2012….The Mystery of What Will Be…..

Posted on January 1, 2012 by tootallfritz

This is the first day of 2012 and we are looking at a fresh start with a whole new year in front of us. What will you bring to Ms. TooTall and the family, 2012? This is the time in which many are making New Year’s Resolutions; however, I am not really a fan of a “resolution” per say . I think that many treat resolutions like rules with the “they are made to be broken” type attitude. So in absence of a New Year’s Resolution, each year I attempt to develop some sort of challenge for myself ~~and as many people as I can suck into the insane plan~~. As with all good plans/challenges, it needs to most importantly bring about a good story in the process! I really believe that over half of the endeavors in which I have ~~sucked my sister into~~ completed were for the sole sake of having a good story.

Thru the years, we have developed some REALLY good stories. Still one of my favorites was the 2005 Rim to Rim hike thru the Grand Canyon with (Me), Sara (my sis), Lisa E., Lisa’s Cousin Cindy & Lisa’s mom:

That adventure was my foray back to fitness. It was a long road ~~cuz I had 10+ years of excess eating/drinking to redirect~~ but I not only hauled my ~~ass~~ person from the North Rim, to Phantom Ranch on the Colorado River but then up the South Kaibab Trail for a finish on the South Rim. Good times. Good memories. And it was a heck of a workout! This adventure was a catalyst to my current state of fitness. More importantly, it gave me the confidence to also try other things that prior to that point, I would have NEVER though possible.

LOTS OF RUNNING

Me & Abby S. during the Inaugural 2008 Fort 4 Fitness Half Marathon:LOTS OF FAST RACINGLOTS OF TRIATHLON

I’m unzipping the black wetsuit in the middle.

MUD & OBSTACLES

CROSS TRAINING & SWEAT

LOTS OF NEW FRIENDS

So after so much fun ~~and sweat~~ it is hard to create a budget friendly challenge for the new year. Last year I challenged myself to run 1000 miles. I made it despite fighting injuries from March thru year-end. This year I wanted something new and fresh and along came….So the big adventure for Ms. TooTall for 2012 will be participating in a chicks only, 6 person, ultra relay team for the Madison to Chicago Ragnar Relay Series. 33 miles over the course of 2 days/nights in early June. This is gonna be ~~insane~~ fun and should provide us with a GREAT story!

I will also be running the 2012 Chicago Marathon and delving back into Triathlon after a long bike hiatus from Mr. Michael’s birth/toddler years. The goal is a 1000 running miles and 1000 bike miles. This will be TOUGH for me but I joined Team Tough Chik for 2012 so hopefully that will provide extra support that I need to make this happen! If you are interested in being on Team Tough Chik for 2012, click HERE. The deadline for joining the team has been extended until Jan 7. See a few of my fellow Tough Chiks below.

What do you have planned for 2012? Do you make New Year’s Resolutions?

Once Again…..Happy New Year! Amanda – TooTallFritz

1000 miles – Check!

Posted on November 21, 2011 by tootallfritz

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions ~~to be broken~~ but rather focus on a goal that I can work toward during the year which forces me to make a conscious, continued effort to maintain fitness. This year, my goal was to run 1000 miles, prompted by another blogger, Tall Mom on the Run. Tall Mom created a challenge to others to “move” 1000 miles throughout the year. For me, this meant running. She published a shared spreadsheet and all those involved in the challenge added in their mileage at their leisure.

I am happy to say that I bumped past my 1000 miles on Saturday’s run. I was so close all week but with the flu ~~and Mr. Michael’s poor sleeping habits~~ it was hard to get in those last few miles. To be honest, it has been a struggle all year to rack up miles, and focus on fitness, due to injuries ~~and Mr. Michael~~. I never could have reached my goal without some major support at home from hubby and him doing baby duty on the only morning he would have a chance to “sleep in”. So I am very thankful for his help and the fact that he ~~didn’t bitch too much~~ frequently helps with Michael so I can squeeze fitness into our very busy life. Thanks, Mick!

