2012 - The Year in Review

This has been an interesting year to say the least!  I started the year with two big races on my calendar – The Houston Marathon and Ironman 70.3 Texas in Galveston.  I was excited about the marathon.  I had just PRed in NYC on a tough course.  I actually had a little hope for a PR in Houston.  And, the 70.3 in Galveston scared the heck out of me, but at the same time I was excited about the challenge.  It was something that I had really wanted to do the year before, but conflicts with my work schedule prevented me from training for it.

Unfortunately, thanks to the hip issues that started in December '11, I not only had to miss out on both of those races, but I was not able to spin, bike, run, swim, etc. for the next few months! 

It sucked. 

Let's just say that the numerous dr's appointments (not to mention $$$) with no real diagnosis made for an extremely frustrating 5 months of being injured.  Working out is my outlet.  My therapy.  To have everyone around you training for something, while you are stuck at home or in the gym working only on upper body…well, it just plain sucks.  I also put on a few pounds – the stress from work without the therapy of running had me turning to food for comfort.  Dumb!  I did a lot of spectating...it was fun, but it's not the same as racing!

Spectating at the Houston Marathon...bittersweet

Spectating the Woodlands 1/2 Marathon..very proud of the hubby on his PR!

In May, I also had the opportunity to volunteer and spectate at Ironman Texas.  Just like last year, this was a total blast!  My friend, Kelly, was racing along with some others from our tri group and that made the experience even more fun. And, we not only met Chrissie Wellington, but got to hand out medals with her!  She was the coolest person ever...so sweet and so much fun!

Hanging out with Chrissie!!!

Kelly after the race

Also in May, I decided to get my weight under control.  I saw a doctor for a metabolic rate test and some nutritional guidance.  This was one of my best decisions of the year!  Since having kids, I could always lose weight, but I could never seem to get below 142 lbs.  (Before kids, I was at a comfortable 130 pounds….give or take 1 or 2)  I had started to just accept that 142 was going to be my new 130.  Thanks to my comfort foods binge while injured, my weight was higher than it had been in over a year.  (Yes, higher than 142!)  Thanks to my new nutrition plan – all clean eating – I found myself back at my pre-kid weight and feeling lean and mean!  And the funny thing?  I was barely even running…I was focusing on core and strength.  More on that later.  Anyway, the end result was a loss of 15 pounds.  I will admit, I did gain 3 of those back over the holidays…I am working on that.

Just some of the yummy goodness I've been eating!

Finally in late May, I was given the okay to attempt some walking with a bit of jogging mixed in.  I started out slowly.  First, I just walked around the neighborhood with no running.  Next, I walked 5 minutes, jogged a minute. Then, I walked 4 minutes and jogged 2 minutes.  I kept gradually decreasing my walk time and increasing my jog time until I could finally jog straight through the miles.

In June, I volunteered to be a Woodlands Fit coach.  Another great decision - it was an awesome experience!  I was a little worried that I would face a set back with the hip and not be able to run all the miles with my group.  But, my worries were not necessary, because even though the hip ached here and there it seemed to be taking the running rather well!  I had a great time with my group – they were awesome and I am so proud of the hard work they put in over the months!

Just a few of the awesome peeps from my group!

I hated that I was missing out on tri-season because of the hip, so I decided to sign up for the TriGirl sprint in August.  It's a nice, low pressure race with distances I knew I was capable of.  I had been biking and doing a little swimming, but I was still taking the running very slow.  I surprised myself by not only running the entire 5k portion of the race, but actually running it faster than anticipated.  It also felt good to be wearing tri-gear with a thinner, leaner physique…of course, I still feel like a stuffed sausage in spandex!

TriGirl - feel stronger and leaner (is leaner a word?)

While I didn't want to push my hip more than I needed to, I did decide to sign up for the Bridge Series – two 10Ks and a ½ marathon, all over some challenging bridges!  I was able to complete each of these runs with one of my BFFs, M, who was also just getting back into running after a long hiatus.  We didn't PR, but we did have an awesome time!

Finished with the Bridge Series!  We are lovin' the bling!

In October, I ran one of my favorite races - the Ten for Texas.  I ran this one the best I could and was surprised to find out that I hadn't lost as much endurance with my injury as I thought.  It was a real confidence booster!  I also ran the RunGirl ½ Marathon Relay in December and again, ran better than expected. 

Some Woodlands Fit peeps before the Ten for Texas!

This was definitely a year for trying new things – I tried TRX and CrossFit.  I also tried the Brazil Butt Lift workout from Beachbody.  I loved each of these for completely different reasons.  TRX is awesome for building strength and really works your core.  I definitely built strength with it. I wish I could have attended more sessions of CrossFit, because I love the community feel and the challenging exercises both with strength and cardio.  It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone!  The Brazil Butt Lift, while seems easy, really makes you feel the burn!  I also had an opportunity to try some new classes at the gym at work – working out with crazy co-workers with a bad ass instructor was awesome!  I also started some trail running on the neighborhood trails…I see a pair of trail running shoes in my future!

Some of the fun things I tried at TRX!!!

Brazil Butt Lift...sounds cheesy, but it's awesome!

Enjoying the trails with my new running partner!

What can I say?  The year was not at all what I expected, but it was awesome nonetheless.  Fun races, weight loss, getting leaner and trying all kinds of new workouts…what's not to be proud of? And, I think that 2013 will be my year to make some changes...but, more to come on that later!