Nurse on the Run

While some of you spent your weekend at the Healthy Living Summit in my (favorite) city of Chicago, I was living it up in Atlantic City, New Jersey with the girls!  My college roommate, Sara, planned a girls weekend in Atlantic City for a couple college friends and some girls she knows from her post-college life in DC.  I’d never been to Atlantic City before, but I’ve heard stories, and let’s just say that the weekend didn’t disappoint!

While the stories are going to stay in Atlantic City (if you know what I mean), I will share a couple pictures with you!

  After battling Philly traffic (of course), I spotted this sign!

I hit the beach IMMEDIATELY with my friend Karilee, as both got there earlier than everyone else.  It’s no Costa Rica, but it was fun to lay out and catch up a little!  Soon enough it was time to meet up with the rest of the ladies, so we headed to our hotel and got ready for dinner.  After a late dinner with some super strong martinis, we hit the hotel bar and casino for a great night out!

Out with the ladies the first night!

I’m no gambler, but I watched a lot of people play blackjack and lose some money…it was crazy how some people would walk up to a table, throw down $200, lose it all in one hand, and walk away.  Yikes!  It was a fun night and we headed home a bit on the late side.

Saturday was a glorious day as well!  After getting everyone out of bed, we headed to the beach to lay in the sun!  Not much is to be said about it, other than the weather was perfect…sunny but not too hot!  Love it.

Ah, the perfect pose.

Like a kid in a candy store. 

After a fun day in the sun, we headed back to the hotel to get ready and head out to one of the downtown casinos for the night!  Definitely a fun night, and as Sara put it, the last of the appropriate pictures were taken at 12:04am, and the rest of the night stays in Atlantic City!  Sara introduced me to sweet tea vodka and lemonade, which is a fantastic drink!  Here are some blog-appropriate pictures of our night of fun:

3/4ths of the FAB FOUR.

Oh, that’s why women wear heels…

Cute picture of all the ladies…watch out, AC!

Great night with the girls!  There was discussion of making this an annual trip, which I’m totally up for.  Fantastic way to forget about it all for awhile and just have fun.  While there wasn’t anything too healthy about this trip, it was great for the mind, which is important as well.

**********************************************************************************************

Feeling the effects of the weekend, I went for a short four mile run when I got home on Sunday.  It was a little bit drizzly out, and my legs were tired!  Good thing four miles is…only four miles!

Sunday, August 15
4.03 miles in 32:11, avg pace of 8:00

I must have been sleepy this morning because I didn’t get up too early, but lucky for me, I got canceled from work for 3-7pm, so I had some extra time to run.  Of course, when you go running at 1:30pm, the heat index is 95 degrees!  I don’t necessarily mind the heat, but I’m soaking wet with sweat when I got home…what a sweaty mess.  Apparently the heat didn’t get too much too terribly since I still had a lovely run.

Monday, August 16
5.06 miles in 39:23, avg pace of 7:47

I do love summer, but I was picturing a fall run while I was running and got a little excited about what’s ahead!  Gotta head into work for 7-11pm…we call it the “princess shift”…away I go!

I’m not sure if I’ve said this before, but I think I was meant for longer distances.  Seeing as I ran a marathon without having run for nearly a month beforehand (although lots of swimming and biking was done), this is a pretty safe bet.  I like longer distances and although I have yet to master the last few miles of the marathon, overall I like to run far.  If I must say so myself, I can run fair somewhat quickly.  Short runs, which I consider to be anything less than five miles (for myself…as long as you’re out there, more power to you!), don’t feel comfortable to me since my legs tend to finally warm up after about four miles.  I’m pretty good about getting into a zone, and I think my mind is a black hole…I don’t know where the time goes!  No idea what I think about either, although here’s a glimpse into my mind during my long run today:

• Singing Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok”…classic.
• “A prisoner got loose!!” – I run by a shooting range, which happens to be next to all the signs for the local correctional facility…that’s a bit unnerving…no wonder I run so fast!
• I’M GOING TO NEW YORK!!
• Old softball cheers from my softball playing years (random, hm?).
• Sometimes, I randomly put my arms out and pretend I’m an airplane…hasn’t worked yet.

I’m sure there was more since I was running for fifteen miles, but like I said…my mind is like a black hole sometimes.  I never listen to music when I run (especially on the trail…), but somehow I’m not bored.  I must be a runner…let’s check out the stats.

Friday, August 13
15.13 miles in 1:56:42, avg pace of 7:43
Splits:  7:47, 7:52, 7:55, 7:53, 7:46, 7:56, 7:47, 7:42, 7:42, 7:31, 7:36, 7:36, 7:31, 7:33, 7:44, 0:40 (7:31 pace)

Well, that was a pretty good run.  I don’t think I could hold that pace (especially not 7:30’s…) for eleven more miles, but time will tell.  IT band is feeling good so far, so I’m holding out hope that this training cycle will go well.  56 days til the Chicago Marathon…yikes!

What do you think about when you run?  Do you listen to music?  Are you a black hole like me?  Do you chat it up with your running buddies?

**********************************************************************************************

I’m off from work today (yay!) in order to head to Atlantic City, New Jersey to hang out with these pretty ladies:

Karilee, Sara, and me!

My college roommate, Sara, planned a girls weekend in Atlantic City with a couple girls from college, as well as some girls she met post-college.  It will be a weekend of beaching (hopefully the sun will come back!), gambling (only a little), and a couple nights on the town!  It’s no Healthy Living Summit, but I’m pretty sure I’ll have a good time. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Today marks a GREAT day…it’s my dad’s birthday!  For those of you who don’t know, I have the best parents (ever)…I will fight you on that!  My dad turns the ripe young age of 63 today, and since I’m not home to celebrate with him, we celebrated this past weekend when I was home.  Since my dad is really hard to buy for (what dad isn’t?), I went with the staple idea and took him to a Cubs game for his birthday!

Of course, my dad, being the person that he is, said, “Oh, well maybe I’ll root for Cincinnati…”  Probably a better idea since the Reds won…it’s hard to win when you don’t score any runs.  “The Cubs were quite anemic today,” reported my father.

Some pictures:

Dad and me at the Bean in Chicago!

Post-Boston Marathon!

  Matching Cubs shirts!

fun facts about my dad

- He’s an architect, mainly designing laboratories and university buildings, all over the US and in Canada!
- Between being an architect and having traveled a lot, he makes a great tour guide.
- He hates eggs.
- He can fix (or attempt to fix) most things, which is why I call him when anything breaks (or when I have no clue how to check the oil in my car…or put air in the tires).
- He knows the most random facts…and I have no idea how!  That being said, Jeopardy is still not his forte.
- He sends me newspaper clippings that remind him of me. 

How awesome is your dad?  Probably not as awesome as mine, but tell me a fun fact about him anyway! 

***************************************************************************************************

Running is not something my dad and I share in common, but he does come out to many of my marathons, usually wearing a yellow or orange shirt so I spot him in the crowd first before he spots me!  Too funny.  Anyway, running has been interesting these past two days…yesterday I was about ready to give up on running, while today was fabulous!  The difference?  About twenty degrees.

Yesterday, I slept late (oops?) and was going to skip my run altogether since it was super hot and I didn’t feel too great, but at 12:15 I decided I might as well just squeeze it in…I can run four miles any day!  Well, yes, I can, but at 12:15 when it’s 95 degrees and humid, it’s just not going to be pretty.

Wednesday, August 11
4.03 miles in 32:26, avg pace of 8:03

I was drenched in sweat and ended up drinking Gatorade (which I rarely drink) when I got home because I felt like I needed it.  It’s funny how sometimes I feel like I can rock eight miles in 95 degree heat, but four miles seems like forever on other days.

My running clothes are so gross.

Running today was another story…I woke up to gray skies and a little bit of a drizzle, which made for a lovely run!  The temperature dropped to about 75 degrees, and while it’s still humid as can be, running with a slight spitting of rain and no sun made for a really enjoyable run.  I hate the feeling of sweat dripping down my forearms (it feels so weird!), but otherwise the run flew by…gotta love it.

Thursday, August 12
7.1 miles in 55:52, avg pace of 7:52

August 12th??  Since when is it mid-August?  Time is FLYIN’!

Whenever I go away for a weekend (or more!), I rarely read blogs while I’m gone since I’m too busy doing other things!  I’m always impressed by people who blog while on vacation…I usually just do a recap post when I get back.  While I wouldn’t exchange my time spent doing things (hanging with friends and family!), that means that my google reader is out of control when I get back!  It’s probably super nerdy, but I get a little stressed when my google reader is full.  Silly, isn’t it?  Well, I also feel like I miss out on a lot since, yes, I do consider my fellow bloggers to be friends, so I feel like I’m behind on your lives!

My general strategy for playing catch up is to read through each blog post of my favorite blogs, commenting on a post or two.  For food blogs…I’m not going to lie…I generally just hit “mark all as read.”  Maybe I’m a bad person, but when some people post three times per day, that adds up really quick!  I’m more in the running realm of blogland anyway.  The funny part is that I usually go through and “get rid” of the blogs I’m not going to read word-for-word and then save my absolute favorites for the end…that’s probably backwards and I should do it the other way, but I’ve always done it like that!  I’m almost caught up, so I feel a little better about life. 

How do you “catch up” on blogs?  Do you just hit “mark all as read” and start fresh?  Read only your favorites?  Skim them all?  I’ve always wondered what other people do and if my blog makes the “must read” cut. 

*********************************************************************************************

I’ve been feeling super lazy lately!  Maybe it’s the heat?  Or all the good food I ate at home?  Who knows.  Either way, I got out of bed at 12:30pm yesterday (it’s a good thing I work evening shift…) after arriving home at 3:34am!  Hopefully that’s the last time I land in Philly at 2am, although I must say…the traffic on the Schuylkill is awesome at three in the morning.    I didn’t even try squeezing in a run and instead really didn’t do much of anything…what a waste of a day.  Oh well, the weekend was worth it!

This morning I tried to get up early, but I didn’t end up getting out of bed until a little after 10.  I always think that this is “late,” but then I remember that I didn’t go to bed until two in the morning, so it is eight hours of sleep…how wacky is my schedule?

