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By kilax, December 17, 2015 6:08 am

Even though we moved in to our rental house two weekends ago, that doesn’t mean we were completely out of our townhome. Ha. Not at all. In fact, I think we’ve been over there every day since we “moved out,” except the days we were out of town in Dallas.

And going back and forth has been exhausting.

But last night, we took the last of our stuff and cleaned up. I think we are FINALLY out of there.

I thought I’d feel some sort of sadness over leaving my home of 8.5 years, but I didn’t at all. I am ready to get out of there and on to our next adventure. The rental is feeling like “home” for now, and even Data has found his groove there, too. As Gina said when I text her our last photo in our first home (below)… bye, Felicia! Ha!

Empty and ready for the next owners!

Okay, okay, there is ONE thing I will miss – my walk in closet. Cry. How does someone who doesn’t care about fashion have so much clothes?!?!?

Comments (66)

By kilax, December 16, 2015 5:35 am

Dallas may be the marathon for me – I’ve run it two years in a row, and set a new personal record (PR) each time!

Last year, I ran it with Gina as her first full, and we finished in 4:20:36! This year, I ran part of it with Steve and the rest solo, and finished in 3:55:34 – a 25 minute PR!

Me running the Dallas Marathon seems spontaneous, but I had been training with it in mind since we booked tickets to go to Dallas marathon weekend in late July. My plan was to train like I was running Dallas, then decide a couple of weeks before whether I wanted to run it, depending on how my training was going (and how the weather was looking, somewhat).

Then things got complicated with selling our townhome and I wasn’t sure if we’d get to go to Dallas at all (our close date is this Friday, the 18th, and making the Dallas trip meant moving to the rental a weekend early). But I kept training like I was running Dallas. Why not? Ha ha.

When we secured a rental and committed to moving in to it and being able to travel to Dallas, I signed up for the race 13 days out. Then spent a week packing and moving – nice taper!

But I felt ready and confident for the race. My pace had dropped on easy runs. I’d recently PR’d the 5K and 10K. I was able to do fast finish long runs. I hit “dream” marathon race pace on midweek long runs (sometimes faster). I was excited to see if I could PR. I wanted to do something for myself, despite how hectic our lives had been with moving.

I felt weird telling people I was hoping to run a 4:00 marathon when they asked me my goal, though. It sounded so fast! I knew I’d be happy with a PR (really, the marathon is the only distance I run with a PR in mind – I will run any other distance for fun, but the marathon is so long, I want to be for a time goal, for now), but was really dreaming of going sub 4:00.

So… long intro, per usual. On to the race.

Gina’s husband, Steve, was running the half marathon, and hoping to go sub 2:00, so it made sense for us to run together until the half split. And we mostly did.

It rained during the night before the race and sprinkled a bit race morning. When we said goodbye to Steven, Gina and Luca to walk to our corral, I was still wearing arm sleeves, gloves and a garbage bag. Then I got in to my corral and thought “WTF am I doing?” and took it all off. Ha. It was 53°F with 89% humidity and 5 mph winds when we started.

Steve and I were in corral B, which was slated to start at 8:20, but we actually crossed the start line at 8:09.

Ha ha – everyone started running well before the official start line and I told Steve and his running club friend Jasson that I wasn’t starting to run until I absolutely had to. Then, us walking was captured on the broadcast of the race. Ha!

My loose plan was to have two slower miles (hopefully around 9:20), then dial it in to 9:05s and see if I could hold on and maybe have a fast finish and come in under 4:00? Maybe…?

Steve and I ran our first mile in 9:09. Oops. Jasson ran with us for a bit. Second mile was 9:12. That’s better! In the second mile we were already off by a tenth of a mile on our Garmins, so I was really hoping I’d bank time later. I’d hate to not hit 4:00 because I can’t run tangents!

This race is a bit crowded until the half split around mile 9. Steve and I did a bit of weaving, but tried not to do much. Interestingly… we also had to duck under a DART train gate that was down. I was impressed that I did that so smoothly.

I felt hot at the start, because of my backpack, but never again after that. Sigh. The backpack. In preparation for the race, I thought WAY too much about whether or not I’d use it. I couldn’t get over how much extra weight it adds, even after reminding myself that I PR’d with it on last year, and that I am lighter (in weight) now. There is actually no way I could carry everything I need for a marathon without it, so I don’t know why I even considered running without it – probably because I thought being lighter would give me an advantage. But not when I am dehydrated – the water bladder was completely empty when I finished.

Back to the race. It was the same course as last year – starts downtown, goes through swank neighborhoods, commercial areas, neighborhoods, around White Rock Lake, on a paved trail, then back through neighborhoods and downtown.

Steve and I were trucking along. Mile 3 at 9:00, the next three miles began with a pace with an 8 (an 8! at a marathon!) then mile 7 was at 9:00 again.

We saw Steven, Gina and Luca between mile 6 and 7.

Always have to share a janky foot pic!

This is actually the only time we’d both see them until the finish. I was doing my annoying pacer/coach thing to Steve – “Remember to smile when you see them! Look like you’re having fun!” “Shoulders back!” “Pump those arms.” “Don’t be a b*tch!” Ha!

But saying that stuff to Steve was a nice distraction for me the first 8+ miles. I really wanted him to hit his sub 2:00 goal. And he was on pace!

Ugh. Then you know what happened. He needed a potty break. I felt like I needed one too. And we didn’t see porta potties ANYWHERE. Which made me feel bad, because before the race I told a lady they had them every 2-3 miles on the race. I remembered SO wrong. They are few and far between!

Steve stopped to go at mile 8.4 and I told him to text me when he finished his half. Then I continued on the full course on my own.

A little after we split, I got texts from Bobbi and Rachel who were both tracking me, telling me I was doing awesome and to keep it up. That pumped me up!

Then I saw the MOST HILARIOUS THING EVER on course that made me chuckle for awhile. A guy dropped his tape. As in, he was running WITH A TAPE PLAYER and went to flip sides and dropped it. Yes. I saw this. Ha.

After the half split, around mile 10/11 you run toward a neighborhood that has a gradual incline, and I remembered from the year before that we come back down that road… 11 miles later. Yikes, here we go!

I felt the inclines a lot more this year. Dallas isn’t very hilly, but I definitely had to push it to keep an even pace on the uphills.

So, on that incline, I was thinking “Gah, it will be so nice to run down this in 11 miles!” and “Why is the 4:00 hour pace group taking up the whole road?!” I passed them and never saw them again, despite finally stopping to use a porta pottie at mile 13 (9:08, one of my slower miles… and oops, forgot to lock the porta pottie door… can you guess what happened?!).

I knew we were coming up on White Rock Lake, which is an out and back portion, and where I rudely told Gina last year that I felt bored. Ha ha. But, oddly, I was feeling great. Most of my miles were around 8:47. I had turned on my music at mile 11 to pump me up, and it was working. I spent the out and back looking for people from Gina’s running club, and saw someone and cheered hello!

At White Rock Lake, I texted Gina for a Steve finish update. She let me know he finished at 2:01:30ish (a PR!!!) but that the bathroom break set him back. Darnit! From running with him, I know he has a sub 2:00 in his near future. Gina also text me to tell me I was doing awesome and she was proud of me. That made me feel great!

Then, it was time for the out and back turn. I knew we were supposed to be getting a wind from the SW, which is basically the direction the rest of the race is in after you turn. My weather app recorded a 10 mph wind at the finish, but man, it must have been gusting near the lake. I looked forward to getting on the tree lined paved trail – I hoped it would offer some protection from the wind.

It did! And I kept that sub 9:00 pace until mile 20! I had a 4:00 pace band on and couldn’t believe I had a few minutes banked. I was shocked. I told myself not to get cocky and to stay consistent (in my mind I was doing math like “You could run 10:00s for the last 6 and still come in sub 4:00.” No, Kim. No.). But damn miles 20 (9:10), 21 (9:28) and 22 (9:05)… I tried to eat my second honey stinger waffle and it became mush in my mouth that I couldn’t swallow. I walked through a water stop and tried to drink it down. Nope. Ditched it.

