Goodbye 2014 .... Bring on 2015

My goals for 2014:
1.  Run 1200 miles
2.  Do 2 unassisted pull-ups
3. Compete in a new event (anything I haven't done before - distance or type) 

I'm ready to say goodbye to 2014.  It wasn't a great year for me with running.  Actually it was probably my worst year ever.  Here is how my goals ended up.

1.  I ran 525.64 miles - not even half of my original goal.  I had so many months of 0 miles and am still only running 2-3 days a week. 

2.  I got my pull-ups this year and even did a workout where I did like 60 pull-ups total.  AND I got a strict pull-up down too.  This was all back in the spring before my surgery and now I am back to being able to barely do 1.  Oh well. 

(Valentine's day right when I first got my pull-ups - 

not pretty but I got my chin over the bar...barely)

3.  I competed in the Crossfit Open this year.  It was a whole new ball game for me.  It was a 5 week long competition with 1 workout each week.  There were some serious high's and low's for me during this.  But I'm glad I did it.

Now onto 2015.  I have no idea what goals to set for this year.  I am still struggling to get back into a routine with working out and don't want to push my body too hard until I am fully recovered.  But it would be weird to not set any goals so here are my 3 fitness goals:

1.  Do a body weight back squat by June

2.  Run 750 miles

3.  NOT GET INJURED!!

It is time I get a routine back too.  My plan is to do crossfit 5 days a week.  Do 2 short-tempo runs and 1 long run a week and 1 rowing workout a week.  This should keep me from running too many miles but help me get back in shape. I want to be in half-marathon shape at all times.   

2013 in Review

Overall this year of running has to be the best ever.  Running in the Boston Marathon was simply amazing and something I never thought I would do.  To top that off I set PR's for my 5K, 10K, half and full marathon distances.  I can't look back at 2013 and be sad.  However, I also ended the year on a sad note with issues on both of my feet and not being able to run pain-free.  I miss running so much and these injuries have helped me see just how much running means to me.  

Top 10 Running moments of 2013:

1.  Running the Boston Marathon with my brother and sister

 

2.  Wasatch Back with the Housewives

3.  Being a pink emissary

 4.  Setting a new PR for every distance race

 5.  Ragnar Trail - and trail running in general

6.  Running the STG marathon in 3:32:00!!

7.   Running the Disney Cruise 5K

 

8.  Running 16 and 20 miles on the treadmill

 

 9.   Wearing pink for every run in October

10.  Running with my new puppy

My 2013 goals:  
My goals for 2013 seemed simple when I set them in January.  However, I only completed 1 of the 3.  Sad. 

1.  Run 1000 miles.  This one I completed and then some.  I ran 1588.80 miles this year.  This is a big deal for several reasons.  First, it's not an even number.  I'm a bit OCD with stuff so that fact that I didn't force myself to run 1600 miles shows I'm a changed woman.  Second, with my injury I barely ran in Nov and Dec - so to have this many miles is awesome. 

2.  Do a half-ironman.  I didn't do a half-ironman because I signed up for the STG marathon and wanted to focus on that.  I think I made the right decision and I'm glad I did because that race was amazing for me.  

3.  Do 2 unassisted pull-ups.  I still can't do these.  But I'm stronger than I was at the start of the year so I'm still happy with my progress.

2013 Races:
I am so glad this year of races is over.  I did more races this year than ever before.  Here's the list:

April:  Boston Marathon
April: Pink Series 5K (PR)
June: Utah Valley Half Marathon (PR)
June:  Ragnar - Wasatch Back
July:  Freedom Run 10K (PR)
August:  Ragnar Trail Race
September:  Disney 5K
October: St George Marathon (PR)
October:  Pink Series Half Marathon
November: Snow Canyon Half Marathon (new PR)
November:  Courage 4Kuu 

Now onto 2014.....

