Welcome to the Weekly Wrap!
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| The sole purpose of this linkup is to SUPPORT ACTIVE WOMEN Please click HERE to see complete rules. |
I spent the early part of this week resting after running my first half marathon in over five months. By Wednesday, I was ready for some sunrise progressive miles.
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| Here comes the sun...here comes the sun...and I say, it's all right! [The Beatles] |
On Thursday morning, I ran a few more simply for holiday stress relief. I also couldn't pass on the beautiful fall morning. And truth be told, I wanted to earn my mother in law's sweet potato casserole. With its layer of crunchy pecan and brown sugar topping, it's might as well be dessert.
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| Burning off the crazy...and the sweet potato casserole. |
Saturday I participated in Ryan's Run. It is run memory of Ryan Colburn who loved the Iron Bowl rivalry. The swag was great! A football T-shirt, a camouflage hat, a water bottle, a first aid kit, and a USB car adapter were in our bags. I've run this race several times and knew about the "gently rolling hills". {Never believe that description!} Recently returning to using 5ks as speed training, I was ready to go to work!
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| Great swag for a local 5k! |
I heard someone say at the start that there were no age group awards. {What the what?} Well, that took the pressure off. I decided to run solid regardless of speed and not let the hills get the best of me. In mile 2, I developed a side stitch which lasted until the end. I only get these after running a long distance race. After last weekend's half marathon, it came as no surprise.
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| Can you tell this was an out and back course? |
I ran the miles progressively. Given the layout of the course and the side-stitch, I was happy with my official time of 28:10 and 9:05 pace. Although higher than I'd like, it is my reality and I will continue to chip away at it bit by bit. It turns out the information about the awards was wrong and I was grateful for an age group win.
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| This Sarah Maire Design Studio jacket was perfect for standing around in the chilly post race weather. |
Sunday, I ran 9 miles in preparation for my upcoming half marathon on the beautiful panhandle coast of Florida. I finished up my holiday decorating as well. I'm glad to have that behind me so I can enjoy it as long as possible -- or until the family finally persuades me to take them down in January.
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| I collect ornaments when I travel. The lighthouse is from my trip with Wendy to run the Door County half marathon. I made the glass ornament in Tulsa while there for Route 66. Making glass was very cool -- or very hot, actually. |
And that's a wrap!
Is your racing season over or just beginning?
When do you take your holiday decorations down?
I make a similar dessert-y sweet potato casserole that I think about when I do my morning Turkey Trot haha. I love the idea of collecting travel ornaments! Congrats on the age group award!
ReplyDeleteI wait all year for that sweet potato casserole. But, I also like sweet potatoes plain!
DeleteCongrats on the AG award! I get side stitches at the weirdest time. There's no predicting.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing the Door County ornament on your tree! I'm putting up my tree next weekend. It's like a trip down memory lane!
I get stitches on my first runs after a half or full marathon. I figure those muscles must me tired too! I had forgotten about my lighthouse ornament. It was fun funding it in my stash.
DeleteGreat job on an AG award in a hilly race! Side stitches are never fun. :(
ReplyDeleteMy racing season is pretty much over. Unless the weather is good Sat & my friend wants to do a 5k -- it will only be the second 5k of 2017. There is one last one, but I consider it a fun run.
Hopefully you'll have nice weather so you can get another 5k in 2017! I rarely get a side stitch but usually can count on at least a mild one in the days following a long race.
DeleteLooks like an awesome week of running!
ReplyDeleteLove all the swag from your 5K race!
I was pleasantly surprised with the goodies in our bag. They also gave away some awesome door prizes! Sadly, I didn't win one this year.
DeleteMy racing season is over for the year, but I'm getting the itch to start cardio again. It'll be a good way to deal with any December stress.
ReplyDeleteCardio is great for sweating out the holiday stress! After my next race, I plan to add at least one hour long trainer ride each week.
DeleteWe put our decorations up today, and will probably take them down on New years! Great job with your runs this week. Congrats on the AG win!
ReplyDeleteI like to put mine up early and leave them up as long as I can. Because, it is a lot of hard work for just a couple of weeks!
DeleteCongrats on your AG award! I rarely get side stitches, but had something going on during the RW Half. I was glad it didn't happen again during the WW Half. I can't even think about Christmas decorations -- maybe next weekend ....
ReplyDeleteI developed a very painful stitch in my chest during mile 22-23 of the Chicago Marathon. It scared me. It must have been some type of spasm. It finally released but did force me to walk a little.
DeleteOoh, that glass ornament is so pretty, and how special that you made it! Glad you had a good race and woohoo for another AG award!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't believe I had the opportunity to make glass. The whole process was cool, especially how you get colors in it. But those firing ovens? HOT HOT HOT.
DeleteCongrats on your age group award!
ReplyDeleteSweet potato casserole is the BEST Thanksgiving dish- definitely more like a dessert but so delicious :)
I admit, I ate some with my meal and then some for dessert too! We had already eaten fresh hot pumpkin pie earlier in the week anyway.
DeleteMy decorations come down gradually...and that's similar to how they go up as well. Congrats on the AG award ;-) I think the ones who say they are "gently rolling hills" are the ones who do not plan on running them.
ReplyDeleteI store my decorations in countless boxes in the attic. So, I like to do it all at once. Too many trips to the attic would send me over the edge!
DeleteThat is great race swag! Congrats on your age group win! My racing season is basically over and I'll be laying low for the next month.
ReplyDeleteI may take a mini break after my next half but will be back to training in January. I'll say a bigger break for the heat of the summer.
DeleteWe put up our decorations today and usually take them down by New Year's. I come from a family that puts up very few decorations and my husband comes from a family where they go all out, so we found a nice middle ground. :)
ReplyDeleteThe older I've gotten, the less I do with outdoor decorations. I do love to see what others do! I really appreciate those who leave their lights on all night so I can enjoy them on a dark early morning run.
