Last night was the first time we really ran in the true cold. I don't know what the actual temp was (Brian? Info?) but I know that there was a freeze warning for the evening.
I wore long pants, a long sleeve tee shirt, a light fleece vest, and a little fleece skull cap that I whipped up right before we left the house. I have read many times that you should dress as though it's 20 degrees warmer out than it is, because your body will heat up that much on a run. Since overheating is just as bad for you in winter as it is in summer, this makes sense.
I haven't had a good run in a while. I've had a lot of outings, but somehow, getting back to running 30 minutes at a time post-vacation has been really rough for me. Apparently, I just needed to run in the cold! I started out slow until I felt warm, and then I just followed my music and let my mind wander a little. Once in a while I'd check in with myself, think about how my bothersome leg was feeling, etc. It just felt great to be out running again. Huzzah!
The downside: I sweat a lot, and under that fleece skull cap was a damp sweaty gross mess of hair when I was done. Oh, well! Good with the bad, you know.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Fall Back!
Don't forget, this coming weekend we set our clocks back. This changed last year -- Daylight Savings used to land on the last Sunday in October, now it's the first Sunday in November! You may have noticed some older "smart" appliances in your home already set back... Our VCR did. Old programming!
So look out your windows now, here at 6:45pm... This is how comparatively bright it will be again on our outings starting next week, yay!
Mountain Marathon
Almost turned "the mountains into a morgue" this year...
Times Online story
The Original Mountain Marathon, founded in 1968, is regarded as one of the toughest endurance and navigation challenges in the world. Entrants in the point-to-point race, made up of pairs, choose their own routes through the valleys and mountains and have to use maps and a compass, rather than modern satellite navigational methods.
The website says: “Your first source of help is your partner and if you retire you are responsible for getting yourselves back to base. In these days of 24/7 contact and total support this is an event to test and indeed help develop teamwork and self-reliance.”
Times Online story
The Original Mountain Marathon, founded in 1968, is regarded as one of the toughest endurance and navigation challenges in the world. Entrants in the point-to-point race, made up of pairs, choose their own routes through the valleys and mountains and have to use maps and a compass, rather than modern satellite navigational methods.
The website says: “Your first source of help is your partner and if you retire you are responsible for getting yourselves back to base. In these days of 24/7 contact and total support this is an event to test and indeed help develop teamwork and self-reliance.”
Monday, October 20, 2008
Go, run coven!
The Oakland Cemetery's Run Like Hell event this past weekend was a total blast! Our little group of witches totally represented, and we had an awesome time.
There were a few little glitches in setup and start that are normal for a first year of an event. I don't think the event organizers were quite ready for the vast numbers of runners that showed up for a little fun in the cemetery. Even so, the vibe was really upbeat and the crowd was great. Fabulous event, and I will be running it ever year, for sure!
Brian set up a whole groovy page about it here: http://halfmoth.com/5ks/RunLikeHell/RLH.html
Monday, October 13, 2008
Half Marathon Test-Drive
Ok, I have read plenty of training plans for running a half marathon. I have seen the workout schedules, the gradual increase of mileage, the tapering info, the whole nine. And of course, I am completely disregarding them.
Fine, fine. That's not entirely true. I'm sort of custom-building my plan taking various others' plans into account. Which is why I thought I'd just jump right in and try to go a little over 13 miles this weekend, just to make sure I could.
I know that veteran runners would see the above statement and tell me how wrong and foolish that idea was. Yes, I KNOW you're supposed to increase distance in 5-10% increments over a long period of time. BUT, I walked plenty of it, and I know my limits. And quite frankly, before I spend the money to register for the Princess Half Marathon in WDW in March, I just wanted to know that I could complete the damn thing in the allotted time.
And you know what? I found out I CAN!
It wasn't exactly easy, but it wasn't that big a struggle, either. All told, I probably only ran about 4 miles of the whole thing. I was sore later in the day, but I stretched, and I woke up the next day still mobile, so I have no regrets.
Now I just have to work on my time, and doing this thing with regular intervals, rather than my "run when I feel like it" approach for this first one.
Woot! Princess, here I come. That tiara is MINE!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The Belated Everest Report
The day of the Everest challenge was probably the most laid-back day I've ever spent in WDW. Usually, there are a thousand things I want to do, see, ride and buy, but since we'd be running in the evening, we all felt like a relaxed day would be best.
Breakfast at Boma - culinary bliss! Then, boating on Seven Seas Lagoon. It is SO relaxing to me to be out on the water. I think this must be what massage feels like to other people. After boating, back to the hotel for just hanging and dozing.
While Brian and Tricia got some z's, Stephanie and I headed to the jacuzzi (also known as the j'accuse-y and the yakuz-i) which, once we found it, provided some fantastic muscle relaxation. Then we grabbed a quick lunch from the counter service restaurant at the lodge. We took it up to the room, and since our compatriates were still dozey daisies, we decided to eat on the balcony. This was one of my favorite times from the whole trip. As we sat eating our cheeseburgers and fries, we were treated to a full-on show as the animals at the hotel's savanna were also being fed lunch. We got to see a see a giraffe self-serve from the back of the feeding truck (hilarious), ostriches manically gobbling their feed and even zebras nuzzling each other. It was one of those idyllic scenes where you just feel completely happy and in awe of the world around you. I think stuff like this can only happen in Disney World.
Anyway, after lunch, I got a brief nap before it was time to get ready for the race. At around 5pm, Heather and Chris joined us so we could all head over to Animal Kingdom together. Once we got there (we drove so we could keep extra stuff in the car if anyone wanted to change, etc.), we set about trying to figure out exactly where to go and what to do. We found the corrall assignment board and discovered that Brian and Chris (running as Abstract Athletics) would be in corrall 2, while Heather and I (Faster Pussycats) and Tricia and Stephanie (Spazmanian Devils) would all be in corrall 4. Jeff and Berni (Code Monkeys) would start way back in corrall 10! We had yet to see them, and I'll confess that I was a little worried we might never locate those two, since they were starting so far back.
Eventually, we DID see the JohnsAllens, and we all agreed to meet up in front of Triceratops Spin after the race. We also spotted a couple making out in the pre-race area, and when I use the term "making out" I really mean "dry humping." I have my suspicions that those two never finished the race, and instead stole away somewhere to do it in the Animal Kingdom. We drank some hot water, we tolerated some very loud and screechy pre-race "entertainment," and eventually, we all separated into our various start positions.
Finally, at 7pm on the dot, fireworks went off at the starting line and the first group was off!
Waves started every five minutes, so as the 4th wave, we started at 7:15.
This race was oddly challenging for me. I was tired faster than usual. Nonetheless, it was still totally amazing to be running through Animal Kingdom, high fiving cast members and taking in the park at night. The sun set as we were running, which was beautiful. Seeing Everest sparkling in the dusk was completely amazing. Heather was full of vem and vigor, and broke into sprints a few times (go Heather! Yeah!). I ran with her, but I was totally wiped out by the time we finished the 5k portion of the challenge. I choked on the obstacle course. Didn't make it over a single chest hurdle, but the ropes were fine. Fell off the balance beam, but had no issue crawling through the dirt (except that it's, well... dirt). Scavenger hunt fun time! It was weird trying to find our way to our clue locations in the dark. Also, by this point, there were people with friends and family tickets for the after party meandering in, and many runners were still starting the last few waves of the 5k. So there were three separate groups of people crossing and overlapping paths, which got a little chaotic at times. We managed to get through the first three clues without too much trouble though.
All this while, we had been wondering where the boys were. We saw them at one point on the 5k, near the hairpin turnaround on the course where you could see other racers going in the opposite direction. We were finally reunited on the last clue of the scavenger hunt. As Heather and I stood there puzzling, I heard Brian call my name. Blissssssssssssssss! We finished up the last clue after a little head scratching (the hint in the passport had NOTHING to do with the actual solution), and then, the four of us sprinted to the finish (Chris and Brian's idea). I was holding Brian's hand as he finished his first race, and I don't think I could have imagined a more special or perfect moment. I was so proud of him, so proud of all of us in our little running crew!
Chips turned in, medals, Powerade. We waited for Tricia and Stephanie for a few moments, and then once we were all together, Kali River Rapids! We got drenched, which I found quite refreshing, but it left Tricia shivering. We rode Expedition Everest in the pitch black, and it gave us a momentary glipse of the land around us, night time lights twinkling, dotting the landscape. Complete awesomeness.
Once we got truly worn out, we all reconvened back at our hotel room for champagne and a group photo. I love those pictures. I look ridiculous and exhausted, but we all look happy. And exhausted.