2014 will be a very different year for me with running.  This is the first time in more than 5 years that I haven't already been signed up for a race before the year starts.  I don't even have any races planned out on my calendar.  I'm going to be out of town during Wasatch Back so I'm not even doing that race (sad, sad, sad).  I'm not sure what I want out of my running this year, except that I want to let my body rest and recover and simply get back to the fun part of running.  I don't want to train as hard as I have the last 2 years - instead I want to try new things and have fun. Wish me luck - this is very hard for me.  :)

My goals for 2014:
1.  Run 1200 miles
2.  Do 2 unassisted pull-ups
3. Compete in a new event (anything I haven't done before - distance or type)

Throwback Thursday

Finish line at the UV marathon June 2012

Last year I set the goal to train and qualify for the Boston Marathon.  I had only done 1 marathon in 2009 before.  I found a training program.  Started this blog and made my goal a reality.  In June of 2012 I ran the Utah Valley Marathon and the conditions were horrible - hot and a serious headwind the whole way.  I missed qualifying by a couple of minutes and was heartbroken.  Now I'm almost done training for my 4th marathon in a 16 month period.  I know my body better than ever before and I know how hard to push and train.  But man am I tired and ready for a break.  No matter how tired I am right now I am not going to stop pushing hard and finish my training with a bang so I can race hard in a few weeks at St George - it's 36 days away!!!!

This week's workouts:
Monday:  10 mile run
Tuesday: spin and crossfit
Wednesday: 8 miles total w/ 4 one mile intervals @ 7:20 pace and crossfit
Thursday:  8 mile run 
Friday: rest
Saturday:  22 miles

My 2013 Fitness Goals

My 2013 Fitness Goals:

1. Complete a half-ironman
2. Run 1000 miles
3. Do 2 unassisted pull-ups

That's it - just 3 goals.  These should take up most of the year though.  I am also going to do lots of races.  I'm already signed up for the Boston Marathon, 2 half-marathons, Ragnar and a 5K.

Today started my official Boston training.  So now no more excuses when I'm tired I have to get myself ready.  Today's workout was a 9 mile run.  Sadly it was 3 degrees when I woke up so I had to do it on the treadmill.  I sure hope it warms up soon!

25 Golden Rules of Running

Today I saw this posted on pinterest - 25 golden rules of running.  These are from Runner's World and I love these rules.  There is a lot for me to learn from these.  Here are some that really spoke to me.

1. The 10-minute rule.  I'm really bad at doing an official warm up.  Once I hit start on the garmin it's time to go.  I'm always slower my first mile, but I don't really treat it like a warm up. 

2.  The Race-Recovery Rule.  Obviously, I don't follow this rule.  I ran Ragnar 6 days after my marathon....not 26 days later.  No wonder it hurt so bad and I ended up taking weeks off after Ragnar!

3. The Heads-Beats-Tails Rule. This made me feel much better about my marathon since it says a headwind adds 15-25 seconds to each mile.  And boy did we have a headwind that day!

4. The Conversation Rule.  No problem here I'm a group runner and we love to chat for the majority of the run (except when we go uphills and do the tough stuff).  I rarely run with music when training because I'd much rather talk :)

5. The Seven-Year Rule.  I had no idea that runners improve for 7 years.  I wonder when my official start as a "runner" is for this?  Hopefully I have a few years left before I taper off.  I have run off and on for years and years but I didn't really start training hard until a few years ago.  And so far I've gotten faster each year for the last 3 years.....I'd love to have 4 more years in me.

6. The Sleep Rule.  I tend to sleep a lot but I didn't know you need one extra minute per each mile you run every week.  I guess I need a bit more sleep.  The funny thing is that as my mileage increases I have to get up earlier to get my miles in so I probably get about that much less sleep instead of more.  Ha.

7. The Refueling Rule.  I'm pretty good about this.  I love my protein shake and it has a good amount of carbs in it too.  I need to check if I'm a 4-1 ratio on my carbs to protein.

8. The New Shoe Rule.  I knew this rule but I think my shoes have been wearing out faster than 400-500 miles.  I usually go through 2 pair for every 500-600 miles but maybe that's because they are such light neutral shoes.

