Greetings from an Elf

Every December, "Santa" goes around my office building and delivers everyone's last paycheck of the calendar year. Well, this year I had the privilage of being the elf that accompanied him. I'm not exactly sure why I was nominated for this position - being 5'8" doesn't exactly put me at elf status - but it was a lot of fun.

Training Update

Training for the 2008 Flying Pig Marathon has gone exceptionally well thus far. I've been able to get my pace to 9:13 and hold it comfortably for four miles. I've really been watching what I eat, and I can tell a huge difference. I used to practically gorge myself after a hard run because I felt like I deserved it, but I've slowly moved away from that mindset. I heard an interview with Lance Armstrong after the 2007 New York Marathon and he said that he was seven pounds lighter than the previous year's marathon, and it made all the difference in the world for him.

After only a week of cutting my daily calorie intake practically in half, I already feel lighter on my toes. Here are some of my biggest vices:

• McDonalds: double cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets, vanilla ice cream cones
  
• Taco Bell: Nachos Supreme, double decker tacos, 7-Layer burritos
• Starbucks: triple grande non-fat caramel macchiatos
• Red Robin: french fries, strawberry milkshakes
• Mr. Gatti's: sausage and green olive pizza
• Moes: "Joey Bag of Donuts" burrito, with chips and queso...and a cherry coke
  
• Peanut M&Ms
• Brownies with vanilla ice cream

This really could go on and on. In constructing this list, I realized just how often I've let myself eat these things over the past year. I mean some of these things have been staples of my diet! I've realized that if I let myself eat these things in moderation, then I'll enjoy them even more. I've also found that I don't crave these things anymore. I've been trying to incorporate more lean chicken, brown rice, black beans, etc into my meals and I've really cut back on portion sizes. It's amazing how much better I feel - but I also want to make sure I'm taking in enough calories so I don't get woozy during my training runs.

Anyone else have any guilty pleasures they are trying to cut back on in the new year?

New Gear for the New Year

Thanks to my great husband, wonderful parents and in-laws, and a very generous Santa - I was able to stock up on running gear for my marathon training. I have plenty of warm weather shorts and t-shirts to run in, but what I was really lacking was cold weather gear. It has been freezing in Kentucky the past few days (an average wind chill of 10 degrees...yikes!) and I needed some warm stuff to help me brave the roads on my Saturday morning long runs. (I do my weekday runs through the winter on a treadmill at a warm and toasty gym.) Without further ado, here is a list of some cold-weather running gear that I have really enjoyed, and highly recommend.

Socks:
Brooks Burn Ped socks
These socks are great! A big step up from my now threadbare C9 Target socks.

Tights:
Asics Thermopolis tights...they are very warm, and quite flattering if I do say so myself.

Gloves:
Brooks Pulse Light Gloves
These gloves are a really good base layer.

Watch:
My parents bought me an Enduro Mini running watch. It is very easy to use and I've been able to log my long runs in the "stored runs" area.

Jackets:

New Balance Kaspian 1/2 Zip - this is going to be a great jacket for the Fall, Winter and Spring. It is lightweight, but very warm. The arms are cut a little longer and have loops in the sleeve to hook your thumb through. This is a great feature when you first start out and are freezing, and it is easy enough to roll up the sleeve slightly once you warm up. I feel like a real runner when I wear this!




Headwear:
To top it all off, I have a Dri-Fit wicking "beanie" from livestrong.org to keep body heat in.

Accessories:

• A Runner's World subscription - my favorite gift...it is the gift that just keeps on giving!
• Clif Shot gels and recovery drink packets
• FuelBelt Sprint 10 oz Palm Holder
  
• More Brooks running socks
• Starbucks gift cards to warm up after early morning runs!
  

