Tuesday, January 27, 2009

This n That Again

The run Saturday was good.
Beside the 43 degree air, and the ten mph wind from the north, there was a lovely light drizzle/rain to make it a challenging journey.
I was dressed for each of these elements and did fine, overall.

By mile three, my pants were soaked and were sticking to my legs, making them feel heavy.
My hands were just a bit too cool inside my mittens, but not uncomfortably so.
My left hip only whimpered a couple of times and never acted up enough to make me feel that my leg wanted to collapse.

The rain stopped at mile three or so and by the time I finished, most of the water had run out of my outer coverings.
And my time was almost exactly one hour.
Not bad for a crummy day.
I am looking forward to July...

Today is Tuesday and also mid-week run day.
Only three miles are scheduled for today.
When I stepped out on the back porch to check the weather conditions, the meter read 58 degrees.
Wow.
Another bare-leg day in January.
So with just a single, long-sleeved light layer on top and shorts for the lower half I did the course.
I felt a bit tired as I ran, but that may be from some emotional stress I am going through lately.
It was not enough to be a problem.

I go back to work in the tax office today, after having two days off.
I am thankful for my job.
I still feel that I have more details to learn, but I am learning.

Oregon pictures coming.
I haven't forgotten. (it just seems like it.) :)

Saturday, January 17, 2009

THE ICE MAN RUNNETH

I ran the Cotton Row course again this morning.
It was supposed to be about 14 degrees.
He was wrong.
It was 22 when I looked at my meter on the porch at 5:45 this morning.
And no wind that I could see.

In an exercise in bravery, I dressed in only two layers, top and bottom.
That would prove to be a bit thin for the circumstances.
It was so cold as I was walking from my car to the start point that I started running before I got there.
I had not gone a quarter mile before I found that, while there was no wind at my house/neighborhood, there was some downtown, three miles away.
But it was too late to go back; I was committed to this party.

The only way to get warm while running, is to run.
So I ran.
By the end of mile two I was feeling better (meaning warmer).
And there was less wind in the neighborhoods than along the downtown streets.
By mile three, I was getting a little sweat on my hands, which were ensconced in my wool mittens.
I took them off for a minute or so but the self-induced wind chill was too much, so I pulled them back on part way.
They stayed that way until the end of mile five, when I finally pulled them off and just the warmth of holding them in my hands was enough to keep my fingers warm.

I did a lot of daydreaming during the jaunt and had few distractions.
And there were no physical complaints.
For this I was grateful.

I checked my watch as I crossed the finish line and found that my daydreaming had cost me dearly.
My time was within three seconds of 61 minutes.
Slooooow.

But I was pleased overall.
I had traversed my favorite course again, under adverse circumstances, with no problems.

Pictures of the Oregon trip are coming, I promise.
.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Busyness = No Postings

My first week in the tax office has been educational.
I am stressed because I do not feel comfortable in my knowledge of all the forms and procedures of the process yet.
Thus, I have little mental energy left at the end of the day to devote to blogging.

I walked this morning.
It was a balmy 10 degrees with a lovely 5-10 mph breeze out of the north.
I layered well and added an extra band over my nose to further cover my face.
I did just about right.
My hands inside my mittens were just a bit cold, but not numb.
Everything else was toasty warm or at least comfortable.

During the last part of mile two and the first part of mile three, my lips and eyes were not happy with the stinging wind on them.
My eyes got so cold that my vision began to blur a bit, but constant blinking helped warm things up enough to survive.
All in all, I had a productive and educational time.

It is supposed to be about 14 tomorrow when I run the Cotton Row course.
Wee shall see how wee do then.
.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

A DATE OF UP

THE RUN SATURDAY...
... was amazingly good.
I did the Cotton Row course again.

I woke up expecting to dress for 48 degrees, as prognosticated by the weather person.
Wrong.
It was 58.
So, off came the long pants and mid-weight long-sleeve top.

Starting out, I felt tired and a tiny bit of congestion in my sinuses.
This was prolly a lingering gift from my brother-in-law in Oregon.
(Bless his heart, he was sick the last few days of my visit though not enough to be banished to the sick bed.)
It was cloudy and looked ready to rain at any moment so I brought my rain top and new rain hat JIC.
But when I arrived at the VBC it was not raining so I left the rain stuff in the car.
It was a good guess.

I ran the course with no problems and it was only in the last quarter mile that the sky tried to spit in my eyes.
But it was just the slightest mist that actually felt good on my hot face.
So slight that is did my usual walking cool-down before getting into my car and driving home.

IN OTHER NEWS....

I am working on my pictures from the trip.
Editing a few good ones, deleting the so-so ones.
I will post some in a few days.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

I'm Baa-ack

I have returned safe and sound from my journey across the country.
I had a wonderful time.
My time since returning has been taken up by doing laundry, house cleaning, and getting my computer files set up for the new year.

I will give you all the gory details of my trip in a few days. (and some pikturs!)

Later,

SN

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