Tag Archives: winter

Happy Groundhog Day?

Posted on by
Reply

groundhog-running

Happy Ground Hog Day?

Punxsutawney Phil predicts 6 more weeks of winter. Ugh. I think Bill Murray famously said, this ground hog must be stopped! I am feeling as though I am re-living the same day a la Bill Murray in Ground Hog Day (one of my favorite movies). Snow, no school, staying home for days on end. Granted I was out of the snow zone last week on a business trip during the blizzard, but I’m already tired of it. And I am getting very friendly with my treadmill to get my Boston Marathon Training done. I’ve nicknamed him “Fred Mill”. Cracks me up every time but I could be suffering from cabin fever.

I originally thought to write this post about outrunning wildlife while running. What’s the most ferocious animal you have out run while out on the roads and trails? I have not been chased by a ground hog, but folks in a neighboring town were chased by a crazed groundhog last fall.   Which sparked some great groundhog memes (here).    I love a great groundhog meme.  *Photo credit to Trevor Bartlett for this pic of me outrunning the Hampton Groundhog.

The most ferocious thing that I have been chased by was a small dog (think lap dog) which gave up easily. I also nervously ran through a flock of Canadian geese while running out in California. They lined both sides of the trail and a few stood in the trail. Luckily they didn’t attack but I put the afterburners on and ran for my life. I’ve seen a few fox, deer and turkeys cross my path but none were very close or suspicious looking.

Training is going well for the Boston Marathon, 11 weeks to go! Please consider donating to my campaign for Dana-Farber cancer research. Sponsor a mile or donate a buck per mile? Every bit helps. You can donate online on my Dana-Farber page.

Thank you for reading and your support!   My 3M Half Marathon trip report coming up next.
Stay warm, – Jenn

Weblog Wednesday

Posted on by
1

Coming to you live from the west coast today, so it’s still Wednesday despite the WordPress date & time!  I had to get out of the vortex, so I’m on a business trip out in San Jose, meanwhile the Boston area is getting tons of snow.  Well, I have not been living up to my resolution to blog weekly, but making good progress on my other goals!  It’s been a cold January. I am told that statistically January is not in the top 10 coldest on record.  All I know:  it’s pretty cold for winter running.  I’ve been running on my treadmill much of January and had a great “first time out” on Feb. 1st when we had a warm(er) day!  I also ran the Disney Marathon on Jan. 12th, and had as much fun as you can probably have while still running 26.2 miles.  I ran it with my husband and the good news is we are still speaking to each other!  We don’t often run together; he loves running with a group or running buddy; I’m more of a solitary runner. Some highlights from the race weekend (in no particular order):

  • Relaxing at the Cigna tent (race sponsors) before and after the race.  Nice folks, ice and medical help if you needed it.
  • Best t-shirt spotted on the run: “Stay back 100 meters”
  • Most inspiring:  Man running with a t-shirt that said he had survived cancer and double hip replacement and he was getting it done, amazing!
  • Funny moment.  Several folks were sporting Disney shirts that read “every mile is magical”.  As we passed the waste water treatment plant out on the ‘back lots’ of Disney–a few guys and I decided that particular mile was too smelly to be magical.
  • Best moment:  At about mile 13, we were running through the Animal Kingdom.  They were just getting ready to open the park and the Disney cast members let runner’s ride Expedition Everest (roller coaster)!  So we took a ride mid-race which was a nice diversion; then back on the road!
  • Best food:  Burgers and caprese salad post-race at the Hilton Bonnet Creek.  We ended up walking across the entire parking lot at Epcot to catch a cab back to the Hilton.  We were so glad to sit down and have food brought to us!  Honorable mention: Beer at the finish line received excellent review from the husband.

This was my second Disney marathon and I do like this race.  The support is phenomenal and tons of Disney cast members, families and people cheering at every turn.  Even out on the highway (between parks) there are people out there cheering;  I had to think how did these people get out here?  My only real complaint would be the 5:30am start time and catching the bus at 3am!  That is just way too early for me!
As for my other goals, my January race was the Disney Marathon.  Coming up this month is the Half a the Hamptons in Hampton, New Hampshire.   I’ve signed up for races through May.  I’ll post a race schedule soon, but I’m planning to do one race a month in 2014.  My fundraising for Dana-Farber is also going well in January as well.   I’m nearing $8,000 raised of my goal of $10,000.   I’m planning two fundraisers in March but also would love your donation to my cause.  You can make a donation on my DFMC page: http://www.rundfmc.org/2014/jenniferh  Thank you for reading! – Jenn

At Expedition Everest (mile 13) Disney marathon 2014

First Winter Run of 2014!

First Winter Run of 2014!