I hate it when my Tea Bag is right.

This morning, after I found the official race times from Saturday's race online, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.  For some reason, averaging an 8:00 mile compared to a 7:58 mile made me feel like crap.  I needed to get some more caffeine before the morning's meetings, when my tea decided it needed to tell me something:

"Share your strengths, not your weaknesses"

Damn you, Tea Bag!  Of course, you're right, I need to focus on my accomplishments, not my perceived weaknesses.  It was just 4 seconds difference, and it didn't affect my overall finished placement.

So, yay me!  I got another medal, and it is awesome.    And no one can take that away from me.

Today's Run

Today we all headed down to Canal Park because The Boy wanted to throw rocks in the Big Lake.  Which was nice, because I got to switch it up and do my run on the Lakewalk.  Today I ran about 4 miles in 34:50, for an average pace of 8:38.  I have a feeling it's all downhill temperature-wise, as it was almost too warm for a nice run by the lake.  And I'm probably the only person around here that will say that, but I really do hate sweating.

Why is this place so damn hilly?

Today I ran my first race since the half at Grandma's in June.  I did do a fun run in August - and it was fun - but I wasn't try to place or PR or anything like that.  So how did I do?

Silver is my favorite metal - besides platinum, of course

Yes, I got second place in my division.  Pretty darn respectable I think, especially since I have never been very good at 5k's.   My observations for this race (I'm a sucker for a list):

• The website stated all registrants would get a long-sleeved tech shirt.  What they provided was long-sleeved, but it was definitely not a tech shirt.  It was a pretty cheap, thin cotton shirt.  AND they ran out of women's shirts.  AND they were safety yellow (yuck). So I just got a shirt for The Boy and called it good.  At least they were good about letting me get a size that I didn't register for.
• The route was nice in that it went for a good part by the St. Louis River (hence River Run).  But there were a lot of loops and, man, was it hilly.  The hills there's nothing you can do about.  I would think they would try to make a course that didn't go in circles quite so much.
• The post-race food was damn nice - water, gatorade, fruit, yogurt, bagels, granola bars, and I don't know what else.  Way more than you'd expect for a local 5k.
• The price was extremely reasonable - $20 if you pre-registered.  Not too shabby.

Overall, it was worth it to try it out.  And the proceeds went to a good cause - the tech and wellness fund for the local elementary school.  Would I do it again?  Maybe, but there are a lot of good runs in September up here that I'd like to try before I'd do this one again.

Today's Run

Today I ran 5k (or approximately 3.1 miles) in an official time of 24:47 24:51, for an average pace of 7:58 8:00.  Going out was pretty much downhill, so I did the first mile in 7:15.  Coming back, well, I pretty much died on the uphill so that brought my average pace WAY down.  But it was good enough for 2nd in my division so I got another medal.  Yay!  Not a PR though; my best 5k time was 23:52.  Boo. :-(

And with today's run I have officially hit 400 miles run this year.  And I have over 3 months to add on another 119 and beat last year's total mileage.  I think I can do it...

Update (9/30/2013): The official results were posted online and were slightly different than the results posted post-race; unfortunately the final result was a few seconds slower.  Didn't change the placing, so I guess I can't be too disappointed. 

Over the River and Through the Woods, Take Dos

As you can guess by the title, tonight I tried trail running again.  Granted, I'm not 100% healed from the tumble I took last time I went, but I wanted to see if maybe I could do this thing and enjoy it without getting hurt.  I was having fun before the tree attacked me, so why not?  The weather was pretty gross again (53F with a relative humidity of 99%), but it had been dry the last couple of days so I couldn't use super muddy trails as an excuse.  So I went.  And it was fun.  And I didn't fall.  The run was in the Superior Municipal Forest on some cross country ski trails. Just a few observations:

1. The drive there blew.  The road into the forest is gravel, and it was so washboarded that I couldn't drive faster than 10 mph without my car feeling and sounding like it was going to fall apart.
2. Those that know Superior,WI know that it's pretty much flat as a pancake.  So I wasn't expecting the Hills From Hell on this trail run.  Those damn cross country skiers really like their steep uphills and downhills, don't they?
3. The two times I've done these trail runs I look for this guy I used to work with before the race begins and never see him.  And then, when I'm on the last stretch of the run I pass him while he's going back out again.  I think he's doing this just to mess with my head.

