If you can't convince them; confuse them

1/21/2019 - 1/ 27/2019

Monday (0) - I went to the grocery store and that was my outing for the day.  The temps never broke into the double digits and the wind chill stayed in the double digits.

Jax decided he wanted to play tug o' war so we did that for a solid half an hour.  I guess that could count towards activity?  A couple laps around the house for good measure, plus it annoyed Dave while he was playing his bass.

We planned our big summer adventure, basically finding the available dates at the destination campground so we could determine our departure date and a rough plan of the route.  Dave said our special treat would be an electric hook up at one place so we could have the AC if it got hot.  Funny thing to think about while we keep bundled up in our drafty old house!

Tuesday (0) -  Work was crazy, the time I carve out to run or go to the gym was taken over with the Quality Issue, it turned into the most bizarre "Blamestorm" I've ever weathered (haha, see what I did there?).   Wow.  I really am going to have to figure out how to work with this person going forward, or maybe, just maybe, this was the straw that broke the camel's back?  Wow, just wow.  As my mother said, "If you can't convince them; confuse them."  Definitely the motto of this particular person.  It makes me laugh despite me being in the middle of this mess; I do not think this is going to harm my reputation, although I am concerned.

Dave got Jax out for a long hike so at least someone in the house got some activity?

Wednesday (0) - Keeping the ZERO streak alive!  New York for the day interviewing 2nd and 3rd-year law students for an Equal Justice Works Fellowship.  Really a great part of my year, being on the selection committee and watching these "baby" lawyers blossom through their fellowship as well as into their careers.   To go from a field of 450 to a slate of 4 (the 5th one dropped the day of the interviews) is impressive in an of itself, but to be the one to be funded by a sponsor, amazing.  It is so hard to make the decision; the top candidate was crystal clear, between their proposal, the uniqueness of their idea, the sustainability of the program.   I am so excited to make the phone call once all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed.  This is going to be a great opportunity for the candidate!  We all see great things for the candidate and hope they also accept to be our sponsored fellow.

Jax and I played hide and seek after I got back from NY.  Fun game, at least he decided we'd play with the moose and not a ball.  I throw the object upstairs, he runs up the stairs to fetch the object, I run and hide and he comes and finds me, then we run around the house until I catch him and get the object to throw up the stairs.  The ball, I throw like a girl, and it bounces everywhere, it isn't just a mess, the moose, well that's pretty easy to toss.  Once up a time Diesel invented this game, he and Dave worked out the process and the rules, it was fun watching it come to its final iteration.  It's good for about half an hour, there aren't many places to hide.  At least it was warm enough to go outside and hide!

Thursday (3) - Half an hour on the elliptical with Mikey, we were both surprised we managed 3 miles on that damn thing, but with someone to talk to it makes the time pass.  Followed that with Booty Core day #13.  I can honestly say there is a difference and my glutes are engaging.  The niggly hip thing seems to be gone for the last few days, wonder if that will reappear after my next run?

I do try.  I don't always succeed.

Friday (5) -  Time to pull up the big girl panties and actually run, none of this walk-run nonsense.  Well that was what I told myself as I walked out to the gate, patted the pocket in my running shorts (not walk-run shorts, running shorts) and realized I forgot my badge.  After finding a kind soul to let me in the building and then another to let me in the fitness center I headed back out for an actual run.  At about mile 2.5 I ran into The Bee Guy and he gave me a hug to congratulate me on running and looking happy while I was running.  Awwww.  That was probably the best part of the run.  I walked a bit here and there but for the most part, ran the whole 5 miles.  I was pretty pleased with myself and a couple hours after did feel a bit stiff in the hips and knees but nothing horrendous.  I was secretly happy Dave didn't text about going on a hike with Jax.  I was pretty much ready to be done with any form of exercise for the day.   They had a nice 4-mile hike in Arcadia.

There is a purple yarn knitted into the sock in the blue circle.  This is for an 'afterthought heel'
Engineers and knitters will appreciate this.
I take out the purple yarn, leaving the loops of two rows.
I pick up the top and the bottom row and make the heel.
The heel will be with the red yarn when I get to that point.

Saturday (3 + 2) - The Charlestown Early Learning Center 5K was at 1 p.m.   I have been tossing around the idea of running it, and since I managed 2.5 miles of non-stop running on Friday, it seemed like a good idea.  I grabbed the soon to expire M-43 beers to give to Jonny since I never did manage to see Crutch to give them to him.  Jonny leaves his car unlocked so it was easy to give them to him.  He was happy to find them.  The race was good.  I ran 18 seconds less than last year.  All based on when I stopped my watch, I'll take it as fact.  I do remember walking a bit last year, I could probably look at the Strava race recap and see but I won't.  I'm quite pleased with myself and thank Leslie and my Mom for this outcome.  Leslie's wasn't directed at me, my mom, well she's a tough cookie, she was pretty clear I was to stop this foolishness and suck it up and be a real runner.  Well not really, but it's my blog and I can say what I want to.

This may be the first time he saw harvested corn.

On Strava, I saw Muddy went out to some trails I didn't know but wondered if there were trails back there, and thought they looked flat and would be perfect for a hike with Jax after my race.  Dave took him on quite the adventure on Friday so I knew he only needed to get out for an hour or so and didn't need adventure.  The trail was part of the North-South trail and I'm sure there are other trails mixed into the network.  Basically, it was a farm road through a corn and sod field.  Jax was delighted with a flat place to run and curious about the corn stalks.  To me, frankly add in some snow it was like running from my parent's house.  Jax had a ball!  I was gobsmacked at how much fun he had.   I stopped at the Village Wine and Spirits Packy and found it to have a nice selection of beer and pretty extensive spirits.  Guess we were both happy with this outing?

The Icelandic Wool I found didn't work for my project but after the caretaker sent me this about the wool:
"Those skeins are from Rue - she was a bottle baby of ours a few years back and as such she’s so friendly and curious. Always at the front of the line when I head out to pasture with treats :)"
I had to break my vow not to collect wool with no clear project.
I believe these (two skeins) will become mittens.
It is just as soft and cozy and wooly smelling as it looks. 

