Garmin Wickedly Fast 1/2 Marathon Race Recap

After running our Florida 1/2 marathon in February Deb, Nikki, and I did some research to decide what would be next on our list of 50 states.  I mentioned that travel would work well for me this past weekend as I was on Spring Break and I wouldn't have to worry about getting time off.  Deb did some searching and she shared that the Garmin Wickedly Fast 1/2 Marathon was taking place during the time frame we were looking at.  I had seen that Kim was going to be running this race so I messaged her and let her know that we were considering it.  Deb did some more research and was able to find flights at a reasonable cost.  The cool thing was that Nikki and I would leave Cleveland and stop in Chicago and pick up Deb.  This was the first time since Deb moved to Chicago that we would be on the same flight which was really nice.  Once we figured this out we went ahead and registered for the race.  Fast forward to last Monday as I am watching the Boston Marathon.  After I am done screaming at my Ipad screen and watch Meb win I receive a text from Kim letting me know that Meb is the speaker at the pasta dinner and she and Elizabeth would be attending.  She was just checking to see if we would be interested in joining them.  I quickly texted Deb and Nikki and a few minutes later I purchased the tickets.  We flew into Missouri on Friday afternoon and picked up our rental car.  Nikki works for Ford so she decided to spend the afternoon at the Ford plant.  Deb and I opted to go shopping instead.  After shopping and a light snack, Deb and I headed to Kansas to check into our hotel and then headed out for the packet pickup.  The expo was in a hotel which also would be the location for the pasta dinner so that was great.  Kim and Elizabeth had found us seats at the dinner and after we got our packets we went upstairs and sat at the table so they could go downstairs and shop.  The expo was quite tiny so they were only gone for a few minutes.

MEB

When Meb was introduced and walked to the podium, he received a standing ovation.  It was great to hear his story.  I had no idea of his background and the challenges he faced.  It was an inspirational and emotion speech and I am so very thankful to Kim for suggesting that we attend!  After Meb spoke he was taking the time to sign bibs and shirts and pose for photo ops.  Kim and Elizabeth were done before we were so we made a plan to text when we got to the start line the next morning so we could take some pictures.  As we were waiting in line, Deb and I decided we were going to have Meb sign our shirts.  Nikki opted for her bib.

Deb, Nikki, and I with the 2014 Boston Marathon Winner

I shook his hand before he signed my shirt

After we met Meb, we stopped off at Target to get some things for race morning.  I slept well and everything went smoothly in the morning.  Kim was kind enough to text me to let me know that they had parked in the high school parking lot.  Great idea!  Another thank you to Kim!  We got to the high school with no problem and then headed toward the start line to meet up with Kim and Elizabeth.  I had turned on my Garmin right as I got out of the car because it usually takes a long time to find a satellite.  Well not this time, my satellite was there almost instantly.  I am guessing it was because we were at Garmin's Headquarters.  We found Kim and Elizabeth and posed for photos and talked about our plans for the run.  Earlier in the week Deb had asked me if I would be willing to run/walk the race with her as she was going through some things and wanted to have company during the 13.1 mile journey.  So when asked what the plan was, I hugged Deb and said I would be walk/running with her.

Elizabeth (Dorothy), Deb, Kim (Glinda), Me, and Nikki

There was very little fanfare.  The singing of the National Anthem took place and then we were off.  Things were going just fine and Deb and I were walking 10 minutes then running for 1 minute.  In full disclosure, there were a few times when I would get her to run for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.  I think she may have been catching on and counting in her head though as sometimes durnig the run portion she would stop after a minute.  As we passed some police officers they said to get ready for the weather.  I thanked them and said that a little water wouldn't hurt.  Yeah, famous last words....about 20 minutes later the rain started coming.  Then the wind picked up and then wouldn't you know that it started hailing!  Kansas was living up to its "tornado alley" name and even gave us several strikes of lightning.  Eventually the rain went away but we were left to deal with the huge puddles that were on the trail portion of the race.

