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November 30, 2004
Snow and Cold
Well I am in Denver this week due to snow and burnout. It is fantastic! Of course right now fantastic also means cold as hell. But it is cool. Yesterday morning I ran 6 miles around Wash Park and my neighborhood. The snow definitely taxes different muscles, so my hamstrings are a little sore. It was slow going - I did the 6 miles about 6 minutes slower than normal, just due to footing and stuff. Practice this afternoon should be interesting, depending on how much of the paths have been shoveled off. It is warmer today, right now it's about 30 degrees in Boulder (I am working in the Bookends Cafe which is totally cool) - but that is about as high as it's expected to get. At least it is very sunny and the snow is so pretty.
Matt got back around 2:00 yesterday so I had been hoping to run again but I decided I'd rather see him, I hadn't seen him for exactly one week. He was so tired after sleeping on the floor of a gym somewhere in North Platte, Nebraska, so I made him watch my favorite Christmas movie, White Christmas, with me. We decided that Rosemary Clooney is definitely not attractive by today's standards but it is such a cute and wholesome movie, I highly recommend it.
Today I have practice at 4:30 but I think I will run more before that. I had been planning to run this morning but by the time I drove to Boulder I was too hungry. So I will run maybe 4-6 miles around lunchtime and then probably around 6 miles with a fartlek workout at 4:30. It is really nice to be doing a bit of speedwork again. Afterwards I am meeting Matt at his work (it's a few minutes from Boulder) and I think we may go to the movies.
I have lost a few pounds since I inexplicably (well not really inexplicably but due to not running and being depressed in Jersey) gained a lot of weight after the marathon. Matt and I decided last night that since we both want to lose weight we are eating healthy together. We will see how it goes but I would really like to feel like I look decent in jeans and cute little shirts and stuff again. I am not dieting per se because I never diet but I have been trying to eat only when hungry and that seems to be working pretty well.
Being at home is great! Happy trails to all.
Posted by barb at 09:35 AM | Comments (1)
November 28, 2004
Snowy Sunday
So it has been snowing in Denver for about 18 hours now, I believe. I ran 10 miles in the snow this morning which was fun but definitely more difficult, the footing is kind of tricky and it seems to make the muscles in my lower legs work harder. It has definitely been a crazy weather day and it is really tough on people that are traveling = Matty is stuck in the middle of Nebraska at a shelter with his mom and his brother tonight!
I am pretty happy with the week from a running standpoint - 54 miles and the highest total since before my marathon. I've really enjoyed starting a bit of speed work again. I think I'm going to run a 5k this coming Saturday, I hope the weather will be decent. Otherwise I am just planning to run, ski, lift, and swim through the winter to attain a decent base before the summer.
I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend!
Posted by barb at 11:23 PM | Comments (0)
November 27, 2004
Practice
Well I went to practice today for the first time since September. It was SO FUN! I had a good time catching up with people and running with people and all that good stuff. I think I ran about 6 miles total which is not all that much so I may run again later depending on how my day shapes up, I need to go Christmas shopping and stuff.
We warmed up for about 17 minutes. Then we did 10 minutes at half marathon pace (no idea what pace this was), then 4 x 800m at 10k pace with 3:00 recovery. I did mine in 3:28 (not quite sure on this one, I did not time it), 3:24, 3:19, 3:18. This is quite a bit slower than the last time I did 800's - at that time I was more around 3:06. However it was windy and I was actually not as fat and slow as I expected to be. So it was a good workout.
Now I am off to take a shower and meet my mom to shop!
Posted by barb at 10:27 AM | Comments (0)
November 26, 2004
Happy Days Are Here Again!
First of all thank you so much to everyone that commented on my sad blog.
Now here is the return of the happy running blog: Woo Hoo!!!
