Catching up...

I can't believe it's been a week since the Triathlon.  Time really flies in the summer time.

Well... there was that little holiday in there, too.  Hope you had a fun 4th of July - celebrating your independence in your favorite way.  I did.  We spent two days in Zoar Valley, NY... walking in the woods and swimming in the creek.

Zoar Valley

Since I created my Activity Tracker (found on the sidebar on the right), you don't really need a daily account of my swim-bike-run training.  Besides... I didn't think I'd be "training" after last weekend... but my hubby and friends talked me into completing a 2nd Tri this summer - Big day #2 is August 27th.  This one is exactly the same as last weekend's tri, just in a slightly different location (we can almost say it's "down the street" from the 1st one).

I was thinking about doing a Tri in Massachusetts... but I decided against it... mainly out of selfishness.  I'm going to visit Elizabeth (and family) at the end of July (barring any drastic schedule changes), and instead of having to go to bed early, leave the house early, then be exhausted for the remainder of my visit, I'll just go and watch the event.  Maybe.  I'd much rather hang out with my pals than worry about swimming in the ocean or my transition times or, or... anything else.

Speaking of Elizabeth... she's the one who started the 99/100 Challenge.  I'm happy to say that I'm perfectly on track to finish the challenge by Labor Day.  Today is Day 41 of the challenge and I've logged 43.7 run-miles thus far.  HOORAY!

I expect I'll be even further ahead of schedule over the next couple weeks since my run training has stepped up a bit.  You see, I didn't love my performance during the run part of the July 2nd Tri.  Granted, it was hot and humid, but I don't think that was why I didn't blast thru the run.  It was mental.  I was dreading the run... something I thought I was over.

So, my focus in July is to get "really good" at running... improve my speed, improve my distances, improve my overall attitude toward the sport.  I think I have the fundamentals (form, cadence, etc)... now I just have to get my head right.

  I can do this.
I will do this.

I don't have much more to report... so, here are a few shots from the event... special thanks to my mom, photographer extraordinaire!

Me & my Tri-buddy, Jan (post-race)

 

Don't forget - Tuesday is the 12th - so you'll see me here that day, participating in the 12-of-12 with 12 photos of the day.


Till then... it was nice catching up with you.

Welcome 2011!

2010 is now just a memory.  But, wow, was it filled with some interesting stuff! 

I'll begin with my most memorable moment.  About a year ago, the hubby and I started contemplating a vacation.  A REAL vacation... travel to a far away place, staying for about a week, with no people, no work, no cell phones.  We found it at Sequoia National Park and the surrounding area.  It was the most perfect experience - perfect weather, perfect food, perfect hikes, a perfect "honeymoon".  We're trying to think of where to go next that might compare to this adventure.  It's gonna be tough.

We spent a lot of time doing other mini-vacations & day trips, also to some pretty cool spots - The southern coast of Massachusetts, Woodstock, Zoar Valley, and Allegany State Park.  You can see pictures of many of these trips in earlier blog posts.

Twenty-Ten was also the year of The Triathlon.  I think it was February when my coworker asked me to join her in participating in a sprint-distance triathlon.  I remember thinking "Oh, no.  I don't run.  I can't do that." (biking and swimming, no problem.)  Then she says "the run is ONLY a 5K" and the gears start turning.  "Maybe I could do this. It might be a fun challenge.  I'm in pretty good shape and I have till July to train."

SURE!  I'll do it.

The rest is history.  If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you know what happened.  You know of my injury in June and my lackluster performance at the Tri.  But since that day, I think I've worked out the bugs:  the bike is fixed, I'm running 3.1 miles at least once a week, and I'm excited to try again.  This year, the event is July 2nd... exactly 6-months from today.

So, what's the plan for 2011?