DeleteCongrats on the AG win! That's crazy how the rumor of no awards got started. My Thanksgiving pumpkins are still out. I intended to get rid of them today, alas that did not happen. I don't decorate as much as I used to for Christmas since we travel for it. Thanks for the linkup!
ReplyDeleteYeah, who started that rumor? It probably helped me though. LOL. I've always wanted to travel for Christmas. CO in particular. I definitely wouldn't decorate the house if I did.
DeleteAll of the colors of the trees by you are so pretty! Looks like it's still pretty warm too. Congrats on the AG group win! Thanks for hosting today
ReplyDeleteOur trees always peak right around Thanksgiving. They are so pretty against a beautiful blue sky.
DeleteI still need to put our decorations out! Now that we are empty nesters, I usually wait until at least December 1 ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how much I'll do once our last kid flies from the nest. I'll probably be so excited when they come home, I'll do it anyway!
DeleteI think I may take a mini break after PCB too. But there are several winter half marathons on my list, so I can't break long. Can't wait to see you in a few days!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the AG win! That is some nice race swag too! One more race for the year. We usually take our decorations down in January too.
ReplyDeleteI was pleasantly surprised with the race sway. You sure do have ONE big race left. Good luck!
DeleteCongrats on your AG win! I think I just ran my last race of 2017! I did 6 races this year which is A LOT for me!
ReplyDeleteI didn't do as many this year due to injury. I hope to play catch up this winter. It will be prime racing season around here.
DeleteWhat a nice surprise on the AG win! We decorated a little over the weekend but won't get our tree until this weekend.
ReplyDeleteNothing beats the smell of a fresh cut Christmas tree!
DeleteCongrats on the win! Sounds like a fun race!
ReplyDeleteThanks. It's one of my favorite 5ks, although on a tough course.
DeleteCongrats on your award! How fun! (Though side stitches are NOT fun ... I wish we knew what caused them!) And yay for running in Florida. That sounds warm and gorgeous. I haven't run 9 miles in AGES. Your ornament is so pretty - how cool that you made it (or warm as you said ;)).
ReplyDeleteI hope the weather in Florida is warm and gorgeous for our race! Making glass was very interesting. I really didn't know anything about it beforehand.
DeleteMy mom collects ornaments, too and we always get her one when we travel... we collect magnets! That elevation map is crazy, haha. Congrats on the AG win :)
ReplyDeleteMy collection started on our honeymoon where I bought wooden painted rocking horse ornaments in Gatlinburg, TN. I had almost forgotten that. LOL.
DeleteCongrats on that age group win! It must have been a nice little surprise that they had age group awards after all :)
ReplyDeleteThey honestly has no awards out on the table until the last minute. I think everyone was surprised.
DeleteWell done on your AG win! That's an awesome course profile :) Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteThank you. A course like this is really great for training.
DeleteI collect ornaments when I travel as well! Often they are the one souvenir I buy on my trips, and it becomes a great way to remember all of the wonderful trips we've taken when we put up our Christmas tree every year.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your AG win! I am hoping to get there one day - the race will have to be very small haha!
I usually only buy an ornament too. Occasionally, I'll buy a coffee mug too. I like collecting ornaments because it is something you don't display all the time. I think I'd get tired of them if I did.
DeleteAwesome job on the AG win, girl! Woohoo! And I love your ornaments. So cute!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit fanatic with my ornaments. They won't all fit on the tree any more. So, maybe I should put up two trees?
DeleteCongrats on the AG win! My racing season was supposed to wrap up two weeks from now, but it was completely derailed this year. So, now it's just beginning with a new goal race. And yep, my Christmas decorations are up!
ReplyDeleteFresh beginnings are the best! I saw your decorations. They are very elegant!
DeleteWow, that's a lot of swag for a 5k! I also started collecting ornaments from places I've visited but never continued it because I wanted all. My ornaments to match. Looking back, I think I would have continued getting ornaments from my travels because they would hold more memories than the store bought ones. I usually take my holiday decor down on New years Day. By then I'm usually ready for a fresh start and a clean house!
ReplyDeleteI never tried to match my ornaments since the kids were always making ones. And I had to hang them! So I have a big messy mishmash of things on the tree. I like it that way though.
DeleteI can't turn down the sweet potatoes with the crunchy topping!! My step mom makes some like that and they're always so good!
ReplyDeleteIt's like a layer of thick crunchy candy on top of already yummy sweet potatoes. You can't go wrong with that!
DeleteCongrats on your age group award win! Especially when you thought they didn't have any, so I guess that was a nice surprise. Every time I run a race without a goal to get an award, I'm usually pleasantly surprised with a good time. I guess it takes the pressure off. Looks like you had a great week all around too!
ReplyDeleteI do think it is easier to run without any expectations!
DeleteMy racing season is midway through... maybe... considering I didn't get to run my turkey trot. There's a 5k in December and a 5 miler in January I want to do.
ReplyDeleteI like running in January, but our winters are mild too.
DeleteCongrats on your AG win! I usually don't think to look for that because I'm not typically fast enough to win age group awards. I have gotten one for a 5k but that's it.
ReplyDeleteYou never know! The first rule of getting an award is to just show up.
DeleteCongrats on your age group win! That must've been a nice surprise since you heard that there weren't any awards. Racing season is almost over, just got CIM this weekend! :)
ReplyDeleteI know you must be excited about your marathon this weekend! Good luck!!
DeleteThat's some pretty sweet swag! And congrats on your AG award. :)
ReplyDeleteI was pleasantly surprise by the swag in the bag for a small, local race!
Delete