These Vagabond Shoes ...

These vagabond shoes are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it, New York, New York ...

Today I registered for the NY marathon which is run on the streets of all 5 of the boroughs of NY city on November 6. I think it'll be a fun road trip. Mike Schmitt, Tom Woo, Tom O'Leary and Peter Maves have also registered. My friends Yvonne and Jodi are going to sign up too. Whoo hoo!! Girls' road trip. NYC ... here we come. I figured this might be the only time I'll have the privilege of a guaranteed entry based on time, so I went for it. I hope to visit Kelly and Ben while out there as well.

Today was pretty much all things (sort of) running related. Morning workout: run 4 miles, lift, swim. The pool got really busy at about 7:45 which was odd. By then it was 2 people in most lanes. Gave my lane to Judge Kevin Lund. :-) Then ran home. Just an OK workout morning. Nothing special. After work I got my Fetzer volunteer email sent out. Which of course is already in need of revision. :-( I try to wait until I think I won't have to change it, but that just never happens. But it's OK.

I volunteered to help Mederic Hall with a heel study. He needs uninjured heels and will do an ultrasound.

Then it was off to the track club shed ...

to pick up a few things (laptops, printer/timers, etc.) before the big equipment pick-up on Thursday/Friday. I need to get the scoring electronics to John Resman tomorrow afternoon. Then it was off to Office Max to make copies of maps, info sheets, entry forms. The bigger, visible things are the easy things (shirts, numbers, medals). The devil is in the details. There are a million of them.

At 5:16 (I was a minute late) I joined my trashy friends for a pick-up of the bike path surrounding the golf course. The first one of the season is always a bugger. There's a lot of stuff, and most of it has been there for quite a while. Thanks to Julie Yost, Jean Murray, John Dinusson, Theresa Walter, Joann Johnson, Dennis Johnson it all got picked up.

Me, Dennis, Joann

Theresa, John, Julie, Jean, Joann, Dennis, me

Then a few of us went to O'Neil's pizza pub. I waited to eat 'til I got home (save for a 2" square of 'za) to eat. I've got lots 'o food in the fridge.

It was just a beautiful evening.
 

 
I'm going to try to get up in time to get to Byron for the Progressive Run at 5:30. But I'm not going to push it. Too much potential for injury.
 
See 'ya.

Got My Mojo Back

I FINALLY had a good run this morning. Various aches and pains have been surfacing lately (left foot, right hamstring) and this morning that wasn't the case. It was a beautiful morning for a run. About 30 degrees and not windy. Gorgeous blue sky. I decided to run hills as I can't run them this evening (going to a movie). So I did a 2-mile warmup and headed for the Plummer Circle neighborhood. I ran 12 repeats of  the 10th St SW hill, 2 repeats of 9th Ave SW, and the 3 hills on the run home. 17 hills, 10.09 miles. And I wasn't sore when I was done. Just a really good workout. Whew. Nice. Yesterday, 4 mile run, lift and a really good swim. Took 2-3 strokes off every length of the pool. Don't know why things were clicking, but they were.

2003 adidas Boston poster--runner's names are watermarked on it

Yesterday evening 16 of us that are heading to Boston next week for the marathon gathered at my house for a potluck. Let's see if I can remember all the names: Ann, Joe, Andy, Erin, Jeff, Trevor, Angie, Jim, Roger, Joyce, Emily, Flow, Kristin O', Kristin Z, Shaun, Renee. I was looking so forward to it as it put me totally in my element: a house full of friends, a potluck, marathon talk. And Boston marathon talk at that. It's such an EVENT. I love the atmosphere out there. It's really electric. The marathon of marathons, no doubt about it.

As an icebreaker, I had everyone make a nametag (they didn't all know each other) and write the name of the marathon(s) that they qualified at for Boston 2011. Lots of info was shared ...

and I hope it was beneficial for those that haven't run it before. No, I didn't have the TV on. I created a slide show of my pictures from last year and played it on the DVD player. ;-) I sent everyone home with a little bag of cookies for post-marathon.

I've already heard that at least one bag did not make it home. :-) Ha.

Fetzer this 'n that: Shirts are in. I thought I took a pic to post but didn't. I'll do that tomorrow. Thank you to the volunteers that are still coming in ... John T, Theresa B, Trevor's Teenagers, Jean Murray (who volunteered to run sweep). Thank you Laura for the use of your van to haul stuff ... no sooner had I posted that request last week, that she came through me. My friends are the best. I'm thankful for you all. Replacement medal engraving arrived yesterday. 14 cases of fluids purchased at Sam's today (my back is sore and my Honda packed to the gills). Got a very nice email from Digger Carlson. I'll share his Fetzer stats in another post. Such a nice guy.

Like pancakes? Want to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation? Stop in for 'cakes at the Bear's Den in Byron on April 16. See Team R.E.D. blog for more info. I'm so disappointed I won't be there again. Last year it was also the weekend before Boston so I missed it then as well. But I helped out at the JDRF Roll 'n Stroll in May. And you can too!! Either as a volunteer or a participant.

