December 28, 2012 by Darlene

Yak Trax To the Rescue

We got 8-10″

Our first major snowstorm arrived yesterday!! It snowed all day and I was depressed that I hadn’t run the day before.

I was supposed to go to a movie & then dinner to celebrate a friend’s birthday but she didn’t want to drive in the snow.

I had a dilemma because my treadmill at home is broken and where I work is closed and I don’t belong to a gym. I wanted to run!! My hubby said something to the effect “If you fall again, I’m going to kill you!!”

Last winter we had virtually NO SNOW!! And I couldn’t run because of my broken ankle. They say this winter will be different (My luck!)

Then I remembered that I had Yak Trax. I think I wore them once. I usually use the treadmill when the weather is bad or don’t run.

This winter I want to train for my half in March and I don’t want to over do so I have been running only every other day. Today is that day!

So I drove to where I have been running lately once the snow had stopped. I put on my Yak Trax and slowly ran 3 miles!! I loved the run! It was peaceful. I ran in the road which was mostly cleared and I didn’t slip at all! (if only my shoes were waterproof since they got wet and my toes were COLD!!)

Hooray for Yak Trax!

On another note, I went back to the park to show Richard & Matthew the lights on Wed. They weren’t as impressed as I was but loved the other activities in the boathouse.

Richard in front of a light display near the boat house

face painting (an “alien”)

free cookies from B95.5 radio station

Matthew & Elmo

Richard took his picture with every single character (I will not post them all…when he was little he used to be afraid of them)

the boys got balloon animals too

It was nice extending the holiday season. Tonight I have my annual tennis holiday party.

Saturday is my FIRST LONG RUN!! 4 miles!!

Happy Running! Did you get snow? Do you run outside when there’s snow?

December 27, 2012 by Darlene

My Life in Numbers

This has been going around the blogosphere so I thought I’d give it a try.

My Life In Numbers

59 – the number of years I’ve been on this earth

100 – number I hope to see on my birthday cake one day

1971 – the year I graduated from high school

1975– the year I graduated with a four-year degree

4 – number of years it took me to get a 4 year degree (including the year I was studying in the south of France)

3 – number of full-time jobs I’ve had since graduating from college (22, 8, 6 yrs -I don’t change jobs much)

58 – number of years I’ve lived in New York (I was born in Pittsburgh, Pa…moved to upstate NY in 1971 for college & never left)

58 – number of years I thought I’d live in New York

2 – number of states I’ve lived in (PA, NY)

2 – number of times I’ve been married

13 – number of years I’ve been married to Lou, my current hubby (14 on Jan 16)

15 – number of years Lou and I have been together

0 – number of children I have (Lou has 2)

1 – number of times I smile a day (not enough)

0 – number of dogs I have (I love dogs, though)

5 – number of cats I have

11 – number of cars I’ve owned (2 Ford Pintos, VW Rabbit, Ford Escort, 2 Honda Accords, Hionda Prelude, Honda CRV, BMW Z3, 2 BMW 3 Series)

1 – number of siblings I have (1 brother)

34 – number in years since I saw one of my siblings in person (we do not keep in touch)

3.5 – approximate number of hours to drive to my parents house (my father is deceased, I do not keep in touch with my mother)

7-8 – number of hours of sleep I get per night

2008 – Year I started running

5 – number of half marathon races I’ve run

2:30:12 – time of my most recent half

0 – number of full marathons I’ve trained for

0 – number of full marathons I’ve finished

NA– time of my most recent full marathon

10 – number of 5K’s run this year (but I was injured most of the year)

35:25 – time of most recent 5K race (recovering from a stress fracture)

311 – number of miles I have run so far in 2012 (again it was a year full of injuries)

8:XX – Fastest mile I’ve run

4 – number of running shoes I’ve bought/received in the past year (not bad considering I’ve been injured most of the year)

6 – number of other shoes I’ve bought/received this year (Yes, I am a shoe addict but I spent most of the year in a boot).

57 – number of months I’ve been blogging

6 – how many blogs have you started

Happy Running! What’s your life in numbers?

December 26, 2012 by Darlene

Christmas Day 2012

ornament from CafePress

The perfect way to celebrate Christmas is to go for a run and I did!!

I woke up to this:

Snow!! Icy roads!

dressed for the holiday & a run

But I knew I had to run so I drove into town and ran 3 miles through the streets (avoiding the icy patches.)

