Jen Chooses Joy

3,821 Miles

This has been one of the happiest years of my life.  I’ve said it a million times…I am not an exceptional runner, but I run for the joy of it.  My friends truly made this a joyful year.  Thank you!

My 2014 goals were:

1.  To log my miles for the first time ever…with a goal of 2,014 mile.
2.  Run more races than ever with the Fleet Feet Race Team with a goal of getting more comfortable with road      marathons.
3.  Become a pacer for the Fleet Feet Country Music Marathon Training Program
4.  Start a blog.

Here’s how it played out…

January

February

Race: The Seaside Half Marathon

March

April

Race: Country Music Half Marathon Pacer

May

Race: Achilles International 5 Mile

June

Race: The Franklin Half Marathon

The Moon Pie 10 Mile

Jackal Trail Marathon

July.  I hit my 2014 goal and celebrated accordingly!

Race: Brentwood Firecracker 5k…my first 5k!

August

Race: Cumberland Plateau Stage Race

September: I started JenChoosesJoy!

Race: Franklin Classic 10k and 5k

And…I became an RRCA Coach!

October

Race: Chicago Marathon

November

Race: The Flying Monkey Marathon

Boulevard Bolt Thanksgiving 5 Miler

December

Race: St. Jude Memphis Marathon

I am really proud of that total: 3, 821!  I followed a bunch of Mark Hadley’s training plans and he got me through a lot of races!

2015 Run Goals

1. I was fortunate to make the Fleet Feet Racing Team again…woo hoo!
2. I’m going to pace a training group for the Fleet Feet Country Music Marathon 4 hour group.
3. Run and write for the Rock ‘N’ Blog Team.
4. I’m going to log my miles again, but I’m hesitant to set a goal.  I want to listen to my body and see where it leads.  4,000 miles would be great, but that depends on how I’m feeling.

Blog Goals:

1. Continue to grow JenChoosesJoy by posting 6 times a week.
2. Move to a self-hosted site with ads.
3. Make #choosejoy shirts to raise money for St. Jude.  🙂

2015 Races:

1. Pistol Ultra…although as I type this, I have a tight Achilles and I’m on the fence about racing 😦
2. Boston Marathon
3. Seattle Half or Full
4. Franklin Classic 10k
5. New York Marathon
6. Flying Monkey Marathon
7. Boulevard Bolt
8. St. Jude Memphis Half or Full

And, because I like to aim high…

I hope you ALL have a very Happy New Year!!!

What was your 2015 running highlight?  Mine was a surprising 2nd overall female finish at the Flying Monkey Marathon!

What was your best lesson learned?  I don’t need to race 3 marathons and 1 ultra within 3 months.  I’m exhausted!

How did you ring in the New Year?  Pizza and champagne with my husband at home…perfection:)