Rod and Jess’ Blog

When I left off I was coming up Central Avenue through the Old Northside and beaming with pride for the historic neighborhoods that I live in and how many people had come out for the race. As I turned on 16th Street I saw more and more people from Herron-Morton Place that I recognized and they started yelling my name and cheering for me. It was SUCH a confidence boost to have a cheering section that I wasn’t expecting. When I ran past Herron High School they had their band out front playing and there were a ton of people as you turned from 16th Street to Pennsylvania Street.

Coming down Pennsylvania I saw Rod standing and cheering with our dog sitter (who also lives in our neighborhood) and it was really great to see people I knew out cheering. I was just grinning like a crazy lady through my neighborhood because I was so excited to see everyone and just have the great crowd support.

I kept waving and cheering if I saw people out and that really kept my spirits up, it also kept me motivated and enjoying the party atmosphere of the race. I felt lucky to live in one of the neighborhoods along the race route and also lucky that so many neighbors had come out to support the runners.

I even started to overtake the racewalker guy who I had been behind for a couple of miles because I was so excited to power through my regular running route! I usually run the opposite way through the neighborhoods though so it was a little tough realizing how much downhill I normally run. After passing the 10K mark I had my Clif Shot Gel in Mocha (and proceeded to get it all over my hands - yeah brown gel on hands looks gross) and felt revived. It also was tough crossing over Fall Creek and running along Fall Creek Parkway with no shade and lots of wind. It was really hot and when the half-marathon split off from the full marathon I was glad that we were going to be running in a neighborhood with lots of trees again!

Running through Meridan Park was both really cool and really tough. It was miles 7 through 10 and it was a lot of uphill, rough roads and very few water stops. It was really awesome though because there were a ton of neighbors out with music, dancing, yard signs, chalk decorations in the street and even kids handing out water to the runners. It was also really motivating for everyone to be out giving high fives and encouragement. I was really impressed with their neighborhood’s presence and getting to see another historic neighborhood proud of their urban living!

There was also supposed to be Shot Gels in this area and I never saw them, I didn’t see all the water stops I was supposed to see in this area either but since I brought my hydration belt along I didn’t worry about it at all! I’m glad I wore the hydration belt because it kept my anxiety in check and I didn’t have to worry about catching water when I wanted bloks or gels. When we exited Meridan Park we had our steepest incline of the race up until that point.

I was just glad that Rod was there cheering me on and I could see one of my favorite spots in Indianapolis, the Children’s Museum. I just wish we could have run past the side with the Dinosaurs breaking out of the dome!

I first tried to walk up the hill and when I saw Rod I pushed myself to move a little faster. It was SO rough after doing 9 miles to get up that hill. In my mind I also knew that I was getting close to the point where I had stopped in my training (11 miles). Coming down Meridian Street was really rough because there was a lot of uphill and just straight aways with 20 to 30 mile per hour winds blowing against us. It would have been nice to not be running into the wind but I didn’t have a lot of choice on that.

When I was on that stretch of Meridian Street I was also passed by the three winners of the full Marathon and I was just cheering like CRAZY when they went by - I was SO excited to see them and that they were finishing strong. The winner didn’t even look like he was breathing hard at all! When we crossed under I-65 and you could see the Monument looming ahead it was so rough knowing that you had another mile and a half to just keep powering through. My feet really started hurting at this point and I was just trying not to get blown over!

At this point Rod was cheering for me and I was just trying to keep my head down and my mind on my music. I know for my next half-marathon I need to have some of the songs from the beginning of my playlist at this point to keep my energy up. I really could have used a little Party in the USA or Round Round to keep me running! Instead I started losing steam to Fleetwood Mac’s “Edge of Seventeen”. That won’t be on my playlist again!

When I finally made it to the mile 12 sign I teared up a little inside, realizing that it was the first time I went 12 miles in my life. I had walked a little but I had made it to 12 miles. I kept pushing through and when I got to the circle there was no water at the water stop, just powerade. I decided to keep running until I was past Rod and my mom over by the state house and then maybe I’d stop for a little water before I got to mile 13.

At this point I’m not going to lie, my feet were killing me. I had blisters on both feet and I was regretting my decision to not wear my new shoes (I had worn them on a few runs before the race). I also knew I was SO close to the end but I couldn’t push through, I had to walk and get a little water to keep me going. I walked around the corner to New York Street and then as soon as I got through to West Street I realized there was a huge hill at the end before you turned the corner to the finish line. I walked a little of the way and was like SCREW IT, I’m pushing through this! The crowd noticed me pick up and all these people kept cheering for me to finish strong and were telling me “YOU CAN DO IT, FINISH STRONG!” That was all I needed to haul ass and pass a bunch of people around me.

