Night of the Living Dead

Last week we watched George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, the groundbreaking 1968 movie that contributed a lot to what we now accept as common zombie knowledge - zombies as reanimated recently dead that eat the living and can only be killed by destroying the head.  The zombies in this movie don't run, but they don't exactly shamble either.  They walk at a pretty good pace.  They're also smart enough to use tools, like using rocks to break the car windows to get at Barbara.  One or two zombies can be easily fought off, but a large group is definitely a threat.  If you find a safe place to hole up, though, like Ben does in the cellar of the farmhouse, they will eventually give up trying to get in and wander off.

Teresa

This was a low mileage week for me: only 11.35 miles running, and 55.91 miles on the stationary bike.  Thursday I got my second shingles shot, and as with the first one the shot made me really sick for about a day and a half, so there was no working out at all on Friday or Saturday.  If the zombie apocalypse happened at the end of this week, I would've had to hole up in my basement and wait it out, because I would not have been able to outrun Romero's zombies.  However, I'm now better prepared for the future, as I don't have to worry about being incapacitated by shingles once the zombie outbreak begins.  Just before my shot I did a short run through my old neighborhood & by this little family cemetery, and I didn't see any signs of the dead returning, so it seemed like a safe time to get vaccinated.

Was I Last?  Yes and No.

 

I had a couple of timed events this week.  On Monday, along with several other Run(317) Ambassadors, I ran the Fountain Square course to demo the RaceJoy app for runners who will be doing it virtually.  I wasn't last because we all stuck together to see how the app was working, so I would've had company if the dead started coming for us.  Wednesday was Race Day at November Project, and I was last.  But Colleen joined me for my last 8 burpees, and she and Blake both ran with me on my final Up & Over, so once again I would've had help fighting off any zombies that caught me.

Laura

 

Laura ran the 48 mile Black Mountain Ultra Traverse, up Mount Mitchell, across the Crest Trail, and back.  Much of that at an elevation over 6,000 ft and temps in the mid 20s.  Night of the Living Dead doesn't address how zombies do in temps below freezing, but a lot of popular zombie fiction has the zombies shutting down & unable to function.  Also, since Laura won the masters female division, she definitely would've outrun any zombies that were still moving up there on the mountain tops.

Cindy 

I would have been last this week against Romero's zombies.   I have been dealing with septic issues and several days have not been able to stay at home; therefore, Ride Owltober is off to a slow start.  But a zombie could fall in the hole in the backyard if I was only being chased by one, or slip and fall in the water in the basement.   We'll try to find the positive in it! 

 

This Week 

We will be watching Warm Bodies this week, a much more contemporary romcom look at zombies, even personifying some that retain some of their personality. 

Training for the ZomPoc

 We're restarting our blog, with a slightly different twist.  Each week, we're going to watch a zombie movie, and then analyze our training to see how/if it would help us if that particular zombie apocalypse happened.  If you're like us, you've gotten a little bit discouraged with training during 2020, since races seem to keep getting canceled.  This is a way to to keep us engaged & active; and if you want to play along, we'll let you know each week what movie we plan to watch.  Fast zombies, shambling zombies, rage zombies....   We hope to survive them all!

Catching Up  

YTD, Big Sis Teresa has run/walked/biked/hiked 3,170.69 miles so far this year.  That includes the Great Smoky Mountains Half, the Beaver Chase Urban Trail quarter marathon, Run(317) Carmel/Westfield and Speedway, and several virtual races.  Can zombies run that far?  I think not!

Owltober

Cindy, Scott, and Teresa are all participating in Ride Owltober, a virtual challenge that encourages
people to get out & participate in whatever activity they enjoy, while raising money for Warren Wilson College men's & women's cycling teams.  We hope you'll join us!  Only $15 to get involved!

 

This Week

We're watching Romero's Night of the Living Dead   A classic that premiered the same year Teresa did, it still speaks to issues society is dealing with today. Going forward, we hope to share some of our fave zombie movies with you, and we're happy to entertain suggestions if you have some you'd like to share as well.   Please comment if you have any fave zompoc fiction you'd like us to train for!

 

 

Who's ready for the Inaugural 465 Challenge?

Don't Miss the Inaugural 465 Virtual Challenge! Shown above: Inaugural 465 Challenge Sticker included with Premium and Basic Registration Packages. Coming January 1, 2020 . . . Inaugural 53-Mile VIRTUAL 465 Challenge! WHO: Fabulously motivated YOU! WHAT: The Inaugural 53-Mile VIRTUAL 465 Challenge is an event conceived by Indianapolis-based Vision Event Management. Why 53 miles? Here's the skinny: Indiana Interstate 465 is a 53-mile loop around Indianapolis. As a kid, do you remember driving somewhere with your parents and imagining yourself moving on a map? Now, dig if you will a picture of yourself running, walking, biking, skateboarding, scootering or performing any physical activity of your choice for the 53-mile loop around the 465. THIS IS A VIRTUAL EVENT SO PLEASE DO NOT ACTUALLY STEP FOOT ON INDIANA INTERSTATE 465!

Tshirts & Totals of 2014

It's time for one of my favorite blog posts: showing off all the commemorative shirts I collected last year, & totaling up my miles, plus a little preview of my 2015 plans.

If you've been reading our blog for a while now, thank you!  You may remember from the goals I set for last year (14 Things for 2014) that I wanted to collect 21 commemorative t-shirts.  I ended up with so many that I had to split them out into 3 groups just to get them all pictured.  First up, my race shirts:

This pic is in chronological order, but it's missing the shirt from the Great Pumpkin Run.  I packed that away with my Halloween stuff.  So that makes 18 shirts just from races.  I actually ran 19 races, but they didn't all offer t-shirts.

The Unlikely Triathletes or Team Badass Librarians

by Guest Blogger Kathy Helmond

My first (and likely only) venture into the world of triathlons came last Saturday at the Go Girl Triathlon at Eagle Creek.  This all-women event provided a great way to try something new and be surrounded by inspiring women athletes.  Long a fan of the Kona Ironman specials on television, the triathlon is a challenge that this shaky swimmer will probably never attempt, but I love to watch others giving their all to this three event race.  I am always moved to tears watching the men and women in the Hawaii heat and wind overcoming obstacles and persevering to the end.

 A co-worker (Penny) of mine competed in some triathlons with Team in Training some years back (pre-knee replacement) and we sort of fantasized about doing it as a team “someday.”  One day during one of these conversations another co-worker (Carrie) joined in the conversation and revealed that she was a swimmer in high school.  That was all we needed to decide that the idea could become a reality!  Before we could talk ourselves out of it, we signed up for the Go Girl Triathlon and Team Badass Librarians was formed!  The name was obviously tongue in cheek for this 2/3 middle aged, past our prime team.  But we had a lot of fun anticipating it all summer.  As life usually does, things came up for all three team members and training was not what it should’ve been! 

Bicycle Tour of 10 East Biz District

Did you know you could find all this on E 10th St?

Last week, I went on a bicycle tour of some of the businesses in the 10 East Biz District.  The tour was held by the East 10th Street Civic Association, and highlighted both some of the newer businesses that have opened as part of the ongoing development of this district as well as some long-time businesses that contribute and give back to the neighborhood.  Much of this development was spurred by the 2012 Super Bowl Legacy Project, but that was not the end of it, as progress continues to be made with more homes being renovated, more people moving back, and more businesses starting or relocating here.  Some of the highlights of the tour for me were:

Weekend Recap: 3 Sisters 3 Races 1 May Day

Photo by Jennifer Lofton

All three of us were running yesterday, so I'm going to recap them all, & give you a preview of next weekend too:

In WNC, Laura & Mark ran the Cradle to Grave 30K Trail Run, a run from the Cradle of Forestry to Graveyard Fields and back, using mostly trails and US Forest Service roads.  A beautiful run through gorgeous scenery, to be sure, but a very tough run as well.

Komen Race for the Cure Weekend Recap

Momma, Teresa, Cindy, Daddy, Janet, Josh

 The tagline for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is "More than a Race", which is very true for our family.  We lost our aunt Dotty to breast cancer in 2002, and it has also affected other relatives, in-laws and friends.  As many of us as possible do this race each year, either in Indy or in Raleigh (or both if we are lucky).

Race Swag!

This was my second year running it, but I've walked it many times.  I was so happy this year that Momma, Daddy & Cindy were able to come to Indy for the race, and that Josh & Janet could take time off work & do it with us.  It was lots of fun walking around the pink village as a family, and enjoying time together all weekend.  Hopefully next time, everyone else can make it too (Looking at you Kevin, Nick, Vikki, Kimmy, Laura, Mark, Tim, Starr, & David.)

Baby sis is finally blogging again! (Part 1)

What to blog, what to blog?  I know, it has seriously been a very long time, and I won't try to give you excuse, because there is none.  So should I write about finally running an entire 5K without walking on Thanksgiving?  Rate/review the 5K training program app that I used?  Discouragement after 5K?  Tour de Toys Bike Ride in December?  More info on the Yellowstone Half Marathon that I posted on January 1?  Starting a 5K-10K running program?  Second time I ran an entire 5K race in February?  How about a little bit of all?

