OBX Half Marathon Recap

Hey there!

So this morning I ran the OBX (Outerbanks) Half Marathon! The race began in Nags Head and ended in Manteo. If I had run the marathon it would have started in Kittyhawk and run around the Wright Brothers memorial. :D How cool is that?

The race was great. I feel good about my time (actually, I didn't check it I have a good idea about what I ran) although if I had not gotten so out of shape over the past few months and slacked on my training I could have gotten a better time. Hindsight is 20/20!

Days before the Race
I drove home Friday afternoon and got back at a good time for once. No dead batteries or ridiculous Raleigh traffic this time around. It got home sub 3 hours. Once I was home I just chilled out and did some homework. I have a stack of magazines here from subs that I haven't bothered forwarding to my UNC address.

Saturday morning we got ready to head out, but once we had gotten everything in the car, my dad said that he didn't feel good. He still really wanted to go and I almost started crying when I saw how upset he was about not being able to go, but he really didn't feel good. It was better that he stayed home and recovered. I think he's feeling a lot better now. We got to Nags Head around 4:00, checked into our hotel, and headed to the race expo. We didn't buy anything at the expo mainly because we didn't have any spending money. Frankly, I'm lucky I made it to the race at all. I picked up my "Booty Bag" which was a reusable grocery bag with a cup, my nice shirt, and a myoplex shake in it. Not such a fan of the shakes when I have real food to choose from, but it was alright when I didn't have a chance to grab a real breakfast the morning of the race.

Dinner was, of course, pasta!
EAT PASTA RUN FASTA!

Race Day
I woke up at 5:30, munched on some pretzels, drank a cup of hotel brewed coffee, and sipped on my water. We were planning on stopping at Harris Teeter or something before the race to grab something for breakfast because we didn't think to bring anything with us from home. It would've been awesome to have some banana oatmeal or perhaps peanut butter sammies, but it was alright. I was running on empty by the end of the race though. Thank god for energy gels!



Here's me at the starting line. I put myself in a slower corral than I actually needed to. I suppose I just thought I would be running slower miles than I actually did. I passed most of these people up. Teehehe. ;) Oh yeah, it was COLD starting out. I was shaking from the cold mixed with my jitters.



Oh haay!
Sloooooow start.

I didn't expect to see my mom until the finish line, but she parked abotu 4 times along the race and got out to cheer me on and take pictures. :) It really helped me keep going. She even got my dad and brother on the phone through her Sebring carphone stereo thingy and put them on blast so they could cheer me on from home. It was awesome. I came home to a sign that my dad made me congratulating me. Warm fuzzies! I love my family.


This was the Washington Baum Bridge.... OF DOOM. Actually, not so bad when you run it. I think I would've had a miserable time walking it. At this point, I had a girl running with me who said I had a good pace and that I was helping her. Unfortunately she had to walk part of the bridge so we got split up. I was kinda sad!
The weather was beautiful and the swag was killer. My mom missed me crossing the finish line because of traffic issues. They rerouted her around the town before she could finally get to the family reunion center. I am really looking forward to seeing the pictures from the pros. AND I AM NEVER TAKING THIS MEDAL OFF. nyahaha XD

And oh yeah, ARRRRRRGH!! P)

Heel-o-Ween and Getting Back

Oh Haaaay!
안녕하세요
おはいようございます

Today is November 2nd which means that a change is needed. I suppose it was around this time last year that I kicked into gear as well. There's something about the falling of leaves that get's me revved up. The trees are changing, so I must too.

Anyways, I have a lot to tell. It's been such a long time! I don't have Korean this morning （oral exams.. yippee!) so today is the perfect opportunity to try and play ketchup.... err catch up.

First: Halloween was Saturday and it was alright. I was Misty from Pokemon. I had to explain it a few times to people, but I'm pretty sure most got it. Franklin Street was awesome as always. There must have been thousands of people there. A group of about 15 people put on a surprise "Thriller" performance.

(Hopefully the video I just linked pops up)

Also: On Friday I participated in a Flash Dance Mob! It was awesome. I honestly love this university. ^_^ I saw a crowd of people gathered about the Pit, and suddenly one guy started dancing in front of everyone. Then slowly, more people joined him.. and then HUNDREDS of people rushed into the pit to dance with him. As of this very second, I cannot find any pictures from the rave but please believe me. It. Was. Awesome. PICTURES SOON!

