Sweet, sweet spring running

Newly budding tree

The sweetness of spring running is one of the loveliest, most uplifting feelings a runner can experience. I have been enjoying the terrific spring running weather here in Connecticut lately. Spring was late to come, but now that it is here, it is just perfect. Things are budding and bursting out all over. We’ve had a couple of steamy days lately, but mostly the temperatures have been moderate and the skies filled with sunshine and happy clouds. I had the extreme pleasure a few weeks ago of trying out a new running route. It was the first weekend of May and the local kayak/canoe race was taking place that day. I opted to run near the river route to check out the goings-on. Not much was happening as I passed by because I was running early and the finishers hadn’t come down the river to the finish line yet. The terrific thing though was that the road was shut down to traffic, leaving a lovely, winding country road all to me. This road is hilly and cars tend to fly down it and around the swerving corners, so it can be treacherous for runners, walkers and bikers. But not this morning. It was all mine, and it was spectacular! I almost didn’t even mind the major hill leading up to the Collins Creamery. Almost. 

"Flocked" front yard along the way

I continued along the route and decided that the day was too gorgeous to ignore. I took out my cell phone so I could document the beauty around me. Trees were blooming, flowers were sprouting up everywhere, and I couldn’t help but smile with every footfall. I don’t normally hold my cell phone while running, let alone take photos, but I decided to break that rule for this day. Included in this post are the photos I took along the way that day. Much of the area is a residential neighborhood, but some farms still exist, too. The views were just lovely all around. 

Farm vista

I encountered some other runners as I got to a paved walking/biking path in my town. It was great to see other folks out getting their daily dose of sunshine and fresh air. Flowers were sprouting along the path as well as one of my favorite signs of spring in this neck of the woods: skunk cabbage! The paved running path features a large downhill followed by the requisite large uphill. Again I didn't mind. I just kept plugging, bounding along on my merry way.

Daffodils on the paved path.

Even the dandelions looked cheerful!

Substantial downhill portion of path.

Followed by uphill...reduce speed, indeed!

Farm tractor along the way.

Skunk cabbage.

Next, I passed by our local middle school where a huge line of traffic was backed up. I yelled hello to a friend as I ran past the stopped cars. It was fun to know that I was going faster on foot than on four wheels! As i finished up the last bit of my run, I encountered a house that was being renovated by a local charity group. What a perfect day to be volunteering on a house project. Happy emotions were everywhere! 

Flowering tree in front of middle school.

Home improvement in progress.

Tobacco barns and happy clouds near my house on the homestretch.

Spectacular forsythia hedge!

As I think about my other springtime runs recently, I think about the luscious scent of the lilacs I pass in the tree farm I run by. I think about the high school athletes on the track, baseball and softball fields I pass. I think about the gorgeous horse farms and distant hills I see on one of my routes. I think about how lucky I am to have all this beauty and and expansiveness around me. I try not to think about the headless doll that was on the sidewalk where I was running the other day. Yikes!

Creepy headless doll on the sidewalk. 

Spring is special. I’m convinced it is the best time of year to run. Soak it in! I sure am. 

Happy running shadow selfie!

April 18, 2015, Garmin Half Marathon in the Land of Oz, State #21. KS

I left for Kansas City on Friday, April 17th pretty early in the morning. My husband was still on a business trip in Las Vegas, so my mom helped out by getting the kids through their morning routine and off to school. Thanks, mom! My flight left BDL at about 8 am and traveled without incident, delivering me in Kansas City, MO by early afternoon. 

After a longer than necessary snafu at the airport Starbucks, I was on the bus to the rental car facility, and from there, on my way to Olathe, KS. I chuckled to myself as I set up the Garmin GPS in the rental car, as the main sponsor of the half marathon in the Land of Oz was Garmin. 

Sweet note from my daughter. I packed it in my suitcase to bring along.

The ride from the airport in Missouri to Olathe, KS was easy, and I crossed over the natural border of the two states, the Missouri River. The scenery around was largely suburban, featuring many shopping plazas along the way. When I arrived at my hotel in Olathe, more of the same surrounded me. As far as the eye could see there were retail stores and restaurants. I wasn’t really expecting Kansas to look like that, but at least I had plenty of options around for food and necessary supplies. 

Welcome witch!

The hotel I stayed in was also the host hotel for the marathon expo, so I was able to pick up my number as soon as I arrived before checking in. The expo was very small and took up the lobby area of the hotel. Cardboard cutouts of the Wizard of Oz characters were displayed, and the mood was festive. I got my number and t-shirt, which is one of the cutest race shirts ever! It shows a silhouette of Dorothy running away as she is chased by a flying monkey. The same design that was used on the half marathon medal I saw on line earlier in the week. Cool.

Dorothy and Toto

Lion, Tinman and Scarecrow

For dinner that night, I carbed up at a nearby Italian restaurant called Zio’s. I had my usual pre-race meal of spaghetti and meatballs, and it was terrific. I ended up staying up later than I should’ve, watching the Weather Channel in my hotel room. They were reporting on extreme thunderstorms in Texas that were causing all kinds of issues including severe lightning strikes, hail and tornado conditions. And they were heading to Kansas. Lovely. Now, I know race organizers like their race themes to be cohesive, but an actual tornado on Wizard of Oz marathon day was probably not what they were hoping for. I didn’t sleep so well that night. 

I was up at 4:30 am to begin my pre-race routine and catch the shuttle bus to the start of the race. Fortunately, it wasn’t raining yet, and the morning weather forecast indicated that the rain would likely hold off until midday. On the ride to the race, the bus driver told us that some of the roads we would be running on were actually part of the wagon trails that once brought settlers to the west. He explained that Olathe had been a major post for trading of goods and resting horses for the wagon trains. I thought that was a pretty neat connection with history. I couldn’t help thinking that Olathe is still a post for goods with all of its retail. 

View of starting line. Note the incoming clouds.

The race stepped off on-time at 6:45 am from the Garmin headquarters. I lined up with the 1:50 pace group, thinking that since my last two weeks of running hadn’t been all that strong, I’d not push it too much and try for a faster time. We took off, and I felt great to start, so I actually ended up aligning myself with the 1:45s and did my best to stay with them. 

Starting line selfie

Pacing group signs

The race was largely residential. We ran on some fairly major roads, but then turned in to some quiet, really pretty neighborhoods. The houses were mostly modest, but all of them were kept very nicely. A sprinkling of spectators were along the route, but largely things were quiet. I was able to continue my pace with the 1:45 group until about mile 7 or 8 at which point they pulled away. My starting goal was to finish with the 1:50s, so I didn’t mind or put any pressure on myself. 

We ran past a really pretty cemetery and up the largest hill at about mile 5. We passed some industrial areas and crossed over a bridge that spanned the train tracks where a coal train was passing along beneath me. I have never seen that while running before. At one point we passed a small street sign along one of the main roads we were running on that indicated it was the intersection where the Santa Fe, Oregon and California trails met. A bit later in the race, we passed a monument to the wagon train settlers.

The course featured more hills than I thought it would, but they weren’t huge, although I could feel myself losing some steam in the later miles of the race. With a few miles left to go, the route entered Indian Creek Park for a stint through a wooded area on a paved biking/running trail. The scenery here was lovely and helped keep my mind off of my fatigue. This was the nicest section of the race. I was also starting to feel blisters on my right heel. Maybe running without socks wasn’t such a great idea after all. 

I fell in to stride with a woman the last few miles of the course, and we chatted a bit about our various races and fitness interests. She was a triathlete and hoped to complete an Ironman sometime in the future. Talking to her was fun and helped to pass the time. With just about a mile to go, we ended up parting ways, as the final aid station slowed her down. At this point in the race, it was just starting to sprinkle ever so lightly. I pushed on to the finish and crossed the line just ahead of the 1:50 group. Success! As I made my way through the finishing chute and in to the food tent, the rain and wind began to pick up. I grabbed some food and water, hit the porta potty and made my way to the shuttle bus. Just after I got on the bus, the rain and wind really started to pick up. Boy was I glad to be done! 

