I feel like I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s still true so I’ll say it again… I want to start blogging in a more free flowing, stream-of-consciousness kind of way. I’ve gone long stretches without writing anything here because life was so busy I didn’t have the bandwidth to think of a topic and write a well constructed post. But, really, blogs started out as online diaries. You don’t have to do a lot of prep work before writing in a diary or journal!
So, let’s talk about 2016. A New Year! I didn’t make any formal new year’s resolutions. But, I did walk my kids and my husband through a goal setting process on New Year’s Eve. Wouldn’t it be a cool tradition to set goals, both individually and as a family, each New Year’s Eve?! I think so.
The kids actually got really into it. Well, Sienna did. Teo spent much of the session crying because he couldn’t write his list as quickly as Sienna and I did. But, in a way, he was working on his personal goal for 2016: “Learn letter sounds”. Believe it or not, I helped him with that goal. He needs to know his letter sounds when he starts Kindergarten this August. Oh my goodness.
Our family goals include: 1. Learn Spanish, 2. Pay off Debt, 3. Play more “P.E.” Together (Sienna contributed this one, it means play more sports, hike, and run around outside), and 4. Try New Foods – especially Paleo. Sienna suggested the final goal too. I was excited when she remembered the goal that evening and loved the Paleo corn dogs I made. Yay!
My personal goal for 2016 is to run a marathon.
I’m halfway there. A couple days after Christmas I ran the Holiday Half Marathon, that started right near our house. I’ve been training pretty consistently since late August, extended the length of my weekend long run until I ran 15 miles the week before Thanksgiving. I was pretty excited about that new distance record for me!
However, I’ve been experiencing runner’s knee on and off. It flared up in December and I had a couple rough runs where I had to stop and walk back. A week before the race I finally bought a band to wear around my leg (those ones that sit just under the knee cap to support it). I did a couple moderate runs with the band and it seemed to help a bit. I iced my knee, rested a bunch, and just prayed that it would hold up for the race.
Thankfully, it did! I wore the band and my knee didn’t hurt for the 13.1 mile race! I originally had a goal of finishing the race in less than 2 hours. But, with my knee issue, I thought better to baby it at first and focus on a goal of just finishing the race. As the miles ticked by and I could see that I was holding a decent pace, the 2 hour mark seemed reachable and I picked up the pace. The other day I finally checked my “official” time (it was a few seconds faster than the time I tracked on my watch): 2:00.11. Looks like I’ll need another half to achieve the sub- 2 hour goal!
The San Diego Rock N’ Roll Marathon is the first Sunday in June. When Dennis and I lived downtown, we’d get to see (and hear!) the race pass by our apartment each year. Rock bands play along the course to keep runners motivated. For years I’ve considered training for this race. So, hopefully 2016 will be the year!
I’ll be sure to blog about my training progress! Please share if you have any words of wisdom on training, marathons, or anything. 🙂
