I love my luck

It can be quirky and often things work out in mysterious ways and I'm not sure if it's luck or God or guardian angels, but I'll take it.  So, last Thursday after work I went for a lovely 5 mile run along the Charles and then decided to pick up a few things on my way home.  I stopped at Whole Foods and got some food for dinner.  The old rule of thumb 'do not shop on an empty stomach' should be kicked up a notch if it's dinner time and you've just completed a run and then sat in your car sweaty and starving, stomach rumbling for an hour.  Needless to say I bought a lot of stuff I didn't need and a few things I actually went there for. 

One more stop and I could go home and inhale my food.  I had a wine tasting to go to over the weekend so I stopped at Andover Liquors to see if they had a cool unique wine I could bring.  I found a sparkling shiraz, not the one I was originally looking for, but I figured it would be fun to try a new one.  Purchased the wine and went out to my car to head home, turned the key in the ignition and nothing happened.  No click, no start, no engine trying to turn over, NOTHING!  Dead.  I took a deap breathe removed the key, checked that I didn't leave a light on or the door open or the car in the wrong gear and I tried again......NOTHING! 

Thankfully, my Massachusetts parents Ann and Jack talked me into getting a AAA membership last year so I called and they sent a guy.  They said it may take 30-45 minites for him to get there.  So I sat in my car sweaty, starving, and starting to get cold AND I now had to pee wicked bad too.  I had food and booze, but none that could actually be enjoyed immediately.  So, I waited and waited and waited.  Texted a few friends to pass the time and prayed that it was just the battery or something that could be fixed quickly and inexpensively.  Checked my Facebook and posted my prediciment and related frustration.  Finally, the AAA truck showed up.  I explained to the guy, my car won't start, it's not turning over, it's not doing anything, not even clicking like it's trying to start.  Go ahead give it a try and see.  He got in and turned the key and like magic IT STARTED!!!!!  Just like that I was on my way and my car was fine.

Friday work was really quiet, the day went by sort of fast.  I had to pick up some things at the grocery store during lunch to make a cheesecake for the wine tasting, then I headed home after work to start baking.  I made a Bailey's Irish Cream Cheesecake.  I was a little disappointed because it cracked on the top, but it still smelled really good and I crossed my fingers that it would taste really good too.

Saturday morning I got up and made some tea.  It was looking like a perfect day for a long run.  I was a little nervous based on my run the previous week, but I was trying to think positive and hoping it would be a better run this time.  My plan was to do the same 18 mile loop.  If I can do a solid 18 before Big Sur I will feel really confident about the race.  My training has been rough and kind of non-existant since I was sick for two straight weeks so I'm hoping for the best.  Still sort of recovering from the cold and not feeling 100%.  My body knows what to do, I just need to get out there and do it. 

I got dressed and started out.  It was a perfect day.  Sunny and in the mid-50s.  Probably a little colder when I started.  It felt really nice.  I got comfortable right away and settled into a nice pace right around my marathon pace.  I just hoped that I could maintain it and still feel good towards the end of the run.  It is a pretty hilly loop so I had realistic expectations that I might slow down towards the end.  It was a little warmer than I expected too.  I was drinking my water and taking salt and gels right on target.  Then with about 6 miles left to go I could feel myself slowing down and I figured it was just the hills.  I was almost out of water.

I found a police officer and a work crew at mile 13 and asked them if they had any water, nope, no such luck.  I kept going because there is a fire station at mile 14.5.  I was able to stop and refill my bottles, but the damage was done, I could tell I was dehydrated and struggling a little, but I still felt a lot better than the week before.  I was still moving and I felt ok.  I got home and weighed myself, calculating in the amount of fluids I had consumed, I lost about 5-7lbs in sweat.  Checked my Garmin and I had averaged a 10:45 pace.  Not horrible, not great, but the first 12 miles were closer to a 10:18 pace so there is still hope for a good race.  The more troublesome data from my Garmin was my heart rate.  It's been high lately especially on hills and if I try to really push myself and go faster than my body is ready to go.  So, over the 18 mile run I averaged 175BPM and maxed out at 234BPM!!!!!  Here's what the run looked like, interesting to note that my heart rate pretty much mirrors the elevation profile (pictured below).

I started to rehydrate immediately and ate some lunch because I was STARVING.  Overall though I felt really good.  My legs were fine, not sore, not tired.  My foot was fine, no pain.  All in all, I'll take it.  I'm calling that one a solid 18 and I think I'm getting closer to ready for Big Sur.

Later in the day I left my house a little early to go to the wine tasting because my favorite running store (Whirlaway Sports Center in Methuen) was on the way and I figured I should get some new shoes before my 20 miler and before the marathon.  Plus, after the marathon I have a lot going on so I'm going to need new shoes.  I was lucky, not only did they have my favorite shoe in my size, they had TWO pairs.  I bought them both!  Now I'm ready for the marathon and the summer.

The wine tasting was really fun.  It had been a while since I'd seen some of my wine tasting friends.  Really good to catch up and of course to try some yummy wines.  We started with the whites and moved on to the reds all the way through to my sparkling Shiraz and then finished with a dessert wine.  Nine bottles all together.  Then some people, not me because I had to drive and it was already way past my bedtime, moved onto tasting rums too.  Oh and the CHEESECAKE!!!!  Oh my GOD it was really good.  It did not disappoint. 

