Running in the Mitten & Beyond!

[michigandergirl]

Week 11 Training Update



It finally feels like spring! We had temps in the 40's, 50's, and even a day that reached 60 with thunderstorms. This weekend was chilly again, temps only in the mid-30's, but it was dry and most of the snow has melted.

Monday
Lunchtime walk (25 min)
Gentle Yoga (20 min)

Tuesday
3 miles @ EA - treadmill (with all of the melting snow, it was refreezing at night)
Yoga (20 min)

Wednesday
6 miles @ EB + strides - treadmill (again with the refreezing)

Thursday
Lunchtime walk (40 min)
Yoga (60 min)

Friday
Elliptical (35 min)

Saturday
8 miles @ EB + strides - My EB pace is 10:47 and I ran this one a bit closer to LR. I think I was just so excited to be running outside! Splits were: 10:36, 10:35, 10:28, 10:33, 10:39, 10:32, 10:38, 10:42 for an average pace of 10:35. I forgot the strides. I was consistent at least.

I see blue sky!


Goodbye snow. Please do not return until December.


Sunday
8.5 miles: 3 mile WU + 4 miles @ HM Tempo (9:14) + 0.5 mile @ Daniels T (8:54) + 1 mile CD - This one was tough but I really feel like I crushed it. WU splits 10:46, 10:33, 10:22 + HM Tempo splits 9:23 (uphill), 9:07, 9:15, 9:11 + Daniels T split 8:45 + CD split 11:35. My legs were toast at the end.

The rivers are high from all of the rain and melting snow.


Overall a solid training week. Looking forward to more spring-like weather coming.

Only 2 more weeks until Disney!!! I will try to post some pics of my SW running outfits this week.

 

[Jules76126]

The snow has almost all melted here as well. It is snow nice to walk outside and be like, it isnt that cold today.

 

[michigandergirl]

The snow has almost all melted here as well. It is snow nice to walk outside and be like, it isnt that cold today.

Yes!!! It's amazing how warm 40 degrees feels.

 

[TheHamm]

Yes!!! It's amazing how warm 40 degrees feels.

ditching the layers is bound to improve speed, right?

 

[michigandergirl]

ditching the layers is bound to improve speed, right?

I like the way you think.

 

[evre13]

Overall a solid training week. Looking forward to more spring-like weather coming.

Only 2 more weeks until Disney!!! I will try to post some pics of my SW running outfits this week.

Looks like a great week! It was warming up in DC, but it's currently pouring down rain and 44 degrees. Spring, please come!

Can't wait to see your outfits!

 

[michigandergirl]

Can't wait to see your outfits!

Thanks for reminding me! It's been such a long week. Today feels like it should be Friday. I can't get my butt off the couch...

 

[michigandergirl]

Star Wars running outfits!!

These aren't the greatest pictures, not enough light in my bedroom, but here they are.

I'm making my family all wear these green Yoda shirts for the 5K.


Chewie!


Rebel Pilot


I haven't decided which one I'm going to wear for the 10K and which one for the half. I haven't done a test run in the Chewie tank yet, but the armholes feel a little off, like they could be prone to chafing, so I'm leaning towards the 10K for Chewie and Rebel Pilot for the half.

In other news...
I decided yesterday to sign up for a race with a friend tomorrow - The Kent City Ridge Run 15K. I figure if I have to run 8.5 miles this weekend, I might as well run 9.3 miles and get a medal & a T-shirt. And it was super cheap - only $27 (even signing up last minute)!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

I love the rebel pilot costume!

 

[SheHulk]

Star Wars running outfits!!

These aren't the greatest pictures, not enough light in my bedroom, but here they are.

I'm making my family all wear these green Yoda shirts for the 5K.
View attachment 389983

Chewie!
View attachment 389979

Rebel Pilot
View attachment 389981

I haven't decided which one I'm going to wear for the 10K and which one for the half. I haven't done a test run in the Chewie tank yet, but the armholes feel a little off, like they could be prone to chafing, so I'm leaning towards the 10K for Chewie and Rebel Pilot for the half.

In other news...
I decided yesterday to sign up for a race with a friend tomorrow - The Kent City Ridge Run 15K. I figure if I have to run 8.5 miles this weekend, I might as well run 9.3 miles and get a medal & a T-shirt. And it was super cheap - only $27 (even signing up last minute)!

These costumes look great!

 

[michigandergirl]

Week 12 Training Update and Kent City Ridge Run 15K Recap

Monday
Yoga (30 min)
Dog Walk (30 min)

Tuesday
Run 5 miles @ EA - treadmill
Yoga (20 min)

Wednesday
Run 1 mile @ WU + 2 x 1.5 miles @ T w/ 2 min rest + 4 x 200m @ I w/ 200m RI + 0.5mi @ CD - treadmill. I'm still failing miserably at these "T" based runs. I think it's just too early in the morning for me. My body just doesn't want to run any longer than a mile at "T speed" at 4:30am. I should try to get outside and try these now that it's better weather, but then I'd have to deal with hills in addition to the speed work.

