Sweet Briar Reunion Weekend

I headed back to SBC on Saturday for what may or may not be the last reunion ever.  I didn't register for the official reunion because it was ridiculously expensive, and there was no way I could justify the cost after my travel expenses for the wedding I went to last weekend.  However, Saving Sweet Briar hosted a bunch of off-campus events and I decided two of them were within my budget, so those are the ones I registered for.  It was widely stated that anyone who wasn't registered for the official reunion would not be allowed to set foot on campus.  Thankfully, that rule was not widely enforced, and my friend and I had no trouble getting on campus so that we could go to the Bookshop : her to order a new class ring, and me to get mine re-sized.  After we were done with that, we walked around campus a bit before heading to Rebec Vineyards for a wine-tasting/picnic.

I even wore a pink shirt for the occasion!

the Bell Tower

group photo at the vineyard

The problem with the various different on and off campus events is that everyone was spread out and it was hard to see everyone I knew.  I managed to connect with a few people, but I missed a lot of people that were in town, but not at the event I was at.  

I ended up deciding to just head home after the picnic.  I have done a lot of traveling this spring and am really burned out from it.  I really didn't feel like staying for the evening event, and paying for a hotel room, and not getting home til mid-day Sunday.  The evening event was sold out, so it wasn't hard to find someone who was willing to buy my ticket from me.  So, I headed home.  And then, about 10 miles into the 90 mile drive, my engine light came on.  My old car had constant engine-light problems, but I have had this car for a blissful engine-light-free 2 years.  There were no funny smells or sounds, and I really wanted to get home, so I kept driving.  Thankfully I made it home with no mishap.  I will be taking my car in to find out what's wrong as soon as possible.  Hopefully nothing major!  Only 3.5 weeks until my biggest road trip of the spring/summer...to Rhode Island!

I can never live anywhere flat

I was in Easton, Maryland this weekend for the wedding of one a good friend from Sweet Briar.  She was my first Sweet Tones "baby." (when new members are accepted into the accapella group, they are assigned a "mom.")  I'm really glad I was able to be there to celebrate her special day with her!  I also enjoyed being near the water for a day or two, and the fresh crab cake I had for lunch on Saturday was divine.  No seafood like that in WV!  However, my run Saturday morning left much to be desired.

I mapped out a route from the hotel to a 2.5 mile rail trail in Easton.  I was going to hit the trail roughly 1 mile from the southern end.  There was a strava segment for the trail in each direction.  I figured I would hit the trail, go to the near end, then run the segment to the other end, run back to where I originally joined the trail, and head back to the hotel.  I hit the trail just under 3 miles from the hotel.  I was already starting to feel the effects of the unendingly flat terrain, but was determined to make the most of it. By the time I reached the end of the trail, I was really dragging myself, but turned around and sped up, still telling myself I had to commit to the strava segment.  But my stupid asthmatic lungs were struggling, my legs were dragging, and I lost all will power.  I realized that if I did run all the way to the end of the trail, my run would end up close to 9 miles.  My foot was starting to complain on top of everything else, and it just didn't seem like a bright idea.  So I abandoned my plan and just backtracked straight back to the hotel.  It ended up being a 7.4 mile run, with only 33 ft of elevation gain.  The 7.4 mile run I did in Lewisburg earlier in the week had a much more reasonable 551 ft of elevation gain.

I wish I could enjoy flat runs.  They could be so useful for long fast runs.  But I just can't seem to mentally or physically survive them.  As I slogged through those 7+ flat miles in Easton, I couldn't help thinking about the 7 flat miles in the Charleston Distance run, and how much I didn't want to endure that again.

In other news, I saw the T-Rex Runner at the Tidewater Inn where the wedding was held on Saturday!  I recognized her almost immediately, but was too shy to say hi, just in case I was wrong...  Turns out it really was her and I totally should have manned up and said hello.  Oh well.

