Running in the West

Well, now that Memorial Day weekend has passed, we have entered into the summer season. No, not the official start to summer which doesn't happen until June 21, but the start of the time of year when we have bonfires in the backyard, go to baseball games (OUTSIDE!), and go fishing in one of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes. I for one could not be happier. Memorial day weekend included visiting family, gambling in Deadwood (Erich won $50 in blackjack, I lost 29 cents in slot machines) and eating good food, all wrapped up with a couple of good runs. 

Erich and I drove to Sioux Falls on Thursday night and stayed with my sister and her husband. I got up early on Friday morning to go for a quick 3-mile run since I didn't get one in on Thursday as my schedule said I should. That day we drove west to my Grandparent's 3,000 acre cattle ranch in western South Dakota. It looks like this:

It's quite gorgeous at the ranch and even better when the sun is shining. Unfortunately it's been raining a lot there lately. About 6 inches in the last 20 days. That's much more than the area is used to. 

On Saturday morning I went for a run among all of this beauty. Unfortunately, part of what makes this ranch so lovely is it's natural hills and the large canyon that runs through it. I knew I needed to get in a 6 mile run and heard my grandparents' mailbox is about 1.5 miles from their house. I figured out and back twice would be sufficient. Well, it turns out that the mail box is only 1.25 miles from the house so out and back twice only makes up 5 miles. I thought I'd feel badly about skimping on the miles until I started running these hills:

Yep, it was intense. Since I went out and back twice and there are two big hills along the route to the mailbox, I had to go up four of these bad boys. Erich went with me as well and he runs a lot faster than me so I probably held him back but all in all it was a good run. The best part was the gravel. It's so soft and nice on the joints. No pain whatsoever. And on top of it, it was actually sunny. don't let the pictures fool you. We actually had good weather for the run. 

Luckily for me Sunday is supposed to be a cross training day. My cross training didn't really happen unless you count my elevated heart rate when we had to drive up and down hills steeper than those above, while it was raining, with gravel that had turned to mud as slippery as ice. We fishtailed a lot and may have been going sideways on the road a couple of times. All this in a 4 wheel drive Jeep. We made it back in and out of the ranch safely and headed home Monday morning. While traveling, we made a quick stop in Chamberlain, on the banks of the Missouri River. 

Look at that view! It might be a little different in a couple of days because they're expecting some pretty brutal flooding. But for now it looks like this.

Oh so pretty!

Just be careful of the rattlesnakes!

All in all, it was a very good trip and I had a great couple of runs. It's always fun to run in new places. I should think about that for the future.

Today I dropped back down to 3 miles. 3 is so easy now! Nothing too big to report. My joints were a little less sore so that was nice. I was also significantly faster. Can't wait for 7 on Saturday. Hip hip! 

Happy Memorial Day! Welcome summer!

Welcome, Heat Wave!

The past few weeks have been CRAZY busy for me. Since I took on my new position in October, I've had substantially more work to accomplish, which has meant early mornings and working past when I should be able to go home. Since May 1, we've had two events. The first was Walk MS (which had terrible weather by the way) and the second was a one day Bike MS ride. Bike MS had great weather. I even got my first sunburn for the summer. Yee haw! Next up is another Bike MS event June 10-12. Two days of riding 150 miles from Duluth to White Bear Lake, MN. It's a beast of an event with about 3,500 people riding and takes a lot of preparation to put it on. Needless to say, right now is a bit hectic and I have seriously neglected my running. Yesterday morning, that all changed.

I realized yesterday as I was brushing my teeth, that in two short weeks training for Run to Stop MS begins for real! Since my training schedule is rest Monday, short run Tuesday, mid-distance Wednesday, short run Thursday, rest Friday, long distance Saturday and cross train Sunday, I figured yesterday would be a good day to start getting used to that schedule. Now, I'm not training yet, just making sure I get used to fitting in a run no matter what. So, I decided I'd go for a run after work. Well, while at work I was putting away supplies from the above mentioned bike ride and discovered that it had become seriously humid outside. See, part of putting away supplies means washing dishes and we do it outside with a hose and a really big Rubbermaid tub. Have I ever mentioned how much my job rocks? It was pretty standard summer humidity, however seven days ago it was March weather. I was a little taken aback but immediately excited. Summer weather! Then I remembered that I had decided to get in gear and go for a run after work. I can't remember the last time I ran in hot, humid weather. Last summer I ran inside on the treadmill.

