Utility Belt Boy and iFitness

My friend Chris was searching for a belt like device to carry his "stuff" in, while he ran....especially longer runs and races. We searched at our favorite store TrySports but apparently the last belt like that in the store had been sold that morning. Dang.

So imagine the happiness that was felt when we got to the Cooper River Bridge Run Expo to find a plethora of such devices. There were several different vendors with cool packs that would carry his iphone, ipod, nike sport kit, money, ID, credit cards, etc. He settle on a neat looking pack that had 2 pockets (one with an inside credit card pocket), it was like a sea blue color. On the morning of the race he put on his belt and found that one of the zippers didn't work....it stayed open. Bummer, but at least he had the other pocket and was happy with that at least. When we got to the race site, the second pocket split. Grrrr. Everything stayed in his pockets while he ran, but he wasn't happy having spent good money on this device to not even get to wear it once before it fell apart. We decided we would look for the vendor at the "after party" after the pace.

While we were waiting for the start of the race Chris starting talking about all the technology he had on him and he started adding it up. I think the total count was something like 9. Let's see: iphone, ipod, nike sport kit, sport watch, cool ear phones, ear phone wrapper, the new belt (from iFitness), tech shirt, I'm sure there is more, but I can't think of them. So in all of his tech geekdom we had to give him a special name, which is why he now know as Utility Belt Boy.

More about the broken belt: When we got to the "after party" there was no iFitness tent to be found. I told Chris he should find their website and write them to see they would send him a new belt, considering what had happened. He was not optimist about this approach, but decided to see what would happen. Well good news, they were apologetic about what happened and sent him out a new belt right away. In fact he wore the belt today on our run. It's not fun not having something that works the first time, but it's nice to have a company that would rectify what happened and act swiftly to make it right. Yea iFitness!

Here is what the iFitness belt that Chris got looks like:

Cooper River Bridge Run 2010

March 27th, 2010.

4 am Wake Up - for Kim and I - take the pups out for their morning walk.

4:15-4:30 - the rest of the house wakes up and gets ready for the race.

4:30- 5 am - get dressed for the race and eat your version of the breakfast of champions. Chris came up the perfect pre-race breakfast - honey wheat bagel with cream cheese AND peanut butter. The rest of us either had peanut butter or cream cheese on our bagels.

5 am - get in the car and drive into Charleston from Folly Beach. We had to wind our way around the normal way to get to parking, but we found our way. We ended up on the top deck of the Aquarium Parking Deck. We were glad we got a spot, and that we woke up to get it.

5:45 am - get on a shuttle bus that takes us from Charleston to Mt Pleasant (where the race starts).



6:05 am - find the first set of Porta-Johns and decided to take advantage while we can.

6:15 am- find the Dunkin Donuts and Missy goes to use a flush toilet and Chris goes to get coffee.



6:30- 6:45 am - work our way to the Purple area and huddle to try and stay warm.



6:55 am - Missy heads to the next set of Porta Johns. As the sea of people grow in front and behind us.




7:30 am - Utility Belt Boy aka: Chris (who right before starting counting up the number of tech pieces he was wearing, and therefore got that name) goes off to the Porta Johns. I thought when we left that we wouldn't see him before the race started.

7:40 am - Missy makes it back to us, but didn't actually get to the Porta Johns....she gave up and came back.

8 am - Race Starts!

8:06 am - We (Jason, Kim, Missy, and I) cross the start line, and shortly after Kim and Missy go on their way!



8:20 am - I found utility belt boy on the run.



So then the running was well on it's way. I met and saw lot's of great people and had a wonderful time. There was Waldo, Forest Gump, a couple of flowers, a cow, a pig, and lot's of fun people. The bridge was amazing! So pretty and cool to be able to RUN over it. I did my standard Galloway Running (3 min run, 1 min walk). Kim and Missy were doing straight running. Jason did his version of Galloway with combos between 2 and 1 , and 1 and 1. Chris ran a little with me, and then he did his own thing. We had a meeting spot of Starbucks (but then when the race was over we couldn't get to the Starbucks we wanted to meet at). We ended up calling each other and meeting at the TrySports Tent.








