September Run Log

September...the month of my birth...a busy month of school & cross & family & running.  Fall is a beautiful time.  Standing by the finish line at Camp Stig, looking across the lake to the treeline, with its changing colors and the reflection in the pond, I just stopped and took in the beauty of it all.  {and then I saw all the blue kids running ~ there were many more blue than any other, because only one other team with 7 kids came to run with us today}
A great running month! Two races & a PR!
Cross Country has been great this year ~ our boys have only lost to Memorial {twice} and just totally rock every time they hit the course.  The girls are just as awesome & fill me with hope as most of the front runners are 7th graders.  I'm going to miss all these 8th graders; they are all amazing kids.

September Totals:

103.68 miles for the month 
837.89 miles for the year 

358.01 miles for my blue Brooks Glycerin 12 ~ Seriously...over 350 miles & they are still cushy & comfortable.

Training for:  The Northern Ohio 1/2 marathon on October 12. and the Rabbit Run ~ which is always a fun race :)

My WEIGHT:  Weighed myself over the past few days...133 to 135 to 138 this morning!  All that birthday Mac & Cheese & the chocolate & cookies & the peanut butter cup blizzard cake...which I am going to have a piece of as soon as I'm done here!

Some interesting facts:

Longest run this month: 14.05   With negative splits ~ ready for that 1/2
Favorite place to run this month: Run for the Grapes 5k!  so PUMPED about my PR
# of books I read this month: Two 
Monthly mileage record: 155.46 ~ August 2013!  WOW
Highest mileage ever-at-one-time:  26.2 ~ October 13, 2013 ~ Northern Ohio Marathon

PR's:
5K: 22:30 (Run For the Grapes 9/28/14}
10K: 50:13 {Run for the Hills 6/22/14}
10-miler: 1:21:29 (Hermes Cleveland 10-miler 4/28/12)
half-marathon: 1:47:35 (Cleveland Half 5/19/2013)
marathon: 4:01:04 (Northern Ohio Marathon 10/13/2013)

#22 ~ The Interestings

#22 for the year was a recommended summer read.  The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer was a well told tale about 5 kids who met at summer camp as young teenagers.  They met each summer for a fairy tale life & continued the friendship during college & beyond.  There was betrayal, love, marriage, depression, job anxiety, parenthood, rape, love, the Moonies, drugs, the rich & powerful, longing, jealousy, regret, pain...

I actually had to check out the book THREE times to get it read.  Granted, my life is full & crazy these days without much time for reading...but over 6 weeks...not a favorite book by any means.  

There were lots of quotes, however, that stuck with me:

p63 ~ But clearly life too people and shook them around until finally they were unrecognizable even to those who had once know them well.  Still, there was power in once having known someone.

p72 ~ Both of their bodies were still perfect, or perfect enough; they would come to see this later on, though they couldn't see it at the time.

p75 ~ He crashed quietly through the world. {What a great description}

p122 ~ The fish tank threw carbonated light... {another great description}

p131 ~ they wanted the summer not to be over, but it was.  {been there}

p214 ~ It was like an extremely stressful game show, called Say the Right Think, You Idiot."

p235 ~ ...stand together, silently shaking with laughter, both teenaged and fully grown all at once, knowing that you would never have to choose between those different states of maturity, because you contained them both inside yourself.

p347 ~ And the child who was happy with herself meant the parents had won the jackpot.

p388 ~ "Your parents shit you not."

fl: On a warm night in early July of that long-evaporated year, the Interestings gathered for the very first time.  ll: And didn't it always go like that--body parts not quite lining up the way you wanted them to, all of it a little bit off, as if the world itself were an animated sequence of longing and envy and self-hatred and grandiosity and failure and success, a strange and endless cartoon loop that you couldn't stop watching, because, despite all you knew by now, it was still so interesting.

