Run Log January 2016

The last day of January and we ran our easy 3 (which turned into 4.5) in 45 degree weather. (which is why we decided not to turn around at the 1.5 mile mark & run the whole loop this morning)  Wish I could say that the Saturday long runs were as nice...but they were just the opposite.  Three weeks ago Mike, Dodd & I went 15 in sleeting pelting winding cold.  Two weeks ago Mike, Dodd, Kelly & I went 10 in cold and windy.  Yesterday when Mike and I walked out of the house in the 23 degree morning to head to the Y to lift, we watched the snow being blown into tornado-like swirls and both called "bullshit".  I just couldn't run outside in crappy weather for another Saturday.  UGH.  So we went back in the house, changed clothes & ran 14 miles on the TREADMILL at the Y.  That's how much I just couldn't run outside again.  Thankfully Dodd & Kelly we're planning on joining us...or we would have toughed it out.  So I listened to four different podcasts & outran everyone else who was there before me & who came after.  And I was a sweaty mess at the end of that!

I got new shoes... and the 14 on the treadmill were their third run!   They are the same Brooks Glycerin that I run in.  The outlet pair of 11's that I got finally quit ~ with a big hole by my right pinky toe.  Same place all three of my 11's wore out.  They are cute shoes & will match more of my outfits than the light blue ones.

Last night we danced the night away at the NERC Winter Party...winning the Second Sole gift box ($100 gift certificate included) and won the {as Verdi put it} going straight to h, e, double hockey sticks game, Cards Against Humanity.  I also won $60 for being FIRST OVERALL MASTERS.  Pretty cool.

January Totals:

132.51 miles for the month 
132.51 miles for the year 

210.22 miles in my Gortex Ghosts ~ two wears this month

368.78 miles in my Nike Vomero ~  Still holding on...no trail running in these, since there is no tread.

401.86 miles in my light blue Brooks Glycerin 11 ~ since there is a HOLE in them...I bet I don't wear them many more runs & I have my new ones.

19.03 miles in my new purple gray greeny Brooks Glycerin 13

Training for:    The 20 Mile Drop...April 10, 2016...with a training plan as if it were a marathon.  16, 18's and 20 coming up on the schedule.

Podcasts I'm listening to: Marathon Training Academy, Dear Sugar, & SERIAL!

My WEIGHT: around 135.  It really is holding steady...and I eat.

Some interesting facts:

Longest run this month:  15.33 ~ in the hailing windy cold.  And it really wore me out.

Highest  weekly mileage this month:  33.53 ~ January 24 to January 31 

Favorite place to run this month: ?  Maybe today...in the warmish January temperature.

# of books I read this month: one ~ but I haven't reviewed it yet
Monthly mileage record: 156.69 ~ March 2015 {purposely ran 8 (on a treadmill) on March 30 to beat the August 2013 record}
Highest mileage ever-at-one-time:  26.36 ~ May 17, 2015 The Cleveland Marathon

PR's:
5K: 22:30 (Run For the Grapes 9/28/14}
10K: 50:13 {Run for the Hills 6/22/14 & TIED the time Run for the Hills 6/21/15)
10-miler: 1:21:29 (Hermes Cleveland 10-miler 4/28/12)
half-marathon: 1:44:42 (Northern Ohio Half Marathon 10/4/15)
marathon: 3:57:31 (The Cleveland Marathon 5/17/15)

Snow Day!

Mike's alarm goes off at 4:00 and after looking out the window, he climbs back into bed.  "No snow day for me" I think.  So when the phone rings around 5:00 it was totally unexpected. and comical.

"Ring Ring" says the phone.

I sit up, knowing this is the best news ever {it really never gets old}.  The phone is on Mike's side of the bed, and past prescient tells me he is not answering it. {"I still have to go to work; you get the phone."}

I try reaching for the phone, half crawling over Mike.  Meanwhile he's annoyed and not really getting out of my way.  Finally he grabs the handset and attempts to hand it to me...clonking me in the head in the process.  I don't really mind because "Madison Infinite Campus Messenger" is about to tell me that "All Madison Local Schools are closed today, Wednesday, January 13 do to extreme weather conditions."

