goodbye 2015

this year was full of amazing things and not so amazing things.  the biggest and best thing of all was i completed my first 50K which, for some odd reason, burned me out for the rest of my race season.  i mean, once i completed this race no other race seemed worth it.  it was like... finished the 50K, drops mic, and walks off stage.

i felt mildly guilty when i missed a couple of 5Ks, but really... when it was pouring rain i just didn't have the heart to go.  that would have never happened before.

i suffered a few weird overuse injuries throughout the year ending with an injury to something in my right shin in august which cut my distance as well as the quality of the distance i insisted on running. i made it through my race season but just barely.  i ran lakefront with a respectable time, but didn't finish with a time that made me happy since i was trying to BQ.  after lakefront i had to take 6-8 weeks off.

coming back from that has been a very slow process.  i'm still coming back.  it is humbling as well as incredibly challenging to have to come back starting near scratch.  my pace is so slow, and if i'm being honest... it really is disappointing.  i'm trying to embrace the suck, and take it day by day.

i don't do resolutions.  i'm sure i've said it before, but if not i'm saying it now.  i don't do resolutions.

i do have goals tho' and the big goal for 2016 is to run 2016.  do i really think that's attainable?  no, not really.  i think it's sort of crazy.  the next goal is to best my mileage from 2015.  i really did a piss poor job this year, but it couldn't be helped.  i really need to avoid injury for 2016 so that i can try to hit some sensible mileage.

let's review:

2013:  1060.58

2014:  1229.12

2015:  1029.20

yup... 2015 weakest year yet!  *cries all the tears*

ok... moving on...

from the looks of my mileage i've been plagued with a few different injuries.  such bummers.  well... onward and upward!  i expect 2016 to be better.  i have big goals for iceage and so far that's my A race for 2016.  other than that i've not got my sights set on anything else.  

tentatively this is what i'm looking at:

sweet home milwaukee 5K - 4/24 (registered)

ice age trail 50K - 5/14 (registered)

run walk wag for MADAAC 5K - 6/4

kettle 100 38m fun run - 6/11

hartfest 1/2 marathon - 6/18

schlitz park 1m - 6/25?

firecracker 4 - 7/4

dances w/ dirt 1/2 marathon or 50K - 7/9

cliffrunner 10K - 7/24

hank aaron state trail 5K - 8/6?

madison mini marathon - 8/20

strider 1/2 marathon - 8/27?

instep trail races 7m or 1/2 marathon - 9/17?

joe's run walk roll 5K - 9/24

lakefront - 10/2

mrf - 11/6

moral of the story:  2015... thanks for playing but don't let the door hit you on the way out.  2016... come to mama!  happy to see your shiny bright face.

nothing worse... or is there?

there is nothing worse than being sick.  well... maybe migraines.  i get those fairly often and i'm going to concede that those are worse than being sick.  this past week was the perfect storm of both.  wouldn't you know it? over the christmas break too so no running for me.

the weather can affect and subsequently cause my migraines and cluster headaches.  it's the barometric pressure changes.  the weather changed dramatically on tuesday which is the same day that i got my period and was also getting sick.  like i said... perfect storm.

i had the migraine/cluster headache for 5 days.  finally broke yesterday.  i cannot explain the relief and joy that comes when the pain is finally gone.  when the pain goes on for days and days it causes inexplicable depression and irritability.   there's just no seeing the bright side because there's simply no telling when the pain will end.

today it is gone and i am so grateful!  i wish my doctors would come up with a solution so that i would have to go through this so often.  until then i will be thankful for the good days and rue the bad ones.

8 runs back after 6 weeks off

man... it is AHHHHHHH-MAZ-ING how much the body can change (read: lose) in 6 weeks off. humbling would be an accurate description of the current state of my running life.  absolutely humbling.  i am slow.  very very slow and there isn't a damn thing i can do about it.

i started back a little over 3 weeks ago on the dreaded treadmill.  i was just doing 3 milers, but because i'm having such a hard time running on the treadmill my habit is to do fartleks.  i don't do them for the speed benefits more so i do them so that i can get the run done sooner.  i hate the treadmill so much.  it is such a challenge for me to spend any length of time on it.

last week wednesday i finally made it back to lapham for a short run.  it wasn't even a challenging course.  it was 4 miles on the prairie side.  mostly flat and usually easy.  man... this was anything but easy.  it was borderline hard.  also... very very fun.  i will never tire of the trail.

i know that it was challenging because i woke up several times between wednesday night and thursday morning stretching my legs.  my legs were also fatigued thursday morning upon awakening. now, don't get me wrong... i'm not complaining.  just making a mental note of my condition.

i'm trying to build my mileage slowly so as to avoid any of those pesky overuse injuries.  i'm really disappointed that i've been saddled with injury after injury.  i've been toying with the idea of getting together with a coach.  i feel like maybe i need the guidance.  given that i've only been running for almost 4 years (it will be 4 years march 2016) i sort of feel like i have so very much still to learn.  i learn more about running every day.  i learn about my body and myself every day.  what works... what doesn't... but that doesn't always translate into the whys and hows of things.  i kinda feel like if i had a coach to guide me i might have a better chance of reaching my goals.  other times i feel like a coach might be a waste of money.  i've reached out to a coach and we'll see...

in the meantime i will continue running, building my base, and getting stronger.  next sunday is when i get to sign up for iceage and as of right now i've got my sights on the 50K again.  my goal is to shave time (of course) but to also run smarter by pacing myself more moderately and consistently so that i don't poop out in the last 9 miles like i did last time.  i need to make sure to go into the race strong and uninjured.  that means careful and slow training.

4 years of running is really not that long all in all.  comparatively to some people who've been running since high school... 20+ years and such... i'm a running baby.   every day i get better, stronger, smarter... just gotta keep plugging along i guess.