With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams...

To answer the question "what have you been up to?" I've provided a photo answers:

1- Picking my nose, not cotton.

2- Catching opossum who like to feed on live chickens in the middle of the night.

I think I'm going to try and post my runs all on Saturday for the week.  Until I can get my ipod to post runs, I'll have to wait for the weekends when I pull out the laptop.

Until then, happy hunting...I mean running.

In an effort to try and simplify things, I'm going to post all of my week's running (by day) on Saturday.  We'll see if this works. 

Mon- 4.01 to the railroad tracks & back.  I was dehydrated and tired.  These 4 miles were difficult.

Tues - 6.2 to the blinking light & back.  My old nemesis dog was out on the way back, along with a new friend that is a huge dog.  They ran across a 55 mph road to come at me (no owners in sight anywhere), so they got some pepper spray.  Better than a bullet.  I sure wish these dog owners would be more responsible.  Their advice to me in February when the dog came at me was that I needed to try and pet her because she was friendly.  Uh, no.

Wed -8.02.  4 in the hood, then 4 outside of the hood. Nothing exciting.

Thursday - 4.06 to the railroad tracks again.  Much better than Monday's run.  Progressive run in the light rain.

Friday -  cold & rainy. Staying inside and did elliptical.  It's the first time I've used it since they installed the new fly wheel.  It felt 5 times harder than I remembered.  At least I was warm. 

Saturday - 13.3 miles.  My own version of my new year half marathon.  Cold and overcast the whole time.  I was going to go to the gym on base, but after thinking about it, I decided I'd rather be cold and run outside and be stuck on a treadmill for 2 hours.  So I ran two loops around the flight line on base. 

35.59 for the week.  I'm going to try and start building my long distances on the weekends.  18 mile trail run coming up in February.

• Monday- 2 miles.  First day back after a 2 week break, and this pirate was ready to lead a mutiny against the alarm clock. Which is why my 6 mile run turned into 2.
• Tuesday- 5.7 miles.  It was 14 degrees out, with a wind chill of 2.  I bundled up and went out for my polar bear run. I feel like I can manage a couple of days of this cold stuff, but I wouldn't want it for weeks or months on end.

Photo of the icicles on my eyelashes at the end of my run Tuesday:

• Wednesday- 6.51 miles.  Another day of cold, another run in the teens.  It felt better today than yesterday. 
• Thursday- 4.71 miles.  Ran in the hood, half as many clothes as Tuesday.  I went with top half, not bottom, in case you're interested.
• Friday- 15.5 miles.  It was a little drizzly when I started out, but Saturday's weather called for thunderstorms & 100% chance of rain.  The last 1/2 of this run was in pouring rain, but I survived.  There isn't much you can do when you're 7 miles from home and the downpour happens.  Just finish running/swimming home.
• Saturday- 5.2 miles.  Hadn't planned on running, but when I went out to check on the hens, I realized it was warm (and NOT raining like they'd predicted).  So I threw on some shorts & a short sleeved shirt and went out for a few more miles.  My legs were heavy/tired from Friday's run, but I know it's good training to run on tired legs.  And this way I can enjoy another bowl of ice cream tonight!

Mon- 5.33 miles

Tues- 30 min elliptical, Shred level 1 (in am due to rain).  2.3 miles in pm.

Wed- 7 miles. Found a dead otter on the side of the road.  At least a mile from the closest swamp, but with all the rain we've had the ditches are all full.  Maybe he swam down a ditch.  Then ran across the road.  Triathalon otter.  Reason #2 I don't do triathalons. Don't want to end up like an otter.

Thurs - 5.12 miles. Garmin is full, had to download and delete old miles.

Fri- 20 min elliptical. Last min call to go into work, not enough time to run.

Sat- 18.1 miles.  Cold and windy, but the wind was head on the first half of the run.  MR rode the bike and was my water boy.  He froze being out in the cold for 3 hours.  What a good guy!  He also found our treasure for the day....  2 bags of mostly un-used hypodermic needles!!  So in case the running thing doesn't work out, we can peddle drug paraphenalia.

Monday - Wore my new shoes.  They were so cushy.  5.55 miles.

Tuesday- 6.1 miles

Wednesday - 5.07 miles

Thursday - 4.36 miles.  2 early, then I hurried in to make birthday breakfast for mini-me.  I did it "wrong" and got grumped at.  Then I went back out for a couple more.

Friday - slept in since I was up late the night before with birthday girl.  We saw a local production of Fiddler on the Roof.  It was the best play/musical I've ever seen.

Saturday - I waited to run because the temps were supposed to get above freezing at some point in the afternoon.  The down side was, the longer I waited the wind got stronger & stronger.  I drove to a trail that is long enough to suit my out & back needs.  I thought it was a running/walking trail, but I guess it is also a Bird Trail.  At least that's what the sign says.

I didn't see any birds, but I did see the same 2 huge Portugese Poodles twice- with their owners.  The first time they ran up to me full speed ahead and were just curious, not barking or threatening.  So I left the pepper spray in my pocket.  The owners were a couple of minutes behind them and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry."  No you aren't.  If you were sorry, you would have put them on a leash and not let them run into people.  The same scenario happened on my way back.  I am afraid of dogs.  I do not like strange dogs coming charging at me while I am running on the trail.  And I certainly don't like their big dirty paws stepping on my feet while I am trying to run and getting my new running shoes dirty.  Some dog owners are so arrogant. 

It was a tough run for me.  Overcast, cold, and very windy.  I was going to up my mileage to 20 from the 18 I did last week, but once I got on the trail and realized how much harder it is than the asphalt I'm used to, I decided to go with the 18 again.  The terrain and the hills are really out of the norm for me.  At one point I almost talked myself into only doing 17, but I toughed it out and made it to 18.4 miles.  It got dark as I was climbing in my car- 20 would have been a mistake for sure since I wasn't prepared for running in the dark forest.

