Appreciation

This is my second year as race director for Georgetown Parks & Recreation's Annual 5k. I now have a new appreciation for race directors and all that they do.

I'll be the first to admit that I am pretty picky when it comes to races. It drives me crazy if they are not well organized. I am annoyed when there are not enough port-a-potties. I am annoyed when the race does not start on time. I am highly annoyed when I do not get the t-shirt size that I registered for. I have been known to complain and whine about these things, as well as other things, at races...just ask Dan.

While some of those things still may annoy me, I now keep my mouth shut. Let me tell you - there is A LOT that goes into planning and directing a race. More than I would have ever guessed. Need proof? Just take a look at me. We're about 1 week out from the race that I'm planning, and I'll tell you the sight of me ain't pretty. Bags under my eyes. Messy hair. No make-up. Tired. Stressed.

And, my race is relatively small - around 600 participants. I can't even imagine trying to plan a race of greater size and distance.

Extensive planning goes into putting on a road race. Dealing with local officials, police etc can be (is for me) extremely frustrating. There is a lot of red tape. There is a lot of resistance.

And, it's expensive. Most road races are not big money makers.

Ever wonder exactly where your entry fee goes after you enter a road race? Producing road races has become a significant business that comes with a lot of risk along with a lot of hands in the till. The days of simply throwing down a chalk mark in the road, yelling out “ready, set, go”, letting the 200 or so runners fend for themselves as they weave through traffic jams they actually caused themselves and then finally handing a popsicle stick with a number (place) on it to runners crossing the finish line…are long gone.

Here, however, are the days where producing a road race is more about insurance, liability, medical coverage, media, security, technology, computers, charities, food and entertainment and less about road cones, ribbons and tear off stubs as in the good old days. And, of course, all this “new stuff” just costs more and more and more money. Additionally, where and when the race is held also contributes to the ever-increasing expense of an event. The days where “everyone” involved offered his or her services free of charge are also gone.

I got a phone call this morning from a lady in a neighboring town who called to ask me about putting in a road race. She was not a runner, had no idea how to go about putting on a 5K but wanted to know where to begin. My first question is…. why do you want to do this? Her response is pretty common - “to raise money for xyz cause”. My reply is that it is a lot less painful and much less risky to hold a car wash or cake sale and you may even raise more money doing that then delving into the complexity of road race management.

Without corporate sponsors, whether cash, product or services, it is virtually impossible to “make money” conducting a road race. Each race is different, of course, and as such, incurs different expenses. However, every race must deal with standard expenses in order to produce a half decent product. Typically, some of those expenses include but are certainly not limited to:

Advertising	Port-o-johns
Awards	Postage
Bib Numbers	Printing
Equipment Rental	Refreshments
Insurance	Signs
Management Fees	Supplies
Medical	Timing and Scoring
Police	T-shirts

I have found that generally, entry fees can usually cover reasonable event expenses. It’s the cash sponsorship that ultimately makes the difference in an event generating proceeds. Without cash sponsorship, the chances of the event making any money is pretty slim in most cases. And, in the current state of the economy, I've found it pretty hard to secure big sponsors...

There are tons of other things for race directors to deal with - finding and managing volunteers, guessing the right sizes of t-shirts since typically sizes need to be turned in 2 weeks prior to race day, dealing with the chip timing company, selecting awards, and more.

So, this is my thank you to all the race directors out there. You will not hear a peep from me anymore :)

Overindulgence

Since I am not longer training for Ironman, my desk should not still look like this. We've got a problem...someone please come remove the food or else I would need to buy new pants. K, thanks.

Decisions

It's been a little while since I have last posted...and that by no means indicates that nothing is going on.

I had decided a few weeks ago to give the Ironman training a go after battling with the decision to withdraw for several weeks. I met with Coach Shawn last Friday; Disney races had passed and it was time to really beef up on my biking for the remainder of the training period, which also meant cutting back quite a bit on my running. Just to give you an idea of the next three weeks training, he had me running once a week and biking four times per week. Several of those rides were long hours on the bike trainer. Suffice to say I would rather poke my eye out than ride my bike trainer.

