Monday, December 31, 2012

2012 Goals Recap

I can't believe it is almost 2013?  Where has this year gone?  I have to say, this one one hell of a year!  The beginning of the year was a rough year for me!  I don't know if it is even possible to recap it?

I started the year out with a running injury..Damn IT Band, and was not running until end of April.  That was 4 months of no running, and to make things better, I wasn't doing much else in the sense of cardio.  My work life stressed me out beyond belief, and if you know me, you know what happened there. (or would like to hear more about that, feel free to send me an email. )  I managed to pack on almost 20 pounds with the stress!  Once I started at my new school, things defiantly got better, well until Sandy hit New York and the New York City Marathon was cancelled.  That was a really hard, and what was even harder, going straight into Goofy training.  I thought I would have a nice recovery period where I would get to sleep in, nope, that didn't happen.  I burnt out, and I burnt out quickly.  You can see all that here.

I am not going to go into much details of what happened this year, I am going to leave that for another post.  I did want to go back and look at my running goals from last year.  You can find that post here.


As I read them, I am not sure how attainable they were.  I am not sure how often I even looked at them.
                                         ---------------------------------------------------
I would love to be 123 pounds...which isn't too far off :) Finally!! When I wrote this, I was maybe 7 pounds away, which I could have done, if I chose to watch what I ate.  Instead, stress and emotions got the best of me!

I want to run a 5k in 28 minutes What was I thinking when I made this goal?  I wonder if this was achievable if I wasn't out of commission for 4 months?

I want to run a Half Marathon in 2:17.  This was a far off goal, and I knew that going into it.  My real goal was a 2:28, because I will never forget what my now X, and X, for many a reason said. "I ran my first half, without training, faster than my girlfriend".  I did, I did accomplish that.  You can read all about that amazing race here!

I want to run a Full in 4:30  (I will happily settle for a 5 hours marathon though)  Again, what far off planet was I on when I made these goals?  My 2013 goal is 5 hours or NYC :)

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Weekly Workout Roundup and Goofy Training Week 8

WOW!  I can't believe in less that 2 weeks, I will have completed the half marathon portion of the Goofy challenge and will be in the process of the Full.  I can't believe how time flies!  I remember when I signed up back in April(ish) with Team in Training.  

This weeks runs were both good and bad.  I can definitely tell its taper because I have the urge to run and know it's a No-NO.  I am feeling all different pains in my body, especially my knees.  It is just plain awful.  This week also put me in the 100+ mile month which is probably also why my body is screaming at me. That is a big accomplishment for me as I am not the best at weekday runs, but as they are getting shorter, it is becoming more manageable.  

Last weeks 20 miler!
This is what my week looked like:

Monday's 3 miler was supposed to be for Sunday but I held it off.  My plan was to just walk, but I wanted to see how my legs felt.  I was able to do mile 2 in under 11 minutes.  It started to rain and my plan was to go to Publix to get some items and walk back.  I still managed to do that, but don't you hate when you run to the store and it rains on you, literally!

Tuesday's 6 miler ROCKED!  I did 20 miles on Saturday so I was surprised at how fast I was going.  I tried a new route and it was perfect.  My overall pace was 11:02 (for me, after 20 miles, fast)  and the last mile at 10:20.  That run what HOT!  I was surprised how warm it was on Christmas, I even wore shorts to the movies!

On Friday I attempted 6 miles, but at mile 3 my IT Band was screaming at me and I was taking no chances!  My miles were still low 11's then I walked back.
13.1 miles for the victims of Sandy Hook

Saturdays 13 miles, that is a story all in itself.  The first half was amazing!  I love running in the rain, I truly do!  I think it makes me run that much quicker.  We were popping our those miles at 11 mpm.  Then we hit the half way mark and my body started to yell at me.  I am really hoping it is the taper, so I am going to keep it easy the next few weeks.  A few of us ran this as 13.1 for the Sandy Hook Elementary Virtual 5k and Half Marathon.  We wore our bibs proudly, until the rain ripped them off.  With all the rain, my skirt was bogged down and was just plain uncomfortable.  This actually taught me to bring shorts if the weather calls for rain on marathon day, 26.2 miles in too much clothing and the rain, no fun!  I am so lucky to have had such an amazing group to train with!  They stayed with me to the end when my stomach was cramping and a nap sounded perfect!  Thank you TEAM!

Grab a button and link up! I can't wait to hear what you did this week?  


How do you handle the taper?
Did you push through any hurdles?
Have any Personal Bests?
What races do you have coming up?

I love to hear what you have to say!

Friday, December 28, 2012

Friday Letters

I cannot believe it is already Friday.  This week is going by too quickly.  I am off this week for the holidays.  That is one perk of being a teacher.  This is the first time I am also at my computer in over a week and therefore that is the reason for my non bloggingness.  

Here are my Friday letters to share with you:

Dear Friday, It is bittersweet that you are here.  It means one week of vacation is gone and I only have one more of you before I head back to work.  It also means we are that much closer to the Walt Disney World Marathon and Half Marathon Weekend! Yay!! 2 weeks till I am there :)

Dear IT Band, you stink, pain go away!  Today will consist of icing, stretching, and maybe some ibuprofen.  

Dear Running,  We have had our moments.  Sometimes you are amazing and sometimes you stink.  I guess that is just something I am going to have to deal with.  This weeks runs were pretty awesome well, the one I did this week.  

Dear Future Husband, I am still waiting to meet you:)

Dear size 6 pants, Now that I have just declared my size on the internet, I am happy to find you again.  I do have one complaint, Why are sizes not universal?!

Dear Premier Protein, Thanks for the amazing package!

What are your plans for this weekend?
Have you found a brand of clothing that always fits the same?  

HAPPY WEEKEND!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Friday Letters

Happy Friday!

