Hello everyone, I hope this finds you well and safe.
A short post since not too much has been happening. It’s been a bit of ground hog day being quarantined and only going out for the basics and a quick run or walk. Even though this year has been a bit slow I still continue to get in some miles. You would think staying home would get the writing creative juices flowing, but it’s been difficult, but continuing on…
Still have my race scheduled for September in Montreal and hope it doesn’t get cancelled. May will bring warmer temps and I hope to get out and ride.
I have been staying close to home but for this time period I have completed 72.69 miles with 3604.02 miles gratefully remaining. Be well in your heart…Happy Miles to You!!
I’m not going to ask how anyone is doing. I think I have a pretty good idea since life changed drastically about three weeks ago. I will say I hope everyone is well and healthy. This whole outbreak has been troubling on different levels. 1) The amount of people who have become sick and those that have succumbed to this virus; 2) Panic buying. It is disconcerting to go into a store and see nothing on the shelves; and 3) people not taking the virus seriously. Like many of you I am quarantined in my house. I go out for the grocery run and to take a walk/run on a trail by my house all the while practicing social distancing. I am also teleworking and trying to maintain a healthy/sane schedule during my day. Trying to have some normalcy. I am grateful that I have a job that has allowed me to telework. I know many people are having a hard time. Hearing the news that we now may have to stay home until the end of April. Well, that’s just devastating to some people. I hope they will be able to find some relief and our economy will jump back quickly.
The Rock and Roll Marathon DC was cancelled and they have allowed me to transfer my race to other areas for later in the year. I have chosen to run my race in September 2020 in Montreal, Canada. Never been, so I figured why not?! Hopefully the pandemic will have subsided and life will return to normal by that time.
As you can surmise mileage isn’t banging this month, although I have doubled what I have done last month. I was training for the half and then I wasn’t really. Can’t wait to be able to hit those long rides.
Some pics from the trail by my house:
Snake in a tree trunk.
Path by my house.
I was able to get 42.64 miles in for the week. Pretty good considering the circumstances. I hope this finds you well and at peace. We will all get through this together. I have 3679.50 miles gratefully remaining. Happy Miles to You!!
Hello everyone and Happy Tuesday! I believe Spring is finally here in DC, although it is possible that we could get another push of winter. It has been a fair winter at best. I’m ready for the warmer temps.
I’m still prepping for the Rock and Roll half marathon at the end of the month. I’m gliding into this easy as to avoid injury and pain. So far so good. A few pains here and there, but for the most part I’m on track and feeling good.
I bought some new running shoes, not sure I mentioned that in a previous post, but I was able to take them out for a spin.
Nikes
I’ve mentioned before that I haven’t had a lot of luck with Nikes in the past, the toe box seems to be a little tight for my feet. These seem to do the trick though, being light weight and enough space for my toes. This doesn’t mean I won’t be losing any toe nails, that always seems to happen.
This week’s training consisted of walks and small runs with the training run on Saturday coming out to 6.01.
Not bad for “getting” back into it. The morning was a bit overcast and around 49. I always hate the inital part of getting out of the car and starting. I get cold easy, but when running starts I get hot fast. Layering is always a pain. Slow but steady. Finishing is the goal.
This was a full moon weekend, and I snapped this photo of the moon last night. Not good mind you, the moon is hard to capture, but it was a beautiful moon hidden behind the clouds. I love running at night and this just made it better. The moon is magical just wish the picture came out the way I wanted.
This weeks tally came to 9.91 with 3722.14 miles gratefully remaining in my quest. I hope this post finds you still and with peace of mind. Happy Miles to You!!
Hello all and Happy Monday. I can’t believe March is here already. I mean for reals, how many times am I going to say that about a month? Sometimes the days seem to go too fast. I continue to train for my half-marathon at the end of this month. The weather has been surprisingly good ~ sunny and cold. Of course today the temp is 64, compared to in the 30s yesterday when I ran. Of course it is.
I have been doing some steady training runs (about 4 miles) and wanted to push it to 5 or 6 this past weekend, but just wasn’t feeling it. Meaning I was tired and huffing and puffing a bit. Noted. It happens, but the brain just wasn’t willing to overcome the body that day.
