Feb-boo-hoo-ary: February in Review

February 2020 in review!

Total mileage for the month: 99.3

• Jan. 27-Feb. 2:  45.5
• Feb. 3-9:  49.6
• Feb. 10-16:  29
• Feb. 17-23:  8.1 (all AlterG treadmill)
• Feb. 24-March 1:  0 (insert crying emoji here)

Races:

• None this month.  I'd hoped to run a local race, the Cabin Fever Reliever 20K, but my left hip had other plans.

Workouts:

• Feb. 7 - 4 x 0.5 moderate (6:30-7:00) with 0.5 easy between, within an 8 mile run.  We will call this one humbling!  Although the pace was moderate and not hard, it also made me really wonder how I ever ran 5 marathons with paces under 6:30!  It was my first run beyond very easy after Houston and after bronchitis, so those things factored in, but oy.
• Feb. 11 - 6 mile progression run in 7:19, 7:14, 7:02, 6:58, 6:43, 6:35.  I was hoping to do about 7:30 down to 6:00-6:15, but that wasn't in the cards.  I felt pretty good for 3 miles and then just felt drained; the uphills in particular got me on this one and showed me I was not yet full strength following my illness.
• Doubles: Feb. 10 - I thought I was back to doubles for one day!
• Strides:  Feb. 5, 9.
• Strength work:  Weekly totals of 1:00, 1:25, 1:30, 2:30, 2:08
• Yoga:  Weekly totals of 1:00, 1:55, 1:20, 0:47, 0:36.
• Cross-training:  I did some swimming, aquajogging, and biking, but I am not keeping specific totals, which I am calling great progress considering my obsessive cross-training history during injuries.

This workout was done with Abby from the Abbey

Long Runs:

• Feb. 1 - 10 miles (8:49).  I stumbled through double-digits in a bronchitis-induced haze only because I got lost when running in an unfamiliar area before attending a CE event in Kansas City (I was trying to run 6 miles).  I felt very weak, despite sleeping for 12+ hours the previous few nights, and I went on to sleep for 15 hours the night after this run!  Needless to say, I probably didn't need to be running, but I did take it very easy.
• Feb. 8 - 13 miles (7:47).  I was still somewhat weak on this run, but it was FAR better than the previous Saturday's (although, admittedly, that bar was set quite low!).  I ran with Abby and Missy, which is always a highlight!

Pre-dawn fun

Cold long run day

Running Highlights:

• 2:45:01 and Beyond quickly became an amazing project!
• I made it in the Fast Women Newsletter because of it.  
• It is discussed at just over 11:00 into this Ali on the Run Show podcast.
• I was interviewed for the Road to the Olympic Trials podcast and on the Strong Runner Chick Radio podcast about it (episodes coming soon).
• This podcast with the Houston 2:45 pacer is a good listen (I may be biased).
• This piece, which actually came out in January, discussed this amazing time in U.S. Women's Marathoning.  It made me realize that I have never thought twice about women in their 30s and 40s running amazingly fast, because I see it around me every day!  I have felt better and run stronger in my 30s than in my 20s, which I attribute to taking better care of myself now and training properly, but I love seeing so many "normal" women running extraordinary times well into masters age categories.  There has really been an explosion in recent years.
• This article was particularly interesting to me under the heading "Responders, non-responders and the problem with equality".  I have found I do not run any faster in Vaporflys or Next %s than in others race/workout shoes, and it was nice to read that there are other non-responders to these shoes.  I do recover faster from efforts in them, so it's still nice to come off of a half marathon with no recovery time needed and off a marathon barely sore.  I wish they made me faster though!
• My running low-light was a hip injury - details here.  My last outdoor run was Feb. 12. 
• The Olympic Trials Marathon was of course a highlight, deserving of a separate post.

My mention in Fast Women!

 Life Notes:

• The Kansas City (Missouri) Chiefs won the Superbowl, which my husband tells me is a huge deal.  :-)  My daughter tells me the snacks were the best part.  I went to bed really sick at 7:30 p.m. that night.
• February 4 was my first wheeze-free day since January 17!  I had a chest x-ray to ensure I didn't have pneumonia, and fortunately I didn't.  The conclusion pretty much was: don't run a marathon with bronchitis.
• We keep Valentines very low key - thankfully!
• Albani made the soccer team.
• We started our garden (mostly Jon started our garden).

Chiefs!

Chiefs + frosting

Chiefs + pneumonia testing

Between illness & injury, I spent a lot of time
on this couch w/ this cat during February

Valentines from Grandpa & Grandma

Gardening

A poor photo of good soccer try-outs

Books:

• Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
• White Elephant by Trish Harnetiaux
• House Rules by Jodi Piccolut
• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
• Someone Knows by Lisa Scottoline
• Again to Carthage by John L. Parker, Jr.
• The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin
• Anatomy for Runners: Unlocking Your Athletic Potential for Health, Speed, and Injury Prevention by Jay Dicharry
• Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan
• Run the Mile You're In: Finding God in Every Step by Ryan Hall
• This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay
• The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Theme of the month:
2:45:01 and Beyond!  I had a lot of fun with this project.