Sunday (2) - My knees didn't hurt from the 5K!  Yeah!  I took Jax out to Mount Misery on a beautiful Sunday.  Not well planned on my part.  We hike half way up and met up with a couple with three dogs so we quickly turned around and went up the road to the outlook and then hiked back down.  There were also some sled dog races going on, well no sleds, just huskies pulling people on mountain bikes.  Looked like grand fun.  The outlook from Mount Misery was really cool and Jax was par for the course running up to the edge and scaring the bejeebers out of me.  There were some icy parts I was afraid he would fall and at that time I managed to slip!  Whoops!

A top Mount Misery
Truly a beautiful sunny day!
I don't think we are ever going to get snow... 

All in all a week starting on a downbeat with the weather and my lack of motivation to get bundled up and get outside, ending well with running a 5K in 33 minutes.  I'm happy with that as progress towards an unknown goal.  Maybe I'll work towards breaking 30 minutes on a 5K.  I will let this unfold as it is going to unfold see what or who inspires me to do more.

Sincerely,
Beth noting what a difference a year makes.

Ann Arbor Turkey Trot - Recap

What exactly is there to say about a 5K?  Not much.  I had no goals other than to enjoy running free on the streets of Ann Arbor (MI) on Thanksgiving morning, a little sun would have been nice, but it is SE MI in the winter months, so yeah, highly unlikely.

The race started at 8:30 a.m. so I had to be out of my parents house by 7:15 a.m. this is BEFORE the sunrises, which kind of sucks.  I felt like I was sneaking out, I know my parents don't sleep all that soundly and having someone else in the house is disruptive.  Seemed like a reverse of my teenage years, ha ha....

Parking was free and it took me one wrong turn to get my bearings in the one way street grid of A2.  I found what I was looking for and got my bib.  Wow was it weird to see the back  Beth Lazor-Smith, 49, Westerly, RI.  49?  When the HELL did THAT happen?  I can't possibly be that old, although ask my knees and they'll agree.

I was hoping to find some rejected shirts from prior years, as I have found one of the other two times I've run this 5K.  I people watched to pass the time, lots of turkey hats, I left mine at my parents, oh well, too many turkey hats anyhow.  Lots of families and costumes.  Nice to see.

Oh well, no reject shirts, my Nephew loved the shirt I got for him a few years ago, in fact it was his first day of school shirt!

It was a lollipopish route, I managed negative splits so something is going better for me! 33:49, nothing to write home about, however considering how well I haven't been running I'm hanging my hat on the negative splits!



Overall results here, some serious runners and some not so serious in the 3,000 +  runners who gathered to run.

I'll send the Nephew the medal, he will probably like that.  This wasn't a great Thanksgiving for him, he had bronchitis, he and his mom.  Ugh.  Poor kid.

Sincerely,
Beth, on the look out for turkeys

One of the more deluxe 'tree stands' on my parent's property.
Photo by my SIL Judy

Kelley's Pace Hare Hop 5K - Recap

Sometimes I think it is silly to do these, and other times I'm glad for the memories they bring when I look back at a race.  So the jury is out.  And welcome to another edition of Rambling Thoughts Tumbling out of Beth's Fingers.

Initially this was going to be running a 5K and pushing JB.  However with her fingers and toes freezing in temps below 40F (Raynaud's Disease) the 29F predicted at start time threw a monkey wrench in to that plan.

Well, ok, I do need to push myself, so yes, I set goals, not grand ones, mind you.  Reasonable ones for the cadence of my runs of late.

A:  Sub 29
B:  Sub 30
C:  Do not die

29:40 5th in Age Group 130 out of 212  Full results here.

I have not done any speed work, maybe a few hills, nothing resembling working on those fast twitch muscles to get them to move.  I was honestly surprised to see 29:46 as the official result.  My watch said 29:49.   Huh..  I did peek when my watch vibrated at each mile and noted the first digit was a 9, who knows what the next two were.  I was only looking for that 9.

The course was an out and back.  With a hill.  Oh fun.



Mile 1 (9:17) Nothing really of note.  I didn't feel like I ran that fast.  Everyone sorted themselves out.  The sorting out on a trail race is far more fun than on a road race.

Mile 2 (9:37) This was 'the hill' it's a long slow 80ish foot climb, some watches measure more some less.  This was my favorite mile.  The front runners were coming back from their trip up 'the hill' and it was great to see so many familiar faces and cheer them on, give or get a high 5 from a few.  Saw Phil M behind me and then in front of me. Per usual, drafting off me the first 2/3 of the race then passing me for the last 1/3 and I can't get it together to catch him.  Ha ha!

Mile 3 (9:26) Watched as the gap between Phil and I grew.  I kept watching the feet in front of me and trying to disengage my brain so I could speed up.  Oh well...

Mile .1 (8:30)  Yeah easy when the end is near.  It was over and I felt good, so I knew I didn't give it my all.

Gave Phil a hard time for beating me once again, jibber jabbered with Crutch on where he was watching the 1/2 from and took off.

After that I was back to Westerly to cheer on bunches of runner friends racing and running a 1/2 marathon.

Sincerely,
Beth, really nothing of note, other than I had fun and yeah I could have worked harder, I suppose.

Day One 5K - Recap

I was struggling with how to recap this race, should I recap the 5K part of it or the purpose part of it?  it was an internal battle.

It is a 5K so there is the usual stuff  blah blah blah  Goals / Final time - I'll get to that....  

However this is also a cause near and dear to more than one friend's heart.  It isn't my cause, I have not been sexually assaulted, oh hell, call it what it is rape, yes, it is rape.  Friends have been raped, me?  I have a 'oh that was a close one' story I'll share for the comic relief after such a tough subject.  It sucks, watching what they go through as they process the rape and find a new normal and have the rape invade the new normal and adjust, I'm grateful I was spared, you can never predict how things will play out.

I love that the race course is mapped out on the tread of the shoe!!

Pure and simple cut all the Politically Correct crap, it is RAPE, calling it sexual assault doesn't make it any less of a crime, or make it seem less horrific, it puts more letters and syllables to the monster.  

And if you are a victim or know a victim, you are not alone.  Day One RI

Rape as defined by Merriam-Webster

noun

1

:  an act or instance of robbing or despoiling or carrying away a person by force

2

:  unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent — compare sexual assault, statutory rape

3

:  an outrageous violation

Sexual Assault as defined by Merriam-Webster

noun

:  illegal sexual contact that usually involves force upon a person without consent or is inflicted upon a person who is incapable of giving consent (as because of age or physical or mental incapacity) or who places the assailant (as a doctor) in a position of trust or authority

I won't go off on a tirade of the pcing of terms, that isn't the point...

