running

Race Review! Run Raleigh Half Marathon!

| cheriarmour

I think by now, I’ve figured out, that though I work okay without the pressure of a race coming up, I do a little better when I have a race breathing down my neck.

I hadn’t planned to run the Run Raleigh Half Marathon, but a friend of mine decided she couldn’t run it, and generously allowed for me to take her place.  And it’s a good thing, I still have the Nike Women’s Half in two weeks, and it kept me on track with a long run this weekend.  And gosh, I needed that long run.

Time

I have stress dreams. So I dreamt all night that I’d overslept the race. But, my mom’s been sick, and I dreamt that she, on the way to the race, took my hand, and jogged with me to the start line. (One day Mommy, you’re totally gonna do it!)

I ate the breakfast of champs, Nutella on toast with a Gatorade Primer, Rock Taped my hips, and watched Sean T’s hip-hop abs infomercial for a while. (I love for a good infomercial).

Bafroom

I put on my compression pro-tight (rocked my world), and my Brooks mesh tank (doubly rocked my world), and set off for the start line, which was about a mile from my house.

Back

I mean, on the real, how cute is the back of that top?

Okay, onto the race review.  

Run Raleigh Half Marathon 2013:

I give the race an A- overall.  Lemme break it down.

  • Packet pickup was seamless.  Packet pickup was at Capital Run/Walk, a local running store.  I’m more of a Fleet Feet Raleigh girl 😉 but I’d be lying if I said the store wasn’t beautiful, and the volunteers weren’t friendly as could be.   
  • The race was extremely well organized.  I walked to the site, and was easily able to find the start, find the pacers, find out where I was supposed to be, and all that good stuff.  For folks that are down with  Port-a-Potty, there were like a million lined up to start.  Heads up: if you’re driving to the race?   You share those parking lots with a Starbucks, a Rite-Aid, and a Harris Teeter.  What I’m saying is, these businesses don’t love it when you park in their lots, but you’re not shopping.  If you’re driving, park respectfully, or have someone drop you off at the start line.
  • The race started on time.  You don’t know how important that is.
  • The volunteers.  They were the rock stars of the entire operation.  The volunteers were well-trained, friendly, smiling, and handled the water stops with ease.  They were wonderful.  If any of the volunteers are reading this?  Seriously, thank you.  You guys rocked.
  • The course.  Okay, here’s where the minus part comes in.  The course was pretty.  We had home-court advantage, so the hills weren’t a surprise.  We used Greenway (which was so cool!), and the miles just flew by.  Here’s the minus.  There is the rudest hill at 12.1 miles that will have you praying for salvation.  I ran with the 2 hour  pacer, and nearly lost him at that hill.  And my glutes are talking today, they didn’t like that hill, either.

Overall? If you’re looking for a pretty spring race to do? Do this one? Beware of that hill at 12 miles, but other than that, you’re in for a really really enjoyable 13.1 mile ride!  On a more personal note, I’m proud of how consistently I was able to maintain a 2-hour pace, despite a pretty hilly course.  I certainly need to work a little harder, I’d like to hit below 2:00 now, but I’m proud of my work yesterday.

Y’all know I can see the keywords you’ve used to search my blog, right?

| cheriarmour

So let’s lighten things up up a bit, shall we?  Yesterday’s topic was a little heavy, so I promised, I’d give you something to make you smile.  And boy, will you ever.

So yous know I can see, from the back end, how some of you have searched my blog right?  And don’t let me deter you!  Search away!  read this thing.  Because I’m not writing over here for my classic good looks.  Now, some of the BEST search terms I’ve been notified you guys have used?  (And I will do my best to remain true to spelling and punctuation here, as it appeared)

  • “jennifer lopez with glasses”
  • “do they eat horse meat in haiti” (not to the best of my knowledge)
  • “gross things that happen to your feet after runnign”
  • “kim richards puff away” (a clear reference to my favorite television empire, the real housewives)
  • “does haiti get windy”
  • “why do haitian women like working out”
  • “amazing boob vixens” (I wish I was kidding here)
  • “what do breasts look like after breastfeeding” (I feel lost)
  • Pardon the language here, however, “good floppy t*ts sports bra” (Glad to know I am helping folks with with their *ahem* floppy ladies.)
  • “black lady graduating” (we are a rare breed)

And my personal favorite, remember, this is how someone searched for, and subsequently read our blog here…

  • “round ass butt”

You guys keep it up. I had a field day with this one. At your expense.

