Blizzard?!?!

Pictures from April 2008 "Blizzard"

Not a lot of snow, just a lot of wind. They were predicting a foot or more of snow, starting at 7:00 pm last night. We waited and waited... 10:00 pm and no snow, winds were picking up though. Radar showed an interesting development. There was a 'doughnut' over the head of the lake, no snow falling in Duluth/Superior. By midnight the snow had started to fall - finally! It was wet and heavy and combined with the winds led to this:



The following pictures were taken in Lincoln Park during our afternoon walk. Porter LOVES weather like this. He was acting like a puppy today, big improvement for a guy who has been moving pretty slowly of late.





The walk wasn't too bad, despite winds gusting past 40 mph from the northeast until we started heading home and hit a stretch of trail with no protection. Then it was a bit of a struggle! The drifts were interesting, sometimes there was hardly any snow, other times I was in drifts that went past my knees.

Jon and I took it upon ourselves to free a few trees from their burden of snow - and sometimes other trees - while hiking up the Lincoln Park trail. It still amazes me that I live in the middle of the city and have areas like this within walking distance.

Miller Creek (the river in the above photos) is already roaring, and if the predicted temps become reality it will be in flood stage by early next week. Most of the streams in this area are "flashy". They don't have much in the way of headwaters, so rise and fall fast in response to precipitation.



Porter is jumping over Coffee Creek. Jon had to coax him over, then had to coax me over ;-> I was launching off of a piece of snow-covered ice and wasn't 100% convinced I could make the leap without landing in the creek (with the camera).

My feet are dry.

We headed down to Sky Harbor after dinner to ensure the airplanes were still tied down. The waves on Lake Superior could be seen crashing onto the shoreline from a block away. there is a reason they warn folks away from the Lakewalk and breakwaters in a nor'easter! Check out mnbicyclecommuter.blogspot.com to see some great photos of the lake and what it is capable of.

Finished the KnitPicks Gloss mittens and have even wore them on a run. Very nice. Contemplating a Bobble-cable hat with the remaining yarn.

So, I am supposed to be running my first 16 miler tomorrow/this weekend. Ummm, about that. It is still very windy in Duluth. By very windy I mean:

Tonight: Snow, mainly before 1am. Low around 22. Windy, with a northeast wind between 25 and 35 mph, with gusts as high as 50 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Saturday: A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a high near 31. Blustery, with a north wind between 20 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
(From the National Weather Service)

On top of this I need to drive to the Twin Cities to pick up my daughter early Sunday morning at the train station.

I have some choices:

1. Run in Duluth on Saturday before I leave for the Cities, fighting the wind for at least half of the run or so, depending on how I arrange the loop.

2. Run on Sunday when I get back, (Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 34. North wind between 5 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. ) when the winds will be lessened and the the sun will be out. Again, fighting the wind for part of the time at least.

Note: options 1 & 2 involve running on the roads as the trails are in a very fragile - and snowy - state right now.

3. Leave for the Cities early tomorrow (as soon as the roads are safe) and run down there at one of the regional parks on... trails!!!

I have been investigating option 3. I am tired of pavement and am concerned that I need to get my legs and feet and brain used to running long distances on trails. I have just over a month left to prep for the Superior 25K.

Any thoughts?

Spring in Northern Minnesota

Gotta love it. One day the crocuses are blooming, the irises are poking green sword tips above the soil, grass is greening up along the sides of the house, nets are being put up on the tennis courts and then the next... depends on where you live. Parts of the Iron Range got hit with 20 - 30 inches of snow today. So far Duluth has less then an inch.

Winds have been stong today. Got out for a short run (3.5 miles) on the Lakewalk with a friend. Wind was out of the northeast blowing 24 mph. This meant there were some impressive waves rolling into the head of the Lake. I love watching the waves break over the barrier between the water and the Lakewalk. Not that many years ago a nasyy nor'easter took out parts of this path. Puts things into perspective about who is really the boss.

For a change, we were heading into the wind at the start of our run. A bit grueling at times, but the reward at the turn around was a nice tailwind on the way back. At one point we raced a set of waves coming in as we had recently watched a similar set break over the path and were not all that interested in a Lake Superior shower.

Yesterdays long run (12.5 miles - it's a step-back week) was warm. Forecast was for temps topping out in the mid-thirties and rain. Reality - it was in the upper 30's to low 40's at the start of the run, barely any wind, and sunny. And the temps went up from there. Good day to practice drinking and eating on the run! I had brought a holster-style pack along for my water so had no where to stash my hat, gloves and vest. Ended up with things tucked into the waist belt.

Saw my first turkey vultures of the season over the hills of Brewer's Park on the run home. Lots of robins are showing up and I've even heard male red-winged blackbirds singing. Pileated woodpecker was drumming out a number on a telephone pole along the edge of Proctor (or was I in Duluth by then, so confusing). Love is in the air (or at least the defense of breeding territory).

So far no wildflowers in bloom yet. Though I suppose those pussy willows I saw a week or two ago could count. I was looking for the first strawberries or violets on my walk down the SHT to the house. Still a little too soon, but the hillside does have a way of warming up quick. (Break here - imagine sudden darkness as the power suddenly goes out. No warning. Then, just as suddenly pops back on. Gotta love the electrical service in my part of town)

Trails are now entering that lovely time of year known as "mud season". And you thought there were only four seasons! Not only the trails are muddy, so are the roads (gravel by the house) and the yard. Probably should have taught Porter to wipe his feet before coming in the house. This means no trail running for a couple of weeks at least, depends on the weather. I miss the trails and can't wait to get off of the pavement again.

Anyway, I think that just before the power cut out on me I was going to give a knitting update:

I am finishing up the third mitten in the Knitpicks Gloss. Third?! Yeah, well, somewhere during the first mitten I went from the "large" to the "medium" size. Didn't realize it until I had reached the decreases for the top and my stitch count was all wrong. finished them anyway, as I was only off two stitches and knitting stretches. Cast on the second mitten, kept to the right number of stitches, finished all but the thumb and decided that the fit was much better and I would fix the first mitten. Off to the frog pond I went, ripping back until I was at the cuff (the error was quite early on) and I proceeded to reknit that mitten (okay - so really it was a third attempt at a mitten). I am back to where I started earlier today. One mitten completed, one just missing a thumb.

I still have a goodly portion of the first skein of Gloss left after all of this knitting, ripping and reknitting. What to do with it and the second skein?!?! The bird mittens are peeking out of their bag, quietly reminding me of their presence....

Temptation got the best of me...

The KnitPicks Gloss won. I gave in. But, really I had to, it wasn't my fault! The only knitting I have available requires charts and concentration. Lots of both. What tipped me over the edge was a bus ride home on Thursday. Idle hands and all that. Plus I seem to have lost one of my silky-wool mittens (favorites for running) and need a replacement. The washer, dryer or someones clothing "ate" one of the mittens (oh yeah, if I have not mentioned this before, Elsbeth Lavold silky-wool does just fine in the laundry).

So, the Gloss got wound into a center pull ball Thursday night (Thanks Jon for holding the yarn!) and a pair of mittens was cast on. This stuff is NICE!!! Soft, soft, soft. It is almost a shame to think of what use it will end up being put to (mittens double as kleenex on the run, which is why soft mittens are especially nice).

I promise not to forget the Bird Mittens entirely. I have cast on and started the cuff of the second one, really I have. They just aren't very portable and I needed a portable project.

Needle review:

I have been using the KnitPicks wooden double-points while working on the mittens. Size 0's for the Bird Mittens and Size 1(2.25mm) for the Gloss. Very nice. So far I haven't snapped one. Interesting flavor. Knitting needles have flavor!? These do. I'll call it "Taste of India". Not sure what I am tasting: the wood; the stuff used to laminate it, or the oil used to finish the needles. Kindof spicy though. The reason I know is that needles occasionally end up in my mouth when I need to set one aside for a second (my hair is not long enough to stash a needle in). The colors of the needles are a nice too: natural, purple and green in my set.

On the running front:

Temps are much warmer now, started a run in the mid-20's, ended it near 40 degrees F. Strong wind blowing from the south-east to south. Big improvement over many of my runs this winter. Today my schedule said to run 14 miles.

