Goals for 2013!!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

 

The verdict is in and overall I did pretty well with my 2012 goals :) Here are my results:

Goals for 2012:

1. Run over 450 miles. I actually managed over 466 miles this year!
2. Do at least 12 events, including one that is not solely running. I did 14 'in-person' events including a sprint tri, a rowing event:) and 3 more virtual events!
3. Complete two Half Marathons (yikes!). I did one Half and a 10-miler so I was a 5K short :(
4. PR at two different distances. OK so I'm cheating a bit here - I technically PR'ed at the 10-miler and a virtual 5-miler since I've never done these distances before ;)

I have mixed feelings about this year to be honest. I definitely added a lot of variety with some obstacle events and plenty of cross training mid-year. I also managed to transition to a whole new routine in a new city. Moving house twice has been the biggest challenge over the past year but I have still managed to stay active throughout and more importantly managed to stick with it throughout the hot summer. The big success of the year for me though in 2012 was finding Lu! Having a running partner has added so much joy to the process for me and I treasure our friendship and the accomplishments that we have shared :).

So, here are my goals for 2013...drumroll please...

Goals for 2013:

1. Run more often. I managed to get miles in during 2012 through plenty of long runs. That said, I didn't run as regularly as I'd have liked to. This year I ran on average just over twice a week. In 2013 I'm shooting for an average of at least 2.25 runs a week.
2. Do at least 12 in-person events, and one each month. This will keep me active all year round.
3. Complete two Half Marathons. This time I mean it :)
4. PR at two different distances - existing ones. No cheating allowed!
5. Lose 15 pounds. Nuff said.

My fitness level has already suffered from too much Christmas season over-indulgence so I'm really going to need to step it up! I've added a bunch of events for 2013 on the blog so that I can start planning now. For Christmas I have a lovely new pair of sneakers and a shiny new bike trainer and rack for my car too. So no excuses! I've also found a local Weight Watchers group. 2013 is going to be amazing!!! Happy New Year!!!

Hero Rush!

When we saw there was going to be a firefighter-themed obstacle race in the area (www.herorush.com), Lu and I thought it sounded like a real challenge and something a bit different to try. We made the hour and a half drive to some of the most gorgeous scenery you can imagine in Ocala on Saturday morning. For the first time we were actually late(!) but the organizers were really cool about the whole thing and put us into a later wave. Which gave plenty of time for pre-race photos :)

Teamn Daaaammmnnn! members wear matching headbands. Since Mike wasn't able to join today - we went for sparkly ones :)...

 

There was smoke everywhere which was a bit ominous...

 

 

We wore gloves mainly to look fierce but they did actually come in handy for the very first obstacle - the firefighter pole. I really, really had a hard time with it! It looked like such a long way down. But I took a leap of faith and it was actually easy in the end!

 

And then we were off for the rest of the 4.2 mile, 17+ obstacle course...yikes...

 

The obstacles were challenging both physically and mentally. We had to drag tires over walls and under barbed wire, get through a smoke-filled and a foam-filled maze, climb the usual walls, hay bales and fences, and go through a couple of icy baths. All of the obstacles had a firefighting spin and for the first time we did EVERY single one of them!!!

 

There was a kids course too and at the end of the race the spectators got to watch us get blasted by ice cold fire hoses operated by the kids. Here I am getting out of the water shouting "she's a teacher" as Lu gets lambasted. I'm such a good friend :) 

 

 

But she saw the funny side...unlike pink headband lady who had evidently lost her sense of humor...

 

Some poor guy actually fell into one of the fires - but was OK thankfully...

 

Finishing is winning!!!

 

Loved the medal and the T-Shirt!!!

 

So now we are offically "Rushers" and with a whole new respect level for real firefighters :)

Happy Running :)

The official photos are in and this is what happy running looks like :)

Making a Comeback!

Today was a very, very special race for me for a number of reasons:).

My last race (the Tower of Terror 10-miler a couple of weeks ago) was a huge challenge for me which really damaged my confidence. I have also been through a house move since then and have only been able to squeeze in one measly training run since. On the treadmill. Which barely counts:(. The house move has been incredibly stressful too and I've been so fed up. The Space Coast Half training plan requires a decent weekly long run so with last week a bust I really needed to do at least 7 miles just to stay in the game this weekend which really put the pressure on. So all in all, I wasn't exactly feeling sure that I would actually be able to finish the ironically titled "U Can Finish" race today.