Day One defines sexual violence: 

What is sexual violence?

SEXUAL VIOLENCE occurs any time a person is forced, coerced, and/or manipulated into any unwanted sexual activity. Force is not just physical force or violence, but includes physical and verbal pressure, tricks, bribes, and threats. 

Examples of Sexual Violence Include:

• Verbal (comments, threats,  notes, technology-e-mail, text messages, graffiti, phone calls, etc.)
• Physical (contact w/sexual parts of the body)
• Non-physical (stalking, staring)
• Sexual violence also includes sexual exploitation, sexual contact, sexual harassment, exposure, human trafficking and voyeurism. Labels like date rape, partner rape, acquaintance rape, non-consensual sex, and marital rape might sound like the offense is less harmful, but it is not. They are all violent and are all rape.

It is rape.  

Ok someone take my soap box away, please.

I struggled with writing anything on this subject because I don't have experience, it's not MY cause.  Should I even attempt it? The race director said at the beginning of the race, "Don't be silent, everyone should speak out victims and their supporters" that made me feel comfortable giving a little bit of information on this group, and saying more about this race.  

It has happened to a half dozen friends.  That fact in and of itself is scary -->  I can name 6 friends who have been raped.  

General Statistics:

• Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.
• In Rhode Island, it is estimated that one in eight women have been sexually assaulted during their lifetime.
• About 44% of rape victims are under age 18, and 80% are under age 30.
• More than 59% of all sexual assaults go unreported to police.
• Almost 9% of Rhode Island’s high school students reported that they had experienced sexual violence by someone they were dating or going out with in the last 12 months.  (YRBS, 2013)
• 1 in 5 women experience an attempted or completed rape while in college.
• Among adults, 73% of sexual assaults were perpetrated by a non-stranger. Among college women, that number rises to 80%.
• About 25% of women in the military have been sexually assaulted during their careers.
• People who identify as LGBQ/T experience sexual and domestic violence at the same or higher rates than those who identify heterosexual. (NISVS 2010)

So this sucks, no one deserves to be raped, no one asks to be raped, the are raped, period.

Hopefully you learned something?

And finally she's off the soap box....

So MY story - I said I'd end with a little comic relief.

In my early 20's was dating two guys:

Jim the Electrical Engineer with a Masters Degree from Stamford, the type of guy any girls father would love for them to date, high earning and providing potential, adding intelligence to the gene pool, clean cut, drove a sedan, a solid upstanding republican.

Bob the Harley riding, black leather coat wearing, guitar playing, can't believe he's got a job Bob.

Couldn't be more different, eh?

One night after a few months of dating, 5 dates I think.  Jim asks if he can come in.  Sure. What the hell, it's early,  I had to teach step in the a.m. but would be fine.  We had gone to dinner and to see "Shall We Dance", it was rather early.   

It started off as a negotiation.  He recounted the number of movies and dinners we'd been to and that it was about time he got a return on his investment.  That I was probably fucking other guys, why not him?  Ok to the accountant in me thought about ROI but that is on tangible not intangible assets, so the point is mute.  The second point.  Huh...  did he really want me to answer that question?  No. 

I can't even imagine the look on my face.

He proceeded to pull an envelope out of his jacket pocket and put it on the coffee table, and he started speaking "I have lubricated and un-lubricated condoms, so you can have sex with me and give me a blow job."  No.

I can't even imagine the look on my face.  

I got a bit nervous and wondered if Jay who lived downstairs was home and maybe I needed to drop something really heavy on the floor and let out a blood curdling scream.

One of my cats wandered through the living room shaking his tail at Jim.  Spider usually liked everyone too.  That was one of those 'I'd spray you, you foul thing you" tail shakes.

Spider - 1992 - 2008 

Spider - 1992 - 2008
Regal beast!

The negotiation lasted for a length of time, I'll spare you further details, you could possibly be horrified by what I have shared. Apologies, not intending to offend only to inform.  He even suggested the cat think it a good idea I have sex with him.  HA HA HA.   Spider probably would have clawed his arm or leg or face if I didn't shoo him away from the jerk sitting on my couch!

Jim left, disgruntled, I got a short apology on my answering machine the next day and never heard from him again till he found me on LinkedIN a decade or so later with connection request and a note saying "you may not remember me but..."  ha ha ha...

After hearing my door shut, rather solidly, Jay popped out to ask if everything was OK and that if I ever needed him to drop something heavy when I was yelling.   yeah, I'm a yeller, I'll admit it.  Probably the red hair? I'm also told I'm scary when I'm mad.  Who knew?

Bob?  He knew no meant no and if I was ever to the point of not making a sound decision, (or plain not making a sound decision) he took me home or extricated me from the situation I was in.  25 years later we remain friends (that whole dating/romance thing just didn't work)! I enjoy reminding him of his advancing age at each birthday and he reciprocates as my age advances by reminding me he retired at 50 all the while twisting the "well if you saved and planned like I did for retirement you too could retire at 50"  knife.   Prick. :)  

So boys, when your daughter dates, you don't know what lies in the heart of the boy or the man despite his outward appearance.  Know this and remind her of it also.  Never let your guard down. 

Oh, yeah,  the race stats:

5K

Goals

A:  sub 30 - until I can hit it consistently - I think I'm there RISP Foot Pursuit sub 29?

B:  sub 29

C:  don't die

Final results 29:29 per my Garmin - probably pretty dead on.  Full results here.  A couple more sub 30's and I'm ready to progress on wards to hitting sub 29 and ticking them off till perhaps sub 20?  HA HA HA!  I'll take sub 25 consistently, when I can get there.

Jennifer took off like a bat out of hell, as I expected, she was chasing demons.  After mile 1 I finally caught up with her, keeping her in my sights.  I stopped and walked the 1.5 mile water stop.  OH hush, I did it I admit it, it was a nice break.  Picked back up caught up with Jennifer.  At about mile 2 she was running out of gas.  I could see it.  I hung back for as long as I could.  I wasn't going to LET her beat me I would run with her though.

