It’s Oh Three Oh Four… 03/04.

Yep, It’s getting harder and harder to come up with blog titles. Figured I’d share a little update on the last 7 weeks. How on earth did I ever blog multiple times in a week when I can’t even post once a month now?

I’ll start on the fitness front.

I started running again! I ran my first miles of 2019 in Orlando Florida! More on that at the end of this post.

first miles of 2019

I have had some mild posterior tibial tendonitis (self diagnosed) but I’m doing a good job of keeping on top of it. I’ve been super diligent about strengthening and stretching. I found some great stretches and exercises online here and here and have been doing them every other day.

I ran a trail 5k last weekend (the Cold Feat 5k which is held in Staten Island’s Greenbelt) which was muddy and hilly but still lots of fun.

omg another hitch-hiking thumb

hitch-hiking thumb again

mud!

hitch hiking thumb

post race selfie!

I also finally took on the challenge of incorporating strength workouts into my life which is something I mentioned wanting to do in my last post. After listening to a podcast where the guest was a fitness instructor for an app called FITON, I bought the app. (there was a promo code so it ended up being a lot cheaper for a one year membership). I love it! I’ve completed 6 classes so far in the last 10 days. Most are bodyweight only classes but some use light dumbbells which I have. Some classes are as short as 16 minutes while others are around 30 minutes. There’s a really nice variety. You can choose from pliates, yoga, total body strength, dance/barre, cardio, and more. I’m really trying to strengthen my hips and glutes which will help as well in the ankle tendonitis department. Oh and core! I’m finally working on my core! And lots of arm work too. It’s felt so seamless which is bizarre to me because I’m 45 and haven’t been this jazzed about strength training EVER! Maybe it’s that I feel like it’s a really small commitment of my day and so easy to squeeze in. The instructors are very chill too. Hoping to stick with it for the entire year.

I had one really good run last month and came home and signed up for a half marathon because I guess I was having that “runner’s high”. Probably a very stupid thing to do but I am hoping i’ll get there. My attitude was “hey i’ve signed up and paid a lot for races that I couldn’t run in the past so what do I have to lose?” It’s the Love Run half down in Philadelphia. I ran it in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and I was signed up to run in 2017 and then got injured and missed it. Good news is they also have a 7k distance now so if I needed to I could drop down and not lose out completely. I completed my first “long run” of 5 miles last Tuesday and struggled for sure. I’m looking to do a 6 miler tomorrow. and then 8 miles next week. And a few short runs in between. I’m really just looking to complete the race so it’s a bare bones approach and not one I’d ever recommend 🙂

This was the run that I felt so great on that I went home and signed up for the Love Run Half Marathon

This was a run that got interrupted by a phone call from Mr. SOTSS. I don’t usually answer my phone but he rarely calls so I got worried. Ended up being nice to have a long walk break in between.

a nothing special run

My first long training run of the year and NEW kicks….New Balance 1080s. They’re currently being tested. I’ve got a couple of months to decide how I feel about them. 

For additional fitness I have been hiking here and there, and this past weekend Mr SOTSS and I took his girls skiing. So I got a good amount of exercise in traversing the mountain.

 

Found this heart shaped rock on one of the hikes

night hike!

In house-related news we repainted our back sunroom.

I give Mr. SOTSS props for closing off the room to the rest of the house, donning a respirator and sanding the layers of paint for a few hours. That was definitely the hard part. I just rolled on the paint.

Before and after floor closeup

It looks great except that after about a week a few little areas chipped and we’re now a little concerned that the prepwork we did (Mr. SOTSS spent a few hours sanding the old paint layers down with an orbital sander) wasn’t enough. I read that if there was an oil-based layer of paint underneath and you’re painting with a latex paint/primer that it could cause chipping without a special primer. Anyway, we’ll just wait it out and see if it continues. It could also be that the paint can take a full 30 days to cure and we only gave it 2 days before returning furniture and using the floor again.

In work-related news Mr. SOTSS and I attended the FASTSIGNS National Convention back in January in Orlando.

Learning a lot and enjoying some free lunches lol because isn’t that why everyone goes to a convention?

We learned a lot that will help us refine some of our business practices and grow the business too. I’m enjoying helping him with graphic design but sooooo happy I don’t have to do the sign production anymore. That was really challenging for me. And in my personal graphic design business, after a little lull in the new year, things are finally picking up! Whew! Freelancing can be quite the roller coaster.

In hair news I found an awesome new product line for my curls thanks to a sponsored ad in my Facebook newsfeed. Back in December I ordered some products from Lus Brands and can’t tell you how pleased I am. I got their travel kit size to try of both the kinky and the curly products and I mix a dollop of each into my hair when it’s soaking wet right after the shower. I scrunch and air dry and that’s it. The shampoo and conditioner are great too.

curly hair don’t care

Other than that it’s been the usual…

Cleaning up after dogs…

muddy doodle

Oh I wasn’t supposed to go on the furniture until you gave me a bath? My bad.

oops muddy

Hi mom. Can you let me in. I’m done digging in the yard.

