March Goals Re-cap

Ever had dill pickle potato chips before? They're not too bad- we had them at the Canadian section of Epcot (it's a Canadian brand), though I'm sure that little bag we bought cost more than this big bag I found at Marshalls. And yes, those are ketchup flavored potato chips next to them. ewwww!

I updated my goals in January and here's the progress I made in March.
February's progress can be seen here.

A few goals under Health:
1. Stick to GAPS
Just like in February, this was a bust since the nausea, loss of appetite and super sensitive sense of smell made it impossible to do any cooking myself. Things did improve toward the end of the month and we're easing back into GAPS this week. I've been getting back into the habit of cooking and meal prep and now just have to sit down and do a menu and shopping list.
2. Train for and run at least 6 races by the end of 2013 (at least one half marathon, preferably two)
I've run 3 races now- one 5k, one 4 miler, and one half marathon. I thought about registering for a local spring half, but decided not to since I'd be doing it just to cross it off my list- I wouldn't be able to get a decent time and would not be properly ready for it. I did register for a 5k at the beginning of June, and I don't anticipate any problems there, even if I do have to walk part of it. I'm still running regularly (though at a reduced mileage/intensity) and can feel the changes in my body already as the baby co-ops my oxygen.
3. Consistently cross train and strength train
I haven't added cycling and strength training, though I'm still finishing projects around the house, which is a kind of strength training :)

A few goals under House:
1. Clean up drips and do the final touches in each room
I  am working on finishing the kitchen. Once I finish that, then I can move on to the touch ups.
2. Build and install shelves in all closets
I did the kitchen coat closet and it is soooo much more functional now- I love it! The pantry is also finished. In April I'll work on LMS's closet and the master closet.
3. Build homeschool cabinet
Finished the design, but haven't had time/energy to start yet. Finally got extra furniture moved out of the living room and now have the space to build it, so a step closer.
4. Build kitchen table
Again, haven't had the time/energy yet.

A few goals under Homeschool:
1. Continue to be consistent at keeping to the schedule
We're doing pretty good at sticking to the schedule, though we have had to be a bit flexible with the fatigue I've been experiencing and we have not managed to get an earlier start in the morning.
2. Be more present
Still working on this one, but I suspect this is one of those on-going ones that never quite end.

A few goals under Habits:
1. Practice the piano and violin consistently
Yeah, these haven't happened yet- no time or energy.
2. Index several batches every week for FamilySearch
Nor this one.
3. Have more meaningful daily scripture study (start journaling as I read)
I've tried several journaling options and I'm not convinced that any of them are working for me. I had hoped that journaling would help me get more out of what I read, but at this point I'm not sure it will. I have a few other things I'm going to try in the meantime, and I'll revisit journaling later.

How did you do with your goals this month?

February Goals Re-Cap

signs of spring!

I updated my goals in January, and even though it's almost the end of March now, I'll post how I did in February, as best as I can remember.

A few goals under Health:
1. Stick to GAPS
This was a bust since the nausea, loss of appetite and super sensitive sense of smell made it impossible to do any cooking myself. I hope to get back on track after I hit the second trimester.
2. Train for and run at least 6 races by the end of 2013 (at least one half marathon, preferably two)
I ran the mud run in February so I've run 3 races now- one 5k, one 4 miler, and one half marathon. Since I made the goal before I found out I was pregnant I didn't take into account childbirth and such. I had hoped for a fall half, but that won't be happening. After running the numbers I realized I won't even be ready for the Disney Half in January- I'll only be 3 months postpartum and that's just asking for injury since I shouldn't start training till 6 weeks after giving birth- which would leave less than two months to train. That said, I do still plan on doing more shorter races this year.
3. Consistently cross train and strength train
I haven't added cycling and strength training, though I'm still finishing projects around the house, which is a kind of strength training :)

A few goals under House:
1. Clean up drips and do the final touches in each room
I finally finished the basement stairway and am working on finishing the kitchen. Once I finish that, then I can move on to the touch ups.
2. Build and install shelves in all closets
I've been working on the basement and kitchen, and haven't started this yet.
3. Build homeschool cabinet
Finished the design, but haven't had time/energy to start yet.
4. Build kitchen table
Again, haven't had the time/energy yet.

A few goals under Homeschool:
1. Continue to be consistent at keeping to the schedule
We're doing pretty good at sticking to the schedule, though we have had to be a bit flexible with the fatigue I've been experiencing and we have not managed to get an earlier start in the morning.
2. Be more present
Still working on this one, but I suspect this is one of those on-going ones that never quite end.

A few goals under Habits:
1. Practice the piano and violin consistently
Yeah, these haven't happened yet- no time or energy.
2. Index several batches every week for FamilySearch
Nor this one.
3. Have more meaningful daily scripture study (start journaling as I read)
I've tried several journaling options and I'm not convinced that any of them are working for me. I had hoped that journaling would help me get more out of what I read, but at this point I'm not sure it will. I have a few other things I'm going to try in the meantime, and I'll revisit journaling later.

How did you do with your goals this month?

Mud Run Results

Saturday I ran in my first mud run. I had registered for it before I found out I was pregnant, and had been debating whether to go through with it or not. My doctor said as long as it feels good to keep running, I can, so despite the cold and possibility of freezing rain, I decided to give it a go.

But what do you wear in a race of indeterminate length when you're going to be crawling through the mud, splashing through puddles, maneuvering obstacles, and climbing a 6' wall and a 12' pile of hay bales?

I opted for the old running shoes I've been wearing when I paint, old long johns I purchased as a college freshman from an Army surplus store, a running skirt for modesty, a tech shirt that I think is ugly (it was on clearance, and looked a lot cuter on the rack), and an old fleece I picked up at Goodwill. I wasn't sure if any of my clothes would get ruined, so I only wore things I wouldn't be too sad to lose. As it turned out, my clothes fared a lot better than I was afraid they would.

I can only guess that the organizers of this race scheduled it in February because it would add an element of fun or adventure. I'm not so sure about that. I think we were all trying as hard as possible not to get too wet or muddy since the temps were in the mid-30s. If it had been summer, it wouldn't have been an issue.

Once I arrived, I finally found out that the race was a smidge longer than 4 miles (I couldn't find anything online saying how long the race was, so I was going into this blind). Overall, the race was fun, with most of the obstacles in the first mile and a half. Unfortunately, they didn't stagger the beginning and those of us not at the very front ended up having to wait our turn to go over the first 3 or 4 obstacles. All told, I probably lost about 20 minutes standing and waiting. I wasn't too concerned though, since I wasn't going for a time, I was just trying to finish.

I will say that those who are taller had an advantage over those of us who are short. Luckily people were nice and helped those around them (including me) get over the obstacles that were too tall for us.

I didn't get too muddy till the second mile, but most of it washed off when we went through a culvert under the highway (!) at the third mile marker. I collected a bit more mud during the third mile, but not much.

This puts my total races for the year up to 3: a 5k, a half marathon, and now a 4 miler.

Will I run this race next year?
I don't know.

Will I run a mud race when it's warmer?
Most likely.

Have you run a mud race?

Updated Goals for 2013

LMS found this bunny at Kohls on clearance after Christmas- it was a Christmas ornament, but all she saw was that it was a stuffed bunny, and that it needed to be added to her collection of stuffed animals. It's kind of cute, don't you think?

I last updated my goals in June, and I've accomplished most of them so now's a good time to make new goals/update the ones I didn't make as much progress on. I'm keeping the same categories since I think they worked well.

A few goals under Health:
1. Stick to GAPS
Resist the temptation to eat things I shouldn't or to add things in before we're ready.
2. Train for and run at least 6 races by the end of 2013 (at least one half marathon, preferably two)
I've run 2 races already, one of them a half marathon. I'm registered for a third race in February.
3. Consistently cross train and strength train
Start cycling again and add in a strength training routine.