9. The Speedwork-Pace Rule.  If my max training is 20 seconds faster than my 5-K pace I should do my speed work at a 7:00 - 7:15 pace. 

10. The Tempo-Pace Rule.  So for tempo runs it says I should be going 30 seconds slower than my 5-K pace which would put me at 8:00 min/mile.  Exactly where I am on pace - but it says to run this for an hour.  I've been doing 5 miles which is 40 minutes.  Can I do it for an hour?

11.  The Long-Run Pace Rule.  This isn't something I'm good at.  I've read over and over that you should run long runs slower than your race pace and it just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.  I'm definitely not running my long runs 3 minutes slower than my 5K pace.  They are slower and I don't mind stopping to take my GU's or grab a drink on these runs....but my overall pace is more like 1 minute off my 5K pace.

12. The Finishing-Time Rule.  If this rule holds true I can achieve my goal of qualifying for Boston.  With the chart listed my marathon time should be 3:39:42.  We shall see if this holds true for me next month.

Looking Back

Today while I was getting my butt kicked by the treadmill and my speed workout I was thinking back to early last October when this adventure began.  Rather than do a basic 12 week training program I decided to do Smartcoach from Runners World and basically it just starts you training that day (thank goodness the girls were up for the challenge so I didn't have to go it alone).  My "training" will end up be 36 weeks for the Utah Valley marathon and a full year for St. George.  CRAZY!!  When I first started I thought it might burn me out but honestly I don't know if I've ever loved running more than I do right now.  I feel stronger running than ever and I spend way more time running too :)

The first week of  the training my speed work was an 8:00 min/mile.  I remember feeling great that I conquered it and today I was running close to that for my "jogs" between my speed intervals.  The distance was only 4 miles with 2 mile intervals too and today I did 10.5 miles with 5 mile intervals.  It makes me happy to see my progress.

The crazy thing is when I started this program I was already in "good" shape.  A few weeks after I started it I ran a PR at the Snow Canyon half marathon. I love feeling like I can push my body this hard.  I don't want to get too anxious or excited about the marathon but really I'm more excited than nervous at this point.  I am going to do my best to have a positive attitude and go into this marathon ready to kick some butt!

Today's workout:  10.5 miles total.  Warm up 1 mile. 5 sets of intervals at a 7:18 pace with 1/2 mile jogs between then finish with another 2 miles then a half mile cool down walk.

Tomorrow:  rest before the 22 miler on Friday!

Sign up for a race!

This morning when my alarm went off at 5:00 am I quickly realized I am not ready for real life to start.  The last 2 weeks have been so much fun and I'm not ready for it to be over.  But I got out of my warm bed and headed to the gym to teach spin. 

Today's workout was a RPE workout - we went between level 6 & 9 for 45 minutes.  It went by fast and is a great way to burn lots of calories.  I found the workout in one of my Fitness magazines created for a treadmill and modified it for spin.  Then after spin I lifted weights.  I really do love my double workout days once I'm at the gym. 

One thing I love to challenge my spin class to do is to sign up for a race in January.  It's a great way to stay motivated and more fun than simply setting a goal of "go to the gym" or "lose 10 pounds".  So if you haven't signed up for a race yet....get to it!  Any race will do - 5K, 10K, 1/2 or full marathon, a bike race, a triathlon.  It doesn't matter what it is as long as it will challenge you.

I am already registered for the UV marathon and Ragnar 2012 and committed to the STG marathon in October!

1000 miles & Race Shirts

Today on my 9 miler I hit the 1000 mile mark for 2011!! It has been so fun tracking my miles. A great goal for any runner to set.

Here's a question for you. Do you wear your race shirts?

I have a long sleeved one that is one of my very favorites but other than that one I never wear them. I don't know why. Maybe because they are short sleeves and I prefer tanks? Maybe I don't like being tagged to a race? I really don't know.

I wore my Ragnar shirt today because it was a little too chilly for a tank. Half the run I thought about why it was the first time I've ever worn it.