Being a bum in Key West

Since I didn't do very much blogging in Key West, I'm going to try to try to write some highlights of the trip, not necessarily in chronological order, just as I think of things!  

Once the half marathon was out of the way, it was time to have some fun in Key West!  I couldn't wait to visit a bakery that I visited last year, Mattheessen's bakery for a giant cookie!!

Giant chocolate chip cookie from Mattheessen's bakery! 

Erika and I each had a chunk of the cookie and took the rest back to the hotel room and had more later and finished it off the next day!  They are really good!  I bought another chocolate chip and an oatmeal raisin on the last day we were there to bring home and I cut each into four pieces and froze them!
We rode our bikes around quite a bit.  We had fun goofing around with a bunch of sculptures in the Mallory Square area:

High-fiving a sailor

flirting with railroad worker

Helping an elderly lady with groceries

We saw cruise ships docked in Mallory Square, we took lots of pictures in those photo thingies - I'm sure they have a name but it's where you put your face through an opening:

Oyster waitress

Fishing charter

Sunday night we went to Willie T's bar to listen to my favorite Key West singer:

Gerd Rube

I listened to him last year when I was there and I looked up his website shortly before my trip and found out that he was playing in Key West again this winter!  I was so excited!  He also had a brand new CD so I bought one when he was on his break:

My new BFF!

While he was on the stage and between songs, he commented on my shirt! He asked if I had run the half marathon and asked what my time was! 

We went running both of our remaining mornings because we were in Key West and could run in shorts and back here that was not an option:

71 degree temp difference at 7:23 am

Running along the ocean

playing in a sculpture on the beach

Monday night we stopped by the Southernmost point because every time we go by there it's crowded and there were always long lines for pictures.  When we got there, there was nobody else around!  We took each others pictures and then two men came along and asked if one of us could take their picture so they took ours together.  It worked out well!

Southernmost Point at night

goofing around at the Southernmost Point

We went to a drag queen show!  That's something I've never done before!
Monday afternoon, we rode our bikes all the way around the perimeter of Key West.  The half marathon used to go all the way around but the main road is under construction on the north side of the island so for the last two years the course had been an out and back along the south side.  Last year a lady told me that the other side is really boring and we really are running the best part of the course twice with the modified route.  She was right.  The other side is very commercial and looks like any street in any town around here:  McDonalds, Burger King, Home Depot, gas stations, muffler shops, etc etc etc...  There was also a lot more traffic.  If I'm never on North Roosevelt Ave. again, it will be ok with me! 
All too soon, it was time to pack up and check out of our hotel room.  We were able to leave our luggage in a room at the hotel since our flight wasn't until late afternoon.  It rained a little bit on Tuesday morning while we were packing but then it stopped and the sun came out and it was really nice.  We rode around, stopped at shops, and had a late lunch since our flight was going to be so late.  While we were having lunch, it began raining again and rained really hard.  We were sitting along an open wall in a restaurant on the harbor.  It did eventually stop raining and we got on our bikes for our last hour of riding around Key West.  At the time we started to head back to the hotel it started to rain again.  We got soaked!  We had to change our clothes before leaving.  (We had to change EVERYTHING, that's how soaked we were!)  The desk clerk called us a taxi, the taxi came and we were headed to the airport.
Our flight home was uneventful, both planes left on schedule.  We got back to Detroit, my diesel Jeep even started right up.  (I parked in the enclosed parking garage connected to the airport; well worth the extra few dollars per day cost.)  I dropped Erika off at her apartment and headed home.  I got home at about 2:15am.
To sum up my 2014 trip to Key West:  I had a blast!!

Key West 2014

Runner Nerd
home from Key West

Key West Half Marathon

I started this post in the afternoon of the half marathon and then worked on it some more in the evening but never finished it.  I  never worked on any blog posts after that so I am finishing it up after coming home.     .

Today's the day!

My countdown app on my phone started at over 200 days and now the day is here!  I got dressed, ate my bagel and banana, put gels and a hand towel into the bag I'd be checking and we were off on our bikes to the race site!  We took pictures, of course!

ready to run in Key West!