Anyway.  I was only going to run four miles today since I didn’t want to attack eight miles in the 90 degree weather, but then I decided it wouldn’t be so bad and headed out anyway.  I must be nuts because the heat didn’t seem too bad!  I took a route that I haven’t been on in a long time due to my time off from running and lower mileage, and it was lovely!  Rolling hills (which means downhills too!), enough shade that I was sheltered from the sun, and a couple cars that almost ran me over…some things never change. 

Tuesday, August 10
8.04 miles in 1:02:42, avg pace of 7:48

I think my running clothes weighed an extra four pounds when I took them off…talk about sweaty!  Let’s not discuss the sports bra tan I’ve acquired…

I’m currently blogging from O’Hare International Airport, as I decided to shell out the $7.00 for internet since my flight is delayed for two hours…not that I’m surprised since I’ve grown used to landing in Philly at 2am, so why things would be different for (what I think is) my last trip to Philly is beyond me.  But anyway, it lets me catch you all up on my wonderful weekend at home!

thursday

I arrived bright early on Thursday morning (didn’t sleep Wednesday night…lovely), and my family and I headed to my favorite breakfast place, which happened to be where I served all through nursing school.  I had some glorious blueberry pancakes, caught up with some people I used to work with, and filled my belly.  Gotta love it.  I headed home for a short nap before going to get my hair done…I don’t trust anyone else to do my hair, so I get it done when I go home.  I only cut off about two inches but it feels SOOO much shorter, and I’m not sure I like it!  I also decided to go a little blonder on my highlights…yikes.  I’ll like it in a week, I tell myself.  The rest of the day was dinner with the family (I haven’t had a meal cooked for me in ages….so nice!  Thanks mom!) and then pie with my friend and her fiance…it was my first time seeing her ring, so that was lovely.  Then I went to bed early since I was sleepy…

friday – WRIGLEY

Okay, this day will be much more interesting since I have pictures to go along with it, and if that’s all you look at…that’s fine with me. 

My day started out with a run!  I loooove all my old running routes, so I planned to hit all of them while I was home.    My first one was a short four mile run around the local community college loop.  A motorcycle class (where they teach you how to ride…something I want to try one day!) was out, and some of them waved. 

Friday, August 6
4.04 miles in 31:17, avg pace of 7:45

After my run, my dad and I hit the road to go to Wrigley!  My dad’s birthday is this week, so I gave him an early present of Cubs tickets.  I’ll be a Cubs fan forever, no matter how bad they are.  They lost to the Reds with no runs scored (“The Cubs are quite anemic,” says my dad), but going to Wrigley is fun and of course I had a bratwurst!

Wrigley!!

Matching Dad and daughter t-shirts!

I love the signs about Cubs’ games!!

After the game, my dad dropped me off at the train station and I headed home, while he headed to Michigan to help my brother move.  I met my bestest friends at Buffalo Wild Wings (I don’t have one close to me in Philly!!), and I had my first celebration beer for my job in New York.    BWW was one of our favorite places to go, and we always head them when I’m back in town.  Post-dinner, we headed to Dairy Queen for blizzards (another favorite…we don’t do “healthy eating” when I’m home…it’s fine), which was fun because the bar across the street had a band playing outdoors and we could hear them from where we were sitting eating our ice cream.    Love it!

Oh yes, at dinner my friends compared engagement rings, and it was discovered that they have the same ring.  Future fiance, please take note!

My hand (empty), first friend (engaged), second friend (married!).  I’ve been thinking about this picture for a long time, haha.

  Matching engagement rings…

saturday – my friends are the best

Saturday morning was another run, this time to the “downtown” area of my town.  This run goes by a playground, and I always like seeing the little kids out playing. 

Saturday, August 7
5.04 miles in 38:56, avg pace of 7:44

Afterwards, I had lunch with a friend who I haven’t seen in about two years…he runs and does tris, so it was fun to catch up and do a lot of talking about running!  I don’t know any runners where I live (that’s soon to change…yay!), so it was fun to talk about running for an extended period of time…you know how runners can talk forever about running!

While I was having lunch with him, my friend Katie texted me to ask if I wanted to do Chinese food and a chick flick later in the evening…she sure knows the way to my heart.    Of course!!  We stopped by David’s Bridal first to look at bridesmaid dresses, which I got to model…woo woo.  Then it was off to my favorite Chinese place!  So good.  We then headed back to my house after making the quickest Red Box decision known to man (people were behind us in line…the pressure was on!).  We had to bake…since that’s what I do, and my friends are awesome too.  Some people go home and party…I go home and we bake and watch movies.    It’s not for everyone, but I like it.

We decided on Oreo cupcakes…and let me tell you..baking is much more fun with my helpers around!  They make it more fun…look below for photo evidence!

Frosting fight!

Miles wanted some frosting. 

My friends actually said, “Don’t you need a ‘cut open’ picture??”

Taste testing!

Post-cupcakes, we watched “Couples Retreat” on my dad’s amazing TV…I thought it was quite funny, especially the couples yoga part since we did partner yoga in Costa Rica!  Haha.    Good times with good friends.

sunday – i don’t want to leave!

