Finding my running groove (Comments Welcome)

[SarahDisney]

Yay 4 miles! Running in Maine sounds nice ... flatter and cooler is perfect this time of year.

Congrats on surviving work this week! Move in and orientation ... sounds super busy. At least you get a long weekend vacation

 

[Jules76126]

The month of September started off really well from a running perspective. I felt like I was finally getting into a routine and the weather was not as bad in terms of humidity. My plans for this month was to stay on track on building up my mileage. I was also coming up with a plan on when I can run outside and when I need to head to the treadmill as its starting to get dark earlier here and I don't love running by myself at night.

Well my running has been placed on hold for the time being. Depending on your news coverage, you may have saw that there was a massive natural gas leak in Massachusetts this past weekend. I happen to live in that area. So Thursday night, I was at work and was receiving tons of calls and texts about the situation. At that time, all we knew was there were some fires and that gas service may need to be turned off. I don't normally work after 4:30 PM, but we had an event that night so I needed to be there till 7. I was texting Peter to see if he was able to get home earlier to check everything out. Well they ended up diverting the trains out of Boston so he got stuck and was not able to get home. I had to go pick him up from this alternate station. And to put things in perspective, it was an hour from my work to the train station. At this point, it was 8:00 PM and there were massive evacuation orders and they were shutting down all highway exits into the affected areas.

We have two cats and I was freaking out that we would not be able to get to them in time. We decided to try and get into our town via the back roads. We were able to make it to the apartment. It was very eerie as the whole town was black as they had cut all electrical power. There were firetrucks and police cars everywhere and we could hear the news helicopters overhead. When we got to the house, we parked in the street as they had said that the smallest spark, even from your cell phone could set off an explosion. We didn't smell gas so Peter went and opened the door. Hocus was right there so he grabbed him and handed him to me to put in the car. It took longer to get Charlie, but we were able to find him. The whole place smelled strongly of gas so we didn't grab anything else and just left. It was pretty stressful, but we felt much better after saving the animals.

We spent the weekend at my Peter's brothers apartment in NH and my in laws came and took the cats for us. We were finally able to get into the apartment yesterday. But we have no gas service for the foreseeable future. This means no stove, no hot water, and no hear (we luckily don't need the heat now). They are saying it could be days to weeks to get service back. We are driving to different peoples places to take showers and go to the grocery stores. We have decided to place running on hold for now until this is cleared up. Important thing is that we are alive and well and it could have been much worse.

 

[DopeyBadger]

The month of September started off really well from a running perspective. I felt like I was finally getting into a routine and the weather was not as bad in terms of humidity. My plans for this month was to stay on track on building up my mileage. I was also coming up with a plan on when I can run outside and when I need to head to the treadmill as its starting to get dark earlier here and I don't love running by myself at night.

Well my running has been placed on hold for the time being. Depending on your news coverage, you may have saw that there was a massive natural gas leak in Massachusetts this past weekend. I happen to live in that area. So Thursday night, I was at work and was receiving tons of calls and texts about the situation. At that time, all we knew was there were some fires and that gas service may need to be turned off. I don't normally work after 4:30 PM, but we had an event that night so I needed to be there till 7. I was texting Peter to see if he was able to get home earlier to check everything out. Well they ended up diverting the trains out of Boston so he got stuck and was not able to get home. I had to go pick him up from this alternate station. And to put things in perspective, it was an hour from my work to the train station. At this point, it was 8:00 PM and there were massive evacuation orders and they were shutting down all highway exits into the affected areas.

We have two cats and I was freaking out that we would not be able to get to them in time. We decided to try and get into our town via the back roads. We were able to make it to the apartment. It was very eerie as the whole town was black as they had cut all electrical power. There were firetrucks and police cars everywhere and we could hear the news helicopters overhead. When we got to the house, we parked in the street as they had said that the smallest spark, even from your cell phone could set off an explosion. We didn't smell gas so Peter went and opened the door. Hocus was right there so he grabbed him and handed him to me to put in the car. It took longer to get Charlie, but we were able to find him. The whole place smelled strongly of gas so we didn't grab anything else and just left. It was pretty stressful, but we felt much better after saving the animals.

We spent the weekend at my Peter's brothers apartment in NH and my in laws came and took the cats for us. We were finally able to get into the apartment yesterday. But we have no gas service for the foreseeable future. This means no stove, no hot water, and no hear (we luckily don't need the heat now). They are saying it could be days to weeks to get service back. We are driving to different peoples places to take showers and go to the grocery stores. We have decided to place running on hold for now until this is cleared up. Important thing is that we are alive and well and it could have been much worse.

That sounds super scary and stressful. Glad to hear you are all ok though. Hoping for the best outcome moving forward for you.

 

[Jules76126]

So I went for my first run in two weeks on Saturday. I was actually really looking forward to this run as it was in the high 60s/low 70s with virtually no humidity. I figured I would go out and do a nice easy 3 miles and just get back into the groove. This was the worst run ever! I felt really good for the first 1.5 miles. I wasn't pushing it or anything. But as I hit the halfway point, I started to fell really nauseous. Now this has happened before on really hot and humid days, but I was surprised on Saturday. I decided to walk for a minute to see if it was better and I really thought I was going to throw up. After a few minutes, I tried running again and made it another .5 miles before I had to stop. By this point, I was almost home and the final stretch is uphill so I just decided to walk it. Ended with 2.5 miles and I was okay with that. I think I may have been dehydrated or possible ate too soon as I had breakfast an hour before my run. Either way I was glad I went out, but would prefer not to have to repeat that experience any time soon.

We are still without natural gas. They finally announced details on Friday and supposedly they are going to have everything turned on by Thanksgiving. Yep that long! Not exactly what we were hoping for as that is a long time with no heat/hot water/stove. They may have people turned on sooner, but not before at least the middle of October. The town provided hot plates on Saturday for cooking. They were also going to give out a space heater for heat. However, those things are notoriously unsafe and we live in a really old house that was converted into apartments. I do not trust that the place won't catch on fire so we decided to pass on that. For now, we are not spending any weekends at home. I have packed my running stuff to run after work in my parents neighborhood and then shower there. I am lucky that they live 10 mins from my work. Peter is still working on figuring out his shower arrangements. He was doing cold showers, but with the temperature this morning at 50*, that is really not possible for much longer. Just trying to run and keep the routine as normal as possible. Looking forward to running in the cooler temps today.

 

[Jules76126]

So I have neglected my running for a variety of reasons and thus did not want to update. Main one being, we still have no natural gas service. They are saying November 19th, but it is getting pretty chilly around these parts. We at least have hot water, but I am getting tired of pizza and microwaveable meals.



So I had originally set a goal for myself to run a race in 2018. This was something I had wanted to do for awhile and never committed too. Well here we are end of October 2018 and this goal has still not been achieved. So I started to think about whether I liked running, if I really wanted to run a race or whether I felt pressured too and where I wanted everything to head going forward, specifically in relation to 2019. And I can say as of today, I have signed up for three races -


Yes 3 races. So I decided I do like running, but need motivation to stay with through the cold snowy months. So I decided to start 2019 off with a bang and sign up for the Snowflake Shuffle 5K in January. I'm what some would call cheap so I hate spending money on something and then throwing it away or not using it. So if I sign up for a race, barring no illness or injuries, I'm running it.



I also have always wanted to run a HM and say that Maine Coast was advertising for their May event. May is relatively flat and it will be very scenic along the coast. Plus by May it has usually warmed up a bit so the weather shouldn't be as much as factor. And I figured this will keep me moving throughout the Spring. I will probably reach out to @DopeyBadger for a HM training plan after the January 5K.

So what is this 3rd race I speak of? Well we always go to Maine for Thanksgiving to see my In-laws. And yesterday my SIL texted us asking if we wanted to run a 5K Turkey Trot. DH doesn't want to, but he said he would cheer us all on (he is not quite ready to race yet). I figured why not? It would get me to my goal of 1 race in 2018 and then my first race I wouldn't have to run alone. So SIL, BIL, and I all plan to run. We probably will all just run our own race and then meet up at the finish. So hopefully I will start posting here more going forward.

 

[Kazrak]

Oh, wow. Maine Coast is right in my old stomping grounds - I grew up in Kennebunk and Sanford. That's...frighteningly tempting. Not next year, since I'm already traveling cross-country for Star Wars Half, but that might be a good one for 2020...

Good luck with your Turkey Trot!

 

[Bree]

You still don’t have heat or a way to cook? That is horrible.

Yay for signing up for races! I’ve never participated in a Turkey Trot.

 

[Jules76126]

Oh, wow. Maine Coast is right in my old stomping grounds - I grew up in Kennebunk and Sanford. That's...frighteningly tempting. Not next year, since I'm already traveling cross-country for Star Wars Half, but that might be a good one for 2020...

Good luck with your Turkey Trot!

Yes my in laws live in Ocean Park so its easy for us.

You still don’t have heat or a way to cook? That is horrible.

Yay for signing up for races! I’ve never participated in a Turkey Trot.

Yes it is frustrating. The governor is having a press conference today to update everyone on whether or not Columbia Gas will make their deadline of November 19th. It's looking doubtful so we have started to think about other housing options as they are saying it may not be before January. Luckily, we have lots of family in the area, but we do feel bad for people who do not.

 

[Jules76126]

So this week actually went very well. I think not having heat is encouraging me to spend the least amount of time home as possible. New Estimate is December 16th Maybe Santa can bring us heat for Christmas.

This work week is feeling a little like this -

Probably because I worked two Saturdays in a row

Saturday (10/27)
I had to work this day. It was also a torrential downpour. I had thought about going to the gym when I finished worked, but I was tired and we decided to hit up the local brewery instead. Yay for one more pumpkin beer of the season.

Sunday (10/28)
We ran errands all afternoon and I did not feel like going out again so I laid on the couch and watched the real housewives.

Monday (11/29)
Yes this update does include running
Running - 5.02 miles at 11:05/mi
Steps - 12,117
Cross training - Abs and Glutes routine

Tuesday (11/30) - Struggle city here
Running - 3.11 miles at 11:08/mi
Steps - 11,000

Wednesday (11/31)
We do not get trick or treaters and do not have kids yet so no Halloween fun for us. We did end the night with a showing of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"
Running - 3.10 miles at 10:57/mi
Steps - 9,094
Cross Training - Abs and Glutes routine

Thursday (11/1) - this was a great run, probably could have gone longer but needed to get DH from the Train.
Running - 4.01 miles at 11:20/mi
Steps - 7,705

Friday (11/2)
Rest day

Overall a pretty good week after a slow start. All of these miles were on the treadmill. I do not like running in the dark by myself. Every noise makes me think someone is going to jump me and I live in a very safe area and carry pepper spray, but I am uneasy so I don't do it.


So my plan is to run outside as much as possible on weekends and hopefully get DH to run outside with me a few times during the week. It will really be weather and schedule dependent. I wanted to run tomorrow, but the weather is showing downpours all day and with no heat I am not a fan of running in the rain.

This week the plan is -
Saturday - run? Since it is going to rain, not sure I will make it to the gym. We have a wedding this night so may have to skip due to time.
Sunday - run outside
Monday - run
Tuesday - Run? This will depend on what time it is after voting
Wednesday - run
Thursday - Run? I don't head into work till 11:00 AM this day so I will depend on whether or now I can drag myself out of bed. We shall see.

 

[JennysSeven]

I can't even imagine living in the NE and still not having heat in November/December! That must be a HUGE pain. I hope it doesn't get delayed any further.
I totally hear you on the running in the dark thing. My neighborhood is super safe but I startle really easily and end up creeping myself out, lol. Thankfully my 15-year-old son usually runs with me, so if we do end up putting a run off until dark at least I'm not by myself!

 

[Jules76126]

This was not a good week of running. But got to take the good with the bad -

Saturday - we had a wedding this day. I was hoping to run in the morning, but it was pouring. DH had taken the car in for service and got back too late to make it to the gym. The wedding was nice and we had a good time. We stayed at the hotel so we actually had one night to enjoy heat.

Sunday - planned to run but was super tired from the wedding. Instead chose to hang out on the couch and watch football (saints vs vikings great games, packers vs patriots was okay)

Monday - 3.61 miles at 11:10 min/mil

Tuesday - 4.01 miles at 11:03 min/mil

Wednesday - ended up taking to my mom after work and then DH and I needed to discuss holiday plans

Thursday - worked late

Overall not a great week. However, this week is looking up. I have a long weekend due to veterans day so I should be able to get three solid runs in. I have an event Tuesday night so will be skipping that day, but planning on Wednesday/Thursday. My work schedule is changing for a few weeks as we are at the height of college application season so I will need to work on adjusting my runs, but should be able to get them on all. Still no heat, but they are on track so should have it before Christmas.

