Skipping Rope

I worked today. I was the only pharmacist until 1 pm, which meant working both my retail side and hospital side. I worked my butt off. I was tired, but still went to the gym after work.

There was two of us there. And from the sign in sheet, I was number 10 for the day. I guess everyone else went shopping.

I decided to add rope skipping as a cardio between sets, and boy that was an eye opening! Skipping rope will get your heart rate up! I also hopped back on the stair master-boy am I out of shape. I do love that machine though, for the workout!

Another Quote

"I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments."

- The Invitation, Oriah Mountain Dreamer




I forgot to post yesterday. 4 miles jogging at Lake Park. Quads are still feeling like the Tin Man's quads. Still trying to work the stiffness out of them.

The Peoli Turkey Trot

Well, the Peoli Turkey Trot didn't happen today. Due to some domestic problems (no, nothing like that, our water tank ran dry) and travel up north, I hopped on the treadmill for 3.79 miles. Burned 400 calories. Ha ha! That covered about 1/2 a dinner roll.

A record for me: I had 3 pieces of pie today. Key Lime, Blackberry, and Cherry. And all was good. No pumpkin for me. (I don't like pumpkin pie.) And nope, I don't even feel guilty about it. It's one freaking day people.

Back to the gym tomorrow, weight training day after work.

Your Opponent

Your opponent, in the end, is never really the player on the other side of the net, or the swimmer in the next lane, or the team on the other side of the field, or even the bar you must high-jump. Your opponent is yourself, your negative internal voices, your level of determination.--Grace Lichtenstein

It was interesting coming across this quote via The Sportsminded Blog. I had just left the library, after a strength workout at the gym. I gazed into the very grey twilight, with darkness now encroaching at barely 5pm. I decided another one of my goals for winter training would be to rise above the gloom of the winter and get my training in, regardless of how the weather makes me feel.

So it was great to read this quote!!

Slim Pickins 2008 FA Report

The weather held up for the annual Slim Pickins FA...meaning it was cold and snowy. It was about 17 degrees at the start of our adventure..


Runners that braved it out L to R: Dan, Slim, Little Pebble, Kimba, Gombu, Les, Roy, Eric

This years Slim Pickins started at Ohiopyle, PA, at the zero mile marker of the Laurel Highlands Trail, and was an out and back to mile 26, which was Seven Springs Ski Resort.
Since this is a FA, you can run any distance you want to. My original plan was to go to mile 18 and then turn and run back. Second thought was to run until noon, and then around, because, depending on the weather, I did not want to be out late into the evening in the dark and cold.


Pennsylvania just got dumped on with snow on Friday, as you can see from the sign, between 6 inches and around 12 inches or so of snow. Luckily, since I am slow, the path was being beat down in front of me-thanks guys!



I have only run the Laurel Highlands Trail from mile 18 down to mile 13, and then the section Mile 70 down to 38, so this start, from mile zero to eighteen, would all be all new trail to me.
Eric, who is a new member of the NEO Trails Club filled me in on the first section of the trail, with the "grueling" uphill around mile six.
Eric was dead on. Check out the elevation chart:



Actually, check out the first six miles of trail. There is two good downhills-and the only problem with this run is it is an out-and-back. Meaning "what goes down must come back up" and I thought of this as I flew down hill. I caught up with Bob Combs, our fearless leader, walking. Bob's walk is fast as my shuffle. Bob and I started up the big hill. It's about 1.5 miles straight up, around 1500 feet of elevation.


Bob was right behind me. And he was very kind. He didn't say anything, like "can't you go any faster" or anything. I didn't look back. I figured he was running hill repeats up and down behind me, or painting a watercolor painting, and waiting for me to get another ten feet up the hill. And I didn't stop either. We finally get to the top and rewarded with the blustery winds now that we are on top of the ridge. I stop to put my windshirt back on, since I am completely drenched in sweat after our little climb.
The snow on the ridge, for about 1/4 mile, was deep. The guys had more or less post holed through this section, and it was tiring. My strides don't match these taller guys. But soon the snow diminished and the trail became actually runnable again:
Bob pulled away from me as I had stopped to put my windshirt back on, and it was a very nice day running by myself. The weather was good, yet cold, the trees and woods very pretty with the snowfall.


