Graduation at The University

I swear it feels like yesterday that John first set off to UVA to pursue his Master's degree in Systems Engineering at the School of Engineering and Applied Science. I remember he told me it would be a tough year for him, balancing school, work, his son and me. But he did it, and I'm so proud of him. Last weekend we headed up to UVA to watch John walk the Lawn and later on receive his diploma. It was a great weekend, busy, hot, chaotic and fun as hell. My family gave him a wonderful UVA diploma frame for graduation and it looks quite impressive hanging in his office. I will most likely bring my UVA undergraduate framed diploma to hang up as well, because we are nerds like that.

I will write more later but wanted to share this news and congratulate John on his amazing achievement. I'm proud of you babe - you are a lifetime learner.

Down and Dirty

Just wanted to share two more photos from last weekend's adventure races. This weekend was HUGE - Brett's birthday, John's graduation, his whole family in town to celebrate... It was a great time and I'll share more later this week when I'm not about to pass out from exhaustion. I'll leave you with some pics from last weekend for now... Enjoy!

Muddy, Rugged, and Butt-Busting Weekend

This weekend kicked off the summer series of muddy military style runs that I've signed up for in an attempt to train for the tough mudder. Well, Friday's race was designed more for fun than anything. RVA hosted the 3rd annual Dominion Riverrock events this weekend on Brown's Island. Mud runs, dirt bikes, rock climbers and music lovers came out to enjoy Friday Cheer's concert and wet dogs leaping for toys into a pool of water. My roommates and I headed down after work on Friday, dressed in our matching camo t-shirts and ready to get muddy. The race this year was a lot smoother than last year. They took out a mud pit that had been placed along the trail last year, which had caused bottlenecking delays at the entrance of the trail. The mud pit at the finish line was significantly improved too by adding a cargo net on top that racers had to crawl under. Overall, the race was a lot of fun. We wrapped up the night with Blue Moon beer and Boka Truck takos, which definitely made the night a success.

But wait, there's more! I dragged myself home and washed my muddy clothes, only to do it all over again the next day. I managed to dry my shoes in the dryer for the Rugged Maniac, a 5k military style obstacle course race held at the VA Motorsports Park in Petersburg. We signed up for a 12pm wave so that we could sleep in a bit and head down there without rushing. My co-worker Daniel and his friend Winslow rode down with me. We got there an hour before our wave-time and the first thing I saw was a mountain covered with a tarp and streaming water, with racers flying down into a pit of mud. We headed to the start line and hit the trail. The first few obstacles were easy - jumping through tires, climbing over short 4-foot walls, maneuvering between twisted ropes, etc. It wasn't until we exited the trail where we witnessed a huge field of halfpipes and obstacles. We hit our first mud pit with the thickest mud you can imagine. Our feet were covered and weighed us down. We climbed up and down the halfpipes and approached a series of walls to scale over. At first I had no confidence that I would be able to climb on my own but somehow I managed to jump high enough to get one hand on the top of the wall and then pull the rest of me over the top.

Then came the river obstacles. We came upon a series of planks over muddy water that you had to walk across. I couldn't reach the next plank and decided to jump. This was such a mistake. I slipped and landed right on my tail-bone, bumped my head and fell into the water. Daniel and Winslow fished me out and made sure I was okay. I honestly thought that I broke something but the only thing broken was my dignity. The pain was awful but I didn't want a little pain ruin the fun I was having. We kept going, swimming over tubes in cold muddy water, crawled through a pit of mud covered by barbed wire, a few more halfpipes and finally the mountainous slide at the end. The 3 of us went down together. I was honestly scared out of my mind when I slid down. I picked up so much speed, I thought for sure I would run right into Winslow below me, but we skidded along the mud pit to the end and ran through the finish line.

What a weekend. After all of that I celebrated with a BBQ stock-the-bar party and the Lebanese Food festival the next day. My tail-bone is quite sore and I have no idea if I'll be able to go back to the gym today, but I'll give it a try. I'm definitely enjoying adventuring racing so far, even with humiliating injuries.

Duathlon checked off the Bucket List

Check one thing off the bucket list... My very first Duathlon! It was amazing. I think I may like duathlons better than triathlons. Less to think about and prepare for, let alone train for. I had just finished my antibiotics for my sinus infection the night before the race, so I wasn't 100% going into it, but I think I did pretty well! The course was a hilly 3 mile run, 18 mile ride, and another 3 mile run. I originally said I wanted to break 2:15 and I did! I finished in 2:09. Next year I definitely want to break 2 hours.

