Three Years of Making Faces and Making Up Words

Last year I shared about the creeper and the first date and how The Pilot and I have been reenacting our first date each year.  We recently celebrated three years since that first nervous meeting.  We headed back to the same restaurant, unsure what we would find since last year it was a completely different restaurant.  It was the same restaurant this year...kind of.  Instead of ordering like you would in a Chipotle like last year, we were actually seated and someone took our order.  There were some decor changes but the menu seemed the same or at least pretty similar.

I got some kind of vegetable stir fry with their fried tofu.  It was really good....but that was way too much food.  The Pilot ended up taking my leftovers to work with him.  I haven't gotten a report on how it tasted a couple days later.

I'm not sure what The Pilot got but unlike me, he was in the clean plater club so whatever it was, it must have been good.  I think I'm going to start calling him food dumpster.  That boy can put away some food.  And as long as I'm eating vegetarian, he usually finishes off my plate too.  Damn him and his high metabolism!

Look at me being a stereotypical blogger posting pictures of our food!  Moving on...

So that was our third annual reenactment of our first date.  It still blows my mind how much has happened in such a short amount of time but at the same time, it feels like I've always known him.  Obviously I remember a time without him but with each year I spend with The Pilot, more and more of that baggage from that past life is left behind. We are settling into married life and enjoying our new house and all the projects that we are still working on (we have new kitchen counters sitting on the floor of our living room...who wants to install them?!).  We still make random funny faces at each other and the other day we decided that we have unknowingly created our own language.  "Violence," "success" and some other random words have entirely new meanings and if we shared those meanings with normal people, we might get sent away.  But we amuse each other and that's what matters.

Do these shoes make me look fast?

I've been wearing New Balance 860s for several years now.  It's all about the function with these shoes.  They aren't the snazziest looking kicks I've had but they get the job done.  They keep my foot stable and gives me a cushy landing which comes in handy when one spends nearly 7 hours finishing a marathon.

A little grubby but defintiely ho hum.  Blue and navy with a little bit of "flash" known as silver.  And there's also my own added bling.  Remember I like shiny things?

Here is what they have looked like for several years.  They aren't flashy but that came in handy on my wedding day when I decided I NEEDED to be comfortable and I wore them throughout the reception.  They weren't so flashy that they were obvious.  In fact, unless you were getting down with your bad self on the dance floor next to me (can I get a cha-cha-slide?!  Anyone?), you probably wouldn't have noticed I was wearing running shoes under my gown.

After trying to stretch another 1/2 marathon out my most recent pair and after having all kinds of aches and pains throughout that last race, I decided it was time for a new pair.  Expecting to pick up another pair of ho-hum but functional shoes, I was plesantly surprised when they brought these beauties out to me!

Holy 1980s neon back in fashion!  Purple and neon green?  Yes, please!

Do you think they will make me look faster?  It's basically the same shoe so I know they won't actually make me faster but they sure look fancy, don't they?!

I haven't actually run or walked in them yet but hopefully I can get my butt back in gear and out on the trail at some point in the near future.

What are your favorite running shoes?  Do you get bummed out when the "correct" shoe for your foot type isn't the prettiest shoe?  :)

Also, a special thank you to The Pilot who doesn't bat an eyelash when I ask him to take pictures of my shoes.  

Nuts Are Tasty.

So I didn't fall off the face of the Earth.  I've done stuff.

1.  I survived the holidays. 

2.  I turned 32 (I think I'm going to start counting backwards next year.  31 anyone?).  And got a birthday card from one of my best friends...and this was on the back of the card.  32 doesn't mean grown up does it?

 
3.  I dragged my lame self through 13.1 miles of Walt Disney World. 

I'm working on my full race recap but I will say that I finished.  I'll also add that despite that being my ninth 1/2 marathon, it was one of my most challenging.  Never mind the fact that I churned out some near PR times during training.  My body and the weather had other plans.  And that's ok.  I survived and had a little fun in the process.  Nothing wrong with that!

4.  I spectated the full marathon of the Goofy Challenge....and thanked my lucky stars I didn't get talked into that!  Two years later, I still have NO desire to do that again.  I nearly jumped out of my skin with excitement though when I saw my running buddies looking like super heroes at mile 23.  They are machines.

So that's the last couple weeks in a nutshell.  Because nuts are tasty. 

10...9...

It's taper time!  With less than two weeks until the Disney 1/2 marathon, I've been decreasing my miles to prepare.   The weekend before Christmas I met up with my Goofy ladies.    It was their 1/2 marathon mileage day (as opposed to their full marathon mileage they did the next day) so I hung with them for most of the miles.  I had 10 miles so I headed out on the trail a little early to get in a few miles before they arrived.  The wind chill was in the teens and it had snowed earlier in the week but the path had been plowed so it was perfect.  January races are my favorite to train for because it's cold but we don't typically get the gross slushy weather until January/February.  It was perfect for me.  I'm not sure that many would agree....but that's what makes me special. ;)

 Know what happens when the temperatures drop?  I run faster.  One theory is that I'm cold and the faster I go, the warmer I'll be.  Or the faster I'll finish and can go back inside.  I'm convinced that I'm faster in the winter because summer training sucks the energy out of me.  And then there is the asthma that is irritated by humidity.  The air in the winter is dry!  And makes me rocket powered....you know, because 13:00 minute average pace is rocket powered in my book.

 I probably wouldn't have been faster at mile 6 but that might have been when we spotted a bald eagle (for real) and we stopped to check it out.  That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

This past weekend was even colder.  And we got buckets of snow dumped on us right after Christmas.  It was great!  I love snow.  However, the paths weren't as clear when it came time to train.  Lisa's neighborhood employs little elves who plow and salt at even the slightest flurry so unlike me and Mary's ice packed streets, Lisa's were dry and clear!  So it was going to be 9 miles worth of loops.  We ran around the block, down each cul-de-sac and anywhere we could to get the miles in without repeating the same roads too often.  Lisa was probably bored to tears but Mary and I weren't as familiar so we didn't notice any repetition.

So I mentioned it was even colder.  There was also a crazy wind we were fighting (up hill no less) but I ended up having something on my side.  And it's pretty selfish.  Mary was battling a cold but being the trooper she is, she was there checking off the miles with us.  The cold did slow her down some and that meant I spend the entire 9 miles with them.  When I needed a quick walk break, they took one also.  Of course I felt bad that she was sick but it was nice to have company for the entire workout.  I'm awful.

And that colder weather brought out my rocket power....it was my second to last long run before Disney and it was my FASTEST of the season.  Holy smokes I didn't see that coming!  That's right at 1/2 marathon PR pace.  Say what?  I'm still not aiming for a PR but we will see what happens...10 days until the race

Multiple Personality Playlist

I've been whining about my playlists this entire training season.  As in I basically listen to the same playlist each week because I don't have much new music and it seems like the thousands of songs I already own aren't suitable for running or race walking.  Here is a random sample of what I've been listening during my long workouts (whenever I'm not with someone):

U2 - Where the Streets Have No Name (This was a new addition last weekend after I heard it during a movie and remembered I love the song and it has a steady rhythm which is great for running (once you get past the first few seconds.)
Pearl Jam - Given to Fly (While this isn't my favorite PJ song, this is in my top 10 for sure)
Calvin Harris - Let's Go (Thank you Fitnessista for this suggestion!)
David Guetta & Usher - Without You (I've had a soft spot for Usher ever since I was 16)
Nero - Promises (Thank you random fitness web site for the suggestion)
Ellie Goulding - Lights (Catchy)
30 Seconds to Mars-The Kill (Somewhere inside is still an angst-y teenage girl with a crush on Jordan Catalano.  Who's with me?!)
Matt & Kim- Don't Slow Down (Even if I'm scheduled for a walk break, I must.keep.running. Plus, these two are AMAZING!)
Usher - OMG (Oh that Usher....)
Lady Antebellum - I Run to You (I'm RUNNING!!)
Ray LaMontagne - You Are the Best Thing (This seems to always come on smack in the middle of my mileage-no matter the distance.  And I smile like a fool because it reminds me of me and The Pilot's wedding day.  He really is the best thing.)
Mumford & Sons - Babel  (Love them!)
Guster - Fall In Two  (I went to a liberal arts college. I have some hippie tendencies.)
Alicia Keys - Doesn't Mean Anything (You go girl!)
Muse - Starlight (Reminds me of when The Pilot and I were dating.  That is all.)

So if you can't tell, I am a white girl with a slight ghetto streak, with a bit of folk hippie thrown in the mix.  But sometimes a girl's gotta rock out.  And ultimately it comes down to the fact that Pearl Jam is the greatest band on earth and whatever keeps me moving forward has a pretty good chance of ending up on my eclectic playlist.

12 miler...my wheels fell off....or did they?

Last weekend was my longest long run for the Disney 1/2 marathon.  Mary and Lisa had a zillion miles again so I tagged along so I could get my 12 miles in.  We did 2 miles before circling back by the cars to shed clothes.  We were melting.  It had been unseasonably warm (until yesterday when it snowed all day) around here and last Sunday was steamy.  I probably could have shed another layer but luckily I kept it as I was running into the wind on my way back.

I stayed with them for another mile and then dropped off to do my thing.  We met up again further down the trail when we made a pit stop.  We ran a little further together when I dropped off again.  I cruised along pretty well until the last couple of miles and it really started to feel like my wheels were falling off.  I was surprised to see that my pace didn't suffer because I was feeling pretty miserable and just wanted to be done. 

Again, I was pretty shocked at my average pace.  I was back in the 13:00 pace despite my walk breaks.  For me to never drop below 14:39 even when walking is a pretty big accomplishment for me.

Part of me wonders if I simply put too much pressure on myself last year when I was trying to PR.  Maybe I could have gone faster.  Or maybe I was training too much and zapped my energy.  I'm really not cut out to run more than 2 days in a row.  I can walk more days in a row but that much running leaves me with achey knees and it's just not worth it.

I went into this training season with no goals.  I knew I wanted to just go to Disney to have fun and support my friends during their Goofy Challenge.  I was also knew that realistically, I wasn't ready to devote the time to serious training.  I had planned to do the bare minimum to get me through the race.  That's just where I was in terms of my time commitment and my emotional commitment.  So I've been working out only about 2 days a week.  I'm not exactly proud of that but that's the truth.  As a coach, I certainly wouldn't recommend only training 2 days a week for a 1/2 marathon but right now, it seems to be working for me. 

I am officially tapering now with 10 miles scheduled for this weekend and I think 9 next weekend.  After that, I'll have to come up with another game plan.  :)

A Pilot Family Christmas

I came across this article the other day and it struck a cord with me.  It's a total crap shoot if The Pilot will be home on holidays.  I almost just assume he WON'T be around on holidays and then if he is going to be around, its a bonus.  Somehow we hit the jackpot this year and he was home on Thanksgiving AND will be here for Christmas. 

But for those times when he isn't home, we just celebrate a little early or a little late.  I would say that of all the holidays, Christmas is the only one that I have a hard time with if he's not home.  Especially since I'm off work and being home alone on Christmas stinks.  I think the last time that happened though I hung out with my parents.  And that's probably what I will do in the future when The Pilot is off flying other families to and from their holiday gatherings.  While I'm sure The Pilot would rather be home on holidays, the extra money is kind of nice.  It's also nice to see that The Pilot does still have a passion for flying, despite the cons of the job like working on the holidays.

I'm curious though, how do other pilot families or families who have a member who works on the holiday handle the absence?  Do you celebrate early or late?  What did you do when little ones came into the picture?  Does your pilot mid working holidays?