Comments (27)

By kilax, November 30, 2015 6:15 am

I was surprised when I wasn’t excited about the big snow storm we had a week and a half ago. I love snow! I love winter! What was my dealio?

So peaceful and quiet… what’s not to love? By the way, that’s our driveway…

At first I attributed my displeasure to the snow hampering on plans I made with my parents – the snow made it difficult (but not impossible) to get to (and around in) the city with my mom, and it completely squashed my plans for my dad to cycle with me while I ran. I had been really looking forward to showing him one of my long run routes.

So happy to have Metra as an option… even when the train home was delayed over an hour and the shelter was open to the outside… and that Amtrak train went by and blew all that snow on us… and our socks were wet… ha ha!

But we still had a great time with them, so whatevs. Then why was I still annoyed with the snow after they left?

Sigh, cause it meant instead of running routes like this:

I had to do one like this:

Loops until you lose your mind

Or this:

Run every cul-de-sac to get your mileage in…

But I did that second route Monday and didn’t hate it and was still annoyed to see all the snow covering the trails – what’s up with dat?!

Ahh, that’s it. The trails are inaccessible for running when they’re covered in snow (I mean… you can run them, but it’ll be hella slow and a bit dangerous) and I wanted to run my local trails as much as possible before moving!!! I can’t do that when they’re covered in snow!

Luckily, the snow melted, and I was able to do one of my loop routes for my Sunday long run. And sort of say “farewell” to that route. At least farewell to running it with the starting point as our home – I’ll still try to run those trails and forest preserves from time to time, after we move.

We’re so lucky that the home we live in now is right on a trail. And that the trail connects to roads and other forest preserves. It’s perfect for me – it allowed me to create many routes, and explore and become familiar with lots of areas, which I love!

The new home we’re under contract for is on a street surrounded by two (!!!) forest preserves. But it is just over two miles to get to the closest trail. And I’ll no longer be in a neighborhood, but on a dead end street, so running neighborhood loops when there is a ton of snow won’t be as… interesting. Ha ha.

The trade off for the privacy we’ll have is totally worth it. And I’m stoked to create new routes! But part of me is feeling sad to leave behind the ones I’ve become so familiar with. I’m happy I’ll get a few more runs in on them when they’re not buried in snow.

Comments (9)

By kilax, November 29, 2015 12:31 pm

Highlight of the Week: A new 10K PR and consistent splits on my long run.

Monday | November 23, 2015: 12 m run + 15 m ride + teaching strength class
Loc: hood, Temp: 28°/33°, Time: 1:46:4, Pace: 8:53 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Indoor Ride Time: 57:15, Pace: 15.7 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Strength: Body Bars & Resistance Bands, Difficulty: easy (partner based, mostly observing), Felt: good
Tuesday | November 24, 2015: 5.2 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 41°/40°, Time: 43:24, Pace: 8:21 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, unsafe in the dark
Wednesday | November 25, 2015: 3.1 m run + 10 mins kettlebells + 7 m ride
Loc: hood, Temp: 46°/47°, Time: 27:25, Pace: 8:51 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, legs a bit tight
Indoor Ride Time: 31:18, Pace: 13.4 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Thursday | November 26, 2015: Mayor’s Turkey Day Run (10K)
Loc: Kenosha, Temp: 52°/53°, Time: 45:36, Pace: 7:22 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: pretty good until the wind @ 4.5
Friday | November 27, 2015: teaching strength class (rest day)
Body Bars & Resistance Bands, Difficulty: easy (partner based, mostly observing), Felt: good
Saturday | November 28, 2015: 7 m run
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 30°/33°, Time: 1:03:53, Pace: 9:07 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but not in to it
Sunday | November 29, 2015: 21 m run
Loc: around town, Temp: 24°/35°, Time: 3:23:24, Pace: 9:41 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: good, but like I should be home working on things

Notes:

• We’ve hit that time of year with my favorite running temperatures – the 30s! These temps make me feel like I can fly… well, as long as I am not dodging ice on the ground or bundled up in layers because of the wind. Ha. I cherish this small season of my ideal temps – it makes me feel like a strong runner!
• I’m happy I was able to race a 10K while I was in 10K shape! Now, to find a half marathon. Ha ha, just kidding, that will wait for next year.
• My Sunday long run proved to me that I am ready to race a marathon in two weeks if I decide to. Now… I just have to decide. We had the trip booked to Dallas many months ago, and weren’t expecting to sell our town home and needing to move out the same weekend as the trip. Fudge! I’m really grateful our home is selling, but damn, the timing sure sucks for many reasons.
• We’ve added a few end of the year indoor cycling classes at Essential Fitness (the studio where I teach), and I get to teach one next Saturday. I’m pumped! I’ve been working on my playlist for it for a few months now. Ha, that sounds silly, but what you do in the class is very connected to the music, so it matters!

