Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!

As I get older, I realize more and more how competitive I am... even when it comes to things that aren't sports. Last Friday was our Crew Team Banquet, which we have at the end of every year. At the end of dinner, we were having an auction to fundraise for the team by selling off a broken oar. I hadn't planned on actually bidding, but mentioned to my adorable future housemates that it would be cool to have the oar in our apartment (if we end up living together). To my surprise, they agreed VERY enthusiastically and said that I should bid for the oar and that we'd split the cost four ways. We decided to cap it out at $200 total. So, the bidding started and I stayed in my seat in the corner quietly. The price rose quickly from 50 to 75...to 100 and it was going up by single dollars at a time. So finally, in a rather shaky voice, I yelled "130!!!" and the whole room turned to see who was squeaking back there! Everyone was shocked! I kept raising the price by at least $10, and finally it hit 200. I looked at my future roomies...sadly. But then: "Keep going!!!" they yelled, much to my surprise. "$210!!!" I bellowed. With that, the oar became ours. Victory!! My new favorite thing is auctions. Apparently I'm a natural at it. Here's a picture of my prized possession: 

It will be interesting getting this thing home in the car when I move out this weekend!

In other news, I went running this morning. Pumped out almost five miles and my foot seems to be back to normal! It's a beautiful day, I took some snapshots of the pretty morning. Here's what it looked like right before my run:

Foggy and scary...

By the time of my run 30 minutes later, it cleared up!

Good weather=good day in my opinion. 

Positive Results.

Today I went to the doctor, who officially let me know that training for the Half is back on track! I am so excited!!!

Now my training is back on track...but this is my last week until taper! According to the doctor, I should be running every other day and maybe skip my last long run (which would be the third long run in a row that I am missing!!!). I will definitely listen to my body and see how it goes. Today was a complete rest day; my body really needed it. Between rowing, cycling, and running, it's been weeks since I've taken a rest day! I was pretty sore after yesterday's "5k" too so I could tell I needed it.

Today was MU Smiles Day, and I got this! 

It's as big as my face! 

I spent the afternoon interviewing over the phone for a job and then priming the Boathouse doors for painting. Both are very exciting prospects! Pictures to follow on the doors.

I was reading through my normal running news pages and found THIS article. Like many other Americans and many other runners, I'm still pretty shaken about what happened in Boston. However, my interest in running and marathoning has definitely heightened since then. I think that this article really reflects similar feelings in many other runners. We can't be beaten as Americans and especially not as athletes:

This connected me to another article from the Boston Globe, which discusses the fact that the marathon at Boston that day is still important. The runners at Boston accomplished something huge, and while the  incident that day overshadowed the feats of many athletes that day, it should not lead to the forgetting of the marathon. Remember the marathon, Boston runners!

Race Recap: Run for Newtown!!!

I did it! I completed run for Newtown and did not have to DNF due to my foot. I pushed it the whole way! I can tell I could push harder but my legs were so shot from the 20 miles on the bike yesterday...I think this is promising though for future 5ks. Here's a photo of my buddies and me. They make me look so tall!

The race went really well. My foot was a little sore but barely noticeable. This course was amazingly hilly though, with a hill right at the end approaching the finish! It was definitely an intense race for me... I pulled ahead and maintained my spot as the second girl for most of the way, and about half-way through I passed her! I was ahead of her until the last .3 of a mile or so and she just booked it past me going up a hill. It made me really mad. I made myself feel better by passing an old guy who had tried to pass me in the beginning.

As you can see, it wasn't really a 5k; it was more like 4 miles. I finished 8th overall and was the second girl. I hurried back to campus to eat pancakes and drink chocolate milk. I won this fancy gift card to Skyline:

I've never been there but maybe now I have to go since I won this, after all!

Tomorrow's my follow-up appointment with my sports medicine doctor...I'm hoping he has good things to tell me about my foot! Judging by how it feels, it should be good news.

