2020 Wrap-up

Let me start this entry out by saying I was absolutely shocked to click back on "last year's wrap-up" and see that was the year I ran a marathon pregnant. Has it really only been a year and a half since my pregnant Publix? It's been one baby, one maternity leave, one job change, one pandemic, a national council appointment, a new school for my kids (well, maybe two if you could the fact that we home-schooled this spring when the world turned upside-down)... All in less than 18 months. Whoa. 

ALL the stroller runs this year :) 

2020 Goals:

maintain the 1000mi/year streak (every year since 2014)

Um, crushed this. I actually hit a new total annual mileage high this year thanks to using running as my coping mechanism... heh

sub-6:30 mile at some point

Try sub 6:10. THREE of 'em.

find a way to balance training/running with my roles as a mom of two and wife

Well, COVID kind of made this easier? Maybe?

stretch after every run

That, um, didn't happen... at all. 

commit to 10 min of yoga/meditation/stretching a week

I don't know that I timed this, or was terribly intentional about it, but I can definitely say that I've given myself at least 10min of meditation/thinking/reflection time each week, and it's been good. 

^one of my fave memories of this year was the 10x10 Challenge I did with my teammate

(10mi each day for 10 consecutive days)

Other Accomplishments I'm Proud Of:

Committing to weight lifting! I signed up for a Beachbody-on-Demand subscription in March, and went through four different strength training/cross-training programs this year (LIIFT4, The Prep, 21 Day Fix Extreme, LIIFT4). This was particularly useful since COVID-19 had us hunkered down at home for the bulk of the year, and was a fun thing to share with my oldest (who asked for and received a set of 1lb dumbbells to "join Mommy in her workouts")
Running 10mi a day for 10 consecutive days this summer with my running bestie 
Executing two rounds of Miler Method training, culminating in PRs (6:08, then 6:06)
Organizing a team for a virtual relay race across the country
Earning a Top 1000 "mug" in the virtual Peachtree Road Race 
Volunteering with Atlanta Track Club when we hosted the Olympic Marathon Trials... on the last normal weekend of 2020

By the Numbers:

• 1650 miles run (new annual max)
• 260 hours, 41 minutes, and 17 seconds spent running
• 9:29/mi average pace for the year 
• 31 days were affected by injury or illness: (two super mild calf strains, two virus-y illnesses, one bit of Achilles soreness)
• 2 new PRs (22:18 5K, 6:06 Mile)

after my first mile PR of the year

Looking to Next Year, Goals:

• keep lifting on a regular basis
• complete at least one three-week Beachbody Program following nutrition to a T, just to see what happens ;) 
• break a 6:00 mile (I know I can)

Christmas Week

Week-beginning Thoughts:

There's a lot of bad stuff that my family has avoided this pandemic, and I'm truly grateful. Still, this week just feels kind of hollow without the promise of fun family gatherings thanks to COVID... 

The week started at 4am on Monday for me, when I was rudely awoken by the cats batting whiffle balls around our bathroom floor, attempted to get a head-start on work in the basement, and then, despite the fact that my husband got up, spent the next hour distracted by my baby crying. 

Monday

Did: 4.16mi @ 8:31/mi avg

Afternoon run to breakup a few work tasks. This was a lot faster than I thought it was... 

Tuesday

Did: 10KTuesday @ 9:25/mi avg

I was dressed in a long-sleeve shirt, but brought along a short-sleeve and arm sleeves after looking at the weather report, which was supposed to be a bit warmer.

...and it turns out that I grabbed knee-high toe socks instead of arm sleeves.

Whoops. Still a fun run with teammates. 

Wednesday

Did: 4.0mi @ 8:58/mi avg

Had to run an errand to get more fasteners for a DIY garage project... so I ran there and back. 

Thursday

Did: 5.1mi @ 9:18/mi avg

Early morning run with a friend... in 51 degrees. Then settled in for a day home with the kids and husband... in the rain... inside... bleh.

Friday

Did: 3.11mi on treadmill @ 9:27/mi avg, 

Did a little lunch run on the 'mill over the babe's naptime since it's "feels like 18" outside. Just running was a little boring, even with my NYTimes podcast in the background, so I did a couple 400m repeats (@ 8mph). Those were fun. I felt like I could've kept going a lot longer at that pace, which was nice. 

