December and running ruts

I'd like to shirk my sense of responsibility and blame how I feel right now about running and other aspects of my life (work burn out?) on: the fact that it's December, we had weird weather a week ago, and I simply feel crazy busy and just want to get the hell out of dodge.  Nice, right?!  This is not an ideal mindset going into a, gulp, half-marathon tomorrow which will be the longest distance I've run in recent years.  In fact, my last half was about 7 years ago.  I would like to say that I took the opportunity to focus and train well, but that would be a blatant lie.  So, yeah, we'll see how the run goes.  I would like to aim for a sub-something-minute mile pace, but I would also like to actually enjoy the experience and be happy with my performance, either sub-whatever or sub-par.

The "enjoy the experience and be happy with my performance" is good advice for me to take, especially considering a serious lack of focus on my part.  Still, it amazes me that even when I don't really put the time/effort in, I find it frustrating when/if I don't feel that I've run my "best".
The 5K I ran last week represents this perfectly! Initially, I signed up for the race hoping to run a fast 5K, a distance that I don't particularly like too much. As race day approached, we experienced bad weather and much uncertainty, and I should have changed how I was framing this run mentally (should have, should have, should have...), especially when we woke up on the later side with fairly foggy heads from a wee bit too much vino and we crossed the starting line about a minute after the gun went off.  This was Michael's first 5K, but I wanted to run fast, so I ditched him and ended up having a so-so experience, running somewhat slower than I hoped/expected.  Hindsight is 50-50, and looking back, I see that running with Michael and just viewing the race as an opportunity to have fun would have been advisable.  I'm going to try to take that advice tomorrow as I slog my way through 13.1 miles.
I will say that it's not just my racing mojo that seems to have hit a hard spell. Thursday's run marked one final sign that my running game is in sore need of rejuvenation.  While I pounded out 6.5 or so miles without a huge issue physically, I found the mental release to be zero, zip, nil, and THAT was what I needed most.  My seventh period class put me in bit of a foul mood (not because of the students but another reason played a role) and then I got home and discovered that one of our dogs had decided to help himself to part of an expensive chocolate bar (he is fine, by the way).  So, I hoped and expected the run to be a zen moment for me, after which I would feel trouble-free and enjoy a clear mind.  THAT did not happen - instead, I was still fuming about my end of day encounter.  So much for the healing powers of running.

Looking at all of this, it signals to the obvious:  I need to take a break from running.  Gasp!  So, from December 12-December 30, I plan on skiing (downhill and Nordic, if possible), walking, hiking, maybe some indoor rock-climbing, snowshoeing and ice-skating, and more walking and hiking and lots of hanging out with friends and family and dogs.

Now, I just need to get through 13.1 miles tomorrow and 5 more days of work, and then life will be grand!
Then, come January 2012: Swim, bike, run!  

Goodbye Boulder!

We aren't leaving JUST yet, but soon, very soon. We might have time to fit in one more ride tomorrow morning (fingers crossed). And if I'm really a bad-ass, I might go to the climbing gym at 6:00 am. Yes, it's crazy, but the climbing gym opens at 6:00 Wednesday-Friday or something like that. Only in Boulder, CO! I swear, if I lived here, I would bike in the morning and climb in the afternoon every day that I could.

We've spent tons of time hanging out with the family which has been pretty awesome. Thanks to going to the climbing gym with some of Michael's nephews and his niece, I even managed to build up a small iota of "coolness". They even said that they couldn't believe that I was a mean teacher. HA! If only they could see me in action. I have totally tamped down on my teacher voice and attitude over the summer, but I have few doubts that it will return as soon as I need it!

In addition to some nice rides on the bikes and hanging around looking like this (Source):

(Okay, that isn't really a picture of me, but I really did love playing around at the climbing gym. It was so much fun!)

... I also participated in the Boulder Stroke and Stride, a swim-run race, last Thursday!

I originally signed up for the 1500 meter swim/5k run option and was brimming with confidence until I arrived at the Boulder Reservoir, the race site. Suddenly, the 750 meter lap looked about twice as long as I thought that it was. Also, I had opted to not wear a wetsuit because the water temperature was quite warm, and that turned out to be a huge mistake. I learned a very important lesson: Wetsuits are not just to keep you warm! I swear, I've been swimming this summer, but just the 750 meter lap exhausted me, and my time sucked in a major way. Note to self - Wear a wetsuit when it's an option! I'm not sure if it was the swimming or the constant jockeying for position and having people kick me and elbow me, but I swam one lap and was out of the water. I couldn't believe how slow my time was - 20.45! Whatever, I was happy to be out of the water and transition to my running shoes. I had obviously changed my race from 1500 swim to 750 swim (which was totally legal - I just had to let them know at the end of the race).

Although I was glad to be out of the water and happy to actually pass people rather than fight in the water, the run still felt rather painful. I'd like to blame everything (especially the swim) on the altitude, but I ended up crushing my goal time of 24:00 minutes, putting me at a fairly respectable 8:00 minute mile pace. Instead, I pounded out a very surprising 23:20 5K and placed 2nd out of 14 women in my age group!

I did not know this until the following day, however, so I spent most of the evening obsessing about my crappy swim time and sulking. I love focusing on the negative!

All that healthy and active fun aside, one of the highlights of the visit was a "Booze-Cruise on a Bus" thanks to Banjo Billy's Beer Bus Tour. We went to 3 local breweries in this lovely chariot:

It was definitely a fun experience! My favorite brewery was our first stop, Avery. I liked everything there that I tried, especially some of their Belgian-style brews, and it's now on my list of top 5, maybe top 3, breweries. Sadly enough, Avery beer is not cheap, but I suppose that is to be expected.

We will be moving on tomorrow as we head to Breckenridge, CO to enjoy time with my side of the family and to cool off! We are looking forward to MUCH cooler temperatures (the high is supposed to be in the upper 60's!) and to a nice long and high hike on Thursday, if the weather cooperates.

Pictures will follow too!