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Johnny Kelley Half - 5/26/13 - goal sub 2 hour finish

17 weeks of building to a max of 30 miles a week, long runs up to 14/15 at 9:20 pace, tempo runs up to 9 miles at 8:45 pace, track work (mainly 800's and mile repeats), and hills.  In addition to 5 runs a week, I'll cross train with spin and yoga.  What's that?  The pool?  I have to get back in the pool but it's too damn cold to think about anything more than a hot tub.  I'll get there, give me some time.  I know, I know; I said Hyannis and then couldn't hang.  I'm in, cottage is booked, ready to run.

Below is my week 1 plan:
Long run of 6
Tempo run of 4
Pace run of 5
easy runs of 3 and 4
Spinning planned for Friday
Yoga planned for Wed, Fri and Sat.
Total mileage will be 22

Ran 6 miles today

Winter running wardrobe x2

Running with friends in 30 degree weather requires the following (at least for me):
long tights
knee socks
tank top
long sleeved shirt x2
half zip fleece type shirt
tight hat to keep everything tucked in
winter hat to keep everything that is tucked in warm
gloves (forgotten at home)
garmin (forgotten at home)
reflective vest (forgotten at home)

Running in 30 degree temps with the kid requires all of the above plus:
jeans
knee socks - like mother like son
t shirt
long sleeved shirt
fleece
snow pants
snow jacket
mittens - remember before I mentioned that he believes he's allergic to mittens
hat
blanket
jogging stroller
weather shield for above mentioned stroller
strength to shrug off odd looks from strangers who you run past with a screaming kid in 30 degree temps

Running outside with friends in 30 degree temps who don't mind that your kid is screaming beats the dreadmill any day!

1 hour of spinning
Ran 4.2 miles

Time to get out there

I was surveying my FB page last night and a year ago I was boasting "10 miles, 28 degrees, 7 months post baby".  Hmmm....fast forward to today and I haven't pulled out my running tights once this season and am hard pressed to run more than 5 miles.  26.2, 13.1, oly or sprint, I know I'll do something this spring which means it's time to get off my ass and stop complaining about how cold it is.  Or else spring is going to come and I'm going to bitch and complain about how slow I've gotten.  The funniest part about this is that I headed out in thick tights, long sleeves, a jacket, gloves and a winter hat only to figure out that it was pushing 50 and I over dressed.  Irritating but that's what I get.  So today I can brag: 48 degrees, 6 miles, 19 months post baby...not as impressive as a year ago.

Ran 6 miles today.

I don't care, I will wear my running stuff all day long.

I'm clearly spending too much time at home, basically alone, watching too much TV.  What can I say, my kid is a good napper.  But it left me watching What Not to Wear today, and what should have been a relaxing afternoon turned into a horror show.  They were picking on a mom of a 14 month old, who among other fashion no-no's, spends the majority of days in her workout gear.  Hello...so do I!?!?!?  As I type I've been in my running stuff for 14 hours.  Yep, 14 hours, it's so gross but it's reality.  In fact other than a 4 hour stretch on Tuesday I've been in running stuff since returning from vaca.  I was going to blame this on my temporary status as stay-at-home-mom, but if I'm going to be honest it's been a reality for the better part of the kid's life.  I lack motivation to get dressed in anything but my workout stuff.  It motivates me to get a workout in; if I'm dressed I might as well go for a run/ride/yoga class.  And I don't have to waste time changing, sometimes we run on a tight schedule around here.  I don't care if my black capris get snot, ketchup, milk, poop, or finger paint on them.  I can chase the kid when he takes off down the street after I've asked him to wait a moment while I get the groceries out of the trunk.  I'm also incredibly comfortable.  I can wrestle during a game of pretend you are asleep, go for a run, rearrange the basement, watch TV on the couch and read Corduroy countless times in the rocking chair.  Stacy and Clinton have unrealistic expectations.  Yes, I could change when arriving at the gym or when I'm done with a workout but I don't want to.  Yes, I go to breakfast, the playground, the market, even lunch with my gym clothes on.  If you don't like it, don't make plans with me before 6pm, on days like this even later.

Ran 4 miles and rode 45 mins all in the same outfit I've had on since 6am.

Just going to enjoy it

As I was out for a run this morning in shorts and a t-shirt again, I had all these thoughts about how this weather is simply not right.  I went on and on in my head about how it's strange and we should be concerned and not enjoying it.  Mad that new transplants to New England hadn't really experienced winter!  Partially worried that if we don't get a real winter soon my kid is going to grow up weak and unable to cope with the cold and gray snow that arrives in Jan and stays til April.  Those thoughts faded throughout the day as the kid and I enjoyed time at the park, followed by several trips around the block on his new bike.  Post nap we doodled with chalk in the driveway and I realized that I should shut up and just enjoy it.  I have a toddler who believes that he is not only deathly allergic to beach sand but to mittens as well...meaning that not only is the beach tough to deal with but traditional New England winter temps are equally as punishing.  In addition since I've sworn off winter running and these temps are the only reason I'm off the dreadmill so I'll stop questioning it or even thinking about complaining about the weather.