14 Things for 2014

Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”  (James 4:15)

So, if the Lord wills, in 2014 I would like to:

1. Run 451.25 miles, or the distance from my house to my parents’ house.
2. Bike 345.80 miles, or the distance from my house to my in-laws’ house & back.
3. Play 2 rounds of golf with my handsome & patient husband.  (He’s a very good golfer, and I am not, but he’s very patient with me when we play.) 

13 Things from 2013

2013 was an awesome year! 

I give thanks to the Lord.  I praise Him in front of everyone.  (Psalms 109:30)

1. Together with Laura & Cindy we started this blog!  It's been fun writing up our training and events, and thinking up other topics like product reviews.  It's been pretty interesting too - learning about how to use social media to promote our blog and to connect with people who might be interested in what we have to say.  And I feel like it's made the three of us even closer - I hope Laura & Cindy feel that way too. Checking out the stats from our blog year-to-date, here are our top five posts in terms of page views:

Entry	Pageviews
Gatorade Energy Chews Aug 3, 2013, 2 comments	51
2013 Walk to End Alzheimer's Recap Oct 14, 2013, 1 comment	48
CareNet Feed the Need 5K Recap Nov 11, 2013	39
Hendricks County Half Marathon Recap Sep 17, 2013, 2 comments	39
Creeper Trail 10k Jul 27, 2013, 4 comments	36

A lot of our page views came from Facebook, but a surprising (to me) number also came from Google searches.  We have 120 likes for our Facebook page, and 34 followers on Twitter.  I think that's pretty good for 6 months.  84% of our Facebook fans are women, which is who we are targeting.  We do wish you all would comment more, both on our blog posts and our Facebook posts.  We enjoy hearing what you have to say & learning from your experiences, too.  

Makin' Room for Turkey Ride 2013

Another awesome MS Society Turkey ride has come and gone.  Every year has been different.  The first year I did it alone.  Last year I did it with my awesome friend Jen, who has MS.  She was not able to do it with me this year due to the extreme cold, but I wore my orange ribbon for her, and met up with her afterward.  But I rode with a new friend this year that I met at my run club.  The course started at a different location this year as well, but overlapped with what we have done in the past.

Just like big sis having an extremely cold day for volunteering on Sunday, I had the coldest cycling event for me ever.  The temps were around 30 when we started, with a wind chill in the low 20s.  The wind was so strong that sometimes going down a hill we were not able to coast.  Also, going fast down the hills made it that much colder.  My fingers were what bothered me the most.  I finally have gotten to where I can usually ride without my fingers getting tingly from the pressure put on the handlebars, but on Sunday they were numb and beyond tingly from the cold, even with my nice insulated biking gloves.  I was constantly moving and shaking them to keep the blood going.

What I am most proud about from this ride is how I did on the hills.  I knew it would be a hilly course, and knew some of the hills intimately from the last 2 years, and dreaded them.  Turns out they hardly bothered me.  I think it might be because of the running...even though I still don't feel a lot of improvement with my breathing when I run, it is obviously working!

The organizers of this event are awesome, with sponsors giving us pie and hot chocolate when we were done!  The hot chocolate was most welcome!  Didn't stick around a long time due to the cold.  My scatterbrained self left my helmet sitting on the table where we were eating.  I do hope someone has found it.  I am waiting for a response to an email I sent out.  So other than the helmet loss, I consider the ride very successful.  I truly hope the Tour de Toys event in December will be warmer, though!

Thanks for the support!

Habitat Halloween Ride

This past Saturday I rode 30.6 miles in the Habitat Halloween Ride in Durham, NC.  When I woke up, it was 48 degrees!  Brrr!  I haven't been out for a ride in those kind of temps in quite a while!  Good thing I have some biking pants and biking gloves with fingers.  It was also windy, but  it was thankfully also sunny to help a little bit.

This ride was quite challenging!  First, while we were still riding in the city before getting out to some country roads, there were a lot of pot holes and uneven pavement that was not marked at all.  Not fun when you're trying to coast down a hill and not use brakes to keep momentum for what's ahead.  I admit I used my brakes a lot on going down hills...I was just too nervous not to.  Finally outside of the city, we quickly got into some hills.  I know what goes up must come down if you start and end at the same spot, but many of us said that law did not apply on this ride.

Even though I was riding solo in this event, I met a new friend around mile 10 or so that said he was tired of me passing him on the hills.  That made me feel good!  We actually kept a pretty even pace, and so we decided to stick together after the rest stop.  That was really nice, as the turns were not marked well at all.  We actually missed a turn along the way, but realized it quickly and only added about a mile to our total.

