First, thanks to all the old-timers for popping up with a bloop. Nice to know the Loop is still breathing.
November has been a big bust for me. Six weeks ago I was on track for another record mileage year, over 1500 miles. But my long string of mostly injury-free running came to an end as I tweaked a ligament just below my ankle. Ah well. Luckily it was AFTER my trail marathon, so it didn't ruin any big plans. So I vowed to take some time off and let it heal.
Sadly, it is like most of
Some of the most amazing humans I call my friends I met through the Loop. Some I've still never met in person (KRG!) and some I've even vacationed to go see (Moose and Countess FiFi!).
Life has been "interesting" the past 2 years but I have nothing epic to post pics of and most of you are friends with me on FB and/or follow me on IG so you see the high points. My big win for 2019 was a trip with hubby Chris to northern Arizona where we did all the tourist hot spots. He loved the Grand C
1) When given a gift don't look it in the mouth.... Ummm I don't think that's quite right...
Friday's weather was supposed to be beautiful. Saturday's was to be super blustery. I did the old switcheroo on the training plan and ran 9 on Friday and 5 on Saturday.
I ran Friday's 9 @ 9:39 on all of the surfaces. I found a dirt road that says private road/ Do Not Enter .... ( I'm sure doesn't apply to me, right?) that connects to a pine needle/ sand trail that connects to the huge shopping
I’ve always loved camping. Particularly backpacking. Putting everything you need to survive on your back and walking into the wilderness for days or weeks at a time is tremendously freeing. You’re no longer bound by calendars and emails and due dates; when your next food and shelter are not guaranteed the volume on those alarms and LED notifications is turned down considerably. And few things bring me the same joy as the horrified look on the faces of people I encounter after walking out of the
Somehow, despite my best efforts at willpower, I can't resist a garbo mandate. So here I am.
Nothing to see here, however. Injury after injury, all involving left foot. This time I was working slowly back to running, doing intervals of one minute run, one and a half minutes walk, and did a 5k that way in early November (PW of 45 minutes, but I was kind of excited to think it was a beginning.) Woke up the next morning in pain (surgical ankle) and am now going through the familiar routine of w
It's 42 and rainy with winds up to 30 mph and I'm walking through a crime riddled ghost town of a neighborhood to run a 5K that I have no idea if I'll be able to run. I'm meeting Frenchie there. It's his third race ever and he's been doing so well. This one has a medal and I am determined for him to get a medal. It's why I made him sign up and why I didn't tell him that 40's and rainy is the worst weather to run in. It's why I didn't stay bundled up at home. It's why I didn't just call it
I didn’t know the Loop lived. I guess I am stuck in the past! Thanks for the heads up Garbo! II have done nothing spectacular since my last bloop years ago. Come to think of it, I have done nothing spectacular in the past 62 years. Well off to save the World. and pick up a pie.
Fellow Loopsters,
I heard there was some sort of Loop comeback for Thanksgiving – and so here I am. Plus, Garbanzo’s threats in case of non-compliance are nothing to joke about. Blame it on his scary hirsute looks of late, I’m not taking any chances on upsetting him.
But… how do you condense more than two years of absence in a format that’s vaguely interesting enough not to bore every reader to death?And that can be also enjoyed by analphabets worldwide? “Stuff yer bloop with pictures!
Every day this week I wanted to sit down and chronicle this last trip. Don't know that I'd call it an epic adventure, but there were plenty of highlights and interesting new experiences.
Where to start.
I'll go back all the way for review, in case anyone needs a refresher. Connor, my #2, finished his masters in Public Health last spring and had been trying to get work in the field ever since. Those who have or who know someone who has been in the job market understands how discouraging
I have officially become a Loopster MIA. I’m not even lurking lately *hangs head in shame* both here and on Loopville. To be fair, what used to be the Loop is now like an empty ballroom after a big party… the majority of the people have disappeared for sleep, Uber, bigger parties elsewhere, or waking up on a friend’s couch without pants on, not remembering how they got there. Except for Dave lingering to drink a little more cake and punch and Gwen requesting one more song from the DJ and Sara da
Charlotte Marathon Spectating the Spectators report
• Women in animal costumes - at least they look warm.
• And more of them.
• There's Dustin.
• Guy in red fleece onesie style pajamas with snowflake print - and his dog.
• "Good job! You got this! Keep it up! Looking strong! Gatorade! Water! Almost there!"
• This DJ is playing a Stevie Wonder song - wait that's a band and a guy singing - good impersonation!
• There's Dustin again.
• Tissues offe
I have an appointment with a trusted podiatrist tomorrow. I have been doing tons of research and putting much thought into a cortisone injection for my ankle. I think that when I initially injured it that the inflammation from that caused a domino affect of inflammation all throughout. I’m hoping that if I can get that under control that maybe it will finally heal.
I hope so. I’m finally admitting that I’m injured and I’m kinda sad about it.
I think that we can all lear
I certainly hope Dave gets home to bake us all the pie we earned. He seems to have gotten lost in the PNW.
*** Pie picture stolen from Dave’s FB page. It’s easy to steal when no one is home. I’m hoping he puts turkeys on for decoration.
