Expo and Hotel (Friday Five Edition)

So it has been a long week.  The day after MCM I came down with a cold.  I really was OK with that cause everyone around me was getting sick and I just wanted it to wait till I was done with the race and it waited till the next morning.  I'm starting to feel like myself again, so I'm jumping into the first of a few posts I have planned to document my weekend.  First up my thoughts on the Expo and the Gaylord National Harbor Hotel in Friday Five style.

In case you missed previous posts from the MCM weekend:

• Highlights

 

1. Traffic was horrendous as you got to the hotel.  Not only was it base camp for the VIP (and others staying at the hotel) it also was the spot for the expo.  We had a hard time finding out where we could check in and drop off our luggage.  Once that was done and we made our way to the parking deck, everything was right there.  Our hotel room had a view of the road in from the highway and the traffic was crazy most of Friday and Saturday.

2. The hotel was really fancy and huge.  It was right by the National Harbor and our view of the harbor was beautiful.  They were able to have another convention and a reception of some sort at the same time as the Expo and MCM events.  We even got lost a couple times trying to find one of the events and our room.  We learned to just go up the elevator that we knew.  They do have an option to watch Netflix and Hulu with your own account, which was really nice to find a movie to watch.  Our room did have issues with the Internet connection and we eventually got $25 off our room service.  And I have to say that room service after the marathon was the best idea ever!

3. The expo was really crowded.   We went Friday around lunch time and talking to some of the volunteers there it was busy all day and there probably really wasn't a good time to go.  Though there were a lot of people there there was really no line to pick up our bibs or shirts.  The shirt is nice.  Looks warm and fits well, I just don't like the shade of green they chose.  It still will be worn a lot on cold winter runs.  On the other hand we waited in line for almost an hour to pay for our official merchandise.  The size of the expo was probably the same as Disney.

4. I liked the official merchandise.  As expected, things were expensive, but they had some cute colors and designs.  I ended up with two jackets.  One being the official running jacket and the other a nice cotton one with a hood.  I really do love me some jackets.  As a last minute thought I did get the grey visor, a magnet, and a sticker (the last two were impulse buys that they displayed right at checkout).  After the race I did get one of the finisher shirts.  They were sold out of the one I really wanted, but I'm happy with the one I got.  The one thing we didn't get was the mylar type jacket that they always give out afterward.  Granted it was so hot that we did not need it at all, but it would have made a great souvenir.

5. The rest of the booths were really standard for most races with a few more themed towards the armed forces.  Nuun was giving out their race themed water bottle with purchase, but I didn't like it much, so I passed.  USAA was taking free pictures when you gave them your contact information.

There was a booth there about the Travis Manion Foundation.  They were giving out great first aid bags and band-aids.  Other booths included Clif Bars - giving out free samples, Geico - giving out a chance to win a massage, we didn't win, but we got a cool reusable bag, Bee Cause Sneaker Charms, and a whole lot of other great booths.  I did enjoy the Expo even though it was crowded.  They had a lot of great things.

I just want to add this in as a side note.  Because I signed up for the Richmond Marathon Training Team, I am entered into the Richmond Marathon next weekend.  I have the chance to switch down to the half, but I keep going back and forth on what I want to do.  On one hand if I do the marathon, then I will be able to do the Marathon Maniacs.  But on the other hand, MCM was a struggle.  But it was a struggle because of the heat.  Also, this may be the only time I do the Richmond Marathon as I don't see myself training for this full again.  Also, it would be nice to run a marathon that is not 70+ degrees out.  Will it make a difference two weeks later?  Will my body be ready for another full so soon?  I really need to be OK with not pushing my body to the limit.  I have to make the decision at the expo on Thursday.  Stay tuned for what I decide to do...

Continue reading about the MCM weekend here. 

Do you like getting the Nuun customized water bottle?  Do you like to get free samples at an expo?  Would you run a second marathon in 2 weeks?

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

It's Marine Corps Marathon Weekend! (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

So right now I am probably done with my marathon and resting my poor tired feet.  So this will be an abbreviated weekly wrap-up as I don't know what my time or wi-fi status will be this weekend.

