My run to and from work

Yesterday I was supposed to work from home (which I did). But at the end of the day, there was a seminar in my office I was interested in attending. Ultimately I completed tasks I needed to and decided spur of the moment to head to work. But since my workday was nearly done (and my workday would be done even before this seminar started), I decided I would run to my office and then home.

I learned as per Garmin 305, it is just over 7 miles from my home to my office (using one shortcut cause I was lazy!). Arriving at my office about 3 p.m., I had several options prior to the seminar: shower, spritz a little perfume or just pretend that it was Casual Wednesday. I went with the 3rd option (and my have horrified several co-workers...because someone sat down next to me then abruptly left!). Well, the seminar was worth it because it was interesting and I learned some facts.

And I am glad I had a forced 14 mile run. In fact, ultimately after getting home I decided to run to potbelllies for an ice cream sandwich as a treat. By the end of the day, my Garmin suggested I ran 16 miles...go me!

Today I will be abandoning my car and running home from work (I might even take the 10+ mile long cut because it is supposed to be sunny and in the mid-70's). Then tommorrow, Tristan will drop me off at work so I can drive home (it is predicted to be rainy tommorrow and I really hate running in the rain).

I do have an internal debate whether I should "run on anything". The positive is that I would be trained up for cold, wet, miserable weather. But the negative is that I could catch a cold, I really hate bad weather and at least for marathons out of 48 marathons I have completed (and 61 endurance events of 26 miles or greater). I have not had to run the first 26 miles in rain. The last 75 miles I have experienced all sorts of weather, but the first 26 miles have been fine relatively speaking (even the snow at the B&A trail a few weeks ago was not too bad). Hey, I'm a statistician and if I want to morph my data to show what I want, I can do it!

Hillwork at Maryland Heights "Wedgie Hill"

Tristan and Gilligan climbing the mountain (Gilligan hiked with Tristan rather than me because he is lazy). He does his best and did a pretty good job of sticking with Tristan, until Tristan's last interval in which Tristan tied him to a tree...poor doggie

Since I was running alone, I was so excited to see Gilligan when our paths crossed again, so he got a big bear hug!

Hiking down to the overlook to the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac River right below Harpers Ferry

Gilligan and I at the overlook taking a moment...he was smarter because he took this time to get off his feet. I will have to remember this strategy during Umstead 100!

Tristan and Gilligan getting some Ice Cream at Brusters...the perfect post hike/run/hillwork treat! And because it was rainy our second scoop was supposed to be FREE!

Today Tristan, Gilligan and I drove about 45 minutes west of our house to Maryland Heights. Maryland Heights is right off the C&O Canal (the same ~200 mile towpath that part of the JFK50 miler is run along near Harpers Ferry). We went here for a change in our hillwork training in preparation for Umstead 100 and VT100 (me) and Mt Rainier, Mt Shasta and Mt Shuksan (Tristan). This is one of the largest hills that is runnable in the local area (less then 1 hour drive and the path is a jeep trail not single track). Maryland Heights has a ~8 mile loop trail that starts in Harpers Ferry and goes up a mountain, along the ridge, then loops around comes back to the Potomac River. Along this trail hikers have the opportunity to go by several nice overlooks along the ridge, followed by a cute overlook that is on a rocky outcrop above Harpers Ferry. The view also provides a perfect vantage point to see the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandaoah River from hundreds of feet up. Since it was a gloomy day, Tristan and I went there for some hillwork and followed by a hike.

I ran the majority of hill/mountain 3 times and Tristan did a small section we have named the "wedgie section" 6 times. We call it the wedgie section because there is a historic marker which illustrates how union (or perhaps confederate soldiers) would carry/push very large cannons up the mountain to shoot at the enemy over the Potomac or Shenadoah River. In this historic marker, there is a illustration of how they did this including a picture of a person slipping a wedge under the wheel of the vehicle carrying the cannon. Tristan and I really glad we are not living in that era nor is that our profession, because it would really be a bummer to be the wedgie guy and have a bad day. 1) Wedgie guy would probably get squished and 2) his battalion would also probably get squished and 3) the canon would have to be pushed up this 1500 foot mountain again (and running/hiking is tough, we can only imagine how hard it is to pull or push an item!)

