90 Days of Awesome

My life is about to get fucking ridiculous.

Next week? Travel to NC for the wedding of my BIL with kids in tow.  The idea of flying with a 5 year old and a pair of 3 year olds makes me twitch, but that's what we're going to do.  Because the idea of driving 20 hours one way in a car with said children makes me want to hang myself.

I know Lily is a good flyer.  She's been to Phoenix and back with me on two occaisions and was a champ both times.  So good that the people around us had no idea there was a child with me.  Quiet, mouse like.  That's her.  A couple of books, a new coloring book, and a box of crayons (plus snacks) and she's a busy bee.  The twin three year olds will be a challenge. They are loud. They are rambunctious. They are 3 year old boys.  I am going to be spending the next week sacrificing farm animals and hoping that neither of them inherited their father's tendency toward motion sickness.

Oh yeah.  My husband gets airsick.  Yay. 

So we'll pack some barf bags and hope for the best.  Luckily we won't have to check luggage as my SIL will be taking our stuff and our carseats with her in their RV (praise cheeses).  When we arrive we'll be hanging out for two days and then heading back.  Lightning fast vacay. 

And I have to get a 20 miler on Friday.  Yikes.

Once we're back, its Memorial Day weekend which encompasses our 7th wedding anniversary.  Then the month of June which is going to be crazy.  I have two 10Ks a Ragnar and a marathon in June.  That's right.  A race every weekend.  I was clearly high in January when I signed up for all this stuff.  Not that it isn't all fun, awesome stuff...but holy fuckballs.  Busy busy busy.

Once the marathon is over I'm going to spend exactly one week recovering and then (drumroll)

SUMMER RUNNING HIATUS BEGINS!!!

I never took a hiatus last year, and frankly I am buuuuuuurrrrrrrnnnnnneeeeddddd out.  It's not that I don't get any pleasure from running, but I am so sick of training I could scream.  I'm not doing a good job of preparing for this marathon, but I just can't get my motivation up to do better.  When Grandma's is over, I'm done until the fall (or maybe the winter).  I've been neglecting Crossfit and I need to get back on it.  So that's what I'm going to do!

The 90 Days of Awesome refer to a 90 day challenge.  Basically to lose fat (NOT WEIGHT) and optimize my body composition.  I'll be sticking to my Paleo lifestyle with a couple of added nutritional boosts (greens smoothies, which I've never tried before!) and a return to whole food fundamentals.  I've been slipping with Paleo the last couple of weeks and I can feel the difference.  So I signed up for this challenge, got a virtual buddy, and I'm poised to take my physical fitness to the next level.  Just in time to turn 36.  I want to move serious weight by summer's end, and by that I mean weight loaded on a barbell.  At this point I could give a rat's ass about the number on the scale.  I'm approaching my 1 year Crossfit anniversary and though I've made enormous strides in strength and mobility, there are things I could do so much better if I got to the box more often and really concentrated on nourishing my body. 

So there you have it.  I'm settling into my dayjob routine and I'm ready to refocus on fitness.  I have specific goals: 
1. Master double unders
2. Deadlift 200lbs (current best is 155)
3. Clean 125lbs (current best is 100)
4. 20 in box jumps without feeling like I'm going to die.  I wanna be BOUNCY, dammit!
5. Unassisted pull-up.  Even if it's just one or two.  I want this.

Whew.  Public accountability, yo.

********

Wisconsin half marathon recap:

I was woefully, terribly, hideously undertrained.  2:30:20.  I felt mostly fine, did good with the hills, then locked up at bit at mile 11.  I was on pace for around 2:20...then...not.

Honestly, this was a fun race.  I got to hang with some internet buddies and make a couple of new friends.  The course was weird but fun, the scenery was great, the weather was great, and the post race beer was interesting.  I would absolutely do this one again...even if the cheese in the finisher's snack bag was from VERMONT.  (Seriously, WTF?)

Still, I recommend it!

Run On.

I will never qualify for Boston.  Well, if I can keep my current pace until I'm 85 I'll qualify.  So basically I will never qualify for Boston.  That didn't stop me from watching the live internet feed on the edge of my seat while first Caballero, then Felix, and finally Jeptoo came to the front.  I couldn't believe how fast, how light they were.  I kept growling "Come on, Shalane, come on!" as she bounced just behind the top three.  I wondered where Kara was in relation to the lead pack.  I watched a Canadian named Watson bound to the front of the men's race, only to be swallowed by the Kenyan pack.  Hartman looking like he was going to be dropped, then surging back into the front runners.  It was breath taking.  Inspiring.  I felt like I KNEW those runners, like we were old friends.

