Who did NOT die! The training journal of not-so-fast runner and costume addict (Comments welcome)

[The Expert]

I'm BACK and I'm TRAINING! We have been in our home for a month now, and finally we are out of boxes with everything organized. The cats are doing great -- we're starting to integrate our shy kitty back with the rest of the brood and the catio arrives today so we can finally let them have some unsupervised outdoor time! p.s. I'm even looking at adopting a senior Pomeranian from a fabulous rescue here. Isn't he a DOLL???


It's almost NORMAL!

I sat down to transcribe a training plan into my calendar on Friday and discovered that this week would be a good time to start. I'm just using the rD/Galloway Half plan for now, until I get my groove back a bit. I've been plenty active but have done no real extended walking or running since before the move in May! I also haven't gotten back into my strength training, so when I hopped on my treadmill this morning for a quick 30 minutes my hips were complaining. Thankfully part of the last month was spent building our gym in an unfinished basement room. And the trainer I used for 15+ years back in Salt Lake has generously offered to provide some workouts for me to follow so I can pick things back up with the weights.

As a reminder, I'm doing the 5K, 10K and Half at both WDW and DL in January (I'm calling it the Double Grumpy). I also just signed up for the Spring Surprise Challenge (darn themes got me!). So lots to be ready for and time to get in gear. Onward and upward!

Here are some pics of my setup -- and the awesome neon light I grabbed from a Pottery Barn sale last month! I know, it being gorgeous here in Vermont right now I should've gone outside, but I had to try this out.

 

[azrivest]

I know, it being gorgeous here in Vermont right now I should've gone outside, but I had to try this out.

Is it hilly in your part of the state?

 

[The Expert]

Is it hilly in your part of the state?

YES! I'm in the Green Mountains just south and east of Burlington.

 

[The Expert]

Yep, still alive. Still following the Galloway 972-week beginner Half plan.

I've been consistent and haven't missed a workout yet, which isn't too tough since it's just 3 days a week. I'm up to a 4-mile long run this weekend, which I did as a trail run (more like a hike) OUTSIDE! I discovered a tiny ski resort that operates as a mountain bike/hiking/trail running destination through summer that is maybe two miles from my house. AND all the trails are Star Wars names!

I discovered one two-way trail ends just down the road from my house maybe a quarter mile, so I had my husband drop me off at the top. I traversed four mostly single-track, fairly muddy, leaf and root covered miles on Tatooine, Millennium Falcon and Chewy's Connector, climbing 525 feet and dropping 659 feet. I had planned to run some of it, but with the conditions I had to take it pretty slow. I did jog .35 extra miles past my house and back to get to the even 4 mile mark.

Thankfully it stayed dry, and there was woods or cloud cover with a high of only 70. I also got lots of fabulous photos! And I saw exactly three people in the 90 minutes I was out there.

This week I am traveling for work, which is usually when I slack off. I'm determined NOT to do that this time!

 

[SheHulk]

Looks great! Hope you love your new home.

 

[The Expert]

Looks great! Hope you love your new home.

We are finally starting to feel settled and like we actually live here. As the weather turns cooler and the leaves start to go yellow, we're getting really excited for our first New England autumn!

 

[GollyGadget]

Still following the Galloway 972-week beginner Half plan.

I applaud anyone who can stay motivated for the entirety of those plans

Super jealous of the trails nearby your house! I am not a trail runner but I do enjoy it. I just typically only run routes that I can reach without any commute.

 

[Herding_Cats]

well that just looks like a lot of fun!

(And how about those Lions, eh? )

 

[The Expert]

Super jealous of the trails nearby your house! I am not a trail runner but I do enjoy it. I just typically only run routes that I can reach without any commute.

Same here, so I was super happy to find these were so close. There are lots of little-traveled dirt roads, but lots and lots of hills otherwise!

(And how about those Lions, eh? )

UGH! The only thing more annoying than that loss is the fact I had to stay up to 11:30pm to watch it! I'm SO not going to enjoy being on east coast time during football season.

 

[The Expert]

Thinking of east coast time, it has finally helped me get into the groove of running in the mornings! I work remotely and our org is scattered across the country, so when I lived in Utah I felt like I was already a bit behind when I logged on in the morning. I was always trying to get on as soon as possible to catch up, but by 3pm things were dead quiet.

Here, I'm on the front end of things and it takes a bit for it to ramp up. So on my two weekday run days, I do a quick ready routine in the bathroom, feed the cats and jump on the treadmill by 7:30 or 8am. I do my 30 minutes, and still have plenty of time to clean up and change, have my coffee and breakfast, and sit down to work without feeling rushed. Those days are pretty easy so I'm not usually a sweaty mess requiring a full shower, so it is working well! And I'm skipping far fewer runs because it's already done and out of the way.

 

[SheHulk]

I lived in Salt Lake City for about 9 months, many years ago, and yeah the change in the time live football is on TV is one the of the big adjustments I still remember. I guess you get used to wherever you are, but games start so early on Sunday over there! This is better!

 

[nancipants]

My husband grew up on the west coast and moved to Florida 10 years ago. He still watches his home town's sports teams and is often up late because of it.

 

[The Expert]

I lived in Salt Lake City for about 9 months, many years ago, and yeah the change in the time live football is on TV is one the of the big adjustments I still remember. I guess you get used to wherever you are, but games start so early on Sunday over there! This is better!

