Swimming in Smedley Park

With 74% humidity it felt like swimming anyway. I missed the Misery Loves Company (MLC) group this morning. I had trouble getting to sleep last night and when it got to 1:30 I knew I was never going to get up at 5:30 to meet them at 7:00. So I turned off the alarm.

I woke up just after 7 had breakfast and decided to go out on my own to Smedley Park. It's not the far from home (in fact I passed over it on my Independence Day walk on Thursday). I've only ever been there to get on to the Leiper Smedley trail.

The humidity is socked in now and we are under a heat advisory until Sunday or Monday. It was cooler among the trees but still a little like moving through soup. Within seconds I was covered in sweat which by itself wasn't so bad but it made all the cobwebs and bugs stick to me. YUCK! I had fun though exploring the trails and there are still some left I think so I'll go back. You might be interested to see THIS is the official trail map for the park and THIS is the Garmin track of my travels. I saw a few people walking their dogs and two mountain bikers while I was out.

Celebrating Independence Day 2013

July 4th, 2013 - I went for a walk from our house in Media to Independence Hall. The first question is probably - why? My initial answer is why not? It was kinda cool to do something just because I can on the day we celebrate freedom.

I am a softball widow frequently on the July 4th holiday. There is almost always a tournament of some kind and Dave is almost always umpiring one of them. This year he is in Quakertown at the TNT tournament. We do lots of things together but long distance walking or running is not one of them so being a softball widow from time to time works for both of us.

I got it in my head to do a lengthy hike of some kind and somehow tie it to a 4th of July theme. I thought about mapping a route on www.mapmyrun.com that would look like "July Fourth" or " 1776" but that would only work if I confined myself to Media borough where the streets more or less are in a grid. That did not sound like fun. And it wouldn't take very long either. I've done Valley Forge a lot plus I plan to be at the MLC meetup there on Saturday so I ruled that out.

On a whim I asked Google Maps to map a walking route from our house to Independence Hall.

Another Smiling Summer Weekend

SATURDAY

I started the weekend teaching a class. Twice a year we have orientation on Saturdays for new REALTORS who just can't make it on a weekday. It's a mind game to get up for it but once my butt is out of bed I'm fine. Teaching this class is one of my favorite things about my job. I was home just before 4 to rest my feet and change my clothes and then Dave and I walked into Media to have dinner with friends and listen to some of the music going on for Media's annual Blues Stroll.

I had almost forgotten it was this weekend. We had decided not to get tickets because Dave was supposed to have games all day and into the evening. So I was glad when Maggi messaged that she and Russ were planning to come into Media and did we want to meet up. It was nice night to be outside. We were able to dine outside at Sposato's and listen to some music at the Plum Street outside Seven Stones Cafe. Unfortunately, yours truly had to bail early for need of a bathroom. We would not have stayed a whole lot later though since we both had early wake ups for Sunday.

SUNDAY

Well so much for the early wake up. I was supposed to help out at the Oddyssey Half Marathon today. I bailed. Dave left for his ball games and I went back to sleep. I took my guilty feelings out on chores: defrosted the basement freezer, cleaned the kitchen including mopping the floor; walked to Acme to shop for produce then chopped and cooked for meals the first half of this week. I also paid the bills and balanced / closed out our budget for May. There was even a little bit left over to add to our savings. Yay :) After I finished that I tried to get through a few more pages of "Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All". I've got 15 pages to go to finish book 1.

Despite the challenge of being away from home at the beginning of this week, I did an acceptable job of minding what I was eating. This week I want to keep going and also get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. I've slacked off and I know I need it to keep my mood in check. Without a goal I'm floundering. :( I'm looking forward to maybe getting out with some fitness buddies next weekend.
The US Open (golf) is happening at Merion Golf Club this week. It will be a traffic nightmare for some around here. I'm hoping they don't discover my back roads. ;)

Heart update: I have noticed that - in addition to exercise - the flutters also become much more noticeable if I am under-hydrated, tired, or too long between meals. I mention this because it occurs to me that there is a lesson to be learned. Eating, hydration, and rest are essential ALL the time. A person's heart likely works harder/stresses anytime your body is not properly fueled, watered and rested. We take it for granted as it compensates and beats along its merry way. Whatever my issue is now, is just causing my heart to nag me for not taking care of it. These reminders are keeping me on track. After I get my heart fixed I hope I remember to continue to treat it well.