You’ll notice in this pic that you can see a bunch of half-marathoners behind me, I pushed through and passed all of them all the way back until the lady in the purple top! I was on FIRE! I knew I wanted to taste the victory of finishing and I just wanted to be able to stop! I started tearing up and told myself I couldn’t stop.

When I got closer to the end I threw up my arms because to me, no matter if my gun time was 2:43, I had finished 13.1 miles and in my mind I was a champion. I started tearing up when I went through the finish chute and was just dazed and confused. I couldn’t believe it, my journey was over and I finished! My goal time was 2:40 going into the event and I blew that away with my official chip time of 2:38:55.1!

I was really glad that I packed a mini cooler with ONE coconut waters and a EAS Myoplex Vanilla Cream shake. I grabbed a banana, bottle of water and a powerade zero in the finish chute but I wasn’t really finding any cookies or bagels I wanted (or could eat). It was good to have the Coconut water because it instantly hydrated me after my long run and I just felt really good. Since I had it in training it was perfect for my after race drink!
I loved getting my “bling bling” for the first time and I’m SO proud of it! I’m not going to lie, I wore it while watching football on Sunday and also Saturday night when we were watching TV. The ribbon is really cool and I just am so proud of my first half-marathon. I know I need to work on some things when I do my Mini-Marathon training starting in January but for the next week I’m just reveling in my finish! I’ve got a massage on the schedule for today and I’m off work so it’s my last day of relaxing before it’s back to the grind.

Thanks for all of the support and well wishes, it really meant a lot to me these past few days!

My first half-marathon is under my belt and I feel AWESOME about my accomplishment! I still can’t believe how far I’ve come since joining a gym at the end of January. I wasn’t able to run more than 90 seconds as of February 1 and now I’m running 13.1 mile races! It shows how easy it is to start running and how easy it is to run injury free when you combine strength, cardio and lots of stretching.

Since I had taken a half-day on Friday I was able to get all my race gear together and ready to go before we even went to dinner. My mom came into town for my race so before we headed to dinner Rod and Mom picked out their strategy to cheer me on for the race. She was at four different locations and Rod was at nine different locations. Both were at the start and finish line which were very motivating!

For my big carb loading dinner on Friday night we went to Buca di Beppo and feasted on their Penne San Remo (substituting whole wheat pasta for their regular pasta) and their proscuitto stuffed chicken. We also split an appetizer of fried calamari and the antipasto salad. It was SO good and the perfect carb loading for the night before a big race! There’s also a TON of leftovers in our fridge so we have lunch for this week, yum!

In the morning I woke up bright and early at 5:30 after a night of tossing and turning. I was SO nervous and excited that I spent most of the night looking at the clock and dreaming about the upcoming race. I’m really glad that I went to bed at 9:15 on Thursday so I had a night of rest to base my race off of (I can’t thank my trainer enough for that bit of wisdom)!

For breakfast I had a slice of Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin bread topped with Almond Butter. We stopped at Starbucks (where I had my first red cup of the season) so I could grab a soy latte. I actually ran into a guy that I graduated with from Butler in the parking garage and we were off to the starting line. I went through my stretches and ran into someone I worked with at the TV station who is a decorated racewalker! He put my nerves to ease, I stretched again and used the port o’lets before saying goodbye to Rod and my mom.

To keep myself at the proper pace (and since they didn’t have official corrals) I got in line right behind the 5:00 Marathon Pace Group and figured that was a perfect place for me to run the first half of the race. I saw Boomer (the Pacers mascot) and was off! It really kept me calm to be standing with a pace group that was all about just running it and having fun. There were a lot of first timers in that group and that also eased my nerves. I didn’t see Rod or my mom since there was such a crowd, but they at least got a picture of the sign so I knew where I started!

The first major landmark we ran past was the Lucas Oil Stadium where the Indianapolis Colts play. There were a lot of people cheering as we came around that corner and that was where I first saw Rod! I was SO glad to see him I started cheering, clapping and waving my arms around.

