Three Years! (WW # 158)

Wendy and I host this linkup for
the sole purpose of supporting active women.
We thank you for linking your 
FITNESS  RELATED  POST  with us!

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First of all...Happy Third Anniversary Weekly Wrap!  I can't believe it's been three years since I opened the first Weekly Wrap.  It's pretty humorous to look back and see what was going on then.  I was mostly complaining about the humidity; nothing new there.  If you've been linking for a while, I challenge you to go back and read your first Weekly Wrap post.

Hundreds of women have been through our virtual doors.  I appreciate Wendy stepping in for Tricia earlier this year to help keep this link alive.  I admit it is a lot of reading some weeks, but I seriously wouldn't trade that for anything!  I love keeping up with everyone.  The accountability and motivation found right here every week are priceless.

To celebrate, we will have a drawing for those who link the last Sunday-Wednesday of this month (August 26th - 29th).  Be sure to get your fitness post ready and link with us in two weeks for a chance to win!

On to my wrap...

So so so so hot.  Over it!

After two weeks of very minimal mileage -- a whopping total of 8.4 miles -- I am ready to get back into the running groove.  This week marked my attempt to ease back in.  I ran twice: progressively on Wednesday for 4.7 miles and easy on Friday for 5.5 miles.  Returning to training comes with the all important pre-habbing sessions.  I did two of those as well. 

I had a bit of an ulterior motive when Wendy and I went kayaking last weekend.  I was also previewing the Coosa River Adventure for my sister's visit.   After having so much fun last weekend, I convinced our sons to join us as well.  I was hoping for a little redemption on the Class III rapids. No.Dumping.HoHo.  

My Three Sons (it's an old TV show, young peeps)...and a sister

The rapids seemed different; the current faster.  We were warned they would open gates on the dam during our paddle which would increase the water flow.  The water level would also rise three feet fairly quickly.  They assured us there would be no tsunami racing toward us from behind. Whew!  I admit to getting a little nervous when I heard the warning horn sound.  Rest assured, we all had a blast.  The kids loved the rapids.  I was spun around a few times and caught on some rocks, but only one of us was dumped in the water and this time it was not me.   

We followed our morning up with an afternoon on the lake.  The grandkids were with us and we enjoyed boat riding, tubing, swimming and (naturally) I skied off and on until sunset.  It was one of those perfect days you don't want to end.  After 7 miles of paddling and probably 40 miles of skiing, Sunday was less adventurous.  I chilled with my sister most of the day as we caught up on life.  We only get that chance a few times a year.  But in true last minute form, we went back to the lake for some skiing at dusk to cap off a wonderful water weekend.

And that's a wrap!

So tell me, what were you talking about in your first Weekly Wrap?

An InLinkz Link-up

Water, Water, Water (WW # 157)

Wendy and I host this linkup for
the sole purpose of supporting active women.
We thank you for linking your 
FITNESS  RELATED  POST  with us!

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Go ahead and sit back.  There was a lot of water themed action going on around here [the best kind for a southern summer weekend] with my good friend and co-host Wendy.  It's going to be hard to condense into one post.  But, I'll give it my best.

This weekend marked Wendy's and my second annual water skiing extravaganza.  I had been eagerly anticipating it for months!  I asked if she was also up for a Coosa River Adventure.  Although we'd love nothing more, our aging bodies simply won't let us ski all day.  Naturally, she was up for the challenge!  

Friday morning, we listened intently as the wizened, long-haired river hippie performed our safety briefing, all the while being eaten alive by mosquitoes.  I admit I was nervous after hearing about rapids, sharp rocks, entrapment, and the like.  He was frank about how three deaths had occurred in his 23 years of business.  Gulp.  After the stinkiest, hottest van ride imaginable to the entry point beneath the dam, we hopped in our kayaks are were ready to go. 

We were expecting four sections of rapids.  What we didn't realize were how many smaller sets were in each section.  Whew!  We successfully navigated 2 sections...well, except for when Wendy was stuck on some rocks and we laughed until almost wetting ourselves.  But we were thinking:  What's the big deal?  This is easy!  

And then we arrived at the third section of rapids known as Moccasin Gap.

[ cue ominous music...or the theme from Deliverance ]

We had been instructed to paddle left for easier passage.  Wendy suggested we go right.  I agreed. Because really, what's the fun in being a chicken doodie?  She paddled in.  I followed.  Within seconds, my kayak spun and I went down the drop sideways.  I hit a rock and was dumped over.  I went under swirling and bumping around until it calmed enough for me to stand.  I'm still waiting for those Coosa River tattoos (what the old river hippie called bruises) to appear on my rear.  Between giggles, Wendy helped me back into my kayak.  I had fully expected to get wet and thanked my lucky stars for purchasing a water proof box for my phone and key fob. 

