Sunday Photo Run 1-22-12

Any run in shorts in January is a great run. I ended up taking a short loop through the conservation area today. I love how quiet and peaceful it is out there.

Seven Days

The streak has begun. 

Not that kind of streak....this kind....

I have now run seven days in a row.

Not a big deal, but it's a start.

Pretty easy mileage, I am trying to build slowly and safely. So far I feel good. 

My foot pain is mostly manageable.

It's only been a week now, running every day takes a little planning, but knowing that I can get by with a one mile run if necessary isn't so bad. 

Most of my runs have been before 6am. 

Running before sunrise when the windchill is in the single digits or even below zero is not my idea of fun. 

But I still feel pretty awesome about getting it done.

Because of where I run,

sometimes,

 it's

 like

 I

 am

 the

 last

 one

 left

 in

 the

 world. 

• What is the longest streak that you have run?
• Do you mostly run alone or do you have running buddies?

Sunday Blog Time

I had a little time to blog today.

2011 Mileage

I am very pleased with my miles last year leading up to the Hy-Vee Triathlon. July and August miles had a lot of cycling in them which I definitely plan on doing more of this year. 

I was hit pretty hard this week with a combo sinus infection and a side order of strep throat. But I am just about through my antibiotics and managed to get a few miles in again this morning. I really have to get my training back on track. I am a little lost without a coach, I am not sure that I am disciplined enough to do a proper job of training for my first major event of the year, The Ice Age 50K, but we'll see how it all pans out. 

The other event that I am signed up for is a century ride in LaCrosse Wisconsin. I completed this ride two years ago; it is a fundraiser to help find a cure for Juvenile Diabetes. I had the opportunity this year to help with a local fundraiser for a little girl in our community that has Juvenile Diabetes. It is a terrible disease that affects the entire family every day in many ways that you and I wouldn't even begin to think about. I am proud to be able to help with this. I will post a fundraising link when it is available, you can learn more about these events throughout the US here.

I would like to add in a marathon or half marathon during my training for the 50K but I haven't found one in the area yet. I would also be inclined to complete 50 miles sometime this fall if all goes well. For now, we'll just take it one event at a time and try to stay healthy and enjoy what I am doing.

I almost hate to admit it, but I am going to attempt a small running streak. My goal is to run every day the rest of January. My minimum mileage must be at least one mile per day. It doesn't sound like much, but if all goes well the next two weeks, then there is always February to consider. Yeah, it's a little unconventional and might sound a little crazy, but I look at it as a good way to get some base mileage and leg strength going again. 

I am just glad that I am finally relaxed and feeling like a human again because most of last week.....I felt like a monster!

Do You Love Where You Run?

Sometimes it get's a little lonely living out in the country and not having a running buddy. I have been pretty spoiled by having some great running buddies in the past. But I must say that I feel extremely lucky to have the opportunity to run in the area that I do. I gauge traffic by how many cars per mile I see, rarely is it even one.

I thought I would share a nice little 10K loop with you. Come run with me, I hope you don't mind a couple of hills, it's all part of the price you pay for the view.

This is the pavement after we get off a stretch of gravel about 6/10 of a mile.

After a short run on the blacktop we turn back onto the gravel.
There's a nice surprise at the top.

Pretty awesome view from  here!
We are just about to start having some fun now.

No traffic light here!

This is looking back at where we just ran, it's  almost a 2 mile stretch of gravel.

Back on the road again.
No ipods allowed, we have to be able to listen for traffic.

Uh oh...I think I see another hill around the corner.

Don't say that I didn't warn you!

We're havin' fun now!

Did I mention that there may be a couple of hills?

This pretty much sums up the views from my 10K route. 

My friends and I want to thank you for visiting!

My audience

Looking Back to 2011

It's been a great year and I feel like I took advantage of a good portion of the opportunities that I was offered. I didn't meet all of my goals, the big one was to qualify for Boston. But I still had a lot of fun, I trained hard, and had a few accomplishments and experiences that will change my life forever. I call that a win!

It's been an extremely mild winter to end the year, but looking back, we certainly didn't start off that way.

Snowed in! Feb. 2, 2011

Luckily, just a couple of weeks later the temperatures warmed up enough that I was able to run in shorts for the awesome Psycho Wyco Trail Run. The hills and trails for this run are pretty insane, you can read my race report here but this picture below pretty much sums up how I felt.

One of the most challenging yet fun races that I have done!

Looking back now, I had forgotten how strong I was running. In March I was able to sharpen my skills a bit at the Frisco High Line Half Marathon. It was a huge PR for me finishing in 1 hour and 34 minutes. The interesting thing about this race is that we ran it in the middle of a thunderstorm and I couldn't believe that they didn't postpone it or call it off. I also had the pleasure of meeting awesome Dailymilers David and Jon. 

Next up was the the Fargo Marathon in May. I had really trained hard for this and should have crushed it. Going back through my training log it looks like I just didn't fuel properly. I really should have finished this one much faster than I did. I was really disappointed in my performance at the time but I really think I can make some improvements this year just by remembering to fuel properly through the race an not falling behind on hydration either.

My letdown in Fargo had me lost for a little while, not knowing what I wanted to do next. In June I decided that I would dip my toe into the triathlon end of the pool. I had considered the triathlon many times but swimming is what always held me back. Teaching myself to swim through YouTube videos and an online coach was not the greatest thing in the world. But it got me started. My first triathlon was the Crossroads Triathlon in Cameron, MO. I am not sure that you can really classify it as a Sprint Tri, maybe a mini sprint. It was a 200 meter swim, 8 mile bike, and 2.1 mile run. The swim was a joke, not at the time, but I can really laugh at it now. As embarrassing as the swim was, I still managed to finish first in my age group and 16th overall. 

My next tri was the Panther Pride Tri in Iowa Falls, IA. I was a little smarter when I registered for this one and was right where I needed to be for the swim. It still wasn't easy, but I didn't get run over like I did in my first one. This time I finished 2nd in my age group and 8th overall.

Then came the big day, the Hy-Vee Tri. This is an olympic distance which means a 1500 meter open water swim, a 40K bike, and a 10K run. The swim was a long slow nightmare in which I was super thankful that God must have been watching over me because the water temperature had dropped enough overnight that I was able to wear a wet suit. The right and the run were pretty solid. No fancy pants age group awards on this one though.

Since the Hy-Vee Tri I really haven't done much. I ran a little local 2.1 mile race and then the Vets Day 4 mile trail run in Kansas City.

I finished 2011 off with an 11 mile run and I am hoping to start 2012 off with a 12 mile run. I am fighting some plantar fasciitis which left me hobbling after yesterday's run. I had 1,807 miles of training for the year with 1,337 of those being running. This was down 116 running miles from 2010. 

My goals this year are to break into the ultra world and run the Ice Age 50K in May and if all goes well look at a 50 miler in the fall (I am open to suggestions on this one). I may even sprinkle a marathon or two somewhere in between just for fun.

With the new year upon us and all of those non-running types giving you grief over your love, just keep this in mind.

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. 

Most people exist, that is all." 

- Oscar Wilde