Fun & Necessary Weekend

I hope everyone had a fabulous Memorial Day long weekend!

Let's see here, quick recap

Friday: 16 hour day between both jobs

Saturday: 5 AM wake-up, played support crew/cheerleader at Sehgahunda Trail Marathon at Letchworth State Park.

Sunday: 3:45 AM wake-up to go to Buffalo to volunteer/play bike support & cheerleader for the marathon. 

Sunday night: Dinner & movie date with John

Monday: Brunch on Seneca Lake with my soon-to-be in-laws.

Monday afternoon/evening: Cleaning and catching up around the house

It was a fun but busy weekend, 

which required a few naps to get me through :)

Here's some snapshots from the weekend.

Saturday

Most relaxed race start I have EVER seen. Maybe there is something to this trail running/ultra thing.

John rode his mountain bike along for a while, but I was able to get to all the checkpoints in my car, so he ended up just riding with me most of the time. We had so much fun being there, his best friend Mark was running and I ended up seeing at least 10 other people I knew!

Here's the thing about trail races/ultras that has me intrigued and wanting to jump on the bandwagon (we all know it wont happen soon though), they have cookies and chips and fruit at water stops. And people just stop and chill out and stuff before hitting the trail again. Beyond awesome, so much less stressful I'd imagine (but so much more work, I know!) It was fun and inspiring watching all of the runners, knowing they were putting themselves through a hard course and were having so much fun doing it.

Sunday

I was having bike issues Sunday morning riding from the marina to my volunteer spot. My rear derailleur was all messed up and my chain kept flipping in between gears. Luckily, the water stop that was about 50 yards from my volunteer point was manned by the Buffalo Triathlon Club. 2 gentlemen were kind enough to help me get the derailleur straightened out before the runners came through. And they also came and helped me man my station when traffic got bad and runners were on course. The corner that I was on, was the only road in/out of a big condo complex....they weren't able to leave because 7,000 runners were coming through. Most people were just frustrated and mad but let it go, one woman tried to ram through us, she literally got inches from us and was hanging out her window threatening us and revving her engine at us because she didn't care if there were runners she was leaving. That was fun. 

Left my car at the Marina, and rode from there to my volunteer point...I refused to get rid of my coffee so it made the short trek over...I only lost a little bit!

I was pleased that my volunteer shirt matched my bike. This matters.

After the last runners went through my spot (I was roughly 3 miles in) I got on my bike and headed over to mile 12.5 to cheer on the runners coming through again. Since I cut the course, I got over there quick and was able to get there before the lead runners came through, so I got to see everyone all over again which was cool. At this point I did also have a cop ask to search my backpack (there was a big crowd there, I wasn't going to argue, even though he legally can't unless they have reasonable suspicion). Apparently I look like a terrorist on wheels with a volunteer shirt on, but hey they were just doing their job. I saw it happen to a few other people too, I know the cops are just trying to keep everyone safe.

One of my favorite parts of the day was cheering on Heather, saw her at 3 and 12.5 and she looked awesome both times. I knew when she passed me the second time that she was most likely going to make her goal of sub-1:40 half! We caught up after her finish as well which was awesome. She is also doing Wineglass in the fall so we definitely will get some training runs in together this summer!

 After catching up with Heather I found my Aunt and Uncle and told them I was going to head on back half of marathon course to cheer on my cousin Krysten. I followed the course and finally caught up to her around 17 and she was looking awesome. I kept riding forward a bit, stopping and cheering and seeing if she needed anything. I saw her at least 10 times in the last 9 miles of her races and it was awesome. I knew how bad she wanted a PR and I was glad I could cheer her on, I know how much it can help. She got her PR, and man did she earn it, she ran an awesome race and smiled the entire time I saw her. 

 I watched her finish and then rode back to the marina to get to my car. Riding along the water was so pretty, I have run this half a few times, and this part was always my favorite being by the water.

Apparently taking a photo while riding will make it curvey.

So I decided to stop and get a real one. Gorgeous day, a little windy/chilly but the sun made it better.

I know I know, this photo tells you how much I HATED riding around on my bike :) Seriously though, I had such a fun morning cheering everyone on and riding my bike around. In all I got about 25 miles in (stop and go) which made it a good workout :)



Dinner and a movie with my man Sunday night was a nice way to end the day. We went and got food, and some ice cream and got to movie early. Sitting there watching the pre-movie trivia things was impossible, have I ever told you I am marrying Tony Dinozzo?

Okay, not really. BUT my fiance is just as much a movie trivia nerd as Tony is on NCIS.

Moving on. We saw Fast & Furious 6, it was typical action packed movie. Lots of fast cars, big fight scenes and a whole lotta things that just couldn't happen....but it was entertaining all the same.

Brunch with John's family was really good yesterday. His parents just came back from Florida for the summer so it was cool to have the whole family back together. We ate a ton of food and caught up with each others lives. I'm really a lucky girl marrying into such a welcoming family.

