2019 Whitaker Woods Snowshoe Scramble

Start of the Whitaker Woods Snowshoe Scramble. Me in the Six03 shirt, even though I ran as Central Mass Striders today.

I know! I know! I said I wasn't going to snowshoe run or race this year...but I'm a woman, and it's my prerogative to change my mind at any time! It was a very last minute decision, and I did not go crazy. I promise. Will I get back on snowshoes again this winter? Nope. Am I glad I did it? Kind of. It was good to feel that burn again, but it was also demoralizing at the same time. So it's 50/50. Left me pessimistic and disappointed at where I am, but at the same time, I really needed to feel that race thing.

I was only planning to help Kevin Tilton with registration like last year, but the night before, I saw Jess Tilton's post of the baked goods awards. It made me want to win some. Haha. I needed to get a run in anyway so maybe I could just do the race for fun. Still on the fence, though, I decided to make the decision right before the race. I brought my stuff with me but didn't make the final decision until registration was over, and I had 20 minutes to the start. I was very apprehensive and nervous and scared about getting back on snowshoes, but I went into it with the right mindset. Just go out, get a good lung burning run in, back off if I needed to and just don't hurt myself. The race part really didn't matter. I did miss this race after not running last year; I had done it 6 times prior to this year. It's a local race. I just wanted to do it. So I did. And I followed through on my plan. I did not want to race anybody so it was good that the girl who won passed me early on and got out of sight. I didn't want to have any rabbit pulling me along. I followed through on my plan to take it "easy" through any ungroomed sections, and I did that. There were quite a few, and that's what hurts my high hamstring tendons, so I really did slow way down for those sections. Honestly though, I am so out of shape that it didn't take much to slow down. And "taking it easy" still didn't feel easy. Haha. Although I really felt it, I never quite got in the red for effort. Also smart. There was no reason to push that little bit extra. It wasn't worth the risk. My heart rate averaged 166bpm which is on the high side, but in snowshoe racing, if you're going all out, you will venture into your anaerobic zone at some point along the way. It hurt, and I could feel the work, but I could also feel that I wasn't pushing at my max. That being said, I couldn't have gone any faster than I did on the climbs. I just had nothing. That disappointed me the most and made me realize how badly I'm out of shape. But in fairness to myself, a lot of that is still being hindered by the tendons.

I'm not really giving a real race report because there isn't much to tell. I went out a little quick for the first flat part in anticipation of having nothing on the first hill. When I realized just HOW little I had, I kind of gave up. The long climb was nothing but a shuffle. I ran near Ed Sheldon for a bit but was mostly alone until the end when an older guy passed me after I had to slow through so much ungroomed stuff. I could still utter a few sentences throughout the race so I knew I wasn't going as hard as I was capable of. I shuffled around the field at the end and then the finish line. I've never finished a snowshoe race so lackadaisical. 3.8 miles total in 37:01. My second slowest (going off pace) Whitaker Woods Snowshoe Race ever. Finished 2nd female. Full Results.

Jess is a great baker. 

Finishing with something left in the tank has become commonplace for me since last year. This race was planned, but it got me thinking. I've become so used to not being able to run as fast as my fitness level that I've only had a few rare races where I've been able to give a max effort. I really thought about this after Whitaker because I'm starting to wonder if this has become more mental now rather than physical. I just don't feel like I'm racing hard anymore, and I've been blaming my physical inability for it, but now I'm wondering if that's really all it is. I know I purposely planned not to go all out at Whitaker, but afterward I realized I've been feeling this exact same way crossing finish lines for almost a year now. I wish I could tell the difference. I'm almost questioning whether I'm still into racing. It would make sense that I'm not. It was so mentally defeating for most of 2018, and now I'll admit that I'm having this newfound fear of racing. Dreading it. Not that normal pre-race nervousness. This is something different. I think I'm fearing the disappointment of my body failing me and the outcome that I won't be happy with.

