Let's get this party started!

My three-and-a-half week long vacation has started! This time tomorrow, we'll be just about ready to head to the airport. God, this has been a long time coming and I can't freakin' wait!

The longest day EVER

Today is my last full day of work before going on vacation. I have to come in first thing tomorrow morning to host a library program (I'm kicking myself for that as well. The last thing I want to do is entertain a bunch of 6-year-olds, regardless of how much I love them. It just takes way more effort than I want to exert right now), but I get to leave at noon, so you can be damn sure that I'll be peeling wheels out of the parking lot. Today, however, is already dragging. I've only been here for 45 minutes? Seriously??

Heaven on earth

Because I feel like rubbing it in ;-)

Didn't want you forgetting about the glorious hotel in which we'll be staying whilst in London. ;-)

This time, 11 days from now...

...we'll be arriving at Dulles for our flight to London! You can't possibly begin to understand how excited I am. We've been planning this trip for, what, four years now, and it's such an understatement to say that I'm READY. Every time I think about seeing those familiar sights, and possibly visiting Kingston-upon-Thames, the town in which I lived for a year, I actually start to get choked up. My stay there wasn't always easy, but the bad memories have definitely faded into the background as time has passed, and all I remember is what a wonderful, emancipating experience it was. Here are some pics of my old uni town:


Kingston Bridge, with the John Lewis department store in the background. This pic was taken not too far from the dorm where I lived.


Kingston-upon-Thames, a shopper's haven. A lot of the central part of town was pedestrianised.

The lovely, traditional English market.

The Penrhyn Road campus of Kingston University, where most of my classes were.

One more dress update, then I promise to not talk about clothes again for a while

I managed to snag the green one in a smaller size and it fit perfectly! I'm SO EXCITED to wear it. Keep your eyes peeled for pics!

Oh well...

The blue dress didn't work out - despite the fact that it fit perfectly otherwise, the hem was a tad too low (what I wouldn't give to be a statuesque 5'10") and the ruffles were kind of overwhelming on little ole me - but I still have hope for the green one. Of all things, the bust is a little loose (not a place I normally have trouble filling out), but somehow, I'm going to make it work...I just can't bear the thought of sending it back!

Like I need an excuse to shop

We've got a bunch of weddings coming up in the next few months, so I thought to myself, what better opportunity to invest in gorgeous new cocktail dresses?





These are sitting on my front porch right at this very moment (I swear, the UPS guy must think I'm a shopaholic or something. Don't know where he would've gotten an idea like that) and I can't wait to get home and have a mini fashion show. Now I just need to track down some equally gorgeous shoes to go with them. ;-)

Race Report

Well, I just had a good summer's worth of road races crammed into the last three weeks, so I thought I'd update you on how they went. The half-marathon kind of kicked off the festivities, but you all know about that by now. I took the entire first week of June off to give my body a chance to recover, although I probably didn't need to...I was kind of achy the day after, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd anticipated. I can't sing the praises of ice baths enough, as agonizing as they may be!

Anyway, Dad and I have made it a yearly thing to run the Bel Air Town Run (5K), which just happens to fall a week after the half. I didn't know what to expect from myself, considering my week-long layoff and the beating my body had taken a week before, but I felt amazing - I was strong, fit, fresh and ready to kick some ass. Unfortunately, my dad wasn't as strong, fit, fresh or ready as I was that day. We enjoy running these races with each other, rather than just meeting up at the finish line, so even though he told me to go ahead when he had to stop to walk, I stuck with him. We ended up finishing in 30:23, a full four minutes faster than last year, but he was disappointed. He was really shooting for sub-30 minutes, but what can ya do...it was sunny, hot and humid that morning, which, as we all know, is a recipe for disaster when it comes to running a race. And besides, he stuck with me last year when I had a bad day, so not PRing that day was okay with me.

