New Year Update

Happy New Year.  This is going to be a quick post about how we spent our New Year's Day. My husband and I started off 2020 with a race. I ran the Bill Hogan 3.5 mile which is held in conjunction with the Hangover Half.  My husband did his own thing and ran about a 10K.  I finished in 45:38 which is about a minute slower than I did this race last year.

Afterwards, we hurried home to shower and get ourselves over to the Troy Music Hall. Our friends had tickets to the Berkshire Bach (orchestra) playing all six of Bach's Brandenburg Concerti.  We were in the sixth row and it was amazing. I am not a philistine! 😉 Of course not! That is a reference to one of my favorite movies "The Squid and the Whale" which I watched on Netflix over the weekend for the umpteenth time.

I watched a lot of Netflix over the past weekend, while recovering from a cold. The rewatch of "The Squid and the Whale" was prompted from viewing "Marriage Story", also by Noah Baumbach and also about divorce.  In addition, I watched "Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things" (so true) and "The Magic Pill", which touts the benefit of a ketogenic diet.

My husband and I have also started watching "Schitt's Creek" which is a Canadian sitcom by Eugene Levy and Dan Levy. It is about a wealthy couple who find themselves broke and end up in the small town they own with their two spoiled adult kids. 

It was a great way to kick off the new decade!

Last Run Recap

On Saturday we ran the Last Run Holiday Lights Through the Park 5K.  That was my 13th and final race of 2019.  For some reason I was dreading it ahead of time, you know that negative thinking "Why am I doing this? It's going to be cold! I don't want to run!"

In retrospect, that is probably because it is the only race of the year that starts at 5:00 p.m. in the evening.  Normally, we are out the door early in the morning, coffee in hand, with no time to think about NOT going.

However, when I was standing watching the pre-race fireworks, bopping to the music on the speakers and feeling toasty warm from all the holiday-bedecked runners packed in around me, I was really glad I was there.

Photo courtesy of Albany Events/Andrzej Pilarczyk

I found some hand warmers at home and I used those to keep my hands toasty with my little red gloves. The red ones matched my holiday attire which is part of the fun.

The first mile was incredibly slow as the roads were narrower than usual due to the big snowstorm we had five days earlier. That created somewhat of a logjam for those of us in the back.  Once we got past that, it was free and clear going. The holiday lights were fun too look at.

Photo courtesy of Albany Events/Andrzej Pilarczyk

All in all, my time was 40:17 (12:58 pace). I came in number 1,120 out of 1,513 total runners.

A lot of our running friends were there which made it even better.  We went out afterwards; our friend wanted to use up two $25 gift certificates that he had won in a raffle a few weeks earlier.  We had no idea what the place would be like. Fortunately, it was a little pizza joint so we looked perfectly appropriate in our crazy holiday running getups. It was less than $25 for four of us, so our friend will have to go back!

Thanks for reading!

Turkey Trot Recap

On Thanksgiving morning, my husband and I ran in the Cohoes Turkey Trot.  There was easily a turkey trot to choose from within 20 miles in any given direction.  We chose Cohoes because it was free with a canned good donation. It is nice when you can get the occasional free race, and it helps stock their food pantry.

The Turkey trot in my own town cost $30 per person plus a processing fee and is not even chip timed.  Seriously, why pay that much and not even get a time?

It was ironic that there were only two port-a-potties for about 500 runners! Fortunately, I got in line with time to spare. There was a lady in the back telling people to hurry up. I think everyone got to “go” by start time.

They had water bottles instead of cups at the water station.  More poor planning because who wants to run a race holding a water bottle? And then no water bottles at the finish. They did have coffee, which worked for me, however most runners want water.

They say you get what you pay for.  Or should I say you don't get port-a-potties and water bottles at the finish when you don't pay!

This was a 3.5 mile race and I finished in 43:59 (12:34 pace).  I was number 353 out of 489 runners. The day was blustery but fortunately the air temperature was warm, so you were good with a warm hat. I had new earbuds so I had my music as well.

This was my 12th race of the year.  I met my 2019 race goal of running in 12 races, and I still have one more race coming up.

Since I don't have any amazing race pictures, here is a picture of the salad I made on Thanksgiving.  It is a blue cheese and pear salad; the recipe came from Food network.com. My only tweak was adding the craisins. Yummy.

Dressing was added later

Thanks for reading!

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!










