Thanksgiving 2019

This year's turkey day was different than most.  I flew home.  I spent less time in Indiana but more time with Ohio and Kentucky relatives.  It's all a blur.

Sunday: I woke up and ran at the crack of dawn.  Then I actually took the bus to the train to the airport.  Where I stood in line for possibly one minute before waltzing through security and heading on to my flight.  Delta moved my seat, which sounds good because I got Comfort Plus.  I also got sat next to the smelliest person in life, so I was taking advantage of the free alcohol in my new seat.  In Ohio, we hit up Skyline, tried to see Grandma, did the Krohn, and ended the day with family.  It made my life when I heard Dad telling Mom "watch this.  Siri, turn on my flashlight" which he'd learned from me earlier in the night.

Monday: I did not wake up quite as early.  I ran, then headed over with Dad to see Grandma.  She was okay.  It was a short but positive visit.  For lunch, we went to "the place where the toothpick scene in Rain Man was filmed" and met an old friend.  We ate and then talked for ever, as is normal.  On the way home, Mom and I had a sight seeing adventure in Eden Park and I re-lived the trauma of mile seven of the marathon.  In the evening, we went to Kentucky to see some of my most favorite people in the world.

Tuesday: I got up, ran, and went to see Grandma on my own.  Mom was working and Dad was golfing.  I had a real adventure and took Grandma to church.  We made it through the whole rosary but not much of the mass.  We did leave without making a scene though, so there's that. In the afternoon, we got Mom a new iPhone.  She kind of likes it but she was pretty freaked out at the time.  Evening entertainment was seeing 2 Pianos 4 Hands at the playhouse.

Wednesday: Dad ran with me today.  We had a brunch of goetta and eggs and then got on the road to Indiana. I drove because I am the only one who remembers the way including what to do at the roundabout.  Ever tried operating your parents car in 35mph cross winds for three hours?  It was rough. Family trickled in through the evening and we had a nice time visiting.

Thursday: I got up and ran my 'turkey trot' which was much shorter than in other years.  But so worth it. When I got back to the house, Dad was ready to go on his run which we did together.  I had him run for 10 seconds and walk for 20 the whole time. I took a couple different walks during the day/night as well.  The main meal was lovely as always.  The gravy was so good I wanted to drink it. 

Friday: I did my own run, about 3 miles, and then did Dad's workout with him.  Running with Dad is everything.  We did a bit of black Friday shopping.  I got one of those magnetic vent phone mount things.  I want to love it but it screws with my wireless charging so I have emotions. We had second Thanksgiving which for me was "what can I put Gravy on now?" Then I drove home. 

Saturday: I really did get up at the crack of dawn today.  And ran in the rain.  Mom was all 'so your day's not starting off the best?' and I was like 'It's not a snow storm.  My body is strong and healthy and I had fun out there.  But now I'm wet'  I honestly had no idea if my flight would even take off today, given the rain in Ohio and the snow here, but everything was on time. I took an Uber home, went to the store, and then enjoyed a day of sloth.  In theory I'm doing a Whole 20 tomorrow.  We'll see if that takes!

Off Season Goals - an update

I am still running at least a mile every day.  But I am NOT training for anything.  It's been a pleasure.
I do have a few 'off season' goals.

Do a back bridge: This was hard at first. Like super hard and stuff.  But, I've made progress faster than I expected.  With a proper warm up, I can hit a back bridge with good form.  Now I'm working on holding it longer or doing more reps or both.

Handstand:  This is the skill I probably "kept" the most.  One day with Dungeon Master, I was all "hold my beer, I'm gonna try this" and I busted one out directly.  I've been doing all my handstands against a wall.  I haven't tried one "out in the open".  Today I learned that I cannot do a handstand after doing clean and press workout.  Oops.  I was a little worried I had a concussion but I think I'm good.

Toes to bar:  I could barely do toes to bar when I was a gymnast so this may take a while. I also cannot swing on the bar after clean and press. 

French braiding my hair: In a surprise update, I have legit left the house with my hair in a french braid more than once. I was inspired by this super long video to really learn how to french braid my hair.  I still get bubbles, but I'm loving it.

Cincinnati - October 2019

Thursday:
Run: I got up at the crack of dawn and ran around my neighborhood.  In the rain.
Travel: Originally I'd planned to take the bus to the train.  But it was raining and I wasn't down for all that so I took a Lyft and had a lovely chat with my driver, Dawn. Then, at the airport I ran into a friend I know from here who also grew up in Cincinnati.  We've never had that happen before.
Food: Obviously first thing in Cincinnati we hit up Skyline.
Family: We saw Grandma today and worked a crossword puzzle with her.  She seemed okay.
Activities: Blink Cincinnati night 1.  I went with Mom, Dad, and several others including my "downstairs mom and dad".   I didn't have a great time.  There were way too many people, and it was open to traffic.  So it was a mess of people and honking cars.  I felt like every time I stopped to look at something I was in the way.  It was super uncomfortable.

Friday
Run: I had a back and forth in the cul de sac by Mom and Dad's.
Food: Mom and I had lunch at a Food Truck.  For supper we got pizza from the place by Mom and Dad with the roasted olives.  Need I say more?
Family: We had supper with some of my favorite people in Kentucky.  Mom and I also saw Grandma for a minute.  She was laying down talking to the baby, so we talked about lullabies. And then we sang Puff the Magic Dragon and Grandma went down for her nap with the baby.
Activities: There were multiple screw ups today.  All of which I own.  First activity was hitting up the Zoo with an old friend and her boys.  And I screwed up when we were supposed to meet so Mom and I were late.  Then for supper, we went to the wrong house.  I felt so bad.  Mom and I tried to french braid each other's hair too.  That was unsuccessful but at least nobody waited or got hungry because of me.

Saturday
Run: There's going to be a lot of back and forths in the cul de sac on this post.
Food: We had lunch with a family friend who'd just moved and supper in Dayton with family I wish I got to see more than I do.
Family: I went to Zumba with my cousin's wife.  It was a fun class, a lot different from my normal routine.  Then we saw a family friend who'd moved and it was good to see her doing so well, and then we saw family in Dayton and I got to hang out with a preschooler which made my day.
Activities: Well, the fun really started when my new neighbor (who does not know me that well) called to see if I was okay because she could hear alarms from my place.  I don't know how much I've said about the smoke detectors after I moved, but that noise now gives me panic attacks.  So, Captain Smiley came over and uninstalled one that appeared to be malfunctioning, and got them all to be quiet. And I just continued on with the panic attacks for a while.  It was not awesome.

Sunday
Run: Dad has started a run/walk 1 mile program on the days he doesn't golf or tennis. So I asked if he would do his mile in the cul de sac while I did mine.  At the end of this run, my streak had gone on for seven complete years.
Food: I celebrated seven years running with seven slices of goetta. We had Taste of Belgium for supper and I gave Josslyn her first Brussels Sprouts.
Family: We saw Grandma for a while but she wasn't feeling so well.  I got a bonus day with my cousin/wife/baby.  I always have a nice time hanging out with all of them.  I'm happy I'm getting to know my wife's cousin too.
Activities: We did Blink day 2 and this was my favorite night of Blink.  It was way less crowded than the first night.  I like the park and OTR better because more of the streets are closed.  It feels more like a block party and it's fun to just hang out.

Monday
Run: One mile in the cul de sac to start year 8.
Food: I had all of the goetta. Not even going to lie.
Family: Mom, Dad, and I hung out and then Mom took me to the airport.
Travel: It was a pretty smooth flight home.
Activities: Olive picked me up at the airport, taught me about ladders (no joke) and helped me replace all of the smoke detectors (not including the one I replaced in July) and then test them all including the one I replaced in July.  I only had one phone call with her after she left. I'm calling that a win.

Rice Creek West: Trail Review

In all the free time I have now, with not training for any races, I decided to check out some trails that have been on my 'to see' list.  Right at the top is Rice Creek West - in Anoka Co. Not to be confused with the portions of Rice Creek North in Anoka Co, nor the portions of Rice Creek West and North in Ramsey Co.

Trail: Rice Creek West.

Parking and Logistics I used the Locke Park access to the trail.  There's a port o pot, but the plumbed facilities are always locked for some reason.  I wanted to try this trail because it's quite close to a work location I frequent.  So, even without a place to change at the park, logistics are fine.