Walking dogs…

Cuddling with dogs…

cuddles with duncan

Playing with dogs…

wanna play

hmm, I think we have a toy hoarder situation

Soccer anyone?

and clearly taking too many pictures of dogs. 🙂

Do you have any races coming up?

Do you like DIY projects or do you like to just hire someone?

Hi there and Happy Sunday!

I slogged through a trail 10k yesterday morning and my victory was that I didn’t quit. I ran the Wolfe’s Run Trail 10K, the third and final race in a “triple crown” series held by Complete Race Solutions here on Staten Island.

not my finest race photo but it was free and that’s always a plus. It also clearly shows that this wasn’t easy for me and that means I was working hard and that means I give myself a pat on the back. Go me!

The funny thing is that last year I ran the first two races of the series but got injured before the third so I missed out on getting my last interlocking finisher’s medal.

Last year’s 2 interlocking medals

And yesterday I got that 3rd piece but it is a totally different design for 2018 than it was for 2017 so no bueno. But even so, I still feel complete now anway. HA!

this year’s missing piece

The weather was ridiculously warm. It was in the mid 70s by 10am when the race started and my body has barely had time to acclimate to running again let alone acclimate to the warm temps.

The course was set up as two 5k loops. I kid you not that I was ready to go home after that first loop and it was so hard to talk myself into going the distance.

I finished in 1 hour and 24 minutes and honestly I don’t even care what the finish time was. I’m just happy to have completed my first race of the year.

My feet are pretty banged up. I have blisters everywhere. And there were plenty of rocks and Sweetgum tree balls that irritated my poor toes.

running over the sweetgum balls….ouchie!

The course had a nice mix of terrain including about 150 feet on the beach, some multiuse paths and then some technical trails through the woods.

running on the beach

I had to walk a whole lot. The first 5k I only walked on the inclines and on the beach until I got to the wet sand. But the second 5k? I walked some downhills too. I was THAT tired.

I’m at the far left. This was the first mile before everyone smoked me and before I totally melted in the sun 🙂

There was this one moment when I realized that I hadn’t needed to look at any of the trail markers because there was always someone in front of me but by the second 5k there was no one in front of me and that meant getting to know those little orange ribbons and yellow arrow signs in the ground real well. Hey, at least I didn’t get lost!

I enjoy the races that that Complete Race Solutions puts on for so many reasons. They’re soooo enthusiastic about what they do. They take a lot of time crafting the courses and the same group of runners seem to attend each event so I like to see familiar faces even if I only know one or two really. I love that the races are all just a few minutes from home and in parks that I frequent regularly anyway. This particular park is about 1/2 mile away from my old high school and where I’d hang out all the time with my friends. It’s also the same park that has the dog park that I used to take Duncan to daily when he was a lot younger.

I’m secretly wanting to run the NJ Half in 2 weeks but I know I won’t be ready. So my next race will be in about 6 weeks when I run the Spring Lake 5 miler. I’m hoping to get stronger in the next 6 weeks. But hope is where I’ll leave it. 🙂

In non-running news Duncan is still doing the usual….

like a siamese twin.

morning nap in the warmth of the sunshine

And I’m trying not to cut myself as much at work but that’s not going so well. I usually have 3 bandaged fingers by the week’s end. LOL. It’s not just the blade that I cut myself with. The edges of the backing paper to the adhesive vinyl are so sharp I’ve ended up with paper cuts that are so deep. The thumb is my most recent self-inflicted wound.

 

So what have you been up to? Anyone running Boston tomorrow?
Do you prefer running in the heat or in the cold? Signed up for any races?

Well hello there.

Been super busy working but I’m finally catching a breath and thought it would be a great time to tell you about yesterday. I ran the Fall Flat 5K trail race here in Staten Island and got to catch up with my good friend Gina. She and I ran this race last year. I blogged about it here.

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So before I tell you about yesterday’s race let me first admit something that I haven’t told anyone yet. I had a bit of a freak out a week before the race. I woke up limping. Not kidding! It’s really pretty ridiculous. I feel like I’ve been a broken record the entire year! My “good” foot was hurting. I realized that it was the first week I’d run 3 times in a single week since the original toe injury and I also went to yoga twice and I probably just overdid it. I forget sometimes that for months that foot worked about 150% every single day. Every single downward dog I put more weight on that foot because I was still giving my bad foot a break. Needless to say I kept this to myself and decided to take an entire week off to see how things would go. The limp went away after about 2 days and since then I’ve been doing much better. I’ve been icing and stretching and while the foot is achy today I don’t think this is anything more than some mild tendinitis. 2017 has been rough. Clearly my body is letting me know that I need to take even smaller baby steps with this whole return to running. So I’m going to keep to only 1 or 2 runs of 3ish miles a week for the rest of the year. If there’s one thing I can do next year to help the situation it will be to start incorporating more strength work into my DAILY routine. I’m not going to allow myself to train for anything more than 5k until I feel more secure physically. Between the toe injury X2, the back spasms, the knee strain in my sleep, hurting the arch of my foot during physical therapy….am I missing anything? Yeah, I don’t want to have to utter a single word about injury in 2018! Ok, enough about that. Now on to my recap…

