A Few Things...

First, in case anyone was wondering, it is not a good idea to do heavy exercise on very little food. On a more positive note, I ran 10 miles today for the first time in well over a month. It was a hard 10 miles. I went faster than usual, so it's hard for me to know if it was hard because of that, or if it was hard because I hadn't had enough food and water, or if it was hard because I'm not in long distance shape anymore, or if it was a combination of all of those things. Regardless, I was really happy with my overall pace/time. I set out trying to just run it at my natural pace, which was fine for the first 5-6 miles until I went up a big hill. That hill is one that I run at least once a week, often more, but today it almost killed me. I was thinking thoughts of stopping before I got to the top. Not normal (anymore). After the hill, I was tired, but still in good spirits. I was able to maintain my pace but it took a bit more effort. When I was done, I had run the 10 miles at a 9:12 pace. For my goal of running my next half-marathon in under 2 hours, I need to run at least a 9:08 pace. I think I could have done it today, but it would have been really hard. As it was, I was really pooped, like I mentioned earlier. But this makes me really optimistic about my ability to do the sub 2 hour half marathon in the spring.

On a related note, I'm considering doing a half ironman (Ironman 70.3) in the spring. Don't hold me to it, but it's probably my best chance. Our lives are going to be a bit crazy starting in June or so, we imagine, with Peter graduating and interviewing, etc. Right now, since I'm so tired from that 10 miler I just ran and I haven't eaten enough yet, that sounds incredibly intimidating. The way I feel now is probably more realistic than the way I normally feel, so it's probably for the best. BUT...

I really need something to work toward now. I feel a little aimless. And the holiday foods around me are impossible to pass up (yum!), but this is not proving to be good for my waistline! With no marathon AND no soccer, all I have is regular running and dance classes, which is great on the weeks Peter can come home early enough for me to get to most of them. If not, some days the only exercise I get is one dance class, which is not enough for me. I think I have a slow metabolism (and I KNOW I have a big appetite). So even putting in lots of effort not to eat too much leaves me eating enough that I still need to exercise A LOT to not gain weight.

So, that's where I am right now with exercise. I've made huge strides in my running pace, which feels really awesome. And now I just need to choose what things I'm working toward and just start, otherwise I fear I will become lazy.