In Michigan the Crim Festival of Races in Flint is one of the big three race events (where the number of participants average over 10,000) along with the Detroit Marathon and Half Marathons (Mid October) and the Detroit Turkey Trot 10K and 5K (Thanksgiving morning). The Crim Festival of Races includes; 10 miles, 5 miles, and a 5K. The Crim was started by Bobby Crim in 1977 when he was Speaker of the Michigan State House of Representatives (he is now 89 and this year walked the 10 mile race) and
The short:
I ran my fifth Rock the Parkway half marathon on 8/28/21 - the first time the race took place in August! I placed 3rd overall female for the third time; I can't seem to move up in my placing at this race (I've also been 4th), but I'm not fading at age 40, so I'll consider that a win. I didn't have a time goal since it was over 80 degrees at the start and nearly 90 by the finish. However, based on my Hospital Hill performance I figured if I could run 1:25ish it would be a good d
Where to start with this? I went to Italy and rubbed elbows with Loopster stars, Davide and Fiona. Basically, they have always let me know if I want to come visit them in Milan, Italy, I could. I did just that 5 years ago and then I grabbed an opening in the pandemic after Italy approved arrivals for tourists and I arrived in northern Italy on July 28th to stay with them until August 6th. We hatched a plan to hike in the Dolomites for a chunk of my visit because I had been wanting to start ex
August 2021 in review!
Total mileage for the month: 402
August 2-8: 86.3
August 9-15: 100.5
August 16-22: 85.1
August 23-29: 90.0
August 30-Sep. 5: projected at 92
We love our #augustangst photos!
Races:
August 28: Rock the Parkway Half Marathon in 1:24:19 for 3rd overall
Not yet.
I'd be tempted except for a couple of things.
First is this knee. Not the left that had the meniscus repair three years ago. That would be the left side that's been giving me all sorts of trouble from the Achilles to the hip for half of this year. Nope, this is the right side that's sometimes given me problems when the left side has acted up, maybe making me over-compensate and give it extra stress. This is also the side with the old basketball injury. Normally it gets better
26 miles last week. On schedule for 28 this week.
The 4 milers are all going well. No issues with the calf, hamstring or Achilles on the left. Looks as though that little nagger is behind me for now. Being better about my stretching and doing a little leg work during those exciting work meetings a few times a week. Baby steps. The old tendinosis below the right knee hurts some, but gets better as I go along. It's more of a little sting than anything and rest does it no good, so...
Sunr
As usual the summer is racing on by with entirely inadequate time spent in the high country.
The first trip of the year went up into the shadow of Mt Evans. I'd planned to drive up and hike down to the lakes until discovering the road is now reservation-only, go to recreation.gov several weeks in advance to make a booking. Good grief. So, it's five miles and 1600ft up and in, from the bottom parking lot. This was full by 7:30am on a Saturday. Made myself a parking spot in a pullout a couple hu
I was really looking forward to last weekend. The calf was behaving reasonably well and my 3 milers were all going OK. Each one a little better than the previous one in fact. A few of the days I even forgot to stretch it beforehand and it was still OK. My plan was to go 5 on Saturday.
At this point I remind myself that 5 miles when I'm not in very good shape is likely to wipe me out for the rest of the day. The would no doubt be a nap sometime Saturday afternoon. Not a bad thing, really.
First decent run in I don't know how long. Suppose I could look back in the running log, but I'm too lazy for that. It was certainly before the Achilles and hamstring stretch this spring/early summer. (yes, I wrote "stretch" on purpose)
Might have even been last summer before the knee when whack.
In the interest of full disclosure, it was only 3 miles, and I did make a pit stop at the POP next to the softball field behind St. Colette's Catholic Church. (just short of mile 2). And, yeah
July 2021 in review!
Total mileage for the month: 320.8
June 28-July 4: 65.9
July 5-11: 86.2
July 12-18: 74.8
July 19-25: 51.3
July 26-August 1: 86.1
God Bless the USA!
Races:
July 3: 3.1 on the 3rd in 18:09 in an unofficial 5k race put on by my running group. I decided in advance that I wouldn'
The Short:
I ran in what I hope will be my first of many USATF Masters* Championship races! I also hope it is the worst race performance I produce in a competition like this; though I was able to hang on for a 2nd place finish in age group 40-44 and 5th overall female in the race, my time was a huge underperformance in relation to my fitness. I'm sure no one is surprised that it was hot and humid in Iowa on July 24. I went to compete without expecting a fast time, but I didn't expect to
I had signed up for 2 triathlons in 2020 .... hence I am now signed up for 2 triathlons in 2021. The first one is on 8/7 and is an olympic distance - swim 1 mile, bike 22 miles and run 10k. The other one is a half Ironman - swim 1.2, bike 55, run 13.1.