It wasn't my fastest run by far, but I am pretty proud of myself.  I was too scared to run down the hills, so I did this hopping walk on the way down, and every time a couple of people would pass me.  But on the uphill I would kick it into gear and pass them all on the way to the top.  Toward the end there were a bunch of people walking up the hills, and I was still chugging away.  I guess running the Big Hill in my neighborhood is really working out. :-)

Today's Run

The trail run today was listed as 5 miles, but I swear it had to be more.  I have no way to know for sure because a) I don't have a GPS watch and b) I'm not 100% sure exactly where I ran to map it out on WalkJogRun.  So I have to go with the "official" distance of 5 miles, and I finished in 46:30, for an average pace of 9:18, which I think is pretty damn good considering I walked down all the hills and finished really strong.  My quads are going to be killing me tomorrow from putting on the brakes so much, but I didn't fall so I consider it a wash.

Overall, I think I kinda like trail running, especially on courses that are less technical like the one that was run tonight.  It also helps that I knew if I fell it wouldn't hurt as much as it was almost all grass.  I think I may just try another, for shits and giggles, as they say.

Maybe Buzz Buzzard got him

Out on the jobsite today, I found this:

Definitely won't be laughing anymore

Yes, that is a dead woodpecker on a pipe.  That pretty much sums up my day in a nutshell.  The thoughts that went through mind when I saw poor Woody:

• Wow, how long has he been dead?
• Who in the world would pick that up and put it on this pipe?
• I have to get a picture of this to send to friend Profesora.

So I took the picture, and went on my merry way.  And promptly forgot about the picture until the afternoon when he came up on my work phone like the scary, half-decomposed thing that he is.

Today's Run

Around the neighborhood and up the Big Hill, but added a couple of blocks to get a little more distance.  I just have a cheapy knock-off Timex with a stop watch function, so I can only get total time and I can do "laps" (which I sometimes do if I go out and back to see if I negative split the halves), so when I saw my total time I was disappointed.  However, when I put my time of 31:40 (I always round to the nearest 5 seconds on my non-race runs) into my WalkJogRun route for today's run of approximately 3.5 miles, I got an average pace of 8:52, which was better than the last time I ran around the neighborhood for a shorter distance but still up the Big Hill.  I have to wonder how much slogging up the Big Hill slows down my average pace... I think I'd have to do some shenanigans to get the watch to help me figure that one out though.  Might be worth it though...

Happy Autumnal Equinox! (A Day Early)

Tomorrow is officially the first day of Autumn, after which the days get shorter and the nights get longer.  It seems as I get older that the days and weeks and months get shorter and shorter; it feels like the snow finally all melted yesterday.  Granted, there was snow a lot later than "normal" this year, but still...  There is way too much to do before winter and the dreaded s-word arrives.  I just hope I can get it all in.

This week as far as Doing Something is concerned was a total bust.  I can't expect to go out there and do and try new things every week, but this week was especially bad.  Between the crummy weather and a multitude of crummy things happening to and around me this week, I should be happy that I didn't just say screw it and go hide in a hole somewhere until things got better.  But I know in my head the only way things will get better is if I go out and try to make them better, so no hiding for me.  It is tempting to go hide though.

I enjoy cooking and baking a lot, and like trying new recipes, and I am half-tempted to do a post for when I try something new and it turns out really tasty.  Like this next week, I am going to make a lamb curry for dinner on Friday (violin lessons = crock pot meals on Fridays due to no time to cook by the time we get home) and I wonder if it would be worthwhile to post about the results if said results are good.  Something to think about.... 

Today's Run

It was pretty chilly when I went for my run this morning.  So much so that I wore a long-sleeved shirt for the first time since probably May.  But at the end of my run, the sun came out and I got all sweaty, which made it all better.  I went back down to the Brighton Beach end of the Lakewalk, and did the 5 mile out and back again.  I ran 5 miles in 43:35, for an average pace of 8:39.  Today's run helped shake out some of the demons and was very much needed.

Dreary days.

Today was just a cold, foggy, dreary sort of day.  The kind you'd expect in a place like Seattle.  Where a mist just hangs in the air and makes everything... moist.  And then there were the mosquitoes...

I was thinking about trying another of the Wednesday night trail runs, but with my shoulder not 100% yet and the dampness of the day (which in my mind equals mud, which equals treacherous footing) I decided against it.  I know I'm trying to get over my fears, to Do Something and live more, but I also have to be realistic.  I probably did some major damage the last time I fell, as evidenced by not being wholly healed yet, and I don't think my body could handle another injury like that.  There's always next week.

In other news, I discovered the other day that one of the windows to my basement has been leaking, which has caused some water to pool on one side.  Luckily, none of The Boy's toys were damaged, and all I need to do is caulk around the window and replace some of those rubber floor tiles.  Still sucks, but it could have been a LOT worse.

Have I mentioned that owning a home is so much fun?

Today's Run

Today I just did the neighborhood circuit, again, up the Big Hill because I wasn't in the mood to slide down the Big Hill.  Last year, I would not have gone out at all if there was any sort of rain.  Now, I know I have to get at least 3 runs in a week right now to get my speed and strength back.  Nothing big, just consistent.  Today I ran 3.2 miles in 28:50, for an average pace of 8:57.  And it was good.

Check This Out!

Not much happened today.  Just your typical boring Monday.  Except when I got home, I was greeted by these in the mail:

Check out those sexy socks!

 

Yes, I bought myself a new pair of compression socks, that are striped yellow, red and blue on the top.  Pretty sweet, if I do say so myself.  I'm a big fan of compression wear, and I just couldn't pass these up.  They make me happy. :-)

Today's Run

Today was a run around the neighborhood, the 3.2 mile circuit.  I finished this in 29:15, for an average pace of 9:05.  This was officially the fastest I've ever run this route.  Yay me!  Still need to get my average pace down a LOT more, but I like seeing improvement.

It's Nice To Get Affirmations In Unlikely Places

 

It says "Whatever you are doing is the most beautiful thing"

Thanks, tea bag.  I'd like to think my quest of Doing Something will end up beautiful.

Inspiration comes from the most unusual places. :-) 

If a First Anniversary is Paper, Then...

It was one year ago today that I closed on my very first house.  And then realized that the people I bought said house from were total pigs and spent the next two weeks cleaning and fixing it up enough so that The Boy and I could move in.  I think I vacuumed the living room twice that day before I even let him come in, and then had it shampooed before we moved our stuff it.  I just tore out the carpet that was in the dining room - so nasty.  It's amazing how a bunch of crap can make you not see how filthy a house truly is when you're just walking through it.  Anyway, there has been a LOT of paint; a new dishwasher; a sewer backup and all the time, money and work that went into fixing that; a furnace that got an energy efficient fan motor and brought up to code/manufacturer's recommended installation; a deck that got some desperately needed TLC in the form on sanding and staining; and there's still so much more that I couldn't afford to get done yet.  But this place feels like home, and The Boy loves it, so I guess we'll be staying a while.  Hopefully there won't be any surprises like last year, and all I'll have left on my to-do list for this year will be staining the front porch decking and getting a new outside light at the back of the house (motion sensor so it doesn't have to be on all the time), maybe sealing and adding insulation to the attic space if I'm feeling motivated.  But what to get the house for the paper anniversary?  I guess if I buy the light with cash that will count...  There's no way I'm putting up any wallpaper *shudder*


How's my shoulder doing?   Thanks for asking!  Well, it was doing just fine, but then I went and mowed the lawn last night (REALLY long grass, push mower, damp ground, hill-on-a-hill yard) and I'm a bit more tender today.  Not as bad as a week ago, and it's definitely getting better, but I doubt I will be laying on that side to sleep anytime soon.  Hopefully now that it's getting cooler out the grass will slow down its infernal growing and I'll be able to heal up properly before I mow again.  Alas, the joys of home-ownership.

