Harrisburg Marathon: Race Review

I already posted the recap of this race, but for those of you who might be considering running it, here's the review:

The Harrisburg Marathon takes place in mid-November each year in Pennsylvania's Capital.
I ran it this year and I have to give it 5 stars!
The race: It's a small marathon, about 1000 runners, with a relay option. Next year will be its 39th year, so the organizers have pretty much worked out all the kinks.
Registration and cost: Cheap! $55 with early registration, but registration is available on day of the race for $60. You can pick up your packet the night before or the morning of the race, which is nice (and the process, which I observed, is completely hassle-free).
Swag: Long-sleeved tech T (with a zippered pocket, cool) which I discovered runs pretty small as race T's go. Basically order the size you'd order if you were buying a fitted blouse. I was so impressed with the swag bag - for a tiny marathon with no expo, I got Gu samples, fruit and yogurt bites, a magazine, a gift card, granola bars, chips, a handful of candy,and a cytomax sample. There's a finisher's medal, too, if you collect those.
Course: It's the course that makes the race. The website advertises the race as mostly flat with a 2 or 3-mile hilly section. This is pretty true, except the flat part is not completely flat. There are enough hills for a New Orleanian to notice anyway! But the happy part is that the course is varied enough that you can't get bored. It goes through a college campus, the city of Harrisburg, an industrial park, several bridges, a wooded area, a gravel trail, along the river, and in a neighborhood. It is mostly a beautiful course and it keeps you interested. I was worried about the course being confusing - there are lots of turns -  but it was very well marked and volunteers called out directions.

Harrisburg PA

Support: The volunteers were pretty great and the race went off very smoothly: started exactly on time, plenty of aid at all the stations, well-organized. Aid stations had water and most had Cytomax, too. Cytomax makes my stomach cramp, but I dealt with it. There were two Gu stations, although the website only mentioned one, plus volunteers who I don't think were associated with the race were giving out pre-opened packets at mile 15. As far as fan support goes, I was surprised by how many spectators were out on a Sunday morning. In fact the only empty sections were in the woods and in the industrial area.
Funny story: I saw a few kids trying to get high-fives on the course and all of the runners were passing them by. I decided to give them their desired slap and I knocked the kid over. He was like, twelve. I guess I was running really fast, haha!
Post race: Dunkin' Donuts coffee and donuts, chicken broth, sandwiches, yogurt, fruit, more granola bars and chips,cytomax and soda. No beer, shocker. This is the first non-alcoholic race I've ever run.
Etc - There is a pasta dinner the night before, a gear check, a walking option, and a relay option. There isn't a half option or a 5 or 10 k. There are plenty of porta-potties at the start. Runners can use their number to get into the YMCA and shower after the race. Race is chip-timed (disposable) and there is time on the course. Parking is easy and plentiful. If you're traveling, there are several sponsor hotels with great deals. There is a heated, sheltered area at the start so you don't freeze before the race. Of interest, the marathon starts at 8:30 - I thought that was late, but it would be ideal for those of us who aren't morning people!
So overall? I highly recommend this race if you're even slightly nearby. It's obvious that all the kinks have been worked out over the years and these guys know how to run a small successful race. I was so impressed that I might consider doing it again, especially since we have friends nearby.

Is it worth it to buy a City Pass?

City pass review
Before our vacation to New York, my hubby bought two City Passes to save us some money. You have to try to save money in New York because everything except the street food is overpriced. Basically, City Passes are tickets to the main attractions in a particular city and they save you 40-45% off the regular price of admission. We decided it was worth it to buy the pass for New York for two reasons: One, New York's attractions are mostly expensive and the only free ones are Central Park and Times Square. If you want to do the tourist circuit, you have to pay. Two, we were planning very last minute, and it's hard to find deals last minute. You kind of have to make this call yourself, and check out the options for your destination city, but here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Your NPR/AARP/AAA/NRA/Y2K membership might provide discounts to some locations, and most discount student and veteran/military tickets.
- Were you actually planning to go to the places listed? NYC's list is pretty well-rounded, but others - like Houston - feature lesser-known attractions that may not have been part of your plans.
- The coupons expire in 9 days, so don't buy a book intending to use it throughout your two-week winter break or something.
- You have to leave the coupons in the book - don't tear them out before using them.
- Having a City Pass often entitles you to skip lines and offers discounts, too. It was very convenient to skip lines at the Metropolitan Museum of art and the Empire State Building, where lines were long.
- If you're going to a city with a lot of history like Boston or Phillie I wouldn't bother. Most of the historical attractions are free. And who wants to go to the Boston museum of fine arts anyway?
- Want to relax on your vacation? Then don't buy one. It gives you an agenda!

