Instead of running

Yesterday, instead of running*, I did the following:

Shoveled some snow

Had some hot cocoa

Ate some chili and cornbread (oops forgot to take a picture)

Drank some yummy beers

With these crazy people

All in all, it was a very successful day. For those who care, "Santa's Butt" was a surprisingly good beer. As expected, Anchor Christmas, Delirium Noel, and Corsendonk Christmas were awesome. The only truly not enjoyable beer of the evening was the Magic Hat. I guess the holidays are officially over now.

*I ran a 7 mile tempo on Friday that was fairly successful and felt like running should. Today I have on tap some speed work on the treadmill.

Three Things Thursday

1. I went to the gym again today. I didn't want to, but I did it just so I could post here. Really. I did learn a few things: a)I need my ipod, b)I need to borrow some large print books from the library, and c)I need to wear longer shorts if I'm going to go backward on the elliptical. (And what the heck was up with the dude wearing jeans while lifting weights?)

2. In looking at my calendar and planning my 20 mile runs, it looks like I'll have to drive the kids to school on those days so that I can manage to run the full 20 miles while Shoo is at preschool. That just seems wrong.

3. I am currently waiting for our "handy man" to come over and take a look at a sagging ceiling in the basement. When we talked on the phone, the word "demolition" was used. That is not a word you want to hear when said ceiling is above the treadmill and Beer Geek's glass collection. My bank account is likely to not be happy about it either.

Thanks Jamoosh for your informative response to my "confidence" post. It gave me some things to think about....

Not so wordless Wednesday: Training

Some people have training plans that they've created in excel, complete with color coding and paces, etc. Mine? Looks like this:

I had another not so hot run today. It was the first run in a long time where every single mile was over 10 minutes and I was struggling even to do that. I only had 8 miles planned for the day and I barely finished. I have, however, figured out part of the problem. I got on the scale this morning and discovered I've lost 3.5 pounds since last Wednesday morning. While that's a YAY ( I still have a few more to go), when you are only about 1.5 pounds from your comfortable weight and about 8 pounds from your "skinny" weight, losing 3.5 in a week is excessive (even if some is water weight). I haven't been dieting per se, just being really careful about my snacking and trying to eat fruit and veggies first when I am hungry. I think I may try throwing in an extra serving of whole grains and maybe some nuts each day and see what happens.

Thanks for all the kind words on my last post! Hopefully soon I'll be rockin' the running again.

Confidence

Growing up, I always considered myself intelligent. I never questioned my ability to learn pretty much anything I wanted to learn. I did well in high school without half trying. I went to a top college and was not as successful as I should have been, but that was my own fault, not lack of ability (sorry mom and dad). I went to one of the top schools in my field for my Masters degree, where I succeeded without trying particularly hard. When I entered the "real world", I had confidence in myself that I would do well and be successful. And I was.

Fast forward 8 years. Becoming a stay at home mom has shaken some of that confidence. I no longer have bonuses and annual evaluations and promotions that show me that I'm doing well. There are many measures of successful parenting. By some measures, I'm an awesome mom. By others, well, I suck. The final "evaluation" won't happen for years to come. I have to reach deep inside myself to find the "smart girl" I once was. I have to rediscover that internal confidence, especially now that I am beginning to think about what direction to head in once Shoo goes to kindergarten.

What does this have to do with running? I've found that I don't have that internal confidence when it comes to running. My confidence in my running completely hinges on my last run or at least my last few runs. Last week, I was having awesome runs, hitting goal paces, feeling great. This week? Not so much. I've now had three not very good runs in a row. My legs were still tired today, even after a day of complete rest. I hit my goal pace, but I worked hard to get there. All I could think when I was running was "if I can barely finish 6 miles, how do I plan to finish 26.2?"

Why is it, that when it comes to running, I'm only as good as my last run?

Speedwork FAIL

Yesterday was supposed to be either a 5 mile tempo or 6 miles easy, depending on which plan I was using. I decided to do a 6.2 mile tempo because I was participating in Casey's virtual 10K. The boys woke me up 6! times Friday night, so I missed my morning run opportunity and decided I'd run home from Jones' soccer game. This was a great idea except for one small item - 1.5 miles of uphill. I decided I'd aim for my tempo pace for the first mile, take it easy for two miles and then pick up my speed once I hit the top of the hill.