Trail Run Recap and Grand Prix

When it comes to running for me, sometimes it's just about finishing. But in the case of my trail runs, even just finishing has put me in third place for the Grand Prix. Let me start with a recap of the two October trail runs that I talked about in my running update post.

Way back on Columbus Day I ran the Fall Festival 5K Trail Run at Lawson Lake. It was a beautiful and warm sunny day, easily in the 70's by race time. My time was an incredibly slow 43:47 (14:06 pace). There are some parts that are very steep and required walking, or should I say climbing. I also was overdressed for the weather. I came in 37 out of 47 runners. That was Ok because 1) I finished and 2) I was not even close to last place. So I was satisfied.

Completely unrelated picture of mums near my office. 

Last Sunday I ran the 15th Annual Squirrely Six (miles) at Thacher Park. That is held in conjunction with the Hairy Gorilla Half (marathon) and is a fun Halloween-themed trail run. On Sunday, as forecast, it was pouring rain. My time was 1:26:57 (14:30 pace).  I came in 147 out of 165 runners.
It was not cold once we started moving; in fact it felt really good. Just like Lawson Lake, there were some steep uphills and downhills that I walked. That, and being super careful running in wet leaves and mud is what led to another slow paced run. Again, I was happy with my finish.

These two trail runs were my ninth and tenth races of 2019.

On Saturday afternoon I volunteered to set up and help decorate. Saturday was just gorgeous and the park was jam packed with people enjoying a great fall day.

Now about that Grand Prix....

My running club has something called the Grand Prix Trail Series. The Grand Prix encourages trail running and trail volunteerism.  You are in competition with others of your gender / age group.  That slow time at Lawson Lake still earned me 5 points in the Grand Prix Trail Series. Helping set up Saturday earned me a volunteer point and running on Sunday earned me 6 Grand Prix points as well.
I am solidly in third place in my gender / age and in the running to win something wonderful and exciting like a cap or a water bottle. Ha! 

So it's funny how I can finish near the back of the pack and still be in third place in Grand Prix.  And that matters to me!

Running Update

First of all, you may have noticed that I made some changes to the look of my blog. The picture behind the heading was taken in July in the Adirondacks and is a view of Algonquin from Iroquois. I blogged about that here.

This post is a running update.  Before I started blogging, I ran my first half marathon.  It was the Big Cottonwood in Salt Lake City Utah in September 2018. You guys, it was hard! I felt great for the first 9 miles. Miles 9 to 10 were so-so.  At the 10 mile mark, I was done in.  And I still had a 5K to go. I had to walk the last 5K and I was crying and blubbering the whole way.

But the silver lining (aside from the fact that yes, I did complete that half marathon) was that I knew I could comfortably run 9 miles. So, I signed up for and ran the StockadeAThon which is a 15K (9.3 miles) last November.

I am doing it again this November. I have routinely been running 3 to 4 miles but with the race only a month away, it is time to increase my mileage. On Saturday I ran 5 miles and it felt great. It took me 1:01:50 (12:22 pace).

Here is a screenshot of my running year to date:

That is 221 miles in a year, not a month! It doesn't appear likely that I am going to make that 450 mile goal I set for myself. On the other hand, I will meet my goal of running 12 races this year. 

The Lindenwald Trail Run was number 8. I was debating whether it counted as a race, because it was free and it was so low key. But, on the other hand, we had bibs, it was timed, and there were prizes. That makes it officially a race.

Coming up this year are Lawson Lake 5K trail run on Columbus Day, Squirrely Six 6 mile trail run on Halloween weekend, the above-mentioned StockadeAThon in November, and the Last Run 5K in December. Those four will officially give me 12 races and who knows - maybe I will even do a Turkey Trot for lucky 13!

Thanks for reading!

Kinderhook Trail Run

Saturday was a beautiful and warm sunny day and my husband and I took advantage of that by running the Kinderhook Dutch Farming Heritage 4 mile trail run. The course traversed the farmlands of Lindenwald, Roxbury Farm and the Luykas Van Alen House.

Lindenwald was the home of U.S. President Martin Van Buren and the property is a National Park Service registered site.  There are tours of the house afterwards, but we passed as we had done that in previous years.

President Martin Van Buren was very contemporary for his time - he had one of the first indoor flush toilets.  He also had a modern coffee maker; in fact if he were alive today he would have a Keurig machine, an espresso maker, and all kinds of coffee making gadgets.  Yes, I remember that from my last tour of the home.

