On cutting myself some slack...

I just want to address something here that I think every woman can relate to... runner or not.

I am so hard on myself! I have such a full, blessed, wonderful life and yet I'm the last person to appreciate it. Before long runs (or even short runs) or races I'm often talking negatively to myself saying "I'm not going to get a PR" or "I'm so not in my best shape" when the reality is it's huge that I'm even racing and training and putting myself out there! I've had a crazy year! Like insane. I traveled 30 out of 52 weekends this year (and the ones I wasn't travelling for included my bridal shower, my wedding, and working 3 and 4 jobs all weekend), got married, changed full-time jobs 3 times, visited friends and family (most of whom live out of state!), was in two weddings (which included 3 weekends of travel for bachelorette and showers), started a new job, began married life (aka two HUGE adjustments) and hosted Christmas for over a dozen people. I ran an ultra marathon, a marathon (and PR'ed by 10 minutes), ran a half marathon (on very little training) and a couple 5k's and 10k's.

I have had 40-mile weeks and I've had 5-mile weeks and everything in between. My coworkers and friends think I'm crazy for running when I've had 4 or 5 hours of sleep and have "a free 20 minutes" but the reality is i LOVE it! It is my me-time, my God-time, my outdoor time. I need to get back to the basics of why I run and stop getting angry with myself for not running as hard and as much and as fast as when I was in college (when I was a collegiate runner and it was my JOB to be an athlete and before i had hips! Or cellulite haha)

Anyway I think for the New Year I really just want to give myself a break and remember why I started running and why I love it! My resolution is to talk to myself positively and not get discouraged with myself when i can "only" fit in 2 miles or 3 miles or "only" lift 2 times a week. I have no goals for running other than making sure my life has lots of balance!

Finally put up my Christmas present from my mom! Can't wait to fill it and change those PR's this year! :D

Christmas week 2015

I just wanted to summarize Christmas week! B and I hosted 14 people (both of our families and their significant others!) and had an absolute blast but neither of us could do ANYTHING last night. We live at a retreat center so we got them two big cabins where they all slept and we made all the meals/decorated over there! Somehow our house is still a mess though...

I am thinking about some running/fitness goals for 2016 and I want to look back on 2015 to see what I've accomplished running-wise and I'll do this later this week.

Monday: Off (needed a rest day!)

Tuesday: 1.6K row (about 10 mins... should've gotten in more but I had baking/cooking/shopping to do!) and 25 mins of lower body. I have really been pushing myself with squats and deadlifts lately and I look forward to improving even more

Wednesday: Ran a quick 2 miles before work in 17:59 (just under 9 min/mi)

Thursday: UNBELIEVABLY HOT for Christmas Eve!! I was so sweaty. I ran 4.81 mi in 44:17 and then did 10 min of upper body. I knew we had family football on Sat so I didn't want to be too sore!

Friday: Enjoyed Christmas! No workout today. It was beautiful out but I was cooking and hanging out with family so wasn't worried about it.

Saturday: 90 minutes of family football! Not constant running but the stopping and starting and two-hand touch left me super sore! I decided to run 2 mi afterwards and I was soooooo sore! I immediately regretted it but knew it would help with stiffness tomorrow.

Sunday: 3.1 mi run and then 15 mins of upper body lift.  I was sore again on my run (mostly my quads and calves) and it poured rain the entire time. Looking forward to getting back on my grind this week!

Last Week in Training

It has been so beautiful here! We have only had one or two nights of snow and cold and other than that, it's been unseasonably warm.

Last Saturday and Sunday Brad was out of town and I didn't have to lifeguard so I took advantage and spent lots of time working out! It is very hard for me to stay motivated during the holiday season because there are so many other temptations and I have so much to do (this year we are hosting both of our families and buying/wrapping presents for/cooking for 15 people! I am also working on a quilt for my SIL that I should've finished weeks ago...).

Anyway, here is a review of my last week + in training:

Saturday, Dec. 12th:

6.2 Mi Run Early Afternoon--felt like trying out a new route! It was challenging but enjoyable
2.05 Mi Late Afternoon--I hadn't showered yet and figured why not run again before it gets dark?? 60 degree weather -- I ran with just shorts and a sports bra and arm warmers! :-D

Sunday, Dec 13th:

4.77 Mi on a trail I've been meaning to explore for awhile! Again it was PERFECT weather! Was at a good pace for the first 4.15 mi (8:40) then I used the last bit for a cool down (9:30).

Tuesday, Dec 15th:

Spinning Class, 40 min. I'd been meaning to check this class out! I'm happy I did and can't wait to go back.

Wednesday, Dec 16th:

2.5 Mi Trail Run--Beautiful day for a run!
3400M Rowing machine--it is slowly becoming my favorite workout!
Lower body lift--felt great!

(I got a second wind after work and worked out for 1 hour +!)

Thursday, Dec 17th:

5k Run on the trails
Upper body lift--really pushed myself today with a new exercise--circle curls!

Saturday, Dec 19th:

Only had time for a 1.5 mi run due to some weekend plans/having to lifeguard 6a-11a but I ran as fast as I could finishing at 6:55 am

Sunday, Dec 20th:

1200M Swim--Lifeguarded again and the pool was empty for awhile so I swam!

Clearly I was all about crosstraining/trying different things this week and it was fun! Helps with my work-out ADD.

My first post!

I started this blog as a way of documenting my training and recipes that I like and because I'm having trouble keeping track of my running PR's and the races I've run. I also wanted to share how easily one can eat healthy on a budget both for one and for a family!

I also want to expand my horizons this year and run a triathlon so I want to use this as a springboard to talk about my training and I'm always reading other people's blogs so I thought I'd give it a try! :-)