New Year, New Goals...
New Years Resolutions are not my thing really - never have been. Instead I try to think about my goals. What I want to achieve in the coming year and usually it is based on what came before…
2013 finished with me having run 818 miles according to my Nike+ app and during those miles I learned a few things about myself:
I learned that I LOVE to run.... I mean I REALLY love to run!!!
I learned that I can achieve more than I ever dreamed I could and that I haven't peaked.... yet! ;-)
I learned I can actually be good at something sporty even though I didn't do it as a child (and it's okay to say so.. although I still struggle with that one a fair bit).
I learned to take time for myself.
I learned that taking time for myself makes me happier and therefore kinder to others (most importantly the family that are my biggest supporters and fans).
That whilst I love to run and chat...and anyone who knows me KNOWS that if chatting were an olympic sport, I'd have a good chance of a medal (seriously), but... I can also run for miles with no chat, no music and just my thoughts and thats quite powerful.
and the most scary.... I quite like running hills!
That annual mileage included my highest monthly mileage (which was in December), of 158 miles as well as several races which included two half marathons, two 10K’s and a few other races (take a look at my 'Races Completed' tab on the link above for more info). I am overjoyed with having achieved that kind of mileage having run out the door for the first time a little over a year ago as a relatively unfit person (I wasn’t exercising at all before I started running unless you count walking the children to school and the odd swim) and as a consequence, I wasn’t able to make it to the end of the street before I nearly died of exhaustion and realised I was going to be very reliant on the training plan I’d found on runners world online before throwing my old training shoes which incidentally, I bought online without even trying them on…!! Oh yeah I hear that sharp intake of breath! But I seriously had no idea how important good shoes were at the time until I began to get pain in my feet and my knees, which wasn’t very long after I started. Thank heaven for a good running store down the road and I have not had a single pain in my feet or knees since I bought running shoes that fit!
So back to goals…
2013 was a really exciting one for me. December brought the celebration of my first runniversary and my 32nd birthday so the launch of my new blog is part of the challenge I wanted to take on for 2014.
I am definitely not a one and done kinda gal and am definitely the sort that just wants to go bigger and better. I have REALLY enjoyed the races I have done this year and each time I have finished a race I have immediately thought about what I want to do next… I think I’m quite sociable, sometimes to the detriment of my training as I’d often rather chat tan keep the pace I’m meant to for my training, so I’m definitely game to do some races with my mama friends from Moms RUN This Town (more about that amazing running group later) just for fun as well as those I want to do to achieve my own personal goals.
So looking forward I guess it is time to bite the bullet and actually set some goals… well I guess I should start by letting the cat out the bag by telling the world that I am a marathon wannabe!! This is the biggest goal I’ve made since starting running because if you’d asked me even a little over a year ago if I would run a 10K I probably would have thought you were completely crazy but sure enough I did that more than once in 2013 and so inspired by the incredible mums of the NOVA Moms RUN This Town group who ran the MCM in 2013, and the support they gave each other to achieve marathon runner status (or even marathon runner AGAIN status), I decided that having completed 2 half marathons quite recently, that I am ready to take on that challenge… HOWEVER, I can be impatient and so once I’d made the decision to run a marathon… I couldn’t wait to sign up! SO, I have signed up to do the Rock and Roll USA in Washington DC on March 15th. I am BEYOND excited! Rock and Roll Here I come!!
In August/ September 2013 I was invited to become a Chapter Leader of an incredible running group. Every time I think of the friends I’ve made who understand my obsession love of running and my need to talk about it ALL THE TIME, all the wonderful Moms I’ve met, chatted with whilst running who have inspired me or motivated me to get out the door (sometimes at ridiculous hours of the morning) and even the moms I’ve met through the group that I’m yet to run with but who have also offered advice, support, encouragement to me, cheesy though it may sound, it really brings tears to my eyes. My goal in 2014 is to help make the MRTT experience as supportive, motivating and encouraging as possible for all the MRTT group members in any way I can together with my good friend Deb (who founded the group and welcomed me into the McLean/ Tysons chapter) and other NOVA chapter leaders, so that we can ALL get out and run, jog, walk, meet our goals and stay healthy together!
I want to do a race every month and it would be really nice if perhaps some of them could be destination races. I have lived in the USA just over a year and so haven’t explored very far outside of the region we live yet. Who knows where my family will travel in 2014 (no holidays booked yet), but I’d love to tie in some races to wherever our family ends up visiting…. I’m thinking Canada, The Rockies, Alaska perhaps? Who knows but I’m looking for amazing scenery! That’s not too much to ask is it?!
I wan to run at least 1000 miles in 2014 and with my new running shoes, my first run of the year out the way: -
That’s nearly 6 down, 994 to go!
Have you done a destination race somewhere you’ll never forget?
What are your goals for 2014?
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