A really odd thing happened before the race.  The Half Shell Raw Bar, which is a main sponsor of the races, was open for runners to hang out and use bathrooms.  A young man was bringing out the cleaning cart to clean restrooms but runners were lining up to use them.  A man said to the crowd, "Does anyone speak Spanish?"  Erika does speak Spanish so she asked him why he wanted to know.  He asked her to tell the restroom cleaner to hold off cleaning until the race starts so that the runners can use them. When he came out of the supply closet, Erika proceeded to speak to him in Spanish but he shook his head and said that he doesn't speak Spanish!  Erika apologized and asked him in English to hold off on cleaning until the race started.  The man who had asked for someone to speak in Spanish was nowhere to be found, he had left.  I also apologized and told the young man that someone had asked for someone to speak to him in Spanish and so did some other people.  He said it was no big deal.  That was just so odd.
Anyway, I checked my bag and eventually we headed to the start line.  I got in the mass of people and Erika stood along the side because she didn't start the 5K until 20 minutes later.
Once I got out of the crowd of the start, I was running along at a comfortable pace but I wasn't running at 9 minutes.  I knew right then that the sub two hour goal was going right out the window, it wasn't going to happen.  My first thought was 2:05.  Miles 1 - 8 fell between 9:19 to 9:51.  Miles 9 and 10 were 10:00 and 10:21.  Mile 11 was a bit faster at 9:54.  There's something about passing the 10 mile mark of a half marathon and I always get excited after passing 10 miles!  It didn't last long!  Miles 12 and 13 were 10:20 and 10:15.  Mile 12 was the worst.  I actually thought I'd passed the 12 mile marker and missed it.  The mile markers are painted on the streets and I did miss the 2nd mile marker earlier.  I looked at Garmie and saw that I was only at 11.8 miles and hadn't missed the 12 mile mark!  Finally, 12 miles came and that last mile was tough.  Erika was by the side about 1/4 mile out and ran in with me.  I ran as fast as I could with Erika trying to get me to go faster!  We crossed the finish line together with out hands in the air!  I got my medal.  This was the strangest medal I've ever seen:

strange medal

I couldn't figure out why there was a pointy thing sticking out of the bottom of the medal!  It's a bottle stopper!  Once I recovered and the nautious feeling passed, we got a bottle of water and went looking for the food!!  They always have beer and a special cup for the beer.  Last year, I just went to the front of the line and grabbed a cup because I don't drink beer.  Erika is all about the beer so we stood in the long line, which moved along pretty fast, to get beers and a cup!  The truck behind me in the picture has the beer kegs inside of it and they are dispensing it on the outside of the truck. 

Erika and her beer! 

My Garmin read 2:08:36.  Kind of disappointed but it's ok.  This is just the wrong time of year to be in the kind of shape I'd need to be in to break 2 hours.  When I got my bag back from gear check, I checked my phone because I'd signed up for text tracking!  My results were in a text message.  My actual time was 2:08:28!  Erika really surprised herself by running the 5K at an 8:20 pace!  I can't remember just what she said her time was.  I can't look it up since she took the timing tag off of the back of the bib.  (explanation for removing timing tag in my last post.)  We had some snacks and hung around enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful day!  It had warmed to 70 degrees! Yay!  I couldn't believe that the Key West Half Marathon was already over!  I looked around for what was promised for after race food and has been a regular feature of the Key West Half Marathon.  I'm talking about -- Frozen, chocolate dipped key lime pie on a stick!  They had it last year, they had recently mentioned it on their Facebook page.  I didn't see anyone walking around with it, we looked everywhere.  I guess they didn't have it this year.  Someone told us that a shop that sells it is right nearby so we walked over there and Erika bought us frozen key lime pies on sticks!  The shop, kermit's, is right on the half marathon course very close to the end.  We stood along the side cheering for people who were running in.  One lady saw us with the pie on sticks and yelled out, "YES! The reward at the end!"  I felt bad because we weren't able to tell her that we had bought them and there was none this year.  As we were walking back, several people walking by asked us where we got them and we told them that we bought them at Kermit's.  I will have to write to the race director and ask what happened to the pies. 
We rode our bikes back to the hotel, showered, went to lunch and then to the beach!  Erika is all about the beach!  As I sat on the beach, my body began to stiffen up and soreness set in.  Yep, I guess I really did just run a half marathon!  We snuck into a big hotel across the street from the beach to use the restroom and then we rode our bikes back to the hotel.  I actually felt better after riding the bike and wasn't as stiff and sore. 

I can't believe that another Key West Half Marathon is over already!  I'm really looking forward to the two days I have left in Key West.  I am definitely going to get to the bottom of why there was no frozen key lime pie on a stick this year!!

Runner Nerd
Key West Half Marathon finisher again

Long bus ride to Key West

Soooooooo, We did make it to Key West!!  We arrived on the big tour bus at 3:15am.  What a day. 
After the flight was cancelled, they arranged for a bus to come and take us to Key West. 17 of the 34 passengers elected to take the bus.  I think it was just shy of 11pm when the bus finally pulled up and we loaded up for the drive.

