Whats been happening and 2016 Running Goals

(Oiselle Volee VT group run last Sunday, so fun!)

There have been some changes around here since October.

1- I am done nursing! That means hormones are back to normal and my energy levels are much better. I am also taking a multi vitamin and elderberry syrup regularly to keep my immune system up for sick season. I am not going through a sick winter like last year again if I can help it! My body feels like my own again and it is glorious. Those were good "childbearing" years but its nice to be back.

2- I am working 4 days a week out of the house. I haven't done this since Fall 2012. Its also glorious. I am so much happier when I can produce things. My mind is so much happier working. I love my job and it feels so good to be back. Also I missed working with my husband and our relationship has improved now that we are both in the same workspace again. Its funny how many people tell me "I could not work with my partner" and for us we are so much better when we are working together!

3- The busy holiday season is about to wind down. By the way shipping cut off is DEC 19th for christmas delivery so go now SHOP New Duds and Foliage Handbags!  Winter means our 'slow' season, where there is some extra free time and less of a constant hustle to get things done ASAP at work.

4 - The kids are great! A combination of us all not being so darn sick of each other and cooped up at home plus they are both getting a little bit older. It means i'm finding it easier to be a better parent. Im less exhausted and burnt out and enjoy my time with them more. Its the honest truth. Also they are both napping and sleeping pretty well and starting to play with each other more. Being out of that first year with 2 under 3 is so nice, it was a rough one folks.

5- I made 175 feather zipper pouches for Oiselle!  RUNNING AND WORK HAVE JOINED FORCES, MY DREAMS ARE COMING TRUE, YES! I should do a whole blog post about just this but they reached out to me and the first batch sold out in 6 hours so I made 100 more and if you want one go check out their site HERE. They make perfect gifts! JUMP ON IT!

So that means I have brought my focus back to running again. I have new goals the biggest one being:

A fully raced, give it all I've got, Half Marathon in April.

I am so excited to do this. I really want to get back into good running shape and I was so intimidated about HOW to do it. I know a lot about running and training. I used to coach and I ran on competitive teams for years. But to make my own training schedule seemed way too daunting. How would I slowly work up to dropping 1 min per mile off my current race pace? How was I going to figure out my build up? I cant dedicated so much time to running anymore, so should I even try to race again?

But the truth is I thrive on outside motivation and I don't need much just a little nudge to keep me going.  I love running and I don't want to give it up. Also I can focus for 4 months a year, thinking of a marathon 2 years away was too much but thinking about a race in April, thats manageable. 

So to help me along I got myself a little Christmas present: a running coach for my training this winter!

I had Mollie from Piece of Cake Running make me a training plan last year that I loved. However I bonked hard from exhaustion mid summer and wasn't able to keep up with the plan. So this winter I am going for the coaching too. I will be peaking at about 35 mile weeks and working some speed and strength back into my training and I am so EXCITED. It seems like a perfect fit and JUST what I needed! Thanks so much Mollie I am so glad I made the jump and the more I think about it the more I realize this is going to help so much to keep me on track. 

The plan starts in the new year so I am running 15-20 mile weeks until then. I hope to post more about this running journey along the way this winter so keep checking in if your interested!

And here is a current photo of my children for those who are more interested in that...

"Wesley, hold your sisters hand"

I'm on his side on this one, he was just trying to do what we asked for the photo and she was like "dont touch me brother!" Love these kiddos.