brrrr—we woke up early sunday to a very chilly race day; in fact the temperature fell several degrees between 5 am and the start time of 8 am. good thing we’d be running.
david surprised me the night before by announcing that he wanted to wake up in time to come along! i was so happy; i know it’s really hard for him to get up and out the door when it’s barely light. it is so very nice to have him come along. he remembered the camera, but forgot to check the battery so he got just a few shots before it quit.
i waited til the very last second to take off my outer layer of fleece, but i was so glad i did—once i got going i warmed right up and stayed that way almost to the end.
the towpath route along the river was lovely and the running was good; i enjoyed it! and that was my main goal for the day, to keep it fun. i spent some time running alongside a few people i really liked and wished again that we had a running club in our city—i’d love to run with other people once a week or so.
my pace was actually very good for the first eleven miles; better than the goal i had set for myself. those last two miles though—hehe, they were harder as i got low on fuel and started to feel the cold. it’s clear that i need to spend more training time on long runs; i confess that i didn’t actually do a whole thirteen miles before sunday—i just ran out of time for that. i also need to sleep more during race week and teach myself to eat while running; this is hard for me. i try, but it’s not comfortable at all and i lose my rhythm.
but i’m still psyched about my results! i ran the event in 2:06:35—not bad at all for my first time. i came in right in the middle of the pack, as usual. i’ll make some improvements and maybe next time, i’ll break two hours. winter races in our area are scarce, but i’ll keep my eyes open to race when i can; who knows, i may even run one or two during my winter travels if i can get that organized.
i already signed up for another half at the end of april—something to keep me (literally, haha) on track during the winter. and while i was at the running shop picking up my race packet, i bought my winter running shoes.
it was such a life saver last year to have the right shoes for cold, wet weather—my feet were toasty and warm even on the coldest days or when running in the snow; they were worth every penny. when in doubt, i remembered back to my first winter when i wore regular runners with double socks and still ran on numb feet—not pleasant.
and while they were too new to wear on sunday, it turns out that was a completely smart purchase because today, we woke up to a world white with snow!
and not just a flurry or a light coating—it is coming down out there. i am going to need those shoes this afternoon, haha. (sadly, those newtons i scored a month ago at an awesome discount will have to go back in the closet and wait til spring to be worn; i didn’t even get to break them in yet).
the trees i showed you just last week are pretty bare now—several days of high winds brought down showers of leaves in our neighborhood. still, some retain heavy foliage; i hope the weight of the snow won’t cause more tree damage. we’ve had quite a lot of that this year . . .
it’s supposed to stop this afternoon but resume during the night. and temps are heading south—the fierce winter they’ve been predicting has begun.
i hope we’ll be in our new kitchen by next week . . . for now, still on the porch-ch-ch-ch.
i’ve been spending a LOT of time knitting this week—all on projects i can’t show you. except for my that little scarf
doesn’t that look cozy? and it’s actually getting long enough now to be really scarfy. much as i enjoy knitting it (and i do—completely entertaining), i cannot WAIT to finish and block it. i’m curious about the final fabric in breakfast blend DK.
even though so much of my knitting right now is secret, i’m still planning and putting together my gift knitting list. i want to make hats and mittens for amad and micah, who are coming to visit for christmas from las vegas (please wish for snow for them!). david could really use a new sweater, but i just don’t know if that’s in the cards for the next couple of months (i’ll probably still try though; you know me). i might be able to get one knit if i use confection and larger needles (say, size 9/5.5mm or so?).
other than that, i’m not sure—maybe something for my sister’s kids, but my nieces and nephews in texas certainly don’t need anything. mostly, i’m thinking more about how i’m going to put our new kitchen to use—once we get in there (we’re getting anxious now; we’re officially sick and tired of the five meals we can make on the porch).
ok well, i guess i don’t have much more to say, since my knitting content is so scarce today (sorry). time to announce the winners of our giveaway copies of celeste young’s book, knits of a feather.
the first copy goes to stashgragon, yay!
and the second copy goes to karen (quiltbaker), YAY!
congratulations to both winners and to celeste as well on the debut of her first book AND her soon to be born baby. so much to celebrate; isn’t it nice?
29 thoughts on “13.1”
congratulations on a great race!!!
Congratulations on your race success! Those photos of the snow look so odd with the splashes of autumn colour. Just not what I am used to with snowy pics! Here’s to you getting your new kitchen up and running very, very soon.
I’m so glad you ran well and are well set up for running in winter weather. I’ve often wondered how people can do it in harsh-winter climates – I salute your perseverance.
What a thrill to win Knits of a Feather! Thanks to Celeste for giving the books and you for hosting the drawing.
Yay, Anne, you did great on your half marathon!!! I’m so pleased for you. And you learned what adjustments you need to make for the next one. Super important.
Love the new purple running shoes for winter. Too cute. And functional.
You seem to be sending snow our way. We’re due for it tonight. I’m not ready.
