Shamrock Half Marathon

What more can I say???!... Joe just lit the road on fire today at the Shamrock Half Marathon (13.1 miles) in Virginia Beach... time 1.43.54 (7.54 pace).....

Not many things can stun me... but this does...

HE NEVER RAN a day in his life until this past year (except for football practice in high school)... I AM SOO PROUD!!

CONGRATS JOE!!!!

The race started at 7am and it was another cold morning.. 32 degrees at the start... BUT NO WIND!.. the first time EVER running in Virginia Beach where there was no wind!

(I asked Joe why he cant take a picture with my feet in it..)

(see Joe.. I do have FEET)

At the start, we stayed together for a couple of miles and then he pulled away... he looked great.. I tucked into a comfy groove of my own..... I was slightly concerned when the 1.45 pace group passed me and I was AHEAD OF THEM.. yikes.. then when I hit the 5 mile marker around 40.32 or so.. I was thinking.. UM ... just a bit too fast since I still have 8 miles to go....but I went with it...

When I hit mile 8.... I thought where did mile 7 go?......and then I found mile 9... and then mile 10.. when I looked at my watch... I was at 1.23 something... I was so excited...that this was my best 10 mile time ever..... I almost forgot I still had three miles left... I think I "sprinted" along for two miles.. by the time I got to mile 12 I was soo exhausted it took everything I had to keep up the pace for that last mile... and I knew it would be close.. at this point I was hoping to be in the 1.49's but I just missed that.. clocking in at 1.50.18 (8.25 pace).. I WILL TAKE THAT! ...My best Half Marathon time by far... !

(Joe thought it funny to take a picture of my hat with the frost on it.. this was taken AFTER the half marathon)

I will post the official pics once they are available. We are exhausted, sore and happy! ....Until the next adventure... NIGHT!

The Torpedo

This weekend was the Anniversary of Joe’s first race ever... last year at this time Joe ran his first running race ever.. the Shamrock 8K...

...this year he ran it again and sliced approximately 8+ minutes off his time and beat me by over TWO minutes... JEEZ US!!!

The race started at 8am and it was a cold 35 degrees.. winds around 10-13 mph....we opted for long sleeve shirts but shorts... there was a bit of muscle freeze while standing waiting to start..BOY CANT WAIT FOR SPRING.. UM it is Spring...

We carefully placed ourselves upfront in the 7-8 min miler section... so did a lot of people (HOW should I say this nicely)...People that should NOT be up there....

After the start....the front group had to weave in and out of people who were "not out to win" that for sure.. and some were even walking! WHAT ARE THEY DOING LINE UP FRONT!!!??

...EXCUSE ME.... (WTF you doing uphere?)...SORRY ...(GET the F@$%^ out of the way)... PARDON ME... (MORON).... lightly phusha outta the way... and so on..

.... I don’t understand why anyone would place themselves upfront and proceed to get trampled by the faster runners...thats just asking for trouble.. and most times the race directors explain this to the people in the beginning of a race... for those who dont seem to "UNDERSTAND"... Cardinal rule in running . ...line up at your pace... meaning if you are a 12 min miler ...line up in the back.. if you dont know.. most certainly dont line up front with the Kenyans who run sub 5!!

Joe said it took a little bit to catch me... yeah that’s because I am all gun ho and sh-t at the beginning.. by mile 1.. Joe had maneuvered a second or so lead on me... I clocked the first mile in at 7.02.


We passed someone preaching something about damnation and holding a rather large sign that said, "HIGHWAY TO HELL".... I think he was trying to say something about the way people were living their lives...and he looked a cross between Charles Manson and Moses.... Of course someone who was running behind me started singing ...Highway to Hell from AC/DC.. ....bunch of S-I-N-N-E-R-S...

I was still feeling F-R-E-S-H and realized that perhaps I should be a 2 mile specialist because by the time I cleared 2 miles in 14.45 (7.22 pace)... I was ready to be done.. oops...

We rounded a corner at mile 2 and right into the wind... I tried to position myself to draft off someone but ALAS no one is around me... for some reason NO ONE runs around me.. they either PASS ME or I pass them but can’t seem to have anyone to pace off of or block the wind for me..

