Well, I knew I would not be able to keep up with keeping you up with my running. (Huh?) But here I am, back in the safe confines of my house. Scott has the day/night off and he and boys are watching a movie on Netflix as I pretend to watch said movie. (Disney's "Treasure Planet"... Zzzzz. I just keep waiting for David Hyde Pierce to start a sentence with "My Maris....". Otherwise I am just not interested!) So, I'm taking advantage of the of reprieve of my duties to keep you posted.
It was a whirlwind trip to visit my family in New York. The boys and I were able to see a large chunk of my family, immediate and extended. My little hometown does a bang-up job with the Fourth of July and my mom organized us into a float, "101 Dalmatians." We learned yesterday that we won first place for "Funniest." I'm guessing this distinction had something to do with Mom leading the hoards (we are talking 40-ish 'puppies' on or walking with this float!) over to every fire hydrant along the way so they could 'go'. Hilarious. Or, maybe it was my sister Heather and her Drag Queen-worthy make up job/portrayal of Cruella D'Ville.
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| There are MAYBE 5 people in this photo who aren't related to me. Yup. Big family. (Notice me in the middle trying to lead everyone in panting like dog? Not many takers!) |
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| My sister, Heather. Obviously 'shy & demure' runs in the family. |
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| There's always a new t-shirt design for Camp Gungah. Team Giessler representin'! |
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| A few of the 'campers' enjoying the chickens at Iron Kettle Farm, which is owned operated by family friends. |
My running went fairly well, too, actually. I was able to take advantage of Gabe's pack 'n play in my parents' room: I slunk out of the house very early on my run days and got back not too long after he was up. Thanks, Mom!! Here's the lowdown on the last week and a half or so:
Thursday 6/27: This was the morning I was leaving for the endless drive to NYS. The boys stayed at camp with Scott so I got up early and ran about 6 miles. (My GPS keeps tracking me going off the road and is overly generous on distances. Very annoying!) I did that horrendous hill near your former 'compound' and cursed you all the while. It was the perfect hard, middle distance to do before the drive.
Friday 6/28: Family funeral. So very many obligations I had to bag the idea of a run.
Saturday 6/29: "I ran a hilly half marathon before 7AM." This was a great run in my old stomping ground, only MUCH farther than I ever would have run as a kid. Nothing like getting out of bed at 4:45 to get your run on!
Sunday 6/30: Church and life. We called it another rest day.
Monday 7/1: Ran a flat 5 miles 'downtown' at 6AM.
Tuesday 7/2: Did 4 miles plus 8 200M repeats at the end. This was at the track at my former high school... which sadly did not exist when I ran there. I slept in and didn't run till 6:30 this day. Noticing a pattern!?
Thursday 7/4: I celebrated the birth of our nation with my toughest run at 'home'. A 5AM almost 9-miler. The plan called for 8 x 3:30 'hard effort' on hills. I miscalculated the distance this would take me so I ended up going MUCH further than necessary.
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| Behind me you can see the town. It's not the easiest run up and down there, let me tell ya! But an AMAZING view when you're done. |
Saturday 7/6: S'posta do 16. So exhausted from drive home and so hot outside... did 30:00 on elliptical instead. I regret nothing.
Sunday 7/7: 16.5 (-ish... the battery on my phone died before I finished.) This was a very hilly course from camp. I rocked the 6 miles I was meant to do at race pace but I totally bonked at the end. (Along with my phone, I guess!) Even though I hit the road before 5AM it was humid and the biting flies were vicious little bastards. I had at least planned ahead and placed loads of water and a couple of Gu's on the course the evening before, which was maybe the smartest thing I've done this month. This year, maybe! I was all proud of this running effort and my survival thereof... then I got a text from you saying you paced a friend in a MARATHON that day.... Well then.... Bragging rights detracted. :)
Monday (today) 7/8: I was back up at camp overnight and ran just after 6 this morning. It. Was. Horrid. I felt like gills were the appropriate anatomy structure for the humidity level. And if I thought the flies were bad yesterday, this morning they were out of a horror movie. I took off my shirt so I could use it as a fly swatter. Thankfully there are not a lot of cars driving up and down the rural roads at that hour, but I'm sure the few people who saw me thought I was having some kind of a seizure. The most basic 4 mile course from camp is down the hill two miles and back up the hill two miles. I don't know for sure, but I'm confident I walked more than I ran. I was just plain toast.
Annnnyway, tomorrow is another tough-ish work out. (I'm in denial and I STILL haven't checked the schedule to know for sure what's in store...) I also start teaching 1/2 days of summer school. So, I think I need to go to bed and dream of dry heat, dead flies and recovered legs.
Oh, and no. I still haven't registered for that marathon. Hmmm. Guess I should do that. Tomorrow.
Hastily written and poorly edited, I am your dutiful Running Pal,
Phoebe
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