It's Winter. And We Run.

It's tough to train for the Boston marathon during the winter.  It's also tricky to stay consistent during my kids' winter break, which always falls right smack in the middle of the training cycle.  As I recently mentioned, vacation is supposed to be a time to check out from everyday life and hang with the family. True, my family doesn't really relax and our days are filled to the brim with activities, but it's still a break, so to speak.  At the same time, the pressure to stay on track with my marathon training, my own pressure, no doubt, is always looming in the background throughout this particular week.  Before we left, I decided to aim for getting three runs in; one longish one and two shorter ones; the goal being to keep my fitness, but also take a little hiatus from training to enjoy the vacation.  On Sunday night, after a couple fantastic days off, I decided I would drop the girls at the mountain on Monday and head back home to get my long run in.  When we woke up that morning, it was -14℉ outside.  For real.  I consider myself pretty tough, but there was no chance in hell I was running anywhere in that temp.  So, off to the mountain we went.  My sentiments... if you can't run in it, you might as well ski in it.  On Tuesday it was -1℉ when we woke up.  Ok, I thought, maybe I can handle that.  I mean, it is a whole lot warmer than yesterday.  So, I dropped the girls off and headed home to give it a shot.

When I pulled into the driveway, the temp was finally in the positive.  Two whole degrees above zero.  Yippee.  So, I geared up and mentally prepared myself for the coldest run I had ever tackled.  Truth, there's no way to prepare for this.  I just put my music on and turned up the volume to drown out the voices telling me I was totally nuts.  And off I went.  I didn't feel much at first, but I did eventually find a rhythm and about 2 hours later I was home.  I have never, ever been happier to be done with a run.  And, maybe never prouder.  Which, in the end, made it all the more worthwhile.  It's winter.  And we run.

TOP 10 THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT RUNNING IN NH DURING THE WINTER*

1. Long underwear works as well, if not better than running tights in sub-zero temps.

2. Aquafor is a much better cold and wind deterrent than vaseline.

3. Don't sweat the pace.  When the road looks like this, there are no records to be set.

Super inviting, right?

4. Sunglasses or, better yet, ski goggles are highly recommended, regardless of whether the sun is out.  They help protect your face from wind, snow, and dirt and rocks that fly off the plows as they pass by.
5. Said snow plows usually can not see you and don't care if they do.  Move for them.
6. Music sounds incredible when there is no one on the road and no other distractions.
7. So does silence. (my iPod ran out of juice for the last few miles of my long run)
8. People who live in NH and deal with this weather all the time do not think it's the least bit weird to see a runner coming down the street in ski goggles.
9. Go the the bathroom 2, 3 maybe 4 times before you head out.  Squatting is not fun.
10. It's absolutely, 100% okay to brag about this run when you're done.  No one will get it.  And many might not care.  But you should do it anyway.  

*Note: This list is dedicated to Molly B. over in China, who gets a kick out of my Top 10 lists.  Rock on, Mol! ❤

Listen to this:
Gotta Get Thru This - Daniel Bedingfield**  

**The singer is talking about getting over her man, but as I was running, this song really applied to my own situation as all I wanted to do was GET THRU IT.  And I did, dammit.

What Rest?

Ahhhh, vacation.  A short period of respite created by an unknown genius who understood that we all need a solid break from the tedium of our everyday lives.  In my case, a break from tasks including, but not limited to, making lunches, doing homework with my girls, carpooling from A to B to C and then back to A, grocery shopping, doing laundry, training, coaching, and just basically anything that requires being "on".  Yes, vacation is meant to be a week to sit back, relax, and put our feet up.  Or, um...not. We Trachsels...we like to keep things moving.  All the time.  Day one of vacation, there was no resting to be had.  The alarm clock went off at 6:15am so my husband could get my older daughter over to a different mountain to ski and race with her peers.  We wouldn't want to keep things easy, either, so we threw a couple carpools into the mix for that adventure.  From that point on, things were as crazy as ever, just different crazy. As it turns out, the daily tasks for our vacation week were just a slight variation from our daily tasks at home.  Here's a sample day:

~ Wake up early and gulp down 2 cups of coffee. (actually, this one is the same)
~ Get kids up, both exhausted from going to bed too late. (after all, it is vacation)
~ Get them dressed with enough layers for sub-zero temps. (not every day, but most)
~ Get their teeth and hair brushed. (not going to lie, this one didn't always happen)
~ Look for missing ski sock under bed, couch and then find it under curtain.
~ Pack boot bag and make sure all necessities are inside ie. helmet, gloves, neckie, goggles, boots, pajamas. (Rosie wanted to wear them skiing and I didn't fight this one)
~ Leave house by 7:50 in order to get Rosie off with her team by 8:15.
~ Lose and find neck warmer at the lodge....twice.
~ Get younger daughter over to a different ski school by 9:30.
~ Race home and try to get a run in before I need to be back for lunch with older daughter at 11:30. (did this 3 days out of 7. Friends helped me out with drop off and pick up, bless them)
~ Head back to the mountain to ski with husband and/or friends for a couple hours.
~ Grab Rosie from practice and shovel lunch into our mouths. (oh yeah, still made lunches every day)
~ Rush back out to the hill for a few runs before Rosie has to go back with her team.
~ Maybe go to the bathroom if there is time.
~ Head over to the other side of the mountain to grab younger daughter.
~ Ski with her after lunch until 3:00
~ Pick up older daughter and ski together as a family until 4:00.  (had to get that family time in.  One whole hour of it)
~ Re-pack bags and car and pray that we have everything that we started with.
~ Head over to lodge for a well earned cold beer or hot chocolate.
~ Chill out with friends while the girls night ski from 4:30-6:30 with their buddies. (wouldn't want to go home and rest here.  Way too much fun to be had)
~ Head home and try and drum up something for dinner.
~ Stay up too late watching Olympics with the girls.
~ Fall into bed.

And then we would wake up and do it all over again the next day.  Not exactly, but pretty close.  I suppose when you look at it this way, it's less a "vacation" and more a change of lifestyle for a week.  But, despite the chaos, we love it.  We are beyond lucky that we get to do it.  And, really, who has time to rest, anyway?

Little Grace and her cousins at Cannon Mountain

You can't see their faces, but if you could
you'd know they were having a ball!

Listen to this:
Pretty Thing - Broods  

The Long Run (& yurbuds winner)

“Do what you gotta do so you can do what you wanna do.” 

~ Denzel Washington

 The Details

Date: Tuesday, 2/18

Time: 9:00AM

Location: Franconia, NH

Weather: 2℉ & Snowing

Wind Chill: 20-30 mph swells

Temp w/ windchill: Does it matter?

Workout: Long run (12 miles)

List of Essentials

Hat: ✔︎

Gloves: ✔︎

Aquafor (smeared all over my ankles and face): ✔︎

Neck warmer: ✔︎

Ski goggles (yes, I wore them): ✔︎

iPod: ✔︎

Garmin (I was not going a step over 12 miles): ✔︎

Sanity: Nope.  Left that at the door on my way out

Listen to this: 

Feel It* - Ferry Corsten  

*Damn straight, I felt it, Ferry!

AND

Congrats to Ellen McKenna who won the Ltd Edition Inspire Earphones by yurbuds.  Thanks to everyone for entering and to yurbuds for the awesome prize.  Rock and run on.  #neverstop

Over & Out

Like the little guy above, I'm taking a short hiatus from everyday life and enjoying some quality time with my family during this week of our school's winter break.  Unlike the little guy above, we are not on a beach basking in the sun.  We are up in Franconia, NH where the temp this morning was a balmy -13℉.  No joke.  Yes, it's cold as hell, but the sun is shining, the skiing is amazing, and I don't have to make lunches for a week, so I can deal.  I'll be checking out from the blog world for a few days so I can focus on getting crushed by my daughters as they race me down the hill.  Also, no joke.  I will leave you with a few gems that I have been enjoying over the past few days.  I'm digging them.  I think you will, too.  Oh, and don't forget to enter the Valentine's Day Yurbuds Giveaway below.  So worth the 2 minutes it will take you.  Have a great week.  Over and out.

Listen to these:
Cold War - The Morning Benders  
Skeletons - Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. 
Bird On A Wire - Rogue Wave  
Heaven's On Fire - The Radio Dept.
As I Lay My Head Down - Other Lives