5 Months Old

Posted in Piper by Annie T

Piper is 5 months old today! As I type this she’s stretched out on the couch, sleeping soundly with her head resting on Matt’s leg and her left ear flipped inside out. Piper is the sweetest, most affectionate pup ever!

Matt and I spent last week in Las Vegas on a work trip. Piper got to stay with her best buddy Hershey at my mom’s house (thanks, Mom and Rob!) and she had a fantastic time. Piper has approximately one million percent more energy than Hershey and she happily funnels this excess into constantly pestering her chocolate lab friend. Luckily Hershey is extremely tolerant of Piper and gently puts up with all of her puppy antics.

“What puppy antics???!”

After a week of fun with Hershey Piper was still very excited when Matt and I returned home on Saturday morning. She wiggled and wagged and snorted at us before happily curling up between us on the couch. Piper then snoozed for hours which was good because we were really tired from our red-eye flight!!

After two days at home Piper still seems extra laid back but I think she’s secretly just saving up her energy for the snow storm we’re supposed to get tomorrow… I’m sure that more snow puppy photos will be coming soon! 😃

24Jan2015

The Pickle Run #1

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

Last Saturday I ran the first of three Winter Pickle Runs in Ridley Creek State Park. “Pickle Runs” are fun, prediction-style races organized by the local race-timing organization, Run the Day. The “winners” of the Pickle Run are the participants that most accurately predict their finish time in advance. This makes for a relaxed, jovial atmosphere and gives everyone a chance to take home one of the big prizes: a googly-eyed pickle in a beer stein!

Note to Self: Do not leave your pickle on the counter for a week while out of town in Las Vegas. It will be gross and deflated upon your return!!

Saturday’s Pickle Runners chose to run either a 3.1 mile road course or a 3.8-ish mile trail course. I opted for the road option which ended up being identical to the 5K route that Martin’s Run followed back in October. The trail course, which split off from the road after the first half mile, would definitely have been more exciting than my out-and-back road route, but apparently it was also very icy in the woods which made the trails a little treacherous for my non-yaktrax-clad Mizunos. As long as ice isn’t an issue next month I will probably run the trail course in the February pickle.

Although I always knew exactly where I was on the road course in terms of mileage, I really missed my Garmin’s pace updates and splits. I usually go out way too fast so it was tough not having any guidance during the first mile. By the second mile I was feeling pretty slow but then had my spirits unexpectedly lifted at the halfway turnaround point when I realized that there was only one woman ahead of me on the road course. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make up any ground on her after the turnaround and two other women ended up passing me in the final mile but I still finished the race in a solid 24:06. Not bad for a 19° January morning!!

Pickle Stats

Run run run! Photo Credit: Run The Day

Warming up in the car after running.

My predicted time was 23:53 (my official results time from Martin’s Run) so my actual time ended up being off by 13 seconds. That was good enough for 5th place overall in terms of prediction accuracy, woohoo! The first place person was only off of their predicted time by a mere 2 seconds. Considering that no one had watches or any idea of the time that’s pretty amazing!!

My next race will be the third 5K in the Athlete’s Closet Winter Series on February 7th. In the meantime I get two whole weekends off from racing. After a long business trip to Las Vegas last week (and a super-cramped red-eye flight home all night last night, ugh!) I am looking forward to spending some quality time relaxing on the couch with Matt and Piper!

Miles since last post: 82.3
Days since last post: 18
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.85
2015 MILES: 109.5

Past Races:
• January ’15: SRA New Year’s Day 5K (1/1), Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/3)
• December ’14: Jingle Elf 2 Mile (12/5), Brian’s Run 5 Miler (12/7), Athlete’s Closet Holiday 5K (12/14)
• November ’14: Trinity Berwyn 5K (11/1) [PR], Metal Run 5K (11/8), Seven Summits Turkey Trot (11/27)
• October ’14: Martin’s Run 5K (10/5), Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/18), Bark in the Park 5K (10/25)
• September ’14: Talk 5K Trail Run (9/13), Run A Muck Trail Race (9/20), Haverford Township Day 5K (9/27)
• August ’14: Riddlewood 5K (8/3), Radnor Red Steeplechase 5K (8/17), Pickle in the Streets 5K (8/28) [PR]
• July ’14: Cam’s ‘Moonlight’ 5K (7/10), Swarthmore Independence Eve 8K (7/18)
• June ’14: Radnor Conservancy 5K Trail Run (6/1), Media 5 Miler (6/20)
• May ’14: Elwyn 5K (5/3), Run for Victory 5K (5/18) [PR], Rocky Run 5K Trail Run (5/30)
• April ’14: Las Vegas Security 5K (4/3/, Rick’s Run 5K (4/19), St. Tim’s 5K (4/26)
• March ’14: Athlete’s Closet March 5 Miler (3/1), Color Out Cancer 5K (3/30)
• February ’14: Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/1)
• January ’14: Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4)
• December ’13: Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14), New Year’s Eve YMCA 5K (12/31) [PR]
• November ’13: Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2), Turkey Trot 5K (11/28)
• October ’13: Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19), Oy Vey 5K (10/27) [PR]
• September ’13: Run-a-Muck 5K (9/21)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

11Jan2015

Snow Puppy

Posted in Piper by Annie T

As I type this my little Piper pup is on the couch next to me, exhausted from today’s hiking adventures. She is sleeping on her back with her hind legs splayed open (she’s not the most ladylike puppy I’ve ever met!) and her breathing sounds like something between a snort and a snore. She’s been sleeping this way for at least an hour – a long time for a nap in Piper’s world! – so I’m taking advantage of this afternoon lull to do a quick photo post!

