2018 USATF East Region and NE Masters Indoor Championship

Mixed 5000m start. They had that seeding all mixed up. Haha.

This week was a little better than the last. I was still having communication issues with John's dad, as in constant messages to me, but he did get a little better. I still felt like I was dealing with an overly emotional child at times, but he did follow through to pay for John's school for the rest of the year. Of course, he also whined about it since he said he was worried about having enough money, etc. Well, welcome to my world, buddy. It's called adulting and taking care of a child instead of living like a single guy in a van. It was about time he stepped up to the plate and took some financial responsibility. He followed through on that, and I'm really happy about that. I'm sure it will get thrown in my face...oh wait, it already did. Haha. But that was expected. He's doing the right thing, so I'm going to give him a break. He and John still had issues all week, but it was John's last week before full-time school, so their break from each other was coming.

Running this week was decent. Far better than the week before, thankfully. As planned, I backed off the miles a bit to 51.3 miles for the week. Strava's elevation is inaccurate since I have a manual run in there from Thursday that was over 800ft of gain. Plus the treadmill runs. But 856ft otherwise. Still not a lot of climbing. I'm not doing too much mountain stuff right now, but that will change eventually. I got in a spin class on Friday, which was awesome. I planned to go once a week, but it's not really fitting into my regular schedule so I'm just going when I can. It seems like we've been living in the land of ice of here for awhile now, so I've been craving dry ground and got my wish on Thursday for that when I headed south to where the ground was clear. Haha. The biggest running day of the week was my third trip in a row back to Providence Career Technical for the annual USATF East Region and New England Indoor Championship. I truly suck on the track, especially indoor, but I love doing this event in particular and have made it a regular addition to my yearly schedule. I've gotten slower every year, but I still like getting out there and making a fool of myself as I plod along in circles in the dry indoor air. Haha.

Monday, January 22, 2018- Somewhat busy day with a break until night time when The People of Tamworth wouldn't stop calling 911. I got some sleep, but not a lot. Even got back late the next morning so I was there for a 25 hour shift. Haha. Managed to get in 3 miles on the work treadmill. Always the same 22:09. 7:23 pace. I did get an ab workout in later that evening. Still doing the Sandy Morris Ab Challenge 1-2 times a week. Not posting it on Strava anymore.

Putting the monitor back together after our first 911 call of the day. 

Sitting in the truck on standby while fire crews took care of an issue. Road was unplowed.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018- This was supposed to be a spin class instead of a run, but since our late call landed us up at Memorial Hospital after our shift was over, I didn't have time to get there. I at least got an extra hour of overtime so I wasn't complaining.

The weather was shit and the roads slippery so I opted to just go home and get on the treadmill. I did the usual progression run with elevation, but after mile 3, I cut back my elevation a bit to 2% grade every half mile. I was feeling a bit beat on the uphills and wanted to work more on my speed anyway. It ended up being a really good run. 10 miles in 1:11:36. 7:10 avg pace. I'm trying to snap photo proof of these long runs to go along with my Strava posts. My treadmill may not be fancy, but it at least shows me something, unlike the work treadmill. Haha.

Still haven't cleaned the dust off of it. :)

I'm totally drawing a blank on the rest of the day other than building a fire, having a beer and then snuggling with Phoenix. I normally make John take a walk, but he and his dad already had, and he dropped John off late. It was gross out anyway. Freezing rain. No thanks. I did get in an upper body and abs workout, though. Been doing these 2-3 days a week in addition to the Sandy Morris Abs thing.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018- Got myself up at 4:30am...only to lie back down for another 10 minutes. Got 3 miles in on the treadmill. Ran short and easy-ish, for me. 22:19.

Awesome sunrise when I got to work. I felt like I was seeing the sun for the first time in a long time.

