Month: January 2014

Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge

Well, the time is almost here.  Just a few more days till I leave for Florida to run one of the craziest races.  I remember hearing about Goofy Challenge a few years ago when I used to work at the bar association and one of our members was collecting money for charity.  I remember thinking “This guy is crazy”. Ha, well the joke is on me because now I am one of those crazy ones.

I will admit that I am excited, nervous, and scared.  I feel OK for the half marathon but what worries me is the full marathon.  The last one I did was over a year ago when I ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Marathon.

I did my best to train for this challenge.  I did some running outside and on the treadmill.  The past few weeks has been really cold and we’ve been hit with so much snow that I have no idea when it will all melt.  I really dislike running in the cold and in the snow.  Running this race seemed like a good idea a few months ago and did not take into consideration that I would have to train during the winter.  Boo.

On New Year’s Eve I went to see a Walt Disney exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry.  To all of you Disney fans, did you know that Walt Disney was born in Chicago?  There were photos, costumes, artifacts, and many other items commemorating 90 years of The Walt Disney Company. I enjoyed the exhibit very much and am glad I got the chance to see it.  That got me more excited about the races.
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Wish me luck!  My goals are to enjoy both races and to finish them within the required time to get all of my medals.

What is your favorite Disney movie?  Mine is “The Lion King.”

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December and Year in Review 2013

Happy New Year!!

In December I ran 142.39 miles compared to 104.65 in November.  December was the month where I ran the most miles.  Plus, according to my cool spreadsheet, I finally ran over 1,000 miles this year.

I signed up again for the Runner’s World Holiday Running Streak.  I wasn’t able to complete it last summer nor last winter but three times is a charm right?  I did it…but barely.  How hard can it be to run one mile per day?  Ha, it was definitely more work for me.  Or maybe I was just lazy? During the week the last thing I wanted to do was go to the gym for that mile.  Yeah, I guess I could have ran outside but this crazy weather was not helpful.  Well, with all complaints aside, I completed this streak and that is all that matters.

Total miles ran in 2013 was 1018.59 miles compared to 848.41 in 2012.

This year I ran 24 races.  14 of those races were Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon Races.  I PR’d in the ING Hartford Half Marathon and at the Community Bank of Elmhurst 4 on the 4th.

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My best race experiences were the ING Hartford Half Marathon and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon.  Other cool races were the Little Rock Half Marathon because I met Bart Yasso and the Manchester City Half Marathon because I met the lovely Kathrine Switzer.

Best medals I received were from the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon and the Little Rock Half Marathon.  I would love to go back to Little Rock to run the full marathon because the medal is as big as my face.

I ran in 19 states last year.  Also, I ran my 100th race in my sweet town Chicago!  I submitted this photo to Pavement Runner as one of The Best Photos of 2013 and he posted it on his blog!  There are other amazing photos so make sure to check it out.
 
100th race
 

I ran in the Mizuno Wave Elixir but fell deeply in love with the Brooks PureFlow 2 and the PureConnect 2.  I love them so much that I’ve purchased several pairs from Running Warehouse. Are 8 pairs enough?

 
 
I discovered Huma Energy Gels but also found out about Gu Energy Gel in Salted Caramel thanks to Kim at (Just) Trying is for Little Girls.  Run with Jess had 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways and I won Day 12 which was an 8pk of Gu Energy Gels in Salted Caramel.  Yep, that made me very happy.
 

2013 was a frustrating year for me.  I could not even get close to a sub 2 half marathon (which was my goal in 2013) but I was also frustrated for being hard on myself and not being able to fully experience and enjoy each race.  However, after various pep talks from several people and a big change of attitude, I was no longer frustrated and instead made the best of each race.  I loved traveling to each state and look forward to many more this year.

Follow my journey as I travel to run in more states, each RunDisney Half Marathon, and a 50K all in 2014.