Peaks Island Road Race

The Peak's Island 5 miler is one of my favorite summer races. Unfortunately I've been unable to run it the past couple years because it conflicted with Tri for a Cure. So this year, I was extra excited to be able to do it again.

I biked the few miles from my house to the ferry terminal so I didn't have to deal with parking.

Good morning ferry boat

Part of what makes this event so special is the fact that it is on an island. It is a quick 15 minute ride from downtown Portland, but that 15 minutes on the water makes me feel like I am really getting away from the real world.

Another thing I love about this race is that it is small and low key. We were off the boat and had our numbers and shirts in no time. We took the 8:30 ferry and the race didn't start until 10:30, so we had some time to sit and chill and enjoy the views. In past years it was HOT on race day, but this year we got perfect running weather- in the 60's with clouds. In fact it got cloudier as we got towards race time. 

I haven't been doing any specific training since my marathon in Morocco. I've been running 3-4 times a week, with one speed session, and doing 20-25 miles a week. So I really had no expectations going into the race. I knew I wouldn't beat my PR of 37 minutes for this race, and was just hoping to keep my time under 45 minutes. 

I watched the kids' race (so cute!) and then lined up at the start. I was with a few friends, but we all decided to run our own races, so I slapped on my i-pod. The race starts on a slight uphill and then we quickly make a right hand turn and run down a hill. The first couple miles are along the water on the back side of the island. It is my favorite part of the course because there is always a nice sea breeze and the views are spectacular. 

I decided to just run at a comfortably hard pace. I mean if I paid for a race, I wanted to push myself a little, but I also wasn't prepared to really suffer in order to get an amazing time. I hit my first mile at 7:55 and my second in 8:13.

Around mile 2.5, we turned towards the middle of the island and went up the longest hill of the course. This slowed me down a bit and my third mile was 8:27. Because the road around the perimeter of the island isn't a full 5 miles, they have us do a little loop down and back between miles 3 and 4. It is nice to see the fast runners at the very front of the back and to get to wave to the runners behind you. However, this section also contains the steepest hill, so my 4th mile was my slowest at 8:27. 

In the last mile I just tried to stay strong and keep my body relaxed. The last half mile is straight down the main street of the island and I really picked it up here, thanks to the crowd support. I finished strong, but didn't go all out, with a last mile of 8:15. 

 I'm really pleased with my time of 41:47 (clock time). For some reason they didn't get my chip time, but my Garmin gave me a time of 41:15. Either way, I'm happy!

After the race they have free Shipyard beer at the Peak's Island Inn. Even though it wasn't a super hot day, that beer was goooooood.

After the race we headed across the street to get some lunch. I chowed down on a haddock sandwich with onion rings (omg I just recently rediscovered my love for onion rings and can't get enough) with views of Portland and Casco Bay. We didn't quite make the 1;45 boat, so we went for a nice walk after lunch admiring all the cute little cottages and gorgeous gardens. It is almost pretty enough out there to make dealing with the ferry all time worth it to live there. 

Today reminded me why I keep doing this race year after year. It's a fun race and a fun day!

What races do you do year after year? Why?

What's Up Wednesday

1. I am having a glorious summer
Much to my delight, my second summer semester turned out to be much easier than the first. So I've been spending long weekends up on Southport boating, kayaking, stuffing my face with fresh seafood, and gets lots of quality family time. At home during the week I've been going to a stand-up paddleboard meet-up, outdoor yoga, free outside concerts and movies, and having study groups at the beach. Summer may be short in Maine, but it sure is sweet.

Dinner with a view

2. I am loving my lab
Last semester in lab we mostly worked on the dummies because we were working on skills you wouldn't want to practice on a real person (like injecting meds and inserting a catheter). However this semester we are learning how to do a complete physical exam and so we get to practice on each other. Getting to see and hear and touch all this stuff for real is so cool! Last week we learned how to look back at the retina and see the optic disc, the macula, and the blood vessels. We also got to look into the ear and see the tympanic membrane. This week we are doing heart and lungs. I am totally geeking out- the human body is amazing.

3. I am still undecided on the fitness front

I've just been doing whatever I want for workouts- trying to get a decent balance of cardio and strength, but also just doing whatever appeals to me most that day. I am feeling the itch to train for something, but I just can't seem to commit to anything. Part of it is that my hip is still a bit iffy and I don't want to push myself into a full blown injury. Also, I just balk when I look at the price tag for the events I am interested in. I'd rather have groceries for a few weeks than do one race!

what to do when you wake up and it is hot and still? Go for a paddle!

What's happening in your world?

The Perfect Summer Beverage

You guys. It's summer! My course load this second half of the summer is lighter, so I have been taking full advantage of summer. I've been to the beach, spent lots of time on my boat, gone stand-up paddle boarding, done some outside yoga, and generally enjoyed the summer. 

