How I Rang in 2014 and my one New Year Resolution

My sister and her family left last night. I drove them to LAX for a 10:40 pm flight back to South Carolina. Her husband left a few days early since he is in the Navy and had to re-enlist in time to get his bonus! I felt bad that she had to fly across the country with two small kids but she handles it like a boss! The house is so quiet now that they are gone. It made me sad last night to come home to a big empty house.

After we got home, I was pretty tired and no intentions of staying up until midnight since I had a group run to get to in the morning. This is how I spent my New Year Eve and morning for the most part...in my warm and comfy bed!

The girls were planning on 8-9 miles but it always turns into more so I wanted to be well rested. We ended up eating 11.25 hilly miles for breakfast. It felt good to tackle those hills but I am sure I am going to feel it tomorrow even though our pace was easy.

My first race of the year will be a half marathon on Sunday. I kind of decided on it at the last minute since I you need to get my behind in gear. I am going to use it as a training run since I have a 13 mile run at marathon goal pace on the schedule. I have no goals for this race but to finish it since my motivation has been lacking and I probably cannot even hang at MGP!

Tonight we will be having dinner with my friend who lost her husband four months ago. She is doing a lot better and learning to take life one day at a time. I am not a big New Year's Resolution person but if there is one thing that I want to work on this year it is being thankful for what I have and appreciating every day of my life for what is worth. Tomorrow is not promised and your life can change in the blink of an eye. My friend is living proof of this and watching her and her young son struggle has been very tough for me.

Happy New Year and thank you to everyone who continue to support me and read this blog!

Are you a  New Year's Resolution person?

Any Resolutions for 2014?

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year! 

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I ended 2012 with my final run of 20.13 miles. It was tough but I did it!

We went out for a family dinner and then spent the remainder of the evening at home. I do not like to be out on the road on New Years Eve and feel much safer at home. The plan was to be awake at the stroke of midnight but I didn't make it past 10:00 p.m. It is a struggle for me every year! I know, I am an old lady!

  

Did you do anything fun for New Years Eve? Do you watch the Rose Parade on New Years Day?

Best wishes to all of you in 2013! 

Out with 2011 and in with 2012!

Happy New Year!! 2011 ended with a bang for me!  Instead of spending the ten days that I had off of work resting, I invested a lot of time in running.  The last week of 2011 was my biggest ever.  I banked 46.11 miles and my last run of the year was 20.8 miles.  The routes that I did this past week have been challenging for me with more more hills and longer distances. My legs felt great even after the 20.8 miler which is huge for me since I usually feel a little soreness somewhere the next day.

My goal was to run 1000 miles in 2011 and I exceeded my goal with 1254 Miles.  My goal for 2012 is 1200 miles or maybe even more!

Although I have not met my ultimate goal of qualifying and running the Boston Marathon, I know that 2011 was a great year for me.  I really stepped it up this year and signed up for more races than I thought I would be able to run in the last three months of the year. I managed three new PR's in 2011 and my biggest goal for 2012 will be tackling the marathon!! I would love to break four hours and move that much closer to a Boston qualifying time!!

09/4/11: Disneyland Half Marathon (PR) 1:47:43
10/9/11: Long Beach Marathon
10/15/11: Matt Myers Memorial Run 5K
11/12/11: Mission Inn Run 10K (PR) 49:39
11/24/11: Claremont Sunrise Turkey Trot 5K (PR) 23:17
11/26/11: San Dimas Turkey Trot 5K
12/11/11: Holiday Half Marathon

2012 has a full race schedule for me. The first five months of 2012 are pretty booked and I am really looking forward to it. My first race will be the inaugural Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disneyland on January 29, 2012. The medal is so cute and I can barely wait to have it around my neck!

Life is slowly returning to normal now and it is time to go back to work too.  I still have to take the Christmas decorations down and I never look forward to the "clean it up and put it away" part. Almost all of the holiday goodies have been devoured eaten and I don't even want to know how many pounds I have put on in the past ten days!  Maybe I will get brave enough to step on the scale today...

Were you able to get some quality runs in over the holidays?  Did you accomplish your 2011 goals?  What are your running plans for 2012?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I just wanted to take the time to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I also wanted to thank everyone who takes the time to read my blog, offer advise, comment and share in my ups and downs of running and life in general!

I am looking forward to new year full of new challenges, goals and good times running and just enjoying the sport. Even though we all have some level of competitiveness in us, it is really important for me to keep running fun and not burn myself out, especially with all of the other things I have going on in my life.

I wish each and every one of you a very prosperous New Year. I hope you achieve all of your running goals and goals in general! I will be enjoying my holiday with my family and savoring every moment of the 10 days that I have off from work!!