Worth it...

Almost a year ago, while sitting in a seminar to become a certified running coach, the instructor asked this question: "How much time do you have to have in order for it to be worth the effort of running?" 

The answers around the class wouldn't surprise you.  Some said 30 minutes.  Some said 45 minutes or even an hour.  Some took a different tack - 3 miles, 5 miles.  You get the picture.  My response was a little different....10 minutes.

So many people find it hard to exercise because they feel that if they can't set aside that magic 45-60 minutes, then they may as well not bother.  I say bull honky.  That's the type of propoganda that causes people to shy away from making any effort at physical fitness.  Rather, we should encourage those around us to take whatever time they can find - even five or ten minutes - to invest in themselves.

Keeping that in mind, I was running short on time tonight and knew I wasn't going to get in the 3-5 miles I had originally planned for the day (we'll thank the husband for coming home late).  Part of my brain was telling me to just forget it the workout, but that part didn't win.  I snuck in a 2 mile run before heading to see a friend and felt much better for having many the effort - regardless of how modest.

I hope the lesson I can share with my kids is that it's always worth it.  Your physical well-being (or at least mine) is directly connected to emotional health.  No wonder taking a quick walk around the block can change your attitude.  I hope more people see it that way.  Happy trails!!!

Stats -

Miles:  2
Time:  20:06 (10:03 minutes per mile)
Location:  Greater Annapolis Y
Feeling:  the couple days off made a real difference for my back

Ringing in the new year...

Let's be honest, 2012 rocked and I'm determined to make 2013 even better!  But before we get to goal setting for 2013, I've got some recapping to do in order to close the books, once and for all, on 2012.

First, let's talk about December.  I haven't blogged in December. Not once.  It's not because I didn't run.  In fact I'll get to that in a second.  It's because my blog served the purpose I set out for it in January of 2012 - to log my running goal to hitting 1000 miles.  Anything beyond that was just icing on the cake.  So tonight I'm writing one last post to recap the year and set the stage for 2013 when I will launch back into blogging with gusto and new goals to track.

As far as running goes December was a bit of a rest month.  Over the course of the past year I've pushed off giving my body a real break to heal injuries and refocus my mind.  So that's what I've been doing.  While running a few miles in the process - almost 46 to be exact (low mileage, I know).  

Though low in numbers, the December miles came with a few high points.  It started with a great run with friends through Annapolis to see our Christmas tree all decorated for the holidays and to spend some quality time on the playground with kids and the camera.

December also was great for getting out and viewing the Christmas decorations all around Washington, specifically Capitol Hill.  I fancied myself a judge of sorts, looking for the best decorated houses - or at least good decorating features.  I found a few that were good enough to stop and take a photo of.  Some gave me new ideas for my own decorating and others gave me ideas of what to avoid.

Then came the real icing on the cake...a new 5 mile PR at the 2012 Celtic Solstice 5 mile run in Baltimore.  My previous PR was 42:19 set in November 2011.  Now I'll be chasing 40:38 for the next year!  I wouldn't have been able to have hit that time without my CS sidekick - Sophia - who prefaced the race with "I'm not feeling great today...so we'll have to go slow."  I think we both really surprised ourselves when the race finally started and it just felt right.  There's nothing you can't do when you've got motivation and good friends.

Who can complain finishing off a year that way?  Not this lady. 

So here's how 2012 went...I set out to run 1000 miles (check in the box November 2012), to complete my second master's degree (check in the box April 2012) and sell one of my two rental properties (didn't happen...just too much going on to put the necessary effort into it...so I'll roll that one over to 2013).  Not just icing....but cherries (GREAT BIG CHERRIES)...was a goal I didn't set at the beginning of the year because you can't predict these things...but I became the mother of a gorgeous, smart little girl from China (a journey we've been working on since 2007).  She's been running with me since August, and I think she'll be a big part of my running in 2013. 

