Test Turkey

I don't know about you, but around here we have to make a test turkey before we make our actual turkey for other people. After all, new house, new oven, you never know how it's going to turn out.  Overall it wasn't bad, but either the thermometer was broken or the pan made the turkey cook real uneven, but whatever it was, I'd say about half of the turkey was still pink.  Not raw, but not a color I'd want to serve people. So for anyone coming over on Thursday, you're welcome for getting this figured out now. By Thursday the turkey should be good to go.  Of course, we still need to buy another turkey, but that's not the point.  Actually, I still need to go buy all the side dishes too, so I'm definitely prepared for this....

I am excited for a long weekend because there's a chance I can get in a long run without having work get in the way.  You know how it is when all you want to do is run but you have to do real life stuff instead, like go to work and be a functioning adult.  Tough days, real tough.  I've been thinking about ways to improve my running, as I always am, and have come up with a few ideas. First, a weighted vest.  My thought is that I will have to work harder to run with that on, so once it comes off, running faster will be easier.  Any experiences in this I'd love to hear, because "I may be as woefully wrong as Humphrey Belcher who believed the time was ripe for a cheese cauldron."  Second, I think it might be time to switch over to a hydration belt or backpack.  I've been running holding a 24 oz water bottle for about two years now and I'm really starting to notice that my arm is getting cramped up in the bicep area on my longer runs. Yea, I know, I'm sure there's another reason besides just the water bottle, but I think switching over would alleviate some of that.  Again, I could be way off, so if you've made the switch, let me know how it went.  Third, and it doesn't really have to do with improving running so much as it is something I want.  There's an awesome jacket out there made by Craft that I'm coveting.  It's beautiful and looks great for winter running. But it's $129.  Between the shoes that I use, the Tailwind that I need to reorder, and the cost of the races, I just can't convince myself to spend that much on another running jacket.  Even if it comes with attached gloves. If you're interested in checking it out though, here's a picture and a link to the women's jacket.

http://shop.craftsports.us/weather-jersey-w.html


Speaking of races, I'm still waiting to hear who the Louisiana Marathon is giving away their free entry too.  Do I think it's going to be me? No.  Do I hope it is? You bet.  If it's not, I'll be signed up by the end of the month anyways, but it sure would be nice to have a free entry.  It would make paying for Boston in a few months seem less harsh.  And while we're on the topic of Boston, my team for my main man Morty is still taking donations.  I know it's close to the holidays, but if you get your donation in before the new year, it's tax deductible for this years taxes! That's bonus that I know everyone wants. Plus, Morty's birthday is this week, and what better gift to give a child than a donation to a center that has helped him out in so many ways?
You can donate here if you're feeling extra giving this week.
 Donate to Allison Gibbs Michael's Miracles Boston Marathon Team

There are so many other things I wanted to talk about here, but I've decided not to go down that road today.  The whole thing with the Syrian refugees is clearly a major topic, but I have no interest in getting readers to this blog just because I dropped a hot ticket key word, or because people want to argue and tell me why I'm wrong about my thoughts and feelings on the situation.  So, if you're wondering why that hasn't come up, there you go. The most I will say is that I've never felt better about voting Seth Moulton into office than I did this past week.
For those of you who may not know it, the Philadelphia Marathon was today.  While I did not run it, my awesome crew of running partners did and they all did a great job. Huge shout out to Jenna, who finished in 3:59, and to Cynthia, Murdock, and Tracy, who ran their best and finished the marathon strong, like I knew they would. Maybe someday we'll all run together again, if we can ever all get on the same page for the same marathon! I'd love it if they all came to Chicago next year, but maybe we should start looking at NYC instead, since it's closer.  I'm pretty sure you're up to date on my entire life now, so it's time to end this with a beautiful selfie I took at the end of my 9 mile run on Friday.  It was 60 degrees, in November, I couldn't pass up a beach run with that kind of weather.

Side bar: I want a pair of wireless headphones so I took to Amazon to read some reviews.  Who are all these people who get products at a discounted rate in exchange for a review and why can't I get in on that? I'll review anything if you're going to send it to me fo' free.  Or at least fo' cheap.  Of course, it might be sentences like that which explain exactly why I'm not one of those people, but I promise to use proper grammar in the review.  I am a teacher after all, and I only say that type of stuff in jest on here. 

