Still Kicking

I had thought my brief stint at blogging was over. With moving to a new city, traveling for a billion weddings all summer and learning a new job, the blog too a backseat to pretty much everything in my life--including house cleaning. So when I found myself with a Saturday with NO PLANS (woot!), I thought I might as well post.

Sadly, I haven't done a race since May. I began training for a half, but ended up derailed because of life (read: 6 weddings this summer and all of their related events that were all out of town). So a half remains my next race--hopefully the Shamrock Half in Va. Beach or the Rock N Roll in DC, which are both in March.

I am also considering getting a running coach. Now I know I will never be setting the world on fire with my running, but I'd like to be the best runner I can be within my ability level. That best might be someone else's worst,  but I'm OK with that. After reading a few other bloggers, they all have seen a miraculous improvement with a coach. I saw an improvement this year just by joining a running club, so I hope this takes me to another level.

Anyone have any experience with coaches--the good, bad, ugly?

Run and Chew Gum at the Same Time?

This week my running has been pathetic at best. I was supposed to begin training for a half marathon Jan. 3. I was sick that week, so then it became Jan. 10. It snowed this week and my treadmill at home (which had been working for 2 weeks) had issues again so I’ve logged 3 miles this week and that’s it.

Tonight, I will be making my first return trip to the work gym after my last oh-so-pleasant experience. Hopefully more people are interested in happy hour than workout hour since it’s a Friday night. I’m also going to try something new today while running. There is a woman at the gym who runs for hours on the treadmill (no idea how she both mentally and physically does that) and I always notice she has a pack of gum with her. Then I read on KIMpossible’s blog that she uses gum as a thirst-quencher and as a way to control her breathing. So tonight, my pack of Trident and I will give this a whirl. Hopefully, I don't choke.