8.5

I put 8.5 miles on my legs this morning at the gym, in about an hour. No, I didn't all of a sudden turn into some KR-fast runner (btw, super awesome story if you stay tuned in!)- I walked about a half mile, ran a mile, then biked for 7 miles. One of my goals for 2012 is to do a sprint triathlon, so I'm trying to get my legs used to being worn out! I did the running first and then the biking, but when it comes to the tri, it'll be reverse order. Whatever :) I'm also just trying to re-gain cardiovascular endurance after basically a month and some change off. 

This morning's gym session was actually my 2nd of the week. Since calender weeks start on Sundays, so too do I! I did 20 minutes on a treadmill, alternating running and walking. During an off-season triathlon workshop (which I'll blog about one of these days!) they talked about how training on the treadmill should be done at a 2% incline or more to compensate for the fact that you exert less energy running on a flat treadmill vs. flat pavement. Plus, what road is ever flat?!? Even though I've clearly lost a lot of the endurance, I've definitely gained some speed. I used to push myself to run at a 12min/mile pace, and now that's my slow running pace. My usual training speed is 11min pace, and when I'm pushing towards a distance, not time, I'll crank it up a notch or two. I did a little bit at 10min pace on Sunday and man... the burning sensation was NOT pleasant! 

KR got me an awesome "KEEP RUNNING-SAFELY!!" present: ankle braces! And yes, this is totally a shameless way of showing off our Christmas tree- isn't it pretty?!?! :) Its sort of basic this year, but since the roomie put it up, who am I to complain? :) 

I'm sure that come Christmas, there will be a few more ornaments on it! Both the roomie's mom and my mom will be coming to spend the holiday with us and OMG I'm so excited for it!

Oh and your final story of the day... Its not really my story, but I'm so excited for her and y'all heard about her first race, so I feel like bragging for her like a proud mamma bear. KR did her first half marathon this past Sunday. She hadn't even run 13.1 miles before then and man, did she pick a doozy of a day to run her first 13.1!!! It was rainy, unseasonably cold, and the course had quite a few hills! Given the recent craziness behind the scenes in my life, I went to go cheer her on and figured that as long as I was there, I could volunteer as well. I helped run the gear check (btw, world's greatest invention for >5k races!) with an old retired Navy man named Sid (we laughed about that!) as KR did her trek. 

The race was a fundraiser for the camp where it was held- Victory Junction Gang Camp. Race car driver Adam Petty, of the Petty racing family, HUGE deal in NASCAR, was killed during a practice run and the camp is supported by NASCAR, drivers and NASCAR's sponsors in his memory. (My NASCAR-loving brother-in-law had heard of the camp!) During the summer, different groups of kids spend a week and they have family weekends during the school year. Just from what I saw, they have awesome rec spaces, horse stables, a frisbee golf course, and tons of room to just go, play, and be a kid. What I thought was really neat about the camp was that each week or weekend is dedicated to kids of a specific disability, so if you were a kid with, say, cystic fibrosis, you would be at the camp with other kids like you. It takes away some of the comparisons and heightens the bonding experience to be with other children facing the same struggles as you. Plus, the reason fundraisers like this race, which raised over $100,000 for the camp, are so important is that no family has to pay to send their kids here. Richard Petty himself was at the camp to support the runners!

I met some really neat people, both affiliated with the camp and other runners, as I waited for KR to do her thing. Like I said, it was super cold and rainy out there. The first half marathoner came in around 1:20. He was booking it with under 7 min miles! FOR 13.1 MILES IN THE POURING COLD RAIN! I don't get it. Even crazier, there was literally nobody behind him that we could see. The end of the course had you running down a hill, up a hill and back down a hill to the finish line, all in sight of the finish area. After they'd interviewed him (from Charlotte, his first time running this race, could they please cut out some of the hills), the 2nd runner still wasn't in sight. 

Forty rainy minutes later, I saw the figure in a white top and black tights and I started yelling "Go, KR, GO!" Her one reply? "water!" After she changed into dry clothes, we ate some delicious chili and cornbread, and headed back to the car. In true KR fashion, for her 2nd race, she got 2nd in her age group. We ignored the awards ceremony and left while it was happening because KR was sure she didn't place. I'd been working the gear check so I didn't pay quite as astute attention as the previous race to see if she'd won. Plus, how do you tell a 26 year old from a 24 year old? They look the same, but different divisions! Anyway, it was super exciting to go and see some amazing runners and it definitely inspired me :)

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd