Friday, April 1, 2016

March Recap: Old Goals, New Goals, Travel, and Life

Who's got two thumbs and is super pumped to be back in the world of having monthly recaps?!?

Coming off a long injury, March marked a return to goals, a return to regular running, and a return to looking forward to the next race season. So how did it go? Welcome to the March Recap.

March Goal: Since my four month total from November through February was about 45 miles, I kept my goal modest, at 12 miles per week. I thought 4 miles 3x/week seemed attainable.

March Miles: 50.0. FIFTY! I'm absolutely pleased with this. It means I was about on goal. It means I ran more in March than in the previous four months combined. It means I get the green light to set a higher goal for April.

April Goal: 15 miles per week. This should put me just over 60 miles for the month. This goal is still modest, and honestly I'm hoping to exceed it.

March Highlights: I ran in 3 states during the month of March. Of course, my home state of Utah. My highlight at home was a five mile run where, for the first time in months, I felt like I finally settled down into about fourth gear. My three middle miles were 8:45, 8:27, and 8:45, and it felt great.

I was on the road a good bit, too. First to Arizona to visit with family, which was freaking awesome. On the way down we camped in Bryce, awaking to a light dusting of snow on our tent! In Arizona, we stayed with my husband's aunt and uncle, who have been nothing but amazing to us. I'm so, so glad we got to make this trip. While there, I did a run through their community of Goodyear. It's a master planned community which is very nearly built out (at least their part). As an urban planner, I have a trained eye to developments like this, and I was impressed. The homes are close enough together to allow the density necessary to support the community facilities they have, and there are many thoughtful design details throughout.






The week after, I was off to San Diego for work. I ran along the water, from our hotel near the Gaslamp Quarter down to the USS Midway. 

The view from my room

USS Midway
Then, of course, was Easter, and putting our house on the market to prepare for our upcoming move to Ohio. This has given us plenty of opportunities to get creative with dinnertime (when a lot of showings happen) and random other hours. We've mostly enjoyed this adventure, as odd as that might sound. We're making memories with our kids, and showing them that although moving is a lot of work, we're committed to enjoying the journey.

When life gives you a home to sell, make sand stars with your kid
Throughout the month, I've seen my average mile times come down and I've felt progressively better after my runs. My injury still requires that I wear a knee brace when I run, but this has been worthwhile. I'm experiencing very little day-to-day swelling, and very rarely any pain. This is a huge improvement.

It's been a good month. Here's looking forward to April, which will see miles in at least one other state--Ohio, as we house hunt. Wish us luck!

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