Friday Five

(1) ONE (1)

It's going to be a low mileage week. I ran the minimum mileage for my #RWRunStreak on Sunday and Monday. Tuesday, I took my new tank top for a a 3.16 mile testdrive at Farnsworth in the gorgeous sunshine. I also got some fun pictures of myself. They aren't the greatest quality (and I'm no model), but let's see you do better with a fuzzy post-run brain and a sketchy self-timer on your camera. lol. I wanted to place the camera another foot or 2 to the right to get more of the old utilities bridge, but there was poison ivy. Dangit.

(2) TWO (2)

Wednesday was my first time back on the Ridge (Silver) Trail at Oak Openings since the tornado. It's been closed for a while so the damage could be cleaned up. Ever since the new park map came out earlier this year, I've been excited to get over there and check out the new re-routes. I knew about the one where the bridge had been taken out by a tree during the tornado (I made a quick trip right after the storm to check out the damage, but couldn't get too far into that part of the park). This sounds lame, and I say it at the beginning of every summer, but running in that part of the park felt like coming home. The Ridge Trail goes through one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE parts of the park ... the OLD pine stand. I need to get pictures sometime. The abrupt change is shocking and awesome. After finishing off the Ridge Trail, I finished up my run with a quick loop of Horseshoe Lake.

After 4+ miles on the trail, I decided to get my road bike out for the first time this summer and take it for a spin (I've been giving all my love to my brother's mountain bike). My ex was giving me crap the other night because I call it "Roadie". lol. I had just planned on taking a couple laps of the neighborhood, but it felt great one I got out there and I ended up going over 7.5 miles. Believe me, my backside (caboose, behind, derierre, BUTT) is STILL paying for it. Stupid butt bone. lol

(3) THREEE (3)

The heat around here has been INTENSE this week. I begrudgingly acknowledged that my parents were in the right with turning on the a/c even though it makes my sinuses all kinds of horrible. No joke, my nose will run and my head will hurt and I'll be just plain miserable. Then, I go outside and I'm fine in 5 minutes. It's obnoxious.

Anyway, I've been continuing my runs in the heat. I just saw it as another experience to "toughen me up". I take precautions, though; I make sure I'm well hydrated and I carry water AND gatorade, I try to run in as much shade as possible, and I let myself go as slow as I need. That being said, I knew group run last night was going to be BAD, but I didn't know just HOW BAD. Even with being hydrated and carrying water with me, I had to bail out halfway. After being in the a/c all day, running in that heat (around 100*, even at 7pm) with even more heat radiating off the pavement, it was making me sick. In less than 2 miles, I felt as bad as I normally to after 7-8 miles. I DO have to give a round of applause to Second Sole, the store who sponsors and hosts our group runs. They set up a water table at the halfway point AND rigged up a sprinkler system on the sidewalk out in front of the store for after the run. We had fun with THAT. You can always tell when a running store is run by people who run themselves (ha!). :D

(4) FOUR (4)

Today was just plain nifty. One of our neighbors I "babysit" for occasionally called me early to see if her 7yo and 13yo could hang out with me for the afternoon. They normally spend the summer days with their grandmother, but she's been having some health problems and couldn't take them today. I love these kids, I call them "my munchkins" (much to their continued ire [evil smile]). To them, I'm like a big sister who takes them to do things their parents don't have time for. And really, we don't do anything special. Today, they drove around with me to a couple different metroparks to find codewords and we had a complete blast. I let them be in charge of my camera and they didn't do too bad of a job. I wasn't surprised in the least when I uploaded all the pictures and discovered they were fascinated with taking pictures of the "obvious" wildlife, just like me: deer, ducks, geese, squirrels, chipmunks, robins, rabbits, and random plants. Since I promised their mom a long time ago that I'd never post their pictures online, you'll just have to marvel at a sampling of their photography skills:

(5) FIVE (5)

Tomorrow is the Global Distance Project 5k. I have 2 goals. Well, technically 3. (1) Don't die. Run responsibly. (2) But still push myself. If I PRed on a trail race, what can I do on a good paved course? Too bad this won't be chip-timed. (3) And beat my cousin. This last goal has gotten a little shakier since he told me he wants to finish sub-30. Hrm. I guess all I can do now is be smart and run my race.

Great Park Search Has Begun ...

... and I'm ALL over it! :D

I decided to check the Metroparks website late last night on a whim, hoping the clues for this week would be up already. They were. And then I spent 10-15 minutes reading through them and figuring out where the codeword easels were located. I know the parks (all but one) really well so it wasn't very hard. Now I just need to GO and get them!

So, today for #RWRunStreak #8, I split up my run and hit my "southern 3" ...

(Please forgive the grainy pictures. I was using my old Blackberry.)

I ran just under 1.5 miles between running from the parking lot TO this shelter house and then back to the car.

Since this location was at the beginning of the Ferns & Lakes Trail loop, I just finished it for 2.8 miles.

No miles here since this spot is less than a 2 minute walk from the parking lot.

So ... I made a dent in Week 1 of the Challenge, got my mileage for #RWRunStreak, and had fun. I'd call that a success. :)

May Recap and This Week's Streaking

I was pretty happy with May, numbers-wise.

Miles Walked: 27.73 miles ... Normally this is just my warm ups and cool downs, but it was exceptionally high this month with the 2 weeks I spent dog-sitting.

Miles Run: 65.78 miles ... Highest mileage month I've had in the past year ... and June is going to be even higher! I'm slightly ahead of schedule to meet my 600 miles in 2012 goal. If I can knock out those miles a month or 2 early, maybe I'll add another 100-200?

Total Miles: 93.51 miles

Races: May was blissfully race-less. I needed this month to reconnect to the FUN of running and to figure out what I wanted next. Both accomplished :)

- - -
My #RWRunStreak is going strong so far. I realize some people (like me) started their streak ON Memorial Day and others started the day after, so my day # may be different than someone else's. I think that's fine. I interpreted the instructions as Memorial Day to Independence Day, including those days, but I guess others saw it differently.

So, since the last time I posted ...

Tuesday (Day #2): I was feeling achey and lethargic and sick all day, but I toughed out 1 mile on the treadmill because I didn't want to let my streak flop so early! Besides the 1 mile and my last post, I pretty much spent the day in bed catching up on sleep and having some crazy-wonky-detailed dreams (one of which has already inspired an interesting short story). Before anyone gets all worried, I know all the sicky-ness this week is my body reacting to the quick weather changes and my meds trying to combat my body's weirdness. I'm used to this. My pinched sinus cavity and I have been to this circus a time or 2 before. Honestly, I'm healthier now, I think, than I've been in a very long time (like, years, possibly a decade) ... thanks to running.

