This week has been fantastic, in terms of running. With the days getting shorter and with me taking the train last week, time has been tight. So while I haven’t been doing a ton of mileage, I’ve been managing to squeeze in 30 minutes here and there.

After Sunday’s jaunt on the rail trail, I planned a 30 minute run for Monday & Wednesday, spinning on Tuesday, and a 3.5+ miler (the 4-bridge loop, which is about 3.7 miles) for today. I am happy to report that I completed each and every one of those runs, and I feel awesome.

Right now I am kind of sitting here in a post-run, post-shower glow. I have a nice mug of green ginger tea beside my laptop and I’m feeling warm and toasty. The muscles in my butt are a little sore, even though I stretched, but I’m sore in a good way, and feel good enough to run tomorrow… even if it does snow.

Yes, that’s right. SNOW. *sigh*

So Rob wants to run with me this weekend. It will be his first run in 3 weeks, so tomorrow’s adventure will be short and slow, most likely. That leaves Sunday for my date with the rail trail. I’d like to do 55 minutes or better this week, because you know, I finally have goals and motivation again, and I feel like I should take advantage of that.

It’s so silly to me, that I go through these phases where I dislike running, or rather, I dislike the idea of it because, damn, when I go out there and have a good run (which I almost always do in the cooler weather), I love it so much. I guess that’s what trips me up: that cycle of not-doing, which leads to not-performing, and thus, not-liking. I know that if I would just be consistent I might actually to something like *gasp* improve! Heheh. Well, the good news is that, even if I haven’t really improved with my running over the past couple of years, I know I can go out there and run 3 miles or so without too much effort.

Well, time to finish up my tea and get ready to head out of here again. When Rob gets home we are going up to see George’s new house. He closed on it today, so we’re going to get a pizza and sit by the woodstove… and wait for the stupid-ass snow to get here.

Stupid snow.

So Typepad hasn’t been letting me log in for a few days. I’m not really sure why. Anyway, it’s pissing me off because I had a fan-freaking-tastic couple of runs I’ve been wanting to tell y’all about.

I haven’t decided if I’m going to run the Feaster Five or not but I have planned on getting myself ready to run it, just in case I feel like it. Running on Thanksgiving is something I have enjoyed in past years, but it’s tricky because I’m the one who cooks everything, and we tend to a) make a huge-ass turkey, and b) eat on the early side, so the timing is a little tricky, fitting in a race and all. Oh, and here’s a Thanksgiving tip from me to you: If you cook the whole meal yourself, you won’t eat as much, because you are sick of looking at the freaking food after 8. damn. hours. in the kitchen. :)

Heh. Anyway…

Friday was beautiful in Lowell. It was sunny and cool, with a nice orange dappling along the river foliage. I headed out for a short 3 miler wearing my Tufts 10K shirt from last year and a pair of shorts. The first mile was uneventful, and I didn’t have to stop for any traffic lights – an added bonus. When I got to the first bridge, I had to decide whether to cross it or go to the next one, adding on a half mile or so to my run. I opted out, and crossed the river.

The river was higher than I’d ever seen it. At University Ave, the river has already been dammed up, so there are usually a lot of rocks visible below, and sometimes you’ll see kids out on the rocks, or graffiti even. But not today. With all the rain we’ve had, everything was flooded. Trees, their trunks immersed, dipped their lower limbs into the currents. It was pretty amazing, so much so, that I decided then to run up to the next bridge where the dam is.

About 5 minutes later, the damn came into view through the trees, and what a sight. On the one side, the river seemed flat, the sun glinting off the water, a boat stationed in the middle between the two banks. On the other side of the dam, water exploded down onto the rocks, which were almost totally hidden. Two tree trunks protruded from the walls of the damn, where they had gotten stuck in the flow. The sound was awesome. I stopped for a minute and stretched on the bridge, looking at the power source that had once given life to the mills in Lowell. In a word, wow.

After my brief stop, I turned around and headed back the way I came, to my regular route. Up slightly, down slightly, levelling out, down a little more, up a little more, levelling out again. This is how I finished my run, taking in the river, seeing where it had crested its banks, flooding the paths below. It was late in the afternoon, maybe 5:00 or so, and the brick on the mill buildings seemed more colorful than usual.