I still had my gloves at this point and was really glad that I had a gun time of 14:00 for my first mile. On my watch I did a 10 minute mile so I was really excited. I might have been a little too excited because I really picked up the pace and at the next mile marker the timer read 21:00 - eek! I started slowing down so that I wasn’t overexerting myself too early in the race. Heading up Meridian street to the Monument was really special. I started getting choked up a little when we were coming through there as the monument was where Rod and I got engaged back in 2007!

It was really cool to be part of such a large group of people touring the city and seeing all the sights that Indianapolis has to offer. When we ran through the circle and past the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s theater they had music playing and it was really fun to run on the bricks.

Rod got a great picture of me running through the circle and I look SO happy. I think I was still in awe that I was doing this and that there were so many people out running on a chilly morning. Around Mile Three my stomach really started hurting. I had been drinking water at each station (and walking through the stations so I could drink properly) so I figured to break out some of my Clif Shot Bloks.

It took me a while to get into the package and by the time I finally got them open I was right by Rod on Massachusetts Ave! I love the picture he got of the runners with Chase tower in the background. What a perfect fall view of Downtown Indianapolis!

I’ve got my shot bloks in hand and I’m just smiling away in this shot. I was really happy as I was still on part of the loop I run on my own. It just made me really appreciate all the spectators and just how much energy and excitement the runners had! I know I was in a slower group but everyone was really supportive and encouraging of everyone around them.

Towards the end of Mass Ave one of the local high schools had their drumline out keeping people motivated. They were really good and fun to watch as we were running by, although there wasn’t a water stop there where there was supposed to be one (I was a little obsessed with the course map before the race). Running by the Indianapolis Public Schools bus depot was really cool as the Marathon was raising money for IPS and they had all the buses out honking and cheering for the runners.

When we came around 10th street there was a family who had set up their own water stop and was all dressed in crazy costumes. The kids were handing out cups of water and the adults were cheering like crazy. Anytime I saw people out cheering I made sure to yell and cheer to thank them for coming out. It may have used some precious energy but I had so much fun, it was almost like a party to me. Running up along Central to the Old Northside was really rewarding because I usually run that stretch at the beginning of a run so I felt like I had just gotten started and it was almost mile number five!

I think this recap is getting long enough, I’m going to continue it on in my next post! If you’d just like to know how I did, you can visit my results here.

I’ve got a recap coming soon, but the official results were published last night so I thought I’d at least post those so you know how I did!

Place    Age                                                      Split-1    Avg
Overall  Grp  Name                     City & State     Sex Age     10.0K   Pace     FINISH
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   2326  242  JESSICA XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  INDIANAPOLIS IN    F 26  1:10:49.8  12:07  2:38:55.1

Not bad for my first time, plus I beat my goal time of 2:40! I’m SO proud of myself and I’m not going to lie, I wore my medal last night while we watched TV!

Have a great Sunday and I promise to post the first part of my recap soon!

Jess and I just got back from this year’s Brewer’s Cup awards ceremony.  We won another first place ribbon!  This year we won in the BJCP category of English Brown with our Dark Mild.  Dark Mild is a dark beer that is very light in flavor and alcohol - ours weighs in around 3.5%.  We received good marks all around on all the beers we entered and really didn’t have any significant complaints about our beers, which is great.  Typically it was noted how clear the body of our beer was (which is a good thing for the styles we entered), how good the head retention was and that there were no traces of any adverse flavors or aromas.

Jess with our blue ribbon

If you didn’t already know, last year our third batch of beer ever, a Chile Beer, won first place in the category of Vegetable, Herb, Spice and Christmas beer.  The Brewer’s Cup is the Indiana State Fair’s beer competition, in which there are a large number of categories for both homebrewers and professional brewers to compete in.  With over 700 beers submitted this year, it’s a great honor to receive yet another first place ribbon!  We might even pursue brewing this one up for the Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am competition next year.

That is all…

I did it - I ran my first competitive 5k AND had a race pace of less than 11 minutes! I beat my original goal pace by 00:01:05 and was way under the time of my “practice” 5k a few weeks ago! 

My official race time and results! I’m just blown away by my times and how well I placed. The overall was out of 4000 people and I’m not sure about my division. I just am SO happy that I did so well at my first competitive 5k! Here’s a few pictures from the day:

Me with my pre-race latte. Mo’Joe was closed so we hit up Starbucks.

The 500 Festival Public Art display and the hot air balloon send-off.

The beginning of the 500 Festival Finish Line 5k

Here I am at the 2 mile marker in the purple hat - 22:25 isn’t bad for two miles!