Gulf Coast Marathon Race Recap

There are too many races to recap these days! The recap is - I ran a 3:36:11 and was second female overall! The marathon only awards first overall and each age group, so I got a first in my age group award - and so did lil' brother Abe. That was kind of neat. I started the race way too fast - at 6 miles I was under 42 minutes - and a little after that a fast looking chick passed me. I decided to slow down once I saw her - she looked way faster than I and if I had been leading her I must be going too fast! I slowed down and slogged through many boring miles (see race review to come...after I put up the Harrisburg review...I know, I'm so far behind!). I kept waiting for the Hammergel they promised at the start, but it never materialized. So I ran hungry, which made me grumpy. What made me grumpier was getting lost at mile 17 because some non-bright volunteer was sitting on the arrow cone. Since I couldn't see the arrow I asked the volunteer, who directed me forwards. I should have turned. I quickly realized the mistake, but it cost me about 0.4 miles. BOO. Until then I was on pace for a 3:33 but, eh, oh well. I was slowing down anyway. I plodded on and as I neared the end - 23 or 24 miles? - a volunteer told me I was the second female. Wrong thing to say to a tired marathoner. I looked behind me and there were no women for miles, so I slowed it way down. I felt pretty bad - majorly underfueled - and I walked a little after the last water stop. I teased the volunteers not to tell anyone I walked! I didn't plan on sprinting to the finish but it felt good to hear my name over the loudspeaker and "Here comes the second place female!" so I kind of did. Abe met me at the finish with a sweater and water, which was nice. He had a bad race - he didn't bring any gels or fuel at all but expected to get one on the course. He didn't. He also didn't train at all and is getting over strep, but he didn't love his 2:51 time. I'm still impressed. Fourth overall and first in his age group. We celebrated our victories with a walk on the beach and a trip to the outlets (Abe's jeans were starting to look like Goodwill rejects).

First place age group finishers! Yeah, I ran in my pajamas BTW.

So overall? Nice time, not so nice race.
Lately I am a gazillion times faster than I used to be. Today I thought, "Guess I'll run a 3:36" and, well, I did. I have no idea what's come over me, but since last February I've taken 32 minutes off my marathon time. My husband is accusing me of over caffeinating...but I'm not complaining. I'm baffled but enjoying it!
I PROMISE you'll get the race reviews and a guest post from Abe coming up. Have a great Sunday!

What do you do when you have a day off, your husband has to work, and it's pouring rain?
You stand in line for five hours at Best Buy to purchase some this-will-be-outdated-by-2011 electronic for $10 off! Nah. I don't. Black Friday is for people who like close proximity to other people and that's not for me.
Instead, this is what I did. Still in my pj's, hair a mess, face not washed, coffee getting cold.

Now I'm going to go pick dried paint out of my eyelashes and reposition the centerpiece to cover the suspicious light blue smear on the dining room table.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Quick, name one thing you're NOT thankful for but you SHOULD be!

Me? I never think about how amazingly blessed we are to have such good health, but I should. I can't believe I complain about acne and fat thighs when I have only had to take an antibiotic twice in my life.*  My husband's ancient, like antique, and he's in brand-spanking-new condition. I need to be more thankful for our consistently good health!
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In an effort to keep that good health, we ran the local 5-mile Thanksgiving race this morning. When we arrived I realized we'd never registered for this race. I can't believe I forgot! But we've run so many races this fall I thought I had. All those check to the New Orleans Track Club are blurring together in my mind.We registered with the no-Tshirt option.
It was hot and humid today, upper 70's at the start and moist. It was 80's at the finish and the wet weather brought a brisk head wind. Not very good running weather, and I wore my Karhus, which have zero tread and would make great ice skates. I wanted to go slow today since I have a marathon on Saturday, but I started too fast - first mile under 7 minutes - so I had to slow down (not that I could have kept that pace up anyway). I finished in 37:40 but here's the big news - David ran 41:55! Super fast for him!

