Race Review - Maple Leaf Half Marathon

It's been over a week since this half marathon. Life has just been crazy busy since last weekend! This race was AWESOME!!! It was hard, but it was awesome. I absolutely LOVED Manchester Vermont and will go back up to VT for many more races! It's not that far from Mom's - at least the south eastern parts of VT, so i will definitely plan more races up that way. I camped at Dorset RV park. I was the ONLY camper in the tent area. Had the whole back section to myself. It was only $20 a night and $5 for the fire wood. Such a bargain! I had some issues with camping - mostly the air mattress had a slow leak, so i was basically sleeping on the ground. NOT the best night sleep for the night before a half. Live and learn! The morning was chilly but was thrilled that it was blazing hot! I had camped close to the race, so I was able to get up at 6 and shower and take down camp before hand. I will definitely camp for other races. It was not hard to set up the tent and had the air mattress held up, things would have been great! I am camping before Newport Rhode Island, but will be in a little cabin. I will bring TWO sleeping bags since it was chilly last weekend so next month will be much cooler! the Maple Leaf didn't have an expo. They had packet pick up in a restaurant parking lot. I didn't want to spend the money for dinner there since it looked more expensive than i wanted to spend. I had dinner at Friendly's and then got icecream at mcdonalds next door. All in all a VERY thrifty weekend.. :) the race was absolutely gorgeous!!!!

we didn't run hills, we ran MOUNTAINS!! i realllly wanted to see a moose just grazing out in the vistas, but didn't see one...:( i walked the mountains and the water stations. At one point a guy asked me if I was doing Galloway. I said yes!! sigh.. i'm not, but seriously thinking that i should start the program. My right leg seems to be in pain much of the time. I didn't have my ipod, since the website kept saying their insurance didn't cover headphones. LOTS of people had them though, so from now on, i'm bringing mine even when they say no. i don't have to listen to it if they enforce it, but if they don't, then at least i have the distraction for two hours! the course was seriously so beautiful that it was ok, but it would have been nice to have the added motivation. I did decide during this race that I do not want to repeat races. There are just waaay too many others that i want to do and with the cost and the limited time that they can have them, i don't want to run anything twice or really even that isn't all that cool anymore. I kept thinking all the while that if i hadn't come up to run this race I would have never ever have gone to this beautiful little town! My time was actually awesome considering how much I walked! I guess running down the mountains made up for the time walking up the mountain! Musings while on the race course. This place is beautiful! I would love to have a place up here! Wonder how much these houses cost? There are LOTS of great restaurants. This place is beautiful! I hope I see a moose! I need a new air mattress. Wish I had my ipod..:( Another freakin mountain? I need to bring Jeff back here. This place is so beautiful! It was an awesome run. I loved every second of it. Can't wait to find another vermont race! two halfs down - Next week Philadelphia Rock n Roll half marathon!

Run the Reservoir Half Marathon Compuscore Stats

RUN THE RESERVOIR HALF MARATHON

Race Date:09-04-11

Bib Number	242
First Name	Jill
Last Name	Romano
City,State	Ramsey, Nj
Sex Age	F 46
Time	2:20:48.17
Pace	10:44.9
Chip Time
Chip Pace
Distance	Hm
Place	254
Gender Place	91/129
Age Group Place	F45-49: 17/20
Masters Age PLP	50.61

First half of the year - done!!

Here is my first official race recap as a blogger!  Run the Reservoir in Westwood NJ.  This was their first one and all in all, they did a good job.   I arrived an hour early and stress free.  That was awesome.  I went and got my bib, timing chip and t-shirt.  The shirt is a nice color blue.  It's a tech tee, but not as silky as the Teterboro and Ridgewood shirts.   I went back to the car since there were only one or two tables so nothing cool to browse.  At the car I took my sweet time getting prepped and then walked over to the porta potties at 8:30.  The line was HUGE!  As I am standing in line Chris Peters comes up to me!  Yay!!  She was photographing for Patch.com.  She wanted a pic so i grabbed the girl in line with me and she took our pic!  The girl was a good sport and goes "hey random girl, i'll take a pic with you!".. cute.   I was able to talk a little bit with CP, but she had to go find serious runners to photograph.  Can't wait to see the pics she puts up!

