Quite honestly, I haven't been running much. It's not that I dislike running, it's just that there have been so many other things I'd rather be doing lately. So... the running's been spotty. It's like I'd not run for a couple weeks and then I'd have to do a little fitness check on myself to make sure I could still do it - there was a 10 mile trail run, a 14 mile long run for the heck of it, a 14 mile trail race - you get the picture. Nothing consistent but just some runs here and there to make sure I could still do it.
I don't know where my Fall went. Suddenly it's halfway through December.
Last week I realized I hadn't run in several weeks and Boston was coming up in mid-April. I had a feeling I might actually be behind in starting a training plan but was too stressed to count the weeks. Instead, I just started running again.
Monday December 7th - 3 miles. I thought I was going to die. I broke out in hives half a mile in. I have exercise-induced urticaria. That means I break out in hives when I'm out of shape and start exercising again - like my whole entire body breaks out. It's miserable but it all goes away if I just ignore it for half an hour or so... So I kept running. The hives went away. I lived but it was a wake up call.
Tuesday - 5 miles. No hives. It was actually uneventful (Thank you Jesus!)
Wednesday - Rest day. Stayed home all day because I was getting new carpet installed in my living room. Installers finally showed up at 3 pm and stayed til 7 pm... but I LOVE my new carpet.
Thursday - 5 miles. I ended up having to run on an unfamiliar treadmill at the YMCA on the north side of Indianapolis as it was pitch black and pouring rain by the time I had a chance to run. I couldn't figure out how to make the treadmill go faster once I turned it on. I ended up pushing buttons randomly until the belt started moving faster and I finally found a screen that showed pace and minutes. By the time I had it figured out, I had run my first mile in 11:30. Well, I wanted 10:00 miles... so I cranked up the pace to 9:30. Remember though, I just started running again 2 days before. So, after 3 more miles I thought I was going to die again. Plus, I don't run well on treadmills indoors anyway. Rather than collapse and cause a scene, I dialed down the pace, caught my breath, then cranked it way up my last quarter mile. Finished 5 miles in 50:05, staggered off the treadmill in a daze putting one foot in front of the other until I got to the privacy of the locker room, then had to sit on the floor and recover.
Friday - 7 miles. I actually felt surprising well given the events on Thursday. I went to the hamster track and cranked out 7 miles. Felt like I was BACK.
Saturday December 12th - This was the day Indiana Timing had their last 5K of the year and their awards ceremony. I didn't run enough races to even vie for an age group award but I had thought about going just to see everyone again. I wasn't even planning on running the 5K because I'm not in any kind of racing shape. However, J wanted to go shopping and I rarely have time to do things with her anymore. So, I spent the morning shopping with my daughter. Then I had to work from 5 pm to 2 am. It was a hellish shift. Triage was already full when I got there at 5 pm. I didn't clock out until 3:48 am. I was so sleepy driving home that it took an eternity to get home. Needless to say I was too trashed on Sunday to do anything.
So then LAST WEEK...
Monday - Let's try this again. 7 miles. No problems.
Tuesday - 10 miles, just because I felt like I needed a double digit run.
Wednesday December 16th - It finally occurs to me that I should look at a calendar and count the weeks to Boston to see what I need to do about a training plan.
HOLY CRAP!!! This is Week 18 - meaning there's only 18 training weeks left til Boston. This has to be the first week of training. Full on panic sets in.
The plan for this week had been 5 on Wednesday and 15 on Thursday just for the heck of it. Now the runs felt more mandatory. I was sore on Wednesday. I toyed with the idea of riding a stationary bike and doing some weights instead of running but the realization that this was actually going to be Week 1 of training put the cabash on that. I ran 5. I was sore the first mile but fine after that.
Thursday - 15 miles. I still felt sore. I didn't know if this was the right thing to do or not. Most marathon training plans don't have you doing a 15 mile long run in Week 1. I really didn't have much of a distance base either. But... Ackk... I wasn't doing a regular marathon training plan! I have to train for two marathons in 6 days. And I DON'T HAVE A PLAN! I decided to play it by ear on the hamster track. 5 miles. Sipped some water. Felt fine. 5 more miles. Took a GU and some water. Still felt fine. 2 more miles. Felt OK. 1 more mile. Oh heck, I might as well run the other 2 now and get all 15 in. So 15 miles. Done.
Friday - Rest day, at least from running. Got up at 4:30 am to go to work than went to see my daughter cheer at the Center Grove vs. Whiteland Varsity Basketball game after work in the evening.
Saturday - Ugh. Meant to run in the morning but it just got away from me and then I had to go to work at 1:30 pm so no miles.
So there you have it, Week 1 - 37 miles.
I know, I know, I know. You shouldn't go from zero miles to 20 miles to 37 miles in two weeks but it is what it is. 37 miles is where I'm starting from. I still need a plan but at least I have a starting point.
Monday, December 21, 2015
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Overbooked?
Yesterday I had the pleasure of...umm..eyeballing Iron Chef Mario Batali.
You see, I had a ticket to his event at one of our new local upscale grocery stores. He was there to promote his new Farm to Table cookbook by doing a meet and greet with his public. The tickets were free but you had to sign up for them. He had three sessions, 30 minutes each. Session 1 went from 12:30 pm - 1:00pm, Session 2 from 1:00 pm to 1:30 pm, and so forth.
My daughter was in Carmel that morning dancing. This would be followed by her "Nutcracker" rehearsal at 2pm. Yesterday was parent observation day - the day the parents get to see the full rehearsal run of the show. Since G is dancing the lead of Klara this year I planned to be there early to get a good seat and take photos.
So... plan was to go see Mario at Session 1 then drive the 15 minutes over to the studio with plenty of time left over.
I got to the store 15 minutes before the event started. I was worried about parking. The event was "sold out". They had released 400 tickets per 30 minute session and all 1200 tickets were taken.
Since Mario was promoting his new book you could buy the book there for 25% off and he would sign it. The first thing you saw after turning your ticket in was a table loaded with his new cookbook. It was a beautiful book. Hardcover with wonderful photos. I thumbed through it and decided I didn't need another thing in my life. I bypassed the line of people buying books and took my place in the meet and greet line. There were maybe 100 people in front of me...
Mario showed up promptly at 12:30 pm. He gave a short talk about the goodness of fresh quality seasonal ingredients. He told everyone to go buy a vegetable you've never eaten, cut it up, put a bit of oil on it, season to taste, and bake for 30 minutes. He guaranteed it would be wonderful. He also stressed that there was no "right" or "wrong" in cooking. If it tastes good to you, it is "right." The meet and greet started after that.
There was a professional photographer taking photos of everyone with Mario. We were told when we entered that we could not take any personal photos but that the professional photos would be available free of charge at their website. As people started filing through, Mario would talk to them, thumb through his book and autograph it if you had a book, and then take a photo. He took at least a minute with everyone.
The couple behind me asked me the time. They commented that they had been to book signings before where there was a "prepper" at the table that would open the books for the author as soon as you got there so the author could sign his name, shake your hand, and then move on. Mario, on the other hand, was chatting and thumbing through his books, conversing, and then taking photos. They thought the man was wonderful for taking the time to do this but they had another commitment that afternoon.
By now I'm sure you've done the math...
There was NO WAY Mario was going to "meet and greet" 400 people in 30 minutes. Regretfully, I couldn't stay either. At 1:00pm there were still at least 30 people in front of me. The open rehearsal was more important. I got out of line and left.
Today I got an interesting email from the bookseller Barnes and Noble. On Black Friday they were releasing a variety of books that had been signed by the author. Part of the emailed stated:
All told, participating Signed Edition authors each signed close to 4,500 books, averaging 12 hours’ worth of signing at a rate of 400 books per hour, and used over 3,150 pens in total.
Hmmm... so if it takes one hour to just continuously sign 400 books I wonder how long it took Mario to see all those people yesterday. Truly he was overbooked. I wonder how long he was there. Did he have another commitment that he had to rush off to too or did he stay to satisfy his fans? Surely they didn't spend the night at the grocery store (a minute a person X 1200 = 20 hours!)
Looking at our own lives, how often do we overbook ourselves? I know I'm guilty far too often. Then, do we disappoint or do we gut it out in misery? I'd rather not do either. Perhaps the answer is to just say "no". Get over that Fear Of Missing Out.Yesterday was another nudge of a reminder to me. Be more present in what we are doing now. Have the time to sip some tea and enjoy more peaceful sunsets...
You see, I had a ticket to his event at one of our new local upscale grocery stores. He was there to promote his new Farm to Table cookbook by doing a meet and greet with his public. The tickets were free but you had to sign up for them. He had three sessions, 30 minutes each. Session 1 went from 12:30 pm - 1:00pm, Session 2 from 1:00 pm to 1:30 pm, and so forth.
My daughter was in Carmel that morning dancing. This would be followed by her "Nutcracker" rehearsal at 2pm. Yesterday was parent observation day - the day the parents get to see the full rehearsal run of the show. Since G is dancing the lead of Klara this year I planned to be there early to get a good seat and take photos.
So... plan was to go see Mario at Session 1 then drive the 15 minutes over to the studio with plenty of time left over.
I got to the store 15 minutes before the event started. I was worried about parking. The event was "sold out". They had released 400 tickets per 30 minute session and all 1200 tickets were taken.
Since Mario was promoting his new book you could buy the book there for 25% off and he would sign it. The first thing you saw after turning your ticket in was a table loaded with his new cookbook. It was a beautiful book. Hardcover with wonderful photos. I thumbed through it and decided I didn't need another thing in my life. I bypassed the line of people buying books and took my place in the meet and greet line. There were maybe 100 people in front of me...
Mario showed up promptly at 12:30 pm. He gave a short talk about the goodness of fresh quality seasonal ingredients. He told everyone to go buy a vegetable you've never eaten, cut it up, put a bit of oil on it, season to taste, and bake for 30 minutes. He guaranteed it would be wonderful. He also stressed that there was no "right" or "wrong" in cooking. If it tastes good to you, it is "right." The meet and greet started after that.
There was a professional photographer taking photos of everyone with Mario. We were told when we entered that we could not take any personal photos but that the professional photos would be available free of charge at their website. As people started filing through, Mario would talk to them, thumb through his book and autograph it if you had a book, and then take a photo. He took at least a minute with everyone.
The couple behind me asked me the time. They commented that they had been to book signings before where there was a "prepper" at the table that would open the books for the author as soon as you got there so the author could sign his name, shake your hand, and then move on. Mario, on the other hand, was chatting and thumbing through his books, conversing, and then taking photos. They thought the man was wonderful for taking the time to do this but they had another commitment that afternoon.
By now I'm sure you've done the math...
There was NO WAY Mario was going to "meet and greet" 400 people in 30 minutes. Regretfully, I couldn't stay either. At 1:00pm there were still at least 30 people in front of me. The open rehearsal was more important. I got out of line and left.
Today I got an interesting email from the bookseller Barnes and Noble. On Black Friday they were releasing a variety of books that had been signed by the author. Part of the emailed stated:
All told, participating Signed Edition authors each signed close to 4,500 books, averaging 12 hours’ worth of signing at a rate of 400 books per hour, and used over 3,150 pens in total.
Hmmm... so if it takes one hour to just continuously sign 400 books I wonder how long it took Mario to see all those people yesterday. Truly he was overbooked. I wonder how long he was there. Did he have another commitment that he had to rush off to too or did he stay to satisfy his fans? Surely they didn't spend the night at the grocery store (a minute a person X 1200 = 20 hours!)
Looking at our own lives, how often do we overbook ourselves? I know I'm guilty far too often. Then, do we disappoint or do we gut it out in misery? I'd rather not do either. Perhaps the answer is to just say "no". Get over that Fear Of Missing Out.Yesterday was another nudge of a reminder to me. Be more present in what we are doing now. Have the time to sip some tea and enjoy more peaceful sunsets...
My cold November sunset... it was actually raining but the sky was beautiful!
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Taking the Christmas Pledge
Life seems so much easier when you have a plan. This year I have taken the "Christmas Pledge." It's a concept I read about on another blog I follow called "The Art of Doing Stuff." Basically you plan to get all your Christmas related things done by December 1st so you can truly enjoy the season.
In my head I think about doing this every year. Don't we all? However, writing it all down in black and white makes it all so concrete. It's a plan to follow, similar to what runners do with a training plan. Here is mine. Christmas items are in red.
I don't put up decorations until a month before Christmas. The only challenge will be that I am planning to get new carpet for the living room. The tree will have to go up after the carpet is installed. Otherwise I hope everything will be done by December 1st.
I want this December to enjoy. My younger daughter is dancing the lead role of Klara in a local "Nutcracker" production the first weekend in December. I want to have time for all the Christmas crafts I've wanted to do. I want to enjoy baking Christmas goodies. I want to sit by the Christmas tree at night with a cup of tea and just gaze at the lights.
If you want to read more about the "Christmas Pledge" you can find it HERE. Karen, the woman that writes this blog, actually started doing this in 2011 and there are posts every year about it. The link is to the 2014 post that I think has everything in a nutshell. I really like her blog because, well, she's kinda like me. It's a little bit of everything...
For example, since I have the attention span of a gnat, I read about the DIY Cat Scratching Pad next and ended up making this...
Let the Holidays begin!
In my head I think about doing this every year. Don't we all? However, writing it all down in black and white makes it all so concrete. It's a plan to follow, similar to what runners do with a training plan. Here is mine. Christmas items are in red.
I don't put up decorations until a month before Christmas. The only challenge will be that I am planning to get new carpet for the living room. The tree will have to go up after the carpet is installed. Otherwise I hope everything will be done by December 1st.
I want this December to enjoy. My younger daughter is dancing the lead role of Klara in a local "Nutcracker" production the first weekend in December. I want to have time for all the Christmas crafts I've wanted to do. I want to enjoy baking Christmas goodies. I want to sit by the Christmas tree at night with a cup of tea and just gaze at the lights.
If you want to read more about the "Christmas Pledge" you can find it HERE. Karen, the woman that writes this blog, actually started doing this in 2011 and there are posts every year about it. The link is to the 2014 post that I think has everything in a nutshell. I really like her blog because, well, she's kinda like me. It's a little bit of everything...
For example, since I have the attention span of a gnat, I read about the DIY Cat Scratching Pad next and ended up making this...
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Week of November 8, 2015
Sunday 11/8 - zero; ridiculously sore from Saturday's trail run - like afraid-to-go-down-the stairs sore!
Monday 11/9 - zero. Worked 6:30 am - 3 pm then worked the IU-Bellarmine Basketball game. Got home at 10:30 pm. Still sore.
Tuesday 11/10 - zero. Worked 6:30 am - 3 pm. Still sore.
Wednesday 11/11 - zero. Just didn't get it worked into my schedule today.
Thursday 11/12 - 1 mile. My hearts been doing a weird pounding all week. Not fast but I can feel it just pounding in my chest as well as in my upper abdomen. Not painful but bothersome and distracting. Very windy so I tried the hamster track but felt winded after a mile and stopped. Didn't feel good overall. Still coughing.
Friday 11/13 - 5 miles. Still very windy out so went to the safety of the hamster track and did OK.
Saturday 11/14 - 6 miles. Nice easy run on the Monon. Weather was great and I finally felt good.
Total for week: 12 miles
Updates...
Stuff has been taken to Goodwill.
Did quite a bit of grocery deals this week.
Took the "Christmas Pledge" and plan to have all Christmas things done by December 1st except maybe getting the tree up because...
Got around to ordering new carpet for the living room. Room will be measured on Tuesday and install date will be determined after that.
Monday 11/9 - zero. Worked 6:30 am - 3 pm then worked the IU-Bellarmine Basketball game. Got home at 10:30 pm. Still sore.
Tuesday 11/10 - zero. Worked 6:30 am - 3 pm. Still sore.
Wednesday 11/11 - zero. Just didn't get it worked into my schedule today.
Thursday 11/12 - 1 mile. My hearts been doing a weird pounding all week. Not fast but I can feel it just pounding in my chest as well as in my upper abdomen. Not painful but bothersome and distracting. Very windy so I tried the hamster track but felt winded after a mile and stopped. Didn't feel good overall. Still coughing.
Friday 11/13 - 5 miles. Still very windy out so went to the safety of the hamster track and did OK.
Saturday 11/14 - 6 miles. Nice easy run on the Monon. Weather was great and I finally felt good.
Total for week: 12 miles
Updates...
Stuff has been taken to Goodwill.
Did quite a bit of grocery deals this week.
Took the "Christmas Pledge" and plan to have all Christmas things done by December 1st except maybe getting the tree up because...
Got around to ordering new carpet for the living room. Room will be measured on Tuesday and install date will be determined after that.
Friday, November 13, 2015
Owen-Putnam State Forest Fun Run - Was That Running?
I haven't raced at all lately, mainly because I'm cheap and I'm not a "social" racer meaning, usually when I sign up for a race, I'm either running for time, place, or a training purpose. I love hanging out with my runner friends at races but I usually don't sign up for races just to socialize.
