I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE THAT NOVEMBER IS OVER AND WE ARE ALREADY INTO THE MONTH OF DECEMBER. IT BLOWS MY MIND THAT SUNDAY IS THE BIG DAY: MARATHON DAY!

2013 IS WRAPPING UP SO VERY QUICKLY, BUT I STILL HAVE QUITE A FEW MILES TO LOG BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.  NOVEMBER WAS A GREAT MONTH OF TRAINING. I LOGGED 141.3 MILES THIS MONTH. IT FELT GREAT TO GET OUT THERE EVERY WEEKEND AND WORK HARD ON MY LONG RUNS AND THE MID WEEK RUNS SHORTENED SO THEY WEREN'T AS HARD TO FIT INTO OUR BUSY WORLD. 

MY LONGEST RUN WAS NOVEMBER 16TH, I RAN 21 MILES AND IT WAS BRUTAL. THE DISTANCE DIDN'T FEEL BAD, BUT THE WEATHER GAVE ME A RUN FOR MY MONEY. THE WIND WAS ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE THE WHOLE MORNING, BUT I GOT TO FINISH THE RUN WITH BRANDON & THE YMCA RUNNING GROUP WHICH GOT ME THROUGH THE TOUGH MILES.  ONE OF THE BEST RUNS OF MY TRAINING CAME ON NOVEMBER 23RD. IT WAS A SIX MILE RUN ON A VERY VERY COLD MORNING. EVERYTHING JUST FELT RIGHT AND I RAN IT UNDER A 9 MINUTE PACE (WHICH IS PRETTY FAST FOR A SLOW LADY LIKE MYSELF!) NOVEMBER WAS AWESOME AND FULL OF GREAT RUNS, BUT I CAME IN A LITTLE SHORT ON MY MILES FOR THE MONTH WHICH MEANS I JUST HAVE TO WORK HARDER IN DECEMBER THAN ORIGINALLY PLANNED. 

HERE IS MY TOTAL MILEAGE:
JANUARY: 25.45 MILES
FEBRUARY: 0
MARCH: 15.2 MILES
APRIL: 50.2 MILES
MAY: 69.1 MILES
JUNE: 86.55 MILES
JULY: 83.4 MILES
AUGUST: 139.6 MILES
SEPTEMBER: 137 MILES
OCTOBER: 143.45 MILES
NOVEMBER: 141.3 MILES

TOTAL FOR THE YEAR:  891.25 

I HAVE 109  MILES LEFT TO RUN THIS YEAR.
26.2 OF THOSE MILES WILL BE CHECKED OFF THE LIST AFTER SUNDAY! 
THE LAST FEW WEEKS OF THE YEAR ARE GOING TO BE SPENT HITTING THE PAVEMENT AND CONTINUING THE HARD WORK I HAVE PUT IN TO REACH THE GOAL I SET FOR MYSELF. 

DO YOU HAVE ANY END OF THE YEAR GOALS YOU ARE WORKING ON? I'D LOVE TO HEAR! 

I FEEL LIKE OCTOBER WAS THE BEST MONTH OF MY TRAINING SO FAR. MY GOAL WAS TO RUN 131 MILES AND I ENDED UP FINISHING THE  MONTH UP AT 143.45 MILES! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? THAT IS A LOT OF TIME, ENERGY, AND SWEAT FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER {I MUST HAVE KNOWN HOW MUCH HALLOWEEN CANDY I WAS GOING TO CONSUME}!

THIS MONTH PROVED ITSELF TO BE AWESOME! I RAN TWO TWENTY MILE RUNS {ONE OF WHICH WAS ALONG SIDE MY BEST FRIEND, MY HUSBAND BRANDON {THANKS TINA!!!} ALSO, I RAN THE KANSAS CITY HALF MARATHON THIS MONTH AND SMASHED MY PR BY 6 MINUTES! YOU CAN READ ABOUT IT HERE. MY SHORTEST RUN WAS A 2.5 MILE RUN ONE SUNDAY TO THE PARK AND BACK WITH THE FAMILY! 

JUST LIKE LAST MONTH THE MID-WEEK LONGER RUNS ARE PROVING THEMSELVES TO BE HARD TO GET IN. I'VE HAD TO SPLIT MOST OF THEM UP RUNNING A FEW MILES ON THE TREADMILL AT THE LOCAL YMCA IN THE MORNING AND FINISHING IT OUT IN THE AFTERNOON AFTER BRANDON GETS HOME! WE ARE MAKING IT WORK THOUGH!

