I Blame the IPad..and Dr. Oz..

So I've often thought about blog posts I wanted to write over the past couple months, but for some reason.. they just don't seem to happen. No excuse, really. I mean, yes, I'm 'busy' with the two boys and all.. but not THAT busy. But, I'm more likely to be surfin the interwebs these days on my ipad and typing blog posts on that is..not my favorite. I even got a keyboard thing that you can hook your ipad up to for Christmas! (my poor husband always gets me great gifts..that I then proceed to allow to collect dust because I'm too stubborn to learn new tricks) But that's an extra step and, again, just doesn't seem to happen. But since I don't journal or do any other cool method of tracking my kids lives along with my athletic endeavors, I'm going to make a solid effort to get back to keeping this bad boy running.. So here goes! I guess kind of a lot has gone on in the past 2+ months.. where to start.. We'll start with running. So I ran my first half a few weeks back. I guess that means this is my 'race report'? It was.. OK.. I think I maybe had some unrealistic expectations.. as usual. My training went fine. I followed Hal's plan and felt like I was set to go. My long runs felt good, but looking back, when your usual LSD pace is 9min/mi, does it really make sense that you'll all the sudden run over a minute/mi faster for the same or longer distance? I understand the concept of 'LSD' for building a base and for 'finishing' a race, but I'm thinking if I want to get faster at the half marathon distance, I'm going to need to run my longer runs faster..maybe long tempos, or long runs with a set amount of 'race pace' miles in there? I'm using the 'advanced' training for my next half, which is 2 months away, and it has some of those things in there, so we'll see. Though, I'll explain later why that is not going to be a PR kind of run. So anyway, back to my 'race report'.. I ran the Sam Costa 1/2 Marathon on March 23. It's a smaller race and early in the season, so I really liked the low stress smaller race and using this run as a 'starter' for the season (too bad I thought it was going to be an 'A' race? seriously.. hind sight really makes me look like an idiot). So I met up with my ol tri buddy, Ashley. It was great to get to catch up with her. After last season completely away from racing (growing a human, you may recall), we haven't seen a whole lot of each other. I knew we weren't going to run together.. she's been training her run a LOT and had a BQ last yr, so out of my league right now.. which is fine. At the start, I felt ready, but oddly nervous.. like I hadn't done this before? I think I'm just way out of practice. I started off fine. My plan was to hold 8min miles..the whole time.. So. Obviously, when you plan to hold 8's, you start out in the 7:40 range, yes? NO??! Hmmm. By a couple miles in, I started to get the feeling that I wasn't going to be able to hold my goal pace. By about 6 miles in I felt myself looking ahead for.. what, exactly? I was looking for some kind of 'break' point? Like a transition, or something? But then I remembered that I'm running a half marathon..ya dummy..and there's no stop until you're done. I kinda knew I was in for a rough one at that point, but I kept plugging along as my pace slowly, slowly...got slower. I was hanging in with the 8:30 crowd for a bit. Then for the last couple miles it was all I could do to keep below the 9min range. I felt bad.. usually in a race I'm the chipper, smiley lady congratulating people and offering ever-so-helpful "keep it up" and "looking good"'s, but not this time.. This time I felt like, instead of thanking all the volunteers (and there were a ton.. this was a turn-heavy coarse, so there were people at every corner telling us which way to go), I felt like my eyes were pleading with them to tell me how to make it stop. But I kept plugging away..until we finally did reach the end.. I crossed in something like 1:52/1:53.. I have no idea. I forgot to stop/check my watch and didn't really look at the clock, either. I'm sure the official results are somewhere on the world wide interwebs for all of posterity. So some have said: "that's a good time", or "that's not too far off from your goal" (which was 1:45, which is my previous PR..which I got under someone else's name and therefore is not really 'mine' yet)..and that's all true, but I think the bigger kicker for me wasn't that I didn't reach my goal, but how I felt in the run. The half felt long.. it used to feel like something you just do on a tuesday before breakfast just because.. so it was weird for it to feel so...loooong. And I was pretty wiped. Even my abs and where my c-section scar is (too much?) hurt. I wasn't prepared for a hurt like that, especially when I felt like I ran so slow.. but I guess my pace wasn't so much by choice, but by default. Maybe if I had set out at an 8:40 (or whatever a 1:52 half mary pace averages out to) pace and just held that, I would have felt better.. But since I, instead, went out fast and was forced to slow down.. it hurt. ANYWHO.. enough negativity. I did the run. I had fun catching up with a friend. It was a nice day for a run... Uh...that's all I have to say about that! I did learn that I have a long way to go, as far as improving my run..so that's always fun. And I decided to back off of my full marathon plans for this fall and will, instead, continue to work on the half distance and see if I can't somehow get faster there before I move on to the full. Biking and Swimming? Absolutely nothing to report there. My swim has gotten slower as I've been in the pool less and less regularly. I just can't seem to get excited about it.. maybe when the outdoor pool is open? As of now, I haven't signed up for any tri's, but I'm thinking mid-late summer sprints and maybe an oly will be the plan. Sometime before those dates, I will get back in the pool and make swimming a priority again. I did get out on my bike last sunday and it. was. awesome! I love riding outside so very much and, again, it was great to catch up with my good pal, Lara. Now that it's finally getting nice out (cue insane days and days of rain. You're welcome), I plan to get a good bike ride in on the weekends.. week days are pretty much out because of husband work schedules and kids stuff and sunlight.. Oh, well. Weekends