But I knew I needed to keep eating – not eating in the end of marathons has been detrimental to me in the past. I figured out last year I have to eat every 30 minutes AND drink vitamin water every other 30. Yeah, I eat and drink a lot. It works for me. I didn’t bonk my two marathons last year, and I didn’t bonk this one.

So in mile 21, we pass a CLIF booth and I get another gel. Cause you know, I dropped two on course between miles 11-13 and didn’t notice it. Then I drop another two after I got one at the booth, and stopped to pick them up. THEN DROPPED THEM AGAIN! Grr, I was getting so mad. I only went back to pick up one that time.

Trying to smile for the on-race photographers – figured I might buy some of the photos since Steven wasn’t on course that much (I did)!

Mentally, I was struggling for the last 6. But I was getting pissed seeing those three splits in the 9:00s. When we got back to that slight downhill, I tried to pick it up. Mile 23 was 8:56. Mile 24 in 8:55. Mile 25 9:08, grr (stopped to walk and drink Vitamin water). At one point in the last mile, someone told me they could see the final mile marker coming up, and I was like “NO! I DON’T BELIEVE YOU! WHERE?!” Ha ha. She pointed it out, and that gave me a boost (she also asked if I was going for sub 4:00 and when I said yes, she said “we totally have this!”). I knew Steven, Gina, Steve and Luca were waiting for me right at the finish, and I wanted to finish strong.

I should note, that in the last few miles, I was really digging deep mentally. I was getting super encouraging texts from Bobbi (they show up on my watch) and that helped SO MUCH. Kelly told me to run for her sanity (she is injured) and I thought of her. I thought to myself, “I can’t believe I might come in sub 4:00!” and almost started crying, but kept it together and told myself to finish strong for myself and the people rooting for me.

Mile 26 8:40 pace, and the last .4 miles (oops, bad tangent-ing) 7:50 pace. Ha!

I was SO freaking pumped up when I saw my family and when I got to the finish.

I love how me and this dude are in sync. Ha!

I definitely yelled “F*CK YEAH!!!!” and “YES!” and did lots of fist pumps and so on after I crossed the finish line. I got lots of high fives, ha ha!

Then Bobbi text me my unofficial time – 3:55:34. Holy cow! WAY under goal! I was so stoked!!! I couldn’t believe I came that far under goal!

Right away, my glutes were sore. I shuffled my way to bag check. Then shuffled my way to the changing tent and changed and made lots of scary noises while doing so. Then shuffled my way through a line trying to get out of there to get to Steven. A volunteer said to me “That’s the worst limp I’ve seen today!” (jokingly). I told him it was a 25 minute PR. “Holy cow, that’s awesome!” Damn right. Ha ha.

I got to Steven and we hung out a bit until Gina, Steve and Luca joined us (after watching a friend finish after me). Family photo time!!!

Gosh, I was so happy (and still am) and so out of it (not anymore, ha ha)! Steven and I made the sloooooooooooow walk back to the car, and Gina, Steve and Luca joined us shortly after a quick stop to see friends/use the loo.

Then Red Robin to celebrate! Obviously! And Gina gave me the most amazing marathon gift (I am pretty sure I’ll be wearing it every day, forever, ha ha):

The day after, my quads were a bit sore (probably from the downhills). A shakeout run helped. And meeting Meb really inspired me to want to do something BIG again!

I have to give a huge thanks to Steve for letting me crash on his half marathon PR attempt. And to Gina for dealing with me while I was up in the air about the race, then not knowing if we’d even be able to come. Best bestie ever. Errr.

And a huge thanks to them for spectating, especially with a crummy, rainy start to the morning! Steven had more of a whirlwind Dallas trip than I did – we weren’t sure both of us could go – he ended up going back Sunday night, and I appreciate that he got up early Sunday to cheer me on. It really meant a lot to me that he was there, and obviously, my bestie and otra familia, too.