My training has been ALL over the place with the one constant being CrossFit. 😅 Running has been pretty much shut down since Jim Thorpe in May due to a calf strain. I've slowly started adding in a very few miles.
Swimming has been pretty
Again.
Been several days without that little pull in the hamstring, so I'm planning another try on Monday. Suppose I could have waited until after I actually tried to run before I posted about it, but I'm a little antsy.
Other than that, not much happening here.
Latest books:
The Dark Tower (VII - last one). Stephen King. Sort of just wanted this one to be over. Hated the ending. King wrote that he added it after the first publication because everyone wanted a "real" endin
I ran the first Michigan Ragnar Trail relay at the Hanson's Recreation Area near Grayling, MI back in 2019 with a group of friends from our running group and had a great time. We signed up again for 2020 but it was canceled due to COVID and rescheduled for June 25-26, 2021.
The Ragnar trail relay is a little different from the road relay where you have 8 member teams and all teams camp out in the same place where the start and finish for all the runs are from the same location. The rela
...die in a fire-y car crash or fall from a plane at 30,000 feet without a parachute?
...lose an arm or a leg?
...go blind or deaf?
...have a strained Achilles or a strained hamstring?
After several slow weeks, trying to nurse this hamstring through its current issues no doubt related to the Achilles from earlier in the spring, I decided to call it what it is.
I'm injured.
I'd hoped that the four day weekend Mrs. Dave and I spent out of town would be enough rest, bu
I meant to write more often – I really did…Since I wrote in April I have run a couple in person races and some virtual races. I did an in person 10k that I also counted as a virtual 10k (because to me, virtual races barely count, and it isn’t as though I don’t cover that distance regularly anyway…) The in person 10k was the “Jim Schoemehl Run” to fundraise for ALS research. I also counted this for my virtual Flying Pig 10k, mainly because it was that weekend. I did the 3-way challenge, so as soo
A little background on me, I rarely post.
About 15 years ago I did 0 exercise. I was in my early 40s and weighed about 250.
Then I slowly started eating a little better and adding in light exercise.
About 12 years ago I bought a hybrid, and on the maiden voyage, likely a whopping 2 miles, I thought I was going to die.
Fast forward to about 5 years ago, I was at about 175, and running my first Mt Washington Hill run, I've done it a total of 4 times, and I use the word run, v
This is the hardest part.
Where you're running enough to know you're running. But not enough to feel good about it. Not long enough or far enough to feel the high, or even feel comfortable. Then there's that nagging hamstring or tight calf that keeps you from pushing the pace at all. You know if you could spend some time at a higher effort, then the easy will actually feel easy. But you've at least learned that lesson, so you keep it slow, constantly monitoring that left leg for signs of di
June 2021 in review!
Total mileage for the month: 332.4 (for 2093 miles for 2021 so far!)
May 31-June 6: 68.8
June 7-13: 73.1
June 14-20: 82.4
June 21-27: 93.9
June 28-July 4: projected at 70ish (cut back week)
Fast friends!
Races:
June 5: Hospital Hill Half Marathon in 1:25:27 for 1st overall female and tons of fun - not to mention hea
I'll give you my first race recap in forever and then I'll try to say why I've been so absent. If you remember me, you know I'm one for brevity but this one may stretch just a bit.
A colleague and friend has been working on getting his fitness back and we do virtual check-ins with FB messages a few mornings a week to report on running and mental health status. A local 5K I've been wanting to do was a "go" for this year and was held last Saturday. it's called the Higgins Lake Sunrise Run
Hopefully nothing serious.
Tuesday morning this week the weather went crazy. It was 41o when I woke up at 5:30. When is it 41o in Michigan 3 weeks into June? Never, that's when. My early meeting had been cancelled, so it was a golden opportunity for a longer than usual run. Of course, since Achilles isn't 100%, longer than usual means probably 5 miles.
Even wore a long sleeved shirt.
About a mile out Sammy the left hammy began to tighten up. Slowing down helped, but not fully and
The short:
I kept saying “it’s not a real race” before the Hospital Hill Half Marathon, but I am also well-aware that when I get into a race I will not run easy! Now, when it’s a sunny 74-80 degrees, the course is very hilly, I'm 3 weeks off a marathon, I am just off a rest phase, and I am 3 days off of a major vacation, that doesn't mean I am going to knock it out of the park, but I'll give it all I've got on the day. That is exactly what I did at Hospital Hill, and I was very happy with
Note to self: Try not to use your basement as a woodshop. The clean up is a bear.
Garages are for parking cars.
After finishing the floor and baseboard trim, and with no other project at the top of the priority list, I decided to make a thorough job of cleaning the basement. It's a half-finished space. In the unfinished half, there's a workbench where I keep my tools, paint and assorted pieces of junk and leftovers from other projects - wood, screws, wire, pipe, nuts & bolts, cast
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