solar squirrel

I’m still in the ramp-up stages of getting back in shape.  After my realization that I actually *can* do a half marathon with the IT band injury still healing I’ve decided that I should probably get into a more routine workout schedule.  In order to keep myself on track I’ve also been looking around trying to figure out what races I’m going to do this year.  Here’s a few that I’m considering:

Sunday April 25 - University of Akron Sprint Triathlon

Sunday May 16 - Cleveland Half Marathon (Yea, I know I vowed never to do it again after they ran out of water at the water stops the one year…but I’m going to do it with my friend B so it will be fun…plus then I won’t feel guilty going to the post-race party)

Sunday June 6 - Twinsburg Duathlon (Sprint)

Sunday June 20 - Maumee Bay Olympic Triathlon

Sunday August 8 - Greater Cleveland Olympic Triathlon

Sunday September 12 - Akron Marathon (Relay? I hope so!  Not sure if my fast lady friends will want to give it a go again this year - I can’t do it by myself!!)

Sunday September 25 - Revolution3 Half Iron Man (Yikes!!!  When I looked at the price of this one I almost passed out!!  At least it includes 2 Cedar Point tickets.  If I do this one, I’m going to DEFINITELY need the Red Bull and Vodka for afterwords!!)

What is everyone else doing?  Am I missing something fun that others are going to do?  I’ll put up a 2010 Race page soon - but wanted to get this post up.  (My internet at home has been horrible lately!  It goes out all the time!!!)

Last week (Sunday) I ran the Youngstown Half Marathon.  Good news:  my IT Band held up (I used my compression strap)  This is really great because this is a pretty hilly course and the best test for the IT band is to run down hills.  Bad news:  My time was basically horrible.  The past two years I’ve had a little over an 8-min pace:  2008 2009.  This year I was over a 9-min pace (1:58:49).  Considering this is the farthest distance I’ve ran since July I guess I should be happy I was even able to finish!  It’s just frustrating to have to start over again.  But running is something you typically have to work at in order to do well.  I gained weight, too, so it’s not just being out of shape, but also being heavier and having less muscle mass.

I’m working on getting rid of the flab though, and I’ve already seen a difference in the way my clothes are fitting.  (For a while there I couldn’t wear some of my dress pants for fear the seams would rip apart when I sat down - I am not exaggerating - I had visions of meeting with a client and having my fat explode out of my pants!!!!!)  In addition to running I’ve been getting to the gym more regularly during lunch hours and recently joined Lifetime Fitness.  Janet was raving about it and it’s literally right down the street from my office so I checked it out a few weeks ago during my lunch break.  I was so impressed I decided to sign up right then and there!  The place is HUGE and they have classes during lunch - including a really sweet cycling studio.  I also plan on using the outdoor pool in the summer to swim laps during lunch.  I CAN’T WAIT!  It’s great to look forward to going to the gym.  For a while I didn’t go to the gym (Bally’s) because it was just too dirty and disgusting - and forget about using the pool unless you want to get chlorine burns.  Sick.  I could only go during lunch because I knew it would be tolerable and less crowded.  Bye-bye Bally.

So for the past two weeks I’ve been doing pretty well with my workouts.  The IT band started to act up when I did my tempo run, but after a few min of slowing down it went away.  I think it’s just going to be something I have to deal with for a while.

Work is going great and life in general is pretty good.  Sometimes I don’t want to think about how great everything is going because I’m scared it’s going to go away…but it’s all in how you perceive things I guess.  I could dwell on the negatives or look for the bad in things, but life is so much more enjoyable when I focus on what is going well.  So for now I’m going to keep thinking that everything is awesome, try not to judge others, and live life to it’s fullest!