Superhero

This is one of my favorite weekends of the year. While Halloween is not my favorite holiday, I enjoy it a lot. I LOVE dressing up for any occasion. Not like formal dress, but costume dress. My Halloween costume last year was phenomenal if I may say so myself.

I was really concerned about what to be this year as I knew I could not live up to last year. I decided on what I call my "German Beer Girl" costume I wore my first Halloween here in Charlotte. Unfortunately, I can not find the tool to hook up my camera to my computer so there will be no photo of that (didn't get one on my phone.) But, the other reason I love this weekend, the REAL reason I love this weekend: UGA/Florida game AKA the "World's Largest Cocktail Party." This was my second year not making it to SSI/JAX for the game, but I was still super pumped for it. On Sunday I saw a few UGA fans out and about, and I rolled down my window, and hollered a "Go Dawgs!" They appreciated this :-) I even smiled at one of my students today who was wearing a Gators sweatshirt. We won, so no need to scowl. We won!!!

I decided to also take part in a social media scavenger hunt Saturday before the game (ok ok so I missed the whole first half, but we were awful that part of the game so it was probably better for me to not see.) The scavenger hunt was sponsored by the Panthers and Allen Tate. My partner in the Scavenger Hunt, Kevin, decided we would be the "Honey Badgers," and I promised costumes. We definitely ended up looking more like skunks, but oh well.

Ok so here we actually had taken off the white boas that were running down our backs. They got way too in the way as we were running around the city. Keep in mind we had also run 8 miles at 6:30 Saturday morning. Here we're at Bojangles, or rather in a box of Bojangles.

We had to learn and perform a dance taught by the Panthers dancers.

We ended up getting 4th place out of nearly 30 teams! I was really excited and very surprised. We were at the after party and I was enthralled in the UGA game so almost didn't even hear them announce us as fourth place winners! We got a Panthers bookbag, hat, umbrella, and I got a football signed by Deangelo Williams!

One of my BFFs from life (he used to save me a seat on the bus every morning in elementary school)  and his girlfriend and sister were in town, so I celebrated Halloween and the UGA win with them that night! It was fun watching the game with them and screaming at the TV in the bar when most of the crowd wasn't paying attention to it. Unless you went to an SEC school or have attended this game you will never fully get it. It is huge and the W made our season, at least for me, that's all I know to say...oh and I woke up with this on my face Sunday morning:

GO DAWGS!

Sunday was relaxing. I had coffee, read some, carved a pumpkin, cooked pumpkin seeds mmm, and watched a movie with my friends. Today at school the students and teachers dressed up as their favorite storybook characters. I was really drawing a blank and ended up as Mary Ann from The Babysitter's Club. Think pigtails, jeans, tennis shoes, and a name tag that said, "Mary Ann, Secretary" to help everyone identify me. 

I got some absolutely fabulous news after work today which I will share in a week or so.  (Don't let the anticipation get to you too much.) Let's just say I'm inching closer to my dream. Then I was excited to go for my Halloween run! It was my last of the month, totaling my miles for the month to 80! I was out for about 45 minutes running in the midst of the trick or treaters. The costumes were all very cute, lots of superheroes. These are my favorite:

Batman and Batgirl! I love my sweet family I babysit for and fortunately I caught them as they were heading out the door to get candy! I had a great run. I was full of energy and in a super super happy mood. I even snapped a shot of myself still rocking the pigtails:

Again, still very excited about the Georgia win!!!

Yoga-thon

No, I don't mean doing yoga for 24 hours straight or something crazy like that. Im sure that already exists. What I want is an event where I can do yoga for 1 1/2-2 hours and then run! I had one of the best practices I've had in a while tonight, and left so full of energy. Unfortunately for me, that was at 8:30PM. I really needed to be calming down, but as I was driving home, all I wanted to do was run. I can only hope this carries over to tomorrow morning. Imagine though, doing yoga, getting energized with inversions, and then totally relaxing in shavasana. To get up, strap on your running shoes, and head out for a run! What could be better? Maybe not a half or full marathon afterwards, but just a 3 or 10K. Perhaps I will do that one day on my own. Maybe it can be created as an event. "Crow to Cheetah" (yes I know they're both poses but I mean run like a cheetah) or " Om and Run," maybe.  I don't think I'd like "Run and Om." That would just be too hard.

Inspire.

My goal has always been to introduce other people to running. They might accomplish something they never thought they could. 

Grete Waitz, Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder

This quote really caught my eye. I receive the weekly Runners's World quotes on my email. They used to be daily, which was wonderful. I would read them every morning when I woke up before my run. Now they are weekly and I save them for the mornings before my long runs. However, I usually end up forgetting so just read last week's yesterday.

