Progress

Sorry for neglecting the blog for a few months - I am happy to report that my lack of blogging is not tied to a lack of exercising but rather my attempt to finish my boyfriend's anniversary gift (see photo), keep up with my workouts, and entertain guests.

The Army 10-Miler was in there somewhere as well and I totally rocked the race! Last year my time was 1:49 (avg pace 10:55). This year, I knew I was running faster but I didn't know how much faster so I set a goal of averaging 10:30 min/miles. Result: 1:42 (avg pace 10:14) and that is with a bathroom break around mile 6.5! I can't tell you how excited I am about that result. I've been working really hard and it is paying off both in terms of my running times and my weight. On race day I had lost 10 lbs and between guests coming for epicurean weekend trips and Thanksgiving, I'm holding my own at that 10 lbs mark.

I was looking over some of my posts from four years ago when I first started focusing on improving my fitness and I am pleasantly surprised to see that I am really turning into an athlete. For the last two years, when I thought about that first season, I thought of myself as a wanna-be athlete who was going through the motions but wasn't really dedicated. But when I read back over those posts, I don't get that impression at all. I was out there putting in the mileage and doing good things. But now that I have 3 training seasons behind me, I feel a lot more mature as an athlete. I'm training smarter, I know a lot more, and I'm safely getting back to the volumes I was doing 4 years ago.

I have to say, I love looking around me and seeing the people walking into a yoga class or a Body Pump class for the first time and realizing that I am not that beginner anymore - I'm not lifting the 2.5 lbs anymore or moving into child's pose because I can't handle the intensity of an asana. Now I'm the one the beginner looks at skeptically when I tell them about my fitness journey. I'm the one the beginner thinks is crazy because they don't believe that I used to only be able to run 30 seconds at a time.

The next year is going to be very exciting. I've got quite a nice group of women who I've recruited to run the Army 10 Miler with me next year. My running partner who believed me when I told her she could run more than a mile is now running 5 miles with me once a week and will be one of the cohort. Another friend asked me to help her train for the race after seeing how well I did this year, and 2 other half marathoners have agreed to pander to the lowly 10 mile distance. As for me personally, I've got my sights set on a half marathon next year. I'm also toying with the idea of getting back into triathlons but I'll wait and see how I feel about it in March.