{"id":5113,"date":"2018-01-01T20:30:33","date_gmt":"2018-01-02T02:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/?p=5113"},"modified":"2018-01-02T07:16:54","modified_gmt":"2018-01-02T13:16:54","slug":"what-did-i-get-myself-into-in-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/?p=5113","title":{"rendered":"What Did I Get Myself Into In 2018?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here we are starting a brand new year!\u00a0 It seems like it was just yesterday we were starting a new year!\u00a0 I’ve noticed that the older I get, the faster these years seem to pass.<\/p>\n

I thought today we’d to a synopsis of last year’s running and look at our goals\/races\u00a0 for the new year!<\/p>\n

As I mentioned in a different blog post, my goals are based around races, not resolutions.\u00a0 So let’s review the different races from last year.<\/p>\n

We kicked off 2017 with the Mississippi Blues Marathon.\u00a0 If you can remember back to that race, it was iced out!\u00a0 Jackson, Mississippi, has never had an ice storm like that and I sincerely hope they never do again!\u00a0 That was a terrible storm.<\/p>\n

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After getting home from the storm, I ran the Blues as a virtual race.\u00a0 It technically was a training run for my February 100 mile race.<\/p>\n

MFH and I made the trip to Texas in February for the Rocky Raccoon 100.<\/p>\n

This was to be the first time I experienced losing my eye sight while running on the trails.\u00a0 I was a very sad panda about how that race turned out.\u00a0 While I was running, I was having a great time!!!<\/p>\n

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After Rocky Raccoon, I had a little time to recover before the London Marathon in April.\u00a0 It was a huge thrill to run in London!!!\u00a0 I’ll never forget coming around a bend and all of a sudden seeing Big Ben!\u00a0 I remember thinking to myself, “How did I not\u00a0 see this before!?!\u00a0 It’s HUGE!!!”<\/p>\n

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Above is a pic of the corrals before the start of the race.\u00a0 There were a LOT of people there!<\/p>\n

Running past Buckingham Palace at the very end of the race is a definite, “Pinch me, I’m dreaming” moment!<\/p>\n

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Right after London was the Coke10k.\u00a0 This race is always the first weekend in May.\u00a0 That was such a great day!!!\u00a0 This is my favorite 10k in Mississippi. My sister and I run this event together every year.<\/p>\n

It was perfect weather for race day!\u00a0 My sister and I ran the race and afterwards I was presented with an award called the Gold Standard Bearer.\u00a0 It was a huge honor!!!<\/p>\n

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I still, to this day, don’t know who nominated me for this award,\u00a0 Whoever you are, Thank You!!!<\/p>\n

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July found me in Atlanta for the Peachtree 10k.\u00a0 This is the largest footrace in the world.\u00a0 60,000 runners in Atlanta!\u00a0 That’s the complete population of my town~doubled!<\/p>\n

Believe it or not, there wasn’t one pic of me in all the race pics running Peachtree!\u00a0 How crazy is that!?!\u00a0 However, before the race I got, what to this day, is my favorite pic from a race~ever!!!<\/p>\n

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This guy didn’t say a word.\u00a0 He just hummed through his kazoo.\u00a0 Hilarious!<\/p>\n

About the time of Peachtree, I began training for my second 100 mile race of the year.\u00a0 Brazos Bend 100.\u00a0 I was super excited to be heading back to Brazos!\u00a0 I had run the 50 miler the year before and knew I could run the 100.\u00a0 There wasn’t any doubt in my mind at all.\u00a0 So, training kicked into gear for Brazos.<\/p>\n

In October, the Chicago Marathon came around.\u00a0 I had been accepted through the lottery to run this.\u00a0 I had run it previously in 2014.\u00a0 I was looking forward to being in the Windy City again!<\/p>\n

MFH and I had lived in Chicago a L.O.N.G. time ago.\u00a0 Both of our kids were born there so it’s our old stomping grounds.<\/p>\n