Sunday was Easter, but I didn't have any plans.  I slept in then did laundry and dishes and grocery shopping and watched a movie while working on my running scrapbook for 2012.  Pretty chill day.  I was a little bummed teh Easter Bunny skipped my house, but I made up for it during the week.  Wait for it........

Monday it was near 60 degrees and sunny out so I went for a short easy run after work.  About a mile into the run it started to sprinkle rain a little but since it was so warm out it felt kind of nice, then all of the sudden out of no where the sky opened up and it was a monsoon.  The wind was whipping and the rain was coming down in buckets.  Thankfully, I had chosen to go a shorter loop than I normally go and I only ran 4 miles and of course as MY luck would have it the rain stopped just about the same time I stopped running.  I did see a spectacular rainbow over the Charles as I ran across the Mass Ave Bridge though.

Tuesday I decided to play Easter Bunny and go shopping for my idea of the perfect Easter Basket.  I had my REI dividends and a coupon in hand and a pretty brilliant idea.  I got there and totally stocked up on everything running related.  I got gels, salt tabs, body glide, sport sunblock, and a few other little things.  Happy Easter to ME!!!!

Monday was the last of the spring-like weather in New England, it has turned ridiculously cold again.  Winter is fighting to get a few more days as if we didn't get enough already.  It's been in the 30s and 40s since then.  Suppose to get a little warmer in time for the weekend.  Then practically a heat wave next week.  As long as it's nice for my 20 miler I don't really care what Mother Nature dumps on us (ok, unless it's more snow, I've really had enough of that and don't want to see anymore until next winter).

Wow, I've been busy

Only a month to go until Big Sur, how did that happen?  I finally got over the nasty cold I had.  It lasted about 2 weeks and sucked the life out of me the entire time.  But by last Friday I was feeling a lot more normal and good thing too because I had a lot to do.  And I've got some catching up to do on my training.

First things first, I did something super crazy and a little scary, but A LOT of fun last week.  I have been working on checking off things on my 'to-do' list (I don't like calling it a bucket list because I don't plan on kicking the bucket any time soon).  Last Friday I checked off something I've wanted to do since I first lost weight almost 6 years ago.  I went to Boston Trapeze School.  It was a two hour class and I was kind of terrified.  When I got there, I was early so I had time to look around and see exactly how high up the platform was.  Once we started though, the instructors explained everything really well and made us feel super safe.  And before I knew it I was FLYING.

It was SO COOL.  Towards the end of the class my hands were wicked sore and I slipped off the bar and fell, but you land on a giant safety net covered in foam mats so it was fine.  I had such a great time, I signed up for two more classes immediately.  I can't wait to go back and fly again.

Saturday morning I got up and my plan was to do an 18 miler.  It would be my first run in two weeks since I had been so sick, but I figured I would just take it easy and see how I felt.  I started out and the first several miles were fine.  I was slow, but I expected that.  I felt good though so I kept going.  I was a little sore from trapeze school and in places I didn't expect.  My glutes, for example, were wicked sore.  So every hill was even more of a challenge and I run a lot of hills.  My chest and arms were also really sore, I expected that.  But I forgot how much I use my chest and arms to power myself up all the hills I run. 

Twelve miles into my 18 mile loop I was pretty spent and turned back towards home and headed up non-stop hills for the last 6 miles AND if that wasn't tough enough, there was a ridiculous head wind.  I literally started cursing mother nature and screaming "F*CK YOU!" Pretty sure a dude walking his dog thought I was a crazy person.  With a mile left to go I wanted to cry, the wind just wouldn't let up and I had slowed to a shuffle and stopped to walk a few times.  Started crying, but I DID NOT GIVE UP.  Not all runs are awesome and that one was definitely challenging and frustrating and disappointing, but I finished it and got the miles in.  It took me about a half an hour longer than I wanted it to, but I fell pretty confident that this weekend will be a lot better.

Sunday the delayed onset muscle soreness from trapeze school really set in and I could barely move, in combination with running/walking 18 miles the day before I was pretty useless.  I took a rest day.  Did laundry and relaxed on my couch for a bit then I decided to catch up on some scrapbooking of all my running stuff.  I went to Target and printed about 200 photos, then when I got home I realized I forget to print about 175 more so I have to go back.  Oh well, it will keep me busy during the taper after I finish two more long runs.

Monday night I ran in Ayer with Kim.  It was a little chilly out and I was still wicked sore from trapeze school so I figured it would be kind of rough.  It was really rough.  I barely managed to keep up with Kim and her dog Daisy.  Pretty sure Daisy sensed that something was off because she kept looking back at me and stopping to pee even though she had gone a million times already.  I felt ridiculously slow and sluggish.  The run felt a lot harder than it should have for the pace we were doing.  I looked down a few times to checck my heart rate and it was super high.  192 at one point.  I was averaging 85-90% of my max by most calculations.  Not fun.  We did 5 miles, but it felt like I ran through wet cement the entire time.

