Passover? I'll Pass.

Passover starts Monday night. I've probably hosted the family seder 9 out of the last 10 years. On the years I don't host a family seder, I usually host a second seder. This year I just can't do it. I hate that it's become expected of me. I feel put out that my brother and sister-in-law, who live in town, have never hosted the family seder. I feel that my mom shouldn't have to do it at her age -- she's done it enough! By the time extra "homeless" families are added in, the number of guests can reach into the twenties. Last year, my brother invited an additional family of five the day before the seder!

I used to get excited to host the seder. We own at least two complete sets of haggadahs, each set purchased after painstaking research and testing. We own 12 "plague bags." I love the Passover story! I really get into it and used to love to host the seder. Last year, I think, was the last straw.

I just cannot handle the rudeness of my brother and his sons laughing and joking throughout the seder. Continual moans of "can we eat yet?" "why do we have to do the whole thing?" and cheating with regard to finding the affikoman. It's too much. Preparing for the seder involves much, much more than serving dinner. It's a ceremonial experience. There are ceremonial foods, the table is presented in a certain way, there is an ORDER to it all.

So, this year I was not excited. I felt like it was a chore that was thrust upon me. My house is a mess and I have made no effort to clean it. I have not yet scrubbed my counters or cleaned my oven. I haven't disposed of or sold my chametz. My running schedule is intense, but if I was into it I wouldn't have a problem with seder. If I felt it was appreciated, I would be happy to clean my house and host Passover seder.

I called my mom two days ago and told her I couldn't do it. I didn't have it in me. I'm happy to bring over everything, but I cannot have the seder here.

Thanks, but this year, I'll pass.

Did it. Done.

Ok, 5 in the bank. No records set, but it's done.

I don't know if it's allergies or a cold, but I'm congested and my throat's sore. I'm coughing and there's a lot of mucus that wants to come up, but that just grosses me out. When I left for New York on Friday it was raining and cool in Cincinnati. New York was cold all weekend. When I got back home on Monday, not only was it 80 degrees here, but the grass had turned green over the weekend and all the trees were blooming! I'm thinking it's a little of both... allergy and cold.

Ah, well... I'll be well by May 20th.

Working It Out

Ok, Training Blog. I AM GOING TO RUN 5 MILES TODAY. I REALIZE IT'S ALREADY 3:00, AND I HAVE TO PICK UP MY KIDS AND RUN A COUPLE MORE ERRANDS, BUT I'VE BEEN BUSY ALL DAY! I HAVE A COLD AND I HAD TO GO TO A FUNERAL AND I HAD TO GET MY NAILS DONE AND I HAD TO PICK UP FREDDIES BASEBALL CLEATS AND I HAD TO TAKE THE DOGS TO THE GROOMERS BECAUSE ONE OF THEM ROLLED IN SOMETHING, BUT I WILL DO IT. WE WILL JUST HAVE DINNER LATE. THEY ARE LUCKY... AT LEAST I KNOW WHAT I AM GOING TO MAKE FOR DINNER!

I Am Woman; Hear Me Roar: More Half-Marathon

Disneyland 1/2 Marathon: 9/17/06. Personal Worst (PW): 2:31:06

More Magazine is a magazine targeted specifically to women 40 and over. To enter the More Marathon you must be female and 40 or over. To enter the Half Marathon, you must enter as a team. One member of the team must be a woman 40 or over, the other member must only be female. All runners start at the same time; half marathon times are combined for the teams with the top three combined times winning awards. You are not required to run with your partner. Each runner also runs their own race. Since all marathon entrants are women over 40, the winner of the marathon will always be a woman over 40.

I entered the half-marathon with Colleen, a young woman (20) who I had never met, as my partner. I met Colleen through mutual participation in an online forum for runners at HalHigdon.com. Participants are part of the "V-Team." Colleen lives in NYC and very enthusiastically agreed to partner with a VTeamer she had never met before (me). Thank you Colleen!