And back to bed I go; thinking about reading my book all day long...staying in my jammies and drinking coffee and watching MASH on TV with JB.

I get up around 7:30 ish and begin my lazy day.  Then I get a text from Dodd, "Ski Day?"

OH YES.

After a lot of texting and preparing {I seriously had RUST on my skis}, Kelly, Dodd & I head out to New York.  It takes a little longer to get there because the roads really aren't great, but we make it.  Yesterday ranks up there as one of the best ski days ever...even if it was Peek & Peak.  NO CROWD and LOTS OF POWDER.  Such a fun day making our own tracks & playing stupid games {Who can make it the farthest UP the hill? ~ Kelly.  Who can ride with two people on one pair of skis? ~ we all could, but Kelly & Dodd went down a steeper hill than I was prepared to do.  Who falls down the most? ~ Dodd.  Who can slip and fall on a banana peel while skiing? ~ no one, but there was a banana peel, beer can and a cherry lollipop resting on the run under the ski lift.  Who falls for Dodd's really bad pick up lines?  ~ no one, because we are smarter than that.}

We MADE it! (only a few detours)

Pre ski selfie

On the ski lift selfie (It was cold)

Skiing selfie

Flinging powder on Dodd after his front flip into the fire pit.

2016 run log & first race of 2016

Well, I'm leaving this crummy blown up picture, because it documents my NERC Grand Prix final standings.  I'm fourth overall & first in the masters division.  Not a bad year!  I'm very happy with that finish.  I'm looking forward to the NERC Winter Party at the end of the month.

Running in December was good. Finally got over 100 miles ~ and our little run group has expanded to four people at times: Me, Mike, Dodd, & Kelly.  It's great to run long with people.  We ran in WARM December weather & we ran in SNOW {practicing our run slides ~ "Let's see who can slide the farthest" "We are all too competitive to run slide for distance and we're too far from home to carry someone."} & we ran in sub-zero temperatures.  We ran at 600 feet of elevation & we ran at 9000 feet.  The last run of the year was December 30 & when I got back to the house I realized that I needed .46 miles to round out the year...so off I ran around Mom & Dad's half mile neighborhood loop.  UP the steep hill & then down to finish it out.

December Totals:

113.84 miles for the month ~ makes up for the two months I was under 100!
1406 miles for the year 

2011: 564.5 miles

2012: 656 miles 

2013: 1217 miles 

2014: 1191 miles 

202.2 miles in my Gortex Ghosts ~ one wear on a wet Sunday morning again this month

332.36 miles in my Nike Vomero ~  The tread on these is really worn down...Nikes do not wear as well as Brooks.

332.82 miles in my light blue Brooks Glycerin 11 ~ Funny how my two pairs have almost identical miles on them.

Training for:    OH, the Grand Prix race schedule is OUT!  so excited to sit down & plan it out.  Four half marathons on the schedule!

Podcasts I'm listening to: Marathon Training Academy, Lore, Stuff You Missed in History Class, Dear Sugar, Stuff You Should Know, & This American Life, Love & Radio, RadioLab & Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Neighbors & SERIAL is back!

My WEIGHT: SOOOOOO after eating dessert after every meal over Christmas...I've not gotten on a scale.

Some interesting facts:

Longest run this month:  14.28 on the day before we flew to Colorado

Highest  weekly mileage this month:  29.19 December 13 thru December 20, 2015

Favorite place to run this month: Colorado River Walk

# of bags of Candy Cane Kisses left in my cabinet:  NONE.  I didn't buy any and I wasn't given any.
# of books I read this month: three
Monthly mileage record: 156.69 ~ March 2015 {purposely ran 8 (on a treadmill) on March 30 to beat the August 2013 record}
Highest mileage ever-at-one-time:  26.36 ~ May 17, 2015 The Cleveland Marathon

PR's:
5K: 22:30 (Run For the Grapes 9/28/14}
10K: 50:13 {Run for the Hills 6/22/14 & TIED the time Run for the Hills 6/21/15)
10-miler: 1:21:29 (Hermes Cleveland 10-miler 4/28/12)
half-marathon: 1:44:42 (Northern Ohio Half Marathon 10/4/15)
marathon: 3:57:31 (The Cleveland Marathon 5/17/15)

