Week Update

Happy Friday everyone! I have no excuse for my lack of posting this week other than I'm still adjusting to my new schedule. So please excuse my randomness of this post!

We went to another fair this week and now I think I'm all set on fairs until next summer. I managed to leave only having eaten a steak and cheese sandwich, hot dog and fried dough. Jack loved the animals and rides, especially the train ride. He didn't want to get off.

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August came to a close and I'm feeling good so far with my training for the Leaf Peepers Half Marathon. I closed the month with five, six and four mile runs, closing the month with a 117 mile total. It felt good to have my mileage back up after last month's low.

Melissa and I have another early morning long run planned for tomorrow (leaving a tad earlier this time because my yoga class has moved to 8:45 instead of 9:10). After a long week I'm ready to run long!

Looking forward through September, I'm hoping to get 2 or 3 more good long runs in and then taper before the half. I started the month yesterday with a five mile run with my mom, Tom and Jack along the Ti Path in Shelburne and it was such a nice, relaxing run.

Side note, my Garmin has been seriously acting up. Grrr. Sometimes the buttons and/or bezel are unresponsive and I can't seem to find any sort of solution. One minute the bezel is working, and the next minute it's not- same with the buttons. Ugh! Have any of you Garmin users had any sort of problem like this?

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On Wednesday night I tried a new yoga class. It wasn't the instructor I was expecting to have, but it was a nice, realizing class. I was ready for a more vigorous session but the gentle movements were a welcome change. I definitely plan to go back to this studio- they have a beautiful space.

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Irene

Irene came through yesterday, but for us in South Burlington it was rather uneventful. Southern Vermont, on the other hand, experienced some devastating flooding.

The restaurant decided to close on Sunday, so Adam was home and the three of us just hung out all day. It was pouring rain all day, and Jack kept going over to the jogger and getting in it (he now knows how to climb in himself). He wanted to run!

Towards the afternoon, we all started to get a little stir crazy, and I started practicing yoga, but so many distractions made it a little difficult. I ended up doing some work with my new eight-pound irons. I finally bought some free weights, since I don't have a gym membership anymore I've been slacking in the weights department.

I did make Adam take a few yoga photos for me of some of my favorite poses.

Warrior Sequence was a little difficult with sore quads from the 10 miler

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Today was a long day, inservice, open house and barbecue with all the school families. It was tiring but makes me so excited to start the school year! I can't wait to get to know my 26 kindergartners.

And I came home to this:

They are so cute. Day off tomorrow- we're off to the fair!

My Mile Markers

The morning was still engulfed in silent darkness when my alarm went off at 5:15 this morning. I struggled to get out of bed, but luckily I prepared the coffee maker last night so all I had to do was turn it on. That always makes an early hour morning so much easier. And my standing date with Melissa made getting up much easier.

We planned to do ten miles, and when she arrived (promptly) at 5:45 (I was being sketchy and drinking my coffee outside because I was afraid to wake up J) we were off. I'm not quite sure what our first few words were because we were both still in a sleepy daze.

The miles started slow and it definitely took a good couple of miles before my legs warmed up. The miles today flew by. Most of the time we talked, but sometimes (especially toward the end) we didn't say anything. It's nice to be able to spend time with someone and not have to always say something with words. We were "saying" something, because it was a conscious quiet as we neared our eight mile mark.

I just finished reading Mile Markers (M lent it to me) by Kristen Armstrong, and throughout the posts (it's a compilation from her blog) she talks about the importance of her female running friendships. We runners are a different breed. I mean, we get up at 5:15 on a Saturday to do a ten miler! The bond that is formed over miles and strengthened by miles is unquestionable, genuine and authentic. I know I've said it before, but after today I realized I've got a sole sister for life.

P.S. Check out our negative splits! Woohoo!

Put Down The Phone

Minor "crisis" in the Stoner household tonight... I have a BIG date tomorrow with one Green Mountain Runner, and it may or may not involve a headlamp. I'll tell you about it tomorrow!

