Starting at 5:00 am tomorrow...

I'm going to be a "morning run" girl. This whole I'm-too-tired-to-run-in-the-morning-so-I-wait-until-after-work-but-I'm-even-more-exhausted-then thing isn't cute anymore. I'm sick of not having, or making the time to run. I'm sick of my pretty running shoes sitting in the closet. Enough is enough. My iPod is charging. My alarm is set.

And I'm going to bed. Because 5 am is really early.

This Counts as Cross-training, Right?

I'm moving. Again. My fiance and I just closed on our first house, so I'm in a kind of limbo. I'm not moving in to the house until after the wedding in June, but I've started to move stuff over, paint rooms, clean, etc. etc. Where on earth is the time to run? And it's a bummer, really. The weather has been so beautiful that all I want to do is be outside and run. Instead, I've cross-trained in the following ways:
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday: Clean, clean, clean. Scrub floors, clean bathrooms, vacuum, wipe out cabinets, scour countertops, clean out oven... the list goes on and on.
Thursday: Break
Friday: Move lots of heavy boxes. Choose paint colors. Move paint cans.
Saturday: Dance my butt off at a friend's wedding.
Sunday: Paint. Rake. Paint again.

I'm spent. There just aren't enough hours in the day. However, the sun's shining again today, and I'm not going over to the house. Hopefully that will leave time for a nice long run. My sneakers have been calling.

More Shuffle Silliness

I seriously need to get more competitive. I start every single race with the same goal: to finish it and have fun. Those are good goals, right? Yes, yes, they are. I know that. But I'd love to run across the start line with some serious ambition. Like... "I'm going to PR today!" or "I'm going to get all 10 minute miles today!" or "I'm going to have a sub-55 8k!" None of these things crossed my mind at the Shuffle today. But I did finish and have fun.

I spotted Barb and her hubby in the Corral (did I mention my corral start?) and proceeded to spaz out about how cool it was to be in Corral D. I told them about my dad's wise advice before I left the house this morning. "Move to the side, so you don't get trampled," he said. I took in my surroundings. It was so cool to be in Corral D. I felt like a total VIP. Perhaps the most exciting part was when I realized we were moving forward and the open corral wasn't. They weren't allowed to go anywhere until we all crossed the start line! Now, normally, I'd be at the back of the open corral... so to look behind me and see an 8 min/mile pace group? Well, let's just say I was enjoying the only corral start I'll likely EVER see.

My corral! Corral D. :)

The 8 min/mile pace group. Behind the fence. Behind us!

You can't really tell from the picture, but that's us moving forward and open corral waiting.

The run itself was good. I ran, I took in the city, and I had fun. 58:31. Not too shabby for the awful joke of training I did beforehand, and a good kickstart to the spring racing season. But when the race was over, I still had lots of energy. I had the energy to full out sprint at the end. All that tells me that if I tried just a little bit harder... I could set some serious PRs this season.

Some Shuffle Silliness, Thanks to the Chicago Marathon

My "official" Chicago Marathon finish time in 2007 was 4:06:31. "Official" means they closed the course, put up barricades where I was, and demanded that we go through the finish area backwards to recieve our medals. So, I stomped on the finish mat. And got a time.

That time got me this...

Yes, that's right. A corral start. I'll be taking lots of pictures with my race number tomorrow... because this will most likely never, ever happen again. :)

I'm in love.

It's official. I'm in love. After 9 committed weeks, I think I can say the "l" word. I am in love with kickboxing.

It's seriously the best cross-training workout I have ever had. I've been taking a "Kick 'n' Krunch" class on Saturday mornings, which is exactly what it sounds like. It's an hour long class. 40 minutes of kickboxing, and 20 minutes of crunches/back strengthening exercise. I am smitten. Obviously Saturday mornings aren't going to work when marathon training gets going in May, but I am going to have to find some weekday kickboxing.

It is such a fun way to get some cardio & strengthening going on. And the best part? I can see the people behind me in the mirror. I'm not the dumbest looking one in the class! I look half-way coordinated when I do most of the moves.

Score.

It Begins

The Chicago Marathon was hard last year. Very hard. After training so hard for my first marathon, it was a huge disspointment when they cancelled the race. I started this blog to start fresh. Because this October, it's not about the Chicago Marathon. It's all about San Francisco!

My friend Melissa and I are gearing up to start training with TNT. I'm looking forward to sunny skies, hills that only San Francisco can offer, and an incredible race with other women. I am so excited to start the journey. It should be a fun journey this year. I am going to be a mentor for TNT, and I look forward to helping others through their first marathon like my mentor helped me. Although, I suppose technically, this is my first marathon too -- at least the first one I'll be allowed to finish.

At any rate, the start of my '08 training season will be Sunday, March 30, when I tackle the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle. I'm looking forward to the long journey ahead.