Normally on Saturdays I meet a group in Proctor and run 5 miles, then get breakfast. With my long runs needing to happen on Saturdays I have been either arriving early and doing some extra miles or - my favorite - getting dropped off in Proctor, running the loop with my friends and then running home, tacking on additional miles as needed.

I had mapped out a route home that would be 9 miles long, ending above my house with a nice cool-down walk to the house on the Superior Hiking Trail (www.shta.org). Then I found out my trusty driver would be unavailable. Hmmm. I didn't want to leave my car in Proctor all day, so I started looking at my options.

I am not a huge fan of multiple loop courses (easily bored), but that was what I resigned myself to doing. I sat down with gmaps-pedometer and figured out how to cut the five mile loop into four miles. Sounds easy, but Proctor is fairly rural and the "blocks" can be a mile long. Three loops would end up giving me a 14.2 mile run. Nice and hilly too! Exactly what I need for the upcoming race.

To break things up I ran the second loop in reverse. Interesting perspective. You never really notice the gradual descents until you run them in reverse ;-> It was nice to have company the first five miles, the second five were taken up with the novelty of seeing all the hills in reverse, and the third loop... well, lets just say I concentrated on form a lot.

Remember the wind? I ended my run with over a mile into the wind. Uphill. Lets just say the split for the third loop, not so impressive. I had run the second loop in the exact same time as the first, so was optimistic about finishing in around 2:10. I finished in 2:15. Not bad really for a long training run. Last week I ran 12.5 in 2:00. I did take a break between the second and third loops to drink some juice and water. It was a nice change to run without a lumbar pack - one huge benefit of multiple loop courses.

I have reached the point in my long runs where I need to get fuel into me while running. I have not figured out what I should try yet, hence the juice. I need to find out what the race will be serving as far as electrolyte replacement and give it a try on my long runs to be sure I can tolerate it, otherwise I will need to bring my own. Generally I have done all of my longer runs without eating (and it may be showing). I have a little over a month to experiment with food and drink before the race. I am expecting to be out on the course for around 4 hours. Depending on who you read/talk to, that is long enough to require some fuel intake.

Any thoughts?

I am fighting...


the urge to start a new project (with the Knitpicks Gloss) rather than finishing up the mittens for Sarah. She is starting to wonder if there will ever be a pair or, really, if they will be finished before summer. Good thing we live in northern Minnesota next to nature's icebox!

I had this idea that I would snap a picture of the mittens I am making so you all (okay - really my one loyal reader) could see my progress. Then I attempted to slice the tip of my thumb off. Not on purpose, mind you; and not so badly that stitches are needed (though I may have thought about applying them myself after the amount of money I - a healthy person - have spent on healthcare this year alone).

Lesson: brand new, really good bread knives are overkill for dinner rolls!

So, no pictures for right now. I did discover as I worked my way up the thumb tonight that I should have looked at the originals more closely. I was just about to start the second bird. Unlike the pattern, I have only one bird on each thumb. The bird on the right-hand thumb faces left and vice versa. Out came three rows of 28 sts each (not quite sure how many stitches to the inch I am getting right now - but you can probably guess that it is close to double digits as I have small hands) and I picked up all those stitches and started incorporating the needed decreases for the top of the thumb.

In the process I did finally get the new wooden knitpicks needles out and in use. Very nice! So far they are holding up well (tempting the knitting gods and goddesses by saying that). I am using the size 0's BTW.

Tonight I worked on the mittens while listening to Sarah's harp lesson. The thought crossed my mind that listening to Celtic music on a Scottish harp is a nice way to spend a half hour knitting Fair Isle ( well, in this case Norwegian-inspired stranded knitting). Need to get her to practice harp more when I have time to knit.

The pressure is on for me to get off the computer so that the modem can travel to another computer.

I promise pictures will appear soon.

Spring Watch: last Thursday (3/20/08) pussy willows spotted along the snowmobile trail I was running on; broke through the snow and ice into water - brrr - on the same run; cardinals are singing; eagles are all over the place as are the deer and rabbits (grrrr); grass is greening up when the snow isn't covering it; ice is accumulating on the sidewalk and steps overnight; and I have heard the sap is starting to run. Can't be long until the tulips and crocuses start emerging.

Training update: 12.5 miles in 2 hours. Heartrate in the 65 - 75% zone for at least half of the run. Pretty good with the hills that were involved. No walking!!!

Consistency pays off


First race of the season: 5k; 25:02; good for 2nd place in my age group ( F 40 - 49 yoa). www.chadwick5k.com

I have run in this race off and on for many years. It used to be held in December and then was moved to March to coincide with the Fitgers Bockfest. Unfortunately, this weekend seems to be a popular one for events in the Duluth area and I have had to miss the last few races due to other obligations. Glad to be back! Need to thank my running buddies for getting me out the door this year so regularly as it certainly paid off today. It has been many years since I have run so well in a race.

I have spent everyday since Tuesday coughing, so am happy I could do so well. Don't think I have the virus that has been going around, attributing it to an unfortunate exposure to allergens Tuesday night and an asthma flare. Other than the cough and some fatigue I have been feeling fine, running hasn't made it worse, so can't be illness, right? Am going to forgo the long run scheduled for today as I got in half the distance already and figure a race effort counts for the rest (runners - we can rationalize anything).

Oh yeah, race conditions: 30 F (or so) at the start, overcast, wind from the north/northeast, with the sun emerging mid-race and a finish with the wind at my back. Lakewalk completely clear of ice, so footing was excellent. Thank you race volunteers!!!

On the knitting front:

Finished

Lace scarf -just need to weave in the ends and block. It will be donated to the Superior Hiking Trail Association for the Silent Auction at their annual meeting.

Healing Shawl - again, ends to be woven in, no blocking needed. I think I know who it is going to finally, wished I could have finished it a bit sooner but this week has not been good for getting things done.

Bird mittens are now calling my name. The need to follow a chart is the only barrier to their completion. I have a long drive ahead of me tomorrow and a kid with a permit, so there may be time.... that is if the Gloss does not get wound up into balls today and joins in with the new needles to insist on being knit up.

I am starting to see a lot of green around the house. The snow has been melting rapidly from our southeast facing sloped yard. Makes for tricky walking in the morning - all the meltwalter finds our sidewalk the perfect route down the hill - but it is nice to see bits of green again. It will be interesting to see when the first green shoot appears. Will it be the chives at the front of the house? The tulips or daffodils in the gardens? I don't have any spring crocuses, but the autumn ones usually send their greens up pretty early. Depending on how the melt goes there may be scilla blooming within a month.

Of course the melt doesn't just expose new greenery. Time to clean up the yard. Amazing what got buried in the first snowfall and then forgotten - or what has been deposited and covered up ;->

Get out and enjoy the nice weather and sunshine while it lasts!

Plan was to run 10 miles today.

Reality: 10.7 (give or take .1 or so).

Route: 5 miles in Proctor (usual loop with the Saturday crew) in 47 minutes, then after a quick stop to use the facilities I headed home via the roads and a snowmobile trail.

Wore my heart rate monitor, set it so it would beep if I went outside of a certain range. My goal was to keep my pace within the 65-75% range. I did pretty well. 71 minutes out of 109 were "in the zone'. Hills were the main reason for getting my heart rate up, topping off at 177 bpm (note, according to many formulas that exceeds the maximum heart rate for someone my age, but as I was not sucking wind at any time I think the formula isn't right for me. I use 203 as my max.)

Close to 4 miles of the run were on a snowmobile trail. The surface was great. Firm (not much snow lately, well-packed), with just a dusting of fluff in spots to add a bit of cushion. The last .5 miles or so was on the SHT near my house. I hit 10 miles and felt like I could do more so opted for the trail home vs running even more downhills on the pavement.

As I hit the snowmobile trail the only tracks I saw (other than snowmobiles) were from a fox. Looked like there may have been more than one fox even. I didn't see any signs of humans on the trail for quite a while. A raven passed overhead. The chickadees were very active. The benefit of trails and the slower pace is the opportunity to look around.

