New Year, New Look, New Goals

I love fresh starts, and the start of a new year couldn't be a better new beginning.  I decided to spruce up the blog tonight, and I'm ready to start blogging more regularly this year.  I bought a calendar to track my miles, and I'm going to start a new Jeff Galloway plan this week to train for the Blue Ridge Half-Marathon in April.  I'm excited about this plan because it has me running 3 times a week, and I feel like that's totally doable for my schedule right now.

We went shopping on New Year's Day and I scored a couple of Nike tops for under $10.00.  Unfortunately they're both sleeveless, and I won't be wearing them for quite awhile thanks to our winter weather here in Virginia. :)  In 2012 I want to be much more consistent with my running.  I would like to run 2 half-marathons and maybe end the year by training for another 26.2??  Either way I'm excited to see what this year holds in terms of running.

Happy New Year!!

Capital City Half-Marathon

I am so nervously excited about this race.  More nervous than I've been about any half-marathon.  I am really hoping to RACE this half-marathon.  The other four half-marathons I've done have been mostly centered on FINISHING.

I'm excited to be racing in a new city -- a new state for that matter!  We aren't going to arrive until very late tonight, and I'm not sure how much sleep I'll get -- but hopefully I'll be running on enough adrenaline to get me through. ;)

Here are my goals...

Goal A: Finish the race in 2:09 or less!  I would love to break that 2:10 barrier!!  I really think this is doable.  I'm a little bummed that there's not a 2:10 pacer for the race.  There's a 2:05 and 2:15 pacer -- I'm thinking of trying to hang with the 2:05 pacer and falling back if I need to.

Goal B: Finish under 2:13:17 to get a new PR!!

Goal C: Finish with a smile, because I've now finished my challenge to become a Half-Fanatic!!! :)

Wish me luck!

One Hundred

I am thrilled that it is the first day of March. February wasn't a bad month by any means. I celebrated a wonderful Valentine's Day with my hubby, turned 26, and spent a week in San Francisco. But I'm ready for a fresh start.

Y'all, I ran TWENTY miles in February. That's it. 20 miles in a MONTH. 6 miles less than my marathon in January. I'm not really that upset over it. I needed a break. My body, mind and spirit needed some time to breathe. I needed to let go of the pressure I created with training. Running was constantly on my mind, and I needed some time for myself. I'm finally at the point again where I want to run. And this is exactly how I want it to be. I want to run from desire rather than obligation.

I'm a goals girl. I like them a lot. They motivate me and keep me inspired to get out when I don't always feel it. So I decided that I wanted a goal for March. I still don't want to succumb to the pressure I created before, but I do want to be working towards something. My goal for the month of March is to run/walk a 100 miles. I don't care how fast those miles are or on what days they get done, but I want to do them. Simple as that. The highest mileage I've done in a month is somewhere in the high 90s. 100 miles in a month is totally doable, but for some reason I've never hit the 100 mark. This is the month I hope to make it happen. And it all begins today!