 

[jennamfeo]

Still no heat, but they are on track so should have it before Christmas.

OMG. I can't even imagine. I hope it gets back sooner than that!!

 

[Jules76126]

OMG. I can't even imagine. I hope it gets back sooner than that!!

Me too. But we are prepared for the worst. Let’s just say I have never been more excited to go to my in laws for thanksgiving

 

[Jules76126]

It has been a busy few weeks. Finally finding time to provide an update.

November 10 - November 18
We actually house sat for some friends this week. They were on a European cruise and offered us their home since they have heat. This also allowed them to have someone to feed their cats so it was a win for all. The nice thing was the house is only about 10-15 minutes from our apartment so we could go back and forth all week to get clothes and check on things.

Saturday (11/10) - 6.01 miles at 11.06 min/mile
Sunday (11/11) - 2.54 miles at 10:33 min/mile - this was my first run outside in a month and it felt great. I also got to test out my new cold weather running pants and I really liked them.
Monday (11/12) - 3.01 at 10:28 min/mile - this run was a struggle.
Tuesday (11/13) - worked late
Wednesday (11/14) - worked late
Thursday (11/15) - went grocery shopping
Friday (11/16) - planned rest day
Saturday (11/17) - worked. Had planned to run after work, but we lost power. We were not sure how our friends hot water heater worked and didn't want to chance that we would come back and have cold showers.
Sunday (11/18) - 3.01 at 10:38 min/mile - felt like I had not run in a week

Sadly Sunday we had to move back home to our cold apartment. The good news was we were leaving for Thanksgiving in Maine at my in-laws on Tuesday so it would be a short lived stay.

Monday (11/19) - 3.35 at 10:57 min/mil
Tuesday - leaving for Maine. But we got our heat back on before we left. It was the best Thanksgiving gift we could have received. We cranked that heat before we left as we wanted it to be warm when we got home.
Wednesday (11/21) - 2.56 at 10:58 min/mil - this was a tough run. It had snowed the night before and the streets were very icy.
Thursday - Thanksgiving - we were supposed to run a Turkey Trot. However, it was canceled due to the cold temps and wind. We woke up and the real feel was -7 and the wind was just starting to pick up. Overall, it was probably a smart idea to cancel.
Friday (11/23) - 3.00 at 11:23 min/mil - this run was also very cold. It was a feels like 0 (actual temp 10). It was a challenging run, but glad I went out there. We then went out and braved the black Friday crowds, although it was not too bad. My biggest Black Friday disappointment was that I did not order the AfterShockz headphones in time to get their BOGO deal.
Saturday - off
Sunday - rained and drove home

This week is back to the grind. I did run last night but will leave that for this week's update. I will leave you with a few snowy photos of my run from Wednesday

 

[disneygpa]

Oh my! I was just whining about a windy day for my last run... but I'll take windy and 50 over those snowy pics any day!! Looks very pretty but scary to run in!! I have the AfterShockz headphones and love them!!

 

[Jules76126]

Happy New Year to everyone. I for one am excited to be done with the old year. It has been awhile since I have updated this journal. December was a crazy busy month for me. I traveled to Florida for work, had many Christmas events, and it is the busiest months of the year at our office. I am lucky enough to get two weeks paid off for the holidays as the university closes, but that means we need to cram a month’s worth of work into less than 3 weeks. However, just because I did not update, does not mean I fell off the running wagon. I am happy to report that December was my highest mileage month to date at 46 miles.


The New Year also gave me so time to reflect on my last running year. I had set lofty goals at the beginning of 2018, with the determination to crush them. However, as I sit here in the first few days of 2019, I can say I did not achieve one goal. I knew that this was going to happen back in the Fall, but it still sucks to type that out. I started off 2018 strong by getting into a gym routine and cranking out a fair amount of miles in February and March. I had my eye on a race in April, but fear of not finishing held me back and I never signed up. I ran intermittently throughout the Spring and then left for two weeks for Ireland. Once I can came back from that trip at the end of June, the wheel officially fell off. It was a hot summer and I had no desire to even attempt to get into a routine. I began to think that maybe running just was not for me. However, I loved following along with everyone else’s running journeys whether through the running thread or through their journals. And I had serious race envy as people crushed their goals. I decided that I needed to give running one more chance. But I took all goals away. My only goal was to get out there as much as I could. I wanted to see if I actually liked running or if I liked the idea of being a runner.


