200 Days of Running

When I started this journey, to write and run for the last 200 days of the year, I really thought I could do both.  But, who was I kidding.  However, if I take a deeper look at the year, it's not like I didn't accomplish anything.  I can look at my stats for the year and see that I have done more with my running this year than I did probably when I was in the military. This year, according to MapMyRun, I have a total of 951.1 miles.  That's a fair distance I would say.  The goal was to do 1000 miles, so did I reach the stretch goal, no, but, when I see that it's because I was lazy at certain points throughout the year, then I only have me to blame.  You see, I am the queen of the blame game.  While, it's not always someone else's fault, I always feel like I should feel guilty of coming up short in my own mind.  But, the more I look at some of my thoughts, the more I realize I am total nut and that's about how my life is now... a bit nutty... I f...

For today, I am glad I was able to complete my five mile Friday run.  I had to split it up into two separate runs this evening since the sun was going down and I am not going to do trail running at night. At least, not at this time.  I was not properly equipped is what it comes down too. We got to the trail and the dog was doing so good at sitting in the seat and not moving around and just sniffing the wind.  I had decided to use this as a test run for my new wireless headphones.. I don't like that I am having a hard time with the volume, this might be a usage factor if I can't get it right... and it has been a long time since I was at this trail.  I was very pleased to see that there were no cars parked there when we got out. I was also using my new running belt that holds a single bottle but the bottle is 21 ounces.  I can't complain about that, it's more than what I have ever carried.  We were running at a good pace and I started to think about a ...

This year, I have had the pleasure of being able to have a vacation for the first time in a lot of years for the holidays.  It has come with some mixed emotions, some lessons that have been learned, and as always, the running and the let down of the holiday it self. This year I have run more than I ever have before.  And I'm pretty sure that included the times I was active duty military.  I am not all the way done with my running or the year for that matter, but, I wanted to reflect on some of the highlights of my running year. To begin with, I had set a strange goal for myself that I thought would be totally out of reach and yet when that moment came, there I was, in line and on time.  I had set out to enter and run in the Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon in Phoenix this past January, and when that day came, there I was, standing at the starting line wondering if I would be able to meet my goal of 3.5 hours.  I will be honest, there is a lot of help from the oth...

Today was a hard one for me.  For starters, my love comes home and tells me that we have to check the water pump on my car to make sure that is still working.  This is what felt like the start to a disastrous day for me.  The up side was, it wasn't the pump, I had a return line that was blocked and causing the water to not flow properly.  Easy problem fixed. Next, as I was looking at the front of the car, I go to turn and get into it, but, not before I slammed my knee into a cool post that the bumper will be mounted to tomorrow.  Let me tell you how much that hurt.  There were tears, I won't lie about that.  It was incredibly painful. Still is for that matter.  It will bruise something fierce and hurt like the dickens until who knows when. Right on the knee cap I had to rent a vehicle due to still not being able to drive the car.  It's finally running which I couldn't be happier about, but, without the bumper and grill and fenders...

After what seems to feel like an eternity, I am happy to say that I should have my car up and running soon... That being said, it depends on getting one last part in, with any luck, tomorrow morning.  It's been a long road getting this far in the game.  I feel like I have had to suffer in a lot of ways this last month.  But, I have come to realize after 4 miles tonight, that once again, my sense of jealousy had come out yet again this season and I have had to battle some pretty petty unresolved issues that I have from childhood.  And while I'm happy to report that a good run came help them come to light, a mother good run tends to help me get to the point where I can let it go.  Again. I had to return my moms car to her tonight.  So, once I dropped it off, I was bound to need to get home. Since they were gone, I left the key on the counter with a small note that said thank you on it.  I didn't refill it with gas.  It's at 1/4 of a tank, and I ...

This year has had many ups and downs.   I started off with this dream of being some kind of super committed runner who went out every day.  I had hopes of completing the You Vs The Year and then going on to finishing with running/walking/cycling 1000 miles. There have been times when I thought for sure I was going to beat it all, and there have been weeks when I was lazy and didn't want to get out of bed at all.  I have laughed and cried during my runs, I have ran in four different half marathons, one 5k, and many other training runs, friend runs, runs in the blistering cold and scorching heat.  But I always thought I would get all my miles in for the year. Thus far, I have finished my YVTY challenge, ran in those four major events for me, ran with my family, but, alas, I don't see me finishing my 1000 miles this year.  Why does this upset me so?  When I began my own challenge, I signed up for an actual 1000 mile challenge, paid the money for the medal ...