Now to looking forward....here's what I want to reach for in 2013:

• I will run 1245 miles in 2013...this is 200 more than 2012, and I believe well within my reach.
• I will reach new time goals for myself - 4:30:00 marathon, 1:50:00 half marathon, 1:22:00 ten miler, 39:30 five miler.
• I will pay more attention to strength training and aim to do more than 3600 push-ups, 3600 squats and 12,000 sit-ups in 2013.
• I will try to unload one of my other properties in 2013.
• I will become a RRCA certified running coach in 2013.
• As a family, we will seek out and try one new family-friendly activity for the diva in our area each month in 2013.
• As a family, we will learn about and incorporate at least one Chinese tradition into our family traditions in 2013.

One last entry on the ticker - check out those miles - before resetting it in 2013!!!

Spiking the football...

My end zone dance looks a bit like Ickey Woods, but who the heck cares...I hit 1000 miles today!  Slam dunk!  Goal!  Move over second rate college quarterbacks, I'm taking home the Heisman this year.  Did I get a little too carried away?  I don't think so, after all I took down my new year's resolution a whole month early.

It wasn't easy today, that's for sure.  Due to a crazy work schedule, I lost two days of running this week.  Getting home from work after midnight and getting back up at 5am meant I was tired to begin with.  It took a lot of drive to get out the door and put in enough miles to cross the finish line, but the pull to claim victory over one month earlier than I calculated as doable last January was greater than the exhaustion...and the blisters forming on my feet.

It seems fitting to put to bed the goal around the city that has played such an influential role in many running firsts for me...Though several years ago, it's still the first city in which I ran a 10 miler and a marathon...several since both those.  It's also provided me with the routes to shed my stress through running when life becomes too much.  On this particular run I headed for some familiar sites and some new pavement.  From Stanton Park, to Lincoln Park, to RFK Stadium, to Eastern Market, past many Smithsonian museums - dodging a gazillion tourists - to the Washington Monument and finishing up near the US Capitol, it was a beautiful day, beautiful weather, and the run felt awesome.  To cap it off, I finished while Colbie Caillat's "Brighter than the Sun" was blasting through the ipod....kindof perfect.

As I was running, and knowing I was going to pass this milestone, I began thinking about what I learned over the past 11 months of pushing myself out the door on days I couldn't wait to run, and days I needed a bit more motivation than seemed to be available to me.  This really was a journey of self-discovery.  Here are just some of things I learned this year, the good, the bad and the ones that need more work:

• I am capable.  Capable of setting a goal and figuring out what I needed to do to finish it.
• I am strong.  Strong enough in body to muscle through the weak days and strong enough in mind to push myself when necessary.
• I am committed.  Committed to making sure I know the value of goals.  Committed to keeping myself fit in mind and body.  Committed to setting a positive example for my family and friends, but most importantly my daughter.
• I am crazy.  Yes, I am willing to do some things that others deem crazy - crazy distances, crazy times of day for runs, crazy to get up and go out for a jog in a blizzard.  I am crazy to ignore injuries in pursuit of goals, when those injuries could become so much worse.
• I am sensitive, but bullet proof.  I am sensitive enough to get my back up when people flippantly say to me "1000 miles?  I bet I've done that.  That's pretty easy."  But bullet proof because I've learned to let the silly comments of others roll off.
• I am self-conscious.  I have body image issues and I recognize it.  It's hard to listen when a friend tells me I look strong, when inside I'm telling myself I need to lose 15 more pounds and tone up this and that muscle group.
• I am thankful.  Thankful for my own perseverence.  Thankful for all those who helped me throughout the year by putting in the miles with me and always willing to provide moral support.
• I am blessed.  Blessed with good health.  Blessed with great friends and blessed with great family.
• I am awesome.

Who knows what I'll be able to achieve in the next month, but I'm looking forward to it. Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  11.02
Time:   1:39:46 (average pace of 9:03 per mile)
Location:  all about the greater Capitol Hill neighborhood
Feeling:  VICTORY!!!