It was a good run- good training.  A bit lonely, but worth it in the end.

Monday- 6.03 miles.  Felt great, tempo was good.

Tuesday - 6.22 miles.  School was cancelled because it was supposed to snow starting at 6 am.  When I woke up at 7 and there wasn't a drop of water/snow anywhere, I decided to go for a run.  I'd heard the weather was supposed to be coming from the south.  So I chose to run south first (into the wind) and then run north home.  The run out was great- I actually got hot and took off my hat & gloves.  But the last mile I felt wind at my back and I started worry.  Evidently a storm system can come from the south but have wicked strong winds blowing from the north.  As soon as I turned around to run home, I was hit with a wall of horrible cold wind.  It was a long 3 miles home.  My pace slowed over a minute more per mile running into the wind.  It didn't start icing until 5 pm.  We could have gone to school after all.  But better to err on the side of caution than end up like Alabama.

Wednesday- ice all over the roads covered in 4 inches of snow.  I don't have yak tracks or anything to keep me from sliding on the ice.  I may have to do elliptical or a video today.  I want to run so badly, but not more than I want to stay safe & not get injured.  Around 3 in the afternoon there was enough clear roads to run most of the neighborhood.  I had to go on some snowy grass in a few spots to avoid ice skating.  It felt soo good to get out!  4 miles- wore my trail shoes for extra traction.

Thursday - 5.35 even better than yesterday.  Waited till 1pm when it got above freezing.  Still some super icy patches.  My pace was better than yesterday- that was nice :-)  Wore the trail shoes again.  Want to get them broken in a little more before my trail run.  Not sure I'll wear them on the race day, but I want to have the option if it's slippery.  I also did 45 minutes on elliptical and pilates on the ball video.  Getting stir crazy being homebound for a week.

Friday - After being stuck home the last 3 days I was ready to go back to work.  I did 45 minutes of tough elliptical workout.  Long run tomorrow.  Back to the practice trail.

I was dressed and ready to go, then when I went to feed the chickens before I left I realized that their coop needed attention.  I wanted to walk away and take care of it later but I knew I wouldn't be in the mood to do it after a long run.

so 2 hours and a cordless drill, pneumatic nailer, circular saw, & jig saw late r, I was ready to run and it started raining.  My weather app showed a sun and no rain for 3 more hours.  I was so mad at that dumb weather app.  I just wasn't feeling the love for 3 hours on the muddy trail in the cold rain. After all the snow this week I realized the clay in the trail was probably not a safe bet today either.

My lucky day- the high school was having a day long basketball game with boys/girls jayvee/varsity games back to back.  So i got to run the treadmill and watch some b-ball.  I saw some sweet moves on the boy's varsity team.  Impressive!  Some girls on the visiting team were mocking me (they could see in the window on the 2nd floor) before their game.  They played, they lost, and no one was mocking me when I was still going an hour later.

The last hour sucked.  I wanted to quit.  I didn't, but I did a little slow jog for 5 minutes to get my groove back.  Then treated myself to a 3 course Thai dinner.  Happy year of the horse.  I ate like one.  Totally worth that last hour on the milly.

Monday- 6.21 down past the RR tracks.  I thought about becoming a super hipster and collecting vinyl, but realized this might be the wrong kind:

Tuesday- I felt as if I'd rather have dental work done that run today.  So I did 20 min on elliptical and took the day off.  I lived.

Wednesday- 5.24

Thursday- 4.56

Friday- 4.22.  Early and chilly, but the sunrise coming home was beautiful.  I guess it was pre-sun rise- this was at the front of the cattle ranch.  Venus is at the top of the entrance in the sky.  It didn't smell as good as it looked. 

Saturday- 14.06 on the trail.  The sun was out- woo hoo!!  This was a great run and boosted my confidence for the trail run coming up.  I was able to keep up my endurance and actually had a couple of really good miles pace wise.  I feel like I'll be able to run the course and be strong.  Taper a little more next week, then it's time for the race.  I'll be sure to carb load over Valentine's day weekend :-) There were a couple slippery & muddy spots. I almost ended up swimming in this little pond! 

Here's a photo of the trail right before it drops off.  You can see the top of the tree line in the distance.  There is a steep drop on this path.  I always enjoy going down it more than I do up.  On this run, there were a couple of people I passed at the bottom of the hill on my way back up.  Knowing they were watching me helped encourage me to get up to the top of the hill.  I often shout encouraging colorful phrases to myself about how steep the hill is or is not, but on this run, I kept my yawps to myself.

Monday- 11 miles.  Wanted to get some miles in before snowmageddon comes.  Glad I did.  I also found where Uncle Rico's been staying.  I didn't see him (he must have been out selling high quality polymer) but I found his trailer and weight bench.  Tina's been replaced with a horse wearing a blanket.

Tuesday- just started snowing so I went out for 4.14 miles.  It was fine until I had to run that last 1/2 mile into the high winds pelting my face with snow.  I found a bunch of treasures, so it was totally worth going out.

Wednesday- Snow everywhere, more coming down, and I don't trust the drivers to not hit me.  So I played on the elliptical and did Shred level 1.  Then spent the second day in a row cursing the snow and ice.  Tomorrow I'll shovel snow for my workout.

Thursday - Shoveled snow. it was heavy and wet.  great workout. elliptical and pilates video.  The pilates on the ball felt good when I got to stretch my back out after that shoveling.

Friday - 2 miles- went easy in preparation for a longer run tomorrow.

Saturday - last taper long run for the big run next Saturday.  It ended up being 0 miles.  Too dang windy and cold.  MR and I were busy doing home improvements all day anyway.

