Madness
Now that I'm a juror, and a reformed (not by choice) wireless internet thief, I have practically NO access to the internet. Currently, I'm typing from the "business center" of my building, where they have two free computers, but this is most definitely not conducive to my creative process. Ahem.
Suffice it to say, at the race yesterday, there were cookies and fudge, a bit of running, a surprise second hill, and lots of crowds. We heard that they raised over $100,000 for the Red Cross, so that's just awesome.
There was also Jeanne who described me as just like my blog only more so, and I'm going to have to steal her words (business center=uncreative Naomi) and use them to describe her, because it's true.
We carpooled to VA (we're so eco-concious), met up with her evil pace group (one a scale of one to Supervillain, I'd say they're not quite Dr. Evil yet).
According to the press release, Tony Kornheiser was the race "starter" (Tim, who couldn't make it, was sorely disappointed to miss this chance to meet his fave ESPN er... commentator? (Tim, what does Tony Kornheiser do?)). We never saw (or heard) him, but we didn't manage to get a picture of Jeanne with James Carville.
Although this was my sixth race, this was the first time I'd be repeating a distance. Does that make any sense? I mean, I'd already run a 5K, so I had a PR to beat. Jeanne convinced me that she wouldn't mind if I ran my speediest, and so, with visions of glory, when the race began, I shot off.
If six races have taught me anything, it's to sprint like crazy until you want to die, and then shuffle painfully to the end. This is how legends are born.
Unless I'm lying.
Of course I'm lying. If six races have taught me anything, it's that I will never, ever learn, and I always start too fast. So after my initial burst of speed, I slowed down considerably, and ended up finishing around 27 ish minutes (PR: 26:39). I was fussing with the tear off part of my bib when I crossed the finish line, so I don't know exactly what my time was, but I'm guessing 27:20 or so. The final stretch was pretty traffic-y, so I didn't put on much of a final kick, but it wouldn't have shaved 30 seconds off anyway.
Oh well.
Apparently I didn't exhaust myself entirely, though, because I still had enough energy for a SPRINT to the porta-potty (if you gotta go...) and then I ran back to the finish line to look for Jeanne. The chute had backed up to about 15 feet before the finish line, and of course we hadn't discussed a place to meet if we missed each other at the finish line (we're smart like that) but a few seconds after I arrived, I saw her run in.
We wandered around looking for water (they were out) and oranges, found some shade and pretended to stretch, but mostly we chatted, and continued chatting all the way home. I bet you wouldn't guess from reading our blogs, but Jeanne and me? Not so much silent as, well, talkative, really. We have decided to run a 10K on Veteran's Day, so if anyone wants to come to the capital for the holiday weekend, we can provide chatter and good food and a 10K. It'll be fun.
Meanwhile, stay tuned for a new adventure in the athletic career of this blogger, who, in her usual dilletante manner has decided to take on a new sport: triathloning. Which is really three sports (you may have heard). I can already run (in a manner of speaking), and I feel oddly confident in my biking ability (despite not having tried it in a year), but the swimming part? That's going to be... a challenge.
For my birthday, my parents, who rock for many reasons, agreed to sponsor this new delusion, complete with a membership to the local Y (signed up yesterday) and a brand new serious person's swim suit (bought today, because frilly, flowery, girly bathing suits will NOT suffice for Naomi the Triathlete). And my work running buddy, who is far too cool to be my friend but seems not to have realized it yet, is going to teach me to swim. She swam competitively in college, and has also taught many a swim lesson, so she is quite confident that she can turn my flailing into efficient movement. Ha! She has no idea what she's getting into.
The first lesson is tomorrow morning. It's gonna be interesting.
Suffice it to say, at the race yesterday, there were cookies and fudge, a bit of running, a surprise second hill, and lots of crowds. We heard that they raised over $100,000 for the Red Cross, so that's just awesome.
There was also Jeanne who described me as just like my blog only more so, and I'm going to have to steal her words (business center=uncreative Naomi) and use them to describe her, because it's true.
We carpooled to VA (we're so eco-concious), met up with her evil pace group (one a scale of one to Supervillain, I'd say they're not quite Dr. Evil yet).
According to the press release, Tony Kornheiser was the race "starter" (Tim, who couldn't make it, was sorely disappointed to miss this chance to meet his fave ESPN er... commentator? (Tim, what does Tony Kornheiser do?)). We never saw (or heard) him, but we didn't manage to get a picture of Jeanne with James Carville.
