It's Called the "Get the Baby and the Groceries Home from the Store" Work Out

Tuesday's Run
Distance: 5 miles
Most Challenging Moment: So. Cold.
Most Inspiring Moment: Finished my book!

Wednesday's Run
Distance: 8 miles
Most Challenging Moment: Looooong day
Most Inspiring Moment: Bye, bye Lil' Sebastian

Thursday's Run
Distance: 5 miles
Most Challenging Moment: Getting out of bed
Most Inspiring Moment: Conan on Grindr

Whatta week! I'm guessing all of Boston is feeling about the same: cold, tired, stressed-out, and dreaming of spring. Between marathon training, Dave's workload, puppy classes, and the baby bein' a baby, I'm feeling pretty exhausted. But! I'm still getting my miles in! (sort of. On the really tough days I've been walking with the babe instead of running BUT STILL)

The worst part was earlier in the week, when I took the kid on a walk to run some errands and went to the grocery store. I thought I was smart in bringing a tote bag with me for the groceries but instead the bagger seemed to see it as a challenge and managed to tetris-stack every one of my groceries in this poor bag. I only realized when I dropped off the cart that this thing was at least 30lbs, and since Dave was at work, I had to carry this stupid thing, plus the baby, plus the diaper bag, plus the bags from the other stuff we picked up. By the time I got home, I was sweating, swearing, and aching. Who needs a gym when you have no car and a desire to eat?

Earlier this week I talked with my marathon-running brother-in-law about nutrition and learned about what I should be eating and drinking (hint: not just water). I also learned that "GI distress" is the polite term for "needing to poop immediately." His advice led me to go out and pick up some fancy carbonated tablets that the lady at the running store said was like all the good stuff of Gatorade, minus the 21 grams of sugar.

I'm looking forward to trying it out this Saturday, with my next 18 miler (!!!).

Other fun things this week:

We celebrated Abby's adoption-versary! As a gift, I let Abby come up on the couch. She immediately draped herself over my lap and was snoring within 5 minutes.

The baby tried applesauce! It did not go well.

More successful: the ball pit at baby class.

Have a great weekend!

I'm Doin' It!

Sunday Run
Distance: 17 miles
Time: 3:35:31
Pace: 12:23 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment: so...much...running...
Most Inspiring Moment: Felt okay?

I have to admit, I was sort of dreading this run. 17 miles is, like, reeeeally far. That's, like, a good half hour drive away. Last week's half marathon went great, but I don't know how terrific I'd have felt having to tack on another four miles.

The night before, I put my head down on the kitchen counter.

"I don't want to run 17 miles!" I said, and Dave, who was washing dishes, said, "Yeah, that's pretty far. You're in it. You're really doing it!"

Right before I left, I was still whining about it when I finally decided to stop. Think of it as a good thing. Three hours of getting out on my own! Peace and quiet! Besides, I get to actually go outside, unlike some mammals:

So, with a slightly better attitude, I set out.

First, I was not wrong. 17 miles is just a very long distance. It's not messing around. My running app alerts me every time I hit another mile, and I remember when it told me I had run five miles--five, a good, decent amount!--and I thought, "Great! Only twelve more miles to go!"

hahahahahahahahhhhhhaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaahahahahaaaaaaaha

That's crazy!

My trick for getting over the mental hurdle of 17 miles was to run 8.5 miles in one direction and turn around, so most of the time I was only thinking about getting to that 8.5 point, and then I was thinking about getting home.

It mostly worked! I didn't ever stop, and only walked once I hit the halfway point and had a granola bar and some water. Granted, I was passed by every single runner I saw. And not just passed but, like, smoked, but hey. I am a short girl trying to run a marathon. Keep it low and slow.

I came home feeling exhausted but pretty good. I also came home realizing that 17 miles is not a healthy amount for anyone to run. Never mind 26.2 miles.

"Didn't the first guy who ran the marathon, like, the one the marathon is named for--didn't he die as soon as he was finished?" I asked.

"Yeah," said Dave.

"Sounds about right," I said. "What was his time?"

I think it's time to start getting serious about what I put into my body, now that I'm chugging out a serious amount of miles. I mean, so long as it includes Sunday morning pancakes.

This week Boston is actually experiencing a...snow drought? No snow expected this week and warm-ish weather this weekend! (Which is good, because I'll be running 18 miles...)