And how ambitious to be thinking of a David sweater this close to Christmas. My goal is to finish a scarf for my dad. A scarf, Anne, not a sweater. Of course, I’m still knitting on Zinfandel tall shawl. Those almost 600 st rows are long. But I’m on Chart E and getting about 4 rows a day done. Love it. Just wish it was ready to wear.
Good luck with your cold weather training. : )
Congrats on your race! I bet you’re thrilled. Looks like you have as much snow as we do. We almost set a record, we were so late this year. It would be awesome to have snow for Amad and Micah. Keeping my fingers crossed. :o)
Congrats on your first 13.1. May it be the first of many! GU gel as running “food” is a good fuel to try on your long training runs and races. It’s seen me through many miles of training runs and marathons.
Do I see a 26.2 in your future?
Fantastic! Such an awesome achievement!
I love reading about your running. I’m a relatively newish (a year or two) runner and am hoping to run my first half next year – you’re such an inspiration!
Congrats to you on a race well run!
Congrats on the 1/2 Marathon!
I do not run, but I live near a major park and there are runs all the time here. About 5 of them run down my street every year and I am blocked in my house for hours. I like to go out and cheer as people run past.
Love the new shoes!
Yay, you did it! And you did it well! I ran one once when I was 40 with my 13 year old daughter. Actually the whole family ran it but she stayed with me. You got that right? ONCE!
Great job on the race! Now you know what to expect the next time.
Fingers crossed you get into your new kitchen very soon – will you try for Thanksgiving dinner?
It smells like snow here in Maine but no flakes yet.
Congratulations on a race well run! We had a little snow in Manhattan this morning, too, it felt wonderful!
Way to Go Anne! You have accomplished so much this year. And on top of that done very well and met your racing goals. So impressive! It must have been so hard to sleep the night before. Just thrilled for you.
Hope the snow feels grounding and is giving you the time you need at home. Have a great week!
CONGRATULATIONS, Anne….your half-marathon is a great accomplishment! And I say that with all due respect and excitement and NOT because I wouldn’t have been able to do HALF of a half on the best day I ever lived…keep up the great work!!!
I love reading your blog.
That last photo would make a great Christmas card😊
Can’t wait to see that long-awaited new kitchen. You will be so happy!
The snow is beautiful.
Hmmm, I agree with Kathy. The red against the snow is so festive. Your race results are impressive. You’re so svelte, it’s a wonder you didn’t run out of fuel sooner. Can’t wait to see the blocked scarf!
Well done on your race! I did a lot of (sprint) triathlons this summer and found that I liked Clif Shot Blox for race fuel. I’ve tried the Gu gels and I don’t care for the texture. Whatever you do, though, try it out before race day.
Have you heard about the Detroit Free Press marathon that runs through both Detroit and Windsor, Canada? My daughter ran the half and boy it was cold that day! Fun part is you get to run over the Ambassador bridge into Windsor and run to Detroit through the tunnel. She received a beautiful medal and shirt too.
Just want to add my congratulations on a great race!!!
congratulations on your race! I cannot imagine running for two hours.
Congratulations on an awesome finish to your first (of many) half marathon! We are PROUD of you!
(Thanks for the copy of the Knits of a Feather book! I am really looking forward to receiving it. Such beautiful patterns and many look great for your Bare Naked line of yarns!)
Ahhh snow already!!! I’m not ready for that here yet!!!
Frost on the crabapples! Winter is officially on for sure. Writing to say congratulations on your run – very impressive.
Congratulations on your winter race. I live in Alaska and run fall, winter, spring but not summer (fishing). There are some great Swedish designed shoes with studs (!!!!!!…extremely well made that last for years) called ‘Icebugs’ that keep a person upright on even the worst ice. You can find them online. I like to tell people about them because they can give one a great winter running life and I don’t think I’ve ever seen advertising for them. In the many years I’ve worn them I’ve fallen once (because I wasn’t paying attention). Love your blog lots.
congrats on your first half! can I interest you in a beautiful trail half in southern westchester next autumn? (disclaimer: i volunteer for it, and have volunteered to run it in the past, we’ll see what next september brings) proper cold-weather running gear is essential, even if we knit lots of woolen socks, good winter trainers make all the difference. of course that’s a beautiful little scarf.. (as I go off to add it to my endless queue of things to knit.. and wonder why it wasn’t there already.) and enjoy the new kitchen in good health and happiness. i cooked up a storm as soon as we finish renovating ours.
Congrats on your first half marathon! Awesome time as well! (I run my first at 2.10…. so a bit slower than you) are those new shoes with studs on soles? I love my Icebug winter sneakers as they never slip at all, not even on black ice. Great shoes!
What brand and style are your cold weather running shoes? Just walking, but tired of freezing feet!
I’m a knitter and i’m a runner too, sooooo we have a lot in common! Montréal marathon next year? 🙂
Congratulation for the half marathon !!!
Congratulations on your first half! A great time too. I hope I can do that well in my first half, in March… Definitely good motivation for winter running 😉
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