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Running & Boating

Yes, this past weekend I made it work.

After work on Friday, I stopped off at the grocery store & shopped for the weekend, came home & planted some flowers, cleaned & set up for Mah Jongg at my house, packed for the weekend & managed to squeeze in a 2.5 mile run!!!!!!!! (I would have run more but my guests were due to arrive.)

Saturday, we left early for Bolton Landing to get our boat and head out to the island. (My hubby had driven up to reserve a day site for 3 days on Friday & came home to go to work.)  We spent a beautiful day on our site with friends & friends of friends.  The guys even went cliff jumping.  The water was too cold for me.

Saturday night, we went back to the marina to sleep. First,  we went to Lake George Village to see the fireworks and to our friend’s who live there to play dominoes.  During the night, it rained but stopped by morning.

Though I didn’t sleep well or enough, I was excited to get into Bolton Landing to get coffee & breakfast and then head out on a run.

I wish I had gotten an earlier start because it was hot & very humid.  My husband, thank God, was very content to watch friends play tennis, chat with other boaters & wait till I was done.

I ran my usual through town and around the Sagamore resort.  I decided to run back the other direction and stumbled upon a beach and a turtle pond. My run turned out to be 4.5 miles!!! (This was the best part of the weekend – don’t tell my hubby!!)

When I got back since my hubby was still chatting, I took for camera out & retraced my steps.

The rest of the day was very relaxing.  We hung out on the island and I read.  We rode around on the boat for awhile before we put sadly  it away.

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Happy Running &l Dads, hope your Father’s Day was enjoyable!

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Brain Exchange #13 & Monday Goals

Click HERE to participate.

Topic: The athletic family

Question: Do you come from an athletic family?  Are your parents/siblings/spouses/children also involved in your sport(s)?

Nope.  Growing up, no one in my family was athletic. I didn’t play any sports in high school nor did my friends. My first husband jogged which I thought at the time was crazy.

In my 40’s, a colleague suggested that we learn to play tennis so we did.  I loved it and played it all the time, played on several teams and now my best friends are those I met playing tennis.  In fact, I met  my current husband on the tennis courts, 12 years ago or so.

My stepsons do not play any sports.  One did track for a little while in HS but currently does not run.  My husband still plays tennis occasionally.

I started running a little over 2 years ago.  My husband  has no interest in running.  😦  He’s not crazy about my running but doesn’t discourage me.



Recap of  last week:
My weekly goal was 14 miles. I did 15!!!
I won a giveaway!

This week’s schedule:
Monday – USTA tennis match after work
Tuesday – tennis after work
Wed – Mentors meeting after work
Thursday – Census job
Friday –  tennis before work, mah jong after work
Saturday – party
Sunday – on the boat

This week’s running :
Tuesday  – 3 miles before or after work
Thursday – 3.5  miles before work
Saturday – 3.1  miles – RACE

Weekly Running Goal = 9.5 miles
Monthly Running Goal = 54 miles (up to 38)
Yearly Running Goal = 300 miles (up to 273)

Happy Running & have a great week!

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On My Way to the Lake

A quick post as I am leaving and hope to have a hot, sunny weekend on Lake George which means a Happy Father’s Day for my Hubby and some running for me.

Back on Sunday eve.

Happy Running!

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Five Things Friday

  1. The weather is beautiful today!  It has that summer feeling!  I played tennis at 7 am and I wanted to stay outside all day…but I had to go to work  😦  At least I took a long walk at lunch to enjoy the sunshine.
  2. I’m getting through my no race weekend blues by reading running blogs and racing through others.
  3. I dragged myself out of bed yesterday at 6 am and ran 3 miles before work.  I’m glad I did (after, not before, that is).
  4. I have a busy  evening planned…mah jongg is at my house tonight and I have  to buy snacks, wine &  clean up…I have plants that I bought on Monday that need to be planted…we’re leaving for the lake early tomorrow morning & I have to shop, pack, organize for 2 days on the boat/island…Oh yes, I wanted to run too!!
  5. Happy Father’s Day to all those Dads out there!!

Happy Running & Have a great weekend!

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No Races This Weekend

The last two weekends, it has rained and my hubby and I have not gone on our boat on Lake George.  This morning, while watching the weather channel, he announces: “No races this weekend!! We ‘re going on the boat and we’re leaving early Saturday!”

I have run a 5K the past two weekends and I have one next Saturday so I can’t complain.  But I think I am already going through withdrawal at the thought of not running in a race this weekend. Why?

  1. Races motivate me to run during the week. I ran Monday but because I don’t have  a race this weekend, I skipped my run yesterday and today!!!
  2. I run faster in a race.  I mean a lot faster… 3 miles at home takes me 35 minutes or more and last week I ran it in 28 in a race.

No more whining…I will run tomorrow after work and maybe even Friday.  I will run around the Sagamore in Bolton Landing on Sunday while boating on Lake George!!! I will enjoy our times on Lake George…I have a lot more races planned for the rest of the summer (Hope the hubby will understand.)

Happy Running!

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Two for Tuesday

  1. I won this tote bag from 2010 Journey in Running‘s giveaway.  I ❤ winning! Thanks Bobbie.

  2. I’m back at work after 3 day weekend and the sun is shining finally.  A beautiful day.  After work, I am playing tennis (doubles) and maybe a run (if I have enough energy) or gardening!

Happy Running!

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Busy Day Off

I took the day off because I thought we would be at the lake.  The weekend was rainy so we did not go out on our boat.

After enjoying a leisurely breakfast, I decided to go for a run.  I had planned 3.5 miles but since I was not rushed, I decided to push for 5 miles.  This was an effort.  It was humid. The route was hilly so I walked a lot the last 2 miles but I did it.

Next I decided to weed and plant some annuals in the garden. Guess what I found in the parking lot of the garden store – Betties’ Cakes  double decker bus.

I ran 5 miles so I could justify eating this:

The bus is here til June 25!  I’ll be back!

After the afternoon of weeding & planting, I headed off to my USTA tennis match.  Our captain sent us to the wrong location so we had to rush to the correct location.  We were late and there was no time to warm up. 

One player didn’t show up so I had to play singles.  I NEVER play singles! But no one else on my team would.

I won the first set 6-4, was ahead in the 2nd 3-1 but then my opponent came back strong and I lost 6-3 and I also lost in the tie breaker 😦

Everyone on the team lost so afterwards we consoled ourselves and went out for dessert.  I had strawberry shortcake.  (I forgot, I had ice cream for dessert before the match, too).

Back to work tomorrow!

Happy Running!

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Brain Exchange #12 & Monday Goals

Click HERE to participate.

Topic:  Motivational Quotes

Question:  What are some of your favorite motivational quotes/sayings?  Do you have any personal mantras you use while dealing with tough times on the race course?

Here are some of my favorites:

“The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” – John Bingham

“Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.” – Lance Armstrong

“There is no better feeling in the world than to take your mind and body to a place you thought it couldn’t go; a place you thought it didn’t belong. You should all try it sometime.” – Shauna Reid

“Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must, just never give up.” – Dean Karnazes

“I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.” – Steve Prefontaine

In a race, I just look around at all the runners around me, all sizes, shapes and ages, and feel a sense of pride to be one of them.  I just telling myself to “keep going, it’ll be over soon and I will survive.”

Recap of  last week:
My weekly goal was 14 miles. I did 13.5 – Close enough!!
I ran a 5k race!! I had a PR!!!!!

This week’s schedule:
Monday – tennis match pm (day off from work)
Tuesday – tennis after work
Wed – Census job after work
Friday –  tennis before work, mah jong after work
weekend – on the boat

This week’s running :
Monday – 3.5 miles
Wednesday-  before work  – 3 miles
Friday – 4 miles after work
Sunday – 3.5 miles

Weekly Running Goal = 14 miles
Monthly Running Goal = 54 miles
Yearly Running Goal = 300 miles

Happy Running & have a great week!

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Kinderhook Bank OK 5K & an Unexpected PR

Read about the race here and here.

This race turned out much differently than expected.

I was really tired all week and had a tight right calf muscle.  Yesterday I came home from work and went to bed.  I was too tired to go to Mah Jongg (which I LOVE) or even BLOG.

When I got up this morning, I was still tired.  My race goals were to finish and run as much of the race as I could.

This was the first time I have run this race and it was about 40 minutes away.  On the way, I realized that at the last 4 races I have run with others that I know.  It was nice having someone to chat with before and after the race. I knew no one running this race & I signed up for it while on a high from my last race. This is bound to happen when you are a 5K race addict like myself.

The skies were overcast and threatening RAIN!.  The temperature was in the 60’s and would have been comfortable if it weren’t so HUMID.   They gave out a nice backpack type bag, coupon for a free Stewarts ice cream cone and the standard cotton tee.

There were almost 600 running in this race.  I recognized a lot of elite runners from the area (so no award for me!). It started and ended in the middle of town.  There were some inclines on the country roads of Kinderhook, NY but otherwise  it was relatively flat.

I started slowly in the middle of the pack, trying to get my iPod to play.  I never have an idea what my pace is since I don’t have a Garmin.  Everyone was passing me by so I thought I was running slow.  I just kept running.

(Photo courtesy of Barry Knights)

I was surprised that the mile 1 clock said 9:20.  That’s my PR pace.  So I continued running.  The 2nd mile clock said 18:42 so I was at the same pace.  That was good because I didn’t want a repeat of last week’s race when I ran too fast during mile 2 and had no gas for the 3rd mile.

I continued running at my same pace with only a brief stop for water and when I approached the finish line, I was shocked to see 28 minutes!  I started to sprint  as fast as I could!!!

My goal this year was to finish under 29 minutes and I did- 28:42.  YAY!!

I actually felt less tired after the race than before.

There were had lots of refreshments – apples, bananas, oranges, watermelon, cider, bagels, donuts, bars, etc.  They gave out ceramic dishes to the top 3 in each 5 year age group.  Just as they started to announce the winners, it started to rain.  I hung around since I had a rain coat and I knew I had no chance at 10 year age groups but there was a slight possibility today.

Nope!  I came in 318 and 6th in my age group.  The top 2 in my age group ran it in 20 & 21 minutes!!!!!!!!!  The good news is next year, these 2 runners  will be out of my age group for 2 years.

I hope the rain stops for some outdoor activities tomorrow.

Happy Running and have a great weekend!

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Three Things Thursday

  1. It rained yesterday (I needed the rest anyway) and it rained on and off all day today.  But when I got home, it had stopped I got in a 3.5 mile snail run.
  2. I am over the 250 mile mark (I have 255) and it’s only June.  Last year I ran 209 miles in 12 months.  This year my goal is 300 – maybe I’ll get to 500?
  3. I love 3 day weekends and I am taking another this weekend. I hope the weather is Ok. Another  5K Race Saturday…

Happy Running!