Hmm, Dallas 2016? HA!

Continue reading 'Dallas Marathon 2015 Race Report'»

Comments (24)

By kilax, December 15, 2015 7:02 am

The day after I signed up for the Dallas Marathon, it was announced that Meb Keflezighi (along with other elites) would also be running the event as part of a male-female two-person marathon relay team. I was stoked to see this – Meb was a race ambassador for Dallas last year, and when I signed up, I seriously hoped he’d be participating in the event again too, and that I’d have a chance to meet him.

My wish came true!

Gina text me last Wednesday with a screenshot of an upcoming event at a local running store, Luke’s Locker, and asked “Anyone want to meet Meb?”

Um, yes, please! Sign me up! (She graciously did)

The event started with meeting Meb and getting his autograph, then went in to a question and answer session. I was nervous about saying something stupid to Meb when it was my turn to meet him. Ha ha. I jokingly told Gina and Steve I was going to ask him who he thought the other two male Americans would be to go with him to run at the Olympics, but I didn’t. Instead I told him I was excited to see him race at the trials, and asked how he felt like he was in a good spot after his race in Dallas, and whether he planned to finish out most of his training in California or go someplace with a higher altitude.

He was done signing my bib, then asked me how my marathon went. I told him “good,” then Gina says “It was a 25 minute PR!” Ha! So Meb says to me, “I wish I could run a 25 minute PR!” Then he added the “P.S.” bottom of the bib.

Everyone always talks about how humble, relatable, and down to earth Meb is, and he definitely seems that way! But I don’t recall anyone talking about how funny he is! UCAN sponsored the event and they had someone there leading Meb through some of the Q&A (before a few audience questions) and Meb’s responses and stories cracked me up. Meb talked about trying to keep going at the London Olympics when he was struggling, and thinking to himself, “Okay, if I pass the guy in fifth, I will be in fourth place. If someone gets caught with drugs, I want to be the guy that gets the bronze. I want to be that guy.” Ha ha. He also joked about how he doesn’t notice the scenery during races, because he’s focusing on how his body is performing, but that at London he thought (at one point) – “This place looks nice. Like a nice place to stop.” Hee hee.

He was positive and inspiring. He iterated over and over “when you believe in yourself and do things for the right reasons, great things will happen.” He also said several times how important it is to encourage kids to succeed. He mentioned how supportive his family is, and how that made him and his siblings so successful, and how he wants that for his three daughters.

I’m very happy I got to meet him and hear him speak – it truly inspired me! (And I am super grateful Gina saw he would be speaking and signed us all up to go! Thanks, Gina!!!)

Can you find us in the Meb selfie?

Here are a few quotes/notes from him that I jotted down so I could remember them:

• “If you do the marathon, you can do anything in life, as long as you work hard.” (Re: his first marathon and how hard it was, and coming back from that)
• “Running teaches you a lot about unity and the running family.” (Re: Boston 2013-2014)
• “Even though I run 100-120 miles a week, I watch what I eat.” Sigh. Ha ha. Meb talked about how he grazes throughout the day, doesn’t eat big portions in one sitting, and hydrates a lot before eating. “Nutrition is important – you are what you put in your system.” He promotes whole grains, and weighs himself every day when he is training. There is a part in his Meb for Mortals book where he mentions going to a gathering after church and being sad he can’t eat a donut, but thinking to himself how important his goals are, and that none of the other members of his church have running goals like that (so they can eat donuts). Reading that made me feel sad! But, like he kept saying at the event – running is his full time job, and he takes it very seriously. I… just can’t imagine being that healthy with my eating. Ha ha ha ha ha.
• He only runs on pavement two times a week – for tempo and interval runs. The rest of the runs are on soft surfaces.
• “Prehab instead of rehab” and “Longevity is huge.”
• You don’t have to perform every day, and should take off time when you need it. “Easy days are as important as the hard days, and a lot of people forget that.”

Comments (18)

By kilax, December 14, 2015 7:34 am

Highlight of the Week: Running a huge marathon PR in Dallas!

