Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Taking a Break

I've been feeling more and more ill over the last few weeks and months. I decided to give myself a bit of a break from running. I broke the streak partway through week 12. I'm going to start it back up next week, even if I don't make the full 10 miles that week. I don't want to lose too much of what I've gained from my long running streak. 

The streak was good for me. I knew it wasn't going to last "forever" because of the backpacking season, but I was curious, first about if I could finish 10 weeks, and then about how long I might go. I'm satisfied with a solid 110 miles in 11 weeks. I know I can do that now, so now the question is: can I beat that streak? 

Sure, I might not beat it, or even match it, the next time I try. It could be that this was quite the lucky streak for me. Only time will tell. 

I'm eager to find out. 

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Snowventure!

I like snow. I'm always jonesing for some real winter snow here in Boise, and rarely am I fulfilled. Even on the few days each year where we might get some accumulation, most of the time, I have to be at work those days. I can't go outside and play

But this year, Boise's snow arrived on a Friday and lasted all the way through Saturday and even a bit of Sunday before the melting began in earnest on Monday. Friday, I had to work, but I got to be remote and avoid driving on the snow covered streets. Yay! I mean, I know how to drive on snow and my husband knows how - it's the other drivers I'm worried about. 

I didn't get out in it on Friday, but on Saturday, after lunch, I took a walk in the snow, a stroll through the falling flakes and fluffy piles of winter wonderland - after I put on proper gear, of course, heavy fleece lined pants, big ol' down jacket, warm hat, gloves and boots (everything but the boots belongs to Ambrose, I just borrowed it). 


That's a lot accumulation on our mailbox! 

I was absolutely overflowing with joy. I was grinning like a maniac and I didn't care who saw me (to be fair, I only encountered a few other pedestrians and several passing cars). The air was cold, but moist. The air was full of varying levels of falling, crystalized water. It was perfect. 

Okay, it could have been better if I had a sledding hill nearby. And a sled. During the great Snowmaggedon of 2016, we tubed down a small hill during lunch at work. That was a blast, but I wasn't quite as joyful, because I was around people I work with, and I keep somewhat of a façade up there. 

I made my way to a nearby park that I reach by crossing a small pedestrian bridge, now transformed into a glorious snow tunnel as the low hanging branches drooped even lower with their heavy coats of snow. I had to get down and squat/crawl to get inside the tunnel. Once inside, I'm short enough that I was able to stand, but I had to go down again to get out the other side. 


"Only the penitent man will pass"



The pond at the park was not frozen over, though the banks had skims of ice (under which I saw some trash and was disappointed I couldn't get to it to pack it out). I saw geese and coots on the water. 




Coots in the snow.

The main roads never got too bad, but side streets were socked in.

I tried making snow spiders instead of snow angels. But I think my efforts turned out more like snow scarabs (6 legs plus 2 antennae). 

I was lying in the snow, contemplating my snow spider plan, when a guy walked by with a dog. He didn't pay attention to me, so I don't know if he was ignoring me because I was acting weird or if he legit didn't see me. I mean, I was acting pretty weird, because the first rule of snow spiders if you have to do it face down. 

Not that I was putting my face into the snow - I improvised the head part using my hands instead of giving myself a whitewash. 

Yep, that's pretty deep.



First snow spider attempt.

The ducks and geese really stomped this snow down!

Last snow spider attempt.

Although Saturday is typically my rest day from exercise, I got a good workout with that snow stroll. The snow wasn't deep enough to really posthole, but it was at least a half posthole all through the parts that hadn't been shoveled. The paths on the park had been, but there were about 4 new inches on the paths so they were just less work, not no work. 

After I walked home, I stayed outside a bit longer. I didn't want to lose the sensation of utter joy that I'd been intensely feeling. I lied down on the snow, face up this time, and watched the sky. 

Snow spiraling down, appearing as if by magic out of the gray sky. Snow covered tree limbs dancing gently in the breeze, dripping white when breeze turned to wind. Cold droplets on my cheeks, running down my face. Glasses slowly getting cold enough to collect snow. I could have stayed there a long time. 

So. Much. Joy.

Stone kitty, nice and dry.

I went inside though, and let my husband know a yeti had not gotten me. I warmed up with a hot shower, and wondered when I would next get to experience the snow like that. 



Wednesday, February 10, 2021

100 Miles!

I made it through week 10 of running 10 miles per week. That's 100 miles! I'm so very happy to have gotten to that particular benchmark. There were a couple of iffy weeks in the last 10 weeks, but the streak pulled me through by making NOT running a bigger disappointment than running when I didn't quite feel like running. 

I don't know how much longer I'm going to keep the streak up, but I want to try to hold on to it through April. Once May starts, my weekends may start involving car camping and/or backpacking. That will naturally reduce my mileage, since I might not always have time on Saturday or Sunday to devote to a long run. 

What I might do, for over the backpacking season, is set a new goal for 5 miles per week. I know I can hit that with just the two runs per week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That way, I can still have some steady running, but I won't have to try and get quite so many miles. 

Of course, if I'm going on a week long backpacking trip, there won't be any running happening that week. Just a lot of hiking, while carrying a heavy pack. Yeah, that's still pretty good exercise - and I'm really only running to get my body prepared for hiking. 

I started week 11 of my streak with my longest run yet, 6.84 miles. I could have pushed it to 7, but I really wasn't feeling it on Sunday. Maybe next Sunday, I'll try for 7. I know I can do 7 in a day, since I did that last week to make up for not running on Sunday, but that was split into a 4 mile and then several hours later a 3 mile. 

The weather in Boise has been very indecisive. We had temps in the 60s last week, and we're still hanging out above freezing in the 40s this week. Trees are budding, and I'm pretty sure we're in for another hard freeze, because that's what Boise winter usually does in February, offer a little false spring. I'm looking forward to the weather getting warmer. Since it was so warm last week, I was able to run at 5 am without feeling super cold (or encountering ice); I'm thinking as the days get hot, I might run at 5 and go to CrossFit at noon on some days. Though that will only work if I continue to be able to work from home on those days - otherwise there just isn't enough time in my lunch hour to go to CrossFit AND shower afterwards. 

Tuesdays' run was nice and short, just over 2 miles. The 40 degree weather felt colder than I expected, but I managed to warm up pretty quickly. My pace was actually pretty good; I managed to run two miles in under 24 minutes, which is good for me. I'm happy to make slow progress, and putting together two sub-12 minute miles is the step before putting together two sub-11 minute miles. I'll get there one step at a time ;)

An Oregon Trail in Boise marker that I ran past on Sunday.



Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Running Choices

Last week, the streak was in jeopardy. Sunday was fine, I ran a 10K (6.2 miles). Then I ran a nice short 2.1 on Tuesday. But I was sick on Thursday - sick enough to call in to work (I was going to write "stay home from work" but half the time I'm working from home anyway, so...). I didn't run at all on Thursday or Friday, which left me with 1.7 miles to run on Saturday if I wanted to keep the streak alive. 

I did, naturally, want to keep the streak alive. But my husband and I already had chores on Saturday - a small shopping trip and a long overdue visit to the laundromat to wash our down items. We washed three jackets, my balaclava and my old sleeping bag - an investment well worth the time and money. 

And, once the laundry was done, I ran home, using a route that I'd already mapped out to be at least 1.7 miles. Ambrose drove the car (and our laundry) home while I ran. I felt kind of awful running, especially because I had been on liquid diet since Thursday, so my caloric intake was reduced. But I got it done. 

And then, on Sunday, I just wasn't feeling the long run. I stayed inside, and I worked on my book. The weather was gorgeous, so I can't blame it. I wanted to have a day or so of eating solid food under my belt before doing a long run, so sue me. 

When I made that decision on Sunday, I planned on making up the miles on Saturday, as I have been doing. But on Monday night, I was looking at the unusually warm forecast for early Tuesday morning and I hit upon an idea. If it was going to be in the 40s at 5 in the morning, I could go ahead and make up some miles then. 

And I did. 

I woke up at 4:30, verified that it was indeed in the 40s (45 by accuweather, 51 by our back porch weather sensor). I overdressed with a windbreaker, and fastened a couple of lights around myself. I have these LED lights that I use for visibility while biking; usually they are fastened to my backpack, but I took them off and wrapped them around my waist, one in the front with a steady glow setting and one in back with a strobing light. I also took a headlamp, though I carried it in my hand, because I know from past experience that it's hard to aim a headlamp in the right place while I'm running if it's on my head. 

I didn't need the headlamp or the windbreaker. I figured out a good position for the steady glow in front, over my fanny pack, and it illuminated the sidewalk sufficiently for me to see. Well, it did when the sidewalk was not already well illuminated by street lights. I took a route that was mostly bigger streets, with lots of street lights and some traffic, even at that hour. 

I ran 4 miles. 

I could have stopped there, patted myself on the back, well done! Instead, I did my normal lunchtime run, getting 3 more miles. Those miles kind of hurt, but I ran them faster so it balances out. 

Now, all I need to do is 3 more miles, which I can easily do during my regular Thursday lunch time run. That way, I won't have to run at all on Saturday, and *fingers crossed* be ready for a nice long run on Sunday to get back onto my normal schedule. 

Whether I do it on Thursday or Saturday, this is week 10 of the streak. 97 miles in the last 9.5 weeks. I know I won't be continuing this streak during the backpacking season. I figure I'll try to do a least one run per week during the season. But once September hits, I can start up this streak again, knowing that I can