Can't get to Key West

I, Runner Nerd, am sitting in a chair in the Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Meyers, FL.  I should be in Key West by now.  I was supposed to be there at 3:19pm but as of right this moment, 7:47 pm, I am not there.  The plane had a flat tire! 

Stranded travelers

They are estimating that we will be leaving at 11pm.  We had boarded the small plane, all 34 passengers, and then we were promptly told that we had to de-embark the plane.  I know these things happen and at least I'm in Florida and not Michigan.  I guess it will be fun to fly at night.  I'm just so disappointed.  I was so excited to be there today.  I've called the hotel and they said that they won't give our room away. 
Oh noooooooooooo.  They just came back to the terminal and said that our flight is CANCELLED.  Apparently, the crew needed to fix this flat tire is in TAMPA, which is a long way from Ft. Meyers. 
I have to go now, will finish this later. 

Runner Nerd
very sad not to be in Key West

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

Victory for MSU!

This afternoon, I went to a college women's basketball game!  I've never been to one before.  It was Michigan State vs University of Michigan at University of Michigan.  What fun!  I had several friends going so I decided to "borrow" an MSU sweatshirt from my son and go.  Tickets were $8.00 and parking was free at Pioneer High School which is a half block away and a quick few minutes walk to Crisler Center.  The score was close throughout the whole game.  The scores were never more than a few points apart.  MSU got ahead by 6 points in the last few minutes and ended up winning 79-72!
I'd like to go to another game at MSU!  It would also be fun to go to another game at UM when it's not MSU so I could get caught up in all the pom pom waving and fight song playing!  It would be fun to see what it's like at a home game at MSU too!
Before the game in my MSU shirt among the Maize and Blue:

A Spartan in Wolverine territory

We had close seats, 2nd row behind one of the baskets:

good seats and skimpy cheerleader outfits

MSU wins!

This is a blurry picture but it is the MSU team waving as they left the court!

The winners!

It was a lot of fun for just $8.00!  To go to a Men's game would cost $10.00+ just to park, I have no idea what tickets cost but I'm sure they cost way more than $8.00.  I'm really glad that I went.

Runner Nerd
watched college basketball

Ididarun 8 mile night cross country run

Last night was the annual Ididarun 8 mile cross country race in Linden, MI.  It's put on by the cross country teams of Linden Schools, a small school district about an hour away.  This is the fourth year I've run this.  The first year there was a few inches of snow and it was cold.  The last two years it was unseasonably warm for January and the course was muddy.  This year the snow was deep but it had warmed up yesterday and Friday so a lot of snow melted but the temperature dropped in the late afternoon so there was some freezing of the melted snow!  The parts of the course that are on the cross country course had deep snow and to add to the fun, in some spots, there was water under the snow!  Your feet sink right in with each step.  Before the race, the director said, "your feet WILL get wet!"  Oh, he was right!  My feet got soaked.  The run is 4 two mile loops.  Each time around the off road sections wiped me out more and more.  It just took so much to stay upright and to get through the snow and snow/water.  There were some slippery spots on the paved parts, too.  On the last loop, the wind came up and it got colder.  My lips and cheeks were numb.  I kept thinking that I should have just went to the group long run in the morning, ran my 8 miles and called it a day!  I also used this race for my last long run before Key West last year.  I was never so glad to be finished as I was last night!

Cold, wiped out, and soaked feet

I had looked up my time from last year and it took me 15 minutes longer this year.  I was surprised that it was just 15, I thought it would have been more.  I won my age group!!  (Actually, I was 2nd but the winner was the Masters winner.)  I changed into dry clothes and socks right after finishing but I did not have dry shoes with me.  They always have soups after this race.  I had clam chowder soup and it was really good but it didn't sit well which made for a really long drive home!  I walked around in my socks until it was time to leave and then I had to put my feet back into my cold, wet shoes.  I had also forgotten my coat so I had to walk out to the car without a coat and in wet shoes!  I was very happy for my heated seat cushion! 
I actually learned after the race that a lot of people decided to do the relay option which is two people each running two loops.  (People who had originally signed up for the whole 8 miles.)   I guess there weren't that many left running the whole 8 miles.
So, with that, I've completed all of my long runs for Key West!  Just a few short runs this week and I'm off to Key West!

