Crazy Saturday--what was I thinking?

Friday I headed to VEISHA town and spent the night with a sibling. . . not because I was going to party at VEISHA, but rather for a 5K.  My training plan had down 6 miles.  I laid out the clothing the night for the chilly temps of 25º.  Thankfully I brought my running wind jacket which I had purchased back in January for the Triple D event. Sadly, I only brought my fleece tights and not the overlayer thicker running pant.  I set out for my six mile run and had a nice route going.  As I neared the halfway mark, I had turned north and then the wind started ripping into me/through my tights across the wide open mall parking lot.  I decided to turn around and make this into an 'out and back' instead of a loop run!

I saw plenty of other runners out in the early morning, some singles and a few large groups with assorted ages.  It was great to be outside. I haven't done much outside running at all this winter. Last year I was out a lot as we had such a mild winter.  My running wasn't completely constant/at the same pace, but it was pretty darn near and that made me happy.    I got back to the house and changed my Mizuno breath long sleeve shirt for the other one of the same type, so that I wouldn't be chilled when walking the 5K.  I didn't run this add'l 3.1 miles past my coach, and maybe should have, but decided that it'd be like going shopping all day long and being on my feet that much longer!

M and I found a great parking spot near the end of the run, and then walked over to the start. It was about 30º when we started. I had printed out a few of the above 'bibs' for Boston for us and to share with other runners at the start.  M's friend J joined us as well and we all pinned on our Boston bibs. Had I been thinking clearly before my 6-miler, I would have put it on then!   A student group at the event was selling 3" pins for Boston with the proceeds going to the One Fund Boston.  We passed out the other Boston remembrance bibs to those who wanted them.  We stood around for about twenty-five minutes before the race started. . . it's always fun to see what others wear for such an event. Some were out in winter clothing, some in shorts with no leggings, one guy was basically wearing a black speedo with his bib number as a sporran. . . maybe he's part Scottish? 

I was pretty glad I wasn't running the event. J commented that it was hard to not 'take off and run' and I agreed, but as there was a hill at the start, I was glad we were just walking it together. J and I started power walking--on accident--and M had to reel us back in so we didn't take off!  At one of the first corners, the group of walkers in front of us made to 'cut the corner'. . . and I mean they were going to CUT THE CORNER.  M joked she thought I was being a real rule follower. I explained to her, and the others, that cutting the corner means walking the shortest distance on the measured course--taking the tangent. It does not mean to cut off a triangle and make a shorter distance by following a rounded sidewalk. 

We talked about current events and memories of their campus, of recently finding coins on campus which I thought would be rare any more with students and credit cards, but then I said the students at the high school dept of the comm college tend to literally throw change into the trash! As well as C's roommate who refused to pick up change, she had dropped on her own room floor, and who was moving out as we visited one weekend. That ex-roomy thought it was odd we volunteered to pick up the change on her floor. It was about $7 as we recalled and paid for the Toll Roads on our way home!

As we had not registered by the beginning of the month, we weren't given a shirt.  However, at the end, they were selling the left over shirts.  I was expecting them to be about $20--especially after I discovered the proceeds help fund a scholarship.  To my delight, the t-shirts were only $6, so of course I got one.  :-)  

After the 5K was over, we said adieu to J and we walked back to the car.  M got her family ready to go to more VEISHA events, and I packed up to go see dad. . . I'm not sure what I was thinking getting in the car after 9 miles and not much stretching, but I did.  Stiff when I got to dad's after three hours in the car and  then I got to climb the stairs and carry things down to the truck multiple times--Really, WHAT WAS I THINKING when I planned this weekend? ? 

For the drive home on Sunday, I made sure to wear my compression sleeves on the calves while I was sitting for five hours. I didn't need anything to happen on the circulation department and then the legs felt better once I got home and moving around a bit as well.  

Winter race, not so bad!

Weekend race 1/20/2013
Entries for biking, running or skiing. This year skiing was canceled due to lack of snow. 

