Thursday, December 31, 2015

Post marathon and 2015 reflections.

I feel like this post has been a long time coming...well at least since the beginning of the month.
On Dec. 5 I ran the Rehoboth Beach Marathon.  After 17 weeks of training...the big day came.

I finished in 4:22:08.  My goal was 4 hours....at some point in the race I knew I wouldn't make 4 hours and at that point, I relaxed, didn't worry about my pace and I even took a selfie and a picture of the beautiful Cape Henlopen State Park.  I was ecstatic to have my family in many different spots along the course...they kept me running.

The cool thing about this race is that I beat the PR I set 17 years ago.  I got to spend the day with my family walking around Rehoboth.  It was sunny and beautiful.  It was a great day.

I'm pumped that I set a new PR.  I'm also pumped that when I finished I thought, yeah, I can do this again.  (Not anytime too soon, of course!)

The last month has been a little rough.  I had forgotten how much time my body really needed to recover.  Combine that with Advent and now Christmas and December (even without marathon training) has kicked my butt.  I've gone on a few short runs this past week and it feels good to get out there again and kind of nice to just run how ever far I want to that day.

Looking back at 2015 in running...it was pretty great.
I PR-ed a 5K, a 10K, a 1/2 marathon and a full marathon.  The shorter distances were in the spring and the longer ones in the fall.
I also struggled through a hot and humid 1/2 in June and was hit hard by some of the distance training for the marathon.
I ran with my sister.  I ran with Lisa and Kaylee.  I ran a 5K with some awesome kiddos from the youth running club I helped out with this summer/fall.
I got to corral sweaty cross country runners at the finish line of a few home meets.
I volunteered at a local 5K and got to cheer for all the runners and was super excited to cheer for the ones I knew.

I found a new love for running this year.
I enjoy longer distances and serious training plans that push me to see how strong I am.
I love running with kiddos and teaching them about the joy of running.
I love small town races and traveling to see new places.

Who knows what 2016 will bring....but there will be miles of running.  :)

Some goals...
Run a marathon.
Volunteer at at least two races.
Go to a race as a spectator.
Help coach the youth summer running club.
Run a race (any race) with my sister...from start to finish.

Until next year...