RUN RECAP: 2016

Ah, 2016... You started out with such a BANG and ended with such a limp...

I went into the year with the goal of PRing in the 10K and half, and happily accomplished both in the first quarter. I had trained HARD in the fall (for a Thanksgiving half), but ended up injured (IT band syndrome) and couldn't run it. Luckily, after taking a few weeks off, I was able to jump back into training and racing without issue (or hip pain). Chill in the Hills was a 10K PR, followed by another 10K PR at the Bob Coleman Winter Run, followed by a 10K race/course PR at Run Thru History. 

Five years back to running! A couple of long distance PRs last year (50K and marathon) and a couple shorter distance PRs (half marathon and 10K) this year.

And then it was time tackle the half marathon, which I hadn't raced in over a year and hadn't PRed at since November 2013 (at the Soldier Half)... Viking Half Marathon proved to be a good day for me, and I met my "A" goal there with a distance PR and the finish time I'd trained for (1:55). (And honestly, I think I could have knocked a couple extra minutes off that time had I not been struck by calf cramps in the final 3 miles, causing my pace to drop drastically as I ran/hobbled erratically down the road.) I had a relatively good 5K the following month (not a PR, but the course was long, so it might have been had it been a true 3.1 miles), but then started to slow into my summer pace (and motivation level). Which is fine. All runners need a break or two each year to rest and reevaluate.

I completed 12 races this year, which is about average for me

I took a break from running (well, from running longer distances and training hard) and did a 6-week round of Bootcamp, which I loved. It was an intense 3 mornings each week, plus 2 more very early mornings to run, so I was pretty worn out near the end of the session. But it worked... I gained a LOT of muscle (and thus didn't lose any weight, but lost a lot of inches) and felt empowered. When it ended, I had every intention of keeping it up over the summer and having a killer fall race season as a stronger and faster version of myself. I even set up our sunroom as a bootcamp-type workout room. But then we went on vacation and I fell off the wagon (and only ran once over the entire trip). Upon our return, I signed up for a middle-of-summer ultra marathon on a whim... Perhaps not the brightest of ideas, but in my defense, it was supposed to be on a soft, shaded, looped trail with plenty of friends and course support. And it was a relay, so I knew I'd get a 2-hour break (minimum) between loops to rest and refuel. But then the weather turned sour and poured rain for an entire week, closing the race course and sending the runners to the streets of Jackson. That race is recapped elsewhere, but long-story-short, I trained hard (for about a month - DOH! - normally I would train 12+ weeks for that distance) with double-day runs (in the heat of the day!) and wasn't giving in, so I was happy I did it (and survived) and SO HAPPY to know that I never had to do it again). Runners are crazy folks...

Once I finally recovered from Big Butts 50K, I had a series of slow fall races (300 Oaks 10K, Over the River Run 5M, Volks March 5K, and Turkey Trot 5K) where I never fully felt like "myself". My legs ached and my turnover just wasn't happening. I developed plantar fasciitis (again - OH it's so terrible!) I got back into bootcamp-type workouts, but just once/week at the track, and so I wasn't building muscle or speed so much as maintaining the bit that I had. And yet I didn't care - I kept running, and upped that mileage (halfheartedly) in training for The Blues Marathon in January. Well... My haphazard training and low weekday mileage (I was great about doing the long runs on weekends, but very lazy about getting in my 5am group runs on T/W/Th) led to a lot of very lame long runs (slow, painful, and pitiful). But I'm stubborn, so I ran on. 

My final race of the year was a favorite (Big Dog Trail) and the first 10-mile loop was AWESOME (my pace was slightly faster than the year I ran it with Sophie)! I thought I'd finally beaten the blahs and was getting my first good long run in of the training cycle (about 6 weeks out from race day - oops). Then I hit mile 13 and I started to droop (the plantar fasciitis was really starting to burn). And at mile 17 the wheels came off (between my foot, and then my knee and hip giving out on me, I was DONE). So I jogged off and on for a bit, then basically threw in the towel and walked (well, hiked) myself to the finish line (I was at the point on the course that it was shorter to just walk in than to find a road and hail a ride). And paid the price over the next few weeks of long runs (worse and worse) before I finally realized at Christmas that my marathon was not going to happen. I resigned myself to the half and felt ok with it. I stopped running and started seeing my sports massage therapist more regularly, and figured that if I could get well, I could get out on the course and just have fun with it (when you're trained for 26.2 miles, 13.1 is "no big deal", despite how weird I know that sounds). But I couldn't get well (still am not, and that is quite frustrating as this is the longest break BY FAR that I've taken from running in 5 years now - WOW, I've been back to running longer than I realized...) Anyway, The Blues got cancelled due to the ice/sleetstorm that came through the day before and I wasn't sad about it.