Mile 1 was awesome. Nice flat route. Sunny, beautiful day. Hit my prescribed pace of 9:11. Woot! I'm thinking I'm going to rock this run. Then I headed up the hill. Mile 2 was finished at an awesome pace of 9:02. Um, oops. At the end of the second mile, I was DONE. Mile 3 involved a bit of walking. My legs felt like jello and running 3 miles with jello legs pretty much sucks. If I hadn't been participating in a virtual race, I would have stopped at mile 3. Instead, I pushed on and ended up finishing the 6.2 in 59:51.

Today wasn't much better. My legs still had nothing left in them. I needed to run four miles and barely managed it. I did, however, manage negative splits - 9:55, 9:52, 9:31, 9:13. I discovered in the last mile that running faster didn't hurt any more than running slow did, so I picked up the pace to just get the run over with. The one good thing about this weekend's running? If I can run sub 10:00 minute miles feeling like I did today, I should be able to do that at the end of a flat marathon. (I don't even want to talk about how much I'm going to hate the half in TN.)

Now, my legs hurt, it's gray and rainy outside, and my nose is running (thanks Jones for the lovely cold), so I'm going to go find a cup of decaf and a book and a warm blanket.

Make me happy

So, Xenia decided to tag me for the "10 things that make me happy" post that is going around. She mentioned she chose some of her 10 "tags" knowing that some of those would not do it. I considered placing myself in that category. I also consider doing 10 things in pictures or listing 10 things in one word (BeerGeek, Jones, Shoo, parents, running, books, coffee, traveling, researching, sleep), but meh, none of that worked for me.

So, instead, you are all going to be treated to "10 Beers that make me happy"* with a little commentary to entertain those of you who are not interested in beer. ;o)

1. Dragon's Milk Ale from New Holland Brewing - I first encountered this beer at Savor last year. It was the only beer I tried more than once. I "tried" it four times and on the fourth time the brewer gave me a sticker because I'd been back so often. I currently have 9 bottles of this in the basement and it tops the list of "Beers I don't like to share, even with my husband".

2. Black Chocolate Stout from Brooklyn Brewery - Back in our pre-kids days, we used to attend a big brewery festival down in North Carolina. That was the first place I ever had this beer and I spent a long time talking to the brewery rep and drinking this beer. Now, I tend to be a pretty physical person (I'm likely to hug you the first time I meet you) and a couple of beers means I'll likely pat your shoulder, hug you, hold your hand, etc. while I'm talking to you. Well, when we returned to this festival the next year, I was excited to see they had this beer and immediately went up to get a sample. As I walked up, the rep looked up and yelled out "Hey, it's touchy feely girl!" Oops.

3. Kasteel Donker - We discovered this beer on my first trip to Belgium (Beer Geek had been many times). I loved it so much that we brought an entire backpack full home. (Back in the days when you could bring liquid on a plane.) The backpack was so heavy I started tipping over backwards if I stood still for too long, but I was excited because I LOVED this beer. Not much later, I happened to be shopping at Whole Foods and discovered I could buy it less than a mile from my house. D'oh.

4. Palo Santo Marron from Dogfish Head Brewery - Sam Calgione (the Founder/President of Dogfish) offered a case of this beer if you bought tickets to Savor two years ago. I immediately jumped up and bought my tickets. A few weeks later, we drove out to the brewery to pick up our cases and get a tour and taste some beer. Beer + a day spent at the beach = my worst race experience ever.

5. Anchor Porter - Beer Geek used to bring this beer when he'd come down to visit his fraternity. I knew I was one of the "cool kids" when I got to be one of the people who got one when he'd visit. (I was still a student and you could still see through the beer I drank AKA cheap yellow beer). I love the taste of this beer, but even more, I love the memories it brings back.

6. Alaskan Smoked Porter - I love this beer so much that we have some shipped to us every year. This beer is one that can be aged and we have every year from 2002-2009, except 2005. In 2005, Shoo was a newborn and I just couldn't manage the hour+ each way to pick up beer from the freight delivery place. Thankfully in 2006 we discovered Liquid Solutions and no longer have to drive to pick it up. This makes me a very happy camper.

7. Anchor Christmas - Every year, we host a "holiday beer" tasting party. At our peak, we had 27 different beers to taste. Just for the record, that's way too many beers. Trust me. I think this year we'll be stealing Jamoosh's "12 beers of Christmas" idea.

