Sunday, February 25, 2007
Let It Snow..Let It Snow..Let It Snow
Interesting that my last post was all about heat and sun and warm running. Not so today. The forecasters had been talking about a storm for our area all week long. I figured it was all hype and we'd be lucky to get a few inches.
I ran the Monticello hilly asphalt yesterday; luckily the snow was only starting and the roads were fine. The route didn't beat me up quite as much as it normally does. I finished in less than 4 hours and felt OK.
Spent the afternoon at the movies and relaxed the evening away, watching the snow accumulate.
Today as I stepped out the front door I couldn't see our front steps. We received 15" of snow. Yippee! No, I don't really care for winter, but it is near the end of the season and a good old fashioned snow storm is just fun.
I had to wait for Steve to plow the drive before I took off to the trail. I grabbed my snowshoes and headed out. It was a bumpy ride but well worth it. Topaz and I ran 10 miles in deep deep snow. No one had broke the trail, I was wading through the snow with my snowshoes. Topaz had to jump-run and consumed copious amounts of water as I offered it to him. Normally he doesn't want any water while winter running. Today was hard work! After arriving home I jumped on the treadmill for another 10..and promptly felt exhausted! I reached my weekly mileage though..snowstorm and all.
This afternoon I became one of my children. We went outside to play, following Topaz' tracks on our hands and knees, through the woods and brush. It was crazy fun! I held my tongue and didn't complain about my cold knees.
McNaughton 100 is only 7 weeks out. I need to get in a 50 mile training run-probably in two weeks.
I am not able to get June 1 off (the last day of school) for Kettle 100 so I will be running FANS again this summer. This year I am not afraid of the race though, that is a nice change!
Now I think I will take a cat-nap.
I ran the Monticello hilly asphalt yesterday; luckily the snow was only starting and the roads were fine. The route didn't beat me up quite as much as it normally does. I finished in less than 4 hours and felt OK.
Spent the afternoon at the movies and relaxed the evening away, watching the snow accumulate.
Today as I stepped out the front door I couldn't see our front steps. We received 15" of snow. Yippee! No, I don't really care for winter, but it is near the end of the season and a good old fashioned snow storm is just fun.
I had to wait for Steve to plow the drive before I took off to the trail. I grabbed my snowshoes and headed out. It was a bumpy ride but well worth it. Topaz and I ran 10 miles in deep deep snow. No one had broke the trail, I was wading through the snow with my snowshoes. Topaz had to jump-run and consumed copious amounts of water as I offered it to him. Normally he doesn't want any water while winter running. Today was hard work! After arriving home I jumped on the treadmill for another 10..and promptly felt exhausted! I reached my weekly mileage though..snowstorm and all.
This afternoon I became one of my children. We went outside to play, following Topaz' tracks on our hands and knees, through the woods and brush. It was crazy fun! I held my tongue and didn't complain about my cold knees.
McNaughton 100 is only 7 weeks out. I need to get in a 50 mile training run-probably in two weeks.
I am not able to get June 1 off (the last day of school) for Kettle 100 so I will be running FANS again this summer. This year I am not afraid of the race though, that is a nice change!
Now I think I will take a cat-nap.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
50K Minneapolis Lakes Run
When I registered for the Physco Wyco 50K in Kansas I thought 'yippee, I won't need to do a 50K AND a 50 Mile around the Minneapolis Lakes in preparation for McNaughton 100' Well, that didn't hold out, as I wasn't able to take part in the PW.
I'm ok running about 20 miles on the Blue Hill Trail this time of the year. It is snow covered and icy; very uneven. Over 20 miles and I am just wore out from trying to navigate the trail. It is slow going and takes forever. For my Bday I did 42 miles out there and it took forever. I can't get any leg turnover on the snow and ice.
So this morning I headed off to the Minneapolis Lakes for a 50K training run. Maria offered to join me for 10 miles, so we met up at the Lake Harriet Bandshell at 8 AM. Luckily I left home in plenty of time, as I wasn't paying attention and ended up in Eden Prairie on a frontage road next to the Minnesota Vikings training center. Good grief.
