Comments (20)

By kilax, April 20, 2016 6:26 am

While discussing RAGBRAI with Gina yesterday, I noticed something very interesting about the Day 7 course…

Image from here

Do you see it?

How about now?!

Um, the course goes through a winery town? Whut, whut?!?!

This will make for an interesting end to the ride! Muah ha ha. I actually rode my bike once after having a drink (and burger and fries) and guess what? It was a horrible thing. But that was 30 miles on crushed limestone on a mountain bike (after already riding 30 miles). This will be 10.8 miles on roads on a road bike (after having ridden around 40 miles). Hmmm.

MORE IMPORTANTLY, did you notice I said “discussing RAGBRAI with Gina”? She signed up! YAY! Dad, Will, Julie, Gina and I are all signed up for Day 7!

During my bike ride with Efit on Sunday I was thinking about how much I enjoy RABGRAI, and I’m stoked Gina gets to experience it for the first time this year! It will be fun to plan out the details when it gets closer. It’s just over three months away! (<— how is summer just around the corner?! Eeek!)

Comments (13)

By kilax, April 19, 2016 4:20 am

Quick witted, I am not.

I was running loops in a preserve recently and passed a guy who was walking. We said hello.

Eventually, I passed him again and he said something to me. I couldn’t hear him and asked him to repeat himself.

“I saw your twin out here, too!”

Quick, Kim, think! What is he talking about?

Oh! He must have seen someone who looks like me, wearing shorts and a tank, and a hydration pack.

“I’ll have to look for her!”

And I run on. A few seconds pass and it hits me – duh, he was referring to seeing me the first time. To me lapping him. He was making a joke.

Gawd, I am so slow to get some jokes. Ugh.

So I had a mile or so to work on a response when I saw him the next time. “We must be triplets!”

Of course, I never saw him again. Sigh.

And unfortunately, I can’t blame this on runner brain. I am like this most of the time. Sigh, again.

The deer returned yesterday and Steven took real photos of them! Awwwwwww.

I need to come up with a bird (also: squirrel, duck, deer, and so on) seed budget. They clean me out pretty fast!

Comments (12)

By kilax, April 18, 2016 6:22 am

We’ve only ever seen deer in our yard on Mondays!

And I’ve only subjected you to horrible smart phone photos of them:

Now that I know they are on a schedule, I can get the real camera ready on Sunday nights, ha! Oh, and maybe clean the windows* so the photos have less gunk on them…

*I’ve been waiting on that since we are getting two new sliding glass doors. Why clean something that’s going to be thrown out? <—– lazy

Comments (4)

By kilax, April 17, 2016 6:33 pm

Highlight of the Week: My first outdoor ride of the year on my road bike!

Monday | April 11, 2016: 10 m ride + 6.8 m run + teaching strength class
Indoor Ride Time: 39:12, Pace: 15.3 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good for the legs
Loc: VP Loop, Temp: 48°/49°, Time: 58:07, Pace: 8:33 avg, Difficulty: easy-ish, Felt: tired, pissed at the wind/at work
Strength: kettlebells and boxing pads, Difficulty: easy, Felt: okay, definitely going to feel it in the legs!
Tuesday | April 12, 2016: rest
Wednesday | April 13, 2016: 3 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 42°/43°, Time: 25:20, Pace: 8:26 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but stomach upset from eating crappy
Thursday | April 14, 2016: 5 m run + 10 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 46°/47°, Time: 43:22, Pace: 8:40 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: DPRT/Kilbourne loop, Temp: 50°/52°, Time: 1:28:44, Pace: 8:52, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, annoyed with bugs on trail
Friday | April 15, 2016: teaching strength class
Strength: sand bags and slam balls, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good
Saturday | April 16, 2016: 14 m run
Loc: to Lake Andrea and back, Temp: 40°/50°, Time: 2:10:35, Pace: 9:19 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, until the last 1.5 miles – HUNGRY!
Sunday | April 17, 2016: 37.4 m ride (Efit) + 20 mins strength + 3 m run (incl. 5×1:00)
Loc: Bristol, Temp: 38°/65°, Time: 2:51:02, Pace: 13.1 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: hood, Temp: 67°/67°, Time: 25:29, Pace: 8:28 avg, Difficulty: mostly easy, Felt: good

