Zombies, Halloween, Frankenstorm!

Well today was my first day back to work after a long wonderful 4-day weekend. Saturday morning, Mike and I participated in the Run For Your Lives Zombie 5K as zombies. (We initially signed up for this race in March, so I'm glad we followed our good feeling about the relationship.) We were up before the sun, again, for a running event, but this time we just got to scare people for 3 hours instead of running 6 miles. I thought the event was surprisingly well organized for being in the middle of nowhere outside of Baltimore with over 10,000 runners. The 5k was an obstacle course with runners being chased by zombies (us). If they lost all 3 of their flags, they were dead. Mike and I got our clothes all torn and messed up and then got makeup done. I'm pretty sure my makeup artist was recruited at the last minute to help push people through the queue (it was running behind schedule) as he just splotched dots of blood all over my face and called it a day. It was fuhreezing, but so much fun! I was the worst zombie ever and Mike was the best zombie ever. I could not keep a straight face hardly at all while going after runners, but I got better as the day went on.

Earlier in the day when I was incapable of keeping a straight face.

After the zombie race, we had planned to run in the 5k, but we were already exhausted from 3 hours of zombie-ing and I had hurt a tendon in my foot or something. Plus all of the runners had to swim through a river, crawl in a mud pit, and dunk in a pool at the finish and we had to get back to DC for a Halloween party and wouldn't have time to shower or clean off before getting in the car. Five Guys and frozen yogurt sounded like a much better idea so we did that instead. Tip: dunk your fries in the malt vinegar THEN in the ketchup.


Back in DC, we immediately started getting ready for the Halloween party hosted by Jeff, Mike, and Noah. Muttonchop Mike had no choice other than Wolverine so I had no choice other than Rogue.

Alex (Johnny Cash), Selena (Risky Business), and Moi.

Wolverine & Rogue and two awesome photobombers.

So on Sunday, there was this thing called the Frankenstorm to deal with. Luckily, it worked out to where I could spend the Hurricane having a Hurrication Party with the best people ever in NE. There was fondue, brownies, Netflix, and I had no work to do! Unlike people who are in school and can always do more work or read ahead, I got to do absolutely nothing except for reading for fun, cooking, and watching Netflix:) We did not even lose power once.

My sister in NYC was okay and, even though my family in NOVA just got power back this evening, I'm so grateful that things weren't worse here. My thoughts and prayers are with those who got the worst of Sandy.

Today, as evidenced by my out-of-character productivity, I was actually excited to get back to work. Let's hope that continues. Two more days till another weekend:)

Hashtags and Falafel

Bye Bye Debate Season

I will not miss debate season because the debates taught me anything. If anything, they taught me that apparently no one thinks they can win an election by being honest or genuine and that style>content. So what will I miss about debate season?

The Debate Crew. The first and third debates I watched at Alex's house with some of my favorite people. We ate, drank, laughed, and tweeted our way through the awkward. They also saved me a lot of fact-checking because my friends are smart;) Kylie and Adam made it up for the 3rd debate and I hadn't seen them in so long. It was wonderful. I would honestly not mind debates every week if it meant I also got to get together with this favorite bunch of people. Also for everyone wondering who came up with that brilliant hashtag #welcometocandyland, yeah it was yours truly. (You cannot tell me that you don't feel good every time someone favorites your tweet or uses your hashtag. It's the little things.) #nobabies2012 will always have the top hashtag spot in my twitterverse.

Running

An impulsive decision was made this past Saturday (after a Bodypump class that I talked the boyfriend into doing with me) that we wanted to run to Amsterdam Falafel. We had done it once before, but I think I whined less this time until we got to the huge hill leading to the main street in Adams Morgan. We walked back and I was so sore the next day, but I think it was worth it for falafel and to not have to drive through the city. 

Happy Hour Adventures

It was only fitting to go to my first after work happy hour with Kelly, my person. If you don't know what person means, then you didn't go through a Grey's obsession phase like I did in undergrad. Technically my first after work happy hour was with her boyfriend, Alex, at the Pug, but I drank diet soda and vented stress to him while he watched a DC United game so I don't know if that really counts. Kelly and I met at Union Station and she had white wine while I drank blood orange bellinis. We talked about all the things you talk to your person about when you haven't had person time in a while: families, dads, friends, work, money, relationships, 'remember when' stories, everyone who has gotten married or pregnant since we last spoke, and getting a house together.....the usual. Of course, we had to have an adventure getting back to NE after. It involved waiting for a bus, walking to meet another bus, me remembering I left my bag at the bar, waiting in line for a cab...I think Alex was relieved when we finally showed up. We were tired, but so happy and I suppose that's the point of a happy hour.

This Weekend

I am running a Zombie 5k this weekend. I will both be a zombie and running from zombies so that should be fun and/or terrifying. I also have to go to a Halloween party and dress up as something. I am still not decided between Rogue, Glinda the Good Witch, a cheerleader (I stole my sister's old high school uniform), or I don't know....I'm bad at the costume thing.

