Railroad Days 5k

Seriously slapping this on here then heading out the door.

I raced this morning here in Galesburg for the annual Railroad Days 5/10k.  I chose the 5k option.  I have done this race several times before.  It used to be an evening race then got moved to a morning race.  I felt ok.  Not the best and not the worst.  I keep chasing my pr and was hoping for it today.  My first two mile splits had me on track to achieve that, but my third mile my legs turned into concrete and I slowed down.

I still managed to pull ahead of the female crowd and placed first.  This race awards an overall female award and a from Galesburg top finisher award.  I have been the top Galesburg finisher plenty of times, but never overall.  This was my year.  I'm still happy to be cranking out the times that I do.  It may not be super fast, but it's fast enough for me!

This also doubled as my 5k for Running, Loving, Living's  Summer Virtual Run.  You still have time to sign up & enter this fun race!

Ok, I'm out the door.  Have a great week everyone!!!!

Friday's Findings

I'm under my usual self imposed stress of getting ready for vacation.  As of now, I have NOTHING packed.  I DO have a fairly clean house and ALL of the laundry done.  I just need to throw it in bags & get going.  I need to get this post done in wham, bam, thank you m'am style and get this show on the road.

This week I found 2 things while out running, or well, technically biking to/from a run with one of them.  The spoon I found completely flattened in the middle of the road a few blocks from my house.  If by chance I was going to get attacked that day I was PREPARED to spoon my offender to death.  (I'm teasing, you know.  I am aware of the tragedies that are happening to women while they are running.  There has been another well publicized one this week.  It breaks my heart, it really does!)  Anyway you never know when a spoon might come in handy, but this one was so flat that I threw it in the trash after I took it's picture.

While biking to my Wednesday group run I saw an article of cloth in the middle of Henderson St.  I could see a spot of blue on the crumpled heap and was pretty sure I knew what it was.  I was in a rush to get to my run on time so I passed it by for the time being.  Coming back from my run I passed by the item again and once it was retrieved I knew I was right the first time.  It was a towel from our local YMCA.  I brought it home to wash it & return it to the Y.  It can accompany the stack of towels that I already have that manage to make their way home in my own gym bag.  Oops : )

My last two items I found while out at some garage sales this morning.  I love old vintage glasses.  Ones with characters on them.  I have a whole kitchen cabinet full of them.  Although lately with my kids breaking a glass here and a glass there my collection is getting small again. So I've been keeping my eye out for them.  I won't pay a lot of money for them, as some do try and capitalize on their vintage-ness.  I came across 3 today that were each less than a dollar.  Score!  And they were ones I did not already own.  The Porky & Petunia Pig ones are part of a Pepsi collection and were dated 1973 & 1976.  That dates to when I was being born so you may or may not consider that "old".  The Garfield cup is from a McDonald's series and dated 1980.

Ok, time to get down to business with this packing for vacation.  I mentioned it in my vlog on Wednesday, but I will be in Clear Lake, IA while attending a church family camp at IRBC.  I  L~O~V~E that place with a passion.  This will be my 24th summer up there, the last 11 going as a family to week 1 of 5 that they offer to families.  I will do some vlog posts for you guys while I am there, but won't be able to post.  There is no wifi, no tvs, no computers (well, we can take our own, but we won't), etc.  Just family, friends and a WHOLE LOTTA JESUS!  AND it's in IOWA....could it be more heavenly?!?!?!? (The answer is no).  Let me leave you with a view from the dock where I'll be.

Have a great week everyone!

Vloggin' Wednesday

Tuesday's Tunes - Easy

My run/workout yesterday left me completely fried.  The heat really sucked the energy out of me.  Plus at the time I didn't have enough hydration & fuel to keep me topped off.  I did ok with my bottles of water, but I needed more.  Once I came home, I dipped in the pool and properly fueled my body to replace all that I took out.  After I showered, instead of getting dressed I changed back into my jammies and lounged around all day.  I even took a good solid nap.  I was exhausted.

It was a rare day with nothing on my agenda.  Nothing is just about all I did.  I did kick into gear late in the afternoon to cook supper, clean house & the such that I usually do in the day.  When I woke up this a.m. I had my usual battle of wanting to get my run done early vs. going back for a few more zzzz's and getting it done this afternoon.  The thought of the blasted heat got me going & out the door sooner rather than later.  I could still feel the effects from yesterday so I kept it simple and slow and easy.  2 miles to cover a few streets still left in my neighborhood.

Here are the few tunes I listened to while I ran:
Cartoon Song - Chris Rice
Angel (Metro Mix) - Lionel Richie
Pink Cadillac - Natalie Cole
The Way I Was Made - Chris Tomlin

I know I need to get used to the hot temps, this is key to training for Howl at the Moon in August.  It's a tough thing to balance.  I hope that by taking it easy today I can get back on track for a good week and a good solid 5k race on Saturday.

I Run This Town & Summer Virtual Run

I've been busy running the streets of Galesburg.  It has given me a lot of motivation to get out and get it done.  It has also given me more miles than I was expecting.  Not complaining there, I like to see the miles rack up.  More than once I have set out on a run with a particular neighborhood or streets to get done and I just run them.  I don't question how far it will be or how long it will take me.  I just run.

Here is a picture of the map I have posted in my dining room.  I should have gotten a complete before shot, but got busy marking things off right away.  How it looks today is not what is shown here either.  I keep adding more red (meaning completed).  I will give an updated shot in a couple of weeks since I will be on vacation next week.

In the upper left corner I am keeping track of the dates & miles.  According to wikipedia  Galesburg is 17 square miles.  I don't know what that means in terms of actual miles of streets.  Even if I knew that number it doesn't reflect what it would take to run each street.  Especially since some streets I have to run down & back.  Others I can connect together easily and some I have to loop around to make it connect.  It will interesting to see what the grand total of miles is once I am done.

 Same map, just a closer shot.

Not every run will help me in my quest to Run this Town.  Sometimes I run a route I've already ran.  Mostly so I can get a run in for the day.  Other times, like today, I had something else to accomplish and it took me away from Galesburg all together.

I set out to run Running, Loving, Living's Summer Virtual Run.  She gave the option of a 5k or 10k.  Since I am racing the Galesburg Railroad Days 5k this upcoming Saturday, I will use that for my 5k entry. (You don't have to run both a 5 or 10k, I'm just a super over achiever, crazy running person).  This morning I set out to run a 10k.  Just for fun, you know.  For super extra kicks I decided to also bike to my running spot.  It's a place way out (about 7 miles) in the country & it includes a lot of hills.  It is by far one of my most favorite running spots!!  I don't get out there nearly enough.  Anyway, I ran my 10k with a time of 58.24.  Not too shabby.  The hills were a little brutal at times and since I didn't get out there until almost 9 a.m. the sun was already H.O.T!!!!  The bike ride back into town was even more brutal.  Especially since someone thought it would be great to turn on a fan (wind) at a full blown speed.  Ugh!  I was hot & tired and I felt like I was biking through wet cement.

Once I finally made it home I collapsed in the front yard & had the kids take my picture with my race bib.  The bike had to be included since it was a vital part of getting me to and from said run.

Then I had the fun idea to jump in my neighbor's pool.  I didn't even bother changing into a swimsuit.  I just jumped in fully clothed in my running outfit.  I had my 6 year old handling my ipod & didn't trust him to stand closer to get a good picture.  But you get the idea!

A good dip in the pool was the perfect ending to this Summer Virtual Run.

Friday's Findings: Feeling Naked

My title doesn't have anything to do with what I found.  I set out for a run this a.m. & forgot my Bondi Band.  Gah!  I hate when that happens.  I felt so naked my whole run.  And sweat kept dripping in my eyes. It was awful.  Although I still managed to run 6, almost 7 miles.  I love my BB, but it won't keep me from my run.  I need to stash a few (I do have a few to spare) in the van so if I get away from the house I have that as a back up.

