Blame it on the interwebs...

Although it may appear as though I've ended Juneathon on a whimper, that's really not the case. This is, after all, a festival of activity and excuses, so here's mine: the interwebs in Maine suck. But I'm not complaining, because Maine "is the way life should be" (at least that's what the welcome sign at the state line says, and I firmly believe it), so not being virtually connected gives you a whole lotta time for other stuff.

Like running. Not that I did so much. My heel was still bothering me, so Thursday I took a 3 mile walk (alone) and a mile-long hike (with my 14 and 8 year old daughters and 5 and almost 3 year old nieces). We met up with a snake, and found some pretty mushrooms. Found out later that the snake was of the poisonous kind (good thing we got really close and poked at it with a stick), but the mushrooms were not (the almost 3 year old licked hers and is still alive).

Friday was another walk--3.5 miles in the opposite direction to the Portland Head Light. It started pouring rain, so the last mile was a run. The rain cleared in time for paddle boarding in Kettle Cove, and we spent nearly 90 minutes tooling around that inlet. I did my best to not fall in. Maine isn't known for its warm water, but my balance leaves a bit to be desired...

Walking around on the sand, plus my new inserts, must have helped because my heel felt slightly better today, so I went back to the lighthouse. 3.52 miles in 35 minutes. Running in Maine is hilly, so this was a bit of a challenge, but I actually enjoyed the rolling quality to these hills. A good run.

I'll post some photos later. Can't quite figure out how to get the photos from the phone to the iPad to the app. And right now I'm having too much non-virtual fun to care...

Two birds with one stone--Juneathon Days 26 and 27

Yesterday I returned to NJ from Columbus. And that just about wiped me out.  Which I find hard to believe since it's a short 60 minute flight that, while it left early, was still within the realm of reasonable.  It could have been the incredibly bouncy approach to Newark airport (why are there always wind gusts up to 40 mph when I'm in a teeny plane?), or that I went straight to work. 

Suffice it to say that I postponed any sort of Juneathon activity until 10:45pm, when I did 20 squats, 15 dragon squats and 20 push ups right before bed.

This morning, though, I was up at 6 and out the door for 3 miles.  Unfortunately, my heel is still bothering me, which is disappointing.  The 9 miles in Columbus coupled with the long trade show days in unsupportive sandals may be the culprit, but I think I need to take a few days off so that it doesn't get any worse.  I do see Dr. Gorgeous (my podiatrist) this afternoon for my custom insoles.  I'm uncertain if I should mention it to him, as his typical response is: "stop running."  grrr. And given that we're heading out for some vacation for the rest of this week means that I will have ample opportunity to postpone any sort of running...

But it's good to be home--and having accessible frozen peas.  

Day 25--tons of hats!

The last day of the yarn show--my collection of TEAny Hats has grown.  This is always a fun trade show, and I think my project added some buzz.  

Last night was so peaceful. I ate a quiet meal alone in the hotel and got to bed early (10ish). I was not awaken at 3:45 (thank goodness), and woke this morning at 6:30 for my run.  I did 3.25 miles (mapped out the night before on Map My Run), but my gps this morning didn't pick up the satellite, so I don't know my time.  I'm estimating just slightly over 30 minutes.  The run took me through a lovely historic neighborhood and a fairly nice park.  On the downside, my heel starting aching again.  Must be a combination of the 9 miles and the two 8 hour days on my feet.  hmmmm. So I picked up a bag of ice at Starbucks and am now sitting in my booth with a frozen foot!

 

Are we there yet?

Day 2 at TNNA was unending. The show is going well, and then I had excellent Thai food for dinner. I was tired and went to bed at a fairly reasonable 10:30, and was promptly awaken at 3:45am by the guests in the room next door. Not their music, or TV, just really LOUD voices. I sleep fairly soundly, but this conversation sounded like it was coming from the foot of my bed. I waited about 20 minutes, during which there was no sign of abatement, so I knocked on their door to ask them to lower their voices. Now I'm a tall girl, and I think that can be intimidating, but I also know that when making a request, it's best to do so politely. So I asked quietly and with a smile. Their reply?