Today's Run

I finally got to the new section of the Lakewalk, starting at Brighton Beach.  It is pretty awesome.  A person could technically go from Canal Park to Two Harbors on either a paved path or a road with SUPER wide shoulders.  Pretty awesome.  Now they just need to extend the Lakewalk to the Munger Trail and I will be in paved-path heaven!  Anyway, I ran 5 miles almost on the nose in 46:45, for an average pace of 9:17.   It was nice to not have to deal with a Big Hill, but the wind off the lake was STRONG today.  And I realized today that if I keep up what I'm doing, with no huge breaks, that I'll be able to beat last years total mileage of 517 miles easily, even with missing July and August (and some of January too).  Yay me!

*Update (9/15/2013): Apparently The House thought the first anniversary was pooper, not paper, and invited a mouse to come join the party.  I was having none of that.  However, the little fucker was too fast and got its rear end stuck in the trap instead of having its head smacked like a good little mousie; I awoke this morning with a live mouse stuck in a trap in my sink after having left way too much mouse shit and piss on my counter.  Needless to say, the disgusting rodent saw the sharp end of a shovel once the sun was out this morning.  I'm going to have to have a talk with The House about this.  If you can't tell, I HATE rodents.  I think I'm going to go dry heave a little more now.

Anniversaries, Money, and the Big Hill in Reverse

Today is the one month anniversary for me and my new job.  We are definitely still in the honeymoon phase, as all is still good with our relationship.  There have been a few hiccups, but when I "get some" (i.e. get paid) and am home more than in my previous work relationship, I know I made the right decision.  Here's to one month, and many more!

One of my friends, let's just call her Mamasita, has been trying to convince me to join this investment club pretty much since I met her.  It's this group of women that get together once a month, put in some money and make decisions on how to invest the money.  The idea was intriguing, as I know nothing about investing, but I kept on telling her no because I was too scared that by giving $20 every month to something that is not tangible, like food or shelter, that I was being irresponsible.  So this month I decided I was going to Do Something and join this group of women and learn about investing in the stock market, and maybe have some fun.  Investing $20 a month is not being irresponsible - I am learning about being more financially responsible and I can pass this knowledge on to The Boy.  Plus with my new work relationship, I have more flexibility with my budget.  Who knows what will happen, but this group of women are smart and strong, and it's not a bad thing to surround myself with those kinds of people.

Today's Run

Today I decided to do the Big Hill in reverse, meaning I started out with a small uphill, the Big Hill going down, some more gradual downhill and uphill, and then a medium-sized hill to end my run.  The route is basically the same, but is a little bit shorter because of the pre-run warm-up route.  Today I ran 3.1 miles in 28:45, for an average pace of 9:23.  I think my run was the only time when my nose wasn't stuffed up or running like a faucet.  Starting to get the consistency in, that's for sure.  And the shoulder is getting better, so YAY!

Back in the Saddle

My shoulder has gotten to the point where it doesn't hurt all the time, just mostly when I try to do anything other than just move it.  Trying to sleep is the worst - I think I tried to lay on the bum shoulder last night in my sleep and woke up this morning in a lot of pain.  Getting hurt like this really makes me think about how old I am....