So, here we are in 2017 already, my hip still hurting (though it's markedly better this week, finally, but I'm not running yet, just in case!), my cardiovascular shape dropping due to not running in 5 weeks (OK, I ran two easy 3-milers and a 2-miler to test my hip, but those don't count - they don't!), my plantar fasciitis better (but not gone), and my frustration building. But the awesome race directors of The Blues found a way to give their sullen runners free entry into the Rock-N-Roll race of their choice, so I have something to look forward to now (just as soon as I'm well) - I'm running the half at RNR Nashville! (I'm taking a break from marathon+ distances for a while...) I'm sure it will be more than "a little bit country", but hey, it's RNR, so it's bound to be a party. Christina and a bunch of our RWOP ladies are transferring their Blues registrations up to Nashville too, so it will be a girls weekend at the end of April! In the meantime, I'm heading back to the MS50 (where I hold my 50K PR) to run ONE loop (20K) and enjoy a fun camping weekend with my family while also cheering on my good buddies (Lee and Amy) in their first ever 50-MILE race! Other than that, I'll have to take 2017 as it comes. My only real goal this year is to STAY HEALTHY and uninjured (once I get there) and have some fun out on the roads and trails with my friends. Running is something that I LOVE, and I miss actually loving it...

GOODBYE PEAR TREES

Our pear trees haven't given us beautiful blooms in years (and have never given us tasty fruit - they aren't that kind of pear tree), so we decided to take them down and make room for a giant bed of wildflowers (we'll plant the rest of the seeds Jamie gave us as soon as we finish cleaning the upper "orchard" area out and prep it). It was a lot of work, but with the four of us working together to cut, pile, and haul it all down to the bonfire, we got it done in one day. And now we're more sore than we've been in a long, long time...

There were 3 more piles this size before I remembered to take a picture

The crepe myrtle also received a trim, and now that kids have excellent fort building branches!

LEAKING, LEAKING, LEAKING AGAIN...

 And yet, we made it through two more huge storms without a tornado in town or a tree through our house. So... the roof will get fixed... and it's not the end of the world. (Though we are pretty frustrated with our roofer's lack of skills...)

SOUTHPARK SCIENCE FAIR WINNER

Just like the Reading Fair, we wanted James to enter the Science Fair this year as practice (at SouthPark, it isn't required until 4th Grade). We bought him a book about science experiments, and after looking through it, he decided he wanted to throw stuff off the balcony and study gravity. To switch it up from the book, we had him toss 3 things at a time instead of 2, use a board to insure everything left his hands at the same moment (give or take), and compare similarly shaped items to control for that difference. He understood the idea and also understood why we asked him to run 3 trials (for repeatability - we didn't get into statistics with him at age 7). And he enjoyed choosing his objects, writing out his hypotheses and making his predictions, and especially tipping everything off the balcony (where Cora and daddy waited to determine which item hit the ground first for him).

 We recorded his outcomes, then he came inside with me to type everything up (I did the typing, he did the narration - though I did assist as needed to remind him of things and clarify what he meant). I showed him how to make tables in Excel (we didn't bother with graphs). We didn't get things printed out until late the evening before the project was due, so we taped it onto his board for him after bedtime (though he helped decide on the placement of everything, and was insistent that we use blue and green backgrounds because they're his favorite colors - and the neon green matched his shirt). We knew that parents helped little ones with their projects, and we also knew that he could explain his project if called out of class to do so, so we were fine with the way things went this year. However, when we do this next year, we'll do the project over Christmas break and not wait for the "proposal" form to come back home with permission (apparently they don't send those home, and we'd been waiting for the go-ahead for weeks...)

 I judged the SouthPark Science Fair again this year, but stuck to the 4th-6th Graders Physics and Astronomy category, and stayed far away from the Category I 1st-3rd Graders. When Jay picked the kids up from school, James was very proud to show off his 1st Place Overall ribbon (and he'll move on to Districts at the end of February). Year one has been a success!

TRIPLE RAINBOW

TWO LEGIT

Yes, we have matching unicorn/robot t-rex tights now. I couldn't resist. 

And those muscles!

Looking all cute getting in line with the girls before class started...

James got his ballet shoes today and Cora graduated to the barre. Legit dance kids!

It's no accident she positioned herself in front of the crack in the curtains...

 THOSE MUSCLES! She's learning to get up into a headstand. And flip over. Whatever that move is called (since I'm sure it's something fancy).

BREWS AND HUES

We made last minute reservations for Martin's first Brews and Hues event, secured our favorite babysitter, and snuck out for a couple hours of date night fun!

 Jay was taking notes on his brews (there were 6 total) and making guesses as to which art piece represented each beer. (He was right, and I was mostly right!)

 John talks about beers 4-6 before handing it over to the artists.

 Emily and Lisa pose with art pieces as their likeness to the beers they represented were discussed.

We're not big art fans, but we are big beer fans, so we enjoyed this event. And our dinner. And a quiet evening out without the kids (who didn't miss us at all because they had their favorite Miss Elizabeth over to entertain them).

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

FROGS AND SNAKES

Jay decided that our frog needed a pressure washing and a touch-up, and Cora was just the artsy person for the job:

 (She's singing along to Taylor Swift songs in these photos, not yelling at me)

 James got busy helping daddy plant wildflower seeds in the newly tilled beds and pots.

 Jay found a speckled kingsnake which required photos. Then a leopard frog.

 Jay created some bog pots for plants.

 And the kids did some yoga in the newly cleaned and organized sunroom

We had a very productive holiday at home!

WILL'S HIGH HEAVEN BIRTHDAY PARTY

The American Ninja Warrior-esque obstacle course at this place is so cool (much different layout here than at the trampoline park we visited in Stockton). The kids spent most of their time on the course, or jumping into the adjacent pit (attempting front flips), but they did run over to the trampolines and dodge ball park a couple times. Will's Star Wars themed party was a lot of fun and the kids can't wait to go back to High Heaven someday (soon)!