seriously?  Don’t stop, whip out your friggin iPhone, and have me trippin over you because it’s time to take a selfie.  And I get it, I love a good selfie this time of year, but let’s keep it appropriate.
  • Anticipate water stops.  I saw so many people do these awkward crab walks across like 10 lanes of runner traffic for a cup of Nuun.  Fun fact:  most of the water stops were on both sides of the street (nice perk!) and didn’t require that crab walk.

So these were some of the things that I caught…what are your race pet peeves?

Blogging from the Westin Lobby!

| cheriarmour

Not even kidding.

I’m staying at the nicest hotel ever ever ever, and WiFi isn’t free in the room, so I grabbed a glass of overpriced white wine, and I popped a squat in the lobby to read some blogs, do some commenting, and observe all the drunky monkies as they come in from their nights out.  I’m not judging them.  That hard.  ::evil laughter::

Okay, so I’m staying in the hotel, by my lonesome, taking a much needed “break”.

And by break, I really mean that I’m blogging a bunch, catching up on some wedding stuff, and running a half marathon.  But I get to do it all while sleeping in a very very comfortable bed and watching Bravo without any cats parking on my face like one of them did last night.  Anyone want a free cat, I’m bout sick of that little orange one I adopted last year….(JK freaks!)

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So first thing I did, after I wrangled my bags into my room, was to do a super fast run down to Niketown to check out the name wall that they do.  Last year, my friggin name was on this split, so I was Cherisse no-last-name-til-the-next-line, and this year, by the grace of God, I’m Cheri full-last-name!  Eep!  The run felt good, was really short, and was flat.  I plan to do the same tomorrow morning, wake up really really early and get down there to get my packet, then return here to do a little more work.  I love it here.  🙂

What are you doing on this gorgeous Saturday?  

Sometimes ya just gotta make out in public.

| cheriarmour

photo 1-1 photo 2Sike, when is this EVER okay?  Like, EVER.

Austin, his sister, and I went to the best sushi place in all of Raleigh for dinner to celebrate his sister’s almost-last class in her rotation at Pharmacy school.  She’s really cool, and noted this really odd couple at the bar – an older gentleman and a younger girl, maybe my age.  They flat-out refused to be normal and made out for like 70% of the night, making everyone on the bar side of Sushi Blues uncomfortable.  Cool….

Anyhoo, despite shattering my thumb into 10,000 pieces, I’ve been a able to at least keep up with my runs for the Nike Women’s Half this weekend, and got a run in some friggin beautiful weather in prep for the big race.

Race Prep

I’m so excited for the Nike Women’s Half for a few reasons.  One, having a race to run motivates me to keep up with my running and my fitness.  I work out a ton in real life, but having something to work toward, imagining cruising and ticking off miles on Sunday morning is what has kept me going over the last few weeks.  It’s cool because I get to do it with a million (okay, closer to 15,000) other women, I get to meet other bloggers in a meet-up on Saturday morning before the race :), and I get to spend time in the city that I really am in love with.

So now that I’ve blathered on and on about what my plans are for my weekend in DC, what are you looking forward to this weekend?

 

Home happenings….

| cheriarmour

More mangos.  

Number one, I’m still extremely troubled by the fact that there’s not one consensus on the plural word for mango.  It can either be mangoes or mangos.  So, I’ve been switching it up, but it makes me really uncomfortable nonetheless.  But if you’ll remember from about a week and a half ago, I went crazy on the mango sale at Whole Foods.  Well, when I went back the other day, and they were on sale, this time two for a dollar, so ya girl went cray on them.

photo 1 (8)I went to town dehydrating mango, which can be really expensive if you buy it in the bags, and really really fully of sugar, so it’s nice to slice up your own, and know that you’re not getting any of the gross stuff that can come in the bag.

Let’s make a right turn.

Reality TV.  

