Running in the summer

Halfmarathons.net posted this article on their Facebook page.

I wish they would have posted this before I did the Williamsburg Run for the Dream.  So I wouldn’t have felt like this by the end of the half…

I may look like I'm excited, but I'm really not, really!

Some things I found important:

1. If you have cramps or spasms, STOP running, rest, and drink fluids.  In other words, don’t try to be a hero and push through.  You are just going to hurt yourself!
2.  SUPERSWEATY WORKOUTS LEAVE YOU DEHYDRATEDAccording to a recent British review, losing just two percent of your body weight through sweating and dehydration can diminish your running performance up to 20 percent and as much as 60 percent in a hot environment. More important, heat illnesses, such as cramps and heat exhaustion, can begin when core temperature rises only a few degrees above normal, often related to dehydration from sweat losses (see “Danger Zone,” below).

COOL RUNNING Weigh yourself naked on a digital scale before and after a run. For every pound of weight loss, rehydrate with 16 ounces of fluid. When you run, sip a sports drink or water when you’re thirsty, but don’t drink more than the amount determined by your sweat rate. To replace salt and other electrolytes lost through sweat, eat a snack such as baked pita chips dipped in almond butter after a run.

I don’t know if I’m going to be weighing myself naked, but I think it’s important to know…

Good article, definitely some good pointers!

Video Sunday!

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!  Since a lot of us, I think, have a three-day weekend what better to do than just chill and watch videos?

I know, I know, you are probably sick of this song!  But, hey!  It’s catchy and this video cracks me up with Leonard Nimoy!

I still can’t get over how much Jimmy Fallon sounds like Neil Young.  Plus, it’s a cover of Fresh Prince so c’mon!

K, this next one is not a video, rather just the song.  It’s Danger Mouse w/Jack White on a song called, “Two Against One.”  I pretty much dig it and could listen to it on repeat.

Have a great weekend y’all!

Sensible Seafood Festival – Part II

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…

Last night, Leanne and I went to the Virginia Aquarium’s Sensible Seafood Festival.  This was the second one they’ve had.  You can read about the first go around here!

We were pretty excited to go, since the first time was delicious.  Both Leanne and I were ready to marathon eat…and drink!  Fair warning…this is a major photo heavy post!

First up, ceviche!

Ceviche from Tautog's

This was our first (I think) ceviche.  It was pretty tasty, but needed some spice or acidity or something.  Still good!

Next, BBQ shrimp.  No photo cuz we both ate it too quickly.  Did I mention that it was wrapped in bacon?  Double yum.

The next thing we ate was our favorite of the night.

McCormick and Schmick's Cajun rubbed tuna with a sirachia aioli

Yup, pretty sure we went back for seconds of this at the end of the night.  Just so you know, McCormick and Schmick’s, we put our poker chips in your pail!  Also, I liked (at least) the tattooage that was goin’ on with the chefs.  But I digress…

After eating all we could in the first room, we headed to the next room.  What another room!?  Oh yes!

There was a seafood stew? or something like that… I didn’t get a pic, it wasn’t that great.  I also didn’t get a picture of the fried oyster on a cracker from Mahi Mah’s, but it was very good!

Oyster’s on the half shell? (Am I the only person that hears, “…turtles in a half shell.  Turtle power!”  When that’s said?) Yes, please!

Lucky Oyster, oysters

Some of the freshest, most bestest oysters I’ve had!

BBQ pulled/chopped pork at a seafood festival?  Why not?

Jake's BBQ. Pulled and chopped pork with biscuit and coleslaw!

After eating a bit, ha!  A bit, I crack myself up…  We went to a cooking demonstration.  It was put on by the Icelandic Seafood Company, complete with Icelandic chef!  Truly.

He was everything I expected from a chef.  He was blunt, a bit persnickety, and offended by the catch phrases and what not that people are throwing around about food nowadays.

The chef made five different sauces for five different fish dishes.

Creamy mushroom sauce, banana and grape sauce, veggie sauce, creamy leek sauce, and orange butter sauce

This is about how much butter he added to each sauce…

Actually, that’s a lie…he added about triple that amount.  Did I let the prospect of my arteries clogging by just looking at the dishes?  Pshaw, you don’t know me that well!  I double fisted!