I was getting very thirsty. I had carried two handhelds, 20 oz, and had drained those. We had aid stashed at mile 11, and 2 bottles for 11 miles is just not enough for me, not after all that sweating. So when I got to mile 11 I was relieved to see the water jugs had not frozen through. I checked my watch, and saw it was getting rather late. I decided to just run to mile 15 and then run back.

Right at mile 14 I ran into Dan and Brian coming back:



They had decided for the 50K option also. I felt better about my decision, and after a quick snapping of pics we parted.

My pics are blurry because I set my camera on a rock for a self-portrait, and it promptly slid off the rock right into a big snowdrift. You try cleaning off a camera in the cold!
This was taken by Les, who was visiting from Minnesota.

Les had been only about 1/2 mile behind me the whole time. He suggested we run together, except he wanted to go that extra 1/2 mile to make it "exactly" a 50K. What the hell, what was another 1/2 mile. We ran into Bob returning, who had gone to mile sixteen and was going back. Bob reminded me of two important things: Remember there would be three big climbs in the last 4 miles, and he would be at the microbrew pup right at the trail head after we finished.

Les and I went to the official 15.5 mile mark, where he wrote 50K with a smiley face in the snow and we turned to go back. It was very good being with Les, he is a very experienced ultra runner with years of experience. He told me about Leadville, and Pike's Peak, and made the miles from 15 to 11 go by quickly. We stopped for aid at mile 11, and we stayed together for about 1/2 mile more. Then I stopped for a pitstop, and the wheels kind of fell off at this point.

Other than being out of shape, I don't know what else to attribute it to. I had just ate and drank, so maybe that had not caught up yet. The trail was runnable (read shuffable here) but I couldn't get it out of a zombie walk. So I ate some more, hoping that would help. I could not seem to catch back up to Les. I comforted myself knowing that around mile 8 or so the big downhill would start, so that would help with my time.
I got to the big downhill, and while it was not as tiring as it was going up, it was a bit more dangerous. It was still light out, but total ice in patches. Still, I made it down, and started thinking about the 3 big "climbs" I had still coming.

I was just starting to get a bit of a wheeze going, with my exercised-induced asthma, but I didn't want to use my inhaler, because I could feel my heart rate was already sky high. When I hit the first of the big climbs, I would walk twenty paces uphill, then stop for ten breaths. This took me forever!!
FINALLY I saw mile marker 3, and then two, and then one. Man I was so happy to see that end of the trail. And even more happy to see an open brew pub right at the trailhead! I walked into warmth and friends sitting at the bar. They stared at me and told me to turn off my headlight!!!
What a joy to have hot food and a beer right after a run! Brian, Bob and I sat waiting for Slim and Roy to finish. Eric had run to the ski resort to mile 26 and had his dad pick him up there, so we knew where our remaining runners where.

All in all, another great run put on by some very cool folks! My quads are stiff today (Sunday) as I type this!

Today's Weather Forecast

Ohiopyle, PA

Weather for your life

Weather Related to...Aches & PainsAir Quality & PollutionAllergies & PollenBoat & BeachCold & FluFitness & ExerciseFlights & Business TravelGolf WeatherHealthHome ImprovementInterstate Driving ForecastLawn & GardenOutdoor RecreationPetsSchoolday WeatherSki ConditionsSkin ProtectionSporting EventsVacation & Travel GuideWedding Planner
Actually the forecast is looking better for Saturday. I think the hard part will be the drive over!

Nov 21 Today
Mostly cloudy with snow showers and heavier snow squalls, especially early. Cold. High 23F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 80%. Snow accumulating 2 to 4 inches.
Nov 21 Tonight
Variably cloudy with snow showers. Low 16F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches.
Nov 22 Tomorrow
Snow showers early becoming more scattered later. Cold. High 27F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 50%. Snowfall around one inch.
Nov 22 Tomorrow night
A few clouds from time to time. Low around 15F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive!

Why yes, it is that third Thursday of November, and it's the most exciting made up marketing day for all winie-s-it's Beaujolais Noveau day!

