January 2014

Last year was a crazy, stressful year for me. So with that in the rear view mirror, 2014 can only be a super great year.

But I did manage to cross several items off my list last year. I have also deleted and added some new ones to my list as I tend to do each year.

Running seems to be the center in my life. I have found it to be a super stress reducer as well as a great way to clear my mind and to just think.

My goal of running 800 miles last year was achieved. I did 802 miles so I  thought I would challenge myself to do 1000 miles this year.

I did manage to run 5 half marathons and do Ragnar last year along with a train ride from Seattle to Los Angeles. This year, I don’t plan on doing that many halfs and no Ragnar though I enjoyed that whole experience immensely.

I started 2014 off with the Bandit Run down Colorado Blvd in Pasadena. We ran the Rose Bowl Parade route in reverse at an ungodly hour of 4:30am to where the floats where lined up. After wandering around the floats for a bit, we then ran back. The parade route was lined up with people sleeping, just waking up, or just wandering around. It was a great way to start off 2014 even though it was early and an 11 mile run. I will definitely do this run next year, taking pictures and spending more time looking at the floats.

This year, I decided to train more to support my desire to continue to run longer and faster as well as get my body stronger.

So with that goal, I’ve been busy running. Yes, to run longer and faster means I have to run more! I am training with Steve Mackel, SoleRunners, a couple of times each month. Steve is a ChiRunning Coach which is the form of running I have found most suited for my body. My goal is to make sure my form is correct as well as improve my pace.

I’m hoping that with all of this running and getting stronger, I will be strong enough to start training for a marathon, yes 26.2 miles, in 2015. Right now, I’m looking at either the LA Marathon in March or the Marine Corps Marathon in October.

To achieve this goal, I have taken up yoga, a strength training and a spin class. Though I try to do all 3 of these classes each week, I have found I’m lucky if I can get 1 out of 3 in along with running 4-5 times a week. If I can’t get in more than 1 class during the week, I do try to do at least 30 minutes of some type of strength training at home.

I would love to tell everyone that my body loves all of this but it hasn’t quite gotten there yet. Endurance running is hard on anyone’s body especially in the beginning and my body is no exception. But my body is slowly acclimating to this level of activity, my energy level is mostly on the upswing, and best of all, my pace has picked up.

Besides getting myself ready to do a marathon for next year, I’m also training to do several events for this year.

First, I am doing the Big Sur Relay Marathon this April. We will have two teams with 5 ladies on each team. I will be doing leg 3 of the relay for one of the teams. This leg has the best view but also happens to be the hardest leg. It will be 6.9 miles with the first 2 climbing 600 feet up to Hurricane Point. As I take breaks on these 2 miles, I will be sure to take pictures of the views and runners.

Five weeks after Big Sur will be the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Half. This will be another hilly run. So I’m hoping all of this training will pay off. And towards the end of the year, I will be doing the Inaugural Vancouver Rock ‘n’ Roll Half.

My other goal for 2014 is to be more consistent with posting on my blog on a more regular basis. So that means, one post per month as a minimum. I’m hoping to do more.

So with that, I do hope that 2014 so far has been joyful and filled with great passion for you and continues to be so throughout this year.

 

 

 

 

This entry was posted in 60by60, Accomplishments, Goals, Inspiration, Running. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *