Week 4: 1/22/2018 - 1/28/2018

"Start as you mean to go on."  Was how I originally heard this quote.  I'm not sure of the actual quote.  

“Begin as you mean to go on, and go on as you began, and let the Lord be all in all to you.” - Charles Haddon Spurgeon, All of Grace

Or perhaps:

"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop." - Lewis Carroll

I've had a slow start to the year mile wise.  Gus, Gizmo, Sage, Diesel, and even Jax are/were motivation for evening walks and weekend hikes!  Clearly, the credit goes to the pups for 10 or so extra miles a week.  I thought about going out today, it's not so much fun alone, especially on a rainy dreary day...  I knew I enjoyed experiencing things through their eyes, I just didn't realize how much.

Since I have nothing but pictures of beer, I dug through my running photo archive...  I've had some great races over the years.  Nice memories!

Monday:  (4 running) I did it!  4 miles!  It felt so nice, kind of freeing.  My knees were a bit achy the next morning but not for long.  I ended up using my core work time chatting with Mikey about his new pup and the trials and tribulations of two dog household.  A two female dog household is going to be interesting for them, for sure. 

Run Around the Block 15K, Block Island RI 2012
Probably one of my favorite blog posts too!
Not such a nice face.  That would be a fun race to run again.

Tuesday:  (15 spin bike) Other than my knees giving me a little grief in the morning all was well.  I had a core routine all worked up, but no time to get to it before spin class.  Stupid work.  Spin class was a lot of interval work, I needed some of that for sure.  

My last marathon - AZ R&R 2013
Erwin, Andrea, Gabe, MaryAnn, me

Wednesday: (4 running) Challenged myself a bit turning right out of the gate and going down to Jupiter Point and back to campus.  Two things I'm not a huge fan of going up Shennie (it is more "elevation" than Eastern Point) and then running out of the hole of Jupiter Point.  It is kind of a mental game and kind of a well crap I'm tired, running a slight long never ending incline into the wind.  Can't I just die now?  I did it, nothing spectacular pace-wise.  I am very happy being able to run and not have to THINK about how I'm going to get up and down stairs and not yelp.   There is a lot I forgot about not being in constant pain, slowly I am remembering what it feels like to not wince or think about getting up and moving. :)

Newport 1/2 Marathon 2012 - my PR!

Thursday:  New York for the day, I was on an interview panel...  questioning the expected outcomes of future lawyers about Fellowships grants they are applying for.  The projects presented were thought provoking,  innovative, and impactful.  It was hard to pick one.

The last running of the Camier Firecracker 4-Miler 2013
That was a horrible race -  Racing in July is miserable no matter what the distance.
Nicole, me, Jackie

Friday:  Between NYC exhaustion and my hands and feet not wanting to warm up I had a pretty crappy day.  Even my massage wasn't so wonderful as I didn't want to be touched.  Guess this is how it goes sometimes.

Belleville Pond 10K 2014, always a favorite!
Monica, me, Crutch

Saturday:  The first race in the WTAC Clamshell Series, Charlestown Early Learning Center Chili 5K.  It is a 5K PR course for sure, flat and fast and challenging with the wind as it is always blowing.  Did I PR?  Ha!  No!  I didn't fall or die and that is pretty much all I'm hoping for.  I did have to stop and tie my shoe as I entered mile 3 and that kind of sucked.  I haven't had that happen in a long time.  Huh...  I've been using a 'reef knot' and that is NOT supposed to happen.   Probably time to go back to double knotting.

It was a nice race, I didn't hang around after.

Sunday:  The ongoing rain put a damper on my mountain biking plans, don't really need to rut up the trails but being muddy and wet would have been super fun.  This is going to be a low mileage week and that's about it.   I caught up with a lot of things I've been remiss in attending to.

One of my favorite 5K pictures.
George Ross Photography
A month before my one and only 50K.  Everything was easy for me then.
RI State Police Foot Pursuit April 2014

Gus:  Resting comfortably, he wants to be up and around but it wears him out.  Rest is really important for recovery. Thursday is the appointment with the Neurologist, we will know more then.  

Reading:

"Anansi Boys" by Neil Gaiman 
Finished (1/28)
The whole time I listened to this all I could think was I know this story, wait do I?  Turns out I remembered very little of it from the first time through in 2011.

2011 review: Wonderful story, made me smile the whole time! Our parents teach us valuable lessons and give us valuable gifts; sometimes it takes us a lifetime to understand them.

Still holds true!  

"Coraline" by Neil Gaiman
Started  (1/28)

Knitting:

Still plugging away on the Lilac sweater.  

Mileage:

Feet:  12 / 42 YTD
Saddle:  15 / 104 YTD

Summary:
Thrilled I had two runs for longer than 4 miles and no pain!  Not disappointed I didn't get in more miles either on my feet or in the saddle, I wasn't feeling it on Friday for sure.  Anxious about what Thursday will hold, is Gus treatable or not?  

Sincerely,
Beth,  remembering memories stay with us for a lifetime.