Keep pushing on? Nope. Time to rethink the current mission.

I made it through the week off!

Not running all week was tough and not going to the gym was even tougher than I thought, more physically than mentally.  I never realized how much my weeknight trips to Fitness Renegades was really part of my life now, until I couldn't go! Granted, I had my strength exercises from PT that I needed to do, but that's just not the same as a dose of Joe's daily intense lifting and challenging missions or Ty's fierce weekend warrior insanity adventures.  I may make light of these workouts but they are intense, often fierce and push me to my limits and I wouldn't have it any other way.  Thanks guys!

On Thursday when I met with Lisa, while she was really working my IT Band we were discussing my painful weekend, how things were going this week and where we were headed from here.

From the way my run and workout last weekend went. I knew what was coming...

We were only 4 weeks out from the marathon.  My longest run to date was 14 miles, over a month ago.
As of right now, I couldn't make 10 miles without being in extreme pain.  I think deep down I knew what I needed to do, it was just really hard to admit it.

I was NOT going to be running this Full Marathon.

I will be honest, it was tough to finally admit what I think I knew deep down a few weeks ago already.  My body was just not ready for the challenge yet.  Last summer when I was just running a lot of miles and spending minimal time with strength training, I was doing ok.  Then over the winter, I switched gears and was doing a heavier amount of strength training and minimal running (thanks to mother nature and the "lovely" winter we had here) that too was ok.  Come spring when I upped the mileage and kept up with the strength training, but body put up the stop sign.  Ok, it was probably just a caution flag at first but since I didn't pay attention to it right away, it turned into a red flag.  I needed to stop and pay attention to what was going on.

I did get the ok from my PT to run the half marathon and thankfully I was able to find someone that had a Half Marathon registration that they were no longer able to use.  Unfortunate that they were not able to run, but in the end it was a blessing for me, as the half marathon was at capacity and I could not just "switch" events.  It cost me $10 to process the transfer, but that was $10 well spent!

I am taking these next few weeks before the half marathon to work on the strength training prescribed by my PT to get me moving in the right direction and on May 18th, I will head out for my 1st Half Marathon on 2014.

Yes I am disappointed that I will not be able to make Cellcom 2014 my first Full Marathon, but I know that with some hard work over the next few months, I will only come out a stronger runner in the end.  I am not calling it quits on a Full Marathon, just delaying it until my body is ready for the challenge!

The rest of 2014 is still ahead of me, several 5k's, 10k's, color runs and Half Marathons, so the distances might be shorter, but the miles will still me there!  We are not stopping, just changing gears and taking a detour!

Pushing through vs listening to your body

As I have posted about before, change is inevitable.  Plans change all the time and we need to be able to adapt.  Many of these changes can be tough, both physically and mentally.  Doing what you know is right vs what you WANT to do can be tough. When do you push through the pain and when do you stop and listen to your body and slow down?

I know it's been a few weeks since I have posted and I apologize.  Some days it was enough just to keep my head above water!  My blog was one of those things that I just was not able to get to!  Trust me - it's not because I didn't want to.  But something had to give and time was not on my side.  Many nights, I opted for sleep instead of blogging... yup, I had to figure out some priorities!  I am going to work on a few posts to get you caught up on the marathon training

After a positive 8 mile run that I mentioned in my last post, I was given the ok to do 10 the following weekend. For the first time since Thanksgiving I was actually able to get out and run with my running partner Matt!  It was going to be a great morning!

Matt and I set out at a comfortable pace and were ready to enjoy the morning, but determined to make it back before the rain.  We crossed the bridge and hit the trail with a few hundred of our closest friends.  We kept a good pace and when we turned around at mile 5 (keeping my word to my PT that I would do no more than 10 miles).  I was feeling good and it was great to be running with Matt again.

At about mile 9, I started to feel my knee creeping up on me and knew that I didn't have much left.  The stubborn side of me came though and I pushed it through to the end.    Overall when I finished, I felt great and really was not in any pain.  I talked to the crew from myTEAM TRIUMPH for a few minutes and then Matt and I headed home.    I met up with Sir Felix (my foam roller that has become one of my new best friends) for some quality rolling time and followed it up with some ice.  Overall, I was sore, but nothing that I really was worried about.