Hills: OMG Yes.  This is like "let's put a parking lot up here and then let you run down the hill to the creek.  And then up the hill to this road..."

Ease of Running: It's a paved trail.  The east bound portion of the trail from the dog park was fine except a mighty hill up to the Medtronic campus.  The west bound portion of the trail had issues due to new housing and road construction, and then a very old and 'lumpy' part of the trail. (Sorry, I don't know a better word for it.)

Nature: Lots of birds.  This trail is beautiful for a hot minute before it starts running next to the road. I was so excited and so bummed.

Will I come back: Maybe for a walk, but not for a run. I'm very 'meh' on this trail.  Some parts were amazing, especially down in the woods near the creek.  But, for a run, there are  too many at grade crossings of very busy roads.  Westbound, this crosses University Ave and River Rd at grade, with a signaled crosswalk.  Eastbound, this crosses Central Ave, also at grade with a signaled crosswalk. I didn't go east of Central, but there appear to be at grade crossings of Silver Lake Rd, Stinson Blvd and Long Lake Rd. It's not clear if they are signaled or not.

TC 10K - the race that wasn't

Day(s) before:
Expo:  I don’t know what my issue was, but I was not at all impressed this year.  Perhaps I’m just ruined by Cincinnati?  The expo was set up differently.  (Portrait versus landscape if you know what I mean.) I couldn’t tell if there were fewer vendors or if it just seemed that way due to the set up.
Transportation to/from expo: I thought I was going to bus, but a wardrobe failure on my part meant I drove, parked at the Science Museum, and paid a whopping $1. I’m saying I came out ahead.
Expo SWAG:  I’d registered for the 10K so I got my shirt ahead of time, as well as a buff.

Race Day
Start time: Scheduled for 7:15am
Weather: Well, see, here’s where the drama starts.  We’d been predicted for some rain, including some heavy rain and lightning.  Rain itself was forecasted to start well before the races and last long after.So at 3:53am, the races were all cancelled.
I think they would not have cancelled for this weather on Marathon Sunday.  But the Saturday events have sooo many kids, and they are held on the grass/lawns that would’ve basically been swamps.  The safety concerns for these races are significantly different than the marathon and 10 Mile. So I’m bummed, but I totally get it too.
I texted my coach, and then a few friends who’d had races scheduled as well. Then I want back to sleep for a bit.  Around 10am, I went to the gym to run my mile, and then I walked a 5K with Dungeon Master  She was at least as bummed as I was.

Wardrobe
Transportation to start line:
Route:
Plan/Goals:
Execution:
Nutrition:
Results:

From today, I learned: This is really the biggest ‘first world problem’ right?  As soon as things happened, friends started reaching out.  Or when I let people know, they were bummed for me.  I told Dungeon Master, ‘we can’t get richer than having good friends’.  So, this stings, but I’m trying to focus on all the things that are going right for me including my health, a job I love, a safe and warm place to live, and phenomenal friendships.
Also, the main comment I saw on TCM Facebook page was “at least the marathon people can still run their race, I’d feel really bad if it was them” and that’s exactly how I feel.  I’ve only run one race this year and it was the full Marathon. 
SWAG: I did get the shirt already, and they will give medals away next week apparently.
Remember for next time:  I’m going to put this here.  A few people were all “you even paid a coach”.  I have not regretted that once.  Even if I didn’t get to race, I learned a lot from working with a coach.  I learned about how weeks and workouts are structured.  I learned to push myself.  And I learned my mind is as important as anything else in training.  I feel like the race was going to be putting all those things together to “see” the final result, but my body enjoyed the benefits of the work, even without the race.
Bonus: Instead of running a race, I did the following:
Ran my mile
Walked a 5K with Dungeon Master.
Practiced handstands (my winter fitness goal).  I was nervous but I nailed a handstand on the first try!
Practice bridges (my winter fitness goal also).  I do not have perfect form, but I did get into one.
Had lunch with a few awesome people.
Had a beer with Captain Smiley
Made cheering signs for the marathon tomorrow.

TCM: Cheer Report

One of my 2019 goals was to cheer for the marathon runners, from the first wheeler to the last runner. So, instead of a race report, this is a cheer report.


