Wine and Dine Half Marathon!!!

So.... since we're "taking it easy" now that the 40@40 project is complete, we have talked about running one half marathon per month in 2013 -- a "13 in 13" sort of idea, given that we ran two half marathons in January (WDW and Tinker Bell). So I had started to think about what races we'd do in which month, and had come up with this:

Month	Race
January	Walt Disney World Half Marathon
"	Tinker Bell Half Marathon
February	Birch Bay Half Marathon
March	Cupcake Run Half Marathon
April	Earth Day Half Marathon
May	Rock 'n' Roll Portland Half Marathon
June	Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Half Marathon
July	??
August	??
September	??
October	??
November	??
December	??

While looking at the Half Fanatics race calendar, I noticed the Wine & Dine Half Marathon in Disney World in November... the weekend before our anniversary. Everything seemed to make perfect sense: because the race is a Saturday night race, we could fly down on the Friday, go to expo on Saturday morning, race Saturday night, play on Sunday, and fly home on Monday evening. We already have passes to Disney World, and we have a $99 companion fare on Alaska Airlines that we have to book by June 1, with no particular other place to go. 

One problem: the race is the same weekend as Designer Con in Pasadena, which we went to last year and had a blast. But we were both a little worried about D-Con being extended to two days, and I started to worry about spending two days shopping -- rather than a weekend enjoying ourselves. 

When registration opened the other day for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon, however, we had to make a decision.... and decided in favor of the race. Wil had one stipulation: that we shouldn't just stay for a long weekend, but should stay for a week. This serves two purposes; it gives us a proper holiday, and it means that we'll spend our anniversary in Disney World: two perfect things, if you ask me. So we booked our flights and registered for the race. Wine and Dine is a race I have always wanted to run, so I'm excited to finally get to do it. I love that we'll run through Christmas decorations... even if it is in early November. But I think we'll get our holidazzle on and come home ready to get into the Christmas spirit. 

Now, I don't think I'll ever really need to run the Princess Half Marathon, so this may well be our last Orlando event for a long while... but I'm excited to "pin our bibs on" and run our first nighttime half marathon this November!

So... let's make the revised 2013 plan:

Month	Race
January	Walt Disney World Half Marathon
"	Tinker Bell Half Marathon
February	Birch Bay Half Marathon
March	Cupcake Run Half Marathon
April	Earth Day Half Marathon
May	Rock 'n' Roll Portland Half Marathon
June	Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Half Marathon
July	??
August	??
September	??
October	??
November	Wine and Dine Half Marathon
December	??

Tomorrow...

So, I'm having surgery on my eye tomorrow.

Wish me luck.

Gutted

Guess who charged her FuelBand overnight and forgot to put it on this morning?

Had another good little swim this morning -- the pool was nice and empty (three empty lanes!) so I grabbed the pull buoy and kickboard and swam. I kept thinking of the whale swimmer I used to see when I swam FIVE YEARS AGO in Bellevue (how can I possibly have been blogging for 5+ years?!?), which made me worry a tiny bit that I was myself making whalesong as I swam. But I don't think so.

Swam steadily for 30 minutes, alternating between kickboard, buoy, and freestyle. Felt really, really good after. Yay!

Next week is our off week at boot camp, so I'm going to try to sneak in a swim (or two?) on Monday and Tuesday. Three down, seven to go!

Oh, also, I set up appointments for my last 4 Alter-G sessions. Not until the end of March -- want to give my eye plenty of time to recover. But I feel more positive for having actually set something up!

Mojo Risin'

Maybe it was just low iron? Or maybe a touch of seasonal affective disorder? But I'm feeling a bit better today...

Went to boot camp and -- surprise, surprise, Kerry sprung testing on us today rather than Friday. It makes sense -- we're indoors, so why not test? That means on Friday we can play and run and have fun outside.

Testing went well -- well, better than at the start of the session. Sit-ups went from 30 to 33, pushups from 15/20 (military/modified) to 20/12. (Hey, military take me longer, okay?) And I added just over a minute to my squat hold and plank times -- though now I'm still just in the 2:30 range for each. I should really work on those!

And as far as the circuit went, I'm not sure if I mis-counted or was just beat -- but I think I only got through 9 circuits this time, rather than 10 last time. Who knows.

