Goals for 35. Ack!

I will begrudgingly admit it... A little over a week ago, I turned 35. This one was easier than 30 because I was not miserable and pregnant.

I planned a couple of goals already for this year. I have signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon and committed to do the DC Ragnar again.

I want to successfully complete a couple of Coursera classes. I'm signed up for a Genetics class and an Evolution class. I think I can use information from those classes in the ones I teach for the Kids on Campus program.

Chip registered me for The 9/11 Heroes Run 5K in September. It's in the afternoon, but I'd like to shave off a little time from my previous race.

I might do the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler and Maryland Half Marathon again in the spring. I would love to run the Ragnar Trails Appalachian Relay in June to cap off my year.

Do you make plans and goals when you have a milestone birthday?

Free verse for a trail run

Down a trail
Past the chirping cardinals
Over the stream
Listening to the Wood thrushes and Towhees singing
Watching the rabbits nibble
Seeing a butterfly flit past
Avoiding the singing cicadas
Racing the Goldfinch
Praying the Red fox is somewhere else today
Graceful as a the Great Blue Heron landing in the pond
I went for a run

My review of Drenched 5K

I won a free entry to Drenched 5K from Her Happy Balance. I'm glad I only paid for my son's t-shirt. I won a free entry and was highly disappointed in the race and the customer service prior to the race. My code didn't work twice and apparently 48 hours is a "reasonable response time" for an email. The race was not well-organized. The t-shirts are nowhere near as nice as the ones pictured in all of the ads. Parking was a nightmare for those who arrived within 30 minutes of the race. It started late because of the water trucks arriving late. The waves of people should have been more spread out to avoid bottlenecks. The mud and rocks didn't bother me, but I did expect more stations of water things. Where were the misters? We were in the second wave and waited over 30 minutes for the slip and slide, which is the event my son was most excited about. When we reached the finish line, it was chaos where the water balloon fight was supposed to take place. I'm glad we had decided not to participate. All of this being said, my son enjoyed himself a lot and that was the point. I would not recommend this race in the future unless the sponsors became more organized.

I will post pictures later.

Running in the rain

It's summer. In this area, it means we get lots of rain. I don't generally run in the afternoon because we get thunderstorms, but I have been known to run in the rain in the morning.

Saturday, I'm taking my oldest son to do his first race: Drenched. This is a water race, so we might as well be running in the rain. Here are a few of my favorite tips for wet conditions.

Wear the lightest, quickest drying running clothes you have. I refuse to run in anything other than light shorts and a light shirt in the rain. If I was skinny, I would wear just a sports bra. If I was a guy, I would probably just wear shorts.

This is the time to break out your widest-brimmed running hat. It'll keep the water from dripping in your eyes. Essential when you wear contact lenses like I do.

Vaseline on your feet under your socks. Puts a little bit of a barrier between you and the wet socks and shoes. Might make you a little more comfortable in the long run.

If your intention is to stay dry, wear a raincoat or cut holes for your arms and head in a garbage bag.

Body Glide is your best friend. You will chafe in places you didn't know existed if you are running in the rain.

Run "naked". Don't wear any electronic devices like your GPS watch or cell phone. If you absolutely MUST have them with you, put everything in Ziploc bags, stow them away, and don't bring them back out until you're done.

Be careful during the run. I have been known to trip and fall when it's dry out, so I have to be extra careful when it's wet or icy. Oh, those annoying yellow safety bumps they put in crosswalks, even more dangerous during the rain.

When you are done with the run, stuff your shoes with newspaper. This helps them maintain their structure and to dry faster. Nothing is worse than going out on your next run and finding that your shoes are still wet and feel really weird because the shape isn't the same as it was before.

Enjoy and feel like a hardcore runner! It rained at about mile 9 during my last half marathon. It was rather refreshing and enjoyable. I actually like running in the rain.