October 24, 2016

The season is closing

I had a fun weekend with Jerry! He worked SO much the last few months, I never really saw him. They were doing a special project at work, and other than our vacation in early September, he only had 4 days off out of 70. He had this whole weekend (Friday through Sunday) off, and it almost felt strange to have him around ;)

On Saturday, my cross country team had our last meet of the season, and it was awesome. It was so exciting during the second- and third-graders' race, when some of the older kids from our team started screaming, "Austin's in the lead! Austin's in the lead!" Sure enough, I saw the golf cart zoom by, followed by Austin. (There were 80 kids in the race, so this was impressive)

My heart started racing and I couldn't believe one of our kids was leading the pack. That's never happened to us before in the two years I've been coaching. The race was 1.2 miles, and Austin was neck-in-neck with another kid for the last quarter mile. Just before the last stretch to the finish line, Austin started to slow down because he thought he was done, when he actually had to make a turn and run another 50 yards or so. Everyone started yelling, "Keep going! Keep going!" He looked surprised but sprinted ahead toward the finish. For the first time for us, one of our team members actually WON the race! We even took 5 out of the top 10 finishers. It was a super exciting way to end the season.

Our whole team did really well, and I was SO proud. It made for a great last meet! Tomorrow, we have an end-of-season potluck banquet, where we'll celebrate the season and recognize each kid for something special they contributed to the team.

Speaking of running, I am finally getting my motivation back. I've had ZERO motivation to run recently, and I can feel myself getting more and more out of shape. So yesterday, I finally made myself go for a six-mile run, and I felt really good about it all day. I noticed that I feel much better about myself on the days that I run.

I realized that my running motivation doesn't hit me until later in the morning, after I've had breakfast and tea. Lately, I've been feeling like I need to run as soon as I drop the kids off for school, and I just don't feel motivated to; but when I was consistently running all spring, I was doing it after breakfast when I felt the urge to head out there.

Today, however, I had plans with Andrea in the late morning, so I dropped off the kids at school and then went to the outdoor track to run. It was still dark outside, and I hate running in the dark, so I figured the track would be lit up. I was wrong. The track was pitch black, but it still felt safer than running on the roads in the dark. At first, it was hard to see even a few feet in front of my shoes, but once the sun started coming up a little more, it got better.


I just ran three miles at an easy pace (circling the track made it feel like forever!) and then I went home to shower and get ready to meet Andrea. She had never been to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's before, so when I told her I had to go to Whole Foods, she said she wanted to come with me.

I'm going to be hosting Winers at my house next month, and I chose to do an "Around the World" theme--wine from several different countries around the world, and food to go with each. I knew Whole Foods would have a good wine selection for that, so I went up there (Ann Arbor is about 45 minutes away). I ended up getting wine from Spain, Italy, France, Chile, Japan, and Germany. I meant to get an Australian one, too, and I totally forgot. It'll be fun to taste them with my wine club!

I managed not to buy any desserts at Whole Foods (when I think of Whole Foods, all I can think of is their bakery section!). After that, we stopped at a consignment shop, where I bought a cat shirt (if I wasn't cozy under the electric blanket right now, I'd go take a picture--it's a cool shirt!). Then we headed to Trader Joe's. I bought a few things there, but nothing too exciting. Thankfully, they had exactly zero jars of Cookie Butter in stock, because I don't know if I would have been able to resist buying some. I haven't had it in so long! By the time Andrea and I got home, it was time for the kids to come home from school.

I'm starting to think about what plan I want to use for half-marathon training for Indy. I don't have to seriously start training until the beginning of next year, but I definitely need to start picking up some mileage now. I am debating using Hansons Half Marathon Method--I loved using the Hansons Marathon Method while training for Chicago, but I felt so burnt out after all those miles. I may write a plan similar to the 10K plan I wrote, which is using the 80/20 method and heart rate training. I still haven't fully decided what my goal is going to be! So, I guess I should figure that out before choosing a plan ;)

Tomorrow morning, I'm meeting Jessica for a long walk--seven miles!

8 comments:

  1. What an exciting finish for your team! Congrats!

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  2. Congrats on the cross country! You should definitely try some wine from New Zealand, it is world renowned! Particularly the Marlborough regin :)

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  3. I went to EMU -- and used to live right around Arborland -- so I know EXACTLY which Whole Foods you're talking about!! How crazy!

    That whole plaza is a danger zone for me... so many temptations and not to mention all the goodies inside Whole foods and trader Joes!

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  4. I finally signed up for Indy this year!! I have wanted to the past two year a but the timing didn't work out so this year my husband said to sign up early and keep the weekend free!! We're going with my running buddy and her husband so let us know if there will be a meet up when the time gets closer!! AND congrats on the team's exciting finish to the season!

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  5. Katie, do you ever shop at Holiday Market in Canton? They have a good wine selection and I always do well when I chat with their wine specialist. He has not given me a bad pick yet. It could be a good idea if you ever do wines around the world again and don't want to make the trek to Whole Foods.

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  6. That's an awesome season ending for your cross country team!

    I am a Hanson's failure. I used it for my 3rd marathon which was a couple weeks ago. It was my worst marathon time. I was completely burnt out by the time the marathon came around. It taught me how to walk instead of run on tired legs :-) I like the Half Marathon Own It plan from Train Like a Mother.

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  7. Awesome theme for Winers! Another great place to get wine from around the World and food is World Market. There's one in Ann Arbor.

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  8. Congratulations to your team for winning! A great way to end the season! :D

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