Training: My training has been all over the place in the past month. I suppose a lack of motivation threw me off track. This past week has actually been pretty good though. I went off for my last long run last night (10 miles) and I BEASTED it! I made that 10 miles MINE!
I'm so happy that I finally got through all of it again. I was beginning to put myself down. A lot of the weight that I lost last year has mysteriously reappeared. What magic! Despite this, I'm more than positive it can be re-lost, and I'm in a better mind set than I've been in in months. Expect tons of awesome photos from the OBX Half. I AM SO EXCITED.

Class: School has been going well in general. I've taken control of Korean. (Wow, that sounds awfully dictator-ish). Because I've taken more time out to study for it, I've been doing much better. I still need to decide whether or not I want to take 102. The only section that I can take is an 8am from Monday through Thursday. That is almost the entire week! I rather like having the option to sleep in if I really need to. On the other hand, it would be nice to get my classes over with in the beginning of the day. Advanced Japanese is going a little bit better. I'm embarking on a huge project with my friend Bethany. Our survey (in Japanese) is going to deal with College eating behavior. I've done a project on this topic before, though it was in English. I always get really excited for big projects like this. I feel like, with proper planning, we can really do an awesome job.

Friends: I love them. That is all. :)

OH YEAH!

Of course, I couldn't forget that I'm joining OhSheGlows (Angela)'s Get Your Glow Back Week. She is awesome (probably my favorite blogger), and this special week is exactly what I need. Thanks Angela! :D

Alright friends, It's time for coffee, and lots of it. :)
Have an awesome day!

Long Time No Blog

Hey Kiddies/ 4 or 5 people who read this blog:
I haven't posted much on here at all recently but in a tiny little recap of what shouldn't be summed up in any less than a billion words, here is what has happened since my last post:
1. I switched from the Marathon to the Half-Marathon and I couldn't be happier :)
2. I'm taking Intro Korean and Advanced Japanese and I'm insane apparently
3. I ran my first real race (5k) and my time was 26'47" which blew my goals out of the water. I'm very proud of myself even though it was a relatively small race with about 160 participants-- the majority of whom ran for cross country.

Mr. Smith Maura Goes to Washington

Two things

1. Tomorrow morning I will be running 11 miles. Well, 110 minutes which I translate to 11 miles. If it doesnt end up adding up, I will run longer.
OHGSSDHFHDFHDHFD I'M GOING TO DIEEEEEEEEEEE

2. I am going to see my favorite Krass-muffin. :) We are also going to steal the presiden't pooch.
ho hooo!

ohohohoooo

Iris says:
lol
k*****
is ridiculously nice
sometimes i want to stab her
Maura says:
hahahahahah
its statements like that
that make me love you iris!
Iris says:
lol

Yo--

--You're at Cold Stone listen!
Ice cream's cold and it's really delicious
Someone just tipped us a dollar
Everybody in here needs to holler:
Ice Cream Baby
dun dun dun dun dunna dun dun
Vanilla Ice Cream Baby
dun dun dun dun dunna dun dun
(sing to the tune of Ice, Ice Baby)

So I've been working at Cold Stone a little over 2 weeks now and I've gotta say, it's alright. Just alright. Getting holla'd at by marines isn't exactly what I had in mind when I applied, but I'll get used to it.

In other news, it's marathon training Week 4! I've got a 50 minute run today which will probably translate to a little over 5 miles. 5.5 perhaps? The walking before and after will more than likely push it to 7, and that's just peachy. I've been switching my Sundays and Mondays because of work. I run in the evenings now because it's the coolest. Don't you worry though. I've got my gear now. I took a dive into some gravel on the 4th of July. Sorry long time no blog eh!?

Here are some pictures of the damage:
(Before 65 Min run that was supposed to be 50 mins)
The Legs (fyi I didn't stop after I fell. If anything it gave me a rush of adrenaline)

AFTER! Mmmmm alcohol wipes xO


So I realize that I haven't been posting the mileage from my Garmin Connect website and that's my B bruuhz. I have what like 3 readers? Comments from strangers would be much appreciated. Wow that came out really creepy!

