Drumstick Dash Report

So running the Drumstick Dash on Thanksgiving Day turned out to be a good idea.  A thoroughly entertaining time and a great way to help a good cause.  When I woke up Thursday morning, the first task was the figure out what to wear.  The sunny morning was a crisp 42 degrees.  I elected for tights, shorts, a baselayer, longsleeve gym shirt and my RoanokeOutside.com team jacket.  I wandered outside to see if I was right on my decision.  Yup, with the addition of a pair of gloves I would be fine. 

Driving to the DD was even funnier. I get off at the same exit some days to go to work, so I am familiar with the traffic jam that it creates.  Thursday was no exception.  I giggled as I looked down at the road full of cars and people.  I bet the ordinary person was like WTH is going on there?  There was literally a traffic jam from the parking garage, up Williamson Rd onto Elm and I581.  I patiently picked my way to a spot then headed out towards the start line.  It was fun to mingle with the crowd.  I saw several people I know while I wandered. 

Soon everyone began to line up at the start lines (there were separate ones for walkers and runners).  The crowd was HUGE!  People everywhere.  7582 people were registered for the run and walk.  I decided since I really didn't know how I was going to do since I hadn't run a 5k in like 6 years that I would start near the back of the runners.  This ended up costing me nearly two minutes in the finaly standings since they went by gun time despite the fact we had timing chips!?!?!?  Anyway, the start was funny because once the gun fired we couldn't go anywhere then began slowly walking up the street.  I think I was at a slight jog by the time we got to the start line.  I joked as we walked along in the herd that we were slower than Black Friday shoppers which cause a bit of laughter around me.  

Starting where I did also caused a bit of annoyance in that there were way too many slower people, kids, strollers and dogs around me.  They cluttered the road from curb to curb, so I ended up running on the sidewalk on more than one occassion.  I loved the musicians that were staged on the course.  We had all sorts of music to entertain us.  It seemed like it took the first mile forever to go by, the second mile was quick and the third wasn't so bad either.  I felt great as I was running and I was determined not to walk.  The only time I really had to slow down was the alley on Luck Ave.  There simply wasn't enough room for the cluster of people. I found myself zipping in and out of people and by people.  I almost felt rude at times, but got over it quickly. 

The course was nice, not too flat, not too hilly.  I really did enjoy it.  The race finished on Campbell Avenue near the Market which I think is cool because you are surrounded by the old store fronts and there is room to contain a crowd, so there's actually people to cheer you on.  It is also a slight downhill so you can pick up momentum and really go for it at the finish.  I put in a good effort hear and passed people in the last few blocks.  HA HA!  I found some more friends and mingled for a while after the race.  My trainer, Lisa came to support me so it was cool to get to hang out with her and the other Gold's Gym people for a bit.  After seeing some other friends finish up the walk, I decided to head home to enjoy the rest of my T-giving before having to go to work.  I had a great day all in all.  I look forward to running another 5k and definitely running this race again next year!

Oh yea, who would have thought I'd run this race one minute slower than my fastest 5k???  Look I got in under 30 minutes!!! 

FINAL RESULT
Chip Time  29:47  (Gun Time 31:45)
1434/2375 (overall)
53/108 (F, 35-39)
533/1154 (Female)

HA HA HA HA

Burning Daylight

I was sitting at work today thinking of how much I wanted to get in some cardio work today since I'll be out of town most of the weekend.  When I will be at home, I'll be sleeping or busy.  Since the patient load was way down today; there was nothing going on at 315p, so I ran for the door.  Made a couple of phone calls as I drove, arrived home, changed like a whirlwind, grabbed my road bike and headed out for a quick ride.  I did a fun, little loop that I've done many times before.  Only this time when the sun ducked behind the hills or trees, I got cold.  I noticed traffic began picking up as expected as I got closer to home.  Since I was getting a tad chilled, I decided to quit.  15 miles in one hour is pretty decent for an unplanned ride especially when you consider I had to wait at more than one stoplight.  Now the sun has dropped on down, and night is settling in, my toes are warming up; and I'm happy with this ending to a mentally draining work week.  Let the weekend begin.