The winter race weekend turned out better than expected. The really  cold weather didn't appear until late on Sunday/early Monday (it was -5ºF Monday morning as we started the car!).  Sunday's weather for the races was a brisk 5ºF with a 10mph wind from the north/northwest.  For the cyclist, marathoners and ultramarathoners this might not have been a good thing. For the half marathoners, it was okay. 

Our course ran on an old railroad bed, now a limestone trail.  We were lucky in that there was limestone rocks/cliffs blocking the wind from us for most of the race. We had a few open areas to cross where the wind might have been horrible at the start of the race, but by the time we were to those points the weather wasn't bothering us as we were heated and just wanting to finish.  

I wish I had taken photos, but I didn't want to take my cell phone out at the start for pics and have trouble getting it back in the holder in the brisk weather.  There were a few moments in the race I thought about taking photos, but the desire to keep the hands covered overruled any desire to capture the photos. 

We had snow before Christmas and most of the snow is gone, having been melted by warmer weather. Saturday we experienced highs near the 50ºF mark. Obviously this was going to be a big change to Sunday's 5º!  The center of the trail changed from being ice packed to being run bare by snowmobile machines. 

At the start, the volunteer said the buses would wait twenty minutes if any of us decided to give up on the race. Turns out the first mile and a half had very little trail showing and were mostly ice covered with up to four inches of opaque stuff on the trail.  Some of us might have wished to turn around, but we'd have to tell our loved ones we bailed on the race, and, since they were out doing the longer distance bike race, we couldn't fathom doing that.

The ice covered path gave way to the center being clear, or the sides being clear, but never was the whole width clear at the same time.  The tree that last year (on a sunny day) held two bald eagles only had their nest visible this year. Even they weren't interested in the cold weather.   

I discovered that running on packed snow is still easy--the dimples in the snow crust covering allow some traction.  I discovered that when running on terrain as this that I don't pick up my legs and instead do a shuffle--which has made for the quads hurting more than I've had in a while.  

I also discovered that even deer like to walk on the snow.  I assume they made their tracks Friday night or Saturday sometime.  For quite a ways on the trail in the snow packed right side, there were many deer tracks frozen into the snow. Again, thought about taking a photo, but was more concerned with the hands staying covered. 

Photo of race conditions.
This is a  good section of trail, since the center is covered in ice.

I started out wearing my Mizuno breath thermal shirt, topped with an UnderArmour short sleeve t-shirt and my brand new Saucony wind protection jacket (I know, not suppose to wear new gear during a race, but this was needed!)  

New jacket--it's a periwinkle blue/purple

For my head, I wore my balaclava and then a wool buff, as well as taking along my Smartwool ear band.  About an hour into the I took off the balaclava and used just the ear band part on my ears/forehead and then my wool buff as a neck gaiter and I would bring that up to cover my head when I got into the breezy sections.  It worked out well and with my iFitness belt I was able to hook the balaclava onto it for keeping.

I wore two Nike pants, one fuzzy lined tights and one of the heavy and thick winter running pants. I acquired these after a winter race in 2011.

My hands normally get quite warm when I run. I start out wearing gloves and then tuck the palm down and have just the fingers covered, I usually take the gloves off after half an hour.  This time, I wasn't able to do that. I started out with a thin cotton pair of Nike's covered with a freebie pair I got at a race.  After half an hour, I put the freebie pair in the pockets and ran with just the thin Nikes. This worked until about mile 8 or so when I realized the fingers of the gloves were just soaking wet; however, they weren't frozen due to my fingers' heat!  I switched gloves to the freebie pair and finished with those.  The wind pretty much went through them, so I put my hands into fists inside the gloves and ran with the fingertips just flopping all over. I thought that'd probably look pretty hilarious to a bypasser! 