Less than a week later, we were due to run another 5K, this one in Eastampton, NJ, which is right down the street from where I grew up. I was psyched for it...we managed to recruit my aunt, cousin and a family friend to join us. It was going to be a good time! However, the day before the race, I forgot to bring my lunch to work with me so I had to make do with eating two packages of peanut butter crackers...which promptly gave me salmonella poisoning. And it was a brand that supposedly wasn't affected by the recall! The lying bastards. I was up all Friday night with a fever and a roiling gut, so the last thing I wanted to do Saturday morning was run in the hot and humid sunshine (again). My dad was really disappointed that I wouldn't be joining him, but I made it up to him the next day (when I felt a little better) by going for an early-morning run with him. We changed our usual maintenance route a bit, and took a detour through "downtown" Lumberton. Doing so also extended the run to almost five miles, which is about as far as Dad has gone. But it was fabulous. You know how you can have good running days and bad running days? Well, this was a good one...we both felt light on our feet, didn't tax ourselves by going out too quickly and weren't completely spent at the end of it. And we were able to get in some great conversation. I think I enjoyed that more than I would have the race.

So now I'm all finished with races until the Philly Distance Run in September, and then the NCR Trail Marathon in November. I'm getting back into the swing of things with a few easy treadmill runs this week, and then I start marathon training next week (yikes!). Wish me luck!

I am so in love...

And I don't think I'm able to resist. Oh Nordstrom's, why do you torture me so?

The Half

It's official: I am a half-marathon finisher! Here's the email I sent out to family, friends and co-workers, summarizing the ordeal:

Well, I did it! Sunday May 31st was the big day and I came through it alive. I slept surprisingly well Saturday night into Sunday...I thought I'd be a bundle of nervous energy, taking forever to fall asleep and then waking up every half hour out of fear of my alarm clock not going off at the ungodly hour of 4:30am. But I was in bed by 9, passed right out and was actually chipper as I bustled around before we left Sunday morning (Josh wasn't too impressed with that, I feel obligated to point out).

All week long, the weather forecasters had been predicting gorgeous weather for race day...up until a few hours beforehand. Then it was a 30% chance of rain, which isn't so bad because the odds are in your favor that it won't happen. Well, we start driving to Timonium and we're barely five miles from the house before it starts pouring. It rained the entire way down there, which, of course, made me panic because I was dressed for a sunny, warm day, not a chilly, wet one. But as I'm standing at the start line with Josh, wondering if I should give him my fleece jacket or wear it and risk getting too warm, the rain suddenly stopped. It ended up washing all traces of humidity out of the air and the weather conditions were perfect throughout the entire race, cool with a light wind.

So the gun goes off at 7:30am and we start running through the neighborhoods surrounding the fairgrounds. Miles 1 to 4 were more challenging than I would have liked - slight uphill grades with few chances to recover. But it was still cloudy and cool from the rain, so I breezed through the first four miles with no problems. Mile 4 started a fabulous downhill stretch on a wooded road, a part of the course that should have been heavenly...but, of course, I got a stitch in my side and, rather than enjoying the scenery, I spent the next mile focusing on riding it out. I was more worried about losing momentum by stopping to walk to get rid of the stitch than I was about it feeling like a rib was stabbing into my lung, so I toughed it out. By the time I'd gotten rid of it at the 5-mile marker, the course went uphill again (noticing a trend here? Who knew there were so many hills outside of Baltimore??) and I motored right up it. They had a timer at the 6-mile mark, and I was very pleased to see that I was maintaining a ten-minute mile pace...I'd run the first six miles in almost exactly an hour. My goal was to keep that up for the rest of the race, but little did I know that those hills I'd just conquered were nothing more than bumps compared to what was ahead.

Miles 6 and 7 were downhill, but I knew that the course doubled back on itself and I'd have to run back up the way I'd just come, and that was were the trouble started. That long, relentless uphill killed me and I had to stop to walk for the first time around mile 7 1/2. My lungs could take the stress, but my legs couldn't. My hamstring (which had been twinging all throughout training) started to feel tight and I was afraid of really getting hurt if I pushed too hard. So I walked for a bit. Miles 8 and 9 sucked big time...the uphill grade got even steeper and I wasn't the only runner having issues tackling it. I got a bit of a reprieve during miles 9 and 10, but 10 was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen - the road literally went straight up. It was funny because every single runner who rounded the corner and saw what was ahead made some kind of comment about it, a groan or a curse. So for that mile, I went from being a runner to a mountain climber, and was ecstatic when I got to mile 11 and saw that it was a shady downhill...I needed a break!

Miles 11 and 12 were a blur of industrial parks and shopping centers (we actually ran through a Kohl's parking lot), but I was hanging in there. At this point, I was keeping pace with a few other people and we encouraged each other, which definitely helped. I barely registered when I entered back into the fairgrounds and only had a mile to go. The only thing going through my mind at this time was "You will NOT stop, you will NOT stop." People who had already finished the race were lining the course and cheering the rest of us on, and I didn't want to look like a tool by giving in so close to the finish line. Seeing the mile 13 marker and knowing that I only had a tenth of a mile to go was such an exhilarating feeling, even though my body was ready to give out at that point (and the pictures prove it. Josh said he could see my upper body pushing forward but my legs were struggling to keep up. So much for good running form). But the finish line eventually loomed in front of me and I crossed it in 2:26:22 (that's the chip time. My gun time was 2:26:53). Not the best - it ends up averaging an 11:11 mile - but considering how tough the course was and that it was my first half-marathon, I'll take it.

So I did it! I can't thank you all enough for your support in this endeavor, whether it was listening to me talk about my training or donating money to UMGCC. I should mention too that I did reach my fundraising goal of $500! You can still donate up until June 30th, so here's the link if anyone wants to send a late donation in my name.

I have to say too that I had quite a few moments yesterday where I wondered what the hell I'd been thinking, signing up for something like that. But as I crossed the finish line, all I could think about was my next one. I'll be running the Philly Distance Run on Sunday September 20th (and will definitely improve my half-marathon time there. That course is a LOT flatter than what I faced yesterday!), and I'm using that as a training run leading up to my first marathon, the NCR Trail Marathon on Saturday November 28th. This running thing...it really gets in your blood if you let it!



Almost at the finish line


I won't lie, I was pretty disappointed when I saw my time. I'd been hoping for 2:15:00.


Rehydrating


My first (but not last) finisher's medal


Feeling great and ready for breakfast!

Women's 5K by the Bay

A view of the Bay from Tydings Park, Havre de Grace, MD

Sorry, I know I'm a little late in posting this, but I just haven't felt much like it. On Sunday April 26th, I had my first official road race since I started training for the half-marathon. I'd never done the Women's 5K by the Bay, but it appealed to me for a few reasons: 1) it's relatively close to home and in familiar territory (Havre de Grace, Maryland, which is a cute town once you get away from Route 40); 2) I figured that with the race being held at the end of April, the temperature would be cool, if not downright chilly, and possibly rainy; 3) it's exclusive to women, which leads me to 4) it's got a really small field. There were only 350 entrants in 2008, and this year, I think about 390 participated. As exciting as it can be to run with thousands of other people, you all know that crowds aren't my thing and I avoid them whenever possible. So this was going to be my first test of my new running prowess in what I thought would be ideal conditions.

Um, NOT. Yes, not having to defend your personal space from a million other people was nice, but that Sunday fell right smack in the middle of a freak heat wave that hit the east coast. It was 70 degrees at 7am, not a cloud in the sky, and muggy. In short, not very nice running weather.

The day they come out with completely sweat- and waterproof makeup, I'm so there

The start of the race

I felt great throughout the first mile and was shocked to hear that I'd run it in 8:45. I was stoked! Unfortunately though, at that point, I knew I wouldn't be able to sustain that pace...it was just too damn hot. The one and only water station was lousy because the coolers had been sitting out in the sun and the water was less than refreshing. So I figured I'd just have to suck it up and get through it.

I was pretty aggravated with myself roundabout mile 2 because the heat really started to get to me...there was no shade along that stretch and with not being hydrated well enough, I knew I'd have to take a break or risk passing out and really pissing off the cops who were directing traffic...they had more important things to worry about than catering to some cream-puff, wannabe athlete who fell ass over head in the middle of the road. So I slowed to a walk. Twice. :-( I'm still really mad at myself for not toughing it out, but I learned my lesson and won't let it happen in the next one.

Of course, the last half mile was quick because I wasn't about to let anyone see me struggle. So I turned on the afterburners, got yelled at for trying to pass someone in the finish chute and had no idea what my finish time was because a group of retards were standing in front of the clock. At this point though, I didn't even care - all I wanted to do was walk off the nearest pier straight into that nasty, brackish bay that Josh got to stare out for a half hour while I was killing myself. But when all was said and done and they got around to posting the results, I was pleased to see that I'd made it in 30:03...not as quick as I would've liked (damn those two walking breaks!), but still five minutes better than my previous best. Not too shabby for a girl who couldn't even run a mile two years ago. I can only imagine where I'll be in another two years if I keep this up...Boston, anyone? ;-)

I want to adopt them all!