Sunday morning rolled around and it was time for one of Ty's awesome Sunday Circuits at the gym.  Overall it should not have been a tough workout, compared to some of the adventures he puts us through.  Unfortunately, the burpees got the best of my by round 2.  The impact from the burpees was too much for my knee and I struggled to get through the 35 minutes.  I walked several of the laps and took it slow.  In the end I was proud of myself for finishing it and knowing that I made the adjustments that I needed to keep myself going.  I spent some time rolling and stretching at the gym before I left and was on my way.  Once I got into my car, the pain caught up to me.  I was nearly in tears by the time I got home.  My husband banned me to the couch with a bag of ice for the afternoon.  IT HURT!  I officially over did it and my body was voicing it's opinion.  If I can't even get through 10 miles without all this pain, how was I going to do 26.2 in just over a month?  I had some serious thinking about what was the reality of all of this.  My body was starting to rebel.  Was I biting off more than I can chew at this point?

On Monday, I shot off an email to my physical therapist and the other trainer that was covering stuff for her while she was on vacation.  I filled them in on what happened over the weekend and I was given strict orders to take the week off.  No running until after I saw Lisa again (not until Thursday) and no going to the gym.  They didn't want me to do anything that could potentially cause a flare up.

OMG!  It's bad enough to tell me that I can't run, but to tell me no gym either?

Like I told Nate, telling me not to run or go to the gym is like telling a 4 year old not to eat the bowl of candy that you left on the table.  Nate's response?  "eventually, you are going to take the candy away if the 4 year old does not listen"... Ok Nate, you got me there.    No running, no gym  UGH!

 Here's to a long week of trying to keep my mind off everything that I want to be doing...

Come on legs, butt and feet, lets get everything working together!!!  The adventure continues...

Life is a Roller Coaster! Hop on and enjoy the ride

Yes, there are ups and down - and sometimes a lot of them, in a short amount of time, but that is what makes the adventure all the more interesting! 

Welcome to this week's Fireside Chat!  It's Sunday night and time to sit back and reflect on the last week.  I am sure that I am like most people - you go into a week with grand plans of what needs to get done, what you wish to accomplish and how you see the week going. 

This past week was no different.  I had plans on actually getting caught up on some of blog post, starting some spring cleaning (my craft/costume/project room is a disaster and I can't find anything!) and try out a few new recipes.  I was signed up for classes at the gym (I was determined to get there 4 times this week) and had several training runs planned.

Having to face the reality that I needed to slow down on my training runs and work on getting my body healthy and injury free has been tough.  Telling a runner that they can't run is hard to deal with.  Granted, I have been told that I can still run, just have to keep the miles low (like less than 5 miles).  The fact that I have my marathon in less than 6 weeks is kinda freaking me out.  At this point, my longest run has been 14 miles.  This past weekend was supposed to be 18 miles but after my PT appointment on Thursday, I was told that was not going to happen.  She gave me the ok to do the 10 mile run, but only if I promised that I would cut it short if my knee started bothering me.  

Figures, the weather is finally starting cooperate and I am limited on who much I can get out and run.  Getting out on Saturday for a run (even though it was shorter than I would have wanted to do) was awesome!  The Fox River trail was finally mostly clear and the sun was shining.  I ended up turning around at the 4 mile marker for the run instead of the 5, just because I didn't want to push the knee too far.  When I finished, I was feeling good, a little sore, but much better than I did after the 6 miles I did 2 weeks ago!  The most frustrating part of the run was the fact that I still felt like I could have run another 10 miles.  There is still fuel in the tank, the body and mind are still wanting to go further... with the exception of my beloved IT band and knee.  It give me that much more motivation to work on correcting the IT band issues and continue with the strength training and PT.  I want to get out there and really so how far I can run!

On a more exciting note - I think I need to go out and buy a lottery ticket! On Thursday I found out that I won a Twitter contest and now had 4 tickets plus a bunch of other goodies for the Monster Jam event at the Resch Center on Sunday!  Perfect timing for my son's 16th birthday!  It was a fun (but LOUD) afternoon!

