Michelle

Random Rambling

May 24, 2016 by Michelle 4 Comments

Hey, sporadic blogger here! I still have 2 more race recaps to write. Umm, maybe I’ll get to them soon. Before my next race, in October. <–Doable

Part of me wants to give this blog up, but the other part really likes writing and actually misses blogging. So I’m going to do something I haven’t done in a while… ramble on about stuff I’m into these days.

Adidas Energy Boosts

You know I am shoe fickle, but I’ve been running in these shoes for about 6 weeks now and they are SO GREAT. It took me a few runs to adjust to them (probably didn’t help that my first run in them was a 12-miler), but the fit my foot so well and they are extremely breathable. I think my favorite part is that they don’t bother my bunion (my super wide right toe-box), but they are really secure on my foot.

Blueberry 5K

I (surprisingly) haven’t taken an excessive amount of pictures of me wearing them — so here is a picture of me “racing” (used VERY VERY loosely) in my obnxious Neon Yellow Boosts.

I decided to try these out after my Mizuno Wave Riders (which, I loved) started wearing out at 200 miles. I get that there is wear and tear on shoes — but I’ve been running 100+ mile months and I CANNOT keep replacing my shoes every 2 months. Sorry Mizuno. I’m two months in on the Adidas and there is very little wear and tear. I hope this continues.

Gilmore Girls

We (yes, we) are re-watching Gilmore Girls in anticipation of the reboot (on Netflix, despite owning the entire series on DVD. I guess you could say I’m a fan) — and guess what? It’s JUST a great as it was the first time I watched it. And it holds up.

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Livie was up sick one night and watched a few episodes. She’s pretty much in love with Lorelei and Rory too and is now constantly asking if we can watch the show. Pretty soon my whole family is going to want to watch it and I can’t blame them.

I’m SUPER excited about the reboot (maybe late November — I’m hearing a date — like the 25th??).

And by the way, I’m totally team Jess.

Hamilton

Hey – have you heard about Hamilton?? Ha.

For the 2% out there who haven’t – it’s a Broadway Show. A Hip-Opera if you want to categorize it. An entire show where people sing, rap, and rap some more about the dude on the $10 bill. There’s a lot of hype and it might not seem like it’s for you… but…. it’s amazing. The hype is legit. I haven’t seen it, but the soundtrack is playing NON-STOP. So much so that my kids sing along (PS – the album is rate Explicit, so I’m winning at parenting). In my defense, I am exposing them to a piece of U.S. History (though not always 100% accurate). Don’t believe me? Check out the lyrics — and the annotations. I’ve learned so much!

Hamilton

I never thought I would say this, but I would LOVE, love, LOVE to see this on Broadway. I’m willing it to happen. I really just need to buy tickets. I could fly up there in a heartbeat.

Lululemon – Run Times Short

I know, I know. I’m late to the Lululemon game. I actually have one pair (not sure the style) that I’ve had for about 5 years that I love — but nothing else in my wardrobe has been from there. I realized recently that I hate about 75% of my running shorts (and find myself wearing the same 2-3 pairs OVER AND OVER again). I tried on these shorts a little while ago and loved them, but couldn’t bring myself to by shorts for $54 (plus tax) (even though they are currently on sale for $44). So for Mother’s Day this year — I asked for them. For the record — I don’t mind spending that money on shorts for a gift.

Lulu Run Time Short

Always wanted to post a picture of just a quarter portion of my body/half of my legs.

Livie picked out the pattern (Paradise Camo) so it totally counts.

Now I just need Lulu to make them in more colors/patterns. Not super loving their current options.

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

I haven’t really been into reading lately. I don’t know what my deal is. However, this book — I LOVED IT.

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I really like Curtis Sittenfeld’s books in general (Prep and American Wife are both books I’ve re-read) –and I’m kind of a sucker for anything Pride and Prejudice, so I might be biased. Even if you’ve never read the Jane Austen original (you should), I think you will be find this book totally adorable. It’s a modern re-telling of the P&P with a few twists (Eligible happens to be the name of a VERY popular Reality Television show — a la the Bachelor). And even though I KNEW how it was going to end (spoiler: no twists there), I was still anticipating how it would all unfold. Needless to say, I read this book in about 2-3 days. You should read it too. Also – I need some book recs. What are ya reading??

