Hello December and what I can remember

11. December 2018 · 5 comments · Categories: labradoodle, recreational fun, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , ,

Hello December and what I can remember

I always struggle with a post title. But I like that this one rhymes…so that’s that.

Anyhoo…yet another month has passed and here I am to fill ya in on my little life and take a few minutes to reflect.

So get this? I actually ran 2 races in the last 30 days! There was the Fall Flat 5k trail run, the weekend before Thanksgiving, that I do each year to help benefit the nonprofit organization The Greenbelt Conservancy. They’re the organizers of the night hikes I go on as well and also the Cold Feat 10k trail run held in February. It had snowed a couple of days prior to race day and then warmed up and melted leaving things quite muddy.

What?!!!! Snow?!!!! but this weekend is the FALL Flat 5k, not the Winter Flat.

muddy race course

The entire course had to be tweaked to avoid some completely impassable areas but a good chunk of it was still super slick and I walked a lot of it.

I started to notice some aching on the inside of my ankle just before the race and wasn’t about to make things worse by losing my footing. (foreshadowing….i sprained my ankle anyway shortly thereafter because that’s my life).

The ankle pain seemed to be the very beginning of posterior tibial tendonitis. But since i was only running one or two times a week for short runs it wasn’t really bad and I immediately started looking up stretches and other pt exercises. The day after the race it hurt a bit more and then one night while walking Duncan I rolled my foot on a rock that was disguised by leaves. The sprain healed within 5 days and I was feeling much better but each time I run I’m achy for a few days after so I’m going to rest up the rest of the year and try my hardest to start 2019 healthy.

The other race was just about a week ago…another race I’ve done numerous years in a row now…the Big Chill 5k….a charity run where the entry fee is an unwrapped toy $15 or more. Always leaves me speechless when I see the back wall of the Rutgers University gymnasium just filled with toys that will go to kids who might not get a single other gift.

toys galore

this was the 2nd time we’ve ever run together.

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Finish line vs finish time and flu recovery

18. February 2017 · 4 comments · Categories: running · Tags: , , , ,

Happy Saturday!

Flu Recovery:

I was just starting to feel sick when I wrote my last post on Sunday and the week went downhill FAST!

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Tea is a sickie’s best friend

The last time I had the flu was 2009 and I’m fairly certain I had it again this week. Whatever it was, it left me with a fever that reached 103 at one point and overall the fever lasted for 3 days with full on night sweats, chills, severe fatigue, aches and sore skin! Even the skin on my scalp was sore that washing my hair was painful. I managed to work in spurts when the Tylenol would kick in and then rest when I was caught up and did nothing but lay on the sofa or take Duncan for short walks the rest of the day.

One of the 3 times I ventured outside all week

One of the 3 times I ventured outside all week

Tuesday of course was Valentine’s Day and Mr. SOTSS was already starting to feel crappy too so we spent the evening on the sofa sipping hot tea and watching the Westminster dog show.

The winner!

The winner!

The other winners

The other winners

IMG_9315He was sweet enough to bring me candy and flowers and a beautiful card. I sent him home with hand written instructions for medicine that could help ease his symptoms. Fair exchange, no?

My V-day goods

My V-day goods

His goods

His goods

Wednesday I had to bail on the night hike which was really a bummer but I was in no shape and Thursday I popped over briefly to visit Mr. SOTSS and make sure he was recovering ok. Yesterday I was fairly busy with work and other than that just took Duncan to the park for a hot minute.

my laptop accessory

my laptop accessory

quick ride to park for hot-minute walk

quick ride to park for hot-minute walk

Meanwhile today is the Cold Feat 10K trail run (like in an hour!) and while I’m still going to run it, I’ll have to adjust accordingly. I still have a cough and some chest congestion and the coughing fits have left me with stomach discomfort and extremely interrupted sleep. This leads me to wanting to discuss “finish line” vs “finish time”

Finish Line vs Finish Time

I think it’s so important to have a clear goal in mind of ONLY one of these when running a race. Since the new year began I’ve run 2 trail runs and both races I knew going in were just to get to the finish line. I had not a single care in the world about what the time on the clock was or should have been. And each race I walked away feeling complete and accomplished. This is a new thing for me. I remember feeling like “why bother” if I knew I couldn’t run the race at a pace I thought I should be running. Today’s 10k will be solely for that finish line! I might have to walk/hike some of the course but I’m ok with that because I am choosing “finish line” over “finish time” in an effort to take care of myself.

Hope you have a great weekend! I’ll be back with a recap later this weekend.

How sick is the sickest you’ve ever been?

How do you decide if a race goal will be the “finish line” or a “finish time”? 

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a snow storm, a fab 40 party and a cautious trail 5k

13. February 2017 · 4 comments · Categories: labradoodle, recreational fun, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , , ,

Hi and welcome to my weekly check in 🙂

Figured I share some of the highlights of this past week and weekend.

Monday and Tuesday must have been fairly uneventful because I have no photos from the day :). Wednesday felt like a Spring day with temps reaching 63 so of course I took Duncan to the park.

Duncan and the sunshine but winter storm approaching

Duncan and the sunshine

I went on another night hike as it’s now become my routine Wednesday night. We covered about 4 1/2 miles in about an hour and a half. But lots of elevation!

Thursday we had a snow storm. I slept over Mr. SOTSS’ the night before so we could ride out the storm together which really means take the dogs for some snow fun.

Lots of snow can't distract Chester from wanting to play with his ball

Lots of snow can’t distract Chester from wanting to play with his ball

I love this picture!

I love this picture!

oops blinked!

oops blinked!

The repercussions of snowplay

The repercussions of snowplay

My view at sunset after the snow storm with an almost full moon

My view at sunset after the snow storm with an almost full moon

More »

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A foot of snow another treadmill run and some sweet treasures

14. February 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: labradoodle, running, sweet treats, Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,

Happy Friday everyone. It’s Valentine’s Day.

I have a beautiful treasure.

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A Valentine’s card that my Grandpa gave my Grandma back in 1954. They were high school sweethearts and spent close to 70 years together before my grandpa passed in 1992.

And just literally a minute ago I received a delivery…

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My brother and sister-in-law do so much for me. I’m so lucky to have them. And today I was surpised with some chocolate covered strawberries and a reminder that I am loved. AWWW!

So not only did I weather the storm that dropped over a foot of snow and lots of rain and sleet as well but I MADE IT TO THE GYM last night in between bands of snow. Girls gotta make it work when training for a spring marathon right?!

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gym parking lot selfie

photo 1

5 miles done!

It was supposed to be an easier run as I just did a tempo on Tuesday but I felt good. So after a warmup mile at 11:30pace I kept my pace about 9:30 for the last 4 netting an average overall pace of a 10 minute mile.

There is just so much snow everywhere…

photo 2

photo

not my car. these folks never bothered digging out from the last couple of storms. They’re probably not gonna drive until spring.

Tomorrow my peeps are trekking here to Staten Island to run a 10K trail run called the Cold Feat 10K! We ran it last year too. I’m really excited because we’re supposed to be getting a few more inches in the morning so it should feel like we’re running in a winter wonderland. And then I’ll be serving everyone brunch before they trek home to Brooklyn and the Bronx. And Sunday I’ve got a 14 miler to complete. I am already planning to scale back my running next week because i think all these treadmill runs are putting some stress on my shins and also I seem to be speeding up too much on the treadmill runs. I don’t want to burn out.

I’ll leave you with this video of the doodle in the snow. Have a great weekend y’all!

 

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