Simple Log

Style/Workout: 40 minutes, comfortable pace
Setting/Route: Holladay, SHS track
Mileage: 4.15 miles
My thoughts: I'm tired today. I drank a mixed drink last night and ate like crap. I haven't been drinking enough water. Plus this is about the time when I am working back into it that I hit a run where I slog along and just feel tired and worn out. My left ankle and knee were feeling it a bit and I'll be wearing my compression socks the rest of today and doing lots of stretching and rolling.

My app did something weird. The workout screen was not typical, and wasn't showing my time/duration so I couldn't gauge where I was supposed to be at what time, etc. I estimated that I would do 2 1/2 miles on the track then some street to and from and I knew that would be roughly 4 miles which was enough for the 40 minutes I needed to run today. So when I got to my "finish line" and still had 15 minutes left I was quite puzzled (6:15 pace? I don't think so). I was right on with my estimation for distance at least. I'm pretty sure I accidentally paused my workout time! Woops!

Progress: (running mileage this month/year total): 4.15 today/11.81 year-to-date

My last words...I wish the sun would shine. It's such a bummer :( Sorry I'm such a downer!

Not my town, but you get the feel...socked in and dark all day long!

Total Suckfest-Weight Gain

Seven!! 7!!! I have gained 7 pounds! I am so not happy about that! My goal weight really is about 135, but since I hover around 138 I keep that my "normal" weight. Well enough is enough! I just weighed in at 145.2, which is a bunch of crap! So I am actually 10 pounds over my goal weight...*sigh* I hate getting older. I hate how blah I feel this time of year. I hate holiday eating! Ok, now that I have gotten that out of the way...

*Drink more water!
*Re-enstating My Fitness Pal
*Keep up the good work with running!
*Weigh in each week

Re-evaluate goals in 6 weeks...

4 Miles of Sunrise Bliss

Now how could you not want to go for a run in this beautiful sunshine?

The river by our house

The beach near our house

This morning was my kids' first day back to school after the Christmas break. It was great for so many reasons.

First, after being lazy and sleeping in for weeks, it was actually great to get up early. I have never considered myself a "morning person" but I do enjoy getting a jump on the day (once I've had a cup of good coffee).

The second thing that was awesome was the pace of the morning. After the kids were on the bus, I was able to grab a bit of breakfast, do some dishes and get dressed, then I was out for my run at 7:50. I wanted to catch the sun as it was rising above the mountains in the horizon. As it rose, the morning evolved into something beautiful. It was lovely.

The third great thing was my run itself. Today's run felt relaxed and smooth. I have been pleasantly surprised actually, at how relatively easy it has been to start back running regularly. I don't claim to be in such great shape that I did not lose my endurance because I have. But I think I have gotten smarter about how to start most effectively (again, thank you Jeff Galloway).

Style/Workout: 40 minutes, Tempo run
Setting/Route: The Prom, The Cove
Mileage: 4.66 miles (longer than I thought!)
My thoughts: See above

Progress: (running mileage this month/year total): 4.66 today/7.66 year-to-date

Starting 2013 with 3!

I thought maybe for the new year, I would use a different template...

Style:
Setting:
Mileage:
My thoughts:

Progress: (running mileage this month/year total)

I think this simplified version will be easy to follow, plus it gives me more flexibility to just chit chat about my run.

So today:

Style: Tempo Run
Setting: Treadmill
Mileage: 3 miles
My thoughts: This run went well! I started around 10:45 pace and slowly progressed until I was somewhere around 9:00 at the end. It was a really good start! It was cooooooold outside today with frost everywhere so I chose the treadmill solely for safety reasons! This run felt good, but felt a little weird. It was like I had "restless legs" the whole time which was a bit unsettling. But I just stuck with it mentally and made it through. I really need to make some signs to hang on the wall by my treadmill. Sayings like, "Don't Ever Quit" and "Make It Count" would help me a lot I think!

Progress: 3 miles/3 miles

New Goals...2013 here we come~

So...I did not meet my 2012 goal to run 1,000 miles...not by a long shot! In fact, the only goal I reached was the no injuries one...and that is debatable...I would say I did ok dodging overtraining-related injuries. So...

This year is a new one. I decided I don't like resolutions. It seems like you need to have a goal breakdown, and each month should have it's own mini-goal to make it effective. So this year I just have one goal...I will run my first marathon. I am already registered for the Eugene Marathon, April 28th so there is no turning back now! It is somewhere in the middle of spring term, so I'm just going to have to make room for training.

Training...another great subject. I have found that if I am not working toward something, I fall off the wagon quickly! This time around, I downloaded the Personal Running Trainer App, which so far I like. There is a virtual trainer in your head explaining your workout, and prompting you when it is time to warm-up, run, cool-down, etc. along with tips like stretching, etc. All very good reminders.

The marathon training plan is 16 weeks, but I started yesterday so as to have a few days' wiggle room for days I happen to miss training for whatever reason. I will admit the training sessions are intimidating. They are meant for someone already running 6 miles...and I am not yet. I just don't have time to work up to that slowly then start the marathon plan. So instead, I am going to take the training runs at my own pace and do what is comfortable. The training sessions are based on length of time and good quality workouts, which I can take at my own ability. I am in sufficient shape, so I will catch up quickly. What I love most is that 3 years ago, when I trained for my first half marathon, my training sessions were also based on time, so this is kind of a throwback to what I did then, which was a special time.

I'm not entirely sure how I will be tracking my mileage, that might be tricky. I will probably have to use mapmyrun.com when I can. Again, this thing can't get overly time consuming or it won't work. Nursing school requires an insane amount of time so... the treadmill calculates and there are routes I just know the mileage of...I will have to stick with those as much as possible for ease of calculation

Today is meant to be a rest day, so my goal is to clean out the garage so I can made a comfortable space for the treadmill. I really wish I could put the treadmill in the main part of the house because the garage is so dreary. But I can't stand having anything extra upstairs, it gets cluttered very quickly!

Playing Catch Up and Facing the Music

So, while I would love to try to pretend this blog doesn't exist and that my life just doesn't facilitate keeping a running track of my runs (that was fun though), I am not that type of person. Last year I made a resolution, and I put a lot of effort into tracking my mileage over the year. I don't think I made 1,000 miles by a long shot, but I would still like to know how I did.

So here is my mileage (or my best basic idea of it):

January: 56.8
February: 61.39
March: 52.49
April: 53.5
May: 65.43
June: 26.2
July: 18.72
August:  16.92
September: 38.2
October: 0
November: 0
December: 14.28

2012 Year Totals: 403.93

So I only missed my goal by about 600 miles :(  Wow that is lame!!

Oh well I did ok this year, considering all of the life changes I have had. I am not giving up by any means! I originally had thought I would keep running and track my mileage up until 1,000 but I really don't think it would mean much once I got there.

New goals coming up! I'm not going to let last year discourage me!

Christmas Vacation Runs!

December 5th: 3.13
December 6th: 2.96
December 11: 3.19
December 15th: 2
December 30: 3

And that's it, folks!