Interlaken 5K Run

This weekend was supposed to be race free! I am running the Hershey Half next weekend, and thought I would just take it easy. I would run an easy 4 miles and then help the Hubs finish ripping out our creaky back deck. Interesting how plans change!
My frequent race partner Cheryl Facebooked me this morning and asked me to come run the Interlaken 5K. It didn't start until 11:00 which was awesome, and, well, why not? I said I would meet her, dithered about for awhile, and then went off to meet her there.
I got there about 30 minutes before race time, picked up my bib and tech shirt (which is soooo pretty) and waited for Cheryl to arrive. About 15 minutes before race time she called. Lost. Yikes! I handed my phone to an awesome motorcycle Cop and he directed her to the race. Yay! While I waited, I fawned over a cute Cardigan Corgi.

Not the best pic, but we just love Cardigans, especially since we have one!! Most Corgis have no tail, they are called Pembrokes, but we believe dogs should have a tail to wag! What else did I just love about the dog above? He was a guide dog! He walked the whole 5K with his human! How cute is that? Here is a pic of our Cardi, Memphis:

Isn't he handsome?
Anyway, back to the race! Cheryl showed up with about 3 minutes to spare, lol, but she didn't get a shirt. They had run out. She did get a $5 discount, which was cool! The gun went off, and Cheryl and I separated, She always beats me, so I expected it, lol. It was about 50* and cold in the shade, which there was lots of!
I hit mile 1 at about 9:00 which shocked me! Suddenly this was no longer an easy 5K, I was gonna PR, I just knew it! My best time was 31:04 last weekend, and that was a 10:00 mile average. Could I keep this pace up? Mile 2, I hit 19 minutes. Holy heck! I was doing it!! It felt so easy, the hills weren't bad, and the houses in Interlaken are gorgeous, and very stately. I was totally enjoying myself! I stopped checking my watch and ran as fast as I could.
As I rounded the last corner and removed my buds, I heard the timekeeper saying, "Keep it up, you are under 30". Under 30? HOLY HECK! I was hoping to hit the 30 mark, but never in my dreams did I imagine I would surpass it! I finished in 29:45, exactly one minute behind Cheryl! There was much hugging and laughing and then we posed for a victory pic:

 

Isn't the shirt pretty? I wish it was cotton so that I could add it to my quilt, but I love it, so I will train in it, lol.
I am so glad that Cheryl asked me to go to this race!
I used this as my Cupcake Classic Race, and posed for a pic before putting on my warmer weather clothes:

It is not too late to join the Cupcake fun! Check it out here at Run With Jess! The shirt is super comfy and SO cute! That heart on the shirt is a Pic Stitch sticker I forgot to remove, it is not part of the shirt!

After the race I took my teenie out to lunch and we had some great healty food at Fins, a local TexMex restaurant. Look how delish:

What is your favorite healthy restaurant lunch?

Fitness Friday Link Up

It's Fitness Friday at JillConyers.com, a fellow SPA and Girls Gone Sporty Ambassador!
This week I had 2 short runs. My first was a quick 3 miler, around my neighborhood, between raindrops. Last night I went to the Belmar Boardwalk and ran to Spring Lake and back with my fellow JSRC members. Well, most of them and ran out and back and left before we even finished the first half, lol. 4 of us stayed together though, which was nice because it gets very dark, very fast! We ran 8 miles, 2 more than I planned, and 4 more than was scheduled! LOVE those club members who push me! I averaged an 11:06 mile, just a smidgen faster than my Half average on Sunday.
I completed the Fall Foliage 100K last week, and I am working towards a second 100K. The challenge was to finish 100K during the months of September and October.

 

I love the prizes that came with the medal, what an amazing event, and it benefits Autism, which is just fabulous! Absolutely hands down one og my Top 5 favorite charities to support!

Coming soon I will be having 2 new features at Barking Mad. The first is a review! Woohoo! I have always wanted to do one, and the folks at Unreal Candy sent me a whole box of their chocolate candies to sample and review! My kids helped me, and once we have sampled all 5 varieties I will post about them!

I will also be posting my 100th post very soon, and will be doing my first giveaway. Just have to decide what to giveaway! I have 2 Ford Pink Warrior scarves that are just begging to be given away! Hmmmmmm

One week until my Half Marathon in

Where is your next big race?