This quote rings very true for me. I ran cross country in 8th grade. I really have no idea why. Maybe because my friends were doing it, or because my brother ran. As I get older I tend to find I do/did a lot of things because my brothers did. Most of them have been good decisions :-) But I hated cross country. I did it in 9th grade too, and I think my coach could tell how much I didn't like it. He certainly wasn't upset when I didn't join the team the next year. It wasn't until my sophomore year of college that I began to run again. I have no idea what inspired me (besides the annual family running of the Peachtree Road Race of course) but this time I enjoyed it. In 2008 I completed my first half marathon, and last spring I completed my first full. It still amazes me sometimes.

Anyways, I am willing to bet there is no one out there who wasn't introduced to running by someone else. Maybe it wasn't a family member or a friend, maybe it was a stranger whose blog you read, or whose constant tweets about ice baths and foam rollers pop up, or roll across your news feed. Maybe  one day you were driving or walking and someone ran by you with all the ease in the world and inspired you to give it a try too.

Days like today I drive home from work with a billion things on my mind. I knew I needed to run but had to write lesson plans, create assessments, make power points. Then I saw a man running down the road, so peaceful yet so focused and determined. It made me want to get that run in! So I sat down and focused on getting my work done so I could run. The sun was setting outside the window, but I didn't let that stop me. I set out for a short run, ending as the sun disappeared from the sky. 

So thank you to the man running down the street today who convinced me that even with everything going on in my day I could still enjoy a run. Thanks to all who have inspired me, and all who inspired them. The next time you go running, who knows who you will inspire.

Here are my inspirations below after the Peachtree Road Race: Uncle, mom, grandfather, grandmother, aunt and dad...(sometime in the 80s. Dad still has all his shirts so I'm sure he can give an exact date.) 

Running Addict

I spent two hours Sunday morning watching the Chicago Marathon on nbclive.com. It was very exciting watching the leaders run in packs, and eventually pull away and earn a course record. The broadcast constantly checked in with the weather, which was said to be warm but, "Not too humid." After reading many recaps I realize that it was indeed extremely warm. Maybe not during the roughly two hours it took the professionals to run the course, but during the 4-6 hours it took normal folks. All of this made me want to run another marathon, BADLY. I'm scheduled to run the Thanksgiving Half in Atlanta, and the Publix half in Atlanta in March. I was at a Girls on the Run meeting two weeks ago and they announced some free entries into the Inaugural Ramblin Rose half marathon in Durham.  I was lucky enough to be chosen and really excited about the opportunity. It's the the first women's only half marathon in the state of North Carolina! It was quite a stretch though, as I have to be in Spartanburg Saturday night. My plan was to catch a ride super early, think 430AM, Sunday morning with some people to Durham. However, they decided to spend Saturday evening there, and after much consideration, I've decided to not do the half. I'm bummed, but it's probably the best idea. I DID meet a great running partner last week and am looking forward to doing a fast 12-miler Saturday morning with her.

This still doesn't solve my predicament of wanting to run another FULL marathon. It's been seven months since my first one. I am ready to go again! Though I'm physically not in the shape I would want to be in for the race. My goal has been and still is to run another full Fall 2012. But that's YEAR away. I plan on either Chicago or NYC. I also received some interesting information regarding the NYC Marathon. If you're a marathon runner then you know how the lottery system works for the race. If you get denied three years in a row, you are guaranteed entry the fourth year. Well, apparently the field is getting too big to manage so they had to make some changes. If you were denied for a third time this year, you still have your guaranteed entry November of 2012. If you are denied for a third time next fall, you are guaranteed entry for 2013. After that, no more guaranteed entry. I owe a HUGE thanks to my great friend and running partner Lauren, who encouraged me to sign up for my first NYC Marathon in 2010. This means I AM IN! I will be the last group to have guaranteed entry, and run the NYC Marathon in 2013. This is a huge relief. I would be extremely upset if it cut me out, especially because the new time requirements are insane. 1 hour and 27 minutes for a half time. That is CRAZY.

So, I guess I will have to settle with Chicago (or maybe maybe if I'm lucky and get picked) NYC in 2012. I'm trying to convince myself to start training now. I have met some fellow tweeters and we are all committing to training for Chicago Marathon 2012, or #cm12 as we like to call it. I'm also focusing on strength training, tempo runs, sprints, and healthy eating. (See colorful, veggie-ful dinner from a few nights ago below.) I suppose if I train this well for a whole year I will have a spectacular race. For now I will settle with that.