When she stopped to walk I said "Hey Momma get moving."  I got a hand wave and slowed my pace for a bit and glanced over my shoulder to see if she was going to try and catch up.  No dice.  It's her race and it's my race and we run our own race.  

I went on my merry way grunting and passing people.  Always fun the last mile of the race, the passing not the obnoxious grunting.

There was a slight incline to Mile 3 when that was over we rounded the corner and finished on the Brown University track!

Jennifer and Angie finished a minute after I did.  Both well on their way to sub 30 5Ks!

This was a great race course!  I think it may consistently conflict with the Westerly Clamdigger and that sucks, however Jennifer, Angie, and I hope to have a bigger team for next years Day One 5K!

Sincerely, 

Beth, reminding you not to judge a tiger by it's stripes. 

Free to Breathe 5K - Recap

Nicole sent a note, meet me at the US 1 Park and Ride with the tower, 7:40/5.  OK sure.  As I got in the car at 7 this morning I thought, do I even know what she is talking about?  Yeah, I think I do...  Off I go, I made it a whole block before I realized I forgot my watch!!

Arriving at the park and ride early, I was there maybe 5 minutes and along comes Nicole's impossible to miss truck.  I waved to have her come to my car, I'd drive.  I commented we are both chronically early, it was all of 7:35.  She commented I had liked her post on FB and there was no way I was FBing and driving so I must be at the Park and Ride.  HA!  

Off we went.  I realized I had forgotten the printed directions to Dagget Farm at Slater Park.  In my mind we were going to Slater Mill, ah yeah, no... Fortunately we arrived at the right place, VERY early, like 8, the race didn't start till 9:30 so we picked up our bibs and chatted with Sally. Took a walk around the mile loop. Signed up for a few silent auctions (fortunately someone out bid both of us, pshew, but hey someone has to get the bidding started)....

Nicole, Me, Sally

Sally was on the organization committee for Free to Breathe Providence - 6th year! she had everything well under control at the chaotic registration tent.  Just over 100 people registered in advance and nearly 100 more the day of the race!  Awesome turn out.  There was a 5K race, 5K walk, and 1 mile walk.  

I really liked how they set up the races, the 5K run started first, then 5 minutes later the 5K walkers, and 5 minutes later the 1 mile runners.  Helps with that whole walkers lining up front at the start.  Nicole looked around and said, "I think we may win this thing, doesn't look like a lot of tough competition."  We laughed, because, yeah, no...

The race coordinator explained the course, the 5K runners, go right at the first cut off, go around the circle, past the start line then left at the cut off and around the park.  We looked at each other and said, oh boy, did you pay attention?  The race coordinator then said, and there are signs and people directing.  We looked at each other again and said, like there were for the Shawn Nassaney?  Well let's hope for the best!!  (two of our team zigged when they should have zagged, with the confusion on that course)

We vowed to just run this easy and we did. It has been more than a month since we've run together and had lots to catch up on, her kids and school, was a big topic.  What is it with the school administration these days?  First one of my work buddies son has a full day kindergarten curriculum compressed into a 1/2 day.  Woah, kindergarten curriculum?  you're joking right, isn't that about socialization and playing.  Poor AJ hates school and it is a battle every morning for he and his wife to get the kid up and ready for school.  He has to sit at his desk for the full 1/2 a day?  Krikies.  Nicole had a similar story with one parent wanting to ban recess because her child got hurt on the playground.  Her son is in 2nd grade, and all boy all the time, he NEEDS recess... krikies...   Then there was the debacle over her volunteering in the class room and how kids add these days.   don't know how you learned but we learned to add in columns... apparently adding by 10's is the fashion?  Both her father and my husband learned adding by 10's so it isn't a new concept. But wow... Although we both wondered if this is part of the reason neither of us do math well in our heads?

At one of the confusion points we were told 5K go left 1 mile go right.  I questioned the guy as he was pointing right and saying left.  Yeah yeah he said, go right.  Ah ok.  Wonder if this is what happened to Connie at Shawn Nassaney?   We giggled and said, held out our hands, remember the left hand makes and L.  

All in all a very fun race and a beautiful location to have a race!!!

I stopped off in Narragansett for the YNSC 5K and picked up my bib, I had an hour before the 12:30 start and thought, oh forget it.  I'd like to spend some time with my husband, maybe he would be game for at 20 mile bike ride.  Arriving home I found him cleaning out his truck.  Apparently figured out why he had no water in his hydration pack earlier this week, it leaked out and created quite the gnarly smell!    That was all well under control and was told to bring down my running clothes he was putting a load through.  I came down stinky clothes in hand with my biking gear on and was greeted with "Ah, what are your plans?  We have a cook out to go to at 2."  I rebutted with "Ah, it is noon and a 20 mile bike ride is 90 minutes or less, I have some more energy to burn, plenty of time to be in Charlestown by 2."

Well there was some fiddling around with pumping up of tires, he bought the appropriate tire pump and it is very easy for me to operate and pump up the tires, which apparently needs to be done before EVERY ride.  Who knew?

We were on our way and noticed the headwinds (more like side winds) on the way out to Watch Hill.  Turning right past the Ocean House we caught a HUGE HEADWIND off the water, lots of white caps, usually you can coast a bit.  Backing off on the pedals we would have stopped at a minimum, more likely went backwards!!!  Ocean View Road was slow with the wind at a 45 degree angle.  Hoo boy Atlantic Ave was going to be right into the wind and a bitch.  It was. We made it!!  The slowest time ever along that stretch of Atlantic for me.  Done and dusted we went up Weekapaug Road to take Shore Road back to Winnepaug Road and home.  The tail winds along Shore Road were nice with the hills and curves.  We played catch me if you can, that was fun!!  Dave is difficult to catch, I manage, but I think he may slow down so I can catch him!!



(the pic isn't appearing for me... hmmm)

We were a little late to the picnic, oops, and were teased unmercifully because really, bike ride over bbq and beer?  Where are your heads!!  Endorphin addicts, end of story.

Sincerely,
Beth, exhausted and ready for Newport 1/2 tomorrow a.m.!!

More About Eating, Less About Running

Hubb's birthday was Monday, he is now older than me, again, pshew. It has been a tough 81 days!