Last Freshman Saturday

I just realized that today is my last Saturday as a freshman in college! I can hardly believe it! This is the first photograph I took on our beautiful campus in August!

I pumped out TWENTY miles on the spin-bike in the gym today and by 70 minutes, I definitely felt it! It took me 90 minutes to finish though. I don't know if it's time to invest in some seat padding or what! I think that if I do a longer bike race in the summer I'll definitely need to do something about that.

After spinning, I thought I deserved a tiny but delicious bit of ice cream to re-energize before I start working on all of my studying for the impending finals week. I found this adorable treat in the mini-mart:

I'm really searching for more ways to push myself physically this summer (as is probably clear from my sudden interest in half-marathons, bike races, and triathlons). I even tried to find some half-ironman triathlons that were nearby-ish and a good date (but I couldn't find any, and I probably wouldn't be ready this summer). I think I have the goal of completing an ironman before the end of college. There's a perfect one in July every year in Lake Placid, and also an August one every year somewhere in Michigan. I think that to prepare for this I would have to take a semester off of my beloved rowing. I think it would be worth it though! I love seeing what my body is capable of and how strong I can really be. I think that psychologically it must come down to some obsession I have with proving something to myself, but I don't think it's really a problem! Being active, strong, and healthy is what I love. Sports have taught me SO MUCH about myself and brought me so close to many amazing people. Sports also are what constantly boost my confidence and make me happy every day. Sometimes, they're the only reason I can get up in the morning (or they're the reason I have to get up)! I also like to use my strength and passion for rowing to inspire other people and suck other people into it. Same for running, although I definitely think that's something that I have a lot more to learn about. 

Anyways, tomorrow's the 5k Run for Newtown...hoping for positive results with the foot!

Spinning.

Well even if I can't run a half-marathon right now, I can still spin more than a half-marathon and that's what matters right? Positivity! (my RPMs weren't that low the whole way, I promise). 

When you spin like that you get a lunch like this!

HERE is a really good (but sad) article on how marathoning might change in the wake of the Boston bombing:

 

And last but not least! 

CANNOT WAIT!

Change of Plans...

I was so ready to go for a run this morning! I had all my clothes laid out and everything. I jumped into my running clothes and strapped on Garmin and my Road ID (clearly I was ready to go out for awhile!) an ran out the door. 1 minute and 28 seconds into my run... my foot was like "Woah girl! Too soon!" and so I did something that I probably would not have done if this incident had been four months ago. I stopped! And then I walked to the gym, where I pumped out 10 miles on the bike. Of course, I watched "Spirit of the Marathon," which is the only thing I watch when I'm at the gym. On endless repeat. Is that weird?

When I got back I had a delicious breakfast of chocolate milk and maple sugar oatmeal. I think I'll be waiting to run again until Sunday, which is my run for Newtown.

This is my fancy new way of lacing for my poor crippled foot.

Salutations!

First posts are always a little bit awkward... but most of the people reading this already know me so I don't think I have to make any introductions or anything! If not I think that overtime you'll get to know me! There are 3 important things though:

I row...

I run...

...and I love chocolate (especially from Trader Joe's)

Our rowing season ended on Sunday--my women's Novice Four came in 2nd place in the petite finals at SIRA! You can watch video footage starting at minute 45.00 HERE. Today I spent 30 minutes (7 miles) spinning and 15 minutes on the elliptical before I had to spring to class. I have something weird going on with my foot that's kept me from running for almost two weeks, but as of now it seems like I'll be pounding on the roads again in no time.

Refueling with chocolate milk after a workout is extremely important:

Here's what my life is looking like in the near future:

2 days until I get to row again!
3 days until I run a 5k for Newtown.
9 days until I move back to Cleveland for the summer.
24 days until the Cleveland Marathon (or Half-Marathon, for me!).
52 days until the Lake Health Half-Marathon.

This picture represents me accurately...

Don't worry, I'm not always so strange. Sometimes I look like a fairy princess!

But mostly I'm just a little weird.