Just a "small" river

I believe I texted Kim to see how she had done right after "swimming through" this tunnel.  I was happy to hear that Elizabeth had paced her to a sub 2 hour finish.  Unfortunately we didn't get to see Kim and Elizabeth before they left but I am sure we will run into them in future states.  Shortly after this, Nikki sent me a text to let me know she had finished and she was going to wait in the car.  Deb and I just kept moving towards the finish.  After what seemed like an eternity, we could see the yellow brick road and knew the finish was in sight.  We finished in 3:37 and I'm pretty sure the rain really slowed us down in the second half but I loved spending 13.1 miles with my best friend and I wouldn't change it for the world, well maybe the weather but we can't control that.

Follow the yellow brick road

We collected our medals and headed back to the hotel for showers.

Once everyone was ready we enjoyed some great Kansas bbq.  We all tried burnt ends for the first time.  They were great!  After lunch we headed back to the hotel and took a nap, checked into our flight for Sunday morning and then went out and had a light dinner of drinks, salads, and dessert. 

Sunday morning we headed back to Missouri to catch our flight home.  We landed in Chicago and said our goodbyes to Deb and then Nikki and I grabbed some lunch during our layover before we headed back to Cleveland. 

Although the weather was less than pleasant, we had a great time.  It was also great seeing Kim again and getting to know Elizabeth.  Runners are the nicest people you will ever meet! 

Complete a half in all 50 states status: 14 states and D.C. completed

Completed states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas.

I am not sure what state will be next but I will keep you posted!  It will probably be sometime this fall.

Keep running, you're simple the best, and you inspire me!!


 

March in Review

Sunday's pre-dawn 16 mile run brought my March training to a close.  I am truly hoping that Sunday was the end of this crazy snow!

March 2014 Stats
109.74-- running miles
1-- walking miles
0-- elliptical miles
2-- kettlebell workouts
2-- stair workouts
1-- fitness app workout
1-- Assorted cross training exercises workout
110.74-- total miles

Current 2014 Stats
231.94-- running miles
7.14-- walking miles
4.1--  elliptical miles
8-- kettlebell workouts
6-- stair workouts
1--  fitness app workout
1--  Assorted cross training exercises workout
243.18-- total miles

2014 Mission check-in

Mission #1: Make an effort to eat more fruits and vegetables.
Action Plan: Always have fruits and vegetables cleaned, cut up, and ready for consumption.
Action Plan: Choose healthier options when snacking.
Mission #1 is picking back up finally.  Planning to cut up those fruits and veggies this evening after a nice easy run.

Mission #2: Accept and embrace that my best is good enough.
Action Plan: Stop comparing myself to others and compare myself to the person I was yesterday.
Action Plan: Define my own success and measure it by what I am able to do.
Mission #2 continues to challenge me but I am really working hard on it and feel I am moving in the right direction during my workouts.  I do what I can do and have been happy with it at the end of the day so I say that is a success.  I also  just finished reading "Raising an Athlete".  It was a great book and incredibly helpful with this mission.  I highly recommend reading it.

Mission #3: Run 1400 miles in 2014.
Action Plan: Run.
Action Plan: Run some more.
Mission #3 was much more successful this month as I ran over 100 miles in a month for the first time in 2014 (1168.06 miles to go).
Mission #4: Run happy.
Action Plan: Run training runs and races with friends as often as I can.
Action Plan: Listen to my heart and not the beeps on my Garmin.
Action Plan: Be thankful that I have been blessed with a healthy body that allows me to run.
Mission #4 is right where I want to be!  I love running with friends and not stressing out about things.
Mission #5: Do other workouts in addition to running.
Action Plan: Find workouts I enjoy and actually do them.
Action Plan: Participate in some monthly fitness challenges.
Mission #5 is going really well. In March I walked outside once, did 2  kettlebell workouts, 2 stair workouts, and one assorted cross training exercises workout.  The plan for April is to keep up with these additional workouts as well as complete this April challenge! 

Overall, I am absolutely thrilled with the way March ended up and am looking forward to seeing what April brings.

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

February in Review

A treadmill hill workout on Thursday was supposed to bring my February training to an end however I just ran out of time to get the workout in so my February training ended with a kettlebell workout on Wednesday evening.

February 2014 Stats
77.7-- running miles
3.06-- walking miles
4.1-- elliptical miles
3-- kettlebell workouts
2-- stair workouts
1-- fitness app workout
84.86-- total miles

Current 2014 Stats
122.20-- running miles
6.14-- walking miles
4.1--  elliptical miles
6-- kettlebell workouts
4-- stair workouts
1--  fitness app workout
132.44-- total miles

2014 Mission check-in

Mission #1: Make an effort to eat more fruits and vegetables.
Action Plan: Always have fruits and vegetables cleaned, cut up, and ready for consumption.
Action Plan: Choose healthier options when snacking.
Mission #1 is still going pretty well for the most part.  I didn't do so well with eating fruits and vegetables when we were in Fort Lauderdale for a girls weekend.

Mission #2: Accept and embrace that my best is good enough.
Action Plan: Stop comparing myself to others and compare myself to the person I was yesterday.
Action Plan: Define my own success and measure it by what I am able to do.
Mission #2 is a daily challenge for me but I am really working hard on this.  In fact, I'm reading a book called "Raising an Athlete".  It not only is helping me with the what and what nots to say to my kids in regards to their chosen sports but it is also helping me understand myself more as an athlete.

Mission #3: Run 1400 miles in 2014.
Action Plan: Run.
Action Plan: Run some more.
Mission #3 is slowly creeping up there.  I got in a lot more miles than I did last month.  There's still plenty of time to achieve this mission. (1277.80 miles to go)
Mission #4: Run happy.
Action Plan: Run training runs and races with friends as often as I can.
Action Plan: Listen to my heart and not the beeps on my Garmin.
Action Plan: Be thankful that I have been blessed with a healthy body that allows me to run.
Mission #4 is staying on track!  I don't stress about missed workouts anymore.  I am just enjoying the journey.
Mission #5: Do other workouts in addition to running.
Action Plan: Find workouts I enjoy and actually do them.
Action Plan: Participate in some monthly fitness challenges.
Mission #5 is going great. In February I walked on the treadmill 2 times, did 3 kettlebell workouts, 2 stair workouts, completed 2 elliptical workouts and one fitness app workout. 

I continue to be happy with the way things are going right now.  If this weather would just give us a break I would be much happier!  Nothing like having frozen eyelashes on our run this morning!!

Our "diamond" eyelashes and eyebrows!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

A1A Fort Lauderdale 1/2 Marathon Weekend Recap

I would say for about the last six months to a year myself and 3 friends had been talking about doing a girls weekend for our birthdays.  See, two of us are turning 40 soon and another one had turned 50 over the summer.  The fourth girl happened to be celebrating her 44th birthday the day we flew out.  When planning this trip, we decided we should try and coordinate it with one of our 1/2 marathons so we could cross another state off our list of 50.  All of us were really looking forward to the trip since the weather was predicted to be at least 100 times better than the crap that we have been dealing with for the past several months.  The plan was to fly into Fort Lauderdale on the Friday of President's Day Weekend and return home on Monday.  Nikki and I had a direct flight as did Deb from her airport.  Marilyn had booked her flight with a layover in Charlotte to leave first thing Friday morning.  Fast forward to Thursday evening that week and I get a text from Marilyn that her flight has been cancelled due to the weather in Charlotte.  The one time that Charlotte gets a snow storm and it has to put a major glitch in our girls weekend.  Poor Marilyn was on the phone for over an hour trying to find another flight.  She was even willing to drive to another airport but unfortunately there was just nothing available for a reasonable price.  Yes, there were one or two flights out but they would have cost her $1800-$2500 arriving a day later than planned.  Just so frustrating for everyone involved but of course incredibly frustrating and disappointing for Marilyn.  In the end, the Charlotte airport reopened early Friday morning and Marilyn's original connecting flight was delayed by two hours.  If they had just delayed her flight and not cancelled it, she would have made it.  Thankfully, she was refunded for her original flight but that still doesn't make up for what she missed.  Needless to say she told us that we are planning another trip in the fall to someplace tropical!  No objection from us!  Nikki and I were to be flying out Friday in the early afternoon.  Our plane did get delayed but fortunately the flight was not cancelled.  When we landed in Fort Lauderdale I turned on my phone and was greeted with this picture from Deb since her flight had arrived much earlier than ours and she had already been soaking up the sun!

