Airplane Wings

Ever feel like your run is bringing you back to a carefree place and making you feel like a little kid again?  All the worries, cares, concerns of the day disappear and you are just breathing in the fresh air and taking in the sights around you.  Things are working well and you catch yourself smiling mid-run. You're running and running and running and you could easily stretch your arms out to the side like airplane wings and glide along?

That was my run today. 

I GOT IN!!!!!

The 7 Mile Bridge Run in the Florida Keys! 

It took a LOT of coordination -- all applications are through a PO Box, so no Fedex or emailing or online registration.  It's a really popular race, and only the first 1500 complete, correctly-done, paid applications are accepted.  The race usually fills up in less than 2 days. 

Living in NJ, I was pretty screwed.

Until I enlisted the help of some friends.  First Jen (she lives in Florida) was willing help -- thanks! -- but then I realized my friend TH was actually IN the Keys and would have a better shot at getting my app taken care of in one day. 

I had to send a request for the app (with a self-addressed, postage-paid envelope) and then wait until Tuesday, February 8th when ALL the apps would be mailed out together.  I had included a Fedex express envelope for the app to get to TH by first thing Wednesday morning.  In the meantime, I had sent a package to TH with my registration info (as best as I could guess they'd ask), a blank check for the registration fee, and a postage paid envelope for him to return the app. 

Here's the thing:  He lives within a few miles of the post office where the PO Box for the race is, so he simply delivered the app to the post office and put it in a special box they had prepared for these immediate apps.  He said there were about 50 apps ahead of mine -- and that was at noon the day after the apps were mailed out!  Whoa!

I felt confident I'd get in, but I still couldn't wait to see my check clear at the bank or get word my app had been accepted.  I didn't want to book flights (I'll stay at my parents' rental house) or anything until it was definite. 

Today, my check cleared. 
Today, I booked my flight.

Today, I also closed on my refinance of my mortgage -- but that's a whole other story. 
Today, I have a race in my future that I'm excited about. 

By the afternoon of Thursday, February 10th, the race closed.  And,
I got in! 

Red Face... and, What the Hell Happened to My Honey?

It was warm, like a sunburn, and when I looked in the mirror, I realized my face was red-ish.  I noticed it had more color than, say, my arms.  And there was a little bit of a tingly buzz to it. 

And it made me smile.  I know it's only (probably) windburn or something from my 12 miler at the shore (into the cold wind) this weekend, but in the middle of this cold, full-of-snow winter, my face looks like it got some sun.  LOVE IT. 

I tried taking a picture to show you, but -- quite honestly -- I looked pretty haggard and wrinkled in every one I took.  It's been a long, busy week+ and close-ups weren't being friendly.  So you'll have to just take my word for it...

And,

what the hell happened to my honey?

 

It got all cloudy and thick and almost impossible to squeeze out of the bottle.  It's not clear and oozy anymore.  When I finally get some out it's like the sugars crystallized.  This is the first time I've ever had a bottle of honey in my house (don't laugh) and I don't know what happened to it.
 
What happened?

Dinner by Wegmans

Busy, busy days this week.  The other night, after work and running, I still had to do my grocery shopping for the week -- just adding to my already long day.  So after loading up on tons of fresh produce, I ventured over to the prepared foods and let Wegmans cook dinner for me that night. 

Grilled lemon garlic chicken (although, thankfully, it was not at all garlic-y).  Perfectly cooked and seasoned.

Butternut squash and baby spinach with craisins.  Perfectly cooked and seasoned.

Harvest vegetables.  Cut stick-style. Perfectly cooked and seasoned. 

And the guy that waited on me was VERY generous with the servings when I asked him to load up the veggies.  All this for $6!  All I had to do was cut up the chicken breast (I do that for even heating) and heat up the whole dish.  YUM.  I'll let Wegmans make this dinner for me once a week.  It was really delicious. 

And on an only slightly related note, tonight I was making my salad for lunch tomorrow.  I was filling a  tupperware bowl with mixed greens and spinach.  Now, you already know my love for, but hesitation with, baby spinach.  Well, no frogs tonight, but I did find this:

A giant spinach leaf.  GIANT.  What is that giant spinach leaf doing in a baby spinach package?  The little leaf on the right is the normal size of a spinach leaf in a baby spinach batch.  The gigantic leaf, bigger than a chapstick, bigger than my ipod, a billion times bigger than that dime, was covering half of the top of my salad bowl! 