I love, love, love being home! Denver is so great. My family is great. Running is great. Everything is so much better now that I am here. So here is the running for the past few days, starting Wednesday:
Wednesday:
Got home from NY. My flight took off an hour late but only landed 20 minutes late. I waited around at the airport for a while because my stepdad and stepsister D. (who is in town from Seattle) were picking up her boyfriend J. in addition to me. It was fun to see D. and meet J., I hadn't seen her in 5 or 6 years. I got home around 6:30 and the level of motivation to run was kind of low but I'm really glad I did. I ran about 5 miles and felt really good for some reason. I finished up about 7:45 and then tooled around and cleaned my apartment.
Thursday:
Whee, Turkey Day! Because I am on eastern time I woke up at 6:15 am. So I finished my book (Washington Square, by Henry James), cleaned more - yes my apartment is a disaster right now - and ran down to pick up my packet for the Turkey Trot. It was SO nice out so I was really hot in tights, so after I got my packet, I ran back to my apartment and changed. Then I ran back down to the start and met my brother S. All in all I ran 6 miles before the race. Then the four mile race started and we jogged the first three miles (8:53, 8:30, 8:15) and I started to feel pretty good so I kind of took off for the last mile and surprised myself by running a 6:45. Overall it is my slowest Turkey Trot in several years but my fastest closing mile! It was really fun to hang out with S., we are very close but I have not seen him too much lately since I am always gone. So after the race I showered, picked up S., and we went to two Thanksgiving dinners = one at our mom's house and one at our dad's house. They were both great and I loved having all the family time. In summary for Thursday: 10 miles, 2 Thanksgiving dinners, and 2 pieces of pie.
Friday:
This morning I was able to sleep until about 7:00, which was a definite improvement. I got up, tooled around, cleaned my floor, watched a little bit of the Today show, and went for an 8 mile run around two of the parks near me. When I started it was about 40 degrees out and cloudy. As the run progressed it started raining and then the rain turned to snow. However, now it is sunny and milder. Crazy weathermen, they know nothing, they said the high temperature today was going to be at 10 am! After running I chilled out for a bit and then went to the gym and swam/aqua jogged for about 30 minutes. I felt like I could have done more but the pool was starting to get crowded and I decided that was enough exercise for now.
Tomorrow I am actually going to practice - Woo hoo! - and then going shopping for my Christmas present (iPod) with my mom. Matt gets back from Minnesota on Sunday night so it will be nice to see him.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and enjoys their long weekends!
Posted by barb at 12:10 PM | Comments (1)
November 24, 2004
No Running Wednesday
Well I have not run for over 24 hours, since yesterday morning. I am going home today, thank heavens. I had really good intentions for lots of running and other working out this week that just have not yet materialized, but I am still holding out hope. My flight is at 2:00 today so as long as nothing bad happens with weather I should be home by 4:30, and at my house by 6:30. I can still run then. I would really like to get a run in today even though I am 'racing' tomorrow - since it's just a turkey trot that I am jogging with my brother I really do not care to take it easy beforehand.
From a non-running related standpoint, yesterday was a really rough day. I hate traveling more and more every time I have to do it. I get to go home for 5 days now but I am still depressed because not only do I not get to go home until this afternoon which in my opinion is b.s., I still have to come back here on Monday and I really do not want to do it. I think I would be doing a lot better if I had gone home yesterday but I still hate this so I have resolved to quit by January. I think that I could get my old job back, so that is one option, but I have also applied to a few others. I do not really care what I am doing as long as it is in Denver. I just hate being gone, it is so hard to explain but I feel like I have no life any more. I am either here, where I do have no life (except for my two B. buddies in NYC), or I am at home for 3 days and I am just sad that I have to come back here. So hopefully I can get myself out of this funk and try to be okay with things until I can quit. But frankly it sucks and I am sad.
No woo hoos for today...
Posted by barb at 07:20 AM | Comments (5)
November 23, 2004
Confused
So out here in Jersey I do a lot of the same runs. I usually have the same times out and back within 30 seconds or a minute as well. So this morning, when I got to a traffic light that I usually reach in 35 minutes, in 32:03, I was confused! Either I had been running really slow in the past or I was just running really fast today. I really did not feel like I was going all that fast so I ran for 5 more minutes and then turned around, for what I will call 8 miles. I really want to measure that route now, though, because maybe I am running like 8:00 pace and I actually ran 9 miles. I am obsessed with mileage so it would definitely be nice to know!
