A Look Ahead to 2013 and Joining the 13 in 2013 Challenge

As I mentioned in 2012, a Year in Review, I mentally grew in my running outlook which has changed my 2013 outlook. I have some goals on where I would like my year to go, but I'm not ready to share those yet. When Jill posted about her new challenge for 2013 with the option to run a variety of race distances, I thought that seemed like a good challenge to try. 

I will be running a variety of distances (5Ks, 10Ks, 13.1s and trail races) in 2013 to make up my 13 races. Some of the races will be actual races that I go to, and some will be Virtual Races (read, FREE). 

The challenge of completing 13 races has me excited as in 2012 I ran 7 races. Some I will race and hope to improve my PR times. Some I will just run for the fun of it. My main goal in 2013, though, is to keep it FUN. 

2013 will start with a 5k on January 1 for my "Resolution Run" as part of Laura's 5 by the 5th Virtual Race Series.  My first "real" race is Rocks and Roots Trail Race (I still need to figure out how many 10k loops I will be running....) I ran the Sugarcreek 5 Mile Trail Race last year and loved the difference in trail racing from road racing. I'm really looking forward to the challenge of the trails this year and taking the (self imposed) pressure off of myself for always going faster. The trails will do that, for sure!

As life changes, I may change my goals, but this is where I'm starting. I'm looking forward to some new challenges!

Do you have any set goals for 2013? Are you going for a big PR? A new race distance? Do you make changes as the year progresses? 

From Our Family to Yours....

Merry Christmas!

I wish you a safe and happy holiday week! We will be counting our blessings and enjoying time with our family. Enjoy the magic of the season!

2012, A Year in Review

2012 was a fantastic year! It was a year full of new experiences and a lot of learning for me. At the beginning of the year, I outlined my goals. While I didn't meet all of them, I'm very happy with my year.

• Run at least 1,260 miles (I ran 1256 miles in 2011); As of 12/20, I've run 1,357 miles
• Set a PR at the March ORRRC Half Marathon (current PR 1:59) Official Time 1:58:10
• Break 4:30 at The Cleveland Marathon in May Didn't happen, you can read the full recap here
• Cross-Train/Strength Train more often; Overall, I did better this past year than I have previously. Now that I have a bike trainer, I can keep going through the winter months.
• Run a few shorter races, 5K or 4 milers to break up the distance training; I ran a 5 mile trail race, a Four mile race (recap) and a 5K (recap). I set new PRs in both the 4 mile and the 5K and honestly enjoyed the races more than I've enjoyed shorter distance races in the past.
• Run smart! (no injuries in 2012!) I mostly succeeded here....I had a sprained ankle from a trail run and a slight tear in my knee from running down a mountain in Ragnar. Both injuries only kept me from running for about a week.
• Keep running fun! I succeeded here. When I realized I wasn't having fun at certain points, I would take a step back, make changes and move on. 

In October, I ran the Columbus Half Marathon as a Children's Champion, raising funds  for Nationwide Children's Hospital so all kids get the care they need. That was a first for me, running for someone else. Even though I do not enjoy asking for money, I will definitely be fundraising again. The satisfaction of helping others was incredible.

November, I ran through the mountains of Tennessee for my first ever Ragnar Relay Race. It was actually my first Relay experience and I LOVED it! I will definitely be running more relays (when the funds are available, of course!).

Not breaking my goal of 4:30 at the Cleveland Marathon crushed my spirit for a while. That was one of the times that I had to take a step back and adjust my mindset. I don't know if I have another marathon and marathon training in me, but I've come a long way personally since then. If I never run another marathon, I'm ok with my current times. After all, I've run TWO marathons which is way more than I ever dreamed possible! I regained my love of running and THAT made it a great 2012!

How was your 2012? Did you set goals for the year? Did you meet or exceed your goals? If not, are you going to try again for 2013?

Day of Rememberance

I am just one of MANY who blog about fitness, food, parenting, running, life. Today I am joining together with them as a tribute to the victims of Newtown, CT and Sandy Hook Elementary. We are not posting our previously scheduled posts, we will share them another day.

Today, I have the privilege of struggling to get my kindergartner ready to go to school.

Today, I have the privilege of struggling to get my 3 year old to go on the potty.

Today, I have the privilege of watching my boys fight over Legos.

Today, I get to hold my children and tell them "I LOVE you".

