Hitting the Reset Button

Feels like a little year-end wrap-up is in order, no?

It's been a pretty big year: Moved to Dallas. Did a bunch of construction/remodeling work in the new house. Picked up my running considerably. Met some great new friends through my DRC running group. Fell out of love with playing goalie. G got promoted to partner. I got laid off. And we just hosted our first Christmas with my family.

Lots of change this year, some of it for the worse but a lot of it for the better. Even though we miss our friends in Houston like crazy, we like Dallas, and I LOVE the weather. So nice to have real winter and know that for every nice running day, I won't have to suffer through 20 yucky, humid days (and that's just in winter!)

And between my great running group and new running friends and lovely weather, I've really accomplished so much more this year than I expected. When I left Houston in late March, I don't think I'd run much more than 5 miles at a time. Needless to say, things got stepped up when I left the suffocating humidity behind:

• Since April, I've run 444.8 miles in 94 hours and 40 minutes (12.77 mph avg) and burned over 57,000 calories
• Two half marathons (Tyler Rose in 2:52 and DRC Half in 2:30)
• Had one race cancelled due to Icemaggedon (Isle du Bois Trail 18k)
• Ran/rode/hated one duathlon
• Won 2nd place in the Athena division of the Flagpole 8K
• Ran two 10ks, a 5M and a 15k, and the 8M turkey trot
• Longest distance was 13.67 (the overly long Tyler Rose half)
• Hilliest run totaled 1125 feet of climbing on a 10 miler in Dana Point, CA

I'm very excited that I've managed to not have any significant injuries (though admittedly, the small injuries feel huge in the moment), and that I've managed to stay balanced and not burn out. All this has just been the foundation from which to leap to bigger goals, and the first step of that began this week.

My Christmas present is a massage treatment (4.5+ hours of work), basically with a muscle activation  approach (though a little different). My MT does a few tests to see if certain movements point out pain or imbalances, and then she starts jabbing her fingers into painful places to "reset" those muscle attachments and get them responding to brain signals properly.

I've had two of the three treatments so far. It's one of the more painful things that's been done to me in the name of properly functioning muscles. Fingers stuck under rib cage or pelvic bones, thumbs pressing on muscle attachments. Hooboy! But if you like torture in the name of wellness, or just a really good deep tissue or regular massage, my MT is awesome, funny, sweet, and most of all, knowledgeable and passionate about her work. Check her out.

In two days, I'll do a test run of 6 miles (which is where my flexor/groins start to hurt) to see where we're at. She said other clients who've had this work find their leg turnover much more fluid and easy, less soreness in the groin and hip flexors, and improved speed. I'd be happy with any one of these, much less all three, so I'm very excited (and I think my MT is even more excited) to see how we're doing.

Then my first race of the year is Saturday: DRC Frigid 5k/10k (I'm doing 10k because 5ks suck). Really hoping I can run this with around 10 minute miles, but we'll see. I may be expecting too much. Plus, I've been eating like garbage polishing off all the Christmas food. I'm working to tightening this up throughout this week, but hubs is home all week, so it's tough.

Looking even further ahead, I'm also signed up for:
Jan 21-Mar 13 - RunOn! Speed Training (Tues/Thurs)
Feb. 8 - Hot Chocolate 15k
Mar. 1 - Levee Run 10k
Mar. 23 - Dallas Rock n' Roll 13.1M
Apr. 12 - Possum Kingdom Trail Run 20k

I think I'm also signing up for DRC again just to have someone to run long with on Saturdays, but I'm debating whether to do run/walk again or all run. Leaning toward all run. I'd go in the slowest group 2:30 and I know I can keep that pace. And I can always drop to run/walk if I need a break one week.

So, that's the plan. I have some lofty time goals for the year, but I'd love to make them before summer and get to set all new goals for fall! But with only one half marathon on the docket, it's unlikely. Still, can't hurt to try!

Stay with it, mule!

The Restlessness

It's always after an easy-feeling, pleasant run that I feel this restlessness. This itch to improve, to figure out the next thing and how to get there. I've spent the last hour and half looking at advanced half marathon training plans and hunting down a nearby school track to do speed work.

After spending Sunday sulking about my duathlon times, I feel back on the wagon. Screw the bike. Hockey is my cross-training, so I don't really need it. Running is my jam, baby. Let's do this thing.

Here's how it plays out:

• I have the DRC Half on Sunday, Nov. 3. I'm setting a 2:30 goal. It's a stretch goal, so it isn't one of those "pout if I don't get it" goals, but it's my goal. This is a mostly flat, very familiar course and if I can average 10:30 run intervals and 14:00 walk intervals doing 3:1 intervals, I can reach this goal. I was doing 9:30 run intervals and 14:00 walk intervals on the 15k when I got hurt. If I can dial that back a smidge, avoid angering the hamstring, and not have to stop to pee or anything, then I can do it.
• Our DRC training runs through the Dallas Marathon on Sunday, Dec. 7, but since I already had 2 road halfs scheduled and the Dallas is crazy expensive, I decided to sign up for the Isle du Bois 18k trail run on Dec. 6. 
• Trail running is a different animal, so I need to train up for it, which means moving long runs on Saturdays to the trails. Maybe not all of them but probably 3 of the 4 post-DRC Half. Rosie is doing IDB with me, so I'll have some good company.

And that's it for 2013. Well, the 8M Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, but that's kind of a throwaway, shits and giggles, earn-your-pie race. (FYI, last year I did the Houston Turkey Trot 5k and it was an all out, exhausting effort to run that. I think the most I'd done was 4 miles and this year I'm shrugging at 8 miles. How amazing is that??)


So, the point is, I'm all out of races after Dec. 6! And that's only like a month away! Ack! Then what???

I'd considered seriously signing up for the New Years Eve half in Allen, but now I'm thinking to skip that and start a new half marathon training program. That would give me a few light weeks while allowing me to start integrating legitimate speed work without the pressure of another race on the near horizon.

I hate to not run with a group but I really don't know of a group that will have the timing (not waiting until mid January to start) and elements I want (real speed and hill work while still letting me do run/walk for the long distances).

What's more, the RunOn Speed Training class starts on Jan. 21 and I'd love to do that, but it would conflict with DRC Tuesday runs, so that's money wasted.

So, I think I'm going to have to strike out on my own (and maybe try and bring some folks with me).

I'm considering Hal Higdon's Intermediate or Advanced Half Marathon program. If I did the Advanced, I'd have to shove the whole week back a day to put the long run on Saturday and make Sunday a rest day and put weight training on Tue/Thu/Fri.

Or if I did Intermediate, I'd have to replace some speed days with hill days. After all that work I did for Tyler, I'm not letting my climbing muscles shrivel up.

Anyway, it's 1:30 a.m. and I may read this with a clearer mind in the morning and think I've lost my marbles, so I better post this now as evidence of what The Restlessness does to a girl on a runner's high. It's dangerous stuff. I love it.