Vacation Countdown

Three weeks from today we leave for vacation. :)

We will take the Auto Train to Florida; spend a day with my sister KT and her husband Jean-Laurent (JL); the four of us will go to the Phillies - Marlins game on Aug 14. Dave will be able to check the Marlins off his list and of course get the hat to show for it. Dave and I will continue from there on to Key West. I booked our rooms this afternoon at the Grand Guest House. I've never been to Key West. Dave was there a long time ago. We will cover route 1 between Orlando and Key West on this trip. We had hoped to take route 1 all the way home but gas prices have put that out of reach this time. We'll take the auto train back home again after spending another day or two with KT and JL. I'm grateful for their generosity in letting us stop there and also for their flexibility. Family is good :)

Today I biked 15 miles. I bailed on my original plan and stuck closer to home. My legs actually felt good. I attribute that in large part to frequent stretching sessions yesterday and use of the foam roller. I don't know how I managed this long without one. The difference the next day is amazing. Still I decided the original route was too ambitious for now. Maybe in a few weeks.

Today's miles took me in and around Media. I went up and down moderate to easy hills. Just enough to keep my legs pumping but not enough to discourage me. I explored dead end streets that I wouldn't go down in a car. It was a pleasant ride. Today was a bit more humid but still cooler than it's been.

Tomorrow is a planned day off. Earlier in the week I thought I might go out for 10 to make up for this coming Wednesday's workout that I will have to miss. I'm pretty sure though that the rest day is a better idea. My legs do feel good but rest days are important and hopefully I'll be stronger in speed workout on Tuesday if I take the day off.

Run - Breakfast - Ride

That was my morning excercise and all finished before noon! The purists (whoever they are) would probably tell me that breakfast in between is not appropriate. The purists do not have the awesome running and walking friends that I have. We slog through rain, heat, snow and cold often and together. It would take a serious family emergency to make me miss breakfast (or other social opportunity with them). They are my second family.
SOMEONE (ok me) suggested a 6:00 am start for those of us doing 12 today. The 4:30 am alarm had me questioning my sanity and wondering how many others may have been muttering at me as well. Still once you get your butt out of bed it's not so bad and there ended up being 10 of us taking off from the diner trailhead at 6 am.

I started off at 3 and 1 intervals through the first three miles. I was feeling pretty good so I switched to 4 and 1 for the next 3. I tried to push my run intervals a bit. I probably shouldn't do that on long run Saturdays but I had it in my head that I wanted to keep under 12 minutes miles (my long run average). I accomplished that for the first 6. Unfortunately, time and again people say go slow on the way out and pick it up on the way back. And there is a reason for that. I ended up switching back to 3 and 1 and my average for the whole run was over 12 minute miles. Still I finished it and really didn't feel too bad. Here is my run off the Garmin.

I tried to do without gus or chomps this time. I packed rehydrated dried apricots and chocolate covered raisins today. I had one apricot and three raisins at mile 1 (by this time it had been 1.5 hours since grabbing a glass of milk and a blueberry muffin on the way out the door) and repeated every 2 miles. I stopped at mile 7 when I had a very slight intestinal cramp. It only lasted a few minutes but I think next time I'll go every 3 miles instead of 2. I wore the camelback today. It felt heavy and uncomfortable at the beginning but after a mile I was fine and glad I had it. I'm not sure why it was weird at the beginning. Probably wasn't sitting right on my back and I was too intent on my time to fix it. :(

I have to say that doing your homework (weekday workouts) makes a big difference. This route was flat for the most part. There are only three spots with significant climbs and I was pleased to make two of them without wanting to stop before, during or after. The third is between mile 9 and 8 on the return winding up the hill and around the bend to go over the creek. I dragged out my run portion so that the walk came for that. *Shrug*.

I was grateful for company on the way back too. Caroline B started at 7 am to do 10 and turned aournd when she and I met on the trail. We finished the last five together. Having someone to chat with always makes the miles go by pleasantly.

We all had a wonderful breakfast and visit. I estimate there were at least 22 of us at breakfast. The Collegeville Diner is right on the Perkiomen Trail and doesn't mind sweaty, disheveled looking runners and walkers a bit. The food is good too!

I drove home and got on the bike. Here is the route via Garmin. It was just over 10 miles as planned. In the interest of full disclosure I had trouble coming up Rose Valley Road. I had to get off and walk the latter part of it. I just didn't have enough in my legs to keep moving. So I have a challenge now - to make that route without getting off the bike.

In and around where I live it's hard to stay flat. I learned that early in my running. You can stay flat but you have to run circles basically. And really I don't want to stay flat I have to do hills eventually. I knew that my chosen route today was going to be a net descent for the first 5 miles. I purposely chose Rose Valley Road to come back figuring that if I struggled at least it wasn't as busy a street as 252. What I forgot was that Rose Valley Road goes downhill even further before coming back up again. UGH!

I'm questioning my route for tomorrow now. I wanted to extend my distance to 15 and was going to go out Providence Road to West Chester Pike and come back through Ridely Creek State Park. I wonder now if I'm ready for the hills on Providence Road. They would be earlier in the ride, not as steep and I will not have run 12 before them so maybe it will be ok. I'll see how I feel in the morning. The alternative is to put the bike in the car and head out to the Schuylkill River Trail. I can't avoid hills forever nor do I want to but I could practice them on shorter specific rides during the week. I don't want to do too much too fast and get hurt or discouraged.