NC State Wolfpack vs Virginia Tech Hokies
Sat - 3:30pm  Blacksburg, VA

UT Lady Vols vs UVa Lady Hoos
Sun - 4:00pm  Charlottesville, VA

Excellent.

I enjoyed my road ride today. WOW, can you believe I just said that? Amazing I know. I was dreading today. I didn't want to ride alone, much less road bike alone. I was having a hard time getting motivated to plan a route since I always seem to ride the same places and have to endure the idiots behind the steering wheels. I figured the trails would be a sloppy, soupy mess since we were soaked with rain this week, so if I wanted to ride it was going to have to be skinny tires.

My dear friend, Tim offered to meet up with me for a ride. I am so glad he did. He's an extraordinary rider and could leave me behind if he wanted; but time and again he's taken his time to ride with me. I love riding with him because he knows all of these cool places to ride. Today would be no exception. I met up with him at Hotel Roanoke, well the Link Museum and we headed up Mill Mountain. Amazingly, I climbed it without feeling like I was going to die or roll backwards back down the road. Once we arrived at the Parkway, we debated going towards Rt 24 which would be a route I've ridden many times before. I wanted to do something different so I asked where we would end up if we went the other way. Off we went. This was a great decision because not only did I get to ride a section of the Parkway that I've not ridden before, but I learned where most of the bailout points are along the way. This section of the Parkway was recently paved so the added bonus of smooth asphalt was awesome!

I feel comfortable enough with where we rode today to go back, and that's a good thing! I really want to build up more endurance and long road rides are going to be important for this when it's warm enough to ride. As we neared a bailout point (Dawnwood Rd), Tim asked if I wanted to go up to the first overlook. Sure, why not. How far/hard could it be? OOPS. The work was worth the reward today as there is a cool waterfall on the left side of the Parkway near the overlook. The sounds of the water cascading down the rocks was awesome, as was the view. I guess all that rain paid off because I can't honestly remember seeing this here before. Maybe I just drove by in the past without paying attention, but this was definitely a highlight of the ride. Once I was through taking pictures of the waterfall, we headed back down to Dawnwood Rd. I was able to reach 38mph on the descent. WOOO! I also got chilly on the way! After a quick stop to take a few more pictures, we walked the short path to Dawnwood.

Dawnwood would take us on a fairly, rural jaunt back to Poages Valley Road.  Again, we were treated to the sight and sound of running water in the roadside stream.  At one point, we stopped and Tim shared a story of playing in this stream as a kid.  This road was great to ride on since there was little to no traffic.  We arrived at Rt 221 where we made a right followed by a quick left and continued on Poages Valley Road.  I had no idea this road went this way.  Found a house that I would love to buy had I not just refinanced my own.  Further on, we came to the intersection of Poages Valley Road and South Roselawn.  Here there is a little, old house that has been refurbished.  It reminds you of something you'd see in a post card.  Amazing to think that someone could have lived so simply and undisturbed here. 

Eventually we wound our way back to the hustle and bustle of the real world on Brambleton Ave.  Of course we had to deal with traffic and stoplights, but I thought we made pretty good time.  A left past Mojo Coffehouse and we were weaving our way towards Patrick Henry HS.  Laughed at a weird structure that apparently is doubling as a shelter at the busstop.  Headed towards Grandin Court, Memorial Avenue Bridge through some less scenic areas onto 10th St.  10th Street as you may remember from previous blogs crosses the Lick Run Greenway which I ride quite a bit.  We would take this greenway back to Valley View Mall. Soon we would be near my house and Tim bid me farewell.  What an awesome ride!  Loved the beautiful day, loved the ride and the company!  I am happy.

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(Photo from pre-ride visit to Gainsboro Library...  you never know who's looking over your shoulder.)

Cove photos...

Funny, how you can edit pictures to look brighter. These are from Friday. It was gloomy and overcast, but the computer helped them look a tad better.