onepinkfuzzy

Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, Blessed Solstice, Happy Kwanzaa and Happy New Year! Okay, so I was supposed to get back-to-back, medium-sized runs this weekend. On Christmas Eve, I managed to get 9.3 miles at Sabino Canyon in 2:11, making it something like just over 14-minute miles - with 1200 vertical feet and 4.something miles of rocky terrain, that's not too bad of a pace. I didn't fuel correctly and ended up walking on the road on the way out. :( Lesson learned: must lose fear of fueling. (Once again, I have a whole topic on my history of disordered eating, but I haven't gotten enough of my thoughts down yet to post it.)

I was exhausted by the time we got home. Ash was sleeping, so Johnny decided he'd stay in the car with Ash while I went upstairs, showered and fueled. After searching frantically throughout the entire car (very quietly), we realized that somehow Johnny lost the house key. *#*$&@^@#$&%^!!!!!!!!!!! I trudged the .5 uphill to the front of the apartment complex to the office, to get a key. I walked the .5 back to our apt, and then pulled myself up the #@%"ing stairs. Insert key. Try to turn. *&^*ing thing won't open. Pull key out. Stare at it in puzzlement. Insert. Jiggle. Won't turn. &^%$#&!!! Did I mention I was exhausted? I was cursing J in my head as I hiked back to the office. Got a different key. Hiked back upstairs - it's uphill both ways!!! At least this one worked. Had to take it back to the office, then head back. I was miserable. Low-fat pizza and a diet cherry Pepsi helped.

We spent that evening with Johnny's family. Ash had a lot of fun. I managed to make the salad my entree and didn't eat too much. Whew. There were so many people and so many presents, it was overwhelming! This year, we didn't go to my family's on Christmas day like we usually do (they live in Mesa, AZ, about 2 hours away), which made Christmas slightly less overwhelming than it usually is.

So we woke up Christmas morning, and opened our stocking gifts. Runner's paradise: I received a new water bottle pack, socks, sports bra and shirt. Very cool. So I put on my new gear and we headed out to Saguaro National Park East, to run 8 miles on the (very) hilly road. I would add another 2.something miles on trail to make my goal on 20 miles over Saturday and Sunday.However, this overwhelmed, exhuasted, PMS-ing mom was in no way able to handle an overwhelmed, exhausted, tantrum-throwing child, in addition to the boiling temperature of 81 degrees. (Yes, I can handle 100+ degrees in the summer - when I run in the morning! I hate running in heat in the afternoon!!!!) I turned around about a half-mile in, and pushed Ash in the stroller up the steepest hill I've ever been on with the stroller. So at least I got a good strength-training session in. I let J finish the road, while Ash and I played at the visitor center. We sought out a Chinese restaurant on the way home, which we usually enjoy, but the food really sucked.

Today, J went for a run while Ash and I chilled at home, then J's mom watched Ash while we went to dinner and to see Chronicles of Narnia - a childhood favorite of mine. J had not read the book before so it was fun for me to be able to share it with him. Plus, we got to go out - just the two of us - together. Our 10 year anniversary is this week - wow!

Goals for this week: 3.3 miles on Tuesday and Wednesday at lunch; 3.5 miles after work on Thursday with J and Ash; 10 miles on Saturday morning; and 15.2 miles on Sunday morning with the trail running group. (With close to 3000 total vertical gain, it stands to be one of the hardest trail runs I've done yet. Not exactly race-specific training, but I really want to do this one - it'll be the first one where I've done the entire route. All the other trail runs I've done with this group have been modifications on what everyone else is doing. Plus, it's over and around Wasson Peak in the Tucson Mountains, which I love. So I really want to do it.)

If I can actually complete the goals I have for myself this week, I will have just over 35 miles for the week - which will be awesome. With how this past week was (only 25 miles and no back-to-back runs as planned), I really highly doubt I'll actually do everything I want to do. Okay, so I'm a little cranky.