Parkway Summit Rap

Road Trippin with Riley!

Saturday morning STEB hit the road with Riley
Headed to Acme PA to visit her family; both were smiley!
They rolled into town around 2:30 pm -
Before long they all took off again!
Packet pickup with Lynn then a course preview;
Then dinner with the family - STEB's favorite it's true!
Meanwhile Riley got to play with Izzy and Zena out back -
It was like their own private dog park - that's a fact!

Uncle Bobby's Dog Park!

Headed back to Lynn's after that, and it stands to reason
Stopped for ice cream at Suzy's because it was in season
Next morning the point to point race didn't start till 9 o'clock -
Met Lynn's friend at the finish for a ride to the start, and that rocked!

Smiles over Short Porta Potty Lines!

Porta potty lines were nice and short -
Before we knew it it was time to line up to start!

Shadow Selfie - check!

There was a line with an 'S'  painted on the ground;
No arch with balloons could be found!

Ready to Run Uphill!

But we were in front of the Hopwood Fire & Rescue!
And one of the fire fighters did the course in full uniform -  whew!

Going Up, Up, UP!

The race is literally uphill a-l-l the way
Except for one small section near the beginning and at the finish - yay!
The goals were simple: run the first mile and finish under and hour
Got to make it uphill 3.5 miles under your own power!

Scene from the Scenic Overlook!

And you know the course is pretty steep
When there's a scenic overlook within reach!
At the end they told STEB she was the first rabbit to finish...
Does it matter that she was the only rabbit in it?!

Made it to the Top!

All in all STEB had a great time with her cousins,
And would do the Mt Summit Challenge race again!

Kerri with her Age Group Winner Mug!

Lynn's daughter Kerri even won her age group,
In her first race ever, that's the scoop!

Lynn with Sue, the Shuttle Driver and Age Group Winner!

Our shuttle driver to the start also won hers,
Then she ran back downhill to get back to her car no detours!
There were some fast peeps that ran uphill -
STEB swears they have an iron will!
The post race party was held in the historic Summit Inn
There was pizza, lemonade, tea, and a great band, for the win!

The Martyr Karin band ROCKED!

Here's the data from STEB's Garmin watch
Maybe next year she can take it up a notch?

All Uphill, All the Time!

From her splits below you can see,
That in her case a negative split was not to be!

Elevation Gain v Elevation Loss! Yikes!

STUR was so happy to have Andy and Jeff in town;

Eating lasagna at her house on Friday is where they could be found!

They hit the sack and rested up for Saturday -

Since around DC is where they'll play!

The boys went for a run in the am and got caught in the rain...

They enjoyed their time and didn't complain.

Metro Selfie!

The sun began to shine so they hopped on the train -

They had a destination- it wasn't in vain!

Their ultimate desire was to reach the home of Frederick Douglas -

He was known for fighting against slave injustice.

STUR at the Frederick Douglas House!

They arrived in time to get a nice tour -

It was very fast paced and certainly not a bore!

Back on the train and up to the mall -

First was a stop for gelato y'all!

Then they made their way over to Ford's Theater -

Learned here about Lincoln's assassination conspirators.

Headed over to Del Ray for some dinner,

Del Ray pizza was certainly a winner! 

Back home prepared for the GW Parkway Classic-

Don't worry they didn't do anything drastic!

Went to bed again at a reasonable hour -

So at 5 am their moods wouldn't be sour!

WUDoc met the group over at STUR's -

Since she was going to be the chauffeur!

Caught the shuttle over on Eisenhower Avenue -

Very organized system - it's true!!

Race Shuttle Selfie!

Arrived at Mount Vernon at exactly 6:47-

It was chilly but standing in the sun felt like heaven!

Ran into RBud over by the port potty-

Inside those things they had to be "squatty"

Ready to start the GW Parkway Classic!

Once in the corrals,  time for everyone to run their own race -

Hopefully the suck they will NOT have to embrace!

The last thing WUDoc said was "everyone run happy!"

STUR wanted to do just that very badly!

Conditions were perfect for a negative split;

If only STUR's knees and feet would permit!

They did! And she finished this awesome race with a grin -

Can't wait for next year to do it again!

Success at the GW Parkway 10-Miler!

Met up with ALL her crew eventually...

Also seeing the Mt Vernon CrossFit crew was her destiny!

Photo Op with Coach Dan aka Bounding Bunny!

The rabbits had time for a photo op with Coach Dan -

Also Coach Deidre was also there on hand.