The rest of the 7 mile trek was uneventful; the remaining rapids tame.  We enjoyed the beautiful rock facings and outcroppings, incredible blue skies and warm sunshine.  The solitude of the river was amazing.  I can't say enough how much fun this was.  After landing, we stopped to refuel with a late BBQ lunch and drove back up to the dam...this time on the other side...for water skiing.   Yep, that's how we roll.

After some solo ski runs, we decided to ski together.  Let me just say how difficult it is to get out of the water in tandem due to the closeness of the other skier. The fear of crashing into each other is very real.  But, we nailed it on the second attempt!  My title picture above is from our first tandem run (a huge shout out to our willing boat driver and photographer PoPo).  Wendy still has mad skills and we exhausted ourselves.  We capped off the evening at a favorite local Mexican restaurant.

Thanks Wendy for some very unique photos!

After such an ambitious and tiring Friday, and after several cups of much needed coffee in the back porch swing, we spent Saturday morning in the pool floating and soaking up more sunshine.   Later in the afternoon, we returned to the lake for more skiing.  Sadly, the water conditions were not as favorable but we made the most of it.  We ended the day with delicious Greek food.

A rough day is still a good day on the lake!

Sunday morning dawned bright and hot but we were determined to run a few miles.  We went to a local running trail I had never run, always thinking it wasn't wise to run there alone.  It was a lovely trail but very few people were there.  The sweat was dripping from my elbows within minutes.  We stopped at First Watch and indulged with pancakes. 

It was soon sadly time for our water adventure weekend to end but not before a few more pool shenanigans.   Thank you Wendy for being my kind of crazy.

No, this did not end well.  Just ask Rocky.

And that's a wrap!

What is the last adventurous thing you did?

What is your favorite "other" activity?

An InLinkz Link-up

Weekly Wrap Announcement

Hey y’all!

Wendy and I have been having too much fun to wrap up our week here on the blog. The link up will open tomorrow, Monday August 6th at 7 am central time. We hope you’ll understand and are sorry for the inconvenience. See y’all tomorrow!

Talking Over Coffee

Welcome to Coffee Talk!

August?  How can that be?

I'm joining in on the Ultimate Coffee Date and the Friday Five.  

But first, coffee.  Have a virtual seat, pour up a large mug, settle in and let's talk a while. 

Over Coffee...

I'd tell you I set up small coffee bar in my kitchen.  Being honest, what made me move my Keurig was the fact I realized the cabinets were hung slightly higher in this little nook than on the other side of the room.  I can now open the top of my Keurig without sliding the machine out from underneath the cabinets. It's the little things.

Fueling the day with coffee!

Over Coffee...

You'd hear how it's going to be a fun water skiing weekend.  Wendy and I connected through our running blogs several years ago.  She had a picture of herself water skiing on her blog header back then and it immediately caught my attention.  I was thrilled to find another woman who slalomed -- trust me, it's rare -- and was as crazy as me to be still doing so at our mature age.  I'm not sure we can top the shenanigans from the first annual HoLottaSkiing but we'll certainly give it a try!

Over Coffee...

You'd hear how we high-tailed early Monday morning to North Carolina to see our grandson play in the World Series Championship.   We watched the first games at home on Jock Jive Sports which is almost like being there.  Almost.  After going undefeated three games in, we felt they'd make it to the final round and we simply could not miss that.    It was worth every mile driven to see them play three more amazing games and advance to the final.  They had a disappointing loss and came away with 2nd place.  Everyone is so proud of these fellas.  Sadly, they are too young to understand what they've accomplished.



Our little guy on the move...and our big guy coaching.

Over Coffee...

You'd see I'm sporting an elbow brace.  It's time for another painful steroid shot in my left elbow.  I have nobody to blame but myself.  Seriously, what was I thinking doing all those push-ups?  This isn't my first rodeo either.  It took my right elbow a full year to heal and the doc says to expect the same for this one.   I solemnly swear to never do another push-up ever again.

Over Coffee...

I'd ask if you were training for anything.  I'm not.  In fact, I'm not running much at all right now. I have absolutely nothing on my race calendar.  I needed some downtime, both mentally and physically, and am taking full advantage.  My current plan is to use August as my reboot month focusing more on cross training and pre-hab exercises with a little running thrown in.  The month is going to be crazy busy though, so we'll see how that plays out.  .

What would you tell me over coffee?

I'm linking with the lovely Coco and Deborah!

Be sure to stop in for coffee on Saturday and chat.

I'm also joining on the Friday Five 2.0 linkup

hosted by Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness!

Stop by and see what everyone is talking about.

HoLottaChicago (WW # 156)

Wendy and I host this linkup for
the sole purpose of supporting active women.
We thank you for linking your 
FITNESS  RELATED  POST  with us!

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Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon

Chicago, IL

July 22, 2018

Half Marathon # 57



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First, let me express my heartfelt thanks to Wendy for being so gracious with her time, her home, her dog, and her Uber services while I was in Chicago.  It certainly made my travels much easier!

Secondly, the bloggers mentioned in this post have already written wonderful recaps of the Chicago Rock N' Roll weekend.  I could simply say "Ditto" and move on.  However, I'll hope you'll stick through to the end.

I had full intentions of taking an off season. I was tired from my latest marathon training cycle and downhill race at unforgiving altitude.  The heat of summer would be perfect timing for some downtime.  When Wendy first mentioned this race, I believe my whiny comment was "But, it's in frickin' July!"  However, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet so many fabulous blogging sisters and spend time with my co-host!  So, I clicked the registration button and proceeded to do a minimum of running.  Coupled with a recent illness, my odds of a strong race weren't looking great.

It was great getting to know Susie and Kim
while waiting on the rest of the ladies to arrive.

We were soon joined by Kim, Linda, Marcia, Deborah, Sara, Michelle and Lindsey (pictured below left)

Saturday morning, we met for brunch at Beatrix after some ladies had run the 5k.  It was pure delight to get to know these women in person!  After several hours brunching (and I think we could have stayed all day), some of us went to the expo.   We goofed around with picture props, ate yummy Vice Cream, perused the merchandise and also met the incredibly inspiring Kathyrn Switzer.  She was generous with her time both individually and as a group.

After a 4:00 wake-up call, Wendy and I met up with Marcia at the train station and arrived at the race to the scene at the top.  It was not yet raining and I thought we wouldn't get wet.  The radar actually looked pretty good.  {Bahaha}.  With barely enough time for gear check and a quick porta-potty line, we squeezed into the closest corral.  Within mere minutes, it was raining hard...and we were off.

I stopped my music to listen to the first band, a steel drum band, and I continued to do this for each band along the way.  I enjoyed the music on course!  I knew from running the Chicago Marathon that I could not rely on my watch for pace or distance.  I simply looked at the time that was passing.   I had an unsettling near miss with a heavy bundle of newspapers falling from the sky, but otherwise felt I was having a good race. 

With the crowds, and my eyes all-importantly on the road as to not repeat a Chicago fall, I missed the mile markers.  My rain soaked brain thought I crossed a 10k timing plate with 57 minutes on my watch.  I was happy; feeling strong...that is until almost mile 8.  It's there I finally see a mile marker -- MILE 7 -- and realized how off I was.  I walked. The reality was a little hard to swallow.  I picked it back up trying to get back in the mental game.  However, being completely soaked added calf cramping to my already cramping feet and I was forced to walk repeatedly.  It was not my day.

It continued to rain.  Sometimes heavily.  I remember the wind in a few places.  As we closed in on the final miles, I stopped because I wanted pictures of the beautiful skyline but my fingers were to wet and bloodless to operate my phone.  I gave up after a few attempts.  It was not my day.  I ended up running my 2nd slowest half ever clocking in at 2:24.  The reality of that is...I got what I trained for.

Race highlights included rocking along to the bands; one had a nun as a band member and one was singing  Play That Funky Music as I ran by.  I appreciated the on-course Elvis impersonators and even saw a few running with blow-up guitars.  I marveled at a runner in a tight black bodysuit and fishnet tights, was perplexed by a female runner that had written TOUCH on her back, and was freaked out running through a long fall-inducing dark tunnel.

It was nice to meet Erica and Melissa at Sunday's brunch. 
We had all been completely soaked!

The rain continued after the race.  After being caught out in several deluges, Wendy and I sought refuge in the merchandise tent.  We tried to wait it out but had brunch plans and had no choice but to walk in the downpour to the restaurant.  Even though we changed clothes, there was a puddle under my chair when we got ready to leave.  Again, we could have stayed all afternoon but it was a wonderful way to cap off the race weekend.  The race clock will never be able to define a wonderful weekend spent connecting with friends. 

And that's a wrap!

Surprisingly, this was only my second
half where it rained the whole time.

What are your thoughts on rainy races?

An InLinkz Link-up