Onward, into the Year

The year is going slow -- which isn't a bad thing. I feel like in a lot of ways all the tracking I'm doing in terms of running has caused me to really pay attention to what is happening. My running is scheduled out ahead of time, with some variation for the weather (because it's freaking cold this time of year.) I'm tracking on Strava, another web page, my dry board, and a calendar near my desk. I found back during training for the Big Sur International Marathon that this was really useful in maintaining a consistent plan.

Have been working through audio books, focusing on the theme of resilience in January. I've worked through one and a half books so far, just in listening while running. Also read about a half of a book of Taoist philosophy (OK, I admit I've read it before, but not in many years.) I want to read more this year, as to set a good example for my toddler who sees us staring at screens more than I like.

Went out to breakfast this morning with the toddler. My wife and I have both been running low on sleep, and she let me sleep early last night (after the toddler went to sleep) so I figured I'd try to repay the favor. We had a good time, and for a three year old that kiddo is pretty good in restaurants. Came home and she played with clay while I took down the Christmas Tree (finally) and cleaned up the living room.

The baby never did let my wife sleep. But I mean, I tried. It was an effort. The baby is doing well -- very smiley, and chatty. Loves her sister. She isn't crawling yet, although she manages to move quite a bit. She seems to really want to stand up.

Nap time ended up being later, which we decided is OK because it's the weekend. I'm off to go running in a bit -- planning on a 10km or so as the sun sets. Tomorrow will be quite a bit warmer, so I'm planning to go run some trails at about mid day. It will probably be kind of muddy. I'll wear shoes I don't love. 

The trail running has been really good for me lately -- and I run them once a week. The same trail loop, about three miles, but often I run more than one loop. As the weather gets nicer I'm hoping to go run some different trails to get used to some different types of trail. I want to do more trail running this year, and perhaps even my first 50km. So preparation will be important. I also am doing enough volume that it makes sense to me to sign up for a spring marathon. I haven't picked one -- yet -- but I'm keeping my eyes open for one. I'm running everyday anyway, and I'm actually getting faster while taking it easy, so I may as well.

I've also been doing a lot of stretching and foam rolling -- much more than I typically do (which is none.) It's been very helpful so far in reducing the pain I had in my right hip, and piriformis muscle. So that's a good thing. I'm also up in terms of weight, even though I'm still watching what I eat. My legs look particularly muscly, so I'm hesitant to cut more calories for fear that I'll burn the muscle. But I'm going to try some stuff, because I'm worried about carrying all the weight with the volume I'm trying to run over time. Truth be told, I don't actually have any idea what I should weigh, or what I'm carrying and how. So maybe I shouldn't care anyway.