This week I only had two training runs and both were only 3 miles.  I haven't run my 3 mile loop in ages and it was nice being done a lot sooner then normal.  That meant I could sleep in a little.  I'm currently on new medication so I didn't know how that would effect my run.  Well it elevated my heart rate a lot and made the run really hard.  I know now to not take it till after I run.  The picture below is of this weird face in a tree.  I keep seeing it on my weekly runs and each time I look for it I miss it and it makes me think it disappeared.  Spooky this time of year.

Wednesday was my last training run before MCM.  It was COLD when I left my house.  Like 39 degrees cold.  It hasn't been that cold yet this fall.  While I wore a light long sleeve shirt and tights, towards the end of the run my ears were getting cold.  Each year I go through this transition I never remember what I did the year before.  And I have running logs that I have, but never seem to get them out. :)

My heart rate monitor died about half way through my run.  I thought it might happen since I couldn't remember the last time I charged it.  I really like this monitor, but it has no indication light to tell me how much battery is left or if it is low.  So I basically have to charge it every other run just in case.

After the monitor died, I switched to 30 second walk/1 minute run.  The run felt really good despite the cold.  I was still as slow as usual, but I pushed the run a little.  I like to play a game when I run the 3 mile loop where I run the first mile at a comfortable pace and then the second has to be faster then the first then the third has to be faster then the second.  I can only play this game when I do 3-4 miles.  But I won on this run.  I think my next goal after Richmond is to get back to running the whole 3 miles.  

For the rest of the week I did a ton of walking, a shakeout run, and a marathon.  More details of each of these happenings to come.


Happy Halloween!!  

Do you ever play games on your runs?  How do you remember what type of layers to wear when the fall brings colder temperatures?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Last Week of Taper Before MCM (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

So we are now a week away from MCM.  Seven more days, three more training runs, four more days of work, and one more billion checks of weather.com till the big day.  So far tapering has been fine.  I've never had a hard time with it, but do start getting nervous as the race gets closer.  But the more detailed planning I do, the better I feel.  The weather got a lot warmer this week and most days were highs in the mid 80s.  For mid-October it's a lot hotter then normal.

Monday's run was good.  I tried the walk/run of 30sec/1min again.  I still think HR running is better for me even though the time seems to be about the same.  The run felt a little hard, but with the weather getting warmer, it was a lot more humid that morning.

Wednesday I went back to my HR running.  It was still humid, but a good run.  I ran into Agnes who I see a lot out walking.  We always seem to be going the opposite ways, but this morning we walked about half a mile together.  It was fun getting to know her a little more. 

Friday was my last mid-week run of 5 miles.  All next week I'll be dropping down to 3 mile runs.  I did see another shooting star.  That's two in two weeks.  I did take a few moments to think about a wish unlike I did last week.  Whether I get my wishes or not, it's really cool to see a shooting star.

Saturday the MTT team is doing another 20 mile run.  Since I'm in my last taper long run, I only wanted to do 6 miles.  The half marathon team was doing 8 so I decided to do a run with them (but cut 2 miles off).  It was a good run.

I saw some odd things while on this run.  Including this weird huge bird nest.

And Alan. I've seen him before, he is not just a Halloween decoration, but this was the first time I stopped to get a picture.

And this kitty.  She (or he) walked right up to me and let me pet her (or him).  While I tend to say hi to all the dogs on a walk, never a cat before.  She must live around there somewhere and have a home to be so trusting.

And then I got to go out to brunch with my running friends.  I haven't been able to join them in ages cause we have been running different distances as they are training for the half.  It was so great to catch up with everyone.  And to show how small a town Richmond is, the lady that has been helping me at the Alzheimer's Association had been running with my running friends all summer long.

So remember to follow me on Twitter - @heatherlas and Instagram - @heathersspin as I will be posting throughout the weekend.  And maybe even during the race.

Have you ever seen a shooting star?  Have you seen anything interesting out on a run lately that wasn't just a Halloween decoration?  Has a cat ever come up to you to say hi?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Trying Walk/Run Again (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

First week of taper is complete.  Two more weeks till MCM.  This has been another hard week for me.  Not for running, but everything else.  The help we had for my dad didn't work out, so there was time spent with him and stress about what we are going to do weighted on me.  I went to another job fair.  I like to see so many employers at once, but it is really exhausting.  But running seems to be going better.  And I'm focusing on detail planning for MCM.  That seems to be calming me some.  Planning just does that to me.