The Prize Pack

The Birthday Bay and the trucks

 Then, I also found out that I won not one, but two of the gift baskets at the Comedy City Comedy Against Cancer Event last weekend!  The first basket was a wine and cheese assortment from 2 local venues.  THe second was a basket compliments of Badger State Brewing and the Green Bay Distillery.  With all this beer, wine and cheese, I think I've got the start of a good party!

Overall, it's been a great week and I am determined not to let me injury get me down.  I have to keep reminding myself that even tho my knee is not hurting when I run, that is not the ok to keep going.  Keeping the miles down is my best course of action to letting myself heal, no matter how many miles I really want to run.  I have an awesome supportive family and group of friends that are looking out for me and continue to remind me to SLOW DOWN.  I may grumble and try to be tough and push on, but I know what I need to do and I really grateful to have them looking out for me!

The Roller Coaster is ever changing and keeps us from getting bored.  Sometimes the climb to the top is slow and long but the view from the top is always worth the effort.  We just need to learn to enjoy the view from the top, look forward to the next adventure and the triumph at the end of the next hill!

Until next time, get out there and enjoy spring weather - now that it finally is here!

No Excuses!

The end of March has crept up on us way too fast!  It seems like it was just yesterday that we were dealing with sub zero temperatures, snow storms and making final preparations for out Spring Training Vacation.

Now it is the end of March, vacation is over and we are finally having warmer days!  Granted it will probably be July before we see green grass and can head to the beach - but it's a start!!

As I sit here and look back on the last month, it was definitely a roller coaster of a month.  I had some great runs, so not so great runs, shared a fabulous vacation with my
husband and some great friends... and had to face the fact that I needed to slow down and deal with an injury.

The statement above has really helped to keep me focused this month.  There were days that I had serious doubts about what I could do, questioned why I ever decided to sign up for a full marathon and was ready to just give up.  Then a statement like the one above would show up on my Facebook page or on my Twitter feed and remind me why set out on this journey.

For those of you that follow me on Facebook an/or twitter, you have seen me post about having to deal with this injury.  Any runner is prone to injury (and usually all deal with one at some time or another) and we all dread the words, "no running"... and hearing IT band is never a good thing to combine with that statement.  This was not a new injury to me.  I actually had IT band issues after the Fox Cities Half Marathon in 2012. With this race, my IT band issues were probably a direct result of trying to do too much, too fast.  I tried increasing my miles faster than I should have and thought could finish a half marathon without a lot of training - after all, I was planning on just walking most of it!  Wrong answer!  It actually took me over 7 months to feel comfortable running again. 

For those of you that are nor familiar with the IT band, yes you have one too!  In simple terms, it is a band that runs basically from your hip to your knee. It is key to helping stabilize the knee when running, biking, hiking and even weight lifting.  There are many factors that can contribute to IT band syndrome and at some point many runners end up dealing with either pain or injury that is IT band related.  

Icing my knee after my 17k in AZ

Now, 2 1/2 years later I started facing similar pain.  At first it just some minor pain after I would hit after running 8-10 miles.  I didn't think anything of it at first and just contributed it to the slow increase in miles during my marathon training schedule.  However, when the pain would creep up on my at the gym (some days squats got the best of me) I started looking at options.  I have some awesome trainers at the gym that started doing what they could to help me with additional strength training and modifying some things to try and keep me from aggravating it even more.  After doing a few long runs and spending time with ice packs all afternoon following a long run, and having to cut a 12 mile training run short because I started feeling the pain within the first few miles (I still pushed thru and finished 6 miles) I knew I need to do something.  

Thanks to the recommendation from a trusted fellow runner and his connections, I was connected with a fabulous Physical Therapist (who is also a runner!) to help me with a treatment plan and we are starting on the road to a better me, and a future will still see me as a runner.  Over the last few weeks I have learned that my pain this time is a result of not having all of my muscles working together like they should be.  All of my muscles in my legs are strong, except my glutes.  In the words of my Physical Therapist, all of the muscles in my legs are doing all the work and my glutes are just going along for the ride.  We need to wake them up and invite them to the party!  They need to start contributing to the effort!  We have a plan and with some hard work and dedication to this training plan, I know that I can come out on the other side, pain free and a stronger runner than I am today.

