January report: Lots of running and a bit of yoga

Here are my totals for the month of January:

Running

121.1 miles Time: 19h 50m 21s Avg. Pace: 9:50/mile

Yoga/Ab Work

Time: 30m 00s

Not too shabby, especially after a year of a downright lackadaisical attitude towards running. It got better towards the end of last year, but this year I've really turned over a new leaf. If I can just keep it up for another 4 months or so, it will be great to see what happens! Already I feel fitter and generally better than I have in a long time. The yoga actually happened yesterday on the last day of the month, and I'm hoping it will become more of a fixture hereafter. As a runner, I'm ridiculously tight and inflexible, and I want that to change. So finally, after a long layoff, I broke out the yoga mat and did a few poses. Man, when you're a klutz and have no flexibility or balance, yoga is HARD. =) But it felt good and I know I'll improve if I keep at it. I lumped ab work with yoga because if I'm going to be down on a mat, I might as well throw in some crunches. That's another thing I haven't done in a while.

I'm still feeling good about my goal of 23:00 for the Training Series 5K a week from Saturday. That's a little under 7:30 per mile pace. I believe the course is quite flat, so I think that's realistic. The real test will be the week after, when I run another 5K on the same hilly course as my past two races. But, one step at a time.

This weekend is the Superbowl! It is the first one in my memory that I have actually wanted to see for the game as opposed to the commercials. Colts vs. Bears...man, I would root for either one, but of course the only team I want to win more than the Bears is the Colts, so there it is. I think Mark and I are just going to stay in and watch in the comfort of our apartment. Tonight we're going out to buy snacks and beer. I'm planning a major junk food binge. I don't obsess over my diet as much as some I know, but I do certainly avoid overeating certain foods. But all bets are off on Sunday during the game. I read in the newspaper that the average American will consume 1200 calories. Pssh! I will probably eat more than that. We're going to get a 12-pack of beer (probably Blue Moon) and then just take a walk down the snack and candy aisles and grab anything that looks yummy. I'm pretty excited (about the game too).