February Recap/Stats

Happy Leap Year and end of February peeps!

Miles Ran: 23.3 M - I'm still love-love-loving being able to fill this in again!

Miles Biked: 15 M - I have got to stop slacking on the cycling!

Miles Elliptical'd: 16.1 M
Miles Walked: 7.83 M

Flights of Stairs Climbed: 197 Flights

Rest Days: 5

Current Reads: (Reading) Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs; "A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs." I'm about halfway through this and I have mixed feelings so you'll have to wait until I've finished for thoughts.

(Finished) Atonement by Ian McEwan; So worth gutting through the terrible "Part 1" to read the rest of the beautifully written story. I would put this in my top reads but I seriously hated the first part that much. Also finished, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot; This is the true story of the woman behind the infamous "HeLa" cells that are the oldest and most commonly used human cells in scientific research. It's both sad and fascinating learning how this woman and her family couldn't/still can't afford medical insurance yet her cells have revolutionized the medical field. I couldn't put this book down and I highly recommend you pick it up ASAP!
Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: I've been pretty boring lately.

Current Obsession: Finding a bridesmaid dress line that all the girls like, is affordable, and that stores carry in the colors we like so we can see them in person! This is proving to be harder than I expected.

Current Song: "We Are Young" by fun:

Current Wish-List: A make over. I need a complete style overhaul and something needs to be done about my hair; it's boring, boring, boring.

Current Need: For Spring to arrive once and for all.

Current Triumph: Officially graduating to three miles!

Current Bane of my Existence: My cravings for sweets and treats. I gave up junk food for Lent; specifically cake balls, cupcakes, Flipz, Lindt truffles, and sugar free Red Bull (all my go-to treats). I'm hoping it helps me break my incessant sweet tooth once and for all but I gotta tell ya, there's been some very sad panda moments over the last week.
Current Goal: To continue my R2R safely and responsibly.

Current Indulgence: I still can't seem to get enough of painting! PAINT ALL THE THINGS!!! Here's this month's completed works:

For my niece's b-day.

For my Yvo's b-day.

For my Boo's b-day, she loves the Alice.

Schmoop Alert: Spike's Valentine present

Not a painting per se, but I did paint the gray background and red heart.
(The girl is Orlando {where I lived when we met}, the guy is Lansing [where Spike lived], and the heart is Grand Rapids, where we'll get married.)

Commissioned by Sun Runner for her nephew's b-day.

Current Blessings: Every day that I get to enjoy and everyone in my life that I love.
Current Excitement: My continued progress on the running front, can't wait for Corktown to RUN my first 5k race, in it's entirety, since 2010!!! Also excited for an almost completely plan-free month of March! Woot! We are in desperate need of some down time before April comes and kicks our butts!

How'd your February shape up?!?!

Running is what you make of it, make it an Adventure!™

Running on Sunshine

Today is my favorite day.*

Why?

Because today I ran three miles! Three entire miles, plus an extra .1 just to make it an even 5k. I haven't RUN a 5k since December of 2010 and I haven't run this far period since the injury last March that kept me sidelined until December of 2011.

Today is a turning point for me, today I feel like a real runner again. Which isn't to say I haven't been running since December, but there's just something about reaching the 3 M/5k mark that makes me feel like I'm really "back." And the best part is, I have miles and miles more to go, it only gets better from here!

via

Once upon a time the concept of running 3 M, 5 M, even 10 M, was taken completely for granted. I trained for marathons people! Three miles was nothing, a warm-up! But then I got injured. I spent days, weeks, months praying for the day I could even run a mile again. Injury puts a lot of things in perspective, especially all the things you take for granted.

Today I ran 3.1 glorious miles on a gorgeous sunny day in Michigan, in February with the biggest smile on my face (much like the one shining bright on my header image above) with one of my closest friends by my side. I am happy, I am healthy, and I am thankful for every single step I take in this R2R.

via

*So far this year. We all know there will plenty more days like this in the coming months for various reasons. Life is good.

3 Things Thursday

1. Randomess at it's Best: My favorite part of B.o.B's Tour de Mitten visit was all the randomness we encountered (or created). I mean who doesn't need a hat with hair already attached or really bizarre salt and pepper shakers like these:
   
   
   The outhouse ones say, "Full of S" and "Full of P." Gross.
   Also, Spike looks weird with "hair."
   
   Then there were the random animal carvings...
   
   
   
2. Winter Hacienda: Perfectly timed for the impending winter storm we're about to get creamed with, the Winter Hacienda is this weekend. You may remember I mentioned something about this in my January wrap up; the guys are having an eating contest to get naming rights for two unborn Hacienda babies. This year's contest will be whoever can eat a TB Grande meal the fastest. My bets are on Spike.
   
   "Dear Inappropriately Named Hacienda Baby,
   
   I'm sorry Uncle Spike named you that terrible name.
   