Snapchat

So I didn’t really understand Snapchat for the longest time (Paula had to teach me), but it’s SO fun! My kids love the filters and I will do anything these days to get all of them in a picture 🙂

If you’re on Snapchat — find me!

Snapchat michellew626

Trail Running

I went on my first trail run a few weeks ago and I think I’m hooked. I’ve been missing out!! We had way too much fun, got really dirty (my shoes are now black and neon yellow), and saw a HUGE ASS ALLIGATOR (thankfully in the river – not on the trail).

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I almost tripped about 800 times – but didn’t – and only managed to roll my ankle once. So, I consider that a huge win. It was really gorgeous.

I’m going to a different trail this weekend — I can’t wait!!

My babies are getting OLD (and so am I )

L celebrated turning 7 in March

She’s just as sassy as ever. Into dance and soccer, loves reading and school. Sometimes threatens to harm classmates. She got her ears pierced on her birthday.

E, my sweet baby E, turned 3 a few weeks ago

He is still not potty trained (woo-boy we are taking are sweet time), still sleeps in a crib, and he still has a pacifier addiction, so basically we are winning at parenting. He is otherwise very self-sufficient, super verbal, extremely loving and cuddly, and happy-go lucky almost all of the time – so I think we ARE doing something right. Also, his love of Star Wars is fierce.

To top it off, this baby turns 10 in July. TEN!! WTH???

This kid is not afraid to state his opinion (repeatedly), loves to draw, a great helper, becoming more responsible, and was chosen to go to Kennedy Space Camp this summer for a week (FREE!). He has grown up a lot this past year and is doing SO much better in school. I can only hope this continues in 5th Grade (O.M.G. HOW?)

And that’s pretty all of the random rambling I think of… for now. What’s up with you? Should we take bets to see how long it takes me to post again?

Excalibur 10-Miler Recap (AKA That Time I Tortured My Husband)

April 15, 2016 by Michelle Leave a Comment

This is a long delayed race post from last month. I swear I will catch up on this blog someday. Maybe.

A few months ago, Dan started running. At first it was just a few miles on the treadmill. Then I convinced him that running outside is much more (it totally is). Then it progressed, mostly because I made it, and we started talking about racing. He thought that he might want to run a 10K. I was excited — yay racing — so I escalated things and decided that we should run the Excalibur 10-Miler. I mean, what’s a few more miles?

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My dad happens to live about 15-20 minutes away from Viera, which is where the race takes place. I convinced Dan that it would be an awesome idea to sign up because we could stay with my dad the night before and not have to worrying about babysitting! I’m not sure he was 100% convinced, but I did sign us both up and he started training. Possibly begrudgingly.

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We drove over to my dad’s the afternoon before the race and picked up our bibs on the way (they also offered race-day bib pick up, which would have just as easy to do). It was quick and simple and before Dan knew it, he was running a 10-miler. Boom.

The morning of the race was HUMID. Ugh. It wasn’t hot (actually, I think I was a little chilly), but there had been rain the night before and the threat of rain was looming and air stealing. The worst running weather.

The race started with a duel from a few Medieval Times professionals. While it was a good idea in theory — we were standing in a grassy area of the high school and you couldn’t see ANYTHING b/c it was still dark outside. I heard a few swords clinking and then they announced it was a draw. Huh? Then they started the race and we were off.

But first…

The beginning race was pretty uneventful. I realized once we got to the high school that I had forgot my Garmin at my dad’s (grrrr), so I was just running based on feel. I started out fast and tried to stay in front of the 9 min/mile pacer (side note: I really hate pace groups – I’m sure I’m in a minority — and I always seem to get stuck near them). Around Mile 2, I saw Kindra – one of my MRTT ladies!

