Plugging Away

Weeks 7-14 December 28-February 21

Week 14, February 15-21: 37.5 miles

Week 13, February 8-14: 50.5 miles

Week 12, February 1-7: 42 miles

Week 11, January 25-31: 40 miles

Week 10, January 18-24: 42 miles

Week 9, January 11-17: 41 miles

Week 8, January 4-10: 37 miles

Week 7, December 28-January 3: 39.75 miles

Comments: Well, it hasn’t been the easiest winter to run with the snow and such cold temperatures. I run in the evening when Ian gets home from work. By then, it’s cold and dark, and the roads haven’t been clear for a while, but it’s still nice to get out and RUN! In the beginning, I often came back to a hungry, crying baby (he still won’t take a bottle, I’ve pretty much given up on it). But as he quickly grows he doesn’t need to be fed what seemed like every ten minutes, and he and his Papa get quality time in. Oh, and we’re getting more sleep, too! We consider 7 hours sleeping through the night, and we have gotten three of those nights, one of them being last night. Isaac and I have been keeping busy while his Papa is at work. We’re going to Storytime at the library, Mom’s Group at the hospital, several playdates with other babies, and reading lots of books. He is growing up much too fast, and yet at every age I love him even more. He’s such a wonderful baby. He’s very good in public, and Ian and I can go out to dinner and not worry too much about him disrupting the restaurant. We even went down to Boston for a weekend to visit and see friends and stayed at a hotel in Coolidge Corner for two nights, and he was great. We went to the New Balance Indoor Games which I think he enjoyed, or at least his Mama and Papa did. He’s a very serious guy, and doesn’t give many smiles in public, but at home, he has the greatest smiles.

Okay, this blog is about running, so I better get back to writing about that! I’m slowly plugging along and getting back into shape. I can actually feel some abdominal muscles, though I still have pooch to lose. My hips and ‘leg joints’ still feel a bit off, but overall I’m feeling better. I ran a 5k January 1^st in 21:43, which was my goal. Today, I ran a small fun race (one of the Winter Chillers I spoke about in the beginning of the blog). I ran about 7:05 pace for 4.5 miles. It was frigid, and my hat kept slipping so I ditched it. My ears still hurt a bit. The track has been covered in snow, so no more track workouts. My runs are averaging about 8:30 pace, faster if the roads are completely covered in snow, and slower when they are. I’m doing 12 miles for my long runs. The 50.5 mile week had two long runs in it to get one in before a Sunday snow storm. I signed up for the CU Green Stride Race Series which includes two half marathons (one in May and one in October), two 5k’s and a one mile race. I thought the May half marathon would be a great starting point, and my goal would be to be back in shape by October and run a good time (a PR hopefully). Or, it will all just be for fun. We’ll take it one day at a time.