Congrats, My Virtual Runners!

I have compiled the photos of people who ran either the last day of 2012 or the first day of 2013 (or both!)

Monday, December 31, 2012

I did not take a picture but yours truly squeezed in a 5k on the treadmill right before the party started!

My lovely friend Kalli donned earwarmers and gloves for a neighborhood run through Memphis!  She’s training for the 2013 St. Jude Half – right Kalli?!

Get it girl!

My dad and his group braved the snow and 31 degrees for a 6.5 K (according to one of their European runners) in Zionsville, Indiana (my hometown).

No excuses from the boys!

Good friends Linda and Randy did their 5k trot around Lake Keowee in Salem, South Carolina.

Linda and Randy in SC!

Memphis friends Jen (training for New Orleans Mardi Gras Half), Becca and Amanda (whom I’ve never met!) also braved the cold for a 5 miler on the Greenline!

Scarves and headbands…must be chilly!

January 1, 2013

I received this photo from Cynthia Donovan (from Colorado!) who ran her first 5k “in a while”, and she said it was muddy, and I believe her!

Gotta love the mud runs

This group from YogaFest in Collierville, TN did 5 miles!

Prize for the biggest group!

Gretchen (just getting back into running) said this about her run on Facebook “I did the walk/run method by blocks not minutes. I would walk 2 blocks then run two blocks. I got a little tired by the end so the ending numbers went like this…14 blocks run/18 blocks walked…32 blocks total. I am pleased since this is only my 4th outing in 12 years. :-0)”

Gretchen gets back!

The Memphis girls got back out there on Tuesday!

2 days in a row!

A bigger group in Zionsville running off the New Year’s Eve tequila shots!  Still snowy!  (Pops you look a little sleepy….Not pictured: 2 pups).

Yea Boys! 24 degrees…feels like 14!

Close by in Indianapolis, a friend from high school, Ashley, ran 3.5 miles!  She’s training for the 2013 Indy Mini (a great race by the way!)

Worked up a sweat!

Another Memphis runner, and blogging friend, Sharon, took her girl Ashok for a 5 miler!  She’s training for the February Austin Livestrong Half Marathon.

Sharon and Ashok, in Memphis!

And then there was me!  I did a hilly 5k on the treadmill here in Mexico!

Sweaty treadmill time!

Thank you to all the boys and girls and dogs who participated – I wish you happy trails (warmer and drier ones too!) and many healthy miles in 2013.  Stay in touch with your training!

Adios 2012

Perhaps I should have posted this yesterday but as you’ll see this week (a series of retrospective posts), I’m a little behind….

We were talking around the hot tub last night and my cousin Sarah asked us for our best moment of 2012.  I love games like this!  It’s always fun to look back at the year and really think about the things you did, decisions you made, trips you took, runs you ran that helped make 2012 fantastic.  Even if it was a bummer year for you, surely there are one or two things that stand out as fabulous.  I’ve compiled a list of my ten biggest adventures of 2012, as told to you, my blogging audience – here’s to an even better 2013!

 

1. Completing 3 Half Marathons in 3 different states – Mississippi, Texas and Illinois

2:00 exactly – State # 9, Illinois

2. Deciding to go to Graduate School at the University of Texas

3. Watching the Grizzlies in the Playoffs

Go Grizz!

4. Visiting my Aunt Julie in California

Under the Rainbow at Yosemite.

5. Actually Moving to Texas (what a journey that was!), Goodbye Memphis and Hello Austin!

ATX, my new home.

6. Turning 25, and the blog turns 2!

7. Meeting the Olympians

Speedy boys, and autographed shoes!

8. Running 1,000 miles this year

9. Going home to Memphis for the St. Jude Race

Old Friends before the Grizzlies Game.

10. Spending Christmas (and New Year’s, and the first week in January….) in Mexico.

Feliz Navidad (y ano nuevo!)!

What’s your favorite memory(ies) of 2012?  

Celebrate my 1,000 miles with me!

On Tuesday of this past week, I hit 1,000 miles running for the year!  I set that goal 343 days before achieving it, on New Years Day 2012.  It seems a daunting goal but really the only things you need are determination, consistency and commitment (and a few pairs of running shoes…).  All things that come from within you.  It was certainly not a goal I could cram in the last 3 months of the year so required my commitment to running to last throughout the year.  Through the cold months of January and February.  The rainy season of March and April.  Moving month of May.  Summer school in June and July.  Moving again in August and the heat and humidity of Texas.  School in September and socializing in October.  The holidays of November and December.  Bad runs, good runs, injuries, fatigue, sweat, intervals, skipped runs, Mississippi, Oklahoma, California, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Texas, Mexico.  .25 miles to 15 miles.

So what now?  I was hoping to take the rest of the year off but then I remembered this big looming task of running 26.2 miles in the February Austin Livestrong Marathon.  Two years ago, after a horrible second marathon experience in Memphis, I swore I would never run another one.  I was defeated.  Slowly, as time passed, “never” turned to “one more” – you can’t end a marathon career on a bad experience.  I took some time to focus on half marathons and speed, running my half marathon PR at last year’s St. Jude Half Marathon, also in Memphis.

I’m currently located in Austin, Texas, working on a Sports Science and Nutrition masters at UT.  “One more” turned into “am currently training for” just a few weeks ago when several classmates put some pressure on to run the Austin Full Marathon in February.  But if I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna do it for a good cause.

In the past I’ve always supported St. Jude, my then hometown children’s research hospital.  This time around I’d like to support a new cause, in the heart of the city I currently live.

LIVESTRONG serves people affected by cancer and empowers them to take action against this disease that is now the world’s leading cause of death. LIVESTRONG has become a symbol of hope and inspiration to people affected by cancer around the world.

Support LiveSTRONG with me!

The money I raise will go to support programs and services, which inspire and empower people affected by cancer. If you or someone you know is diagnosed, these resources will help face the challenges of cancer, head on, and live life on your own terms. LIVESTRONG.org/GetHelp

I’ll be celebrating today by cashing in a birthday gift certificate on a much needed massage this afternoon.  You can celebrate my accomplishment this year with me today by donating a small amount to this champion cause.  Click here for my fundraising page.  My goal is to raise $500 for the charity.  You’ll be supporting my continued training (and trust me, I need all the help I can get, the hills here are brutal) and those affected by cancer. I know we all have been.  Thank you!!