Where has the month gone?! So many new things and changes this month... all for the better. We've gotten better at running have some new toys. Oh- and we even had a cat for a while there!
Here are the highlights:
1. We're still hanging onto our New Years resolutions.
First off, we've never made NY resolutions... we're just not those people. This year, when January hit, we hit the ground running. At this point, we've run every day in January. We have even lifted weights/gone to The Y to strength train at least once each week.
Our running logs show it!
Ben:
Steph:
This is impressive because we've gone from running 3-4 days per week to a full 7. It's hard not to get overly-excited about running and go nuts with the mileage. We've been really lucky for this super-mild winter, but on the days that it's cold, we just have to tell ourselves to get out the door for 2 miles. 2 miles! That's all it takes.
We run the the Y, then lift or play racquetball, and then run back. In all, it's 2.5 miles to get there and 1.7 miles home.
We've also run a couple of times at Paynetown, and Tuesday nights is rack workout night. All in all, it's a pretty packed week! More importantly, running's still fun. It's something we want to do every day.
2. Racing
On the racing front, we're planning on signing up for the Land Between the Lakes Ultra - 50 mile or 60k (~37 miles). For a cost difference of $4 between the two distances, we'll both sign up for the 50 miler and ditch out where/if we feel like we need to. I'm just going for the finish! Who knows - maybe we're running a 10k that day, maybe it'll be 50 miles. Crossing that bridge - literally - when we get to it!
If I learned anything in 2011, it's that running was much more fun when I wasn't in training mode. That's not to say that I didn't train altogether... I just ran when I felt like it - even if that was only 3 days/week. When I ran in races (Boston Marathon & NYC Marathon), I didn't go to run a PR or with intentions of running fast; I went to enjoy the scenery and finish! We chose these two big marathons because they were in cities we wanted to visit (again). Both times, the marathon was a good excuse to go, but not the primary reason for the trip. Over the course of the year, I enjoyed running more than I had in the past when I was stressed and felt pressured to run a time or do better than the last time. Combining that with the intense amount of traffic and weaving in/around people in big races, my best advice for racing is this: go to have a good time.
Besides that, we may sign up for a marathon in Europe when we're over there for Jaz & Jose Carlos's Spanish wedding. And, I might sign up for the Last Chance for Boston race in Dublin, OH next month. Who knows. I just like to run.
3. New toys!
Ben's Garmin 910
My Garmin 610
And the Nathan Vitaband
4. NYC Marathon results
The NYC Marathon is the best big marathon I've ever done. I loved our trip to New York, visiting with family, eating a ridiculous amount of GOOD food, and tooling around the city. At the end of our trip we ran the marathon. Our finish time was about 30 minutes faster than we'd planned, feeling good and comfortable the whole way. Even crazier, we walked 6 miles back to our hotel after the race. I'll get that race report up sometime....
This month, we got our NYC Marathon stuff!
A Finisher certificate:
It contains name and time for every single finisher in the marathon.
That's 46,795 people!
But, I didn't get included in the book! Sad face.
Fixing it on my own.... :)
5. My phone is still missing.
Friends, I'm not ignoring you. Yes, my phone is still missing. I haven't seen it since October 14th (Jaz & Jose Carlos's wedding rehearsal dinner) and I'm 50% certain it's somewhere inside this house.
Meanwhile, I'm using a different phone, so I'm not exactly in a hurry to replace my lost phone.
If you need to reach me, email me and I'll set you up with my temporary number....
Here are the highlights:
1. We're still hanging onto our New Years resolutions.
First off, we've never made NY resolutions... we're just not those people. This year, when January hit, we hit the ground running. At this point, we've run every day in January. We have even lifted weights/gone to The Y to strength train at least once each week.
Our running logs show it!
Ben:
Steph:
This is impressive because we've gone from running 3-4 days per week to a full 7. It's hard not to get overly-excited about running and go nuts with the mileage. We've been really lucky for this super-mild winter, but on the days that it's cold, we just have to tell ourselves to get out the door for 2 miles. 2 miles! That's all it takes.
We run the the Y, then lift or play racquetball, and then run back. In all, it's 2.5 miles to get there and 1.7 miles home.
We've also run a couple of times at Paynetown, and Tuesday nights is rack workout night. All in all, it's a pretty packed week! More importantly, running's still fun. It's something we want to do every day.
2. Racing
On the racing front, we're planning on signing up for the Land Between the Lakes Ultra - 50 mile or 60k (~37 miles). For a cost difference of $4 between the two distances, we'll both sign up for the 50 miler and ditch out where/if we feel like we need to. I'm just going for the finish! Who knows - maybe we're running a 10k that day, maybe it'll be 50 miles. Crossing that bridge - literally - when we get to it!
If I learned anything in 2011, it's that running was much more fun when I wasn't in training mode. That's not to say that I didn't train altogether... I just ran when I felt like it - even if that was only 3 days/week. When I ran in races (Boston Marathon & NYC Marathon), I didn't go to run a PR or with intentions of running fast; I went to enjoy the scenery and finish! We chose these two big marathons because they were in cities we wanted to visit (again). Both times, the marathon was a good excuse to go, but not the primary reason for the trip. Over the course of the year, I enjoyed running more than I had in the past when I was stressed and felt pressured to run a time or do better than the last time. Combining that with the intense amount of traffic and weaving in/around people in big races, my best advice for racing is this: go to have a good time.
Besides that, we may sign up for a marathon in Europe when we're over there for Jaz & Jose Carlos's Spanish wedding. And, I might sign up for the Last Chance for Boston race in Dublin, OH next month. Who knows. I just like to run.
3. New toys!
Ben's Garmin 910
My Garmin 610
 |
| The Garmin 405 I sold |
 |
| The new 610! |
And the Nathan Vitaband
4. NYC Marathon results
The NYC Marathon is the best big marathon I've ever done. I loved our trip to New York, visiting with family, eating a ridiculous amount of GOOD food, and tooling around the city. At the end of our trip we ran the marathon. Our finish time was about 30 minutes faster than we'd planned, feeling good and comfortable the whole way. Even crazier, we walked 6 miles back to our hotel after the race. I'll get that race report up sometime....
This month, we got our NYC Marathon stuff!
A Finisher certificate:
And the results book.
It contains name and time for every single finisher in the marathon.
That's 46,795 people!
But, I didn't get included in the book! Sad face.
Fixing it on my own.... :)
For running together and both of us showing in the online results, it's weird that I didn't get into the book. I'm legit!
5. My phone is still missing.
Friends, I'm not ignoring you. Yes, my phone is still missing. I haven't seen it since October 14th (Jaz & Jose Carlos's wedding rehearsal dinner) and I'm 50% certain it's somewhere inside this house.
Meanwhile, I'm using a different phone, so I'm not exactly in a hurry to replace my lost phone.
If you need to reach me, email me and I'll set you up with my temporary number....
Steph,
ReplyDeleteI'm running the LBL Marathon! I'll see you down there.
Ben
About that: there's a good chance I'm going to wuss out. Ben is likely going to be working that day and I am not quite ready for another ankle sprain. ;) Let's mark it as a maybe. MAYBE I'll see you down there.
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