will work. CrossFit has kind of taken center stage these days, so there's quite a bit going on there..and I'm having a lot of fun doing it. So I'm still going in to the gym in the early am before Matt heads to work, but my 3..or 4.. days a week has quickly turned in to 6.. or sometimes even 7, since they started having open gyms on sunday. We just wrapped up the 'Games Open'. "What the..??", you say? Right. Well, if you're not in to CrossFit, I'm not sure how exciting discussing the Open will be.. but I guess we'll find out! (in other news, I'm back after a few hours, baby played with, then fed and put down for a nap, kid fit dealt with, timeouts served, lunch made and eaten, dinner prepped, chutes and ladders played, kid down for nap.. and now I remember why I let myself slide with my blogging. Anyway. Where were we..) So the Open is the part of the CrossFit Games where everyone can play.. Everyone can sign up (and pay their $20, but whatever) and take part in the workouts that the 'HQ' (uh..headquarters) folks put out. After the workouts are announced on wednesday evenings, we watch two of the top crossfitters take on the workout, then we get a false sense of how to do the workout, only to be quickly humbled when we actually try them the next day.. Then.. if you're like me and are a part of a gym that wanted to make it to Regionals (the next step) as a team, you obsess over what strategy to employ as you take on the workout again (and again) before having to submit your final score on sunday. Fun, right?! It actually is, and maybe I'll blog another day on my thoughts about the Open.. But it does teach you how to be more 'strategical' in your workout to try for the best score possible. It also makes you push harder than you maybe would normally and can even force you to break through some perceived barriers in your training. ie: I thought my 1 rep max on the snatch was 95#.. I had tried 100# before and failed.. it was scary to me to even try throwing it over my head, for some reason. Well. Here comes the 1st workout and wouldn't you know it, there are snatches and if I want to get a decent score, I'd better throw that 100# over my head.. and I did! Boom. Barrier broken (and then I quickly got mad at myself for missing any and not getting MORE of my (new) 1 rep max at the end of a 17 minute workout.. ah, well.. I celebrated for a moment). I also did my first workout with muscle ups in it.. so that was fun. I got up on those darn rings a few weeks (months? I don't know) ago and have been working on it A LOT to try to get it consistent and where it would be 'no big thing' in a workout.. They still aren't perfect, but it's great to at least, finally, have that skill. So anyway, the Open is now over and guess what.. I did alright! After just 4-5 months of training post baby, I wasn't so sure how things would go and if my fitness would be up to par with where I needed to be.. But the Open tends to favor gymnastic-y folks like me.. so.. I don't know. I was happy with how I did, though I do know I still have lots of room for improvement (which is good, otherwise.. what am I doing??). So. Our team DID qualify for Regionals by placing in the top 30 in our region (Central East.. there's so many crossfit gyms that there's several regions just in the US). And to top it off, I ranked in the top 3 gals in our gym, so I get to compete at Regionals! I'm excited.. and nervous. It was the goal and something I worked hard for these months since I've been back in the gym and definitely focused hard on it through the 5 weeks of the open.. But now that it's REAL?! And we've started REAL training?! I'm even MORE excited.. but nervous, too. It should be an experience, to say the least. I'm going to really work hard over these next 2 months so I can do my part on the team and give it our best shot! So that's that.. Did I leave anything out? Ah, yes.. How does running fit in, if you're focusing on CrossFit? Well.. I plan to continue to run. I DO feel like the two can work together and even benefit each other.. So I'm still going to run my next half.. which happens to be the weekend before Regionals..which is why it won't be a 'PR kind of race'. But my sister and I have talked about running this half together for YEARS and she FINALLY agreed to it.. so I'm not backing out now. Plus, honestly, when I first looked at the timing of the two things I thought "perfect. The half will be a nice 'active recovery' from all the lifting stuff and it doesn't interfere with Regionals!". Of coarse, it might not be 'perfect', but it wouldn't be 'me' to back out of the run..and I gotta be 'me', right? That's what I thought.. I'm back to doing the tumbling teaching gig. I do all the classes two nights a week, which is up to 3 a night, depending on how many kids sign up. So far it seems to be working as far as kids, eating, sleeping (them, not me), etc.. So we'll stick with it as long as it continues to go well. Mason and Miles are great (well, aside from the crazy fits Mason likes to throw at times.. like today.. Miles crumpled up a picture..I mean 'map' that Mason drew and the kid. fell. apart.). Mason actually has kindergarten registration TONIGHT!! Ah. How did this happen? 'Big Boy School' has always been something we knew was coming..we talked about it.. But how is it actually HERE?! He's psyched, though. As much as he has liked the Goddard School, he's already talking about moving on..ready to get this 'big boy school' thing started. Miles is 7 Months now and 'busy'. That's what I like to call it.. I love looking over at him to see him sitting on the floor just 'busy'. Working on picking things up, turning it over, putting it in his mouth (of coarse), etc. And the boys, for the most part, are doing very well together. Mason loves making Miles laugh and Miles is quick to smile at pretty much anything he does.. so it works out well for both of them.. And me. I love to watch it all. I think that's all I have to say for now.. As for Dr. Oz.. I blame most things on him. I've long been meaning to blog a rant about him..particularly regarding his 'magic diets', and 'super foods' and 'tricks for wt loss' that he keeps insisting he knows all about, which often border, if not fully delve in to disordered eating.. but perhaps another time. For now, I bid you adieu and hope to check in here again sooner than later..