8. Baltic Porter from Old Dominion - Sadly, Dominion Brewery is no longer in Virginia. Old Dominion beers are now being brewed in Delaware. I can taste a difference between last year's beer (brewed in VA) and this year's (from DE) and prefer last year's. If I give you a Baltic Porter from last year's case, I must REALLY like you.

9. Saranac Black and Tan - Saranac was a "gateway" beer for me. It was one of the first non-Budmilloor beers I ever had and I fell in love with beers with flavor. I loved it so much our first cat's name was Saranac Black and Tan (she was a tortoiseshell) .

10. Pete's Wicked Ale - Another "gateway" beer for me. Our second cat's name is Pete's Wicked Kitty. (And the only reason we even have a cat is because Beer Geek took me drinking at a brewpub and then took me to the SPCA. Twice. Apparently beer makes me like cats. )

There you have it. Today's a rest day, so I don't have a single running related thing to say. Happy Friday!

*Beers are in no particular order. I love them all. ;o)

Three Things Thursday

AKA "What I'm writing when I should be writing a newsletter article"

1. I went to the gym again today. I used the elliptical and the bike again and got a decent work out. It doesn't feel as much like a workout as running does, but I'm hot, I'm sweaty, and my heart rate goes up, so I'll count it. That's two weeks in a row for those of you keeping track at home. I do, however, need to invest in some of the special detergent for sports clothes. It's one thing when your clothes start stinking while out running. It's an entirely different thing when you could clear the room with your stank and you've barely started sweating.
2. I've become involved in so many different activities lately that I'm starting to have a hard time keeping track of what needs to be done for which and by when. I've not only got "to do" lists, but also "done" lists so that when I panic about having forgotten something, I can see if I actually already did it. I'm taking on a new project in a few weeks that I'm really excited to do, so I'm trying to find a way to streamline what I already have going on. I may need to break down and get some sort of electronic organizer/smart phone. Meanwhile, I'm practicing the word "No" in front of the mirror.
3. I did it! I signed up for the Bob Potts Heritage Trail Marathon on May 16th. Ack!

Feeling Beautiful and Strong

Beautiful because:

I was a lucky recipient of the Beautiful Blogger award from Lizard Runs, a local running blogger that I recently found. Thanks! I'm supposed to list 7 random things about me and then tag 7 bloggers, so here goes:

1. In high school, I "lettered" for being the track team manager and also for being the President of the Debate Team. Academic letters and athletic letters were different designs. Guess which one I put on my letter jacket. ;o)
2. I met Beer Geek when I was 20 years old at a fraternity house. He was an alum and I was dating one of the active brothers. It took me four years to figure out he was "the one", but I've now known him half my life and been married to him for almost 15 years.
3. We got married in Nebraska, had our reception in Virginia, and honeymooned in Alaska. We then lived apart for four months while I finished my masters degree.
4. Until our current house, I'd never lived anywhere longer than 3 years. I tend to get antsy now every few years and go looking for something big to do. The result of this "antsiness"? Jones, Shoo, and my first marathon.
5. I can't put a book down if there are less than 100 pages left to read, no matter what time it is.
6. One of the things I love best about running long distances is that I can eat a peanut butter and honey sandwich and drink a glass of chocolate milk and call it "fueling."
7. I REALLY love good beer and have a small stash of beers that I don't even like sharing with Beer Geek (although usually I will.)

I tag:

1. Lisa at Chasin' Bunnies
2. Christie at Cooking to Run and Running to Cook
3. Heather at Junk Miles
4. Michelle at Let's Roll Mama
5. Berry Girl at Berry Bloggerific
6. Badgergirl at Adventures of Badgergirl
7. Lisa at Discovering the Meaning of Stonehenge

(Picking only 7 was really hard, because I read blogs of so many awesome, beautiful women. I think it may also mean I read too many blogs LOL)

Strong because:

"The Plan" called for an 11 mile long run today. I pulled/tweaked something in my neck last night that resulted in serious pain and limited movement in my neck and shoulder last night. I slept horribly because the two positions that were almost comfortable were not my normal sleeping positions. It was cold and damp this morning, so I was in a crappy mood.