I had friends and friends of friends running Boston yesterday.  Friends who were there staffing and volunteering.  I worried about them, and I'm glad they're all okay. 

In a way, all runners are friends.  We line up together, nervous, checking out watches, wondering if our breakfast will stay down, anxious to START ALREADY.  We pep talk people who are lagging, and tell total strangers we believe in them, are proud of them, and that they can do it.  Spectators line up and shout and shout and clap and scream for people they've never seen before and will never see again.  Volunteers hand out water, get sloshed full of Gatorade, and sweep up a billion paper cups while still offering words of encouragement. Police and EMS guard intersections, block traffic, wait for a call that someone is in trouble.  Doctors and PTs and massage therapists help people limping accross finish lines get their battle wounds bound up and set them right. 

Yesterday our community was attacked when Boston was attacked.  I don't know who did it, but I hope whoever it was will be found and made to pay for what they did.  There is no way to truly protect against this kind of thing.  Running is the only sport that competes on city streets.  You can't secure every inch of a 26.2 mile course.  That's crazy.  Race officials do the best they can.  There will no doubt be talk of cancelling large, big city marathons.  That's crazy, too.  Runners are crazy.  We would never stand for that.

We have to keep running.  Remembering those people who were killed, those who were hurt.  Remembering all those who helped when the time came, who ran toward the blast and not away from it. Keeping a closer eye on our surroundings, perhaps, and as always looking out for each other.

I won't be praying for Boston, because I do not pray.  But I will run with Boston in my heart.  And next year? I'll be watching the live feed again as another 25,000 people take the streets on Marathon Monday. 

Sugar Detox Week 1: Smooth Sailing

So I'm seven days into the detox.  It's going well.  No cheating, and aside from a three day headache at the beginning (my own fault for getting positively drunk on sugar the week prior), no side effects.

After 7 days of detoxing I have dropped 5 pounds of water and my abs are back.  Such as they are.  I am also sleeping better, which is a bonus.

Detoxing can be a double edged sword when you're distance/weight training.  I can honestly say that my CrossFit abilities seem to be heightened when I'm off sugar, though that is not the norm.  I attribute that to the increased protein consumption.  I eat a lot of protein normally (hell, I eat a lot of everything normally), but when fruit is removed from the snacking realm I find myself going for jerky and boiled eggs along with some serious veg.  My protein and fiber intake skyrockets, which translates to good stuff in the gym.  From a running perspective, the reduced carbs end up meaning less gas in the tank.  For short runs and speed work this is a non-issue.  For long runs?  Trouble.

I'm going to be experimenting with a different fuel source on tomorrow's 11 miler.

I give you the Larabar.

 

Larabar.  They rock.  They are Paleo (many varieties are).  They are not strictly sugar detox approved, because the base is made from dates.  Here's the thing-I have to violate the detox to run long.  The last couple of long runs I've used ShotBlocks the way I did in the past.  This was not a good idea.  Two words:  Gastric Emergency   I'm going to give the Larabar a shot as distance fuel.  They have around 25g of sugars per bar, so I see no reason it wouldn't work.  The texture is pretty soft and at least as easy to chew as ShotBlocks, but not as sickeningly sweet.

 

 

I've also been experimenting with new snacks.

Kale chips.  Like garlic popcorn with iron.

 

 

These things are pretty damn good.  Easy to make (slice the stalks away from the leaves, tear into chip size pieces, lightly toss with olive oil until toasted, bake on foil or parchement at 350 for 12-15 min or until crips) and easy to eat.  They are very filling.  I understand that kale is a memeber of the same family as garlic, so baking them brings out the garlic flavor.  I hate steamed kale, it is bitter as fuck, but these are completely different.

 

So week one went well.  Weeks 2 and 3 are always harder for me, though.  It's when the novelty wears off, the weight loss slows down, and you just want to eat Cadbury eggs.  I'll get through it, though.  I have before.  One thing that might help a bit is some Paleo bread I got today at Woodman's.  It's not like "real" bread, but it makes a dandy fried egg sandwich.  Something I have been missing deeply lately.

