Happy holidays, everyone! I hope that everyone is enjoying this time of year.
Stacey and I had a great Christmas with our almost-human cat, Tasha. We even had a bit of snow in Raleigh on December 26!
What's next? Well, it looks like it is going to be 70 degrees on New Year's Day. What a great way to start 2005! Hopefully I will be back running by then!
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Thursday, December 23, 2004
My First Half Marathon!
I successfully ran my first half marathon (13.1 miles) on Saturday, December 11 at Kiawah Island, SC! The temperature was in the 50's during the run, about 25 miles southeast of Charleston (just north of the Georgia border).
My official time was 2:02:30, which put my rank at 859/1931. I had hoped to come in under 2 hours, but I had a really bad leg cramp around mile 10. I didn't know if I would be able to keep running, but I pushed my way through it. Despite ending up with a sprained hamstring, I am glad that I completed the run and see it as a significant milestone for me personally.
Here is my "official" photo crossing the finish line!
My official time was 2:02:30, which put my rank at 859/1931. I had hoped to come in under 2 hours, but I had a really bad leg cramp around mile 10. I didn't know if I would be able to keep running, but I pushed my way through it. Despite ending up with a sprained hamstring, I am glad that I completed the run and see it as a significant milestone for me personally.
Here is my "official" photo crossing the finish line!
Kiawah Island
Our trip to Kiawah Island, SC was to run my first half marathon.
Stacey and I drove down on a Friday afternoon to our villa at the private golf resort. The drive there was very quick and non-eventful, as we have made the journey down I-95 several times in the past. Without holiday traffic it's easy to go 85-90 mph the whole way and make great time. We made the 320 mile trip in a little over 4 hours, including two short stops.
Upon arriving at the villa, we ate dinner and just relaxed with Matt and Shannon, and Jingles (the Chihuahua) who we split the two bedroom condo with.
The next morning, I ran the half marathon (in a little over two hours). I had a bad leg cramp ant around mile 10, and consequently sprained my hamstring, but all in all I was happy with my performance. The island was beautiful to run on, and I think I'm going to start looking for our second home (condos there are $650K and homes are only $1M-2.5M+)!
After cleaning up from the run at the villa, we decided to head into Charleston for the rest of the day for dinner and some much needed walking. We ate dinner at T-Bonz on the Market and walked the streets and market of the historic district. After grabbing a much needed Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks for dessert, we headed back (me in pain) to Kiawah for a good night's sleep before our drive back to Raleigh the next morning.
Stacey and I drove down on a Friday afternoon to our villa at the private golf resort. The drive there was very quick and non-eventful, as we have made the journey down I-95 several times in the past. Without holiday traffic it's easy to go 85-90 mph the whole way and make great time. We made the 320 mile trip in a little over 4 hours, including two short stops.
Upon arriving at the villa, we ate dinner and just relaxed with Matt and Shannon, and Jingles (the Chihuahua) who we split the two bedroom condo with.
The next morning, I ran the half marathon (in a little over two hours). I had a bad leg cramp ant around mile 10, and consequently sprained my hamstring, but all in all I was happy with my performance. The island was beautiful to run on, and I think I'm going to start looking for our second home (condos there are $650K and homes are only $1M-2.5M+)!
After cleaning up from the run at the villa, we decided to head into Charleston for the rest of the day for dinner and some much needed walking. We ate dinner at T-Bonz on the Market and walked the streets and market of the historic district. After grabbing a much needed Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks for dessert, we headed back (me in pain) to Kiawah for a good night's sleep before our drive back to Raleigh the next morning.
New Orleans
Stacey and I spent Halloween weekend and the first week of November in New Orleans. It was out first trip to the Big Easy and we had a great time!
We traveled to New Orleans for the Macromedia MAX 2004 conference (an IT conference relating to Macromedia products). For more on the conference, check out my MAX 2004 blog posts.