Anyway outside of that it was a nice run. Nothing exciting. Last night I ran about 7 miles around Caldwell. Also un-exciting. Tonight I am going to the city and either tooling around or running around, have not decided. I am more pissed than anything about this, however, because I really want to go home today and I can't. This morning while I was running I had totally convinced myself that I would yell at my project manager today and tell her I wanted to go home but that does not sound realistic now that I am actually here. Oh well, I am a big wuss. I am still so mad about work that I may talk to her anyway but I really doubt that the output of the conversation will be me on a plane today which is, outside of them telling me I never need to come back here, the only thing that would make me happy today.
So that is my running-related happiness and work-related pissiness for the day! Happy two days before Thanksgiving to everyone :)
Posted by barb at 06:20 AM | Comments (1)
November 22, 2004
NCAA Championships
Wow, the CU women won NCAA's! I know that was not expected but how cool :) They are awesome!
I am confused by one thing. I thought for sure Sara Slattery graduated = I guess she still has eligibility and she is a graduate student, not sure. Anyway here are the results for CU that I have seen:
1. 63 Colorado ( 20:52 1:44:20)
==========================================================
1 2 173 Renee Metevier 20:27
2 9 174 Liza Pasciuto 20:49
3 10 169 Christine Bolf 20:49
4 20 176 Sara Slattery 21:07
5 22 170 Natalie Florence 21:08
6 ( 52) 177 Amber Smith 21:45
7 (187) 180 Laura Zeigle 23:18
GO BUFFS!!!
Posted by barb at 11:28 AM | Comments (1)
Boston
Boston is such an awesome city. Coming from New York the night before, it seems kind of small and cute - but it is still such a great place, and in my opinion is the most European city in America. It really reminds me of London - the old houses, crazy shopping, river running right through it, etc. It made me happy to be there and really happy to be going to London in a few months!
But I digress. So Friday I did not run = no time, prioritized sleep and getting to Boston over running. I think it was a good call. We got to Boston around 4:00 I believe, settled in, got dressed, and went to an adorable bar called Emmett's for dinner. There was a surprise that night - I did not know what we were doing after dinner - so I was SO EXCITED. I have no tolerance for alcohol so I was a little bit toasted (okay, understatement) which I think just added to my excitement. So we walked along for a while and Matt pretended to be lost, which I totally bought, and then we walked down Boylston or something and I saw a Lion King sign. So the surprise was going to see The Lion King, the Broadway play. It was SO AMAZING! I can't say enough about it. The acting was awesome, the venue was incredible, the seats were in the third row! There is nothing like seeing a Broadway play. I have no long term memory or something so even though I had seen the movie a long time ago the whole storyline was pretty much new. It was such a great surprise and a fun night.
Saturday morning I met Becky for a run, which was great! I think we ran 9 or 10 miles through Boston and Brookline, so I was able to see a lot of the city that I had never seen (and I got to see where Becky goes to school which was very fun). Afterwards Matt and I did touristy stuff and shopped on Newbury street which is just treacherous but luckily they did not have my size in the ridiculously expensive coat I liked.
On Sunday morning we had to get to Becky's around 10:00 so I went for approximately 5 miles in the morning. It was really nice, I did one of the loops around the Charles and over bridges that I had done before. I really like how sporty Boston seems to be, there were tons of people out running. When I got back we checked out, had adventures on the T, and made it to Becky and Matt's for breakfast. Then we walked over to Harvard Square which was nice but seemed to be crowded with tourists (maybe because of the Harvard-Yale game? I am not sure).
Then we went back to New York and watched football at a bar in the Village that we like. Matt had a 6:00 am flight today so that is so brutal for him! I think I'm going to do a lunchtime workout today so that I can go to Manhattan tonight, to go shopping and hang out. Even with the day off I managed 50 miles last week and this week since I'll be at home more I would like to run over 50. Today is already designated as my easy day though.