When I checked my official results later in the day, my official time was 1:49:37, and I finished 8th in my age group (out of 215). Not bad! I was also the 62nd female finisher out of 1159 and 252nd overall out of 1886. One interesting statistic from this race is that there were 1159 women runners out of a total of 1886 runners. I think it is wonderful to see so many women out there participating. Not so long ago women weren't even allowed to run marathons!

Finish line photo with my huge medal.

I got back to my hotel and stretched out in my room. When I took my running shoes off, I discovered a huge broken skin blister on my right heel and some blood on my middle toe on my right foot. Yikes! I definitely should’ve had a sock on that foot! My left foot was mostly ok, but I did have a blister on my instep. Oh well. So it goes. Could’ve been much worse. 

Race battle scars. Clearly I will never be a foot model.

As I finished my stretching, I heard the first rumble of thunder and saw the first flash of lightning. I was super happy to be done with the race, but I was feeling sorry for all the full marathoners who were still out in that. Hopefully those tornadoes would’t show up! 

I showered and headed out to grab some souvenirs for the kids and some lunch. I decided after lunch to treat myself to a movie. Since it was raining, I figured it would be a good way to spend the afternoon. I opted to see McFarland, the running story of the kids in California who became state champion cross-country runners. It was the perfect way to spend a post-race afternoon. 

After that, I checked out the local brew pub, Granite City, and tasted a couple of their beers. I had nice chat with two local guys about the brewery. Like the new one in my hometown (Powder Hollow Brewing), Granite City featured growlers to go. It would have been cool to bring one home to my husband, but the whole no liquids at the airport thing made that impossible.

Beer taps at Granite City

Irish red beer at Granite City

I went back to the hotel to relax a bit before having dinner later on in the hotel restaurant. It was an Italian/Steakhouse restaurant. The restaurant was quite full with reservations. It was prom night in the area, so several young prom couples were there as well as other parties. I opted to sit in the bar area for dinner. 

I struck up a conversation with a family who were having fun at the bar sharing some drinks. Kevin and his wife (or girlfriend, I’m not sure) and her adult daughter were fun to chat with. I always enjoy hearing local perspectives. They gave me some recommendations for other restaurants in the area, and we generally just chatted and had fun conversation.They were absolutely amazed that I was running half marathons in all 50 states and wanted to hear more about that. I told them that it wasn’t a unique idea and that many other people are working on achieving similar goals. Still, they couldn’t believe it. We had fun laughing and joking about life in general, too.  

A little while later, and older gentleman, Larry, arrived and sat next to me on my opposite side and asked me for recommendations on the wine list. We struck up a conversation as well. He was a retired judge from the area who told me all about his daughter and her family who live in Brooklyn, NY. I chatted back and forth with both Kevin and his family and Larry throughout dinner. 

When Kevin and his family left, I gave them all hugs and thanked them for a fun evening of conversation on my visit to Kansas. We wished each other well. Larry and I chatted a while longer, and then finally it was time to get some rest for me. When I asked the bartender (Joe) for my bill to settle up, he told me that it was already covered! Kevin and his family had paid for my dinner! I was absolutely flabbergasted. I couldn’t believe that they did that. Kansas is one of the friendliest and most polite places I’ve visited. The people I met were just lovely. 

I got a good night’s rest that night, and the next morning squeezed in a short 3 mile run on the hotel’s treadmill before getting my things together for the airport. The return to the airport was easy. My flight to Charlotte was very turbulent, as we had to pass through those same crazy thunderstorms from Texas as they moved east. My flight from Charlotte to Hartford was delayed a bit, but not majorly, so I arrived home later than expected but not too far off the mark. 

Race number, t-shirt and medal. 

My husband let the kids stay up extra late to see me (9:30 pm!) since it was the start of school vacation week. It was awesome to come home to hugs and happy faces. Kansas was a wonderful experience. The race was excellent, and the people were delightful. I think the race t-shirt and medal are the nicest ones to date. I loved it all! But of course, there’s no place like home! 

Off to see the wizard!

This weekend I will run my 21st state half marathon (22 total half marathons) in Olathe, Kansas. This race caught my eye because of its Wizard of Oz theme. I guess being in Kansas, that's what you have to go with, as I'm not sure there are many other widely recognized Kansas pop-culture hooks. My training for this race was going well, except for the past two weeks. Family holidays and events have taken up much of my time, and to go along with the territory, my diet has also been WAY off. I missed my regular long run which would have been Easter weekend, so I squeaked one in this week on Monday. I fared well enough on the 10+ miler, but by the end I had a pretty sharp pain in the front top part of my ankle area. Ouch! I rested the next day, opting to do a nice yoga workout. Today I attempted a nice easy 5 miler just to see how the ankle was, and I made one adjustment. I decided to go sock-less. I suspected that part of my pain was due to my low-cut running socks. (Not sure why they would suddenly cause me such pain, but went with it on a hunch.) Turns out, my miles today were fine. No pain or anguish. I'm hoping the pain will stay away during the half this weekend, but just to be sure, I'll leave the socks at the hotel. And the rest of this week will be rest for me.
Getting ready for this trip, I revisited the race website and found a nice picture of the race medals for this year's event. I am so excited about the half marathon medal! It features a picture of Dorothy being chased by the flying monkeys. How cool is that!!!??? I suspect it will be one of my most favorite medals to date. I have printed out all my confirmations, directions, receipts and maps. The weather report in Olathe for Saturday morning indicates a 90% chance of rain right now. Not really looking forward to that part, but so be it. As long as a twister doesn't come rolling through, I'll be fine.

Based on the pictures from the race website, many folks dress up like Wizard of Oz characters for the race. I can just imagine some of the signs spectators will hold along the route, too: "I'd turn back if I were you!" "Run faster, flying monkeys are chasing you!" "13.1 miles to Oz." It should be fun. I'm not one to wear a costume while I run, but I am always entertained by those who do. I'm looking forward to seeing what folks come up with for this one. 
Back when I was the head children's librarian at the Enfield Public Library, we spent an entire summer reading program celebrating the Wizard of Oz. This race helps bring back the fun memories of that time for me. This race is dedicated to my past and present co-workers at EPL. There's no place like home!

In Like a Lion

With the start of March, my mindset began to shift out of the deep winter chill and lean toward the start of spring. Even though it felt like February would never end and that my workouts suffered because of the hideous winter weather, February really wasn’t as bad (mileage-wise) as I thought it was going to be. But with the start of March, I felt hope, rejuvenation, freshness and renewal of spirit. I always have high hopes at the beginning of March that spring should begin immediately. Of course, in a year like this one with winter being what it was, spring wasn’t going to arrive on March 1st. So treadmill it has been for most of the month. I’ve been doing well with my mileage, and I’m hopeful I will hit the 100 mile mark for the month—my highest monthly total so far this year. Yippee! Things are looking up!

Even though the month has been pretty cold (still many days below freezing), I’ve been working hard to stay motivated. My pal Meg is a Beachbody coach, and she set up a Facebook group to Beat the Winter Blues through exercise, so I’ve had a nice little support group to keep me on track. Also this season to get on track and stay there, I gave up wine & beer (any alcohol really) which has helped keep my calories down and snacking at bay. A welcome change from the food and drink train we started on back in Maui. :) Now that March is nearly done, I feel lighter, healthier and ready for the running season. As an added bonus, while I was at the gym a few Sundays ago, a woman who was running on the treadmill saw me arrive and she told me that I was her running motivation. That made me feel like a little super star. Thanks, girl at the gym!

Just this week I caught a cold, sidelining me for a couple of days. It made me think of ending March as the old “out like a lamb” cliche. I took two rest days and then got right back out there and ran a 5 miler OUTSIDE! The temps reached an acceptable level so that I could stand it, and it felt great. Two days in a row now I’ve been able to take to the streets. Huzzah! I’m looking forward to many more. And now I’m just a scant 8 miles from my hundred mile month. With six days to go, I’m pretty sure I’ll make it.

February 22, 2015, Mercedes-Benz Half Marathon, State #20. AL (Part 2)

I awoke on race morning feeling refreshed. I think I had the best sleep I’ve ever had at a hotel before a race. I'm not sure why that was, but I wasn't going to question it. I went through my usual pre-race morning ritual with one small blip. The coffee maker in the room leaked all over the place when I tried to brew a cup. Luckily, I had a cup of coffee that I purchased at the airport as a back-up, but the room didn’t have a microwave to heat it up. I was going to brew a hot cup to mix with it to heat it up, but instead I just made a mess. I tried another cup, but that one leaked, too. I managed to salvage some of it and then ended up drinking mostly cold coffee. Whatever. It was better than nothing. It is always a good idea to bring your own "standards" with you, as you never know what will happen. I was glad I did.

Ugh! Leaky coffee mess!

One super fantastic thing about the race in Birmingham was that my hotel was  so close to the starting line, about a 5 minute walk. It was raining lightly, so I decided to stay in my room as long as possible to avoid getting soaked before the race. The temperature was in the 50’s, so at least I wouldn’t freeze out there. That was good news, too. 

I made my way to the starting line after one more bathroom stop and arrived with about 5 minutes until the starting gun. I had to jump the barricades to get in to the starting corral near my pace. If I had gone to the end of the corrals and tried to thread my way up to the 8 minute/mile group, I never would’ve made it, and I just wanted to be near the front of the pack. Psychologically, I have an easier time starting near the front rather than at the back. If I start near the back, I feel this need to have to “catch up” the whole time, and I think it drains my energy. I never seem to do as well.

View of the starting line.

The starting gun went off and we made an initial loop around the downtown area near where my hotel was and then through to some more industrial parts of downtown Birmingham. It was still raining, but the roads were mostly flat at this point, so my fear of slipping on a downhill stretch was at bay for the moment. 

Around mile 5 we entered a more residential area. The houses were small craftsman style bungalows lined rather close together. Again I got the sense of the 1950’s screaming through the scenery. Sadly, many of the homes in this area were run down and in need of restoration. I could absolutely see this area as an “up and coming” neighborhood for motivated buyers who like to rehab homes. It could be adorably charming if given the attention it needs. 

True to the race map, the largest hill was at mile 8, but it really wasn’t a killer. I just stayed steady in my stride. The rain had lessened at this point and was more like a mist. Groups of fans were here and there along the route, with the best cheering sections anchored around the water stops. The volunteers at this race were great…right on their game. 

The next part of the race featured some larger and more grandiose homes and a large park/golf course. The parks along the race route featured natural landscapes, wispy grasses and rolling hills. It was nice to look at these features along the way, and in fact the entire race had rather varied surroundings, making the miles tick by rather quickly. For not having trained to my usual level prior to this race, I felt rather good. Not too tired, keeping a decent pace, no injuries to speak of…

After another hill at mile 10, it was basically all downhill. I tried to take advantage of all the declines as much as possible in this race. It was nice because I didn’t start out too fast, so I had some gas left to speed up a bit on these later downhill miles. Before I knew it, I was heading back in to the downtown area where the finish line awaited. I crossed the line at 1:48:46, well below my expectations of where I thought I might finish. Hooray! I was awarded my medal along with a Mercedes-Benz beach towel. Nice! 

Next, I made my way through the finish area to stretch out a bit, and I spied two women who had lined up next to me in the starting corral. I congratulated them and we traded stories a bit. One of the women, Jess, PR’d in the race which was so exciting. Her friend (Andrea, I think her name was, or maybe it was Amanda) was a teacher from Atlanta, and she was intrigued to hear of my 50 state journey. We had a great chat and hopefully she will read about herself here in my blog. Hello lovely ladies! We took photos for each other, and I made my way back to my hotel for some stretching and a glorious hot shower.

