Weekend in NYC

Last weekend we went down to NYC so that Joe could do the Urbanathlon. What a crazy race. Run 8 miles with lots of different obstacles in that 8 mile time frame including 52 flights of stairs up and down, monkey bars, jumping over taxis and scaling an 8 foot wall. I just was not up for that craziness but Joe and Erich had such a great time with it. If I could find two more to make up a team, I would do it next year. Just have to find 2 more crazy people to come down with us and run and do crazy obstacles. Maybe that will happen.

Running is a little better now that I have a new pair of shoes. I actually ran on a treadmill at 5:45 am on Saturday morning while we were in NYC because I wanted to continue to break in my shoes. I feel like my joints are returning to normal now that I have more padding and support under my feet. The shoes should be ready for this weekend at the Army 10 miler in Washington DC.

So, we are in Washington DC this weekend. I am really excited. Army 10 miler here I come.

Alright, back to the biggest loser. I love this show. I want to get on the show but I don't fit the criteria to get on the show. I want someone to kick my butt for 8 hours a day. I would love it. You wouldn't hear me complain once. I love Jillian!!!! I want her as my trainer. Can she come and live with Joe and me??? There are very few shows on TV this season that I like except Biggest Loser, Till Death, How I Met Your Mother, Lipstick Jungle, and The Big Bang and all of those shows are on on Monday and Tuesday nights. Lipstick Jungle must be DVRed as it is on too late at night for me. So, I am really enjoying watching Biggest Loser tonight.

OK, enough of the randomness. Have a good night and good week. Maybe I will try to have Joe update his blog now!!!

Its been a while

I have been really busy. Between teaching, running, and traveling, we haven't been around at all. The last two weekends were in Keene Valley. Last weekend was the North Elba Half Marathon. I have been really struggling with running recently but North Elba went pretty well - 2hours 24 min 25 sec. My PR is 2: 23 so I was fairly happy with that time. It was more hilly than I thought it was going to be. Joe left out a couple of decently sized hills. When I got to the hills that Joe forgot, I though "Huh??? Maybe they changed the course. Maybe Joe just didn't want to scare me." The temps for the day were supposed to be in the high 50's which would have been perfect but it wasn't in the high 50's it was in the high 60's and a bit humid. I started well and actually felt really strong until mile 10 but I was happy with my ability to maintain after I didn't feel as good any more. The only thing that was tough for me is that it wasn't a large race so I felt that I was soooo far back at the beginning but I did catch people near the end which always happens. I did well. The frustrating part was that when I entered the horse shoe grounds where the finish was I started to give a little "kick" (little being the operative word). Then I got to a line of people and could see the finish line behind the people. I let out a "S#^%" when I realized I had to go around the parking lot to get to the finish line. My kick was gone by the time I got around the parking lot. Lila and Kaelah tried to run the last .1 miles with me but Kaelah kept falling behind since she did the warmup with me so they cut across and caught me at the finish line. Overall, it was a good day.

Yesterday, I went for a run. It sucked. I was dehydrated. I am over it.

Today, I went for a run. It was good, almost great but not quite. My new shoes felt good. I did a tempo run that went exactly as planned. I have been waiting for an excellent run for weeks. Since I have been back at school, I haven't felt great while running and since running is my stress relief, I have been incredibly stressed out. When the thing that relieves your stress isn't going well, it ends up adding more stress to your life. I just have been off since being back at school. I think I am finally back to normal, well, as normal as I am ever going to be.

I just want to make a note on YOGA!!!! I love YOGA!!! I have missed yoga sooooooo much!!! The only way I get through Wednesdays is because I know that I will be in YOGA soon and will feel 100% better than I did when I went in. Even if I don't want to go at the end of the day, whenever I go I am always so much happier when I left. I don't know how I made it through the summer without YOGA!!!! Next summer, I am finding somewhere that I can practice while in Keene Valley. It is a must.

Getting into a rhythm

I am trying really hard to get into a rhythm now that I am back at work. Last week didn't go so well. I am struggling with my asthma lately but I think it is because the weather was so humid last week. I feel much better today. My ankle is also a little sore from turning it on the hike last weekend. So, I have edited my schedule for marathon training a little. I will still be ready but I am hopeful that my running will improve as it has sucked since the last 9 mile effort. I got on my bike today and that also sucked. I think I am just tired. Once I get back on a schedule everything should be better - I hope. Sometimes I can go for weeks without a good run. I am hoping that it will be a good run this weekend as it is the North Elba Half Marathon. I will go for a run tomorrow and Thursday and then take Friday off as the race is on Saturday. I am hoping it will be good weather and a good day.