This Is How You Do a 10K

This past weekend, Mike, Kelly, Alex, and I roadtripped to West Virginia for a 10k race in Harper's Ferry. This was actually the first race I had signed up for since last December's Christmastown Dash and, despite the lack of training and 5am wake-up time, I was super excited. DC has no mountains so Fall here just doesn't have the same Fall feeling that being in the mountains brings. Well, we were definitely in the mountains.

The Oatmeal Bowl: I was trying very hard to be extra prepared for the race so I may have made an entire giant bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter, milk, and raisins to take along with us in the car. It was not in tupperware or anything. I seriously just rolled up to their car with a bowl of oatmeal in tow. Pretty silly after realizing Kelly and Alex had packed bagels and cream cheese, but I ate all of my oatmeal for the whole grains which would keep me full and energized far into the race! I may have been made fun of, but I think my pace speaks for itself:)

Backseat kids so excited to be up at 5am!

Even though we gave ourselves extra time to get to the race by leaving super early on Saturday morning, we were a little stressed out when Alex's GPS stopped working due to lack of cell service and  the race organization's instructions seemed like they weren't really written for people coming from out of town. Oh well, we made it to the starting line, woke ourselves up a little more in the 30 degree weather, and I had time to chug some coffee down quickly before the race began!

Me chugging coffee while Alex gets pumped up.

Also crucial to this entire day was each of us downloading a playlist that Mike had made for the group so we could sync it with our run. That way, even if we got separated with our different paces, we would still feel like we were running together. (We had a few close calls where we thought one of us had downloaded it incorrectly, but we all managed to get the entire playlist.) Running to a synced playlist has been on my to-do list for a while now so I was extremely excited for this!

Harper's Ferry 10K Epic Mix:


Theme from Requiem for a Dream       6:31  
We're All In This Together               3:56 High School Musical  
Born To Run                                       4:32 Bruce Springsteen
Be A Man                                       3:30 Mulan
Chariots of Fire                               3:34
Eye of the Tiger                               4:11 Rocky
Run This Town                               4:36 Rihanna and Kanye
I Ran                                               3:57 A Flock of Seagulls
Shake It Out                                       4:38 Florence + The Machine
Go the Distance                               4:33 Michael Bolton
Stronger                                               4:26 Kanye West
Time is Running Out                       3:56 Muse
I'll Run                                               3:49 The Cab
Neverending Story                               3:41 Limahl
Survivor                                               4:09 Destiny's Child
We are the Champions                       3:11 Queen

I obviously was the one who suggest the Flo-Flo song which had been perfectly placed because I hit it almost halfway through my race. The Cab's "I'll Run" was a complete surprise to me. This was the first hit song from a band I showed Alex when we were in undergrad.....one of the few bands I have actually introduced Alex to rather than the other way around:) I almost mentioned adding this song to Mike, but figured no one would have it. Thankfully, Alex suggested it! It's one of my favorite running songs and it came on while I was in my last mile. I crossed the finished line as that song ended:)

Impressions Before and During Race: It was a GORGEOUS course. It was more cold than any of my training runs in DC (under 40 degrees the whole time). I was wearing fleece leggings, a tank top, a long sleeve shirt, and a running half-zip. I got hot on top about a quarter through the race, but just rolled up my sleeves.

Results: This is the link to the results website where you can view the full results. I got 5th place in my age group (20-29...hard to believe I'm right in the middle of that) out of 66 women! What is really interesting/funny is that Mike also got exactly 5th place in his age group (20-29 males). I averaged 8:22/mile which I believe is faster than my pace in any other previous race. Mike averaged 7:43/mile. I definitely ran more than him leading up to the race, but I'm telling myself he is just naturally talented at...everything....so I shouldn't feel bad. :)

Team Harper's ferry 10k Roadtrip:) Reppin WM and DC!

KELSEY HUTCHESON

DIVISION:  10K

Gender:  F         Age:  25

Finish Time:   51:53.5

Pace:    8:22

Age Rank:    5 F-20 to 29

Impressions After Race: I attribute my awesome race time to the amazing playlist (I've always said with the right playlist, I would run forever), to really great racing company, to the cold (makes you want to run faster to keep warm, I think), to great scenery, to the caffeine I drank right before running, and to the oatmeal I had for breakfast of course.

Immediately after the race, we were directed to free pizza, bagels, bananas, oranges, and drinks courtesy of the racing organization. I didn't eat pizza because I just felt I couldn't stomach it, but I had two Panera bagels (they had cinnamon crunch!). Also, we immediately sought out our free beer from the beer garden offered after the race. It was hosted by a Bavarian-style in on the top of a hillside in the area with a crazy good view of Harper's Ferry. I got a Bud Light because I couldn't think about drinking a darker beer right after a race and because the Bud Light guy seemed nice. The sun toasted me back to post-race warmth levels and sitting on that hillside drinking beer in the sun with endorphins flowing through my blood was seriously one of the most peaceful and rewarding moments I have in my memory. It made the 6 miles so worth it.

Step 1) Register. Step 2) Beer.

