Looking back at April

April was surprisingly a busy month that involved a lot of life changes as well as some unplanned PRs :)

Total Mileage: I finally freaking did it, I hit my goal I set which was 100 miles!! I looked at Daily Mile on 4/30 to see how many miles I needed to hit 100, 7 miles it was (need to start doing this more often)  As you can see below its been a LONG time since I hit 100 miles. The last year is quite laughable at how my mileage is all over the place-only hitting 100 miles twice in 10 months,definitely need to buckle down!!

May Mileage: We've been blessed with much more milder temps than usual this time of year, so aside from this PNW kind of rain we've been having, weather should not be an excuse to not run. Goal is to hit 100 miles again and hopefully increase it by another 10 miles.

Highest Mileage week: 40! Another goal I told myself I'd hit and I did. The first week in April I had a double header so I knew that was my best shot.

May: I'd like another 40 mile week, however my goal this month is to not have any weeks under 20 miles. Seems crazy, but lately  I have a few 15-17 mile weeks thrown in there, and that can not continue.

Races Planned / Completed: 3/2 

State#38- Maine- The windiest half I've ever ran 


State #39- New Hampshire- The tale of the never ending hills and wanting to quit

And the decide to ran night before last minute 5k

May: Originally I had planned a double header mid May in Maryland and Va--- but my traveling companion who said he'd go bailed. I already registered for MD and I'm debating on doing this solo in attempt for breaking 1:40. I will decide in next day or two if the $ is worth it- Have to do MD anyway, might as well get something out of it.
The races I'm for sure doing is a Tap n Run 4k (beer + running, yes please) this weekend, as well as what is bound to be a sucky half marathon in Wyomming @ 8,000ft + elevation -yipee!

Accomplishments for April:

• Getting speed back- 2 shiny PRs: 
• New 1/2 marathon PR in Maine- 1:42:52
• New adult 5k PR @ Dairy Dash-22:11
• Found a new roommate who is awesomely fast, is good friends with Ryan & Sara Hall, as well as Lauren Fleshman...man I'm going to learn a lot. 

• Along with the new roommate came meeting quite a few more local runners- something I've been lacking in since I've been here 
• Yoga consistently 2x a week (HUGE for me) 
• Went to dentist for first time in 6 years
• Got back into church after 5 years
• Finally started contributing to my 401k after 3 years

Upsets in April:

• Men in general and the idiosyncratic behavior
• Haven't blogged about it, but the biopsy that was taken on my chest did come back positive for cancer- getting it removed tomorrow. Elizabeth has a GREAT post on sun safety-- for those who don't know, she works as a sales rep for dermatology practices, so she DEFINITELY knows what she is talking about.

 Current Book:  No reading this past month-life has been busy 

Current Excitements/ Obsessions:

• Moving. 
• Family vacation in 31 days in Outerbanks
• Reaching state 41 so then I can be in the S-I-N-G-L-E digits for what I have left
• Devising a secret mission race plan that only a few know about--- just found out that one of our local running group members who is 6x all american is going to help me get to what my ultimate race goal is this year. I decided that mum is the word on this until it actually happens, so in a few short months I'm sure i'll quite the post about it :) 

Current Treat: I've been on a cereal kick lately-Capn Crunch peanut butter. Luckily I finished the box last night so thats over. Now I just need to finish my Everything bagels and then its bye bye carbs for a bit.

Current Goal (s):  

• Breaking 1:40 in the half. I guess I should just break down and do Maryland because its not happening in Wyoming, and then not sure when the next half will be. 
• Developing a solid race plan for my secret race
• Getting more involved in local running community 

April Major takeaway:  After the whole Boston tragedy I was reminded how awesome the running community truly is. These past few years getting back into running I have been so wrapped up in the virtual community, that I haven't taken the time to get more involved right here in Nashville. There are so many talented runners that are in my Monday night group that I can learn so much from, so after a few conversations with some of them, I decided to finally stop resisting and start actually training for real. The only way to get better is if I stop going through the motions and start pushing myself. The old saying is quite true "There is no comfort in growth" and that is going to be my motto this summer as I try to whittle down my weight and pace :) 

How was your April?

April was a huge growing month for me. A lot of emotional personal stuff came to a head and now that it has passed I believe I came out a stronger person. Running was a huge outlet for me to let out aggression, and I feel like I'm in a much more stable place now.  

Any Major takeaways?

If you want something and are willing to push for it, you might actually surprise yourself.  .