Friday, July 3, 2015

#RunThisYear June 2015 summary


And another month comes to a close...it's time to check out my progress on this years goals!

June was a great month for me. Without any race to train for, I got to just enjoy running. It's a good thing, because this was, according to Tom Skilling, intrepid Chicago weatherman, the wettest June on record. I wasn't exaggerating when I whined about the humidity and the rain. There wasn't much sun to enjoy. But I got those miles in, and hit 600 for the year! We were in one of my happy places, Door County Wisconsin, which you can read all about here. I can't think of a better place to hit a milestone.

I forgot my bib. Can you tell that I'm holding my iPad? 
So how did I do on the goals?


Sub-2 half marathon: I am happy to have hit that goal twice this year! This month I ran a virtual half marathon, the Skirt Sports 13er, on a humid, hot Sunday morning. I recapped it here. I didn't hit sub 2, but for this race, I had no goal but to complete it, since I wasn't trained for a half. Plus, there was no way in these conditions, that I could sub-2. It was brutal. And we all know that humidity is not my friend. The victory was in the finish, since this was a virtual run, and I had no incentive to finish it, except for pride. It was a mental victory, for sure!


Staying injury free: Fingers and toes crossed, but things are status quo. The toe keeps reminding me that it's there, but nothing has escalated. To me, that's a win. My tummy problems are a little better, but I think that due to some continued stress in my life, I'll be battling that for the rest of my training. Becky has me doing a heavy lifting cycle right now, and I look at that work as insurance for my marathon training. Strong muscles=protection for my joints.


Controlling the mama drama: Nothing earth shattering this month, my oldest finally got a job again. The good thing is that his hours are 4-10, and I think that keeps him out of trouble. But he's so rude to me that it's very stressful for me to be around him. I didn't realize this until I was out of town this past weekend and I was able to relax and get some good sleep! On this trip out of town, I spent some time with my youngest and that was just great. Stay tuned.

Have you started it yet?
Grow the blog: I finally took the plunge and signed up for Twitter. So many people told me that I needed to do this if I wanted to get more engagement on the blog. Dare I say I'm more than overwhelmed? I'm starting to figure it out, but there's so much to learn. Right now, I'm trying to keep my focus on writing good posts and interacting with my readers. That's why I started writing, and that's the goal! I had 2 blog posts featured on FitApproach. The Book Club is still going strong. This month's author, Alexandra Heminsley has agreed to an interview, so we're back on track! And the book, Running Like A Girl, is getting good feedback! It's been fun to have a few campaigns tho...I had a giveaway for SLS3 compression socks, which was a huge hit, and the webinar for the Vision Council, which I really enjoyed. I'm linking up with The Silvah Lining once a month for a Race Recap link up and HoHoRuns and I are working on another link up...stay tuned! 

My downtown Chicago run!
Sub-4 marathon: Becky and I are finishing up this heavy lifting cycle, and then marathon training commences in a couple of weeks. I'm running conservatively right now, just trying to preserve the legs. I was feeling a little burnt out and blah, but a few good runs in some decent weather and some fun places turned that all around. I can and I will!

The Stats:

Miles run: 105
Miles biked: 30.6

Races run: Skirt Sports 13er virtual run 2:06:50

How about you? It's the halfway point for the year? Have you checked in with your goals?



49 comments :

  1. Great month! Twitter.. I am on there but I really don't use it much, I just feel so time crunched for everything as it is. I like Instagram so much better. I think interacting with readers is huge for growth. I enjoy your blog very much and you always look so great in your running pics :)

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    1. My biggest thing is interacting with other bloggers. Yes, it takes time to read and leave thoughtful comments, but that is truly what I enjoy about blogging! I love your pictures!

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  2. Sounds like you're in a good place to start marathon training. I blew my wad and met my big goal for the year (tri) so I'm just jacking around and having fun.

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    1. We have 2 more weeks of lifting and then marathon training starts officially. I'm happy with where things are at right now. Fingers crossed!