Runner Nerd
ready for Key West

Longest and coldest run

Today, I ran my longest long run in training for Key West.  I ran 12 miles.  It was 17 degrees with a "feels like" of 0!  I got slower and slower the last 4 miles.  My legs got really tired.  I was so glad to be done.  I ran in a group training run with a marked route and water stops.  All that is left is 8 miles next Saturday and then it's off to Key West!!
After running, I went to visit my niece and help her out.  She's expecting her second baby and is exhausted right now.  She wanted a banana, she was craving bananas!  We went to Kroger to get bananas and a couple things she needed.  When we got there the parking lot was full.  We had to pull in where another car pulled out.  We weren't sure what was going on.  As soon as we walked in the store, we were greeted by a totally empty banana display stand.  Not a banana to be seen.  The store was packed; there were people everywhere.  There is a huge snowstorm and sub-zero temps in the weather forecast so apparently people are stocking up!  It's a good thing that she didn't need milk because we were also greeted by:

It's gonna snow so hoard milk!

The cereal shelves were also pretty bare!  She wanted Life cereal and there was plenty of that on the shelf!  The checkout lines were really long and went down the isles.  It was crazy because you had to find your way through the people in line for checkout while you were in the isles shopping.  I needed a bag of cat litter so I got that.  I went through the U-scan and there was barely any wait.  I walked up and in a minute a checkout machine became available so I texted my niece to hurry up and get down there because there was nobody.  (She had went and got in a long line in a regular checkout.)  We were really glad to get out of there. 
When I left to drive home, it had not started snowing in Ann Arbor where my niece lives.  When I got to Chelsea it was lightly snowing.  As I drove north of Chelsea there was snow accumulating.  The closer I got to home the more it was snowing and the more snow there was accumulated.  I had to switch into 4WD and drive super slow for the last few miles! 
Next week is an 8 mile night cross country run that I've done the last few years.  If we get all this snow that is being forecasted, it's going to be ridiculous this year.  The last two years have been muddy.  The race is loops mostly on a high school cross country course.  The first year I ran it the snow was deep and I fell.  Falling a week away from my half marathon in Key West is something I don't want to do!

Runner Nerd
getting ready to be snowed in

New Years Eve fun

I was finally able to find out that the New Years Eve 5K in Jackson was not taking place this year.  I did the New Years Eve Flash Mob 5K in downtown Ann Arbor.  It was fun.  This was an informal, untimed run.  It was cold and snowing.  The start/finish was at a bar.  I went to the front door and thought I was in the wrong place.  I walked in behind two women in short skirts and high heels!  The doorman said I was in the right place and told me how to get to the room in the back which is where the race was starting.  We were on an enclosed patio which is meant for warm weather use.  They had large kerosene heaters to warm the room.  There were televisions around the room and we watched the ball drop from New York City and then took off out the back door to start our new years with running!  You can see the snow covered street through the window behind me in the picture below:

Before running on New Years Eve

There was a costume contest.

New Years Eve costume winners

There was a puck drop this year.  A giant lighted hockey puck dropped at midnight over on Main Street, a couple of blocks away.  As we began running, many people were heading either to their cars, homes or some other place so there were a lot of people walking on the sidewalks.  People were high fiving the runners!  That was fun!  A few people were wondering what the heck was going on, some were annoyed with people running down the sidewalks.  At one point in the run I saw a large group of people in one spot.  One man moved out from the group and his leg looked weird.  I realized that he was extending his leg to trip me with his foot!  Yes, he was trying to trip me!  I jumped over his foot.  I'm glad I realized in time to avoid face-planting on the street!  One person yelled out, "what is this 5K for?"  I yelled back, "New Years Eve."  I wish I would have thought to yell out something crazy such as "Fourth of July" or something totally stupid like "to save the whales" or something other than the logical answer! 
After the run there was a breakfast bar!  I wasn't hungry but ate eggs, bacon, chicken nuggets (not sure why) and a pretzel stick. 
It had been snowing all afternoon and snowed the entire time I was there.  It was a slow drive home with 4 wheel drive used until I got to the highway and then again in the last few miles to home.  I gave my friend a ride home; she had walked to the run.  I did not know where she lived but she lives outside of the downtown area and had quite a walk there.  With taking her home and the bad roads, I didn't get home until 3:30 AM! 
So, once again, I began a new year on a run!  It wasn't as fun as the New York City Midnight Run in Central Park.  There were 60 some runners as opposed to 4000 in New York!  I am still hoping to get back there one of these years.  I was planning to this year but it just wasn't possible.  Maybe next year. 
Happy New Year!  Welcome to 2014 - Runner Nerd's year of the half marathon!!

Runner Nerd
began 2014 running