Attaining the 2011 goal makes me reflect a lot on where I want to go for 2012. When one is part of a family, they must also consider others and the sacrifice that they too will make to “help” YOU achieve a goal. So I do not take goals lightly, it is a serious thing for me and I hope that it is for you too. I frequently put what I want to achieve on the back burner in order to pick something that is realistic and doable for all of us. For example, I really want to do an IronwoMan but I know that at this point in our lives, it would be impossible to TRAIN for that type of committment and also LIVE life and PARTICIPATE in the family and WORK a full-time job. So alas, this isn’t the year, and quite possibly there won’t be time for IwoM training until the lil man is considerably older and ~~can make his own~~ ~~breakfast~~ more independent. However, my bike has sat on the trainer for several years now and it will be coming off this spring. I will be going back to triathlon and may possibly just stick to the International distance to keep ~~the peace~~ the training requirements in the manageable range. So you can look for me and my beautiful bike on the TRI circuit again next year.

And I’ll be probably be wearing my Team TOUGH CHIK jersey.

Check out the intro to Team Tough Chik and join me and lots of other ladies who will be racing under that name this year……running, biking, TRI-ing.

Make it Happen! Amanda – TooTallFritz amanda@tootallfritz.com

Step Outside the Box

Posted on November 17, 2011 by tootallfritz

As the sun sank from the sky last night, I was just arriving at the Grainery in Frankfort to meet up with friends for a run. Fortunately, I was a few minutes early so was able to run around ~~like an idiot~~ and grab a few photos. The first was looking west on Old Plank toward the Grainery ~~thru the power lines~~.

Then I ran east on the trail to grab a few photos ~~within a short distance of the parking lot~~ as the sunlight was fading.

The life around the pond seems to be dying with the autumn. I think winter is heading our way, like it or not.

I was really amazed at how differently everything looked in low light. I normally run in the dark or as the sun is coming up and this was a nice change. I look forward to comparing similar photos in the winter, spring and summer. I must say one of my favorite things so far about blogging is that I am now making a better effort to document my surroundings by photographing some of the beautiful sites that I take for granted on a daily basis. God is good.

At this point, the light was fading fast and I jogged back to await the arrival of a few Frankfort Running Club ladies. Note to the earring wearing crowd, don’t wear french wires while running in low 30 degree temps……ears get cold from the inside out.

Susan D. and Maggie W. soon arrived and I quickly ushered them into the ~~bathroom~~ light for a quick photo.

After the ladies so kindly obliged my ~~abnoxious~~ photo request, we ran off into the dark. I just recovered from the stomach flu so the plan was to be short and slow. I must say this was a perfect run. I really enjoyed the added dynamic which Maggie brought and I hope that she comes back! Work & life are crazy, the holidays are coming, then the flu and ~~not that you care but~~ it’s total pandemonium ~~which is on Aby’s spelling list this week~~ at home with a male, second born, toddler/child in the house. Chaos reigns. This run was a great stress reliever that was much-needed and I was thankful to have been along for the “ride”. In all aspects it was easy, fun, brought about a new friendship and was filled with conversation about living life, making goals, accountability, future endeavors and stepping outside the box of your personal comfort zone.

I challenge you to try something new……join a running group, train for a triathlon, hike the Grand Canyon, learn to snow ski, register for a road race, just pick something different and MAKE IT HAPPEN. Muster the confidence to attempt something that a younger, more immature you would have never had the ~~guts~~ courage to try. Time is of the essence. Where do you plan to go next?

Nike+ GPS Stats – 3.96 miles – 36:46 (9:18 pace) Garmin GPS Stats – 4.00 miles – 36:46 (9:09 pace)

“Run”way Fashion – I got a super “one day deal” from SkirtSports on this Happy Hour V-Neck long sleeve. LOVE. Can I wear this every day? Go to the SkirtSports page to sign up for their email deals or check them out on Facebook!