An Early Morning Long Run

My alarm went off early this morning.

Like, 5am early.

After a quick coffee (there must always be coffee) and a bowl of oatmeal, I hit the road to meet up with my running friends to get a few miles in before the main Rivertown Runners meet up at 8.

We got a little over 4 miles in and then hit the trails with the big group. There was a really good turn out today for some reason, (maybe because people have races coming up?) and we had around 30 people for our chilly run. Maybe everyone was fooled by the sunny morning. It's that time of year when you expect the sun to be warm, but it's not quite there yet. Although, it's supposed to hit 70 on Wednesday, so spring is not far off!

I attempted to take a picture right as the trail turned, so instead of seeing all the people ahead of us, here's a few.

11 miles for the morning and other than being tired from my early morning wake up, I'm feeling good. Good thing too, because my first half of the year is only 3 weeks away!

This is my current favorite Yoga With Adriene video:

Ignore the "for weight loss" title - I do. I just really enjoy the flow and have done this video several times this week. I also want Adriene's tights.

Buddy has had a busy day of sleeping. It's impressive how exhausting all that sleeping is!

I have a feeling I won't be staying up very late tonight either.

I Need More Sleep

I debated turning off my alarm last night. We stayed up later than I intended, and the thought of waking up early so I could go run didn't sound very fun.

When it did go off this morning, I hit snooze, and tried to come up with an excuse to go back to sleep. Tom convinced me to get up, and I made the drive to meet up with my weekend running group.

Of course, I'm so glad I did.

The weather was really nice after last weekend's sub-zero temperatures. The sun was out and it was in the 40s for most of our run. And as an added bonus, I felt really good for the entire 7 miles!

My GPS lost me at some point, because it only came up with 6.5 miles. I've run those trails enough to  know that's not quite right.

I'm really good at getting less sleep on the weekends than I do during the week. I stay up later and then wake up around the same time as I usually do. It's not the best system.

Do you get more sleep during the week or on the weekend?

Any exciting plans for your Sunday?

Weekend Things

Things are happening with the house again! We had the plumber and electrician out this weekend for a few little things. They needed to get finished because insulation work starts tomorrow!

We actually started talking about paint colors today - it's happening! We aren't going to live in a construction zone forever!  :)

The plumber was going to be here early on Saturday morning, so I didn't think I would be able to meet up with my running group. He ended up having a schedule change which worked out nicely for me.

I was up and out the door early on Saturday and ran just shy of 7 miles on the trails with my group. Some of our normal trails still had snow/ice on them from last weekend's storm, so we were a little limited in our route.

I came home and lounged around with the pooch and some coffee.

My post-run clashing game is only growing stronger.

I got my race packet for the Nuun Year Dash, a virtual race that's being held next weekend. I'm not usually big on virtual races, but when it's hosted by Nuun, you know I can't say no!

There's a new flavor of Nuun coming out next week - I've heard a rumor that it's orange mango. I'm not usually big on all things mango, but I'll definitely give it a try!

Today was mostly errands and chores. I took our recycling in, which we only do about once every 6 months or when it threatens to take over the kitchen. Today's haul was 215 bottles and cans, which may be a record for us. The afternoon was spent moving firewood from the wood pile to the front porch, necessary, but no fun.

Today was also the last day of Yoga Camp. I have really enjoyed yoga camp, and I'm really impressed that I did every single day. It showed me that I can always find/make time to get a little yoga/stretching in. I'm really good about getting my runs in, but I'm also really good at convincing myself I don't have time for the other stuff.

So, what's next? Well, I'm almost definitely signing up for a free trial week of Adriene's subscription site, and we'll see how things go from there.

I may have started looking at fall marathons this weekend. Maybe.

Weekend Wrap-up

How was your weekend? Mine went too quickly! Don't they all?

All was right with my Saturday morning again, because this week I was with my people! I went back to my usual group and had a great run on the trails. 

For some reason, my legs really tightened up on the drive home

Buddy tried to get into his bed by himself. He wasn't very successful.

I did my yoga by the fire and got in Buddy's face. He always manages to look away right when I take pictures.

Yoga camp was super relaxing on Saturday - seriously, there was a pillow involved. I like having yoga camp to get in everyday - it helps me actually stretch after my runs. It doesn't matter how many books/articles I read, I still can't get myself to stretch regularly.

We had crazy amounts of rain today, absolute downpours. The last clouds brought insane winds and tons of rain, and then they were suddenly gone - leaving blue sky.