On the bus

Shortly after we left, I called the hotel to let them know that we were, indeed, on our way there.  The lady I talked to said that she'd have our paperwork all ready with a note for the overnight person.  She assured us that our room would be waiting for us.  Our bikes had been delivered and she had the keys for the locks in an envelope with our check in paperwork.
Even though we didn't get to our room until 3:30 am, we woke up around 9 am and even though we were still tired, we got up because we didn't want to waste any more of our time in Key West.  We went and got a few things from the hotel's breakfast bar and ate by the pool.  After showering, we were off on our neat-o rental bikes!  I did this last year and still remember my way around but Erika was really nervous about riding around with the traffic.  She hasn't ridden a bike in a long time.  She loved it!  We rode to where the race expo was being held; it wasn't open yet but I wanted to show her how close it is and how easy it will be to get there in the morning before the race.  We had lunch and visited some shops.  Erika LOVES jewelry and was going crazy over all of the handmade jewelry offered in the shops around Key West!  We made our way to the expo and got our race bibs and shirts.  I love the shirt this year! (this pic is from the race website)

Cool shirts! (from KWHM website)

Erika had some injuries in the late summer and hasn't been running very much even though her injuries have healed.  She had a lot of work traveling in the fall and then was sick right after the holidays.  She thought it would be better for her to switch to the 5K.  Our bibs had our names on them and they were just so cool:

coolest race bibs ever

For her to switch to the 5K, she'd have to give this bib back and her new one wouldn't have her name on it.  She decided to keep the bib and remove the timing tag from the back and just run the 5K and then she would meet me near the end and run me in so we could cross the finish line together and have a finish line picture together.  I know it's probably not the best thing to do and most people would probably have a fit but it's what we decided to do!  We rode around more and came back to the hotel.  It was getting chilly so we changed before we went to the pasta dinner.  After dinner, we rode over to Duval Street which is the main touristy party street in Key West.  We went into a bar and listened to the singer for a while and then headed back to the hotel so we could get some sleep before we have to get up early for our big races.  We are both really tired.
It's so hard to believe that tomorrow morning I'm running the Key West Half Marathon again! 

Runner Nerd
tired on half marathon eve

Ready to go!

The work is all done!  I ran my last run of training for the Key West half! 
This is what I was up against today:
on the streets:

snow covered street

on the trail:

snow covered trail

Tomorrow I will not have any snow to deal with!  I'm all packed and ready to go!  I have a feeling I'm going to be driving to the airport in 4-wheel drive.  I have to pick up my friend, Erika, at 7am so I need to leave at 6:15 am with normal roads.  I'm thinking I'm going to have to plan on leaving at 5:30 am and see how things look when I get up.  We'll see. 

Runner Nerd
off to Key West

One more run to go before I'm outta here!

Just one more run in this frozen tundra that is Michigan in January and then I'll be running in sunny Key West!  Tonight was group run at the running store.  Only three people tonight; gee, I wonder why!  It was 24 degrees, the sidewalks weren't knee deep with snow like last week but there were patches of ice that we had to really watch for.  The roads in the two subdivisions we ran through were good.
I am so looking forward to Key West!!  I leave Friday morning!  My friend and I rented bikes today!  They will be delivered to us at our hotel soon after we get there!  We're both excited about the trip!  I don't know if I will be able to come in under 2 hours but I'm going to try and have fun trying!
I'm just about all packed.  I did my monthly weigh in at Weight Watchers today so I'm good for this month!  I'm sure I'll gain a few lbs in Key West!  I can't wait to get one of these gigantic cookies again!!
Well, I guess I should go organize my suitcase; I've been throwing things into it for the last week.  I will probably eliminate a few things before I go.  Tomorrow is my last day home and I have to leave my house early Friday morning so I need to be completely packed as well as have things around the house done, such as emptying the overflowing wastebaskets!  If I didn't empty them, when I get back there would be trash piled as high as they could get it to stay on top and then trash everywhere! 

Runner Nerd
packing

Going to Key West again!

I am going to run the half marathon in Key West again in 2014!  I registered way back in May or June.  My friend, Erika, is also going!  Today we booked our hotel and flights!! 

I'm super excited to be going back to Key West, where it's close to perfect and far from normal!!
Runner Nerd
going to Key West again

The Last Day

It was my last day in Key West.   It was 68 degrees at 7am and it was -6 (yes, negative 6) and schools were closed back home so how could I not go running!!  I put on the same clothes I wore for the half marathon; I didn't bring any others.  I set out to run along the ocean on the half marathon course.  I saw a pier when I was riding my bike yesterday and saw a runner turn and head onto it so I wanted to check it out myself.

The White Street Fishing Pier

It wasn't much; it was a bridge-like structure out into the water for fishing from.  I looked at Garmie when I turned onto it and it said .86 and when I came back off I was at 1.31 so running down and back was .45 miles so it is nearly a quarter of a mile long.  I took the picture above and posted it to Facebook saying, "out for my morning run along the pier, no big deal!" (as if I run on a pier every day!!)  I guess I just felt like rubbing it in since I so rarely travel!  I'm always the one seeing friends' cool vacation pics so it was my turn!
I admit that I did stop and take pictures several times during my run!!  I am actually surprised that I never forgot to restart Garmie when I started running again! 
The course came within a block of my hotel so I ran down to that street and followed it out to the road that runs along the ocean.  I ran past the 10 mile mark again!