2/16 - 4.2 miles

2/18 - 8.05 miles

2/19 - 3.21 miles with Wyatt

2/20 - 4.5 miles with Wyatt. Skibi road run, no one yelled at us this time.  The frogs were crazy loud.

trail run.  got lost driving there - panic.

good weather, I really enjoyed the run until mile 6 when I twisted my ankle hard on a nubby root.  I was worried it was broken.  It took me a fair amount of time to get moving again.  Walked maybe 1/4 mile on it, then slowly started jogging on it.  I was able to get my pace back on track eventually, but downhills I had to slow down big time.  Grateful to finish, glad I improved my time over last year.  My standings went down, but that's because more people showed up to run this year since it wasn't pouring rain.

I was feeling confident about not slipping in the rainy mud around mile 11-12 when I tripped over a root and went body surfing on the trail.  Confidence needs to be kept in check on this run until you're safe in the car.

By Tuesday I was able to walk without pain.  I'll be ready to go hiking with Terry Saturday :-)

mon-elliptical

tues-elliptical

wed-elliptical ... ankle feeling better

thur- elliptical

friday- elliptical

Today I went on an awesome 14 mile trail hike with Terri.  We packed a lunch and set off to see where the trail would take us.  We ended up going further than I'd ever gone before.  Other than one small portion when I could hear banjos playing, it was a great trail.  Terri helped us figure out where the local prison is off that portion of the trail, and we found some great photos ops.  It was marvelous!

Sunday - 4.5 miles with Terri before she went back to MD.  Had a great weekend!

Monday - 4.52 miles before work.  Most spectacular sunrise of the year.

Tuesday - sicker than a dog.

Wednesdsy- sick

Thursday- 3.06 mile run.  Not sure what's going on with my knee.  It seems to think it should be wonky this week.  

Friday & Saturday - let my knee try and recover.  Weekend full of yardwork exercise.

Photo of the sunrise this week before daylight savings time pushes me back to the dark ages.  It's okay, I enjoy the late evenings so much that I'll take a few more weeks of dark mornings.

Trying to get back on track this week with running.  Don't want to over do it on my knee, but need to get back in the training game for May marathon.  Waking up early is tough- my body isn't convinced it's actually 5 am.... it's still thinking 4 am and no way it's going to get out of bed.  Need to find my motivation....perhaps it's waiting for me inside a carton of cookie dough ice cream.

Monday - yardwork all day.  Painted the deck, painted in the house, finished the flower beds.  Working all day, but not on running.

Tuesday - early morning appointment at the tax center.  Afternoon/evening went for a walk in the beautiful evening weather, then worked on picking up pine cones in the front yard.  Got a wheelbarrow full.

Wednesday - tried to get up early.  LOL.  Had time for 3 miles before work.  After .10, knee was bothering me.  So I stopped, stretched it out, and had a great run after that.  I guess it just needs a good warm up first. Shorts & T-shirt weather at 630 am.  Awesome.

Thursday - got up later than Wednesday :-(  ... Had time for 2.34 before work.  Back to long pants & a coat for running.  But spring is coming!  Lots of my daffodils were KO'd in the ice storm early last week.  A few survived- they make me smile!

Friday - can't remember what I did.

Saturday - make-up school day, but beautiful outside.  After school, Wyatt and I went for a beautiful run.  7 miles of awesome.  Had a puppy follow us for 6 of the 7 miles.  The owner was looking for it when we went back by the house on our way to the cars.  You know what, don't let your puppy run loose (without a collar).  He was a beautiful dog, but starved.  Either from lack of food or worms.  Sad puppy.

Monday - Had to be out early, so no time in the morning for a run.  Rainy and cold.  Just no.

Tuesday - Run after work, after rain.  5 miles.  Felt good.  Found some treasures.  The box-

(wonder what the test results were?..... here's the answer: 

9 yellow babies. Jackpot!!

Wednesday - 20 min on elliptical.

Thursday - Run in the morning, with the moon.  Just how I like it.  Chilly, but no knee troubles - so a huge success!  5 miles in am.  It was BEAUTIFUL after school.  I ran home and started getting ready to go out for a run when Wyatt called me.  Perfect!  A great run with great company.  4.5 miles.  Still no knee troubles.

Friday - 4 mile run in the morning.  Cold morning- Spring is good, I just forgot how it can go from so warm to so cold.  Looking forward to a long run tomorrow in sunshine.  Today is snowcone and chili dog day at the school.  I love chili dog day.

Saturday - best day so far this year for a run.  Beautiful warm weather & sunshine.  10.6 miles- explored some different roads & found out how they connected to the ones I knew about.  Then yard work.  Allergy season is here.  AchoO!

Monday- 6.15 miles

Tuesday- 4.12 miles

Wednesday-  7.35 miles

Thursday- 360 miles.  In the car.

Friday- 3.5 miles with MR

Saturday- dread-mill.  It was 666 degrees in the gym.  By mile 7 i had puddles of sweat inside my shoes sloshing around.  These 13 miles seemed like the would never end.  The alternative, rainy and cold, didn't seem much better.  The best part of this day was an amazing dinner with MR, Terry, and her MR.  And an opossum.

Wonderful run- perfect sun shine morning.  Other than a stop to have a few words with the man who was insisting that his dogs weren't "bothering" me as they were surrounding me and bearing their teeth and barking, an uneventful morning.

Saw lots of treasures that I'll need to come back for later with a booty bag.

Monday- 8.1 (on March's calendar for mileage)

Tuesday - 30 min elliptical in the morning, and 5.54 miles running with Wyatt in the afternoon.  We walked about 3/4 of a mile too.  So much to talk about on April Fool's Day.

