Hello there! Nice to see you again. After taking a five week break from blogging and nearly an eight week break from running I'm happy to be back doing both again!
I won't go into all of the horrible details of the past two months. Suffice to say that while I almost (emphasis on the almost) enjoyed the first few weeks of my running break after JFK, as soon as my semester ended and I found myself with loads more free time and my inability to run put my mood in the dumps. What I thought was runner's knee ended up being a nasty case of ITBS. I start PT next week, but I'm already feeling better after I revisited many of the PT exercises I learned in the spring when I had shin splints. Apparently weak hips is just my thing. The road ahead is still long and I'm not running very far or very often, but baby steps will turn into big girl steps in no time at all.
I've done a lot of soul searching about what I want 2013 to bring. In 2011, my first full year of running (and my first year of racing) I signed up for and ran 12 races, peaking with my first marathon in November 2011. Last year, I signed up for 18 races, but only ended up running 10. A spring injury forced me to abandon my first 50 mile attempt in the spring among other races. While I did eventually make it 50 miles, I spent most of the year being overzealous and trying to take on too much, too fast. Hence the injuries.
So this year, while I really, really do want to tackle another 50, I'm giving myself a break. Or, rather, I'm giving myself a different sort of challenge. Instead of focusing on distance, I want to focus on speed. Particularly speed in the marathon and 50k. I want to PR both distances at least once if not twice during the year.
My spring set up includes a March marathon and a May 50k. There will probably be more additions later on, but I'm trying to do a "less is more" kind of thing, so holding back is also a goal. Not signing up for a 50 miler was really difficult. I had been scoping out the Finger Lakes Fifties 50 Mile in July for quite some time. Afraid that I would actually commit to it once I was completed recovered from my injury (when my arrogance was back), I conveniently booked our annual summer vacation for the same weekend. If I still feel like I'm missing out on July 6th when I'm frolicking in Europe, then something must be really wrong with me.
I will revisit 50 miles in 2014. Until then, bring on the speed!
I won't go into all of the horrible details of the past two months. Suffice to say that while I almost (emphasis on the almost) enjoyed the first few weeks of my running break after JFK, as soon as my semester ended and I found myself with loads more free time and my inability to run put my mood in the dumps. What I thought was runner's knee ended up being a nasty case of ITBS. I start PT next week, but I'm already feeling better after I revisited many of the PT exercises I learned in the spring when I had shin splints. Apparently weak hips is just my thing. The road ahead is still long and I'm not running very far or very often, but baby steps will turn into big girl steps in no time at all.
I've done a lot of soul searching about what I want 2013 to bring. In 2011, my first full year of running (and my first year of racing) I signed up for and ran 12 races, peaking with my first marathon in November 2011. Last year, I signed up for 18 races, but only ended up running 10. A spring injury forced me to abandon my first 50 mile attempt in the spring among other races. While I did eventually make it 50 miles, I spent most of the year being overzealous and trying to take on too much, too fast. Hence the injuries.
So this year, while I really, really do want to tackle another 50, I'm giving myself a break. Or, rather, I'm giving myself a different sort of challenge. Instead of focusing on distance, I want to focus on speed. Particularly speed in the marathon and 50k. I want to PR both distances at least once if not twice during the year.
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| Ready to start adding more to my rack |
My spring set up includes a March marathon and a May 50k. There will probably be more additions later on, but I'm trying to do a "less is more" kind of thing, so holding back is also a goal. Not signing up for a 50 miler was really difficult. I had been scoping out the Finger Lakes Fifties 50 Mile in July for quite some time. Afraid that I would actually commit to it once I was completed recovered from my injury (when my arrogance was back), I conveniently booked our annual summer vacation for the same weekend. If I still feel like I'm missing out on July 6th when I'm frolicking in Europe, then something must be really wrong with me.
I will revisit 50 miles in 2014. Until then, bring on the speed!