Our race times:
Chris - 1:05:26
Kim - 1:09:23
Missy - 1:10:37
Chrissy (me) - 1:11:51
Jason - 1:34:19

I am so PROUD of EVERYONE!! This was Chris, mine, and Jason's first official 10-K! This was Jason's first race EVER!!

Such an Awesome Race. I think we are going to have to make it a yearly event!!

I was truly so impressed by this race! 40,000 people running 6.2 miles, and it went so smoothly. From packet pick up to the Victory Finish Party in Marion Square! Amazing!!

Our Weekend in Charleston...

I just got back from a fun weekend in Charleston with friends and dogs. We had 5 people and 2 dog in 2 cars for a 5 hour drive to Charleston (well Folly Beach). What I think is interesting is how people come together. I knew for the trip down that my husband would not enjoy the drive (he doesn't like long car rides), that my friend Chris would be an interesting mix (I had never traveled with him before), my friend Kim would be happy (she's always happy), and her friend Missy...well I just didn't know. I also knew that Ebony (Kim's dog) would be well behaved and sweet, and Scout (my dog) would be neurotic in the car!

I drove the whole way to Charleston with a few stops at rest stops for potty breaks/ stretch breaks/ and lunch...and one gas break (to fuel the car). We all took Friday off to travel down (well I always have Fridays off, but that is neither here nor there). We had discussed a morning meeting time (9am at my house) and some lose travel plans (picnic lunch at a rest stop with the dogs) and meet at the Folly Beach rental house. Jason wasn't happy about all the stops, if it were up to him we'd drive straight through....but the rest of us need breaks. Chris sat in the front seat and got lot's of "puppy" breath on him as Scout likes to hang out on the center console when we are driving. He really likes to see where we are going and be the co-pilot.



When we got to the out-skirts of Charleston we could really tell it was going to be a big weekend. Lot's of people coming in for the Bridge run and probably some Spring Breakers out there. Lot's of traffic and lot's of time to sit at stop lights. It was getting exciting as we were getting closer to the beach house. I'm so glad that we had the GPS (who speaks in a "hot" Australian voice) to get us around.

Once we made it to the house we un-packed and took the dogs out for a beautiful walk on the beach in the sunshine. Went back to the house and got ourselves together for the trip into Charleston for Packet Pick Up and dinner. Charleston was a mess, rush hour traffic and all the people coming in for the Bridge Run. We made it to Expo and had a great time going through and getting all of our stuff and checking out the goods. Afterwards we walked down to the straw market and found some dinner.



The morning of the run was an early start….up at 4am, dog walk, eat, and drive down to find a parking spot. And it was COLD!! More on the actual run in the next post!

After the run was tired sleepy cold time. We couldn’t find food or food we could all agree on, but finally went to go get taco’s. Chris wanted to stay and eat and I was going to bring food back for everyone. Once Chris and I got to Taco boy….there was a line out the door. Once we got inside I asked to place a take out order – the girl told me that they didn’t do any take out orders during their busy time…..WHAT?? So we ended up getting bratwurst at the grocery store and opening up a few bottles of wine. Yeah it ended up being the perfect afternoon.

Dinner on Saturday was at our favorite restaurant in Charleston – Magnolias. So much yummy food and good wine. Of course we had more wine. A quick tour around downtown and back to Folly Beach we went to rest up for the drive back on Sunday.



Sunday’s drive back was WINDY. I was so happy that Chris was willing to drive some, and ended up driving most of the way.



Overall I think it was a good trip!!

Getting ready for Cooper River Bridge Run...

WOW....it's been a crazy week.

So today we are going to be traveling down to Charleston!! I'm so excited to go on this fun trip. There are 5 people and 2 dogs traveling in 2 vehicles today. Our plan is to stop at a rest stop and eat a picnic lunch on the way down (because we have the dogs with us). When we get to Charleston we'll actually head out to Folly Beach where we are staying and get the pups settled...then we'll head back into town to the Expo and packet pick-up!! We'll check out a bit of Charleston and go back and rest.