Heaven

Friday
The weather was perfect as we walked out of the airport and grabbed a cab to our hotel where Deb was waiting for us.  Seeing how it was Valentine's Day, Deb had thought ahead and made early dinner reservations at Grille 401 which was a restaurant that wouldn't be all couples.  She figured worst case scenario we would just cancel the reservation if we didn't want to eat that early.  In the end we were all hungry and hadn't eaten since we left our respective airports so the 5:30 dinner reservation turned out to be perfect!  Marilyn had told us to send her pictures so she could see what she was missing.  We obliged and sent her a picture of us toasting to her.

Cheers!

The meal was wonderful and we were even treated to complimentary chocolate covered strawberries and champagne since it was Valentine's Day.  After finishing dinner, we did some window shopping and people watching.  Boy were there some interesting people in Fort Lauderdale.  Once we made it back to our hotel we decided to have another drink at the hotel bar and make plans for Saturday. 

Saturday
One of my high school friends had agreed to take us to breakfast and to the expo to pick up our packets.  We had a nice breakfast at O-B House and then made a quick trip to the expo to get our packets.  Once we were dropped off at the hotel we decided to spend some time on the beach.  It got a little chilly so we headed back upstairs to get ready for dinner.  My friend was kind enough to suggest a lot of good restaurants in Fort Lauderdale so while we were still in our hotel room, I went online to see what would work best based on the suggestions we had.  We decided on the Casablanca Café and ended up sharing a ride with another family who was going to the same area.  In the short trip we found out that they were from Columbus, Ohio and they were there celebrating their triplets 13th birthdays.  Upon arriving at the restaurant, we were told there would be a pretty significant wait so we headed into the bar to see if there were seats.  As luck would have it, things cleared out pretty quickly and we were able to sit at the bar.  We decided we would just order and eat at the bar at that point.  The food just kept getting better!  Steak and seafood seemed to be the theme of the weekend (for Deb and I at least as Nikki isn't a fan of seafood).  With dinner complete we headed back to our hotel to get ready for the 1/2 marathon on Sunday which started at the crazy hour of 6 AM!

Sunday
My alarm went off around 4:15 AM and I didn't feel rested at all.  For some unknown reason, I kept waking up Saturday night.  I don't know if I thought I was going to oversleep or what but it was quite annoying.  After hitting snooze I few times I got dressed and then had my pre-race breakfast.  We were out the door in plenty of time to walk the 1/2 mile to the finish line to catch the shuttle to take us to the starting line as this was a point to point race. 

State #13

Nikki headed off to find a restroom and Deb and I stepped into the starting corral.  I was a bit chilly so I went ahead and texted my friend requesting a t-shirt at the finish line in case I were to get chilled after I finished.  With minimal fanfare we were off.  My plan was to just run comfortably and hopefully finish under 2 hours as I am pretty comfortable running at that pace.  I didn't really look at my watch much at all for the entire race.  I did come across "Dr. Dribble" who was dribbling two basketballs while running.  I don't think I have the patience or coordination to do such a thing!  The weather was really idea for the run and I was glad we had started at 6 AM.  Towards the end of the race we were running by the water which made it very enjoyable.  I kicked it in a bit at the end and finished in 1:56.  Happy with my sub-2 finish and negative splits for the most part, I grabbed my medal and a water and then met up with my high school friend.

Google him as he has quite an interesting story!

When I first finished I was actually pretty warm but about 10 minutes later I was incredibly thankful for the t-shirt and hot coffee that were provided to me by my friend.  Per Nikki's request, I texted her when I had finished and shortly afterwards she had finished her race.  I was starting to worry about Deb and then I got the normal "mile 10" text from her but this time there was more to the text.  It also said "right foot not good".  I was worried about her and asked her if there was anything I could do to help.  At one point she texted "not sure I can finish".  Well, I know Deb and she is one tough, stubborn girl and I pretty much knew she would be at that finish line.  A short while later she texted and told us not to wait for her.  Yeah, like that was going to happen.  She mentioned she was just past mile 12 so I did what any best friend would do and handed off my things and ran out to get her.  By the time I got to her she mentioned that her foot had gone numb a little bit prior to mile 12 which was actually making it easier for her to finish.  I stayed by her side and crossed the finish line (for the second time that day) with her.  I was very proud of her for not giving up but also worried about the status of her foot.  We all walked back to the hotel to get ready for lunch.  The original plan to go to Tap42 was nixed when my friend was told the wait for a table was over two hours.  We went with a back up plan of 15th Street Fisheries and it did not disappoint at all!  The food and company was great as it has been all weekend so far.  We spent the rest of the day resting, hanging out by the pool, and packing for the inevitable return trip home.  The three of us decided that we would just go down to 3030 Ocean in our hotel as it was ranked something like 4th best restaurant in Fort Lauderdale.  I can't remember the exact number but I know it was pretty high.  The added bonus was that we didn't have to leave the building.  After a light dinner and a few drinks we headed upstairs and called it a night.


