April 6, 2015 by Darlene

Monday Running Update

Last Week: (AP Half Marathon Training week #10)

Monday – 4 mile group run with FRW training group

my back ached… I ran with the slowest ladies and that was tough. 15 miles in 2 days= too much

Tuesday – rest, tennis
Wednesday – 4 mile run

Thursday – ~~4 mile run~~ rest, gym after work
Friday- ~~rest~~, 3 mile run at lunch, Passover seder with the mah jongg ladies

lunch time run in spring-like weather

Passover seder with the mah jongg gang

Saturday – 12 mile long run – may start with FRW training group and then add some more rest (50 mph wind gusts – no way), day with my mentee and her sons

Easter egg hunt & playing on the playground – it was cold!!

Sunday – ~~rest,~~ 12 mile long run, Easter dinner with the fam

4 solo & 8 with Judy on the Nisky bike path

This Week: (AP Half Marathon Training week #11)

Monday – 4 mile group run with FRW training group
Tuesday – rest, tennis
Wednesday – 4 mile run
Thursday – 4 mile run
Friday- rest, mah jongg
Saturday – 5K race + 5 more miles
Sunday – rest

Happy Running! How is your running going? Any races ?

April 3, 2015 by Darlene

Friday Five: Good Things

Every Friday, three DC area bloggers Mary at Mar On the Run, Cynthia at You Signed Up For What?! and Courtney from Eat Pray Run, DC to host the Friday Five linkup. Anyone can join with their own Friday Five post (yes, it must be a Friday Five!!) They encourage you to visit other blogs on the linkup, comment, share and engage!

This week, the theme is Good Things

Here are my 5 “Good” things:

1. My Health

Nothing is injured!!! I feel fine when I play tennis as well as run.

happy legs and happy feet

2. My Racing

Not my training but I have been racing every weekend and that’s been going well.

Runnin’ of the Green – 37:27 – 4 mile PR

Shamrock Shuffle – 46:29 – 5 mile PR

Delmar Dash – 45:46 – new 5 mile PR

This weekend I am taking a racing break so I can get one decent long run in before my half in 2 weeks.

3. Winter is over.

The sidewalks and paths are mostly clear.

Nisky Nike Path

If only, it would warm up!

4. My FRW Running Group

I have been running with them every Monday night. I’ve enjoyed it a lot. Unfortunately, racing and long runs have prevented me from attending any of the Saturday training runs.

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5. My new GOTR running buddy.

I attended the orientation and am paired up with Rebecca, a 5th grader at an elementary school in my town. I send her weekly motivational messages as she trains for a 5K on May 10. I will run the practice 5k with her on April 30, as well as the Mother’s Day 5K on May 10.

Happy Running! What “good” things are happening in your life??

March 20, 2015 by Darlene

Friday Five: Spring

This week, the theme is Spring

Here are 5 things that I am looking forward to this spring:

1. Running in a skirt and without a jacket

I am sooo tired of layers…

Bacon Hill Bonanza

best cone ever!

2. Flowers

It’s hard to imagine the snow melted but it will happen. Seeing flowers in bloom always brightens my mood.

3. Returning to my usual running routes

My running has been restricted due to the ice, snow, puddles. I have had to run in the road or around UAlbany campus. I am looking forward to running in the parks and on the bike paths again.

4. My Next Half Marathon

I can’t believe it will be here in a month. No, I’m not training well at all but I am still excited .

5. Annual Tennis Vacation

This is female bonding at its best. We’ve been traveling together since 2002 and to Naples, Florida in May since 2005.

we always take a picture outside this restaurant each year

group photo on our last day of tennis lessons

Happy Running! What are you looking forward to this spring?

March 13, 2015 by Darlene

Friday Five: Day in the Life

This week, the theme is 5 Things in My Day/Day in the Life

Obviously I do more than five but here are the main things I do on a typical Friday:

1. Social Networking on my iPad

I start every day with the Today show, breakfast and reading e-mail, Facebook, Instagram and Bloglovin on my iPad. I get up extra early to fit it in.

2. One Minute Plank

I always (almost always) do my plank on the bathroom floor when I am waiting for my shower to heat up.

