Baby Trees!

You can't really see anything in this picture, but we got some new plants for the yard!

Our county had a seedling sale with native plants, so we decided to order some. Then we let them sit in the garage for a week after Tom picked them up...oops!

To add to the apple trees we planted last year (we have a honeycrisp, a red delicious and a granny smith) we added two baby pear trees today. 

Tom put tomato cages around the baby trees to keep Scout from playing with and/or destroying them.  Sticks are Scout's favorite thing in the yard.

The apple trees survived the winter and losing several limbs to Scout. They even have blossoms!

There are also baby eastern white pine trees which will one day form a wind break for the yard.

It's going to be a few years though, they're pretty tiny!

The dogs were sad they couldn't be outside while Tom mowed the lawn this afternoon, so they found the sunniest spot in the house to nap. Please ignore the piles of Scout hair on the floor. The second I vacuum it up it just comes right back. He's been shedding like crazy and I can't figure out how he's not completely hairless at this point. 

Marathon Musings and Pooch Pictures

I'm using a new training plan for my marathon this year. It is going to take some getting used to. Easy run days are all time (not distance) based, and only long runs and some workout days actually have mileage attached to them.  It's also a 20 week plan and has four 18 milers, two 20s and a 22 mile long run. And there's walking. A brisk walk every week the day after the long run.

I have been getting newsletters from Coach Jay Johnson for a while now, and was excited when he announced the release of his book Simple Marathon Training last fall. I have read the book cover to cover and have already added some of his techniques to my running.

I started doing the lunge matrix and leg swings before every run since the new year, and have been doing SAM (strength and mobility) work afterwards. I just made the switch up to phase 2 of SAM work last week.

After last year's disappointing finish at Steamtown, I decided I needed to do something different. Coach Jay's plan really emphasizes staying injury free and running your best race.

It has been a bit of a challenge to alter my mindset on easy days to not worry about my pace. I am fine during my runs (I don't look at my watch), and have been feeling pretty good, but when I upload my watch data I find I am disappointed by my pace. I keep telling myself I am rebuilding, and the fact that I am running pain-free is the most important thing, but there's still that little part of me that hates to see those slower splits.

It is also a bit of an adjustment to get used to doing SAM work after every run. I have to plan that extra time into my workout.

I don't officially start marathon training for another 3 weeks or so, but at least I am starting healthy this year!

And for those of you who don't care about marathon training - here are some recent dog pictures ;)

Last Weekend in Pictures

I just can't seem to get back into the groove of posting regularly. I don't even have a good reason, it's not like I'm incredibly busy or anything.

Last weekend I made the drive up to Boston to visit one of my friends from college. (side note: what's the deal with the traffic in Connecticut?) We had a great time walking, eating and drinking all over Boston on Saturday.

The Boston Marathon finish line before repainting

And on Sunday we went wine tasting and sightseeing in Newport, RI (which is where my marathon is later this year).

It was a really fun weekend! - nice to catch up in person and explore some new (to me) places at the same time.

Girls on the Run

I don't know if I've mentioned it here yet, but I'm helping coach a Girls on the Run team this spring!

Haven't heard of it? It's awesome!

Here's the description from the website:

Meeting twice a week in small teams of 8-15 girls, we teach life skills through dynamic, conversation-based lessons and running games. The 20-lesson curriculum is taught by certified Girls on the Run coaches and includes three parts: understanding ourselves, valuing relationships and teamwork and understanding how we connect with and shape the world at large.

Running is used to inspire and motivate girls, encourage lifelong health and fitness, and build confidence through accomplishment. At each season's conclusion, the girls and their running buddies complete a 5k running event. Completing a 5k gives the girls a tangible sense of achievement as well as a framework for setting and achieving life goals. The result—making the seemingly impossible, possible and teaching girls that they can.

The girls picked my adjective for the name game

We had our first practice this afternoon. Our group is made up of 12 third and fourth graders and 4 coaches. 

