12 Months, 12 Races: New Years Resolution Complete!

Have you ever completed a New Years Resolution?  We all have intentions to accomplish our resolutions within the year but somehow, we never go through with it.  This year I was determined to stick with mine.

I am what you call a lazy runner.  I love to run.  In fact, I've been running since my P.E. teacher introduced me to the 1 mile Fun Run in kindergarten.  I do, however, get lazy about it.  I'll get in a good rhythm of working out 3-4 times a week and then I just stop.  I'll start up again, fall in love with running once more, and ask myself why I ever stopped.  

That's me in the left corner with all the hair.

I'm the short one.

In 2009, I wanted to challenge myself.  I had started my first full time job and I was getting really lazy about working out after work.  To solve this little issue of mine, I set out to complete the Thunder Road half marathon in December. I completed the race and it felt awesome, but man...I never wanted to run that long again! (I was a sprinter on the track team in high school.  Distance wasn't really my thing.)  January 2010 rolled around and once again, I was getting lazy.  It was time to challenge myself once more but instead of a half marathon, I made a New Years Resolution to do at least one road race a month.  This way I would have something to train for each month and not get lazy! (I still managed to get sluggish and skip training...oh well.)

Here's a peak at my first New Years Resolution I have ever completed!

January: Winter Flight 8k
I had thought to start this New Years Resolution about midway through January.  There weren't many races to chose from since A. I work a part time job on the weekends and B. the month was halfway over!  I ended up finding a race in the town that I work in.  Good ol' Salisbury.  The race was scheduled for the 30th but a winter storm brushed through and they had to reschedule the race in February.  What a great start to my resolution...


February: Krispy Kreme Challenge and Winter Flight 8k

Most people want to gag when I tell them about this race but I think it's awesome!  The Krispy Kreme Challenge is held at NC State University.  It all starts at the Bell Tower.  You run 2 miles to the Krispy Kreme store, down a dozen donuts (or however many you can handle) and then run the 2 miles back.  All under one hour.  Sounds fun, huh?!  I was registered and ready to go when the night before the race, Charlotte got hit with another littler winter storm.  They were calling for a winter mix the next day so I figured the race would be canceled.  Jeremy and I opted to stay in Charlotte and try again next year.  The next morning, I woke up to the best running weather ever and a call to come into work.  *Boooooooo*  I WILL be doing this race next year.  Let me know if you're willing to try this with me!  We can train by eating plenty of donuts :) Click this to register!
 

Alright, so that's two races I've missed out on due to winter weather.  Great.  

Don't you worry, I made up my February race.

The Winter Flight 8k (5 miles) that was supposed to be in January but got rescheduled in February was right around the corner.  The race was now on a Sunday at 2pm.  Weird.  I've never run a road race in the afternoon, let alone on a Sunday.  I thought I would enjoy it since I got to sleep in but boy was I wrong.  This race was NOT fun for me.  The weather was awesome since it felt like spring but I was not feeling this race.  I actually thought Salisbury was flat.  Yeah, not so much.  There were so many hills and I hate hills with a passion!  I felt like we were in the hilliest part of Salisbury!  Don't get me wrong, they had a great set-up with food and drinks afterward.  It just wasn't a good run for me.
Final time: 45:19

I beat that guy.

Exhausted but exhausted with a smile on my face.

March: Corporate Cup Half Marathon
Didn't I mention earlier that a Half Marathon was great and all but the distance was wayyyy too long for my liking and that I'd probably never do one again?  Yup, I was wrong.  I got suckered into doing another half marathon by the Normans, who just so happened to sign me up themselves so I couldn't back out!!  Thanks guys!  Haha, it was all good though.  I'm glad they signed me up because I wanted to get under 2 hours for a half marathon.  I didn't do as well training this go round, but somehow I ended up finishing a minute faster than in December.  It was great running with friends this time!  It was lonely training by myself and having no one to talk to before so this was a nice little change.  I didn't reach my goal of finishing under 2 hours, so I guess that means there's another half marathon in my future.  Awesome.
Final time: 2:04:07

Around mile 8...5 more to go!

Ha, this is how one truly feels after running a half marathon :D

Yay! Some of my running fam: Reba, Moose, Kathryn, and CJ

My #1 supporter :)

April: Bunny Run 5k
Easter is here and it's the only available weekend I had open to run a race.  Good thing Concord was holding a 5k so I could keep up with my resolution!  I LOVED this race.  It was an awesome course (mostly FLAT!), well organized, and it is where I currently hold my PR (personal record for all you non-runners out there).  I ran this with my best friend Sairy.  It was also Apollo's first 5k that he came to cheer me on.  AND I placed 3rd in my age group!  First official award of the year!  Now do you see why this race was one of my favorites of the year?
Final time: 25:53

My BFF, Sairy!

Apollo's first appearance at a race!

3rd place in age group!

May: Warrior Dash
Warrior Dashhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!  This was, by far, my favorite race of the year.  We traveled to Mountain City, Georgia and it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E!  It was also Jeremy's first 5k! (I finally talked him into it).  Well, it was more of an obstacle course.  See, I'm kind of obsessed with MTV's reality show, The Challenge.  (I've always wanted to go on and compete!).  This was the perfect opportunity to feel like I was actually on the show!  Anyways, Warrior Dash is "The Craziest Freakin' Day of Your Life".  It's a 3 mile race where 11 different obstacles await.  Trudging through lakes, walking a plank, leaping over barriers, running through a junk yard, crawling through mud, and jumping over fire are just a few.  Afterward you eat, drink, and be merry.  So. Much. Fun.  I recommend it to anyone and everyone.  In fact, the race is now coming to the Huntersville, NC in  August 2011!  This is another race you should join us in.  Click here to register. You best believe Jeremy and I will be there!  I'm going to miss Georgia but I will probably be freaking out in May since it will be weeks away from our wedding.
Final time: 31:08 

The whole Warrior Dash gang!

One of the first obstacles.  Walking on planks that sunk in the water.

Running to our next obstacle.

Gotta be careful in the junk yard!

Jeremy in the junk yard.

And the final obstacle...jumping over fire!

Weeeee!!!!

Another race with my bestie.

Time to eat!  That was a gooood turkey leg!

The pile of shoes donated after the race.

Best race of the 2010!!

June: June Bug 5k and The China Grove 5k
Told ya I would make up that February race. June got TWO races.  It was also very hot out.  Yuck.


The June Bug 5k was held in Concord, NC.  It was a night race which I had never done before.  I got to run this race with the Normans (running with friends is always better) so that was fun.  They had cute shirts too.  The course was nice.  It was through Frank Liske Park and we got pizza after!  I didn't perform very well at this race but I somehow got 1st place in my age group. Something I hadn't done in quite some time.  Woohooooo!
Final time: 28:25

1st place in age group!  Haven't done that since I was 9.

The China Grove 5k was my next race in June.  It was another scorching one even thought it was run at night!  I've heard through the runners grapevine that this race was one to PR since it was flat.  No hills!  That's what I like to hear!  This one was tough (a lot of competitors out there) but I pushed myself to finish strong.  I walked away with 3rd in my age group!
Final time: 25:55

3rd place in my age group at China Grove.  I'll take it!

July: Firecracker 5k
Happy 4th of July!  I had run this race the year before so I was familiar with the course.  There's not much to say about this race.  I beat my time from the year before but my streak was over with placing in my age group so I was a little down.
Final time: 26:18

Running towards the finish

Happy 4th!