Link to Training Week 318

Comments (2)

By kilax, November 28, 2015 5:13 pm

Wow, Helper Cat is so useful when it comes to packing up the house!

Or… supervising us pack up the house. Ha ha.

Because, you know, that’s the most comfortable spot in the house to lay… silly Data.

Comments (25)

By kilax, November 27, 2015 6:28 am

The 10K isn’t a very common racing distance, is it? Definitely not as common as the 5K! I PR’d at the first 10K I ran, in 2009, and I’ve done eight* of them since then, but only one was (unsuccessfully) a PR attempt. I just don’t run (or especially, race for time) the 10K that much.

So I’ve had a very long standing (6.5 years!) 10K PR of 51:00, and wasn’t planning on doing anything about it this season. But during last week’s training, I had two 5 mile runs faster than my 10K PR pace so I decided to find a 10K to run on Thanksgiving. Why not give it a go? I thought for sure I could break 50:00 minutes, maybe even average 7:45s!

I’m happy I raced – my new 10K PR is five minutes and twenty-four seconds faster: 45:36 (average 7:22 pace)!

Bobbi had told me good things about the Mayor’s Turkey Day Run put on by the Kenosha Running Club a few times, so I chose to run it. The race is CHEAP ($15 pre-registered, $20 at packet pickup) and you can choose to run the 2-mile or 10K distance. I remembered Bobbi telling me how crowded it can be at the start, since the 2-milers and 10Kers run together for the first mile.

Bobbi kindly registered for me (thanks, Bobbi!) at packet pickup Wednesday night (there is packet pickup race morning, but no race day registration). I wasn’t expecting a shirt at all, since the race is $20, and we registered on the later side, but they had some of last year’s shirts left, so they handed them out. Hmm, do I wear a shirt for a race for the year I didn’t do it? I think not. Cute shirt though!

I met Bobbi, her son Jack, and Riyanti** near the Kenosha Museum on race morning. This course starts at the same spot as the Wisconsin Half Marathon and uses some of the same streets***, so I was familiar with it, despite not having run it before. However (Bobbi thought due to size) they changed the course from being a complete out-and-back along the road to Carthage College to a partial out-and-back along that road, then back to downtown Kenosha via a different road.

Riyanti, Bobbi, Jack and me

Bobbi told me I should run with Jack, as he’d just finished cross country season (a month earlier) and was around my pace. Jack and I lined up WAY at the front. I asked the bike guide what side the first turn was on (the right) so I could line up on that side, and try to run the tangents as closely as possible.

I was a bit concerned at the start when we were only a couple of rows in, and behind people dressed in pants and long sleeves, and with their dog… but it all worked out. It was only congested for us for the first few tenths to maybe half a mile, then we found our groove.

I really did NOT want to start out too fast and crap out. That would be too painful for a 10K. I was hoping my first mile would be in 7:45, then negative split from there. Nope. I saw paces in the high 6:00s! GAH! I told Jack I was trying to slow down, and was somewhat successful – first mile was 7:13.

In the first mile, we had a small south turn before heading north for most of the first half. I felt a nasty wind from the south and told Jack that was going to be horrible on the way back – queue ominous foreshadowing, ha!

Jack and I stuck together for the first three miles – he’d gain on the downhills and I’d gain on the uphills. Mile 2 was 7:13 and mile 3 was 7:19. I was happy I wasn’t slowing down much and thought maybe I’d have somewhat even splits?!

Then we turned south. Sigh.

Runner #1649 and I were pushing each other for the last few miles!

It wasn’t horrible at first. Unfortunately, Jack dropped back right before the turnaround (I yelled at him to speed up –  “I need you!” – when I saw him, I also saw Bobbi and Riyanti, which was fun). I kept pumping along – my fourth mile was 7:21. A guy and I were tagging back and forth with who was in front, and I asked if he wanted to share wind blocking duties. And I tried, but man, at mile 4.5, we went up this tiny incline that completely gassed me, then it was a straight shot south, in to the 18 mph winds (25 mph gusts) until almost the end of the race. GRRR.

The guy and I kept encouraging each other. And the road flattened out right away, but gah, THAT WIND! I pumped my arms and tried to keep my previous pace, but I slowed down. I started to feel the turn in my stomach, too (no blood tasting cooper mouth, though!). Mile 5 was 7:37, and mile 8 was 7:38. So much for even splits!