The trail itself is great because it is dirt and grass, with absolutely no rocks and roots.  Part of the trail runs right alongside the pastures.  The cows and baby calves were all out there mooing like crazy! It was reassuring to know that the fence that separated the animals from the runners is electrified.  We were warned not to touch it, and apparently the cows knew too!

I felt really good and the only difficult part was a steep hill at the very end, but I ran it without having to walk. My total time was 50:47 (pace 12:42). This run was super low key; there were only 60 or so runners.


Lindenwald - you can see the finish line water station at the right

Last year's run - photo courtesy of National Park Service

Afterwards, we stopped at a nearby farm to buy some apples and cider donuts to bring home.

Thanks for reading!

Being Neighborly

Every September our YMCA holds a Member Appreciation Picnic barbecue in their pavilion. A few weeks ago a notice was up that the picnic was being held on Friday September 6th.  There was an email to RSVP.  I didn't remember there being an RSVP in the past, but I went ahead and emailed the contact. It seemed odd that it was a gmail.com address and not a ymca.org address.

A few days later there was a notice that the YMCA Picnic was going to be on Friday September 13th.  I asked the woman working at the desk if that was a date change.  She told me that there were actually two picnics; the first one was a new neighborhood organization that is forming and was not the YMCA picnic. The new organization was using the Y as their venue. She said "You may as well go to both".

So, on Friday, my husband and I tentatively went over to the first picnic with absolutely no idea what I had signed us up for. As my husband said, we could always "Bite and Bolt". It turned out that our town was forming a Neighbors Helping Neighbors type of organization.  It is geared for ages 50 and up (yup, that's us). 

They asked us to fill out an information form with what services you can offer and what you may need.  For example, help running an errand or minor handyman tasks. The goal is to help seniors age in place and to encourage neighborliness. It turns out that this is a part of a larger national organization. 

Instead of handing in the info form, we took it home with us.  We are going to share it with a friend who is already retired and would enjoy doing that. Right now, two full time jobs and caring for our own home, cars, pet, volunteering at races, exercise and leisure takes up all of our time. I'm glad I went though! We met some very lovely people sitting at the table next to us and enjoyed a great dinner.  Stewarts contributed a "make your own sundae" station and I had a butterscotch sundae for the first time in years.😋

On Saturday night, we went to see Little River Band which was a free outdoor concert. If you remember them from the late 1970's and early 1980's their biggest hits were "Cool Change", "Reminiscing", "Lady" and "Lonesome Loser". It was a lot of fun.

Reminiscing about "Reminiscing"

On Sunday, my husband ran a 10K race up in Lake George. This race was a Half Marathon / 10K. I volunteered at the finish line water station.  It was my third year in a row doing water at the finish line. In fact, I never heard from the race organizer after I signed up so I headed straight to the finish line and started pouring. When I saw him, he said "I didn't email you because I figured you know what your job is".  After the race, there was a free barbecue for runners and volunteers.

Perfect day on Lake George

It was a fun and frugal weekend!

Last Week's Workouts: On Monday I ran 3.5 miles, on Tuesday I did HIIT with Erin, on Wednesday I did Zumba with Michelle, on Saturday I did Zumba with Tammy, and on Sunday I ran 3.5 miles. A five-workout week in the books.

Thanks for reading!

Attitude Adjustment

In June I got a new job and I was extremely excited to be leaving the old one which was very toxic to me and caused me undue stress. Here it is only two and a half months later and the honeymoon period at the new place is over. 

I don't want to be a complainypants. This job is everything I wanted - which was basically good management.  My managers are amazing.  For example, a big stressor at the old job was the hoops everyone had to jump through to get even one day off. Here, we are encouraged to take as much time off as we would like!

The old job was a busy, fast paced environment where the work was nonstop.  On top of that, the bad managers were always having us change and redo things because their procedures and expectations were constantly changing.

In contrast, the work volume at the new job is significantly less. The managers like things done the way they always have been done, so once something is complete, that's it. The pace is slow and I'm not used to that. I started to feel dread in the sense that I am the kind of person who wants to always be busy. Years of school and decades of work train you to always be productive.

Last week I went to Lake Placid and only worked three days. There was a lot of good stuff going on after work and this past weekend which I will write about below. 

Lake Placid is my happy place

The problem was that instead of being fully present enjoying my time off in the evening and this past weekend, I was mentally and verbally complaining about work. I decided yesterday that it is time for an attitude adjustment. I have to embrace a new mindset that a laid back work environment is not bad, and maybe even good. Hey I can work on my blog so that is good!

This weekend my husband and I had two barbecues to go to which were both amazing with good food and good conversation. On Sunday we both volunteered at the Thacher Park Trail Running Festival. I didn't take pictures, but if you click on the link you can see how pretty it is. Summer finally got a long overdue professional grooming!

Last Week's Workouts: On Tuesday I hiked Hurricane Mountain, on Thursday I did a 3 mile trail run, on Saturday I ran 3 miles and on Sunday I ran 3 miles (after the trail running festival).

Thanks for reading!

Hurricane Mountain

We have been going to Lake Placid in the Adirondacks since my older son was a baby so that is over 30 years. It is my happy place on this Earth. I am lucky I get to visit often because my husband has to go up there for his work. I took off work Monday and Tuesday to go with him. 

Monday was a work day for him - after he finished working, we checked into our favorite little hotel which is the Quality Inn. It isn't fancy, but they have canoes, rowboats and pedalboats that you can take out on Lake Placid at no charge. They also have an indoor pool, hot tub and free hot breakfast in the morning. We took a canoe out for an hour or so, then we went into town to look in the shops and have dinner. We like to get salad and pizza at Ere's Italian restaurant overlooking Mirror Lake.

Tuesday we hiked Hurricane Mountain in Keene. Hurricane is a fire tower peak, so I can check that off if I ever officially decide to work on the ADK fire tower challenge. This mountain has three trailheads, and we started from the one off Route 9N.  We were the first car there at 9 a.m. and the first to sign the trail register.

Hurricane Mountain has an elevation of 3,694 feet and the trail we took was 6.8 miles round trip. The 9N trail was rerouted in 2015 to bypass eroded areas and make the pitch less steep, which added 0.8 miles each way. The red trail markers were new and easy to follow. It took us 2 hours and 20 minutes to get to the summit, which was a leisurely pace.

Sun dappled trail

At the summit, there was one other group who had hiked up one of the other trails. We climbed the fire tower, which was also replaced in 2015. For a relatively short hike, the 360 views were very rewarding.

My favorite picture from the summit

After 40 minutes eating lunch and relaxing at the summit, it was time to head down. By then, there were at least half a dozen groups at the summit and we passed many more on their way up as we were going down. We decided to pick up the pace for our descent which took us 1 hour and 50 minutes. Although not a long hike, the 85 degree heat on a perfectly cloudless day - in the Adirondacks! - made it feel tough.


Last Week's Workouts: On Tuesday I did HIIT, on Thursday I did a 2.5 mile trail run, on Saturday I did Zumba with Tammy, and on Sunday I did a 1 hour 15 minute bike ride.


I finally bought trail running shoes which I tested out on Thursday - the little grippies make them a great improvement when trail running (versus regular running shoes). Now I am all set with my new running shoes that I got in July and new trail running shoes.

Hadley Mountain

On Sunday, my daughter and I decided to hike Hadley Mountain in the Southern Adirondacks. We took Summer the dog with us. It was the first - and possibly only - hike of the year for my daughter and Summer. My husband took a pass because he wanted to get a long bike ride in. We got off to a very late start but no worries - we got the last spot in the parking lot! Although it was definitely from someone who had already left.

We signed in at the trail register at 1:20 pm and five minutes later, we saw a trail running friend Jona coming down. That was a nice surprise. We had spoken before about hiking together and we are going to make a plan soon.

Summer checking that we are still there

Hadley has an elevation of 2,654 feet; and it is 3.6 miles round trip. It took us just over an hour to get to the summit. There is a fire tower as well. I don’t usually climb up the fire towers but I got my nerve up and went to the second to last level - I skipped the ladder at the very top.

Perfect day for a hike

We spent about 35 minutes at the top of Hadley, having a snack and enjoying the view. Summer found the one and only puddle and promptly lapped it up and lay down right in the little bit of mud remaining at the bottom. If there is water or mud she will find it!  Even the trail steward asked how she got muddy.

Summer enjoying the view

I have to mention that Summer loved this hike. She is a good hiker too.  We do let her off the leash (unless there is a sign specifically stating that dogs must be leashed). Strangely, when she hikes she has zero interest in the other hikers, even those who want to stop and "say hi".  She just likes to keep her pace.  She will get ahead of us but will backtrack if she gets to where she can't see us.
I have to remember to post my workouts.