It was one of those weird Tejas Trails night races a long time ago. Gumbo knows them.
They swerve all over the place. The old RD was big on packing a bunch of race into a small course.
I was having a lousy night. Trail running on a technical course in the dark isn't as much fun as the brochure would indicate. I should probably get a flashlight. I was toodling (yes, that's a technical trail term) along, looking for ribbons or markers or glowing squirrels or anything that might suggest I
I asked Daddy-O if Ernie Pooks Running Shoes was coming back to the Gram any time soon. Well, EPRS appeared today!
I have to post as agreed by contract. No Doubt.
——-
I was listening to a Marathon Training Academy podcast the other day. Lots of driving of late - It’s My Life.
Usually I only like the RRs but they were interviewing an author in this episode. Susan Lacke. She is a triathlete, runner, former alcoholic and smoker who is deaf.
She wrote a book titled Running O
I guess I’ll try writing a race report. This will be the first race report since I wrote about my first marathon a little over a year ago.
Yep - Marshall was my first and I did a second at the end of March this year. It was the Carmel Marathon and it didn’t go as well as Marshall. I went a little more aggressive and blew up around 20 miles like so many do. Enough about that.
So not long after Carmel, I decided that I wanted to do a 50K trail race. For years, I’ve been far more into tra
The Short:
It's no secret that I went to Indy with the goal of running 2:45:00 or better. I truly felt like my fitness was there, whereas before my past OTQ attempts I've always felt more comfortable with 6:20ish but tried anyway since that is so close to the 6:17 average needed. My pace plan was 6:20 for the first 10K, then 6:15 from there on, dropping lower towards the end if I was up for it - and although I never looked at my watch I averaged 6:19 for the first 10K and 6:14 from there
Delayed write-up and post due to crappy life in the beginning of October. (Subject of another post for another day.)
I love running this 5K every year. The start is less than a quarter mile from my house, it’s a certified course, there’s a lot of runners around the same speed as I am, and it supports a scholarship for a student at the local high school. I was nervous about the race, more nervous than I should have been, but I was training well for the AC marathon, and thought a PR (and po
I hate that saying by the way. “It is what it is” is what people say when they wNt to give a smart answer to something that really doesn’t have an answer.
I sprained my ankle a few months ago while I was playing chase with my 4 year old. I jumped on the bed and barrel rolled off and slapped my ankle on the tile floor it hurt for a bit, but I didn’t give it much thought until a few days later when it started aching on my runs. That’s what it’s been ever since, an ache. I keep tell
I'm also here because the garbanzo'd one told me to.
My year has been going pretty well. I finished my masters degree! I ran 8 half marathons this year. I paced 3 of them, and successfully paced 1 of them. I am now up to 68 lifetime pikermis! I haven't run a full marathon since 2016, but I am currently signed up for 2 (Illinois Marathon and Grandma's Marathon) and am in the lottery for Chicago and New York, where I will win -$500ish in entry fees if I get both. Ouch.
Is anyone else si
I had a few good years. Lots of age-group awards. I qualified for and ran both NYCM and BOS. Running has pretty much sucked ever since. The last five years have looked like this:
Illnesses: pneumonia, bronchitis, arthritis in the big toe
Injuries: ITBS, stress fracture near the arthritic big toe joint
Surgeries: toe nail removed (because there was a bit of mold growing under the nail!), nasal septum surgery (which did NOT help with my snoring)
But the really weird thing is th
I’ve been meaning to do this for a while. I just get distracted easily these days.
I’m still doing the thing. I still wake at 4 and run until I don’t want to. I still train for races, though maybe 1 or 2 a year instead of 5 or 10. I still love the woods more than the roads and still love the dawn more than dusk. I still consider the loop the reason I’ll always run. It’s the same old me.
Now, where’s my pie?
-me
Garbo said, "GO WRITE", so here I am. There was a promise of pie. *Looks hopefully in Dave's direction*
I just noticed the thingie is called "Blog Entry". How dare it. This is a bloop.
Anyway, I have not much to report. A few years ago I blew out my ITB and that was not fun. Then I got kicked off my first 50K for being too slow and that was not fun. I kept trying to run but it was just a cascade of injury, and that was not fun.
I did run a bit when we lived in Canada and that *w
Dear diary: I have a confession.
Emily Sisson is a runner. A runner who just finished 10th at the 10K world championships. A runner who ran a 2:23:08 marathon debut at London this year, finishing sixth and ahead of her training partner, Molly Huddle. A runner who was the 2015 5k national champion. A runner that we in the Running World refer to as "Fast."
And I broke her.
It started out innocently enough. The day is October 25. It's a glorious morning at the track. Just a few peo
This is my story of pregnancy loss. For any women who have experienced this, I want to give you a heads up in case this brings up unexpected emotions.
Total miles: 16 Number of races: 1
Number of pregnancy losses: 1
September 18th We hadn't expected any of this. We figured it would take a good 6 months to get pregnant, but it happened after only two. I don't think I'll ever forget the morning I first took a pregnancy test, and then took another one because I couldn't believe my eye
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