Wednesday (Day #3): It was a gorgeous (but hot) day so I wanted to take advantage of the dry trails and shade over at Oak Openings. I knocked out both the Sand Dunes (red) and Lakes & Ferns (blue) Trails for a total of just over 4 miles running. I ran the Sand Dunes Trail pretty quick for me and really enjoyed picking up my speed to blow by other people. Pretty sure I scared the crap out of the guy walking and wearing a mosquito-net-hat. lol. I was SO proud of myself for running all the way up the dune face and continuing to run the length of the dune crest. That's kind of a big deal for me. I don't know if I would have been able to do it if it hadn't been early in my run, but I still did it. I also spent a LOT of time while on the Lakes and Ferns Trail thinking about how I can improve my trail runs and get more out of them. Some days it's a victory to just run the whole trail without stopping, but I'm noticing more and more that I need mini-challenges to keep myself interested. I know of a couple places along both trails where it's relatively flat and straight that I could use for a random mid-run speed session before settling back in for sandier and more uneven terrain. I tried out one spot at the end of the Lakes and Ferns Trail loop and REALLY enjoyed it.

This is also the day I met a girl on the trail and again in the parking lot after who I felt kind of sorry for. She had bought a pair of knock-off Vibram 5-Finger-type shoes and was running in them for the first time. First, the sole ripped apart in the furthest place along the trail from the parking lot and then on her way back, she ended up with a MASSIVE splinter in the bottom of her foot from some of the pine mulch along the trail. The poor thing was sitting on the ground in the parking lot TRYING to dig this splinter out before driving home and was probably doing more damage to her foot than good. *cringes*

Thursday (Day #4): Group run at Second Sole. Some weeks this run just kills me and other weeks it makes me insanely, stupidly happy. This week was the second option. My mind was clear, my legs felt REALLY strong (maybe it's all the trail running finally paying off? *crosses fingers*). I ended up knocking out my 3 miles with mile times of 10:14, 10:10, and 10:00.

Friday (Day #5): My calves felt tight all morning and I was a bit lethargic, again, so when it came time to log my mile, I jumped on the treadmill in case I needed to stop. I took it nice and slow and amazingly felt better the longer I was running. I ended up running 1.5 miles in 20 minutes. It was an oddly cold and icky day outside, so I was happy to spend the rest of my day helping get things done around the house and getting my parents ready to head out of town for Ohio Bike Week (motorcycles, for those of you not in the know).

Saturday (Day #6): My day of almost near-euphoria. It's been a very long time since I've had a day this ... good! Fueled only by a white chocolate and macadamia nut cookie, banana, some nuun, and a rocking playlist, I busted out 6.84 miles running from home up to Mallard Lake and back. That in itself would have made me happy, but I got giddy excited when I got home and checked out my mile times ... 11:12 (my warm up), 10:44, 10:52, 10:52, 10:23, 10:31, and a 10:15/mi avg pace for the last 0.84 miles. I had a moment of doubt towards the halfway point when I got a stitch in my side for a couple minutes, but I managed to focus on my breathing and get through it. It probably helped that LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" came on just then and it lifted my spirits in a way only that kind of music can. It never really hit me until I made the turn back into my neighborhood at the end just how STRONG my legs felt. I also drank less water on this run than I used to on a 3-miler. The water thing could have just been because it was cooler out (I wore a long-sleeve shirt with my shorts and compression socks) or it could have been that I just didn't need it since I was well-hydrated before and I managed WHEN I got sips of water during the run.

Once I got home, I had just enough time to shower and whip up Grandma's recipe vegetable pizza (I'll post a recipe sometime) [and deal with one more "issue" with getting the parents to Bike Week ... thank goodness my brother didn't have plans] before heading over to Annie and Dan's for the rest of the day. They were having an open house/ bbq/ party thing going on. I had a great time and it was just the thing to cap off my Saturday.

Sunday (Today- Day #7): Because of how late I got home (Mr 3:30 and I met again), I planned on letting myself sleep in until 10:30. Wouldn't you know it, my eyes popped open all on their own at 10:28? Haha. Though pretty darn breezy (mom's wind chimes on the back deck are starting to annoy me), the sun is out and it's warming up again so I wanted to run outside. I went back to another of my favorite places in Oak Openings, Evergreen Lake, and ran a quick loop to get in my 1.3 miles for the day. Though short and quick, I really enjoyed the chance to stretch my legs and check out the progress on the new trail markers being installed. I had planned on jumping in the pool when I got home, but I didn't realize the pool temperature has dropped 20* in the past 2 days! Holy cow! So, no swim for this girl today. If it were warmer and not so breezy, I might go for it, but today I just sat on the deck with my legs taking advantage of the cool-ness.

- - -
My walking mileage is likely to go up again for the next 9 weeks. Toledo Area Metroparks are hosting "The Great Park Search" again this summer and it starts tomorrow. Basically, Metroparks posts clues online, one for each park in the area, each week, and you have to go find the location. There will be a "code word" you have to bring back and enter on a website to earn entries into drawings for cool stuff. Last year, I won a $150 gift card to the Anderson's (a local store that has an AMAZING alcohol collection. They're the only mainland store that carries my FAVORITE wine so I was a very happy girl!)! It's a lot of fun and it gave me something to look forward to on my runs last year when I was really just starting my running journey. And, I plan on participating again this year. I'm excited! :D

Streaking and Upcoming Races

Are you participating in Runner's World's running streak? You run at least 1 mile EVERY DAY between Memorial Day and July 4. Just 38 days. You can check out the action on twitter using #RWRunStreak. It may be a bad idea for me, but I'm going for it. I like challenging myself.

I got in Day #1 of my run streak last night at Oak Openings. Holy cow was it warm and humid, even back in the dunes! I giggled a little bit because there were SO many people around Mallard Lake but I didn't pass ANYONE out on the trail. It's like people think Mallard Lake IS the ENTIRE park (and they're SO wrong!). Despite the oppressive humidity, I still enjoyed myself. My music was turned down enough that I could still hear the birds and wildlife around me. And I almost tripped over a squirrel who didn't move out of the way until the very last second. Oh, and I ran the loop the opposite direction I normally do. Bad idea. I hate running UP the dune face and then DOWN the stairs. :-P

As (some of) you know, I hit my goal of a sub-30 minute 5k race a couple weeks ago, more than 2 months before I had planned on. I'd been saying for the past year that I had to hit that before I'd consider a longer race (I'm not counting my St Patrick's Day 7k, lol). Even though I'm really proud of myself, it left me with a decision to make ... do I now set myself a quicker goal and go for it again or do I start looking towards longer races ... maybe even a half marathon?

I'm already registered for one more 5k, Happy Trails. It holds a special place in my memory because it was my first 5k last year and it reminded me why I enjoyed being competitive and racing in any form. My "training" for Happy Trails last year was just finishing Couch to 5k and seeing how long I could run without walking. And no real trail/ off-road running. This year, I'm taking a slightly different approach. Since about half the course is unpaved trail, I'm putting my trail shoes to good use and running AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK on the metropark trails. I haven't been running at the actual park where the race is, but I'm very familiar with it (I used to live right around the corner from there) and I think the trails I've been running are more difficult. Plus, the race avoids the dunes and major hills and the trails I've been running out at Oak Openings don't. I go to group run every Thursday night and I'll use those as my speed workouts (since I was doing that already anyway. lol). The race course will be marked a couple days ahead of time, so I'll probably put in 1 or 2 practice runs the week of, though I heard the course is the same as last year.

As for the future ... I haven't signed up for anything yet since I could end up on the other side of the country by the end of the summer but, yes, I'm looking at a half marathon for September 1. The Boy Scout Council my dad and brother are a part of put on the "Soaring Eagle Runs" every year in Bowling Green, Ohio. Course can be viewed HERE. There is the "Boy Scout Half Marathon", the "Tenderfoot 5k", and the "Tiger Cub Half-Mile Run". They are "dedicated to recognize and support our youth and the Scouting traditions and values, from Tiger Cubs to Eagle Scouts." These races are an amazing value too. If you register online by the end of June, the half is only $28, $33 if you register before August 21, and $40 if you wait until the day of. All early registrations will get a wicking race shirt. It sounds like is great support along the course as well (but you can read more about that on the website if you're interested).

Since it IS my first time running a half marathon, I've been spending A LOT of time pouring over all the different training plans and I THINK I may have found one that works for me (well, at least better than the other ones I've found). I'm using Hal Higdon's Novice 2 Half Marathon Training Plan ... with a few tweaks:

That purple star on the 21st? My 26th birthday! :)

Cross training will probably be a combination of mountain biking, swimming, and hiking.

I'm planning to use Tuesday as my trail run days since they're only 3 miles. Trail running will make me stronger, plus I like running in the shady woods in the middle of summer. :)

Thursdays will continue to be my speed workouts at group run. It works out well, distance-wise, and I enjoy the opportunity to test myself against some faster runners since I usually run alone.

The major change I made to the plan was with the weekend long run. Higdon's plan has the distance increasing pretty much 1 mile per week, but I need something more gradual. Running this much (and often) every week is going to be enough of a challenge. My plan is to do my longer runs on the canal trail or a loop of the paved roads and trails at Oak Openings (if I can get up early enough that it won't be blazing hot - very little shade on this route).

My concerns:
- How will my body (especially my shins and ankles) take to running this often and this many miles? I'll need to pay close attention to aches and pains.
- I need to figure out a nutrition/ refueling strategy. I've never used GU or anything like that before. I guess it's time to start experimenting. Any suggestions or tips?
- I'm going to need new running shoes soon? I'm saving up the money now, but I know the bottom is going to drop out of my checking account very soon, so I'm nervous. How late is too late to introduce new shoes before a race?

What do you think? Any suggestions? Tips? Holy-crap-are-you-crazys?

I'm baaaaack!

Yes, I'm still here. I've had so much on my plate lately that blogging just didn't feel like a priority. I've been writing a ton, in my journals and my creative writing prompts, but it's mainly about stuff I'd prefer to keep off this blog since it concerns other people or it's just stuff I'm not ready to share with the world yet.

So, to keep it short and sweet ...

I didn't graduate like I was supposed to. I have so many conflicting emotions about this that I don't know how to explain, other than to say that it just plain sucks.

Xena deciding if she wants to be inside or outside and Wesley "helping" me with my yoga.

I'm back at my parents' house. I'll miss spending all the time with the pups (and trying new recipes every day), but I'm glad to be home again. I have missed my bed and having cable. I won't miss having to run on the obnoxiously hot country roads, though. Every single long(er) run I planned, I had to cut short because the heat got to me. Being stunk out of the bedroom at 2am by 2 very gassy (and unapologetic) dogs will be gladly left in the past as well. lol

Just to give you an idea of how our daily walks went ... This is a CALM day compared to what I normally dealt with. :)

And on the running front ...

Oh, hello dirt line! I've missed you! :)

This week saw my return to Oak Openings with a 4.5-miler and a 3.14-miler on some of my favorite trails from the Mallard Lake trailhead. I can't begin to tell you how great it felt to get out there and just run trails for the love of it. I ignore the pace on my Garmin and just run where I feel comfortable. Of course, I have a motive for this other than just escaping to the shady trails on these obnoxiously warm days ... my next 5k is about half on trails, but I'll talk about that in my next post (which is already started).

Other than my 2 runs at Oak Openings, I went to group run at Second Sole Thursday night. Nothing too special, but the smooth road gave me a chance to think (instead of watching my feet so I didn't trip over a root or hole, lol) and get in a speedier run.

I also got in my longest run in a couple weeks on Saturday. My friend M called saying he and his wife, E, were in town for the weekend and were looking for a relatively straight and easy, preferably shady, trail to run. I offered to meet them at the string of metroparks along the river, enclosing the old canal path. The end of the trail is close to my house and it's been a favorite of mine for as long as I've been running. M wanted to do some fartleks so he went ahead while E and I hung back and chatted. She's been dealing with some knee and ankle issues so we decided on a 9:1 run/walk ratio just to make sure we're taking the time to drink water and check on our "injuries". We ended up putting in about 7 1/2 miles ... and they felt great! :) Running with E (and M once he wore himself out) gave me a chance to bounce some ideas off them and say out-loud some things I've been quietly contemplating for a few weeks now. Teaser, I'll discuss it more in my next post. ;)

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day, everyone. And thank you to all our service men and women ... past, present, and future.

My Butt Hurts.

I can't believe I just typed that in as the title of this post. Oh well, moving on ...

I took yesterday as a rest day since my normal rest day (Sunday) was spent racing, but when I woke up this morning, I was ITCHING to get out and do something physical (other than drain all the water off the pool cover from that crazy storm last night). My legs were still a little achey, so I turned to my family's collection of bikes.

My Banana Seat Beauty, a 4th birthday present.

First, a little background. Crap, this could get lengthy ... and I promise to attempt to make this sound as not-whiney as possible ... I have had 1 brand new bike in my entire life (not counting my rockin' red tricycle). Every other bike that I have owned has come out of someone's trash. Yep, you read that right. Granted, that's only 3 out of 4 bikes, but that's beside the point. My dad drove the delivery trucks before he moved up to semis and he'd always see bikes sitting out with the trash. Most were still in pretty good condition and just needed a little TLC and elbow grease to be awesome again. My first bike was this great (light) Barbie pink banana-seat stunner. I LOVED that thing. Oh, I could tell you so many stories about my adventures on that baby. When I outgrew that, I got my only brand spankin' new bike ... my gorgeous purple, sparkly "mountain bike". Around the time I outgrew that, dad found a nice road bike on the side of the road that really only needed a good cleaning and some new tires. I worked on that bike for a couple years, but it was just never a comfortable bike. And I felt like I could never get the rust under control no matter how much time I spent on it. So, when dad and I found another road bike in the garbage in excellent condition - and with BRAND NEW tires - I was estatic. We even went up and knocked on the door to make sure the guy was throwing it away since it was in such great shape. I never heard WHY he was getting rid of it, but he gave us his blessing to take it. I was SO excited. It still has it's issues (need to tape up the grips, needs a bottle holder, and some other small things), but I love it. The reason I don't ride it more often is that the tires always seem to go flat. We've put new tubes in multiple times, and it always happens within a couple weeks. I've tried checking the inside of the metal frame to see if it's cutting the tubes, but I've never found anything. My next step is to take it either to Cycle Werks (which is literally less than a mile from my house now that they've opened a shop in Whitehouse) or up to Wersell's in Toledo (literally less than a mile from the University campus). I also want to get some different pedals and quick-change wheels and seat stand (and a different seat, which I'll get to). So, I've been riding other bikes of ours until it's taken care of.

