2018 - Let's try this again!

First of all...HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I failed miserably at trying to recap everything I didn't post in 2017. Maybe little by little I'll still try to get some of the highlights out here.

This morning I drove downtown to do the Resolution Run Indy 5K. 

At 8:00 AM this was the temperature:

I'll admit that the thought of just staying it bed sounded like a great idea. But I had set out all my clothes the night before and the race didn't start until 11:00 AM. Plus I wasn't about to start the new year with a DNS. I had several of those last year and I'm not proud of that.

I got to PanAm Plaza around 10:30. Everything was inside; packet pickup, REAL restrooms and everyone stayed in there until 5 minutes before the start. Because of the extreme cold, race created a 1/2 way point (also where the one and only water station was) and people had the option to make that the turn-around. So I guess instead of doing a 5K, it would be a 2.5K 😃 However, if you didn't do the "full" 5K, you weren't eligible for any of the prizes. They also changed the course to an out-and-back. Unless I felt like the wheels were falling off, I was going to do the 5K!

I feel like I was dressed properly; I maybe shouldn't have had a sweatshirt on as a 3rd layer with a windbreaker as the 4th. But I was worried that only 3 layers might not be enough. And I'd never run in a full face mask. I'm not sure it was technically a running mask but it did the job. The only problem I encountered was that my breath was fogging up my glasses.

I'm not sure if I looked like I was going to run a race or commit a crime! So I didn't actually put this on until it was time to walk to the start line.

I also put duct tape on my shoes. This is a tip my friend Allison told me about and she does it all the time. I meant to wear 2 pairs of socks but forgot to put the 2nd pair on. My feet never got cold so I guess I'll say this tip works. Plus if your feet get too hot, you just take the tape off. I took the entire roll into PanAm Plaza and let several other people use it as well.

Not too much to say about the race. I finished in the average (SLOW) 5K time I usually do. They were serving hot chocolate - with marshmallows - back inside of PanAm Plaza so I helped myself to a cup and waited around for the results to be posted. I didn't have my reading glasses with me but I could't find anything on the list that even looked like my name so I pointed that out to the timing people. Turns out that I was given the wrong bib number when I got there! Sadly I didn't age group place but I'm proud of getting out there today and doing the entire 5K course.

There obviously was a New Year's Eve party in PanAm Plaza the night before and it looks like it would have been fun! I knew all of that confetti was going to make a great backdrop for a post race picture.

It warmed up considerably by the time I got back to my car to drive home!  LOL 😏

So with the start of a new year - along with almost everyone else in the world - I will make some resolutions/goals/intentions. 

Here's what I hope to accomplish:

1) I really need to drop these 10-15 pounds that I've put on. Going through perimenopause has kicked my butt. I know that's part of the reason that my finishing times have slowed so much.

2) Do a better job at sending cards to friends on birthdays, anniversaries and just when someone needs to know you are thinking of them.

3) I'd like to do 23 half marathons. That will put my year-to-date total at 150. I like the sound of that. Initially I was going to try to at least cross one more state off the list but since I am still helping care for my Mother, I feel like I need always be close to home.

4) I'd like to run at least one mile every day. I've never done a run streak so.....

5) And I need to do a better job of keeping up with this blog!

Whatever your hopes and dreams and goals are for 2018, I wish you the very best at being YOUR best.

Until next time,

~ Susan

Finding (Making) Time to Blog - January 2017 Recap

I technically started this post in September of this year!!! It is one of 12 drafts I have sitting out here waiting to be completed. Most of them are race recaps but there is one - from 2015 nonetheless - about our amazing trip to Paris. Le Sigh. Maybe I can conquer a recap of that on a Throwback Thursday one of these days. But I wouldn't hold your breath. 
My last blog post was the recap of the Nebraska Half Marathon which took place on October of 2016!!!! And prior to that it was a post about finishing my 100th lifetime half at the end of September in 2016.
Goodness gracious...I just don't even know where to start now. But I guess from now until the end of the year I'll try to briefly recap some of the things that happened in 2017.

January 2017: Looks like I only did ONE race in January which isn't that surprising since I live in Indiana and the weather is usually crappy. It was a 5K on New Year's Day. It was a new to me event and I wore some very sparkly pants for it.

We were fostering a dog and had every intention of adopting him. He'd been with us for over a week and everyone (he and our other two dogs) had been getting along fine. We started leaving them out for short periods of time while we were gone and there was nothing to report. One day my husband left them out together for three hours and all was well. But then, we left one night to grab some dinner, stopped and bought a new dog bed for our soon to be family member and came home to a bloody mess. We'll never know for sure what happened but sadly, we had to quickly find a new foster home for him. It broke my heart to give him back but we couldn't put our current family in jeopardy. Our poor guy Wrigley took the brunt of the battle. 😭

This won't stop us from fostering again - although we have been taking a break from it. You don't always know the background story of a rescue dog but often it isn't a good one. And now that our dogs are older (both of which were rescue dogs) and set in their ways, it has definitely been more difficult bringing in a foster. Next time we'll foster a much younger dog; maybe 6 months old or less so that they haven't had as much time to acquire baggage.

I signed up for a 5K at the end of the month but took a DNS on that one. Sadly this would become a little bit of a trend for me in 2017.

Not much else happened in January. Or at least nothing that I can remember nearly 12 months later (eye roll!). My job is still going really well and I still like it. I don't have the hardest job in the world and it isn't very "brain stimulating" I suppose but I've been there / done that with a career that was super demanding. It is refreshing that I can leave each night and nothing needs my attention after 5:00 PM. I don't have to keep checking my email while I'm at home. My evenings and weekends are free 99.5% of the time.

What has been taking my time - and every other weekend - is my Mom. Her health has continued to decline since she broke her hip back in October of 2016. She always needs her Rollator and struggles getting up and down from a seated position. My brother and I have been taking turns going to her apartment each weekend to do laundry, clean and go to the grocery store. This makes it difficult to plan much when it is "my" weekend and I've certainly been neglecting everything at my house as well. But we continue to press on and just make it work.