skirt sports – travellingcari.com

is there summer in Quarantime?

Facebook memories were hard to look at last weekend and throughout the week. Staying home is the best way to control COVID 19 spread, but I miss travel. I even miss traveling around the city and exploring new neighborhoods. NYC enters Phase 1 on June 8, but things are going to continue to be different for a very long time.

There’s a lot of awful in the world right now, and we all know it. It’s on the news, in our social media feeds and everywhere else, including directly in many’s day to day lives. I’m opting not to get into it here. Stay safe and healthy everyone. Take care of each other.

For me personally, this week was better than a number of prior ones. The above is a huge part of that because I was finally able to see Mom & Bob in person. I’m so grateful for FT, Zoom, etc. but none of them replace in person visits. After a failed attempt at finding a halfway meeting spot, they drove in and we had a lovely picnic dinner in the park. It was more than a little weird to be handling a photo book they made while wearing gloves, but these are some of the steps we need to take to stay healthy, so be it.

virtual races, amazing photography talent

I also got to be silly. Silly has been in short supply the last few months. But when Darlene mentioned that Kim & Deb won entries to the virtual race that Elizabeth and I were also doing, I thought what a great chance to just be silly. Thanks to similar weather in Virginia, NYC, Albany and Iowa and Deb’s husband’s amazing photo editing skills, we got to high five each other and be silly runners.

As I’ve said many times, running has brought some of the best people into my life. I look forward to the day Darlene, Elizabeth and I can run together again and meeting Deb and Kim in the future.

During a couple of morning walks I discovered @HeartsNY‘s handiwork on the Upper East Side. Such bright spots in this dark world. I feel a scavenger hunt coming on to find more of these. These, rainbows, rock art. I really love how many people are trying to find some light.

Running? Running was good. On Saturday I implemented my plan to walk to and from Central Park with the run sandwiched in the middle (OK, run/walk) and no pain. Tight hip but no actual pain. Bodies are so weird, but I’ll take this progress. I ran almost double April’s miles and believe I’m finally maybe turning the corner on this stupid IT Band.

I actually found out that my PT clinic is re-opening. As much as I’ve missed formal PT, I’m not sure I’m going back just yet. Want to give them time to get into a routine with all the new PPE and sanitizing. That said, I think medical facilities are among the best places to be given the hygiene standards they implemented after the AIDS crisis. By healthcare I of course mean well visits, not places with other sick patients. Spear is hosting two virtual running events, which I will try to join, as they’re specifically about hips and glutes.

Weekly run down with Deborah and Kim:

never miss a Monday: it was gorgeous out and Elizabeth and I decided to enjoy it in the park. I was pleasantly surprised with how well people followed the guidelines and is a big part of the reason why Central Park is still open. It was nice to hear some of the Taps performances that were happening around the city for this not to be happy memorial day (which drives me nuts!) and purely a summer kickoff. The rock hopping makes me laugh — my hands are always cold and I have been told to sit on a rock in the sun. It was a little warm in the sun, so I was team shade.
two a day Tuesday: so that stop and start? Yeah, it’s the issue. I had a doctor’s appointment just a few blocks away and decided to run to it. A taste of summer happened here and it was a wonderfully muggy morning run. Coming home, I went to the 7 Eleven near my apartment as it was the longest run – they had neither iced nor creamer, so back to the far (it’s two avenue blocks) one. All in all a little more than two miles over two runs to get the work week off to a good start.
Wednesday: coffee walk before work, and park picnic with Mom & Bob after. Way better than steps or a run.

Thursday: wanted to run in the morning since it was supposed to rain later, but wanted my pillow more. Luckily the rain held off and I was able to get out after work for a run. I remembered just how much I love Cascade. No chafing, sits well (even when accidentally tucked under my belt!) and is just so comfortable. While I didn’t have as long a history with Skirt to be as sad as others that it is closing, I’m longing for for the Cascades that were planned for next spring that we’ll now never get.
Friday: walk before work, but could not get myself back out the door after. I think I just needed a mental off day. I finished Dean Karnazes’ Run to Sparta, which I didn’t have time to read during the week.

always check in with Fred. NYC Runner Commandment

Saturday: weird, in a wonderful way. In some ways it almost felt normal vs having COVID permeate every thought. We’re far from back to normal, but a taste of normalcy was necessary. Yes, we ran in masks and socially distanced, but Elizabeth and I met for a run and had fun with silly photos for the virtual Freihofer 5K while running through some of our favorite parts of the park. Afterwards, we sat on Monday’s rock and just people watched. That part of Central Park is always relatively chill, and especially so early on a Saturday morning. I most definitely took note of the interactions between dog walkers and others given the events of this week. Later in the afternoon I literally just laid on a bench in Carl Schurz Park and read. The Upper East Side is empty and while everyone has their personal levels of comfort, this felt fine to me. I’d definitely have moved if others were trying to find a spot, but there were more than enough to go around. Memorial Day – Labor Day is when I’m allowed to read books with no redeeming qualities. The Hunt for Jack Reacher it was. This was also, I’m pretty sure, my first 20K step day in quarantime. Baby steps.
Sunday: going for a walk as soon as I finish my coffee. I’ve been saying that since 6:30. It’s now 9, but too beautiful to be inside.

meandering through May

9,647th blog “redesign” in the last six months. None intentional, but I think comments finally fully not broken. Whee! It was driving me bonkers not to be able to tell at a glance if I’d answered a comment.

Another week of Quarantime. I think it’s nine weeks, but I’ve completely lost track.
Another week where I’m really grateful for the people in my life. My friends, my boss and our teammate who bought me a cook book, all of you both live on the Zoom and on the posts and a friend I was able to socially distance run “with”. Life is weird, but for me personally, generally OK and I’m grateful for that.

Not so much for one of my containers…

Meals for the week: pulled pork for lunch, and a veggie modification on MyForkingLife’s modification on Rice a Roni. I got hooked on that a couple of weeks ago but a) burned it b) it’s too salty. Other adventures in cooking: melted rubbermaid, pancakes (apparently now a Wednesday tradition), and the winner, by far, is the white wine salmon. I am so grateful to the Instant Pot for teaching me I can make more than I ever thought I could.