My road bike. I added the rack a couple years ago when I was carrying my backpack AND
laptop case back and forth to campus.

My brother, on the other hand, has always had brand new bikes. I never resented him this, I loved my bikes. He's even ridden my bikes (the ones I've fixed up) on occasion when his mountain bike would just be too clunky and heavy. Oh, and he has multiple bikes right now. So, when I decided to start trail riding again last summer, the only mountain bike we had at the house close to my size was his newer (and nicer) Huffy. He had no problem with me buying a little cyclocomputer and installing it on the bike and using it whenever I wanted to go out (he had his older bike at his apartment for getting around campus).

So, today when I decided to go out, bro's white Huffy was the choice. It was the first time off the ceiling hooks for this season, so I cleaned it good and checked the tire pressure and everything. Seriously, I take better care of bro's bikes than he does. Anyway, I wanted to get off the pavement. I knew Oak Opening's "multi-purpose" trail would be nice and wet and muddy after last night's storm, so I headed up that direction. Oh, MAN was it fun! I was probably grinning like a crazy person the entire time. The same parts of the trail that I shy away from as a runner (basically any place that floods ... the whole west and north sides of the loop), I blasted through on the bike and enjoyed every second of it. My poor shoes and socks were soaked from one particular area by the dunes where the water across the trail was deep enough to come up over the pedals and I had a lovely mud stripe going up my back. I kind of giggled every time I saw someone heading the other direction because I KNEW they'd turn around and come back the way they came once they saw how deep some of the water was. I was almost sad when the trail changed back to pavement and I got back on the road to head home.

My attempt at photographing my mud-speckle-stripe. Would have been better if I left my
muddy shirt on to ... and hadn't been such a weird angle. lol

After I got home, I texted my brother "Good news. Your bike loves mud and pedal-deep water. Haha." His reaction surprised the crap out of me. He basically spazzed that I had taken the "good" bike out when his older mountain bike (which has no shocks) was hanging from the ceiling of the back garage (more like a small barn). I fired back pretty quick, annoyed at his reaction. First of all, our back garage is somewhere around 2 stories tall and all the bikes we don't ride on a regular basis are hanging from hooks on the support beams. And it usually takes AT LEAST 2 of us and a basic winch system out of rope to move them. How was I, alone, supposed to get out one of dad's big ladders, position it right in the middle of a shelf unit currently storing motorcycle parts (which are actually for bro's harley. Dad is paying to rebuild the darn thing after bro crashed it last summer. And dad paid for it originally too.), set up the rope winch system, lift the bike OFF the hooks, and lower it down safely? Not possible. I sent him a text saying "#1, you know damn well I'd kill myself trying to get your old bike down alone. #2, the Huffy already had my cyclocomputer on it from last year. #3, It's a mountain bike. It's meant for that crap. #4, When was the last time YOU rode it anyway? #5, Kiss my backside. It's already cleaned and put back away, which is more than you ever do for ANY of your bikes." I think I got to him because about 10 minutes later, I got an "ok" text. *rolls eyes*

The Huffy in question ... BEFORE the mud bath.

I hate that my family (myself included) snap at each other so easily, but it's just how we communicate. I seem to be the only one who takes those interactions to heart and over-analyzes them. I can be a completely different person with the rest of the world, but I turn into "that person" when it comes to dealing with my family. We do love each other, we're just loud about it.

And I finally come to the title of this post. As much as I love riding, IT HURTS MY BUTT! I've been told my entire life that even though I have plenty of "padding" in my posterior, I have a seriously boney butt. On every bike I've ridden, I have 1 or 2 of those nice gel or foam cushions, and those help some, but it STILL kills! Dad jokes about buying one of those wide seats you see on the cruiser bikes, but I don't want to believe that is my only option. Can you imagine one of those things on a road or mountain bike?

So, someone help me out here .... any ideas? Seats or cushions you'd recommend? Anything?

- - -
Update: My butt may have been sore yesterday, but I swear it feels bruised today. I actually YELPED when I sat in the car this morning (first time I had sat down today). A cohort has already made a joke about buying a hemorrhoid pillow for my desk chair in the lab. NOT amused. >:-(

A New PDR and Underestimating Myself.

Sorry for the delay with this post, but I enjoyed a weekend away from my computer. Except for uploading my Garmin after my run Saturday and the occasional facebook comment from my Blackberry, I was blissfully unplugged. I caught up on some reading and sleep, had a great dinner out with friends, and helped dad make a huge step in finally getting the dining room finished. It was nice. Maybe I should just commit to only writing 1 or 2 posts each week so I don't feel guilty when I don't post every little new and exciting thing that happens. Especially now that I'm getting serious about my "101 Things in 1001 Days" posts over on my Xanga blog. And I'm putting more effort into my creative writing again (and organizing my older writing). Guess we're in for some longer posts, people. Double knot your running shoes and hold on tight.

I'm constantly learning that I underestimate myself. I'll be completely honest here, I was scared to death thinking about running 8 miles on Saturday. That's longer than I've EVER run, even with walk breaks. I've been staring at that "8" on the calender for several weeks now, just waiting. When I woke up Saturday morning, I just rolled over and stared at my running shoes for a good 10 minutes before I decided to crawl out of my ridiculously comfy cocoon. I got slightly more excited once I looked outside and saw that it was snowing! I knew it wouldn't stick, but I wanted to get out and enjoy the flurries while they lasted. If you're friends with me on facebook, you know I spent a while Friday night debating which route to take for my 8-miler. I wanted to run on busy roads as little as possible thinking that I would need to have my music cranked up in order to get myself through this run. But, I didn't want to run on muddy trails and have to expend even more energy that I wasn't sure I had in me. I ended up making a compromise with running north along Whitehouse-Spencer to the north fork of the Wabash-Cannonball trail and then taking that west into Oak Openings. From there, I'd be taking my normal route home through the park and along Obee. I also figured I knew plenty of people who lived along that route in case I had a problem. I DID take my cell phone with me (I'm seriously in love with the pockets in my Saucony nomad jacket) in case I needed to suck it up and call home ... or to take pictures (will get to that in a minute).

The run itself was SO not what I was expecting. From the start, my legs did NOT want to go slow. I couldn't get above a 12 minute mile even for my first mile, which surprised the heck out of me. So, I just settled into a comfortable pace, focused on my music, and TRIED not to look at my Garmin every 3 minutes. I don't run the north fork of the W-C Trail very often (ok, hardly ever), so it was a treat for me. The heaviest of the snow flurries were coming down while I was alone on the trail so I occupied myself for a little while with seeing how many snowflakes I could catch on my tongue as I was running. Before I knew it, I was already in Oak Openings and getting ready to turn down Girdham Road and go past the dunes. I don't think I've spent any real time in this corner of the park since high school when our Environmental Science class took a fieldtrip to these dunes. I tried to get a picture of myself while running past the dunes, but I think I look ridiculous with my big US Rowing hat, sunglasses, and everything tinged bright orange from my jacket. lol. Oh, and I may have dropped my Blackberry RIGHT after I took this. Oops. lol

I had considered calling my friend and having him meet me at Mallard Lake since that was where I was going to pass my previous distance record and have him run me the rest of the 2 miles home to keep me motivated. But, I didn't. Once I saw how close I was to the turn off for Mallard, I took stock of how my body was feeling. Shoulders and jaw were still relaxed. Not thirsty (I'm getting better at during-run hydration). Hands and ears were actually warm. Knee and ankle felt ok (a big worry). Legs felt strong. My mind was a little fuzzy, but it always gets like that during a run. It's a coping mechanism. I'm very good at noticing details around me while running and then forgetting them in the next breath. Not sure if that's a good thing or not, but oh well. Anyway, I decided to play a mind game with myself. As soon as I passed Mallard Lake (holy crapola construction!), I blanked out the previous 6 miles and told myself it was only a 2 mile day and I was just starting ... at 5k tempo pace. I found some good tunes (Crazy Train, Ozzy Ozborn.) and before I knew what was going on, my Garmin was beeping the end of 8 miles and I could see the road leading back into my neighborhood. I did it. 8 miles. An hour and a half of running. Without a walk break. I broke my distance record. Wow. It occurred to me around this time HOW MUCH I underestimate myself. I've been following a training plan pretty diligently so there is NO REASON I shouldn't have been able to complete this run. Why was I so worried? I "ran" an 11k on 11/11/11 and I remember how much I had to walk, but that was over 3 months ago and I've been training for a longer distance since then! It's time to start trusting my body and my training. I could echo the same ideas when it comes to my weight loss, but I'll save that for another time.

Being all psychological and clinical about it, I can understand why I underestimate myself sometimes. I'm constantly being told I can't do something and usually that "something" is physical. 2 prime examples. The first occurred several years ago while out doing fieldwork with a professor who is now on my committee (eek). While unloading equipment from the truck, I grabbed one side of a heavy box to help him lift it down off the tailgate and got told to "wait for xxxx (the other guy) because I was a girl and it would be too heavy for me." It REALLY ticked me off because 1) I was the one who had loaded it in the truck in the first place and 2) xxxx was this nerdy, weak, uncoordinated guy who I probably could have bench-pressed. So, I sat back and watched as "the guys" tried to lift the equipment, dropped it, scraped the leg of the professor, and cracked the equipment. Luckily it was just the external casing that cracked and it was easily secured, but it still took everything in me to not point and start screaming "I told you so!" Later in the day, I had a private conversation about the incident with the professor, which I thought was the mature thing to do, and he chose to just throw it back in my face that "they did the best they could and I still wouldn't have been any help." I blew my top. My poor advisor listened to me rant for a good 20 minutes when I got back to campus that evening. I've heard since then that my advisor AND the current department chair (who I've done field work with on several occasions) had a conversation with the professor. I've worked with him several times since then, and he's kept those kind of comments to himself, but I think I finally proved to him that I'm a capable researcher. Though, thinking back on it now, I've always had one of the guys with me that the professor "trusted". Hrm. Whatever. Anyone who I've worked with and they've had their eyes open could tell you I throw everything I have into my fieldwork. It's just a shame such cool work is being done by such a jerky prof.

The other example just happened last night. Like I mentioned earlier, we've made HUGE progress in finished the dining room. Dad got all of the wood molding and beadboard stained and installed (I hate how it looks, but oh well. I've just never been a fan of mismatched wood colors :-/ ) and we brought the china cabinet back in from the garage. Our china cabinet is a beast. The top and bottom are actually 2 different pieces otherwise it'd be impossible to move. The top part we DID have to use a dolly to move it because of all the heavy glass, but the bottom part is just wood so dad figured we could just carry it. It was a little awkward, but manageable until mom decided that my end looked "too heavy for me" and decided to "help". Yea, can you see where this is going? I almost tripped and had the whole thing dropped on me because she was trying to talk through a doorway while holding on and pushing it away from her so she could fit through. I snapped and yelled at her to "just let the $!@# go", which of course caught me some hell with dad, but I didn't care. I'll take pissing mom and dad off over having a several-hundred-pound cabinet dropped on me, probably killing me from internal injuries the way it would have fallen. This kind of crap happens EVERY time we have to move something big in our house. It's WELL past old-hat.

Wow, I can't believe I just ranted on those. Oh well. I'm too lazy to go back, delete, and try to find a shortened and less rant-y way to talk about it.

Alright, I'm off on today's run, a short 2 miles. And then I'm diving into the Hunger Games books. A friend is letting me borrow her copies since our wonderful library system decided to order only 1 copy of each book for each branch and they're all reserved well into the summer. Really?! *glare*

Evergreen Lake Kind Of Day

I FINALLY get a break from writing to ... write? Um, ok. Whatever. I'll just include lots of pictures to make my life easier, ok? [And totally not because I purposely took an obnoxious number of pictures to use for this post. lol]

(Please excuse if the pictures are a little blurry. I only had my Blackberry with me and the camera on it isn't all that great. I could have spent HOURS taking awesome pictures if I would have remembered my good camera.)

I was a little disappointed when I looked at my training schedule yesterday morning. Only 2 miles. I contemplated just running straight out and back on Whitehouse-Spencer Road or some random loop in town. And then I looked down and saw my trail shoes sitting next to my dresser. Is it weird that I HATE seeing them clean? :)

Since I was home, I just went over to one of my favorite trails in my favorite Metropark. Evergreen Lake. I remembered that the trail around the lake was somewhere around a mile (ok, I knew full well that each loop was 1.25+ miles, but I was being willfully ignorant once I decided that's where I wanted to run) so I planned on just making 2 loops.

Now, this IS Northwest Ohio, so we don't have huge hills (unless you want to count the Oak Openings ridge [if you really want to know what that is, just ask. I could keep you busy for years just with the work my department does on the OO ridge]), but I think this short trail has one of the best varieties of conditions you'll find in this part of NW Ohio.

You get everything from pavement (the official start to the multi-purpose trail for the park)...

... to the deciduous forest (mostly oak. This is an area well known for it's globally-rare black oak savannah.) ...

... MUCKY MUD ...

... No, I mean REALLY mucky. Check out one of my many "slides" (which I may or may not have been laughing and yelling "weee" as it was happening) ...

... the southwest end of the lake has my favorite part of the trail, the coniferous forest. I have friends who think it's creepy, but I love it ...

... you just have to watch REAL close through the conifers so you don't lose the trail since it isn't always clear. The Evergreen Lake trail, the horse trail, and the scout trail (longer-distance hiking trail) all weave back and forth through this side of the lake ...

... my favorite place in ALL THE PARK is JUST as the trail bends west to accommodate the irregular shape of the lake, just as you begin to enter the conifers ...

 ... and with a great view of the south end of the lake (you just don't want to be sitting there when the mosquitos are out if you value your hide) ...

... you may even see a beaver! It's rare, but they're here. Kind of hard to ignore the signs ...

... just watch your step so you don't trip over one of these (about 1/4 mile south on the trail from the bathrooms, if there are any Metroparks people reading this) ...

 ... or some of these ...

... and you'll have a happy run and look like this ...

Ok, maybe you won't look EXACTLY like that, but something similar. And, no, you can't have my sunglasses or my new Saucony jacket. LOVE those things! Plus, it was kind of fun seeing how many people asked me if there was hunting allowed in the park (which it isn't) and if that was why I was wearing a bright orange jacket. :)

Oh, and your shoes might end up looking like this ...

