Goodbye 2012!

This year has gone by incredibly fast.   I can't believe just about a year ago I was writing my 2012 resolutions and was getting ready to tackle this year.

Although my resolutions didn't all go as planned, I think 2012 was a fantastic year.  I'm thinking 2013 is going to be pretty great, too.  Before I tell you my grand plans for 2013 resolution-wise, I thought we'd look back at some of the highlights of 2012.

1. I ran two half marathons!  Yes, one didn't go as planned, but the other was amazing and I loved every single minute of it.

2.  Each of my family members made it down to DC and some of them made it multiple times.  I had so much fun showing off my city, especially now that I kind of know where I'm going on our Lindsey-guided tours.

Avett Brothers Concert!!

3. I got to see my baby brother graduate from college.  That was cool.

4. I got to go to DISNEY!!!  I'm really sad that it costs so much to get to Disney, play at Disney, and race at Disney.  I would run a race at Disney 5 times a year if I could.

5. Good beer.  There was a lot of beer consumed in 2012.  I discovered a little beer shop near my place with a decent selection, we made it out to Flying Dog quite a few times, and several meals were enjoyed at Dogfish Head Alehouse.  I call that a win.  My nice friend and I went to the Laughs and Drafts festival early in the year which was a lot of fun.  You get to try unlimited beer samples from local breweries all while listening to different comedians perform.  We also discovered the Lost Rhino Brewery, which wasn't quite as colorful as Flying Dog, but was still fun.

6.  I found another great park where Maddux and I walk all the time.  I've had a lot of great runs there, too.

7. I did my first mud run!  It was really cold.  I'm not sure I'll ever do one again, but it's checked off my bucket list, so I'm happy.

8. I ran my first race by myself.  Ok, I've had a couple where I technically was the only one running the race, but I had someone there to cheer me on/hold my stuff.  This one I signed up for by myself and went by myself and actually had a lot of fun.  This is also where I learned about the park from great thing #6.

9. Even though my pup has had some health issues this year, we've had a lot of great times together.  We've had lots of awesome walks and finished our first class together.  We're actually starting up another one in a couple of weeks!

10.  Honestly, the list could go on and on, but I'll end it with the fact that I am ending the year with my family and am so excited for all the things that 2013 has to come.  It's been a really great year, and I couldn't have asked for a better one.

There was a DONKEY at church.  That should have gotten its own number.

I hope you enjoy the last day of the year!

Priorities

The past week has been another whirlwind, but I've enjoyed every minute of it!  On Thursday my sister came down to visit.  Her best friend was going to be in the area for a conference so we made plans to spend as much time with him as possible before he had to head home.  Apart from eating some great food, I also got to show them some of the highlights of DC.

I love Zoo Lights!  And donkeys.

We definitely were on the go a lot, and honestly, it's been really hard to get some decent runs in.  I made the decision to push my training plan back a month and sadly, the Runner's World holiday streak has come to an end for this girl.  When I started my training plan, it was the week of Thanksgiving.  It worked out ok because my family is really understanding when I need to head out for a little bit for a run and I had quite a few days to spend with them.  Coming home from Thanksgiving I started to get stressed.  I got really anxious thinking of how I was going to get everything done and I realized I wasn't going to be able to enjoy anything if I was constantly stressing over the holiday season.  The holidays are a time where you should enjoy your family and not worry so much over other aspects of life.  Now that I don't see my family that often, I wanted to make sure I was enjoying every second I could with them, not sitting there figuring out when I can squeeze a run in.  

Yesterday my sister and I woke up early for one last breakfast with her friend and then my parents and nice friend came to head over to the Flying Dog Brewery for a tour.  Could I have woken up earlier to get a run in?  Sure.  Could I have left my parents for a few minutes to get my running streak mile in? Yeah, I could have.  It all comes down to priorities and spending as much time as possible with the family came first.  Ultimately, I'm feeling good about my decision to enjoy my holiday running when I can and then really hitting the ground running (see what I did there?) in January.     

I still plan to try to get some more consistent running in so when I do officially start my plan back up again it's not a complete shock to my body.  I also plan to embrace this time of year (even when it means curling up in bed with a book and hot chocolate when it gets dark at 5:00 instead of hitting the treadmill).  I'm feeling refreshed and ready to end 2012 right. 

New Challenge

I am going to have to get the mental piece of my running together pronto.  It was my first week back working and it was exhausting.  I decided ahead of time that my running days would turn from Tuesday and Thursday to Wednesday and Friday.  Maddux is alone longer than I would like while I'm at work, but his dog walker (who is AMAZING) comes twice a week so I don't feel quite as guilty.

Don't leave me!

So far the work week has been really productive.  On Tuesday we did a team building scavenger hunt around DC.  Our group is really competitive so my team was basically running around the city to make it to each location.  I think that counts as a workout.    