When I got home it was 88 degrees and over 60% humidity. I set out for a 3-mile run around my 'hood. I remembered my lesson from last time and did not run up Fillmore Street. Damn those hills. They will have to wait for another, more appropriate day. Instead I went up Lincoln. Oh yes, have I ever mentioned that I live in an area where the streets are all presidents and they're in sequential order of when they served in office? William Henry Harrison doesn't get a street. I guess dying in office after a month doesn't get a street named after you. [shrug] You're welcome for the interjected history lesson, but, back to my run. It was pretty flipping terrible. There is no doubt that my body is not yet used to that heat. I felt like death. To make matters worse, for the last half, I was running on a busy road so everyone driving home from work during rush hour could see my struggle. Stellar move, Whitney. But I made it home and didn't die. Though I did turn on the air conditioning so I wouldn't sweat all night. I also learned on Tuesday, after much trial and error over the past couple of weeks, that I have to break one of my cardinal fashion rules for grown women. I have to pull my hair back in pigtails in order to get enough of it out of my face and off my neck for comfort. Gah! Totally worth it though because I'm still digging this hair cut.

The hot, humid weather spawned some pretty intense storms in the area too. The far-reaching northwest suburbs had tornado touch downs. We had a tornado warning in the immediate metro area due to some funnel clouds seen in St. Louis Park and Hopkins, just west and southwest of Minneapolis. When this happened I promptly called my boss, Allison, who lives about 15 blocks from me to see if I could come over. Erich was working at the Twins game and I was not about to be stuck at home alone if a tornado actually happened. Plus, Allison has a basement. :) We didn't have much excitement in the Nordeast neighborhood. No tornadoes or hail, thank God. My poor car has been through enough since purchasing it in October. Only some rain. They did however have to rake Target Field free of golf ball-sized hail so the Twins could resume getting murdered by the Tigers. Boo Twins. What happened to that no-no Liriano?

The storms were supposed to continue into today, however they did not. I went for another 3-mile run this afternoon along the same route and it was significantly better. The temp was about 10 degrees cooler and the sun went behind the clouds about 1/3 of the way through. Since Erich was home I left my phone and keys. I forgot to look at what time I left the house so I don't know how long it actually took me to complete this today. Oh well. Today I decided that I love running with nothing on my person. No ipod, no phone, nothing. It makes me a little nervous without the phone, but I just tell Erich what my route is and tell him that if I don't return in a reasonable amount of time, to come looking for me. I tend to notice a lot more things and interact with the people with whom I come into contact. Today, at a busy intersection, I even saw three wild turkeys just chillin' in a parking lot. Strange things going on with the turkeys here lately. I think they've gotten lost. This isn't the first time I've seen them smack in the middle of the city. I want to know how they got there because turkeys don't really fly...   After dinner (no we didn't have turkey!) Erich and I treated ourselves to Culvers frozen custard. Mmmmm. Just a single scoop is perfect for me.

Tomorrow is another running day before I take Friday off. I'm going to see if Jill wants to go for a walk/run after work. I'm hoping it's not raining. It's been a while since I ran along the river so I think tomorrow will be a good day for that. I am mighty excited now that I think about it.

Oh, I also forgot to mention that between the run and the tornado warning yesterday, I ate an entire cantaloupe. Well, everything but the outer rind, but you get the idea. A whole cantaloupe in one sitting! Today I cut up a watermelon. Erich promptly told me that I am not allowed to eat the whole thing.

Chopped!

No, I'm not talking about the TV show on the Food Network.

About a month or so ago, I decided that I wanted a hair cut. I saw a girl with a really cute style at the gym and decided that I would like it. Now, I'm sure there are plenty of talented hair stylists here in the Twin Cities, however I really only trust major hair changes to one person and that's Christine Koch at Spektre Studio in Sioux Falls. Just a little plug. She and her studio mates are awesome. She's always been able to take care of me. That meant I had to wait until I went to Sioux Falls for Easter. Well, last weekend was Easter weekend so it was time for the big day!

TA DA!!!

The picture is a little MySpace-y but it's not a bad self portrait. It's also the end of the day so it's gone a little flat and I had it up in a pony tail until about 15 minutes before taking this picture. 

This photo has little to do with running however I thought I should post about it. I've never had hair this short. I will say that when I do put it in a ponytail to do any sort of physical activity, it looks pretty humorous. The pony tail is tiny and half of the hair doesn't fit in it. It's worth it though because I really dig the new look! 

Outside in Shorts and a Tank

I got back from a run about 35 minutes ago. It was so great that I still haven't changed/taken a shower. Yes I'm sitting on my couch, a little sweatier than I should be for sitting on the furniture, but I'm not ready to get in the shower yet. On my run I was able to wear a shorts and a tank top. A tank top!!! Woot! It was almost 70 degrees out. Booyah!

Now, I have lived in northeast Minneapolis (locally known as Nordeast) for just over a year and a half. I have NEVER ran in my neighborhood. I've been on a few walks and have biked but have never ran. I'm not really sure why. That changed today.

Now, Nordeast is probably one of the more hilly areas in the City. South is fairly flat, especially along the parkways. There are some small hills but they're not too crazy and pretty gradual. Around the U it's also pretty flat. I don't know what North is like because I don't venture over there. Nordeast on the other hand is pretty much the opposite, especially in my neighborhood. 

I set off on my run and boom, right away, big hills. For those of you in Sioux Falls, think about the steepness of Tut Hill but about half the size. I knew these exist because of my walks and bike rides, but didn't really think about them before hitting the pavement for a run. The strange about the hills is that there will be huge steep hills on one street, then gradual hills 3 blocks over. I suppose it's pretty good for some variety. 

The first half of the run was the hilly part. It was actually kind of brutal because I went into work an hour early today so I was quite tired. Once I got into the second half of the run the hills were gradual and not too noticeable. At that point I started feeling much better and surprisingly less tired.  In total I only ran 3 miles but the hills were more of a workout than normal. Now I'm home and am not tired at all. For the future I will remember Fillmore Street = big hills, Lincoln Street = not so hilly. 

Goldy's Run

I thought that running in a real race merited a post...finally. I've been seriously lacking in the posting and working out areas of my life lately. Since I haven't been working out much, I also haven't posted much. I've been pretty busy in the evenings and I'm not really into running in the morning. I'm not a morning person, though I did have to get up at 6:30 today (A SATURDAY!) in order to make it to the race on time. In the end we finished with a time of 28:21. Not great but after 2 weeks of not running, I'll take it!

The weather was a little cold and windy but it was fairly comfortable to run in. This is what we looked like to start:

Notice my Run to Stop MS gear? Oh and if you're wondering, that's my friend Joe. He's also running the marathon, though not for the MS Society. Erich and Joe's twin brother, Mike, were spectators/photographers. 

The starting line was a mad house. There were over 2000 people registered between the 10-mile and 5K race. We had a really slow start so if we'd been able to start at a normal pace, we probably would have had a time that was at least 30 seconds faster. Here's what that looked like:

The race wound the the University of Minnesota campus. I have no pictures of that. Erich took a picture of us just after crossing the finish line on the 50-yard line of TCF Bank Stadium. We were on the jumbotron and that's what this picture is of:

You can see Joe in blue. My right arm and my hat are to Joe's left and almost off the screen. Their camera wasn't set up in the best way. People tend to cross the finish line, then just stop, creating a mad traffic jam. The guy in the front looks super gassed.

Here's what the finish line looked like:

See the mad mess I'm talking about? We finished the race with some snacks. Bananas and my favorite, Salted Nut Rolls! This is what we looked like at the end. Joe looks pretty much the same but I always get super red-faced anytime I exercise. 

Thank you for following through today's picture blog of Goldy's Run. 

Tomorrow we'll be heading to Splash MS. It's a fundraising event at the Water Park of America. I'm pretty stoked. Family raft ride, here we come!

$306.20

That's how much money I've raised so far for Run to Stop MS. It's pretty awesome. I still have some little events planned and haven't even sent out letters/emails to family and friends asking for money. That's all from posting on Facebook, baby! It's still a far cry away from the $1000 I'm required to raise, not to mention the $2000 I'd like to raise. If you'd like to help me get to my goal, you can click on this link to do so.

The MS Society uses the money collected in so many different ways. Research, financial assistance and programs for people with MS as well as their families. My favorite program has become MS Youth Camp. It's a week-long camp for kids who live with someone who has MS, usually a parent. I attended Youth Camp last year as a counselor, because we were short volunteers. The programs side of our organization is not my area, so this was pretty exciting. I loved camp as a kid so I was stoked when I got to go. Being there was fantastic. So fantastic, that I requested to go again this year. Luckily for me, the MS Society sees fit to allow people to help out across departments and I was approved to go back again in June. I'm really excited for the opportunity to return and spend time with the kids and form new bonds. I loved summer camp as a kid so it's pretty much the perfect setting for me. I'll be gone June 19-25 and simply cannot wait.

