finishing my first marathon.
I truly cannot think of that day, that moment, without getting all nostalgic. Truly one of the best feelings ever to cross that finish line and feel like I was invincible, even if just for a moment in time.
A close second for "personal" moments of 2012 was the decision to go back to school:
I'd be lying if I said it's been easy. It hasn't. I've shed tears. I've doubted myself. But there have also been times of triumph and overall a feeling of, "I know where I'm going and what I want in life." And that's made any tears or frustrations worth it. I've come out relatively unscathed thus far and have gotten good grades to prove it.
Life-wise, I got to do a whole slew of traveling with Ry Ry, got to PR in a few races, meet some new friends, spend time with old ones and fam. I would say it's been a good year. But now, it's time to look to the year ahead.
Let's just look at the tail end of 2012 quickly, shall we? Here's some very Megan-and-Ryan-esque Christmas eve pictures:
kitchen dancing, where I'm "dipping" him. Naturally.
Being festive with people's bows (I do this every year):
I'm thinking of wearing this look all the time. Haha.
And one being mostly normal:
Christmas was good on both sides...and then we got sick. Like feeling like death full on flu. We got it late wednesday and just now feel human. It has not been pretty. Today I felt good enough to do a walk/jog sweat sesh to rid myself of any other germs, but even this "easy" workout felt hard:
2 in 23:30. Even if it was much slower than normal, I was grateful to log 2 miles without dying.
Before Flupacolypse hit our house, I thought I would be able to beat my mileage from last year. I ran 902 last year. I thought I could easily do 905 since I was sitting at 882 on wednesday. Then, I didn't move a muscle for several days and a long run is/was out of the question for today and tomorrow. Alas, I won't be beating it. It happens. I'm not mad in the least. In fact, I started off the year on track to be wayyyy over, but my mileage took a major nosedive when I started back to school. That's okay. It felt worth it. I would rather sacrifice the number of miles I run and still be able to run while also doing other things I love.
So, that's kind of my mindset for 2013. DO WHAT YOU LOVE. That means running miles, but NOT stressing about how many I'm running. It means having those lofty goals I mentioned before, but not worrying too much if I don't reach them. It also means one very real thing: DON'T RUN A MARATHON. When I finished the marathon, I was semi-angry with myself. I knew I had a faster time in me. I still know that. I looked up races. I wanted redemption. Yet, I decided to wait. I said 2013 was going to be my year. When RunnerBro signed up for Bayshore Full, I wanted to join him. Yet, I knew I couldn't manage the training, full time job, and 9 credit hours of school. So, I vowed to sign up for another, eyeing Chicago as the perfect fall marathon. But, I'm being honest with myself before I sign up and make a mistake. I can't sign up for one. If I do, something with suffer. Either I'll do poorly in school, I'll skimp on training, or I'll lose sleep trying to fit it all in and my health will suffer. It's just not worth it. School is only going to get more chaotic and if I sign up for a full, I'll end up resenting something. So, a full will wait. Marathons will always be there. It's much easier to train for a half. I am already signed up for Bayshore and also hope to do Rock CF with the other Megan, plus maybe one more. I'm also definitely going for quality of races, rather than quantity. Here's what I know I would like to do:
Auto Show Shuffle 5k on Jan 19 (for sure doing this and I hope other people will do it too!!): http://www.autoshowshuffle.com/
Shamrock n Roll 10k on March 17: http://www.shamrocknrollrun.com/
Rock CF half on March 25: http://www.outruncf.com/
Cherry Blossom 10 miler in DC April 7 (lottery, already picked)
Bayshore Half on May 25 (half already sold out, 10k still open)
Beyond that? I have nothing planned and truly I like it that way. I don't want to be tied down to any races too far in advance. I know we'll do the Halloween one and the Turkey Trot, but other than that...who knows?
It's so weird to have such a relaxed approach to running and racing for 2013, but it's making me much more excited for each race too.
I have no idea what 2013 will bring, but I'm excited for whatever it holds. Cheers to an almost new year! Hope you have fun however you end up celebrating :)
Let's chat:
-What's your approach for 2013? Big goals or taking it one day at a time?
-What's on your race docket for the new year? I'm not against signing up for races and can be persuaded...
-Are you celebrating big tomorrow night?
-Anyone else suffer the wrath flupacolypse? Hopefully you are surviving!
Megan
So sorry to hear you've been sick! I am going to train and see how far I can get. If it goes well, I'll sign up for a race :)
ReplyDeleteUgh fluapocolypse sounds awful. Hope you're feeling better.