I didn't run on Monday as I was still exhausted Sunday night and decided not to get up early and take an extra rest day.  I'm on my taper so I'm not worried about missing a day.  Wednesday was a good run.  Even though I was in a bad mood the whole run.  I was hoping that the run would help my mood, but it didn't.  Just too much going on and too much stress.  But with cooler temps, my pace is coming down slowly.  Though on my run I did see an accident.  I'm not sure how it happened, but it looked like the car crossed the median and hit a brick wall.  I hope that everyone was OK.

Friday my mood was better.  With things with the job, I have been working from home more often and that means that I can wait till the sun rises to run.  But not Friday.  I had a job fair that morning and I had to make sure I had plenty of time to get ready.  This run was good even though it was in the dark.  I did see a shooting star.  I made a wish quickly and then thought maybe I should wish on something more important and changed my mind.  Can I do that?  Will I get the first or second wish?  Or will I get one at all? :)

Saturday was a much cooler day.  I really wasn't sure what to wear as weather.com told me something completely different then the local news channel.  So I went with a light long sleeve shirt and tights.  While I could have gotten away with a short sleeve shirt and shorts I wasn't really hot at all.

I decided to try and do a walk/run again.  I wanted to see if I could do that for the race and if it made any difference.  I went with a 30 second walk/1 minute run.  We ran down to the bottom (downtown).  There are a couple reasons I hate running those types of loops - 1) you run down but you have to run up all these hills for the second half and 2) the streets and sidewalks are mostly made of cobblestone and brick.  Makes you have to watch your step so you don't trip.

We did run past where the Over the Edge fundraiser was happening.  It's for the Special Olympics where people raise money and rappel over the edge of a building.  No one was coming down when we ran by, but it would have been fun to watch someone.  I always sort of wanted to do it, but I'm terrified of heights.  I want to do it though as I can't let my fear to stop me from doing fun things.  But it looks so scary.   My dilemma.

We did cross the canal.  It has some paths to run on, but it's not very long.

And we crossed the river twice.  I love crossing the river as it is so beautiful.

So, over all, it looks like my pace and heart rate were about the same.  I did feel more tired at the end of the run.  I'm still trying to decide what I will do for the race.  I'm running with a friend and want an even walk/run and not random when my HR goes up.  For now I'll do a couple more walk/run runs just to see if Saturday was a hard run or if I should stick to HR.

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Running 23 Miles with Matthew (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

So on Saturday, I ran 23 miles with Hurricane Matthew.  While we didn't get a direct hit, we got a lot of rain and some wind.  Not bad enough to cancel the run, but enough for it to be a very wet run.

Monday I didn't go out for a run as I didn't have time.  Plus I kinda counted the hiking we did on Sunday as a run.  Wednesday I got out there and had a great run.  I worked from home so I ended up being able to run after the sun came up.  I really felt like I was finally getting back to where I was before I hurt my back.  There was a guy that was out there with his dog.  He said he has seen me running a lot and to keep it up.  Makes up for the stupid guy last week. :)

Friday while it was still a good run, I felt slower.  I realized it was a lot more humid on Friday then it was on Wednesday.  I had to go into the office, so I had to run before the sun came up.  This is the time of the year where the acorns are falling from the trees.  They kept hitting different surfaces and freaked me out a bit.  That and the acorns were all over the road and I had to watch myself at some places.

Saturday the long arms of Hurricane Matthew hit us.  The weather was in the upper 60's but there was a lot of rain.  I started off before the MTT group as they only had 20 miles on the docket and I wanted to get in 23.  I ran up and back for an extra 3 miles and then off on the route given to us.  I only had 4 miles that I ran over a 16 minute mile.  I was so impressed with my consistency through the run.  I didn't feel like I ran out of steam at the end like I usually do.

I felt like Matthew was keeping me company on my run.  Most of the time it was a light rain, but every so often it would down pour.  And there would be wind gusts every so often.  Every time the rain or wind picked up, I felt like he was encouraging me to keep going.  I just had to embrace the rain and enjoy what was given to me.

The route that they had for us went through a lot of nice neighborhoods.  It was still a little dark out, but there was a lot of street lights still on.  I ran by this church that had signs of all the terrorist attacks that have happened and at the end is a sign that says "Love One Another".  I was very touched by this.

I also ran by a few houses that had Halloween decorations up.  This was my favorite one.

This same house had a big metal rooster and it really reminded me of The Bloggess.

But most of the run this was my view.  A lot of rain.

And a lot of puddles to watch out for.