Here's a print screen of my mileage thus far. This shouldn't include any walking, but I'll doublecheck later. (no... i won't)

(click on it to see it in full, readable size)

Ugh I can hear the rolling of thunder outside. Of course this would happen on my day off. If the weather isn't clear by tonight I'm going to have to use Heather's treadmill or drive to the New River gym. Not a fan of 2 rest days in a row. No sir.

In other news and further hilarity, Seamus put regular dish soap in the dish washer. Bubble flooding ensued. Yeah, I'll post some pictures of that later.

Constance Am Dumb

PB S'moatmeal

Look at the amazing bowl of perfection I concocted for my blunch (breakfast for lunch of course) today. Breakfast was an Everything bagel. Mmz
I could eat breakfast every meal of the day.



Inside:
1/2 cup oats
1 chopped up mini (snack size) hersheys milk chocolate bar
1/4 crumbled graham cracker
1 marshmallow (does not include the 2 i shoved into my mouth before i made the s'moats)
1 tsp JIF creamy peanut butter
sugar free maple syrup (don't be alarmed. i put this on everything. i mean it... everything)

Day 1 (kinda)

Does This Count...

...As certifiable insanity??

Take This Cake...

...And Eat it
My aunt, uncle, and cousins came up to visit us today. Yesterday was her birthday so I baked her a cake from scratch.


Nobody should look that apathetic with cake in their hands...


Hershey's chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. Topped with shaved dove chocolate and a homemade whole dark cherry sauce.

Omnomnom

Finito

It's done.

Oh Boy

I was looking through my pictures today, and I started to really notice the changes I've made. I didn't really notice myself before if that makes sense.
First of all, I've been overweight my entire life. I didn't make a big difference until Winter Break my freshman year in college.
I think it's been a net of almost 30 lbs since my heaviest, whenever that was (It may have been a long time ago, and I may not have been that heavy when I started the running/refined-sugar-cut)
I get really surprised looks (and a few people who don't recognize me... which tbh doesn't make all that much sense because I don't look THAT different, come on!) here now that I'm back. I'm starting to see why.
Here's a slew of BEFORE pictures that date from junior year to fall of Freshman year (college). I can't find many from before then, although I'm sure they're all on my photobucket. Perhaps another time.










Second Semester Junior year



This was second semester senior year

This too


Summer after grad


Fall Freshman year (college)

Again, fall


AAAAND NOW

yay :)

Strawberry Fields Forever

Sorry about the lack of blog
I've had a busy day or two--
Today I went strawberry picking with my Mom in the field where they filmed The Secret Life of Bee's. Pretty sweet, huh? No pun intended. ;)

I'll have a nice blog tomorrow. It's Mother's Day and I'm making my Mom some strawberry crepes.

Have a nice night
Maura

Care Package!

Soooooo
Took my last exam... Nihongo Kimatsu shiken
I suppose it went well.

Well, I moved out of my dorm and now I'm home. :)
My room is in a state of disarray.. boxes here and there and pillows EVERYWHERE
seriously.. where did they all come from?
Anyway, I also got to open 2 packages: 1 glorious care package from my old Japanese teacher in Japan and 2. A 4-pack of Funky Monkey freeze-dried fruit snacks from the Mommy I'm Hungry give-away. :] I had the banana and acai flavor today and it was quite delish.
Here are some pictures of the goods:


mmz mini noodles

those shrimp things are amaaaazing

the close up view

Japanese pockyxcore

depleted koala supply

zenbu!

heavenly haichyu

Thanks Mommy I'm Hungry!

My Un-unbirthday Dinners!

Check out the pictures
I've gotten so much Japanese food this week. I'm in a state of euphoria.


Check it out: Peace and Peanutbutter's giveaway
Peanutbutter and Jenny is also having one
Ooooh! and Gettin' Fit and Happy as well :)

Blogs of Note

Giveaways at Carrots n' Cake as well as at Biggest Diabetic Loser

LOL @ Captcha

Flog

I've become obsessive with food blogs.
Check out http://graduatemeghann.com/
and http://peanutbutterandjuli.wordpress.com
They're two of my favorite bloggers (and sisters!?) and they're each having giveaways.
:)

Just For the Record

I have big plans for this blog. I'm eventually going to be a lot more active with it, posting to it as I would with a fitness/food journal, as well as recipes and cooking adventures to come. A month left of school!