When it’s 29 degrees and you’re the only one feeling the run.
Morning shot of Potomac
The back is feeling good, it’s the left knee that is giving me some trouble. It’s easy for me to skip the post run care like stretching and icing. It’s a patience thing. I finished February with 28.49… a big meh. I have completed 7582.95 miles in my journey with 3732.05 gratefully remaining.
I have been trying to update my running playlist and found this gem….I do keep coming back for more (running that is). I hope this post finds you happy and with much gratitude in your heart. Happy Miles to You!!
A journalist friend of mine once told me some things you write just need to be kept to yourself for a while. Your write them, put them away, only to revisit them at a later date and fine tune the final product. I have wanted to write more about my loss of my mother for some time. **Caution** mental intensity coming to the page as I start to finalize this journey of mine.
Every time I sit down and write a blog post about running, cycling or hiking etc. I try to keep most of it light and funny. A mile for every day of life, by jove! Life should be joyous and wonderful. Deep down I know why and whom I am writing this for and about, my Mother. As I slowly whittle down these miles I often have glimpses of her spirit, why I’m doing this, would she approve, and dealing with the change and emptiness of loss from a child to an adult woman. I have attempted to incorporate those feelings from time to time on how I feel about her loss. Bringing those experiences to the forefront on how this loss has shaped me into the person I am today. (I see my friends going…oh yeah LOL!)
I wanted to buy a book on losing your mother for a long time. Not really sure why I didn’t, until just recently. Between buying a juicer and socks on Amazon I happened to type in “losing your mother”. I finally picked two books. We’ll start with the first book by Hope Edelman, Motherless Daughters. Oookay, this shouldn’t be too bad, right?
You may be asking, so what is the first letter? Normally, I’m not one for reading introductions in a book, but I decided to with this book because of the topic. The book starts off with letters from different women who have wrote to the author. The very first letter, broke the dam of my loss I thought I fixed many years ago. I couldn’t get through the second paragraph without uncontrollable sobs. I put the book down and didn’t open it again for about three days. The woman writing the letter was thirteen when she lost her mother. It was my letter I have never written:
Excerpt taken from Motherless Daughters…..
There is an emptiness inside of me-a void that will never be filled. No one in your life will ever love you as your mother does. There is no love as pure, unconditional, and strong as a mother’s love. And I will never be loved that way again.
I feel as though my development as a woman was irreversibly damaged/altered. I’ve always (since then) had male friends. I feel I can only relate to males and I think I’m a very masculine woman – not my outward appearance – but I never learned how to socialize, how to engage in meaningless chitchat, how to talk on the phone for hours. And now, as men do, I “look down” on that type of behavior.
It was and still is hard for me to read. Happy Miles to You!!
I don’t think we’re going to have a cold winter any more. I keep holding out for the possibility of snow, but I think that ship has sailed for the DC area. I’m not complaining, but it’s been difficult as far as miles go. Wanting to get on the bike, but then no…. then deciding if I’m going to run or not….rainy vs. just kinda cold and yucky. In my previous post I spoke about helping a sista out with a 5k. I told her to pick one out and I would follow suit. She decided to run a 5k in the Rock ‘n’ Roll series. With enough prodding, I finally slugged on over to the site and signed up. But behold! There are half marathons and marathons to be had……
So just like that…my little fingers selected 5555kkkk…..no……haaaallllffff marathon….oh yes…can you feel it? Yeah, my knees felt it last night on that training run. Doesn’t everyone just want to slap down $115 to run 13 miles. Hey, hey the t-shirt and the I love me medal too! It’s all good. Did I mention this is happening on 28 March? I figure it will be good to just run now while the weather is still a little dicey for the bike.
Training is going as expected….the brain is in but the body is taking a bit of time to catch up. Been doing some small training runs during the week and will lay down a long one this weekend. Not really following a plan for this one I’ll admit.
Hello everyone and happy February. As you might have surmised miles have been a bit slow but with good reason. A lot has changed since my last post. Had every intention of updating, but was in the process of moving and that kept the mileage updates at bay so-to-speak. I was fortunate enough to buy a place in the area I was renting and I am in the process of moving and fixing it up. Good positive stuff.