Oh yeah, temperature at start: 5 degrees F (-15 C).
Temperature when I arrived home: 19 F (-7 C)

Winds were quite light, though brisk when they did hit. I picked the layers right today and carried a lumbar pack so that I had someplace to put the shedded layers. The worsted weight mitts went quickly, within the first couple of miles. Depending on the direction I was headed the top layer of long-sleeved fleece got zipped down or up. I did end up shedding the base layer mitts for a while, then putting them back on (wind). By the time I had gone 7 miles or so I had peeled the long-sleeve fleece down and was running with my base-layer unzipped.

When I got home I pulled an adirondack chair out of the snow by the sauna, placed it in a sunny spot on the back porch and did my post race "stretch" (slouched in the chair, legs propped on the railing). Gotta love the sun when it comes back in the spring!!

This is the first time that I have done a long run and ended it feeling like I could have done more. Not that many weeks ago I had to do 7 miles and it was tough near the end. Funny how training does have an effect ;->

I think using the heart rate monitor to keep me at an easy pace may be the key. Average pace for the whole run was a bit over 10 minutes/mile. I will take that, especially with the hills on the last 4 miles.

Knitting update: spent some time working on the Healing shawl today, and for the last few days. Have worked a few rows on the scarf. Still no real inspiration for the merino/silk blend yarn, so less temptation to cast it on. Bird mittens are languishing. I probably should get a book on CD or something to fire me up about finishing those.

While the sun is still shining I think I will head outside to get Porter some exercise. Current temperature: 29 degrees F (-1 C)

Enjoy the sun while it lasts! Tomorrow sounds like a wet, gray day.

Quick post


The chickadees having been singing their spring song for a few weeks now. The sun is out much later in the day and it is getting stronger too. Strong enough to actually warm you up and take the edge off of the cold.

I have been running outside all winter and confess to now being a bit tired of the extreme cold. People wonder why I would run outdoors. Well, there are a number of reasons: sunshine is a big one; fresh air; listening to the birds; seeing what is going on in the natural world (did I mention I work indoors all day); hills; trails; lack of membership to an indoor facility (which I find boring anyway, so not too inspired to join).

Granted, I have run on a few days that lacked almost everything on the above list and that included many of the things that I do not like about Duluth weather - howling winds topping the list!

Today I ran to work. Perfect day for it. Clear, so it was easy to see the uneveness of the trail; hardly any wind; and the snow is very firm. The temperature was around 5 degrees when I got up and had moved closer to 10 by the time I was getting dressed to leave for work. So, being the savvy outdoors runner that I am, I layered up.

My first hint that I may have been overdressed was when I stepped out the door and din't start shivering within the first 20 feet or so. By the time I had made it a half mile away I was sheeding the first layer of mittens. Within another half mile the neck gaiter came off. By the time two miles was approaching I had shed the last layer of mittens and had unzipped my long-sleeved fleece.

I made it to work without needing to stop and shed any more layers, but by then I was pretty drenched. I could have easily worn only one layer of tights and probably a vest over my baselayer. My, wind (or the lack of it) makes a big difference!

Lunar Eclipse



Near totality at about 9:00 pm CST.

It was a bit chilly trying to capture pictures of the eclipse tonight. Minus 2 F (minus 18.8 C). Hard to hold the camera steady enough for a good photo, but perseverance pays off.

Ran outside today, as usual. I think the temps were just above zero, mild wind from the north or west, depending on who you believe. Either way, not too much wind so windchill not to bad overall. Getting faster with each run! Todays run felt pretty good and came in just around 9 minutes/mile. Not bad for the conditions and this old body.

Training for the Superior Trail 25K is going well so far. Long run of 8 miles last weekend went well, felt easier than the 7 miles the previous weekend! This weekend is scheduled to be a "step back" week, long run of only 6 miles. Then back to longer runs. Luckily temperatures have been rising on the weekends so my long runs have been in the above zero range. Little easier to contemplate running for over an hour when the temps are closer to freezing than zero.

On the knitting front:

Not too much happening. Working on the scarf and the healing shawl. Keep eyeing up the hanks of merino/silk blend and the new doublepoint needles but no inspiration yet (plus I am trying to limit myself to three projects at a time - the bird mitten is getting lonely for its pair).

Stay warm!

I had this idea....


Mid-week I thought about posting some patterns that I have written. Technical difficulties got in the way. That, and lack of initiative to figure out how to create links.

What was I going to post? A pattern for a hat in fingering weight/sock yarn with a small peerie. Perfect for active outdoor sports (or, in today's "dangerous windchills" for wearing under the down hood). Also a mitten pattern that gives numbers for a variety of sizes. Interested? Email me.

Ran outdoors this morning. Even I was a bit daunted by the predicted windchills. Yesterday at noon it was near 30 degrees F at my house (thermometer is in the shade on the north side of the house), then the wind picked up and the temp began to drop.... Woke up to -18 at the "big airport" (where official records are now kept) and -14 at the house, with temps a tad warmer at Sky Harbor (little airport) which is at the same elevation as my running route. Winds gusting to near 30 mph from the west. We shall not discuss windchills, but they were in the -40's, so I hear.

What to wear to protect my face? My last run with nasty winds my cheeks were getting 'nipped' and any efforts to pull my neck gaiter over my face resulted in me feeling as if I was suffocating. Last night Jon suggested I get the hood off of my old down coat. Perfect solution. It zips off, the bottom has a velcro piece that is at least 3 inches wide, and there are - gasp - hood strings - so that it can be cinched down. I wish I had brought a camera along! I am sure I reached some kind of fashion height with my outfit. Umm, did I mention this is a rather puffy coat? Yeah. Held it all in place with the aforementioned neck gaiter and topped it off with my LL Bean pullover windbreaker (forget what they call it - mountain anorak maybe). Had my usual layers underneath, though added another pair of winter-weight tights (though lighter than my sporthills) to the mix, topped off with windpants. Even managed to shave some time off my usual pace for this distance - despite the layers. Warm and toasty the whole time, even had to vent the hood while running back into the wind.

Huge change from the run on Friday! I was wearing the minimal winter gear for temps below freezing, and ended up shedding one layer of mittens early on. I am building mileage for a race in May, so am committed to doing some long runs on the weekend. The forecast was not pretty for Saturday so I opted to get my 7 miles in Friday afternoon. I had plotted a course that was about half roads, half trails and included lots of hills (the goal race is very hilly) and started at my front yard. Then Jon called and suggested I just run down to the airport and he would give me a ride home. Hmmm. Got on gmaps.pedometer and started looking at route options. Easiest was to leave home and run to the airport. Worst thing about that route: first mile is downhill. You pretty much lose 500 - 600 feet in less than a mile. Yeah, I live just about at the highpoint of the ridgeline in Duluth, Sky Harbor is on Park Point, just about at lake level.

I took this as an opportunity to put the heart rate monitor on and try to run a nice easy run. Did pretty well, though what feels easy to me still has my heart rate up in the mid-to-upper 160's. One of these days I will take the time to figure out my true max heart rate. I think it is a bit higher than the 173-178 that the formula's predict. Other than the hill, the next worst part of this run is that it is flat for the next 6 miles. I considered bringing along a cd player, then discovered the headphones had been borrowed. Well, lots of time to think and listen to the world around me.

One thing I noticed as I ran the roads - truckers gave me the widest clearance, young people, especially young women, seemed to be oblivious to my presence on the road. I could touch their cars if I had reached out, and I am short! I like the idea of encouraging drivers to give pedestrians and bicyclist "three feet" (http://bikingduluth.blogspot.com/). Most often there was not traffic in the oncoming lane, so no reason to be so close.

Not much to see in the way of wildlife - some rock pigeons perched on the powerlines along Railroad Street and a bald eagle (they seem to be around a lot this year).

On the knitting front:

Bird mittens languishing in their bag; scarf has taken a back seat to a healing shawl, because I can work on it while reading and I wanted to break into the Quarry from Knitpicks. Finally got the right needles and stitch count for this. Still no idea who the recipient is to be. I am sure by the time I am finished that will become obvious - usually does.

Entertainment for the day:

Freeze drying my running clothes.

