Cherry Blossom 10-Miler - I did it!

Hello everyone! As the title indicates I finished the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler. Yay! I know I did not write many blogs about my training, granted I haven't been blogging much in general, but the main reason why you didn't hear much about it was because I was really scared. I was scared I wouldn't be able to finish. In the weeks nearing the race I was getting really discouraged with my training and the fact that my sister and Justin were so much faster than me. As my sister says, "If there is no evidence, it didn't happen." In other words, if I stopped blogging about the race and ended up chickening out and doing the 5k instead of the 10-miler then no one would know any better (except me). 

However, I continued to train and with Justin's encouragement I started to feel more confident. Despite not having run ten miles before the race (my longest run was about seven miles), the Cherry Blossom course is mostly flat which makes it a relatively easier run.

Anyway, here is quick synopsis of my very first race!

5:10 AM - Justin wakes me up after only a few hours of sleep. We were both up watching the UK-UConn Final Four game that ended around midnight. A tough Kentucky loss and a whole lot of nerves probably resulted in us not getting much sleep.

5:45 AM - Head to the metro. Breakfast consists of a granola bar and a banana. By this point I am banana-ed out. I have been eating them everyday for the past week. The metro garage already has a lot of cars parked there for race. Seeing the metro train fill up with runners was pretty cool.

6:45 AM - Get off at the Smithsonian metro stop and follow the crowds to bag check/port-o-potties/corral starts. Man, there are a lot of people here! **Sorry I don't have any pictures pre-race, my stomach was churning and I wasn't thinking of taking pictures at the time, maybe next time!**

7:00 AM - Get in line at the port-o-potties. Lines are crazy long and I can't believe that some of the people whose heats are about to start are still in line. Some people get fed up and leave the line while others like myself (me, Justin and Jill are in the last in the last corral) wait it out.

7:40 AM - Where the heck is Justin? While Jill and I were in line he went to go to bag check-in. Our corral is supposed to start in 15-minutes. Eek.

7:50 AM - We find Justin in a port-o-potty line and while waiting for for him I guzzle down a GU gel and attempt to stretch. I hear the announcer call for the Purple Corral (that's us!) to line up so we start heading over.

7:55 AM - The horn sounds and the purple herd corral starts. I put in my headphones (yes, I know it's against the rules, but I'm a rebel and couldn't imagine running without music), start my RunKeeper app and start running!

After that I kind of lost track of time, I was just so focused on running and the scenery. The scenery was gorgeous. What a great tour of DC! You could see various different DC landmarks (i.e. Washington Monument, Reagan National Airport, Georgetown,etc.), but my favorite part of the race was the stretch towards Hain's Point when you were running down cherry blossom tree lined streets. Runners were stopping to take pictures, but again I couldn't bear to stop so I kept trucking along. Come to think of it, I ran most of the course and only walked a bit when I the hill that was right before the finish line.

A proof pic with the Cherry Blossoms - Don't mind the heavy breathing look on my face >.<

A more enthusiastic pic of Jill

Below are a few pictures that I took after the race. Here is a pic of Justin and I in front of the Washington Monument after munching on our post-race muffin and banana (again!). 

Here I am in front a lone cherry blossom tree, medal and all. Not as pretty as the bunches I saw on the run, but it'll do.

Overall, the Cherry Blossom 10-miler was an amazing experience that was worth all the blood, sweat, tears, and stress. I would definitely recommend it as a good beginners long distance road race with a relatively flat terrain and scenic views.

Week 14: Appliance Selection

Hello everyone! Our kitchen appliances came in today! HH Gregg was advertising a fabulous sale on a GE suite (refrigerator, stove, microwave, and dishwasher) so we decided to go in and check it out. Unfortunately, the fridge included in the sale did not have an outside ice and water dispenser, so that was pretty much a deal breaker for us.

However, upon talking to the salesman on-site, he told us that we could pretty much make our own package of appliances to create our own deal, how cool is that? So...in our custom designed GE suite we were able to get the fridge with the ice/water dispenser, the gas stove (which surprisingly cost as much as the electric), the over-the-range microwave, and the upgraded dishwasher with the stainless steel tub for...drumroll please...under $3000! I thought that was a great deal considering the Samsung fridge that I originally had been drooling over cost the same amount! Although, I like the fancy things in life, this girl has gotta be practical, especially when it comes to kitchen appliances. After all, Justin  will be using them the most, not me! :)

Anyway, the appliances were delivered to our house shorly thereafter. Here is the dishwasher. Since I am the one that does the dishes, the is defnitely one appliance that I'll be using. To demonstrate its quietness the saleman put his cell phone in the floor model dishwasher and let it ring. I swear, I couldn't hear a thing! Not like I was ever bothered by a noisy dishwasher, but the fact that it was so quiet was pretty cool!

Here is the stove. We got a gas stove because we have gas lines for it (It's not like we switched from electric or anything). We opted for the four burner top, as opposed to the five burner, because we didn't really see ourselves using all five burners at the same time. For just the two us and the way we cook, four burners would be more than enough.

Lastly, is the fridge! I really wanted a fridge with the freezer on the bottom.  In the past, many frozen food items have fallen on me in both my parent's side-by-side fridge as well as Justin's former apartment's top freezer. For both my sanity and my toes, a freezer drawer was a must have. For Justin and the gallons of water he drinks, the water dispenser on the outside was a must for him.

Note: There are no pics of the over-the-range microwave because it was still in the box.

Update: So far we are loving our new appliances. However, one of  gas burners on our cooktop isn't working (is that an installation issue?) and the plastic area over ice/water button on our fridge has already started bubbling. Boo hiss! Probably due to overuse. In the future, I would opt for SEPARATE ice and water buttons. No big deal, but aesthetically it doesn't look too hot.

Week 13: Wood Floors Are In

I think I'm on a roll...let's see how many "catch up" posts I can put up in a day? This post is going to be short and sweet, 'cause honestly I don't have much to say (yes, work on the house has been that slow, but that's another subject altogether). As the title indicates, the wood floors are in. Initially when we were starting the renovation, we considered getting ceramic tile floors (e.g: in a dark slate color which look really good!) but then we found out how much they cost (pretty pricey) and then I thought about how cold it would feel on my feet on winter mornings so I got a change of heart. Yes, I know they have heated floor systems to solve that problem, but again that would cost more money. By selecting wood floors in the kitchen, it brings a more continuous look between the kitchen and the dining room. 

This is a pic where the new wood floor and the old wood floor meet. Can you tell the difference? In this picture you probably can't, but in real life I can kinda see the difference. I figure once the cabinets are installed you won't be able to notice. 

This part of the floor is the new part.

A pic from inside of the kitchen looking out. Can you spot my darling husband's red tie? Can you see our old red door?

That's all for now, hopefully I can get another post out before the day is over! Wheeeee!!!

A Chi-rish Wedding Weekend: Congrats James and Anne!

Yes! I'm back! And I'm actually going to post about something that just happened over the weekend. Justin and I just returned from a fabulous weekend celebrating James and Anne's wedding in Chicago. We had such a blast hanging out with everyone. It was both a beautiful ceremony and fun reception. Although I didn't take too many pictures here are some shots that  I took:

Here's Justin and I enjoying ourselves at the reception (he was a groomsman, not a Chippendale's dancer, lol).

Here is a pic of the guys getting their picture taken in front of the church:

Here is a pic of the lovely bride and groom (borrowed from my friend, Rich!):

Did I mention that this was an Irish-themed wedding? With both the bride and the groom being of Irish descent, there were tons of Irish touches. From the wedding itself being St. Patrick's Day weekend to the kelly green bridesmaid dresses and the bagpiper playing at the end of the wedding ceremony, you could see Irish details from beginning to end.  However, it didn't stop there! The following clip is what totally blew my mind:

Irish dancing! They started off playing a song about the Southside Irish (since Anne is from Southside Chicago) and then I was completely floored when a circle formed on the dance floor and members of the bride's family and friends started Irish dancing! I can honestly say that I've never seen that at a wedding before and to have your loved ones performing makes it that much more personal!

I had not been to Chicago in a couple years and it was so nice to come back for such an occasion. Congratulations again to James and Anne!

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Week 12: Green Paint Overkill?

Here I am backtracking on blog posts, trying to get you all up to speed on what's going on with the house. Anyway, this week the kitchen and room formerly known as the pink room* got a new coat of paint. In the kitchen, I selected Benjamin Moore's Gulliford Green and in the pink room I chose Kittery Point Green. Unfortunately, I can't find a new pic of the "pink room" now "green room", but here are some pics of the kitchen...

The picture is kind of dark but Gulliford Green is more of a green with a tint of grey which I thought would be nice for the kitchen...

I chose both of these colors from the Benjamin Moore Historical Colors palette.  According to the Benjamin Moore website, "This palette of 174 time-honored colors is our most popular. Inspired by the colors found in 18th- and 19th-century U.S. architecture, these classic, inviting hues continue to serve us well today." I don't know about you, but I think that screams Capitol Hill rowhouse don't you think?

 

The thing about the Benjamin Moore Historical Colors is that they are timeless and traditional, however, they are a bit muted. And...through no fault other than my own, I just picked shades of green for two of the rooms in our house. Hopefully it won't be green overkill. As much as I love the look of the historical colors, I'll try to mix it up with some new colors. For a house that was

built in the 1900s, I still gotta keep it fresh for the current era. J

*We named our third bedroom/den the pink room because it was painted pink and it used to be the room of the daugher of the previous owners.

Week 11: Ready for Our Close-Up

Not much going on at our house this week, however, the big news is that the crew for the "mystery show" that we've been filming for came back to finish our episode...Here are some pictures that should give you a clue on what show it is. For those, who already know what the show is, no ruining it for everyone else so "SHHH!" or I will delete your spoiler comments! 

Here is a picture of the cameraman, Bruce...

Who is that person the camera man is filming? It kinda looks like Eric Bana from behind...

I know who it is--Do you?? That's your first clue...if you read my blog you should have a good idea...

Now here is a shot of Justin with the whole gang (audio guy, camera guy and producer). Where the heck is he? (That's your second clue)

I can't wait until the show airs! The network bigwigs told us that it will air between now and the end of the year. That's a really large window, but Justin and I don't mind because once it airs it'll play over, and over and over again. Until then, happy guessing!

Week 10: Oh, what a feeling...

When we're dancing on the ceiling! Lol! Here's a little secret. Justin once confessed to me that Lionel Ritchie's video for "Dancing on the Ceiling" used to be his favorite as a kid because he really thought they were dancing on the ceiling. I had to chuckle because I thought that everyone had gone through the Universal Studios tour where they show you that is not the case...hehehe...anyway...

As you can see from the following pics the ceiling is now dry-walled. Unfortunately, things aren't moving  as fast as we would like with the renovations. You would think by week ten we would be done by now, but we're not done and we are just trying to get through it. We are still happy with each renovation milestone we reach, but we wish we were done and living in our house already!

The row of recessed lighting...

Our pantry cabinet and fridge are going to go against this wall 

Some close up pics...