Thirteen

I made it - six weeks of not running, in the bag. The first two weeks were easy. The second two weeks, I started going for long walks. The last two weeks were miserable. On my last day of not-running, I was up on the north shore, spending a few days at a friend's beach house. I walked from Papailoa down to Sunset Beach and back in about two hours. I wondered what it'd feel like to jog a bit, so I tested it out, giving my self five minutes of running near Chuns. No fewer than three people spotted me and busted me running in those five minutes! Small rock.

 

On New Year's Day, I drove to Lanikai to meet Brigitte, Todd, Joel, Mark, and Steve (a.k.a. Team Kailua) for a new year's run. I warned Brigitte I would be slow and would have to take it easy after six weeks off. Turns out the new year's run was really a race - the annual new year's run of Lanikai Loop. Well, that's one way to shake the cobwebs. I didn't race, but I did push the pace a little, especially in the back half once I warmed up. Team K (+me) swept the divisions, with Brigitte winning handily and me in second about a minute back (16-something for 2.5 miles). There were only 25 or so people running, and you just wrote your name and age next to a number. Ten minutes pre-race, there wasn't even anyone present. I won a new shirt for HK.

 

I've read a lot about MAF training on my athletic friends' blogs (like Michelle) and I think that's just about what I did for Chicago last year when I built up a lot of easy miles. There were 4-5 weeks of just long, easy runs. I'm going to do the same for January, and maybe into the first week of February. My max HR for the month of January using the MAF formula, is 149, which is right at the top of my zone 1 HR range. I can't promise to wear that dumb strap all the time, but I'm wearing it to start, just to get a feel for just how slow it is. I ran 40 minutes this morning, and that HR felt like a serious workout.

 

The A-race, at least for the first half of the year, is the Boston Marathon in April. Along the way there will be a 10k and the Hapalua Half Marathon (the Chase). I'll follow the same plan I did for Chicago, but it's unlikely I'll be able to get the volume that high (the kids were with their dad for the summer when I did that last time). I'm not a big fan of the reflective-holidays: new year's eve, the decade-change birthdays, etc. because they leave me feeling like I haven't done squat with my year/life. I ticked sub-3 off the lifetime goal list last year, and I survived another year of running around like a chicken with no head trying to keep the people I love most healthy, safe, and happy. I guess that's enough. I'd write out a list of 2013 goals, but I don't have any figured out yet. So far I've got: 1. Keep the people I love most healthy, safe, and happy.

 

Some photos from the new year in Hawaii:

 

 

Henry, my oldest, is 13 years old today. I've taken to telling people that I had him at 12, because I'd rather they think I was a slutty middle schooler than as old as I really am. No one believes me. I have an excellent surprise birthday present for him when he returns home from Kauai tonight. I can't wait to give it to him! I'd put a photo of him on the blog, but that would be like the opposite of a birthday present. He hates having photos taken/posted.