March Recap

Hello hello! I know I'm late to post my March recap. The USB to connect my Garmin to my computer went AWOL for about a week and a half. Stuff happens. :)

So how was March? March was lovely! I hit triple digits, successfully moved through another 4 weeks of training, and got to know people in my running group better each Saturday. Here are the stats:

Total miles: 102. Triple digits feels great.

# runs: 18

# other workouts: Over spring break we went skiing, which is one heck of a cross-training workout! It had been about 15 years since I'd skied, so needless to say there was some falling down, but by the end of the day I was in a groove. We definitely plan to go more than once next year!

Me and the Mr. at Snowbird lookin' goofy

Otherwise, I attended my yoga class twice. I did miss cross-training the week I went to San Antonio.

Favorite run: Can I pick three? First, he 9 mile long run that included some intense hills in the early miles, then a long, gradual downhill with great views after that. And of course, mile repeats are always a favorite. Then, getting to run outdoors along the canal in San Antonio while traveling for work was certainly a bonus.

Overall, my runs this month have been delightful. It would be hard not to love running when you get to see an amazing sunrise every day.

Sunrise over the mountains

Setbacks/Challenges: My Achilles have been really tight lately. I've never had this happen before, and I have no idea what I'm doing differently that is causing it. I've started stretching them in the mornings and more diligently after each run. Here's hoping it clears up!

House projects completed: My hubby painted his man cave. It looks great!

Training update: The Salt Lake Half is in 2 weeks!! Training has been going well and I'm looking forward to race day.

Things I'm looking forward to in April: The Salt Lake Half!!! My group ran the course this Saturday, so I know what to expect. CAN'T WAIT! Then, I'm also really looking forward to stepping up my training for the Utah Valley Half in June. It's a more aggressive training schedule--looking forward to seeing how far I can push myself.

Also, April means baby boy turns TWO (can you believe he's 2 already??) and I turn a larger number later in the month. And, classes end. #hallelujah.

Happy April Runners!! 

I have a lot to cram into this post. It may sound silly, but I didn't want to post earlier in the week because I just didn't want to interrupt all the Boston recaps.

The recaps got me all choked up pretty much every day last week. It's hard to communicate to non-runners the excitement of the day. It's like our Super Bowl, except most of us know at least one athlete participating, and we actually participate in the sport ourselves. running love

So all that stuff to cram into this post? Well, some of it is going to have to wait. Clearly. Here's a sort-of recap of my week in the meantime.

Monday
5 miles easy. I decided to finally take a camera with me to get some spring pictures of the park. Here's a pic of my favorite spot in the park. Sometimes I forget to look up when I run (just ask Meg). But I never miss this spot. I am so incredibly blessed to have all of this at my feet in the middle of a big city. It is such an incredible freedom to be able to run in this gorgeousness. I have a whole set of "come take a run with me" pictures from this run, appearing soon.

Tuesday
I just absolutely had to get some sleep. It was becoming non-negotiable.

Wednesday
My fave, fave, FAVE speed workout. It sounds so freaking innocent. It's not. I love it.
1mi warm-up
4 x 1mi @ 5KRP with 800m recoveries
1mi cool-down

Thursday
3 miles easy

Friday
5 mile pace run. I bumped it up to 6.3 just for funsies. I'm having a hard time running pace at marathon pace and not half pace. Problem? I think not.

By far the more interesting part of Friday was the evening weather. This happened. Oh yeah. My MIL was scheduled to fly in at just about exactly the same minute that a tornado was ripping through Concourse C of Lambert Airport. The Southwest website said she landed. What it didn't say was that she landed AT MIDWAY. You know, in freaking Chicago?!? She buddied up with another passenger and rented a car, getting here about 3:30am. Today while I was running I just kept thinking about all the blessings in my life, including our safety here during the storm and hers while traveling into it.

