Today Is The Day

It's really no surprise (if you can tell by the content, or lack thereof, in this blog) I haven't been running much lately. Like not at all. I can still run a decent 5km without dying, but my distance went from an easy 15km back down to an easy 5km.

Today is the day that all changes.

I need to find a way to make myself accountable, so I'm putting it in writing.

Today I begin my quest to train for another half marathon (21.1km). I'm hoping hubby will join me, however, if he doesn't that won't make or break my plan.

Wish me luck.

Around the Bay 2015

I didn't get any team photos at the Around the Bay Road Race. Time was tight before, Vickey and I had to get on our relay buses, and time was tight afterwards, Michael had to go to the airport. We did, however, get a shot of Michael and I at the end.

He was so tired and in pain at the end. He almost did not finish the race ... but he did and I'm so proud of him. He ran the entire 30km, I ran the 3rd leg of the 3 person relay. 

On Pause

Cloud City is temporarily on pause while I await confirmation regarding a stitch count for the sleeves. I can see it peeking at me from atop my piano, just waiting to be picked up and knit on. I am really looking forward to getting it done. I know it will still take some time, but the yarn (Wandering Cat Yarns House Cat) is so soft I can't wait to wear it.

I decided to cast on for another baby hat to add to my collection. I headed to my yarn totes and when I opened them I realised two things: #1 - I really need to organize them and #2 - There is a lot of old yarn in there I will never use (so, part and parcel to #1 I'm going to donate it). Anyway ... I found a lovely sport weight teal to knit the hat. I think I will make a baby sweater with it as well. Maybe white and teal striped.

I have been looking at sweater patterns to knit for myself once Cloud City is done. I have found a couple I really like. Nice and long and cosy looking. Perfect for a summer night, once the sun has dropped, when I'm sitting on the deck or camping.

My favourite two (so far) are Big Sister and BlueSand Cardigan. They're both knit in DK weight, which will be nice. Another one I adore is Holden Jacket but it is an aran weight knit, so it would be better suited to wear in the autumn and winter. At least that's the theory I'm going with.

Today was a run day. Sensei and I headed to the local indoor track and ran 5.4km. It's nice having an extra person to run with. It keeps me motivated. The other day he sent me a text saying he had done a run and I had almost convinced myself I didn't need to run that day. Who would know, right? Then his text came and I thought "well if he ran I have to." You know, since I'm the one who kicked his ass into getting running again. Don't worry he repays me by kicking my ass (figuratively) at karate class. Tuesday's workout in the dojo was a tough one. It felt good though. Can't wait for tomorrow's class.

Yes, I'm a Knitter

Today at karate class it came up (while I was sparring) that I'm a Knitter. My sparring partner suddenly got very excited and said "can you make slippers?" Um, yeah, of course I can make slippers. His reaction "Oh I want some! Make me some! I will pay!" ... one million dollars. Sorry kid (he's 24) you can't afford me. Of course I didn't tell him that at the time. He may be 24 but he's a much more experienced karateka than I and I didn't want to get my butt whipped. So I just smiled and kept going. He'll forget about it because, like I said, he's 24.

Another baby hat.

My 2015 run streak officially finishes up today. It has been a fantastic month. My grand total is 130.4km, which is about 50km more than I ran in the February Run Streak in 2014.

Today I opted to run my final day outside. I ran to the dojo and had planned to run back, but the 90 minute sparring class really tuckered me out. Plan B was to take a cab home but when I said I was going to call a cab my Sensei (and new-found run buddy) offered to drive me home.

Here are a couple of pictures from my run today. It was cold, but so beautiful outside.

As I headed out the door.

Looking across the Grand River

Yes. I'm running tomorrow.

For now I'm going to sit back, relax, watch a movie or something on Netflix and knit (but not slippers for a 24 year old, lol).

Cheers!

Like the Wind

There hasn't been much knitting at chez Running Tangled, but there has been a little bit. It's just a wee little baby hat, but it's something. I have been busy, though I can't pinpoint what I've been busy doing.

I ripped back the start of Cloud City. I hadn't gotten far, but I realised I messed up, so it got frogged. I'll cast on again shortly. It's going to be so pretty once it's done, but for now it kind of looks like this.

My run streak is going wonderfully. So far my run tally is 88.3km. I haven't missed a day and there are only 10 days (including today) left to do. The finish line is in sight!

Speaking of finish lines ...

