Running Leaps and Bounds!

Woohooooooooo... I met my running goal this year! I started the year off with the goal of running 100 miles a month for the entire year.  Today "the last day of the year" I was able to successfully accomplish this goal. Whewwww...and I never want to do that again. :)

The spring was somewhat difficult because it was winter, the weather was cold, I was training for a half marathon while working full time and taking 2 graduate classes plus doing some private practice work.  I found it difficult to find the time to the long runs but the miles added quickly.  I was able to successfully run the half marathon and over the summer I continued to improve on my race times in all distances. I took part in all new races this year except for my one year anniversary run which was the Race4Music run.  Many of the runs were a lot of fun and more friends hopped in this year to also run these races.  I even raised money and challenged myself by doing the MS Bike-A-Thon this year which I wouldn't have been nearly as successful if I wasn't in such good shape from running.

I found May-September to be the easiest times to get in my miles and then bank some extra ones. It's lighter later making for longer days, better weather and I had a lot less on my plate from a work perspective. I love being outside so it was great to run, walk and bike everyday.  Oct. was a joke and a struggle. Glad I had banked some extra miles. Nov. was extremely challenging. Things were rough at work and I took time off from running more frequently than I should have. This left me with 8 days to run 50 miles over Thanksgiving week. Thank goodness for the support from my parents and the Walking Dead entire season I caught up on while doing many long runs!  December continued to be a struggle but not as bad. I was on vacation for a chunk of it and worked hard to run a moderate pace of 4.25 miles each day with a couple of days of longer 6-8 mile runs.  It still took me up until today...the last of 2014 to meet the goal, but I did.  1,200.50 miles!!!!

I've decided in 2015, I need to focus more on a healthier diet, running but less times a week and less miles a week while increasing weight lifting and getting back into yoga at least twice a week. We'll see what 2015 brings!