Running in My Sleep

« December 2004 | Main | February 2005 »

January 27, 2005

This Week's Update

I was quite embarrassed by my last post, but I was glad to get it out of my system. They're certainly not feelings I would express outwardly or in general public but not ones I wanted to bottle up either. Anyhow, I did take the past few days off to sleep a lot and get ahead on school reading...after work, that is. I could easily become a professional sleeper and bookworm, especially during all this really cold weather. I picked back up this morning with a 40-minute swim. I got in 14 laps (the farthest I have gone in that time, I think) before we had to get ready for work. I can definitely tell that my form and endurance are improving...extremely exciting since my running isn't lately. It was a good workout that I can feel now in my lats, back, and triceps. With swimming more frequently, I find it challenging to lift twice a week because my upper body is already sore. Once I get used to it, I'll resume my routine. Tonight I ran on the treadmill for 75 minutes, which ended up being 9.24 miles. I couldn't remember what my speed workout was for the week, and I didn't expect to feel so speedy anyhow after sitting on my butt all week. So, I ran mostly easy with two 7:30 pick ups for the length of a song each and one for nine minutes. It felt goooooooood to run.

Don't know if I'll get a chance to update the remainder of this week, as we're supposed to head down the Virginia Beach for a second annual commemoration for my step dad. It seems a bit unusual, but are Filipinos the only ones that celebrate the anniversary of a loved one's death? I know I shouldn't be, but sometimes the “different” things in my family’s culture faze me in front of unexpecting friends and strangers. I'll steal away whenever I can, of course, to catch up on everyone else's blogs. Let's see what rumors pop up next! It's getting too exciting to miss.

Posted by Leilani at 11:03 PM | Comments (1)

January 24, 2005

Sick & Tired of Being Sick

I'm going to keep this short because I need to lie on the couch. I've had this stupid, stupid, stupid cough for like three weeks now. It's not going away even though I've been running on the treadmill for the past week and pushing the envelope only when I feel decent. I guess that hasn't been enough rest because I was up a lot last night hacking and had the chills, body aches, and felt lethargic at work today. It's getting worse again. I may have to take a few days off, and I'm so annoyed about this that I could scream. I'm just so frustrated with my training for Austin...it's been one thing or another that has kept me from training to my full potential. Now I'm going to end up with a crappy time; the slower people in my club are getting faster than me; I'm a big embarassment to myself...aaargh! I can't believe I'm sitting here crying about this. It's not the end of the world, and I'm surely not hurt. I'm just being a drama queen!

I'll get over myself soon enough. For now, I'm going to rest up and do some school reading. Here's to getting 100 percent well!

Posted by Leilani at 07:49 PM | Comments (3)

January 22, 2005

22 Treadmill Miles

Or 22.85 miles to be exact. I ran on the treadmill, which actually wasn't that bad because I listened to newly uploaded songs on my mp3 player and watched music videos/news. I felt quite strong the entire time since I started slow and gradually picked up the pace, the strategy I plan for Freescale and one that works best for me. My goal today was to be patient and finish the run because I needed this confidence booster bad. The first hour I did 6.81 miles; the second - 6.85 miles; the third - 7.12 miles; and 2.07 miles in the last 16 minutes...with a 1.0 incline, except for 22 minutes in the third hour (around the 2:30 mark) where I bumped it down to .5 because I sped up. My left quad started getting tight and sore in the second hour, but the faster pace sort of made it feel better. By the end, I was running a 7:30 pace, and I tried to envision feeling light and fast for the last 5k. I really wanted to run for 3:30, but my kind husband had patiently waited for me and cleaned the snow off my car (we had both cars since we picked mine up from the repair shop before we went to the gym) while I finished my run to ensure I got home okay. He even went to get us lunch, so I could get home and stretch. What a sweetheart!

So, all in all it's been a wonderful day. Despite having to spend another $500 to get my front brakes and rotors replaced and a new tire, I received the 3 pairs of Saucony Grid Hurricane 5s that had been backordered since late last year. I've needed to replace my current pair desperately. And I should have plenty of time to read and do things around the house, since we plan to stay in for the evening. Yeay!