The other big challenge of this event was once we got back into the city, they had us on some greenways.  These particular sections we were on were very narrow (no passing), very uneven pavement along with a lot of leaves, and sharp turns to get in and out on multiple occasions.  I don't want to be disrespectful to the event coordinators, but I think that was not very well thought out.

But I persevered and got through the hardest course I have ridden to date!  Thank you all for your well wishes and thoughts for me and both of my sisters on race day!  See you on the road very soon!

Halloween Race Weekend

Middle Sis Laura - Flight of the Vampire 10K - Brevard, NC

Baby Sis Cindy - Habitat Halloween Ride - Durham, NC

Big Sis Teresa - Tri-West 5K Monster Dash - Lizton, IN

Pin It and Do It Update - 2/3 Done

I meant to blog an update of my progress in Trish's Pin It and Do It Challenge before now - really I did.  But I actually have been doing my Pins, just didn't write about it before now.

I committed to pinning and doing 4 Pins during October, and I created Big Sis Teresa's Pin It Do It Board on Pinterest for the Challenge.  (Shameless plug: If you don't already follow us on Pinterest, go do it as soon as you finish reading this post.)

First up was Run with Jess's Virtual Ride for Breast Cancer. For this virtual event, you bike 50K or 31 miles during the month of October.  It can be anywhere you want, any type of bike - mountain, road, stationary, spin class - and it can be all at once or spaced out over the month.  Little sis Cindy also participated in this event.  I've been using Run Keeper to track my biking.  We had two East Side Bike Rides this month: on 10/2 we rode up the Monon Trail and back for a total of 11.02 miles; and on 10/16 we rode looped around downtown on the Cultural Trail for a total of 7.5 miles.  That puts me at 18.52 miles for the month, so I still have 12.48 to go.  I'm planning to ride Sunday to the B&O Trail and as far along it as I can go (it's not all paved yet), so that should finish this event/Pin.

Next up was the Haven Workout.  I created this myself (see the blog post from 10/4).  I modeled it after The Walking Dead workout which is popular on Pinterest, and tailored it to one of my favorite shows: Haven (SyFy, Friday at10pm ET).  It's been repinned several times, so hopefully other people like this too.  I have been doing it as I watch Haven on Fridays, and I like it.  It ends up being really heavy on the squats - they mention the Troubles A LOT.  If anyone else has tried this workout, please comment & let me know what you think - good or bad.


My third pin was this plank workout from Self magazine. I need a different strength training workout.  I didn't really like the one I used in my first half marathon training plan.  In fact, I don't really like strength training, but I know it's important.  It can help you be a better runner, and also help avoid injury.  It's not that I can't do most of them, I just find them boring.  I tried this one on Wednesday night, and I really did not like it.  Not only was it boring, but it felt really awkward.  One & done - I will not repeat this workout.


So - that's where I am.  Two pins done, one pin 2/3 done.  I'm on the lookout for one more strength training workout to pin and do, so post a comment if you have any good suggestions. 

Cycling for the Coast, 80K

On Saturday, I completed my first 80K (50 mile) bike ride!  I had attempted a 64 miler earlier in the year, but had to stop because of back problems.  Usually most bike races are 31 or 62, and so I was very excited to find an in-between mileage to try before going for the 60+ again.  A friend was originally supposed to join me, but a couple of days before she found out that she wasn't going to be able to.  So I went solo again.

I had some good carbs and protein the night before, and slept better than I probably ever have the night before an event.  The morning of the ride, my breakfast was probably 95% carbs with just a little protein thrown in for good measure.  Hubby Tim was kind to accompany and chauffeur me to the event.  We got to the start with about 10 minutes to spare!  One of my water bottle holders had lost a screw in transit, but I was lucky that the bike mechanic had one that fit.  By the time he got that fixed, I had missed the start...so I pretty much started dead last, so I was Caboose like Teresa for a while, but not for long.  This course was from Fort Macon to Emerald Isle and back, and so I was really looking forward to some flat riding after all the hills I have conquered this year.  I had worried the wind might be bad since I was at the beach, but I lucked out and didn't have to deal with that much at all.  This event only had one rest stop, which was at the halfway point.  I was ready for a saddle break, that's for sure!  I topped off my water bottles, ate a little bit, but was quickly back off, since I was near the back of the pack.

