I find it a little funny that my first long run of ’16 was 16 miles! I didn’t plan it that way; in fact I thought I was supposed to run 14 and I was dismayed to see that 16 when I double-checked my Boston training schedule. It’s week five of training, 15 weeks to go. The run went well. I took it easy at a 10:00 pace and listened to podcasts by Another Mother Runner and Runners Connect. I just finished listening to a great audiobook for runners: My Year of Running Dangerously: A Dad, a Daughter, and a Ridiculous Plan. CNN correspondent Tom Foreman narrates his own book and makes it entertaining and informative about coming back to running at an older age, running with your children, and dipping your feet in the ultra marathon waters. I have contemplated running my first ultra as the next big goal but it doesn’t sound like it’s for me, especially after I just burned out on a plan that called for running four to five times per week. I’ll stick to three times a week, thank you very much. I would like to get into trail running, however.
Looking Back at 2015
Here are the highlights for me for 2015 — a wide range of things that made me feel proud. I’ve put links to posts I wrote if you’d like to read more about any particular item.
- Qualified for Boston 2016 in a PR time of 3:36:58 at the Phoenix Marathon in February
- Used my own compost to grow a great summer harvest of tomatoes, basil, and hot peppers
- Helped create a team of 53 members for the iCureMelanoma 5K to raise $5,418 for melanoma research
- Volunteered each week at my girls’ school, working both in the classrooms and in the school library
- Crossed off a bucket list item when my girls and I volunteered at the Girls on the Go Los Angeles Half Marathon in Bonelli Park
- Proofread a friend’s memoir of her experience growing up under the oppression of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia
- Set a PR in the 5K of 22:19 at the Downtown Anaheim 5K in June
- Harvested over 200 pounds of lemons with my teenager and donated them to a local food bank
- Qualified for Boston 2017 by a 15 minute, 52 second margin at the REVEL Canyon City Marathon in November
- Performed with my middle daughter in six shows of The Nutcracker in December
- Reached out to ElliptiGO and overcame my nervousness about trying something new, and was handsomely rewarded with finding a new workout I absolutely love!
- Got a job for the first time in 13 years (aside from writing/blogging), working in the school district as a substitute assistant in the special education classrooms
- Wrote up a training plan for my husband and teenager to train for their first half marathons next June, the Fontana Days Run Half Marathon
Looking Forward to 2016
I am eager to see what 2016 has in store for me! My first day on the new job is tomorrow, working 12-3 in the special education classroom at my girls’ school! The next race on my calendar is the Boston Marathon in April — my first time running that race and my 7th marathon overall.
My sweet friends insisted that I take a photo in my prized new Boston jacket that Mike gave me for Christmas!
The only other race on my calendar is the Fontana Days Run Half Marathon in June. If the budget allows (i.e., I get enough work substituting in the district and my husband gets a new job), I hope to try my first big trail race (a half marathon, a full, or maybe even a 50K in spite of what I said about ultras not being for me — the Chino Hills Trail Run Series 50K is so close by and the timing would be perfect in November).
What are you proud of from 2015? What are you looking forward to in 2016?
Fit Fun Mom 