Just Plodding Along

Mileage this month was kind of a bust at only 46.7 but resting went well with taking a whole week off and reducing mileage by quite a bit for the month. I injured my hip a bit but was able to tweak it back into place and have been doing strengthening exercises to hopefully not do that again. I bumped up my strength training and attempts at yoga as an alternative to running and would like to keep that up. No races this month but have been having adventures in cold weather running. Not a huge fan but am grateful that the weather has been mild enough that I have been able to run outside. Other highlights: Registered for a spring marathon Obtained some sweet running gear- yay for Christmas! Adventures in the big city and visiting with family. Any highlights for you this month?

Yesterday was the Father in-laws birthday so to celebrate I special ordered snow and went for a run in it. Okay the run was for me. I planned to go for six miles and went 4.7 after I realized it was cold and wet and I was tired from too much eating and wandering around Chicago on Thursday.   Really it was snowing harder than it looks in this picture. I swear. We all went out to dinner at the Shanty. This restaurant has been on diners, drive-in and dives. Check it out here . I had the whiskey shrimp they made on the show. So good. Of course anything with that amount of butter is going to be delicious.  Source It looks just like this only think dark, cold and snowy. I also baked a funfetti cake to celebrate because we just did not have enough food in the house. Hey it is a birthday and it must be celebrated.   Today D's parents flew home so we dropped them at the airport and went out for breakfast.  We happened to be driving by a World ...

Yesterday I ran four miles in 27:34. (Update: I meant 37 whoa- lets not get crazy here, I am not that speedy). Apparently running in cold motivates me to get a move on so I can get back inside. The last couple of runs have been going well and after about three weeks off from running any sort of distance my legs feel all fresh and happy. This is good as marathon training kicks off in about two weeks. After my brisk run D's parents and I decided that Chicago was the place for us. D had to work so I was in charge of entertainment. First stop breakfast at a local place for exploring fuel.  After lots of driving and traffic we arrived downtown. Of course it starts snowing. Doesn't snow the last four days we have sat around at home in sweatpants. The minute we decide to do something, bam snow. Not cool. Actually it was kind of cool to walk through Grant Park in the snow and while it was cold it was not windy which seems to be key to making a trip to Chicago enjoyable.  Unfor...

Having people visit is always fun because it forces D & I to explore the area more. We have a tendency to be hermits so having guests to show around motivates us to get out of the house. On Christmas Eve we headed to Target because their commercial lured us in (I said get out of the house, I didn't say we had to go somewhere new). Okay I don't really need a commercial to motivate me to go to Target. If  I could live there I would. I found these sweet shirts, both for under $20. Win. After our shopping extravaganza we went on the hunt for Chicago dogs and found them at Trolley Dogs in Kenosha. Delicious.   After stuffing our faces we headed home and waited for Santa. Max was beside himself with excitement.  We always open a present on Christmas eve and I got to play santa this year. Christmas morning we woke up bright and early, slammed some coffee and got down to business. I got some sweet running gear.  New medal han...

I put this to good use and got myself a gift for Christmas It is official I registered. For a marathon. Situation just got serious around here. I am nervous and excited all at the same time.  Training tips to share?  What are your race plans for 2013? I am going to finish my 30 half marathons, five to go, and do a marathon and see how that goes.

The last few days have been way fun. First I made my dreams come true by baking these cookies .   Bake them, they are amazing. Perfect fuel for running. Okay that is probably not true but they taste delicious. And after you eat all of them because you can't stop because they are the best thing you have ever eaten running will help your pants fit. We headed to  for brunch yesterday. It was delicious. I love how when you eat breakfast at home it is normal size. I almost always eat two eggs and a slice of toast, or bagel with peanut butter or a bowl of oatmeal with pb (I love peanut butter could you tell) and coffee. 2nd breakfast (you know the breakfast you eat around 10 a.m. when you realize there is no way you are going to make it to lunch without being super cranky cause your are starving or perishing due to lack of nutrition is usually a banana. Point is not a million calories. But when you go out to breakfast eating a four egg scramble with ha...

