Saturday, May 12, 2012

Two Runners and an Anti-Baby Household

Mrs. RTP and I have been running a lot more since January. We both have taken the no-sweets diet plunge, and except for a handful of 'cheats', we have done well and lost a bunch of weight. The increase in running combined with the weight loss has resulted in much faster times and a big running performance boost for both of us.
It puts the Sugar in its mouth
She mainly runs in the morning on Tuesday and Thursday with our neighbor, and I run on M/W/Fr, and we both run Sat morning. I go first because I get up to run at 4am. It has worked out great for both of us, but the summer heat will soon challenge. And a bigger challenge is our daughter Amelia who is now crawling like Lindsey Lohan whenever a Greenie rolls under her couch.
Daddy's little princess
Amelia is coming up on nine months and wants to do everything her 4 year old brother is doing. Now that she can crawl, she follows us all over the house eating whatever she finds. She favors the bleach bottle and I usually let her have it because the safety cap seems sufficiently impermeable. Dust kitty? Into the 98 degree filter and out in the diaper trash. Thirsty? Dog's water dish. I need to take a trip to the local Home Despot and buy a bunch of anti baby-happiness devices and install them around here and there. And on we trudge.
Don't Bogart that Double Chambered Plexiglass Bong My Friend
This morning was the last longish run prior to Pasadena. I've pretty much been training for this half-marathon since January first. My main 2012 running goal is to break 2:00 in a half-marathon. I had originally set my sights on a race in December, but I got faster a lot faster than I thought I would. I've been very close to the goal in training, knocking down a 2:03 a couple of weeks back with energy left in the legs at the end. Very likely could have gotten it that day. This goal is there and within reach. Just gotta stick to the plan and run the paces I need to run. But what if......... And try to ignore the What ifs.
A baby and a bong? In a Running blog??
I ran 8 miles this morning and had planned to run them at about 9:30 to keep it easy. I had an attack of ego somewhere in the middle and grabbed a few sub 9's, but finished with an overall pace of 9:15 and plenty of energy. This week has 3 easy miles on Monday and Thursday, and 4 miles at 9:00 on Wednesday for  race simulation. The main goal of this 'taper' (I hate to call it a taper because I sort of believe that term should be reserved for full marathons or for faster runners. But it is a good idea to let the body fully heal and go into the race hungry to run) ..the main goal of this taper is to keep the legs fresh but let them heal. And don't do anything stupid. Not sure how I can avoid that part. The family is staying home for this race, and I am traveling with my buddy Chris who is trying to finish without crapping out his pancreas.

(Internet images related to final sentence too disturbing to publish. I need to go to therapy)

2 comments:

Evolving Through Running said...

Sounds like you're more than ready to go sub 2-hours. The collective energy of race-day alone should be enough to get you there (if you don't get too excited - and crap out your pancreas). Off to Google images to do a search on that one ....

Christina said...

You are a runner! Which means you get to taper.

Thanks for the kind words on my blog. I appreciate it.