Please take the time to remember and be thankful.

Enjoy your family. Enjoy your children.

I pray for all children, but especially the families in Newtown, CT whose lives will never be the same again.

Parenting Outside the Box

As parents there is no right or (completely) wrong answers. We have learned over the past five (and a half if you ask the oldest) years that we need to do what works for our kids. And that even varies between the two of them. I think we have tried everything, but we have finally found something that seems to work for both. We have a "Caught You Jar". We fill the jar with "Caught You Balls" (cotton balls) when we catch them being good.

"Caught You" behavior can be as simple as we notice they have been playing well together for a while, one or both of them has excellent behavior at the grocery store (yeah, my favorite place to go with kids...), they do what is asked the first time it is asked, etc. They LOVE being "caught"!

We have found that rewarding good behavior works much better for us that punishing bad behavior. Don't get me wrong, we still have to dole out the punishments on occasion, but positive reinforcement seems to be the key. I'm sure many of you are saying "duh", but we each learn our own ways, in our own time!

The Caught You jar has been filled several times and the reward is a fun family activity.  By far, the favorite activity so far is "hotel night". My kids LOVE to go to hotels and have been to several in their short lives (lucky kids!). However, we don't have the funds to go to hotels all that often, so my creative husband came up with hotel night. We make pizza, have a picnic in the family room, watch tv during our picnic, eat cookies, then all sleep on the floor in the family room.

Seems simple enough right? As adults, we sometimes forget the joy in the little things. Kids are great for reminding us to take the simple pleasures out of life. It's not always about the big things. It's not (always) about spending lots of money. It's about thinking outside the box.

I try to remember to slow down, enjoy life and see it through their eyes as much as possible. They grow too fast as it is!

What type of ideas do you have for Parenting Outside the Box?

The Gift of Fitness

Ahhh....December. A time for chaos stress over-eating holiday cheer! There is always a lot to do in the month of December with not a lot of time to do it (see how there's only 25 days in the calendar?!)  I know that sometimes fitness can go by the wayside. After all, isn't January 1 the day to get started back up again? Just a few short years ago, that was my attitude, see the picture below....

Christmas 2009

However, I've learned a lot since that day. Just because you have one bad day of eating or even one bad weekend, doesn't mean that you should just give up. In fact, that means just work harder! Why wait for a couple weeks, or a month, just because the tradition is to start new healthy habits on the first of the year? If you start today, think of how far ahead you will be and how good you'll feel on January 1. It will be a habit that you can carry into the new year. (This is of course if the world doesn't end on 12/21 or 22 or whatever day they are currently citing....) Sorry, stepping off my soapbox now.

Denise of RunDMT  and Jenny of MetamorFit posted a new challenge for December. I haven't done any challenges for a couple months as I was getting burned out by doing the same thing all the time. As soon as I read the details, I knew it was right up my alley. As Denise states:

 The December fitness challenge is simply a reminder to do something, anything every day.  By doing something every day, we’ll help battle the holiday bulge and kick those extra Christmas calories to the curb.

The challenge is easy...walk, run, skip, bike, swim, ice skate, push-ups, crunches..ANYTHING to get you moving EVERY DAY.

Even though today is December 5, I have been doing something every day. It's not too late, though. Want to join us? Check out Denise's post here, tweet using #fitgift.

As you see, their challenge meshes well with my desire to NOT eat my way through the holidays. Some days I'll eat more, but I'll also be moving more to get me through the month. My thinking is also that I will be able to get the kids and the hubby in on some of these days if I keep it fun!

Will you join us? If not, what will you do to keep on track during the holidays? And what are some fun family fitness ideas?

And the winner is.....

Thank you to all who entered the OrthoLite Fusion Insoles giveaway last week.  

The lucky winner is: 

Dave P.November 26, 2012 10:14 AM

My doctor recommended to me that I might want to try insoles since I've proven to be a high risk shin splints/stress fracture runner. I haven't tried them yet, though, but I'm curious as to whether they would help me or not.

Hopefully, Dave, the insoles (along with everything else I know you're doing) will help you have an awesome, injury free 2013!

Send me your email address Dave, so I can get your information to OrthoLite. They will send your pair straight to you.

If you entered and didn't win, I have another giveaway coming soon! Sorry guys, it's for the ladies, but you could always give it to a special lady runner in your life. :) That's all the hints you get, but look for it coming soon!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”