Don't Mess with Runners

We may fall, but we get right back up again. We know what it is to hurt, and to keep going in spite of it. Just when we think we can't take another step, we cover another mile. And we do not give up. Ever.

Last Saturday I joined a number of people in St. Louis in a run to remember the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and show our support for their healing. The St. Louis Unity Run for Boston was an impromptu event, but even with the short lead time, our local running community rose to the occasion. There were t-shirts for sale (with proceeds going to The One Fund), 'race' numbers, water, and participation by many of the running clubs and shops around the metro area. It was great to see the turnout. The course was rumored to be somewhere between 2-3 miles, but I did a 1-mile warm-up, then peeled away from the group a bit past half way to do a full loop of the park. Total for the day: around 6.5 miles. I'd pledged to cover at least 26.2 mi for the week, and ended up with 29.1 mi for the week.

Catching up...

Mon., 3/11 - yoga
-interruption for massive case of lung aliens-
Mon., 3/18 - yoga
Tue., 3/19 - 4 mi walk/run on the 'mill
Wed., 3/20 - 4.25 mi walk/run (recovering...)
Fri., 3/22 - 5 mi TM
Sat., 3/23 - Garmin says 6.3 mi
Sun., 3/24 - 5K  row, 5K elliptical

Mon., 3/25 - yoga
Tue., 3/26 - 5 mi TM
Wed., 3/27 - 5.25 mi TM
Fri., 3/29 - 5.5 mi TM
Sat., 3/30 - Garmin says 6.1 mi (new shoes!)
Sun., 3/31 - Garmin says 7 mi

Mon, 4/1 - yoga
Tue., 4/2 - 5.25 mi TM
Wed., 4/3 - 5/5 mi TM
Fri., 4/5 - Garmin says 5.5 mi
Sat., 4/6 - Garmin says 6.35 mi
Sun., 4/7 - Garmin say 6 mi

Mon., 4/8 - yoga
Tue., 4/9 - 5.6 mi (outside all week...)
Wed., 4/10 - 5.55 mi
Fri., 4/12 - 5.75 mi
Sun., 4/14 - 7.55 mi

Mon., 4/15 - yoga
Tue., 4/16 - ran 1:17:26.2 on the 'mill (6 mi)
Wed., 4/17 - Garmin says 5.5 mi
Fri., 4/19 - 5.5 mi TM
Sat., 4/20 - approx. 6.5 mi FP (St. Louis Unity Run for Boston)
Sun., 4/21 - Garmin says 5.6 mi

Mon., 4/22 - yoga
Tue., 4/23 - Garmin says 5.65 mi

Some Days You're the Windshield...

And some days, you're a big ol' midwest splat-bug.

Quivering Quads Trail Half-Marathon - done.

That's really the only good thing I can say about it.  :-) As of Friday, from the Fleet Feet STL photos, there was still a lot of snow on the trail. And then it rained. And rained. And rained.

On the best of days, this trail is challenging... narrow single-track with a lot of roots and rocks, and not a whole lot of flat going on. Some pretty decent long hills, actually, including some gnarly sections where you watch your feet or end up 100 yards down the face of a steep hill.

Today? What wasn't ankle-deep mud was ankle-deep running water. COLD water. And that was just the regular parts of the trail... any dip, depression, or hollow ended up as a cold mini-pond to wade through. And then there were the real stream crossings. A few were up to my knees, but the two main crossings were thigh-high on me. I felt sorry for anyone shorter. The first had a rope across (very necessary with the current); the second desperately needed one. There were a bunch of people there, though, so we formed a human chain. I just grabbed a hand and jumped in.

I was SO ready for it to be over. When I reached the out-and-back near the end, my Garmin read 12.56 miles... at the finish line, it was 13.56 miles. Not quite the day I'd opt for bonus distance, but what the heck. I think my finish time was 4:33:something... I've run a number of FULL marathons faster than that. Eh, whaddya gonna do. I paid for the privilege of being out there, and I got my finisher medal.

My feet finally thawed out, too.

Anyway... obligatory I'm-so-damn-glad-I'm-done photo:

Didn't flip my pack around back again... klassy.

And, my feet UNDER my socks... socks, shoes and gloves were all pitched. At least my feet were numb most of the time and I never felt much of that.

Missouri mud-sand. Nice.

Since long-time-no-update, a mass of 'em:

Sat., Jan. 19: 8 mi
Sun., Jan. 20: 5.6 mi

Mon., Jan. 21: yoga!
Tue., Jan. 22: 5.5 mi TM
Wed., Jan. 23: 5.6 mi TM
Fri., Jan. 25: 6.25 mi TM
Sat., Jan. 26: Garmin says 9.1 mi
Sun., Jan. 27: rowed 5K, ellipticated 5K

Mon., Jan. 28: yoga; dog walk
Tue., Jan. 29: 5.6 mi
Wed., Jan. 30: 5.55 mi
Fri., Feb. 1: 6.5 mi TM
Sun., Feb. 3: 7 mi walk w/A

Mon., Feb. 4: yoga!
Tue., Feb. 5: 5.5 mi TM
Wed., Feb. 6: 5.75 mi TM
Fri., Feb. 8: 6.25 mi TM
Sat., Feb. 9: 13.1 mi at JB

Tue., Feb. 12: 5.5 mi TM
Wed., Feb. 13: 5.75 mi TM
Fri., Feb. 15: 6.25 mi TM
Sat., Feb. 16: rowed 5K, ellipticated 5K
Sun., Feb. 17: 15 mi FCP

Mon., Feb. 18: yoga!
Tue., Feb. 19: 5.5 mi TM
Wed., Feb. 20: 6 mi TM
Fri., Feb. 22: 7 mi TM

Mon., Feb. 25: yoga and hill repeats in St. John
Tue., Feb. 26: snorkeling in BVI / The Indians
Wed., Feb. 27: snorkeling in Trunk Bay, St. John
Thu., Feb. 28: hike to Reef Bay and back - 10 mi
Fri., Mar. 1: snorkeling in Maho Bay

Mon., Mar. 4: yoga!
Tue., Mar. 5: 5.5 mi TM
Wed., Mar. 6: 5.75 mi TM
Fri., Mar. 8: 6 mi TM
Sun., Mar. 10: 13.56 mi QQ

Boxes and Nostepinnes

Still having fun on the lathe - mostly lidded boxes and more nostepinnes lately.