I am going to tell you about the race itself, eventually, but first I am going to expand a little about The Race. Every woman should try to come to New York and experience this race. 6000 women participated this year. The Half Marathon is, by far, the more popular of the two races. I would guess that fewer than 1 in 4 entrants opted for the full marathon. Teams were comprised of mothers and daughters, aunts and neices, grandmothers and granddaughters, and girlfriends. Entire families of sisters, aunts, and daughters traveled to New York to run (or walk) together. Husbands, fathers, and children cheered from the sidelines and encouraged their women to go for it! My own group consisted of two sets of mother/daughter teams, two sets of sisters, myself and Scott's cousin's girlfriend, Linda.

I got into the city on Friday afternoon, met my posse, and we all went together to the health & fitness expo. Last year the expo provided us with Poise pads (for incontinence), fiber bars (for regularity), acidopholus pills (to prevent yeast infections), and Campbell's soup (because women over 40 have no teeth left). This year, thankfully, the expo became a health fair. I had screenings done for chloresteral, glucose, bone density, BMI, and blood pressure. No Poise pads.
On Saturday afternoon, I met fellow V-Teamers Colleen, Jess, and Julio for a lovely Italian dinner in at Cara Mia in Hell's Kitchen which was a 10 minute walk from the Holiday Inn Midtown on 57th Street. Thank you Jess for making the reservation at 5:00 -- it really paid dividends on Sunday! I'm going to have to remember for future races and long runs to eat an early dinner the night before. I experienced no intestinal issues on Sunday.

Now, I have to sidetrack to tell you about Colleen and Jess. These two young women, to me, really define what More is all about. Colleen is a dynamo! She is only twenty years old, but is a full-time college student at Columbia, works as a nanny, trains with dedication for marathons, and has raised over $3800 (twice!) for Team in Training, without once ever soliciting any participants on the V-Boards by way of her blog or in person. Jess, is a young woman in her twenties who has a really cool job in New York, trains like a maniac, and just seems to have it all going on right now. These two women give me hope that there are plenty of smart women out there who can tell the difference between Lindsey Lohan and real life. Check out our picture above.

After dinner I laid out all my clothes for the race. Brown Triks skirt and pink "I Am The Big Bad Wolf" shirt. We went to bed early having set the alarm clock for 5:45 am. I slept fitfully. By 4:30 I was awake. It was dark in the room, the only sound being the traffic noise from outside and "crinkle, crinkle." I wonder what that is? I was as still as I could be. "Crinkle, crinkle" again. Then again. I turned on the light -- it stopped. Light off, "crinkle, crinkle." Ok, that's enough. "Linda," I whispered. "Linda. LINDA!" "There's an animal in our room!" Yes, folks, a New York City mouse had found a snack in our room that the maid had left behind under the nightstand. I knew there was a reason I never stayed at Holiday Inn. But I digress...

Sunday's morning temperature was 38 degrees. I exchanged the skirt for tights and put my pink shirt on top of a long sleeve tech shirt. It may be balmy in Ohio, but it is freezing in New York. Linda gave me a pair of gloves and we got to Central Park and basically froze our asses off until the race started. Our group lined up between the 10 and 11 mile markers for no particular reason. I knew my pace would be faster, but at least it kept me from going out too fast. Most participants didn't line up correctly and I was passing walkers two abreast for at least the first three miles. Oh, well.

