1 down, 29 to go

First thing checked off my 30 while 30 list!

Newtown 5k official time: 29:51. 8/20 age group, 161/243 females, 509/670 overall.

Is it just me, or do those stats mean this race has a pretty fast crowd??? :) Actually, I know it does, because a lot of the local cross country teams use it as a pre-season race. There were 96 people in the male 15-18 age group alone, and the slowest one was 22:53. This race is pretty much always led by a pack of shirtless teenage boys.

That also means I shaved 9 minutes off my 2009 Newtown 5k time, and over 4 off my 2010 time. And of course, I got my sub-30.

I ran it a wee bit conservatively, I think. I lost a calf sleeve before my 15 mile run last weekend, and so my good leg went naked. Consequentially, all this past week my good leg has become my bad leg. I took an extra rest day, which I think I needed mentally as well. While a birthday run sounded great, a birthday extra hour of sleep followed by a nap after work was more beneficial.

The sleeve has since magically resurfaced in the washer.

Anyway, this race was NOT worth hurting myself; plus, it was still a bit warm for my taste. I also still am uncomfortably unaware of what my pace is/should be at various distances right now, so I really didn't have much of a pacing strategy. That was only the second running race I've done in 2011 - crazy, huh?? Of course, I couldn't run for a while, then I couldn't run fast, then I didn't want to do a race until I knew I'd worked back up to some semblance of my old speed. So all things considered, I'm pretty stoked for that race to be my first sub-30.

That's a little frustrating, though. Before the injury, I could pace myself so that my splits were within seconds of each other for 5k, 10k and 10 mile distances. I could pretty much tell you what my pace was at any point without looking. I still haven't gotten that back. So I'm waaay more likely to burn out too fast. I suppose I'll have to be patient with myself on that one. The heat and hills have made my pace so erratic anyway.

Naw, I'm mostly just stoked about my time. I really am. It's just a TINY bit frustrating to see that, as awesome as I thought that was, 500 people still did it faster! This is when I need to get that tunnel vision back, because that time is fantastic for me. I've been chasing that sub-30 for two years.

This was also the first running race I've done sans music. I've been running more and more lately without the ipod, sometimes just to do it, sometimes because I forget it or it's dead. I still love my running music, especially for long distances, but it's nice to wean myself off it a little. (I did all three tris without music - forbidden in the triathlon world!)

This was also the first race I've done with my Garmin when I really and truly had a time goal. I mean, I had the garmin for the Cinci tri, but I was just trying to survive. I had it for Food on the Run, where I kinda sorta had a time goal but I also knew I was really hurting and was well prepared to throw it out the window. Also a different feeling - and at one point, I had to give myself a mental shake and a talking-to: "Kate, quit looking at your damn garmin every five seconds already!!!" I think it really helped, though; probably because the race starts with a downhill so it's easy to get off to a pretty fast start. It was nice to be able to tell myself, "OK, you can relax; you can do mile 3 in ten minutes and still hit your goal time." (Maybe that's not so good, but again, I was going a little conservatively, and mile 3 also has the uphill version of the aforementioned downhill...so it was nice not to worry that the hill would kill my time.)

Can ya tell I don't really have the personality to push myself to the breaking point in a race?? I just don't. I race at about a tempo pace - it's hard, but I can still enjoy it. Being a non-competitive type is a blessing and a curse and sometimes I wonder if I'd be faster if I were more insanely competitive. Then again, I don't LIKE being slower than people, I just don't feel like going balls out to be faster than them. Maybe I'm weird. Props to you if you even made sense of that!

Oh yeah, day before my birthday I hit a swim PR: one mile in 42:32. Didn't even mean to swim a mile that day; it just felt good.

I seriously just meant to type in my race time and stats here and then I got to rambling. Oh well!!

30 things while 30!!

*EDIT TO ADD: I have decided to keep updating this entry as I accomplish things!!*

 So generally, I try to keep this as a running-specific blog. However, I'm going to venture outside that for a minute (although a lot of this is running-related and I could argue that it's all wellness-related and, well, it's MY blog and I can do what I want!) Apparently there are a few of us in the blogosphere who are turning 30 within a couple of months of each other, which is how I came to hear about the idea of making a list of 30 things to do while you're 30. I googled others' lists for inspiration, asked a few friends, and I'm pretty happy with what I came up with. I even have three days to spare! :) So here are my 30 things, with a bit of commentary.

