New Year - New Goals!

The New Year will be here in a mere 8 hours. Last year I set one goal and failed within the first month. This year, I'm hoping that if I write the goals down and share them with someone, I'll be more likely to stick to them. So without further ado...

Goal #1: Run one race a month. This can be anything from a road race, to a scavenger hunt to a triathalon. This coming year has lots of fun in store with a Zombie 5k, Urban Iditarod, and Tough Mudder already on the agenda. Luckily I've got lots of great, active friends who are joining me in this pursuit, so it should be a wonderful time!

Goal #2: Break 24 minutes in the 5k. Right now my 5k PR is 24:19. It's from October 2009. I was in the best shape of my (short) life then and just happened to hit this time. If I want to break 24 minutes this year, it'll take some focused training to do so! I'm hoping to start this training in January so I can knock this goal out in the late winter/early spring time so I can move onto my next goal...

Goal #3: Break 2 hours in the half-marathon. I've run 4 halves in the past year and a half. Each (official) one has gotten faster but my fastest is only 2:11 at RnR Providence. This half was not run as a race, but as a long run for my marathon. While I wasn't running my hardest or fastest at the time, I don't think I could have broken 2 hours if I tried. Again, this goal will take some focused training, but I think it's possible towards the late summer/early fall time of 2012.

Goal #4: Complete a marathon. If all goes well with Goals #2 & #3, I'd like to attempt 26.2 again in 2012. I tried it in 2011, but it didn't end well. An injury, failure to properly train, and pre-race and race day factors all caused me to drop out after 14 miles (my un-official 4th half in my eyes). My goal is to train smart and hopefully complete a full marathon in late fall/early winter. However, I want to be prepared for this race, so if I don't feel like I can race it well, I'll put this one on hold until 2013.

Goal #5: Be active at least 4 days a week. Like most, I have a love/hate relationship with both running and the gym. There are weeks where I never take a break from either and then there are weeks where I never once lace up the sneaks or set foot inside the gym. Therefore, my goal for the year is not to run or lift 4 times a week, but stay active. This could mean going for a walk, playing dodgeball or anything else that gets the blood pumping!

Goal #6: Put myself out there more. I tend to embrace routine and stay away from change. I avoid situations if I think they'll make me uncomfortable or feel awkward. However, I'd like to be more adventurous this year and try some new things: whether it be new sports, new hangouts or anything else that wouldn't normally strike my fancy.

I think that's good enough for now! I may add a few if I think of something I'd really like to do, but six goals seems like more than enough to focus on for one year! Here's to a wonderful 2012!

Thankful Things - Day 3 and 4

It is really hard to keep up with this whole blogging everyday thing so it's probably definitely not going to happen. Even blogging once every two days is still a long shot. Anyways, on to my thankfulness.

Thankful Thing - Day 3

Today I'm thankful that in less than a month I'll be on a flight to California to see my good friend, Mr. Johnathan Brecht, for the first time in far too long! You see Mr. Brecht and I have not seen each other in almost a year. This time last November, Mr. Brecht made the long trek from warm(er) California out to the greater Boston area for a visit. While he was here, we:

did some sight seeing:

did some team-teaching:

did some obstacle course racing:

and did some partying:

Then this thing called life happened, and no more visits were planned. Fast forward to about six weeks ago (aka the terrible week before the marathon) when A LOT of bad things happened all at once. I was miserable and Mr. Brecht was there to dangle a visit out to sunny California in my face in an attempt to cheer me up.

While it cheered me up, temporarily at least. Almost six weeks later, and we finally found a time that works for both of our schedules. Before it could change, I booked my flight!

In less than 4 weeks, I'll be flying out to California to:

do some hiking.

do some running.

do some cross-fiting.

and do some relaxing.

But mostly I'm just looking forward to hanging with this crazy guy,

before he heads out to dominate his dream and become a Navy SEAL. Hoorah!


Thankful Thing - Day 4

Today I'm thankful for the smile that has been plastered on my face all day.

It all started off with a wonderful morning. I'll just leave it at that for now.

It was soon followed by a phenomenal work conference, where I spent 7 lovely hours with two of my coworkers listening to an amazing woman speak passionately about teaching. We walked away re-energized, and filled with a renewed fervor for our ability to shape and mold young minds everyday.

As soon as I walked in the door from my conference this afternoon, I was greeted with some spectacular news on the dodgeball front. Since dodgeball was my Thankful Thing on Day 1, you already know how much this means to me. Again, I'm going to leave it at that for now, but trust me. It is EPIC.

After relaxing for a bit, I (begrudgingly) proceeded to a VERY cold softball game. While I may have spent the first 5 minutes entire game complaining of the bitterly cold temperatures, I thoroughly enjoyed being back out on the field with a lot of my old teammates. To make the trek into the chill even better, we completely demolished the other team. Competitive much?

While this hasn't happened yet, I will soon be ending the night hanging out with good friends, drinking and dancing the night away :)

Seriously, so blessed!

Thankful Things - Day 1 and 2

It's November (or Movember for all those hunky men out there growing out their 'stache for a good cause) and that means Thanksgiving! While many people immediately have thoughts of massive amounts of turkey, pie, and stuffing (okay sometimes I do too), I usually think of what I am most thankful for.

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Some days it's hard to narrow it down to just one thing, while others it's hard to come up with a single thing I am thankful for. However, if this girl can come up with a list EVERY Thursday, I can come up with something once a day. I know I am seriously blessed so my goal is to detail one thing I am thankful for every day of November.

Thankful Thing - Day 1

Today I am thankful for dodgeball. This may sound silly to some people. I am thankful that people are purposely throwing balls at my head in an attempt to hit me? Yes, yes I am.

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Not only is the sport itself - and yes, I consider it a sport - slowly taking the #1 spot in my heart over running, but the people who play it are some of the best around.

I joined a local league through Social Boston Sports about a year ago after being invited by a friend, Janna. I didn't know anyone on the team besides Janna so I was a little hesitant to say the least. I should have known not to be worried because everyone on my team was AWESOME!

Fast forward a year and many, many seasons of dodgeball, and most of my best friends here in Boston are those same dodgeballers that I was so scared of. I no longer just see them on Monday or Tuesday night out on the court. We have movie nights together, throw some crazy birthday bashes, and even head 6 hours away to run Zombie 5k's with each other.

They are the first people I call when I have good news, and the first ones to come to my aid when I need a pick-me-up. I can honestly say that I don't know where I would be if I had not met them throughout the past year.

And I wouldn't have met them without dodgeball. So dodgeball - I am thankful for you!

Thankful Thing - Day 2

Today my thankfulness is three-fold:

1. I'm thankful that Keith, my step-dad, so generously donated his bike to me over the summer.

2. I'm thankful to Andy for taking me on my first biking adventure since having said bike here, in the greater Boston area.

3. I'm thankful this biking adventure included 26 miles of dominating the Minuteman Trail.

I'm sure my butt will be thanking me tomorrow!