I try not to put my technical fabric stuff in the dryer and our basement is way too cold to get stuff to dry in any type of reasonable time frame. Seems odd that hanging it out on a below zero day would dry it faster, but it does. Gets rid of a lot of moisture, so that the clothes are only damp once they thaw out. Almost didn't need clothes pins today, the stuff was freezing as I walked out the door. Had to be pried off this evening.

Stay warm!

Not going to jinx it this time


Once again, nice weather on the weekend. Low to mid twenties in the morning, cloudy, tending towards fog, barely any wind. But I will not mention how nice it is to run in conditions like this. Look what happened last time!

So far, so good with the training. Legs holding up, energy holding up, even with the addition of soccer on Sunday afternoons. Did cut back on the length of the Sunday run to accomodate the running during soccer.

Tried using my heart rate monitor to slow myself down today. I tend to go out and run the same pace for every run. According to the books, you should vary it a bit. So the plan for now is that at least my Sunday runs will be done at a low intensity. I tried to bring Porter along today to keep me at an easy pace - he walked out the front door with me (rather reluctantly) then sat down in the yard, looked up the hill to where the SHT is, looked at me, looked back up at the trail.... the message was clear - he stayed home and I headed to the Lakewalk.

With no wind, ice is able to form on the lake. It is interesting to watch the patterns in the ice. Often very geometrical, highlighted by the dusting of snow we received yesterday.

On the knitting front:

Lace scarf coming along well, have about 20 inches done with plenty of yarn left. Hard to work on while I read though, so have of course casted on another project that is a bit more mindless.

I broke into the box from Knitpicks (yes, it finally arrived, right after I left for work - on the night I had to work until 8:30 pm; twitch, twitch) and pulled out a skein of Quarry (75% Superfine alpaca. 20% peruvian wool, 5% nylon) and cast on for a healing/prayer shawl. It took me a few tries to find the right number of stitches to cast on so it would end up being wide enough. Not sure who this is meant for... yet. I have missed working on these, they are a very satisfying project on many levels. Plush this yarn is - so far - very pleasant to work with.

Just a reminder that in only three months we will be seeing things like this again:



Large-flowered trillium on the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) in Duluth

A little past its prime, but beautiful nontheless.

Enjoy the returning light!

Embossed Leaves Socks





Details of toe shaping:



On the needles right now: another scarf. I had used up most of a skein of vintage stash yarn working up a scarf only to discover that I was going to run out of yarn before the scarf was of appropriate length. So, off to the frog pond I went (dragging my daughter along) and the scarf is being reborn in a lacier, narrower pattern. Hopefully this solves the lack of yarn problem.

The bird mittens are languishing in their bag, waiting for my undivided attention.

The box from Knitpicks is still not here. Apparently it needs to sit in Brooklyn Park for many days before making its way to Duluth. Thank the knitting spirits that I live very close to the main post office in Duluth or who knows how long it would take to traverse the city! My guess is it will arrive tomorrow when I am at work, though there is the possibility that it will be delivered before I have to be to work at 11:30.

Weather could be a problem, they are predicting a return to the cold, with snow and winds. Obviously I got too excited about the opportunity to run in warm(er) temps and am now going to pay for it. Send warm thoughts tomorrow and Wednesday as the plan is to be out there putting in the miles ;->

Running Above Zero

I have been looking forward to this day for a week!

Rumours abounded that the mercury was going to rise above zero, even hit the twenties by the end of the week. Thursday morning dawned to -16 degrees, though did warm up to above zero... eventually. Lucky for me I had other plans and was not running that day. Friday was also a day off, so when I got up this morning I was very pleasantly surprised to see 18 degrees on the thermometer. 18... above... zero... And, as frosting on the cake, barely a breeze blowing! I almost didn't know how to dress for this mornings run. A quick check of the National Weather Service website showed that it was a tad cooler over the hill, 14 degrees, so I didn't go crazy and wear my "warm weather" running clothes. ;->

Layers today still consisted of my Sporthill 3SP tights and top, and two layers of mittens (handknits are so awesome) but rather than a long-sleeved fleece, I wore a fleece vest, and topped it off with a thin (handknit) wool hat vs my nylon covered fleece hat and neck gaiter. No wind pants either. And no need to slather my face with Warm Skin. I felt light as a feather! It is much easier to contemplate adding long runs in when the temps are warmer.

I am preparing to branch out to longer races and have my sights set on a 25K trail run in May. Knowing myself as I do, I need to build up my mileage pretty slowly so have started my race training this week. I also know that, unlike what many of the training plans tell you, I do need to run the full distance of the race at least once in training. This was brought home to me during last October's Whistlestop half marathon when things started to tighten up a lot after 10 miles (my longest training run). So the plan is to build up to running 16 miles at least twice before race day, with a good two week taper leading to the race. At some point I also need to start running more hills in preparation for this particular race (Superior Trail 25K - www.superiortrailrace.com). I have been doing a lot of my runs of late on the Lakewalk which has a grand elevation change of 50 feet!

Enough of running and the cold, at least for now.

On the knitting front I have finished a pair of socks (Embossed Leaves Socks, Interweave Knits, Winter 2005). Due to their lacey nature a blocking would be helpful. I have been looking at various homemade blocking devices as the ones I made years ago are showing their age.

The "bird mittens" are progressing very slowly. I finished the hand on one, need to fasten off the top stitches and work the thumb (carefully writing down what I am doing as I go) and then start the other one. I may finish them yet this season ;->

I cast on for a scarf out of some well-aged stash yarn. Needed something mindless for reading and watching movies, etc as the bird mittens are anything but - what with the three charts and all.

Anxiously awaiting a package from KnitPicks. First time I have ordered any knitting things from a catalog/website in years. I was sucked in by the laminated multi-colored DP needles, though refrained from buying the set. Did order a few sizes of the DP's, six skeins of Quarry to use on a healing shawl, and two skeins of Gloss (wool/silk blend) for an undetermined project (socks?, scarf?, hat?, mittens?.... so many possibilities).

Saw Spirit of the Marathon Thursday night (limited release, one night only but may be shown again in theaters in February). If you are at all interested in running, go see it. Good documentary on marathoning, covers both world-class atheletes and "regular" folks, including a few first timers. Takes place around the 2005 Chicago Marathon. Very inspiring! Last week was a big movie week for me as I also saw Juno (another good movie). Normally I do not go to theaters, so this was quite the change for me. It helps that we now have a theater located downtown and that something of interest is actually being shown.

Enjoy the warm(er) weather and wish for snow.

Running in below zero temps.


Apparently I only blog after running in the cold ;->

They were predicting brutal windchills for this weekend. It is warmer than predicted: The National Weather Service says -9 at the big airport; -2 at Sky Harbor (by the Lake) with a windchill of -30. Now, the thermometer at my house says it is -0.7.

I headed over to the east side of town to run this morning, rather than my usual Saturday morning run in Proctor. The group wasn't going to meet, and with temps this cold it was nice to delay the run until the sun was well up in the sky! I ran at Hawks Ridge. The road is closed in the winter and used by snowmobiles, walkers, runners, and skiers so the snow is well-packed and makes for a nice running surface. Porter joined me and was thrilled to be out! He gets quite the frosty chin at these temps.

I went with my usual sub-zero layers of:

Top - sporthill winter top with a long-sleeved fleece over the top covered by a windbreaker; fleece neck gaiter; fleece ear flap hat with nylon around the lower half for wind protection; two layers of handknit mittens- silkywool base layer, topped with worsted weight mitts.

Bottom - sporthill winter tights; sporthill wind pants; smartwool running socks, saucony stabil shoes with sheet metal screws in the soles for gription.

My hands were pretty warm, but it took almost two miles and a potty break for my toes to finally thaw out. This was all complicated by my standing around looking at the underside of my car to try and figure out why it was making a horrible screeching noise. That got the feet cold to start with and lead to a longer time before they warmed up.

Gotta love Raynauds!!!

Today many folks are in a panic about anyone exercising in the cold. Questions about frozen lungs abound. Really, if humans were that delicate we would have never made it as a species this long. Just a hundred years ago we could not count on a well heated home or the ability to sit indoors until it got warmer out. It is all about dressing for the weather.

