Wow! It is seriously hard to believe that it is JULY 1st! This year has flown by like crazy and we both just took a breath and realized we are only 5 months away from running our marathon and reaching our goal for the year. We decided that this would be a really good time to kind of reflect and recap what has happened so far in our running life and put this all into perspective a little bit, because most of it seems to already be a blur. We are always super busy and half the time just start to feel like we are on autopilot. So here is just a recap of what we have learned, where we were and what we have in store for the next year. Thanks for staying with us!

 

Beth:

I have enjoyed this year so far SO much! I’m at a point right now with the heat that I’m struggling with my running. But I (as does Teal) the mantra that @rnrgrltx told us “miles are miles.” This summer and heat has brought on a big mental struggle with me, but I can only assume that as I try my best and persevere I’ll be growing that much more as a runner! Through this blog and the running community we’ve gained on twitter I’ve loved seeing the heart of fellow runners and the causes that are the reason so many run. This year and the time Teal and I spent training last year has shown me how much difference a partner in the sport of running can make! I’m truly grateful to have her by my side as we push each other further and succeed together in this goal year of ours!

 

Teal:

I have learned many things over the past few months of running some greater than others, but all equally important. The first of these things I really think is actually being comfortable with calling myself a runner, before this year I never actually felt like this was true but just based on what we have been able to do this year I really think that that statement is more true than ever before. I have learned that there is a huge community of runners who are out there to encourage and motivate and it has been awesome to see that and be a part of it. I have found that keeping track of my running, setting goals, and actually looking back on them is a great source of motivation and makes this even more enjoyable. I have realized that I will forever live with some sort of blister, grinding in my knee (yes I have had it looked at J), or soreness and I am just learning to deal and find ways to control it. Finally through all of this I have realized that I am stronger than I actually think I am!

 

What we have done together:

-Run two ½ marathons, which is something I don’t think either of us really had ever thought would actually happen this year.

-We have achieved our goal of running a run race per month together and even surpassed that goal in some months!

-Beth joined and is heading a 5k race team for Heroes for Children

-As a team we are raising money for Team Cindy to support Breast Cancer Awareness and research through the Rock N Roll series

-Achieved new PR times in just about every distance we have run repeatedly

-Gained a huge community of support through the blog and through our new friends and fellow runners from the running community and twitter world.

 

Where we are going:

-We will run in the Too Hot to Handle race next week which perhaps a huge milestone for us being very cold weather runners

-The Disneyland ½ in Anaheim California will be our first out of state race! We hope we can make this a trend but we are both super excited for this step!

– Complete our goal of at least 1 race per month. We have something for every month but August but we are confident we can find one if we haven’t gotten scared of the heat by then

– We hope to reach our goal of raising $1200 for Team Cindy to represent each month of our goal and to honor Cindy and her family

– Train, Run, and Complete the Dallas White Rock Marathon December 4th!

We are really nervous about running a full marathon and we both want to learn as much as we can about that process from those who have gone through it! We would love to hear what has worked for you for just about anything, to stay motivated, what you say to yourself when you hit that “wall”, what advice you have for being consistent and making those long runs, how you deal with pain and soreness, heat, chaffing, hydration and the elements. We also would love running partners for our long runs if anyone out there wants to have company let us know and we would love to meet up and tackle those grueling long runs together. Let us know your biggest tips and best advice! Our ears are open and we really love to hear what has worked for you!

Want to end this post with a quote we saw tweeted by @RunningQuotes:

“Anyone can run 20 miles.  It’s the next six that count.” – Barry Magee