Donna Virtual Race and 4 Pretty Muddy Winners!

What a beautiful weekend we had at the Jersey Shore! A nice break in the weather before the next round of snow hits us! I was especially happy, because I needed to get my 13.1 miles in for the Donna Virtual Race!

 I was devastated that I could not go to the race in person, especially after being chosen as an Ambassador! Unfortunately, with Dopey expenses and upcoming races, and life getting in the way, it just was not fiscally responsible to go. I decided to do the Virtual Race, which meant I needed too run 13.1 miles before March 1. NO problem! I wanted to do the distance all in one day but it just didn't fit my schedule, so I made sure to get it done all in one weekend!
I started out on Saturday morning. The teenie had training for her new job, and I planned to run at a Bike Trail around the corner from the store while she trained. I was hoping for at least an hour, so that I could bang out 5 or 6 miles. They only needed her for a half hour. UGH. I gave her money and told her to get a smoothie and stall a bit, so that I could run 10K.
Off I went. The day was beautiful and I was flying! My pace came easy, people on the trail were mostly friendly, and the miles ticked by. Just around mile 3, she called to tell me about her exciting new job, and I told her I was halfway done, and to give me another 40 minutes.
At mile 4.5 the texts started, both from her and from a  friend who just went back to WW. Yikes. I ended up stopping at mile 5, to answer texts and walked the last mile.

The teenie took this for me, don't I look awesome in my Swirlgear? I was wearing my Run Donna Training tank over it, but it was hot so I took it off. Blogger FAIL. I finished the first 5.1 miles at a 10:20 pace! I have not run that fast in ages! I was happy about it at the time, but totally regretted it later! I still had 8 miles to go!

Sunday morning, I had a fun run to attend. It's called the Train Run, and it is run by my running club, the Jersey Shore Running Club. It is a great run, and they host it a couple of times a year. You hop on the train in Asbury Park, NJ and take the train south to your chosen destination. There are 3 stops: 1 or 2 miles, 4 miles and 6.5 miles. We planned on the 6.5 miles, but decided last minute to add a little extra, and make it an 8 miler. Perfect for my Virtual Race! I got on my Digital Running Club gear, grabbed my Donna bib, and went over to the start. I couldn't wear the Donna bib during the race, but I wanted to bring it in case there were somme photo ops. Then, I forgot I had it. Another blogger FAIL.

At the start of every Train Run, the president, Bob Both, takes a photo of all of the runners. At the last minute, Dave the Trumpeter dashed in, and slid right into the front of all of us. He is in the Tie Dye shirt on the left. Somehow, he picked up a homeless guy on his way in, who is center front. He was a very funny guy, and he kept us all entertained with his antics until it was time to board the train!

The run is always the same for the Train Run, which is nice. You get off of the train in Spring Lake, run to the lake and cross the bridge, and make a beeline for the boardwalk. Once you hit the boardwalk and turn North, you just keep running until you hit "the shell", where you make your left and head back to the bar. At the bar, you get free pizza and beer. Nice! The pizza and beer is the hubs favorite part, and the reason he so gladly accompanies me to this run every year. It was very windy on the boardwalk, and at first it was cold, but soon I was shedding my jacket. This slowed me down, and I lost Eileen and Carol Ann a bit at that point. When I realized I wasn't going to catch up (Carol Ann is super speedy) I turned on the tunes and ran my own pace. It was so beautiful on the boards, even though there was a lot of restoration going on, thanks to Superstorm Sandy. As I was nearing the Shell, Eileen came back and said they were too hot to run the 8, and they were just going to finish the regular course! Fine by me, my legs were TIRED. We headed back to the bar, got our tee and our "medals", and gave our free beer to Dave. The medals were a new addition to the Train Run, they gave leftover medals out from a previous race. It was a nice change, and I can't wait to send one to my buddy Bryce.

After the race, the hubs and I went to Mogo for lunch, and then headed home to grab the dogs and finish the Race. After a 1.5 mile walk, I was officially done! Whew! I was tired!
I spent the rest of the day checking on the finishing times of all of my  Princess and Run Donna friends, who had to fight some pretty scary tornado and lightening storm warnings!

This morning, I picked the winners for the Pretty Muddy giveaway!

I am pleased to announce the following winners:

Congratulations, ladies!!! I will be emailing you all to find out which registration you would like! You will have 48 hours to get back to me.


Did you race this weekend?