The line didn't move all that quickly, but i was able to get to the start line just before they took off.   It was overcast and warm and muggy. I didn't wear my hat and I probably should have. The sun did come out while on the course.  I can't wait until it's actually cool to run!!!!!   

The course was mostly on roads, but we did two parts on dirt roads and trails.  That was beautiful. I need to go back on another day and run it again.  I think that is one of the coolest parts about running - you see places you never knew existed even in your own town!   

One of the highlights for me was that at one point I thought I was coming up on mile 6 only to see the sign/time and I was at mile 7!! SWEET!!!    The other highlights was seeing Chris, the trail run, seeing two cranes in the United Water facility and finishing.. :)  Oh, and they did call out my name as I ran over the finish line!!  that was cool.

It was hot and there was a hill towards the end. actually two hills, so I ended up walking the hills. I guess i could have pushed it, but I have another coming up next weekend that i hope will be a faster time. :)

They didn't have medals.. little bit of a bummer, but it was a great training run :)

The thought of running another 13 miles right after this kept running through my mind.. ughhhh.. can i do it???

Next up Manchester half marathon in 6 days!! :)

Getting Ready to Run the Reservoir

Tomorrow morning is my first official half marathon of the year.  We were suppossed to run the Perk Up half marathon last weekend, but Hurricane Irene made the entire east coast unpassable.   I attempted to run the course earlier this week, but made a stupid mistake of reading the map and didn't make a turn I should have.  It taught me some valuable lessons though. :)

The first lesson is one I already knew.  Get to the place super early if you don't know where you are going.  Doing the trial run let me know exactly where I need to be tomorrow morning and now I don't need to sweat it out.  I've gone to lots of races before I had the GPS and was stressed out beyond belief because I couldn't find the place.  I vividly remember trying to find the Tenafly 5k because i printed out directions and didn't pay attention that I didn't have the actual address listed, just the town of Tenafly.   I didn't have the GPS with me the other night, but I knew basically where I needed to go and sure enough I made a turn that I shouldn't have and had to back track.  Won't make the same mistake tomorrow. :)

The second lesson is to put money in my shorts or sports band.   Because of my wrong turn, I ran in a direction that was not circular, so I had to run back once it got dark.  I ran out of water and was starving by the time I had to walk and would have LOVED to have a Dunkin Donut muffin or something.  All I was able to think about was what food was in the car that i could devour once, if ever, i got back to the car!

The third lesson is to put more food in the car!  I had fruit snacks and shredded mini wheats. I was thrilled to have them, so I put lots of snacks in the car and will be mindful to keep the supplies stocked. :)

The fourth lesson is that it gets dark.. Very dark.  I did have my cell  phone, but i should have the little pen light that I know I have someplace in the house. I can easily keep it in my belt for such occasions.  I could not run all the way back because I was afraid of the uneven sidewalks. I was sure i would trip and injure myself.  I would run through the street lights and walk the dark parts.  

The fifth lesson - pack a change of clothes.  I did have my work clothes, but i wanted the sweaty clothes off soo badly and would have been thrilled to have comfy clothes and flip flops to change into.

I now have snacks and a bag in the trunk of a change of clothes and stuff like tissues and advil in the bag.

The sixth lesson probably is to print out a regular map of the route.  this was basically a hand sketched map and I don't think i would have missed the turn had i used MapMyRun. 

All in all good lessons to learn now.  All these issues would not have been issues on race day except the stress of finding the place, but they do prepare me for future runs and since I plan on running most nights now that it's getting dark early.  I want to get a flashy light to attach to my clothes.  I saw one at Five Below that I need to go get.

Can't wait until tomorrow and run the actual course.  I'm getting up early and getting their early. I'm not sure how many people will be at this one. I didn't see it advertise very much so it may be a small event.  wouldn't that be awesome if i could medal my age group?