"NO!"

??????

Because, and this the excellent logic behind their response, they paid the same amount of money for their room as I did. Which I guess entitled them to disturb other guests in the wee hours of the morning.

I went back to my room, and tried to fall asleep again, to no avail, so I went to the front desk to request a room change. The two women must have heard my door close, and they followed me to the front desk to argue. Unfortunately there were no empty rooms in the hotel, and I had to listen to even better logic as they kept interrupting my (again quiet, bordering on sleepy) conversation with the front desk manager.

The end result: late night knitting, very little sleep, and my hotel bill halved as an apology for the inconvenience. Today, I'm dragging, regretting having knit when so tired (too many mistakes), so my juneathon effort consisted of 20 minutes on the elliptical in the hotel gym.

Juneathon stats:
Elliptical: 20 minutes
Noisy neighbors: 2
Running partner found: 1(met someone in the hotel elevator in running gear and at the same trade show--agreed to try a 3 mile loop tomorrow)!

Juneathon Day 23; TNNA Day 2

On this 23rd day of Juneathon and 2nd day of TNNA, I woke promptly at 5:30 and headed outside to a wonderfully dry and slightly overcast Columbus and a 9 mile run. 

I started out wicked fast--mile one clocked in a 7:18.  I was wondering why I was going so quickly, and chalked it up to pent up energy (working a trade show isn't exactly a calorie-consuming activity). It wasn't until mile 9 that I realized why mile 1 was so fast--it was a gentle downhill that didn't feel quite as gentle nearly 1.5 hours later. 

After the speedy mile 1, I settled back into my typical 10 min/mile pace, and really took my time, waiting out the traffic lights, stopping for water, etc.  It was a good run, and lucky for me, a local knitter recommended some great, historic neighborhoods to run through.

I'm happy with the run, and even happier that I could eat back those calories with two scoops of Jeni's splendid ice cream (salty caramel and brown sugar butter cruch).  yummmmmm!

Hello Columbus!

Today is the start of my trip to Columbus for TNNA (the National Needlearts Association).  I love coming here.  Although a teeny city compared to NYC, there's a great market (North Market) with fresh food and even better ice cream (Jeni's) that I'll gladly wait in line any day for.  

Luckily for me, it's slightly cooler in Columbus than in NJ, and tomorrow I'm going to attempt 9-10 miles prior to the trade show opening.  I'm not sure how smart a plan that is--i've got to be on my feet for 8 hours tomorrow, but it's Juneathon and the Old Port Half is fast approaching.  On Ravelry, I posted several invites asking for company.  Funny how nobody's taken me up on that yet.  

Today I did not schedule any exercise, figuring that the walking between the hotel and the convention center in inappropriate yet really attractive footwear several times would suffice.  The walk between my hotel and the show is about .25 miles one way--so far I've made the trek 5 times (1.25 miles).  Good enough!  Now downstairs to the hotel bar for a Stella, then out to dinner with some of my yarn peeps!

 

last day to breathe...

but with all this humidity, it may be hard.  Today's my last day in the office until July 12.  Not that i'm going on vacation or anything (except for Wed-Friday next week); just two work-related trips back to back.  Both will be good, but all the prep work for the trips coupled with the personal hoops I'm jumping through to make sure all the Things and the Mister are cared for means there's more crazy than usual going on in my head.

Added to the fun: the interwebs at work, along with the phone lines, are gone!  I'm connecting through a mifi device, which is great, except I have TONS of shipping labels to print, which i have to do locally since our big printer is offline (again, the interwebs).  But the mifi device uses a USB port, and it's so wide that it covers the 2nd USB port on my laptop. That's just enough of an issue to make my head explode.

