Things going well

Friends,  I am having a really good few days.  Considering that I usually spend most of my time trying to clean up messes ones others create for me  (yes family, we are alluding to the state of the kitchen at this moment, and ones I create for myself (yes self, I am alluding to the state of the kitchen at this moment), things have gone really, really well for the last few days. (Exception of kitchen status noted.)

Thing the first:  The Frankenmittens are finished, and I love them to bits.

Gauja yarn, from Headwater Wool.  Colours #1 and #21. Took .3 of each skein at $6 CAD per skein, making these a really thrifty pair, which thrills me to no end.  I love it when I find a good, cheap wool.
I wrapped up the second one on the flight home from Portland on Friday, and they worked out beautifully.  I used the braid from Lisbeth Upitis brilliant Latvian Mittens book (pg 24) then part of a chart from the same book (#36) then the beautiful tops are from Terri Shea’s Selbuvotter.

That’s Annemor #15, which is actually a set of gloves, but I repeated the pattern from the back of the hand twice, and voila. Mittens.  (Big shout out to Heather for her great idea which was the total inspiration.)  I did a stripy thumb – since I think that stripy thumbs are dead sexy, and winged a little cross pattern for the palm.   Absolute success in my eyes.  They’re beautifully fussy and traditional and pointy and everything that I wanted. 

Thing the second:  Jacket proceeding well.  Big needles, big yarn = progress-o-rama.

Today is Tuesday, so I’ll be spinning a little.  I have to ply and wash another two skeins to have enough yarn for this, and I’ve decided to spin a companion yarn to this one out of the same fibre  I don’t like to seam bulky things with buky yarn because it adds bulk.  (Predictable, but still took me forever to figure out.)  I’ll spin a yarn that’s the same, only lighter weight, to do do the seaming with. Expect jacket in the next few days, assuming that it’s not knitting that’s making my shoulder hurt but really thing the third.

Thing the third:  I ran 5k.  It was really hard, but I had a secret weapon. 

The delightful creature on the left in this shot is my sister-in-law Katie’s friend Lexa, who is an actual distance runner and some Canadian Version of Sporty Spice.  (After the run she went to yoga and then to play vollyball. It didn’t even touch her energy level)  and Lexa did Kate and I the favour of pacing us for the race.   When she said that we were all going to stick together for the race, I was mortified – and not at all sure it was a favour.  All I could think of was that I was not only going to hold them  all back with my pathetic wheezing and molasses like speed, but that I also wasn’t going to be able to let my failure be a secret. Like most people,  I prefer my humiliations pretty private, so it was all I could do not to insist that they leave me to my fate.  She insisted, and it turned out to be wonderful. She’s the best kind of encouragement.  Cheerful, kind, and firm as bloody concrete. 

There were absolutely a few points where I contemplated dying just so that I would have a good enough excuse for stopping, and a few more times where I absolutely would have stopped if I didn’t know for sure that the other thousands and thousands of runners behind me would have trampled me…

but I learned something really interesting about running, which is that at some point, there’s a trick. When your legs are burning at the second kilometre, your brain tries to tell you that you should stop – because if you feel this bad now, you’re only going to feel worse when you’re more tired… and it turns out that for me at least, that’s not true.  I felt pretty rough at the 2k marker… but my gentle knitters… that’s as bad as it got.  3k wasn’t a third worse, and 4k wasn’t twice as bad.  It got hard, it stayed hard, but it wasn’t a continual descent into hades and the fires of doom.  It was just really hard.

In the end, I walked for about 30 seconds, 4 times – and I finished the run in about 32 minutes, which means that I ran way more, better and faster than I ever have – and used way less language unbecoming a knitter. (Lexa informs me that 32 minutes is absolutely respectable.)  There’s a lot that I credit with that.  You all were right, the emotion and adrenaline carries you a lot, having a friend or two to keep pace with was hugely helpful,  the people along the route encouraging and cheering does give you the will to go on…  and I can’t say enough about not wanting to let the team down, and wanting to deserve all the donations that you all generously made.  I felt like I had to earn them… and that helped me haul it.  Thank you for your really important part in it.  I’m proud of me and I’m  proud of you. 

I’m a runner.  (I think. Funny how I look the same.)

204 thoughts on “Things going well

  1. The mittens are absolutely perfect and make me jealous.
    To become a runner takes guts- good on you for both accomplishments

  2. I couldn’t resist locking in my place. lol
    What’s up with the two posts? Is something wrong w/ the blog or w/ my computer?
    And congrats on rocking that run!! I’m probably half your age & couldn’t have gotten half as far. I’m very impressed.

  3. Whoo!!!Hoo!!!! Ya done good! The run(not MY cup of tea) looked exciting. The mittens are soooooooo beautiful. So your kitchen is a disaster area. As Meatloaf sang so memorably, “Two Outa Three Ain’t Bad”. Cheers, and bring on the red wine, Hazel.

  4. Way to go Steph! The first 5k run you do is always such a thrill.
    I love your frankenmittens. They are fantastic!

  5. What a HUGE PILE of SUCCESS! Gorgeous mittens, lovely jacket, amazing run (and a darned cute hubby, too). I’m pouring a glass to toast you with right now!

  6. The mittens are gorgeous, the jacket is looking pretty good so far, and you and your fellow running mates look pretty darn good for having run 5K. Congratulations for making it all the way, and finishing your first 5K race in a respectable time.

  7. Your mittens put my mittens to shame. You know my mittens, plain jane and all one color with a rounded thumb. But I love mine because they are mine. They are warm and I am happy. Someday I’ll learn patterns and be a better knitter, too. Yours are lovely but mine are just as loved. In the end we all win, right?
    Congrats on the run. I’ll have to get running again. You know, running for the sake of exercise. Man, I need some of that. Good for you! I am proud of you, too.

  8. Congrats. I am running my first 5K in a few weeks and have signed up for a half marathon in March.

  9. Go You! love the mittens, great run. BTW, just in case 10,000 other people have not told you this — there is a woman in Britain who runs marathons *while knitting*. I can’t even imagine, much as I love both running and knitting, doing that. Even if I could somehow get coffee involved. (my other love)

  10. Yay and congratulations and you did it and yay for the encouragement of friends! That picture with Joe and you beaming says it best.

  11. not surprised you rocked the race. sorry. not at all. conrats on being a runner!
    and those mittens! you are a Knitter too! 😉
    sweater turning out great! almost like you made the yarn for it! hehe

  12. Congrats on finishing the 5K! That’s an awesome accomplishment.
    The Frankenmittens are absolutely gorgeous! Great job.

  13. A post of good news all around. The mittens are gorgeous, the sweater well on it’s way to being so and you my dear are a champ for sticking to your promises despite the pain and anxiety involved. Now, please take are of your shoulder as I’m sure none of your beloved family would want to under the same roof if you’re unable to knit for awhile.

  14. The mittens are gorgeous, and congratulations on the run! And, yes, your time is VERY respectable–But–race time isn’t critical. You really only need to keep in mind two things in a run: You don’t want to be last, and you don’t want to be passed by anybody walkin’ their dog…

  15. Congratulations! The mittens are beautiful, the jacket knitting looks lovely, and the run, well, awesome! My sister did a walk in June (1 1/2 marathon in the Rockies)in Colorado. I live in Baltimore, so my contribution was to knit “boob hats” for her team to wear. They were the talk of the event.

  16. Once again you have impressed us all. The running? My God. Who’d a thunk it? It seems you can do pretty much what you put your amazing mind to, Stephanie. An inspiration, truly. And I am stunned by the mittens. I think of myself as a kitter, but I am such an amateur in comparison to you. Never in a million years would I have produced those mittens. I think I just don’t want a pair of mittens that bad, really. As for the kitchen, take my advice – that mess will be there when we are dead and gone (or one just like it). Never feel guilty about taking the time you need to be creative and feel alive. Rock on, Harlot! I’ll be following you.

  17. Completely respectable time. Plus, the thing is this: YOU FINISHED. THE SAME DAY YOU STARTED. That rocks!
    I am absolutely in love with the Frankenmitten. Almost enough in love to take a chance on colour work.

  18. 1. Mitten, don’t mean to belittle them, but of course they are genius, you are a champion knitter.
    2. Kitchen, of course it’s a mess: you have had better things to do, and got on and did them. The down and grubby that is the kitchen, got down and got grubby.
    3. Hero. This is an understatement. I am awefilled. Your feet and legs now have as much right to fame and glory as your arms and hands … and when we are talking YH fame and glory – that’s achievement!
    Wow, well done, just please don’t give up the day jobs of knitting and making the laughter bubbles rise up my nose and try to ascend to my face!
    Brilliant
    xxx

  19. You go, girl! Congratulations! You finished the race and it didn’t take you all day. The most I run is to avoid a car, on the big street near my house, let alone 3 miles (or 5K).
    Love the mittens and the jacket! Wish the mittens were for me! They are beautiful and my favorite color is blue! 2 repeats of hand pattern was a brilliant idea.

  20. Yeah for you! Fit AND a fabulous knitter – does it get any better? I think that means (if you keep up the running) that you’ll get to knit for many, many years before dying at a ripe old age….

