Taste of Vienna & Georgetown

Howdy peeps !!

 

 It was a beautiful weekend & I had to get out and do something. I really wanted to sign up and go run at the Manassas Runway 5K/10K race but I decided against it. I knew that if I signed up I would try to go all out making an attempt at beating my last years time which would have been quite difficult since I hadn't run in over 2 weeks. I made the right choice because I need to ease back into running so I do not re-aggravate my hamstring or any other muscles behind my knee.

Anyway, I ended up going out with a couple friends ("M" & "J") to a Taste of Vienna & Georgetown on Saturday.

This was the 3rd year that the Vienna volunteer fire department has hosted it. All the proceeds go directly to the fire department. It's a great way for the community to come out & see some of the local businesses.

It was very easy to find and we got lucky and found a parking spot practically across the street. They had a live band playing & had a tent set up selling alcohol tickets. We decided to split the price for 5 drink tickets so we each had a margarita. I also tried a dark beer later on that I never finished because it was pretty strong & kind of bitter tasting.

They had a nice variety of local restaurants to sample from. I decided to try out some fish tacos with chips & guacamole from Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar. The guacamole was good & I especially love eating it with the fried plantain, yucca & malanga. I guess it adds more uniqueness over eating it with just the standard tortilla chips.

We walked around some & checked out the other tents. We stopped at one that was selling imported dates. The owner buys a huge selection of dates from all over Saudi Arabia. We got to sample a few & I ended up buying a small bag of Ajwa dates. I love eating dates so it didn't take much to get me to buy a bag.

We took a few pictures & decided to go get a cupcake Georgetown Cupcake in DC. We got to Georgetown and saw that the line to get into the front door was 2 blocks long! We took a selfie group picture in front of it instead.

crazy long line to the door

We did a decent amount of walking & window shopping. We had a fun time in Dean & Deluca's. Luckily I brought my camera with me & had fun snapping pictures of miscellaneous things from the cute little decorated cookies to us goofing off in the wine section.

We finished our night with dinner at Mike's American Grill and future plan to definitely get a salted caramel cupcake at Georgetown Cupcake for "M" before she moves to Texas later this summer.

C&O Canal Towpath before the sun was setting

Until next time.......:D

White House Easter Egg Roll

 

On Monday my friend "J" and I took our boys downtown to the Easter Egg roll. She was able to score some tickets online about a month ago & asked if I would like to bring my little one. Of course I  thought about this said yes. How often do you get to go on the White House grounds????
That morning I got myself ready & I ironed little guys shirt. We planned on arriving at J's house at noon. The plan was to drive there and park in the Reagan Building underground parking garage & just walk over to the White House. I got a text message from J in the morning saying she couldn't find the printed tickets after searching for them everywhere. "Uh-Oh", needless to say we were in full panic mode. We decided just to drive there and see if they would let us in with her printed confirmation sheet. We arrived about an hour early which left us plenty of time since our time slot was 2:30-4:30. We got in line with everyone else and after standing in line about 20 minutes we saw a lady outside of the fenced area asking people if they had extra tickets & people were freely handing theirs over. J spoke up and said if you have any extra we will take them & she managed to get 3 tickets. We just needed 1 more before our line moved to the security tent, the lady behind us was kind enough to ask people in line further back if they could spare an extra ticket but without any luck. When our row was called up to the security tent, we were just about to go explain our "ticket-less" situation when the same lady that tried to help us earlier was calling out to us. She found us another ticket! Holy cow I was so happy & I had to give her a hug. We were in & in utter disbelief that we pulled that off.

After going through security they put an orange colored bracelet on your wrist, the color determines what time slot your in. We were given a plastic bag which had a brochure, activity book & schedule of events. There were some photo opportunities with Mario & Luigi, a Nascar race car, as well as, a few games the kids could play. Once you got through that area, there was yet another line you had to wait in before entering the White House grounds. They had people dressed up as Angry Birds with a DJ to entertain us while waiting. We waited in that line for about 30 minutes.