So this past Fall, I ran. I ran outside and on the treadmill. I started off doing run/walk intervals and walked more than I ran. I had great days and terrible days, slow days and somewhat fast days, but I still went out there. And I learned a lot about myself. I learned that I did like running. I learned that running in the cold is not that bad once you have the right gear. I learned that you need to appreciate the days where you feel like you can run forever and it’s okay to have days where you feel like you couldn’t have done another step. I learned that if I am going to run in the morning, I need to have something to eat before I head out or I will feel sick. I learned that if I do put in the work, it will pay off. I went from run/walk to now running 3+ miles without stopping. I think we all struggle with the concept of being a “real” runner. I know I do. But I began to appreciate that everyone has their own battles whether they run 5 miles a week or 50 and I just need to remember that I am a runner, even on days where I don’t feel like one.


So this brings me to 2019. Yes, I did not complete one goal I had set in 2018. However, I do still believe in goals. I would say I am a very goal oriented person in life and I believe that goals can help push you. However, I do not want to be sitting here in January 2020 and be in the same place as today. So I set attainable goals – ones that I should be able to complete this year. These are the goals that come with little to no pressure and should keep running fun. And I may revise these and change them as the year goes one.


Attainable

Run a race – any distance

Run a half marathon

Run 4/5 times a week

Aim to run 50 miles a month

Strength train at least 3 times per week

Drink more water


I will be back to update this journal more frequently. And I look forward to following along on another year of everyone’s running adventures.

 

[michigandergirl]

You may not have met your goals, but it sounds like you learned a lot about yourself, and that means personal growth, so yay for that!! Cheers to a new year and a fresh start!!

 

[GollyGadget]

It's great you are learning from your struggles in 2018 and using those lessons to plan a successful 2019. Best of luck!

 

[JennysSeven]

Goals are great but so is taking the time to figure out that you really do just enjoy running. I hear you on the "real" runner thing...I would never think someone else isn't a runner based on miles, speed, walking breaks, etc., but for some reason I had some undefined "level" deep in my subconscious that I had to reach before I could consider myself a "real" runner. I don't even know what that "level" is, but it hit me during my 10-miler last weekend for the first time, that hey, I'm running...therefore I'm a runner! I don't know why we're so hard on ourselves.

 

[Jules76126]

So I am actually running a race this weekend and I do not think it will get canceled this time. I had saw the Snowflake shuffle back in the summer time and thought that would be a great first race to kick off the New Year. The race is only a 5k and about 30 minutes away from my house so not too bad of a drive. I am also hoping this race helps keep my motivation up for the rest of the year.

The race itself is put on by one of the local running stores in New Hampshire and it's there 7th year hosting the event so I feel like it should be well organized. Part of the reason I signed up for this race was because of the swag. Instead of a t-shirt, we get hoodies which I am very excited about. I tell my husband that I am only signing up for races that have cool medals or great swag. He likes to tease me about it as he feels that races should only give medals to those who place - whatever.

It is supposed to be a high of 25* on Sunday and partly sunny. Could be a little cold and windy at the start. But I would rather a little cold and sunny than the original forecast which called for 1-3 inches of snow. It is New England in January after all so I couldn't count on it being too warm. I have an outfit picked out which is nothing special - fleeced lined pants, long sleeve tech shirt, and my pink northface running jacket. I will also have gloves and a hat. I am going to put a warmer jacket in the car so I can wear that on the way home if I am cold.

The race starts at 9:45 AM, but I need to pick up my swag and bib on race day so we will be there early. Also the start and end is at a local restaurant that is on a very busy road, but most parking is across the street. You could get parking at the restaurant for an extra $15, but I was like I'll pass. The police are not letting people cross it on foot so we have to take a shuttle bus across the street and the last one leaves at 8:45 AM. It is a little annoying, but they would rather everyone be safe. Hopefully, everything will go well; a little nervous, but I feel like that is to be expected. If nothing else, I thought this would be a nice easy fun run to start my racing career off with. At least it will be an automatic PR!