Anyways, with all this going on (and the first day of summer vacation for the Things), I woke up promptly at 5:30, stepped over a floor full of sleeping teenagers (the first of many summer sleepovers, I'm sure), and headed out for my planned 3 mile run.  It was so-so hot (about 79F), so I tried to stay on tree-lined streets (easy enough in my town).  At the 3 mile point, I was feeling pretty good, and I added two more miles to my loop. Maybe not the smartest thing on such a hot morning, but just when I was getting too hot and bothered, I turned the corner onto a neighborhood where nearly every home had sprinklers going!  "why the hell not," i thought to myself, and i promptly left the road for the front lawns and ran through sprinklers for maybe .25 of a mile.  It felt great!  

Jumping the gun

It dawned on me yesterday that I've got a lot going on, and the next few weeks will get a bit crazy. This week school ends, and with it, the scheduling glue that keeps me organized.  I've got a business trip this Friday through Tuesday, and then the following week (July, holy cow!), another that takes me into the middle of that month!  And now to sound officially like an oldster: where has the time gone!

The two back-to-back trips require tons of personal and professional logisticaly maneuvering. Which all of a sudden came to a head (in my head) last night.  So, although I've been resolved to run every other day, this morning, after a restless sleep, I laced up for a quick jaunt.  Just to right myself.  

I planned on 2 miles, but I got into the groove, and finished with 4.  Tomorrow will be 97F, so maybe instead of running before meeting up with the Formidibles, I'll be content with that walk/run workout.

And now I'm ready for that HUGE to-do list...I think.

 

Day 18--graduation?

It's a big day chez Sato--Thing 3 leaves behind her elementary school (which in our town ends in 2nd grade) and is promoted to the Upper Elementary School (grades 3-6). Thing 3 is so excited--the Mister is picking her up at lunch and she's coming home to change into her hand-me-down lovely and age and situation-appropriate dress, and following the ceremony at 1pm, there's an ice cream social.

Many folk around here refer to this as "graduation." I don't. Graduation happens at the end of grade 12, and for those who go onto college or university, at the end of those studies.  Second graders do not graduate.  Because all second graders end up in 3rd grade.  It just happens.  That's the way school works.  But in my town, because of the odd building situation, we celebrate these non-graduating circumstances in 2nd, 6th, and 8th grades.  Since I have 3 Things, it seems every time I turn around, I'm being asked to make something special of a non-event that for the vast majority of the rest of the country (and world?) is just a regular, ordinary occurance.  In fact, on Friday evening, we were treated to Thing 2's "graduation" from 8th grade.  In the fall, she will attend high school, in the same building, with the same teachers where she has spent the past two years.  But she got nice dress and a party out of it...

Lest I be marked a curmudgeon, I will happily attend, and jockey for the best photography position and smile so big at my Thing 3, but every time another parent talks about how great this 'graduation' ceremony is, etc., i will silently say to myself 'she's not graduating--she's moving along to grade 3.'

To steel myself for the upcoming barrage of language misusage, I ran a great 3 miles prior to my 1.72 mile walk/run with the Formidibles, who again increased by 1 person--this time an adult.  We are now 4 adults, 2 children and one dog.  The dog is a real trooper.

 

Day 17--Happy Father's Day

Today is all about the Mister.  We woke early (thanks to Thing 3 and her enthusiasm), and the Mister was promptly presented with a dill plant, a bread maker and a workout bench.  He seemed pleased.  Then we departed for breakfast at one of our fave joints, Toast, for waffles, pancakes, French toast, and scrambled eggs.

In the afternoon, I had a work obligation at Modern Yarn, and since it's a non-running day and I didn't feel like doing any body weight workouts, I walked there and back, lugging my stuff.  Round trip: 3.18 miles in 49:13.  It's a good walk, and it was a cool (but sunny) day, so I consider this my Juneathon activity for the day.