THE HAIR OF THE DOG 5K

So, Mike had the great idea of running a race in Colorado.  Our first travel race.  He found a 10k in Colorado Springs {a 2.5 hour drive} Then he found a 5k in Edwards {a 45 minute drive}  So...after a lot of himming and hawwwing.  We signed up & talked Bob into it too.  It was -2 degrees at the start  (Mike: "it's a warm cold in Colorado")  We got there early (surprise)  and were pleased to find really friendly people, a bar that had not yet been cleaned from New Year's Eve, and really cool tech shirts.  There was a TON of food and beverages & a prize table.  When we signed up there was a required question: I'll be bringing a dog.  There was only one answer choice (yes) and it was a required question.  However, there were MANY more people there without dogs than with, so that was good!  The 42 people present lined up in the tiny town of Edwards, CO and a dog jumped on Mike.  {funny}  We took off in the freezing cold and ran through town to the bike path {a short down & a long up}  At about the mile mark we turned left & did a lap around a lake. At this point I was in fourth place for females.  I'm looking at the people running around & I couldn't tell where they were running to.  Come to find out, about three quarters of a mile around, the race course runs off the path & directly up the embankment, in the snow.  Embankments are steep.  I take it the best I can at 7,000 feet.  At the top one of the two women running together in front of me stops to walk.  I totally understood that feeling & need.  I slowed WAY down to catch my breath & slow my heart beat.  We ran back past the spot where we turned left & did another out back.  Then we ran back into town and UP to the finish.  This was a tear off the bib, put it on a board & it was clocked with a watch.  Super small town & fun.  I won third place and chose a pair of socks from the prize table.  Bob came in 6th overall & got a water bottle.  Mike came in 11th overall & got a tshirt.  I was 13th overall.  Once again, slowest in my group.

PreRace Selfie

Post Race Selfie

Post Race recovery Bloody Mary!

#25 & #26

#25 was The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah.  It was about two sisters surviving Nazi occupation of France during the Second World War. It was heartbreaking in its descriptions of the cruelty and what happened to the people. Each sister chose a different way to survive and each was worthy and hard.  The story lost me at the end...the ending wasn't so believable but I enjoyed the novel.

fl: If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are. ll: Wounds heal.  Love lasts. We remain. 

#26 was Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani. This was a fast read...and not a well written piece of literature by any means.  The main character is a likable self-proclaimed spinster who looks for love, but not really. It flip flops around and the scenes that could be really great are one or two sentences long. There are more in this series, but I will not be reading them. 

fl: This will be a good weekend for reading. ll: I want to watch the two of them forever--a daughter learning to trust, and a father doing the thing he does best: protecting her. 

Run, Santa, Run

The last Grand Prix race of the 2015 season ~ it's been a long season, but it's certainly been a fun one. ~ Run, Santa, Run took place on a 60 degree Sunday morning.  So amazing to wear a skirt and short sleeves & be WARM at the start on the 13th of December.  Mike & I arrived at our usual early time & got a good parking spot.  Sure does take the stress out to get there just a little bit earlier than necessary.  It gives us time to use the pots, talk to peeps, get our bearings & get in a warm up.  

Summer wear in DECEMBER!

This picture cracks me up!  You can see me and Mike in the crowd looking very serious.

I had told Leslie that I was going to put myself on her hip for this race.  We both wore our skirts & pink tops (I struggled with the definition of pink) and we started side by side.  About .2 in, we were both working too hard to talk,    But I stuck by her until the end.  I enjoyed to course.  It was a loop that included a little up and down two side streets.  Once we made the turn back onto The 20, I could see Dairy Queen in the distance, and knew there was a finish line around there, but I couldn't see the big blue arch for the bend in the road.  Finally I rounded the bend & there was the arch.  Leslie has a kick that I just don't have.  She beat me by a few seconds...and puked.  Didn't PR, but it sure felt like an all out effort.  I was so focused {read, working too hard to notice anything else} I didn't notice Mike zip by us.  HE beat us while stopping to TIE HIS SHOE {you'd think he'd learn to tie 'em tight} and Run Jump for Brenda's camera!  I did not run jump...wish I would have, it may have given me just the push I needed to enjoy the race a little more.

