Dirty DRHT Run

The run itself was a bit rough around the edges. Since I had a lousy morning, I nearly bailed out after only half a mile. But I somehow flipped that switch, put my head down, and gave myself a hard shove down the trail. I made it to the turnaround and came back feeling a little better. Still a lousy morning but there's nothing I can change about it. Except for the run portion which I did change for the better. So at least I've got that going for me.

As I meandered down the trail I blew some snot out and was promptly reminded why I earned the nickname "Horatio" during one spring break. The ducks and geese didn't like my horn blowing and flew out of the swamp quacking like mad. Which then in-turn reminded me that I treed a racoon the other day on a different part of the trail. I've never seen one in person during the day so I was a bit shocked. So shocked I forgot all about it.

Photos:
Great views this morning.

Weather:
Temps were 35F. Sky was mostly clear. No wind.

Fluids and Fuel:
As usual, a little coffee in the morning to start the day. During the run I had a wee bit of plain water (way less than normal) and an applesauce. Recovery was, well, not so good; breakfast sandwich and hash browns.

Aches and Pains:
Everything felt fine until I got home. Then my left knee started hurting going up and down the steps.

Gear:
Wore shorts, pants, thermal top, long sleeve shirt, two BUFFS, and gloves. Really need to look for a new waist belt as my INCHWORM is slowing dieing.

Naughty Neil:
::sigh:: I'm learning that when I'm stressed or depressed, I eat. I'm sure Deepak Chopra would say that I'm trying to fill an empty hole in my heart with food. And I'm sure on some level that's what I'm trying to do. But when I do it, it just feels so good to eat. It's later when all that grease catches up to my ass that I regret my choices.

Today's Motivation:
I was tempted to run around the neighborhood but eventually decided I needed some time in the woods. Turns out I managed to get some good views of the sunrise so I guess I chose wisely.

Splits:
Start - 9:51
Mile 1 - 12:52
End - 10:25
Finish - 33:10

Moving at a snail's pace

YES! I'm back on my feet and moving. Granted, it's at a snail's pace, but I'm doing something faster than walking. Back still felt a little tweaky but the pain was around a 1, maybe a 2. Also had some shooting/radiating pain in my glutes, hip, and left quad. It felt like it was related to my back but I couldn't tell. I know the pain in my knees, calves, and shins were all related to my shoes and poor form. And lack of running for what felt like ages.

So, back on the horse. Or wagon. Or road. Or whatever. Part of it feels like I'm back at square one and part of it feels like I'm falling in love all over again. Either way, I'm happy to get back into running therapy. I needed it.

Photo:
Moving at a snails pace.

Weather:
Temps were about 65F to 70F. Humidity was high. Lots of fast moving clouds but partly sunny. Winds were mostly light but had a few sustained gusts.

Fluids and Fuel:
Just a touch of coffee before I started and plain water during the run. Recovery was 2 eggs, 2 sausage patties, three slices of toast, and more coffee.

Aches and Pains:
See above.

Gear:
No special gear. Wore shorts and a t-shirt.

Naughty Neil:
Fell asleep in my chair twice last night, once before dinner and once after. Caught a second wind instead of going to bed and watched TV while eating a bowl of zombie food (chips and string cheese).

Today's Motivation:
With all the work in the house going on and what feels like a severe lack of free time, I really needed some alone time with myself today. Didn't encounter anything exciting along the way other than waving to a few neighbors. But it was so nice to come back and feel so refreshed, like I actually accomplished something.

Splits:
Loop 1 - 18:13
Loop 2 - 17:19
Finish - 35:33

Running On Empty

Time change actually helped for a change this year. I usually try to get that extra hour of sleep and end up losing more sleep than normal. Guess it helped to go to bed at a normal hour and wake up before my alarm. And then I set my watch back an hour to the correct time and slept in an hour. After that, I got out of bed and headed out to the trail. The run was fairly uneventful other than the insane wind.
Photos:

I was a little cold.

Altras make me look fast.

Vine:
https://vine.co/v/OO6DOjADae0




Weather:
Temps were about 40F. Wind was high (around 35 to 40 mph). Sun was sort of out and sort of not. Rain was mostly just leaves dripping on me.

Fluids and Fuel:
Had an applesauce before I started. During the run was just plain water. Recovery was a breakfast burrito, hashbrown, and latte.

