Dial It Back Week

After pushing the mileage for several weeks, this week I decided to take a rest, although "take a rest" may be relative.  Here is what I did this week:

Monday: 2 miles running in place with 2 lb. weights to warm up for yoga.

Tuesday: 4 treadmill miles in the morning; 6 trail miles in the evening. This was super-fun.

Wednesday: 2 miles running in place to warm up for strength training. Then, as it was a snow day (first day of Spring--what???), I went directly to bed after working out, woke up two hours later, ate breakfast, and then put in 4 miles on the treadmill.

Thursday: Tae Bo. It felt amazing.

Friday: 4 treadmill miles

Saturday: 5 miles on the hills of Sand Run (after day-drinking with the Cleveland Marathon Ambassadors! Shhhhh)

We are a fun bunch! 

Sunday: Goddess Trail Run for 13! Yay!

This is EXACTLY how I look when I am happy to be running with the Goddesses.

40 miles of running + strength training + Tae Bo. Not a bad week!

Next week I have the Fools 25K, which I will probably be running with the Goddesses. After that, I need to bring my mileage up to 19 before the Pro Football Hall of Fame Half Marathon in April. Then, I've got the 20 miler the week after the half marathon.  Gaaaaa.  Am I ready? I don't know yet. I haven't gone beyond 16-point-something, but I'm pretty comfortable there, so I think I'll be ok in the weeks to come.

Meanwhile, I'm trying not to eat everything in sight. I weighed myself after today's long run (I ALWAYS go with the Sunday weigh-in while I'm still dehydrated), and I have lost about 6 pounds. Of course, that is water, but last week I was six pounds heavier even in the same dehydrated state, so I'm going with it. I'm trying to log all of my food intake. Some days are better than others (cough, cough, notthisweekend, cough), and I'm getting back on track.

This week is my Spring Break, so I look forward to lots of running and sleeping and reading trashy literature.

One last thing. . .there were people I didn't see at the Ambassador Meetup (and I miss all of you), but I was glad to see old friends and meet new ones.

Pam and I are together again. 

Andrew would never forgive me if I didn't post this picture of us. He really looked forward to talking to me; you can tell.

The wine was lots more interesting than I am. These damn kids.

Have you registered for the race of your choice (even the series) in the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon?  If not, there is still time! Use my code, SICLE10, to get a 10% discount on any race or the series. Come on, you know you want to run with me!


Have you run your 20-miler yet, Peeps? Are you looking forward to it or dreading it?  However you feel about that one run, I hope you run happy, Peeps!

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Product Review: Knuckle Lights

Sixty- one percent of my mileage happens when the sun (as well as everyone else) is asleep.  Most of my weekly runs are before 5:30 AM.  I know my neighborhood quite well, potholes and all, and I mostly run on sidewalks, so for a while I ran without a headlamp, even though I own one.

And then I met Elf-on-a-Bike.

It was a guy, dressed as an elf, on a bike, at 4:30 in the morning.

Thank GOD it wasn't this kind of elf.

 I had just rounded a corner, and he was in front of me. He started yelling at me. I was wearing earbuds, and I took them out, but I couldn't understand what he was saying. He circled me a few times and then left. Needless to say, I ran the rest of that route at tempo run pace.

I've seen Elf-on-a-Bike a few times since then, but he doesn't circle me on the bike anymore, although he still sometimes yells at me. He doesn't always dress as an elf either, although he always wears the elf hat.

Anyway, this incident made me think that a light might be a good idea.

There are actually quite a few runners in my neighborhood. During prime training season, I might see 5 or more runners along my route, even at 4:30 AM.  Until Elf-Guy, it didn't occur to me that lights might be beneficial, both for showing myself to other runners way ahead of our encounter and to see runners around me.  Of course lights are good to see the ground on which you run. I do have some potholes around my neighborhood, so lights are definitely beneficial to me.

The other circumstance in which I definitely need lights is during trail running at night.  The first night trail run for me was in 2015 for Ragnar WV Appalachians. That night I fell in love with night trail running, with the help of rechargeable Knuckle Lights. The problem I have with the rechargeable lights are pretty much the same problem I have with my headlamp and my watch: I forget to recharge them.  It's very annoying to realize 15 minutes before your night run that you forgot to charge your lights.

This is where the battery-run Knuckle Lights come in. The company offered me a set of Knuckle Lights in exchange for an honest review, and that is exactly what you will all get.

First, the lights come in four colors: black, grey, pink, and blue. I asked the company to surprise me, and I got black lights.

Here is some more specific information from the webpage:

Knuckle Lights are designed to be worn on the front of your hands, in a perfect position to light your path and be seen on your next walk or run in the dark. Knuckle Lights Original includes:

• 150 TOTAL LUMENS — The LED pattern is a wide flood beam, putting out light in all directions, providing a steady, even light in front of you that does not bounce, even with your arms moving.
• 2 LIGHTS PER SET — The units are held comfortably on your hands with soft silicone straps. The straps are easily adjusted to fit any size hand and even over gloves. The units are almost unnoticeable at less than 3 ounces each.
• 3 POWER SETTINGS — High, Low and Blinking.
• BATTERIES INCLUDED —  Each unit operates on 2 X AAA batteries
• BATTERY LIFE — 20+ Hours on High Power | 40+ Hours on Low Power | 50+ Hours on Blinking.
• WEATHERPROOF — The units can be used in any type of weather and will not leak or fail.

They cost $39.99 plus delivery.

I would have to say that these lights are worth the price. I have worn the original lights for at least 5 hour-long night runs, and they do not seem to be fading yet, a problem I often have with the rechargeable lights. I like the adjustable strap that fits to my hands so that I don't have to actually hold the lights. In fact, I feel like I carry myself in better form when the lights are strapped to my hands because I hold them in the correct running position and I don't squeeze my fists at all.

Even though my arms move when I run, the lights don't bounce or move from steady shining on the road/path before me. I feel that they are perfect for my morning road runs because not only can I see and be seen, but I feel like the lights would be a helpful weapon in case Elf-on-a-Bike ever feels aggressive towards me.

As for trail runs, I find that I need both a headlamp and Knuckle Lights to see where I am running. Keep in mind that most trail runners I know use one or the other, and that may be because they are younger than me. I am very paranoid about tripping on roots or rocks, so I feel the need for both a headlamp and Knucklelights on the trail.

In any case, I am very happy for my lights. They help me to run safer both in the morning on the sidewalks and at night on the trails.  I like seeing where I am going, and I think that Knucklelights are an easy way to do that.

As for Elf-on-a-Bike, he had better not stop around me. Those Knucklelights can also be a handy tool for my protection.

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