Lehigh Valley Half Marathon - Great Race and a PR

I ran without a watch, without my Nike+ (it's been acting crazy since I left for Jamaica), and somehow I managed to set a PR. By quite a lot!

I ran 2:19:24 on Sunday in a really fun race, on a nice course, in perfect weather. It was a great ending to a week of vacation!

More details later on both the trip and the race.

Super Cute Medal

I know I have two other races to do on this weekend, but isn't this the cutest medal ever???

I think this might have to go on the list for next year. This and the new Tower of Terror run with the glow in the dark shirts.

Who is the Sole Survivor? I AM!

By some sort of miracle, I managed to beat Stevo152 by a measly .43 miles to become the winner of the Nike+ Survivor Challenge. I am a little embarassed about how happy I am about winning.

Running, Nike Survivor, and the Bachelor

I've been logging a lot of miles but they haven't all been running. In fact, most of them have NOT been running. I've been meeting Brian for walks after work and while I'm not getting my hill workout at VF I'm having a lot of fun just unwinding and talking for an hour outside after work. It's nice and I'm not quite ready to give that up in favor of slogging over those hills. I probably should though.

I had a hard but good workout on Saturday, about 11 miles, broken up into a couple of different legs to satisfy my Nike+ challenges. It was overall pretty good but strange. I started slow, walking with Brian but then got really too fast for myself (because of the music I was listening to I think) and I never really got into a good rhythm. The strange part is that overall it was a fast workout even though I had to stop for walking more than usual.

This week I'm trying to win the Survivor challenge on Nike+. That took me out for a walk on Sunday at a set of nearby trails that we've never explored before. Monday I couldn't log anything but last night I did the VF loop and tonight I plan to hit the treadmill for a more focused running workout. It'll be really fun if I win!

We watched the Bachelor last night and Brian commented that Andy has the "biggest lower chest I've ever seen". That's a strange comment and yet it's true! He looks very strange with his shirt off -- it's like he's got unusually large muscles over his ribs and then a tiny waist. It's also totally bugging me that they all say tri-ath-a-lon. I thought that was a huge pet peeve of the tri-folk. I thought it should be called tri-athlon. Even Andy says it and who am I to argue with a 6 time Ironman?

I'm not sure who he's going to pick but right now I like Tessa best. She's cute, a triathlete, and finds the whole concept of the show upsetting and bizarre, which is the only normal seeming attitude one could have about that dumb show.

The Gym

I finally joined a gym. This means that I will be able to run in inclement weather and in the dark. No more excuses.

It also means that I might start to do strength training. I've been saying I was going to start strength training since I started planning my wedding -- I've been married for 3 years and I still haven't started! I am the Queen of Procrastination!

I hope this will help me win the Survivor challenge. I am one of the top dogs remaining (gotta love a challenge slanted in favor of the mid-pack runners!) after the merge so I've got to kick it into high gear this week. I'm the only girl left so that makes me want to win just a tiny bit more than before.

Unfortunately, I also have a pesky calf injury so I might have to run even slower than usual or walk to get in the miles. I guess they all count though in the Nike world.