“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
~Winston Churchill
(Texted to my by a friend, so I have no source info.)
Sorry I have been remiss in my posting. I have been in a funk for the last few weeks. Since my mom died the holidays have always been difficult for me, so it seems to be this way every year. I have still been running though. Not as much, but a day or two each week at least. I started a holiday running challenge to run every day from Thanksgiving to Christmas, but alas I broke my streak (of two days, lol) Saturday because I spent the night with a friend & didn’t come home until late that day. Then Sunday I pretty much spent all day in bed & yesterday… I pissed around until it was too late to go. Today would be my regular running day, so I am going to run today. I have had some good times lately though, so I am at least pleased with that. I’m getting closer to my 15:00 goal. Haven’t made any progress on my 10K program, mostly because I can’t get motivated for the cross training & strength training days. I have always had trouble adding anything other than running to my routine. Adding new things ends up with me quitting everything; I’m so weird.
I have just in general been so unmotivated about everything. I hardly want to get out of bed most days. However, today I am posting this & have already gotten started on some things around the house. Also I got started on a rather ambitious new crochet project. For my dad’s birthday (which was last week…) I am making a pillow for the University of Alabama. The front is going to be red with a white “A” in the middle done in graph crochet & the back is black & white houndstooth. I have already finished the back & the houndstooth stitch was a new one for me. This is also my first time doing graph crochet & since the design is really simple I think the only difficult part is going to be getting the graph right so the size works. I think I finally have it figured out, but we shall see when I start over on it today:~/
On the plus side, I have spent more time around friends lately & even met some new people. I dusted off an old dating profile & have been talking to a few guys online in hopes of getting some offline dates. Got to get back in the game so I’ll be ready for all the men when I get to Portland!
I have had some eating/weight issues lately, but I think I’ll save those for their own post because there are some things I’ve been meaning to write about.
Tues, 11/6
2.56mi =46:11
Mile 1: 17:55
Mile 2: 18:00
Average Pace: 18:04.9, 3.33mph
~
This was my attempt to start the 10K program. It was slow (even for me now), but I finished it which makes me proud. I thought at one point I couldn’t finish it, but I walked for a couple of minutes & went on to finish it easily without another walk break. Go me! I didn’t run again that week.
Wed, 11/14
1.50mi=24:30
Mile 1: 15:56
Average Pace: 16:22, 3.67mph
~
My time today was better. I didn’t run the day before because I was going to run with a friend who is trying to get started, but she wasn’t feeling well so we just hung out. I’m glad I did drag myself out the next day though.
Thur, 11/15
2.55mi =37:59
Mile 1: 15:38
Mile 2: 13:35 <== doubtful.
Average Pace: 14:54.9, 4.03mph <== woo!
~
So today went really well! Not only did I average under 15:00, but it was my first time running two days in a row & I didn’t die. Hurray! That is a big time difference from the Tuesday before when I ran the same distance, almost 10min faster, & I wasn’t even trying.
Wed, 11/21
1.47mi=27:47
Mile 1: 17:01
Average Pace: 18:53, 3.18mph
~
Today was slow. I can’t remember what the issue was, but I pretty much crapped out after a mile & walked it out. I forgot to stop the timer on the run when I switched.
Thur, 11/22
3.05mi =48:48
Mile 1: 16:09
Mile 2: 16:08
Mile 3: 15:55
Average Pace: 16:00, 3.75mph
~
Thanksgiving! This was the first day of the holiday streak challenge, & I was glad I got started even after a day of hanging out, eating turkey & cake. nomnomnom My first time hitting 3mi in a while, & I was pleased with my time. Clearly it was the chocolate cake fueling me around the loops!
Fri, 11/23
1.59mi=24:09
Mile 1: 14:45
Average Pace: 15:09, 3.18mph
~
Another good time! I’m getting closer to making my 15:00 goal a regular thing.
So, looking over this makes me feel better about the runs I’ve been doing. I haven’t been running as much, but my times are improving. I don’t know when I’m going to try the 10K program again, but for now I’m content to just take it easy & run what I want to.
My Year To Thrive 
November 30, 2012 at 1:05 am
It’s great your running through the holidays. It is a challenge though…I too have decided to continue with my workouts and running through xmas. Cross my fingers! But, it’s hard with pies, turkey, ham, and drinking. Alas, one meal or miss workout day won’t kill us. Good job on the running and the logging!
December 2, 2012 at 5:06 pm
Thanks!
November 27, 2012 at 4:21 pm
Do you know that EVERY. SINGLE. PROJECT. gets frogged and restarted at least ten times before I actually figure out what the hell I’m doing? Sometimes more than that. Doesn’t matter if it’s knit or crochet. I always have to start over numerous times. Even the simplest projects, including ones I’ve done before.
Also I am totes Jealous of Moonie because she gets you all to herself someday.
November 27, 2012 at 5:19 pm
Well, not *all to herself*. She is going to have to share me with the men of Portland, because I fully intend on going buckwild when I get there:D
November 27, 2012 at 5:27 pm
Hellz yeah! You go girl! Is it bad that every once in a blue moon, like every fifth one or so, I miss being single a tiny bit? Not enough to trade what I’ve got of course.
November 27, 2012 at 5:42 pm
Nope! I think it’s completely normal. Not that I have much expertise in normal or relationships, but I’ve read it’s normal. /shrug
November 27, 2012 at 6:20 pm
Wait, what???? I’m normal??? How the duck did that happen??
November 27, 2012 at 3:57 pm
You know what? I was thinking of starting that streak in December. December 1, to be exact. You can do it too!
I’m going to shoot for running 32 days straight and then seeing what happens next. This is a terrible time of year for me runwise, because it’s close to freezing all the time. This morning, it was 36 when I was finishing up at 7am. I’d much rather stay in my house, under my blankets with the space heater and coffee… But I’ve got a race on the 16th, and I’d like to see if I can continue and at least finish the year strong. And, honestly, then I’m taking a break for a few months and cutting the pressure on myself. I won’t race again until March, and then PFit starts, so I’m taking January totally off. But I want to do this streak thing to see if I really can run every day for a month. 🙂
I’m glad to hear you are getting out and socializing. And so happy that you’re improving ! Isn’t that exciting?! Just remember, sometimes, a run is just hard. If we have a day where we run slower than normal, that’s ok. (I am reminding myself as we speak)
November 27, 2012 at 5:21 pm
Yeah, that’s what I have to tell myself. I’ve been having some eating issues lately too, though so I try to keep in mind that if I’m not fueling myself I’m not going to feel like doing anything or perform very well when I get out there.