No joke, this was AFTER I scraped my feet off in the grass in the picnic area by the parking lot. You can't see the back of my legs either. It was comical with all the mud splatter. It MAY have been a mistake to wear brand new white socks. Oops. At least my trail shoes were gray to start with. :)

Evergreen Lake also has a really nice picnic area (with heated bathrooms) along the lake ...

So, if it wasn't obvious already, I REALLY enjoyed my run yesterday. I ran the loop twice (2.67 miles @ 11:33/mi average) and then walked it again to get all these pictures. Yes, I was writing this post in my head as I was running and thinking about where I wanted pictures. I purposely left my iPod at home so I could focus on enjoying and being in-the-moment. I always enjoy my runs here, no matter what the conditions, and I just wanted to be able to share. The weather was a gorgeous 35* and sunny and I'm SO glad I didn't waste the day. I was almost annoyed when it was time to go home and get back to work on the computer.

I do count myself to be extremely blessed to live where I do, in the shadow of the Oak Openings Ridge, with its diverse ecosystems and species. I'm also blessed to be healthy and active enough to be able to appreciate the opportunities available to me. Every time I step outside, I'm reminded why I'm in the environmental field any why I feel so strongly about environmental education for ALL.

Today, I'm stuck in my basement lab, listening to the construction going on all around me (I seriously need to buy a pair of noise-canceling headphones, the earbuds just aren't cutting it around here). I was down here before the sun came up and I won't be out until well after the sun goes down. Maybe THAT's why I procrastinated writing this post. I knew I'd need a pick-me-up and a reminder of what OUTSIDE looked like. It's ok. It's supposed to be rainy and crummy the rest of the week. That's ok too. 

You can either whine about your shoes getting a little wet, or you can go jump in the biggest puddle you can find and laugh about it. :)

Sweet Saturday

I really DID plan on writing this blog post yesterday, but it just never happened. Every time I sat down at my laptop, something else caught my attention and off I went. ADD at it's finest. lol.

I've completely blown my 100-day writing streak, so I'm going to have to start again. But, at least I have a better idea of what I need to do this time around to actually COMPLETE the challenge. Since I sit down every Saturday and make out my HUGE week-long to-do list for the next week (and it takes me a little while), I think I'm going to start allowing that to be one of my "journalings" for the challenge. And devote one notebook to this challenge, solely. I WAS trying to track it all with a word document, but it wasn't always convenient, which allowed me to slack off. No more of that.

I'm not sure what it was, but I just woke up in an excellent mood yesterday. Maybe it was because I slept in a bit and the sun was shining perfectly into my bedroom when I finally opened my eyes. I don't know. Anyway, I knew it was going to be a good day for my 6-miler. I didn't want to get on the W-C Trail and be bored for 6 miles and I didn't want to spend all that time on the road, either, so I looked for a mix. Going back to some of my bike rides from last summer for inspiration, I remembered that it was 6.75 miles round trip from my house to the Mallard Lake parking lot (the major trailhead for Oak Openings Metropark). Perfect. I didn't have to drive anywhere, I was in a familiar area, and I got to visit my favorite part. Again, perfect.

The run itself went pretty well. I woke up with a little pain in the normal place behind my right knee, but it quickly faded as soon as I started running. The only goals I had for the run were to finish and enjoy it. I didn't care how slow I ran it, but I wanted my final average pace to be in the high 11s. Well, I did it. It was a GORGEOUS sunny day in the low 40s and I enjoyed my 6 miles more than I thought I ever would. My music was rocking and I had to give myself a couple mini pep talks to keep my legs moving, but I did it. I even got a "visit" from my deer buddies while I was in the park. I had seen them on the side of the road ahead of me and, typical, they waited until I was RIGHT THERE to spook and take off across the road ALL AROUND ME. Sheesh. At least they didn't try to take me out like they did last summer when I was on the bike. lol. I definitely think I'm going to use this loop as a base when I start running longer distances. I can easily add a variety of loops with the park trails for more distance. :)

Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge Starts Tomorrow!

Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge starts tomorrow! Is it weird that I'm this excited? I already have 4 bonus points from the tweeting, facebook posting, and putting that lovely HBBC badge (you see on your right) on my little blog, but I want to get an early start. I'm planning on getting in an early morning run over at Oak Openings. It should be beautiful ... but a tad bit nipply. Luckily, the temperature will be right around where it was on my 11/11/11 run, so I know how to dress to be comfortable. I may even have some company. Annie volunteered her new husband, Dan, "BECAUSE he asked [her] if [she] wanted to, like he was excited about the idea ... and and he's been complaining about wanting to run since the beginning of this summer." Yep. Direct quote from the conversation on my facebook status. Haha. I warned him that I still run pretty slow, but he blew off my warning, so we'll see what happens. I want to do a 30DS as soon as I get back to the house after the run. If I don't knock it out right away, I know I won't find time to do it later in the day.

I'm still trying to figure out how to assign points to my workouts. JM's 30-Day Shred is a little bit of everything so I may just have to tally that up by week instead of day-to-day. Anyway, I plan on posting a weekly run-down of everything here (hopefully on Fridays) so you all can follow along and keep me on my toes. :)

11k for 11/11/11 and Veteran's Day

First, I just want to say thank you to all our service men and women, past, present, and future. We wouldn't be able to live our lives and be who we want to be without your sacrifice and the sacrifice and support of your family and friends. I have family and friends in just about every branch of service and I am proud and honored to know/be related to them! I wish I could hug every single one of them today and say "thank you".

Originally, I had planned on running/walking 11 miles today to celebrate 11/11/11 but I was kind of regretting it last night as I thought about it. I've never run more than 7 miles ... ever ... Jess offered me an "out" when she mentioned on facebook that she was going to run a 11k. Woo Hoo! Why didn't I think of that? Sheesh. lol. Anyway, I knew I'd have to run it either at Oak Openings or on the Towpath Trail so I didn't get bored too easily. I settled on Oak Openings since it's closer to home, I'm never more than a couple miles from my car or a bathroom (important on long runs, I'm learning), and I just really enjoy my run-ins with OO's wildlife. lol.

So, here's the mechanics. I'll address the rest in a hot minute:

Milage: Avg. Pace
Mile 1: 12:03
Mile 2: 12:22
Mile 3: 11:52 ... This part of the trail is paved and pretty straight. It showed. Lol.
Mile 4: 16:21 ... I walked this mile.
Mile 5: 12:38 ... This is REAL trail. Unpaved. Uneven. Dodging tree roots.
Mile 6: 12:34 ... Still mostly REAL trail.
0.83: 12:09

I had my iPod playing while I was running. I figured I'd need it to keep me distracted from the distance and any aches or pains. It did help me re-focus a couple times but I spent a LOT of time thinking about my grandparents. Both of my grandfathers were deployed with the army during Korea (Gpa C to Korea as a soldier, Gpa K to Germany as an electronics/communication tec) and my grandmother (dad's mom) worked in the armory/surplus here in Ohio while waiting for my grandfather to come home. I thought about my great-grandmother (dad's dad's mom) too. I can't imagine what she thought and went through in all the time she lived. All of them, really. I am so proud to be their granddaughter and I miss them every day. Every day I wonder what they'd think of something or if they would have given me specific advice on something. Any time my dad lectures me about something, I feel like I can hear his parents laughing and talking over him telling me to not take it to heart because he did even worse when he was my age. I'm not going to lie, I got a little emotional a couple times while running.

