september recap

 I am SO happy to report that I completed my September goal. I ran 75 miles, well 75.5 if we are being exact!!! It was so rewarding and felt so great to get back to focusing on running. These miles were done on the treadmill, solo and some with the jogging stroller. I am so happy I made and completed this goal! 

I did two wonderful races, the first being the Pink Strides trail run in Granville, OH. It was such a pretty trail, filled with lots of scenery. I was the 3rd overall female finisher, and got a 5K PR time of 29:36. It felt so amazing to see my hard work pay off, and I can't even begin to tell you how special it was to me that my parents came to the race. I am almost 30 years old and seeing my parents smiling faces at the end of the race, still meant so much to me! I also got to run with my cousin, Sara. It was a great morning. 

The second race was Dances with Dirt - Hell. This is the race that started it all for me a year ago. Well, I guess if we are being technical my first race was well over 15 years ago with my Aunt Cathy and Uncle Rick. They talked me into a 5k, and gifted me a pair of sweet running tights. Running became something that I loathed, until February of 2014. 

I had been running for fun for a few months when my Uncle Rick asked if I would be interested in running a 100k trail relay with him and 3 other people. I needed a good goal at the time, so I joined in. I fell in love with trail running and saw first hand how much running in races can help with motivation and accountability. 

Dances with Dirt- Hell 2014 

Dances with Dirt - Hell 2015! This was taken after my second leg, through the swamp! It is called, "This Sucks!" 

This year proved to be just as amazing, and I loved tackling my portion of the race, which was just over 13 miles throughout the day. This year was much more challenging than last year, mentally and physically. I joked with my uncle and told him that if he would have given me these legs last year, I may have stopped running again. I pushed myself more this year, but I also took a lot of time throughout the race to just be thankful. Thankful to my husband for being so supportive of my endeavors, thankful to Luke for making me a mom, thankful for the opportunity to meet some amazing people through running and thankful for the opportunity for time to focus on me. 

 

So, onto new goals. Other than bringing you loads of pumpkin fun in the month of October, I am also going to be journaling. I would like to journal once daily, and see if I can get excited about this idea. I know it is good for the soul to write things out, but most importanly I want to be able to look back and remember what I was feeling and what I was doing. It may be a bit late to start, but hey better than never. 

Who's with me? Even if you have been journaling for awhile, maybe join in to make sure you have an entry every day, or if you have taken a hiatus, pick it back up! 

#sbmjournalingadventure 

Happy goal setting,