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By kilax, September 15, 2015 6:23 am

There was a time this year when I thought I wouldn’t be able to run the Wisconsin Half Marathon in 2016 because of a conflicting important event that I absolutely intend on attending. I was sad at the thought of missing the race. Which seems silly, but I was. The Wisconsin Half Marathon holds a special place in my heart – it was the first half marathon I ever ran (and with Steven!) and it was the inaugural race year. I’ve run it every year since, and 2016 would be my 8th year!

Luckily, the date changed for the other event, so I can attend both. YAY! The streak lives on!

Frosty 2013

My Wisconsin Half Marathon race streak is tied with the Frosty Footrace 5K – 7 years so far, at each.

Streak consistent? Yes. Pace consistent? Err…

I bet that is not a very long streak compared to other bloggers who’ve been running consistently much longer than me!

As in years past, I have a custom coupon code for any local (or non local, come join us!!!) peeps who want to run the Wisconsin Half or Full Marathon. Use WMKIM16 for $5 off either event. Registration opens today!

I wonder if that cheese man will be on the medal this year?

In full disclosure, if 10 people use my code, I will get a free race entry.

It’s funny to be thinking about a race that’s in May of next year, in September! But this race, and yes, the Frosty Footrace, are the only two I always plan to do ahead, and try as hard as I can not to miss! I wonder what year the streak will finally break?!

Comments (29)

By kilax, September 14, 2015 6:22 am

36,750 stitches later… and the basketweave baby blanket for James is done!

I started knitting this blanket on August 8th, then took a week off from it to make this blanket, then traveled three weekends in a row (and didn’t work on it much) so… I guess it didn’t take me THAT long to make it (I finished it yesterday morning, September 13th). But the next time I knit a baby blanket, I’ll have the goal of having it done for the baby shower. Not AFTER the baby arrives. Oops!

I chose this basketweave pattern from a baby blanket book my mom gave me. The book has other cool and (way) more complicated patterns I’ll have to try when I’m a better knitter. I’m happy I chose this simple, timeless pattern that was easy to knit and fix mistakes in. Gotta get it right for baby James!

The color of this blanket is hard to capture. I used a stitch counter and would take a picture of it with the blanket each time I stopped work (to keep track of where I was in case the counter got bumped, which happened a few times) and the variance in color of the pictures is bizarro – some look super light green, some are true to color, and some look like day old guac (ha). But the color is closest to this:

I used two and a quarter skeins of Baby Bee Sweet Delight Yarn in 94 Pea Pod for the blanket. I actually returned the two extra skeins I bought (but then bought a bunch of other yarn… oops?).

The blanket is about 32″ x 32″. Ha – I would measure it as I was getting close to the end and tell Steven “I think I only have 24 rows left!” Then knit 16 rows and tell him, again “I think I only have 24 rows left!” I swear, this thing was shrinking as I worked on it (twss?).

But I am happy with how it turned out, and hope my brother and his wife find it useful! And I hope they send me a photo of James using it, hee hee.

Comments (4)

By kilax, September 13, 2015 5:32 pm

Highlight of the Week: When people said they had fun at my fitness boxing class (and that they liked my playlist!).

Monday | September 7, 2015: Benefit Classic Half Marathon (first 8.75 w/Gina & Steve)
Loc: Dubuque, Temp: 69°/71°, Time: 2:20:59, Pace: 10:45 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: not my best, but ok!
Tuesday | September 8, 2015: rest
Wednesday | September 9, 2015: 10 mins kettlebells + 2 m run
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 70°, Time: 19:20, Pace: 9:40 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, enjoyed the breeze
Thursday | September 10, 2015: 5 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 61°/62°, Time: 47:32, Pace: 9:30 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: refreshed by the rain!
Friday | September 11, 2015: teaching strength class + 6 m run (incl. 3×1600)
Strength: soft balls, Difficulty: hard, Felt: good but out of it
Loc: hood, Temp: 61°/61°, Time: 55:20, Pace: 9:12, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: surprisingly good
Saturday | September 12, 2015: 7.2 m ride + teaching fitness boxing + 7.6 m ride + 3 m run
Loc: home to Efit, Temp: 51°/50°, Time: 36:06, Pace: 12.0 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but wished I was running!
Strength: body weight and boxing, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Efit to home, Temp: 53°, Time: 37:32, Pace: 12.2 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 61°/61°, Time: 27:49, Pace: 9:16 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Sunday | September 13, 2015: 19 m run
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 49°/65°, Time: 3:19:38, Pace: 10:30 avg, Difficulty: mostly easy, Felt: really good!