Monday | December 7, 2015: 5 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: Almond Trail, Temp: 36°/37°, Time: 44:54, Pace: 8:58 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Strength: Kettlebell Circuit & Dice Game, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | December 8, 2015: rest
Wednesday | December 9, 2015: 5 m run (incl. 10×1:00)
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 48°/47°, Time: 41:41, Pace: 8:19 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: fantastic
Thursday | December 10, 2015: 7 m ride
Bike Time: 29:35, Pace: 14.2 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Friday | December 11, 2015: teaching strength class + 3 m run
Strength: One Dumbbell Circuit & Dice Game, Difficulty: (took it) easy, Felt: good
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 44°/41°, Time: 27:14, Pace: 9:04, Difficulty:easy, Felt: good
Saturday | December 12, 2015: 2.5 m run (with Steve and Gina (on bike))
Loc: McKinney, Temp: 72°/72°, Time: 21:58, Pace: 8:47 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Sunday | December 13, 2015: Dallas Marathon
Loc: Dallas, Temp: 53°/54°, Time: 3:55:34, Pace: 9:00 avg, Difficulty: easy-hard, Felt: mostly great!

Notes:

• I usually lose my mind cutting back my running mileage during the two week taper, but the move definitely kept that from happening! We’re constantly on the go with work or house (or workout) stuff. I look forward to some time with the couch, in the future (where I am not moving it, but sitting on it).
• The rental (and final!) house has a unfinished basement which means… there is room for me to set my bike up on the trainer and leave it that way! WOO to the HOO!!! Not that it was that big of a deal to set it up and take it off each time, but I appreciate that I can just be lazy and leave it.
• I got my pre-race massage on Thursday. Typically, those massages are all about my glutes and right quad, but this time, my right iliacus was the main focus. I wonder if going up and down a zillion flights of stairs during the move got to it? My hip typically never bugs me!
• Gina got a bike, and rode it with me and Steve on Saturday while we did our shake out runs for Dallas (he ran the half). I am stoked she has a bike now! We’re already talking about her doing the last day of RAGBRAI with me and Dad next year, hee hee.
• For the second year in a row, I PR’d the marathon distance in Dallas! Ahh! What a day! I can’t wait to tell you all about it!!!!!!

Link to Training Week 320

Comments (25)

By kilax, December 11, 2015 6:40 am

I’ve been without my training partner, Kelly, for over five months! Our last run together was June 30th. Wah! Ha ha.

One of our last runs together and Kelly’s new 5K PR!

I’ve been trying not to feel too sad about being apart from each other. (REPRESS THOSE FEELINGS – SO HEALTHY!) We text and call and keep in touch. We’re still close.

But moving in to this rental house, so close to where she used to live, I can’t help but think about how cool it would have been if she was still here and I could run to her house. And how nice it would have been to run together when I was dealing with all our house stuff, and let it out all to her (in person). And how much she helped me prep for the Dallas Marathon last year, and how much that helped!

Sigh.

The truth is, Kelly was my friend I saw the most, told things to first, and confided in greatly, just because of the way I communicate. I greatly miss that. Our runs kept me SANE. They calmed me in the early mornings before a busy day. They were a pick me up when we had one of those rare afternoon runs (“this is what you look like in the daylight?!” ha ha).

I prefer running solo, or with a training partner. I’ve been doing fine, training alone these past months, but I do feel like I need to get some thoughts out of my head during a run – to another person! But you don’t really pick up someone during a running group to do that with, you know? The history of the friendship helps. You can let your crazy out, and it’s all good.

Sigh.

Writing all of this makes me think about how open I was with Kelly, and how reclusive I’ve become lately. I hate that I’ve become that a-hole person keeping things (about the house stuff) private, that don’t need to be, but I do anyway, because I just can’t talk about it anymore. And if I update you, I’ll likely have a different update tomorrow, and I also hate being that person who says one thing then it’s different the next day. So I don’t say much, unless you catch me in person.

