She runs through the streets

As 2016 draws to an end, I’m keeping an extra close eye on my Runmeter App and watching as my total miles for the year draws closer to a previously unimagined milestone – 1,000 miles! It’s funny. I never think of myself as really goal oriented or competitive, but there’s something about running that inspires a little bit of both of those in me.

The idea of challenging myself to attain a certain number of miles first came to me in February, a distinct disadvantage since I was already 25 miles off pace. Cognizant of the fact that my schedule is pretty packed with 3 kids, a full-time job, a business, a personal life and a dog, I decided to just plug away and do my best. I honestly didn’t truly start obsessing about my goal until the end of July, when I had approximately 560 miles under my belt. Things were not looking promising.

I shifted focus and began working towards another, more achievable running mini-goal – 3 consecutive month half marathons. Training for the Chingachgook Challenge, Palio and Hairy Gorilla both took my attention from my 1,000 mile goal and made it more accessible since I had to up my mileage. By the time I completed my trifecta, I realized my challenge was actually looking possible and I’ve been busting my ass ever since to meet the mark. With 2+ weeks left in the year, I have 961 miles completed and I do believe I’ve got this – and a new challenge in mind…

My winter goal is to run the complete HMRRC Winter Series. There are 5 races with distances varying from 3.5 miles to a complete marathon. A couple of weeks ago, I ran the first of the series (a 15K) and I’ve got my eye on the New Year’s Day half. Maybe I’ll see you there? I’ll be the one wearing the 1,000 mile medal.