The big race in central Indiana on November 7th was the Monumental Marathon. I was originally going to run it and had asked for the weekend off at the beginning of the year but didn't register because I'd learned my lesson last year. This was originally going to be my fall marathon but I decided over the summer not to do it. Everybody was running it this past weekend. I kinda sorta wanted to be a part of it but I certainly wasn't in any marathon shape. Heck, I'd hardly run in a month since I got sick. I had thought about doing the half but I didn't want to pay $70+ to do it when I could just roll out my front door and run 13.1 miles for free. I guess that's the downside to having the ability to do that; running 13 miles is no longer an event. I batted around the idea of volunteering to pace the half as I was sure I could pace anything slower than 2:10 but then found out that there were no half marathon pacers. Oh well, I resigned myself to not doing anything that weekend.
Then... Sue talks me into doing this trail run. She was going to do it with her brother and her niece. Her brother Jed is a really good ultramarathoner with multiple Boston runs under his belt. He was doing the 50K trail run. Sue is pretty fast too and also has multiple Boston runs under her belt. (Thinking back, she was the one that was supposed to run the Monumental Marathon with me in 2013 in my first try at a BQ but ended up not being able to run that day). She thought she'd do the Fun Run. The Fun Run is 14.1 miles. Kinda funny how perspective changes when you hang out with ultra runners. The other race going on that day was a 50 miler - hence the OPSF 50/50.
This was perfect. I was going to have fun. No pressure. There is no way to compare trail running times to road racing times and you can't even compare trail races with each other because every trail is different. I'd never run a long trail race so there were no expectations. I'd get a long run in, hang out with some friends, and get some hill running in too. A training run with a purpose. For $35 I was in.
Race morning rolls around. My car says it's 39 degrees. Perfect running weather once you get moving. Me, Sue, and her niece Jill are all huddled in Jill's car half joking about a 1-2-3 finish. Jill's never run more than 13.1 miles but she's been training. Sue and I on the other hand have hardly been running. We're gonna just run on our "old lady muscles."
We amble over to the start at the 5 minute call. The 50K/50 milers started an hour before us. I think there are about 20 runners. No corrals, chips or timing mats. The starter says "go" and off we go.
It's been a gorgeous Indiana fall... but it rained the two days before the race. A guy in a cut off T-shirt darted to the front and was gone. After him were two guys running together with gaiters on. I followed these two. I had no idea who anyone was or how fast anyone ran except Sue. We had gone maybe 400 meters... it was really muddy so I had been watching the guys in front of me to see where they were stepping. We went over some leaves when, suddenly, what the heck!!! I found myself standing ankle deep in soft mud in just my socks! My shoes were 5 yards behind me. The mud had literally sucked my shoes off my feet. F***! Here I was, a quarter mile into a 14 mile race, feet soaking wet and muddy. It actually took some effort to tug my shoes out of the mud. Then, I had to cram my muddy feet back in the shoes, tying them as tight as I could to prevent a repeat episode, all the while it felt like the whole world was passing me by.
OK, so I lied. I did have a little expectation going into this run... I had looked up the times from the year before (I know, I know... I can't help it...) The first woman had crossed in 2:59:40. I say "first woman" as there are no awards in this race. I thought I could run this in 3:00 or less. I had run 10 in Morgan Monroe in just under 2:00 about a month earlier. Surely I could run 4 more miles in an hour. However, this was billed as "the toughest race in Indiana." Really? How much tougher could it really be. We're in Indiana. Not Colorado or California.
Anyhoos... I get my shoes back on and take off running. I caught up to a man and woman running together who told me to pass. It was a single track trail now. I caught up to another man and ran behind him until there was a wide spot and then went around him. I caught up to a second man and did the same thing. Soon I saw Sue's pink shirt up ahead of me and caught up to her. We ran together for a couple miles.
It was crazy. It was so muddy it was like trying to run on a huge Slip and Slide. In some spots you just had to pick your way through and try not to sink too deep in the mud. We were both cursing, swearing we would never do this again...and who's idea it was...
We got to the first Aid Station 5.5 miles into the race. I stopped to drink a couple cups of water but Sue went on. I left the Aid Station and the trail sloped down to a road. I crossed the road but couldn't find the trail on the other side. The Aid Stations are just off the forest access roads so the volunteers can get to them. I ran back up to the Aid Station to ask where the trail went. Do I cross the road? One guy said "yes" and another said "no." Just then, I saw some of the Ultra runners coming back from the other direction. There was a trail off to the right just past the Aid Station. This was the correct way. It paralleled the road for a bit and then you crossed the road and picked up on the other side.
Once I crossed the road, it was hillier but a bit drier. This was supposed to be the out and back portion of the trail (from Aid Station B to Aid Station C, and then back to B). The race map looked like this...
I started seeing more Ultra runners coming back the other way. "Good Job" was the common greeting amongst all. The footing was still treacherous. The course was marked with pink flags but to see them, you had to keep looking ahead and then you couldn't watch your footing. What was so treacherous was the thick layer of leaves. Often, like where I lost my shoes, there was thick mud underneath. I started up a hill when I spotted another runner below me on the hillside. "Over here, the course is over here." It was Jed yelling at me. I was totally going the wrong way. If he hadn't crossed paths with me in that instant I'd probably been lost for quite some time.
I ran alone for another stretch. I then came upon two guys coming towards me, but from the side of the trail, who asked me if I had reached the turnaround yet. They said they had gotten lost, then went by me the other direction. I couldn't tell if they were Ultra runners or some of the Fun Run runners that had passed me. Alone again but still seeing pink flags. I hadn't studied the course map very closely so I had had it in my head that the next Aid Station was at the halfway point. I passed 7 miles on my Garmin and I was still running alone in the woods. I started getting concerned.
The guy in the cut off T-shirt then came running towards me. Phew! I knew he was the Fun Run race leader. I wasn't lost. Jill came flying towards me a short while later. I looked at my watch. 7.5 miles. She yelled that Sue was "just up ahead" of me. The two guys in gaiters came past me after that. Then, I felt like I ran and I ran and I ran. Nobody. Again I was seriously concerned I was lost. Finally I saw Sue's pink shirt coming towards me. "Oh good, I'm not lost!"
Sue pointed out the Aid Station on the road just behind her. "Remember where the trail is!" was her advice. She had lost the trail where it met the road and had just now found it again. This was an unmanned Aid Station. Just jugs of water on a picnic table. Just jugs. No cups. I guess all the Ultra runners were carrying bottles. I found the lightest jug and poured water in my mouth. Then I hit the port-a-potty. Second time ever that I've used a port-a-potty in a race but it's not like a couple minutes were going to matter at this point. Garmin read 8.5 miles. I figured Jill was at least 2 miles ahead of us. Might as well be comfortable.
Going back to Aid Station B felt better, mostly because I saw more people and I knew I wasn't lost. I caught back up to Sue but then let her go on ahead. I had tweaked my right ankle four times by now so I just wanted to make it back to run another day rather than all out sprain the ankle. The ground was still so slippery I couldn't stay upright. I felt like I had been on a drinking binge and then decided to go for a run. All the hills were walked aggressively. All the downhills were run with trepidation. All the flats were too slippery to run. There weren't a whole lotta flats either...
Only after I got back to Aid Station B did I realize that the Aid Station wasn't in the middle of the loop. The leg from the Start to the Aid Station was longer than from the Aid Station to the Finish. Garmin read 11 miles. I was ready to get this thing over with!
There was a long uphill going out of Aid Station B. Everyone was walking. I passed two Ultra runners then, thankfully, the trail went to my left and was more runnable. I caught back up to Sue and we ran together for a while. Walked up another uphill. Again the trail seemed more runnable after that so I told her I was going to run what I could and took off running. At about 12.5 miles there was the most ridiculous hill that came straight out of a creek. I literally had to use my hands to get up it. Ran more after that. Then, I turned a corner and boom! there was the finish line. I was not expecting the finish to be there. I thought I'd see or hear it long before I got to it, but there it was, right in front of me. "Second woman" was called out as I crossed. I'll take it. I was happy to be done. Happy to still have my ankles. Happy to still have my shoes. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful fall day. It was a great workout. It was fun. I'm not sure if I could call it running though...
Official time 3:03:57. Not 3:00 but close enough... although... I wonder what I could run it on a dry day?
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Last Weeks Steals - Shopping and Reviews on Some Favorite Things
For most of the year I'm purely a grocery deal shopper... but not November.
I LOVE shopping in November. No, I'm no longer a Black Friday shopper. I've got my deal shopping down to where I can get better than Black Friday deals throughout the year. No need to fight the crowds anymore. No, the best thing about November shopping is that it's my birthday month and, with it, come all the birthday presents from the retailers I frequent.
Most of the gifts are small (but Finish Line surprised me this year with $20!) but when I combine them with all the holiday sales that start in November it's a small windfall. (Admittedly, my daughter snorted when she saw the $5 from Buckle...)