After the race and driving back to DC, we obviously we were all dead, but we had managed to run 6 miles and chase them with beer before noon! I felt like I didn't have to do anything because I had already been so productive. (Note to self: You should do the waking-up-super-early-to-run thing more. I know you won't. But you should.)

Mike, Kelly, Alex, and I already have our eyes set on our next race. A Tower of Terror 10-miler at Disney next Fall?!?! Guess I'd better start committing to those morning runs.

Much-needed weekend of rest coming up. Hope everyone has a great one!

What I'm Thankful for this Thursday

1) Gray, dreary fall days. Kim took this picture of me after the Trucktoberfest we went to in September. It was obviously not cool enough for Fall yet, but it was starting to get dreary. Any other time of the year, gray/dreary days make me emo and tired. They still make me tired in the Fall, but I love the color mix of bright leaves and gray skies in the Fall, especially when wet leaves are matted to the ground like the aftermath of a party. It feels like someone laid out a confetti path for you to run or walk on.

Town Mouse.

2) Sharing meals.  Over a week ago, I was randomly invited over to Mike's house for Brie burgers with caramelized onions (cooked outside on the grill) and cheesy scalloped potatoes. When I went home this past weekend, I cooked Shauna's recipe from her book and it turned out amazing! Although, I think it could have been better if it wasn't my first time cooking meat. Rick (my stepdad) stepped in to help me at the last-minute and also sent me back to DC with a care package of soup and brownie mix! The Monday after I got back into the city, Mike and I went to a Columbus Day dinner party at his friend Margaret's where she served sweet potato casserole and  cheese fondue (I cut the apples!). There is something about preparing and sharing food with others that I think brings people together and I've recently become very thankful for those moments because they are something very special.

3) Les Mills classes. When I went home, I had the opportunity to go to BodyPump and BodyFlow after not having been able to do fitness classes for a while. I think sometimes you don't realize how much you've missed something until you get to experience the rush of it again. The BodyFlow class I took (Les Mills version of tai chi/yoga/pilates combo class) featured "Somebody that I Used to Know", "Paradise", "Shake It Out", and "Your Song". I could not have picked a more perfect playlist if I had choreographed the class myself and I am certain that was a sign to find time and money to fit these classes back into my own life.

4) Boyfriends who know what they're doing. The closet story: You know when Mr. Big gives Carrie her own huge closet or buys the house with it or something? Well, my boyfriend built me a closet. When my plastic costume rack posing as a closet broke, I was just like "Wah, we can't fix it" and Mike the Builder was like "Yes, I can". Then we went to Home Depot where he picked out all of the things that we needed like:  raw materials! Like screws and wood and stuff. And then I went upstairs to cook a frozen pizza because that's the only thing I felt like I had control over in the moment. Even when I came downstairs and did my best to distract his building project, I found out I had a brand new walk-in closet with space enough for all of my things!:) The tire pressure story: Believe it or not, this same man also found it in his heart to assist me with a chore I'd been complaining for the past 2 weeks I did not know how to complete: filling up my tires with air. It involved two things I didn't have: a tire pressure gauge and quarters. We went to Auto Zone for the gauge and to a gas station where he swiftly fixed all of my tires and did his best to give me a tutorial at the same time. He even let me take the caps off the tire thingies where you put the air in so that I felt useful!

Yay!

5) Nice parking attendants/drivers. The plan was to go to another Les Mills class on Columbus day and keep my workout streak alive, but I got a little too confident in my city navigation skills and could not find street parking downtown anywhere. I guess I should have known considering the Gold's Gym was right near the Capitol Building. I opted for a parking garage thinking either they wouldn't charge because it was a holiday or they couldn't charge that much considering I was only going to be there for one class. Right? Wrong. It was $16.00 for an hour and 15 min when I left the garage. The parking attendant was actually super nice and, upon seeing I was distraught to pay that much, explained how that is the way that the business makes its money and so on. Even if it still pained me to pay that much just to park somewhere, having someone just empathize takes a little bit of the sting out of it. Also, DC drivers never ever let you in when you are driving and need to merge in front of them, but today a man saw me and let me go in front of him and I really appreciated that.

6) Yard sales. I spent $10.00 in cash at a yard sale when I was home and got 2 gorgeous pillows, a side table, a toothbrush holder, a trash can, a mirror, and a shirt. Also the other day when I was running with Mike, I also found a table! Yay for yard sales.


7) Music. I have not had a lot of time to listen to a ton of new music lately, but I plan on changing that. Other than working out, I think listening to music is the thing which has the strongest positive effect on my mood. It is even harder to separate the two when you consider that I'm often listening to music while working out. Lately I've been into Mumford and Sons' 'Babel', rediscovering Coldplay's 'Mylo Xyloto' that I didn't care for when it came out, and putting Bon Iver on repeat while I'm at work. I have also weirdly been into watching The Voice on television, though I can' remember the last time I watched a singing competition show.

8) This Weekend. This weekend hasn't even happened yet. However, Mike, Kelly, Alex, and I are running a 10k in beautiful Harper's Ferry and I already know I will be incredibly thankful for surviving those 6.2 miles:)