I made myself head out, figuring I'd at least get in four miles, so that I could switch with my Saturday run. The first five miles were rough. I felt like I was working pretty hard, but my pace would not go below 10 minutes per mile. Suddenly in mile 6, I got a "second wind" (although is it really a second wind if you never had one to begin with?) My next miles clocked in at 9:28, 10:12 (gu), 9:26, 9:30, 9:25, and 9:07 (not sure where that one came from!). I ended up finishing in 1:47:43 (55:46 for the first half and 51:57 for the second!) Last time I'm pretty sure I never had negative splits. This time I seem to be able to stay steady or go negative for most of my runs!

So, about that schedule...

Last time I trained for a marathon, I stopped racing and only did the marathon. I found that I really missed getting out there and pushing myself in a way that I never seem to do with "just" speedwork. This time, I have quite a number of races on the schedule. I've even registered for most of them. Without further ado, here's where you'll find me this year!

Capital Hospice 12K (Arlington VA)

Conveniently, I'm scheduled to run a 7 mile tempo that day.

Guaranteed PR (new distance for me)

Jack Daniels, Missy, and a new state (TN)

What's not to love?

I'll be running the quarter marathon, which appears to be slightly longer than a 1ok.

New PR guaranteed?

If I ever actually push the register button, I'll get to meet RunningLaur

and get a new state (PA).

Still tentative on this one, but it would be a new state (KY)

Soldotna Unity Run (Soldotna ALASKA!)

10 miles with my dad AND a new state!

Assuming it doesn't sell out too soon.

Pacers Clarendon Day 10K (Arlington, VA)

This is one of my favorite local races. Fast downhill course near home

(even better now that you don't have to run back up the hill LOL)

Army Ten Miler (Arlington, VA)

Yeah, I swore I'd never run it again, but my dad wants to, so I'll be there again.

I'll likely be throwing in a couple more random races - a few 5ks (definitely the local Turkey Trot) and maybe an 8k, but I still have some "unknowns" I need to work out. And if I run the three above mentioned Pacers races, I get a special "Orange Line" medal. Woot!

Spotlight on Beer: Belgian style weekend

As I mentioned in my last post, I went a little overboard on my purchasing at Whole Foods. But really, I usually only have one beer a night on Friday and Saturday night and if I'm only going to have one, it'd better be good LOL.

Friday night, Beer Geek and I cracked open the "Collaboration not Litigation" beer. It's a beer made by combining Russian River Brewing Co.'s Salvation with Avery Brewing's Salvation. Having met both brewers last year, I can imagine just how much fun they had coming up with the exact combination. The resulting combo beer was quite tasty! Both Salvations are Belgian style ales with 9.0% ABV, so the combination did pack quite a wallop. It was, however, an extremely drinkable beer with a sweet up front taste with a bit of hop bitterness at the end. Our bottle was from Batch 3, brewed in February 2009 and I'd definitely recommend trying it out.

Saturday night, we opened the Allagash Black. YUM! As you can see in the above picture, it's a very dark beer that pours with a nice head. It's not quite as high in alcohol at "only" 7.5% ABV. Poured right out of the refrigerator, it had a nice chocolatey stout flavor, with very little hop taste. I tend to drink fairly slowly, so this was room temperature long before I was done with it. I found that, like many of the dark beers I love, I enjoyed it even more "warm". This is definitely on my buy again list.

On the running front, my schedule for the year is coming together. I've signed up for a few races and am getting closer to actually pushing the "buy" button on the marathon. Soon I'll post my plans, so that hopefully I can meet up with some of my RBFs at a race. I've also signed up for dailymile, so if you track your activities over there, friend me!

Today's plan called for three tempo miles at 10K pace. It was pouring down rain, so I hit the treadmill and watched "Love Actually" while I ran. I did a one mile warm up, miles 2 and 3 at an 8:49 pace and mile 4 at 8:33, with a half mile cool-down. (4.5 in 40:50) Even with a 1% incline, the pace felt way easier than I expected. Wonder if I'll feel that way when I run that outside?

Grocery shopping while hungry

One of the first tips that diet plans (and frugal shopping sites) give you is to never go shopping while hungry. When you are hungry at the grocery store, you are much more likely to give in to impulse shopping, especially for not so healthy items.

I had to go to Whole Foods today to get a couple of things that I can only get there. I had three things on my list. Three.