1. Run a Marathon  DONE - 9/17/11
2. Do a half Ironman
3. Do a trail race
4. Do a century ride
5. Get my PCC-S license - Stands for Professional Clinical Counselor Supervisor. Technically, I'm eligible in March, and I'm currently supervising an intern at work to meet that part of the requirements. I just have to find 18 affordable, very specific hours of continuing ed. Groan.
6. Do an unassisted pull-up - I've never. Ever. Ever. even come close. September update: I've been using the assisted pull-up machine at the gym....sometimes. I can do one with only 40 lbs to counterbalance, which is an improvement from the 60 it used to take. This is with very little actual work on my part.
7. Do a sub-30 5k   DONE - 8/13/11
8. Do a sub-60 10k
9. Grow a veggie garden - Now that we have a house, I can start on this in the spring! Yay!
10. Take swim lessons - Technically I have - when I was eight. I want to improve my form for this triathlon thing. Not that I care about placing, I'd just like to not be last out of the water again!
11. Visit a new country - My bro-in-law is going to be deployed overseas in March and we're already talking about saving up to go visit him, my sis-in-law and my nephew. I'd tell you where, but they're not telling anyone outside of immediate family at the moment. It'll be a good trip, though, and somewhere I've never been.
12. Pay off my car - Easy. It's due to be paid off two months after my birthday next year anyway.
13. Donate hair to locks of love - 10 inches is the minimum. I'm not sure what that actually looks like, but my hair is a few inches past my shoulders as it is, and it grows fast, so I'm sure I'll have enough to donate this year. I'll ask for more info next time I get a trim.  September update: I asked. I could donate 10 inches right now...if I get a pixie cut, which I'm afraid will make me look like a 12 year old boy. More growing is in order.
14. Learn to change my own oil - Always wanted to do this. Talk about a money saver.
15. Learn to play and accompany myself on at least 3 songs - I went through a guitar phase for a while. I still have an acoustic guitar, but I all but forget how to play it. I took piano as a kid and I've talked about getting an electric keyboard for a while. Not sure if the gimpy finger will let me play guitar until it's healed, but I could probably do piano. Anyway, I think I've mentioned before, I love to sing. While I don't think I'm winning American Idol anytime soon, I've always thought it would be really fun to be able to accompany myself on some instrument.
16. Do an out-of-town race - Dayton and Columbus don't count. If one can feasibly drive there on race morning, it doesn't count. I basically want to take a mini-vacation that includes a race.
17. Get boudoir pics done - 'Cuz I ain't getting any younger here, people. Gotta remember what 30 looks like.
18. Do something with wedding pics - I have scrapbooks that people got me. I have wedding pics in a box. This needs to be rectified. I need to enlist the help of a scrapbooking friend and make myself sit still for a few hours.
19. Bench press 100 lbs for 3 reps - I can do three sets of  10 at 70 now, probably up to 85 max. I'm kinda stuck there. This means I'll have to do more strength training.
20. Run the Flying Pig
21. Get concealed carry permit - I do not yet own a gun, and I'm still slightly scared to shoot them, although I have. But I've talked about this for years too. September update: husband now owns a S&W .45. I have shot it and got over the panic attack caused by the loud noise it creates. I figured that was probably smart in case I ever need to use it for protection. I actually came to enjoy it. I now have a gun I can use for a CCW class if I should so choose.
22. Ride a segway
23. Take a belly dancing and/or pole dancing class - Who's in with me??? I guarantee that it's impossible to have less grace and coordination than I do, so you wouldn't be embarrassed!
24. Organize school papers -  I have all my notes and handouts from grad school, still. Many of them are helpful, and I've been told to hang onto them in case licensing requirements change and/or I pursue an out-of-state license. Especially since my school wasn't accredited, I could need to prove the content of my classes. I was doing really well and got some of them organized into a notebook. The rest....in a box. I graduated 2 1/2 years ago. I should fix this.
25. Complete a knitting project - I know how to knit, but I've only ever completed two things - a scarf for my husband that was too short (ran out of yarn and couldn't find the same type/color again) and a scarf for myself that unraveled. I haven't knitted in a couple of years now, ever since I started a blanket that, you guessed it, never got finished!
26. Visit a new state - Possibly in conjunction with #16
27. Visit an out-of-town friend
28. Go vegetarian for a week - I will have to enlist my husband's cooperation since I cook 95% of the meals, but I think he'll go along with it. Honestly, though, I don't think I'll attempt it until after the USAF marathon. I'm in the training stage where I pretty much swallow everything in the fridge whole after a workout and I'm not going to try to mess with my diet that much. (It's true. Marathons take your appetite to a whole other level. Last night I ate half a sleeve of ritz, cold meatloaf, a heaping spoonful of peanut butter and then a handful of pickles. Then I made popcorn. Then Huz was eating saltines and pb so I had some too. It wasn't even after a run. It was after a measly 5 mile bike ride. You'd think I was pregnant. <--I'm not!!)
29. Do something nice and unnecessary for myself once a month - Like manicures, pedicures, massages, etc. I actually made this vow to myself after we went on a cruise earlier in the year. I forgot it for a few months but I've done it for a couple of months in a row now. I want to keep it up.  
1. August - mani/pedi/30 minute massage the day after my birthday
2. September - pedi and new tattoo 
30.  Create a signature dish - I love to cook, and I love to watch Master Chef and Hell's Kitchen and the like, where they always have to make a signature dish to present to the judges. Huz always asks me what mine would be, and I'm stumped. I have a year to figure it out. September update: I kind of have an idea to work on now. It involves comfort food and bacon.

And then I even came up with a few extras, just in case something on the list doesn't get done (although for the most part, they're very doable and realistic). These are a few I came up with that seem a little less doable in the next year, but that I still want to do in my lifetime:

Honorable mention 1: Learn to ride a motorcycle. Something I've always wanted to do, just don't know if the budget will permit a chopper this year.

Honorable mention 2: Get LASIK. Probably doable, provided that I can build my HSA back up and I don't have to blow it all on running/biking injuries again.

Honorable mention 3: Get something published. Besides this blog, I mean.


***Things I didn't think to put on the list but I accomplished this year:

9/3/11 - first urban adventure race