It doesn't belong in a baby spinach package, but I guessed it has a lot of nutrients and stuff in its enormity, so I picked it up and ate it right then and there.

I Chose the Cold Rain

This morning's forecast was for an icy, freezing rain in the early morning, switching to rain later in the day.  I went to bed last night thinking I'll suck it up and get a short run done on the treadmill at the gym and then hop in the pool for a swim. 

Then I woke up and it didn't look too bad out.  I got dressed to run outside. 

Then I went outside and it was slippery, so I got dressed to go to the gym.  Packed up all my stuff and got in my car. 

Then I drove right past the gym and drove to the shore and ran my long run in the rain there. 

I chose a long run in the cold, drizzly rain over a short run on the treadmill and a swim. 

Right choice -- the fresh air, the run along the coast, legs working and the elements soaking me, was perfect. ('Though it's not helping me improve my swimming!)

Return to the Hills

Tonight was the first group run from the new store.  My sister and I decided to do the run, which worked well for me today because my head was brewing a serious headache as I left work.  I was able to take my migraine meds and even catch a little nap before the run.  By the time I picked A up, my head was fine and I was looking forward to the nighttime run. 

This was going to be the first time I did some real hilly running since last summer.  I wasn't sure I'd make all the hills, so my sister and I decided we might cut out one of the steeper ones.  By the time we got out of the flat part and started toward the hilly part of town, A was thinking about her run tomorrow and even said she'd be ok with cutting the run short.  My legs were feeling ok, so I said I wanted to keep going, but it's ok if she turned back.  She didn't, so on we went. 

We ended up not cutting short any part of the course.  At about mile 4, we picked up one of the older (faster!) guys and chatted with him the rest of the way.  While we got a little wet from the puddles and had to watch our footing once or twice with the snowy, slippery slush, the temps were warmer and the run was good.

And when we finished, my calf was ok.  A teensy, tiny bit feeling the hills and faster pace, but overall ok.  It was a solid run, and a good feeling to return to the hills. 

Nowhere to run...

Whoa.  Busy week.  I'm tired, and I should have been in bed an hour ago to try to make up some sleep.  So here's my week in pictures instead:

I had a sweaty but good 8 mile run early in the week

 

because I knew more snow was on its way.

The roads were are bad -- no shoulders, no sidewalks clear.  Nowhere to (safely) run.

 

So mid-week I hopped on the trainer for an hour-long session. 

I told myself to stay riding through an hour of Oprah.  I rode easy through most of it, but during every commercial break I put it in a tougher gear and rode harder.  Then I went to an awesome 90 minute hot yoga class.  Om. 

The end of the week brought my first treadmill run since last winter.  I hate the treadmill.  I hate running on it, but with news of a woman in Delaware getting struck and killed by a plow while walking (running?) in the street, I knew I had to play it safer.  I survived, though I didn't enjoy those 5 miles at all.  But I did hop into the pool for a short swim afterwards. 

The weekend was a busy one.  I took a quick trip to the shore to get a solid 12 miler done without worrying about safety in the snowy streets.  Roads are a bit clearer there, and I got to see my nephew's basketball game for a bit.  Oh, and some super fun Roxie playing time, too! 

We moved the running store to its new location across the street, so I was working there for a bit Saturday night.  Then an easy 3 miler with my sister Sunday morning and I was off to NYC to celebrate a friend's birthday.  Lunch at Carmine's -- YUM, but so full! --

and then a walk up to the Gershwin Theater to see

It was good, but I'm soooooooo not a movie-goer.  I know this wasn't a movie, but the concept is similar.  Putting me in a dark theater where I have to sit still for hours at a time while I know it's sunny outside just makes me want the show to hurry up and be finished.  It was good, though. 

After the long day in the city and the long train ride home, I got to the store at about 9pm and worked until after 10:30pm.  Needless to say, when I got up this morning, I was in need of much more sleep.   

Unfortunately, I'm ridiculously professional about going to work, so I threw on one of my easy dresses and poured a big cup of coffee to get me through the day. 

I'm not sure if I look sort of perky or just beyond tired here, but somehow I got out for a solid run after work and had one of those runs where I just could have kept going for-ev-er.  7 cool, crisp, comfortable miles done, while dodging snow piles the whole way. 

A pleasant surprise after a long, busy week, with nowhere to run.