Sunday (11/29/15) - 3.5 miles - Earlier that week, the Emerging Runner (ER) asked if we could all get together for a group run. The Petite Pacer said she was racing in Rob's Run, a 5k trail race at Stillwell, ER's famous running haunt. This was the perfect opportunity for me to finally check out this course, as well as see my crew, which is not only 2 Live, but also included Kin, aka ER 2.0. That morning I still had not recovered from my chest cold #2. I decided to just run casually with the guys while TPP raced. I met Kin and ER in the parking lot of Syosset High School which is directly across the street from Stillwell. We planned to do some easy laps on the track. Soon after, TPP stopped by with her sister and fellow blogger, Neon Is My Color (NIMC)! This was a treat since I have been reading her blog for a few years. Seeing a blogger whom you follow in real life for the first time is truly like a celebrity sighting (I'm sure this is exactly how ER felt the first time he met me). I wondered if I should ask for her autograph. Instead, we took a group selfie. When in doubt, selfie! The sisters headed to the start of the race to pick up numbers and get settled while the guys and I continued running around in ovals. ER went his own way, literally. He decided to be that guy running around the track in the opposite direction from everyone else. After a few laps together, Kin left me to run with ER (Out of pity, I'm sure). Before we knew it, it was time to meet TPP and NIMC at the starting line. There was a large crowd, approximately 700 runners. We cheered the ladies as they took off. I said hello to the president of my running club who was standing next to me taking photographs. Another celebrity sighting! Kin, ER, and I left for Starbucks where we didn't have to wait long for the girls to meet us. We drank our coffees, ate ER's pumpkin bread, and enjoyed each other's company until it was time to part ways. It's always a good day when it starts with these guys.
Left to right: Kin, ER, Pink Lady, NIMC,
and Farrah Fawcett
Monday (11/30/15) - 7.06 miles, 1:00:46, 8:36 pace
Tuesday (12/1/15) - 6.07, 50:31, 8:19 pace - I ran to the gym where I wanted to do some speed work on the treadmill. I thought it would be fun to try Yasso 800s for the first time with quarter mile recoveries in between. In Yasso 800s, you run 800 meters in your marathon time converted to minutes. I ran them in 3 minutes 34 seconds.
Wednesday (12/2/15) - 1.84 miles, 16:55, 9:12 pace - It's super streakyyy.
Thursday (12/3/15) - 8.02miles, 1:10:33, 8:48 pace
Friday (12/4/15) - 6 miles
Saturday (12/5/15) 4.1 miles, 31:39 - Since I missed out on Rob's Run, I decided to sign up for the Jingle Bell 5k at Hofstra University. I ran this race a couple of years ago sick as a dog (Wow, my sickness seems to be a recurrent theme here). This year I was only sick as a cat. Judging from the times in years past, I thought I had a good chance of winning the women's race. I parked on campus and picked up my number and fun, festive green long sleeve cotton shirt. I was wearing leggings and a lined turtle neck running top which turned out to be too warm. Almost all of the participants were dressed as Santa or elves. There was even a giant gingerbread man who looked more like Gumby in disguise. I ran a quick warm up mile. As I was waiting for the start, I saw the president of my running club again! Finally, we all lined up and took off. For most of the race I saw that there was a cross country college girl up front and then what looked to be a fourth or fifth grader behind her. I was third. The course took us in a circle around the perimeter of the campus. On a couple of occasions, I had to pull off to the side to cough my lungs up. They stayed down. As I started to slow down, Miss Elementary Schooler sped up (Annoying). I crossed the finish line in 22:27. This was a minute slower than my PR, but I was happy. The results were posted almost immediately. I saw that I actually finished second overall, instead of third. The 11-year old (Little Miss Sprinty Pants) took first. I'm not sure what happened to the cross country chick. I was psyched to be in the top three overall, plus I won my age group (40-49) as a bonus. I couldn't stick around for the award ceremony so one of the volunteers took my information to mail it to me. She called me later in the week apologizing that they actually gave the gold medal to the third place winner because it was hard to distinguish from the bronze. She was so sorry and sweet and said she was going to mail me a gift card instead. Unnecessary, but thanks!
Packet pickup
Who is that man?
It's easy being green when you
win an award...or gift card.
Total Weekly Mileage - 36.6
Sunday (12/6/15) - 1 mile - We had a lot on our plate this day. Church, then Hicks Nursery to see the Christmas display, then my mother's house for a quick stop-and-chat (Oh, curb your enthusiasm, will ya!), dinner out, and finally watching Miracle On 34th Street (The original! Don't even get me started on damn remakes - yeah I'm talking to you despicable Seuss recremations!) with the kids. When oh when will I run? Damn you, Runner's World! It turned out I ran immediately after dinner (meaning immediately after food and a glass of vino). It wasn't so bad. The air was crisp and I was verrry relaxed.
Monday (12/7/15) - 8 miles, 1:08:48, 8:36 pace
Tuesday (12/8/15) - 8 miles, 1:06:38, 8:20 pace
Wednesday (12/9/15) - 3.05 miles, 26:02, 8:32 pace
Thursday (12/10/15) - 7.01 miles, 1:00:32, 8:38 pace - Happy 14th birthday, Sanibel!!!
Friday (12/11/15) - 6 miles, 51:52, 8:39 pace
Saturday (12/12/15) - 4.89 miles, 41:49, 8:33 pace - Run cut short due to technical difficulties (aka, bathroom emergency. Oh you know the drill by now), 2.33 miles 19:12, 8:16 pace - I did the second part of the run after my study group. I ran a loop around Museum Row near Nassau Coliseum.
Total Weekly Mileage - 40.3 Whoo hoo! Building the base, baby.
