Author: Darlene

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Volunteering on World Run Day

 

Well, this was my first volunteer experience. The Stockade-athon is a big event – the oldest 15k in the country!

 It was a chilly morning and since I wouldn’t be running, I dressed warmly. I arrived about 15 min. before the start of the race, and Schenectady’s Central Park was packed.  I had to park quite a distance away.

I immediately ran into my friend Mary and gave her a good luck hug.  I then walked around looking for information on what to do as a volunteer.  I bumped into another finish volunteer and we chatted and waited together.

After the race started, we finally were given a free tee shirt (long sleeve coolmax 🙂 ), our clipper, collection bin and instructions.

And we just waited… We were able to see the runners at mile 1 and I spotted Mary:

Mary & others at mile 1

Finally the elite runners came into view!  The winner ran it at a 5 minute mile pace WOW!  It was fun to see him cross as well as all the others.

The Winner

I even got to cut the chip off of the winning female! 

I never realized how important a volunteer is until now.  These runners were drained at the end of the race and I can’t count how many said “Thank you for volunteering!”

One guy said to me: “This is my 1st long race & my 70th birthday.”

Finally I saw Mary and she ran to me to cut off her chip & then I took her photo:

Mary & Kelly after the race

I met Mary in June when she was struggling to finish a 5k.  We have run 5 5ks together since then.  She used to call me her “inspiration” because I was faster & could finish in under 30 min.  She finally did that too in Oct.  Since then, she has run several 10ks, a half marathon and a 15k!!!! Now she’s my inspiration.

After all the runners had crossed the finish line, we left and were invited to the Fireside Pizzeria for free pizza, wings & drinks!

I highly recommend volunteering!  It is so rewarding!  It does make you wish you were a runner in the race.  For me, the decision was easy: I haven’t run this distance before and the times were fast.  However, next year, I may run it but I will definitely volunteer again at some race!

Since today was World Run Day and I signed up for it & got a tee shirt.  My REST day turned into a 1 mile neighborhood loop:

before my 1 mile "World" run

 

The day ended with a dinner to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of my Mah Jongg group:

dinner celebration at PF Chang's

Happy Running! Congratulations to all those NYC Marathoners!

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Lady Gaga & Running

Last night, my hubby & I went to a Black Velvet Party fundraiser for the Lake George Arts Project.  The theme was GaGa:

GaGa version 1


GaGa version 2

Today, I had planned to run 9 miles.  I ran 5 miles and stopped at Brueggers for a bagel & cream cheese, a cookie & a bottle of water to give me enough energy to get home.  At 7.5 miles, it is up hill & I still ran out of gas and had to walk.  But I made it home!!!

Stats:

5k – 33
10k – 1:04
9 mi – 1:34

GaGa runner version

Tomorrow I’m volunteering at the Stockade-athon 15K.  I know a few people running it and may be I’ll run it next year.

Happy Running and Good Luck to those running in the NYC Marathon tomorrow!

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Bloggers are Great!

This is why I read blogs:

Check out these motivational quotes from Lesley –  http://racingitoff.blogspot.com/2010/11/time-to-motivate.html

Check out this post on Why I Run Races from Jen –  http://www.jenisgreen.com/2010/11/02/why-i-run-races/

I’m wordless today.  These two bloggers said it all!

Happy Running and Happy Blogging!

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400th Post and the Naples Half Marathon

Why Run Naples Half Marathon?

  •  The best distance course in the state! Certified! Flat-Fast-Shady-Loop!
  • FREE Pasta party
  • Great 4 color Coolmax shirts
  • Unique quality medals to all finishers who finish within race time limit of 2:45
  • Awards 5 deep for 27 age groups
  • Door prizes including weekends at beach front hotels
  • $15,500 cash awards – Open – Masters – Grand Masters – Senior Grand Masters
  • Special $3,500 cash awards for US citizens
  • Cash awards for course records overall & age group

Why Should I?

  • I love Naples! I go there to play tennis every spring!!
  • The race is on my 12th wedding anniversary
  • The day after is Martin luther King Day – a work holiday!
  • I can use my frequent flier miles to fly for free!
  • I missed my first 10K 
  • I am running longer runs on the weekend (already ran 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 miles)
  • I still have 10 weeks left to train (see plan below)
  • I should run a half before my knees die & my body quits…

Suggested – HALF MARATHON TRAINING SCHEDULE
Revised – MY HALF MARATHON TRAINING

So how’s that for a 400th post?  Going out on a limb and thinking beyond 3.1 miles 🙂

 Happy Running and THANKS for your input!

