"It's up to you how far you'll go. If you don't try, you'll never know." Comments Welcome

[PrincessMickey]

Arrival Day and Expo

It probably wasn't ideal but I had everything packed and in the car and worked all night Tuesday. I was just hoping not to catch any big reports or anything knowing I couldn't stay late, worked out well except the night went by pretty slow. After I got off I changed and left all my work gear there and went straight to the airport. Had a little time buffer so took my time getting through security and getting to the gate. Was mostly able to sleep on the flight and got into Orlando around 3. My parents decided to come last minute to cheer me on so we met at the airport. Made our way to the resort and then straight to the expo. No lines whatsoever for bibs and merchandise. Made our way to a bit of food and then back to the resort. I stayed at Animal Kingdom Kidani on rented points. I splurged to get a savanna view. Loved being able to see the animals but my only complaint was my room was one of the very last rooms and seemed like I had to walk a mile just to get to the room. Every day the walk seemed to get longer and longer. By Sunday I was wishing for a golf cart or scooter just to get to and from the room.

5K
Got up with just enough time to get dressed and a snack to go. After a long walk I was able to get on one of the first busses. Enjoyed meeting people at the meet up and then off to the corrals. I'm happy to report I had my worst 5K time yet but I had a lot of fun. I think I stopped at all but one character stop! Total time was 1:27:44.

After getting back and cleaned up we met up with my Aunt and Uncle who winter in the area. We all drove to Daytona to meet up with other family including my dad's 98 year old aunt. A part of me wishes I stayed back at Disney but it was good to see everyone and had a great seafood lunch. We then made our way back and by then I was ready for bed. My body was still trying to get switched over to semi day schedule and 2 time zone difference.





I think this picture is my favorite of all my pictures with the ball in the background!

 

[PrincessMickey]

10K

I took this one really easy too, another personal worst for me but I had more fun with characters. So much fun that the balloons caught up to me while in line for Goofy on the boardwalk. My boys are really into football so I wanted to get the picture and knew I could catch back up to them. Some of the bike people were a touch on the rude side but I know they were trying to move people along. I was only a few feet behind the balloons getting ready to pass them and one lady on the bike kept yelling to catch up with the balloons, um, they're 2 feet in front of me. Anyway, I easily passed them and continued to have more fun once I got into Epcot.

After finishing and getting cleaned up, I was able to rest a bit before meeting up with my parents and aunt and uncle. They wanted to come out but didn't want to go to the parks so we did Disney Springs. I was able to get a reservation for Homecomin' for lunch. It was very good and bonus discount for wearing my medal, and they extended the discount to everyone at the table. After lunch we roamed around bought some stuff and made our way back to my room so my aunt and uncle could see the animal. Then it was another early night to bed which was much appreciated!

 

[PrincessMickey]

Half Marathon

The half was actually my hardest race of the weekend. I did this at an easy run pace per Coach's recommendation. I continued to have fun stopping for characters along the way. I'm not a fan of all the highway miles but love running through Magic Kingdom. Somewhere along the way a bit past half way I did something to my ankle. Still have no clue if I just stepped wrong or tweaked something but it hurt more when a walked than it did running. I ended up changing my intervals and slowing the run even more so I was running more then walking but keeping an easy pace. I gave my parents an itinerary because they waned to watch me along the way. I had them go to the TTC and then walk to Poly and back to Epcot. I packed them with snacks so I could have a quick snack at Poly which was a nice boost. Around mile 10-11 an older lady and I kept passing each other on our intervals. She made a comment on one of our passes that she was just trying to keep up with my sparkly bum. Sometimes it's the random comments that give you the biggest boost, made me laugh. I also kept my streak going of personal worst times. Total time was 3:43:44.

After getting cleaned up I wanted to head back to the Expo. It was just my mom and I today, dad was rather grumpy so he stayed behind. I realized I only picked up a few Dopey things and nothing marathon specific. This was my first marathon after all so I wanted a magnet and pin. I also decided to splurge on myself. Not sure when I'll be able to get back for a Disney race so I bought myself the Dooney and Bourke bag. A reward for the marathon and Dopey and all my hard work I put into this.




