Hello friends! Buckle up. I have a feeling this post is going to be a bit of a brain dump. I’ve got a lot of things swirling around clogging up space in my head and it’s time to get some of them out. Let’s start with a December training update, then we’ll take a look back at some year-in-review items and we’ll wrap up by looking ahead at some year-in-preview items.
I know I did *some* decent training in December, but I honestly can’t think of a single workout that I did off the top of my head. Let me consult Mr. Strava. Ahh yes … I did some hill repeats (15 X 0:30), a couple workouts at the track and a couple workouts that were likely better suited for the track, but I opted to do them on the road instead. It’s SO DARK out, not only in the mornings, but also in the evenings. It’s really putting a cramp in my style. I have zero motivation to get up any earlier than I already have to drive to the track for a workout.
The first track workout I did was a 2 mile warm up, 2 X 1k, 8 X 400, 2 X 1k, 4 X 200 and a 2 mile cool down. The workout went really well! I hit the first 2 X 1k in 3:37, 3:35, went 79, 80, 80, 79, 78, 80, 79, 79 for the 400s, hit the second 2 X 1k in 3:30, 3:32 and finished up with 36, 36, 35, 36 for the 200s. At this point, it feels like this workout was years ago. Heck, it actually WAS last year. Ha! I can’t even remember what my mindset was at the time that I did this workout, but I think I there was a 5k time trial in the works. Spoiler alert: that didn’t happen.
The second track workout that I did was a 4 mile warm up, 12 X 200 and a 4 mile cool down. I don’t think this was the workout that was scheduled for me, but it’s what I felt like doing, so I did it. I hit the 200s in 37, 36, 36, 36, 35, 35, 35, 35, 35, 35, 35, 36, so I was at least super consistent. I don’t know what it is about 200s, but I really just plain LOVE them! This was a solid day at the oval office for sure, with a longer warm up and cool down for a bit of an added challenge.
The first workout that likely would’ve been better suited for the track was a 2 mile warm up, 2 X 2k, 4 X 400 and a 2 mile cool down. This was also not the workout that was scheduled for me on the day, but again, it’s what I felt like doing, so I did it. At just over a mile of effort, the 2ks were totally fine on the road. I did 5:58 pace for the first one and 5:46 pace for the second one. The 400s were 79, 79, 77, 79. The workout was supposed to be quite a bit longer, but I am not willing to do what it takes to run a ton of miles before work at the moment.
Over the course of the last month or two, I had some very honest conversations with my coach about where I was at mentally and my lack of motivation. We both decided that it makes sense for me to do my own thing for a while. I really enjoyed working with John and I hope to work with him again in the future when I am ready to get back into it. He helped me get to a level of running that I could not have really even imagined. He believed in me (still does) and supported me every step of the way. He even helped me to get a legit “elite” entry into a couple of races. I can assure you that I never dreamed of being in that position. I am truly grateful for his guidance and have nothing but fond memories of the [literal] times that I had.
I know enough about running to “coach myself” if I want to and that’s the approach I am taking at the moment. I don’t have any goals in mind, but I do still enjoy pushing myself. I will probably continue to do a few workouts here and there if I feel like it, but if I don’t, I won’t. It’s so simple. I don’t know why it seemed so complicated in the past.
I’ve done mostly easy running since embarking on my self-coaching adventure, but there have been a few workouts sprinkled in as well. One workout that was really fun was a short ladder workout of 100, 200, 300, 400, 400, 300, 200, 100 with jogging recoveries equal to the interval distance. I also did a progressive tempo (5:58, 5:48, 5:37) one day and a tempo + some timed intervals on the treadmill one morning when it was raining outside.
I’m really happy with doing my own thing and right now I don’t even plan the workouts out ahead of time. I typically know which two days I am more likely to get a quality session in, but otherwise, I make it up on the fly. Obviously if I had a specific goal I was training towards, I would schedule things out differently, but this is working for me currently. I’ve been chasing PRs for over a decade and I’m mentally and physically just kind of over it. My heart isn’t in it like it used to be. It’s weird to even say this, but I have zero interest in being a better runner at the moment. I’m perfectly content with where I am and sure, I’d like to maintain some sort of basic level of fitness, but I want to focus on running for the pure enjoyment of it.
Speaking of the last decade of running, several months ago (with Richard’s help), I made a chart of my 5k times over the years. I thought it was super interesting to see all the ups and downs within each year and even between years, but the trend really does still stand out as continual improvement. Looking back at this now makes me want to go back in and do more with this data. It’s so cool to have 67 5k times over the course of 13 years to analyze.
I’ve also decided to take a break from my Pilates class at the moment as well. Again, the plan is to “coach myself” and still continue to do some of the exercises on my own. I’m saving A LOT of money by doing it this way. Saving money is actually one of the goals that I am most excited about right now. We’ve got plans to add on to our house and to pay for it upfront.
I’d say we are officially caught up on the training front. Before we talk about a few of my other random “goals” for the new year, let’s take a brief look back at 2020. If hindsight is 20/20, then 2020 was the year of “hindsight” and it only seems appropriate to take a few minutes to reflect back on the year. One of my favorite sentiments is that life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards. Some of the most beautiful chapters in our stories won’t have titles (or even make sense) until much later. Basically, we have to trust the timing of our lives and know that in times of uncertainty and struggle, clarity and peace is just around the corner. And that, my friends, is really good news!
Richard and I got engaged on 02/02/2020 (a palindrome date!) and got married a few months later (in the midst of the pandemic) on 05/10/2020 (5 + 5 = 10 and 10 + 10 = 20!). Yes. I’m a numbers nerd. We kept it really simple with just our parents and Brooks in attendance. It was really so “us” and I can’t imagine having it any other way. We are enjoying married life on the farm with all of our animals.
I got to run a marathon in January (before things were shut down and races were cancelled). It’s hard to believe that the Louisiana Marathon was even in 2020, as it seems like a lifetime ago! It was a bit of a gamble, but I gave myself one more shot (10 weeks after Indy) to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials. I came away with my 2nd fastest marathon and the overall female win! I’m so glad that I gave it one last shot. In the process, I definitely built a lot of character and re-learned that running is about so much more than finish lines and finish times. This was a timely reminder seeing as how there were not many finish lines to cross for the remainder of the year.
I focused on shorter stuff the rest of the year, with the BIG goals being to break 5 minutes in the mile (I ran 5:02) and to break 17 minutes in the 5k (I ran 17:19). Even though I didn’t quite get there, I’m really proud of the work that I put in. I ran faster and got stronger than I ever have before. The process itself was more rewarding than the individual outcomes. I guess you could say that I shot for the moon and even though I didn’t quite get there, I got to see some stars along the way. So cheesy! I know.
I enjoyed participating in a number of “virtual” races over the spring and summer. I learned that I am actually way more competitive with MYSELF than I am with other runners. I was able to come away with some of my best race times in races where I was the only participant. Looking back now, I am especially thankful for these virtual races. They gave me a goal to focus on for several months when a lot of other things were very uncertain. It was great to have normalcy in the midst of chaos.
While a lot of things are still very uncertain, I don’t feel like I *need* running as the primary constant of my life right now (if that makes any sense). My family, my relationship and my career are my primary focus going into the new year. I don’t think anyone will be shocked by this, but Richard and I REALLY want to start a family. Apparently it is harder than it looks! I won’t use the word infertility as part of our story quite yet, but it’s been an emotional rollercoaster for sure. I’ve always been someone who sets a goal and then does whatever it takes to accomplish said goal. As many of you know all too well, this doesn’t really work that way. I truly believe that it will happen when it is supposed to happen and I’m trying to have patience in the meantime.
So yeah, that’s the focus right now! I have some other less serious goals slash resolutions slash intentions slash whatever you want to call them as well. I have a tendency to get caught up in black or white, all or nothing thinking and I have really tried to be cognizant of that as I set these “intentions:”
- More personal connection and less social media! I have deleted the Instagram and Facebook apps from my phone. I am not deleting my accounts, but I don’t want to mindlessly scroll through them in what little free time I do have only to end up feeling frustrated and annoyed with people. It’s draining.
- Eat more whole foods and less processed foods. A few years ago, I embarked on the intuitive eating “journey.” This was revolutionary for me, but as it turns out, I intuitively want a lot of sweets and other foods that are devoid of many nutrients. I think I am to the point now where I can make a bit of a conscious switch back to focusing more on nutrients as opposed to just whatever I may be “craving” at the moment. Let’s face it, there’s only so much fudge that one person can consume.
- Drink more water and less artificially sweetened carbonated beverages.
- Track my shoe mileage. This one is silly, but I am so bad about not tracking my mileage per shoe. I track SO MANY things in my life, but shoe mileage has never been something that I have kept up with. As a result, I end up putting WAY too many miles on my shoes. I’m not sure whether to be embarrassed or proud of this, but I have a pair of Nike Vaporflys that have to have close to 500 miles on them (insert facepalm). I’ve been using them for the majority of my workouts for over 2 years. I have newer pairs, but I “save” those for races. I started the year with 4 new pairs of shoes (yes that was a bit of an upfront investment, but all of my shoes were dead), so I know exactly how many miles are on them. Here’s to hoping I can keep it up!
- This one is a fun one that may or may not hold up, depending on any big life changes that come my way, but I want to run more miles per week than hours that I work. It will get a little bit more challenging as tax season progresses, but I’m pretty sure that it is doable. It’ll be a fun challenge anyway!
I also jotted down several words or “themes” for the upcoming year. Oddly enough, we did something similar to this at work this week as well. I was unknowingly super prepared for that meeting. Ha! My words for the year are focus, strive, awareness, stillness, nature, nurture, peace, hope, persevere, freedom, love, confidence, humility, surrender, strength and patience. It was really cool to be able to use some of the words that I picked out more on a personal level as part of a professional discussion as well. Here is the product of our work white board brain storming session.
The last couple years of my life have seen a lot of change and a lot of ups and downs, but like running, my job has been one of the constants and I am incredibly thankful for that.
I’ll wrap this up by sharing a couple quotes that are also resonating with me as we go into the new year.
When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.
– Paulo Coelho.
Run the mile you are in.
– Ryan Hall
We can do no great things; only small things with great love.
– Mother Teresa
Whew. There you have it. If you made it this far, THANK YOU for reading! Maybe if I posted a bit more frequently, I wouldn’t have to write an entire novel every time. Maybe that’s another goal to add to the list!