Winter break has finally started!

MThis is officially my last college break because I'm graduating in May and I plan on spending as much of it as possible in bed or with Kev. And luckily tomorrow starts his 10 days of no school or work (except for our time at the rock gym)!! 

So far we've planned gingerbread houses, seeing Christmas lights, sushi, and pajama days! Nothing sounds better than just having a few days of solid relaxing especially when I get to spend it with Kevi.

PS: we have a coupon for a dozen free donuts from Krispy Kreme that starts December 26th and we're more excited about that than Christmas.

Cup Of Noodles

That's what I'm currently eating and what more could I possibly want? Expect maybe a less burned tongue. So the past few days have been super crazy for me, but also completely amazing. Over the weekend I was driving home (extremely hungover I might add) made a wrong turn and ended up 10 minutes from my boyfriend who I was missing so so much. I called him up and he told me that he was a climbing comp for setters, so I changed up my plan and went to spend the evening with him. The comp was so awesome! The climbs were so inventive and creative (IF YOU LIVE CLOSE TO DC YOU CAN FIND THE GYM BY CLICKING HERE!) I wish I could have climbed them, but unfortunately I left my climbing shoes at home.

I think my favorite part of the comp was meeting pro-climbers and actually getting to talk to one of them for a long time. She was super sweet and a total badass. You can visit Nina Williams's blog by clicking here! I currently have a signed poster of her in my room now, she's just amazing. It takes a special kind of climber to crush V11s and climb V12s.

So I spent the night with my amazing boyfriend doing normal couple things... eating avocados and drilling holes in doors. I had to leave the next morning and drive back home because on Monday I had a meeting with a knee specialist (oh yes, it's still bothering me..yay -_-). Sunday was full of driving and it was boring... so Monday comes around! And I go to the knee guy and he tells me that when I fell my femur and my tibia came together and crushed into my patella, which bruised the patella and femur bone, while also tearing my meniscus. THANKFULLY, most of my healing has already been done. I'm doing PT for 6 weeks and trying to stay off of my knee, but to be honest I've been running and climbing because stopping is just no fun.

Oddly enough in climbing I got my first V4 a few days ago. Maybe I thrive on pain, wouldn't that suck?

In other news, Kevin shaved his face and every time that happens I have no idea who he is.

V4, V3, and a twisted knee!

To finish off the week Kevin and I took a much needed trip to the climbing gym. It was supposed to just be a burn it out sesh for me. Basically just hammer on the weak spots and go for climbs that I normally wouldn't do at all. I continued working on a V3 that'd been snagging me up and started on a V4 that has a couple places where footwork is tricky. 

The V3 has two tricky sections: a barn-door move and a double sloper move. I can go smoothly through the barn-door section and up to the first sloper, but the next move gets me. I'm heel hooking with my right and my left foot is under me, and I have to do a big reach up to the second sloper with my right hand, and every time I slip right off. I'm going to keep working at it, but progress is slow.

The V4 starts simply enough, it's a low sit leaned to the right with the first move being a reach behind with your right hand. I can get through the first 4-5 moves, but there is a pinch that right after you have to switch feet in order to finish the climb. The only time I securely got the pinch and could switch my feet I slipped off. 

Long story short: in both cases my footwork was lacking horribly.

I really love both climbs and I wish I could have worked on them more, BUT when I was goofing off on a little V0 with a reachy overhang I slipped off the wall and ended up twisting my knee. I tried one more climb after that, but it was pretty clear I was out of commission.

So right now I'm typing this from my bed as I ice my super swollen knee...

Cheers!

M

The past week: Calleva and Cubs

This week started completely normal as I started work. As most of you know I work at a summer camp in MD called Calleva (which means where the paths cross) and I work with a wide range of ages, from 3 to 15! This past week I was working with 3-5 years olds and it was possibly my favorite week so far at camp!

On Monday I noticed we were a little under staffed so I recruited Kevin to join in on the week. It was awesome! Early in the week there was a huge thunderstorm so when the lightning and thunder stopped we dressed up the kids in black trash-bags (to hopefully keep them dry) and played a round of "Darth Vader Tag"!

Despite the rough weather early in the week the kids all had a great time exploring the rivers and woods of Calleva, creating art projects, meeting farm animals, and even having several dance competitions. The little Cubs (their official Calleva title) even put on a skit! And it was great to see their hard work pay off as they performed it for their peers (I wish I had pictures!)

It was a great week and made me a lot more confident in my ability to work with young kids! Seeing all of them so excited and happy for camp made every rough moment 100% worth it.

