Five for Friday

1) I “raced” Gunner Shaw last weekend. I use the term “raced” very loosely.

I went into this race having only run a handful of times since Auckland and feeling very pudgy and out of shape. I signed up, not to race, but because I like the atmosphere of this event. While every year I inevitably question why I decided to put myself through the pain of this race as I’m trudging up some steep-ass single track, I always finish with a smile on my face and fond memories of the day.

I truly love the giant puddles (which were the biggest I’ve ever seen them this year) even though they kind of stink and make your legs really cold. Oh, and the lake finish ~ totally dig it! There is something so awesome about going out and running in the muck and mud and splashing through puddles with 500 or so other people. It is pure playtime and it is So.Much.Fun.

Anyway, I had no goals for this event and made it very clear to anyone who would listen that I was merely going for a big slow “group run”. I didn’t want to hurt, I didn’t care about time. Oh, and I got passed. A LOT!

Of course, I did push myself enough to hurt, and at the end, kind of had one of those “well, I probably could have gone faster” moments, but overall (and most importantly) it was a blast!

Definitely a must-do fall event.

2) Since 2013 will be the "year of the run" I signed up for a half marathon in February. Considering it is only about 10 weeks away, I realize I should probably be running a little more than I am right now and yet, for some reason, I am not.

On top of that, I also realize that riding your bike on the rollers for 30-45mins is no substitute for actually getting out and running. Yet, for some reason I continue to opt for the rollers over a run. Go figure.

I guess there is just something so nice and easy about not having to leave your house for a workout. It also means I get to enjoy coffee and eggnog with Shane in the morning and shower in my own bathroom. Definite win!

Which reminds me, I am starting to forget what the pool looks like and I don't really mind. Weird.

3) My motivation has been pretty low lately. I’m on my self-imposed, unstructured, non-coached, do-whatever-the-hell-I-feel-like training program until the New Year.

In all honesty, I could really use some structure. I do better with structure. Buuuttt... I find December always ends up being a bit of a write-off (and I’m not great with moving things around and “going with the flow” when I have a training plan [written by a coach] in the calendar) and so I figure it is better to keep the pressure off for now.

I figure there is no need to feel stressed or burned out heading into the next training cycle. So I’m not doing too too much right now (other than gaining weight). One workout a day (if that) at a very easy aerobic effort level.

4) Running with the above theme…  I found this post sums up a lot of my feelings about the holidays – well, today at least (ask me tomorrow and you may get a different story).
Lately I waffle between:
a) feeling the need to get back into structured training ,combined with the guilt of feeling “lazy” and
b) not giving a crap and just wanting to eat what I want and exercise (or not) when I want.

Not giving a crap seems to be winning out most days.

5) Through most of November, in my head, I kept thinking of December 1st as a “go date” for when I needed to start getting serious again, but man, that day is coming pretty dang fast (in fact, it’s tomorrow. Wooo!)

One big glitch in the December 1st plan is my quest for better vision. That’s right, I’m getting my eyes did. LASIK-styles.

On December 8th I am going under the light saber in hopes of never needing to wear glasses or contact lenses again. There are a bunch of rules about recovery which will keep me out of the pool and any heavy sweat sessions for a couple weeks.

So, December 8th plus a couple weeks "recovery" leads to Christmas. Which leads to my birthday. Which is followed by New Year’s… and then, oh look, it is January already. So yeah, LASIK will likely prolong my lazy ways, but I think that is okay. February 10 might really hurt though.