With bacon.  Duh.

 

 

Today at CrossFit we were doing Open WOD 13.4.  It was a ladder: 95# clean and jerk then Toes to Bar 3/3-6/6-9/9 etc.  My personal best clean before today was 85# and my best push press was 90#.  I was scared shitless of this workout.  I can do toes to bar.  I can.  I've been doing a crapload of situps since the first of the year, and my core can handle that movement now.  Problem was, I had to hit not one, not two, but THREE 95# clean/jerk before doing toes to bar.  Let's just say I spent the 7 min WOD bitterly failing at the clean portion of the clean and jerk with owner/coach Grant shouting me through it and two fellow members trying to psychicly help me up out of the squat hole.  It didn't work.  Big fat goose egg for the WOD.  However, Grant wanted me to try again after the WOD...so I did.  I failed the jerk, but I hit a 95# clean I thought was 90# and then a 100# clean I thought was 95#.  Because I can't do math.  So I walked out having failed at the WOD...but with a 15# clean PR.

 

Also?  I totally cried at CrossFit.  Because I am lame as fuck.

 

Last month I got some ink.

Yes, that is my bathroom.

 

It's symbolic.  My children's names are represented with the symbols for their saints.  On the inside of my bicep there is a wound that bleeds tears and the date 1/22/09-the day I lost what would have been our second child.  On my back is the phrase "No one else will ever understand the strength of my love for you.  Only you have heard my heartbeat from the indside."

 

I need to get musculature worthy of this tattoo. 

 

 

And finally, my little baby boys are three.  Hard to believe.  They are loud and fearless and infuriating.  Here they are at Sir Bounce A Lot with the most fun ride.  The water fountain.

 

 

 

You should try a sugar detox, even if you're already Paleo.  It's a fantastic kick start.  It's also a giant eye-opener for the hidden sugars in fucking everything.  Give it a go-even if you only make it a week.

 

 

Until next time...









Something's Got To Give

Man.  Where to start?  I haven't blogged in a million years, and it's not for lack of activities to write about.  Mostly it's because I feel out of sorts.  In fact, I don't really know how to make this flow, so why don't I just break it into parts?

Work.

I changed jobs.  I'm now a home infusion pharmacist.  The job is different enough to be interesting, but not so different as to be disorienting.  I'm starting to get the hang of it, which is good, because I've been flying fucking solo for almost 2 weeks now.  The techs I work with are fucking rock stars, which is great because I would be really screwed if they sucked. I worked with a lot of great techs at my old job, don't get me wrong, but because these two are the ONLY two? They know their jobs backwards and forwards and they can produce.  My pharmacist partner is a complete 180 from my previous work partner.  For starters he and I are the same age.  I don't meet many testosto-pharmys my age.  We are mostly of the gyno variety.  He's vain, controlling, and requires constant validation.  That said?  Clearly a great pharmacist, and super fun to work with.  As with many of my relationships, I am the dude in this one.  I used to work with his wife, who is a saint for living with him, even though the selfish bitch had the nerve to crap out a kid thereby leaving me alone in the office with a whopping 5 weeks of experience under my elasitc drawstring waist.  (Love you, Bets!)  What's really killing me is this 5 days a week garbage.

Running.

I am totally half assing my marathon training.  I switched to a Run Less, Run Faster program for the 3 days a week of it all.  I'm definitely doing the "Run Less" part.  As with my last attempt at this program, I have yet to do a tempo run.  I am forced because of my schedule to do the bulk of my running on the treadmill and it is killing me.  My new treader is the bomb, don't get me wrong.  It is state of the art freaking awesome, but I HATE that I am forced to run on it almost exclusively.  Not being able to run outside makes me die a little inside.  Not getting a 5 days a week dose of sunlight in the winter months? Is making me depressed and irritable.  I didn't realize until I couldn't do it just how much of a lift outdoor winter training gave me.  I love winter training, and I've hardly done any.  That makes me sad.  I keep telling myself that )now that there are more daylight hours) running in the evening is a viable option.  Once it gets warmer I'll go out in the pre-dawn light again for runs, but with all this shitty snow then ice then dry then ice then snow we've had around here?  I can't catch a break.  Last weekend we ran the inagural Two Rivers 10-mile.  It was great.  Freezing cold and sunny, then a little snow.  I finished in 1:48:15 and felt really great.  Then I got stuck treadmill running all week.  And now I feel run down.  The treadmill is making me not want to run, and that is not okay.