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Pretty sure this is the exact moment I realized she was next to me.

I didn’t realize she was running it, so I was SO HAPPY TO SEE HER. I lost her at a water stop a mile later, but found her again before Mile 5.

Miles 5 and 6 killed my race spirit (and Kindra’s too). It was on a dirt/gravel road. Some part of it were soft sand. I didn’t realize this was part of the course and it REALLY slowed me down. The 9 min/mile pace group passed me and I got a little deflated. While I knew the race wasn’t going to be a PR, I knew I could handle 10 miles at a sub-9 pace.

Kindra and I picked up the pace around Mile 7 and ran negative splits (according to K’s watch) until the finish — which could not happen soon enough! My finish time was 1:33:03.

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It was not my best race — and I can definitely say that I wouldn’t have enjoyed this race as much (or at all) if I wasn’t with Kindra. Sole sisters (cheesiest term ever, I know) get you through the good AND the bad!

I can fit her in my pocket!

As much as I was disappointed in my time, I was more worried about Dan. This were NOT ideal conditions a for first race! I felt bad because I didn’t know about the offroading at all. I probably wouldn’t have picked that as his first race if I had known better!

I ended up not having to worry much. As frustrated as he was about the gravely sand, Dan came pushing through the finish in 1:47:27. His goal was to finish before 1:50 — and he crushed it!

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Finisher!

I am SO proud of him!

Yes!!

I think a part of him really though that 10-miles was impossible — or maybe I was just putting too much pressure on him to run it. Of course, now I’m trying to get him to run a half marathon!!

After our race, it started sprinkling. Boo weather. Instead of grabbing any post-race food (there was a TON) – we headed to Starbucks and then back to my dad’s for a day at the beach.

We both decided (well, maybe I decided for the both of us?) that next year instead of the 10-miler would we do the relay. You each run 5 miles AND you get to finish together. The course itself was fine (you start and finish at a high school). The surrounding neighborhoods/golf course are very much like the area I run in every day – so it was comfortable (minus the 2 miles of dirt/gravel/sand, of course). It wasn’t the WORST race I’ve ever run, but it wasn’t my favorite.

I AM happy to report that while it’s almost been a month since this race, Dan is STILL running. I haven’t convinced him to sign up for any more races (not including the family 5K we are running on April 30th), but I’m sure there’s a race I can secretly sign him up for out there…somewhere.

Back-to-Back Half Marathoning {Best Damn Race Orlando and Swamp House Reviews}

March 22, 2016 by Michelle 4 Comments

Alternate Title: So Many Pictures.

I unofficially ran my first back-to-back half marathon weekend in December, just to test out the waters. I ran a virtual 13.1 for the Cape Coral Best Damn Race and the Mount Dora Half Marathon (that I apparently did not write about). I ran both races at relative similar paces (despite Mount Dora kicking my ass with its hills). I was sore, but I think more so from the hills than the back-to-back running.

There must be some kind of crazy drugs in my water, because I decided to try back-to-back races AGAIN. This time though, I was trying to PR in the first race (which definitely makes the second race more interesting). The reason? This medal:

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The flamingo is wearing sneakers — and even though I’ve never been a big medal person, I needed to have it.

So it was decided, I (and a few of my equally, if not crazier, friends) were going to run Best Damn Race – Orlando and Swamp House.

The good news is that I survived. However, even weeks later my liver is still questioning that statement.

Best Damn Race – Orlando

BDR started on Friday when I went to pick up my bib and ran into about a million people I knew. I also spent more money than I should have on workout clothes I probably didn’t need, but…

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OK!

Race morning started early. I picked up Paula and Melissa around 6:15 and quickly found parking downtown. I then ran into many of my coworkers…

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(Pic Cred: Stolen from this lady because I apparently did not take any pictures that morning!)

Around 7 we headed to line up and I managed to find my crew.

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Yay claustrophobia!