I’m focusing on the cooking, because this week was kind of a running fail.

My own doing — I did two 5Ks with only a day between and yeah, dumb. The knee was feeling OK in the second run until it was too far to turn back and have it any shorter. Lesson learned, revert to walking.

I think we’ve all had those have to laugh, or we’ll cry moments throughout this. My personal favorite this week? My Subscribe & Save order coming without floss picks. I have an endless supply of regular floss as my dentist gives me floss, travel paste and a toothbrush every appointment, but it is just impossible to effectively get between back molars without being a contortionist. Luckily Target had floss picks in stock for in store pickup.

The Amazon order did have Baby Foot. I might not be going anywhere in my sandals, but at least I won’t have winter feet.

Weekly run down with Kim and Deborah:

Mother Nature tried to make me miss a Monday: the weather was blowing in and out like crazy. Well, that’s only half true, I was complicit in that my snooze was too close and bed was too comfy on a chilly morning. I could only go as far as the close 7-Eleven and not be late for work. Some of the Starbucks are starting to open and I hope Dunkin follows suit. I miss iced coffee. Meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but I know you get it. Work ran late but I did get out for the 7P clap and at least get in some steps.

Tuesday: wanted to run in the morning, but knee/hip wasn’t ready so I did my longer morning walk to the Met and for coffee on the return. I had some time to stretch and roll the knee during the day and headed out after work. In hind sight, I should have walked but the sunset sky was just magic. With all the uncertainty in the world, we need some pretty skies.

Wednesday: too nice of an evening to stay in. Not getting political or making a mask comment here, but this just made me chuckle. Takes be kind to your web-footed friend to a new level. Hans Christian Andersen is next to him and I had to chuckle at a Danish writer having an American flag mask. Just a beautiful evening for a walk through Central Park and reminded me how lucky I am to call this neighborhood home.

Thursday: a few years ago, a friend and I realized we lived half a block from each other. Even with the pandemic and us both working from home, we hadn’t made it out for a walk. Finally changed that and had a lovely walk along the river before heading down to Target for floss picks. This sign? One of the personal trainers working one on one with clients along the river. Even without running I’ve avoiding the Quarantine 19 so far, but the food choices could be better. Can the dragon eat calories?
Friday: Fridays are usually terrible for steps, but it was in the mid 80s and I went on a hunt for salmon and got in a nice walk after work. The later sundown is a lovely treat. It’s still not super feasible without bus service, but I’m going to fund some way for my UWS sunsets this summer. Perfect reading spots.

Skirt Sisters: socially distant with one another and the skyline.

Saturday: farewell Skirt Sports, you introduced me to so many good people. I wasn’t familiar with them as long as most of you, so I don’t have the clothing collection. People > stuff any day in my book. Elizabeth and I saw each other at least weekly in “normal” times. Either to run, or to chill at her apartment. Neither of those have been in the cards for obvious reasons, and we were so excited to socially distance “run” the Skirt Strong 5K. I actually managed to run to our meeting spot but then the knee wasn’t so happy after stopping, so we mostly walked and took in a beautiful morning in the Park. A nap and then a lovely Zoom with so many of you. The day’s structure reminded me a lot of marathon training and how wonderfully long those weekends felt. I need to get back in that habit, timing wise.
Sunday: I’m doing something. I just haven’t made it out of PJs yet.

I can’t believe next weekend is Memorial Day. March felt like 80 years, but I blinked and missed May. I’m not really sure what a three day weekend means in current times, but I’m hoping for some fire escape reading at least.

Adulting in the time of COVID19

some of this was scrapped from last week. Things I’m proud of so far, quite random and in no particular order and definitely about a 0.5 on a 0-10 of Covid19 preparedness:

- - my apartment is finally settling in, only 7.5 years later
  - I’m washing dishes daily and not eating out of tupperware
    - except when it’s the last portion and then why dirty a bowl?
    - coffee mugs solved by using disposable, oops
  - Bought a Brita and keeping up my water intake
    - no soda before 6, no coffee after 2

Some times it’s the little things.

Also, please meet crockpot buffalo chicken pasta with feta. I did that Things you learned about yourself while social distancing Facebook thing and cooking is definitely at the top of the list. As I said to Deborah in a comment somewhere, maybe by the time this is all over I’ll manage one of her Meatless Monday posts.

March was A MONTH, as it has for everyone. March 10th we had a Keep Exploring campaign, and by March 12th the museums had begun to close. COVID19 quickly went from an issue impacting inbound tourism from China to something impacting everyone’s daily life. I really need to re-find that meme about March coming in like a TRex. I’d say I’m glad to see March in the rear view, but I’m not sure April is going to be any better.

My only goal for the month? Consistency, which I touched on Wednesday. Navigating this is all about the little things, and that’s one thing still in my control at the moment.

Weekly Run Down with Deborah and Kim:

never miss a Monday: because I try not to run every day, I seem to miss a Monday every other week. LOL. This was a planned Monday Runday before work as I tried to sync up with Elizabeth to run past one another to see her on her 60th birthday. Our timing didn’t work, but it was still a lush Central Park after two days of rain. I did not have time to do my PT between the run, shower and starting my work day, so this kicked off a trend of PT during (no video) conference calls. I even got official Coach Marcia approval in the Zooma facebook group. After work I went to my first ever Zoom birthday party. I’d lie and say I dressed up, but I really just added Mardi Gras beads.

Tuesday: I realized after Monday’s run that I was .09 away from topping last March. That could not stand, so my morning coffee walk turned into a run. I don’t really count <1 mile as breaking a rule against running three days in a row, but probably won’t make a habit out of it. I had calls at 6:30 and 8:30 so I went for a quick walk before the 6:30

Wednesday: one of the things I found on Tuesday’s walk? Cucumbers! I’ve really been missing salads as that’s a work lunch staple, so I was glad to find one to accompany my lunch. I also got in a 4+ mile run through Central Park to start the month off right and get in my Uncanceled Project 5K. That’s going to be all about 5 and 10Ks for me, as I cannot wrap my head around double digit runs, and don’t think it’s healthy (personally – zero judgement to anyone else) to push myself for no reason.