Racing the falling dusk...

Today I had every intention of running in the morning...before spending the day in appointments at Johns Hopkins for the diva.  Out the door by 6:45am and I could have clocked 10 miles.  That would have helped big time in pushing toward my mini-goal for the week.  Alas, the diva was awake and the spouse wasn't, so no morning run for me.

Instead, I wasn't able to lace up my shoes until about 3:30pm, hitting the B&A Trail by about 3:45pm.  Is it just me or is night coming earlier and earlier?  Yeah, the sun was already well below the trees at 3:45, so I knew I needed to run like the dickens just to clock sevenish miles before 4:45pm (or roughly when it becomes too dark to be out on a trail alone). 

So I did just that...took off at a high speed (high at least for a training run...initially I was hitting 8:10 miles or so) heading north on the trail from the Arnold Station shopping center, determined to go out 3.5 miles and get back before the witching hour.  It was a lonely night on the trail, compared to normal.  Few bikers and even fewer runners taking advantage of the opportunity to get in some exercise just before night.

I'm glad everything felt good and that I had just charged my ipod.  A run with no distraction and something nagging would have made for super boredom....except running past the horse farms.  Those always provide a needed distraction and I still love watching horses do just about anything.

Just as I was coming to the 3.5 mile mark up in Severna Park, I passed a boy pushing his girlfriend on a skateboard and thought to myself, girlfriend, motor yourself.  But I'm too polite to make such comments.

The 3.5 miles back was a bit slower (and I started feeling the hard push on the way out) but was still as strong as the opening miles.  When I returned to my starting point I still had a bit of light left in the air, so grabbed an extra mile before calling it quits and heading to McDonald's for an ice cream cone (I deserved that, right?).

So it wasn't 10 miles, but it wasn't the effort of a slacker either.  With the schedule this week it's going to be tough to hit my mini-goal (hitting 1000 a month early), but I'll find a way to do it, come hell or high water.  Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  8.12
Time:   1:09:09 (average pace of 8:30 per mile)
Location:  B&A Trail north from Arnold Station
Feeling:  physically good, mentally wish I could have logged 10 miles today

Hitting 20%...

Tonight after work I had every intention of taking it easy and doing a relatively short 2-3 mile jog. After all, I'm breaking in new shoes (more on this later). However, I just couldn't resist the pull of hitting the 20% mark on my way to logging 1000 miles this year. I said to myself "what's a little bit further when I can pass that milestone today instead of tomorrow?" Well, we'll see what the difference may be.

You may recall a couple weeks ago I was complaining about back pain again. Given my SI joint injury, just a year and a half ago, I was concerned I may have reinjured the joint. That would be disastrous! I'm just now on a really good stretch with no injury and it would really set me back. After several days of running on the new shoes I had, with new inserts, it dawned on me that the pain may have been caused by going too hard too fast in new shoes without properly breaking them in first. I asked my doctor for a referral back to the physical therapist just to be sure, but also switched back to my old shoes for a while. That did the trick. A few days in the old shoes and the pain was completely gone.

So let's fast forward back to today. Today was my first day back in the new New Balance. Granted, I did decide to break in one part at a time, so the new inserts came out and my old inserts went in. At least for a week'ish. Then I may put the new inserts in my old shoes and do the same with those before putting all the new stuff back together. Because the last bout with the shoes caused me such horrible back pain, I figured I would go slow and short. Ha, like I said earlier, I threw that one out the window. So far it doesn't feel too bad, but I guess I'll see if I pay for it tomorrow. When will I learn? Oh well, happy trails!

Stats -
Miles: 4.61
Time: 41:05 (average pace of 8:54 per mile...at least I slowed down a bit)
Location: Lincoln Park and Capitol Hill (need to shake this up)
Feeling: Happy to cross the 20% threshold