Today's run = Math sucks

My run today- tired, downhill, running, walking, running on sidewalk, "Math Sucks," lots of Halloween decorations, more running, greeting fellow runners/walkers with a hello, more Halloween decorations, sprinters passing me, uphill, Cardinals flag, walking, man with child on bike in the new front-of-the-bike child seats, running past house hosting Young Life, woman yelling "Bambi!" calling her dog to dinner, running past delicious smelling Mellow Mushroom, home, stretch, tight muscles, planks, I need yoga!!!

I want to focus on the "Math Sucks" written on sidewalk in chalk. It's as if they knew I was coming. Unfortunately I didn't have my phone with me so I could not take a picture of this. After that it said, "Math is ic..." I guess their vocabulary is rather small and they could think of no more words to describe the wonder that is mathematics. I got to thinking about math and running and other forms of exercise. Some may say that of the four core subjects science relates most to the human body and it staying physically fit. I would like to argue this and say that math relates most to our health and fitness. In order to stay fit we must move. It may be swimming, biking, running, walking, karate, dancing, but it is all movement. This involves our heart rate going up. To figure out how fit we are we must calculate our heart rate, calories burned, speed, pace, distance, body weight, etc. That ALL involves math! We must also remember eating and what it does for our health. How many calories? How many fat grams per calories? Carbs, sugars, protein and more. So for everyone who "hates math," this is yet another example of how much it is used daily in the real world.

Wassuuuuuuup

**Warning- I got up before 5AM today and ran a hard 9 miles, so if parts of this don't make sense, it's because I'm very tired**

I've been meaning to write about this for a while. I love running by fellow runners. First, when I see one coming it always motivates me to keep running, not walk, or start running if I am walking. Second, I love watching others' strides, comparing it to my own. (Usually my stride is much shorter and slower.) But, my favorite thing about passing others on the street is seeing if they will say hello. I ALWAYS try to smile and say hi. The past couple months I have been making a lot of mental notes as I run past others. 

People walking slowly, or walking dogs, often keep their heads down and will not even make eye contact. I haven't really figured out why. Are they ashamed they're not running? They shouldn't be! They are still out getting exercise. I do have to say that older people seem more likely to say hello and even ask, "How are you doing?" I usually respond with the, "Great! How are you?" though I continue running before I get a response.

People sprinting by me may make eye contact, but certainly don't speak. They are running too hard to speak. Maybe I should try and be more like these people.

Those running or jogging usually make eye contact and some sort of "hello" gesture. Maybe it's a "Hey," in the midst of panting, a small wave, or my favorite, the head nod. When running hard I usually give the very small hand wave, fingers only, or I love to do the head nod. It implies somewhat of a, "Sup? Yes, we are awesome for running this early on a Saturday morning." :-)

This was recently a topic on the #runchat I participate in on Twitter. A lot of runners expressed frustration with those who do not say hello, though some thought it was just plain crazy to say hi. I think it's a bit of a southern thing.

The picture below is my brother and his fiance (YAY!) waving hello to my other brother before passing off the baton to me at the Big Sur Marathon last spring. My eldest brother, I would bet, would be one to not say hello. He doesn't always stop during the Peachtree Road Race to be photographed with his daughter. But hey, he's trying to get a PR so understandable right? To runners, yes that totally makes sense. To others, maybe not.

Do you say hi to fellow runners/walkers? If so, how? I challenge you to say hi or at least give a friendly nod the next time you pass a fellow walker or runner, or even a biker. Maybe say hi to those who keep their heads down. We're all out to enjoy the day and get exercise right? So we have that in common, why not be friendly with one another and brighten each other's day!

A day short of a month

It's been almost a month to the day that I've written! This is not acceptable. Life just seems to get in the way sometimes. So this will be short and sweet. I have set a goal if at least three posts a week, starting now. Tonight I need sleep so I can get up and run. At Girls on the Run this morning I talked about letting go of things as you run, thinking, but clearing those thoughts. Here are many thought often on my mind as I run:
Am I working hard enough? At work, grad school, running, building friendships, etc.
Am I a good friend to all my friends?
Where do I go next?
What will I do tomorrow, this weekend, next month?
When will I blog again, and about what?
Do I know what I'm teaching today, tomorrow, next week?
Are all of my papers graded?
Do I need to go grocery shopping? What will I buy?
Am I a positive influence on those around me? Adults and children.
Where should I run my next race?
Why didn't I get up a little earlier to get an extra mile done?

What do you ponder, think of, let go of when you run?