Aches and Pains:
None. Lower back has been tweaky the past few days but felt good after I ran a bit.

Gear:
Wore thermal shirt, long sleeve jacket, vest, two BUFFs, gloves, shorts, and pants.

Naughty Neil:
Breakfast. It was totally not right. Breakfast burrito I might be able to get away with but I just couldn't resist the siren song of the deep fried hashbrown.

Today's Motivation:
I new I needed to work in the attic today so I knew I'd need to wear comfy clothes for that so I knew I'd end up in my running gear anyway. So I went for a run first.

Splits:
Mile 1 - 13:12
Mile 2 - 16:45 (spent a 2 or 3 minutes taking care of the trail here - and no, that's not code for taking a dump)
Mile 3 - 12:59
Finish - 42:57

Training my Caboose off

Started my run this morning with some cross-training. Emptied the pickup full of bathroom destruction. Tile. Drywall. Flooring. Toilet. Even the 300 pound cast iron tub. Once that was done, I made my way down the trail and did my best to enjoy the scenery and the weather. It was chilly but you could tell it was getting warmer by the minute. The sun was out and the cows were .... mooing? Looing? Anyway, they were noisy as all get-out.

Photos:

Vine:
https://vine.co/v/OM50zITgepn


Weather:
Temps were about 45F to 50F. Warmed a bit before I finished. Sun was out in full. No wind.

Fluids and Fuel:
A little coffee before the run. Plain water during the run. Finished the bottle just before the end. Recovery was a burrito and latte.

Aches and Pains:
None.

Gear:
Wore a thermal long sleeve, vest, buff, gloves, shorts, and pants.

Naughty Neil:
I had more cake and ice cream last night. But no beer. I may have that tonight. And my breakfast burrito wasn't all that healthy. But it was better than the other choices I could have  made.

Today's Motivation:
Stressing out over the plumber and the bathroom and everything else. Seems like the list never ends and keeps growing no matter what you do. The only positive I keep reminding myself of is that when this is done, this house will be THE SHIT.

Splits:
Mile 1 - 13:24
Mile 2 - 15:07
Mile 3 - 11:45
Finish - 40:19

The Not So Slim Shady

Did two full loops around the neighborhood and then the lollipop part. Wanted to do more but I somehow found myself focusing on quality instead of quantity. I also found myself suddenly running up the hill I usually walk and before I knew it, I was fighting the urge to check my watch to see how far I ran without stopping. When I finally looked, it was 7 minutes. Then 12 minutes. Then 15 minutes. When I finally crapped out, I was at 27 minutes and I had no idea how I got that far without walking. I went nearly 2.5 miles without a walking break. Easily my longest, continuous run in ages. Maybe years.

Anyway, as I was trying to wrestle with the how and the why I was able to accomplish this feat, I came up with two new sections to test out; Naughty Neil and Today's Motivation. Naughty Neil will likely be full of bad jokes but today it will be about food. Today's Motivation will hopefully delve into what motivates me to run on any given day. A bit of the psyche behind the runner if you will.

Outside of these internal rumblings, the rest of the run was filled with being freaking cold. Somehow I missed the memo that said it would get down to the 30s last night so I had a bit of a chilly start to the day. It was also dark enough that I went out with my headlamp for the first loop so thankfully the batteries didn't totally die on me. Really should replace those today.

Photo:

Weather:
Temps were about 35F. Sun wasn't quite up yet. Sky was mostly clear. Winds were light.

Fluids and Fuel:
Before the run I had some coffee. During the run was a bottle of plain water. Recovery was a left over hamburger (patty only), two eggs, two slices of toast, and more coffee.

Aches and Pain:
Nothing really hurt although I did feel a little wheezy when I started.

Gear:
Wore thermal shirt, short sleeve shirt, vest, shorts, pants, gloves, and BUFF. Wore my headlamp for the first loop.

Naughty Neil:
I skipped breakfast yesterday and had BooBerry cereal for lunch yesterday. Dinner was healthy but dessert was cake and ice cream. And a beer. Not really healthy but my minor success was that I didn't eat the whole piece of cake and I only had a few scoops of ice cream instead of the whole pint.

Today's Motivation:
Mostly I wanted to keep moving to avoid freezing. But there was also a bit of pressure to make sure I finished my run in time to get back home for the plumber. And there was some guilt that I skipped my 45 minute run yesterday so that's why I did it today.

