2012 recap

2012 was a year of limit testing.  Can I finish a 70.3?  You bet your ass I can, with a 13 month old waiting for me at the finish line.  Following that triumph I spent the summer and fall enjoying a quicker speed and PR's in many shorter distances.  It was a year spent trying to see how much I could pack in.  Can I do 2 70.3's in 1 season...that'd be a nope.  What about breaking 2 hours in a half marathon....nope to that as well.  I'm a stronger athlete because of all I've accomplished over the last year.  I don't know where 2013 will take me, I'm still hesitant to toss anything substantial on the training calendar.  A new work schedule means I'll be back at track...looking forward to the social aspects of this only.  Also gives me hope for some increased speed and maybe a crack at a sub 2 hour half next fall.  It's doubtful I'll race any 70.3's this year so instead have thought about an Olympic distance.  Lets be honest in addition to the badass feeling when you have survived the swim and then later when you cross the finish line tri's are great for keeping up a respectable beach body.   My yoga practice which is slowly taking up an ever growing part of my life helps to keep all of this in balance, and helps to pull me back to center when I'm pissed about a poor workout or a naptime gone awry.  Regardless of the workouts I log, the races I finish, the poses I strain towards...I plan to do it all while having a good time with my family and friends along the way.

Ran 4 miles today.

5 miles for peace

I don't know if it's early.onset.terrible.twos, puberty, or just that he inherited his mother's personality but the kid has morphed into a blonde version of Kim Jong Il.  It's been bad.  So bad that today when I toyed with taking a day off I couldn't get to the gym fast enough.  After 45 mins at breakfast together, I knew we weren't meant to spend any quality time together today.  Off to the Y we went where he could spend so time bossing other adults around and I could recover from the torture suffered earlier in the morning.  Now my running has been a little of this and some of that for the last 2 weeks or so but this week I was already up to 12 miles this week so not interested in doing much.  The unfortunate part of this was the running was my saving grace.  The longer I ran the longer we would be apart...how's that for motivation?  And to keep the speed up there was some guy doing repeats so I just kicked up the pace whenever he did.  5 miles later I ran out of excuses and hit stop on the dreadmill and oh so slowly made it back to find my pint sized dictator...of course he was nothing but smiles and laughs.

Ran 5 miles today

Change of shift

2 ear infections in 3 weeks and winter only just started, needless to say it's been a long couple of days over here.  This morning all we wanted to do was pull the covers over our heads and call for the nanny to take care of the kid...too bad we don't have nanny.  An hour later we found ourselves sprawled out on the sofas while the kid counted his cars and the debate started.  Do I go back to bed or do I run?  If it wasn't for the very tight skinny jeans I have planned for tonight I would have taken the bed option.  Now I'm getting ready for the gym and Joe starts to whine about needing a workout.  Is it my problem that he slept through b-ball this am?!?  I can't deal and scurry off to the gym.  A break from it all, no kids, no cars, no dogs, no cats.  I could have stayed there all day.  My run was a moderate workout.  Warmed up at a 10 min pace and after the first mile increased the pace every half mile til I hit an 8 min pace.  Held that through mile 4 and spent the last mile increasing my pace every 10th of a mile til I couldn't take it any longer.  Off the treadmill, a quick hello to a fellow runner who was also cheating on the dreadmill...I won't name names and back to the car.  Joe and the kid were at the coffee shop for a quick hand off.  Hello, good bye, enjoy your work out!  And off he went.  Fast forward to noon and everyone is back at home after a refreshing workout. Not the most exciting way to spend a Sunday morning but sometimes this is how we roll.  

Ran 5 miles today

Hello lazy days!

Man, life has been good lately.  I have no complaints, which is not my typically style.  Since skipping out on half marathon training I've gone rogue.  Normally I'd be lost without a training plan, which for me is several months of an outlook calendar printed out and totally covered in pencil marking workouts and goals for each week.  I don't miss them, not at all.  Today I relished in the fact that I could run 4.5 miles on the dreadmill and not feel bad about taking it indoors.  I don't feel bad about not getting on the trainer in 1.5 weeks.  I don't feel bad about not getting in the pool for over a month, yep, over a month. I love that I'm getting to yoga 3 times a week, yep, 3 times a week...JOY! And of course I'm still running...I just don't care how far or how fast.  All of that said, I did see a lady leaving the locker room with the red marks on her face from her goggles and briefly thought about the Save the Bay Swim.  Just as quickly I put it out of my mind...if only for now.

Ran 4.5 miles today.

And on that note, I'm out

I'm done training for the Hyannis Half.  Done.  Too much is up in the air with other parts of my life and I'm finding myself stressing about fitting runs in.  This is supposed to be fun, a stress reliever.  Could I have continued? Likely but it would have been irritating.  In addition to needing more time in my schedule I think I need a break from training.  Yes, Anne you predicted this but I had to slowly accept the idea.  Currently there is NOTHING on the race calendar, and it's kind of fun.  I'm not done running, I'd like to stick with about 20 miles a week...I like to eat too much not too!  Come Jan I'm rejoining the world of working days so will be able to hit up some track workouts.  The kid and I will remain regulars at Lincoln Woods, that is until it snows and we are stuck waiting for it to melt.  For now, I'm just going to hang out and have a good time, stick with shorter distance and continue to try and get Joe to agree to a road race throw down.

Ran 3.5 miles today

Week 5 Update - Oh sweet recovery

Oh sweet recovery week, how I love thee!  I'll fully admit I took this recovery week WAY to far...I did almost nothing and enjoyed every minute of it.  That's not really true, it was an incredibly stressful week filled with interviews, observation, ear infections, late nights, long waits at the pediatrician's office, and doubles but very little running.  Thank god it was a recovery week or I would have been sending a very apologetic email to Bob begging for forgiveness.

On a bright note though, we ran the Newport Christmas 10k and killed it.  PR with a time of 55:38 and a 2nd place finish in the stroller division.  My competition, the first place stroller was in my sights most of the race but I couldn't catch him.  I'll give him props, his kid must have been 2-3 years old and his stroller wasn't a jogger and he still killed me!  The Lincoln Woods workouts are paying off as the hills today weren't an issue and I really wonder what I could have done without the stroller.

Mon - 3 miles
Tues - Off
Wed - Off
Thurs - Off
Fri - 3 miles
Sat - Off
Sun - 10k

Told you, I really enjoyed the idea of a "recovery week".  This week I'm back to 22ish and would like to do 8 for a long run.

Ran 6.2 miles today

Whining worked

After moaning about the cold temps, I woke up today to pleasantly milder temps.  JOY!  Problem now is after all my complaining I had to actually get out there and run.  We hit the Blvd for an easy 3, only issue being the kid has decided that when the sun gets in his eyes it is the equivalent of battery acid.  Any normal person recognizes that this is why we wear sunglasses.  Not my child, he'll only wear those to bed.  So I stopped every 3/4 of a mile to try and fashion a sunshade with my jacket, never being successful.  Days like this I'm thankful for out and back routes that only have us running into the sun for half the time.

Ran 3 miles.

1 Month in the bag

Week 4 of half marathon training is complete, hit 21 miles this week.  It was one of those weeks where I just slugged through the miles and there wasn't much quality....taking that as a sign that I need a recovery week and will go ahead and take one.  Will also aim for a quality speed workout since that didn't happen this week.

Part of my issue is scheduling.  I'm being a whiney bitch about the colder temps.  It's most convenient to run first thing in the morning but temps have been hovering in the 30's, I'd rather go in the afternoon but that interferes with nap time.  I could bring him somewhere else for nap time but then my magical 3 hour nap morphs into a 60 minute nap and that's terrible news.  I can't go post nap b/c I have to leave for work at 4:40.  And oh by the way I didn't win Powerball so am not a half billionaire and can't afford a babysitter 4 afternoons a week at nap time.  Can we move to a more moderate climate and then my problems would be solved?  Please.

Mon - Off
Tues - 5 mile tempo 8:39 pace - Trainer workout
Wed - 2 mile run
Thurs - 4 mile run
Fri - Off
Sat - 3 mile run
Sun - 7 miles at Lincoln Woods at 9:40 pace

Ran 7 miles today