Running past the beach on my morning run! Yes, I could handle this as part of my every day routine!

Running ocean-side

There is a really nice paved biking/walking/etc lane which is separated from the road along the ocean which is where quite a few miles of the half marathon ran.
I planned to run 4 miles so I ran another mile down the ocean side path and turned back.  As I got close to my hotel, I kind of "forgot" to turn right on Simonton St. to go back to my hotel and went straight through the intersection  to run past this Key West landmark:

The Southernmost Point!

Then I HAD to head back because I had to check out by 11:00 and I didn't want to be too rushed.  When I got back, the hotel was still serving breakfast so I had some breakfast by the pool!

mini muffins by the pool after running

Then it was time to shower, dress and get ready to vacate my room.  As I was getting ready to shower, I had a thought...what am I going to do with these sweaty running clothes????  I was really sweaty and they were wet!  I ended up putting them in a plastic bag and stuffing them into the outside pocket of my suitcase! 
The hotel kept my luggage in a room in the office area so I could ride around all day until it was time to head to the airport.  My flight wasn't until 5:40 pm.
I had lunch at Cheeseburger in Key West.  It's on Duval St. and I had ridden or walked by it several times.  All the restaurants in Key West have their menus posted in front so I have looked at all of them.  This one had a cobb salad that sounded really good!  This was the only non seafood meal I had in Key West.  One other thing I keep seeing on every menu was Conch fritters.  It doesn't matter if the restaurant is super fancy and expensive or not, Conch fritters are on every one.  I asked about them at one of the places I was at and they said that they are a specialty in the Florida Keys.  I decided to try them today since they weren't nearly as much here as they were at most places.  I could also get a small order of only 6!

Key West Conch Fritters

The way I would describe them is like tiny crab cakes except that it's Conch instead of crab and they are deep fried.  The chunks of Conch remind me of clam strips.  I ate one and then just ate the centers out of a couple more since I had a big salad coming.  They were good but I doubt that I will order them the next time I'm in Key West.
I spent the afternoon riding my bike around and taking lots of pictures.  I took zillions of pictures of houses and chickens!
My last stop was, of course, ice cream!!  I had ice cream on the Historic Seaport!

Ice cream at Key West Ice Cream Factory on the Historic Seaport

All too soon it was time to get back to the hotel, have them call a taxi and give them my bike.  (They took care of returning it to the rental place.)
The flight home was uneventful.  I had a hard time finding my car back in Detroit.  I left it in the Blue Parking Deck.  I had written down "D2 across from elevator, middle row" when I parked.  I was right in front of a sign that said D2 and I was across from an elevator with one other row of cars between where I was parked and the elevator.  I thought that the 2 meant level 2 so I went to the 2nd level and began wandering looking for section D.  I found section D2 but my car was not there.  I was FREEZING!  I only had a light jacket.  I was wandering around and beginning to panic and a security truck stopped and asked me if I needed help.  I showed him what I had written and said that I walked the whole length of D2 and could not find my car.  He asked if I might be in D2 on a different level.  He explained that D2 is a section and that every level has a D2.  He gave me a ride and it turns out that I was on level 1.  So, next time I leave my car there I guess I need to determine which level I'm on along with the section number!  I was probably so excited to get going when I got there that I didn't really look at the signs very well.  Anyway, I got going and got home just shy of 2 am.  I was starving so I had stopped at a 24 hr McDonald's on the way home and got a chicken wrap.  When I got home, I had some popcorn and the rest of my Mattheessen's oatmeal raisin cookie!!  I also brought a whole one home which I cut into 4 pieces, wrapped and put in the freezer. 
So, that was my adventure, my graduation present to myself, my graduation celebration, the trip I had been planning for over 3 years was over.
I love Key West and I will definitely be back!
Well, I need to get to the grocery store and get some decent food in the house since I gained 5 lbs in Key West.  I guess it's back to counting Weight Watchers points for me!  

Runner Nerd
missing Key West

What a day

What a day!!  I ran a half marathon, I had a yummy seafood lunch on the Historic Seaport, I had a gigantic chocolate chip cookie, I took a nap, I went on a ghost tour of Key West, I listened to live music, I got hugged by a drag queen, I  am in Key West!!!!!