 

NYRR Staten Island Half Marathon

Yesterday was the Staten Island Half Marathon, a race I looked forward to for a few months, and the second of three I entered to earn my Half Fanatic status! I was going into this race intending to finish, and not really concerned about finising well. I plan to train for next year's Halfs with the intention of PRing. I did get two good nights' sleep on Thursday and Friday because I knew how Saturday night would go: badly! I was correct! Up every couple hours checking the clock! I had to get up ay 5:15 to drive in on time, and I was worried that I would sleep late! I took an immodium the night before because I read about a way to curb runner's tummy. I also planned to take two the next morning, and bring the bottle with me. I was ready!
Sunday morning, I jumped up with the alarm, got dressed, took my immodium, grabbed all of my race stuff and headed for the car. I threw everything on the seat and started the car. And saw this:

It means low tire. We just put new tires on the Jeep and last week the same tire was low and hubby had to refill it. Now it was 10 pounds low again. I am not ashamed to admit: I cried like a baby. My husband used the word sobbing. I told him what happened and he jumped right out of bed, it was now 5:30, and ran out to change the tire. My 13 year old son, who also got woken up by my crying, came out into the cold, no shirt or shoes, and hugged me. He said "I don't know why you are sad, but I'm sorry" and turned around and went right back to bed.
Awwwwwwwww!
Super hubby changed my tire super quick and I was back on the road by 5:45, only 15 minutes late.

The drive into Staten Island was very easy! There were very few cars on the road, I had my gps Rory (named by my daughter, who gave him an Engish accent) and there were very few turns. By 7:00 I was there, and only got "lost" for about 10  minutes while trying to find the parking lot. I parked, stepped out into the frigid 50* damp air, and was glad that I wore long sleeves and long capris! Brrrrrr! I grabbed my bib and my tee and went back to my warm car to finish getting ready! I still had an hour to go!

After I stalled for about 30 minutes, I went out to get into my corral, the very last corral! The view from behind the stadium was amazing! (Staten Island Yankees Stadium)

I lined up, and waited for my corral to start moving. They started moving us right away, and the DJs were talking to some FDNY officers who came in their dress blues. Next thing you know, the FDNY boats out on the bay started saluting us! The louder we cheered, the higher the water went. It was gorgeous!

See those clouds? Wonder when they will roll in? Stay tuned.....

Nine minutes after the gun went off, we crossed the starting line. Not too bad, I usually have to wait longer, lol. We ran out of the stadium area and towards town....uphill. UGH! This won't end well! We ran past the stadium and there were lots of people cheering, I love when people cheer, esp since my family wasn't with me yesterday. I was all alone, so I could use all the cheering I could get!
At the first few mile markers I kept checking my watch, amazed at my times! I was convinced the watch was wrong, because I didn't feel like I was running hard, but my times were always in the 10s and 11s per mile. I am a 12:00 mile girl! I was worried that I would poop out, but since I wasn't worried about my time, I decided not to worry about pooping out! At mile 4 we left town and were heading towards a Fort and the Bay. We had just passed the Verrazanno and it was a beautiful sight! We also got our first glance at the lead runners runner. At our mile 4.25 he was at about mile 10.5 and the second place runner seemed to be several minutes behind. The third place runner was also several minutes behind #2 and we saw a girl for the first time just after the fort, and she was probably #13 or so. I lost count! The first place finisher was done in 1:07! WOW!
We were now running along the water, and it was very quiet for the most part. Not as many spectators, although there was one man waving a *massive* American Flag that I just *loved*. I also realized that I was running past alot of people, but this one man stayed near me the whole time. He was wearing a camo fishing type hat, and just seemed to me that he was a soldier. I never got the chance to ask, though! He was so happy, waving to everyone, obviously a local, joking the whole time. We took turns passing each other for almost the whole race!
At the 10K mark I was stunned at my time. 1:08, 4 minutes faster than my best race time. I was near tears with joy, and yet also worried that I was running too hard, too soon. I wasn't feeling any pain yet, not tired really, just enjoying the run! At mile 7ish we turned back. We had an amazing view for the next several miles:

The leaves on Staten Island are starting to change as well, which made it especially beautiful! Jersey leaves are still green green green. See how dark it is though? Not good.
Mile 10 brought us back to the town. Lots of cheering spectators, and no true soreness yet. I stopped for water and checked my watched and giggled. It must have been a creepy giggle, lol, because a lady next to me looked at me kind of funny. I was easily 10 minutes ahead of my best time! 10 minutes! I was trying not ot get too excited. Mile 10 was where it all fell apart for me in Philadelphia. I was feeling amazing though, and still trading leader position with my camo friend.
Mile 11 brough us back to the boring scenery that leads to the Stadium. The bay was to our right, but to our left was some construction site....boring!
Mile 11 was also when the rain started. Just dripping, really, so I ignored and ran on! This was also the last time I saw camo guy. I was bummed, I wanted to get a finish line pic with him, but I didn't see him again!
At mile 12 we passed the entrance to the construction site, and one of the men was waving 2 flags and cheering us on! One mile to go! One mile to go! I checked my watch and almost lost it! Still so far ahead of my best time! I tried to speed up but I was definitely tiring now, and the next bit was up hill! We were passing through town, and approaching the stadium. Finishers were walking past us in the other direction, cheering us on. Down the ramp we went, nearing the stadium. The crowds were yelling, You're almost there, keep going. I was crying, I'm crying now as I type this. Just before the last turn, my watch hot 13.1 and I stopped it. I was afraid to look at it, so I just kept going. The clock, being 9 minutes ahead, said something like 2:37 and now I am sobbing. I did it! I PRd. I collected my medal,

amd some food and streatched my aching muscles. Still crazy afraid to look at my actual time! I found someone I recognized from the last few miles and asked her to take my picture. Her hubby did it for me:

Not super flattering but I don't care! I finished! And I PRd. Oh, and the rain? The rain didn't fully start until I got to my car! YAY!

