This isn't a particularly crafty project considering I didn't even make the actual medal rack. (I bought it on etsy.) Still, my regular medal rack- which is really just a row of coat hooks from Target- actually fell off my wall a few months ago so I figured it was time to double up. (And add some wall anchors.) In deciding which medals got the new prime spot on top of the wall I ended up choosing a mix of first time races (first marathon, first trail run, etc.) as well as my personal bests. It makes me happy to look up and see those special races on prominent display. Even now I can remember so many details about each of those days- who I was with, how I felt, what I did leading up to and after the race. Obviously the "firsts" medals are never going to change but I look forward to, hopefully, swapping out a couple of those PR medals for some new ones. And if I don't get to, at least they're still shiny.

Left to right:

2012 Bewl 15: First-and only!-international race (Wadhurst, England)
2009 Madison Half Marathon: First half marathon
2012 Schaumburg Half Marathon: PR
2009 Lakefront Marathon: First 26.2
2013 Chicago Marathon: PR
2011 Dances with Dirt Marathon: First trail race
2010 Chicago Lakefront 50K: First 50K
2011 North Face 50: First 50 Miler (trails)
2013 Door County Fall 50: First road 50

Big October

So I'm a wee bit late with my October accountability post. Obviously I busied myself with the Chicago Marathon. And two weeks later I did this thing (again) where I ran 50 miles. I really only have about three things to say about that race:

1. I need to go back to Door County again when I'm not running 50 miles.
2. For me, 50 miles is much easier when run on trails as opposed to the road. (Yes, I am aware of the ridiculousness of using the word "easy" in association with running 50 miles.)
3. My little heart still feels all asplode-y with proud when I think of this post-finish photo with Rochelle:

On other fronts, creative projects took a bit of a back burner in October due to all the running and running and preparing for running and recovering from running and then running again. I did take my booty to an African Dance class a couple of times at the beginning of the month which was FANTASTIC. Mama can still shake it! Now that I'm technically in my running off season I'll heading back to some more dance classes until the end of the year. I've even been eyeballing an Aerial Silks class in December because awesome and amazing. Obviously. I'm also going to hunker down and tackle some of these half finished projects around the house so hopefully I'll have a little more to show for myself at the end of this month- you know, besides a marathon PR and a 50 mile ultramarathon. I do have one more half marathon at the end of this month before my race-free December. Will I run a PR in Schaumburg? With everything I've accomplished this year I'll be happy either way but I'm still going for it. I figure why sell myself short? You gotta at least try.

Goals. I've Achieved Them. (And I have some more.)

"I'm going to run a 3:55 someday. In fact, I'm going to run a 3:50 someday. Yeah, I said it."

I typed those words on May 20th of this year after bonking horribly at the Rockford Marathon for the second time in a row. I was pretty sure that 3:55 was doable but I kind of wanted to reach out and take that 3:50 back after I published it. For some reason it still seemed like a number I just wouldn't be able to grasp. (At least not for a few years.)

So then I went and ran a 3:50:06 at the Chicago Marathon last weekend.

BOOM.

I ran a 3:50:06 and felt AMAZING the entire time. I can't even tell you how awesome it feels to still have gas in the tank for the final 5K of a marathon instead of fighting back against pain and tears and downright awfulness! Instead of slowing down in the final miles was passing people all the way to the end. I had a plan, I executed with it precision and it paid off... big.

My entire race report is here for the reading but that's not what I'm writing about today. I've had a week to recover and soak up my success. I bought an overpriced Chicago Marathon jacket to commemorate my experience and purchased a couple of my race photos. (I kind of had to right?) But as most runners do after as the post-race glow starts to wear off, I'm already targeting my next goal. My next marathon won't be until next year but the inner Type A personality in me is already aiming at the :06  that lives on the end of that 3:50 marathon time. (I mean, you don't really expect me to let that go do you?)

A lot of people don't like training. They like race day but hate the drudgery of daily workouts- the speedwork, the tempo runs, the long, lonely solo miles on an early Saturday morning. I feel like I'm the opposite. I LOVE training. Give me the daily drudge. I love pushing myself hard and seeing tiny little progressions in speed, strength and endurance. I know I'll never be an elite level runner but I feel like I have some level of talent and I enjoy seeing how far I can push it. 

So I'm going to keep pushing. A couple of months ago I floated the idea of shooting for a 3:45 marathon when I turn 40. (A Boston qualifying time for me when I hit that age.) Suddenly 4+ years from now to shave off 5 minutes seems... not ambitious enough? So instead I'm gunning for that 3:45 next spring instead. It will be a stretch for me to take off that much time again but even if I don't make it on the first try I've know now that it doesn't matter. I know that missing out on my goal twice only made me fight harder and stronger the third time around. And I'm ready to keep fighting. 

September Project: Images. Movement. Dance.

Here are some of the images that I chose to print on my new set of cards. I'm pretty happy with them:

I might add a few more but this is what I have so far.

Scattered

Well... it's September 1st so I'm forcing myself to write an update on the creative project goals I laid out last month. I've said in the past that I often have so many ideas and interests that I end up spreading too much of myself around instead of focusing on a single thing (except for when it comes to running, it's pretty clear I don't have the same problem here.) Anyway, this past month instead of concentrating on ONE project to complete, I got overly excited and started a handful of them- none of which are finished.

Classic conundrum, I know. So what have I been working on?

1. I'm farthest along with a t-shirt printing idea that I've been thinking about for quite a while. I completed my initial design and am in the process of  having some screens made so I can print shirts at the Milwaukee Makerspace. I'm really excited about these and am thinking about selling some if there is any interest after I print my own.

2. I've also revisited my greeting card project that I started a couple of years ago with some of Juliana's drawings. This time though I'm manipulating some photographs I've taken and am going to print new sets of cards using these images. Do I have the images selected yes? Have I printed anything. No.

