january in review

Happy Groundhog Day, all! It seems Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning and we will be facing six more weeks of winter.

For us, this isn’t horrible news, but I hope the colder regions of the country get a break from the snow and icy weather.

In other news, January was a fabulous month. The year is starting strong and I am excited for where it’s going. I feel good and healthy and like things are progressing nicely. My 2015 race calendar is looking solid, too, although I do have some tweaks in mind for the summer.

I took some recovery time after the marathon. While I didn’t really want to, it’s recommended and honestly, the smart thing to do. I came through 26.2 miles without injury and it would be short-sighted to incur one by not giving myself a sufficient break for my troubles.

I also made good on my promise to start cross training for real. I found a boot camp class I really like and that will work with my schedule. I plan on attending two times a week, in addition to my running. Hopefully, the additional strength will help me out with some of my other goals.

For the month of January, I logged 57 running miles and four hours of cross training.

Not too shabby!

Here’s how last week broke down.

 

Sunday – 3.1 miles

I wanted to go for a run with Mr PugRunner, but his knee was still sore so I went out on my own.

Afterwards, we ran errands and then I had to go out to a photo session. We had a lot of fun, and I came home to a delicious family dinner of grilled chicken sandwiches, courtesy of Mr PugRunner. It was a great way to end the night.

 

Monday – boot camp, 60 minutes

6:00 AM boot camp class. It’s been a while since I’ve made myself get up this early for a workout, but I loved it. This particular class was a bit more rough on me – there was a lot of shoulder and back work, and quite frankly, I have strength in neither. I hung as best I could, though, and prepared myself for the knowledge that I would not be lifting my arms for the rest of the week.

 

Tuesday – 3.1 miles

Another beautiful day and a great run. It was pretty windy, which slowed me down, but I didn’t mind.

Even better? I finally finished the Serial Podcast! I’m not really sure how I feel about the “conclusion.” Obviously, we are never going to know the truth, and it’s hard to grasp that there is, and will never be, no back and white ending.  I can only help that everyone involved finds what peace they can.

That evening, little man had his first “big boy” karate class. Since he is approaching the age of seven, the owner wants him to start transitioning from the shorter, under-7, play/game based classes, to the longer, 7-and-up, skills classes. It was definitely a change, but he hung in there and really seemed to enjoy it. I can’t wait to see what he’s going to learn next.

 

Wednesday – personal training, 60 minutes

So this happened. Ack.

I had a free personal training session at a new facility. The idea is that clients take ten one-on-one sessions, and then, when they are deemed ready with good form and technique, graduated into group cross-fit classes.

Love the idea. Not so sure how I feel about the individual attention.  We will revisit this.

 

Thursday – rest

I was sore this morning. Really sore. I planned to take little man to his dentist appointment and then run, but my quads were feeling shaky, and I decided to take it easy.

We had lunch with my parents at a new BBQ place, and that was pretty yummy. It was also great to get to see them mid-week.

 

Friday – rest

I met up with S to drop off a tailgate tent and get my shirt and bib for tomorrow’s relay. This would be my first and I was incredibly excited about it. I did want one more run before the big day, but it was more important to let my quads recover (they were still trashed) and I didn’t want to push it.

 

Saturday – 3.1 miles

Relay day!

I was so excited to be part of Team Elsie for the Wolfson Children’s Challenge Ultra Relay. It was something that just didn’t work out last year due to timing and injury, but there were no such issues this year. It was a wonderful and inspiring event and I loved running with such great teams.

I arrived in time for our 8:00 AM start time (I was the second leg on my team), and I was able to stay for a bit to watch some of my teammates.

I headed out at around 11:00 so that I could get home and get the house straightened up for visitors. Our good friends were passing through town on their way home from vacation and would be spending the night. We were all super excited, especially little man since he would be having a sleepover with their kids.

It’s the little things.

We grilled, drank some wine and stayed up late chatting. It was a fabulous way to wrap up the day and it was so nice to see them.

 

How did 2015 start out for you and your fitness goals?

What did your week in training look like?