Why I've disappeared... again.

I know this is no excuse, and I don't exactly have the best track record for blogging regularly. Oops! Anyways, the reason excuses excuses I've disappeared the last few weeks is that I've been a crazy working as many hours as I can, organizing to the point of perfection, to cleaning all nooks and crannies fool. Why? Because this happened... finally.

So what if the first thing I noticed in this picture were my legs? 

Yep! My husband is finally home from Afghanistan, and has been back in the states for almost a week. We've been busy getting things ready for our cross-country road trip, and just trying to enjoy each-others company. It's crazy going from a single housewife for the last 7 months, only talking to my husband once every week or two, to having my husband by my side 24/7. So surreal at times. There are still moments when we're watching tv on the couch that I can't believe he's actually sitting next to me. I can't even explain the feeling. It's funny thinking back to early in the deployment and the conversations I would have with fellow wives, and the things we'd wish for. Thank goodness he has been easing me back into his obsession love of video games because I remember quite vividly there was a rough week, where I told my friend Jenna that I would give anything to see my husband sitting on the couch, ignoring me while playing Call Of Duty. It's weird getting used to the little things like cooking dinner for two again, sharing the remote or not being able to sprawl out across our queen sized bed. It's the little things I tend to take for granted when he is home, and it's the weirdest feeling getting back into the swing of things when he's home. Luckily he has been amazing helping get us back into the swing of life from 7 months ago. He's been back in his routine of putting gas in the cars, taking out trash and making breakfast in the mornings. Sometimes it's those little things that you miss the most.

Together again. <3

Marathon Training Week One... CHECK!

I'm officially done with week one of my marathon training, and it really feels great. I know it's only week one, but I really do feel like I've accomplished something. I'm really trying hard to complete my training to the best of my ability and by the books, since I really slacked on training for both half marathons. My idea is that if I post for the world to see, it's a way of holding myself accountable. Of course I love dailymile, and have confessed my love for the site time and time again, but without others seeing what my training plan looks like, I really can't be judged for work I am/am not doing. I guess, I want to be judged. I want others to see my training and see how far I've some in such a short period of time, and maybe it's also for myself to see where I was at week one and see where I finish at week eighteen.

Monday: 
   Training Plan: Rest
   Actual: Rest Whew!
Day one sure was difficult. Almost didn't feel like I worked out. Oh, wait...

Tuesday:

   Training Plan: 3 mile run

   Actual: 3 mile run @ 10:30 min/mile pace
Nothing crazy. First run in a couple weeks, and only one of a handful since my last half-marathon in August. I wasn't really expecting much, so a 10:30 min/mile pace worked for me.

Wednesday:

   Training Plan: 5 mile pace

   Actual: 5 mile run @ 11:24 min/mile pace / 60 min spin class / 60 min weights
Over-achiever? Yep. Probably. My best friend is an incredible athlete, and helping me weight train. Wednesday's just happen to be a two-a-day workout. If it starts getting to be too much, I'll calm things down. Promise. ::fingers crossed behind my back::

Thursday:

   Training Plan: 3 mile run

   Actual: Rest
Yes, I know. You're probably thinking to yourself, "WTH? Skipping runs already, Andie?!" But it wasn't like that at all. Really worked out hard on Wednesday, and decided to take a day of rest to prevent any sort of injury. Last thing I wanted was to be injured after week one.

Friday:

   Training Plan: Rest

   Actual: 3 mile run @ 9:50 min/mile pace
Ran while in San Diego. The miles just seemed to come so easy, and time flew by. Really wish more runs were like that. But all runs can't be pure perfection, right?

Saturday: 

   Training Plan: 8 mile run

   Actual: Cross Train - row machine 20 minutes / bike 50 minutes
::FACEPALM:: Just assumed that my long run would be on Sunday, so cross-training on Saturday right?! Wrong. In the famous words of Oscar Wilde, "When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me." Truth. 
Overall, my first cross training session went A-MA-ZING! The last time I did a true cross-training session at the gym, I could barely get to 10 minutes on the row-machine, and somehow I made it to 20 minutes. Bike went well, too, but nothing crazy to report on. 

Sunday: 

   Training Plan: Cross Train

   Actual: 8 miles @ 11:58 min/mile pace
Now I know why cross training is on Sunday, and the long run is on Saturday. I was dying and my legs were extremely exhausted. Oh, well. Better luck next week. The only plus to this run? The gorgeous run along the ocean at sunset. 