Notes:

• This was a good week for my body to tell me it wanted some rest, because I was already feeling kind of lazy! I rested on Tuesday because I had run the previous six days and my body felt tired. Then on Thursday, I felt some twinges in my left knee during my runs, so I rested Friday. I felt the twinges (they come around mile 2.5 and last a few minutes) on Saturday, too. I think my left leg is OVER running on the camber of the road and it’s time to hit up the trails and get off the shoulders. Hopefully that helps! I’m going to pay attention to it and cut back (cry!!!!) if I need to. If not, the next two weeks will be high mileage then I’ll take a few days easy before the Wisconsin Half.
• It got hot here this weekend. High in the low 70s both weekend days. BLAH. Not ready for that, running-wise…
• … it was GORGEOUS for cycling though! We had an Efit cycling event on Sunday that we had planned way back at the beginning of the year to be our kick off session of intervals (and then a bonus ride after). I can’t believe how much we lucked out with the weather – especially after last week, ha! It was such a treat to get my bike off the trainer and ride outside. My bike rides so smoothly and I love it.
• I started thinking a bit about my pace for the Wisconsin Half. If the weather is right (and I feel right – questionable – my stomach’s been odd for weeks) I’ll be going for a PR. My previous PR is just under 8:30 pace, and I’ve had several easy 10 milers at 8:30 or under pace, so I could definitely try for faster than that!
• Xaarlin ran a fantastic (7+ minute!) Boston Marathon qualifying time at the Carmel Marathon yesterday and it just made my day! I was elated to see all her hard work result in her reaching a dream she’s been chasing for several years! Congrats, xaarlin!!!

Link to Training Week 338

Comments (18)

By kilax, April 16, 2016 5:35 am

On Monday I had a really graceful (<— sarcasm) encounter with a stick during my run.

Everyone who’s ever interacted with a cat while going down stairs (or really, tried to walk anywhere, around a cat) will be able to relate. You know how they are always where you need to put your foot, then between your legs, tripping you up? That is how this stick was. It appeared out of nowhere, and got caught between my feet. It dug in to my left foot, then hit my right one, tripping me forward. Like running with cats.

Of course, this happened while I was running on the shoulder of the road, with cars watching me. Awesome.

I caught myself and didn’t fall (yay!) but felt like a doofus, and was all twisted up, from correcting my fall.

Then when I got to the studio to teach that night, I ran in to a box really hard and immediately bruised my leg. GAH. What a day.

Surprisingly, the bruise from the stick didn’t show up until Friday though. Odd.

Believe me, you don’t want to see my toenails. I keep them VERY short.

Sigh. Such a klutz.

I hope today’s run is without incident!

Since writing about needing someone to run with me in Alaska so I don’t get mauled by a bear, I’ve come across two articles (one in Competitor and one in Bicycling) about what to do if I see a bear. Now I’m all set! Ha ha.

Comments (17)

By kilax, April 15, 2016 4:12 am

This:

Ha ha. Steven’s response.

But, OMG, so many rocks in our shoes ALL THE TIME. Construction in the house, having a crushed stone driveway, running on trails (for me)… we can’t escape it!

We needz MOAR gaiters!!!

Because it would totally be normal to just wear them all the time, right?! Ha. I at least need another pair for running. And they’re already on my birthday wishlist (yeah, even though my birthday is in July, I add things to my wishlist throughout the year)!

We actually will need water gaiters (well, waders) soon. Our pond is a mess and we’d like to clean it out!

Aww, sniff, sniff, where are you, Betty?!

Comments (25)

By kilax, April 14, 2016 6:25 am

• On Monday, Steven and I were outside filling up the bird feeders and when we got back to the garage I noticed an animal in the yard. Holy crap, it was Data! We accidentally left the door in to the garage open and he got out and was eating grass. Eek! I am happy he didn’t stray far (or run from me when I went to retrieve him).
• Data has it rough at the new house, chasing the sun around all day. So much movement!