My Wednesday ambulance partner for the last 2.5 years informed me he was leaving for another job. Although I've had my misgivings with him, I've definitely gotten used to working with him so it's going to be tough building a rapport with someone new, but it will be fine. When he told me he was going to Golden Cross Ambulance in Littleton and mentioned the pay, I went right into the crew office and applied, as well. I heard right back that day, but in the end it wouldn't work out due to my inflexible schedule, but that's ok. I expected that. I also applied for a pharmacy tech job that day and ALSO got a call back very quickly. I guess people are desperate. I loved the hours for that one. M-F 7:00am-4:30pm, and the pay was a lot more than I'm making now, but I ended up not doing an interview. I was a little uneasy with the fact that they were hiring for 3 tech positions at once. Made me wonder why. Three openings at the same time just didn't sit well with me. Plus, I realized that I would have absolutely no free day to myself ever. Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm not really in a financial position to be picky like this. I should just suck it up and give up any kind of life of my own to sacrifice, but I don't want to do that. I would if Bryan would do every other weekend with John, but he won't. I can't give up having my one free day a week. I just can't. It's my me time. I need it. I feel selfish about it at times, but then I remember my misery when I worked for the chiropractor and how I had no free days to myself for 7 months. And then I came back to the ambulance and still had no free days to myself except an occasional Thursday for 1.5 years. Just having the one day has made a huge difference in my life. Sometimes I still choose to work that day instead, but it's something I do because I want to. Otherwise, it's been a day when I can just do whatever the hell I want like travel around or just go for long runs or kayak, etc. Maybe I'm stupid for being picky. I just keep holding out for the something that makes every part of me say YES. Right now, my gut just keeps saying no.

Anyway, steady 911 calls all day, but nothing crazy. Got my blog post finished after all of the interruptions. Did my ab workout. Paced the bay. Went to bed. Got sleep. Yay.

Thursday, January 25, 2018- One of the Thursdays I was just talking about! Haha. A me day! I knew it was my only day to get in a long run for the week, and since I had plans for a trail run later that day, I decided to also run from work as soon as I was done. I did two runs that would make 17.1 miles for the day. It was perfect. The first run was 8.4 miles looping around North Conway. The roads were really icy, and the sidewalks treacherous, so it made for a fairly slow run in 1:03:14. 7:31 avg pace. That isn't too bad, but considering it's nearly flat, it's usually much faster.

Rushed home, showered and then hit the road south to where the trails were free from snow and ice. The weather was a little chilly, but it was sunny out. The run was pretty awesome despite getting off trail twice, but it was really cool exploring a new section of trail that was surprisingly hilly, too. I was a little beat after the morning's run but still felt pretty good. Nothing to complain about with this run since it was actually amazingly E-P-I-C. 8.7 miles in 1:24:16. 847ft of elevation gain. Post run meant beers and a little bit of yoga stretching before getting back in the car for the long drive home.

After the trail run. Guess I need to clip my toenails better. And yes, that's a purple toenail. Haha.

Friday, January 26, 2018- I so wanted to sleep in, but I had signed up for this morning's spin class in lieu of the one missed on Tuesday. Class was pretty good, although, after all of my year's of experience I cringe a little bit at the way it's taught. The instructor is super nice, and it's still a good class, but there's no way you're at an 8 (RPE) on a hill climb if your pedals are spinning crazy fast. I get that instructors have to keep their resistance lower in order to teach, but they have to fake it if they do that. Otherwise, it's confusing to the class, especially new people. But don't get me wrong. I got a great workout, and it's a good class in general. And of course, I was the only one POURING in sweat at the end. Haha.

Pre sweat fest.

For some reason, I wanted to run after spin class. Not sure why, but I ran really slowly and short. 4.5 miles through a neighborhood of HUGE houses on Lake Winnipesaukee. Lots of hills and ICE. The road was covered. Good thing I wanted to run slowly. Haha. 38:10. 8:23 avg pace.

View from the run

I only planned to stop in at Seven Suns for coffee...until I remembered they had crepes! I couldn't resist. Got a bacon, egg and cheese one. SO GOOD. Just the thought of it makes me want one right now.

I got my upper body and abs workout in as soon as I got home. After my shower, I got to work on cleaning up one of my kitchen drawers and cabinet. Why? Because I opened my drawer for my bread knife the day before and realized I had a mice infestation. They had somehow dragged piles of bread flour from the cabinet below into the drawer. It's not a drawer I use often, and the flour spilled all over the cabinet below was hidden out of view on a high shelf. Omg. Mouse poop and flour everywhere. I guess my baby mouse had a family! For some reason they have only ransacked this one cabinet. I can't figure out where they're coming in there, but a trip to Walmart for mouse traps was in order. As of this writing, and many thwarted attempts, I have sadly killed 3 mice. There's a 4th that I set a trap for this morning. It's awful. It really is, but I've had to throw away so much food. It's costing me money. And who the hell wants mice in their house? EW! They're so darn cute, though, that it kills me every time I find one in the trap. But it has to be done. I had to throw out a HUGE trash bag filled with almost everything in that cabinet. I'm not sure what brought them in after 4 years of living mice-free, but it could get much worse if I don't stop it now.

Spilled flour and mouse poop

I picked up John at Cranmore that afternoon after skiing with his school. He's LOVING it. Finally kids to ski with instead of his boring mom. Haha. The rest of the night was a lazy one at home.

Out cold after skiing

Sorry, Mike Quintal, if you happen to see this. I'm sure seeing my dog in the high heel chair would make you cringe. Haha.

Saturday, January 27, 2018- This was a morning of sleeping in. Ahhh. I needed that. Got in a boring, very icy road run through Cranmore Shores. 5.7 miles in 44:26.

It actually warmed up nicely, even though it was a bit gloomy, so I dragged John out for a walk up Cathedral Ledge. He complained at first and then asked to turn around just shy of the top (typical John haha), but he actually had a really fun time. He was enjoying walking alone behind me up the Auto Rd and then had a really fun time on the way back down via the Climber's Trail. 3 miles total for the walk. I'm not sure it was a great idea the day before the Indoor meet, since I was pretty beat and starving after it, but it was worth it.

There's something behind the tree.

Dab!

Kind of a repeat photo from last year when it looks like I'm just standing the whole time while John is walking.

She didn't like standing there. Haha

John had asked to go to Frontside Grind so we stopped in to hang out with all of the tourists. Haha. I haven't been there in a long time, and it appears John has graduated from hot chocolate to lattes. Hmmm. He's just getting more and more expensive. Hahaha. I just got a large coffee, but he had a maple latte. We both got toast with butter. So good, but left me starving for more.

Sunday, January 28, 2018- USATF East Region and NE Indoor Masters Championship

I was up super early for the long drove to Rhode Island. As it has been the last two years, it was supposed to be pretty warm. I was worried the sun would come out, too, so I decided to leave Chill at home. I felt bad about that, but he got a little warm in the car last year, and I didn't want that to happen again. We brought Phoenix along, and she and John both slept the whole way down.

We got there early since I stupidly decided to enter the first event of the day again...the 5000m. There had only been one other woman registered so I opted to jump in it for the training. I emailed Steve Vaitones mid-week asking him to add me to the list and that I would pay the extra $10 when I got there. It was set. I was in. Ugh. So dumb. Never again...so I say. Next time will be the 800 instead of the 5000. Haha...or maybe the 1000.

Dave Principe was also running the 5000m and had set up his stuff near the corner, so John and I joined him with our sprawling mounds of stuff. Haha. I got in a mile warm up inside since I really didn't have a lot of time before the start. Ginger Reiner had decided to show up for the 5000m, too, so I talked to her for a bit. Today would not be like last year when Ginger and I finished only a second apart. Ginger has gotten much faster, while I've gotten much slower. She would end up lapping me this year. Haha. I had chosen to wear my Nike shoes for the 5000 and 3000 since the spikes really caused my plantar fasciitis to flare up. I almost brought the Hoka One One Hupana instead, but after weighing both shoes on my postage scale, I found the Nike's were exactly 1 ounce lighter than the Hupana's. Easy decision there, and I actually really like these cheap-ass Nike's I bought off the clearance rack two years ago for indoor. Haha.

It was time to line up. Due to the low number of entrants, it was a mixed field of men and women. Since Ginger and Bronson had registered day-of, they were seeded behind me. Haha. As soon as the gun was fired, I let them and Adam Malek move ahead of me. As always, I had no idea what I was doing. I seriously have no idea how to pace myself on the track. All I could do was just focus on the people in front of me and try to catch them. I was successful in that, but I was not running well. And I was dead by lap 15. I couldn't believe I had 10 laps left. I was SO done. I wanted to quit. I didn't keep track of my splits, but I know that my last 10 laps were horrid. Ginger lapped me right at lap 23. Dave and Bronson lapped me twice, and I think Adam lapped me 3 times. It was awful. I finished 29 seconds slower than last year in 19:17. Super disappointing. I knew there would be more disappointment to come after this, but I had to remember I was only there for the speedwork, but how can you not think of how much worse you've gotten every year. It's depressing. Plus, I felt like a giant beast stomping around the track. I had worn my sports bra because it was so hot, but I felt like I had fat dripping all over the place and opted for my singlet the rest of the day. Looking at the photos, I can see that I didn't look that bad, but I certainly felt it. Gross.