Please No More Snow Please No Please Stop No

Wednesday's Run
Distance: 4 miles
Time: treadmill time!
Pace: treadmill pace!
Most Challenging Moment: Forgot my book
Most Inspiring Moment: Figured out how to watch John Oliver on the machine

It was back to the Y this week, where I am an official member! The whole sign-up process was so quick and painless. Took my credit card, had me sign a thing. When I asked about contracts and cancelling the guy said, "Well, you have to give two weeks' notice, otherwise you'll be charged another month. Oh! And there's one really annoying thing..."

I flinched. A muscle in my eye started twitching. Was this it? Was the Y just another money-grubbing gym, out to charge me $200 because I can only cancel my membership without a fee if I am being forcibly deported to another country (proof of deportation required offer not valid if country of deportation has a Crappy Expensive Gym).

"Yes?"

The guy sighed. "You have to come in person to cancel. You can't do it over the phone! How annoying is that?"

Yes, truly terrible. Brb, I'm going to go hug my Y membership card real tight.

While he was signing me up, the guy asked what I liked about the gym that made me sign up.

"The treadmills are awesome."

"Oh," he said. "You mean the ellipticals?"

*blinkblink* "No... Treadmills. I'm training for the marathon."

"Oh. Huh. Really?"

Ah yes, casual sexism. Not even the Y is a paradise.

But oh! The! Treadmills! They are great. Here, I took a picture:

Everything is controlled via the touchscreen, and there are so many thoughtful little features. You can workout by time, distance, or target calorie burn, which is just so smart. iPod dock, nice headphone jack, built-in AC unit to blow fresh cool air. It's got TV, YouTube, radio, Facebook, Angry Birds (really). I loaded up an episode of Last Week Tonight and kept pace while John Oliver excoriated doctors for accepting bribes from pharmaceutical reps. It was great!

And then...there was the ordeal with the car

Thursday's Run
Distance: 5 miles (target was 8)
Time: 54:55
Pace: 10:59 min/mil

Most Challenging Moment: Running down a busy, unplowed street, with the dog
Most Inspiring Moment: No broken ankles, no frostbite, all dogs and humans safe and accounted for

So. We have a parking space. It's behind our building, and it makes us feel very coddled and rich, especially after dealing with street parking in Chicago for two years (a place where they will tow your car, randomly and without warning, to another part of the neighborhood and suggest you wander the streets yourself to find it).

Since the snow began, our car has been chilling (ha) in its spot, but we knew we'd need it for Thursday, when we had to drive Abby to and from puppy school. All week, Dave and I steadily dug out and chipped away at the spot, but on Wednesday night when the car still wouldn't budge, we gave up and called AAA to tow it out. Here's how that looked:

Wednesday
8:00PM - call AAA. Get told there is a 4-hour wait for tow trucks. Okay, we say.
Thursday
3:00AM - tow truck arrives, wakes Dave up. Dave and the guy spend the next two hours trying to budge our car. The guy manages to drag our car out of its spot and into a snowbank, blocking our neighbor in his parking space. Having made a mess of the situation, he tells Dave there's nothing else he can do except call in a different truck. He leaves.
6:00AM - Dave calls to check on the truck. Of course, it was never ordered (of course). Dave puts in the order. We are told there's another four hour wait.
7:00AM - With the car still stuck, I decide to run Abby over to puppy school. She is very excited about this idea (see photo). The roads are a miserable mess, the sidewalks aren't plowed, forcing me to lead Abby down the ice-covered side of a three-lane major road. This is not a Good Idea.

Note: blur is stubby tail flying off her butt in excitement

8:30AM - I arrive home, car is still stuck, neighbor is also still stuck and amazingly gracious about the situation. I immediately begin baking him "sorry we blocked you in trying to get our car out of a snowbank" cookies.

:(

9AM-3PM - Dave periodically calls AAA; is told we're on a wait list, the dispatcher needs to get back to us, there is no tow truck available. Finally told to contact the local tow company working with AAA directly; is told there's no estimate to when the truck will come. Dave reactivates his Zipcar account.
4:30PM - Dave leaves to go pick up his new Zipcard, get a car, and drive over to puppy class. He gives me the number for the tow company.
4:45PM - I call the company. First am told he'll call me back. Then am told there's no estimate on the truck. When I tell him we've been waiting 20 hours for a truck, he says I'm snappy and to take my business elsewhere. Liberal use of condescending "hun"s and how if I were thinking logically, I'd know to be upset at AAA and not him. I give him a piece of my mind because I am exhausted and just want my stupid car out of a snowbank and my poor neighbor to be able to get to work. The guy listens to me complain and then hangs up. I tell Dave we'll need to find a new tow company.
4:50PM - tow truck guy calls back and says a truck is on the way. Thirty minutes. Being a pain in the ass works!
5:30PM - no truck. Dave picks up the car, drives to puppy school.
6:00PM - no truck
6:30PM - no truck
7:00PM - no truck. I am reaching my wit's end. The baby is unhappy. In desperation, I introduce her to Sesame Street

That is a 6 month old watching TV. Don't judge me.

It works for five minutes. Then I put the baby in the carrier and dance around with her for another half hour.
7:30PM - no truck. Dave comes home from puppy school with Abby (the star pupil of the night!), rounds up a few guys in the building, and together they shove the car back into its space, where it will remain until Spring or the Apocalypse, whichever comes first.
8:00PM - Dave calls the tow company to tell them not to bother to send a truck over. The tow guy says one came but we weren't there. BS, as I was watching the street like a hawk. Dave tells the guy this, and he perfectly sums up our entire day: "He never showed up? What an asshole!"

And that is why I ran 5 miles Thursday instead of 8.



Thank you to this week's donor, Nathannie Bernhadtson! The best portmanteau and couple ever!

Say Happy Valentine's Day with a Half Marathon

Saturday's Run
Distance: 13.1 miles
Time: 2:15:29
Pace: 10:21 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment: I miscalculate my run (again), finish 1 mile away from home, have to take the T back
Most Inspiring Moment: Felt great!

Happy Valentine's Day! How did you celebrate? Dinner? Champagne? Impulse-adopt a puppy?* BABY FEET!

With the latest Boston blizzard coming (as a resident of Boston, I am legally obligated to type the words "snow," "wind chill," "blizzard of 2015 part III," and "parking bans are in effect" every 100 words), I again moved my long run up a day to Saturday. This time, I took a day off before my long run and kept to (relatively) well-plowed sidewalks, and as a result, I had a great, happy, endorphin-pumping half marathon!

I mean, it wouldn't have taken much to beat last week's run. Was I mauled by a wolverine? No? Then I'll count it as an improvement.

But it went great! I had two episodes of Invisibilia to keep me company and Dave's hat and gloves to keep me warm. Partly I think because I've been upping my pace on the treadmill to 8:57 min/mil, I had a nice, fast run. It was freezing cold, but I felt pretty good, and the sidewalks were mostly clear.

The only annoying thing was that somewhere I took I wrong turn, so where I thought I was supposed to finish my run at my front door, I actually finished like a mile and a half away. No way I was running anymore, so, to the T!

Only the best

Generally I feel a little bad when I take the T post run, because I'm usually a sweaty, disheveled mess. Here, I took a picture!

It was lovely to get home and relax with a shower and a nap. Then I got my fancy cookin' on with an elaborate and delicious Valentine's dinner. The menu:

Arugula salad with lemon dressing and Parmesan

Duck-fat-roasted potatoes tossed with parsley and Parmesan

Duck breast with a pomegranate-cinnamon glaze

Vanilla panna cotta

Prosecco

Ben & Jerry's Hazed and Confused

We put the baby to bed, put on Birdman, and had ourselves a good night.

And in the morning? MORE SNOW.

As usual, only Abby was able to show any enthusiasm, possibly because we let her outside for the first time in three weeks:

 Otherwise Iris pretty much nails how we're all feeling right now:

Wind-burned, swathed in multiple layers, done with this nonsense. She's earning her New England cred.



*This marks the two-year anniversary of the time I got Dave drunk on a fancy dinner and asked him if we could get a dog and he said yes. Happily, the answer still held in the sober light of day.

Go for a Run?! Y Not?!

Wednesday's Run
Distance: 5 miles
Most Challenging Moment: dumb book
Most Inspiring Moment: love the treadmills

Thursday's Run
Distance: 7 miles
Most Challenging Moment: ugh
Most Inspiring Moment: keep up the pace

I'm still cycling through all of Boston's finest gyms, burning through free trials like it's my job, and I think I've finally found the one I actually want to give money to:

Bring out the dancing construction worker, we're going to the Y!

I was a little wary, as Ys don't often have the...best reputation, but the one on Huntington Ave is seriously gorgeous, completely renovated, and stocked with the best treadmills I've ever used. I'll have to take a photo next time I'm there, but they're like the perfect combination of sturdy but not too bulky, nice touch screen technology, and they even have a tiny air conditioner built in to blow cool air at you! Love it.

