A new goal

Well Chris and I have decided to put off children for a little bit. His job is very much up in the air right now and it doesn't seem like a good idea financially. Plus now we are seeing signs of summer and having conversations about backpacking in the Rockies, and I don't want to give that up! I think being pregnant in the winter sounds better, so we'll probably revisit this topic in a few months, depending on his employment status.

I was thinking the other day how my fitness level is very yo-yo like. Last summer I was probably the fittest I've ever been after doing the half ironman and 200 miles of backpacking. I think I did a reasonable job of staying in shape over the winter, but traveling and health issues have left their mark.

So, my new goal is to be CONSISTENT! 12 months a year! I get motivated by having concrete goals so I came up with some reasonable ones for the next 12 months:
- Run 625 miles ... that's an average of 12 miles per week. I've maybe averaged 10 miles a week the last couple of years.
- Bike 3000 miles ... This comes out to 30 miles a week in the winter, and 75 miles a week in the warmer 6 months of the year, plus a few hundred miles thrown in for good measure. :) Although when I was racing I definitely put in more than 75 miles a week, for a yearly total 3000 would be quite a lot for me.

A little motivation from some of my favorite runs and bike rides over the past year or so:
road bike ride in Arches National Park:

Views along my run along the Pacific coast in San Diego:


I think I can do this and have fun without overtraining and getting burnt out, like I kind of did toward the end of my half ironman training last summer. Also I figure things like hiking count as running so I can be flexible. Most of all, I am really excited about the spring weather and a summer full of good times in the mountains!

Of course, if I get pregnant then this will all change. But part of the motivation for doing this is that the better shape I'm in when I get pregnant, I would assume the more I'll be able to work out through the pregnancy and the healthier I'll be in general.

A strange year coming up!

For the last few years, by this time of year I am either into my cycling base training or getting ready to start a triathlon training plan. I am extremely goal oriented and have become hooked to this lifestyle of training and racing. But this year is different, for a few reasons ...
1. I need something different. I did a lot of base training last year, and it gets boring going the same, slow speed all the time.
2. I'll be in Liberia 2 weeks and won't workout at all, so what's the point in ramping up the fitness until after then?
3. I have no idea what races I will do this year because of the B-word, which Chris and I have been talking about lately. I would hate to register for and invest my time in training for a race and then not do it because I'm the P-word. Then again, Chris also brought up how much he wants to travel still this morning, so maybe we will just never have the C-word. And just because we might start trying to get P-word (which won't happen until after Liberia, at the earliest) doesn't mean it will actually happen any time soon.

So this is strange for me, and I am at a loss for what to do or how to motivate myself to workout when I have no idea what it's for. So for now I am just living in denial and daydreaming about how I'm going to get faster this year.

Off-season Goals

Technically you could say my off-season began as soon as I finished my half ironman Aug. 9. I am a big fan of taking some serious time off during the year. I know it means I lose some fitness but it's worth it for the mental break. Anyway, I slacked off for a couple of months and now I'm ready to get back into a semi-regular routine. But I still won't consider myself back in "training" mode until January - for now I'm happy just to stay active and do what I enjoy!

That being said, I have a couple of goals. These are flexible though and I try to give myself extra wiggle-room this time of year. Chris and I have decided to run together 2-3 days a week, although I'd like to go 3 times and I want to work on speed. I'm not a fast runner but I think with some work that can change. Last year I worked on endurance, so I think this year I'll focus more on faster, shorter runs.

I also want to ride my road bike 2 times a week, just to keep my legs used to it - I hate getting on the bike for the first time in weeks and feeling like crap. Plus I LOVE riding my bike, so this will keep me happy too.

This time of year is also a good time to work on all that boring stuff, like strength and flexibility. I'm trying to go to yoga once a week, which I really enjoy. Rachel and I are talking about lifting weights together - we started today by meeting at the gym at 6:30 AM - way to go us! :)

So, that's it! Oh yeah, I'm also trying to not give in every time I want something unhealthy. I am not very good at things like "self control" and "just say no". I figure if I say no 4 out of 5 times, then I'm on a roll and deserve to splurge 20% of the time. The bad thing is I'm realizing I want something unhealthy most waking moment, so 20% of the time is still a lot. Something else to work on I guess!

Holy Crap!

The title of this blog is how I felt when I got home from my run last Saturday. Two Saturdays ago, I planned to do a 9 mile run. This was second longest run ever, so my goal was just to make it 9 miles and keep the pace easy so I could finish. I ran it in 1:45 and was pretty happy about it. So, last week I was planning on a 10 mile run, but kept getting distracted by work (hate it when that happens). Saturday morning I woke up and had a lot to do, but figured I'd run for "only" an hour and a half. Since this is something I know I'm capable of, I didn't really worry about my pace. I just ran something that was comfortably challenging, and stuck to my walking 1 minute every 10 routine that I do for long runs. I was amazed when it was time to turn around and I had made it as far as I did last Saturday! I finished 9 miles in just under 1:30! I don't really keep track of pace on these runs but one of my last miles was 9:30, including one minute of walking. So, I'm pretty excited about that! :) Also, I felt good almost the entire run. Sometimes I was breathing hard but it was never painful or anything. Sweet!

My goal is to run a half marathon by the end of the year. There aren't any official ones around Colorado this time of year, so I'm probably going to end up running 13.1 miles by myself on Dec. 31. Running is funny because I really despise it when I'm not running regularly. But when I do it 3 or 4 times a week - I start to really love it. I'm planning on running 10-11 miles Wed or Thurs this week in San Francisco and can't wait. :)