December 2011 Recap

The final month of 2011 comes to a close and it was truly a great one. Despite my setback at the Space Coast Marathon, I picked myself right back up and began training for marathons #3 and #4. I focused on recovering well and properly and was still able to log 93 great miles of running in all kinds of weather :) January already promises to be just as great and I can't wait!

December Summary

• ran 93 miles
• biked 34 miles
• walked 52 miles
• 20 yoga sessions; 7h 15m
• total: 179 miles; 46 hours

December Accomplishments

• 11th Half Marathon / 4th OUC HM
• 22 mile long run
• Organized Christmas Eve 10K Fun Run

January Goals/Events

• run 90-100 miles
• walk 45-50 miles
• bike x4
• plank-a-day challenge
• 10 hours of yoga
• [01.01] 12th Half Marathon: DeLeon Springs
• [01.06] Volunteer at Disney Marathon Expo
• [01.08] Volunteer at Disney Marathon
• [01.22] 3rd Marathon: Ocala

2012 Goals & Preliminary Racing Schedule

I'm still working on my 2011 recaps since we still have a day left, but based on the preliminary numbers I figured out my goals and began putting together my racing schedule for next year. Leave a comment if you have a suggestion for a race or goal I should add.


2012 Goals


Running

• Run 1000+ miles (80/mo; 20/wk)
• Run a 5K in 29 minutes
• Run a half marathon in 2:15 or PR (sub-2:24)
• Run a marathon in 5 hours or PR (sub-5:22)
• Become a Marathon Maniac (3 in 90 days)
• 30 day running streak (1 mile/day)

General Fitness

• Walk 500+ miles (42/mo; 10/wk)
• 30 day plank-a-day challenge 
• 10 hours of yoga per month (2.5/wk)
• Bike at least once a week

Other

• Drive car < 6500 miles (541/mo; 125/wk)
• Spend < $1000 at restaurants
• Eat restaurant food no more than 100x (8x per month)
• Do 1 new thing each month
• Read 6 books

2012 Tentative Race Schedule


I've already registered for the ones in bold; the others are just what I am considering but I will likely not run them all. I have a big gap between May and August, but it's usually too hot in Florida to race during those months so it's a good time for rebuilding base milage for marathon season. I may throw in a duathlon during that time, or maybe a 30-day running streak, but I haven't decided yet.

1. [01.01] DeLeons Half Marathon
2. [01.22] Ocala Marathon
3. [02.04] Lady Track Shack 5K
4. [02.12] 26.2 with Donna Marathon (BMC)
5. [02.18] Run Around the Pines 5K
6. [03.04] Orange Blossom Half Marathon
7. [03.11] Sarasota Half or Relay
8. [03.24] Winter Park 10K & 2 Mile
9. [04.07] North Georgia Spring Run (Blairsville) 
10. [04.12] Corporate 5K
11. [04.22] Iron Girl Half Marathon
12. [04.28] Run for the Trees 5K
13. [09.??] Puzzle Run 10K 
14. [09.??] Miracle Miles 15K 
15. [10.??] U Can Finish 5 Miler or Distance Dare
16. [11.??] New York City Marathon 
17. [11.??] Founder's Day 10K or Distance Dare
18. [11.??] Space Coast Half Marathon 
19. [12.01] OUC Half Marathon 
20. [12.??] Jacksonville Bank Marathon 

Thursday This or That: Christmas Edition

Thought I'd try something a little different today because I have writer's block. This is last week's prompt from Thursday This or That.


Christmas lights: White or Colored? - Both. We decorated the tree with colored lights, but used solid green ones for the bushes/trees outside and white icicles for the roof. 

Real tree or Fake? - I usually prefer fake because then we don't have to buy one every year or clean up fallen needles, but Jason wanted a real one this year and I'm glad we got one. 

Themed ornaments or Sentimental ornaments? - This year we had mostly themed ornaments because I like symmetry, but I really liked the idea of using medals as ornaments to remember our accomplishments. I tried a few this year and intend to make more next year, as some photo ornaments. We're also going to start collecting ornaments from places we visit and our interests so the tree has more meaning to us. We got our first one today at Anna Ruby Falls.

Sugar cookies or Gingerbread Men? - Hmm, neither really but I guess I prefer the taste of gingerbread to sugar cookies. 

Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? - Sadly, neither. Coquito! :)

Wordless Wednesday: Cold Running

Bundled up for running in 32º weather. I'm wearing Skirt Sports leggings under the Tough Girl skirt, short and long sleeve tech shirts under the windbreaker jacket, buff, headband, skull cap, and gloves. I had a very nice and hilly 4.5 mile run -- great training for Ocala. 

Running Meme - 2011 Bests

Best race experience? Hands down, the OUC Half Marathon. I focused on having fun with friends, and that is exactly what I got. It was the perfect race to end a great year of racing. Read the race report for more details.