Ginger about to lap me

Bronson and Dave (out of view) about to lap me the first or second time. Haha.

We had quite a bit of time in between the 5000 and 3000, so I forced John outside to run a mile with Phoenix and me. He hated it, of course, but he so needed to get some exercise this year. Phoenix was very odd. She barked at NO ONE today. Not a peep. So not like her. Haha. I totally forgot my phone to get a pic of John running.

I was super stiff by the time the 3000m rolled around so I ran two quick strides before lining up. Sadly, the woman who had registered with the 10:30 seed time didn't show! I was really bummed since I knew this meant I would be running in front all alone again. UGH. I was really hoping to have someone in front of me to pull me to a better time, but it wasn't to be. At the starting gun, I shot out front only to find myself alone quickly. Jody Dushay and a Dirigo woman hung on briefly the first two laps, but then they were all gone. Me, out front, all alone AGAIN, with no idea what I was doing. So I just ran. I felt better than in the 5000, but I could feel that it was slow. Finished in 11:16. OUCH. 10 seconds slower than the BU Mini Meet in December. My slowest 3000m ever. Talk about feeling defeated. Two horrible performances. What would the mile bring?

All alone in the 3000m

I enjoyed watching the men's 3000m and got some fun slo-mo videos. I took a ton of photos, but almost all were blurry due to the low light even with the burst shot. I got 3 good ones, kind of. Haha.

I pretty much just sat around after that waiting for the mile. My legs were pretty tired, but what's 8 more laps? Haha. Sounds so easy after 25. We only had 7 on the line for the mile. I was seeded 2nd, but I'm not sure why since the woman seeded first was much slower, but whatever. I didn't care. There was a younger woman in the field whom I didn't know and who would sure enough breathe down my neck the entire 8 laps. Right off the line, it was the two of us. Her right on my heels the ENTIRE WAY. My legs were SO fatigued, and I actually stumbled slightly at one point. I didn't know if I could hold her off, but I tried to pick it up in the last 3 laps. I was told I got slightly ahead of her for a bit, but the last lap, I heard her right behind me. All I could think of was getting out-kicked at the end AGAIN. I couldn't let it happen. I gave everything I had in that last lap and then the last 100m to hold her off, and I fucking did it! 5:47. Won by less than a second. I'd take it since that was on tired legs. 8 seconds slower than last year and 3 seconds slower than BU, but whatever. I did NOT get out-kicked. Haha! Tired legs and 9 years older. I was happy to finish it off with that. Let me forget about my disastrous 5000m and 3000m. Full Results

I was SO happy to be done and hung out to watch the men's mile heats. Then I changed into my clothes for Ogie's Trailer Park after. It's become a tradition to head over there after this meet with the group of Tuesday Night Turtles. Although nothing will ever compare to my first time at Ogie's after this meet 2 years ago, it was still a good time. John got annoyed with me since we stayed longer than he was happy with, but we were still home in time for him to play his video games and do Roblox on the computer. Haha.

When we got home, I added my 3 USATF medals to my bowl of medals. John told me to take a photo of it, so I did. Haha. This bowl is hidden in my room out of view of guests since I don't like to display this stuff. It's way too full now, though, so it's time to do something about this mess. Haha.

Funny the other random stuff in this pic that I just now noticed. A Valentine's gift box from someone that I saved. My 911 pager for work. My toothpaste for my ultrasound toothbrush that I rarely use. And the coconut loop for my new sarongs. Haha.

I was pretty happy with this week in general. The stress had eased up, and my running was much better. I wasn't happy with my performance at the track meet, but I let it go quickly. I just have to keep working at it.

Next up: Bamboozled IPA 5K in Weymouth happened on 2/4 and the Old Mountain 5K on 2/10. I'm pretty sure I'm going to hit New England's at Harvard on 2/18 to run the 3000m one last time this season. See if I can break 11 minutes. I ran a 10:42 there 2 years ago. I know that's not happening, but I would certainly settle for a sub 11.