We started watching Making a Murderer on Netflix today. I'm surprised we got anything done. Have you watched it yet? It's completely insane/frustrating/maddening.

What was the best part of your weekend?

Get Out and Do Things

I ran with a new (to me) group this morning. I always get a little nervous just showing up places (new running groups, yoga studios, etc), but I'm trying to make myself get out and do things from time to time. This group meets at 7:30am (ewwwwww), but they're about 15 minutes closer to the house than my usual group.

It was a little tricky to find where they meet, but I managed to get there before they all took off. Everyone was really nice, and explained the route to me.

There was another new woman who I started out running with, but neither of us knew where we were going and we were quickly losing sight of the others. She told me to go ahead. I felt bad leaving her, but she had her headphones and seemed perfectly happy to run on her own.

I did a little speedwork to catch up to a couple of people and chatted and ran with one older man for a while before he told me he needed to slow down and that I should go on. They have water and gatorade set up about 3.3 miles from where they start (they take turns putting it out every week), and some of the group waited there to make sure I knew where I was, which was nice. Then they were off again. Some took what is about an 11 mile route, and others went on one that is 13+ miles.

A few of us turned around at the water stop and I ended up running back with a man and his dog in total silence. Not really my idea of running with a group.

They run around a reservoir, which is very pretty (I forgot to take pictures), but there really aren't any mid-pack runners for me to run with.

My usual group starts together and ends together and you can always find someone to run with at any pace. There's more of a community feeling than with this other group. I know part of that feeling is because I'm new to the group, but if I hadn't made an effort to catch up with people, I feel like I may have been left behind.

After I got home, I lounged around with Buddy and some coffee before tackling the enormous pile of dishes in our kitchen. I was doing so well keeping up with the dishes until this week and then we were out of clean plates...

Yoga Camp officially kicked off yesterday, but Adriene understands that people might not be at their best on New Year's Day, so the yoga actually started today. It was a pretty relaxing video, which worked out nicely since I've been doing a lot of running the last couple days.

Do you ever run with a group?

Are you good at mornings? I'm not.

A Fiery New Year

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Happy New Year!

We celebrated the new year with some friends the traditional way: by lighting a giant bonfire of Christmas trees collected from surrounding neighborhoods. 

Buddy was more than ready for bed by the time we got home. He doesn't stay up late.

I woke up this morning and couldn't find my Moov anywhere. I shook out my clothes that I wore to the bonfire, and then checked the bed. It was all tangled up in the sheets. I don't know if it got hooked on something or if I took it off in my sleep, but at least I found it.

We'll see if it happens again.

My running group has a New Years day run every year, so I drove down to join them. They're reasonable, and don't meet up until noon. We had a really good turnout, I think there were around 40 people in the group photo before the run.

I bought myself a FlipBelt the other day and hadn't tried it out yet. I put my phone in at the start and it didn't budge the entire 7 mile run - no bouncing! It might be one of my new favorite running accessories. And now I may actually run with my phone like I know I should - safety and whatnot.

I also got in three 30 second planks as a part of my 100 days of fitness challenge. Everyone was being a bunch of overachievers so I didn't just do the bare minimum. That's the good version of peer pressure.

Buddy got a new chew toy from Tom's parents for Christmas.  I think it's safe to say he likes it!

I love when he holds things with his paws like that.

How did you ring in the New Year?

Are you participating in any challenges to jump start 2016?

Jingle All the Way

I saw snow this morning! It didn't stick around or anything, but it was a nice festive start to my day.

My running group (Rivertown Runners) likes to run with jingle bells the weekend before Christmas, so we were a noisy bunch on the trails today.

We had a pretty good turnout, and it was actually cold out!

I swiped this photo from the facebook page - photo credit to Joe Golden. You can see my black headband 4 in from the left.

For some reason, the run felt tougher than usual, but having people to run with always makes things go more quickly than running alone.

In house news, there hasn't been a lot going on that I can really show you pictures of. Rough electrical and plumbing just don't scream photo op.

Our shower base and tub are in now, one of these days we'll take that window out!

That right there is a 6 foot tub. It's going to be awesome to have a tub that you can actually soak in. I hate tubs where you have to choose whether you want your legs or your torso in the water.

Buddy's very excited.

Our weekend project (well, one of them) is to re-watch the Star Wars movies so we can go see the new movie on Monday or Tuesday while kids are still in school.

Have you seen the new Star Wars yet? Are you going to?

What's the last movie you saw in the theater? We pretty much never go. The last movie we saw in the theater was The Martian, but before that it was the third Hunger Games movie - we average about one per year.