Tuesday, I couldn't run because I had another cool item to check off of my 'to-do' list.  I was registered for a glassblowing class after work.  I wasn't really sure what to expect.  I got there early and checked the place out.  It was a small studio in what looked like a auto shop garage from the outside, but inside there was a small space to display all the items they make, like a gallery.  And in the back there were several furnaces and benches and tools.  It was so cool.  Three other people joined the class.  We got a quick demonstration of what we would be making and then we got started.  First we made paperweights and hten we made more complicated pieces.  I made a pressed in bowl.  Basically a bubble then one side gets pushed in.

It was amazing.  Tricky, but really fun and different.  My stuff came out really cool.  I had to wait and pick it up the next day because it has to cool down slowly over night in an oven.  If it cools too quickly the glass explodes.  I kind of want to go back again and make something different.  I would love a drinking glass or floppy vase.  Since I had to drive there to get my pieces after work I didn't run yesterday, but I plan to run today and the weather has been really nice so I'm looking forward to it.  Then I will rest and try another 18 miler on Saturday.  After that I have a wine tasting to go to. 

Staying super busy, I almost forgot I have a marathon in a month!  I can't believe it's so close.  I can't wait to go, but I'm a little worried that I'm not ready and my body is not happy about it.  Oh well, we'll see how my long run goes this weekend.  Then it's just a 20 then taper.  I'm sure I can check off a few more things on my list during the down time.  Before I know it I will be running the Pacific Coast Highway and finishing my 13th marathon.

So much for getting serious

Last 5 weeks - Total Weekly Mileage

I think I definitely over did it and got a little too serious too fast.  Totally broke the 10% rule and jumped into my training a little ambitiously and now I'm paying the price bigtime.  I've been sick for about a week.  It all started last weekend when I did my first really long run for Big Sur training.  Saturday morning, my friend Denise met me at my house for 16 miles.   It was actually pretty nice out, in the mid-40s and sunny with a little wind, but not bad.  We went out wicked fast and we knew it, but we were chatty and hadn't seen each other since Disney when we first met so we had a lot of catching up to do.  We settled into a decent pace about 5 miles in and just stayed there, by the last 4 miles I was fading.  Denise powered up the last hill ahead of me and finished strong, I eventually caught up.  It was a solid run.  I felt really good and was more than please with our time and overall pace. 

After the run, I really wanted to shower and then take a nap, but I had things to do and people to see.  I had a birthday party to attend and before that I had to get a card and wrap the presents I bought.  So, I quickly showered and got dressed and shovelled some food in my mouth. Headed to Target and got a card and some wrapping supplies and did an amazing job making the gift look like Martha Stewart wrapped it (even though I did it in the front seat of my car).  Then I drove straight to the party.  I socialized and celebrated for hours before going home and going to bed. 

Sunday I had a 5 mile race in Lowell.  My legs were a little heavy from the run the day before but not too bad so I'd take it easy and see how I felt.  I went out really easy in the first 2 miles then I started to feel good so I picked up the pace.  Then I saw some familiar heads bobbing ahead of me and the competitive side of me came out and I picked up the pace a little bit more.  I scanned the crowd for a few other heads and ponytails that I wanted to beat and pushed as hard as I possibly could trying to cathc them before crossing the finish line.  I didn't catch up to the person I was trying to beat, but I finished really strong and just at my goal time of 50 minutes (49:59 to be exact).  I felt horrible.  Dizzy, coughing, having a little difficulty breathing and tightness in my chest.  Figured I just pushed a little too hard.

When I got home I reviewed my Garmin and here's what my splits looked like:

Mile 1 - pace 10:38, average HR 134, max HR 148

Mile 2 - pace 10:37, average HR 136, max HR 143

Mile 3 - pace 10:09, average HR 146, max HR 161
Mile 4 - pace 9:17, average HR 157, max HR 162
Mile 5 - pace 8:54, average HR 162, max HR 229!!!!
last 266ft - pace 0:25, average HR 220, max HR 229

So, yeah I pushed WAY too hard.  And felt like junk immediately afterwards.

Monday morning I went to work and then immediately decided that was a bad idea.  I went home sick and slept the rest of the day.  Tuesday I felt better, energy was better and my body didn't ache as much.  Thought maybe it was just a combination of daylight saving time change and running too much that wore me out and then Wednesday I was getting more sick.  Thursday it hit me like a friggin mack truck.  No energy and a never-ending supply of snot streaming from my head.  We had a really important meeting at work so I didn't want to miss it or force it to be rescheduled so I stuck it out and stayed.  By the time I got home the cold had pretty much taken ownership of my body.  I crashed hard on my couch and didn't move for the next 3 days.  Took a sick day Friday and slept on the couch ALL weekend. 

It's now been a week and I feel slightly better, but still not even close to 100%.  I'd say maybe 40-50%.  Energy is better, but not back.  Congestion is less but still present.  I've gone through about 3 boxes of tissues and a roll of TP because I ran out of tissues, who knows how many cups of green tea, and seen every episode of Criminal Minds played back to back to back on A&E for the last 72 hours.  The only positive thing that happened and brightened this dark period in my training thus far for 2013 - I got an email on Saturday or maybe it was Friday who knows, but anyway I got confirmation that I will be running the Mount Washington Road Race this summer!!!  So, on June 15th I will check off #24 on my list!