Wednesday - Ran 3 miles.  Doesn't sound like much, but they were bleacher miles.  Took me an hour.  Did some skipping and other running alternatives a few times between the bleacher sets.  Just kept moving.  Wyatt kept me company. Legs are going to be sore tomorrow.  I'm pretty sure it's been over a year since I did bleachers.

Thursday - 9 mile loop.  When a dog is chasing you and barking, and the hair along his spine is standing up straight like a zebra mane, that means he wants to kill you, doesn't it?

Friday - took it easy, 20 min elliptical.  Tomorrow should be nice weather for a long run.  Looking forward to doing it outside.

saturday-18 this was the never ending run that evidently wasn't supposed to happen.  I was on base, had 7 miles done, heading around airfield when mini me called.  She was home and very, very sick.  Some good friends helped me out with her until I could get back to the car & home.  I had 10 miles done for that part.  Then I got little one taken care of and went out to finish the last 8.  Between all the phone calls, stops, driving, medical issues, and miles, I was running from 1130 am till 530 pm.  Only managed 18 miles in 6 hours.  At least mini me got better later that night.

Mon- 4 am - remember that pregnancy test I found on the side of the road a couple weeks ago?  Well, I found this just about 500 feet away from where I found the test.  Looks like the kids are playing it smart.

Tues- 6 am

Wed- 6.5 afternoon.  30 min elliptical in am.

Thurs- 2.5 am

Fri- 4.2 am - walked around the hood after dinner enjoying the perfect spring weather & watching the sun set.

Saturday - 20. One of my worst "off" days ever.  My legs were so heavy and tired.  I went 20 miles, but there were a few walk breaks in there.  It was hot, which was nice to be warm but I got a little over heated since I'm not used to it this season.  I had my water boy for the last 11 miles.  It was good to have him with me.  I don't really know exactly why this run was so hard.  I'm going to try and fuel a little better for my next long- and drink more water.  The marathon is coming up- whether I'm ready or not.  I feel like I don't have anything to prove, so I'll probably go slow and enjoy the day.

Monday - 6.5 morning run with MR.  He KO'd early so I finished by myself.  It was good to run at normal speeds compared to my sluggish pace on Saturday. I did run into one of the newest members of my family on my run:

Tuesday - rained all day.  I worked on fueling today.

Wednesday - 14.75 mid-day run.  I slept in really late.  It was marvelous. MR went off with his parents and I was left to my own devices.  So I went on a nice long run.  Into the wind first.  Better paces, better run than Saturday, but around 14 miles I felt dizzy again.  Not sure what's going on with that business.  I only have a couple of weeks to get it figured out before the run.

Thursday - 30 min elliptical.  

Friday- 8.75 miles.  Mr rode the bike and I had a very nice run in some chilly weather.  Good fry-day awesomeness to follow. Photo of onion & jalepeno matchsticks.  Newest addition to the fry-day repritorie.

Saturday - recovered from fried food feast.

4/21- 5.01 miles

4/22 - 4.36 miles with Wyatt

4/23 - 9.15 miles

4/24 - went to beach with mini-me. Treasure for the day.  Fish head, fish head, roly poly fish head.....

4/25 - 3.71 on the beachfront road & boardwalk.  Walked around downtown Wilmington for a couple of hours.

4/26 - sitting on my sofa, bored out of my mind while the plumbers replace every pipe and fitting in my house.  Wondering how I'll get the drywall dust out of my carpet and how all those holes will get fixed.  At least I shouldn't have my water fittings spraying water everywhere.  Wishing I could run- beautiful day outside.  Oh well - it's my taper before the race next weekend.  Taper can mean zero, right?

Not my best, not my worst.  I stopped my garmin when I had to wait in line to use the POP and it said my time was under 4:20.  So the POP really cut into my time.  I had to stop twice.  Bummer - literally.

There were only 816 people who ran the marathon.  I was in the top half.  Which doesn't say much for the people behind me.  Nice medal and finisher's long sleeve shirt.  They called it a jacket, but just because it has a 4 inch zipper under the chin, that doesn't really mean it's a jacket.  It will be nice to wear when cooler weather comes around again in the fall.

Highlight was seeing Meb, 2 weeks out from his Boston win.  I wonder if he's taken the medal off since then.

Here's the start of the run.

They began the run with a Howitzer blast...I just don't know how to post the video.  Because I hung out on the lawn video taping the blast, I was at the end of the field of runners.  Most of them were running the half marathon.  I tried to catch up to the 4:20 pace group but never did find them.  I passed the 4:00 pace group and got a bit worried, but then realized it was the half marathon 4:00 group.  They had some new kind of fuel drink/ electrolytes I'd never seen or tried before.  Might have had something to do with the bathroom breaks.  They promised that their product wouldn't cause stomach distress.  Pie Crust Promise.

I was sore for 5 days after finishing this run.  Lots of hills (I wasn't prepared for).  When people ask me how the marathon was, I say, "I'm glad it's over."  That's all I have to say about that.

Went for a walk with Wyatt and Schatzi in the wheat and corn fields.  It was good to get out and talk, walk, and enjoy nature.  

After a week off from the marathon, I was ready to run again.  More for my mental health than anything.  I had the worst week ever last week, and I think I had a harder time dealing with it because I wasn't running.

Sunday - 4.5 miles.  Slow, getting back in the swing of things.

I'm lichen this fence post!

Tuesday - 4.5 miles.  Still slow, enjoying a beautiful sunrise.

Wednesday - 3.5 miles.  Took some photos of the fog out on the fields this morning.

Thursday- nope

Friday - 6 miles

Saturday - 5.07 miles with Wyatt 

Monday - 4.5 miles

Tuesday - 

Wednesday - 4.6 miles

Thursday - 4.1 miles

Friday - Waffle House with MR :-)

Saturday - 2.15 miles with MR - 6 mile walk 

This is a boring blog week.  

