Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Hello 2014 - Happy New Year!

As I have for the last several years, the start of a new year means that I will exercise today, just to set the tone for the year.  We are in the Dallas area, spending a few more days with our kids before they get sucked back into work, so we'll take a nice two mile walk today, since we ran yesterday and will run tomorrow.

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Speaking of running, we are still running the higher miles for our long runs as we prepare for our next half marathon on January 26th.  Which meant that we ran 9 miles on Saturday - yes, three days after all the Christmas food (and let's face it, there were delicious leftovers consumed in the days afterward).  It was a rough go, especially from mile 6 onward.  I started to feel a blister forming on the ball of my left foot at that point, and I swear, just as I was thinking "these last three miles are going to be difficult" Amy said it out loud.  Sometimes, all you can do is get through a run, which is what we did.  I was really sore all day afterward, which was (literally) a pain, but it also spurred me to kick up my mileage during the week (oh and EAT BETTER, too) so these long runs don't kill me.

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I had one running goal for 2013 - to get rid of the mental block/anxiety/feeling of failure I had when I ran long distances.  Happily, I can say that I succeeded with that!  Sure, I'm tired when I run long, but I don't feel bad about myself, and overall, 2013 was a much happier running year for me.  I ended up doing 15 races and my mileage total for the year was 482, which includes the "land workout" walking I did (and enjoyed) over the summer. 

My running goals for 2014?  Again, to enjoy the run, which includes not suffering through stupid-hot races - I'm going to be a little pickier on which races I register for and pay more attention to the start times and weather predictions for each one.  I'm also going to work toward running an entire 5K (no walking intervals), just because I used to do that, and I'd like to get there again.  Which leads to my other running goal - to take care of my body by doing stretches before and after each run, getting occasional massages to work out small issues before they become big problems, and to strengthen my body overall (I know I say this every year, but after my random hamstring injury, I REALLY mean it).  That's it!

13 comments:

  1. ((IM IN IN IN IN IN)))
    are we foam rolling or just stretching?
    this is my year to start strong and FINISH STRETCHING STRONG too :-)
    finally.

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  2. HAPPY NEW YEAR Shelley! Oops, didn't mean to be shouting there, just had the caps button pushed. Anyway, I was confused again on my days,and was surprised (and happy) to see a post from you!

    Let's make it a stretchy new year! I know that its important, and I skip it way too often, or just give it a passing glance.

    I'm with you on starting the new year with exercise. I was really excited when I saw that the gym was going to be open today.

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  3. Occasional massages? Goals need to be specific. Once a month massages....now that's much better.

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  4. LOL at Debby's Stretchy New Year! I need to do that too :)

    I am so happy that you have settled into happy running... it will keep you there for the long haul and it is so much nicer than stressy running.

    Excited to see what great things 2014 has in store for you Shelley!

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  5. Stretching...I really need to figure that stuff out! :-)

    Happy New Year!

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  6. I have never been good about stretching. I finally have gotten to the point where I will stretch if I'm doing a workout DVD and they stretch, too - better than nothing!!

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  7. Happy New Year, Shelley! Love your NYD exercise rationale. I always make sure I exercise on the last day of the year and the first day of the new year, kind of like an exercise parentheses on the year. :)

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  8. Happy New Year!! Stretching all around :D

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  9. Stretchy New Year...I like that, too! May your hamstring behave and you run pain-free all year :)

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  10. I love your running goal for 2014! And you have to give yourself more credit - most people sit on the sidelines, and you, just by getting out there, are already a winner and a runner in my book. Here's to 2014!

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  11. Happy New Year to you and the gang Shelley. May you have the best running year yet, and NO injuries from here on in!!

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  12. Happy New Year my dear friend. Your running year was great in 2013, I enjoyed every bit of it and I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for you. We have the same goal: run a 5K without walking. I hope to get there this month already and when I do, I won't jump into a 10K immediately, just stay a little bit longer at the 5K distance. This time I'm taking things slow.

    May 2014 be a great year for the both of us.

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