I used this run to see what time I would make it for mile 15.5 and mile 18 for MCM.  So that I can beat The Gauntlet, I would have to be there no later then 12:38 PM.  Which means if I cross the start line right at 7:55 AM then I have 4:43 to get there.  If I cross the start line at 8:55 AM then I have 3:43.  I got to 15.5 on my training run in 4:03, which means I have to cross the start line by 8:35 AM or earlier to feel comfortable.

To beat the bridge at mile 18 by 1:15 PM.  That would mean I would need to get there between 4:20 - 5:20.  I got there in 4:40.  Plenty of time after getting past The Gauntlet.  So my main concern will be getting to The Gauntlet on time.

I was still one of the last people that got back to the parking lot.  I just hate that feeling that I know I did great for me, but still one of the last people to finish.  I told one of the coaches that I did an extra 3 miles and he scoffed at me.  The MTT thought of training is that you only need to do 20.  One would think that they would encourage you if you felt better doing something different from that.  There is not one way to train, and I'm doing what is best for me feeling like I can get to the finish line.

When I got home I saw how badly I chaffed.  I used so much Glide on myself because I knew it was going to rain the whole time and it didn't help.  I'm chaffed between my thighs, on my waist, and all around my bra line.  I also wish I had shorts and a sports bra that would treat my body better.  But thank goodness for Aquafur!

So now I have two weeks of tapering and then it's race time, though it really hasn't hit me, yet.  Some people have a hard time with taper time, but I really try to embrace it.  I feel really good about MCM after this run but I know I will be very nervous about beating those times.

Do you ever feel encouraged by the weather, even bad weather?  Do you look forward to taper time or dread it?  

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Heart Rate Training Week 10 (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

This week has been much better.  Back has been feeling great (knock on wood).  I did bruise my toe nails on both big toes pretty badly last Saturday so I took Monday off to let them heal. Not sure what the deal was with that as those were the same shoes that I wore though my last few races so I know they are not too small.  They are getting close to 300 miles so it may be time to start rotating a new pair into my week.

Wednesday was another dreary day.  Luckily when I got out there it was in between down pours so it was just misty out.  The only thing I hate about running in the rain is that I wear a hat or visor and they make my head so hot.  But other then that I really don't mind running in the rain - only when it's warm. :)  My toe nails hurt a little towards the end of the run, but other then that I felt great.  It's been such a long time since I've said that.

Friday I was able to wait till the sun came up to run.  I'm not sure what I hate more, running in the dark or waiting till it's lighter out but having to deal with more cars on the road.  Guess it's best that I do half and half and really appreciate the best part of each.  I have also noticed a ton of mushrooms, not only around my neighborhood, but all over the city.  It's just weird as they all just popped up at the same time everywhere.  Also, it looks like one of the condos was throwing out another couch.  This is the second one I have seen in the same place in the past month. Just weird.

The temps were cooler which was great.  It was misty again and very dreary out.  With the coolness I have been able to run more hills before my heart rate would jump too high.  Man I forgot how hard it is to run up hills.  I really should have incorporated them more in my training this time around but I could only focus on the heart rate training this time around. Oh and the day before my toes had healed enough for me to clean them out and trim the nails and they felt fine on my run.  Yay to no pain!

Saturday was such a fun run.  I drove up to PA to visit a friend and we decided to head out to a trail near her which she runs on all the time.  It had been dreary and raining all Friday and Saturday morning when we woke up.  We got up and looked at the radar and thought we could get out there right away and the second we said that it started to rain.  So we piddled around and got dressed and the rain stopped and we headed out.  The moment we got to the trail it started to rain again.  We decided to sit in the car as the radar said it would pass quickly.  Once we did we were out the door.

The trail is fairly flat, with little elevation and it was beautiful.  A lot of farm land around with animals and people to watch.  I had a hard time with the first few miles as I sometimes do.  I'm used to running on the streets and have a lot I have to pay attention to with the cars and this just brought me into my own thoughts, which can be interesting or not so interesting. :)  But I kept looking around at the beautiful nature and animals and farms.  It just sank into me how lucky I am to be experiencing and seeing all of this.  One of my favorite things about running is to be one with nature and this really was.  After that I got out of my head and really enjoyed the run.

