december: out with a bang
Let's take a look back...
December Goals
Finish the Jingle All The Way 10K under 1:05 (more on this later). Smashed it, with a new PR to boot.
Stop living off of noodles, tomato sauce, and cheese. Eat a vegetable, for crying out loud. Semi-success - lots more fruits, some more veggies.
Keep planning the workout dates. (Anyone?) Looking back, I actually had lots of workout dates - mostly running. Who wants to go lifting?
Do some Christmasy things in DC I've never done before. Done!
Do some Christmasy things in DC I've never done before. Done!
Work up to 20 mpw. Don't stress about pace. Finishing the month at 18 mpw, 24-26 mpw including pool miles.
Finish the swim in Key West without having a giant anxiety attack because of a fish. Finished solidly, albeit much slower than I'd hoped.
Buy some new dress clothes and DON'T RETURN THEM. I have not yet returned the Target dress pants. WIN.
Maybe - MAYBE - try to not eat 45 cupcakes this month. Maybe. Maybe indeed.
I think it's pretty fair to call December a month off from training. I continued to ramp up the running, but I took more rest days than usual, and spent much more time eating & drinking than I have in a while. I kicked off the month with a vacation to Key West with some awesome friends, and then was welcomed home to a new puppy, Molly. I was fortunate enough to be paced to a strong 10K PR, my goal comeback race. I spent my recovery time trying to prevent the house from being destroyed, and worked out with CAR for the first time. I mapped out the training plan that will hopefully get me to the starting line of a 13.1 for the first time in my life. I decided after the trainer party to take the month of December off from cycling in a bid to let my twiggy knee thing heal, which I think it just about has. I'm still having weird tightness in my piriformis/glute, but I'm on the attack.
But more importantly, I had lunch and dinner and drinks and more lunches and more drinks with friends, taking the time in the holiday season to set aside OCD worries about what 1 or 2 or 3 glasses of wine or an extra cupcake will do to my waistline and instead enjoy the time we had together. And I had no problem taking this time off - skipping a lifting session to have dinner with an old friend that is in town, or sleeping in after 2 martinis with the boys. I don't think that my training actually suffered from my temporary laziness, or that I was affected in a permanent way. I do know that when January 5th rolls around, I will be chomping at the bit of that training plan, ready to roll.
I'm not one that sets resolutions, per se, because I like to have shorter-term goals than that. But when 2009 closed out - the kind of year where I spent most of my time gritting my teeth and blindly rutting forward, waiting for life to cut me just a little bit of slack - I did take the time to write down some goals I wanted to achieve in 2010. I sent them to myself in an email that has been in my inbox all year.
I think it's safe to call 2010 a major success.
December
Miles run: 84, 13 of those in the pool.
Miles cycled: 0
Rest days: 5, including today.
Secret weddings arranged: 1
Sympathetic butt injuries (thanks, you two): 1
Weeks left of school: 8
Number of times I've said the word "NO" to Molly: 2349823
Massive hangovers: 1
Massive hangovers: 1
January Goals
Go easy on yourself at the beginning of this training cycle. Remember to breathe.
Only make lasagna once. Okay, twice.
Swim at least once a week.
Pool run at least once a week.
Try & cook the spaghetti squash.
Break 100 running miles for the month.
Swim at least once a week.
Pool run at least once a week.
Try & cook the spaghetti squash.
Break 100 running miles for the month.
Happy New Year!