March recap

this will be my last transmission from Earth's Central Time Zone, er, this will be my last blog post before the Martian Half. The kiddo and I head out tomorrow and we're ready for an awesome weekend. Mr. Joanna is ready for a long weekend of mostly yard work at home, sadly. But before heading out, the March Recap!


Miles planned/ran: 141/128.9
Rest days planned/taken: 5/6
Highest mileage week: 36.8
Long runs planned/ran: 4/3.5 (because this happened)
Pace workouts planned/ran: 3/3 
XT days planned/done: 5/5
Tempo or interval runs planned/ran: 5/5
Favorite run: I'm going to have to say my 16-miler. I had some fun and confidence-boosting tempo and pace workouts, but the 16-miler had gorgeous weather and I got my pacing right FTW. 
Current goal: sub-2 half on Saturday!!
Current obsession: see Current goal.
Current need: new dress pants, because nothing I own fits. See "current excitement," and no, I am not pregnant. 
Current excitement: too many to choose from~the trip this weekend, my continuing weight loss (thank you, sparkpeople!), and a visit from The Beastie next week!!
Current bane of my existence: the big toe on my right foot. Yep, still hurts. 
Current wish list: Crabtree & Evelyn lavender shower gel. I'm almost out and I always feel like it's a luxury to buy it. 
Current indulgence: As an early birthday present, my Mom bought me a necklace that I fell in love with while we were strolling around a boutique a few neighborhoods over. It's gorgeous and I love it! 


Special March Addition to the recap:
I've finally picked a name for the new Garmin: Clepsydra. This was a nomination from RunningFirst and I really like it. It's Greek for water clock/water thief. What better name for a running accessory could there be?!? Thank you for all the name suggestions! 

One Week Challenge Update

Semi-daily update for my One Week Smackdown Challenge with RunningFirst. 

Today I had a tempo run on deck. It was, honestly, a lot of fun. I got to run it outside in shorts! It was 45 degrees and lovely. I ran the warm-up and cool-down on sidewalks and the faster part on a 1/3 mile outdoor track, to ensure that I wouldn't get caught at a light and get slowed down. Sometime I will really have to post pictures of the track, mostly for its view of downtown. 

Mile 1: 9:48 (warm-up)

Mile 2: 8:55

Mile 3: 8:42

Mile 4: 8:41

Mile 5: 8:41

Mile 6: 10:02 (cool-down, got caught at a light)

After I settled into the workout, I was really consistent on the mile times, and it felt good. This was definitely a confidence booster of a run. And a bonus--since I was basically the only person on the track, I got to switch directions every mile, just as a special shout-out to my ITB.