Monday - 14.75 mile bike ride with JR

Tuesday - 3 miles

Wednesday - Waffle House (training for a summer of greasy food)

Thursday - 4.5 miles in the pm with Wyatt.  Humid but a few cool spots.

Friday - 4.2 miles in the am.

Saturday - 6 miles.  Kinda hot- took a cool down walk in the middle.

Monday - 5 miles.  What a beautiful, perfect morning for a run!  The early bird gets the mailbox.

Tuesday - sleep.  Having trouble falling asleep  & then not getting enough.  

Wednesday - 5 miles.  Another beautiful morning run.  Saw a dead snake and a dead turtle.  Dead Reptile Club.

Thursday - 4 miles in the morning.  Dead squirrel today.

Saturday - 7 miles.  Nothing exciting.

Monday - 6.2 miles.  10K route to the blinking light.  It was a good run.  No one tried to run me off the road- most everyone moved over and gave me some room.  Enjoyed taking in the crops that are growing - corn and soybeans are already planted and growing tall.  This is a photo I took of the wheat on Saturday.  The breeze was blowing through the wheat and making a pretty sound.

3.14 - Pi run. Tuesday

5.06 - Wednesday

Thursday & Friday - rest day.  Graduation.

Saturday - 6 miles.  Party Day

Monday - 4.06 miles.  Most were running.  Went with Wyatt.  Enjoying our time together means that walking lets us talk more.   Then we ate cake.  With diet Dr. Pepper.  Living the dream.

Tuesday - 6 miles.  Ran past the RR tracks, got to say good-bye to my favorite dogs that always ran along their fence with me.

Wed-Thur:  moved.

Fri - Packed 3 car loads of crap, unpacked 6 car loads of household crap and carried it up 3 flights of stairs.  Cross training at it's finest.

Saturday - calves were actually sore from hauling crap all day yesterday.  Back on track with running next Monday.

Monday - 6.33 miles - went exploring around our new apt.  Found a park .89 miles from our place and it has a running trail!  Shady (almost all of it) but super hilly. I hate hills, but they'll be good for me.  I couldn't believe that after moving 350+ miles away, I still end up running into I-95.  At least this trail lets me run under the interstate instead of over, like before.  The trail is 4 miles to a lake.  I'm not in good enough running shape to run all the way to the lake right now.  So that'll be my next big goal.  

I-95 bridge:

Tuesday - 6.5 miles.  Went back to the trail to see if the hills were as bad as I remembered.  They were.  I did make it to the old RR bridge today.  Finally got internet working at apt too.

River under RR bridge:

Wednesday - 6 miles.  I ran on the sidewalk down a road that I heard they were building our new library on.  I found the library and wondered if the road would take me to a shopping area.  I was hoping for a Target.  I found neighborhood after neighborhood and a couple of school zones.  All uphill.  I also found the I-95.  This time I was on an overpass above the road instead of underneath it like earlier this week.  The best part of this run was the run back.  90 percent downhill.  Awesome.

Thursday & Friday - Traveling to Venice. 

Friday & Saturday - Walked around Venice.  Wish I would have brought my GPS to see the routes we took and track miles.  It felt like we were walking in circles and went 40 miles.  But totally worth it.

Twice this week I spent 60 minutes on the elliptical. 

The rest of the week I spent walking the streets of Venice, Croatia, Ephesus, and Athens.

I also kayaked and snorkeled in the Adriatic in Dubrovnik. 

So no running miles, but I got a good workout and enjoyed gelato every chance I got.

Totally not going to be ready for the Des News half.  I'll just walk the streets of SLC and pretend I'm back in Athens.  Hope they have baklava at the finish line :-)

Sunday - last day walking Venice.  Wish I would have worn my GPS to see where we actually walked.  Had lunch along a cute little canal near the old Jewish Ghetto.  Started journey back home in the pm.

Monday - traveled home.  Planes, trains, and automobiles.  Boats, kayaks, and gondolas.  Great vacation.

Tuesday - slept in.  Went for a 6 mile run.  Back to the bridge.  Found lots of raspberries but wasn't brave enough to try any.  Saw 2 little spotted fawns with their momma.  It was a tough run. 

Wednesday - short 3 mile run with MR before our small shipment of stuff arrived from our old house.  We ran to the middle school and back.  The hills are not getting easier.

Thursday - 4 mile run.  Went down a different trail - ended up being super steep downhill to a river, then a dead end.  I got to turn around and haul back up the hill.  Then I took another trail that ended up being really nice, but also just 1/2 a  mile long.  Finding new places to explore.

Friday - 5 miles.  Went a different direction through the neighborhood near our place.  Found an old cemetery, lots of town houses, a couple of schools, and a bridge that goes over the 32 and took me to a little shopping area with donuts, burgers, tacos, and gas.  It was hot, so I went into McBurger to refill my water bottle.  Went a lot further than 5 but had to take a couple of walk breaks.

Saturday - Went hiking with MR and mini-me in Catocin National Park.  Hiked 5+ miles.  Not sure why but I had so much trouble with this hike.  I've hiked a different route at this park before without any problems.  Today was a really off day for me.  My family was waiting for me and I was holding everyone up.  I think it's a lack of gelato.

Sunday - just rested. Feeling better but not sure why Saturday was so hard.

Monday - 4 mile run.  I'm slowly getting a little bit of speed back.  No where near my goal pace, but it's hot, I've been on vacation a lot, and there are this blasted hills everywhere I go!