Creamy leek fish and banana grape fish

What did we do after eating at the cooking presentation?  More eating of course!

Seared scallop with strawberry sauce, from local strawberries

Oyster wrapped with Serrano ham

Both of the above dishes were from the Aquarium’s restaurant and were pretty good.  We were impressed by how good they actually were.  They were right up there with our faves from McCormick and Schmick’s and Lucky Oyster.

We were pretty much done eating by this point.  Got another glass of wine and decided we would try to walk through the rest of the aquarium.  Last time you could only go so far and then you were roadblocked.  Guess what you guys!  We could go through the entire aquarium.  So cool!  And guess what else?!  There was more food!  We did not know this and had missed some of the fabulous dishes that were back there.  Next time, we will plan accordingly so we can throughly eat to our hearts content.  However, we did get dessert in the form of chocolate covered strawberries to the 3rd power.

We made some new friends…

Baby Sea Turtle. If you look real close you can see the look of glee reflecting off the glass.

Hello Mr. Crocodile

Mr. Diver Man

This guy was pretty funny.  We was taking requests as to what to do in the tank.  He “dropped it like it was hot”, did the running man, the lawnmower…  Ya know all the good ones.

One really cool thing about the Virginia Aquarium is that they have a water tunnel.  You can walk through the tunnel and have water above and on either side of you, complete with fishies and other aquatic animals.  The pictures don’t do it justice.

We ended the evening by running into my teacher friend Maria.  Hi Maria!  We actually bumped into her multiple times throughout the night.  And getting Skinny Dip, the yogurt, not the activity.

It was a really fun event and much better than the first time.

Believe or not, eating and walking around an aquarium really takes it out of ya…

But you know it’s been a good one, when you have a little souvenir to take home with you…

Incriminating evidence...chocolate covered strawberry leftovers

Thanks Virginia Aquarium Seafood Festival.  Awesome event!

Shout out to my homies!

This one’s for my peeps!  And by peeps I mean fellow teachers!

It’s that time of year where the kids are getting antsy, the teachers are getting antsy, and it’s super hot and sunny outside.  That’s right, endoftheschoolyearitis.  It’s really prevalent this year.  I don’t know why…okay I do, but it doesn’t make it any better.

I just have to keep telling myself to take deep breaths, be calm, and remember that everyone around me is probably feeling the same way.

Teachers unite!  We can do it!

Wordless Wednesday

Hey everybody!  Welcome to Wednesday.  We are that much closer to the long Memorial Day weekend!

I had some leftover pictures from the Run for the Dream, so why not share ‘em?

Finally on the "home stretch" of the half.

Yummy Ben and Jerry's Black Raspberry yogurt, after the race refueling!

Big sailboat in Yorktown

Fife and drums

School News

I write back and forth to one of my students.  He has Autism and it’s easier for him to communicate all of the ideas and thoughts he has this way.  It really does help and he doesn’t just blurt out as many random musings throughout the day.  Yesterday we were writing about the storms we’ve been having in the area.  He had this to say…

If you can’t read what he wrote, he said, “I hate the Rian but it helps the Trees and Plats (plants) But there is strong storms isolated thunderstorms scattered thunderstorms heavy rian AM showers PM showers Tornadoes Hurricanes but sometimes when there are storms like that sometimes the Power goes out in are house if you are sleeping and if your power is out you need a Flashlight so you can see where you are going if you do not have a flashlight if you loss (lose) your control if you are lazt you might hit your wall in your room and you will say OUCH!  It’s true.”

All one sentence.  I think it’s hilarious that he knows all the different types of storms and weather occurrences.  Also that he says if you are lazy and don’t have a flashlight.  This is what is going on in his mind at all times!

Run for the Dream – hills? What hills?

Where’d we leave off?  Ah yes, the start of the race…

Leanne and I started way  at the back while Phil went up and started way at the front.  It all worked out!

Some students from the Achievable Dream school sang the National Anthem and we were off!  There wasn’t a gun shot or anything like that, we just slowly moved forward. This was a smaller race; being the first year and all.  There was a total of about five thousand for the whole race weekend.  Pretty cozy.