Sunday started off as most Sundays should…a long run on my favorite route!!  When training for my marathons at home, I ran this route a lot and I love it…I can tell you exactly what mile I am at, how far to the water fountain/bathroom, and I can get lost in my thoughts and just run as well.  The run is also broken up into different segments (this is all in my head, by the way), so it goes by pretty fast for me.  I headed out, and it started to run after about 1.8 miles, so I ran most of it in the rain.  It was actually quite lovely since it wasn’t a total downpour, and I haven’t run in the rain in awhile…I enjoyed myself!  And I love that run!

Sunday, August 8
10.12 miles in 1:19:33, avg pace of 7:52

After my long run, I showered up and headed out to meet my Katies (my two best friends from home have the same name…) for lunch at Egg Harbor, my location of former employment and home to AMAZING food.  I opted for lunch this time, which was definitely yummy.  Additionally, being a Sunday, more servers and such were there, so it was fun to catch up with them!  I truly loved working there and the people I worked with…they were so awesome.  They said I could have my job back if I went back…so tempting…

I said bye to one of my Katies at the restaurant and then took my other Katie home…we chatted about her upcoming wedding for awhile (really…I’m having a blast planning her wedding!), which was fun.  You know those friends who you can sit in their driveway for an hour just talking?  And time flies?  Yeppp, I miss that!!

My parents (who were both gone for most of the weekend…) got back in time for dinner, and we ordered Chinese from my favorite restaurant (yes…again), which was quite tasty.  Moved some furniture (cause that’s what families do…and my muscles are huge), and said bye to my mom.  Hopefully I’ll get to see her again soon!

My dad dropped me off at the airport, and I arrived to find that my flight is delayed two hours…hence my current blogging.    It’s time for one last 2:15am arrival in Philly, assuming all goes as (currently planned)…getting me home around 3:30am.  I’m not going to miss this, that’s for sure.

random side note

Reason #874 Why Illinois is Better than Pennsylvania:  You can buy beer, wine, and liquor in the same place…in the grocery store!!  Pennsylvania has crazy alcohol laws, and I was super excited to see all of the above in the grocery store…PA needs to get a clue.

Two thumbs up for beer, wine, liquor, and frozen foods all in the same location!

final thoughts

Being home really made me think that I should have pursued jobs in Chicago a little harder.  I love the city and I love my friends and family, and it kind of makes me sad that I’m not moving home.  However, if New York City is half as great as Chicago and the people I meet become half as good as friends as my friends here, then I’ll be a lucky girl.  Everyone I’ve talked to about New York says it’s an amazing place and that I’m going to love it…and I hope I do!  I’m really excited to start a new chapter, a new job, and meet lots of new people.  Two more weeks of work and I’ll be good to go.

I just have to make it to Philly first…time to board soon, I hope! 

What did you do this weekend?  I’m clearly behind on blogs, so give me the highlights! 

Have you ever been to Chicago?  It’s my favorite city. 

I’m home for a long weekend in Chicago…woo woo!  I was home last in June, which was a super quick weekend filled with a (failed) job interview.  The time at home always goes so fast, but this time I have four (almost) full days to enjoy being home, and I should be happier to come back to Pennsylvania knowing that I won’t be here much longer. 

One of my favorite things about coming home is that I get to see my parents!  I will fight you on the fact that I have the best parents ever, so I’m always happy to see them.  They’re wonderful and have done so much for me and are fun to be with, so it makes me smile to go home.  One thing you may not know about my mom is that she’s a diabetic (go insulin!), but not only that…she has celiac disease.

For those of you not in the know, celiac disease is an allergy to gluten, which a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley.  It’s what develops when you knead/mix dough, giving bread its structure and chewiness.  If you’ve ever had rice bread, you would know the difference!  When people with celiac disease eat gluten…it’s not a pretty sight.  Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea…not to mention it’s actually damaging to your small intestine!

My mom has had celiac disease for as long as I can remember (apparently my sister and I played on the hospital beds while my mom was super sick before her diagnosis), so growing up eat a lot of rice and not having “Friday night pizza” was normal for me.  My mom was asking for a cheeseburger at McDonald’s with no bun long before the “low carb” craze hit, and it’s always fun to figure out what is safe for her to eat at restaurants.  Also, I remember the days when she ate “rice cake sandwiches”…before rice bread was really all that available.

Anyway, what’s the point of all this?  Well, I discovered that my tiny town in Pennsylvania is actually quite good at catering to those with special diets!  Many of the grocery stores around here have “health food aisles,” many of which are filled with gluten free items.  I few months ago I noticed that Betty Crocker had come out with gluten-free baking mixes, so I bought a bunch (they’re not $1.00 each like mine are…) and mailed them home.  My mom was so excited!

Last week, I spotted Bisquick (you know…to make pancakes with!) in the local store, so I took a picture with my iPhone and sent to my mom, who immediately posted about her excitement on facebook.  (Yes, I have a very tech savvy mother…she told me yesterday she wants the new iPhone so she can video chat.)  Since I was headed home this weekend, I decided to stock up on some gluten free goodies for her!  Check out what I got:

 
I was browsing Whole Foods (because that’s what normal people in their free time…), and I found gluten free ICE CREAM CONES!  How cool is that??  I don’t think my mom has had an ice cream cone in 22 years.  I’m so excited to give them to her.    The cookies also looked tasty, so I nabbed some as well…although with the diabetes, not everything gluten free is good, but treats are good now and then. 