• Last year at work, we were given a choice between receiving a monetary bonus or a time off bonus. The worth of each option was equal. I chose time off, since we have a long vacation coming up in June… then found out the next day that our close costs were WAY more than we thought, and that we’d have to pay in a lot on our taxes. Sigh. I felt stupid for making that choice, for a few months, but now? I am happy I did. The money stuff mostly worked out, and now I don’t have to stress about having enough time off for that trip in June, while I take afternoons off here and there.
• This article (pdf here) about ConBody gym in Manhattan is interesting! Coss Marte is an ex-convict who was having trouble finding work after serving time. After a passer-by asked to join him and his friends in a workout that he developed in prison, he thought to start his own workout studio to teach his “prison-style boot camp,” regain his economic freedom, and employ other ex-cons who are struggling to find work. The studio has been very successful with 300 to 400 people a week taking one of the 40 classes offered. Great story of someone making a comeback and interesting workout idea – whole body movements you can do in a small space!
• The mention of “boot camp” style workouts got me thinking about how a lot of those are outdoors (although not ConBody), so I guess that means no music? Music is a big tool in the classes I teach – I wonder what it would be like to teach a class without it!
• This has really been a bit of a sh*t week for me. Stupid stuff going on at work, stupid stuff going on with our contractors, people being stupid… ugh. I hope things turn around.

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 94

Comments (41)

By kilax, April 13, 2016 5:42 am

When we were planning our wedding, I remember how exciting it was to get the mail and see if we’d get any RSVPs that day!

And I also remember how annoyed I was with people who thought they didn’t need to send the RSVP because “You know we’re coming, why do I need to send it in?” Um, because we are keeping track of things in a spreadsheet and I already paid for the stamp and, oh, yeah, “HOW EFFING HARD IS IT TO FILL IT OUT AND PUT IT IN THE MAIL?” Probably easier for you to send it in, than for me to remember to add however many people for food, etc., because you’re too lazy to send it (or wanted to keep it for a scrapbook, wtf?!). Grrrr.

Ha ha ha.

I thought about that while I sat on responding to an RSVP for a couple of weeks because I couldn’t decide on which song to list under “song request”!

I finally got my head out of my arse and sent it in. Geesh, I don’t want to be one of those people that drove me crazy!

(I wrote in “Quando Quando Quando” sung by Michael Buble and Nelly Furtado. That’s our wedding song, so I figured if they play it, Steven will HAVE to dance with me!!! HE’LL HAVE TO!!!!!!!!)

Comments (24)

By kilax, April 12, 2016 6:22 am

Ideally, this is what our fridge and counter will look like in the upcoming weeks before the Wisconsin Half Marathon…

Okay, ideally, they look like this ALL the time.

And actually, ideally, they don’t look quite like this… they look picked over, because I am eating this stuff, instead of other carby snacks!

Ahh, if only I had the same discipline in eating, that I do with working out. Baby steps!

Comments (24)

By kilax, April 11, 2016 6:18 am

Would you believe we had another new critter* sighting at our house?

Awww.

I wonder what we’ll see next! What’s left?! Snakes? Skunks? Ugh, anything, but SKUNKS!!!

We actually need some good opossum karma, so we don’t mind if he (Ohenry**) visits to eat some bird seed.

A little “photographer photographer” action, ha! Ohenry came back for more food after I took this picture. I’m happy I didn’t scare him off. 

Freddie** has been visiting the feeders, too. Still no sign of Betty**. I do hope she is off somewhere sitting on eggs!

Because it still makes me so sad to see him all alone!

I was just thinking yesterday how we haven’t seen any deer for a long time, and they appeared this morning!

And since this post is all things critters, here is a video I made of Peoples visiting last week:

Everyone is welcome to come back! Just no skunks, please!

*I confirmed the critter I reported Friday is a bird, not a bat.
**Yeah, we name the repeat visitors!