The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Cincinnati

Hey all! Sorry for the delay on reporting my results. I'm experiencing home computer drama.

This will be a short update.

Exhibit A: Two different race paths. The official map differed slightly from the actual course. Please examine the following two links:
Course map

What we actually did

Exhibit B: My finish time was approximately 42:06. I say approximately because, despite electing to be a "competitive runner" during registration, there was no official timing device. Looking back, I can see how it might be impossible to chip time all 18,000 participants. That's like Cincinnati's Oktoberfest taking a jog at the same time. A lot of people. A lot of pink. I wore a blue long-sleeved tshirt. Oops!

I'm not thrilled with the time. If you use the official course map as a distance judge, my pace was nearly 14 minutes/mile. Boo! That number drops with the actual course map since it's a hair longer.

Exhibit C: The finish line was extremely anti-climactic. For non-survivors, there wasn't even a line to cross. They just ushered you off to the side. I know this run was for one very important cause, but couldn't they have put some kind of line on the ground? Meh.

I think that's all the exhibits I have. I'm in a bit of a running slump. I'm kind of discouraged at my lack of progress and the return of my leg pains. I ran yesterday evening, however, and returned to Week 4 of C25K; that went well. Whew. If it hadn't, there's a chance I would have pooped out on running for a while.

Okay, sorry for the poorly constructed post. I'm off to work!

Pink Ribbon Jitters

Tomorrow is the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and I'm oddly nervous.

Lovingly borrowed from the RFC website.

I think I'm mostly intimidated by the huge number of participants. Plus I'm getting to the point that I expect something of myself in these runs. My goals have expanded beyond "I just want to finish on my feet." Now that I've officially been disappointed in my 5K results, I'm worried about failure. (The Anderson Run to Remember ... I forgot to share the results but they weren't awesome. I didn't go above a 14 minute per mile pace, but I didn't improve either.) Stupid expectations.

Despite my fear of not meeting my own expectations and not improving, I'm going to set a goal. My BigK 5K pace was about 13:40. I'd love to hit 13 minutes per mile or less. It's kind of a big jump, especially considering my recent runs haven't been great. (I'm officially blaming the new shoes.)

So, think of me tomorrow morning. Send me happy leg muscle thoughts. Hopefully it will be as nice out as they're forecasting. And yay for long downhill finish. Also, if you'd like to donate, here's the link again. My sole donor is is probably getting a little lonely on the scrolling honor roll. =)

My donation link: http://rfccin.convio.net/goto/moretoloverunning

I'll check in after the run!

Vanity

Brace yourself--this blog's sole purpose is to show you how hot I am.

I'm a friggin' supermodel, people. Move over, Gabourey Sidibe! I have taken over the throne of the Blue Dress Queen!

Former Blue Dress Queen

Check ... me ... out!

Hate the shoes ... hate 'em. And who forgot to tell me to "hold it in"?

The true victory of this photo is the lack of side boob. Woot!

Me with the beautiful bride, Tara, and Mallory, my former co-workers.

Me and my plus-1, Adrienne, in the shark tunnel at the Newport Aquarium.

Okay, if you know anything about me, you know that I do not brag about photos of myself. Ever. I can find a million things wrong with each of these. In fact, I'm not a fan of the first one at all (I think most of the problems with the photo could have been fixed with better posture on my part. Ugh. And better shoes. And you can't see my legs, which actually look pretty good, when not topped with those heinous shoes.) Bah, anyway, as you can see, I pick and pick and pick.

But I'm going to look at these pictures from my friend Tara's wedding differently. I'm happy with them. I look at these--especially the headshot--and I'm happy with myself. I see a slimmer face, a more prominent neck, and slimmer arms than Gabourey Sidibe. I see the light of day coming through between my waist and my elbows. I see less side boob. I see the girls in their places and in a much trimmer fashion that before. I see that I don't look like as much of a giant next to Mal and the TINY Tara.

So, this working out thing works, it seems. I wish I was doing more than running and doing a DVD every week or two.

On that note, guess who is subjecting herself to boot camp again. No, I didn't re-up. I'm going to bring-a-friend day with my pal, Amy. I'm actually excited for a 5 a.m. jog on Wednesday. Woohoo!

Oh, and the running is going well. I ran with my running buddy, Caitlin, yesterday at Veterans. Caitlin "gave it hell" and I made my second attempt to lengthen my stride. Success for both of us! Granted, it was at a shorter running interval than Week 5 (somewhere between Week 2 and 3, actually), but it was good. I'll probably do the same tomorrow.

I'm doing the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure this Saturday. Hopefully I've gotten enough of a taste of the longer stride to impact my run Saturday. I just want to continue improving my times.

Okay, I'm afraid I'm not paying much attention to what I'm writing, so I'm going to leave it at that.

If you haven't run a 5K yet, what will it take to get you to do one? When will you be ready?

Beckey's Race for the Cure

On the eve of my next 5K (the Run to Remember at Beech Acres Park tomorrow evening), I signed up for yet another run. This one's a doozy though.

On Saturday, September 25, I will be participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. You know what this means, don't you? It means I'm fundraising! Wheeee!

Truthfully, I was hesitant to go this route because I so hate the feeling of guilt that comes with someone else's fundraising efforts and I'm not a fan of bestowing that guilt upon someone else.

But, I promise--right hand raised, crossing my heart--that you should in no way shape of form feel guilty or obligated to contribute to my fundraising efforts, especially if you are in no financial place to do so.

That being said, I am going to share my personal page in case you are looking for an opportunity to give. Yes, cancer is a terrible thing and fundraising helps find a cure. But there is no one that could possibly understand more how difficult it is to make ends meet without thinking about making donations.

So, here's the link: http://rfccin.convio.net/goto/moretoloverunning

Check it out. Sign up to run! Donate if you want to. Definitely think of me (sending happy breathing and not-sore muscle thoughts my way) on September 25.

And for those of you ladies who have gone running with me at some point ... I think it may be time to sign up for a 5K! This could be the one! =)