Today
I reeeeeally wasn't sure how I was going to get everything crammed into my day. We were forecasted for an Easter Egg Hunt all morning and rain all afternoon.
{mid-post rant: our hourly weather forecasts are damn near useless. For my zip code, the forecast is actually for a place 25 minutes from here. It's not exactly helpful. Sometimes the current weather conditions are even wrong.}
I got hopeful and optimistically ate a bagel at the Egg Hunt. Carbs, you know, in case the weather forecast was wrong. Shockingly, it was. Wrong. I had just enough time between easter eggs and rain to run 20 miles. #WINNING. (sorry, couldn't resist)

There were some tough spots in it, but overall it was a GREAT long run. I averaged a 9:35 pace and felt good through most of it. And it made me SOOO happy that when I stopped at the Panera for my recovery smoothie, the barista recognized me and asked if I'd been out running (clearly). I told him I'd just finished 20 miles. When I turned to leave I heard the other barista repeat the number 20 incredulously. :) I just smiled.

Next question: picking a race pace. Stay tuned. I'll need some input.

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! 

Heading into Martian!

I haven't posted in a week?!? A week?!? Things have, admittedly, been busy. About three weeks ago my parents called and said they wanted to visit during their spring break. We explained that if they were OK with the fact that we are never home and work constantly and could not be their tour guides, then sure, we'd love to have them visit. They readily agreed and bought plane tickets. So on Saturday (a week+ ago) I picked them up at the airport. We wasted no time. There was a room to paint!

That's Dad in his "Diva Pants." When we told them to bring painting clothes, we thought he still had pants here. Turns out they were Mom's. Brand: Diva. Oops.
{sidenote: I am LOVING having some direction on interior decorating choices. It took a while to figure out what I wanted my "grown-up house" to look and feel like. And it was equally fabulous having help from the parentals!}

On Sunday we basked:

And just in case you can't tell, that's SPRING there under my Mom.

And then the week started again. Even with my hectic work schedule, I was able to meet them for lunch twice and we had a lot of fun. Then Saturday rolled around and we got this craptastic news:

I called my SIL, in freaking Detroit, where there was NO SNOW. I LIVE IN MISSOURI. What is this crap? She said it snowed just to piss me off. Eleven miles later, and still snowing and slushy out, I felt a renewed appreciation for the treadmill.

So all that brings me to the running portion of this post. Yes, I ran 11 miles on Saturday. Yes, my toe hurt when I was done. I thought I'd given it enough of a break. I took y'all's (I get can away with a double contraction like that because I'm from WV) advice and XT'ed until Wednesday of last week then cautiously tested it. The toe was fine after the Wednesday run (which I nailed--good confidence boost pre-race), so I thought I was in the clear. I think my choice of work footwear is part of the problem. I'm forcing myself to wear flat shoes (or at least shorter heels than normal) to work this week and keep the miles easy.

Am I ready for Martian? Yes. More ready than I've ever been for a half. Am I nervous? Yes, because I *really* want that PR. Am I excited? YOU KNOW IT!! To meet a bunch of you, see family (& let the kiddo see family!), and hopefully post a great race. I LOVED racing in Detroit in 2009--hoping for another great race!

XT love!

First things first--you guys are much more concerned about my blog name than about my Kick Assphalt shirt. Therefore:

1. I will refrain from changing my blog name. 
2. The Kick Assphalt shirt goes to....Jessie! Send me your shipping info at joannaruns@gmail.com!

Moving on to the XT Love, I don't have much time to post, but wanted to post some love for yoga! I went to my Tuesday morning yoga class today. It's so humbling to be in the class and know that I can run my ass off, but have absolutely no core strength. And then the stiffness that comes with running. Oh my. Even though I've only been doing yoga for a few weeks, the chronic pain I've had in my "left buttock" has decreased. YOGA LOVE.

One of my co-workers just wished me luck on getting through today's pack of cigarettes. NO, I DON'T SMOKE. Stop freaking out. I just sound like a pack-a-day smoker with this cough. But it's much better than it was over the weekend and I can't stand to miss any more days of running. So I'll be back on the training schedule tomorrow with my pace run. Question: this was supposed to be a cut-back week. Do I leave it as a cut-back or try to make up my missed miles?

Eight weeks until Martian and 14 weeks until Cleveland!!