Fun Flavors of Fall

     

     Autumn my dear readers is a beautiful season, especially here in Nebraska. On campus the trees are turning so many colors: red, yellow, orange, and pink, all with different variance of these shades; there are even trees with multiple colors on the leaves, one side might be red while the other side is yellow! And as a college student and Biology major, Autumn is the busiest time of the year, with tests to take, papers to write, projects to do, books to read, classes to attend, and lab experiments to conduct. I still managed to have some fun though, and even make a couple of new good friends.
     In early October I attended a small fall festival at the church by Union's campus. The festival was put on by the the George Stone Elementary school (which is housed below the Union girls' dorm) to raise money for their school.

Some of the kids even performed. 

This guy was pretty good.

     Due to its pagan origins I have never, and still don't celebrate Halloween. However, I love that because of Halloween you can dress up in a costume during this time of the month without people thinking your nuts, and this year I took advantage of it. So I grabbed whatever I had handy in my dorm room, and for one day I went to classes as a wood nymph. What fun I had! =D

     When November came about three things happened: (1) It got colder! Brrr..., (2) my workload got heavier, and (3) some of my favorite fall fruits became available, Fuyu persimmons, cranberries, honey crisp apples, and dragon fruit! Persimmons and dragon fruit I prefer to eat as a mono-meals. While its true that persimmons and dragon fruit taste good with a lot of different fruits and raw recipes, there is just something delectable about sitting down to a large meal of sweet, soft, and juicy persimmons or dragon fruit. Mmmmm...

     And when cranberry season arrives, so do the honey crisp apples, and I get to make one of my favorite fall breakfast, raw cranberry sauce:

    
     Today is the last day of classes for me. Tomorrow morning I get to fly home for Thanksgiving Break. It's going to be wonderful. A whole week without classes or labs to go to and no tests to take. . . I can't wait! I plan on running the Atlanta Thanksgiving Half Marathon again this year. It's the same course as last year so I'll get the chance to see if I can beat my PB for this course from last year. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.

My Omaha pictures are in!

     I finally received the link to download my race pictures from the September 25th Omaha Marathon and Half Marathon. I'm feel a little emotional "sting" when I think about not finishing the full, but I keep reminding myself that my next chance at a marathon is only 6 months away, and I'm not planning on letting the colder weather get the best of me this time! =)

     Like I said in my previous post though, I'm glad I stuck it out long enough to at least finish the half. I would have felt even worse if I wasn't able to complete anything. So here are the professional pics:

At first I was felt the cold (it was making me numb)

 but I was still doing ok at this point.

About an hour into the race it might have been sunny but it was still freezing to me. 

I couldn't get warm, and by this point you can tell be my face 

that my muscles were cramping up. At this point I really wanted to quite.

However, I came to this race to finish a run, and wearing my "Go Vegan!" 

singlet really encouraged me not to stop until I finished something. So I  pushed through it, determined to at least complete the half.

The finish line is in sight! I remember thinking, "come on Amanda! Give it all you've got, your almost done. I know your in pain but you can do it! Just a few more feet." 

Another metal to add to my growing collection. =) 

     Be on the look out for another post Sunday night. I've have/had fun plans for this weekend that I'm squeezing in between homework and training. Stay tuned...

     Later guys!

The rest of my race photos and video came in yesterday. I complied them all together into one video on my youtube account, but I'm also placing the stills in this post as well. I've got two more races this spring: an 11K on April 22nd, and 3.2 mile run + obstacle courses (the Warrior Dash). I can't wait! =)

Georgia Publix Half Marathon: Go Vegan!

     Well I did it again! Yesterday morning I ran my 3rd half marathon, and although it didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it to, I still had a blast! =)

     This was the first race I got to run wearing my "Go Vegan" Organic Athlete's running outfit. All throughout the course I would hear "Go Vegan, woohoo!" being screamed from people on the sidelines. I also met several other vegan runners during the race and I had to pleasure of running across (pardon the pun) one of them after I finished the race, and she said that she would be visiting Organic Athlete's website to buy her own "Go Vegan" running outfit. It feels really good when you can encourage others to promote a healthy lifestyle.

     The weather Sunday morning was overcast, but the temperature (approx. 62-63 degrees) with a slight breeze made it the run very comfortable. My goal for this half was to finish in 2 hrs. or less, and halfway through the run I was running strong, and it looked like I was going to reach my goal, and that's when tragedy struck. During a particularly narrow and congested part of road, a runner tried to pass me, and accidentally bumped me, causing my to stumble and strain my ankle. My ankle hurt so badly, but I pushed through it and kept running, but I was forced to slow my pace down considerably in order to finish the race. It didn't help that this injury also affected my running form, which also led to irritating an old knee injury. My knee doesn't give me any problems when I run, unless my technique is poor.
Alas, the injury meant that I didn't meet my PR goal for this race, but I keep reminding myself that I was lucky to be able to finish the race at all, and I am grateful for that.