HERE IS MY TOTAL MILEAGE:
JANUARY: 25.45 MILES
FEBRUARY: 0
MARCH: 15.2 MILES
APRIL: 50.2 MILES
MAY: 69.1 MILES
JUNE: 86.55 MILES
JULY: 83.4 MILES
AUGUST: 139.6 MILES
SEPTEMBER: 137 MILES
OCTOBER: 143.45 MILES

TOTAL FOR THE YEAR: 749.95

I HAVE 250 MILES LEFT TO RUN THIS YEAR.
BIG GOALS REQUIRE HARD WORK, AND I CAN'T WAIT TO CROSS THIS FINISH LINE KNOWING I WORKED HARD TO ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL!

MY GOAL IN SEPTEMBER WAS TO RUN 162 MILES AND I ENDED UP RUNNING 137 MILES. 

I OBVIOUSLY DID NOT REACH MY MILEAGE GOAL FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER AND FOR GOOD REASON.  ON SEPTEMBER 17TH I HAD A HUGE CRICK IN MY NECK AND THAT SIDE LINED ME FOR A COUPLE DAYS. ALSO, I GAVE UP ONE OF MY LONG RUNS SO MY HANDSOME GROOM COULD GET HIS IN.

DESPITE NOT REACHING MY 1,000 MILE PROJECT GOAL, THIS MOUTH WAS AWESOME FOR ME. I FELT GREAT ON MY LONG RUNS AND EVEN RAN MY LONGEST MID-WEEK RUN OF MARATHON TRAINING {10 MILES} 5 ON THE TREADMILL AND 5 PUSHING GRAYSON IN THE STROLLER. THE MID-WEEK LONG RUNS ARE PROVING TO BE THE HARDEST TO GET IN, BUT WE ARE MAKING IT WORK!

MY SHORTEST RUN WAS 3 MILES AND MY LONGEST WAS 22. {WHICH I HAD TO SPLIT INTO 2 RUNS ON SATURDAY THE 28TH, I CALLED IT QUITS AT MILE 9 ON THAT SATURDAY DUE TO RAIN, BUT FINISHED IT OUT LATER THAT AFTERNOON}. I RAN IN TWO 5K'S THIS MONTH AND YOU CAN READ ABOUT THEM HERE & HERE. 

HERE IS MY TOTAL MILEAGE:
JANUARY: 25.45 MILES
FEBRUARY: 0
MARCH: 15.2 MILES
APRIL: 50.2 MILES
MAY: 69.1 MILES
JUNE: 86.55 MILES
JULY: 83.4 MILES
AUGUST: 139.6 MILES
SEPTEMBER: 137 MILES

TOTAL FOR THE YEAR: 606.5 MILES

SO, I HAVE A LITTLE UNDER 400 MILES LEFT TO RUN THIS YEAR! 
THERE ARE ONLY 12 WEEKS LEFT IN 2013, 
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THESE 12 WEEKS? 
YOU CAN FIND ME POUNDING THE PAVEMENT.

MY GOAL IN AUGUST WAS TO RUN 139 MILES AND I ENDED UP RUNNING 139.6 MILES. 
{BELIEVE ME, THAT .6 REALLY MATTERS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I AM BEHIND IN MY MILEAGE GOAL FOR THE YEAR.}

MARATHON TRAINING STARTED THIS MONTH SO MY MILEAGE STARTED PICKING UP NATURALLY BECAUSE OF LONG RUNS ON THE WEEKENDS. EACH MONTH I WILL TAKE A PICTURE OF MY FINAL MONTHLY RUNNING CALENDER AND YOU CAN FIND THE PICTURES HERE. THE PENCIL WAS THE ORIGINAL PLAN AND THE PINK MARKER IS WHAT I ACTUALLY RAN. 

MY FIRST LONG DISTANCE MARATHON TRAINING RUN WAS 8 MILES AND IT WAS ON AUGUST 4TH. IT WAS A HOT AND HUMID MORNING AND I REMEMBER IT FEELING SO HARD. THE 8 MILES DRUG ON AND MADE FOR A ROUGH START TO MY TRAINING.

MY SHORTEST RUN WAS 2 MILES AND MY LONGEST WAS 15. {WHICH WAS RAN WITH MY SISTER-IN-LAW WHICH MADE FOR A GREAT RUN!}

THIS MONTH WAS RIGHT ON TRACK FOR MY TRAINING AND FOR MY 1,000 MILE PROJECT. 
I AM FEELING REALLY GREAT ABOUT THE MILES I PUT IN FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST. I AM GETTING IT DONE ONE MILE AT A TIME!