Cleaning and getting things done around the house was not as fun, but necessary yesterday. BUT I did do something last night that was FUN AND NECESSARY, I went for a run. This was only my second run since the marathon (I really took recovery seriously, I needed the week break more than anything). I went out with no ipod, no garmin and no distance goal. I ended up running 6.22 miles at a hair over 8 minute pace, I was super pleased because it felt smooth and steady. I can't describe how good it felt to have my Kinvaras back on and hitting the road with me. Volunteering/watching 3 races last week did wonders for my motivation, 7 weeks until Musselman 70.3 and 19 weeks until Wineglass Marathon. I'm working on my sub-3:20 plan for Wineglass, can't wait to share my thoughts with you and hear what you think :) That's for another day though friends.

For the record, this weekend included a nap each day, those early wake-ups caught up to me!

How was your Memorial Day Weekend?

What did you do that was fun, 

and what did you do that was necessary?

Just a few things: Recovery, Scheduling, Volunteering & Throwback

Just a few quick things today :) 

Hope everyone is having a fabulous Thursday!

1. Marathon recovery is going well, my legs are feeling really good and I am excited to run later today for the first time. I was going to run yesterday...but I tried being a smart ass and going without caffeine yesterday...how did that end up? Post-Marathon-Fatigue + NO Caffeine + Stupid Hot weather = Laura taking a 2 hour nap at 4 pm  Then when I did wake up, ice cream won the battle over going out and getting even sweatier. I'll blame that on the cravings and the heat. Am I upset about this? Not one bit...I ran a 3:25 marathon 3 days prior, I'm pretty sure that gives me room to be lazy for a few days.

Good news is, a running hangover isn't much different from an alcohol hangover (well the running thing is clearly more healthy than consuming a bottle of wine and 6 jack and cokes like some people do every night), but that's besides the point.
Cure to a hangover: refuel, rehydrate, and rest. 

2. I'm taking this time right now to really get organized and get back on track with everything that I have going on. I'm still working on getting my home office set-up and organized, which will be a big help. Studying for 2 huge exams (Series 7--for my job, and my ACE Certified Personal Trainer Exam), and planning a wedding while maintaining 2 jobs requires a schedule. Since I opted not to run last night, I spent my time from 6 pm until about midnight studying and also making a study schedule. This thing is crazy detailed and it's exactly what I need.

Yep, this is what my summer study schedule looks like!
This is the 'master schedule', I also have it broken down and printed out for each week to keep track.
Hopefully I can stick to this better than I stick to training plans. 

3. I think my race schedule is going to be changing a little. As of right now I am supposed to be doing the Keuka Lake Intermediate Triathlon in a little over a week. This would be my first triathlon and a real training test for me for my upcoming Half-Ironman in July. I think I am going to forego this race. My tri-training really has taken a back seat the last few weeks and I want to go into my first tri as prepared as I can be. I found another tri of the same distance that is 2 weeks after Keuka, which would give me 2 extra weeks to prepare. I know that I could complete Keuka next weekend, but I want to feel comfortable and confident going into it. Another option I am considering is doing the sprint distance at Keuka which would be much more manageable for me, and then the Intermediate Distance 2 weeks later. The plus of that option is that it gives me 2 triathlons under my belt before heading into Musselman 70.3 in July. I will decide by the end of this weekend for sure on what I would like to do, I need to make the right decision for me.

4. After Volunteering Tuesday night at Corporate Challenge, I am really excited for this weekend. I had planned to volunteer for the Buffalo Marathon so I can watch people like Heather, and my cousin Krysten kick butt in their races. I finally got my "volunteer assignment" I will be road marshaling shortly before mile 3. That makes me really happy to be early on because I can see everyone early and then be done soon enough to jump on my bike and ride the course cheering and providing support for people I know. Please let me know if you are running so I can watch for you!!

5. Until last night I had totally forgotten that the Sehgahunda  trail marathon/relay was this weekend. John and I know quite a few people doing this race, including one of his best friends Mark. So we will be going down to Letchworth for the day to cheer and support everyone we know. It's going to be a really fun weekend. Watching 3 races this week is seriously just what I needed to recover mentally and emotionally from the marathon. Let me know if you are running this wicked hard trail marathon/relay and I'll make sure to watch/cheer for you!

This is how I feel about me & trail running.... hence the reason I will be cheering and not running.
If there is a rock or a branch hidden 6 feet underground, my feet and face will find it.  

Throwback Thursday: This was me in 2010 finishing my first trail race...oh wait first trail run too. You can kind of see the mud. I was covered in dirt and blood (I fell like 5 times...good times.), ended up with a sprained ankle and some good bruises! For the record, just about EVERY.SINGLE.ONE. of my race finish line photos are of me stopping my watch. I should work on that. Oh, and I never did a trail race again after this, maybe one day...not anytime soon.

What is the weirdest craving you have had after a big race?

Any thoughts on my triathlon dilemma?

Who is racing this weekend?