A Resolution Fit for Keeping

I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions. I very rarely make them and even more rarely keep them. However, this year has been different...

Last fall I decided to do a half-marathon in Dallas with one of my best friends. I had done a few half marathons before, and it always took me too long to run again after completing one. So with race day in early December, I decided to make my New Year's Resolution running-involved. I decided to do one running/fitness event each month. This way I would constantly have a goal to work toward and I wouldn't fall of the training wagon.

So far, I've been pretty successful! A recap:

January
I kicked off the year with the 2013 Donut Dash. My best friend Courtney came to visit, and we had a blast running it. Each water station had boxes of donut holes, not to mention the full donuts at the beginning and end of the race. Eating a donut hole at each of the five water stations was a great added challenge to the 3 mile run.

Courtney and I with our Finisher's donuts!

Lots of donut holes at every water station.

February
Next, my friend Kimberly and I ran the Hot Chocolate 5k (Are you sensing a theme? I seriously only run to eat). Getting there was absolute craziness. The traffic was horrible and there were many times that we thought about turning back and skipping the mess. Luckily, we pushed through and made it to the race. Although we were a few minutes late, we just hopped in with a later heat and nobody seemed to mind. It was a good race and at the end we were given a cup of hot chocolate, chocolate fondue and all sorts of treats to dip in said chocolate. This made the craziness all worth it.

Kimber and I with our goodies!

Yummy treats!

My mom came out to cheer us on and navigate the traffic!

March
John's sister, Abby, and I decided to do a 10 mile race this month. We were both training for our big runs in May--Abby was running the PIttsburgh marathon, and I was running the half. I was extremely nervous about this run because Abby had told me she wouldn't let me stop. Luckily, we made it through the entire thing and Abby was nice enough to run EXTREMELY slow with me. In all honesty, the hardest part about this run was finding a Dr. Pepper afterward. Two gas stations and a Rite Aid later, I had to settle on Diet. Boo. And unfortunately for me, this run turned out to be the last long run of my half-marathon training (oops).

Just a 10-mile run in the park

April
It was decided that I would move to Pittsburgh the month of April, and I chose my moving date based on my next event. April 13 I participated in my first ever CrossFit competition and on April 14, John and I drove away for good. I love CrossFit, but I'm not very good at it. Luckily, I just barely finished in the top half of women in the beginner division. I was so grateful that my parents and friends were able to come and cheer me on (and not to mention, help pack things and move after the event)! I haven't been able to join a CrossFit gym in Pittsburgh yet, but I do kind of miss it. Maybe someday I'll get back into it.

So glad my friends came to watch and cheer me on!

Clean and jerk competition--105 lbs!

Gotta love CrossFit... and burpees!

May
The Pittsburgh half marathon! You can read more about it on my previous blog here.

Marathon and half-marathon finishers!

June
Abby and I signed up for the 5k Color Me Rad. Basically you wear white, run 3 miles and every so often have colored paint powder thrown on you. We decided to go with the "Risky Business" theme and wore oversized white dress shirts, tube socks and shades. For whatever reason, we think this concept was lost on people. Idiots. It was a really fun run, although the race course was mostly on a gravel parking lot, and it made for a terrible running surface.

Rocking the Risky Business look. You get it, right??

And after... Covered in color.

July
Not long after the color run, Abby suffered from an alleged foot injury. I'm not entirely sure what the exact diagnosis is, but she has to stay off of it for a good month or two. Luckily, my hero swooped in and agreed to do a 2 mile charity walk for Pittsburgh Charities. Target was participating, so I signed us up along side my co-workers. Saturday morning, we put on our matching Pirates T's (we got them for free at the game the night before), and we arrived at the race site around 7:45. The walk was scheduled to begin at 8, or so I thought. The website said they were expecting thousands of people, but the starting line was surprisingly desolate. It wasn't until I checked another website that I realized the walk actually started at 9:30. I wish I had seen that site earlier. But even the flyer at Target said it started at 8, so who was I to second guess it? Luckily, John was understanding, and we decided to just take our own little walk and leave. Unfortunately, my July event was a bust.

In front of the fountain at The Point. I wish the walk had started at 8.

But look... it's really not my fault.

August
I have already registered for my August event, and I'm very excited for it. It's the Cranberry Township Aquathlon--a 5k run, 400m swim and 2.8k run. I did a sprint triathlon back in college, but I sucked at the biking part. So I'm glad this one replaces the biking with more running--well as glad as you can be about having to run more. Feel free to ask me how my training is going and make sure I'm staying on track.