Birthday PR

The pre-race selfie...Dodd meant to make a funny face {mine is just because my face is funny}  The the post-race PR picture was photo-bombed by an expert photo-bomber!  My first Grape Jamboree ~ Run for the Grapes 5k was a GREAT experience.  So, here are my secrets:  I used a pre-race energy pack {Advocare SPARK energy pack ~ which I added to water & drank 30 minutes pre-race.  Bought it at the Grape Jamboree yesterday because ~ and I will quote ~ "If you take that, you will PR.  But you have to run fast too."}  I also ran a short warm up {just around the hospital}  I ran with Kelly for about 500 meters & then she took off ~ she was in sight the whole race, but I was not catching her.  Some young man wearing pink hooked himself to my hip & ran with me.  {running a tad closer to me than I would have liked, but I did it right back to him}  It helped so much that he was breathing harder than I was & he was the one trying to keep up with me.  What a motivation!  I lost him at one point, but he fought back.  Being only 17 or so, he had a sprint & finished a few people ahead of me, but he was a great help to me the whole race.

So my official 5k PR time {can't count the 20:01 at the Brewfest} is 22:30!  a 7:15 minute pace. 

Madison XC coaches ~ both placed first
in our age groups!

My obnoxious runner story:  The bib were NOT ripping off well & the guy totally just got the little corner of mine with the number.  I just knew the scorer wouldn't see it on the ring, so I went to the table & she was so very nice in the middle of her working on the scoring to check my number, which was there.{Kelly's wasn't, so it's a very good thing I checked  She says, "Becky?  You were fifth."  My face dropped, because I am aiming for #1 in my age group.  I go back & report to Brenda {also in my age group} that I placed fifth.  We can't figure out how that can be...so she goes to check.  Yeah, I'm such a dork.  I was fifth woman overall!  Not too shabby on my 46th birthday.

a little ADPi love in Geneva, Ohio

I did not run negative splits like I wanted to.  I did not check my watch for pace AT ALL and only looked at it once when I was needing to see that I was past the halfway mark {I was at 1.88 at that point}  I just ran.  Felt good the whole time.  Just wonder if there isn't something I'm leaving in the tank.  I really should start to run sprints...maybe next spring?

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	22:30.6	3.03	7:26
1	7:06.2	1.00	7:06
2	7:39.8	1.00	7:40
3	7:33.1	1.00	7:33
4	:11.6	0.03	6:33

  After looking at these splits, they were negative from 2 to 3, but that first mile was fast.  Would to nice to maintain THAT speed.

I'm getting old.  The time is now to do that.

Other birthday news:  Jacob was my fan at the race today.  And Mike CLEANED the house while we were gone.  AND I found my extra car key {It was in the bin where I keep the dogs' collars & leashes!  I remember thinking, "you want to put that away" and then it must have falling into the bin with the load I had in my hand.}  It is found & now I'm safe if I lock my keys in the car! ~ which I have never done, but was sure to do when I only had one key to the car.

And I have a DQ blizzard cake for dessert tonight. OH JOY

September Stuff

September has just FLOWN by.  My parents visited for two weekends, cross country is in full swing, football had four home games in a row, the LCMEA band festival happened, running was squeezed in, trying to walk the Tonka dog sorta happened...

September.

Firstly:  Jacob is having a great marching band season.  He's squad leader & an executive officer.  He earned a solo during a favorite song from my past!  It's been great watching him rock it each and every Friday night.  The most exciting was during the band festival, because the crowd was actually quiet & listening to the bands...Jacob said the only time it's silent when he starts his solo is during practice.  Most Fridays there LOTS of crowd noise...but not at the festival.  & he still rocked it. :)

Jacob Barton playing his solo in MHS's version of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.

I tried to embed the video from facebook...but I was unable.  Here's the link

JB is always the center of the pictures!

