A Christmas Post

I hope everyone has a relaxing Christmas - full of loved ones, cookies, egg nog and an endless amount of  presents under the tree.

Love,

Jamie

Life lately

Soooooo it's been awhile. 

I apologize. 

There's really no excuse. 

I'll chalk it up to getting back into the grind.

Recently it's been a lot of work, running, body pump, dinner, second dinner, sleep, repeat. 

Between working two jobs, beginning a marathon training program for an undetermined marathon (more on that later) and trying to maintain some sort of social life, I seem to have forgotten the existence of this blog and of my camera.

So to partially make up for my absence, here are the most recent photos from my iPhone. 

^^ super grainy photo of Church St. 

My new motto: when in doubt, take a picture of the lights on Church St.

^^The Santa 5K in downtown Burlington last weekend.

Unfortunately I didn't get to run, but got to see some of the race on my way to work!

^^One of my three new running groups, the GMAA (Green Mountain Athletic Association). So far I've run on 3 very chilly Sundays with these folks and couldn't be happier to have found them. I'm looking forward to many more long runs with these guys.

^^Because you all were wondering what I had for dinner tonight. Just kidding of course. Still figuring out this whole cooking and eating for one person thing, where's an older sister to make you huevos rancheros when you need her?!?

^^Indian Brook Reservoir.

Second new running group: The Long Trail Runners 

Three of us ventured to do some trail running this Saturday morning. It was glorious. I may have had a dream about pacing an ultra marathon after this run. Maybbbbbbbe it's a sign. Just maybe.

^^And one more Church St. photo for good measure. 

And here's a little bit more that's been happening lately in terms of mileage.

After taking a month plus of just running what I felt like following the Chicago Marathon I was getting antsy to start training for something again. I like the structure and planned runs that go along with training. Somehow I find it's much easier to get out of bed and hit the streets or treadmill if I don't have to decide how much to run. 

Enter: the Hanson Method. 

Between having had a couple of friends use the Hanson Training program and have some great races, and some of my favorite running bloggers who have also used the plan I was thoroughly intrigued. I had read some about it and am excited to give it a try. I'm ready for the tired legs, speed work, tempo runs and more tired legs. I'm about a week and a half in and last week I ran 38 miles. I haven't been keeping track recently but I can venture a bet that I haven't logged that many miles since early this spring. It feels good to be pushing my body a bit more, and definitely helps that I've found a few early morning runners to get my butt out of bed. However, it doesn't make it any easier that temperatures have dropped significantly and it seems winter has shown up for real. 

Although I began a training plan, I haven't decided if there is going to be a marathon in 20 weeks or not. I signed up for Vermont City Marathon on May 25, 2014 however I've contemplated putting an earlier race on the calendar in order to have this training plan be the correct amount of time. I haven't decided what I'm going to do and probably won't until VCM training officially starts; when I'll either start the plan over of continue on and run an earlier race, or who knows really! Sometimes I find myself seriously considering a 50K...but now I'm just talking crazy. 

And since this post has had a little bit of everything, here is my favorite song these days.

And with that I bid you goodnight. 

A very, very Happy Thanksgiving.

As I wait for my brussels sprouts to soften and the bacon to sizzle, I thought I'd take a moment to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and list some things I am very thankful for this year (because...why not?). This year I am especially thankful for my supportive and extremely understanding family who have been nothing but wonderful during a difficult and transitional year for me. For my very dear friends, both old and new, who know just how to make me feel up on a down day and always help me keep things in perspective. And lastly, for all I have been able to experience this year, from moving back to Vermont, to finding a new job, followed by another job and finally to an unbelievably amazing apartment with the most welcoming new roommate and everything else in between (weddings, marathons, more marathons, trips, new running groups, old running groups...I could go on forever). 

I hope everyone is enjoying a peaceful and delicious Thanksgiving, whether it be with friends or family, and even though it's just us four this year, I couldn't be happier to be where I am. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

And in no particular order, some pictures of some things that I'm thankful for.

And now it's time to eat! 

Casleton Half Marathon Recap

 (Side note: I started this race report over a week ago and am finally getting back to it. Turns out starting a full time job and moving all in the same week leaves one too tired to blog). 