2. Work

Not the highlight of my day but it is essential – it pays the bills and pays for my races. I work in a law school in IT and help staff and faculty with technology. In other words, I spend a lot of time on the computer.

Yes, I am sitting most of the day. When the weather is nice, I go for a 15 minute walk outside in the morning and often walk at lunch. In the cold weather, I SIT!!

3. Running

Usually three times a week, I run after work. If at all possible, I run outside. This has been a very snowy, icy winter so my most popular route is been around UAlbany campus. They keep the path that goes around the perimeter pretty clear.

Once the snow melts, I will return to my other running routes in town and the park.

4. Mah Jongg

Every Friday night from 7-11 pm, I play Mah Jongg with a great bunch of women. If everyone showed, we’d have 12 – 3 tables but usually we have only 8 and during the winter, sometimes it’s only 4.

a mah jongg anniversary dinner – 6 years together

We play, eat, drink and chat… so much fun and “brain” exercise, too.

4. Reading

I cannot fall asleep at night without reading. No matter how late, I go to bed, I read. Sometimes it’s just a few pages and sometimes I read for hours.

So that’s my Friday.

Happy Running! What do you do on a typical day?

March 6, 2015 by Darlene

Friday Five: Favorites

This week, the theme is Friday Favorites:

1. Favorite Race:

West Palm Half Marathon. The year is still young but so far this is my favorite…great views…flat course..perfect running weather and I got a PR and Age Group award.

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2. Favorite Running Apparel

Champion Jacket – I bought it at Target. It is light weight but warm enough with layers…zippered pockets…cheap. I have it in 3 colors.

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Polar Cap 2014

3. Favorite Running Shoes

Mizuno Wave Rider 18s – I got them last fall to review. I loved them so much that I bought them in another color. They are supportive but light with a wide toe box.

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4. Favorite Food

Granola with yogurt. I eat it everyday for lunch. Preferably granola with flax seed and/or chia and Greek yogurt.

5. Favorite place to run

UAlbany campus – lately this is the only place that is clear. We’ve had a tough winter with lots of ice and snow. There is a road that goes around the perimeter of the campus that is 3 miles and it is easily to add on a mile with a variety of additional loops. It is also well-lit at night.

Happy Running! What are some of your favorites?

February 27, 2015 by Darlene

Friday Five: What I Like About Running in the Winter

This week, the theme is FREE so I chose: 5 Things I Like About Running in the Winter

All I have been doing on this blog is complaining about how cold it is and how I hate it!

So I decided to point out what I like about winter running:

1. It doesn’t rain.

not a fan

I will run in the snow and cold but I will not run in the rain. Hence, no rain is a good thing for my running.

happier here

2. I don’t sweat.

So I have less laundry because I can wear my running clothes more than once.

And I can sneak out at work and go for a run and not be sweaty for the rest of the day.

lunch break run

3. It’s pretty outside.

Well, at least most of the time.

4. There are free races.

Race fees add up. I am lucky that our local running group (HMRRC) sponsors 6 free races during the winter. There are 3 distances to choose from at each race.

It’s informal so it’s just a run with friends and food after.

5. There’s not a lot to do and it’s get me outside.

In the summer, there’s boating, biking, hiking, tennis, gardening…many things to do outdoors.

Polar Cap 2015

But in the winter, I don’t ski, ice skate, snowshoe or snowmobile. Running is my only outdoor activity.

Happy Running! What do you like about running in the winter?

February 20, 2015 by Darlene

Friday Five: Races to Run in 2015

This week, the theme is Races to Run in 2015.

I run so many races (33 last year) that I am listing 5 NEW races that I am looking forward to running in the first 6 months of 2015:

West Palm Beach Half Marathon – Ocean Views and in Florida in the winter .YAY! and visiting 4 friends too!

January 17, 2015

This one would have been #1 but I already did it!!