Monday
I decided to go for a short run on Monday morning to take advantage of the gorgeous weather one last time since we would be welcomed back home by snow.  For some reason I didn't take any water and I quickly realized I regretted that decision.  While it was only in the 60's when I got out there, it was a sunny day which made it feel much warmer.  I had originally plan to run 6 miles but cut it short at 3 miles and walked the final mile back to the hotel.  It was still quite enjoyable.  Once I got back to the room, we all got ready and headed out to grab a bit of brunch at a Mexican Restaurant just down the street from our hotel.  The food was great but there was just too much of it!!  We spent the rest of the morning/afternoon sitting outside enjoying the sun before our flights.  Deb had considered getting an earlier flight since Nikki and I were leaving earlier than her.  In the end she was glad she hadn't because the earlier flights ended up being cancelled due to weather in Chicago.  My high school friend took Nikki and I to the airport and we were able to get on our plane with no problems.  Of course once we boarded the plane we sat on the runway for what seemed like forever.  I have no idea what that was all about.  We arrived back in Cleveland within 5 minutes of our scheduled time.  I checked on Deb's flight at this point and it was already delayed 2.5 hours.  When I got home, Deb called and let me know the status of her flight.  In the end her flight was delayed over 3 hours and she had to take a cab home because her husband couldn't get the car out of the driveway.  Have I mentioned that all of us hate snow at this point?  Yeah, well we do and we are so over it!!  Nikki and I lucked out and both arrived home minutes before the snow started coming. 

Yuck!  Welcome back to reality!

We had a wonderful girls weekend but truly missed Marilyn.  It just wasn't the same without her!

Complete a half in all 50 states status: 13 states and D.C. completed

Completed states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas.

Up next: State #14---potentially in Kansas in April.....just waiting on confirmation from the 50 states girls!!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

January in Review

A great outdoor 5.5 mile run last night brought my January training to an end.  It was so nice to be outside after being stuck doing indoor workouts for so long!

January 2014 Stats
44.50-- running miles
3.08-- walking miles
3--  kettlebell workouts
2--  stair workouts
47.58-- total miles

Current 2014 Stats
44.50-- running miles
3.08-- walking miles
3-- kettlebell workouts
2-- stair workouts
47.58-- total miles

2014 Mission check-in

Mission #1: Make an effort to eat more fruits and vegetables.
Action Plan: Always have fruits and vegetables cleaned, cut up, and ready for consumption.
Action Plan: Choose healthier options when snacking.
Mission #1 is going very well.  The bonus to this is that my kids are eating a lot more fruits and vegetables and opting for healthier snacks as well!

Mission #2: Accept and embrace that my best is good enough.
Action Plan: Stop comparing myself to others and compare myself to the person I was yesterday.
Action Plan: Define my own success and measure it by what I am able to do.
Mission #2 is a work in progress.  I have my days but I am learning to embrace that I am only competing against myself.
Mission #3: Run 1400 miles in 2014.
Action Plan: Run.
Action Plan: Run some more.
Mission #3 is off to a slow start with 44.50 miles run in January but I have 11 more months to get there! (1355.50 mile to go)
Mission #4: Run happy.
Action Plan: Run training runs and races with friends as often as I can.
Action Plan: Listen to my heart and not the beeps on my Garmin.
Action Plan: Be thankful that I have been blessed with a healthy body that allows me to run.
Mission #4 is right on track!  Loving and happy with the run right now!!
Mission #5: Do other workouts in addition to running.
Action Plan: Find workouts I enjoy and actually do them.
Action Plan: Participate in some monthly fitness challenges.
Mission #5 is going so much better than last year's additional workouts.  In January I walked on the treadmill 3 times, did 3 kettlebell workouts, and 2 stair workouts.

