Hello World!

Tap tap tap, check 1, check 2. Is anyone still out there?

My host domain prompted me to renew or cut ties with ol' chasingthekenyans.com, and I decided to renew for the time being. Why? I don't know. Maybe I'll magically find time to write again.

It seems like blogging in general isn't the same as it used to be. I still follow most of my original "RBFs" like DiscomBoBulated, MissZippy, RunnerLeana, JillWillRun, MarciasHealthySlice, CookTrainEatRace, and others, but many have gotten out of the game. CTK is in desperate need of an update, ie: that header pic is from 2009. Yeah.

So what's new since my last post back in early May?

May

• Back-to-back 5k's (Swamp Rabbit Friday evening, Pump & Run Saturday morning) Swamp Rabbit - unremarkable. Conserving for Saturday morning. CrossFit 864 Pump & Run - Benched 110lbs for 10 reps followed by a 20:53 5k. First female for the run portion, 3rd overall with bench factored in.
• PR'd Fran (21-15-9 thrusters & pullups) - 6:00 flat

June

• 1 Mile PR - 5:50! Woot!
• Also PR'd the Snatch - 100#, not my forte
• Sunrise 8k - 36:04, 1st place AG

Apparently I ran in the same shirt/shorts all year.

July

• PR'd a bunch of things: Push Press 135, Strict Press 105, Front Squat 150, Back Squat 165, OH Squat 105, Deadlift 200
• Soaked up the sun at the beach. Went on a 9-mile run!
• Celebrated the grandparents 80th up in NY.
• Finally moved everything out of the old house (we moved in March, technically).

August

• PR - Power Clean 150
• Michelin 5k - Paced sister to her new 5k PR (last race in my 20's)
• Avoided the ice bucket challenge.

September

• Got "turf toe".
• Turned 30. Celebrated in Turks & Caicos (amazing!).
• Started shopping for retirement communities (just kidding ... sort of).

October

• Got injured. Again.
• Bridesmaid duties for a college friend (complete with my pimp cane).
• Changed my first diaper. Traumatizing. But, it motivated my niece to start taking potty training seriously the next week.

November

• PR -  Bench press 145
• Still injured. Sucks.

December

• Realized my insurance was only $200 from being maxed out, so I went to the doc and had an MRI done.
• Started PT, started being cleared to do some "exercises". Just happy to be moving again.

And how about those 2014 goals? Yeah...

Running
- Run a marathon (it's been almost 3 years!). Probably something in the Fall. FAIL
- Sub-20 min 5k (current PR 20:33 from 2011). I ran a 20:53 in May which I was happy with, but still a FAIL.
- Sub-12 min 2-miler (current PR 12:32 from 2008). Didn't even run the local 2-miler. Went on vacation instead! FAIL/WIN?
- Honestly, a PR in anything would be sufficient... PR'd the mile. WIN.
- Run 1000 miles (I need to get back to this level!). Erm, I logged through 8/23/14. At that point I had 250 miles. Safe to say this one is a FAIL.

CrossFit
- Lift my body weight in 3 lifts (perhaps Back Squat, Bench, & Power Clean). Deadlift doesn't count, I can do that already. This can be achieved by losing weight and/or getting stronger... 1/3 = FAIL. Didn't lose weight or get strong enough.
- 100 unbroken DUs (double unders, with a jump rope). Close, got 98. PARTIAL CREDIT.
- Get a muscle up (since I didn't in 2013)... Yeah. FAIL.

Life
- Dress better for work. No more baggy man khakis! I've started a Pinterest board to 'journal' this in case you're interested in following along. Disclaimer: I'm no fashionista. Well, I didn't wear the "baggy man khakis" all year but there were still some days that were definitely not very stylish. Overall I made more of an effort so I call this one a WIN, although I need to work on my awkward selfies.
- Limit the junk. A bag of cheese poofs is not a lunch. I'm still on the hunt to figure out what's triggering my skin to be so bad. Sucks. I tried to jump-start eating healthy a few times during the year. The current attempt started on 12/7 and is going OK so far. (I'm working with a nutritionist this time around - taking things seriously!). I lost 5# in the first week so I was officially fat enough to be on Biggest Loser. Let's be honest, un-obese people don't lose 5lbs in one week... Currently a WIN.

So there it is. 2014. A good year, minus getting injured. I intend to write again soon, but just in case, please follow me on Instagram (and let me know your IG name if I don't already follow you) as I am much better at posting filtered pictures!

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The Kitchen Sink

Wow. I think I'm in the lead for the 2014 Worst Blogger award. Three months with no update? Solid. It's been a busy few months of working out (not as many running miles as I would have liked though) and we also bought new house (come visit k?).

Here are the highlights of Q1:

February

• Total miles - 5.70 ...yep (it was cold/I'm a wimpy runner now)
• Overhead Squat 3 rep max - 85#

It was a lazy month in general. Not much achieving going on.

