Well 2012 is almost over and I thought this would be a good time to reflect on what went well and what didn't. Also, I thought it would fun to look at where I am now as opposed to a year from now.
A year ago, I started this blog and a year ago its purpose was to chronicle my journey to the Baltimore Marathon. Pink Running Shoes got started because my husband said I couldn't run a marathon. I never like to be doubted and I rallied my friends to support me on facebook. About 29 people believed that I could run a marathon. Well, I never made it to the Baltimore Marathon. I did run the Baltimore half marathon. Apparently, I hate the heat which I didn't realize how much until I started trying to train in 90 to 100 degree humid heat in July. Our a/c also broke so I had to spend my summer working to try and help pay for a new heating unit. Day in and day out with middle school children in the middle of summer can leave you lacking energy and many days it was all I could do to complete my insanity workout.
My solution to training in the heat was to sign up for a winter marathon. Pray for no snow that weekend, but I will be heading to VA Beach to run the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon and it is my last effort to run a marathon before I turn 30. But that's in 2013, and I am not there yet.
So the journey isn't over, but what have I learned:
1. How to Make a Race Tutu. I learned how to make some pretty snazzy tutus and I also learned that I need to take in the waist some. As I found out during Santa Dash a hip riding tutu falls down kind of easily. It looked great and was super cute, but I did have to keep hoisting it up. I am still perfecting it, but man it was fun to wear.
2. Practice Does Make Perfect. What do I mean by this? Well the act of repeatedly running over and over again has allowed me to knock time off of my overall mile. It has also allowed me to train my body to deal with moderately steep hills. These were things I couldn't do a year ago. I never thought it possible, but here I am stronger and faster than I was.
3. Races Are Better With Friends. I ran upwards of over 20 races, but the ones I generally enjoyed the most were the ones that I ran with Annie, Amanda, and Ashley (apparently I only run with people whose names begin with A). Even though Annie and Amanda didn't stay with me all of the time during every half marathon we ran, it was still fun to meet up with them at the end and of the race and celebrate our accomplishments. Nothing was better than hobbling back to the car or bus with my best gals in tow.
4. Don't Switch Up Your Pre-Race Routines. If you look at my post on the Frederick Half Marathon you will find that it was not one of my finer moments. Only once have I deviated from my pre-race routine and it was on May 5th. I decided to go to CiCis for dinner versus just having my routine chicken and garden salad with a bread appetizer. It led to me abandoning all fear of porta pots out of necessity because my stomache was not used to eating high fat carbs pre race. It should be noted: I love CiCis and I have gone back to that establishment many times since and I have never been sick. Its just something about running that can sometimes take an ordinary meal and make it painful under the wrong circumstances. Never will I deviate from my race routine again!
5. You Are Stronger Than You Think You Are. Like I said before, I ran upwards of over 20 races. From October 2011 to October 2012, I completed 5 half marathons and 1 ten miler. One of those was a 10k and the rest were all 5ks. What is most interesting is that 4 out of the 5 half marathons were run all within about a week time span of another one. For example, Iron girl on April 28th and Frederick Half on May 6th and the Twilight 5k on the 5th, or Divas Oct. 6th and Baltimore Half on Oct. 13th. My point is this, a lot of people think I am crazy or that I push too hard. To me, if I don't push myself hard then I won't know what I am capable of. I never thought I could do one half marathon, let alone two in one week. Or, I never thought that the half I ran in the second week would yield a better time than that of an easier course. The human body is capable of amazing things and its our job to see what it can do! Nothing makes me prouder than to stare at my medals and think about all I have achieved in one short year.
So what's in store? As of right now I have a lot of half marathons lined up to run. I am shying away from the 5k this year and while I will still do them, I want to concentrate on that 13.1 mile distance. I love running it. So 10 milers and half marathons are what I am going to try and get better at. I will be traveling a little bit, but it should be fun. I also am going to try to go to a diva dash or a pretty muddy event. My goal is to branch outside of my comfort zone and push myself a little further. But the women's obstacle courses tend to be a little bit easier, and I want to see how I do before I think about a warrior dash or a heroes rush event.
Well, I am in the middle of race craft where I make my own medal display. I will post pics and a tutorial once I finish it!
Until next time, happy running in the new year!
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