The Start of a New Season

Has it really been six months since my last post? Six months and 15+ pounds! I tried for most of last year to get some inspiration back for running. After the marathon I had a hard time getting into training consistently, mostly because I didn't want to train consistently, if that makes any sense. I had nothing major I wanted to accomplish, combine that with a freezing cold winter and I was pretty lazy with both my exercising and healthy eating.

One of my last posts mentioned trying to get the funk out... well I think six months later, maybe, I have done just that!! A change of the seasons helps. Both having the weather improve and the summer race season approaching, has put a spring in my step. My "runiversary" is coming up and I got inspired big time this past weekend for a couple of reasons. I'll get to that later. Now don't get the wrong idea, even though I haven't been blogging I have still been running, sporadically. I did quite a few late fall and winter races and my total race mileage for 2013 was 115. Not too shabby considering I was only 5 race miles down from 2012 and I wasn't really trying for most of the year!

Turkey Trot 2013

I decided to sign up for the Lake Effect Half Marathon again hoping that would keep me running through the winter. Well at least February, who knew winter would continue into April! I knew since I PR'd last year and had only done a long run of ten slow miles that my time wouldn't compare. I just tried to not have it be my worst time and that worked. Thanks goodness for the train wreck that was Oak Tree 2012!

Awesome spinner medal this year!

March came along and found my Dad running his first half marathon! I went back and forth on running with him, especially since I liked this race so much and finally we both came to the conclusion that I would spectate. So I went all out! I made tons of signs, drove around like a crazy person beeping and yelling, and totally teared up at the finish line. I am so proud! Can't wait to run one together. We also tried another race in Syracuse for the first time, The Shamrock Run. This was so much fun and we will be returning for sure!

One of many signs...

Before...

After!

I did set a goal at the beginning of the year to try to run 3-4 half marathons throughout the year so I would have reason to keep doing some long runs. In April, I did my first major race 3-peat by completing the Flower City Half Marathon. This was the first long distance race I did and I met some amazing people, who I still run with today, at HFM training in 2012.

Now I don't recommend my training plan, but I didn't run for the entire month leading up to the race. For one reason or another life just got in the way. I decided, after chatting with another runner, that I would go into the race with a run/walk method, and see how I felt going forward. I would run 2 miles and then walk 1. I also figured I would walk some of the major hills. When I started I felt great, I should have since my legs were very fresh! The weather was perfect and the race went so well for me. Yes I was super slow, but I found that  I didn't even need my run/walk strategy, my walk breaks were usually short and I had such a great time overall. I also saw lots of familar faces that I hadn't seen in a while and it helped me to remember why I love running and participating in races so much!

Accidental twins, me & Katie at the
Flower City Half Marathon

During the Lake Effect half Marathon I found myself running around the same pace as a girl Kaitlin. Turns out she is from Rochester too! We had a great time running and chatting and even though she smoked me at the finish line, I was secretly hoping we would run together again some day. Thank goodness for social media and my good memory, because I found Kaitlin on FB and we actually got together for a run this past Saturday. We messaged back and forth and I created a route based on where she wanted to start and how many miles she needed to do. Kaitlin had 10 miles on the schedule, she is training for her first full, I said I would join her for 5 so I found a loop. I felt like I was back to my old self planning routes and looking forward to running.

Turns out it was pretty sunny and warm Saturday morning but it was a beautiful run. There were tons of people out, it was sunny with a breeze and we had so much fun. It went by so fast and our pace matched pretty well. We made it back to our cars and I headed home and Kaitlin went back out on her own for some more miles. After I went home and got ready for the day I decided to head over to North Ponds Park in Webster to check out the Mind The Ducks 12 hour race. I could only stay for an hour or so, but I had so much fun cheering on my running friends and watching then accomplish this amazing acheievement. It got me thinking could I run for 12 hours on a 1-mile loop, I'm not sure but I think I want to find out!

This Sunday marks my "runiversary" with the Lilac Festival races. It was the first 5k race I trained for and began this whole running journey. In 2011 I ran the 5k, in 2012 I got cocky and ran both the 5k and the 10k, last year I was in Cleveland running my first full marathon and this year I plan to return to run just the 10k. I'll have a race report on Sunday or Monday.

And you thought you were done having to read my blog, I'm just getting started...again!

Ton of Fun- Week Six (Half Way)

Okay, something is definitely up this week. I don't know if it is mental, physical, cosmic, spiritual (as in someone has taken over my body) but I am in a funk. A funkadelic, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, Funky Cole Medina, kinda funk. Okay, now that I have checked all the "funks" to make sure I keep the blog PG, please tell me it isn't just me? Is it the weather, the change of the clocks, was some sort of tired/lazy spell cast on me? It is probably none of these things, I probably just need to make some positive changes and get out of the funk on my own, but it's difficult. If you haven't guessed it already in all of my funkiness, I gained one pound this week, which is WAY better then I thought it was going to be.

Is it possible to have Spring Fever when you haven't
gone through winter yet?

My week started with an awesome, new to me, 5k last Saturday and a lovely full body massage at Shear Ego. Compliments of Rob for my birthday. He made a good point that if he buys me gift certificates for them, then he doesn't have to do them. Sneaky, but smart. So it would seem as though my week was headed in the right direction. But by Monday night I was laying on the couch feeling exhausted, not quite feeling right and went to bed in the middle of one of my favorite TV shows. Thank god for DVR. Tuesday I felt a little spark of inspiration and knew that if I didn't run as soon as I got home I could very well get swallowed by the couch again. So I skipped the Cobb's Hill run and decided I would kill two birds with one stone and run to the polls to vote! I thought this was a good idea until I arrived at the location and stood in the privacy voting area with my ballot and proceeded to sweat all over the counter, whoopsy! I wound up running a little over two miles, not much, but I was happy to be outside on a beautiful fall day.

The view along the way.

I wish someone gave me a sticker
every time I went for a run!

Wednesday I packed my gym bag to go to my weekly spin class and I just didn't have the energy or desire to go. Instead I went home, cleaned the kitchen, made dinner and did laundry. At least I got some stuff done that needed to get done, but this didn't help my energy level or mood. Exercising and eating right is like a double edge Ginsu knife, when you do it, you feel great and have high energy. But when you are in Funkytown and can't escape, the last thing you feel like doing is sweating it out, but that is probably what you need to do the most! 

Thursday is my typical weigh-in day at FF and for the first time in 7 weeks I did not do an official weigh-in. I had other errands and priorities that got in the way, and even though I could have made the time with a little more effort, I just didn't. So I weighed in at home and recorded my weight in My Fitness Pal, which I do every week regardless of my progress. It keeps me honest since not every week is going to be rainbows and roses. So there you have it, week five, in all of its funktastic glory!