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Wednesday Winning

Today is my friend Molly’s birthday and I won a giveaway from Molly, the I’m a Sleeper Baker:

*I have chocolate once a day, so I’ll start off with a bar of chocolate from Newman’s Own Organic.
*Coffee is a necessity, a $5 gift card to Starbucks should be good for a cup.
*Tic Tacs are needed after coffee, for fresh breath.
*GU.  During marathon training, I always had GU on me.  I like a bunch of them, but these two tend to cleanse my running palate the best, one Lemon Sublime, and one Strawberry Banana.
*Blistex Lip balm. I figured I should go unisex on this one, since Mark is always bitching that my giveaways are more for the gals than the guys.

ALL MY FAVS! YAY!

Last week I won these from Forward Foot Strides:

I also just got in the mail from Barefoot Neil Z’s  Because All the Cool Kids are Doing It Virtual 10-10-10 Race:

a Basket full of  snacks – I mean a lot of SNAX!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Running! Love those giveaways!

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Two for Tuesday

1. Brr………It was 30 degrees this morning!  Frost on the grass. What to wear to run after work?  Tights, long sleeve shirt, jacket, hat, gloves… It’s hard to pack and bring the right gear!

2. Well, I did it – I ran from work.  This way I beat the darkness & ran 4 miles!  Of course, I started out being COLD but by the end, I had taken off my gloves & jacket. 

 I hate running during the COLD weather months. So much simpler to grab a shirt & shorts….but the TREADMILL is a worse alternative.

Happy Fall Running!

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Brain Exchange is Back (Week 16)

     

This Week’s Question: 

What do you miss most when you are in the heat of training or gearing up for a race?  Do you skip late nights out?  Do you give up goodies and alcohol?  What is the first thing you crave when training is over?

Answer:

I really haven’t done a lot of training but I hope to start.  However, the day before a race (even a 5k), I try to eat pasta and drink a lot of water, go to bed early.  If I go out, I don’t drink alcohol.  This is a little tough, since I play mah jongg on Friday evenings.  My friends play until late & I always go home early. Sometimes, I don’t go at all. They drink wine & I drink water. It’s worth the sacrifice!!

Happy Running!

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New Week…New Month…New Goals

Recap of October:
 Goals – 60 miles,  a 5K race & a PR , a 10 K race – I ran 68.5 miles (the most ever in a month!!). I ran 2 5k races, no PR but 29:10 (my 2nd lowest time!!).  I signed up & trained for a 10K but was too sick to run it.  I won 2 giveaways!

Recap of  last week:
My weekly goal was 18 miles. I did 18 miles!

This week’s schedule:
Mon – tennis after work
Fri eve – Party in LG
Sun – volunteer at 15k race, mah jongg dinner

This week’s running:
Tues– 4 miles after work
Wed- 3  miles after work 
Thurs – 4 miles after work
Sat –  9  miles

Weekly Running Goal = 20 miles
November Monthly Running Goal = 65 miles, a 5k race, a PR
Yearly Running Goal = 300 miles ( I passed it, I even passed 500 – New Goal is 600)
 
Happy Running!
 
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Happy Halloween

This was a fun weekend. Saturday night, my hubby & I went a party in Lake George. I was a witch & he was a judge.

me

my hubby

at the party

our friends Ed & Kathi

our friend Jim

This morning, we went out to breakfast with our friends and then headed home.  I had promised to take my mentee, Amanda, her boyfriend & her son Richard out trick or treating.  Richard was Iron Man.  He was so CUTE!!

Eichard, Amanda & Matt

Richard

I took them to our friends in Slingerlands who had their great niece & nephew coming over and because their neighborhodd is popular for treat or treaters.  We all had dinner afterwards.  A good time was had by all.

Happy Running.  Hope you had a great day!

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Virtual Pink Dress Run

sponsored by Dutch Girl Gets Healthy :

As October is breast cancer awareness month I think it is a good idea to do a virtual run together for Pink Ribbon.

The “rules” are simple:

  • Run on Saturday October 30 or Sunday 31.
  • The distance is up to you.
  • It doesn’t have to be a race, a training counts too.
  • Mention on your blog or in a comment on my blog when you ran, the distance you ran and the time you ran.

And the most important rule: Wear something pink and post a picture of you in your running outfit.

and I did (see photo below) wear pink (pink skirt, pink socks, pink running shoes, pink RoadId wristband, pink  Nathan’s belt, pink sweatband) on my 8 mile RUN on October 30.

Running in pink

Happy Running and thanks to Fran for the challenge.