After our run/hike we came home by way of Brusters for ice cream because it was raining (and of course Gilligan wanted his freebie doggie sundae). On rainy days Brusters is supposed to give out a second scoop of ice cream for free. Sadly our scooper did not get the memo...oh well, at least the flavors were good and our ice cream/frozen yogurt was good. Our local Brusters currently is only serving vanilla and strawberry yogurt which I don't really enjoy. But on Thursday with Bring your Own Banana night for a 1/2 price Banana Split, it only costs $2.48 for a banana split and I can give alot of my yogurt to Gilligan who LOVES it!

What goes on in Vegas Doesn't Stay in Vegas and Weekly Summary March 13

Nice 'do, Dude!!!! This picture was never supposed to see the light of day. But alas, I was sorting through my pictures the other day and realized, puffi was smart the other day to block her face when I was taking a compromising pictures of her (hint scroll down a bit to see her kodak moment). Apparently I will post national enquirer quality pictures.... (in fact maybe tommorrow I will post some powdered sugar-face pictures)

The start of my downfall in gambling during our Vegas trip in Dec. You will notice I started with 2 cent slots....'cause I'm loaded as a gov't worker!

Then I graduated to penny slots! (Stupid recession)

Getting close to my $1 limit I suddenly hit the jackpot and won $5!!! I am rolling in money! (my version of the stimulus package)

Cashing out my ticket for my $5l. This means, during my Vegas Vacation I gambled $1 the day we arrived, $1 the first full day we were in Vegas and $1 day our last full day in Vegas. I only ever gambled at 1 or 2 cents slots. Thus my return on my investment at some point was 500% (or something--I'm a mathematician but the intricacies of the amount I was up, then down, then up again is too much for me...and I'm not an accountant!!!).

Well, now back to the purpose of my blog today...my weekly training summary. It's a bit disappointing hence the stalling techniques.

Saturday: 7.5 miles on trails near Piney Point (2 hours)

Sunday: 26.2 miles marathon at Piney Point (5 hours)

Monday: No run but 1 hour walk in the evening

Tuesday: 4 mile run at lunch, 2 mile run in the evening

Wednesday: 4 mile run in the afternoon and 3 mile/1 hour walk in the evening

Thursday: 4 mile run

Friday: nothing except a long day at work :-(

Total Mileage: 44 miles

Total Time on Feet: 12 hours

Critter Pictures from Winter 2009

Tristan and Gilligan after the snowstorm walking in the snow. It was really cold!

But apparently not cold enough for Gilligan who needed to roll around the snow to cool off! And Tristan did absolutely nothing except looked at Gilligan.
Gilligan and Tristan starting a race at Malcolm King park, a park near our house (we live right near "Green Park", a Gaithersburg park but about a half mile away there is another city park that has trails, soccer fields, the Muddy Branch river and some tennis courts)

Puffie, saying "talk to the paw". Or maybe she did not want National Enquirer like pictures of her in compromising positions... so perhaps the caption should be "No pictures please".

Upside down puffi.

This week has been really busy. I have been busy with work and have had a few medical issues to deal with. Tuesday I had a scan of my thyroid. As usual the radiologist (?) would not tell me anything about what she saw. A few times I tried to peer over to the screen but I have no idea exactly what a thyroid is supposed to look like (butterfly shaped organ is all I know). And the scans look like horror movies from the 1970's.

After my thyroid scan I got my yearly blood draw to test my thyroid levels. My doctor suggested my neck looks a bit swollen so now I am stuck getting a bunch of extra tests (and recently I have been REALLY careful about taking my meds everyday...my last missed dose was Rocky Raccoon because I never woke up, thus had no idea when to take it--my prescription says "take immediately upon getting up":-). If this neck swelling is related to my thyroid it may mean I get a higher dose of levoxyl (which there is only 1 dose higher on the market!), otherwise I guess I will have more tests.