It doesn't matter how often I see this commerical, I weep like a baby every single time it comes on. The newest version is even worse, but I couldn't find it on YouTube. I wonder how many other people are tempted to send the ASPCA half their annual income after watching it?

Everything happens for a reason...

...and I can't even begin to tell you how thankful I am that I married Josh. He was something unexpected that came into my life and ended up pulling me in a direction I didn't anticipate. I'd had my eye on someone else for the longest time, someone who I'd thought would be a perfect match for me, and I'll admit, as Josh and I got more serious about our relationship, that little, nagging "What if" was definitely in the back of my mind. But when I look at how my would-be paramour turned out, how he changed over the years to become an utter stranger, the relief I feel is immense, almost like a weight off my shoulders. I am so grateful that things turned out the way they did...I have a wonderful life and the best husband.

Springtime at the Martin household

Yesterday was the first gorgeous day of spring that Josh and I both had off, so we took full advantage of it. I got to use our new tractor (which, I've determined, is total overkill for the size yard we have, but I love it anyway), prune trees, till the flowerbeds, do some weeding, and take care of other miscellaneous stuff that had been waiting for a sunny day. Here are a few pics of how the garden looks this time of year.

PS...The reason why most of the flora and fauna looks young is because it is. I personally planted every single tree and shrub throughout the five years that we've been living here. I shudder to think of how barren it was when we first moved in!


My cherry tree is starting to bloom!





The new tractor. Awesome.

Rockin' the workouts

6 miles in 57:00?? After taking an entire week off and not training consistently for over a month?? I'm so pleased with myself, you don't even understand. And if you can believe it, I'm having so much fun training for the half-marathon (yes, you read that right. It's been hard, but so fulfilling) that I'm actually seriously thinking about running a full marathon. My thought is, if not now, when? This is my opportunity to finally become the athlete I've always dreamed of being, so why not do this thing?

My apologies...

It just occurred to me that I haven't posted to my blog in over a month (where does the time go??), so I thought I'd write a quick update. And you'll have to excuse the lack of photos...our Internet has been down for two weeks (feel free to fix it any day now, Armstrong Cable), so I'm jotting this down during a slow minute at work.

~ Our kitchen renovation is still coming along, but most of the big work is finally done - the cabinets are painted and we're waiting on Josh's contractor uncle to install the floor and countertops. Then I'll just have to worry about the trim (I'm thinking I'd rather replace the old stuff than paint what's there) and finding a cabinet to stash my cookbooks and TV in. It will be nice to be able to cook a meal without checking three different rooms to figure out where the hell I put the pots and pans!

~ Our overseas adventure is really taking shape and I can't even tell you how psyched I am. We booked our flights a few weeks ago and, despite saying that I refused to fly coach, I let Josh talk me into it. It does make sense though, for a variety of reasons: 1) we're flying Virgin Atlantic, and their planes are known for having nicer, more spacious seating; 2) they group their seats together in twos, so we don't have to worry about sharing our space with a third person; 3) it's going to save a ton of money; and 4) with said extra monies, we're going to go hog wild while we're over there. Josh, when he found out how much more it would be to fly premium economy, was actually pleading with me to take the less expensive route...he even resorted to bribery. "We'll even get room service while we're there" is a direct quote. How could I turn that down? That, and we'll need to rent a car for the time we're in Scotland, and I'm going to let him get the souped-up Audi that he was lusting after. So in my eyes, it'll totally be worth being slightly more cramped on the flights.

~ I'm finally going to get to see my "niece" and "nephew" this coming weekend when I visit Ang and Matt out in Pittsburgh. Last time I was out there, Ang was 8 months pregnant and now the babies are 5 months old, so it's definitely time to catch up! And my biological niece, Shelby, is even more adorable now that she's a few months old. It's a shame her mom won't bring her out to the good ole PA Dutch country for a visit with Auntie Colleen (ahem, Kristen!).

~ Speaking of babies, there's been an explosion of births in the last few weeks, which has me thinking again about the whole getting pregnant and expanding our family thing. More commentary to come on that one.