On Sunday I was fortunate enough to have the morning off from work for the first Sunday in awhile and decided it was the perfect opportunity to head south for a half marathon! Saturday night I might have stayed up too late watching the World Series, but woke up before the sun, picked up my friend Paul and by 6:30 we were on our way to Castleton for the first annual Castleton Half Marathon! (I will mention that Paul was finishing off a 100 mile week with this race and I'm still in awe that he completed it - I felt like I was running all the time last week and only hit 44 miles).

We arrived with plenty of time to spare after making one pitstop at Dunkin Donuts for some last minute carbo-loading donuts. We found the race start area very easily and got our bibs/t-shirts before heading back to the car for some last minute wardrobe adjustments and to stash our layers for after the race.

Soon enough the race directors told everyone to head over to the starting area on the soccer field and all 75 of us moseyed on over and congregated near the sidelines. There was also a 5K option at this race, however they were starting at a different location on the field as not to confuse us all.

After all 75 of us were in the correct place, the count down began and we were off! I had decided last minute to bring along my music and had queued up some Disney tunes for the first couple of miles as I had planned on running easier for the first portion of the race and to take it from there. The first section of the race was along a grassy rail trail in the woods and was completely flat. It was a pretty narrow path, however with a smaller race field it didn't feel cramped and passing other runners was not difficult at all. I took it pretty easy for the first two miles and tried not to look at my Garmin as I was feeling slightly sluggish and didn't want to be discouraged by a slower pace.

After about two miles I decided to take a pee break and found a spot off the trail in the woods to relieve myself. Feeling much better I decided to stop my music and enjoy the scenery/natural setting a little bit more. Almost immediately I felt that I had picked up the pace and was passing a couple of runners and feeling pretty good while doing it. Still being early in the race I reminded myself to take it easy (remembering I had heard about some hills between miles 4 - 8 and wanted to make sure I had some energy left for those). I chatted with a couple guys who had traveled up from Massachusetts for the race (their running group gives prizes for completing a race in every New England state so they were crossing Vermont off the list!). Soon enough we were at the end of the rail trail (Mile 4) and hit our first aid station. I had decided to carry my handheld water bottle so I didn't need to stop at this water station but the volunteers were very friendly and asked me if I needed anything (thanks!).

^^prime Vermont scenery right there

The next couple of miles were along a hard packed dirt road with a few small rolling hills. Since I had began to pick up the pace, my tactic was to focus on the person in front of me and work on catching them. This worked well for awhile until it seemed like there was nobody up ahead to catch and I thought I might have to run the rest of the race completely alone. Turns out, I spotted two girls in the distance and feeling a little relieved tried to maintain my pace and hope I could catch up to them.

Soon enough I passed the Mile 6 marker and was in the midst of a pretty steep hill. Thinking that this must be the hilly section that I had heard about just before the race I powered up the hill, passing a water station and a couple of other runners. Reaching what I thought was the top I began chatting with a couple from England who were vacationing in New England for the week and had decided to run the race. They told me that next year they would be running across Scotland as part of a multi-day running trip - so cool! As we decided the hill and took a sharp turn the woman mentioned that she heard we had a big hill coming up (another one?) and sure enough right ahead of us was a HUGE steep hill! Before I could get upset about it I put my head down and powered to the top, passing a few people along the way (and getting passed by one super fast girl, no idea where she came from). After finally reaching what seemed to be the top I breathed a sigh of relief and thought to myself "that must be all the hills." Ha. How silly of me.

^^sweet, sweet downhill

Sure enough, after a small downhill I turned another corner and saw another STEEP, STEEP HILL up ahead with all but one person walking up it! My legs were feeling quite tired at this point but I had just passed the Mile 9 marker and knew that there was a large section of downhill coming up (or so I hoped). I pushed up the hill (at a snail's pace) and finally reached the top where there were two lovely volunteers with oranges, water and gatorade cheering everyone on! They promised that it was all downhill from here on out and I yelled over to them hoping they were right!

Sure enough, I immediately hit a super steep downhill and had to put in a lot of effort to keep my legs from going out of control crazy fast down this section. I passed a few people but mostly everyone was booking it and it was hard to catch people. This steep section leveled out a bit but was still quite a bit of a downhill. I welcomed it with open arms and before I knew it I was about to pass the Mile 11 marker! Only 2 more miles to go!

^^sideways shot

I had just caught up with two men who were running about the same pace I was and after striking up a conversation with them decided that we were running pretty similar paces and I would try to stick with them for the remainder of the race. We chatted about marathons, running in Boston and the Marine Corps marathon that my sister was running that day! Soon enough (still going downhill) we passed Mile 12 and we picked up the pace a bit knowing we had less than a mile to go! While I had struggled hard core on the hilly sections of this race I made up a significant about of time on the downhills and was on track to finish under 2:05 (which I was very happy about considering I had been thinking about a 2:15 or 2:20 halfway through this race).

At about 12.5 miles we turned back onto the rail trail and I kicked it up a notch since I was feeling really great (downhill effect? runner's high? a combination of both?). We jetted off the rail trail onto the soccer field where we had started. The finish line was on the opposite end of the turf and before I knew it I was "sprinting" across the field and crossing the finish line!

My official time was 2:03:something. All in all it was a very tough, hilly race but turned out pretty great. After Chicago it was great to run a small race and enjoy the beauty of Vermont. 

Chicago - Part Three

And now for some photos of anything but running!

Monday morning Marie and I headed off to Willis Tower to do some sight seeing before catching our planes home on Tuesday morning. In no particular order, here are some of the fabulous things we experienced:

Willis Tower

Navy Pier

D4 Irish Pub & Cafe

Magnificent Mile

Icon Movie Theater

Millennium Park

In total we ended up walking 13+ miles. I'd like to think it helped relieve any soreness I had, but I was definitely pooped at the end of the day.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the day. 

 

Considering my fear of heights, I'm pretty proud that I was able to stand in that tiny glass box. Talk about fear, let me tell you! I felt that any tiny step I took was going to bring the whole place down. Turns out they were totally secure and I'm just a big scardeycat. 

And that's it! 

I had such a great time in Chicago and cannot wait to get back there to experience more of the neighborhoods and DEEP DISH PIZZA (I still can't believe I didn't have any while I was there). One thing that really stuck out to me about this great city was the number of skyscrapers! I couldn't believe how many big. buildings. there were everywhere! It was also fitting that this song came on during the first mile of the race.

Until next time, Chicago.

Chicago Marathon Recap - Part Two!

I was surprised to wake up Sunday morning wayyyyy before my alarm around 5:15 am (I'll blame the time difference) and immediately heard the faint echo of race announcements coming from Grant Park. Enter: race day excitement! There's always a mix of anxiety, nausea and joy that hits me on the morning of a marathon. This being my 4th go around at the 26.2 distance, I have come to be very familiar with this mix. The "oh crap I have to run for soooooo long today!" paired with "I'm so excited! I love running! I can't believe this day is finally here!"

After my pre-race breakfast of bagel + PB + jelly + coffee I quickly got dressed and headed across the street to meet the other 45,000 (!!!!!!) people who were also running! Aunt Marie left me at Gate 2 with a good luck hug and headed north to set up at Mile 4. I decided not to check a bag since I had decided to carry my phone during the race and our hotel was only a couple minutes walk from the finish line where we had planned to meet after the race. Grant Park was buzzing with activity when I got there around 6:30 - I could feel all the nervous/excited/adrenaline in the air. I had lost one safety pin from my bib so headed over to the "pre-race essential" tent (Seriously. This race was so well organized, I can't get over it). After securing my bib fully to my FHR singlet (woot!) I headed to the porta-potties and barely waited 5 minutes before one opened up. Around 7:10 I was in Corral F doing some pre-race stretches on the pavement and trying to rest my legs by sitting with the thousands of other runners. Around 7:15 I decided to pee one last time since I had drank A TON of water the day before and figured I had enough time before the corrals closed at 7:45. 

Fast forward to 7:58 am. 

The first wave had started at 7:30, I was in the first corral of wave 2, and feeling ready to this marathon thing to finally begin (again)! 

^^Corral F ready to go!

And suddenly we were running! Recently I've found myself liking listening to music while running so I decided for the first time in a marathon that I would listen to it during the race. My plan was to change Pandora stations every 6.5 miles to keep things interesting and make sure I didn't get bored. It became clear early on that bored is one thing I would not be during this race. 