Now back to the mojo. First and foremost, Suz, you aren't bogarting the mojo. Mojo spreads, man. :) Your running has totally inspired me! It's my bad for not lacing up and getting out the door.

I am, at the best of times, borderline anemic. So it's quite possible that I just haven't been getting enough iron. So yesterday I made an iron-packed dinner and picked up some blackstrap molasses to add to tomorrow's smoothie. Yeah, I don't know what it will taste like, either.

Swim!

Way back last year I bought a groupon for 10 swims at a pool not far from my office. I waited till the last minute to redeem it, which meant I squeezed in a swim during the winter break. But I haven't been back.

Given that we are moving out of Bothell in a couple of months, well, I have to get swimming!

I think the reason I have been hesitant to go swimming is that I hate sharing a lane. I get spooked about it. Don't know why. I just do.

But today I arrived at 8:30 to find a nearly empty pool. I picked up a kick board and pull buoy and settled in.

I swam laps, alternating between freestyle, kicking, and pulling, and felt pretty good throughout. Swam for 25 minutes, and then hopped out, showered, and headed to work.

I won't be able to swim for a few weeks after the surgery, so I am going to try and get one or two more swims before then.

Easing back into things...

Yeah, I know, long time no blog. To briefly catch up: I had an Ozurdex injection in my left eye on February 20. The procedure went just fine, thank you... and though I took the rest of that week off, I was back at boot camp the following Monday and Wednesday.

Of course, then I blissfully slept in on Wil's birthday, skipping Friday camp... But I was back at it today. So my attendance hasn't been spectacular this session... But I will be back!

Running is another story. I have not run a step since the day before the procedure. Not even sure why. Hopefully I can turn things around this week.

A number of my girlfriends are struggling right now -- Two of them have, independently, said they have "lost their mojo", and I totally know where they are coming from. I had hoped that the new month would give me a little jump start, but a happily indulgent weekend has left me feeling more pudgy than ever.

Still, it's all baby steps, right?

I signed Suz and myself up for the St. Patrick's Day Dash today. I know I might not be cleared to run it, but I am pretty sure I will at least be allowed to walk it. Regardless, we were lucky to get free registrations, so there is no harm done.

This week my goal is to go to boot camp on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and either run or swim on Tuesday and Thursday. I also need to set up appointments for my last four Alter-G sessions -- around my surgery, of course! I also want to get back to journaling my food on My Fitness Pal. Gotta keep myself honest, right?

Stick a needle in my eye....

I've got eye issues. I've had them since I was a kid. It seems like I've had different sorts of issues, at different times. Things will be fine for a few years, then something flares up and I spend some quality time with my eye doctor. After last November's big eye pressure action, we decided that, this year, it would be time to do the cataract surgery we started talking about over a decade ago.

I went in last Friday to have my eye measured. They used several different machines, including one where I looked into a cone shape of concentric circles... sorta like this, only purple and black

It produced a brightly colored printout that looked a bit like this:

After that machine, there was another machine, and then a really terrible one with water, a laser, and a cup over my eye. The less said about that one, the better...

Then I was taken through all of the cataract surgery information .... the nurse was very, very thorough, and there were lots of slow, detailed explanations. We both kept laughing and saying that, well, the standard patient for this procedure is, well, thirty years older than I am. So it's good to be VERY CLEAR with instructions.

Then yesterday I had a "procedure" to help prep my eye for the cataract surgery next month. I was having an Ozurdex injection -- basically having a pellet of steroids injected into my eye. The pellet will slowly dissolve over the next few weeks, serving the dual purpose of cleaning up any inflammation in my eye before the surgery, and helping recover faster after.

I didn't really know what to expect. Other than that they were going to STICK A NEEDLE IN MY EYE. So I guess I expected something like this:

Antique Dewitt & Herz Veterinary Syringe, Chrome Plated, Germany c. 1890

I am smart enough not to actually look at what the Ozurdex applicator looks like, even now -- heck I'm having this done on my other eye later this year. So for now, ignorance is bliss.

I didn't realize until the night before that I would actually have the option of being knocked out. What? You mean I don't have to WATCH you come at me with a needle? Sign me up.