The in-laws are coming, the in-laws are coming. I can't wait!  We are going to make some of these Hot chocolate cookies and these PB balls And we are going to cook delicious Christmas dinner. And by we I mean my mom-in-law will do stuff and I will hand her stuff and try not to mess anything up and then help eat it. or if you are D And open presents. PRESENTS. So excited. 

On Sunday I went for a four mile run and I hit 1000 miles for the year! And it felt pretty good. And then I promptly came down with a massive cold and have been lying low since. I even took a sick day on Monday where I guess I could have blogged but instead laid on my couch watching seasons of Parks and Recreation and napping. And for the record Parks & Rec is amazing. I am feeling better but not better enough to stop the lazy and run- which will induce massive amounts of coughing and me passing out on my treadmill I am sure. So until fully recovered I will sleep in and eat peppermint bars until I am healed. Oh and keep watching Parks & Rec. But whoohooo for reaching 1000! Another goal down. Have you accomplished any major goals lately? -my new goal is to watch and memorize every episode of Parks & Recreation

While I normally shy away from writing anything deep and meaningful or controversial on the blog due to the fact that I like my little bloggie world to be one that is light and airy and the biggest issue around is what marathon to attempt in the spring, I felt an opportunity presented itself as of late. We are all still reeling from the horrific events that took place in Connecticut. It makes me angry and though I tend to be an optimist and believe that people are generally good and do look out for each other and try to do what is right, as of late that optimism has been crushed a little. I guess I could dive in and and share my thoughts on gun laws, mental health issues, and the other issues that have others up in arms on blogs, facebook and twitter but I won't. It is not that I don't have strong opinions about issues such as these it is just I don't want to argue about it. Instead I just would like this opportunity to say thank you. Thank you to the teachers and schoo...

I may have some sort of issue. This morning I woke up thinking "I should run the Wisconsin marathon". First of all- why am I thinking about this while I am sleeping. That seems abnormal. Second of all- sleep thinker me is more rational and into cost savings. I was all about the Illinois marathon. It is in the planner- marathon plan mapped out. Done & Done. But the Illinois marathon is 3 and 1/2 hours away and on a Saturday. Which means packet pick-up on Friday. Which means leaving work early, driving and hotel. Hotel probably for two nights cause lets be honest the probability of me driving home 3 and 1/2 after running 26.2 safely and not  involve me taking myself and unsuspecting victims out is slim. It also means that D can't go. Which seems bad because who is going to be at the finish line to drag my sad butt to a shower and stuff my full of carbs after? I WANT PANCAKES. SOMEBODY GET ME PANCAKES. Oh the horror. So at some point during the night my brain solv...

My favorite thing to buy is running gear. If I had unlimited funds I can only imagine that someone would find me buried under a giant mountain of compression socks and running shoes after I had been crushed under the weight of my own addiction. Even with that terrifying image- still want more. Purple Pro Compression For some reason having pink, black, and neon yellow is not enough. Purple I must have you. Hokas I really want to try these running shoes. They look.....different. But word in the running world is that they are like magic clouds of running awesomeness. They are also $170. I feel for that price I should not even have to be present to participate in the run. I should just be able to put them outside and let them back in when they have done my workout for the day. Bib Folio  So many bibs. Bibs, bibs everywhere. This would help get things under control. And looks so cute. So many medals. Medals, medals everywhere. In need of some more space ...

The other day D walked into the kitchen and asked " what are your top five running moments thus far on your 30 before 30 goal- go". So here they are: 1. Breaking two hours in the half. Who would have thought I could run that fast. Not me. I used to run 11 to 12 minute miles when I first started this quest. When I ran a mile around 10:30 I figured that was as fast as I could go. Now I know I can run miles in the 8 min. mile range. Crazy. Now I think I can run even faster if I focus my training and do some speed work and tempo runs. Maybe my Top 5 for next year will include breaking into the 1:40s for the half. Dream big. 2. The Sedona Half Marathon This race was just beautiful. It was a fun getaway for D and I. A cool place to visit. An awesome course and medal. I think one day I would like to go back and do the marathon. If you ever get the chance, do this race. 3.Catching the racing bug at  Mount Lemmon- Round One This was the first race I did after ...