Thursday: hello Beachbody. I’ve had a Beachbody on Demand subscription for nearly a year and didn’t really use it aside from yoga. I decided that if I wasn’t getting out for more than a coffee walk, I had to do something. Enter 21 Day Fix. I don’t have enough hand weights, but was glad to find these in a corner of my bedroom – really thought I’d donated them. Since one of the books I picked up at the Little Free Library was Camino Winds, I realized I needed to read Camino Island. Luckily the library had 100+ ebook copies. The other book is The Lady Gang’s Act Like a Lady. Whoever maintains this Little Free Library is in publishing as there are so many wonderful ARCs.

Friday: oh, hi DOMS. Beachbody is definitely a “real” workout. I skipped ahead to Day 3, upper body FIX as I knew I wanted to run Saturday and I was so sore from Thursday. The Easter Bunny sent me a baby frying pan, and I was oh so happy to make scrambled eggs for dinner. Like I said, it’s the little things.

Saturday: probably the best day of the week. A late start due to finishing Camino Island, a solid 10Kish run with Central Park in peak bloom, the virtual coffee happy hour with so many of you, a FaceTime date with a friend and phone calls with two others. It was much warmer out than I expected, and I totally could have gone with short sleeves or even a skirt. I really love the Cool It top though and wish I’d have bought another before they were discontinued. I did take advantage of the flash sale and grab a new Lioness Capri (rad plaid, which I love but is too big. Yay!) and Lotta Breeze Skirt for $20 apiece. Had a store credit, so only paying shipping is winning. My first online clothes shopping since this all began – changing my closets last weekend told me I have more than enough spring/summer clothes. While running I listened to Mario’s latest Ask Me Anything episode on the Morning Shakeout. I needed a break from my running playlist, music wise. One of the random Strava challenges was via Ladder and when I completed it, I had a choice of 30% off or a free sample pack. I went with the plant Vanilla, and mixed it with almond milk and PB2. I’m a fan, also impressed with how quickly they got it out.

Sunday: I am so sore. My left hamstring, my abs. Hurts so good but OW. My nose is quite enjoying this week’s lunch as it cooks in my crockpot. Chicken, ranch seasoning, au jus and pepperoncini. What am I eating it with? No idea. I thought I was done with the store yesterday, but I need a side. Preferably a green one.

GoTheDist :

Steps went down the tube in March, despite running being up. Gee, I wonder why. I like having the year on year, so including it all here. Not hitting step goal hasn’t bothered me — I have to start remembering to sync my Fitbit more regularly though.

March:

362,730 steps
161.54 miles run/walked
56.02 miles run

Hey – it’s an easy opportunity to beat the total come March 2021.

Q1 2020:

1,220,353 steps
539.85 miles run/walked
166.27 miles run

Way off last year, except for running. March was a monster month last year, so again, no surprise.

Leaping into March

I know February is the shortest month and all that jazz, but wow, I blinked and missed it.

it’s not too late to save! LEAP50 for half off including new styles

I actually LEAPED into the sale as soon as they announced it. Spring should be for skirt shopping, but I couldn’t pass up the Lotta Breeze Capri in fuschia/black. How can I resist pink? More on the run and the outfit below. Did you buy anything with the sale? Today is the last chance. I won’t lie, I wish I was still in Bermuda. Too many layers.

Who else got sucked into the Trials on Saturday afternoon? Once I turned them on, I was glued to the couch throughout. So many great stories but my personal favorites were Abdirahman at 43! and Molly Seidel (Go Irish!) in her first ever marathon. I won’t lie, I want one of Tuliamuk’s beanies. And it was awesome to track Lauren Floris aka The Foodie Runner. So cool to “know” someone running the trials.

In other news, I had a kind of anticlimactic graduation from PT. I found out over the weekend that my insurance didn’t approve any more visits, so my PT asked if I was OK going DIY or whether I wanted to self pay. As I mentioned before Bermuda, I think I’m ready. He’s given me the tools & the app is invaluable for reminding me how to do the exercises. When I was first injured & diagnosed I noted that I wasn’t worried-I have a great orthopedist and insurance and if I need to go back to PT, I will, but I’d love for my IT Band to be quiet for a while.

not a new exhibit, but an old favorite adjacent to the new British Galleries at the Met

In work news, it was a week full of museum field trips aka an active Instagram. I can’t remember the last time I was local and posted 3x/week. This week involved: the Met, MoMA, Cooper Hewitt and New-York Historical Society. Amazing rush of exhibits opening ahead of Armory Week.

Stunning Oscar de la Renta piece for Cooper Hewitt’s Contemporary Muslim Fashions

Women’s March at New-York Historical Society

Oh right, this is a running blog not a museum blog. *Giggle* on to the weekly run down with Kim and Deborah, which I realized is celebrating it’s one year anniversary! Happy birthday “new” LinkUp:

never miss a Monday: I’d actually missed a few of late with travel, PT and other schedule issues, but it’s great to start the week off moving. Elizabeth and I met at 7:30 for a reservoir loop on the last nice day of the week. With running to and from, it’s about four miles. I’ve never done a watch face before because I only wear my Garmin for running, but I couldn’t resist this one.
Tuesday: Donald Judd and Dorothea Lange at MoMA. Had plans to go to the gym after work, but ended up with a meeting near my apartment, and we know how that always ends. Was nice to be home at a reasonable hour.
Wednesday: one of those late nights at work.
Thursday: museums before work and the gym after. In whichever order, that makes for a good day. I had layers and could have run outside, but the wind was atrocious and physically uncomfortable. After a half mile warm up, I did a mile of 300m repeats and 100m recovery. I love that workout, but the knee wasn’t having it, so I called it after a mile. Post cooldown, I did the full set of PT exercises.
Friday: gym was a possibility. Getting home at a reasonable hour was a better one.

