Soooooo...It's Been a While!

Something happened last fall and my motivation ground to a halt. My interest in taking time to exercise, run and go to the gym vanished. It's no coincidence that blogging fell off at the same time that I stopped having anything to really talk about. I think it started off as taking some time to rest and relax after a busy season...but the motivation to pick things up where I left off hasn't really come back.

I'm working on it.

Meanwhile, I kept signing up - and showing up - for races, but they have been harder than they needed to be since I haven't been training.

Both my mom and my friend Julia called me out on my lack of blogging recently. I promised Julia that if I could make it to the finish line of my race today, that I'd pick it up again. I did, so here I am (Hi, Julia!). Hopefully recommitting to blogging will force me to get moving again, so that I have something to write about!

Here's what you've missed:

December 2012 - Santa Shuffle 5K

Sarah, my daughter, me, Emma, my son

This was a strange one - it is usually a very well-organized race but not this time? It was supposed to be a 10am start, but at 9.30 they started letting people go out whenever they showed up, causing a lot of confusion for all runners who came on time. A number of bandits also ran the race, were given medals and allowed to help themselves to post-race refreshments - meaning that by the time we crossed the finish line there was barely anything left. It's a charity race so I shouldn't mind - but it was a very chaotic morning and things really didn't need to be this way.
 
March 2013 - Around the Bay 30K relay (15K for each runner)
Big, scary goal #1

Only 2K left to go. Just passed The Reaper

Rachel & Sarah (relay team), Emma (30K), Laura (30K), myself & Lynda (relay team)

This race kicked my butt but I had so much fun that I didn't care. It's out of town, so we booked a hotel room, made a girls' weekend out of it and had a blast. We went last year, but I only did the 5K. Not-so-secretly had my heart set on doing the relay but wasn't mentally ready at the time. Made sure I'd be back for the longer course in 2013 to earn one of their "older than Boston" shirts.

This race features rolling hills (bah) but a lovely view and the people who live on the route not only come out to cheer for hours, but play music, offer snacks and generally put on a party. That last hill is a killer though - and the Reaper is waiting for you at the top. The agonizing thing? You can see the finish line for the last 3 kms and it takes forever on tired legs to get there.

More training and better nutrition would have been wise. I was going on empty for the last 1.5K. Took everything I had to pick things up for the finish line. Going back next year and aim to arrived trained.

May 13, 2013 - Sporting Life 10K

One of the few moments where I managed to actually run

Alex, Sarah, myself

This race kicked my butt and I DID care. I could not believe how much fitness I lost in two short months after ATB. I was running on empty after about KM 3 and the whole thing was such a struggle. Spent most of it power-walking. An eye-opener to say the least....but I couldn't get back in to running just yet because it was time to cram for...

June 2, 2013 - Ride for Heart 75K
Big, scary goal #2

Done and so happy. Amazing how all the pain goes away as soon as you cross the finish line!

You heard me - I crammed for a 75K bike ride. I started with a few short rides and almost gave up. Switched to my husband's road bike (significantly lighter than my mountain bike) and pulled off confidence-boosting 21K and 44K rides over rollllling hills.

I've also done the 25K (2011) and 50K (2012) version of this ride and wasn't going to give up on my goal of doing the full course this year.

So - I got up at 4.30am, rode to the 6am start line and just. kept. riding. It poured rain for a while - so heavily that I was actually wishing for my swim goggles. Then the wind picked up. Which was not fun. But I watched my nutrition carefully (G2, Hammer gels, bananas, raisins & pretzels for the record), managed not to swallow any bugs and didn't walk up a single hill. 81K total including my ride from home.

But I really don't recommend cramming for this sort of thing.  I also don't recommend doing this sort of thing in NON-PADDED shorts. Ouch.

What's next? A recovery day or two, then back to the gym and C25K. We're doing the Colour Run later this month, the Warrior Dash in July, and Island Girl 10.5K in September. I'd prefer not to go into these completely undertrained.

How have you been?