Left the expo and hopped on the Epcot resort bus and got off at Beach Club. Would love to stay here one day. We walked over to Epcot and just took it easy. First stop was maple popcorn in Canada. Mom has a few health issues so she only likes the easy rides so we did Soarin, living with the land, Nemo, and spaceship earth. My ankle was still bothering me quite a bit at this point and deep down I was thinking how am I going to make it 26 miles when it hurts every time I step on it. We slowly made our way to Mexico and the ride in there and then walked through the countries stopping at Via Napoli for dinner and some carb loading. Surprisingly, after sitting down for a bit and eating, when we got up my ankle didn't hurt at all. I would have never guessed it had bothered me all day. We worked our way through the rest of the countries and decided to call it a day. The next day was the big day!

 

[PrincessMickey]

Marathon

The big day has arrived! Tested out the ankle and no pain whatsoever so I knew it would be a good day. Got myself dressed and out the door to a waiting bus. On the long walk to the corrals I started chatting with the 2 ladies on either side of me. I learned that one was a perfect disney marathoner, this would be her 26th. The other lady this was her 20th disney marathon. When they learned this was my first marathon they each offered a bit of advice. The one running her 20th told me I could borrow her 2 mantras she tells herself along the way. All you have to do is breathe and don't do anything stupid. Sound advice. We had such a nice conversation I was actually kinda sad when we reached the corrals. We said goodbye and they both wished me luck.

Coach suggested easy pace again which is 30 second walk/30 second run, average pace 15:16. Running at this pace throughout would have me finishing in about 6.5 hours. I was really tempted to go out a bit faster while it was dark and cooler but I knew I needed to conserve my energy for the heat. The voice in the back of my head was telling me if I go faster at the beginning I'll be further along when it heats up but I told that voice to shut up and stayed consistent. In fact I think this was my most consistent race yet, I kept telling myself to stay on pace I still did several character stops along the way, lines were so much shorter this time around. The only time I went off pace were for the characters and one quick restroom break. Towards the end as it got hotter my water stop routine became drink one cup powerade, half cup water and dump the rest of the water over my head. My pace only slowed slightly due to the tad bit longer in the water stops. My brother was tracking me from home and after the half way point he and my sister in law started texting me random encouragement which was a nice boost and I had my parents spectating along the way too. Even in the heat I never hit a wall and never thought I would't finish. I was glad to reach the finish but only because I was hot and wanted to get out of the heat, I actually felt like I could have kept going. What an amazing feeling to cross the finish line, such a high getting my medal and then getting my goofy and dopey medals. I'm a marathoner!!! My total time was 6:59:03. Not too bad knowing I kept it at my easy pace, character stops and the heat.

Sorry for all the pics but I had so much fun and just want to take it all in.










A few random thoughts. When I first looked at my plan it was shocking to see my longest single run was 10.5 miles. I mean how is it possible to run a marathon as part of dopey and only doing 10.5 miles. Every mile past 13 was new territory for me. I never doubted myself though and just trucked along. The 30 second intervals became very tedious. It seemed as soon as I got running it was time to walk. I wanted to change up the intervals so bad but kept with the plan. Moving forward I haven't quite decided on another marathon or not. I kinda want another shot under different conditions, it was so hot out there. I think though that if I do, I want to hold off for awhile. This last plan I was doing a little bit of continuous running and thinking about doing the tedious 30/30 intervals for that long of a time is motivation to keep working on the continuous before I tackle another marathon.

 

[michigandergirl]

Congrats marathoner!!! Great pics!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Love the victory pose on the finish line!

 

[PrincessMickey]

Post Marathon

After getting back to the resort and cleaned up we made our way to Animal Kingdom. We hit up the safari and a few other easier rides then I was on a trek to get signatures on my medals and photos. Mickey and Minnie were up first. Then Donald, he loved his medal and was so excited and made sure to give lots of kisses. The handler said I was the first one she saw with a dopey medal and looking back I don't remember seeing very many that day. After Donald we went over to Goofy but the line was closed. I tried pleading and showing my goofy medal but no such luck. Oh well. About this time I was getting tired but we still had a dinner reservation to go so we made our way over to Wilderness Lodge to Storybook dining. We were there early but got checked in and just rested in the lobby until I got the text our table was ready. I enjoyed the meal and it was really fun to be able to get Dopey to sign my medal and get pictures with him. My brother was so jealous. After dinner I was done and in need of sleep. My parents were leaving early the next day so we said our goodbyes.