When we got to the doctor's office, Wil settled in to the waiting room while I was whisked back to get ready. Booties on my shoes, one of those lovely caps on my hair (bringing back memories of my mom and her fellow O.R. nurses), and a fetching hospital gown over my clothes. Sean, my nurse, helped get me comfortable on the chair/bed thing, while another person gave me a heated blanket. Ahh, the joy of a heated blanket.

I signed paperwork, confirmed that, yes, it was the LEFT eye we were going to work on, Sean drew a big black X over my left eye -- something I forgot about until hours after I got home and Wil asked if I was planning on removing it. Ha.

Then the drops started. A simple numbing drop -- probably the bright yellowy one. After that was in for a while, they put a bunch of lidocaine gel in my eye -- which was weird because I could see it, but I couldn't feel it. Look down at my feet, look up past my forehead, and then close my eyes. Okay. While that was taking effect, they put the IV shunt in my hand and started hooking me up to a bunch of monitors. Sean told me that, if they had it in stock, I was probably going to be given Propofol -- Michael Jackson's drug of choice. OoooooOOOOOOooooohhhhh. Because they were going to knock me out, they put a small oxygen tube in my nose and told me to try and remember to breathe through my nose. Even when I was out.

Though the bustle I just tried to lie there quietly, breathing deeply. Through my nose.

They gave me a second gloop of lidocaine gel, and, while my eyes were closed, wheeled me into the bright lights of the operating room. Eric the anesthetist told me that he would be there throughout the procedure keeping me happy (I had told him that I was 'pro-drug, anti-discomfort' when medical things were concerned). I heard Dr. Carroll and remembered to ask him how long before I could run. He said, "Saturday".

And then they were sitting me up in the chair. My eyes were closed, I felt a little funny, and the first thing I said was, "When can I run?", which made them laugh. I opened my eyes and said, "Oh. You're already done, aren't you?"

Yep.

I sat there for a little while as they took all the various sensors off, took the IV out, and basically came to. As I sat there I heard the Eric say quietly to Sean, "Yeah, but who's Charley?" I said, "Oh, that's my brother. Did I say his name?" They laughed -- a little embarrassed -- and said, "No, no. That's just an anesthetist joke. I used to always say that when people came to, but then one day a woman was horrified that she might have said the name of her brother-in-law, because she had a huge crush on him. Awkward!"

(How great is it that there are anesthetist jokes?)

Then after a few minutes I basically got up, gave them my booties, hat, and gown, and left. Rebecca had arrived to drive us all home, and that was it. No pain -- other than slightly itchy eyes for a bit. The one weird thing is that I can actually "see" the steroid pellet bobbing around in my eye. It's not visible to anyone else -- it's inside my eye, after all -- but it's always there, just at the top of my vision. I know that I will probably stop noticing it -- and that it will dissolve away in time -- but boy oh boy is it distracting now.

I'm taking it easy the rest of the week -- no boot camp, no running -- though I might go for a tiny little run on Saturday or Sunday.... So hopefully this blog can go back to running soon!

Birch Bay Half Marathon Race Report

Getting ready to watch the sunset the night before the race

I'm so glad we decided to run the final race of the 40@40 project in Birch Bay! Though the race website left a bit to be desired, and, well, we had a little scare when they didn't have records of our registration (hooray for having the confirmation email on my phone), but we still had a great time.

We picked up our packets and this time I made sure to grab a map of the course -- hey, stranger things have happened, right? I even made sure to put the map into my race belt so that, even if we did get lost, we'd have an idea of which way we should go.

Even though the night before the race was glorious if cold, race morning dawned a bit drizzly. So we layered up with tights, a couple of shirts each, and LSD Lite Jackets. (Can't tell you how happy I am that this jacket is available in black!)

I'm not sure we've ever looked so happy before a race!

With a 9am start we had a very leisurely morning -- had a little breakfast, read a little -- before driving out to the state park for the start. I was kicking myself, a little, that I hadn't scouted out the start ... we basically drove into the park and pulled into an end spot, not realizing we were still half a mile or so from the actual start line! No worries, though -- we were in front of some sparkling clean restrooms, which meant we could take a last-minute pit stop before walking to the start.

I wasn't sure what to expect -- how many people would be there -- but there was a sizable group standing behind a line of paint in the road. Nice and relaxed. Someone was giving something of a course talk -- I heard instructions to "stay facing traffic", but nothing else as he was speaking in a normal voice and without a megaphone. Oh well, that's why I brought the map.