Since I'm such a trooper and won't let a little bit of pain get in my way, I decided it was about time that I went for a run.  Just around my neighborhood, on paved surfaces (no pesky roots to jump up and get me), with the Big Hill.  It's so amazing how good I feel when I'm out for a run: my nose stops running from my stupid allergies, my muscles stop aching, my bum shoulder stops hurting, I feel awake and alive.  It's runs like today's where I realize the amazing potential of something as simple as running.  THIS is why I run - to feel ALIVE.  To have all the little annoyances of life just melt away, and it's just me moving to my own rhythm.

And then.... I stop running.  The faucet opens up where my nose used to be.  My muscles argue with me and my shoulder asks me what I was thinking.  And there's the insane amount of sweat.  I didn't think my body could produce that much sweat.

But for that briefest of times - amazing.  So I will do it again and again to get back to that place.

Today's Run

Today I ran the 3.2 mile circuit in my neighborhood in 30:45, for an average pace of 9:32.  Not too shabby, all things considered.  The running didn't seem to aggravate my shoulder at all, and it forced me to not flail my arms around too much, which is a bonus.  Back in the saddle again, indeed.

Best Laid Plans

At the beginning of the week, my plan was to go for a run on the newest section of the Lakewalk this afternoon while The Boy was checking out tractors with the dad and grandpa.  And then Wednesday happened.  Although I'm feeling much better today than Thursday or even yesterday, my left shoulder is still painful to move and the bruises are pretty impressive now.  I tried to get photographic evidence, but it's still lacking.  I'm definitely glad I was wearing a short sleeve shirt instead of a tank that day, because I don't even know how bad my shoulder would be if I'd gone against my gut and worn a tank.  Most likely doctor-visit territory for sure.

The bruising on my elbow is the most impressive, yet hardest to get with self-portrait.  Still ouch.  But check out the awesome stain job on my deck - pretty!

 

Needless to say no miles for me today.  Just some Food Network love and reading my On Wisconsin alumni magazine this afternoon (Go Badgers!).

So, yeah, not a good start to this journey to marathon process.  But at least it's a start.  There's always next week.

Hung out with a really good friend last night that I hadn't seen in way too long.  She is probably the kindest, funniest, most genuine person I have ever met and I am so happy to have her as a friend.  And she makes the best queso outside a Qdoba restaurant.  Anywho, she is extremely supportive of me and this journey, which makes me feel even better about my quest to Do Something and Make Mistakes.

Having good friends is probably the thing I am most thankful for in my life.  Besides having a healthy and happy The Boy, of course.

And that's all I have for this week.  I need to find a countdown timer widget thingie so I know exactly how long I have until the big day...

Over the River and Through the Woods..... and Then On Your Head

Most people that know me know that I love running.  Those same people also know that I do not like running trails.  Actually, I think the more accurate word is that I'm afraid of running trails.  I give all kinds of excuses - I'm too clumsy, it's too unpredictable, there are too many bears.

So, as part of my effort to Do Something, I decided to throw caution to the wind and try trail running.  There's a weekly fall running series here in Duluth just for that, and tonight was the first run.  So I thought "I'm Brave!  I'm going to Do Something!  I'm going to go Trail Running!!!!"

Let me just preface this with the fact that I didn't really pay too much attention to the length of tonight's run.  Much to my chagrin when I got there I realized that the run was 10.5 km.  That's right, about 6.5 miles.  For someone that hasn't run a whole lot in the last 2 months, jumping from 3 mile runs to over 6 is a pretty big leap.  But I decided to do it anyway.  I was there already, why not?

The course was on cross country ski trails, and we had to run 3 times on this one loop.  The first time was alright.  The second time through I was a bit tired but still feeling strong.  UNTIL I got to the turning point.  A pesky root sprung up from the ground and grabbed me tight by the ankles.  I proceeded to go flying through the air and, having snowboarded in a previous life, I knew that I did not want to fall on my hands and risk breaking my wrists.  So I turned to my side and fell smack on my left shoulder, followed shortly by my head making quick and hard contact with the ground.  Glasses went flying and I screamed "SON OF A BITCH!" on the top of my lungs.  One of the people making sure the runners went on the correct course ran over to me and asked if I was alright, that I had landed straight on my head.  Two guys that were behind me were overly concerned with my well-being as well.  I was only concerned with whether my glasses were broken and if I had dislocated my shoulder (I did not).  I got up, started walking, and when I got to the turn to go back through the loop I said "Two" and starting running again.