Monday my work schedule was all bunged up, and I didn't get out for a run, I was kind of bummed but had a productive day which is probably more important, seeing as that is what pays the bills.   TRX was just me, we had class since I was already there, usually two is the minimum.  It was nice to spend an hour talking with my friend about subjects all over the map and noting that my core strength has dramatically improved since I started class, late last summer.  Guess regular conditioning does that for a person, eh?  She laughed about how I couldn't do a curl under plank to save my life and now I was managing a solid 9 on each side.  Huh...  

Hubb wanted to go to Captain Scott's Lobster Dock for dinner, cool, when he got there the line was outrageous so we went up to The Plum Tomato in Colchester.  Yes, a ridiculously long way to drive for pizza, it is simply the best pizza, large white, with chicken and triple pesto. Their pesto is ridiculous and the combo with a little romano cheese sprinkled on it, YUM.  Washed down with a couple beers, acceptable birthday dinner.

Tuesday I got in a double run.  Or really a triple.  3 at work, 1.5 warm up with Jana, which was damn close to my race pace, and 1 lap (1.5) of the Dog Watch 5K with Crutch and eventually we caught up with Jana.  I was done, that was mile 6 for the day.  It was fun watching every one come in and of course the beer afterwards.  Good to get some time to talk with Mike and Crutch about running and non-running things.   Great to meet 5K!  Hi!

So that brings us to Wednesday, wrapping it up quickly my legs were a bit sore, go figure.  Time to take it easy and do some walking.  What better place to take a walk, watch cows munch on sunflowers, and have ice cream, because no birthday dinner is complete without dessert, off to Buttonwood Farms!  

Sincerely,
Beth, see more about eating, less about running...  but if you were curious about the stats

Work Run 3 miles 9:51 pace
Warm up 1.5 miles 9:13 pace
One lap 1.5 miles 9:13 pace

See Mike, 8:30 isn't an easy warm up for me, it is a goal pace!!  Eventually I'll run a few yards with y'all!

Lead Ass

Tuesday - Dog Watch 5K Fun Run - Recap

OMG my legs felt like they weighed 50 lbs each.  A little DOMS from Spinning, perhaps?  Still with the heat and my lead glutes and quads I managed a 31:22.  Ro said, "Oh let's run together, what a 9:30 - 10 pace?"  Sure I was all in for that pace...  (yeah yeah, my final was a 10:16 but note the first mile was a 9:46.)  I peeked at the watch and we were at a 9 at about the 1/2 mile mark.  Oh this isn't going to work, and who the hell filled my ass with lead?  I let Ro and Winston take off, bye bye.  Then the mind games start.  I obviously run to slow if mind games happen in a 5K?  Figured oh I'll just do one lap and call it a day.  One lap came and went and yeah, you know I finished the full 5K.  I'm nothing if not predictable?

Ro and Winston finished at a 27 something, yeah, no doubt about that! We had a nice chat after the run, good to have some time to get to know her a bit better!!  Funny how water seeks out its own level.



Don finished with a 24 something and was off to dinner with his bride and a fellow co-worker.  Who BTW blocked me in!?!?  Coming up to the Dog Watch on the first lap I saw that white SUV behind Vinnie and thought, oh what butt munch parked me in?  Oh CT plates and Kayak rack, nice one Inge!!

Mike was probably what a 20? Haven't seen the Strava report, yet!

In other news, the middle Boxer boy celebrates his 6th year today, in Boxer years Gus aka Death Breath is officially an adult!  We can only hope there is a teensy bit of maturity in this breed that truly are the clowns of the dog world.

This is what I see pretty much every a.m. he lines up just before the alarm goes off an wags his little stump of a tail making his head do a cute little shake.  He is never quite certain WHAT he needs, could be to cuddle, yeah! Could be to go out, ugh I have to get up, really? Could be to yawn, blech, pull the covers over my head.

Gus!

Sincerely,
Beth, debating if the effort to move 100 lbs of lead is worth it or she should just curl up on the couch...

Race Recaps! Irish Festival 5K and Glow Bash 5K

Friday I did go out and test ride a bicycle.  Wow, so much nicer than my old clunker mountain bike...  stay tuned on this subject.  Hubb asked me to talk to one of his buddies about this whole road bike thing.  Sure, expert advice and opinions are ALWAYS appreciated.

Saturday hubb and a buddy went Fluke fishing somewhere between Jamestown and Newport so he was up and out of the house early.

Why he texts me these things I'll never know.

I had two races on Saturday.

Saturday morning I was to meet my old boss and his family in North Haven for a 5K.  Yeah, an hour and ten minute drive for a 28 minute event.  Think that is the last of them, ever.  Famous last words.   It was very easy to find Steve and his family and we caught up a bit.  His son was back in the UK house sitting for his brother, Bob, who was in the states visiting.  His eldest daughter, Nicki, is a marathoner so we caught up on each others latest races and next races.  Nicki and Uncle Bob are going to be running the NYC marathon together!  Nicki ran it last year and was proud to say she only vomited 4 times.  Yeah?  I'm not a puker so I have no idea if that is good or bad?  This was Bob's first race, ever.   Ah, OK.  The Elder brother (Steve) drug the younger brother along and they finished in 26:50 minutes, no puking.  Nicki and Laura finished in 31:37 and 31:36, Nicki dragged Laura along!  Must be an older sibling younger sibling thing?  Johanna, Steve's wife, did the 2 mile walk.  I finished in 28:52 feeling a little redeemed after the 5K at the Dog Watch on Tuesday night...  It was a pancake flat course, with one "hill" at the end, must have been a total elevation of 6 inches or something equally as intimidating!

Catching up with Steve today, he took Bob out on a nice hilly 8 mile run in the heat on Sunday. Nice guy, guess if the times you get to torture your younger sibling are few and far between better make the best of it. Bob is well on his way to meet with success for the NYC Marathon!  I'll be cheering him on.

And I didn't get a picture...

Saturday nights race was a Glow Bash in Bristol RI.  I went with Nicole, one of her regular running friends, a new friend and fellow Lung Cancer advocate, Sally, and two of her friends.  Sally made up Glow Babes (our team name) shirts and we all had fun putting together glow in the dark things.  Mine were actually still glowing last night!  I made up some 'collars' for the dogs and dressed them up and they glowed in the dark nicely until they wiggled out of them.  Diesel was my dress up guy, he LOVED to wear things.  These three, not so much.  In fact, Gizzy reaches a state of near paralysis when we put his life vest on him to take him canoeing.  Silly dog.  Boxers swim like rocks!

