I Want It Bad.

You know those people that say they want something and stop at nothing to get it? Yea, I'm one of those people. At least right now, I am.

I woke up this morning, and over a cup of coffee, reviewed my calendar for today. Mentally going over 'to-do's', whens and also deciding the best time to get my run in today. I glanced to Sunday, Christmas, to see my scheduled mileage for my long run, and it hit. Nine weeks. Nine weeks until the Cowtown Marathon. Nine weeks of training have already passed. Even as I type this, I get a chill down my spine and goosebumps on my arms...and that taste in my mouth.

I started getting that taste as I finished my long run two weeks ago when I hit the Big 10. I got it again this past weekend. 12.93 miles, knees aching and could barely walk, I had that taste. The taste of accomplishment. The taste of desire for your hard work to pay off. The taste of crossing that finish line. The taste of that damn medal in your hand.  Heck, I will probably kiss, lick and try to take a bite of that damn medal. The Cowtown Medal is one of the most awesome race bling pieces I have drooled over as well.

I think about this race every waking moment. Every piece of clothing or shoes I wear, step I take or anything I put in my mouth is hyper-analyzed on how this will affect my training for Cowtown. I eat, sleep, breathe marathon training right now. I set a goal to run my first marathon before I turned 35. I'm 33, with 35 nowhere in sight, but the timing is perfect and the desire is high. I want this goal accomplished. I want this goal even more than I wanted to graduate college. Every atom of my being wants this.

Here's to setting my goal. Here's to getting halfway to my goal. Here's to nine more weeks of pushing toward my goal. Here's to wanting it bad!

Revisiting 2010 Goals

Sometimes I dread the end of the year because I have to look back and see what I may or may not have accomplished, according to what I planned at the beginning of the year. This year, I met two of my seven goals. Looking back, they were pretty ambitious, but I was excited. I did run the Warrior Dash, which I am totally doing again at least once in 2011. I did also learn many ways to adjust my nutrition for workouts/games/races and recovery.

Surprisingly, I was not bothered at the fact that I did not meet most of my goals. The overachiever in me kept her mouth shut. Ha. The only one I was bummed about was my "10 races in 2010" goal. I ran two, but I told myself since I took a good six weeks off during my actual racing "season" to work on family issues, I still did pretty good. Two is better than none, right?

I realized, though, the reason I'm not bothered by meeting all my goals. I kicked ass this year. I ran every chance I got and could make myself get out there to hit the pavement. I ran my heart out during a very dark and hard year for me. I tried new things, such as new races and running with new people. I ran, and that is all that matters.

I'm proud of myself for this past year, even though I know I'm not the best runner out there. The better runners make me want to be a better runner and inspire me to keep getting out there. The better runners help me not to give up and rely on that inner strength that is getting stronger each and every day.

In my book...I totally rocked 2010.

2010 Begins

New month, new year...begins with me hitting the ground running, literally.

A training schedule begins tomorrow with strength training and a re-acquaintance run. Sunday follows with a long run. I must remain diligent to meet my goals for 2010.

My 2010 goals.

1. Train everyday.
2. Run 10 races.
3. Run a minimum of 2010 K (thanks to an online challenge I joined)
4. Run my first half-marathon in the Big D races in April.
5. Participate in my first Warrior Dash on May 1.
6. Incorporate more cross training (biking and swimming) to improve my runs.
   
7. Learn more about my nutrition to become a better athlete.

Working on my goals will help me realize that my fitness is no longer about losing and maintaining weight, but more about athleticism and lifestyle.