Although this was my sixth race, this was the first time I'd be repeating a distance. Does that make any sense? I mean, I'd already run a 5K, so I had a PR to beat. Jeanne convinced me that she wouldn't mind if I ran my speediest, and so, with visions of glory, when the race began, I shot off.
If six races have taught me anything, it's to sprint like crazy until you want to die, and then shuffle painfully to the end. This is how legends are born.
Unless I'm lying.
Of course I'm lying. If six races have taught me anything, it's that I will never, ever learn, and I always start too fast. So after my initial burst of speed, I slowed down considerably, and ended up finishing around 27 ish minutes (PR: 26:39). I was fussing with the tear off part of my bib when I crossed the finish line, so I don't know exactly what my time was, but I'm guessing 27:20 or so. The final stretch was pretty traffic-y, so I didn't put on much of a final kick, but it wouldn't have shaved 30 seconds off anyway.
Oh well.
Apparently I didn't exhaust myself entirely, though, because I still had enough energy for a SPRINT to the porta-potty (if you gotta go...) and then I ran back to the finish line to look for Jeanne. The chute had backed up to about 15 feet before the finish line, and of course we hadn't discussed a place to meet if we missed each other at the finish line (we're smart like that) but a few seconds after I arrived, I saw her run in.
We wandered around looking for water (they were out) and oranges, found some shade and pretended to stretch, but mostly we chatted, and continued chatting all the way home. I bet you wouldn't guess from reading our blogs, but Jeanne and me? Not so much silent as, well, talkative, really. We have decided to run a 10K on Veteran's Day, so if anyone wants to come to the capital for the holiday weekend, we can provide chatter and good food and a 10K. It'll be fun.
Meanwhile, stay tuned for a new adventure in the athletic career of this blogger, who, in her usual dilletante manner has decided to take on a new sport: triathloning. Which is really three sports (you may have heard). I can already run (in a manner of speaking), and I feel oddly confident in my biking ability (despite not having tried it in a year), but the swimming part? That's going to be... a challenge.
For my birthday, my parents, who rock for many reasons, agreed to sponsor this new delusion, complete with a membership to the local Y (signed up yesterday) and a brand new serious person's swim suit (bought today, because frilly, flowery, girly bathing suits will NOT suffice for Naomi the Triathlete). And my work running buddy, who is far too cool to be my friend but seems not to have realized it yet, is going to teach me to swim. She swam competitively in college, and has also taught many a swim lesson, so she is quite confident that she can turn my flailing into efficient movement. Ha! She has no idea what she's getting into.
The first lesson is tomorrow morning. It's gonna be interesting.
posted by Noames at 3:56 PM
9 Comments:
Have a nice swimmy. Hey - what about jury duty?
You have the most creative, enjoyable blog posts I read! Keep up the great work!
a few seconds after you arrived ... my arse!!! More like seven minutes behind you, missy!! That was some kinda crush at the end. I'm gonna shave a few seconds off my time, cuz I swear it took at least a minute to cross the finish. What a fun day though!!
And yeah to you for entering the tri-world! Is it time for a name change? How 'bout "2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike race and 26.2-mile run vs. Naomi." (Oh so creative.) And Naomi wins!!
p.s. no more cookies left; fudge rapidly dwindling. sigh.
Welcome the tri-world, little one!
Good luck learning to swim!! Funny posts!!
I read a lot of running blogs (a very enjoyable part of my job) and I never know what to post in the comments when I enjoy one so much. So, I really enjoyed this blog. Thanks.
rock on chica!!!! you're a step ahead of me... i'm gunna stairstep my way up to a triathlon by way of a duathlon... (yeah. after this whole marathon thing is taken care of which... yeah. seems to be putting up a pretty big little fight, right as i was thinking i was in the home stretch. bahhh...) but i DID just buy my first official swimsuit for actual swimming (of which i havent done in...um...YEARS) that i plan to use um... one day?!
so...have fun!! i very much look forward to reading about your adventures (especially in swimming!)...
Good for you taking up such a huge challenge. You'll make a big splash in the tri world I'm sure.
I'll run the Veteran's Day 10K with you and Jeanne. Who I happen to know, by the bye. I ran that race last year - my first 10K. I'm hoping to leave last year's finishing time in the dust ...
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