February Recap

Miles ran: 38.72
Miles on the spin bike: 27.51
Minutes cross training: 252

I can't decide if I am pleased with February or not. I relied heavily on my Orangetheory workouts to get my weekday running mileage in, which has not been very effective. While I do believe I am building strength and speed, it's not a great substitute for getting the miles in and good ol' MJ is feeling it after the long runs. Thankfully the weather is changing and the days are getting longer so running outside doesn't feel miserable and unsafe. I'm targeting an April half marathon, but didn't realize it was Easter weekend, and with COVID-19 lurking at every state's doorstep, I wonder, do I want to travel right now? Then I remembered the husband and I booked a return to our honeymoon destination so I guess that means I do want to travel right now.

I feel more like myself again with each passing day. I hop on the bike, lace up the shoes, roll out a mat and/or pull out the weights most days each week, and that makes me happy. I realized the other day that my easy run pace is floating back to where it was last fall, "before everything", as I often say. I'm also discovering that I really never focused on re-activating my hip flexor after surgery. When I wasn't racing, and just running because it was lovely, it wasn't a big deal - seemed easier to avoid anything that would aggravate it. Now that is no longer acceptable, so thankfully I have Emily Infield's Instagram to follow where she shows continued recovery from her own hip scope and I'm pulling nuggets from the strength and rehab posts she shares.

All of this makes me think I may want to refocus on the 5K again. I want to be able to push myself, and really focus in on speed. This naturally makes the 5K distance seem like the obvious choice. Also, it seems like far less commitment than a half marathon or longer, even though I'm well aware it's equal effort or more. But, we will see. For now, I'm happily logging miles and enjoying the return of sunshine for extended periods of time.

Favorite workout: Orangetheory Tornado, where you rotate between tread, rower, and weights, staying at each station no more than 4 minutes at a time. It was a sweatfest and very satisfying.

Favorite Long Run: A 7 miler that was the longest run since everything last fall. Somehow, reaching the full mile past a 10K mark always feels significant to me. Perhaps it's because I'm on the slower side and this is nearly 90 minutes of running for me at long run pace and 90 minutes just feels good. And it did.

Photo dump:
We tried Every Plate meal prep service for a few weeks and found some tasty recipes.

Jeff went to the doggie dentist and was pretty zoned out for about 12 hours. Sorta funny, but also never putting him under anesthesia again unless it's absolutely necessary.

BFF Pizza for Valentine's Day with the hubs

How was your February? Anyone else do the heart-shaped pizza for Valentine's Day?

January Recap

Total Miles Ran: 20.03
Total Miles Cycled: 47.73
Minutes Other Cross Training: 239.73

There are only 4 days left in February but figured a January recap was better late than never. With all the crap of last fall, and my lack of a gym membership, I admit I wasn't very committed to getting any type of exercise in. Luckily, the new year sparked the idea of a fresh start in me so I got myself two new motivations: the first, a spinning bike and the second, a membership to the local Orangetheory. I had set purchasing a spinning bike as a 2019 New Year's goal, and then found lots of excuses to spend the money on something else. As the year came to a close, I more carefully researched bikes, prices, why the weight of a flywheel matters so much (the heavier, the more it simulates biking outside), and whether or not tracking cadence would really give me any real training benefit (meh, not really). Technically the purchase was in 2020, but I found an excellent deal on a Sunny Fitness bike, and am loving it.

I've already canceled my Orangetheory membership, but have another month to go because of their cancellation rules (fine, whatevs). I actually have really enjoyed the workouts, and I do believe it has made me faster, or at the very least more comfortable with going faster and pushing my limits. It's gotten me back into strength work, and I enjoy not having to think too hard about what type of workout I'm going to do. I just show up and do what the coach tells me to do.

What I did not enjoy was the constant contact as if they are trying to get me to join their co-ed Greek chapter. I actually got a marketing text message saying they were "looking forward to helping me on my journey to more life." Excuse me, Head Coach Ben, but my life is pretty great as it is so why don't you just take my money and let me do my own thing. <-- actual response by me

So, Orangetheory is a great workout and I do believe if you want to get faster over the winter months, this is a good option to consider. Just be warned, they will try to get you to buy into their "community" mindset. Sorta like Crossfit, if I really think about it. Crossfit is much more subtle though. They should take hints from them.

Favorite Run: a snowy and tactical 3 mile jaunt that took me an embarrasingly long time. But I was outside and running again in the fresh air and I wasn't too cold so it was delightful.

Favorite Workout: the first Orangetheory workout I took, the run portion was a lot of hill climbing at what they call "push" pace, what the rest of us call tempo pace. It was so fun, I was grinning the entire time.

