Meeting Goals

I know 2011 is not over yet, but it has been SUCH a crazy year so far, it is hard not to look back already and reflect on everything that has been going on.

Almost a year ago - Christmas of 2011, actually, I made a goal to run my first half marathon. The thought of running more than 5 miles intrigued me more than scared me. The goal was still not so tangible where the idea really terrified me yet. It was not the first time I thought about doing a half marathon. For about 2 years, I told myself "if I train for it, then I will register for it and run it."

After the second year, I figured myself out pretty well, and knew I was NOT going to train for it, unless I took the plunge and registered.

Winter was rough. I hate the cold, and even if I loved it, the roads were so icy from all of our storms, it was near impossible getting outside to run. I even purchased Yaktrax (pictured) to wear over my sneakers to run on ice and snow, but I was hit with another issue - my husband was away a lot over the winter, leaving no one to watch our young son while I went for early morning or evening runs. While the Yaktrax were useful for shoveling my car out of the snow drifts, I did not get any runs out of them.

The point of my blog is to share how a full time working mom gets her workouts in. I made use of the gym near me, and had to squeeze workouts before I picked up my son from daycare, or in the living room with a P90X DVD after I put him to bed. This did not always mean getting a run in, however. When my husband returned, I would either get to the treadmill if it was dark out, or get my long runs during weekends as the ice thawed and spring reared her much awaited for head. Early mornings, when my husband was home, I would hit up 5:15AM spin classes. This meant going to bed the same time my son did. This also meant that laundry wasn't always finished during the week.

My half marathon was on May 1. From January until the end of April, I had to find any time I could to get a run in. On weekdays, I could only get in short runs. Weekends were for longer runs. I managed to conquer my first 10K race in the process - the morning of my son's 4th birthday party! The moms oohed and ahhhhed as they watched me walk around in stiletto heels later that day. But for me, I only accomplished half the distance I needed and I still had a month to go.

My longest run before the half was 8 miles. People assured me if I could run 8 miles, I could run 13.1.... They were sadly mistaken. My legs crapped out at mile 10, and the next 3.1 miles were spent with me crying in the hot sun as I just said to myself, "one more step... one more step..."

I did finish.

And promptly signed up for my SECOND half, which I just completed in early October.

I had more time to train for that, but discovered training in the summer is harder than training in the winter. I followed the same pattern - a 10K a month before my half. Little by little, I felt stronger with each race. Over the summer, I switched jobs, and my husband got a new job with weekend hours. Once again, we both have to juggle our workout schedules to balance out time together, and time with our son.

2011 is not over yet, but I ran numerous 5K races (one of them the Warrior Dash, which I will post about another day), walked 35 miles for breast t cancer, ran a 4 mile race for autism, 2 10K races, and 2 half marathons. We still have 2 and a half months to go before we say goodbye to 2011 and all the challenges it held. I still have a few more races to train for before that happens.

Wonder what 2012 will bring.....?