Do you remember how I had booked a race for Family Day? Well it went better than I could have ever dreamt! I had hoped to run my 10km in under an hour, but was thinking 59:59 would be sufficient. My dreams came true and then some! My official finishing time was 54:51 and ... yes AND ... I came in first place in my age group (35-39) and got a gold medal! It's not real gold, but the feeling of elation is the same as if it were. :)

Grimsby Family Day 10km

Michael's half marathon was cancelled because of extreme temperatures. Did I mention it was -26C with a wind chill of something much colder. The officials weren't worried so much about the runners who would be constantly moving and keeping warm, but the concern was for the volunteers who would be sitting (or standing) at the different stations along the route for 3+ hours. The half marathoners, hubby included, ran their own 10km race along the same route (at the same time as mine, but the results were calculated separately). He finished in a stunning time of 49:55. Like the wind. Both of us.

Grimsby Half-Marathon 10km -- 49:55

My truck is at the garage getting fixed. The fuel sending unit took a crap and started spewing gas all over the place when under pressure (so every time the truck was running). The part is somewhere in the area of $500-$700 plus labour. Yuck. I can't complain too much though. She's almost 11 years old and hasn't caused us too much trouble since we've had her. Also a $1000-$1500 garage bill is much easier to swallow than the cost of replacing her. Hopefully she will be home later today. I miss her.

Power Outtage

Last night, somewhere around the 11pm mark, my power went out with a BANG, flickered and went out again. I peeked out the window and the entire neighbourhood was black. Fast forward two minutes and the sirens could be heard, then they zip by my house, then more and more. It turned out to be a car, carrying 5 people, that flipped over and knocked out a power line. A 19 year old man was speeding and is being charged with impaired driving. As far as I have heard everyone survived with minor injuries. Which is good. After all that excitement I couldn't get to sleep until nearly 4am; not due to lack of trying mind you. The power came back on around 3:30am.

It was dark out. The light you see was from a neighbouring area.

Police, fire and ambulance ... about 2 blocks from my house.

This morning I had a great karate lesson. It lasted two hours and after a night of no sleep it left me surprisingly energetic. Afterwards my sister and I went shopping and I bought this dress. Now I need some shoes and/or boots to go with it and a place to go. :) Lucky for me my husband likes to take me out for dates so I'm sure it won't be too long until I get to wear it somewhere.

Now I have to hit the treadmill for my run. It's much later in the day than I normally care to run, but I've got to get it done. I guess that's why it's called a challenge. Tomorrow I'm running at the track with my Sensei. He mentioned he wants to start running again so I said "how about tomorrow?" and he said okay. Fun! I love that I have my entire running week planned out. It really helps to keep me motivated.

Weave Me a Story

I've been a busy girl this last week between karate and running and all the other life stuff I've done, I have not had much time for knitting (though I did finish a baby hat on Friday evening while babysitting my sister's two rug rats). Today after my run (9.4km today) I got to weaving in more of the ends of Owen's blanket. This is going to be a long and tedious job.

Ends

This week I had karate class three times. Usually it's twice (occasionally once/week), but this week our class hours were tweaked a little bit. Same with the upcoming week. I'm really working my ninja skills. :)

My run streak challenge is going well. In the first 7 days I ran 30.4km. That's pretty good, I think, then you get crazy guys like my husband who will run that (and much more) in one day. He was teasing me in a proud hubby kind of way. LOL

Saturday was Selfie-Saturday for the challenge group on Facebook ... mine wasn't too exciting. Just me on the treadmill before my run.

Going Strong

Between Mother Nature and Sensei (karate teacher) my upper body has had a great workout this week. I have two more karate lessons this week and I hear it's supposed to snow again Saturday night. I'm going to be so sore strong. My running challenge is going well too. It's only been three days (not including today, which is day four) and I'm 3 for 3. I'll be doing my today's run a little later. After some coffee and a snack.

Run Streak Day 2

Run Streak Day 3

I'm dreaming of Spring. Today I was looking at lawn mowers online. We will need a new one this year, so I'm doing some research in order to have a say in which one we buy. I'd love a cordless electric one, but the battery life on them is 30-45 minutes at a time and it takes me 45 minutes (or so) just to do my front lawn, so that'd be a pain in the ass. And it's too much yard for a corded electric mower. It's looking like we'll be replacing our old gas mower with a new gas mower.

I've also started designing my front gardens. I've lived here for 10 years and I've never had a plan of what I'd like to do with them. They've always been sort of messy and useless, but this year I have a plan and I'm excited to get it done. The only problem is there is 2 feet of snow on the ground. Boo. It's going to be great!

Aww puppies.

Have a great one folks! :)

Snow Day!

Last night at bedtime Ethan told me he was going to do "crossies" all night in the grand hopes today would be a snow day. It must have worked because when I woke up at 6:10 this morning and checked the board of education website they had announced a snow day. I've asked him to do crossies (fingers crossed) on my next Lotto Max ticket ... it seems he has some kind of magic touch.

It took me two hours to shovel out this morning. The snow was a foot deep at the lowest points and up to my hip in other places. Pretty gross. The good news is Wiarton Willie predicts an early Spring. Ethan has crossies for that too.

Looking out my front window this morning.

There's a car under the mound on the right. LOL

My run streak began successfully. I did a 5.1km run yesterday. It was good. :)

I finished the baby hat yesterday and started another one. It's just a simple rolled brim hat; stockinette stitch. 

I am headed to the treadmill in a few minutes to get my run in for the day. Tonight I have to take Owen to guitar. The roads are mostly clear, but his guitar teacher works from home and he lives on a side street which is probably not ploughed yet. Thank Maude for 4x4.

Run Streak 2015!

Today is the official start of the February Challenge I'm participating in. It's a Run Streak. I'm going to be running "every damn day" of February. ("Every damn day" is the motto of the group). I did this challenge last year and it was fabulous. Fun too, if you can believe it. My minimum distance for each day I have set for myself is 3km (last year it was 2km) but I'll be running a few longer distances. I'd like to get in 100km this month. Last year I did 83.5km. I know you think I'm crazy and that's okay. :)

My OCD loves February this year. It's a perfect month. It begins on a Sunday (in my world, this is the first day of the week) and ends on a Saturday (the last day of the week). So perfect. So pretty. So symmetrical.

Yesterday I knit up this cute little baby hat. I used Patons Kroy Sock on 3.75mm needles. It's so soft and stretchy. How cute is it that it's smaller than Dozer's ear? Granted the boy has giant ears, but still ... such a tiny hat. 

Another hat (same pattern) in Wandering Cat Yarns Alley Cat Sock. I forget the name of the colourway, but pinks! It's good to have a balance of boy/girl items in my baby knits stash.

Have a good one folks!

A Little Progress & A Race

After a week of meds kicking my butt, last night I finally felt well enough to do some knitting. Nothing complicated, but I fully completed a sleeve on Surpris and I'm hoping to get the second sleeve done today after I get the laundry taken care of. Though I haven't decided if I'm going to wash/dry/fold or flick a lit match on it. ;)

This morning I took my last pill. Hooray. They taste as evil as they look. I don't chew them (or taste them for long) but they have a horrible bitter casing on them. Eew.

This morning I registered Michael and I for our first race of the season. We're doing the Grimsby Half and 10km (respectively) on February 16th. I don't know why I volunteer myself to get up so early in the morning for a race ... in the winter ... races should start later. I am now registered for three races so far this year. The Grimsby 10km, Around the Bay Relay (3 Person) in March, and the Hazel 5km in May. I'm sure there will be more, they're kind of addicting.

Not Knitting

My big plans of lots of knitting time came to a sudden halt when on Friday I was put on some pretty strong antibiotics. Antibiotics which have knocked me on my arse. I was warned they'd cause havoc on my system and in that regard they haven't disappointed. On the plus side the symptoms of my infection have died down and now I'm on the road to repair. On the down side I still have four days of arse kicking antibiotics to take.

On the weekend we did make it to the Hamilton RV Expo to look for a new travel trailer for camping. We found one we absolutely love and it will be perfect for our family. There are about three trailers we're deciding between, but this is the one we like the most ... so we'll see what happens.

I've been spending a lot of time on the couch, so I've been picking out accessories for the trailer and looking up running events. A girl can spend a lot of time hunting down a good race ... I now have about a half dozen picked out for the year. That ought to keep me busy.

Last Day

Today is the last day of the kids' winter holidays from school. Back to the grind tomorrow. Two out of three kids are thrilled by this. The other one? Already plotting a way to stay home. "What if I'm sick?" "What if I don't sleep well tonight?" "My throat feels funny *fake cough*" ... that sort of thing ... it's total BS. Lucky for me I have a sense of humour and a sense of adventure. I can hardly wait to see what the creative imagination will bring as the day goes on.

So while they're relaxing, tv watching and playing video games, I'm playing catch-up on laundry; aka making sure the kids don't go to school naked.

After a short hiatus of not running, I'm back at it again, and as crazy as this sounds I am only signed up for one race so far this year. I'll be running the 3 person relay of the Around the Bay Road Race. My team mates are my sister, Vickey, and my BRF, Jenny. Jenny is running the first leg, Vickey is running the second leg, I'll be running the third and final leg. Each leg is 10km.

