Nov 2nd and I get to run in a tank top and bike in shortsleeves and shorts. Sweet! This is my kind of November... though I suspect it might be a different story in a week's time.
It was a pretty busy weekend. I knew I'd likely be at work late Friday so as I was leaving the house in the morning I turned off the porch light so the kids wouldn't bother to ring the doorbell that night! I felt slightly guilty about not leaving a stash of candy on my doorstep but I'm sure there was more than enough sugar going around. It did end up being a late night at work getting home after 11pm. Because I knew I had to work a few hours again Saturday and wanted to make sure I got out to Hastings for the UMTR Awards Fest I decided to bike at 7:30am. Not my smartest idea. If Igor had not shown up to join me I would probably have only lasted 20 minutes but we suffered through the cold and wind for another while ending up with a bit under 30 miles. Pretty miserable all around. Off to work then and after battling network issues for a few hours I decided to pack it in and get out for a run. Now that was a smart idea (except of course my feet - left heel, right top of foot - are still bothering me a little). But it was a fabulous run in perfect conditions, down around Nokomis and back. Took me 2 hours so I'm guessing it's around 15 miles as I felt like I went out at just over 8's and back just under. Got home, quick shower and was getting ready to head out to Hastings when I got sidetracked by a few work issues. Bummer... I ended up not getting out there until after 6pm so I missed the slideshow. But the link will go up on the website soon so it'll be cool to check it out.
What a fun evening! It was great catching up with everyone... and putting faces to names (and blogs!). And yes, it was very nice to come home with 2 very cool awards!! A beautiful framed photograph of the St. Croix at Afton taken by Wynn (one very talented artist as well as being an awesome runner!) for age group at ATR and then a lovely wooden carving by Larry (another talented artist who himself received an awesome award made by Wynn) for the Fab 50's series. There was also the unoffical award for female with most falls/blood!! Other neat (and well deserved) awards, also made by Wynn, went to Bonnie and Donny for Trailperson(s) of the year. These guys put so much into all of the races we are blessed to have the opportunity to run. And Pierre - a.k.a. Strongest Man in The World - picked up the award for finishing every single race in the series. Another award would surely have gone to Tom if he'd lived up to his reputation and given us 50 push-ups :)
It was a pleasure to meet Kim and Andy (love the t-shirt!) Holak - superstar trailrunners from Duluth. Kim kicked ass at Hardrock this year and I was thinking about it today and would like to suggest another award for next year - Best Performance of the Year for a UMTR runner.
I was glad to have the extra hours sleep last night and it was so nice to wake up before 7am and see that it was bright outside! It won't last long so enjoy it while we can. I'd planned a long run on the Luce Line this morning but after running some yesterday and then chatting with John, Kevin and Alisha last night I knew I'd end up heading out to Afton - even though I had to be in Maple Grove for 11am! Started running a little before 8am. I knew the others were planning to get there for 9am so I decided I'd run some hills for an hour. Did the same workout Kami and I had done out here last October when I was training for Masochist (must check out the results from this year's race which was held yesterday) - up and down the 3 parallel hills starting out with the first climb on the raceourse, then the gravel hill - and then reverse it. One of my goals for Afton next year is to run ALL the hills on BOTH loops. We'll see...
Got back, refilled water bottle, and headed out with John and Kevin. Ran a little ways with them and then headed up around the Africa loop as the guys were going to work on some of the trails for the upcoming fat ass run. Finished up just after 10am for about 12.5 miles. Yeah I know "about 12.5 miles" sounds kind of precise. I like round numbers and that ends up at 55 miles for the week so 12.5 it is! A non-shower shower in the visitor's center, a few speed-limit incursions... and got to Tanya's in MG around 11:15. She had all the girls over for brunch to celebrate Carrie's recent adventure in Kona. Fun times. It was brilliant to see everyone and catch up. Lots going on between races, jobs, moving house, trips to Greece... busy women!!
After a yummy feast of pancakes and eggs, Tanya and I headed out on the bikes for a few hours. What a contrast to yesterday morning! Fab weather - sunshine and not much wind. Just as well with sort of tired legs. Surprise, surprise. Was happy to do a solid 44M. Probably the last longish ride. I am sure any IM training program would call for 5hrs this weekend and not mean it to be split between Saturday & Sunday. But not to worry. I was saying to Tanya that I am glad this weekend is over now and I no longer have to feel guilty about not biking enough. It's officially Taper Time! Finished off the day with a 3000 yard swim. An almost reverse half IM.
Congrats to Joe Z and Justin on their wins at Surf the Murph yesterday (25K/50K). And to Eric on his first 50K. Sounds like a great event. Looking forward to checking out the trail myself sometime soon.
End of post.