I was worried that with 45,000 runners I was going to feel very squished and held back during the first few miles, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had plenty of "space" around me. Almost instantly I realized that I had to pee, and began to contemplate when to bite the bullet and wait in line for a porta potty. Besides admiring the number of fans in the first few miles, I pretty much thought about how much I had to pee and where I could pull off to relieve myself (I saw one runner head into a Starbucks to use the bathroom around Mile 1)! Luckily, just after hitting the 5K mark I spotted a row of porta-potties with a short line and decided this was my chance. I probably only lost around 45 seconds and definitely made it up after my comfort level increased x10000000. 

^^perk of carrying your Iphone during a race: race photos (albeit very blurry)!

The first few miles passed quickly and soon enough I was at Mile 4 where Aunt Marie was cheering loudly and high-five ready as I passed by. I knew the next time I could expect to see her wasn't until Mile 11 so I tried to settle in and keep a "controlled" pace until then. My pace ranged from 9:40's to 9:00's over the first half, which shows that settling in was more difficult than I imagined. Part of this was my indecisiveness between attempting a 4:00 finish, and wanting to enjoy the race and take the pressure off of finish times and really just enjoy myself out there on the course. Having not followed a strict training plan, I realized that 4:00 was probably pretty ambitious, considering I hadn't really done any speed work over the last few months. That being said, I knew Chicago was flat and I had completed a 21 miler a few weeks prior without much difficulty and thought that maybe today the stars would align and keeping a 9:09 pace would seem effortless (ha. silly me for thinking that). 

^^all smiles early on in the race

The course took us north along the lake before turning left and returning Downtown through Old Town and a few other cute neighborhoods full of tree lined streets full of brownstones and cheering fans. I think this was my favorite part of the course, and definitely the quintessential "Chicago" that I hadn't yet experienced. Soon enough I passed by Mile 10 and knew that Marie would be just a mile ahead. Turns out she was cheering from just after 10 and I almost missed her since I wasn't expecting to see her that early! Luckily I saw her right at the last second and gave a wave before heading towards the halfway point. 

^^crossing back into Downtown around Mile 12.

I crossed the 13.1 in 2:03 feeling good, but if I'm being honest I knew the fatigue was about to set in. After checking my splits after the race this might have been since Mile 13 clocked in at 8:24 (what the heck happened, I don't know). 

The second half of the race was definitely tougher, and I started to feel that around Mile 15/16. After crossing the halfway mark, my legs felt alright, my breathing was controlled, but for some reason my pace slowed. I soon realized that 4 hours probably wasn't going to happen, and feeling okay about that tried to find a pace that was comfortable and that I'd be able to hold for the next 10 miles. I made it to Mile 16 feeling alright, but shortly after my pace slowed again and I started to feel not so great. Just before Mile 17 I heard my name and turned just in time to see Cousin Mick, Ellie and John waving at me from the sideline. I mustered a wave and smile, but knew that I was beginning to hurt and even waving felt like it took too much energy. Shortly after Mile 17 I decided to walk. I realized I needed a readjustment and to really try and get in the zone. 

^^Can't decide if that is pain or concentration. Notice how sunny and hot it is in this photo.

After changing my music, putting my phone in my SpiBelt, having a honeystinger waffle and taking a short walk I felt much better and decided to just take it easy and try and run the rest of the race, no matter what pace. After passing Mile 19 I realized just how warm it had gotten and started running through sprinklers that many fans had brought out to the course after the sun had been shining all day. Unfortunately, I was a little ambitious with the strength of my headphones and after two hoses I could no longer hear my music and had to tuck my headphones away and run music-less for the last 6 miles. 

Luckily I knew that Chinatown was coming up and had heard that it was one of the best spots on the race. Sure enough, I hit Mile 22 and felt a burst of energy from the Chinatown crowds and began to remember why I love running marathons so much, especially BIG marathons! It was also at this point that I got passed by the 4:10 pacers. Not only did I get passed by them, but I got passed at what felt like a lightening pace. I guess I had slowed down a LOT more than I thought. I thought to myself "oh well, just keep running, you'll get there eventually". 

Mile 23 came and went and honestly, I don't remember much from this portion of the race. What comes to mind is hot, slow, industrial and what seemed like we were millions of miles away from Grant Park. Finally we crossed back over the river and turned left on Michigan Avenue and headed down the final stretch (2.5 mile stretch) to the finish line. The crowds started to thicken at this point and although my lower back was killing me (I think my SpiBelt bruised it), I was extremely happy to be running on such a beautiful day with so many people around me not only running but cheering us on. I knew my support team was planning to be around Mile 25 and sure enough when I hit the last aid station I heard them screaming my name from the left and I ran over to give a few high fives before heading towards the finish!

