My First Half Marathon

Saturday, November 22nd. A day that will live in infamy as the occasion of my first ever half marathon.

Sporting my finisher's medal

I'd been training for this since August, though by the last two to three weeks I was really over all the running and began to slack off considerably. The experts tell you to taper your training in the last couple of weeks (meaning you run less), so I told people I was just taking my tapering super seriously. Add to that the fact that I came down with a nasty head cold the week of the race, and I was really ready for the race to just be done.

So cold before it started

Getting RunKeeper set on my phone while waiting for the gun

The race was held in Roanoke, and that morning it was only 23 degrees as Charles and I drove to the starting line. Because of the frigid temperatures, we couldn't get anyone else to come along to cheer me on. So Charles was my one man cheering section, and it was motivating to see him at various points throughout the course.

And we're off!

Finishing up mile 10, with energy enough for a wave

My original plan was to start off somewhat easy and pick up the pace about halfway through the race, after ascending the largest hill. I had wanted to finish at around a 10:00 per mile pace, which would be 2 hours and 10 minutes for the total 13.1 miles.

Striding toward the finish line

My oh-so-glorious face after just finishing the race

After getting sick and not running for awhile, my revised plan was to still start out slow and then just try to finish the race. I took DayQuil beforehand and ended up feeling OK while running. After the first few miles at a nice easy pace, I realized that I could put a little more energy and effort into the race. I began to revive my hopes of a sub-2:15 finish.

Official results: 250th out of over 500 that started the race, 22nd out of 48 in my age/gender bracket

Super negative splits, last mile was the fastest

As you can see above, I started picking up the pace after the first couple of miles and then just kept dialing it up throughout the race. I stopped only briefly for water at a few of the available stations and didn't use any of the fuel I had in my pocket (dried apricots). Overall, I felt really good and was so pleased with my results. My overall pace was 9:39/mile, better than my original goal and far better than I would have hoped given my sickness and lackadaisical attitude toward training in the last few weeks.

My coveted prize

After the race I had only one thing on my mind. (And no, it wasn't food. Although that did come later!) I wanted to get my hands on that finisher's medal. At first I couldn't figure out where they were giving them out, but I felt it imperative that I have this proof of successful completion of what has been a huge goal for me. Once I found the man with the box at the finish line, I grabbed a medal that said 10k. Nope, that will not do at all... I ran 13.1 miles, and I want the appropriate medal to show it! As you can see in the photo above, I finally got it, along with a big smile of satisfaction.

Many thanks to all who supported me in this endeavor, especially Charles. The title of this post uses the word "first." Now that I've finished 13.1 miles in 2 hours 6 minutes while battling a cold, I'm wondering how much better I can do in full health. Will there be another half marathon in my future? Only time will tell!

A Thursday Night Concert

Thursday evening last week the girls and I were on our own for dinner while Charles had a late meeting. I was busy fixing homemade potato soup when I received an invitation to a special event. I was forbidden from entering the library or foyer as they prepared for the big concert.

I received an invitation that indicated the concert would begin after dinner. The same invitation entitles me to 199 more concerts in the future. Lucky me!

Upon arrival I was instructed to sign in. It appears I was the only guest.

The concert was filled with music making and dancing, with background accompaniment courtesy of Pandora. There was also some posing for photographs.

Here's a highlight reel for those who were unable to attend in person:

Halloween 2014

This year's Halloween was a two day affair. Thursday the 30th the girls and I went downtown in Broadway for the town's event. They have fun games and activities and many of the business give out candy on Main Street. Charles met us there about halfway through. It was chilly, so once we had our fill of the festivities we went to Italian Touch to eat dinner and warm up.

After getting candy at the bank

Isn't he lovely? I especially like the photo bomb of the undead in the background.

Sophie had a bat painted on her face

On actual Halloween on Friday night, there were three witches instead of two. Grandma joined in the festivities to take the girls trick or treating around the neighborhood. I stayed home for my usual role of giving out candy here, though we only had five or so rings of the doorbell.