While out today I was thinking that it should be a "right" to have appropriate, affordable clothing for the climate you live in. I was thinking about all of the people that I see without adequate clothing for this climate. Good, warm boots, coats and mittens are expensive! Our family has always made them a spending priority, even in the lean days, but I know there are many families that just can't swing the cost of quality winter clothing. Any solutions?? We donate outgrown gently used gear, and could probably stand to thin the closets again. Clothing stamps??? Winter clothing safety net??

Happy New Year!!

Got out and ran today at Hartley Park. Air temps were below zero, but not much, with the wind picking up and becoming quite brisk by the time the last folks came in. I put an invitation out on Northland Runner and ended up having 8 runners and 7 snowshoers come along for the fun (and two dogs).

The sun was shining and in the woods the wind wasn't noticeable. The trail had been pretty packed down so was quite runnable without snowshoes over all, though there were a few spots that provided challenging footing. The deal with winter trail running is that you need to slow down and enjoy your surroundings. If you get too hung up on time, then you get frustrated by the footing and cease to find the beauty that is northern Minnesota in the winter.

Sorry no pictures - again. It was too cold to be messing around with my camera and I forgot to ask the kids to borrow their smaller one. You will just have to use your imagination.

OKC: still working on the Embossed Leaves Socks and the "Bird Mittens", with a few washcloths on the side so that I can read and knit.

Wish I could get this picture uploaded....

Ran this morning on the Lakewalk. Around 10 degrees above with NW winds gusting up to 28 mph. We shall not discuss windchill. It wasn't too bad, except that first 1/4 - 1/2 mile into the wind! After that the wind was - mostly - blocked by the walls of the freeway or coming at us from the side.

By the time we thought about turning around we were close to the 2.5 mile mark, so kept going and got the full 5 miles in. Yesterday it rained briefly before snowing and there was ice under the snow, so the footing at times was "interesting". Nothing like black ice and a wind gust to make your feet go in different directions and your heart rate go up.

I was right though - they do plow the Lakewalk before they plow the roads!! As we were heading out around 8:10 or so we saw the plow trucks coming towards us and were later passed by them heading in the opposite direction. Nice to know that the Duluth Parks and Rec folk take access to the Lakewalk so seriously!

We were not alone in venturing out this blustery morning. We saw a total of three people (not counting the plow drivers): a couple walking towards Canal Park and a gentleman and his dachsund(?). No one else though. Pretty quiet overall.

By the time we got back to the cars I had quite the buildup of snow and ice on my lashes. When I got into the car and got a look at myself I realized that my eyebrows were also caked in snow and ice. Utilizing modern technology (in the form of a camera phone), and the review mirror, I was able to get a picture, but don't know how to upload it. Let your imaginations run wild.

It is hard to tell how much snow we are really getting. It is pretty fine-grained stuff and the wind is blowing it into some impressive drifts. Skiing should be a lot better once the winds die down. Wishing the driving was better as I would be tempted to head to Boulder for a skijor.

Blizzardy-type conditions are also good for reading and knitting. The star production line is in full force as we speak. It is hard to read much while producing these though. Lots of decreasing happens in just 5 rows to get from 55 sts down to 5. I realized today that none of my current knitting projects makes for good 'reading while knitting'. They all entail either two-color knitting, lace, or decreases on every row. I suppose I could start a fourth project and get some dishcloths done.....

Mittens!!

Finally got around to taking pictures of the "bird mittens" in progress. Really, I got around to coercing the intended recipient into taking pictures of the mittens.

Back of the hand:


Comparison to the original:


The palm:


At one point in time, while working on the thumb gusset, I had three color charts going! Just the kind of knitting you want to take along to a holiday party.

No pictures of the socks yet. Making good progress, past the heel and working my way down the foot. They did come along to the holiday party as the chart is fairly easy to follow.

Photos from a ski outing:




Try clicking the last photo to read the sign. The Piedmont Ski trail is unique in Duluth for it's handmade wooden signs. They are fun to read!

Sorry about the poor light but it was 7:15 am and a cloudy day. Of course the sunrise got really good when we were most of the way around the loop and no where near the overlook (center photo). I have been trying to get out for a ski at least 2 - 3 times per week and run at least 2 times a week.

I even got Porter out for a skijor at Boulder last Sunday. His initial reaction on seeing his harness was less than enthusiastic, but by the time we got near the ski trail he was "smiling". The first 3.8K he was running, with tail high and taking any breaks to roll in the snow and act like a puppy. The last 2+k he was much more subdued, but a lot of that had to do with a negative encounter with another dog while we took a break at the parking lot. People with dog aggressive dogs should not bring them to public places, especially if they do not know how to control them. Everyone was okay, just shook us up a bit.

I have been getting out for a couple of runs (long for me) and really enjoying it. Duluth seems to take great pride in keeping the Lakewalk plowed all winter long, and as much as I dislike running on paved surfaces, it is a nice, lit, alternative to slogging along on snowmobile trails. Some of the hiking trails get packed enough to make a great running surface, but I haven't tried them out yet. Though with today's temperatures the trails will be soft, and skiing is out until it is no longer "klister" weather.

No pictures

Sorry, keep meaning to get pictures of the current knitting projects but have not had camera, projects, and good light all together at the same time.

OTN: A pair of mittens for my daughter Sarah. and a pair of socks.

Years ago I knit a pair of mittens based on a color chart from Knitting in the Nordic Tradition. My pair is knit in a robin's egg blue and cream color. The pattern is of birds, so of course I call these my "bird mittens". So creative! I think I even entered them in the State Fair.

In the ensuing years, Sarah has started to wear them (they are like the mitten's from the Jan Brett book - accomodating many sizes of hands, Sarah is at least 6 inches taller than I am) and I have started to say on an almost daily basis "Don't lose those or let anything happen to them, they are special (irreplaceable, precious.... you get the idea)".

Sarah has a winter coat that is two shades of pink. About a week or so ago she asked me if I would knit her an identical pair of bird mittens to match her coat. Sure I said - if I can find the pattern. Off I went to look. Found the color chart for the hand and thumb in one folder. Kept searching.... found the color chart for the cuff in another notebook. Kept looking.... ah, there were some written directions.

The problem with my designing is that I often work on the item without really noting what I have done. Then, years later when I am trying to recreate a design I have - if I am lucky - some sketchy notes to work from and maybe, just maybe the actual item.

I had to reclaim the original pair from Sarah so that I could use them to help me figure out the missing gaps in the original writtten pattern. I am trying to be more disciplined this time around and, at each step, record what I am doing.

I am working in Jamieson's 2 ply Shetland Spindrift on size 0 needles. I cast on 72 stitches so it is (was) moving along pretty quickly. That was until I hit the hand and the two seperate patterns (three if you count the thumb gusset) that I am working at the same time. One for the palm of the hand and one for the back. I am still trying to remember how I handled the charts for this one. Needless to say it does not make for good travel knitting.

A week or so ago the Yarn Harlot posted pictures of her sock in progress - Embossed Leaves I believe is the name. Anyway, I searched the Interweave Knits archive to find the pattern. It is in the Winter 2005 issue. I decided these would be my travel knitting. Not 100% sure who they are for. Maybe a Holiday gift, maybe not, we shall see.

Today we drove to the Twin Cities (just for the day) to visit my in-laws. Miracles of miracles I did not have to drive so spent the time on the way down casting on (learned a new cast-on) and working the ribbing and part of the pattern. Well-prepared knitter that I am I had packed my headlamp and was able to knit on the way back also (strapped the headlamp to the back of the front seat headrest and aimed it down). Got almost two repeats done.

Porter was very happy when we got back and greeted us with quite the vocalizations. He spent the day hanging out in his house which is located in a nice sunny spot of the yard, though it is currently overhung by some pretty spectacular icicles on my neighbors house (need to get some photos of those, too). His reward for being left: a big hunk of venison, a carrot and dog food soup.

Stay warm. Get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine!

Running - and walking - at 11 below (air temperature, windchill rumoured to be minus 24)

A before the run shot as we gathered:



What we looked like 45 minutes later:




Photos of a long-time UFO that was completed last night. Perfect timing as the temps are plummeting.




