FF Week 6 Stats

It's been a while since my last post, so this will be a long catchup entry. For those who want the cliff notes version, here it is:

• Fantasy football record thru week 6 - 4-2 (not bad)


• Baltimore half marathon - light rain and some shady spectators didn't stop me from setting a personal record. Oh, and I was able to walk just fine the next day, so that's progress!


• Girls night - taco's + milkshakes + catching up with the girls = good times


• Caps game - Uncle Ernie has some nice digs at the Verizon Center but could at least comp us for a drink or 2. And my sports fan theory is proving itself out - every time I root for loses!


• Komen 5k - Another weekend, another race, another personal best


• Holiday baking - Recipe #1 - apple pie (from scratch, of course). Nothing says the holidays are near like a delicious dessert and my kitchen looking like someone just dropped a bomb in it.

And for the extended, detailed version:



Fantasy football - Not much to say here other than I've only dropped 2 games so far, and both during bye weeks where I had to start multiple 2nd or 3rd stringers. That's a pretty good record to have, and picking up K. Faulk should improve my running game for the rest of the season, so here's hoping that at least my make-believe team will end up with a better record than the real-life teams I root for!



Baltimore half-marathon

I haven't trained as hard for these races as I really could, but I do my best and just tell myself that I've done that distance (or longer) before and can do it again. The Baltimore half was the weekend after the Army 10, so I hadn't really run all week since I hadn't stretched out too well after that race and was pretty sore. Still, I really wanted to finish the half because of the challenge and because I could also get another medal for doing the "double" (Frederick and Baltimore half marathons). So, I got up at 6AM, did some chores, and then scarfed down a bagel and fruit before heading to Ravens stadium at 7. I got there around 7:30 and avoided the massive backup at Russell Street by taking the next exit up to MLK and swinging around the stadium...then ended up sitting in the long line of cars on the quest for parking. My race didn't start until 9:45, so I had plenty of time to park and check out the end of the 5k race before making my way over to the start line. The race started on time, and the first 3 miles were pretty easy, with some rolling hills and generous downhills. By the time we rejoined the marathon course at mile 3, I was still feeling pretty strong. I figured I'd save my energy, though, for the end, and hit a water stop before approaching the big incline at mile 5. It was a steady climb for the next mile or so, and although I walked the first 50 feet, I ended up running the remainder of the hill because I felt an adrenaline rush and because it was a relay exchange point and I didn't want to crap out in front of all those people. By the time I got to the top of the hill, I was feeling really good and had passed a bunch of people. The rest of the course took us through some parts of Baltimore that I'd never been to before. Some neighborhoods were definitely nicer than others. The nice ones featured people cheering on the runners, playing music, and handing out goodies (gummy bears, pretzels, water, and beer!). The not-so-nice neighborhoods featured a hooker trying to cross the street (pretty sure that was her profession because nobody else wears shorts that short with fishnet stockings and stilettos), a junkie yelling encouragement, and a really pissed off lady leaning out of her window and yelling obscenities at the runners for waking her up. Ah, Charm City! The course concludes at Camden Yards and M&T stadium, and the last mile is really pretty energizing with all the people cheering on the runners and the final half mile that takes you through the stadiums. It was really a lot of fun, and the extra medal was just a nice (shiny!) bonus. It'll definitely be on my slate of races again for next year.



Girls' night - Liz and Anne were nice enough to come over to my house after the Half to hang out for a bit that evening, as we'd anticipated that I'd pretty much be crippled and wouldn't be able to make it down the stairs to my car. Surprisingly, I was in pretty good shape and was able to help with the taco's and milkshakes. After polishing off our overstuffed tacos, we caught up on work and gossip and a couple of episodes of Glee, which is my new favorite guilty pleasure. All in all, a great, relaxing night!



Caps game - Last Monday, the team went to the company box at the Verizon Center to see the Caps take on the Devils. I hadn't been to a hockey game in about 4 years, and the last time was also with a group from work and we got to use the company box. The main difference was that this time around, the entire arena was bathed in red and the fans were completely rabid. Not sure if DC's always been a hockey town, but I don't remember so many people being that into hockey before. The Caps lost in a shootout (just proving that if I cheer for a team, they will undoubtedly lose), but it was still a pretty exciting game and a lot of fun to watch. I even went out and bought tickets for a game next month, so I'm taking Beney and Melanie with me so they can also Rock the Red.



Komen 5k - This past weekend was the Maryland race for the cure, and the office women's initiative sponsored a team to participate. I ran the 5k race and shaved another minute off my time, so that was pretty good. It was cold and rainy but that was almost an incentive since it just made me want to get to the finish line faster. So, there's just one more race to go this month (actually, it's this upcoming weekend), and then it'll be a long layoff until the next races begin in the spring. Still, it's nice to end the running season on a high note of a pair of personal bests. We'll see how this weekend's MCM 10K goes (guess that'll also be a personal best since I've never actually raced that distance before).