The half marathon race course is two loops around Central Park. I wish I could tell you more than that about the scenery, but I was too focused on my own race to pay much notice. The course is very hilly. Basically, up one hill and down another for the entire loop. Then repeat the same thing. I had one thought in mind as I started the race: let my body be in charge this time. I wore my Garmin 305 so I could check on my pace, but unless I started out doing sub 8:00 miles, I was not going to put the brakes on. I made sure my pace was even and slightly uncomfortable. The course was crowded. We were only given a path approximately 4 feet wide so I was continually having to bob and weave my way through the course. The loops are hilly. I dug in. I thought about my mantra, "I am the Big Bad Wolf," I took inspiration from the fan support and signs that said "Dig, Mom, Dig." After all, I may not be their mom, but I am a mom. As I climbed the hills, I thought about all the stair climbs and hill repeats I have done these past six months. I let my body rule. At mile 11 when my legs were tired and I had a painful side stitch, I let my brain take over. "Don't slow down," "You're almost there," "Sprint to the finish." As I approached the Finish Line, I couldn't help it, I had maintained such focus for the entire race. I had done my best. I began to sob. I feared the paramedics would think I was having an asthma attack and pull me out, but I made it. I spotted the guy with the camera and raised my arms: Victory!

More Half Marathon: 3/25/07; PR: 2:09:52.

For the record, My Garmin lost the satellite and then just quit entirely before I hit mile 10. But here are the splits that it did record. My average pace for the entire 13.1 was 9:54/mile.

Mile 1: 9:54

Mile 2: 10:11 (includes a potty stop)

Mile 3: 9:16

Mile 4: 9:14

Mile 5: 9:39

Mile 6: 9:25

Mile 7: 9:20

Mile 8: 9:53

Mile 9: 9:53

Garmin died here.

I can't help looking at those splits and asking, "was that really me who ran that race????"

Off to the Races

Blog, I've been avoiding you all day. I worked out at the gym, but I can't remember with any specificity what I did. I have a vague recollection of jumping on a riser, hopping in a ladder, speed skating, bicep curls, assisted dips (55 lbs) 6 X 3 -- those I remember, feet on a ball pikes, pushups, rebounders, a little eliptical, 1/2 mile on a treadmill. And this: NO RUNNING. I would have had to do my 4 miles in the rain anyway and I didn't want to miss my manicure. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Call it my taper. No running tomorrow or Saturday. Race on Sunday.

I'm trying to sweep all thoughts of how I will do in Sunday's race out of my mind. My husband, Scott, calls them negative thoughts. My only thought should be that I will do my best. Really, no one cares how I do and no one is going to be following it. I am my only competition and I can be my own worst enemy.

So. On to New York. I'm excited to meet Colleen, Jess, and Julio. I'm excited to shop. I'm excited for the theater (though not particularly for what I am seeing). It's a nice and needed little break from training. Next week, it's back to week 11 of the Program and an 18 mile run.
Here are my new and improved race t-shirts, in keeping with the spirit of this blog and my attitude. I'm not sure which one I'll wear, but I made sure that both would match the skirt I intend to wear.

Days of Whine and Running

The best thing I can say about today's 17 miles is that I finished.

I just couldn't warm up to the distance. I've been sort of dreading it all week. Despite the fact that, overall, this has been an excellent week of running. My two 4 milers were great. Perfect 10 minute miles for each. I almost nailed Wednesday's 800s. Yesterday's 8 miles were exhilartaing. Today -- I just wanted it to be over.

It's possible that I was a little dehydrated to start. I ran my 8 at 3:30 yesterday afternoon. After that, we went shopping and out to dinner. I had one glass of wine which almost knocked me out. A friend called and wanted us to meet them at an Irish pub down the street (literally 5 minutes from my house), but I was a zombie by 9:30.