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The Saints game almost gave me a heart attack and made me quite hoarse. Hartley is returning slowly to my good graces.

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I want to buy these jeans but I'm afraid that, like all GAP denim, they'll bag out after a few hours of wearing. I don't like saggy-butt. Has anyone had any experience with this style? If I spend this much on jeans they better be awesome (my other jeans are $12 Forever21 and $9 Ross styles...).

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I talked little bro' Abe into running the half marathon this weekend while I run the full, but today he told me he might run the full. I love how he can just casually decide to run a marathon two days in advance.

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I hope you all had a stupendous Thanksgiving!!! I'm going to go roll onto the couch and vegetate now!

* This excludes the antibiotics prescribed for dental work that I never take. Don't tell my dentist.

New York Vacation

On our New York trip we did all the tourist things. This is because my husband has done all the NON-tourist things many times when a close friend lived in NYC and he used to visit all the time. This was before I entered the picture and began making all his choices for him.

We kicked the trip off with a Circle Line ferry tour, which was beautiful. I recommend a 4 pm tour if you go, so you can see the city in daylight, sunset, and night - three for the price of one!

After our brief Philly detour, we returned to NYC for several more days. We had purchased City Passes, so we were on a tight museum-seeing schedule. We were across the block from the Museum of Modern Art. One-sentence review: I hope you like Picasso. Our trip also took us to the Guggenheim (One-sentence review: If you don't want your walls and floors to crack, consider more angles in your building construction) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (One-sentence review: Go ahead and buy a year's membership and just sleep in the lobby if you want to have time to adequately appreciate the art).

The Metroplitan Museum of Art - at night

We went to the American Museum of Natural History briefly. One sentence review: I've been to small-town science fairs with better exhibits and fewer grammatical errors in the informative placards. I honestly could not believe the lack of quality and interesting displays, and I think I was actually less-informed when I left. Don't waste your money here. You'd do better to buy a train ticket to DC and go to the Smithsonian for free.

Of course we did the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I realized while I was there that I always associate Lady Liberty with immigrants embarking on a new life, but that perception does not accurately reflect the meaning behind the statue. It was originally meant to celebrate the liberty we have in this country (really more in a military sense), but thanks to its location it became a symbol to the thousands who entered the USA by Ellis Island.

Central Park was lovely and we got a run in and a few walks.

And we braved frigid temperatures at the top of the Empire State Building one night.

I indulged my addiction to libraries and visited the famous lions. What a beautiful library this is!

Best of all I got to see autumn again! I've missed having four seasons!
Later, I'll review the City Passes we bought for our trip.

What am I making for Thanksgiving?

The scenario: I fight the crowds of hemp-wearing, hatch-back-driving, green tea-drinking, bjorn-toting mommas in Whole Foods to snag this pile of ingredients:

Pomegranates, feta, creamed goat's cheese, walnuts, and spinach

The plan was a nice Thanksgiving potluck salad (with a white balsamic vinaigrette including THE SECRET INGREDIENT). But then the FIL called and told me that two others had already volunteered to bring salads.
The challenge: Turn these ingredients into another potluckable dish....and you can use any other ingredient already in my well-stocked kitchen (basically everything).
My first thought: Pomegranate-walnut mini pizza appetizers.
Start with a soft pizza dough. Form small circles, about 1.5" across, and top with several spinach leaves. Bake at 400 F for about 8 minutes or until nearly cooked. Spread with goat cheese (pre-mixed with a little balsamic and black pepper), then sprinkle with feta, pomegranate arils, and roasted walnuts. Broil for a minute or two to slightly melt cheese.
Or leave off the spinach and top with raw sugar crystals and vinegar before broiling to make a slightly caramelized top.
If you have a better idea...I will love you forever.
What are you making this Thanksgiving?