Back to the "crisis"- after charging G (my new nickname for my new BFF, Garmin 405), it was frozen. Neither the buttons nor bezel were responsive, and resetting wasn't helping. After frantically searching online forums for a solution, I was able to return it to factory settings and all is (seems) well.

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J and I started off the day by running five miles on a section of the bikepath I didn't know existed (thanks GMR!). J is continuing to be an awesome little running buddy and I look forward to our runs together.

Continuing our fun morning, we went downtown this afternoon and had a nice little date: started off at Starbucks (iced coffee for me, TWO vanilla milks for him), strolled Church Street, had a mini-shopping spree at Lululemon, strolled (he ran, I chased) some more, and had pizza outside at The Pub. Gi (J's new name for Grandma) joined us.

Adam gives me a hard time because he says that I'm on my iPhone a little too much. I hate to say it, but I agree with him. I need to put it down. I don't need to check my email every hour (half hour). I don't need to constantly check Facebook. I've instilled a new rule for myself that when I'm with Jack, it's a no-frivolous-phone-usage zone. Spending the time with him this afternoon caused the realization in my self that this time with him is fleeting. Before I know it, I'll be the overbearing mother I saw several times today on Church Street, dropping J off at college. I need to take advantage of this time, this time when I (and Adam, and Gi, and Pa) am his everything. He likes to spend time with me (most of the time, ha) and I don't want him to feel like he's second to a gadget.

Ti Time

Jack and I had a pretty open afternoon, so we loaded up the car with drinks and snacks and headed to Shelburne to go on my favorite run. It's called the Ti Path, and it's an unpaved trail that connects Shelburne Village and Lake Champlain. We ran seven miles through the woods and past the lake and it was perfect.

And I'm pretty much obsessed with my Garmin. I love being able to just look at my wrist and see how far I've ran.

Race Mistakes

Even though I'm happy with my race results from the 10K this weekend, I made some crucial mistakes. Rookie mistakes- and I should know better.

1. I did a 4 mile tempo run at 10K pace on Thursday- two days before the race. I was so psyched to have my new Garmin that I went out and gave the run all I had. Not a good idea right before a race.

2. I went out the night before, not late, but I went out. Indulged in not-so-great quality pre-race fuel, beers, burger and fries. Those are post-race treats- I always eat pasta the night before a race or big run.

3. Not enough H2O. I know I did not hydrate well enough in the week, night and morning before the race.

4. No breakfast- for some reason, I couldn't stomach eating anything before the race. When the gun went off, all I had in my belly was a little water, coffee and a Jet Blackberry Gu.

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I did an easy 4 mile run today, yesterday was a rest day. My legs felt a little heavy, but nothing hurt, which is good. The past couple of days I've been having some foot and ankle pain, but today was feeling much better.

Round Church 10K Race Recap

Yesterday was the Round Church 10K- this race is only for women, and also features a 5K run and walk. It's a special race for me because the Round Church is where Adam and I got married! Maybe I'll post some pics of that tomorrow!

This is the only- and really bad quality, at that- photo I took (trying to showcase my new tech device).

I woke up Saturday morning feeling tired and groggy, made coffee but wasn't able to eat anything. I changed outfits a few times, but still ended up wearing a new running top by Isis (which proved to be a big mistake- it was too baggy, long and hot) and even changed out of my new running shoes and into my old right before heading out the door.

We arrived with plenty of time and used the restrooms, chatted with other runners.. did all the regular pre-race activities. My mom and I had decided to run together and we did. The miles passed quickly and seemingly easily- until the last mile. It was an out and back course, and the only time we stopped to walk was through the water station at the turnaround.

My mom and I stuck to the plan and kept pace- starting with a 10:09 mile, finishing with an 8:45 mile, and 8:15 2/10 mile sprint to the finish and finished with a time of 58:47. I'm happy with this time- especially since it's only my second 10K. I love the 6.2 mile distance and am looking forward to running more in the future. It takes a little more oomph that a 5K but not the stress of the half. I like the sounds of that!