The Journey of 1010 miles in 2012...

...started with one step. I reached my goal for the year plus 10 miles.

Exactly 1000 miles! Let's run 7 more just for fun.

And my journey started in January with the Polar Dash half marathon. I normally take December and January very easy. This year in my infinite wisdom I signed up for a January half marathon. Oops. I also was taking calculus for the first time in twenty years. I worried about balancing running with school. The Polar Dash was rescheduled, but with Chicago weather it was still ooky out. I managed to finish the half marathon with Bobbi and Dave but felt some hip/groin pain.

Class went well. I was reminded how much I enjoy calculus. Really. It's cool. Yes, I'll put another punch in my nerd card. My injury got worse and after a CT scan, some rest and more rest the groin pull healed. I had signed up for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon in May to do with my sister and her husband. With a stretch at mile 7 and a relaxed attitude I finished the race, and the next week finished my class.

Summer meant summer school and a spring marathon, Grandma's Marathon in Minnesota. I did the least training I've done for a marathon. The week I did my 20 miler, that's all the running I did that week. I didn't expect to finish but I did declaring it my merrython. In fact, it was a great girls' weekend. Carrie, Yvonne, Bobbi, Chris and I got along so well and had so much fun. The weekend was full of emotion, but we all supported each other. I smile just thinking about it.  I also was taking two hours of calculus four times a week. Two days after the race I was back in class feeling awful.

I also did the Dirty Girl with Maria, Marlene and a few other gals from the running club. I took the place of another runner who couldn't make it. What a great time! There was no real running involved, just lots and lots of muddy fun. I forgot about my fear of heights until I was at the top of an obstacle, but the gals helped me over. My girlios thought the mud race was awesome so I signed them up for the kid's Columbia Muddy Buddy. We volunteered before their race, and when the time came 2/3 of them became afraid of getting dirty. Bah!

Class finished up, and I signed up for differential equations in the fall. This was completely new territory for me, much like wearing a GPS all the time to track my mileage. I'm taking math classes to become a certified math teacher. This fall I took my certification test (and passed), hurt my brain in differential equations, ran two half marathons and a marathon. I was much healthier by this point in the year, and when I ran the Omaha Half Marathon I shaved 22 minutes off my January half and 13 minutes off my May half. The Indianapolis Marathon was a beautiful tough course, and with the help of my bandit pacer I ran another sub-5 hour marathon. It wasn't a PR, but I didn't care. I shaved almost 20 minutes off of my June marathon. After the race, I felt almost human. I also had the honor of pacing my niece for her first half marathon at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. She did great, and we got on the news too.

Normally, I take December and January easy. It didn't happen this year either. Maybe there's a new normal. On Christmas Eve the running club had a DIY Santa's Jingle Ball 10k/half marathon. I slugged out a half on the frozen trail with Bobbi, Carrie and Dave. With calculations and encouragement, I kept running and running until I hit my goal of 1000 miles in 2012 two days before the year's end. Yesterday, I ran with Carrie and Chris bringing my total up to 1010.



Miles just melt away with my running friends, and I am so thankful.

Today I ran with the running club. It was cold out there. The Weather Channel said, "Feels like 0." Yep, it did, but the sun was out, the wind was low and the company was great. It's a great way to start the new year. People were already discussing their goals and plans for the year. I haven't decided mine yet. Give me a few days. I just hit last year's goal. While I'm thinking about my 2013 goals, I'll keep running.

Happy New Year!