I officially started my training yesterday. My goal is to run my 10km stretch in approximately 58 minutes, which is a pace of 5:48/km. I'd love to run as fast as Michael, and man oh man he is fast so this will be a huge challenge. He will be running the 30km race. He ran the 30km last year in 2:45:19 which put him at a pace of 5:31/km and this year he plans to do it faster. So good luck to me. I know, right?

6km in 41:12 = 6:42/km

My run yesterday was a nice easy (read: fairly slow for me) pace. I plan to do some speed training later in the week. Hopefully I can break the sound barrier by the time Around the Bay gets here. LOL

I need to get my ass signed up for more races.

You Wouldn't Know It

You wouldn't know it, but I've got startitis ... this phenomenon doesn't appear because I haven't actually started anything. I'm just itching to start something. Maybe I just have Patternitis because I can't stop looking at Ravelry. So, once again I have no knitting for you to look at. Just daily photos.

Life has not been hectic, per say, but there's been a lot going on that has occupied my time and my mind, but hopefully soon I'll get back into the groove and get some knitting done.

Today is the last day of my February Run Streak. I've run every single day of February (and Jan 31st). I'm starting a March fitness challenge for myself too. I think it's a great way to keep myself motivated. It's going to be fun. :)

Dozer is a pretzel
A Photo A Day #56

Michael flew back to work on Wednesday. It's always a loooong day when he flies out at 6am.

Highway 403 @ 5:30am
A Photo A Day #57

Poor Moose is being ignored ... another picture of Dozer ...

I think he was trying to prevent Ethan from going to school
A Photo A Day #58

I visited with Miss Bessie today.

A Photo A Day #59

More to come. I've got some yarn coming in the mail (yay!!) and some skeins I need to wind into balls (yay!!) and then I'm going to REALLY start something.

On My Mind

With my mind on my money and my money on my mind.

Thanks to my post title that song (or at least that line from that song) will be stuck in my head all day. 

I shall post a link now so you can all be tortured. Disclaimer I've never watched the video, so I have no idea what the content is. LOL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeZTWZHtknI I don't even know all the lyrics, only the part I posted above. It could be horrible and awful. 

Back to our regularly scheduled posting ...

Yesterday Michael and I went to Costco. It was REALLY busy. I guess people didn't go when the weather was horrible so yesterday when the weather was good again they all barged in. We still made it out in good time -- under 1/2 hour. We knew what we wanted and just got that stuff. Under $100 too. Miracles CAN happen at Costco if you let them. 

A Miracle at Costco
A Photo A Day #29

After having such a great race on the 26th there has been one predominant thought on my mind -- More Races! I was already signed up for three more (each 5km) but I decided to up the ante. I've signed up for the 10km Sulphur Springs trail race in May. 10km for me is a long distance. However, it's a short jot out for my sweet hubby. He is doing the 50mi (80km) race that very same day.

So, now that's four races. One in March, one in April and two in May. Then I have a big space ... I'm going to have to find something to keep up my motivation because in October I have committed to doing the 50km relay race at Run for the Toad. I have a team of four so I will only be doing 12.5km, but keep in mind, 10km is long for me. I've done a half marathon (21.1km) but I don't have the ambition for that kind of distance again -- yet. So I'll work up slowly and have fun doing it. :) 

Bibs and pj pants from Robbie Burns 8km
A Photo A Day #30

I'm not in it for the win or break any records, finishing is winning, I'm in it to have a good time. I discovered last year when I injured myself that it's no fun to run if you're doing it for the wrong reasons. So now I do it for the right reasons, because I enjoy it. If I don't feel like doing it I don't do it. I'm not going to force myself to train for something I know I won't enjoy just to have that race under my belt. It's all gotta be fun. :)

And fun it will be!

My team mates are super great people -- Best Runner Friend Jenny, her awesome hubby Derek, my sister Vickey and I will each do one 12.5km lap. My husband, who I think is awesome and crazy, will be doing the 50km run solo. 

YAY fun!

Robbie Burns 8km 2014

Today was the annual Robbie Burns 8km race in Burlington Ontario. Jenny (BRF) and I were ready to go, bright and early ... as was my best girl Valerie, who woke up extra early, on a weekend, to come watch my rugrats for me. Thanks again Valerie. :)

I started out my morning a little earlier than most, but like all other mornings I had a quick conversation with my husband, via text message. I felt so bad for him. He's been really sick with a cold these last few days and he's at work in Saskatchewan so there was nothing I could do to help him. Poor guy.

Once Valerie arrived to sit on the children, Jenny and I hit the road, eagerly anticipating freezing our butts off in this exciting running event. It was -16C with a windchill of -26C. Brrr.