The morning of the race I got myself up and made coffee and breakfast. I slowly put my bike on my car rack and packed my bike pump, gloves, helmet, bike shoes, etc. I'm glad I got up earlier than planned - I was able to relax before this race, which is unusual for me. Most of the time, I'm an anxious mess, running around trying to find everything I need for the race and freaking out. This time around, I kept my cool, picked up my buddy Daniel, and headed to the race site way in advance. We even had time to leave the race to pick up tissues (for my runny nose) at a nearby gas station and use the bathrooms before the race. At 8:45am, they gave a few announcements and started the race at 9am on the dot. The first leg was easy. I wanted to go faster but realized that I should pace myself because I have a lot more to go. The bike was hard. But only the first 2 laps (about 9 miles). I couldn't get my gears to shift down on one side until lap 2, so I got little fatigued in the first few miles of the bike portion. By lap 3 (13 or 14 miles in), it was like auto-pilot - I didn't feel

a thing!

Finally we hit the last leg and jogged our way through a 3 mile run,

probably going at a 10 minute/mile pace. Not bad when you can't feel anything from the waste down. In the end, Daniel and I crossed the finish line together and celebrated our victory. Definitely would recommend this race to anyone who can endure 2 hours of cardio and looking for something other than a run-only race. On April 1, I officially paid off my road bike payments so this was race was particularly special - I definitely am happy with my investment and love the way my bike handled this race. I look forward to many more. What has helped for this race was the training I did out in West Creek (where the race was actually held too). My co-workers and I went out and did mini-duathlon practices; usually a 2 mile run, 6-9 mile ride, and another 2 mile run. While short in distance, it definitely made a difference in my performance and mental preparedness... I'll have to keep those up in prep for my future races... Next up.... Mud Run and Rugged Maniac! Adventure races, here I come!!!

Race Season Begins... with a sinus infection

It would be just my luck to get sick before a big race... Not just sick, a sinus infection that has lasted for 2 whole weeks. The Saturday before RVA's biggest race, the Monument 10K, I came down with a sore throat. Then I woke up Sunday morning to a full-fledge cold. I figured I'd be okay since I had a week before the race. I'd recover by Monday and be back on the roads on Tuesday for training. But no... It got worse. And worse. And worse. I've never experienced anything like this.

So to my dismay, I never once ran the entire week leading up to the 10K. But I'm stubborn and definitely didn't want to miss out on my 4th year participating in one of the largest 10K races in the US. I stuffed as many tissues as I could in my race shirt, a tube of chap-stick, and hit the road. If things couldn't get any worse, we were nearly a half hour late to our Wave F start time, and as we approached the exit ramp to Belvedere, we came to a complete stop right off the interstate. So we simply hopped out of the car and began to run to the start line - about a mile or so away. After weaving through the joggers, we finally hit mile 2 and came across 2 of my friends. I let John run ahead (since it was clear I was holding him back and my lungs were spasming from the fast pace) and I stayed with my friends, relieved I didn't have to keep up with his competitive speed.

So, did I survive? Yes - thank god I have been a runner long enough that a week off doesn't affect me as much as I thought. I finished in 54:36, not bad for someone with congestion inside their lungs and enough snot to fill the James River (sorry to be graphic). Maybe next year will I break 50" - my PR goal.

So what's next up? My first DUATHLON! Of course it had to land on the weekend right after the 10K, but oh well... I'm still recovering, and on antibiotics, but dammit I'm going to finish this duathlon if it kills me. The 3Sports Duathlon consists of a 2.85 mile run, 18 mile ride, 2.85 run. I did a mini practice run-thru this week (2 mi run, 9 mi ride, 2 mi run), and it nearly killed me, but I figured if I pace myself and focus, I will be fine. I will certainly share the results of my first duathlon next week, but for now I will leave you with a photo of the most amazing job in the world. The man who serves table-side guacamole at Plaza Azteca. This has to be the best guac I've ever had.

