I signed up for an ultramarathon.

Yesterday, I paid money to run in the woods for hours on a Saturday morning in June.

I signed up for a 50k.

31 miles.

Training starts tomorrow. LOL.

This whole thing is a bit surreal. This is not my first attempt at an ultra distance. I got into about 3 weeks of training in 2013 before I was sidelined with bursitis and then the news of baby #3.

A part of me is afraid that I'm jinxed. That something will happen and I won't get to the starting line. As I was brainstorming my training plan, I started to get overwhelmed. I took a deep breath and made myself a promise: I will take this 1 run at a time, 1 day at a time. I will only worry about the run I need to complete that day. Obsessing and worrying about monster miles in future will only cause me grief.

I'm going to be honest here: I am venturing into unknown territory. I'm going to be running A LOT. I'm not sure how my body or mind is going to handle this new challenge. I am hoping to post weekly about my training but I'm not making any promises. I'm probably going to be really tired. like all the time.

This week's mileage is pretty low key and a good entry into the training plan I've MacGyvered for myself. One of my biggest challenges is that I'm a domestic engineering goddess of 3 kids. I can either run early, run late, or drag a double stroller along. Generally, I will be running 5 days a week; T/Th/Sat will be early morning runs. Wednesdays with be stroller runs as I'm only willing to sacrifice morning toddler naps once a week. I'm not a masochist. Fridays will be afternoon trail runs. There will also be mommy naps. and coffee drinks. and a lot of running related laundry.

I'm nervous. and excited. and scared. and curious. and happy. and so many other feelings. This is going to be epic.

Week 1
6, 4, 4, Trails (distance varies), 10

previous post: a hard decision that wasn't really hard 

It doesn't escape me that my previous post was all about how tired I was and how I needed a break and now I'm going to run a 50k. Pretty much the definition of irony huh?

a hard decision that wasn't really hard

I've decided to not run the marathon this weekend.

and I am completely, totally, and utterly ok with it.

Really, I am.

Even before I found out my poor running partner and fellow road tripper had bronchitis, I was dreading the whole thing. 

The 7.5 hr car trip.

Running another 26.2 miles after months and months of training and racing. 

I could drag my husband and children to Mississippi, 4 days after traveling 13 hours and attempt to sleep in a hotel room with said children but I'm not insane. or cruel.

I want to sleep in on Saturday, run a reasonable, enjoyable amount of miles, and then spend the day with my family.

This is the first time I have ever felt this way about a race. I've been anxious and nervous but never this apathetic. 

That was sign #1 that I should probably throw in the towel and call it a day. 

Sign #2 was my feeling of contentment at the thought of not running the marathon.

Sign #3 was my wonky, achy knee and tight calves.

I'm proud of myself for recognizing the signs and making the right decision. Runners, particularly long distance runners, refuse to give up. We grit our teeth, put our heads down, and power through. But not this runner, not this time. 

Besides, I need time to rest up for the 50k that I'm crazily thinking about signing up for.

previous post: Product Review: Garmin Vivofit 2

Product Review: Garmin Vivofit 2

So Jawbone and I have a little bit of bad blood.

I'm on my 4th tracker. I'm such a sucker. I call customer service all indignant and ready to make a scene and then the phone call ends with me agreeing to give them another try. It's embarrassing.

You can read about our history here and here.

Currently, I have the MOVE. I love the little clip action. It's discreet, easy to use, and in the beginning worked perfectly fine. It uses a watch battery which is easy to replace and lasts a reasonably decent amount of time. Well, it says its supposed to last a reasonable amount of time but it lies. Then about 4 weeks ago, the device itself, stopped showing me data. It is supposed to tell time, my steps etc... now it shares NOTHING. It still connects to my phone but now I need to manually put it in sleep mode, which is just aggravating.

bad blood.

I was in the car with my Mom, driving to get some curtains, when she told me she bought some activity thingamajigger. Um. ok. Which one? She had no idea but told me to check QVC on my phone because it was the deal of the day. Turns out it was the Garmin Vivofit 2. They were selling it at a great price, with a bunch of extra bands and she kindly offered to get me one.

picture courtesy of Garmin.com

I have this crippling inability to let go of things. It's not a hoarder situation, I just hate giving up on something. I really, really, really like Jawbone's app. It's so pretty and easy to use. It gives me all the information I need and nothing that I don't. Garmin's app is like Jawbone's uptight, older, over achieving brother. It's dark, and filled with graphs, and tables. It's boring. Efficient but boring. It's the opposite of fun. I wish there was an option for a sparkly, unicorn, glitter Garmin app because I would totally go for that one.

The Vivofit itself is a neat little device. Comfortable to wear and not too difficult to get on with one hand. It gives me all the information I need and even beeps at me when I'm being lazy. Because I am an uber weirdo, I am NOT using it as my running watch because I can't convince myself that my activity tracker can also function as my running watch even though I have no valid reason to back that up. So I'm still wearing a separate watch and carrying my handy dandy little Vivofit (it pops out of the bracelet and easily fits in those tiny little pockets they put in running clothes that I can't find any other use for) in my pocket. 

I tweeted Garmin that they should hire someone to make their app more pretty and then I was horrified when they responded. They asked me to make a formal appeal to their design team and all I'm thinking is how am I going to explain to a bunch of serious athletes that they should make their app as if UniKitty from the LEGO movie was in charge? Not sure how well that would go over.

this is me.

this is the Garmin design team when I tell them their app makes me sad

 
*photos of  happy & angry UniKitty courtesy of Lego

previous post: Year in Review: 2015

Year in Review: 2015

I'm a little late with this year in review post.

Sorry. I've been busy running, sleeping, eating, and practicing some basic laziness.

Here's the lowdown: 2015 was pretty awesome.

found on theberry.com

1,321.58 miles.

(my most in one year ever).

A year of 100+ mile months.

4 marathons.

(my most in one year ever).

Entry into the 50 States Marathon Club.

Epic.

found on skinnypinkninja.wordpress.com

It was also the year of my first DNS, It took me a good week or two to get over that one. My Mom had to send me a present.

While it was an awesome year, it was also a hard year. Running kept me sane. It gave me an outlet for a whole slew of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me.

There were days I didn't want to run but I did anyway. There were days when I wanted to run but couldn't. Not every run went well but every chance I had to get out and log some miles was perfect.

I haven't firmed up my running plans for 2016 yet. There's not much I can do to improve upon the beauty of 2015 but I am sure going to try :)

Have a happy, safe, and wonderful NEW YEAR!