It really is what you get used to! Our Sunday routine was just easy -- get up, preshows were already on, make some breakfast, get my run in, settle in for games at 11 and 2, and make dinner as the primetime game starts at 6. Done by 9-9:30 with time to watch Walking Dead or something, and wind down to head to bed.

Now the primetime games don't end until 11-11:30 which is about an hour past my usual bedtime, and that's IF they don't go to OT. It is kinda nice to be able to do something on Sunday morning before things start, though. And the games in Europe will be on at 9:30am instead of 7:30!

 

[The Expert]

So yeah. Life. This week we marked six months in Vermont and four months in our house. It feels like YEARS but also days. Still a ton going on and I struggle to set any kind of routine. My training has definitely suffered.

Sadly, my first leaf peeping season was a bit of a bust. With so much rain and flooding this summer, the colors were beautiful but a bit dull (or so we're told, compared to previous years). We're now officially in what they call "stick season" here -- after the leaves fall and before the snow sets in. We've had a few small snow storms but it's still getting warm enough to melt it all in a day or two.

We went to WDW in October for 9 days, taking our grand-nephew on his first proper trip. Both my MIL and mom have birthdays around the time we were there, so we had lots of park time and company while there. Last weekend we popped down to NYC for a few days and caught three Broadway shows, so that was fun. We have one more trip before Christmas -- to visit friends in London for a long weekend and a show. (It is nice being on this side of the country for this kind of travel!)

We set up a 13-foot Jack Skellington in the yard just before Halloween, right next to one of our new little spruce trees. I put Twinkly lights on the tree so we can change the colors for the different holidays, and Jack can stay up all the way through Christmas! We'll do some more decorating this weekend, both inside and out. My mom and stepdad decided to come from Florida for Christmas and my birthday, so that'll be a shock to the system! We're taking advantage of the Black Friday to grab them coats and warm layers.

As for training, as I mentioned, it has suffered. I've been pretty good at getting in two or three short weekday runs on the treadmill, but the to-do list on weekends is long if we're home and I haven't done many long runs at all. I have started back on my strength (weight) training, thanks to my long-time trainer back in SLC who sent me a few workouts to follow on our home equipment. I'm in decent shape and confident I'll finish all my races, but I'll definitely be taking it slow and easy.

I also finally picked up the last of the materials I need to make costumes, so I'll be cranking those out soon! ETA: Just posted to the costume thread looking for some advice on a detail.

 

[jmasgat]

Great travel! What shows did you see/will you see? I was lucky to score a rush ticket for Here We Are in NYC. Great to see Sondheim--even if it was based on Bunuel! Saw Lear in London the previous week--the production was panned, but it's Shakespeare and Branagh, so I enjoyed it anyway. (Although the 2 ladies riding on the subway afterwards expressed the critics' view that Branagh was too young to play him)

 

[The Expert]

Great travel! What shows did you see/will you see? I was lucky to score a rush ticket for Here We Are in NYC. Great to see Sondheim--even if it was based on Bunuel! Saw Lear in London the previous week--the production was panned, but it's Shakespeare and Branagh, so I enjoyed it anyway. (Although the 2 ladies riding on the subway afterwards expressed the critics' view that Branagh was too young to play him)

OMG the London show we are going for is Lear! I have avoided reviews, but like you said it's Shakespeare and Branagh so I don't much care.

In NYC we saw the Spamalot revival (DH's fav show) and because we always argue about which is better, we then saw my favorite, Book of Mormon (for probably the 10th time). And we caught one of the last performances of The Shark is Broken, which was fabulous. DH is obsessed with Jaws and we watch it at least once a year, so there were lots of fun details. We even picked up a signed playbill afterward, which he NEVER does!

We're probably going back in a few months as I really want to see Guttenberg and catch Sweeney Todd when Sutton Foster joins the cast.

 

[jmasgat]

Ack! Sorry. Didn't mean to include any spoilers--I'm sure you'll enjoy.

 

[The Expert]

Yep, still here. Still not training much. I did just spend time catching up on everyone's training journals, though, and I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone at WDW and DL! (I've picked up VERY BRIGHT poster paper to make meetup signs with.)

I've poured myself into holiday decorating. After 18 years in a condo and not much room for more than a cat-safe tree, I've gone a little nuts! I also have family coming next week for Christmas and my birthday, so I have an excuse.




My costumes are pretty basic and simple this year, and since I'm no longer able to go home between WDW and DL I am re-wearing costumes (gasp!). I've got my skirts cut out ready to sew this afternoon and then vintage Pluto, Daisy and Minnie will be ready to test run with! Pics when I do, I promise.

In between all this, I'm still hitting the treadmill at least a few times a week. I'm not really doing any long runs, but I'm clocking 10-20 flights of stairs a day now that we're in a 2-story home, and I'm still doing my strength training. I wasn't planning to race anything regardless, but I know I'll have to give myself some extra recovery time between races being so undertrained.

Back to stalking the site for the course maps!

 

[The Expert]

Well, my mom and stepdad are here visiting and mom has tested positive for Covid. Yay. Mom is fine, just coughing and congested. She's contacting her doc for a Paxlovid script and we were already spending most of our time at home.

I have yet to have Covid at all, and am fully vaxxed and boosted, so hopefully my immunity holds up!

 

[nancipants]

Crossing fingers for you!!!