Ok, I'm getting off that before I start crying again. I DID get to see some wildlife while I was running (besides peoples' adorable/ hilarious dogs). I saw my deer buddy again in almost the exact same place as the other day. Again, she was sitting JUST off the trail and just stared as I ran by. I looked back and saw her take off like she was spooked when the next person went by her (running the other direction). I wonder if she recognizes me? If she is one of the 2 young ones I saw at the beginning of the summer, I've seen her pretty much every week for several months now. I know there are a TON of deer around Oak Openings, but I'm pretty observant of their individual markings (especially as their spots faded).

And the other reason I chose Oak Openings for my run ... bathrooms. For most people, this is going to be a bit TMI, but I think SUAR would approve of this topic. I usually refuse to run outside unless I've already gone #2 that day. I'm not the only one whose insides "shake loose" while running, right? Well, #2 didn't happen this morning, so I was nervous about running where there weren't bathrooms. About 3 miles into the run, my body decided it had to release SOMETHING. I wasn't sure WHAT, but remembering the numerous pictures of runners $#!@ing themselves made me cautious. Luckily it was just a fart (*offers a prayer of thanks*). Pretty much as soon as I got home, though, I was sprinting for the bathroom. Finally. I'm actually amazed I ran that much with that sitting in my system. Sheesh. Maybe doctors should prescribe running as a laxative? Strangely, my GI has still felt stressed the rest of the day. Not quite sure what THAT's about. Hrm. Oh well. Here's hoping I'll be back to normal by tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Veteran's Day. And good luck to everyone racing this weekend! Hopefully I'll remember to talk about my racing plans for this winter next time I write.

Oh, Beautiful Day

Did you vote today? I sure hope so. Issues 1 and 2 got shot down here in Ohio. *happy dance* I was SOOO ready for today. If you're friends with me on fb, you may have seen my rants on the political telemarketers. I really should have posted more on the couple times campaigns were silly enough to make a REAL person call our house instead of a recorded message. I had fun. *giggles evily*

So, if I hadn't needed to be in the lab early this morning, I would have run to my polling location. It's right along the bike path were I like to run. But, I was expected on campus before 8am, so I had to just drive and put off my workout until later in the day. Sitting in the lab was a bit of torture. The construction continues almost directly over my head and we apparently had a mini waterfall going in the stairwell across the hall from my lab. *Sigh* Yea.

I finally gave up after lunch and headed home. The weather had turned absolutely GORGEOUS! Slightly overcast and in the high 60's? Yes, please. I didn't want to waste this, possibly last, opportunity to get in a good-weather run at Oak Openings. I busted through my daily dose of 30-Day Shred (more on that in a hot minute) and high-tailed it for the woods. I stuck to the multi-purpose trail since I was still wearing my road shoes (and I just wanted a nice easy run). It didn't seem like much of a PUSH to run the WHOLE loop. It was a continuous run of 3.5 miles. It was slow, but I was enjoying every second of it!

I had a breakthrough with my 30-Day Shred!  I was able to continue all the strength exercises for the whole intervals. I'm still only doing 1 arm at a time during the side lunge/anterior raise(?) interval (Cycle 3), but I don't stop any more! One thing, though. I've pin-pointed the point where my shin starts to bother me. Jumping jacks. Yep, you read that right. My shin splints rear their ugly head the second I start doing jumping jacks. It's a HUGE problem since they come up again and again in EVERYTHING Jillian Michaels does! Ugh. I'm going to look up more strengthening and stretching stuff and hopefully that helps because I really AM enjoying 30-Day Shred.

Dinner with the parentals at Nick & Jimmy's. I had a delicious cajun chicken sandwich. Oh, and I finally found something that makes DAD cover his years and yell "la la la la la" as he leaves the room (for those of you that don't know, that is the standard reaction around our house any time my parents decide to remind us how much in love they still are. I think dad does it o purpose sometimes just to watch the kid brother and I spaz). What is this magic trick, you ask? It started as mom and I discussing how much I enjoy corsets (seriously, I freaking love them!) and turned into me reminding dad of an incident where mom asked him to move laundry from the washer to the dryer and he had a revelation that he'd never seen the "sexy" underwear before, so it must be mine. We heard the cursing and spazzing from upstairs. It was hilarious. 

There IS a UT football game tonight, the last home game of the season, actually, but who in their right mind goes to a football game on a random Tuesday with an 8pm start time? To make it even better, it's being shown on tv (though only on ESPN U, which isn't carried by ANY network in the area), which means the game won't be over until after midnight. And then we'd have to drive the half hour back out to our little town. Needless to say, we stayed home and caught up on our taped tv shows (can I just say one thing? My dad is insane. He'd rather tape shows using 3 different VCRs than just pony up for a freaking DVR. Ugh). 

Now I'm just sitting in bed, watching Conan, typing this, and waiting for my brother to text me the final score so I can go to bed. Oh, and dreading the craptastic-ness that will be the weather from now on this fall. So, awesome day all-around. :)

LOVE Evergreen Lake!

I pulled my usual "my paper is driving me nuts. I need to get out of the house. I'll go hunt Metroparks code words" stunt again yesterday. Even though I worked from home, and I slept in, staring at my computer screen for a couple hours made me want to scream.

Oak Openings' code word locations always interest me. This week's clue had you parking along the side of the road up at the Girdham/Sager Rd intersection and hauling in along a horse trail until you found where the Hiking/Scout Trail intersected it. Now, it was almost exactly a quarter of a mile in off the road, and it's a straight shot, but I can once again see someone with kids objecting to finding this week's word purely because of the amount on manure on the trail. The manure wouldn't have bothered me a bit had I been in my hiking boots or old tennis shoes, but I was already in my runners. So, my urge to sprint from the code word location back to my car was thwarted. I had to pick my way along the side of the trail and pray I wouldn't find any fresh piles. lol. I wonder how many people specifically parked further south along Girdham and followed the longer stretch of the Hiking Trail just to avoid the horse trail? This is the kind of thing that interests me. lol.

