2017 has been pretty amazing, and I can only hope that 2018 can top it! I hope you all enjoy a look back at my 2017!
.February felt like a whirlwind for sure. I traveled A LOT this month with first heading to New Orleans for Rock n Roll Half Marathon followed by trips to Birmingham (Mercedes Half Marathon weekend) and Ft Lauderdale for the A1A Half Marathon. Before I knew it, Princess Half Marathon weekend 2017 was here and I ran 22.4 magical miles over the weekend (5K, 10K, and 1/2 Marathon) which was also my 75th half marathon. What a magical place to run #75!
I won't lie, March had a tough start to it. I went for a 5K PR attempt the morning after coming home from Disney which was a big mistake. I should have known better than to have a goal race be after 9 days at a theme park (12+ hours a day on my feet and ALL the food!). I had a few tough times with races in the first part of the month and realized that I needed to focus in on my training and cross training which led me to working out with Jack (spoiler: it has been great and I am continuously improving and getting stronger). I took things a lot easier in the second half of the month and reflected on why I love running so much and geared in on relaxing a bit while running and enjoying times with friends.
April was a month of half marathons for sure which started with the Chick-Fil-A Half Marathon. Up next I unintentionally almost PRed the Savannah Women's Half Marathon (just missed my PR by about 30 seconds) which was the perfect set up for my official half marathon PR attempt - Tear Drop! I hit my PR (which is almost 3 years old) by over 3 minutes that morning even after battling some GI issues the final few miles. I also enjoyed some local 5Ks with friends in between all the half marathons.
After several unsuccessful attempts - my year-old 5K PR went down at the Pittsburgh 5K! It might have only been by a few seconds, but I did it! Thank you Jeff again for getting me there! The summer sun and heat came in wicked fast once May hit - time to slow down my pace a bit until fall I guess. Due to summer conditions, a lot of local races in Atlanta are mainly 5K with occasional 10K and half marathons until fall.
Then there is June. June was a wonderful month. The month was full of awesome races that we favorites of past years along with some new ones. I must say, I have a whole new appreciation for freeze pops at finish lines after the past few weeks! My favorite race of the month was probably Hotlanta Half Marathon. Yes, it lived up to its name, but my friend Chris and I still had a blast running it together.
July really lived up to the name "Hotlanta" in Atlanta - what a scorcher! I kicked off July with an amazing 6.2 mile party down Peachtree at the Peachtree Road Race. Next up was heading to Chicago for Rock n Roll 5K and Half Marathon (which was a nice break from the heat and humidity in Atlanta). The month of July wrapped up with a few other local 5K races near and dear to my heart.
Hey there, August! August was a great month (yet hot and humid). I was quite thankful for the support of my family and friends....and friends that choose to do 'dumb' things with me. I ran back-to-back races in the same day which included a 5K in the morning followed up by a night time half marathon. This takes a toll on me each year, but man is it a great feeling of accomplishment once that second finish line is crossed!
My trip to Disneyland for the 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon, was both magical and sad at the same time. This would be my last Disneyland race weekend indefinitely as runDisney does not have any west coast races happening in the near future. I collected my final Coast to Coast Challenge and had a great time with Momma K and friends. The rest of the month consisted of local 5Ks and an unintentional PR during a 5K 'training race' at the Mercedes Benz 5K.
The final few months of the year involved quited a bit of traveling. The first racecation was to St. Louis for the Rock n Roll Half Marathon. What a beautiful and awesome city St. Louis is and Momma K and I had a wonderful time exploring the city. My Atlanta races were pretty good to me as well with a 10 Miler PR at the end of the month and two local half marathons and a 5K.
November was definitely the busiest month of 2017. With back-to-back travel weekends including a 4 hour drive to Savannah with 3 races for Rock n Roll Savannah to heading to Rock n Roll Vegas just 4 days later, it was a little crazy but SO MUCH FUN! I even hit my PR goal at the Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon at the end of the month!
December was a test of my stress level for sure. First, I dealt with an open-course situation at the Rome Half Marathon which was a tough on mentally. Next, we headed to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg for Santa Hustle Half Marathon for the final racecation of the year. Finally, the my 2017 race calendar wrapped up with completing the Galloway Double G Challenge (Barb's 5K and Jeff Galloway 13.1) right here in Atlanta.