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  3. I totally would not have guessed that bib was on your iPad!
    I have read Alexandra's book and Love love loved it! I got it to review last year and was able to interact with her and she seems so nice. I'm looking forward to reading her interview!
    Looks like your goals are going well. I do hope the mama/son drama calms down. That makes me so sad for you. I hope this is just a phase that will soon be coming to an end.

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    1. I'd love your feedback on the book review when I post it! July 14!

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  4. Congrats on all your goals and meeting and exceeding them!! I'm hanging in there with mine. I start marathon training in Monday! Time to kick up the miles again. :)

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  5. Look at you just crushing all those goals already! 2015 is your year for sure. Have a great weekend. Love all the skirt sports :)

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  6. I can't seem to keep up with the social media craziness. What is this new Periscope that everybody has started talking about?!?

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  7. Sounds like you had a great June! Keep working those goals! I have to reevaluate my goals. Have a great weekend!

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  8. Looks like an awesome month for you! The rain & humidity were tough here so I didn't run outside as much as in May, but not running in the snow is always good. Haha!

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  9. Big goals and you are rocking them.

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  10. Good luck on twitter! I mostly use it to promote my newest blog posts and also to share links to really great blogs that I've read each day. I like that I have a space to keep track of really great things I've read, plus it helps spread the word about the other blogger and it helps build relationships!

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    1. I'm still trying to figure it out! Hopefully I'll see the benefits soon enough.

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  11. Great job! Love your mile mark bib posts!

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  12. I find it hard to believe the year is half over already! Great month for you. Love your skirts! Cheers to a good second half as well.

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    1. Hard to believe for me too. It still doesn't feel like summer here! It's been really cool and cloudy.

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  13. Congrats!! You do put out great content several times a week! So hard to do!

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  14. Awesome month!! I hate Twitter with a passion and I"m very rarely on it. I click to tweet, but other than that I can't keep up with them all!!

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  15. You've done awesome with your goals! Heck, I don't even get Pinterest. ( Do we need bulletin boards? Am I missing something?) At least you can interact on Twitter. Let me know how that goes. It was crazy busy this week but I'm still putting some thought into our linkup. Email me if you have any suggestions.

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  16. woohoo!! you're doing awesome! I'm making a big dent in my goals, as well. Almost done with my 9+1 goal to run the 2016 NYC marathon and got my NASM cPT cert! Happy 4th!

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    1. I'm so impressed with your progress on all those races! Keep the inspiration coming!

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  17. Luckily I didn't have any real running goals, because I was injured all of June and now it looks like I'll still be sidelined for July. It wasn't a running injury but it's keeping me from running. For Twitter, check out #Runchat on Sunday nights. Like their facebook page to check the schedule and sponsor for the almost weekly giveaways.

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  18. Glad to hear you had a great and successful June! I was bummed about all the rain we got--a few of my favorite trails got flooded. But, my lawn is looking great. :) Hope that your July goes just as well as June did!

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  19. Sounds like you have had a great month! Good luck as you start your marathon training!

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  20. Wow you are crushing your goals, good luck on the sub-4

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  21. Sounds like you had a great month and are doing awesome in 2015 so far! The strength training is a great way to prepare for marathon training. And I love the picture of the 600 mile mark bib...I would have had no idea you were holding your iPad!

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    1. Just think of the paper I saved by putting the bib on my iPad. Guess I need to keep doing that! :p

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  22. Great mid-year check in. You are a running machine! :)

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    1. It's been a really good year so far! Trying to keep those injuries at bay...

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  23. Great mid-year check in! Twitter is a little bit of a myster to me still. I use it, but I'm not sure how effective I am. It's a learning process.

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    1. Me too. I kind of don't get it. Glad to hear I'm not the only one.

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  24. Yay for an awesome month! 600 miles sounds INSANE to this non-runner though lol

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    1. It does sound like a lot, but it's not hard to do--I run about 100 miles/month. It's not as much as it sounds.

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  25. It sounds like you've set yourself up really well for sub-4. I have no doubt you'll crush it the way your year is going. :)

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