Well, first thing I need to focus on is getting a job.  Yes, after 3-years of surviving multiple layoffs from my company (every 6-months), I finally fell to the largest downsizing the company has ever had.  1400 sales people were let go in December, including me. 
But, ya know what?  I'm okay with it. 
It has given me a chance to explore new avenues and (hopefully) find a new career that I'm going to love.  I have not been passionate about my work in a long time - I'm SO ready to get that back.

Fitness is going to remain high on the list of "to dos" for 2011.  I have a treadmill now and an indoor bike trainer, so I never have to worry about weather or darkness again, if I don't want to (and I can no longer use either as an excuse not to work out).  I'm working on a plan to keep healthy and strong and be totally ready for the Tri in July (and maybe some other events in between).  I'm working on building my running to 8K (5-miles) at a time so that the 5K is a piece of cake.

As for the blog... I'll try to post every couple weeks (if not more), especially if there noteworthy stuff to blog about.  I'm going to continue participating in a couple of monthly blog-related events like... the photo-snapping 12-of-12 and virtual book club Turn the Page... Tuesday.  Who knows, maybe there's something else out in the blog-o-spehere that I should join for yet another reason to blog?  We'll see.

Finally, I am also leaning to crochet, so you might see a crocheted craft or two here in 2011.  I have a number of pregnant friends who all need blankets, so the craftiness will definitely be out there... you'll see those posted here once each project is done.

All-in-all, I think 2010 was a pretty good year despite some disappointments (can't be perfect, right?).  I'm hoping that 2011 is just as good or better - good health, good friends, good times.

Cheers!

12-of-12: November 2010

It's Friday and the 12th of November.  That means it's 12-of-12 time!

What better way enjoy the 12th of the month?  I know!  Take the day off from work and start the long weekend off with a road trip.  Even MORE exciting was the weather.  Temps in the mid-60s today (almost unheard of in Western New York State, in November).

Oh, don't let me forget to first thank to Chad Darnell for starting the 12-of-12 and keeping it going all these years.  Visit his site to learn more about the project and how you can participate!

6:30am at home:
Starting the day off right with a little run.  2.72 miles, to be exact.  I'm working my way up to a 5K (and maybe, later, an 8K).  Sorry for the blurry shot... I didn't realize I had the camera on the wrong setting till after the workout was over.  Oh well, you don't want to see me & my "running face" anyway. :)

... shower up, have breakfast, then chuck the hubby & pups in the car, and off we go!

Noon - 5pm at Allegany State Park, Salamanca, NY:

Today's visit was our second to Allegany this week.  We were in the Red House Area on Sunday, then today we made our way down to the other "developed" section of the park, Quaker.

But first, a stop at Red House... the lake was calm as glass...

At Quaker Lake, we're reminded that this is a man-made environment.  The Dam (with water-regulating spillway) turned this valley into a 275-acre lake.

Have I mentioned it was a warm day today?
With temps in the 60s, everyone came out to play.

The Ladybugs...

and the Ruffed Grouse (this little guy was seriously flirting with someone).

Our last stop of the day was Science Lake... named after the Science Museum nearby. 

Can you see the moon in the sky and the reflection in this 1st photo?

What a surprise!  As we finished up our hike around the lake, we found this little guy (gal?) and two friends swimming around their dam. 

Back at home, 6:30PM:

Neither of us felt like cooking after our busy day, so we got an order of Wings (being from Buffalo, we don't call them Buffalo Wings) to go and headed home.  We were obviously hungry, because we devoured them in a matter of minutes.  YUM!

Sorry, folks, there's no "View from the Porch" this month.  I forgot to take a photo before we left today, and it was way too dark to get a shot after we got home.  Oh well... maybe I'll snap a quick shot tomorrow morning and post it a little late.

Thanks for stopping by!  See you next month!

Woodstock: The big Finale

If there's one thing I love about travel, it's being able to see things I can ONLY see at the location to which I'm traveling.  That's what made our final day in Woodstock SO INCREDIBLE.

Our first stop was a bit of a teaser.  We drove up to Kaaterskill Falls trail but didn't have time to see the big falls (Katterskill) this day (had to get home).  However, we DID have time to see Bastion Falls since it's so close to Route 23a.  Tho smaller than it's sister Falls, Bastion is still quite beautiful.  Next time, we'll make the 1/2 mile hike up to the top falls.

... so happy to share my weekend with Elizabeth!

Then off to the BIG FINALE!  

Imagine you are a brilliant sculpture who just bought a now-defunct bluestone quary.  Then you start building ramps and walkways out of this stone to exhibit your sculptures.  Then, imagine the work grows to such a size and complexity that it becomes a work of art in and of itself.  This is what you get... Opus 40.  You will want to click on the photos to see the full-size images.

 

One man, Harvey Fite, created this beauty from 1938 - 1976

The Monolith is 9-tons, lifted entirely by traditional 1930s quarrying tools.

The bluestone covers over 6-acres

Not one drop of cement or material to hold the stones in place... just balance and gravity.

If you are ever in the Woodstock, NY area you MUST visit Opus 40.  

It is simply breathtaking - beautiful and peaceful - and the PERFECT way to spend an afternoon.

Woodstock, Day 2

Saturday was a full, full day in and around Woodstock.
How full was it?
Overflowing!  And WONDERFUL!

We started with a casual breakfast at the Inn.  Good natural foods, gourmet coffee, and a promise of perfect weather.  Then we walked around the corner to Mower's Saturday Flea Market - a marketplace that's been around for over 30-years!
As I always like to buy a "local" souvenir (hand crafted by folks from the area I'm visiting), I was SO happy when I found Davin Butterfield of Butterfield Pottery.  I would have liked to buy a full set of dishes from him, but I settled on this little creamer. (It was perfect for maple syrup on our french toast this past Monday morning).

We returned to the Inn to drop off our goodies, then back into town we went to explore "downtown" Woodstock.  In and out of shops & galleries we went, people-watching all the while.  And if you can believe it... the whole town smelled of incense (would you expect anything else?).  It was amazing!

Okay... here is when my story of my adventure in Woodstock takes an unexpected turn...
Instead of chilling out in the land of the hippies, I got "high" with Elizabeth.
No.  Not that way.
We got high in the altitude way.

I'll explain.
As you know, I'm a geocacher.  I use million-dollar satellites to find ammo-cans in the woods.  Since I can't go anywhere without looking for a cache, I brought a long list of possible finds with me.
The most interesting looking cache (as well as the most challenging) was one called the Overlook Mountain House Cache.  To get to the cache location, one must hike 2.4 miles up Overlook Mountain.  (and then to get back, you need to hike down.)  I didn't know if either Elizabeth or I were up for such a hike.  BUT... after seeing the photos posted by previous cachers I was SO excited to try it.  But was E?
YES!
Fortunately, she shares in my love of cool old "creepy" structures, so she was willing to make the hike to visit the ruins of the Overlook Mountain House (and maybe find a cache).

So UP we went.
The hike itself was nothing spectacular.  (For a nice pictorial of the trail, visit The Bridge & Tunnel Club site.)
However... it was a tough, tough climb.  The phrase of the day was "it just keeps going up" - just when we'd get to a flat spot, it was only a few hundred feet before the steep climb started again.
But, BOY, was it worth it.
Here's what we found when we arrived at the top of Overlook.  (Click on the photos to see a larger version.)

The Overlook Hotel:

 

The 1928 Building:

 

From here, we went up a little bit more to the lookout point.  OMG.  What an incredible view.

 

 

 We certainly weren't the first ones here...

... and I'm SURE we won't be the last.

So... all-in-all we climbed almost 1600' in about 90 minutes.  I think we calculated about 800 calories burned over the 4 hours we were hiking around, which was perfect, because we REALLY enjoyed ourselves at dinner that night.  

So ends day two of the adventures in Woodstock.  Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of the trip in my next blog entry!