A few goals under House:
1. Clean up drips and do the final touches in each room
I've done the ceilings and walls, but there's cleanup work to be done as well as finishing touches, artwork to be hung, and so on.
2. Build and install shelves in all closets
Make the closets more efficient
3. Build homeschool cabinet
Can't wait for this one- I'm still working out the design details.
4. Build kitchen table
I already built one, but I used pine and I'm not happy with how the top is wearing. We'll move it out to the shed for use as a worktable, which should work out very well.

A few goals under Homeschool:
1. Continue to be consistent at keeping to the schedule
This includes getting an earlier start to the day.
2. Be more present
Don't multi-task quite so much, especially during classes.

A few goals under Habits:
1. Practice the piano and violin consistently
Self-explanatory :)
2. Index several batches every week for FamilySearch
I have not been consistent with this.
3. Have more meaningful daily scripture study (start journaling as I read)
Find a journaling method that works for me.

How did you do with your goals this month?

December Goals Re-cap

LMS reading "Calvin and Hobbes" in front of our new bookshelves before I rearranged them.

Since I wrote down some new goals, I thought I should track my progress at the end of each month. So here's how I did in the month of December:
(November's progress report can be found here)
(October's progress report can be found here)
(September's progress report can be found here)
(August's progress report can be found here)
(July's progress report can be found here)
(June's progress report can be found here)

A few goals under Health:
1. keep strengthening my knee and start running for longer periods of time/distance
I'm running regularly and increasing my mileage. The next thing to do is be more diligent with my strength training.
2. train for and run at least 4 races by the end of 2012 (at least one half marathon)
I ran 5 races this year, the first of which was a half marathon.
3. be more careful with my eating and lose some weight
We stuck with GAPS for the first part of the month, but did some cheating around Christmas. Now that we're back from Disney, we're buckling down again.

A few goals under House:
1. finish painting all the rooms
I still haven't managed to finish the details on the master bath and kitchen, but they're coming along.
2. do the family room ceiling
Paneling is up, spackled, sanded, primed, and painted. The crown is repainted and reinstalled, so I'm calling it good.
3. finish building built-in shelves in the library
I made and painted 9 more shelves and ended up using 7 of them. The books are all on the shelves and organized, though I'm thinking of tweaking one portion of the shelves. I also need to figure out a bit of "styling"- mainly to keep books in place on the shelves that aren't full.

A few goals under Homeschool:
1. stick to the schedule I've worked out, as much as possible
We're still doing pretty good. I'm really liking the 3 weeks on/1 week off schedule that we've been doing- no time for boredom or burnout.
2. be more consistent with violin practicing
Since we started school we're doing better because it's in our school schedule. In thinking about this particular goal, I think I meant more consistency from LMS and myself. We've been really good about making sure LMS is practicing, but I still haven't been, so now I need to be more consistent with MY practicing. Like a lot of other things, though, it won't happen till after Christmas.

A few goals under Habits:
1. practice the piano more frequently
Still haven't had time. Realistically, with the schedule I've imposed on myself, I won't have time until after Christmas. I'm ok with that.
2. index several batches every week for FamilySearch
I slacked off completely this month.
3. have more meaningful daily scripture study (start journaling as I read)
I've bought a topical journal, but haven't quite gotten it broken in yet.

How did you do with your goals this month?

Disney World Half Marathon

tail end of the fireworks starting corral A- I was in corral C

Saturday I ran the Disney World Half Marathon again (here’s last year’s re-cap).  Despite not training as much as I’d have liked, I felt better prepared than I did last year. I had a 9 mile long run, as opposed to a 6 mile long run, my knee hasn’t been giving me any problems, and I had a great, fast 5k on New Year’s Day.