Crossfit.

I am totally half assing Crossfit.  I signed up for the Open, which has been motivating, but man do I suck at things I should be better at by now.  I need to go in more than twice a week to keep improving, but I just can't get there that often AND fail at marathon training.  I need to fail at one thing at a time, I guess.  The last Open WOD I did?  12 min AMRAP of wall balls, double unders, and muscle ups.  Now, I can wall ball...but this was with a 14lb ball.  I've never used a 14lb ball.  Why?  Because I'm a damn chicken.  I did 85 wall balls before time ran out.  That is pathetic, and my quads are still spasming on the stairs after that.  Thank god for my year long challenge or I never would've been able to do all those squats.    I'm going to finish the Open and take ownership of my half-assery.  When this marathon is done (June 22!!), I am taking the running hiatus I never took last year and I'm going to make Crossfit a priority.  It makes me better, and when I'm making the effort, it makes me feel strong.  It makes me love myself, because I understand what a beautiful machine my body is.  It also drops my mile splits without speed work.  Can't argue with that.

Stress.

I am shit at handling stress.  Well, that's not true.  I've always been really, really good at handling stress.  I can work through anything, accomplish anything, and look like I'm doing fine (aside from some serious cursing).  All I have to do is get fat.  Yep.  I eat my feelings in the form of shitty carbs and I get fat.  I compulsively stuff myself with garbage as a coping mechanism.  It works, on the surface.  Then I eat a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream and feel like I'm going to fucking die.  For real.  My guts rose up against me, and when I woke up the next morning?  Let's just say I would've felt better if I'd gotten drunk.  I made it through this round of self medication without too much damage to my waistline, but only because...

Sugar.

I am detoxing again, starting today.  I have been off the Paleo wagon for about 12 days and I feel like shiiiiiiiiit.  That ends now.  Why do I keep going back into habits that make me feel so awful?  That's got to be some kind of self-loathing.  I mean, I'm like a goddamn drug addict with this shit.  It's scary.  I already feel better, honestly.  If the last two rounds repeat themselves I'll be down about 8lbs of water and sorrow by Saturday.  Damage (see Stress.) negated.  Straight and narrow rediscovered.

So there you have it.  I just laid all my shit out on the table.  I have been totally half-assing my life.  That has to stop.  I'm a grown-ass woman with responsibilities, true, but I have to do the things I love.  I have to take care of myself or I'll be stuck in this sneaky hate spiral forever. 

I'm planning to blog my detox this time around.  I promise there will be pictures instead of a series of fucked-up dissertations.

Do you every half-ass your life?  Come on, make me feel like I'm not alone :)

It's Nice to be Noticed

Did you notice I was gone?  I thought not.

Where has Amy been, you might wonder.  What has she been up to, you might ask.  I'm going to lay money you haven't wondered or asked, but you might.

Well, I was Crossfitting and not running.  Then I was sort of, well, eating all the things.  Then I was running and not Crossfitting.  Now I'm getting ready to do both.  It's time to get serious about health and fitness up in here. 

In the meantime, I've been dealing with these two goobers.  The wrapped box on the table?  Contained a drum set.  A drum set. Because our friends hate us.

And apparently so does Blogger, because I can't upload the photo.

I also knitted 2 sweaters. (Again, no photos because Blogger is stupid.)

And gave myself a manicure.

Oh.  And I got a new job.

What was wrong with the old job, you might ask?  Absolutely nothing, at the moment.  In fact, I've been at said job for 5 years and have often credited it with saving my sanity after jumping ship at Giant-corpo-I-hate-my-life-and-every-person-around-me-shoot-me-now pharmacy (aka Walgreens).  I heart my job so hard that it felt a little wrong to look for a new position.  But... (there's always a but), the powers that be have decided to restructure the department...and I really, really don't want to do the restructured job.  So I applied for an opening in another division of the company.  And I got it.  Yay me.

The reaction to my departure was not what I expected.  My boss did the hands-on-head exhale "This is going to be a huge blow to the department" thing.  He was super supportive, but clearly not happy I was going.  It feels a little good to know the boss-man will miss you.  My co-workers were all "How can you leave us!?!?" which made me feel alternately pretty guilty and kind of good that they feel like I make a difference.  I even got a couple of hugs, which was odd, because I'm not a touchy-feely type at all.   But even that made me feel a little warm and fuzzy.

My future partner wants me to start pronto, but I still have 2 weeks at my old position before I transition to the new one.  It's nice to be wanted.  I'm excited to start, but I'm sure it will be bittersweet.  As long as there is copious coffee and a place to store my cream, I'll get through the first week.  The new job is a 9-5, and I'm not accustomed to being lucid before noon!

In the midst of all this, Crossfit fell by the wayside.  I had kind of a cold, kind of a desire to run, and kind of a lack of motivation.  It's been a couple weeks since I was at the box, and I got an email from Grant on Tuesday.  It read "Do you hate me?" to which I responded "Yes."  His answer?  "That warms my heart.  Get your ass to the gym."

He noticed I was gone.  Awwwww.

So now, It's time to buckle down and get at it.  I've been mostly adherent to a Paleo diet the last three weeks after my December sugar detox (which went so well that I almost had abs at the end of it-almost).  I have my training plan mapped out for Grandma's marathon and the following Chicago marathon.  I have my spring races pretty much planned out and registered for.  I went out for a 5 miler today and finished in under 50 minutes in spite of the brutual wind (I wasn't wearing a watch-I walked in the door a little less than 50 min after leaving home), which felt good. 

I got 100lbs of bumper plates for Christmas from the hubs (how awesome is he?!?) so I've been doing some presses and weighted sit ups.  I need to get my bar downstairs and start working on my cleans, is what I need to do.  The light of my life and I have also embarked on a 1 year squat/sit-up/push-up challenge.  It's progressive, starting with 1 of each on 1/1 and ending with 365 of each on 12/31.  It probably won't start to suck until the end of March.  Then it's going to suck balls until the end of the year.  That said, if I don't have well defined arms, a six pack, and an ass you could bounce a quarter off of after all that?  I am clearly meant to be fluffy and will revert to eating my weight in cheesecake every Saturday night. 

So.  2013.  Here's what I've got so far.
March
Point Bock
Two Rivers 10-mile
April
Trailblazer half (possibly tied to Amy Z from Running is Cheaper than Therapy ?)
Oshkosh half (I always say I'm going to do this one...it's on a day my calendar says "20")
May
Wisconsin half (with the Panty Raiders!  Woo! Falon, Kim, Rachel, Linda, Amy G, the aforementioned Amy Z, Kim N, Lisa, Jamie, Jen, Marcia (who's links I can't make work))
June
Hog Wild 10k
The Bellin Run
Ragnar Ontario
Grandma's Marathon

It's going to be a good spring.  Bring it on.

Crack Open a Beer, This is a Long One

**Discaimer.  I have no clue why the damn pictures are sideways. 

Ahhhhh, time to sit back, relax, and write my year in review.

Ask me if I care that it's before 1pm.

 

You might be thinking "Year in review?  It's only mid-November!".  You might be thinking "How did I land on this stupid blog?"  Well, my racing year is over and I had a spare 15 minutes to catalog my shirts and medals, so just shut your face hole and chill out.

 

Let's begin at the beginning, shall we?  I started marathon training January 1 on a crazily cold day.  It was good practice for my first race of the year, the Seroogy's Valentine Run 15K

 

 

A super cold race (seriously -5 at the start) run on snowy roads.  An ill-fitting shirt, a chocolate bar, some sub-standard cheese spread, and a cup of lukewarm cocoa.  Totally worth it.

 

Ah, the Dick Lytie.  I wrote a whole post on how much this race pissed me off.  Check the archives.  Just a cotton shirt in a color that looks slightly dirty.  I do dig the logo, though.  Much better than last year.



 

No clue why this thing is rotated.  Oh well.  March also held the Point Bock Run, which was super fun.  It snowed heavily the night before and the course was so damn sparkly.  I put up a PR for a 5 miler on this one, and smoked my husband.  Big winner all around.  Also free beer.

 



 

The Door County half marathon.  It's such a pretty race, even though it was kinda cruddy for me this year.  I was a tad overconfident.  The shirt is decent, but it's tech, and traditionally this race had cotton shirts.  I got some wear out of this one at least, and it won't end up in my throw away pile.