Scary witches

Each had a wand and hat. They fought over the cauldron.

Expelliarmus!

Sophie was a spider witch.

Hannah dressed as Hermione from Harry Potter, her latest reading craze.

Circadian Rhythms, October 2014

4th and 5th grade visit a high school science class

Typical after school homework scene in the kitchen

Awesome pumpkin Hannah painted

After running 13 miles, this year's relief sale was all about the food for me!

Lunar eclipse early one morning

Doctoring herself after a tussle with her sister

Cake pop ears

Broadway fall festival was not as festive as some other years

Finally lost that tooth that's been loose for a year

Preparing for singing in church

Enjoying a fall day by playing outside

And here's a video of the singing:

The Burning, Part 2

John Heatwole's book "The Burning" was the basis for a K-12 school event commemorating the burning of the valley and the wagon train commissioned by General Philip Sheridan to escort refugees north for the winter. On October 31 students learned all about life in the 1860s by participating in various activities in mixed age "family groups" that traveled from station to station. See more about it in the video below, and read about the burning of the valley in this article from the Washington Post.



After a morning plenary session in the auditorium to learn more about the Civil War in general and the burning of the valley in particular, students gathered in the gym to get organized into their family groups for the day. It was nice to see the older students taking leadership roles to help care for the younger ones. We had all sorts of learning stations available throughout the morning, everything from spinning and weaving to Civil War dancing to stories to modern day refugees to candle making and even soap making. Our head of school Mr. Leaman was leading a station making homemade ice cream the old fashioned way, with hand cranked churns, despite the fact that it was a cold and blustery morning.

I was glad to be by the fire with Mrs. Bender. We spent the morning making corn cakes and popcorn over an open fire for close to 400 people. Whew, what a whirlwind that was!

Our setup, minus the grate that Mr. Bender brought later

The nifty corn shelling machine

Grinding the corn into meal

Mrs. Bender tending to the corn cakes

I wish I'd had a chance to visit all the stations, but we truly stayed very busy fixing these corn snacks all morning. Before things got rolling I did snap a few photos though.

This was General Sheridan's headquarters for the day

A generous family donated a pickup truck load of apples for cider making

Loom at the spinning and weaving station

One other station allowed family groups to dress in period attire and take a family photo. Here are a few of the results. Notice anything odd about the third one?

Photo courtesy A. Gascho

Photo courtesy A. Gascho

Photo courtesy A. Gascho

After a period lunch of chicken stew, family groups loaded onto hay wagons for a ride up to a nearby hilltop. This journey was to commemorate the refugee train that left the valley in October of 1864. Up on the hill there was a brief geography lesson on the features of the Shenandoah Valley and a local gunmaker who demonstrated his muzzleloaders for the students.

One of four wagons that hauled students back and forth to the hilltop

Local gunmaker Lowell Haarer with Mr. Landes

Mrs. Melendez and Mrs. Bender in their period costumes. Mrs. Bender even made her own dress!

After returning from the hill students enjoyed the ice cream they had helped make earlier in the day. Here you can see Hannah with part of her family group.

Photo courtesy R. Yutzy

It was a lot of work to put this day together, and we couldn't have done it without everyone pitching in. Hopefully it resulted in learning and memories for the students involved.

Rainy Weekend at the Cabin

A couple of Sundays ago was our annual Brunk Oyster Fry reunion at the mountain. Kelly and Jon came up with the boys to spend the weekend at the cabin prior to the Sunday afternoon get together. The girls and I joined the fun, though the weekend was a bit rainy and dreary. Despite the gloom, the trees were in almost perfect fall colors. Sadly, I forgot to take any photos at the actual oyster fry, but here are some from the weekend.

Big C and Little H

Playing at Grandma's before heading to the cabin

Do you think he's even listening to her?

Foggy beauty

Playing cribbage, Jon's favorite

Grandma playing with Henry

Grandpa doing what he does

The fall colors reflected in the lake

View from atop the dam

Only Sophie is not pictured, but she was there and had a good time with the rest of us.