Then the older one wanted to do a workout with me, so we lifted together :) 

Saturday

Did: 10.18mi @ 9:17/mi avg

What do you wear when it "feels like 12 degrees"? Everything... and ski gloves. 

This run was pretty fun. My teammate and I had three "arm" route that gave us "outs" at 4 and 6 miles if the weather was unhealthy for us, but we ended up enjoying the whole run. Hooray for dressing appropriately! 

I did feel super run down by mid-afternoon, though, and went to bed at 7pm.

Sunday

Did: 3mi stroller walk, 3mi stroller run @ 9:41/mi avg, family bike ride

Woke up at 6:22am, so I guess my body really needed the sleep (thanks, super husband!). Felt kind of sluggish at first, so I opted out of a morning tempo run, and walked the baby around the neighborhood instead. I woke up with a slightly sore right achilles, and taped it for my run later in the day (older one requested a stroller run, and I wasn't about to turn him down when I only had a dull, light ache). Definitely going to take a rest day tomorrow (well, from running, at least). 

sleepy squishy baby :) 

Total Weekly Mileage: 36.0

Week-ending Thoughts:

• Weeeee, hit a  new annual mileage high for the year... and counting :) 
• I'm not sure what the Achilles is from: treadmill speedwork, running in "feels like 12", or 8 consecutive days of running (haven't done that for awhile). Whatever the cause, sounds like a good time to have a bit of a light week to close out the year (and focus on lifting) before launching into another miler method attempt :) 

LIIFT4: Week 8/8

Week-beginning Thoughts: 

I'm struggling to feel productive on so many fronts. I feel like I'm busy all the time, but accomplishing nothing at work, with home life, and working out. Maybe this is COVID fatigue? I've just been going at this for so long and completely beat up to the point where I can't execute and plan. 

Monday

Did: 4mi treadmill desk walk, LIIFT4

Walked on my treadmill during a miserable conference call/meeting, then did my last chest/back day of LIIFT4 before the kiddos got home.  

Tuesday

Did: 10KTuesday @ 9:13mi avg

Chilly 10KT, but I got to try out my new cheap-o running tights from Amazon-- fleece-lined and $20 = amazing. It's only been one run, so I don't have a feel for how durable they are or what their longevity is, but I'm still excited to have some reflective, non-black, warm tights to wear that didn't cost close to $100. 

Wednesday

Did: LIIFT4

First Wednesday in awhile me that I haven't run, but I just didn't feel like it. Worked out at lunch instead. Also did a fun walk through the neighborhood to look at holiday lights.

Thursday

Did: 5.04mi @ 9:42/mi avg, LIIFT4

It was hard to get up by myself this morning, but I got it done. Then I lifted over lunch.

Friday

Did: LIIFT4

One of my favorite things about working from home (besides not having to clean lunch/snack containers every day and being able to work without worrying about exposure to COVID) is lunchtime lifting. Finished out my 8 weeks of LIIFT4 today with Full Body HIIT. Definitely not the same awesome results as last time through, but that's alright. 

Saturday

Did: 10.1 @ 9:21/mi avg

Enjoyed a nice cool run with my teammate this morning :) 

Sunday

Did: 4.54mi with stroller @ 8:50/mi avg

I hate afternoon running. Due to the forecast, we decided to push our family greenway outing from the AM to the PM, which meant I couldn't "start" my day until 4pm. I spent the whole morning in pajamas, struggling to figure out what to eat, when, and thinking about the upcoming tempo run. Blergh. 

The whole run felt like a struggle, from the time I slammed the car trunk bike rack onto my head pre-run in the parking lot to when I returned to the parking lot and swapped my baby's stroller for the balance bike. 

Maybe it felt like so much of a struggle because my warm-up and cool-down were sub 9:20/mi? And the tempo was a pretty solid 7:41? 

Total Weekly Mileage: 26.0

Week-ending Thoughts:

• Spending 20min with my back arched as I "run" along with a balance bike is heck on my back... 
• It doesn't really feel like Christmas this year due to this stupid pandemic

LIIFT4: Week 7/8

Week-beginning Thoughts:

Irked by the number on the scale. Irked that I'm irked by a number on the scale. Generally moody and irritable. Mergh. 