Posted by Leilani at 06:32 PM | Comments (2)

January 21, 2005

Easy Workouts

I just swam today after work. My left quad is a bit sore, and I want to be fresh for my final attempt at 20+ before taper mode begins. Yesterday, I ran 45 minutes easy on the treadmill and biked for 30 minutes. My legs felt jelly-like and my hips were tight from the outset and never really loosened up. For sure that was from Wednesday's speed and also a one-legged exercise I did. I'm not sure what that exercise is called, but it's one that my coach gave me as good lower body strength exercise for runners. He also said that one-legged squats are superior to regular ones for us due to specificity and proprioception, or coordination or movement.

This weekend we're supposed to get 6-10 inches of snow, which is a lot for the DC area. I just hope it starts after I have finished my long run (which I'll be doing on the treadmill), so the gym won't close. After that, let it snow! I need a good excuse to force relaxation upon myself and do some minor things around the house, including emailing my wedding photographer to let him know our final selection for our wedding album. I also want some sit down time to read...it's a luxury these days, sadly.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend and that the weather is to your liking!

Posted by Leilani at 05:53 PM | Comments (0)

January 19, 2005

Speedwork on the 'Mill

Ugh, I'm so tired right now that I could fall asleep right in front of the computer. I'll probably lay down for a couple minutes after this, before I get crackin' on dinner...chicken quesadillas tonight! My schedule called for 5 x 1 mile at tempo pace with 200 recovery. Since I'm still coughing hard and feeling "to the bone" cold lately (not typical of my warm core), I did the workout on the treadmill. I warmed up for 15 minutes, then did 4 x 1 mile with 1:30 to 2:00 easy between. My splits were 7:03, 6:58, 7:03, 7:03. That pace was really pushing it for me today, and I couldn't muster a fifth repeat. But I did finish up with a 1/2 mile at 6:44 pace and a 5 minute cool down. I jumped on the stationary bike afterward for a few minutes with the intent for going for ~30 minutes, but my mind just wanted to go home. So I did. I think my cross training from yesterday is the reason I felt so groggy all day. My arms - triceps, shoulders, and back - are wasted. I lifted easy but incorporated some different types of push ups, including ones with a long foam roller, and then I swam hard. I didn't keep track of my laps because I was too distracted by the old guy with whom I was sharing a lane and the kiddie swim class in the lane next to me. I felt bad for a couple that were clearly struggling. It brought back bad memories of my swim classes where I nearly drowned. I can't believe it's taken me all these years to become slightly comfortable in the water. Maybe one day it'll become my third home, that is, after the roads and trails. That would be too awesome.

Posted by Leilani at 07:18 PM | Comments (0)

January 17, 2005

Mini-Brick

My cough relapsed (no phlegm, though) after Saturday's long run and I felt quite tired yesterday, so I took it easy and just swam. A couple things the instructor gave me to work on this week:

1) reach n roll drill (think long)
2) keep darn left hand deep enough in water to pull and follow through
3) swim striders - I forget what she called them, but basically 6-8 all out for half a lap

There, that will help me remember to practice those things when I get in the pool again.

On to running today...I've decided that I'm going to run inside until the cough is almost gone. My body felt fine throughout the day, but the cough and runny nose are worsening. I must not have been fully recovered and (why does R. have to be right?) probably shouldn't have been running outside in those conditions, which would normally be pleasant if I were feeling 100 percent. With that, I was going to play today by ear. I ended up doing a brick workout in the gym and feeling excellent - like I could go on for hours and hours. Is it possible to "crave cardio"? I biked (medium easy, while reading a magazine) for 30 minutes; ran (easy, except for last 10 minutes) 60 minutes; and, biked (hard) for 20 minutes. I wanted to get back on the treadmill for another 10 hard minutes, but by then, it was prime time on all the machines. Surprisingly, my blood sugar wasn't low at this point...I was prepared with a PowerBar and Frosted Mini-Wheats, just in case...but my clothes were completely soaked in sweat, and I didn't want to lift all cold and clammy. Plus, I felt so selfish knowing that R. was going grocery shopping after work, in addition to commuting home an hour, working out, and making dinner. I figured I could make dinner, even though he's the better cook. If I'm a good girl later on, I will do my pull ups and push ups like a good girl should. If I'm a really good girl, I'll get to bed by 9 or 9:30 to help nip this cough/cold in the bud.