Since our place is close to a hospital/medical facility, I was able to run to and from my appointments. After my blood draw I ran home. This may have not been the smartest thing. In my defense they never said not to exercise like the blood donation folks. Well, now I await the results.

Weekend at the Lower Potomac River

Near Piney Point, MD this past weekend, the day before the Marathon. This park, St Mary's River Park, has a 7.5 mile trail around the lake that is very nice. I ran this loop in about 2 hours which I was pretty happy with. This trail was primarily single track with a few boardwalk sections as well as some jeep trails. As you can see, there was still a bit of snow around the lake.

Along the Potomac river the night before the Lower Potomac Marathon, I went for a walk by the Piney Point Lighthouse. It was pretty chilly and windy by the river. Inland a bit (or in protected area's), it was pretty warm, but near the water was very cold.

After the race I went back to the Piney Point Lighthouse. Near this lighthouse, there is a small walking path, a small pier and the lighthouse (first lighthouse on the Potomac River), which you can see in a few pictures.

On the pier looking over the Potomac River towards Virginia

The Piney Point Lighthouse

Lower Potomac Marathon Pictures (vol. 2)

Along the course, while trying to stay warm in my "hefty couttoure" skirt. I had a matching top and bottom, but after about 1 mile I was able to remove my hefty bag top and after 5 miles took off my thermal shirt. Everyone else seemed to be wearing singlets and shorts but apparently I am not toasty until about 75 degree's. Thank goodness summer is coming!

Along the road along St. Georges Island. You can see some runners in the distance. I thikn there were ahead of me. Until mile 7 or so, I was about 5th from last. I think I started out pretty slow and my first 1/2 marathon was about 2:29 and my second half marathon was 2:19. And the second half was way hillier then the first and in fact I had 3 bathroom breaks after the half and only 1 before the half.

If you look closely you can see a little black and white cat peering between the rocks. It was really cute but very skittish.

At the halfway point (you can see the time of 2:29). My friend Amanda and Dan are just ahead of me. We ran from about mile 5 until mile 17 together, which was alot of fun. I really enjoy catching up with friends during various races (and in fact for about the first 4 miles I was running with my friend Angela).

Lower Potomac Marathon 4 hours 55 minutes

Early in the race as the sun was rising over the Potomac River

With my friend Angela (a fellow Marathon Maniac/50 states club member). We have run the NH Marathon, Rocky Raccoon and many others.

At one of the turnarounds on the course during the first 13 miles (the next 13 miles are an out and back). This section of the course goes through some forests, along several beaches and is very pretty.

Approaching the finish, a nice gentleman took this picture which was really nice!

With my friends Amanda, her husband Dave and Larry (all fellow Marathon Maniacs and 50 staters). I think I have run about 10 marathons with each of them at various locations.

This past weekend I was atPiney Point to run the Lower Potomac Marathon. I stayed at my friend Donna's house for the second year in a row. Two years ago she unexpectedly saw me running this marathon. Since then I have been invited to stay at her beach house, which is a beautiful house that is about 600 meters from the start.

The marathon was delightful. The weather was cool at the beginning but warmed up. The first half the course is along several islands and inlets of the Potomac river. The final 13 miles are on a fairly major road, but at least this year, there was not a significant headwind!

I finished in just under 5 hours so I could partake in the really nice buffet lunch. I ran with a bunch of friends throughout the course including: Angela, Amanda&Dave, Tammy&Homer, Larry and several others. By finishing quickly (relatively speaking) I was able to grab a bite to eat, then head back out on the course to cheer on some friends. Overall, it was a great day!

Weekly Training Summary Feb 28 to March 6

Gilligan showing off his training but jogging in a local park

Gilligan on the run

This past week I was a bit disapointed in my training. My usual excuse works well: the weather was not very pleasant early in the week with a big snow storm. Then it took a few days for the 6-8 inches of snow to melt particularly since Tuesday was bitterly cold (20's with wind chills in the single digits for the high).