The Best Intentions

I had planned on getting back to the blog sooner. The days around the holidays just go by so quickly!

I tried to update iTunes the other day. The install failed and then I had no iTunes at all. I then spent several days trying to figure out the problem. In the end, I have no idea which of the many things I tried actually solved the problem, but at least I have access to my music and audiobooks again.

Technology is fun like that.

Buddy is the best training partner. I don't know anyone who is always this excited to go for a run.

I have been taking him with me two days a week for 2-3 miles, and he's doing great! He gets so excited when I change into my running clothes, and I always feel bad when I don't take him with me. Maybe someday we'll work up to longer runs.

I couldn't pass these up at the grocery store the other day. They're already gone.

I met up with my old running group again on Saturday. I was really tired, but it ended up being a really nice run on the trails. It was almost too hot by the time we finished. Our weather is really weird right now (way too warm for December), it doesn't feel like Christmas is almost here.

When I got home I hung out (in my running gear) with the lap dog for a while.

And I learned that there is an entire channel just hanging out, waiting for the Star Wars red carpet. Seems weird.

I had a long run on my (made up) training plan for today. I was shooting for 10, but quickly realized that was not going to happen. I don't know if it was the weather, my 7 miles on Saturday, or if I'm just tired, but every mile was a struggle today.

I pushed through and my last mile was actually my fastest least slow, so at least I rallied and finished 8 miles strong.

What's your weather doing? 

How's your running lately?

A Busy Saturday and an Excellent Run

I had an unusually busy Saturday this week. Generally I'm pretty happy with few things on my to do list for the weekends, so it was pretty different from my usual antisocial quiet weekends.

I was debating making another trip down to meet up with my running buddies and made the last minute decision to go for it. Tom convinced me that I would be happier if I went, and, of course, I'm glad I did. It was a beautiful, if chilly, day and we had a fairly large group of people for the run. It's always fun to see everyone, and 7 miles never go by so quickly.

After a quick stop at the house for a shower and some lunch, I was out the door again, this time for a CPR class. The class was hosted by another running group, which isn't really close to my house either, but it's a bit closer than my old group. It worked out nicely because I renewed my CPR and got to meet a few of the runners from the Taconic Road Runners Club. One of these weekends I will have to branch out and meet up with them for a weekend run.

The woman who taught the CPR class gave us a bit of a lecture about the fact none of us like running with our phones. The short version was: suck it up and run with your phone.

One of Tom's friends was having a dinner party, so we made ourselves presentable (what do you mean I can't wear running clothes to a dinner party?) and made the 45 minute drive to their house. We went to a couple of barbecue/pool parties at their house this summer. They always have a ton of guests and even more food.

SO much food.

We didn't end up getting home until almost 1am, which is way past my usual bedtime. It was a pretty long day.

This morning I took my time getting moving and finally got out the door for a run a little after noon. I swear, sometimes I take longer to get ready for a run than when I get dressed up.

I started my Moov (my replacement GPS watch hasn't made its way back yet), threw on an audiobook and went on my way. I didn't really have a plan for my run, I just took it easy and enjoyed myself. It ended up being fairly slow, but it was as effortless and enjoyable as running gets! I got caught up in my audiobook and ended up running 8 miles.

How was your weekend?

Are you a fan of busy, social weekends or lazy, quiet weekends?

Marathon Training Week 4

This week in training started strong, and ended kind of blah. I am only partly to blame, the weather needs to take a little credit.

Monday: Cross Training. I did a couple of Piyo workouts (Define: Lower Body & Define: Upper Body) to make about an hour of cross training. Piyo is interesting because it manages to work my muscles in a way where they hurt and/or shake while I'm working out, but they feel nice and relaxed once I stop. It's pretty nice.

Buddy helped.

Tuesday: 3 miles.  I wore my Wave Sayonaras, which really should be retired, and had an awesome run! It was still fairly humid out, but it was a little cooler than it has been, and I was feeling good! I ran 3.11 miles in 25:58 - an 8:21 pace! I was really happy to have a great run, because all this hot weather is really starting to wear me out.

Wednesday: 5 miles. Humid, as usual. I didn't plan out my route well, and ended up running up and down some dead end streets to hit my mileage. The world's creepiest ice cream truck passed me several times too. 5.01 miles at 9:00 pace.

Thursday: 3 miles.  I was SO tired and was just not feeling a run. I took a rest day, and then stayed up too late at the drive-in movies. Worth it.

