Looking for snow...

Friday morning, I went for a run before work. As I left the garage I immediately knew that I had overdressed since the temperatures were quite mild. I returned to the garage and exchanged my fleece jacket for a vest and started down the driveway. As I walked I heard a Great Horned Owl hooting off in the woods. I returned the call the best that I could and chuckled to myself as I reminisced about reading "Owl Moon" to the girls at bed-time a few years ago. It was one of their favorite books and also one of mine.

I started to run down the street towards the park and had not gotten more than two houses away and suddenly that owl flew across the road in front of me! It was, needless to say, a pretty cool way to start a run! Made it to the bike path and came across several deer just milling about looking for food. They scattered into the woods as I approached and continued their search.

The bike path was starting to clear of the snow but had several icy patches. I decided to just run on the snowy sections since I knew what kind of footing I would have. I did not want to have a chance meeting with some black ice. A good run and I had a smile on my face for most of the day thinking about the owl.

This morning, Denise and I saw two coyotes walking through our back yard! They looked very healthy and warm in their winter coats and quickly made their way down to the creek. I wanted get 8 miles in this morning but cut it short at 5 miles. The bike path had less snow, but much much more ice. Again, I kept running in the snowy sections, but was not enjoying the experience. The snow is melting quickly and I will get back into the woods either tomorrow or monday.

Snow Globe Run

I decided to run early this morning in order to 1)get the run out of the way, and 2)because I have not run early morning in a while. The air was a balmy 20 degrees with a wind-chill in the low teens. The best part however was the light snow that was falling! It was like running inside a snow globe. I had the bike path all to myself and thoroughly enjoyed the 4 miles.

I stayed on the path since the snow was only a couple of inches deep. I then cleared the driveway of the new snow as a cool-down. A great way to start the work-day.

I am feeling better and better each run. It is nice to get some consistency back in my running and the 'official' training starts next week for the "Forget the PR50k" race in April. Actually, this race is just training run for me for the Burning River 100, but I really want to drop time off from last year's event. So, let the training begin!

Snow Run

I needed to get outside for a run and since the snow stopped last night, and there are several people who walk their dogs on the trail to pack the snow down, I thought that I would venture into the woods for a bit.

Well only two people had hit the trail before I had gotten there, making for a slow slog through the snow. It was however a great cardio workout, which was the whole point of the run!

I have two more weeks of "training to train" before the plan kicks in for the Forget the PR 50k race in April. I took the last 6 weeks of 2009 easy, ie not much running at all, and now I need to get myself back into training mode. I am ready to start again.

Cross-Training

One advantage to training for and competing in triathlons, is the built-in cross-training. The mix of swimming, cycling, and running provides that complete body fitness. After my back spasms last year, it became obvious that I had neglected my core. I worked a little on that last year, key word is little, and want to do much better this year.

This past week has provided an excellent opportunity for upper-body and core work via show-shoveling! In fact today alone, I shoveled the driveway three times and it needs it again. (I'll wait until tomorrow morning however) The Lake Erie snow machine was in full force today and we received a nice deep covering of fresh powder.

I decided to run this morning after shovel session #1. A nice 4 mile run through the woods. The snow was deep, but since it was so powdery, it did not seem too bad. The wind was blowing pretty good, making me glad that I wore an extra layer of clothing, and I had the trails all to myself. I ran a simple out-and-back route and my tracks were almost covered with fresh snow near the end. The hot shower felt pretty good after-wards.

We then decided to check out the sledding hill near Shadow Lake. First I had to shovel the drive again! Sledding was a blast! The hill was just long and steep enough to get a good slide and the return back was an even grade, making it not seem as steep. Denise and I went down together on the sled and we hit some fresh powder and ended up completely covered in snow. We have not laughed that hard in a while. We stayed and battled the wind a while and then headed back home.

I moved things around in the garage a bit and was able to move both cars inside! Yeah! I will not have to scrap windows in the morning!

I was itching for some more exercise and cleared the driveway one more time! The shoveling, hill climbing from sledding, and the run this morning, provided a great day.

Back to work tomorrow...

Big fat Goose-egg for 2009

Zero, zilch, nada.... For the first time in several years, I had zero bicycling miles! I had grown tired of the battles with traffic and my tandem partner, Abby, had started running for Cross-country. It is a whole lot easier to lace up the shoes and just run than to get the bike down, gear up, and ride. Besides, you don't have to worry about drivers texting when you are running in the woods... :) I have to admit, I do miss it a little...

2009 was a crazy year, to put it politely... A co-worker summed it up pretty well as "Worst.....Year.....Ever". 2009 was the year of 'change'. My neighbor said "2010 will be the year of POSITIVE change!" Let's go with that...

I sent my application in for the 2010 Burning River 100 race. I need the motivation of a huge event to keep me honest in my training. I will attempt to once again, document the journey here with this blog so if you are really bored, you can follow along.

Denise and I have finally joined the Facebook club. I am not sure why we resisted for so long...

Gina is living the phrase "Eat, sleep, swim"... Swim team is going well for her but is a lot of work with the two-a-day practices during school and the 4-hour practices at 6am during this winter break. Swimming is one of those sports that takes a lot of discipline and dedication in order to execute well. Gina is enjoying the experience but is ready to sleep in once in a while...

Happy New Year everyone and let's make a difference for 2010

Finished!

The basement project is finished!!! (Well, some minor paint touch-up remains)

The sofa arrived yesterday afternoon and we all worked and had it assembled shortly after-wards. We are pretty happy with the way the basement turned out and it kept me busy for most of the year.

I guess the next project is the upstairs bathroom; the only part of the house that we have not touched. A fresh coat of paint and a tile floor will provide a nice makeover. I guess that project will start after the holidays...well after the holidays!

Running has been hit-and-miss with more missed than hit. This break feels pretty good and it gives me time and energy to focus on other things that need attention now. I'll get next year's plan(s) in place in a few weeks.

For now, the rest feels pretty good!

Night run: "whoo...whoo..who is out there"

I met Paul and his dog Corky at Liberty park for an early evening run. He is training for the 2010 Lake Placid Ironman, and I am more than willing to help him get his third IM finish! It was dark when we started and the remnants of a rain squall were fresh in the air and on the ground. A quick lap around the meadow and into the woods we went.

The fallen leaves made trail navigation interesting since the ground all looked the same. Instead, we ran by 'feel'. If we got off-track, the ground was much softer; on track, the ground was packed hard. After a while we realized that Corky knew her way pretty well and stuck to the trail; except when she darted off after a deer.

We were pelted with some sleet for a few minutes and then the clouds blew away and the stars came out. We were making our way back to the car when I noticed something fly through the trees in front of us. It was too big to be a bat and I immediately thought owl! Sure enough, it flew past us and lighted on a tree limb 20ft up and just off of the trail. We stopped to get a better look at this nice-sized barred owl and (s)he just looked at us back.

Good company, great trails, and wildlife sightings!! It doesn't get much better than this!