Notes:

• Ugh. I feel like a total ass for almost always being out of shape when I run with Gina and Steve. Or, like last weekend, being sick (and sucking at running in the humidity, but I don’t feel bad about that – there isn’t much I can do about it, ha!). Gina and Steve are visiting in two weeks, so hopefully I will have some redemption then!
• Did you hear about the police officer (Lt. Joe Gliniewicz) that was killed in Fox Lake, Illinois? Fox Lake is really close to where I live, and it’s been heart warning to see so many support signs, lights and even car decals for him out on my runs through the neighborhood. My deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues. I hope the authorities figure out what happened so they mystery isn’t looming around his loved ones.
• I did my long(er) run by myself this week (like I normally do) and thought I was going on a trail where I wouldn’t see many other people, but I saw 93 other people out and about (counting them gave me something to do, ha ha)! Must be the nice weather (hallelujah!) and that I went out later in the morning. I saw one older gentleman wearing a shirt that said “I may be old but I saw all the cool bands.” HA!
• Even though my Sunday long run was on a trail with no shade and in the full sun, the cooler temps, slight breeze and LOW HUMIDITY made SUCH a difference in how I felt. Yay, early fall temps! I felt so good that I ran really even splits (for me) and my last mile was my fastest. Yee haw!

Link to Training Week 307

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By kilax, September 12, 2015 2:38 pm

I can’t believe I’ve been driving through Dubuque for years and have never ridden the funicular there until last Monday! For shame!

So, what is a funicular, beyond another word I have a hard time pronouncing? Let’s consult good ole Wikipedia:

A funicular is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope, the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalancing each other. Its name derives from the latin, funiculus, diminutive of funis, meaning “rope”.

The Dubuque funicular (aka Fenelon Place Elevator, aka Fourth Street Elevator) is not the first one I have ridden. The first was in Orvieto, Italy, in January of 2006!

We rode up over 500 feet to get to the city center, and see these amazing views:

Ahh, I would love to go back. That cathedral! So amazing!

Oops. I digress.

The reason the Dubuque funicular was initially built is humorous to me. J.K. Graves lived on the top of the bluff and worked on the bottom. He liked to go home for lunch and eat then take a nap (aww, yeah) but couldn’t fit that in his allocated lunch break – it took too long to get his horse and buggy around the bluff to the top, and back down.

So in 1882, Graves hired John Bell to design a cable car to go straight up the bluff to save him time. He was granted the right to build it June 5 that year, and it operated for the first time July 25 – fast construction! Then he had enough time to eat AND nap. Ahhh.

Of course, the elevator burned down several times throughout history. In 1893, Graves couldn’t afford to rebuild it, so he gave ten neighbors (who had come to rely on it) the rights to the track, and they formed the Fenelon Place Elevator Company. Eventually, one neighbor become the sole stock holder. I am not sure who runs it now – maybe the same family? Maybe the city? But it’s open April through November and fun (and cheap!) to ride!

The Dubuque funicular claims to be the shortest and steepest funicular in the world (and like most claims, others make the same claim, ha). Um, yeah. It’s steep – it travels a vertical elevation of 98 feet at an angle of 106 degrees! Eek!

I thought Luca would get a kick of out riding the funicular, because he loves all things transportation (and I love that about him!). Many trains travel by where my family has homes in Guttenberg, so it was an exciting weekend for him (but more about their visit, later!).

There were great views of downtown Dubuque from the top of the bluff. And you can see three states – Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin!

We could see where the half marathon we did that morning started and ended (indicated by the white arrow above).

Click image to see larger

There was a display at the house on top of the bluff of different funicular postcards from around the world (that riders had mailed to Dubuque!). It would be fun to ride these in other cities! I’ll have to consult this list if I am every traveling, to see if one exists.

And I have to see what other things I am missing out in in Dubuque* that I need to explore with my family and otra familia next summer!

*Apparently, not this cave. We were going to go, then read some horrible reviews of it, ha ha.

Comments (15)

By kilax, September 11, 2015 6:58 am

My younger brother and his wife had their baby at 12:14 am on Saturday August 29th. His name is James Parker, and he was 8 lbs 10 oz, and 22 inches when he was born.

I got to meet him last Friday!!!

My sister-in-law, brother, and James are doing really well, and it made me happy to see them so happy. Although it’s still super crazy to me to think of my younger brother being a dad! We’re all growing up! Sniff, sniff. Ha.

Welcome to the world, James Parker! I love you, and can’t wait to watch you grow, and be a part of your life!

Comments (21)

By kilax, September 10, 2015 6:25 am

Ugh, this race. What was I thinking, doing it again?

Steven told me “I got a photo that makes it look like you are part of a crime scene!” Ha ha ha.

Ha, I know EXACTLY what I was thinking – “We’ll be near Dubuque for Labor Day with Gina and Steve and fam – we should totally do that race again! MUST ALWAYS FIND A RACE WHEN WE’RE TOGETHER!” Bad, Kim. BAD!