Holding Myself Accountable

It's official: I'm currently finishing up with week one of training for a marathon. The marathon that I'm training for is the Carlsbad Marathon in beautiful Carlsbad, CA and is the first race in the San Diego Triple Crown series. The most exciting part of this race? While I'll be running the full marathon, my incredible husband will be running the half marathon. This will actually only be the second race of mine that he's attended, with the first being our Thanksgiving 5k last year. Wow. I've come a long way since then! :) Never ever in a million years would I have thought that I would even be slightly interested in running 26.2 miles for fun. Even when I went out for that first hellish run with my best friend Jessica in the Summer of 2010, the thought never even crossed my mind that I would be able to complete a 5k. Here I am, early Fall of 2011 and thus far I have completed three 5k's, two 10k's and two half marathons.

With all of that being said, I needed to come up with a way to make sure my training gets done. Once my husband gets home from Afghanistan, he'll be there to push me and make sure that all my workouts get completed. Until then, it's just me, myself and I. I'm not going to say that I'm a slacker (okay, okay. I'm a slacker), but sometimes I let life get in the way of my training. I think the only way to truly hold myself accountable to my marathon training schedule is to blog at the end of each week about the previous weeks training. Sure, I log my miles and workouts on dailymile, but no one knows what my training schedule was supposed to be except for me. As much as I love dailymile and absolutely swear by it, it doesn't really give me that extra push to get my miles in.

Are you good at getting training plans completed the way that they were meant to be completed? How do you hold yourself accountable?

Don't Worry. I'm Still Here.

It's been quite crazy the last few weeks. Scratch that. It's been a ridiculous 2011 and I think I've been moving at 88 MPH. If only I had Doc Martin and the DeLorean to take me back to the beginning of the year to slow things back down. Hmm... wouldn't that be nice?! The year started with prepping for the husbands deployment, continued with him deploying to Afghanistan and me going back to Milwaukee for a few months. I ran my first half marathon (and my second) and played tour guide to both my sister and my mom here in California. Throw in a few cross country road trips, and at least a hundred incredible memories and you'll have my 2011 to this date.

Since the America's Finest City Half Marathon in San Diego 3 weeks ago, I have found myself in such a horrible post-race depression/funk/rut. It's funny how as I was crossing the finish line at that race I was thinking about how I couldn't wait to start training for a full marathon, and a week later the last thing that I wanted to do was put on my running shoes. Thank goodness for all my incredible running friends who urged me to lace up, and my good friend Kama who got me to the gym yesterday for a killer spin class and weight session. It feels amazing to have the endorphins surging through my veins again. Tomorrow my friends and I have a challenging 5 mile hike planned and I'm so excited to take it on. Also, Tuesday officially starts my marathon training for the Carlsbad Full in Carlsbad, CA. It's so crazy to think that in just over 18 weeks I'll be crossing the finish line to my first marathon and able to call myself a marathoner.

So yes. I'm still here, just been very busy and was laying low from the running community. I'll be more active from here on out. Promise.

We Run For Those Who Can't

I always love reading the shirts of fellow runners, and seeing everything from various charities to "I run because (insert motivation here)". It's always amazing to see where runners have been, and what their motivation is to continue for one more mile. I've learned that runners tend to wear their heart on their sleeve, and my running group for the AFC Half Marathon in San Diego on Sunday was no exception. Who were we running for? Five incredible men who gave the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan and we pray will never be forgotten. You will recognize three of the men from my previous post from my first half marathon, but unfortunately two more names have been added to the list of fallen from our 3rd Battalion 4th Marines Family. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The Marine Corps is a family. The Marines themselves are brothers, and their wives/girlfriends/sisters/mothers are sisters to each other. 

We ran to honor these men. 

We ran to remember their sacrifice. 

We ran in hope that others would read their names and never forget. 

Cpl Paul Zanowick

LCpl Jason Hill

Cpl Mark Goyet

Lcpl Christopher Camero

SSgt Leon Lucas

Post race. Runners & Our Cheerleaders.

Also, a huge thank you to one of our Darkside Moms who had these shirts made to honor the men lost (whose names are listed on the back).

Planking: All The Cool Kids Are Doing It

I know. I know. I know. I said this morning that I was going to put up a running post tomorrow, but I really didn't want to forget feel like waiting. Sure, maybe I feel like I need to make up for lost time, since I haven't blogged in a month. But anyways, here's a running blog. A day early.