I'm sure our mothers are SO proud!

The 'race' was a scavenger hunt the team had 2 hours to complete and could run any where from 3 to 5 miles.  We managed 3.5 miles in 1 hour and 14 minutes.  We didn't run a lot but we did back track not as much as I thought we may have!  The clues were very relevant to Bristol, RI.  A place I've been to a sum total of twice.  The first time to run my first ever 5K at Colt State Park (yeah yeah, this whole driving longer than you are running thing started from the beginning) and then two years ago on a yarn crawl.  Nice yarn store as I remember it!  The remaining 5 team members had similar stories.  We thought this lack of knowledge would put us at a disadvantage.  Not so much.  Between our brain power and GOOGLE we only had to ask for help once!

There were 10 destinations and different things to do at each one to prove you were there.   A ring toss, posing for pictures, a 7 legged race, collect a stamp, collect a ticket.   The 7 legged race was one of my favorites.  The 6 of us tied one leg together and all decided right foot first.  After nearly toppling in a huge heap upon saying RIGHT.  We realized the only person with a free right foot was the person on the far right end!!  We determined shuffling was the way to go and manage to get the 20 feet from the start to the finish line for this 7 legged race.  (If you only had two team members it would have been a three legged race - follow me?)

I was a little skeptical about this, but figured it would be fun, how could dressing up with a bunch of glow in the dark stuff and running all over a super quaint New England town in the dark NOT be fun!?!?!

Sunday I brunched, lobster omelet to. die. for. and peach sangria.  Caught up on maybe three house work things I'd been putting off and suckered hubb into going to the beach after dinner to look at the moon.  He could ride his fat tire bike a bit and I could run a few miles.  Well it was a phoggy mess, so no moon.  Bummer.  We had a nice time and despite the rising tide and head wind I had a decent run.  How could a beach run be bad?

Today kicked off Marine Corps Training! Hoo Rah.

Sincerely,
Beth, home alone and babbling to you and the dogs!

Friday Catch Up

I didn't do a really great job of scheduling my week.  It happens...  Didn't even have time to update the blog... oh well, it happens...

Monday I didn't schedule in my run and didn't get to run…  so off to TRX to catch up with the girls and work some muscles.  I still haven’t hooked up the rig I bought for home.  Need to find a door that closes or I could use it in the hall and deal with the dogs being curious AKA their version of "helping"?  Hmmm…  I better just freaking get it done.

I did get a new toy in the mail. A Fitbit Flex. Setting that up was interesting, it doesn't come with instructions, just log onto www.fitbit.com/setup and set it up. After a few problems between the seat and the keyboard it was all set up and operating.  I logged a whopping 204 steps that night and didn't manage to get the sleep setting correct. I did eventually find some instructions and *gasp* read them so I understand how it works.   Yes, I am one of the few people that actually read instructions.  GEEK!  You can track all sorts of things with this thing. Tracks steps and then converts to miles (I'm not sure what they use as the algorithm  but it was pretty accurate when I ran with it at tracking the miles I ran).  Track your calories out, and your sleep patterns.  You can input calories in and water in, plus additional activities.  It didn't track my Wed night bike ride.  I was really curious about the sleep pattern, which is why I waited for the Flex to come out.  I didn't manage to get it set for the first night, and the first night seemed a little off, although who knows.  Wed seemed reasonable as I have to get up at 5 to catch the 6:42 or 6:55 train in New Haven, an hour away, so yes 30 minutes to get all gussied up for NYC I'm amazing, no?  Thur looked about right.

Top Tue, Middle Wed, Bottom Thur

So yes, it is a toy and it is interesting.  I'll have fun playing with it and seeing what I can learn.

Tuesday was a twofer.  I ran 5 at work and then did the Dog Watch 5K after work.  Took 30 seconds off my time and am standing at 28:18.  Hmmm maybe that 5 mile warm up is working?  Hopefully I can make it next week, feeling pretty positive I MAY break 28.

Wednesday there was a health fair at work.  I tinkered around with the Wii and the putting green.  Holy cow it has been years since I've golfed.  Really need to get those clubs out of the attic and use them.  I do miss golf, or rather I miss spending an afternoon outside with a couple friends and some beer having a good laugh!!  I didn't get in a run, between a new project at work and a 5 p.m. meeting.  WHO schedules a meeting for 5... Hubb had a meeting for his RC club and I dug up the bike rack and packed up the bike for a 10 mile bike ride around the camp roads.  Looks like a chicken running with a sword, no?




Thursday - NYC.  I was surprised at how much walking I actually do do.  I didn't hit the 10,000 steps or the 5 miles but I did hit 7K steps and 3 miles.  In heels, I think that merits a pat on the back or maybe a cupcake from Crumbs?  Guess if I add in a walk to Bryant Park I may hit the 10K mark? 

Thursday's Tally

Friday - Holy rain batman.  I ran after work around the block at home in a brief slowing of the rain.  3 miles, good enough to lift my mood and put me in that goofy post run mood. 

I did find out what happens when you don't pierce a potato before you bake it.  I wondered what that pop sound was!!  Fortunately it cleaned up easily and I had three four footed helpers...

No races this weekend, there are plenty to run, it is nice to have my only commitment be to have "Amy of the pointy elbows" work on me Saturday afternoon and then go to Connecticut College to attend the Relay For Life Luminaria Ceremony and cheer on one of the walkers I sponsored.  Otherwise the weekend is mine to have a nice long run, read, and do housework.

I did get signed up with a team for a Glow Bash 5K in Bristol RI the 22nd of June.   Scanning through the website after I committed to this, having absolutely no clue what I was signing on for, I was pleased to know there is a benefit for Childhood Brain Cancer.  I'll do this with the memory of Alex Ahrens who passed away on February 28, 2012, age 10, after a 3 year battle with brain cancer.  I went to High School with his father, and the family also lives on a neighboring farm where I grew up.  Seems like a great group of people and will be a blast, a run at night with a scavenger hunt and the opportunity to dress up in glow in the dark stuff.  How could anyone NOT have a great time!?!?!?  Kind of a the city version of a Snipe Hunt!  Any of you participated in a Snipe Hunt??

