Monday, March 01, 2010

Weekend Recap!

Friday

After skipping Thursday's planned LT run due to bad weather, I set aside some time on Friday evening to make it up on the dreadmill treadmill. It's been a long time since I've put in any miles on the "Running in Place Machine" (Thanks Ken!) and I was not particularly thrilled about it. On the plus side, I liked having the ability to plug in my speed and just run with it, not having to worry about pacing myself.

I decided to keep the pace slower than my last two tempo/LT workouts so that I could hold it for a full 5K. I set the treadmill to 7.2 mph (8:19/mi = 5:10/KM) after a warm-up and the miles ticked by pretty easily. By the time the tempo portion was complete, I wanted nothing more than to get off of that thing, so I forced myself to stick it out for a mile cool-down and then I was done!

Saturday

For the first time in several weeks, I did not run on Saturday. (Normally I would have taken Friday off.) I attempted to sleep-in (apparently I can't force myself to stay in bed later than 8AM anymore) and had a pretty low-key day with the hubby, running some errands and visiting some family.

It snowed for about 24 hours straight, but it was mild enough that most of it was melting. This resulted in slushy, wet and messy roads! I wasn't sure what to expect for Sunday's long run...

Sunday

It was time for our group long with with 25K/~15mi on the schedule. The snow had stopped and fortunately the roads were relatively safe with just a few lakes puddles to dodge. I ended up with a massive soaker when I misjudged a step, but luckily it was at the end of our run. I felt pretty good and enjoyed many laughs along the way, as always. I found a surprising kick for the last few K's, clocking 5:41, 5:46, 5:26, 4:51. (Where did that come from?) It's a great feeling to finish strong.

After some more chatter and half-hearted stretching on my part (I admit it, I am a LAZY stretcher!) it was time to head home and get ready for the GOLD MEDAL HOCKEY PARTY.

Sarah hosted and Mel was able to join us as well. We had a fantastic time with great company, plenty of drinks & bites, and the game of the century! We even had an authentic Olympic Torch (thanks to my sister)!

As I mentioned earlier, I may have made a few deals with the Hockey Gods in order to secure our win... anyone have tips on running in 100% polyester?? See below for the jersey I will be sporting at the Chilly Half Marathon this weekend.

Some photos from the festivities:

This is how Canadians chill drinks in February - in snow!



My Olympics Rings cake (and Wayne Gretzky # 99 Riesling):
(Hey Lindsay, those are M&M's!)



My sister's torch - we didn't have the stand so we had to get creative!



Me in my jersey with the torch:



Sarah & I celebrating!



(Last chance to win RunningSkirts at Endurance Isn't Only Physical!)

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

great pix! great workouts!! great drinks! great food!!

i cant comment on running in polyester. sorry. i think it will be warm to run in, and because its big, it might chafe in places. But it will be SUPER COOL!!!!!
i think u should do it!

Aron said...

sounds like an AWESOME weekend :)

Being Robinson said...

classic. torch in the coors light box. i like how you operate!

Anonymous said...

Looks like a great party! I like the creative torch holder! :)

MCM Mama said...

Looks like a fun weekend! I'll keep my comments about the sacrilege of putting the torch in a Coors box to myself. ;o)

I Run for Fun said...

Wow! What a party!

Great tempo run.

Boris T said...

Nice pics looks like a great time. Too bad the Olympics are over...

Unknown said...

That looks like a great weekend. I love the snow-chilled drinks!

Dimity and Sarah said...

love the Olympic cake and the torch (very cool) and the Coors holder....what a cool couple of weeks it's been, huh? congrats on the gold.

Aka Alice said...

LOL at the torch holder as that is TOTALLY something I'd use...and be proud of it, but really, shouldn't it have been a Molson box?

Jocelyn said...

Nice runs this past weekend! Great job girl. And I love that you had a gold medal party :D Totally awesome

Mel -Tall Mom on the Run said...

Looks like soooo much fun. Love the cake, torch, beer and cheering pics.

EndorphinBuzz said...

I would wear the jersey on top of an underarmour type underlayer and maybe even something cotton in between if its really chilly.

Laura said...

Sweet! We should be easy to find each other on Sunday with you in your jersey and me in my green shoes.
Have fun in polyester. Have you checked what the weather is supposed to be like??

Anonymous said...

How funny - chilling drinks in the snow instead of ice! I love it!

Unknown said...

fun times!

and who needs an ice bucket when there's plenty of snow to do the job?! lol

J said...

Cute pictures! I love the cake (i think its a cake) with the Olympic rings on it!! We chill drinks in the snow too, in college we would use the washing machine with ice and cold water cause we didnt have a porch or deck to put stuff on.

Juliana said...

I love the photos from Sunday. They gave me a good chuckle.

Anonymous said...

hehehe you gold medal party animal!!! i love that last pic, and your shirt!!! you have such spirit. again. #1 fan all the way :)

congrats on your runs- pace work and fast finishes!!!! i wanna finish strong, that is always a GREAT feeling. and such a race-strategy skill, to have a final kick.

Denise said...

i was thinking of you during the game this wknd. congrats to canada!!! and that cake is too cute!

Lindsay said...

hahaha. i guess i can let it slide since you had m&m's on your cake instead of on the official holiday... :) i love it though!

i am the same whenever i do a hard workout on the 'mill. i can usually suck it up for the hard part but then i just want to get off. cool-down, no thanks!

Stephanie Estridge said...

Ahhhh absolutely LOVE it! Well except for the whole Canada beating the US thing. No boozing ragers after the men's game? Sounds like the women were showing them up!!! :) I'm all about their photo-fest and boozing on the ice. Hey! After the superbowl and the world series they show the players spraying bottles of wine and beer... why can't women celebrate in the same fashion?? Ok-- stepping off the soap box.

Love the cake-- too cute! you'll know how to throw an olympic party. Only--- where was my invite? :(

AM! said...

Wow! That's some party! I wanna be at that party1;-)

Heather said...

Fun times! We chill our drinks in the snow too. :)

Jen Feeny said...

You ladies are a riot! How fun and so cool your sis has an olympic memory like that when it was on your home territory with epic medal-age. (I think I just created a word there.) :)

Runner Leana said...

Love the cake!! What a great game, eh? So excited that Sidney Crosby scored such a great goal. After how much pressure they were putting on (and how well they were playing) it would have been devastating to lose.

Yay!!

Anonymous said...

Ah, your cake is awesome!! As is your creative use of the Coors Light Box ;) haha

Ali said...

I miss the olympics. I want to wear Canada gear all the time.

That cake is awesomauce!

Nicole said...

sounds like you had a great weekend! that little cake is cute!

Badgergirl said...

Looks like a great hockey viewing party! I was so happy to see the USA send it in to OT, but watching the Canadians win the game hurt. Although both teams played a great game. Glad you had fun!

Anonymous said...

Your Olympic cake was too cute! I adore the fact you are running in your jersey this weekend- wish I was running Chili just for that!