October 26, 2012

Racing plans

I have had the laziest week of my life! I promised myself a week of relaxation after the marathon, both to recover physically and for my mental health ;)

I still feel a runner's high from the marathon--and I'm so glad! I didn't feel this way after Cleveland at all, and that is why I ended up registering for another marathon almost immediately. I was seeking a runner's high from the first one, and when I didn't get it, I was disappointed enough to try again. Now that I got it, I am happy to take a week of worry-free relaxation.

But yesterday, I got really restless, and I was contemplating going for a run. I really felt like I needed this week off, however, so I went for a walk instead. I only walked for a mile, and it was more of a stroll--not with the purpose of burning calories, but just to stop feeling so lazy.

On Monday, I'll be starting a training schedule to stay in shape for the Ragnar Relay. I'm going to train as if I were running a 10-mile race (the longest leg I have to run in Florida is 8.8 miles). I also trying to decide between two half-marathons for spring--either the Martian half-marathon or the Glass City half-marathon. I'm guessing that the Martian will be sponsored by Jerry's work (meaning I won't have to pay for the registration) so I will probably do that one, but I've already run that 10K twice; it would be a nice change of scenery to run the Glass City half.

After Ragnar, I'll have a couple of weeks before I start training for the half-marathon. I may do a couple of short races in the summer (5K or 10K), and then I plan to run the Detroit Free Press International Half-Marathon in October.

I may end up picking one more fall race--one that is out of town which I'll get to travel for--but I haven't gotten that far yet. I'm just looking forward to training for shorter races, concentrating on one race at a time, and not overbooking myself!


Last night, Kroger was doing a little Halloween party for kids, so I took the boys there after school. It was such a great little set-up, and it was completely free! All of the employees were dressed in costume, and they had different stations set up around the store--the kids could do a craft and bob for a (plastic) apple (filled with candy) in the produce section, decorate a doughnut at the bakery, get popcorn at the seafood department, etc.
I wanted to take a huge scoop of buttercream frosting
for the road, but I restrained myself!


I had no say in my boys' costumes. Halloween is the one time of year that I wish I had a girl--girls' costumes are so cute! Eli chose a ninja, and Noah chose a "mirrored ghoul", but he didn't want to wear his mask or gloves.

The kids collected a ton of candy and prizes, and one of the stations was more for me than them. Fingerprinting! It sucks that we have to even think about this stuff as a parents, but it's something I've been meaning to do anyway, so I had no excuses yesterday. I got a disk of each Noah and Eli that includes their description, picture, and fingerprints.
I guess I thought fingerprinting was done the old-fashioned way, with ink and paper, but it was all digital. He just had to touch a little finger pad, and his prints showed up on the screen. The prints and info is only stored to a disk, so I have the only copy of it (there is no archive or database, for privacy reasons).

Anyway, the kids had a blast, and the whole way home, they kept saying, "Thank you for taking us there, Mama!" I love it when they show some gratitude! Tonight, we are going to Renee's church for pizza, games, and trick-or-treating.

The weather is looking really crappy for Halloween, so I hope it's not too bad! I'm also a little concerned about my trip to New York--I leave a week from today, and NY looks like it's right in the path of the hurricane. I think the worst of that weather is supposed to happen on Wednesday, so hopefully the weather will clear up for the NYC marathon! I'm SO looking forward to being a spectator :)

14 comments:

  1. That looks like a fun night!

    We have a TON of snow here so it's going to be a pretty frosty Halloween this year. Hope it's nicer there!

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  2. I don't blame you for training hard for an FL run. I'm a Floridian and I know running here is no joke. Especially with this lack of any Fall weather we are having!

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  3. If the storm is bad and the power is still out, I wonder how on earth they'd reschedule the marathon. Sure hope everything turns out for the best, for the storm and the race.

    J

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  4. I'm sure the actual storm will be long gone before you go to NYC however, if it's as bad as they're predicting, hopefully you won't have to deal with any aftermath-electric outages, flight cancellations/postponements, flooding etc...

    I'm soooo glad you had a great marathon experience and are still flying high from it!

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  5. The Kroger party for the kids is so cool! Hope the storm misses you!

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  6. I did the Glass City Half this year. It's a great race. You can read a review on my blog. Of course, I like free too(but happen to hate the Martian course) I love the medal though.

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  7. Your boys are adorable. And, I know how it feela when the kids show gratitude :).
    I hope that NY greets you in a friendly way.

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  8. Your boys are adorable. And, I know how it feela when the kids show gratitude :).
    I hope that NY greets you in a friendly way.

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  9. Your boys are adorable. And, I know how it feela when the kids show gratitude :).
    I hope that NY greets you in a friendly way.

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  10. That's awesome that they do the descriptions, finger prints and photos! Very smart! My mom used to write down a description of what we were wearing each day, just in case. On days we have preschool or go out somewhere for sight-seeing or whatever, I take a photo of the kids so there is a current one in what they were wearing. It's a little paranoid, I know, but with digital cameras, it's all too easy.

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  11. Sorry...dunno why does it get posted so many times from my cell.
    *Oops*

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  12. The 5k is a week from today!!! Holy crap!!!

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  13. I also ran the GCM (half) last year. It is a flat, fast course, and served as my first sub-2 half marathon! I definitely will be running again, so if you do, let me know!

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  14. Hi Katie! I'd suggest considering spending the money for the Glass City half marathon over the Martian. I've had several friends tell me that the Martian is a bit lacking in excitement and can be tough to run a distance like a half marathon. Regardless, best of luck in Ragnar and your future running plans!

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