Thoughts on a Freezing 8 Mile Run

Start:   Okay, I'm leaving the house.  I have on cuddleduds under my tights, a longsleeve shirt, jacket, hat with earcovers, and gloves, so I'm good to go.  OMG.  It's freezing.  Literally freezing. Actually, it's several degrees below freezing.  There's still snow on the ground - this is a really bad idea.  No, the sidewalks are clear, so the trail's probably okay.  No excuses.  I'm doing this.

Mile 1:   My lungs are burning.  I can see every breath in the air.  Maybe I should have worn some kind of mouth cover.  Oh look - another runner!  Dude, we're hardcore.  Yes, our mutual waves mean "glad to see I'm not the only one crazy enough to run in this."   Maybe this isn't so bad - I'm actually smiling.

Mile 2:   Oh my.  The pedestrian bridges over the creek are still covered in ice & snow and are potential death traps.   Go slow, go slow, don't break a leg.  Hopefully as it continues to warm up, and as the sun keeps shining, then the next ones will be thawing out.

Mile 3:   My hands are hot.  I think I'm going to take off my gloves.  Oh shit.  Nope, gloves going back on!  My palms are really hot.  Do they make palm-less gloves?  I mean, I know they make fingerless gloves...but my fingers need to be covered - my palms are hot!  I should check into this when I get home.

Mile 4:   Okay, time to turn around, and fuel.  Uh-oh, my gel is practically frozen.  Maybe I should stick it in my bra so my body heat can warm it up a little and it'll be easier to get down.  OH GOD...I think I've given my left boob frostbite!!!  Is that possible?  Soooooo cold.    But, it seems to have worked.  And hooray for freeze-proof water fountains!

Mile 5:   Dogs in winter coats are the cutest thing.  Ever.

Mile 6:   Where did this wind come from?  Did I have a tailwind outbound and not even notice?  I feel like I'm slowing down.  Ooof - the wind makes my face hurt.  Back to wishing I have some kind of face cover.  Why does the outbound leg not feel like it's downhill, but the return path definitely feels like uphill?

Mile 7:   This bridge definitely did not thaw out while I was out.  Go slow, go slow, don't break a leg.

Mile 8:  1 mile left.  I am a total badass for rocking this run.  It feels like it's finally above freezing, but I've warmed up a lot, so maybe that's just in my head.  No, it's definitely gotten warmer.  There's less snow along the path than when I started.  This last mile sucks.

Done:   Home!  Home!  Home!  OMG, now that I've stopped moving, I'm freezing again.  Totally shaking, even inside the house.  I'm making myself hot tea and hopping in a steamy shower.  Yay me!

2016: The Year in Review

Photo credit: https://www.nraila.org/articles/20161223/2016-nra-ila-year-in-review

So, it's been almost a year since I posted here, talking about New Year's Goals.  I'd like to tell you I met that goal of 500 miles in 2016.  But I know I didn't - I don't even have my total mileage to tell you how close (or how far away) I came.  My year was that...interesting.

I ran two halfs in the spring, and skipped a couple races throughout the year (sometimes DNS is the best decision you can make).  I surprised myself and ran an "official" Disney time (sub-3:30) at the Star Wars Dark Side Half in April after committing to my training plan and taking off almost 20 lbs, so that was awesome.  

I had surgery in May (hello hysterectomy, goodbye uterus & all of your complications!) and despite my best intentions of not letting pounds pile on during recovery....they crept back on, and brought some of their friends with them.  Sigh.  And having to defer a summer race I'd been looking forward to was not awesome, but at least it's giving me something to look forward to next year!

The absolute highlight of my year was the birth of this little dude in early June!  My nephew is the cutest thing EVER, and I'm loving my new role as Aunt Jenny, and the ability to spoil him like crazy (and then give him back, lol)!!!!

The real downer of the year is that my family has been dealing with some pretty serious struggles throughout the fall, and all the stress and associated travel seriously impacted my training (basically non-existent) and all the stress eating packed on even more pounds than before!!!  Insert even bigger sigh here.

After watching/cheering on friends and family struggling through the Marine Corps Marathon in October, I found some new motivation and decided to turn around my own struggles and work towards my personal goals again - I wasn't waiting for New Year's to set them this time around.

I'm glad to say that I'm back down to what, at one point, had been my "all-time-highest-weight-ever" (before I started running and lost weight, then put it all back on), and I've had some really GREAT runs recently.  Which probably means I'm due for a stinker of a run soon, but it's amazing how good you feel when you've been struggling for several years and finally can feel yourself turning a corner.

2017's got some BIG plans coming up: I'm already registered for 5 halfs, and that will mean 4 new states, and lots of fun trips with my running peeps and my family.  So here's hoping I'll be able to maintain the momentum and motivation I've gained the past couple months and translate those into a really great year!

New Goals...New Hope???

Okay, it's a brand new year.  2016.  People are making New Years Resolutions and setting new goals.  I'm not big on resolutions, but I do like goals.

I recently realized I didn't set any finite goals for 2015...and looking back on my year, it definitely shows a lack of focus, for sure.  Without motivation, I piled on even more unnecessary weight, my eating habits went to he**, and my running "training" (if you can even call it that) slacked off terribly.  About the only area of my life where I can say I truly found success all year long was in my work life - which is awesome - but it's definitely time to start focusing on ALL OF ME again.

Ok. Soooooo....   My running friends and I are discussing setting the "2016 in 2016" goal for groups of us.  I figure my contribution can safely, and should be, at least 500 miles.  This is a personal goal I had set for the last several years and I like having a number to work towards all year long.

So there it is.  500 miles in 2016.  Plus of course, the standard "lose weight," "eat better,"  "keep up with the blog," ... yadah yadah yadah.  All of which will be important, but for the beginning of the year I'm going to strictly re-focus on getting my training back on track and then let the rest follow.  Lots of hope attached to this one.