  21. Go you! (Did you mention to Lexa that you could use help and encouragement cleaning up the kitchen?)

  22. OMG, 32 minutes is great. Certainly faster than my first 5K! and the mittens are amazing. Here in central Texas I feel we’d be lucky to get one mitten-y day this winter, but that alone might be worth the thrill of making them.
    And we totally need to know WHO IS this British knitting runner??!!
    love you and your work. I actually checked three times in the last 24 hours to see if you’d posted about the race!
    Congrats

  23. Congrats on the lovely mittens and your 5K. I can relate to the feeling about being a runner. At the young(?) age of 48 I decided to take up Polynesian dancing. It is now almost 5 years later, I am still learning and dancing and am ready to say I AM a Polynesian dancer.

  24. Congrats!!! Way to go you!!! Trememdously impressive… I’m still staring at the sneakers and gaining courage. And like Lexa I have a friend, Lexi, who does all of that too. It must be the name!

  25. YEAH !!!!! Knew you could do it. And it wasn’t as bad as you thought it might be ! So when’s the next race ?? Maybe at Sock Camp we should do a MINI, MINI trot around the parking lot, or some such. Oh, oh, I hear stones being collected and piled up. Whatever…………..
    Super job , on all endeavors

  26. Great job, Steph!! Way to stick with it! I like how your mittens turned out, too. Very nice. And don’t you just love a wee jaunt w/ bulky yarn? Not for all the time- but once in a while the almost instant gratification is so enjoyable. 😉

  27. Oh Steph, congratulations!! You are definitely an inspiration. Good luck with the shoulder.

  28. I had to do a little converting, so for us Americans, a 32 minute 5k is around a 10 minute mile, over 3 miles!
    I can’t even run a 10-minute mile if I have to do just the one of them, much less 3! You are inspirational!

  29. OMG, you did it! I am so proud of you…
    I always absolutely hated running… I did it for a while (and I should get back to it), but I never managed to like it… much less running in any official organized event…
    Congratulations!
    (the mittens are gorgeous, and I can’t wait to see the sweater… spinning a thinner yarn to seam… genius… I§’ve been known to part the plies for the same reason.)

  30. Way to go, Stephanie! What an awesome achievement. 😀
    And the mittens are gorgeous! Can’t wait to see the finished jacket. Woot!

  31. Well done!
    I have a friend that does wild things like run 13 miles for fun on a Saturday (I KNOW!) and when I mention that she has maybe lost touch with reality there she mentions that I agonize over a single pair of knitted socks for months. Ah, well, touche.

  32. Way to go, Steph! We knew you could do it. Hell, if you can run on a beach in the rain, then running with friends for a good cause must have been a cakewalk!

  33. Your face is”tan” ! That is what my daughter says whenever I workout. I always tell her it is my body telling me I need to stop!

  34. Congrats on the run. A 5K is something I would like to be able to do next year.
    And, the mittens are just lovely. I would lick the monitor if people at work wouldn’t look at me weird when I did it.
    Congrats again!

  35. Good for you, Stephanie! I am married to a distance runner (he’s obnoxiously good at running) and have always wanted to run, but find it unspeakably hard! My best time for a 5k is 39 minutes, so you should be super proud of a 32 minute time.
    Way to stick with it, even when it’s difficult.
    My favorite running song? The super cheesy, yet strangely inspiring “One Girl Revolution” by, wait for it…SuperChick.

  36. Congrats on the 5K! How wonderful!
    Made me think – have you seen the Vibram 5 Finger “toe” running shoes? I assume you have, but if not, Google it. Think you might like them! I haven’t gotten a pair myself but I hear great things. Based on the book “Born to Run”

  37. Congratulations on the completed run AND the completed mittens – they’re totally lovely.
    And your description of your experience running just cemented what I’ve always told people about childbirth: it’s like running a long race – really hard work, but doable (especially if you have the right support team for you) and totally worth it!

  38. I have been checking the blogosphere almost constantly since yesterday afternoon waiting to hear about your run. Congratulations! You must be so pleased! I used to run, and although I was never very fast, I was never last in a race. I ran lots of races – just for the fun scenery or company or for the race t-shirt. I wonder if I am too old to get started again?
    To comment on a comment: my oldest son, who ran cross country and track in high school and now runs recreationally in college, did bunches of research on the whole barefoot running thing and then bought a pair of Vibram 5 Finger running shoes for his latest pair. Last I heard he was loving them.He did have a barefoot running mishap when running without the shoes: when running barefoot on a treadmill he ended up with a strange under the callus blister on the bottom of his foot.
    Enough of this running stuff though – the mittens are gorgeous. You have inspired me to try the Latvian braid on a pair of “glittens” I am knitting on commission for a friend. Wish me luck.

  39. Those of us firmly belted to our couches (sing along with me, all) salute you. I am sorry, though, to see that you traded in Joe for some distinguished professorial type. Hot, but hardly the hard-rockin’ Newfie we’ve all come to worship from anear. The mittens have got me scrambling for graph paper ….

  40. I was enthralled by the mittens until I started reading about the run, then I almost forgot about the mittens. Many kinds of awesome in this post. Congrats on all fronts!

  41. You may look the same, but you will feel different! Awesome job — if you stay with it, running/jogging starts to actually feel good…at least after you finish.

  42. Congratulations on finishing your 5k and with a very good time! I totally agree that the 2nd k of any run is the hardest. I run each morning and the first part is always the hardest, it’s always when I contemplate turning around and often wonder what heart failure feels like. If I make it through that, I can almost guarantee that the rest of the run will go pretty well. It’s almost as if I hit some internal cruise control button.
    Mittens are lovely! They almost make a person wish for snow in order to make a snow ball.

  43. Well done on the 5km.
    I’m a mad runner, and I have got so much out of my running. (Including a nice long time to think about knitting…)
    So, what’s the next one?

  44. WOW. Great time for your first 5K. And thank you for representing those who are not able to run, like my 84 year old Mom, a recent breast cancer survivor – she was happy that I sponsored you and so am I 🙂

  45. I’m so happy for you!
    P.S. — Love the mittens. (Was there any doubt?)

  46. Running will keep you healthy so you can knit for many more years. FYI..my best marathon time was in Toronto!! And I qualified for Boston too! Running is never easy but it’s sooooo good for your head and your body!

  47. I ran a 5k once in my early twenties. We had been having a feud with a co-worker and I remember vowing no matter what happened that I would cross the finish line before D.E. Now I’m not a runner either but determination will get you everywhere. It was in May in Thunder Bay. Freezing cold and raining. I will never forget that feeling as I came to the finish line and people were cheering for me…people I did not know. There was nothing like it. The adrenalin kicked in. In the end I never did see the infamous D.E. but monday at work someone told us she said it was much too cold to go in the run!

  48. Are there any three more beautiful words in the language than “I did it!”? (This refers both to the gorgeous mittens and the stupendous running.)
    (Come to think of it, it could also refer to the mess in the kitchen, but we’ll just ignore that one for now because it’s not as inspiring.)
    But whatever the case–celebrate, girl, ’cause YOU DID IT!!!!

  49. Congrats on all your successes! I hope to be a runner some day too….. I just need to get up and go! Pease, please, please- I beg of you, that cowl of yours (from last year?) has entered my dreams…. Will it be available for sale any time in the near future? Thanks, runner…. Love, the pain in your cowl

  50. Rams, scooch over on the couch a bit, petal, and have a glass of wine with me – a toast to our friend the runner.
    Steph, I’m proud of you. But you know that. Well done. (and those mittens may be the ones that win me over to the world of mittens. not a done deal yet, but close)

  51. I just wanted to take a minute to say how much I enjoy reading your blog. It is strange, since I don’t know you, but I am proud of you, too! Thanks for all the warm fuzzies from your writing!!

  52. Amazing! Lovely mittens! 5k in 32 minutes?! Wow. Um… I could walk that distance in thirty two hours, maybe. So, let the kids clean the kitchen. You’ve accomplished a lot and deserve to rest.

  53. I have been lurking your blog for a while, but today decided to leave you a comment. I am a running-knitter as well…….I run because so many of my other hobbies involve sitting. Plus I became concerned at 29 about gaining weight through my 30’s and decided to be pro-active. I consider myself a runner, however I still primarily do run/walk combinations. I have run an entire 5K but at a snaily pace which brought me in at 34 minutes. I believe in the saying “The miracle isn’t that I finished, the miracle is that I had the courage to start.” ~ John Bingham.

  54. Steph, remember when the blog was sending duplicate posts? Well, I got this one in triplicate!

  55. It IS a Things Going Well day today! Know how I know? I just bought my Pretty Thing cowl pattern off Ravelry! Yay Stephanie! Gorgeous mittens, a successful 5K Run, and the pattern I’ve been waiting ages for. It doesn’t get any better than that. :o)

  56. You had to finish a race to be a runner? Nooo, I think that happened a long time back. Congratulations I was hoping it went well for you – the smile on your face says it all.

  57. You continue to impress and inspire me. I’ve always wanted to be a runner, but am too self-conscious to run when/where others can see me.
    Come to think of it, I used to be too self-conscious to knit where others could see me, and I’ve certainly gotten over that. Maybe I CAN be a runner…
    Congratulations and great job. And your mittens are lovely.

  58. Those mittens are awesome, but your description of the race was priceless. (BTW, you just wrapped up more good things than some of us nail in a month.) And thanks for the encouraging and wise words about endurance. They apply to more than running. May there be many successful runs ahead of you.

