Starting the year right

It's the New Year and there is nothing more appropriate than starting the year right, right? As for me I started it with Sammy the Seagull's New Year's Day 5k held in Scarborough and organized by Clambake Restaurant. This is one of my favorite races so far... for 2 reasons.

First reason: Hubby was with me. He finally watched me run... well sort of. He just waited for me at the finish line, actually and took a couple of photos. So it's very precious. I have been running for almost 2 years now and this one is the only race he watched or rather went to... to wait for me.

Second reason: There was a seafood buffet right after the race. And that was the "catch" to make Hubby go with me. LOL. So I ran the 5K race and Hubby ran to the buffet table. Just kidding. We both did as well as most of the participants their families. Why not? It's the New Year and we need to celebrate for good luck. And since I ran, I must be burning calories while I stuffed my mouth with fried onions, clam strips, baby shrimps, meatballs, chicken and yes, clam chowdah!

It was a nice sunny day today but cold and windy. The wind was so thick and I had a hard time breathing the entire race. Well, that is one of my alibis for placing 120th out of 135 participants. Or to nicely put... I rank 1st... among the walkers. LOL. However, compared to my last race, I made 2 minutes improvement on my PR which is 37:43 at 12:09 pace. And yes, a 60-year old lady beat me to the finish line again.

And yes, there are 2 things that I found different with today's race. 1. instead of a shirt, which is my main motivation for running... they gave us winter gloves. I don't like it. I need shirt for my collections. And 2. I felt like a celebrity because a cop's car followed me to the finish line suggesting I was indeed the last one to cross the finish line. :(

Well, the race was awesome and even if it didn't go well as I wanted to I was so proud of myself for making a good choice and happy that my Sweetest was with me. I just hope that someday, we will join me in the race even if just walking.

iVolunteer

Last Sunday, the 30th of September, I went to join hundreds of volunteers for the Maine Marathon. It was my second volunteering stint [B2B was my 1st] and my 1st for Maine Marathon. It was an awesome experience despite the weather.

I left the house at 5:20am. It was not raining yet when I left and reached Portland a couple of minutes before six. It didn't take long for me to find Julie Scala, the lady in-charged of the Food Tent where I was assigned.

As soon as I saw here she checked my name from the list and handed me my t-shirt, towel [both with Maine Marathon prints on them] and are you ready for this? Sea Dogs ticket!

After we set up the table we waiting for few minutes for the food to arrive. As soon as the food supplies were unloaded, we started chopping, slicing, unwrapping and preparing them. I have never sliced hundreds of oranges in my life until that soggy morning. It was fun!

About 30 minutes before the race starts, runners started gathering in front of the food tent.

I was overwhelmed at the sight of them and a little jealous I guess. Well, it's a "marathon", I don't do marathon. I'm a 5k lady. I was already happy to be a part of this event and one of the 400 volunteers who made the event successful.

I only volunteered for 3 hours [6am to 9am] so that I can take photos of the race. However, I did get the chance to snap some photos before the race start and was so happy to see all these things happening before my eyes.

It was then, that the rain started to pour steadily. I wanted to take more photos but I am afraid that the rain might ruin my camera.

 Taking it all in.

 The Big Bang!

 Here they come!

 The stampede.

 The Lady in rainbow Tutu.

 The Riot in the Cellar guys.

 The moose guy.

As soon as I know I had taken enough photos of the event.

I left hoping that next year I will be able to volunteer again. But deep inside me, I know I am secretly wishing that - one day, I will run the race! wink*

Why RUN if you can ride... the waves!

So I didn't get the chance to run in the Philippines the way I planned to due to several storms we had when I was there. I didn't get the chance to even just do my regular 3-mile run as my work out because I was working hard on pigging out on my favorite foods that I have not tasted for 5 long years. And yes, if I was not dining out with friends and family left and right, I was on the road exploring different places and doing different activities.

So, my dear brother Japol brought me up north to visit Vigan City to walk back in time and immerse ourselves to the history of the past.

Then, we went straight to Urbiztondo, San Juan La Union and stayed at San Juan Surfresort for the night and met up with my TSS Sistah and Blogger friend Zen of the Letters in November.

The next morning, despite the natural signs of brewing storm, Japol talked me into doing something I never thought I would do in my whole life - surfing.

At first I was a little adamant to try it knowing that I am not a good swimmer. But then, with his constant bugging and persistent. I did it. I have no choice since he already made the arrangement for my first surfing lesson.

And so I did. Despite the fear of drowning and getting chewed on by sharks... I tried it. The instructor gave me quick lesson on Surfing 101.

Next thing I knew...I was riding the waves!

So there... I hanged loose!

 

Author's Note: Special thanks to my brother Japol for the photo coverage, the encouragement and the surfing lesson fee. hahaha

The Winter Runner

I don't do New Year's Resolution. It doesn't work for me and I don't operate that way. But one thing I'm sure about me is that - when I decide on something... I do it.

This year I want to run as many races as I can. Last year, I didn't start running until winter is over. Now that it is winter and winter this year feels like spring, I have more opportunity to run outdoors. The only problem is that - I work 12 hours a day. So the only time I can run is on weekends.

I have never thought that winter running is fun. The internet is a great resource to feed you with all the information you need to gear yourself up for winter running. So I take every opportunity and resource there is to train. After my first race for this year at Scarborough, I signed up for 3 more races. One for February and two for March. What am I thinking? Oh well, it is a good motivation for me to get my bum out and run.

So, armed with petroleum jelly slather sparingly on my face, a dab of Burt's Bees lip balm, a warm fleece head band or hat, a pair of comfy mittens, another pair of thick wool socks and an appropriate winter running outfit... I'm good to go until the next snow storm falls.

Everybody's a Winner

It was huge. It was spectacular. It was epic. That is how I describe the 14th TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race held at Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

I car pooled with another volunteer I met during the Volunteer Appreciation Party last Tuesday. We left Standish early to avoid traffic. We reached Fort William around 6:30am and the parking lots were already piling up with cars. Well, we don't expect to see a lot of people there because the race will start 10 kilometers away from the Portland Head Light. This is where the Finish Line is. So the huge crown was somewhere in Cape Elizabeth near Crescent Beach State Park on Route 77 where the race starts.

I volunteered for the Water Finish. It may seem an easy job but boy, the task did give my "biceps" a hardcore work out. We laid out 6000+ water bottles. Transferring boxes after boxes of those water bottles from the delivery truck to the tables was like doing hundreds of repetitions of biceps curl with 30-pound dumbbells.

Volunteering has it's perks and benefits. We have free t-shirts. Yey.

 Excellent spot to greet and meet the runners.

 Easy access to the porta-potties. hahaha

 And yes, a great vista of the famous landmark - the Portland Head Light.

Needless to say, the event is a 'runner's dream race', if you live in Maine. It is an important race if runners from 49 states participated in.I believe it is a very significant event when there are 6000 plus runners who signed up.

 [Photo Credit: TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race]

And it is indeed a highly-recognized event  if there are 11 countries represented in the event.

At the end of the race, we did recognize and acknowledge the winners - the oldest at 86...

the "wheel-chair bound" athletes,

the Elite runners,
the resident runners,

the just-for-fun runners,

the families,

 the supporters,

 the spectators...

 and of course, the volunteers.

At the end of the race - everybody's tired...

and yes, - everybody's a winner too!