This is also the first race in a while that I didn't place in.  Fourth for my age group while running 23:17.  huh.  Such a kick in the pants to not be a place winner.  I know that sounds so cocky and non-humble...but I'm "not gonna lie" {side note: I totally hate that phrase...I typed it tongue-in-cheek, so please read it that way}

So the lesson for me is I won't always win.  AND that's why you run jump when the opportunity presents itself.  joy & running  They should go together & they didn't really for me today.

Me & Brenda

John's snacks vs mine & Mike's face!

NERC runners

#24 ~ The Husband's Secret

I have really enjoyed Liane Moriarty's novels.  #24 is The Husband's Secret ~ and it was another well written story.  It was not my favorite of her stories ~ as it was such a SAD story.  It involves affairs & community standing & family relationships & murder.  The characters are mostly likable, but I did have trouble reconciling the ending.  While I'm all for "happily ever after", I'm not sure it works for me in this story.

Quote:
loc 3118~ ...does a tiara really count as an Easter hat?


fl: It was all because of the Berlin Wall.  ll: Some secrets are meant to stay secret forever.  Just ask Pandora.

Advent

Advent.  The season of preparing.  Waiting for the arrival of a notable person, thing or event.  The most wonderful time of the year.  Advent for me is always an anxious time of trying to get it all done; get it all done right; and remember the real reason ~ the birth of a baby boy to save the world.  I think I'm getting better at being less anxious.  The house is decorated.  The tree is up.  The presents are being bought. The music is being played.  

The Madison High School Jazz Band had their first Christmas performance at Giant Eagle on Friday night.  They sounded great & Jacob rocked his solos.  Once again, so thankful that both my boys have been blessed by the Madison Band Program.  

While we were listening to the Band ~ I catch a glimpse of the TV in the far back corner  (You can see the TV in the picture)  What is on that TV, you might be wondering?  A picture of Bruce Springsteen with the words "Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band  Live at Quicken Loans Arena"  WHAT?  A real quick search on my phone finds that Bruce announced Tour Dates!  And CLEVELAND is on the list.  February 23.  Tempted to get tickets for Pittsburgh...but I may be in Florida that date.  I guess I'll be happy with one concert.  SOOOOO excited for show #11!  Here are my hopes:  I hope he plays Sherry Darling and Roselita and Thunder Road.

On Saturday we got up early & lifted for 12 minutes so we could be running by 7:15.  Got in our 10 miles...During which we were yelled at by a police officer.  Seems it's illegal to cross train tracks when the gate is down...even when there is plenty of room to do so.   ~ story:  As we were running south on 528 we can see that the far gates are down ~ but no train.  We can also see there is a police car with its lights on.  As we get closer the near gates come down... and I see we have enough time to cross, so I say, "Go" so we all run across...However, just as I yell "Go"  the cops yells, "Get Back."  I'm kinda shocked that I've been given a directive from a police officer, but I'm not about to ignore it, so I turn around.  As we are running around the village grounds to get in our extra 1/2 mile we discuss the legalities of crossing tracks when the gate is down. Mike thought that maybe there was something going on on the other side of the tracks that would have been unsafe for us to be involved with; he just can't comprehend why we weren't allowed to cross the tracks.  But realistically, we kinda figure it must be illegal and laugh at the thought of being arrested during our Saturday morning run.  {I won't tell the story about the time we were running down Bates}  Later in the day I Google Ohio Revised Code & discover that it is a $55.00 fine to cross tracks when the gate is down.  That would have been an expensive 10 mile run.  And embarrassing.  Bad enough to get yelled at by an officer of the law.  Being thrown into the car handcuffed would have been horrible.
I'm 52 miles (or so) into my Rudolph Challenge 2015.  Doing all the events will be 66.6 miles.  I'm going to run all of them in full except the 26.2 ~ that one will be broken into pieces.  I will do that distance again, just not this month!

We had to run early because Dodd had plans that morning.  Seems little baby William Glenn Dodd was coming into the world.  What a beautiful thing ~ a newborn baby.  Such promise and love.  So sweet and precious.

So as we celebrate this season of Advent I want to remember the blessings that I have in my life.  Family, Friends, Music, Running.