Just before the race.

After the race. In slight pain, and favoring one leg, but very happy indeed.

I so happy to see a fruit stand at the post-race festivities. It was the California Cuties Clementine Company. The employees were handing out free clementines, some to eat and some to snuggle with.

Stopped off at Whole Foods on the way home and picked up a Orange Blueberry juice to go. Nectar of the gods in a cup.

     My estimated race time given to me after I crossed the finish line was 2hrs. & 10 min. Today the results were posted online, and my official chip time turned out to be exactly 2:11:15. I was amazed that even though I didn't make my 2 hr. finishing goal, I still managed to set a new PR for myself even though I ran the last half of the course injured. I'm one lucky fruit loving girl! 

One More Day to Go

     It's almost here! The Georgia Publix Half Marathon (formally known as the Georgia ING Half Marathon) is this Sunday. This will be my third half and my second time running this particular half. 

     The Expo was held in the same place as last years: the Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta. When I got there I experienced an acute feeling of deja vu. It felt like it was just yesterday I was at the Expo last year, picking up my packet, so nervous because it was going to be my first race, and it was all so new. 

 I came out in my full "lifestyle advertising" get up: Vibram Five Fingers, "Go Fruit Yourself" 30 Bananas a Day T-shirt, and my Tree of Life Pendant. Yup, I was a walking stereotype. . . hehe. =P

   Things weren't exactly the same though this time. Since Publix is now the primary sponsor of the race since ING stepped down, the color scheme, the layout, and some of the booths were different this year. One of the changes I liked best, was the addition of a fruit stand. While their selection was very basic (apples, oranges, grapefruit, lemon, and limes) it's a step in the right direction. =)

     The Expo also had added a booth to sell Vibram Five Fingers. Go Vibrams! Unfortunately, it was the one thing I forgot to take picture of (bad Amanda! LOL).

    In order to be reduce stress and get as much sleep as possible the night before the race, my race day cheerleader/photographer mom and I will be staying at a Holiday Inn that is right next to the starting line in Centennial Olympic Park. Last year I had to wake up at 4am to get to the race in plenty of time, not something I want to do again. I'm hoping that decrease in stress and increase in sleeping hours will improve my overall running performance so I can set a new PR.

     Stay tuned!

Training Log #3

Only six more days until my next race, the Georgia Publix Half Marathon! =D

2010 Fall Semester Recap

     Hello one and all! So sorry for the large gap between my last post and this new one. This semester at school has been rough but I am forging my way through and am nearing the end (yikes!).

     This semester has been very busy and intense, but I did manage to take them time to take a lot of pictures to share with you. So here is a brief photographic recap of my first semester of college at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. So far I have. . .

I placed 3rd in the Union College Sprint Triathlon, as I am sure you remember from my last post. These are just a few more pictures that I was able to get my hand on from other people at the race. I was also finally able to upload the video I made after the race to youtube. Click here to watch.

I have taken up bouldering on the rock wall that is located just below the girls' dorms.

I placed 3rd in the Union College Lazy Ironman Competition. The goal was to bike 112 miles, run 26 miles, and swim 2.4 miles in three weeks or less. Even with school and homework I was able to finish all the mileage in 10 days. 

During Thanksgiving break I flew home to Georgia, and on Thanksgiving morning I ran the Atlanta Half Marathon. This was my second half marathon this year (and ever). I have a new PB of 2:14:42. My old PB was 2:25:55. I'm getting faster! =D I made along with the pictures I also made a short video on the way home from the race. Click here to watch.

Yes, I am wearing my Vibrams!

I've been working hard at school of course. Being a Biology major is tough, but a lot of fun. Here's me at my three hour (starts at 7:30 am) Bio Lab class running an experiment to measure the rate of oxidation through photosynthesis to determine the respiration rate of the Elodea plant.

I've been enjoying my beautiful campus as it has been transitioning from summer to autumn, and now to winter.

FALL:

This vehicle is used for the EMT classes that IRR (International Rescue & Relief) Majors have to take.

 Where I live.

WINTER:

We got a lot of snow one Friday night. . .

But then the sun came Saturday morning and made it all melt. =(

I also got myself some awesome fruity attire here.

And finally, I've been enjoying yummy food.

The End (for now)