This is what was behind Leanne and I…

See, I wasn’t kidding when I said we were at the back.  It was all good since we wanted to start with a more comfy pace.  Leanne was worried about her stiff back and foot.  I was a little worried since I had the Pig two weekends ago and hadn’t really trained for this one.

Anywho, on with the story!

Miles 1 – 2 were all through Colonial Williamsburg.  It was pretty cool to be walking through Williamsburg without anyone else there.  And by anyone else, don’t worry about the two thousand or so other runners/walkers.

I see you runners!

Miles 3 – 5 took us around  Colonial Williamsburg.  We really got to see the outlying areas of Williamsburg and some of the city.  It was tranquil through this part of the race.  Not a whole lot of spectators or other people about.  One thing I noticed right off the bat about this race was that there was not any entertainment at all.  In some parts it was nice to just be in Williamsburg and enjoying the scenery, but towards the end…I really needed something!  Around mile 3/4?  a lady in the neighborhood told us, “I brought you shade and a downhill!”  She was cute.  It’s little things that make races worth it!

Miles 6 – 9 these were the fun miles…or not really.  At mile six you turn and start heading into Historic Jamestown.  Also at this point you get to see the runners you haven’t seen in an hour or so.  This part of the course also starts with the hills….oh the the hills.  Looking at the elevation map

I didn’t fully appreciate how many elevation changes there were throughout miles 6-10.5.  Even that’s a lie.  Pretty much from mile 6 – 13…there was a hill in some shape or form.  Ugh…

I was doing fine during miles 6-9..er 8.  After that I hit…the brick frickin’ wall…  It pains me so…really, it does.  The thing is, Sunday was the hottest and most humid day of the year.  I know this sounds like an excuse, but whatever.  I drank water and Gatorade at every water station yet still at mile 9… I was done.  I had to make Leanne slow down her pace…I felt like a big weenie!  I know I shouldn’t but, hey it’s pride!  Leanne was my own personal cheerleader.  Honestly if she wasn’t there.  I so would have stopped.

At mile 8 we got serenaded by a piano player.  Seriously we did!  This man had an upright piano and was singing and playing old musical songs such as, “One.”  Leanne and I were very appreciative.

Moving on…

Miles 10 – 13.1  We had to move over for the ambulance to go pick up a walker behind us.  Lots of people were struggling due to the humidity and heat.  I hope that person was okay!  During these last couple of miles we headed back in to Colonial Williamsburg and onto the campus of William and Mary.  More Gatorade and water were consumed, but for some reason…didn’t really help.  Damn you humidity! *shakes fist at sky!*  Between miles 11 and 12 the best thing happened…a cool mist station.  Oh my God!  I felt like I stepped into a tiny little rain shower, it felt soooooo good!  After the cool down station we were heading into Zable Stadium at William and Mary.  We could hear the announcer yelling off everyone’s name,  I so wanted to be in the stadium so he could say my name!  So close!  There was one last turn and a hill (curses!)before entering the stadium.  This is where Phil showed up!  Thank goodness.  You know why?  He had water!  Oh and I guess he was a bit of a motivator…;)

Do you see what I see?

That, my fine friends,  would be the finish line.  When we entered the stadium they were playing Olympic themed music.  It was a good touch and it did help me a bit, although I kind of wanted to be on the back of those Olympians…

Leanne and I crossed the finish line in 3:18 unofficially, 3:15 officially.  Once we stopped moving, I felt a lot better.  Considering that I made us slow down, I think our time is pretty awesome.  It irks me to know that our time could have been better if I hadn’t been a human slug!

The after race party in the Sunken Garden was pretty impressive.

There was BBQ! 

and beer, although I did not partake.  They also had lots of other goodies such as cookies, peanuts, yogurt, bananas, and chocolate milk.  Yum!  There was also a live band playing.  Pret-ty good.

I give the “after party” an A+.

Leanne and I enjoyed this race, even with the whole “wall” thing.  It was the first year for the race, so I know next year will be even better!

I appreciate Leanne for helping me get through those last miles.  I appreciate Phil for having water at mile 13ish and for taking Leanne and I’s picture that last leg.  *Group hug!*

Run for the Dream

Happy Monday!  Today was definitely still a recovery day.  I didn’t take the day off or anything, but I’m still moving pretty slow.

Let’s recap shall we?