Getting new carpet installed Monday morning. Can't wait. It'll really spruce things up in here. And it'll smell, I'm sure. :-)

Trash pick-up around the Soldier's Field golf course/bike path at 5:15 PM tomorrow (Wednesday). First trashy event of the season. :-) Bags provided. Feel free to join in the fun. Gather at the parking lot near Snappy Stop on Broadway.

I'm meeting Don Gabrielson at 5:30 Thursday at the Bear's Den for a few early miles before Team R.E.D.  Feel free to join us.

Gotta run. Later.

Boston Bound!!!

A bunch of us that are headed to Beantown next weekend gathered at my house last night for a potluck and chatter. Here are the pix!

Finally!!

Today, it finally felt like spring. I spied 64 degrees on the thermometer this afternoon on the north side of my house. And I went running in ...

capris!! That felt so nice. I actually felt overdressed when I was running into the wind. It was a slow, leisurely run with my iPod on. 10.09 miles total. The only other runner I saw out there was Deb Dilling. Congrats to those that ran Fool's Five today! And extra congrats to my runner friends Pete Gilman and Mary Chestolowski who won the men's and women's divisions. Excellent!

After I returned home, I decided to do a little work out in my flower beds. I cleaned out the dead tops of the perennials. I just love to dig in the dirt.

Can't wait 'til the greenhouses have live plants.

After getting cleaned up, I took Lisa out for lunch at Dooley's to celebrate her birthday which was last week. We had a very nice lunch. I gave her some of my "loaded" cookies (semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips, toasated pecans, ground pecans, ground oatmeal) and some homemade jam.

I had BBQ chicken sliders. I ate two and took the other one, and those "fries" (which were actually spicy chips) home. I skipped breakfast so by mid-afternoon I was starving. I chomped on celery and carrots, but that didn't quite do it for me. So about 6:00, I made some roasted asparagus and yet ANOTHER salad.

Lori posted a picture of a DQ ice cream sundae on Facebook. Boy, did that look good ...

On Groupon.com today: $40 gift certificates for Bilotti's for $20.

Tomorrow is my potluck for the Boston (Marathon) Bound Buddies from Rochester. We're at 17 now. Should be a nice evening ... good friends, good friends, good fun. Bloggable to be sure.

I'm getting closer to deciding to run the NY marathon this fall. I've reserved a room, but haven't registered or purchased plane tickets yet. But I'm getting closer ...

Enough for today. Good night.

Wonderful!

It really felt like spring outside today. It's been so long in coming. Loved it!

First off, a very Happy Birthday to my sister Alison!! And congrats to my son Matt who rode 75 bike miles today. You rock, Matt!!

I started out the day with a long run from the RAC. As I was leaving the neighborhood, I saw more wild turkeys. This time with a few toms in the mix.

The scheduled route was 17.6 miles and included about 1 1/2 loops of Silver Lake. Since I'm tapering for Boston, I decided to forgo the complete loop to cut off about 1.8 miles from the route. I ran the first few miles with Deb Krause. I hadn't seen her in a long time. It was so nice to chat with her again.

It was just a beautiful morning for a run.

Talked with Tina at the Foster Arends stop and she agreed ... the Boston Marathon jackets run small this year. I looked at adidas.com and all the comments on the jacket say the same ... runs small. It's also on the short side. Glad it's not just me. Also, Emily and her boyfriend will join us for the Boston Bash potluck on Monday and in Boston as well. Hoo-rah!! They were preparing to put up the greenhouse in the Hy-Vee north parking lot. The sight of flowers, plants, trees ready for planting will really make it feel like spring. On the run I chatted with someone I hadn't met before .... Melissa.

Randy, Melissa, Mark

Congrats to her ... she said she's lost 50 pounds in the last year. Wow!! She's training for Grandma's (along with her husband) which will be her third marathon. Thanks Jen and James for the water stops!! Those orange slices really hit the spot. :-)

Jen and Melissa

Mark, Melissa, Jen, James, Randy

Thirty five degrees. Perfect!!

That's Andy in the "lead" above. He's running so well. That was the last time I saw him. :-) Until we got back to the RAC. I chatted with the guys ...

Nice, Andy!!

and then headed out for a little post-script for the run ending the morning with 17.36 miles. I struggled a bit at about 15 miles but overall it was a good run. Then it was off to the Crown for breakfast with Jim, Liz, Sara, Mike, Andy, Roger, Tom. Didn't get out of there until after 12:30. Yikes.

Mike, Roger, Tom

Liz, me, Jim

Sara and Liz ... so cute!

Breakfast

This afternoon, I made some banana bread for my neighbors.

And another batch of m&m cookies (for Fetzer). This evening I attended the TriRochester season kickoff pizza party at Rochester Cycling & Fitness. They had a great turnout.

Zack Nevala

I won an American Family Insurance cap, and purchased some GU for Boston, and a pair of cycling sox.

For kicks and giggles, I bought a red daisy flower for my handlebars. Sadly, it doesn't fit and I'll have to return it. My handlebars are too fat. Guess it's made for a kid's bike. Go figure. :-) I'd love to have this sweet hot pink cruiser!!