Ok, time to get serious

Thanks to an awesome combination of Mother Nature dumping a ton of snow on the northeast and a total lack of motivation, I ran a record low 53.5 miles in February.  I've run that many miles in a single week before!  I 'rested' 20 of the 28 days in the month.  With the exception of the weekend at Disney January wasn't much better.  87 miles, almost half of them run in two days for the Goofy challenge.  'Rested' 21 of the 31 days.  So, instead of the normal overtraining and not resting enough scenario I face, I'm over-resting if there is such a thing, I'm going to call it a lazy streak.  Not a streak I want to keep up so March is a new month and it's time to get moving again.

Last week was another tense work week and on top of that I had the annual Condo association meeting on Monday night.  Always interesting and really frustrating.  I am now basically the the President, Treasurer, and Secretary of our association because no one else steps up to do anything.  Half of them can't even pay the fees on time.  So, I have to deal with cancelation notices from the insurance company because we can't afford to pay the bill on time.  It's an awesome domino effect.  I sent out proposed budget options to all of the unit owners about 2weeks prior to the meeting with a break down month by month of our income and expenses and an annual summary.  We just barely break even right now and they all have these grand ideas for improving the property. 

To begin with only 4 of the 8 unit owners showed up, but thankfully we vote by percentage ownership and the owners of the largest units we in attendance.  Let me paint the picture for everyone, it's a small community, 8 units.  Four of them are owned by elderly people that are retired and on fixed income.  The other four are middle class, middle-aged people that work 40+ hrs each week.  Of those four, I'd guess  only two including myself have higher education/college degrees.  So, it's a mixed bunch and none of us are really qualified to manage a property, but we do the best we can with the resources we have which isn't much.  Our fees are extremely low in comparison to other condo associations, but in return we do not have any of the basic amenities that most condos have like landscaping and snow removal.

To start the meeting, one of the elderly women that arrived 10 minutes early, went off on me about suggesting to raise the condo fees again.  She complained about living check to check and having to pay for many repairs out of her own pocket for things that the association should cover.  I tried to explain to her that we either raise the fees so that the association has the funding to make repairs OR we pay for repairs ourselves.  We can't have it both ways - low fees and an association that pays for everything.  Trying to explain that to her was like I was speaking to her in a different language.  The second elderly woman that showed up is the one that NEVER pays her condo fee on time so I brought up enforcing a late fee which we have never done before.  She of course was opposed to the idea.  I explained the reason for a late fee is not to get more money, it is to encourage her to pay ontime.  Again, I was speaking in tongue and neither one of them understood.

Finally, my neighbor Annie showed up and we started the meeting officially.  After a lot of discussion and arguing we voted to raise the fees, not by much, but it was a compromise between doing nothing and actually having enough money to fix stuff.  We may be able to start squirreling away pennies each month so in a few years we can afford to fix something.  We voted for a $5 late fee, which will not discourage late payments, but at least we will get an extra $5 a month.  After that we had to discuss emergency repairs required and getting estimates for them.  So, when I asked for volunteers to help make some phone calls and meet with contractors for estimates, the women that are retired and home all day refused to help and that left me and Annie who both work fulltime 50-60hrs a week.  AWESOME!  Thanks for the help.

Anyway, that was just how the week started and work wasn't much better.  At least on the brightside, it stopped snowing and warmed up a little - into the 40s - so I could get out and run.  The last time I tried to run along the Charles after work the path was still mostly snow covered and a little icy.  Most of the snow has melted and it's pretty clear now.  Tuesday after work I got changed and couldn't wait to get out of there and RUN!  Literally and figuratively.  Stress from the week before and the condo association was bubbling up inside of me like a pressure cooker about to explode.  It felt really good to run.  I think for the past two months it's been kind of a chore to get out and run and I've lost that running for the love of running feeling.  I'm starting to get it back now.  I did a solid 6 mile loop and felt amazing afterwards.  The cold sweaty ride home in traffic, not as fun, but worth it.

Wednesday I had another awesome day at work (heavy on the sarcasm), and it was A LOT colder outside than I thought it was going to be, so instead of running I went home and opened a bottle of wine.  Thursday night, Kim met me at my place and we ran in downtown Lowell.  I thought it would be roughly 5 miles and my Garmin said 5, but Kim's said 4.3.  We felt really great, chatted the entire time and kept a decent pace so I didn't care how far it was, it only mattered to me that I had rediscovered that feeling, running for the love of running.

Friday I took a rest day in preparation for my long run Saturday.  Saturday morning I got up and ate some breakfast and headed out the door for 14 miles.  It was cool, partly cloudy, and a little windy, but overall it was nice.  I felt pretty good to start, not super fast, but I felt ok.  After the first few miles I determined I was just slightly over dressed and I was sweating a lot.  Then I started to get cold because I was soaked.  My pace slowed down considerably in the last few miles, but I still felt ok.  I couldn't figure out why until I got home and weighed myself.  I had lost several pounds in sweat and was severely dehydrated.  Still, I finished 14.2 miles and felt pretty good about it.