Next caught the shuttle back to the car -

Hit up Starbucks since it wasn't too far.

STUR's group once again hit the Metro -

You say the Jefferson Memorial- it's a GO!

Andy and Jeff needed stamps for their National Park Passport Book;

STUR bought one too - she was hooked!

Getting Stamped!

I Do, Shower, and a Prison Break Rap

STUR feels like she started the weekend off just right -
Got in a swim while her car was at the spa - out of sight!
Then ran down to Pacers to get her number for the GW Parkway 10-Miler-
When her errand was done she was a smiler!!
Then attended a baby shower for a CrossFit friend...
After some punch and cookies she had to leave - hope she didn't offend!
Saturday morning STEB met RBug for a ride

Wheels up before 8:30, she rode Candy with pride! 

Candy, finally 'dressed' in pink!

Candy was finally dressed in pink!
Goes well with the rabbit helmets, don't you think? 

Another IronRide? Yes!

They went two times around the loop -
Here's the map if you want the scoop:

One loop, 16 miles!

Once STEB got home she had no time to rest
She had somewhere to be and has to be fancily dressed!
Met a bunch at her cousins to catch a limousine
A family wedding of Howard-Van Dyke was the place to be seen! 

Thanks, Deanna, for organizing this ride!

They were headed to Annapolis and the Naval Academy
Home of the Herndon Monument, that day it wasn't greased! 

Can you imagine climbing this monument? Greased? Navy Traditions!

Getting on base was a little bit tricky
Showing ID cause the military is picky
However they got lucky going through the gate of Officer Van Dyke
No relation to the groom, but he was awfully nice
A croquet tournament also caused a delay
Who knew folks still did that today?

DJ is the one that came up with the next line...
She's STEB's cousin Bruce's wife, and joined in on the rhyme!
"The midshipmen visual was really great...
Don't wait for me, I may be late!"
Made it to the chapel, in plenty of time
Everyone was dressed up looking so fine! 

The base chapel was really huge
STEB's first time there, it was beautiful 

The chapel was amazing - and so was the pipe organ!

Even prettier was the bride
And you know of course lots of people cried.
Before though the organ player was rocking out
He could've quit his day job without a doubt!
The ceremony was short and sweet
The groom's dad played the bagpipes after, what a treat! 

Bagpipes also Rock!
(Photo credit in link!)

Then they took a short walk to the reception -
The Naval Academy Club was their destination!
Cocktail hour was in full effect
The line at the bar was long, you can bet!
Then it was time to take their seats -
The bride and groom sat in the center of the room - so neat!

Selfie with the Bride and Groom!

Next it was time to put dancing shoes on
And sunglasses at night? Oh what fun! 

Sunglasses at night? Why not!

Everyone had a 'hella good time'
And STEB was very happy for that limo ride

#HellaCoolWedding

Prison break 10k? Check! 

This bunny found it challenging - lots of single track!

STUR, ready to break out of prison?!

Sunday brought the Prison Break 10k -
STUR got up not too early then off to Lorton she was on her way!
Got her number and ran into RBug -
For a selfie they forgot to mug!

Scenes from the prison break!

Can they make a run for it?

Turns out the majority of the course this year was on a single track trail - 
That stuff slows STUR down every time without fail!

Thank goodness there were no guards in the tower!

But who knew all this beautiful land was where a prison used to be...
Kept STUR's mind occupied you see!
Also the race was decidedly not flat -
Only after did she read the course description - too late for that!
STUR was happy to get in a great training run -
The theme and location was a bonus and lots of fun!
Mid-afternoon, STUR and STEB visited their friend the Beast -
She is doing great and practically walking around with ease! 
After a nice dip in the pool, STUR and BRab decided to do something on the fly...

Dinner at the harbor with a perfect view - no lie!

Lovely afternoon sun view! 

Snow and a 10K Rap

Friday afternoon STEB got a pedicure. What?

Prepping her toes for the 10K race – what a nut!

Saturday morning early, well before the crack

She picked up RBug and they hit the road. It was not whack!

Richmond, Virginia was their final destination

To run the MonumentAve 10K, would they see the sun? 

Got lucky with parking and ended up at a church

Thankfully they didn’t get towed, as it would’ve put them in a lurch!

Guess what? The sun was shining - it was warm standing in the rays

Finally, it was time to do a bag check and get lined up for their wave

STEB and RBug are ready to run!

The timing was perfect, as once they got to the corrals

Their wave was going off and they didn’t have to hang around!