I’ve been in my own little world, dealing with house stuff, and I haven’t done the best job of being emotionally available for other friendships. I am ashamed of it, but optimistic that things will calm down soon so I can put more effort back toward communications. They will.

Sigh.

And I will continue to hope my training partner moves back some day!

Comments (20)

By kilax, December 10, 2015 6:21 am

That’s the cat equivalent of “baby steps,” right?

I wrongly assumed it was the long corridor at the rental house that was freaking out Data. It’s not that at all. IT’S THIS:

Ha.

I realized it yesterday when I saw Data run by the office (where the ceiling fan is) in to the back room with this look on his face:

Poor guy.

But the good news is, he was brave enough to go in to the office this morning! Kitten steps! Ha ha.

The office has french doors, and when we first visited the house, I thought Data would want to be in that room all the time, looking in to the back yard! I even set up his tower of judgment there, so he could laze by the doors in comfort. It never crossed my mind that the fan might freak him the eff out.

Eh, I am sure in no time, he’ll be in there ALL the time, on my desk, meowing in my face, when I am trying to work.

Steven reminded me that the new house has a ceiling fan too, in the living area. But it’s on a high sloped ceiling so I hope it doesn’t have quite as strong as an effect…

Comments (20)

By kilax, December 9, 2015 12:23 pm

… even though I’ve bought exactly two holiday gifts this year (one this week… and one in August),

I can’t wait to give Luca this (and some practical presents, too)!

and our rental house has ZERO decorations up (does a fake Christmas tree in a box on the living room floor count?!).

I’ve been listening to holiday music since early November, and am looking forward to spending time with family and friends, but presents and details about gatherings are just not where my focus is right now.

It’s interesting to me, how our holiday celebrations have changed each year, since Steven and I’ve been married. We switch which family we spend Christmas with each year (ideally seeing the other family in mid January), and the gift exchange is different each year, too, at least with my family (whether we buy for all or draw names, etc.).

Gift exchanges have been different with friends, too. I feel like my friends are the easiest to buy for, since I know a lot about them and their hobbies, but I started asking people last year if we could do something together instead of exchange gifts, and people liked that idea. This year, I’ve asked more if we can do the same. It’s not that I am cheap (although things are tight with the impending home purchase), I just value memories over things. And with all the packing we’ve done lately, I realize there is nothing I need, and a very small amount of things I want. I really do feel shame about the amount of STUFF we have. And we’ve made SO many trips to Goodwill.

Gosh! This did get a bit Grinchy! Or at least, gloomy! Oops!

I was just thinking about this because during a meeting today, someone asked everyone what their holiday plans were and how holiday prep was going. And really, all I have done is bought gifts for Luca (which I greatly enjoy), and found a place to rent that will house the two people (Steven’s dad and bro) we are hosting for Christmas. It seems like I should be stressed about it, but I’m not. I am cool with a low key Christmas – I NEED it! We’ll get to buying presents for people, we’ll put a few decorations up and cook some fun stuff. I will see my family in January, and we’ll have more time to prep for that after we’ve settled in a bit more at the rental and closed on our townhome.

Comments (22)

By kilax, December 8, 2015 11:46 am

We moved the majority of our belongings in to our rental house this weekend. Only a few things remain at the townhome, and we’ll definitely be able to bring them over before our close date on the 18th. Phew.

This x4

We had perfect moving weather for December – sunny and comfortable in jeans and a tee. Think we’ll strike that luck again when we do the second move in (hopefully) late January?

The weekend was such a roller coaster of emotions:

• Guilt/shame – why do I have so much stuff?!
• Anxiety/panic – how am I going to get this all done in time? Can I make this home comfortable for us for two months, and to host two people for the holiday?
• Gratitude/love – it’s amazing how many friends pitched in to help us. We really couldn’t have gotten it done in the timeframe we did without them. It means a lot to me.

I’m happy to report that I’ve stayed calm… even when there was a water leak in the basement of the rental yesterday and I had to move a bunch of boxes and unpack the damaged ones. Ha ha.