Anyway that was the weekend in life and in running. Happy trails and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone this week!
Posted by barb at 07:47 AM | Comments (0)
November 19, 2004
Boston Bound
This will be a quick update. I am hopefully leaving work in about 10 minutes to go and drive to Boston for the weekend. I am so excited!
I do not think that I will have a chance to run today. If I had gotten up to run before work I think that would have meant sleeping for 4 hours. Which is just not okay. However, last night I did a second run of 6 miles and then lifted weights so I feel pretty much fine with that.
Now I am just trying to get out of here so we can leave! I think it will be a fun weekend. Will update Monday.
Posted by barb at 06:50 AM | Comments (0)
November 18, 2004
Woo Hoo!!
Thursdays are great. Thursdays are even better when I am not getting on a plane! And they are really cool when I am looking forward to a fun night in Manhattan with Matt and some others, and to a fun weekend in Boston.
I did not update yesterday because I was actually kind of busy at work and bored by my running. But yesterday morning I ran 8 miles. Last night my original plan was to go to the mall and then go work out, but I didn't feel like it so I just went to the mall and then went back to the hotel and colored my hair. I am obsessed with finding a new winter coat and I looked at a few at Macy's but did not love any of them. So I am going to wait until I find the perfect new winter coat. I went with my buddy from work who was looking for a new cologne so I made him buy Curve, which is my all time favorite for men.
This morning I got up and ran 6 miles. It was a nice little run on some more residential roads than normal so I had less moments of annoyance with drivers. I also trotted around a cute little park which was nice. Matt is flying in tonight, his flight gets in at around 9:15 so before I go pick him up I will either go work out or go for another run, or both. I am considering going to Central Park and running just for something fun and different. So today should be a good day because tomorrow I may not have a chance to run, depending on how late we stay out tonight and how much I have to work tomorrow.
That is the news for now! I should get about 12 miles for today so hopefully this week I will actually come close to my total for last week.
Posted by barb at 07:24 AM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2004
It's already Tuesday!
For some reason this week is actually going by reasonably fast so far. I think the rest of the year will pretty much fly by - the other night I was talking to my mom about plans and it looks like I have plans every single weekend through the end of the year, and some in January. Keystone opened this past weekend and Vail opens this coming weekend so hopefully there will also be some skiing - I think Matt and I are planning on going the weekend of December 4th. This coming weekend is Boston and I am getting really excited! I hope it will not be too cold there this weekend. Right now it is so pleasant here in New Jersey that I have my fingers crossed for similar weather over the weekend. So today I have been doing some work but also trying to plot and plan for dinner in New York on Thursday night. I've been using Citysearch, and the only problem I've found with it is that for every restaurant, someone seems to write a really negative review and hate it, so then I am reticent to try. Right now I am thinking we'll go to a new Mexican restaurant on the lower east side, but I am still not sure.
Anyway I have actually been running, so here is the news about that. Last night I could not decide what to do - take a day off, go to the gym, just go running. So I hung out for a bit and then finally just started running from my hotel. I ended up doing a loop of some of the roads I normally run on - the location of this new hotel I am staying in is awesome for running. I was not sure how far it would be and I think it was about 5 miles. I felt like I was going at a pretty good clip and finished in 44 minutes. I would have been happy with 3 miles or more so that was good but of course when I finished I wished it was longer. Oh, the joy of being compulsive...
Anyway this morning I woke up at 6:00 after sleeping for over eight hours and feeling nice and rested. I started running down Horseneck Road and kept going until I hit this really big hill, which I climbed all the while feeling really good. I love running at sea level! The views from the top of the big hill are gorgeous and the sun was rising, the sky was this awesome pink-purple color. I ran around a neighborhood there for a while until I reached 36:30 and then turned back. I had run uphill for a while but I really do think I run a bit under 9:00 pace out here in general. I finished the run in about 69-70 minutes. So I am calling that one 8 miles.
This is hopefully my week of working out constantly and in light of that tonight I am going to the gym to either run more or lift and then elliptical for one hour while I watch the Gilmore Girls.
