Monday, June 1, 2015

#RunThisYear May 2015 summary

It's time to check in with my goals and review my progress! May was the wrap up month for all the hard work I did over the winter. I finished up with a half marathon at the beginning of the month and spent 10 days taking a rest from running.  I also took 3 weeks off from CrossFit with Becky. I missed both activities more than I cared to admit! So here's the recap:

A very hot, steamy Great Western Half Marathon
Sub-2 half: I ran the Great Western Half marathon on May 3. It was a steamy, hot day, and even though I had a glitch with the portapotties, in the form of a race volunteer cutting in front of me to go in, I managed to finish with a 1:55:37 and got a 1st place AG award. I didn't expect that, but the woman who originally came in first won the masters' category and that takes her out of the AG awards. Hey, I'll take it! I finished up this spring race season really, really happy with my finish times. PRs and AGs? Heck yeah!



Staying injury free: I continue to be plagued with toe pain in my left toe. I talked with the sports medicine doctor at work, and he agreed that it is most likely arthritis in the big toe joint. It doesn't bother me much to call it arthritis anymore, nor does the toe bother me when I run, but when I'm done, it throbs angrily. I've been icing it after a run and that really seems to help. I think this is how it's going to be for me all the time now. Taking time off did not help the toe at all; in fact, walking really seemed to bother it more than running. It has to be all mechanics, the way I push off when I walk versus when I run. Anyways, I cut my 2 week break short, and started running again. Dare I say that the last week has been much better for me? Could it be that I'm back at the weights with Becky again? Fingers (and toes) crossed that it quiets down for marathon training.

I've also had issues with my tummy; I've written about my battles with IBS aka I'll Be Stopping, and this spring has been particularly challenging for me. No matter what I eat, I've been having problems. This past couple of weeks things have gotten bad for me. A few years ago, I took an antibiotic called Rifaximin, which is used for a variety of GI issues, including my type of IBS. I started back up on a 2 week course, and am already noticing a difference. While this problem doesn't stop me from running, and even though I joke about it, it's certainly annoying! I'm hopeful to get things under control before I start marathon training next month.


Grow the blog: I've had a few exciting things happening with the blog this month! I was approached by Gone For A Run to participate in one of their virtual runs along with other bloggers. Along with that, I was asked to guest host a race recap link up with Jessica of The Silvah Lining! Everything fell into place very nicely, and I'm hoping that Jessica will ask me to guest host with her again. I really enjoyed the recaps and the interaction with some new bloggers who linked up with us.

The book club was a hit this month and my big thrill was of course having my interview with Dimity McDowell. That post was probably one of my most read this month. Dimity could not have been more gracious to work with, and her answers were really thoughtful. She gave me great feedback on my book review as well. She also personally liked my Facebook page, and that was really exciting for me. Fangirl here!

I did have a little scare with the blog this month, tho. Someone spammed my linkup and tried to change my password in InLinkz. That really scared me. Luckily I caught it immediately--InLinkz sends you a message when someone puts their link up--and I took that link down as soon as I saw what it linked to. My dear friend Marcia from Marcia's Healthy Slice talked me off the cliff and introduced me to StatCounter which helps you see where your hits are coming from. It's a heck of a lot easier to figure out than Google Analytics, and for a numbers geek like me, it's really fun too!


Controlling the mama drama: Let's just sum this one up by saying that since the middle of the month, where I had some issues with my oldest (you can read about that here), things have calmed down. No, he hasn't gotten another job, but he's working on something for the summer. He's been much more pleasant since then too, and dare I say that we've actually had some normal conversations lately? You just never know tho, when the rug is going to be pulled out from under you, so I always have my guard up. My youngest son wrapped up his trifecta of sports for the spring (football, rugby, and gymnastics) and now has all this free time on his hands. Let the worrying commence. But summer sports start up soon, and that will keep at least one boy out of trouble. I hope.



Sub-4 marathon: My official training for the Chicago marathon hasn't started yet, but Becky is finishing up my training plan. She told me the plan will be 13 weeks long (last year was 14 weeks) but since I have such a strong running base and we're going to do a heavy lifting cycle prior to that, I should be fine. I'm not worried. I'm in good hands.

What's coming up? I've got a few virtual races coming up (a half in 2 weeks) and a few live races that I haven't registered for but am planning on--a 10k on July 5 and a half marathon Sept 13. I'm also riding in a 25 mile bike ride in July, the Venus de Miles. I'm excited to do that one with my friends Karen and Michelle.  I don't have any running races with them this summer and it feels weird. So this is the next best thing!

I'm thrilled that I didn't have to DNS any races this spring due to injury. But I won't lie--I'm enjoying taking time off training, and just running to run. Sure, I'm throwing in a few speedy runs and virtual races, but this has been really enjoyable. And getting all my wonky body issues back under control is the main goal for now!

Just under the wire!
May Stats: 

Miles run: 77
Miles biked: 48.5

Races: Great Western Half Marathon 1:55:37 PR, 1st in AG
BadAss 5 mile Virtual Race: 40:39 PR


How was your month? Any goals achieved? New goals set? How long is your marathon training plan?





47 comments :

  1. My month was ok...some mama drama myself which I won't rehash, along with some rather dark places which I already discussed on my blog so won't rehash as well, lol. My marathon training plans are normally 18 weeks give or take. After my marathon I plan on trying to work on speed since I've just been maintaining the last few years it seems.

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    1. I'm with you. No need to go back down that dark road with the drama, right?

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  2. Love your recap! I can't help but feel annoyed when a volunteer (or worse, a spectator) uses a portapotty before a race. Wait until after the runners have started! I know we all have needs but the athletes come first, at least prior to the race. Sorry to hear about the IBS. I don't have IBS but always need to use the bathroom multiple times before a run or race...the earlier in the morning, the worse it is! Oh and you look super strong in that lifting shot! Have a fantastic June!

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    1. I was pretty mad at that volunteer! I shouldn't have even stopped. Hopefully that won't be an issue at the marathon!

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  3. I finally started reading Tales from Another Mother Runner....every essay sooooo good!!! I'll be sad when I'm done with it, but I know I'll keep going back and re-reading some of them....I have a long flight this Thursday....I'm sure I'll finish the book then.

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    1. Isn't it wonderful? I know this is one I'll turn to for inspiration!

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  4. I'm glad you like StatCounter. I agree: so much better than GA. You had a great start to the year and I suspect the best is yet to come! : )

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  5. IBS is NO fun! I have dealt with it on and off within the past few years, but I think it's finally under control. I am sorry to read about your son...I don't have kids, so I can't imagine how frustrated you feel. Sending you hugs!

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    1. I keep thinking my IBS is under control and then boom! it's back. Ugh. I'm feeling better on the med, so I have high hopes that I'll get a reprieve for a while.

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  6. Despite the IBS, it sounds like May was generally a good month for you! Congrats again on the AG group! Its always exciting to see hard work pay off with an award recognition.

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    1. It was a great month. The IBS is just an annoyance. But I"ll never let it stop me from chasing my goals!

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  7. haha, I love your IBS description "I'll Be Stopping". I had a blah month but did have some great meetups and other fun things going on. Looking forward to June and the summer!

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  8. June for me is the month of racing. So my goal is to have fun with my races and stay injury free!

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  9. Toe pain aside, you've had a pretty great running month! And awesome blog happenings, too! June will be even better!

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    1. Yep, the toe is slowly calming down. Just in time to start putting the miles in again....lol

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  10. great month! I had some fun traveling this month and working on some speed! Did you notice I am finally getting the hang of negative splits! it is making me smile! My summer run series starts this Saturday and I have 4 all together so we shall see if these extra training and exercises are gonna pay off!

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  11. You are such a badass! Love the blog opportunities and that photo of you deadlifting is sweet.

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  12. You go girl! Way to rock your race! And congrats on your 1st place AG! I think a sub 3 hr marathon is in your grasp!

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    1. I hope you meant sub-4! Unless I get wings, sub 3 would only be in my dreams! :)

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  13. Way to hit the 500 mile mark! That's awesome!! I still have so many more miles to go in my 2015 in 2015 challenge. I'm doing it with a friend and the spring has been a struggle for the both of us.

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    1. I hope to hit 1252 miles (2015 km) by the end of the year. It all depends on marathon training and how my legs hold up.

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  14. Glad everything is going so well for you! Love that picture of you during your race! I didn't get to do the Bad Ass Virtual Run (yay for a PR!), hopefully they'll have more virtual runs to join in!

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    1. I'm glad I got to do that virtual race. I have another one coming up, a 13 miler for Skirt Sports. That one will be a training run, as I'm not in racing shape right now!

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  15. Sounds like a good month!! Horray for staying injury free, lets hope that continues!! Love that you are back in the gym again too - you are so strong!

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    1. It's fun to do these recaps, because I never realize how much I do until I write it out!

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  16. Looks like a very strong month to me, Wendy, even with some time off. Arthritis schmitis--you can beat that one! Glad things seem to be headed in the right direction in every area of life right now!

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    1. I'm hoping that arthritis thing calms down. I've had an achy couple of weeks! Trying to avoid taking ibuprofen if at all possible. Just keep moving...

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  17. Sounds like a good month! I have just kind of "gotten by" this past month. So much going on over here right now!

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    1. I have to say doing this monthly review is really affirming! I never think that I'm doing enough, until I recap it!

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  18. I have never done monthly recaps (I know, never say never...), but May would be a good place to start. LOTS of non-running stuff going on (oh, and one major fun half marathon)...and not enough sleep. Yadda yadda yadda. You're my blog idol.....I keep seeing all the blogging you do (and still you find time to read other peeps' blogs)...WOW. I want to be like you when l grow up :-) Thanks for all the inspiration!!

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    1. I started doing recaps this year when I set the goals at the beginning of the year. I'm amazed at the end of each month at all I've accomplished. Who knew?

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  19. Sounds like a great May! I can't believe it is June already. I am debating whether I have the energy to summarize my May...so much travel going on for the me lately I can barely keep my act together! I look forward to following your marathon goal training!

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    1. I'm having trouble believing it's June as well...but that may be due to our very cold weather! Altho if it's another cool summer, I should have some pretty good marathon training!

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  20. Great job on the virtual run and the half marathon in May, you rocked them both!
    Hope the toe thing gets better, but maybe if it is arthritis you might have to learn to deal, ugh! Great month! I haven't kept track of my mileage since I ran my half marathon several weeks ago, I found keeping track of my monthly mileage only makes me want to run more!

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    1. That's funny! I keep track because it's so affirming for me. Sometimes I don't realize how much I really do, and when I write these summaries, I'm like oh my gosh, I did a lot!

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  21. Yay for being injury free. I always feel that's a huge accomplishment and so key to making progress.

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  22. I'm glad to hear things have settled a bit with your son. Mama Drama is so draining - I suspect our kids won't really appreciate how visceral parenting is until they tackle it themselves. Enjoy this light month before training starts in earnest next month!

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    1. Marathon training should be a breeze compared to raising teens!

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