Snow Fun

Wow, it has been a while since I have put up a resonable post. I hope that I am not too boring recapping the past week and a half. I am going to try and recollect all of the meaningful events that have happened, some of them quite good in my opinion.


First, my running club's winter series kicked off last Sunday which I have been looking forward to. It was a very hilly 5K run in Tyler State Park in Newtown, PA. During my mile warm up, it started to rain pretty steadily, then it started to ice up a bit, then the race director decided to turn the race into an informal run. Basically points would be awarded to everyone who checked in that day. It was kind of a let down, but the conditions on the course were deteriorating pretty rapidly and they didn't want anyone to get hurt slipping on the ice. I ended up running the 3.1 mile course in 23:01 (7:19/mile), a good steady run on a very hilly course.


Immediately following the race I booked down to Lavallette, NJ to my 'rents house to build some shelves for our new TV. It was a good day, I was able to hand with my Dad and do some woodworking with him. We had fun and the shelves came out great.


As for "work" week, it went pretty smoothly. The highlight of the week was when I decided that I was going to get a drum set for my daughters this Christmas. I started looking on Craig's List and found one that looked promising, but the guy selling it was asking for too much. I lent stumbled upon an listing where a guy in West Windsor was just giving one away. I emailed him right away and I am now in possession of a heavily used, but in decent condition 5-piece drum set. It needs all new drum heads and some of the hardware is busted, but considering it is for a 4 1/2 year old and a six year old....and a 38 year old wanna be rocker....it is more than adequate. I don't know if it is a blessing that there is no hi-hat or crash cymbal.


The end of the week was holiday lunches at work which is always a plus because is means getting out of work early, some good food...oh, and the chance to spend some social time with my fellow co-workers.


That brings me to today....and the snow. I awoke this morning to about a foot of snow, and from what I understand, got of pretty light when compared to points just south of us (I know that my 'rents got two feet). I spend an hour shoveling my driveway by myself as my wife and daughters sat inside our warm cozy house, eating a pre-breakfast snack and watching some early morning TV. When I finished up around 9:00AM, I was informed that the girls hadn't eaten yet and that it would be great if I could prepare breakfast....of course.


After breakfast it was time to get dressed for the elements and head out for some sleigh riding at the park down the street from our house. My oldest daugher helped out by pulling the sled while my little one was getting a free ride via me...sitting on my shoulders. We spend about an hour and a half at the park sledding. Actually, the girls did most of the sledding while I was the human chair lift. I would send them down the hill and if they were too tired, I would go down and drag them back up on the sled. I was a bit tired when we got home.


I finished up the night with a nice 3.4 mile run with my out of shape dog.. We had a good time running through the snow and just stretching the legs out a bit. That puts me to where I am now, sitting at my computer pretty tired and hoping I can get to sleep soon.


Here is my past lame week of training (yes, I took a couple days off):


Saturday: 2.74 mile run, 22:57 (8:23/mile) - I ran with my dog, ended up dragging him the last 3/4 mile. Since I had a race coming up the next day I was just looking to stretch a bit.


Sunday: Covered Bridge 5K - 1 mile warm-up, then 5K (actually 3.15 miles), 23:01 (7:19/mile), 174 BPM - I pushed it a bit harder than a normal training run, but not full on race mode. I could have gone faster if I really wanted to but the conditions were a bit slick.


Monday: 4.22 mile run, 32:17 (7:39/mile), 158 BPM - I ran with Bill and Chris. A good day for us all.


Tuesday: Rest


Wednesday: 4.72 mile run, 36:57 (7:49/mile), 154 BPM - I ran with Bill and Chris again, I was really tired. Still managed to do negative splits.


Thursday: Rest, had my groups holiday dinner, no time to train.


Friday: 4.02 mile run, 32:27 (8:04/mile), 160 BPM - I ran at home before going to work. I do not like running in the AM, but it was nice to be done with my run so early in the day.


Saturday: 14.04 mile trainer ride, 45:01 (18.7 MPH), 150 BPM - I opted for the ride on the trainer rather than a snowy run outside. I was glad I did it indoors because they were showing the 2009 Ironman World Championships on NBC. I was psyched!


Sunday: 3.4 mile run (don't have the stats) - I went out with my dog for the sole purpose of just getting a run in and spending some time with Willie. We had fun. I love running outside in the winter, probably when I enjoy running the most.


Oh well, that is it for now. Kind of a short week for me, two days of work and then the rest of the year off, well you know what I mean. I guess I should go upstairs and help my wife wrap Christmas presents now....ahhhhh, NAH!!!


Peace out!