HERE IS MY TOTAL MILEAGE:
JANUARY: 25.45 MILES
FEBRUARY: 0
MARCH: 15.2 MILES
APRIL: 50.2 MILES
MAY: 69.1 MILES
JUNE: 86.55 MILES
JULY: 83.4 MILES
AUGUST: 139.6 MILES

TOTAL FOR THE YEAR: 469.5 MILES

ALSO, I HAVE SOMETHING SPECIAL TO OFFER YOU GUYS! THERE IS AN AWESOME 5K HAPPENING NEXT WEEKEND, SEPTEMBER 15TH IN STILLWATER. IT IS CALLED THE CAMPUS TOUR 5K AND IT BEGINS AT THETA POND AT 8:00AM! IF YOU REGISTER BEFORE SEPTEMBER 13TH IT IS $35, BUT BECAUSE I HAVE SUCH AN AWESOME FRIEND, {SASHA} SHE IS GIVING $5 OFF TO ANYONE THAT USES THE DISCOUNT CODE: KNOCKEDUPRUNNER FROM NOW UNTIL NEXT WEDNESDAY! 
JUST HEAD OVER HERE AND SIGN UP TODAY!!

JANUARY FIRST OF 2013 CAME AROUND AND I NEEDED A GOAL.
A GOAL TO GET ME MOVING. 
A GOAL TO PUSH ME. 
A GOAL TO GET MY BODY BACK AFTER BUBBA GRAY ENTERED THIS WORLD. 

YOU SEE, ON JANUARY FIRST I WAS 8 MONTHS PREGNANT WITH GRAYSON. I WAS WORKING HARD ON MAINTAINING THE GOAL OF STAYING ACTIVE AND HEALTHY THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY. RUNNING WAS BECOMING... INTERESTING. I HAD LEFT THE OPEN ROAD BEHIND AND TOOK UP RESIDENCY ON OUR LOCAL YMCA TREADMILL. MY PACE HAD SLOWED TO 10.. NO, 11.. WHO AM I KIDDING... 12 MINUTE MILES ON A GOOD DAY. I KNEW I WAS GOING TO NEED SOME MAJOR MOTIVATION TO KEEP GOING. I WAS STARTING TO GET SHIN SPLINTS EVERY TIME I STARTED TO JOG AND I WAS GETTING ANGRY WITH MY BODY FOR REBELLING AGAINST ME. 

SO I SET A GOAL.

MY GOAL IS TO RUN 1,000 MILES IN THE YEAR OF 2013. 

I KNEW IT WOULD BE A LITTLE INTERESTING THOUGH, BEING THE KNOCKED^UP RUNNER THAT I WAS AT THE TIME. MY DUE DATE WAS FEBRUARY 9TH, AND MY ORIGINAL PLAN WAS TO RUN THROUGH JANUARY AND THEN TAKE THE MONTHS OF FEBRUARY AND MARCH OFF, BUT AROUND JANUARY FIFTEENTH MY BODY WAS SCREAMING AT ME. MY SLOW DUCK WADDLE OF A JOG HAD TURNED INTO A WALK AND THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO RUN THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE MONTH, SO I CALLED IT QUITS... FOR THE MOST PART.

LONG STORY SHORT, GRAYSON SCOTT DECIDED HE WOULD TAKE HIS SWEET LITTLE TIME AND HE CAME 11 LONG DAYS LATE ON FEBRUARY TWENTIETH AND THE COUNTDOWN TO LACING UP MY RUNNING SHOES BEGAN. I FOUND MYSELF AT IT ONCE AGAIN ON MARCH FOURTEENTH, MY FIRST RUN AS A MOTHER RUNNER OF 2. 

SO, THIS IS HOW THE YEAR HAS GONE:
JANUARY: 25.45 MILES
FEBRUARY: 0
MARCH: 15.2 MILES
APRIL: 50.2 MILES
MAY: 69.1 MILES
JUNE: 86.55 MILES
JULY: 83.4 MILES
AUGUST: ^YOU'LL HAVE TO COME BACK LATER THIS WEEK TO FIND OUT HOW I DID IN AUGUST!!^
TOTAL: 329.9

OBVIOUSLY AS YOU KNOW WE ARE OVER HALF WAY THROUGH THE YEAR, AND AS YOU CAN SEE I AM NOT HALF WAY THREW MY MILES, BUT EACH DAY, WEEK, AND MONTH I KEEP KNOCKING THOSE MILES OFF AND I KNOW MY GOAL WILL BE MET. THANKFULLY MARATHON TRAINING HAS BEGUN AND I AM RACKING UP THE MILES PRETTY EASILY THESE DAYS.

I WILL KEEP YOU POSTED EACH MONTH AS I TRY AND ACCOMPLISH THIS BIG GOAL I HAVE SET FOR MYSELF. i HOPE YOU WILL HANG AROUND AND SEE THE OUTCOME.