I slept in this morning and took a long time getting ready for my run. I ate breakfast at 9:30 AM (oatmeal prepared with 1% milk, chopped walnuts, blueberries, and brown sugar) but by 11:30 I still hadn't started. I grabbed a 1/2 a pack of Sport Beans and ran out the door. Before I finished even one mile, I already knew this run was going to be a challange. First, I had to stop when my husband drove down the street to discuss the logistics of getting our daughter from Sunday School, feeding the kids, and taking someone to the airport. Then, a couple of dogs decided to go for a run with me. One didn't have a collar but the other one did. He very sweetly rolled over and let me check his stats: "Ziggy Sullivan, Orchard St. 821-2242." Where the hell is Orchard Street??? I wasn't carrying my cell phone, so I rang doorbells until I found someone home. Third time's the charm and I was able to call and see if I could return some lost dogs. No such luck. The number was disconnected. Now, I could have turned around and taken the dogs to a safe place, i.e. my house. But I've already done that twice before which is how we now have two dogs and I wasn't ready for four. Anyway, I had to run 17 miles. I was already running behind. I can only hope someone else had the common sense to locate the dogs' owner.

The rest of the run was uneventful. I slogged through it. At one point, I was distracted and ran right past the bush where I had stashed a water bottle so I had to turn around and get it. Hey! I'm not a litterbug!

I am just so, so, tired of being cold while I'm running. Could the weather just warm up a little? I'll take 10 degrees. Gloves on, gloves off, sweat freezing on my body, cold wind in my face. Now that makes me think of the Eagles -- can you guess which song?

Miles 15 and 16 were literally done at a shuffle. When my Garmin beeped 17 miles I turned it off and walked to my driveway which couldn't have been more than 1/10 of a mile away.
I just didn't have it in me to run another step.

17 Miles. 3:16:46. Avg. Pace: 11:34/mile
WTD: 41.31 (I believe that's a weekly high for me)
YTD: 282.86

March 17, 2007

What a gorgeous day! Sunny but cool. 8 miles on the schedule for today. I felt like I was flying. In fact, at one point, I felt like I was floating! I saw some yellow and purple crocuses in bloom and a few daffodils on their way up. Yep. Spring is coming again.

My allergies think Spring is already here. They were fooled by last week's unseasonably warm weather. I'm back on the nasonex and albuterol, but I can't shake this cough. It's just annoying.

Sooooo.... my splits are pretty. I slowed down, of course, miles 5-7, but Metallica brought me home nicely with "Nothing Else Matters." It was the version with the San Francisco Philharmonic and I was inspired!
1. 9:46
2. 9:40
3. 9:40
4. 9:46
5. 10:08
6. 10:30
7. 10:31
8. 10:07 (Metallica bring me home!!)
___________
Let me just say this: 6 months ago I could not have run one single mile in less than 10:00 minutes. Today I ran four in a row. Maybe I should be doing my Saturday runs at "marathon pace" which is definitely slower than I ran today. But I'm enjoying seeing the improvement I've made these past months. I'll run 17 miles tomorrow. They will be slow. As I've said before, I have no idea anymore what my marathon pace is anymore.

My Reality

I love to watch reality TV. I’ve watched them all, beginning with MTV’s The Real World and Road Rules, but now, I’m happy to say, that I’ve narrowed my dose of Reality to just three shows: Survivor, The Amazing Race, and American Idol. Why do I care so deeply about the contestants on each of these programs – are they bitchy or cute? Are they cunning or idiotic? What is it about these three TV shows that cause me to go into a state of withdrawal when sweeps are over and each series reaches its climax culminating in one lucky winner, or team, taking home a million dollars or a recording contract?

I think it is that these three, out of all the shows that have come and gone before and after, like The Bachelor/Bachelorette, The Apprentice, Average Joe, are the only reality shows that I could ever imagine myself, either now or when I was younger, vying to be a contestant. Would I be able to survive on an island with 12 cutthroat, smelly, strangers, running obstacle courses, eating rice and bugs? Could I navigate the globe with a partner (who?) without having a breakdown the first time we got lost? How would I have fared among the thousands of singers who face the producers of American Idol at stadiums and convention centers across the country every year? I may never know the answer, but I can still imagine. I can still enjoy occasionally watching my reality shows with one or three of my children. I can still speculate on strategy and evaluate the contestants. I still look forward to my fix.

