I'm Still Alive!

I'm still round, I promise!

About two weeks ago I finally got the chance to go on vacation to Houston and took the entire week off to relax and spend time with a friend and their family.  It was filled with food, baseball, and some sight seeing.  I'm slightly regretting taking that time completely off of training, but the vacation was needed on so many levels.

Between a modified work schedule and school endeavors, I've been able to get back into some sort of workout routine since getting back.  I've only ran about 2 miles in the last week, but I have some decent elliptical runs planned for the weekend.  I am getting nervous about my endurance right now because Lumiere's Challenge is in about a month and a half.  It is getting close and I am no where near where I need to be.  I'l be able to finish, I'm not worried about that.  I'm more concerned with how much it is going to hurt to get to that goal.

This is one of those times I am so happy I chose to start training my walking time to be closer to that 16 minute pace runDisney requires.  That may end up being my saving grace for the weekend...

A month and a half left... time to really get going...

A Running Vacation

No, I'm not going on a vacation where I just run... that would be interesting, but probably a bit tiring.  Instead, I'm actually taking a vacation from running.  It's something I believe my knees, legs, and feet desperately need this vacation.

The vacation is partially physically required and also required because of work.  I'm at work an average 10 hours a day with 90% of that day standing or walking (quickly).  I tried running before work on day and ended up with throbbing shin splints by the end of the night that nearly had me crying.  I've tried to run after work, but considering I get home typically when it's dark and the fact I'm usually asleep within an hour of arriving home... it doesn't always work out very well.  Plus right now, I'll probably be working everyday through the rest of the month.  If I get 1 or 2 days this month to get a few miles in, I'll be happy.

I'm actually looking forward to a bit of relaxing time, but I'm sure I'll be going stir crazy by the end of the month.  That should just help me stay motivated for a while to keep running...

Resort Running

As it is Food and Wine season, I've been lucky enough to stay in the Epcot Resort area, The Boardwalk to be exact, for the last few days.  One of the reasons I was so excited to stay here is because I love running around this area.  Every Christmas I've run here and there's just a lot of memories connected to it.

I ran yesterday morning, as well as this morning, discovering where different sidewalks around the resorts go so I can expand my runs.  Right now I haven't done more than 3.6 mile around the area during this trip, but I think I've found some decently long loops.

This morning Hollywood Studios looked... magical.  Excuse the grainy picture, but I did take it on my phone...

Yesterday I watched Spaceship Earth disappear in fog, but I didn't get a picture of it.  Who knows what I might see tomorrow...

The sad part is tomorrow is our last day here, but considering I live close by, my friends and I might make a few early morning trips to some of the resorts for some runs, especially as the weather gets cooler.

Running Down Memory Lane

For this last week, I've returned to California to visit friends and family and to attend a friend's wedding.  While I did have a lot planned, I can tell you I did probably only a fraction of what I wanted to do.  Yet I did get to my workouts.  Not only did I get a few runs in, but I got a circuit in and I walked every morning with my parents and our dog.

It was nice to get in some of my old loops, but I did realize how constricting my old routes were.  Yes, I have a few good 3-4, maybe even 5 mile loops, but after that I'm stretching it out.  I just feel like I'm not running all over town in Florida when I get my long runs in, but in California I feel like if I get in decent mileage I would run all through my town.  Still, I got to run past my old middle school and some of the familiar neighborhoods around where I grew up.  It was definitely interesting seeing what was changing and what wasn't.

Overall, it was a nice vacation because I didn't worry about what I was eating and how much I was working out.  Yes, I was logging most of what I ate, but still I was on vacation so I was giving myself an excuse.  The best news is that I really haven't gained a lot considering how much I was letting slip.  Not stressing about about many calories I've burned/need vs how many I'm eating has been a nice change and something I'm trying to continue to bring into my real life when I get back to Florida.  Less stress = easier balanced life.

I know I'll never be a size 0 and I'm happy with where I am and how I look.  Yes I can definitely point out areas I want to work on, but I'm also about to dive right into a marathon training plan and I'm always working on strength training so who knows what will happen in the future.