Monday was back to Epcot for DATW. I slept in and had a nice breakfast and made my way over to Epcot. Coming in I got stuck behind a few or the tour groups so it took some time to get in and make my way over to Mexico. I don't post a lot and am more on the introverted side but I had a really good time meeting everyone and sharing a few drinks. After saying my goodbyes in Canada I still had a mission to see Goofy so I went off the character spot. Jenna had shared in the text group Mickey signing her ears and I had mine with me. Since I would be seeing Mickey again I thought why not. I had a boring Mickey though and instead of signing on the cap part he signed on the ear part. It's hard to see it because the ear is black and so was the marker but it was still fun and made a good picture opportunity. Goofy was fun as usual and wanted us to pretend running then he almost fell over. He also made sure to give me lots of kisses! On the way out I stopped for a photpass picture and back to the room to pack. My flight Tuesday wasn't until evening so I checked my bags and stored my carryon and went to Disney Springs. I went but the art store and lucked out because one of the artists had just put out the perfect drawing to go with displaying my medals. Hopefully in the next week or two I'll get started on that, super excited about my ideas.

My flight back was pretty uneventful, I managed to get oreos on my flight so maybe it's more of a west coast thing. Coming into Orlando there was a discussion on the text group and most did not get oreos. I slept so I have no idea if they were offered then or not. It was super cold when I got back and snow all over the car but at the same time it was good to be getting home. My work week is Sunday through Wednesday and decided it would be pointless to go back to work for one night so I took Wednesday off It was nice to be able to get everything unpacked and washed and put away, usually it waits around for several days. Was able to see spend time with friends and just rest and enjoy before heading back to work.

Picture overload

 

[PrincessMickey]

New goals, new plan

I’ve had a new plan now for 2 weeks. I decided to take a step back for this cycle. I mentioned prior the intervals I did during the marathons became very tedious and started driving me a little crazy towards the end. I also need to be more methodical with the races I sign up for. I tend to sign up because it looks fun without looking at the dates or distance.

I have 2 races coming up, one is a half later this month I signed up for without thinking and the second will be my “A” race, a 10K in May. I’m not going to race the half just use it as a training run and the goal for the 10K is to run that one continuous. It’s the Bolder Boulder which is always a fun one so there may be a quick walk or two for beer or mimosas or Doritos but I really want to do continuous for the bulk of the run.

The new plan has me transitioning to the continuous and also has new speeds which is fun! The first week was just a few easy miles to get back out there. This last week started building up to get through my half. For some reason I’m still struggling to hit my pace. I think it’s just because it’s new and different, I was on the same paces for all of last year. I also skipped Monday. They called for 1-2 inches snow for the day which would have been manageable but there was already 3 inches before I got home that morning and it was a super icy drive home. Woke up to 6 inches and called it, had plans on Tuesday so just skipped all together.

Monday - skipped

Wednesday - 3 miles easy. Starting to get a good feel on the new interval and pace. Splits were 14:24, 14:28, and 14:35.

Friday - 3 miles, 1 mile easy, 2 mile EC. I decided to run in an area i I’ve only run once before. It’s only about a 10 minute drive from my house but I always forget about it. I’ll probably try to make this my Friday run location weather permitting. It’s all dirt so it was still a bit muddy in some areas. It’s an out and back, gradual up hill out and then gradual downhill back. I can make this as easy or hard as I want, I can run up and walk down, walk up and run down, or run it as an out and back like I did this day. All my splits were too fast, oops 14:12, 13:53, 14:03.

Saturday - 5 easy miles. Not too much to report on this run, it was nice out and was able to wear short sleeves, 60 degrees, quite the change from earlier in the week. One mile was a touch slow so sped up the next but went way too fast. Splits 14:25, 14:36, 14:40, 14:03, 14:30.

Pictures for the week. Wednesday sunset run. The picture doesn’t show it as well but the sky was such a bright blue reflected on the ice made it such a pretty blue color and the color of the clouds turned the snow to a shade of pink. And Saturday I came across a coyote, for as many people that were out and about I was surprised to see it. As I got closer he ran off into the trees but I watched him for awhile.

 

[PrincessMickey]

2 weeks of updates to do, last week was a blur and totally got away from me so I don’t remember the details much.

Monday: 3 miles easy splits were 14:12, 14:16, 14:25 a bit fast those first 2 miles.

Tuesday: Wednesday it snowed so I got my run in Tuesday’s instead. 3 easy miles splits were 14:21, 14:25, 14:30.

Friday: I did not go to the canyon because of the snow so I went to my regular spot. 4 easy miles splits were 13:54, 14:25, 14:35, 14:25. Oops on the first mile, not sure what happened there.