Apparently when I'm hungry, I buy sausages and beer. I got what I needed plus a six pack of Anchor Christmas, a six pack of Old Man Winter, a bottle of Left Hand Smoke Jumper, a bottle of Allagash Black, and a bottle of Collaboration not Litigation Ale. Oh, and 3 pounds of sausages. Beer Geek will be a happy guy when he gets home. ;o)

I also managed to squeeze in a five mile speed workout this morning. The plan was one mile warm up, 4 x 1200, and a one mile cool down. I totally forgot about the slow intervals between the repeats when I was doing my math, so the cool down ended up being considerably shorter. D'oh. I didn't want to hit the treadmill because the weather was absolutely gorgeous (low 40s and sunny). Repeats in my neighborhood can be really challenging because of the hills, but I did a pretty good job of balancing ups and downs on all except #3. The third repeat was mostly uphill. I nearly crossed the puke threshold.

1 - 8:09 pace

2 - 8:07 pace

3 - 8:17 pace

4 - 8:09 pace

I'm gonna call that a success.

Three Things Thursday

1. I joined a gym. Really. And I even did my first work out there. Our county has several really good gyms and it's a really small county, so there are two really close to my house. Their annual fee is reasonable, but I wasn't ready for that commitment. As a pilot program, they are currently offering a three month membership that is only a couple dollars more per month than the annual, so I jumped on that today. As long as I go to the gym at least 7 times over the three months, it's a better deal than paying the daily rate. I did 15 minutes on the elliptical, 15 minutes on a stationary bike, and a wee bit of lifting. I may not be able to move tomorrow.

2. Today I also received the gift of time. That's a gift that I will take any day. One of the preschool moms offered to take Shoo home after preschool for a couple of hours, which gave me the time to workout, run to the grocery store, and eat lunch. I'll return the favor next week, which is actually a gift too as Shoo and his friend will entertain each other and I can get household chores done. It's a win/win all around and I'm so thankful that Shoo's preschool class this year is so awesome.

3. I was wrong. Moore County is actually the second smallest county in Tennessee. The smallest is Trousdale. Yes, my husband corrected me this morning and yes, he is a geek. At least his love of travel to visit places like that coincides with my desire to run a race in all 50 states. The nice thing about Moore County being small is we'll be able to get out of the county to get a beer while we are visiting. ;o)

It's "just" 13 miles.

Today Beer Geek and I were discussing the Jack Daniels race that Missy mentioned on my last post. I was telling him about the race and mentioned it was a new race, so there were no reviews and I had no way of knowing how well it would be organized. He rolled his eyes and said "It's just 13 miles. You can deal with it." Umm, ok, then. I apparently live in a warped little world where a 13 mile run is no big deal.*

Week 1 of marathon training is in the books. I ran one speed workout, one easy workout, one "marathon pace" run that I think was about a 9:30 pace (Garmin went all bracelet on me), and today I ran my first long run - 10 miles. I chose a really hilly route, mostly to train for the Tennessee half marathon in late March/early April. My pace was all over the place as I went up and down hills, tied a shoe lace, stopped for a few lights, and took a full minute to eat a Gu (it's hard to eat one of those things while dealing with gloves and a handheld water bottle.) My average pace was just under 10:00 per mile, with mile 9 clocking in at 8:46! and mile 10 at 9:35. I was pretty tired by the end, but could have definitely gone longer. What scares me is that some of the later weeks have two 10 mile runs and a 20 mile run in the same week. I have to keep reminding myself that it builds slowly and I'll be ready for it by then. I can already tell I'm a much stronger runner than I was when I started marathon training last time. Not necessarily faster LOL, but definitely stronger.

*I was trying to interest Beer Geek in the race by telling him it was the smallest county in Tennessee and that the Jack Daniels Distillery was there. He calmly informed me (without me even telling him the county) that it's a dry county. Why do I ever try to "out trivia" this man?

Why am I even posting?

Not a whole lot has changed around here...

• I'm still undecided on the whole marathon thing;
• I'm still working on booking stuff in Alaska;
• I'm still emotionally unstable (perimenopause kicks PMS' a$$)

Despite the fact that I've put aside my marathon decision until a point in time where I can make a decision without crying or yelling, I've started training. I'm cobbling together a plan from Hal Higdon, FIRST, and some of JoyRun's previous plans. Basically the mileage Hal suggests at his intermediate level, minus one day of running per week, some FIRST speedwork, and some tweaks from Joy. Will it work? Who knows, but since I may be training for a marathon I never run, I guess it'll be a fun experiment.

