Generally I have all weekends planned in advance (LIFE is meant to be LIVED) – but because of the East Coast blizzard, three feet of snow kept my friend lodged in New Hampshire.

First free weekend of 20-13.  What to do?

Slept in ‘til 7am (that’s actually super late for me), played a few rounds of (mindless) solitaire on the iPad, then lazily rolled out of bed – Ro was begging at this point.  Dog park day!  An hour of running with his peeps, Ro seemed all balanced again.  So while he napped, I went on my longest run to date – 15 miles.  WOW!

That said, not a pretty run.  Cold because of cloud cover with the day’s snow (generally only sunshine here).  And I gotta tell ya, the last mile was .25 mile jog, .25 mile walk.  Music blaring, downed 2 Hammer gels for added energy – still, all I could do to finish.

Don’t plan on adding any additional distance ‘til April.  Gotta run more effortlessly, pick up the race pace & revamp my nutrition plan.  It’s not that I eat poorly…just not eating the right things to refuel properly.  Habits are tough to break…I skip a meal ‘cause I’ve overrun, then eat a buffet-size platter & overstuff myself.  Super frustrating!  Self-discipline?

Nothing happy about Happy Buddha.  A thin guy with a Buddha belly just looks Ethiopian.  Not cool.  Fosters & Fritos Fridays on my NYC train commute for the past 4-5 years, took its toll.  Why did I not have an Aha moment & stop/start sooner?

Definition of AHA MOMENT

: a moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension

Our body is supposed to be a temple.  Last year’s hike challenge improved this temple from ‘trailer park’ to maybe ‘starter home’ (probably more like HUD housing).  But in order to finish a marathon, I’m gonna have to DREAM BIGGER – maybe settle on ‘ranch style’ in a family neighborhood but aim for ‘new development’ 🙂

 

Life Update: Followed up Saturday’s 15 mile run with another 10 miles on Sunday – a bit stiff in the beginning, but finished like a champ.  Snowman Stampede 10 miler is Saturday.  I can do this!

 

 

 

 

 

• Completed first two 12 mile runs of the year.  (Thanks to my neighbor Debbie who introduced me to Honey Stinger Energy Chews – keeping energy levels high during ‘long run’ days.)

 

Movie(s) of the Week

Dorian Gray – cursed young man loses his soul after youthful wish spirals out-of-control

Brideshead Revisited – English family’s struggle between love for one another & love of their God/religion

 

Inspirational Video of the Week

Arthur Boorman (Body & Soul) Transformation

 

Speech of the Week

Sun Feb 3rd:  Wendy Watson Nelson – What would a holy woman (or holy man) do?

 

Workout iTune of the Week

Here Comes the Boom (Extended Version)

 

Runner Log

Fri Feb 1^st – 3.25 miles

Sat Feb 2^nd – 10 miles

Sun Feb 3^rd – 5 miles

^{Mon Feb 4th} – 5.25 miles

Tue Feb 5^th – 12 miles

Wed Feb 6^th – 5 miles

Thu Feb 7^th – 12.25 miles

YTD total – 153.95 miles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lotta small victories to celebrate last week.

• Completed my first 10 mile run of the year.
• Ran more than 100 miles in January – great kick-off to my 2013 Resolution!
• Completed not only one goal race in January, but two.
• AND finished my first book cover-to-cover in over 2 years.  Still have 5 more books at home which I’ve either received as loaners from friends or as Christmas gifts.

 

Movie of the Week

Good Will Hunting – wicked smart guy from Southie (1997 Best Picture nominee, totally robbed by Titanic)

 

Book-a-Month Goal/January

‘Heaven is for Real’ by Todd Burpo

 

Runner Log

Fri Jan 25^th – 5.75 miles

Sat Jan 26^th – RACE DAY (SnowDash Xtreme 5K, Winter Park CO)

Sat Jan 26^th PM – 4 miles

Sun Jan 27^th – 8 miles

Mon Jan 28^th – 8.25 miles

Tue Jan 29^th – 10 miles

Thu Jan 31^st – 5.25 miles

YTD total – 101.20 miles