The wind was whipping. On the way to Harriet I heard on the radio that it was 13F with a -4 wind chill. I was thankful I brought around my Turtle Fur neck gaiter that stretches to my hair line and wondering if one pair of pants was going to be enough. Thankfully, one pair was fine.
At 8:00 we headed into the wind. Brrr! There weren't many other runners out today, there were a good number of couples, walking hand in hand around the lake. Maria and I chatted around the first loop of Harriet-Calhoun-Isles, quite quickly, before I knew it we were back at Harriet. Luckily for me, Maria felt amazingly well, only a week after PW and decided to run Harriet with me again. Yeah! After the loop we parted way. Maria headed for home, I headed for my car for a refill of Heed and my iPod. I had only consumed 12 oz for the 2.5 hours we were out there, not nearly enough. I am just not thirsty in cold weather. I know that I should be drinking more, but I do not. I wasn't hungry at all either. I had ONE gel the whole damn 50K.
For the second loop of the three lakes I became bored. Mentally. I struggled. I knew part of it was because I wasn't fueling as I should be, I wasn't drinking as I should be. I was watching people in love holding hands and talking and smiling..and I was all alone. God, I felt lonely! How odd that I was thinking this way. Finally I switched on my iPod and quit grumbling to myself. You know, a big part of ultra running is mental. Really. My body wasn't tired, wasn't in pain, but my mind wanted negative thoughts. At one point, at Lake of the Isles, I was watching two Border Collies run as fast as they could in front of their human, who was skiing across the lake. I cried. I missed Topaz. See, crazy..and low fuel will bring on sadness. Finally I quit crying and laughed at myself.
I let Ozzie Osbourne and Black Sabbath occupy my head. I sang along and cruised back to Harriet, ready to begin loop three. I ducked into the biffy for a few minutes, out of the wind, sucked back a gel and was thankful that I didn't head back to my car and drive away. I had actually entertained the thought, back on loop two. I told myself that I was here to run a 50K, that training for an ultra at this point is more mental than physical and how great I would feel when I was finished. Did I want to run well at McNaughton or did I want to pack it in now. The choice was mine.
I bucked up, smiled and laughed at myself and off I went, around Harriet, around Calhoun and up to Isle. I like Lake of the Isles best. There is a dog park, a skating rink and a ski path across the lake. The scenery is very pretty and the homes, my gosh, who lives in those mega million dollar homes? I can't imagine.
I was feeling good. Mentally I was back in, glad the bad patch was over. As I came back up to Calhoun I could smile again. In order to make it a 50K I ran two more Harriets and called it a day.
Only 60 oz of Heed today, my biceps are a bit tender to the touch, as they are whenever I am dehydrated. My jacket had a layer of ice in it and my face was numb. But I was happy! I did what I had planned to do. I'm a bit closer to my goal.
If the trail doesn't clear in a few weeks I'll be doing a 50 mile around the lakes. I hope the trail clears!
I was back at my sister's in Zimmerman by 4:00, in time to pick up Troy. Then he let me know he wanted to spend the night. Oh well. We had a nice visit.
Tomorrow Topaz will get in his run.
I'm ok running about 20 miles on the Blue Hill Trail this time of the year. It is snow covered and icy; very uneven. Over 20 miles and I am just wore out from trying to navigate the trail. It is slow going and takes forever. For my Bday I did 42 miles out there and it took forever. I can't get any leg turnover on the snow and ice.
So this morning I headed off to the Minneapolis Lakes for a 50K training run. Maria offered to join me for 10 miles, so we met up at the Lake Harriet Bandshell at 8 AM. Luckily I left home in plenty of time, as I wasn't paying attention and ended up in Eden Prairie on a frontage road next to the Minnesota Vikings training center. Good grief.
The wind was whipping. On the way to Harriet I heard on the radio that it was 13F with a -4 wind chill. I was thankful I brought around my Turtle Fur neck gaiter that stretches to my hair line and wondering if one pair of pants was going to be enough. Thankfully, one pair was fine.
