September 16, 2011 by Darlene

Fall Racing

Yes, I am trying to rest my heel and not do too much racing. But there are a few on my radar for various reasons:

1. Adirondack Half Marathon – Signed up for this one before the injury.

Oct 1, 2011

2. Race for the Cure 5k – We have a team where I work & I am one of the coordinators. Besides it’s an important cause. There’ll be too many runners to worry about my time.

3. Santa Clarita Half Marathon – Signed up for this one too before the injury.

Nov 24, 2011

4. Our Town Turkey Trot – This 5K is near my house and it is my PR race.

Dec 17, 2011

5. Albany Last Run 5k – For this race, you get to see the Capital Holiday Lights in Washington Park and a spectacular fireworks show.

A few more may squeak in…

Happy Running! Are you racing this fall?

September 15, 2011 by Darlene

Three Things Thursday: Running, Yoga, Eating

1. After 2 days of tennis, my heel was sore. I didn’t run on Mon & Tues and I decided to wait until after work to run yesterday. I parked my car at yoga and ran 4 miles around Washington Park. Not a good run but a run nevertheless.

the park in the fall

a nice place to run

2. Then I went to yoga at HeartSpace. My friend Cheryl was there as usual. Yoga is the perfect cooldown!!!!!!!!!!

Lisa, my awesome instructor

3. For the second week in a row, Cheryl & I went out for dinner and drinks at The Point. (She has some restaurant.com gift cards). This week, we just had drinks, salads (pictured below), shared a dessert (cinnamon donuts with strawberries & cream) & coffees. YUM!!!!!!!!!!

pear, goat cheese, candied walnut salad

last week's shrimp & lobster appetizer

didn't have this but wanted to...

Running + Yoga + Good Food = PERFECT WEDNESDAY

Today it is raining 😦 Treadmill on tap??

Happy Running! What ingredients make a perfect day for you?

September 14, 2011 by Darlene

Looking for a Marathon?

No, I’m not…but this site was e-mailed to me and it is really cool!

You can compare or look for marathons based on number of racers, temperature, elevation change…

You can get a slide show or graphs.

Here I compared 2 NY Marathons:

I am at the Half Marathon stage (barely) but if I’m ever looking for a full, I will check it out here.

Happy Running? Anyone looking for a marathon?

September 13, 2011 by Darlene

Back to Tennis & Creating a Balance

playing tennis

In my forties, I started something athletic. It was tennis. I played ALL THE TIME!!! Ladders, coed teams, womens teams, tournaments, etc. I was obssessed.

In my fifties, I started running. 50 5k races in 3 years. I was obsessed.

Do you see a trend?

This summer, it was easy. I was injured and I didn’t run or play tennis. In the summer, tennis is free and casual. No problems. No races signed up for. No problems there. Just relaxing on our boat.

Last night was my first night of my indoor tennis contract. I have 4/5 slot on Mondays and a 1/8 slot on Tuesdays. I switched tennis facilities and no longer play with my tennis friends (They play at another facility which is farther away & more expensive or are retired & play during the day). We are close & will see each other socially and on vacations.

dinner at "Pure"

Now I am playing with new players and it is just tennis. But because it is a paid doubles contract, I have a playing schedule.

Back to running – I want to continue running several short runs during the week and a longer run on the weekend.

I do not want to re-injure my heel (which may be still injured?). As a result, I don’t want to run & play tennis in the same day. This sometimes means I have to skip runs because I cannot skip tennis.

Happy Running! Anyone else have “Balance” problems?

September 12, 2011 by Darlene

Boating & My Running Mojo

The Boating season is winding down and the Running season is gearing up.

Although I am running again, the heel pain still persists. Not so much while I am running but before & after. This fact allows me to run but makes me be very cautious when I run. It also makes me sad as I cross off races from my calendar 😦 But at least I AM RUNNING!

The sunshine came out finally on Friday after a week of rain. After work, I had to choose between my weekly Mah Jongg game (which I LOVE) or a longish run.

Yes, my Running Mojo is back – I ran 5 miles around the park. I hadn’t run there since Mother’s Day when the park boasted thousands of beautiful tulips. I was surprised at how nicely it was landscaped & wished I had brought my camera.

Saturday, we headed up to Bolton Landing to spend the weekend on Lake George. It wasn’t going to be warm but it was going to be dry!!

We spend the day with lots of boating friends at a new spot – near the Ranger Station on Long Island. We didn’t swim but had lots of fun!!

In the evening we headed to the village to watch the Car Show parade (There were thousands of vintage cars on display this weekend) and fireworks. I could care less about the cars but the guys were in their glory oohing and aahing.

Afterwards we battled the traffic & returned to the marina to sleep on the boat. Mind you it was 53 degrees & I could have sleep at 3 different friends’ houses in Lake George village. Well, you know why I returned to the boat.

Sunday morning, I woke up early to go on a long run. Long run for me is only 7 miles but I knew it still would be a challenge.

I wanted to take a new route as I always run around the Sagamore hotel. I decided to run south on 9N. It was a little chilly so I put on a jacket (Big mistake, I was warm in 5 min) and took along my camera.

photo stop on Huddle Bay

I ran the rolling hills for a few miles.

9-11

pretty painted building

When I passed a cemetery, I decided to take a detour toward the lake. Boy am I glad I did!

road less travelled by

lst sign of fall

I stumbled into roads in all directions with awesome houses, tennis courts, new home construction, cottages, beautiful lake views.

nice home, huh?

my reflection in the mirror

my new house LOL

one of several tennis cts

like this house too

view of the Sagamore in the distance

Another road brought me to the Rainbow Association (lots of camps, docks, beach, etc.)

this is a cute one

Finally after probably getting photographed in many surveillance videos, it was time to head back to the marina.

shortcut through the cemetery

In Bolton Landing, I had my own mini car show.