Saturday: 3 miles easy, 3 miles continuous splits were 14:16, 14:30, 14:39, 13:41, 14:16, 14:03. Still trying to nail down that EC pace so mile 4 was too fast.

This last week was crazy busy at work plus it was a training week so I had a quick turnaround Tuesday night into Wednesday plus had to go in for uniform fittings Wednesday morning so it turned into a quicker turnaround with only 4 hours sleep. Then all classroom training made it hard to stay awake. Wednesday was also my oldest kiddos birthday, how is he already 15, yikes.

Monday: 2 miles easy splits 14:25, 14:21.

Tuesday: Training Wednesday so I moved the run to Tuesday. 2 miles easy plus 1 mile EC splits were 14:12, 13:35, 13:50. Did not do well on pace this day.

Friday: Went to the canyon, beautiful day but didn’t see any wildlife. Ran up hill and walked back down, 3 miles easy splits 13:58, 14:44, 14:25. For some reason I struggle with pace in the canyon, it’s uphill but not much, 102 ft elevation change over 3 miles so I’ll have to work on that.

Saturday; I did this blind. The downfalls of the VA3 without having audio cues, it was too cold and I was bundled up. 3 miles EC splits were 14:03, 14:12, 14:21.

Coming up this week I was supposed to do a half marathon. I also signed up a 5k that had a virtual option. Then another 5k came up through work for charity. I went back and forth quite a bit on what to do and decided to not run the half but do the 5k instead. Once that 5k option came out I just wasn’t feeling the half and ultimately my heart just wasn’t in it. I’m already signed up so I’ll still get my packet and shirt but I’m not going to run it. The 5k is for special olympics which is the main fundraiser for my work. I’ll share more in my next update with more reasons this run means so much for me. I’ll also have to add on a few miles before or after the 5k to compensate for not running the half.

 

[PrincessMickey]

This week was COLD I also made a few changes I mentioned last week but I’ll get to that in a minute.

Monday I chickened out. It was cold and snowy so I had to go out Tuesday. It was a miserable cold 18 out and started snowing at the end of my run.
3 miles easy, splits 14:32, 14:56, 14:49. I say I was slow because I was so bundled up I could barely move but who knows.

Wednesday was not quite so cold, it was mid 20’s. 3 miles easy, splits 14:22, 14:30, 14:30.

Friday I knew it was going to snow so I tried getting myself up early. Didn’t get out quite as early as I hoped and made it out the door at 2:30 in the afternoon. I went to the canyon and barely got out of there before the flakes started falling as I walked up to the car. Once it started it came down pretty hard. They called for 1-3, we got 7-8 inches. Because I changed up my week I needed to add a bit so I went 4 easy miles. Splits 14:21, 15:01 photo stop, 14:43, 14:43.

Saturday I was originally going to do a half marathon. It was part of a winter series that I was not as into once I signed up. I also signed up for a first responder 5k. This one had the option of a virtual run so I figured I would just do it as part of the half. Then I found out the polar plunge was also doing a 5k to support special olympics and my work had a team, more on this in a second. The closer it got the more I regretted signing up for the half. I went back and forth quite a bit and last week I decided to not do the half and signed up for the 5k so I was signed up for 3 races in one day, oops. I did the packet pick up for the half on Friday so at least I could get my shirt. Made my way to the reservoir for the run, no way I was jumping in the water, brrr. I was the only one doing the run on my team, there were only 47 people who ran, this was the first year they added a run. It was cold again, upper 20’s, but at least the sun was out. The first mile was way too fast, it was on the plowed sidewalk. 2nd mile was was on packed dirt. This was not plowed but the truck drove it so the tire tracks made for a packed snow trail. Slower but still too fast. Mile 3 was mostly I that packed snow trail. The last 1/3 of a mile or so was narrow and dirt so the truck couldn’t get through so we were basically making our own path. The snow was not packed except for the few foot prints from those ahead of me. This slowed me down as it was hard to run, the snow was a good 6-7 inches here. My shoes were soaked by the end but my feet were dry. I finished in 38:46 which is a PR for me and I finished 18 out of 47. After watching the rest of my team jump in the water I headed back towards home and ran 6 more miles. I was kinda hoping for another 1-2 but the wind picked up and was blowing snow all around and made for a few slick parts on the path. I ran these miles easy. 5k splits were 11:40, yikes, 12:07, 12:49. 6 mile splits were 14:36, 14:33, 14:44, 14:53, 14:14, 14:30.