Last week I worked out four times: Tuesday I did HIIT, on Thursday I ran 4.1 miles, on Saturday I ran 4 miles, and on Sunday I hiked.

The week before last I worked out four times: Tuesday I did HIIT, on Wednesday I did Zumba with Tammy, on Thursday I did a 3.8 mile trail run, and on Saturday I ran 3 miles.

Thanks for reading!

Painting and Other Things

Before I continue my Acadia National Park travel recap, I thought I would write about my real life weekend.  It's not all hiking and unicorns in my world.

A month ago, my older son and my daughter made an arrangement whereby my daughter was going to live rent-free in an apartment that my son owns in exchange for painting the entire apartment.  You know the saying "Mother knows best"?  Do you see where this is going?  Somehow, I knew that I would be painting during the month of July.

The deal was that the painting needed to be done early enough for my son to get a tenant in for August. My husband got drawn into this, but he always has a positive attitude when it comes to helping our children.  So, one day about two weeks ago, my daughter and husband took a day off work, and they painted the living room.  The prior tenant had painted it a very unflattering bright blue, and it was a sloppy paint job, too. It's now a pleasing linen color. Progress stalled there.

As the month of July was drawing to a close, I could sense tension in the air to get this thing done and over with. My husband, daughter and I ended up spending a good part of the weekend working on the apartment.  We painted the bedroom and bathroom in "greige". We did the trims and doors in glossy white. I wish I remembered to take more pictures!

The only picture I took was this corner of the bathroom - after cleaning but before painting

The bathroom ended up this color

Cleaning was not part of the deal but oh my, the bathroom and the kitchen appliances were in bad shape. I figured I would work on that, since there were people coming in to look at the apartment.  Personally, I would rather clean than paint anyway.

Well, it was hot and messy, but we got the job done and it felt very satisfying to do it - the apartment is painted, cleaned and painted some more!

On Sunday, we visited with my husband's running buddy's grandbaby.  She is 4 1/2 months old, and her nickname is Little Gal.  The baby's mom is working on getting back in shape so she joined the guys on their run.  While they ran, I visited with my friend (baby's grandma / running buddy's wife) and Little Gal. I just love that nickname and she is adorable!


I know I missed a few weeks recapping my workouts, but I'm not skipping this one.
Last Week's Workouts: On Monday through Thursday I hiked, biked and walked in Acadia National Park (at least 4 hours per day), on Friday I ran 3.1 miles and did Yoga with Suzy.  On Saturday, I did Zumba with Tammy and on Sunday I swam 40 laps.  I also painted and cleaned for 7 hours over the weekend.


It was an active week!

Lots of Walking

Last week I did a lot of walking.  Here is a chart I made.  Notice that these were the four work days last week.

Day	Steps	Miles
Mon., July 1, 2019	6,282	2.6
Tues., July 2, 2019	7,735	3.4
Wed., July 3, 2019	7,769	3.2
Fri., July 5, 2019	7,583	3.3

There is a reason for all this work day walking, and that is I am taking a morning and afternoon break. The numbers are from my iPhone since I only wear my sport watch when I work out. That means this is just work day walking, and doesn’t even include walking around the house.

Since I did all this walking I am Ok with only two workouts last week.

Last week's workouts:  On Thursday, I ran the Firecracker 4 and on Saturday I ran 5 miles.

Thanks for reading.

Firecracker 4

On July 4th, I ran the Firecracker 4 which is a 4 mile road race in historical Saratoga Springs, New York. This was my fourth time running this race. I am pleased to report that I hit a PR for this race. Here is a chart of my results the past four years:

Year	Time	Pace	Division Place	Division Total	% of Division
2019	48:38	12:09	78	101	77.2%
2018	51:33	12:53	74	100	74.0%
2017	48:45	12:11	76	98	77.6%
2016	51:48	12:57	136	158	86.1%

In 2016, I was the oldest age in my division and I had my slowest time for this race; there are a lot more runners in the younger divisions. In 2018, it was extremely hot and the entire field ran very slowly. Yesterday, even though I was about 3 minutes faster overall than 2018, I was slower compared to the runners in my division. With a pace of 12:09, I am good with it!

Smiling for the finish line photo 

Lots of runners 

In a couple of decades, when I get to the 70 - 74, 75 - 79, 80 + I will be in the top 3 of my division and earn a medal!

