So. It's been awhile. But that's the best part about a blog, right!? You can just pick up wherever you left off. Here are some photos from a hike I did this weekend near Chazy Lake in Dannemora, NY and photos from the Island Vines 10K in South Hero, VT!
^^Pre-race winery photo
^^Set a goal of 54 minutes. Came in at 53:55 on a very hilly course!
^^post race "refreshments"
^^When it's fall in Vermont, you pick apples.
^^Grand Isle ferry
^^View from the fire tower on top of Lyon Mountain
There was sunshine, the best of friends, running, more running, my favorite eating spots (hello Purple Cactus and Ula Cafe) and the pond. It was one of those weekends I would like to play on repeat. And I came home with a shiny new half marathon PR (1:52:23) - was not expecting that!
^^Finally found the Saucony vest (on sale!) I've been lusting over for about a year. Dreams do come true.
Between negative temperatures, working seven days a week and a long week of dealing with plumbers, a 46 degree apartment and getting locked out of my apartment, I haven't had much time to do anything besides work, run, eat and sleep - let alone blog about any of it. So now that my apartment is warm, the water is hot and I have a couple free hours, here are some recent Instagram shots and outtakes from the last few weeks.
Here's to surviving a cold January and hoping for a sunny February!
If you live anywhere in the Northeast you are aware that winter has come at us pretty hard these last couple of weeks. From ice storms to double digit negatives, life has been quite cold.
^^Lake Champlain - white caps and windy, what more could you want.
^^Snow on the inside of the car? Eh, just a daily thing around here.
^^Anyone up for a Skinny Dip?
The cold is not all that bad.
I have been trying to keep the complaints to a minimum and instead finding funny/humorous moments hidden inside this vast tundra.
Here are some of my tips for surviving this icy temps:
1. Celebrate the New Year by dressing up as a bear.
2. Invite friends up from Boston to run ridiculous amounts of miles and wear matching shirts and funny hats.
3. Dress up like a ninja to run on the snow packed bike path.
4. Schedule extra snuggle time with your sister and cat. Sweatpants required.
5. Convince 10 of your friends to run a half marathon on New Years Eve. Fireworks provided.
On another note, one of my New Years goals (because that's what I've been calling them) is to blog more.
Recently it's been a lot of work, running, body pump, dinner, second dinner, sleep, repeat.
Between working two jobs, beginning a marathon training program for an undetermined marathon (more on that later) and trying to maintain some sort of social life, I seem to have forgotten the existence of this blog and of my camera.
So to partially make up for my absence, here are the most recent photos from my iPhone.
^^ super grainy photo of Church St.
My new motto: when in doubt, take a picture of the lights on Church St.
^^The Santa 5K in downtown Burlington last weekend.
Unfortunately I didn't get to run, but got to see some of the race on my way to work!
^^One of my three new running groups, the GMAA (Green Mountain Athletic Association). So far I've run on 3 very chilly Sundays with these folks and couldn't be happier to have found them. I'm looking forward to many more long runs with these guys.
^^Because you all were wondering what I had for dinner tonight. Just kidding of course. Still figuring out this whole cooking and eating for one person thing, where's an older sister to make you huevos rancheros when you need her?!?
^^Indian Brook Reservoir.
Second new running group: The Long Trail Runners
Three of us ventured to do some trail running this Saturday morning. It was glorious. I may have had a dream about pacing an ultra marathon after this run. Maybbbbbbbe it's a sign. Just maybe.
^^And one more Church St. photo for good measure.
And here's a little bit more that's been happening lately in terms of mileage.
After taking a month plus of just running what I felt like following the Chicago Marathon I was getting antsy to start training for something again. I like the structure and planned runs that go along with training. Somehow I find it's much easier to get out of bed and hit the streets or treadmill if I don't have to decide how much to run.
Enter: the Hanson Method.
Between having had a couple of friends use the Hanson Training program and have some great races, and some of my favorite running bloggers who have also used the plan I was thoroughly intrigued. I had read some about it and am excited to give it a try. I'm ready for the tired legs, speed work, tempo runs and more tired legs. I'm about a week and a half in and last week I ran 38 miles. I haven't been keeping track recently but I can venture a bet that I haven't logged that many miles since early this spring. It feels good to be pushing my body a bit more, and definitely helps that I've found a few early morning runners to get my butt out of bed. However, it doesn't make it any easier that temperatures have dropped significantly and it seems winter has shown up for real.
Although I began a training plan, I haven't decided if there is going to be a marathon in 20 weeks or not. I signed up for Vermont City Marathon on May 25, 2014 however I've contemplated putting an earlier race on the calendar in order to have this training plan be the correct amount of time. I haven't decided what I'm going to do and probably won't until VCM training officially starts; when I'll either start the plan over of continue on and run an earlier race, or who knows really! Sometimes I find myself seriously considering a 50K...but now I'm just talking crazy.
And since this post has had a little bit of everything, here is my favorite song these days.
As I wait for my brussels sprouts to soften and the bacon to sizzle, I thought I'd take a moment to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and list some things I am very thankful for this year (because...why not?). This year I am especially thankful for my supportive and extremely understanding family who have been nothing but wonderful during a difficult and transitional year for me. For my very dear friends, both old and new, who know just how to make me feel up on a down day and always help me keep things in perspective. And lastly, for all I have been able to experience this year, from moving back to Vermont, to finding a new job, followed by another job and finally to an unbelievably amazing apartment with the most welcoming new roommate and everything else in between (weddings, marathons, more marathons, trips, new running groups, old running groups...I could go on forever).
I hope everyone is enjoying a peaceful and delicious Thanksgiving, whether it be with friends or family, and even though it's just us four this year, I couldn't be happier to be where I am.
Happy Thanksgiving!
And in no particular order, some pictures of some things that I'm thankful for.