March

• Total miles - 10.0 ...yep (still cold/"cold")
• Did a "Jus by Julie" 3-day cleanse and survived
• CrossFit Open (it's what leads to the "Games" that you might have heard about/seen on TV; this is the first round of qualifying) - I finished in 1,912th place out of 11,261 (in the SouthEast region). Woo! Top 60 (I think) move on to Regionals, in case you want some perspective as to how "good" I am, haha.
• Deadlift PR - 185# (15# gain)

April

• Total miles - 52.4 (10% rule?)
• 2 - 10k's (Cooper River Bridge Run 48:31, Charlotte RaceFest 46:23). Not PR's but happy with them considering the lack of running thus far (see above).
• Attended local running club track workout for the first time - PR'd 400m at 1:21
• Snatch PR - 95# (10# gain)
• Back Squat PR - 145# (10# gain)
• Push Press PR - 125# (5# gain)
• "Grace" PR - 3:28 (30 clean & jerk for time, 95#)
• "Fight Gone Bad" PR - 296
• "Annie" PR - 7:44 (50-40-30-20-10 reps of double unders and situps)

Sister's first half-marathon. Ran about 8 miles with her.

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2014 Goals: Better Late Than Never

January 21st, Happy New Year!?

I've had a pretty busy start to the year with two races and a trip to Buffalo, NY (wedding).

Friend's of Josh's conveniently planned their wedding in early January when it's nice and warm. When I landed, I collected my luggage from baggage claim and immediately put on another layer of clothing. I squeezed in a great workout a CrossFit Buffalo (uhh, there was no way I was going running in -2483°) and otherwise stayed inside as much as possible. Other than the freezing temps, the wedding weekend was fun.

The following weekend I ran a half marathon here in town with Ginny! She drove up with some friends as one needed South Carolina for her "half marathon in half the states" goal. I had a blast hanging out with them before/during/after the race. Ginny and I ran together for a few miles, including during a downpour with swirling winds and through a shin-deep chilly puddle (twice) caused by the rains. Race-wise, I ran easy. I hadn't ran since New Year's Day (erm... yeah still suck at that) and my glutes/quads were sore from 100 jumping lunges 3 days prior. I felt fine from a cardiovascular standpoint, but my legs were definitely a little stiff and heavy.

Resolution Half-Marathon - 1:57:17

2nd place age group

A week later, I ran one of the larger area 5k's (~1500 runners) on a chilly morning. Ok, it was 28°, chilly is relative! I started too far back, it took me :25 to cross the start line, and as a result my first mile was 8:00. The crowd thinned a little but I still had to weave here and there. I had hoped for a 21:xx going into the race (again, hadn't ran since the half marathon the weekend before) and after the first mile I knew I needed to pick it up. Miles 2 and 3 came in at 6:53 and 6:44. Luckily the race was fully chip timed and I met my goal! I felt great running - from a cardio standpoint I thought I could have gone faster, perhaps if I hadn't been held up at the start. My low-calves were hurting in the last mile on a hill but feel fine after a day off.

Greenville News Downtown 5k - 21:49

5th place age group

Since my last "first race back" (August 2013 5k - 25:25) I've made steady improvements and I hope to continue to build on this in 2014. As for those 2014 goals and aspirations...

Running
- Run a marathon (it's been almost 3 years!). Probably something in the Fall.
- Sub-20 min 5k (current PR 20:33 from 2011)
- Sub-12 min 2-miler (current PR 12:32 from 2008)
- Honestly, a PR in anything would be sufficient...
- Run 1000 miles (I need to get back to this level!)

CrossFit
- Lift my body weight in 3 lifts (perhaps Back Squat, Bench, & Power Clean). Deadlift doesn't count, I can do that already. This can be achieved by losing weight and/or getting stronger...
- 100 unbroken DUs
- Get a muscle up (since I didn't in 2013)...

Life
- Dress better for work. No more baggy man khakis! I've started a Pinterest board to 'journal' this in case you're interested in following along. Disclaimer: I'm no fashionista.
- Limit the junk. A bag of cheese poofs is not a lunch. I'm still on the hunt to figure out what's triggering my skin to be so bad. Sucks.

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That's a Wrap 2013

It's official. Chasing the Kenyans = girl eating cookie off shoulder.*

December 2013
Run Stats:
- 12 days
- 56.25 miles
- 8:49 average pace
- No races
- Longest run: 9 miles

CrossFit Notables:
- Power Clean 1RM: 135# (up another 5# from Nov)
- Squat Clean: 105# (squat needs work... lots of work)
- Thruster 2RM: 95# (front squat + press overhead)
- Fran: 7:42 (21-15-9 reps of 65# thrusters and pull-ups); a 0:40 PR
- Max Unbroken Double Unders: 59

2013 Mileage: 255.10 - yeah, needs improvement.

Well 2013 has come to a close and (once again) it was not a stellar year for me in the running world. Some days I accept where I am with my running fitness, others I don't - it's a constant battle. Though injury and my ongoing health troubles threatened to keep me down, there were still victories to be had.

After 6 months off from running, I got to start running again in July! While I was thrilled to run again, my motivation was (is) still lacking. Perhaps it knew I needed to ease back into it. I've built up to 9 miles since July; taking the "slow and steady" approach to getting back into things.

Got back to CrossFit too! I did all-upper-body exercises from January to early May when I thought my high-hamstring was injured. I took off all-exercise for about 8 weeks in May-June-July when I learned it was my L4/L5 vertebrae. I got back into the gym in mid-July and took things slow, but happily saw consistent strength gains as the fall and winter months passed.

Dabbled in a few short races - mostly 5k's and one 2-miler. No PR's, but improved little by little over these past few months and can't complain about that.

Ran another Ragnar! Met up with good friends in Vegas and survived 17+ miles. Hopefully this will translate to good distance running in 2014!

Happy New Year! Here's to many miles and PRs for us all.

*Sorry, no music video this year. Let's face it, I can't sing anyway.

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