It was a little disorganized since we're all new to the program, but it was a lot of fun! We were stuck inside because of the weather, but the girls thought it was the coolest thing ever because we got permission to run through the school hallways. I'm sure they will be telling all of their friends at school tomorrow how they were allowed to run in the halls. It was probably the highlight of practice for some of them. 

They are a fun group and I'm really excited for the rest of the season! 

Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon 2017 Race Recap

I ran my 3rd Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon this morning. It was a little different this year, because I missed about 3 weeks of training due to various illnesses.

I was smart for a change, and decided not to have a time goal. It's been a while since I didn't have some time at the back of my mind during a race, and I have to say, it was almost relaxing.

Earlier this week I stubbed/skinned a toe on a dog toy, and yesterday I hit my achilles tendon with enough force that it was pretty instantly purple.

Excellent timing.

Fortunately, the toe was fine, and the achilles only complained on the hills. It's pretty sore now, but I'm glad it let me run.

I hate worrying about parking at races, so I arrived freakishly early.

I probably could have left a little later.

After hanging out in my car for a while, I went down to pick up my bib and visit with people. Sleepy Hollow is always a fun race, because it's put on by my weekend running group, Rivertown Runners.

It was supposed to be fairly warm today, but the weather missed that memo and we had a decent amount of wind and some rain. It sprinkled on and off throughout the race.

I don't really have any exciting mile-by-mile stories from today. I mostly enjoyed the people watching and listening to my new race playlist.

I did not enjoy the hills. It's not the hilliest race I have run, but since I haven't been running many hills lately, they were pretty tough today. I kill it on the downhill though. I'm always surprised by how many people I pass on downhills. Take advantage of gravity people!

The worst hill is the last one. Every race in Sleepy Hollow ends at the top of this hill, and it's brutal. It is relatively short, but it makes a strong finish a little difficult.

So, not my fastest race, but I did it. Considering how much training I missed, I'm happy with how it turned out. My chip time was 2:06:02.

Sometimes I forget that it's an accomplishment every time I cross a finish line. 

Happy Birthday Scout!

Since Scout and his brothers and sisters were owner surrendered, we actually have a birthdate for him.

Remember when we got him?

Awwww

Scout is one year old today, and he's still a crazy puppy. He's just a lot bigger now. He's excellent at destroying toys, loves eating snow, and is fairly indifferent about eating his actual food. He also still drives Buddy insane, trying to get him to play when all Buddy wants to do is sleep.

Happy birthday, you crazy pup!

New Shoes and Girls on the Run

And here you thought I was almost back to posting on a semi-regular basis!

I have spent a ridiculous amount of time stuck on my couch the last few weeks. First it was the high fever for days, and after finally getting back to my training plan and feeling normal for a few days, I was back on the couch. This second illness was shorter lived and less intense (thank goodness).

In non-sick news, I have two pairs of new running shoes. Why two? Because after I got the first new pair, I realized just how broken down pretty much all of my other shoes are.

I track mileage on my shoes, but most of my miles are on the road and I think they break down much sooner than the expected 300-500 miles that shoe companies claim they should last for.

I had a 20% off coupon from the running store that is closest to me (still a 45 minute drive), so I picked up a pair of the new Saucony Freedom ISO. They're spendy, like ridiculously so, but holy cow they are SO comfortable.

Seriously, if Saucony generally works for you, you need to check these out. Go somewhere and try them on though, the sizing is a bit off. I had to go up a half size.

I have really been liking Saucony (my marathon shoes the last 2 years have been the Saucony Zealot), so I snagged a pair of Triumph ISO from a discount site. I have only gotten one run in them so far with all my couch time, but I like them so far.

Last weekend I spent most of my Saturday driving to and from a Girls on the Run coach training. I'm really excited to be helping coach a team of 3rd and 4th graders this year.

It is such an amazing program, and I can't wait for our season to start later this month. The trick is going to be time management when I start marathon training later this spring. I may have to *gasp* wake up early to get some of my workouts in during the week. 

We'll see how that goes.