February recap

I’ve been very neglectful in my postings this month. That’s mostly because on the topics of running, hunting, and gardening there isn’t much going on. At least much that seems worth writing about.  This update will be only on running and basically a recap of February

Running:
I finished February with a total of 254 miles and 479 YTD. This is slightly higher than last February, and keeps me in the ballpark of where I want to be heading into the spring season. The last 4 complete weeks I ran 62, 67, 61, and 66 miles.  My streak is still intact in that I have run a minimum of 5 miles every day this year so far. My longest runs were only 12 miles. From here forward I will be attempting to increase the distance of at least one of my weekend runs. This past weekend I did sign up for the IceAgeTrail 50K race in May. On Saturday morning I noticed a Facebook post that mentioned only 15 more openings for all races. It forced my hand. I quickly signed up and made it just under the wire. Shortly after there was a post saying registration had closed. Looking afterward I was the last person to sign up for the 50K. Now if I can get the proper training in over these next two months and stay healthy it should be lots of fun. I will need to decide over the next few weeks if I will run the Trailbreaker marathon the first weekend in April. If I can get my long run increased close to 3 hours I will consider it, otherwise I will just keep working towards the 50K in May. 

Totals for February:
WTD 7
MTD 254
YTD 479
ODO 27750

Just SUPER

Wow. What a season, what a victory for the Packers. I was so nervous for this game. I did all sorts of things to distract me on Sunday right up until game time. I don’t think I sat down much at all. I just kept pacing or going to get something to eat or drink. Even when the Packers were up 21-3 I felt better, but knew we were up against a tough team that had a history of fighting back all year. The outcome wasn’t known until 56 seconds left, but in the end they pulled it out as it should have been. An unbelievable end to an unbelievable year with lots of promise for years to come. It’s great to be a Packer fan right now. Kind of makes up for a couple of the lean decades while I was growing up. I couldn’t help thinking how great it would have been to have shared this game with my dad in person, but I know somewhere dad was watching with coach Lombardi and sharing lots of smiles. It was just SUPER.





Running:
Running continues to go pretty well. Two weeks ago I finished with 63 miles. Last week I finished up with 62 which gave me 226 for January. That’s a few less miles than previous years, but still a good start to 2011. For now I’m just trying to get the runs in. Nothing fast or far or difficult, just consistent. I’ve still got my streak going for 2011. I have run at least 5 miles every day this year so far. Most of the runs have been on the treadmill either at home or work because of the road conditions. My usual routes outside from work are the most dangerous right now. There is absolutely no shoulders to run on, the sidewalks are not plowed, and some of the roads are quite busy. Running from home the roads are more snow covered, but they also are quieter. Makes it a little easier to get out as long as the plows have been through and I get an early start. I can’t wait until things warm up a bit to melt all this snow we have. Since I have no planned runs on the books yet I can keep going the way I am for a few more weeks anyway. Pretty soon I will have to pick things up to get some more meaningful training runs in. Through 2/6:
WTD 62
MTD 53
YTD 279
ODO 27550

Hunting:
I still haven’t made it out to the woods to get my stands out. Every time I have wanted to something else has come up or the weather was brutally cold. Lots of time really just don’t want them damaged by the cold or the material chewed up by squirrels. I’ve noticed how many deer there still seem to be around since the season has ended. They are still digging around my food plot nightly to get under the snow to find whatever they can. I frequently see deer in the fields or woods on the way to and from work. Good signs for next year.

Gardening:
I got about half my apple trees pruned a couple weekends ago. It was a lot of work and was quite cold. I was happy to get a start on this at least. Probably will take the most of another day when I get a chance to finish one of these days. The apple and peach trees are by far the most work. Plums, pears and cherry trees only need a little work. We have gotten so much snow I needed to take the time to rake off my roof last weekend. This was a lot of work. Some of the drifts on the lower roof from off the higher ones were probably 5 or 6 feet deep. My shoulders are still sore. Good cross training and probably better than lifting weights.