Over the weekend I became down right jealous of some other friends who are taking this year to step back from all of the racing and let life fill in the blanks. I tried to get excited and knock out the workouts, but I just couldn’t get there mentally. And, I really just wanted to run.

It’s no secret that I really don’t like to ride my bike for extended periods of time. After about 50-60 miles, I’m really starting to hate life. If I could get away with doing an Ironman with little bike training, I would. Unfortunately, there really is no halfway in the Ironman. Just to reach the finish line and meet all the time splits along the way requires quite a lot of preparation.

For many, reaching the Ironman finish line just once is their main objective. Certainly it's a worthy goal, because it makes you a member of a very special family.

However, there are some who return year after year to yet another Ironman and it becomes a constant cycle of training, dieting, racing and sacrificing all else to relive the magic.

I know from experience, what a heavy toll this can take on your body and also the family, career and social aspects of your life. It became extremely important over the last few months for me to consider if I wanted to do that again this year.

Not to make this sound like some light decision...because if you know me...you know that I take my athletic commitments very seriously and to change my mind about a goal I set and the training I was going to do...It's a pretty big deal...and of course full of emotions...sigh...

It became clear to me this week that 2011 is not my year for Ironman. I was skipping my bike workouts and running instead. Then I would feel incredibly guilty for skipping my bike workouts and beat myself up over it. And, the thought of spending all weekend on my bike made me want to throw a temper tantrum (and I did). I just am not into it this year; and with that mindset, training would become a chore, and I would be miserable. Unlike last year, I'm not willing to force everything else in my life to take a backseat to the 140.6 mile mission.

I want to focus on my running. I want to spend time more with my husband. I want to spend more time with my friends. I want to focus on work. I want to volunteer more. I want to try new things (already got my mind on ballroom dancing lessons with Dan! Boxing classes at the Rec! Zumba!). Then I realized no one is holding a gun to my head forcing me to do the Ironman. That is the beauty of freedom of choice.

So, I am withdrawling from Ironman Texas and moving forward. No looking back, no regrets. This is the right decision for ME. I’m picking up the San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon in June, so I have an “A” race to work towards. I’m also going to train for my first Ultra – the JFK 50 miler in November.

Maybe I’ll be back to Ironman another year. Maybe I won’t.

Thanks for reading.

Goofy Challenge: Disney Marathon Race Report

Disney Marathon Race Report (Warning: LONG!)

Saturday night’s sleep was kind of an off and on thing, but I probably got about five hours. Plenty. Like Saturday morning, I woke before the alarm went off. And began to get ready for round two. Dan gets up a few minutes later. The first thing I notice when I get out of bed is that my legs are pretty sore. I feel a twinge of worry overtake me, but nothing I can do at this point but power forward.

We were giving Dan’s friend Wes a ride and had all agreed that he would meet us on the way at 3:55 am so that we would be there by 4:30 am. I know I’m anal in that regard, but I’d much rather be sitting for extra time at the race site, than fretting about getting there. He shows up 7 minutes late and I am trying not to hyperventilate and yell at him. Nonetheless, we still make it to the parking lot by 4:33 am and all is good again in my world.

Anyway, things were fine. My stomach was mildly upset and I was semi-concerned, but I figured as soon as I started with my pre-race bagel and peanut butter I would be fine. My quads were a little beat up, but, as far as muscle soreness went, my lower calf muscles were the most pained. I was questioning whether it was a good idea to try and still shoot for a 3:15. But, I am super stubborn, and since I had already publicly stated that I was shooting for a 3:15, well, I was going to give it my all. I needed to average 7:26’s to make this happen.

