6 Months of Slacking... Sorta.

6 months?! 6 months since I've written an entry. And I promised myself that I would try to keep up... maybe even post something once a month. So obviously I've been slacking... at least on the blog writing. A lot has happened in the last 6 months, so I suppose a bit of a quick 'catch up' entry is in order!

January

The last time I sat down and actually wrote a blog entry. SHAME SHAME SHAME

Participated in the Jack Frost virtual Challenge put on by HMF... the only event I've ever been part of that had ways of converting other activities (Rowing, Yoga, Karate) into miles, so you could really rack them up if you picked a good activity.

February

Ran the Club Waka Happy Hearts Virtual 5k... got an adorable shirt, and supported the American Foundation for Suicide prevention at the same time.

March

Started off the month right by getting my first COVID-19 Vaccine Shot! Second shot followed 2 weeks later.

It felt nice to be part of the solution... REAL patriots get their vaccine!

Because of my Crohn's Disease I fell under the immunocompromised group of people who could be vaccinated a bit earlier. Getting the vaccine at my local vaccination 'mega-center' was a breeze. The efficiency of this place was mind-blowing... I honestly think it was on par with Disney World. They were vaccinating hundreds, if not thousands of people a day there. And I had minimal side effects to the vaccine, which was surprising considering it could have triggered a major flare for me. For both shots I had a sore arm, and felt a TINY bit fatigued. But overall I felt fine. I got off so easy on side effects that I've actually wondered if its working (just kidding, I believe in science and know that its doing its thing)! If you haven't done it already... PLEASE go get your vaccine. Protect yourself AND your loved ones with immunocompromised systems (like me)! I think we're all ready to put this pandemic behind us.

Beyond getting the vaccine, March saw my group of 'homies' back at it again when we signed up for the Virtual Lucky Challenge under the team name SHEnaniGAINS. Although we added up our miles running virtually by ourselves, we also found a day to get together and run the actual course for the O'Shenanigans Race. 

At what we could only GUESS was the approximate starting line for the race!

Starting and ending at Kinsman Brewery, we had a beautiful (if slightly chilly) day for the run. And I finally saw some results from all of the working out I'd been doing, when for the first time ever, I ran a 5k without slowing to a walk at any point on the course. I'm pretty sure I would have set a new 5k PR if this had been an officially timed race. Ah well... plenty more 5ks to come... and these will have finish lines!

Beer, Pizza, Medal... all we were missing was the actual finish line!

April

After living in New Jersey since October 2019, I was FINALLY able to run my first "official" race here! The Bridgewater Donut Chase 5k was a staggered start with masks required when not running, and it was a fun race. And I was so happy to get to run it with my amazing friend, Emily. It was her first ever 5K, and she absolutely CRUSHED it. Both of us were able to run the course without stopping, and I was SO proud and honored to be there when she crossed the finish line. Welcome to the 'homies' club, Emily!

They say running/exercising is easier with a smile, right?

Another first since moving to NJ for me happened in April: I finally set myself up with a Primary Care physician here. In all honesty, I just randomly picked her off a list, but I'm glad to say that I hit the jackpot: I never felt rushed, she listened to my concerns and dug deep on my experiences with Crohn's (and she can double as a gynecologist!). She DID offer to refer me to a local GI, but I let her know that I was sticking with Dr. Johnson... especially now that it's looking like virtual visits aren't going away anytime soon.

May

Speaking of Dr. Johnson, I had a virtual appointment with her in early May. She's pleased that I haven't been having any serious issues with my Crohn's, but gave me fair warning that we're already coming up on my next colonoscopy (UGHHHH). I promise not to go into TOO many details when that comes around. :)

May's live race was one of my absolute favorites... the Collinsville Classic 10K! They staggered the start in waves to avoid too many people on the course at once, and as long as you were running, a mask wasn't required. A group of us got together to run the beautiful course!

Angie, Aunt Kathy, Mandy (who is running 'for two' now, so exciting!), me, and Amy, all survived!

Look at those smiles! Its just so nice to be back to in-person racing!

And I once again saw the results of all my hard work, when I SMASHED my 10k PR by over 2 minutes. Just like the Donut Chase 5k, I was able to run the whole time without stopping... one slight exception being when I slowed down at a water station, but I quickly realized that my legs were going to freeze up if I stayed at that walking pace... so I picked it back up and didn't stop until the finish line. It was an absolutely amazing feeling!

June

For my next run, I'm not ashamed to admit that I couldn't run the whole time without walking... at least not a little bit. But in this case, it was more about pacing myself with a longer distance. The Newport 10 Miler was supposed to be a 2020 race that was pushed to this year. It was a beautiful course that definitely gives Surftown a run (ha, see what I did there?) for its money. The course started and ended in Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island, ran along the coast with some amazing views, and past the famous 'Newport Mansions'.

It was a bright, warm day... the course had very little shade unfortunately. But the breeze off the ocean made up for it!

10 miles in the books, and I somehow managed to look like I could keep going! I'm really trying out that whole 'running is easier when you smile' thing!

Here's my 'not-so-humble brag' for this race... I beat both of my sisters by over 20 minutes! 💪

If you look closely enough at the medals, you'll see that they're actually dated 2020, with the original date (May 31st) on the ribbon. The organizers had everything ordered and created prior to Covid, so the medals and t-shirts all say 2020 on them. I'm thinking of them as a collector's item at this point.

I finished the month of June off with another race in New Jersey... the Empanada 5k Trail run. Being a trail run, I wasn't expecting any PRs... its amazing how different it can be to run on grass/gravel/dirt as opposed to cement. Between the terrain, a hot/humid day (80° at race start), and the rolling hills, I didn't get a new 5K PR on this one. But I did get a delicious empanada, and I count that as a win!

July and Beyond!

So what's next? I've got another 10k in mid-July, and am currently signed up for 2 half marathons and another 10k before the end of the year. I'm positive I'll be adding more runs as they get closer. I need to find another 5k... I'm determined to make 2021 "the year of the PR". Hey, I may have been slacking when it comes to writing in my blog, but I've been making real progress with getting in shape and staying healthy, and that's what this blog is here to celebrate, right?

🎵Latest Running Jam: Shake Ya Boom Boom - Static & Ben Tavori🎵