Let the Soreness and Bank Account Drain Begin

As you can probably tell from my lead in, I have begun officially training again! I have hit a few bumps in the road this week, like my HR monitor dying, 2 feet of snow keeping me in the house one day and my pool closing for maintenance but I forged onward and did what I know how to do best. I spent some money!

With the Garmin out of commission, I knew I had two choices, send it in for repair of just buy a new one. Well after the year I had last year, I figured why not just buy a new one. I found a place online where I could pick up the Garmin 405 for only $200, so I went for it. I figured it was time for an upgrade and also maybe a little less weight on the wrist would speed me up this year. (You like how I totally just justified my spending? That is how it all happens in my head!)It arrived this morning and I am currently charging it and waiting for my first usage. Which in the end I am sure will be frustrating because I am almost positive I have been running waaaaay faster than my Z1 pace, so that means it is back to the daily walk/run/crawl training scenario!

So far, in terms of training, I am not feeling too spent, although I think the weekend workouts may take their toll on me! But I will check back in tomorrow after my first HR workout and let's see how this story changes. In the mean time, I am going to go play with my new toy!

Merry Christmas to All and to All A Goodnight!

I honestly can't believe it is Christmas already! I also can't believe this is my last week of freedom before my training starts. It was actually supposed to start this week, but with the holiday, it was a bit hard, so we moved it out to next week! And I will take the extra week any day and next week it is back to the drawing board.

So from then on I can get back to blogging about real training as opposed to my version of it! But not before I enjoy a few days of overeating! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! And have an extra cookie or two for Hailey. She got caught in the icing before she was able to get to the cookies!

Best Vacation Ever

So I have been totally MIA for the past week but with good reason. Last Saturday we packed up and headed to Sedona, Arizona for the week. The plan was the hike as much as possible and relax and boy did this vacation deliver. Sedona was unbelievably gorgeous and we arrived right in time for some winter temperature highs. The first 4 days were 80 degrees and sunny and we spent our time, hiking different trails in Sedona and then taking a day trip to the Grand Canyon and hiking the South Kaibab trail on the Southern Rim. And let me tell you that was the most amazing hike I have ever done in my life. We hiked about 2.5 miles down into the canyon and then had to hike our way back out. It was crazy!

We also took in some tourist attractions while in Sedona. We went on a Pink Jeep tour of the canyons in Sedona, which consisted of a ton of off roading and laughing while we bounced around in the back of the jeep. We also decided to be brave and take a helicopter ride. Now this was a first for me, but we figured, if we were here, we should try it. And now I have officially decided that I will now only travel via helicopter everywhere I go. It was such a smooth flight and I seriously felt like I was in a video game.

Because my coached training still hadn't started, I didn't have any prescribed workouts so I did my own. Every day I could I ran about 5 miles on the treadmill. And the altitude killed me! I would get off the treadmill completely beat after 5 miles, red faced and out of breath. But I figured it would make the kick off of my training this week a little bit easier.

The best part of the vacation happened on Thursday night. I got completely blindsided by Nick when I came out of the bathroom to get ready for bed and he had a beautiful diamond ring in his hand. I stood there completely shocked with my mouth open until he got down on one knee and then it all registered. I was getting engaged!After that I don't think I slept for more than 2 hours at a time because I just had to wake up and look at my ring every few minutes!

So 2011 is going to bring a lot of good things! I plan to race as hard as I can, and plan my September wedding in the process of all of it! Now I just have to go and rearrange my racing schedule, so I can fit my wedding into the plan!

And Breathe....

So we finally received the news about my dad this week and it is good! The cancer has not spread. So he will just have to go in and have it removed and then begin the monitoring. And man, it feels like a 10,000 pound weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I heard the news and could have screamed with relief! Now it is not to say that we are totally in the clear, but at least we know it is not as bad as it could have been.

So having received the best and only Christmas gift I wanted, I am now set and ready for the new year! Ready to move on with life and get back to the good things!