In training news, I haven't had much to share, thus my posting hiatus. It's not that I haven't been doing any training but the workouts have all been fairly similar and boring. Winter decided to return after a couple of weeks of teasing with warm weather. That means I was back inside on the treadmill. Funny how I didn't used to mind it all that much until I ran outside in nice weather. Now it's pretty dull. But, I can still make it on there for a pretty good chunk of time without completely losing it.

Last Saturday I did a 45 minute run. During the week it's usually only about 30 minutes because we're lifting too. I thought I'd try listening to music again. Bad choice. I spent so much time fiddling with the earphones, I just got really annoyed. Today I ran for an hour (6 miles total) and didn't have the music on. It was much more enjoyable. I just listened to myself in my head. I tend to space out and think about all sorts of things. I get caught up in everything going on around me too. The gym is an interesting place to observe human social behavior. I've also noticed that I have a really big urge to encourage the people on the treadmills next to me. Weird, I know. But, people are really putting in effort for some sort of goal, and I feel like they should be given a pat on the back. I've never actually spoken a word to anyone but I really have to fight the urge to. Maybe some day I will. For now I just try to encourage Jill when we're together. This past week, Jill and I did a pretty intense workout of biceps, back, and abs. We were doing 1-minute planks and Jill was struggling a bit. Her arms were shaking, no doubt due to the brutal curls and lifts that I'd just put her through. So I made it a point to keep her going, although her shaking made me tired just to watch. But, I'm very proud of her because she made it through three 1-minute planks and didn't break once! Go Jill!

Today I took time to be at the gym alone. I went around 10:30 a.m. and easily found a treadmill. That's pretty common for a Saturday. Not as many people are motivated on the weekends. My plan was to run for an hour and I was really hoping to keep up an average 10 minute mile speed, to put me at 6 miles. I did. Now, it's easy for me to run under a 10 minute mile speed when I'm only running for a half hour, but an hour is a different story. It gets trickier but I'd really like to keep a 10 minute average for the marathon. This will put me in about the middle of the pack. I think it's totally achievable. If I think I can, I will.

Now, I'm working on replenishing my calories. That's definitely the fun part. I went to Annie's Parlor for lunch with some people I haven't seen in a while. Yay for a bacon cheeseburger and hand cut french fries. I just took a pan of brownies out of the oven. Yes I made them out of a box but, no judgement. I think box brownies taste awesome. They're for Jill who had a rough day yesterday because of some car trouble. Something tells me that she'll enjoy them tonight with the wine and cheese girl time we'll be having.

I am now off to work at the Division III Men's Hockey Championships being played at the U of M. Hopefully it's not a long shift because I really want to dig into those brownies and have a glass of wine. Hopefully I don't have so much that it impedes with my bike workout scheduled for tomorrow.

When all else fails, go with food

I don't really have much to write about today. Had a short little 3-mile run. I ran at a pretty good clip. About .5 to 1 mph faster than usual. Not too exciting though. Back on the treadmill. I guess the most exciting thing about the run is that I had no knee pain despite the increase in speed. That's a plus!

I usually don't blog about food because, well, that's not the topic of this blog and if I blogged about every good meal I made, I'd feel like a big fat fatty because I kind of pride myself in what I believe to be above average cooking skills. Plus, people would get sick of seeing what I make because I never really cook with a recipe and thus could not share how I make things. But, behold my masterpiece for dinner last night!

Yep, that's right. It's a Chicago-style deep dish pizza. I made the sauce from scratch as well as the dough. The sauce was pretty standard with crushed tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper. Don't ask me how much of each. I know I put in one 29 oz can of tomatoes and 1 clove of garlic. That's it. The dough was the real accomplishment. As you may know, I don't really like to bake. It's tedious and messy. But, making this dough was different. 1. It was easy. 2. Dough needs to be kneaded so that was fun. 3. I actually followed a recipe. Winging a dough didn't seem like a good idea. I will be making dough from scratch again. Next time I have to remember to save my scraps to make into breadsticks. I threw away the scraps before I realized that would be a good idea.

For the stuffing I chose Italian sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms and black olives along with both provolone and mozzarella cheese. There are so many other things that would taste so good in here that I can't wait to make it again. I realize I probably should though because it can't be too healthy.

To top it off, I made Rice Krispie bars. I don't consider that to be baking at all. Melting and mixing and pressing, yes. I don't have a picture of those because really, who hasn't seen a Rice Krispie bar?

Feel free to be jealous of my pizza. I know I am and there's leftover in my fridge! I think this is very good fuel for running don't you think?