Time to call it a day. Good night.

Oh, my ....

NOT a good day.

This would put a damper on anyone's running (or biking or swimming or anything) aspirations. Remember Nancy Kerrigan after whe got clubbed by that guy, wailing, "Why? Why? Why?" Why, indeed. But you know what?? APRIL FOOL'S!! Not me. Gotcha?? :-)

Popped in to Brothers for a few minutes last night to join the Team R.E.D. folks after I attended a session on a new tool the Post-Bulletin will be using in the near future to post scores (or results, in the case of running), stories, announcements, etc. in the Wide World of Sports. (Remember that show 50-somethings?)

Millie, Peter, Mike

So. This morning's workout starting with a lifting session at the Y. I brought my camera today since I knew I was running with Joe, so I thought I'd take a few pix in the fitness center. Mike Holmes took these for me.

Willie and Margo

I did WAY too much chatting today, so my swim was cut short by about 15 minutes. Chatted with Mike and Kevin. They obliged me with a couple pix. I told them they'd become "bleaders" if they started reading my blog. :-)

Mike and Kevin (hard at work  :-)

I joined Joe outside at 9:20 or so for an 8-mile run. I couldn't find my black Running Room skull cap, and I went into the Fitness Center, the front desk and the locker room (twice) looking for it. So I wore a baseball-style cap. I really look bad in these. I need my "fluffy" hair on top 'o my head!!

Ugh!! I look AWFUL.

We ran EXACTLY 8.00 miles. South to the golf course bridge, up along the river and right by the cemetery, to the end of the Quarry Hill trail, back to the 9th St tennis courts, south of Silver Lake and back to the Y. Running was a struggle today. My legs had NOTHING. My breathing felt labored. Overtrained? Possibly. Quite possibly. Last night at about 8:45 pm I got on the bike and rode the Time Trial I TriRochester workout and that did a number on my legs. So after the morning workout, that was it for today. No 2nd workout. While I was watching TV on the bike I saw an add for the move Water for Elephants coming out April 22. That was a great book. I'd really like to see the film version.

Good news: When I got home, I found my hat laying on the floor. :-)

I've decided not to run Fool's Five. The likelihood of injury and disappointment (and rain) are much too high. I just can't get fired up around racing, or running fast, this year. Like I told Joe today, I've been mulling over the idea of taking up bike racing again (after almost 30 years off racing). Or, I might try a 50K trail run for something different. Jim Mason's Chester Woods 50K would be a good one to start with. Check Jim's Blog for the down and dirty on all things Chester Woods. :-)

I'm sitting on the couch, laptop on my lap, with the Twins on the TV. It's 10-0 Toronto. DISLIKE. Not a great way to start the season. So ... I now have my iPod on so at least I'm not hearing about this disappointing game. I can just peek at the score every once in a while.

I'm trying to eat über-healthy these days so I can drop some lbs. Lots o'salads. But that's nothing new.

I made m&m cookies for the TriRochester Pre-season Party tomorrow at Rochester Cycling & Fitness.

All those m&ms (I love m&ms) and I didn't eat even ONE. I am proud of myself. I did have a 30-calorie caramel Nip after supper, though.

This morning as I was leaving the Y, I was just feet away from being T-boned, on the driver's side. I was going north on 1st Ave SW and I had the green light. I was just pulling into the intersection and saw an SUV approaching on my left and he didn't slow down a bit. He ran the light but we both slammed on the brakes and avoided a collision. It would have been totally his fault as I double-checked and glanced at the lights again and sure enough, his was red. I would have been hit on my side and his vehicle was bigger than mine. It would not have been good. This is the same situation in which Peg had her van totalled a couple years ago. People run that light all the time. I think they're looking ahead to Broadway and just don't see the one on 1st Ave.

After I dropped off a check at Hiller's for some new carpet, I stopped at Aldi for a few things. Noticed I'd forgotten my list. Bummer. And phone. No big deal. And my debit card (they don't take credit) expired YESTERDAY. (The new one was on the table at home.) But ... I found a quarter in one of the shopping carts. :-) And they had my favorite 90-calorie granola bars for $1.39.

At 14 cents it's a lot cheaper than gels. And I find them more palatable.

I'm having a bunch of 2011-Boston-Marathon-running-buddies over for a potluck on Monday. Great turnout. Everyone can come but Angie who has to work. 14 of us. Yippee!! It'll be really fun to talk all things Boston.

I'll close with some Lady Antebellum lyrics:

May the angels protect you
Trouble neglect you
And heaven accept you when its time to go home
May you always have plenty
The glass never empty
Know in your belly
You're never alone

May your tears come from laughing
You find friends worth having
With every year passing
They mean more than gold
May you win but stay humble
Smile more than grumble
And know when you stumble
You're never alone.
 
Gute nacht.

Never Give Up

I saw this race on Jim Parry's blog. INCREDIBLE. Never Give Up!!



Mr. Parry's Endurance Challenge: What Would You Do?