Unfinished Business

Sorry, I don't really have any, but Casper is on in the background and I was at a loss for a title for this post anyways.  Basically I'm just keeping you updated.  This weekend is the Devil's Chase 6.66 in Salem, which I did last year.  It was a lot of fun, but the race is on Saturday morning, yes, Halloween, in Salem, so there's pretty much no way you're getting me there.  Unless you have a free bib to give away, in which case, see you bright and early Saturday! I did like their medals last year though, so if anyone is running, you'll have a good time and the bling is worth it.
I also have a few friends who are running Philly and I actually spent a few minutes debating whether or not I wanted to sign up too.  Then I remembered that I hated the out and back and that I don't want to drive to Philly for a weekend.  So, again, unless someone's giving away a free bib, that's out too.
As of right now, we're going to Louisiana the weekend of the marathon, but I'm not signed up for that either.  Basically this is just a post about all the runs I'm not signed up for.  I'd like to run Baton Rouge again for two reasons.  1. It was flat and fast, so if I have a chance of breaking 4 hours, it's here.  2. The medals this year are fabulous and I really want one.  Of course that's not until January, so who knows, maybe I'll end up running it after all.
Last bit of info for today, I realize that a lot of you may not be aware that I'm posting the link to my fundraiser page within my posts.  I've been labeling the link as a word or a phrase, so in case you're having trouble finding it, I'm posting it right now as a straight up link.  Cccchhhheck, ccccchhheck it out. Fundraising Websites - Crowdrise

Warm up run

This morning I went to my usual 8 am kickboxing class, run by Lucas.  It's far and away the best class at Title, except it's getting a little too crowded.  I know I have to expect that, but I find it difficult to kick and punch to the fullest when there's people on all sides of me.  Mostly I'm afraid I'll miss the bag and hit a person instead.   Hasn't happened yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it ever did.  I would also like to take a moment to reflect on the fact that I can go to kickboxing and then run 10 miles less than 5 hours later and my legs are fine.  However, ask me to squat for more than 30 seconds and I feel like my legs are on fire....
After kickboxing I went home for a few hours and took a break, mastering decimal division, until my afternoon run.  If you're wondering why I was mastering decimal division, it's part of a program we use at school.  The students play math games and earn points.  As a teacher, we get a log-in to play as well, which I use to challenge the students.  Sadly, most of the children are ahead of me in sticker points.  However, that means that the students are learning and playing, which is really what's important here.
Anyways, we went for a 10 mile warm up run this afternoon.  It was a pretty basic route, through Salem and Peabody and then back into Salem.  There were some hills, but I hear there's a large hill in Philly at mile 9, so I'm ok practicing on hills now.  During the run, I managed to somehow spit in my own eye.  Honestly, I can say that's a first and I have NO idea how it happened.  Later I side-stepped a curb (or pothole) and sort of rolled my ankle.  Except it was really my foot, but I'm not sure how to describe that.  No big deal, but it came seconds after I almost fell face first into the street after slipping on some leaves layered over the brick sidewalks.   I love the fall, but I would love it even more if the leaves were being taken care of on the sidewalks.  The weather was actually nice even though it was fairly cool.  Luckily I have an Adidas Climawarm running hoodie built specifically for this weather, so I felt good.  I also practiced some toe running.  I noticed during barefoot kickboxing, that when I run around the gym, it's easier to run on my toes than on flat feet.  So I attempted it during the run today.  I'm fairly certain I'll never adopt it as my long distance running technique, but it wasn't so bad for short distance.  I was able to make it at least a mile without any serious problems.
So I'm excited for next weekend, even if I don't PR.  Now that I know I can run a marathon, I'm going to have fun in Philly.  I'll be running for time, but if I end up having to slow it down, at least I know it's not a big deal.  I am way more excited for this one than I was last time.  Last time I was excited but mostly nervous.  This time I'm just excited.  CAN'T WAIT FOR NEXT WEEKEND!!!!

Going big

I'm in! Philadelphia in 11 days.  Yea, I know, I just ran a marathon. Since I'm already in marathon condition though, I really like the idea of just getting another one done now, instead of waiting and having to re-train.  But the best part is that it's only a 5 hour drive instead of an 8 hour drive like Washington D.C..  Unlike the last marathon, this time I'm just excited about it.  The first one was nerve wracking, with all the time limits and the beat the bridges, etc.  Of course Philadelphia has time limits too, but now that I know I can make it, I'm not as worried about it.
You may be wondering how exactly I made it into Philadelphia with only 11 days left to go.  Well, Cynthia never gives up when she wants to find someone something, so she searched high and low until she found me a spot on Team Lung Love, which is apparently a lung cancer association.  I think that they were running out of time because the marathon is so close, so they were giving away spots for less than they usually would have.  For example, if you register through them, for the basic fee, you get the bib and marathon shirt, just like you would if you registered through Active.  You do not get any of the team benefits BUT you also don't have to meet a fundraising goal.  As you well know, I'm not against fundraising in any way.  Clearly, as I tend to spam the world with Donorschoose links when I need supplies for my students.  However, fundraising for $1500 in just 11 days is way beyond my reach.  I know I'd never make that goal.  It's nice that they have the option of running with the team though, and if you wanted to donate some money, here's a Link.
That's basically it for exciting news.  I don't even have any pictures to share with you today. I'm sure you're all bummed.

