Chime In and Join Me

 

Day # 913 ~ Double Day a.m. 8 miles - p.m. 6.2 miles

 

Even though the temperatures have plummeted re-hydrating was still on my mind after my run last evening.  I mixed my glass of chocolate milk and realized that I still hadn't figured out what I was going to use for hydration during Stone Mill.  With the Stone Mill 50 miler less than a week away it is a decision I need to make soon.  

 

I am looking at getting a pack with a bit more storage but one that is sized better for my body than the giant Camelbak that I used during Laurel Highlands. 

 

These are two packs I am looking at.

Nathan Intensity Race Vest

 

OR

 

Basically they are the same.  The Intensity is supposed to be sized for a female body.  I am hoping someone will have first hand experience with one or the other to let me know...

1.  Was there enough storage.  What could you carry?

 

2.  Did you get the Nathan HPL and think it felt too big?

 

3.  What about the valve?  Did you have any trouble with it?

 

4.  Any issues with the pack shifting and causing chafing?

 

I've read a ton of reviews about packs but can't find them locally to try them out for fit.  Since I still have the scars on my back from chafing during FOTM, I am hopeful that I can finally find a pack that stays put and keeps me supplied.

 

Now that you offered your two cents, let me return the favor and remind you that

the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge

is about to start!

But there is still time to enter.

 

Get motivation over the holiday season.

A chance of great prizes throughout the challenge.

Help motivate others.

 

Who wouldn't want to get a little help staying on track through the New Year?!

Join me and register HERE. 

Let Amanda know that I sent you so we can keep each other on track!

How'd August Go?

August 2012

 

Monthly Miles Ran: 212.1 (Year total: 2283.3 Year average: 9.4/day)

6.8 miles/day ~ 47.9  miles/week
 

Highest Mileage Week: 8/27- 9/02 (DM Weeks) 62 miles

Rest Days Taken: 0

The Streak:  August 31st was Day # 845 of the streak ~ 7,155.4 miles

Runs ~ ave. 8.5 miles per day/ 59.3 miles per week

Races:

None, unless chasing LBM counts

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure:

I haven't bothered to single out one thing this month. 
It was equal opportunity snacking.
 

Non-food Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure:

This month our beach vacation was the big indulgence.

Night runs on the beach

Bonding with my chica

Running at dawn on the beach during a storm

Boardwalk!

Barefoot morning runs on the beach

A new kind of technical trail

Building our washout prevention system

Taking in the view with the family

Ice skating

Sharing my "find of the run" with everyone back at the condo

Eating, eating, eating

Being silly

Watching S'ghetti girl overcome some fears

Sharing another amazing week with my kiddos

 

and the whole crew!

okay we are missing a few.  Sorry to the Big Kid and Biking Sherpa

 

Which Outfit did I Wear the Most:

One More Mile

"I might not pass you but I will out last you."

What We Are Watching:

With the Kiddos:

The Lorax

over and over and over again.

My Viewing:

Are you kidding?  Without treadmill runs I never get to watch tv.  Those kids of mine better figure out that they can watch their shows on the kid tv soon because Survivor will start soon.

 

Funniest/Best Kid Quote:

Conversation between Biking Sherpa and LBM while on vacation.  They were sitting together playing a game on a tablet.

 

Biking Sherpa, "LBM why do you have the hiccups?"

 

LBM, "From stealing."

 

Biking Sherpa, "What's stealing?"

 

LBM, "Rude."

 

Current Triumph:

Having the majority of the moving done.

Dropped a few of the pounds I need to lose.

Current Goals

Personal:

To continue to work towards a family schedule.
 

Running/Fitness:

To be prepared for the MegaTransect.

Current Blessing:

I am thankful for every single day and every person in my life. 

Current Excitement:

Family:

S'ghetti girl's fearless entry into a new school as she started the 6th grade.

 

Running/Fitness:
The MegaTransect on September 29, 2012
 

yeah this could have fallen under excitement or concern

 

 

Current Concern:

Family:
The super secret spy starts a new temporary assignment at work.
Praying it becomes a permanent position.
 

Running:
Getting the stress LBs off before race season
Getting closer

How did your August days add up?

How'd July Go?

July 2012

Monthly Miles Ran: 260.1 (Year total: 2071.2Year average: 9.7/day)

8.4 miles/day ~ 58.7 miles/week

Highest Mileage Week: 7/16- 7/22 (DM Weeks) 69 miles

 

Rest Days Taken: 0

The Streak:  July 31st was Day # 814 of the streak ~ 6,6943.4 miles

Runs ~ ave. 8.5 miles per day/ 59.7 miles per week

Races:

None, unless chasing LBM counts

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure:

Hawaiian Shaved Ice

Non-food Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure:

Staying up too late thanks to all the fair fun.

Which Outfit did I Wear the Most:

What We Are Watching:

With the Kiddos:

PBS Wild Kratts

My Viewing:

What can I say, I am easily entertained thanks the Netflix streaming

Funniest/Best Kid Quote:

While at the grocery store LBM found a penny on the floor.  He squealed with excitement as he ran over to me with his prize hidden in his fist and yelled, "I'm rich!"  And then looked around, drew closer and whispered, "Can I keep it?"

Current Triumph:

1. Planning meals

2. Not flipping out about still not having a treadmill in VA

and the lower mileage that creates.