This one’s for the ladies (mostly).

| cheriarmour

A few months ago, on an unseasonably warm winter evening, after teaching a Zumba class, I set off to do a quick tempo run.  My legs were still itching to move, so I put on my highlighter pink top (so I could be seen), laced up my Tempos, and headed out, headphone free.  I looped around for about 3 miles, and was passing the bus stop in front of the Y when I was quickly reminded that running alone as a woman could be dangerous.  As I ran past the bus stop, I turned to look at who was sitting in it, when the folks inside, thinking I was someone else, stood up, and began to yell at me.  The last thing I realized before I turned on the turbo spoilers and sprinted out of sight, is that the gentleman in the stop had gotten up, presumably to accost me for whatever it was I’d done, and as I ran out of sight, he threw his bicycle in my general direction.

When I reflected on the strange situation later, I realized, I’m not the only young woman who’s experienced some weirdness or danger on runs.  Yesterday morning, two women, one city over on a morning run, were followed in a car by some men who tried to exit their vehicle, presumably, to do some harm to them.

And the absolute worst case?  Meredith Emerson, a 24-year-old graduate student in Georgia, was murdered in a State Park on a hike by a man who’d made a career out of similar attacks.

It absolutely sucks, and it’s not fair, but especially as women, we have to pay special attention to take care of ourselves on our runs.  It may be really tempting to put in the headphones and zone out, but it’s just not safe.  Attackers are looking for that person that may be able to be caught off-guard in order to mug, rob, steal, or worst case?  Rape or murder them.

So a few tips to stay safe on your run?

  • Let someone know where you will be.  Call your mom.  Call your dad.  Call your boyfriend.  Text your sister.  Just let  someone know where you’ll be, so that if you don’t return, you don’t show up for work, even if it’s just because you’ve sprained your ankle?  They’ll be able to say, “Hm, I think she said she was running!”
  • Lower your earbuds!  I won’t tell you not to listen to your music, because I do it.  But save the zoning out for the treadmill.  When you’re running around your city, it’s not the time to zone out.  You should be able to hear traffic, hear folks on the sidewalk, and your ears shouldn’t ring for hours after the run.
  • This stun gun. 

Sparks

I was given this as a gift, and it’s to the point now, that I’m just sick of hearing about folks being attacked. But if you have one? Seriously know how to use it. It’s not going to do you any good if the best you can do with it is throw it at your attacker.

  • If you can help it (which I know you can’t always), but if you can?  Stay home between 6pm-6am.  That’s when the majority of attacks will happen.
  • It may be tempting.  But do not run the same route, day after day.  Do. Not.  Change it up.  Because unfortunately  people take notice.  And you may get so comfy in your route that you do each day, that you’re not paying as much attention as you should.
  • Cash/ID.  Carry it with you.  
  • Use your spidey senses.  If it feels wrong, it’s just wrong.  You know what this means.
  • And you’re going to make fun of me for this.  But Oprah taught me.  Never get taken to the second location.   Ever.  If someone is going to kill you, the second location is where it’s gonna happen.  So, in the super unlikely event someone tries to force you into their vehicle?  Kick, scream, yell, honk the horn, run, and do whatever you need to do to stay exactly there.

So ladies (and the guys reading this too!), I’m sorry for the dark subject matter, but it’s SO necessary, especially as more of you embark on new running journeys as it warms up. I’ll deliver a more fun post soon!

I paced an Ultra Marathon.

| cheriarmour

So I was struggling this week, trying to figure out what the heck I was going to do to continue my momentum after this marathon.  It’s tempting to just sit on the couch and eat Cinnabon but I have a half in two weekends.  And I’d rather not die at this half.

So Sean Flannery is a friend of our shop.  Was running the Umstead 100-miler, and impulsively, as I do with races, I decided to pace him for his seventh lap of the 100-miler.

100. Miles. Y’all.  This man was running 100 miles.  So I took a little snooze yesterday evening, and woke up to pace him.  And experienced one of the most incredible races and  running communities I’ve ever experienced in my entire life.

Ultra 6

I rolled out of bed after a full dinner after 11:00 pm to pace our friend. Can I do it?

Ultra 2

Do I wear a trail shoe? Nah, decided at the last minute to go with the Brooks Ravenna. (Was later a good decision. The trails were packed. My only regret? No gators. So I ended up with shoes full of little pebbles).

Ultra 3

Bondi band for the little dreads in the front that wouldn’t stay down…

Ultra 5

Knuckle lights – the park was dark as heck!

Ultra 4

And a hydration pack…between what we ran from the parking lot, to the end of the 12.5 mile loop, we did closer to 14 or 15 miles. Water was beyond essential.

