The Bling

This is one reason I run...THE BLING!! I love my medals. They are representative of the blood, sweat, tears and time I have invested into every single race I have ran. I love them because they are shiny and beautiful, but I love them because they are EARNED. I have ran quite a few races but I just have 5, because in my experience medals are only given out for longer, tougher races, or if you were in the top 3 or something of a shorter race (which I have never been!).

I display my medals on the same shelf as everyone else displays their special things. It's not a special running-only shelf, it includes lots of things...from Caleb's cross country accomplishments, to Aaron's 1st place Halloween Costume ribbon. Samuel has one for participation that he was mad wasn't blue, red or white, but I hang it proudly because like all of the others, he EARNED it. :)

Our family display shelf

These are just mine. I have 5: Eugene Half '10, Princess Half '11, Warrior Dash '11, Rock n Roll Portland '12 and Disneyland '12. I hope to add a few this year!

Which one is my favorite? Well I couldn't choose! I love them all for different reasons. Eugene was my first half marathon, Warrior Dash was a super fun experience, The Princess Half I ran with Ben, the Rock n Roll was the inaugural running of that race, and the Disneyland Half was pure fun and joy!

The Weather Cannot Get Me Down!!

 Here is my weather today. Yuck! The picture does not show the sideways rain. So...that being said I was not going to let the weather get me down!

I tried to cheer up the photo on Instragram just for kicks

I didn't feel like fighting wind and rain today so a beach run was out. I settled on the treadmill instead.

Style/Workout: 35 minutes, comfortable pace
Setting/Route: Treadmill
Mileage: 4.3 miles
My thoughts: The run felt great! I spent a significant amount of time paying attention to my form, footstrike and cadence (not that there is much else to do on the treadmill-haha). I sweat like crazy on the treadmill but it felt great! I had to take a quick break 10 minutes in to use the bathroom.

Progress: (running mileage this month/year total): 4.3 today/16.11 year-to-date

Beach Note

Today I bundled up my boys and grabbed our little dog's leash and we went outside for a bit. The weather is still as dreary and overcast as ever but I made myself do it. I always feel better when I have gotten outside. We ended up walking on the beach some which was really relaxing and enjoyable.

While we were out there I saw two runners. It really inspired me and tomorrow's run will be out there on the beach. I always enjoy it but it is surprising how little I run on the beach. I guess that is good. It would lose its luster otherwise.

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