This week:

T: 7.4 run

W : 16.4 bike

R :  20.5 bike

Sa : 7.4 run

total run : 14.8

total bike : 36.9

In other news, to compensate for last week's low mileage, I biked 29 miles yesterday and another 20 today.  It's only the second day of the week and I've already surpassed last week's mileage.  

Newberry Half Marathon

1:30:45

2nd female

16th overall

results

Happy to say I have completed another successful half marathon!  I was really happy with my race, especially considering how little I have been able to run lately.  I'm also impressed that I managed a 1:30 race without much of a warm-up.  If I'm able to pull a 1:30 when I'm not in top shape, and without being adequately prepared, what will I be able to do when I get back into a normal training schedule?!


Thanks to the awesome generosity of a good friend, I did not have to do any of the driving on this trip.  The trip was about 5.5 hours each way, so this was much appreciated, especially on the return trip, as I am never able to stay awake after a race.  Of course, it was also nice to have a friend along just because travelling is more fun with someone to hang out with!

My hotel was right in downtown, which was really convenient.  Packet pick up was also at my hotel, so I got to check in, and then turn around, walk 10 feet, and pick up my number. I loved the convenience of that.  And since the hotel was in downtown, (and it was warm out!) we got to walk to dinner.  We went to The Flying Pie, which was a really awesome restaurant.  I highly recommend it if you ever happen to be in the area.  The furniture was all old mismatched tables, chairs, and booths in a variety of colors, and there were funny art prints on the walls.  They had a good selection of local beers, so I got to try a new stout by R.J. Rockers Brewery, and it was quite tasty.  For dinner, I had a delicious plateful of seafood pasta. And then we went back the next day after the race and I had a delicious bacon cheeseburger with mushrooms and onions and avocado on top.  After dinner, we stopped at a local bar on the way back to the hotel for a pre-race whiskey.  I was disappointed to find out that smoking is still allowed inside in SC, but luckily the bar was pretty empty and it wasn't too disgustingly smoky...

The weather on Saturday could not have been more perfect for a half marathon.  It wasn't too warm or too cold, and there was a light breeze that was strong enough to feel good, but not strong enough to be a nuisance.  I wasn't sure how much I wanted to warm up, because I'm trying to beat up my foot as little as possible, but the problem was solved for me by the long line at the bathroom. By the time I got outta there, I had just enough time to take off my sweats and jog to the starting line.  I started out in the front pack of runners, and settled into a comfortable pace that soon had the fast pack leaving me behind, but I was still in front of the next pack.  I spent the rest of the race pretty much alone.  There were runners in sight ahead of me, but we were pretty spread out.  Occasionally someone would pass me.  I didn't pass anyone until the last few miles.  I was second place female for the entire race.  First place was way out of my league, and I never had any idea how far behind third place was. (Turns out, third place was 6 minutes behind me)

Overall, the race was too flat for my tastes, but there were a few small hills that helped break up the monotony of the flat.  There were also some very long straight stretches that I was surprised to survive without too much agony.  My foot didn't bother me too much until a downhill somewhere around mile 6 that beat it up a little too much.  Thankfully it never hurt enough to slow me down.  The biggest hill of the course was in the last mile.  It was the only "real" hill in my hill-snob opinion.  It was pretty long, decently steep, and I loved it.  Once I got to the top of it, I started really pushing for the finish, and gaining on the people in front of me.  After the final turn to the finish, I tried to pass the person in front of me.  He sped up when I got next to him, and he ended up finishing right in front of me.

There weren't any clocks on the course, and I didn't run with a watch, so I had absolutely no idea how I was doing time-wise until I came around the last corner to the finish and saw that the clock was around 1:30.  I was really happy to see that I had been able to run that kind of a time without having too much trouble breathing.

the start

final sprint to the finish

 finishing strong

 awards ceremony

award

I've got a few weeks until my next race, and I'm going to try to do as much cross-training as possible so that I can keep my lungs strong without putting too much strain on my foot.  My bike is getting tuned up now, and should be ready to ride this week.  But...it's supposed to be cold again this week so I don't know if I will be disciplined enough to actually get on the bike. I might have to get to a gym and do some rowing instead.