Steven, Data and I all slept in the rental for the first time Sunday night. Well, partially slept. We took Data over in the late evening and he was too busy exploring to sleep (and kept me up most of the night). Lesson learned – take him to the house in the morning, for the next move. That way, maybe he’ll be exhausted from checking out the new digs and hopefully sleep through the night.

Data is doing okay. He’s eating and using the litter box (phew) but he’s afraid of the long corridor in the house and spends most of his time in the living area. Hopefully he’ll come around in a week or so. I feel bad we’re doing this to him twice. I feel bad we’re doing this to us twice. But it’ll totally be worth it when we move in to our final, long-term, home.

Comments (16)

By kilax, December 7, 2015 6:23 am

Highlight of the Week: Seeing people so pumped up at fitness boxing!

Monday | November 30, 2015: 4 m run
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 40°/40°, Time: 34:57, Pace: 8:44 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: annoyed w/the wind and people calling me
Strength: Body Bars & Resistance Bands, Difficulty: easy, Felt: hyyyyyyyyyyyyper
Tuesday | December 1, 2015: 6 m run + 10 mins strength
Loc: hood, Temp: 42°/42°, Time: 56:36, Pace: 9:26 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: half asleep
Wednesday | December 2, 2015: rest
Thursday | December 3, 2015: 8 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 37°/34°, Time: 1:11:06, Pace: 8:53 avg, Difficulty: good, Felt:annoyed for the first half/guilty for running
Friday | December 4, 2015: teaching strength class + 12 m run
Strength: Body Bards, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good, but had a headache
Loc: MT to Nippersink FP, Temp: 36°/42°, Time: 1:52:41, Pace: 9:23, Difficulty: east, Felt: good, surprised by the heat
Saturday | December 5, 2015: 3 m run + teaching indoor cycling + teaching fitness boxing + 3 m run (w/Janet)
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 30°/31°, Time: 27:58, Pace: 9:19 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Indoor Cycling Time: 54:51, Pace: 15.9 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Strength: body weight and boxing , Difficulty: easy (mostly observing), Felt: great
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 36°/40°, Time: 28:24, Pace: 9:27 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, hungry
Sunday | December 6, 2015: 4 m run (incl. 4×400)
Loc: hood, Temp: 29°, Time: 35:17, Pace: 8:49 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, distracted

Notes:

• Ugh, this week was really busy in my work and personal life (lots of appointments at the new house, packing our old house and moving to a rental house…). I felt guilty for taking time to work out, but knew I needed to do the runs to keep my sanity.
• I decided to register for the Dallas Marathon last Monday night! Then Tuesday morning, had one of my most “meh” runs of the training cycle. Ha! That’s how it goes, right? Blah, I don’t care for the taper/running less.
• Teaching cycling and fitness boxing was really fun on Saturday! I’m looking forward to teaching fitness boxing two more times this month.
• November recap time! In November I ran 211.4 miles and cycled 53 miles. I taught 10 strength classes, and kept up with my strength at home, woo hoo! On to the last month of the year!

Link to Training Week 319

Comments (6)

By kilax, December 1, 2015 5:38 am

On Sunday, the photo below popped up on my digital picture frame and I said to Steven, “Oh! I wonder if mom ever found the MBP* bracelet!”

I had buried it in the bottom of her purse on Halloween and thought she’d never find it!

Then Monday morning, I went in to the guest bedroom closet to grab a bag and THE BRACELET WAS IN THE BAG!!! GAH! I groaned so loud and stormed down the stairs and showed Steven “LOOK WHAT I JUST FOUND!” Ha ha.

The funny thing is, my mom found the MBP bracelet when she dumped her purse out to organize it at my house two weekends ago. So it did take her a long time to find it… but since she always seems to dump her purse out and organize it when she visits, maybe it was bad idea of mine to plant it there, knowing she had a trip coming up. Dammit.

I won’t see my family until January to pass the bracelet back to my mom or snister. Unless I think of something else… muah ha ha!

*MBP = male body part. That’s not what I actually call it, but that is what I write here.