I run for...the fight.

Greetings!! A new year and a new blog post! I realize it's been awhile. I took a much needed break from my blog and from running over the holiday season.

In the last four years, a "break" was never something in my running vocabulary. In fact I never went more than a week without running. But I have a confession to make. This year's marathon really discouraged me. Having done everything right leading up to race day it broke my spirit to know I couldn't rise to my full potential. Just like in life sometimes we have no control over what happens.

I had a Turkey Trot 5K in November that I was looking forward to post-marathon but I just couldn't get into my training. I did almost no speedwork leading up to it. I did alright on race day, finishing at around 33:00, but not being able to match my sub-30 from last year led to further discouragement.

After the 5K I only ran twice the rest of November and then in December I only ran 5x, never faster than 12 min/mi. December 14th was my last run for the year and at that point I wasn't sure how I was going to proceed in making my running goals for 2016. I had lost the desire to run another marathon. I thought about refocusing my time and energy on another pursuit - like cycling, yoga or weight training. Thankfully my 17 day hiatus from running allowed me to put things into perspective.

If there is one thing I have learned about myself it's that I need a challenge. I think I was right on about not wanting to run another marathon. I've already ran four! It's time to take things up a notch. That's why this year my goal is to run my first ultra marathon (defined as any distance over 26.2). I have not picked which race I'm doing yet but I have my sights on a 50 miler in the Fall.

With this new challenge, I know I need to run a lot more miles for the year. My goal is 1200 miles. That's double what I ran in 2015 but only 400 off from what I completed in 2014. It's totally possible. To jump start this new year's goal I have committed myself to keeping a running streak. I am currently on day 4 for the year and at 9 miles total. I'm hoping to make it to at least 100 days.

One thing that I forgot to mention in chronicling marathon day 2015 was my power song - Fight Song by Rachel Platten. This song is now my 2016 anthem.

This is my fight song
Take back my life song
Prove I'm alright song
My power's turned on
Starting right now I'll be strong
I'll play my fight song
And I don't really care if nobody else believes
Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me

There you have it! My goals for 2016. Join me in the fight, find your strong, break through your comfort zone, set the bar higher, challenge yourself, and above all...have fun!

Happy running!
Amanda