In fact, everything seemed more colorful that day.

In contrast, Saturday’s long walk with Rebecca (I took her up to see the dam), and today’s run were anything but sun-drenched and bright. First, it was cold. Cold enough that I wore gloves. And a hat (on Saturday, anyway).

I woke up today knowing that I wanted to run, and needed no inner pep talk to get myself out the door. I took my time heading out, and decided that today I’d hit the rail trail, where it is usually pleasant, especially when it’s raining (which it was), and where I could stop for groceries on the way home.

The parking area was totally deserted and I saw less than a dozen people the entire hour I was out there, forgetting how remote and quiet the trail is in the off season. In the summer, if you’re not out there running or riding before 8am on the weekend, forget it. In the fall and winter, you’re mostly by yourself, and it is perfect. I had my light EMS tights on, a technical T, and a pink Life is Good baseball cap, along with my cheapo stretchy gloves. At 45º, I felt quite cold, so I just started running. By a mile in, I was feeling good, and had warmed up.

I ran over the fallen leaves, the pine needles, kicking the occasional pinecone off into the scrub on the side of the path. I heard chipmunks take off as I approached, some birds, and the occasional dog barking in the distance. Everything seemed still as I passed through a section of trees where the leaves still clung to their branches. I was surrounded in gold and orange. It looked like a little tunnel, of sorts – luminous, warm, fading back into more subtle shades of autum at either end.

I hit the turnaround feeling good, at 27 minutes and something. The rain had stopped, but each time the wind blew I felt the muffled splats of falling drops against my ball cap. I started thinking about random things, and wondering if I’d have the chance to smell a wood stove on my run, as I often do on the rail trail, and one of my favorite things. I thought about how much I wanted to live near the trail and what kind of (hellish) commute that would bring, and would it be worth it. I was interrupted from these thoughts by my stupid watch beeping at me. It had lost the GPS signal. I sighed, and kept going, deciding to run until I had reached the painted 6 mile marker, or 50:00, whichever came first. That would put me at about 4.5 miles, I figured, an improvement from Friday, and a definite step forward in getting to a comfortable 6 miles by Thanksgiving.

I was feeling pretty good and cruising along at my slow and steady pace, enjoying myself and whatnot, when I came upon the blue 6, right there, in the middle of the path. Huh? Already? I stopped, looked at my watch: 50:02. Well then. The parking area was up ahead, so I walked a little to cool down and stretched against the wooden fence. A horse trailer pulled up and a beautiful golden horse was led out onto the trail. I smiled, got in the car, drank some water, and headed back to Lowell.

On my way home, I stopped for provisions. And for vegetarian chili fixins. My chili is really more of a vegetarian stew. Here’s the recipe, as close as I can approximate it (I don’t measure anything, ever, unless I’m baking or I’ve never made it before – sorry.)

Annalisa’s Veggie Chili

1 T olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, cut into large pieces
10 large white mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 large summer squash, sliced, then sliced in half
1 large zucchini, ”
1 1lb, 13oz can of red or pink beans, rinsed and drained
1 1lb, 13oz can of black beans, ”
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes, plus juice
1 46oz bottle of spicy V-8
Tabasco
Salt & Pepper
Ground Cloves (I just shake some in. It’s probably between 1/4 and 1/2 teaspoon)

Heat the oil in a large stock pot. Add the onion and sautee for a few minutes. Add the other veggies and sautee for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, V-8 and seasonings. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer (medium-low). Cook until it starts to thicken, about 45 minutes. Add the beans and cook for another 15 – 20 minutes.

Makes a crapload. You’ll need to have a party or freeze some!
And it’s excellent with:
- Tortilla chips and a little shredded cheese
- Cornbread
- Baked potatoes or sweetpotatoes

Yum.

It has been a long week and a half. I mean, honestly.

Rob hadn’t been feeling well for about 5 days and, like most men, he played tough. So much so that I had no idea that he was in a lot of pain. We had both been thinking that he had some kind of stomach bug, or had eaten something that messed up his system. Well, I was thinking this because I had no idea the extent of what he was going through, and he was thinking it because he’s a guy – the kind of guy who puts a band-aid on stuff and grunts, "I’m fine. Are we having steak for dinner?"