So why am I still doing it and adding races to my calendar? Because I still need to be a part of something. It's just going to be a battle to accept that I'll never be a good runner again. That I'm done with that part. Unless I can actually figure out what is going on with this injury, it's not going away. I have to get to the point of being genuinely ok with it, and I need to make the move back to running/racing more trails and mountains where my strengths are and where I'm in less pain. I love road running, but it's where I'm the least capable right now so I should probably do less of it this year except maybe fun 5Ks-5-mile races. This is all what I should be doing. Will I follow my own advice? Probably not. Haha. I don't know. I'm just feeling conflicted right now. Last week, I even contemplated giving up running for a year after Boston. Just stop running for a year and see what happens. But I can't and won't. So that's just dumb.

So after all of this rambling, I think that if I'm going to commit to running and racing this year then I need to work on the mental aspect that's holding me back right now. I'm obviously limited with the physical issues, but the mental one I can still crack. I need to work on not giving up mid-race anymore. I've blamed my tendons, my pain, this, that, blah, blah. And while I can blame them to some degree, the giving up is all mental, and I have control over that. I need to finish every race in the red (unless it's pre-planned not to). Every single one. I need to stop leaving shit out there. I genuinely think THAT is where my disappointment is coming from.

All that said, in general, I'm still keeping a positive outlook for this year. I really am. I want to have a good year for 2019. I think it's going to happen. My 2019 definition of good may not match 2015-16s definition of good, but I need to make sure that I'm happy with every effort I put in. I also need to let all of the usual stresses go. Don't let Bryan get to me. Don't give people my time who don't deserve it. Give my time to me. Enjoy my solo hikes with the dogs and the walks with John. I think reversing that negative mindset that I've held onto for the last year will carry over to my running. I realized that I don't laugh much anymore. I need to change that. It's tough living in this time when there's so much hatred and negativity surrounding this whole country. It's overload on the brain. It's making it hard to be positive. But I think if I can work on laughing again, I will see a difference in everything. Maybe I'll choose to make eye contact with people again. Maybe I will make people laugh again. Ugh, this is getting stupidly overly dramatic. Hahaha. And I was going to go on a rant about overly dramatic people's blogs and Instagram posts. Dammit. I'd be a hypocrit after all of this bullshit I just wrote, wouldn't I? Haha. While I'm on this positivity kick, though, I might as well share what I got in the mail from Beachbody. I thought I was getting an Insanity Max 30 shirt, but I got this instead. It is SO not me, but I've decided I'm still going to wear it. It will be a good costume since it's the opposite of Leslie. But, wait! Maybe I can use this to inspire people! Get 100s of sponsors! Use my problems to draw in readers who want to hear how I've overcome my demons. Beat my issues like a dead horse... oh wait I already do that. Haha.

Someone get me Inspirobot, stat!

Phew! Thank you Inspirobot! I needed that. I was almost venturing into the land of the inspirational blogger that everyone loves. Fuck that. I do wonder, though. Why do those people have so many followers? I don't want that or else I wouldn't be so candid. Don't these followers realize they're only getting part of the picture? While my focus is to be more positive I'm not going to hide out in the land of the fake when I do fail at that. I'm going to write about it. I'm going to be contradictory of myself at times. I'm going to change my mind. My goal is not to make money off this blog because when you do that you hide a lot of the truth. Sponsors don't want the negative stuff; they want the overly positive and dramatic. While I have applied for a recent chance to be an ambassador for a shoe company, after seeing who they've chosen and what they put out there, I highly doubt they will chose me. They want the leaping in the air photo with the inspirational quote attached. I'm not going to do that. I'm not here to inspire. I'm here to write about me. Funny that Inspirobot gave me that quote on the 3rd try. Artificial Intelligence at its best!

Speaking of me, let's get back on track and talk about my running. Haha. I hit my goal of 40-45 miles. 3 treadmill runs, 1 road run, 2 snowmobile trail runs and the snowshoe race. So I ran every day, also. Longest run is still at 10 miles, which I did on the treadmill as part of a workout. While I don't love running on the treadmill this much, it's still causing me no pain in the tendons and it's way more beneficial than running on the roads in bad conditions. I hit 44.6 miles this week. 3,399ft of elevation gain. I definitely need to be doing more runs with elevation gain than I did last winter. I wasn't in great mountain running shape until much later than usual. The injury and marathon(fail) training definitely put a damper on that so my goal is to get more of that in when I can. Conditions can make that difficult. The ski racing is definitely helping with that even though it's only one day a week.

Speaking of that, I went back to Racing to the Moon Uphill Ski Race for week #2. He made the course the opposite of last week's which meant a steeper course. Same distance for the uphill at around .8 miles, but I actually did the uphill a minute faster on each lap this time around. But, omg. I HAD to be at my VO2 max this week. Wow!! I haven't felt a burn like that since I actually raced hard in snowshoe races...long, long ago. Haha. The temps were around 10 degrees, but I was soaked in sweat from the effort.

Andrew had set up my skis right on the start line in front of everyone else so I was worried I was going to get in their way, but it turned out, I wasn't. I'd say 6 guys shot off ahead of me, but then I pulled ahead of the rest of the group so I was kind of by myself for the first half of the climb. Surprisingly, I was able to gain on two of the guys and pass them easily. Stayed ahead of them until the top when their transitions beat mine by about 2 minutes. I forgot to hit my lap button until I had been up there for about 15-20 seconds, but I got to the top right around 18 minutes. I improved my transition time by about 2 minutes this week so I wasn't last on the first lap! In fact, no one other than those two guys passed me, and I beat everyone who just did one lap. The downhill was much less steep so I was able to fly down it. My sweaty head froze instantly. Haha

Back down at the bottom, I would once again be the last to continue for the second lap so I did end up finishing last. The guys I passed on the first lap were long gone ahead of me by this point. Only Rick was in view but very distant. Forgot to hit my lap button again! But was at the top around 19:15. I have to say that my legs were in burnout by end of that climb. Pouring in sweat again. I love this workout! My transition was about 30 seconds faster than the 1st so I'm definitely improving. Once it all becomes automatic and I don't have to think about it, it will get even faster. Although I was last through to the finish, I was still the first woman on both laps making me queen of the mountain. Yay! Haha. Total time was about 9 minutes faster than the week before! I'll take that, especially on a steeper course. 55:15. 3.5 miles total. 1,629ft of elevation gain. Totally forgot my heart rate monitor which I was bummed about. I would love to have seen my heart rate when I was moving at my max. Interesting looking at the results that were literally just posted. The two guys I passed and beat to the top on the first lap both beat me in total time by about 8 minutes and 5 minutes. Gives you an idea on how slow my transitions and downhill are in comparison. As Andrew said, though, that means I have a lot of room for improvement while others have very little. I really don't care that I'm coming in last at all, though. It's nice just doing something challenging without caring about winning. 2 Lap Results.

Once I finished, I helped Andrew put away a few things. I didn't realize he had quit and headed up to the bar to do the awards so I was standing out there waiting to help take down the tent. My hands were frozen. Then I see Andrew poke his head out of the bar door with a beer in his hand wondering what I'm doing. Haha. Oops. I guess I missed the part where he said that what had been cleaned up was good enough for now.

Went in and grabbed a beer. Not too many people stayed behind tonight, but it was an ok crowd. I won a baguette for being 1st female. And while I was last in the raffle last week, this week I was drawn first! Yay! I took some chocolate croissants and a cinnamon bun home from the Vintage Baking Company. I ended up giving John two of the three things in the bag but saved a chocolate croissant for myself. I ate my baguette while I finished up a beer then headed home. Ate more of the baguette on the drive so it ended up being my dinner. Home much earlier this week. I was SO looking forward to the 3rd race, but the forecast for pouring rain all day Thursday might mean Shawnee Peak closing for the day. Boo.

Saved this off the Ski the Whites Instagram page

Croissant!

Actually a photo from week 1. That's me there on the right. No pack tonight. Not necessary.

