Slacking streak

Some people try for a running "streak" of a certain length.  I was going to try for the Runner's World holiday streak that was all over Facebook prior to Thanksgiving.  The challenge was to run at least one mile every day from Thanksgiving until New Years Day.  My Turkey Trot muscle pull ended my streak before it even began.  After a week off and being careful running for the next two weeks I was able to resume training for Key West but I just stuck to the training schedule and didn't try to run every day. 
Since the Key West half I've been on another kind of streak:  a slacking streak! Since Key West I've only run a few short runs.  I've run a couple of 5Ks and some short runs.  The most I have run is 5 total when I ran 2 miles after finishing a 5K a couple weeks ago.
The weather has been really bad.  It's been so cold, single digits to low twenties.   We have had snow forever.  It just keeps snowing more.  I can't run around home right now.  There isn't much of a shoulder along the roads out here to begin with but now with all the snow that's been plowed off to the sides, there is nowhere to get off the road.
I decided that I really need to get a good run in again.  I decided to go to the Saturday morning run group today.  I haven't been since two weeks before Key West.  I figured that I didn't need to get up super early and make the drive to run with the group when I wasn't training for anything.  I thought that I'd just run on my own but I haven't.  I hadn't run since Friday, February 7th, a week and a day ago.  If I didn't run today or tomorrow I'd have a week's page in my running log with a big ZERO in the box at the bottom.
I ran 6 miles and my average pace was 10:07.  My first 3 miles were 9:32, 9:23, and 9:11 and then I fell apart - the last 3 miles were 11:04, 10:20, and 11:09.   I was exhausted and sore.  I've been sore all day.  I am really out of shape. 
I'm glad I went, I really enjoyed this group during the summer when I was training for Chicago.  The group is a lot smaller now than it was in the summer but still has a bunch of people show up.  I will probably go at least a couple more times and hopefully I can get back to running on my own until when I would start to really train for the half marathons I'm running in the fall. 

Runner Nerd
out of shape

Laminate Flooring

We're going to replace the flooring in the addition to our home that was built in 1997.  It's an open kitchen/living room.  The living room area is carpeted and the kitchen has vinyl flooring.  The carpet is really bad.  It's old and stained from kids and the big beast dog and everyday life.  We're going to do the whole thing along with the mud room in laminate flooring AKA fake wood.  It can stand up to the farm boys coming in with their dirty boots and the dog can puke on it and it can be thoroughly cleaned up.  The vinyl flooring in the kitchen was top of the line when we put it in but even top of the line doesn't last forever.  It is harder to get it clean these days.  It used to clean up just like new even when it was really dirty with just a swipe of the mop but not anymore.  (Believe me, it could get really really dirty!)

When we first started talking about this, I thought it would be rather easy to go pick it out.  Well, I was quick to realize that this was going to be anything but easy!  There are sooooooooo many choices and it is so overwhelming.  When I started looking at the displays and realized that there were so many I almost said forget it; we've lived with gross carpet this long and we're just fine!   I brought some samples home.  I've been there twice looking at it and have brought samples home both times.  I'm narrowing it down.  I realized that I tend to like the darker shades better.  I also like the styles that look like older floors.  I tend to like hickory patterns the best.  We have a builder lined up to install it.  It's a man who has done work for the farm.

Laminate floor samples

This is a bunch of samples.  I have more than this.  So many different choices.
Narrowing it down a bit:

Finalists

These are a few that I really like.  I'm really leaning toward this one:

Pergo Max Handscraped Richland Hickory

I've actually found a couple of blogs of people who put this in their homes and have posted pictures of it.  It looks good.  

In other things, it seems that I now have a cold.  I am so over winter already.  I ran three extremely slow miles today.  I was planning on going to the group run tomorrow morning but then I remembered that my daughter wants to go to an event for the Humane Society, Paws and Claws.

It's bed time for me.  Hopefully, sleeping in instead of getting up early and going running in the 3 - 5 degree (feels like -5 to -8) temps that are on the current forecast for the time I would be running in the morning will help my cold to go away faster. 

Runner Nerd
has to pick out a floor

Groundhog Gallop 5K

This was the scenery at the location of the Groundhog Gallop 5K today:

5K in the snow

The temperature climbed all the way up to 30 degrees!!  When I woke up and looked out the window I saw that it had been snowing all night..  Oh great!  I got dressed and headed out!  The race took place at a school which, not being open today, did not have the parking lot plowed so it was quite a mess parking but I found a spot.  I had to trudge through the snow to the school entrance.  I had to register.  I saw a lot of friends hanging around waiting for the race to start.  When it was time to go out to the start line, again, it was a hike through the snow.  Footing was really bad to start; we were running along a drive behind the school.  We turned onto a road where it wasn't much better.  It was snowing and I think there were little ice balls in the snow because it stung when it hit my face.  My first mile came in at 10:28; yikes, that's slow!  Eventually, we turned onto the paved rail to trail and the footing was better.   Miles 2 came in at 9:18; now, that's better!  The home stretch was on the sidewalk and driveway into the school which had really deep snow and impossible footing.  My 3rd mile came in at 9:59. 
After finishing, I went back out with a few friends to run a couple more miles so I had a total of 5 miles for the day.
My 5K time was 32:50 and I placed 2nd in my age group!

Later on this afternoon the snow got the best of our little snow plowing machine!

stuck in the snow

The picture really doesn't make it look stuck but it was!  All it would do is slide sideways farther into the field behind it.  I had to pull it out with one of our big tractors.  I got my farm girl on today!!

Well, I am tired and about to fall asleep.  Running in the snow is tiring!  

Runner Nerd
has had enough winter