Sunday was my first speed workout. I did 8 x 400 at 8:20 pace, which I realized after the fact was about 20 seconds slower pace than I should have used. Oh well, I still felt it was challenging. Tomorrow I have a 5 mile pace run and then Wednesday I have a 10 mile long run. I've also added a little bit of cross training. I did Day 1 of the Shred. The next day I was actually sore! Woot! I plan to either hit the gym or do another free on demand video on Thursday.

I really need to figure out my race schedule for the spring. Popular races around here sell out months in advance. Right now, I've only registered for one half marathon and that one I may have to drop to a 10k as it's the weekend before the possible marathon. My dad wants to do the Army 10 miler this year, so I've got that pencilled in for October. I've also got hotels held for the Knoxville half marathon in March, Bob Potts Marathon in May, and the Hatfield and McCoy in June. One of these days I'm going to have to actually register for a race...

Mama needed a beer

Once a month, for a couple of days, I become a real witch. (Beer Geek would probably say that word should start with a B.) Today was one of those days. EVERYTHING annoyed me. Shoo also happened to be in rare form ( I never realized 4 year olds got PMS). For once, Jones was smart and gave me some space.

I went out for a much needed four mile run in the "snow". It didn't snow much, but it was REALLY icy wherever cars had driven over it. That's actually one of the negatives to VA snow. It's usually only just below freezing, so things melt and refreeze quickly and you end up with a lot of ice. Anyways, I put on my lovely homemade "compression socks" and the brand new soft shell that I bought at Costco (only $26 and it fits great and got the job done) and had a wonderful, cold, windy run (and only had a few times where I thought a$$ might meet asphalt). But even that only took the edge off.

When Beer Geek got home, he gave me some space (or avoided me like the plague, it's all about interpretation). After some quiet time by myself, I was almost someone you could stand for a few minutes.

We headed to our favorite restaurant, Rock Bottom Brewery. It's a small chain, but they allow each brewer some leeway to create their own recipe. I don't know the current brewer, but we've been friends with some of the past brewers. (The current brewer won an award at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival for his "Dude, where's my Vespa" coffee flavored beer.) Tonight, the dark specialty beer was a porter and it was quite lovely. It was slightly sweet, with a creamy head. It was poured using a nitrogen tap (think Guiness), which made it extra smooth. Yum! Then I had their seasonal, which was a Belgian style triple. I prefer doubles, but the triple was really good. I'm not sure of the alcohol content, but I'm guessing it was fairly high based on two things: 1) they served it in a smaller glass than the usual "mug club" glass and 2)I'm having a really hard time typing this. If you have one near you, go check it out! You might be surprised at how good the food and beer are.

On the marathon front, I'm fluctuating between the Bob Potts marathon and not running a marathon at all. I'm not so much worried about the running aspect, but the logistics are a PITA. Pittsburgh and NJ would involve bored kids and no shower before a 3-4 hour drive. Not high on my list of things I want in my life. Beer Geek thinks that Bob Potts is workable, so, assuming I get my head on straight in the next few days, I'll probably, maybe sign up for that one. I'm nothing if not decisive these days.

Three Things Thursday

1. I still haven't decided on a marathon. As a planner, this is driving.me.crazy. Seriously.

2. I did a nine mile run on the treadmill yesterday, while watching "In Bruges". The movie was "meh." The run started off rough, but ended up being awesome. I did seriously negative splits (46:12 and 42:49). Hopefully that's my last long indoor run, but I'm not holding my breath.

3. Between planning our Alaska trip, a spring break trip to Mississippi to visit family, and the marathon weekend, my head is about to explode. On the bright side, I love researching stuff and we've found a great place to stay in Alaska. On the not so bright side, I'm staying up way too late.

This may be the most boring blog post ever...

Just call me MacGyver

It's cold and windy here this week, but today it finally warmed up to the high 20s, so I decided it was time to get back outside. I still haven't gotten around to purchasing a warmer pair of running tights, so I've been wearing a pair of compression shorts under my old ones along with a heavy pair of Thorlo socks that come up to midcalf. This works reasonably well for keeping my legs warm, but today I needed to wear a pair of shoes that only fit thinner socks than the Thorlos. I was afraid that if I just wore my really thin, ankle high socks that I'd end up with really cold legs. I hate being cold.