Hot Hot Hot

It was 78 when I left Media at 6 am. It's 93 now at 11:00 a.m. Phillyfit ran their miles somewhere between 7 am and 9 am depending on pace and distance. They all deserve medals for just showing up but instead of medals we settled for Sammy's magnificent frozen orange towels.

I was really pleased with my run today. We were scheduled for 9. I settled for 8.5 which is the distance of the loop around MLK Blvd and Kelly Drive from the Art Museum to Falls Bridge. This loop has not been my friend in the past. And the heat predictions were not helping me to look forward to it.

Today though the miles flew by. I was surprised each time my garmin chimed another mile. We decided to run 2 and 1 intervals (we've been doing 3:1). The conditions made 2:1 a good choice and I'm certain that made the difference at the end. I was able to pick up the pace at the end instead of dragging my butt across the finish. I wanted to run the last mile complete but opted instead to stay with one of our new Phillyfitters. She had planned to do 7 today but instead of turning around she decided to keep going with us instead. I didn't want to abandon her while she was doing more than planned on such a brutal day.

Besides the shorter intervals hydration made a big difference. I wore my Cameback today and besides holding more water than the waist pack it really does keep it colder. I ran out just at the end of the run and the colder water felt really good. I took an electrolyte capsule BEFORE the run and one again at the Falls Bridge. No dizziness today and I don't feel like I have to crash for a nap either. I was happy to be finished the run and I feel like I managed it well.

I also think I have an advantage over most people with the heat. We are in day ten of the heat wave.  I know most of the group has been running and walking and biking despite the weather but I'm one of a very few people around who do not have air conditioning at home and I do not use it in the car when I'm alone.

Too feel this good on a day like this is a good sign. A very good sign. It could mean I didn't go out hard enough ....... but I'm confident that's not the case. I know we kept a good pace during the run intervals.

Recap of my week.

Well I did it. It wasn't pretty but I kept my promise to complete 25  miles for the week. Today was a test of the committment and I'm pleased to say I passed. After yesterday's 10 miles on the hills I needed 6 more today to get to 25.

Emma and I met Pete and John at Ridley Creek State Park for some trail running. The first mile my legs were fine. After that they were a little annoyed with me. "Hello!!?? Remember the 10 very hilly miles yesterday?" It was tough to ignore the whining. I bailed on the last trail hill up the white trail. If you know the park this takes you straight up from the lower part of the paved loop to the upper. I chose to run back on the paved loop and met them at the parking lot.

This put just under 4 miles on my total. So when we arrived home I let Emma back in the house and headed out for the balance. It was hard but I can honestly say I did it.

Nest week is an increase week - 27 wth 13 mile long run on Saturday. But first, a rest day tomorrow :) :)

4 miles, 2 hills (twice each), Wind Chill 17

I had way too much fun on this, day #17. I wanted to do a hill workout so I ran a route that takes me on two hills in Media. Edgmont Road is a long slow climb for 5 blocks and 8th Street is a short steeper climb for 2 blocks. In between the two the route is up and down as well but much shorter pieces than either of those. In fact, the ones in between are just short enough to give me a burst then a break. Two circuits of this route then back home is just shy of 4 miles so I run down my street and back to make it 4. My average pace was under 12 the entire way. I think I could have run harder. So now, I have something to shoot for next time.

I love cold weather running. I discovered that last year actually. I thought maybe it was just the snow but there hasn't been any snow yet (unless you count the freak storm on Halloween which I don't because it was gone in hours). I feel strong in the cold and things don't hurt as quickly. I guess the cold keeps the swelling down in my old joints. Whatever it is, I'm having fun.

Gymboss Fail

Today I went out for a run around Media. I took my gymboss not really sure if I wanted to do intervals or not. I strated off pushing the button on the Gymboss figuring I'd see how I felt after the first 3 and decided then. Well the Gymboss decided for me as it went kaplooey after the first interval. It got stuck on notifying me that the interval was over. Thank goodness I had it on vibrate not high beep or I probably would have had to go home. As it was it vibrated on my wrist for the entire 3 miles. I probably don't have to tell you how annoying that was. The upside is I ran about 99% of the distance.

I rebooted the Gymboss and it stopped buzzing. I think it needs a new battery. When it works though this is a fantastic tool for run / walk intervals. I can set it to whatever interval I want and I can have it vibrate when it's just me or have it beep loud when I'm with a group all doing the same interval.

Here's another challenge for this week. I had hoped to get a running buddy or two to meet me to run but I guess more folks have to work this week. I used up the rest of my vacation days. So the challenge is to keep getting out there Wed, Thurs and Fri alone. There are plans for group runs on Sat and Sun already.