 
Linguine!  I’ve see lots of gluten free pasta, but this was my first time spotting linguine.  Many Italian restaurants are smartening up and offering a gluten free menu with rice pasta and rice pizza crusts, which my mom LOVES.  Rice pasta actually tastes pretty good too.

 
And the real winner!!  My grandma used to make biscuits using the recipe on the Bisquick box, but my mom could never have them…now she can!  That’s why I had to buy two boxes. 

All that being said…gluten free food is EXPENSIVE.  Those boxes of Bisquick were quite tiny and $4 each.  If you’ve ever tried to buy almond flour or rice flour for baking (okay, maybe that’s just me), you would know much more it costs to live this lifestyle.  However, given the option to miss out or enjoy, I would probably spend the money…especially since my mom is worth it. 

Do you (or does someone you know) have food allergies that make for an interesting diet?  Have you tried gluten free food?  What do you think?  They’ve come a long way in the past 22 years!  Also, can you imagine life without pancakes??  I know Matt can’t…

I’ve been a nurse for fourteen months and seventeen days, and I can still remember the first day I showed up like a deer in the headlights for orientation.  Even moreso, I remember my first day on my own with no preceptor.  Now, I’m not judging here (okay, I am), but I firmly  believe that being a new nurse is one of the hardest things in the entire world.  You’re expected to know everything and be efficient, but really, you actually know very little and are absolutely terrified.  You can read every book in the world and get A+’s in every class in nursing school, but the fact is that you know very little about being a nurse until you’re actually a nurse.

That being said, I think yesterday was the first day I felt fully confident in everything I was doing as a nurse…I didn’t feel like a “nurse”…but a NURSE.  I sometimes hesitate to tell people that I’m a nurse because I don’t feel like one sometimes!  But yesterday, I really felt like I knew what I was doing.  Other nurses asked me for help, and not only for my huge muscles to move patients, but for my opinion on what they should do.  More importantly, I had a confident answer to give them.  During my shift, I helped another nurse with what the proper wound care supplies were for her patient and how to fix a leaking Foley catheter.  At the end of my shift, I taught the oncoming nurse how to work a drain my patient had (nothing major, but still).

And of course, nothing makes you feel like a nurse like a patient buying you pizza.  Just saying….nurses love their food.

This post officially sets me up to have the worst night ever tonight (thank you, karma)…but people say nursing get better after a year…and then even better after 16 months.  So while I’m not there yet, I’m learning.  I don’t hesitate to ask questions (because it’s dangerous not to!), but I’m becoming more confident in myself as a nurse and trusting that I know what is the right thing to do.

Please just don’t code on me.

What kind of job do you do?  Do you feel confident calling yourself a doctor/accountant/teacher/whatever you may do?  How long did it take you to feel that way?

************************************************************************************************

I’ve been kinda tired since my triathlon on Sunday!  I think it took a lot more out of me than I thought since I wasn’t that tired during the race, but I was totally zonked on Sunday afternoon.  Perhaps it was the four hours of sleep I got beforehand…who knows.  I’ve been sleeping a lot (probably too much…oh well) and taking my runs easy in this crazy heat we’re still having.

Monday, August 2
4.02 miles in 32:42, avg pace of 8:08

Took this run super easy after the tri on Sunday since my legs were tiiiiired!  Felt good to get out there though.

Wednesday, August 4
5.05 miles in 40:40, avg pace of 8:04

I never think the heat is that bad…until I realize that it is!  “Feels like 92” is not the greatest running weather, but when fall comes and it’s 70, it’s going to be glorious!  As I was running, I kept wondering why I didn’t see anyone else on the trail (besides the fact that it’s 11:15 on a Wednesday…), then I remember that it’s 90 degrees and I’m the only crazy one. 

Time to get ready for work…I’m head to CHICAGO tomorrow for a long weekend!!  So excited!

On Tuesday, I registered for my first ever triathlon!  The SheROX tri series is a set of triathlons solely for women.  While it wasn’t my intent to sign up for a triathlon just for women, it was actually great first tri!  Women-only events tend to be very friendly and somewhat non-competitive (a “let’s all have fun and finish…go you!” atmosphere), which was good for my first tri, especially since I didn’t train specifically for it.

All of my race reports are for marathons (since that’s all I really race…oops?), so how exciting that I’m writing a non-marathon race report!  Let’s get this show on the road:

Saturday – The Expo

 
The expo for the tri was held at Lloyd Hall, which is next to the famous Philly Boathouses.  It was pretty small and not too interesting, although I will note that it took me an hour and a half to get there from where I live…one thing I will not miss about living here (I could make you a very long list…) is driving on the Schuylkill…the traffic is unbelievable! 

Anyway.  I was about ten minutes late to the athlete meeting, but I caught the gist of it.  They went over general rules about passing on the bike, making sure you have your helmet on whenever you’re on the bike, what numbers to put where, how the swim worked…etc.  Nothing too complicated, and the had a race info packet online that I had already read.  They kept reminding us to have fun and enjoy ourselves and to stay safe.  I think someone went missing (drowned?) in the Schuylkill during a tri in June, so they wanted people to know that they wouldn’t be penalized if they took a break or anything. 