Best run? I've treasured every run with my running group this year, but without a doubt my last long run before Space Coast, the 50K in the Rain, was my best run of the year and possibly of my entire running career so far. It was really difficult, but I gave it everything I had to overcome all the challenges I faced, and it was incredibly rewarding.

Best new piece of gear? 110% compression capri pants and socks. They have made a huge difference in my speedy recovery after every long run.

Best piece of running advice you received? Don't be too hard on yourself.

Most inspirational runner? Everyone in my running group, most of whom trained for their first race this year. It was great to watch their love for running grow throughout the year and rock their races.

If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be? Amazing! Solid training, with tremendous growth.

Week 51 Recap

Devan rocking the running skirt
that we got her for Christmas
 during this morning's 4 miler.

Only one more week left until this amazing year comes to an end, and I can't wait to see what's to come in 2012. Despite being crazy busy at work prior to the long vacation, I managed to run and walk a bit, and even did some yoga. My sanity thanked me :) I'm still running this week, but I'm taking it easy since I'm on vacation and I have a half marathon race on Sunday. I doubt I'll be doing much of anything else though since I don't have my yoga mat with me, but maybe I can do some Fitdeck workouts. We'll see.

• ran 15 miles
• walked 7 miles
• 3 yoga session; 49 minutes

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!! I hope everyone had a great day celebrating with family and that Santa brought you everything you needed. Christmas Part 2  (Jason's mom) & 3 (Jason's aunt) are done, and Santa has been very good to me so far. I got a new coat and a LEGO set from my parents yesterday. I'll take a pic wearing the coat when I get to Georgia since it is way too hot down here for it. Jason's family got me running gear (that I almost bought for myself last week so I'm really glad I restrained myself during all the sales), board games, an awesome knitted scarf with pockets, candy, gift cards, and some other things. It's been another full day, so it's now time for bed. I leave you with a photo of my knew Tigger stocking that perfectly matches my santa hat :) 

Merry Christmas Eve

Well, Christmas part I is over and I'm exhausted. Only 3 more to go : ) I'm going to make this short and mostly pictures because I'm tired and have to be up early tomorrow to drive down to South Florida for Christmas 2 & 3. I started the day with a great 10K fun run I hosted for my running group. It was great to see everyone in their festive outfits and hear all the jingle bells as we ran through the streets of downtown Orlando. Everyone seemed to enjoy the route and had a good time. After some last minute shopping and wrapping presents, we headed to my parent's for Chirstmas part I. It was fun and exhausting as always to see the kids and the rest of the family.

Running group after 10K fun run

The Family

Jason getting frisky

Affection bottled up for mom =)

The last photo here is part of mom's present. When I was talking to her earlier in the week about what she wanted, she said she didn't want anything, only "cariñitos" (affection). So I joked that I'd bottled it up and wrap it up for her. She joked back to fill it with "besitos" (kisses). So I did = ) She loved it. Yay!

Bonus Day Off

Today was a bonus day off from work, and I fully intended to be productive, but instead I bummed around most of the day. I woke up briefly at 6:30 am as Jason was leaving for his run, but then I promptly fell back asleep until 8 am. I tracked Jason online (thanks to Runmeter) as he ran his marathon training run and caught up on House, then helped him recover. I finally got out of the house and rode the route for tomorrow's 10K fun run. I can't believe it was in the 80s today. It finally cooled off a bit in the evening, so Jason and I went for a walk to Publix and had pizza for dinner. I'm looking forward to a nice run in the morning then Christmas dinner with my family tomorrow night.

3 Things Thursday: Holiday Fitness Fun

#1. Holiday Fun Run 5K - We combined our groups with Marathonfest this morning for a festive run followed by coffee, donuts and other holiday treats. I dressed in my festive gear (see photo), and many others did too, and we had a blast. I ran a warm up mile in 12:21, then chose 3:1 intervals for the prediction 5K run. I didn't plan to push too hard, so I thought I'd finish around 35 minutes, but maybe closer to 33. As instructed, I did not look at my watch until I finished, and I was pleasantly surprised when I crossed the finish line in just over 32 minutes! That's only 2 minutes slower than my PR, and not bad for not really trying. My splits were great too: 10:30 - 10:30 and 10:02. I REALLY need to run a 5K race soon! =)

#2. 11 Days! That's how many days I have until I have to go back to work! Within those 11 days, I have a 10K fun run I'm hosting, 3 Christmas dinners, 2 chilly runs, and 1 half marathon!

#3. Winter Solstice Foldie Ride - I just got home from a 12 mile bike ride on a foldie bike through Winter Park neighborhoods to admire the Christmas lights, with a stop at Eat More Produce for some food from the Winter Park Food Truck Food Pod. I tried the veggie taco box from the Korean BBQ Taco Truck and it was really tasty. Of course, I also had mint chocolate Yum Yum Cupcake. It was a lot of fun, but my butt was not too happy with that saddle.