Stupid Irene

My first half of the season has been cancelled due to the arrival of Hurrican Irene.  My only consolation is that all the others around this area that we *could* have done have been canceled as well.   I know, i know.. it's for the safety of everyone, but why couldn't Irene get here on MONDAY??????  ugh...  I guess it's all good since it will save us money.  We were talking about having to stay in Pennsylvania for an additional night.  Now we don't have to stay either night, so the silver lining....  more money to do another race??  :)  Jeff was looking forward to this one though. He's never done this distance in a race.  With football having started, I doubt he will be able to do another one with me this fall.   We'll see.  i am sure he can run the distance even without continuing to run for the month.  Sandy Hook is in October, so maybe I can convince him to run that with me.

Sooooo.. come on Irene. Now that everything on the east coast is canceled, I will have nothing to do but plan my race calendar for the next year.  Oh, and work on this blog!

Podcasts

I recently found podcasts.  I love Jillian Michaels and read in a article that she has a weekly podcast.  When i got my itouch, that wa sthe first thing i downloaded!  After i listened to all of her segments, I started to look for other podcasts to listen to while running.  I found Two Gomers run a half marathon and I love it!!! I am through season one where they completed their first half and now i'm on to season two where they run the full marathon.  It's sooo fitting since they are probably where I am in my training.  I guess since I've pretty much decided on the full in Cape Cod, i had better find a plan and stick to it. There are 11 weeks to it if thats the one I'm going to do.

todays run was pretty cool. Originally I was just going to do 5 miles, but I went to the duck pond and at 2.5 miles it didn't seem long enough, so I talked myself into doing 10 miles.  It had stopped raining and it was a nice night out. Not many people on the trail, so it was like my own private park.

Cool things from tonights run:

Ran further on the path than from even when i biked it earlier this summer!
Saw a guy with the same Teterboro 5k shirt on that I had on!  he didn't notice tho!
Saw a guy with the Ridgewood Run shirt on from this year - he did at least say 'hey' as he ran by.
Ran under bridges that I never knew were there.  One under Rt. 4 is soooooo cool. It's like a disney ride! There is also a water tower or something that i never knew was there. need to research that!

I didn't plan tonights run very well. I had brought water to work, but since it was raining, I figured I would go home first and then maybe wait until the rain subsided. When I got in the car, it wasn't raining so i headed to the duck pond.   I didn't have a water bottle in the car!

I did have my Gu bottle, so i ran to the first bathroom and filled it. I thought it would be gross, but it wasn't all that bad. I need to figure out how to keep colder water in the car. Wishing now i had the minivan with the mini fridge in it.. :)

Thoughts from todays run:

• should not have worn the windbreaker - waay to hot.
• do I need to go to the bathroom? 
• my shoes realllllly smell like cat pee.  wonder if i should just trash them?
• wow, there's really no one out tonight - this is cool.
• if it's 5:30 when i started and it's almost 7:30 when i finished, how much longer will I be able to do long runs at night? 
• I need to buy a portable light to attach to my jacket. Five Below had them - need to get them.
• Tomorrow needs to be a rest day. :)

The Gu container is such a great idea. I really need to post around on other blogs and facebook pages. I really think other people will like it!

Races I want to run in 2012 - Falmouth Road Race - 7 mile run

Today was the Falmouth Road Race.  The pictures are starting to hit facebook.  i soooo want to run it next year.  I will have to track when register opens for next year!  Keep looking back at this photo for inspiration and keep me motivated to keep running cool places next year!

Running in the Rain

Today's run was in a downpour.  I knew I wanted to go out early since the temperature is more what I like, but the rain was quite heavy. I delayed it for an hour but then got reading other blogs and got inspired to just get out and do it.  I know that I'm bound to have one of my half's in the rain, so may as well get used to it.  My biggest concern is getting the itouch wet.  I wrapped some saran wrap around it, put on the windbreaker and went out.  I need to invest in a waterproof windbreaker and other waterproof wear for the fall.   I should keep a shopping list as a gadget.. :)   I didn't plan out my run like I had told myself yesterday I should do.  So, i headed out to run the track at the very least.  Got there, ran one lap and was bored.  So i ran down to the Celery Farm. I need to research why on earth it's called the Celery Farm.  Probably the obvious but who knows. :)   I ran around once and it was muddy, but it was soooo peaceful and the plants and trees kept the rain from hitting hard.  I decided to run it again. The whole time, no one was there. It was awesome. It was like being in the wild but only 3 miles from the house.  Who need to find new places to run. Ok, i still do, but it's what I kept telling myself during the run.