Entering the South lawn was a sight to see, there were so many people everywhere but what struck me is how big the White House really is up close. I never really paid much attention to it's size because I have always seen it from so far away.

 

 

This years theme was "Hop into Healthy, Swing into Shape". The first thing we did was to get the kids in line for the egg roll, which I think was a good idea. There were 2 different lines & the one we picked was not too long. We just happened to pick the best line too because it brought us right up close to the White House.

 

 

After the Egg Roll the kids did an NFL type of mini obstacle run which they both seemed to enjoy.

At the "Eggsperiment Zone" they had several tables set up with various activities from crafting to experiments. They did some experiments with objects that sink or float & they also made their own boats which they got to test in a tub. My little guy was so happy that his was still able to float after dumping it with 3 Dixie cups filled with beans.

We also saw Ariana Grande perform. I have to admit I had no idea who she was but was quickly given the 411 from J's son.

 

 

Upon exiting, the kids were given a green wooden Easter egg with the President & First Lady's signature. It was definitely a fun filled memorable day :)

Until next time ....:D

Saying Goodbye

I had to make the hard decision this past weekend to put down our beloved cat named Charm. This blog post is dedicated to her. She was the first cat I had ever owned. I always grew up with dogs & had no desire to own a cat but after the begging &  pleading from my then 4 year old daughter who we will call "S" I gave in and we adopted her. 

She was so cute and tiny, she looked like a small white cotton ball with black specks. She was named after one of S's favorite cereals Lucky Charms. When we adopted her, we were sharing a house with my brother and his beagle named Lucky so it was only fitting to have a Lucky & Charm in the house.

She sure was a funny cat and had some quirky behaviors. Sometimes she would lay on her side with her head next to her water bowl & reach over with her paw and just tap the surface of the water & then bring her paw to her mouth to lick the water. When she was a young adult cat she would lay on the stair steps between the main floor and bedrooms & if anyone stepped on the step that she happen to be on, she would reach out and grab your legs and try to "play" bite your ankles as you went down. I wasn't sure half the time if she was playing or seriously mad at you for invading her space. She loved to be combed. Whenever she'd see someone holding her brush, she would come and do circle 8's between your legs just waiting to be combed. Once the combing began, the loud purring would follow. If I couldn't find her & she was a no show when called by her name, then that usually meant only one thing, that she was sunbathing. Oh how she loved the sun, nothing could get her to move once she found the right spot. She was smart & she had her mischievous side too, she knew not to jump on the table, couch or kitchen counter until she had the house all to herself.




sunbathing in progress

When we got a couch set from my parents a few years ago we wanted to keep the dog and cat off of it. We tried everything from covering it with plastic to placing strips of tape on it but nothing would deter her. I'd pull into the parking space after work and as I walked up the steps, I could spot her looking out from behind the blinds in the front window. As soon as we'd make eye contact her little head would disappear & I knew she was up to no good. I'd walk in the house and there she was stretching her legs out on the hard wood floor trying to look all innocent. I'd go and check the spot on the couch that looked "ruffled" and sure enough it would be nice and warm from where she was sleeping.





Charm with her sister Dakota




relaxing in her bed

I could go on and on with funny stories about her but this would turn into a very long post.

I just want to say thank you Charm. I was blessed to have had the privilege of spending 14+ wonderful years with you my furry friend & companion. You will be greatly missed. I know one day we will meet again when it's my turn to cross that rainbow bridge. Save a seat stair step for me because we will have lots of catching up to do when we meet again.

R.I. P. Charm (1999-2014)

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler race recap

Yesterday I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. Even though the course was very crowded & I did not set a PR (personal record) I still love this race. This is the 2nd year I've run it & I am hoping that I can make it into the lottery again next year.
I decided to go pick up my race packet on Friday instead of Saturday. I met up with my friend "M" from our running club and we rode together. We had lunch at Pentagon City mall and then headed on the metro into DC where the expo was being held at the National Postal Museum. The nice thing about this location is that as soon as, you get off the Metro & ride the escalator up to the street you end up directly in front of the building. I was bit surprised to see a line about half a block long waiting to get into the building, but it moved very fast.