Speaking of which I begin my coached training again on 12/20. It should be quite interesting considering I have been doing my own thing for a few months now. So it might be a little shock to the system. The good thing is that I have gotten on an early morning schedule, so hopefully I will be able to stick with the 6am workouts and have my evenings free. I think my first race back will be the Manhattan Half marathon on Jan 22nd. I did it last year and although cold, it fun. So I think I will make that my goal! Let's see how that goes.

For now I need to just focus on getting healthly. I am heading to the dr in a few minutes to conquer my cold and then I am going to take a week to relax and mentally prepare for the 2011 season. But I did want to check in and share my good news!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Snow.....Really?

Ok, ok, I know it is December, but the weather hasn't been that bad, then all of a sudden it is freezing and then snow flurries! Come on! Can't we ease into the bad weather? I have been in my house all day working with the heat pumped up to 74 degrees, I feel like I live in an igloo, or it might be because I am not feel all that good.

On Friday, I taught my 2 spin classes then headed over to my friends house to celebrate Hanukkah by making latkes and eating way too many of them! Then on Saturday, some good friends and their baby came to stay over for the rest of the weekend. Now I love babies, and this one is absolutely adorable, but man, they are my kryptonite! This morning, I woke up to teach and I was beat! I felt weak and tired, despite my 3 hour nap on Sunday and 9pm bed time. With vacation nearing I better beat this one soon!

This week should be an interesting one. I have my fingers crossed that dad gets a good report from the doctor tomorrow. To beat the anxiety before it gets to my head tomorrow, I plan on going to the gym early in the morning, getting on the treadmill and not getting off until I can't run another step. Then I have a long day of work ahead of me.

As for the rest of today it is work then another spin class. I figure I won't be able to move my legs by Wednesday, if I do this right! Then it is time it finish up the 2011 race schedule. Any suggestions?

I Just Keep on Keepin on

So I think it is safe to say that I have put my body through the wringer this week. By tonight I will have taught 5 spinning classes, 1 sculpting class and still gotten in a workout each day. But hey, this is how I deal with messes in my life, and the benefit is that by the time I get home, all I want to do is sleep, so less time to think.

Today my dad goes for his bone marrow scan and we will find out exactly what the prognosis is next week. So lots of positive thoughts and prayers this weekend and maybe on Monday we will get some good news.

As for this weekend, we will have a lot of things to keep us entertained. We have some good friends coming into town with their 10 month old and I am sure we will have our hands full. And I plan on enjoying some body pump and body flow to keep my energy in check. Other than that I will just keep on keepin on.

Just Trying to Be Normal.....Not that Easy

Sorry I have been MIA for a bit. I have been laying low and dealing with life. I think I just need for this year to be over. It has been one of those years you want to forget and the hits just keep on coming.

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family and friends. Nick and I host every year and it is so much fun getting all of the food ready. We have it down to a science. We were even able to sneak in an hour at the gym before putting the turkey in the oven.

Then I headed to New Hope, PA with Nick. We stayed at an adorable Bed and Breakfast and spent the weekend hiking and sightseeing. We tend to go out there every two years and find a new place to stay and it seems regardless of where we stay, it is still always a bit creepy. There is something strange about walking into a house and borrowing a room for the weekend. But The Fox and Hound Inn was definitely worth it.

After a relaxing weekend we headed home for yet another sucker punch from life. I found out that another family member has cancer. So this year we have had, 2 people with cancer, me in the hospital and then all the other everyday issues that families have. And man this was it, it was the last straw, and I lost it. Now I am really ready for this year to end. But hey, as my dad put it, "We never question all of the good things that happen in our lives, and ask why they happened. So why question the bad. Just deal with the days as the come" and now that is what I am trying to do.

So my initial reaction to this news was to lay low. I took on some extra classes at the gym and I have been taking out my frustrations on the treadmill and teaching spin. I just feel bad for the students! :-) And now I am just dealing.

But I don't want to end this on a sad note, so I will also share with you, what I have been doing as I finish up my stretch of working from home. So now I present to you, Mullet Dog: