Happy New Year!

  I just finished adding up my total mileage since I started keeping track the first week of May.  I'm happy to say that I've run over 200 miles!  That's not including all the miles before I started keeping track.  Such an accomplishment!
  I did end up running the New Years Eve race.  That in itself was a feat!  I went to the bar with friends to celebrate and had set my alarm to remind myself to leave about 45min in time for the race.  As I left the bar in my heels and a dress, I quickly realized I left my sneakers at Joey's apartment when we were getting ready to go out.  Thankfully I live very close to the bar we were at so I very dangerously threw on my pants and sped back to my apartment to get my extra old sneakers that sit in the back of my closet.  I literally ran from my car to the back door in my strapless dress and running pants in bare feet, threw on the sneakers, socks and a sports bra and ran back to my car to put on my shirts and hoodies.  I drove quickly back to the race site and Stephen called me as I was pulling into a spot to wish me a Happy New Year (I'm an hour behind him).  As I quickly talked to him on the phone I realized I couldn't find my number bib.  I knew they wouldn't let me race without it and probably wouldn't believe me that I had already registered.  I searched the car for another 5 minutes after I got off the phone and finally found it under the car seat.  At this point I had about 10 minutes before the race started so I headed up to find the starting point.
  I was so stressed which is never a good way to start a race, but I had my mind set - I wanted to run a sub-30 and run the entire race.  This goal doesn't seem that bad since my last race was sub-28 however I hadn't run in almost 2 weeks at this point and I knew this course was hard - it was the same one as the Skirt Chaser's in September - when I did a 36.18.
  I ran my heart out and realized half way through that I wasn't going to hit sub-30 but I was ok with that.  I could tell because they started setting off fireworks at midnight and I hadn't hit the half way mark at that point yet.  I kicked it up a notch and pushed myself a little harder and kept setting my sites on people ahead of me to pass out and push myself harder.
  I'm happy to say that despite 2 weeks off, I did pretty well.  I finished the race at 31.20 and ran the entire race.  As I returned to my friends they all made sure to let me know that although I didn't make the time goal I wanted, I beat my last time on that track by 5 minutes and I was one of the crazy people who chose to run in 26 degrees while most were inside drinking and enjoying life.  My results were 60 out of 247 (women only), 7 out of 29 (my age group), 199 of 520 (overall) and 7 of 40 (weight placement).  With those stats, definitely one of my better races.
  I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I want my goals for running and exercising to be this year.  I feel like I've come so far in so many ways but I still have a long way to go before I'm where I want to be.  I hate making "new years resolutions" but instead, after talking to a friend a few days ago, I'm making goals for my health in 2011.
  - I will run a half marathon on May 1, 2011.  Current goal is as close to 2.30 as possible.
  - I will continue train at least 3-4 times a week with the training group as well as my running class.
  - I will go to the gym to cross train at least 1-2 times a week.
  - I will start doing yoga or piyo at least 1 - 2 times a week to gain a more sculpted body.
  - I will continue to eat veggies at least once a day 5 days a week.
  - I will give up diet coke for lent again and not start drinking it once I give it up.
  - I will drink at least 50 oz of water a day to keep my body hydrated and keep me healthy.
  - Finally, I will do my best to keep myself as healthy and happy as possible.