So Far So Good

I had a dream last night that I had planned a long run with friends - all the way to Canada. Haha, yep we were going to start in San Francisco, run across the Golden Gate Bridge and keep haulin' north until we reached Vancouver. Craziness.

The dream just probably reflects how good I'm feeling about my first two weeks back into training. I haven't posted the last two weeks because I've just been busy getting over my "Christmas Holidays Hangover" and getting some work done on the running thing. Being back in the gym has been tough and so was eating healthy again - I got used to the rich home cooked meals and tasty desserts. I felt like I was taking two steps forward and one step back in those areas but the running has been great. It feels really good to be back logging in the miles. I started out slow and safe with a couple of 4-milers and a 6-miler but from there the miles have jumped up significantly. Last Saturday I had an 18-mile long run followed by an easy 6 miles the next day.

Jumping to 18 so quickly was unsafe and not the smartest thing to do. I exposed myself to a higher potential for injury. However I really felt that my body could handle it and I was right. The run went well and no injury but I have noticed more fatigue than the usual this week and I've been craving more protein. I've been craving sweets too, my big vice when it comes to food. Overall my appetite is up. Instead of increasing my long run again this weekend I'll probably keep it the same though. I think I've hit my limit at the moment and the body needs to catch up. This is all slow miles by the way. I get up to second gear and it stays there:) I can't wait to get my endurance and speed back. I'm more impatient now than any other year, maybe it's because my first race is earlier this year - mid-March.

Nothing too exciting on this post I'm afraid so I will leave you all with pics from last Saturday's Bad Race T-Shirt party. I've given away all the race shirts I didn't like except one and it was it's night to shine.

[Addendum] Well I guess I was wrong about the speed part. Some of it has come back. Just finished a 9-mile run and I was day dreaming about the two hundred milers I had picked out for the summer as I ran. Filled my head with positive imagery, envisioning good strong training sessions and running the races themselves nice and strong - finishing well. All that day dreaming got me steaming a whole lot faster than I've been running lately. Surprised myself when I saw the time on the watch after I was done. Very cool.

KC and Tracy showing off their Alcatraz Challenge shirt. Big on swimming, they probably throughly enjoyed swimming from Alcatraz to San Francisco.

The back is a beauty with all those shark fins, nice!

Nothing inspires me more to run on Turkey day than a picture of a TV dinner. I ate a real home cooked Thanksgiving dinner like a sucker!

I like how there's a yellow tint to the photo since there are bananas involved. That shirt is actually white.

I just thought this was funny. Not funny for the turkey though.

I ran Cascade Crest the last year Randy Gherke was the RD. I think they had these shirts for one more year before current RD Charlie Crissman took over with a new logo, race shirt and website. Love the event, not a fan of the old race shirt. It's cotton and that big eyeful of an illustration gets sticky underneath if you sweat just a little. I'll never get rid of it though. My second hundred and the only buckle I wear.