Hawaiian Holo

holo — to run

Heeellllloooooo Maui!

@LosBee and I are on vacation, and I got up bright and early and took a trot near the hotel. I figured it'd be better to get up and do the run before it got hot and humid. I mean, there's only so much Bodyglide, you know?

A brand new, soft asphalt road wound around the resort area in Kaanapali. I chose this over the cement path. I friggen hate cement. There was virtually no traffic, and I ran against it so I was sure no shuttle buses ran me down from behind.

I intended to run 5k but I cut it short. Partly because I ran out of route (I wanted to stay on the nice asphalt) and partly because I felt like I had a cold coming on. @LosBee is pretty sick, and I think I may have caught whatever she has. Regardless, it felt good to take a short little trot in Hawaii.

A Different Kind of Workout

Admittedly, I did not run or lift weights this weekend. I didn't do what would normally be called a workout.

I did, however, have the fine fortune of hitting the slopes in Park City, Utah for some skiing. I realize that vacation travel is a sweet luxury, and I'm very thankful to have been able to take this trip. I'd never been to Park City before (actually, @LosBee contends that we did drive through it when we moved from Chicago to San Diego, but I don't recall specifically) and was excited to check it out.

It really is a beautiful part of the country. We initially wanted to spend this vacation time skiing in Tahoe, but the weather has been so warm that the runs in Tahoe were very limited and (we heard) crappy. With the help of an online deal and some banked United miles, we were able to get out there and stay in a hotel for less than Tahoe would have cost.

Growing up a Midwesterner of modest means, I never really had the opportunity to go skiing. Three years ago, at age 33, I was lucky enough to attend a wedding in Aspen with @LosBee. I took the beginner skiing course at Snowmass and was hooked.

I'm finally starting to catch up with @LosBee—she's a pretty darn good skier—and am not slowing her down as much as I used to. We actually got somewhat competitive this trip as we barreled down the slopes. We were flying.

It was great.

Well, until we both had some hellacious spills and decided to tone it down and call a truce.

Anyhoo, you can really get a nice workout cruising down a mountain, carving turns, poling up some speed on flat parts, etc. And thankfully, the only injury I got (my *first* skiing injury) was when the buckle on my rental boot snapped as I tightened it, flying up in my face and hitting me on the chin. It made a nice welt and drew a little blood, but didn't leave enough of a gouge to make me look tough.

Such is life.

So, while I didn't run 12 miles over the weekend or do any drills or lifting, I do feel like I got some resistance training and cardio work in. And I had an awesome time doing it.

Beautiful photos courtesy of michael_schamis on Flickr.

San Diego 2: The Redemption. Kind of.

Another warm day in San Diego. @LosBee and @MapleJen were off doing lady stuff™ and @Russellnuts had to go to work, so I broke loose and hit Florida Street canyon again. The results were a little better than yesterday, but I still fell short of my 3 mile mark.

Ahh well.

I'm realizing how the ramp-up process takes time. I took a whole month off, probably gained a couple pounds, and I just gotta get back into it.

Wheeeeeeeeee!!!!

Sannn Deee Ahh Maaaay Go!

I do likes me some San Diego. Luckily, @LosBee and I were down visiting some friends and enjoying the sunshine. It was as sunny as usual, a little warmer than it normally is in January, and gorgeous.

I do have a wee little bit of an issue with heat, in that I tend to have crappy runs when it's warm, and this run was no different.

But whatever, it was fun. And gorgeous out. And everything.

While @Russellnuts went to tennis class and @MapleJen and @LosBee hit the spa for a little mani-pedi, I trotted through Florida Street canyon.

It's a beautiful place near Balboa Park. The run was a wee bit crappy, but at least I put some time in.

While @Russellnuts was finishing up, I sprawled out on the bleachers at a nearby baseball diamond and caught some sun. So good, y'all. So good.

Image courtesy of Snorg Tees. Now that's a damn fine shirt.

Excited to Be Starting Back Up

W000000T!!!

After a wonderful vacation in Mexico with my gorgeous @LosBee (celebrating our 5th anniversary, soaking up the sun and the all-inclusive resort food and resort booze), I'm stoked to be back in action and excited to start training again.

As you can see in The Calendar (below), I've laid out a plan that will hopefully get me prepared, conditioned and—most importantly—disciplined as a runner, injury-free. I'll spend the first 4 weeks easing into it, gradually adding miles as well as runs. After 4 weeks I'll begin 4 weeks of pre-training, then begin the Cool Running Twelve Week Beginner 10k Program. The weight workouts I've planned are multiple-joint movement exercises, which are important, but ultimately secondary to my running schedule. This'll all be over on March 1, and I'm sure by then I'll have developed a new goal and a new plan.

Here's to new beginnings, and doing things the right way!

The Calendar