It's Been Awhile

Ack...the holidays and all this blessed snow got me sidetracked and off schedule.  I'm back now and have been hitting the gym really hard this week.  Next week starts my half marathon training.  I'm running the Niagara Falls Women's Half Marathon.  I'm pretty excited.


I did run the Robbie Burns 8k and dropped 4 minutes from my best time on that route.  It was crazy cold, but it was a nice run.  Here I am after the race.

This was my first race as a 40 year old.  Not too bad.

This weekend we run the Valentine's Day Couples 5k.  James will be running as well.  We found out that we were going to have him this weekend so we got him registered as a single.  He's pretty excited about that too.

Because of all the snow and ice, I've been running on the treadmill this week.  I'm hoping that over the next few weeks it starts to clear up so I can do my long runs outside.  I just want a safe place to to them.  I'm really nervous about twisting an ankle on the ice and snow.  Or getting hit by car due to the incredibly high snow banks.

I've been hitting the weights this week as well.  It feels good to be back into a routine after being out of it for a few months.  I think when I'm looking at my training schedule, I'm going to have to accept that December and part of January are just crazy and I just need to get a run in when I can.  

This week has been all about getting on a schedule so I can start training next week.  I'm ready to hit it and hit it hard!

Half Marathon Training here I come!!!!

Day 1 of Training For My Next Goal Race

Today is my first day of training for my next goal race; The Robbie Burns 8k in January.  It will be my first race as a 40 year old.  I've run this race 2 other times and I love it.  The course is flat and the route is nice.  My first year, it was my first run longer than 5k.  Last year I ran with a strained hamstring.  This year I want to kill it!  My goal is under 55 minutes.  My 8k runs with River have been pretty good.  I'm feeling good since I've been back after my half marathon.  Last week was my first week of good solid running and I felt really strong.

Yesterday I was able to get out for a long run before the swim meet.  River and I ran 6.5 miles.  I had to really force myself out the door because I was tired.  I was only going to do a short run, but I started getting my water bottles together and River's water bottle together.  Pretty soon I was out the door and heading down my long route.  We ran through the country on a crisp morning.  The wind was blowing, but there was only about a mile that we were running into the wind.  That was a tough mile though.  I felt good for most of the run.  There was about 10-15 minutes that were rough, but River pulled me through it.  I felt really good after the run and River was sacked out for Mike and James while I was at the meet.

This morning we went for a short 2.5 mile recovery run.  Last week we were lucky in missing the rain.  Today not so much.  We had just started the run when it started raining.  Because of the temperature, the rain was slushy and icy.  River didn't like the rain and slush at all.  She is very much a fair weather dog.  She was pouting a bit on the last half of the run.  She is a trooper though.  I'm glad that she will come out running with me.

I wanted to be back in the gym tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I can since Mike is out of town and James gets dropped off so early.  I might have to do speed work with River at the "track" between the schools.  She'll like that as long as it's not raining. 

Now I'm off to get my week started!  Take some time today to remember all those who have served our country.  Thank you for you service!

Robbie Burns 8K

I ran my first distance over 5k today.  I ran an 8k and was really happy with my time.  My goal was to run it in under an hour and I ran it in 58:53.  I felt pretty good running too.  I know where I'm at right now and what I need to do to get ready for my 10k in April.

Here are a few pics from the race.

This past week was really busy.  We celebrated my birthday on Wednesday.  It was nice.  Mike made salmon and blueberry salad with stuffed Portabello mushrooms.  He and James got me a cake as well.  We spent a nice quiet evening at home.  Just what I wanted.

Friday I went and joined the gym.  It was my Christmas/birthday present.  I'm adding weight training to my running and it will give me access to a dreadmill and other machines for my off running days.  I also got 6 sessions with a personal trainer and I start those tomorrow.  I'm really excited about that.  It will get me started.  I'm going early to get a recovery run in before I meet with him.

We have been getting snow this week.  We get some then it warms up and melts then we get more.  I just wish it would make up its mind because its really killing my head.  Plus running outside is crazy.  I am getting some Yaktrax this week so that I can run out in the snow and ice and not slip all over the place.  I want to run outside as much as possible because I HATE running on a dreadmill.  Plus so far I've been lucky with my races and haven't had to run in snow or ice...yet...I know it's coming though.  I would rather be prepared.

I'm looking forward to a great week!