When I got home on Wednesday I was exhausted and wasn't feeling super great.  After our fun day in DC, sitting in meetings for a couple of hours was really tough.  All I wanted to do was lie down, but Maddux gets his walk ASAP when I get home.  His 'roid rage is still in effect (though not as bad as before) so he did not want any part of cuddling on the couch with me and relaxing.  Eventually, I got myself out the door for my run.  I told myself that I only had to make it 30 minutes and then I could come home and nap.  Guess what?  That was the best run I've had in a really long time.  It was warm, but there was a nice breeze.  I ran my entire 45 minutes without having to stop once, which is a HUGE accomplishment for outdoor runs these days.  

I'm not sure how my Nike+ is calibrated right now, but it said I was incredibly slow.   According to it I was running about 11 minute miles.  Regardless if that is true or not, I don't even care.  It felt so good and I was really, really happy with how well it went.  I even did my arm routine after!

Friday was a different story.  An impromptu meeting came up about a situation that needed immediate attention and I got home much later than I would have liked.  I felt bad about leaving Maddux again and have vowed to make up my run today.  Sometimes life is a balancing act.  I recently read a post from Runner's Kitchen that put things in perspective for me.  Basically, she pointed out that nobody is making us run or sign up for races and if training means sacrificing other parts of our life it's because we chose to make it a big part of our life.  On the other hand, when I signed up to bring Maddux into my family it was not so that he would sit in an empty apartment all day by himself.  

I am much too cute to leave.

So those are my thoughts for the day.  Today's plan is to restock my wine rack fridge and run my 45 minute run.  Tomorrow is speed work!  Woo!  

Happy weekend! :-)

So Long Sweet Summer

Remember this sweet girl?

Oh hey, Bama!

She got adopted this weekend!  I'm so, so happy for her and her "fur"ever home.  I'm glad she found someone who is willing to help her through her shyness and give her the love she deserves.

Saturday I spent a little time in the gym on the elliptical.  I decided to venture a little off my normal routine to shake things up a bit and chose to do the interval workout option on the machine.  It basically was 2 minutes at level 7, 2 minutes at level 10, switch and do 2 minutes backwards at level 7, 2 minutes at level 10, repeat until you are panting and sweating way too hard for a 32 minute workout.  Got it? :-)

After, I came home and did a few arm exercises: 15 push ups, 15 tricep kickbacks, 15 bicep curls, 15 overhead tricep raises, repeat 3x.  Yay cross training!

This weekend was the Lucky Dog Animal Rescue's happy hour fundraiser at a local bar.  My nice friend agreed to go with me and enjoy $4 Dogfish Head drafts while I played with a sweet puppy.  I love my boy way too much to share my full time attention, but luckily she was adopted this weekend, too.

Love that face.

It was a beautiful day, so we decided to walk the 2.5 miles to our next stop.  My friend had gotten a Groupon for RFD a while back, and we had been meaning to use it.  Since my summer is officially over (insert mad tears here), it seemed like an ideal time to go.  I was excited to see a veggie sandwich with goat cheese and pumpkin beer on the menu!  The pumpkin beer tasted more like pumpkin pie juice, but if some pumpkin beer is out it means that Dogfish Punkin' Ale is soon to follow.

Sunday I lazed around for a really long time.  I made Julie's peanut butter pancakes using Peanut Butter Company's White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter.  They didn't stick around long enough for a photo op.  Yum!  By the time I finally got around to my run it was getting late.  Honestly, I was super cranky about summer ending and all I wanted to do was cuddle with my pup.  I had every intention of running outside, but the skies looked ominous and it was getting darker.  So, you probably guessed, I took it to the treadmill.  Again.  Next long run I promise I am doing outside.  It might be because it is a race weekend, but you take what you get sometimes.

The run was ok.  Like I said, I was ridiculously grumpy the first 5 miles.  I was in this mental slump with a totally negative attitude.  I'm actually really ashamed because normally I manage to pull it together a little more.  After 5 miles I took a Clif Shot Blok.  I tried the cherry ones this time and they were just as delicious as the strawberry.  My legs finally loosened up a little and then took another Shot Blok at mile 7.5.  I wanted to experiment cutting back a little bit to see how it would affect my body, which was probably dumb seeing how awesome I felt after my 11.5 run when I nailed it.  I felt great until mile 8 when I started having awesome tummy troubles.  After a quick break, I managed to power through and ended up with 10 miles in 1:34:32.  At the end of the run I took another Shot Blok and drank some G2 when I got home.

Despite my mental blahs, I'm actually pretty proud of my time.  It was a little faster than last time and my last mile felt really strong.  I need to build up my confidence so I can take it outside and power through.  Luckily I'll have a friend to run with on my next long run.

I had to work today, so I need to go spend some time with my sweet pup.  I missed him way too much today.  Working is hard!  Happy Monday!

Probably TMI

First off, Maddux is a survivor!  

