Sunday, March 16, 2014

Deep in the Polar Vortex of my Soul

Ha, ha!  Boring update gets crappy title!

So, how has winter been going?  Um, it's been cold.  But, that's not really news, is it?  I've been doing a running streak, which I personally defined as doing at least one mile faster than 12:00 pace every day.  Today was day 79!  Used to be running two days in a row would "kill" my knees.  Oh, they still complain with loud, crunchy noises from time to time.  But they haven't given out on me yet.

I'm also finally into a weight routine that I am happy with.  I found the idea for this routine where you lift three days a week.  On the light day you do three sets of fifteen (3x15), heavy day you do 3x5, and medium day you do 3x8.  The heavy day I do squat, bench press, pull up, and dead lift.  The light and medium days both consist of squats, a "push" exercise, a "pull" exercise, and a couple of accessory lifts for the legs and core.  I decided to follow this routine for eight weeks total.  By then I will probably be ready to start race training, and I'll likely drop lifting to two days a week.  In a separate post I will outline my complete routine, so I will have it handy if I want to go back to it next winter.

I don't have any races marked on the calendar as of yet.  We had a lot of fun two years ago at the Norway Spring Classic.  But, it is the weekend after Easter this year, so Chuck will not likely be home.  My options might be somewhat limited all year, depending on his weekends home and whether I want to spend that time racing.  I've been saying that I plan to run a marathon this year, but it isn't as firm as a "plan" yet.  More like a "maybe".  The Marquette Marathon is at the end of August (I think).  I'm either talking myself into it, or out of it.  Could go either way.

For the first time in forever, I am happy with my weight.  That scares me, though, because my inner fatty demands to be fed.  First, I'll stop being careful with how I eat most days.  I need the energy; I'm training!  The scale will creep up, but I'll tell myself I'm "building muscle".  My pants will get a little snugger, until I justify buying a larger size because they are a different brand.  Then I'll get pregnant, LOL!  I don't really think any of that will happen this time, but it would be foolish not to occasionally remind myself of where I came from and how I got there in the first place.