It's a date!

Holy Cow!

I have not updated this blog since May 20th! Poor little neglected blog.  Well, life has been keeping me busy.  So what's been going on?

First of all, over the past several months I've been working really hard at getting my positivity level up and keeping it that way.  It's been hard, but the longer I keep it up, the easier it is getting.  And you know what?  I changed my attitude for the positive and my life started to change for the positive....imagine that!  It's a simple concept, but hard to implement when you're in the thick of challenges.

My new outlook...most of the time. :) 

 

I've made some major changes recently.  The biggest one: I'm switching careers...again.  My last day in the classroom will be this Friday.  It's bittersweet, but financially the best thing for my kids and me.  I will be going back to the environmental world, but in a regulator role instead of a consultant role.  I'm nervous, but excited.  I'll miss a lot of things about teaching, but the paltry paycheck definitely isn't one of them.

As for running.  I've been trying to keep going even though it's wicked hot.  Summers in AZ mean LOTS of miles on the dreadmill.  I have the most available time to run in the afternoons/evenings, so outside just won't do.  It's boring for sure, but Netflix on my iphone has made all the difference.  Waiting for things to start cooling down again so I can hit the streets.  

 

So what's on the running agenda?  Well, the calendar is shaping up like this:

 

October 6:  The Arizona Half.  Part of the Hometown Race Series and in my neck of the woods. 

October 13:  The Cactus Cha Cha Trail Run (the 7 miler).  An annual tradition for my girlfriends and me.

November 4:  Lady Speed Stick Women's Half Marathon, Scottsdale/Tempe.  Loved this race last year!  And look at this medal! (Because it's all about the medal, right?)

 

December 2:  Rock 'n Roll Las Vegas.  Sigh....I was part of the cluster that was RnR Vegas 2011.  I went back and forth about doing it again.  But decided I'd give them another chance.  Just going into it with a different race goal this time.  And if they screw it up this time...peace out.

January 20, 2013.  Rock 'n Roll Arizona.  Tackling the full again.  Since I did decently last year, even though I didn't train like I should of, I'm curious what I'm really capable of.  So of course I have to do it again!

February 22-23, 2013:  Ragnar del Sol. Last year was my first Ragnar.  And it was THE MOST fun I've ever had running.  Our van was awesome.  The best group ever.  And we're getting the team back together to do it again.  

I'm also toying with the idea of the Lost Dutchman 1/2 marathon on Feb 17th and a sprint triathlon over Thanksgiving (if I can find time to get back on the bike and in the pool). 

I'm excited to get the season going.  My goals for the season are to finally break that 2 hour mark in the 1/2 (I'm so close...PR is 2:02!) and get under 4:30 for the full.  Other than that, I just want to have fun and stay healthy

What's on your calendar? 

Summer Running

Summer's almost here. In the Valley of the Sun, that means we hibernate.  Since school will be out and I won't have to be at work at 6:45am for awhile, I'm going to try to get in some early morning runs.  But for the next several months, it's going to be mostly Dreadmill. 

So it's time for a new playlist!  I noticed the other day that I haven't changed my running playlist since January.  Yikes!  I usually change it every month.  Good thing is I really liked my last playlist, so I didn't get bored with it.  Hopefully this one will work out just as good. 

Here we go, in no particular order (I always put my music on shuffle):

1.  Assassin - Muse
2. Scientist - The Dandy Warhols
3. Big Bad World - Authority Zero
4. Dangerous Animals - The Arctic Monkeys
5. Black Math - The White Stripes
6. Get It Daddy - Sleeper Agent
7. You're Not Pretty But You Got It Goin' On - Band of Skulls
8. Libereducation - Authority Zero
9. Love Blood - Sleeper Agent
10.  Hotel Yorba - The White Stripes
11. D Is For Dangerous - Arctic Monkeys
12. Force a Smile - Sleeper Agent
13. Dead Sound - The Raveonettes
14. Return The Favour - The Hives
15. Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups
16. Get It Right - Authority Zero
17. Howlin' For You - The Black Keys
18. B is for Brutus - The Hives
19. Lonely Boy - The Black Keys
20. Get Off - The Dandy Warhols
21. Attention - The Raconteurs
22. You Want the Candy - The Raveonettes
23. Courage - Authority Zero
24. A Little More for Little You - The Hives
25. Salute Your Solution - The Raconteurs
26. Panic Switch - Silversun Pickups
27. Hypnotize - The White Stripes
28. Five on the Five - The Raconteurs
29. Ignite - The Raveonettes
30. Potion Approaching - Artctic Monkeys

Happy Running!

Keep Going....

I haven't posted in forever.  Why?  Well, I kind of lost my running mojo.  My last race was Ragnar del Sol in February (which was the most fun I've had in years!) and for some reason, I just couldn't get back into a routine after that. 

Life's been all over the place for me since the fall.  Normally running would be my outlet.  But I just couldn't get past all the junk in my life and get back on the pavement.  Teaching, taking classes,  kids, adjusting to life as a single parent, trying to manage my now-precarious financial situation....it was just too much.  I've been in "treading water" mode.  Lots of nights of crying myself to sleep from all the stress so I could put on my game face the next day. 

Thursday evening I was running on the dreadmill while my son was at swim practice.  And I kind of had an epiphany: I don't want to just tread water anymore.  I want to full-out swim. 

As I was plugging away, I was reflecting back on when I first really got into running about four years ago.  I couldn't go two miles with stopping at least once or twice.  But I kept going.  Then I was able to go two miles without stopping.  Then I was able to run a mile in 10 minutes.  And then one day I was under 10 minutes and I was so excited!  Now, four years, eight 1/2 marathons, one full marathon, and a Ragnar relay later....I'm consistently running sub-9 minute miles (not for as many miles as I would like....yet!).  I know, to many of you that's not that fast.  But for me...I never thought I'd get here.  And I'm still working on getting faster.

So what was the key?  I just kept going.  And I want to translate that into the rest of my life.  I'm just going to keep going. It's not always going to be pretty, it certainly won't be easy, but if I keep chipping away, I'll get there.