Maddux was ok with resting.  We love naps :-)

I got in a run at the trail after I dropped him off to keep my mind off what was going on at the vet.  I don't know if I just had too much on my mind or if it was the fact that it was already over 80 degrees a little after 8am, but it was not the awesome run I was anticipating.  It just felt hard.  Normally if I am close to making 5 miles during my 45 minute runs I just keep going until I've hit it.  Not this time.  As soon as my watch hit 45 minutes I was done.  A few hours later the vet called and told me I could pick up my little boy.  I think the vet office workers may have made fun of me a little.  The tech said "Wow, I can tell you really missed him," when I went to pick him up.  Is it that obvious?  Maddux is recovering really well and except for the spot where he actually got the shot, you can't even tell anything is wrong with him.  Woo!

My run schedule got a little off again this week.  My little brother came to visit!  Wednesday it was 104 degrees out, so I managed to convince him to go to the outlets with me for a little shopping.  

There was also beer.  That probably made shopping a little better for him.

Thursday it was still a little warm, but we decided to go and see the sights of DC.  Since we were getting some quality walking time in I decided to put off my run until Friday.  Ben finally got to see the highlights.  We started at the Lincoln Memorial and made our way around the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial.

Hey DC, meet my little bro!

It was nice to have someone to explore with.  I feel like so often I miss out on doing cool things because I'm over the traffic in this area.  When you deal with it the entire work week you aren't too excited to go back in it later, but I'm pretty sure seeing the sights will never get old.  Days like this remind me of why I love living where I do and how lucky I am.  I like when people come visit me so I can pretend that I am an awesome tour guide.  

I'm pretty sure Maddux is going to be this big after he's done with steroids.

Friday I got my butt out the door for another run.  I ran on the treadmill (surprise) and I was pleasantly surprised that it went much better than I expected.  I had a little bit of a cold the past couple of days, and when I finished up my 5 miles in 46:19 I was pretty excited.  I felt a little tired going in, but after I eased into the run it was actually really good.  Ben is a huge Braves fans, and lucky for him, his visit coincided with the Braves/Nationals game.  

Ben tried to cut out my Nats shirt.  Also, we are happy because it wasn't raining yet.  The Nats also hadn't blown their lead yet.  Gotta say, it was not their best night.

The game ended up going into extra innings after the Nats decided it would be fun to blow a 9 run lead.    I think I hit a record for staying up late.  I'm an old lady when it comes to staying up, but made it until 2AM(?!?!).  Needless to say, I did not get up early to run on Saturday.  I had 10 miles on the calendar, but decided to push it until today because my friend and I were going to Gonzo Fest at Flying Dog.  I mean, "Good people drink good beer."  It was definitely worth postponing the run for good beer and fun.

I kept putting off the run today.  I got to another late start (lazy weekend, anyone?) and was in serious need of groceries.  My fridge looked so sad.  I reasoned that after running 10 miles I would need to refuel so of course I had to go shopping first.  I didn't end up getting to the gym until almost 5pm.  I decided to take it nice and slow.  I wasn't feeling confident at all about this run.  Physically I felt fine.  I was a little worried about my IT band because I could definitely feel a little strain on my run on Friday, but other than that I had no reason to think it would be a bad run or that I couldn't finish.  I foam rolled like a champion a few times today to help alleviate that worry.  I'm really happy to report that I didn't have an ounce of IT band pain this time around!  I kept the incline on .5 until mile 5 and then I wimped out and dropped it back down to 0.  My pace ranged from 6.0-6.2 (10:00-9:40ish) and overall there really wasn't anything remarkable about this run.  There were a few times when I struggled mentally.  I counted to 100 and back to 0 a few times and that helped pass some of the time.  I stopped for water every couple miles and then had a strong finish for my last mile.  I finished my 10 miles in just under 97 minutes.

Proof!

  

Ready for the TMI?

After my run I took Maddux out to the dog park.  I knew I should eat something really quick before, but my aunt called right when I was walking in the door and between trying to talk to her and get Mad Dog out to pee, I just didn't think about it.  As I went to pick up after my pup, it hit me.  My stomach cramped and I knew that I had to make a mad dash back to my apartment.  Later, I tried to eat a turkey sandwich and it took me a long time to choke it all down after my stomach finally settled down.  This has happened now several times after my longer runs.  I don't remember having these issues in college, and I will tell you they are very memorable ailments.  I'm not really sure what changed.  I think I'm going to talk to a doctor about it, but I'm thinking that I am losing too much salt during my longer runs.  I am a disgusting sweater (work hard, sweat hard, right?) and even though I try to drink gatorade, I think I need to do a little more to avoid this nonsense.  It's not fun and to be honest, it's kind of embarrassing, especially after races.  I practically had to knock someone out of my way in my haste to get to the bathroom at the Hot Chocolate 15k.  I know, nothing anybody wanted to know, but part of having a running blog is sharing the good, the bad, and oh yes, the ugly, too.

On that note, I will end this oh so lovely post.  Hopefully I will have some answers soon so that there will be more good (and even bad) and not so much ugly up here.  Have a happy running week!