At 8:00 we headed into the wind. Brrr! There weren't many other runners out today, there were a good number of couples, walking hand in hand around the lake. Maria and I chatted around the first loop of Harriet-Calhoun-Isles, quite quickly, before I knew it we were back at Harriet. Luckily for me, Maria felt amazingly well, only a week after PW and decided to run Harriet with me again. Yeah! After the loop we parted way. Maria headed for home, I headed for my car for a refill of Heed and my iPod. I had only consumed 12 oz for the 2.5 hours we were out there, not nearly enough. I am just not thirsty in cold weather. I know that I should be drinking more, but I do not. I wasn't hungry at all either. I had ONE gel the whole damn 50K.
For the second loop of the three lakes I became bored. Mentally. I struggled. I knew part of it was because I wasn't fueling as I should be, I wasn't drinking as I should be. I was watching people in love holding hands and talking and smiling..and I was all alone. God, I felt lonely! How odd that I was thinking this way. Finally I switched on my iPod and quit grumbling to myself. You know, a big part of ultra running is mental. Really. My body wasn't tired, wasn't in pain, but my mind wanted negative thoughts. At one point, at Lake of the Isles, I was watching two Border Collies run as fast as they could in front of their human, who was skiing across the lake. I cried. I missed Topaz. See, crazy..and low fuel will bring on sadness. Finally I quit crying and laughed at myself.
I let Ozzie Osbourne and Black Sabbath occupy my head. I sang along and cruised back to Harriet, ready to begin loop three. I ducked into the biffy for a few minutes, out of the wind, sucked back a gel and was thankful that I didn't head back to my car and drive away. I had actually entertained the thought, back on loop two. I told myself that I was here to run a 50K, that training for an ultra at this point is more mental than physical and how great I would feel when I was finished. Did I want to run well at McNaughton or did I want to pack it in now. The choice was mine.
I bucked up, smiled and laughed at myself and off I went, around Harriet, around Calhoun and up to Isle. I like Lake of the Isles best. There is a dog park, a skating rink and a ski path across the lake. The scenery is very pretty and the homes, my gosh, who lives in those mega million dollar homes? I can't imagine.
I was feeling good. Mentally I was back in, glad the bad patch was over. As I came back up to Calhoun I could smile again. In order to make it a 50K I ran two more Harriets and called it a day.
Only 60 oz of Heed today, my biceps are a bit tender to the touch, as they are whenever I am dehydrated. My jacket had a layer of ice in it and my face was numb. But I was happy! I did what I had planned to do. I'm a bit closer to my goal.
If the trail doesn't clear in a few weeks I'll be doing a 50 mile around the lakes. I hope the trail clears!
I was back at my sister's in Zimmerman by 4:00, in time to pick up Troy. Then he let me know he wanted to spend the night. Oh well. We had a nice visit.
Tomorrow Topaz will get in his run.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
I LOVE Valentine's Day!
Happy Valentine's Day!
I love red, I love chocolate, I love cake...all of it. It's not just receiving these items..it's about giving them, too.
The boys woke up to heart shaped pancakes .. yes, I'm silly .. with whipping creme and chocolate shavings. They only snickered, but I know they like it. I've created Valentine breakfasts for them since they could chew.
Then it was chocolate for breakfast dessert, and the cake will wait until after school.
Last night we created Valentine bags for all of Troy's classmates. It will be the last class Valentine party, as he moves onto Middle School next year.
Topaz received a heart shaped milk bone biscuit and Toffee received his smelly salmon breakfast shaped as a heart. I'm a geek, but a romantic one!
Steve left me a gift certificate for a full body massage at Aveda, I think I'll schedule that appointment soon!
Enjoy Valentine's Day today.
I love red, I love chocolate, I love cake...all of it. It's not just receiving these items..it's about giving them, too.
The boys woke up to heart shaped pancakes .. yes, I'm silly .. with whipping creme and chocolate shavings. They only snickered, but I know they like it. I've created Valentine breakfasts for them since they could chew.
Then it was chocolate for breakfast dessert, and the cake will wait until after school.
Last night we created Valentine bags for all of Troy's classmates. It will be the last class Valentine party, as he moves onto Middle School next year.
Topaz received a heart shaped milk bone biscuit and Toffee received his smelly salmon breakfast shaped as a heart. I'm a geek, but a romantic one!
Steve left me a gift certificate for a full body massage at Aveda, I think I'll schedule that appointment soon!
Enjoy Valentine's Day today.
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