Tonight we're heading into Queens because my sister is back visiting from Hong Kong!  So excited to see her (it's been about a year), and I miss her horribly.  And Thing 3 misses her BFFC (best friend forever cousin) just as badly.  They're stateside for a month, so I expect to see a lot of them!

Day 16--some days

Maybe some runs aren't meant to be. Or maybe the fact that I'm limited in how often I can run (as opposed to how often I'd like to) is putting too much pressure on those runs to be "good" runs.

Today I wanted (needed/was scheduled for) 8 miles. And I set out at 7:30am, and all was good until 4.5 miles, and then my legs just stopped. Figuratively (that is), but I plowed through the remaining 3.5 miles grudgingly and listlessly. Even my music wasn't helping.

This run made me question everything about what I was doing, my upcoming race, my motivation...everything. I know it's just a phase, and that every runner has a bad run every once in while, but it still shook me up a bit.

From the vantage point of a few hours, I can also see what I need to do to get over this. First, I need to eat better. I don't think my body was properly fueled over the past week to handle an 8 mile run, especially after such a long hiatus from long runs.

And I need to find an attitude balance. I'm not an elite runner. I'm a rather slow plod-alonger. I want to improve because that's the type of person I am, but I have no designs on winning races. I'm in this for the health benefits, the personal sense of accomplishment, the friendships. So that I ran 8 miles in 1.23 when last year I couldn't even run a mile is HUGE, and I won't let one bad run derail that.

Feeling better already....

Day 15--Pink Flamingos

This morning I set out on my walk/run with the Formidibles.  I had actually done the Fleet Feet fun run last night, so my goal this morning was to do a mile light warm-up, then my walk/run.  My house to the school measures out at .7 miles, so I went around the block and encountered:

As i turned the corner, a rabbit hopped in front of me--so I stopped to get his pic.  And then I noticed the pink flamingos. The flamingos are actually a school-fundraiser--you pay to get them off your yard (and when you pledge, you get to choose whose yard to send them to).  

So last night I decided to tough it out and participate in the fun run; yes, I can knit my own socks, but it would take longer than the few minutes I would spend in line (or running 3 miles).  I am particular about my socks, but these socks from Belaga were quite nice, and even foot-specific:

Not sure how this will work out when I'm dressing in the dark for my runs (come fall/winter), but right now, the mornings are light, so we're good.  I really appreciated the arch support in these socks, so I plan on fitting them into the rotation with all my smart wools. 

Lastly, I saw this this new gps watch that intrigues me in a few ways.  

1. I've been strapping my iPhone to my arm since January, and that doesn't always work out.  

This is after a drop in February (and I'm waiting for the iPhone 5 to come out instead of replacing this one).  But back to the GPS watches.  I have little wrists.  I like big watches, but at a certain point, the hugeness of the watches on the market is ridiculous.  

2. I used to work in economic development, and I LOVE the idea of entrepreneurs with solid business plans and products (or services) being able to get the start-up financing they need to get their product or service to market.  So I made my pledge, and I hope they get there.  If not, they should get on Shark Tank.  I think Mark Cuban would definitely buy into this.

Juneathon update:

6/14: miles ran: 3.0 (in 28 minutes and change--woot!)

6/15: miles ran: 1.7, miles walk/ran: 1.7

bunnies spotted: 1

pink flamingos: a yardful

 

 

LRS?

In the yarn world, knitters and crocheters talk about their LYS (local yarn shop/store) with affection, frustration, and all the other 'tions" you feel when there's a shop (and/or shop owner) that you've just connected with.  And your LYS is where you go for support, and enabling (because most knitters don't need any more yarn--they've all got plenty), to sit and relax, to sit and bitch, etc.  It's your home away from home. So my question is: do runners have an LRS (local running store)?  Because I think I've got one.

Which leads to my conundrum.  I'm scheduled to launch my 1200 TEAny Hats project at my LYS (Modern Yarn, which actually used to be MY yarn shop, in that I co-owned it, but then sold it) at 7pm, but my LRS (Fleet Feet Montclair) has a 3 mile Thursday night run and tonight is a free socks give-away.  I need some new socks, and I need to run me some miles.  Even though Thursday is not supposed to be a running day.  It's been a tough week chez Sato, and I need to burn off some steam and clear my head. 