Splits:
Loop 1 - 16:18
Loop 2 - 17:19
Lollipop - 12:03
Finish - 45:41

Weekend at Boerne's

We survived our trip to San Antonio with flying colors I think. It was a whirlwind weekend but I think everyone had fun, nobody got hurt, and we all got back to normal fairly quickly. Prepare yourself for lots of words and lots of pictures.

Thursday
We got up at the butt-ass-crack-o-fucking-dawn. I know I usually exaggerate a bit when I say that but 4am is super early. Well, we got up at about 2:30am so yeah, it was too damn early. I nearly stayed up all night but decided a few hours of sleep was better than none.

We got everyone in the car, drove to Richmond, parked, and walked into the airport. The kids were still a bit sleepy but were alert enough to be excited. We checked our bags at the counter, got our tickets, and headed to security. We took our shoes off but found out on the other side that we didn't need to do that. We went through the standard metal detector as a family so that was good. Once we got dressed on the other side, we found our gate and sat down. The kids and I walked around a bit, bought some gum, and generally just chilled out.

Our flight left on time and the sun was up just enough so the kids could look out the window to see what it was like to fly. There were no panic attacks just lots of ear popping. We had drinks, read, colored, played, etc. We landed in DFW, went to the bathroom, grabbed snacks, and boarded out next flight. William was lucky enough to see the first cockpit so of course Elizabeth wanted a turn so she got to see the second one. Even got to push the throttle forward (don't worry, we didn't move).

Stormy takes flight!

Second flight was much shorter. We got in the air, they served drinks, they collected drinks, and we landed. Once on the ground in DFW, we grabbed our suitcases, took the shuttle to our car, and then drove out of town. We grabbed some lunch and chilled a bit to get our land legs back before heading to my sister-in-law's house. We got to visit with family there, ate dinner, then went to our hotel in Boerne. Which by the way is pronounced "Bernie." So it quickly became our "Weekend at Boerne's."


Friday
Friday we got up and hit the Riverwalk in San Antonio. The Alamo was unimpressive for everyone but we had a great time on the Riverwalk and on the boat tour.

The Alamo was ... meh.

The Riverwalk was awesome!

After that, we headed back to the hotel for naps then to the rehearsal outside of Boerne to the rehearsal dinner in San Antonio.

Saturday
Saturday brought rain and cooler temperatures. We visited a local cave/cavern, saw bats (eek!), and then did some chilling out before the wedding. The wedding was great, had no issues, and we all went to the hotel tired from the adventure.

The dinosaur at the cave.

Some RANDOM letters we saw on the trip.
 

Sunday
Sunday we went the newlywed's house and had brunch, more time with the family, and then we went shopping. It was generally just an easy day of doing nothing and getting ready for the slugfest that would be coming.

Monday
Monday was indeed a slugfest. We got up at a more normal hour, checked out of the hotel, dropped off the car, and checked into the airport. Saw a neat sculpture,went through security, and waited at the gate. The kids had a great time watching all the ground traffic with tow cars, baggage cars, planes landing, and more. We also got one more chance to see my brother-in-law and his new baby.

After a good three hour delay, we finally left San Antonio, endured a bumpy ride to DFW, and got off the plane well after our connecting flight. Which meant we had to wait for a new flight which was about 5 hours later. So we checked out the terminal, I entertained the kids with two trips (one in each direction) around the airport on the train, and then dinner. After dinner I took each kid on a walk around the terminal before we moved to another gate for departure. While we hoped for a decent departure time, we had another 3 hour delay leaving DFW so thankfully we had plenty of time to do all the goofy things you need to do to entertain two extremely bored kids and one bored adult. I'm just glad I didn't buy a bottle of booze in the "doodie free" shops.

We finally left DFW and arrived in Richmond on Tuesday.

It's made out of suitcases.

William's artwork from dinner.

This is how you entertain yourself (and your kids) in DFW.

Tuesday
Once we arrived, we got our bags, found our car, and headed home. Everyone was snoozing away but I managed to grab some coffee on the flight so I was good to go. We eventually crashed around 3am. Yvonne got up for work at her usual time but we let the kids (and myself) sleep in. They slept in a little but I fed them and sent them off to school anyway because I figured half a day of school was better than none.

Finally, this is what everyone looked like on the last flight home. Pooped.