Best part about the expo?  The shirt!  Women’s sizes means that my size small is a true size small and it fits…THANK YOU!  I also got my lovely yellow swim cap marking my wave.  Awesome.

Saturday night I tried to go to bed early, but I think I ended up falling asleep around 12:30, which is early by my standards.

Sunday – the beginnings

My alarm went off bright and early at 5:15am, and I hopped out of bed…I can wake up early, I just don’t since I don’t have to.  My bike (okay, it’s James’s mom’s bike that I haven’t given back yet) was already in the trunk of my car because I spent Saturday making sure I knew how to get the front tire off and on so I could get it in my little Honda Civic (thanks to youtube for the demonstration video).  I grabbed my coffee and my pre-packed bag and hit the road.

Bike in my Honda Civic!

Getting to Fairmount Park was quite easy at this early hour, and it only took me just under forty minutes…a bit different than my commute yesterday!  I assembled my bike and grabbed my stuff for the ten minute walk down to the race site.  Right before you go into the transition area to set up, you get body-marked.  Let me tell you…body marking is so cool!!  It makes you feel very official and hard core, even though everyone else is getting it too. 

I got into the transition area around 6:30am, and the first wave of swimmers was set to go off at 8am, so I had plenty of time.  Much more planning is required for a tri than for just running, but I think I managed well.  I looked around to see what other people were doing and racked my bike like them and set my stuff up underneath.  My transition set-up involved:  shoes (all unlaced and ready to go!), socks, a towel, a water bottle, a tank top with my bib on it, my helmet, and my Garmin which I turned on right before heading to the swim.

Transition set-up…I look official.

I had lots of time before the race started, so I ate a banana and a granola bar and then wandered around a bit.  Some people appeared to be all fancy and know what they’re doing, but I wore my Boston Marathon shirt to prove that I was awesome in my own right…haha.  I snapped some pictures around the course/transition area and then got some snazzy pictures of me because…well…when you’re body marked, you have to take pictures.  They look infinitely cooler than any marathon picture I’ve taken.

Body marking makes you look awesome.

Being hard core…but I think I’m laughing at the same time.

Around 7:50 they called everyone to move out of the transition area and into holding so they could start sending the waves off.  I left my flip flops and shirt in transition, leaving me in my spandex shorts and a sports bra…people were wearing all sorts of things ranging from the same as me to swimsuits to tri suits to a combo of the above. 

I was in Wave 15, so I had a long wait ahead of me since the waves went off about every four minutes.   We were able to see the waves ahead of us come out of the water and into transition and back out on the bikes, so that was cool…and helped to distract me!

the swim
600 meters – 14:53
Swim Rank – 281/993

The Schuylkill…yum.

For whatever reason, the swim was shortened from 800 meters to 600 meters…fine by me since I’m not a swimmer by any means!  When it was time for my wave to get into the water, we walked in from the beach…it was a pretty quick drop off and then we treaded water at the starting line.  A horn sounded and away we went!

I wasn’t sure what to expect in the swim.  I’ve done plenty of lap swimming in the pool and playing in oceans/lakes, but I’ve never swam with a purpose in open water.  I started out doing free style, and since the waves only had about 60 people in them, I had plenty of space to myself.  However, after about 50 meters, I started to freak out a little.  I’m not really sure why since I wasn’t being kicked and I was swimming fine, but I think the fact that you can’t really see in front of you in the water got to me.  Since doing front crawl with your head up is pretty difficult, I switched to breast stoke until I calmed down a little.  I finally came around a little and did more front crawl, but I ended up almost running into a lifeguard as I went off course…oops.  The rest of the swim was a combo of front crawl and breast stroke…definitely not my greatest swim effort ever, but I think it went okay for my first open water swim…ever.  I swallowed a bit of the Schuylkill (ew, gross), but it did not swallow me…victory!

T1 – 1:58

Swim exit!  I was so glad to see it…

For those of you not in with the lingo (although you can probably figure it out…), T1 is the transition between swim and bike, where you run out of the water, put your shoes and helmet on, grab your bike, run out of transition with your bike, and start riding.  I have no idea what a good transition time is, but I think I did well.  As soon as I got to my bike rack, I sat down and dried my feet off pretty quick, threw on my socks and shoes, put on my tank top, strapped on my Garmin, put my helmet on, grabbed my bike, and started running.  Sounds good to me.

the bike
15.8 miles – 1:02:47 – 14.8 mph
Bike Rank – 603/993

“My” bike is actually James’s mom’s bike that I borrowed way in September when I initially started having IT band issues during marathon training…and I still it.  (Don’t worry, I’m giving it back soon…)  The point is…the bike isn’t exactly meant for triathlons or road riding.  As you can see in the pictures above, it’s a mountain bike, so it’s not really meant for speed.  All that considered, I think I did pretty well on the bike.  I was hoping to be finished in under an hour, but oh well.  This was for fun. 

