Hello, Spring

The official first day of spring according to the calendar – and it actually felt like it for once! Sunny and breezy, but look at that temperature!

The snow is finally gone from our yard so what to my wondering eyes should appear but... some recipes my neighbor Cindy had put in our mailbox in January. On a windy and snowy day in January. By the time I got out to the mailbox that day, they'd blown out from the newspaper box area and were buried in snow. Somewhere.

I now have recipes for instant chai tea and crockpot lasagna soup. Pretty sure I can make those in any season, right?

Today was also the last day to do the virtual Point Bock Run. It usually falls the first weekend of March. This year they had to do it virtually and we had three weeks to get our times in. So Cindy and I walked around the lake plus another mile to do the 5-mile "event." Had someone along the route take our picture since we already got the shirts a few weeks ago! It was a gorgeous day for a long walk! 

We also let some fresh air into the house. And since it was so nice out, hubby and I had brats on the grill for supper. Just tastes like summer! 

Of course, I closed off the first day of spring with the most winter-like thing possible: ice skating.

Not me. Just a dozen or so young ladies I know in the 2021 Ice Show by the Wisconsin Rapids Figure Skating Club. Brooke (pictured) invited me and of course there were several other Assumption students, plus two young ladies from my church. Lots of talent, that's for sure.

I'll confess it's much more difficult to shoot than hockey. More like the challenges of a dance recital. Low lights, spotlights, and several people performing at once, all over the place. I'm pretty sure I'll be disappointed in most of my pictures, but if I get a few decent ones of each of those kids, I'll consider it a victory.

And say goodbye to winter once and for all. 

Walking (and Running) on Sunshine

Thank goodness we don't always count on long-range forecasts. A week ago it was predicted that the weather for the Point Bock Run today would be a high of 14 or 16 degrees. Was not looking forward to that, believe me.

But despite a few inches of snow overnight, today was sunny and balmy 20 degrees. Very little wind. And that makes all the difference in the world!

Road up to Stevens Point with next-door neighbor Mike and neither Cindy or Jim opted to be in the cheering section. Can't blame them. 20 and sunny is still not stand around outside weather – unless you have to or you're an idiot who signed up for a race in the wintery-est winter to date!

My nephew Colin and his wife were running it, too. Yes, he is fast in race cars and on foot!

The race is so popular that they cap it at 2,000 participants. And they get that many signed up in less than an hour on New Year's Day. Part of the draw is that after you complete the 5-mile trek, which starts and ends at the Point Brewery, you get free beer in that big ol' tent on the right. I knew at least another dozen runners there between work, previous work, church, Assumption, cousins-in-law, etc.

This is actually the starting line. You can see the word START way off in the distance. It does take a minute or two to get to the start line, but it's chip timed, so that makes no difference.

I was prepared for anything. This did help me breathe in the cold air better. But by mile 3 or so, I had to take it off. I was sweating!

Some encouraging spectators along the route. You can see the slushy mess in front of them. The most part, the route was clear. But there were a few spots like this that made me glad I wore my YakTrax.

Traction was not my problem. My lack of training was. But I knew that going into it, so my expectations were realistic. I told neighbor Mike I would be ecstatic if I finished in an hour. That would be a 12-minute mile pace which isn't bad for walking part of it. Well, I surprised myself and under an hour! So there was much rejoicing!

We celebrated with beer (and root beer) after the race – and nice dinner out with our supportive spouses!

Tonight the temp is dipping down below zero and tomorrow calls for a high of 6 degrees. Thank you, Lord, for squeezing in this one nice day for us!

What Was the Point Again?

There are 3 traditions on New Year's Day. One is to recover from the night before and watch as much college football as humanly possible. Two is to set you New Year's resolutions you hope to keep more than a month. And three is to sign up for the Point Bock Run in Stevens Point.

Number 3 is the only one with a strict deadline. Registration opens at noon and you need to decide if you are going to sign up, then must do so quickly. It caps at 2,000 runners and fills up fast. Not sure what my friend Chris and I were thinking, but we decided to register. Why not? We have 2 whole months to train even if we haven't been running. We ran a half-marathon together a few years back. How hard could 5 simple miles be?

Well when you get a silly idea, you sometimes are forced to act on it before thinking it through. We got registered and got in. It sold out in a record 1 hour, 44 minutes this year.

Needless to say, the registration part was easy. The follow-through, not so much. Between colds, cold weather. running on the hated "dread mill" and perhaps a lack of motivation, we were not exactly trained and ready for a command performance at the Point Brewery today. We knew going into it that we were going to have to run/walk it because neither one of us had trained enough to run without walking. Especially not 5 miles! Just no free time! (or something)

Spoiler Alert: We still survived!

Here's a little Point-by-Point guide on surviving this thing....

Step 1: The timing chip does not activate until you cross the start line. If you and your friend aren't prepped to run this thing, stand back by the walkers and slow runners. You know there will be 1,500 people finishing ahead of you anyway. So don't get in their way.

Step 2: Tough race ahead? Be sure to take your "glamour shot" at the Finish Line ahead of time.

