That's it for the year!

Races that is...

I'm not going to do the 5K this weekend. We're slated for a major snow storm starting Saturday night and since this race is by my parents house, it's just not feasible for me to drive there, do the race, then hurry back to so I can run errands before the storm. Besides, I'm not exactly 100% injury free so I could probably use the down time. I'm taking it easy running-wise for the rest of the year then ramp up again around January.

Reflecting back this year, I'm proud of what I accomplished! 12 races total! 8 5Ks, 1 10-mile, 1 5-mile, and 2 half marathons! Not too shabby, considering I only did 2 total the previous year!

Clearly I'm still a work in progress. So here are my running goals for 2008:

• Get a handle on my injuries. How to do that is still up in the air. I'm thinking of hiring a running coach just to get my gait analyzed and get advice on how to improve my posture/form.
• Race more. I slacked off on a couple of races due to extremes in weather. I need to learn to run outside no matter what the weather is.
• And in order for me to race the weekends, I need to find time to do some long runs on the weekdays.
• Improve my 5K time. Based on my half marathon times, I know I'm capable of being faster.
• Do a 10K race. Believe it or not, of all the races that I did I'm missing on that distance.
• Incorporate hill works and speed works to my training.

I decided on my next half marathon....Lehigh Valley Half Marathon in April! I LOVE HILLS!!! I LOVE HILLS!!!! I'm trying to make myself love hills, LOL. My 2 previous half marathons were pancake flat so I'm terrified of this race!

I also plan to do the same half marathons I did this year (hopefully, that will include Philadelphia this time around), and I plan to sign up for Disney half in Florida for Jan. 2009.

As for a full marathon, well right now I have no desire to do it. I don't think I'll even have the time to train for one since I'm working full time, I have a house to take care of, and I have one more class to finally finish my certification in Regulatory Affairs. I'm not completely disregarding that option though. If I do decide to do one this year, it's definitely NOT going to be Philadelphia. It has gotten bad reviews from runners I know who have run it. The half marathon is apparently not too bad, but the the full is another story. So if I do a full marathon this year, it might be Baltimore in Oct. Or if I can pull it off, Memphis in Dec. I just have a soft spot for St. Jude's Children's Hospital, which is the sponsor of this race. Ultimately, I want to do a full marathon before I'm 40 (maybe 35 ;-)). Okay, maybe one or 2 full marathons before that age, coz for some reason I'm seeing NYC as one of them.

So tomorrow, I'm going to try to get to the mall early and get all my shopping done. I still have to buy presents for my Dad (easy since all he wants is a Best Buy gift card), my SIL (she's my polyanna but all she wants is a Kohl's gift card), and my Mom (toughy since she's picky). Then I have to get food shopping done, bake more cookies for Thursday's Christmas potluck at work (I'm making SunnyD's super easy butter cookie recipe =)), and finally cook some good BFL-friendly meals for next week. I admit, I'm slacking off. And most of all, I need to get some cleaning done around my house - it's starting to look like a pig sty!

I also need to get my mind focused again on working out and healthy eating. I've been slacking off on my meals and working out. I need to get on that mind set and lifestyle again.