I can honestly say I am very happy with my January because I am doing what is best for me and not worrying about anyone else.  I am defining my own sucess and I'm loving it!!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

Crazy weather leads to limited workouts

It is no secret that Mother Nature needs some Prozac.  The weather here in Ohio has been ridiculously snowy and cold the entire month of January.  This of course translates into less workouts and more time spent indoors trying to stay warm.  Needless to say, I have seen a lot of zeros on my dailymile training profile.

Not so sure why he looks so happy.  Yeah, zero...we get it

Now I will say that the kids and I and some friends went to visit our friends in Chicago for a long weekend so that also contributed to my zeros.  Since one of my missions is to run happy and stress free, I refused to let myself feel bad for not doing one single workout while we were there.  It was about spending time we our good friends and catching up with everyone.

The good news is that I have managed to get some workouts in this month.  There has been a bit of running as well as a little bit of cross training going on in my world.

I did my first kettlebell/treadmill walk workout about two weeks ago and I really enjoyed it.  The best part was I got a fantastic deal on my kettlebells at the local Aldi.

Best. Deal. Ever

Tuesday of last week I did manage to get a hill repeat workout done on the trusty old basement treadmill and followed it up on Wednesday with a kettlebell/stair workout.  Man was that workout both hard and awesome all at the same time.  I definitely worked up one heck of a sweat in those 31 minutes.  I never realized how handy the 15 stairs in my house are!

Not my steps but very similar to the 15 in my house

Of course we must fast forward to today when Mother Nature again forgot to take her meds and I wake up to this love sight on my phone.

Brrrrr!!

Seriously??  Come on now!  Obviously I was anticipating cold weather because both my school and my kids school closed today but I certainly wasn't expecting to see that!!  I had planned to run seven miles today with four 1 mile repeats included and I knew after seeing this that this workout would have to occur on the treadmill.  I quickly checked out the TV guide to see what was going to be on today.  The Bucket List at 11:00 AM.  Okay, I think I can tolerate the treadmill and not have the urge to rip my eyes out if I run while this movie is showing.  Overall it was a great workout.  I feel short on the last mile repeat as I was listening to my body and didn't want to make any stupid decisions  that would result in injury.  Afterall, it goes back to my mission of running happy.  If I can't run because I am injured then I certainly can't run happy! 

Very thankful for my Vision Fitness Treadmill when it's crazy cold out

Here's hoping that Mother Nature gets her meds figured out very soon.  I want to be back outside taking in all the beautiful scenery on a run instead of staring into the face of my flat screen TV in the basement.  There are only so many shows I can watch!!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

2014 Missions

In my last post, I asked for a new word for goals because quite frankly the word goals stresses me out.  I took it to Facebook and after reviewing the suggestions, I have decided to go with missions.

Now that I have covered my reason for not having "goals", I give you my missions for 2014 in no particular order.

Mission #1:  Make an effort to eat more fruits and vegetables.
Action Plan:  Always have fruits and vegetables cleaned, cut up, and ready for consumption.
Action Plan:  Choose healthier options when snacking.

Mission #2:  Accept and embrace that my best is good enough.
Action Plan:  Stop comparing myself to others and compare myself to the person I was yesterday.
Action Plan:  Define my own success and measure it by what I am able to do.

Mission #3:  Run 1400 miles in 2014.
Action Plan:  Run.
Action Plan:  Run some more.

Mission #4:  Run happy.
Action Plan:  Run training runs and races with friends as often as I can.
Action Plan:  Listen to my heart and not the beeps on my Garmin.
Action Plan:  Be thankful that I have been blessed with a healthy body that allows me to run.

Mission #5:  Do other workouts in addition to running.
Action Plan:  Find workouts I enjoy and actually do them.
Action Plan:  Participate in some monthly fitness challenges.

As this is my mission list I am giving myself permission to add, delete, or change them at any given time.   I will update you on my progress when I do my month in review posts.  Here goes nothing...

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!