Oops. Kind of jumping around all over the place with this blog post. Probably should have completed the running thought, but I'm pretty sure I have ADHD. Haha. I tell John he would be labeled with ADD if he was in the public school but that he doesn't get to have the H in there until he can equal my energy level. Haha.

Ah yes...back to running. The uber exciting breakdown! Haha. (And, yes, I know I don't follow the same format with every blog post. See sentence #3 of this blog post for the reason.)

Monday, 1/14/- Nothing exciting. 4 miles on the treadmill before work. 29:07. 7:17 avg pace so on the quick side.

Tuesday, 1/15- I went right from work to Hurricane Mt Rd for a planned run from gate-to-gate. I was thinking of the detour up to Black Cap as an addition, but John was home sick and Bryan wasn't around. I didn't want to leave him alone for too long. So I just ran from North Conway to Chatham and back for a total of 8 miles. The North Conway side had seen some decent snowmobile traffic, but this side isn't groomed so it's often soft footing unless we've had a good freeze over wet snow. Today, it was pretty soft which made it slow-going up to the top. The grooming starts here and continues on to connect to Corridor 19. The edges were still mostly solid from the grooming except for the 1/2 mile near the top. It was more solid than the North Conway side, but still slightly soft for running back up. Fortunately, though, this is the steeper climb of the two so after turning around at the Chatham gate I had really good footing for most of the climb back up. I really love this run since it's good elevation gain and I don't have to rely on foot traffic to pack it down. 1:35:43. 2,183ft of elevation gain. Pace wasn't my slowest but close to it. It's hard to compare, though, since conditions vary so much each time I do this run.

View near the top of the road looking out to Maine. Pleasant Mountain (Shawnee Peak) is just out of view to the right.

Wednesday, 1/16- I had planned 5 miles, but I snoozed a little to long and had to hurry just to get the run in on the treadmill after my Insanity workout. 3 miles in 20:48. 6:56 avg pace. Off running topic, but in case you're wondering why I made Insanity Max 30 a priority over more miles today, it's because I committed myself to a full 12 weeks of the program. So, yes, I could have run 5 miles, but this is week 11 of Insanity so I'm seeing it out.

Thursday, 1/17- Another frigid morning, and I made the mistake of running on the road from work around North Conway. It just sucked. The first mile had me stuck on the icy shoulder since I literally couldn't cross the road due to traffic. Had to go all the way to the light by Walmart and use the crosswalk. The sidewalks were covered in ice. Not sure why they bother dumping sand on the ice. It doesn't help. It either sinks into the ice when it melts and then freezes inside of it overnight or it just sits on top of the ice making it even more slippery. The only thing that works is salt, and I'm not sure why they don't use it on the sidewalks. You're literally running on about 3-4 inches of ice. It was a bad idea. 4 degrees meant struggling just to stay warm and the aforementioned ice made it suck. 8.4 miles in 1:05:28. 7:44 avg pace. Not bad considering, but that's a really slow time for me on that route. 216ft of elevation gain. Decent since it mostly feels flat.

Friday, 1/18- Corridor 19/Mason Brook Trail run with Phoenix. Conditions were probably about as good as they get on a snowmobile trail. Started late but didn't see an insane amount of traffic. Ran out to the Mason Brook Trail. Up that a half mile before turning around to go back. 7 miles in 1:07:54. 9:42 avg pace. 690ft of elevation gain. Just to get an idea on how the conditions can really vary, my run here the week before was about 1 minute slower per mile, and it didn't include the half mile climb up the Mason Brook Trail. Phoenix was really good today and stayed with me for the most part.

Phoenix on Corridor 19

Saturday, 1/19- Whitaker Woods Snowshoe Scramble. 3.8 miles. Plus a .3 mile warm up which is all I literally had time for. I was the last one to the start line. Haha. Interesting to see that the pace I ran for this race was only 2 SECONDS faster per mile than my run on Corridor 19 the day before. Putting it in that perspective, you can kind of see just how much harder snowshoe running is compared to microspikes on a solid snowmobile trail.