What’s so bad? Eh, to plan to do a race after a weekend when you’ve been in the sun all day. And when you don’t feel like eating because you got so sick a few days before. And when it’s hella humid*. Excuses, excuses. There’s nothing wrong with the race itself – just me, thinking I should EVER do a half marathon in the summer months.

So… yeah. Fun times! Ha. When we started the Benefit Classic Half Marathon on Monday, I told Gina and Steve I would shoot for 10:00s, but doubted I could hit that place, and would probably end up around 10:30s. I positive split the hell out of this, and finished in 2:20:59, with an average 10:45 pace. Every mile was slower than the one before, and I started taking a one minute walk break every half mile for the last 3-4 miles. But hey! I ran it faster than last year (when we had similar weather)! And actually, felt decent enough. Just thirsty and drenched. And SO over running in weather that makes me feel that way.

Fake smiles at the finish!

I tried to keep it slow in the beginning so I wouldn’t have a positive split, but I still started out too fast. It’s not the easiest course to negative split. The race starts at Eagle Point Park, which overlooks the Mississippi River and Lock and Dam #11. You run out of the park and down toward the lock & dam… then back up! The hill at the end is nasty (and no fun to go down in the beginning IF you are trying to go slow, ha!):

I ran with Gina and Steve for almost 9 miles until I told Steve to go ahead because I didn’t want to see them a few steps in front of me anymore**. Bitchy, much? Ha. They finished about 6 minutes ahead of me, and thought the race was equally challenging… and equally not super fun (but well organized and all that, etc.).

But at least there are nice views!

And we had spectators!

And went to Red Robin after!

And we talked to some cool people during and after the race, and someone told me they liked my tattoo (first time that has happened while running!).

This is the last race I was signed up for this year! I have a few 5Ks in mind that I may sign up for day of, but that’s it! Makes me wonder what will happen in the last four months of running this year…

*But… I will take those high temps and humidity when I am visiting the Mississippi River – I want it HOT HOT HOT! If we hadn’t signed up for this race, we’d probably had have perfect racing temps, ha ha ha!
**Although, this made me realize why I don’t prefer to run with more than one person and why I really don’t like running in big groups – I tend to slow down and go to the back and hang by myself… then I don’t see the point in running with people. I’ve been doing this for YEARS.

Comments (2)

By kilax, September 9, 2015 6:13 am

Highlight of the Week: Surviving!

Monday | August 31, 2015: 5 m run + 7 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: hood, Temp: 71°/75°, Time: 49:53, Pace: 9:58 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: good, but spent
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 74°/75°, Time: 1:11:14, Pace: 10:15 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but soooo sweaty/hot
Strength: Soft balls and dumbbells mixed mode, Difficulty: easy, Felt: hyper
Tuesday | September 1, 2015: 11 m run
Loc: Millennium Trail to Nippersink FP, Temp: 69°/69°, Time: 2:05:42, Pace: 11:25 avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: horribly sweaty and gross
Wednesday | September 2, 2015: rest
Thursday | September 3, 2015: 4 m run (incl. 3×800) + 20 min ride
Loc: hood, Temp: 82°/82°, Time: 39:01, Pace: 9:45 avg, Difficulty: hard, Felt: like I was melting
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 87°/87°, Time: 20:00, Pace: 12.3 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good (but why so windy?)
Friday | September 4, 2015: teaching strength class
Strength: Soft balls and dumbbells mixed mode, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good
Saturday | September 5, 2015: 6.4 m run (w/Gina)
Loc: Guttenberg, Temp: 71°/73°, Time: 1:09:32, Pace: 10:52 avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: no bueno
Sunday | September 6, 2015: 5 m run (w/Gina & Steve) + OWS
Loc: Guttenberg, Temp: 74°/73°, Time: 48:53, Pace: 9:46 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good

Notes:

• Summer returned in full force this week and it affected my runs BIG TIME. I started and ended my week with decent runs, but the ones in between were horrible, with my worst one of the summer being on Saturday. Gina and I headed out for 10 miles and I had to call it quits just after 6. Beyond being drenched in sweat, I felt like my equilibrium was WAY off. It didn’t help that I hadn’t eaten much since breakfast the day before (and had thrown up my breakfast that afternoon). It really didn’t make sense to still try for 10 miles, but of course, I wanted to.  I started to feel better on Sunday, and hopefully will feel back to normal this week (and maybe some of the nasty humidity will go away!). I was frustrated about feeling so crummy this weekend though – I’ve been waiting all summer to run with Gina and Steve in Guttenberg, and I couldn’t enjoy it as much as normal since I felt so blah.
• Ha, that “OWS” (open water swim). On Sunday, we decided it would be fun to float down the river, which we’ve done a few times before. But there were such strong winds that we were either floating in place or being pushed upstream! So we created a floating caravan and I pulled a few people down the river. That definitely counts for cross training, right?!
• Time for an August training recap! I ran 207.3 miles and cycled 47.6 in August. I taught 10 strength classes and swam 3 times (and one of those swims was part of a relay triathlon team!). This was the first month I didn’t teach any weekend classes at the studio, but I am scheduled for one in September. September will probably be similar to August, other than that. And hopefully it will include some cool weather runs!

