If you follow me on Instagram then you know I’m on vacation but I literally haven’t had a minute to post on the blog.
I had a wild morning last Saturday just a few hours before heading to the airport. Duncan and I were playing around and he banged his leg and started limping. $200 and an x-ray later I had the peace of mind it was just a soft tissue injury and he’d be fine in a day or two. My sister-in-law is used to watching Duncan when he’s got a boo-boo. Back when I ran the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in DC he had his cone of shame still on from the surgery on his cheek. (P.S. she said he stopped limping after 1 day on the doggie anti-inflammatory meds!).
It’s just been non-stop since then (even the flight lol!).
Alaska Airlines for the win
I’m having a wonderful time with Mr. Sweat Out The Small Stuff.
Stole his hat while we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island
We started in Seattle. then headed to Vancouver (BC) and now we’re off to drive through the Canadian Rockies stopping in Kamloops, Blue River, Jasper and ultimately Banff National Parks.
The Capilano Suspension Bridge
I’ll fill you in on everything when I’m home. Have a great rest of the week!
Anyone from or visited British Columbia or Washington State?
I was trying to complete this post all morning but was glued to the real-time televised unfolding of the capture of the bomb suspect here in NYC/NJ. I’ve been struggling to focus and feeling awkward about sharing my “silly running” stories. So let me start by saying that I’m impressed by the swift work of law enforcement and that the bomb suspect was caught but I’m not relieved. I’ll never be relieved. The world is a different place now….especially since 9/11. I will continue to live my life but will always be alert and aware that anything can happen right here in my neighborhood. I AM “potentially” in harm’s way every day.
__________________
OK, now onto my “silly running” post…
It had been WAY too long since I traveled into Brooklyn (or Manhattan) to run with my running friends. But yesterday I finally had both a free schedule and the same mileage (12 miles) on my training “plan” so it worked out.
I traveled over the Verrazano Bridge and into Brooklyn around 9am.
We started at 10am. Starting late morning already made things easier for me. I hate running before I’ve had the chance to really wake up. So this was great. I brought a handheld water bottle and drank it all and also refilled it about 6 miles in but clearly I wasn’t hydrated enough because somewhere around mile 9 or 10 I stopped sweating and got cold. It was 80 degrees and the humidity was super high. The dew point was at 70 which can be interpreted as “super uncomfortable”. Anyway, the last couple of miles we sort of walked a block, ran a block, crawled, shuffled etc. And as soon as my Runkeeper app said 12 we stopped. I forgot to wear my Garmin GPS watch. But really, with Runkeeper and an iPhone with a decent battery who needs the watch.
Halfway through view of Manhattan from Long Island City (Queens)
halfway through view of Long Island City (Queens)
Exactly 12 miles and not a tenth of a mile more. We stopped a lot waiting for street lights…the only drawback to running in a busy city neighborhood vs a path with no cars.
After the run I got a drink and a cherry freeze pop which was heaven….
So refreshing!
until I tried to pour the melted cherry liquid down by tipping my head all the way back. The liquid came too fast and choked me and I ended up laughing and choking simultaneously for a good minute—losing some of the deliciousness to the sidewalk. And Lisa, once she knew I wasn’t in danger anymore, snapped this pic.
I’m holding two water bottles and a phone leaving me with just 2 fingers to keep hold of the attack freeze pop.
The good news is that the first 6 miles were very comfortable so at least I’m “10K-ready”…and in 3 weeks I’m hoping I’ll be half marathon ready :). I enjoyed chatting away with Lisa and Mike. Our friend Liz joined us in Long Island City and then we ran back toward Brooklyn together. Major blog photo fail because I didn’t take a group running selfie of us.
What is your favorite post run refresher? I love a good 7-eleven slurpee but the freeze pop was a good runner up.
Do you prefer Coke or Pepsi? I always go for Coke Zero. I’m slightly addicted.
Have you ever choked?
How do you handle seeing grave current events on TV or online?Are you calm or do you freak out?
I am starting to think it’s not the heat and humidity that is causing me to feel so sluggish on my runs. I’m sore and achy all the time and even a short 3 or 4 mile feels overwhelmingly hard lately. Funny that I was sad for half a second that I didn’t put a full marathon on my calendar this year. Smart Sally! I can’t even get through half marathon training.
I got in a 9 miler on Sunday and it was brutal.
I tried to run 9 miles at an 11 min pace to acknowledge the 15th anniversary of 9/11. I just couldn’t keep up that pace. But as I do (more than just on 9/11) I think of that day and those tragic events and remember seeing the second plane hit with my own two eyes from the bus I was commuting in on. I was running about 15 minutes late that day saving me from being in the World Trade Center that morning where I would grab the subway uptown to my office.
I felt like my legs were just saying “FU Sally”. I took walk breaks, mostly during the uphill portions but overall the run felt painful, slow and I couldn’t wait to be done just to move forward and forget it.
I didn’t feel like carrying my handheld water bottle because it was too much of a commitment so I took a small disposable bottle and stashed a second one in the wheel well of Mr. SOTSS’ truck figuring I’d run two loops and could grab it on the second loop. And boy am I glad I did because I needed those fluids.
16 oz of liquid heaven
Today I ran a little over 4 miles and while the humidity was down and the temps were in the mid 70s I still struggled. My mojo just seems to be gone. I can’t remember the last time I felt zippy or energized during a run.
I just want to feel some endorphins again
I have been walking a whole lot since returning to freelance life and I’m wondering if my legs are just tired because I’m walking so much. I have been walking about 6-8 miles a day.
As seen on one of my walks
My partner in crime for most of my walks
Ironically this afternoon my Garmin Vivofit seems to have died….well, the screen anyway. It’s still tracking data but the screen is blank. It syncs, so I can see my data on my phone. I replaced the batteries recently so I’m not sure what happened. Perhaps it’s a good thing. I think I need a break from it. It’s like when I did the Weight Watchers Points program a decade ago. I was about 10 pounds lighter than I am now but I became so consumed with my points….food points, activity points….I wasn’t listening to my body but rather working the numbers. It was exhausting! I’m going to try and take it easy over the next few day and see if I can get some mojo back before the weekend.
In other news, last Thursday Mr. SOTSS had to work late. Thursdays are usually our date night and I had even cooked dinner. I made a Taco Braid! It was really good. Basically taco seasoned ground beef and cheese inside of pizza dough. So I dined alone chilled out with the pooches instead. I was disappointed that our date night got squashed but he made it up to me already and really, his job comes first. You see, I can be a mature, understanding adult every now and again 😉
Chester tried to give me his best “please share” look but I held strong. Cheers!
When is Mr. SOTSS getting home
Let’s hope this weekend I find my mojo!
Have you ever just had so many consecutive bad runs you start to think maybe you’ll never have a good run again?
Anyone ever have issues with their Garmin Vivofit?
I can’t believe it’s already September 6th! (and will probably will be 7th by time this post goes up!)
Thanks everyone who commented on the poll in my last post.
I ended up super busy with work last Thursday and Friday but of course I couldn’t ignore Duncan’s sad face stare and took him both days for walks at the park. Yep, he’s spoiled. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’m busy working and he’s busy er, dreaming
too much squirrel chasing on a hot day means napping the entire drive home. I took this pic right after I pulled into my driveway.
walkin….as we do
I love when I snap a mid-lip-licking pic. (that was hard to type!)
Another trip to the park
I also got a run in on Thursday evening. I waited for dusk hoping I wouldn’t struggle as much in the heat. I love the way my car looks at dusk. It’s really a charcoal gray color but it looks purplish when the sun sets.
Always reminded of how to live my life by my doormat
Friday night I packed up and drove over to Mr. SOTSS’ house for the 3-day holiday (Labor Day) weekend. We had a list of things to accomplish and managed to get them all done! One of the things on the list was a long run along the course of the Staten Island Half Marathon that we’ll both be running next month. On October 9th I’ll be running it for the 10th consecutive year! It was my very first half marathon back in 2007 and I am excited to continue the streak. But I know from last year that the course now includes a fairly large hill at mile 9 and I thought it’d be a good idea for us to run it in training. Mr. SOTSS ran 8 miles with the hill being the last 1/2 mile of it and I ran 7. Close to where we’ll actually be running it on race day.
That’s Mr. SOTSS making his way up the hill! He’s faster than me but I ran a mile less so we finished our runs pretty much at the same time 🙂
Sunday morning I made us some pancakes. Mr. SOTSS had to work much of the day and I had some work to do as well so our day was spent mostly at our computers.
Sunday night we drove to Pier Village in Long Branch, NJ along the “Jersey Shore” to get a fix of the sounds of the ocean and watch the sun set. With Tropical Storm Hermine in the vicinity the waves were larger than usual. While we were there we strolled up and down the promenade a bit and then grabbed a bite for dinner. It’s the little things. I just love the sounds of the ocean.
I always feel the compulsion to write in the sand.
I love this! One of the restaurants along the promenade has a “dog bar”. Tee hee!
And then yesterday we each went for a run in the morning and then took the dogs on a little hike.
more miles
And I made sangria to go along with dinner to bring the weekend to a close.
I had a wild morning last Saturday just a few hours before heading to the airport. Duncan and I were playing around and he banged his leg and started limping. $200 and an x-ray later I had the peace of mind it was just a soft tissue injury and he’d be fine in a day or two. My sister-in-law is used to watching Duncan when he’s got a boo-boo. Back when I ran the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in DC he had his cone of shame still on from the surgery on his cheek. (P.S. she said he stopped limping after 1 day on the doggie anti-inflammatory meds!).
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