Since it was so cold last year, we made sure we were prepared this year: fleece pants and jacket for LMS, as well as an extra jacket for layering, and I brought a $3 fleece from Goodwill that I could wear and take off when I got warm, leaving it on the side of the road to be donated back to Goodwill.

So naturally it was on the warm side. Unseasonably warm, in fact, and they were warning us to make sure we stayed properly hydrated and not over-exert ourselves.

Cinderella's castle during the race. Mr M wasn't able to get a pic of me running past because of a very rude person's incredibly bad timing just as I ran past.

This year I managed to figure out how to use my Garmin (I haven’t used it much because I’ve been doing more treadmill running than outdoor running) and was able to accurately track my pace and split times. And according to it, I actually ran 13.23 miles, not 13.1 miles J

Because I love comparisons and seeing my progress, here’s how I did this year, compared to how I did last year:

	2013	2013 average pace per mile (min:sec)	2012	2012 average pace per mile (min:sec)	How much faster I was this year (min:sec)	How much faster my average pace per mile  was this year (:sec)
5k split (3.1 miles)	36:15	11:42	36:43	11:51	:28	:09
10k split (6.2 miles)	1:11:40	11:34	1:12:50	11:45	1:10	:11
15k split (9.3 miles)	1:48:20	11:39	1:51:33	12:00	3:13	:21
Finish time (13.1 miles)	2:32:28	11:38	2:37:27	12:01	4:59	:23

Overall, I was faster, and I managed to keep my pace up even as the race went on. Last year my pace slowed as the race progressed, and my overall speed was slower.

And the damage? Just two small blisters- one on each foot, though I didn’t notice them till I took my shoes and socks off, as well as some {not unexpected} sore muscles. I did the same basic prep as last year (BodyGlide, etc) and carried the same items, though I ditched the Fuel Belt pouches in favor of the RooSport pocket I picked up at the prerace convention.

convention craziness

I know you’re not supposed to try new things during a race, but I was fairly confident it would work better than the Fuel Belt pouches I used last year. This proved to be the case: I loved it! So much easier to get stuff in and out of, and it felt more secure. It uses strong magnets that hook it securely to your waistband. You put the pocket inside your pants/shorts/capris/whatever, and it doesn’t bounce around (the Fuel Belt pouches did a lot of bouncing). Wonderful! 

The only potential problem I saw was that the pocket holds a lot, and overloading it could cause your pants/shorts/capris/whatever to sag down a bit. The easy fix is to not carry too much. I had two packages of ShotBlox, my clip-on sunglasses, and my chapstick in it during the race. Towards the end of the race I moved my iphone from the pocket in the small of my back in my capris into the RooSport pocket because there was only a couple ShotBlox left. This weighed it down more, but it still felt secure.

I had half-hoped to beat my previous PR of 2:29:46, but I missed that mark by 2 minutes and 42 seconds. If I hadn’t been sick all week, I might have made it. Despite that, I am pleased with how I did- I finished almost 5 minutes faster than last year. I may be getting older, but I’m getting faster!

	Race	Date	Finish Time
First	Disneyland Half	Sept 2007	2:59:18
Second	Top of Utah Half	Aug 2008	2:29:46
Third	Disney World Half	Jan 2012	2:37:27
Fourth	Disney World Half	Jan 2013	2:32:28

I brought my travel size foam roller and used it, which helped keep everything looser. I can definitely tell a difference in my knees and hips when I’m rolling. Going to physical therapy last year really made a huge difference in my body mechanics. I learned which parts of my body need more work to stay loose and how to keep things better aligned. They also gave me pointers on improving my running form (focus on shorter strides and forefoot strikes rather than longer strides and heel strikes).

LMS caught a cold while at a play date on New Year’s Eve and she was kind enough to share it with me. By the time race day came around, she felt fine, with just an occasional phlegmy cough. I, on the other hand, have been fighting a fever and a nasty cough since last Tuesday. If I coughed, my lungs hurt, but if I didn’t cough, I couldn’t get the phlegm moving. It was a conundrum I don’t want to have again.