Sunday, 1/20- While the snowstorm was considerably less than what was predicted, we still had over a foot. Probably close to 15 inches by the time it was over. I wouldn't even consider running on the road in that. Super dangerous and not just from falling but also the risk of getting hit by a plow or car. And before you scoff at that, we had two people hit by snowplows (one in Madison and the other in North Conway) already this week.

So this meant a treadmill run. Ugh. I really wanted to get in 10 miles, but the thought of being on there for 10 miles did not excite me. So I decided to do a workout that former coach person had me do a little over a year ago. 3x 2-miles. I wasn't really sure how to set the pace since I didn't know if I could even get through the workout so after a 2 mile warm-up, I started conservatively with the first 2-mile interval. I increased speed slightly in the last half mile but realized that I could definitely go faster with the second one, which I did. And then I did the same for the last one. Followed it with a 1.3 mile cool down. Very happy with how this workout went. I know I could definitely move faster on the first one.

2 mile w/u: 15:16
2-mile interval #1: 13:35. 6:47 pace
3 minute jog
2-mile interval #2: 13:17. 6:38 pace
3 minute jog
2-mile interval #3: 12:58. 6:29 pace
1.3 mile c/d: 9:43

10 miles total in 1:11:08. 7:07 avg pace.

Workouts for the Week- Not going into details here. I did the usual Tuesday-Saturday 30 minute Insanity Max 30 workouts. Saturday's, I did in the afternoon since the race was that morning. Got in 360 Abs (15 min) on Sunday. This completed week 11 of the program. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm going to finish up 12 weeks and then cut these back to maybe 2-3 days a week. I'm thinking of doing a weightlifting program instead, though, but I'm still undecided. It will depend on how much running I'm doing and trying to fit it all in without overdoing it.

I did 3 Booty Core workouts over the week, and this would mark the end of the 30 min workouts I've been doing for 12 weeks now. I'm at the point where I want my glute strength to be so I will drop this down to just maintenance mode which means 10 min glute work 3-4 days a week. Very minimal, but enough to maintain strength and activation.

Walking, Skiing, Hiking- I got out quite a bit this week, so much so that I was too beat by Friday afternoon to do any skiing or hiking.

Monday, 1/14- 30 minute ambulance bay walk. Stairs and circles.

Tuesday, 1/15- After I got home from my run, I checked on John who was sound asleep and home sick. I got my Insanity workout stuff and just let him sleep. I really wanted to go back out, but I waited until he woke up a 1pm. He was feeling much better, but I wasn't going to make him do anything so I headed back out to skate ski.

Since the website clearly stated that all 45K of the trails had been groomed today for both skate and classic, I decided to hit the Intervale trails for a skate ski. I realized immediately that their website was inaccurate. The skate trails were in terrible condition and hadn't been groomed in 4-5 days. Completely worn down and/or all messed up from weekend's crowd. I should have turned around and gone back to Whitaker Woods, but I decided just to go with it. It wasn't easy in some parts, but I hope the challenge in bad conditions will make me better at it in the long run. I did fall twice, both times due to getting my ski pole in front of my ski. I had a lot of near misses, too. Something I really have to work on because both falls bruised up the knees. It was a beautiful day so I'll admit that I still enjoyed myself out there. Had most of it to myself which was extra nice. I just went out and back for 5.2 miles. 1:01:35.

I had Phoenix with me so that I could take her for a walk after my ski so I drove her over to Whitaker Woods and wouldn't you know it. Perfectly groomed skate trails. Looks like I picked the wrong place today and the wrong week to quit sniffing glue, but whatever. (Ok, if you don't get that reference, then you haven't seen the best movie ever made. Haha). Phoenix and I walked a short 1.2 mile loop up to the viewpoint and looped back. Took less than 30 minutes, but the sun was setting and I still needed to go by the store. Had a funny encounter while we were out there just as we entered the woods. I saw a woman stepping out of the woods while holding onto a tree. I didn't think anything of it. I thought she had just cut through from the school and was using the tree for balance in the deep snow. As our paths crossed, she asked, "Did you see me hugging that tree? I saw a logging truck go by earlier carrying these big beautiful trees. It made me so sad that I had to hug a tree." This was me....