We hit the porta-pottys (lines weren’t as bad on Sunday), and at that point it’s time to say goodbye to Dan and Wes and jog to the starting line (they declined the warm-up jog, said something about they would get enough running in…). I wished them luck and headed to my corral.

Made it to the corral and squished in with the rest of the ‘cattle.’ It was colder marathon morning than it was the day before, so I also kept my long sleeve throwaway shirt on for as long as possible. Usually I chat with the other runners while waiting, but I really didn’t want any conversation. I was pretty solidly focused, standing in the corral just waiting.

Finally, the countdown goes down, the fireworks go up, the gun goes off, and the runners go on. It was a relatively peaceful start. Some that had jumped in front sprinted off like they were trying to catch a gazelle. I’d try and avoid getting caught up with that. I managed a 7:20 for the first mile.

This was one of the first marathons that I had not started with a pace group. The 3:10 pace group started a little further back in the corral than I, but I knew they would pass me at some point. I thought about joining the 3:15 pace group, but I knew I probably needed to bank some time the first half of the race (I just didn’t see negative splits happening) so my goal was to stay in front of the 3:15 pace group.

I am not feeling great the first few miles, but I’m really just taking this race one mile at a time. And, to a degree, in five mile blocks. I don’t look any further down the road than the next mile. I knew I needed to stay strong mentally. Totally and completely focused. My first four miles are 7:20, 7:25, 7:27, 7:22. I have the average pace set on my Garmin and I know I need to keep it under 7:26 pace in order to hit a 3:15.

We go on the backside of Epcot and enter where that same pre-recorded animated voice from yesterday is telling us “caution . . . sharp turn ahead . . . caution . . . sharp turn ahead . . . caution . . . sharp turn ahead . . .” I wonder if the voice went all night?

At mile 5 I am approached from behind by the 3:10 pace group, and I make what is probably a poor decision – I pick up my pace to run with them instead of letting them pass. I run with them from miles 5-8, and it is not feeling very good. In fact, I notice myself start to weave in and out and decide that if I continue at this pace, I will end up crawling to the finish line. I was constantly taking stock of how I was feeling. My quads were sore, and had been right from the get go. There was no problem with my calf muscles. My feet kinda hurt though. Later that day I look back through my splits and miles 5-8 were 7:07, 6:58, 7:11, 7:07. Holy crap. That goodness I knocked some sense into myself and backed off of the pace group.

After I fell back from the 3:10 pace group, I settled back into my own pace. Not much to miles 9 through 12, with splits of 7:19, 7:27, 7:23 and 7:19. Pretty consistent, and I was still ahead of pace.

At some point in 9, 10, 11 mile range, a guy catches me and we run together. We chat briefly. He’s running his first ever marathon. He’s shooting to break 3:20 hours. I tell him I’m going for 3:15. I suggest that he might be a little quick at this point. He says he’s feeling good. He probably mutters something else in his mind about this chick questioning his strategy. He moves on ahead. I let him go. Later on I think who am I to pour water on someone’s fire. He really might be as fast as he thinks he is. I resolve to keep my suggestions to myself in the future. (By the way, I passed him at about the 14 mile mark. I kept my mouth shut.)

Around the half-way point there are lots and lots of spectators. I am finally starting to feel good. I really feed off of the crowd during these miles, and I continue to do so the entire race. Miles 12-15, I’m dropping the pace a little but staying consistent with splits of 7:19, 7:15, 7:17 and 7:17.

The next bit of Disney excitement isn’t until the Animal Kingdom after mile 16. My uncle told me to look for him somewhere around Animal Kingdom, so I get excited to see a familiar face. There was an increase in soreness with my quads at this point. But not too bad. They kind of felt like they would at about the 20 mile mark of a normal marathon. I was still taking things one mile at a time. I was still very focused. I hit Mile 16 at 7:27.