Ultra 1

Hay!!!

Okay, so I paced the race, which means, that I ran a 12.5 mile loop with Sean, and two co-workers.  I will say, I will probably never run an 100-miler, however, everyone should pace one of these.  Firstly, the participants are phenom.  Despite the fact that at the point where I entered, that some of the participants are trudging along, every time we passed folks?  We heard the echos of “Good Job!”  “Keep it up!”.  Ultra Marathoners  are so supportive of each other, it makes no sense.  I’ve never experienced that before,

Second, the volunteers are killer.  We came upon the Aid tent, where there were sandwiches, volunteer pacers ready to take our places, heat lamps to thaw our hands, cots to nap, candy to raise our blood sugars, and last but not least, Rubbermaids full of additional clothing to keep us warm.  Around 3:30 am, when the temperature began to significantly drop, a volunteer noticed me shivering and offered me a jacket that kept me warm for the remainder of our lap.  I will never forget that.

Third?  The drive of the ultra-marathoners?  Beyond what I can comprehend.  And makes we want to work harder.  Sean shuffled along, despite some significant pain, and continued on in his quest to get that belt buckle.

Between the support, the volunteers, and the drive, everyone should, at least, volunteer to pace one of these guys.  As I jogged away from Sean to head to bed at 5:30, I prayed for him, his children, and his finish.

Pace one of these, and be inspired, guys.

100 POSTS! ERMAGAHD!

| cheriarmour

I officially had to let go of the Taurus yesterday, btws.

I actually whimpered as the tow truck driver, an actually ridiculously nice man, of Ochoa towing, pulled out from behind the transmission building with my poor car on the back.  I had to go in and retrieve my Barry Manilow tickets from the glove box.  And then I said good bye to the car that took me through high school and beyond.  RIP Taurus.  You served us so exceptionally well.

Taurus

Okay, so to commemorate 100 posts, I have to make public the ridiculous thing that’s been floating around in my head for three years. Almost three years ago, during my first stint working as a Zumba instructor at camp in PA (more on that in the future, but camp is amazing), I was enthralled by Lindsay Birchfield’s blue jacket.  I didn’t know anything about running, about races, about what I was capable of.  The blue jacket was actually a jacket from the Boston Marathon, and I decided then and there, that I would run that race so I could wear that jacket.

My first marathon was slow.  But now that I have my first taste, I want to work a little, no, a lot, harder and qualify for that race.  So what I have to shave over an hour off my marathon time (eek!).  Stranger things have happened right?  So today, I’ll say this.  I’ve done one marathon.  I’m planning one more in the fall, I’ll train a little harder, and get a baseline for where I am.  Once I do that?  We need to get this Boston ball rolling!  Who’s in?

Technology rocks….sorta?

| cheriarmour

When you’re training for stuff, you spend a lot of time out on the road.  And technology can make double-digit mileage not just bearable, but enjoyable!  Seriously, I listened to a book on tape during my 20-miler a little over a month ago and I was laughing at one point.  Laughing.  During a 20-mile run.

kathy-griffin-book-cover-front

As an aside, Kathy Griffin’s book was nothing short of hysterical.  Read it.  The only thing?  Kathy’s a little mean, and I don’t feel like you have to be mean to be funny.  But you know, what, the book totally humanizes her.  She’s a person, and her mean jokes sometimes are the way she’s coped with a sometimes icky situation.

Moving right along.  So every single time I lace my my shoes, and head out, chances are, I interact with cars.  Which means I’m forced to interact with drivers.  Ugh.

The biggest danger to runners?  People.  We’ve already gone over the whole dog thing, but truthfully, other people, their inattention, and their stupidity are what’s probably going to kill you should you run into misfortune out on the road.

Issue 1: Hybrid Cars – Hybrids are great.  If I could afford one, I’d get one.  But when they get under speeds of like 20 mph (which usually happens for a right turn), they’re almost silent.  So even when you’re being good and relying on your senses, hearing, to cross the street, you still run the risk of being mowed down my a Prius.  That’s not a good way to go out.

Solution – when you’re crossing the street, first listen, then LOOK over your shoulder to see if a car is trying to turn down the street you’re crossing.  Simple, but often forgotten!

Issue 2: Inattentive drivers – The worst I’ve seen most often is a driver, looking to turn out of somewhere (a side street, or a road), staring too intently at the traffic to see you approaching.  Perfect opportunity for another terrible run in with a vehicle.

Solution – Approach the vehicle, and try to make eye contact.  If need be, give a little wave.  The motion should break the traffic trance the driver is in.  Usually the driver will give an “OOH SORRY” look + wave.  When that happens, you know you’re good to go.