While digging around in my sock drawer, I found an old pair of knee highs. Aha! I cut off a few inches at the toes and pulled them up as high as I could. Voila! My very own homemade compressions socks LOL.


My legs were warm for the entire run and they stayed up nicely and they cost a whole lot less than the Sugoi or Recovery socks that I plan to get one of these days.

So far, marathon training is going well. Tomorrow I have a 9 mile long run and then week one will be done. I'm using Hal Higdon's Intermediate plan as my base, but I've dropped the lowest mile run each week and I plan to run hills or do speedwork for one of the remaining runs. McMillan says I can run a sub 4:15 marathon. Not sure I agree with that, but I'm planning to use the recommended paces for that marathon time for my training. I'm still figuring things out, as my long run will be on Wednesdays, so that makes everything a bit weird. I still haven't decided which race I'm doing either.

Tickets are purchased for Alaska. Woot! We are going to Anchorage and planning to spend most of our time on the Kenai Peninsula. I've found a couple of potential races, so I should definitely be able to add Alaska to my completed states. Now I just need to start filling in the details.

Oh, and if you are interested in running Zooma Annapolis, email me. I have a discount code that is good until January 14th. I won't be running it this year, as I'd rather be drunk have the chance to experience good beer.

2010 Plans and Goals

2010 is a big year here. In May, Beer Geek and I will have been married 15 years. In August, I turn 40. To celebrate, we have some exciting plans.

Big Plan #1 - We are going to Alaska. We honeymooned in Alaska and had a fabulous time. Now we are going to take the boys and hopefully spend two weeks exploring near Anchorage, likely the Kenai Peninsula and Denali National Park. My parents are considering going with us as well. I love doing cool stuff with my family and I will certainly appreciate being able to go out at least one night without the boys.

Big Plan #2 - I'm going to run a spring marathon. The Marine Corps Marathon did not go quite as I had planned. I want to run another to see if I can train better and run smarter and have a great experience. If I do, it may not be my last. If I don't, then I'll head back to the half marathon, hopefully stronger and able to run that distance faster.

My goals for the year are pretty directly related to the two big plans. As you might guess, the Alaska trip is a big ticket item, budgetwise. This will definitely affect the number of races I'll be able to run as well as my ability to travel for races. My plan to do two halves in one weekend may be put on the back burner.

So, the goals are:

1. Train smart, enjoy my training, and successfully PR in a spring marathon.

Races I'm considering are 1) Pittsburgh Marathon on May 2. It has approximately 10,000 runners and is a hilly, city race similar to the kinds of races I'm used to running. As long as i register by the end of the month it costs $80.; 2)New Jersey Marathon also on May 2. It has only 2,500ish marathon runners and another 5,000 or so half marathon runners. It's fairly close by and would make for a fun weekend. It costs $100.; 3) Bob Potts Marathon on May 16. It has a limit of 400 runners and is run on a crushed gravel path. This is about as different from my typical race as you could get without making me run up a mountain single track path. It is also close by and only costs $50. As an added bonus, RunningLaur is planning to run.

There are tons of other spring marathons, but I really want to run in a new state and time and finances require that it be a reasonable drive from our house. If you've run one of the above or are planning to run one, I'm all ears.

2. Race in at least 3 states.

This may be the year that 3 is all I manage. I'm planning to run the half marathon at the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon in Tennessee, I'll run the marathon in whatever state I pick, and then (come hell or high water) I'll find a race in Alaska. There's a slim possibility I'll manage something in the fall, but I'm not going to count on it this year.

3. Cross train.

I'm not going to be able to run 5 days a week, most weeks. My body just does better and stays injury free if I only run 4 days, even if I were to run the same number of miles. So, my goal is to find something else to do at least one day a week for at least a half hour. It may be a video, a class, the gym or some fitness game on the Wii. Heck, I may even lift weights occasionally (I'll wait while you stop laughing...) Whatever it is, I figure I can squeeze 30 minutes out of each week to do something good for my body that isn't running or walking.

4. 4 is the new 3.

For years, my minimum run has been 3 miles, which these days means 26-28 minutes of exercise. If I can find 28 minutes, I should be able to find the 8-10 minutes to do an extra mile. I may become the "stinky mom" who picks up her kid from school still sweaty, but at my current fitness level, there's no reason (except taper) for my runs to be less than four miles.