Flip, flip, Flip-a-delphia

   So, my marathon buddies are running the Philadelphia marathon on November 17.  They signed up on a whim today.  Am I crazy for wishing I could do it too?  By that I mean, wishing I could afford to go to Philadelphia and run it.  I know I can do it, it's more the lack of funds and having any time to get there and back home again.  Maybe I am crazy.  I can't really explain why I desperately want to run another marathon, especially so soon after the MCM.  No, I take that back. I can't explain it at all.  There's just some burning desire to run another one.  Mostly I think it stems from the idea that I'm all trained up and I'd rather do another one now, with people I know, at my pace.  If I wait, I'll end up having to re-train and who knows if anyone will be available to run with me.  At times like this, I really wish I had a running club to go with.  With a running club, I wouldn't be so reliant on two or three other people.  Maybe I can convince some work and boxing people to start a running club. Then again, maybe not.  Philadelphia still has 250 spots open and 14 days left, so I have some time to sort out my feelings and my money situation.  We'll see where that goes.
   In the meantime, yesterday I ran a 5K with Cynthia and Holly. I went to boxing in the morning and then decided to join them in their 5K.  The run went around Marblehead neck, but it was a doggy 5K.  If you're not sure, that's exactly what it sounds like.  You bring your dog and you run a 5K together.  Originally I was going to run it solo, because Nala doesn't get along with other dogs (or people really) and I didn't think Stella would be interested in running.  She likes to stop and sniff things constantly, so I figured she'd be more interested in the sidelines than the actual running.  At the last minute though, I decided to bring Stella along anyways.  When we arrived, she was pretty scared.   Usually she gets a little nervous in crowds, whining, putting her tail between her legs, regular scared dog behavior.  Of course the start of the race was no different.  While we were waiting to line up and go, she was trying to get away, all she wanted to do was run back to the car.  I managed to keep her in line, but just barely.  Then, the race started and she was a totally different dog!  She took off, I can only assume to try to keep up with or pass the other dogs, and basically dragged me along with her.  Now, I know Stella can run fast, especially off leash, for at least a few minutes.  Occasionally when she's off leash, she'll gallop in circles for a good minute or two, and then calm down and continue to trot along for the rest of the walk.  I've never seen her run at a consistent gallop for more than 5 minutes tops though.  Until yesterday.  She took off at a gallop and tried to keep that up for the first 2.5 miles.  Basically, Stella was running and I was struggling to keep up.  Stella especially sped up whenever another dog got close to passing her.  Apparently this is an ingrained trait of being the leader of the pack.  In the end, we ran just under 26 minutes.  Here's the official time:
Time: 25:56
Pace: 8:20/M
Division: 5K


    Remember how I said I wanted to get faster? I found the perfect solution.  From now on, I just need to find a pack of dogs and take Stella out for a run with me.  I'll have my time back down to 24 minutes in no time!  She did kind of taper off at the end, but she pulled through, making it across the finish line, and even speeding up just a little bit again on the last hill.   Of course I have some awesome pictures to share in a moment.
   Today, Morty ran his first kid's race, so I HAD to go see it.  He ran as part of Katie's Race, in Wayland.  First, his dad ran the 5K while pushing Mort in his stroller, then Morty got in his gait trainer and ran a lap around the gym.  It was super cute.  There were a ton of other children there too, and everyone was cheering Morty on.  He loved every minute of it, he was laughing and smiling the entire way around.  Then there was a longer kid's race that we watched.  I'm fairly certain it was a mile run, since the children seem to have lapped 4 times.  There was one boy running though who looked like he was in it to win it.  He was wearing serious under armor running gear and was really pushing hard the whole race.  I'm sure he'll be winning 5Ks and track meets in a few more years.  Overall, a fun little weekend, filled with running, even though I said I wasn't going to run anymore.

I love this picture, mostly because of Stella's face.  She looks nervous, like she knows it's her first race.

All lined up at the start

Finishers! Holly and Cynthia came in 1st and 3rd in our age group!

Crossing the finish

Stella was walking at this point

Whew, all over!

Running buddies

Morty having a great time running.

Getting his medal

So proud of his medal!