As far as mileage and stuff this week, I am trying not to care. Last week my goal was to run approximately 50 miles and I ran 51.5 so this week due to travel and stuff if I can run 40 I will be happy.
That is the news.
Posted by barb at 03:28 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2004
Weekend Update
I feel like the weekend was so long ago already! And it's only Monday afternoon. I have had the worst travel day. At least I actually had something to do for a while when I showed up but now I am finished for a while.
So the last update I made was Friday morning. After having coffee and checking email and stuff, I ran 10 miles on the Mesa Trail. It was great. It was cold when I started and got progressively colder throughout the run. It is so weird, I really hate winter but I love running in cold weather. So it was a good challenging run. It is very hilly and it was really muddy. My time was slower than last week for an identical run but I attributed that to the mud.
Friday afternoon I swam for about 45 minutes. It was actually fun, I just need to use different goggles because the ones I was using would not keep the water out and it was annoying. But other than that I had a good time with it.
Saturday was the last home CU football game of the year. It was so cold. I ran 6 miles in the morning, and felt kind of tired and my legs felt a bit dead but other than that it was fine. I decided that I have a right after my marathon to not do speed work if I do not want to. And right now I just don't feel like it!
Sunday morning I woke up a little after 8:00 and ran about 7 miles, which was nice as well. The weekends have not been times for big runs lately which has been fine with me since I've been doing a pretty tough (and fairly long) trail run on Fridays.
That is all the weekend stuff. This weekend Matt is flying out and we're going to Boston so I'm hoping it won't be too cold. Then I will be home for the Thanksgiving weekend which makes me so happy!
Posted by barb at 02:02 PM | Comments (0)
November 12, 2004
Home!!!
I love being home so much! It is so great here. I got in around 1:30 yesterday which was awesome. I am a huge slacker and for that I should be ashamed but I am not. It was in the 40s here when I got home, so the weather was relatively the same as in the New York area. I ran an easy 4 miles yesterday around Wash Park, right by my apartment, which was really fun since I have not had the chance to run there much. I was planning on just having a mellow run but this girl passed me so I tried to stay with her for a while. And I decided that running at altitude is hard.
I may go run with my group tomorrow but I may not. So far after getting home I have already driven to Boulder twice, which is kind of ridiculous.
My running for today is still up in the air, I may do a trail run up here in Boulder, although I may go do one of my old high school runs in a little bit. I have to get my snow tires put on this afternoon but then the afternoon is pretty free so I am planning to go for a swim, which I haven't done for a while.
That is the plan, we will see how it goes. It is great to be in Denver! I hope to get some decent running in this weekend and will do my workout (10k pace workout) tomorrow regardless of driving to Boulder or not.
Hope all the bloggers have a good weekend!
Posted by barb at 09:37 AM | Comments (0)
November 11, 2004
Thursday!!
Everyone knows I love Thursdays. I especially love Thursday today because I am going home early again to go see a Warren Miller movie. For those of you who do not know what that is, it's a movie that Warren Miller makes every year, and he has all kinds of hard core skiing boarding, etc., type of people. It is very inspiring and for me it is always the kickoff of the ski season.
So that should be a good time. I have not run yet today, I will go when I get home before I need to go to the movie. I think it will be equally cold there, so I will not get any relief from that, but I will run on dirt which makes me happy. My calves have been really tight lately and I think it is partly due to running on pavement all the time.
Last night I left work way early, like 5:30, and went for a 7 mile run. This is kind of weird but I think I found a jail/prison in the middle of this little town in New Jersey! Very strange, and creepy at night, so I did not linger in that area. Exploring a new area while running is so much fun but there are times when I wonder if I should be trotting around in weird places like by prisons and stuff.
So it was a nice run. It is mostly uphill on the way out and downhill on the way back which is my favorite type of run.
I will probably run 4-5 miles today, then longer tomorrow, and longer than that on Saturday. Hope everyone enjoys their weekends.