And here it goes...

Last night I was checking out my DailyMile and realized that thus far in 2011 I have only ran a total of 266 miles. Depressing. So it got me thinking that in 2012 I want to make some major changes. Not just want... need. How major? Run at least 1,000 miles in the year 2012. But then I starting thinking, why should I wait until 2012? Let's start now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not January 1st, 2012. Today. For the next 52 weeks I plan on running at least 20 miles per week, to put me at a grand total of 1,000 miles. Will it suck? Yes. Is it do-able? Definitely. Will I need to find some major motivation somewhere? Heck yes, you betcha. I would love to be taken seriously as a runner, as well as think of myself as a serious runner. Sure, I've completed in one half marathon and I have my second half marathon on Sunday, but I don't think I'm anywhere as serious as I should be.

Planking. What the cool kids are doing.

While I'm putting in some major miles for the next 52 weeks, I figured I should kill myself a little bit more throw something else into the mix. Planking. No, no, no. Not planking like all the cool kids are doing (see photo: on the right). Planking like all the real cool kids are doing (see photo: below). So starting today I'm also starting 365 days of planking (#plankaday on twitter). What are planks? There are many variations, as is with most exercises. The form that I'm used to is the one pictured below. Lay on your stomach, on the floor resting on your forearms. Push off the floor, raising up onto toes and resting on the elbows. You want to keep your body as flat and in line as possible, and hold for as long as possible. Planks are an amazing workout, strengthening your arms, back and core as well as your stabilizer muscles. Really. Who doesn't want amazing arms, back and core? Don't get me wrong, planks suck. Right now I can only get in about 60 seconds until I'm falling to the ground, but after killing myself with some practice I'm going to be amazing!

Planking. What the really cool kids are doing.

Why wait for January 1st for everyone else to decide it's the appropriate time to make new years resolution? So not only is it not the first of the year, it's not even the first of the month. Ooh, such a rebel.



[Thanks to my friend Vincenzo (@Spincenzo on twitter) for letting me use the picture of him and his brother planking like the cool kids.]

Pack Your Bags And Drive To A Sunny Day

I'm back in California.

Okay, okay... I've actually been back in California for 2 weeks now. After an amazing 2 month long vacation in Milwaukee, WI, it's definitely bittersweet to be back in California. Being "home" in Milwaukee was a blast; for two months I got to feel like my old self again. In a weird way it was nice being able to go out on a Friday and Saturday night, go to concerts and be with all my friends. I actually felt like a normal 25 year-old. As much fun as I had over those two months, I'm glad to be back in my own home. I've missed cooking in my kitchen, sleeping in my own bed and being my 25 year-old self with five years of marriage under her belt.

That's another thing that has recently happened, just celebrated my 5th wedding anniversary. Well, I guess celebrated it as any other military couple would whose spouse is currently deployed. We were lucky enough to Skype for 45 minutes and 53 seconds (who's counting?!) and he sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Sure, it's not the traditional way to celebrate a milestone anniversary, but our marriage is anything but traditional. Just over six years ago we started dating, and 364 days later we were walking down the aisle. Just over a month after we said our "I do's," we were saying our "I'll see you later's" (It's never goodbye, it's I'll see you later) as he boarded the bus to Iraq. So in a weird way it almost seemed fitting that we would be celebrating our golden anniversary (we were married on August 5th) while he was deployed to a far away land.

The past five years have been quite the adventure. In five years we have lived in 2 states, 4 cites and now currently on our second duty station. Nothing brings a couple closer together than deployments and PCSing. Well, those two things can do one of two things: strengthen their marriage, or weaken their marriage. We've been lucky that thus far it's been the first one. You just have look at the good side of things, instead of dwelling on the negatives. For anyone who has been stationed in the oh-so-glamorous MCAGCC Twentynine Palms, you know that this place can not only make or break a relationship, but a person as well. To put it kindly, we're in the middle of nowhere. But since we've moved here we've learned to make the best of what God has given us. Isn't that what life is truly about? If you don't like the hand you're given, make it what you want it to be.

Yep, I was definitely planning on a running blog today, but this just seemed to flow. :] Running blog up this week. Promise. Thanks for reading.



Terms:
Home I often use the term loosely. I have two homes. Milwaukee is home because it's where I'm from. My second home is wherever I'm currently living.
PCS Permanent Change of Station
MCAGCC Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center