Last night I went to a wonderful Fundraiser/wine tasting/silent auction at Taylor's BP station/wine shop. Seems like there are a lot of // in there. It was a fundraiser for my friend Donna who is doing an Ironman distance triathlon this year in honor of her sister who passed away from Breast Cancer. She is raising money for Hospice. How awesome is that? Just got the update this morning and she raise almost $2,000 last night!! WOW!!

The rest of the week....all crazy. I'm working on healing my peroneal tendons in both ankles. Lot's of ice and self massage. Trying to rest before the "race" so I don't hurt myself (more) this weekend. After this weekend I'll be resting a little bit and reworking my training schedule.

Stay tuned for the post on what actually happened this weekend!! Think good thoughts for us!!

No more sickness....and the joys of Volunteering.

Okay so I'm ready for this cycle to stop!! I've been sick so much lately that I'm surprised I can even keep up with any of my training. I'm slowly getting back into the swing of it....and just in time cause next weekend is the Cooper River Bridge Run (10 K) in Charleston, SC.

I've had a killer sinus infection that lasted about 3 weeks, and just recently I caught an AWESOME stomach bug. The only "good" thing about the stomach bug was that I lost about 5 lbs in one day. Bad news....my body was so dehydrated and weak afterwards that it took out 4 days of training. I'm getting myself back into the swing again, and will hopefully even make it back to the pool next week.

On tap this weekend: a 40 mile bike ride on Saturday morning (early, because I have a friend's baby shower to go to), and volunteering for the Tobacco Road Marathon at one of the water stops on Sunday (I might get a run in after volunteering).

I love being able to give back at races. Volunteers make it or break it for most endurance races. You know if you done a race and longed for the sip of water and saw angels as you approached the water stop. There is an art to being a good volunteer: fold the cups a little so they are easy to grab, tell people what you have (I hate getting Heed when I'm trying to get water), smile and be encouraging. I have had some pretty amazing volunteers at my races....but the funniest volunteers are the bad ones. At the Nike Women's Marathon at one stop they had fruit (grapes and oranges) one of the young (teenager) volunteers thought she was being funny by offering the runners one grape instead of a bunch....I'm sure she was bored and I can laugh about it now, but at the time when my glucose level was dropping it was not funny. I have definitely learned a lot about volunteering (good or bad) from doing races. I try to put myself in the runners shoes, smile, and give them what they need. I always figure out where I am so I can tell them where they are and figure out where bathrooms are if I can (I always want to know where bathrooms are when I'm racing....you never know). It's the little things that make it great. I try to have a good time with it, enjoy my time doing what I'm doing and hope a little happiness rubs off and they can carry it with them as they are trudging through those last miles (the hardest ones).

Next weekend: a trip to Charleston, SC - Cooper River Bridge Run (with Jason, Kim, Chris and Missy)!

WHY?

Why am I doing this? Who knows.....well I guess I know. I've been asked to start writing a blog about all my endurance athlete adventures, so I said....why not.

A little bit about myself: I'm a 36 year old woman who decided 5 years ago to start training for my first triathlon. Once I made it through my first Tri I was hooked. I've trained for and competed in a multitude of sprint distance triathlons (300 yd- 1500 yd swim, 20 K run, and 5 K run), I have done 1 olympic distance triathlon (.9 mile swim, 40 K bike, 10 K run), a couple of 5 K races, 1 8 K race, 1 full marathon (26.2 mile run), and I've trained for a 100 mile bike ride (however when the ride came I only did 45 miles of it, do to being pushed off the road by motorist). Most of endurance events I do, I do to honor friends and family batteling cancer.

What's on my plate for this year? Well just like every year I get excited and happy to be training for all kinds of fun events...sometimes I set my sights high....but it's all fun.

March 27th - Cooper River Bridge Run

June 6th - Kerr Lake Olympic Distance Triathlon

July 10th - Duke Multiple Myeloma Ride (100K)

September 19th - Philly 1/2 marathon

October 9th- le Tour de Femme Ride (100K)

January 2011- Disney full marathon

There will undoubtably be more Tri's and bike rides and runs in the mix.

This year is exciting for another reason: I'm trying to raise money for 4 different charities in the support of cancer research. The American Cancer Society, Duke Multiple Myeloma Center, Grab My Wheel (Livestrong/Rex Angels), and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.