NOW Joe on the other hand said he drafted off people all the way up the board walk..shielding him from the wind... NICE... he said that there is an advantage to his size!! .... At this point Joe had a strong lead on me that I lost sight of him.
The wind just cooked me... I clocked in at mile 3 at 22.53 (7.37 pace) and the garmin was picking up the mile markers exactly....


Then an “OLDER” lady with grey hair passed me.... I resounded to the fact that if I wanted to finish.. I needed to cut out this baby shit and get with the program.. I cleared 4 miles in 31.10 (7.47 pace)... way off what I wanted but still good enough.

We were getting ready to round the next turn when a big old guy cut me off making me almost stop...with a double step and it's ok there buddy.. (glad you can beat a girl.. F_ idiot...) ...there was less than a half mile to go... no one really passed me at this point.. I did try and smile at camera on way in while sprinting pass two girls will see what THAT WILL LOOK LIKE.. ... I ended with 39.11.

I thought this year's change of the course was a bit tougher but my time was only a few seconds off last year's time.. so I should be pleased.

JOE just smashed his time.. he chipped in at 36.54 (7.25 pace)>> YOZZA... Joe finished in a phenomenal time.... He is floating on clouds right now.. he cant believe how well he did.. I can believe it.. I KNEW IT was in him... HE IS the torpedo ....

SEE THAT?

Note to Joe:

"SEE THIS HONEY... This is what you are going to be looking at this weekend trying to catch me at the Shamrock 8K in Virginia Beach.... "

3 days... and C-O-U-N-T-I-N-G..

You all can keep tabs on us here under the results tab:
Shamrock Website

The 8K (4.97 miles) is on Saturday, March 21st @ 8am

The Half Marathon (13.1) is on Sunday, March 22nd @ 7am

(results should be ongoing and usually are posted within an hour of the race)

Baby Brother

You know whats really great having a brother who is again playing Rugby at age 40? ....That the parents will now consume all their resources on thinking he is a nut case ...and so on ....instead of thinking I am! .....AWESOME!!! ....Thanks Baby Brother!..... You ROCK!

Vermont Snowshoe Race 2009

GREAT time this past weekend... my SUFFER BUDDY....... “Denise” and I drove the 6+ hours up to Vermont in order to run up and down mountains on little tiny snowshoes.... And to think we missed out on the beautiful 70 degree weekend in PA to do so.

It was my second year for this race and Denise’s first.... and I was anxiously looking forward to showing Denise the fun that I had experienced last year... I told her about the vast amounts of snow, the quaint Vermont chalets with little white lights, the charming General Stores that sell real Vermont Syrup in super nifty maple leaf bottles, the moose crossing signs, and of course the really narrow pitch black mountain roads. ..
(where Da snow?)

I call Denise my "Suffer Buddy" because she is the only person I know who I have managed to convince to do all the crazy shit I do....to go out and buy snowshoes even though we hardly get any snow in our part of PA.. to ride 6+ hours in a car and then PAY to be able to run up and down mountains for 13.1 miles...yes...we are definitely from the same egg...I am just the bad portion of the egg... the yellow part...

To my chagrin... again I did not see a moose.. now from what I am told... I should not WANT to see a moose.... that moose are something that I am to stay AWAY FROM... to not try and poise in a picture with.. and well although I don’t believe I would be stupid enough to get out of the car if I ACTUALLY REALLY saw a moose.... I most certainly would have LIKED to actually see one.. I mean to say that I actually believe that Vermont has MOOSES...is that a plural? I am thinking that Vermontenerrs .. is that even a word.....use the WHOLE MOOSE thing.. as a gimmick to lure PA people up North.. I mean you see the Watch out for Moose - Moose Crossing signs... and you think like you will see them prancing across the road like you see deer here in PA.. but OH NO.. NOTHING..nadda,. ZIP.....Not even a sign that they exist up on the mountain while we were competing....we didn’t see no moose poo or NO moose footee prints..

(found this JOE sign SWEAR.. is that a freaky omen or what)

SO we line up to start our race.. I look over and there is someone dressed as Mr. USA.. or something like that.. he has a red, white, and blue party hat on, and matching gloves and so on.. OH WOW DENISE I DIDNT know we could play dress up.. I think I heard her sigh.. next year.. I am being a moose.