 

Fall Flat 5K Trail Race Recap:

The race starts at 10am at a park that’s only about 15 minutes from my house. Bib/shirt pickup opens at 9am. I like to get  there right at 9am to park at the entrance right nearby. There’s a second parking area but you have to walk a bit. Because this race is held by the same organization that runs the night hikes that I go on, I was able to see a few friendly faces.

I grabbed my cute shirt and walked back to the car to toss it in.

Fall Flat 5k 2017

Fall Flat 5k 2017

And then of course my running buddy Gina arrived. She and I met back in the mid 90’s! We worked together. We’ve stayed friends ever since. Gina is a Crossfit/Spartan Race kinda girl but every so often she likes to do a trail or road 5k.

I had no time goals in mind. Gina was hoping to shave a few minutes of last years time so I basically followed her lead. The course was changed up a bit this year which was nice. The only part of the course that overlaps puts you going in the reverse direction so at least you never feel like it’s Groundhog’s day 🙂 I totally forgot to turn my Garmin on but I sort of knew when we hit the first mile just by how I felt. I said that to Gina who looked down at her watch and confirmed we were at 1.03. I’m fairly predictable 🙂

photo courtesy of Run & Shoot Photo

photo courtesy of Run & Shoot Photography

We ended up finishing in 36:28 which was 2:30 faster than last year! Mission accomplished!

I love this race for so many reasons. It’s a local race but it’s one of the more popular events (size-wise) that this organization (The Greenbelt Conservancy) runs. There were about 300 runners (and walkers) of all ages and paces. It’s so nice to recognize so many familiar faces and to see the local running family. There are lots of local photographers capturing the event and they post their pics on Facebook which is such a lovely bonus.

©run shoot photo

photo courtesty of run shoot photo

It’s an event that truly appeals to all levels of fitness. The main goals are that everyone enjoy the trails that are maintained by The Greenbelt Conservancy and that the event raises some money to help ensure the trails can continue to be maintained. Win win! And the price is right. I think I paid $25. But even on race day the registration is only a few dollars more.

Photo courtesy of Run and Shoot Photographu

Photo courtesy of Run and Shoot Photography

My foot felt fine the entire run. It was definitely achy all day afterward. I iced it on and off and even wore compression socks. Today it’s feeling improved. I’m not freaking out anymore. I think with the continued TLC and the lower mileage I’ll be fine. Dear Santa: For Christmas I’d like to be free of injury next year mmmkay?

Do you run on trails?

Do you run local races?

Have I asked these questions before because I feel like I have 🙂

Happy Monday!

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. I ran the Cold Feat 10k trail run on Saturday and had a great time. 16826059_10212046217612429_5317901885331885100_oIt was more like a hike vs a run as I was still getting over the flu and just didn’t have the energy to move very fast, especially up all the hills. But eventually I made it to the finish line so I accomplished my goal!16649302_10212045563356073_7268340395980016362_n

After hiking these trails in the dark for the last 6 weeks it was fun to get re-acquainted with them during the day! I’m grateful for any time I can spend outdoors in the woods.

All you have to remember is to follow the pink ribbons and the arrows

All you have to remember is to follow the pink ribbons and the arrows

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This is one of the shorter hills!

This is one of the shorter hills!

16831060_10212045565076116_2305164421416021485_nThe weather warmed up into the low 50s by the end of the race which was just lovely. And I’m loving my swag! I’ve never owned a hat with a pom-pom on the top. Isn’t that crazy?16807342_10212045562916062_3733680363259412042_n

Meanwhile Winter is on hiatus for a while. It’s been in the 60s! What?! I hope we get some cold weather and snow again before Spring officially arrives in a month.

I had a really great run today…
IMG_9457I am starting out the week with my official half-marathon training schedule. Ironically after declaring that I wasn’t concerned about my pace or finish times at all for this training cycle, I just had such a zippy and fairly effortless first run. I chose the multi-use path by the beach today because it’s flat and I want to ensure I am kind to my hamstrings so I can make it through all the miles over the next 3 months. IMG_9463

I’m planning on 2 shorter weekday runs each week of 3-5 miles and flat when I can control it. And then I’ll build up my long runs each weekend starting with a 6-8 miler this coming weekend. Plus I’ll keep up with those weekly Wednesday night hikes and I’ll be doing lots of strengthening and stretching of the glutes/hammies/core/hips!!

Well, I’m off to do some glamorous stuff like laundry and paying bills. Catch ya later!