All in all, it was a better than expected race. I knew the muscles would remember how to work and that even though I hadn't run in a few weeks, that the fitness I had would still be there in some form.  I came in 15 minutes or so slower than last year, but considering everything, I thought I did a good job.  (and it's hard to run on ice!)

The Mike finished right on the dot at 5pm.  He had anticipated "around 5pm" for his finish.  Tired and hungry, he got some of the after-race hot wings and then a double bacon cheeseburger with fries I ordered from the hotel's restaurant (that thing was HUGE and no, he was not able to finish the burger).  

1/22/2013 dinner:   

Quick salad -mixed greens, shaved carrot, blue cheese crumbles, tomatoes and 
quick balsamic vinegar salad dressing

Cranberry salsa and curried turkey breasts with baked potato

Core of the recipe is from The 150 Healthiest 15-Minute Recipes on Earth by Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., and Jeannette Bessinger, C.H.H.C 

*Disclaimer 1: I picked this cookbook up at yoga last year, and this is the first month I'm actually using it.  *Disclaimer 2: I tweaked the recipe, so I didn't quite follow the recipe precisely. I am listing what I did and then what I left out and the directions are my own. 

Ingredients: 

2T Honey Mustard (I didn't use)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp allspice

1 T orange zest (I didn't use)

salt/pepper to taste

1 boneless skinless turkey tenderloin (2 pounds or 900g) 

      (I used turkey breasts from the grocery store, two per package, I'm not sure of the weight, but it would have been two very large chicken breasts in size.  I think it would have been about one thanksgiving turkey breast total)

Salsa: 

2 c (200g) fresh cranberries (or 1 bag 8ounce frozen, unsweetened, thawed).  I used half a bag of fresh

1 large navel orange, peeled & halved

1 small jalapeno, stemmed, roughly chopped, optional (I used half a small can of diced chilies) 

1/4 cup (85g) raw honey, or to taste 

Directions (mine) 

Preheat oven to 400ºF. I put 1/2 T of olive oil in the bottom of a roasting pan, then added the turkey breasts. I mixed the turkey seasoning in a small bowl (cumin, curry, allspice, salt/pepper) and rubbed it on the turkey breasts. I covered the pan in foil, then put the lid on the pan and baked for 40 minutes.  (Turkey should registere 160ºF.  I took the pan out of the oven, uncovered the turkey and let it rest while prepping the salad. 

While the turkey was in the oven, in a food processor mix the "salsa" ingredients. I pulsed until pretty much just small pieces were visible.  Slice or shred the turkey, serve the salsa on the side. 

No insanity!

Time for TRIPLE D winter race!  We arrived in Dubuque Saturday evening. I was not sure of the conditions, but had gotten a report from a high school classmate in the area and the fields were pretty blown free of snow. Thus, I figured that the trail wouldn't be too bad, maybe in some spots, but overall not too snowy.

We went to the prerace meeting, picked up our race numbers and received pre-race medals (okay, they were the race medals, but we got them when we picked up our packets!). Mine had runners on it, my husband's had bicycles.  


Dedicated this race to mom, who was in the hospital and has a race of her own this past year.

We went out to eat at a great restaurant just down the street from our hotel. Fabulous food. I had called ahead and inquired about gluten free dining. When we got there, I requested a GF menu and when our waitress came to the table with bread, she told me "this isn't for you" because a) she knew I was gluten free and b) she KNEW what that meant! Exciting for sure! Mike had the  Tequila Mockingbird pizza and I had Tuscany Chicken with oven fried potatoes. YUM.

Race morning came as it always will. This was a race I entered to do with my hubby, though he was doing the 65 mile bike portion. Temps in the low 30s, but would they stay there, very little wind, but would it stay that way? I put my new Melanzana pants to the test as a base bottom layer with other pants on outside, Mizuno breath long shirt on with Melanzana hoodie. Race number, check, camel back with water, check, ifitness pack with Cytomax and a few GUs, check.