Lunch was great!  The restaurant is open like the one I went to yesterday.

view from my table

This restaurant is on the Harbor in the Historic Seaport District.  Right behind it are charter fishing boats.  Fishing trips are a big thing here.  This was on the menu:

you hook 'em...we cook 'em

Apparently, they will cook fish you catch and bring in!!
I also saw this in the restaurant:

Doggy having lunch with his humans!

you would NEVER see that around here!  Only in Key West!!
After lunch, I rode my bike around, went into a couple of shops and then I got away from the town area and rode in residential areas.   One thing I've noticed is that everything in Key West is old.  Everything is well kept up but it is old.  I really love the architecture here.  The houses all have porches the length of the front; two story houses have two story porches.  Many houses have palm trees taller than them.
I came back to my room and took a nap for about 1.5 hour.  I also put my running clothes in a washing machine here at the hotel and run it without any detergent.  My clothes were soaked and quite smelly.  Even the t-shirt I changed into before riding my bike back here was sweaty.  I don't have any detergent so they got washed in just water; it has to be better than leaving them in a pile in my room to ferment! 
Around 6 pm, I headed back out.  I had to be at the trolly tour place at 7:30 to check in for the Ghosts and Graveyards tour.  But first, I had another thing to do!  I had read on a woman's blog about a place with really good gigantic chocolate chip cookies!!  I wrote it down and looked it up online so I'd know where to find it.  This is the mother of all cookies:

Mattheessen's 1/2 lb chocolate chip cookie

It was really good!!  I didn't eat all of it, more than a quarter but less than half!  I went into some shops along Duval street.  Duval street is "the" street in Key West where it all happens! 
I decided to ride back to my room and put the rest of the cookie in my refrigerator, I grabbed my jacket because it had cooled down a little.  It was still warm but it felt a bit chilly when riding the bike.  Then I went to check in for the Ghost tour.  I wish I had taken a picture of the trolly.  It was fun, I learned a lot of history of Key West.  We went into an old fort that is now a museum.  They passed out EMF detectors - just like on Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures!!!

my EMF detector!!! 

Mine blinked a few times when we were in there.  Only three of us had them blink.  Who knows?  It was fun! 

After that, I was back to wandering Duval street.  All the bars are open to the outside and have live entertainment so you can listen to the music from the sidewalk.  I listened to this dude for the rest of his show; he was awesome!

Gerd Rube

I listened until he was done and then I found out that the place I was going to eat was closed.  It was a pizza place I saw earlier.  They make individual pizzas so I was thinking I'd do that for my dinner.  Oh well.  It was worth it to listen to Gerd Rube!!  I ended up having a slice of pizza at a place that was still open.  It was a place that sells pizza by the slice from the heated case.  (like at the mall) It was not terrible but I'm sure I would have liked the other much better.  I went back to my hotel and ate the rest of my cookie.

Sooooo, yes, this was a great day!!!  I love Key West!!!!!!

Runner Nerd
loving Key West

I am a Key West Half Marathon Finisher!

My alarm woke me at 5 am to get up and get ready to go run the half marathon that I have been looking forward to for three years!  I could hardly believe that I was actually getting ready for the race.  It was 70 degrees!  YAY!  I ate my bagel, got dressed, and rode my bike to the race location.  I was behind a lady who was also biking to the race!  We parked and locked our bikes a block away since there were still plenty of open spaces on this bike rack. 

before the race

I checked my bag, used the restroom (a real restroom, not porta potty!) and joined in the crowd moving toward the start line.  When I got to the start line, it was solid people facing me; the line up was on the other side!  I got behind the starting line but was off to the side and decided that I was going to wait there and jump in after the gun.  There was a 5K that started 10 minutes later and most of those runners were along the side of the starting corral so there were a lot of people in a small area. 
As I got started, I soon realized that I wasn't used to running in 70s anymore.  I actually had to get used to it.  After a couple of miles I finally felt normal.  It went good; I was running in the area of 10:30 miles which is what I expected with my minimal training method.  The race started in town but finally got out along the ocean.  The race was marked in both miles and kilometers.  The course was changed this year due to construction on the home stretch of the loop around the island.  It was out and back this year so as I was running out, I could see the mile markers for the way back.  When you are at 4 miles into a race you really don't want to see a 10 mile marker!  Eventually, I was headed back and passing the larger number mile markers again when they were really my mileage!  Around mile 7 I began feeling really beat and it was difficult and I thought, "this is going to be a long, miserable run the rest of the way" but it didn't last and I was back up to speed again.  Things went well until the last mile.  The last mile was tough; I just wanted to be done.  As I came back into town, there were a lot of turns.  I kept thinking that I'd see the finish line around each corner.  Finally, I saw the finish line and crossed smiling with  my arms in the air!!  I found a place to sit down for a few minutes and then it hit me - it's over, after 3 years of planning, it's over.  I was a bit sad.  I drank a little water.  The water bottles were cold!  They had been in ice!  Nothing worse than a warm bottle of water after a race.  I got my bag from bag check; I had a towel in my bag.  I soaked the towel in no time wiping my sweat off!  I took this picture of myself soon after finishing.  (I put my phone in my bag; I usually don't do that but I wanted to be able to text/Facebook post/take pictures so I did this time.)  The middle of the medal turns around. 

soon after finishing

I went looking for the food!  There were orange wedges and I ate 3 or 4.  They tasted really good.  Then there was:

frozen, chocolate dipped slice of Key Lime pie!!! 