Beaujolais Nouveau is a light, French red wine, purple-pink in color. It is meant for immediate drinking, not to be kept for maturation like some other wines.
The Nouveau is lightweight, even by Beaujolais standards, and is typically served slightly chilled. The wine has very little tannin and can be dominated by fruity flavors. It's a nice bottle to serve with Thanksgiving dinner as a lighter alternative to heavier wines that would only add to the sluggishness of eating turkey and gravy.

My quest will be if I can actually find a bottle of this in the town that I work in. I have the choice of the state Liquor store, or the local grocery store. Or, hedging all bets, the Wine and Coffee Bar that is in Roscoe Village.

Brrr!!

Well it was supposed to warm UP today to around 40 degrees..not here it didn't!
I managed 2.2 miles in the park today. The wind was just fierce, I almost bagged the run before it barely started, I was running right into the wind. So I turned around, and luckily took the long way back to my vehicle, so I got 1/2 of my run in.

I came home and packed for Slim Pickins 2008. I had to find the tights, 3 long-sleeved running tops, windshirt, gaiters (in case of snow!) a couple of hats and pairs of gloves, some handwarmers. I packed my waist pack with food and drugs and matches in a plastic bag. I washed all my empty water bottles so I will have fresh clean ones to take with me. I put fresh batteries into my running light (I'll still be out there at 4pm or so when it gets dark) and my camera. Just about ready for the trip!

Congratulations Steve!

Congratulations goes out to Steve Stenzel who pens the blog "Steve in a Speedo? Gross!" Steve won, again!, as Best Sports Endurance Blog of 2008. If you haven't done it, go check out his blog he's a very entertaining writer and runner-and a very good runner!

It was an honor to be nominated for this award on Roman's site, so thank you to whoever nominated me, I don't even know who did it!

Mission Accomplished

Well, it was 32 degrees out. I donned the running capris, a singlet, a longsleeved shirt, and my windshirt. I also donned an actual hat-I knew my head would overheat and sweat, but I didn't want to be cold.

Note the snow in the background.

After my quick 5 minute walk to warm up, I got right into the run. And the cold air just seemed to pour adrenalin into my body, like a cool silver river running into my veins. I ran and ran. No walking, except across the icy wooden bridge across the river. I felt good. I could tell I hadn't run in awhile!

I warmed up quickly but still felt good. 4 miles went by fast. And you know what? I'm over my cold aversion. Bring it on winter!

New Ohio Race: Forget the PR 50K April 19 2009

There is a new Ohio 50K available for trail runners now: The Forget the PR Mohican 50K which will be on April 19, 2009.

The Forget the PR Mohican 50K is in Mohican State Park Campgrounds in Loudonville, Ohio.

The race promises to fit the name "Forget the PR". This will be a challenging, hill infested, technical running, lakeside, riverside, covered bridge and resort style packed race. Basically, this race is going to work you.

If Mohican or Loudonville sound familiar, that is because the Mohican Area is where the Mohican Trail 100 Race is held. But this is no "50K" part of the Mohican 100, this is a new course taking in other trails AND some of the Mo course.

Rob Powell the Race Director, is promising a good hard fun (well, maybe fun isn't the right word..well, it is to me!)50K. This isn't going to be the course for you to post a PR on!

Registration is open now for the race, go to the Website for all the details.

Since I have Umstead on April 4, I thought that was a little too close for a 50K. So I am the Aid Station Captain for the Fire Tower. I will be contacting you soon to either work my AS or run the race!

Today's Goal: Run Outside

I don't know what my problem has been lately, but the cold weather is just sucking my will to live...or will to run outside.

So today's plan is a run after work. I think I shall bundle myself in lots of clothes, and get super over-heated after 1/4 of a mile. Then I should be over my mental hurdle and ready for winter running.

After all, Slim Pickins is this Saturday!



Last year on the Laurel Highlands Trail

Pumpkin Soup! Who knew!!!

After our return from Grenada, I have been interested in eating more squash, which is a major vegetable in Grenadian cooking. I bought a pumpkin for 50 cents, and told my husband I wanted him to cook it for me.