Step 3: Because your tired, sweaty, post-race photo by the brewery will look like this!

Finally: Although they give you some free beer tickets on your race bib, the crowd of thousands under that tent aren't worth the hassle. Skip the tent and go straight for the good stuff!

And we deserved it. We ran more than we thought we would. We wanted to be sure we finished in less than an hour and 10 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes. In reality, thanks to a reasonable pace (for the old and untrained), we both finished just under one hour, 2 minutes. Pretty OK with that!

Naturally, we started having one of those stupid conversations like, "Wow, if we did a 5-mile race this good with no training, we should do another half (marathon)!"

Yeah, let's just wait first to see how our legs, back and bum feel tomorrow and Monday.

After all, the whole point of the run was just to have a fun girls' day out! Despite just-above-freezing temperatures and a very chilly wind, that part was a success. And we can certainly do that more often.

Get my Point?

Making the Point

There are too many areas of improvement for me to drill down a list that represents New Year's resolutions. So I'll pass, thanks.

I could say "I resolve to improve" and that would cover a whole gamut of personal categories. But I'll just say I desire or I want or I will strive... that's my aim. I hadn't planned anything more specific until a kind of, sort of resolution fell in my lap.

My friend Chris, who I ran a half-marathon with 5 years ago, messaged me shortly after noon that she had signed up for the Point Bock race and wanted me to join her. Now the Point Bock is a coveted race. It falls the first weekend in March and is limited to just 2,000 runners. Oh, and the 5-mile route starts and ends at the Point Brewery. There you have the attraction!

For those of us not motivated by a free beer after the race, it still is fun because it's a large crowd, a nice middle distance beyond a sprinting 5K, and the first "free" T-shirt of the season.

Registration used to be open in January and you'd mail your money and info. Now, of course, it's online and has been filling up within days, actually one day, and actually hours. So it's tough to make it into the Point unless you are on the ball. When Chris messaged me, I said to hubby, "Well that's weird that she could register. Usually they don't open it until New Year's Day."

Where's my head? I swear I only drank soda last night!

When I figured out it is, in fact, New Year's Day, I quickly got registered and made the Point. Thankfully, despite my misgivings about my ability to run even half of it, I acted quickly because the race filled up in record time this year... one hour, 44 minutes! Seriously? 2,000 people woke up New Year's Day and the first thing they thought of was a 5-mile run?

Crazy.

So my "half" sister and I will have to dust off our treadmills and see what we can do. I now have a definitive goal for 2017. Well, the first 2 months, anyway. If I just concentrate on this, maybe some of my other areas needing improvement will see some results, too.

Perhaps I am motivated best when others do the motivating for me. Maybe these mysterious "others" would like to do the training for me, too?

I know. I gotta get my head on straight. Happy NEW YEAR!! 2017... right?

Running Like the Devil

Not only was I running with the devil today (see photos), I was running like one, too. Not fast, just super busy.

I rode up to Stevens Point this morning with our friend Gregg (classmate of hubby's). As we watched the in-car thermometer temperature rise a few degrees -- up to 22 degrees -- we were hopeful for a great race day. Actually, even though the wind prevented it from feeling warm, it was not bad!

Here we are are in the beer tent pre-race. Not drinking, just staying out of the wind. Don't you love his number?? I was seriously running with the devil!

Hurray! I finished! I actually was thrilled first that I managed to finish within an hour and thrilled secondly that it was under 55 minutes. With my lack of serious training, I'll take that result any day. I was especially pleased that I felt good. Did not have any aches or pains in my legs or hips. Tomorrow may be a different story, but for tonight, I'm good.

The fun after the Point Bock race is gathering in the beer tent area for free beer. I gave my tickets away and enjoyed some Point Root Beer. Gregg and I also remembered to grab a photo at the finish line on our way out!

I was on a very tight schedule the rest of the day. Got home at 2:25 p.m., had to shower quick and be to the bowling alley for a 3 p.m. start in the charity tournament. Got there on time but then they were running late so I really could have had time to fix my hair rather than throw a hat on it. We got started about 3:30 and by then, after learning we actually were bowling 4 games -- and throwing out the worst -- I figured we would be lucky to make it on time to the regional finals game at Assumption at 7 p.m.

Bowling went better than expected. I always strive to get to 100. My first game was 113 and that ended up being my throw-away game since the other 3 averaged 150. Whoot! OK, I'll be honest, it was a 9-pin tourney so knocking down 9 pins instead of 10 counted as a strike. My kind of game.

We got out of there and to the school just as the National Anthem was finishing up. Had a tough time finding seats so we didn't sit together. It was another great game for our girls. After a slow start, we beat Loyal 54-37, earning the Regional Championship! Another whoot!

Now we move onto sectionals next Thursday at Neillsville. Should be a fun road trip!

After the game, we came straight home since we were tired. Well, I was anyway. And Carter went to a late movie with some friends. I do not plan on waiting up.

Running like and with the devil takes a lot out of you. I wouldn't suggest it.