I got back just in time to go out on our boat with friends.

Lake George Kayak Co.

beautiful day on the lake

Happy Running! Are you looking forward to Fall?

September 8, 2011 by Darlene

TTT + 1

It has rained THREE Mornings in a row!! I think I mentioned several times that I don’t run in the rain!! So my running has been slacking off 😦
My hubby (MR. I never exercised in my life cuz I can play any sport well) suggested that we join a gym. There’s a new Planet Fitness nearby – only $10 amonth!
My problem is that I work and it is crowded when I can go… But I think I will join but not for the treadmill on rainy days but to crosstrain (which I should start doing). Optimistically Tues, Thurs (after work) & Sat or Sun.

+1 So here’s my new OPTIMISTIC plan for exercise:

Running – before work 2-3x and 1 long on the weekend
Tennis – once a week after work (Mon)
Yoga – once a week after work (Wed)
Crosstrain – 2x after work (Tues, Thurs) and 1x on the weekend

Yes, there’s the hubby, friends, movies, dinners, meetings squeezed in there too…If only I didn’t have to work…There’d be time for everything!!

Happy Running! Do you belong to a gym? How often do you go?

September 6, 2011 by Darlene

Two for Tuesday

Rain – It rained Sun eve, most of the day Monday and it is raining now.
Rain – It is forecasted for the next few days. I do not run in the rain

I know I am a wimp! I also work so I need to run before or after work. It may be time to join a gym.

A Quick Update on Last Week:

My goal was to run 18 miles. I did not. I ran Mon, Thurs & Sat for a total of 14.5 miles. My long run was 6 miles. I played tennis once.

Goals for this Week:

run 18 miles
DO YOGA
It’s week #4 of Half Marathon #4 training (week #10 of Half Marathon #3 non-training)

This Week’s Schedule:

Mon: OFF from work
Tues: HMRRC seminar
Wed: Yoga
Thurs: Mentor mtg
Fri: Mah Jongg
Sat & Sun – at the lake (weather permitting)

Running for the Week:

Mon: 3.5 miles
Wed: 4 miles
Fri: 3.5 miles
Sun: 7 miles in BL (Bolton Landing)

Happy Running! Do you run in the rain??

September 5, 2011 by Darlene

This & That and a Virtual 5K

This was a busy week:

Monday I had dinner with a running friend that I haven’t seen the infamous heel injury. Tuesday was my last tennis with my Tuesday tennis group so we went out to dinner after. Wednesday, I spent the day at the US Open.

with my friend Catalina at the Open

We watched some amazing tennis matches – some veterans, some up and coming players, some upsets, some predictables- all in all, it was a long HOT day (got up at 4:15 am and went to bed at 11:00 pm).

Since I hadn’t run since Monday, I forced myself to do 4.5 miles after work on Thursday- it wasn’t pretty and I finished & got in my car seconds before the rain came down.

Saturday for the 2nd time this summer, I stayed home from the lake to do my LONG run. I ran 6 miles which was my longest distance since April 23 (my half marathon). It was tough – it took me 1:11 to do it with 2 water stops & some walking. (My friends kept texting me: we miss you…what are you dong home on such as nice day?…They are NOT runners!!)

Then I rewarded myself with a movie – I saw Sarah’s Key. I read the book and I must admit, it was very true to the book. A sad story but I highly recommend it.

Sunday am, I headed up to the lake with my friend Cheryl. My hubby & other friends were already there waiting. It was the annual Christmas in September on Log Bay. Everyone hangs out on the lake. There’s a band, a parade & fireworks at night.

with Cheryl & Kathi

going for a ride

Unfortunately, it started to rain in the evening and the parade & fireworks were canceled. We headed home.

This morning, I decided to enter my own 5K – Darlene’s Virtual 5k.

I finished in 33:38. No water stops. I ran straight through for the first time since my last 5k on June 11 (which I finished in 27:45!!!!!). I placed 1st in my age group. In fact, I came in first overall. It was incredibly humid. I was drenched in sweat (I am not a sweater) when I was done. It started to rain as soon as I finished too.

I can’t tell you how hard this was. I felt that I needed to run without stopping & stretching & worrying about my heel. The pace was slow but I couldn’t do it any faster. I felt so out of shape, so tired… I wanted to stop a hundred times but I wouldn’t let myself.

Now I know I can do it. I think that in a real 5K race I will have more adrenaline & will eat better the day before so hopefully my time will get back to where it was before the injury.

Afterwards, my hubby & I headed back to Lake George for a great lunch with friends at a restaurant overlooking the lake.

Happy Running! Happy Labor Day!

September 2, 2011 by Darlene

Staying on Track?

It is difficult for me to stay on track.

When I am not using the pain excuse, I have:

Tues am – I ran yesterday & don’t want to run 2 days in a row. I am playing tennis after work.
Wed am – I am going to the US Open.
Thurs am – I got up at 4:15 am & went to bed at 11:30 pm on Wed. I am TOOO tired 😦

Three mornings without running… and it wasn’t even raining. We won’t go there. (I think I need to join a gym to stay on track during the rainy, snowy, icy mornings. )

Does it matter if we do not stay on track?

Maybe not. As long as we get back on track?

I ran 4.5 miles after work yesterday!! It wasn’t pretty. I was TIRED. Today’s quote from RW:

Relish the bad training runs. Without them it’s difficult to recognize, much less appreciate, the good ones.

I hope next week and the weeks to come bring some good ones.

Happy Running! Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

September 1, 2011 by Darlene

Where has the summer gone?

The end of August always makes me sad. The days get shorter. The temps get cooler. We start thinking about putting our boat away for winter. This year, however, I’m hoping that the fall brings healing to my heel and more pleasant running conditions.