In the mean time, I have had to make some modifications to my training.  One of the hardest things that I have had to do in a long time was back out of running the Dick Lytie Half Marathon last weekend out at UWGB and only run the 5k.  Yes, I was bummed that I would not run the "big" miles, but I decided that I was going to go out there and make the best of the day. No Excuses!  It ended up being a mild and sunny day.  After the long cold winter that we dealt with, it was a fabulous day to get out and run. The 5k course was a fairly flat course so the elevation change (or lack thereof) was going to be refreshing!  I knew that I didn't want to push it too hard but still wanted to see what I could do.  I started out at a nice pace and fell into a refreshing rhythm.  When I hit the 1 mile marker I was feeling good.  It turned into a great feeling when I realized I just ran a 9 minute mile.  I kept up with the comfortable pace that I found and just rolled with it!  Before I knew it, the finish line was just ahead and it was on!  I kicked it in for that final push for the finish.

Official time = 28:37

In the end, I missed my 5k PR by only 8 seconds!  I could not believe I just did that!  It was an amazing feeling to know that I just ran one of my best 5k's EVER!  This amazing morning has truly given me the confidence that I can get through this injury and come out stronger in the end!  It will be some hard work, but I can do it!  I have a fabulous support team of my  amazing family,  fabulous trainers at the gym, my new Physical Therapist, plus many awesome friends that continue to help me grow as a runner, keep my in check so that I don't push myself too hard or too far and continue to encourage me to be the best that I can be.

Here is to a great 2014 and all of the adventures that will continue to come my way!  Be strong my friends!

Marathon training, 6 weeks down, 13 to go!l

No one ever said that training to run a marathon would be easy... but it will be worth it!

So far, the first half of that statement rings very true!  Training for the Cellcom Marathon has taken some getting used to for me. Miles, Miles Miles!  I live my life these days by the number of miles I have run!  Getting in the long runs, has not been the hard part for me.  It's the short, mid-week runs that  usually get me.  However, I have run more miles so far in 2014 than I did in the first 4 months of 2013 and have a gold of at least 750 miles by the end of the year.

 Between work and family schedules, sometimes it is hard to crank out a 4 mile run on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening.  Getting up early to run before work?  Been there, tried it.  It's tough, especially when I am usually in the office by 6am, and I really dislike treadmill running!  To get in a 4 mile run before work would mean that the alarm is going off before 4am every day, and this time of year means a date with the dreadmill.  Doing it once it a while is ok, but is not practical for every day. However, anything more than 4 miles would require getting up even earlier and I do admit - I like my sleep!

Now, please don't think that I my week days are void of activity.  Part of the reason that it is difficult for me to find time for my evening runs is that I don't want to miss my (almost) daily workouts at the gym!  Fitness Renegades as become such a part of my life that when I do have to skip a class, my day just seems "off".  These workouts are by no stretch "easy" and are definitely a key component in my conditioning. Each and every day is something a little bit different so I am never bored - which is a huge plus in my book! So, giving them up, or skipping them is NOT an option.  Plus, the crew there is pretty much like a second family and we are all out to help each other accomplish any goals that we have set.  Between the support from my family at home and at the gym, I know that I can conquer this adventure!

Last Thursday's Renegade workout

 On many occasions, I will head home after I leave the gym and knock out 3-4 miles on the TM or 10-15 miles on the bike, so the miles are still there, just in smaller quantities.

I also have found that I really look forward to the long Saturday morning training runs.  They have really shown me that I can do this.  Not only have I been able to increase the miles successfully each week, but I have also been able to keep my pace.  This past weekend, I finished the 10 mile training run faster than my average pace for the Brewers Mini Marathon last fall, so we still moving forward. I may not be the fasted one out there, but I am getting it done!