  59. The mittens are gorgeous. I saw a sign in a kitchen shop the other day, you might appreciate. It said, ‘no-one ever died from housework, but why take the chance.’ It was hanging on a cute piece of gingham ribbon.

  60. You, Ms Runner, are made of 47 kinds of awesomeness. I wanna be you someday, grubby kitchen, achey bones and all.
    – (not your daughter) Meg

  61. They look gorgeous! I’m so glad you were able to use mine as inspiration. ~Heather

  62. Woohoo!! For the shoulder, try heat or a massage. We wouldn’t want your knit time hampered. Those mittens are to die for…must have pattern, and I haven’t even learned fair isle yet. Might take up knitting and walking, though. My neighborhood is quite country. Give the neighbors something to discuss…

  63. YAY! I knew you could do it! Treat yourself to some wooly yarn as a reward. 😀
    And those mittens, oh wowowow. I want to know how to do that! I feel like buying Selbuvotter now.

  64. Congrats on not dying and being trampled! I can walk that distance in about 50 minutes, and the thought of covering that distance in 32 minutes is…well, I raise my needles to you! (But not my US6 circ, because I’ve looked everywhere and it’s nowhere to be found. Black hole?)

  65. Well done with bells on, twice!! Mittens are fabulous. I have to rush off and start something Latvian after seeing them …. run is fabulous too, and I say this as a sad 50-yr-old wimp who, when forced to run for the good of her lost figure, turns into a jellied tomato after 5 minutes and returns home so shattered that she has to lie down for half an hour to recover. I have even invented a totally new pleasure — ‘Not Running’. Every now and then I just savour it …. so I am mega-impressed by your achievement!!!

  66. Congratulations on the run! What a great accomplishment and for such a good cause.
    And the mittens are gorgeous – love ’em!

  67. Good job, Stephanie! You should be super proud of yourself. You did a good thing. Also, the Frankenmittens are adorable.
    (I just last week finished reading through every. Single. One. of your blog posts. I have to ask… What ever happened to the Afghan goat roving that smelled like the great hairy monkey king rutting with his armpits full of cheese?)

  68. Great job! You look very happy and composed in the action-shot photo. Sometimes those race-in-progress photos can be very unflattering, but you worked it!

  69. Yippee for you!!! You did it… and just like knitting, running is obsessive too!? congrats! and the mittens are pretty fantastic!

  70. I am so proud of you! And I used to be in the military, so I kinda ran for a living (or part of my living) and a 32 minute 5K is a great time– Even even though I ran every day, I only got to about a 30 minute 5K at my best time. So YOU GO GIRL!!
    Oh, and the mittens are freaking fabulous. To hell with the kitchen. *grin*

  71. Way to go Steph! Thank you also because I am a 2 time breast cancer survivor. I did the Komen walk here in Houston this past Sat. but I walked…very easy and fun. I have talked about doing the run for 2 years and don’t ever get around to training. This is going to be the year!
    Love the mittens!

  72. Congratulations and happy healing! The mittens are lovely!
    I sent your blog post from 1 Oct to my knitting list and I hope that you did as well money wise as you did with the running part!
    You set the bar high, ma’am. 🙂

  73. Congrats! I ran my first 5K on the fourth of July this year and it was a really fun experience… even though I. hate. running.
    I have a question for you though Steph. I have decided to declare Heating Wars down here in Indiana this year, and it’s going fine so far, except when I get out of the shower. When I get out of the shower and am wet and naked and it is as cold in my house as it is outside I want to die rather than have the heat off for one more second. Also, I may or may not have seriously contemplated trying to heat my house using the hot water from my shower, which just shows how deranged I was. How do I cope? Any advice? I may just stay in the shower for the next month or so, until I can turn on the heat without looking like a wuss. That’d work, right?

  74. Congratulations! That’s really, really cool. You were a great stand-in (run-in?) for Julie and got to prove something to yourself. Pretty damn big, that is.
    So, next year, are you running a marathon?

  75. Love the mitts – especially the stripey thumb!! And congrats on the 5K run!!! Woohooo – Superwoman!!

  76. WAY TO GO!!! Isn’t it funny how the encouragement keeps pouring in after the good deed is done. You did a fabulous job for a fabulous purpose. Keep on keepin’ on.

  77. Adorable, complex, exquisite mittens. I want snow for them. The only way I would run a 5k anything is if I had a horse under me. That’s why they have 4 legs compared to my two. Great job for a great cause. How long did you soak your feet afterwards?

