I Get The News I Need On The Weather Report

That song came on my iPod when I was running one day last week. That song is in one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies.  If you don't get the reference, google “Garden State” - Infinite Abyss. And yes, right then, I did feel like the only living girl in New York.

In addition to my family and friends, the main thing I am thankful for on this day before Thanksgiving is the feeling of being able to run outside in the sunshine.  That sums it all up for me - good health, the outdoors, the glorious sun on your face.  As Dr. Cohen says in another scene from Garden State: "Yeah, you're alright. You're alive!"

This time of year, I really do get the news I need on the weather report. If it is sunny you will find me running outdoors, walking the dog, and occasionally helping my husband with the endless leaf blowing and raking.

My husband, daughter and Summer on the rail trail on a perfect November afternoon

My older son got me a groupon for a dip in a sensory deprivation tank as a birthday present last month. I scheduled it for the day after Stockade-athon to rejuvenate any sore muscles.

That was a new experience for me. You get naked, shower, put in earplugs, and climb into 11 inches of salt and hydrogen peroxide-infused water. The salt concentration keeps you afloat, just like in the Dead Sea. You switch off the light and just float for one hour. It was relaxing and maybe I would do it again. I definitely wondered about the cleanliness of soaking in water that others soaked in. As it turns out, nothing (bacteria!) can survive in that mixture. Plus, it’s been well over two weeks and I didn’t catch anything.

Yes, I went into that abyss 

Speaking of Stockade-athon I was in the newspaper. Yes, that's me in the pink.  Bethany from my running club is to my left in purple.

Photo courtesy of Schenectady Gazette

Thanks for reading! Happy Thanksgiving!

Stockade-athon 2019

On Sunday I ran the Stockade-athon which is a 15K run. Yes, that is 9.3 miles. Or three consecutive 5K's is another way of looking at it. It is my longest run of the year and this was my second year running it. 

The day was overcast, but definitely felt warmer than last year, probably due to it not being windy. Plus, you can stay indoors at Proctors Theater or the YMCA until the race starts which is very nice.

Despite the sign behind us, we were not actually frozen

Running 9.3 miles does push me to my limits, but in a good way. I was totally prepared for this race, having followed Hal Higdon's 15K training plan for a solid three months.

The first two miles went by quickly as I was trying to finagle with my iPod.  It turns out the wire to the earbuds had broken so the one negative was that I had no music for this run.


At the start - colorful runners on a gray day

The middle miles are just a matter of one step in front of the other. My legs were just on autopilot and I felt happy to see each mile marker. The last third goes through beautiful Central Park which is very pretty and scenic. It was an overall good run.

Here is a screenshot of my time.  I came in 1347 out of 1409 runners. Hey, I am only in competition with myself. And guess what? I beat last year's time by over 1 minute so I have a new PR in the 15K.  

Thanks for reading!










Clocks Back

I have been neglectful of ye olde blog here. I am also in a reading slump.  The last book I started was the weekend of October 19th.  We went to Massachusetts to watch my niece cheer at her college football game (Endicott College) and thence to Newburyport. On October 20th, my husband ran the Newburyport Half Marathon with an old friend who lives there. 

Sunset in Newburyport Massachusetts

I passed on that run and started reading Stay Hungry by comedian Sebastian Maniscalco while sitting in the car waiting for it to warm up a bit.  Not a book that I would have ordinarily chosen, but my coworker lent it to me after she heard that I have tickets to see him next April.

I made it through Chapter 3 and have not read anything since. That happens sometimes. If it can happen with reading, it can happen with writing. Instead I have been crazy into doing crossword puzzles.

Besides running and volunteering at Squirrely Six last weekend, I participated in a Crossword Puzzle Tournament on October 26th. I may need to devote a post to that.  In case I don't, I finished 16th place out of about 70 participants. It was a blast! Oh, and it was also my birthday. 🙂

Every day after work last week there was something to do: Monday - got my nails done, Tuesday - ran treadmill at the gym, Wednesday - saw Zombieland: Double Tap.  I loved it.  Gosh, that needs a blog post of its own as well.  Thursday - Halloween! We always get a lot of trick or treaters; the rainy weather did not keep them away. Friday - met a group of my husband's old high school friends for dinner. 

By the time the next weekend rolled around, I really needed that extra hour we gained from turning the clocks back!