The course was a two loop course with two hills on it.  The first hill was little, but the second hill was a little bit of a doozy and I definitely felt it on the second lap!  It was on the bike that I realized how weird triathlons are…since people start in waves, you don’t really know if you’re ahead of people or behind them.  Yes, they have their ages on their legs, but I’m not well-versed in this tri business so I didn’t know if they were all in my wave or not.  Also, lots of people had fancy road bikes with clip-in shoes and such…I made it a point to try and pass those people haha.  I thought I did a good combination of passing/being passed by people, but I guess my overall bike effort wasn’t too snazzy…oh well.  My main goal during the bike was to stay hydrated, so I occasionally sipped water from my water bottle…very exciting.

I did see one woman wipe out on her bike…I don’t know how she managed to do it, but she was riding up against the curb (no idea why since the roads were blocked off and there was plenty of room…), so she fell over the curb.  I think she was okay, but it was just kinda weird to see.

Overall, I was pretty excited to be done with the bike since I knew running was coming up and that’s where I shine…but first…

T2 – 1:12

To the run!

T2 is much easier than T1 (at least in my one experience) because all you have to do is take off your helmet and rack your bike.  And if you’re neurotic like me, you switch your garmin setting from bike to run.  That probably cost me about three seconds…oh well.  Pretty quick transition, then off to the run!

the run
3.1 miles – 22:31 – 7:15/mile
Run Rank – 18/993

Ahh, my event!!  I’ve never really done a brick workout in my lifetime, although I did once try to run after riding the bike…I made it about a tenth of a mile before coming home, so I had a little bit of knowledge about the jelly feeling that would overcome my legs.  Maybe I didn’t push that hard on the bike, but my legs didn’t feel so much like jelly as they did like BRICKS.  Is that why it’s called a brick workout?  Anyway, my legs felt super heavy so I didn’t know what pace I was going until my Garmin told me about 7:20…it definitely felt more like 10:00 since I felt so sluggish.  Oh well, I’ll take it.  As I was running along, I noticed that I was passing EVERYONE.  And no one was passing me.  In fact, not a single person passed me on the run, and I passed a million people…it was quite a confidence booster and very fun to fly by everyone.    They had two water stations, so I grabbed a sip or two on the run, but I didn’t slow down at all.

My legs loosened up after about a mile and a half, which meant that the run was half over!  I felt good the entire time and my pace stayed around 7:10-7:20…I was comfortable and it didn’t feel like I was pushing it, although I could definitely tell that I had done some sort of activity before running the 5k.    With about a quarter mile to go, I picked it up and sped across the finish line.  Everyone else looked so tired, but I felt super strong…obviously running is my strong point here.

The best part was when I came zipping across the line, the announcer said, “And here’s Susan from (insert my town here)!!!”  I love when they can tell who crossing the finish line because then I can pretend that other people are cheering for me. 

Overall – 1:43:53
Overall Rank – 199/993
Age Group – 34/132

I’m a triathlete!!

The tri was AWESOME!  I think I did pretty well considering I wasn’t exactly training for it, but I think I have good endurance in general so I had that working in my favor.  Plus, I can really rock the run!  My expectations were low going into the race…all I wanted to do was have fun and see if triathlons are something I would like to do in the future.  (I have not-so-secret aspirations of doing an Ironman, but that’s silly to say when you’ve never done a tri before!)  Based on this experience, I think more tris are in my future…the bug bit me hard since I’m looking at an Olympic distance tri for next weekend…oh dear!

A few months ago, when I was doing a lot of swimming/biking for cross training, I thought about getting a road bike (or, you know, a bike of my own), but I put it off because I didn’t want to invest if I wasn’t sure I was going to use it.  I definitely think it would be worth it to invest in a road bike now, especially since I’m getting ready to sell my car!  One of my friends works at a bike store and can potentially get me a good discount, so I’m going to look into that.  (Any opinions on Fuji and Giant bikes??)

That being said…I’m a runner through and through, and biking and swimming don’t do for me what running does.  I go crazy when I can’t run, and triathlon training would have to involve a fine balance since running is where my heart is.  Also, running comes quite naturally to me, whereas swimming and biking do not…work would need to be done!

The tri was a GREAT experience, and I really think everyone should try one!  Although the time it took me to swim/bike/run was about the same as the time it takes me to do an easy half marathon, it was a different type of tired, and yes, I laid on the couch like a zombie for a few hours this afternoon.

As a side note, I headed to this race all by myself…I didn’t know anyone else racing and I didn’t have any spectators.  The people who I asked to take pictures of me were quite surprised that I was by myself, but you gotta do what you gotta do!  However, it is much more exciting when you know you have people looking for you and someone there to share the fun with when you finish.  Thank your spectators for your races because they definitely make it all more worthwhile!

However, I still feel quite accomplished!  I’m a triathlete…woo woo!

For those of you who have been around Nurse on the Run for the past year-ish, it’s no news to you that I hate my job.  In fact, hating nursing is one of the top ways that people find my blog through internet services!  Crazy, right?  I’ve been unhappy with my job for a long time, and while I’ve been trying to get a new one for a long time, the job market isn’t good even for nurses, so I’ve been holding tight while looking for something else.

I’ve had a couple job interviews, both in Philadelphia and Chicago, and neither of them panned out.  Neither one was really what I wanted to do, but both would have been better than my current job.  I feel like I should be more picky about my next job because I’ve since learned that your job can really affect the rest of your life, especially if it makes you miserable.  Therefore, I haven’t been applying to a ton of jobs because I can’t find any I think I’d love, although I’ve applied to a few here and there.  I finally decided to keep my interviews mainly to myself and a few close friends because the disappointment when I don’t get the job is heartbreaking to myself and gets worse when I have to tell everyone that I didn’t get the job, even with praises of “they’re crazy not to hire you!” and the like.

I finally hit the breaking point last week and as I called my mother in tears for the eight millionth time, she finally told me to quit my job and go home.  Staying here isn’t worth my unhappiness, and I can’t keep living like this.  The plan was to move home and find any job I could (go back to serving?  work at a running store?) until I got another nursing job, or found something that paid well enough that I liked.

But I’m not doing that.  Why, might you ask?

Well, the Thursday before I went to surf camp, I had an interview at a hospital in New York City.  One of the top hospitals in the city, as well as in the country.  I was super nervous, and I didn’t want to be let down if I didn’t get the job, so I didn’t mention it on here and I only told a few people about it.  My first interview was with a nurse recruiter, and I thought it went terribly, but I suppose she didn’t because she sent me to the hospital to interview with the managers on the unit.  The interviews with the managers went MUCH better, and I really liked the unit and got excited about it.

However, with the letdowns in the past, I tried not to get too excited about it.  They told me they were going to check my references while I was on vacation, and although most people said this was a good sign, my previous experiences say that this is no guarantee.  It took about two weeks to check my references, and last Friday I was told I would hear from the recruiter on Monday or Tuesday.

Monday came and went with no phone call, and I started to get nervous around 2pm on Tuesday because I told them that I work 3-11pm and that the best time to call me is before 2pm since I can’t really answer my phone at work.  However, Tuesday happened to be my day off, and I got SUPER nervous when my phone rang around 3:30pm with a New York area code.

Twenty minutes later, I officially accepted a job in New York City!!!

I’ve kept my mouth shut (except for a little freak out on Twitter…) since I needed to resign from my job before posting it all over the internet, but I gave my three weeks notice yesterday, so now I can shout it to the mountain tops that…

I’M MOVING TO NEW YORK CITY!!!!

and

I’M GOING TO BE A BURN UNIT NURSE!!

My last day at my current job is going to be August 20th, and my first day at my new job is going to be September 13th.  I’m crazy excited about this job, as I’m going to be working in a BURN UNIT!!!  I’m soooooo pumped to be a burn unit nurse, as I think it’s quite fascinating and although I’ve never had a burn patient, I think it’s going to be a great field (I’ll highlight this in another post).  The hospital is AMAZING, and I’m going to be working twelve hour night shifts (with rotation in the first year), so goodbye evening shift!

Not to mention the fact that New York is a wee bit different than my current small town in Pennsylvania, so I’m excited to live in the big city.  I’m nervous because I don’t really know New York that well (or at all…) and I don’t know many people (except bloggers!!), so I’m going to be starting over, but I think it’s going to be good.  In my life update in March, I explained that I’m young and single and can do whatever I want and go wherever I want to go…so away I go!

A huuuuuuuge THANK YOU to everyone who has listened to me complain about my job and my life over the past year…it’s been really hard and while I’ve tried to focus on being positive, that didn’t always work.  I’m so excited about this next chapter in my life, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!  I hope you’ll follow me in my journey, especially if you live in NEW YORK!!!

Do you live in NYC?  Any tips on where to live??  Let me know…bloggers and lurkers alike!  I can’t wait to meet all of you!!

If you’ve been with me since December, you may remember my Makin’ Changes 2010 post, where I listed my goals for 2010.  One of my goals for 2010 was to try a triathlon, and while I had delusions of attempting a half Ironman (that was during my time when I was swimming and biking post-Boston injury…I was going crazy!), I figured I should start a little bit smaller.  Luckily, Philadelphia is home to the glorious Schuylkill River, which allows for it to have triathlons!

While Philly was host to a couple triathlons earlier this summer, I was still worried about the state of my foot/IT band, so I held off and didn’t want to risk injurying myself more.  I started running again about a month ago, and now it’s time to TRY A TRI!  Since it’s fun to register for races five days ahead of time without any race-specific training, I’m going to be participating in the SheROX sprint triathlon in Philadelphia on Sunday, August 1.  It’s coming up soon!

Since this is my first tri and I didn’t do specific training for it (no brick workouts!), I’m just going to go and have fun…no plans to be super speedy, and I definitely don’t have any time goals in mind!  The sprint distance is a 0.5 mile swim, a 15.5 mile bike ride, and a 3.1 mile run.  I have no clue what I’m doing, but it’s going to be fun. 

i need some tips!

That being said…I really have no clue what I’m doing!  Like any proper female, I’m freaking out about what to wear!!  (I think it’s warranted in this case, however.)  To my tri buddies…any advice??  Obviously I don’t think I need to buy anything specific since it’s my first one,  but help a girl out!  Do I just wear my Speedo (one piece) for the swim?  Should I swim in a sports bra and swim bottoms so I can just throw shorts/tank on after?  This is very confusing…

I’ll take any help I can get, both in wardrobe selections and general tri advice!