Link to Training Week 306

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By kilax, September 3, 2015 6:26 am

I’ve been thinking about the first post I wrote about knitting – NOPE. Not a perfectionist. (For now?). Basically, everything I wrote in it turned out to be true – my first washcloth I knitted looked horrible, but showed progress as I moved along. I did stick with knitting and got better at it*. And I HAVE tried to make the things I knit for people** have as few flaws in them as possible. Not “perfect,” but as close as I can get.

I am not results based by any stretch of the imagination, so caring so much about how something turns out is new territory for me. And honestly, I think it’s good for me. Why not care about it, for once?

Ha, that makes me sound like some sort of jerk who never cares about anything. That’s not true! I’m just more process based for things that have a defined completion. Like training for a race, projects at work, or knitting something.

In racing? Eh, I definitely care how the race turns out, but I don’t get upset if things went to crap. I care more about the training and everything that led up to it. That’s where the joy lies, for me.

My job at work is to assist clients with design requirements and how their space will be laid out. But because of the way our divisions are set up at work, the project moves on to someone else and I rarely see the finished space. This has DEFINITELY made me process based, at work! I often have no idea what the results were! We obviously plan toward an ideal result, when working with the client, but not seeing the outcome*** really skews things for me.

And then knitting. I am still surprised I am doing it, because I’m not crafty at all, but I’ve found it’s something, that again, I immensely enjoy the process of. It’s so satisfying to see whatever I am working on “grow,” row by row. Sometimes a project surprises me – the yarn or pattern looks different than I thought it would – and that’s exciting for me. But… I have found that I am thinking about the end result much more than I tend to, compared to other things I work on.

There have been a few mistakes in the baby blanket but I’ve caught them and fixed them! Phew! I really want that to turn out nice (since it’s taking SO DAYUM LONG… and for my new nephew!!!).

I have to fix mistakes as soon as I find them (which is frustrating, but satisfying when it’s done). I have to plan out how much yarn I will need (ugh, planning). I have to figure out how big the thing will be. I have to constantly tell myself “Kim, this is a gift for someone else, and you don’t want a shoddy end-result with your name attached to it. FOCUS!” Ha ha.

Like I said, it’s good for me, just different.

And truthfully, not caring so much about end results before is probably what has kept me from doing crafty things. I know it’s kept me from doing house projects. And, any projects. I spent so much time in college building things with my hands that I have just been OVER it for a loooooong time. I didn’t want to have to think about how things were going to turn out. I didn’t want to be “graded” on it, anymore.

Maybe I am changing!

*still have so much to learn! yay!
**everything I knit – I haven’t made anything for me, yet!
***one of my current projects is not a typical one at all, and I am acting as the project manager instead of designer, so I will get to see how things turn out!

Comments (15)

By kilax, September 2, 2015 5:07 am

When I was learning the months of the year as a kid, I always forgot September.  I recalled the other months by associating them with holidays and birthdays, but I had nada for September (Labor Day doesn’t mean much to a kid, you know?).

I remember feeling puzzled when the amount of months I remembered didn’t add up to twelve. In my mind, the calendar went straight from August to October! What really happens in September, anyway, for a kid (ugh, except being in school for the full month, blah)?

I eventually starting remembering September (obviously, ha ha), and now, it’s funny to me, that as an adult, it’s one of my favorite months! I think the reason I didn’t remember it as a kid is what I love about it now – September is subtle. It’s when summer slips away to fall (yay!). Your calendar starts to clear up. You have more free time*. It’s the rest before the holiday season starts (earlier and earlier, each year). A time to recharge and refocus!

Ahhh.

Here are two photos from my first September run (yesterday). I knew it would be a foggy morning and ran to my favorite forest preserve for taking fog photos.

Happy September!

*Well, I do. But I don’t have kids going back to school with lots of activities.

Comments (16)

By kilax, September 1, 2015 11:54 am

After you’ve run on crushed limestone, your shoes should look like this:

not this:

and your socks definitely should not be leaving spots like this on the ground!

Welcome back, summer! As challenging as you make my runs, you’re here just in time for my last beach visit of the year!

But seriously, all the sweat running down my legs in to my socks is making so many of my running shoes ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING SMELLING, eww, eww, eww! I should dedicate one pair to the nasty swampy runs. OR wash a pair. OR not run in the am when the humidity is so high (seriously, I’ve been running later in the day when it’s hotter and less humid and it makes me feel less like death… odd, but I’ll take it!).