So last Thursday was "Me Day." I went shopping. First stop was Bath and Body Works. We are almost out of body wash and, gasp, I hadn't done any body wash drug store deals lately. Time to get the good stuff. I found it a good practice to always have a $25 Bath and Body Works gift card in my wallet. I get my supply from either my credit card points or any number of other rewards sites.
Bath and Body Works currently has out a $10 off $30 coupon as well as a free product coupon that can be used together. They also almost always run "Buy 3, Get 3 Free" on their Signature line. My take...
6 bottles of body wash and one bottle of lotion. Full retail is $12.50 each so $87.50 - that's just insane! Take off the "Buy 3, Get 3 Free" plus the free item and you're down to $37.50. Use the $10 off $30 and you're at $27.50 which is $3.93 a bottle and far more reasonable. I used my $25 gift card and got it all for $2.50 + $1.93 tax ($4.43). These are my current favorite scents.
You can get all 7 for $27.50 too. Search for the coupons online if you don't get their mailers or emails.
Next stop was Kohls. They had sent me a $10 gift certificate for my birthday. I also had $5 in Yes2You rewards to use, plus, they currently have a coupon (you can get it online) for $10 off a $25 purchase. I thought that if I could find a $25 item, I could in theory get it for free.
I rarely just go looking to find something to buy. I know that retailers send you five to ten dollars as the "carrot" to get you in the store. Going into a store just looking to buy something is treading on dangerous ground. My goal was to find something I needed or had been looking for. If all else failed I was going to get Food Saver rolls or chocolate as I can always use these! Luckily, I found something better. Two somethings...
First was a running glove and headband set from Nike. $25 exactly. The only thing that kept me from jumping on it was that I also had $20 to spend at Finish Line and they had Nike gloves on clearance online. Then, I found it! I'd been looking for a cupcake carrier all summer. I'd actually cashed in credit card points for a Bed Bath and Beyond gift card thinking I could get one there, only to find they didn't have any. I'd shelved that project for awhile. Now I found it. A two-tier 24 cupcake carrier from Food Network.
It snaps apart and the cupcake inserts come out.
You can use it without the inserts for cakes or other things. Since the layers snap together, you can carry just one, or if you bought another one, you can snap more layers on.
I LOVE it! Full price was $34.99, on sale for $27.99. Take off $10 off $25, then $10 and $5, and I got it for $2.99 + $0.21 tax ($3.20).
The $10 off $25 coupon is a crazy deal. It's still available online.
Next stop was Wild Birds Unlimited. Picked up my 5 lbs of free birdseed. I got the "no mess" variety but my birds are spoiled and made a mess anyway. There are no shells in the "no mess" variety but my birds won't eat the millet. I usually fill my feeders with cracked sunflower seed hearts.
Next stop was Best Buy. I wanted to check out a camera bag. Adorama.com had a Lowepro sling bag on sale for $16.95. It looked like a steal but I wanted to look at the bag in person before I ordered it. I had been looking for a camera bag that could double as a purse. I actually bought a purse that was large enough to carry my camera but it doesn't offer any protection for the camera. The bag online was the Lowepro Sling II, last years model. The Sling III is out now. I saw absolutely no difference. The retail price at Best Buy is $49.99 for the Sling III. The regular price of the Sling II at Adorama is $39.99. $16.95 AND free shipping sounded like a killer deal to me.
I need more running socks. I have no idea why running socks are so freakin' expensive. Maybe I'm just cheap. I nearly destroyed a pair of Balega's on Saturday's trail run...
Even without the coupon, this is a great deal so if you're in the market for running socks you may want to take a look. The only sizes they have left are Women's Small - says fits shoe size 4 - 6.5 but they fit my feet just fine and I wear a size 8 Brooks running shoe.
That's all for now. I'm sure there'll be more deal posts this month. Happy deal shopping!
...and obviously, none of the retailers or brands mentioned in this post paid me anything to write about them :)
I LOVE shopping in November. No, I'm no longer a Black Friday shopper. I've got my deal shopping down to where I can get better than Black Friday deals throughout the year. No need to fight the crowds anymore. No, the best thing about November shopping is that it's my birthday month and, with it, come all the birthday presents from the retailers I frequent.
Most of the gifts are small (but Finish Line surprised me this year with $20!) but when I combine them with all the holiday sales that start in November it's a small windfall. (Admittedly, my daughter snorted when she saw the $5 from Buckle...)
So last Thursday was "Me Day." I went shopping. First stop was Bath and Body Works. We are almost out of body wash and, gasp, I hadn't done any body wash drug store deals lately. Time to get the good stuff. I found it a good practice to always have a $25 Bath and Body Works gift card in my wallet. I get my supply from either my credit card points or any number of other rewards sites.
Bath and Body Works currently has out a $10 off $30 coupon as well as a free product coupon that can be used together. They also almost always run "Buy 3, Get 3 Free" on their Signature line. My take...
6 bottles of body wash and one bottle of lotion. Full retail is $12.50 each so $87.50 - that's just insane! Take off the "Buy 3, Get 3 Free" plus the free item and you're down to $37.50. Use the $10 off $30 and you're at $27.50 which is $3.93 a bottle and far more reasonable. I used my $25 gift card and got it all for $2.50 + $1.93 tax ($4.43). These are my current favorite scents.
You can get all 7 for $27.50 too. Search for the coupons online if you don't get their mailers or emails.
Next stop was Kohls. They had sent me a $10 gift certificate for my birthday. I also had $5 in Yes2You rewards to use, plus, they currently have a coupon (you can get it online) for $10 off a $25 purchase. I thought that if I could find a $25 item, I could in theory get it for free.
I rarely just go looking to find something to buy. I know that retailers send you five to ten dollars as the "carrot" to get you in the store. Going into a store just looking to buy something is treading on dangerous ground. My goal was to find something I needed or had been looking for. If all else failed I was going to get Food Saver rolls or chocolate as I can always use these! Luckily, I found something better. Two somethings...
First was a running glove and headband set from Nike. $25 exactly. The only thing that kept me from jumping on it was that I also had $20 to spend at Finish Line and they had Nike gloves on clearance online. Then, I found it! I'd been looking for a cupcake carrier all summer. I'd actually cashed in credit card points for a Bed Bath and Beyond gift card thinking I could get one there, only to find they didn't have any. I'd shelved that project for awhile. Now I found it. A two-tier 24 cupcake carrier from Food Network.
It snaps apart and the cupcake inserts come out.
You can use it without the inserts for cakes or other things. Since the layers snap together, you can carry just one, or if you bought another one, you can snap more layers on.
I LOVE it! Full price was $34.99, on sale for $27.99. Take off $10 off $25, then $10 and $5, and I got it for $2.99 + $0.21 tax ($3.20).
The $10 off $25 coupon is a crazy deal. It's still available online.
Next stop was Wild Birds Unlimited. Picked up my 5 lbs of free birdseed. I got the "no mess" variety but my birds are spoiled and made a mess anyway. There are no shells in the "no mess" variety but my birds won't eat the millet. I usually fill my feeders with cracked sunflower seed hearts.
Next stop was Best Buy. I wanted to check out a camera bag. Adorama.com had a Lowepro sling bag on sale for $16.95. It looked like a steal but I wanted to look at the bag in person before I ordered it. I had been looking for a camera bag that could double as a purse. I actually bought a purse that was large enough to carry my camera but it doesn't offer any protection for the camera. The bag online was the Lowepro Sling II, last years model. The Sling III is out now. I saw absolutely no difference. The retail price at Best Buy is $49.99 for the Sling III. The regular price of the Sling II at Adorama is $39.99. $16.95 AND free shipping sounded like a killer deal to me.
Bag arrived today!
It's expandable.
3 outside pockets
2 way zipper... for some reason I love 2 way zippers.
A look inside.
Bag with my Nikon D90 with 18-200mm lens attached.
There's room for another lens or flash plus more.
Padding velcos in and out.
2 inner pouches with Velcro closures.
I LOVE this bag! It's perfect for my needs. If you like it, Adorama has been running it at this price quite often lately so keep an eye out. Plus, Adorama sent me a card for 100 free pictures.
Can't beat that!
Speaking of photos, when I ordered my free prints from Shutterfly on 11/2, I also got a coupon for $10 off and free shipping to Shoebuy.com. Shutterfly always offers a choice of 3-4 different coupons after you complete an order. Most are percent off deals at a store so I always choose the Shoebuy coupons. Many times I never use the Shoebuy coupon but this time I had a need.I need more running socks. I have no idea why running socks are so freakin' expensive. Maybe I'm just cheap. I nearly destroyed a pair of Balega's on Saturday's trail run...