  78. Congratulations on the run! I’m just starting my training. U2 is GREAT to work out with because of the energy. I just hope no one films me as I sing silently along with them.
    I LOVE the mittens! They are very pretty and oh so feminine without being girlish, if you know what I mean.

  79. Thank you for putting the Pretty Thing pattern on Ravelry. It’s lovely lovely lovely, I just don’t have any yarn worthy of it…must find yarn…

  80. Well done! My sister and I are just starting to train for a 5K. I’m nervous but excited.
    Also, I am amazed that you can run with your hair down.
    Also also, the mittens are fantastic.

  81. Congrats on finishing the 5k!
    I also wanted to let you know that your posts get uploaded three times in Google Reader… are you republishing the posts or is Google Reader just being screwy? Either way, thought you should know. 🙂

  82. Woot! You rock, plain and simple – congrats on being a runner. I think you look a little different – the smile seems a little more illuminated and there’s definitely some serious spirit in that glow:)

  83. 32 min is SO totally respectable, it’s not even slow. It took me a while to understand that running sucks for the 1st 10 minutes and then gets better. That’s because before I started running I never ran for more than 10 minutes.

  84. Congratulations! You are a runner! I am sure the high will last a while….
    The mittens are nice too. 🙂

  85. Thank you for helping the cause, Steph. I and my husband thank you. He is a breast cancer survivor of 5 months now.

  86. Congratulations on a job well done! 2 jobs I guess, the mittens are beautiful. Are you going to keep up the running?

  87. I can’t believe you run with your hair down! Do you ever tie it back?
    Well, congrats, anyway. I am also a knitter new to running, but I haven’t done my first 5k yet. Can’t wait.
    I love the mittens!

  88. That’s so awesome! Way to go Stephanie!
    Love those Frankenmittens too. It just turned cold enough to wear mitts at this end of the country. Brrrrr…

  89. Go, you!
    I think we all need a Lexa. I could really use a little cheerful, kind, and firm as a bloody concrete. Especially in dealing with my middle schooler. At least the cheerful and kind part. I think I’ve got cranky, annoyed, and firm as bloody concrete down pretty well.

  90. In Texas we call that ‘good tired’; looks good on the outside (your smile) and feels good on the inside – beer, eh?

  91. Hi Stephanie–I was reminded today of your reader who complained that Canadians were anti-American. We had a terrible loss in Yonkers this week. A firefighter was killed while responding to an arson in a residential home. Today, firefighters from all over the US–and Canada–came to pay their respects. Many thanks to our neighbors to the north for offering their comfort and brotherhood.

  92. Maybe all the knitting helps your legs move faster, like your fingers send special signals. Anyway, its been said before, an amazing triumph, for you, family, and the community you support. Your family despite protests, is quite athletic and certainly has its heart in all the right places.
    Congratulations!
    Eve from Carlisle

  93. Wow! I ran a 5K years ago, but I was much younger(early 20s) and much slower than you! Way to go!
    And the mittens are beautiful! Congratulations on both fronts!

  94. Congrats on the run! You know all those compliments that you gave Meg before her bike ride? About how she would forever have to reconcile herself to the fact she did this? Read them again and put your name there instead. You Rock!
    And the mittens are stunning!

  95. Good for you, and I’m glad you had a great experience. Running can be as bad a rabbit hole as knitting is…..have you signed up for your next race yet?

  96. Bravo Stephanie! We knew you could do it. And the mittens are simply beautiful. Simply stunning. Simply stupendous!

  97. Yes – You are a Runner!! congrats on the 5K and 32 minutes is quite respectable. I have been running for many years and am finally seeing my fastest times (having the kids gone and time to train makes so much of a difference).
    Next thing you know you will be donating knitted items to prize drawings and running longer events (care to come to Duluth for the Wild Duluth 50k/100k Trail Run?)
    Having friends to run with is a motivator and, outside of knitting, some of the nicest, most giving folks I know are trail runners (though they will also invite you into their crazy world of ultras if you are not careful!)
    Again – good job on the race and can’t wait to have another knitting runner blogging ;->

  98. Stephanie, you are fabulous! You certainly earned all your sponsors’ donations.
    A clean kitchen doesn’t inspire people to push their limits to try new things. It doesn’t contribute to a worthwhile charity…it just sits there and it’s only clean for 20 minutes anyway.
    You put your energy and time in the right places!

