Falling behind

It's been over a month since my last post...I know, bad blogger! I fell a bit behind on P90X, but I took a week off, rearranged the schedule, and now I'm on day 63! (Except for two Kenpo X workouts I haven't gotten in. That's probably my least favorite DVD in P90X.) Nine weeks down - four to go!

I'm still really enjoying P90X. It's a butt-kicking good time, and I like the variety it provides. The only thing is that I've pretty much memorized everything that Tony Horton says, so I've started rocking out to the Pandora workout radio station instead of listening to Tony's stupid jokes. Way better, and it's giving me some ideas for songs that need to be downloaded for my running mix!

So what's been going on this past month? I've had some pretty good runs, both indoors and outdoors. Tempos, intervals, easy runs, long runs...I've kept on the goal paces for them and have mostly pushed myself, but haven't experienced that all too familiar burnout that can come with overtraining, which is great! I'm only two weeks away from the RnR half-marathon in DC - a race I'd like to do well in (i.e. under 2:06, my first half-marathon time), but I'm not gonna kill myself over PRing. My friend Christina and I are going to run for fun (like me, she's experienced some injuries during this training), which I think will be great! And the race is on St. Patrick's Day, so green beer will be a must following the finish line. Always a good thing.

A few weeks ago, I got to run with my friend Shawna, who really originally introduced me to running when we were in college. We went into it thinking we'd take it easy - we've both been plagued with injuries and didn't want to push it. My Garmin wasn't working so we relied on Shawna's for the majority of the run. At one point she looked down and said we were at an 8:45 pace - and of course, we didn't slow down. It was great to run with a buddy - I definitely need to do it more often!

Last week I had a great 8-mile run. I ran the entire loop of Central Park (yup, including running uphill on both Cat Hill and Harlem Hill!) and then some, and ended up with a 9:11 average for the run. I was pretty pleased, especially since I was aiming for a 9:30 pace. Plus I got to rock an obnoxious outfit (hot pink top AND hot pink compression socks!):

My running tights were in the wash...so this was the only option!

So I've been pretty on top of my workouts...except for this week (and one missed Kenpo X workout last week). I totally did not do my long run this week. Oops! The week of Feb. 13, I tried to get going on week 8 of P90X, but I found I was utterly exhausted and couldn't do it. I decided to move that week to another week, and have rearranged my workouts so that it works better with my half-marathon training. Sometimes I'm doing back-to-back workouts or morning AND evening workouts to get in the runs and the P90X workouts, but I am feeling a lot less overwhelmed with the "scheduled" workouts. On top of the workouts, I've been busy with after-work hangouts with friends, bridal showers, bachelorette parties, and more.

One more thing that's added to my busy schedule? I accepted a new job! Friday was my last day at a job I've held since June (I know, just nine months at that job, but the new opportunity was one I couldn't turn down), and tomorrow I start at the new place. I accepted it on Valentine's Day, so I celebrated appropriately...with friends and some bubbly!

My "I got a new job!" face

One more thing I've done in the past month?

Chicago Marathon registration confirmation!

CHICAGO MARATHON! I'm coming for you on Oct. 7! (Also known as the day after my 28th birthday.) Shawna and I are both running it - I was supposed to run Chicago two years ago, but I got a stress fracture that put me on the sidelines for two months. Shawna and I want to try to train some together and train smart - we have both had a ton of injuries and don't want to get injured again training for this one. We also want to make sure we get in some good strength workouts and cross training too. No injuries allowed!

I should probably get to bed...can't go into the new job looking exhausted and haggard! Night!