After a delicious lunch of a steak salad, I hopped the shuttle to the airport. Unfortunately, my flight was delayed, and I would miss my connecting flight in Charlotte. Alternate flights were all booked up, as the snow up north had wrecked travel for thousands of folks finishing up winter school vacations. I was stuck. Until my genius husband found a Southwest flight that might work. I hightailed it to the Southwest counter, and as luck would have it, two seats were still available on the flight. Credit card in hand, one of them was now mine. 

The flight home was good, if long. I had to go from Birmingham to Orlando to get to Hartford (go figure!). The important thing was that I’d be home that night. My last leg of the flight was interesting, as I sat with two women who had also run in races over the weekend. One ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon that morning and the other ran the Disney Princess 10K the day before. We chatted all about our running adventures and other things all the way home. 

Although it was about 17 degrees when I arrived home, I was glad to be back and see my husband and sleep in my own bed. Birmingham was a super friendly city and a delightful race. Upon checking the race results the next day, I discovered I’d finished 11th in my age group! How about that?! I guess my winter training wasn’t so shabby after all. 

February 22, 2015, Mercedes-Benz Half Marathon, State #20. AL (Part 1)

I chose the Mercedes-Benz Half Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama in part because of the climate there (being a winter race), partly for the wonderful charity it supports (The Bell Center) and partly for the famous car maker’s prestige. With this being the year of the deep freeze, even for the Southern states, the race didn’t end up being the warm weather experience I had hoped for. When I arrived in Birmingham on Saturday, a chilly windy day greeted me at the airport. After a lively shuttle ride to the hotel with a large group of other runners, I checked in to my room a bit early and made my way to the expo to pick up my number. 
Outside the expo building the 5k runners were finishing their race and were celebrating in the park. Kids and adults of all ages were sporting their medals and having a great time. It was a lively scene with music and excitement and a large crowd. Everyone had smiles on their faces. It seemed like a great way to start the running weekend.

My race bib and tech shirt.

The expo was on the small side, but everyone there was very friendly and helpful. I found my number easily and picked up my ticket for that evening’s charity pasta dinner. I also found a new gear belt large enough to carry my new phone. Score! After a quick walk-about at the expo, I left to check out the art museum which was right next door. 

 

The Birmingham Museum of Art caught my eye because of the large signs indicating an exhibit featuring Vermeer, Rembrandt and Hals. Coincidentally, on the plane I started reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt which references those artists. It was just too good to be true, so of course I had to go check out the exhibit. The museum was small, but filled with lovely treasures. Especially poignant was a wall of black and white photos depicting various scenes in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life. In fact, simply walking through the streets of Birmingham brought about the distinct feel of the Civil Rights movement. The architecture of the buildings is just as you see it pictured in photographs from that era. Many of the buildings in the downtown area are the low brick buildings with large windows, and many of the facades still have the retro neon signs presumably from that time. 

After the museum visit, I made a quick walk to the local grocery store for some necessities and then back to the hotel for some relaxation. 

The pasta dinner that evening was held at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame which was right around the corner from my hotel. The pasta dinner proceeds supported The Bell Center, an agency that provides early intervention programs for children with developmental delays. Some of the children and their families were at the dinner enjoying pasta, and I got the warm fuzzies seeing these beautiful children running here and there, laughing and playing and thoroughly having a great time. It made me really glad that I supported this wonderful center. 

Famous baseball players from Alabama

View of some of the exhibits in the hall of fame

I sat with a married couple, Pixie and Bob from Gloucester, MA and Mark from Los Angeles, and we all traded stories about the races we’ve run. Mark and Pixie were both working on running full marathons in all 50 states, while Bob explained he was Pixie’s “agent” and that he runs races but not necessarily to accomplish all the states. Bob and I were both running the Mercedes Half, while Pixie and Mark were doing the Full. We had a great time together and wished each other well. After dinner I explored the Sports Hall of Fame and saw exhibits honoring famous Alabamans who achieved greatness in the sports world, including Carl Lewis, Joe Namath, Jesse Owens, Joe Lewis, Willie Mays and many others. Several exhibits were dedicated to the college football heroes from the state, but not being much of a college football follower, those names and stories were lost on me. 