Right around the mileage in the summer race where my back started bothering me, it started aching again.  Not so much a spasm this time around, but a persistent ache.  I tried to compensate by using the upper handlebars since I wasn't having to shift much, but then I just tensed up in my shoulders.  So I kept going back and forth between upper and lower handlebars.  Around mile 38 I pulled off the road and did some cat and cow stretches.  I'm sure I got some weird looks from passersby, but who cares?!?  For the remainder of the ride, I just kept mentally coaching myself to relax and counting down the miles.  Tim was waiting for me at the finish, cheering me on, which made me grin from ear to ear.

I figured out a couple of things during this ride:  I think my anthem is going to be Katy Perry's "Roar".  I actually think I like a more challenging course than a beach ride (at least you get to coast after going up hills usually).  And I really, really, really need to go see Gary at TLC for Bikes and have him fit me properly on my bike.  Hopefully that will be one of my next posts...

North Salem Old Fashion Days Bike Ride

You didn't see this on the What's Next? tab because it was a last minute decision - I went to North Salem yesterday and participated in the Bike Ride.  Because they also had a 5K Run/Walk and a 10K Run, I was indecisive up until the morning of as to what I was going to do.  When I woke up, though, I felt more like biking than running.  The Bike Ride benefitted the B&O Trail Association - someday we will have a trail running from Speedway to Montezuma.

5-0 Memorial Bike Ride

This past Saturday I participated in a 34 mile bike ride in memory of the 8 Raleigh police officers that have died in the line of duty this year.  The start was very emotional, with the National Anthem being played, and then a moment of silence.

The weather was unbeatable for a ride, especially considering it is late August.  I think it was in the low 70s to start out, virtually no humidity, and a light breeze that felt great and was rarely against us.  I knew from a ride that I had done earlier in the year that started and ended at the same place that this was going to be a challenging ride with lots of hills.  I did have a friend riding with me that has more experience riding who has given me great pointers in the past, and he did the same for me on this ride as well.  He was particularly helpful in the tips he gave me for getting up hills, such as sitting up straighter so that my diaphragm is more open to be able to take in deeper breaths.  He was very encouraging and motivating throughout the ride.  Thank you so much Tony!

I feel that I did fairly well with my hydration and fuel, just the right balance of carbs and protein the night before and morning of, and pickles at the rest stops to help prevent cramping.  And most importantly to me, my back held up pretty well.  I didn't have any spasms.  It did start to have a dull ache the last 10 or so miles, so I used every coasting chance I could to stand up from the saddle.  But overall I am very pleased with how I felt during and afterwards.  I am excited that I finally found an "in-between" mileage race...more than what I've done in the past but less than when I had to stop in a ride earlier in the year because of my back.  You'll find the link to that on the "What's Next" tab.

I'm looking forward to some nice rides with cooler weather coming up in the Fall!  Stay tuned...

2013 Five-0 Memorial Ride Video

2013 Five-0 Memorial Ride

Nice compilation video put together by animoto of different pics from the race on Saturday (which I will blog about shortly).  I am in a pic about halfway through...I'll be on the left wearing a State jersey, and my friend Tony is beside me wearing red and black.

Sunday Ride to Rolesville Main Street Park

Tim had the great idea to take some back roads into the town of Rolesville, NC and have a little snack at the park.  Taking the scenic route (and less vehicles on the road) made it 10 miles to get there.  Very nice ride with only a few challenging hills.  I had a huge advantage over Tim since I was on my road bike and Tim was on my altered mountain bike.  Some beautiful sites along the way included several tobacco and soy fields, a quarry where there is scuba instruction, and quite a few pastures.  It is so nice living outside of Raleigh!

Then came our "picnic" at the park!

"Picnic" was pretzels and homemade hummus (squirrels like pretzels we found out), good fuel for the ride back home.  Also at the park we were able to refill our water bottles.

On the ride back home, we took a little tour around the new Rolesville High School that will open next week.  Extremely impressive campus and beautiful facilities.  It has 2 baseball diamonds, at least 6 tennis courts, football field with a track around it, a nice practice football field,  and outdoor basketball goals.  We probably added a mile to our route just riding around the campus.

And you have got to see our last stop!

Just a few miles from our house is an alpaca farm.  We've always wanted a closer look, so what better chance than today?  I'm not sure what they thought about me.  I guess since I didn't have food they just thought I was some stranger they wanted nothing to do with.  Interesting creatures!

So all in all, we did about 21 miles today...not bad for not planning on a semi-long ride and really not fueling properly.  I only had a few back spasms, but it did ache some the last 5 miles or so.  I definitely want to go see my buddy Gary at TLC for Bikes in Raleigh this week to see if he can adjust the angle of my seat before my bike race next weekend.  Today was a good prep for next Saturday's 5-0 Memorial race in Raleigh!