 

My failed Cellcom Green Bay marathon attempt.  Stupid heat.  Look at that kick ass medal.  Now it's a damn coaster.  Still don't know what to do with the thing.  I've decided that I'm going to volunteer at this one in 2013 instead of run.  Two bad years in a row = done running Cellcom for a while.  I've never volunteered a race before, and I might as well start at home!

 

Ragnar Chicago. The Panty Raiders.  The start of a serious Ragnar addiction.  I loved the experience of running this race with the women on our team, but the race itself did nothing for me.  It was brutally hot.  The lakeshore was pretty, but I didn't run on it so I didn't care, and the finish line was a total clusterfuck.  Still, Ragnar is a phenomenal experience.  Run one, okay?

Ragnar Great River.  The perfect Ragnar experience.  Beautiful weather, a busload of superfun teammates (all complete strangers), and a great finish time due to perfect performances by all team members.  Fuel for my Ragnar fire.  The fact that you get a sweet ass double medal for Chicago + GR was awesome too.  Look at that thing.  It's epic.

 

Oh yeah, between those Ragnars I ran a marathon.  I'd reorder the page, but that's a lot like work.  It was an inaugural-the HFM Maritime Marathon.  A wonderful event.  Run it.  You get a free brat, some good beer, and ice cream!  The shirt fits like a bag and the medal is a little flimsy, but hey, it was their first year.  I'm still happy I went for it and did this one.  I'll do it again.

I did the Packers 5K in here somewhere.  Can't find that shirt anywhere, which sucks becuase it's kind of a nice cotton shirt.  It's bright yellow, too. 

 

The Fox Citites Marathon Relay.  The Drug Dealin' Divas.  This was a great, great time.  We are all in the same department and we had a blast supporting each other.  It was my first marathon relay, but it won't be my last.  No beer at the finish, so boo on that, but the shirt is decent and the medal is really nice, too.  

 

 

The Cruisin' the Corridor (ie Whistlestop) 10K.  This pullover is actually really nice, but I wish the stitching was in a contrasting color.  The 5K and 10K aren't technically "Whistlestop" events, since they are run by a different group, but the happen simultaneously.  The 5 and 10K benefit the library.  I love to run, I love books.  Double win.  The day was gray for this one, and I had Cyprus Hill running through my head throughout:

 

"The sky up ahead's like a canvas of gray.  I don't know how much time I'll be given to stay.  From the first break of light to the end of the day, I'm just living my live 'til they come carry me away."

 

That is a great song.  And it touched something in me that morning.  

The Fall 50.  Love this race, in spite of the terrible parking and overcrowdedness.  One day I'm going to do this bitch as a solo.  Then that Mr. T starter kit of a medal?  Is gold, mofo.  I've been doing this race for 3 years with the same team of awesome, funny, kind, and ridiculously tall people.  Love you, Bonnies!

 

The Tyranena beer run.  Dude.  It says "Beer Run" on the shirt.  Win.  Brooks Cadence out for their inaugural half.  Verdict:  They felt good throughout.

 

Ragnar Tennessee.  Cold and hot and narrow and steep and uneven and dark and scary and hilarious and awesome and terrible.  We got some free swag from Glimmer Gear, we ate fantastic donuts, I consumed copious amounts of pork.  Personally I came out of it unscathed, with nothing more than a slightly achy left arch.  Note to self:  Brooks Cadence are not up to a quasi-ultra Ragnar when you are a "heavy runner" (which I am, being a whopping 162lbs).  I ran 4 legs for a total of around 21 miles on this one.  I was not sore, I was not stiff, I had no pain.  The same can't be said for everyone else!

 

So that's it.  That was my year.  Know what I learned?  I deeply, truly need to clean out my closet.  I have more running clothes and shoes than regular clothes and shoes.  The Athleta catalog causes a feeling I can only describe as lust in my heart.

 

Actually, what I learned is that I really love running.  I do.  It sparks something in me.  I feel alive when I'm running.  Free.  Even shitty runs are amazing.  I walk taller on days I've been out for a run, I feel healthier, happier.  My children can tell by my clothes that I'm headed out for a run and they say "You go run, Mommy?  I wave on the porch!" and as I run down the driveway, Charlie raises his little fist in the air and shouts "Run fast, Mommy!!".  When I come home, Lily asks me "Did you have a good run, Mommy?"  I love that I can set this example for them.  That physical activity for the love of it will be part of their normal. 