   Love, Aunt Red"
   
   
3. Races Ahoy: I mentioned last week that I had been race shopping and over the weekend I officially registered for two upcoming races. First up, Corktown, which is in it's 30th running in downtown Detroit. This race is huge so Spike and I have decided this one will be a fun run for sure. It'll also be the first 5k I will be able to run in it's entirety since my R2R began! Woot! Next up will be the Lansing Marathon 5k, which will help me kill some time while I wait for Spike (and a blogger friend who hasn't announced officially that he/she is running it yet) to finish. I intend to "race" this one, though it's hard to imagine "racing" a 5k when I know I am a far cry from being able to PR. Considering my 5k PR will be two years old by then, I think it's time to let it go and start over. (FYI: 5k PR = 22:19) I have not however, signed up for the 10k I've been eying. I've decided I'd like to get at least 5 miles under my belt before I pull the trigger. (This is what happens when you waste $300 on races you couldn't run because you were injured for 9 months.)
   
   How old do you think a PR has to be before it's no longer considered a PR?
   

Soup'r Chili 5k Race Recap

Soup'r Chili 5k Fun Run

Pre-Race: As y'all know B.o.B rolled in to town late Thursday night and we had plans for a big Tour d' Mitten! She's going to cover that in depth since it was her vaca, (post HERE) but the short of it is we left Friday morning for Traverse City by way of Grand Rapids. When we arrived there wasn't any snow and the Winter WOW!fest was looking sorry at best. Womp, womp. Not to be deterred we explored all the fun little shops in the downtown area before finding a great little Mexican place to stuff our faces at because everyone carb loads for a 5k fun run right?

On the drive to our hotel after dinner B.o.B was excited to see that it was starting to flurry; perhaps there was hope for our little Winter WOW!fest yet? Not long before the alarm was to go off the next morning I heard the tell tale signs of snow; a truck was scraping the drive outside. I peeked out the window and sure enough everything was covered in about 5" of snow!!! My little Florida girl was super duper excited! We quickly bundled up and packed in to the car to head to the pancake breakfast before the race. Can you tell we were taking the race super serious? The pancakes were delish and before we knew it, it was time to head to the race start!

Start Corral: The Start/Finish area was located at the marina office and the course itself would be four loops around the immediate area on Tart Trail. It was an informal start with about fifty brave souls bundled up and impatiently waiting to get this thing started because it was effing cold!!! The race director pointed out the large clock on the table that would run the duration of the race so we could check our time as we lapped and informed us that although the trail had been cleared there was a continuing lake effect. B.o.B was really going to get one helluva first snow running experience! After a few more announcements, including one about the course being long, she yelled GO! and we were off...

The Race: As I mentioned above, it was a four loop course that started and finished at a marina. Let me assure you that a four loop 5k covered with snow and ice that is run next to a marina with lake effect winds is the most miserable 5k you will ever run in your life. I've taken the liberty to pull down the map of our run for you and added in some notes:

That blue section there to the right was the marina/bay and those creepy guys are simultaneously blowing horrid lake effect wind at you while also sucking your soul. We called this the "Hate Our Lives" section which we endured approximately four times. The city side was less painful as the feeling to our limbs and right nostrils would slowly return as we sorta warmed up, but I had to teach B.o.B the art of "stepping with authority," especially through the intersection called out, so she wouldn't slip and bust her @ss. We mostly stuck to the race plan, except we "truffle-shuffled" through the walking portions, not quite walking but not exactly jogging, more of a skidding over ice at an accelerated pace, because it was just too d@mn cold. After the first loop we could only laugh hysterically at how miserable this race was as she informed me repeatedly that this may have been the worst idea she had ever had.

 Snapped while shuffling the "Hate Our Lives" section of the course.

The Finish: As we brought it in to the finish I went to stop my watch and the race director yelled for me to keep it running because their timing clock had frozen up. So I lapped instead and stood there for awhile announcing finish times while Spike photo-documented B.o.B playing in the snow. (Spike of course, had lapped us during the race and finished well ahead.)

Final Garmin Time: Drum roll please... 32:05 for 3.2k! This means that Joanna, with a guess of 31:45, is the giveaway winner!!! Joanna, please email me your mailing address!

Post Race: After the race we bee-lined for the car to grab our coats and then headed back down to the festival area to cash in the soup tasting tickets we had received with our race swag. There we unanimously agreed that all cold weather races should conclude with soup tasting. Mmm Mmm good!

Race Swag Stocking Cap

Just call me "Dumb Donald"

Post Race Thoughts: This was an untimed, unbibbed four loop family fun run during a winter festival in northern Michigan with a mix of runners, walkers, and four legged friends. I don't think I'd ever go out of my way to run this race again but if we were in the area I might because who doesn't like getting their soul sucked out of them on a lovely miserable winter morning with their best friend and fiance?