Highway 403 heading to Burlington
A Photo A Day #26

We were all geared up and ready to run ...

Ready to Run!!

We headed to the start line and hopped in place and were thankful to be in the middle of the pack (but nearer the front) because the warm bodies around us blocked the wind.

Until 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ... AIR HORN!!! GO!!!

We were off to a great start. Chatting about last year's Robbie Burns race and how Michael was so great because he drove the Tahoe along the race route and played motivational music to pump us (and the other runners up). It was great.

What we didn't know was happening was this ...

Sneaking

We were being sneaked up upon. 

By who you ask?

By Michael.

Yes, that Michael ... 

My wonderful and romantically amazing husband surprised me big time. I guess on Wednesday he decided he needed to be home for my race, so he arranged getting off early with his boss and flying home three days early. The race sold out on December 3rd, 2013 so he contacted the race director directly telling him his plans to come and surprise me. The race director said it was too good a story to NOT let it happen and arranged a race bib for Michael.

All day yesterday Michael was sending me texts telling me how miserably sick he was (and had been for a few days) and that he had to go to bed early. 

HE LIED.

He was not sick and he was most definitely not going to bed early. HE WAS CATCHING A FLIGHT HOME. He arrived in Toronto at 1am and took a limo to a hotel in Burlington. This morning he took a cab to the race and then he waited. The race event is held at a high school in Burlington and everything race related happens on the main floor. He was hiding on the 2nd floor. SNEAKY SNEAKY.

So, back to the above picture of our bums ... that was around the 1km marker. He must have been really running fast because he crossed the start line (we found out later) a whole minute after us. He came up behind us and said "Think we need to pick up the pace here," I spun around shocked "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" He has a video. It's hilarious and wonderful and every time he watches it his face lights up like a million candles. 

Me and Jenny

Chatting about something.

Seriously, it was the best surprise. He has outdone himself again. I know I'm bias but I have to say with all sincerity I honestly think I have the best husband ever. :)

Jenny, Michael and I running to the finish

My sweet hubby and I.

Team Awesome.
Michael, Jenny and I

I finished the race with a time of 47:59, one second before Jenny who ran it in 48 minutes flat, and Michael made up good time in that first kilometer because his chip time was 47:14. 

It was a kick ass day. My favourite race of all time. I knew starting out it was going to be fun, because Jenny and I always have a blast running together, but now it tops everything. When people ask me what my best most favourite race is I'm going to tell them this one. 

I'm still in shock.

Oh. And Valerie was in on it.

Twenty-Fourteen

Happy New Year!

Wow, 2014 -- it's hard to believe it's been so long since the Y2K panic and the ever so pressing end of the world prediction of 2012 -- we survived and, I don't know about you, but I'm excited about the upcoming year. 2014 is going to have some tough moments, I know, but mostly it's going to be great.

In 2014 I'm going to attempt to do the Photo A Day thing. I'm hoping to get them all posted here, but I will definitely post them on my Instagram account (r5samantha) under the tag #aphotoaday. I have had my Instagram account for quite sometime but just recently started using it. It's fun. :)

Today's photo is bought to you by the letter C for Coffee, because when I stay up that late I need lots of it the next morning.

My coffee cup is nearly empty, I am going to have to remedy this.
A Photo A Day #1

Last night while my kids happily played together on the Wii U I watched episodes of Sons of Anarchy and worked on knitting slippers. I am finished all but the weaving in the ends (striped slippers) and seaming them. Hopefully, with the help of more of SOA and coffee I will have them finished later today. Pictures to come!

My knitting goals of 2014 are to knit things that make me happy. I've got plans to knit myself another cardigan and a few other projects I'd like to have, but otherwise I'm not planning anything. Just picking stuff on a whim. 

My running goals of 2014 are a little more complicated. I'm looking to PB my 5km and 10km distances. So speed is the goal. I have a race at the end of January (8km) and a few more already booked throughout the year. I won't be working beyond the 10km marker (I don't think so at this point anyway) but I will be cheerleading Michael as he works towards greater distances. He has a 50 mile race (80km) in May. Crazy. I could do that. 10km at a time over a few weeks. Easy! LOL

The one thing my knitting and running goals have in common are to have fun and enjoy myself and no injuries! I've already done the running injury thing, and I'm still working to repair my body 100%, and a knitting injury has the potential for something even scarier, I mean geesh, I could poke an eye out!! Anyway, what's the point if I'm not enjoying it?

My life goals are simple. Be happy and kind, love strong, share glorious moments with my family and friends and have fun.   

I wish you all the best in 2014.