Saturday night I went to a birthday party for a friend that I ran Boston with on the Dana Farber Team.  It was really nice to meet his family and some of his friends.  I didn't get home until almost 11:30pm.  That's a really late night for me.  It was totally worth it though.  I had a great time.  It was nice to get out and meet a few new people and talk to adults outside of work and not in running gear. 

Sunday morning, I had a 4 mile race in Lawrence.  It's the second race in the Wild Rover Series, but the first race got postponed due to snow, so the 4-miler became the first race.  It's a tough course, basically 2 miles up a hill, then 2 miles back down.  I kind of like it though because I power past people walking up the hill, I pump my arms and turn my feet over and get up it like a champ.  I finished the race in 38:28, not a PR, but probably the fastest I've run in a long time.  I felt really great about it.  Plus, my friend Cherie was there and another friend Julie too.  I haven't seen either of them in a long time so it was nice to catch up a little. 

So far, this week is going a lot better than the last few.  Tension at work is dying down a little, not a lot, but enough so that the politics are tollerable.  I ran 6 miles along the Charles Tuesday and felt amazing.  Wednesday I ran 5.25 miles in Lowell with Kim.  Neither one of us really wanted to run, but both of us made the other one accountable so we got it done.  Afterwards I was glad we ran because guess what.......we're getting another foot of snow!

Be awesome instead

So, Mother Nature is making training pretty tough this winter and with several inches of snow on the ground and no sidewalks or paths clear to run on , the forecast for last weekend called for 8-12 MORE inches.  As if that wasn't bad enough, work was extra stressful last week.  Office politics combined with incompetence of others and frustration with workload equaled a coworker taking their stress and frustration out on the next person to talk to them - ME.  I'm a big girl and I have been insulted before, but this came from someone I thought was a friend so it was particularly hurtful and upsetting.  I went on with my work and decided to be the more mature person and resisted the urge to respond.  Instead I dealt with it the only way I know how, I went for a run afterwork.

I ran 6 miles along the Charles.  It was ridiculously windy and I told myself the wind in my face was responsible for the tears that formed in my eyes, not the sting of the painful words thrown at me earlier.  It didn't matter at the end of my run, I felt better.  My mind was cleared.  The heavy feeling on my heart was lifted.  The wounds of the day will take time to heal, but I am confident, strong, and successful and I have overcome obstacles far greater than meaningless immature words used in anger.

Friday, the awkward aftermath of the exchange the day before hung in the air, but it didn't stop me from being very productive and continuing to kill it and get stuff done.  After work, I decided to treat myself to a little retail therapy.  The zipper on my favorite jeans broke in the morning, they are the jeans I bought when I first lost 100lbs., so they are kind of old and I am overdue for a new pair.  I headed to the mall straight from work.  First stop was Lululemon, dropped about $100 on a new running top and some crops (both on sale).  Then I went to Express to find new jeans.  They don't make the same pair I had, so I tried on every style they make in various cuts, colors, sizes.  Finally, found 3 pairs that fit like a glove and got a great deal - two pairs were buy one get one 50% off, that other pair was on clearance for $20!  All the trying stuff on made me hungry so I had to stop at Trader Joes on the way home to get snacks. 

Saturday morning I got up to do my long run, the snow was suppose to start later in the day/evening so I wanted to get my miles in before it got gross out.  I was on my own and in no rush really so I just took my time getting ready, sipping my tea and eating a little breakfast.  I stepped out the door to Eminem's 'Til I Collapse' pumping me up and motivating me for a good solid run.  Started out nice and easy, 12 miles on the plan, no need to sprint out.  I started thinking and reflecting on my training and race performances recently and just wishing that I could get back to my 4:30 marathon pace.  First three miles were a warm up and included my favorite big mile long hill, so I averaged around a 10:30 pace.  Then I settled into a comfortable rhythm and ignored my garmin and just ran.

It was cold out, but the sun was bright and warmed me.  I took my first gel around 4.5 miles and felt really good.  Legs were working hard, heart and lungs pumping in perfect harmony.  Took my second gel around 8.5 miles and hit the home stretch of the run.  Focused and completely calmed by the beat of my heart and my feet hitting the pavement, I looked up and just ahead of me there was a family of 4 deer slowly crossing the road right in front of me.  There was something so peaceful and beautiful about it that it brought tears to my eyes.  Moments like that remind me why I love long runs on back roads.  I see the most amazing things that no one else gets to see and other people might take for granted if they did see it.  Time stops, it's just me and the road and the sound of my breathe and the beat of my heart and the simple beauty of another creature out enjoying the crisp morning air.

I did the math in my head and realized my 12 mile run was going to be closer to 13 miles, on a bad day this would have been devastating, but on this day it was totally fine. I powered on and picked up my pace, determined to finish strong.  13.25 miles done, average pace 10:15 - just below a 4:30 marathon pace (10:18).  Hopefully, I can keep it up and run a great race in Big Sur. 