 

The expo was nice it had the typical vendors you see at most race expos. What I enjoyed the most was seeing friends from our running club there either working at the vendor tables or just there to pick up their packets. I even met someone in person for the first time who's in one of the triathlon groups that I belong to on Facebook. 

 

 

I went home and couldn't decide what to wear on race day. The temperature was going to be a bit chilly but not chilly enough to wear long sleeves, I hate it when that happens. I ended up deciding to go with long running pants, a short sleeved blue shirt with pink arm warmers & a throw away jacket for when it got too hot.

 

On race morning I woke up at 4:15. I would have normally hit snooze button a few times & slept in a bit longer but I was picking up 6 other people & had a schedule to follow. So when my phone went off I got up the first time. Amazing how that works when other people are counting on you.

 

After picking everyone up we headed over to the Metro station. I was going to chance it and just drive downtown but I was too worried that we might not find parking so I ended up playing it safe & using the train. It was not very crowded which kind of surprised me because the last time we took it we were packed in there like sardines. It was because the last time we went was for the Marine Corps Marathon which is a huge race by comparison.

We got to our stop at 6:40am leaving us 5 minutes to meet up with some other ladies in our running club (Moms Run This Town) for a group picture. Luckily it was at the Smithsonian Castle which is a few steps from our stop. There were a lot of ladies from various chapters around the area there for the picture. We did one big group picture & then took another one of just our local chapter. We decided to make our group picture a little more "wild".  After that we went to the corral to line up.

 

 

 

 

We got to the start area and it was already pretty full and it was hard to see where exactly to get into the corral. They fenced off the corral area which is ok but when you have hundreds of people standing around it makes it nearly impossible to see where an opening is. We eventually found an opening but people were just line up all around it so we just waited & when the crowd started moving we were able to squeeze in.

We managed to get a group selfie picture just before crossing the start line.

 

 

I ran with the group for about 1/2 a mile then I kept finding myself running ahead and slowing down to stay with the group but I just couldn't stay at their pace. I had to keep going, I can't explain it but it's hard for me to maintain a slower pace. For some reason it actually feels like I am doing more work & exerting more energy. I know that sounds completely strange & weird. We just agreed on a place to meet at the finish in case we all got separated.

I continued on and tried taking pictures along the way. I saw Woody, the mascot for the Wilson Bridge Half Marathon race, giving waves & high fives to runners on the Memorial Bridge.

 

 

 

I was starting to get really hot so I took my jacket off and ran with it for awhile before pitching it to the side of the road. After tossing it, I was running behind this girl who was keeping about the same pace. I just had to take a picture of her shirt. I was thinking to myself that I need to repeat this to myself as soon as I feel like walking.

 

 

 

I got to about mile 5 & saw my friends wonderful husband David holding up a sign & cheering as I went by. That gave me was such a boost!

 

 

 

 

Just past mile 7 I walked for a bit and drank some water & took a GU. I picked up the salted caramel flavor a couple weeks ago after hearing from everyone about how good it tasted so I tried one and it was pretty good. I tried to run again and made it about a mile before stopping at the medical tent. They had a nice supply of Tylenol & I took 2. My knee was hurting pretty bad. The last 2 miles really sucked. It primarily consisted of running & walking. About half past mile 9 is small hill you have to climb to the finish. I ran it at a very slow pace & I could hear the sounds of the finish line band getting louder & as soon as the finish line was in sight, I picked up the pace. I didn't want to look like the walking dead (even though that is how I felt) for the finish line camera man. I finished, grabbed a bottled water & went to collect my medal & my checked bag. I got a text from my friend saying that they had crossed the finish. 

 

 

 

We all decided to go get a post race treat at the Bayou Bakery in Arlington, VA. I enjoyed drinking my cappuccino & eating some beignets with some fabulous company.