Ready for my times?
Official time: 2:28.12
My watch time: 2:27.08
My Philadelphia time: 2:39.47
My NJ Half time: 2:35.15
HOLY HECK!!!
I beat Philly by 12 minutes and NJ by 8. I had an 8 minute PR! I am amazed and so proud!

Hershey Half is in 2 weeks, and this one should be even hillier than Staten Island was. My family will be at this one with me, hooray! but again, I am not planning to do anything but finish! I cannot wait for the chocolate stop! Hershey will also be the final of my 3 Halfs in the quest for Half Fanatic Status! Woot!

Shark Run 5K

Today was the Shark Run 5K in Bay Head, NJ. It is a beautiful course, running along the ocean for about a mile, and through the town of Bay Head which is so beautiful! I had not planned to run this race, since the Half is tomorrow, but Active.com was running a free entry deal, and I cashed in!
It was probably about 60* when I rode my bike into town, being only 1.25 miles away, how could I resist leaving the car at home? I locked up my bike, got my bib and tee, and went to look for my friends. My friend Eileen from JSRC was there, as well as friends from High School, Kristine and Janet, PLUS a friend I met through PTO, Nancy! I love seeing friends at races!
With no chip timing, and no gun, I was worried that the timing would be off, but at the one mile marker, when the volunteer told me my time (somewhere around 10 minutes), I realized it was only off from my watch by about 10 seconds. Woot!
Somewhere around the 1.5 mile marker, we hit the beach...and the wind! I was supposed to be taking it easy, but with a PR in sight, that was *not* happening! It felt so easy, so I kept at it! At around mile 2.5 it was time to turn away from the beach, and this was where the cop stopped us to let traffic go by the last time I raced in Bay Head. I was so nervous, and so thrilled when he let us run past! Hooray! PR here I come!
As we turned the final corner before the parking lot Finish Line, I glanced at my watch and realized I would be hitting 3.1 before the Finish. I stopped my watch at 3.1, with a time of 31:04, my fastest 5K time yet! I crossed at about 31:15 I think, still an amazing time! I was definitely winded, but so excited to have finished so fast!
A quick photo op with my friend Kristine before i rode my bike home:

LOVE running with her! Oh, and by *with her* I mean, finishing a minute or so behind her, she is *fast*. Almost all of my friends finished ahead of me, I am so proud!

And now, my Flat Mama for tomorrow's race:

I am wearing my Jersey Shore Running Club hat, and I am so excited that my Moms Run This Town shirt came today! I will be sporting attire from both of my running clubs tomorrow! A close up of the shirt:

If you son't already belong to MRTT, check it out! There are over 300 chapters nationwide, and abroad! They are such an amazing group of ladies!

Do you belong to a running club?

Countdown to Staten Island!

3 days until Staten Island!
I am so excited to run my 2nd out of 3 Halfs to earn my Half Fanatic status! You need to run 3 within 90 days, but I will be running 3 within 36 days! WOW!!
Rain is in the forecast for Sunday, but I am hoping that it is late rain!

Yesterday I continued my quest to strength train by doing Bob Harper's Pure Burn Super Strength DVD. It is 67 minutes long, and uses light weights. No prob, right? I started up with 5s, ended up with 3s, and wished for 1s by the time I was through. It was rough! I felt like a boss afterwards though, and it satisfied the requirements for my 2 Upper Boddy Challenges that I joined!

Today I had a run planned, but the humidity is so insane that I decided to do Zumba. Morgan wanted to join me, yay! We set up the DVD player.....but kept getting an error message. We tried several DVDs, but none worked! The darn DVD player broke! Just my luck, since I just quit the gym! Wii to the rescue! We did just over 40 minutes of Zumba on the Wii, and I used the maraca weights from my Zumba DVD set. FUN! AND I can make up the run on Saturday when I run the Shark Race 5K in neighboring Bay Head. I love when I can ride my bike to a race!

I just joined a new challenge, because I just cannot get enough of challenges, and went with the upper body theme. Check out One Hundred Push Ups facebook page. I am determined to finish this one! I have always wanted to be able to do full form push ups, and this will get me there! I even bought the iPhone app for $1.99, something I rarely do. I am all about the free apps! I managed 7 push ups in the fitness test, and day 1 has me doing 25 today, in increments of 4-6 at a time.

