Reframe

Even with our crazy schedule these past few weeks, and dealing with the flu virus running through the Bunger home not once but twice, I have been able to keep up with my training schedule for the most part. 

And I think I can finally say we are all illness free at our house and can hopefully have more fun events like is pictured above. Collin was able to have his first sleepover at our house, and he was so excited!

I decided to take advantage of the warm weather and tried to get my long run of of 8 miles accomplished this past Thursday. Less than a quarter of a mile into my run I tripped and fell yet again. This is the third, yes that's right the number three time I have fallen while running in a year.

I'm not sure what hurts worse, the road rash on my palms and my knees, or my pride. Initially, I was pretty upset with myself and was well on my way to a pity party while I began to clean up my knee. However, I quickly decided to reframe my thinking while I bandaged my knee up and decided I would go back out and try to finish my 8 mile 

distance. I knew if I didn't get back out and finish my run, I would be thinking about it all night and wishing I would've just gotten back out there. So I decided to suck it up, and count my blessings that I had both the health and ability to be able to trip and fall while running three times in one year. 

I'm not going to lie, it was not a great run. It was the slowest I have ran in quite some time, but I finished. Road rash and hurt pride can slow me down, but it doesn't have to stop me.

Faster in 2016

Mitchell had his first swim meet of 2016 in Topeka over the weekend.  He was such a trooper, swimming both Saturday and Sunday sessions.  His age group swam in the morning sessions so both days he and Chad were on the road before 6 a.m.

We were super proud of Mitchell!  He improved his time in all but one event total for the weekend!  His coach was very excited and told Mitchell he was glad to see him more competitive in the water.

He even placed1st in his heat for the 50 Backstroke...something he hasn't accomplished before.  He continues to improve and really enjoys swimming and being a part of the positive atmosphere the Manhattan Marlins create.

Sunday I  ran outside in the coldest conditions I can remember!  The 8 degree windchill was probably pushing the limits for me running outside, but the idea of running 4 miles on the treadmill (and having to drive to said treadmill to accomplish this task) made me decide to brave the bitterly cold weather. 

After my run, I couldn't seem to warm up the rest of the day, but this little snuggler tried her best to help me out.  It was a cold run and a bit of a struggle but I averaged a 9:35 mile pace.  I guess the freezing temperatures and wind chill were a great motivator to keep the pace up!

New Tech and 101

It took me a couple of days in 2016 to accomplish my first run after almost breaking my second toe on a door jam (super clutz), but today I ran 7 miles during my week's long run.

I was pretty happy with my time and  even ran mile 4 at a 9:02 pace. And I've loved my Christmas present from Chad and the boys...a new Garmin Forerunner that syncs all my workouts to my phone automatically. Great upgrade!

And today we celebrated Great Grandma Craney's 101st birthday....amazing!

Back to school tomorrow...it's time for the spring semester of work and school.

774 Miles in 2016

In 2014, my mileage was on the low side...and in the fall/before Christmas, running and I were officially "on a break."

So when I started training for my next half marathon of 2015, it was rough and slow. I was frustrated and felt like I was starting all over again and made a goal to run more miles in 2015 then the 593 I ran in 2014.

I only ran in two races this year, but they were both half marathons. Neither were my fastest times, however they also weren't my slowest half marathon times either.

My last run of 2015 happened this morning and I ran a total of 774 miles this year! That is my highest year-end mileage to date!

2016 Goal: Beat my 2015 half marathon time in one (or both) of my upcoming races this fall.  I was able to run 3.25 miles today easily at a 9:51 pace. I am hoping that the time I have put in and my recommitment to running this past year will help me achieve this goal in late March and/or May. I can't control the weather conditions/wind on race day, but I'll keep reminding myself of this goal as 2016 begins and I train for my 11th and 12th half marathon races.

Christmas Day and 6 Miles Before the Snow

Christmas Day! Santa found us again!!!

After having some fun with our Santa gifts, and mom going for a 3 mile run, we opened the rest of the gifts under the tree.

A much needed new swim bag!

And we almost made it to the end of the year without snow, but at least we didn't get as much as they were 

predicting!

It's a good thing I got my 6 mile long run in yesterday...it was cold but the roads and sidewalks were dry, unlike today.

Christmas Eve

Today we celebrated the holidays with my parents and of course the boys were excited for presents!

And Great Grandma C celebrated her 100th Christmas Eve...amazing!

We've got cookies all ready for Santa...

And we went to the Festival of Lights before Christmas Eve Service.

Full moon on Christmas Eve!

Letters to Santa are complete and the  pj's are on....

Merry Christmas from the Bunger's!

Chirstmas in Nebraska

We made it through the final days of school and Christmas Break has begun.  Unfortunately, Collin was sick the last two days of school and missed his class party.  But we were still able to celebrate Christmas with the Bunger's this past weekend in Nebraska.

We had a great weekend together celebrating the holidays with good food and family time together. As you can see there was lots of excitement and spoiling for all the Bunger Grandsons as well! :)

And just before the winter holiday break, Mitchell had his first band concert with the rest of his fellow 5th grade musicians.

I have consistently been able to log around 19 miles each week in December and also ran 6 miles for a long run each of these three weeks as well.  Yesterday I ran my longest distance (6.6 miles) that I have ran in one setting since May.  I also able to averaged a 9:54 pace on a route that included several large hills.  While I probably needed to run at least an additional 6 miles to burn off all the holiday treats I consumed this weekend, I am feeling much better about my physical fitness level as I start the training schedule for my 11th half marathon this week!