Behold: the treadmill at our hotel! Two early-morning miles in 21:27. Tried to do three, but my left knee was killing me. Walked the rest for a total of 35 min.
Pretty sure there will be THREE KINDS OF PIE at dinner. I will eat them all. Watch me.
Author: devonpass
Up in the air
I literally unpacked my suitcase last night, did laundry and then repacked it for Thanksgiving in southern California.
I never travel, so this is an unusual back-to-back deal, but thank goodness I’ll be leaving Seattle’s snow/ice situation behind for some more pleasing temps in Cali!
I packed my running shoes, but who knows if I’ll get out to pound the pavement of Brea/Placentia/Yorba Linda. It is Thanksgiving, after all! But there’s talk of a possible trip to Disneyland on Black Friday, and all that walking would count for something, right?
Riiight.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Photos courtesy of my friend/photographer extraordinaire, Aaron. Yes, I look like a complete idiot in the first one, but I have never, ever, ever been so happy to cross a finish line. Ever. In my whole, long three-month history of racing. It felt like a miracle.
And then it started to snow. Miracle status!
Survived the trip… and ran a new PR
Oh, so much to tell about this cruise!!!
The running-related part: I hit the fitness center twice.
Once while the ship was still docked in Ft. Lauderdale on Nov. 13 — did 3.1 in 33:08.
(I was rockin’ no sleep after a red-eye flight, but really needed to move after being cooped up on two planes, a taxi and in a waiting area to board the ship.)
And the second time while the ship was somewhere between St. Thomas, USVI, and Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, on Nov. 18 — did 2.5 in 28-ish.
(Running while the ship was moving was super, super, super difficult. I believe I had also consumed a drink containing vodka prior to this run, so that could have also contributed. Still, felt good.)
Epic travel day home yesterday. Flew to Chicago, got delayed a bit, then flew to Seattle. I discovered that I can’t sleep on planes.
Ran the Green Lake Gobble 5K this morning in freezing weather — literally 32 degrees, since it started SNOWING shortly after I finished the race — which was a bit of a shock after a week of 80+ degree weather and epic sunshine. But about a half-mile in, I got this wave of intense happiness and realized that there was nothing I would rather be doing.
lt was a pretty cool feeling to have this complete contentment and realization that I. Love. Running.
I felt a bit out of shape and had to walk a few times, despite the course being mostly flat. Still, squeaked out a new PR — 28:51.
Pictures to come soon! My photographer-friend, Aaron, came to show his support and take pics with his super-nice camera. He got some good ones. They’ll be Tumbld asap.
Oh, and my mom shaved TWO MINUTES off her last 5K time for a new PR of 33:25. Such a badass.
Is “new PR” redundant? Meh, don’t care. Off to get some much-needed sleep!!
On a boat
I’ve packed my swim trunks, my flippy floppies and my running shoes for my Caribbean vacation, plus about a zillion other things that make up one very heavy suitcase. How can little tank tops weigh so darn much?
The cruise ship has a fitness room with machines that I assume include treadmills, so I hope to run at least every other day… or maybe a day here and a day there… uhhh, I’ll just do the best I can between the buffet and the bottomless pina coladas.
(Pretty sure there are no bottomless pina coladas, but I’ll try my darndest to make it seem like there are.)
I’m planning for this to be an active trip, with shore activities like ziplining and snorkeling on the tentative agenda. The Green Lake Gobble 5K is the morning after I get back, and I’ll need to stay at least a little in shape to get through it in defiance of jet lag and overall post-vacation exhaustion.
I think I’ll feel better and have more energy, too, if I can get some exercise in. Isn’t that always the case?
I’ll let ya know how it goes!
As I finish the book, yet another quote…
“Running has taught me that the pursuit of a passion matters more than the passion itself. Immerse yourself deeply in something and with heartfelt intensity – continually improve, never give up – this is fulfillment, this is success.”
- Dean Karnazes
Tuesday treadmill and a pipe dream
3.85 nonstop miles in 40 minutes.
Half a (crunchy) peanut butter and raspberry preserve sandwich on wheat and an orange for dinner. Yum!
As soon as I got home, Don shoved an ad for the Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon and Half-Marathon under my nose.
I’m thinking half-marathon. June 25, 2011. Yeah?
“There’s really no mystery to what I do. It hurts me just as bad as anyone else. I’ve just learned an essential insight: your legs can only carry you so far. Running great distances is mostly done with your head… and your heart. The human body is capable of amazing physical deeds. If we could just free ourselves from our perceived limitations and tap into our internal fire, the possibilities are endless.”
-Dean Karnazes
Runspiration
“My newfound love of running seemed to awaken a sense of hope. There was something in our future to look forward to; something, perhaps, grand and monumental… My parents could sense my enthusiasm, and I could sense theirs. A flame had been ignited.”
-Dean Karnazes
Treadmill action
I’m late posting, but this happened on Saturday:
5.3 miles nonstop (treadmill, due to end-of-days-style rain) in 60 minutes
First 5 miles in 56:45
- Miles 1 & 2: 11:30 pace
- Mile 3: 11:00 pace
- Mile 4: 10:50 pace
- Mile 5: 11:00 pace
- Last 0.3: 11:30 pace
I ran like a granny for the last half-mile or so due to knee ouchiness. But the knees felt surprisingly good most of the way through, probably because of the easy pace. It was quite an enjoyable/sweaty run.
Stopping was also enjoyable.
The run was followed by my dad’s engagement dinner, where I devoured the following: bread, Caesar salad, giant pancetta-wrapped scallops, some kind of orzo side, some sort of devil cake that was completely drenched in Bailey’s and two grapefruit mimosas.
It was a solid day.
Dev on Running 