I tried to bust my butt for the last .2 (7:19) pace, because I didn’t want to get passed by a woman**** and I thought maybe I had a chance at placing in my age group – nope! I was tenth woman overall (and 57th out of 531 participants), but the winner was in my age group, then there were three women in my age group ahead of me. You never know who will show up! I am excited I placed where I did, and really happy to have a new 10K PR!!!

We hung out for a bit after the race – I cheered Jack in, then we cheered Bobbi and Riyanti in. We chatted a bit after then took off for our separate Thanksgiving celebrations. What a treat to see friends on Thanksgiving morning (then go spend Thanksgiving with friends, as we usually do).

On the drive home, it started pouring rain, and it rained on and off all day. We were lucky that didn’t happen at the race, and that it was overcast and in the low 50s. I suppose I will take that wind over a sunny, hot, day!

And even better – that warm weather melted all 17″ of our snow. I can’t believe it’s gone! It’s almost like it was never here… except I have this photo of it:

I love snow, but… I want to finish marathon training on the trails, before I get stuck to running loops in my neighborhood because the trails have too much snow coverage!

*The three I ran last year were particularly disastrous – besides being out of shape, two were hilly and humid, and the one I was in shape had a wrong turn in it, so it ran long. Ha!
**What a nice surprise to see her!
***Lake Michigan looked beautiful during the race
****I passed a lady after the turnaround and didn’t see any women after that. The woman I passed came in 30 seconds behind me and immediately got on the ground! I encouraged her to get up and move/breathe and she excitedly told me she just ran her fasted 10K since college – cool!

Comments (20)

By kilax, November 24, 2015 6:23 am

… at this house

After hating our kitchen flooring for YEARS we finally had it replaced last Tuesday! YAY!

The new flooring doesn’t photograph well, unfortunately, but it’s a HUGE improvement from the original vinyl tile, that was full of nicks and dirty spots that wouldn’t go away, no matter how hard we cleaned. Our kitchen floor embarrassed me – I hated that it was the first thing most guests saw when they came in the house.

Flooring was the last change we were waiting to make to our townhome before we listed it for sale. But, we had everything else ready much earlier (it was a long wait for the luxury vinyl tile we ordered to arrive) so we ended up listing our house on Saturday, November 7th. We had a showing on Sunday and Monday, and two offers on Tuesday, and signed a contract on Wednesday, the 11th.

I guess the kitchen (and foyer) flooring wasn’t really that big of a deal, afterall*.

The inspection and appraisal went well, so… we really are selling our townhome! Wow. That went A LOT faster than we thought it would. Honestly, Steven and I thought the townhome would be on the market awhile. We thought we might have to take it off the market and list it again in the spring, since late fall and winter can be a slow season. We feel VERY lucky. And we’re happy that a couple is feeling excited about making the townhome their first home!

But where are Steven and I going?! We’ll rent a home for awhile. We’re under contract for a home we both love, also in Lake County. I really hope everything works out with that home, because we fell in love with it this summer, and haven’t seen anything else that we are both equally as excited about. Fingers crossed!

*We did leave a note out during the showing, explaining that new flooring would be installed in the kitchen and foyer.

Comments (11)

By kilax, November 23, 2015 1:25 pm

Have you ever cried because you felt happy for a complete stranger?

I witnessed that this weekend, and I have to say, as cheesy as this sounds, it was a touching, special moment.

My future sister-in-law, Alyssa, was in town this weekend with her mom, her best friend, and her best friend’s mom to look for a wedding dress in Chicago. My mom and I joined in on the search*.

Our first stop was Glamour Closet, a boutique that receives designer gowns that were showroom and runway samples, then sells them at an “outlet store” price. The gowns there were GORGEOUS** and they had such a variety. It was fun to watch other people try on dresses, and see how a style that you don’t like for you or someone you know would look perfect on someone else!

Oops, I digress.

The second dress Alyssa tried on was the one that started the waterworks for her, and us. She said that was the one that made it all (the wedding/getting married) feel so real. Then she loved the third dress even more, and tried on several gowns after that just to check them out. Not many people were in the shop for her waterworks dress, but by the time she tried the third one back on to make sure it was the one, there were a lot of people in the shop, watching their brides, or waiting for a dressing room.

Alyssa put the dress on and started crying and said “I can’t leave without this dress.” Most everyone there was watching her, and heard her, and starting tearing up themselves. A few people said “aww,” and “I can’t believe I am crying, I don’t even know you!” and someone started clapping, so everyone did.