Posted by Leilani at 07:20 PM | Comments (2)

January 15, 2005

Lost & Mean People at 7-11

I just haven't had any luck with my 20 milers lately. The Rock Creek Parkway to Capital Crescent loop was my route of choice today because it ends up being ~22 miles, which was my goal. It's one of my favorite runs, a scenic one that begins in Virginia, gradually climbs up DC, traverses through Maryland, leads you to Capital Crescent trail past downtown Bethesda and Georgetown before finishing up at Iwo Jima Memorial. I had enlisted R. to ride alongside/near me to provide me company and in case I started feeling bad, since my confidence level about 20s was low due to my past two efforts. But it wasn't to be. He got frostbite within the first ten minutes on a couple of his toes and was risking getting it on his hands because he didn't bring another pair of gloves or his neoprene booties to go over his biking shoes. After all, it was 33 degrees; I'm sure the windchill made it colder. I was extremely disappointed that he couldn't continue, but I needed to get this run done one way or another.

I don't think I've run 22 miles outside without a training partner before, so I knew it was going to be quite a mental challenge. I was also a bit worried if I would remember where exactly to go once I got to the tip of Rock Creek/Beach Drive, but I was looking forward to the adventure. I felt better today - both my quad and energy level (what gave me problems on the last two 20 milers, respectively) - and everything was going peachy keen. That is, for a little over 2 hours. It started when I got slightly detoured at the tip of Beach Drive, where I didn't remember to turn left and kept going up West Beach Drive into a residential area. It dead ended, so I found my way back to that turn and then to the Rock Creek trail by the baseball fields and horse stable, just as I thought. (I almost forgot to mention that I haven't done this route in over two years.) That added a mile or so. Then after ~10 or 15 minutes, I got to an intersection of the trail scratching my head in confusion at the sign. I stopped to ask another runner which way led to Georgetown or Capital Crescent trail. He wasn't sure exactly, but pointed back in the direction from which I just came. I emphatically did not want to do an out and back, and the sign for straight ahead pointed to Rockville Town Center 14.x? miles. Since that seemed too far off my path/mileage, I took a left and found signs for Georgetown Branch trail and ended up on the "Future" Capital Crescent trail, around where Becky and I went biking last summer. That trail ended, and at that point, I had no idea where I was. I followed a couple more Georgetown Branch signs before they disappeared at a major intersection. I stopped a mail deliverer in her truck and asked again, which way to Georgetown. She said that Rock Creek Park was down the street to the right. I started off again in that direction, knowing that was not where I intended to be, but at least it would return to my starting point. But once I did the math in my head, by the time I would have ended up in Virginia, I would have done ~28 or 30 miles!!! Not what I had planned...

I had run almost 17.5 miles (according to my GPS), so I thought it best to stop in a shopping center to call R. to pick me up. I could do 22 next week. I literally had no idea where I was or what city I was even in and had no money or cell phone (which isn't the norm, as I was expecting R. to be with me - cell phone in hand), but I was still calm albeit disoriented. I stepped into a 7-11 to ask if I could use the phone, that I was lost, but two of the employees could barely speak English. They brought the manager out, and I asked her what city I was in and what the store address was because I was going to call my husband. She immediately got an attitude that no "you can't use the phone, you didn't even ask, use the payphone outside." When I said I had no money, she countered, "That's not my problem, use the payphone outside." Mind you, my mental state was feeble by this time, and I began crying uncontrollably, saying "So, what do I do?" Thank the Lord, a good samaritan and her son gave me a dollar and some change to make a call outside and she even offered me to use her cell phone, but the 7-11 manager broke down and let me use the phone. I called R. and with their help, they instructed me to tell him where I was and where to exit on the beltway. When I got off the phone, the good samaritan saw if I need any further help and the manager offered me water, but I just went outside to wait and continue crying for several more minutes, no reason...I just couldn't stop sobbing. I hated causing such a scene, I was so embarassed, but I couldn't have finished that extra long run without R. sending out a search party for me. He picked me up 15 minutes later; he had actually reparked the car on Rock Creek and jumped back on his bike to look for me since it warmed up.

Now I have a wicked headache (dehydration) and nausea from lunch, which have foiled our plans for the evening. We were supposed to meet R.'s friends visiting from Florida and take them to Brickskellar, this cool DC pub that has Guiness Book's record for most beer/wine offering in a single location. I sent R. to see them. I tried to make myself eat dinner to restore lost calories, and I'm going to attempt to start reading for my upcoming class before calling it a night early. A lame day but I'm sure tomorrow will be better.

Posted by Leilani at 08:04 PM | Comments (5)

January 13, 2005

Unseasonably Warm

When we left the house this morning to go to the pool, it was already warm and muggy by my standards. I was hoping the rain would hold off for the rest of the day because I wasn't planning on doing my run until the evening. The pool was practically empty as the high school teams were vacating as R. and I arrived, so I was ecstatic to have a lane all to myself. Since we only had 45 minutes, I warmed up with a few drills and swam 10 laps (500 meters). I've never counted how many laps I completed in a time period before, but I know that was very slow. Nonetheless, it's a starting point, and I can't wait for the day that I can swim 800 meters comfortably because that's how far I have to swim for the St. Croix triathlon! Actually, I would love to train for and complete an Ironman triathlon, but I'm getting waaaayyyy ahead of myself. I do feel like the form in my arms is improving, but I can't help but feel paranoid that the bottom half of my body is sinking. It's hard to tell unless I have someone watching me, but I'll have to wait until Sunday for that.

Lucky me, the rain did hold off until I finished my run tonight! I did a quick weather check before I headed out, and accuweather said it was 66 degrees. I started out in a short sleeve Coolmax but quickly got hot...I should've known better, but it was a bit tricky with the wind. I was actually thankful for the refreshing wind because my legs were dragging for about 30 minutes, with my quads sore from yesterday's tempo. I ran for 60 minutes and that was it. A Chipotle burrito bowl was waiting for me when I got home - good stuff!

Before I go, I feel compelled to make an honorable mention of my workplace. Three people have come up to me in the past week to tell me they've started running, exercising, etc. and ask for advice on how to build up mileage, lift this or that...One of my co-workers, a smoker, said he thought of running. Hey, that's a start! While I'd like to take credit for their health kick, it's certainly their own initiative. You can bet that I'll be there for status updates. I get such joy when people stick with a program and see results. I'm trying to convince one guy who's been running on the treadmill during lunch that he should run a 5k and that maybe he'll meet a beautiful, in shape bachelorette. Wouldn't that be a great Valentine's story for Runners World?

Posted by Leilani at 10:04 PM | Comments (0)

January 12, 2005

Back in the Saddle

I'm quite happy because we resolved a crisis at work early this morning and my run went well. Since it was still warm and daylight, I decided to run outside. I was going to play it by ear...if I still felt congested or burning, I would run an easy hour, but if I wasn't coughing too bad, I would do a tempo run. I ended up doing the latter. I warmed up for 15 minutes, then did 5 sets of 2 minutes on/off, 1 minute on/off, and 30 seconds on/off. At first, my legs felt heavy, but they woke up once I got going. The hardest part was making myself run easy on the 2 minute breaks because I was anticipating the next fast segment. I felt a tad slower but very strong. I finished up with a 15 minute cool down for a total of 66 minutes.

When I got home, I drank water and ate some Frosted Mini-Wheats to regain some energy before setting up my bike on our trainer. I rode for 45 minutes, intermittently hard and easy, while I checked out a Crate and Barrel catalog and watched American Justice on A&E. Now I'm getting ready to eat dinner, since my honey just got home!

Posted by Leilani at 08:53 PM | Comments (1)

January 11, 2005

A Tiny Workout

I still didn't feel all that stellar today, and with work being hectic on top of that, I was just big one crabby patty. I would've crawled back into my shell if I could have. But, at least I got a workout in tonight. My day never feels complete without a run or some form of exercise. I managed 45 minutes at ~8:20 pace on the treadmill, 30 minutes on the stationary bike, some pull ups (1 x 12, 2 x 10), and push ups (3 x 30). I had intended to do more, especially after taking so many days off from being *really* sick, but my lungs started burning about 10 minutes into the run. It felt like indigestion, but it was in the wrong place and besides, I didn't eat anything spicy today. So it was probably the bronchitis. It didn't subside during the bike either, so I called it a night early. I'm not going to push and get sicker all over again (or end up in the hospital, like Blondie did...thanks for the wake up call!), so I'll do what I can until my body tells me it can push harder. One other thing I do have to note is that my left bum quad was kind of achy today. Not pain, but maybe like a deep muscular twinge right down the middle of the quad? I need to find time to get in for some electric stim.

Well, let me finish up dinner so I can go to bed. I'm up at 5 tomorrow. Hopefully I can get a restful night of sleep.

Posted by Leilani at 09:43 PM | Comments (1)

January 10, 2005

Getting Better, I Think

It turns out that I have bronchitis, so I've been doped up on antibiotics and prescription cough medicine. Even with the latter, I was still coughing so much that I couldn't sleep, and I switched to taking Nyquil, which helps me sleep through most the night. My body aches are mostly gone, but the deep cough is still vicious and so painful at times that I throw up if I've eaten recently.

Nothing to report on running...I haven't ran since last Wednesday. I'm bummed of all this time off, but I know it's for the best. R. and my doctor have me convinced that if I don't let this get better that I might end up with pneumonia. If I feel better tonight, I may try some push ups and pull ups at home, since I have a pull up bar on my closet door frame. And if that's good, I want to run an easy hour tomorrow, so long as I can breathe okay. Actually, in catching up with everyone's blogs, it sounds like a lot of us are either sick or injured! I hope everyone heals and gets better soon!

Posted by Leilani at 05:04 PM | Comments (2)

January 06, 2005

Feeling Worse

I've tried mightily to fight this stupid cold, but I'm clearly losing the battle because now it has moved into my upper respiratory area. I feel like a hairball's stuck in my chest, and I want to hock it up just like the cat does. Except my hairball is a glob of mucous that I can't cough up in one sitting. I know, it's gross. I left work early today when I started getting clammy and achy again; the cough has been manageable in the daytime, but the congestion's getting worse and it's keeping me and R. up at night. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, so we'll see if she gives me any antibiotics or if I just keep taking cough medicine. All I know is that I want to get better ASAP because I don't want to miss too much training!

Since I'm off my feet and I couldn't get a good, restful nap in, I've starting on some new books I purchased/received recently - Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook and Crime Scene: The Ultimate Guide to Forensic Science. I feel like a total nerd because I prefer to read non-fiction and military history books, though I do stray toward an occasional trashy magazine when hanging around my mom's house. Anyhow, I'm particularly interested in the chapter "Bulking Up Without Adding Fat" in the Clark book. At 5'1'' and 98 lbs, I could probably stand to gain a few pounds. My swim instructor keeps telling me to eat spoonfuls of peanut butter so I can gain some fat and float better. I'm not a huge fan of peanut butter, but I think I will make my selection for our Thai carry out dinner! Mmmmmm, I love spicy food...

Posted by Leilani at 07:38 PM | Comments (4)

January 05, 2005

Dodging a Cold; Thinking Out Loud

I think the drastic shift in temperatures the past week has really dorked up my immune system because now I'm fighting a cold. Monday and Tuesday my body felt achey and weak, and I had a fever. I'm trying to head this one off early by getting as much sleep as possible, drinking lots of water, taking cough medicine every 6 hours, and drinking Emergen C. I felt better this morning but not 100 percent...maybe more like 75 or 80 percent. If I feel any worse, I've already told myself that I will listen to my body. With that:

Monday, January 3
I tried to run after work, but I turned around after 4 minutes of feeling blah.

Tuesday, January 4
I decided to do my workout on the treadmill in case I felt bad, I could abandon the run and do something else less exerting. A decent run considering I still wasn't feeling that great.

Warm up 15 minutes; 4 x 5 minutes @ 10k on/off - 7:13, 7:08, 6:58, 6:48 (this last one felt really hard today); Cool down 15 minutes

Wednesday, January 5
Swim - AM Sometimes sharing a lane with an oblivion can be as frustrating as someone who doesn't know track etiquette. I ended up kicking an old lady in the head and causing her to choke on some water because she wasn't following our agreed upon pattern, which was to swim in circles with the other guy in our lane. I felt really bad, but dude, follow the rules!

I fared well most of the day, but my head felt hot and I had the chills toward the end of the workday. Before I went to the gym, I took some Ibuprofen and cough medicine - a good temporary fix.

Run 45 minutes easy & Lift arms - PM

I hope this cold goes away soon. It's hampering the quality and schedule of my workouts. My plan is to get in as many cross-training (biking, swimming, and lifting) sessions as possible before the semester starts. I'm taking an "Operating Systems" class this Spring, something in which I'm not extremely well versed, so I suspect it's going to require some extra study time. At that point, something may have to give. My guess is that it'll be lifting, since swimming is my weak event in the tri, and I haven't biked in a while.

Originally, I wanted to do Boston after Freescale in February and then, the tri in May. But since I want to challenge my marathon PR this fall, I was thinking of eliminating Boston in order to use March through June to work on shorter distances and speed. Any thoughts on reaping speed benefits in this short timeframe? Is it possible? Should I run Boston anyway?

Posted by Leilani at 06:02 PM | Comments (1)

January 02, 2005

Closing Out the Weekend on an Upnote

Despite my yucky long run yesterday, this weekend was very relaxing and productive. It's rare that I can put those two words in the same sentence, but I made sure to enjoy myself and not stress out if everything didn't get done on my "to do" list (it never does). Yesterday we saw Meet the Fockers, which was absolutely hilarious. I got a nap in yesterday afternoon and slept 8 hours last night; thoroughly cleaned the kitchen, master bath and bedroom; and, put away Christmas decorations. I organized my wedding and Reserves files too...man, I was on a roll today.

For exercise today, I ran a slow, easy 45 minutes in the AM since my left quad was a bit sore. I wanted to cut it short because I was tired and lazy, but seeing a couple people on the trail motivated me enough to finish up as planned. On the way home, I picked up a flyer for a house for sale to check out the specs. We haven't even been in our condo quite a year yet, but I suspect we'll need to move again in the next few years if we're going to have any room for kids, the cats, and all of our athletic equipment (which could probably take up a whole room itself). But I'm getting ahead of myself, as I always do. This afternoon, I also went to swim class and to the gym afterward to lift upper body. Class went well - more drills and things to become more comfortable in the water. My instructor did comment that I'm definitely moving with my stroke (as she says, "making the water a solid"); now, if I could improve my breathing, get my lower half to be more buoyant, and time my strokes closer together (or more smoothly, should I say), things will become a lot easier. Oh yes, and learn to tread water. We worked on that today in the shallow end, but I'm truly a sinker. We hit the deep end next week.

Well, dinner's waiting for me as well as a couple last errands and hopefully some leisurely reading, so I'm signing off for the night. Thanks to everyone for your encouraging comments. You guys help keep me going week after week, and I really do enjoy reading your blogs!