Saturday: I didn’t have plans for this run. At one point I was seriously contemplating moving the long run to Sunday and just doing the mile and a half I needed for 60 miles on the month. But then I remembered it was Leap Day and life’s too short to be boring. The last twenty mile run took us past Wegmans the week before it opened and I planned to run there as a marathon recovery/Ted Corbitt training run. Well life, injury and everything else happened and I hadn’t done it – suddenly I knew my long run for the day. When I do this again I’d leave earlier in the day as the road by the Navy Yard is seriously rutted and wasn’t fun without good light. The headwind on Kent was just ferocious, although the views made it worth it. Wegmans? The end of a run is the wrong time to want to explore. I could have had dinner there but wasn’t yet hungry, and had my heart set on sushi. I need to go back — maybe I’ll train there and run home. I love Wegmans, but to me it’s a Rochester thing. I’ve only been to the one near-ish mom’s once since it opened. Maybe if I was more of a grocery shopper. But I still love that there’s one here. Nice to know too I live 7.96 miles as the shoes run from the nearest Wegmans. The walk to the subway after? Brutal in the cold wind. Tried to run to get it over with, but they were cold/sore. Speaking of cold, sore. Dressing for a wind chill in the 20s is *hard* LBC, two shirts was fine. I knew the New Balance jacket wasn’t great for running as it traps sweat, but I thought it would be OK since it was so cold. It probably was until I “warmed up” in Wegmans. It was a clammy ride home. I sized down in the LBCs (yay!), and was pleased that they fit perfectly.
Sunday: gym for PT when I get off the couch. Saturday night I was super sore, but I think that was because I sat on the train coming back and then at the sushi bar. Today seems less bad.

Plan for the Week:

Monday: morning run?
Tuesday: off?
Wednesday: run
Thursday: off
Friday: off?
Saturday/Sunday: 9 miles? There’s a NYRR group run Sunday for 5m, so may run to and from it.

GoTheDist February

457,115 steps
203 miles run/walked (my first ever round number total!?)
66.47 miles run

The decision to stop obsessing about steps and heal has been great. This is by far the most I’ve run since marathon month and I’d be happy with 60-70 mile months as a base. It was also a huge increase on February 2019, and not just because it was Leap Year. Although I’ve graduated from PT, I’m going to continue not focusing on steps and just go by feel. I want to fully heal. I’m still thinking on my goal, but have set a soft one. I’m actually surprised I’ve run twelve miles more than last year YTD, with one fewer half marathon.

Race Recap: Zooma Bermuda

more to come on Bermuda overall in, hopefully, a #TravelTuesday post. In the mean time, my thoughts on an amazing racecation. First of all, major love and shout out to the entire Zooma and OnPace race teams. They and their partners put on a fabulous inaugural Bermuda race and I can’t wait to return to the island or do another one of their races. So many cities, so little time.

Linking up with Debbie, Deborah, Rachel, Lisa, Jen and Smitha for the new Wednesday “Runners’ Roundup” to discuss the Zooma Bermuda challenge. Apologies in advance for an insanely long recap. I enjoyed this weekend almost as much as I did my first Half Marathon.

The weekend in a nutshell

In no particular order this weekend involved:

meeting amazing people including Marcia and Erika. Spoiler, when you’ve read one another’s blogs for two+ years, it really doesn’t feel like “meeting” and you can chat easily for hours.
exploring the island of Bermuda with Darlene
running an amazingly scenic and hilly Half Marathon
not getting swept in said Half marathon
learning how to embed an instagram photo in a blog post. Or maybe that was just me. LOL. There are approximately forty bazillion photos on my Facebook as well.

The results of our hard work:

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A post shared by ZOOMA Women’s Race Series (@zoomarun) on Feb 17, 2020 at 1:52am PST

But… rewinding….

As US-based runners, we received our swag bags before we flew, which was great. This included a map of Bermuda, the gorgeous tanks in the second photo here and a super soft quarter zip. Both fit surprisingly well, and I actually wore the tank!

The Expo

After a day + exploring the island on our own and with some other early arrivals, Zooma Bermuda officially kicked off with a welcome reception at the Fairmont Southampton, our wonderful host hotel. This also served as the Expo during which we could pick up our bibs, wrist bands for transportation and activities and other purchased items. As someone who wishes races were generally more sustainable and generated less waste, I loved that the bib was the same for Saturday and Sunday’s races.

Since it was a relatively small race and the Expo was in a hotel ballroom at a fixed time, we had the opportunity to meet other runners and the On Pace team. I have run with pacers before, but with a great ratio of pacers to runners we had the opportunity to truly engage with the pacers. I really appreciated the opportunity to talk with them about their plans and felt they really listened to my goals for the race. As someone who doesn’t always do well with new people, it was also helpful to meet “my” pacer before the morning of the race.

The Field Trips

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A post shared by @travellingcari on Feb 15, 2020 at 9:17am PST

Besides races, Zooma organized some optional field trips for those of us visiting the island. I was excited by Saturday’s to the Crystal Caves as they appeared to be absolutely stunning. They did not disappoint. I had a particular chuckle as the shuttle we used to go to and from operated under the name “Bermuda Triangle Tours”. Life’s too short not to have a sense of humor. If/when I go back to Bermuda, I’d probably stay a little more central – there was a lot of travel time between Hamilton, the caves and the airport that I’d prefer to eliminate in a shorter stay.

We also hit up the iconic Swizzle Inn, and while I stayed away from a Dark and Stormy or Rum Swizzle ahead of a race, I definitely soaked up the atmosphere. The real up side of being in Bermuda in the off season was the sites & restaurants had no issue accommodating the large groups. In addition, we were able to get 20% off entrees for our closing dinner at Henry VIII. If I sprout fins and swim away from my blog it’s because of all the delicious fish I ate at the weekend. Wahoo, fish and chips and conch fritters, oh my!

Lighthouse Run

can report we did not blow away despite my hair’s best efforts

The length of this race changed a couple of times due to road conditions. As the day dawned and remained dark and stormy – a tribute, no doubt, to one of the sponsors and welcome drinks (!!) it solidified our plans to walk the run rather than risk Sunday’s run.

Dressing for high 50s/low 60s with wind and rain is a challenge coming out of Northeast winter. I made a gametime decision to put on a long sleeve tech shirt under the Strong Fricken’ Women tee, which I thought particularly appropriate for this women-focused series. I was very glad I did so as wet tee shirt is never a good feeling. This was semi-planned twinning as Darlene wore this one day and I loved the pattern and told her I was going to be a copycat. This was the first chance since that we both planned to wear capris, so it had to happen.