Posted by barb at 06:05 AM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2004
Cold Again
It is cold here again. Due to weather and the fact that I did not bring the right clothes, I deferred running to this evening. However, last night instead of going and hanging out with B., because I am lame, I went to the gym and ran 3 miles on the treadmill and then ellipticalled for 25 or 30 minutes. I just booked a ticket to Mexico for Christmas with Matt and his family so I definitely need to keep on my exercise/healthy eating plan so that I am not unhappy with my appearance in a bikini there.
I am totally annoyed with the crappy hotel I am staying in this week. I should feel rested because I was in bed with lights off and no television for 8 1/2 hours but I do not feel that way at all because the walls are so thin. I have been quite the princess this week as traveling is making me really miserable for some reason, probably a combination of crappy work, crappy hotel, crappy Ford rental car, and cold crappy weather. Luckily next week Matt is coming and we are going to Boston, and the week after that is a short week due to Thanksgiving, so I am sure things will get better, but right now I just want to whine! So there it is, whine whine whine.
I feel better already.
As far as running, ostensibly the subject of this blog, I hope to run 5-7 miles tonight and then lift weights and possibly elliptical if there is anything on television. Tomorrow morning I will also run, it should not be as cold, and Friday I am already looking forward to a sweet trail run as long as the trails are semi-dry.
Posted by barb at 06:22 AM | Comments (0)
November 09, 2004
Cold
I am freezing. I hate winter. During the winter, I just hate that feeling that I am constantly freezing cold and I never, ever feel really warm. That is the extent of my whining today I hope.
Anyway last night I busted out my sweet reflective vest again (Yes I am such a geek!!) and ran about 6 miles around Caldwell. I would really like to start measuring my routes occasionally because I did feel that I was running at a fairly good clip but I just called it 6 miles. I would not be surprised if it was more like 6.5... not that it really matters. Anyway after I ran last night I lifted weights, rolled on the foam roller, and ellipticalled for 30 minutes while watching football coverage. I still do not know who won last night's game but the Broncos won on Sunday, very convincingly, so I am a happy camper.
This morning I woke up a little before 6:00 and ran about 8.5 miles. It was fine although my legs just felt stiff from being cold, next week I will definitely need to bring warmer tights and a hat. I keep thinking that 35 degrees is not that cold but in this humid climate it feels much colder than at home.
So that is the running news. I am feeling kind of directionless with my running right now because I know I don't want to run another marathon for a while, so next year I am focusing on 5k and 10k, and maybe a half marathon, so realistically I should be running some faster stuff. However, for now and probably through the end of December, I may just hang out, have fun with running, and not worry too much about it.
Tonight I am going to Macy's with B. to spend money which should be fun, I do love shopping! Tomorrow I am hoping to get up early and run a bit, and then run more after work, but we will see how late I stay out. I really hope to avoid further Hoboken adventures.
Posted by barb at 06:52 AM | Comments (1)
November 08, 2004
Weekend
So nothing too exciting happened this weekend. Friday afternoon, I did end up going to a power yoga class which I thought would be mellow and was really hard! It was only one hour which is nice, because by the time you get sick of doing yoga, you are finished. However there were a lot of poses that I had never done and the pace was kind of hectic. I got there a bit late so the only available spots were in the front row. I ended up relying on the girl next to me to see what I was supposed to do. The instructor was great though and I will definitely take the class again, I just want to get there earlier so I don't have to be in the front row.
Saturday, I ran 5 easy miles, and Sunday I ran 4 easy miles, which gave me a total of 42 miles for last week. Not too exciting - felt fine, beautiful weather (it was gorgeous in Denver all weekend), etc., etc. I flew into New York last night which I have vowed never to do again - I really really hate flying here on Sundays, it makes me sad all day. I was exhausted this morning because I ran into traffic on the GW bridge - some big truck carrying something that looked like sand had crashed - and then watched Politically Incorrect.
