March came in like a lion and went out like a lamb. Weather-wise and otherwise. So for the last day of this tumultuous month, I wore this RunHappy shirt from Brooks. Because that has been my mantra for this month. Actually, Brooks has some pretty awesome ladies running gear--wouldn't you agree?
Let's sum it all up...shall we?
Looking at my goals--how did I do this month?
Run a sub-2 marathon: Yes please. Yes I did. This race, my backup plan, the Get Lucky half marathon, went better than I could have dreamed. Not only did I sub-2, but I PR'd by over 4 minutes. My finish time was 1:52:08. My previous PR was in 2011 at the North Shore Half Marathon where I finished with a time of 1:56:31. That race was memorable for my 3 portapotty stops. This year's race was memorable for no portapotties along the course. Man, was I lucky I didn't have to stop. But this race was also no frills in other areas. I came in second in my AG and there will be no award for that. Seriously. Who does that? Oh, that would be Team Ortho. Every other race I have run provides awards for the top 3 finishers in each age group. For my $80 entry fee, I expect some kind of memento. A pint glass? Maybe I could trade my cheesy sweatshirt for an AG award medal? Oh well. I'm not one to be greedy, and hey, at least I can be proud of an amazing finish.
Tom caught a puffer fish! LOL! He puffed right up. The fish, not Tom. At least he let me take this picture. And I've never seen a puffer fish outside a tank before. |
Matthew on his way to a "try" |
Control the mama drama: Not so much. I do think I was able to channel much of my angst into an amazing month of running. I had some of the fastest mile splits of my 20+ year running cycle. I hate to call it a career, because it's more of a hobby...but I digress. I ran 114 miles this month, and all of them were sub-9 minute miles. That is crazy fast for me and such a thrill. I can't help but wonder how long I can sustain this. Hey, if my oldest son keeps bringing trouble into my life, all I can do is take it to my favorite therapist, the road, right? We took a family vacation to Florida at the end of the month, and while he was pretty rotten to me the first couple of days--god forbid I'd take him away from his friends and make him go to Florida--he did thaw as the week went on and we ended the trip on a really positive note. After all I've been through with him, I'll take it. Now I have to figure out how to pay all these medical and therapy bills. On the plus side, my youngest son is playing a new sport this year, rugby, which he has fallen in love with. I've only been to one scrimmage--the brutal weather this month forced cancellations of many of his games--but he scored a "try" and made this mama proud.
Becky keeps me working on my core strength. Any of you participating in that multi-blog core challenge? I'm a little scared... |
Stay injury free: I'm knocking on wood as I write this, but I had a pretty uneventful month on the injury front. I was really good about foam rolling, yoga, and doing my hip stuff (clamshells and supermans) until we went to Florida. My big toe, my nemesis, is talking to me this week, but it is more sore than anything. It's time to switch out my shoes, and I think that's what my toe is telling me. I hope that's all it is. Damn toe. Usually some body part starts to hint that my shoes have exceeded their mile limitation. I probably have about 400 miles on these shoes. Even though they have a lot of good juju in them--see my race above--it's time to put them aside for the spare pair in the closet. They'll be great for CrossFit. Speaking of CrossFit, after a 3 week hiatus from Becky, I restart back this week. I'm actually looking forward to it. I have no idea what she has in store for me. It can only be good. Right? Back to the pain cave....
Remember, the link will be live April 13! Patriots' Day! |
Grow the blog: The blog views have been growing. I've found new outlets for attracting new readers and that's been really fun. I'm getting approached by vendors who want me to test and review their products. That has been even more fun! I loved the Lily Trotters compression socks, and coming up this month will be a product review from SpiBelt. The first month of the book club was a huge success. I had an email interview with the author of our book, and a ton of comments on the book itself. It was so fun and rewarding to have that kind of interest. Hal Higdon has committed to an email interview for this month's selection, which I've chosen in honor of the Boston Marathon. I also have experienced some frustrations with my attempts to grow the blog and I'll be writing about those in the future. It's been interesting.
So what's up for April?
I have my favorite race, the CARA Lakefront 10 miler, on April 18. This is a runners' race, with fast finish times and great post race treats--including Lagunitas IPA at the finish line. I'll be running with my pals Sara and Marcia this year, which makes me happy, since I've done this one by myself both times in the past. April weather is fickle, and I sure hope Mother Nature cooperates! And if any of you Chicagoan bloggers are going to be there, let's plan to meet up at the beer tent after the race!
I'm hoping to get more miles on the bike. I did get out once this month, and rode 20 enjoyable miles. I love my bike. This year, I get to look forward to having some rides with Karen and Michelle, who are biking now too! I hope we can at least get one ride in this month. I've never ridden with anyone, but I imagine that it would be like running with people. So maybe not as fast as I like? We'll see...
And more rugby games with my youngest. What an exciting sport!
I hit the 300 mile mark in paradise! |
The stats:
-running miles: 114.18
-cycling miles: 20.79
-races: half marathon 1:52:08 PR and AG 2d place
How was your month? Any goals that you crushed? Any new mantras? Do you have lucky shirts? And does your body talk to you when it's time to change shoes?
Thanks for following along!
I almost forgot to link up with the ladies at Workout Wednesdays! Please check out all the other awesome blogs that link up at their sites!
I'm also trying a new link up with FitFoodieMama, AngelinaMarie, Pretty in Pink Fitness, and Bold Fit Mom. Oh my gosh! So many fun blogs! Check them out!
Linking up with Tuesdays on the Run for their goal check in!