I pick it up the next two miles as the spectators and cheering increase through Animal Kingdom. I spy another woman in front of me and pass her. The DJ’s are playing some good music (Nelly’s ‘Just a Dream’ & Enrique Inqluesis ‘I Like it’). The music and the crowds pump me up and I knock out Mile 17 in 7:19 and Mile 18 in 7:11. I never saw my uncle, so figured maybe he wasn’t able to get there in time.

After we get through Animal Kingdom we are back on the highway. I am pretty much running alone, and I feel like I’m hitting the wall. My pace has slowed a little and I hit mile 19 in 7:31. I’m a little upset with myself, but not overly so. Just past mile 19, I get a nice surprise – my uncle! I use his cheers as extra fuel and tried to pick it up. But, let me tell you, miles 19, 20, 21, and 22 are some of the most god-awful miles. On concrete highways. Nothing of value to see. I resolve, again, to be mentally strong.

Mile 20 was 7:29 and mile 21 was 7:27.

5 miles left. The hardest 5 miles of my life. I will almost equate them to the last 5 miles of my Ironman run. I hit the wall. I knew from here on out, it’s all mental. I’ll visualize where I am. I roughly know the mile marks. I’ll count them off. Let’s go home. Mile 22 is 7:43 and mile 23 is 7:38. Not real happy with the little up tick though I’m still under 7:26 average pace.

3 more miles. I remind myself why I did all that training. Let’s not let it go to waste.

We’re now running through MGM (I think?). I’m oblivious to my surroundings. I am totally and completely focused on running. I hurt, but it’s a good hurt. I’m running a little better at this point, just trying to avoid a complete downward spiral. I try to just enjoy myself. I’m smiling even though I feel like dog crap. I try to acknowledge the Disney people as they yell encouragement, I am feeding off their energy.

I leave MGM and noodle along a walkway next to a little river-type body of water. Random spectators. I toss my empty gu wrapper at the aid station, while grabbing a couple of cups of water. 7:30 at 24. Good job, Erin. Way to get things back on track. Two more miles.

I am completely focused on the finish line at this point. Hit mile 25 in 7:28. It’s time to go all out and work a little for this last 1.2 miles. I decide this is Dan’s mile. I thought back to everything he did to get ready for his race and how hard he worked and how happy he will be to finish this marathon. Let me do the same with this last mile.

I was vaguely aware of cheering Disneyites, both workers and visitors. Get to the big Christmas tree right before crossing the bridge into Epcot. Across the bridge into Epcot. Then out. There’s 26. A 7:13!! I’m almost there. Good. Now, it’s my two tenths. I don’t really think anything. There’s a guy within reach. I catch and pass him.

And, then, I’m done. Chip time of 3:13:32. 20th woman overall and 3rd in my age group. I give Donald Duck a big high five.

I repeat Saturday’s process. I get my Mylar blanket, get my Mickey medal, get my picture taken with my Mickey medal, get a bottle of PowerAde, skip the food. All along I’m asking where the Goofy tent is. I want my Goofy medal. Everybody keeps saying to go up ahead. I’m shuffling along. Finally, I see it and I walk in. They tell me I’m the female Goofy Challenge winner (although I did not get anything special for it). That’s nice to hear. I have my choice of Goofy medals. I’ll take that one, thank you very much. Walk out of the tent feeling very happy and a little beat up. I get my picture taken with my medals (and it’s a really bad picture).

I head to the finish line to meet my parents and wait for Dan, Wes and my cousin to finish. Dan’s goal was between 4:15-30, and so just after 4 hours I start looking very closely at every person crossing the finish line. I don’t want to miss him.

And at 4:19 I see Dan approach the finish line. I start screaming and cheering as loud as I can. I am seriously cheering my ass off. The people sitting in front of me in the bleachers give me a dirty look. I don’t care. My favorite person in the universe has just completed the Disney Marathon. In a very respectable 4:19:47. This was his first marathon. Something he swore he would never do. And he did it. I’m so very proud of him.

We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying food, family and beer. Ah, beer! Would I sign up for another Goofy? Probably not. But I wouldn’t have missed this one for anything.

Disney Half-Marathon Race Report

Disney Half-Marathon Report

I’ve heard a lot about the Disney races in my years of running and race stalking and wondered what kind of race the Happiest Place on Earth would put on. I found out. The Goofy Challenge Race. 2 days. 39.3 miles. 3 medals. And these were not your ordinary medals. They were the Donald Duck medal for the ½ marathon, the Mickey Mouse medal for the full marathon, and, of course, the Goofy medal for doing both. When I mentioned it to my family and they got on board it was a no-brainer. A Disney vacation and a challenging race. I was told it would sell out within 3-4 weeks. I signed up the first day registration was open.

Since I should be working instead of writing this, I will break down this race report in two separate reports…first up, the half-marathon. And, it’s super long. Sorry.

*** Pre-Report Warnings ***
There are going to be a number of people mentioned in this report, mostly family, as there were 13 in our traveling party alone. My husband Dan, parents, cousins, cousin’s children, aunt and uncles. My Uncle Terry was joining me for the half-marathon, and husband Dan and his buddy from college Wes, as well as my cousin and her husband were joining me for Sunday’s full marathon. Several also ran the 5k on Friday. Everyone else was along as Sherpas.

I came very close to the overtraining edge leading into this race, maybe even just crossing it. I don’t know. I was a little snappish for a few days before this race, but, fortunately, that dissipated.

Half-Marathon

One thing I did not realize when signing up for these races was that they started at 5:30 am. The Disney weenies threatened that if you were not in your corrals by 5 am that you would not be able to start the race (untrue). We were staying about 7 miles outside the park and heard about the long traffic lines race morning, so I soon realized it was going to be very early mornings both days. Our plan was to leave the house at 3:50 am. I woke up a little before my 3:15 am alarm and did what I have to do. Dan gets up shortly thereafter. Now this is where he earns his Sherpa award for the weekend - even though he’s not running on Saturday, he agreed to chauffeur my uncle and I to the start line and let the rest of the family sleep in a little and just meet us at the finish line. Now, I am a morning person and I normally hit the ground sunny side up. However, 3:15 am borders on the edge of insanity. I am pretty grumpy until I get some coffee in me.

Before I go any further with this report, I should back it up a bit to pack pick-up on Friday. We hit the expo Friday mid-morning to pick up our packets.I went to the Goofy Challenge check-in to get my packet and upon receiving it checked to make sure both bibs were in there. I pulled out both bibs and saw I was in Corral A for the marathon, but my half-marathon bib said Elite on it. When signing up for the race you had to have proof of race times so that they could assign you to the correct corral based on your pace. I was pretty sure someone had made a mistake with mine by putting me in the Elite Corral, but hey, I wasn’t going to say anything…

Anyway, back to the race. My goal going into the race was a 1:33 half and a 3:15 marathon. I figured that would put me at racing 75-80% for the half and then I could go all out on the full. I knew the mileage would not be a problem as I felt confident in my endurance base, I just had no idea what kind of speed I would be able to pull off on 2 consecutive days.

We arrived at the race site right at 4:30 am. We had to quickly say goodbye to Dan as they weren’t letting spectators through the runners area. I heard it was a hike from the parking lot to the starting line, so we decided to hit the port-a-pottys first. There were 28,000 runners but not enough little boxes to go around. I really thought the Mouse would have better control of such things. I decided to forgo the porta-a-potty line and just head to the start line. Said goodbye to my uncle and wished him luck.

Began the long walk to the actual starting line. A brief stop in the woods along the way (you gotta do what you gotta do). And then into my corral. The “elite corral” (of which I shouldn’t be one, but I won’t beat that horse today). Let me say the elite corral was pretty awesome. You are right up in the grill of everything and the best thing you have is precious space. The elites are not herded like cattle into tight spaces like everyone else in the corrals. We were able to get in and out of the corrals as we please to warm-up, unlike everyone who is forced into the corral to wait 30 min prior to race start. I felt like a rock star. I will also say that the moment I stepped into the corral I realized there is no way in hell I wasn’t going to go all out that day. I felt like I had to “represent” and earn my spot in the corral…going 75% wasn’t going to cut it, I was going to gun for a PR. My plan was now to “race” this race, not worrying about saving something for the full marathon the next day. I’d deal with tomorrow tomorrow. So, I warmed-up and then waited in the corral with the rest of the elite Brooks Hanson-Team runners …while I self consciously noted that I had at least 20 pounds on pretty much every single runner in the elite corral…yeah, did lots for my ego.

The countdown starts. The fireworks go off. The gun goes off. Thousands of runners go off. Well, those of us at the front, anyway.

The first mile, because of the congestion, is pretty much always a bit on the slow side in these types of races. Not today – I was right in the front, so no weaving in and out of people at all. It was glorious, but I also started out too fast. After the first mile, I reminded myself to run my own race and settled into a good rhythm.

By the way, of the 13.1 miles of this course, only about 1.5 miles have any real “Disney” value. Maybe three quarters of a mile through the Magic Kingdom between 5 and 6 and another three quarters through Epcot between 12 and 13. The rest is on highways and byways and service roads. There were smatterings of spectators and Disney characters and staff. Maybe there were actually more, but since I was “racing the sunrise” most of my run was spent in total to semi-darkness. It didn’t even start to get light until mile 11. This was a little disappointing to me.

Now, back to the run. The first mile was over and done with. I knew there was plenty of time to pick up the pace so I settled in around 6:55 pace. I felt good, I felt comfortable. I kept it steady until about mile 6 then thought - let’s goose the accelerator a little and see what happens. I pick it up to around 6:53 pace. Hot damn! This is great!

I really had no idea as to how many other runners were in my general vicinity. It’s about 6:15 am and still very dark. There’s man-made light, but not a whole lot of it. Though soon we’re into the brightness of the Magic Kingdom and running up Main Street. Lots and lots of spectators. I’m looking for my parents, aunt & cousin, but I don’t see them. (For all I know they’re still driving around Disney. No wait, that was the return trip back to Epcot.) From Main Street we bear right to Tomorrowland then to Fantasyland and into Cinderella’s Castle.

I keep on trucking. Miles eight, nine, and ten were strong. I had picked it up to 6:51 pace, and I was still feeling great. I just needed to hold on. Somewhere in the 8.5 to 9 mile section those of us heading back home started sharing the road with those still heading out in their 2.5 to 3 mile section. There are lots and lots of people heading out. I mean lots and lots. Those of us heading back have pretty much spaced out.

Shortly before the 10 mile banner we go under an overpass, then up the up ramp (a Disney “hill”) to the overpass. While on the up ramp, I glance ahead to see who is in front of me. I spy, with my eye, two girls. They appear to be about 30 seconds ahead me. I figure I’ll run steady and see what happens. I pass them at mile 11 and hope they stay behind me. Two to go. Right before the mile 12 banner we’re in a bit of a parking lot. An animated pre-recorded voice keeps repeating “caution . . . sharp turn ahead . . . caution . . . sharp turn ahead . . . caution . . . sharp turn ahead . . .” I was glad to make the turn, not all that sharp, and leave the voice behind. Now, we’re just about into Epcot. There are lots of spectators around. Here is mile 12. One and a bit to go.

We run across the bridge into Epcot. We’re getting closer to the finish line. I try to shift into top gear. Unfortunately there’s less than half a gear left. There is Mile 13. Only a tenth of a mile to go.

I ended up with a 1:29:58 (chip time) and a new PR. That put me 23rd overall (woman) and 5th in my age group.

I cross the line and stop to catch my breath. I get my Mylar blanket, picked up my Donald medal, got my picture taken with my Donald medal. I grabbed a bottle of water, looked at the food, decided I didn’t want any, then wandered out in search of my Sherpas and to watch my uncle finish. Turned out my family members had some difficulties getting around Disney so they missed me, but Dan had been waiting at the finish line since around 4:30 am so he was able to see me cross the line.

We actually miss my uncle come through, but get a text from my mom and aunt that they made it to the finish line and got to see him cross. We leave the bleachers to head to the family reunion tent. It’s been a long morning. I’ve spent way too much time on my feet. I’m getting pretty hungry. But those are very minor inconveniences. My uncle just completed the Disney Half Marathon!!! In a very respectable 2:06, which includes battling through an injury mid-run. We are proud of him.

We all hang around and chat for a bit but then it’s really time to head back to the condo and start some serious recovery. While I was super excited with my time, I was also PETRIFIED that I may not have much left in the tank for tomorrow. What good would a PR be if I bombed the marathon? I’m a little worried.

So, I went back to the condo and took a hot shower. Then I decided I needed to go back to the expo because I enjoyed my elite experience so much that morning, that I wanted to see if I could get in the elite corral for the marathon the next morning. I knew when I signed up for Disney originally I had submitted a 3:17 marathon, but thought maybe my Vegas time might bump me up to the elite corral…HAHAHAHAHAHA WRONG.

I headed to the Runners Relations area. First, I felt like a complete jackass even asking if I could get in the elite corral, but I figured it was worth a shot. I was quickly rejected. You needed to have run a 3:01 or better to get in the elite corral…I was quickly put in my place and send back to Corral A…proof that I should have never been in the elite corral to start with! Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Went to lunch at the Sweet Tomato and ate like a pig. Then mostly just sat around watching TV. I putzed around a little bit getting everything together for another round of Disney running. My legs started to get really tight later in the afternoon, so I did some stretching, which felt very good. Another spaghetti dinner was scheduled for 5:30 pm at the condo with the family.

We ate while watching a football playoff game. Somebody was playing somebody else. I just wanted to eat and then think about bed. I put the game on the TV in the bedroom and laid down to watch. After a few minutes, when I realized I didn’t really care who was playing, much less who was winning, I turned if off.

Lights out around 8 pm. I am praying to all Gods out there that not only myself, but Dan, Wes, my cousin Kelly and her husband Bear, all have strong races the next day…

*Breathe*

I need to remember to breathe. I always get super stressed this time of year. I go from lackadaisical holiday do-nothing mode to being slapped in the face by the New Year and before I know it, I'm in full panic. The months of January and February for me are super busy at work between trying to get two major publications designed and published and planning our Cupid's Chase 5k, along with my every day work. Throw in Ironman training and a vacation to Florida this weekend to race (note to self: vacation this time of year = bad idea), and I am one crabby woman.

I need to remember not to abandon my responsibilities but also not to overdose on duty.

Everything will get done, it always does.

Okay, I feel better now. Off to Florida tomorrow evening...1/2 marathon on Saturday, full marathon on Sunday!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! 2011 already? Crazy! This post will be short and sweet as I am backed up at work trying to get some big projects taken care of before we leave for Orlando on Thursday evening and I am out of the office for a few days.

In short, I had a great New Year's weekend. Saw some good movies, read some good books and had some good workouts.

No, I did not stay up until midnight, but I stayed up until 10 pm which is a whole hour later than usual so I consider that a victory.

And, no, I did not beat the darn 12 year old in the 5k on Saturday, but she didn't win either (although she did out me out of a RunTex gift card as I finished 3rd overall and the top 2 won gift cards...sigh).

I ran 19:47, which wasn't my best time, but a large improvement over last year, and I had a big week of training so I'll take it. The 12 year old ran like 35 seconds faster than me, so it wasn't even close. *Sigh*. However, I am convinced I could take her in a race longer than 10k. So there.

Time to get some work done. Super excited for our Orlando Trip, the Goofy Challenge and Dan's first marathon this weekend!!!