My training was as follows:

Saturday 8 miles hill running on Sugarloaf Mountain followed by 4 miles hike (1.5 hours running, 2 hours hiking)
Sunday 26 miles (B&A trail marathon) followed by 2 mile slow jog (5 hours running, 40 minutes)
Monday off (but lots of upper body work shoveling snow)
Tuesday off
Wednesday 4 miles running
Thursday 4 mile run at lunch, 6 miles in evening
Friday 7 mile run home from work and 2 mile walk to/from dinner

Miles running: 55 miles
Time on feet: 15 hours

Toilet Paper Wars in our household

A sign from the Porta Potty during the B&A trail marathon. The signs inside (and outside) the porta potties were pretty amusing!







After Tuesdays post you may think my husband is made of money (long story short: instead of replacing brakes in one of our cars, he propositioned that we should just buy a new car). Well, clearly we are not made of money because he buys cheapie toilet paper!

A few weeks ago we were running low on toilet paper. I am the primary "hunter gatherer" in our family, so I typically buy this kind of stuff. But not this last time. Aparently in all my recent trips to marathoning events I have let our visible t.p. supply dwindle which he noticed and decided to address (FYI: we are not running low on t.p.... we have 24 rolls in the spare bedroom closet, "just in case", we also have about 6 months worth of beverages, non-perishables and lots of other stuff we might need in an emergency...No need for our family to head to the store before a blizzard, hurricane or any other disaster because we are all set!).




Anywho, hubby goes to the store and purchases some t.p. while I was away (without consulting me). He buys the economy size of the cheapest store brand! And he unpacks it all and puts in it the master bathroom cabinet. We now have 24 rolls of sandpaper toilet paper in our master bathroom! Aarrgghh.

I have heard abrasive material leads to super-soft skin (think face wash with gritty stuff), but realistically I could not care if my derrierre is super soft or not (hey, I'm married!). Well, tonight I mentioned during a jog that I was going to post about this violation against humanity (well at least me!). And I mentioned I am not a high maintenance wife. I pointed out that I have high standards for items in very few categories. I need soft toilet paper (Charmin is the best), but most other items I am pretty agreeable and easy going (and I don't throw a hissy fit about taking out the recylcables!). In my defense I suggested I don't mind if he buys any brand fabric softener (unless it is sub-standard), I don't care about what brand cloth detergent we use (as long as it is not sub-standard), or what kind of pre-packaged food we get (unless it is sub-standard). Unfortunately after about a 20 minute debate it became clear that in fact the only thing I was able to say I really don't care about what kind of plasticware is purchased in our household (which he acknowledged I really don't care...apparently the only example I could come up with).

Well, I still am in a dilemma because I have 23 rolls of t.p. that I hate and envision I have about 1.5 months until it is all gone. This will be a long month or two!!!

A few stories and critter pictures

"Blue-ey" my civic hybrid at the Delaware Marathon in 2007 being driven by Tristan. Notice Gilligan peering out the back-window on the drivers side. Gilligan likes to go 26.2 miles as much as the next critter...except he likes to do it in a car (as a passenger no less). Maybe I should start doing marathons using Gilligan's strategy. I bet I could even finish alot faster.

Puffie and Sagwa, hanging out. They are good siblings (sometimes:-)

Zaboo, Sagwa and Puffie enjoying a quality power snuggle session! They are really cute when they all snuggle together. They tend to do this during the winter when we have the heat set to 63 during the day (or night). Because Tristan and I are sissies, we have our heat set for 72 in the evening and to wake up to. Sadly I think our thermostat says 72, but a thermometer in our bedroom suggests our bedroom infrequently gets above 68...stupid townhouse that was built poorly with sub-par equipment and sub standard materials!

Powder assuming her usual position (either yelling at us or meowing). She is the youngest cat in the group and tends to embrace her birth order right of being a demanding little nut:-) But she is cute. And clearly she has a good set of chompers.