And the finished mittens of my own design. Realized that the contrast between the two yarns isn't quite enough. Guess I will have to make another pair :->




And the two projects together:



Note the snow - yup, we have about 3 feet of the lovely white stuff in the yard. Still have a barely plowed out road. But the skiing is awesome!!

For those wondering how you dress for these temps see my previous post but add: long-sleeved lightweight fleece over the sporthill running top, subtract the vest, add some Warm Skin applied to face and hands. I was toasty warm for the whole run without being too warm.

17 plus inches of snow!!!

Wish I had my camera out the last few days. West Duluth got over 17 inches of snow!! Got my car home the next day once they got around to plowing out my street. Today we got another 1 - 2 inches of snow.

So far I have not been back on my skis since Tuesday night. Yesterday was a running day. Met a friend down at the Lakewalk (original plan was to run trails, but too much snow) and we ran 4.7 miles. Temperature was around 5 degrees F (or so) with a bit of a breeze which we didn't notice until we turned around. The Lake is still open and there was a ship anchored out, lit up. Today was a rest day. Hoping to get out tomorrow for a ski after work.

Sunsets and sunrises have been quite spectacular the last couple of days - again wish I had my camera near by.

Not much on the knitting front to report.

13 inches of snow and still accumulating!!!

Yeah for a real winter! Yesterday I skied before work (early enough to catch the sunrise - so unlike me). Today I skied before work - 8K (two loops around the Piedmont Ski Trails in Duluth). As I was skiing it began to snow and by the time I headed out for the second loop signs of my first pass were already gone.

Headed to work on roads that were getting a bit slick but still okay. I arrived to work at 11:00 am, ready to stay until 8:30 pm. By 2:00 pm my car had snow halfway up the tires. By 4:00 pm a co-worker noted that the snow on top was so high it looked like two of my cars stacked up! Glad I had my skis in my car today as they became a necessary part of my commute home.

Bridges were closing by 4:00pm, Duluth Transit Authority announced they were shutting down service at 6:00pm. Staff started heading home and, per our policy, we closed at 6:00. Well, no one could get to the clinic by 4ish, so most of the rest of my time was spent returning patient calls and digging out my co-workers. I left my car at work as there was no way I would get it near my house. Hills are too steep, roads are the last to be plowed.

Nothing like skiing on the streets of Duluth! Especially through 13+ inches of fluffy light snow. Bonus: got home and the shoveling had already been done. The dogs' house is disappearing under the drifts as we speak. They are predicting up to another 7 inches of snow before this ends, but sunshine for tomorrow.

Thank you Lake Superior for the snow (apparently this is pretty localized to the Downtown, East Hillside and West Duluth areas). Thanks also for coming at a time of year that is cold and will keep the snow around for awhile.

OKC: the Celtic Cable Mittens are done and went for their first ski today, as well as some snow shoveling and pushing cars. Looking for the right yarn and pattern to start a pair for Sarah.

SNOW!!!!!

Yeah, it is really snowing!

The bummer is that it is snowing so much that there have had to be cancellations of a few events, one of which my daughter worked very hard at organizing (World AIDs Day - Harbor City International School).

The city of Duluth has far fewer plow drivers than they did 10 years ago. Guess what the roads are like?

On the bright side this means my cross-country skis may get some use this year. Today though, I think I will work on the "celtic cable" mittens. One done, one to go. I have already had a request for a pair of pink and white mittens - preferably in some type of colorwork pattern.

Stay safe and warm wherever you are!

1.8 degrees F, wind gusts up to 24 mph, sunny, 1'' of snow

Those were the conditions that greeted me for my run this morning!

I decided that it would be a long winter if I couldn't face these conditions in November, so bundled up and headed out onto the trail for a short run - 5k on the Piedmont Ski trails in Duluth. Just enough snow to cover the ice and provide good traction without being so deep that you slide back a half step for every step you take.

The nice thing about trail running is, even though there are no leaves on the trees, they do provide some protection from the wind. I really enjoyed the sunshine! Working indoors makes me crave sunlight - especially during the darkest time of the year.

What does one wear to run when the windchill is -16F? I am a big fan of Sporthill and their 3SP products. So, from the bottom up:
Smartwool socks; Saucony running shoes; Sporthill tights (3SP); InSport long, winter weight running bra; Sporthill 3SP (infuzion) top; Sporthill fleece vest; windshirt from Whistlestop half; polypropeline liner gloves; silky wool hand-knit mittens; neck gaiter; fleece hat (found on the trail years ago - has nylon on the ear flaps and around the base); sunglasses.

If it had been much colder I would have added: wind pants (again Sporthill brand) and Warmskin (a lotion that protects the skin from windburn and adds a layer of warmth). A lot colder and I would have added a fleece sweater and pulled the neck gaiter up.

I love the windshirt they gave out at the Whistlestop this year. It is very windproof, nice "hand", has two pockets, reflective band on the collar. It is a very bright, tomatoey red which is not my favorite color, but on the other hand I will never be mistaken for a deer while wearing it :-> One annoying thing about it is that the sleeves are very, very long. Like 4 inches too long. This is annoying most days, but today it was a bonus feature. Kept my hands nice and cozy.

Did I mention I have Raynauds?? Yeah, makes exercising in northern Minnesota an interesting adventure. Dressing in the right layers is always a balancing act for runners. How many layers are needed so that you are comfortable but do not overheat? This is complicated with Raynauds because I have found that almost the only way to prevent the loss of sensation is to keep my core warm. Equals extra layers and the potential of over heating. Not today though!

Knitterly news: I am almost done with the first mitten (see previous post). A few more decreases at the top, pick up and knit the thumb and one mitten done. Then it is on to replicating it and refining the pattern. Pictures to follow sometime soon.

Work in progress


What I have been working on for the past few weeks is hats for the Mitten Tree at work. This is an example of what has been rolling off the needles:



Well-aged Lopi, basic hat pattern.

After many hats and lots of time with size 10 needles it was time for a switch. From deep within the stash I unburied some well-aged yarn. The salmony-pink (my camera does not do the colors justice) is Reynolds Candide. The grey is Condon's yarn from Charlottetown, P.E.I.

I am working up a mitten pattern - a work in progress at this point. So far I have the gauntlet somewhat sorted out in my head and on paper. I wanted to incorporate a celtic-style braid pattern I had floating around.



Again, my camera is not doing the colors justice (nor is the lighting in the livingroom late at night).

I had most of the pattern knit up while listening to a local performer (Rachael Kilgour) down at the Amazing Grace and then I realized I had switched the colors in the pattern and was no longer knitting it correctly. Nothing like ripping out 7 rows of two-color knitting in dim light! Waited until I got home to pick those stitches back up. But... see if you can spot my error (if it is shown in this picture).

My goal is to keep an accurate record of what I did with this mitten so that I can:
1. Make a second one that resembles the first;
2. Share the pattern with others (or just duplicate it myself) if the need arises.

Got out for a five mile run this morning. Luckily the wind saved the worst it had for us today to a bit later, though it did give me quite the push up one hill! The temp was in the upper 20's to low 30's this morning. A far cry from the low-to-mid teens on Thanskgiving Day when I ran. This was my longest run since the half over a month ago. Felt good to get out there and run for 45 minutes. I had started to miss the longer runs and have not been able to fit them in around work (too dark, too much going on). From here on out - or at least until April - every Saturday morning I can plan on getting 5 miles in, plus having a nice chat with some friends and getting some "oats with bugs"

Christmas City of the North Parade


Only in Duluth could this become a long standing tradition. There is a video at http://youtube.com/watch?v=v77hhjq1WXk from last years parade.

In years past (read "when the girls were much younger"), we would bundle up and head to downtown Duluth at about 5:00 pm to stake out our spot for the parade. Inevitably, after finding just the right spot on the curb to sit, by the time the parade came by the girls view (and mine - lets be honest I am short afterall) would be blocked by some less than considerate adults that had stepped in front of us. Nothing like having to tell some grown-up (often two sheets to the wind) to please let the kids see.

The parade typically starts at 6:30 pm - down at the DECC. Meaning, the first float, marching band, lead car would appear at our location around 7:00 pm (it is a mile plus parade route). BRRRRRRR!!! Often it was snowing. Often we were sitting on snow drifts. It has only been in the past few years that it has been "warm" for the parade. The highlight was when the hot air balloon company would go by and fire off the flame used when filling a balloon. Instantly heating the air for a half block around!

Sarah and Gilah continue to go to the parade every year, but I have bowed out for the past two - three years. I am not a fan of standing around in the cold doing nothing more than watching other's go by. The girls have other people (=friends) that they would rather go with. Perfect solution.

Knitting Update:

I have been working up a few hats in the mystery sourced Lopi. I have to say it is a nice change of pace to knit up an object in an evening. Most of my knitting is done on such small needles that it takes weeks rather than hours to finish them.

I am once again contemplating blocking (finally) Icarus. It has been finished for over a year now and I just have not gotten around to finding the space to lay it out. I was inspired to consider it again when I realized how fast the lace scarf dried. I just need enough space to lay it out for a few hours or so. Part of what holds me back is the effort it will take to pin it out.

Sunday night this and that.

Thought I would post some pictures of recent (broad definition of recent) knitting.



My nephew Zander in his Baby Surprise sweater. Apparently he did wear it once while it really fit him, but threw up on it before my sister got a photo. So, she got him into it, for possibly the last time so that I could get a picture!



The scarf I knit for the Peace UCC (Duluth) Silent Auction and Artist Cabaret (fundraiser for a building project). It is the Ploughed Lace pattern I have knit before in a brown, angora blend lace weight yarn. I modified the pattern a bit in order to control the rolling edges and knit it up in a fingering weight yarn that was given to me years ago and never seems to run out - it's like a miracle! I have a triagular shawl, hat, mittens, and who knows what else knit from it and yet I still have more on hand! The scarf is approximately 7 inches wide by 6 feet long.



Happy Birthday Porter!!! (this picture is from two years ago). He is now nine years old and has been slowing down. Porter is very, very happy with the cooler weather and really seemed to like the shady, icey, snowy trail we walked this morning with a friend and her two german shorthairs. He was not so thrilled with the temperatures when we ran this afternoon. It had warmed up to the upper 40's (50 at the top of the hill) and he was noticably slower and looked a bit heat stressed by the end. Luckily there is now a lot of water available along the trail.

We have had snow two days in a row. Enough accumulation that we had to brush the cars off, and to cause people to run off the roads. It is amazing how folks who live in a northern climate always seemed to be shocked by the first snowfall!



Skijoring (cross county skiing while being pulled by a dog). One reason I am excited to see snow! Last year we really did not get any snow, well, not until March and April, and then it melted pretty quickly. My skis never saw snow last year. Porter never had to don his harness and run any trails. I missed it!! I am hoping that he has another season or two in him, but if the winters stay mild I may never find out.

OTN: hats for the Mitten Tree at work made from some Lopi that appeared in my stash (not sure where it came from to be honest - gift from a friend? Originally meant for slippers?). Go to: http://www.lschc.org/aboutus.htm to learn more about the Mitten Tree Project. Both of our sites have baskets full of yarn and fleece for people to take as well as a file folder of patterns. We also have two projects available for people to work on while they wait.

Reading: After a blitz of Patricia Cornwall I am taking a break and rereading The Lord of the Rings. I can't even count the number of times I have read the series, but it seemed like a nice fit and the library wasn't open when I ran out of reading material. Speaking of which, the City of Duluth announced that due to staffing issues the libraries will be closed one extra day a week. Aaagh! It is hard enough to get to the library if you work, now it will only be harder. I remember the "good ol' days" when the library was open 4 nights a week. Now it is only open two evenings a week, closed on Saturdays in the summer, and now closed an extra day a week (the day depends on which of the three locations you are trying to get to).

Enjoy the nice weather tomorrow! I have the day off and plan on spending a fair portion of it outdoors while the sun and warmish temps last.

Whistlestop Half-Marathon

Last weekend I ran in the Whistlestop half-marathon. Training had been going very well, I had been running some speedy (for me) trail races and the weather cleared and seemed perfect for setting a PR. I had a goal to finish under 2 hours. I knew that I could do that as I have run every other half-marathon in 2 hours or less.

I am a 1:58 half-marathoner. Four half-marathons. All run in 1:58. Amazingly consistent.

Actually I started out running closer to a 8:30 min/mile pace (1:51 half) and kept that up for 9 - 10 miles when my legs started tightening up in back and the blisters I had been ignoring since mile 3 conspired to slow me down. If I were to do a half again I think I would ignore the advice and do longer training runs. I topped out at 10 miles and think I need to do longer runs.

Most of my training was done on the Superior Hiking Trail in Duluth with one foray up the North Shore to run a (turned out to be steep as heck) nine mile section. I figured the hilly trail running was good for strength and the weekly 90 minute soccer games were my speed work.

Oh yeah, soccer. So after running 13.1 miles Saturday I did go ahead and play 90 minutes of soccer on Sunday. It actually was a good way to work out some of the stiffness. Bandaid makes a blister pad that worked really well to protect the 1.5 cm blood blister on my left foot.

After all of that I have felt pretty justified in taking the rest of the week off from running. That and the rain helped my decision making.

So all this extra time on my hands now that I am not training has been pretty good for my knitting. Finishing up some socks. Finished hats for the Mitten Tree at work. Started a scarf for work but ran into an allergy issue with it (donater has cats) and have set it aside for now. I've been asked to contribute something for the Silent Auction at church so need to look throught my stash and see what wants to be knit up in two weeks ;->

Any suggestion??

Still here despite the rain.

The house is still perched on the hillside, the road was graded just the other day - in time for more rain. I am afraid to go into the basement and see exactly how much water is running down there. Luckily we aren't in a flood zone - well until we get a flood of biblical proportions at least :->

Remember way back in May when I listed a whole mess of wildflowers and promised pictures someday? (Wish I knew how to link to old posts). Anway, as we head into fall and winter, just a little reminder of spring:



Yellow lady slippers



Enjoy!!

Knitting in use on Isle Royale:



You may note with a close look the handknit silkywool mittens (worn over a pair of polypropelene liners) and the bobble cable hat (featured in a previous post). What is not shown in any photo from this trip are the handknit socks I wore the whole trip. They were great whether used along or in combination with liner socks (or in combination with thick socks and a pile coat on the coldest night out there - mid 30's F).

It had been raining, misty, windy on much of our trip. The knitting I took along was not worked on very often as I could not keep my hands warm enough. Though at the Island Mine campsite - where we could build a fire - I did get significant work done on the hat I had cast-on during the ferry trip to the island. I opted for soemthing circularly knit to reduce the chance of loosing a needle on the trip - or puncturing a water bladder! I recently finished the hat. I knit it using just over a skein of wildfoote handpainted yarn - though why it took more than a skein I am not entirely sure. Let's just say that this hat will become a gift for someone as it is a tad large on me!

Originally I had meant the hat (which I have no picture of) to go with a pair of socks I am working on. Oh well. Christmas knitting done :->

I have been working on a few hats for the "Mitten Tree" at work. The yarn has been donated (there is also fleece for those that sew), so I work with what is available. I may be trolling through my stash soon to see what I have that can be knitted up for donation. Otherwise knitting time has been slim around here. I am thinking about another baby surprise, need to go looking to see what yarns I have that would be suitable. As you can guess I am not big on pastels for babies - or for anyone for that matter!

On another front, besides the weekly soccer games I have been training for a half-marathon since mid summer. The race is this Saturday and I am pleased to see that the forecast is somewhat improved over what the last few days have brought us. Today is the first day that feels like Fall up here - high in the low 40's, rain (some had snow), winds gusting up to the 30's. It was pretty easy to decide against a run today (I have been dealing with a mild case of shinsplits also). Tomorrow is a trail run/race, then two days of rest and then 13.1 miles! If you are awake and alert on Saturday, Oct. 13th think speedy thoughts towards Ashland, Wi around 9:00 am. If the running gods/goddesses are with me I hope to be done with my race by 10:45 - 11:00 am. Then I will be off to watch Gilah's soccer team play (she is in college in the same town) and - if I can stay awake - head home to awake the next morning and play in my own soccer game.

Wireless has arrived in the house and now I am willing to try blogging again (with pictures).

Long awaited photos of the knitting:





Instead of flowers (promised back in June in my last post) I could include a few pictures of my recent trip to Isle Royale. I spent seven days out there. Six of them backpacking 30+ miles, one hanging out at Windigo after having given up our spots on the ferry.

Not much in the way of flowers in September, but we did see on orchid (not in bloom, but with the seed pods and very distinctive leaves) - Rattlesnake plantain.

Didn't see any wolves, may have heard them howling one morning, early. Did see moose. Three on one day, two males in rut, one immature male doing his best to stay out-of-the-way and unnoticed. Two on the next day, a female and her yearling calf. The males were across the lake (thankfully), the cow and calf were about two hundred feet away on the beach. A little close for comfort when they started moving in my direction :->

Long awaited pictures of the most recent knitting (and maybe a few flowers - we shall see how it goes ).

EZ's Surprise sweater knit from one strand of fingering weight wool held together with a strand of sock wool. Great way to start using up those odd balls of sock wool I have hanging about (and those skeins of fingering weight I am sooooo drawn to).

Well, I am still waiting for photos to load... should be interesting to see where they end up in this post. The sweater is for my new nephew, now 4 months old.

I was going to upload photos of the scarf that I designed and knit for a silent auction but I would rather go to bed at this point. I promise I will try to post in less than a month with the scarf photos and some of the wildflowers that were blooming in early June.

Just a hint on the scarf (still waiting for the uploading of pictures to be accomplished - and yes Chris, I did use the smallest image size :-> ):

Knit in fingering weight shetland wool. lace pattern from a Barbara Walker treasury. I called it the Vine Lace scarf. Finished size (after blocking) was 7.5 " x 46.5". I have no idea what it went for at the silent auction. Can't even remember what I set the value at.

I am currently working on another scarf (after finishing a striped hat for a friend) from the same pattern. I did modify it to be a bit narrower = one less pattern repeat. This time I am using blue - wait for it - fingering weight yarn. I am sure pictures will appear some day.

I seem to be averaging a post every two months or so - sorry to my one loyal reader! this will be a photoless blog - I haven't had a camera handy on my latest outings.

Wanted to let you in on one of the best wildflower runs I have ever done. I had to go up north to Finland (Minnesota that is) last weekend. After spending an hour and a half driving, three and a half hours in a meeting I headednorth another 15 miles or so to one of the sweetest sections of the Superior Hiking Trail - at least in May! I ran from Cook County Rd 1 to the Gasco Rd (an old logging road) and back. This section goes through an RNA, similar to an SNA but established by the forest service vs the DNR. It is an old-growth maple forest. For wildflower geeks that means awesome spring ephemerals. I hit it perfectly. Following is a list of what I saw in that 5.8 mile rooty, rocky, steep trails run:

b=bud; f=flowering; l=leaf

Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) - f
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) - f
violet species - white & purple flowers
Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) - f
Bellwort (Uvularia species) - l
Clintonia (clintonia borealis) - l
Adoxa moschatellina (a species of special concern in Minnesota and a special treat and find from that day) - f
Carolina Spring-beauty (Claytonia caroliniana) also a species of special concern - f
Early saxifrage (Saxifraga virginiensis) - f
various tree species - aspen, birch? (my allergies say yes)

Couple spots had moose scat, even more spots had wolf scat. No fresh tracks that day. I called in a few chickadees and a flycatcher (?) while I sat and stretched after my run that day.

Since then I have been cruising around on trails in the Duluth area and have seen:

Corydalis species - f (either yellow or golden, though due to timing I am thinking yellow)
Coltsfoot (Petasites palmatus) - f
Hepatica (Hepatica americana) - f
Wood anemone (Anemone quinquefolia) - f
Wild strawberry - f
Viola species - white, pale purple and in my garden - fuschia - f
Wild leeks (Allium tricoccum) - l
Wild ginger (Asarum candense) - f

The turkey vultures are now out in full force. So are the ticks. Last Wednesday I went for a very hot run in Jay Cooke State Park and picked at least 15 or so ticks off of me throughout the run (those steep hills and slow walks up them are good for something besides catching your breath) and another two that evening, plus a few that lingered in the car and were discovered by others. I also had my first mosquito bite that evening!

The trees are all starting to leaf out so the spring ephemerals will be gone soon. My lilacs are budding, the plum is in full bloom and my hops are growing so fast I swear if you sat there watching them you could see it. Of course that means I should be out there encouraging them to grow up the trellis not onto the lawn. Speaking of the lawn, we have already needed to mow and almost missed the magic moment. The combination of a reel mower and our slope means it is best not to let the lawn get to long.

Obviously I have been spending more time outdoors and less time knitting so no major projects to report. I finished some half mittens from the jitterbug, plus a pair of socks and a hat all from the same colorway. I did end up getting a second skein of yarn to do all of that, so now have an bit of jitterbug looking for a small something to be. I also finished a baby surprise from sockyarn held with another fingering weight yarn for my newest nephew. Pictures to appear someday. On a cold couple of days I dragged the Rambling Rows queen size afghan out and worked on some applied i-cord edging. I have just a partial side left and the edging will be complete. Just in time for the warm weather to hit :->

I'll try to post sooner - and with pictures next time.

Thanks to Chris for suggesting a solution to my uploading of photos problem. Based on her suggestions I did a bit of playing around with iphoto and figured out how to shrink down the pictures so that they would load in my lifetime (love the dial-up). Hence I feel like I can share what some Duluthians do with two feet of snow.

Our front porch is about 8 feet or so off of the ground.

I spent an hour snowshoeing the Superior Hiking Trail near our house, packing down the trail ( I was the first one out) and watching Porter struggle through the snow. He is 100 lbs, tall enough to reach the top of the table without stretching, and was up to his chest in snow for most of the walk. Good work out for both of us!

Last night we got it all in Duluth. High winds (60 mph), thunder and lightening. Drifts on Park Point are over 10 feet. We are still waiting for a plow to come along on our street. Today there was hardly any wind and just some nice fat snowflakes drifting down most of the day.

Back to knitting. Details of the Bobble cable hat. The pattern is from Interweave Knits, originally designed as a baby's hat. I have made a few minor changes to the pattern. I had knit it up about a year or two ago, kept seeing it on the head of the person I had gifted it to and decided I needed one of my own.

This version is knit up in Jitterbug - Blue Parrot colorway. Jitterbug is a 100% superwash merino. Very soft. part of my christmas gift from my family this year (the gift certificate was - I chose the yarn).

The missing house - dug out the next day. The drift is at least 5 feet deep over his house - a bit more in some spots.

Last night Porter asked to go out - as he usually does - but couldn't find his house (look under the drift in the previous post). This is what he thought of the blizzard!

Okay - the missing photos from last night and a few interesting ones from today - One at a time :->

Snowed in! We have gone from winter drought to the possiblitiy of catching up, all in one week. Last weekend we got a foot of snow, took until Wednesday to dig the cars out. Today - Thursday - the Duluth Schools were closed, but the DTA was running so off to work I went - for awhile. The clinic closed at one and will not reopen until Monday. The roads looked pretty good up until about 3:00 pm, then the snow started. Heavy snowfall and winds gusting up to 60 mph give you the first photo (one car buried, another on its way and believe it or not they plowed today!)

Porter has a doghouse out back - care to try and find it in the picture of my neighbors house? Look under the drift at it's highest point on the house. Earlier today Sarah had dug it out so Porter could get to it! Notice Porter's reaction to not being able to find his house for his evening ritual of heading outside to sleep for a few hours.

The Bobble-Cable hat is finished. One photo shows details of the cabled rim, the other shows the whole hat. Knit with Jitterbug - Blue Parrot colorway.

Stay warm and snug. I am casting on for a baby surprise and thinking of all the fun to be had digging out in a day or two. The cross-country skis may actually get used yet this year! Plus, we just gained some great insulation if the temps drop again (still in the mid 20's F here, though with winds at 55 - 60 mph who knows what the windchill is).

Addendum: after waiting for 40 minutes and having only one picture load I am giving up for the night. I'll try and post the rest of the photos tomorrow.