Delightful December

December 2022 in review!

Total mileage for the month: 341.8

• Nov. 28-Dec. 4: 90.4
• Dec. 5-11: 87.4
• Dec. 12-18: 85.5
• Dec. 19-25: 54.7 
• Dec. 26-Jan. 1: 68.0

Races:

• Dec. 17: Run for the Ranch 6 hour during which I covered 42.275 miles (13 x 3.275 loops), for 1st overall female, an automatic PR, and the 6th best 6 hour performance in North America for a female in 2022.

Workouts:

• Dec. 2: 6 x 300 m on the track with 1:00-1:30 recovery jogs in the middle of a 7.5 mile run. I ran them all in 1:01 and was proud of that consistency, but this workout sure hit differently! One of my running buddies was training for a mile race, and I did a lot of the workouts because a speed block between marathon/50k training blocks is good for me.
• Dec. 6: 4 x 600 m-ish on the road at 1 mile effort (5:30ish pace) + 1 mile threshold-ish (5:58) with 3:00-4:00 jogs between each, then moderate (7:00ish) to 10 because I was short on time. This workout sure illustrated how huge the difference between 5:30 and 6:00 pace is for me. I would 100% rather run a 6:00 mile than run 2:00 at 5:30 pace, hah!
• Dec. 9: 4 x (4 x 200 m) on the track with 0:40 walking/standing between reps and 800 m jog between sets in 0:38, 40, 39, 40, 38, 40, 39, 40, 39, 40, 40, 39, 39, 40, 40, 39 - a good speed workout for this endurance monster!
• Dec. 13: 6 x 400 m on the track at hard. I ran this with Sarah and Sierra, and our reward for getting out there in rain, wind, and feels like 33* was not taking split times! We worked hard, felt good about it, and decided to never again take splits on atrocious weather days.
• Dec. 25: I attempted to help my 20-year-old niece on her 3 mile tempo progression. 6:50 pace sure felt like 6:00 one week after my ultra on dirt roads in 7*, and I stayed with her for about 2.5 miles but didn't progress the last half mile. I then ran her to the end of her long run and added on to get to 12, picking it back up to 7:09/feels like 6:09 for mile 11 for a bit of a split tempo workout.
• Dec. 28: 6 x 1:00 on/1:00 off, jog to hill, 1 x 1:00 uphill (did not look at paces). My hamstrings were screaming at me so I cut this workout short. I felt fine the week after my ultra, but running faster on Dec. 25 didn't seem to agree with me - possibly along with holiday travel, altered sleep schedules, and holiday eating - and I felt pretty poor Dec. 26-28. Live and learn!
• Strides: Dec. 1, 8, 12.
• Doubles: Dec. 6 and 9.
• Favorite workout: Oddly enough, the 200s on Dec. 9. I felt really great that day!

I think we were going for #delightfuldecember

Long/Medium Long Runs:

• Dec. 3: 30.2 miles (7:58). I decided I was going to run for 4 hours and I did! It went really well and I even felt good at the end. The relaxed pace helped and I think I nailed my fueling. Four of my running buddies started the run with me, and Colin did 27 miles, but because he got a little late start I had his company until my final 1.5 miles. I ran this on Frisco, so it wasn't even the farthest I've run on that trail, thanks to the Frisco 50k! It was, however, my longest training run ever by a 4 miles and my second longest time on feet ever (my first marathon in 2003 took me 4:05!) - though it moved into third longest time on feet after Dec. 17.
• Dec. 10: 15.1 miles (7:36), that started at 10:00 a.m. due to an early morning of pouring rain. I moved the group run to 10:00 a.m. simply because my weather app said that's when the rain would be passed, but then realized it was great practice for my Dec. 17 10:00 a.m. race start time.
• Dec. 17: 42.575 miles (8:11) for the Run for the Ranch 6 hour and a new PR for the farthest I've ever run, and an automatic PR in my first 6 hour event.
• Dec. 22: 14 miles (8:05), really just because my running buddies were running long on this Thursday before the winter storm hit. It was quite nice when we started this run but the temp dropped and wind picked up dramatically while we were out - though nothing compared to Dec. 23 when the wind chill was -28*!
  
• Dec. 25: 12.3 miles (7:38) with 4 moderate miles that felt very hard, to help my niece with her long run.
• Dec. 28: 12 miles (8:07), and I didn't do a long run on Dec. 31 because I didn't feel up for it. I felt really great coming off my 6-hour, but then the week after Christmas I did not feel so hot so I backed off.
• Favorite long run: Dec. 3, because I'd have never thought 30 miles would feel so easy!

#drencheddecember after the Dec. 13 
track workout - also #darkdecember

Christmas morning run!

Running Highlights:

• Run for the Ranch and hitting a new yearly mileage PR!

Christmas Eve run - wind chill of -11*

Life Highlights:

• We spent a day and a half each with each side of the family for Christmas.

Major Christmas Eve

Ibbetson Christmas Day

Books:

• Allegiant by Veronica Roth
• Running Man by Charlie Engle
• Fairy Tale by Stephen King
• Bringing Out the Best in People by Aubrey C. Daniels
• The Lies We Tell by Katie Zhao
• It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover
• The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
• Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad
• The Amazing Adventures of Mr. Tinker: A Time Travel Novel by Paul Ibbetson
• The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune

Theme for the month:

• If success is measured is fun, I'm one of the best runners there is. I had a blast doing whatever I felt like this month, which included track workouts with friends and a 6 hour race!