They also have the "pretend like you're running outdoors" option, but when I selected the California coastline, I was treated to a video of your basic pedestrian-filled city street. There was actually even a part where the video went through some sort of dilapidated warehouse district. All they needed was smell-o-vision for the many dumpsters.

I decided to take today's run off so I can be in tip-top condition for this weekend's long run, which I'll once again have to do on Saturday because once again it will be snowing 18 inches in Boston.

I mean, this is getting ridiculous, people. This is what the banister outside my apartment looks like:

I've at least learned my lesson from last week and will be sticking to (hopefully clear) city sidewalks instead of the mess that is the river run. One half marathon and then it's back to snow town!

A Miserable Thing That I Hope I Will Never Do Again

Okay, let's get the easy stuff out of the way. Here was Friday's run:

Distance: 4 miles
Time: (treadmill mystery time)
Pace: (treadmill mystery pace)
Most Challenging Moment: Forgot to pee before I ran, had to stop mid-run
Most Inspiring Moment: Chicago!

It was great! I got into a treadmill rhythm, I was like a metronome the whole time, I read my book, and I discovered the TV had a virtual run through Chicago! They never quite made it to my old neighborhood (I don't know why) but it was still lovely to see various buildings and streets I recognized.

Look!

There's the bean!

Cute, right? Okay, on with the nightmare.

Distance: 15 miserable miles
Time: Well, my iPhone turned off at 3 hours, 17 minutes, and 4 seconds
Pace: 14:27 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment: ..........
Most Inspiring Moment: It's over.

I knew today was going to be ridiculous. First, I decided to move my run up a day because of more snow. Then I worried about the distance, since I sort of skipped last week's 14-miler, so I was going from 9 miles to a break to 15 miles. And finally, I figured the transition back to pavement from the treadmill was going to lead to some problems.

But this. This. I came home and told Dave that if I had to choose between labor and running this stupid run again, labor would win, hands down.

The day did not start out great. I stayed up later than expected and woke up earlier than expected. I couldn't find my running gloves or hat (they may be still enjoying a vacation at Bretton Woods...). I was in a bad mood just getting out of the house, but once I got out there, I started to relax and enjoy myself. The sidewalks weren't too bad, I was feeling good, and my pace was pretty nice. I had the first episode from latest podcasting phenomenon Invisibilia playing in my ears, and it was early enough that the city still had that beautiful, wintry glow.

I took this photo at the four-mile mark, feeling great, happy to be alive, totally unconcerned that I still had eleven miles to run. And I might have stayed that happy if not for...

...snow.

And ice.

And completely unplowed sidewalks.

I decided to to the entire run along the river, because I was under the impression that the river runs were plowed. This was false. There were portions of the runs that looked as though a plow had run over them, tamping down the snow into a frozen, slippery sheet. There were some parts where the only plowing had clearly come from people's feet, so you maybe had like the width of a sneaker to run through. There were some parts that were just snow, and it was anyone's guess where the sidewalk actually was.

My favorite were the paths that looked as though they had been plowed but had since been filled in with all the frozen, jagged, salty, dirty, giant clumps that had once been in the road. Walking was pretty much impossible, let alone running. From roughly mile 8 until mile 13, I was picking my way through freezing, ankle-twisting piles of snow and ice, running maybe two or three feet, and then having to walk again. It was m i s e r a b l e. At one point Dave called me and I had to channel all of my energy into not telling him to come and pick me up, immediately.

This was not running 15 miles. This wasn't even walking 15 miles. This was trying to keep my balance on shifting, slippery surfaces for three hours. Have I properly conveyed how awful this was?

Usually when I come home, I feel a burst of pride and satisfaction of another good run down in the books, but today I stumbled in, took a half hour shower, and told Dave I was going to lie down in bed and I didn't want to get up until I could feel my ankles.

The only good thing about this run is I'm pretty sure I've hit my bottom. Sleet, rain, negative temperatures--I will happily take them over this. Even if I have to run snowy Boston again (which seems likely), I now know enough to stick to heavily-trafficked and relatively clear sidewalks, rather than the tundra-like boonies of the river run. Chalking it up to a learning experience and let us not speak of it anymore.

Now I'm going to make myself mac n cheese and cookies for dinner.

Still Here. Still Cold.

Hello!

