Well if week one of training was easy breezy because I was on vacation, week two of training was manageable because I suddenly realized what it was like to have free time again.



Juggling just work and training and the occasional social event is so much easier than juggling work, training, social events plus class, homework and group projects. I honestly don't think I realized just how much time school used to suck up until this first week back at work. I basically feel like I can breath again, and let me tell you, that's a really nice feeling.

So anyway, on to week two of training!

Monday: 3.5 miles, 34:18, 9:48 per mile

This was my first run of the New Year, and I will say, even though I had the day off, I did have to give myself a bit of motivational pep talk to get out the door.

Tuesday: 2 miles, 19:40, 9:49 per mile

This run kind of mystified me. It was my easy recovery run, and the entire time I was running my legs felt really loose, and I felt like I was moving really fast. But then every time I looked at my Garmin, my pace was super slow, so I'm not sure what was going on here.

Wednesday: 3.5 miles, 33:54, 9:41 per mile

I did this run in capris and just a long sleeve shirt, and it was so glorious to not be freezing on my run. If that weather could come back, I'd be really happy.

Thursday: Rest

Friday: Crosstrain, FlyWheel Class, 45 minutes

This class was a good solid kick in the butt. I liked the music. I liked the mix of sprints vs climbs. I liked that it was an excuse to work out indoors on a day when the temperatures were barely touching 20 degrees.

Saturday: 5 miles, 48:43, 9:45 per mile



When I left my house to do this run, it was 11 degrees with the wind chill, snowing and windy. I put on so many layers of clothes, I wasn't sure I'd actually be able to run. I had on two pairs of Under Armour cold gear tights, a UA cold gear top, heavy running jacket and a wind breaker, plus a hat and gloves. The air was so cold my face hurt for most of the first two miles, but I eventually warmed up and ended up yanking my gloves off at one point because my hands were sweating.

Getting out the door was tough on Saturday morning. I had a running buddy and we were having a debate about whether we should do the run Saturday or push it to Sunday to see if the weather conditions improved. I'm very, very glad we did it on Saturday because the windchill Sunday morning was 2 degrees, which would have sucked so much more.

Sunday: Rest.

And that's week two in a nutshell. I am really, really hoping the weather warms up for the rest of week three. I don't think I can handle training in temps like this for much longer.

Well week one of half marathon training is in the books, and I'm happy to say I nailed every workout on the calendar.



Starting my training program the week I was on vacation between Christmas and the new year turned out to be a brilliant idea. My workouts were the only major responsibility I had each day so it wasn't very hard to make sure I made the time for them. Plus it let me build up some nice momentum to start this round of training.

As I mentioned in an earlier post about this training cycle, I intentionally picked a very basic, beginner-level training plan for this race. My goal is to quite simply build my endurance back up in a slow and steady manner and ideally avoid injuries.

With that in mind, most of my weekday runs will be fairly short, while my long runs will steadily increase on the weekends. Pace isn't a concern this training cycle, though I'm noting it here mainly for my own knowledge.

Monday: 3 miles, 29:34, 9:51 per mile

I wrote more in detail about this run last week, but it was my first run in the real cold in PA and holy Moses did my lungs burn.

Tuesday: 2 miles, 18:59, 9:29 per mile

Slow, easy "recovery" run -- though it's funny to call it a recovery run when Monday's run was only one mile longer. Two mile runs are mentally easy. They just seem so short in comparison to my normal workouts.

Wednesday: 3 miles, 28:57, 9:37 per mile

Faster than Monday's run perhaps because the weather was more pleasant in DC, and my lungs didn't feel like they were on fire the entire time from frigid air.

Thursday: Rest

Friday: Cross-train, FlyWheel class, 45 minutes

The schedule only called for 30 minutes of cross-training, but no spin class in the world is only 30 minutes. It's been a long time since I was on a spin bike, and boy did my butt let me know it the next day. I really liked the instructor for this class though. Too bad it was smack in the middle of the afternoon. The likelihood of me taking this class again is pretty slim.

Saturday: 4 miles, 39:27, 9:51 per mile

Apparently I really dig that 9:51 average pace per mile. My left calf has been tight on a couple of my runs this week, including Saturday's "long" run. It's been annoying, but not painful, so I'm hoping it's just getting used to doing regular running again. These four miles weren't anything too special, but they're probably the longest I've run at once in a couple of months.

Sunday: Rest

And that's a wrap on week one. I'm hoping to keep up the momentum in week two -- though starting now I'll have work and other real life things to fit my workouts around.

As we get ready to ring in a new year at the stroke of midnight tomorrow, I feel the need to take a minute to look back on the previous year. I went into 2016 full of hope and optimism for what was in store this year.

But by year's end, it seems like I might be one of the few people who didn't think 2016 was completely the worst. Yes, in many ways on the national level, 2016 seemed to have a lot more downs than it did ups. Some of those downs will probably have some longer lasting ramifications that I am more than a little nervous about, but I'd like to try to end the year on a positive note.

So with that in mind, I thought I'd share some of what was good about this year for me.

1. I graduated from grad school earlier this month. My two and a half years in my MBA program were stressful and challenging and made me sacrifice basically all of my free time, but they were worth it. Plus, I finished with a 4.0 GPA, and I'm pretty darn proud of that fact.



2. I traveled the world. Until this year, I had never stepped foot outside of North America (depending how one defines North America -- I am counting Mexico here as part of the North American continent). But in 2016 I went to Japan, Ireland and the Dominican Republic on the international front.











I also traveled a bunch domestically -- some for work and some for fun.



I visited

• Columbia, SC


• Charleston, SC (twice -- once for work, once for play)


• San Antonio, TX


• Boston, MA


• Auburn, AL


• Rehoboth Beach, DE


• Philadelphia, PA

Many of these trips were with good friends that I'm grateful to have (both as friends and as travel buddies).

3. I moved apartments. I now living walking distance from my office, five blocks from my best friend and just in general closer to almost everything. The move was back in August, and I've mainly settled in, though I still have a couple of empty walls that I need to figure out what to do with.

4. I read some really good books.



I didn't have as much time to read this year, but I still managed to read a decent amount of books, and now that I'm finished with school, I have a large stack of books just waiting to be read. I promise to share later what some of my favorites were from this year, once I get organized enough to pull that list together!

5. I made new friends, strengthened old friendships and spent quality time with my family.



Despite my school stuff taking up most of my free time, I still managed to find time for some of the things I love, like playing softball, tailgating with my friends and of course, spending time with my family.









This year I got to celebrate many nieces and nephews birthdays (at Star Wars themed parties), play on a flag football team with my cousin and have my brother make a surprise appearance at my 30th birthday party.







I got to celebrate friends' engagements.



And then party at friends' weddings.





I worked really hard, played moderately hard and overall feel like I made the best out of this year. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but sometimes it's just nice to focus on the good things.