I'm still undecided.  Here's the game that's going on in my head:

Pros to running:

• if i do the 3 miles at 6pm, i'll be done by 6:30, 6:40 at the latest (if there's a late start), and I can definitely be to the project launch on time.  I may be stinky, but if i drop off a change of clothing and baby powder at my LYS, it should be ok.  Plus I need socks

Cons to running:

• Thursday is cross-training only. save your feet; you're healing up nicely.  don't blow it now. plus, you can knit yourself some socks.  

and maybe that's the clincher: I can always knit me up some socks.  

Just in case, 20 minutes of bodyweight/dumbbells this morning.  squats, lunges, pushups, crunches, bend over rows, upright rows, chest press and russian twists. 3 sets each.

The Formidibles grow. . .

This morning, after 3 mile loop, I met up again with the Formidibles to learn that we've grown again--from 4 on Monday (me, Mimi, Eric and Mimi's son) to 6.  Eric brought along his daughter and dog.  Surprisingly it worked.  Maybe because I had already completed my own half marathon workout beforehand.  But it made me question my mothering skills--I'm not too keen on sharing my running time with Things 1, 2, and 3.  Yep, I'll share my bed, my food, my money, my love, and talents, my loud voice, my criticism, my praise, my playlists and downloaded apps (and in the future, i suspect: my shoes, my makeup, and even more of my money), but I cherish my running time. that's my time.  and at the same time, am slightly envious of parents who are that giving. 

Day 12

Today was a non-running day.  Honestly it's hard for me to stick to this "every-other day" or "every third day" running schedule while I continue to recuperate, but I'm doing my darndest.  Today the weather cooperated, and it was rainy this morning.  A good excuse to not head outside.  But not an excuse to skip Juneathon.

So I did a 20 minute kettlebells, dumbbells and bodyweight workout. 3 rounds each of bent-over rows (right and left arms separate for 30 seconds per arm), overhead presses (45 seconds), kettlebell snatches (1 minute) push ups (1 minute) dragon squats (1 minute) weighted squats (1 minute), russian twists (1 minute) and i think that's it.  It was tough.  Especially the kettlebell snatches.  I used my husband's 20 lb kettlebell, and now my wrist is feeling it!

Then I went into the city to meet up with the Tuesday Ladies, my knitting volunteers.  Mary had made 3 hats towards the TEAny Hat project, in addition to her regular output of normal sized hats and scarves.  

The trip into the city was made all the more unpleasant because of some errands I had to run prior to reaching Trinity Wall St., and the rain.  I know I should just shut up about the rain, given that the Juneathon participants across the pond have had more than their fair share, but. . .it does tend to throw a glitch into almost everything. Except for the giant rat.

Rain does not deter strikers nor their enormous rats.  (the rain had let up to almost nothing at this point).

So, in addition to the body weight workout, I also tromped around lower Manhattan for 1.5 miles (but not all at once).  

Tomorrow is a run day.  tomorrow is a sun day.  At least in my mind it is!

Day 11--"You Look So Formidible!"

I was good all weekend.  Although I had wanted to run, I held back, trying to give my foot some more recovery time.  Sadly, though, the boot didn't seem to be helping, and yesterday night I was frustrated with the stiffness and dullness that doesn't seem to abate.

I almost tossed in the towel this morning.  I had my 6:15am run/walk scheduled with my friend (plus a new one who was joining us).  My thought was to wake at 5am, stretch, and do a simple 3 mile loop to end up near the elementary school.  My foot was stiff again this morning, with some slight heel pain (though in a different spot than my heel stress fracture), so I told myself that I'd head out for the run but would STOP IMMEDIATELY (!) should there even be the slightest twinge of ouchiness.

