I did 3 half marathons in 3 months!!! Yay me! In October, on one of my long runs I set out to run 11 miles but that turned into 13.1! Then I did my first Disney World run on Nov. 6 at the Wine & Dine Half Marathon. It wasn't a good race for me mentally or physically (3:09:17, 5 minutes of that was waiting in line for the bathroom inside Animal Kingdom!). Waking up at 2am to run is tough, to put it lightly! St. Jude was Dec. 3 and while my time wasn't what I wanted (2:57:45) I ran with Carol Braun the whole time (well except for the mile & a half I had to run to catch up to her after I stopped to pee!!). Throughout all this training I signed up for a virtual race to run 150 miles through the fall... I completed it on Christmas Eve (I didn't even run for 2 weeks before the Wine & Dine due to an upper respiratory infection so to only extend the goal by 3 days was awesome, I thought!)
I'm not one to "run for fun" if I'm not working towards a goal. Right now I'm working on running 38 miles in the last 38 days of my 38th year! As of today, I've ran 18. Next will be 39 miles in the first 39 days of being 39. Then I run a half marathon on April 1... the Jack Daniel's Oak Barrel Half Marathon! It has one of the largest hills... Whiskey Hill (which is over a mile long) so it's going to be quite the challenge!
Some years I set BIG goals for the years. Some years I choose a word & make that my focus. Never have I set long term goals (past 1 year) I decided to change it up for 2017, as my 30s come to a close. So here's what I got....
My measurable goals are ONLY set for January! I'm going to make them monthly so I can hopefully keep them up & build on them. They are:
- Log every food I eat into My Fitness Pal
- Make healthier choices but don't freak when I don't
- Work out 6 days/ week for at least 20 minutes
- Run 38 miles by 1/27
My yearly fitness goals: Run Oak Barrel HM, Run St. Jude HM as a Hero & find 1 more 10k/ 15k race to run.
My word for 2017: ME! I'm focusing on ME and doing what brings ME joy!!! I'm going to focus on my spiritual, mental, & physical well being. I'm going to say no to what doesn't bring me joy, yes to what does & do what needs to be done with a joyful heart. I'm also going to break these down into smaller, more measurable goals. That way I can actually SEE the tangible results.
My long term goal: (like way long term!) Do the Run Disney Coast2Coast Challenge in 2019, starting with running the Disney World MARATHON in January 2019... right before I turn 41!! I've had the bug for a while but that nagging feeling kept getting stronger. I just didn't have a clue as to when (training is a HUGE commitment) & where (I was actually thinking of doing it through St. Jude). My friend, Shelby Rushing, just ran her first full marathon & it was at WDW and it threw gasoline on my spark! Then I've read 2 different running articles listing the top 10 races to run your first full marathon in & WDW was #1 for both! So there it is. Out in the universe for all to hear. For all to hold me accountable. WTH am I thinking?!?!? Oh, yeah. I'm a crazy runner.
So here's to 2017!🍻🎉🏆🏃
