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November 08, 2005
Crime Scene; Barely Beating the Clock
Whew! It's been a crazy few days in more ways than one. I'm happy to have a moment catch up on my blog. The madness all started on Thursday night while I was sleeping on the couch. R. woke me up to the hysteria transpiring right outside our door/window...he wasn't sure. He had heard people fighting and then four shots, which he thought were firecrackers at the time. A swarm of cops, EMTs, search dogs, and a helicopter search team blanketed our neighborhood within minutes. It turned out that one of our neighbors had been fatally shot and another female was wounded badly in a domestic incident. My neighbors and I were really scared when we didn't exactly know what was going on and while the suspect was loose. I saw the police with a dog combing the tree line behind our condo. It was very eery and sad to me because 1) I had never been that close to a crime scene, 2) I couldn't believe it was happening in our *safe* neighborhood, and 3) that someone died senselessly. After the tragedy, I couldn't go to sleep. I still get freaked out every time I pull into our parking lot and see that the foyer light has been on since that night. I am, however, relieved that it was not a random crime. As much as I'm interested in forensic science, it's probably better that I didn't go into that work. I would think about it too much at night.
I was pretty tired when I woke up on Friday. I had a lot of work to get done in the AM before hitting the road to pick up R. from work (which was on the way down) and head to Newport News for Reserves duty and the 230th Marine Corps Birthday Ball. It was the first time for R. to drive down with me and met my Marines and boss with this unit. We checked into the hotel next to where the event was being held. I didn't feel so bad about leaving R. there while I worked because the place had so many great amenities. In fact, he took the liberty of racking up the room service and movie bill! The Ball was actually on Saturday night, and we brought my mom and sister too. They all had a decent time. My mom loves dressing up and taking pictures, though I'm more into the ceremony, traditions, and history. Oh, I almost forgot that part of the weekend included the physical fitness test. I was extremely nervous about making the 21 minute - 3 mile cut off for a 100 points because I've always had a perfect "300" score for the entire test and wanted that 300 again. I just knew that I wasn't in shape to run a fast 3 miles. Lesson learned from last week's 5k was that I'd have to be uncomfortable from the get go to break 21, as there were no extra miles to warm up like in the marathon. At the start line, everyone was comparing how how fast they expected to run. That was helpful because once we got going, I knew who to keep in my sights. The course was a flat out and back in a park along the water. There was a strong headwind on the return trip, but having driven the course on Friday, I knew where the last half mile landmark was to kick it in. And yes, I did make it. 20:55. I was dry heaving the last 300 meters when my stomach seized up from nerves, but I was so happy that it didn't matter. Doesn't beat my all time best of 18:15, but it was a precious victory because I had a lot of self-doubt going in.
Last week quickly blurred into this one. As soon as we got home from NN, I started slaving away on school work. Tons of it. We had a quiz and camera business decisions due and a group telecon yesterday, and case study. I also had to submit my monthly report to my Reserves commander and respond to several email inquiries. Needless to say, I could fall asleep on the keyboard right now.
I still managed to run all my planned miles (which aren't much at this time) and sneak in a few other workouts. The lower mileage is great in the sense that I have lots of energy to push hard on just about every run.
Weds, Nov 2. 8.2mi speed. w/u 15min, 8 x 40 sec @ 100% w/3min jog, 28 min c/d. Tune up for fitness test. The intervals were tough but the rest was just enough to feel renewed for the next.
Thurs, Nov 3. Aerobic swim during lunch - 250m w/u, 2(5 x 100m w/30 sec rest) w/3min rest between sets, 250m c/d.
7mi recovery run - tops of quads sore from speed workout.
Fri, Nov 4. off
Sat, Nov 5. Fitness test. 3mi in 20:55, 70sec flexed arm hang, 100 sit ups in 2min.
Sun, Nov 6. 1:25 (30 miles) on stationary bike. Rode hard for first hour. Legs got tired and petered out for the rest.
Mon, Nov 7. 5mi recovery run. Pushed on last mile.
Tues, Nov 8. Swim during lunch - 250m w/u, 5 x 100m w/30sec rest, 550m easy, 250m c/d. The fast 100s are hard! Need to get in better aerobic swimming shape.
7mi aerobic run - 1mi w/u, ran remainder comfortably hard even though this was supposed to be at an easy pace.
I'm loving the pool across from my office. The swim is generally rushed, but that's okay, because it breaks up the day nicely. And not every workout ends up being a brick since I can spreadout doubles. Besides, who doesn't daydream of running or working out when they're at the office?
Posted by Leilani at November 8, 2005 11:00 PM
Comments
Wow, this blog entry covers it all. Congratulations on breaking 21:00, that's awesome! I'm sorry to hear about the death in your neighborhood.
Posted by: Alison at November 9, 2005 12:57 PM
that is super crazy about your neighborhood.
(and i knew you could break 21:00!)
and i am super jealous you can workout at lunch...it's completely not possible for me for another 8 weeks or so. enjoy!!!!
Posted by: Audrey at November 9, 2005 01:20 PM
Congrats on the fitness test!
Posted by: Dawn at November 9, 2005 04:39 PM
Eek about the violence in the neighborhood, and sad that it happened. But, as you said, there is probably consolation in the fact that it was a targeted crime rather than some random horrendous behavior.
You're getting some awesome tri-training workouts in, that's great! I've been getting more and more into the biking thing, and I would love advice from you and R. regarding biking workouts and such. I intend for running to be the main focus this winter, but I love working out on my indoor trainer, and I'd love some good ideas for what to do!
Posted by: Meghan at November 9, 2005 10:34 PM