Issue 3: Texting – Sigh.  It’s every time I go out and run now.  Every single time, drivers have their head down, texting.

Solution – Stop. Friggin. Texting. You friggin monsters.  Seriously!  Put your phone away away away, and let it wait.  Please?

And runners and walkers?   In order to stay safe, pay attention to your surrounds.  That means turn the headphones down, or take them out completely, and you’ve reduced your chances of having a run-in with trouble by like a billion percent.

Fish McBite

| cheriarmour

Let me be clear.  I abhor, 100% abhor fast food.  I work as a fitness instructor, and fast food, in mass quantities, does terrible things to the human body.  That said, it is possible to eat okay when you’re on the road, and we’ll get to that eventually.  But for now…

I would be a lying sack of poo if I were to tell you I wasn’t curious when, just before Lent (say hello to this former Catholic!) McDonald’s launched something that sounded so horrifying, that I just couldn’t pass it up.  So for this years Lenten promises, you not only have the Filet-o-Fish (the square of fish doused in a dollop of tarter and blown with a square of out-of-place American cheese), but you have McDonald’s Fish McBites to choose from as well!  You lucky stiff!  

I have not seen in the inside of  McDonald’s for years.  But rest assured, nothing has changed.  It still smells weird.  You still order, wait 10 years for them to cook your fries, and look on with feigned indifference as the employees laugh and joke just a little too close for your liking to your food.  The other patrons look at you with curiosity, as they wonder why a skinny, sweaty, 5’8″ girl still wearing gym tech fabrics is in McDonald’s.  And you’ll still peek in the back so you can make sure no one is licking your food before they box it up.

So I ordered the Fish McBites. I ordered fries to make this a really healthy night.

McBites 1

And with a little apprehension, I dug in.

McBites

The bad news: 

  • They taste like fish sticks.  If you’re not 5, this can be extremely off-putting.  
  • Calorically speaking, don’t wasted your calories on this combo.  In life, there are some other fish options that are way tastier, and with way more nutritional value.  Get your Omega-3s elsewhere.
  • After eating legit fries for a while, these fries are nowhere near as good as a nice steak fry or a sweet potato fry from a pub.  Super disappointing.

The good news:

  • The song that they advertise these with is still hawt. (“Fishay fishaaaay”)
  • They come in a box.  Which I feel is neat.
  • The fish actually on the inside of the breading is decent, for MacDoh-quality fish.

The Verdict?

If you’re Catholic, and you eat Fish on Fridays during Lent, skip em.  They’re just not that good for being a bajillion calories.  You want a similar quality fish stick?  Trust the Gorton’s Fisherman, and pop them thangs in the oven.  Truthfully, it’s probably a terrible idea to be bangin with fast food, and especially fast food seafood.  Do a tuna over some salad, and you, and your tummy, will be much happier.

Death of Green Monster

| cheriarmour

Yesterday, my baby decided he wanted to go be with the Lord.

Taurus.

After a rather difficult day yesterday (guess who got another job rejection!) I climbed into the Green Monster to head home. Got going and….my car won’t shift out of first gear?!  So I tried everything.  I talked to him.  I stopped and started him.  And when all was said and done, this Mama was crusin’ down Wade Avenue barely faster than I finished my first marathon.

The Green Monster is now in a medically induced coma down at the transmission shop.  There he sits, waiting for me to decide if his transmission is worth a reboot, or if it’s time to move on, and buy a car that most other grown-ups find acceptable.

At any rate, whatever I decide, if I do decide to let him go to the great junkyard in the sky, Green Monster was…no is….a great guy.

    • My sister crashed him like 10 years ago, and he lived to tell the tale.
    • He came up with me to my first stint in Pennsylvania, where we traveled all about the Northeast, without a care in the world.
    • His AC stopped working a few years ago, but I still accepted him as a family member.  I just rolled around with that 4-60 AC system. 4 windows down, 60 mphs at all times.
    • I used to sleep in the back of that car on my lunch breaks during my internships with the window down juuuuust enough so I wouldn’t suffocate.
    • If you go under the drivers side seat, not only will you find a wide array of quarters, great for any quarter emergency you may find yourself in, but you will find a rainbow of pretzel M&Ms, still good enough to eat.  (I can’t eat a bag without dropping one).

I’m taking the evening to reflect on our time together and to decide whether I think the Green Monster is worth taking for another spin. Buy at any rate, you were a good Green Monster. And thanks to your “death,” I will be running to and from work, until I find someone, not as good, but more alive than you are.