1. Shamrock 5K – I would have liked to run a longer race like I did last year but this one fit. I am so excited to be running this race with my friend Mary in CA and also get to watch some of the qualifying matches at the BNP Paribas Open Tennis Championships (and maybe see some of the stars practicing.)

shamrock5k

2. Shamrock Shuffle – This is a new one. I love new races and it is 5 miles.

3. I didn’t get into the NYC Half Marathon so I instead registered for the Asbury Park Half Marathon to keep me running through the winter. I have a friend that lives an hour from this race and it’s supposed to be the “Best Half in New Jersey – One of Best in the Country.” The best part, I will be running along the ocean!!!!!

aphm

4. Mastodon Challenge– It is hilly so it will be a challenge and it is on my birthday. How could I not race on my birthday?

May 9, 2015

5. I also did not get into the Covered Bridges Half Marathon on June 7 (sold out in 24 min.) so instead I registered for the first annual Walkway Half Marathon. It’s in Poughkeepsie which is about 1.5 hours away. The course will include the William R. Steinhaus Dutchess Rail Trail and the Walkway Over the Hudson as well as Marist College and the Hudson Valley Rail Trail. (It is hilly – the only negative.)

HALF MARATHON – June 13, 2015

Happy Running! What are some of your favorite 2015 races? Are you running any new ones?

February 13, 2015 by Darlene

Friday Five: Love

This week’s theme is:

1. My hubby – he allows me the freedom to be me. That means patiently waiting for me to run or race before we go boating during the summer months and scheduling our activities around my running.

lh5k

2. My Cats

I used to have 5 but now I have four. They are each so very different. I never had a pet growing up but now I couldn’t imagine life with a cat to cuddle with.

Jerry – my fav – laid back and lovable

Honey & Billy – Honey is sweet & friendly, Billy is aloof & love Slater- they are from the same litter

Slater – my hubby’s fav – he goes out the door but comes in through the window on the 2nd floor.

3. My Friends – I am still in contact with a few friends from high school and college. It is great to connect with them and reminisce (about the good old days.) I have also made a bunch of GREAT friends as an older adult from the activities that I do…tennis friends, boating friends, quilting friends, mah jongg friends, running friends, etc. And I also have several from work (all 3 of my careers.) All of these people are precious to me.

my friends from my junior year of college in France

my friend from my teaching job

my mah jongg friends

we always take a picture outside this restaurant each year

my tennis friends

my boating friends

me, Linda, Don, Sue, Joyce & Nancy 20 years later

my friends from high school

my work buddy who motivates me to walk every day

4. Social Networking – Facebook, Instagram, Blogs, etc. The people I connect with are my virtual friends. I have met new people and can connect with ones that live too far away to see. Sometimes I have been lucky enough to meet them in the flesh.

I met Judy through FB

I met Andrea through blogging

I met Elisa through FB

I met Jen & Felice through FB & blogging

5. Running! Running has changed me. I discovered it late in life (at age 55). It has made me more confident, independent and I feel healthier and younger than ever. Yes, I love running!.

2014

2012

2010

2008

Happy Running! What do you love?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

(Don’t forget to enter my Runner’s Choice giveaway HERE.)

February 6, 2015 by Darlene

Friday Five: Fitness Snapshots

This week, the theme is: Fitness Snapshots

1. Tennis – 1 1/2 hours of doubles this week (inside)

2. Walking – 9 1/2 laps of the building – it is still too cold to go outside.

still indoors

3. Treadmill – still too cold & icy sometimes to run outside. I ran on the treadmill TWICE this week.

this podcast is getting me through the runs

4. Yoga – I didn’t actually go to a yoga class but I am doing a few poses each day.

5. Running – yes, I did run outside in the cold too. Brrr!

Happy Running! How did you keep active this week?

January 16, 2015 by Darlene

Friday Five: What’s in my gym bag?!

This week, the theme is: What’s in my gym bag?!

I am the bag lady. I always bring a gym bag to work – for tennis, running, yoga or sometimes 2 or 3 bags.

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These are the things that are always in my bag:

1. Food – Most of the time I run, play tennis or work out after work but before dinner. So I am hungry. I always carry a variety of bars with me.

2. Water – I always carry an empty bottle to fill with just plain water.

3. Hat – My hair is unruly and bugs me if I don’t wear a hat. If it is cold, I carry a cap and if it is not, a baseball cap.

4. Clothes – Shoes, shirt, socks, gloves, pants or skirt, jacket and many layers this time of year for running outside. Sometimes it is tough squeezing it all in.