I have no idea what it means. And really, no desire to learn. But it's my favourite thing about American Football. It sounds... kind of rough and thoughtful all at the same time. I won't claim to know anything about the game and after watching tonight (well, the 4th quarter and now OT), I won't know anything more. But I've come to have a little more respect for the game over the past few years. Well, most of the time I think it's just a lot of overpaid and overweight guys jumping on top of each other (except Peyton Manning - babe!), but I know there is an immense amount of strategy to the game. Or so I'm told. Then again, these are people who don't get why soccer is such a great game.
Ohhhh... it's all over. OK - so I thought 15 minutes of overtime meant 15 minutes of overtime but I guess it's like the golden goal rule. Oh well, that's too bad. Just as I was beginning to get into it.
Back to what I know best...
Had a great run around the lakes this evening. I had meant to leave the house by 3pm but had some work to do that ended up taking longer than planned so it was after 4pm which meant I had exactly an hour if I was to get done in time for a Hot Yoga class which I wanted to take as it's the perfect way to finish off the weekend. That sentence was way too long. So instead of a leisurely 10-12 miles I decided I'd try for a bit of speed and get in 7 miles in the hour to make it a 70 mile week... 8:30 min miles not exactly speedy but after a 20 miler yesterday and a 90 minute spin class this morning I wasn't sure how the legs would feel. Well, about a minute after starting out a guy passes me on a hill and what does Helen do... of course, I try to keep up. With much success. After a while I realize we're running sub-6:30 pace. A few minutes later I pass the guy. So then of course I have to keep up the pace (and cannot possibly look back to see if he's still behind me!) - 5K in 21:30 - over to Lake Calhoun, ease off a bit after crossing at the lights when I realize speedster is not chasing me (obviously, seeing as I'm the only one "racing")... then step on it again and decide I'll see how fast I can make it to the 10K mark. Somewhere along the way I realize the 10K I was meant to do over Christmas at home that had to be postponed due to the weather was actually being run this morning - ah, the sub-conscious mind! 10K in 43:35. Not bad for tired legs. Eased off and finished up the 7 miles in 50 minutes flat. 7:08 pace. That'll do nicely. And plenty of time to make yoga... felt so good to stretch out after that!
A 70 mile week and it's still January. Feeling good about that. My calves were super tight during the long run yesterday which is unusual as I rarely have calf issues. But for the most part the running is going just fine. Aiming to keep it around 60-70 miles the next 2 weeks and then ease off a little before the 50K. Though I won't really taper as it's more of a fun race to kick off the season. Though I am hoping for sub-6hrs and therefore a cash prize!!
Still having blog issues - seems that I can only post on certain blogs and sometimes only when using the iPhone (further proof that my life would be totally miserable without it).
Chris S - I think the biggest hassle for all the runners yesterday was getting out of their driveway! The race conditions were actually perfect - or at least much more favourable than any other year I've ran it. I didn't look up race results yet but I'm assuming some pretty fast times. I love the out and back course and seeing how fast the leaders are going.
Steve - we only ran 3.5 miles before so my excuse is simply that it was intended to be a long easy run... except it didn't feel all that easy!!
Chris - Are you psychic or tracking your blog visitors?! I found your blog the other day and was trying to post regarding running routes in the city... so here's what I was trying to post:
I'm guessing if you know the lakes you've taken the Minnehaha parkway down to Nokomis? That is a nice out and back route and a change from circling the lakes. Or head over to Cedar Lake and up to Theodore Wirth parkway. Probably a bit icy now but in general the paths are pretty good in the winter. Most of the rail trails around the cities are not cleared in winter but if there's a lot of traffic they are quite runnable - maybe check the websites - the new Dakota trail heads west from Wayzata; the new section of Luce Line from Theodore Wirth parkway links up with Medicine Lake and miles and miles west - if the trail is not cleared there is still a nice 8 miles loop around Medicine Lake that is usually ok in winter.
Excited for next weekend - if the weather freezes up nicely... check out Joel's blog! He posted on fb recently about running on the river so I was asking him about where he runs. Others were asking to join sometime also - and then I saw it was going to be a full moon next weekend... perfect! Just need many many inches of thick ice.
Who dat? All day? Is he going to cry? Aw...