I also made the most perfect summer beverage ever, so I thought I'd share.

For my 7 continent marathon party, my sister in-law, made an amazing watermelon mint sangria. Basically she pureed a bunch of watermelon and mint together and then added wine just before serving. After the party, there was a bunch of the watermelon mint puree left. I didn't want it to go to waste, so I froze in ice cube trays.

I am a terrible blogger and didn't take my own picture so I had to borrow one off the interwebs

Then, a few days later I tossed the frozen watermelon cubes into the blender and turned them into a delicious watermelon slush. I then, spooned the slush into some glasses and covered it with cold prosecco. 

Sweet, cold, bubbly. The perfect summer beverage. And watermelon is good for runners. It has vitamins A, B6 and C, lots of lycopene, antioxidants and amino acids. 

also not my image. Thanks Martha Stuart

What drink are you digging this summer?

Why are we so mean?

image source

Somehow last week I stumbled onto the website "Get Off My Internets." I've probably been living under a brick or something, but I had never heard of it before. I ended up on a page critiquing a whole bunch of blogs that I read.

I admit, I totally got sucked in and ended up reading different threads for more than hour.

The thing is though, that when I finished I felt awful. Criticizing someone else, or in this case reading other people's criticisms, didn't make me feel better about myself. I just wondered why we are so mean?

Why do whole websites exist to tear apart other people? Couldn't we use that time to do something productive instead?

I was thinking about this for the rest of the week when I stumbled upon this article.  A study found that just 8 weeks of meditation increased compassion and decreased meanness. Basically meditation decreased stress, which is a common cause of mean behavior. It gave me hope! Maybe we don't all have to tear each other apart?

If It Seems Too Good To Be True

I got all my medals from my 7 contents out to display at my celebration party. As I cleaned up, it occurred to me that it would be nice to have a nice rack to display them on, rather than just dumping them in the basement.

So I went to Amazon and did a search.

This was my first result.



And it was only $10.99.

That alone should have made me suspicious. Or I should have at least read all the specs. But I didn't, I just bought it with one click.

When it arrived, I saw why it was so cheap- it is tiny! It might be big enough to hold Barbie's medals, but it isn't big enough for mine.

shown next to my hand and a medal so you get an idea of the scale

So now I'm in the market for a medal display rack actually big enough to hold my medals. Any suggestions?

Life is Workout

I went up to my family's house on Southport Island for the 4th of July weekend. It was a fun weekend in the most beautiful place on earth (in my opinion).

Since the weekend included a lot of food and drinks, I was determined to get my exercise in. 

drinks on the boat as we waited for the fireworks

However I always finder it harder to get in quality workouts when I go "home." I don't have access to a gym, there is the temptation to sleep in and then sit around chatting with my family over coffee and breakfast. Plus, Southport is really hilly so running and biking are just harder. 

Friday, the hills crushed my spirit on my bike ride. I couldn't take more than 15 miles. Saturday my run was interrupted by the first annual Southport Fourth of July parade. Sunday the heat got to me.

Sushi in her tutu was the star of the parade

At first I was a little annoyed with myself for not getting in longer workouts. But then I thought about how tired I was at the end of each day. I may not have been doing formal exercise, but I was mowing the lawn, walking the dog, kayaking, swimming, and running around the yard with the kids. I was moving. My fitbit had me getting about 25,000 steps a day. As runners and athletes we get so caught up in our training plans and and logging our miles, that we forget that life itself can be a workout. Sometimes we have to let go of our plans and just get out there and have fun with our friends and family. You'll still get your exercise, but it might be a lot more fun.

What did you do over the holiday weekend?

Mid Year Check In

Holy Moly, I can't believe it is July 1st. This year is just flying by! I thought this would be a good chance to check in on progress this year.

In terms of distance, running was clearly my priority for the first half of the year.
I ran 646 miles, biked 223 miles, and swam 12,254 yards

My goal is always to run 1,000 miles a year and I am in good shape to make it. My yearly mileage tends to be front-loaded, as I marathon train in the winter and early spring. So, even though my running mileage dropped considerably in June (73 miles for month compared to 100+ for the first 5 months of year), I am confident I'll still hit 1,000. Originally I was thinking I'd also like to hit 1,000 miles for the bike, but I don't think that's very realistic. So now I'm aiming for 500 miles instead.

When you look at how my workouts break out by time, running still dominates by a considerable amount. Now that my marathons are over, and the warm weather is here, I'd really like to up those bike, swim, and strength percentages. In the chart below strength training is the dark purple and swimming is the light teal. 

How is your year going? Are you on track to meet your goals?