Thursday
Lunchtime walk (40 min)
Yoga (60 min)

Friday
Elliptical (30 min)

Saturday

Kent City Ridge Run 15K

I ran this race once before 2 years ago. I remembered there we some hills, but I failed to remember how many. I also failed to remember that the race is nicknamed "Jill's Hills" (Jill being the race director). OMG, there was not one flat spot on the entire course!!



Angie & I found a couple of familiar faces before the start, including Robert "The Tutu Man" as he is know in our running community. He wears a tutu and carries the American flag for every race he runs.


It was a sunny day with temps during the race between 25 & 35 degrees. My plan was to do some HM Tempo work during this race, but after 2 miles I knew I would have to abandon that plan, so instead I just ran fast when I could (downhill), and ran slower the rest of the time (uphill).

Kent City is a farming community, so we ran on a mix of gravel and paved roads, passing many cows, horses, and chickens along the way. The smells from the pig farm were not pleasant, but otherwise it was a nice change of scenery for me.


I did manage to smile for the camera toward the end, even though I was so over the hills at this point.


Overall, despite the hills, the race was a success. My finish time was 1:32:35 with an average pace of 9:55, which is over a 7 minute PR from when I ran this race 2 years ago.

And the best part of this race is the post-race refreshments. They had quite a spread of the usual stuff (fruit, pretzels, cookies), plus a baked potato bar!!!


Sunday
Run 5 miles @ EA - A nice slow run with nice spring temps in the 40's.

The swans are back - another sure sign of spring.


One more week and we'll be on our way to Disney!!

 

[DopeyBadger]

My finish time was 1:32:35 with an average pace of 9:55, which is over a 7 minute PR from when I ran this race 2 years ago.

 

[ZellyB]

Love your race outfits!! And congrats on another race and a PR for the course that's great.

It's so amazing that Spring is finally here!!!

 

[michigandergirl]

I promise I'm still here! I have so much DIS reading to catch up on and, of course, laundry.

We had a great time at Disney and I loved the Star Wars races. I hope to have a mini trip and race report for you soon.

In the meantime, I have another half marathon to run on Sunday - this was poor planning on my part, not realizing they moved the Gazelle Girl races up a week because of Easter - so it will be a last minute decision whether I want to actually race it or not. Currently my IT Band is bugging me and spring allergies are kicking my butt.

 

[ZellyB]

Anxious for the trip/race report.

 

[michigandergirl]

Spring Break Disney Trip & Star Wars Weekend Trip Report (part 1)

My daughter had been begging to go back to Disney for awhile now, so when I found out Star Wars Weekend fell within our spring break this year, I pulled the trigger (twist my arm).

We really wanted to stay at the Boardwalk again, but Chris wanted to fly this year instead of drive (we've driven the last 4 years), so we decided to stay at Port Orleans Riverside instead to make up for the cost of flying. We had stayed at French Quarter before, but that was before my daughter came along, so we now need that 5th sleeper. The grounds were beautiful and our room was just fine for the amount of time we were in it.

Sunday
We arrived in the afternoon and went straight to the pool. We made friends with the bartender. This was a reoccurring theme every afternoon all week:


Monday
Animal Kingdom first (my favorite park). We rope dropped FOP since I didn't have a FP for it until later in the week - worked great, only waited about 20 minutes. We loved the ride and Pandora is amazing. We hit Dinoland next, then rode EE twice - a family favorite.


Next up KS - another family favorite. Lots of animal out & about, but as always, the lions were sleeping.


@ZellyB We liked these statues too!!


I bought Memory Maker for this trip and we got some great family photos. I love Allison's shirt - it's Wall-E holding baby Groot.


Later that evening we had dinner at Nine Dragons in Epcot. We always spend lots of time in the China pavilion, celebrating Allison's birth country.


I absolutely love the Flower & Garden Festival! I could walk around all day and look at all of the lovely flowers and topiaries. I loved that they had Miss Piggy this year:



Allison & I bought some new head gear while killing time before our Soarin FP:


One more family pic to wrap up a busy first day - Baymax!


I'll try to get part 2 done tomorrow, but right now I have to get some other stuff done before Game of Thrones!!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Looks like a great first day! Love your daughters hat!

 

[michigandergirl]

Looks like a great first day! Love your daughters hat!

Thanks! She is a huge Stitch fan.

 

[ZellyB]

Those Dug and Russell statues are great! I love the picture.

Looks like a fantastic trip so far.

 

[evre13]

Can't wait to read all about your trip - it was such a great few days to be at Disney!