First day back

Work? What is that?? Well, I did it today. Here is my comments on last night and today:

6am is early.
Cats are loud at night.
Cars shouldn't be able to honk their horns at 2 in the morning!!
It was hot last night.
It was hot today
This bed is different from my bed at home, I mean the camp
Work clothes, what are those, I don't have any of those - I guess we had to go shopping.
Groceries?? We have to get those??? Too many options - the only Price Chopper in Lake Placid or the Grand Union in Elizabethtown makes life easier.
Constant access to a cell phone is weird
Internet, immediate access to the internet, that is great, or is it??
My name is no longer Kelly, I just get called by my last name.
Who are all of you people I haven't seen in 2 months??
Work?? I need to do this? I don't like to rush back into this work thing.
What is that thing that keeps talking to me in the living room - oh, it is the TV. Who knew it could be so bad and annoying.
News - there is something going on around the world??? I had no idea.
I am tired.

Ok. That is enough for today as my mental capacity has hit its limit for the day. Time to pack for yoga and running tomorrow. My first yoga class since June - I am really excited. That will be my favorite part of the day.

I know that several of you must think I have an easy life but wait until we really get into the school year. Then it just gets crazy busy with work during the day and planning at night especially now that I am teaching a new class and working on an independent study. Plus, working out to train for an Ironman should take away lots of time that I have left. Then I get stressed and tired. I am glad that I got my sleep in this summer. I am tired just thinking about grading research projects.

Time for bed. Good night.

Yuck

Let me just recap my long weekend.

Saturday - went on my long run for this week. It was scheduled to be 13.1 miles. I dropped Joe off to do a trail run at the Adirondack Lodge Road and went up to Mirror Lake to start my run. The weather forecast was for rain/showers during the day so I was excited to get on my run as I love to run in the rain. It was cloudy when I started going around Mirror Lake. I just didn't feel great, couldn't get my stride, and I was having trouble keeping my breathing even. I went around the lake and then started down toward River Road. It was hot and sunny by this point. I generally am very slow when it is hot but today I was dragging. I got about 4 miles out and felt awful. I kept trying to get myself together but I really was struggling. I got to River Road (about 5 miles out) and decided that I was going to aim for 11 miles which is what I did last weekend. I got 1 mile more in and just didn't have it. I turned around. I got to a point where I just had to stop and walk. I walked about .5 miles drinking water and Gatorade. I started running again with hopes of just hitting 9 miles at this point. I did it. I guess I will be running 13.1 miles next weekend because of this. A nice swim in Mirror Lake was my reward for just going that far on a really tough day.

Sunday - Hiking!!! Noonmark Mountain was our goal. My mom, dad, Joe, and I went out for the hike. I decided that I didn't want to read the trail description before we left so that I didn't judge the hike before I even started. Because Joe and I both ran large distances yesterday, we decided that we would be moving slowly in order to get it done. It was tough with lots of rocks but it was a great day and a great hike. We got to stay on the top for a while and take in the Great Range, Giant Mountain, Hurricane Mountain, and lots of other great mountain views. We went down a different, longer, but less steep route. Joe and I were doing really well going down. We got to an intersection but we weren't sure where we were supposed to be going so we stopped and waited for my parents. As we were waiting, we decided to sit and relax. As I was sitting I saw this big snake slithering down the path very rapidly chasing a toad!!! I jumped up and ran to another place to avoid being in the way. Joe was trying to figure out why I was so jumpy and I couldn't get the words out of my mouth "Frog and and and....SNAKE!!" The snake kept coming towards us and it finally caught the toad. Poor Toad. The toad was screaming as the snake was killing it. I felt so bad for it that I couldn't save it. Who knew that toads could scream??? My dad said later that it was saying "Help me Kelly!!" Joe watched the entire attack and the swallowing of the toad. It was the largest snake I have ever seen in the wild. After the snake incident, we continued down the trail. My legs were tired from yesterday but I was doing ok and then I twisted my ankle. It hurt but I kept going - it wasn't too bad just a little tweak. I then got to a place where I put my foot down, it slid (usually not a problem) and then got caught under a small root. I fell because of this. I didn't even see it coming. All we said was that that would hurt tomorrow. We finished the hike and felt fantastic about a good day and a fantastic hike.

Monday - Sore!!! Very Sore!!! My ankle is sore, my hips are sore, my quads are sore, my back is sore and stiff from the fall. What is my remedy for this??? Go for a bike ride. I figured that it would be good to loosen the muscles so that I could stretch them. Only a short ride out there today. We then went to the Great Range for a farewell lunch and had a great salad, sandwich, and a fantastic lemoncello cake - possibly the best desert I have had in a really long time. We then went back to the camp, finished packing the cars, and then headed home. What a sad day.

So, now we are home and we are going back to work tomorrow. The problem with coming back is going to be that the weather forecast for the next week is highs in the 80's. We haven't hit 80 in Keene Valley recently (actually only 3 times this summer) and have been living in the high 60's and low 70's over the past few weeks. These temperatures are going to be tough for us. Also, tough to get used to - noise from neighbors/living in a city, traffic lights, stop signs, really fresh produce, Cedar Run veggie burgers, and not being able to sleep until 9am. We are going to try to go to the Troy Farmers Market this weekend as we want to try to get fresh produce here to buy local and fresh fruits and veggies.