STEB was not sure how her knee would hold up

Would she be able to finish? Or have to suck it up, buttercup?

Running along they saw lots of fun costumes and things…

Heard lots of great bands - you never know what this race will bring!

One of STEB's favorites is the VCU Athletics Band, 

They are called The Peppas, and are rockin' with energy. It's grand!

At the turn around they ran through a little squall of snow!

And heading back they saw Magnum10k, don’t you know?  

STEB in her AU hat heard a lot of "War Eagle" as she ran along 

Usually with RBug it’s the other one, which is so wrong! 

Around mile 5 they heard the song "Time Warp" being played 

But it didn’t get them magically to the finish line, we’re afraid

STEB and the RBug managed to run a negative split

Did STEB’s knee hurt? Yes, a little bit

But she made it to the finish, and was strong

And got some ice on that knee before too long

Monument Ave 10K - check! And in the same shoes!

The good news is she is no worse for wear

By next month she should be good to go – beware!

We've said it before, Sports Backers knows how to put on an event 

Were there plenty of port-a-potties? Yes – always heaven sent!

The bag check and drop off was a very organized process!

It's OK if you need to go back to add something you forgot, we confess…

The volunteers and cheer peeps were wonderful as always

Especially out there in the crazy weather, supporting the running craze! 

STEB was happy to have run this race for the fourth time straight

Will she come back in 2017? Who knows, but if so it’ll be great!

On Saturday STUR arrived at the Mt. Vernon Trail and what do you know?

Sure enough the skies opened up and it began to snow!!

She got out of the car and off she went -

For getting in a run she was hell bent!

She got in just a tiny bit under eight -

Since the GW Parkway Classic 10-miler awaits!
At boot camp Sunday you had to really know your ABCs!
Each letter of your name corresponded to an exercise - whee!

Boot Camp ABCs? Yes!

For STUR it meant 80 burpees and 90 push-ups...
Was there also four minutes of wall sitting? Yup!
Later on Sunday, STUR and STEB met up at the Rec....
The Chinquapin Center if you had to guess! 
They both were psyched  to get their swim on -
So very glad it wasn't at the break of dawn!

STUR is ready to go; STEB is not quite there yet!

STUR is good at kicking butt in the water;
And STEB had fun trying to keep up with her!

Here's most of the swim workout!

Cherry Blossom Brick Rap

STEB started the weekend at Friday morning CrossFit
Did her abs got a workout? Yes, more than a bit!
STUR hit up the Cherry Blossom 10-miler packet pick up
Listened to Olympian Meb giving a speech - what luck!

Meb is going to represent the US at Rio this Summer at the age of 41! 

 

Then Saturday morning brought STEB a run/swim brick:
Just 30- and 45-minutes, both were kind of quick!
And on Saturday morning STUR also did a nice little brick:
An hour of swimming and a 25-minute run did the trick!
Met with RBud for the swim...
The headed out to run for the win! 
Later that morning, STUR, STEB, and BRab went to visit the Beast.
She was looking good to say the least!

Margie the Beast is amazing!

STEB brought her uke in case the Beast wanted to play...
And after some visiting, some jamming was done - yay!
STEB spent Saturday night with good friends for dinner
And celebrating her Godson's birthday - it was a winner!
For STUR Sunday morning brought Cherry Blossom 10-miler number 18…
The fact she could even run it seemed like a dream!
In the last 4 and half months she has run only 19 miles total -
She's just happy with all the injuries to even be mobile!
Woke up to a morning that was windy and freezing -
Real feel of 21 degrees? You must be teasing!
She had on so many layers and was afraid to run in her rabbit ears -
That they might blow away to oblivion was the fear.
Hoped to meet up with WuDoc in the green wave start -
But it looked like the two rabbits will have to begin the race apart.
STUR was surprised to run seven miles straight!
The she decided a run/walk approach would be her fate.
Very happy to finish feeling strong -
She knew WuDoc wouldn't be far along!
Found her near the "DrinkMore water" truck,

Their meeting was given all over to luck!

Team Rabbit happened to do that in 2013 

Funny that it happened again it seems!

Time for a quick photo op

Then those rabbits had to hop!

Ears - check! Photo - check!

They ran back to the metro in record time;
It was very cold even though the sun would shine!
For this race - she gives consistent swimming and CrossFit all the credit -
And happy she did not need the help of a paramedic!
The rest of the day she was very lazy…
As any other activity would certainly seem crazy!
RBud got in another swim on Sunday
Some upcoming outdoors swims won't be grim!