But there wasn't. And let me tell you, I thought about it each and every time I put my foot down.  I tried to stay at my 10 min/mile pace, made it up a couple of good hills, and felt fantastic for the entire fun! Very happy about that.

I met up with my walk/run crowd at 6:15, and off we went with our 3 min walk/1 min run routine for 1.7 miles.  At one point we were walking abreast on the road (not much traffic) and a woman coming out of her house saw us and exclaimed "why, you look so formidible!"  

A new superhero group: the Formidibles!  LOVE IT!

 

WWKIP

Runners aren't the only folks with their own "day."  And never to be outdone, or to settle for national boundaries, knitters have upped the ante with a WWKIP (world wide knit in public) day.

I spent my WWKIP in Bryant Park in NYC promoting my 1200 TEAny Hats project.  I sold the bejesus out of it--and it worked.  Here are some of the knitters who stopped by and cast on:

See the full gallery on Posterous

My Juneathon activity for today consisted of: driving into NYC (12 miles), finding parking (several blocks) and walking from said parking garage to Bryant Park (12 short blocks, round trip). 

Although my running activity level is paltry, I'd like to defend myself (and give a plug to running as a fitness activity): if it weren't for running, I would have been completely exhausted by the end of today.  24 hours with 14 8-year olds, followed by traffic-y drive into the city, a long afternoon of instructive knitting (don't ever underestimate the energy it takes to cheerfully work with complete and klutzy strangers), and a traffic-y drive out of the city while dodging Puerto Rican day celebrants should be an olympic event.  And I'd win at least the bronze medal.  Because after arriving home and treating myself to a cold IPA, I am READY. FOR. MORE! (and a run, hopefully, tomorrow!)

 

Juneathon Day 10

This was our camping schedule for Saturday, June 9:

9:30 arrive at camp, unpack and set up cabin

10:00 rock climbing wall

11:00 critter discover

12:30 lunch

1:30 swimming & beach time

3:00 tie-dying and candle making

4:30 giant swing

6:00 dinner

7:00 campfire

???? lights out

If Juneathon rules allowed for substitutions, I'd had my baton to Thing 3.  But they don't, and while I didn't get to rock climb or swim or giant swing (read: catapult), there was plenty of walking and walking and walking.  So although my Juneathon effort for 6/9 was meager, it was there.  

See the full gallery on Posterous

I learned a few things about myself on this trip.

1. I don't like 24 hours straight of non-stop noise. 
2. I have much less patience for 8 year olds than many (maybe all?) of the other mothers.  I don't know if it's because Things 1 & 2 are significantly older and I used up my store of patience on them (and for many of my fellow brownie moms, their 8 year olds are either first or second borns).  
3. my Thing 3 is a good sport to have such a curmudgeon of a parent.  
4. I still love camping and singing cheesy songs and eating s'mores.  That will never get old.
5. i'm lucky that Thing 3 is so enthusiastic--we're going to continue to have lots of fun together.  I'm really pleased at how she tried some new things.  The "giant swing" (which really was a catapult--complete misnomer for that activity) was terrifying.  The child was clipped into a harness and then pulled up (by her fellow brownies) to a significant height), and then the child released the rope and FLEW over the treetops back and forth.  Thing 3 wasn't so eager to try, but she did, and boy did she love it.  As someone who's deathly afraid of heights and speed, I admired her attitude.

Juneathon stats for 6/9:

miles run: none

paths walked: trillions

# of children catapulted: 14

# of s'mores eaten (by all): 25

# of campsongs sung: 8

# of times campsongs were repeated: kajillion!

 

Off to camp-Juneathon Day 9

Sleeping bags? Check!

bathing suits? towels? Two outfits (each)? Toothbrushes, toothpaste, shoes? Check, check, check!

knitting? absolutely!

all set and ready to go camping with my Thing 3 (and 14 others from her brownie troop).  This is either going to be way awesome or completely awful.  I'm going with the awesome.  