I purposely avoided people the rest of the walk. Hahaha.

Capturing a photo here is always difficult because it's usually dark and Mt Washington is light so you can rarely ever get both to come out. Well, I finally did! It's not great, but you can see it! Much better view in person, though.

Sun setting behind the Moats

Thursday, 1/17- Today will explain why I was so tired on Friday. Started off the morning with the 8.4 mile run, followed that with Insanity Max 30 and then took both dogs on a hike up Middle Mt before going to the uphill ski race. Haha.

The hike up and down Middle Mt doesn't take too long since it's just under 4 miles round trip. I knew the trail would be packed, too. Plus, getting a late start would mean fewer people. And I was right. Only ran into two people at the lot and that was it. It's just easier dealing with the dogs if I don't have to worry about people. I did leash Chill for the first half mile just in case, but I could tell by the footprints after that that we wouldn't run into anyone else so I let him free. Really nice hike. I didn't hike fast or anything. We only stayed on the summit for about 5 minutes. 1:47:45 total time. 3.9 miles 1,314ft of elevation gain.

Friday, 1/18- Planned to skate ski after my run and dropping John's skis off at Cranmore, but I was way too tired. I just went home and showered.

Saturday, 1/19- Waited until almost 3pm to get out for a walk at the Albany Town Forest since I promised John he could be home at 2pm for the Fortnite live event. He had missed the last two so I made sure we were going to be there. With only a minute to spare before the event started, John's character was killed and the servers crashed so he couldn't get back in and he missed it. He was SO upset. Honestly, I know it's just a video game, but to him it was important and he'd been excited about it for a week. Just imagine missing something that was really important to you and how disappointed you'd feel. I felt SO bad. He was so, so, so sad. Fortunately, we found the replay after and it turned out to be kind of a bust. Phew. I made him shower to feel better then we went for our walk. He was perfectly happy. Makes me glad I just let him get all of the emotions out because he worked through it and was able to come out on the other side completely fine. Not a bit of sadness after that so we had a really good walk. 2.4 miles in 1:05:33. The flurries for the snow storm started just as we left. As soon as we got home, neither of us left again until Monday morning.

His shoelace from one shoe managed to catch on the eyelet of the other shoe causing him to trip and fall. Haha.

Sunday, 1/20- The only walk I took was the 2.5 hours of snow shoveling I had to do AFTER the plow guy had already plowed the driveway. This was literally the longest I've spent shoveling so far this winter. But guess how much snow had fallen between the plowing and my shoveling...about an inch. So he came by to plow after the heavy snow petered out. We had 12-14 inches. He proceeds to make two passes down the driveway. On the first pass, he plowed in my garage where my car was. And I'm talking plowed it in by about 3 ft from the door and a mound on the right side 3ft high. I come out to give him his $50. He tells me this is a "double storm" and if he has to come back it's going to be another $50. I tell him I'll let him know. I go back in. He does one more pass into the driveway and pushes the parking area twice. Spent less than 5 minutes. I see he is stopped in the driveway so I get a better look out the window to see he and his helper have gotten the plow stuck and are shoveling it out. Not sure how that happened, but not my problem. He leaves. I go out to find the plowed in garage and mounds of snow in the driveway that were never plowed. There was no way he was getting another $50 when he didn't complete the job in the first place and especially since only an inch of wet snow had fallen. I waited a few hours to be sure the storm was mostly over and spent about 20 minutes digging out my garage. Where he never finished scraping the driveway, there was 3-4 inches of now packed down snow from being driven over. Even though he did two passes down the driveway, he did the same pass twice, right down the middle, barely leaving enough room for my Kia Soul to fit through it. Needless to say I wasn't happy. I especially wasn't happy to have been quoted with the exact words as "$50/storm" only to be told it would be double. So I reached out on FB to find out if this was common practice. Turns out it is! WTF. People trying to tell me that $$/push(plow) was the same as $$/storm. Like hell it is. Go back to English class, people. Haha. My driveway is huge. I get it! It should cost more. But he should have used the proper terminology and made that clear in the beginning. Needless to say, I have learned the hard way with how this plowing racket works. Haha. I plan to NOT use him again unless I'm in a total bind. A friend has offered to let me borrow one of his extra snowblowers until I get mine fixed so I think I'll take him up on that. I may hire another plow. Now, I know what specifics I need to get from a prospective plow are and what to expect.