More about special olympics. I have a heart for those served by special olympics. My uncle had Down syndrome. When he was young my grandfather was the one who mostly cared for him before he died of cancer. My grandmother had several health and mental health issues and could not care for him. The other siblings were not in a place to care for him either, most of them were still in school so he was placed in a group home. Most of my memories of him were during the holidays when he would get to leave for family dinners and visiting him at the home several times while I was growing up. He lived into his 30’s, he died only 3 weeks after my grandmother died. He knew and I believed he died of a broken heart. He never benefited from special olympics, they didn’t really get their boost until after he died but I believe if times were different he really would have enjoyed being a part of some of the sports. My whole family has a special heart for those with Down syndrome so in turn we believe in and support special olympics. Special olympics is the main fundraising group for my work. The past several years has been hard for me with divorce and custody nonsense so now with that settling down I’m hoping to take on a bigger role this year. I’ve had several chats with our lead person and we’re trying to work out details for the year to include volunteering at the summer games. Im looking forward to some of the upcoming events so I’ll share them as they come up.


In the canyon right before the snow started.


Polar Plunge

 

[PrincessMickey]

I’m here, I’m here it’s been way too long since I’ve logged on here so I’ll just post a summary and a bunch of pictures and pretend I’ve been here all along.

Quick summary:
Cold
Snow
Sick
Spring
Bomb Cyclone Blizzard
Sick again
Spring again
Another Blizzard

I wouldn’t exactly say I was sick but I went through a period where I was so tired and had zero energy. I could sleep 8-9 hours and barely be able to get out of bed and felt like I hadn’t slept at all. Some days were better than others. I’m on meds now and have more better days than not so that is good. I didn’t do too terrible with getting runs in. Some weeks I moved days around so I was running on my good days. I think 3-4 weeks I missed one run each so overall not bad. Despite everything I had some really good runs and always felt better if I could get one in.

Both blizzards happened during my training week and both days were canceled. Somehow we’ll have to get them rescheduled because both were mandatory, it will probably make for a few extra long training throughout the rest of the year. I’m considered essential personnel so with training canceled I still had to go to work. The first one my boss let me take the day off but I think he got in trouble for that because he made sure I was there for this last one. At least this last one wasn’t quite so bad so I the two to have to come in for that was the better one. I was glad to not have to attempt the first one, card we’re getting stuck all over the place.

Now that the weather is starting to warm up I’ve started looking ahead to other activities to do. I want to start doing the stairs again, my legs felt super strong when going every week. I was talking with my dad the other day and he getting a pretty decent dividend and said he doesn’t need anything so I could use it. I’m thinking about using it towards getting a Paddleboard and paying for the rest myself. I’m getting pretty excited about this, I’ll probably have to wait til June to get it but I can’t wait! If I do this I’ll end up getting a state parks pass which I’ve never done before so that will be another adventure. One of the parks is close to me so I would go there quite a bit and then maybe explore, camp a bit throughout the summer. This would also give me a few other choices in places to run, especially on the weekends I could try out a few different trails! So as long as I can stay healthy it looks to be a fun summer with lots of time outdoors!!

And now for the fun part, lots of pictures.



One of my runs I was running along and kept hearing an owl. I’ve never seen owls while running so I was surprised to find 2 of them and they were whoing back and forth. I stopped and watched for quite awhile, definitely a highlight to see them.


Several snowy runs.

This was the day before the bomb cyclone blizzard. It was warm and in the 60’s.

Day after the blizzard. Really the only way you could tell it was was a blizzard the day before was the trees and poles all had snow on the one side from all the wind, you can kinda see in this pic but most of it melted pretty quick.



I see these guys most of the time when I run in the canyon, a new favorite place to run. Love the wildlife I get to see. This was also the area I saw the owls.


This one made me think of @DopeyBadger I had been craving a cupcake for a few weeks and finally gave in this week and headed to my favorite cupcake place, Gigi’s Cupcakes, and there was this lone unicorn calling out to me. I also had a lemon one because you can never pick just one.

This next week will be a full week, 5 running days Plus some last minute stuff that came up for the week so hopefully I’ll get it all in.