I was so muddy I had to take off my socks and shoes before I entered the house!
Trust me, they were so muddy they could stand on their own. If they hadn't been $11 (I really paid full price for these!), I'd have pitched them... but I rescued them.
Shoebuy happened to have Smartwool socks on clearance. $12.97 for two pairs. They usually run $18 a pair. YES! $2.97 for two pairs of socks, free shipping... and a complimentary Tide pod (that was a surprise. Are they psychic?)
Even without the coupon, this is a great deal so if you're in the market for running socks you may want to take a look. The only sizes they have left are Women's Small - says fits shoe size 4 - 6.5 but they fit my feet just fine and I wear a size 8 Brooks running shoe.
That's all for now. I'm sure there'll be more deal posts this month. Happy deal shopping!
...and obviously, none of the retailers or brands mentioned in this post paid me anything to write about them :)
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Week of November 1, 2015
Notes to myself to keep track of my running...
Sunday 11/1 - 3 miles
Monday 11/2 - 6 miles
Tuesday 11/3 - 5 miles
Wednesday 11/4 - zero
Thursday 11/5 - zero
Friday 11/6 - 4 miles
Saturday 11/7 - 14 miles
Total for week: 32 miles
Friday was "me" day. Did some deal shopping during the day and then ran 4 on the Monon in the evening. I'll post a deal summary later.
Saturday was the Owen Putnam State Forest 14 mile Fun Run. Ran it with Sue and her niece Jill. We finished 1-2-3, Jill-me-Sue. Plan to post later when the results are posted as I don't know what my official time was or how many people ran as the three of us left soon after we finished and almost everyone else was still out on the course.
Sunday 11/1 - 3 miles
Monday 11/2 - 6 miles
Tuesday 11/3 - 5 miles
Wednesday 11/4 - zero
Thursday 11/5 - zero
Friday 11/6 - 4 miles
Saturday 11/7 - 14 miles
Total for week: 32 miles
Friday was "me" day. Did some deal shopping during the day and then ran 4 on the Monon in the evening. I'll post a deal summary later.
Saturday was the Owen Putnam State Forest 14 mile Fun Run. Ran it with Sue and her niece Jill. We finished 1-2-3, Jill-me-Sue. Plan to post later when the results are posted as I don't know what my official time was or how many people ran as the three of us left soon after we finished and almost everyone else was still out on the course.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
11/4 and 11/5
Wednesday November 4, 2015
Pretty much a lost day.
Woke up at 3 am and couldn't go back to sleep then was tired all day.
Drove out to Owen Putnam State Forest to find the starting location for the trail race on Saturday. Took 1:15 to drive out there so didn't have time to get a run in.
Got back home in time to run errands with J then go out for dinner with the in-laws to celebrate G's birthday.
Thursday November 5, 2015
Woke up at 3 am again. Cleaned the kitchen this time then went to sleep on the couch til the kids woke up.
Finally got all the Goodwill stuff loaded in the car.
Ran 3 miles. Crappy run. Tired and just didn't feel good. Plan was to run 6 miles but I called it at 3.
Not much else got done today.
Pretty much a lost day.
Woke up at 3 am and couldn't go back to sleep then was tired all day.
Drove out to Owen Putnam State Forest to find the starting location for the trail race on Saturday. Took 1:15 to drive out there so didn't have time to get a run in.
Got back home in time to run errands with J then go out for dinner with the in-laws to celebrate G's birthday.
Thursday November 5, 2015
Woke up at 3 am again. Cleaned the kitchen this time then went to sleep on the couch til the kids woke up.
Finally got all the Goodwill stuff loaded in the car.
Ran 3 miles. Crappy run. Tired and just didn't feel good. Plan was to run 6 miles but I called it at 3.
Not much else got done today.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
So, recap from yesterday... goals were to get groceries, run, load my car with Goodwill stuff, and get the pool schedule for the Y.
The Good
I got groceries. I eyeballed the Halloween candy that was 50% off and walked away.
I ran 6 miles. It was a wonderful early evening run on the Monon Trail in T-shirt and shorts. I sailed through the miles without a problem. As I said yesterday, it was a glorious Fall day.
Get the pool schedule. Picked one up after my shower at the Y. There is basically a lap swim lane open all day long so I guess I have no excuses for not finding a time to swim.
Last night I also made my "to do" list for today. I try to do this on a regular basis as I read on multiple self-help be-a-more-efficient-person type articles that this was the thing to do.
So today I got up and put a chuck roast in the crock pot for dinner tonight.
My Coke Rewards (MCR) has a deal that starts today where all cap codes will be doubled. I always save all my MCR codes until they run doubles so entered my weekly maximum points using all caps this morning. They will run gift cards on sale in early December so I am racking up points for that.
I went to Jo Ann Fabrics to use a 50% off coupon for a skein of yarn for my current crochet project. I kept my blinders on and walked in and walked out with nothing else.
I went to CVS to do their Kotex deal this week. I had coupons and Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) to use so I ended up with two boxes of feminine care products for 0.99 each. They are normally 5.99, on sale for 3.99 so I was OK with paying 0.99. I haven't been couponing quite as aggressively lately so our personal care supply (i.e. shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, etc.) stash has been a wee bit low and God forbid I have to end up paying full price for something!
I wanted to try out a new bread recipe that I found on the King Arthur Flour blog about a week ago.
The Bad
Goodwill stuff did not get loaded in my car. I don't know why it's so hard for me to take stuff out of the house but it is. Part of it is that I have to list everything I am donating so we can itemize them for our taxes next year. It's just a PITA!
I did not leave CVS unscathed this morning. I walked in and there was a cart of candy marked down as a Manager's Special. 8 packs of snack size chocolate bars for 0.19. Regular price is 1.99 and it usually goes on sale everywhere for 1.00 so 0.19 is 80% off the sale price. I caved and left with 5 packages along with the feminine care products.
So that was my day. Tomorrow I plan to drive out to where my trail race starts on Saturday morning so I have a clue where I am going on race morning. I will get a run in. I'm not sure where or how long as I don't have a training plan and I'm just doing this by feel right now. And I will load my car for Goodwill!
The Good
I got groceries. I eyeballed the Halloween candy that was 50% off and walked away.
I ran 6 miles. It was a wonderful early evening run on the Monon Trail in T-shirt and shorts. I sailed through the miles without a problem. As I said yesterday, it was a glorious Fall day.
Get the pool schedule. Picked one up after my shower at the Y. There is basically a lap swim lane open all day long so I guess I have no excuses for not finding a time to swim.
Last night I also made my "to do" list for today. I try to do this on a regular basis as I read on multiple self-help be-a-more-efficient-person type articles that this was the thing to do.
My Coke Rewards (MCR) has a deal that starts today where all cap codes will be doubled. I always save all my MCR codes until they run doubles so entered my weekly maximum points using all caps this morning. They will run gift cards on sale in early December so I am racking up points for that.
I went to Jo Ann Fabrics to use a 50% off coupon for a skein of yarn for my current crochet project. I kept my blinders on and walked in and walked out with nothing else.
I went to CVS to do their Kotex deal this week. I had coupons and Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) to use so I ended up with two boxes of feminine care products for 0.99 each. They are normally 5.99, on sale for 3.99 so I was OK with paying 0.99. I haven't been couponing quite as aggressively lately so our personal care supply (i.e. shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, etc.) stash has been a wee bit low and God forbid I have to end up paying full price for something!
I wanted to try out a new bread recipe that I found on the King Arthur Flour blog about a week ago.
This was the photo from their blog post. Recipe HERE.
This is the loaf that I made.
I mixed up all the ingredients and went on my run during the first rise. I then put the loaf together and showered and cleaned up during the second rise. It came out of the oven 30 minutes before we had to leave for the dance studio tonight. Ate it with our chuck roast.
The Bad
Goodwill stuff did not get loaded in my car. I don't know why it's so hard for me to take stuff out of the house but it is. Part of it is that I have to list everything I am donating so we can itemize them for our taxes next year. It's just a PITA!
I did not leave CVS unscathed this morning. I walked in and there was a cart of candy marked down as a Manager's Special. 8 packs of snack size chocolate bars for 0.19. Regular price is 1.99 and it usually goes on sale everywhere for 1.00 so 0.19 is 80% off the sale price. I caved and left with 5 packages along with the feminine care products.
The Ugly
I stayed up way too late last night.
Another thing that all the be-a-better-person articles talk about is that the go-getters in life always get up early. Same with all the be-a-better-runner articles. They tell you to get up early and get your workout out of the way. I have tried! I'm just not a morning person. I contemplated really hard last night about going to sleep "early" to get up at 4-something this morning and meet up with a running group out at my fitness center at 5 am. At 11pm I was wide awake and decided this was not going to happen. Then, once I gave myself permission to stay up, all hell broke loose...
