An evil piece of equipment

Torture device.

Finally! After several days of excruciating pain following any tickle in my nose I can finally sneeze without simultaneously grabbing my stomach and cringing. Of course my cold is gone, so what's the point, right?

About a month ago I was having some issues with my ankle so I bought one of those inflatable balance boards. After about two weeks of nightly calf raises it went the way of so many other pieces of home equipment -- kicked into the corner to collect dust.

Then I tried yoga, and practically fell flat on my face. I guess I can mind-numblingly pound my feet on the pavement for 10-miles plus, but I can't hold a tree pose to save my life. I had tried some stuff on the BOSU at Aspen. Same deal.

Me = Uncoordinated loser.

So not ready for Salt Fork... but haven't I said that before?

10 mile trail race, what on earth was I thinking! The Salt Fork run is next Saturday. 

Then again, I made this post about a week before the Nu Race Trail Run, and this post shortly before the Indian Run. 

Before the Nu Race run, I simply wrote: "Yalp"

Before the Indian run I wrote: "I think I'm in over my head."

After the Nu Race run I wrote: "My first 1st place finish!"

After the Indian Run I wrote: "I can't believe I did it in under an hour"

And believe me, I was saying similar stuff before my first 5k. So yea, I'll be fine! 

Race Report: Cleveland Turkey Trot

Sometimes, it's more fun to hang back and talk to the giant turkey running beside you.

In this case, I mean that literally.

I ran the Cleveland Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning and had a blast. This was my sixth race since I resumed this insanity in May. In the other five I was all about the time, how fast can I go? Can I PR? How many women are in front of me? (In only one case was there the correct amount: 0).


A number of factors aligned to show that I would not be racing this one:
A) I was fighting off a nasty cold
B) My big race is a week from Saturday
C) I wanted to stick with my little sister, this was her first race since having a baby (note to self: Stop calling her "little". She's a mom now.)
D) There were 2,000 people there so there was no way I was going to win

The race started at 9:30. After a relatively hectic morning, which included hitting up everyone in my house because neither of us had any cash to park, we pulled up at about 9:20. Parking was a pain, there was a long line to get into the lot so we parked a good half mile away (we didn't need that cash after all). We met up with my college buddy, Evelyn, as the bullhorn was going off. Yay for chip timing, we stood back to avoid getting trampled then jumped in with the fray.

More cheap gear

There is more to my life than shopping, I swear it. Just not this week. So when I went into Target tonight I had just paper towels, dish soap and makeup on the list. Whoops.

$15, 100% polyester, wicking fabric. Their clearance rack was loaded too, got another cute sweater.

The Turkey Trot is tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving!

Wet turkeys

With the exception of my first 5k which took place in 90 degree heat, I've lucked out with the weather for all of my runs. Even the Mohican one, where I secretly hoped it would rain so I could relive my high school cross country days of running through the mud.

This good luck, it appears, is about to run out. Forecast for the Cleveland Turkey Trot Thursday, according to Accuweather:

5 miles of rain and cold, it must be wintertime in Ohio, yipee I can wear my new jacket!

What I love about Maine: Cheap LL Bean loot

It's not the overload of seaside shanties selling lobster and crabs, even in November.

It's not the people, who are always beyond friendly and willing to help you at every turn. (I was at the Gap and my LL Bean bag broke, five people rushed to help.)

It's not the ocean.

It's not the tough nature of people here, who will look at 3 feet of snow and walk outside like it's 60 degrees out and sunny. (Seriously, Ohioans, it's only cold white fluffy stuff, toughen up already).

It's not the scenic, long, 2 lane curvy roads. (Unless you get stuck behind someone from Jersey).

It's not the Kennebec River Rail Trail. The hills will kick your butt and leave you grinning at the end.

It's not Sen. Olympia Snowe, who remembered my name after meeting me only once. "Jessica, that girl in Norway who asked all those really good questions."

It's not the high cost of heating oil (In this case I'm not kidding, it's absolutely not.)

Well yea, it's all of those things except the latter. But above everything else, above the exaggerated "As" and the absence of "R"s, unless of course they're called for, "I have an idea'r", it's the LL Bean outlet store.

How I miss thee.

I went down to Freeport today for some good old bargain hunting. And I made out like a bandit.

What does all this have to do with running, you ask?

Let's start with non-cotton fleece pullover, $20, bright yellow for running at night:

Further proof that I am completely out of my mind

Who agrees to travel across the country a year in advance to then climb into a van with complete strangers and run 6 miles three times, most likely in the middle of the night, down a mountain and to the beach. Who, I ask you, who?

**Sheepishly raises hand**

Hood to Coast teams are selected by lottery. Here's my logic. I never win anything, ever ever ever. So, if I see something I really want to do I better start entering now to further improve my odds of getting in down the road.

But when I woke up this morning, this was in my inbox...

Gulp... 

*Giggles with excitement*

Teaser "I did it" post

One week ago represented a quiet but significant milestone. I stepped on the scale and it read 129. On February 1 of this year I weighed 179. 50 pounds, gone gone gone gone gone and never coming back. I started to write a blog post about it. I've refined it, and refined it, and refined it. I'm really struggling with how much personal information I want to throw out to the world. I'm getting closer, still not right though, and the delay is kind of killing me. But I've had a burning desire to do an "I did it" post. So here is a teaser, the rest will come when I'm ready!

I normally don't buy stuff for the label, but on Thursday I found this at Kroger and it was just too perfect to celebrate with:

I'm in Maine this week. Had a fantastic, fantastic day today. I finally got a sports therapy massage, which felt amazing. Except that I got read the riot act on flexibility training and stretching. My IT band, calfs and shins are super tight. I've got to work on that. I got a balance board for home, which I've been doing calf raises on to strengthen my ankles for trail runs. The Y offers a BOSU class. I'm intrigued.

I ran 8 miles on the Kennebec River Rail Trail today. Felt like I could have gone further, but it was getting dark (and it wasn't even 5 p.m.) It was a fantastic run. I started out in Farmingdale. The trail goes along the Kennebec River and snakes through the town of Hallowell. The best part is that there is a gap in the trail, so you have to run down Water Street -- Hallowell's Main Street. It is such a beautiful, quaint town. It is always busy, but it is also very progressive. The road has designated bike lanes, and I wasn't the only runner going through town, so I didn't feel self conscience in the least, like I do when I run through Newark.

To the left is a photo of my favorite bar on the planet, The Liberal Cup. I have lots of fond memories of that place when I was covering Maine's political scene. More later!