 

[DopeyBadger]

This one made me think of @DopeyBadger I had been craving a cupcake for a few weeks and finally gave in this week and headed to my favorite cupcake place, Gigi’s Cupcakes, and there was this lone unicorn calling out to me. I also had a lemon one because you can never pick just one.

Cupcake, Gigi, and a unicorn... sounds like a DopeyBadger special!

Glad to hear you're finally thawing out. Love the pics!

 

[michigandergirl]

Cool pics of the wildlife - looks like a great place for running.

 

[PrincessMickey]

Cupcake, Gigi, and a unicorn... sounds like a DopeyBadger special!

Glad to hear you're finally thawing out. Love the pics!

Thanks! I love taking pictures! It was 70 today and were supposed to get a few flurries Wednesday but hopefully we’re done with the big storms.

Cool pics of the wildlife - looks like a great place for running.

Surprisingly this place is only a 10 minute drive from me. It’s in a canyon so it’s a slight uphill going out but then it’s all downhill coming back. This is becoming a favorite place to run!!


I somehow squeezed my run in today. Not the smartest thing to do but I don’t have much flexibility this week. I struggled to get in the groove, I know it was from lack of sleep though.

My nephew enlisted in the marines and was supposed to ship out at the end of the month. He got a call Saturday saying he was heading out Monday instead. My brother was not able to make his swearing in and ship out so he asked if I could. It was supposed to be around 9ish so o figured I could go there and still get some ok sleep. He finally got sworn in around noon. At this point I had been up 20 hours. I wanted to stay until he shipped out but I still had to commute home. As soon as I found out Sunday night the times I debated driving downtown or taking light rail. A coworker reminded me of my dislike of traffic and downtown and told me because it would be past my bedtime I was more likely to punch someone. Good call, light rail it is. It definitely made it less stressful especially in morning rush hour but took a bit longer to wait for a train and get home. Now I had to debate run or no run. Is 3 hours sleep any different then 4 hours? I decided either way I would struggle so why not get 3 hours and an energy boost with a run. Even though I’m running on fumes right now I’m glad I could be there with him for his last few hours of freedom and glad he had someone there as he begins this journey. I can’t wait to see the man he becomes!!

 

[PrincessMickey]

This picture of the columbine flower I took a few year ago but is so fitting to share today. The columbine represents hope, perseverance, and strength. The columbine represents life.

20 years ago today I was at home and heard the sirens...so many sirens. 20 years ago today there was a helicopter hovering above my house for hours. 20 years ago today I had to go through police barricades just to get into my neighborhood. I did not attend Columbine but it’s my community. I grew up and lived less than 5 minutes from the school. I still love and work in the community. I drive by the school regularly. I go to Clement park frequently and run the park on occasion. I know several people who were there that day. Some were injured, some severely. I know several first responders who were there that day. That day changed my life and my community in so many ways. It’s part of the reason I went into the profession I’m in now.

We are.....Columbine.

This week has been an emotional week, so many highs, lows, ups and downs. Monday was my nephew, he’s only my nephew but of course I cried sending him off. I’m going to be a mess when it’s my own kids. Wednesday was the difficult day of trying to talk to my kids to explain on their level why their school and every school on the area and beyond was closed because some crazy person was on the loose and the schools did not think they were capable of keeping everyone safe and that it would be more beneficial to keep 500,000 plus kids at home. And then a few days later trying to also explain to them the reason behind all the memorials and so many people in the park.

I’m glad I had my running this week as distraction and venting. Overall it was a good week. Not a lot of sleep but the runs felt good. I struggled a bit today. It was a fuel day which I left on the counter and didn’t remember until about a half mile in. Between the lack of fuel and the extra emotions of the day I struggled the last half. It was a hard run, I hung on as best I could but especially the last speed mile was tough. I survived it and feel so much better for completing it. This next week I have 2 days of overtime but only 3 days work so I’m looking forward to a slower week.

 

[michigandergirl]

Hugs to you during a difficult week.

 

[DopeyBadger]

 

[PrincessMickey]

Hugs to you during a difficult week.

Thank you both!

It was definitely a tough week but glad I had my running as a distraction. The week after that, 2 weeks ago I came down with a cold. Probably all the emotions plus lack of sleep and extra hours worked. I still managed to get my runs in. My Friday and Saturday runs were when I was feeling the worst so my paces were all over the place but I still ran. I’m at work now so I don’t have much time for a full update but if I have time later I’ll edit in my times and all that.