So there you have it.  Not a lot of running miles, a whopping 11 and 10 on the bike.  Feh, no worries.  I can get in at least a 10 long run and explore a new route.

My dizziness seems to be only when I get up from laying down.  Hopefully this is temporary, because, wow, it sucks.  I'm fine, nothing to worry about!!

Sincerely
Beth, recapping the week and looking forward to a no race and no illness weekend.

Day of the Dog

Arriving home tonight I was greeted by three very chatty and animated boxer boyz.  Something about dinner was an hour late and I smelled of another dog.  Dogs and their schedules, ours certainly are very schedule oriented, they don't like it when things are out of the ordinary.

On my non NYC days I wake up before my alarm to this guy, Gus,

sitting down, intently staring at me, wagging his nub of a tail so fiercely his whole body vibrates, waiting for me to open my eyes.  He either wants me to get up so he can have my spot or for me to scootch over so he can snuggle.  This morning that was the 'I want your spot' face.

I got up, he crawled in my spot, rested his head on the pillow and was o.u.t. out.  Didn't even come in to check on me or stare at his reflection in the mirror or guard the doorway while I did my PT.

Tonight was the kick off for the Stonington Village Fun Runs.  Starting and ending at the Dog Watch Cafe in the beautiful and quaint Stonington Bourough, hosted by Steve and Heather.  They are a fun run, so you are really only competitive with yourself.  We were warned to go out slow as this is the first race, didn't we want to see improvement.  Fair point.

I ran 5.5 for lunch today.  I really just wanted to get some miles on my ancy legs.  The 5K was for fun and lets see how my legs would do.  I did pretty good --> 28:47, and my legs didn't feel tired or heavy.  Chatted with another runner for a few blocks, he passed me but I kept him in my sights!



After the race we were given a popsicle stick to cash in for a beer (if we were over 21), sorta disappointing that I didn't get carded (HA HA).  Cashed in my popcicle stick for a Blue Moon and spent some time getting to know Hemi Metzger (the dog in question) and his guardians a little better.  Sweet little rescue boy, quite the sad story, as most are.  Found nearly dead by the side of the road, very beat up (think bait dog sort of wounds) several operations and months of a vet tech nursing him back to health, he was good to go to a forever home.  Really enjoys people, other dogs, not so much.  I can  understand that, considering the suspicion about what he experienced his first year of life.  Gus generally doesn't do well with other dogs, people, well they are his cup of tea!  Totally get the special needs of rescue dogs, they all have their stories.

Lots of chit chat, one interesting tid bit to share --> one of the guys was given some great advice by his 26 year old son.  Don't spend too much time looking backwards, look forward, enjoy life.  We all doubted we were that wise at 26 and it is very good advice!

Sincerely,
Beth, looking forward to these weekly runs and getting to know other local runners (oh yeah and hanging out with Hemi)

Matt's Mission 5K - Recap

Matt's Mission 5K race is one in the 9 races in the Shoreline Road Race Series sponsored by soundRUNNER.  Which was the main reason I signed up.  I was a little iffy about driving for two hours (round trip) for a 30 minute race, it started just not making sense to me.

I read a little about Matt's Mission and how it came to be.  A High School student killed in a car accident, he was driving too fast. Gulp. Yeah, lead foot here does need to slow down... Reading about Matt and what the fund does was heart warming.

There were just over 900 runners and walkers.  Also the sky seemed to be threatening rain, we were all assured Matt wouldn't let that happen!  It sprinkled a bit little bit with a little bit of wind before the race.  The course was a big loop, with some nice up hills and corresponding down hills, ending with running about 3/4 the way around the North Branford HS track.  I ran among a couple of mother runners pushing their jogging strollers, bravo ladies, a woman who made an unfortunate underwear choice, stripes showed through her light gray tights, one mother constantly nagging her son to hurry up and catch up, yikes, I'd of probably started crying, and then there was this kid, all in orange, from orange shoes to an orange baseball cap.  He would run like hell then walk for a bit run like hell then walk for a bit.  I'd always encourage him a bit when he was catching his breath.  As we were on the home stretch, before entering the HS Track another runner also started encouraging him.  He'd go a little to fast then slow down and catch up to us.  At the final stretch, just about 1/2 around the track, he was passing me again and I yelled "GO KID GO!"  He flew.  He really flew.  I was smiling ear to ear.  Love the passion and energy of kids.

After finishing, with a respectable 28:56 (27th out of 139 in my age group). I wandered around the 'in field' is that what is it called?  I can't remember I haven't been on a HS track in, well a VERY long time.  Anyhoodles, on the in field, I found the kid in orange.  His mom was sitting on the ground and he was telling her all about his race.  I went over and congratulated him on a great race!  He smiled, his mom looked proud. I said, he really flew through the end. She asked him how fast he ran, he said, he wasn't sure but he was sure it wasn't under 30 minutes.  I assured him he finished in something like 28:40 he was really flying, he was absolutely unconcerned about the seconds "I finished in 28 minutes!?!?"  His mom asked him what he finished in last year, he said it was something around 32 minutes, he thought.  (His actual was 28:52 - although he may have been the kid at 28:39 I wasn't really paying attention to everyone passing me over the finish line).  His mom looked so proud of him and she asked me to take a picture of them?  Absolutely!  They had big grins!

And mom took 6 minutes off her time from last year!!

This made the whole drive worth it, truly this is what these community 5Ks are about, family.  I have no idea where naggy mom and her son finished.  I blocked them out keeping an eye peeled for the orange kid.

A cousin posted this as his Facebook status today:

"TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU'LL EVER BE SO - ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS."

A little googling around didn't produce anyone to credit with this quote.  So Annon.. gets the credit. Thinking about the kid in orange versus the kid with the naggy mom, I'm glad I didn't have a naggy mom to suck the fun out of things. I'm happy that Matt's mom has found peace with her sons unfortunate death.  A charity in his name, Matt's Mission, where she is able to keep his memory alive and carry out one of Matt's wishes --> to help people.  Bravo!!

Sincerely,
Beth, content.

Lilacs

This mornings run was filled with the scent of lilacs! It was so wonderful, the first smells of spring.