Overall, it was a lot of fun. People get into the spirit with lots of red, white and blue clothes, tutus, and even headware to be seen. They added a free beer ticket after the race this year. The only time I drink beer is after a run that includes beer! But it certainly hit the spot on a hot day.

Goodbye June Hello July

June is over and that means that 2019 is halfway over as well. My main accomplishment for the month of June was getting a new job. Check. You know what, I'd still rather be retired. July 1st means I am officially 3 years and 5 months from retirement!

As far as running goals, I have done 6 races so I am on track to meet my goal of 12 races for 2019.  I have only run 135 miles for ALL of 2019, which means I am far below my goal of 450 miles for the year. After I read 26 Marathons by Meb Keflezighi, I requested the book Meb for Mortals from the library. This is Meb's book about how he eats, trains and thinks. I could increase my running by adding one extra day per week for a month.  I will certainly think about it!

Last week's workouts: I did Zumba on Wednesday with Michelle, I did about a 3.5 mile trail run on Thursday, and a 3 mile run on Saturday.

I am guestimating the distance of the trail run.  It was supposed to be 3 miles, but there were three of us at the back of the pack running together, and we missed the marker to go right up a hill.  Yes, it was a hill trail run! It's hard to explain but it meant we ran one section twice, and we still ran up that hill. At the top of the hill, I fell and landed on my right butt / hamstring.  I am OK, just a little sore - that is a good place to land; I have seen fellow trail runners take bad spills. I had to walk a little bit after that. Since I have sciatica that runs down my left hamstring, at least now both sides hurt equally! The only thing that makes it feel better is to keep moving.

At the end of said trail run, I fell behind the other two, and missed the marker heading back to the main lodge where our group was having a BBQ. There wasn't any danger; I could hear a dog barking in the direction I was heading. I followed that trail, and it led me to some houses. I was not lost enough to approach them, but it felt good to know civilization was close by.

I backtracked and saw the markers I missed. By the time I got back on our trail, I was running with (actually, being passed by) some of my running club peeps who were finishing their second loop. All in all, it took me 59 minutes! Quite an eventful trail run and I needed that after the work day.

A few months ago I read Meet The Frugalwoods and ever since then I have been following her blog.  Liz (Mrs. Frugalwoods) is starting a July Frugal Month Challenge. You still have until midnight tonight to sign up and join the group. You get an email a day and if you are on Facebook, you can join the special FB group. I already have a good balance of frugality in my life, however I am very curious to see what I can learn from this challenge.

I am looking forward to July because my husband and I are going to Maine. I have never been there, and that is on my bucket list. We are going to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.
Hopefully I will get some real hiking done in July.

What are your goals for July?

Dodge The Deer

On Sunday, I ran in the 17th annual Dodge The Deer 5K trail race.  The weather was a beautiful 70 degrees to start. My time was 37:05 (11:57 pace).  I was #206 out of 236 total runners, which put me at 87%.  That means 13% of the runners finished after me.

Dodge the Deer (wearing #17 for 17th year) and random lady undressing in background

The Hudson River 

I just discovered that I could attach all my races to my personal profile in my running club's website. I spent a little bit of time doing that yesterday. Oh my, there was some really old stuff in there, from 2003, 2004 and 2009.  To me, that is ancient running history, plus a lot of older stuff is missing. The modern era of my running started in 2016. Almost of the races from 2016 to now are in there.

Finish line  

Beautiful day to run trails

Last year at Dodge The Deer, my time was 41:20 (13:18 pace).  Last year, I was #281 out of 316 total runners, which put me at 89%.  That means that last year 11% of the runners finished after me.

My modern racing history shows that I raced in four 5K trail runs since 2017. My times were:
2017  37:38 (12:07 pace)
2018  41:20 (13:18 pace) Last Year Dodge the Deer
          43:27 (13:59 pace)
2019  37:05 (11:57 pace) Sunday Dodge the Deer

Even though I am still near the end of the pack, it’s nice to see improvement.

Last week's workouts: On Tuesday, I did HIIT with Erin; on Thursday, I ran a 2.8 mile trail run; on Saturday I swam 52 laps; on Sunday I ran Dodge the Deer.  (I felt like I had to swim 2 extra laps because the Thursday run was 2/10 mile short!)


Thanks for reading!

