Friday, December 12, 2014

Friday Mishmash

Naturally, the biggest thing on my mind for the past week has been the race.  I haven't mentioned it, but I do have a finish-time goal in mind.  It's probably unattainable given that I trained safe instead of fast this season.  I just wanted to get to the starting line uninjured, and I did, HURRAY!!!  But I'd like to finish this race in under three hours.  I know that isn't fast for a lot of runners, but the last time I finished a half marathon in under three hours was November of 2010 (2:47).  I came close in March of 2013 (3:04).  I'm going to run my 1:30/1 intervals, but my plan is to skip some of the walking intervals when I'm feeling good - that might be enough to squeak in under three hours. 

No matter what, I just want to have a good run.  I'll probably be by myself for most of the race, which isn't my preference, but hey - you work with what you have, and at the moment, my pace running buddies are injured.  The weather forecast doesn't look spectacular - fairly warm with lots of humidity because thunderstorms are supposed to start in the afternoon.  Oh well...you get what you get when it comes to race day weather, and it's not like we haven't trained in this.  I'm really excited to be at the finish line when our marathoners come in - I figure I won't see most of our half people finish, but it will be really fun to see our marathoners reach their goal.

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I think it's pretty normal with taper week to feel a little discombobulated.  I have had a hard time focusing on anything; god forbid I leave whatever task I'm doing and walk into another room, because then I'll see something else that needs doing and forget all about the first thing.  After several days of having tons of half-completed projects, I finally pulled it together and got some stuff done.  I'm even having a hard time getting this post written!  Life will be back to normal soon...

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I've been plugging away at my knitting projects - here's a small one that I finished:
Earwarmer for me, made from leftover hat yarn.  This colorway is Betty Draper's Blues (Madelinetosh DK) and I love how it looks like a worn pair of blue jeans.  

I also finished my Gap-tastic cowl but haven't gotten a picture yet. 

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A weird thing happened with our cats this week.  Our bedroom is Henry's territory.  Kip never goes into it.  But I guess it got cold enough that Kip went looking for something cozy; I'd turned on the heated mattress pad to get the bed warm, and walked into the room to see this:
Notice that Henry is on the heated bed, but Kip is on a down comforter...and they are near each other!  Very odd for these two; we adopted them at the same time, from the same cage, as kittens, from our animal shelter (they were having a Kittenpalooza 2-for-1 deal), but they've never gotten along.  Maybe now in their advanced years (they're about 9 1/2) they've relaxed a little?

And of course I can't leave Paco out.  He found something in the bushes the other day when we went out to check the mail.  It was pretty funny watching him nose around and then jump back when whatever was in there moved (I'm hoping it was something like a frog...as opposed to a snake, eek):
 "What IS dis??"
 "It MOVED!  Scare me."
"Pretend to not look at it...den it will come out and I will pounce!"
 "Nebber mind.  I see kids playing."

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Have a great weekend! 

13 comments:

  1. Good luck tomorrow, you will be great at your race and I bet you will reach your goal too.

    So funny the cats, guess the fact that it's colder made them milder towards each other. And Paco, oh Paco, what can I say. I love that dog.

    Enjoy your race tomorrow sweety.

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    1. The race is on Sunday - didn't want you to watch FB tomorrow for an update and wonder what was going on. But thanks...I hope I have a great race, too! :)

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  2. SO SO SO CHEERING YOU ON FROM OAKLAND!

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  3. Best of luck on your race Sunday! Trust your training and have fun. I too bet you will
    meet your time goal but don't put pressure on yourself about it:)
    Cool ear warmer want to see a picture of your cowl. Cute animals you got there.
    Have a great weekend!

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  4. Paco is so funny. And he is so articulate too :) That's so weird about the cats not getting along when they've been together since babies.

    Good good luck on your race! So weird to hear the weather will be warm that day. Its DECEMBER!! I'll have to remember to keep an eye on FB to hear how it goes!!

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  5. Fingers and toes crossed for a FANTASTIC race, no matter the time! Listen to hear the cheers from the east coast :)


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  6. I trained like you this year, "safe not fast". Hopefully the rewards will pay off for both of. Just getting to the start line un-injured is key. I'm having some pesky pain behind my knees again and I hope I get it under control before January. Good Luck!

    That heated mattress pad sounds like a great idea! ~M

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  7. Good luck on your race!! You'll do great! :)

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  8. I wondered if you were going to have a time goal - I am just so happy that your training and right up until the race day you are injury free! :D

    I'll be rooting you on from Chicago! Woop!

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  9. Woo hoo! Getting to the start line uninjured is a huge accomplishment. Now, go kick that race's behind.

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  10. All the very best on Sunday .....I'll be thinking of you! The pictures of your cats & talking dog are hilarious. Our cat loved to curl up on our bed [even though he knew he wasn't supposed to ....ha ha]. Have fun on Sunday!!

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  11. Have a GREAT race Shelley!!! I'll be thinking about you! (and your animals are HILARIOUS!!)

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  12. Rooting hard for a fantastic race, great finish time and a body that cooperates for you! :D

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