12/14/10--What a bum!

So I've been a complete bum the last few days.
Sunday was just my usual day of rest, even though I took a "rest day" on Friday, too.
Yesterday, it was brutally cold. The windchill didn't break 0 until late afternoon. I was griping to Coach Mom about how bad I felt skipping a run, but she reminded me that sometimes being safer is smarter than trying to prove toughness.
I really did mean to do some Yoga and Bob videos, but I never did. :( Now that, I can feel a bit of shame for, am I right?
Anyway... It's another snowtacular morning in the Copper Country.

 Our poor cars! (One is mine, the other is Brandon's.)

 This is the view out of the back window.

This is out in front of our building--beautiful, bustling, busy South Range. -_- I really enjoy how the snowbanks along the sidewalk here are nearly to my waist.
And, while I don't have to shovel much snow (unless cleaning off my beastly car counts...), I could still appreciate this thought from Hal Higdon this morning:

I leave you with this:
I was very sad this fall when I couldn't carve pumpkins for Halloween. I was also feeling kind of lonely because Brandon was always either working or at school, so one afternoon I decided I was going to find a way to have cute pumpkins, no matter what.
This was the end result:

He thought it was kind of funny in that "Wow, you're kinda strange" way.
So, last night, he asks me if I've done any artwork lately. I was really confused, so he clarified--drawings, like the pumpkins. I told him I hadn't, because I actually had a Christmas tree, though if he really wanted me to draw one, I would.
So, this morning, I produced this masterpiece, which I may or may not have posted to his Facebook wall...

I think our actual tree is cuter, though. I mean, it has a squirrel for a topper!

OK, that's enough foolishness. I promise, I'll have a workout update later.

12/11/10--In 3 Acts

Today's run: 3.05 miles
Week to date: 15.1 miles
Month to date: 23.28 miles

Act 1: Return to WiiFit
Wednesday, I wanted to do an alternative activity day. I couldn't get my Yoga Podcasts to work on my iPod Touch, so I used my friend's WiiFit. This spring, I used my old roommate's then-fiance's WiiFit regularly and loved it, so I was excited to get back to it.
Sadly, it was not nearly as much fun as I remembered. :( I did a body test (that I failed miserably. I'm 25 going on 37, apparently...) This was followed by boxing, a few Yoga poses, and some Ski jumping balance games. It was all right, but no where near as fun or challenging as I remembered.

Act 2: Negative Split 4 Miler
Thursday, I went back to the fitness center to use the treadmill again. I wanted to see if I could run a negative split 4 miler. I was doing great until the last mile (I had it set at an 8:56 min/mi pace for this one). 1/4 mile in, and I started gagging. I hopped off long enough to take care of business, and finished my run. It was really discouraging. I mean, my miles were 9:46, 9:30, 9:15, and then 8:56 (I think, I forgot to write these down, but those seem close enough), and THAT led me to the point where I was getting sick? We're not exactly talking speed demon here. Clearly, I have a lot of work to do if I want to get to the point I'd like to be by May.

Act 3: Pre-Snowpocolypse run
Look what we have today up here!

Fortunately, it hadn't started by the time I could peel my eyes open this morning, because this was what my weather app said:

So I suited up...

...and headed out.
(For the record, all of my top layers are pink. What can I say, I was feeling girly today, in many ways...)
I'd like to say I made the best of not feeling 100% and running in what I have now adjusted to as normal weather for SR, but I can't do that honestly. Half the time, I was mentally whining about something, either being cold, being tired, how icky I was feeling, the street conditions, any number of things. The other half, I was picturing the map I made on MapMyFitness, telling myself how much further I had left and trying to be self-encouraging.
But, for 2 weeks in a row, I hit my target mileage. And, now I can say that I have run during a winter storm warning twice! (The first time was back in May.) Does this earn me some kind of runner or Yooper merit badge? No? Aw, OK.

OK, it is time for a sandwich and to get caught up on blogs from the last few days. My advance apologies for the comment onslaught, ladies. Have a great day, everyone!

12/6/10--More Snow and More Dogs

Today's run: 3.05 miles
Week to date: 3.05 miles
Month to date: 11.23 miles

So, remember yesterday, when I said that the cold and snowy day made it perfect for an off-day?
Well, welcome to today:

18. Feels like 6.  I don't know, maybe they were wrong about that, too, because they sure were wrong about the only being cloudy thing! Still, it was definitely cold!

So, I bundled up

and I went for it.

It was just as cold, windy, and snowy as I expected. I especially loved all the looks I was getting from the township workers out plowing. I also got to meet the two lovable dogs of a husband and wife pair out clearing their driveway. I'm not sure what kind they were, but they were big! And, once they realized I wasn't going to hurt anybody, I was their new BFF and they almost weren't going to let me leave! Their owners got them corralled back in to the garage, and I slipped out of sight before my new doggie BFFs could follow me on my snowy insanity.

Speaking of lovable dogs and snow...

Meet my "nephew", Assistant Coach Little Sister's Shih-Tzu, Dave. He's 8 months old, and he's having his first adventures with snow. Word from back home is that the little guy loves it. I've never been one for little dogs, but Davey stole my heart right away. I know he likes me, too--I had a little brown and white shadow while I was home for Thanksgiving, and he was trying really hard to come with me when I headed back up here!

OK, time to get warm! Have a great day, everyone!! :)

12/5/10--Day of Rest

If there was ever a day to give in to the Winter Hibernation instinct, I think today would be a top candidate.

We're getting some wonderful lake effect snow today. Oh, the joys of living near the Great Lakes!
I think today was a perfect day to just take it off, curl up in a blanket, and read while listening to football.
I feel a little guilty about taking a day off, but I've had a good running week, and I had 2 yoga/strength training days. So, I really shouldn't feel too bad.

I've had kind of a sore throat all day, but I'm somewhat sure it's from cheering at hockey games this weekend and not impending illness.

Of course, I was listening to my team's games while at the boyfriend's team's games. Never question devotion, (despite what I might be wearing in this photo--I was cold, and I try to play nice while at the games.)
This wasn't my first experience with following my team while at another game.

Brandon and I went to the WCHA conference finals this past spring. While at their championship game, I was watching NMU play in the CCHA conference championship game on the pressbox TV above us. We lost a heartbreaker to Michigan. :( (And my friends played a nasty prank on me, but that's another story for another time).

Time to start dinner--hope you had a fantastic Sunday!

12/2/10--Zigs and Zags

Today's run: 5.06 miles
Week to date: 12.14 miles
Month to date: 5.06 miles (First run of the month...)

And this made me happy:
Year to date: 400.09 miles

Big smiles about that, for sure!

It was another cold and snowy morning in the Copper Country!

So, it was time to put the "snow tires" on:

The outfit:

It was pretty much perfection. I was just warm enough to be comfortable. The hat was the only downer--it kept almost coming off anytime I got a headwind. The jacket ($10 at Wal-Mart--I have 3 of them) broke the wind very nicely, and I was good with a long sleeve and UnderArmor t-shirt underneath.

I knew that I wanted/needed to go 5 miles today, so it was time to get creative with my route. I saw the trucks out plowing, so I knew the streets would be relatively clear. I give you: how to run 5 miles through a tiny Upper Peninsula town:

Yeah. I zig-zagged through the streets like a champ. I got a lot of strange looks from the people out clearing their driveways, let me tell you, especially when I came back through a second time!
I felt slow today, but that was OK. I knew with the streets being snowy and slick, speed was not going to happen. I was more concerned with safety and completion today. Oddly enough, I enjoyed the rolling hills. I can't explain why exactly, but I did! Maybe it just added to the insanity factor of it. I can look back now and say, "Hey, remember that day when it was 20 degrees, windy, snowing sideways, and I went out and ran 5 miles with hills?"
You know, I can't decide if that last statement is either awesome, badass, or completely mental. Either way, I still did it.

I leave you today with this:
The other night, I decorated the apartment for Christmas. I noted that we didn't have a topper for our Christmas tree, so I found a sparkly gold ornament to hang at the top to suffice for the time being.
Yesterday, I noticed the boyfriend staring contemplatively at the TV. Perched on top was Fatty, the stuffed squirrel he bought me on our first vacation together in August '09. The next thing I know, I look over and see this:

Yup, Fatty is now our tree topper. Personally, I love it. This may have to become a tradition.

Have a great day, everyone! :)

11/29/10 pt 2--Ice and Snow

Today's run: 4 miles
Week to date: 4 miles
Month to date: 37.6 miles

Today's weather:

(Lies. I saw sun TWICE the entire time.)

What I wore:

I was almost too warm in that. My hands definitely got warm.

So. Houghton. You and I are fighting. Your trail is buried under the 8 inches of snow, as are most of your public parking lots. And the sidewalks? Ice. Iceiceice. Needless, my run today was a challenge just because of that. I had to change my route a bit. For example, instead of starting at Chutes-and-Ladders Park, I started downtown by the Suomi Cafe and ran along Lakeshore Drive to the park (no sidewalk, very slippery shoulder) and back. Then, I dodged the shoppers and other pedestrians along Shelden Ave and College Ave. My route was to take me along Cliff Drive behind Michigan Tech's campus, but that was a nightmare! After my 3rd near miss with a car, I decided to take my chances running through campus. They at least had done a decent job cleaning things up: 

This meant dodging students though, and that was decidedly awkward. I felt like I was getting looks that said, "Who is this freaky girl and what is she doing running through campus?" At least I wasn't wearing NMU gear today...

I then headed back down College and Shelden to my truck. No injuries, thank goodness, though I'm left with the distinct feeling that pre-training is going to be interesting up here. Coach Mom told me I should be averaging at least 15 miles per week leading up to the start of my training program that they're going to do for me. The Bill Nichols is currently buried, and Houghton streets felt so dangerous. I'm frustrated and concerned. But, in the infamous words of Tim Gunn, I'm just going to have to "make it work", right?

Besides, this is what I'm working toward:

And, I know every snowy, icy, student-dodging mile will be worth it in May.

Have a great day, all! 

11/15/10 pt 1--Winter Wonderland

I promise there will be a workout update at some point today, but I just have to share some photos of this weekend and this morning.
This weekend, the snow finally arrived, as did my best friends! Our college was playing the local/rival/Boyfriend's college this weekend, so they came up to visit.

Christy and me

Jacki and Christy--my beautiful besties!

While we were freezing in the stands, the VIP's of MTU were able to watch the game from the warmth of their cars

It was snowing HARD during the game, so some action had to be taken to keep the lines visible:

First, they tried shovels, but when they proved ineffective, the Kybota-plow came out to play

I think the shoveling/plows were more entertaining than the "band" and their "halftime show"... until the whole herd of them dropped and made snow angels.

The snow changed to rain after we left (which was just after halftime--we were frozen and soaked), but it picked back up last night, and we woke up to this in the Copper Country this morning:

Source

Also, game photos are courtesy of Jacki

All the snow has left this song stuck in my head!

The solid 5 inches we have on the ground have me sorting through YouTube and My Trainer Bob videos for a backup plan, for which I will provide an update later!