The mileage continues to move forward, although at a slower than normal pace. Weather has been good/bad. Seems to be bad when I’m off and have time to run or bike.
Throughout the years I have had individuals who want to train with me for different events. My track record with this has been less then stellar. Not for want of trying and the excitement I get seeing someone else reach their “goals”, but the fact is, that said individuals don’t understand commitment. Bottom line. Talk is cheap when you’re training for events. It sounds good in theory, but at the end of the day when the fit hits the shan you have to decide….are you in or out. Are you going to do what it takes to finish or are we just showing up? So, for the most part, I’m a loner when it comes to training. I wear this as a badge of honor. I realize what’s going through my mind is definitely not going through someone elses. A friend of mine is interested in getting into shape and completing a run. So, I am now training her for a couch to 5k. Hmmmm. I was a bit hesitant to engage. The main reason is training for anything takes, well dedication from that person. Most people don’t have that type of dedication. If it is a Tuesday and you know you have to run, well then it’s time to run. No excuses. Not saying that is the story here, but my past experiences have been ~ I end up doing it by myself. Which is ok. I have promised myself in the past I wouldn’t assist anymore. You either down or you’re not. It’s always good to see people make their goals, but they have to want to show up. Let’s hope this is different.
Cindy completed two miles!
I’m not even sweating….just saying.
Physically I’m feeling pretty good. The beauty in all this… is I realize I shouldn’t be running, but I’m gonna. Yeah my Dad, probably won’t like it. My doctor (that little witch) isn’t going to like it and my back will pay for it down the road.
One of my highlights during this time was hiking in Prince William Forest Park. There are different level trails and I wanted to do the 9 mile trail. This is the first time I have been to the park to hike. I normally just ride. My partner and I started off on a smaller trail but somehow ended up doing the full 9. It was a bit chilly, but a great day for a hike.
I have completed 32.64 miles for this time period. Kinda blows, but it is what it is. I have completed 7570.51 miles so far. I have 3744.49 miles gratefully remaining. I hope this post finds you with much love in your heart. That being said…so feeling this: Put a little love in it… hey it’s the high quality version.
Happy Sunday everyone! Hey, hey two weeks in a row blogging! Awww yeah, I’m on a roll. One of the things I missed about living in Phoenix is the weather never was to cold to train outdoors. At least it wasn’t unbearable. So, training happened year round outside. Unfortunately, NoVA doesn’t have that same weather pattern. This weekend was a different story. The temps were in the 60s and 70s, so I wiped off the bike and pumped up the tires and took badd kitty out for a spin.
It was a normal overcast day but the wind was off the charts. The gusts were so strong I teetered every now and again. The Potomac was choppy reminding me of the ocean. That didn’t stop people from being out on the trail. I road all the way out to National Harbor.
My average speed was 12.1 and I had some good sprints and peaks at about 18.2. Which is good ~ lol. It was a good ride and my bike performed as it should. I do apologize to the guy I almost hit head on. I was passing someone on a hill. After I passed her I started to fiddle with my phone that was attached to my arm. I wasn’t looking and the next thing I hear is this guy screaming. Look up and I barely missed him. Yeah. :-O Look I kept going and said I was sorry. Truth be told, he would have gone into the woods off a very narrow trail. Yeah…that would have cost me a few Hail Mary’s fo sho…but it didn’t happen. I know I should pay attention to the road and not the phone. But damn, I didn’t like the song that was on…. I’ll stop while I’m ahead.
Any hoo…. went out for a walk today which was hotter and more better! Got on the trail early for a little walk. I noticed right away the trail was wet and slippery. There are a lot of trees so leaves on the ground add a greater risk. There are a few turns that are pretty tight. They scare me a bit when the trail is normal.
Right before a heavy curve.