Tuesday - left early for my cross country trip with mini me.  Taking her out west in preparation for her starting University this fall (and the fact that she doesn't have anywhere else to stay - our temporary lodging just has 1 bedroom.  She's been sleeping in the dining room).  It was a pretty good drive to see my son in NC.  We got to spend the night hanging out with him and his college roommates.  Found gelato at the grocery store, ate too much, watched tv, then went to the gym with the college kids at 9 at night.  Cause that's what the cool kids do.  Ran 3.25 miles on milly.  That was enough.

Wednesday - 11 hours in the car driving to Ca$hville (aka Hendersonville, TN).  Got to see a little leage baseball game, and stayed up all night talking about boys with my girlfriend.  Slumber parties ROCK!

Thursday - waking up at 5:30 am after an all night slumber party does not rock.  Got the oil changed in the car and headed out for another 11 hour day in the car.  Made it to Lawrence, KS.  Drove through 5 states today.  Really trying to just knock out as many miles as we can.  Mini me is doing a lot of driving - good practice.  Still have a couple more long days in the car.  Probably won't get any more miles in with my running shoes this week.  I guess I'll say it's my taper for the half.  But I can't even type it without laughing at how unprepared I am.  I wish I could just ride a horse during the race.  People would think the parade had started early.

Friday - 6.5 miles on milly at the hotel in NE.

Saturday - drive, drive, drive.  Finally arrived in UT.

Monday - 6.5 miles.  "West Side."  downhill was fast.  uphill was not. 

Tuesday - Lagoon

Wednesday - half is Thursday so I convinced myself it was better to relax and not exercise.

Thursday - 13.1 DesNews half marathon.  Ran with CatHi.  Walked with CatHi.  We went slow so we'd be sure to get our money's worth out of the run.  Beautiful sunrise at the starting line.  I can't seem to upload photos....FRB keeps locking up when I try.

Friday - Hiked Millcreek to one of the Dog Lakes.  Great hike, except for the dog that wanted to get in my face when I was trying to sit down and eat.  Where were the owners?  I should be able to sit down and eat without your dog's face in mine.  All the other 20+  dogs we saw were terrific.

Saturday - recovered from run/hike.  Quads are singing to me.  Took a short little hike up to a rock climbing place above Draper.  That was enough for me today.

Sunday - took a short walk with RAD around the old hood.  It's looking more and more like a real hood every year I come to visit.

Monday - 6.2 miles.  It's either uphill for the first half or the second half.  I chose the first half.  Climbed the whole 3.1 miles up.  Most was just a gradual climb, but that with the wind and elevation change was enough to put a hurting on me.  The run back was much better.  Saw a dead dog.  Reminds me of home :-)

Tuesday - Ran 8 miles with RAD up to the iron pyramid and back.  It was a great trail run.  A few steep parts that I had to walk, but a run I'd be happy to do again.

Wednesday - Waffle Love. 

Thursday - 100 minutes of hiking at snowbird.  Most on the dirt road "trail" and a little bit at the end on a real hiking trail.

Friday - Hiked up to the tram and back with mini-me.  It was 5 hours round trip with a 20 minute lunch break at the top.  The hike kicked my butt.

Saturday - Hiked with mini-me to Cecret Lake at Alta.  Too crowded for my tastes.  Bowling later with RAD & crew.  But that was just fun.

Monday - 10.25 miles.  RAD drug me up Butterfield Canyon.  That is one tough loop.  It is also more miles than I've actually run in a long time.  That woman is a beast.  Speaking of beasts, something had been dining on the rest of this little fella...

Tuesday - I needed to recover from that run!  Here's a photo from our run the previous week

:

Wednesday - flew back home to MR.  

Thursday - Errands, sleeping... and a nice 18 mile bike ride with MR in the evening.

Friday - 7.7 miles.  I was confident that after being in Utah for 3 weeks and all that crazy trail running I did with RAD, that the silly hills here would feel like a cake walk.  They did not.  I took a walk break at the turn around point.  

Saturday - 6.5 miles with MR at the research center trail.  Stopped to take some photos of grave markers at the super old cemetery off the trail so I could upload them to billiongraves.com.  That went well, until I got home and realized I'd brought home more than just photos.  Chiggers.  UGH.  Luckily there is a pool here.

And a photo of me up on top of that blasted canyon RAD helped me run up on Monday.  I was surprised I could actually jump at this point of the run (and it was only mile 3)....

Monday -4 miles in the morning with MR.

Tuesday - I managed to fart around long enough in the morning that when I was ready to run, it was raining.  So I stayed inside.  Then guilt took a hold of me and I decided to do a shred video.  In hindsight, I should have taken a nap instead.  I was sore for 3 days after.

Wednesday - 8 miles.  Went to farmer's market on base then ran around the base for a change of scenery.  Saw lots of deer.  They are all over the base and they are protected there, so they multiply like rabbits.  Or white tail deer.

Thursday - 3.54 miles with MR in the morning again. Walked around Annapolis for a couple of hours too.

Friday - I needed to pick up my bike at the bike shop.  Some parts ended up missing due to our top notch moving crew.  I ran in my vibrams up to the store- it was only 6/10 of a mile away so I took a loop around the block and managed to get 1.28.  Then I rode my bike around the neighborhood for 4 miles or so.  Just exploring.

Saturday -7.63 miles. Hit the hilly trail with MR.  Out and back, only stopping to walk at the half way point.  Got some jelly beans, water, and stretched there too.  Beautiful running weather.

Sunday - 20 bike miles. Went on some bike trails with MR.  The first one ended up being really short.  If they finished it, it'd be long, but for now there is a big section in the middle that's not done.  So that section was around 9 miles.  The second trail we went on was a loop around the airport.  It was 11 miles of nice rolling hills.  I'd do that one again.  I think I may try to run it this fall.

Monday - 6.21 humid miles.  Ran the hilly trail.  

Tuesday - 3.63 miles in the am with MR.  My legs need a break.  This run was much harder than it should have been.  I had to stop and catch my breath at one point.  