Anyway.  Found me some treasures this week.  See picture below & then I will explain.

I was recently cleaning out my garage & came across all the other bottles I have collected on my runs.  I had realized that it had been a long time since I had found one worth picking up. So I was excited to find this big ole bottle along N. Lake Storey Road.  There was even a swig or two left in it.  Likely back wash, I guess, but still full of liquor smell as I dumped it out.

The golf ball I found at the very end of my run.  I was running across a field to get to where I had not so smartly placed my water bottle.  When I swooped down to pick up the ball my eyes got drowned in sweat from NOT wearing my Bondi Band.  I had to stop & walk and try to get the extremely salty sweat out of my eyes without making it worse.

The cards I found earlier in the week along Main St. as I turned onto Edwards Ave.    I saw the 3 Skip Bo card before I even was upon it.  I was able to run by it, swoop down and snatch it without even stopping.  Score a find for my blog.  I took a few more steps and saw two more cards, but mentally said one is enough.  I wasn't going to pick up a whole deck if that's what I was going to find.  A few more steps and I said out loud "oh, wait....is that what I really just saw?!?!?"  My mind had this mini nano second argument.  Just keep going.  Not go back and see if that IS really what you saw.  The later won and I flipped back to look at the other two Skip Bo cards I had passed.  Yep, there laying side by side were the cards numbered 4 & 8.  That really only means something to me, but I'll share.  48 is my LUCKY NUMBER!  Not that I really believe in luck.  So I guess I should say it's my FAVORITE number.  It has been for probably almost 25 years.  The original reason it was my favorite doesn't even exist anymore, but it has stuck.  I have a lot of favorites like that.  I got stuck on it for one reason, but even after that no longer mattered, it was still a favorite.  Part of the loyalty that comes with who I am. 

Did you find any treasures while you were out running?

Three Things Thursday

1.  I am going on a retreat this weekend because I serve on the leadership team for Mom2Mom.  We are heading out to the fabulous home of Mrs. Mari-nanna (that's what we call her) on Little Swan Lake.  I will be gone less than 24 hours, but will without a doubt have a great time.  Mari-nanna is THE BEST cooker ever in all the world!  She will make and serve more unbelievably delicious food than we should consume within a week.  Will I hold back?  Keep calorie count in mind?  Make good wise choices?  Absolutely NOT!  I should just start fasting now so that maybe I don't feel so guilty when I stuff myself like there is no tomorrow.  Ahhhh, we only live once, ya know.  And I only go on this retreat once a year.  So I will enjoy each and every bite while I am there : )

2.  Tonight is my book club.  We call ourselves the Lit Wits  We formed about a year ago.  Just a bunch of women, who TRY and read a chosen book, then meet once a month for a "formal" gathering.  We have found that we only talk about the book 5% of the time, if even that.  The rest of the time we are talking, hanging out & having fun.  We have some VERY interesting conversation.  This has helped me broaden my horizons with reading material.  I really like to read, I'm just bad at taking time to sit down and do it.  If I have to choose between exercise/running (or sometimes house work) or to sit and read, I'm likely to pick the first.  I'm a on to move type of person.  Book club helps me get at least one book read a month.  Since I am hosting this month I got to pick out the book.  We read Before I go to Sleep.  It's an excellent read.

3.  My schedule has been very blank lately.  I like this.  Even with "nothing" to do, I still have PLENTY to do.  I try to embrace these days as much as I can.  I know that there has been and will be days where I have so much going on my head is spinning.  Sometimes it bothers me that I don't have girlfriends calling me up and scheduling time with me.  I call them.  I try to get things planned from time to time.  It wears on me that things can feel one sided.  I used to really put myself out there and that got me nothing but a bunch of hurt.  So I stopped and became more reserved.  Since no one really ever seeks me out I just stay in my little world more than I want to or feel I should.