What Happened?

Things had been humming along quite nicely here at Run Eat Play RVA and then I dropped off the face of the planet.

So what's the deal?

The weekend after we got back from Boston, BFF and her husband came to stay with us for a visit. We explored nearby Berkeley Plantation (Fun facts include: site of the first Thanksgiving and taps was composed there during the Civil War), ate copious amounts of Key Lime Cake in honor of BFF's birthday, and had an amazing brunch at Can Can Brasserie, which I had every intention of writing a Richmond Rave about.

BFF, unamused by the number of candles on her cake.

Then life happened. That Sunday morning before we headed to brunch, I got a call from my Mom - one of those  kind of calls. My grandfather had died early that morning. The next few days were spent in Hagerstown helping my Mom deal with all that... and not running or doing anything else noteworthy other than stuffing my face with Krumpe's donuts and chicken salad sandwiches.

Krumpe's Donuts - a Hagestown tradition and quite possibly the best donuts on Earth.

This brings us to the weekend of the 16th and 17th... another weekend full of activities. Husband and I traveled to Virginia Beach for my 11th Dave Matthews Band concert (his 4th). Again... very little running going on but lots of interesting people watching.

Otherwise, I've been extremely busy with my work, which means I've been writing a lot of intense stuff, which saps my blogging powers. I've also been going to physical therapy in the mornings, which requires me to wake up at 5:30 am. By the time I get home in the evening after a run, all I want to do is eat dinner and go to bed... and that's pretty much what I have been doing.

Now it's June 22nd. How did that happen, anyway?

More importantly, it's June 22nd and SUMMER has happened. Big time. All of my fellow east coasters have been experiencing this lovely heat wave with me. The past 3 days have seen temps above 100* when humidity is factored in. As a result, I've been pretty much banished to the treadmill, which doesn't make for interesting writing. It also means I'm in a pretty foul mood because I hate summer and the heat and humidity that comes along with it.

Despite all of the craziness going on in June, I have managed to keep plugging away at the run but not getting nearly as many miles as I had hoped. It's looking like I'll be lucky to hit 70 miles for the month, which just feels pathetic to me. But I have to remind myself that my monthly goal last year at this time was 30 miles.

Yesterday at my Physical Therapy appointment, my new BFF Steven deemed me fixed, canceled the appointment I was supposed to have this morning, said to take next week off, and scheduled a follow up for July 3rd. That's right friends - I'm no longer defunct! I have a whole laundry list of exercises to continue to do, including some core strengtheners that are a real b*tch, but Steve thinks I'm ready to start my marathon training without a problem.

Mainly I'm just thrilled that I won't have to wake up at 5:30 am anymore. Though with the heat we're experiencing, I just might have to bite the bullet and start to run in the mornings. But for now, I continue to resist. I'm pretty stubborn (and inherently lazy) so I don't see this changing any time soon unless something drastic happens.

So that's what happened. I hope to get back into the swing of things next week, although I am still in a pretty intensive period of writing through July 5th. After that, marathon training starts (!!!!), at which point I'm going to try to begin a weekly marathon training update. A good intention, but only time will tell if it happens.

Meanwhile, everybody stay safe in this heat!

Warm Weather Whining

Today is March 14.

With that in mind, please observe the following 10 day weather forecast:

I live in Richmond, Virginia. NOT Florida or Texas or California or any of those southern states where this weather is normal for March.

And now, a warning: I'm going to whine.

I want my 50s and 60s back!!!!!!!

Yes, I realize that I am one of the very few people who are actually unhappy about the fact that we never really had a winter here and that we are apparently skipping over spring too and headed straight to summer.

The thing is, I like winter. For a lot of reasons, but two major ones being I hate to sweat and therefore, I love to run in the cold. I live for October through April (normally) when I can go outside and run without completely soaking my clothing, clogging every pore on my body, and smelling like... well... sweat. The warm weather also means that all of the trees and grass are budding, which means allergies, which means that running outside can result in a sneezing attack that lasts for the rest of the week. Fun times.

This year I am going to try  to condition myself to start to not absolutely hate every minute of an outdoor run that takes place in 70*+ temperatures. Today, for instance, I've been trying to talk myself into doing my short 4 miler outside even though the forecast during my running time is calling for 77*. Most of me wants to just say screw it and go to the indoor track at the Y, with its wonderful climate control and allergen-free atmosphere.

But I won't. I know that the only way to get used to running in warmer weather is to do it. So even though I hate it and dread the though, I'll go ahead and sweat my butt off tonight.

Hrumph.

Does anyone else hate to run in the warm weather too? Am I the only weirdo who wishes winter lasted longer?

Spring, can't you just wait your turn? Just give me a few more weeks of "winter". I'm not ready yet.

In other news, I loved this month's issue of Runner's World, the "weight loss special." Mainly because of this photo associated with an article about how to lose weight while running:




Haha look - she's being chased by my two favorite food groups:
fried potatoes and cake! 

 I literally laughed out loud when I saw this photo. The article is full of great advice, most of which I definitely don't follow (for instance: Don't use running as an excuse to then treat yourself to cupcakes and french fries or other unhealthy foods)... yet still I have managed to lose weight. Guess I'm lucky!

Just looking at that picture makes me want a cupcake really badly... I guess the Savannah Smiles Girl Scout cookies that I have stashed will have to do.

The Races + Places section of this issue was also exciting as it featured a race that is near and dear to my heart - the Monument Avenue 10k!

Which, of course, takes place right here in little old Richmond. It's so exciting to see this great event featured! It's like the streets that I pound week in and week out are now celebrities!

The Rain in Spain

I watched My Fair Lady  the other night so when trying to think of a fun title for this post, that's the first thing that popped into my head.

Sadly, this entry has nothing to do with the rain in Spain staying mainly in the plain. The rain, it seems, is staying mainly in Virginia. And I want it to go away.

I already mentioned that they are calling for rain in Virginia Beach this Saturday, which is conveniently when I'm supposed to be running the Virginia is for Lovers 14k. My attempts to rein (punny!) in my obsessive checking of the forecast on weather.com haven't been successful. Right now, the chance of rain is not only still there, but it now is specifically calling for MORNING rain. And wind.

CURSES



Despite all of my whining, I'm going to tell you that I'm not really a pansy runner.

Ok, maybe a little bit.

I will run in the cold and in the snow. When training with the Y group for my first 10k, it snowed or iced or was freezing cold with biting winds for most of our group runs. That didn't phase me. I will run in a misty/drizzly kind of rain as long as it isn't too cold. For instance, it had been raining for days before September's Maymont 8 Miler and it rained on and off during the race. This was a trail race with lots of tree cover, so I didn't even know it was raining until my husband told me at the finish line.

But I will not run if it is hovering in the 30s and raining. During the summer I turn into a total wuss. I absolutely despise sweating - yeah, I know, I picked the wrong sport - so if the thermometer is above 70* you will find me on the dreadmill or putting in my 5483020 laps around the indoor track at the Y. Maybe I should have made one of my resolutions for 2012 to be to toughen up when it comes to running in the heat.

Anyhow, I have been so looking forward to this race (mainly because of it's cute name and equally cute medal) that I am considering throwing my pansy ways out the door and still running the race, even if it is raining.



Medal from 2 years ago. Adorable, right? Worth being wet and cold?



Image Source

Of course what is more likely to happen is that I will have done all of this fretting for nothing. I will show up to the race on Saturday at 8 am and then run my 8.69919 miles and it won't rain at all.

Is there a certain type of weather you hate to run in?