One season, on Survivor, I actually knew one of the survivors. Knew in the "biblical" sense, that is. I went to law school with this survivor: "Survivor Andrew" and watching that particular season was actually rather painful. I was happy when he was finally voted off. It turns out that I didn't care too much for his TV persona. Was he that cunning and manipulative when I knew him all those years ago? I can't remember.

Rob and Amber are my favorite reality show characters. They have actually managed to make a career out of being reality contestants. And why not? Didn't they meet, become engaged, get married, and begin their lives together on reality television? It will be hard to watch The Amazing Race now that these two have been eliminated as contestants.

Which leaves American Idol. What can I say about this season? These singers suck. With the exception of two in particular, the rest are amateurs. C'mon. I can't believe that out of 100,000 auditions, this is the best in the country. No way. Tomorrow evening Simon Cowell will be on Sixty Minutes. You better believe I'll be watching.

Identity

How much of my identity is bound up in my running? Obviously, for those of us who keep a blog of our running/training exploits, the answer is probably quite a bit. I ask this question because of a recent, ongoing experience I had with a close friend.

I trained for two marathons and two half marathons with a partner. We ran all of our long runs together and encouraged each other through the weekly "just getting in the mileage" runs. For a while, we even did all of our gym workouts together, then I changed my membership to another gym, but she still came to workout with me on occasion. During all of this time running, she complained of knee issues (preexisting). She had a series of cortisone shots and then, last fall, she had the knee scoped and was told her days of long runs were over. Sure, she could probably run another marathon as long as she scheduled the knee replacement surgery for right after. You get the picture.

Before this fall, I had never trained alone, but it has become a challenge that I am embracing. I get nervous for the long runs, sure, but I head out the door and do them. My knees, fortunately, are fine. I am continuing to train and I am setting goals and meeting them. I hired a trainer and took his advice regarding nutrition. I have lost weight.

Recently, I learned from a mutual friend that my running partner friend was annoyed whenever I mentioned running. So, I tried to steer clear of the subject when I spoke to her. Then, a couple of weeks ago, she called my cell phone while I was shopping at the mall. She was also at the mall. "What are you shopping for?" she asked. "I need to get something to wear tonight... since I lost weight nothing fits anymore." Then, in the frostiest voice you can imagine she replied, "Again you are mentioning your weight loss." I said goodbye, hung up, and bought two new outfits.

I figured if I could no longer talk about an activity that is so much of my life, then what could I talk about?

Yesterday, we had lunch. She appologized and explained that running had been so much a part of her life that it hurt her to hear anything about my running. She said that running had been her identity. And on top of that, without the running, she was putting on weight and couldn't bear to hear that I was taking it off.

So, I am curious. The question has been posed before, in a runner's forum that I frequent "if you could not run, what would you do," but it is posed in a vacuum. I actually have another blog -- my running blog. This is my general blog where I can talk about things besides running. But guess what most of the entries are about? Yes, running.

15 Miles of Fine Dining

Last night I had the pleasure of enjoying an once-in-a-lifetime dining experience. My husband and I joined friends at the “Chef’s Table” at Jean Robert at Pigall’s restaurant. The Chef’s Table is located right in the kitchen of this Mobil 4 star restaurant. Chef Jean Robert de Cavel prepared a meal for us that was approximately 9 courses beginning to end. Since today’s 15 mile run was never far from my mind last night and the meal itself lasted longer than today’s run, I’ve decided to tell you about both our wonderful dinner and my run. Come along for the experience. We’ll see who finishes first today: dinner or me.

Our reservation was for 7:00. We arrived at the restaurant and were ushered directly into the kitchen. The table, which was set for six, is located in a corner of the kitchen. Table cloths are linen and plates and silverware are the same as for diners in the main dining room. We were the last couple to arrive and were immediately served Evian water. Now, my preference is Eau de Ohio River over ice, but since this wasn’t my party, I went along with the Evian. I was hydrating for today’s run – this was going to be an expensive 15 miles!