It's hard to believe that I have been blogging on 23 Going on 60 for over a year now. It all started in November of 2006 when my husband, an avid blogger, suggested that I start a blog of my own. I was pretty skeptical at first - I didn't want to add yet another thing to my to do list that I felt I needed to complete daily or even weekly. I still am amazed at those bloggers who post everyday - a lot of my favorite running blogs follow this format. (Check out Half-Fast, The Lawsons Do Dallas, New York Running and Marathon Stories for some really good running blogs that are updated almost daily...I don't know how they do it!)

I know my posts have been few and far between lately, so I am going to make an effort this year to post more regularly. Some of my favorite running blogs do daily and weekly updates of their training, but I've always been hesitant to do this because I don't know how many of my readers are runners. But, I think I am going to start incorporating a "training log" feature. Last year my main goal was to complete a half-marathon and a full-marathon. This year, I have a handful of 5ks, a half-marathon and three marathons on the calendar. My training is going to be more intense this year, and hopefully more interesting. You never know what is going to happen out there on the roads, so hopefully I'll have some interesting stories as well.

No Country for Old Mere-Maws*

I have a feeling that the image above is going to be in my nightmares for years to come. Chad and I went and saw "No Country for Old Men" with some friends last night and the movie was excellent. However, anytime I see a scary or thrilling movie I tend to let it affect me way too much. Every time I open the shower curtain or open my closet door or hear footsteps behind me when I'm out running, I imagine that this guy is going to be there with his odd helium tank gun pointed right at me. It's no way to live, really. Regardless of the long-term effects of seeing this film, I highly recommend it!


*For those readers who don't know me personally, "Mere Maw" is the nickname that my husband affectionately gave me on one of our first dates - due to my 23 going on 60 tendencies.

2008 Race Calendar

I love the end of the year because it means I can start planning for the next one. My race schedule is filling up, and I'm hoping for a year of PR's. I'm also going to try and do some multi-sport events, and maybe even some triathalons. After watching the Hawaii Ironman championships, I've been bit by the tri-bug. My next big endeavor is going to be training and getting ready for Ironman Louisville 2009. Here's what I've got so far:

January
January 1 - Hangover Classic 10 Miler, Louisville KY

February
February 9 - Heart, Sole & Glove 5K, Lexington KY

March
March 29 - Papa John's 10 Miler, Louisville KY
March ?? - YMCA Splash and Dash, Lexington KY (500 yard swim, 5k run)

April
April 20 - Heart & Sole Duathalon (5k run, 15 mile bike, 5k run), Versailles KY
April 26 - Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon, Louisville KY

May
May 4 - Flying Pig Marathon, Cincinnati OH

June
TBD

July
July 4 - Bluegrass 10K, Lexington KY

August
August 31 - Louisville IronMan (just a spectator this year...!)

September
TBD

October
TBD

November
November 2 - Huntington Marathon, Huntington WV

These are all of the available races available around Lexington at the moment. While I most likely won't do all of these, it's nice to see that there are so many event opportunities around here. I am going to try and get an entry level road bike in January, and I'm trying to figure out how I can gain access to a pool. I'm really excited about this upcoming year and all of the events - I know that multi-sport training is going to help me reach my marathon goal of 4:30 at the Flying Pig marathon in May.

Sweet Sigh of Relief

My crazy work week is finally over. Working for a public television station can be very taxing during pledge drives, but it can be a lot of fun. I've pretty much just been working and sleeping - I haven't worked out at all this week. It is kind of nice not being in training for something - but I miss the feeling of being in training. Over the next two weeks I am going to work on building up a small training base, and then I will begin training for my spring marathon on January 1st.

Chad and I are getting ready to have a passle of Jr. High and High School kids come over to the house for a few hours of Guitar Hero and junk food. I'm hoping to get to bed early...but I don't think that will happen. Tomorrow I am finally going to get a chance to watch the Hawaii Ironman that was broadcast last Saturday. Thank you Ryan and Amberly for TiVoing (is that a word?) it for me! I love watching the Ironman triathalon - it is always so inspiring and I usually end up a heap of tears by the end. If you haven't read the book Becoming an Ironman, I highly recommend it.