Last week was ok. I was still feeling the effects of being sick a bit. Sunday I had a hard time falling asleep and had to be up early for some OT before my shift started. Ended up working 14 hours on 4 hours sleep. Needless to say run Monday never happened, I was so tired. Got my other runs in though. Saturday’s did not go so well. I love my speed days but I struggled again on this one. The last run that had LTC pace at mile increments I struggled towards the end. I forgot fuel that day so I thought it might have been why. Saturday’s was 1.25 miles increments. I did fine the first one. The second one I started fizzling at the very end. The last one just fell apart. I had fuel with me this time so it wasn’t that. I’m not sure why but I just struggle to maintain that fast of a pace for that long.

I already got notice my packet is ready to be picked up for Bolder Boulder. This year they changed the running stores for packets so I had to pick a store farther away. Just have to figure out a time to head that way. My problem is stores are always closed when I’m awake.

This week is a training week so a lighter run load. Training will not be fun though. This month was supposed to indoors but when they put the schedule out a few weeks ago they had to switch things up so outside it is. It was joked for my training group we would have a blizzard or it would be 100* out seeing the last 2 months have been canceled for blizzards. They weren’t right but they weren’t exactly wrong either. Forecast yesterday showed rain mixed with snow all day so the temps would be hovering around freezing. Today they dropped the mixed with snow part so at least it will be above freezing, barely, high in the low 40’s, just wet and cold. There is no shelter where we will be so I’m trying to plan out my attire. Thank goodness for running moisture wicking stuff. Bottoms probably fleece leggings, tech pants, then rain pants. Top probably tech long sleeve, fleece long sleeve, jacket of some sort tech or down, not sure yet, and rain jacket. Wool socks, either snow or rain boots, snow ones will be warmer. Hand warmers for the pockets and gloves too. Hopefully I won’t be too warm but I can drop a layer of need be and have extra layers in the car if i get too wet. I think the schedule is 3 hours outside, dinner, 4 more hours outside, sun will be gone for the last 3 hours or so. Yuck.

 

[PrincessMickey]

Ugh, another school shooting in my area. When will it stop.

 

[PrincessMickey]

Not the best of updates, I couldn’t even get through an easy week without missing a run. I worked OT on Sunday. I couldn’t get to sleep early so I worked 14 hours on less then 4 hours sleep. I just couldn’t get up early to run. I did Wednesday’s run on Tuesday, it was drizzly but ok. Wednesday at training was miserable. I’m glad I had all my cold weather running clothes, they came in handy. On the bottoms I had a base layer, fleece running pants, sweat pants and rain pants. Top I had base layer, fleece run shirt, running hoodie, and rain jackets with hand warmers in the pockets. Wool socks, rain boots were more comfortable for what we were doing than snow boots so I had the rain boots with toe warmers. Ear muffs, billed hat to keep rain off my face and hood. Some of my fellow coworkers laughed but I had the last laugh when 8 hours in I was dry and warm even when it sleeted and then snowed and they were cold and wet and miserable, some were only wearing jeans and hoodies. I think it was 39* when we started and *28 at the end.



Thursday I worked OT which gave me the opportunity to get my Bolder Boulder packet. That’s one thing I like, you can pick from several locations and a big time frame to get your packet. All ready to go!



Ran Friday and Saturday easy days. Friday was in the canyon with a quick photo stop. The 2 were trying to duke it out.



Last week I missed yet another run. On Saturday. That was more due to scheduling and too much stuff to do on a Saturday. I also made the mistake of doing the stairs Thursday. It has been 8 or 9 months since I did the stairs and tried to do too many too fast. I did 3 trips up so 600 stairs total. They’ve also done a lot of work to the park and are trying to make it a true fitness park which is fun. So after the stairs I went right into my run. They have a paved mile long lap you can take or the trail but that has elevation so I went with the path. That was another mistake because I didn’t rest my legs and ended up cutting the run in half because I couldn’t feel my legs they were so sore. It’s been several days and my calves are still sore. Needless to say I will not do the stairs this week so my legs are fresh for running. Friday was back to the canyon. This day my friends were in the path and they were very polite. As I got closer they moved to the side then ran past me almost single file then bunched up again when they were past me. So fun to see them so close. This is why I love running in nature, so many cool experiences you can’t get anywhere else.










This week is not off to a good start. It was pouring again today and now it’s snowing so I missed today’s run but hopefully can get it in tomorrow. I think Mother Nature is confused.