It’s only one more week until the Churchill’s Half Marathon. It’s actually less than that because the race is on Saturday! This will be my 10th year running this event. Overall I’m feeling good for the race, but not like I’m going to bust out a speedy race. I’m just thankful to be feeling good! The weather this week was a rollercoaster. Early forecast for my race shows around 40 degrees which sounds good. Churchill’s is notorious for having wind and cold temps, so I’ll take 40 degrees! I ran 26.5 miles this week and my Garmin was much happier with my training this week (phew!). Here’s what went down…
Mon – 4 miles easy. I’d say it was easy… my watch thought I was running a 7:45 pace (!!!) when I was running 10:30 on my treadmill. Haha! I am in the process of calibrating my new Garmin with the treadmill pace, so hopefully this will happen after a few more treadmill runs. I decided to not use my Garmin foot pod, which is old technology and worked well with my other watches, but the new Garmins should be able to work well without it, right? Let’s hope so!
Tues – 6.2 miles run. It was tough for me to get outside in that cold dark, but I did it.. And found out it was enjoyable! “Feels like 32” my legs were a bit cold in regular tights, but I stayed warm otherwise. I need to get my cold weather gear out of storage!
Happy Halloween!! Speaking of cold weather… it SNOWED!! The snow started right as trick or treating started and lasted for hours. We sat on our porch and passed out candy for the first hour, but then retreated to the warmth inside. The last time snow stuck on the ground was 1954. Crazy!! I think the weather stopped a lot of the little kids from visiting, but we had a decent amount of bigger kids.
Weds – Rest day! There is a coating of snow on the ground still, but it melts by mid day. We packed up the camper for our last trip of the year. Yes, we went camping! The temperature got down to 30 degrees, but our camper was warm. Our marriage even survived trying to park the camper in a spot covered in leaves in the dark. Trust me, it’s a challenge trying to direct someone where to park when you can’t see where the actual camping pad is. Ugh.
Thurs – 4 mile run, hilly miles! Pokagon park (in Indiana) is hilly! I know it doesn’t look like it in my picture, but it gave me a good workout. And also question how fit I am for my upcoming hilly half marathon!! I busted out the fleece tights because it was “feels like 31”. I’ve missed those tights!
3 mile hike. We hiked to Hell’s Point and enjoyed the scenery. Lots of leaves have fallen and it made a beautiful path.
Fri – 3 mile run. A little warmer this morning. Feels like 36 🙂
Back home again for Friday Night Football! This is the 2nd playoff game for our high school. They crushed it, 59 to 14. It was a good game! Lots of exciting touchdowns (and the band sounded great of course too). The team will be moving on next week.
Sat – 9.25 miles, long run. This went really good! I ran on the race course again (because it’s on my regular running route!) and saw several people running the hill. I’m calling this “ready enough for Churchills half marathon 56”! I don’t expect to have the finish times I have had in the past, but it will be fun to celebrate at the finish with my husband and daughter who are both running this year!
I spent the afternoon cheering Ohio State on a victory (Go Bucks!!) and working on a Christmas gift. I make a photobook for each of my kids of our family vacation. The books take forever to make, but it’s such a nice gift. There will be big savings if I create the books now, so time is of the essence! I did get to take a walk to get my legs moving. They felt awful because I sat for so many hours after running! It was a warm 57 degrees in the evening!
Sun – Happy Daylight Savings day!! It’s the best day, am I right?? I love waking up to a bright morning and having a bonus hour. I will make the most of it. My plans include walking with a friend and taking advantage of the warm weather (60 degrees!) by hanging up Christmas lights! No, I will not be turning them on yet. I’m not trying to get into the holiday mode early – I’m just trying to get ahead of the game!
Big announcement for the week – we’ve got another litter of foster kittens! As luck would have it, there are 4 black kittens and one tortie! They are a bit skittish right now, but each day they are warming up a bit more. I don’t think I will even try to give this group names, but they do have colored collars so we can tell them apart. They will probably be with us for 2 or 3 weeks as they gain weight. I hope to make them all friendly little kittens who will easily find a forever home!
Need some more inspiration? I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Check out all of the fun blogs there!
Q: Is anyone else putting up lights outside yet?
Quite a few of our neighbors have. You have to get while the getting is good!
Q: Any affordable [cheap] website hosting recommendations??
It’s that time again. I need to find a new hosting provided due to high cost of renewal. My blog makes no money so it has to be budget hosting!!
You are definitely ready for your half! Glad your body is cooperating this time around. I have not broken out the fleece tights yet 🙂
OOOOHHHHH the kittens!!! You knew I would be all over that. I love black cats (but really, I love all cats, so…) They are cuties!
So… you went camping? You guys are hardcore! And I’m super impressed you put up Christmas lights! My Halloween lights are still up (but of course I’m not turning them on- that would be all wrong.) I can see why you guys would want to get them up early, before the weather gets really bad. I don’t have to worry about that and as a matter of fact, the longer I wait, the more chance I have of getting a nice cool day to do it.
Sounds like you had a good week of running and are ready for your race! Good luck, and I can’t wait to hear all about it.
Looks like you had a great week! Good running and the park where you went camping looks amazing! I’d love to go for a walk there.
A few years ago I used a hosting company called FastComet and I remember they were very good and at least back then very affordable too.
I love your statement “Thankful to be feeling good”. So important isn’t it? If we don’t feel good, then nothing else matters. As you know I’ve had my fair share of “not feeling good” this year.
Good luck with your half marathon!
We had snow on Halloween too–it was so cold! It was pretty but I didn’t mind when it melted, lol.
We bought a new Christmas tree after the old one died last year. I’m not putting it up yet, but it’s tempting! I have to admit that I don’t do outside lights because it’s me who puts them up and takes them down. I wish the hubs was more into it.
Good luck on your half marathon! I think you’ll do great–you always do!
We had snow too (the next morning) but it didn’t stick at all. It was cold though! It’s actually unusual for us NOT to have snow in October at all.
Sounds like running went well for you this week & I don’t think I’d want to direct my husband in the dark. I know I wouldn’t want to go camping when it’s that cold, but it does look pretty!
Driving back from the ISU (yes, the “other” school, LOL) game last night, there were several houses with lights up already! Extensive lights, too! This was the coldest Halloween in a long time…no snow, but it was sub-freezing and windy. I bet you’ll do much better than expected at your half marathon, especially since you’re familiar with the race course. Good luck!
Good luck and have fun at your upcoming half marathon, and how cool that your daughter will be running it with you and your husband!
Snow! I don’t remember ever having snow on Halloween night; however, we had snow on October 29th a few years ago, but it was all melted by Halloween.
We usually put up our outdoor Christmas lights Thanksgiving weekend, but we need to prune the big holly tree first. So far only one of our neighbors has Christmas lights (and turned on) and wreaths up.
Good luck on your half! I’m glad you’re feeling good. 40 degrees is perfect racing weather!
The snow looks so pretty on the Halloween decorations!