Non Sequitur Box

On Sunday, 29 September 2013, I raced in Potomac River Running's Perfect 10 Miler in Reston, VA. Participants can choose between 10 miles or 10 kilometers. I chose to run the 10 miler. It is the same course at the Reston 10 Miler (in March). Night Before the Race: Okay, so the evening before the race went not-according to plan. I had taken the entire day off working out, walked around Clarendon Day festivities, and had a delicious salad for lunch. Plans fell apart that evening when my boyfriend suggested we go to Nick's house to play games. Not sure what time we were going to be home or if we were going to eat with Nick, I ate half a serving of my dinner (salmon cakes, vegetables, and noodles) and a Gatorade. I only stayed for one round of Stone Age (one of my favorite games) before heading home around 11PM (late for me). I ate six pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (homemade by Rachel) and quite a few Snyder's jalapeno pretzels. I know, I'm so good at eating healthy. ...

In college, I read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Since I was in the mood for a little science fiction and because the movie is coming out this year, I re-read Ender's Game as my book for September. I read the intro this time, and I learned a little about Mr. Card and his path to writing Ender's Game . He wrote about all the people who wrote him back about the book, including some gifted children who could relate to Ender and military personnel who could relate to the training Ender endures. Ender's Game  is set in the future, after Earth has had two invasions involving buggers (ant-like aliens). The Earth is unified against the buggers, and children are monitored for three (or more) years to see if they would be fit to join the fighting forces against the buggers. Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is a talented young boy (six years old at the start) who is tormented by his intelligent and brutal brother Peter but finds solace in his eloquent and kind sister Va...

In August (yes, this is a very late book review), I read I Wasn't Strong When I Started Out: True Stories of Becoming A Nurse . This book is a collection of stories written by nurses and edited by Lee Gutkind. While I was taking Principles of Biology at Montgomery College, many of my classmates wanted to become nurses. I have two sisters at the University of Georgia right now who are thinking about becoming nurses (there's always that possibility of doing something else). All this nurse talk intrigued me, so I bought this book during a study break at Barnes & Nobel. I think for some of the stories, people should read them with an open mind. These aren't just any nurses! Some of these nurses are also artists, creative writers, and some have left the profession. Nurses are real people, not just robots dressed nicely to follow set procedures to take care of you when you need help. I liked how many of the stories humanized nurses for me. I would think, "Ah! So th...

As a disclaimer, I suck at math, I suck at swimming in currents, and I am not a math teacher. At the Patriots Half this weekend, we were challenged to come up with an easy way to explain swimming in currents. This is my attempt. Also, please note that some things are not drawn to scale/properly. I'm attempting to explain the idea of swimming in currents while avoiding math/numbers. Below is an example of a swim route. The wiggly yellow man is the finish. The yellow triangles are turn buoys and the orange circles are sighting buoys. In aqua is the current. The dashed lines are the vertical and horizontal motions of the current, and the solid line is the resulting current. In this example, swimmers have to swim at about a 45 degree angle to the current on the trip out to the third buoy and back to the finish line. We will address the final leg back to the finish line. In the dashed red line below, the swimmer is just thinking, "I have to swim straight to the wiggl...

That's me in second place for females 25-29 years old! I FINISHED! I completed my first half distance triathlon (1.2 mile swim, 58 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run) at Patriots Half in Williamsburg, VA, yesterday! Pre-Race: On Friday, my boy and I drove to Anniversary Park. We went to packet pick-up and one of the informational meetings. It was quick and well organized. I looked at the transitions, walked from the swim to the transition, found my bike rack, and skipped my planned 30 minute workout (10 min swim/bike/run). I felt confident. After that, we did a drive of the bike course, checked into our hotel (Greensprings Resort, which was actually cheaper than the regular hotels!) and ate at a Greek restaurant (salmon, rice, vegetables, bread, water). I drank Gatorade and water throughout the day, but I still felt a little low on hydration (from sweating in the car and at packet pick-up). My boy showed me how to change a flat tire and I went to bed at 9:50pm. Race Day: 5:15...

I always write up race plans, even if the plan has been on my mind for weeks/days. I think it is important to write down goals (it gives a little more sense of commitment)! My knee started feeling better on Tuesday (my running buddy came back into town; maybe he is good luck)! I'm still taking it easy, though, and I just want to FINISH this triathlon...no need for last minute speed work! I was able to get in a bike, two swims, and a few runs this week. I feel ready! Goal A: Finish! Goal B: Finish under 6:30! Friday To-Do List: - Sleep in - Pack, buy more nutrition (Gatorade, energy bar, gels) - Travel - Do a quick run through the transitions (10 minute swim, 10 minute bike, 10 minute run) and make sure I have everything I need. - Race packet pick-up/information meeting - Salmon for dinner! Saturday: Race Day Plan! 0530 - wake up, eat some oatmeal with banana, drink some Gatorade/water 0600 - be at race site, set-up transition site 0708 - Ready, steady, go!! Swim...