Father’s Day Feast

We had a lovely Father’s Day despite the weather not cooperating yet again. As I mentioned previously, Middle Son and his girlfriend are visiting from California. They took a side trip to New York City, retuning Sunday afternoon.

My husband’s cousins came over and joined us for dinner as well.

My daughter has been eating vegetarian for the past several weeks. I took the opportunity to try a new recipe (along with tried and true favorites).

This was the menu:
Appetizers - fruit platter, spinach dip in bread bowl, cheese and crackers, hummus and carrots, nacho chips and salsa. The inspiration for the artistic fruit platter came from my sister-in-law’s sister at the baby sprinkle I went to a few weeks ago.

Artistic fruit platter 

Main course - BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw, roasted asparagus with pine nuts from the food network website (I omitted the dates), and roasted sweet potatoes with black beans. That was the new recipe which came from A Couple Cooks: Pretty Simple Cooking by Sonja and Alex Overhiser.

This was yummy

Dessert - brownies and cheesecake

It’s Monday so that means a recap of last week’s workouts: On Wednesday I ran 4 miles, on Saturday I ran 5 miles, and on Sunday I swam 40 laps - for a total of three workouts last week.

Thanks for reading!

My Favorite Fitness Instructors

Last week was unusual in a good way in that I did seven workouts. The best part was three of those workouts were classes taught by my favorite fitness instructors.

On Tuesday I did HIIT with Erin. Erin used to teach until an injury forced her to take a six month break. She returned a few months ago. She is the type of instructor that makes you want to go to class just because it’s her. She is positive and inspiring without being tough or annoying. She doesn’t walk around the class giving pointers; she does it with us. She doesn’t call anyone out for taking it down or using tiny weights. Yes, that would be me.🙂

On Wednesday I did Zumba with Tammy. She stepped down from teaching Zumba a few months ago but happened to be subbing. Tammy is delightful and welcoming. She starts every class “Welcome to Zumba. I’m Tammy. Is this anybody’s first time at Zumba?” Her classes are well planned out from warmup to high intensity, which is important for me in getting a great workout.

On Friday I did yoga with Suzy. This was a real treat because I’m usually at work. I took Friday off (after giving notice Thursday that I am leaving for a new job). The retirees that make up most of the class arrive early, so when I got there 5 minutes ahead the room was already dark and soft music was playing. As soon as she said “Welcome. This is an all level Kripalu yoga class” I could feel calmness entering my mind. Suzy is serenity personified.

In addition to these classes I also did a trail walk on Thursday. It was a trail run but I could not face a slog through a submerged trail that night. Instead I stuck to the dry areas. The nice part was walking allowed me to appreciate the trail instead of just looking down for tripping hazards.

On Friday I ran 3 miles before yoga. On Sunday I swam 50 laps. That’s when I realized that if I worked out once more that day I would have seven workouts for the week. The only thing I had not done was biking.

So I did a 55 minute bike ride on our local rail trail. It used to be railroad tracks but was converted into an amazing paved path for biking and walking. I finally rode far enough to see the bench that our friend had dedicated to his late parents.

It was a good week for working out!

Pretty flowers on my trail walk Thursday 

Sticking with the dry trail 

Another Race

On Saturday I ran the Freihofer Run for Women 5k. My daughter ran it as well. Here are my results:

My pace was 11:12 and I was number 125 out of 233 in my age division. It was good.

Last week’s workouts: Zumba with Michelle on Wednesday, 3.4 mile trail run on Thursday and the race on Saturday.

I’m still waiting to hear from the job that I interviewed for a month ago. They called my references and the potential new boss called me on May 22 (almost two weeks ago) to say they were submitting the appointment package to HR. It is a mystery why this is taking so long.

Meanwhile I applied for a promotion in my current office. The woman who retired from this position did work of a completely different nature than my work. She had a subordinate who is clearly next in line for that job and very capable. I don’t even want that job but it would have looked “odd” if I didn’t apply.

Our administrative assistant set me up for an interview which is in 10 days. It’s so ridiculous because I’m right here. They could interview me any old time, right? However, here’s the conundrum - Mr. Next In Line did not get asked to interview. Nor did another applicant from our unit who would be as good of a fit as me.

I have more years over both the other applicants, but only a year or so more than Mr. Next In Line. Something is going on. Are they going to restructure the unit and change the job description? Another mystery that I won’t have an answer to until the interview.

Such are the mysteries of the work world.