August: NC Music Factory Rock N Run 5k
Now this is where I start to get lazy.  It was always hot outside and I had no desire to run.  I had to keep up with this resolution though.  This was another race that I talked Jeremy into running.  I think I bribed him with motivation of the Disney Half Marathon relay we were going to run in a couple of months.  We had all intentions to train for this 5k but it just never happened.  We always made up an excuse to not run.  Big mistake.  We ended up running this 5k with no training whatsoever.  We also had fried pickles for dinner the night before.  What we were thinking?  Needless to say, we finished the race together and we ended up puking right after.  Lovely.  
Final time: 31:53

NC Music Factory.  Cool music venue and 5k.

All smiles.

September: Freedom 5k 
I learned my lesson from the previous race so I trained for this one...by doing only a few practice runs before.  I know, I know, I'm a pathetic runner.  This race was through the course of Freedom Park in Charlotte.  I had done a race there before, but this was a different route and I liked it better.  Jeremy also got mistaken for Armanti Edwards and Apollo met his girlfriend Milly.
Final time: 28:20

We're so fast the picture is blurry ;)

The dogs actually posed for the picture!

October: Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Relay
I wanted to take Jeremy to Disney World this year and Disney World just so happened to have an Inaugural race in October.  I hadn't had a race marked down for this month so it was the perfect excuse to go!  If you ever have the chance to run at Disney World, you should do it!  It was soooo cool!  I didn't feel like running a half marathon by myself, so what did I do? I begged my lovely fiancé to do the relay with me :D He must really love me because he agreed to do it.  Jeremy started us off with the first 5 miles running through Animal Kingdom.  I finished the last 8 miles running through Hollywood Studios and Epcot.  It was another race that we didn't really prepare for.  I guess my trend for training is to run a couple times before the big day and hope for the best!  Overall, it was an awesome experience and hopefully we'll be back to run again in a few years!
Final time: 2:20:30
5 mile time: 53:24
8 mile time:  1:25:47

Running through Animal Kingdom

Running through Hollywood Stuidios

Inaugural Wine & Dine Half Marathon Relay finishers!

November: Turkey Trot 5k
This race took place in the middle of nowhere: Williamsburg, Kentucky.  I got to run this one with my family which is always a plus.  There were 8 of us who ran this year and 4 of us ended up placing first in our age group! This was our second time doing this race in this small town so it's become our own little tradition.  Again, I managed to run about three times before the actual race but evidently that was good enough to get 1st in my age group, despite the hills...well, they were more like mountains.
Final time: 27:57

Almost to the finish!

The whole fam.

Best 1st place prize of the year!

December: Jingle Bell 5k

I decided to explore the other side of surrounding Charlotte and headed to Lincolnton, NC for my last race of the year!  I was hoping the snow/sleet would hold off so I could squeeze this race in.  This race was fun!  There were lots of festive people out there, dressed up and ready to run.  My only complaint is that they advertised this race as a flat course.  Wrong.  There were at least 5 hills!  I ran up them and got over it but still....I was expecting flat.  I was disappointed with my time but 1st place in my age group cheered me up :)
Final time: 28:42

Heading towards the finish line.

Perfect.

Look who we found! Mr. and Mrs. Claus!

1st place?! I'll take it!

I owe a big THANK YOU to Jeremy who made it to all but one race (he had to work while I did the June Bug 5k) this year!  I love that he came to support me along the way.  I also want to thank Sairy who was always willing to sign up for a race or go for a run even though she has no spare time with her crazy schedule.  Another thanks goes out to CJ and Kathryn for running a majority of the races with me as well! I can't wait for Oliver to join next year!

Well, I did it.  I completed my New Years Resolution!!  It feels awesomeeeeeeeeeeeee!!  Jeremy and I have traveled to Salisbury, Concord, Georgia, China Grove, Huntersville, Florida, Kentucky, and Lincolnton.  All to run.  Ohhh, it's been fun!  Let me know if you want to join in next year!!

My Michael Phelps moment.

Hmmmm...what should I do for 2011?! Triathlon? Marathon (yeah right!)? Beat all my times from 2010?  Decisions, decisions....