An unexpected find during the Zooma weekend was all the Skirt. One icebreaker on Friday’s field trip to Hamilton was someone wearing the same pattern as Darlene, and another woman told us how we could find at the Expo based on which Skirt she’d be wearing.

I had a poncho, but didn’t bother as the rain wasn’t particularly heavy but mostly annoying. The route was nice as the road wound down from Gibbs Lighthouse to Horseshoe Bay, and I’m sure would have been even more scenic on a clear day. For some reason I wore and turned on the Garmin, I’m sure it will soon be touting a new 1.5 mile race record. LOL.

Three happy, wet runners

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A post shared by Marcia aka Coach M (@rundefinitely) on Feb 15, 2020 at 2:21pm PST

The Half Marathon

Long sleeves was the wrong choice for 60s, but a few weeks ago when I accepted reality that this Half was going to be a challenge I’d stubbornly decided (Yes, I’m stubborn, this is a theme) I was going to wear my NYC Marathon shirt to remind me of what I had done just a few months ago. I survived, I did not melt.

On the go! We ran a chunk of the race together and she ultimately PRed

aka the reason we were all in Bermuda. There were some 200 runners in all, with us split relatively evenly between the Half Marathon and the 10K. As I mentioned last week, I contemplated dropping to the 10K as a result of my complete lack of training due to injury. Once I found out there was a 3.5 hour cut off, I had a feeling I could do it and decided to go for it. This was further confirmed when I met Esther from On Pace at the pool early in the week and she confirmed it wasn’t a hard limit and that no one would be left behind.

We boarded the race shuttles a a little before six, bringing us to the start area in Barr Park in plenty of time to enjoy a beautiful sunrise and prepare. While I think we could have arrived a little later, I totally understand the cushion for an inaugural race especially given the construction and narrow roads in Hamilton. Just after 7:30 we were off.

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A post shared by @travellingcari on Feb 16, 2020 at 10:44am PST

Did I mention narrow roads and hills? Someone told us that while Bermuda is only 20 square miles it has more than 300 miles of roads. I’d believe that, and what the airport shuttle driver told us that he’d point out a straight road if we ever saw one. This was one hell of a course. My plan, such as I had one, was to power walk the hills and when my endurance gave out. This started in earnest at mile four when we hit the longest & steepest uphill simultaneously. Bermuda is the anti-flat. This was the hardest, but also the most scenic half marathon I’d ever run. If I had to give up a scenic view for one less hill – wow. That would be an impossible choice.

I chatted to both the 2:45 and 3:00 pacers for their plans and both were doing 3:1 intervals walking the hills. I started with 2:45 and kept them in sight for a few miles, but I knew that wasn’t realistic. I didn’t do intervals so much as run when I could, walk when I needed to. Somewhere around mile eight or nine my goal shifted from not finishing with the sweeper to coming in below three hours. I’d stayed with/ahead of them for so long I thought that was a reasonable goal even as I expected to tire in the final quarter.

All the OnPace pacers were awesome, but Mandi and Marissa get a special shout out for pushing us through the finish. At mile nine-ten ish I felt strong enough to drop the intervals and gained on them a bit, which was good as it provided a cushion when I power walked much of mile eleven. By this point I was flat out determined to break three. When our watches neared thirteen, Mandi and Marissa told us that the finish was just around the corner and to go as it was too early for them to finish as pacers. We took off and I can’t wait to see my finish photos as I was probably a smiling fool. I had about three glasses of seltzer from the finish line festival before heading back up to the finish to watch the last runner come through. She was surrounded by Pacers who had finished their assignments and went back out to bring her in. No one finishes alone was an awesome motto and I can’t wait to do another race where On Pace are the pacers.

My time? It was the slowest of my eight Halfs. Do I care? Not one iota. The goal for this one was finishing, ideally smiling. DONE.

I am an adult.. I did not stay up all night until a 6a shuttle figuring What the hell, I’ll sleep on the plane. I was too tired from waking early and the half and went to bed around nine after a wonderful closing dinner at Henry VIII. This is 40.

General Thoughts:

Running a half marathon untrained is absolutely ridiculous. I knew this, and this is why I deferred Fort Lauderdale. but I was stubborn and didn’t want to miss out on the fun in Bermuda. I don’t regret this choice as I’m not sore at all and my knee is no worse than it had been after the Manhattan 7, but I’m not doing this again. I don’t have a Half on my calendar and am going to keep it that way for now. It’s time to train properly for the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler and go from there.
Because I did not train, I did not practice my fueling. An email about Gu on the course reminded me to throw some chews in my suitcase, and I ate a handful of Citrus Chews throughout. This worked fine and I was glad to have them as I got hungry despite my usual pre-race breakfast bar.
Back to my theme of sustainability, I was glad at a couple of water stops when the volunteers offered to fill my water bottle rather than me take a cup and pour the water into my cup.
Since we were mostly out of town and the island has such a small population, this isn’t a race with crowd support. It didn’t matter. It was lovely to see some locals who were out and about cheer us on.
Running on the left side of the road with traffic and mostly without shoulder or sidewalk was a little unnerving, especially with the curves. I felt though that traffic gave us as wide a berth as it could and we were never in danger.
Running without music (for safety) was no issue as the scenery was enough of a distraction.

While I can’t go back to Bermuda next year as I have an entry for Fort Lauderdale due to deferring this year, I’d do another Zooma race in a heartbeat if the destination was somewhere I wanted to run. It was well supported, the communication was great, the SWAG was good (the medals were GORGEOUS) and the location couldn’t have been better. Amelia Island might be too warm for my liking in October, but Cape Cod is tempting me.

2020 PT Week 3/4: Return to Racing

Previous post topics when I thought I’d get this posted sooner:

I’m taking my talents to South Florida

Yep, that made the rounds after the NFC/AFC Conference Championship Games with the Super Bowl in Miami. I can’t believe Lebron’s decision was ten years ago this summer. Where did the last ten years go?