I celebrated the strong run with friends at a wine tasting in New Hampshire.  It was hosted by a friend and former colleague and many of the attendees were former colleagues that I hadn't seen in years.  It was really great to catch up with everyone and enjoy some delicious wines and cheeses too.  I had a great time talking and hanging out with everyone.  Many laughs and long stories later, it was 9:00pm!  Considering the wine tasting started at 3:00pm, I was impressed I was even still awake.  I drove home and the snow was starting to come down, but not nearly as heavy as predicted.

Sunday I spent the day relaxing on the couch and doing laundry.  We got a dusting of snow, but it mostly turned to rain and slush, not enough accumulate, just enough to make a mess.  I went to the grocery store and ran some errands, but pretty much spent the majority of the day in my PJs watching movies.  Finshed out the weekend completely relaxed and refreshed, ready to take on another week at work.

OH, I have been so busy I almost totally forgot all the other things I have worked on accomplishing outside of work and running.  I'm trying to chip away at my 'to-do' list this year and check off as many things as possible.  So, I bought a slack line so that when the snow melts I can try 'funambulism' - aka tight rope walking.  I registered for Boston Trapeze School class in a few weeks.  And I purchased a glass blowing class deal.  I'm also working on trying to get a ride along with the Andover Fire Dept. in exchange for winning the bet at the Stair Climb a few weeks back.  That's on my list too.  I'll have to remember to take pictures of all these adventures so I can post them.

Blizzards suck

Ok, so it's been two weeks since my last update and we've got over two feet of snow in the area.  After the stair climb I was all ready and motivated to start getting serious about my training for Big Sur, then the blizzard of 2013 (aka - Nemo, yes they named the storm) happened.  It started on Friday February 8th and snowed straight through Saturday evening.  I measured 18 inches at 6am Saturday and I'm pretty sure we got at least another 6 inches after that.  Kind of ruined my plan to run 10 miles.

There was actually a driving ban in place from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon to let the plows clear the roads so I probably could have run right in the middle of the roads with my yaktrax, but I've already been hit by a garbage truck, I didn't want to add plow truck to the list.  I gave up completely and accepted the idea that I would not run at all that weekend.  Luckily, I had a back up plan, on my way home from work Thursday night I stopped at REI and bought myself some snow shoes.  I've been meaning to try it out for a while.  It's on my "to-do" list so I figured with a record breaking storm on the way, why not take advantage and try something new in the crappy running conditions.

Friday I stayed home from work to avoid the roads and the possibility of being stranded on 93N in my car (did that in college one February because my alternator died, it was NOT fun).  I parked my car overnight in a nearby garage to keep the road clear and to try and save myself the effort of clearing a mountain fo snow from my car.  So, snowed in, bored, couldn't run, I decided to start cooking and baking.  I had a ton of frozen super ripe bananas in the freezer so banana nut muffins were first.  In the morning before it started snowing, I went to breakfast with my Massachusetts parents - Ann and Jack.  Jack works for the town next to mine and would be driving a plow for the next 36-48hrs.  I gave him the first batch of muffins, still warm right out of the oven.

After breakfast I continued to bake and cook.  Cleaned my house a little.  Watched some movies.  Read a book.  Did laundry and dishes.  I guess snow storms make me extremely productive.  I had made about 4 dozen muffins and given the first batch to Jack.  Then as if they read my mind (or someone called them) the Lowell Fire Dept. showed up outside my house.  They were responding to one of my neighbors, I think their carbon monoxide detector went off.  Anyway, they were in and out pretty quick, but not before I slipped my boots on and brought them a bunch of the freshly baked banana nut muffins.  I told them I was going to walk them downtown to them, but they saved me the trip.  They were extremely appreciative and even honked and waved as they pulled away.  Mission "feed the emergency crews for the blizzard" - accomplished!

Later in the evening, my neighbor Annie came over and we hung out drank some wine and chatted.  We were both home alone so it was nice to catch up and have someone to hang with in case we lost power.  I went to bed before the storm got really bad, I think there was only 4-5 inches on the ground.  Then when I woke up Saturday there was 18 inches.  I had to push the snow drift away from my front door and shovel off my porch to get a broom stick into the level section of snow in front of my porch to measure.  I thought for sure it would have been closer to 2 feet, but it was still snowing really hard so, 18 inches was enough.  One of my neighbors works for the city and he had just come in to rest after plowing all night so I got dressed and went outside to clear a path for him in case he had to go back out.  And as much as I hate my neighbor upstairs from me and his dog, I thought about the poor animal getting up in the morning and having to pee, so I shoveled a path for him too.  Shoveling that little section of path took me a good solid hour.
I went in ate breakfast, dried my clothes and continued to bake.  Made brownies and cookies and more muffins.  By mid-day, snow was still coming down, but not nearly as heavily as earlier.  Time to try out my new snow shoes.  I grabbed a back pack from my closet and loaded it up with all the baked goods I had made.  Layered up warm clothes and put my boots on, then headed out on a little adventure.  Snowbanks were easily 5 feet tall, streets were not totally clear, sidewalks were covered in 2 feet of snow, and with no cars or people out really it was really quiet and peaceful.  I made my way downtown to deliver my treats to the police station.  Some people were venturing out to start the process of shoveling out their cars or driveways.  Some people were walking around just surveying the massive amounts of snow everywhere.  For the most part, downtown Lowell was a ghost town:

The police station is a little over a mile from my house, I made it there and back in under an hour.  I didn't really keep track of the time I spent getting my snowshoes on and off or how much time I spent unloading my baked goods at the police station and chatting with the officer (that I think I woke up when I walked in).  It was definitely a good work out though.  I was drenched when I got home and my legs were a little sore.  I got some lunch and then it was time to start shoveling. 