I didn't notice anything of special interest on the run.  I kept looking and thinking - what will I journal on the blog today if nothing comes up!!   Then I kept thinking that no one will read this so what does it matter.   Had this on going conversation in my head that it's just like a journal. It shouldn't matter who reads it!! :)  but I love sooo many other blogs that I hope I can make my interesting enough to have people read it.

When I got home and mapped my run (close to 8 miles - yay!) I found I had a follower!!! double yay!!!  Ok.. the pressure is on to think deep thoughts during my training to have material for my posts!!!

Thoughts during this run:

• I'm wet.
• Will this ruin my itouch?
• I need a waterproof case it.
• I love podcasts - who would have thought.
• I love Jillian Michaels
• Why the heck is this called Celery Farm?
• Ummm.. what kind of tracks are those in the mud???
• Two weeks to the Perk Up half marathon
• Wish the Perk Up Half was this weekend, not next weekend - just want to do it!
• What do I need to pack for the half?
• Can I do two halfs in one weekend like I'm currently thinking of doing.
• How many states can I run halfs in this year?
• I have to get a blogging book to figure how to pimp up my blog

There was probably more, but that's all I can remember for now -  need to journal sooner after my run from now on!!!

Injured Squirrel

Today's run:   11:05am.  Not as hot as it has been all week, but should have gone out a little earlier since it was much cooler at earlier.   MapMyRun had the run at about 8 miles.   I wasn't sure where to run this morning. I'm getting bored with just running around Ramsey, but it was getting late and didn't want to drive far for someplace that wasn't planned out first. I need to research routes and keep a list here so I have go to routes instead of the same old.

Todays route took me down Franklin Turnpike towards Allendale.  While running I was looking at the flowers and trying to find something cool and noticeable on the run.  In the middle of the road was a squirrel.  I thought he was in the middle eating something.  As i ran closer, i realized he was scooting around in circles, like a dog trying to get comfortable before going to sleep.   The poor little guy was injured and couldn't use his back legs.  It was so upsetting!   I walked into the road and tried to move him with my foot, but he just kept moving in circles. There were cars coming so i had to get out of the road. The first car went around him. The other cars hadn't seen me in the middle of the road, so i thought for sure he would get run over.  Some how, he didn't!!  I went to try and move him again, but now there were lots of cars coming so i told myself I just need to keep running and it's the circle of life......  As i started to run away, a car came in the other direction and a girl jumped out with a shovel and moved the squirrel off the road!!! I ran back and kept saying thank you! i had wanted to help him, but didn't want to pick him up.  The girl didn't say anything to me but got back into the car and drove away.

I'm glad she saved the squirrel.  I don't know if he has a chance of survival, but at least he won't be road kill now.  

I ran through allendale and back to ramsey.  I took a road i had never been on before, though nothing all that cool about the road.  I did however find a new bike path in ramsey! who knew!!!!  i've live in Ramsey for over 10 years and never knew the path was there!  its like running through the woods!  I've found so many new places right in town that i never even knew!!!!





 

A bucket list item crossed off the list!

I have always wanted to start a blog.  I just never thought I had enough to say about one subject to really consider being a blogger.   Yes, i'm creative, a floral designer, a pretty good novice chef, damn good mom, hopefully a damn good daughter, awesome girlfriend and another stressed, overworked corporate worker.  I tend to be obsessive about whatever strikes my interest and that takes on my whole world.  I was worried a blog would follow the same pattern. 

However, I think with my running adventures, I have more than enough thoughts, questions, ideas, worries, accomplishments, etc to keep a blog going.  Besides, it feels GREAT to cross another item off my bucket list.  Maybe I should add a new item to the bucket list - get followers for my blog!! :)   No worries though, I just like the idea of my musings out in the world for someone else to read and maybe say "me too!" when they read them!

So to all my future readers - Hi from NJ! 

I am completely and utterly clueless about blogging, but it will take my mind off my compulsive need to find new half marathons and still keep my running obsession going!  Like my early days of scrapbooking, it will be so fun to look back at my first post and see how technically inexperienced i am and how my blogging abilities grow and improve!