While it wasn’t Miami, the cold snap had me looking very much forward to a long weekend in Florida. To be honest, deferring the Half didn’t bother me at all. It’s not a dream or bucket list race, and I’ll be back stronger in 2021.

and

Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie

was on Wednesday 1/22 at PT and can’t say how true that was. So many of the exercises focus on the hip. I swear I need glue to hold mine in alignment.

The PT is really helping to the extent I was able to run back to back days twice. That’s something I typically don’t to and probably shouldn’t generally, but I was able to. The PT student I was working with just graduated & finished her internship, and I will miss her. The one she was working under is the same one I saw this time last year, so I know he’s wonderful, I’ll just miss the one on one focus on how bad my coordination is.

This year’s candidate for dead bug‘s I Can In No Way, Shape or Form Do This status is this shift into running stance from Stork. Nope, one too many steps.

and finally

Hamming with Palm Trees, for reasons you’ll see later.

Pleased to learn that I was selected again as a Skirt Sports ambassador this year. Among the many things I learned from this wonderful run/blog group is how running clothes need pockets as much as dresses do. As I said to Elizabeth when we ran, it was nice to have on my windbreaker for all the pockets, but Skirt spoils me. I was home a few weeks ago and the random leggings that live at mom’s don’t have pockets. I can run without my phone (and honestly usually do) – but I didn’t have where to put a key.

In the odd event you don’t already have a Skirt Sports ambassador you shop with and/or aren’t one yourself, use SS15Car75 to shop with me.

[bctt tweet=”Skirts for Florida and NYC running. Pleased to return in 2020 as a #SkirtAmbassador. use SS15Car75 to shop with me” username=”travellingcari”]

Linking up with Deborah and Kim for an abbreviated two week Weekly Run Down:

never miss a Monday: office closed due to MLK, but the day started off with PT. One of the many ways running has changed me. In the past I’d have rescheduled this and slept in. Instead I was there at 8a for a fun session of single leg squats and other oh so fun things. Hurts so good! I opted out of running there due to a frigid wind chill and after coffee with a friend who’d recently moved back, I headed to the gym. I saw a really awesome speed workout that Birchwood Pie did and knew I needed to try it. I warmed up for a mile at 5.5 and then alternated 5.2, 5.8 for 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 with two minutes easy between. The end was a little crunched as I a ) lost track and b) had the start of a blister. Still it was a good nearly 5 miles. I think those sneakers are getting binned though – they’re also the ones I’m blaming for the IT Band issues.
Tuesday: worked late. Nothing else to speak of.
Wednesday: PT. Lots of work trying to keep my hips in alignment. Run commute home as I worked from home before my flight. I love the backpack, although it’s going to force some minimalism in what I haul around. My shoulder thinks that’s a good thing.

Thursday: one of those back to back runs. Couldn’t resist a beach visit before we went to Manatee Lagoon.
Friday: no running, but a wonderful visit to the Morikami Museum & Gardens.

Saturday: wanted to try six, and I got six running along A1A to Atlantic and back. I like Delray, but one reason I prefer Lauderdale is the beach side isn’t built up and there’s a better breeze. Run felt good. We followed it with a visit to Flamingo Gardens, which was amazing.

Sunday: it was “chilly” which is actually perfect beach weather for me because I don’t get too warm. Perfect Florida farewell. I didn’t run because I wanted to run to PT Monday and knew running three days in a row would be Bad.

Week of 1/27:

Monday: spoiler, I didn’t run to PT. I didn’t even get to the gym because of two end of day meetings. PT means I didn’t miss a Monday though.
Tuesday: some fun Lunar New Year art to and from a meeting. Gym after work for PT, yoga.
Wednesday: I don’t remember. Oops. Probably worked late.
Thursday: return of the office run group. We’ve done this route seventeen times. This was probably our slowest as we’re both in PT for various injuries. It was a cold but manageable evening.

Friday: yoga ball taming! AKA, PT and yoga and bib pickup for Saturday’s Frozen Penguin

Saturday: my fourth Frozen Penguin, and first with Elizabeth. It was so (relatively) warm & foggy it was nuts. More on this Tuesday. It was great.

Sunday: Super Bowl Runday! My Garmin had a bit too much beer, but it was a lovely day to be in Central Park. More on both of these races Tuesday.

Plan for the week:

Monday, Thursday: PT
Run when I can, rest & PT when I can’t
Sunday: Manhattan 7 Miler. Nervous about Harlem Hills, although I had no issue with Cat Hill this week.

GoTheDist

I meant what I said. No goals for January or even 2020 as I focused on healing.But I did track my numbers because it has just become habit:

400,508 steps
175.31 miles run/walked
43.78 miles run

I didn’t even think about daily step goal other than Friday, January 31 as my spreadsheet told me that if I hit goal that day I’d get 400K for the month. Not chasing pointless steps was a smart move.

12 gym visits; 49 for September – February cycle. Whee. On track.

No goals for February. Just continuing PT/prehab/yoga and running when I can. Bermuda is going to be amazing whether I run or walk the Half, or some combo thereof.

PT 2020 Week 1: “I Like Hard”

This week marked my third running anniversary. With it falling on a weekday and my not running that day due to PT, I didn’t mark it in any special way. I will… just haven’t decided the form it will take. I’m the worst at doing things on the actual day anyway.

I officially deferred Fort Lauderdale. The deadline to do so was January 15 and I figured rushing back up and/or doing this undertrained was a recipe for further issues. I’m completely fine with this decision and am on to Bermuda. In the interim I look forward to the Frozen Penguin (! yay, my favorite) and Gridiron on Super Bowl weekend.

With morning PT appointments again, I look forward to run commuting there as a warmup. Yes, somehow in the last year I’ve become a morning person. I look forward to building back sustainably. Because I’m giving up Lauderdale, I’m pretty sure I’m going to do Cherry Blossom. Yes, the Amtrak 40% coupon helped with that.