I got in my Juneathon workout this morning (body weight workout).  Because I don't think tie-dying, candle-making and s'more eating qualify as Juneathon activities. No running this weekend--I am really going to do my darndest to be patient while this thing heals (heels?) up properly.

 

and on Day 8. . .

exhaustion.  Well, not really.  Our big event at work went off without a hitch--and it was an excellent event with over 800 people and lots of $$ raised for the organization.  One of the highlights is when our chaplains bless a parade of boats in the Hudson river.  This year, the boats  (mostly tugs) lined up early, and our chaplains with two bishops were busy busy busy calling out the names and blessing each and every one.  Last year (and in most years) this part of the event is always in flux as thunderstorms sometimes interrupt the proceedings.  This year thunderstorms were predicted, but luckily for us, they stayed away. Once the photos are ready, I'll put them up.

I was involved in the pre-event forum as well, which required some walking back and forth between pier 60 and pier 61--maybe .2 miles (one way)?  I did that roundtrip 3 times.  (1.2 miles?) 

Today, I woke promptly at 5:30am (despite getting home after midnight) and headed over to the neighborhood elementary school for a run/walk session with my friend.  So I ran .7 miles to the school, then 1.07 walk/run with my buddy, and then, since I was feeling pretty good, I went off and did another 2.8 miles on my own afterwards.  The foot ached slightly, but since I'm not sure if this is a re-injury or just a sore-because-of-unuse injury, i'm going to plod on.  reasonably, and safely, but still plod on.

Day 8 stats:

run: 3.5 miles (.7 + 2.8)

run/walk miles: 1.07

good conversation with friend: 1

revamped playlist: 1

Day 7 addendum: 1.2 miles walking (in boot)

 

Day 6

I'm hanging out with my Thing 2 at karate (does watching an activity count?), and my coworker texted with our "team's" registration and password for NYC's color run. Of course registration opened at 6pm, and now I can't get through. Shades of trying to be the 75th caller to the radio station for Bruce Springsteen tickets. grrrr.

Today was National Running Day (and I apologize for the lack of links--still trying to figure out this 'blogging from an iPad' shit). With the foot re-ensconced in the boot, I did no running, but I have to say that reading fellow-juneathoners' blog entries was nearly good enough.

oh--don't know how I'd handle this

Randal Griggs of the MV Eva Walker talks about a time when his vessel started "taking on water." (otherwise known as "sinking!")!

Watch here

 

Day 6

The interwebs are conspiring against me.  The boot is back on my foot.  This day is going downhill fast.

Yep, I put the boot back on.  I've got a crazy four-five days coming up, and yesterday after the trek into the city, the foot was aching and I'm not going to play around with it.  And no, I don't think it's the 10k that put me here--I think it's the crappy cobblestones, uneven walking surfaces of construction zones, the start-stopping of commute-walking etc. (plus the tempermental weather, and weak foot muscles) that did me in.

So, while I manage to get through a day of packing up knit kits for my 1200 TEAny Hat project,then Silver Bell, a two-day camping trip with 25 8 year olds and WWKIP day (world wide knit in public day) in NYC on Sunday, I've decided to slap that boot back on my foot so that next week I can start again.

Juneathon stats:

body weight workout: 30 minutes

boot on foot: 1

number of TEAny hats already made: 75 (estimate)

 

Addendum Day 5

I'm trying (oh so hard) to ignore the twinge of achiness I'm feeling in my right foot (the one that just banished its boot a week ago).  I'm going to pretend that it wasn't the 10k that did me in--I felt perfectly fine after that--I'm going with the cobblestones and construction of lower manhattan that I had to jostle through today.

On Tuesdays I work in the city; I meet up with some volunteers, and we work together on anything that needs to get done for my job.Typically I head over to our offices on Water Street, prior to heading to Trinity Place--I love Water St.  I hate the cobblestones.  Asthetically, they're beautiful.  But they're murder on my feet.  And I even wore my really cushy kickers. By the time I took the train home (another story!) my right foot was aching. Not in the same spot as my heel fracture, but it's a little too close for comfort.