Wednesday - 1 Did shred level 1 again.  Then walked/ran to the post office, grocery store, and back home.  Running was about 1 mile, walking about 1.5. I wore the vibrams. Easier day since I was so tired yesterday.

Thursday - 10.01 miles on the hilly trail.  Took a walk break for some jellybeans at the half way point.

Friday - 1.6 vibrams.  Took the bikes to the bike shop, ran home between dropping off the bikes.

Saturday - Ran 8.25 with MR.  Then we went to get new running shoes!!  Woo Hoo!!

Monday -6.5 miles in my new shoes!!

Tuesday - 3.85 miles with MR in my other pair of new shoes!  Happy Feet!

Wednesday - shred level 1... finally not so terrible anymore.

Thursday - 11 miles on the hilly trail.  I made it all the way up to the lake and back.  Ran the whole trail and didn't stop.  This felt like a huge success.  

Friday - rest day

Saturday - 9.57 miles at the nature park with MR.   Ran to the lake, then up and around to the cemetery.  It was overcast and cool - just a teaser for fall.

Later hiked 5.34 miles at a state park.

Sunday- rode 27.6 miles on the Baltimore & Annapolis rail trail with MR.  My quads certainly felt this ride.

Monday - hiked for 2.5 hours in the Appalachain foothills.  We would have hiked longer, but the sky opened up just as we were hitting the end of the first loop near the car.  So we packed up and went home.

Tuesday - Ran 4.5 miles in the terrible heat. Did Shred video.  

Wednesday - 4 miles

Thursday - 12.7  made it to the lake, and ran around the lake.  No stopping!  Woo Hoo!!

Saturday -6.44 at the research center with MR  he was having an off day - and it was hot as Hades

Monday - ran 5 with MR.  Cooler weather made this run delightful.

Tuesday - ran 13.  Up and around lake again.  Got side aches and that was disappointing- I had to stop and stretch them out a couple of times.  This was my long run for the week because I'm going out to see mini me!

Thursday - Ran 4.25 before heading to Idaho.  Got some good speed on this run- wasn't sure I still had it in me.  Nice Surprise!

Sunday - Ran 3.07 miles.  Still in Utah, but unlike Thursday's run here, this one was terrible and my lungs burned almost the whole time.  So strange.  Nice to get a run in before church though.

Tuesday - 8.01 miles back in MD.  

Wednesday - 4.1 miles

Thursday - 12.54 miles - my long run tapered for Hinson Lake coming up

Saturday - 9.02 miles with MR on the nature trail.  It was a perfect weather kind of run.

This was a taper week, and although the race/run started on Saturday, it ended on Sunday so I'm going to do the race report and include the miles on Sunday.

When I say taper I mean "I was in classes all day long and I wasn't getting any sleep at night, so running wasn't a priority."  I decided rest was what my body needed more for the ultra than runs.

9/23 - 4.25 miles early in the morning with MR

What was I thinking?

It doesn't matter.  I showed up, camped out the night before and got very little sleep because the sweet young ladies in the tent adjacent to ours were so excited they were giggling and talking till after 11 pm.  I finally just got up and politely asked them to be quiet since it was so late.  I honestly think they had no idea how late it actually was.  They were silent after that.

Woke up, got ready, and started out at what I had decided was my slow and steady pace.  It was great.  I ran 21 miles and then started on a run/walk cycle where I would run half the loop, walk up the "hill" and then run the rest of the way.  After my first half loop, Wyatt came to run with me for a while.  It was magical and amazing to get to run with her again.  Unfortunately, after 5 miles my foot really started to have some terrible pains in the arch/heel area.

I was saving my extra cushiony shoes for the last half of the day, but decided to put them on early to try and help the pain.  I was devestated when it didn't help.  I walked, tried running, and just couldn't do it.  It hurt so much that it was affecting my form in a really bad way.  So I walked and wondered what I would do with myself the rest of the 24 hours...it was around 2 pm and I had 18 hours left of the run.  

Bill, the Godfather of the run, gave me some advice and we walked a couple of laps together.  He is the best story teller and made me forget my worries.  Eventually we tried running part of the route every time we made a loop.  I was able to do this a few more times and then the pain was back with a vengance.  

So I took the excedrin, was generous with the biofreeze, and just kept on walking.  I was able to do speed walking for a long time.  Then I started to get a pain in my hip so that slowed me down.  I took an hour nap after putting on warmer clothes around midnight, then went out for a few more laps.  I set my goal for 100k and counted down laps to reach my goal one by one.  MR got up around 4 am and walked my last lap with me.  I was in a lot of pain with my hip and my foot, and I had met my goal.  I decided to get some more rest and see if I could get some relief from the pain to maybe get a few more laps in after the sun came up.  

The sun came up and I hurt so much that I didn't care about anything but packing up camp and driving home.  I felt nauseated and sick to my stomach and wanted to curl up in a ball and go unconcious for a while.  

So on my way back from the bathrooms I picked up a banana for the banana lap and we put it down in front of our tent.  So I got .09 more miles on my total..... 

I did have a great time with Wyatt and the other amazing runners I was lucky enough to share a few minutes with around the track.  I just wish I wouldn't have had so many pain problems.  I could have easily met my goal of 80 miles otherwise.  

Maybe next time.... (dont' tell MR- I told him we weren't ever going back.)

This week I spent recovering.  By Friday my feet were feeling better, but still a lot of pain in my hip.  It's sore and achy almost all the time.  Pretty sure it's a tendon/ligament thing and not a bone thing.  Epsom salt baths.  I really didn't have any sore muscle issues like I usually do after a race- just the feet and hip.

