Tag: winter running

This Moment

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  Idea borrowed from http://www.soulemama.com/

One Year Ago

I got a good chuckle today going through the blogs posts from a year ago. I wanted to see what I was writing just before my first big race. Hope you enjoy… “As I was running with my friend Mandy one day, she told me 

Our Last Distance

Bittersweet. At this point my body is tired. Cranky with distance. It has been a long whirlwind winter. That is truly is how I feel. Winter in Vermont can only be described as long cold nights, short cold days and upon reflecting, over in the blink of an eye. This past weekend was our first warm weekend with temperatures in the 50’s. Paradise in VT. Adam joked that Vermonters come out of the woodwork on the first warm day, moving slowly to bask in the sun like turtles on a log. So true.

IMG_3114 (My apologizes for the selfy, but it was 50*F out and I was supposed to be moving a ton of pellets. See what I am lounging on, that is the ton of pellets).

Anyhow, my group gathered for our last distance run of 12 miles before the race. (We joke that next week is our “rest” week with a run of a mere 6 miles).

IMG_3115

We crossed town lines.

IMG_3116We loved the sun.

IMG_3117We saw surefire signs of spring!

And then we were done. But I wasn’t done with the sun, so we headed to our great friends sugarhouse. Spring is here!

IMG_3121 IMG_3113 IMG_3118 IMG_3119 IMG_3122

These Women Who Run

So these are pretty much the worst pictures of me, taken by me, at 8am in 5*F weather at the start of a 6 mile loop. That’s my running group and I love them. Women from all over Southern Vermont, of all ages, shapes and 

Running in the Clouds

Today my run was in the clouds with misty, saturated breaths.

A Runner At Last…and often last….

Over the last year I have taken up running and I have been pretty vocal about it. I have run in all types of conditions and seen many amazing things. I have run in rain, pounding rain, sleet, pea sized hail that felt like bee stings, driving wind and feet of snow as fat flakes fell. I have run in blazing sun on hot pavement in 80% humidity. I have run, gagging, past my friends farms during manure season. I have run at sun up, sun down and in the dark of night. I have seen eagles, hawks, porcupines, bobcats and many snarling dogs. I have right straight through at least 5 pairs of sneakers. I run the steepest hills and most beautiful valleys Vermont has to offer. I run alone and with friends. I have run with girls half my age and women double it. I hear praise and stride past negativity. I have run nearly 100 pounds off my body. I run in sickness and health and cautiously through injury. But yesterday I feel like I finally became a runner. I reached an unattainable goal I set for myself. I ran straight through my first half marathon of 13.1 miles, every step of the way. Today I call myself a runner because something inside me changed for the better and I am never going back.

The Birth of a 1/2 Marathon

The Birth of a 1/2 Marathon

As I was running with my friend Mandy one day, she told me that the end of a marathon was similar to giving birth. It was all mental and you had to really focus. As I get ready for this race, I feel as if