Jingle Bell Run/Walk for arthritis

My friend Kim wanted a big team for the Jingle Bell Run for arthritis in Greenville today, so we decided to join in. 

I hadn't been feeling very good all week, so I wasn't really sure how it would go, but I knew it would be fun and planned not to worry too much about my time. 

It was a very festive atmosphere! This is our team at the start:

I actually hadn't run at ICAR much, but I had heard it was somewhat hilly.

Sure enough, after a short downhill right at the start we hit our first hill. I was hanging out with Brad and taking it relatively easy, but I also liked Kim's age group medal from last year, so I wanted to stay ahead of as many girls as possible. I lost Brad a little on the hill and caught up to Kim. We ran together for a little while and noticed that we were under 8 for the first mile. At the top of the hill we turned around and headed back down, so you got to see everyone. It was fun to cheer for all our friends. Just when I was thinking about slowing down, my friend Kristin said that she had only counted 4 women ahead of us. I started having thoughts of placing overall, so I picked d it up a little. The second hill (I think there were basically 3) was the worst, but slowly I passed 3 of those girls. Then when we were almost back to the start we had to turn right and go up one more hill. I passed another girl almost at the top. We got a good view of the competition as they were coming back down and I saw that there was only one more girl in front of me. It would have been cool to be first, but I knew I didn't quite have it today and I was very happy with second. :)

It was fun to cheer for everyone as they finished and then we went to find the post-race food. Chik-fil-a was a sponsor, so we got some chicken nuggets to go with the fruit and granola bars. Yum. 

Then it was time for awards. Turns out they only did the top person overall, but I was first in my age group! 

3 of us placed in our age groups!

So, in summary - if you're considering this race it's a fun, festive race for a good cause and definitely worth a try!

Trees Greenville Turkey Day 8K

I'd kind of always wanted to do this race because it's a good cause and probably a good idea to do some sort of workout on Thanksgiving, but we usually end up being out of town, so I'd never actually done it. This year we had to work yesterday, so we decided to wait and come to my parents' house today, so we finally got to do it. Plus, since we live downtown, it was super convenient (except for negotiating around the roads that were closed because of the race).

So we got up at 7, left the house a little after 7:30, and were at the starting line ready to go by 7:45!

It was kind of cold.

Definitely a fun race! I was impressed by the crowd- close to 1500 people, some of which were dressed like turkeys and/or pilgrims. The course was good too - not just the same course as the other downtown races, which was nice. It was also probably about as flat as it could be, with a lot of it on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. There were a couple hills - close to mile 2, just after getting off the Trail (almost mile 4?), and then close to the finish coming back up to Main St on Broad St.

Almost finished! 

I'm so thankful for all of my racing experiences this year - it seemed fitting to race on Thanksgiving. Definitely a race I would do again! :)

Camp Croft half marathon

The Blue Ridge Bootleggers (my team from the Smoky Mountain Relay) reunited to do the Camp Croft half - a trail run at Croft State Park. We also camped there for the weekend, which was fun, but cold. 

Before the race:

I'd never actually been to Croft, so it was fun to explore it during the race. Since I'm not training for anything big anymore (hooray), I wanted to just enjoy this one. Kristin and I were planning to run/walk, but we ended up doing more walking toward the end because her IT band was hurting, which gave us plenty of time for pictures.

This was a pretty small race, and the aid station volunteers were great! When we finished we got a pint glass, and then there was a huge pot of homemade soup, which was amazing. I ate 4 bowls and finally got slightly warm.

We had a big picnic lunch at the campsite - it was a beautiful day.

And continuing the theme of post-China exercise that is fun, a nice paddle on the lake on Sunday. :)

Vacation!

So now that China is done, we decided to take a long weekend and do a more low-key vacation in Florida with Brad's parents.

Change of scenery for my runs:

I definitely needed this.

Cherokee Harvest Fest half marathon

This is another race that I'd been wanting to do but hadn't been able to fit it into my schedule until this year. I'd heard they had great swag, and they didn't disappoint me!

Brad ran the 5K and I did the half with a friend from high school and a co-Bootlegger.

The course was beautiful, and mostly flat. The first part is along the river and even into the National Park where we saw an elk. Marty and I were expecting to be around the same pace, so I stayed with him, even when I wanted to slow down. :) 

In the course description they said it was flat except for one hill at mile 6. That's mostly true, but that hill is pretty huge, all the way up to the Unto These Hills theater. I did enjoy the Cherokee drummers playing at the top. The second half was mostly rolling, but there were a few hills that were a little tough. Then a gradual downhill back to Acquoni Rd and the finish line.

Finished!

And a new PR at 1:43:11. Yay! Now time to slow down...

I had also heard that they had great post-race food, but it was even better than I expected. It was catered by Harrah's - soup and brownies made with butternut squash and black beans, granola, all kinds of fruit, and smoothies. Yum. 

Another great event by Glory Hound events!

Last stop: Guilin

We saved Guilin for last because I knew it would be beautiful and we were going to be there for our anniversary.

Driving through the countryside to the Reed Flute Cave we got to see mountains and the rice ready for harvest. 

Apparently you have to take your picture at Elephant Trunk Hill. 

We got to see pandas!

And also a kangaroo (in a zoo). 

Guilin is even beautiful at night! 

Then we took a boat to Yangshuo...

In Yangshuo, we took another little bike ride on some small country roads...

... ate some fried taro...

... and saw a show directed by the guy who did the 2008 Opening Ceremony.

We went to a "scenic area" to see some waterfalls and then spent our last night in China back in Guilin, with an excellent anniversary dinner at the White House Hotel restaurant.

What a great trip! Thanks again to everyone who supported me- ITU worlds was a great experience that I might want to repeat... someday... :)

Xian

Goodbye Weihai, hello Xian!

As much as I've been looking forward to the race, I've also been really looking to this week of traveling around China without the stress of the race hanging over my head. 

I can't even tell you how amazing the terra cotta warriors are. We really loved them. So awesome. 

And then it was time to get back on a bike. :) Easy cruiser ride on the Xian city wall... 

post-race golf day

Since Brad was such a great sherpa/photographer for my race, I decided he should get to play golf on a beautiful course in Weihai... which meant we had to get up early the day after the race, but he deserved it. If you are a golfer and you find yourself in Weihai, Weihai Point is definitely worth a try!