Ran 3.2 miles today

Vacation Recap

Back and tanned after a trip to the USVI.  Beautiful place, but a reminder that I should have done my homework prior to getting on the plane.  Our plans involved hitting the beach, getting a tan....repeat x7 days...oh yes, and getting enough runs to maintain sanity and waist size.  No issue as I don't sleep away from home so had planned to head out early from our villa early mornings and get in the miles.  Didn't happen as our villa happened to be a quarter mile up a mountain on an only semi-paved road that went straight up at times.  Tuesday I had it and planned a trail run, again paid for not doing my homework.  I didn't read the part of the guide that stated that my 1.5 mile trail included 1000 feet of climbing that at times required me to climb up rocks with both my hands and feet and pray that I didn't fall as no one in my party knew quite what trail I had gone up.  Miles hiked count the same as miles run, right?  And for the record I didn't have my heart rate monitor but felt like I worked harder that I would have on just a run - maybe it was just the fear of falling that kept the adrenaline going.  Wednesday I redeemed myself and found a flatter 3 miles of trail running at Waterlemon Cay that was unreal in it's beauty.  It's here where I realized that I need more trail running in my life and less Blackstone Blvd.  If it wasn't for the heat and humidity I could have run back and forth all day.   That was it for running, but I did find the most amazing yoga studio at Concordia.  Oh My God is all I have to say.  Open air pavilion overlooking Great Salt Bay.  Amazing. Amazing. Amazing.  Oh, and the teacher was as good as the view.  The yoga alone is reason enough to consider relocating.  I really don't know how I'll go back to yoga as I know it, for that matter running either...it's time to find a prettier place to workout in.

Ran 3 boring flat gray New England miles today.

No dairy?

Pardon me while I go on a nutritional rant.  So I gave up mean last March-ish, Forks over Knives was my motivating factor and it's not been a big deal.  I worried about the impact it might have on training and realized quickly that the whole protein question is really a non-issue.  Things were going swimmingly until my acupuncturist suggested eliminating dairy as a means to treat a variety of symptoms I've been seeing him for.  Really?  Dairy?  You can't be serious?  Including brie?  I can do without milk, even eggs for the most part but cheese?  So I've been experimenting with his suggestion and hate to admit that he's correct.  Skipping out on dairy has made a difference in my life.  It's not a resolution but with the holidays past us and fondu already consumed it's time to give this a bit more thought and maybe put a little energy into practicing it on a routine basis.  Eating at home isn't tough, since I do most of the cooking I can control what goes into our meals.  Eating out is a pain, it's almost not worth it, unless I'm picky about where we go.  And forget about eating at someone else's home!  Part of me feels like life is complicated enough with the kid, family, work, life, running, etcetera that I don't need to add this layer.  But if it means skipping out on a prescription it might be worth the effort.  So why whine about this on my running blog?  Because it's what I thought about during my 6 mile long run today.

Ran 6 miles today

First run of 2013

Nothing fancy, just a nap time run...story of my life.  In the basement with Criminal Minds in the background.  But a run is a run and this is how I kicked off 2013.  Been reading a lot about everyone resolutions and although I told Joe that I'm perfect enough to not need any resolutions I might have room for at least one.  When I'm actively training I'm pretty good about documenting my workouts.  Time of day, distance, where it was, how it felt, heartrate, speed, temp outside...blah, blah, blah.  Times like this when I'm just running to run I barely write down anything, I have a hard time keeping track of what I've done b/c I keep such inconsistent records.  This blog might be my most accurate log which is pretty poor.  I do think it would be helpful if I were more consistent in keeping a running log.  I'm always a bit jealous of those who can post what they have put up for yearly mileage or better yet compare years against each other.  So where?  Garmin connect is the best b/c I can link my running, swimming, and biking all up effortlessly, but that requires consistent use of my garmin which also falls by the wayside during times like these. I LOVE LOVE LOVE an old school hand written pencil log but can't keep track of anything like that for longer than 16-20 weeks.  By then my papers are all dogeared and I've lost all writing utensils and am keeping track of workouts in blue crayon b/c that's all I can find in the playroom.  So I'll make more of an effort to log onto garmin and keep better track.  Ask me in March if I'm keeping up with this.

45 mins of running
90 mins of yoga