Planning on strictly following my container nutrition for the next two weeks and seeing how that affects things... 

Monday

Did: LIIFT4, 2mi walk

Lifting in morning. Walking at lunch. 

Tuesday

Did: 10KTuesday @ 9:22/mi avg, LIIFT4 in evening

Wednesday

Did: 3.15mi @ 9:22/mi avg

Wee, sunrise run.

Thursday

Did: 5.13mi @ 9:06/mi avg

Friday

Did: LIIFT4x2

Felt like doubling up on lifting today so that long run day didn't have any extra stressors. 

Saturday

Did: 10.7mi run @ 9:05/mi avg

Great pre-dawn run with a teammate- faster than expected, again. Odd to be running in 49 degrees after so many days with a "feels like" of 20-something. 

Also, nice to have sore triceps after yesterday's arms/shoulders and full body HIIT sessions. 

Sunday

Did: 4.72mi with stroller @ 9:09/mi avg

Got some tempo done (10min @ 7:58/mi) with the little one. After only about 5 hours of sleep last night (thanks to our decision to have a date night + annoying cats who decided meowing for food and playing in their litterbox for 30min at 3:30am was a great idea), this was harder than I expected, but I let myself think about effort-based tempo instead of pace-based. 

...and then, instead of taking a nap while the baby napped, like I'd planned, I ended up going on a cleaning spree and cleaning the entire garage. 

Total Weekly Mileage: 30.1

Week-ending Thoughts:

• It's been a stressful week, and I'm grateful for my health. This is a common theme of 2020, eh? 
• Still frustrating to see a higher number on the scale when I feel like I'm doing "the right stuff" 90% of the time, but reminding myself that it's "just a number". That said, I did not follow my "container nutrition" like I said I would earlier in the week. Sigh.
• LIIFT4 will end next week... just in time to have a little bit of a "down" week before beginning a post-holiday mile training plan where, yet again, I'll be trying to crack that 6min barrier
• 39.21mi left until I hit my all-time annual mileage high (from 2018) ;) 

LIIFT4: Week 6/8

Week-middle Thoughts:

Oh, it's Thursday... whoops. I had two days in-office this week before a four-day professional organization committee meeting, and my whole sense of time is totally thrown off. It's bliss. :) 

Monday

Did: LIIFT4

Legs felt super sore. Lifted in the evening

Tuesday

Did: 10KTuesday @ 9:28/mi avg

"Feels like" 22 degrees. Brrrr! 

busted out the fleece-lined shoes for today's 10K

Wednesday

Did: 4.01mi @ 9:10/mi avg, LIIFT4

Enjoyed a suuuuuper brisk run after drop-off this morning, and lifted over lunch. 

Ooh, icicles! 

Thursday

Did: 5.11mi @ 9:05/mi avg, LIIFT4

Another brisk run in the 20s, and then some lunch time lifting... with my cat. 

Friday

Did: 3.38mi @ 9:16/mi avg, stretching, LIIFT4

Another nice morning run (cold temps = faster easy pace, weeee), followed by some serious stretching (I've been at a virtual committee meeting since Wednesday and have noticed my glutes are displeased with my posture/position), and lifting. 

Saturday

Did: 10.16mi @ 9:18/mi avg, stretching

Early morning double-digits with a friend, and more stretching. 

Sunday

Did: 6.74mi stroller run @ 9:03/mi avg

Family greenway excursion today, with the older one biking alongside my husband and me pushing the baby in the stroller. I planned on 15min WU, 10min tempo, cooldown, and then return to the car to get the littlest some time on his balance bike. 

...but he was asleep when we got back, so I just opted to keep running and meet up with the rest of the family. It was a good run. Tempo was around 7:44/mi, which made me happy. 

Total Weekly Mileage: 35.6

Week-ending Thoughts:

• Even hitting my calorie goals, I've up, like, five pounds on the scale. F you, carbs, monthly bloating, and everything else. :P Oh well. Clothes are still fitting relatively well, and I still feel like a BA with what my body can do. Still suuuuuuuuper frustrating to have to watch what I eat (not even just how much) this carefully. Like, I'm not eating processed crap- just more carbs (like oatmeal and whole-grain pasta) and a little more cheese this past week.
• I freaking love my professional committee work, and am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it. 
• Less than 70mi to go before a new annual mileage high!