Then I had to squeeze everything else into the day:

exchange gifts with my hubby

He loved his remote-controlled helicopter – played with it all day

and photos from this past summer on the lake, in addition to lots of clothes and the 1st season of Boardwalk Empire

visit my mentee and her sons & give them gifts

I gave Amanda my favorite new series – Divergent & Delirium

Richard is already playing with his new Transformer laptop

Baby Matthew also got an educational toy

They also got some new clothes

I just love them!!!

visit my mil and stepsons – Lasagna for dinner, what else?
go see Les Miserables – I am not a good critique because I love everything Les Miz – I’ve seen the show 12x (brought my students to NYC every year), know every song… so I had to see the movie the day it opened. I enjoyed it, of course (My hubby – not so much). The non-singers were better than I expected. Cosette and Eponine were the best vocally and the others adequate (I’ve heard better on stage.) The stage version was more emotional but that’s maybe because I knew the story so well. I would derfintely recommend the film.

les-miserables-jean-valjean-movie-poster

love Hugh Jackman!

Happy Running! Merry Christmas! What did you do special on Christmas Day? What was you favorite gift?

December 24, 2012 by Darlene

Running on Ice

Yesterday was my first run with the temps below 32. The first run since with the temps below 32 since my accident.

I decided since I had a lot of time to go to the bike path. I missed the exit for the Corning Bike Path in Albany so I continued on to the Colonie Town Park.

Don’t I look excited?

I headed west toward Niskayuna and the path looked pretty dry.

However, if you looked on the sides, there were plenty of ice patches.

Until last Dec 29, ice & snow didn’t faze me. Now I am totally paranoid!!!

Yes, I had my phone in my pocket and stayed on the path where it was dry. I took a different loop than I usually do. I usually do an out and back but I saw a sign that pointed toward the Colonie Town Park parking lot so I followed it. This was a nice loop bordering on the Mohawk river. However, I had no idea where I was. Finally it did end up in the parking lot.

Since I had only run 2 miles, I continued on the path in the other direction (toward Cohoes). Not as scenic and after you go under the tunnel, the path was covered in ice.

No way was I running over it. No way was I going around it. I just turned around!! (Yes, I am a wimp!!)

So my run was only 4 miles…good enough.

Then I headed for my “Happy Place” – Starbucks and Target.

Happy Running! Do you run outside when there is ice and snow?

December 23, 2012 by Darlene

Staycation Has Begun

Not that I don’t love working but I can get used to this! It’s Sunday eve and tomorrow, there’s NO WORK for me!!

Usually when I take off from work, it is to go somewhere.

The week between Christmas and News Years, I am off (though I was tempted to go somewhere warm), and we decided to stay home. And I have nothing to do except:

Run – whenever I want (and not break my ankle on the ice!!!!)
Catch up with friends – celebrating my bff’s b-day on Thurs & annual tennis holiday party on Fri
Shop for bargains– love those after Christmas sales
Read – just finished Glass Castle & Gone Girl…any suggestions??
Knit – want to finish this pair of socks

Go to the Movies – I want to see Les Miz, Silver Linings, Guilt Trip…

I may do more of the above the rest of the week but I really should do grocery shopping, laundry, cooking, cleaning, re-organgizing…

Then I won’t mind going back to work next Wednesday!!! Ha Ha!

Happy Running! Do you have the week off? What are you going with your free time?

December 23, 2012 by Darlene

Half Marathon Training Begins…

I will be in Sarasota, Florida to run this in 12 weeks!! Yikes!!

I was googling “Half Marathon” and found this training schedule. I like it because it is simple and flexible.

Although this is technically my 6th half marathon, it feels like the first.

I am actually more nervous because I know more. I was very naive regarding my first. I didn’t even have a Garmin during the training.

don’t I look calm?

Now I have experienced injuries (3 to be exact) and know how quickly things can go wrong.

I have to go slow and be conservative but yet instinctively I want to do well. (Well for me, that is…)

So to keep things in perspective, I will try to remember this:

Running is a gift. Not everyone can. I will remember the times I could not. I wil not take any step I take for granted.

Happy Running! Any other motivating thoughts for this returning runner?

December 22, 2012 by Darlene

Another Motivational Quote & Holiday Greeting

I made a pact with myself to never complain about an event I’ve successfully finished. No matter what my finish time or pace, I will cross the line with a pocket full of gratitude. Records are meant to be broken, but those moments are far and few between. Every adventure offers an opportunity to evolve, explore, and celebrate life. And that is the gift that keeps on giving. — Jenny Hadfield

That will be my motto for 2013!!

Happy Holidays! Thanks for reading! What is your favorite running quote?

