I wasn't lazy, I was 'resting'

"Me fail English? That's unpossible."
- Ralph Wiggum, 'The Simpsons'

Weight: 157 (5 lbs less than last year... and I've really 'settled in' at this weight, which is good)


Not sure exactly how I managed not to write anything for 3 months. Sure, I've been busy... the holidays can be a chore. But truthfully, I think I suffered a bit of blogitis. An inflammation of the blogger tendons that causes discomfort. Generally brought on by a combination of overdoing it as well as not being consistent in blogging activity.

I think I was trying to turn every blog into something big... like turning every run into a mid-distance tempo run. Only I was doing it without any real base, and I burned out. I took a little time to think, to heal, and I think I may have figured out what will work for me.

I'm going to treat this more like my running schedule. Sometimes it'll be short and quick, sometimes it'll be long and drawn out (and probably painful). Variety. Now, if I can keep it 'regular' like a running schedule, I'll be on to something.

Generally, I am good with schedules... and organization... and maybe I'm known to go a little overboard when it comes to planning things out. But in the time i was not writing, I've gotten myself on a new sleep/run schedule (essentially early to bed, early to rise... run before anyone else is awake). I'm happy to say my running has been very consistent over these cold winter months.

In fact, this past month, my weekly miles have been greater than the average temperature for the week. (Not extremely difficult when the average weekly temperature is about 20 degrees). I don't know that I'm getting faster, or building endurance, but I'm not losing much fitness.

Running in winter is interesting up here in Buffalo NY. Every run turns into something like a trail and/or beach run... only really cold. The packed snow is like trail running, the fresh snow is like running in sand. Hard to push the pace, as you have to be constantly worried about footing, as well as hitting a puddle of slush that will about freeze your toes off. But I do enjoy it. Mostly I enjoy the scrunchy sound or running on snow... kind of like rubbing your hand on a balloon.

Additionally, I am still getting over last year's case of Achilles tendinitis. Last year was a downer as far as running and races go (performance-wise). Too much pain. It's getting a lot better... I'm just a lot slower.

Looking forward - Disney Princess Half Marathon. I have my prince costume, and am ready. I am cautiously optimistic I can PR at that race... mostly because all my previous half marathons have been so miserable, but also because with my winter training, I feel like the distance is no issue. I just have no clue about speed.

I do not run with a watch, or GPS. My miles and times are all estimated. It's my own little bit of Zen in my totally un-Zen life. Maybe later I'll start to worry about time more... for now, I'm just enjoying being pain-free.

Also already registered and paid for - Spartan Race Toronto and Warrior Dash Ontario! These 'Adventure Races' are probably just the latest trend, and I did a Warrior Dash last September (I blogged about it). Lots of fun.

If you're like me and grew up on the Superstars competition, or the Battle of the Network Stars, you probably remember watching the obstacle courses and thinking how fun they looked. if you're younger than me, you probably grew up watching shows on Nickelodeon with 'physical challenges'. Basically... that is what you have at these races, and I would recommend them to anyone who likes to have fun.

I'm sure there will be some road races and a short triathlon or two as well... just haven't put my money down yet. Plus, I promised my wife to pace myself a little better - no more than 2 races a month.

Hmmm... maybe i should pace my blog the same (2 a month). Could I possibly be interesting 24 times a year? That's a lot of times to figure out how to work "like a whore on dollar night" into a story. (maybe it's time to retire that, huh?)

We shall see.