Gym bunny.

I made it to the gym!  It's been a long month, resting up and taking time after my car accident.  In retrospect, the husband believes that the reason the driver's side window was gone was that my noggin smashed into it (I was knocked unconscious during the accident and kind of blurry after I woke up).  While nothing was broken, the bruising on my head was magnificent, and I have had occasional dizziness since then.  The husband was worried about me going and doing cardio, so we held off until tonight.

30 challenging minutes on an elliptical with no dizziness = success!  Just look:

ALSO, congrats to KQB on New Sights' 200th post!

Goals for 2011.

After exclusively fun running all fall (after the Towpath 10K), I've been thinking a lot about what I might want to accomplish in 2011 w/r/t running, and have come up with some varied goals (per a Runner's World article's recommendation):

1. Skinny jeans by March.  I've lost about 12 lb. since June (aided by a recent stomach flu).  I think eating vegan has finally caught up with me, and switching medications might be helping, too.  I'm not quite into my smallest clothes, but all my recently (within the last year) purchased clothing is too big.  I want to see if I can get back into those jeans.  If I can't by this time next year, they're out of here, along with every other slightly-too-small item of clothing (except maybe my blue silk BR cocktail dress, just in case).

2. Get my half-marathon time down to under two hours.  My PR (from 2009) is 2:09, run while on antibiotics after a patchy six weeks of training.  Given a goal and the last six months of prep-work, I think I can do it.  If I run the half in Cleveland again this May, I don't have to do much distance work in advance versus a full, which is ideal for winter-training (i.e., no very long runs in the cold and snow and/or no very long runs on the (beloved) T-mill).  And if I don't make my goal time, then I can train all summer and into the fall for a faster time at a fall race.

3.  Run 100 miles each month.  I think this is a manageable training load.  I work half-time (with a reasonably predictable schedule), live conveniently close to some very runnable trails and courses, and have a gym membership (when the garage gets too cold and/or for cross-training).  I have no excuses.

4.  Run a full marathon.  This would be the icing on the cake (and I'd probably only do it if I meet my half-marathon goal in May).  There are so many lovely fall courses and places that I'm sure I can find a race that suits me.

Soooo....some of these are long shots, but I think I can do it if I screw up my courage and motivation.  Running with the club girls (though we're on hiatus and so I only see one or two regularly) has been a real boon, and I've been blessed with some seriously amazing gear this fall.  The pieces are falling into place for a great running year.

*image is from runningwarehouse.com, which is where I purchased that lovely item above.  So far, major props to the site for their immediate delivery and very inexpensive prices!

Success.

Tonight's 400 calories in 38:00 on the (beloved) T-mill was a success.  I barely noticed that I was even running.  It was still about 80 degrees, but the heat barely registered.  I've been blaming everything on hydration (and stepped up water consumption; I at least a liter of seltzer a day before I run (or bed if I'm taking a day off)) and the heat.  What I changed today was eating a snack about a half hour to 45 minutes before my run, which is terribly unusual for me (I like to run on an empty stomach or at least wait two hours after eating).  Could this be the lynch pin in my summer training?

I'm still calorie conscious as I've dropped exactly ZERO lb. these few weeks (while running 12-ish miles and netting about 1400- 1800 calories daily).  The birth control won't be out of my system (or even begun to be flushed) for another month, so maybe it's still affecting my metabolism.  I've taken to checking my body fat percentage a few times a week to see if my muscle mass is increasing.  So far, just establishing a baseline (about 30%).

Will put in paperwork to the gym tomorrow!  I hope it goes smoothly (as the membership is for us, but the funds are from a parental unit whose last name no longer matches mine), smoothly enough for an afternoon swim before dinner with the Spanish teacher!