Chicago was a training run for Brazos and I had a blast!!!\u00a0 I know a lot of people were unhappy about the weather that day.\u00a0 I heard lots of complaints about the heat.<\/p>\n

Bear in mind, this kid is up running her long runs at 1:00am during the summer to beat the Mississippi heat\/humidity.\u00a0 The mid 70’s temps and low humidity were the best running weather I’d had in months!\u00a0 I was loving it!!!<\/p>\n

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Finally, it was December and time for MFH and I to head back to Texas for try #2 at the 100 mile distance.<\/p>\n

I was feeling great!\u00a0 Running strong!\u00a0 My eyes just didn’t want to run again and I was medically DNF’d.\u00a0 This made me a very sad panda again because I knew I had this!<\/p>\n

Since that race, I’ve switched eye doctors and we’re trying something different.\u00a0 I’ve changed eye drops and purchased some goggles for running.\u00a0 The theory is that between the drops and protecting my eyes, this *hopefully* will not happen again!<\/p>\n

This brings us up to date on racing.<\/p>\n

So, what’s up for 2018?<\/p>\n

I’m so glad you asked!!!<\/p>\n

In two weeks, January 13, I will be hitting the trails in Florida for the Bear Bait 50M.\u00a0 I’ve been practicing with my googles.\u00a0 Just this morning (on this VERY cold New Year Day morning) MFH (My Favorite Husband) and I ran a fun 5.50 miler.<\/p>\n

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After Bear Bait, I have the Phoenix Marathon on February 24.\u00a0 This race is 4 days after my Birthday so it’s my Birthday Present race!\u00a0 How much fun is that!?!<\/p>\n

The very next weekend, I’ll be running the MS50 Trail Run in Laurel, Mississippi.\u00a0 This is such a fun race! I’ve run there twice and volunteered there last year.\u00a0 This year I’ll be back for the 50k distance.<\/p>\n

I have a little break until May when the Coke 10k rolls around again and then a BIG break!<\/p>\n

This “break” is going to be pretty intense because I’ll be preparing for the Barkley Fall Classic.\u00a0 This race is a beast!\u00a0 I have to be on my “A” game for this one.<\/p>\n

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12,000ft elevation gain\/loss in a “50k” is no joke.\u00a0 Seeing as I live on the Prairie of Mississippi, my tire and I will be doing many miles together this summer!!!<\/p>\n

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That *might* be my last race of 2018?\u00a0 I’m not sure.<\/p>\n

As tradition dictates, I’ll be putting my name in the hat for the 5th time for the NYC Marathon.\u00a0 I’ve tried so many times for this race it’s just a routine for me to try.\u00a0 LOL!!!\u00a0 They can’t say, “No” forever, right?\u00a0 Fingers crossed…again!<\/p>\n

I have a friend who is trying to talk me into another 100 if I don’t get into NYC.\u00a0 We’ll just have to wait and see how all of this plays out.<\/p>\n

So, I’ve told you my goals in races.\u00a0 I haven’t mentioned a mileage goal and that’s because I don’t have one!<\/p>\n

I know.\u00a0 I know.\u00a0 Practically every runner on the planet has a mileage goal but this year I don’t.\u00a0 I didn’t last year either!<\/p>\n

The two years before I had set some pretty big mileage goals and was under a lot of pressure to grind out the miles.\u00a0 Last year I decided to focus on the races and head to the starting line well prepared.\u00a0 It was liberating!\u00a0 The pressure was gone!!!<\/p>\n

I liked that a lot so I’m doing it again.<\/p>\n

Wishing all of you a fabulous 2018!!!<\/p>\n

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#IRun4Aiden<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here we are starting a brand new year!\u00a0 It seems like it was just yesterday we were starting a new year!\u00a0 I’ve noticed that the older I get, the faster these years seem to pass. I thought today we’d to a synopsis of last year’s running and look at our goals\/races\u00a0 for the new year! […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21,22,6,3,7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5113"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5113"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5132,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5113\/revisions\/5132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}