I guess it is supposed to keep getting colder throughout the day here so depending on the weather I will probably either run outside or do my first treadmill run of the season. This week I would like to run closer to 50 miles but will not be upset if I don't. I would also actually like to go to practice on Saturday which I think I should be able to do, but who knows what my motivation level will be. I am still thinking I want to go inactive in my group until I can stop traveling for work. I may actually do a double tomorrow because my friend B. wanted to go for a run tomorrow night. We'll see how my body handles increasing mileage but right now it feels great. I am still enjoying running less and having more time to do other things like yoga.
Exciting results from this weekend - can't wait to hear Alison's take on what happened since she was there taking pictures!
Posted by barb at 07:19 AM | Comments (0)
November 05, 2004
Life is Good
So I am back in Colorado, it is a balmy 70 degrees, and I just ran 10 miles on trails. As I always say, Woo Hoo!!! I ran on the Mesa Trail this morning and that is absolutely positively my favorite place in the world to run. It is absolutely gorgeous, challenging but not impossible, and you can run forever. I ran for 1:46 and it felt like a very good, hard effort. I also continued to feel better throughout the run which is always a good thing.
One of the awesome things about Colorado is that I was wearing shorts and a tank top and was hot sometimes and there was still snow on the trail in spots.
Yesterday I was so tired after all of my exploits that I could have fit a run in after I got home and before we went to the Nuggets game (which was very fun and exciting, they won in OT), but I did nothing instead. I am sure that was a good idea but I still feel a little guilty!
Later today I am planning to take a yoga class, there is one at 4:00. Tomorrow I will run in the morning and then it is supposed to be gorgeous and warm again so we're going hiking. It is shaping up to be another fun, busy weekend! Hope everyone enjoys their weekends!!
Posted by barb at 01:28 PM | Comments (0)
November 04, 2004
Craziness In Jersey
So last night started out as a nice, fun, normal night. I met Alison in Central Park for a run which was probably like 6.5 miles. What with all the running in Hoboken to the train, and miscellaneous running around, I actually think I ran about 9 miles yesterday (there was much running in Hoboken which will be explained). We ran and saw some cool views of the city from the reservoir (spelling?) path which was fun. It was really, really nice to run with someone faster than me. It pushed me out of my comfort zone but was still relaxed. I would love to have someone like Alison to run with more regularly in Jersey or at home.
Anyway after we ran we met our friend B. from college. I see B. all the time (and she reads my blog!) but Alison hadn't seen her probably since 1998, which is quite a while ago. So we walked around and found somewhere to have dinner. By the time I got on the PATH it was 11:42 pm, so I was really tired because I had a late night Tuesday night too. So I got to where my car had been parked, and it was gone! Now since I had gone into the city to run all I had was my phone (thank God), a credit card, and $5. And of course the booper for the car which was useless. So I called my mom who got me the Hertz phone number (the car is a rental). After talking to many random people I got on the phone with the Hoboken police who confirmed that the car was towed. I ran to the police station (see the 9 mile thing is not too crazy) and signed some stuff, then got a ride with some very nice New Jersey police officers to the sketchy place where they take the towed cars. $54 and a little chat with the nice man who works at the sketchy towed car place later, I had my car and I was on my way back to Fairfield.
The drama continues of course. On my way back, I was driving rather fast as I always do, but I think that because I was so tired I did not see the cop on the side of the road. Who proceeded to pull me over and give me a speeding ticket!
So it was really late by the time I got to my hotel. Needless to say I did not get up and run this morning, I am so tired right now. Luckily I am taking a 2:00 flight home today (whee!!! It is Thursday and I am going home!!!!) so I should be able to get a quick run in after I get home and before the Nuggets game.
So that was Wednesday. I am hoping today will be a bit more mellow, and a bit less expensive!
Posted by barb at 07:17 AM | Comments (8)
November 03, 2004
Sad
I am so sad right now.
Anyway I have no running to report, I was at parties in Manhattan until almost midnight and then with the train and the walking in Hoboken (I parked SO FAR from the PATH station) and the drive I got back to Fairfield around 12:45, watched the results until they were mostly certain, and passed out. So B. wants me to go back tonight and meet her and Alison, but I am too tired and I just want to work and then work out and then go to bed. In fact what I really want to do is go home (to Denver), go to bed, and sleep for one week. But we can't always get what we want and thankfully I get to go home tomorrow.
