2012 Goals

2011 was a great year for me in the world of swimming, biking and running. Based on what I did this year, I have some goals I'm going to work toward in 2012. Here is what I did in 2011 that is notable, and what I hope it do in 2012.

• I swam, biked and ran farther than I ever have. Swim = 134,525 yards. Bike = 2,074 miles. Run = 900 miles. I'm very proud of this and the goal is to increase all of these numbers in 2012.
• I PR'd a half marathon - 2:02. The goal was to go sub 2 hours in 2011, but since I didn't reach it, it is now a 2012 goal.
• Completed my first Olympic distance triathlon in 3:02 2012 goal is to go sub 3:00

Other goals include:

• Getting to know more people in the Seattle triathlon scene. I need more training buddies!
• Race a bike race. I know I'm not fast, but I would like to experience racing on my bike outside of triathlon.
• Run farther than 13.1 miles
• Keep up on weekly speed workouts. I would be ecstatic if my average pace was around 8:30 by end of 2012.

I know all of these are realistic given I properly train, stay injury free and push myself. So here's to 2012 - lets get sweating!

It wasn't a fluke

Just a quick note here...

I just want it to be known that I ran a short 3.1 miler after work before a dinner party. In most cases, this wouldn't be blog worthy, but after my 2 months of sucky runs, this run deserves a headline.

I ran those 3.1 miles and averaged 8:50 pace. Yippee!

It's not a fluke, my running is back and I can't think of a better Christmas present than getting my speed back.

And I got a new shirt to really tell the world what I love

A good run x 2

If you've been reading my last few posts or follow me on Daily Mile, you will probably know that since the beginning of November, I've had a hard time running. My pace is significantly slower, my breathing labored and my body overall heavy and stiff. I don't know what caused this, but I took it as a sign to slow things down and only run if I was enjoying running. Who wants to run when it sucks? Not me!

So going into a 12k this past weekend, I was a little nervous. I had been doing some longer runs with friends, but at a slower pace and nothing close to 7.5 miles, so the thought of running that long in a race was freaking me out a bit. I decided to make my goal "run the whole thing." I know I couldn't PR this (current 12k PR 1:07), but I could give it what I had, have a fun time with my friend Rebecca and see what would happen.

Rebecca and I - my friend let me borrow her tutu...

We ran the whole hilly beast and had a great time! We finished in 1:12 (my Garmin said 7.56 miles which would be a 9:31 pace), which I'm super stoked about because there were hills for days! The bonus was that I felt completely opposite of what I have been feeling the past couple months - I felt energetic, my body wanted to run (although a bit slower) and it was the first time in a long time that I enjoyed running that far! Yes! I told Rebecca "I hope this is a turning point in my running" and I think it was....

Because this morning I met a friend, Paige, to run 4 miles and we averaged a nice 9:15 pace, which is about where my runs used to be at. Yippee! I'm BACK! I hope I didn't just jinx it...

Being "back" came just at the right time - Half Marathon training started this week! Speed workouts will start tomorrow.

Monday musings

We're 12 days into December and I'm happy to report that I am sticking to my "Focus on being Happy and Healthy." I've been getting in some form of exercise, 6 days a week and laying off the bad temptations that the holidays can bring. It is harder, however, when my man-friend is visiting for the weekend because beer intake and dining out skyrocket. But everything is okay in moderation and I make sure to get a salad with most meals and lay off the french fries. :)

The holiday season is going to get a swift kick into high gear this weekend as I have 3 Christmas parties and I'm running a holiday themed 12k. I'll pretty much be wearing my ugly sweater all weekend. I'm excited for everything, but most excited for the 12k. A good handful of my running buddies are registered and the more people you know at a race, the more fun, right? I have no time goal for the 12k, but I'd like to run the whole thing. I know that sounds easy to most of you, but my running just hasn't been what it used to be this summer, so those 7 and some odd miles will be a bit of a challenge for me. Just. Keep. Moving! will be my mantra. :)

Not much else to report around here... Still getting together my half marathon training plan for the race on March 10th. I'd like to officially start training next week (12 weeks out).

Thanks for reading!

I didn't like Bikram Yoga

I went to my first, and probably last, Bikram (hot) yoga class tonight. I did not enjoy it.

First of all, I'm not a yogi what-so-ever, but I do enjoy a good session of vinyasa yoga. I love the poses and the fast flow. I thought Bikram would be those same poses, but in a hot environment. Nope. Not even 1 downward dog! I guess I didn't know that Bikram poses are different than the yoga I am used to. Anyway, the combination of poses I wan't a fan of and getting super light headed, I didn't have a good time.

I had to lay down multiple times because I felt dizzy and after the class I felt sick. The only part that I liked about it is that I sweated buckets. But I could have done that just laying in that hot room for 90 minutes.

I paid $20 for that class and I could go to 10 more classes in the next 14 days on that same $20, but we'll see how my body feels in the next couple days. There were some moved that my knees really didn't like - I have this funny knee/shin disorder called Osgood-Schlatter which was caused when I was growing as a kid where there is excess bone growth on my tibia, which actually sticks out past my knee cap, so it is hard for me to kneel or sit on my knees without a good deal of pain. So I think my knees might be a little sore tomorrow if not a bit bruised from all the "on knee" poses we did.

Anyway, I left the classes saying "I'd rather go for a run." Ha! I guess hot yoga is not for everyone and I'm totally okay with that!

Are you a yogi? Do you like Bikram yoga?