I have only one more Friday after today before winter break!  I am beyond excited and have been counting down since before Thanksgiving break.  I am completely burnt out and when we get back from break we have one week of review then a week of finals.

Dear Friday, Thank you for coming around again just when we all need a break.  Dear Weekend, you are going to be filled to capacity I am not sure how I feel about that!  I am excited there is so much to do I keep remembering, one more week, one more week!  Dear Color Run, I am so ready for you!  I can't wait to be dressed in beuatiful white and and have color thrown at me as some of my favorite peole and I run and walk 3.1 miles!  I can't wait to experience what everyone is talking about.  Dear TBLB, I am really excited for the cookie swap Steph is hosting.  I hope your cookies are all so gross so I don't stuff my face too much.  My clothes aren't fitting very well and I need to get on top on that.  (I am not very good with saying NO to chocolate of cookies).  Dear sorority sister, I can't wait to see so many of you for the color run!  Dear Samantha and West, I am so honored you told me there was a little Moody coming before you announced it to the world!  Dear Trader Joes, I love you.

This weekend is going to be packed full of fun!  I have a 14 mile run, the color run, a Melting Pot Fodue team in training fundraiser, and a cookie swap with the tampa bay lady bloggers.  I am not sure when I am going to get in all my planning and grading, but I am ok with that! 

What are your plans this weekend?
How do you manage to get in all your fun activites? 

Monday, December 10, 2012

Overachieving and harsh realizations

I have these big dreams and goals of completing and accomplishing certain races.

I tend to take on more than I can handle, especially when it comes to training for events.  I have race after race, run after run until March.  I didn't really realize how much I have planned until someone mention, are you racing every weekend?  Well, sort of...

I had these BIG dreams of doing the Croom 50k and Augusta HIM 70.3
I have been toying with these ideas for about 6 months now, and I have no doubt I can physically complete them.  I then realized how much more training would need to go into a HIM.  I would need to do two a days.  When did I ever think I would have time for that?  I can't even complete my scheduled runs now.  

Right now, my marathon training plan was given to me through team in training and I believe was a little too ambitious for my schedule.  I have two medium long runs during the weeks, which now, are 9 miles.  I think to myself, this takes me almost two hours.. so coming up at 7, impossible.  Next training cycle, more realistic plan will be made and will incorporate speed because one day, I would love to qualify for Boston!

Back to Croom and Augusta, I think I am officially burnt out.  I want a social life!  I want to run because I want to, not because I have a training run.  I think I am saying goodbye to running Croom and doing Augusta in 2013, but there is always 2014.  Not to mention, a tri is very expensive and I certainly do not have the money at this time to invest in the proper training and equipment.  I am so thankful for the friends along the way to help me out this far.  

I want to be proud of my race and know I have done all that I could do :)

Will I have a change of heart in the next few weeks once Goofy is over?  It is possible, but I am staying away from the "Register Now" button for a while, until I am 100% sure I have the time and the energy.  

So what is up next?

Dec. 15 The color run
December 21- 10 miles
December 22- 20-22 Miles
January 12 DIsney Half Marathon
January 13 Disney Full Marathon
January 27 ING Miami Full or Half Marathon
February 9- Mud Run
February 17 Donna 26.2 or Half?- Possible with Meghan
February 24 Disney Princess  Half Marathon with Meghan, Tori, Caitlyn
March 9- Gate River run with my best friend Jamie
March 17- Sarasota Half Marathon (Hoping for a PR)

What runs are you planning?  How do you get motivated again?

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Weekly workout + Goofy Training week 5

How can you tell like if a little crazy, when you cannot remember what week of training you just completed.

The last two weeks were a little crazy and I got sick so that didn't help too much with the whole training for a 39.3 mile race.  With that, I also made a few race decisions about to upcoming year.

Grab a button and link up your workouts anytime this week! Leave a comment and I will stop by and say hello :)


I am going to roll the last two weeks workouts into one short and sweet post, why?  Because it won't take too long.

I wish I knew how to make running a priority with a new job, new classes, and new responsibilities.  I can't wait until next semester when it is time to redo many lessons, but not start from the beginning for three classes.  I can't wait until my lease is up so I can move closer to work.  (Sorry for my vent session and thank you for listening)

Last week, training week 4, I was extremely busy with being back from break and getting everything in order, and just when the week was calming down, I got sick.  I was so ready to do 2 back to back runs and neither happened.  I was supposed to run the Brandon Half Marathon on December 2nd, but was smart and pushed it to the 5k.  The day before, I was supposed to do another long run of 14 miles but when all I wanted to do was leave work, I knew that wasn't going to happen.  I actually slept over 11 hours and night and believe that is what my body needed.  I was sad I couldn't do the Brandon Half, but was hurting during the 5k, it was hard to breathe, I stopped twice to blow my nose, and just wasn't feeling right.  I did PR though for my 5k, so I wonder how much better I could have done without a rotten cold.  


The following week, I started to feel better and was still very busy (I have to spend many afternoons after school practicing for a secret Pep Rally Thing a ma jig)- It will be over This week.

Tuesday was track practice where I was able to get a mile done in 9:20.  Yay for getting faster :)

I had a few unanticipated rest days due to work.  Friday I went home right after work to get my runs in, I did it, but body wouldn't go so I turned around early :(

Saturday was a long run of 19 miles.  I had a good friend push me along for 14 of those miles until I felt bad that she was taking it slow with me!  I told her to take off and I was my slow self and powered till the end.

I hope that my body learns to move again, and I see improvements in my run.  At this point I am starting to get down about Disney :( I have to remember that I am not doing this one for time because it's two back to back runs. I want to have fun, even though I would love a time goal!  

How did your workouts go this week?
How do you get over the mental hump?