Linking up with Kim and Deborah for a Weekly Run Down with more running than in the last few weeks:

never miss a Monday was back, with my PT intake appointment. I love Greg, Spear and the PT student who was working with him to assess me. There were no surprises. I have some tightness and imbalances, but my flexibility is better than it was a year ago. This is part of why I wanted to go back to the same one – he knew my normal. Even better, they gave me the all clear to run if it doesn’t hurt, and she’s determined to get me into a Prayer Squat, which I haven’t been able to do since I caught softball in high school. This was followed by a wonderful dinner with Darlene and Elizabeth.
Tuesday: PT encouraged me to run and who am I to disagree with my PT? A gorgeous East River runrise that felt really good.
Wednesday: first full PT session, and the inspiration for this post title. Wall sits and single legged squats are a bitch, but I want to be stronger, not just fix the pain. My glute at one point was wiggling with fatigue. Ever grateful for Skirt hiding that from general view.

we must do what the JackRabbit sign says!

Thursday: in an anti-preview for what was to come at the weekend, it was FREEZING. Neither this nor our respective injuries kept Darlene and I from run/walking the lower loop in Central Park. First use of my light vest in a while and was pleasantly surprised how well the batteries held out. Post-run was some retail therapy. Shoes for her, the beautifully ugly Brooks Run Merry ugly shirt for me.
Friday: off. Headed to Mom’s after work.

Saturday: not much time for running since I slept in a little (7), but there was no way I was missing out 60s in January. A quick two mile shakeout before a quick trip to Albany to see my niece for her 2nd birthday. I focused hard on my PT so I didn’t tighten up due to four hours in the car and an hour on the train, and while I was a little stiff it wasn’t bad.

Sunday: 66 degrees + January = Central Park. I headed to the reservoir for the relatively flat terrain, but did some wiggling. I didn’t have an exact mileage plan, just to see how it felt. Ended up about 5.5 miles and I was happy with that. Early on I had to pause some to stretch, but knee never felt worse. And no, I wasn’t remotely cold in the Skirt and tee, even walking home after coffee. And yes, I was wearing a buff and hat in the same park on Thursday. Could I have gone longer? Sure. Was it smart to stop? I think so. No reason to exacerbate this.

Plan for the Week:

Monday: PT
Tuesday: run
Wednesday: PT
Thursday: run?
Friday: off
Saturday: run? Mischief with friends
Sunday: run? depending on Saturday.

Physical Therapy 2020: Week 0

I was working on a post to closeout 2019 and share my 2020 goals, when a wonderful thing happened. I realized I could run a little!

Linking up with Deborah and Kim to share this week.

Had an amazing weekend in the Rochester area with my college roommate and her kids. We share an obsession with all things buffalo so the food to accompany endless board games were: buffalo chicken dip, a keto BLT dip that was my hands-down favorite and dessert was a Keto cookie dough dip. The latter was much better the next day once we doctored it a bit with more cream cheese – the called for sweetener was way too much.

I brought my PT bands and a small roller ball to Rochester. Having a large space (aka house in the suburbs sized living room) to do the four pages of knee/hip exercises was wonderful. My college roommate’s kitchen counter was the perfect height for the calf stretches that go back to my Achilles PT. By week’s end it was starting to feel better and I was curious whether that was seven days of PT exercises, or generally walking way less (and way fewer stairs) than when at home.

Those two and an aerial view of the marathon route were my welcome home. Although my knee was sore from sitting (you don’t sit much when spending time with an eight and three year old), the commute back from the airport on Thursday wasn’t bad. I noticed on Friday that my leg/hip was tightening up as I sat at work all day. While I got out briefly for lunch, I didn’t go far so made the decision to walk to the gym after work.

As I was in the middle of an amazing book – seriously, loved Scott Fauble & Ben Rosario’s writing about Fauble’s 2018 NYC Marathon training – I was curious to see if I could cycle without pain. Victory! I followed that with the full complement of PT exercises including the ever indecent ball squeeze.

face of someone happy that running wasn’t too painful

I had a slow start on Saturday as I was tired and much as I wanted to run, I was afraid it was going to hurt. I finally got out the door around one and decided to run in the direction of the gym as I wanted to do PT anyway and this route had buses if it went pear shaped. I mixed walking and running as up/down hills felt worse, but it was overall OK. After most of the PT (didn’t bring band for clamshells as there’s a limit to Skirt pockets) and a short cycle, I ran back home. It was a busier road so I had many light breaks, but no walks. This felt great, mentally.

Sunday I expected the knee to be sore, and it was, but nowhere near as bad as it had been before the PT exercises. I had some errands, including Urban Athletics’ going out of business sale, and then went back to the gym for the PT. Yes, gym is the easiest place for PT as I just do not have the room at home (bucket list, Deborah’s in-home yoga space and the space for one!) It felt so good to purposefully walk at a speed that felt closer to exercise, even if I didn’t get step goal. Baby steps!

Plan for the week:

PT consult Monday. Run when I can, strength train when I can’t.

Dashing through December with Jingle Bells

Where on earth did this month go? How is it already Christmas week? Apologies for a comments blitz of late. I’m trying desperately to catch up. One of these days I’ll either put email on my phone or figure out how to blog. Not gonna happen.

It’s not even technically winter yet as I type this on Wednesday, but I’m already smelling spring as I got into the Cherry Blossom 10M. I ran this in 2018 and this was when I first “met” some of you when Coco found my recap. While I’m not sure I can actually go in April due to some travel on either side.

First I need to get my cranky IT band back to 100%. Baby steps.

If you celebrate something this time of year, enjoy it.

Race recap: Delray Jingle Bell Jog.

I eyed this race last year when I was in Fort Lauderdale but I decided it was too far for a 5K. Hmm, sounds like the reason I haven’t done Brooklyn’s. This year I was actually staying in Delray and the calendar worked, so I signed up. Rather than a tee shirt, this race provides you with a Santa suit. I’m 5’2 and it’s sized to fit someone a foot taller and wider, so it never was practical. Luckily Delray has all the chains and I hit up TJ Maxx, Ross, Stein Mart, two running stores and Target to find a red shirt to run in. Spoiler, I should have just gone to Target first.

The race begins (and ends) in Anchor Park so I had a nice two mile run from the condo to the start. I left a little later than planned, because 6:30 is early and as a result I hit Delray “traffic” aka the drawbridge. As we waited, I met another runner out for a morning run and we got to chatting. While Delray isn’t a particularly small town, the running community felt it — everyone chatted or waved. Due to the bridge and generally late start, I got to the start just before we set off and I lined up with all the other Santas, elves and winter holiday finery.