I took a picture of it and posted it to Facebook saying: "You know you are in a special place when the finish line food is chocolate dipped key lime pie!!"  It really tasted good!  After I ate it, my tummy wasn't quite sure about it which I expected but I wasn't super nauseous or anything.  
Someone asked me if I'd take their picture so then I asked him to take mine with my camera. 

Key West Half Marathon finisher

There was no official finish picture area like there is at most races.  I don't think there were any photographers on the course either, just the finish line. 
Eventually, I was able to see results and my official finish time was 2:23:50.  I was hoping to be under 2:20 but I'm ok with it; I didn't train like I should have and I'm still not back to my pre-college weight. 
Soooooo, the Key West Half Marathon of 2013 is in the books! 
I'm back in my hotel room, I've showered and dressed in my shorts and short sleeve shirt to go out and about in Key West in the sunny 72 degree weather!!!
I feel good! My feet do not hurt other than normal sore feet after a long run.  My heel is not hurting at all and never did during the race.  Now, I can honestly say that I am soooooooo glad that I took 2.5 months completely off from running back in the summer.  It was the right thing to do, it was the smart thing to do.  I am here and am able to say the first line of this paragraph because I did it!! 
Well, I'm hungry so I am heading off to Schooner Wharf restaurant because I have a 10% off coupon from my race packet!!  Yummy seafood awaits me!!  I just ran a half marathon!!  I'm wearing the shirt the rest of the day! 

Runner Nerd
Key West finisher

Another Day in Paradise

The fanciest race bib I've ever had!

This is my race bib for the half marathon!  It's the fanciest race bib I've ever had!  I've never had one with a picture like that on it!  I can't believe that I have a 2 digit number.  I don't know how they assigned numbers but I did register one of the first few days registration was open. 

I got my rental bike today!  I don't have a picture of it yet.  I rode around this morning, found where the expo and packet pick up would be and then had lunch at a seafood restaurant.  You know you are in a place where it doesn't get cold when the restaurant doesn't even have walls around the outside of it!!  It is open to the outdoors and there are pigeons walking around the floor and they will come right up by your feet if they think there is a crumb on the floor!  I bet they never have to sweep the floor!
 I saw two cruise ships today!  There were two of them at the dock in Mallory Square this morning.  They are HUGE!  I've only seen pictures and I knew they weren't small but I didn't realize how massive they are.  I took pictures with my camera but I haven't put the pictures on my computer yet. After lunch and more riding around and looking in some shops that were off the main areas, I went back to my hotel room and took a nap until I rode back to pick up my packet.  I wasn't ready for dinner yet so I rode around a little bit more looking at everything.  I was in the seaport area.  There are a lot of fishing charter boats.  The pasta dinner was nothing special.  It was not even very good.  Oh well!  Hal Higdon was the speaker. 

Hal Higdon

After Hal Higdon spoke, I got on  my bike and rode back to my room and then started thinking about tomorrow morning.  I had never made any plans for breakfast.  I asked at the front desk and they directed me to a place with a deli that was in the same block as the hotel so I was able to get a bagel and I went to a convenience store I had stopped at last night for water because I remembered seeing fruit.  I'm so glad they had decent looking bananas so I got 2 bananas.  I like bananas just barely ripe and they had some that still had some green.
I have my bib pinned on my shirt and clothes and Garmin ready to go and will be going to bed soon!  The race is at 7am.  

Runner Nerd
race night in Key West

She's gone for three months

I put my daughter, my baby, on a plane today.  Actually, I pulled up to the curb, took her suitcases out of the back and sent her on her way; people cannot accompany people into the airport anymore.  I'm sure that's probably better in this case!  There were two other students on the same flight and another who would be joining them on the second leg of the flight in Dallas, TX.   She is studying abroad in Belize for three months.   The trip is led by Anthropology professors and is only with students from her university.  She texted me when she landed in Dallas and then called me just before boarding in Dallas and one last text when she was on the plane and it was going to be leaving.  After that, no more cell phone.  I got an email from her saying that she got there safely and she is already loving it!  Her email said that there are trees EVERYWHERE!!  There are trees everywhere here, too.  I am not sure if the trees there are dense, as in a woods or forest, everywhere in Belize.  I guess I will have to wait to see pictures. 
I will worry about her safety every day and will miss her but I am glad that she has this opportunity.
I had to drop her off at the airport at 6:30 am so we had to leave home at 5:15 am.  We only slept a few hours after being up late getting everything packed so I was tired when I got home.  I fell asleep and slept for over four hours!  I guess I was tired!
  
Tonight was running group!!  With Christmas and New Years falling on Tuesdays, there was no running group the last two weeks.  It was good to get together with the group again. 