I felt bad enough that I stayed in the hotel room Thursday afternoon while everyone else hit up the Magic Kingdom (and it only bothered me a little to miss out, if that tells you anything). I kept dosing up with broth, Advil, and Airborne and took detoxing baths and by Saturday morning I felt well enough to run, but knew that I was definitely not at a hundred percent. Experimental coughs did not yield good results, so I determined to make sure I avoided future coughs if at all possible. Thankfully, I didn’t need to cough, and my lungs cooperated. I was really afraid that the air would be cold and would cause me to start coughing and have my lungs seize up while I was running.  My lungs did not feel good before or after the race, but they held up throughout the race, and the warm air didn’t aggravate them.

Mr M's brother, LMS, and I pre-race

Other than that, I ran strong and my legs felt good. I kept a fairly steady pace, but I had to work harder the second part of the race to keep my pace up, since I was trying to break 2:30. The heat ratcheted up the last mile or so and my body started telling me it was really feeling the effects of the cold virus and not appreciating what I was demanding of it. Consequently, I had to stop and walk several times during the last mile (I’d only stopped to walk 3 times before that). Physically I just couldn’t push my body enough to shave off that extra 2 minutes and 42 seconds. On the other hand, I beat last year’s time by just under 5 minutes!

Mr M's brother and I post-race

I was able to run the first 8.3 miles without stopping- a personal record for me, since I tend to do the run/walk thing, even on training runs. I was still feeling pretty good at the 10k mark (that’s 6.2 miles, for those wondering), so I think I’ll try to run at least one 10k this year to see how I do.

I'm definitely happy with how I did in my fourth half marathon and am now planning out my race schedule for the rest of the year. So many races, so little time....

Me and my cheering section after the race

New Years Day 5k

look! my sparkle skirt matches my shoes!

(or my shoes match my sparkle skirt, since they're newer)

I know I said I wasn't going to be posting again for a bit, but I can't help myself on this one.

Yesterday morning I ran a 5k hosted by the local running club. It was pretty low-key (and cost a lot less as a result): no shirts or fancy things. We parked in a farmer's field and ran an out-and-back course on country roads. It was fairly flat, with no steep hills- just some gentle hills that weren't too horrible.

There's two reasons I'm excited about this race:
1. I ran the entire course without stopping, which is not how I've been running races the last few years.
2. I finished in under 30 minutes! 29:36 to be exact. I haven't done that since high school. Maybe in college I managed it, but I don't have a record of those times, so I'm not sure. I know that in the last 5 or so years since I started running races again I haven't completed a 5k in under 30 minutes. This is super exciting for me :)

So why did I finally break the 30 minute barrier? I figure it's a combination of things:

• I have increased energy and am physically feeling better since going gluten free and free of all the other foods that cause problems for my body.
• Since I'm training for a half marathon, my mileage is higher than it's been for previous 5ks. It's not as high as I'd like, but I'm making progress. Saturday I did a long slow 9 mile run, and I think that made a huge difference for my endurance yesterday.
• I've lost 20 pounds- less weight being carried around is definitely easier on the body and exercise takes a bit less effort.
• GAPS is helping my body heal, and nutrients are getting absorbed much better, so I have fewer injuries, more energy, and am more healthy overall.

I did run this race hard- I haven't put that much effort into a race in a long time. Not pushing LMS in the jogger helped my speed and endurance :) I haven't done a lot of speed work so I used this race as a good last speed workout before the half marathon. I'd like to say it was a tempo run, but at this point, I'm not capable of maintaining a 9:30 pace for 13.1 miles. My last two half marathons were 2:37:27 (in 2012) and 2:29:46 (in 2008), and my goal for this one is under 2:30, which would be about an 11:30/mile pace (much more manageable than a 9:30 pace). A PR would be great, but I'm not stressing too much about it since there's a lot of variables I don't have control over that could affect how I feel physically that day.

How did  you start the New Year?