December 21, 2012 by Darlene

The End is Near…

It was a crazy day weather-wise. It was dark, rainy, windy and then all of a sudden the sun came out and this happened:

Well, it wasn’t the end of the world.

But I wish the eating would end…

Last night I went out to dinner with friends I used to work with. It was fun and yes, I ate a lot including dessert. My friend Cheryl as she does each year gave me 2 boxes of homemade truffles.

Today at work, we had an “End of the World” party. Everyone had to bring in “comfort” food such as mac n cheese, wings, fries, pizza, ribs, desserts, etc.

some dancing as well as eating

My work friend Pershia gave me a box of chocolate – YAY!! More food!

I was stuffed for the second day in a row.

I knew I had to run. The rain had stopped and the wind had died down but I could barely move.

I wound up doing a slow 3 miles rather than 4 but better than nothing

Tonight is Mah Jongg nite. Will I be able to resist more food???

Happy Running! Are you overwhelmed bu holiday treats?

December 19, 2012 by Darlene

Wordless Wednesday – The Christmas Cookie Edition

Returned from vacation (where a lot of unhealthy eating went down) to a Cookie Party at work:

Plus – everyday someone else brings a plate of cookies into our office!!!!!!!

Next up:

Dinner with former colleagues tomorrow
End of the World Party on Friday at Work
Birthday dinner over the weekend

Give me strength!!

The good news is that I am running every other day:

3 miles on Sat
4 miles on Mon
hopefully 4 miles after work today
3 miles on Fri
hopefully 4 miles on Sun.

And I played tennis last night for the 1st time since Oct. 1!!!!!

Happy Running! Are you good about staying away from holdiay sweets?

December 15, 2012 by Darlene

Albany Last Run 5K Report

This was my third time doing this race so I was prepared for the course, the darkness & the potholes. The fireworks were usually before the race and you have to get ready to run right after they ended. I remember that the race ended coming down a hill. I hoped that this year I wouldn’t trip on a pot hole and fall like last year!!.

I also knew that this race would be crowded so my plan was to just have fun with it.

The race started at 5 pm. It’s always a little tricky to run a race at night when you’re used to fueling in the morning. So I decided to carbload throughout the day: oatmeal…bagel…waffles… chicken lo mein.

I saved time in picking up my race packet yesterday during lunch.

This year’s windbreaker. I also have yellow & orange. I’d wear it if it were a holiday color.

It wasn’t too COLD…in the 30’s . There was no snow or ice…YAY!! I just wore layers… turtleneck, t-sheet, green windbreaker, skirt with capris, holiday knee socks, Santa hat, red gloves. My hubby has a parking pass for under the mall so he drove me. We planned to go out to dinner afterwards.

waiting inside before the race

As you know I have been recovering from another injury and haven’t been running much. I probably should have sat this one out but the park is beautiful with all the lights so I thought why not just run it slow.

Several of my friends that wanted to run the race got closed out…this race is very popular. But I did run into several runners that I knew. I was surprised to see my good tennis friend MaryPat. I didn’t know that she was running it until I saw her standing next to me while watching the fireworks outside before the race began.

MaryPat

The race started after the fireworks. There was supposed to be a starting mat but I didn’t see one. It was very crowded where I was standing and it took some time to get moving. It was very slow going for awhile but was perfect for me. I couldn’t run fast even if I wanted to. I spent most of the race looking at the ground. I was paranoid about falling again and I did see several runners who did just that.

(Some cute photos here: http://cms.dailygazette.com/photos/galleries/2012/dec/15/last-run-5k/)

I just ran at an easy pace taking in all the scenery and the runners in costumes. I passed the mile 1 marker at 12:xx but that was because it was so slow at the beginning.

I kept the same pace the whole race. I ran the whole time even up the hills. Mile 2 was around 22:xx which is more my speed. Finally we got the the downhill part and I was very careful not to fall (even though my shoe was untied but it was too dangerous to stop to tie it & I didn’t want to lose any more time.)

I did manage to sprint across the finish line around 35:20 (I think). Normally I would be depressed at such a slow time. But I was so happy to have run a race and to have run 3.1 miles without stopping.

What was really cool was that there were fireworks going off as the runners crossed the finish line. I watched for a little bit but I had to go inside and look for my hubby.

Inside there was a band and refreshments including Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. I headed toward the ice cream and then located my hubby who was anxious to head to Applebees for dinner.

Albany’s Last Run was hopefully not my “last” run but it was my last and 12th RACE of 2012. It was the kind of race that you do for fun. And it was fun!

Happy Running! Anyone one else running a holiday race?