Anyway, so finally we went to the ER and low and behold, Rob has not only appendicitis, but a bad infection as well. After a full day in the ER, they finally admitted him. I spent most of the weekend running back and forth between the BID (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) and Lowell, lamenting the rain, and trying not to douse the runners on Memorial Drive as I made the trek into Boston every day. They eventually sent him home with antibiotics and a scheduled surgical appointment in a few weeks, which is what they do now, I guess. But yesterday I had to take him back to the ER because he was still feeling terrible, although they eventually said everything was going as well as it could be and sent him home again.

Ugh.

Throughout all this, however, I’ve managed a few runs and a Spinning class, and I’ve been alternating between driving and taking the train to work. Because, you know, I have to work in the middle of all this crap. *sigh*

Tonight, I had this brilliant plan where I would run on the Charles after work, come back to the office, grab my stuff, and then zip over to the train station. Unfortunately, I forgot my stupid building pass, so if I leave, there is no way to get back in after 5:30. Perhaps I will try to run at lunch or something, or, worst case, head to the gym when I get home, as it is practically right next door to the train station, and then just run outside tomorrow and over the weekend.

As much as I love running, I hate racing, but I am thinking that maybe I need to sign up for a race to get my butt in gear. For upping my miles, I mean. There’s the Feaster Five coming up on Thanskgiving – the race I wanted to do last year but hurt my back a week before. That’s a 5K or 5 miler, your choice. There are some other events I have my eye on. I dunno. I’ll see how I do with my running through the end of October and then maybe sign up for something.

That’s how it all starts, you know. "Oh, a triathlon sounds fun…." Famous last words. :)

It’s taken me a while to find the time to get all of these thoughts down and organized enough to supply you with an update on what is going on in my world. Basically my lack of posting has stemmed from the business at work and the lack of desire to even touch the computer when I get home. I haven’t even IMed with Dianna in over a week, if that tells you anything.

But I’ve been swell, really. Like, really swell.

About a week or so ago, I decided on a tough love approach when it came to my own discipline around food and getting my fat behind moving. Maybe it was watching The Biggest Loser while snarfing Brach’s Mellocreme Pumpkins, or maybe it was the realization that I had been kidding myself with how much I had actually been exercising by, you know, actually looking at my running log. And I looked. And I laughed. And then I said, "what the fuck," and it was good.

Or rather, it was not good, so I went to the gym. At 9:00 that night.

And so began my newfound focus. I did awesome last week, both in food and exercise. I signed up for CalorieKing, because FitDay just wasn’t doing it for me, and started logging/journalling my food again. I worked out 5 days last week. 5 days!!!!! Take a look:

M – Ran 3 miles
Tues – rest (supposed to be 90 minute spin class, but I had to go pick up my car from the repair dealie)
Weds – Ran 30 minutes, Elliptical 30 minutes
Thursday – Ran 35 minutes after work w/Rob
Friday – Swam 45 minutes
Saturday – Elliptical 60 minutes
Sunday – rest

This Monday I did a 30 minute run on the stupid mill, then a 1 hr spin class (which is really about 50 minutes of hard work, and 10 minutes of warmup/cooldown). And yesterday I did my 90 (read 80) minute spin class. Woohoo!

And you know what? I think these longer workouts, you know, those hour+ ones, are really helping me drop some poundage. Which I knew, but, I forget or get lazy or whatever. But even before all of this, I was feeling kind of… thinner or something. Or more fit. Or motivated. Or all of those things, I guess.

It’s been a good week, and I’m happy. That’s it, really. I’m just happy.

Well, Big D is out running in the rain right now. Which she hates, so give her some love, people.

I can’t express how proud I am of her. She has done so much with her running in the last year – the marathon, a tri, and now a second marathon, in addition to a bunch of other races, an the miles and miles she’s logged. She’s a tough broad and a great friend, and I’m pulling for her today, racing in the rain. Which, you know, she hates.

At least there will be potato chips at the end. :)