3 Things Thursday

1. B.o.B does the Mitten... My Boo arrives this evening and I cannot wait!!! We've got a full itinerary of things to do and eat; including a Tour d' Mitten with stops for deer jerky and snowman building. Bring on the B.o.B!!!
   
   
   The last time we ran together when it was "cold."
   (We were both Floridians then.)
   Circa 2009 - Shake out run before the Chicago Marathon
   
   
2. Giveaway Guess... Speaking of this weekend, don't forget to submit your finish time guess on my blogiversary giveaway for the 5k Saturday! Despite everyone thinking I'll end up running the whole thing, I assure you that one full mile will be walked nomatterwhat because I cannot afford any more setbacks!!! Period. The end. Thankyouverymuch.
   
   
   
   Submit your guess before 10am EST Saturday!
   
   
3. Race Shopping... It's official, I've been race shopping. Although there are already some 5k's in my future, mostly fun runs, I consider myself more of a long distance runner so I have my eye on a 10k for the true test of the R2R. Stay tuned for more deets!
   
   Happy Weekend Peeps! (It's my Friday!)

Where's My Leather?

I am so disappointed in all of you!!! Thursday was my three year blogiversary and no one remembered (not even me!) to get me any leather!!!

I kid, I kid, if anything you should all be tsk tsk-ing me for slacking! Hard to believe that three years have come and gone since I decided to start recording my running adventures. In case you're bored here's that first post, written 19 days out from my first half marathon. My favorite part of the post: "When the heck did I let this hobby takeover my life? When the heck did I stop buying going out shirts on Fridays for the weekend and start buying new running gear? When did I trade in my pumps for sneakers?"

Early 2009 Flashback: My first sub-24 5k on a 5.2k course
That's me in the pink and cross trainers. What a noob.

I didn't have a clue then how running would change my life.

Since that first post I've celebrated each year by doing a giveaway; year one featured a get to know your redhead post with a reward for making it through the longest post ever, in year two (Whoops: apparently like this year, I was a bit off on the actual date) the giveaway was less obvious, thrown right in the middle of my schmooptastic thoughts about how running and blogging had changed my life;

"Reflecting on my running adventures over the years and especially since starting this blog, I can't even imagine what life would have been like if I had never started running. Since I started running I became the best version of myself. I am healthier, happier, have more fun and live every day to it's fullest. And because of running I started this blog, and because of the this blog I met Spike."

No running = No blogging = No Spike?!?! GASP! Can you imagine? (Although for the record, I think my Florida friends might not be too sad if I never left Florida...) Any way, back to the whole giveaway thing before I get too far off track... Obviously I need to do another giveaway to commemorate another year of my ramblings, and let's face it, y'all deserve something for enduring nine full months of me whining about being injured!

So here it goes; this year's giveaway will require you leaving a comment below with your forecast-ed finish time of my upcoming 5k, the Soup'r Chili 5k, this weekend as part of the Winter WOW!fest in Traverse City with my Boo! Please take in to consideration that because of a small setback I am unable to run the entire distance as I had hoped and will have to walk approximately one full mile of it. Sad. Panda. The winner of the contest will be whoever guesses closest without going over, will be sent something awesome, and will be announced in the race recap next week upon our return.

Race Plan: .5 M run / .5 M walk /
.5 M run / .5 M walk / 1.1 M run
(Even with the walking at least I'm guaranteed to PR over my most recent attempts at a 5k! Small victories!)

Thanks for reading along and especially for sticking around this past year. As usual it was full of adventures/mis-adventures, lots of new friends, and one helluva an annoying injury. I'll do my best in the coming year to have way more running and far less whining m'kay?

3 Things Thursday

1. Expired... Earlier this week Spike (who actually came out of hiding and posted) told me he needed to make a GU run and I told him he could just use some of my stash from last year... which ended up being expired. When I took it to FB y'all unanimously agreed that expired or not, it was still good for the consuming. Who knew this stuff expired?
   
   
   Expiration Date: Aug2011
   We don't need no stinking expiration dates!
   
2. "Awesome Joggers"... Another thing worth mentioning that happened recently is that we met with our photographers for the wedding and they said we were "awesome joggers" in reference to our marathon running. "Awesome Joggers." Kills me every time. LOL! Needless to say we schooled them on all things marathon related and they are excited to test out their creative photog skillz with a theme'd engagement session soon!
   
3. Roller Derby... Spike and I like to peruse the community events board at our local coffee shop and this weekend we learned that the local Rollerama is having a Valentines Day theme'd roller derby! Spike and I are stoked to go catch some girlz rough each other up on Saturday! Have any of you ever checked out a roller derby?
   Fun Fact: The movie Whip It was largely filmed here in Michigan, including the Ann Arbor area where I work!