 

So far for next year I've got one half, two fulls, and a Ragnar on the calendar.  That seems a little thin...I'll have to flesh it out with a bunch of 5Ks, 10Ks and half marathons.  I mean, I'm going to need some new shirts, right?

 

Anyone reading this-I have 4 spots still open on my Ragnar Niagara/Ontario team.  It's next June, and it's going to be amazeballs.  You know you want to.



Panty Raiders Reunion (and other sh*t)!

The Tyranena Beer Run.  A beautiful, rolling course through neighborhoods, down farm roads, and along the Glacial Drumlin trail.  An "unofficial" beer stop, a huge lasagna dinner, and two free pints of delicious Wisconsin beer.

Oh, and these bitches.

We are a group of awesome, aren't we?

 

 

I missed out on the slumber party aspect of the weekend, what with my bizarro work schedule and the need to find an all day sitter for my boat load of little kids.

 

 

Seriously, woman, this is all you got?

 

The medal was huge, and the post race meal was great.  It was super fun to see all my Ragnar ladies again.  We even planned another reunion in May at the Wisconsin half marathon!  I will do my best to make sure I can participate in ALL the weekend's hijinx for that one. 

 

So how did I do? 2:27:30.  I was happy with that.  I did the first 10 miles at a pretty good clip, then decided that I had no reason to leave it all out on the course (still had to go home and parent a crap load of little kids solo, after all) and finished out at a walk/run.  I was also grievously undertrained, so the fact that I felt good the whole time and finished under 2:30 was reason to celebrate.

 

So was the discounted take away beer at the finish line.

 

Overall, Tyranena is worth running.  Do it.  It fills up fast, so make sure you get on it right away!

 

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In other running news, I competed in the Fox Cities Marathon Relay with a group of women from work.  We were the Drug Dealin' Divas and we had a great time.  I ran the anchor leg (because it was the longest one and "You do this all the time" even though there were several ladies on the team that routinely run half marathons!!!) in 1:02:?? and we finished as a team in 4:50:28.  I was very proud of my teammates, one of whom is a brand new runner who had never run 5 miles in a row before that day, one that had just recovered from a broken foot, and one that just went through a major medical issue.  We got custom shirts from My Race Ragz, the same company that provided the extra awesome Panty Raiders shirts displayed above.  We had so much fun that we'll probably do it again next year!

 





It was cooooooooold at the start!!

It was an ankle strap chip.  Getting some help with the hand off!

 

 

My loving husband and I took a trip to Ashland/Bayfield for the Whistlestop in October.  We just ran the 10K, because I needed a new PR (which I got with 1:01:33 gun time-no pad at the start) and played around in the area.  It was fun, beautiful, and very relaxing.

 

We played 18 holes in 31 degrees.  It was awesome.

 

 





We also did the Fall 50 (beautiful as always) without getting DQ'd this year.  In my opinion, that race is getting too big, but that's a post for another day.

 

Lesseee....what else?  Oh yeah, I ran another Ragnar.  I wrote a post about it, but it disappeared.  I have to get up the ambition to write it again, so stay tuned.

 

I am officially on running hiatus until February.  I never took my summer hiatus, so I'm ready for the break.  My goals for the interim are to CrossFit it up and go all Paleo crazy (my sister got a seasonal job at Neuske's...can you say DISCOUNT BACON?!?!?!?) until it's time to start marathon training.  I want to clean 125lbs and deadlift more than my bodyweight (170lbs would be 5lbs above my bodyweight, you nosey bitch) by Feb. 1.  I figure if I can get lean and mean, I can pick up some speed and finish my next marathon a hell of a lot faster than my first! 

 

I'm sure I will run.  I can't resist a cold snowy run, but I won't be specifically training for anything for a while.  In December, the hubs and I are going to to the 21 day sugar detox.  That should be interesting.  But hey, if I want to be a MILF, sacrifices must be made. 

 

I'm also thinking of organizing all my medals and race shirts from this year into a "My Year in Review" post.  Something tells me I won't get around to it, but you can't fail if you don't try :)

 

Do you take a yearly running hiatus, or do you train train train?