Start time: Marathon wheelers start at 7:55am, runners start at 8am. The first wheeler came by around 8:05am, and the runners around 8:15 or 8:20am.

Weather: The runners today had glorious weather.  It started around 50*, and got a bit warmer as time went on.

Wardrobe:
Tops: Long johns, t-shirt, wool sweater, sweat shirt
Bottoms: Long johns, sweat pants, wool socks
Other: Xero boots
Wish I had: I hat and gloves.  Yes for 50*. 
Transportation: Dungeon Master drove us.  We took Van White over to south Mpls.

Route Location: We were around mile 3.5, just before the course turns onto Lake of the Isles.  Dungeon Master and I had a bonus location after mile 18 with Olive for a bit.  Because I told her things would feel different at mile 18.
Plan/Goals: Cheer from the first to the last person!
Execution: Mission completed.  I made signs and everything.

Nutrition: This watch party is legit.  We had Isles Bun & Coffee 'puppy dog tails' which means 'cinnamon twists'. So I got my donuts while watching the race!

TC 10K - Race Week

Sunday planned: Run 1 miles
Sunday actual: 1.18 miles.
From today, I learned: Don't trust weather channel.  It totally rained.

Monday planned: 4 miles easy
Monday actual: 4.52 miles in the 85* heat with about 90% humidity.  I wish I were joking.
From today, I learned: I got to check out a new trail.  I was on the Western Portion of the Luce Line Trail for a couple miles of out and back.

Tuesday planned: Run 1 miles.  No weights!
Tuesday actual: 1.19 miles in the morning before work.
From today, I learned: This was a day the run just needed to happen first thing.

Wednesday planned: 3 miles easy
Wednesday actual: 3.29 miles in the morning
From today, I learned: It's cold.  What am I going to wear on race day if it's like this?

Thursday planned: 3 miles easy.  No weights!
Thursday actual: 1.19 miles in the morning before a super long day of work.
From today, I learned: I passed a lady walking her dog who had the same safety vest as me, and then I saw her again so we must use opposite routes.

Friday planned: Run 1 miles
Friday actual: 1.2 miles in the afternoon after picking up my bib and gear. 
From today, I learned: Go in my body and stay out of my mind!

Saturday planned: Race Day!
Saturday actual: Race cancelled at 3:53am due to massive rain and potential for lightning and thunder.
From today, I learned: This one definitely stings. This is the ultimate first world problem right?  The moment this happened my friends reached out to pick me up.  I feel like I can't get richer than having beautiful friendships so I'm over here county my blessings while also feeling slightly bummed.
Tomorrow the Dungeon Master and I are cheering for the marathon, and I have my signs ready!

TC 10K - 2 Weeks to Go

Sunday planned: Run 1 miles
Sunday actual: Run 1.18 miles, walk 2 miles
From today, I learned: I had a much better warm up than yesterday.  So that's progress.

Monday planned: Quality workout
Monday actual: Tempo workout on the treadmill done.  Early but not at the very crack of dawn. Bonus abs and leg day.
From today, I learned: Getting out of bed was the hardest part of this workout.  No joke.

Tuesday planned: Run 1 miles; Tuesday weights
Tuesday actual: 1.3 miles on the treadmill.  Tuesday weights and abs done.
From today, I learned: It's always hard to run after weight lifting.  Sometimes I feel like the treadmill is going way too slow.

Wednesday planned: 5 miles easy
Wednesday actual: 4.34 miles done in the morning, listening to an audio book about investing.
From today, I learned: I did this one in the dark, because my body woke me up naturally at 5am.

Thursday planned: 4 miles easy; Thursday weights
Thursday actual: 5.19 miles; Thursday weights.  (Mileage is swapped for yesterday.)
From today, I learned: I ran by my coach this morning, we were going opposite directions though.  I had a bonus walk with Dungeon Master in the evening.

Friday planned: 4 miles easy
Friday actual: 5.15 miles in the middle of the day listening to a book.
From today, I learned: I felt like garbage starting this run, but felt better as I went on, so I went a bit long.

Saturday planned: 5 miles easy
Saturday actual: 4.99 miles of trying to outrun a headache
From today, I learned: It is sort of possible to outrun a headache.