I've got more to rehash, but seeing as how it's taken me forever to write this much (seriously, who uses the library on a gorgeous spring afternoon?? C'mon people, go out and DO something!), I'll write another update soon, I promise.

A once-every-five-years gift

I need to send Josh away more often...the only time I ever get flowers is when we can't be together on a holiday. To put this in perspective, the last time was Valentine's Day 2003, when I was in London and he had a dozen red roses sent to my flat. And because I receive them so infrequently, I appreciate it that much more when I do get them. I still wish he was home this weekend, but it makes me all warm and fuzzy knowing that he's thinking of me. :-)

Ugh. This is depressing.

Toby wondering why on earth my car smells like horses
And I never did find my passenger-side mirror



Ugh...I'm sick just looking at these. I suppose it serves to illustrate the point that being a careful and defensive driver doesn't mean shit when other assholes aren't paying attention. Some old granny who shouldn't have been driving in the snow ran me off the road last week. It was Martin Luther King Day, when we had that freak snowstorm, and I was making my way slowly along, only a mile away from the big, plowed road, when she decided to just coast through her stop sign rather than stopping at it...which put her right in my path (I had the right-of-way). To keep from hitting her, I swerved, lost control and ended up in a ditch, having sideswiped an Amish farmer's fence. Do you think the old bat stopped? Of course not. She watched as I slid down the bank - I could see the shocked expression on her face, for Chrissake! - and kept right on driving. The cherry on top was when the Amish guy came rolling down the road in his tractor and I thought, "Oh thank goodness, he thought to bring the tractor to help get me out!" But what are the first words out of his mouth when he climbs out of the cab? "That's my fence. You planning on paying for it?" I was flabbergasted.

But it wasn't all bad...there were two Good Samaritans who stopped to help and one just happened to know my husband (I was never so grateful to be a part of the farming community as I was that day!). They got me pulled out of the ditch and I limped my car home. The bitch of it was, as soon as I crossed from Lancaster into York County, the snow stopped altogether. There was the tiniest dusting. How's that for my luck?

So now I'm holed up in my house, refusing to go out in this newest storm. Josh is in Vermont with our huge F-250, I'm left here with my rental, a brand-new Nissan Versa, and I'm not going to risk wrecking that one. I've never been so anxious for winter to be over!

Thank God for long weekends

I'm exhausted. I haven't been sleeping worth shit lately, thanks to my wonderful husband, who has taken to rolling over and facing me when he gets the urge to snore, with the result of waking me out of a sound sleep and forcing me to roll him back onto his side of the bed. Compound that with getting to bed later, waking up earlier, running at least four miles a day and drastically reducing my caloric intake because I'm tired of being a fatass, and what do you get? A very grumpy Colleen. Since I'm off tomorrow and it's going to be freaking cold outside, I'm sleeping in, make myself some scrumptous Cap'n Crunch French Toast for breakfast (I saw it on an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and I tell you what..."yum" doesn't even begin to cover it), and curl up on the couch with a few new movies I've been meaning to see. And I'm not planning on changing out of my pajamas either. I'll be thinking of all of you as you head out in the bitter cold to go to your various jobs and classes. ;-)

Please donate!

Consider making a donation in support of my half-marathon attempt. All proceeds benefit the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, definitely a worthy cause!

New year, new goal

So I slacked off a bit on running this holiday season. Oh, who am I kidding, I really slacked off. The last time I ran for any length of time was the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. So much for being able to jog five miles easy...it looks like I'm back to Square One (or at least Square Two or Three). But there's no sense beating myself up about it and I've already started remedying the situation. I also have another goal that I'm shooting towards, which means that I can't take an entire month off again or else I won't be able to accomplish it. So, here it is...drumroll please...I've decided to run the inaugural Maryland Half-Marathon in May. Yikes! While I'd been intrigued by the idea when I first read about it a few weeks ago, it was the ladies at Charm City Run who made me believe that I can actually do it. We stopped by the store yesterday to get Josh outfitted with a new pair of running shoes (because, if I'm lucky and get my way, he'll be joining me as a fledgling runner sometime soon!) and the half-marathon came up during our conversation with them. I said that I was interested but didn't know if I was ready, and they both heartily contradicted me. It's not until May 31st, which gives me a little under five months to train. Plenty of time, they assured me. So...I'm gonna do it! More details to follow as I start on this journey of (*gulp*) running 13.1 miles!