Tuesday - went for a mile walk

Thursday - went for a couple mile walk

Friday - went for a slow and easy run.  got in 4 miles, which felt good...except for my hip.  Then I did the 1 hour long stretch video for p90x.  Hoping that might help my hip a bit.

10/5- 5.34 miles between conference sessions with MR

The rest of the week we were camping and hiking in Pennsylvania.

Monday - 7.84 miles  MR and I went out for a run on a new route I had seen by connecting roads on Google earth.  It was supposed to be around 4 miles.  We ended up on a back country road with hills, no shoulders, ditches, and rain.  Neither one of us was happy for a few miles, but I was just sure that the connecting road was right around the next turn.  I was wrong.  So wrong.

Tuesday - 3.32 miles.  I didn't stray far from home after our little adventure yesterday.

Thursday - we went for a bike ride thinking we could find where two trails connected- we were wrong and decided to just stop while we were ahead and go back into the neighborhood to explore.

Friday - 6.3 miles.  I decided to start on the other side of the trail today.  We ran by it on Monday and it seemed to me like it should connect with the trail I usually run on.  It got really rocky and rooty, but at the the end of the trail I had the most amazing experience.  A rock in the middle of a small clearing at the end of a peninsula of land where the river bends back on itself.  The trees were raining down leaves as I sat on the rock and took in the beauty of it all.  It was an amazing run until the last .75 miles when I was almost home and the bottom of my foot started hurting like crazy.  It hurt worse than it did when I was running the ultra.  

Saturday - I was supposed to run with Terri, but my foot hurt so bad I had trouble walking.  So we walked up to the park, got an ice cream cone at the lake, and walked back.  It was so good to be able to visit with her again.  We walked albout 13 miles.

Walking hurts.  Still.  So I spent a few days at the gym this week.

I swam laps and used the recumbent bike.  On Friday I used an elliptical type trainer.  

I miss running so much.

It felt good to move and swim in the pool though.  I am really out of swimming shape, but I still enjoyed it.

I went to they gym again this week, and by the end of the week I felt good enough to try a couple of slow miles on the treadmill.  I decided to do the treadmill so I could stop immediately if it started to hurt.  I had a good 2 miles and wanted to keep going, but realized I needed to take it easy and slowly ease back into running so I didn't hurt my foot again.

Monday - 2.14 miles.  I decided to go out and see how my foot would handle running on the roads.  Unfortunately, my foot was the least of my problems.  My heart and lungs were ready to scream and run away from me.  But I know this is how it always begins after taking time off.  It was just delightful to be back running outside again.

Wednesday - 2.81 miles.   A little further than Monday.  Foot still felt good.  

Thursday - 3.01 miles.  With MR.  Baby steps back, but a mile more than Monday.

Saturday 4.36.  I love running.

Trying to make slow progress and slowly add miles back.

Monday - 5.01 miles with MR.  He's having surgery this week so it was our last run for a while.

Wednesday - 6.82 miles.  I made it to bridge and back- felt great.  It's getting dark so darn early.

Friday - 7.6 miles.  Went to the bridge and wanted to see where they had moved all the soil I'd seen them dumping when Terri and I went walking, so I went to the overpass and saw the work they'd done pushing dirt around and planting grass seeds.  Then I ran home.  It was maybe 40 degrees today so not many people out on the trails.

Tuesday 18th - 6.27 miles

Wednesday 19th - 3.05

Friday 21st - 7.52 miles

Saturday 22nd - 5.26 miles

Tuesday 25th - 4.5 on boardwalk in Ocean City.  Wore my vibrams and felt good.

Thursday 27th - Happy Thanksgiving.  8.05 Ran the virtual Turkey Trot for Cancer treatment and research with  Terri.  It was delightful to be back running with her on our old running path.  Time flew by.  Calves sore from running in vibrams on Tuesday.

Saturday 5.01 miles.  Calves still a little sore.

Monday 1st - 6.33 miles - ran some trails along the river.  muddy and hilly but fun.  Yoga in morning

Tuesday 2nd - Yoga in morning

Thursday 4th - 7 miles worked on hills and just keeping on moving when I was tired. Yoga in morning.

Saturday 6th - 7 miles on treadmill because the weather was cold and rainy.  This felt like a really long run.  I wish there was some good news on tv to watch for an hour while I ran.  Instead I felt like I was being punished having to watch terrible things on Fox and CNN.  Podcasts were the only thing that saved my sanity.

Monday 8th - 6.01, yoga in morning before the run.  

Tuesday 9th - 4 miles.  I can feel the strength in my legs from yoga helping me engage going up the hills

Wednesday - went for a walk for 4 miles or so with MR.  Ended up at the grocery store to buy some sourdough bread to go with our homemade black bean soup for dinner.  And some eggnog.  I love eggnog.

Thursday - 4 miles on the treadmill after yoga.  Then I swam 6 quick laps and went home because it started snowing while I was running.  Of course there wasn't any snow in the forecast.

Saturday - 6.5 miles

Monday or Tuesday - I can't remember :-(  I ran 6 miles on the treadmill

Wednesday - Graduation

Thursday - Movers

Friday - cleaned apt and left town, drove to NC

Saturday - drove to TN

Sunday - drove to AR

Monday - ran 5 miles on the hotel treadmill.  Drove to NM

Tuesday - drove to AZ

Wednesday - drove to NV; walked a few miles around town

Thursday - Merry Christmas- Walked 5 miles to the dam and back in the morning with MR.  We saw a roadrunner and a hawk.

Friday - Ran 5.2 in 20 mph winds.  But the sun was shining and it felt great to be outside in the sun.  We saw a coyote running on the trail with us for a little while.  He was obviously after the roadrunner we'd seen the day before. 

Saturday - drove to Vegas and back.  I need to get on a schedule for sleep and exercise.  And no more stinkin' tacos.