So hopefully tomorrow I will have two runs to report. Hope everyone has a good day!
Posted by barb at 07:29 AM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2004
Election Day
Well happy Election Day to everyone.
I try to keep politics out of my blog but I will just say that I am really scared about the outcome of this election. Thus tonight I am meeting my equally liberal and equally scared friend B. in Manhattan to get drunk in case our side loses! So that will be a good time. Hopefully we will be celebrating instead of crying in our beers.
Anyway since this blog is about running... last night I was not planning on running. However on my way to the gym I became inspired to try out my reflective vest. Yes if you had any doubts I am a little bit of a geek. But the vest is so cool! Cars definitely see you sooner and stop and go slower and all that crap. So that was fun. I ran 6 miles and I was actually running pretty fast - one part of the run that took me 14:30 a few weeks ago took 11:30 so that was cool. I felt really good and my knee is pretty much 100% now.
After I ran, I did the elliptcal for 20 minutes just to do something different and since I was at the gym anyway. Then I got italian takeout (it was so good!) and went to the hotel and passed out.
This morning I felt kind of tired when I woke up but I have no time to run tonight so I got going. I started to feel better about 20 minutes into the run but I still thought I was going slow - so when I got to the halfway point from last week and I was about a minute ahead, I was surprised. At the halfway there is a big hill, so I kept going up the hill for another couple of minutes, then turned around at 38 minutes. I ran back and it went by so fast, I just had so much stuff on my mind. I got back at 72 minutes which means I ran back in 34 minutes. Running at sea level is sweet!
Now that I feel like I have actually recovered from the marathon I am very pleased with how my body is doing and how my running is going. And that is a good feeling!
Posted by barb at 07:12 AM | Comments (1)
November 01, 2004
Monday Monday
I started this entry earlier and then something bad happened to my computer so here we go again. I am so much less motivated to write it now but I will do my best.
So on Friday morning I ran 2 miles to pick up my car, then went to Boulder for PT, and then ran 7 miles at the South Boulder Creek trail. The second run was a nice one, it was very windy but otherwise the conditions were pretty good and I ran the out and back in negative splits. I bought two pairs of Saucony Grid Omni III's on Friday morning because my physical therapist and I both agree that the Grid Omni IV, which is supposed to be the new version, is not nearly as good. I really want to write Saucony on this.
Friday night we had the big Halloween party which was a good time. I will have to ask Alison if I can upload a picture. I was not a great Ashlee Simpson so about halfway through the night I had a costume change and became Punky Brewster. I look alarmingly like her - I did when I was a kid and I look like the grown up actress now. So that was fun, but it meant that I did not go to practice yet again on Saturday. I really am seriously considering going inactive in RRB until I stop traveling because right now I never show up so I am wasting money.
So on Saturday we all went to the CU game and I ran 4 miles afterwards. I do really like running in the afternoon from time to time, I never do it but I love how my legs feel - they are so much less stiff. After I ran we went to some friends' house for dinner, which was a lot of fun. It was nice to do something social but mellow. The weekends have been absolutely insane lately - next Friday we already have one party, and on Saturday we are reserving the night to go and see Ray (I really really want to see it).
Sunday morning was the time change and Matt was planning on getting up and running a few miles with me but he didn't end up going. So I ran 6 miles which was fine, although my legs did feel a bit tired. I ended up running 39 miles last week which is more than I had planned on but I still felt good so I decided to go with it. Today I flew in and I won't really have time to run outside unless I go really late, so I'll probably take a day off from running and then just do the elliptical.
Tomorrow I am going to Manhattan to hang out with my friend B. and go to election day parties, so I will hopefully run 8 miles or so in the morning. I did get my reflective vest so I will be very safe!
And one more thing to add = It snowed between 4 and 6 inches in Denver last night and in Jersey it is 56 degrees, so for once this winter, the weather here is so much better which is kind of nice :)
I am off to catch up on everyone's weekends!
Posted by barb at 02:10 PM | Comments (3)