Big Things Are Coming

A lot has happened since my last post.  Marathon training officially started on January 29th.  Right around that time, I officially entered the Newport Marathon.  Race number 632--here I come!  I am really looking forward to the race and visiting Oregon and Washington again.  And maybe a little excited about visiting the Rogue Brewery again, but that too will come.  It looks like we will get a townhouse in Newport and stay there for two nights.  I'm very much looking forward to that...and hoping I'll be able to sleep the night before.

My biggest worry about training for a June marathon was the winter training.  This winter has really been very nice so far on the weekends and the perfect year to train.  Unfortunately, the biggest winter storm so far came during my first weekend.  And the cold/flu/virus thing that I acquired.  Oh was I sick!  I missed my first long run, a whole week of training, my second long run and it put me back a little into the third week  For a while there it was (and still is somewhat) difficult to walk up the stairs.  But back into it I must be so today I ran a long run with my friends Maureen and Kelcy.

Kelcy, Maureen and I after our long run

I used this photo in spite of my remarkable double chin.  I'm telling myself it is endearing.  Maureen, Kelcy and I have trained together for years and they make me feel like I can do anything.  Even when I was dragging behind today, they are so encouraging!  The three of us work in the same district.  Maureen replaced Kelcy when she went to work at a different building.  I love to hear their English teacher discussions as I plod along trying to breathe.

The 8 mile run was tough for me today.  It was about 30 degrees at the start and 38 by the finish.  We ran the trails near Maureen's in an out and back route.  I hadn't slept well last night and wasn't feeling great.  My legs felt fine--little soreness here and there but overall ok.  I just felt tired.  And slow.  Before next week's run I want to work on drinking more water through the week.  With my birthday this week I haven't been eating as well as I usually do and will work to improve that this week.

I'm proud of our run today and can't wait for next weekend.  This week I will have some big challenges to getting in my training runs.  I have an early morning meeting on Tuesday and Parent/Teacher conferences on Thursday.  That means Tuesday a.m. is out and probably Friday.  I will have to be creative with my gym time.  Saturday is District contest.  I look forward to seeing how my kiddos will do.

Fat guy in a little coat

Today the weather was much more like January in Iowa.  It was drizzling and around freezing which said to me--run inside, you moron.  So I chose to run at the gym today for my 7 mile long run.  I ran for time and didn't really look at the mileage, so I'll hope it was close.  The plan was to run for 40 min and do the elliptical for 40, but when I got to 50 minutes on the treadmill I decided to just keep going for 70 minutes. I hope it was close.  Either way the best part was the movie Tommy Boy playing on one of the TVs.  I haven't seen that movie in years and absolutely love it.  It was great to hear some of the all time greatest movie lines that have been repeated again and again with my high school friends.  I must admit, indoor running was not fun, but it was so much better than I could have imagined thanks to cheesy high school movies.  Not so much here or here, but right here.

First Long Run

Last week didn't work out for my easy 5 mile run, so this weekend was my first official long run.  When I left the house, the temperature had been reported as 36 with winds about 16 m.p.h. but it was 52 when I finished.  Not your usual early January run in Iowa.

This was a view shortly after 3 miles into my run.  I wanted to improve it with Instagram, but the January blue sky and blazing sun over a wet sidewalk from melting snow was perfect in its entirety.

The run was tough because I haven't been doing long runs and haven't been training as much as I should. But I went and it went just fine.  I learned that if I stopped to walk a little I could just keep going.  The most important thing to do is keep building, so if I need to walk a little in the winter, I need to walk a little.  It's better to go the distance than go for time.  It was only 6 miles, but it was a start.  Sometimes that's all you need.

154 and counting...

In 154 days, I hope to run the Newport Marathon.  I have 154 days to train to run 26.2 miles.  I heard about this marathon two summers ago when Dan and I visited his cousin in Seattle.  She ran it earlier that year and loved the course.  When Dan and I visited Newport ourselves later in the trip with my dear friend I was hooked.  I fell in love with Newport and wanted to make the marathon my goal.  Last year didn't work out since I had bunion surgery in January.  But this year?  Here we go!

Dan and I with the Newport bridge in the background.

The real reason to return to Newport :)

To be fair, taking more pictures like this in Seattle would be fun, too.

So far I have started my training slowly.  I hate HATE hate running in the cold Iowa winters.  I joined a gym in December and have been running on the treadmill.  Not quite the same, but better than nothing.  We have been blessed with a mild winter so far which means I need to just suck it up and get out there.  My training officially begins January 29th and I need to be up to 8 miles by the following weekend.  I'm hoping to keep a record of of my training so that when I'm really stressed and busy in March I remember why I'm doing this.  Happy training!

Recovery is hard.

There was a Saturday Night Live sketch with Will Ferrell as George Bush (W, not H) where he says "Presidenting is hard."  Recovery is hard.  I'm struggling to get myself motivated to even go for a walk these days--the weather is bleh (articulate I am not) and I'm sooo tired.  And then I dream of future races, of traveling to races, meeting future goals and then I'm grumpy.  Then I remember my troubles are nothing compared to some.  And then I'm grumpy again at my shallow behavior.  Recovery is hard.

Recovery benefits

I don't post very often because, well, let's face it--I have two polite people who read my blog.  I have been home from school for about a month after bunion/bunionette surgery and I am loving it!  Some important things I have learned while being home:

• I really can't do everything.  At the beginning especially, I could hardly do anything by myself.  I have now mastered the art of carrying a coffee cup to the living room (move left crutch with hand, right crutch hooked under right armpit and move with hip, hop, don't spill coffee) and figured out how to get laundry downstairs to wash.  But, I can't do everything.  I can't clean, go to the store by myself or do much of anything.  It is freeing. 
• I can do anything if I have to.  I had a blood clot after surgery and I was to have to give myself shots for 5 days...which turned into 2 weeks.  I REALLYdidn't want to.  But I thought about my friend who does it every single day during her pregnancy and I realized I could do it.  And now I can do anything--Phillippians 4:13 for Pete's sake :)
• Even though I am not at school I still spend 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours per day doing Speech stuff.  Emailing, checking up on scripts, making arrangements--and I still have yet to practice.  I don't know how I do this when I am actually working.
• It's OK to ask for help.  I need help with Speech.  I have people doing practices for me. And they want to help.  It's OK.
• I want to be a TV host for a travel or cooking show.  Contact me if you need a TV personality.  I want that job.
• Speaking of jobs, I'm ready for a new challenge.  A friend who changed jobs this year told me that her new job isn't any less stressful, she just traded one set of challenges for another--but she enjoys those more.  I'm willing to try a new set of problems.
• Evernote.com--if you haven't used this, check it out.  I have been wanting a place to keep the recipes I like that I read in blogs but didn't have a place.  I created an account, downloaded it to my PC (mac is getting old--darn) and now I have an organized place for my recipes.  I can tag them (desserts, main dish--whatever) for easy retrieval.  I have been organizing training plans there, too.  Love it.  Easy and worth the set-up.
• Another site I found since my life has changed recently is monthlyinfo.com.  Useful, ladies.
• I lost 3 pounds.  Notice these major revelations are getting more trivial?
• I miss running and yoga.
• I have great, thoughtful friends.

Oh--and this is what I have been doing for the last month.

In love...

Every year we have an extra day on MLK day and get paid per diem rate. A few years ago we had an absolutely wretched speaker and all day I counted my money to purchase my "-- -- shoes". I found my new shoes...

Harvest MJ - KEEN

...really, they are the same as the last pair, just a new pattern. But alas, no per diem for me and no shoes. *sigh*

I have a feeling they will end up at my house eventually.