I guess this is the START!

Wil and I were still standing around chatting and taking pictures when the race started -- there was no countdown, no horn even... but everyone suddenly started running. Okay then!

We ran through the park and along the curve of the bay as the rain started falling harder. At the stop sign by the market we veered to run up the hill -- at the top of which I decided to get rid of my gloves. I did regret this a little while later, but I was still okay.

We ran on and on through the quiet roads, seeing very little traffic. We ran down a little hill and suddenly had a really nice view of Semiahmoo Bay (at least, I assume that's what the name of that water was...). We turned and ran along that bay for a bit, before reaching the course split. Full marathoners continued on, perhaps to make a loop of the little peninsula, while the half marathoners turned left up a little hill and made our was back inland for a while.

view of Semiahmoo Bay (I think...)

Wil and I were running pretty strong at this point, despite the increasing rain and wind. Wil even put his jacket back on because it was getting cold. A little ways longer along the road and we made a right turn to the out and back hill.

I had read race reports about this -- that there were two hills, that the second was bigger, etc. So I tried to psych myself up for this a bit. So up we went. I decided I wasn't all that interested in running up the hill(s), so I just walked briskly and enjoyed it when I passed people who were running. (That always makes me feel happy, I don't know why.) When it leveled out a little, we ran again, until it got steep. Now, it didn't occur to me that these were the two hills -- I kept expecting to see another hill looming in the distance. Especially after it was level and we were running again -- I was sure that we would now reach the second hill.... except that it looked as if people were turning around... oh. That WAS the hill? Okay then!

We hit the turnaround, grabbed a bit of Gatorade (purple!), and made our way back. We kept it steady on the flat, but then really opened it up down the hill. Awesome!

When we got to the bottom of the hill we were suddenly caught up with a bunch of people we hadn't seen in a long while (well, apart from already making their way back!). That was pretty great. Another right turn pointed us back toward Birch Bay, and I felt like we were really in the home stretch.

Umm, except that we hadn't even hit the 10 mile point yet, but hey.

We ran past our place, thinking longingly of the jacuzzi tub and massage chair waiting for us inside. A little while longer and we hit the 10 mile marker and grabbed a packet of vanilla bean Gu (my favorite!). (The Gu was perfect -- so cold that it had an almost chewy consistency. I LOVE that.)

oh I do like to be beside the seaside...

We probably faded a little as we ran back along the seafront. A young woman passed us (we had been leapfrogging with her) and we decided we didn't want to pass her again so she didn't feel pressured, which made us hang back a little. I wasn't thinking about much at this point, other than just getting done.

We got to the entrance of the park and started seeing people leaving. It was a little weird to run past people who had clearly finished, but who weren't cheering or supporting other runners. Oh well. Maybe no one cheered for them, either.

In the end, we got to the finish, held hands, and ran through the chute. It was then that the weird disbelief set it. We did it -- we actually did it. We ran forty half marathons in a year!

40@40!!!!

We got our medals, had our pictures taken, took some pictures ourselves, and then wondered if the tub of Red Vines and little place of banana slices was for finishers, or for a private group. We couldn't decide, so we just decided to head to the car and back to our place. On the way, of course, we actually CHEERED for the other runners. Yep,

2013 Birch Bay Half Marathon medal

Would I run that event again? Probably not. But it was something of a rare breed: a February half marathon that isn't all that far from our home. Especially given the late start (9am!), we could have gotten up early and driven north for the day. Of course, we do love an excuse for a weekend away!

The real question now is what's next? What project will we work on now? Frankly, I have no idea. I will continue to chip away at my 50 States project, but that will still take me years. A smaller goal is that I want to run 13 half marathons in 2013, running one each month from now on. (Well, okay, at LEAST one per month...) In 2012, February proved to be the difficult month, so it's good to have run this race. In fact, I'm pretty much set (well, registered, anyway!) through June. So I will try and continue with that.

Forty @ Forty!!!!!

We did it!!! Finished the Birch Bay Half Marathon in a respectable 2:18, despite hills and rain and gusting wind. Now back at the Birch Bay Getaway, me warming by the fire, Wil enjoying the massage chair (!!!!), and getting ready for a dip in the massive jacuzzi tub. Heaven!