Saturday we headed up to Newport News.  We stayed at Phil’s since he is much closer to Williamsburg and this way we wouldn’t have to get up ridiculously early on Sunday to get there.

We headed to the Expo which was a bit underwhelming and confusing.  The packet pick up was at the Visitor’s Center at Williamsburg in a smaller building.  This was the first year for the race so I know things will be fixed and changed, but the packet pick up was all over the place.  First, you headed downstairs to get your number.  In order to get your number you had to walk through the room where you signed up for shuttle bus times and got your swag bag, but you couldn’t sign up for a time or get your swag bag until you got your number.  Oy.  Then you headed back upstairs, through the expo to get your shirt.  It was a super small expo and I’m sure it will get bigger and more organized.

After the expo we chilled for a bit and then headed to dinner.  We went to Luigi’s in Newport News.  It wasn’t that busy, which just meant we got our food that much quicker.

First off…garlic knots!

Carb it up!

They were super addicting.  I got chicken Marsala as my meal.  It too was very good!

You can also see Leanne’s pizza, which she said was delicious as well.

After dinner, I got my stuff together…

spi belt, gu's, shirt, sports bra, pants, socks, shoes, bus pass, headband, and race number

Yeah, we didn’t wear the bus wrist things.  They pretty much just let you on the bus when you got there and really didn’t pay attention to the times at all.  See, at the expo they made you pick a time (our time was 6:10).  It was stressed that you needed to be there at the specific time and yada, yada, yada.  We got there sometime around 6 and still got on the bus.  Whatevs.

Sunday we got up bright and early at 5 in order to make it to the buses by 6:10.

We made it to the start of the race course well before the race started (7:30)

Breakfast:

Banana nut bagel w/almond butter.

There was also coffee and a banana for breakfast.

The race start was actually inside The College of William and Mary; we ate breakfast in the library parking lot I believe.  Lots of people watching ensued along with entertainment.

Drum and fife!

Finally we headed over to the start.  We didn’t see a corral system in place, apparently there was one, so we just headed to the back.

There was still time for a few last-minute shots before the race started…

Phil, Leanne, and I

Leanne and me

I’m going to end it there today.  Lots more to write!  Stay tuned!

Williamsburg Run for the Dream

Tomorrow morning Leanne, Phil, and I will be in Williamsburg running/walking the Run for the Dream Half Marathon.  It’s going to be a great day and I know we are all going to do an awesome job!

See you on the flip side!

Think, think, think

I’m pondering…

a)life

b) what to order off of Cheesecake Factory’s massive menu

c)how those balloons are ever going to come down

d)why oh why The Office let Steve Carrell get away

e) all of the above

Leanne and I have the Williamsburg Run for the Dream Half Marathon on Sunday.  I will be sure to bring updates of all that.  I pretty excited about it since the course runs through historic Williamsburg and the campus of William and Mary.  It should be great.  The only thing I’m worried about is that it is supposed to be pretty hot on Sunday…no bueno.

By the by, if you haven’t seen Bridesmaids…you totally should.  It is hilarious!

Seriously, I laughed so hard!  Go. See. It!

Yup, those balloons are still up there…

______, _______, goose!

We have ducks!

Well, we don’t so much have ducks as our neighborhood has ducks.  Every morning I see these guys crossing our lawn to go wherever it is they go during the day.  It drives Bond nuts!  I like the ducks.  The just waddle around and do their duck thang…

Daily Post

Describe your first job interview.

Well my first job was working for my mom at her company.  There really wasn’t a job interview with that.  I think it was my mom thinking, “My kid needs to make some money!”  I guess my first real job interview was when I worked at a daycare center.  I remember being super nervous about it.  I had to sit out in the waiting room, watching all the kids and other teachers come in and out.  When I got called back, I had to go into this super small office to be interviewed.  I don’t remember a lot of the questions I was asked.  I’m sure they centered around, “Do you like kids?  Can you work with kids of all ages?  How are you with working with children with disabilities?”  The job was for a substitute position, but I pretty much worked their full-time.  I even came back to this job during college breaks and in the summer.  It was a hard job since a lot of the kids did have disabilities of varying levels, but I had fun.  Sure I was stressed out sometimes, but I think it taught me a lot of patience.