Powder and Zaboo enjoying a power nap. They tend to sleep next to each other alot during the day, although frequently their snuggle sessions abruptly turn into attack fests. I will try to take a picture of this in the future (because I am the worst parent ever...it is more important to get a good picture then step in and stop a fight. I feel like I am Homer Simpson sometimes! In fact this poor parenting can probably be attributed to my dad at least who has regularly mentioned he learns his parenting skills from the Simpsons...Doh!)

Today I have a few stories to relate about this past weekend.

Last Thursday night on our drive from the Fleet Feet Fun Run to Brusters Ice Cream (Half price banana split if you bring your own Banana...and it was 50 degree's which in my world and Gilligan's is warm enough for ice cream!), our Hybrid Civic's "blue-ey's"engine malfunction light illuminated. After checking the owners manual it indicated you should not drive with this light on. So Tristan and I drove home go in the Jeep ("death trappy" called this because the car has been on two safety recalls!) and headed off to Brusters for Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt. Saturday morning we dropped off blue-ey at the dealership. As we waited at the service bay, Tristan suggested since the engine malfunction light was on and he thinks the car needs new brakes, we might want to think about getting a new car!!! Seriously! In Tristan's defense he forgot we got a 5 year 100,000 mile warranty with a $50 deductible per incident. But I was amazed that to avoid buying new brake pads or fixing the car, his solution was to buy a new car!! It cracked me up.

"Blue-ey" is my car (well at least I do the car payments), so I should have kept my mouth shut and worked my way into a new car. But alas it does seem that getting a new car instead of new brake pads is not necessarily optimal economics.

Well, the next story has to do with Tristan again. But this is a plea for help. Because although he is apparently willing to buy a car at the drop of a hat, he consistently has his lunch stolen. He works in an office with a communal fridge. He brings in leftover Pizza, subs, sandwiches, restuarant meals... Fairly regularly his lunch disappears and I get a call mid-day alerting me to this (as if I can do anything...I guess I could go to his office watch the fridge and beat up the culprit, but I am not that big, or actually very tough). A few weeks ago he started taking a bite out of his meals and so far that has worked. He also now brings an insulated bag with a frozen gatorade with really good lunches. But I am sure he would appreciate advice as to how to stake claim to his lunch...any idea's??

Although considering instead of buying $500 brake pads, he would buy a $25,000 car, perhaps he can afford the brown bag lunch theft! But I think a few times he has ended up hungry because he did not have time to get a replacement lunch, poor guy.

Gilligans Snowday

Watching while I shovel the second time today. Notice how happy he is to sit and watch rather then to pick up a shovel and start shoveling! I guess he doesn't have an opposable thumb but that is no excuse for his slacker habits!

Curious about what might be under the snow....

Rolling around in the snow

Now, covered in snow!

A close up of the result of all his rolling around!

Critters Snow Day

Gilligan "helping" me shovel snow from our little driveway. I guess he felt sitting on the ground preventing more snow from accumulating fulfilled this job description!

After shoveling we went to the dog park. Gillligan was so excited he ran around like a nut for about 5 seconds! Then he laid down for a long rest. It was bitterly cold out there and windy so we headed back inside pretty quickly.

Of course, this is how our more civilized critters spend a snow day. Although it looks like puffi has crazy intentions and perhaps may have been abducted by aliens who made her eyes glow (or else maybe I should use the reduce red eye feature my camera has!)

Zaboomafoo (aka Zaboo) has the right idea of how to spend a snow day (curled up on a soft surface). Wish my manager/supervisor would be agreeable to this. Although I was allowed to flex today which is nice.

Sagwa and Powder Puff at the beginning of a scuffle match. On occasion, Puffie has ended up falling off the cat-condo when a squabble erupts, but today it did not escalate. Although I threatened to toss them outside in the 6 inches of snow if they did not behave, so perhaps that helped in ensuring they behaved.