Foodie Weekend

So this weekend I enjoyed an assortment of excellent food... Friday night I headed to Pescado's China Street with 2 girlfriends for happy hour and dinner. We enjoyed pitchers of Sangria, colorful mojitos, and one big guava jalapeño margarita that was to-die for... It packed some heat too! The great thing about Pescado's is you can dine all night long on their small plates and taste a variety of options. We chose the escolar tostada, fried oysters, and ceviche that was out of this

world. The seafood paella entrée rocked too. The risotto griddle cake underneath the clams, shrimp, mussels, and chorizo made for a unique twist to the traditional meal. The best part was dessert... Avocado Tarte. Everyone who knows me fairly well knows that my favorite food is avocado. I eat probably a half avocado every single day. I use avocado for everything - it replaces my cream cheese when I have lox and bagels for breakfast, and trumps mayo any day on a deli sandwich. So when out came a beautiful graham cracker crust bowl of avocado creaminess topped with whipped cream and fresh mint, you can only imagine my anticipation. Words cannot describe the heavenly taste of this dessert. It was light yet full of flavor - a great way to end our wonderful meal!

On to another favorite restaurant of mine in RVA... Stronghill Dining Company. John and I were able to brunch on Sunday for the first time in a while. After a round of bloody mary's, we enjoyed egg's benedict, but topped with fried goat cheese and smoked salmon instead of the traditional Canadian bacon. It was excellent. I ordered an omelette with goat cheese, mushrooms and

crawfish. It was very fresh - not fishy at all! And of course a side waffle, because I always want a

taste of sweetness with my eggs...

S0... with all that said, hope you drooled a little while reading this post and of course, head down to Pescado's or Stronghill for a fabulous dining experience!

Tradition St. Paddy's Celebration in Boston

It's that time of year again... Ever since my twin sister moved to Boston attend law school at the New England School of Law, I've visited and for lack of a better word, "celebrated" St. Patrick's Day with my sister and her crazy lawyer friends. This year was no different. As we hit the sky in our swanky Jet Blue ride, we started our trip with warm white wine on the plane, only to be followed by copious amounts of beer and shots. While this blog post has nothing to do with food or fitness, I feel the need to share one of my favorite events I've participated in for the past 4 years: the St. Paddy's Day parade in Southie, Boston. Now this is not just any parade. It takes skill and dedication to get through this one glorious day. Each year, my sister hosts anywhere from 4 to 8 people in her tiny Beacon Hill apartment- all women who require showers and hair dryers that blow fuses in the apartment on a regular basis. The effort to get 8 girls showered and ready for a full day of celebrations is nothing short of a special forces mission. First, we set our alarms for 6am, and the first poor soul gets up to begin the shower line-up. Usually the best sport in the house is my roommate Talley, who also forgoes hours of sleeping based on her spot in the room (we somehow shoved 2 inflatable mattresses into my sister's tiny room along with her full size bed to sleep 4 people). Because Talley's mattress is by the door, everyone who goes to the bathroom or enters/leaves the bedroom has to physically step on her inflatable mattress near her head. It's quite the scene, but all in the name of fun and tradition do we endure it.

Following the endless row of showers, we enter the hair dryer line-up, followed by flat irons and makeup... Then the fun part: the St. Paddy's Day gear! Every year we bring up beads, shamrock earrings, glittery stickers, green drinking straws and anything else we can find to dress up our outfits for the day. This year we kicked it up a notch with shamrock knee-high socks and jean skirts. Now that everyone's decked out in glowing green costumes, we move on to a simple yet nutritious breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, and of course, mimosas.

And we're off! It's almost 9am and we must get in line at the epic Beer Garden, a bar just off of L street on Broadway. Beer Garden is our annual tradition and now the center of our historical celebration. We are always the first in line so that we can snag the large bay window area in the front of the bar with tables. This allows us to drink, eat and be merry as we watch the parade go by. The staff is superior to any bar staff here in Richmond. They keep the green Bud Light aluminum cans flowing before you even set your empty one down. The Irish car bombs and intermittent shots throughout the day are expensive but worth it when you are buying for a crew of 15. When you come to Boston and role with us, you have to accept that you will burn a large whole in your wallet. Sometimes you don't remember doing it either. All in all, the day wraps up sometime around dinner where we almost always snag an unmarked van cab to take us back into town for a dinner we don't remember, and where we continue to party until we drop. I usually never make it past 11pm but at that point, I've been drinking since 8am and don't mind tapping out for the count. So in a nutshell, the 4th annual St. Paddy's Day celebration in Boston was a huge success. Some people lost their debit cards, iPhones, and dignity, but somehow we all survive.

Thank you to my wonderful sister for making this tradition one of the most memorable times of my life!