Last 5K of the year

Well, that little bit of warm winter sure didn't last long!
The following weekend after the One Love, One Heart 5K, Atlanta got SNOW! It started coming down Dec. 8 and continued to snow right on through Dec. 9. A lot of races were canceled that weekend. I was lucky in that I hadn't signed up for any races, so it didn't matter to me.
I did have a race this past Saturday, the Lakeside Viking 5K that usually marks the final race for me of the year.
I ran it with my friend Carolyn and it was bone-chillingly cold that morning. 29 degrees! Made my lungs hurt as I ran.

Cute little boys getting in the holiday spirit!

Me and Carolyn in the nice warm gym before the race at the high school

It was not my best time, at all. I hadn't run in 2 weeks and it showed. This race isn't too far from the house (and Carolyn lives fairly close to the high school as well) but it started at 8 a.m. To get up in the very cold and dark for a race showed how dedicated we are. Or crazy. Your pick.
I forgot my iPod that morning, so my plans to listen to holiday music for this run were foiled. I did't have the holiday playlist loaded on  my iPhone. Alas, the two races in December when I want to listen to holiday music when I run and I only got to do it for the One Love, One Heart race. Oh well! Next year.
Here's to good friends, and even better running in 2018.

Final 5K of 2016

Well, it's that time of year -- the end!
I ran my final 5K of 2016 with my friend Carolyn at the Lakeside Viking 5K. The forecast was for cold and rain, but luckily the rain held off, so only some chilly temps to contend with.

We finished!

I was slower than slow for the race, slower than I was two weeks ago! But, it's OK. It is the time of year I usually take a small break from running and I've really taken a much longer break than normal. With my pulled leg muscle and the busyness of the holiday season, I just haven't run.
I got a nice bonus medal in the mail this week, since I ran two Rock N Roll Half Marathons this year: New Orleans and Denver. The Double Beat is cute — and heavy! I guess it really is a heavy medal. :D

The Double Beat heavy medal

I also found a quarter along the 5K route Saturday. I tallied up my "found money" for the year. It came to only $1.24 this year. Not enough for a cup of coffee! Oh well. Maybe my eyes aren't as sharp now or maybe I'm not paying that much attention as I used to.
Still, it was a great year of running. I ran in four more states and met up with old and new friends along the way.
See you in 2017!

Final race of 2015

All good things must come to an end, and with my foot still bothering me, I've run my final 5K for 2015 with the Lakeside Viking 5K on Dec. 12. I ran it with my friends Carolyn and Susan though, so I went out exactly how I wanted: with friends.

Me, Susan and Carolyn

I am ready for a short break. But I'm also looking forward to 2016. I've got four more states lined up for sure: Louisiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Colorado, all of which will be run with friends! I'm so excited that friends want to join me on my destination running adventures.
2015 was a great year for me, I think. I got to run with family members for the first time, I ran races in the great states of Kansas, Washington, New Mexico, Maryland and Connecticut. Five states this year! And I either ran with friends or met up with friends in each state. How cool is that?
I never realized how much fun this bucket list was going to become. How much I look forward to planning trips and then planning who I might see while there.
So, thanks 2015 for a wonderful year. See you at the starting line in 2016!

Last race at 50

What a wonderful running year this has been.
Yes, I know it's not quite New Year's Eve, when I will count up all my found money from my little running piggy. Remember him?

Found money piggy

He's been fed sporadically this year. I figure after I found that 5 dollar bill, he'd keep for a little longer. I didn't find any cash in Meridian, Miss., and I didn't find any cash during today's 5K, so maybe he's getting a little thin.
Today was the Lakeside Viking 5K and represents the last race before my birthday. It was a cool, crisp morning and I met my friends Carolyn and Susan for the race. They live near Lakeside High School, which sponsors the race.

Carolyn, me and Susan

Last year I forgot my iPod and it was drizzling. This year I remembered my tunes and it was clear. And what do you know? I was 2 one hundredths of a second FASTER! How about that? Clearly it was the rain and no musical motivation that slowed me down. Ha!
It really as been a great year of running. I've got just a couple more 5Ks before year's end.
I'll look back and know my 50th year was a great running year.

Final 5K in my 40s

I ran my final 5K of my 40s yesterday.
As of next week, I'll be running races in a whole new age group -- a whole new decade.
I ran the Lakeside Viking 5K, which is not far from my house. I really hadn't expected to run a race this weekend, but Monday on my way to work I saw little signs up around the area announcing the race. I had run it before, so I quickly signed up.
I'm so glad I did.
It was a cool morning Saturday, and a little damp.
I got to the race and realized I forgot my iPod. It was too late to return to the house, even though I wasn't that far away. I just could not have gone home and returned in a comfortable time to make the race. So I decided to run old school, with no music.
In a way, it was better to run without it. I'm so used to running with my set playlists, and I know that they are all about 36 to 38 minutes long. I know what the final song on each playlist is, so when I hear it, I know I need to be close to the finish
Without the music, I could only listen to the cadence of my footfalls and my breathing.
It allowed me to zone out completely while I ran, which I think helped me run a little faster.
I was pleased with my result.
That night my sisters treated me to a birthday dinner, and even picked me up in a stretch limo. It was such fun. They even gave me the perfect gift:

My new wine glass

What I love about this wine glass, other than the bling, is how BIG it is. Because I hate to have to go back for seconds. :)
I just looked up my first race of this decade. I'm a full three minutes slower now. Not bad. I'll take that for my final 5K in my 40s.

Late harvest

I have been a bit remiss on blogging my running lately. I have run two more 5Ks in the last couple of weeks.

The Nov. 12 race was the Uptown Rhodes Race 5K near Rhodes Hall in Atlanta.

The Uptown Rhodes Race 5K

The race goes around Ansley Park, and it was hilly, but not too terrible. I had a good time for me.

This morning I ran the Lakeside Viking 5K with my friends Carolyn and Susan. I hadn't seen them in a while and it was good to catch up.

Now, this course was hilly. It goes through a subdivison called Sagamore Hills in the Oak Grove area of Atlanta. Sagamore Hills is aptly named!

Carolyn, Susan and me at Lakeside Viking 5K

I'll have no more 5Ks until December, so today's run was a good one to get in before a bit of a break.

The downside is I haven't found any cash as I've been running lately. The piggy bank is going to get very thin.

Atlanta has had its first freeze of the fall and last weekend I went out and pulled all the remaining tomatoes from the vines. I pretty much neglected them after about late September, and I guess that was a good thing! Look how many I pulled off.

Lots of green tomatoes

I literally filled a box with the green ones. Some riper ones are on the bottom and I've been having those in salads lately. I'm getting some of the green ones to ripen on the kitchen counter, but I think I'll be frying up a bunch today for a snack.

I also got my lone eggplant.

My one eggplant

After thinking my eggplant would not produce anything, I got this guy, and there was another small one just starting, but I didn't pull that one and I'm sure it's ruined now.

So I guess I'm going to have to neglect my garden a little more next year. Seems that's the way to get a nice late harvest.