Even though I was sick and we had some snow this week, I was able to achieve my goal. Well, sort of. I was supposed to run 10 miles this weekend, but the boyfriend wanted me to help him with the stromboli for the Superbowl, so I didn’t have the time. Not that I’m complaining: it was snowing and cold out, so he did me a favor.

The next day I had to make it up somehow, but it was still so cold… The solution was to go to the gym. Yep. Treadmill. I ended up doing 8 miles, which was 2 less than what I wanted, but since next weekend I was supposed to do only 8, I figured I could just exchange the miles and do the 10 next weekend instead. The best part: I actually didn’t mind being on the treadmill for 8 miles. I watched “How I met your mother” and “The Big Bang theory” and completed it in 1h22, which is amazing for me!

I also got new shoes this week: Brooks Ravenna 5. My Saucony ones looked super beat up even though they were only 6 months old, so I went to REI with the Christmas money from my MN host family and got some super awesome shoes. (Thank you MN family!) So far, they are working out great, although I was a little sore the first couple of times I wore them.

New Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 5

Snow. Finally.

The week started out strong because of MLK’s holiday when I was able to do yoga and go on my run. However, on Saturday my ankle was hurting a bit so I decided to move my long run to Sunday. I finished the 9 miles in 1h43, which is not that good, but at least it felt great. I love going from Iddlewild to Mayberry Park and I can’t wait for my runs to get longer so I can explore the trail even further.

Right around mile 4, near Dorotskar Park there is this glacier like sheet of ice that looks cool and weird at the same time. I have no idea what it is. Geologists of my life, please help. We haven’t had snow in over a month and temperatures have been in the 50’s, but all this ice is still by the river, and only on this one spot.

Ice

This past Friday our health challenge at work started. We have to weight in every Friday and you pay $1 for each pound you gain. The team that loses the most weight by April 18^th wins a cash prize. I’m part the SLMR team (named after our children and pronounced “slimmer”). I’m so proud of my teammates, who started jogging and eating healthier already! I don’t have much weight to lose, but at least I hope I don’t gain any. I joined two of them for a walk around the marina on Sunday, but then had a milkshake right afterwards. Can’t get rid of my sweet tooth, but at least now I have a strategy to satisfy my cravings while not eating the whole thing: let the boyfriend order the fattening stuff while I’ll order the salad.

I don’t know if you remember this, but for Week 19 of my first attempt of training for a marathon, I did ZERO miles. I am proud to say this past week I did all of the 23 miles I was supposed to!

It started with a marina run with the boyfriend. He hasn’t jogged in months, and then he goes with me and does 2 miles in less than 20 minutes… I guess I should use that to my advantage and go a little faster than my 11 min/miles. The weather has been so nice (50’s) that I couldn’t wait to go on my weekend runs. So much fun!

As for my eating habits, they were good during the weekdays. I made parmesan-crusted tilapia and spaghetti squash with chard. Delicious and healthy! Can’t say I kept the momentum going over the weekend… had chips, chocolate chip cookies, tons of sushi, chipped beef with gravy, steak, and lots of drinks while bar hopping in Midtown. BTW, I found a new favorite cocktail at Z Bar: a 1944, which is the original Mai Tai with 3 kinds of rum and orgeat (almond simple syrup).

Parmesan-crusted tilapia

Cocktail at Z Bar

Spaghetti Squash with Chard

Even with a gym membership, I just couldn’t bring myself to train for my April marathon during the month of December due to the really cold weather and the holidays. Since I had missed four weeks of training, I had to change my plan. Now, instead of the Reno Marathon in April, I’m shooting for the San Diego Marathon on June 1^st, which is just a few days after my birthday. Click here to see the training schedule.

For my first day back to training, I went to the Sparks Marina with my friend B. who is training for a 10k. We did one lap together, which is 2 miles, very slowly, and then I did another lap on my own for a total of 4 miles. I’m glad I found the marina because when I get home from work it’s already so dark, the well-lit marina is my only option for outside running.

As for my long run, I did 7 miles on Saturday. Yay! It wasn’t difficult at all and now I feel like I’m back! It was very windy, but that didn’t stop me. The next day I completed my 5 miles even though I had an incredibly busy day celebrating a late Christmas with the boyfriend. I did a total of 21 miles during my first week of marathon training. So good to be back on track!

Pre-run walk with the dogs

The title of this post is totally misleading. Yes, I am supposed to be training for my marathon in April, but because of the cold, ice, and snow, I just can’t bring myself to do it. Plus, the holidays are around the corner and I have way too much to get done before the end of the year.

That doesn’t mean I just gave up. I did get a two week pass to Anytime Fitness. Since I can’t run outside, then the next best thing would be to use a treadmill. I did go for two days and both days I ran/walked for 6 miles, so I guess my training for this week consisted of 12 miles, which is probably less than half of what I’m supposed to be doing.  I also skipped Kaia Fit and yoga altogether. Still hoping next week I’ll do better…

For Week 19 I was supposed to do 23 miles. How many did I actually run? ZERO. Yes, you read it right: 0. I am so mad at myself, but at the same time I don’t know how it could’ve been different. We got tons of snow last week, making it hazardous to run outside. I actually tried going to Iddlewild Park, but it was pure ice. Plus, I was also sick, which made it impossible to even walk with all this cold air. The highest temperature was probably 20 degrees this past week, so on Saturday I pretty much just stayed home and did nothing. Literally. I usually do an average of 25,000 steps on a Saturday, but this past one I got less than 500! My eating habits continued to suffer too: Olive Garden, Panda Express, Little Caesar Pizza, a whole batch of chocolate chip cookies… How can I get the strength to go on with this marathon training when I am so ready for winter to be over? Wait, winter hasn’t even started yet! I need a new plan…

Snow Day

I think I need to shovel

Snow at Iddlewild

My 20-week marathon training has started! Unfortunately, it didn’t start with much enthusiasm… Last week I was supposed to work out with Kaia Fit twice, go to yoga three times, and run 4 days for a total of 21 miles. I made it to Kaia once, yoga once, and ran only 3 days. I had to combine two running days into one and I think that’s how it’s going to be until the end of the winter. At least I did 20 miles total last week, just 1 mile short of my goal. Don’t get me wrong, I love running, but this cold weather is not helping. Will I be able to meet my goal this week?

Thanksgiving Run

Just finished my half-marathon last week and thought I would have some time to rest before marathon training. Most training schedules are 20 weeks long, so since I wanted to run one on my birthday in May, I thought I could start training in January. Wrong. I have to start training next week because there are no marathons around in May and I had to sign up for the Reno Marathon on April 13^th, 2014. I guess I could’ve taken this week off, but I was just too restless and, although I did tone it down a little, only running 10 miles for my long run, I also joined a group run on Tuesday nights and cross training twice a week with Kaia Fit, which totally kicked my butt (and my arms, and my legs…) After much consideration, my plan is to train just the minimum, which apparently it’s only up to a 20 mile long run, but train smart with lots of cross training to get stronger and avoid injuries. I think I’ll muster the motivation to run on weekends, especially now that I’ve found out the Wingfield/Iddlewild trail goes on forever by the river. However, with the days getting colder and darker earlier, I’ll have to rely on my group runs to keep myself accountable. My friend B. also has a goal of running a race the same day as me. Anyone else wants to join us and make that their New Year’s resolution? It can be a 5k, a 10k, or maybe just a “get fitter” by E.’s birthday goal. I hope you consider it!

Mayberry Park