I know, sounds super cheesy, right? But like I said, it was a really touching moment. Everyone was in the same situation, hoping their bride found their dream dress that day, too, and it was exciting to see someone else in theirs, and to see that person so happy. I am happy I got to be there to see Alyssa try on dresses and witness that moment. It kind of made me want to wait around and see what the other brides chose!

*Not that it matters to anyone but me, but the way I wrote this implies Alyssa came in to town with her family. She didn’t. She lives in Iowa now, and rode out to Illinois with my parents. Her family and friends flew in from Alaska for the weekend.
**We went to David’s Bridal after, and Mom and I both commented on how the gowns there looked blah compared to where we just were (note, my wedding gown was from there, so I am not knocking it, ha ha!).

Comments (15)

By kilax, November 22, 2015 4:34 pm

Highlight of the Week: Two 5-milers at faster than 10K PR pace.

Monday | November 16, 2015: 10 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: Grant Woods to home, Temp: 56°/52°, Time: 1:27:50, Pace: 8:47 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Strength: Body Bars & Resistance Bands, Difficulty: medium, Felt: great
Tuesday | November 17, 2015: rest
Wednesday | November 18, 2015: 8.4 m run + 10 mins strength
Loc: hood, Temp: 54°/53°, Time: 1:20:55, Pace: 9:38 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Thursday | November 19, 2015: 5 m run (incl. 10×1:00)
Loc: hood, Temp: 38°/37°, Time: 39:17, Pace: 7:51 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: amazing
Friday | November 20, 2015: 7 m ride + teaching strength class + 5 m run
Indoor Ride Time: 30:02, Pace: 14.0 mph, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Strength: Body Bars & Resistance Bands, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: hood, Temp: 39°/38°, Time: 41:11, Pace: 8:14, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Saturday | November 21, 2015: 3 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 32°/33°, Time: 31:30, Pace: 10:29 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: very careful in the snow
Sunday | November 22, 2015: rest

Notes:

• Ugh, what a challenging week. I commuted to the city Wednesday-Saturday, which took away a lot of my training time. I was really looking forward to doing a long run on Sunday with my dad (who was visiting), but we got 17 inches of snow where I live, and then the temperature dropped in to the teens – and I didn’t want to make my dad ride his bike in that! So, no long run this week (I will do it tomorrow). And what a bummer I missed out on that time with my dad. Maybe when I see him again in January it will be nice enough out for him to ride his bike… ha ha, wishful thinking!
• I was surprised to run two easy 5 milers this week, at faster than my average pace for my 10K PR (51:00). Maybe I’ll run a 10K on Thanksgiving Day! Are you doing a Thanksgiving Day race?

Link to Training Week 317

Comments (39)

By kilax, November 16, 2015 8:29 am

Friday the 13th is a good day to race – I set a new 5K personal record (PR) at the Zee Bee Run Squad Full Moon Run! My previous PR was 22:38, set way back in March of 2013. My new one is 50 seconds faster – 21:48!

Photo by Gibbie Buchholtz

On Friday, I wasn’t sure if I’d do the race. I had a stressful week, an especially crappy Friday, my stomach was having all sorts of odd cramps (like I’d already raced a 5K) and it was super windy. But I reminded myself that I got a massage on Wednesday specifically to be loose for this race, and that I had been training with it in mind for two months! My stomach stopped bugging me, and the wind died down to a barely noticeable 5 mph (phew), so (obviously), I went.

I laughed when I pulled in to the parking lot and saw a sliver of the moon – it made me wonder why it was called the Full Moon Run!

Cute shirts this year!

I registered on site and did a short .6 mile warm up, during which I found out my headlamp was too loose and that I should run with gloves. It was 39°F out, so warm enough for shorts and a tank, but my fingers felt a bit chilly (and I thought it would be nice to have somewhere to wipe my nose!).

There were only a few other people dressed similarly to me. Everyone else was bundled up*, and I got some funny looks and comments, wearing a tank, ha ha. This race isn’t chipped time, so I started in the front. At the “go” mark a bunch of kids surged ahead, and were a bit of a tripping hazard for the first tenth of a mile, but I pulled around them and was surprised to find myself as first woman!

Photo by Gibbie Buchholtz

I felt great for the first mile, and ran it in 6:45. I continued to feel good in the second mile, until about 1.8 miles in, when my stomach started to hurt – typical! The second mile was 7:02.