3. Last, I learned one of my favorite Mountain Goats songs on the guitar. It's not a difficult song but I've been meaning to do it forever. I had plans to record in in Garage Band but... you know. Argh...

Yeah. So what's my goal for September then? Complete at least one of these ideas and more importantly DO NOT START a new project.

We'll see how it all shakes out.

Creativity.

I'm kind of an all or nothing person. When I'm into something I'm waaaaay in to it. Otherwise I'm not. Running, dancing, sci fi/fantasy tv? I get those things. Cooking? Nope. Camping? Double nope. I also go through phases where I'm super excited about certain things and then super not. I fill up my To-Do list to the brim with all the little things I want to accomplish. And then the next week all I want to do is multi-task Ticket to Ride on my laptop with SVU reruns while hiding from the piles of laundry that are slowly overtaking my home.

A couple of weeks ago was our much-heralded Kid-Free Week of the summer. The girls spent eight days in Rockford at with their cousins galavanting about at camp while Jason and I galavanted about the Chicago and Milwaukee areas. In addition to a slew of "Secret Dates"- ranging from fine dining and theatre to hiking and a painting class- we also spent some time lounging around by the pool making lists of things we would like to do if we had all kinds of time to do them all.  I don't mean things like traveling the world for a year (that's later down the road) but rather the little things you always mean to do if you just set aside the time, sat down, and got that business DONE. Things like learning a new song on the guitar, framing some old photos, writing projects... you know, creating something.

So I've set a goal of doing at least one creative project per month. I don't know how many months yet, all I know is I have a list of fun ideas that I want to plow my way though. Yes, it's now the second week of August so I've already got something in the works that I hope to complete pretty soon- definitely by the end of the month. (I'm not against doing multiple projects in a month but I need baby steps people. Baby stepping.) I'll try to share most if not all of what I do.

This is me putting my intentions out into the world. Holding myself accountable.

Goals. I Have Them.

Howdy. It's approximately eleventy-hundred and two degrees here in the Midwest and it makes me cranky. I wish I could say I come from sturdier stock and that I'm able to wipe my brow and bear the brunt of 90+ degree temperatures with a smile on my face, but when it comes to the heat I'm a kind of a wuss. I may be able to run 50 miles through the woods but I crave a cold shower and a massage at the end. I cringe at the mere thought of the word "camping" and my closet is stocked with twee little sundresses.

Not to say I'm not tough. I do push ups on my toes, I actually enjoy doing burpees and I drink my bourbon neat. It's just that the neverending HOT makes me feel so lethargic and unproductive and if it's one thing I hate- it's feeling lazy.

So what do I do? (Besides complain, I mean.) I spend my down time making lists of all the things I want to do when I'm not being lazy and crabby and unproductive. This week I planned out my training schedule for a 50-mile race in Door County this October. As if that weren't enough, I got greedy and started researching races for next year. (2014. Can you believe it? We live in the FUTURE.) Anyway, I decided that I want to find new ways to challenge myself (I know, I know, as if what I do right now isn't challenging enough.) But really, I feel like after running for 5 years I'm hitting high point and I want to take advantage of it and do as much as I can.

Ok, so here's where my post gets really boring and I talk about my goals. 

Since I've had bad luck with weather the past two years at the Rockford Marathon, I decided to go for my marathon PR at Wisconsin Marathon in 2014- which takes place two weeks earlier in the season. (Of course by saying this I've just now guaranteed perfect running weather in Rockford for race weekend next year but I'm trying not to think about it.) I'm fairly confident I can run a sub-3:55 marathon (maybe even a 3:50?) if I get the right conditions. Hopefully I can game it right next year!

I also still want to PR my 5K (21:57). I'm less clear on when I will be able to do this since I don't run many of them at all, but it's another distance that I'm fairly confident I can get my time down farther in given the right day.  I've kicked up my sprinting speed in my interval workouts lately so if I find a 5K that looks favorable at the end of the year I might go for it then.

Even though I haven't run my 50 miler this year yet, I'm already scoping out next year's 50 miles races. Although I'm super excited to run 50 in Door County, it's a road race and I really do prefer trails for super long distances. It's just so much easier on the legs and walk breaks seem to come more naturally out in the trail as opposed to the road. Right now I'm eyeing the Glacial Trail 50 that takes place in the fall. It's supposed to be a much tougher course than the North Face 50  that I've done twice already and it has a stricter cutoff time. Of course, this only makes me want to be able to prove I can do it even more. (Can somebody remind me of this post when I miss the cutoff and am crying into my beer?)

Looking waaaay down the road even further, I actually started mulling around the idea of the 100K distance. JUST MULLING at this point. I need to get a couple more 50 milers under my belt before I make that leap. And it's only 12 more miles right? *Sigh.* This is how I get into trouble.

Also, and I wish I could whisper this one. But if I'm able to run my fastest marathon time next year I'm going to maybepossiblyseriously start looking at trying to qualify for Boston in the next 5 years. Like the BIGGEST MAYBE you can imagine. The qualifying time for when I turn 40 is 3:45 so if I can run under 3:55 in 2014 I think it actually might be the teeniest of possibilities. Of course then I have to turn 40. And run a 3:45 marathon. And did I mention TURN 40?? God.

So that's it. I mean the really really really big goals at least. I'm going to try to whittle down my half marathon time to the low 1:40s by the end of 2013 since it's my favorite distance to actually race all out. (Schaumburg Half Marathon in November, I'm looking at you!) Oh, and I'm going to continue to teach bootcamps and try to grow my personal training business and take more dance classes and hang out with my husband from time to time and be there for my kids when they get home from school every day. You know, the usual.

Life isn't half bad. Keep rockin'.