Here I am at the 3 mile marker. At this point I knew I was close to the end and I couldn’t wait to cross that finish line!

Here I am at the end with my medal and my bag of fruit. I was SO glad to see Rod at this point and so proud of my finish.
I thought I had done 34:24 according to my Polar F6 which was about 1:30 less than my previous 5k time.

It was a great race and I’m now SO excited for Outrun the Sun in June. I can’t wait to increase my mileage and set my first record for a five mile race!

That’s right, we have another new addition to the Harbison Weaver household.  It’s not another dog or a baby, but a 2009 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited!  :D  We had a lot of trouble with the Jeep and after a lot of Google research we decided that it was time to get a new car.  I finally made the decision between the Nissan Rogue and the Subaru Outback.  We ended up settling on the Outback last Thursday night.

Dreyer and Reinbold tracked down the color I wanted in Columbus, OH over the weekend; had it shipped to their dealership on Monday and we picked it up last night!  Since Dreyer and Reinbold is also a BMW dealership we get free car washes on Saturdays for the life of the vehicle and a free loaner car anytime I take the vehicle in for service.  After not having a vehicle while the Jeep was in for engine service that is a huge perk for me.  I think we picked the right dealership to buy our Outback from!

A few pictures:

The rear view, I already have my Butler University plate on the Outback!

Off Black Leather interior with wood accents and the all-weather floor mats.

The headlights look so sporty for a wagon and the tow hitch is covered on the front bumper.  You can also tell it came from Ohio - the bumper is pre-drilled for a front license plate

Roof rails complete with cross bars - we might finally get a bike rack!

Notice that Bulldog on the plate - it matches the wagon! 

The Outback is a joy to drive and it has an awesome panoramic sunroof.  I think this might be the most excited I’ve been about a new car other than getting my license at 16!  I can’t wait to take it camping in June with the dogs! 

Some people know that I’m working very hard on getting into the best shape of my life and maintaining that to help my overall total body fitness (including mental).  I’ve joined a gym and am working very hard to work on my professional development at work.  I’m working with a personal trainer to reach my goals and eventually I’d like to run a marathon one day!

My big news right now is that I registered for my first big 5k race! I registered for the Finish Line 500 Festival 5K tonight which is a 5K race that shares the start and finish lines with the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon.

I know I’m not at a point where I can do a half-marathon yet, but I figure this will be a good starting point and I can register for next year’s mini at the finish line! I’m very excited to do this as it’s my first 5k after trying to get myself back into shape. It’s going to be the first one with the goal to run the whole time and the one that I’m considering to be my first “real” race! I’ll get to participate in the Mini’s Expo and their after race party so I’m pretty excited about this for my first big race.

Any training suggestions?

Today Rod and I joined our neighbor, Eric, for a trip up to West Lafayette to watch Number 14 Purdue take on Wisconsin.  We stopped off for lunch at Sgt. Prestons in Lafayette and took their shuttle bus over to the game.  It was a pretty good idea, we were able to finish up our tasty Three Floyds Robert the Bruce on the bus, and get there just in time to cheer the Boilers to victory!

A few pictures:

Mackey Arena is a pretty great place to see a basketball game.  We were in the upper deck and we still had a great view!

This picture is small, but on the Jumbotron - PURDUE WINS!

A close up on the final score.

Two happy Boilers fans!

It was a great Sunday and both of the games we saw this weekend we were rooting for the winning teams! :D  Tomorrow I start at the NCAA and Rod is meeting with our contractor about the front door.  Tonight is pretty low key, Rod and I are going to play some WiiSports and head to bed!

I hope my first day goes well, keep your fingers crossed for me! 

I have some good news!

Last month before Thanksgiving I was laid off due to Tribune trying to get some things under control before declaring bankruptcy earlier this month.  Rod and I figured things out and we knew we’d be okay until the middle of next year with cutting down on spending.

Almost immediately, I went into job search mode and have been applying just about anywhere with openings that had positions that I was qualified for!  I’ve had many interviews (a total of 12 in 6 weeks) and am pleased to announce that I will be starting at the NCAA Headquarters in a few weeks!

A few pictures of the beautiful building I’ll be working in (it’s actually right next to where we got married - I’ll be parking in the same garage as the State Museum!):

Here’s the view of the NCAA Headquarters from the canal.

Here’s the front of the building behind the Hall of Champions.

I’m extremely excited to be working in Member Services and am looking forward to the quick commute.  I’m also excited for the opportunity to be working in such an exciting field!