He roasted it on the grill, then turned it into soup. And this is delicous!! It doesn't taste like...pumpkin. Which means I think it was going to taste like pumpkin pie soup (and I really don't like pumpkin pie.)

He got the recipe from the Food Network:

1 (2 pound) pumpkin, halved and seeds removed
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 plus a pinch freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
31/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons pumpkin seed oil
15 to 20 small sage leaves, fried


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the pumpkin cut side up on a parchment lined baking sheet. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Invert to the cut side down, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place in the oven and roast until the skin is golden brown and the pumpkin is tender, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, use a spoon to scoop the pumpkin flesh from its skin and set pumpkin aside until ready to use. Discard the skin.

Set a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and, when hot, add the cinnamon and allspice and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the onions, carrots, celery, ginger and garlic to the pan and saute, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken stock and reserved pumpkin to the pan and bring the stock to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook the soup for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.

Remove the soup from the heat and process with an immersion blender (*or in batches in a blender) until smooth. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pinch of pepper. Add the cream to the soup and stir to combine.

To serve, place 1 cup of the soup in each of 6 warmed soup bowls. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of the pumpkin seed oil in the bowl and garnish with a 2 or 3 fried sage leaves.

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

We have no heavy cream, so Dennis used fat-free yogurt and cornstarch, so it's a very healthy soup. I highly recommend this!

I had a good workout today. I walked a mile on the treadmill, to get loosened up, then ran 4 miles on the tread.

Where did the week go?

Oh yeah, that six hour plus drive to Michigan, over night stay, 3 hour meeting that was not worth the drive (couldn't it been done with a webcast?) then a six hour plus drive home.
Oh well, I did get a good 30 minute workout on the elliptical at the hotel fitness center.

Today, I did another "mental" training workout. Just as tired as I was on Monday, but strangely enough, I wasn't fighting the thought of the workout. I was kind of looking forward to working out even though I was tired. So today, another day at the gym getting a good workout in.

As I left the gym, I noticed what a nice warm day it was...it would've been a good day for a run!

Ah ha! A workout finally!

I was battling yet another horrible work-day. I had scheduled weights at the gym after work; I was in Walmart and my resolve was weakening. I was very tired and my ennui was overwhelming. When suddenly a thought came to me: "Why, this is no different than being at 3am in the morning during a 100 miler." Really, it wasn't. I was tired, wondering why I was doing this; my afternoon apathy was a perfect "training" for that 3am morning!

So OFF I went to the gym. And you know what? I started to feel better as soon as I hopped onto the treadmill for my usual 5 minute walk warm up. The weight workout got rid of the stress filled knot in my neck. And I came home to hummus, friends, wine! I followed that up with a nice bubble bath, so actually my Monday is ending on a nice positive note!

Crap Sandwich Week

Well it's been a rough week back from vacation.
8 minutes into the work week I was informed of a very uncool situation at work. It occupied most of my week, and will for probably the next two weeks or more. Horribly stress-filled time for me.
Our shepherd was spayed on Wednesday, so we had that stress trying to keep an over active dog from running around (yeah right).

Worst news though, and put my tiny little stresses in perspective, was, my friend/neighbor down the road-she has breast cancer. She's 44. She just had the biopsy back. She has surgery and radiation next week starting. I feel very sad/bad for her,and hope I can help her with anything she needs.

I walked one mile on the tread this morning and then ran 3 miles on the tread. Just trying to get used to the weather change here. Sure, in a few runs I will be totally acclimated to the nasty cold weather, but the first few are the toughest.

I wish I was going to Mohican tomorrow~! for the training run, but I'm staying home to try and keep the GS puppy under control. Have fun out there everyone!

Vacation Hike-Fountainbleau Falls

I wanted a nice jungle hike for my vacation trip; in fact I really wanted the 3 hour trek to Tufton Falls: "The Tufton Hall Waterfall is located in St. Mark's, Victoria, Grenada. It is the tallest waterfall on Grenada and was just recently discovered. The only way to visit the waterfall is to hike for approximately 3 hours through technical terrain. However, the hike itself is an adventure, and this adventure is not your typical hike." However, Vaughn, our guide said the trail really was almost impassable after the two recent hurricanes (Ivan in 2004 and Emily in 2005) and Dennis was not up to that long of a hike.

