Jenny On the Spot: Caffeinated mom, lover of dancing, glitter and glitter.

Nope, not spring cleaning. What kind of Crazy does that?

Nope, not spring training. I don’t usually get too excited about a bunch of grown men practicing hitting little balls with little sticks. I do enjoy regular season Major League baseball for the garlic fries, hot dogs, beer and whatever other food I can manage to balance on my head while trying make it to my seat. Food. It is Always. About. The. Food.

Nope, not March Madness. I don’t “DO” basketball. Unless… I am wearing a really cute, polyester, pleated skirt trimmed in my school colors…. and I am sitting on the front row… and it is my team’s second time-out… and we are on D *clap* E *clap* F E N S E DEFENSE!… then I can use my arms and voice to show everyone my school pride… and I have shiny cheer-puffs of happiness, kick my legs high into the air…. and…. prolly fall on my butt, ‘cuz, people… I. Am. 35.

Tired of guessing? OK, I’ll tell you… This time of year means it is time to start training. No, not dogs. No, not ivy topiaries. It’s time to run and bike and swim and run longer and longer and longer. It’s time to re-evaluate my methods of hydration and calorie replacement. Gluconeogenesis anyone? The “off-season” is ov-ah.

This time of year marks the point where I trade my occasional “early morning writing sessions” (read: sitting on my butt) at a local coffee shop (read: hot coffee and no children!) for physical punishment. Why would anyone trade quiet-coveted-writing-moments at a coffee shop for hard, cold pavement?

I know…. but I can’t resist the call of the wild. It’s Katie’s fault. She’s “wild” and influences me to make decisions I might not make were I left alone in my laziness sanity. She’s even suggested a full marathon! Now I can’t stop thinking about why I couldn’t do at least one in my life, and why not do the Portland Marathon this October? I even dreamed about it a few days ago! 26.2 miles? There should be a law. Why on earth is that even an option?

Aaaaaaanywhoooo. It’s time to break out the ‘ol HALF-marathon training plan. I call it a “Suggested” training plan. Then next Saturday Katie and I will warm-up with a 5-er. That’s not long, and the next week will be 6 miles, then 7, then 8 – and that’s about the point I have to start wearing my dorky hydration fanny pack – ‘cuz I’m “special” that way. Shut up.

Then we’ll we hit our 9, 10, 11, and 12 mile runs… My stomach aches will last longer and longer. Eating only makes it worse, but I do it… it’s all about calorie replacement. Very important. Very.

We’ve even talked about looking specifically for hillier run routes. We heard running hills can help lengthen your stride. I think when Katie and I get together to plan our event season it’s like combining nitro and glycerin. Who does THAT on purpose (besides terrorists and mad scientists)?

Additionally and also, we are tweaking our schedule to add another swim to our week and we need to dust off our bikes sooner than later. We have decided to forgo the sprint distance triathlon and plan to tackle an Olympic distance: .93 mile swim, 24ish mile bike and 6.2 mile run – in early August. I’ll be complaining writing about that later.