Kitchen experiments - I make a trip to the farmers market almost every weekend, and this past weekend was an especially good trip since it was cold and raining and there were almost no patrons. The vendors were eager to unload as much of their produce as they could, so I got some good deals, especially on the apples. So with 6 pounds of apples, I decided to bake my first apple pie. Aside from a little (ok, a lot) of mess from the dough, it turned out pretty well. Now that I've got that crossed off my list, I can move on to the caramel apple pie (more advanced version of the classic), pecan pie, chocolate covered macaroons, pumpking pie, and cheesecake recipes that I've been meaning to try out. Good thing I've gotten into running...that should help to burn off all those extra calories.

4 Down, 3 To Go

I think that my addictive personality is starting to manifest itself in road races. I am in no way a disciplined runner, but for whatever reason I have been signing up for more and more races. I started the year with 4 races on the schedule, and it's turned into 4 races in the month of October alone. I've still got 3 races left this month, but last Sunday was the Army 10 Miler, which has so far been my favorite race. It's enormous (30,000 people signed up, 22,000 ran), the course is pretty easy (only gently rolling hills), and the course is scenic (goes past the DC tidal basin and major monuments). So, here's the rundown on last weekend's festivities.

Saturday was somewhat hectic with me running errands in the morning, then literally running (just a 5k to stay loose), and then more running...only this time to the DC Armory to pick up my packet. I drove to my parents house for the night since I could buy myself an extra half hour of sleep in the morning. There was also the added fact that both of my parents were going to go to the race with me. I got up the next morning at 5 and scarfed down a bowl of cereal. I woke my dad up at 5:30 by saying, "Wake up daddy. The US Army wants to make you breakfast. Don't keep them waiting." My dad was up and ready to go by 5:45. We were at the Metro station just after six, along with about a dozen other people. By the time we made it down to Metro Center to transfer over to the blue line to the Pentagon, the Metro stations were packed. We got to the Pentagon a little after 7:30, just in time to watch the parachute teams and catch the Blackhawk flyover. My mom insisted on taking random pictures of me and others warming up (my warm up consisted of a little stretching and then wrestling the d-tag onto my shoe). I attempted to escape the photo frenzy by telling her that she couldn't pass a certain barrier, but the overly-helpful soldier manning that post waved her through and insisted she could accompany me to the runners' corral. Eventually, I persuaded her to go with my dad to find some breakfast, and she rolled out.

At 8:10, the second wave started and I took off. It is quite a sight to see literally thousands of people take off running, and even though I hadn't trained properly (not even as much as last year), it was still enough to get the adrenaline going to get in a decent first 6 miles. I had bought a new watch specifically to help gauge my pace, and I was clocking in the 11-minute range, which was faster than I wanted to go, but I figured that would give me some cushion on the home stretch. The first few miles are probably the most impressive. Running over the bridge into DC, you get a great view of the Potomac, and as you progress over the next few miles, you run past the Tidal Basin and its monuments and the Kennedy Center. One of the runners had brought a small camera with him and was snapping pictures of the monuments and the general scene as he ran - great idea that I'll have to remember for next year! By mile 6, we were in the heart of DC, but the liter of water I drank that morning meant that I had to make a pit stop during the race. That was unfortunate, because it added at least 10 minutes to my time (no joke, it was a ridiculous wait for the bathroom, and while I could have put in another mile in that time, I wasn't sure where the next bathroom would be, so I waited). I eventually finished in a pretty woeful time, but I finished nonetheless and still enjoyed the experience.

Here's me with Dad, just before the start gun. Notice the backpack my Dad brought...he came prepared to raid the food and giveaway tents!














At the finishers area, I picked up the latest in my collection of shiny finishers coins, plus some food and a bottle of water. By luck, I ran into Beney, who had come to cheer me on. We stocked up on some more cookies and muffins and then headed off to find my parents. When we found them, my mom and dad had clearly gotten their money's (or at least my money's) worth of food and random giveaways. They each had 2 bags stuffed with things like hats, cookies, muffins, bananas, bottled water, chocolate milk, Power Bars, Larabars (coconut cream pie protein bars - YUM!), Army hats, Army t-shirts, half a dozen snackable-type lunch kits, and a DVD on how to become an Army officer (yeah, not exactly applicable to either of them, but hey, it was free!). I was thoroughly mortified when my mom proceeded to pull out all this loot on the lawn across from the Pentagon Metro station where we were hanging out while the crowd cleared. Mom then proceeded to show me the pictures she'd taken that day with my camera. She ran into the mayor of DC and took a picture with him, then proceeded to take pictures with the color guard, random runners with rainbow wigs, and just lots of other random people. Mom and Dad both said they're really looking forward to the Marine Corps 10K I'm running at the end of the month. I think they meant they're looking forward to all the swag!