Just fine in '09

It's that time again... resolution time!

I've stopped making traditional resolutions years ago. They were always the same: this year I will lose weight, be better at finances, find a better job, become a super human who always has their stuff together, become a super hero while I'm at it, save the world, save money, save trees, save the children... that all comes back to that super hero thing.

Usually by around January 15 my delusions of grandeur had met cold hard reality: I'm human.

A couple years ago I realized that if I made resolutions I could actually keep I'd be a much happier person. Thus my new resolution was born: I will wear one article of black clothing everyday.

It was perfect. Totally something I could control, and each day I succeeded I felt good about setting a goal I could achieve. So this became my resolution every year. I kept this up for a few years until suddenly my entire wardrobe was black. I guess I was committed.

At any rate, this year I'm going to set goals rather than resolutions and here's what I have so far:

IN RUNNING:
- A 25:00 5K (I would need to shave 3 minutes off my current PR, and maintain an 8-minute per mile pace... hello track workouts!)
- A sub 1-hour 10k
- A sub 5-hour marathon

Race Schedule thus far:
- 1/18 Phoenix Rock N' Roll Half Marathon
- Love 'em or Leave 'em 5k (February)
- Vancover Sun Run 10k (April) this one is a maybe... a local 10k would be just fine
- Vancouver Marathon (May)
- Seattle Rock N' Roll Half Marathon (June)
- Disneyland Half Marathon? (Sept)
- Portland Marathon (October)

I realize I don't have to run every race, every year, but I think this is an aggressive year for me because ultimately, I want to do a 50k race in 2010. So in addition to all these road races, I'll also be trying out some trail running. I have yet to find a 50k road race, but I'll keep looking.

So that's the running plan for this year! This is going to be a good one, I can feel it! :)

Cardio Cross-Training

My friend Holly turned me onto a boxing class at our gym. I was, of course, intimidating by the shouts echoing throughout the gym while I would be chugging along on the treadmill. Holly arranged to get me some gloves, so I was free to try it with nothing to lose...

Oh man! What a workout! Even though it was really hard, I was really proud that I was able to keep up and, frankly, survive. Even more exciting was even though we did a million lunges and other leg work, my legs weren't sore!

I am a machine!

Healthy Goddess Half Marathon Training

So... I think I'm crazy. The furthest I've ever run has been 3.1 miles, which was the exact distance of our first long run. We'll be adding a mile a week from here. This is going to be insane.

We'll be working out 6 days a week. We run twice during the week, alternating between intervals and hills. I'll also be doing a yoga for runners class, cardio cross-training and strength training for the next two months.

I was relieved that my running pace put me in the middle of the group. I've been running for a few months now, so I think I've built up enough endurance to run three miles at about an 12 min/mile pace. At my last 5K I averaged about 11.5 min/mile, which is pretty great considering I weigh 230 pounds.

Although I am officially scared for our next long run (which consists of hill training and will be 4 miles long), I'm excited to feel like an athlete again... it's like being in high school... only I'm making less mistakes and have less homework to do :)