I had an omelet at the hotel restaurant, suggest passing on that next time, it just wasn't that great for the money. Drove over to the race hotel, short 5 minute drive, and waited for the news. We'd be bussed out at 9:45, ultra and marathoners would leave about earlier. About 40 of us total for the half-marathon. As people get on the bus I look at their state of dress, etc. . . some have yaktraks on like I do, others don't, many have just a single handheld bottle of hydration. I overhear several comments of "there will be water along the way, right?" uh, no, this is a self-supported race! Lots of "I've never done this before", etc.

The nature trail course as the people who were self-depricating on the bus take off quite fast. . . my conclusion, those who aren't fast like me would never fathom to enter a race like this!

DON'T do this: 

self-dep·re·cat·ing (slfdpr-ktng)

adj. Tending to undervalue oneself and one's abilities.

We should ALL be happy with where we are and where we see ourselves going. The journey to the finish is as important as the finish, maybe more so. It's where we often find our strength.

We get to the trail, in country, a few miles west of Graf and there's no race official, so we just start. 10:26:29 my watch says. And off we go. . .1 cross country skier, 1 racer with his gorgeous husky dog and lots of other people who just take off much faster than me. I'm fine with that. This is TRAINING for me, not a race. . . .and because of that, I am able to take photos along the way of the beautiful scenery, the bald eagle in a tree next to its nest, spy the innards on the trail from some other bird's snack, the nativity scene in a limestone hole (when I was thinking of my mom who was in the hospital) and the "snow birds" nest.

This was an accident photo, but it looks neat, I think.

Giant bald eagle in the tree.  The nest was quite large and in the tree next to it. There was another bald eagle. . .or at least a very giant  bird I could see from quite a ways off... on the horizon on other side of the trail

Snow birds' nest, har har har.

The nativity scene I spied.  At least one other person made the trek over to view it.  Very nice with how the sun was hitting on it. My mom was in the hospital and I wasn't able to go see her. Interesting I spied this at the same time I was thinking of her. 

Race organizer's wife who was out on the course. 

After all the scenery, the change of clothes (take off the hoodie, put on a short sleeve over Mizuno shirt. . . change race number to pants, stretching when legs started getting heavy, etc., talking to an old man on the trail who wanted to know what was going on. . . . my finish time was my worst ever for a half. . . 3:09, BUT, I've never run this far on snow before,  and I decided to enjoy the day, the race, the trail, the scenery and it wasn't  a race for me, it was just a training event :-)  I may not have run 18 miles, but it sure felt like I did!

The race ended at a bar. . .yup a bar, where you could order anything you want on the tab of the race (entry fees hard at work!!). I got a pepsi (bar food = gluten), talked to a few people who were in the race and then got a ride back with one of the volunteers to the host hotel.  First order, get a little energy in me (some pecan crackers and a chocolate milk); second, get cleaned up, lastly, get more food! I went BACK to CRUST (I said it was really good), arranged to meet a long lost friend there, got some relaxation in while I enjoyed a soda, read part of a book and, when friend D arrived, enjoyed great company over a GF pizza for me and a salad and sandwich for her. 

After chatting for over an hour, THE MIKE called. He was done with the race, a few hours ahead of what he was thinking (YEAH!) and I headed over to the host hotel with D for a meet up and greet.  We chatted more while the cyclists were finishing. One of her daughters has done a TRI and wants to do more!!! Then the awards were ready to begin and I had to say 'farewell' but not 'goodbye' to D! We agree to see each other more than every ten years, HA!  THE MIKE didn't win anything in the raffle, but I won a Balaclava! (though I always wish I had baklava when I say that)!

A little stiff and sore on Monday, felt like I had run through tires for an hour.  Worked half a day on MLK day, then off to Zumba in the evening, my third time, and I dragged a friend with me this time. She said she had fun. I thought I'd be sore aftewards but today, Tuesday, I had no stiffness. Zumba was just what I needed to get the muscles moving again!


[edited to add another photo]