  99. The kitchen can be cleaned anytime (or not). Becoming a runner is something special. Congrats!

  100. Hi, I’m from Latvia and I wonder do you know that you knitted your Frankenmitten partly with Laviant mitten pattern from wool that’s name Gauja is the same as name of the beautiful river in Latvia, it is longest river that starts and ends in Latvia, as Latvia is small country there are some other bigger rivers, but they start in other countries and then flow to the Baltic sea just through Latvia.
    There is Gauja’s National Park that is very beautiful – exactly at this time of year, many people of Latvia goes to Sigulda city to watch Gauja.
    Now it’s autumn and very colourful trees are all around Gauja, another time when Gauja is visited will be in spring when Eve trees are blooming, this is special flavor around 🙂

  101. Congratulations on finish the mittens and the race! If you run long enough, your brain releases endorphins and it dulls the pain. It’s kinda cool really, but I’m a nerd like that. ^_^

  102. Congrats on your well run race. Beautiful mittens and a glow from doing something good are a well earned reward (doesn’t hurt that Joe is looking particularly handsome in the last picture either).

  103. Congrats! My husband the runner also says congrats!
    One funny thing – I keep thinking you look more and more like my sister – similar coloring and hair. But she’s definitely not in Canada.

  104. That’s fabulous!! (the part about the running) I was checking all day yesterday before I had class to see how it went. I never doubted you. The mittens are lovely too. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly you can cook up a pair of socks, mittens, sweater, etc.

  105. Beautiful mittens! Well done on the race! Great news on the kitchen – oh wait, never mind… Perhaps the knitting gods will temper any impulse of a smackdown for daring to create such beautiful mittens by taking into consideration the Good Deed of the 5k run and that the condition of the kitchen is punishment enough???
    Gail

  106. Congratulations on the race Stephanie!!! And the mittens are amazing. I’m moving north, so I guess mittens should move right on up my “to do” list.

  107. Commenting a second time:
    I just realized what was different. I’ve never seen a picture of you looking so totally relaxed and happy as the “running” and “post-running” photos. It seems to have done a lot of good things in more ways than one. However, I’ll still cheer from afar with a large glass of red wine. Good for the heart, right? Cheers, Hazel.

  108. The mittens are gorgeous!! But you lost me with the started with this pattern, used this from another pattern, and this from another pattern. Can you come up with a single pattern…maybe you’ve found yet another calling as pattern designer? I’ve knitted for years, but am not very creative when it comes to ‘going where no one has gone before’.
    Congrats on finishing the run. Amazing what a person can do with determination and support.

  109. You rock. Seriously. I’ve been feeling like crappity crap lately about motherhood and life and blah and blah and this post – your attitude about this whole thing – put it all back in to perspective for me. It doesn’t get worse, it stays hard but it does feel good in the end.

  110. I’m so very proud of you. My first 5K was a Terry Fox Run in Washington, DC. It gave me the opportunity to honour one of my childhood heroes, and to be surrounded by other Canadians for a few hours (which is pretty important to me as an ex-pat). I’ve only done one other 5K, and one 4 miler since then. I’m a bad runner.

  111. I love, love, love the mittens. I just finished a hat with the braids.
    3 color levels and 3 braids of mxed colors. So cut, so much fun for a teenager.
    I’m going on a cruise to Halifax and am checking out knitting shops. Obviously dh and I will be going on different explorations when there . only one day.
    I’ll be buying yarn for Franken mittens.

  112. The mitten ARE perfect! I love the braid and mut learn it.
    Thanks for running for BC awareness–personally.

  113. About the seaming – you could split the yarn and use only one ply, of course assuming its a 2+ ply or more. That’s what I do when seaming when the yarn is too heavy for the job and then I don’t have to worry about finding a lighter weight match.

  114. Congratulations on your run! Eddie Izzard’s “Eddie Iz Running” videos on YouTube also inspired me to stop complaining about walking 4-5 miles for exercise, and your journey into running has inspired me to think about stepping up the pace even more. Thanks!
    Oh, and the mittens are lovely!

  115. What I discovered ‘early in my running career’ (i.e. two years ago) was that the second mile/second km is actually the *hardest*, period.
    Mentally, the wheels are falling off the wagon; your heart rate is climbing up into its running territory, and monkey mind is at the top of its voice telling you to stop.
    Then, miraculously, things click in (usually), and by mile 7 or 8 I’m designing a new sweater in my head, or new handouts for a workshop, and I’ve actually mostly forgotten that I’m running.
    Congratulations, Steph, for getting to the other side and becoming a Runner!

  116. Congratulations Stephanie! They say you become a new person every 10 years–is this the decade of the running published blog-award-winning wife-of-Joe knitting mother of 3 girls?

  117. congratulations for not only completing the 5k, but doing it with sytle and class AND a good time! woo hoo>!@!
    Frankemittens are amazing.

  118. Hey, congratulations! And the mittens are wonderful!
    I hate running. I hate cleaning the kitchen. But running takes longer. I can get the kitchen to decent (if not truly clean) in less than 32 min usually, and often don’t even need to change clothes.

