Yikes. It's been a while. I posted last week's training on KickRunners but forgot to update my blog! Ooops. Lots going on! The New Year has gotten off to a good start. And if you are wondering what the pic is from - it is a New Year's Eve picture of me and my cousin-in-law. We just opened those bottles of champagne with knives (actually a meat cleaver). One long swoosh and the top of the bottle flew right off. Pretty sweet. My parents always take all the kids for New Year's Eve so me, my sister, my cousin and our SOs get together. The kids had a giant CSI party and solved a murder mystery. My youngest was the unsub. What a surprise. :)

Enough of that though. It has been ridiculously snowy and cold here. That means my runs have all been on the treadmill. In fact, my first run outside since Christmas was today! Sheesh!

Lots of changes on the family front too. John left his mid-sized law firm (250ish lawyers) to help start up a Madison office of a Chicago litigation firm. Technically it is a step down in status, but it is a wonderful opportunity. He'll really be able to build his book of business, he'll have great autonomy, and he is working with 4 close friends. Very cool. Although admittedly, this week has been very stressful. I've had a few crazy things come up at work too. Thank goodness I run or I would be a lunatic, I'm sure.
We also got a new nanny. Our previous one quit this week, but we knew it was coming. She had no control over the boys whatsoever and was completely unreliable. Said she couldn't drive to our house in snow. Um, that's not going to work in Wisconsin. The good news was we had other people express interest when we started looking a couple weeks ago. Even better, when I saw my cousin at our extended family Christmas party, I asked her if she was interested and she said yes. WOO! She came over on Wednesday and Friday and the kids listened to her, were happy and all went well. Sweet! It is great to have someone you know and trust too.

With all that said, here are my miles as of late:

Last week (ALL on treadmill):

M: rest/pilates

T: 9 progressive w/4 striders (9:08) / arms/core

W: 6 easy (9:08) / core

R: 8 w/5x90 sec hills (8:59 o/a)(hills 7:30 - 7:19 with 5-6% incline)

F: 7 (9:12) / arms / core

Sa: 6 easy (9:23) - HR out of control so I decided to put off long run

Su: 14 (9:12) - amazingly painful. and boring. and I had a wicked bad head cold / pilates

Total: 50

This week (so far):

M: rest

T: 7 w/4 striders (9:08) / arms and core

W: 10 with 7 x 90 sec hill repeats (7:30-7:13 pace / 5-6% grade); 2.5 min recoveries

R: 6 (9:12) amazingly boring miles on the treadmill

F: unplanned rest

Sa: 15 hilly (9:22) - OUTSIDE!! Yay! It was cold, especially in the wind, but SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE TREADMILL!!

I still have a wicked head cold, but it seems to be SLOWLY improving. I am hoping to go to bed early tonight to get a bit more rest.

There you have it! Sorry I have been a slacker. Stay warm and happy running!