My garage door before he plowed

My garage door after he plowed

10 minutes into the 2.5 hour snowshoveling day

Mounds of snow (3-4inches) left behind after only 1 more inch had fallen

So I was completely beat by the time I finished that. I wasn't hungry but I fed John and then sat down and did something I NEVER do...watched the entire Patriot's game! I know. What have I become? Haha. Fortunately, I didn't care about the outcome because I'm sure so many people were on edge with that one. Even John and I got into it for the last minute of regular play. Haha. The last minute was really the only part worth watching. Haha. I'll probably still watch the Superbowl, too, just to fit in. Hahaha.

Phoenix trying to cover her eyes from football.

Random Stuff

Really weird week at work with a few bad calls. Fortunately, we did our jobs well so nothing bad lingered. But it still didn't hurt that Jeff and I had an emotional support animal and chocolate cake to keep us happy. Haha.

I wanted to take her home with me!

On Tuesday, I realized snow had fallen off the roof and was halfway up the oil outlet!! Yikes! That's never happened. Unfortunately, that pile next to it is ALL ice from falling off the roof so I can't shovel it, but I was at least able to shovel underneath it. Kind of scary since that can cause CO to fill in the house. Good thing we have 6 CO detectors, but still. So glad I have this small climbing shovel. It's awesome for digging small spaces and perfect for digging car tires out of the snow. Found it brand new with tags at the dump. Haha.

Overall a good week. Stayed busy. Temporarily cured the H of my ADHD. Not sure the rest will ever be cured. Haha.

Upcoming...well, running-wise, hoping to get 45-50 miles this next week, but so far (as I'm writing this), weather and conditions have put a damper on that. The USATF East Region and New England Masters Indoor Track meet is this weekend. I'm pretty nervous because I know it will be bad. Stuck to my plan and did NOT register for the 5000m this year. Twice was enough. That was awful. Signed up for the usual 3000m (my nemesis), the mile and my first ever 800m. Should be interesting. I finally have some good competition in the 3000. Well, calling Kara Haas "competition" is like calling Shalane Flanagan my competition in the marathon. Haha. I won't be anywhere near her, but at least I won't be out front alone this year. Might help me have a better race with someone to watch ahead. Then I have her and Amanda Wright in the mile for me to follow. The girl I barely beat in the mile last year is doing the mile and the 800 this year. I don't expect to beat her either, but once again, having people faster than me will help me do better so I'm happy to have them there.

I'm still signed up for the Mid-Winter Classic 10-mile race for the following weekend, but I'm very on the fence on running it or giving my bib away. They're in high demand, and the race allows bib transfers so if I opt out, I know my space won't go to waste. I can run 10 miles, but I just don't know if I want to go out and race 10 miles yet. I'll make that decision next week.

I've been coming up with a better tentative race schedule for the year. Found an ultra in Canada I'm pretty set on; only the 50K option, but I like 50Ks. Also the the New England Runner Pub Series was released, well 5 of the 6 anyway, and it looks like they all fit into my schedule. It would be nice to do the whole thing since they're fun and short. I'd already planned Doyle's and the BHZ 5K so I may make the others happen. They will all be new to me. Going to keep a more even mix between road and trail/mountain with trail stuff. This is all if I can still run throughout the whole year.

One of my running songs....