Solo time at Chardon

Today Mike & I went for a 10 mile run together.  {Have to mention that I'm SOOO glad Mike has started running again.  The long run it fun when done with someone}  Running the last 3 miles, we are running east on rt 307.  From behind us {recognize that we are on the far left, facing traffic} comes a Cashen Cement Mixer.  It literally 'buzzed' us.  It passed us left of center ~ coming too close to us for any comfort.  We both start yelling at the truck ~ I gave him TWO sarcastic thumbs up & Mike just gave him two big birds.  As the truck turns north onto County Line, Mike is screaming at the driver to stop so he can 'discuss' his driving with him.  The whole way up County Line we are discussing the fact that I'm calling Cashen when we get home to complain.  Mike knows, from his years driving and dispatching, that the dispatcher will know exactly who the driver was {it was 9:20 am ~ Mike made me check the time} ~ and Mike was talking about how he might just get in the car & drive up there & talk to the driver in person.

The adrenaline was surely flowing.  Because REALLY ~ I KNOW that truck is bigger and stronger and will win in a fight.  The driver REALLY has to intimidate helpless runners?

I'm also disappointed.  Cashen drivers have always been so friendly to me.  I pass them {really, they pass me} almost every Saturday on County Line Road.  They've ALWAYS gone around & given me a wave & sometimes a little honk.  I thought we had something.  

Mike, on the other hand, has always complained about Cashen drivers not going around him.  So, I guess the driver didn't like the fact that I wasn't running alone today.

So the rest of the story...I turned off in Unionville & ran an extra 1/2 mile so I could hit 10 for the day.  By the time I got home, Mike was talking to his dad, telling him the story.  He's ALREADY CALLED {boo} & the dispatcher's first reaction to Mike saying, "I'm calling to complain about a driver who tried to kill me today during my run."  was to LAUGH!  Mike had to tell her it wasn't really funny and he would appreciate it if she took the situation more seriously.  Highly disappointed with the lack of concern from the company.

So that's my hater story of the day.

But then we got to go to a parade!  The Geneva Grape Jamboree is a HUGE event & I got to have a PURPLE COW {ice cream & grape juice} and a sausage samage & to sit & watch an hour of the parade {left because we knew Jacob & the band were headed back to Madison}  Tomorrow I run the Run For the Grapes for the first time.  Kinda excited.

Run for Suds

I was too cold to hold the phone & push the button,
so Chris had to think really hard about reaching out
to push it himself!

A RAINY Saturday morning (9/13/14) ~ and when I say rainy, I mean pouring & dark clouds & wind & mud & 55 degrees.  If I hadn't preregistered...I would not have driven to Chardon for the first Brewfest 5K ~ Run for Suds.  We just ran...and didn't stick around for the Brewfest, because our families are sick of us racing & we had other stuff to do.  I was actually surprised that Dodd drove into my driveway & didn't text me he was ditching.                                                                    We whined & complained the entire way to Chardon.  Used an UMBRELLA {you don't use an umbrella on race day} to walk to the little trailer building "Chip's Clubhouse" to get our packets...And I have to say this event had the BEST goodie bags for any 5K I've ever done.  T-shirt (of course), a water bottle, a chapstick, a bag of coconut chocolate (which was good...but my mom ate all of it), and a $5 Heinen's coupon ALL in a Heinen's reusable grocery bag.                                              On the walk back to the car I realized I needed to wear a long sleeve shirt...so Dodd got in the car & I made him look away as I stood outside the car to change my shirt...with the whole world watching and rain pelting my bare back.  That was some smart thinking. ~ then I used the woods instead of the port-a-potty...and I'm pretty sure there were cameras because it was by a drainage thing by this business.  So there's some more smart thinking (did I mention I had my NAME on the back of my shirt?)  DUH all around.

BUT.  It stopped raining by the time we started ~ and we started running up a road, went about 1/4 mile & turned around.  Literally ran around a man standing in the road.  Ran by the 1 Mile mark with my watch (and my brain) telling me we'd only gone .5 miles.  Booked it up to the center of Chardon...and back to Heinen's.  Pretty surprised to see the clock reading 19:something as I was coming up the parking lot.  Decided to try and actually have a 19:something time...but didn't get there quick enough  ~ a 5K PR of 20:01.  however this particular 5K was actually 2.67 miles.

