I Didn’t Want To…

It was Sunday morning…

I didn’t want to get up at 5:00 AM,

but I did.

I didn’t want to eat breakfast at 5:30 AM,

but I did.

I didn’t want to put on my running gear,

but I did.

I wanted to stay in bed,

under the covers.

I wanted to eat a leisurely breakfast,

peruse my book.

I wanted to snuggle with the fur kids,

steal a kiss or two, or three,

but I didn’t.

It was Sunday morning…

I was out the door before 7:00 AM.

I ran and I ran and I ran.

I heard a chorus of crickets,

and the cicadas sing.

I caught a glimpse of a gaggle of geese.

I watched the fog fade and the sun ascend.

Then I spotted Geneva,

pushing her walker,

down her driveway,

smiling,

waving,

yelling, “You’re so fast!”

And then there was Robert with his Golden Retriever, Max,

remarking, “You sure are a dedicated runner!”

So I ran and I ran and I ran.

I conquered those 11 miles.

I didn’t want to, but I did!

Finished, fulfilled, finalized!

No regrets, no ruefulness!

11 mile training run for Hershey 1/2

~~~~~~~~~~

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Let’s Chat & Have Some Coffee Too

If we were chatting over coffee this morning, I would share…

that I am in week eleven of my half marathon training. My training plan is a twelve week plan so that means another race is around the corner.  The first weekend of May I will be running 13.1 miles in the beautiful city of Pittsburgh.  I ran the marathon last year and it is truly an awesome race and a fantastic city.  I do not have any more races scheduled this year, but I will let you know that there is a very strong possibility that I will be training for a full marathon (26.2 miles) in the fall.

If we were chatting over coffee this morning, I would share…

that  Matt and I have started a new tradition on Friday nights.  Let’s just say I call it “Fresh Fish Friday.” A new seafood store opened in our area right before Christmas and Matt has made it part of his routine to stop in on Fridays and bring home a great catch. When he arrives home, he whips up fabulous meals. I’m not going to lie; the man is an amazing chef! Our dinners have included salmon, halibut, soft-shelled crabs, and clams.  I’m also trying to enjoy, or should I say eat, oysters. Not too sure about them yet, but I’m trying.

If we were chatting over coffee this morning, I would share…

that I just finished the book The Crossover by Kwame Alexander.  I have to admit that I started this book some time ago and just could not get into the “reading zone.” You can guess what happened; I abandoned it. I did, however, keep hearing rave reviews about it, so I gave it a second chance.  And, boy-oh-boy, am I glad I did. I absolutely loved it!  There are so many wise words sprinkled throughout, and I’m a huge fan of books in verse.  Now I’m anxious to get my my hands on Booked by the same author. In the meantime though I’m actively reading Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan, 59 Reasons to Write by Kate Messner, and Poetry Mentor Texts by Lynne R. Dorfman & Rose Cappelli. Oh, and just so you know, spell check thinks Lynne’s last name is Doorman and Rose’s is Cappella.  I love technology!

If we were chatting over coffee this morning, I would share…

that Matt competed in a sprint triathlon on Sunday. His race recap will be posted shortly. Maddie just turned twenty and I don’t know where the time has gone. We have two more days of PSSA testing this week. The weather has been down right perfect here in Pennsylvania. And last but not least, I’m wondering what you would be sharing over coffee this morning!

~~~~~

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I’m a Planner!

Yes, I am a planner! I love to make lists, keep lists, and organize my lists.  In fact, sometimes I place things on my list just so I can cross them off…I know some of you out there do the same thing and can understand my obsession. 🙂  Anyway, it brings me to the saying:

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”

This year we have some pretty large athletic events scheduled.  Matt is participating in a 1/2 Ironman and a full Ironman.  Maddie and I will be running a 1/2 marathon in DC and I would like to train for a full marathon. With that being the case, we need to schedule our workouts accordingly.

I usually start to plan my workouts for the following week on the preceding Thursday or Friday. I have been trying to schedule 3 runs, 2 strength training workouts, and 2 core training workouts.  I use the “notes” app that is already on my iPhone and it works out perfectly!  There’s nothing fancy about it, and since I always have my phone with me I always know when I will be working out next.

You can see from the photo above that I “reward” myself if I completed the workout or “boo-hoo” myself if I don’t complete the workout…you gotta do what works you know!  For this past week I missed my two scheduled workouts at the beginning of the week, but fortunately I was able to reschedule them later in the week. (Thanks to my fitness buddy and a snow day!)

In addition to my iPhone app I plan, record, and reflect upon my workouts using my running journal.  I used the this journal for 2013 and it worked out wonderfully.

Running Journal

Record Keeping

While I don’t have any formal goals or resolutions for 2014, I am participating in #500in2014 with some of my Twitter peeps.  Please feel free to follow me or join me on Twitter!  Here is what #500in2014 is all about:

• run/workout 14 times a month
• post at least 14 times to #runteacherrun
• run at least 4 races
• run at least 400 miles (I’m shooting for 500+)
• encourage 4 more teachers to join

These are just two of the ways I keep myself organized and on track with my workouts to ensure that I am heading down the right path!  I use other apps to plan for other aspects of my daily happenings, and those I will share in another post!

What do you do to make sure your workouts happen?

What are your goals for 2014?

Thanks for visiting my blog!

i.am.ready

last run complete

feelin’ good

12 weeks of training

44 runs

201.49 miles

ready to run
thirteen point one
🙂