I was gone, but now I'm back

Sorry I've been MIA for awhile.  Last week was pretty sucky.  Let's just say that stomach bugs, sleep deprivation, and depression from more snow got the best of me.  Needless to say, not many workouts got done.  But, by Friday things started to turn around and I was really looking forward to my long run on Saturday.

My sister-n-law and her husband were coming for a visit Saturday evening (the reason I didn't get my Sunday Sampler post done...sorry!), so I wanted to get my run done early before they got here.  But, when we woke up on Saturday the wind was here with a vengeance!  The high was supposed to be around 45, but it felt like 35 with the wind chill.  That should give you a good idea about how strong the wind gusts were.  I decided to wait until the late afternoon to see if the wind would die down.  But, it never did.  So, I put on my tights, wind jacket, gloves, and bondiband and headed out.  It was cold and I was glad I had my jacket to break the chill from the wind.  

I decided to run on a new trail that started by my house.  I was originally going to do 5.5 miles out and back since my plan called for 11 miles.  But, once I got on the trail and realized where it was headed I figured out I could do a loop back to my house.  The wind was pretty brutal the entire run, but it still felt great to be outside running and working up a sweat after being inactive for a couple of days.  The trail turned out to be awesome and actually linked up to part of the Highline canal trail that I wrote about awhile back.  The only part that kind of sucked was around mile 8 when I had to run uphill for about 1.5 miles.  My legs were tired, but I still felt strong.  It's amazing how my fitness has changed since beginning my 1/2 marathon plan.  It's nice to actually feel the difference in my strength and endurance and realize that my hard work is paying off.  I am so excited for my 1/2 in a couple of weeks! :)

On another note, I had my second swim lesson with my coach on Sunday.  He said my balance is much better in the water and my hips aren't sinking as much as they were.  Woohoo!  One thing he said I needed to work on was my hand entry.  Apparently, I'm entering the water too close to my head.  We did several drills to help with correct entry, but I really have to be conscious of what I'm doing the entire time.  We took a moment to watch a guy swimming that was just amazing.  He made it look so effortless.  I wish I could wave a magic wand and make my swimming effortless too.  But, we all know that isn't going to happen.  So, I'll have to settle with waking up at 4:30 3x a week for the rest of my life!  Ha ha.

Anyways, I'm sorry I didn't get my Sunday Sampler post done.  Like I mentioned above, my family was in town and we were out and about all day Sunday enjoying the beautiful weather.  My blog and posting had to take a back seat to my life and I know you all understand that!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! :)