The race started on time and wasn’t too crowded. I don’t really remember doing a lot of bobbing and weaving, which is always a bonus for a race start. The first 2-3 miles are cobblestone, which it my LEAST favorite part of any race in downtown in Orlando. It’s hard to avoid though, there is just a lot of cobblestone. It’s awesome to drive on too.

As far as I can tell, BDR does the best they can to put the cobblestone in the beginning and not at the end like other Orlando races (there is another half mile of cobblestone around mile 8-9, fyi). Around mile 3, the crew I started with broke into groups. Some sprinted ahead and others fell slightly behind. Jaime (my fellow tall girl and “palm tree” as we have been dubbed) and I ended up sticking together, because it’s just what we do.

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Here’ s the part of the recap where I admit I like to start half marathons fast. Well, fast for me. It’s my thing. It’s probably NOT the best racing strategy, but I just have a lot more mojo at the end of the race, if I start faster. Around Mile 3, Jaime started to pull back because she saw 8:30-8:40 on her Garmin and told me she thought, “I can’t do this!” and I had to shout back to her “You ARE doing this!” And spoiler: She did it. She kicked ass.

Around Mile 6, I saw my co-worker, Leah, up ahead. Two weeks prior, Leah and I spent the week together in Mississippi and managed to get some running in together.

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Mississippi — where running dreams come true (actually, the day this picture was taken it was really pretty!) Also — that’s Brian with us who happened to score a KILLER PR at BDR Orlando!

So, when I saw her, I told Jaime “We’re catching up with her.” Have I mentioned I’m slightly competitive? Well, I haven’t mentioned that Jaime is even MORE competitive and was like “GAME ON” when I mentioned it. Seriously, she started sprinting. So, by mile 8, we caught up with Leah — and we continued to run together until the finish.

Speaking of the finish… it was rough. Mile 10-11 is a steady incline, and it started to get WARM. I almost COMPLETELY lost my shit, but I managed to pull my it together in time for the downhill run into downtown (Mile 11-12) and then turn back towards Lake Eola (12-Finish).

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“Hello! I do awkward things with my hands while running!”

At one point Leah said to me, “If you want to sprint – go ahead.” and I’m pretty sure the only words that I could form were “No way, I’m going to die.” I did manage to muster up a minor “Tom Cruise” sprint at the end.

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Funny story — the guy in the orange behind me is the same person I beat 2 years ago in this same race.

And…I finished in 1:56:40. Not a PR, but I have to say I felt really good about the time. Especially considering I finished last year about 6-7 minutes slower! (Bonus: Sub-2!)

For the third year in a row, I had the best DAMN time at Best Damn Race. I don’t JUST say that because I’m an ambassador (BTWs — I’m in for 2016-2017 too!), I really just enjoy them. It helps that almost every runner I FREAKING KNOW was running it in some form or fashion. Ok, and the after party is sweet, judging from the cider, Best Damn Root Beer, and Mich Ultra (umm – is that REALLY beer) that I drank. We all definitely had A LOT of fun!

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A lot of my friends ended up PRing — including Jaime who KICKED ASS and finished a minute before me (when I was bonking, she got some kind of crazy ass second wind).

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The rest of the day I spent mostly in the car – driving two and from Tampa for my nephew’s 2nd birthday party. It was worth it, but after almost 6 hours of sitting, my legs were like…

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Onto the 2nd half!

Swamphouse Half Marathon

I really did not want to get up at 4:15am on a Sunday, but alas, I did because I am idiot who paid to run two half marathons in one weekend. I picked up one of my fellow mamas at 5 and we met up with the party crew at 5:15.

Did I mention that we dubbed this race #mimosarace2016?

We arrived in DeBary around 6 (race start was 7:15), but waited a millennium to park. I’m glad we arrived early because if we didn’t I would have been stressing out – even though this was considered a “fun” race.

After we (quickly) picked up our bibs, we head back to the car and mixed up a few cocktails, because… why not? I’ve never drank BEFORE a race before, but it made me very, very confident. Very.

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God, I look like an idiot.

The race started on time, and while it was a pretty good sized crowd, it wasn’t a crazy start. And then I looked down at my watch and was like, “Holy Shit, I’ve only run a half a mile. THIS RACE IS GOING TO TAKE FOREVER.” Yeah.

Running

Look! I actually ran!

The race continued to go well as you can imagine. At the 1 Mile Mark, we decided to walk for a few minutes at each mile marker and then run in between. This was a pretty good plan until my friend’s knee started to give her problems (she probably shouldn’t have been running) and we couldn’t find any Biofreeze. Then the race turned into run as fast as we could between water stops asking people if they had BioFreeze. It was a different kind of race than I imagined. At Mile 9 we finally found medical (maybeeee there should have been a medical stop sooner?) and then we proceeded to walk… a lot. Like the most of the rest of the race.

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And take selfies.

At Mile 12 we hit the beer mile. It was amazing. I personally think every race should offer craft beer at mile 12.

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At mile 12.5 we saw the photographer, so we decided to run for like 30 seconds… And then again at the finish.

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Photo cred: Dave Mari, Race Photography Ninja

Our finish time was 2:45 (confession, I haven’t looked up the exact time, but my Garmin says 2:45:53) and it surprisingly was not a personal worst (running a half marathon when you are 6 months pregnant pays off!).

After the race, we celebrated with more drinks — first ones we brought with us (Prosecco, Sangria, Cider, and more Bloody Marys) and then with the awesome craft beer offered post race (PS – I did not drive).

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It was hilariously fun time. I have discovered that I while I prefer to run competitively (with myself) — it’s great to take a break and experience a FUN run. The key is to not get in anyone’s way and ruin THEIR fun. I’ve also discovered there there is only so much drinking and running I can handle — and I officially maxed out on it.

As far as the race itself went, it was Swamp House was more hilly than I thought it was going to be. It also wasn’t the most exciting course — a few of the latter miles are on this oddly paved trail – and then you hit this undeveloped neighborhood (aka Beer Mile) before running towards the finish. That said, I would definitely do it again. The after party was lacking in food, but definitely made up for it in beer and hijinks — and that was by far the best part!

When it comes to back-to-back half marathons — will I do it again? Heck yes! I think one of them will always be a “for fun” run, but I should really never say never.

Up next… More races! I am so behind.

Do you like running back-to-back races? What’s your favorite way to celebrate post-race? Did you realize I haven’t posted anything in almost 2 months??

Shark Bite Half Marathon {Race Recap}

January 18, 2016 by Michelle 5 Comments

I’ve written extensively about losing my mojo and speed, so I’m just going to spoil this recap by sharing that I finally feel like I’M BACK — well, I finally finished a sub-2 half again. It’s just one race, but this race definitely gave me the confidence to keep pushing. And believe me – I had to push for this finish! But, I’m getting ahead of myself…

So, the race. Yesterday I ran the Shark Bite Half Marathon — my 25th (!) half. It was the Inaugural year and they did a fantastic job!

The start was set for 7:30am. However, bad weather and tornado watches postponed it to 8 — and then to 9:30. The RD and the Shark Bite team wanted to ensure that everyone could arrive at the race safely (the storms passed by 7:30) and I greatly appreciated it!

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I am all about running in any kind of weather, but I kind of draw the line at tornadoes (and lightning – which was also reported in the area). The race was in New Smyrna Beach, which is about an hour away from East Orlando. So this lady and I met up with our crew and headed over.

When we got there, I was a little stressed out about parking, but we easily found a spot and walked a quarter of a mile to the start. I used the porta potty within the first 5 minutes of being there (there were plenty and they were surprisingly very clean – always a bonus) and then we snapped some pre-race photos.

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My work peeps!! Coworkers who run together… bore a lot of other coworkers who don’t care about running.

At the start, it looked like the weather had changed from cool (60’s), rainy, and cloudy – to warm (70) and sunny. Oh, how deceiving that was.

We started at exactly 9:30 and the RD thanked us for supporting their decision to delay the start. Some people were not able to run the half due to the later start – and they were very accommodating, either giving them the medal anyway (hopefully they still ran some kind of virtual race!) or switching them to the 5K. Gotta love a flexible race team!

Right at the start, I realized how crazy the wind was… when my hat almost flew off.

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I wish I could say it let up, but it only got worse. I was about a half a mile in when I looked to the right and saw the storm clouds. Where the heck were those things hiding?? It started running about 5 minutes later. Not just a drizzle, but full on pelting rain.

Somehow I just kept going. The first two miles were hell, and I wanted to quit. I could not figure out why I was running this race in these conditions. WHY WAS I TORTURING MYSELF. Around mile 3 the rain stopped and something kicked in. I was really enjoying myself and those running endorphins. Mile 5 was extremely happy for some reason. Running is weird.

Did I mention there were bridges? AKA, Florida hills. There were 3 total — a medium-sized bridge at the start (between mile 1-2), an ASS kicker between miles 6-7, and a small one at mile 8. I actually did not mind any of the bridges, but on the ass-kicker bridge I had to hold both my hat and my bib because I thought they were going to be ripped off my body. 27 mph winds say WAH???

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This is the side we ran down — taken as we were heading home.

I have to say though, nothing compared to the wind that hit us at miles 8-10. After the last, small bridge we turned onto a road and ran directly into the wind. At times, I swear I was running in place because the gusts were so intense. I kept hoping for the turn around and it took forever to arrive. I’m pretty sure I screamed more expletives during those miles than I have all month!!

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Every day I’m shufflin’.

Thankfully, once we hit the turn around, the wind was at our backs for the rest of the race and I was able to pick up my pace again!

It wasn’t until Mile 12 that I realized I could sub-2 again. I had kind of given up hope between Mile 9 and 10 – even though I still kept chasing two of my friends who were about a minute in front of me. I think it helped that I really just wanted to be DONE. The wind was killing me and I felt so beat up. When I looked down and saw it was possible, I dug in deep and pushed it. It helped that Return of Mack popped up on my iPhone.

Please tell me you remember this song.

That’s right — this bitch is back!!

After a brief sprint uphill, I turned the corner and ended up crossing the finishing line at 1:59:21.

Sharkbite_Finish

ACK!!! I was so happy!! It’s no where NEAR my PR (1:54:something), but I know I have it in me to push myself again. Confidence is HALF the battle.

My splits…

After the race I celebrated with some fantastic women and men.

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With our bigass medals.

Three of my friends PRs, two receive 10% finisher hats, and the rest of us, while exhausted, all agreed that it was a great race.

It was the kind of race that makes me want to sign up for ALL the races — and I’m ready to sign up for next year!!

Up next is… undecided. I’d like to run a half in February, but I have yet to run one. Hmmm…

2016 Running Goals

January 3, 2016 by Michelle 2 Comments

Happy New Year!

Blurry — just like my NYE

Despite how it started out — 2015 ended up being a decent year for running. I ran almost 700 miles (actually I probably ran more than that – just undocumented) — with the majority of those miles happening from May until December. My running mojo was definitely lost during the first half of the year, but it’s back with a vengeance! Mostly thanks to some crazy-ass women…

This year I have some big goals.

Get back to PR shape for the half (PR: 1:54)
Run 100 miles a month
Run the year with a few of my fellow mamas
Run a marathon (undecided on which one, but I took a year off and I’m BACK)
Run a 50K…maybe… OK definitely

My first goal is to get back into PR shape. This involves losing about 5-10lbs (of wine) and consistently doing speedwork. More on that later. My goal race is BDR Orlando in early March, so I don’t have A LOT of time to get there. #nopressure

Psssttt — you can still use the code CRAZYRUN to get $5 race entry for any BDR race for Jax, Safety Harbor, and Orlando!!

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The weather plays a huge part in achieving this goal, however. It’s been hot and humid this “winter” and it just kills my pace. Excuses, excuses.

Enough whining from me. 2016 is going to be the year of the run (to clarify, NOT the year of the runs). So cheers to more miles, more races, and hopefully more blog posts. Maybe.

What are your 2016 goals?