We flew from Raleigh late Saturday morning and arrived in New Orleans early that afternoon. We went to the French Quarter that night after exploring River Walk, an indoor mall with a boardwalk on the Mississippi. Yes, all my elementary education has paid off - I spelled that right! We went to Preservation Hall for some live jazz that evening and it was truly amazing. I would highly recommend that place to anyone (if you can get in). It is so tiny that they only allow a few people in at a time. Bourbon Street was wild that night (as expected) but was especially insane because it was Halloween eve! There were people wasted out of their minds, along with people in outrageous costumes and in drag. Early the next morning, we headed back to our room for what we thought would be a good night's sleep. Little did we know that this drunk b***h on her cell phone would keep us up the entire night with her multiple loud conversations in the hallway. Despite several people telling her to shut her trap and threatening her with bodily harm, including hotel security, she would not shut her trap. Though the hotel wouldn't do anything for the inconvenience we experienced, Amex ultimately came through (as always) and credited us for the room. Thanks Amex!
The next day we checked into our hotel for the remainder of the conference, the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. We ate lunch at Riverwalk (Cajun Crawfish Po'Boys...yum!), went back to Bourbon Street after trying to check out St. Louis Cemetery (closed) and capped off the day with an evening dinner jazz cruise on the Mississippi. That was a great experience and we pretty much had the boat to ourselves.
The next morning the conference started, so our days were spent inside the enormous convention center. Highlights of our weeknight adventures include dinner at the Bourbon House, Gordon Biersch, Mardis Gras World, Mother's, and the Hard Rock Cafe. Cafe Du Monde was awesome for breakfast - their beignets were to die for.
Before returning to the Tar Heel State on Friday night, we spent our last day in New Orleans checking out the Garden District and Lafayette Cemetery No. 1. We took the walking tour that was recommended as the best by Fodor's and our guide did not disappoint. My only annoyance is that they only took cash (no credit card awards!) but the tour itself was great.
We traveled to New Orleans for the Macromedia MAX 2004 conference (an IT conference relating to Macromedia products). For more on the conference, check out my MAX 2004 blog posts.
We flew from Raleigh late Saturday morning and arrived in New Orleans early that afternoon. We went to the French Quarter that night after exploring River Walk, an indoor mall with a boardwalk on the Mississippi. Yes, all my elementary education has paid off - I spelled that right! We went to Preservation Hall for some live jazz that evening and it was truly amazing. I would highly recommend that place to anyone (if you can get in). It is so tiny that they only allow a few people in at a time. Bourbon Street was wild that night (as expected) but was especially insane because it was Halloween eve! There were people wasted out of their minds, along with people in outrageous costumes and in drag. Early the next morning, we headed back to our room for what we thought would be a good night's sleep. Little did we know that this drunk b***h on her cell phone would keep us up the entire night with her multiple loud conversations in the hallway. Despite several people telling her to shut her trap and threatening her with bodily harm, including hotel security, she would not shut her trap. Though the hotel wouldn't do anything for the inconvenience we experienced, Amex ultimately came through (as always) and credited us for the room. Thanks Amex!
The next day we checked into our hotel for the remainder of the conference, the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. We ate lunch at Riverwalk (Cajun Crawfish Po'Boys...yum!), went back to Bourbon Street after trying to check out St. Louis Cemetery (closed) and capped off the day with an evening dinner jazz cruise on the Mississippi. That was a great experience and we pretty much had the boat to ourselves.
The next morning the conference started, so our days were spent inside the enormous convention center. Highlights of our weeknight adventures include dinner at the Bourbon House, Gordon Biersch, Mardis Gras World, Mother's, and the Hard Rock Cafe. Cafe Du Monde was awesome for breakfast - their beignets were to die for.
Before returning to the Tar Heel State on Friday night, we spent our last day in New Orleans checking out the Garden District and Lafayette Cemetery No. 1. We took the walking tour that was recommended as the best by Fodor's and our guide did not disappoint. My only annoyance is that they only took cash (no credit card awards!) but the tour itself was great.
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