I would like to say that pictures are worth a thousand words, but it's hard to get the scope of the destruction with my crappy little camera.  Here's my best shot:

I really don't have a double chin.  Ouch.

So, yeah, I don't know if I'll try trail running again.  It hurts to fall.  Damn trees.

Today's Run

Today I ran 6.5 miles in about 1:06:00 (I forgot to stop my watch when I got to the finish line - I was more concerned with finding a place to clean up the wounds so that I wouldn't get a flesh-eating bacteria).  This is a pace of about 10:09, which is respectable considering I spent a fair amount of time on the ground and then walked for a bit.  AND I wasn't the last person to finish.  Overall, a decent run. 

Happy Labor Day!

National holidays are one of those perks that you don't really think of when you start a new job.  And this one should be especially meaningful since I'm a union worker but, honestly, it's just another day that I don't have to work but I'm still getting paid.

Today, I got paid to do the following during my normal workday (7:30 AM - 4:00 PM):

• Baked a Raspberry Pear Crumble pie, and made a second crust to make a second pie later in the week
• Baked (with help from The Boy) brownies from scratch
• Went for a run (details later in the post)
• Went to the mall to check out violins for The Boy
• Watched WAY too much HGTV

Overall, it was a successful day of "work."

Today's Run

As for my run, I just went around the neighborhood while The Boy was napping (yes, someone was there to "watch" him).  3.2 miles in 30:50, pace of 9:34.  Not even close to the speed I know I can get, but it was a good run for the first real one back after my summer hiatus.  This route is never going to be super fast because of this:

The good thing about living in Duluth is the Big Hill.  The bad thing about living in Duluth is the Big Hill.  I live on a hill on a hill (you have to see it to understand), and so on the last part of this route I go from about 626 feet of elevation to about 861.  The last part is the worst - you can't see where the road goes at one point.  So, yeah, not going to be a fast run, but it's sure a good workout for the glutes and hams :)

Running From Nothing

I have had a print-out from a blog post from one of my favorite authors, Mr. Neil Gaiman, at my desk at my various places of employment since the day after it was posted.  It was a New Year's wish, and it goes like this:

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.

God, I hope he doesn't mind that I've pilfered this.  Anwho, this blog post especially resonated with me because I had been spending the last I-don't-know-how-long living in fear of making mistakes, of doing the wrong thing.  And so I vowed to not live in fear, to take risks, to make "glorious mistakes...." And I did.  I applied for a job that I thought was out of my league and got it, not knowing if it was the right choice.  I bought a house, as a single woman with a child and only one income.  I ran races.  I made new friends.  I trusted people I should not have trusted.

And then.... this year, I became complacent.  I crawled back into my tidy little world, where the fear of making mistakes once again held me hostage.  I was comfortable, but at the same time sad and wondering what I was really doing with my life.  I didn't try new things.  I didn't push myself to do more, to try more.

And then.... last weekend.  The fear of making a mistake had paralyzed me into not doing something, something that I realized later could have been amazing and wonderful, but also had the possibility of ending poorly.  The details are not important right now; the important part is that this episode kicked me in the rear (after downing a pint of Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch ice cream) and I am going to thoughtfully and purposefully go out and Make Mistakes.  The first one being this:

Yes, I have paid the money and, therefore, I will be running a FULL marathon next year.  EEK!

I am keeping this blog as mostly a chronicle of the training and insanity of preparing for next year's Grandma's Marathon in lovely Duluth, MN.  I'll most likely include blogs on things I do that scare me, my efforts at Doing Something, of Making Mistakes.  Or whatever I feel like writing about at the time.

I am running from nothing.

I am running towards...