Porsha
Gif Via: LittlePieceOfDribblePiss /SurvivorSucks

Did anyone catch the RHOA reunion? Yikes, yikes, yikes. Porsha absolutely lost her mind for a second.  Now I absolutely do not condone violence, and because of that, Porsha needs to leave the reunion, and whatever it is that Bravo Andy chooses to do with her is his decision, but my LORD Kenya was getting on my nerves with the scepter and that damned bullhorn.  She is so so obnoxious, and she really needs to go.  But Porsha, you know you were dead wrong for hitting her.

This app.

I know you’re probably sick and tired of hearing all about my iPhone woes, but while I was in the process of re-downloading and configuring where I like my apps to go on my little phone’s desktop, I stumbled on Sara from Loving on the Runs’  sort of mini-review of TimeHop.

photo 3Here’s what it looks like, and it’s terribly cute.

The app links up with your Twitter, your FB, and your Instagram, and pulls statuses and photos from YEARS ago, so it’s a total trip down memory lane.  Here’s what I got yesterday!
photo 2This one was following a day when I won like $1000 in a local singing competition.  It was really awesome.  I also spent most of it repairing that Taurus that I had, but whatevs, that’s the life of being an adult, right?

I skipped Body Pump this morning 😦

I’m really bummed, but my thumb kinda still hurts from when I jammed it on Sunday night.  I packed my running clothes, and as soon as my clients leave from the job today, I’m going to set out for a few minutes and get the blood pumping!

How’s your Tuesday shaping up!?

Imodium

| cheriarmour

First, a big preemptive congrats to all my friends and running family that are running Boston on Monday.  It is so exciting to see everyone’s posts, and I hope that one day I will work hard enough to be there, enjoying the expo, and exploring the expo.  I’m so inspired by my friends who are there, and heading that way now.

Onto the gross stuff

I know this is literally so gross, but I have to talk about this.

The runner’s trots.

Trots refers to the thing that happens when you run long distance, your stomach starts killing.

I did some reading up on it, and there’s an actual reason for it.  So evidently, when you’re running your body focuses on sending blood to other areas of your area, so your digestive system gets neglected, meaning that halfway digested and undigested food gets shot through before it’s supposed to, which attributes to the cramps, the stomach pain, and in extreme times, the pit stops that have to be made during the runs.

Between that and my gastritis, my stomach has been really sensitive, and I’ve had to be really careful about putting things into it.  That includes gels, and things even in the week leading up to a race.

So, before Rock ‘n’ USA, I was really considering playing with Imodium, because of the experiences I’ve had, and I didn’t really do it because I hadn’t tried it throughout my training.  So around miles 9 of the race, I was hit with some pretty gnarly cramps, and pushed through to the end, but I really wasn’t feeling great in the stomach department after the race.

So for Rock ‘n’ Roll Raleigh, I paid really really great attention to what I ate in the week leading up, and the evening before, I took a full dosage of this stuff after sending Austin on a hunt for the pill version the night before…

Image via Amazon
Image via Amazon

And despite my concerns about using something like this (was I blocking my body from its natural functioning, would it stop me up, so to speak,) it was great. There were never a moment during the race that I was concerned about my stomach, and it really really helped my shift my focus from my normally-upset stomach to actually tearing up some of the hills.

So, what do you think? For my folks with upset stomachs, would you consider swigging a little bit of Imodium?

Racin’ Up in Vegas

| cheriarmour

tumblr_lyvu7d1kIp1qzbagvo1_500See how I did that?

Play on words? Wakin’ Up in Vegas, Katy Perry’s second big single/my next big race?

Okay, let me clear up the confusion.

So, in addition to wearing Bondi Bands, as a blogger, I applied to be part of their Ragnar Team in Vegas, which means I was only responsible for airfare.  I was chosen for one of their teams, and will be running with 5 other girls on one of their Ultra teams over a two-day, 200-mile period, and I cannot be any more thrilled.

The best part?

After I told Austin that I was planning on embarking on this ridiculous endeavor with 5 new friends (and then blogging about it), we decided to take a mini-moon to Vegas in November, and then plan our “real” honeymoon for late in 2015.  Now fun question for today!

I’m thinking Bora Bora or Hawaii.  Where should we honeymoon?