It was in the mid 50's.  I haven't seen anything under 65 degrees since May.  It was so nice.  I wasn't sure what to wear so I went with my tank top and shorts.  I wish I would have worn a short sleeve shirt as with the misty elements my shoulders got really chilly at times.

Because of the weather there were not many people on the trail, which was nice then we could run next to each other and not really worry about people coming up behind us or ahead.  We did see a lot of Mennonites out for a leisure stroll or bike ride on the trail.

Can you see the brown bunny in the brown brush?

We also saw a ton of animals.  Lots and lots of cows.  A few dogs.  A bunny.  A couple of kitties.  We saw some little cows in individual tents and Meranda had to explain to me that they were being raised for veal.  That made me feel real sad and and I just wanted to take them out to go for a walk with us.

We even saw a dirt pile where kids have put their toy trucks at the top.  It was so cute.

I was a little disappointed with my time.  I know I can't focus on it, but the weather was a lot cooler and there wasn't really any hills.  I know I haven't done a lot of running in the past month or so and I'm really kinda starting over.  While my heart rate was amazing for this run and I had absolutely no pain, I really just wish I could go faster.  I know I can't focus on that and just need to focus on getting the miles in, it just disappoints me.

Meranda was a lot of fun to run with.  I am a very slow runner and even though others say they will stay with me they tend to get antsy and go on ahead.  But it was fun to gab the whole way, which since I'm used to running on my own was a nice change of pace.  She was only going to do 10 miles but decided to do the last 2 with me anyway since we were going slow enough.  When we finished the moment we got back into the car it started to rain again.  Talk about perfect timing.  It's like the running Gods were looking out for us and waited just till we finished.

So just one more long run next week.  The MTT has 20 on their schedule but I really want to do 23.  I always feel better if I do a little more then 20 for my last long run before a marathon.  Not sure how I will fit in the extra miles, but I'll figure it out.  I can't believe I'm just one long run from taper time.  Things are getting a little real now.

Miles run in September: 63.01
Miles run in MCM/Richmond training: 332.52

Good luck to all of those who are running Chicago this weekend!!!!


Do you normally run on roads or trails?  Have you dealt with bruised toe nails before?  Are you seeing a lot of mushrooms around you or it's just around me?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Heart Rate Training Week 9 (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

This week has been much better then the last few.  I actually got some runs in (with quite a bit of walking), including my long run.

Monday I decided to at least get out there and walk my miles.  I just tried to run every now and again just to see how things felt.  The few times I ran really wasn't a run, it was more like an old lady shuffle.  I'm glad it was dark out so people couldn't see it.  While the walking felt fine, the few times I tried to run my back felt tight.  My hip and glut hurt by the end, but I was happy to have a PT appointment later that day.

Wednesday I decided to try again.  I ran a little bit more and while it was a little faster, it was still a shuffle.  The back felt better, but still tight.  No real pain, just tight.  I knew that was a good that there really wasn't any pain.

Friday I decided to work from home, which meant that I didn't have to start my run till the sun came up.  Even though there was more traffic out at that time, it was nice to run in the day light.  After my PT appointment on Wednesday, my back finally really felt good.  No pain or tightness.  It was so nice.

After a good run on Friday I decided to do my long run on Saturday.  I didn't run with the MTT since I wasn't sure if I would be able to do all 20 miles.  I decided to do my favorite 10 miler and then I can figure out if I could do it again or a shorter loop after that.

I saw this sign in someone's neighborhood and I was very confused by it.  Did someone that lived there put it up or did a neighbor put it up?  It was still there when I did my second loop.

There was a guy that saw me on a walk break and said that I had a lot of stuff for a walk (I had my vest on with my two big water bottles).  I wish I could have said something before he drove off, like it's a walk/run or that it was 20 miles.  I thought it was really kinda rude.

The first 10 miles felt good.  No back pain or really any at all.  I decided to do the second loop of 10 miles.  I refilled my water bottles and started off again.  It was starting to get more warm but I was feeling good, so far.  By mile 15 though the heat was getting up there and I was getting tired.  I haven't done anything more then 5 miles in a month so most of the last 5 miles was walking.  I thought that maybe 20 was pushing it, but I was so excited to be out there.

By the end my hips and my feet hurt, but I did it.  My back didn't hurt at all.  I bruised both of my big toe nails which sucks.  I'm very excited to be back into the game.

How was your week?  What do you think that sign meant?  Have you ever had someone say something rude while you were out for a run?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.