The race was a Distance Dare with a 5-miler and then a 2-miler. There were medals for doing both so I got a nice and sensible early night on Saturday night, and got up at 5am this morning for my big comeback race!!

 

Challenging goals are so much more achievable in bite-sized chunks so Lu helped me to strategize and we decided to run the first 5 with 5:1 intervals, walk a mile in between both races and run the last 2 miles straight through for a total of 8 miles.

 

It was a perfect running day and the sun was just coming up as we got started. The race course was through the UCF campus which is amazingly pretty :)

 

 

As usual with all Track Shack events, it was really well organized and attended. Here we are after the 5-miler and 1-mile walk ready for the second part of the race...

 

Me and "Fire Socks" in action...:)

 

 

Love running with little kids in the short race...

 

And kids at heart. I want to be just like her when I grow up:)

 

Lu knows how to make running fun :)

 

 

We laughed a lot and focused on having fun and just finishing...

 

 

The strategy paid off perfectly and I just stayed focused on each piece as the run unfolded. Before you know it - we were all done!!

 

And then we lost the car:(

 

I remembered eventually that I have a "locate my phone app" which put an end to our wandering aimlessly across campus parking lots. But you know what? I think we walked for about 4-5 miles extra! Which means we probably did a Half Marathon today. Totally awesome and exactly what I needed!!

Tower of Terror 10-Miler!

On Saturday night, Team Daaaaaamnnnnn!! showed up for Disney's Inaugural Tower of Terror 10-Miler! The Expo was fantastic as ever and our old friend Jeff Galloway was there offering words of wisdom. We bought matching team headbands and I bought a ridiculously expensive new running skirt. The race started at 10pm so we got there at 7pm to get on the bus nice and early...

 ...and enjoy the amazing pre-race party. There were over 10,000 people there - it was such a blast!

Life has been incredibly hectic lately and I haven't been getting my minimum three runs a week in regularly enough. I have been able to kind of stay in with weekly long runs though, so we decided to: shoot for 5:1 intervals, start in the last corral, stay together as a team and just focus on having a great time :). At about 10:20pm we were off!

There was a beautiful full moon and I started out really well. At about Mile 4 however, it all started to fall apart :(. Firstly it was really hot and humid which always makes me miserable. Then, I made the silly mistake of wearing clothes that I had never run in before for the first time. My skirt was weighed down by my camera and gu chomps and once it was completely soaked with sweat, it kept falling down which was very annoying. Then my ipod died. Then, for some reason, I completely lost all confidence and just wanted it to end. My "I love running, I hate running" headband came true:(. Lu was a fantastic coach, however, and really helped me to refocus, and Mike ran behind me for moral support (and he said he liked the view ;)). And just over 2 hrs after we had started, thankfully we were done!

The medals were adorable!!

 

And after a beer and some ice on my head, I started to feel a bit better...

 

 

I felt pretty sick for the rest of the night and not so great the following morning either. On the positive side, my body felt fine during and after the race. It could have been worse I suppose - I didn't even have a blister! That said, I'm really happy that this one is behind me and recognize that running twice a week just isn't enough to stay in the game for long races like this one. Hopefully things will settle down a bit after the move and I can get back into my running groove and back on the training plan for the Space Coast Half. And for now, I'm so glad it's over! We did it!!!!



Rock 'n' Run 5K!

We haven't done a regular 5K since July and one of my favorite races - the Puzzle Run - was cancelled on Labor Day weekend :(. It was a bit of a hike out to Casselberry but this one looked like fun so Lu and I decided to do it! We have both been struggling a bit with keeping up the 'love of running' so our goal today was just to have a great time!

 

The bands were a bit serious for us but we had a great time anyway!

 

My time was 31:17 which was faster than the 911 race this time last year:). I haven't shown any improvement on pace through Summer so I was pleased to see that all of the hard work with my long runs is paying off now that the temperatures are a little cooler. I was also pleased that today was probably the first race that I didn't lose sleep or get nervous over! It's crazy that I still have such low confidence and it's taken almost 3 years to believe in myself that I can actually do this now! However, the Tower of Terror 10-Miler is coming up next on the schedule and for that race, I am genuinely terrified...

More AMR!!

The photos came in from last weekend and they are great! Can't wait until the next one!!

Team Daaaaamn! looking good before the race...

 

Yep - that's as far as I made it on the monkey bars!

 

 

The cargo net was huge!

 

We all made it!!

 

Mike loved the slide at the end :)

 

The big finish!

Exhausted and exhilarated!!

Love my team!