Author Archives: acrosscountryquilts

About acrosscountryquilts

We are friends who run and help people declutter their lives and record their running and other memories by making t-shirt quilts.

Graduation Gift?

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Thanks to our fantastic personal bargain shopper and neighbor, we have recently created 2 one-of-a-kind t-shirt quilts from reclaimed t-shirts that are available for sale! These “up-cycled” t-shirts created two terrific and unique quilts.  Please read on for descriptions. There is more to each quilt than just what is pictured here. (We’d be happy to let you see them up close before you decide to purchase.)

This first one would be a perfect gift for a graduate, specifically someone heading off to or graduating from Virginia Tech. Or maybe a birthday present for a young man hoping to someday be a Hokie? It measures 55″ x 80″ and will sell for $140.

Hokie Guy

We also have an adorable smaller sized quilt that would be perfect for a young lady, perhaps in Elementary or going off to Middle School.

All Girl

This one measures 50″x57″ and is listed at $90.

Please contact us at acrosscountryquilts@gmail.com if you’re interested in either of these.

Running Solo

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Since Julia’s down and out for the present I’ve been running alone. I usually turn to my list of podcasts on Stitcher (one of the best apps ever invented). But last week after I exhausted all my current podcast, I actually resorted to running without listening to anything…except reality! It turned out to be better than I remembered. In the spring especially, there’s a lot to hear, especially early morning birds. And with them as a backdrop I was able to think, too, and plan my day and week ahead. I really missed our conversation, but it was a good rehearsal for me, to know that I didn’t bore myself as much as I thought I did.

I came across some pretty amazing sunrises too. I can’t resist stopping to take a picture.

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Julia is usually very patient in letting me stop for shots like these. With her not along it’s a lot harder to get going again when I’m done! Hopefully by Friday she’ll be back pounding the pavement with me! :-) Sara

Achilles Tendonitis!

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Seriously? Another injury! I felt like I was doing so well coming back from my IT band episode.

The doctor gave me perscriptions for Motrin & Calcium/Vitamin D and a referral for Physical Therapy.  I was told to rest until it didn’t hurt to run and definitely not to run through any pain. She then proceeded to tell me a horror story about a ruptured Achilles that required surgery, casts, crutches & no running for 6-8 months. The story scared me enough to follow the doctor’s orders!  I am hoping to be able to go for a short run on Monday.  She didn’t blame my Vibrams.  She attributed to not stretching regularly.

I do have good news…. the doctor also said I need to run slower, avoid hills and absolutely NO sprints!!  That is definitely the best news I heard all day!

Any other suggestions for recovering from Achilles Tendonitis?

Sunday + Long Run = Perfect Day

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Except when the long run doesn’t feel so good.  We started off for our long run with no distance set.  We have several routes depending on the wind direction. It was a calm, overcast morning and we choose the route along the boardwalk. Upon meeting Sara, I instantly realized she had a head cold.

Strike one.

We trotted off and around mile 4.5 I felt a twinge in my right ankle/heel.

Strike two.

We continued our run and by mile 8.5 I was ready to bee-line home. Starting and stopping was becoming painful. At mile 9.4 we walked it home. Total miles 9.7.

Since the run, I have done everything of which a PT would approve.  And hopefully, I will avoid Strike three!

1. Ice

2. Rest & Elevate

3. Motrin (800 x 2)

4. Take tomorrow off.

Sara, I am going to take you up on the offer and pass on my “let’s go for a walk” suggestion.  With all the optimism I can muster, I am going to call this a minor pain. Seriously, another injury? I wasn’t even trying to go fast! I just wore a fancy pair of heels last night on my date night! Oh, bother.

How about some good news. I finally had an opportunity to wear my cute new visor.  Love my “gas cap”. It was a gift from my college roommate who is an amazingly fast runner. It can hold 2 GU, chapstick, money & probably more than I can think of.

 

Early Morning Pit Stop

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We made a good decision to run Wednesday this week instead of Thursday.  There was a nasty thunderstorm around 6 am today!  It felt great to sleep in and we are looking forward to “Fun Run Friday.”

Friday we run one of our favorite routes, Croatan.  It is a route that takes us south and through the Croatan neighborhood in VB.  We meet a little earlier, 5:20 am, because the route is approximately 6.25 miles.  This is perhaps the only day that we don’t find ourselves on the boardwalk at some point during our run.  It is fun to watch the seasons change and sunrise adjust throughout the year.  Sara snapped this picture with her phone last week.  One of the signs summer is approaching is that the gates for the public beach access are unlocked, the water fountains are on, and the facilities are open at 6 am.  It’s perfect for an early morning pit stop.

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Just down that walkway and over the dune is the Atlantic ocean and the rising sun.

Mistaken Identity

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Tell me if this has ever happened to you.

We started our long run a lot later than normal on Saturday. We headed out around 9 am for a solid 9.75 mile run. We ran one of our usual long run routes. North on the Boardwalk, along Oceanfront Ave, into Seashore State Park, cut through to Princess Anne Hills, working our way through Bay Colony and then finally bee-lining for home. You can view the details of the run and my vitals here: (My favorite is the 1,022 calories I burned!)