I played on the internet. I was sure Shutterfly was running a 101 free print special but usually I get an email from them but I hadn't gotten it. I perused my usual deal sites looking for the code and got distracted with other things. I found myself back at Shutterfly after 1 am thinking I would start on creating Christmas cards because at least I had codes for free cards when I found the free photo code right in front of me at the bottom of their homepage... and the code was going to expire in 45 minutes. It expired at 11:59 PST. Thank goodness I live in Indiana! I managed to load 90 photos in my cart before there was 3 minutes left and I felt I had to check out or risk the code expiring. I had a free shipping code too so 90 totally free prints. I got all the photos I needed to finish my two scrapbooks and then some. I ended up going to sleep after 3 am.
Well, then, as above, I ran errands, started bread, then went out the door for my run at 12:30 pm. It's 70+ degrees out. I ran the county roads by my house. Hilly and no shade. I was exhausted. It was a very ugly run. I only ran 5 miles but wanted to walk after 3 miles. I should know better. I will go to sleep at a more reasonable hour tonight!
So that was my day. Tomorrow I plan to drive out to where my trail race starts on Saturday morning so I have a clue where I am going on race morning. I will get a run in. I'm not sure where or how long as I don't have a training plan and I'm just doing this by feel right now. And I will load my car for Goodwill!
Monday, November 2, 2015
Life as it is...
The calendar in my kitchen still reads "September." I never got around to turning the page to "October."
The trash container is still sitting by our garage. We forgot to drag it down to the end of the driveway last night and missed our trash pick up this morning.
I haven't touched this blog in almost a month... I think because I don't want to face my reality.
It's another glorious fall day outside. My husband is out chasing a monster buck and the kids are in school. It's just me in a quiet house contemplating life.
I can't figure out if I'm still sick or depressed or just unmotivated. There are a million things to do but I seem to lack the motivation to move. Truth be told, except for going to the grocery store today, nothing absolutely has to be done and perhaps that is why I'm lacking movement now.
Stuff that should or I'd like to be done...
Load up stuff that's been sitting in my living room for 2 months to go to Goodwill.
Get my run in.
Figure out dinner.
Clean the freakin' house! Again!
Finish organizing my photos.
Running had been going well for a couple weeks. I ran 14 miles for the heck of it 13 days ago. I had been trying to get a double digit run in at least once a week and that particular day it was beautiful out and my daughter had a 5 hour dance class so I had time to kill. A friend also talked me into doing a 14 mile trail race on November 7th so I figured it would be good to get some miles in. It was a beautiful run. Pretty effortless except for the fact that it was still hot and they had turned all the water fountains off on the paved trail I was running so I had no water. I got sick the next day.
I ran yesterday for the first time since then. 3 miles. I didn't feel like it but made myself do it. I worked an overnight shift on Halloween. Twelve hours that stretched to thirteen due to the time change. Got home and couldn't find my cell phone that I thought I put in my pocket. Called the hospital and it wasn't there. I needed it because my husband was leaving town and I had to coordinate activities with the kids all day. I was getting ready to drive back to the gas station I had stopped at, and then back to the hospital parking lot when I checked my car again for the tenth time and found it between the driver's seat and cupholder thingy where it had slid out of my pocket. That ate up an hour of sleep time. I got 2 hours of zzz's before it was time to run kids around. Got my daughter to her dance rehearsal and hit the trail - overdressed for the weather. Yup, pretty awful run.
I've been going to the YMCA after my runs to shower and change. That way I don't have to sit around in sweaty clothes waiting on my daughter to finish dancing. I haven't swam since July. I look at the pool every time I go in, thinking I need to get back in. But when? My Y membership has turned into an expensive shower option.
I was sick last weekend but I went to a scrapbooking weekend anyway. It ended up being a very productive weekend. I got two scrapbooks almost done. That's how these weekends go... I always almost get everything done. It's always the loose ends I need to tie up at home that never get done. This time I wanted stickers of white Easter lilies to finish a page and I needed to print out a couple more pictures from a show in April and a couple more Cheer pictures of my older daughter to get her book done. Being the couponer that I am, I am positive Shutterfly is going to run 101 free prints in the next couple days (as is typical after Halloween) so I held off getting the last couple photos printed... and with this comes the risk of never getting these albums done...
The silver lining in my scrapbook weekend is that I started getting photos together and I found 2014. I had had all my 2014 photos on an SD card... and I "lost" the card. I mean, I knew the card had to be somewhere, I just couldn't find it in my pit of a house. While getting things together for my weekend, I found the SD card. Hallelujah!! Now I'm in the process of backing everything up... and I just can't seem to FINISH it.
So all the things I've rambled about. They are luxuries. I don't have to run. I don't have to scrapbook. I don't have to take photos. I don't have to have a clean house. Life can and will go on without them. This is my day off. My house is paid for. We have water. I could just sleep all day if I wanted to except that I have a sense of dissatisfaction with the way things are... and I need the motivation to MOVE.
So that's where it comes back to blogging. This started out as my accountability blog. Putting it all out there in black and white makes me accountable. So here it is...
Today I will: get groceries, run, load my car up for Goodwill, and download the pool schedule from the Y. That's my start. I'll check in with the good, the bad, and the ugly tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
45 Seconds
"The last mile went on FOREVER. All I could think about was this is your Boston... this is your Boston qualifying time!I FINALLY turned that last corner and saw the finish line. I closed my eyes and ran as fast as I could... this is Boston...this is Boston..."
Those were my words from my blog post on April 26th about the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon.
My high school coach always told us to run through every finish line. Don't ever let up until you are across the line. You never know what might happen. I've tried to heed this advice in every race.
The first time this really came into play in my adult life was at a 5K in 2012. I won the Women's Master's division. I didn't really expect it that day but it was a small race and I had really spent the whole race trying not to let this 11 year old girl beat me. I finished 4th overall woman and that little girl finished right behind me. The overall awards are based on gun time but we were also chipped. Imagine my surprise when I went to look up the official results and I found that that little girl did not finish right behind me time wise. A 44-year old woman finished a second behind me.
How awkward would that have been if she had run a faster chip time and I had won the award because I had finished in front of her! Glad I ran through THAT finish line.
Fast forward to the Derby Marathon. I knew I had a Boston qualifying time going into that final straightaway. The question was "how far under?" I had wanted 5 minutes but knew that was gone. Now it was a matter of how big of a cushion under my BQ I could run.
For those that don't know, here are the logistics of getting into the Boston Marathon...
It used to be that anyone who ran their qualifying time could register for the race. Run one second under your qualifying time and you're in. These people were called "squeakers." In 2010 the field for the 2011 race filled in 8 hours with multitudes of people spending hours on their computers refreshing their screens in vain, trying to get to the registration site. The BAA servers crashed that morning due to the volume of people trying to register for the race. In 2011 a new process was introduced for future races. All the qualifying times were lowered by 5 minutes. Registration would be a two week process.
Run 20 minutes under your BQ and you get to register on Monday.
Run 10 minutes under your BQ and you get to register on Wednesday.
Run 5 minutes under your BQ and you get to register on Friday.
Saturday evening Week One of registration closes.
During Week Two, provided there are spots left, anyone that ran a BQ can register from Monday to Wednesday. After registration closes on Wednesday all the runner's qualifying times are ranked fastest to slowest by how far under your BQ a person ran and spots are given to the fastest remaining qualifiers.
For the 2015 Boston Marathon, you had to have run 1:02 under BQ to make the cut.
For 2014, it was 1:38.
Everybody got in in 2013.
For 2012 it was 1:14.
So here I was, sitting on a 3:13 cushion. That should me more than enough, right? I really wanted 5:00 because that would have pretty much guaranteed an entry but 3:13 seemed pretty safe...
Then there was all the speculation. There were numerous forum posts on Runner's World and other running sites about how high the cut off time was going to be this year. People had elaborate calculations posted. There were websites with tons of number crunching of times from the top 25 feeder marathons. There has been a 15% increase in Boston registrations year to year...
Then... after Week One closes Runner's World publishes THIS ARTICLE that says there are only about 5000 spots left. In comparison, there were 8000 left after Week One last year and 10,000 runners tried to get into those 8000 spots. So... 15% increase in registrants, 3000 less spots... makes me want to drink all weekend...
Registration closed on September 23rd. After that it was one week of torture and more speculation. The projected cut off times got higher and higher. Was I fast enough?
FINALLY, on September 30th, the cut off time was posted. 2:28. You had to run two minutes and 28 seconds under your Boston qualifying standard to actually get a spot in the 2016 race. Phew!! I made it by 45 seconds.
This is what was posted on the Boston Marathon website...
This week Runner's World published an article (HERE) about the runners that qualified but didn't make the cut. 16% of those who ran a qualifying time did not get into the 2016 race. That is more than one in six. They interviewed a woman who missed by one second on her 9th try to get into the race. They interviewed another guy who missed by 5 seconds. He already had his hotel reservations.
45 seconds. In a short race, that's an eternity. In a marathon, it's not. For a runner that runs a 6 minute mile, that's 200 meters or half the distance around a track. For a 10 minute mile runner that's just longer than the length of a football field. That was my margin.
I'm glad I ran through my finish line.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Motrin and Mashed Potatoes
So... definitely not the blog update I was expecting to give nor how I planned to spend my Labor Day weekend but now I know more about dentistry than I ever cared to know...
Not too much has been going on in the running front. I'm hauling my butt out the door for about 3 miles a day. I'm distracted by all the other things I've been wanting to do lately. More on that some other time.
Saturday I was getting ready to go to work, chowing down on a Subway sandwich before heading out the door for a 12 hour overnight shift in Martinsville when suddenly - CRUNCH!!! Something broke inside my mouth. I yelped. I was positive I was going to spit a tooth out. I carefully removed everything from my mouth. No tooth. No nothing that looked hard or suspicious. What the heck!!??
I rinsed out my mouth. I could taste blood. Something had to be broken. I had hubs look inside my mouth. He thought everything looked OK. My mouth hurt like hell, like someone was taking an icepick and shoving it through one of my right upper molars and into my eyeball. I tried to gather myself for a couple minutes then decided something was really wrong. I called my dentist's office. Yes, it was Saturday night on Labor Day weekend. I knew the office was closed but I at least wanted to leave a message saying I needed help on Tuesday morning ASAP!
The recording I got said to leave a message or, if it was a dental emergency and I was an established patient, call Dr. Wilman's cell phone. I stared at the phone trying to decide whether this was a dental emergency or not. I wasn't holding a tooth in my hand but the whole right side of my face felt like it had been hit by a jack hammer. What the heck. I might as well tell him in person that I had to see him on Tuesday. It was one of those moments where I was glad I was in the office almost every other month with a kid or myself so he knew me well. Dr. Wilman was at Lake Michigan for the holiday weekend. He thought that whatever happened, the damage was already done so come in on Tuesday and he'd take care of it.
I downed some Motrin and went to work. I had one of my colleagues look inside my mouth. She couldn't see anything wrong. I had my nurse practioner look inside my mouth. She thought maybe there was something irregular with the tooth at the gumline but again, nothing really obvious. Was I crazy? Maybe the pain would pass. But noooo... everytime I accidentally bit down on something I'd get a shooting pain up my skull. Drat. I was starving. I couldn't even swallow with my lips shut because the negative pressure inside my mouth would make my tooth hurt. Let's just say it was a loooong weekend. I lived on Motrin and mashed potatoes.
This morning I was in the office as soon as they opened. I was absolutely thrilled that they could see me right away. Dr. Wilman's tech Sean took me back to look at my teeth. I had figured out by then that the tooth only hurt if you tapped directly on the backside of it. I could press and point on the frontside and be OK. He gently poked around... is it this...or this? Owwww... Then he decided to blow some air on it. I screamed and came out of the chair. He told me he'd be back... after he changed his pants. Sorry to startle you Sean.
So... the tooth looked OK to Sean too. The x-rays looked fine. However, based on my reaction, he figured the tooth was cracked. Dr. Wilman came in and decided to numb my mouth to look at the tooth some more. Thank you. Please numb the snot out of it. They blew some more air on it. I didn't punch anyone this time so they figured it was safe to touch me with an instrument. Yup, it was cracked.
In fact, it was cracked so deep they told me they couldn't save it. If it had been cracked a little, they'd do a root canal where they'd remove the nerve and put a crown over the tooth. However, since my tooth was cracked all the way in two, I'd have to get the tooth pulled. Then they'd put an implant in. An implant is essentially a fake tooth. They put a screw in the bone where the tooth was. The screw has to heal in place for about 4 months. After that, they screw in a tooth. Yay me. I get an implant.
So... that's how I spent my morning. At the dentist's office getting my tooth pulled and a screw put in my head. I also got to be their "interesting patient." Impressive. Go big or go home. Those were the comments from the office staff. Apparently I really did a number on my tooth. All from biting down wrong on a Subway sandwich. I was told that sometimes your teeth just break in two - especially the premolars because of the way they are shaped.
Now I'm just waiting for the numbing to wear off so I can eat. I had him numb me up four times cause I wanted to be damn sure I was numb before he yanked a tooth out and drilled a screw in my head. It's a little bit disconcerting when they put safety glasses on you and get out the power tools. The root of the tooth went right to my maxillary sinus - that's the sinus that's just under your right eye - so that's why it felt like someone was shoving an icepick up my tooth into my eye. Now the whole right side of my face is numb. If I wanted a nose piecing, now would be the perfect time. Of course I had to go to the pharmacy looking like I'd had a stroke and drooling but I wanted to make sure I got all my good drugs before the numbing wore off. So there you have it. Probably more information than you ever wanted to know about my day today. I think my meds are kicking in. Cheers!
Not too much has been going on in the running front. I'm hauling my butt out the door for about 3 miles a day. I'm distracted by all the other things I've been wanting to do lately. More on that some other time.
Saturday I was getting ready to go to work, chowing down on a Subway sandwich before heading out the door for a 12 hour overnight shift in Martinsville when suddenly - CRUNCH!!! Something broke inside my mouth. I yelped. I was positive I was going to spit a tooth out. I carefully removed everything from my mouth. No tooth. No nothing that looked hard or suspicious. What the heck!!??
I rinsed out my mouth. I could taste blood. Something had to be broken. I had hubs look inside my mouth. He thought everything looked OK. My mouth hurt like hell, like someone was taking an icepick and shoving it through one of my right upper molars and into my eyeball. I tried to gather myself for a couple minutes then decided something was really wrong. I called my dentist's office. Yes, it was Saturday night on Labor Day weekend. I knew the office was closed but I at least wanted to leave a message saying I needed help on Tuesday morning ASAP!
The recording I got said to leave a message or, if it was a dental emergency and I was an established patient, call Dr. Wilman's cell phone. I stared at the phone trying to decide whether this was a dental emergency or not. I wasn't holding a tooth in my hand but the whole right side of my face felt like it had been hit by a jack hammer. What the heck. I might as well tell him in person that I had to see him on Tuesday. It was one of those moments where I was glad I was in the office almost every other month with a kid or myself so he knew me well. Dr. Wilman was at Lake Michigan for the holiday weekend. He thought that whatever happened, the damage was already done so come in on Tuesday and he'd take care of it.
I downed some Motrin and went to work. I had one of my colleagues look inside my mouth. She couldn't see anything wrong. I had my nurse practioner look inside my mouth. She thought maybe there was something irregular with the tooth at the gumline but again, nothing really obvious. Was I crazy? Maybe the pain would pass. But noooo... everytime I accidentally bit down on something I'd get a shooting pain up my skull. Drat. I was starving. I couldn't even swallow with my lips shut because the negative pressure inside my mouth would make my tooth hurt. Let's just say it was a loooong weekend. I lived on Motrin and mashed potatoes.
This morning I was in the office as soon as they opened. I was absolutely thrilled that they could see me right away. Dr. Wilman's tech Sean took me back to look at my teeth. I had figured out by then that the tooth only hurt if you tapped directly on the backside of it. I could press and point on the frontside and be OK. He gently poked around... is it this...or this? Owwww... Then he decided to blow some air on it. I screamed and came out of the chair. He told me he'd be back... after he changed his pants. Sorry to startle you Sean.
So... the tooth looked OK to Sean too. The x-rays looked fine. However, based on my reaction, he figured the tooth was cracked. Dr. Wilman came in and decided to numb my mouth to look at the tooth some more. Thank you. Please numb the snot out of it. They blew some more air on it. I didn't punch anyone this time so they figured it was safe to touch me with an instrument. Yup, it was cracked.
No wonder it hurt like hell!!
In fact, it was cracked so deep they told me they couldn't save it. If it had been cracked a little, they'd do a root canal where they'd remove the nerve and put a crown over the tooth. However, since my tooth was cracked all the way in two, I'd have to get the tooth pulled. Then they'd put an implant in. An implant is essentially a fake tooth. They put a screw in the bone where the tooth was. The screw has to heal in place for about 4 months. After that, they screw in a tooth. Yay me. I get an implant.