^^Thanks Ellie for this gem.

Soon enough I passed the "1 mile to go", "800 meters to go" and then we were turning right towards the finish. The only thing standing between me and everlasting glory was a GIANT hill. There's really nothing like passing the 26 mile marker at a snail's pace while thousands of people are watching you struggle not to walk in the last .2 miles of a race. Oh Chicago, thanks for that one. 

Before I knew it the finish line was right in front of me and I was all smiles and waves to all my fans, errhmm I mean, actually no one I knew. I stopped my watch and smiled as I saw 4:17:51. My slowest marathon time yet, but somehow I was still overwhelmingly proud of 4:17:51 after the extreme lack of stritct training schedule/IT band syndrome/life upheaval I've had since the last time I ran 26.2 back in May. A good friend wrote to me the night before the race and reminded me that the hardest part of training for a marathon is making it to the start healthy and ready to run. Finishing is just the icing on the cake. And on Sunday, I was overjoyed to have finished. I just kept remembering a slogan I've heard over and over again when referring to marathons - "Respect the distance". I have never felt this to be so true than after running Chicago. The marathon is a loooooong race, and really anything can happen at any point along the course. If anything, I'd say that finishing my slowest marathon made me that much more excited and motivated to really train and be prepared for a sub - 4 hour finish next spring.

^^the face of pure joy. ha. this is terrible.

^^Thanks to the volunteer who snapped this one.

After grabbing a water, protein shake and beer(!) I made my way towards the exit, called my sistah and plopped onto a grassy spot to revel in what I had just accomplished. 

Thank you to everyone who sent messages of encouragement, congratulations and especially thank you to Marie, Mick, Ellie and John who came out on the course to wave and cheer, you have no idea how much that helps even if it's only for a couple of seconds out of the whole race!! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

Chicago Marathon Recap - Part One

After a lovely dinner with some of my favorite JP runners last Thursday, I flew to Chicago bright and early Friday morning. My Aunt Marie (#1 runner supporter of the weekend) met me at O'Hare where we navigated the "L" into downtown Chicago. After what seemed like quite a journey we finally arrived at the Essex Inn on Michigan Avenue (right across the street from the Start/Finish line!). 

^^view of Grant Park from our hotel

From our hotel we boarded a school bus (yes!) to the expo about 2 miles away. I would just like to add that the Chicago Marathon was the most organized and well supported race I have ever run. From transportation to the expo, to well manned aid stations to volunteers answering questions on race day to number of porta-potties, the race organizers thought of everything (A+++ to them!). The expo was also unlike anything I'd ever been to at a running event. We're talking Volkswagen cars, a full on Nike store, a wine tasting, and all the runner apparel/shoes/gadgets you could think of. 

^^just look at the size of that packet pick-up sign

^^plenty of spots to pose for expo photos

After the expo I ventured to Trader Joe's to stock up on race day essentials (bagels, PB, jelly, etc) while Marie got a mani/pedi at a nearby salon. Pooped from our day of traveling and expo-ing, we opted to have dinner at the hotel restaurant, where I thoroughly enjoyed my burger/fries/Magner's cider (that's carbo-loading, riiiiight?). 

Saturday morning we woke up early and decided to head out for a run/walk to check out the start line and hopefully see the "Bean!" Millenium Park was fulllllll of runners doing their shake-out runs and posing for photos, which really got me excited for Sunday morning!

 

After our run/walk we met up with my cousin Mick, his girlfriend Ellie and their friend John and had a fun brunch before heading towards the Chicago River for our architecture by boat tour! This tour may have been my second favorite thing from the weekend (finishing a marathon being #1). The boat took us along the Chicago River where we learned all about Chicago's major architecture styles, building designers, history, etc. The beauty of these buildings is truly something else, and seeing them by boat added an extra element that made the tour that much more outstanding. Plus, there was a bar on the boat, no complaints there. 

^^ John Hancock building.

^^Willis (Sears) Tower with the two towers on top. On the right is the Boeing headquarters. 

^^ residences on the North branch of the river

^^another shot of the John Hancock building

After a delicious dinner at Bandera along the Magnificent Mile, Marie and I headed back to the hotel where it was lights out by 10 pm. 

Up next... the MARATHON!