I ran my hilly 5K route, in Westerly, down US 1 to a loop in the park.  The fountain is operating again, so much I missed in the time I was gone!  Then through town, when is that Irish Bar going to open!?!?, past the Knickerbocker, oh a fund raiser for the dunes, should check that out!  A big thank you to Mr. Driver who stopped to let me cross against the light!  Had enough time to catch my breath for the long slog up Oak Street and then the ups and downs on Tower, to the final down US 1 and back home.  Love ending on the down hill instead of the uphill!

I remember the first time I managed to run the whole way up that section of Oak Street.  Doesn't seem like so long ago, and it also seems like a lifetime ago.

Hubb remarked that I was home early, wasn't I going to run for an hour?  Frankly I forgot what my intention was when I left, I felt good, so I took Gizzy for a little walk, he was happy for some 'mommy and me' time and I needed to cool down.  Hubb was busy packing up the truck for part I of his Saturday adventures, just best to get out of his way!

We parted company for our adventures and reconvened after 9 tonight.

Tomorrow is at 5K in Branford, CT.  Part of the Shoreline Race Series, I supposed I could bow out of it and pass on these races, but the jacket is cool and well, who can't use a jacket?  Hubb suggested I fess up to my jacket addiction, I think he should stuff it, don't you?

Tomorrow afternoon is my first mountain bike ride in, oh a really really long time, should be fun!  Yikes...

Sincerely,
Beth, running in the a.m. and riding in the p.m.

Sleeping like a baby

I did, in fact, sleep like a baby.  Not the baby I was who slept through the night from the time my parents brought me home.  Like a normal baby, up every hour or so, and fussy....

This mornings 5K was fun.  I managed a 30:20 on legs that felt and moved like lead from yesterdays Nooseneck 18K  (did I mention it was hilly?)  I'll take it.  Nice course, the last up hill was torture, however it ends on a down hill, I just couldn't get my legs turning over quick enough to get there in under 30 minutes!!  Some Domino's pizza delivery driver I'd make, eh?   I have no idea where I placed, I think there was a 90 by my name.  Pretty much how I'm feeling about now...

Michael did well with a 21:56 putting him 10th out of 160.  Pretty cool to say I know such greatness!  Nice to start to get to know all you local racers!  Hope your races or runs or rides were excellent this weekend!

Very cool t-shirt:

There were a couple of young girls who put up a pretty good race with the old lady here.  Always makes me smile  I kept telling them to go go go.  They ran and giggled and ran and giggled, so sweet.

Saturday is the Ice Age 1/2 trail marathon in La Grange WI.  With a couple of long drives, taking some time to stop and see my family in MI and spoil my Nephew with a big bag of presents,  it will be some forced rest days which I do need.  I really really don't like to fly, I really really really like to take long car trips, so this works out well for me.  As luck would have it one of my Cousin's is volunteering at the race and another friend lives in a nearby town!  So not only will I get to run a 1/2 marathon on a beautiful trail I will get to see my family in MI, a Cousin, an Aunt, and friends!!!

Sincerely

Beth, who is going to nap now...

Wrestling and Pondering

The Shamrock Shuffle in North Kingstown, RI was great.  Still not the beautiful 50F(antastic for running) temperature of last weekends Ocean's Run.  32F temps are ok it was the 22F (reezing) windchill at the start of the race that was not so ok.

Yeah, yeah, it is March, what are ya gonna do.  We were so spoiled last year, on this day, it was 48F for race start and 50F for race end.  One never knows what March is going to hold.  Winter is overstaying its welcome and spring is still off in the distance.

I ran a bit slower this 5K from the O'Niatic race yesterday.  Tired legs, many hours spent staining woodwork, one more slice of pizza than I should have, and who knows.  I could have pushed myself a bit harder.  This was a flat course and I need to learn to not rely on the hills to pick up my pace.

What is interesting is comparing the two races.  Similar amount of elevation gain 44 for O'Niantic and 48 for the Shamrock Shuffle.  O'Niantic was an out and back and Shamrock Shuffle was not.

O'Niantic Splits.  My official time was 28:46, I forgot to stop the Garmin... whoopsie!! So based on my official time my last split would have been 0:35 ???  oh here we go with math again...

Shamrock Shuffle Splits.  My official time was 29:19, I have no idea where the extra 7 seconds came from, I started the Garmin before I crossed the mat and after I crossed the mat, who knows, gremlins?

But really they are so similar, there is a difference of 44 seconds in there some where.  Huh...

Then check out the pace charts:

O'Niantic

Shamrock Shuffle

Fascinating.  I held a very steady pace for the O'Niantic, in fact if you would have asked me I would have said I ran pretty smoothly.  My Shamrock Shuffle was all over the place, holy cow!  Maybe I spent to much energy speeding up and slowing down and that caused the 44 second deficit?

This is all rather curious... something to ponder... electronic gremlins?  Thoughts?  Anyone?  Buller?

Anyhoodles, on to the important stuff!!!  I met some other women runners!  YEAH!!  Nice gals, hung out with them for the free beer at a local pub.  We even had our picture posted to the race's Facebook Page! Glad to get to know some other women runners, finally!  Looking forward to hearing about their races and running again with them in more local races!

Cute aren't we?

Hubb went out for a bike ride in the afternoon and I thought about going out and running the course he bikes and meeting up with him at some point.  He bikes it clock-stupid and I run it clock-wise.  While it would have been nice to see hubb's smiling face and to surprise him.  I opted to knit (those babys keep coming and those sweaters aren't going to knit themselves) and then take a nap.  The nap was heaven, absolute heaven, the eldest member of the pack was all for this curling up and snoring in my ear, oh Gizzy, you are a trip.  I was out for nearly two hours.  The youngest member of the pack and I haven't had our weekend morning wrestling matches in a few weeks, all this business of me getting up early to go out and race or run or brunch with girlfriends is really not his idea of how to celebrate the weekend!

He took this opportunity to nuzzle me and be his cute flip floppy self.  We had a good 20 minutes of wrestling and I managed to NOT get another black eye.  He is a spaz, you'll have that with 2 year old boxers.

Jax who has endless energy!

Sincerely,
Beth, curious about this whole splits discrepancy and happy to have met some women runners!