So... that's how I spent my morning. At the dentist's office getting my tooth pulled and a screw put in my head. I also got to be their "interesting patient." Impressive. Go big or go home. Those were the comments from the office staff. Apparently I really did a number on my tooth. All from biting down wrong on a Subway sandwich. I was told that sometimes your teeth just break in two - especially the premolars because of the way they are shaped.
Now I'm just waiting for the numbing to wear off so I can eat. I had him numb me up four times cause I wanted to be damn sure I was numb before he yanked a tooth out and drilled a screw in my head. It's a little bit disconcerting when they put safety glasses on you and get out the power tools. The root of the tooth went right to my maxillary sinus - that's the sinus that's just under your right eye - so that's why it felt like someone was shoving an icepick up my tooth into my eye. Now the whole right side of my face is numb. If I wanted a nose piecing, now would be the perfect time. Of course I had to go to the pharmacy looking like I'd had a stroke and drooling but I wanted to make sure I got all my good drugs before the numbing wore off. So there you have it. Probably more information than you ever wanted to know about my day today. I think my meds are kicking in. Cheers!
Monday, August 24, 2015
Running Update
The last time I posted about my running was on July 12th with my Week 1 Monumental Training Update. So what's been happening on the running front since then? Nothing.
Fair season started for me on July 16th. I didn't participate in a County Fair last year for the first time in 26 years because I was too overwhelmed. For the past three years, I have spent my summers trying to train for a fall marathon as well as compete in the fair and I found that it's just too difficult to do both well.
In 2013, I was running injured. Looking back, it was an awful summer. I remember my legs hurting so much I was literally hanging onto the shopping carts at the grocery store, using them as walkers. I entered the fair that year out of habit. I got my usual handful of ribbons but I don't think my heart was really in it.
Last year, again, I was injured over the summer. I finally gave up on the marathon training but continued to run so I could compete in my race series. I didn't do the County Fair and brought a limited number of items to the State Fair but did surprisingly well.
This year I decided I missed the Fair and committed to being "ALL IN." However, in order to fully concentrate on the fair, I gave up trying to run. Even trying to exercise for 30 minutes in a day becomes too much when you are only sleeping 2-3 hours a night. Something had to give.
I think qualifying for Boston earlier this year gave me peace with my running. I achieved the one goal I had been chasing for so long. In doing so, I had sacrificed a lot - time with my family, time doing other things I liked, time for my body when it needed to recover. I think something in me just shut off after I qualified. I didn't want to race anymore. I didn't want to hurt anymore. I just wanted to enjoy myself...
So that's what has happened. I've done the things I wanted and needed to do. Eaten the things I've wanted to eat. Caught up on the nitty gritty details of life. I've seen my internist, dentist, gynecologist, ophthalmologist, taken both kids to the dentist and pediatrician, and taken all the pets to the veterinarian. I found someone to help me take G to her dance classes - which ironically, in the past, I was too busy to look for help! It's surprising how much time trying to run well can take up in your life.
Fair season officially ended today. I went and picked up all my ribbons this afternoon. Going "all in" and committing to just one thing led to a very satisfying and successful year. I don't regret it.
State Fair Ribbons
County Fair Ribbons
More County Fair Ribbons
Looking forward, I returned to the road today and ran 3 miles. First run in 40 days. The first half mile was horrible. I found my rhythm after that and felt really good by the end. Really good. I'm ready to run again, but in moderation. I'm not running Monumental. In fact, I'm not sure if I'll be racing at all for the rest of the year. I'm running for fun... for now.
Hopefully I will get a spot in Boston 2016 when registration opens next month. If I get a spot, I'll be throwing my name in the Boston to Big Sur lottery in October. I still have goals. I still want accountability. However, I'm looking for moderation. Peace. Stop chasing all the time... or maybe at least for a couple months.
Wish me luck.
Friday, August 21, 2015
2015 State Fair - Bacon Contest
Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
I never thought I'd be saying this but I think I'm a little tired of bacon right now. I've been cooking with it since the County Fair in July. It's wonderful but I've gone into bacon overload.
Today was the Indiana Pork Producer's Bacon Recipe Contest. You could enter a dish in one of two categories - Savory or Sweet. I chose Savory. Rules were it was any dish that contained at least 6 slices or 1/4 of a cup of cooked crumbled bacon. Dishes were judged as follows:
40% Taste and Flavor
25% Creativity and Originality
25% Texture and Consistency
10% Appearance and Presentation
I had a GREAT idea for this contest. It, too, had come from the Beer and Bacon Classic. There was a dish served there that had cheese and grits with a bacon jam-like topping. I already had a recipe for bacon jam that I'd made before. My idea was to elaborate on the cheese and grits theme but maybe add in some shrimp and dress up the grits a bit more, and then top it all off with a dollop of bacon jam.
Wednesday I was suppose to compete in the Crockpot Creations Contest. I decided Tuesday night that I just couldn't do it. I didn't have a great crockpot recipe and I was too tired to come up with one. I needed a day off to just catch up around the house. I did just that but cooked more bacon to make the bacon jam.
Bacon, bacon, bacon!
The jam uses a pound and a half of bacon with some onions, garlic, brown sugar, cider vinegar, pepper, and coffee. You put it in a slow cooker for about 4 hours until it gets thick, then put it in a food processor until the bacon is still chunky but spreadable. It's wonderful on bread.
Trust me, it's good!
So bacon jam was made on Wednesday at a leisurely pace with no mishaps. Thursday I shopped for more ingredients and did a trial of my vision - grits with Parmesan cheese, a bit of bacon jam swirled in, chives, and a couple pieces of shrimp cooked in a pan with bacon grease and then cut into bite size pieces. The whole thing was topped with more bacon jam.Well, it sounded good. It tasted pretty good too. Problem was, you couldn't taste the bacon. I might have cooked my bacon too crisp but there was not enough bacon taste in my jam. It had a flavored meat taste instead. The grits were good; they just tasted like cheese.
I tried again. This time I added pieces of regular cooked bacon to the grits, used less cheese and topped it with bacon jam. Still not what I was looking for. Plus, the dish was going to have to be served at room temperature out at the fairgrounds. I wasn't too sure what would happen to the grits at room temperature. I left the whole mess on my counter and went to brainstorm.
One of my other ideas with the shrimp had been to wrap it in bacon and put it on top of the grits rather than cut it up and put it in the grits. Now I thought about just doing the shrimp and bacon. I looked at a couple ideas online and then just went to bed.
This morning I checked on the room temperature grits. They had pretty much solidified - like I could actually turn the bowl over and the grits came out in a solid piece like out of a mold. Grits were never going to work. I decided to go with the bacon wrapped shrimp idea.
Bacon wrapped shrimp. Very simple. Just like it sounds. Cook the bacon partway, brush it with a BBQ sauce/maple syrup mixture, wrap it around your shrimp and bake and broil it some more. That's it. Four ingredients and some chopped green onion for garnish. That's what I went with.
Once the contest started and the other entries were shown I saw that I had by far the simplest entry. There were things like bacon calzones, bacon breakfast pizza, bacon scones and bacon pasta. Someone made the exact bacon jam that I had made and put it over baked zucchini. The judges thought the bacon jam was "interesting," which in my book is code for "they didn't really like it." Just my opinion. One thing they did comment on on some of the more complicated dishes was that they couldn't really taste the bacon. First thing they tasted was cheese. When they bit into my dish, the comment was, "Wow! Bacon is the star of this dish." Well, duh, I only had four ingredients. I thought they liked it but, again, it only had four ingredients.
The judges tasted all the sweet bacon items next before going behind the curtain to decide on the winners for both categories. The first sweet item that was presented was Bacon Jam. Again the exact same recipe I had. A couple entries later, someone else made a Bacon Marmalade with a very similar recipe served over crosanti. By now I was really glad I didn't go with my original idea. It's funny how you think you have a very original concept but then you have to remember that your competitors are all foodies like yourself!
Time to announce the winners...
Christine got Honorable Mention with the Bacon Scones.
Fourth Place went to the Bacon Pasta.
I'm not sure what got Third because Phyllis was talking to me and pointing out that they had just brought my dish onto the stage. Yes!
I got Second.
Raymond got First with a savory custard that had Brie, Havarti with Dill, and one other cheese, mixed with some eggs, apples, and bacon all poured into a pie crust.
Overall, very happy once again that I placed, especially since I pulled this one out last minute!
Today was my last day at the Fair for this year. It runs through Sunday but I am done. It's back to work for me this weekend. I decided this year that I would be "ALL IN" and concentrate fully on the Fair while it was going on. It was probably one of my best years ever... but I'm glad it's all over now. I need to do a bit of food detoxing to say the least.
I looked at the exhibits in the Home and Family Arts Building one more time, took some pictures, said hi to a couple more people that I only see during the Fair, had a strawberry shortcake at the Ag/Hort Building, then called it a year.
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