Til next time!

xx

M

Did you miss me?

CAUSE I MISSED YOU!

Okay pinky promise that I will not disappear again.

Kevin and I spent a super amazing vacation up in Acadia, Maine! Tons of amazing rock climbing and I absolutely loved every minute of it. Kevin as always was a total champ and you can see all his amazing pictures by visiting his blog! (Oh yes, I've turned him onto blogging).

He's so sassy he was made for this! I mean, come on, look at that face.

I had some great climbs up there! It was absolutely beautiful and we got to climb some cliffs on the coast! The views were insane. I worked on some of my first ever traverse problems! They were much different than anything else I had climbed before, and seeing as I haven't been climbing very much in the past year I wasn't expecting much to come from it. But there was a huge crack that made my hands pretty easy so I got to focus on my feet. 

Then I started working on a V2 that definitely had a reaching section. I ended up having to half reach half dyno to a jug that ended up tearing my pinky one sweet flapper. But I was super dedicated once I got that jug and topped out a few moves later! Don't worry, I left my blood on top of the boulder!

From then on it was cake! And I got a few more good climbs before we went home!

We also did some regular mountain climbing!! And from us to all of you: GO TO ACADIA! Or honestly any national park. Climbing, hiking, swimming, bird watching, WHATEVER YOU WANT!! Just get out there and enjoy nature's beauty and your nation's gift.

xx

M

(and K)!

Current cupcake obsession

Hey all! I've been doing a lot of cupcaking lately. It's not my fault! Everyone just blame Kev. 

He's the one that took me to Georgetown Cupcake on Tuesday AND Wednesday! I got the classic red velvet first and yesterday I went with carrot cake. I'm obsessed with cream cheese frosting. My bad...

And now tonight we went and bought a muffin pan so I could make cupcakes JUST SO I COULD FROST THEM. How ridiculous is that? I have the best boyfriend ever. I can't believe he would do all the for me.

Especially since right now we're watching our hundredth episode of DC Cupcakes...

Balt 10 Miler and Summer romance

So no I have not fallen off the face of the planet, I've just been very busy thus far this summer! 

I completed the Baltimore 10 Miler and got a terrible time (one that I wouldn't care to put into writing). I was still have issues with the stress fracture in my right foot, which means I went into the race with little to no training in the few weeks prior. Thankfully my next race isn't until October, so I have (what I'm hoping is just enough) time to recover and train for that race, BECAUSE! that race is my second ever marathon, and beating my time last year (on the same course) would be outstanding for me! I would literally jump for joy. However I'm not banking on anything, it's been a rough year for me, running and otherwise.

When I last checked in things were going great with Kevin and guess what, they've only gotten better! I moved in with my short term boyfriend in DC so I could be closer to him and closer to work over summer. Getting to see him everyday is a huge and amazing perk that I really didn't expect to get this summer. And spending so much time together is really allowing us to share hobbies. He's started running more in some Brooks Pureflows and I'm going to start rock climbing (his passion) soon! Fingers crossed that I don't kill myself.

As always, run happy everyone!

M

Review!! Nike Women's Half Marathon!

On Sunday April 27, 2014 myself and 15,000 amazing women (and a few men) ran through the streets of D.C. on a half marathon course that began at 7am. It was an amazing weekend and I loved the whole thing! I didn't have high personal expectations going into the race, because I was in the middle of an upper respiratory infection at the time of the race, but I was still so excited!

My weekend actually started early Saturday morning (the day before the race) when my boyfriend and I drove a little over an hour to the metro stop that we took into D.C. It was only my second time riding the metro and, yes, even though I'm 20 I was scared. Thank goodness I'm dating a boy from D.C. who helped me make sure I was going on all the correct trains and getting off at all the correct stops the entire weekend. I have no idea how other people maneuver the metro without a personal tour guide.

When we finally got into D.C. we checked out the expo, where I got my packet, race shirt, and saw my name along with all the other runners placed into a huge mural on the side of the Nike Georgetown store! (I didn't take a picture of the entire wall, my mistake!)

It was so cool! I loved how they made us all into one unifying display! I didn't take many pictures when I was at the race expo or race because I was doing a lot of just taking in the atmosphere! BUT something I did see that was completely amazing was Joan Benoit Samuelson and Shalane Flanagan! If you know me at all you know that these women are in my top 5 for favorite all time runners (Flanagan being #1!). Here's the picture!!