I’m walking along, listening to music, heading uphill past the curve. I’m not really sure what made me turn around because I didn’t hear anything! I look and there is this poor guy and he totally wiped out on the curve. I rush over and I can just see the the embarrassment in his face. I reach down and unclip his foot out of the pedal, pick up the bike and start digging the mud out of his handle bars. “Are you okay?”, I ask. I look at his knees, no blood, just a bit of a bruise. Sheepishly he said, yeah, I hope my bike is okay. Oh damn. I busted out laughing at this point and said, yeah you’re a true cyclist. Little did he know he was speaking to the Queen of Crash. He thanked me for stopping and soon he was back on his way. I was glad I was able to assist a fellow cyclist.
It got me thinking about how we place material objects above our own body safety at times. I will admit, every time I have fallen I have checked the damage on my bike FIRST, then checked the knees etc. I imagine if it was a bad fall, that wouldn’t be the case. The reaction could be a couple of things: 1) cost of the bike (nothing worse than seeing a scratch), 2) love for the bike, or 3) hey, I’m still breathing ~ “tis merely a flesh wound”!
Either way, I will be the adult in the room and say it should be the other way around. Okay, enough adulting!
Stopped to take a morning photo on my walk:
Always so beautiful.
I had 1 run, 2 walks and 1 ride.
My mileage came to 34.14 with 3774.91 miles gratefully remaining. Happy Miles to You!! #thatPower I’m alive…
“Remember, people will judge you by your actions not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold but so does a hard-boiled egg.” – Maya Angelou
One of the unknown surprises of having my blog are readers who reach out to me about my content I post. Maybe it causes them to think about a certain subject differently and have a new perspective. Learning to judge people by their actions was one of the hardest lessons for me to learn in life. LOL I was raised on the old adage your word is your bond sort of thing, but I have learned along the way that words are cheap and actions matter. You can tell a lot from a person by what they do, not just what they say. I have applied this principle and have become a lot quicker to let go of things and people because of it. Happy Miles to You!!
Getting sh*t done! Happy New Year my friends! Glad to be back blogging. The holidays seem to sneak up on me faster than ever 🙂 I’m always a step behind it appears, but you know it’s all good. No reason to stress out about these things, because that’s not what the holidays are about. It’s about friends, famdamily and throw in a little reflection for good measure.
I always use this time to reflect over my running stats Excel spreadsheet. Yes, I am that “girl”. I keep track on my Garmin and also a spreadsheet. I am going into my 7th year of this journey. How’s that for some dedication. I do wish at times it would go a bit faster, but let’s face it, life happens…and that’s a good thing.
I don’t make resolutions. I stopped doing that a long time ago. Not because I didn’t keep them, it just didn’t make sense to me to wait for a date to start a task or goal. There is no better time to start then right now. So why wait until the 1st of January? I guess it’s symbolic of renewal and new beginnings. I get it.
I’m satisfied with my miles for 2019. There is a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. If I were to use the present metrics of years past it looks like two more years. I’m hoping for 1.5.
2019 had ups and downs. I was diagnosed with Spondylolisthesis. It’s not lost on me that suck and spondylolisthesis both start with the letter S. That being said, it doesn’t and won’t stop me from moving forward. Getting older is awesome, but there are some drawbacks….LOL! How’s that for a cup half full. I went through the painful shots that helped some and finally opted to work on strength exercises and less intrusive ways to deal with the pain.
Goals for 2020
~ I really want to look out of the DC area for rides and runs this year. Maybe throw in some hikes. Looking to get out of my comfort zone and try something different. I’m loving the Centuries ~ even though my MO is getting lost and falling.
~ Working on strength to keep the lower back in check.
~ Cycling out of the country…hmmm any suggestions?
~ Keeping up with my blog. Still not digging my layout.
November and December were pretty average months. I did complete the Cider Ride (55 miles) in November with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA). Nice supported ride through the DC area and out. Served warm cider at various stops. Would have been better if it was hard cider, but then that might have been a mess. A happy mess, but a mess regardless.
Total miles for 2019 ~ 1417.77
Total miles completed so far ~ 7505.95 out of 11315.
I have 3809.05 miles gratefully remaining in my journey. I hope this post finds you slaying your goals. Life is good. Life is a gift…don’t waste it. Happy Miles to You!!
11315 Miles 