 

 

Overall a good way to end the race.

Until next time .....:D

 

 

 

 

First Triathlon 3-30-14

I am finally doing my race recap while it is still semi fresh on the brain. This recap may be a bit long...

Sunday I did my first Triathlon, the Tune Up Tri by Tri It Now events. It's a very short distance tri that seems to be geared more toward beginners. Your typical triathlon order is swim-bike-run, but this one is done in reverse order run-bike-swim. They do this because it is so early in the season & a wee bit chilly to be running/biking while still wet. You're last leg of the race is swimming 8 laps in the indoor pool to the finish.

I did not do much training for this because I knew the run & bike would be easy for me. I did (at most) about 6 practice swims at my gym. I decided to try to just run & bike at a faster pace to get a decent time & to swim as best as I could. I knew my swim time would take a serious hit but if I had a decent run & bike time then my overall time would average out (at least I hoped that would be the case).

On Saturday I picked up my race packet. In the bag was the bib, bike bib w/twist ties (not sure exactly what its called), a GU gel pack & a Power Bar. The packet pick up was a very easy smooth process, they had a table next to the packet pick up table with brochures, coupons etc. & next to that was a map of the race course. While looking over the map I met a couple ladies (forgot their names) and we started talking about the race & it was their first triathlon as well. This made me feel better knowing that I wasn't the only "newbie". They mentioned they run races, so of course I gave a shout out about our running club (Moms Run This Town) & invited them to join. I went home and started to lay my race attire out so it would be smooth sailing in the wee hours the next morning.




Tri Flat Mama

I had a good nights sleep surprisingly & woke up with no issues. I got a text from my friend "J"  letting me know it was windy & pouring rain. "Oh lovely" was my reply.

On my way to the race I stop to get coffee at Starbucks & it's still windy & pouring rain. I finally get there at 6:30 park the car and go inside to get my timing chip and wait in line for body marking. I met up with my friend & running buddy Jamie. After getting body marked, we racked our bikes and went in the gym for some pre - race announcements where I ran into another friend Tiffany. Due to the weather they had to change the run course since part of it was on grass & because of the rain it would be a mudfest.

The race started a bit late due to the changes. The run was not hard, it started on the street for a little over half a mile and then you ended up running on a sidewalk for the remainder of it. It wasn't that bad, just a bit of congestion & trying to avoid water puddles here and there. It ended up being about 1.6 miles.
I entered the transition area and debated on putting on my cycling shoes or skipping it and just riding with my regular running shoes. I ended up skipping since it was only a 4 mile ride. The ride was not as easy as I had expected, I battled some major headwinds which wore me out. I was totally NOT prepared for how windy it really was. Now I have cycled 4 miles many, many times on flats, hills & wind without any problems but this wind was crazy wind. I just kept pedaling counting in my head (1-10 over and over) & telling myself keep going. As soon as I got to the turnaround where the wind was on my back I hauled BUTT & was able to actually finish the bike portion in a decent time.

Transition from bike to swim was very easy. I racked my bike, took off my long sleeve shirt, socks, shoes and grabbed my goggles and ran to the building to get to the pool. Let me just say it was freezing cold running outside barefoot in your trisuit. More power to those people who do the polar plunges, because I do not see me ever doing one. I finally make it to the pool only to realize that I forgot to grab my swim cap. Oh well, too late. I jumped in and the first thing that comes to mind is this water is very warm. All those days in the gym pool practicing the freestyle stroke suddenly went "bye-bye". WTH is wrong with me?? it was like I had completely forgotten how to do it. It was the weirdest feeling & for some reason I only felt comfortable doing the breast stroke so that is what I did for all 8 laps. I am sure my time would have been better if I just swam using the freestyle stroke. This will be something I need to work on for my next tri.



blurry post race photo

Overall I enjoyed myself despite the awful weather. I don't believe I have caught the triathlon bug yet but I do see myself trying to do another one in the near future. Next up is the Cherry Blossom 10 miler this weekend.

Until next time......:D