ReplyDeleteI like your 2013 goals. I really want to focus on a solid 5K PR and said the highest I would race is a 10k, but running a half is soooooooooo appealing. If my work schedule ends up being the way I think, I won't be running high mileage at all.
No marathon for me this year. I'm with you. I just want to have fun. No time goals. Just enjoying the moment.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you met your fitness goals (most of them) this year. Now you can relax! Like you, I think now it's just fitness-maintenance that I'll be working on. I suffered the flupocalypse 2 weeks ago. Spent 5 days in Pennsylvania with fever, aches (oh the aches), sore throat, and congestion. It was horrible.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're better soon!
I think I know my 2013 goals and I'll try to put them in a blog post at some point. 20 min 5k, 1:40 half marathon, complete 1st marathon at least one hour faster than Jared from Subway. I'm pretty good at setting realistic goals and I think these are good for me.
ReplyDeleteI'll probably do Super 5k in Novi, Shamrock N' Roll, Rock CF, Open Door Julie Run and Brooksie Way next year, along with Freep Marathon. Hope to win more race entries - "free" races are more fun. :)
I'm sorry I haven't been around much, but It looks like you had a very serious and accomplished 2012! Congrats! I didn't know about the marathon OR school. I'm just gonna' have to do some back-reading! haha
ReplyDeleteI'll say I think you have your head on right for the way you're looking at the 2013 full. It may very well be within reason, but you're right admitting that you have a lot on your plate. It's tough taking a step back from something you love or something you really do want to accomplish, but it will always be there! Here's to an awesome new Half PR in 2013! How about that?!
No flu here! I've only been sick once this year. Figures it had to be the week before my A race. haha No celebrations tonight either. I work 'till 10pm and then again at 7am tomorrow. Not that i would have gone out anyways. My race calendar for 2013 has roughly 20 races. If I can financially handle the load, it's going to be a BIG year and I am sooooo excited for it. I'll be posting it soon.
You had a really good year Megan. Running a marathon is quite the accomplishment! It is fun when you get to travel to new places too. Especially when you get to hang out with cool peeps!
ReplyDeleteVery proud of you for taking the plunge and going back to school. All of the hardwork, sleepless nights, melt downs & tear sessions will all be worth it in the end. Just hang in there.
I know that you want to run a marathon, but there will always be marathons in the future. Just focus on getting through school and then you can sign up for every marathon that you want to run. It looks like you already have some fun races planned in the coming months to keep you busy. Cherry Blossom is on my bucket list!
You are going to have an awesome 2013!
You had an AWESOME year!
ReplyDeleteThis coming year I am working on getting into a system and finally learning what it's really like to live on my own and start a daily routine. Right now each day is different and I end up eating cookies. I need to eat right and get back to my healthiest weight (especially for my wedding ;)!)
I am so sorry you guys came down with that awful flu! It seems like everytime I am getting consistent again with my running, I get sick. I had something that I think was probably strep throat like 2 weeks ago. I ran two miles for the first time day before yesterday. It was really slow. But I was glad, like you, to be able to do SOMETHING. You should be uber-proud of yourself for your awesome year. And your relaxed attitude is one that I am taking as well. As long as we stay healthy and have our priorities in line, the rest will fall into place! I am always glad to read your status updates, and now I found a way to read blogs again through Google Reader, even though I deleted mine. Here's to a great 2013!!
ReplyDeleteSorry you have been sick - that's no fun at all :( But congrats on a great 2012!
ReplyDeleteI have zero planned for 2013 so far although I did do a race yesterday - ha! I'm taking things as they come and seeing how it goes. Will be tough for me to top 2012 though for sure.
Let's hope you left all your sick germs back in 2012, right? here's to a great 2013. Sounds like you are being really sensible about your goals and marathon training will be much more enjoyable when you don't have to stress about fitting it all in. Run happy! :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on such a great year - you're right, those are big things! I think it's important to be realistic about what your commitments are and what type of time you have for everyone. I can't wait to FINALLY meet you at Bayshore! Have you thought about the Cherry Festival races in TC? I'm not sure of our schedule yet, but if we are in Leland then, we'll be there! Glad you are feeling better!
ReplyDeleteYou had a great year!! I hope you're feeling better and that 2013 is off to a good start for you! :) I'm sad you won't be in Chicago but we'll have to figure something else out! :)
ReplyDeleteHope you guys are feeling completely recovered now! It sounds like you are making a smart decision not to put a marathon on your race calendar for this year. There will be lots of other fun races though!
ReplyDelete