Showing posts with label fun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fun. Show all posts

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Two runs and a Runsketeer party

What the Runsketeers do when they don't run
Saturday's run (street): 5.2 miles
Sunday's run (street): 3.5 miles

This week has been a throwback to April. That's the last time I was able to put four runs together in as many days. I worked from home on Thursday and, since then, I've have been on a 4th of July break. My company also makes Monday a holiday, so I expect to extend my streak to five tomorrow morning.

It's been a fun long weekend and yesterday we hosted running friends TPP and SIOR (and family) for a late day summer fête. Although the "Runsketeers" get together for runs fairly often, we usually don't get an opportunity to converse until after our workouts. Those post-run Starbucks breaks have become our valued tradition. The only downside is that we're usually all pressed for time at that point. That's why it's great to get together on non-running days (more below).

I went out for a run on Saturday morning and the weather could not have been better. It was 64 degrees and sunny without the humidity we'd had a couple of days before. I wanted to cover at least five miles so I took a detour from my usual route and went west along Jericho Turnpike and then South on S. Oyster Bay Road. Due to fast moving traffic, I always stay on the sidewalks when I run on those roads. Jericho's sidewalks are well maintained, but the ones on South Oyster Bay Road are in very poor condition. It's almost like technical trail running, but instead of root hazards, it's broken concrete and mud.

I turned back into my neighborhood around the two mile mark and ran on the street from there. The average length of my local roads is a quarter mile, so it takes a lot of streets to cover five or six. When that's my goal, I usually go somewhere else for my run. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to do a destination run that included driving. Overall it was a nice workout - energizing but not overtaxing.

Our guests all arrived together and we hung out poolside for a few hours before heading inside. The kids, who ranged in age from 2 to 16 (including our two) had lots of fun and did not stop until after 8:00. I am proud to say that I had half a beer (that I split with SIOR's husband) and didn't fall asleep or lose my ability to converse. We had lots of food, great desserts and lively conversation. Even though me, my wife, TPP, SIOR and Mr. SIOR are all runners, we left that fun activity to the kids. It was great having everyone here and we really enjoyed the day.

This morning we had plans to get out early, so I agreed to cap my run at 3.5 miles for the sake of time. Weather conditions were again optimal, and I took it a little easier than Saturday. Despite the pizza, chicken, fruit salad (courtesy of TPP) and chocolate mousse cheesecake (courtesy of the SIOR family) I felt great on my run. Maybe it was the half can of Cold Smoke Missoula Scotch Ale that provided the energy (thanks again Adventure Girl!).

Saturday, May 17, 2014

An interesting day in Brooklyn

 
This morning started early and involved some complex logistics. The Runsketeers and our Runska-buddies managed our way from the top of Prospect Park to the Coney Island boardwalk, along with 27,000 others. We had lots of fun running the NYRR Brooklyn Half. I'll post a full race report tomorrow.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Good friends and good food force a high resistance workout

You're getting sleepy...
Today's workout (elliptical): 40 minutes, high resistance

Yesterday's run was tough, but things got better as the day went on. We spent a good part of the day (and night) with some friends who were hosting a Christmas Day party. Their kids and ours have known each other practically since birth and everyone had a great time. I had what was probably my fifth - and last - beer of 2013. It was an exceptional Sam Adams Maple Pecan Porter that (happily) didn't make me sleepy. When it comes to alcohol, I'm a real lightweight.

An evening of food and fun made me reconsider taking a rest day today. High calorie desserts come at a price and I had to pay the piper. I decided that the elliptical would be a nice alternative to another freezing run outside, or a boring treadmill run inside. Yesterday my legs felt heavy and I thought the elliptical, with its resistance dialed up, could tax my muscles in a different way.

We will have a full house this weekend, with my brother and his family and my mother and her friend staying at Chez Emerging Runner. I'm going to try to get 4-6 miles in tomorrow and that will leave only six more to complete before Tuesday, in order for me to reach my 900 mile target for 2013. I'm excited to have our guests coming and I'm also looking forward to running the LIRRC Hangover Fun run with the other two Musketeers on 1/1.
 

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