I'm Baaaaaaaack!

*makes triumphant return to VStR*

Oh, hey everyone. Long time no post! Kudos to Louie for holding it down for us since I went M.I.A. in October. Grad school has sort of taken over my life these last 6 months and blogging (and even running -_-) has been the first few things to be put on the back burner. If you're wondering what I've been up to, check out my personal blog, FivEleveNinety! But here's a little update on my running life:

• I did survive Hartford and had an amazing time running my first marathon! There were a few disappointing aspects of the event itself (no shirts, medals, and wrong bibs), but the actual race was great. Here's the vlog from the day of the race and my immediate post-race review:

• I ran another half in December with little to no training. I finished, but GOD it was miserable, haha! Do not recommend it at all!
• Took a few month break from racing, but ran a 5K with Louie on his birthday.
• I volunteered at the Fool's Dual half, which Louie talked about here!

The past few months I've been less focused on running and a little bit more focused on getting any kind of exercise in that I can when I can find the time, as well as stretching much more. My schedule is so jam-packed with items for work and school that pulling 12 hour work days is the norm for me, and sleep is the main priority. I'm hoping with the school year coming to the end toward the tail end of May I'll be able to focus more on getting back on my running game. (I do have a multi-distance race and a marathon coming up this year, so I gotta get my act together!)

I'll try to be better about posting more frequently here, as I'm sure I'll be running more frequently, at least in the summer months! See you guys soon. :)

Volunteering at a Race

     On April 6, 2014 Riley and I volunteered, with our friend Nick, for the Yukan Run Fool's Dual in Gloucester, MA. This was a first for both of us, but something we were looking forward too. The funny part about this volunteering assignment was we were sent to three different water stops throughout the course.

     One of the coolest part of volunteering for this race was the people we were able to meet. I know from my experience, I met runners of different levels. One member of my team ran ultra marathons, while another was waiting to have knee cap replacement surgery so she could continue running. It was awesome to hear the experience of other runners. Turns out a few of us had run the same races and it was great to hear how others thought the race went.

     Now on to what volunteering actually entailed. My water station was the water stop for both mile 5 and mile 8 of the half marathon. We had Gatorade, Water and some of the GU energy packs to hand to runners. It was interesting to be on the other end of a water stop. It can get pretty hectic and you want to make sure the runners are getting what they want at the stop. Handing a runner a cup that they think is water only to find out it is gatorade after they dump it over there head would be awful. To avoid this we called out what we were holding and runners grabbed their drink of choice. The GU energy supplements went pretty fast as well.

    If helping out you fellow runner or fellow human being by volunteering is not enough, when you volunteer at YUKAN Run events you are given free entry into one of thier events. You can pass this on to someone so they can run the event you are volunteering at or save it for a later event. Also, you received a pretty cool light-up jester hat as a volunteer as well.  So there are rewards on top of the rewarding experience of volunteering.

    This experience was awesome. I cannot wait for my next experience volunteering and luckily I do not have to wait that long. I will be volunteering in the Power Bar, Finish Area of the Boston Marathon. I expect this to be a lot crazier than this experience, but it will be absolutely amazing.

Louie

 

An Update

Hi All, 

I know the posts here on VS. the Road have been very random with no rhyme or reason lately. We'll run a few races without a race review and then post a race review or we just have not been posting anything at all. Life has gotten pretty hectic at the moment between grad school, work and trying to breath, finding time to write has become difficult. 

This is not a goodbye post however. With Spring  comes race season and with race season comes a new commitment to VS.  the Road. Be on the look out for some new posts about volunteering at races, race reviews and just general tips. 

The first of these that I hope to post is in my first experience volunteering at the Yukan Run Fool's Dual in Gloucester, MA.  It should be up by the end of the week. 

Louie