Current Goals

Personal:

To have the house set up and organized before school starts
still working on this one

Running/Fitness:

To get back to a running weight

Current Blessing:

Every single day in my life. A gift.

Current Excitement:

Family:

S'ghetti girl finished her college camp. 

Running/Fitness:

A return to running on trail regularly!

Current Concern:

Family:
Keeping the family on a budget

Running:
Getting the stress LBs off before race season

How did your July days add up?

One Word Wednesday

Oppps

An Obvious Analogy

You look at this photo and see a trail.  Maybe if you have been trail running you might a place you are not eager to return to.  I look at this photo and see an invitation.  I see a tempting stage set for my enjoyment.  I approached this scene yesterday with the excitement of a girl eager to explore.  I was eager to know the twists and turns in the trail.  I wanted to see how the trail rose and fell.  To see what places where wet and which were dry. 

At first it was awkward, it took some time for this trail and I to get to know each other. We fumbled a bit but in no time we were cruising along winded and sweaty. I took a few wrong turns but the trail helped get me back on track.  I just wanted to keep going as long as I possibly could.

But time ran out and I was left in a glorious satisfyingly sweaty mess.  Trail running draws analogy's from many other activities in life.  I'm sure you can see a few or have experienced the joy yourself.  But yesterday's run was a return to real trails after a much too long break.  I'm just happy that the trails are not a fickle lover.  Nature simply welcomed me back into the forest among the rocks, roots and streams. 

And the finish was amazing!

All Kinds of Wet

Thinking back to Massanutten and my worries that if I got in I might have an issue with the heat, now seem hilarious to me.  It amuses me that I thought it would be hot in early May.  I don't think I knew what hot was until I tried running in Virgina at 4 in the afternoon yesterday. 

I felt after a measly run of 4 miles that my entire body had melted.  Without much cover on the route I choose and no breeze at all, I ended my brief run soaked from heat to toe.  In time I assume I will get used to the temperatures and find a better schedule to fit in my outside miles but until there I am sure I will be spending me days soaking wet...

one way or another.

How early do you get up to get your miles in before the heat?

Or do you suck it up and run outside regardless?

The things that make me run fast

Rural living is really hard to beat.  Fresh air, local milk, eggs, meat and produce all grown or raise by someone you actually know.  Small schools.  Low crime rates.  The comfort of knowing your neighbors, their kids, their kid's kids...you get the idea. 

However there are things about rural living that take a bit of getting used to.  But since I grew up here I usually don't even notice things like extra mud on the roads when the farmers are planting, noisy tractors out working super early in the morning and late into the evening or the extra fragrant air that results from too many large mammals in too little space.

Yesterday was an exception to that reality.  I should have known something was different.  Because yesterday a trifeceta of factors aligned; first the temperatures tops out at 94 with high humidity, then the local farmer decided that it would be a good day to begin emptying his slurry storage tank

and it was the day for my long hilly route.

9.5 hilly miles in 1:17

Yet another example of the things that make me run fast.

Day # 722

Moving Sunshine

Family fun in the woods

Daylight saving time.  Many wonder why it is still observed.  The state of Indiana seems to be permanently trapped in a debate over what time it is.  With the impending repayment of all those sun-filled moments due this past Saturday night my family made certain that we filled the 1639 minutes that made up our weekend with all the family fun we could.

S'ghetti girl was on the look out for quartz rocks.

Saturday didn't dawn quite as warm as we had hoped so our plans to climb Old Rag were derailed in favor of a closer to home adventure.  We headed to Preddy Creek Park.  This park has a nice little trail system which is very kid friendly.  I was able to get in some trail miles and then meet up with the family as the explored the area.  It was a great way to get the whole family outside.

Back at the house there were a few chores waiting for us but with everyone helping out the work went quickly and no one complained.  The super secret spy had gotten a half dozen magnolia trees that needed planted.  It was a nice start to the small forest I want to create.

Although we had to give back that hour of moments this weekend we didn't feel short changed at all.  It doesn't have to be about how much time you spend together.  It should be about how you fill those moments that really counts. 

And a rich indulgent brownie at the end of a great day doesn't hurt either.

A 30 pound pack

Weekends are always fun and filled with little surprises.  This weekend was no exception.  I was looking forward to a slightly extended weekend in Virginia.  With the mild weather I had dreams of miles on the trails on Old Rag Mountain.  This is a picturesque mountain that I drive by every time I travel between VA and PA. 

The dream was altered when we got to Virginia and found the super secret spy struggling with a bad cold.  Being the good wife I made certain he got lots of sleep Thursday evening in the hopes that he would be up to hanging out the kiddos Friday while I scampered up a mountain side.  Unfortuately sleep did not cure his ills.   But being the determined person I am I did not allow that to stop me from getting out and enjoying the trails. 

It just added a very wiggly 30 pound pack to my resistance training and one grumbling 10 year old.  After packing LBM up the switch backs, I climbed ahead while S'ghetti girl and LBM rested to see if they would be able to continue.  It made for a great workout and an amazing time on the mountain.

In the end I think both kids enjoyed trying "climbs" they weren't sure they could do.  I know that I was very proud of how they continued on (okay LBM was getting carried most of the time) even when they were tired.  It wasn't the training I thought I would get that day but if the next day was any indication, I got a great full body workout. 

Five days to Hashawha Hills 50k

Have you ever climb Old Rag? 
Running Hashawha?  Ever done it?  Tell me about your experience.