October 2016 Goals

Pure Barre Goal: Zero, but I went to something called [solidcore]. It is really hard but a lot of fun.

CrossFit Goal: 128/200 WODs. I went to CrossFit Identity for 13 WODs this month. I didn't drop in during my travels to save some money and to make myself go running instead.

Mileage: I ran 38 miles, including the Marine Corps Marathon. MCM 41 is my fastest marathon to date. I swore I would never run another one as I crossed the finish line, but then I found myself googling best Boston Qualifier courses in Georgia a few hours later.

Marine Corps Marathon 41

Guys, I ran my fastest marathon yesterday! And I didn't even train for it. I've been dreading this race for months because I just couldn't get myself to commit to a training plan. I don't like running alone in the daylight during the summer in Georgia. It's boring and it's hot. I just can't bring myself to run at 6 AM when it's still dark out. Thank you Quantavia Rivers for ruining my ability to train for marathons like a normal person you son of a bitch. I hope the Georgia state correctional system misplaces you again and forgets to feed you.

[solidcore] with Pepper!

One of my favorite CrossFit friends, Allison Pepper, is coaching at the new [solidcore] in Midtown Atlanta. It hasn't officially opened yet, but they have been offering free mock classes. There's still time to sign up.

I went to Pepper's 7 AM class on Wednesday. [solidcore] is located at 915 West Peachtree on the same block as the Alta and right next to the Wich Wich. I couldn't figure out what parking deck they referred to (maybe the Alta's parking garage?), so I just parked in a metered spot outside of Marlow's Tavern.

I woke up feeling puffy and bloated, so I took a photo of it to document that this is normal. I'm not going to be my leanest every day of the month. In other good news, you don't have to wear socks or cover your mid-drift for [solidcore]. It was cold so I did put a shirt on, but I didn't have to and that's what matters.

Hotlanta Half 2016

I ran the Hotlanta Half on Sunday, June 13 and the photos are finally ready (and then I forgot to post finish this post for a while, so the photos were actually ready back in June.) The event has free race photos - yes, I said FREE race photos. How awesome is that?

I tried not to freak myself out about this race. One, I wanted it to be fun. Two, I signed up because I needed to prove to myself that I could do some long runs for the Marine Corps Marathon. So I kept telling myself it was just an expensive long run with hydration stations and 1,600 of my closest friends.

I woke up on Saturday viciously hungover and dragged my ass to CrossFit to sweat it out. I had a great partner workout with Dave (I've been trying to get him to be my best friend for months), but there was rowing, doubleunders, over the rower burpees, and thrusters. All things that would catch up to me on Sunday. I had drunkenly slept through my 5K the previous weekend so riding the struggle bus on Saturday was actually clutch for my pre-race preparation. The boyfriend and I adulted the rest of the day and then I cooked the shrimp in my refrigerator because it was going to go bad and ate a bunch of sourdough rolls. It wasn't my usual pre-race dinner of buffalo wings, but it wasn't bad. I was in bed by 10 PM.

It's Sunday morning and I'm out of bed by 5 AM. I walk the dogs, make some toast, and cover one piece with Earth Balance creamy coconut and peanut butter spread and the other with some Kerrygold butter and fig spread. I decided to take an Uber to the race and conveniently one of my neighbors was coming home at 6:15 in the morning so I snagged his driver.

The race was super easy to get to down at Pemberton Place by World of Coke and the aquarium. I arrived, walked my ass over to bag check, and took my shirt off. I was ready to roll! Unfortunately the porta potties didn't arrive in time and the line for the real bathroom was a bajillion people long. I decided to line up and hope I'd find a restroom along the way.

I took this photo instead of standing in line to pee.

The Crossings of Colonie

Guys, I found the coolest park full of running paths on Wednesday morning. I flew up to Albany Tuesday night for yet another AmeriCorps program director training and they have us staying at the Radisson on Wolf Road. The Crossings Park is a 130-acre public park in Colonie, which I believe is a suburb of Albany. Fun fact - I spent two years of my life researching the Capitol District and Western New York when I did new site development for Teach For America, and I randomly know the zip codes of a bunch of suburbs. I also know that you're never supposed to say Upstate New York unless you want to offend someone who might give you money.

My plan was to run 2 miles and then figure out how to get back to the main road so I could stop at Dunkin Donuts for my 32 oz iced coffee. When I don't want to get up and run, I find it helpful to build in a fix for my iced coffee addiction and then I walk back caffeinated and happy. The weather was beautiful, i.e. sunny and cool, and the park had so many trails that I was able to complete an easy 5 mile run. I was pretty pleased with myself even if I did get lost in the woods.

I didn't bring my phone because I am the worst blogger on the interwebs. I fully intended to get back to take some photos but it rained yesterday and we had a 7 AM start time today (like what in the actual fuck?) so y'all don't get any photos of this idyllic place. Maybe it will motivate you to go check it out yourself the next time you're in Albany.

But here is the front of the hotel so you can see that the trees are changing colors!

Progress: Seeing the Big Picture

Last week I drove to Murfreesboro, Tennessee for a conference. I got to the hotel, obviously a Hilton, and was delighted to find the world's most flattering mirror in my room. I took that as a sign to take A LOT of selfies. (Note that "a lot" still has a space in between the a and the l, even when it's capitalized. It is my biggest Instagram pet peeve and apparently every fitness-related account can't be bothered to learn that ALOT is not a fucking word.)

Anyway, I went for a quick run around the mall parking lot on Thursday morning before the sessions started. Basically, I just wanted to get Starbucks so I took the longest possible route to get to the location that was directly next to the hotel. It was a little cold so I wore a long-sleeved shirt.

Since the mirror was just chilling out there on the closet door every time I walked near the bathroom, I felt compelled to document what I looked like post-run.

Not Getting Kidnapped in Alexandria, VA

A couple of weeks ago, I had to fly into DC for a conference in Alexandria. It conflicted with a work retreat, so I ended up being there for less than 24 hours and only attended the opening session. Serious waste of time and money, but I did enjoy a nice run.

I wake up in Hiltons ALL of the time. The rooms pretty much look alike, and the ones from the same chain are usually identical. They only vary in size based on the location. New York hotel rooms are usually tiny. Houston hotel rooms are usually big enough to have guests over for handstand practice.

I like to look for potential running routes on MapMyRun when I'm in a new place. Then I compare the route to Google maps to make sure I understand where I'm heading. I had a general idea of where I wanted to go and set out from the hotel.

I wasn't sure about all of the green space I saw on the map, but I figured I'd find something nice and I did. I made a random right and found the entrance to the Dora Kelley Nature Park.