Anyone who is a runner, is used to having people tell them they are crazy (yes, this is actually a compliment to many of us!) and I heard that this weekend!  Not only did I complete my 10 mile training run, right after I finished, I drove around the corner to the gym (I drove, only because I had to move my car - next time, maybe I should just park AT the gym), warmed up, grabbed a foam roller, did some stretching and then joined the 10am Cardio Circuit class for 45 minutes of "fun".  Yes, I probably am on the edge of insane, but if I can pull off a 45 minute cardio circuit, I just proved to myself that there are more miles that I could have run!

Oh yeah.... I got up Sunday morning to catch another 45 minute fitness Renegade Cardio Circuit with Ty!

So, no matter what your running goals are for this year, they are going to push you to run further, run longer and probably make you wonder why you decided to do it, but don't give up!

It will be worth it in the end (at least that is what they say!)

Winter Polor Vortex and my new best friend, the Dreadmill

 Anyone who has lived or visited Wisconsin in the winter is aware of the beauty and crispness of a new fallen snow.  They also have knowledge of the bone chilling cold that we are blessed with on more than a few occasions during the winter.

Frozen eggs!

This year is a harsh exception.  They called it a Polar Vortex... I just know it has been really cold! We have had more below zero days in the last 2 months than I can recall in the 15 years I have lived through Wisconsin winters.  Of course, the 25 years before that, I lived in Michigan, so I am no stranger to cold, snowy winters.  The schools in the area have closed more this winter due to frigid temperatures than they normally do for snow days. In fact on one one of these "Cold Days" off from school, my 15 year old decided to freeze an egg outside... took less than 15 minutes!  We have gotten into the habit at work of going out to start our cars a few items during the day just so that we know that we will be able to start our vehicles to get home in the evening!

This year is the first winter that I have attempted to keep my miles up through the winter.  In the last, I did all my running in the summer and by the time the Turkey Trot rolled around, I was ready to hang up my running shoes for the winter.  There were a few years that I did do the Noodleini 5k and the Seroogey's Valentines run, but this was definitely not my desired running environment.   After all of the miles that I logged over the summer, I made a vow to myself that I was going to keep the miles going through the winter... and I was going to try and run outside as much as I could.  I did not want to face the Dreadmill!  However, Mother Nature had other plans!  running outside when temps hit the mid 20's is one thing.  Sub zero temps in an entirely different beast.

After 6 mile training run

In January when the Cellcom Marathon training runs started I had plans to get out and run with everyone else.  The first Saturday morning training run, Green Bay was covered with a thick blanket of ice from the storm the night before.  I hit the dreadmill for a few miles before heading to the gym for a food cardio circuit.  The following weekend, despite sub zero temps, I headed out for the training run.  It was nice to get out and see many friends on the course but when you finish a run with icicles on your eye lashes, you know it was cold!  But I survived... and then went to the gym to warm up with a good cardio circuit!

My mornings and/or evenings have been spent with short visits to the Dreadmill and I was still struggling to get beyond 3-3.5 miles.  The treadmill has never been my first choice when it comes to running, but I knew this is what I had to do.  Fast forward to the end of January... 7 mile training run at 7am.  When you wake up at 5am and the temp outside is -9, there is no getting out of bed for that! After 45 minutes, it did warm "up" to -4 but with 30mph winds, running outside was out of the question.

I finally came to the harsh realization that this winter there was not going to be as much running outside as I wanted.  I needed to learn to get past my hatred of the treadmill and just suck it up.  I really have no reason to not enjoy these runs just as much as my outside runs.  I have a TV with cable, Netfix and a DVD player right in front of the treadmill so I can watch what I want.  My headphones still work inside, so I can still have my music.  Plus, there is a bathroom less than 10 feel from my treadmill so I can take a quick break when I need to, without having to find the next park or gas station to find a bathroom.

Since we were up in Michigan at the Eben Ice Caves last Saturday, I had no choice but the miss the training run and had to do my 8 miles solo.  These solo miles ended up being on Sunday morning, before the Super Bowl festivities started at our house.  I knew I had to do the miles and needed to get past the negative thoughts I have about the treadmill.