I can't believe I don't spend more time over at Evergreen Lake (Oak Openings)! I can't remember having spent any time there since we used the lake for canoeing for the Girl Scout Day Camp YEARS ago, which is a sad thing. If you can ignore the sight of the algae bloom overtaking the lake and the (sometimes) smell, it really has a nice little trail that runs around the perimeter. It's only 1.4 miles, but it really is a TRAIL trail. The contours of the lake provide a nice back-and-forth and you're always having to pay attention because of tree roots, low branch, or a quick turn in the trail. There is an area on the west side of the lake where you have to pay attention to the trail markers (and maybe guess) because you criss-cross the horse trail/rest area and the beginning of the all-purpose trail, but it's great fun. There are even a couple areas that are semi-clear that you can push your speed a bit more without worry of hurting yourself on a root. My "official" time for 1.29 miles was 16:28.62, but it should have been faster. I got flustered when I got to the horse rest area (which isn't on the map) and stopped for a second to get my bearings. Also, I had planned on walking once around the trail and then trying to run another lap. Not so surprisingly, As soon as I got out on the trail, I wanted to GO. So, I just made the 1 lap. Short run, yes, but I ran 3 miles the day before and my ankle was already a bit iffy. Plus, I wanted to head over to Farnsworth and find its code too. It was an almost-fun run, though. I haven't quite gotten to the point of calling running "fun" yet. lol

The code word at Farnsworth was super-easy to find. lol. It was in one of my favorite spots, actually. There's an old bridge that crosses the river at the very north east end of the park (the overlook is actually the start of the trail system and tow path), and around it is a GREAT area to scramble down the embankment and play in the river. The water is shallow and warm (usually) and there are plenty of things to explore around the bridge.

See?! Isn't it just the cutest little area?! It was actually just upriver from here where I was splashing around on my birthday last week. I have some better pictures of the bridge itself on my camera. I promised N I'd dig them out the other day and I haven't gotten around to it yet.

I don't know if I'll get a run in today or not. I've already run 2 days in a row (which is usually when my legs start arguing), though shorter distances. The major factor is my sinuses. Apparently, my sinuses aren't happy ... again. It started out as just in the evenings they'd go crazy (I still say it's the air conditioning ... happens every time we turn it on), but I woke up this morning miserable and I haven't stopped sneezing and blowing my nose since. Yes, I've already taken my Claratin-D. It isn't doing much, unfortunately. If it IS the a/c, it probably doesn't help that I'm sitting in a basement lab that is currently about 60*. The temperature in this lab is just another one of those goofy things we've been dealing with. This past winter, it was in the 80s down here, and now that they've turned off the steam for the construction outside our building, it's freezing down here. We keep long-sleeve shirts in the lab for during the day. It's crazy.

Alright, I guess I should get back to work. I said I would take a break from writing my paper to blog and listen to a podcast and the podcast just ended. Back to the grind. lol

License, passport, and more hours in the day, please!

Yesterday wasn't the amazing continuance of my birthday week like I had wanted, but it wasn't bad either. I let myself sleep in an extra hour (I was supposed to get up an run but realized it wasn't going to happen the second my alarm went off) and then play around on my laptop until I knew government offices would be open. Since I'm turning 25, I need a new driver's license (grr) and FINALLY getting my passport seemed like a pretty smart idea too (I got my original juvenile one for the  Europe trip in 2001 ... it expired in 2006. oops). Normally I cringe at the idea of the BMV office on Heatherdowns, but it was the closest to home and in a perfect location for me to swing back through Maumee and just take care of my passport at the Maumee Post Office. I was pleasantly surprised when I got to the BMV. I was able to walk right up to the counter and I was walking out with my new license in less than 15 minutes. I hate to say it, because the woman who helped me was so nice, but 3/4 of the women in that office fit the horrible cliche of overweight and facial hair. The woman who helped me SERIOUSLY had a grey mustache! *shakes head* 

Anyway, like I said, I stopped back at the Maumee Post Office to take care of my passport. It's one of the few processing places in the area where you can also get your picture done. I could have gone up the AAA and gotten my pictures done for half price, but I didn't want to go out of my way. I was pleasantly surprised at the post office, too. Even though there was only one woman working, I was done and out of there in less than 15 minutes too. I guess it helps when you already have all the paperwork filled out and you just need the pictures and the final signatures. The fact that there was no other customers when I got there probably made it quicker too. lol.

Happy, but slightly poorer (holy crap passports are expensive), I headed home to pack up my stuff and head into campus for the day. Taking all that stuff WITH me would have been the smart thing to do, but I had planned to eat lunch at home so I wouldn't be tempted to pick up fast-food on my way into town. Luckily mom and Sean were getting home from their morning errands right around the time I was. I could tell mom was already driving Sean crazy and he wanted a break so when she mentioned wanting to go into campus to do something she couldn't do from home, I all but pushed her out the door and said I would work from home the rest of the day.

After a couple hours of working on my computer, I started getting antsy. This happens no matter WHERE I work, but it's been getting worse as my stress over upcoming deadlines goes up. Since I was already at home, and I still hadn't done my miles yet (love sleeping in but hate the consequences of NOT doing my miles before the sun comes up), I headed over to Oak Openings. I didn't want to run, but I still enjoy walking the trails. After hitting the Horseshoe Lake Loop to find this week's code word, I did most of the Sand Dune trail, minus the dune ridge itself, and headed up the W-C trail connector to find an access point to the ridge (silver) trail. I now know that the north side of the ridge trail is clear (even where it was re-routed to avoid a knocked-down bridge), and I recognized where that side of the loop met back up with the lead-in trail, so I must have been on the back (south-west) side when I got goofed up a couple weeks ago. There is another access point further south on the W-C connector so maybe I'll have to try there next. Since my ranger buddy couldn't tell me anything more than I already knew, maybe I'll digitize one of the park maps and impose my gps routes over it. There's always a chance (though a slim one) that I somehow missed a connector and ended up on a different trail. If not, I can take it directly to someone at Metroparks and ask more specific questions. I understand they can't keep reproducing maps every time they work in a different area of storm damage, but that was a pretty big difference. Super confusing. Whatever. Guess I'll check it out next time we have a cloudy day because there is NO WAY I'm knowingly taking a trail that skirts the big prairie area and storm damage when it's sunny and hot. I felt like I was roasting while I was on the north edge of the ridge loop yesterday.

I'm torn. I don't know if I should continue just running as I have been, trying to build up my distance and time on my own, listening to my body and to my surroundings, or if I should try the 'Bridge to 10k' program. I'm a little annoyed that the only program podcasts I could find were for the iPhone/iPod touch and you have to pay for them. Grr. But, I did hunt down a written version of the training schedule. I GUESS I could do that now that I have my Garmin and have figured out how to program workouts. Maybe I should just get myself to the point where I can run an entire 5k without stopping first, eh? Some more cross-training wouldn't kill me, either. I have a bike (2, in fact ... once i fix my road bike), a cyclocomputer, and access to a great trail system (not to mention I just get 1 mile out of my town and it's all country roads).

As soon as I get this page of revisions done (after I post this blog), I think I'm off to Waterville to run the tow path. I KNOW it's going to be a miserable run with the heat and humidity, but I need to get it done. And I can't just do it on the treadmill tonight. I'm headed to Sarah's for some 'Pure Romance' shenanigans. It should be interesting. Haha.

Still no plans for tomorrow, though mom did ask me last night what I wanted for my birthday. I didn't know how to answer since most of the things I want right now are either expensive or something you just can't buy. I hate asking for something expensive (even something like making a payment on my car loan) because I'm already living at home and the parents are paying for my car insurance, gas, and the interest on my student loans. Anyway, I'm ok with not having plans. I like being able to do whatever I fancy. It's not that I won't do ANYTHING, it's that I refuse to only have the choices of plan a party or something for myself or stay home with my family. Plus, I really DO have work to do. The world doesn't stop spinning just because it's my birthday. lol