Last week was full of fun, excitement, craziness, and running around in preparation for Christmas. Along with the usual holiday stresses, I also conquered my toughest training week this go-around.
Bad parts:
I ran for 30 minutes on Tuesday, and it STUNK! I know by eating a bunch of unhealthy food my running is affected, but for some reason I'm still too dim-witted to make that connection until I'm suffering in the middle of a poor run. The best part of that run was that it's over!
Also, leave it to the fabulous governmental system of USPS to put a major damper on my Christmas by failing to deliver my running skirts. The computer says they were delivered, but they never made it here. They were either dropped off at the wrong house or someone decided to try to make their holiday a little more sparkly and bright by stealing my skirts. If the later is what transpired (which I'm guessing is true), deep down I hope it's some humungous, hairy man who lifted them & was terribly disappointed by his treasure.
Good parts:
My post-Christmas run went much better than the pre-Christmas one. We decided to make it a family bonding time by letting the boys play with Shawn while I ran at the park. My mom bought me a fantastic long-sleeved running jacket (my first one with thumb holes), and it's perfect! It fits me very well, has lots of airing panels, and helped keep my hands a little warmer. I had seen others with the thumb-holed jackets, and I wondered if I'd like them or not. I LOVE them! :) I was able to knock out a 2.5-mile run in my 30-minute time, and since I'd continued to eat poorly over Christmas, I was pleasantly surprised that it went okay.
Best parts:
My long run on Saturday was probably the best. I had the pleasure of enjoying the run with my dear friend Carol. She met me at the park and we did a few laps together. Then, since she's not training for a race (and neither of us wanted her to get injured), she would rest a lap, then join me on the next lap.
Here's how the mileage broke down:
Mile 1 - 12:01
Mile 2 - 11:40
Mile 3 - 11:52
Mile 4 - 11:40
Mile 5 - 12:02
Mile 6 - 11:49
Mile 7 - 12:17
Mile 8 - 11:38
Mile 9 - 11:43
Final 1/2 Mile - 5:41
Total Time - 1:52:29, 11:50-minute pace
I set another PR! We decided that an achievement like that deserved a celebration, so we went to Rise Cupcakes across the street from the park for cupcakes. After running off over 1,000 calories, I felt like I could splurge a little bit...
When I looked up my pace when I got home after my run, I discovered that if I could keep up that pace for another four miles, I should be able to finish my half-marathon in under 2:45, a full 15 minutes faster than my goal! It makes me feel so much better to think that I have a very good chance of meeting my sub-3:00 finish time, barring any issues. I'm now currently praying for great weather & no injuries or illness between now and the end of February! Well, that and the arrival of my second order of sparkly running skirts...
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