Run or Dye

It's been a very eventful the last several days. With guests and Halloween adventures! I was happy to have a few days off work for most of it. Thursday morning i was able to get a run in during DAYLIGHT hours! oh man... it was glorious! see pic on the left for proof. There really is nothing quite like it. Even more rewarding that I was among the vibrant trees. Color was literally pouring out of the leaves. I had a coworker from our Ukrainian office come over and stay for a few days. So we did the whole DC thing. Got to play tour guide and show her the beautiful sights our Nation's Capital has to offer. All that jazz. So even though I only got one daytime run in, I was able to walk around DC all day Thursday through Saturday. I mean the point is to keep moving, right? I also learned this past weekend that i have a serious obsession with tress in the fall! haha

RUN OR DYE

The BFFs and I at Run or Dye in DC

I mentioned in my last post about the Run or Dye 5k race that was coming up with the BFFs. Well we did it and it was A LOT of fun. We had to run through a few tunnels with people throwing powder dye at us. Sounds fun, right? too bad it was hard to breathe and see while running through these mists of color and the occasional person throwing a whole handful into your face. Zoila, was not so lucky running through the yellow tunnel. No. It seemed they had it out for her. The left half of her face was covered in yellow by the time she made it all the way through. I'm not gonna lie, i had to stop for a bit because i was laughing so much. The occasional child would scream out "YELLOW FACE!" and one spectator coming in while we were leaving made a passing comment of "wow! some people really got hit hard!" hahahaha i'm probably laughing a little too much about it for her liking. Sorry Z, but it was effin hilarious! So all in all it was a good run. It was great to do it as a team. To start together and even finish holding hands through the finish line. AWW we're so cute aren't we! haha This weekend is the Reston Nearly Naked Mile race to run. I'm thinking a tutu, some body paint and a fuzz bra... that should do it! What can i say? i love running :)

110%

Susan G Komen Race - DONE

Race for the Cure

Can I just say, this whole waking up at the butt crack of dawn on a Saturday is getting really old?! You know, I say that every weekend and yet I continue to sign myself up for more! OK so maybe I hate that i had to be out of my house at 5am to head to DC for a 3 mile run, BUT it was for a very good cause and I had a GREAT time! I definitely tried to do this one for time. I finished at 32:11 ...not my best time, but definitely not my worst! I'll take it. Just gotta keep working on it. We did luck out with the weather, though. Not a single drop of rain until we were all done and partying it up with the Zumba crew that was on stage. Saw a lot of neat costumes and got to see several survivors. The back of their pink shirts read "proud to be your inspiration." loved it! Those women are real fighters and they were totally my inspiration! I did especially enjoy the run around the Lincoln memorial. That's probably the ONLY reason i'd love to live in DC. To be able to have that spectacular view as part of my daily runs. I suppose I could just metro my butt out there a few mornings and do it anyway, huh? but why, when i can just do a quick 5 miles near my house which already has beautiful trails? decisions decisions. As long as we keep running, I guess it's all good!

-----

I'm next!  :)

So, a few days ago I was asked to join a paddle team participating in the DC Dragon Boat Race this coming weekend. I have NEVER in my life paddled anything. I've been meaning to try kayaking, but have yet to get out there and do it. I have heard of how intense these workouts can be, so I was actually really excited to be a part of the team. The races are on the 18th and 19th. Unfortunately I can only participate in the race on the 18th since I have le Warrior Dash on the 19th. I really hope i'm not too sore the next day for that either. Well, back to my story... So, I was asked to join the team since they were short a few members. I, of course, accepted instantly! I'm up for any kind of outdoorsy adventure and even more so if it involves a great workout. We got to the waterfront and training began immediately. Learning techniques wasn't so bad. The paddles were light and boat was kept in place. We were given the world's fastest Rowing 101 lesson. Not too much longer after that we were quickly taken out into the water for a real life race practice. 

That's where the real fun began. The yelling, the screaming, the pressure! The play calls! except i'm not sure what you call that in rowing... instruction yelling? my favorite... POWER - FIVE - NOW!!! everyone slams their paddle into the water about as far and hard as they can for 5 of the most powerful strokes you can possibly do. Everyone in sync of course! We have sets of 10 and sets of 20 at different levels of intensity and distance plays an important factor. The 500 meter one really had me working my arms and core out. It was a lot of fun, though. Definitely need more practice before the big race so that I can at least get used to it all. This may become a real hobby of mine. You know, like my running, hiking, biking, boxing, etc ...seriously, can I just live outside for the rest of my life?! I could just use a friends house for showering purposes lol I'm really excited to see how I end up doing on Saturday. I really hope i don't let them down. From what I heard at practice, they always place Gold *gulp*