Hot Chocolate 15K/5K 2014

So epic, so awesome! Doing a race on my birthday! I looked wonderfully ridiculous with pink polka dot balloons pinned to my badonkadonk. Some of the runners even sang "Happy Birthday" to me on the course! Fabulous day!

The Insanity Continues...Round 4, Fit Test #16

I cannot believe that I'm doing this s*** again. I haven't been exercising, even though I want to do it. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and I didn't run. Something must be done. So for some unknown reason, I decided, "Hey...I'll just start Insanity again since it's Monday."

W...T...unvarnished...F...

And it was terrible. Terrible! I don't think I did this bad when I started Round 1! So awful, cardio carnage. Absolute cardio carnage. It was so awful, that I feel like I should do penance for it.


21 switch kicks
10 power jacks
40 power knees
1   power jumps
3   globe jumps
2   suicide jumps
0   push-up jacks
5   low-plank obliques

Tomorrow:  Plyometric Cardio Circuit (damn, damn, DAAAAMMNNN!!!)

Pavement rainbows

Hey...it counts as crosstraining for me!

This is one shelf of books (and CDs) in my home. I was moving furniture around and ended up moving four bookshelves in the process. There might have been 12 paperbacks out of all the books. The rest are horribly heavy hardcovers. As far as I'm concerned, that is my strength workout for the day.

A much needed excursion

I've never fared well with groups. When it came to group work in class, I loathed it simply because I always ended up doing the lion's share of the work. When it comes to running with a group, however, it is more of a case of intimidation. Sure, I've done my fair share of races, especially for a beginner, but I'm dreadfully slow. I'm old-turtle-trapped-in-molasses slow. As long as you don't mind my lagging behind, I will eventually get there.

And that is a source of consternation for me, because I don't like holding people back. I also worry that the thought will go through their minds, "Wow, if she's that slow, how did she do that XYZ race?" Well, I did it. It just took me a while to get to the finish line.

Today I went out with a group, a local BGR group. The irony of my source of intimidation is that it makes me panic and go even slower, thus risking being the holdout that I dreaded. Even though I was among the last, I still felt like a winner. I was greeted in such a welcoming manner that is still shocking to me. People I just met remembered my posts on our page. They wanted to have their photos taken with me. The love and appreciation I felt was unmeasurable. I cling to that bright light, and I cannot wait to run with these ladies again.

Shoot for the Moon challenge

Guess who's happy about today's mail? THIS CHICK!

Last year, I participated in a year-long group challenge called "Shoot for the Moon". The goal was for the group to cumulatively run or walk enough miles over the year that would equate to the distance to the moon. We logged our miles online daily. The goal was to reach 238,900 miles by December 31. We reached 258,974 miles! You get the medal or t-shirt after the race is over. My challenge finisher package arrived today! The medal is bigger than a DVD!

Fat Chick Running, ready for Year 3

In 2012, I decided to give running another try after giving up on the pursuit numerous times. That year I finished 12 races. In 2013, I finished 34 races--including my first half marathon and my first Spartan--and two challenges (Dirt in Your Skirt 100 and Shoot for the Moon). Let's see how much of that wall I can cover with race bibs in 2014!

I'M IN RUNNER'S WORLD (well, my question is, but still)!!!

Here is the original tweet.

I'm ready...

A great day

I had a great run today! I'm off work for the rest of the year so, I went to Mass and then headed for the trail afterward. I ran for a little over half an hour. I even tried to run up this monster hill (emphasis on "tried to run"). On the way back, I stopped for gas. It was nothing but guys and one grandma there. All eyes (and smiles) were on me in my BGR gear! I usually get weird looks when I'm out in my BGR gear. This was a very pleasant departure! This elderly black woman looked at me and she smiled at me and gave me a "You go girl!". I felt so proud. 

I don't understand why I miss runs the way I do. They always make me feel so alive after they are done!

The Assessment

There are 11 days left in the year, and while I've made some progress, there are some things in my life that need work if I'm going to get to my Running Nirvana. I realized that I am really terrible about allowing outside distractions (translation: other people) interfere with my health pursuits. I've got to stop being quiet and start saying, "Nope, it's exercise time. You can either join me or come back in an hour or so." While I made a great effort to take control of my sleep, I didn't realize that my sleep environment can easily take control of me. No more being patient with loud neighbors! I looked at my sleep record and saw that I was averaging 3.06 hours a night until I fought to get my sleep back. Is it any wonder why I've been struggling to workout?

Even though I have improved, I still have a problem with eating. Years ago I had this awesome rhythm: on Sundays I would cook my lunch for Monday and all the snacks I needed for that week. I need to reinvent that rhythm. Being tired and hungry is a recipe for disaster!

I also need to stop getting sucked into the snack vortex! When other people come over and they are hungry, there is a 99.999% chance I will eat whatever they are eating. I need to flip that script! Finally, I need to start being nicer to myself. I need to believe that I deserve to be on this journey. I need to stop letting people get in my head because I'm not the same size I was six years ago.

It's time for an upgrade.

RW suggestions for a playlist

http://www.runnersworld.com/running-playlists?cm_mmc=NL-Womens-_-1531882-_-12182013-_-20-Great-Playlists-for-Running

Back to the track

I didn't make it to the trail, so I headed to the track. It wasn't fun with people standing around on the track and their kids playing ball on the track. However, it is done. At the end of the day, that was all that mattered.

30 min run

Renewal pt 2

Renewal

The Blerch was tempting me something fierce this morning. But my dog would not let me go back to sleep. So I got up, got dressed and went out. After discovering that the track was being used by douchey track team, I decided to give a public trail a try. It was surprisingly devoid of people. The peace and calm was the perfect accompaniment to the scenery, which was reminiscent of Robert Frost. While I was out running, I felt alive for the first time in ages. Why was I not doing this every day? Why was that sloth monster holding me back? Being out on that trail made me feel whole, it woke up my listless soul. I felt connected and at peace. A 6.05 mi run/walk was completed today.

Time for some help

I've been a bad, bad chica.

I haven't exercised in ages--maybe once last month. This is shameful and highly disappointing. Maybe it is time to start looking for an accountability partner.

Ugly run done

It was short and it was ugly, but I got a run in this morning!

I asked Miles, he answered!

Anyone with a subscription to Runner's World is familiar with the column Ask Miles. Miles bluntly answers your runner-related questions ranging from spouses being jealous of run partners to road etiquette. I tweeted him this afternoon, but didn't expect a response because I figured he would be really backed up with tweets. He responded!

It was just around the block. Barely a mile of work, but oh it felt so wonderful to feel my feet hit that pavement during this morning's run!