What a week, huh?

Snow, freezing rain, negative teen temperatures, and the Patriots' victory parade (which I only realized was happening when I took Iris for a walk and was like "Why are there so many drunk people???"*). Am I still running?

Yes!

Of course!

In fact, I am like some gym vagrant, scurrying from one treadmill to the next, looking for my next fix. This week I tried out the very beautiful, ladies-only Healthworks, which has the added bonus of being exactly .5 miles from my house (which means I count the walk there and back as part of my run**).

Aside from the snow, Dave and my schedules have been nutso, so I did Wednesday's run on Tuesday and took Wednesday off, and then I did Thursday's run later in the day. I was supposed to get my last run of the week in this morning, but when I woke up at 6:15, I rolled over and told Dave that under no circumstances was he allowed to get me out of bed.***

So, I'm doing it. Sometimes I want to weep while I'm doing it, but I'm doing it.

The nice thing about the treadmills at Healthworks (aside from the decided lack of sweaty man grunts), is that they rigged the TVs to show videos of various hikes and pleasant walks, so you can almost imagine instead of being stuck inside in freezing, gray Boston, you're actually strolling along the Mediterranean or picking flowers in a meadow. Because my latest book is a Western, I chose the trails of the American Southwest:

You can sorta see it, but that guy in the shorts walking right in front was there for pretty much the entire movie. I hoped he would provide some sort of Rick Steves'-like narration, but when I plugged in my headphones: muzak.

I have one more run this afternoon and then I have to figure out what I'll be doing about this week's long run, since 15 miles on a treadmill sounds like the definition of miserable (also, I've run out of free trials) and there promises to be more snow this weekend. Or...oh...right now. It literally started snowing right as I typed those words. :(

"Don't worry about it," Dave told me, when I complained about the treadmills and snow. "I can't remember ever training on the treadmill when I was getting ready for the marathon."

"So how did you run in the snow?" I asked.

"Hmm... I can't remember. I don't think I did."

"So you're saying when it snowed, you just didn't train."

"Yeah, I guess not."

[I whimper]

"But hey! I still managed to finish the marathon!"

He has a point.

~~~~~~~

Thank you to my very generous donors this week! My in-laws, Mark and Anne; my cousins, Nora and Doug; and my grandma Florence (who at 93 could probably run the marathon just fine, as long they let her use steroids****). Thanks to their amazing generosity, I am a THIRD of the way to my goal!



*Real conversation that I had:
Drunk Guy: Uhhhh, hey. Do you know where the Prudential building is?
Me: *turns around, points at the gigantic building right behind us that says PRUDENTIAL at the top* Right...there?
Drunk Guy: So I keep walking this way?
Me: Yes. Walking in that direction will get you there.

**It's three degrees outside. Cut me some slack.

***This turned out to be a good decision, because the baby, in true rock-star fashion, slept until NINE AM. NINE AM! The greatest gift a child can give her parent...

****She would want you to know that steroids are fantastic and make her knees feel awesome and everyone should be using them. Sound advice, Nan.

SNOOOOOOOOOOW

Oh look.

Snow.

For the past eight hours, the world outside my window has looked like a deleted scene from The Grey. Didn't we do this blizzard nonsense last week? Yesterday afternoon, the streets were clear and I was looking forward to getting back outside to run when I woke up to Boston's best imitation of an arctic tundra. It is crazy. There is much snow.

I actually don't have any running stats today, because last weekend's long run got sort of disrupted by our ski trip. How was it? I'll let the baby answer:

It was great! We took the kid cross-country skiing, strapped to Dave's chest, and with the fresh powder and sunny skies, we all had a great time. Iris was the cutest little skier out there (no offense, Dave), and we could barely go more than a few feet before someone would stop us to check her out (she did look pretty cute).

Bretton Woods was beautiful and lovely and snowy and wonderful and we had a fantastic time and immediately started looking up vacation properties.

But, when we got back to Boston, we thought we had left the snow behind. So imagine our surprise at today's weather (Dave went to work in snow pants...). We just managed to pick up Abby from puppy vacation before the snow emergency, and she, at least, doesn't seem too phased by the snow:

This was after she stuck her whole face in a snowbank and inhaled like she was breathing in life itself.

Sadly, not all of us come equipped with built-in fur coats, so I'll be keeping this week's runs indoors, hopefully to a gym that doesn't charge me Iris's college fund to run in place for an hour. (does such a place exist??) Back to treadmills!