The occasion for our dining adventure was a birthday celebration. Our host ordered a bottle of wine. I wasn’t doing the ordering, just the drinking. It was a California cabernet I believe. The wine was delicious. I clocked in my first mile in 11:08.

Our waiter gave us the option of either ordering from the traditional menu or letting Chef Jean Robert decide for us. After some discussion we decided to go with the flow and be adventurous. It was time to free our minds!

First course, served by the chef himself, was an oyster with a little slice of beet. A dollop of crème fraiche was plopped on the top. Delicious. Mile 2: 11:01. Today was gorgeous, sunny, crisp and clear. I was enjoying a Neville Brother’s CD. Lovely.

Second course, also served by the chef, was a small piece of goat cheese (was it fried? It looked like an oyster at first) served with slivers of endive, prosciuto, and pomegranate sauce. I believe there were some mushrooms involved too giving it a very smoky flavor.
Mile 3: 11:05.

Between the second and third course, our host asked for bread. The bread, we learned, is baked in house. It was delicious, however, not very forward thinking to order it in light of the seven courses to follow! About this time, another bottle of wine was ordered and I finished mile 4 in 11:22.

Third course: squab. That’s all I remember of it. It looked like red meat but turned out to be pigeon. I’m sorry that I can’t remember anything else about it. We were served about three small slices each. Mile 5: 10:41. One third of the way done! I had an apple cinnamon Carb Boom. Those things run rings around any other gels. They are actually very good.

Fourth course: Salmon tartar atop papaya with caviar and an organic little bitty quail egg. This was served with a thin slice of crusty toast. Like a crouton/melba toast combo. Mile 6: 11:16.

Fifth course: Foie Gras. A couple of our party, my husband included, didn’t eat this one. I tried to tell them it was just chopped liver, but no dice. Take it from me, it was delicious. The chef likes to serve the bread with this course. So we had fresh baked cranberry walnut bread. Mile 7: 10:44. By the way, I am kicking ass on my run so far. But I haven’t entered the hill country yet.

Sixth course: This was a fish course served with some mushrooms and couscous. At last, carbs! Unfortunately, I didn’t care for this one at all. I was getting full anyway, and I needed to save room for dessert, so no loss as far as I’m concerned. Mile 8: 11:37.

Seventh course: A sliced sea scallop underneath a wilted lettuce leaf. I didn’t like this one either. Mile 9: 11:07.

Time for another bottle of wine, I believe. Yes, I think we will have another California Cab. Again, I don’t know what the wine was, but by now, things were getting kind of fuzzy anyway. Also, my run is starting to go downhill. Or should I say uphill?
Mile 10: 12:55. Another Carb Boom.

Eighth course: The meat course. Our table was right next to the meat station of the kitchen. All evening I had been watching a chef prepare lamb chops and fingerling potatoes. Now it was our turn! Three little tiny slices of meat were set before us with a fingerling potato and some kind of sauce (of course! This is a French restaurant. Everything was served with a sauce or emulsion of some kind). Did we get lamb? No! We got venison! I must say, it was delicious. Mile 11: 12:33. I’m deep in the Amberley hills here.

By now, it was 10:30 and we were full and lethargic. It was time for some coffee to pick us up for the dessert course to follow. Mile 12: 12:46.

Ninth course: Dessert. There were six of us, so we were served six different desserts. Chocolate Macadamia cake, pear tart with espresso sorbet, pumpkin mousse with a pumpkin muffin (this was my favorite), molten chocolate cake, crème brulee, and a plate of four different sorbets: plum, papaya, coconut, and some kind of berry.

I finished the last three miles of my run in 11:47, 11:14, and 11:18. Definitely thoughts of desserts must have lifted my spirits!

Total time spent eating dinner: 4 hours.
Total time spent running 15.16 miles: 2:54:24.

What was I thinking?