Last Tuesday we got about an inch of snow in eastern Pennsylvania and I snapped some photos of Piper playing in the back yard on my lunch break. Piper seemed totally undeterred by the sub-freezing temperatures and had a blast romping around in the snow, chasing sticks and snatching up the occasional mouthful of snow… she loves this weather!!

Beautiful Piper

Playing with Matt

Dashing through the snow!

Piper

Piper in the snow

4 1/2 month old Piper

Eat ALL the snow!!!

Galloping around with her stick

We’ve had Piper for 11 weeks now. Only 11 weeks!!! It seems like she’s been a part of our family for MUCH longer than that! Matt and I are having a blast with her and I can’t wait to see what the next 11 weeks bring!! 😄

6Jan2015

Athlete’s Closet New Year’s 5K

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

On January 3rd I ran my second race of 2015, the Athlete’s Closet New Year’s 5K in West Chester, PA. After a fast race on New Year’s Day my plan was to show up, have fun, and stay relaxed. The verdict? I ended up running a comfortable, happy race and still had enough gas in the tank to totally crush the finish with a huge spurt of speed, putting down a new course personal best time in the process. Oh yeah!

It’s no secret that I tend to go out way too fast in the first mile of a 5K. On New Year’s Day when I was trying to run a PR I completed my first mile in 7:15. Yikes!! During Saturday’s “fun, relaxed” race, by comparison, I went out in a much more practical 7:34 and, not surprisingly, felt significantly better during the second half of the race. I felt so good, in fact, that in the last mile when the course began a long uphill climb I was able to pass a man who had been holding steady in front of me for the first two miles. It feels strange to say it, but after all of my hill running I may actually LIKE hills now!!

My relaxed first mile really paid off in the final stretch of Saturday’s race when I made the last turn back onto Isabel Lane. The finish line had not yet come into view but what WAS in view were the two runners ahead of me. The first was a man who had previously been running with hill guy. He was pretty close to me so I figured that I could probably catch him as we closed in on the finish. The second runner was a woman in neon yellow who was way, WAY ahead of me. Normally I never would have considered her to be within reach but something suddenly clicked in my brain and I found myself utterly determined to catch her. I picked up my pace and watched the space between us disappear. In a blur I saw someone warning her I was coming but then I shifted gears again into what felt like a full out sprint. I blew through the finish with a second to spare. What an exhilarating way to end a race!

Photo credit: Athlete’s Closet

Matt and Piper stayed at home on Saturday so the photo for this recap was just going to be an in-the-car selfie BUT, as luck would have it, one of the race organizers from the Athlete’s Closet captured the above photo just before the finish. Perfect timing!! I was surprised to see how calm my facial expression looks in this photo considering how hard I felt I was running!

My next race will be the Pickle Run in Ridley Creek State Park on January 17th. Like the Pickle Run that I did in August, this will be a fun prediction-style race with no watches allowed. Hopefully I can match Saturday’s relaxed first mile pace without my Garmin’s help!

Miles since last post: 22.6
Days since last post: 5
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.86
2015 MILES: 27.2

Past Races:
• January ’15: SRA New Year’s Day 5K (1/1)
• December ’14: Jingle Elf 2 Mile (12/5), Brian’s Run 5 Miler (12/7), Athlete’s Closet Holiday 5K (12/14)
• November ’14: Trinity Berwyn 5K (11/1) [PR], Metal Run 5K (11/8), Seven Summits Turkey Trot (11/27)
• October ’14: Martin’s Run 5K (10/5), Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/18), Bark in the Park 5K (10/25)
• September ’14: Talk 5K Trail Run (9/13), Run A Muck Trail Race (9/20), Haverford Township Day 5K (9/27)
• August ’14: Riddlewood 5K (8/3), Radnor Red Steeplechase 5K (8/17), Pickle in the Streets 5K (8/28) [PR]
• July ’14: Cam’s ‘Moonlight’ 5K (7/10), Swarthmore Independence Eve 8K (7/18)
• June ’14: Radnor Conservancy 5K Trail Run (6/1), Media 5 Miler (6/20)
• May ’14: Elwyn 5K (5/3), Run for Victory 5K (5/18) [PR], Rocky Run 5K Trail Run (5/30)
• April ’14: Las Vegas Security 5K (4/3/, Rick’s Run 5K (4/19), St. Tim’s 5K (4/26)
• March ’14: Athlete’s Closet March 5 Miler (3/1), Color Out Cancer 5K (3/30)
• February ’14: Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/1)
• January ’14: Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4)
• December ’13: Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14), New Year’s Eve YMCA 5K (12/31) [PR]
• November ’13: Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2), Turkey Trot 5K (11/28)
• October ’13: Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19), Oy Vey 5K (10/27) [PR]
• September ’13: Run-a-Muck 5K (9/21)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

1Jan2015

SRA New Year’s Day 5K

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi, 4 Mississippi.
THAT’S how close I came to beating my 5K PR this morning!!