How many full form push ups can you do?

Non Scale Victories

We all know what they are, those wonderful things that happen at just the right moment, that moment when the scale isn't budging but you suddenly realize it doesn't matter. The NSV. Non.Scale.Victory.

I received an invitation in the mail the other day for a Fundraising Dinner, one that has been on my calendar for months anyway, and I was so excited! This will be my first, and I have always wanted to go to one. It is next month, 6 weeks away. Then comes the big question. What will I wear?

I have a whole selection of dresses in the back of the closet, some that fit, some that don't. I have 2 that I just love, and neither has fit well in a really long time. The first was a dress I wore in Vegas over 2 years ago when hubby and I did a vow renewal. Can you guess where we did it? That's right, the only way to truly get hitched in Vegas. Elvis baby!

Sorry about the picture quality, I snapped a photo of a photo lol. Anyway, it was the best night ever, I laughed the whole time. That guy was *awesome*. He sang as he walked me down the aisle, he sang as he married us. He sang afterwards. He rocked, literally and figuratively! But back to the dress. It is a size 10, and I am wearing Spanx in this pic. The dress fit. But there was little room to spare. Flash forward 2.5 years, and at this time last year you couldn't get me into that dress. No way. Amazing what a 30 pound weight loss can do for a gal! I tried this dress on last night, but it's still a no go. It's too loose! WOW! Did not see that one coming!
The 2nd dress I pulled out, thinking of it as an incentive dress. You know the kind, you hang it on the wall somewhere, so that you see it *every day*, as an incentive to lose weight. I did it once before with a shirt that said 13 point Freakin One. I wore it after I ran my first Half, but it hung on the wall for almost 5 months as incentive. Once again, back to the dress. This dress reminds me of Marilyn Monroe's epic white dress.

Only my dress is black. And a size 8. I decided to try it on, see how much work there was still to be done. Only there isn't. Not that I can't use some tummy firming, and my arms are not as cut as they once were. I am working on that, though. I was truly shocked to find that the dress fits. It fits! And it looks awesome! No Spanx necessary. And I still have 6 weeks to go! WOW!
Maybe I will buy some new shoes, lol. And I will definitely share a picture!

So back to the real world, for now. I got in a 3 mile run today. My nice, easy pace worked out to be a 10.5 minute mile! I really am improving my pace! woot! Only 5 more days until

So excited!
And even more exciting? Tomorrow  morning (Wednesday) is 99 days until we leave for Disney for the Marathon!
Let me leave you with another favorite picture of one of my all time favorite people:

The Weekly Chase...and October Goals

It is time for this week's Weekly Chase. First let's look at last week's goals:

1. Run 2 short runs, 3-4 miles each DONE, I did 2 runs, one was almost 5 miles and the other was 5 miles
2. Kick butt in the Race for the Cure on Sunday DONE! I beat last year's course time by 6 minutes!!!!!
3. Keep up with the Plankaday Challenge at Running for Dummies and maybe beat my best time! I kept up with it, but still have not beat my 4 minutes + time! 
4. Keep up with the School House Rock Hard Abs Calendar at Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans DONE, and finished! Today starts a new one!
5. 2 Rip 60 workouts (one done already, woohoo) I did one, and then one day we ripped up part of our deck, so I counted that, lol. It was very physical work!

And now for this week's goals:

1. Run 2 short runs, 3-4 miles each ONLY
2. Run a nice easy Shark 5K on Saturday because.....
3. Kick butt at the NYRR Staten Island Half. By kicing butt, I mean finish, lol. Not worried about time, just going for my Half Fanatic status!
4. Keep up with the Plankaday Challenge at Running for Dummies
5. Start up the new Spooktacular October Calendar at Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans
6. Track my workouts for Sara's Use it 2 Lose It ROCKtober challenge
7. Start Pretty Little Loser's MRTT Frightfully Fabulous Arms Challenge

I know, that's alot this week, I will condense them in future weeks, but I wanted the links in there in case anyone wants to check these challenges out. They are all truly awesome, my abs thank me every day for the Shrinking Jeans Challenge and the Plankadays!
I also plan to start back up with my journalling. I have been entering food and exercise at Sparkpeople but have not been doing my journal pages.  Having it all laid out in front of me really helps! I also put my October Goals in there, so I can check back each day to be sure I am not missing anything.
Another Challenge I am trying is the Girls Gone Sporty Wicked Wallies. You hold a wall squat for as long as you can each day, and report in with your times. Just like plankaday! This one is a fundraiser though, and to be entered for prizes  you donate $10. LOVE it!
All of these challenges will keep me on track!

What are your October goals?