  119. Good job on your first 5k! I’m just starting to try it too, I can run/walk/run/walk a mile in ~12 minutes but I can’t seem to get the right pace to not have to stop all the time. Way to go! I have to say how refreshing it is hearing from someone who isn’t a runner talk about running. And talk about actually building up to a 5k. And how it doesn’t start out easy. Mostly I hear about running from pretty committed runners (my sister started running 5k races in grade school and my dad was a marathoner), and it just makes the whole thing seem impossible.
    My dad was a Runner (ran a marathon a year for 10 years) and one of his big goals was to run a 10k in his age. He figured he’d either get fit enough or old enough to get there, and he did it in his early 50’s (I think he ran a 10k in 49 minutes not that long after his 50th birthday). Now he’s becoming a Hiker for a change of pace. At this point I’d be lucky to do a 5k in my age. 🙂

  120. Congrats! I just started running a few weeks ago – and I am awe of you finishing 5k in 32 minutes….I am planning my first 5k in December (Resolution Run, downtown TO), you should try it too…you could wear those gorgeous mittens!

  121. Congrats on the run AND the mittens…Well Done! Be proud!
    I, however, am dead lazy…too lazy to get all the books opened and a chart out. (yes, that’s very lazy).
    If you would write out Frankenmitten for us, I would GLADLY buy it…or donate a sum to Knitters Without Borders…..and I am sure I am not the only one!!!!!!
    Again- Congratulations—
    1- Raise right hand high.
    2. Turn palm facing backward.
    3. Bend arm at elbow.
    4. Pat self on back!

  122. I know how it feels – I walked my second half marathon the week before your run – Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon – in 4:00:14.0 – an improvement of 16 min and 39.6 seconds from the Toronto Half last year. It gets easier the more you do – trust me on that.

  123. Way to go Steph! We are SO PROUD of you!
    Think of me this Saturday as I do a half-marathon…some walking involved! ;D

  124. Excellent, good job! 32 minutes is a great time for your first 5k! The first mile is always icky for me, and now I run longer distances so that first mile is done before the race and the rest is that wonderful coasting feeling of “what’s one mile more?”and enjoying the scenery. I am still very much a beginner, but loving it. I hope you feel that too.

  125. I am just blown away that you managed to run! I don’t think I could walk that far!
    The Frankenmittens are beautiful! You should issue a pattern!
    I had seen the backs of the hands while you were knitting them, but the pattern on the palm was a surprise today, and I like that, too! They not only need a pattern, but a good name!
    They also deserve a matching hat, and possibly something for your neck that matches. Maybe a short cowl or some kind of neckwarmer? You might be able to get all that from the remains of the yarn you already bought, and then you’d avoid having mittens, hat and scarf that don’t match, the way someone said that knitters don’t have matching stuff.

  126. Very good job, you RUNNER! I now have another reason to feel inspired by you, since running a 5k is my own fitness goal. Congratulations. And I hear Arnica is good to rub on sore muscles 😉

  127. My advice for sore muscles after a race? If there’s a massage available (some races offer them) TAKE IT! Trust me, worth every penny.

  128. Wonderful!
    I wanted to run this year, but I wasn’t able to. Our family has such a reason to. My 25 year old cousin was just diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy yesterday. She is a brave, brave girl. She has kept her sense of humor when I would have probably jumped off a cliff.
    thanks for running.

  129. those ittens are breathtakingly gawjiss!!!
    jealous of your knitting skill, i am!

  130. Congratulations! And thank you for running. (And blogging. And knitting. And planning. And posting stuff. And generally being awesome.)

  131. The mittens are lovely, and congratulations on the run! If this were Ravelry, I’d click your “love” button.

  132. I am very, very impressed. And as a current breast cancer patient I really appreciate what you’ve done for the cause. Thank you!
    Anne

  133. i am proud to be a runner with you…actually, i call my runs “shuffle and plods.” going to run a 5k on thanksgiving day…thanks for the inspiration and motivation…

  134. you continue to inspire and amaze. my first 5k was 34:26. i was in high school. i’d be happy to run that today some many years later and you have done good and inspired me to get off my arse and put on my trainers and start again. i’ve missed it.

  135. Heirloom quality mittens, woman. Srsly.
    And everything you said about the running makes me cry. Every last bit. Why do running for a cause stories ALWAYS make me cry?
    Way! To! Go!

  136. There are very few of us who knit, spin AND run….welcome to the clan! Whether it be needles, spindles or shoes: Keep on moving!!
    Congratulations!

  137. Hi–just chiming in to agree with Anda that the river Gauja is very beautiful…my mother is from Latvia, and whenever I visit my aunt there I try to make a trip to Gauja National Park. So I find it appropriate that you chose Gauja yarn for Latvian mittens!

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