Anyway, my update for Juneathon Day 5:

walk from WTC PATH station to Water St, then Trinity Place, then back to the PATH station: 2.3 miles

number of icky rude women who cut the line (in front of me) at Starbucks: 1 (could be worse, I guess)

amount of time obsessing about my damn foot and all the implications: HOURS!  (i just need to get over me...)

 

Just the start

Today I'm headed into the city (for those of you outside my frame of referenced, that's NYC) for work, where I'll log plenty of walking miles. I don't have a garmin though, so I'll be measuring in blocks.

I got myself ready for the day with some light weights and squats. About 20 minutes.

The trip into the city is to help out my coworkers two days before our largest fundraising event of the year, our Silver Bell award ceremony. I love this event, especially the parade of vessels that go by us on pier 60 for their blessing.

Day 3-10k

Today was the Montclair 2mile and 10k--on a whim yesterday I registered for the 10k figuring that if i was going to do any sort of training for the Old Port Half Marathon, today's long run would be six miles.  which is 10k. (so pleased i remember my metric system).

My goals for this race? None.  Except to finish.  Without re-injuring my heel.  And, if possible, within a 10 min/mile pace. 

My results?  According to my LYR app: 6.3 miles in 59:40.  When I crossed the finish line, the clock read 59:31. I am really pleased.  The last half mile was a bit tough--my legs were tired, but I had stamina.  And I was wicked pleased at the 6 miles mark-- 57:40.  My app's mileage tracker seemed slightly off the course's, but then again, I started at the back of the pack and turned it on when i started running, not at the official starting line.

Best yet--no pain in my foot/heel!  

I'm glad I followed this whim--it was good practice for my upcoming race, it gave me some confidence that I can still do some distance, and I know i've got to work on my stretching and leg strength a bit more.

Day 2

I promise to try to be more creative with post titles in the future, but right now, on Day 2 of Juneathon, all I can think of is "oh dear, 28 more days." 

Today was a non-running day--instead I did a 31 minute body weight workout (it was 2 workouts--one 15 minutes, the 2nd was 16, thus the odd number of minutes). Last year I found this app--workout trainer by skimble.  I like it a lot--I can create my own workouts or use the pre-programmed ones.  It came in handy when I had the stress fracture, as I could create 'arms only' workouts that didn't put pressure on my feet.  I like that you can edit the preprogrammed workouts, too.  I also like that there are lots of workouts that don't use all the extra stuff--dumbbells, kettlebells, bands, etc., so it's not like a huge investment from the get-go.  

Enough free advertising for them, though.  Tomorrow is a running day, and I'm still considering the local 10k--I've got to do my 6 miles, why not in a race environment?  Or, why? why in a race environment, where I'm apt to push myself a little harder when that's not what I need right now. Ah, the conversations I have with myself in my head. . .

 

 

JUNEATHON

Today is Day 1 of Juneathon, and never the slouch, when my alarm went off at 5:30am, I jumped right out of bed, laced up, did some dynamic stretches and off I went! 

Well, not exactly.  It took me til nearly 6am to get out of bed, but then I did lace up, stretch dynamically, and go off. 

(those are my feet, just prior to stretching)

I think the challenge for me for Juneathon will be NOT running for 30 days.  I really want to ease back into my mileage so that I don't re-injury my heel (or any other part of my body), so even though the Old Port Half Marathon is coming up much more quickly than I'd like, I'm holding myself to 3x week for the next 2-3 weeks, then up to 4x a week until the half.  Just prior to my injury I was running 5x (sometimes 6x) week, and obviously, that's a schedule that these old(ish) bones just can't take. 

That being said, there's a local 10k this Sunday, and since my long run is supposed to be 6 miles, I may just have to sign up. . .