We set out at the sound of a loud jingle bell and were off, up Casuarina and onto AIA where we ran for a mile and change before turning around and coming back to Anchor Park. The lead / escort vehicle was a surfing Santa in a red sports car. Awesome! There was one water station that served the out and back and really, is there a better combination than palm trees and Santas?

When we got back to Anchor Park there were medals – I won’t lie, the main reason I did this race – beer and ice cream. Not typically a breakfast beer person, but this was cold and refreshing. I also won an OrangeTheory water bottle. Once I’d cooled down, I didn’t want to start running again so I walked back to the condo via a delicious breakfast at Another Broken Egg Cafe.

I’d do this race again if I was in Delray that weekend, but it’s not (nor is it meant to be) a destination race. However, it has multiple locations and I’d certainly try another location too if that worked. A fun, local fun run.

Double Weekly Run Down with Kim and Deborah:

Week of 12/9:

I missed a Monday, but I knew I would with the gala. It went well.

Tuesday: I had full blessing from my boss to sleep in and show up when I wanted to given the long hours/late night for the gala. Not only could I not fall asleep, but I was wide awake at 5:30. Luckily I have a dear friend who is also a morning person and was happy to go out with me. We walked, ran and forgot to pause the Garmin while we chit-chatted on a beautiful December morning in Central Park.
Wednesday: bupkus. Much delayed flight to Florida.

Thursday: new location, old running habits. Had to find the shortest route to the beach that didn’t involve running on US1. Check!
Friday: lots of walking errands to try and find a red shirt for the Jingle Bell Jog as the Santa suit was way too big.

Saturday: Delray Jingle Bell Jog. So much silly fun that started off with a gorgeous sunrise over the intracoastal and ended up with ~1200 Santas. This should have been a longer run with the beginning of half marathon training, but determined not to get injured again.’

Sunday: would have been a beautiful morning to run, but my Achilles were feeling the hills and not enough (OK, any) stretching, rolling or PT so I walked to the beach and sat there four a couple of hours before watching Eli Manning’s amazing swan song.

Week of 12/16:

never miss a Monday: one last Florida run with some crazy birds before a return to reality.
Tuesday: aforementioned icy rain reality. Digging out of my inbox and a lovely evening catching up with a friend over sushi.

Wednesday: beautiful winter morning and the last day before it turns to the teens so I scooted out for four wake up miles. Knee cranky after standing during holiday party and more no stretching so I hit the gym after for some PT.
Thursday: holiday lights, long foam roll.
Friday: time to start shopping
Saturday: long foam roll
Sunday: tried to run, knee wasn’t great but walking was better than it had been so taking that as good sign.

Plan for the week: run if I can, foam roll a lot.

Thankful for running

I’m the worst about doing those gratitude posts on social media. I always feel like I’d leave out someone or something, or I’d start strong and peter off because I’ve never been a daily poster. And after I’d started this on Monday, I realized it was the Tuesday Topics. Fail on me.

I know I’ve said this approximately eleventy billion times across the marathon journey, but I’m really grateful for the running community. So many amazing people.

Did you go bonkers for Black Friday? I really didn’t, but I bought myself two presents. The first, to no surprise, is the Skirt Sports’ 25% off everything on top of the month-long 40% off or more! I needed another capri and went with Lioness as there are no more LBCs that I need. And now I’ll have black in Gym Girl, LBC and Lioness. While I didn’t love running long in it, it worked for the Albany Half and puttering around on Marathon Monday. I love the freedom of thinking not everything needs to work for 18/20 miles.

The other purchase? I badly needed a new Keurig. Mine was a hand me down nearly three years ago. It no longer made a 10 oz cup, and never felt clean enough for my liking. So I’m the owner of a K Select in Oasis, because who wants boring colors? Of course I still had to buy coffee twice at the weekend because I hadn’t set it up. It will be ready for Friday’s Coffee Date… whether I will is another story.

Weekly run down with Deborah and Kim:

Never miss a Monday: Run/walk with Elizabeth. Still very much loving the NoxGear Tracer 360, getting the playing with it out of my system. We took a detour from the standard three-ish mile loop to say hi to Fred.
Tuesday: coffee with a friend

construction gates never looked that good

Ready for the parade Macy’s on the way out of the city

Wednesday: morning miles before work. My watch had some egg nog, apparently because I do not run nine or four minute miles. I ended the run and started a new one and it behaved. So glad to have East RIver path fully open for the first time in years so no more stairs!

Thursday: no Trots worked for my schedule, but I did get in three miles before we drove to Albany. Nowhere near a PR, but negative splits like I haven’t seen in eons.

Friday: walk around 5 Rivers with family, coffee with Darlene before driving home.

Running with Elizabeth and running into her friend

Saturday: my first without Rogue scheduled since June. Elizabeth and I met in the Park and ran into one of her friends while on the West Side. The wet spot? Her trying to teach me to drink from a water bottle spout v opening the bottle. I really, really love the impulse purchase marathon hat. All Skirt with Pocketopia and Watch Me Go, which worked well on a blustery day. One thing I don’t miss about marathon training – I can run just to run, don’t need specific miles. Half marathon training starts this week though.

Sunday: I wanted to run since I knew I couldn’t Monday. I woke to icy rain and ended up taking the bus to the gym. I didn’t have my headphones so couldn’t stay on treadmill, ended up with a swetball of an elliptical session.

Plan for the Week:

Monday: off; Winter’s Eve with Darlene and Elizabeth
Tuesday – Friday; crap shoot with work. I’ll get some runs in
Saturday: Ted Corbett 15K
Sunday: crap shoot, gala Monday.

GoTheDist:

November totals:

468,102 steps
213.97 miles run/walked
75.89 miles run

Year to Date:

5,547,207 steps
2486.05 miles run/walked
824.24 miles run

Note: 998,569 steps Q4 to date, I remember when that was a stretch quarter goal. I won’t lie, 825 miles run would have been nice albeit meaningless.

2018 step/mile goals are good, and I’d forgotten about the PR goals.

8 gym visits; 28 for September – February cycle.