It was enough to win my age group (the one who beats me turned 50!)  So now I have an awesome coffee mug & am first in my age group for the NERC Grand Prix.  Trying to get enough points to get back into the overall top 5.  

and life goes on and on

Time to catch my breath.  For a while there summer was one day after another with nothing of great excitement going on.  Then school starts and it's off and running.
Two stories from the week...
#1
I share a bathroom (at school) with two other teachers (kinda cool that we have it pretty much to ourselves). These two other teachers have brought in super soft toilet paper for our use since the building opened last year.  I've don't use it...I don't mind the school toilet paper & it's attached to the wall...all I have to do is pull & I have toilet paper.  To use their toilet paper I have to grab the roll that is stuffed {and therefore misshapen} between the toilet paper dispenser and the handicapped bar, use two hands to hold it and unroll what I need and then shove it back into it's location.  All the while risking dropping the roll on the floor or in the toilet.  No thank you.  It's just easier and pretty much a one handed job to use the stuff in the dispenser.
The other day before school I was speaking to one of the teachers when the second one came in with a huge pack of their special soft toilet paper.  They were all excited & I was like, "I just use the stuff on the wall."  They were aghast.  One took a roll from the pack & rubbed it on my face to show me how soft it was.  They couldn't believe I was ok with the regular stuff.
Fast forward to sixth period.
I go into the bathroom & see their special roll shoved in its usual location AND the roll from inside the dispenser...removed from the dispenser & sitting next to the special roll.

I know one of them did this.  There is NO toilet paper in the dispenser.  The plastic case is closed & clipped shut.  It did NOT just fall out.

seriously.

So I go into the art room...and I glare & the art teacher just looks at me & I take her to the bathroom & point and say, "I know you did this."  We are both laughing & her class must think we've gone nuts.  She swears it wasn't her...but I know it was.

#2
We {finally} had our first XC meet on {VERY HOT} Thursday. {#1 boy & 5 in the top 10 AND the girls beat Perry & Ridge, only losing to hello-we-finished-1-2-3-4 Memorial}  Being that it was very hot & dinner time when I got home, I decided to run around 7:45ish.  Around 7:55 I get in the car & head to my spot on Bates Road, where I park & run the sidewalk through town.  The gates are coming down at the train track as I cruise down Bates & when I get to the track I see the train is slowing down.  {UGH}  I have to go about 100 yards to my parking spot past the train track, so I decide to wait & hope the train passes through.  I stops with ONE AND A HALF cars left to clear the road.  REALLY?!?  So I turn around & drive to 528.  As I get closer to the track, what do I see?  The lights start flashing & those gates come down.  Thankfully this one is not stopping.  It goes by, the gates go up & we start to drive.  The car in front of me gets to the next set of tracks...and the lights start flashing.  "OH NO, not again", I think.  I hit the gas & pass just as the gates start to come down.  SERIOUSLY.  The only thing that would have made it worse is if the original train had cleared the road before I got to the church to park.  It did make me feel better when the lights were still flashing for that original train still sitting on the tracks.  I was beginning to think the trains had it out for me.

And because it's Ohio...we've had super hot days this week.  It was in the 90's both Thursday and Friday.  We sat at that football game last night & just roasted.  Luckily there was a good breeze (blowing in this cold front)...and today it hasn't hit 70. 24 hours and 30 degrees difference.  So Ohio.

#21 Top Secret Twenty-One

Oh, how I love a light-hearted, over-the-top, flighty & contrived Janet Evanovich novel. #21 is Top Secret Twenty-One {and I didn't even plan it that way! I did stop reading a book to get this one in...so subconsciously I guess I did make sure it was #21} This one has both Ranger & Morelli & even tho I've always been in the Morelli camp...I love Ranger too.  In this one Ranger is the target of a crazy man, and Stephanie gets involved in the mess.  Of course there are naked people and crazy people & a pack of vibrating chihuahuas involved in the mess too.  These books are just FUN to read.

fl: I was perched on a barstool in a dark, noisy, overpriced restaurant in Princeton, New Jersey.  ll: Morelli and Marshmallow Fluff.  My kind of dessert.