I tried to keep my pace up, because I saw that the second woman was right behind me, but of course, she passed me at about 2.25. When she passed me, I noticed she only had one shoe on! I’ve seen barefoot runners at races, but never with one shoe on, and one sock on the other foot!**

I kept pumping, trying to keep pace with her, thinking just maybe I could catch her, but nope! Third mile in 7:17, last tenth in 00:35. She finished 9 seconds ahead of me! Ha! I was second overall, and first in my age group. I definitely would have slowed down more if she wasn’t in front of me, so I was happy she gave me someone to chase in the last mile.

Photo by Gibbie Buchholtz. Ha ha, I was hoping for a good finish line photo since I was at the race by myself. NOPE – major derpitty face!

I congratulated her when I crossed the finish line, then walked for a bit. I got that metallic taste in my mouth during the race and was spitting a lot. I thought about doing a cool down run, but decided getting more clothing on was a better idea***.

I didn’t go the race with anyone, or have any friends there from Efit, but saw a few guys I knew and hung out with them during the raffle and awards ceremony. They were very excited about my PR. One of them mentioned that I have lost a lot of weight and that helps for 5Ks – yep – that was the idea!

At this race you get a raffle ticket and there are a ton of door prizes. I was planning on giving my raffle ticket to one of the kids around me, if my number was called, but then I saw a someone pick out a running book, and there was still a copy when my name was called, so I grabbed one! Schweet!

I’m happy I decided to do the race, and got a PR. I’ve done speedwork once a week for the entire year, and it’s nice to see that pay off!

*This seems to be one of the more popular events in the Zee Bee Run Squad Series, with 157 finishers. And I think they encouraged children and parents from two schools to be there. The proceeds from this race benefit Nicasa Behavioral Health Systems.
**Turns out her shoe fell off a mile in to the race! And they weren’t even her shoes – she borrowed them from a friend! She planned to go find the shoe after the awards ceremony.
***I had a pretty serious cough after the race and for most of the weekend – I think my system was in a bit of shock.

Comments (13)

By kilax, November 15, 2015 5:48 pm

Highlight of the Week: Working out with friends and a new 5K PR!

Monday | November 9, 2015: 1.7 m walk (w/Anne!) + 4 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 51°/49°, Time: 33:39, Pace: 8:24 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Strength: One Dumbbell and Bodyweight Stations, Difficulty: easy, Felt: so so
Tuesday | November 10, 2015: 11 m run + 3 m run (w/Bobbi!)
Loc: MT to Nippersink FP and back, Temp: 30°/39°, Time: 1:44:22, Pace: 9:29 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, once I woke up!
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 54°/54°, Time: 31:46, Pace: 10:35 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Wednesday | November 11, 2015: 15 m run
Loc: Around Round Lake, Temp: 47°/55°, Time: 2:26:48, Pace: 9:47 avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: out of it, annoyed in the wind – but too warm without it
Thursday | November 12, 2015: rest
Friday | November 13, 2015: teaching strength class + Full Moon 5K (incl. .6 m WU)
Strength: One Dumbbell and Bodyweight Stations, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Zion, Temp: 39°, Time: 21:49, Pace: 7:03, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: like I was working hard, but good
Saturday | November 14, 2015: 20 m run
Loc: Around Town, Temp: 26°/47°, Time: 3:30:13, Pace: 10:31 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: sore/tired from Friday, as expected
Sunday | November 15, 2015: 10 m ride + 10 mins strength + 3.3 m run
Indoor Ride Time: 46:02, Pace: 13.0 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 53°/57°, Time: 28:39, Pace: 8:39 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: good, side stitch, too warm

Notes:

• I really should have written that the highlight of the week was getting a sports massage on Wednesday, because the massage felt AMAZING. I got it in preparation for a 5K PR attempt, and have another one scheduled for next month, the week of the Dallas Marathon (if I decide to run it – I will probably get the massage either way, ha!).
• This was a peak week in marathon training and my legs were a bit trashed for my two long runs. They didn’t hurt, I just didn’t have any pep in my step. Next week is a cutback week – phew!
• On Saturday, I hit my goal of running 2000 miles for a year! It’s nuts! When I thought of this goal at the end of December last year, and that I’d have to average 40 mile weeks, it seemed like a lot, but actually… it really hasn’t been! I wonder how many miles I’ll end with for the year!

Link to Training Week 316

Comments (12)

By kilax, November 12, 2015 6:36 pm

Yay! First house (I’ve seen) in our hood to turn their holiday lights on!

And the local radio station started playing holiday music today.

Ahhhh. They both put a smile on my face and calmed me down, which I really needed. I’ve had a highly anxious week and need to CHILL THE EFF OUT.