It was tough.  I wanted to quit.  I had to walk part of the time, but I finally broke that 3.5 mile barrier on the treadmill.  I finished my 8 miles inside on the treadmill!  I have no excuses anymore!  Winter may have thrown me a curve ball and changed my running plans, but I'm not going to let that stop me!

Now that I know I can do the miles on my treadmill, time to kick it up a notch and start some more intervals and hills on my treadmill!!  This weekend is the Seroogy's Valentines Run.  Instead of doing the regular training run, I opted for this 15k.  I get chocolate and cookies at the end of this one!  My first official race of 2014 and it promises to be a memorable one - I'm just hoping that the weather forecast changes at least to be a little warmer before 8am Saturday morning rolls around!

Marathon training is officially underway!

Last weekend marked the official start of training for the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon.

The night before the opening training run, Green Bay was blessed with an ice storm.  Freezing rain started early Friday evening and continued well into the night.  By the time Saturday morning showed up, there was a glaring sheet of ice several inches thick through out the entire city!  I opted to skip the Prevea Saturday Morning run and wait until Sunday to put in my miles.

And I am so glad that I did!  Even though Sunday afternoon was not much warmer, the extra day allowed time for some of the ice to melt on the streets... I however did have to do the "penguin walk" for 4 blocks when I left the house before I found streets that were not covered in sheets of ice.  But once I found that point, I was off.

 The last few weeks were spend on the Dreadmill, putting in some needed miles, hiding in the basement.  UGH.  I would rather run outside in ran, cold or snow than inside, but Mother Nature seems to have come down with a twisted sense of humor and has blessed us with some very extreme weather that has made running outside nearly impossible.  When temps drop to -15 or below, the last thing that I want to do is try and run outside.  So I dealt with what I had to!  But getting outside was awesome!

Overall, it was a great first run outside of the season! As long as I kept to the more well traveled streets and payed attention to which side of the road saw more sunlight, it was fairly smooth running.  Before long, I had my 5 miles in!  and as if on cue, as soon as I hit my 5 miles point, John and Darrin were heading home from errands and passed where I was at... just about to start my 4 block penguin walk home!

Fast forward  to today.  I gave myself a challenge that many people told me was crazy... I was going to head out for the Prevea Training run at 7am and then hit the gym for the 9am circuit class.  It was officially the coldest run of the year (or that I think I have ever done!) so far, a balmy -4 when I started!  Despite the cold, it still felt great do get outside and run.  After a month of treadmill running, the cold was refreshing and actually awakening!

just a little cold out there this morning!

Running with a few hundred people this morning also gave me a sense of renewal... the 2014 running season has officially started and I was surrounded by people who share the same "insanity" as me. We run.  Why?  Everyone has their own reason, but whatever that reason is, it is what keeps us going, keeps us getting up at all hours of the morning, it various (often inconceivable) running conditions.  Most of all, for many of us, no matter what the ultimate why is, we have also grown to love running.

After my run, a quick stop in the Distillery to warm up a bit was in order.  I can officially say this is the first time that I can remember going out for a run and actually coming back covered in frost!  Someone actually told me I looked very Eskimo-ish!  Not my preferred look, but it's days like this that we will remember when we are complaining about running in the summer heat!

Then it was off to the gym for a dose of insanity from Ty.  Insanity was it!  It was a full cardio core circuit!   After 6 miles, it was going to be tough, but I was determined to make it through.  A few of the stations were a challenge, but I was not going to let this workout get the best of me.  I pushed through and came out smiling on the other end.  After we finished our workout, I told Ty that although I may make faces at him and look like I am scowling, I will never complain about a tough workout!  Today, I proved to myself that after that 6 mile training run, getting through his circuit workout proved that I still had more left after the run!

What challenges us, only makes us stronger!  Here is to continually finding things to keep challenging me!

Next weekend... 7 miles plus a visit to the gym after for more from Ty!

The close of 2013, opens the doors to another amazing year...

Reflections and visions.

As I sit here tonight, 2013 is quickly coming to a close... and what a year it as been!  If one year ago, someone would have told me that I would have experienced, endured and accomplished everything that I did in the last 12 months, I would have told them that they were crazy.  It still feels surreal that this year was filled with as much as it was!