I kicked off my 2015 with the S.R.A New Year’s Day 5K in Swarthmore, PA. The weather was sunny and brisk and the race was well organized with a great turnout of around 220 runners. The course was fun and relatively flat, starting and finishing with laps on the Swarthmore College track.

I really wanted to run a new personal best in this race. As the opening line of this post indicates, I did not quite get my PR, but I feel confident saying that I put forth the absolute best effort that I was capable of today. Although my official finish time of 23:36 was 4 seconds short of my PR from November’s Trinity Berwyn 5K, I think this was still my fastest 5K pace ever (Trinity might have been a little short) and I certainly FELT like I was running my hardest the while time! Apparently my new Garmin heart rate monitor agrees… I averaged 192 bpm and maxed out at 202 bpm in the final 0.1 miles… I have no idea what my max heart rate is but that’s probably pretty close!!

The first mile of the race included a lap around the track and a gentle uphill and before I knew it my Garmin was beeping a 7:14 first split. Good start! As the second mile began I focused on my cadence, quickly getting my feet down on the pavement, especially when I started to feel a little tired. The second mile was over in 7:46… not quite where I wanted to be but my second mile tends to be my slowest.

I knew that if I was going to beat my PR I would need to maintain around a 7:30 pace. My first two splits averaged out to exactly 7:30 but I was feeling a little discouraged (and a lot tired) at the start of mile 3. I kept focusing on my cadence (which apparently worked… I averaged 179 steps per minute throughout the whole race!) and tried to stay strong. I saw Matt and Piper cheering me on by the college field house at the 21 minute mark and entered the stadium at 21:47 with a lap to go. I knew at that point that I wasn’t going to quite get my PR but I still ran that last quarter mile as hard as I could. I crossed the line with an official chip time of 23:36, just 4 seconds shy of my goal.

Overall today wasn’t easy. I stayed strong, I ran hard and then I ran even harder when I felt like I was already going as fast as I could go. Although I would have loved to start the new year with a PR I still feel very proud of my effort in Swarthmore today. Oh, and my 23:36 finish was good enough for 7th woman overall AND 2nd place in my age group! I got an awesome wooden medal with downtown Swarthmore etched on it (so cool!!) which is probably my favorite piece of race swag yet. (Except for maybe the 150 gallons of heating oil that Matt and I won in a race raffle in September, that was pretty good too. 😜)

SUCH a cool medal!!

This is going to make a good xmas ornament next year.

My next race is Saturday (I guess I should stop drinking beer and start re-hydrating now??) when I tackle the Athlete’s Closet 5K course in West Chester for the 5th time. I’ll see how I feel by then but that race will probably end up being a little more laid back than today’s speedy tour of Swarthmore!

Miles since last post: 83.8
Days since last post: 18
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.86
2014 TOTAL MILES: 1773
2015 MILES: 4.6

Past Races:
• December ’14: Jingle Elf 2 Mile (12/5), Brian’s Run 5 Miler (12/7), Athlete’s Closet Holiday 5K (12/14)
• November ’14: Trinity Berwyn 5K (11/1) [PR], Metal Run 5K (11/8), Seven Summits Turkey Trot (11/27)
• October ’14: Martin’s Run 5K (10/5), Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/18), Bark in the Park 5K (10/25)
• September ’14: Talk 5K Trail Run (9/13), Run A Muck Trail Race (9/20), Haverford Township Day 5K (9/27)
• August ’14: Riddlewood 5K (8/3), Radnor Red Steeplechase 5K (8/17), Pickle in the Streets 5K (8/28) [PR]
• July ’14: Cam’s ‘Moonlight’ 5K (7/10), Swarthmore Independence Eve 8K (7/18)
• June ’14: Radnor Conservancy 5K Trail Run (6/1), Media 5 Miler (6/20)
• May ’14: Elwyn 5K (5/3), Run for Victory 5K (5/18) [PR], Rocky Run 5K Trail Run (5/30)
• April ’14: Las Vegas Security 5K (4/3/, Rick’s Run 5K (4/19), St. Tim’s 5K (4/26)
• March ’14: Athlete’s Closet March 5 Miler (3/1), Color Out Cancer 5K (3/30)
• February ’14: Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/1)
• January ’14: Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4)
• December ’13: Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14), New Year’s Eve YMCA 5K (12/31) [PR]
• November ’13: Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2), Turkey Trot 5K (11/28)
• October ’13: Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19), Oy Vey 5K (10/27) [PR]
• September ’13: Run-a-Muck 5K (9/21)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)