Cherry (on left) and Red Gum

Same cherry box on left with lid; Honduran mahogany on right

Camphor Burl nostepinne - the lathe room smelled great!

Catching up on January exercise...

Wed., Jan. 2: 5.1 dreadmiles
Fri., Jan. 4: 5.1 dreadmiles
Sat, Jan. 5: Garmin says 5.55 mi
Sun, Jan. 6: Rowed 5K; did 5 elliptimiles

Tue., Jan. 8: 5.25 dreadmiles
Wed., Jan. 9: Garmin says 5.5 mi
Fri., Jan. 11: Garmin says 10K (6.2 mi)
Sat., Jan. 12: 11 miles of hills at Queeny Park

Tue., Jan.15: 5.25 dreadmiles
Wed., Jan. 16: 5.5 dreadmiles
Fri., Jan. 18: 4.25 dreadmile walk

End of the Year Round-Up

Sure is easier to run when you can breathe. Wrap-up for December to start the counts for 2013 going...

Dec. 14: Garmin sez 5.5 mi
Dec. 18: 5 mi on the dreadmill
Dec. 19: 5 mi on the dreadmill
Dec. 21: 5 mi on the dreadmill (sense a pattern forming?)
Dec. 22: 5 mi on the Elliptical Machine of Death
Dec. 23: Garmin sez 6.1 mi around Carondolet Park
Dec. 24: 8.5 mi walk with A at Fenton City Park
Dec. 25: rowed 5 mi
Dec. 26: 7 mi on the dreadmill
Dec. 27: Garmin sez 5.25 mi
Dec. 29: Garmin sez 5.25 mi - in the snow!
Dec. 30: 12 mi walk with A in Forest Park
Dec. 31: 5 mi on the Elliptical Machine of Death

If I have my totals right, that gives me a total of 1013.39 miles running and walking; 48.1 miles on the EMD, and 5 miles rowed. I did want to have over 1200 miles for the year, but lost a few months while I was trying to get the loss of endurance thing figured out. (Stupid BP meds. Stupid EIA.)

Anyway... onward. Allons-y!

If you are going to eat, eat well.

RiverPoet's Lobster Chowder

2 large or 3 small stalks celery, sliced thin
3 skinny carrots, sliced thin
2 small potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp basil
--------
2 lobster tails
4 tbsp butter
1-1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
--------
1 c. half-and-half

Bring the veggies, broth, parsley and basil to a boil in a large saucepan. Simmer 30 minutes, or until veggies are almost soft. Remove from heat.

Cut the lobster into small chunks. Melt the butter in a saute pan, and add the lobster, paprika and turmeric. Saute pieces until opaque - this usually only takes a couple of minutes.

Add the lobster and butter to the veggies. SLOWLY stir in the half-and-half. Turn the heat back on LOW, and slowly heat everything to just barely a simmer. Stir frequently and do not boil.

Once heated through, serve immediately. Serves... theoretically two, or one very hungry person. (Makes two good-sized bowls.)

Back on the road

It appears that I've got my health problems sorted for the moment. Who knew that it would take $$$-worth of tests to equate trouble breathing to asthma. Anyway, what is done is done. I'm doing the running/walking catch-up in one post.

Sun., Sept. 23: 6.2 mi
Tues., Sept. 25: 5.15 mi
Fri., Sept. 28: 5.25 mi
Sun., Sept. 30: 6 mi

... and with that lousy 6-mi slog of a walk, I took a break while I met several nice doctors, nurses, technicians, and testing apperati. Fast forward to life on inhalers...

Sun., Nov. 4: 6.25 mi  (benchmark pre-medication... yep, exercise still sucks)

Fri., Nov. 16: 1.2 mi. dog walk
Sat.. Nov. 17: 5.5 mi walk
Wed., Nov. 21: 1.2 mi dog walk
Thu., Nov. 22: 5.5 mi Thanksgiving walk
Sun., Nov. 25: 3.65 at Bee Tree + 1.35 mi dog walk = 5 mi
Wed., Nov. 28: 4.25 mi on the dreadmill. Oh joy.
Fri., Nov. 30: 5.5 mi + 1.25 dog walk = 6.75 mi

And... back to The Program, which includes the 4:45 am alarm settings. Woot.
Sun., Dec. 2: 6.1 mi
Tues., Dec. 4: 4.5 mi dreadmill
Wed., Dec. 5: 4.3 mi walk
Fri., Dec. 7: 6.1 mi
Sat., Dec. 8: 5.5 mi
Sun., Dec. 9: 7 mi walk w/A and Kev

Tues., Dec. 11: 5 mi dreadmill
Wed., Dec. 12: total of 12K between dreadmill run, dog walk, and dreadmill walk.
  ... yes... 12K on 12-12-12, including the 12:12pm dog walk. :-)

Recent Work

I've been busy with master spinner program homework lately, but have been sneaking in some turning time. Recently off the lathe...

Walnut natural-edged bowl

Cherry natural-edged bowl

Ambrosia Maple bowl

Bloodwood (also called Satine) nostepinne... in my Etsy shop

Rock Maple lidded box. That stuff is aptly named.