To recap 2013...
* 118 miles run during events, with a total of 308 miles when you figure in training runs between early May and the end of December.  I am not sure how many miles I actually ran in the first 4 and a half months of 2013.
*  16 5k races between Michigan and Wisconsin
* 2 10k events, one in Green Bay, one in Chicago
* 2 5 Mile runs, one one one of the warmest days of June and the other the coldest day in November!
* Part of a full-marathon relay team.
* 3 Half Marathons
* Made a solo trip to Chicago to meet up with a friend for a run.  Managed to not get lost and spent about 24 hours in an amazing city!
* Biked the trails around Munising with Darrin and also found some awesome new waterfalls

What started out as running the St Patrick's Day Run in Appleton in March, turned into running events almost every weekend for the rest of 2013!  Several of these weekends included John joining the fun and walking some of the events!  Very proud of him for what he accomplished this summer and joining in the fun!  I have been blessed with an wonderful family and amazing friends that keep me going, inspire me and continually encourage me to keep moving forward.  Each and every run, I challenged myself to run a little further or faster, push a little harder and make it a better run than the last one.  Many of these runs where just as much of a mental challenge, as they were physical.  Many days I wanted to quit.  But thanks to the awesome support system that I have, I was always encouraged and pushed to do my best and I will be forever grateful for this.

I can only speculate what is to come in 2014!  I know that the adventures will continue.  So far, the only things that I know for sure about this next year are:

* I have signed up to run the Cellcom Marathon in May, which will be my first full marathon!
* Running an 18K race in Phoenix in March
* Want to to more with myTEAM TRIUMPH, to include at least a few races
* Running Mileage goal of 750 miles, which averages out to just over 2 miles each day
* Spend as much time as I can with my amazing family and friends

I know that there will be more, and this is just the start!  I can't want to see what we will accomplish this year and am excited to have each and every one of you out there to keep me going!

Bring on 2014!  It's going to be another amazing year!

I have officially committed myself...

Yesterday was the first day of my new fitness adventures at Fitness Renegades, but we will get to more on that in a different post.

Today was the big day.... Registration for the 15th annual Cellcom Green Bay Marathon events opened at 10am.  Last year was the first year that I missed this event in 5 years.  This was the first 5k that I ever did and was one that I always looked forward to each year.  After 3 years of running the 5k, I took the challenge and registered for the Half Marathon.  Deb and I completed the course despite some nasty cold winds.  Due to an injury, I only registered for the 5k in 2012 and was glad that I did, as 2012 was the year of the extreme heat that closed the course early.

Last year we were in Michigan for a wedding, so I had to miss all the events.  I spent the morning, as we were traveling back to Green Bay, getting race updates via text on Matt's progress on his first ever half marathon.  It was during this time that I realized that I really wished that I was out there running with him.  Even though I had just completed the Journey's Half Marathon the weekend before, I wanted to be out there. I wanted to be running.  The realization hit me...  I had somehow, over the last few months truly become a runner.  Which of course, if you have been following my blog over the last 6 months, started a running craze that has covered 3 states now!

After completing 3 half marathons, a few 10K and 5 miles races and countless 5k's, I starting thinking what was next. Where was my next challenge?  Yes, I wanted to continue to improve my 5K and half marathon times, but was there more?  The idea of running a full marathon was a thought that occasionally crossed my mind. I had several friends that started asking me when I was going to run a full marathon.  Could I really handle the distance?  What about all the training time?  Is is more than I can handle? After many long conversations with myself and encouragement from some great friends (and my extremely supportive husband) I decided that I knew what I wanted to do...

and to day I made it official.  I committed myself to my biggest challenge yet...

Shortly after registration opened this morning, I registered for my first FULL MARATHON!  Call me crazy, call my insane, but I am ready for this challenge and know that I have a amazing support team behind me. I decided that if I was going to do a full marathon, the Cellcom marathon was the place to start.  I could train (practically) in my backyard on the course, the amazing company that I work for is the key sponsor and I love running the streets of Green Bay.  Training starts in January and the adventure will begin!