Even though I emailed and called all the people that live in my condo building and told them to park in the FREE garage, the idiot upstairs and his wife still left their cars on the street.  And there were a few other random cars parked in front of our building just to make the road a huge friggin mess for everyone to deal with.  One side of the street was almost completely cleared by the plows, but the other side was a mess.  People got out lawn chairs and tables and step stools and random items to save their shoveled out spaces in the street.  My idiot neighbor neatly snowblowed his car and his wifes car and left the rest of the street a huge mess.  So, because I'm nice and thinking of the other residents and of course my own car that would have no place to park, I started to clear the remaining snow in the street.  One of the random cars parked in front of our condo left this giant mountain fo snow behind when they left:

I worked for about 4 hours to move it off the street and clear the road so that someone could use the space to park.  One shovel full at a time, I moved a mountain.  I had a little help from my neighbor's grandson, but he mostly complained the whole time about how big the pile was and how impossible the task was.  I just kept shoveling and assured him it would get done, it might take time and effort, but it would get done.  And finally around 7pm.  We had cleared the road:

Needless to say I was exhausted and really sore the following day so I spent the entire day on the couch.  I didn't even go grocery shopping.  I did absolutely nothing.  Which was probably good because the week ahead at work was going to be pretty busy and very stressful.    After being snowed in for three days I was actually happy to go back to work, but we were having an audit and I was the scribe for the week so that meant I had to take the daily notes and try to keep up with my regular responsibilities too.  I worked 12 hours each day Monday through Thursday, then we wrapped up early Friday and I left before lunch.  I hadn't run in almost 2 weeks.  I made plans to do a long run the next day with Kim so I used my free afternoon to do some shopping.  I got my tax return and I've been eyeing a buffet table at IKEA for my dining room/accomplishment wall/craft storage space.  I went straight from work to IKEA, then home to assemble my purchase.

Looks good right?  All my scrapbook stuff and race photos neatly stored in the cabinet and vegan/vegetarian cookbooks on top, then shadow boxes and race certificates displayed above.

Saturday, it was snowing AGAIN!  Kim and I delayed the start of our long run hoping the snow would stop.  It took a break just long enough for us to get in a strong 10 miler.  Along the way somewhere in Ayer or Shirley we met up with this guy out for an 18 mile training run for Boston and started chatting.  We ran about 6 miles with him and learned he also worked in the biotech industry in Cambridge.  We had run a few of the same races and turns out he has an Ultra team for the Reach the Beach relay in Massachusetts and needs a few more runners.  So we exchanged emails mid-run and just like that I'm signed up for an ultra relay.

Anyway, after the run, I headed home and it started snowing MORE.  We got about another 6 inches.  It was a long weekend and I could have run again, but instead I relaxed, napped, baked a little more, made some vegan lasagna, watched a movie and then Monday went to my favorite running store Whirlaway Sports Center in Methuen and got some new shoes.  Got some new underarmor tights and a free book, because I guess I won some online contest. 

Back to work Tuesday and I even squeezed in a short 5 mile run after work.  I brought my gear to run again today because according to the forecast, we may get another storm this weekend.  Mother Nature is really making it challenging to train for a marathon right now.  I have a 12 miler on the plan for the weekend.  Could be dangerous and I will most likely be running in the road with reflective gear on, but as long as we do not get a significant amount of snow I should be ok.  Oh and then I have a 3 mile race Sunday.  Almost forgot about that.  67 days til the marathon (87 days til the ultra relay).

A little disappointed, but moving on

Last weekend was the Race Up Boston Place stair climb.  I was registered to climb twice again.  I got my start times emailed to me Thursday and I knew it was going to be rough.  I had about 10 minutes between start times.  My first climb at 9:32 and my second climb at 9:41.  It took me 8:30 to do the climb last year and I was in better shape and did a little training for it.  This year I had no training and a little extra weight to carry up the stairs.  I figured I would do the best I could and just see how it went. 

Friday after work I went for acupuncture and facial rejuvenation.  A little pampering and preparation for the big day ahead.  It was nice as usual and I had a few magnets strategically placed on points for lung capacity just for a little extra help.  Got to sleep early and tried to rest.

Saturday morning I got up, had some tea and breakfast, and headed to Fit Lifestyle Studios to meet up with one of the two teams I was climbing with.  I think if they had a trophy for best looking team we would win it:

I'm in the middle wearing the running skirt.  It was freezing cold out, but I wanted to look cute.

Drove to the financial district in Boston and parked next to the building we were about to scale.  41 floors, 82 flights, 789 steps - and I was doing it TWICE! I must be crazy.  But my answer to anyone that asked me "Why would you want to do this twice?" was simple, life is short.  I want to cram it full of crazy fun challenging experiences and not waste a single minute.  I think I do a pretty good job of accomplishing that, but I want to try harder in 2013 and really get a lot done.

I got my bib numbers, which was a little confusing considering I was on the list twice with two different numbers, start times, team names.  Eventually the volunteer got it and pulled both numbers for me.  I went up to the lobby and pulled a sign out of my bag so that the rest of my team could locate me.  I knew half of the members, but the other half were from different parts of my company and I had never met them.  One of the girls I know was standing with me and noticed there was another group of people standing nearby with sequential numbers right after ours.  BINGO!  The rest of our team!

So, a lot of the teams that do the stair climb have matching shirts made up for the event.  That's expensive!  I can't afford to buy everyone a shirt.  I came up with an alternate idea.  I found stick on mustaches at target and thought that would make for a great team photo.  We all put them on and put our game faces on and in an effort to intimidate the competition here is what we looked like, pretty bad ass if you ask me.  Hahaha

8 of the 10 team members were first timers so I tried to give them a little pep talk before the start and tell them to start slow and just keep going.  Before we knew it, it was time to go.  I checked my bag and got in line.  I got to the front and the woman told me to go.  I started out and right away it felt harder than I remembered.  I looked up and saw that I was only on the 3rd floor and I was already dying.  Pushed through it and just kept moving.  Got to the first water stop on the 16th floor and saw people stopping, my chance to pass them.  Kept climbing up and up and up.  Volunteers in the stairwells this year were a lot more enthusiastic and pretty great.  There was a guy on the 23rd floor giving high fives!  AWESOME.  Water stop at 28th floor, pass, kept going.  Before I knew it I was at 30 and then 35 and 40! The girl at 40 was pretty annoying.  She had one of those clacker things and was just making noise and not cheering.  FINALLY, made it to the top.  Bypassed the water and headed straight for the elevator to get downstairs to go again.

I almost forgot to pass in my timing chip before I got on the elevator.  I got to the lobby and got right behind the next person to go.  Still hacking and breathing hard.  Time to go again.  The timing woman started to do her little speech about when to go and what to do and then realized she had already seen me.  And off I went to climb again.  OH. MY. GOD.  It was so much harder without any recovery inbetween.  Holy crap.  I was instantly spent and dying.  I made it to the top again, but it took me a lot longer.  My official finish times were 9:21 and 11:17.  A lot slower than last year.  Guess I should have actually trained for it.  Oh well.  It was fun.  Here is Team One More Flight at the top inbetween coughing fits:

A few of us went for brunch afterwards and stopped along the way for a cupcake at Sweet.  A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!  I told the guy he should offer a deal to the people that climbed because he would make a killing.  I had a buttermilk pancake cupcake with blueberry preserves and maple infused buttercream frosting!  That counts as breakfast right?  It was so yummy.  I got his contact info so that we could make arrangements for some sort of deal next year.

After brunch, we went back over to the building to watch the fire fighters climb and hopefully to watch Portland Fire defend their title.  It always amazes me to watch all of the fire departments climbing in about 50lbs. of gear.  It's hard enough without the extra weight.  And a lot of them climbed faster than me!!!  Super impressive.  I was tempted again to climb in gear, but after disappointing times in the morning without gear I decided against it.  Maybe next year.

After Portland and Andover finished climbing, we hung out for a little bit and then made our way over to the bar for the after party.  I don't drink much, but the beers tasted pretty good after shredding my lungs all morning.  We ended up drinking with my friend's husband and Andover Fire dept.  I won the bet I had with him, Portland Fire beat them by an average pace 20 seconds faster.  Although they did have the fastest fire fighter overall on their team.  That made me a little nervous as they were reading the results, but I knew PFD wouldn't let me down.

The rest of the night is kind of a blur.  There were shots ordered, drinking from the fastest fire fighter trophy, moved to a different bar, got hard cider in a free frosted glass, then someone suggested another bar and as we made our way there we got separated and while trying to figure out how to get to the bar we met this very well dressed man in a cowboy hat who happened to have a limo and he offered to give us a ride FOR FREE.  We made it to the next bar and in case no one believed us about the free limo ride we took a picture:

We finished off the night with some dancing and very expensive appetizers.  I paid the tab and apparently it included some drinks that I didn't know I was paying for.  Oh well.  Grabbed a cab to the parking garage, which turned out to be the wrong one and we had to walk a ways to the right one which wasn't the one MY car was in so the group gave me a ride to the one my car was in and I eventually made it home around midnight just before I turned into a pumpkin, just kidding.  Needless to say Sunday I was complete junk.  Spent the day on the couch drinking lemon ginger tea with honey.

 
Monday I kicked off the week with a 6 mile run along the Charles and Tuesday I did a deck of cards workout at home (Hearts= squats, Diamonds=dips, Clubs=burpees, Spades=Sit ups). Each number card is it's value, face cards are 10, aces are 16.  Going through the whole deck equals 100 of each exercise.  I was dripping sweat by the time I finished.  Time to get serious about my training and get back on track.  FOCUS!  About 80 days til Big Sur and then it will be triathlon season before I know it.  Enough of this being lazy BS, I'll rest when I'm dead.  hahaha