Friday: Rest day. I decided to do Thursday's run on Friday, though I was whiny about it. I actually said, "but three miles is really far!" before I left. Mature. 3.1 miles at an 8:51 pace.

Saturday: 6 mile pace run. I woke up early and drove down to meet up with my old weekend running buddies. I missed them and the beautiful trails we run on! About a half mile after we started the weather took a turn and we ended up running through a crazy thunderstorm. We were drenched, but it was a lot of fun! 6.89 miles at a 9:09 pace.

Sunday: 9 miles. This just didn't happen. Saturday afternoon, while lugging laundry bags back and forth to the car, I pinched something in my neck. It was seriously painful, and it wasn't feeling better this morning. Between my neck and the fact that it was supposed to be the hottest day of the year, I opted to err on the side of not getting heat stroke and/or making my neck worse.

Instead I spent some time relaxing, and did a bit of coloring in the super-cute coloring book my friend Kate made. You should definitely check out her Etsy store: HERE!

One of THOSE People

Lately, I have been missing my weekend running buddies, and the beautiful trails we run on. I have looked into closer running groups, but all the meet up spots are about a half hour drive away. So why not tack on another 10 minutes to that drive and run with some of my favorite people?

This morning I woke up early, wolfed down some coffee and an english muffin and hit the road to meet up with the group. I didn't tell anyone I was coming, so it was fun to surprise them!

The skies were cloudy and I hit a few showers on the way down, but it's supposed to be the hottest weekend ever (or the hottest weekend of the year so far, whichever) so we were a little surprised when, about a half mile into our run, the skies opened up and we were caught in a complete downpour! There was a bit of thunder and lightning and a LOT of rain and mud, but we were already soaked, so we just kept going.

We got a good laugh out of the fact that I woke up early to drive 45 minutes so I could run in a thunderstorm. I'm officially one of those crazy runner people!

It was really nice to get to see everyone again, though one of our usual group was home with an injury, so it was a bummer to miss seeing her. The drive really wasn't so bad, and it felt really good to be on the trails instead of on the road all the time.

6.89 miles at 9:09 pace according to my watch. Not bad considering our less than prime weather conditions!

I wasn't expecting the rain, but luckily I had a rain coat in the car (and a dry shirt!), so I sat on that for the drive home. My seat still got wet, but probably less than it would have otherwise. Next time, I'm bringing a towel, regardless of the weather report!

Unrelated, but how cute is this dog?

I hope your Saturday is off to a great start!

Morning Miles and Procrastinating Packing

Sorry I'm so all over the place lately. We've been busy with work things, packing and planning - I'm still not sure how we're going to get everything done. One day I'll get back to posting more often than you care to read, and then it will be full of running updates and home improvement projects!

I woke up early this morning to meet up with two of my weekend running buddies for some extra miles. We ended up running just shy of 11 miles. It was my last run with the group for a while since my next race is a week from today and then we're moving. It's going to be about an hour long drive to meet up with them once we move, but I'm planning on making the trek for some of my longer runs during marathon training. Miles go faster with friends!

I spent some time boxing up some of my loose things in the basement and re-taping the boxes that I never bothered to unpack when we moved from Alaska. I also boxed up some books and found a bunch of bags/backpacks that will soon be full of things.

I found this picture from my derby days while I was packing things up in the basement.

I'm the one not on the ground.

See those shelves? There were (more) books on them earlier! I'm celebrating tiny victories today, it helps me feel productive.

We keep telling Buddy that he needs to pack up his toys, but he's about as good as we are about packing.

Good Reflexes

This is my Saturday:

I took Buddy out, and fed him while the coffee was brewing.

The second he was done eating, he ran back upstairs to go back to bed.

I watched the news, and ate an english muffin with peanut butter. And coffee. Always coffee.

Then I was off to meet up with the group for our usual Saturday morning run.

Today I went back out for a couple of extra miles after we were finished. Next weekend is the Rhinebeck Half - I'm not worried about it, but I'm not feeling particularly fast right now either.

Also: it was humid this morning. It's been a long time since I had to deal with the unpleasant feeling of running in humidity. I didn't miss it.

Buddy was the happiest dog on earth this afternoon and lounged on the deck in the sun.

He even shared his couch with me for a little bit.

You need good reflexes to sit next to Buddy without getting licked.

We got Unbroken from redbox, so that's the plan for tonight. We listened to the audiobook, but I'm excited to see how the movie turned out.

Have you seen Unbroken? Have you read the book?