OFF we go... Denise did awesome....this was her first time racing on snowshoes and heck I think the second time ever on snowshoes and she did the half marathon in 4 hours and like 18 minutes or so... 13.1 miles.. me I decided to do just one loop which was a good old 6.2 miles... I did the two loops half marathon last year and this year I had different goals in mind.. like keeping me 100% injury free for the Shamrock 8K race in a few weeks .. so I opted for just the one loop

(this is Denise coming up the mountain.. as you see I am AHEAD of her taking the picture.. tee hee)

Sure is funny trying to see us PA gals compete against some of those mountain woman.. at one point I had about enough of the straight up hill part that I was on.. and my choices were to crawl or take a small breather.. I saved my dignity and took the breather... and sat my “old tired” ass in the snow and watched people try and maneuver up the mountain... saw a guy in shorts and coon skin cap.. and a girl with ski poles.. SHIT should have brought the poles!!!! AGAIN forgot them..
(this is me.. AGAIN I AM AHEAD OF DENISE.. tee hee)

We did the first loop in an hour and 50 minutes... not too shabby since we ended up almost ROLLING down the back side of the hill... I can't tell you how many times I was contorted into strange shapes. We followed a guy for a bit who paced us and it was good.. we passed a ton of people... then we kinda splattered a bit on a down hill... We were still trying to figure out how some old lady (who actually was in our age group).. kept passing us when we were going up hills and we would repass her on the down hills.. DAMN we have to figure this out!

(This is elevation on first loop.. you have to do this twice for half and four times for full marathon)


(just soo beautiful)

At the end of the first loop I stopped and removed my snowshoes and Denise took a breather.. as I am getting ready to send her off to do another 6.2 miles... I encountered a BUFFOON.. yes.. someone who thought that butting into our business was the call of the day.. .. arrogant asshole ...

HOW IS IT I can.. sweet innocent me... can get into a confrontation with someone when I am minding my own business!!! ....Maybe my one friend Yvonne is right.. I somehow a couple weeks ago turned a track meet into a contact sport... I guess I can turn a snowshoe event into one too...

See ..Denise and I were minding our own business.. chatting away... and she made mention that she was sore or going to be sore or something like that and I said, “That's ok we have a hot tub at the hotel”… I was just making general conversation... trying to give her some incentive to get done.. and this BOOZO man who was standing behind us.. butts into our conversation… saying, “THAT’S THE WORSE THING YOU CAN DO..”

I looked back behind me wondering who the hell he was talking to … and when realizing he is directing it at me I said, "I do it all the time".. (meaning I do the hot tub all the time after competitions if I can get to a hot tub)... so MR. ARROGANT says in his I know it all Asshole attitude… “You are suppose to ice bath…..” insinuating that I am stupid and wrong and ....

So of course I can't keep my mouth shut and why the F_@#% is he in our conversation anyway.!!!!. so I say to him, "I HAVE DONE FULL IRONMANS (like how I made that plural), and marathons and I have always done a hot tub ..... " ....Here I pull out the Ironman trump card.. to prove F_@#% you... He got silent and turned away... I mean WHAT THE F_..!!!!!.....

I DID or we DIDN’T ask his opinion on anything....

What works for him may or may not work for us.. he could have said it nicer, as a suggestion not stating what I was suggestion was wrong if he really wanted to tell us something. DON’T MAKE ME WANT TO HURT YOU BUDDY!!!

I WOULD NEVER EVER recommend someone who is on a F-@#% mountain snowshoeing for over 4+ hours in the cold.. whose body temp will already be lowered.. to sit in a ice bath after they are done.. is he F_@#% STUPID..

I know ice baths are good for injuries and such...and some people do soak their legs in them after marathons and such...I am well versed on that... But you aint catching my ass sitting in no F@#% ice bath after a race..especially NOT AFTER A SNOWSHOE RACE!!!

AND...AND..AND... WTF is he in our business for anyway!!!!! he probably thought we were these cutesy girls who didn’t know a d-mn thing about anything... PERHAPS HE WILL THINK TWICE BEFORE OPENING HIS MOUTH AGAIN!

He got me into a state.. he is SOO lucky I was tired... and that he went about his business. Sigh . So I sent Denise off... and I go collect my finisher's award.. an engraved hammer.. Now I understand why they give this to people AFTER THE RACE.


Denise and I never made it to the banquet that evening.. we opted to stay in hotel get dinner there and were asleep by 7pm!!! ....Boy a little thin air and snow will do us beach babes in!

Cant wait until next year.. !