Breakfast at Boma - culinary bliss! Then, boating on Seven Seas Lagoon. It is SO relaxing to me to be out on the water. I think this must be what massage feels like to other people. After boating, back to the hotel for just hanging and dozing.
While Brian and Tricia got some z's, Stephanie and I headed to the jacuzzi (also known as the j'accuse-y and the yakuz-i) which, once we found it, provided some fantastic muscle relaxation. Then we grabbed a quick lunch from the counter service restaurant at the lodge. We took it up to the room, and since our compatriates were still dozey daisies, we decided to eat on the balcony. This was one of my favorite times from the whole trip. As we sat eating our cheeseburgers and fries, we were treated to a full-on show as the animals at the hotel's savanna were also being fed lunch. We got to see a see a giraffe self-serve from the back of the feeding truck (hilarious), ostriches manically gobbling their feed and even zebras nuzzling each other. It was one of those idyllic scenes where you just feel completely happy and in awe of the world around you. I think stuff like this can only happen in Disney World.
Anyway, after lunch, I got a brief nap before it was time to get ready for the race. At around 5pm, Heather and Chris joined us so we could all head over to Animal Kingdom together. Once we got there (we drove so we could keep extra stuff in the car if anyone wanted to change, etc.), we set about trying to figure out exactly where to go and what to do. We found the corrall assignment board and discovered that Brian and Chris (running as Abstract Athletics) would be in corrall 2, while Heather and I (Faster Pussycats) and Tricia and Stephanie (Spazmanian Devils) would all be in corrall 4. Jeff and Berni (Code Monkeys) would start way back in corrall 10! We had yet to see them, and I'll confess that I was a little worried we might never locate those two, since they were starting so far back.
Eventually, we DID see the JohnsAllens, and we all agreed to meet up in front of Triceratops Spin after the race. We also spotted a couple making out in the pre-race area, and when I use the term "making out" I really mean "dry humping." I have my suspicions that those two never finished the race, and instead stole away somewhere to do it in the Animal Kingdom. We drank some hot water, we tolerated some very loud and screechy pre-race "entertainment," and eventually, we all separated into our various start positions.
Finally, at 7pm on the dot, fireworks went off at the starting line and the first group was off!
Waves started every five minutes, so as the 4th wave, we started at 7:15.
This race was oddly challenging for me. I was tired faster than usual. Nonetheless, it was still totally amazing to be running through Animal Kingdom, high fiving cast members and taking in the park at night. The sun set as we were running, which was beautiful. Seeing Everest sparkling in the dusk was completely amazing. Heather was full of vem and vigor, and broke into sprints a few times (go Heather! Yeah!). I ran with her, but I was totally wiped out by the time we finished the 5k portion of the challenge. I choked on the obstacle course. Didn't make it over a single chest hurdle, but the ropes were fine. Fell off the balance beam, but had no issue crawling through the dirt (except that it's, well... dirt). Scavenger hunt fun time! It was weird trying to find our way to our clue locations in the dark. Also, by this point, there were people with friends and family tickets for the after party meandering in, and many runners were still starting the last few waves of the 5k. So there were three separate groups of people crossing and overlapping paths, which got a little chaotic at times. We managed to get through the first three clues without too much trouble though.
All this while, we had been wondering where the boys were. We saw them at one point on the 5k, near the hairpin turnaround on the course where you could see other racers going in the opposite direction. We were finally reunited on the last clue of the scavenger hunt. As Heather and I stood there puzzling, I heard Brian call my name. Blissssssssssssssss! We finished up the last clue after a little head scratching (the hint in the passport had NOTHING to do with the actual solution), and then, the four of us sprinted to the finish (Chris and Brian's idea). I was holding Brian's hand as he finished his first race, and I don't think I could have imagined a more special or perfect moment. I was so proud of him, so proud of all of us in our little running crew!
Chips turned in, medals, Powerade. We waited for Tricia and Stephanie for a few moments, and then once we were all together, Kali River Rapids! We got drenched, which I found quite refreshing, but it left Tricia shivering. We rode Expedition Everest in the pitch black, and it gave us a momentary glipse of the land around us, night time lights twinkling, dotting the landscape. Complete awesomeness.
Once we got truly worn out, we all reconvened back at our hotel room for champagne and a group photo. I love those pictures. I look ridiculous and exhausted, but we all look happy. And exhausted.
Did I mention the exhaustion?
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