Podcasts listened to:
Rob Has a Podcast - select preview episodes of the SURVIVOR all-winners season that premiered in February
Detective Trapp
Keeping Track - podcast with Molly Huddle, Alisyia Montano, and Roisin McGetten
Clean Sport Collective

January Photos:

Selfie on a delightfully sunny day

One of four puzzles we got for Christmas

Wedding hotness

Jeff found the tennis ball stash

2019 Recap: I am MORE

Races: 7 (1 half marathon, 1 10K, 5 5Ks)

Total miles: 458.7

Number of PRs: 3 (1 half marathon, 2 5k)

Time seems to pass slowly and quickly at the same time! I think about all the writing I want to do, and in the blink of an eye, a month has passed and I've written no words - not on here, not in my journals, no where.

But, as the husband and I have an unusually quiet evening, I figure it's a good opportunity to truly reflect on 2019. I'm not going to lie, sometimes it's easy to forget that 2019 overall was a pretty damn good year, and even the last part of the year came with a 5K PR. When I think about what I have discovered about myself - personally, professionally, and athletically - all I can conclude is that 2019 taught me that I am more.

I am more than I thought I was capable of.
I am more than a busy worker bee in the background. I am the future of public health.
I am more than a middle of the pack runner. I am a competitor and my greatest competition is myself.
I am more than a 10-minute miler. I can go faster, if I am brave enough to.
I am more than a runner. I am a wife, a friend, a sister, a daughter, and a mother.

January, February and part of March was as it always is in Kansas City. Cold, dark, and my least favorite environment to run in. In the depths of that awfulness, I found a radiating light - or rather a reason to enjoy treadmill runs - in the Peloton app. Taking Peloton's so-called 'Tread' classes with delightful instructors such as Becs Gentry, Olivia Amato, Matt Wilpers, and Jess Sims made miles tick by with a mental ease I hadn't felt in a long time. I got faster because they challenged me to be faster, and I rose to it. When spring arrived in Kansas City, I took their guided outdoor runs with me many times, because it's so much easier to do a tempo workout when you've got a friend encouraging you.

April and May were complete chaos - getting married always brings a joyful and stressful disruption of life. I cried tears of stress, tears of joy, and tears of "it's okay, I just need to cry right now". I received a national honor for work, and managed a 7-minute PR in the half marathon on a tough, hilly course. Then I went and laid by a resort pool for a week.

June, July, and August were just as fun. I took to running early in the morning and adjusting my work schedule so "early" was 6:30 and I didn't have to go to bed before the sun went down. I raced - yes, raced! - three 5Ks in three weeks, managing a PR at one of them. I logged miles purely for the joy of it. I joined a local running group for their Tuesday night speed sessions, and found new depths of speed and strength I didn't know I had. I ran by feel, forgot about the clock, and found I was faster than I thought I was. I started training for a marathon, not having a goal other than to finish and have fun. Okay, maybe I did have a goal in mind, but wasn't going to commit to it until I was more sure of my training.

September came with some adjustments. I found I was tired, run down, and just a bit 'off' at the beginning of the month, which was all explained when I had four positive pregnancy tests. I made adjustments to the training plan, tweaked my diet, and continued training.

Then the nightmare of October came, c-r-a-w-l-e-d by and left me devastated, hollow, and unsure of how to move forward. I felt stuck most of November, but signed up for a Thanksgiving Day 5K in the hopes that I would find something if I got out there and ran. I never wrote an RR for that race, but somewhere in the second mile I realized two things: first, mile 2 of a 5K is the loneliest mile and second, I need to do more core work if I really want to race well.

I felt like I had nothing for December, but I signed up for a 5K last minute anyway because the race swag was a hoodie that said "Running with my Snowmies" with little runner snowmen on it. It's pretty rad, too. Just the right amount of weight and softness. In this 5K, I reaffirmed how lonely mile 2 is and how I really do need to do more core work. It was cold and dark at that race, so I started my watch and never looked at it again. I just ran hard. When it started to hurt, I tried to run harder. I crossed the finish line with no expectations, so was pleasantly surprised when I finished with another PR and a top 10 finish in my age group. I finished out the month with miles for Sara's brother Mark whenever it was nice, and tried to be thankful for everything in my life.

It was a crazy year, and I learned so much. I made strides in my running, and began to find the types of training that allows me to thrive. I had life-changing moments and one that fundamentally changed who I am forever.

I'm not sure what 2020 will bring. I've got some running plans, I've got some life plans, and I've got some career plans. But my goals for the year are focused on my whole-person health - mental, physical, and spiritual. There are no numbers tied to those goals, but I hope that the pursuit of them will allow me to become my best self.

And if I can knock out three PRs again, well, that will be just fine, too.