Easy Long Run 9.75 miles by jfdwyer97 at Garmin Connect – Details.

The incident occurred when we were almost to the north end of the boardwalk. I thought I saw “Danny”. Danny is a teacher I used to worked with at the Renaissance Academy. He frequently walks the boardwalk. He is very distinguishable with a white goatee and long white pony tail. I said to Sara, “Hey, there’s Danny,” and I promptly waved. He waved back as well and we all stopped to say hello. He was very happy to see us and asked us how far we were going today. He also mentioned he had walked 4 miles and could only run 1 mile on his foot today before he was just in too much pain from the break a year ago. Sara interjected that foot injuries can take quite some time to heal. We wished each other well and continued on in opposite directions. After we parted Sara asked, “So, that was Danny that you taught with at RA?” My reply, “No, I have no idea who that guy was!” Boy did we have a good laugh! Yes, I can be a “blonde” at times. In my defense, this guy did have a white goatee and the same stature as “Danny”. Regardless, I think he was happy to have two sweaty sew-sew runners waving him down to say hello. I wonder what story he told his friends or blahg!!

Hill With a View

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Living near the ocean has it’s downsides, one being that the terrain is flat. Here is our one local hill, and yes, it’s a bridge.20120421-060503.jpg

Small though it is, it’s what we resort to for hill training…when we resort to that. Fortunately, the view at the top is worth it, especially at sunrise. Have a wonderful weekend of quilt-worthy activities!

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No Hills

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Well we didn’t run hills today…just a flat four in a light humid drizzle notorious in VB springtime.  Instead we’re ramping it up on the sewing machines, working on a several quilts that will be up for sale soon. One is a beach teen boy theme, another will be perfect for a young girl, and a third made from fleece pajamas that will keep anyone cuddly.  As we’re getting toward the end of the school year, if you’re looking for a perfect gift for your student to celebrate the end of another school year, we might have it. Pictures will be posted soon.

Meanwhile, you’ll have to settle for this one from our run Tuesday morning. As we were heading home on the boardwalk, we noticed some sort of photography shoot was going on at the otherwise quiet beach at sunrise. A young woman was wearing a pink fairytale type gown, so maybe senior photos? We enjoyed it, and hope they got the shot they wanted. Here’s hoping for a morning like that tomorrow when we run Croatan!

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T-Bear

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Sara, thanks for helping me finish up Tara’s quilt.  You are ”sew” much more than just my running friend; you are truly the “best business partner ever”!  I had so much fun piecing together her USNA and Navy t-shirts.  Despite the fact that she was class 0f ’03 and didn’t have a “real plebe year,” she was able to collect several great shirts.  Actually, it was like a stroll down memory lane or Stribling Walk.

T-Bear

Working together to tackle this quilt was a brilliant plan so we could have the quilt completed before she returns home this weekend.  She is going to love it.  I will drop it off at her house as a welcome home surpise!

Are you interested in hill work tomorrow?  We could run up and down Rudee Inlet Bridge several times. It might be a good idea if we’re going to do some of the shorter races coming up. Have a fantastic Wednesday and I’ll see you tomorrow at 5:30 for our run.

Chia Test Drive

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After a fabulous vacation in Mexico, I am recharged, revitalized and re-energized.  I was able to run several times while on vacation.  It was a treat to only pack my slim Vibrams and not a pair of bulky running shoes, but the terrain was not as Vibram friendly as I hoped.  I really had only 2 choices, the sandy beach or cobblestone road.

A quick side note about running on the beach: Sara and I typically stay on the boardwalk and avoid running on the sandy beach at all costs.  Our main reason is the paranoia of twisting an ankle or knee.  And, it’s so much more difficult! Now with my Vibrams I can add getting sand in my barefoot shoe as a second reason to avoid sand on a run.  (I can remember only once that we ran on the beach and that was after the crazy snow storm in December of 2010.  The beach was frozen and the boardwalk was ice covered!)

Therefore, in Mexico, I selected the cobblestone road.  By the end of my 45 minutes I was feeling the pounding on the balls of my feet more so than normal.  From a running aspect, my feet were glad to be home from vacation.  Plus, it was also great to catch up with Sara over a 12 mile run yesterday and 4 miles this morning.

Let’s get back to my Chia seeds that I used once before going on vacation.  I have two bags of Chia seeds that I am going to incorporate into my diet.  Each night, I soak one tablespoon of seeds in a pint of water.  I have found if I dilute the mixture with additional water, it goes down a lot smoother.  I also added one NUUN tablet to my secret potion.  In the morning I slurp down half the energy juice before the run and the other half after.  The NUUN definitely helped with flavor (pink lemonade).

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What results should I expect?  Reading articles on the Internet there are claims for weight loss, leveled blood sugar, lower cholesterol, and higher energy levels.  I am two days into my Chia Test Drive and honestly don’t notice any difference.  Give me a couple of weeks and perhaps I will have more to share.