Quality Miles Monday: The Three Two workout

Plan: Warm up; 6x 3:00 at race pace, 2:00 easy, cool down
Actual Mileage: 0.75 miles walking warm up; 3.85 miles working out.  No cool down because I had to, um, jump off the treadmill for a moment.
Route: Treadmill!   Actual paces were
First 10 mins started at 4.1mph and went up 0.1mph every 2mins as a running warm up after the walking warmup.
3:00 at 6.2mph, 2:00 at 4.5mph
3:00 at 6.2mph, 2:00 at 4.6mph
3:00 at 6.2mph, 2:00 at 4.7mph
3:00 at 6.2mph, 2:00 at 4.8mph
3:00 at 6.2mph, 2:00 at 4.9mph
3:00 at 6.2mph, 2:00 at 5.0mph
And then I gradually backed off the pace from 5.0mph down as my cool down.  But I had to abort the cool down and go handle some other business instead.
High Points of the workout: I felt like I could do this all day.  My pace felt smooth.  Even as I made the 'easy' times harder, they felt like a rest. Coach asked me my favorite workout of the actual workouts and this may be it.  Or maybe it was just having a good day.
Struggles of the workout: Keeping it real here.  I almost did not get out of bed for this.  Hardest part of today was waking up.  And then trying not to poop my pants, but we're all good there.
From the high points, I learned: I practiced staying calm even when my lungs were burning.  I'll need that on race day.
From the struggles, I learned: I'm glad I didn't let myself go back to sleep. Because here we were at 9am and my workout is all done for the day.
Next steps: As I was running, I started thinking about the last time I really raced hard, and how excited I was for that race, and how excited I was about being on the pain train the entire time.  Really. I could not wait.  So, I'm putting myself in that head space again.  Ride the pain train.  It'll be great!
Bonus: I did legs and abs today, since I didn't really do a good cool down on the treadmill.

TC 10K - 3 Weeks to Go

Sunday planned: Run 1 miles
Sunday actual: 1.24 miles.  Bonus 3 miles walk with Dungeon Master. Leg day.
From today, I learned: Just running in the heat in advance of tomorrow.

Monday planned: Quality workout
Monday actual: Quality workout 3x1 mile at race pace with coach. 
From today, I learned: I got to meet my coach in real life!

Tuesday planned: Run 1 miles; Tuesday weights
Tuesday actual: 1.3 miles on the treadmill.  Tuesday weights done.  Tuesday abs done.
From today, I learned: I did heavy squats with my knees banded today, and that was the correct cue for me.  I think my form was much better.

Wednesday planned: 6 miles easy
Wednesday actual: 4.24 miles in the middle of the day.  Listening to a book.
From today, I learned: This was a fun run.  I like the reading/running combo.

Thursday planned: 4 miles easy; Thursday weights
Thursday actual: 5.89 miles (6 miles run from yesterday); Thursday weights
From today, I learned: This was a nice/easy run, but my legs felt tired because I lifted weights first

Friday planned: 4 miles easy
Friday actual: 4.38 miles in the heat
From today, I learned: This run was all about "where is the shade?"  Literally, that's all I wanted, the whole time.

Saturday planned: 6 miles long run
Saturday actual: 6.7 miles over the tracks and around the lake in Robbinsdale.
From today, I learned: I learned how to complain about a train blocking the road for too long. Or, I made an attempt by emailing 311.

6 miles in the "it won't rain"

Plan: 6 miles easy
Actual Mileage: 6.7 miles

Route: Over the tracks, along Victory Memorial Parkway and around Crystal Lake
Weather: Weather channel said it wouldn't rain. That was a lie, but it didn't rain a lot.
High Points of the workout: I started going harder and harder at the end.  Just to let myself get used to the feeling of going hard and not panicking.

Struggles of the workout: I was really stiff when I started out.  Super stiff.

From the high points, I learned: Go hard.  It can be fun.
From the struggles, I learned: Perhaps I should, like, do a warm up?  I mean, really, this is one of the things I improved a lot for weight lifting.  I do a much longer warm up now.  Maybe I should think about doing one for running.
Next steps: I'm sure I'll be on YouTube all day thinking about running warm ups.

Bonus: I learned how to use 311 to complain about a train blocking an intersection for too long.