I got back to my hotel around 8 pm and started to sort through my gear, not really knowing what I’d be wearing the next day. The weather in the area had been so unpredictable recently that I brought gear for warm and cold weather racing. The forecast for race day was predicting rain, so I brought rain gear, too. I’d have to make my final decision in the morning. 

Various gear for the morning

February discontent

According to T.S. Eliot, "April is the cruellest month," but clearly he didn't experience a February like this one in New England. Our area has experienced huge snowstorms almost every Monday this month, canceling school for the kids and covering our yards, roads and sidewalks with feet of snow. The Hartford area (near where I live) has had 46.8 inches of snow so far this year according to meteorologist Bruce DePrest in a Connecticut Magazine article. That is no joke. Adding insult to injury, the temperatures for the last two weeks have been bitterly cold, often below zero in the morning (not including wind chills). Watching the Today show this morning, apparently now some kind of Siberian express extreme wind chill has arrived. awesome. This month has got to go!

View from our front door this afternoon. 

It has been such a struggle all month for me to stay on track with diet and exercise. It really is my own fault, but truly I believe all this frigid weather is affecting me. It is hard to stay motivated to get out the door to the gym (no outdoor running for this girl right now!), and with all the snow days the kids have had, it is very easy to stay inside and just snack on anything and everything all day long. And when that gets boring, why not bake cookies "to keep the kids busy." Sure, and then eat 7 of them. I'm disgusted with my lack of discipline this month. I've also been either unable to make most of my Weight Watchers meetings for one reason or another, or I've been afraid to face the scale and unwilling to go. Also not cool.
Today I made it to my regular meeting (finally!), and I was so glad to see some of my old pals there and "be among the living" as I called it. Maybe that's the key...get out of the house at any cost, regardless of the wind chill. Not surprisingly, I gained a bit on the scale, but it was nothing I can't handle. I've worked hard this week to stay on track, so it feels like my momentum is coming back finally. Plus, I've got a half marathon this weekend, so there's that, too.

Continuation of view. Imagine with strong wind blowing snow across landscape.

I head to Birmingham, AL on Saturday to run the Mercedes-Benz Half Marathon there on Sunday. I chose this race due to the "warm" climate for a winter run, but this morning the temperature in Birmingham was a delightful 19 degrees F. The forecast for Sunday begins with a low of 34F and tops out at 59F, with rain. I suppose it is better than here, but not exactly the warm run I was hoping for. And if it does indeed rain, this will be my first real rain race. I'm not looking forward to that, but maybe it won't be too bad. Here's hoping!
My mileage has been low this month due to my low motivation, but I managed to eke out a 9 miler two weekends ago, and I've consistently been hitting 5 and 7 milers. This is definitely not the level I am usually at when I have a race on my calendar, but I have to hope that the body will just somehow kick in to autopilot and bring me to the finish line. I'm not hoping for much with this race, just that I finish without major incident.
I haven't done much with P90X3 these last two months because our basement workout area is under construction, as we are having the basement finished. Work is getting close to wrapping up, so both my husband and I can get back to those exercises soon. I am looking forward to getting some muscle back and getting rid of some of this winter flab I've inherited. 
In the midst of all this crazy weather, it was also my youngest daughter's birthday, so we took her to Boston to see the Blue Man Group. Nothing like going to the city that is nearly shut down because of snow! Luckily we had matinee tickets last weekend and were able to see the show and immediately hit the road before Saturday's storm crippled the city. The drive home was treacherous, but we made it and celebrated her birthday for that reason, too. We are ready to say goodbye, February. You started with bad news from the groundhog...how about something nice to end the month? Maybe a day above freezing, say? So here's to looking ahead to March and some warming. And if it doesn't get warm soon, I'm moving to Maui.

View from Hotel Wailea, Maui, Hawaii