That's it for my running goals. I'd like to run some other races. I'd like to hit 2010K for 2010. I'd even like to PR in a race or two. I think I'll accomplish some of that as a part of the above goals, but if I don't, that's ok.

Non-running goals (yes, I have a few of those as well.)

1. Bring a little beer to the blog.

I love good beer at least as much as running, maybe even as much as I love Beer Geek. OK, not really that much, but I do love a good beer. We do a lot of beer related stuff - host beer tastings at our home, travel to visit new brewpubs, attend professionally run beer tastings, donate a beer dinner to Jones' school each year... While this will still be mainly a running blog (I'm going to have to wine about marathon training somewhere), I'm planning to get back to writing the occasional beer post. It might be about a specific beer or a specific brewery or some event, but it will be beer related.

2. Start exploring how to turn some of my interests into a job.

I loved my career as a business and legal librarian. It was challenging and interesting and I'd go back to it in a heartbeat. There's really only one thing holding me back. I would prefer not to work full time, even once Shoo is in school. I have some tentative ideas swirling around in my head, which I'll share if they go anywhere.

So, that's 2010 in a nutshell. How it will actually pan out remains to be seen. I've had two really nice runs so far this year, although they were both done on the treadmill (I don't run in 25 mph winds). Jones goes back to school tomorrow and Shoo goes back on Tuesday, so I'll be able to get the house back in order soon. Marathon training starts this week, so I guess I ought to figure out which plan I'm using. ;o)

Closing out the year

2009 was the first year I've ever set out really specific goals for running. I think they were fairly realistic, without being "easy", so I'm pretty happy that I was mostly successful.

1. Run at least three half marathons, with the eventual goal of a sub-2 hour half. All done, with two of them at sub-2. I was even able to join the Half Fanatics because two of them were on consecutive weekends. Revised goal: Beat 1:30 at the Army 10 miler in October. I missed this goal by 49 seconds. I'm ok with that and it taught me a very important lesson - "Run your own race".
2. Run races in at least three new states (but I'm aiming for 5).
   Blew this one away. Delaware, Florida, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maine, and Illinois this year.
3. Workout five times a week. Umm, sort of managed this one. I ran 4 or 5 times every week and walked at least 4 days a week. Part of the year I took an exercise class, but the latter part of the year was just running and walking.
4. Stop stressing about my weight and start lifting weights. This would be my one major failure. I just have not found a toning/lifting routine that works for me. Not sure how to motivate myself in this area.
5. Run at least 8-10 races this year. Done - 13 races in 2009. I had one more planned, but swine flu shot down that idea. That's ok, though, because 13 is my lucky number.

February 1 -12k done

March 15 - half marathon done

April 11 - 5k done

April 26 - 10 miler done

May 10 - half marathon done

May 17 - half marathon done

June 21 - 10 miler done

June 27 - 10K done

August 2 - 10k done

August 28 - 5k done

September 26 - 10k done

October 4 - 10 miler done

November 26 - 5k done

All in all, 2009 was a successful running year. I got to run several races and a lot of regular runs with my father, who is my favorite running buddy. I even got to "run" a 5K with my parents and Jones and Shoo (in a stroller) and have Jones finish his first 5K. We got to combine our love of travel and good beer with my racing and get to try out some new brewpubs and breweries along the way. I also managed to hit 1050 miles for the year, finishing it with my dad on December 30th.

I also found some awesome new things this year. I found some great shorts - the Lululemon relaxed fit shorts and the Adidas Rebound shorts. I bought a new handheld - the Amphipod Hydraform 12oz. I LOVE that I can run without my fuel belt for my medium length runs and find this to be an extremely comfortable option. I continued my love affair with Gu and Nuun and have actually been able to run up to ten miles just with the Nuun. (Santa apparently learned of this love and filled my stocking accordingly LOL). In general, I feel like I've worked out some of my running fuel issues and I've got an excellent running wardrobe, as long as the weather is dry and above 30 degrees.

2010 has started with a little dehydration and a lot of exhaustion. We had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants (Liberty Tavern) with two of our favorite couples. We then rang in the New Year, kid free at our friends' house and stayed up until 3 am talking. My plan of starting the year strong with a nice run has sort of fallen by the wayside LOL.

Big plans are afoot in the MCM Mama world, so I'll be back tomorrow with my goals/plans for 2010. Happy New Year to all!