I went over today's run a million times in my head. Where would I run? What route should I take? How will I make this a little less hilly? Treadmill? No way! I thought I had come up with a couple of good options, but as I was driving my daughter to school this morning, I passed by the park, as I always do, and thought "that's it! I'll run to the park and back!" Why am I such a wimp? I haven't been on the trail since November.

Now I was excited. I just didn't want a boring 7 mile run. Also, I didn't want to go fast. I ran hill repeats yesterday and I should do a slow recovery run today.

So, I headed out the door. The sun was shining. I was actually getting warm. For the first day in a while, the wind wasn't blowing and the temperature was above freezing. Everything was going great. First mile clocked in at 10:52. Perfect. I left the neighborhood and headed down the main road. Pretty soon, I made it to the fire road that led into the woods. Uh oh. Right away, I knew I made a mistake.

What was I thinking? Why did I assume the ground would be frozen solid? The path was rutted with animal tracks. To say it was muddy would be an understatement. I tried to run around the mud on the side of the trail, but then I would become trapped by mud islands. My only choice was to wade/walk through the mud. Second mile: 11:14. Here's where it gets really interesting.

I've been running the same trail for three years. I love that I know where the trail is even when the forest floor is completely covered in autumn leaves. I know this trail like Sakajawea knew the river. Well, remember those pictures I posted a couple of weeks ago from the ice storm? The ice caused trees and branches to fall in all of the neighborhoods. I can tell you now, that trees and branches also fell in the woods, even though no one was there to notice. My run on the trail became more of a hike around the fallen trees and tangled branches and shrubs. There were even new creeks! Third mile: 16:06. I could have quit and made my way back to the road, but then I'd have to figure out another 4 miles to run and they would be boring miles. I was going to finish what I started. So, out to the clearing, up to the prairie (also muddy), and back up the other trail. The one with the 200 foot climb. In the mud. Yes, I was determined. But, experience apparently matters because I finished the fourth mile in 15:46.

Once I got out of the park, my shoes were caked with mud. Traction? Nonexistent. I finished the entire 7 miles in 1:32:34. My goal was to be slow and not bored. I think I accomplished my mission.

Well, I don't know why, but I was about as nervous as the start of a race as I got ready to start my 14 mile run this morning. My hands were actually shaking! Maybe it's because I've never trained for a marathon alone before. I've always trained with a partner. Or maybe it's because I'm entering uncharted territory in milage increases. Last year, I started with the same training program but bailed on the Saturday runs about this same time. It's definitely tough to do a run on Saturday and then a long run on Sunday! My legs and hips are feeling it pretty bad right now. Hopefully, the ice bath and Endurox will help because I'm sure I'm doing a pretty tough strength workout tomorrow.

As I started out this morning, I was surprised by how cold it was. The sun was shining, so I was fooled into thinking that I would warm up really quickly. Unfortunately, I hadn't factored in the wind. I never warmed up and, in fact, as I sweated and my body became wet, I actually got colder. You know, as far as wicking goes, if it's winter and you're dressed in layers, the wet really has nowhere to go. So, even with layers of technical fabric to protect me from the weather, I was drenched. By the last two miles, and it never fails... it is always the last two miles regardless of the length of the long run... my legs were frozen and felt like lead. This is obvious by my splits but I felt it and I am still feeling it. Also, today's run was the exact opposite of yesterday's run in addition to being twice as long. Yesterday's run was flat and fast. Today I felt like I was running up mountains. Total time: 2:33:59/ Avg. Pace: 10:48/ Pit stops: 2.

I did listen to a great episode of "This American Life." It is this week's current episode if anyone is interested in downloading the free podcast. The first story made me laugh, the second made me cry, and the third made me smell chocolate. Quite good company for the first 5.5 miles of my run.

For your entertainment, here are some Purim pictures. My husband, Scott, and myself.

Miles Run this week: 34
YTD: 204.12