My trip to Key West is rapidly approaching!  I leave in 9 days!!
I have been following the story of 12 people who made up a relay team for a relay from Miami to Key West.  This relay took place Friday and Saturday.  It was hot with temps in the 80s; I sure hope it's like that when I'm there too!  This group of 12 people on this relay team have all lost at least 100 pounds each and came to know each other though blogging and a weight loss website called Sparkpeople.   A documentary is being made of this relay and the journeys of the people from being morbidly obese to losing the weight and becoming runners.  I can't wait to see the documentary.  As a respiratory therapist, I take care of people who are realizing that their lifestyle choices have caused their problems and I've heard many times of how they wish they could go back and do it differently.  One of the reasons that this documentary interests me so much is that these people made those lifestyle changes before it was too late and changed their lives in such great ways.  They are proof that it can be done and that people are really doing it!!!  I have also heard every excuse there is for not making those lifestyle changes.  I've listened to patients refuse to put any effort into their recovery; they want medicine; they don't want to be told to exercise and eat differently.  When I hear of people making the changes I get very excited!!! 

Time for bed, tomorrow begins my study and review for my board exams which I hope to take next week.

Runner Nerd
no kids in the house

Longest run and 2 weeks to go!!!

Two weeks from today I will be running in Key West, Florida!!  I will be in the southernmost city in the United States!!  I will be where it is "far from normal, close to perfect"!!! (fla-keys.com/keywest)

Yesterday I ran my longest run in my training for this half marathon.  I ran 12.2 miles.  It was cold - 30 degrees, which isn't really that bad but I just wasn't enjoying it.  Part of my run was on dirt roads which had been plowed but still had snow on them.  Most of the time it was fine running but there were places where there was more snow and it was harder to run on.  I decided to use my ipod on this run.  I rarely run listening to music.  I was never on a main road.  I combined a couple of my 4 mile routes in Chelsea and added 4 miles on Trinkle Rd out and back from the high school.  I ran really slow.  I know I'm not going to be able to run this half in under 2 hours but I really really hope that I can run it faster then I ran yesterday.  I'd like to think I could do 2:10 but 2:20 is the most I want to be out there.

My daughter leaves to study abroad on Tuesday.  She will be gone 3 months.  I think that will be the longest I've ever went without seeing her.  We won't be able to talk very often either.  She will have internet access so I will get emails from her.  When she went to Africa on a Lutheran mission trip when she was 17 there was no contact at all; that was hard.  After she leaves, I have to get myself in gear and review for my board exam.  I would like to take it on Monday, a week from tomorrow.  I guess I just need to sign up for it that day and then I am committed.

Thursday will be 10 days out from Key West which, to runners, means - 10 day forecast!!!  It's both good and bad!  I don't know why I continue to look at it every time I have a major race.  It changes daily; it can go from one extreme to the other.  I have been following the weather in Key West for several months now and it really doesn't fluctuate much.  This time of year it is consistently in the 70s; in the summer it's consistently in the 80s.

Next Saturday I will be running 8 miles which sounds easy but I'm going to use a night cross country race that I've done several times as my run.  So much for easy!  I've already told my friends who also run this race that I'm going to be very cautious out there because I'm not taking any chances of falling or even twisting an ankle.  The run is on the grounds of a high school; some of it is on their cross country course and some in parking lots and driveways that wind around the athletic fields.  The cross country course parts usually have deep snow and there's a big hill!

Well, I'm off to help a panicky kid get packed for 3 months of traveling!! 

Runner Nerd
off to Key West in 12 days!

Runner Nerd is training for a half marathon!

11 weeks till Key West half marathon!!!!!!  I'm training!!!!  Today was my long run of the incredibly long distance of 6 miles!!!  Ok, so 6 miles isn't a very long run, but for one who is just returning to running after 2 months off for plantar fasciitis, it's a very big deal!!!  My foot behaved nicely and I was even still moving when I finished!!  My first few post-PF runs were not so good; I was barely moving the last half mile or so.  Today, my 6th mile was faster than my 3rd, 4th and 5th miles!  As Garmy beeped for 5 miles, I realized that I was feeling pretty good and picked up the pace a bit!!  My overall pace was 10:56 which isn't great but for now I will take it.  As I continue to get rid of this weight I've gained since becoming the world's oldest college student I hope to see my pace get faster.
There is one thing I am totally sure of now:
KEY WEST, HERE COMES RUNNER NERD!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'll be there on January 20th!!! 
My running group friend, Erika, is thinking about going too!!  She doesn't know for sure yet but she wants to.  She was supposed to run the NY marathon tomorrow.  She had PF last year and just started running in the early summer after 4 or 5 months off.  She had a great training and was really looking forward to the marathon.  Her flight was Thursday late afternoon and she didn't know for sure if it was going to go until only a couple of hours before departure.  She flew into Laguardia which was still closed Thursday morning.  She picked up her packet before the cancellation was announced so she has her bib and the shirt.  After the marathon was cancelled, she was able to buy some running clothes half price.  She texted me earlier today saying that marathon runners can run 4 laps in Central Park tomorrow morning at 9 am.  She is planning on going and running. 
I hope that she is able to go to Key West, her and I have a blast together!  Tuesday night we went to the haunted attractions at Wiards Orchards in Ypsi.  It had rained most of the day so the haunted hayride wasn't running.  We went through the haunted mine shaft, haunted insane asylum and the haunted barn!  I haven't been to any haunted houses in years! 

