A New Year and New Goals
I can’t believe that it has been almost a year since I have last written an entry in my journal. It was nice starting this blog so that I can have a record of my journey while I was training for my first full marathon. It was nice for my mom and I to look back at the blog and see what we have done. So now I decided I would start up again so I can keep a record of my journey here.
2013 was filled with many races and adventures. The LORD has been so good to me. I was getting scared during my marathon training that I would have to quit running due to my IT band injury. There are times when it flares up and I have to start my physical therapy exercises and use the bands and foam roller. I am thankful to God that He has allowed me to continue to run and exercise. It is something that I love. I have to constantly remind myself to not focus so much on running and exercise because I do not want that to become an idol in my life. I often like to pray or praise God while I am out. I do have days where I am focusing on my time.
A year ago I was running about a 9 minute pace and right now my pace is at about 9:30-10:00 pace per mile. My goal for this year is to get a 1.2 marathon in under 2 hours. I’ve been waking up each morning at 4:30 just to get a quick 3 miles in before the start of my busy day teaching and taking the four kids to all their after school activities.
I am also working on strength training. Hopefully I will build up more muscle this year.
The girls and I will be running the Strawberry Distance 5k in a few weeks. I am excited about that race and I would love to be able to run it with my daughter Rachel. She is way faster than me but I am going to try to keep up with her.
Speaking of setting new goals this year, I have also been cooking more! I am a terrible cook and have been making new dishes each night for the family. Hopefully this year I will learn more and be a better cook!
Jessica, you have accomplished so much over the past year. I’m so proud of you and how driven and determined you are. You are an inspiration to us all.