Posted by Leilani at 08:46 PM | Comments (1)

Cruddy New Years' Long Run; 2005 Goals

Yesterday was a perfect day for being outdoors, and I was antsy to get out on the trail to do my 20-mile long run. Alas, I had to wait patiently because R. had to pack all his biking gear. He was planning on running for 1:30, then mountain biking until I finished my run. We finally made it to Burke Lake Park around 10. It wasn't too crowded, but a steady stream of families were pulling in to walk their dogs, go fishing/boating, and play frisbee golf. Immediately when we started running, I felt like I had no energy whatsoever. It seemed that I was crawling, and I began cursing our non-carb load New Years Eve dinner (it was so fun, delicious and artistic, though) and the one alcoholic drink I had, a mojito (good stuff, if you're not really into hardcore drinks). I stopped to take off my tshirt, at which time R. continued, and I said I would catch up. And once I started again, I couldn't catch up! This was especially frustrating because R. is considerably slower than I am, and for the life of me, I was killing myself in an attempt to motor my way back up to him. When we finished the first five-mile loop, we both complained of our lack of energy but celebrated our (surprise!) 8 minute pace. Geez, an 8 minute pace never feels that hard on my recovery days. My second lap also was around the same pace, and then from there, it fell apart. In my third and fourth laps, I had to run-walk because I had nothing to give. My legs felt fine, nothing hurt, blood sugar was okay because I was Gu-ing and drinking XLR8, but there was simply no gas in the tank. I ended up finishing in 3 hours, feeling pathetic but not defeated. In retrospect, I would have called it a day early and made another attempt today, but it seemed a better idea to get the run over with at the time. I also wanted to tack on 2-3 extra miles at the end, but that will have to wait for the next one. I'm a bit discouraged because my past two 20-milers have been poor efforts - bum quad and now, low energy. I certainly hope that my next 20 goes better or I shouldn't even waste my time with Austin. Aargh! (Be positive, be positive, be positive....)

With that off my chest, now I will look on the brighter side. I've had awful long runs in past training cycles, to redeem myself with a decent marathon or half marathon time, so I won't give up the fight. And I will go into Austin with a relaxed, no pressure mindstate. I have to - my highest mileage week will be just above 50, and I'm certainly not in PR (3:18) shape. My plan is to revisit that in the fall. That said, I've thought about some of my goals in 2005:

1. Spend money less frivously. Since planning our wedding last year and even afterward, I continued to spend money like it was going out of style. A good "save your money, plan for the future" talk with a good, co-worker friend put some fiscal responsibility back into me, and I've decided to put my spending spree on lock down. I will buy things on sale and look for bargains. It's going to kill me because I hate shopping in stores that are picked over. It doesn't help that I'm a size 0-.

2. Finish graduate school. I need to check with my advisor, but so long as some of my credits didn't drop off from being activated in the military (thus, prolonging the length of my program), I should only have three classes to include my thesis.

3. Decide if I will retire in the Marine Corps Reserve. My 7-year anniversary is in March, and by the time I can resign my Presidential commission in 2009, I'll be at the 11-year mark...which means, only 9 more years to retirement. Before I get to that point, though, I need to take appropriate steps to complete my professional military education (more school!), get promoted, and take care of my Marines and Sailors so that they can get promoted. On the other hand, do I want to risk the possibility of more deployments to the Middle East?

4. Be not a slave to my training/exercise regimen. This one's going to be really hard. I absolutely love to train and race; I forego happy hours and social functions to get a run or whatever physical activity in. And when I can't do it, oh boy, watch out - the horns come out! Seriously though, I have family and friends who want to spend time with me and vice versa, and I have two careers in which I want to do and be the best. And I want to make more of a difference in the bigger scope of society/the world. There's no way I can juggle it all and be a well-dispositioned person, so I commit to doing what I can training-wise without neglecting the other areas and goals of my life.

There are others, but that's what has come to mind the past couple days. And I don't like to say "Resolution" because people tend to break those. The difference is that goals can be adjusted and fine tuned and even if I stray off track, I can always get back with the program. I'm sure there will be other goals and ones that I dream of (like breaking 3:10), so I'll keep try, try, trying with the firm belief that everything will fall into place.

Now, off for an easy 45 minute run....

Posted by Leilani at 09:42 AM | Comments (5)