So we visited Fountainbleau Falls, also known as "Upper Concord Falls". The "lower Concord Falls" is an easy visit-you just drive right up the falls. We had visited it on a previous visit. Actually, this was where we parked the vehicle and headed out.

As we hiked out, I kept thinking this would be great for an ultra. Of course, we would probably lose alot of folks out in the jungle though.






We had to climb up the stream to the waterfall in the far side of the picture. Vaughn said it was "good" that we were visiting the waterfall when it wasn't raining-apparently the stream turns into a raging river with heavy downpours.















Of course I was very happy to be out on a trail!


It was a pretty pleasant hike, the waterfall was very nice. Actually got nice and cooled off with the spray and air around the fall.



I took a good fall right at the falls! I slipped on a rock, tumbled over anothe, and ended up face down in the water. Dennis missed the shot! Nothing was broke, or even hurt bad, so I told him to take the picture!

Vacation Run-the LaLuna Route

This was a run from our hotel room, around the top of Mourne Rouge Bay, over to the
LaLuna Resort. If you look at this pic closely, at the top rather grand houses at the top, you can see telephone poles, the road is right along there.




















We have to climb a rather steep hill from the beach area. This is the town (and capital) of Grenada, St. Georges, in the distance.














This is the road starting to LaLuna. Actually not a bad road, this is just a muddy spot right after a rain.

A pretty typical Grenadian house.

View from the road I ran on

Ah ha! "Where the Trail Goddess Finds a Trail"

The first morning I am out running (no later than 730am any morning, it's too hot!) I get to the gate of LaLuna. A nice man asks if I am staying there, and I say no. He says I can't run through the resort. I point to the other side of the ridge and ask how I can get there, is there a road or trail?

Aha! He says there is a "track" right up where I came from, behind the "house". I thank him and run back up the hill, looking for the "house."

Wheee! And I'm off! It was actually rough going, it had just rained and was very slick. I wish I had brought trail shoes! But I had a good time tracking through the rough stuff-it was only about a 1/2 mile through here, I popped out on a dead end road. I ran a bit further that first morning there, til I remembered I had brought no water bottle and I didn't need to overdo it the first morning there!




I've run this road over to LaLuna on previous vacations here, but I am always surprised by the cacti in the tropics!!

Hey! Vote for ME!!

I was sillily tickled when I read this comment from Roman:



A Huge Congrats!

I'm very happy to let you personally know that team raceAthlete and a jury of Blogging peers have selected your Blog as one of the 10 Best Endurance Blogs of 2008.

You can read all about the complete details by clicking on the link below:

http://www.everymantri.com/everyman_triathlon/best-sport-endurance-blog.html



This is our third year of awarding the prizes, and we're excited to have you as one of the ten best finalist.

Over the next two weeks our readers will be voting for the Gold, Silver, and Bronze (top three) Blogs of the year.

You are welcome to vote yourself.

You can also link to the voting page from above and have your readers vote for you.

Please note that as soon as you vote you'll see the results of the voting to date.

The Prizes:

Gold, Silver and Bronze winners will be awarded the raceAthlete "2008 Best Blog" ribbon to display on their Blog for next year along with a pair of new Zeal Sunglasses of their choosing.

The Gold winner "Best Blog of 2008" will also receive a special bonus award from team raceAthlete.

Good Luck, Good Work, and Congrats on being selected as one of the Ten Best endurance Blogs of 2008.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions and again congrats!


Train Hard and Race Safe,
Roman Mica
www.EverymanTri.com
www.raceAthlete.com

Wow, Thanks Roman!! I guess it's time to tidy up the blog a bit too, guess we might be having visitors!!

So, Trail Goddess worshippers, get over there and vote for me!


PS. Sillily is really a word.

Back!

Okay, I did some of both of these activities these last ten days. It was a very nice time.

Tomorrow, Sunday, a 4 mile run around the block here..hope I don't freeze!