All in all the expo was really nice to be at! I would have liked to see more accessible free goodies. I mean they knew it was 15,000 women, they should have had more than 15 people working at the free fun things if they are going to so boldly advertise it. I did some shopping at the Nike store and grabbed an awesome neon tank and black spandex! I love them both (yes I'm wearing them right now). The cool thing about shopping at the Nike store was that you didn't have to wait in line to check out! You could just find an employee and they could check you out with you just standing there!! 

I also volunteered at the Nike T-shirt distribution later in the afternoon!

Then Kevin, the boyfriend, took me out to dinner which was definitely nice. I was a little out of place at the restaurant seeing as I was in running clothes, but it was still great prep for the race! (Of course, I had pasta).

I ran the whole race with my GU Energy Chews (watermelon (: my fave!!) and SaltStick tabs! I felt solid the entire race and I really think that's because I was fueling my body perfectly the whole run.

I loved running around D.C. and all the little treats Nike had for us along the way. We got the typical water and Gatorade, but there was also a whole mile where they handed out little chocolates!! Yum! The entertainment on the course was pretty good, but I wish they had compared song lists (I heard Happy 5 times and it was horrible). My favorite band was scream-o one! It was a marching band... PLAYING SCREAM-O! It was such a great pump up (: The entire race was amazing, but I think the best part was crossing the finish line under 2:00:00 and hearing my boyfriend yell for me at the same time. Made the whole thing worth it.

Oh and of course my finisher's medal:

OH YES IT'S A TIFFANY'S NECKLACE.

SO GOOD.

SO SO GOOD.

I was so excited to have my first piece of Tiffany's, but after I finished all I wanted was to find Kevin and head back to our hotel and a shower. In fact I barely relished in the finish the way I usually do (I think Kev was more excited than I was!). We walked through the Finisher's village and one awesome thing that Nike did was have a line of clothes that you can only buy if you ran the race! I got a red long sleeve zip with FINISHER across the back. The way I figure it: If you're going to run for 2hrs and feel terrible you might as well get a shirt that brags for you out of it!

All in all it was brilliant race, and I highly suggest it to all the women out there (The San Francisco half is opening registration soon!!)

My official race results:

Family, Friends & A Strong Running Foundation

I love my family. I grew up with an older brother and sister and two younger sisters, both my parents were supportive through my life and allowed me to pursue an educational path that they didn't love.

I'm very thankful for having people like that in my life and I often wonder what would happen if I didn't. Where would I be? Would I have the same confidence when jumping into the great unknown? I'm not sure that I would.

While running is an individual sport, there is always a team in the background. Someone with your drop bag or someone waiting for you at the finish line. 

At my first marathon my boyfriend came too. He drove me there, held my things, took my picture, met me at the end, and drove me home. But I was out there alone for five hours (including check in time). Parking was atrocious so I just had to jump out of the moving car when we got close to the start. The second I shut that car door it sunk in.

I was alone.

I didn't have my phone or anyway to contact someone I knew. I was by myself and while it was terrifying, it was also exhilarating.

I immediately had to do what I was trained to do. Rely on myself. I found my way to the start, stood in my place, did some stretches and tried not to think about my family or friends, I wanted to focus. I thought about the 26.2 and how I had it broken down in my head and what my game plan was. I thought about when to take Gatorade and when to take water, everything was on me and on the race.

But once I crossed the start line my entire plan faded, and all I could think of was who I wished I could share this experience with. I thought about my parents. I wished they could be there with me. I thought about my friends and all the messages they had sent supporting me.

I thought about the races I had run with him and the way he's pushed me to be a better person. I thought about how he stood by me when I decided I no longer wanted to be a collegiate runner and how he motivated me to continue training even when it was extremely difficult.

I trained by myself, and so I thought I was prepared to race by myself. In fact I never doubted the idea of running this marathon alone. Any time I told someone I was running it they would always ask me who I was running it with and when I told them it was solo they always got a faint look of shock and horror. Like I was crazy for doing it, but I didn't feel crazy, I felt ready.

Despite my race day doubts I truly thought that my legs were strong enough and that my cardio was strong enough and that I had the stamina to succeed. But my legs cramped at mile 18, my cardio was weak at mile 20, and my stamina was worn out with 5 miles left in the race.

But I never stopped. And I never walked. Because I never stopped thinking about who mattered most to me and who had helped me get to where I was. My body didn't carry me through that race, my foundation did.

I run to find my limit, but as long as I have my foundation, I'm not sure I have a limit.