snow

thirty-six

February 10, 2013 by Kristy 21 Comments

Yesterday was my 36th birthday. Since my birthday fell on a Saturday, I naturally turned it into a birthday weekend. I believe birthdays should be celebrated….even if I am closer to 40 than 30. On that note, let’s change the subject.

I knew exactly how I wanted to start my birthday – with a long run. Abby must have read my mind and emailed me mid-week asking if I was up for a birthday run. Of course.

It always snows on my birthday. Always. But luckily Nemo didn’t destroy our plans and we managed 13 snowy miles. It was a literal winter wonderland (much like my 16-miler a few weeks ago).

Next up was spending the rest of the day with Matt and Hawk. We strolled around Chestnut Hill (a cute neighborhood in Philly) briefly, until it became too cold.

I have been fighting a cold all week long. By 6PM I was a snotty mess and felt awful. I tried to rally to go out to dinner but we ending up ordering pizza and watching a movie. I was in bed by 10:30. Party hardy.

But, it being my birthday weekend, we are doing dinner tonight instead. Followed by The Walking Dead. Oh, how times have changed.

What’s your ideal way to celebrate your birthday? For one of my birthdays, I really want to “run my age”. Too bad I wasn’t running marathons back when I turned 26.

Weekend Routine

February 27, 2012 by Kristy 21 Comments

Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day. My weekends are pretty much the same from one week to the next and, naturally, they revolve around running. Eat, sleep, run…repeat.

Friday night
Going out on a Friday night is definitely not happening since an early morning long run beckons. Ever do a long run with little sleep or a hangover? It’s not fun. So my Friday nights go a little something like this: pizza for dinner if I’m running around 18-22 miles the next day, getting everything ready for my long run (clothes, fuel, etc.), watching House Hunters International with Matt, and a 9:00-9:30 bedtime. Whoa, that’s living life in the fast lane, folks.

Saturday morning
I generally get up around 7:00 (sadly, this is sleeping in). I get dressed and get on my way. I don’t eat before any of my runs, so I don’t have to worry about factoring time in for digestion and what not. Then I drive to my hilly long run route and hope for the best! I’m going to have to alter my routine in the next few weeks to prepare for Boston’s late start (closer to 11AM for me – eek!).

I always have chocolate milk waiting for me in the car so I can drink it while I stretch. I drive home, stretch some more, do my PT exercises, foam roll, take the longest, hottest shower, and the finally eat breakfast. By this time it’s usually 11AM. Phew!

If I am planning to go out, Saturday night is usually the night to get wild and crazy since my Sunday run is easy. If I can stay awake until 11PM, it must have been a really fun night.

Sunday morning
I “sleep in” (i.e., don’t set an alarm) and bang out an easy run just to give the old legs a good shake after Saturday’s long run. I also figure out my training schedule for the week ahead so I can do this all over again!

It’s funny how drastically different my weekends are now as compared to my 20s!

My long run this weekend was interesting. We had a wind advisory so, instead of killing myself by adhering to a certain pace, I made it a LSD run. No lie, the wind was intense.

It was nice out though – about 40 degrees and sunny. Around mile 15 the sky got dark and the temps started dropping. By mile 16 I was running in a full-on snowstorm. I couldn’t believe it. As soon as I finished running, the sun came back out and the snow stopped. Those last 2 miles were not fun.

I finished 18 miles in 2:44 – 9:07 average pace. Not bad considering the crazy wind.

Do you fall into a routine when training? Kudos to you if you can manage to have a social life too. Training and going out were much easier…when I was younger!

Did you run in the crazy wind on Saturday?

Thirty-five

February 8, 2012 by Kristy 27 Comments

Today is my 35^th birthday! Go on, you can say it, damn that’s old! It does sound old!

A few tidbits about my birthday…

It always snows! When I was 6 we had a huge blizzard and everyone had to come to my party on sled (a perk of growing up in the city is that sledding to someone’s house was actually feasible). And on my 29^th birthday another blizzard hit but thankfully we were still able to schlep to the bars in the snow.
I was born at 6:28AM. I think there is this silly correlation between time of birth and whether you’re a morning person or a night owl. I’m very much a morning person.
I love celebrating my birthday (and other people’s birthdays too). I hate when people refer to it as just another day…

A few weeks ago I was driving home from work and it hit me that I was turning 35. I don’t feel 35 (but what does 35 feel like anyway?). I feel much younger than that. Sidenote: I don’t have kids. I’ve been told they make you feel older so I’ll take that into consideration. Running consistently for the past 10 years has to be the reason. Chalk that up as reason #742,831 to run!

Other things I’ve noticed or love about my need to run…

I hardly get sick. I used to be plagued with frequent colds and now I get a cold once in a blue moon.
I love how running makes my heart strong (and my resting heart rate low). When I read Matt Long’s book, The Long Run, I distinctly remember reading about how strong his heart was and how that was a huge factor in his survival.
Running keeps me sane and focused. It really is cheaper than therapy.
Running has become as routine as brushing my teeth. I need to do it.

Today I will celebrate turning 35 with a short fun run after work, followed by pizza and beer. I did receive a running-related T-shirt from my brother and sister-in-law. Hmm, the guy on the left sounds a bit like me!

What time of day were you born? Is my correlation correct?

What changes about yourself have you noticed since you started running?

The Snow Shuffle and Boston Week 3 Recap

January 23, 2012 by Kristy 9 Comments

An alternate title: Separating the Crazy from the Sane.

I woke up Saturday morning determined to get 17 miles in – snow, blizzard, ice storm, what have you. I woke up at 6:50AM, checked Twitter, and was surprised by all the “I’m treadmilling it today and getting my 20 miles done” tweets. Crap, is it that bad out? I checked outside and was surprised we got so much snow – about 3 inches. Usually the weather people are way off.

I couldn’t imagine running for 17 miles on the TM, so I bundled up, and prepared myself mentally for the challenge. I got myself out the door at 7:30 into the freezing rain. It wasn’t terribly cold but it was tough to run – even with my YakTrax on. The snow was deep. The paved trail that I usually run on clearly states “no winter trail maintenance” and they mean it. It pisses me off since they mow the lawn once a week in the summer but they can’t drop a plow and remove the snow in the winter. Running on an unplowed trail wasn’t working. I was shuffling along and my stride was all messed up. There was no way I could maintain this for 17 miles.

So I found a 1-mile stretch that was plowed and managed to run around it 7 times, looking like a complete ass in the process. By now my Garmin, my tights, my jacket, my hat, and my (right) eyelid were getting icy. My eyelid was really starting to sting too. I waved the white flag, ran the 1/2 mile back to my house, and decided to prepare myself mentally for another challenge – 9.5 miles on the TM.

I watched Leap Year while on the TM and tried to transport myself back to Ireland. It helped for the first 3 miles. After that I was just antsy and miserable. I have no idea how people run 20 miles on the TM. I’m in complete awe of them.

7.5 miles in the snow at 9:40 pace and 9.5 miles on the TM at 8:53 pace. Done and done!

Boston Week 3 Recap
MON: 8mi speed
TUE: 8mi tempo with 5 miles at MP (8:28, 8:11, 8:12, 8:16, 8:07). I experimented with doing 2 hard days back-to-back and it wasn’t too bad. Those MP miles felt easier then they did last week.
WED: barre class
THU: rest!
FRI: 6mi easy with 5 short hill repeats at the end
SAT: 17 loooooong miles
SUN: 6mi easy

45 miles total for the week.

How did you deal with the snow and running this weekend? If you live in the South or San Francisco and had perfect weather, I don’t want to hear it 😉

Does your favorite running route get plowed or do you have to get creative?