Next Saturday is the Iron Turkey which I've run for the last 3 years.  I don't know if I will be running it this year.  I am not up to 9 miles yet.

One month from today is my last class!!  42 days until graduation!!

Runner Nerd
running again

Feeling Left out

Tomorrow is the Detroit and the Grand Rapids marathons.  I have several friends running in each.  Other friends ran Chicago a few weeks back and a couple of others will be running New York City in a few weeks.  I feel like I'm the only one who isn't running a marathon or half marathon this fall. 
I AM running again!!  I've run 2 miles, 3 miles twice and 3.5 miles and all went well and my foot behaved itself.  The Key West Half Marathon is 13 weeks from tomorrow; one more week until a 12 week training program would start.  I AM going to Key West!!  I am sooooo looking forward to it and can't wait. 
School is down to 43 days until my last class (6 weeks from Monday!).  I may have found my calling!!  I finished my neo-natal ICU clinicals (very sick babies) and then it was on to my long term care clincals.  This is people who are ventilator dependant for a long term, sometimes forever.  I liked it a lot.  I can see myself doing it.  They are going to hire 4 new respiratory therapists in the near future and I talked to them about it.  I have to let them know when I graduate and pass my boards.
Finding a job is going to be a huge priority now.  My daughter is going to study abroad next semester.

I have been doing a lot of biking during the time I wasn't running.  I recently saw this guy while riding:

I've been seeing him since he was little while running but I never have my phone with me when running but I do when I'm riding my bike so I stopped and took his picture.  This cow is almost completely white except for this black spot on his side and some black on his neck.  His other side is completely white.

Another picture:  I wonder if this is intentional.  The sign says Great Harvest Bread Co.  What are the chances that some of the lights would burn out and leave these words:

I think it's intentional; I will have to go in there one of these days and ask (and buy a yummy cookie!!)

Runner Nerd
running again

Key West, Here comes the world's oldest college student!!!

I am officially registered for my graduation present to myself!!  I can't think of a better way to celebrate graduating from college and beginning my new career than to go to one of the coolest places in the world, where it's beautiful in the middle of January, and run a half marathon!!!
When I first started this college journey, my first thought was to do the goofy challenge the 2nd week of January  (Disney half marathon on Saturday and Disney marathon on Sunday).  It did not take long to realize that there would be no way that I could train for a marathon while going about the business of being the world's oldest full time college student and maintaining that all important 4.0 GPA.  When I learned of the Key West half in January I thought that would be perfect!  Half marathons are so much easier. I would have over a month after graduation which can go a long way toward getting ready for a half marathon as long as I had a good base. 
I'm really excited and looking forward to this!!  I've been saying for over 3 years that I'm going to go to Key West after graduating and I can't believe that I am now actually registered for it!!  I'm winding up my next to last semester then will have a 6 week break and at the end of August will be beginning my last semester!!
Soooooooo, anyway.... I have registered for...

Now, I have work to do.  I'm embarrassed beyond embarrassed to say that I've gained 10 pounds since becoming a full time student.  That is number one priority to get rid of that.  My mileage has went down to almost nothing, from 25-30 miles per week to 10-12 miles per week.  With weight gain and such reduced mileage I am so out of shape.  I run soooooo slow.  Turtles run faster than me.  I have a hard time running under 10 minute miles.  When I run with others on Tuesday nights, I can keep up 9 minute miles for a couple of miles but then I really slow down.  These days, 4 miles does me in.  So, I have to make a comeback!  My heel has been bothering me, it's symptoms of the "PF" word.  (can't even type it!)  I am going to one of the massage therapists at the place I go who has developed a massage technique for PF.

Today I ran 3 miles, my heel was good but afterward I drove about a mile to CVS to get a newspaper and when I got out of the car I had to give it a moment before taking the first step.  GEEZ, when is this going to end?????  

I have new next door neighbors whom I haven't met yet.  I still can't believe the old neighbors are gone :(   They built the house and had lived next to us for 21 years.  I am planning on making some chocolate chip cookies this week and taking them to the new neighbors and meeting them.  The recipe I'm making is one I got from the old neighbor!  It's the best chocolate chip recipe ever!! 


Runner Nerd
Key West bound