“A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.” - Walt Disney

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

What's On Tap?

Two posts in two days!  I'm on fire!  Which, actually, I'm not!  We're experiencing a freak "cold front" this week that has reduced daily high temps to the mid 80's - I'm pretty sure I'm in heaven!  I got in a outdoor run after work last night, which I haven't done it literally months because it's just been too dang hot!  It was still warm at 85 degrees, and sunny, so I didn't have a great pace, but it felt amazing just to be out there pounding the pavement.

Yesterday's stats:
  • 10 minute warm-up walk
  • 3 mi; 0:39:54; 13:18 min/mi avg pace

I'm just gonna apologize in advance for the craziness of the next few weeks.  I will do my best to keep the blog updated after each long run, but there is so much going on, I'm not promising anything...  'Cause, yup, it's going to be a full rest of the month!

So what's on tap for the next few weeks?
  • 18 mile training run (WOW!) & football game
  • 9 mile training run & trip to L.A.
  • 9 mile training run
  • Wine & Dine Half Marathon

Crazy, right?  It may be busy/full, but I'm really looking forward to it.  Well, maybe not-so-much looking forward to the 18 miler, but it'll be another big milestone for me, so that's something to look forward to!  And in the middle and the end of the month - a Disney trip on each coast - what's not great about that???

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Birthdays, Munchkins, and Football!

Not only was last weekend a long holiday weekend, but it was also my birthday weekend!  I headed down to Austin early Friday afternoon to meetup with some high school and college friends, and we went out for mexican food at one of our favorite restaurants.  Knowing that we had a 9-mile training run in the morning, we kept the night kinda low-key, but did end up eating a lot of not-ideal pre-run food.  And stayed up too late because we were having a "Girls' Night In" sleepover...

All my non-running friends thought that the three of us runners in the group were absolutely nuts when we set our alarms for 5:15 on Saturday morning - but we had some miles to cover and wanted to beat the heat (as best we could).  What else was on the schedule?  The Inaugural R.O.T.E. Munchkin Run: Half-of-a-Half-Marathon!  That's right, a virtual race covering 6.55 miles with Dunkin' Donuts Munchkins (or the equivalent) as a post-race snack?  Yes, please!  So the 3 of us printed out the bibs, ran our 6.55 miles, and snapped pics afterward with our donut holes!


I didn't run the miles at my race pace, since it was part of a 9-mile training run, but was still ok with my time.  After the "race," I got in another 2.45 miles - with the sun out so the finishing miles weren't so great, but they were done!  And considering the less-than-ideal "prep" from the night before, I'll take it!

After the run, we got cleaned up and re-joined the rest of the group for a yummy breakfast!  Throw in some time in the pool, watching movies, dinner with my family, and a winning football game, and it was an all-around great weekend!

Saturday's stats:
  • R.O.T.E. Munchkin Run: Half-of-a-Half-Marathon
    • 6.55 mi; 1:28:19; 13:29min/mi avg pace
  • Remaining mileage
    • 2.45 mi; 0:34:35; 14:07min/mi avg pace